A/N: This is a chapter which introduces Mary. Hi, Mary...
To their surprise, there was a blonde girl with a green dress who appeared to be the same age as Ib. Was she a prisoner in the gallery too?
Lavender saw the girl and looked sympathetic. "Hey, are you okay?" She asks.
The girl looked shocked and seemed confused as she bumped into them. "Ah!" She gasps as she fell onto her bottom.
Garry came to the girl to offer any possible comfort, even when she backed up. "Could you be one of the visitors to the gallery?"
"She looks familiar somehow..." Whisper looked at the girl too. "This is Lavender, that's Garry, this girl is Ib, and I am Whisper... It isn't my real name though, Garry called me that when we met, I don't remember anything about my past or family."
Lavender helped the girl up with a soft smile.
"I'm Mary... I was looking for someone, I want to get out." she says sadly, but offered a sad smile to Lavender. She already she sensed this girl could be useful and be able to become a friend if it was needed.
"Ah, I get it," Garry smiled. "Would you like to come with us?" he invited her.
Ib stared at the girl, but also gave a friendly smile.
"I'm sure if we work together we'll all make it out okay." Whisper quietly cheered.
Mary looked at them all and smiled. "Sure," she says happily. She ran to each of them. "Nice to meet you!" She says, taking a hold of Lavender's hands.
Lavender smiled "Nice to meet you too." she says.
"Nice to meet you too." Ib added.
Garry smiled fondly at the girls all getting along nicely.
"Alright, now that we have more company, we can proceed with our spirits high!" Garry proclaimed.
Mary smiled happily. She let go of one of Lavender's hands and took one of Ib's. "Okay." she says happily.
Lavender smiled at Mary, she was cute and adorable. She instantly wanted to be friends with the girl. Ib walked close with Whisper and Garry as Lavender was with Mary, striking a sisterly best friend bond. Lavender looked at her newest friend.
Mary smiled "Yeah, I do, a yellow rose..." she says with a smile. She glanced at Ib as the girl pulled her hand out of hers. She however wasn't noticed glancing at Ib.
"Don't lose it and don't give it to anyone." Garry advised to Mary based on experience.
However, Mary wasn't listening, but distracted by the other rose colors.
"Wow Lavender's rose is white, Ib's is reeeed! Mine is Yellooow... I like pink, and blue and black too!" Mary exclaims happily.
Lavender smiled and giggled.
Garry glanced down at the blonde girl. "Learn to listen, would you?"
Ib was a little overwhelmed by Mary's behavior, but she didn't say anything. Whisper merely blinked.
Mary merely giggled and pulled Lavender ahead. "Come on, then." she calls back.
Lavender seemed surprised at Mary's strength, but smiled at her cheerfulness.
The group walked down the hall with two blue doors. One locked, the other opened, it is painfully obvious which one will be chosen. 'The Flowers of Jealousy', such an interest name piece for an obscure work of art. Whisper glanced at Mary, Ib, and Lavender, but walked close to Garry forming a real trust in him since she had known him longer. Lavender took a glance at Whisper and Garry and pouted slightly as she looked away. She placed her rose back in her hair and took the bouquet flower out, holding it gently in her hand.
Mary smiled happily. So far everything was going her way. She looked at them. "We should go to the open room..." she says smiling.
The others came into the open room like Mary suggested. The room had a pink rabbit painting with some pink and white rabbit ornaments on shelves both left and right. However, no one seemed to notice there was a green one on the right side.
"Bunnies..." Ib smiled quietly.
Mary smiled. "It's cute, right?" She asks.
Lavender actually saw the same as Garry, it's true form, but she still thought it quite cute. "Yeah... I wanna hug it..." she says happily.
"What!?" Garry glanced at them. "What about this is cute!?"
"Garry, they're bunnies, they're little girls." Whisper consoled.
"I'm not sure..." Ib stared at the red eyes of the bunny in the painting.
Mary beamed at Lavender and then looked slightly sad at Ib. "Not sure?" She asks. She then shrugged and hugged Lavender happily.
"At any rate, let's get out of this creepy place quick." Garry advised, seeming partial to the warm fluffiness of every girl's fantasy.
Lavender smiled and hugged the girl back gently. She gasped and then giggled as the one in green fell to reveal a key.
Whisper noticeable rolled her eyes and saw the key. "I wonder what that's for?"
"I bet it's to that other door." Ib theorized.
Mary looked at the key. "It's a purple like Lavender's name, so SHE should pick it up." she says.
Lavender took the key carefully. "Poor thing..." she says quietly as she looked at the doll on the floor.
The others left to try out the new room that was locked before. They were going to go ahead, but they heard a sound and stopped to observe it. Ib came close to the painting in front of them and heard that the sound was coming from the painting itself. Mary actually knew what was going to happen and she stood to the side with Lavender.
Lavender looked at the things coming out with worry. "Ib, be careful!" She gasps reaching for her.
Ib eeped and jumped back with Garry and Whisper as the picture bloomed and held out dangerous green and spiky plants like in Sleeping Beauty. "I'm not hurt, but that was scary..."
"Are you all alright?" Garry asked the girls on the other side relieved that Ib wasn't harmed.
"We're fine." Lavender gasps, she was shocked but she sounded relieved that Ib was okay.
Mary looked at the vines. "Oh, they're made of stone." she says.
"What to do?" Garry hummed.
"What can we do?" Whisper nearly moaned.
Ib now remembered she gave the violet key to Lavender to hold onto.
Mary looked at Lavender. "We have that key, maybe we can find something to break these vines." she says.
Lavender gave a small nod. "Okay, it's probably best..." she starts. She then looked at the vines. "We'll find a way to break them, we'll see each other soon!" she calls over.
Garry hummed. "I wonder if you'll both be alright."
Ib's eyes were very puppy-like, she was worried about being away from Lavender, but at least she was safe with Garry and Whisper.
"Ibby don't be scared, and Garry we'll be okay, I'll protect me and Mary." Lavender calls.
Mary smiled and pulled Lavender away. "We'll be okay." she says sounding optimistic.
Garry told the girls to be careful on their own. He was deeply worried about Lavender more than Mary however.
The girls came into a room with a bunch of boxes, a few headless statues and an easel with writing on it. It looked more like a storage room than an exhibit. Lavender looked around.
Mary looked in one of the boxes. "Oh, a pallet knife... maybe this can be used to cut the vines..." she says, "Let's head back!" She clung to Lavender as the lights flashed.
They headed out but found the door was blocked by a statue but as they were only little girls they couldn't move it. Luckily neither Lavender or Mary were hurt with the lights, but they had trouble escaping to get back to Whisper, Ib, and Garry. The only other way out was another door. They had no other choice but to go through there to make their escape. The lights downed in there as well and it was a little worrying on Mary.
Mary clung close to Lavender, actually not scared, but seeming as if so. "We'll have to go through the doorway, we can't go back..." she says with a shrug.
Lavender held Mary's hand. "We'll find a way to them, don't worry." she says. The room they went to had a portrait of eyes. They couldn't cross though. "How can we cross?" She asks and then noticed a patch with a blue rose on it looked a good place to sit and think.
Lavender was sat down on the spot and had pulled Mary gently to sit with her. Mary watched Lavender, smirking when the girl's eyes closed in thought. She planned on using her to get out, but it was starting to feel a little bad that she would do that, not much at the moment though.
Meanwhile on the other side...
"They're taking their time..." Garry mused. "I wonder if something happened?"
"Lavvie, Mary, can you hear us!?" Ib called from their spot.
Whisper deeply frowned as the girls didn't answer.
What could the girls do with no floor there? However, as though by magic, something made the blinking eye painting fall from its spot slowly and formed a bridge to allow the girls to cross. Neither of them had done anything, it was like one of the wonderful and whimsical acts brought on by the strange supernatural powers the museum held.
Lavender gasped shocked. She stood up with Mary.
"Do you think it's safe to cross?" Mary asks. She smiled when in response the eyes closed and she pulled Lavender along.
It looked safe enough, so the girls crossed. However, there was an unusual noise coming from inside the box on the other side they made it safely across.
Lavender looked at the box.
"We shouldn't open it... Mary says nervously.
"What did that cord do?" Ib wondered.
"I'm not sure, but I hope it was worth it." Garry said softly.
"Hey!" Whisper pointed to a block that suddenly fell seemingly from nowhere.
Garry looked at them and decided to move it since it had a blue triangle on it and moved it into a triangle-shaped hole and the violet door with them opened.
Lavender looked down into the hole after pushing the block into it.
Mary giggled "That was silly..." she says.
Garry grew nervous as he went up the hall with Ib and Whisper to see writing with a very disturbing spider-like doll who seemed to be following them and clingy towards the man of the group.
"Dolly!" Ib beamed.
"I wouldn't go near it." Whisper quietly advised the younger girl as they walked.
"How long is that thing going to follow us?" Ib shivered a bit.
"Enough of this!" Garry growled. "We're busy here and I'm not going to be your buddy!" He moved it out-of-the-way and allowed them in the door to the next room.
Garry came into a room with pedestals. They were given a mission by the paint display. 'Collect all seven balls of paint, then the room will be colored and your bridge will be made'.
"Balls of paint? Wonder where those are?" Garry asked himself.
"We better get looking." Whisper said, taking Ib's hand before they would go off to explore.
"Whisper, is Garry your brother or father?" Ib wondered.
"No, dear, he hasn't seen me before, so I assume he isn't a relative of mine." Whisper sighed, feeling sad and lonely about the existence she never knew about herself.
Lavender and Mary walked through a corridor and suddenly Mary stopped them.
"Do you miss your parents?" She asks.
Lavender looked at her. "Sometimes, it's not been easy but I've managed..." she says softly.
"Oh... well if you had to choose between me and Garry, who would you leave with?" Mary asks.
Lavender looked at her. "I'd sacrifice myself, I couldn't choose." she says softly with a sad smile. She was shocked as Mary seemed sad.
"But you'd not see anyone again... It'd be lonely... Don't worry we'll leave together!" Mary says, starting sad but then ending happily.
Lavender smiled. "Okay..." she says softly. She was pulled along by Mary then into a room with many doors.
While the others went on their seven paint ball mission, nearly risking their petals and Garry offered to do the dangerous stuff since he had more petals than the girls, Mary and Lavender were in a room with many doors. There was a fisherman painting, but with no fisherman except for the splashing waves and rocking boat. Lavender went into an open room.
There were shelves and a picture called 'The Lone Keyhole'. They also found a book with many numbers, the number 6223 standing out more. She then led Mary into another open room, it had mannequin heads on the table. Mary looked at Lavender and started to push them off. She could see that Lavender wouldn't but knew she had to help or no one would be able to leave. One broke a crack in the ground and a strange red gas was leaking through. Two had accidentally hurt the girls as they smashed. There was a book about a little girl who got lost in the art gallery and was separated from her parents. She was alone, hungry, and hurt. Sounded a bit like Whisper when they all first met her. There was even an illustration of the girl who had collapsed and she strongly resembled Whisper if she were a little bit younger than Ib herself.
Lavender had been shocked about the picture of the girl. Mary had taken that book off her, though gently. She hoped Lavender hadn't believed the book. However now both girls had to leave that other room after breaking the heads and saw that there were mannequin heads, some that were crying red stuff. There was a name underneath the picture, but Mary had closed the book quick enough to not yet Lavender see it. There was something known as a tree key next to one of the mannequin heads.
Lavender looked sad at the heads. "I'm so sorry we smashed the other ones..." she says gently.
Mary picked up the key and looked at Lavender surprised. She had never seen anyone act like that to any work of art before. The girls went back into a bookcase filled room and put the key into a hole of a frame to get in as it opened. Nothing really happened, but they also wandered into a room that was black and white. No color, how boring. Even for an art gallery.
Lavender went to the Fisherman picture yo see a similar stick figure there. "Oh..." she gasps and then also noticed another blue rose patch.
Mary came and sat with her, they couldn't do much else. She spent sometime to get to know the girl.
"What do you think that's for?" Ib stared at the red rose patch in the room.
"Eh, probably nothing." Whisper shrugged her shoulders.
Garry was looking at the fisherman painting and saw a hook, wondering whether to touch it or not. He reached to see if it was real since it was coming out of the painting, but winced as he poked a hole in his finger and decided to leave it alone for now.
Lavender was becoming closer friends with Mary. Mary decided that she would try to get someone else to sacrifice themselves so she could get out, even though she had an idea of maybe using Lavender to get someone else to. While the girls were wandering, a red umbrella appeared into the fisherman painting. Mary pulled Lavender over to it. Lavender took the umbrella and remembered there was a picture of a woman without an umbrella. She took Mary and gave the lady the umbrella.
"It's raining in the room, weird." Mary says, giggling at the end. She took Lavender out though so they wouldn't get ill.
Garry entered the dangerous room with one of the paint balls they needed to solve the puzzle. He noticed that there were soft raindrops falling into the vase for them to get back some petals. They all sure hoped this would work, they earned new rose petals and Garry pulled a cord in the deathly room and the red disaster had finally ceased. This also meant the red gas that the girls couldn't pass before by the mannequin heads were now able to do so just as well to yet another new room.
As the gas stopped Lavender looked shocked, she followed down to the place it led to. There was a picture called 'Aspiration' and a statue was blocking the stairs. Mary stated the obvious by saying this too. She then took Lavender back to the blue rose patch.
Garry was in the bookcase room with the girls.
Whisper took one of the books containing some of Gueterna works and one of them had mentioned Mary. There was a painting of a girl who looked like the Mary they had met. Suddenly, some things became clear as Whisper relaxed her brain and she was thinking back.
Eight years ago, Whisper was with her parents, her father looked like her as a man and her mother looked like an older version of Ib.
"Remember to stay close with us, Ami." her mother said.
"Yes, Mama..." Younger Whisper, or rather, Ami replied.
The girl wandered from her parents after they were looking at boring artwork. Ami was lost. She couldn't find her way back and the gallery was closing. The painting Mary had come to life and held out her hand for Ami. Mary had told her they could be friends if she came into the painting. Ami agreed in her whispering tone of voice and was sucked into the painting. Mary had betrayed and tricked Ami, she took everything from her. Mary had taken her memories, her true identity, and the elder daughter of the happy couple visiting the art gallery that they would take their toddler daughter to someday when she were older.
Whisper blinked and it all became clear now.
Ib looked at Whisper. "Are you okay?" She asks the older woman. Her red eyes looked up in worry and wonder.
Whisper's eyes fluttered as she slowly closed the book and put it back on the shelf.
Garry was just as surprised as Whisper was. "Mary doesn't exist..." he muttered, though loud enough to be heard by both girls. "And she's with Lavender right now... No way... She also stole your sister's identity, Ib."
Ib looked shocked. She was calm looking though. "No wonder we have similar looks to our parents..." she says softly. She then looked worried "We have to hurry and help Lavender Mary could hurt her!" she gasps.
"We better get going then and quick!" Garry said, then he spotted a red ball of paint. He picked it up and noticed that the doll beside it went right inside the door.
Whisper/Ami blinked. "Should we go in?" she asked, a little nervously.
Ib nodded. "There might be another paintball..." she says quietly.
"Probably." Garry agreed. He opened the door and went in with the two girls.
There was in fact another paint ball, but it was surrounded by the disturbing dolls that had been following the trio around. The dolls didn't seem to be any trouble, so Garry grabbed the white paint ball.
"That's all seven!" Whisper/Ami was happy that they collected them all. Now they could get out and solve the puzzle.
Ib went slightly ahead and found the door wouldn't open. "The door's locked..." she gasps.
The room darkened and the white portrait canvas suddenly had a blue hand gripping the frame.
There came writing on the door.
'Let's have another treasure hunt... Who, who, who has the key'?
Garry was not amused. "Now, where is that key?"
Whisper/Ami turned to see a doll was gripping onto the picture frame and had a rather large stature. The doll was coming slowly out of the picture. Some of the dolls had big stomachs. Ib looked around for the key and found it in an orange dress wearing one. Garry found a different doll with a pebble and quickly followed the girls out with the small key to escape the room and the mutant doll that was trying to crawl out and eat them. Garry ran out as the girls were safely out and ran to a corner to catch his breath. "I have had enough of that room..."
"If we went through that I hate to imagine what Lavender is going through right now." Whisper/Ami stated.
One of the doors they had passed before was magically open. Ib pointed to the door. Garry, Whisper/Ami, and Ib went to it and went exploring to find the others.
Suddenly Mary stood up and stared blankly ahead.
Lavender stood up too and looked at her. "Are you okay?" She asks softly, worriedly. Her blue-green eyes were filled with worry for her friend. She followed as Mary suddenly ran off after rambling a bit. Mary was acting very odd. Mary was slashing at the mannequin head that blocked the hall. She was saying something about it being in her way. Lavender didn't want to, but had to leave Mary. She wanted to find help for Mary.
As soon as Lavender left the room, Mary was right behind her. The blonde girl didn't want to be left and made childish conversation about snow and that they could eat it with syrup. Lavender looked at Mary. She then went into the white room, thinking Mary was ok and would follow her again normally. She crossed and got the brown key and headed back out. She saw Mary wasn't moving from in front of the Tattletale picture. She frowned worriedly and headed through the door she newly unlocked.
Suddenly Mary came walking in, the pallet knife in her hand. "Lavender why were you heading off without me? I said we'd get out together... why are you running?" She asks, tilting her head a strange gleam in her eyes.
As Lavender was about to go down the stairs, Mary came in like a horror movie villain and was stalking after the unknowingly older than her girl.
"LAVENDER!" Garry's voice called and he ran up to face the two lost girls. "What are you doing, Mary?"
Whisper/Ami and Ib rushed to Lavender. Lavender looked at her with wide eyes.
Mary frowned at Garry, Ib and Whisper/Ami. "Why couldn't you be good and have stayed there?" She asks angrily. "Lavender come here, we have to leave together!" she shouts.
Whisper/Ami and Ib held on close together.
"Mary, I know what you are!" Garry nearly yelled threateningly to the not-so innocent girl and was about to grab her.
Lavender went over to in between Garry and Mary. "No! You can't hurt her!" She exclaims with a worried look. She couldn't let Garry hurt the girl.
Garry didn't do anything, but Mary tried to run away and fell, dropping her yellow rose. Garry was not amused by that, but looked back at Lavender. "Are you okay? Sorry we're late."
Whisper/Ami and Ib stared at the knocked out girl.
"Yes, I'm okay..." Lavender says softly. She looked worriedly at the fallen girl. She really felt for her.
Garry gave Lavender a brief hug and looked back at the fallen girl. "You might not believe us, but Mary... She isn't human... She's one of Gueterna's works just like those painting women who came after us. I didn't really spend enough time with her to notice."
Ib nodded in agreement to what he was saying was true.
"She also stole from me." Whisper/Ami revealed.
Lavender clung tightly to Garry. She had been scared of the knife. She started to cry a little. "It's not fair for her..." she almost sobs.
"I know you must feel sorry for her, but you must stay away from her, she did something terrible to Whisper." Garry advised as Mary was on the floor not moving a muscle and her rose was revealed to be fake.
Ib walked with the others to get away from 'scary' Mary. Lavender cried silently as they walked. She had to hold Garry's hand for support. She would've fell otherwise.
