A/N: Hooray! Amber's first Ib story. I've been planning this one out for a long time now because I love this game to bits. Just to clear up the confusion, this story revolves around Mary and another boy, takes place BEFORE she met Ib and Garry, and this boy is NOT an OC of mine. He is not an actual character of Ib. He's just some guy I created to fit the story. This is a love story btw. That is all. Now enjoy~
"I like the visitors coming in to live with me, but...I want to leave myself and live outside! But unless I take the place of someone from the outside, it seems like I can't do that... Won't somebody come soon? Won't somebody come soon..."
She hated how they left her. Every time, every person who ever came to visit her in her secret museum, carrying a rose that symbolized their life, would always try to escape. Somehow, they always managed to bump into her on the way to escaping, and she would try to aid their distress. She wanted them to stay so badly though. But every time she tried to convince them, she would get the same answer: no.
She learned about the outside from their stories they used to tell and the books that Guertena left behind, but that wasn't enough. Even though she didn't need actual sunlight or food or water, even though she had everything she needed, she still felt empty. Even the dolls, her so-called "friends," who were loyal to her and only her. They couldn't fill her void. Even though she was surrounded by an over-familiar environment with mannequins and statues that were at her beck and call, she still felt there was something lacking. When would she finally find a real friend, who had warm blood running through his or her veins and a beating heart?
Mary used to watch, overcome with loneliness, as people who would accidentally stumble upon her secret world and try to escape it. She swore to herself that she'd never make contact with them. She'd hide herself away because she would only miss them even more if she didn't. She couldn't stand it. The feeling of being alone, of being left behind. So she locked her heart away.
But then, on one particular day with one particular visitor she was changed for the first time ever.
She was just wandering around the museum as she usually did. She knew every puzzle, every trick, every turn. The statues and Ladies in Red would make way for her. Absent-mindedly fiddling with the fake petals of her rose while walking down the purple hallways from the deeper part of the world, she suddenly hears a frightened scream. It sounded like it came from around the corner. Sticking to her instinct and the promise she made to herself, Mary ducked behind a large statue and peeked over the side. She spotted a boy, panting and running away from the maze with the statues in them and paintings with buttons.
He stopped and checked behind his shoulder frantically, leaning forward with his hands on his shaking knees. After a moment of heavy breaths, he straightened his back. Mary couldn't make out his face from afar. He fumbled with something long from his pants pocket and took it out, examining it carefully and worriedly. It was still too far away for her to identify the object. He started to advance forward slowly with a slight limp in his step, towards where she hid.
The boy looked around cautiously and turned left to stare at a painting on the wall in front of him: "Milk Puzzle." Now, his features were clearer to her.
He had a gentle expression that was aided by his short chestnut brown hair that looked like it'd been tussled with and pale white face with round cheeks that looked as if he could easily form smile. His eyes, a deep sky-blue, were weary and exhausted. His white shirt was torn at the sides a bit and his jeans were dirtied with marks. The boy's hands were down at his sides, and in one was a rose with only a few fading lavender petals. The museum had seemingly taken its toll him.
He sighed and stared at the milk puzzle intently, as if he were recalling a fond memory and turned away. The full view of his face came into sight. She let out the slightest gasp of air. It caught his attention and he jolted around. Mary shriveled up in her corner, trying her best to disappear. Her heart drummed away in her chest and her face began to get hot. The boy began to limp slowly across the room and towards the pedestal that she was hiding behind, and grasped his rose tightly against his chest to protect what little amount purple petals were left hanging from their bud, barely holding on. She held her breath. "Who's there?" His voice deep enough to match his age and soft and kind, but she could tell he was trying to make it sound more aggressive. "Hello?"
Suddenly, the statue that hid her rumbled to life. Startled, Mary stumbled forward in the middle of the hallway floor. "Ow!" She cried. She looked up and found the boy staring down at her in disbelief, and picked herself up off the ground, holding a false rose against her pounding chest. He was taller than she thought. His gaze turned from bewilderment to immediate relief.
The boy sighed happily. "Phew, I thought I was the only one here!"
"Uh...um..." she was speechless. The statue rumbled violently behind her and she felt a hand grab hers.
"Be careful!" He said and tugged her to his side as the artwork came to life and approached them. "Theses things are everywhere!" Mary grasped his hand in total shock. It was so warm. She'd never felt this warmth before. "Let's get outta here." He took her by the hand and led them elsewhere. Mary still was at a loss for words. "Over here in this room."
While he rested, she observed him. "Heh...that was close..." he breathed and stood up. "It's nice not to be alone again. What's your name? How did you end up here? I didn't see you before."
"I'm...Mary..." She croaked, averting her eyes and clutching her plastic rose to her heart while butterflies awakened and fluttered around in her tummy. "Um...I've been trying to escape, too..." At least she wasn't lying.
He offered her a weak smile that was still warmer than her artificial sun. "Hmm...well, whatever. My name is Akira."
"N-nice to meet you," she nearly stammered.
"So what happened to you?" He asked. "How'd you end up in this crazy situation too?"
"Well...I got stuck here and I can't seem to find a way out..." she answered.
"Same thing here. I was taking a casual field trip with my class until suddenly the lights flickered while I was taking a look at this giant rose sculpture...and the next thing I knew, the whole place was empty. Oh yes, how's your rose doing? Didn't you get one when you first came here too?" The top of Mary's head reached the height of his chest, so he bent down to examine her flower. "It seems fine. Well, I can't say the same thing for me..." he gazed down at his delicate light purple rose whose petals were limply hanging from the bud. "I have a feeling something bad will happen if all the petals fall...I mean, each time one falls off, I've been getting injuries," he continued. "But as long as yours is okay, then I'm glad."
Her cheeks pinked. "Oh...Um! I know a spot where your rose can be restored back to health." She led him out of the room and passed the mirror placed on the wall. With the slightest side-glance at their image, she could've sworn she saw a giant red 'X' crossing out his face. He didn't seem to notice. Unnerved, she tried to push it to the back of her mind. But she knew it was a warning sign of the things to come.
She carefully dropped the wilting rose into the jar of water, and it slowly began to perk up and so did he. Newly formed petals spurted from the core of the flower, fresh and healthy. The boy watched in amazement as his wounds healed all around his body. "Wow, if only I'd known that sooner. Thanks, you're a lifesaver." Mary handed it back to him shyly, informing him that the condition of his rose meant life or death. "How about yours?"
"Mine is fine, see?" She raised it up to him and he caught of whiff of its scent.
"That's funny, I thought roses were supposed to smell good," he said. "And yours doesn't seem to have a scent, and I'm sure mine has."
She panicked. "Oh! I guess mine is different than other roses."
"Hm. Oh well. I guess we have nothing else to do but keep going. You're coming too, right?" He started forward through the next hallway.
She trotted over to his side. "Yeah!" Maybe there was a way of finally getting out for her...
She thought to herself quietly as she walked, until Akira's voice broke the silence. "So, Mary, how old are you?" She answered. "Only nine? You're pretty young to be in a crazy place like this. You must be brave."
"Brave?"
"Yeah, it means you're not afraid of everything. You're strong. That's why you're still standing."
"R-really? I don't think I've ever been called brave before..." she felt a hotness creep up her cheeks so she changed the subject. "How old are you?"
"Fifteen." He stayed silent as they ascended a flight of stairs. "I just wanna get out of here and see my mom and dad again, and my friends, too. Don't you?"
"What is it like? To have a mom and dad?" She asked.
"Well, sometimes they can be a bit too overbearing on you, but at the same time you know they love you, you know? Why do you ask?"
She didn't answer.
"Oh," he said, clearing his throat. "Never mind then." He trotted up the last few steps of stairs. In front of them were two paths, separated by a wall with a painting of a thorny rose.
"What's it like outside?" Mary asked after a moment of quietness.
"Well," he began. "Since you're young you still have a lot to see. Well, where should I start?"
"How about the weather?" She suggested with eagerness and yearning. "What does it feel like when it rains?"
"Rain? You get all wet. But then there's snow, where the rain is frozen and soft. It's cold."
"Snow?" Mary led him to the room on the left.
"Yeah, it melts when you touch it. But when it covers everything around you it's a really pretty sight to see. Plus you get to make snowmen."
He grabbed the knob and turned it. "Is it fun to make snowmen?"
"A lot of fun." Inside the room, a large collection of her dolls were waiting, positioned on their shelves. "Woah!" He jumped back in surprise. "Why...?"
One of the dolls to Mary's side giggled creepily. It was glaring at the boy. Looking around, she could see all of them, their bulbous red eyes glaring straight at him. Even the giant painting of doll was focused on him. He didn't pay attention to them, though. "Hey Mary, take a look at these cute teddy bears!" He didn't even know they were creepy little dolls. He picked one up and showed it to her.
The doll tilted its head at her, and she understood what it was trying to say. Make him stay with us, Mary. We'll have so much fun together! All three of us...
She could see through their words a much deeper, sinister reason. Make him stay forever...we never have to stop playing...
"Stop it," she commanded the doll and it frowned.
"Hm? Who are you talking too?" Akira gave her a puzzled look. She grabbed the doll for him and smiled.
"Nothing!" She answered quickly. Mary...it whispered to her. Why are you being so mean to us? Don't you love us too? Do you like him more than us?
"Well, I don't think there's much in this room...why don't we move on?" Akira said as he wandered around. Their glares intensified at him.
Mary...we don't like being ignored...
"Hey! We should move to the next room, right?" She said and grabbed his hand and left.
The dolls did this every time she tried to make a new friend from one of the visitors. Mary knew now that he wasn't safe here. Soon, they'd be after him.
She didn't want to lose her first friend.
A/N: I know, I know, Mary's really OOC in this one. But it gets better, I promise. What do you guys think? Leave a review!
~Amber