Yeah yeah yeah.I just HAD to do another story. I know I need to work on Silence and Crypton Academy, but my inner Ib fangirl was screaming at me to write this fic and wouldn't shut up!
And I am contemplating an Ib OC story…meh. Review your opinions on it if you want.
So, please forgive me and enjoy the first chapter of Memories of Consented Abandonment.
ON WITH THE STORY!
Five Years Earlier:
Ib, Garry, and Mary were standing in front of the mural, "Fabricated World". Mary had explained that only two of them could leave the Gallery, while one had to stay behind.
"Who's going to stay?" the tall, purple haired man asked, twirling his slightly damaged blue rose in his hand. Mary looked down at her completely fine, though artificial, yellow rose and sighed, "I'm from here originally. Out there is your world, so I'll…"
Before Mary could finish her sentence, the little red eyed girl, Ib, interrupted, "I'll stay. You two go." Garry and Mary's eyes widened. "Ib!" Garry cried, "What are you thinking?! You've got your whole life ahead of you!" Mary nodded her head in agreement, her long blonde hair bouncing.
Ib shook her head and pulled out her rose, completely undamaged, the color a mix of rubies and blood. "You two go. I have five petals on my rose. That means you have five minutes to leave. For each minute you two stay, I'm going to pluck off one petal. You know what happens if I pluck all five, don't you?"
Mary's amazingly blue eyes widened even further, "Ib! No!"
Ib smiled and said, "Your time starts now." Her scarlet eyes showed a small bit of sadness as she plucked off the first petal. She winced, and Garry frowned. "Ib! Please don't do this!"
The little girl smiled up at him, "Mary's never had a chance to live her real life. She should have that chance. And to repeat what you said, you have your whole life ahead of you. I can't make either of you stay. I won't make either of you stay." Another red petal fell to the ground, and a few small gashes appeared on Ib's arms and legs.
Mary whimpered, tears falling from her sapphire eyes, "Ib…"
Ib smiled, "Don't worry Mary. It'll be okay. You'll have lots of fun in me and Garry's world. You could become my mom and dad's new daughter. I'd like it if you did. It would make me feel better to know they're not alone."
Another petal, another wound appearing on Ib. This time, a bigger, deeper gash emerged on her left side, and a small gasp of pain escaped the girl's lips.
Garry stepped forward to help her, but Ib held up her hand, panting slightly, "No, Garry. Stay back."
The girl grit her teeth and plucked off the next petal. There was an awful crunching sound; Ib's ribs cracking. She fell to her knees, holding in a cry of pain. Only one petal was left on her rose, forlorn and dangling by an invisible thread.
Mary looked from Ib, to Garry, to the mural standing behind her. There wasn't a choice. If they stayed, Ib would pluck that last petal and she would die. If they left, she would find a vase and revive her rose, even if she was alone. If they left, she would have a chance.
Mary grabbed Garry's ratty jacket and began dragging him towards the mural, the portal that would take them from the Gallery back to the normal world. Garry's eyes widened, "Mary! What the hell are you doing!?"
The blonde shook her head and continued to drag him, "You know as well as I do that Ib is perfectly capable of pulling off that last petal. At least if we go she'll have a chance! This is a lose/lose situation Garry, but I'm choosing the lose that let's Ib live!"
Garry opened his mouth to reply, but then looked to Ib. She was watching them carefully, her fingers hovering over the last petal. This truly was a life or death situation for his young friend, and Mary was right. There wasn't a choice. He shut his eyes against his growing tears, picked up Mary, and jumped through the portal back into his world.
Ib smiled as she watched her two friends go. "I'll never forget you two. Just promise me…promise you won't forget me…" she murmured. Then her injuries caught up with her, and she fell forward, unconscious.
Five Years Later: Present Day:
Mary woke up with a huge yawn. The fourteen year old glared at the alarm clock at her bedside and snuggled back under her fluffy white comforter with yellow roses.
She continued to lay there in her bed until her mother called up the stairs, "Mary! Get up! We're going to the gallery today!" Mary groaned but called back, "Alright Mom! I'll be down in a little bit!"
She pulled herself out of the warm blankets and stood up, stretching her arms. The girl had grown quite beautiful in the past few years, having grown out her blonde locks until they reached her waist, filled out with nice curves and breasts, as well as grown a lot taller. A lot of boys at school were out for her affections, but she wasn't interested. She was happy enough with her art.
Mary padded across the room to the covered easel in the corner. She pulled the sheet covering it off, revealing her current painting. A girl, about nine or ten, with long brown hair slept on the canvas. Her body was laid out in a coffin filled with blue and yellow rose petals. A wilted green stem with a single red petal was tightly clasped in her closed hands over her heart.
Mary couldn't place her, but the girl in the painting seemed so familiar. She had no clue why. Studying the sleeping girl in the canvas made a deep seed of sadness plant itself in her heart.
Mary shook her head and recovered the painting. It wouldn't do any good to get depressed. There was no school this week! Today she was going to the Guertena exhibit, her favorite artist! Get happy Mary! Get happy!
She plastered a grin on her face and proceeded to get dressed in a green shirt, white skirt, and blue tie. After brushing her teeth and hair she ran downstairs to where her parents were waiting.
People often asked if Mary was adopted, and as far as she knew, she wasn't. Though, it certainly seemed so. Mary's blonde hair and blue eyes sharply contrasted her parents' dark hair, her father's grey eyes, and her mother's red eyes.
Her mother gave Mary a quick kiss on the cheek as she sat down to a breakfast of Fruit Loops and orange juice. Her father smiled at her, "Morning Mary. Sleep well?" Mary nodded; her mouth full of sugary cereal. Mary's mother patted her daughter's head, "Okay. Good. Hurry up and finish eating and we'll go." Mary swallowed and nodded, "Okay Mom!"
Half an hour later Mary was excitedly running all around the art museum, drinking up the many paintings and sculptures like a person lost in the desert would drink up water; greedily and quickly. She was turning away from a beautiful sculpture of a red rose when she bumped right into someone's back. From behind she could see they had violet hair with darker black streaks near the top. "Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!" she said hurriedly, pulling herself off of the ground.
The violet haired man shook his head and laughed, turning around. He was revealed to be somewhere in his mid-twenties, with two icy blue eyes glinting mischievously from beneath his long purple bangs. He was wearing a ratty blue coat, a green tank top, and white pants. "It's okay. Are you alright?"
Mary couldn't help but think that this man looked vaguely familiar, though she couldn't place it. "Yes, I'm fine. Are you?"
The man chuckled, "Yes, I'm perfectly fine. My name's Garry, by the way."
"Garry…I've heard that before…" Mary thought to herself. Pondering it, she had a sudden flashback. Three roses; blue, yellow, and red. Blood dripping down a pale arm. Being chased by paintings of women and headless statues.
She shook her head, pushing the frightening images out of her mind. Garry was looking at her expectantly. "Oh, sorry. My name's Mary."
Garry nodded, "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too," Mary answered.
After chatting for a bit, Mary and Garry decided to look around the gallery together. They had been looking around for a bit when they found a painting neither of them could remember ever being there.
It was of a single red rose. Nestled in its petals was a piece of lemon candy with palette knife sticking out of it. Underneath the painting was the title, "Memories of Consented Abandonment."
Garry frowned at the title, "Memories of Consented Abandonment? That's an interesting name…" Mary nodded; it was strange. "Also a mouthful," she giggled.
Garry smirked, "Yep. Come on, let's go look at something else. This painting's give me the creeps." Mary nodded, and the two of them turned to leave.
Then the lights flickered.
Garry squealed and Mary raised an eyebrow. "What the hell? You're like twenty five and you're afraid of the dark!?"
The violet haired man growled at the blonde, "I am not afraid of the dark, little girl! I just was…startled…okay!?"
Mary rolled her eyes, "Riiiiiigghhtt…" She glanced around the hallway, "Wait a second, where did all the people go?"
Garry frowned, "No clue." He was contemplating their situation when there was a loud BAM BAM BAM sound, like the keys of a typewriter being hit with a sledgehammer. Mary screamed.
Garry jumped and looked down at their feet. Then he saw why the younger girl had screamed.
Written on the floor in neat print were the words, "You forgot. Come and remember." They were bloody scarlet.
Before Garry could comment on the words written on the floor, there was a quiet creaking behind him. He and Mary turned and saw that the painting, 'Memories of Consented Abandonment' had opened, revealing a dark passageway.
There was another BAM sound, and several red arrows were pointing towards the passage, along with small footprints in dripping red paint. Mary and Garry looked to each other and gulped.
"Should we go in?" Mary asked.
Garry sighed, "I don't think we have a choice."
They grabbed each other's hands and hopped into the passage's dark void.
So, my main motivation is reviews. If you like this story, and would like me to continue it, review. Thank you~
Remi out.
