Hey There everyone. I'm back, and its not a one-shot this time. I've come to realize how much I enjoy writing for Ib, and after waiting (procrastinating) for a while I couldn't help but start another story. This will include both IbxGarry and IbxMary. Confused as to how that will work? Good, that should make the story more interesting. First chapter is just the prologue, so future ones will be longer.

Currently it is rated T, but this may change. I haven't decided if I want to include more 'adult' themed chapters later on in the story. It isn't something I have a lot of experience with, so I'm not sure if I want to risk it.

One more thing, updates on this fic will be slow. While I want to write more Ib, I currently have another story I already started so sadly that one will have to take priority. I'm gunning for at least one update per week to give myself some breathing room, but this may change (for better or for worse) later on.

As ever, comments and criticisms are welcome.

Edit: The title has been changed from 'Waking Dreamer' to 'Reflections' since there is another story with almost the same name. Sorry to the author of 'Dreamingly Awake', the infringement wasn't intentional.

Disclaimer: I don't own Ib or any of the characters


Ib was drifting, a cool current of nothingness washing over her as she closed her eyes.

She didn't remember why she was here, or how she got there, but right now she didn't care. In this peaceful non-existence, she was happy. There was no conflict, no pain, and no loss. She embraced this lack of suffering because the alternative was so much worse. Despite her fragmented memory, Ib knew one thing.

Something terrible had happened.

She didn't know what, or why, or to whom, but she knew it had. Even faint whispers of the event were enough to turn her stomach into a mass of writhing snakes, sending waves of sorrow through her body.

She heard childish laughter and a friendly greeting. She saw blue and yellow mixing together, until they were utterly inseparable. Her vision was clouded by images of falling rose petals and burning canvas. Promises, lies, sacrifices, betrayal… they all swirled around her mind, just out of reach.

But that didn't matter right now. In this moment, she was content. For as long as fate allowed her, she would remain here and pretend that all was right in the world.

Fate, however, was a fickle mistress.

Very slowly, sensation started returning to her. Ib resisted the pull of the conscious world, but her efforts were in vain. First came the floor, smooth and chilled as though it were made of stone. Then the breeze, tickling her face as it lazily wafted past.

Little by little, her senses of smell, sound, and sight all followed. Wanting nothing more than to return to her former state of being, she regretfully forced her eyes to open. When she did one thing became abundantly clear.

This was not her room. In fact, she doubted that anyone would be enough of a masochist to consider it 'their' room. For as far as the eye could see, there was nothing in all directions. A vast expanse of black emptiness stretching out to eternity.

The floor beneath her was hardly more inviting. It was made of some dark substance, smooth as glass and without a single crack or imperfection. Annoyingly enough, it was the same color as the omnipotent darkness, making seeing more than a few feet away almost impossible.

Despite the strangeness of her current position, Ib didn't feel worried. The all-consuming blackness wasn't menacing. Quite the opposite actually. It held a crushing sadness that almost seemed to be a physical force, but it felt entirely harmless on its own.

Sitting up, Ib took a better look around. No matter which direction she faced, there were no signs of landmarks or variations. There was nothing to show how she had arrived, and there likely wouldn't be anything to mark her passing.

She slowly got to her feet, every muscle sore from laying on the hard surface for so long. With no real goal in sight, she picked a random direction and started to walk.

The journey was fairly pleasant all things considered. The earlier chill had been replaced by a tepid warmth, and anytime she began to feel uncomfortable the breeze would return. It was almost as if the world wanted her to be at ease.

The whole thing felt surreal, as if she were walking through a dream. Maybe she was. After all, endless rooms filled with darkness weren't something you typically found in a suburban neighborhood, were they?

Her steps echoed through the vastness as she walked, providing the only source of sound. The steady rhythm of putting one foot in front of the other droned in her head like a dysfunctional heartbeat.

Ib couldn't have said how long the trek lasted for, her sense of time having ceased to function, but eventually she spotted some sort of anomaly in the distance. Though it was far off, the object stood out against the darkness like a shining beacon.

She began to close the distance, her steps falling faster until she was dashing directly for it. Something about this strange image called to her with feelings of need. Whatever it was, it was important.

It soon became apparent that the landmark was not in fact a single object, but two. Two small tables standing side by side. On each table was a vase, and in each vase was a rose.

One blue.

One yellow.

She slowed down as she got close. Something about the two flowers felt familiar…

Looking at the blue rose, Ib was overcome by feelings of warmth and comfort. She could vaguely make out an image of a man offering everything he had for someone who was almost a total stranger. She couldn't explain why, but just being near the rose brought a smile to her face.

The yellow flower couldn't have been more different. As she looked upon it, an all-consuming loneliness struck her like a hammer to the gut. She could see the outline of a girl who had been alone for so long that her mind was in tatters. The sight was so heartbreaking that Ib wanted nothing more than to hold her close, and tell her that everything would be all right.

"Which one?"

Ib whirled around at the voice. Despite the previous emptiness of the room, someone was standing behind her. The figure wore a long, featureless, robe with a hood that covered its face. She had no idea how it had managed to sneak up on her so quietly in a place of almost total silence.

Seeing her confusion, it continued.

"Which rose will you take?"

Ib flinched slightly at the voice. It was old and unmistakably male, but in the dark room it sounded far too loud. Almost as if it didn't belong.

"What do you mean?" She asked, speaking quietly so as to avoid hurting her own ears. "Am I supposed to take one? Is that how this works?"

He nodded.

She looked back at the two roses. Both held their own appeal, and she found it all but impossible to choose just one. Suddenly, a thought struck her.

"If I pick one, what will happen to the other?" She asked, somehow feeling that she already knew the answer.

The figure didn't respond at first, and when he did his voice was heavy with weary resignation.

"Once you pick one, you will escape this place with your choice." He said. "The other will be left to wither and die alone in the dark. Before you ask, because I know you will, you can't take both. One must always be sacrificed to save the other."

Ib stared in shock, speechless at the horrible thought of leaving either of them to such a fate.

"And what if I don't choose one?" She asked, trying to find some way to avoid abandoning one of them. "What if I just don't make a decision?"

A long sigh ushered out from beneath the robes of the man.

"The choice will have to be made eventually." He said. "And you need to be the one to make it. If you do nothing, or try to stall for too long, both of them will perish and you will be consigned to suffer alone."

"Why?" She demanded, her voice cracking slightly. "Why do I have to be the one to choose? Why can't you? Why does there have to be a decision at all? What is going on?"

"Because…" He explained. "You must be the one to choose because you are the one they both trust. No one else can fill your place in their hearts, and both of them are relying on you to pick them over the other."

Ib shook her head violently, her whole being rebelling against the thought of doing such a terrible thing.

"No." She said. "I can't do this. You can't expect me to! I don't even understand what I'm choosing. Who are they? Why do they feel so familiar?"

He regarded her from beneath the folds of his hood. She felt his eyes boring into her, knowing so much more than he was telling. She couldn't help but wonder what his part in all of this was.

"I had hoped to spare you from the pain of deciding while you were aware of the stakes." He said, speaking slowly as though lost in thought. "But perhaps that isn't the way. Maybe… hmmm…"

He stood in silence for several moments, his gaze turned away from her. Ib could feel her heart rate begin to pick up. She didn't have the slightest idea what thoughts were going through his head, but something told her that they were vital to her situation.

"Maybe there is another way." He said at last. "Instead of a blind choice, would you prefer to see the aftermath of your decision?"

"What does that mean? I don't understand." His words made little sense to her, and yet she found herself hanging on them with breathless anticipation.

"What I'm saying is that you could see the consequences of each choice." He said. "You can go through both paths and make your choice based on their outcomes."

"You can do that?" Ib questioned, a note of wonder entering her voice.

The man chuckled at her reaction. "Yes I believe so. It isn't perfect, and it won't last forever, but I should be able to let you live with both options for a time."

Her mind took several seconds to process just what was being said. Here she was, forced to make a terrible choice that only she could. He was letting her see both of their results… That would be better wouldn't it? To know what she was getting into? Surely that was the better option.

And yet…

What if neither choice was better? What if understanding them only made the sacrifice more painful? Could she bring herself to choose if she knew how bad they could both be?

Steeling her resolve, Ib turned to face him. All her willpower went into standing tall and sure in the face of the unknown.

"Show me."

The figure didn't give any inclination about his own feelings on her decision. Whether he approved or not was entirely open to interpretation.

"Breathe deep." He said, making his way over to her. He raised one hand to her forehead, placing it as though he were blessing her.

"Close your eyes child. The next time you open them, your whole world will change."

Ib did as she was told. Closing her eyes, she drew in a large breath of air. At first there was no sign of any difference, but soon the weight of the man's hand faded away. It wasn't the only thing either.

Slowly, all of her sense began to drift into oblivion. Ib fought against the encroaching darkness with the strength of sudden panic, but she still couldn't resist. She was falling into the gaping pit with nothing to hold her afloat.

The last thought she had before darkness engulfed her was the remembrance of two names.

Garry and Mary.