The nine-year-old girl walks away from her parents, with their permission, to explore the gallery.
For several minutes, Ib wanders in this exhibition of the late artist Weiss Guertena's works. Her limited education keeps her from reading some of the words of their titles, but she tries not to let that bother her.
She momentarily takes out a cloth from her pocket to look at. It's a handkerchief with her name on it, a birthday gift.
Ib eventually comes across a large painting, one that has many, yet no recognizable shapes in it. She's once again disappointed that she can't read one of the words.
She's startled when the lights flicker. Nervous, she heads back downstairs.
Then the lights go out.
Worried, she goes to look for her parents.
But no one's around...
Ib runs around, unsure of what to do, as very strange occurrences happen.
A figure bangs on a window. Blue paint leaks from the previous large painting's frame. Mysterious writing appears on the floor, beckoning for her to come to a place somewhere secret.
The girl eventually finds footsteps of blue paint, leading to an artwork of a menacing fish in deep waters, placed on the floor.
Ib feels herself being pulled in, as if in a trance. Without giving herself time to think twice, she steps into the painting.
That is when everything changes.
Don't want to be alone.
Don't want to be alone.
Can't be alone.
Not anymore.
It hurts too much.
Won't somebody come soon?
Mary can't stand being so alone, unloved. She has no one but her dolls and her "sisters." But even they do little to give her happiness.
Why did he have to go and leave them? How could he abandon his children? His little Mary? Soon after she was born, he was gone forever.
Did he no longer love them?
Had he been so disappointed with her, his last creation, that he simply gave up on creating more? Did she make him angry?
She would occasionally cry, harshly sob, when thoughts of him hating her would intrude her mind.
Why? Why?! She had done nothing wrong. She was a good girl.
So why? Why did he leave her all alone...?
She can't stand being in this place any longer. She has to get out, somehow.
One day, something changes. Mary smiles as she senses them.
Finally, she wasn't going to be alone anymore...
He can't remember how he ended up in such a twisted place. Every time he tries, his head hurts.
All he can remember is being in the gallery, lights flickering off, and everyone else having disappeared.
The young man eventually stops trying to think about that, focusing instead on his survival.
Garry clutches a blue rose protectively to his chest. He knows it's important to him, knows his life depends on it. He knows because the monsters never go for him, but for the precious flower. They would try to scratch at it, to tear off its beautiful petals.
It came as a terrifying shock for him to learn that he feels actual pain when some of the rose's petals are ripped away. Ever since, he has been very careful not to let it happen again.
If the flower were to wilt, so would he, in a sense. That, he's now fully aware of.
Garry stops in the middle of a hallway as he hears vicious growling behind him. Slowly turning around, he sees a portrait of a lady in blue, halfway out of her canvas and snarling at him.
The man shakes, clutching his blue rose tighter when he notices the creature staring at it. For some reason, his legs refuse to move.
Suddenly the lady in blue lets out a terrible shriek and lunges toward him, crawling with stupefying speed.
The next thing Garry can recall is absolute darkness, and agony.
Ib pants, nearly escaping with her life from a lady in red.
So many strange things have been attacking her in this strange realm. She still doesn't know what's going on, and how, but she's determined to find a way out.
Ib takes a moment to admire the red rose in her possession, holding it delicately in her palms. The monstrous portrait of the lady had been very close to touching and tearing it apart. It's a very precious thing to her, she's realized.
She grips it tightly, hoping to find a way out soon as she enters a hallway.
Ib abruptly halts her movements, staring wide-eyed at what she finds.
There's a person on the floor, groaning in pain, cut all over.
Mary skips enthusiastically. She's happy, but also nervous. Yet her excitement overcomes that uneasy feeling.
Others from the outside! She can hardly wait to meet them, to learn more about the world where there aren't living dolls and killer paintings.
The girl stops for a moment to gaze at her rose. A beautiful yellow rose, cut out from an old drawing. Yet it looks quite real.
It's perfect. Just what she needs.
Then she wonders, for a moment, what could happen if they find out it's fake. Will they reject her as well?
Mary shakes. She can't handle being left alone, not again.
She quickly shoves the thought away, and skips on ahead, the fake rose bouncing in her hand.
Fake, just like her.
A shadow stretches across her face as she smiles.
Fake, but not for much longer...
She possesses not one, but two roses now.
Ib puts one with few petals left in a vase full of water, watching as they grow back. She takes it back out once it's finished healing.
With the beautiful, healthy blue rose, Ib returns to the man and puts it in his hand. With his injuries vanished, Garry wakes.
And at first, they are unsure of one another.
But when they talk, it's not long before the two realize they're very much in the same situation. So they form a companionship, more than happy to have someone by their side in this nightmarish world.
As they venture together, Ib finds herself enjoying her time with Garry. She quickly learns that he is a positive thinker, but is easily scared. Hearing his girlish screams almost makes her laugh.
For the first time, she smiles in this fabricated world.
She stares at the piece of candy in her hand, a gift from Garry. She takes a quick glance at him from her place on the floor, before putting the candy in her pocket.
Ib clutches his coat, which he lent to her as a blanket while she slept. She remembers him telling her he carried her here to rest, after she passed out from exhaustion. Hearing this, she feels very grateful for his company.
Garry is such a kind and generous person, who genuinely cares about her.
Getting up, she hands him back his tattered coat. They converse for a while, learning more about each other, while enjoying their moment of peace while it lasts.
Mary is caught off guard as someone comes rushing through a door, which she herself was about to open.
The next thing she knows, she's pushed down to the ground by small hands. Completely surprised, she looks up and sees a girl, who looks back at her with an expression that matches her own.
And behind the girl is a man, who looks just as shocked as his companion.
Mary then realizes who they are.
She's found them! She's found her new friends!
She is a little stunned, however, by their unexpected appearance, and has no idea what to say to them.
Fortunately for her, the man is friendly to her as he talks, thinking she's another victim who has been imprisoned here. He introduces themselves as Garry and Ib.
Mary stands back up and quickly tries to be as sweet and joyful as she can, determined to give them a great first impression.
And it works. The young man is fast to accept her as a new companion. Unlike Garry, Ib is shy and quiet, but seems to be trustworthy of her as well, and also accepts her.
Friends. She now has actual friends...
As she travels with them, she notices Garry has a habit of protecting Ib. In her childish mind, Mary wonders if he's her "true knight in shining armor."
She frowns, not liking their close relationship.
Almost instinctively, she finds herself wanting to be close friends with the other girl, whose age appears to be the same as hers.
It's not as if she dislikes Garry. But she's afraid of being ignored, of being left out.
This needs to change.
Garry makes a shocking discovery.
After being separated from the girls by the indestructible vines, he's found a book, showing him all of Weiss Guertena's artworks.
One of them is Mary.
With the knowledge of the girl's true nature, Garry quickly resumes his desperate search, now with more haste.
Ib is in danger. He dares not imagine what could happen to her if he takes too long.
He is close, very close, to finding all the seven paint balls, the treasures that will give him the key to finding her. He just needs one more.
And he does find it, in the doll's stomach. It's the same one that had been pursuing him, with the writing on the wall next to it constantly telling him to take it with him. Naturally, Garry refused to.
He goes to pick it up, but the ball vanishes. The toy laughs, before darting into a room. Garry remains disturbed over its strange obsession for him, but he has little choice. He knows it has what he needs. So he enters the Doll Room.
In there, he encounters a haunting experience.
He spots the paint ball on the floor, and finally claims it.
But they don't want to let him go, not yet.
Who? Who? Who has the key?
Garry forces himself to not look at what is coming out of the large painting behind him as he rips open the dolls' stomachs, desperately looking for the key.
Time is running out.
He takes a quick glimpse at the painting, horrified to see a huge version of the dolls crawling to him.
He's panicking. Where? Where's the key?!
There!
As soon as he finds it, he sprints out of there, not looking back as the thing tries to grab him.
Garry never thinks of dolls the same way again.
In her way.
In her way...
In her way...!
In her WAY...!
For a whole minute, Mary's vision is filled with nothing but a swinging palette knife, piercing a mannequin head over and over, blood flowing everywhere.
He found her secret.
He knows what she is.
Mary is angry, very angry, but also scared. What if he finds a way back to them? What if he tells Ib?
She can't let that happen, not when she's so close.
She's suddenly aware that Ib has seen her commit her violent act when she hears the door close behind her. Mary stops. She can't let her go. They're supposed to be together, forever.
Her anger diminished for now, she walks away from the mannequin head.
Garry is no longer her friend.
She doesn't like him, not one bit.
Ib has her arms wrapped around him, tightly as to not let go, with tears beginning to shed.
She thought she was about to die. She thought Mary was going to stab her, like the way she did to the mannequin head.
But Garry came running to her aid with incredible speed, putting himself in front of her, saving her from the psychopathic girl.
The man hesitates for a moment when she hugs him, before he gently places a hand on her head, embracing her in return. He is just as relieved as she is. He doesn't know what he'd do if anything happened to the young girl. She is not only his responsibility, but also a dear friend.
The bond between them grows, like a rose in spring.
Garry makes sure she's unharmed, before they descend a stairway, leaving behind an unconscious Mary. They soon find themselves in an even stranger place. Everything is drawn in crayon.
As they wander around, Garry mentions his favorite snack, macarons, saying he'd love to have some with her if they ever make it back.
No, when they make it back.
Mary wanders as she looks everywhere for them, palette knife held loosely in her hand.
She looks, and looks, and looks, but they're nowhere to be found in this scenery made of crayons.
She is alone, again.
Why? Why do they hate her so much?! All she wanted was to be their friend.
And what do they do? Push her away and run.
They abandoned her, just like her "father."
Mary lets out a shriek of frustration, feeling the need to stab something.
This is all his fault! Garry should never have found that book. Now he and Ib think she's a monster.
She must take the place of someone from outside in order for her to escape this world of paintings.
And she has made her choice of whom it will be.
Ib gasps as she wakes.
The nightmare she had was horrible. It felt too real.
Mary running away with a blue rose in her hand.
Garry collapsing on the floor in exhaustion.
Blue petals scattered everywhere.
"Loves me... Loves me not... Loves me... Loves me not... LOVES me!"
Garry's peaceful form as he "sleeps."
Ib shakes her head, forcing the images out from her mind. She stands up, finding herself in a place filled with scribbles on the walls and floor. They fell down here, when Mary pushed them into the toy box.
The girl panics, realizing Garry is not with her. Frantically she searches for him, and is relieved when she sees him lying on the ground, attempting to push himself back up.
Her relief is soon washed away when she discovers her red rose is gone.
Far away from them, the rose lies on the ground, petals scattered nearby, only one remaining on the stem.
The disturbed artworks of Guertena turn restless when the two outsiders find her rose in its pitiful state. With numerous numbers, they attack. The two flee, with Garry shielding Ib as best he can, and manage to escape their wrath.
After that, they never encounter such monsters again.
Mary is horrified that they found this room. She screams at them, ordering them to leave.
They run from her, towards that, and she pursues them with her palette knife at the ready.
But then the man pulls out his lighter, and just like that, it's over. She cries out as flames consume her canvas.
She's dying.
No! No!
Mary strangely feels no pain, but she's so scared.
She doesn't want to die!
All she wanted was to be loved, to never be alone again.
Now the fake girl wants to cry.
She'll never get to see the outside world. She will never know what it's like to be real, to be human.
For the last time, Mary asks herself why she was condemned to live a life of loneliness.
Her body and clothes darken, and then she's nothing but ash on the floor. Her knife clatters next to the remains, never to be used again.
He calls out her name, desperately pleading for her to take his hand as he reaches for her. He doesn't know why Ib hesitates, but he senses something is wrong.
They are so close to escaping this nightmare. The gallery is just on the other side of the large painting.
But she's looking away from him, seeming to be conflicted. He's unsure, but he thinks he hears her whisper, "Mom..."
Garry can't see what she sees, so he says to her reassuring words, hoping it will snap her back to attention.
He refuses to leave her behind. He promised they would both return home, and he intends on keeping his word.
The young girl takes a step back from the invisible entity. Garry can't stand seeing the look of fear on her face. He calls out to her once more, this time with results.
Ib turns and dashes away, to him. She grabs his hand, accidentally reopening his wound, which is wrapped with her handkerchief.
He ignores the pain, and instead smiles as he pulls her into the painting with him.
They are free. They are safe.
But then, they forget.
Ib blinks, standing in front of the large painting, unable to remember when and why she stands before it. Then she continues her stroll in the gallery.
She gazes at every artwork she can, and it's not long when she spots a man staring intensely at a large sculpture of a red rose.
Ib doesn't know why, but she feels herself wanting, needing, to talk to him.
She walks up, asking him about the artifact. He kindly says to her it is called the "Embodiment of Spirit." Lost in his thoughts, he confesses that it makes him sorrowful, but knows not why.
He then feels foolish, talking about this with a "stranger," and walks off. He apologizes for troubling her, and says a name.
He stops.
Who's Ib?
Garry then feels something unfamiliar in his right pocket. He pulls it out, and sees it is a bloodstained handkerchief, with the letters "Ib."
But how? Where did it come from?
The girl walks up to him, saying her name is Ib. The man is baffled, wondering how all this can be possible.
Then an image pops into his mind. His hand bleeding from a glass shard. A small girl giving him a clean handkerchief.
That girl... Her name was...
Garry gasps, remembering everything. How could he have ever forgotten such an important thing? He's excited, almost hysterical, and asks Ib if she also remembers.
She frowns, saying she doesn't.
This visibly upsets Garry, but then his face brightens as he tells her of a piece of candy he gave to her.
Confused, but curious, Ib reaches into her pockets, and is shocked when she pulls out the candy.
Then it all comes back to her.
Her eyes begin to tear up. She can't believe she's forgotten such an important thing!
Garry is overjoyed when she remembers, almost in tears himself.
They've both made it out! They did it!
Garry laughs, so relieved they're both okay, but he knows he has to go. He moves to give the handkerchief back to Ib, but stops himself, saying he needs to make it clean first.
Because, he claims, they will see each other again.
They part ways, with a promise of reunion.