Disclaimer: Ib and Soul Eater belong to their respective owners/writers.

Chapter 3

They decided to pay a visit to the various families of the victims, to ask them questions, but other than the common issue of all the missing being children, nothing stood out to them. Some didn't even have a family to question. They were about to give up hope until they came to Ib's home.

The multi-story townhouse was located in the richer, more influential part of the city, as they were patrons of various artists. Their donations had helped find the Guertena exhibit, and, perhaps because of this, the family had been plagued by reporters and investigators, all trying to find out if they had any connection to the disappearances. Of course, the family denied all claims.

It was partly for that reason that Kid, Liz, and Patty chose to visit the villa sooner than later.

The house itself exuded prestige, despite it being a brownstone similar in appearance to all the others around it. Perhaps it was the sculpted lawn, the clean stairwell, or the well-kept garden that set it apart.

These were some of some of the most influential citizens, yet Kid, Liz, and Patty were just about to knock on their front door and expect to be let in.

Moments after knocking, the trio heard hurried footsteps near the door and were greeted by a red-eyed woman (whom the trio presumed to be Ib's mother). She wore a stern appearance, her brown hair pulled up in a loose bun and wearing a maroon dress suit; but her expression showed otherwise. The weeks following her daughter's disappearance had taken its toll on the mother, and she'd aged considerably.

"Are you from the DWMA?" she inquired immediately.

"Yes," replied Kid. "We're here to ask some questions about Ib's disappearance."

"Then, please, follow me."

A few moments later, they found themselves sitting across from Ib's parents, who'd introduced themselves as Rosalind and Rowan Reid. Ib's father wore a plain grey suit and tie, his tussled russet hair and matching eyes revealed his own sleepless nights and coffee-fueled days. He scrutinized the trio closely before finally stating, "You three seem a bit too young for investigating these matters. How old are you?"

"Age doesn't matter if I tell you that we can find Ib, do it?" asked Kid.

The man's mouth tilted downwards, but he allowed it. "Fair enough." Then he admitted, "At this point, I'd do anything just to see our daughter again."

"So, there anything you can tell us about the day Ib disappeared?" Liz spoke up then. Both parents looked pained; it was Rosalind who answered first.

"It was a simple visitation of the new Guertena exhibit," she told them. "Ib had been asking us to go, and, because her birthday was coming up, we had agreed. When we arrived at the art gallery, Ib went off on her own to explore ahead of us. We saw her a few times, but after we hadn't seen her for over an hour, w-we couldn't find her. Ib had...she..."

Rowan cleared his throat and continued where his wife had left off.

"Ib had disappeared. At first, we thought that perhaps she had gotten lost or gone to the restroom; but no one had seen her, and we couldn't find Ib anywhere we searched. We had security check all of the recordings, but Ib wasn't in a single one. It was as if she'd disappeared into thin air." Crossing his arms, Rowan sighed deeply. "And now other children have gone missing, as well. Too many for the possibility of runaways."

Pausing, the man looked at the trio as though they might have some answer.

"We can't completely rule out the possibility either, though," said Kid. "Was there any reason why Ib might have run away? Maybe a fight?"

"No! Of course not! Ib has always been a quiet girl and never asked for excessive things. We might have had a few disagreements here and there – mostly about trivial matters – but nothing that would make her run away!"

"And you, sir?"

"I'll admit that we weren't on the closest of terms, Ib and I," Rowan confessed with regret evident in his tired voice. "But I did my best what with my career occupying much of my time. I was happy when she seemed to take an interest in the art at that accursed gallery. Thought she might become an artist. But then…"

"I see."

"Please! Please save our daughter! We'll do anything if you'll just find and return our dear Ib safely!" Rosalind suddenly cut in, startling them.

Kid gazed at her for a moment, but then averted his eyes. "I can't promise—"

"Don't worry! We'll find her!" Liz quickly interrupted. Her eyes were blazing with determination, much to Kid's surprise. He'd never really seen her so set on a mission before. "You can count on us!"

"We can't thank you enough," Ib's mother told them.

Kid cleared his throat, wanting to continue with questions. "At the museum, do you remember where you last saw Ib?"

"After about a half an hour, Ib came to find us on the first floor of the exhibit and told us she wanted to show us a painting," recalled Rosalind. "She ran ahead to the second floor of the museum without waiting but stayed within our sight."

"Do you remember what this painting was?"

"It was…odd, to say the least," Rowan put in. "Of all of Guertena's artworks, this was the only piece to incorporate quick brush strokes that were common in the Post-Impressionism Era." He paused, a confused look donning his expression. "Strange. I can't seem to recall what the painting itself looked like."

"But you guys are like the boss of the museum, right?" Patty asked. "Shouldn't you know like every painting there?"

"'Patrons', dear girl," Rosalind corrected lightly. "We deal with the selection of artworks for a gallery, yes. Yet, even we can't remember every detail of every painting. Later, we asked the curator about the painting, but he knew nothing of it either. And when we led him to its location, it had disappeared."

"A disappearing painting? Sounds like something out of a horror novel," remarked Liz.

"It does sound a bit absurd now, doesn't it?"

"Not as strange as you'd think," Kid muttered under his breath. The image of that captivating painting still echoed in his memory. Standing abruptly, he said, "Thank you for your time, Mr. and Mrs. Reid," and then turned to his partners. "Liz, Patty, let's go."

"Wait, Kid," Liz said. "Don't we have more…questions or something?"

"Unless you do, no."

"It's getting late," Rowan stated. "You three are welcome to stay here for the night."

"Thanks, but no thanks," Kid continued. "We have much work to do."

With a few last goodbyes, the DWMA trio resumed their investigation.

With Kid in the lead, they returned to the museum late in the day as the sun had nearly melted beyond the horizon. Should they go during open hours, no doubt a patrolling curator would monitor their every move. Though, the Reids had been kind enough to give them a master key.

As the sun finally sank below the skyline, Kid, Liz, and Patty entered the gallery through the back door and almost immediately had to duck behind a corner to evade the sight of a security guard checking in. Once the echoes of his footsteps faded, Kid began to lead his partners from the lit staff entrance to the shadowy chasm of the hallways.

Someone grabbed his arm, and Kid spun on his heels, staring at Liz.

"What is it?" he whispered.

"I don't like this Kid," she told him, shivering unconsciously. "If there's someone or something evil here, shouldn't we transform or something?" The museum had been accommodating and even welcoming during the day, but the night transformed it into a scene from a horror movie.

Kid conceded, "Very well, but make it quick."

In a burst of light, the sisters' forms became those of the familiar red and black twin Death Weapon pistols, and Kid hoped that no one had seen. Keeping his smallest fingers ready on the triggers, he finally reached the east wing of the lower floor.

Rows of overhead lights hung above each exhibit, casting eerie shadows on the walls. Kid walked in silence, glancing ever so often at the artwork. Nothing seemed out of place, no mysterious shadows or moving paintings stalked the corridors.

It wasn't until they reached the bottom of the stairs that they finally encountered a patrolling figure. Kid immediately hid behind the Embodiment of the Spirit. At the same moment, the guard spun towards the noise, throwing his flashlight's blinding gaze around the room.

"Who's there?" they heard the guard demand. As though any intruder would answer. Still, hearing no noise after that, he turned around to continue his rounds, muttering under his breath about ghosts and late shifts.

"What do we do now, Kid?" Liz hissed, though yet both knew they needed to move on quickly.

Seizing the opportunity, Kid raced out from behind the rose, aware that the man had heard and would now be chasing them.

"Hey, you! You're another supposed to be here! Get back here!"

Disregarding the guard's shouts, Kid sprinted past the first floor exhibits to the stairs. More than one pair of footsteps followed them now (no doubt more security), which only furthered the urgency.

The paintings of the second floor blurred and melted past Kid, who didn't stop until he reached the red-veined Reserved Seat. Somehow, he knew the artwork in question was just up ahead.

Kid took a step forward when dual flashes of light preceded Liz and Patty's transformations back to normal, and all three of them exchanged looks.

"Why did-" Kid started, but Patty cut him off.

"It wasn't us," she protested, which only worried them more. It was as though the gallery was preventing them from staying in Weapon form. But that was impossible, wasn't it?

Deciding not to question the matter at that moment, the trio continued on, the sisters hanging close to Kid's side. Moments later, they stood before the enormous Fabricated World in all its abstract glory. There was no doubt that this was the painting the Reids had seen. How anyone could forget such a piece was beyond Kid, but he supposed that he had no right to talk.

After gazing at it for a few seconds, Kid asked, "So, do either of you know how this works?"

Liz stared at her partner, stupefied. "You mean you don't know what to do?" she cried, flailing her arms about. "Wonderful, wonder-eek!"

In her excitement, she'd accidentally struck the canvas. She was just about ready to give it all up when all three of them noticed something odd.

The footsteps had ceased altogether, as though security had just disappeared suddenly.

Above them the lights flickered and died out, leaving them in a murky darkness.

thwack thwack thwack

The distinct sound akin to an executioner's axe against wood reverberated through the corridor. Horrified, Liz grabbed Patty and hid behind Kid, and all three turned to look at the wall.

For there, in bright dripping crimson paint read the words:

Welcome to the World of Guertena.

A/N: I almost got scared writing the ending myself X0.

Sorry about the long wait again. Hopefully this was worth it, even though there was a lot of dialogue. I just felt that some soother points of view would be nice.

Agh, there was so much I forgot to do last chapter. I meant to ask what names you guys wanted for Ib's parents (because the ones I eventually chose are so cliché). And I didn't even reply to reviews (which were awesome to get, by the way). I'll answer some general questions now, though:

1) Will the main characters of Soul Eater go to the gallery?

- Eventually, yes. I just don't want to rush things too quickly. Plus, it's hard to write conversations and scenes involving 10 people at once.

2) Who is the witch?

- That's a secret. Even I'm still trying to figure out the plot.

I just want to say how awesome you guys as readers are. Whether you review, fave, follow, or even just read, it really motivates writers to do their best.

Anyway, I hope this chapter was worth the wait, and if not, please review and tell me how I can improve. By the way, I need a new title, if you have any suggestions.

Thanks for reading!