Hello, hello! It is I, Yuujin Zone! I am here today/tonight to welcome you all to a new fanfic that I have been wanting to write for a long time. As its written on the top, it's called A Painting's Shadow, a Sonic/Ib crossover that, ironically, doesn't feature the two named figures in this fanfic.
I believe the Sonic series need no introduction as he is widespread and known around the world, but as for Ib, she is a cult classic at best. If you want to know what the game is, it centers on a titular little girl who finds herself trapped in a strange world where all artworks are alive and out for her life. She is not alone however, as she meets a man named Garry and another little girl named Mary. With the three of them, they try to find a way back to the real world...
If you have finished Ib or at least known one of the endings, then you're free to read this. If not, then I advise you to play immediately. The first chapter branches off from a bad ending featuring Mary. As such, there will be spoilers from Ib. I hope you understand.
Now, it's time for me to stay quiet. Onto to the chapter, everyone!
The object that would finally bring her freedom from this fake world stands before her. Or more accurately, attached to a wall.
She knows what that large painting is, but she doesn't know the entire name because she can't read the first word. All she got from the name written on a plaque below the frame is "? World." However, a description written next to the title tells her what this painting is.
She is getting impatient, however, so she chooses not to decipher what it means and sets her eyes on the large canvas secured behind the glass.
Anticipation welled up within her as the thought of leaving the world she had lived in for all her life and trading that for a life in the real world she had admired would finally come true. She had had enough of waiting for visitors to come so she could have them take her place as this world's master. It took nine months for her to encounter visitors after the gallery did not receive any for a really long time. She wondered why no one showed up during the intervening months. Was the gallery closed for some reason or was it forbidding anyone to see the large painting?
…Why am I still thinking that? Mary scolded herself. Waiting for visitors shouldn't matter anymore since I will be living in the real world. I have made up my mind; I cannot take it living here anymore. But... I have to leave my fellow artworks behind... Oh if only the gallery wasn't so strict about letting me leave.
Taking a sharp intake of breath to try to forget the impending regret of leaving this world behind, Mary focused her blue eyes on the painting, which was now glowing brightly. A flash of light filled her vision before it receded, revealing that the glass and frame had vanished. She smiled brightly, taking this as a cue that she could step through the painting and enter the real world at last, beginning with the real art gallery.
"I can get out from here… I can finally go outside!" Mary exclaimed in anticipation. "I'll eat lots of candy… and go to all sorts of places!"
"And make lots of friends!" She closes her eyes for a moment to imagine making a friend she can talk and play with. It's an exciting thought for her, to be sure.
Driven by her desires and expectations for the real world, Mary took a few steps backward first before sprinting and leaping toward the painting. Her entire form disappeared into the canvas as it rippled from the impact of her body.
In another universe, Mary made a fatal mistake escaping the Fabricated World without trading her place with someone from the real world. The world of art agrees; a living painting with a fabricated heart has no place there. She would realize her dreams of living in the real world are all just fantasy and she only foolishly led herself to her doom at the Fabricated World's fingertips.
But not this time.
A yellow gem she's been carrying in her hands would save her from a terrible fate, along with an encounter of a certain lifeform.
The building that stood before his small form appeared to loom over him.
Its intimidating and eerie appearance at this time of night would unnerve anyone, compelling them to leave quickly. This is especially true for the person who has known for some time that this art museum is the source of rumors about the artwork created by the late Weiss Guertena.
Creepy rumors, one may add.
According to the rumors, the Guertena Art Gallery is haunted by the spirit of Guertena himself after he died. Proof of this can be found in a quote from his diary, which reads:
"It's said that spirits dwell in objects into which people put their feelings. I've always thought that, if that's true, then the same must be true of artwork. So today, I shall immerse myself in work, so as to impart my own spirit into my creations."
Any believer will be convinced of what Guertena says is true. However, if they are just being gullible, they claim they aren't because they have experienced spooky things happening in the gallery. They might hear someone coughing when there's no one else around, a cat meowing despite no animals being allowed, someone walking seen in a window on the second floor and knocking on the glass which scares anyone awake, and (hopefully) red paint covering the first-floor window near the entrance when no one's around, which would be washed off by itself suspiciously if it weren't for someone taking a picture of it... These ominous occurrences are said to be encountered by many people who went to the gallery to see the artworks or only for the rumors.
Despite this and some evidence provided through photographs, skeptics do not believe the Guertena Art Gallery could be haunted by the artist's spirit. For all they know, it could be the gallery's management's idea of a prank to scare any conscious person into believing it is true and increase visitors who are only interested in the rumors.
However, he is not interested in such rumors. Even if he knew about them, he would not have come here for that reason.
He's here tonight because his chaos-adept body detected a spike of chaos energy in the gallery. He was passing by when his body reacted to the energy signal.
Unbothered by the exterior's eerie appearance accentuated by the darkness of the cloudy night, Shadow's red eyes turned to a stone erected beside the stairs leading to the entrance doors that had a name written on them. "Guertena Art Gallery..." he read.
Shadow doesn't need to see or know what time and day the gallery is open to the public; it is almost five hours after the gallery has closed, which was 6 P.M.
"Unless the gallery is being monitored by a security guard working the graveyard shift, no one else should be in the building," noted Shadow. "Well, it's not like I care if there are people still around. Though I might have to inform any security guards that I am investigating this place with G.U.N.'s permission. A misunderstanding would be the last thing I want, as it would waste valuable time that could be better spent finding the source of the energy I sensed."
With his decision made up, Shadow nonchalantly walks up the stairs and reaches for the handle. But a thought came to him before he grabbed it. Wait. I could trigger the gallery's alarm. Shadow thought. He better add that to the list of situations he does not want to get involved in or got in trouble.
...I don't have a Chaos Emerald, but I have some Chaos energy to let me teleport. I've been conserving it for two weeks. Well then, guess I'm teleporting inside.
Doing just that, Shadow found himself in the gallery. As he had expected, there were no people around at this hour. Even the security guards were absent, which meant they hadn't taken their midnight shifts. Without security around, a thief could easily steal any piece of artwork and sell it for a good or decent price. He could berate the management's incompetence if such an incident occurred, but he wasn't here to chastise them.
"Alright. Time to find where the Chaos energy is. I'm not sure of what I will find but... I have this feeling that I shouldn't ignore it or else something... may happen."
After making those statements, Shadow starts exploring the art gallery that is varied, unique, and admittedly, actually impressive, but also odd at the same time. Glancing at every painting and sculpture he walks pass by with his hand glowing through transferring little Chaos energy to it, illuminating like a flashlight, Shadow is unable to deny that Weiss Guertena is truly a profound artist. It seems any idea that came into his mind was never wasted, instead brought to reality through any methods and forms of art like painting and sculpturing. He is not one for arts but he has to admit that they are really great.
Of the artworks Shadow liked, there is a painting of a woman in red clothes named "The Lady in Red", a floor painting depicting a gaping, gray anglerfish swimming in a dark blue water surrounded and guarded by stanchions named "Abyss of the Deep", a big, realistic red rose with green leaves and thorny vines interestingly called "Embodiment of Spirit", "The Hanged Man" painting, three headless statues wearing red, blue and yellow dresses oddly named, "Death of the Individual", and a tall and blue figure with balding head and dress titled peculiarly, "Fusion".
There are many artworks on the first and second floor, but of all the artworks, those listed above are his pending favorites. Not that I will admit it to anyone... Shadow mentally noted.
While he begins to enjoy browsing through the gallery's collection of late Goya works, that is not his primary concern. His main focus and reason for being here so late at night is to locate the source of the chaos energy. Using his sensors, he detects the energy emanating from above him, indicating that it originates on the second floor. Once he reaches that level, however, his sensors again pick up the energy signal, this time coming from above him. He ascends to the third floor, wondering what he might find there, but knowing one thing for certain: if it were a Chaos Emerald, the energy signal would be much stronger and more focused than the faint, diffuse energy he is currently sensing.
Still, he believes he is bound to discover the source, so imagine his muted disappointment when he sees a large rectangular painting hanging on the wall. The third floor consists only of a small room and the painting itself; perhaps it's a rest area, as suggested by a sign posted before the stairs leading up to it.
"Tsk… Just a painting…" muttered Shadow, scrutinizing the painting before him. If he thought the previous artworks he had seen had bizarre proportions or eye-catching forms, then this painting caused him to raise an eyebrow at what was depicted on the canvas.
The background of the painting was composed of blue, green, yellow, pink, black, violet, and gray, which formed the walls and floors. A red-and-black rose was depicted on the upper left corner, while a small crescent moon appeared on a pink wall. Additionally, there seemed to be three eyes on the gray portion, and finally, The Lady in Red painting was displayed prominently in the red section. If there's one word Shadow could use to describe this abstract piece, it would be 'abstract'.
"No... Abstract is not the right term, even though I did think about it," Shadow touches his forehead with his index finger raised from his hand, a habit he has when he's thinking. He takes a second look at the painting and tries to find a more appropriate word to describe the painting. "Because of the random objects thrown in, I would call it 'disorderly.'"
…
…
"*sighs* Describing things can be difficult, even for me."
Wanting to finish eyeing the painting, he last reads the name of it. "...Fabricated World?"
Suddenly, the light flickered three times, briefly illuminating the room before turning dark again. This did not escape his notice. "Huh? The lights... Did they turn themselves on for a moment?"
That's not the only thing he noticed. The air in the gallery had become suffocating and still. This was not like the silent ambiance he found himself in when he entered the gallery; it was silent, yes, but still offered some level of comfort, allowing him to not get overwhelmed by it.
Moreover, the chaos energy he was detecting suddenly changed direction. Instead of being within this room, it now seemed to be coming from the first floor.
Shadow would usually be annoyed by the change, but he wasn't. In fact, his focus shifted from finding the source of energy to seeing what had caused the light to be turned on briefly. Based on what had caused it, Shadow believed reading the title of the painting was the cause, but that was just a theory.
"Hmm... I better head down and see what's changed." Shadow said as he did just that.
Like he said, Shadow did see that the gallery changed.
In a surreal and eerie way.
The first thing he notices when he walks down the second floor is that it has grown darker. Fortunately, he can illuminate his surroundings by using his glowing hand, but doing so reveals the dripping red paint on the ceiling above a window, which he cannot see through for some reason. Two statements are also splattered against a wall between two paintings and near the stairway leading up to the third floor. Both of them read:
"Poor Mary. Forever wandering all on your own"
"It's too late"
Mary? Is someone inside the gallery? If so, how didn't I notice her?" thought Shadow.
When he walked down to the first floor, he became alarmed as his surroundings grew increasingly darker. He believed he would not have been able to see through the blanketing darkness without his glowing hand. However, he questioned whether being blinded by the dark was preferable to his well-being since he had encountered other creepy things that he was certain did not exist or happen, such as the Abyss of the Deep leaking liquid to cover not only the nearby floors but also the walls and one painting, the Embodiment of the Spirit's petals turning yellow and wilting, blue paint dripping from a ceiling, and other words written on various parts of the first floor. Each message read:
"We're _ _ a _ on _ the _ _ss _tena _ _ _ _"
"You can't go back, you can't go anywhere"
"We're lonely, come back. Everyone's waiting for you"
"Your heart is fabricated"
At least Shadow thought one painting had changed; he saw the Fusion sculpture had no head, and an advertisement sign had a red diagonal scribble above a motionless, lying girl. He didn't get to properly observe them all before the darkness became so dark that he was unable to see anything at all.
Even his makeshift flashlight isn't able to shine through the pitch-black darkness, and even then, Shadow can see it's starting to flicker, indicating the stored Chaos energy is getting low. Cursing himself for having below-average energy from the start, he stops using his glowing hand to conserve what little energy he has left.
At this point, Shadow found himself enveloped by the pitch-black darkness. He feared that he might stumble over a sculpture or a wall as he aimlessly wandered about. Shadow was a tough and brave, if reckless, hedgehog. He would not let this get to him easily. However, he would be lying to himself if he said he wasn't at all unnerved by the surreal phenomenon occurring in the gallery, which seemed to be affecting him.
"What is going on here? Why is the gallery acting like this?" asked Shadow. He wanted his questions to be answered quickly; this surreal phenomenon was starting to get to him. He wanted to teleport out of there, but the little energy he had meant that it wasn't an option for him. If there was one thing he knew for certain, though, it was this. "So I guess the rumors about the Guertena Art Gallery being haunted are true after all. Can't believe I'm bearing witness to the rumors becoming reality before my very eyes."
Before he can say more or proceed forward into the darkness, a desperate and scared voice enters his ears.
"No... I hate this! What's happening...? I can't see a thing! Why... Why is the outside world like this? It's supposed to be bright, and fun, and... And full of people too! Why is it just me here!?"
Running footsteps can be heard going from right to left before she speaks again, "*sniffle* Big sis... Where are you...? I'm lonely..."
She ran again to the other side as she became more scared, stating, "I'm so scared... Help... Someone, p-please...!"
Crying in fear, she run for the third time, exclaiming, "Waaaaahhhh... Somebodyyyy..."
Whether it was likely because of the dark, or she was so scared, Mary tripped to the floor, dropping her palette knife, blue doll and a yellow gem to the floor...
Shadow's ears picked up a girl tripping and objects scattering on the floor. One object made a clinking sound, drawing his attention to where he thought that object was. "That... sounds like..."
Acting as if in a daze, Shadow crouched down and reached out to the object. He had a feeling that he knew what the object was; after all, he was accustomed to carrying around a Chaos Emerald even when he wasn't working. It didn't always happen, but it was still worth noting that he sometimes carried one with him.
At the same time, however, Mary also reached out her hand, raising her head to see where that pretty gem she had taken a liking to went. Desperate eyes hidden in the darkness stared at where she thought the gem lay as she uttered her likely last words. "…Dad…!"
Before either of them could grab it, the yellow gem began to glow brightly.
"Huh?" uttered Shadow.
"Ah!" exclaimed Mary.
Their hands stopped moving, their eyes fixed on the glowing gem radiating sparkles and light so bright it illuminated the pitch-black darkness. Noticing each other's hands reaching out to the same object, they looked at each other.
Little do they know, this encounter will lead a painting girl with a fabricated heart to have someone she can call a friend and guardian despite their gruff attitude, and a black hedgehog created as the Ultimate Lifeform must look after someone with a damaged mind and keep them in line.
Their adventure will not be a walk in the park, as supernatural forces from the Fabricated World make their move to remind one girl and one boy what it's like to live in the world of Guertena.
However, it is said one Chaos Emerald is enough to allow its wielder to control the world, as its power is unmatched by anything in the universe. Miracles and conflict will play a part in this story, as two beings happen upon each other this night, unaware of the trial that lies ahead of them.
Aaaaaaaand done!
That's it for the first chapter! As you have read, the entire chapter is based on one of the worst ending you can get in Ib called "A Painting's Demise". This ending has all three characters getting screwed in a worst way possible, with Garry getting permanently insane, Ib losing all hope of escaping after failing to bring him back to sanity and Mary, who is a living painting, decided to escape the Fabricated World alone, only to die horribly because she hasn't killed someone from the real world. I based most of the ending for the first chapter except for Ib and Garry.
In fact, these two will not be in the fanfic, as I want the growing friendship between Shadow and Mary to be the focal point of the entire story.
I want this to get it out of my head, but ever since I discovered Ib, I absolutely adored Mary. From her appearance, personality, her compelling motivation, and just being so pitiable and a tragic girl despite her insanity and villainy, there is nothing that I don't like about her. Since she is doomed to fail and die in most of the endings, I have made this fanfic to finally bring her dream to life. And what better way than to have our Ultimate Lifeform be the one who ultimately saves her from a horrible fate.
This is just my own observation and/or opinion, but both Mary and Maria, Shadow's deceased friend, have some similarities. They have blonde hair, blue eyes, generally cheerful and innocent and have a fascination for Earth. As for differences, Maria must be 12-years-old whereas Mary looks to be 9. Maria wears a headband, puffy-sleeved T-shirt, knee-length skirt and slippers in varying tones of blue while Mary wears a green dress with white collar and wrist cuffs, blue tie or ascot and brown shoes. Lastly, Maria never sheds her innocent demeanor in spite of her disease and told Shadow to make the people of Earth happy before dying while Mary is mentally unstable who will kill her new friends at a drop of the hat due to being lonely and living in the Fabricated World for all her life.
Having someone who bears a resemblance to his deceased friend/surrogate sister appeals so much to me as a Sonic fan, that it became my motivation to make this fanfic. In fact, there is a previous version that I published back in February but after one month, I deleted it because I wasn't satisfied with what I wrote in the previous version. It all comes down to starting it like it was in medias res. Also, I was struggling to write what the first chapter will be for many months, which thankfully ended after comfortably coming up with a version I really want.
Anyway, if I am lucky, I will publish the next chapter tomorrow, and then the third one after that. I have written the next two chapters, with the third one nearly complete and both requiring polishing from me. Hope you will follow this fanfic, and check out my other crossover fanfic called Living Things!
Oh, and if you'd like, please leave a review so I can see if all of you like the first chapter and general premise of this fanfic. This is a story centered around a friendship between a frowning hedgehog and cheerful painting girl.
Stay safe everyone! Thank you for reading!