Summary: Ib and Garry are now married and have a child named Mary. Going to the city to celebrate Ib's first piece of art being displayed in a gallery, they, their daughter, and Ib's parents are dragged into an alternate world, and it's there that they have to desperately fight for their own survival, and defend those that they love.
Note:
Before you read, understand that Ib, Garry, and all of their friends are now magic-users, and deal with spirits for a living. I have to stress that this short story is almost purely action/adventure, with some romance thrown in here and there. If you're not into that, then you probably won't really get much out of this.
All the spell names I just threw into a Google translator. They're all supposedly Latin but I have no idea how accurate the translation is. It did teach me where Harry Potter got the name of a lot of its spells though.
Without further ado, enjoy.
XxXxXxX
Year: 17
Season: Summer
Ib: Age 25
"Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap, oh crap." He mumbled to himself over and over as he ran down the deserted street. He took a glance behind him and saw that nothing was chasing him, so he slowed down, and finally came to a stop, putting his hands on his knees as he panted. As he cooled down, he looked around the area more, he was in a usually bustling downtown area, tall buildings all around him. He then looked up to the red moon, emitting a seemingly demonic red aura all around the place.
The man was wearing a white button up shirt, and khaki pants, with nice black leather shoes. He had only expected to go to an exhibit where his wife's art was being displayed for the first time in her life – it was only supposed to be a nice night out, and then they'd go out to a nice restaurant to celebrate the occasion, and everything would be just fine.
Unfortunately, things rarely went as planned, but usually it wasn't quite as severe as this. When he and his wife had arrived at the exhibit, they were able to sense a spirit had taken residence in the building, and was attempting to bring people into an alternate world to feast on them. Having faced something similar about a decade an a half ago, they felt compelled to act on it. It also didn't hurt that this was also their other occupation.
He sighed, standing up straight, "I wish I didn't have to be bait for this..."
Unfortunately, in order to deal with the malicious spirit, one of them had to go into the fabricated world, and there was absolutely no way he was going to make his wife do it. They had friends who were at least close by, but he had to act fast, before the spirit was able to do any real damage.
Suddenly he heard a noise to his left, and he snapped his head over, his purple hair waving in the windless world since he had moved so quickly, and he put his hand into his pocket, drawing out a cellphone immediately, and quick-dialed a number.
"Garry?" A female voice picked up immediately.
"How are you doing, dear?" He asked.
"Just fine." She answered, "It's good that cellphones can still work between the worlds."
"No kidding." Garry mumbled, "Look, this thing has been chasing me for a while now, and I'm getting exhausted. I think it's trying to intimidate me right now."
"Good." She replied, "Hopefully it'll show itself to you."
"Without it throwing explosives would be nice this time."
"Ah, that's why you're running?"
He caught a faint bit of amusement in her voice, "Are you laughing me, Ib? You know I can die out here..."
"I have faith in your abilities." She said, "There's no way you can lose."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence." He said, letting out a defeated sigh.
Suddenly from where he had heard the noise, a large creature jumped forth and landed in front of him. It was humanoid, and it had crouched when it landed from its jump, but it now started to stand to its full height. Garry watched impassively as it stood higher, and higher, and higher... The creature had a mouth filled to the brim with incredibly sharp teeth, with nothing else on its head, not even eyes. Its muscles were unnaturally huge, and its nails were sharp enough that even touching the cement below its feet was creating cracks.
"Ugh, you're ugly as hell..." Garry grumbled, "Can't you put some pants on at least?"
"Pathetic human," The humanoid monster growled, "You don't fear me? I can't tell if you're brave or foolish."
"Both, probably." Garry sighed, "You're not nearly as scary as my wife when she was pregnant with our daughter." He visibly shuddered.
"Garry!" He heard an angry voice over the phone, "Take this seriously!"
"I thought you said that you had faith in my abilities?"
"I do! But take it seriously!"
"You dare mock me?" The monster roared, "I will destroy you!"
"I'd like to see you try." Garry said, raising his hand at the beast, his spiritual energy became visible as it gathered at the palm of his hand, reflecting off of the ring he was wearing. This was something he had practice with over the years, and after not even a second had passed, he yelled,"Ignis Incantatores!"
The beast jumped back as the hand became a human flame thrower. If he had stayed there for even a second longer, he would have been destroyed.
"Oh no," The beast whimpered, "You're spiritually attuned."
"Yep." Garry nodded, "I could sense you the moment I walked into the gallery."
"Spare me!" The gigantic beast said, falling to its knees, its will to fight having completely vanished, "I have no desire to die this day!"
Garry actually smiled, "I love it when they give up the moment they realize what I can do."
"He was pretty weak if he wasn't able to detect your abilities, or block communications between the worlds," Ib said on the phone, "Oh well, do you remember the ritual to send them off?"
"Yeah, the exorcist ritual isn't that hard to perform."
"Says the one who botched it every time the first year he tried to use it."
"Don't worry, I know it this time." He insisted.
The beast looked terribly confused.
"Hey," He called up to the beast, "I'm just going to send you off to the afterlife now, alright?"
"You – You can do that?"
"Sure." Garry shrugged, "Just make sure that this time, you accept the fact that you're dead, and don't come back as a vengeful spirit, alright?"
"O – Of course!"
Garry nodded, and pulled out a chalk from his pants pocket, and began to draw a very elaborate design on the ground. After about a minute, he got up, and dusted off his knees, and looked over his handy work, "Ok! I think this ought to do it!"
"What do I do?" The monster asked.
"Stand still there." Garry said, stepping into the circle, "Alright, now I just need a drop of blood – thank god it doesn't require virgin blood..." He bit his finger, drawing some blood, and dabbing a bit on the design on the floor, and suddenly it began to glow a bright white, "And the words were..."
"Exponentia Exorcistae." Ib said over the phone.
"Ah, thank you." Garry said, "Exponentia Exorcistae!" He shouted, pointing his hand towards the beast, and a huge burst of white light shot out towards the beast, enveloping him, and soon, he disappeared.
"Is he gone?"
"Yeah," Garry said, falling to the ground, "Oh god..."
"Your acting ability has gotten very good."
Garry looked down at his shaking hands, "I'm just glad this one was pretty civil. I probably wouldn't have been able to keep up the facade very long."
"You did a good job."
Garry looked up, and noticed that the red sky was starting to darken, and the building were beginning to crumble, "Honey? This world is beginning to collapse; the spirit who held it up is gone now, after all."
"Ah, right, I almost forgot." Ib said, sounding embarrassed, "Give me a moment."
"Ok dear," Garry said, and he then ended the call.
He sat there watching the scenery crumble around him, when suddenly he noticed a door appear out of thin air in front of him. He smiled, and stood back up, walking over to the door and opening it up. He gently closed it behind him, and the door flashed in a bright light, and soon he was left in darkness.
"Um... Ib?" He called out, "Where are we?"
"I had to do it in a closet," Ib said from somewhere in the room, "I couldn't risk letting anyone see me doing a spell."
"Ah, ok, um, can you turn a light on or something?"
"Don't you know the light spell?"
"Oh, right." Garry muttered, smacking his head.
"Lux Incantatores!" Ib said, casting it before he could. He blinked a few time at the sudden bright light that appeared from her finger tip, shining a light on her smiling face.
"It's good to see you." He said sincerely, "Especially after that thing."
Ib laughed as she leaned forward and kissed him, and he gladly returned it.
When they parted, Ib took note of his attire, and began to dust off his chest, "You're dusty."
"Yeah, that would make sense." He said dryly, "I was in a collapsing city after all."
Ib shrugged, and led him out of the closet, canceling her light spell before they opened the door. Exiting the closet, he noticed that they were still pretty close to the exhibit floor.
"You did it pretty close." He mumbled disapprovingly.
"I had to hurry." She answered, "There was nowhere else to do it either."
"Oh well," He shrugged, "You did a fantastic job."
"As did you." She grinned.
Garry smiled as well, looking her up and down. For the occasion, Ib had gone all out, wearing her nicest dress, showing off her figure exceptionally well, the black fabric however clashed with the red scarf she insisted on wearing, despite whatever anyone said to her. Her hair was also tied up, and the make-up on her face brought out her red eyes very well.
"Hm, looking good tonight," He said, reaching forward and wrapping his arms around her waist.
"I told you earlier, we can do this later, after the event." Even saying that though, it was clear that she didn't mind the touch at all.
He sighed, "You're right," He instead wrapped his hand around her own, "Well... Now that the excitement is over, might as well see your display."
"Do you think people will like it?"
"Of course." He answered, "You're an excellent artist."
She sighed, "You're just saying that because you're my husband."
"Isn't that the husband's job?" He chuckled, "But in all seriousness, I honestly do think that it's fantastic. I wouldn't say that unless if you were truly an exceptional artist, which you are."
She smiled, showing off her white teeth, "Thanks."
The two wandered into the exhibit, which was displaying not only her art, but several other up and rising artists, covering all sorts of designs and genres. The two walked around, looking at all the displays, and finally stopped at her own last. As they were looking at it, Ib nearly jumped when someone called her name from afar.
"Ib!"
"Mother?" She said, turning around to see her mom and dad were there, also dressed just as well as she and Garry were.
"I'm so proud of you!" She wrapped her arms around her daughter, and hugged her tightly, "Your art is being displayed! And I'm also hearing talks about people who might commission you to work for them! This is so exciting!"
"You've heard that?" Ib asked in shock.
"I told you." Garry said a bit smug.
Ib tried to give him an annoyed glare, but she couldn't since she was smiling so wide.
"Saya," Ib's father came over, "Don't suffocate our daughter now."
Saya released Ib, and let out a tearful sigh, "My baby girl is doing so well for herself. It just makes a mother so, so, so happy to see!"
"I'm proud of you," Her father said, giving her a kind smile.
"Oh!" Saya gasped, "Garry! I'm sorry, I didn't notice you!"
"How?" Ib's dad asked, "The man's taller than anyone else here, not to mention he has that unnatural hair color..."
"Dad!" Ib said, "No being mean to Garry."
"Ah," Garry waved trying to appease them both, "It's ok, I'm not offended. My hair is kind of weird when you think about it..."
"I LIKE your hair as it is." Ib insisted.
"I don't want to upset my daughter, especially on her big day," Her father said, walking over to Garry, "I apologize!"
"Well, uh, ok." Garry finished lamely.
"How about us gentlemen go have a chat while you two spend a bit more time with one another?" He turned to Saya.
"Oh for the love of..." Saya sighed, "Alright Kohta, just try not to tease him too much."
Ib rolled her eyes, but decided to comply and not make a scene. Her father would definitely have it later though, she'd make sure of that.
Kohta dragged Garry across the exhibit, and pretended to look at some of the displays, before he finally asked, "So how has Ib been?"
"Fine, sir." Garry said.
"And our granddaughter?"
"She's just fine too."
"Good, good." Kohta laughed, and gave Garry a hard pat on the back, "I'm glad you're treating them well! If you weren't, you know I'd have to..."
"Yes, I'm aware of what you'd do to me," Garry said, "And if I ever mistreat them, I would allow you to do it."
Kohta nodded, "Good! As long as we're on the same page."
"Is there anything you wanted to talk to me about?"
"Ah, yes, two things actually."
"And they are?"
"Where were you two? I saw you both come in looking excited, and then suddenly you both got serious immediately. I saw you running off after talking with Ib for a little bit, what was that about?"
"I had to go to the bathroom." Garry said. When he noticed Kohta's disbelieving stare, he added, "Badly."
"I see." He said, clearly not impressed, "And then I saw Ib run away too. My wife and I weren't going to interrupt her when she was on the phone. Was that related to you going to the bathroom too?"
"I ran out of toilet paper."
Kohta actually let out a loud laugh at that, causing several of the patrons around the two to jump, including Garry.
"Alright, fine," Kohta said, "It's clear to me that you and my daughter don't want me to get into your business, and I respect that."
"Thank you, sir."
"And that's the second part."
"What?"
"Don't call me sir."
"Then...?"
"Call me Kohta." He said, "I'm your father-in-law, you know. The least you can do for me is to call me by my first name if you're not going to call me dad."
"Ah, well... If that would please you, then I guess I have no problems with that."
"You've better not!" Kohta said, slapping him on the back again, "You're a good kid, Garry! You treat Ib like the princess she is, and that is all I can really ask from you!"
Garry nodded.
"Well, I ought to let you get back to her, I doubt she's very happy with me at the moment."
"I – uh – can talk her down if you want." He volunteered.
"There's nothing that she can do to me that is that bad! I'm a man, I can handle it!" Kohta again laughed loudly. The people around them were fortunately more prepared for it, and didn't jump quite as high as before.
The two walked over to where Ib and Saya were standing, just trying to be out of the way as the people went each way, talking to each other.
"You need to bring Mary over again, I've missed her so much!"
"I'll try," Ib said, "I'm usually pretty busy though."
"Oh, but she's so sweet! Promise me you'll visit us soon!"
"I promise I'll visit eventually," Ib allowed.
Her mother was satisfied with that, and hugged her daughter again.
"We're back!" Kohta loudly announced, "Is there anything else you two need to do here?"
"Not really." Ib said, "I just wanted to come see my art display."
"Likewise." Garry answered.
"Then I propose we go out to eat as a family!"
"Oh boy," Ib covered her face.
"It'll be fun!" Kohta insisted, "I'll pay for it! Since we're all dressed up, we might as well make the most of it, right?"
"What do you think, Ib?" Saya asked.
"Um," She looked over at her father and mother, and finally sighed, "I think it'll be great."
Garry tried his best not to laugh at his wife's defeated look.
The key word being 'tried'.
XxXxXxX
Ib and Garry walked to the hotel they were staying at, a very nice and fancy place, accommodated by the museum hosting her artwork. They entered the lounge, trudged into an elevator, and finally stopped on the twelfth floor, walking over to their room. Ib pulled out the card from her purse to open the door, and they walked in.
"Hello." Yuki said from a chair near the window, a book in her hand at the light next to her was on.
"Hi..." Ib groaned, going to the nearest bed and collapsing on it. Garry wasn't far behind her, and collapsed right next to her.
"Long night?"
"Parents were there." Ib mumbled, her face was still in the bed, unmoving, "Spent the night being with them."
Garry wasn't quite as exhausted, and had turned over to stare up at the ceiling,"They're quite energetic."
"I prefer your dad," Ib grumbled, "He's way more laid back."
"They're just happy to see you." Garry said.
The door opened again, and they heard the sound of someone running into the room.
"Mommy! Daddy!" A little girl of three years ran over to their bed. She had straight light violet hair reaching down to her shoulders, and her eyes were red like her mothers. In addition, she was wearing a cute green dress, and she was laughing the entire way as she ran to the bed her parents were on, and jumped between the two of them.
Garry had gotten Ib pregnant in her final year of college, much to his dismay. He had apologized constantly to her, but she would have none of it, and it was only a week after she had graduated with top honors that the two were married, and only a month after that when Mary was born. It had went surprisingly well, and No one really bothered Ib at all about her pregnancy during school. The group had also suspended 'spiritual' activities as well during that time, so Garry could spend as much of his time with her as he could.
Ib smiled at her daughter, and pulled her into a hug, "You miss me?"
"Yeah!" The little girl squealed with delight as her mother held her.
Aiko walked into the room, chuckling as she witnessed the scene unfolding on the bed, "The moment we heard you were coming back she has been excited to see you two."
Garry looked over at the clock, and saw that it was almost ten, "Mary, you know it was your bed time two hours ago."
The little girl's eyes widened, and she frowned, turning over to her dad as her lower lip trembled, "I wanted to see mommy and daddy before sleep..."
He couldn't stop smiling, and he ruffled her hair, "Aw, if that's the case, then it's ok."
She squealed again as Garry took her away from Ib, and held her close, "Were you good for aunt Aiko while we were out?"
"Yeah!" The little girl shouted.
"She was a sweetheart, as usual." Aiko agreed.
"That's good." Ib said with a yawn, "I'm sorry we needed you guys to babysit for us."
Yuki shrugged, looking up from the book she was reading, "It was my pleasure. I'm actually here because I want to know how it went fighting the spirit."
Garry sighed, "It was actually very easy."
Yuki nodded, "I assumed as much, when you didn't call us back."
"Sorry," Ib said, blushing a little, "I should have at least called back to tell you it was ok."
"It's fine." Yuki assured her, "I would have sense it if either of you were in danger."
"That's great boss!" Aiko said giving a mock salute, "I would have been ready to go at a moment's notice!"
Yuki nodded, and lifted her arm to make the book she was reading float off towards the table.
"You're getting very good at that," Garry noted.
Little Mary gasped as she witnessed it, and ran over to Yuki, "Do it again!"
Yuki smiled at the girl, "What do you say?"
"PLEASE!" The little girl yelled, laughing all the while.
Yuki lifted her arm, and the little girl cheered as the book floated around. She ran after the room trying to catch it, and when she grabbed it, Yuki undid the spell so she could hold it.
"Teach me!"
"When you're older." Ib said.
"Awwww!" Mary whined.
"No whining, Mary." Garry said, sitting beside Ib, "Now I think I'm going to be heading to bed."
"But I'm not ti-." Mary couldn't finish the setence since she yawned just then.
"Yeah, I can tell," Garry said with a chuckle, "Now come on, you're already up way pass your bed time as it is."
Yuki stood and walked over to Aiko, "We'll be in our room if you need anything."
"Thank you again," Ib said, "If you two need anything, please just ask."
"It's our pleasure to help you!" Aiko said, "Besides, looking after little Mary isn't that bad at all!"
"Say bye to aunt Aiko and Yuki," Garry said.
"Bye bye!" Mary waved to the two older women leaving the room.
When they were out, Ib began to take her jewelry off, and put them on the bedside table. The last piece she took off was her wedding ring, which she smiled at lovingly before gently putting it down. Garry meanwhile was standing and unbuttoning his shirt, and taking it off.
"I'm going to take a quick shower," Ib said.
"Can I come?" Mary asked excitedly.
"Sure." Ib said, "But be sure to dry your hair off really well, I don't want you to catch a cold in your sleep!"
"I will!" Mary said.
"Are you going to join us?" Ib asked.
"Yeah, I might as well." He shrugged, "We'll save more water that way."
"Oh please," Ib said, slyly smiling at him, "You just want to see me naked."
"Am I really that transparent?" He joked.
It wasn't as if Ib or Garry could really do anything too intimate in there though, since their daughter was present and watching. She asked the occasional curious question, but it was always rebuffed with the, 'we'll tell you when you're older' card that parents always loved to play. Leaving the shower, the three went back to the bed room, where they all got into the same bed together.
"Good night, mommy, daddy..." Mary mumbled from in between her parents.
"Sweet Dreams, honey." Garry said to her, and her gave his wife a quick look and smiled, "Good night, Ib."
Ib blew Garry a kiss, and leaned down to give their daughter a kiss as well, "Good night."
Mary was already out within a minute, and it didn't take much longer for her parents to fall asleep as well, due to the long day they both had. Mary had a grip on both of her parent's arms, a light smile on her face as she dreamed.
XxXxXxX
Outside of the hotel the next day, the morning sun shown down on Garry, Ib, Mary, Junichi, Rin, Aiko, and Yuki. Mary was looking Around in awe, holding both of her parents arms. Everyone was dressed casually, especially compared to the previous night. Garry was simply wearing jeans and a T-shirt, and his hair was combed neatly to one side, while Ib was wearing a skirt and a blouse, her hair tied back into a loose ponytail, and their daughter was dressed in a simple yellow sundress, her purple hair was combed, trying to make it look a little presentable.
"We're going to check out a place that is supposedly haunted," Yuki handed Ib a piece of paper that contained information on it, "I don't expect much of anything from this, since they're actively advertising it as haunted, but after what happened to you and Garry last night, it certainly couldn't hurt."
"I still can't believe we weren't there," Junichi grumbled.
"We just got here," Rin explained again for the hundredth time, "Otherwise we would have been there for your big night!"
Ib waved it off, "Don't worry about it, it wasn't very exciting anyway."
"Other than the whole spirit thing." Junichi mumbled.
"You're going to see your parents then?" Yuki said, bringing things back on track.
"Yeah, they really wanted to see Mary, and since they're here, it would be rude to not go visit them for a little bit." Ib explained.
"I wanna see Gramma and Grampa!" Mary said excitedly.
"We'll see them soon," Garry promised her.
The little girl cheered, and Garry knew why she was so happy; Ib's parents spoiled Mary rotten. They would offer her so many sweets, and simply leave it for Garry and Ib to deal with afterwards. Garry really didn't look forward to dealing with his hyperactive child later that night.
"We'll see you after you meet your parents then!" Aiko said, "Give us a call!"
"Of course." Ib said, pulling out her cellphone from her purse and checking the time really quick, "Ah, we ought to go. Mom and dad are probably waiting already."
"Then we won't keep you." Yuki replied, and the group split.
"Be good Mary!" Aiko waved over dramatically, widely swinging her arm back and forth at the child, who laughed as she waved back to her 'aunt'.
The two walked a few blocks down, and finally came up to another hotel where they saw Ib's mom and dad waiting outside, also casually dressed. The moment that Mary spotted them across the street, she started squealing in excitement.
"Mommy! Daddy! Look!"
"Yep," Garry laughed, "I see em!"
"Mary, calm down," Ib said, "When we cross this street you can see them."
The girl behaved herself at that, and allowed her parents to walk her across before she suddenly darted towards her grandparents and jumped into her grandpa's open arms. The man spun around with his granddaughter, laughing all the while.
"You've gotten so big!" Kohta said to her.
"Heheh..." Mary giggled as her grandparents began their spoiling crusade.
"Hello mom, dad!" Ib said, finally catching up.
"It's great to see you so soon!" Saya said, seeing her daughter and Garry.
"We're not keeping you away from your next masterpiece, are we?" Kohta asked, chucking, "It would be a shame to prevent you from working on your next big hit."
"Oh please," Ib said rolling her eyes, "I'm not that big, and even if I was, it wouldn't prevent me from spending time with my family."
"Did you get any important calls yet?" Saya asked.
"Yes, actually." Ib smiled, "You were right, there were some people very interested in my display."
"I'm so happy for you!" Her mother ran over and hugged her.
"And how are you Garry?" Kohta turned to ask him.
"I'm not that bad s- eh, Kohta."
"Ah, good! You remembered!"
Garry nodded, "Sure did."
Saya turned to Garry and gave him a hug, "Is your family business doing fine?"
"Excellent, actually." Garry smiled, "Just completed a big contract a few weeks ago."
Of course, 'family business' in this case was really just a cover Garry used for his new job. He had quit his work as an electrician and focused exclusively on hunting, capturing, and releasing spirits and anything else Yuki required of him. The income wasn't steady, but each job paid incredibly well, and was more than enough to sustain them.
"I hope you two plan to settle down soon," Saya said, "Especially before Mary begins school."
"Yeah," Garry agreed, "We've agreed to stop this in a year or so. We want our daughter to grow up in a stable and healthy environment."
"Good!" Kohta gave Garry a pat on the back, causing him to wince a bit. Mary seeing the action, quickly mimicked it, still held in her grandpa's arms, "I'm glad to see that you are a sensible man Garry! You already have a job planned for when you settle down?"
"Not really," He admitted, "But with my, uh, skill set, I imagine I can find something."
Kohta smiled, "I'm glad to hear! So..." He looked to Ib now, "Where should we go? It's so rare that you two grace us with your presence!"
Ib's father sometimes had theatrics that rivaled even Aiko's. Ib held in her sigh, and instead forced out a smile, "Whatever you two want to do."
"Let's go out to eat then," Kohta suggested, "Then after that we can find something fun to do! Is that alright with you?" He asked the girl in his arms.
"Yeah!"
"Then it's settled!" Kohta laughed.
Saya shook her head at her husband's antics, and smiled apologetically towards her daughter and son-in-law. Garry and Ib had no qualms with the plan though, so they agreed to go out to eat.
XxXxXxX
"You're sure that we should target them?" A teenage boy of maybe sixteen years asked, looking away from across the street where the family of five just met up. He and the seventeen year old girl beside him discreetly started to follow them, making sure to always be on the other side of the street and quite a ways behind, that way they couldn't be seen from their peripheral vision at all.
"Yes," She glared at the boy next to her, "Can't you sense the amount of energy coming from them? It's clear that they're spiritually attuned, and quite powerful."
"If they're so powerful, why aren't they hiding their presence?"
She shrugged, "Who cares? Maybe they're cocky and they want a fight?"
"They have a kid though... M – Maybe we shouldn't target them?"
"Stop letting your emotions take over," She looked over to him, and gently caressed the side of his face looking into his green eyes and moving aside his blue hair, "Remember what we're doing this for?"
His frowned deepened, "Yes, I know, but..." He glanced over again, "Is it right to destroy their family so we can restore ours?"
She slapped him hard across the cheek for that, causing several of the people around them to jump in surprise, "Stop being so weak!"
"Sorry," He mumbled, looking down to the ground.
"They are the first ones we've found that are even remotely this strong!" She glared down at him, "Letting them go would be a waste!"
"I guess." He sighed, "It just doesn't feel right."
She sighed, "I'm sorry." She reached over and brought his face to her own, and gave him a quick kiss on the lips, "I love you."
He was silent.
"I said I love you."
"Yeah," He hesitantly looked into her purple eyes, "I love you too..."
"Good." She smiled, "Now let's go get them and bring them to our place gives me the creeps."
He nodded, not daring to say what was truly on his mind.
"Come on brother!" She said, "They've gone into that building," She pointed at a family restaurant, "We can use this chance to set up a field around the place, and bring them all into our realm!"
"Ok." He said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a well-used chalk, "I'm ready."
XxXxXxX
Making sure his daughter was secure in her seat, Garry sat beside her, with Ib sitting on the other side of her, while their parents sat across from them. The restaurant they found themselves in was a nice family place, not nearly as fancy as the one they all visited last night, but still a step above normal. Despite that, the four adults were relaxed as a waiter came over to hand them a menu.
"It's still pretty early," Garry noted, "No one else is here yet."
"Good!" Kohta exclaimed, "That means we can be as loud as we want!"
"Dear, please." Saya said.
Mary just decided to cheer at her grandpa's declaration.
"At least someone is on my side!" He couldn't help but grin at Mary, who smiled back.
Ib looked down at the menu, but it was only a pretense so her eyes could have something to do instead of wandering the building awkwardly. She already knew exactly what she wanted to eat, "So, how long are you guys going to be here?"
"We're leaving tonight," Saya said, "I wish we could stay longer!"
Kohta grunted, "We woulda stayed as long as we possibly could for you, but a man has gotta work." He eyed Garry when he said that.
"Ah, yes." Garry nodded, "That makes sense."
"That's fine," Ib waved off, "We'll be sure to visit you guys soon, it has been too long."
Saya nodded, "It still feels so weird not having you in the house anymore..." She dabbed her eyes, and Ib had to do everything in her power not to roll her eyes at the display, "But I'm so proud that you're doing so well for yourself!"
Ib's head suddenly shot up from looking at the menu, and she looked over at Garry to see that he was already looking towards her.
"Dear?" Saya said, "Did you hear something?"
"No..." Ib said, "It's probably nothing."
It was a lie of course, she and Garry had sensed at the same time that there was some usage of spiritual energy around them. Yuki and the rest of the group were very far away from where they were sitting, so it could only mean that there was a spirit within the vicinity trying to cast a spell, or it was someone else with spiritual abilities lurking about.
"Is anyone else here?" Ib asked aloud.
"Other than staff, no," Garry answered quickly, "I mentioned it earlier."
Ib wanted to smack herself on the head – he DID say that. She looked around, trying to find any detail that seemed out of place even a little bit.
"What's wrong with you two?" Kohta asked.
"Magic!" Mary clapped her hands, looking happy.
Saya shook her head at Mary's antics, "He's right though, you two seem very alert..."
"I'm sorry," Garry said, standing up suddenly, "I'll be right back. Ib, stay with your parents."
Ib nodded, knowing that he actually meant protect her parents, "Ok, I'll stay here, be careful, ok?"
"Of course," Garry smiled, "Aren't I always?"
Ib was about to retort, but suddenly the ground started shaking, and she gripped the side of the table with one hand, and her other instantly flew out to make sure her daughter's chair wouldn't fall over. Garry had unfortunately tripped to the floor, and was on his knees, trying to keep stable as the shaking started.
"What in the world?" Kohta shouted, standing up, "An Earthquake?"
Saya's hands gripped her husband's sleeve tightly, and she suddenly noticed that the sunny blue sky outside started to turn a menacing red hue, "What's wrong with the sky?!"
It was then that the quake stopped.
Mary was laughing the entire time, but Ib still reached over and gave the girl a quick hug, taking her out of the seat and holding her tightly. Garry had gotten up, and went over to the windows to look outside, and they could all hear him cursing under his breath.
"We're in an alternate world," He announced
"A what?" Kohta asked.
Garry shook his head, "Think of it as a pocket dimension. Spirits or other people of immense spiritual power can create them and reside over them. Basically, it's like a copy of a small area of Earth, but in the creator's image. To pull five people in requires quite a bit of spiritual energy though..."
Kohta's mouth hung open at the explanation, "Y – You expect me to believe that?"
"Believe what you will," Garry said, "But you MUST stay close to me and Ib, we'll protect you."
Saya stood up, "Wait just a minute," Her red eyes worriedly looked over to Ib and then Garry, "You two have dealt with this kind of thing before?"
"Yes, mom." Ib answered, "It's our job."
"Wait..." Kohta looked up, "Then the family business?"
"Yeah..." Garry rubbed the back of his head, "I go around cleaning up places like this so they don't exist anymore. I also fight spirits and exorcise those that I can."
Kohta shook his head, "You're crazy."
"Eh?" Garry blinked a few times.
"You expect me to believe that you go around fighting ghosts?" He looked over to Ib, "You believe this stuff too?"
Mary frowned, "It's real!" She tried to chime in for her parents.
"Look," Garry sighed, "I can prove it to you." Saya and Kohta watched as he held out his hand, and called out, "Ignis Incantatores!" They both gasped in amazement when Garry's hand and palm got covered in fire, and he showed it to them.
"Holy shit," Kohta mumbled.
"Dad! Not around Mary!" Ib chided.
Kohta looked dumbly towards Ib, "Y – You can do that?"
She nodded, and held Mary in one hand and held out her other hand, performing the same spell, "We're only using a little bit of energy." She waved her hand, putting the flame out and holding her child more securely, "If we wanted, we could ignite this whole room on fire."
"So..." Saya spoke up again, "This place is... Another world?"
Garry nodded, "Yeah..."
They looked around, noticing that the red light from outside illuminated the place very well, giving it an eerie glow. All of the tables except for theirs were either flipped over, broken, or in disrepair. The lights in the ceiling were shattered, and looking outside, they could see that the there were a bunch of run down cars, and absolutely no people around.`The buildings were all rustic looking, and seemed to be decaying due to time.
"Who would create a place like this?" Garry asked.
Ib shook her head, "I don't know..." She held Mary's head to her chest, not letting her daughter look out the window for now.
"Ok," Kohta spoke up, "How exactly do we get out of here then?"
Garry looked over to Ib, "Well... Usually one of us stays out in the real world, and one of us ventures in. That way we can just use a spell to summon us back..." He sighed, "That's out of the question, so I guess I'll try calling Yuki."
"Cellphones work?" Saya asked.
"Sometimes," Garry said, "The stronger the spirit, the least likely it'll work." He quick-dialed Yuki's number, and brought the phone up to his ear, and let out a sigh when he couldn't get through, "Ok, this isn't good. Whoever created this world knows what they're doing."
"What now?" Saya asked.
"We can either wait for help," Ib said, "Or we can go explore. Every fabricated world has a core that can be destroyed." She frowned, "The problem is trying to find the core. If it's taken out, then the world is destroyed and we might be able to escape before it destroys us all."
"The other MUCH safer option," Garry spoke up, "Is to complete the objective that the creator of the world set for us."
"Objective?" Kohta wondered aloud.
"When we were in the museum way back when," Ib said quietly, "Garry and I had to complete a lot of puzzles and deal with Mary before the path out opened up. The objective of the world can either be fairly straight forward, or can require something that we may not want to do. I think the safest bet in this case is just trying to wait it out."
Garry nodded, "Yuki will send help if we don't answer our phone for the entire day, especially after last night."
"What happened last night?" Kohta asked, narrowing his eyes at the two of them.
"Nothing big," Ib assured him, "Just a routine job."
Before her father started to talk again, Garry spoke up, "I think we should explore. If we can find the creator, we can deal with them easily."
"Unless if they are stronger than us..." Ib reminded him.
Garry nodded, "True."
Mary however was in agreement with Garry, "I wanna look around!"
"Shush," Ib said gently, "It's dangerous here."
Mary pouted, "I wanna look!"
Ib sighed, "Ok Garry, I can't win against both of you..."
Garry chuckled, "We won't go far, I promise."
Ib nodded, "We'd better not."
They walked over to the door, and opened it up, the red sun beaming down at them. There was a thin layer of dust on everything, even the pavement they walked on as they explored. All the signs were bent and destroyed, and the stoplights had collapsed.
"This is like that one show," Kohta spoke up, "That shows what would happen to cities if all of humanity just up and left them..."
Garry couldn't help but agree, "This place is completely destroyed."
Mary was having a blast though, and looked around excitedly from Ib's grasp, letting out a happy laugh with every new sight she saw. At least with her, they had a bright spot to the depressing and desolate place they all found themselves trapped in. The group walked a block down the street, trying to find anything odd.
"Weird," Ib mumbled.
"What is it?" Saya asked, patting her daughter on the back.
"Nothing has shown up yet," She said, "Usually something would have appeared by now."
"Yeah, it's starting to creep me out, honestly." Garry admitted.
"Come on," Ib said, glancing around one last time, "Let's just wait for Yuki to come. I have a bad feeling about standing out here."
"I sense it too," Garry said, looking up at the tall buildings, "Whoever is out there is just observing us for now..."
"Let's go," Ib said, leading the group back to the ruined restaurant they were in, "There's nothing we can do out here."
No one disagreed with her, and allowed her to lead the way back.
Up atop the buildings, a girl in a cloak grimaced, "They noticed that we're watching them."
The disheveled boy next to her said nothing.
"Koyomi, you get the guy with purple hair, he's the weaker of the two." She said, "I'll get the red-eyed girl. You got that?"
He nodded, but right before she was about to jump away he spoke up, "Matsuri..."
"What is it?"
He was silent.
"WHAT?" She screamed.
"It's nothing. Just go."
She gave him a disgusted look as she turned around and put the hood of the cloak over her flowing blue hair, and jumped out of view.
Koyomi frowned as he watched the group go back to where they were, "I'm sorry..." He mumbled, "But we have our reasons, I hope you'll come to understand them..." He sighed, and put his hood on. If he refused his sister, he knew what the consequences would be. With one last glance down at the group they trapped, he jumped away, disappearing from sight.