Music Corner for the chapter: Sleep to Dream by Fiona Apple.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Garry had always been kind of the impatient sort. It wasn't to say he was bored easily, but when he was anticipating something, he found he wanted it then, not later. So his situation with Ib was something that took an enormous force of will to keep himself from going nuts from his impatience.
The first couple of days were tolerable. He continued the charade presented by the dolls, letting them educate the girl. It gave him a break from having to constantly cater to her, anyway, so he couldn't complain.
After the first week, he was starting to get antsy. Unrest was building at the outer edges of the world and it was making him uneasy. Something wasn't right, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
By the end of the second week, he was nearly pulling his hair out. It was amazing how she could stay so utterly entertained and content just doing the same thing every day. For him, it was just more waiting he had to do for his goal.
It was halfway through said week that he found he needed to greatly reconsider his strategy. His goal was originally best served by the girl never tapping into the new powers granted her in her position as queen. A figurehead, at best. In a way, he supposed it was his fault for taking his eyes off her for a minute. She'd seemed completely content petting bunnies in an imaginary zoo he had conjured for her amusement. He had needed to deal with an issue that was addressed him and the next moment, she was running off to another animal exhibit without his knowledge. He was thankful that, at the very least, his illusion held up. He'd put a lot of thought into making sure the area was large and sprawling so it would be difficult for her to find the edge of the illusion easily.
However, he hadn't anticipated that the loyalists from the old queen were under a lot of unrest, so much so that they would attack the new queen while his back was turned. It was the answer to his question about what had felt off, at least.
Ib had been looking at the monkeys with a large smile on her face, pointing and calling for Garry to look only to realize he didn't see her run off, his attention still on the tigers. As she continued to call out to him, one of the monkeys slipped out of the cage, wrapping its hands around her tiny neck and squeezing. She let out a wheeze of air that would have been a scream if not for the tight grip, her body being hoisted off the ground by a few inches, hanging her by its fingers.
Garry felt a prickling up the back of his neck and searched for Ib, finding her being held and strangled by a mannequin in a yellow dress, several more surrounding her as if wanting to tear into her as well. He let out a deep growl in his throat and ran for the commotion. The mannequin with Ib made a run for it with the small girl still strangled in her hands, the others moving to block his progress. Garry ducked an attempt by one of the mannequins to stab through his torso with her hand, his palm coming up to press to her stomach. It was barely a second later when long, thorny vines burst from her body in several areas, tearing out of her shoulders, one of her knees, and several parts of her torso. With no structural integrity left, the mannequin fell into small pieces at his feet.
The two remaining mannequins recoiled at the display, though one still seemed to have enough courage to lunge at him. He grabbed one of the vines from the first mannequin he took down, lashing it out at her like a whip. The vine caught around her waist and he pulled her in hard. Realizing he wanted her closer she attempted to stop her charge and pull back, but his strength severely trumped her and once she was in close he planted a foot against her chest, simultaneously pushing with his foot as his arm jerked backward to pull hard with the vine. The result was an ear-piercing screech like stone-against-stone as the mannequin was broken in half at the torso. The third, terrified, tried to run from him, but vines covered in blue roses came up from the floor to tangled her feet, sending her sprawling to the floor. He planted a foot on the middle of her back, between her shoulder blades, and stomped down with enough force to shatter her torso into pieces and leave a small crater on the floor beneath her.
His eyes moved in the direction the fourth mannequin had taken Ib in. Noticing that she was taken much further than he could probably run in time, he located the first empty frame he could find, pressing his hands against the empty canvas. The canvas gave way like water rippling and his body eased into the painting, vanishing within.
The mannequin with Ib heard the commotion behind her and fled for her life, Ib's body lifeless in her hands. It was unclear if the girl was dead or just unconscious but the mannequin's life was at stake now. She'd deal with the girl's state of life later.
That was the plan until a pair of hands shot out of a painting beside her, snagging her by her upper arm and slamming her back into a wall. Her grip loosened on the girl, who fell limply to the floor at her feet.
Garry exited the painting and the mannequin visibly shook at the look in his eyes, red and feral as he stared her down and spoke in a quiet but dangerous tone, "I didn't think you loyalists were really this stupid, but I see I can't merely leave you alone anymore..." His eyes moved to Ib for a moment, noticing her shallow breathing before glaring back at the neck of the mannequin, "Consider yourself lucky that she still lives. It saves me the trouble of torturing you slowly. As it stands..." He released her roughly, making her stumble back several paces from him and Ib to keep her balance, only for more vines to rise from the floor and wrap around her arms and legs, "...living isn't exactly an option I'll be giving you, either."
He raised his palm to the ceiling and lifted his hand slowly, the vines lifting her body off the floor as he knelt down to pick up Ib in his free arm. He looked to the mannequin, tipping his head curiously with a cold look to his eyes, "Any information you'd like to give me in an attempt to save your miserable life?"
The mannequin just laughed and otherwise stayed silent. He should have figured. Speech wasn't common among the headless mannequins. He turned his hand at the wrist to face his palm toward the ground, the vines arranging her so she was horizontal with her front facing the floor. He let his fingers droop an inch and she was suddenly slammed into the ground with enough force to shake the walls around them. Speech or not, she certainly screamed an awful lot. His fingers rose back up and her body followed suit, only to drop again at his silent command. He repeated the actions lazily, her body becoming cracked as the force of the blows against the ground wore on her while he used her like an oversized yo-yo. It only took a few more blows before her body broke to pieces and fell out of the grasp of the vines, her consciousness vanishing in a last scream of agony. Garry turned his back on her with disinterest and took Ib back to what was considered Ib's "castle" as queen.
Which now led him to his current predicament. Whether to keep her a weak human and trust himself to be more vigilante, or to take a chance and let the girl have use of some of the power that was her right as queen of the realm. He watched her as she slept uneasily beside him, his eyes now back to their usual violet. It was almost lucky in a way that she'd passed out before she left the illusion. That would have left him a lot to answer for.
He reached out and stroked her hair lightly as he watched her, her breathing still a bit wheezy but at least there. The dolls had said she would be okay, he just needed to watch her and make sure her breathing didn't stop. It was still possible the mannequin had done irreparable damage to her windpipe and the next few hours would be crucial as far as observation.
His eyes wandered from her to the room around them. It was one of the few areas in their castle that he didn't need to keep up with an illusion. To her, it was the bedroom Garry added for her in his apartment. That was close enough to the truth, he supposed. He had expected her to ask for the girliest room imaginable, to be honest. While her room still had a feminine charm, however, it wasn't overly so. The furnishings were made of dark, warm woods, placed against wood flooring of a lighter tone. The walls were cream colored and deep red curtains rested over the windows, seeming to cast the room in darkness. It was something he was thankful she liked, as it was tiring to keep up an illusion of something outside those windows when she opened the curtains. He was sitting in a rather cushioned chair, next to Ib's bed, a rather large monstrosity with wine-colored sheets and a flowing canopy of sheer, red material that hung haphazardly around the bed, but still managed to look beautiful that way. There were a few chairs here and there, her furniture otherwise consisting of a dresser, a vanity, and various shelves with a large assortment of stuffed rabbits on them.
Other than the stuffed animals, the room was rather mature-looking. He idly wondered if perhaps her parents' room had been like this. Or, perhaps she was trying to seem more like an adult to him. He wasn't really sure and honestly didn't care too much. Whatever made her happy and kept her blissfully ignorant of whatever he didn't want her to know. His eyes moved to her again, a hungry look flashing across them before he remembered she needed to be recovering.
He let out another sigh and snapped his fingers, several dolls appearing before him. He took a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking, "I wish to educate Ib in the art of magic. As soon as possible." While he was sure he could teach her himself, he wasn't really the teaching sort. He'd likely give poor instructions, or be too harsh for the illusion of her "precious Garry" to continue to hold water. The dolls, for all their immature looks, were some of the smartest creatures in their world and would be better suited to the task.
The dolls looked amongst themselves and muttered quietly before they pushed forward the one in the middle, the doll wringing her hands together nervously as she spoke up at him, "Umm... milord, it would be unwise to try to teach her at this time."
Garry's eyes narrowed and the doll gulped as it was obvious she hadn't given Garry the answer he'd been looking for, "Would you like to explain to me why not?" It didn't sound much like a question so much as an order.
The doll made a motion that vaguely resembled someone nervously chewing their bottom lip, "Well, it is true that children hold a high capacity for the creative aspects of magic. But, there is the physical aspect of magic to consider as well. While she could probably mentally deal with the strain, physically, her body is too young. Perhaps even a few more years..." Her voice trailed off as the glare Garry gave her chilled her.
He kept his gaze on her before letting out a sharp sigh through his nose, "We don't have years. The former queen's loyal followers are on the move already. I am by her side, but I can't guarantee I can always watch her. She needs to be able to defend herself."
Both parties went silent as they thought on what to do for the situation. Finally, one of the male dolls in the back of their group spoke up, "There... might be a way to accelerate her growth." The female doll in front turned quickly and gave a sharp hiss at him, but Garry's eyes were alight with interest, zeroing in on the doll that had spoken, "Go on."
The doll squirmed nervously under Garry's enthusiasm and his sister's glare, keeping his eyes on Garry, "It is a very taxing spell. The idea is similar to the illusion spells you've been using when we school her, but it is at a very accelerated speed. Mixed with the right spell, it tricks the body into believing time is moving faster than it truly is and it compensates by growing accordingly. It requires us to impart our magic and knowledge to make sure she mentally matures, while you feed her your own magic so the spell can alter her physically."
Garry, thought this through before nodding, "Very wel-"
He was cut off as the female doll cried out in distress, "But milord, the spell could present dangers to the girl!"
Her brother sighed impatiently, "Very small risks. I'm sure milord can keep control of the spell well enough."
Garry raised an eyebrow at this, "What do you mean by dangers?"
The sister cut her brother off, answering first, "The spell was originally intended to use the magic power of the person it is being cast on to feed the spell. Her body couldn't possibly support a spell of this magnitude as she is. That is why my brother said you'd have to feed your magic into it. But, if you slip up, even for an instant... it will take from her instead and possibly kill her."
Garry was silent a moment before his eyes moved to Ib, "We'll do it regardless. If it's a matter of my ability to hold the spell, there's nothing to fear. I will not falter." His voice was full of such confidence that the doll had nothing left to say in argument, merely bowing.
The brother squirmed nervously before leading his sister and the other dolls out of the room, "We shall prepare and come back as soon as possible, milord."
Garry waved them off without looking at them, his gaze only for Ib. She was his. Whatever little that meant in the way of feelings toward her, it did mean that he wouldn't let anything hurt her. He treasured her in his own, twisted way and wouldn't allow her to be harmed.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Music corner: Light Your Heart Up by Aimee Blackshleger from the Kill La Kill OST.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Ib was unaware of how ironic her feelings were, but she felt as if the last few years flew by in the blink of an eye. She was utterly blissful with her life. She still never quite understood why her parents had been so willing to let her stay with Garry, or why Garry had wanted her to live with him, but to her, these were some of her best years.
It had meant going to a new school and the thought alone had made her scared. She hadn't done so well at her old school. Reactions to her had ranged from avoiding and ignoring her to blatant teasing. Her eyes had been a major factor to this initially, since crimson wasn't exactly an often-seen eye color. She also was rather quiet and shy. When she did socialize, she was found strange, as she often had interests that others found weird. She was one of the few girls who liked bugs. She found baby dolls and Barbies strange and not really what she was into. She loved to draw, but ended up drawing odd things that got her strange looks and sometimes had her teacher expressing concerns to her parents.
So when she found out she'd be at a new school, she didn't know what to think. She quickly found this new school more to her liking, though. People weren't mean to her about her eye color. In fact, some of her classmates had some rather odd eye and hair colors of their own. They weren't mean to her and often had similar interests as her. Her art teacher, a nice woman named Yachiru, loved just about anything she drew and helped her to refine her art well. Her regular teacher, Mr. Hinken, was nice as well and was very good at teaching things in a way she understood.
For the first time, she had real friends! Not the kind that acted like they liked her because her family was rich, but real friends. Her best friend was a cute girl with shaggy black hair and vibrant green eyes named Cassie. Her brother, Seo, played with them, too. His hair was similar to his sister's but his eyes were golden in color. The three of them often played at her house, the brother and sister frequently keeping her company while Garry was at work.
She frowned a little at that thought. Garry... Garry was concerning her lately. He'd gotten his current job about three years ago, shortly after she moved in with him. He was rather evasive about that job, but he often came home rather tired and sore. Sometimes he'd zone out or seem sluggish. She knew it was so they could live comfortably, but she couldn't help but feel guilty that he was working so hard for their quality of life.
It also seemed to be making him act... strangely. Sometimes he'd give her these strange looks when he thought she wasn't looking. She honestly didn't understand them, but they made a strange feeling twist in her belly and the blood rush to her face.
"Probably lust. You know, like he wants sex?"
That had been Cassie's offhanded response. Seo had nearly pulled his sister's hair out in frustration at her blurting that out but Ib had been even more confused after that. She gave an awkward smile and tried to pry them apart, but wondered what that response was supposed to have meant.
"Ib?"
She blinked out of her thoughts as she heard her name called through the bedroom door, remembering she was supposed to be changing. She straightened out her clothes a bit before opening the door and letting Cassie and Seo back into her room, making a little turn so they could see the back of her, too. She faced them again with a small smile, "So, what do you think?"
Cassie grinned from ear-to-ear, her hands clasped by her cheek in a very Garry-esque way, "Awww, Ib! It's so cute! It suits you well!"
Seo scratched his cheek and blushed, looking aside, "Yeah, it's cute."
Ib giggled, her ill humor from before vanishing, "I'm so glad I got into the same middle school as you two." She tugged at the end of her skirt a bit to straighten it, "The uniforms are so cute, too. I can't wait until we start the school year."
The brother and sister exchanged a small, knowing smile. Of course Ib would end up at the same school as them. It's not like it would have played out any other way. Not that Ib needed to know that.
While they had their silent exchange, both missed the smile sliding off Ib's face as her mind went to their past conversation again. It had been enough time, maybe they'd have forgotten the context?
She sat on the edge of her bed and cleared her throat, "Umm... I have a question, guys..." Their eyes moved to her and she fought not to fidget, "Umm.. well... what's 'sex'?"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Garry walked into the door of the house wearily, calling out, "I'm home~" He had been rather tired with the ritual and only now just managed to put himself back in the illusion. They weren't kidding about the amount of energy needed for it. It was taxing as hell. He only made himself do this because he didn't trust anyone else to play the part of Garry except him.
He didn't get an answer and assumed the twins were keeping her company again. Despite his distaste for their kind, he had to admit that the two of them were being good companions for her and took a lot of his workload off. Maybe they were earning his respect. Just a little.
He climbed the stairs tiredly and knocked on Ib's door, "Ib, I'm home. Want to go get macarons?" He looked down as she cracked the door open and looked up at him, rather red in the face. He gave her as much of an awake smile as he could, bewildered when she gave a squeak and slammed the door in his face. What in the...?
He opened the door to find the twins sitting on the floor, looking equal parts scared and embarrassed as they looked between him and the huddled mass of blanket that was obviously Ib hiding under her covers on her bed.
He crossed his arms with a tired sigh, "Ib, what on earth is wrong, dear?"
She called back in a high-pitched squeak to him, "I-I don't think I'm ready!"
He frowned, puzzled, "But you're always ready for macarons." His words didn't seem to have an effect on her. A sudden suspicion took hold of him and his eyes slowly panned down to the twins on the floor. The increased fear in their expressions only made him feel more confident in his assumption and his eyes narrowed into slits, promising them death. Very painful death.
It was a bit hectic after that. He'd sent the twins 'home' with a promise of ripping out each of their stitches one-by-one if this situation wasn't fixable, getting locked out of Ib's room in the meantime. He then spent the better part of a half hour trying to explain to Ib through her door that no, he didn't want to have sex with her (he wasn't about to tell her that if it weren't for her age, he'd certainly be trying) and that he honestly just wanted to have macarons with her. He passed off his more lustful gazes toward her as him being protective of his Ib, something that she seemed to buy for the time being.
She finally opened the door for him shyly and he gave her a relieved smile, inwardly noting that he supposed the twins could live for a bit longer after all. He watched as her eyed scanned his face before her expression fell, biting her lower lip. His eyes fixated on the little gesture before he jerked his eyes up to hers. It wouldn't do well to look at her like that after all the trouble he'd just had trying to calm her down, "What's the matter, Ib?"
She opened the door wider and tugged lightly at his coat, "You look tired."
He frowned at that. He had been trying to keep that from Ib, but it seemed she wasn't as easily fooled as he thought. That made him worry a bit. He gave her a light smile and ruffled her hair, "It's fine Ib, just a hard day at work. I'm more than up for macarons if you want to go."
She pursed her lips in thought before shaking her head, "No, let's stay home."
He let out a little sigh, "Ib..."
She shook her head stubbornly and clung to his arm, pouting up at him, "No, we're staying!" She suddenly beamed up at him, "We could watch a movie or something. We still have popcorn, right?"
He chuckled and let her have her way, "Alright, alright, you win. Go take a shower and get ready for bed and I'll set up." He watched as she danced away to the bathrom. Once she was out of view he sighed and leaned against a wall, his vision swimming. Even with all his power, he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep this up. There was no way the girl could take the ritual herself though, even now. Physically, the girl had developed about three years so far, though for him it had been a matter of three days. Still, three days channeling a spell this intricate and power-hungry was taxing. He figured he might have another day, maybe two, before they needed to abort. Then there was the problem of the old loyalists. If they attacked him in this state...
He shook that out. For now, he would spend time with his Ib. He headed downstairs and snapped his fingers, popcorn beginning to pop in the microwave as he tried to force his eyes to focus. He'd been neglecting her quite a bit, seeing as how the time frame was too fast for even him to keep up with. Forcing his brain to the speed needed to interact with Ib past a drooling, zoned-out lump took even more power than usual, but he needed to keep her happy. And apparently, miraculously, he made her happy. So he would force out this movie night for her.
As if on cue, he heard her footfalls coming down the stairs. He quickly flicked a finger toward the TV, both the TV and the DVD player lighting up to life as the popcorn finished. He took off his coat and slung it over the back of a nearby chair, heading to the kitchen and throwing the popcorn in a large bowl. He watched from the kitchen as Ib nearly skipped to the couch and plopped down, her voice ringing out in a whine, "Garry, you didn't put anything in!"
He chuckled and came to the couch with the bowl of popcorn and a cup of soda for her, "I thought you should pick."
She huffed, but smiled at his kindness, slipping off the couch to go look at what movies they had. She looked them over before grinning and popping in a DVD, flopping on the couch next to Garry and taking her drink from him. He inwardly groaned as he realized she'd thrown in Frozen. He was starting to regret his choice of letting her have movies at all.
It had been quite a hassle, to be honest. Luckily a local movie rental store had gotten one of Guertena's pieces for a spot on one of their walls, a rather odd and twisted piece of work. Though to be honest, most of his art was like that. Apparently some guy by the name of Tim Burton had gotten a stroke of inspiration for a movie based on that painting and with the release of the movie, they'd gotten a hold of the painting in question. They were lucky they were such a big chain and that particular location was so close to the museum.
Regardless, it had taken a bit of energy to do it, but he'd managed to slip a few of his rose vines out of the painting and grab what they needed. There was just no way he could rely on the old Garry's memories alone to make the illusion of a movie. Ib would find out for sure. So he'd managed to get a hold of the real thing. It was one less thing he had to illusion into existence for her, he supposed. Though it had been a lot of work to figure out how to make these things run without electricity.
The things he did for this girl sometimes.
He winced as the movie immediately dove into a music number, his eyes moving to watch Ib as she absently ate some popcorn, her eyes glued to the screen. He gave a small smile at that. She definitely had a habit of staring intently at something she was interested in. Her focus was almost uncanny for someone her age. One of the reasons most other kids thought she was strange, no doubt.
He seemed to realize that he had a rather strange, soft smile on his face, jerking his gaze back to the screen. He reminded himself that he got no enjoyment from this at all. This was purely for her sake, to keep her an obedient, ignorant little doll so he could use her power and authority for himself. He wouldn't grow soft over her.
His eyes shifted slowly back to her face. He certainly wouldn't fall for a human. Not even one as selfless and kind as this one. Not even one with such a cute face or such captivating, curious eyes. And that certainly wasn't his heart leaping in his chest when she looked up at him and smiled happily before pushing a piece of popcorn between his lips.
He ate the popcorn obediently then gave her a wide smile, "Yum." He couldn't help but take a piece himself and press it to her lips, suppressing a shudder when the damned, soft things brushed his finger as he pulled it back. He went back gluing his eyes to the screen, trying to drown out the sensation. He focused less on the illusion and more on keeping the spell stable, looking to Ib as if he was just drowsily watching the movie. Being only half-conscious felt nice and let him block out the less savory thoughts from his head.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
For once, I couldn't figure out a song to listen to while writing this, so the rest was written to silence.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
He was half-asleep when the movie got rather noisy. It wasn't really so much that it was particularly loud, but there were a cacophony of yells, clattering, and scraping. He groaned and muttered for Ib to turn the volume down.
Ib looked up at Garry strangely. The movie wasn't loud at all, but he looked like he was really bothered. She turned it out, frowning when the words left his lips for her to turn it down again. Was he sleeping?
She jumped in her seat when his eyes suddenly snapped open and a sharp scream broke from his throat. She looked him over as if expecting to see something sticking out of him, but found nothing.
His hand flew to his right shoulder, clutching it tightly like it was wounded. Her lips pressed together with worry and when she tried to pry his hand away from his shoulder, she felt something warm and sticky starting to soak through his shirt. Something that was making a brown spot on his green shirt. She pulled her fingers away to see blood on them, her eyes widening in horror, "Garry!?"
He wanted to answer her, but with his head spinning from the pain, it was hard to speed his brain processes up enough to answer her without it seeming to take days to her. It felt like he was being attacked outside of the illusion. It wasn't something he could easily pull out of without making Ib suspicious though. He could walk out the 'door' and tell Ib to stay put, but his physical body would temporarily move away from Ib's and possibly put her further in harm's way. If someone was physically hurting him, they were already too close for comfort. Damn it, he needed an excuse!
He then felt like things were getting sluggish. Things were slowing down to his normal perception and he felt that he could ease up and move at a slower pace. It seemed that the two siblings were aborting the ritual. It was too soon for that, but he had to admit that this was a horrible time to keep this up. They could try to advance this another time.
He reached out and stroked Ib's hair, trying to sooth her as she cried in panic and fear at his sudden injury. His voice came out with a bit of a croak in it, "Ib... get me a towel and some ice, okay?" She nodded rapidly before nearly diving over the back of the couch and making a run for the kitchen. While her back was turned, he let enough of the illusion slip to see the form of the mannequin that had his hand in Garry's shoulder. Garry reached out and grabbed its arm as it tried to retreat backward, throwing out his foot to kick the mannequin's arm in half. He pulled the arm that was in his shoulder out and used it like a spear, stabbing it through the mannequin's torso as it fell to the ground. He repaired the illusion, letting his eyes stay somewhere between focused and unfocused as he tried to keep his eyes in the illusion he was making for Ib as well as outside of it to see what actually resided outside the illusion.
Ib turned at the mannequin's scream to see what looked to her like a man lying in their living room in a puddle of his own blood. She put a hand to her mouth, her eyes horrified, "Garry!? What happened!?"
Garry came up to her, ignoring the pain in his shoulder, "Robbers. Come on, we have to get out of here. He might have friends." He took her hand and nearly dragged her from the room, taking her down several corridors of the castle to try to avoid the massive fight that was currently raging. While it looked to Ib like she was being dragged through a relatively quiet street at night, Garry was slipping through the battlefield as stealthily as he could, avoiding the mannequins and dolls and paintings that were out for blood.
Eventually he felt her pull on his hand to stop him, her eyes worried, "Garry, we need to get to a hospital. Your shoulder..." She couldn't understand why he still looked so panicked. They were away from the apartment now and the night was pretty peaceful, so she couldn't understand why he seemed so unnerved.
He shook his head at her words, giving her the illusion of shuffling in the alleyways near them to spook her. The grip on his hand tightening gave him reason to believe it worked. He muttered, "We need to hide." He was on the move again and this time Ib didn't stop him, keeping close to his side nervously.
Eventually she murmured, "Where do we hide?"
A light bulb went off in his head. The gallery! He needed to get her to realize she was in the gallery. He'd been planning to 'take her back' much later, but it didn't seem like they had enough time. Especially with them being tailed. They were being rather stealthy about it, but he could sense the paintings following behind, watching for where he was taking her.
He started for where the museum would be in the illusion, "We could hide in that world." She frowned at his back, "What world?" There was a silence until she understood, digging her heels in and nearly knocking him over as she came to a sudden stop, "NO!"
He looked over at her, pursing his lips to prevent himself from yelling at her, "Ib, there's no other-"
"There is!" she interrupted frantically, "There has to be! Maybe the police-!"
"The police can't help with this Ib!"
"Why not!?"
Garry had to force himself to calm down. The old Garry wouldn't yell at her, so he couldn't either. Then again, the old Garry was gone. Who was to say what he could and couldn't do? Only that he'd push her away, he supposed.
He tried to gently tug her with him again, his voice soft, "Ib, it will just be for a little bit and we'll come right back out."
He could see the utter fear in her eyes, though. There was no way he was talking her into his being a good thing. She shook her head and pulled away from him hard, her hand jerking from his grasp. He felt his body jerk again with the movement, something falling from his pocket. He ignored it and kept his eyes glued on Ib, reaching out slowly for her, "Ib, we need to go. We need to hide."
Her eyes weren't on him, though. She was breathing quick, shallow breaths and staring at the ground. At whatever had fallen from his pocket. His eyes moved to follow her gaze and he felt his breath catch as he saw where her panic was coming from.
There, on the sidewalk, was a handkerchief. A white, lacy thing with "Ib" embroidered on the corner.
The same one she'd given to the mannequin a few weeks ago.
Perhaps if he hadn't been so panicked he might have been more level-headed about it. Came up with some excuse. Made some story about how he found it on a mannequin. Something that made sense and made him seem completely innocent.
He certainly hadn't meant to freeze up upon seeing the incriminating thing, like he knew he was in trouble. For all he knew, he was. She was a smart girl. Maybe a lie wouldn't cover it?
Either way, it didn't matter, because the horror on his face was enough to make her expression mirror his. Even when he realized and tried to settle into a more neutral expression, it was too late.
She took a few steps back from him, her voice shaky as she looked up at him finally, "G-Garry...?" Her eyes were piercing. Analyzing. Beneath that, though, he could see doubt. Denial. Like she'd already came to her conclusion, but didn't want to believe it.
He watched her crumble and felt something foreign tighten in his chest at the sight. His eyes stayed focused on her as he approached her, hands out slightly and palms up, as if approaching a frightened animal, "Ib..."
She took another step back and murmured almost brokenly, "Are you really Garry...?"
He swallowed. He could lie. It was what he wanted to do. It was what he should do. But, he knew by her expression that she already knew it would be a lie. She didn't seem too sure herself if she wanted him to lie or not.
He settled for speaking in almost a whisper, "I am, now."
He immediately regretted those words. He could see her crumbling at them and with her, his chances of everything he wanted. Power, authority... and her.
He didn't know whether to feel surprised or regretful as he felt power pulse off her in waves. It seemed her aging had done a bit of good. Her body seemed to be resonating with her new power, even if she had no clue how to control it.
In the next instant, though, it blew off of her in a rather sharp wave and he realized too late when it hit the boundaries of his illusion, shattering it around them. Almost like shards of glass, he watched helplessly as the nighttime street fell away around them, to the familiar hallways of the Fabricated World.
He watched emotions fly through her eyes. Surprise, anger, sadness, fear... they cycled through her face one-by-one until her expression settled on pure fear, turning on her heel and fleeing from him.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I'm so sorry this took so long to come out, guys. I tried to make it a long one in compensation. Not only are there holiday vacations, but it feels like half my family has their birthdays in October through November. It makes it rather hectic. Hopefully I can get the next chapter out quicker than this one took, but I apologize if it takes until after the holidays for me to get my shit in order.
