"Ib? ..Ib, come on! Wake up, please!" Garry's voice called out. But all Ib could see is darkness. All she could hear was fear. Every step they took was one more into the dark. "Ib.." Garry planted his lips on her forhead, sending a rush of warmth through her body. She gasped, waking up abruptly. "I-Ib! H-How.. why.." She looked up at him, blinking her eyes in surprie, her little movements signaling to that surprise smooch. "O-Oh, that-! I-I was just- I just- You were so cute-" Garry turned his head away embarrassed. "We need to keep moving." As he started to walk, Ib tugged on his long purple-ish jacket.
'Should I... tell him about the riddle..?' Ib thought to herself.
"Ib? Is something wrong?" He knelt down in front of her, placing her on his lap. "You need to tell me these things," he stood up from the ground, carrying her. "we're a team now." Ib nodded and proceeded to shiver. She was getting awfully cold. The area around them was shifting, they both had not noticed the slight change in venue. The painting had brought them to a different world, one that did not contain the evil girl of art named 'Mary'. The path they had chosen now had a different ending. Two different endings, actually. "...I've got a weird feeling about this place, Ib... it's... not like the other places we've been to. It's atmosphere.. feels a lot different." Garry shivered, and took big, careful steps. The silence was deafening. Each step brought them closer and closer to a dark figure. A large, dark figure. He snuggled Ib; bringing her close to his face. Almost as if she was a teddy bear he was holding close for warmth and protection.
Suddenly, the hit something hard. "Gah!"Garry stumbled back a bit, but clutching on to Ib tightly. The fell through the floor boards and down to an unknown area. It was a long fall, so Garry had enough time to yell, "IB, HOLD ON TIGHT!" before crashing to the ground with a loud bang.
Ib had been the first one to open her eyes, and crawl out of Garry's grasp. She had realized that she was unharmed because Garry had risked himself for her. Her eyes started to water as she shook him, silently begging him to open his eyes. And without a word, she bend down, and planted a light and tiny kiss on Garry's forehead, letting a tear slip from her eye onto his face. They couldn't see it, but in another world, in another place in time, the ring on that had taken them to that world, had began to develop into something else. Some bigger. Something... more. The painting itself had began to develop and change. But it's much too early to say into what.
Garry began to shake. Ib's eyes opened in worry, as she began to get seriously worried. Garry shook more and more furiously with every worried breath Ib took. She scrambled around, reaching into his pockets, feeling around for his rose. She suddenly felt something prick her finger. "Ee-" she whined. She took out the rose from his pocket, her finger dripping with blood. The blood had begun to drip all over his rose! "N-Ngh..!" But she didn't worry about that; she checked on the rose. But it was strange. All of the petals were there, it was unharmed. So then why was Garry out cold like that? Ib suddenly let out a large cry/whimper and called out his name, "GAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRYY!" Ib cried out. Without realizing she had done that, she covered her mouth with both her hands. 'Why did I do that!The monsters.. or..whatever they are.. they'll see me!' Several hisses and growls could be heard in the distance. She took Garry's arm, and wrapped it around her, holding his hands and interlocking his long slender fingers with her's. She snuggled up to his side, shutting her eyes tightly, falling into a deep sleep.
'Garry... I'll wake up if you do the same, okay?'