...Oof! Ib bumped right into a girl. They both fell down with a thump. The girl looked up. "Mar- oh sorry. Wrong person." Ib stood up quickly. "Who are you?!" she asked. The girl had soft, sugar brown hair, with large gold eyes that shone like a diamond. She wore a simple lacy tunic and dark pants. She looked about Ib's age, maybe a little older. "My name's Suzy. I'm looking for my sister. Have you seen her? She has blonde hair, big blue eyes, and wears a green frock and blue ribbon. She likes playing with the dollies. Her name is...
Mary.
"Keep my legs moving, keep the moving." Gary thought. It seemed he was in control again. "That thing... That monster... took over me..." Gary mumbled. An army of dolls chased after him, though they didn't seem malicious. His heart pounding loudly, he closed his eyes and made a mad sprint.
Thump! He collided with a person, and they both fell to the floor. Gary looked at the person- it was a young, polished man with rather shaggy dirty blonde hair, large golden eyes and a red and white rose tucked into his shirt pocket. The dolls surrounded the youth, shouting "GET AWAY GET AWAY GET AWAY FROM OUR KING!"The man shook in fear.
Gary helped the man up. "Hey, I'm Gary, you?" The man mumbled "I-I'm Damien. I'm looking for my two sisters. One of them has sugar brown hair, with large gold eyes. She wears a lacy white tunic. Her name's Suzy. We split up about an hour ago looking for my other sister." Damien gulped. Gary scratched his head. "Who's your other sister?" he asked. "I'm getting to that... anyway she's about 9, and she looks a bit like me- blonde hair, blue eyes... she wears a green dress and a blue ribbon. Her name's Mary." Gary sucked in his breath. His face burned, and his blood was rushed through his body. And suddenly, Gary wasn't Gary anymore. "I haven't run into Suzy... but I know where Mary is." Gary heard himself saying. "You do?! Where is she?!" Damien shouted.
Suddenly, realization struck Gary. The monster was controlling him! 'Gary' looked down at the floor. "I've been to this gallery once before. I was friends with Mary... but... she killed herself." Damien gasped, then his eyes glazed over. He fell to his knees, staring off into space, tears cascading from his eyes.
The dolls looked up at 'Gary'. "What should we do with him, my Lord?"they asked in unison. 'Gary' smiled. "I feel sorry for the poor soul. Find Suzy and bring her here to her older brother!" He commanded the dolls. They rushed off, leaving Gary alone with the sobbing Damien.
Suzy and Ib were hiding in a corner from the mannequins, which had been chasing them for the last five minutes. Ib sighed. "Phew... I think we're safe here Suzy." They paused for a moment, listening in the darkness. "Hey Ib... I think I hear footsteps." Suzy whispered. Ib flinched. "It must be the dolls!" Ib breathed. Suzy smiled. "Don't worry Ib, I can take care of them! They like me!" Suzy walked out of their hiding place, standing in front of the army of dolls. "Hey dollies!" She said. The dolls seized her, crawling over her legs and arms. She tumbled down, allowing the dolls to lift her up and carry her off. "NOOOOOOOO-" she yelled.
A small walked up to 'Gary'. "Oh, hello Jimmy. What is it?" 'Gary' asked. The doll-Jimmy- whispered something in Gary's ear. Gary was shocked. He bit his lower lip in frustration. "What?! Go stop them! Tell them to treat poor Suzy kindly!" Then, the swarm of dolls appeared, carrying a screaming Suzy. Her eyes wearing full of fear and bloodshot from crying. "What so you need her for, king?" "RELEASE HER AT ONCE! WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT TREATING SPECIAL GUESTS AS SO?!" 'Gary' roared. His red eyes flashed and changed to black.
Suzy wailed, "MONSTER! MONSTER!IB HELP ME! ANYBODY! SAVE ME!" She struggled free from the dolls and ran into Damien's arms. "Suzy, I'm Damien's friend! I'm Damien's friend Gary! It's okay!" Gary tried to console Suzy, but she shook her head. "Damien would never be friends with a monster like you! No wonder Ib ran away from you!" "Gary... You do look sorta frightening..." Damien admitted. "Hey Damien... after we find Mary, can we find the real Gary too? Ib said the real Gary is kind and looks nice." "... okay, Suzy." Damien smiled down gently at his baby sister.
"Why... does everyone tell me I'm a monster? I would never do these things... but every time I try and take control, every time I try to become... me again, it hurts like hell. As if my essence was being torn apart... but I can't stop fighting... not when Ib's out there... poor Ib all alone... now matter what the cost, I MUST get Ib out of here... even if it kills me."
Ib ran up to Suzy. "Suzy? I heard you scream, are you okay?" She saw Gary and froze, her eyes widening with shock and fear. Gary didn't notice Ib, and stared intently at Suzy and Damien. He reached out to them, and they both flinched and drew back.
"Can you help me find the real Gary also? I don't want to be..." he seized his jacket sleeve "...this anymore! I don't want to be a monster! I just want to be the old me- the Ib-hugging, art-loving, scary-thing-hating, cowardly Gary!" Gary started sobbing heavily. He screamed through the sobs, "I don't want to be a monster! I hate this monster inside of me!"
"... I HATE HIM!"