A/N: Hello! It's been a while. This compilation of short works started in 2015 and, nearly 3 years later, I finally had enough creative flow to end it. If any of you have read this before, you may have already realized that I have edited this out and fit it to my current writing style. I honestly haven't written anything in so long (with the exception of academic papers) and I realized I would have to rewrite this fic if I planned to finish it. So, here we are with a completed compilation of my own interpretation of what was going on in Ib's head as she goes through each version of the ending, "Ib All Alone". I hope you enjoy reading these short pieces of work and, as always, I look forward to your reviews!


The smell of burning paper permeates the room.

A once beautiful portrait of a blonde girl in green burns and crumbles along with the person she once was. The screams die down and the clatter of a palette knife is all that's heard. They've done it. They've finally ended it all; though Ib's unsure as to whether she should laugh in relief or cry. Mary, though her tendencies were frightening to her, was still her friend. All Mary had wanted was to find the happiness that the gallery prevented her from achieving, the least Ib could do was keep her in her memories. With a longing step back, they escape the room and walk towards the pink house at the center, unlocking it. At long last, the path to the real gallery is clear.

All is quiet. The dolls and the rest of the gallery seem lifeless now, almost as if Mary was the only thing that made sure they stayed alive and running. With the gallery this dark and lifeless, Ib thinks of her parents. She misses them dearly. Though Garry has been a constant in her adventure thus far, ever since she saw her parents in the painting, she's been wanting to have them close by for a while. After all, what she experienced was unlike anything a girl her age should have gone through. Garry looks at her worriedly but she assures him she's fine. It won't be long now before she gets to see her parents and feel their warm embrace again. They pass through all the original Guertena masterpieces that were scattered in the gallery. Climbing up and finding their way to the painting that would bring them home.

"The Fabricated World"

It looks different now, she notices. As if it were revealing to her what the world outside this fake gallery was like. She wonders if the time that had passed in that gallery was the same as the time they had spent in here. Surely, her parents must be looking for her. Her mother must be worried sick. The frame of the painting suddenly disappears, allowing them to jump inside and cross over. Garry immediately jumps in and holds his hand out for her to reach. She's just about to when she's interrupted by a voice she knows too well.

"Ib! There you are. You know very well that you shouldn't go running off with strangers."

It's her mother, the very person she was just thinking about. How did she get here? Did she really come all the way from the other side of the gallery to find her? She must have been worried sick.

"Come now, Ib. Let's go back to your father. He's been waiting for us."

Garry calls for her and she looks at him and hesitates. Though she knows Garry won't ever hurt her, she wants to meet her parents and get out with them.

"Do you not want to see your parents any longer?"

As if in a trance, Ib takes her mother's hand and walks back into the gallery with her, ignoring all of Garry's cries. Why is he asking where she's going? Doesn't he see that she's going to be with her parents?

She just needs to take a walk with "Mom".