Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/2537315.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      F/M
  Fandom:
      Ib_(Video_Game)
  Relationship:
      Ib/Fake_Garry
  Character:
      Ib_(Ib), Fake_Garry, Mary
  Additional Tags:
      Hurt/Comfort, Drama, Romance, Explicit_Language, Explicit_Sexual_Content,
      Triggers, Sexual_Assault
  Stats:
      Published: 2014-10-30 Updated: 2015-09-26 Chapters: 5/? Words: 24436
****** Ib Alone - Fabricated Garry ******
by Embodiment_of_Spirit_(SinfulExistence)
Summary
     The Fake Garry draws Ib deeper into the Fabricated World, but is it
     because of Mary's final order? Or does he have his own agenda? Will
     he be able to keep with that agenda when the real Garry's feelings
     interfere?
***** Chapter 1 *****
Chapter Notes
     I played a few of the different endings in Ib and a story idea popped
     out at me from the Ib Alone ending where she goes off with
     Fake!Garry.
     Music corner. Eerie Blank from one of the Bleach movie OSTs, Sleepy
     Hollow by Deadsy and Jonathan Davis, and Slept So Long by Jay Gordon.
     All in a fun little loop... thing.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Ib felt like she'd been down this particular hallway at least three times now.
First she'd been separated from Garry by those stone-like vines, but now she'd
                                lost Mary, too.
"Mary! Mary, where did you go?" Her crimson eyes continued to dart up and down
 the empty hallway, as if expecting something to come out and attack her. She
turned a corner, only to cover her mouth and give a sharp squeak as she nearly
   ran into a mannequin. She was quite close to running for it, but this one
                   didn't seem to be of the moving variety.
 It was a strange mannequin compared to most of the others. It was made of the
  same black material as the walking ones, but unlike them, it had a head as
 well. It mostly had a blank face, generic eye, nose, and mouth shapes carved
into the face but nothing that gave him distinguishing features. He had a pair
 of black slacks on and a blue tie. The head seemed to have hair that, despite
being made of a solid material, seemed to almost be in motion around his head,
rather messy and to his shoulders. He had a bit of a wide grin, almost creepy,
        but Ib didn't shrink away. She needed to find a way around it.
   Try as she might, though, she couldn't squeeze through. It was as if the
 hallway here had narrowed on purpose to keep the passage too tight for her to
 get through. The mannequin's pose was such that he blocked the bulk of it as
   well. She eventually leaned her back against the wall with small pants of
exertion, unsure how to proceed. She supposed she could go back... try to find
                              a different route.
 She stood up only to notice that during her struggles, she'd managed to pull
 the tie off his neck. She knelt down to pick it up, blinking. Her mother had
taught her how to tie one for her father a few times, but it was still hard to
 get back on the mannequin. It was quite tall and unlike her father, couldn't
   just bend down for her to reach better. Well, she thought that, but after
watching Ib struggle with his height, the mannequin slowly stooped down to give
                        her better access to his neck.
  Ib couldn't help but panic a bit when he started to move, jumping back. The
 mannequin's smile only widened in a friendly, but also decidedly creepy, way.
 She eyed him but when he seemed like he wouldn't hurt her, she reached up and
finished tying his tie for him. She noticed upon closer inspection that he had
 bits of dry or mostly-dry paint all over, as if someone had gone crazy on him
with a paintbrush in multiple colors. Her eyes moved to herself and she noticed
she had a bit on her as a result of her attempts to squeeze past him. She took
          out her handkerchief. Well, that's what it was for, right?
She started to rub bits of the paint off herself, then surprisingly reached up
  to clean the mannequin's face. The smile faded on his face somewhat and she
  could swear his eyes were a bit wider, possibly in surprise. She gave him a
             beaming smile when his face was clean, "All better."
 She put away her handkerchief and suddenly looked a bit afraid. Right... this
was one of those mannequins. She really should be a bit more wary. She bit her
 lip and looked up at him again, watching as he stood up straight and touched
his face. His new position left spots open around him, but she wasn't sure how
to proceed. He was obviously 'alive' and might react to an attempt to pass him.
                    Furthermore, it felt a little... rude?
 She decided to test how nice this mannequin really was. He hadn't hurt her so
                           far, after all. Maybe...
                 "Umm... excuse me...? M-May I pass by here?"
The mannequin's face contorted in a way that almost seemed to resemble raising
  an eyebrow, despite having no such feature. He considered her for a moment
 before pivoting on his left foot, his body swinging to press his back to the
 wall. He motioned gracefully with his hands for her to pass, almost charming.
She gave him a smile, "Thank you." Maybe all the artworks in this place weren't
    so bad after all. She reached into her pocket again and pulled out her
 handkerchief, putting it in one of his hands, "Here. You can keep it. For the
rest of the paint." She gestured to the paint marring his torso and arms before
             dashing ahead to see if she could finally find Mary.
After a few moments, a small doll found its way onto the mannequin's shoulder,
  looking with him as he held up the handkerchief and stared at it. The doll
spoke, the threads sewn between its lips stretching, "Heeeeh... Would you look
                        at that? Not bad for a human."
 The mannequin rubbed the lace between his fingers softly, his eyes narrowing
into a bit of a softer expression, "Not bad at all..." His lips shifted into a
                            decidedly wicked smile.
 The blue doll giggled and danced around to his other shoulder, "Oooh, I know
  that look. You like her, don't you?" The grin on the doll drooped somewhat,
  "You know the queen likes her, too, right? She's not going to like this..."
  The mannequin shrugged and put the handkerchief in his pocket, "It doesn't
 matter. I want her." He started off down the hallway, "I'll talk to the queen
                                   myself."
 The doll sat on his shoulder and huffed, rubbing her shoulder lightly as she
 looked at where it was crudely stitched together. Despite the protests of her
male companion, when the girl had seen the doll, arm ripped off and limp on the
    floor, she had gone through the trouble of finding a needle and thread
somewhere in this insane labyrinth to reattach her arm. It wasn't a pretty job,
            but the doll could move her arm again and was thankful.
 It wasn't the first time they'd pulled a human or two into this world, but it
     was the first time she'd met such a selfless human. She looked to her
  'companion' she was riding on. She knew how he got. If he wanted the little
 girl, this Ib, she would be well-protected from the horrors in that gallery.
                  But really, who would protect her from him?
 He was one of the few artworks in this place that even the queen was wary of.
Before she was painted and took over the place, he had been in the running for
 king of this world. He was powerful and ruthless. Luckily for the queen, she
                           was just a bit stronger.
  She kind of liked this kid, Ib. In fact, a lot of Guertena's works did now.
Those that still answered to Mary at this stage were either hardcore loyalists
or too scared of her power to disobey her. The rest were too mindless and crazy
  to obey anyone and would attack even the queen if they were faced with her.
   She knew this one, though. Their 'like' and his 'like' were two different
things. He wanted to possess her for whatever ends he could see. It wasn't like
 she would speak up against him. He may not be the king, but he could sure as
     hell rip her stitching apart and she preferred staying in one piece.
  He watched Ib from his spot beside their queen, watching through a painting
frame as the little girl collapsed against her companion, crying her heart out.
 Perhaps she was afraid. Perhaps she understood that he was dead. He was glad
   that her male companion was dead. Garry... right, that was his name. He'd
  watched from the shadows as this man got rather close to the object of his
  recent obsession. Keeping close to her, laughing with her, promising to go
       places with her when they got out. It was frustrating to him how
 unconditionally she trusted this other person when she was his. His hand idly
                  played with the handkerchief in his pocket.
He wouldn't allow it. He wouldn't allow her to leave. Garry was already out of
 his way. It would be easy now. Except that their queen wanted to take Ib with
        her. She wanted to take Garry's place and have Ib at her side.
So he felt a great amount of surprise at the words of his queen, muttered in a
    dull monotone as she stared at the frame before them, "...I want you to
 assimilate him. Assimilate him and let Ib believe you are him. Don't let her
                                    leave."
  He was rather confused, turning to look at her. She wasn't looking at him,
though. She was looking at Ib through the frame as the girl's eyes turned from
  sorrow to anger. To conviction. Mary watched as Ib pulled the lighter from
  Garry's pocket and he could practically see the wheels turning in her head.
 Whatever would happen now, their queen seemed to be aware. If she was giving
  him such an order, perhaps she didn't see herself coming out of this ordeal
                                  unscathed.
  He looked back at the 'painting', at his Ib as she walked out of the frame,
then to the dead body of her companion. Garry... he felt disgust at the idea of
 assimilating with this human. At the same time, though... Ib cared for him so
 much. To take the soul of the human she cared for, to have the chance to have
     her look at him like that... it was too good of a chance to pass up.
  He looked to Mary to see that her eyes were finally on him, waiting for his
     response to her order. He merely nodded obediently, nothing about his
expression or mannerisms giving away his thoughts. He had no particular loyalty
 to this wench, who had taken control of this world by force. She had a lot of
 power, he'd give her that. But she wasn't the greatest company and he knew a
    lot of the denizens of that world that would be glad to be rid of her.
 He watched as she dashed out, perhaps hoping to head Ib off before she got to
 the queen's portrait. He gave a sigh and slipped out as well, barely managing
     to miss Ib as she entered the room. He needed to get to Garry's body.
 Finding that particular hallway had been a bigger pain than he'd anticipated.
 With their queen dead, things were in disarray. The place didn't want to hold
together like it was before. By the time he found Garry, Ib had already passed
     by and was on her way to the painting that would get her out of here.
 Now he was running down the halls at break-neck speeds, trying to catch up to
her before she could jump out. It wasn't so much because it had been an order,
but he simply didn't want her to leave. He couldn't leave with her, not without
       dragging someone else in from the outside. So she couldn't leave.
He saw her as she was reaching for the painting only to take a few steps back,
a look of anguish on her face. As much as it angered him that the cause of this
behavior was Garry, he was also glad she did it, as it gave him the extra time
                              to catch up to her.
  He called out to her, "Ib...... Ib!!" It was funny how easy it was to sound
      just like him. The memories and mannerisms he adopted from Garry by
assimilating him certainly helped. He watched, both angered and pleased, as she
turned to look at him with an expression of absolute joy and relief. He really
needed to get over that quickly. It would be easier if he considered that now,
in a manner of speaking, he was Garry. He had all the man's thoughts, memories,
   even his appearance. There was no one here to say he wasn't Garry at all.
He stepped closer to her, still panting a bit for air, or pretending to for her
 sake anyway, "I was looking for you...! You went off on your own!" He scolded
her, a bit confused when she looked confused as well but continuing on, "I said
 I'd catch up, didn't I? Sheesh... I was worried!" At her further confusion he
     backtracked in his head, thinking over what he said and what her last
  conversation was with Garry. Shit, of course. He'd actually been the one to
         tell her to go on ahead. He didn't want her to watch him die.
He covered it up with a smile, his voice more cheerful to try to take her mind
  off his blunder, "Anyway, Ib! I think I found an exit!" He inwardly cheered
 when her face cleared of confusion and doubt, instead looking happy again at
  his apparent discovery, "It's not here, it's over there. Wanna go check it
                                     out?"
 Ib's gaze moved to the painting she'd been seconds from jumping through, her
 little brow creasing in confusion, "But... but what about this painting...?"
She looked to be thinking it over and 'Garry' held out his hand toward her with
                     a warm smile, "Hey, Ib... this way!"
She looked back toward Garry. It was true that he was acting a little strange,
  but then again, she only knew him for the time they'd been trapped in this
world. She didn't know everything about his personality yet, so it was hard to
judge. And, he still had that smile... that warm smile she knew from Garry. The
 one that comforted her through their journey. She gave him a brilliant smile
                   and a nod, taking a few steps toward him.
 He had to resist the urge to smirk as things started to go just as he wanted.
 She was so innocent and naive, it made her incredibly easy to manipulate. He
gave her a bigger smile as she got in close to him and reached for his hand, "I
knew you were a good kid, Ib. All right, let's go..." As his voice trailed off,
  he reached the last bit of distance and took her hand in his. Ib smiled and
   walked with him deeper into the gallery. Hidden from her view, his smile
widened to an impossible width for a normal human face. So easy. So, so easy...
Her eyes began to glaze over a bit as he led her inward, magic weaving between
 them to keep her seeing exactly what he wanted her to see while they walked.
  They came to a door eventually, though to Ib's eyes, it was a painting just
like the one they'd been in front of before. "See? You were looking at a fake.
    This is the real exit, Ib!" He smiled excitedly at her, Ib smiling back
cluelessly. She let the fake Garry take her hand and lead her through the door,
  feeling like she was climbing through the 'painting' to the other side and
      entirely oblivious to the triumphant grin on her companion's face.
   Ib hummed to herself as she colored on the floor, kicking her little legs
 behind her and laying on her stomach with crayons strewn about her. Garry was
laying beside her, coloring his own picture, the two of them taking up the bulk
                           of his living room space.
 She looked around for the blue she needed, huffing when she noticed Garry was
using it. He noticed her gaze and merely grinned to himself, continuing to use
  it slowly as if he hadn't noticed. She waited patiently for a moment before
    pouting and poking his arm, "Come on, Garry, I need that for the sky!"
 He gave her a playful smile, "But Ib, what color would I use for the dolphin,
                                    then?"
She looked around for a moment before snatching the light blue crayon from his
grasp, giving him a green crayon instead. He raised an eyebrow as she stuck out
          her tongue and started coloring her sky, "A green dolphin?"
                She gave a bit of a giggle, "It could happen."
He chuckled and gave her a light pat on the head before obediently coloring his
   dolphin with the new color. In the end, it was to make her happy, anyway.
   Ib perked a bit with a sudden thought, "Oh, can we go to the cafe today?"
  He let out a chuckle, sitting up and tipping his head at her, "Again? We go
                              nearly every day."
 She pouted and sat up too, poking his side with her crayon, "It's your fault
                        for letting me taste macarons!"
He smiled at her and ruffled her hair, "Alright, alright... After school, we'll
                      go to the cafe together, alright?"
She pouted at the mention of school, though the promise of macarons with Garry
 after made the prospect worth it. She helped him clean up her crayons and let
 him take her to school, making him promise again that they'd have a cafe day
  after school before going inside for her lessons. Garry stood at the school
 gates, watching where she disappeared before an overly-wide grin appeared on
   his face, a red hue glowing around his pupil for a moment before fading.
  Within the fabricated world, Garry sat in a rather plush chair, watching Ib
    closely as she sat in a chair across from him, her eyes glazed over and
unfocused as she conversed with a multitude of blue dolls sitting with her. He
hadn't seen a need for such a thing, but the dolls insisted that a girl of her
  age would know very little in the ways of vocabulary and other such things.
They insisted that if she were to stay in their world, they should still try to
      have her somewhat educated. A queen should be educated, after all.
   He couldn't really argue with their logic. He was simply pleased that his
 assumptions had been on the money. As he had thought, the moment Mary was out
 of the picture, so to speak, and it was clear that Ib was staying within the
  fabricated world, the art pieces had clamored for her to take the place of
  queen. She hadn't formally accepted or declined the position, mostly due to
Garry's spell over her and her ignorance to still being within this world, but
          it was pretty much an assumed truth now that she was queen.
   Any who didn't agree with this chance, mostly loyalists of the old queen,
disappeared and didn't bother to show themselves before the new queen. Not that
                          Garry cared much for them.
After a time had passed, Garry pushed himself from his chair and moved over to
 Ib, his long fingers reaching out to run through her hair, curling one of the
locks around them gently. His voice was cold and even as he spoke to the dolls,
            "I think that's enough for the day. You're dismissed."
  The dolls gave him wary looks but didn't dare disobey, dispersing. He moved
  around to the front of Ib and knelt down, smiling eerily up at her face. He
  touched her cheek lightly before offering her his hand, "Come on Ib, those
 macarons aren't going to eat themselves." She jumped from her chair happily,
 taking his hand firmly and smiling up at him, "Yay!" He gave her a large grin
 that to her just seemed like his normal, warm smile as he led her deeper into
the labyrinth that was their world, the hallways looking like streets to her as
                          they came up on the 'cafe'.
  Food wasn't a necessity in this world, not even for a human, so she wasn't
 really eating anything, but she enjoyed herself nonetheless, his spell giving
her the sensation of taste well enough. He himself didn't know what food tasted
 like, but the old Garry knew the tastes well enough for him to replicate them
                              from his memories.
    He reached out as he watched her enjoying her false outing, his fingers
 brushing through her hair, an almost affectionate look on his face. It was an
   odd affection, though. Not the sort one holds for a person, but a favored
   object they prize. She was pretty much his living, breathing trophy. His
 possession. Keeping her happy was merely a formality for keeping her in their
   world. That and he got a small sense of pride knowing that out of all the
  artworks there, he could make her happier than any of them. The fact that a
 large amount of that happiness was through magic and trickery was irrelevant.
  Ib looked up at his touch, a small shiver going through her body. She loved
being with Garry like this, eating and chatting about little things. But there
were certain things that unnerved her from time-to-time. This was one of them.
 His fingers brushed through her hair and down the side of her neck, a strange
look to his eyes. As if finally realizing how he was leering at her, he pulled
his hand away, giving her one of his usual goofy smiles, "Sorry about that, Ib.
I guess I'm just jealous of how straight your hair is. Mine is always all over
the place." He pulled at one of his unruly locks for emphasis, pulling a giggle
                                   from her.
   Garry watched her go back to eating her macarons while talking about her
 various exploits during that school day. The hungry look returned to his eyes
  as he watched her, careful this time not to let her catch that look on his
    face. Why didn't humans grow up faster? The sooner she was his in every
     possible way, the sooner the rest of his plans would fall into place.
Chapter End Notes
     Fake Garry is creepy Garry. Hopefully that didn't spook anyone too
     bad! I'll try to pop the next chapter out soon.
***** Chapter 2 *****
Chapter Notes
     Music Corner for the chapter: Sleep to Dream by Fiona Apple.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Garry had always been kind of the impatient sort. It wasn't to say he was bored
easily, but when he was anticipating something, he found he wanted it then, not
 later. So his situation with Ib was something that took an enormous force of
           will to keep himself from going nuts from his impatience.
The first couple of days were tolerable. He continued the charade presented by
 the dolls, letting them educate the girl. It gave him a break from having to
           constantly cater to her, anyway, so he couldn't complain.
After the first week, he was starting to get antsy. Unrest was building at the
outer edges of the world and it was making him uneasy. Something wasn't right,
                     but he couldn't put his finger on it.
   By the end of the second week, he was nearly pulling his hair out. It was
 amazing how she could stay so utterly entertained and content just doing the
 same thing every day. For him, it was just more waiting he had to do for his
                                     goal.
It was halfway through said week that he found he needed to greatly reconsider
  his strategy. His goal was originally best served by the girl never tapping
  into the new powers granted her in her position as queen. A figurehead, at
best. In a way, he supposed it was his fault for taking his eyes off her for a
minute. She'd seemed completely content petting bunnies in an imaginary zoo he
 had conjured for her amusement. He had needed to deal with an issue that was
   addressed him and the next moment, she was running off to another animal
  exhibit without his knowledge. He was thankful that, at the very least, his
illusion held up. He'd put a lot of thought into making sure the area was large
and sprawling so it would be difficult for her to find the edge of the illusion
                                    easily.
However, he hadn't anticipated that the loyalists from the old queen were under
a lot of unrest, so much so that they would attack the new queen while his back
   was turned. It was the answer to his question about what had felt off, at
                                    least.
Ib had been looking at the monkeys with a large smile on her face, pointing and
   calling for Garry to look only to realize he didn't see her run off, his
attention still on the tigers. As she continued to call out to him, one of the
 monkeys slipped out of the cage, wrapping its hands around her tiny neck and
squeezing. She let out a wheeze of air that would have been a scream if not for
the tight grip, her body being hoisted off the ground by a few inches, hanging
                              her by its fingers.
Garry felt a prickling up the back of his neck and searched for Ib, finding her
    being held and strangled by a mannequin in a yellow dress, several more
surrounding her as if wanting to tear into her as well. He let out a deep growl
 in his throat and ran for the commotion. The mannequin with Ib made a run for
it with the small girl still strangled in her hands, the others moving to block
his progress. Garry ducked an attempt by one of the mannequins to stab through
  his torso with her hand, his palm coming up to press to her stomach. It was
 barely a second later when long, thorny vines burst from her body in several
areas, tearing out of her shoulders, one of her knees, and several parts of her
torso. With no structural integrity left, the mannequin fell into small pieces
                                 at his feet.
 The two remaining mannequins recoiled at the display, though one still seemed
 to have enough courage to lunge at him. He grabbed one of the vines from the
   first mannequin he took down, lashing it out at her like a whip. The vine
   caught around her waist and he pulled her in hard. Realizing he wantedher
    closer she attempted to stop her charge and pull back, but his strength
 severely trumped her and once she was in close he planted a foot against her
chest, simultaneously pushing with his foot as his arm jerked backward to pull
hard with the vine. The result was an ear-piercing screech like stone-against-
 stone as the mannequin was broken in half at the torso. The third, terrified,
 tried to run from him, but vines covered in blue roses came up from the floor
 to tangled her feet, sending her sprawling to the floor. He planted a foot on
  the middle of her back, between her shoulder blades, and stomped down with
 enough force to shatter her torso into pieces and leave a small crater on the
                              floor beneath her.
His eyes moved in the direction the fourth mannequin had taken Ib in. Noticing
that she was taken much further than he could probably run in time, he located
   the first empty frame he could find, pressing his hands against the empty
  canvas. The canvas gave way like water rippling and his body eased into the
                          painting, vanishing within.
  The mannequin with Ib heard the commotion behind her and fled for her life,
 Ib's body lifeless in her hands. It was unclear if the girl was dead or just
  unconscious but the mannequin's life was at stake now. She'd deal with the
                          girl's state of life later.
  That was the plan until a pair of hands shot out of a painting beside her,
   snagging her by her upper arm and slamming her back into a wall. Her grip
        loosened on the girl, who fell limply to the floor at her feet.
 Garry exited the painting and the mannequin visibly shook at the look in his
 eyes, red and feral as he stared her down and spoke in a quiet but dangerous
tone, "I didn't think you loyalists were really this stupid, but I see I can't
merely leave you alone anymore..." His eyes moved to Ib for a moment, noticing
    her shallow breathing before glaring back at the neck of the mannequin,
   "Consider yourself lucky that she still lives. It saves me the trouble of
  torturing you slowly. As it stands..." He released her roughly, making her
 stumble back several paces from him and Ib to keep her balance, only for more
  vines to rise from the floor and wrap around her arms and legs, "...living
             isn't exactly an option I'll be giving you, either."
He raised his palm to the ceiling and lifted his hand slowly, the vines lifting
   her body off the floor as he knelt down to pick up Ib in his free arm. He
  looked to the mannequin, tipping his head curiously with a cold look to his
    eyes, "Any information you'd like to give me in an attempt to save your
                               miserable life?"
The mannequin just laughed and otherwise stayed silent. He should have figured.
 Speech wasn't common among the headless mannequins. He turned his hand at the
 wrist to face his palm toward the ground, the vines arranging her so she was
 horizontal with her front facing the floor. He let his fingers droop an inch
  and she was suddenly slammed into the ground with enough force to shake the
  walls around them. Speech or not, she certainly screamed an awful lot. His
  fingers rose back up and her body followed suit, only to drop again at his
 silent command. He repeated the actions lazily, her body becoming cracked as
the force of the blows against the ground wore on her while he used her like an
oversized yo-yo. It only took a few more blows before her body broke to pieces
 and fell out of the grasp of the vines, her consciousness vanishing in a last
scream of agony. Garry turned his back on her with disinterest and took Ib back
                to what was considered Ib's "castle" as queen.
Which now led him to his current predicament. Whether to keep her a weak human
 and trust himself to be more vigilante, or to take a chance and let the girl
  have use of some of the power that was her right as queen of the realm. He
watched her as she slept uneasily beside him, his eyes now back to their usual
violet. It was almost lucky in a way that she'd passed out before she left the
            illusion. That would have left him a lot to answer for.
 He reached out and stroked her hair lightly as he watched her, her breathing
still a bit wheezy but at least there. The dolls had said she would be okay, he
just needed to watch her and make sure her breathing didn't stop. It was still
possible the mannequin had done irreparable damage to her windpipe and the next
               few hours would be crucial as far as observation.
His eyes wandered from her to the room around them. It was one of the few areas
in their castle that he didn't need to keep up with an illusion. To her, it was
the bedroom Garry added for her in his apartment. That was close enough to the
     truth, he supposed. He had expected her to ask for the girliest room
 imaginable, to be honest. While her room still had a feminine charm, however,
  it wasn't overly so. The furnishings were made of dark, warm woods, placed
against wood flooring of a lighter tone. The walls were cream colored and deep
red curtains rested over the windows, seeming to cast the room in darkness. It
    was something he was thankful she liked, as it was tiring to keep up an
 illusion of something outside those windows when she opened the curtains. He
   was sitting in a rather cushioned chair, next to Ib's bed, a rather large
    monstrosity with wine-colored sheets and a flowing canopy of sheer, red
   material that hung haphazardly around the bed, but still managed to look
   beautiful that way. There were a few chairs here and there, her furniture
 otherwise consisting of a dresser, a vanity, and various shelves with a large
                    assortment of stuffed rabbits on them.
  Other than the stuffed animals, the room was rather mature-looking. He idly
 wondered if perhaps her parents' room had been like this. Or, perhaps she was
 trying to seem more like an adult to him. He wasn't really sure and honestly
didn't care too much. Whatever made her happy and kept her blissfully ignorant
 of whatever he didn't want her to know. His eyes moved to her again, a hungry
  look flashing across them before he remembered she needed to be recovering.
He let out another sigh and snapped his fingers, several dolls appearing before
   him. He took a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking, "I wish to
  educate Ib in the art of magic. As soon as possible." While he was sure he
 could teach her himself, he wasn't really the teaching sort. He'd likely give
poor instructions, or be too harsh for the illusion of her "precious Garry" to
 continue to hold water. The dolls, for all their immature looks, were some of
 the smartest creatures in their world and would be better suited to the task.
  The dolls looked amongst themselves and muttered quietly before they pushed
 forward the one in the middle, the doll wringing her hands together nervously
as she spoke up at him, "Umm... milord, it would be unwise to try to teach her
                                at this time."
 Garry's eyes narrowed and the doll gulped as it was obvious she hadn't given
 Garry the answer he'd been looking for, "Would you like to explain to me why
        not?" It didn't sound much like a question so much as an order.
 The doll made a motion that vaguely resembled someone nervously chewing their
   bottom lip, "Well, it is true that children hold a high capacity for the
   creative aspects of magic. But, there is the physical aspect of magic to
   consider as well. While she could probably mentally deal with the strain,
physically, her body is too young. Perhaps even a few more years..." Her voice
             trailed off as the glare Garry gave her chilled her.
 He kept his gaze on her before letting out a sharp sigh through his nose, "We
don't have years. The former queen's loyal followers are on the move already. I
 am by her side, but I can't guarantee I can always watch her. She needs to be
                           able to defend herself."
   Both parties went silent as they thought on what to do for the situation.
 Finally, one of the male dolls in the back of their group spoke up, "There...
   might be a way to accelerate her growth." The female doll in front turned
    quickly and gave a sharp hiss at him, but Garry's eyes were alight with
          interest, zeroing in on the doll that had spoken, "Go on."
 The doll squirmed nervously under Garry's enthusiasm and his sister's glare,
 keeping his eyes on Garry, "It is a very taxing spell. The idea is similar to
 the illusion spells you've been using when we school her, but it is at a very
    accelerated speed. Mixed with the right spell, it tricks the body into
believing time is moving faster than it truly is and it compensates by growing
accordingly. It requires us to impart our magic and knowledge to make sure she
mentally matures, while you feed her your own magic so the spell can alter her
                                 physically."
            Garry, thought this through before nodding, "Very wel-"
He was cut off as the female doll cried out in distress, "But milord, the spell
                      could present dangers to the girl!"
  Her brother sighed impatiently, "Very small risks. I'm sure milord can keep
                      control of the spell well enough."
        Garry raised an eyebrow at this, "What do you mean by dangers?"
  The sister cut her brother off, answering first, "The spell was originally
 intended to use the magic power of the person it is being cast on to feed the
spell. Her body couldn't possibly support a spell of this magnitude as she is.
That is why my brother said you'd have to feed your magic into it. But, if you
slip up, even for an instant... it will take from her instead and possibly kill
                                     her."
Garry was silent a moment before his eyes moved to Ib, "We'll do it regardless.
 If it's a matter of my ability to hold the spell, there's nothing to fear. I
   will not falter." His voice was full of such confidence that the doll had
                nothing left to say in argument, merely bowing.
 The brother squirmed nervously before leading his sister and the other dolls
out of the room, "We shall prepare and come back as soon as possible, milord."
  Garry waved them off without looking at them, his gaze only for Ib. She was
his. Whatever little that meant in the way of feelings toward her, it did mean
 that he wouldn't let anything hurt her. He treasured her in his own, twisted
                   way and wouldn't allow her to be harmed.

 [Music corner change: Light Your Heart Up by Aimee Blackshleger from the Kill
                                 La Kill OST.]
Ib was unaware of how ironic her feelings were, but she felt as if the last few
 years flew by in the blink of an eye. She was utterly blissful with her life.
She still never quite understood why her parents had been so willing to let her
  stay with Garry, or why Garry had wanted her to live with him, but to her,
                      these were some of her best years.
 It had meant going to a new school and the thought alone had made her scared.
  She hadn't done so well at her old school. Reactions to her had ranged from
avoiding and ignoring her to blatant teasing. Her eyes had been a major factor
 to this initially, since crimson wasn't exactly an often-seen eye color. She
also was rather quiet and shy. When she didsocialize, she was found strange, as
 she often had interests that others found weird. She was one of the few girls
 who liked bugs. She found baby dolls and Barbies strange and not really what
 she was into. She loved to draw, but ended up drawing odd things that got her
strange looks and sometimes had her teacher expressing concerns to her parents.
So when she found out she'd be at a new school, she didn't know what to think.
 She quickly found this new school more to her liking, though. People weren't
   mean to her about her eye color. In fact, some of her classmates had some
rather odd eye and hair colors of their own. They weren't mean to her and often
  had similar interests as her. Her art teacher, a nice woman named Yachiru,
 loved just about anything she drew and helped her to refine her art well. Her
  regular teacher, Mr. Hinken, was nice as well and was very good at teaching
                        things in a way she understood.
  For the first time, she had real friends! Not the kind that acted like they
liked her because her family was rich, but real friends. Her best friend was a
   cute girl with shaggy black hair and vibrant green eyes named Cassie. Her
 brother, Seo, played with them, too. His hair was similar to his sister's but
his eyes were golden in color. The three of them often played at her house, the
  brother and sister frequently keeping her company while Garry was at work.
She frowned a little at that thought. Garry... Garry was concerning her lately.
 He'd gotten his current job about three years ago, shortly after she moved in
 with him. He was rather evasive about that job, but he often came home rather
 tired and sore. Sometimes he'd zone out or seem sluggish. She knew it was so
they could live comfortably, but she couldn't help but feel guilty that he was
                  working so hard for their quality of life.
It also seemed to be making him act... strangely. Sometimes he'd give her these
     strange looks when he thought she wasn't looking. She honestly didn't
  understand them, but they made a strange feeling twist in her belly and the
                            blood rush to her face.
                 "Probably lust. You know, like he wants sex?"
 That had been Cassie's offhanded response. Seo had nearly pulled his sister's
  hair out in frustration at her blurting that out but Ib had been even more
confused after that. She gave an awkward smile and tried to pry them apart, but
            wondered what that response was supposed to have meant.
                                     "Ib?"
   She blinked out of her thoughts as she heard her name called through the
bedroom door, remembering she was supposed to be changing. She straightened out
her clothes a bit before opening the door and letting Cassie and Seo back into
  her room, making a little turn so they could see the back of her, too. She
         faced them again with a small smile, "So, what do you think?"
Cassie grinned from ear-to-ear, her hands clasped by her cheek in a very Garry-
            esque way, "Awww, Ib! It's so cute! It suits you well!"
    Seo scratched his cheek and blushed, looking aside, "Yeah, it's cute."
 Ib giggled, her ill humor from before vanishing, "I'm so glad I got into the
  same middle school as you two." She tugged at the end of her skirt a bit to
straighten it, "The uniforms are so cute, too. I can't wait until we start the
                                 school year."
The brother and sister exchanged a small, knowing smile. Of course Ib would end
up at the same school as them. It's not like it would have played out any other
                     way. Not that Ib needed to know that.
 While they had their silent exchange, both missed the smile sliding off Ib's
  face as her mind went to their past conversation again. It had been enough
                time, maybe they'd have forgotten the context?
    She sat on the edge of her bed and cleared her throat, "Umm... I have a
question, guys..." Their eyes moved to her and she fought not to fidget, "Umm..
                            well... what's 'sex'?"
 Garry walked into the door of the house wearily, calling out, "I'm home~" He
had been rather tired with the ritual and only now just managed to put himself
 back in the illusion. They weren't kidding about the amount of energy needed
 for it. It was taxing as hell. He only made himself do this because he didn't
            trust anyone else to play the part of Garry except him.
 He didn't get an answer and assumed the twins were keeping her company again.
Despite his distaste for their kind, he had to admit that the two of them were
 being good companions for her and took a lot of his workload off. Maybe they
                   were earning his respect. Just a little.
He climbed the stairs tiredly and knocked on Ib's door, "Ib, I'm home. Want to
go get macarons?" He looked down as she cracked the door open and looked up at
him, rather red in the face. He gave her as much of an awake smile as he could,
  bewildered when she gave a squeak and slammed the door in his face. What in
                                    the...?
He opened the door to find the twins sitting on the floor, looking equal parts
   scared and embarrassed as they looked between him and the huddled mass of
       blanket that was obviously Ib hiding under her covers on her bed.
  He crossed his arms with a tired sigh, "Ib, what on earth is wrong, dear?"
 She called back in a high-pitched squeak to him, "I-I don't think I'm ready!"
 He frowned, puzzled, "But you're always ready for macarons." His words didn't
seem to have an effect on her. A sudden suspicion took hold of him and his eyes
   slowly panned down to the twins on the floor. The increased fear in their
 expressions only made him feel more confident in his assumption and his eyes
        narrowed into slits, promising them death. Very painful death.
 It was a bit hectic after that. He'd sent the twins 'home' with a promise of
ripping out each of their stitches one-by-one if this situation wasn't fixable,
getting locked out of Ib's room in the meantime. He then spent the better part
of a half hour trying to explain to Ib through her door that no, he didn't want
 to have sex with her (he wasn't about to tell her that if it weren't for her
    age, he'd certainly be trying) and that he honestly just wanted to have
macarons with her. He passed off his more lustful gazes toward her as him being
  protective of his Ib, something that she seemed to buy for the time being.
  She finally opened the door for him shyly and he gave her a relieved smile,
 inwardly noting that he supposed the twins could live for a bit longer after
all. He watched as her eyed scanned his face before her expression fell, biting
her lower lip. His eyes fixated on the little gesture before he jerked his eyes
 up to hers. It wouldn't do well to look at her like thatafter all the trouble
        he'd just had trying to calm her down, "What's the matter, Ib?"
  She opened the door wider and tugged lightly at his coat, "You look tired."
He frowned at that. He had been trying to keep that from Ib, but it seemed she
wasn't as easily fooled as he thought. That made him worry a bit. He gave her a
 light smile and ruffled her hair, "It's fine Ib, just a hard day at work. I'm
                 more than up for macarons if you want to go."
She pursed her lips in thought before shaking her head, "No, let's stay home."
                       He let out a little sigh, "Ib..."
  She shook her head stubbornly and clung to his arm, pouting up at him, "No,
   we're staying!" She suddenly beamed up at him, "We could watch a movie or
                   something. We still have popcorn, right?"
  He chuckled and let her have her way, "Alright, alright, you win. Go take a
shower and get ready for bed and I'll set up." He watched as she danced away to
the bathrom. Once she was out of view he sighed and leaned against a wall, his
  vision swimming. Even with all his power, he wasn't sure how much longer he
  could keep this up. There was no way the girl could take the ritual herself
though, even now. Physically, the girl had developed about three years so far,
though for him it had been a matter of three days. Still, three days channeling
 a spell this intricate and power-hungry was taxing. He figured he might have
another day, maybe two, before they needed to abort. Then there was the problem
          of the old loyalists. If they attacked him in this state...
    He shook that out. For now, he would spend time with his Ib. He headed
 downstairs and snapped his fingers, popcorn beginning to pop in the microwave
 as he tried to force his eyes to focus. He'd been neglecting her quite a bit,
seeing as how the time frame was too fast for even him to keep up with. Forcing
 his brain to the speed needed to interact with Ib past a drooling, zoned-out
  lump took even more power than usual, but he needed to keep her happy. And
 apparently, miraculously, he made her happy. So he would force out this movie
                                night for her.
As if on cue, he heard her footfalls coming down the stairs. He quickly flicked
 a finger toward the TV, both the TV and the DVD player lighting up to life as
  the popcorn finished. He took off his coat and slung it over the back of a
nearby chair, heading to the kitchen and throwing the popcorn in a large bowl.
He watched from the kitchen as Ib nearly skipped to the couch and plopped down,
    her voice ringing out in a whine, "Garry, you didn't put anything in!"
 He chuckled and came to the couch with the bowl of popcorn and a cup of soda
                     for her, "I thought you should pick."
 She huffed, but smiled at his kindness, slipping off the couch to go look at
  what movies they had. She looked them over before grinning and popping in a
  DVD, flopping on the couch next to Garry and taking her drink from him. He
  inwardly groaned as he realized she'd thrown in Frozen. He was starting to
             regret his choice of letting her have movies at all.
 It had been quite a hassle, to be honest. Luckily a local movie rental store
had gotten one of Guertena's pieces for a spot on one of their walls, a rather
 odd and twisted piece of work. Though to be honest, most of his art was like
  that. Apparently some guy by the name of Tim Burton had gotten a stroke of
  inspiration for a movie based on that painting and with the release of the
 movie, they'd gotten a hold of the painting in question. They were lucky they
were such a big chain and that particular location was so close to the museum.
 Regardless, it had taken a bit of energy to do it, but he'd managed to slip a
few of his rose vines out of the painting and grab what they needed. There was
    just no way he could rely on the old Garry's memories alone to make the
illusion of a movie. Ib would find out for sure. So he'd managed to get a hold
of the real thing. It was one less thing he had to illusion into existence for
 her, he supposed. Though it had been a lot of work to figure out how to make
                     these things run without electricity.
                  The things he did for this girl sometimes.
He winced as the movie immediately dove into a music number, his eyes moving to
  watch Ib as she absently ate some popcorn, her eyes glued to the screen. He
 gave a small smile at that. She definitely had a habit of staring intently at
 something she was interested in. Her focus was almost uncanny for someone her
  age. One of the reasons most other kids thought she was strange, no doubt.
  He seemed to realize that he had a rather strange, soft smile on his face,
    jerking his gaze back to the screen. He reminded himself that he got no
   enjoyment from this at all. This was purely for her sake, to keep her an
  obedient, ignorant little doll so he could use her power and authority for
                   himself. He wouldn't grow soft over her.
  His eyes shifted slowly back to her face. He certainly wouldn't fall for a
human. Not even one as selfless and kind as this one. Not even one with such a
  cute face or such captivating, curious eyes. And that certainly wasn't his
heart leaping in his chest when she looked up at him and smiled happily before
                 pushing a piece of popcorn between his lips.
 He ate the popcorn obediently then gave her a wide smile, "Yum." He couldn't
 help but take a piece himself and press it to her lips, suppressing a shudder
 when the damned, soft things brushed his finger as he pulled it back. He went
   back gluing his eyes to the screen, trying to drown out the sensation. He
 focused less on the illusion and more on keeping the spell stable, looking to
  Ib as if he was just drowsily watching the movie. Being only half-conscious
    felt nice and let him block out the less savory thoughts from his head.

[For once, I couldn't figure out a song to listen to while writing this, so the
                         rest was written to silence.]
 He was half-asleep when the movie got rather noisy. It wasn't really so much
that it was particularly loud, but there were a cacophony of yells, clattering,
     and scraping. He groaned and muttered for Ib to turn the volume down.
 Ib looked up at Garry strangely. The movie wasn't loud at all, but he looked
 like he was really bothered. She turned it out, frowning when the words left
           his lips for her to turn it down again. Was he sleeping?
 She jumped in her seat when his eyes suddenly snapped open and a sharp scream
  broke from his throat. She looked him over as if expecting to see something
                    sticking out of him, but found nothing.
His hand flew to his right shoulder, clutching it tightly like it was wounded.
 Her lips pressed together with worry and when she tried to pry his hand away
from his shoulder, she felt something warm and sticky starting to soak through
   his shirt. Something that was making a brown spot on his green shirt. She
  pulled her fingers away to see blood on them, her eyes widening in horror,
                                   "Garry!?"
He wanted to answer her, but with his head spinning from the pain, it was hard
to speed his brain processes up enough to answer her without it seeming to take
  days to her. It felt like he was being attacked outside of the illusion. It
   wasn't something he could easily pull out of without making Ib suspicious
though. He could walk out the 'door' and tell Ib to stay put, but his physical
  body would temporarily move away from Ib's and possibly put her further in
harm's way. If someone was physically hurting him, they were already too close
                  for comfort. Damn it, he needed an excuse!
He then felt like things were getting sluggish. Things were slowing down to his
normal perception and he felt that he could ease up and move at a slower pace.
 It seemed that the two siblings were aborting the ritual. It was too soon for
 that, but he had to admit that this was a horrible time to keep this up. They
                    could try to advance this another time.
He reached out and stroked Ib's hair, trying to sooth her as she cried in panic
and fear at his sudden injury. His voice came out with a bit of a croak in it,
  "Ib... get me a towel and some ice, okay?" She nodded rapidly before nearly
 diving over the back of the couch and making a run for the kitchen. While her
  back was turned, he let enough of the illusion slip to see the form of the
mannequin that had his hand in Garry's shoulder. Garry reached out and grabbed
  its arm as it tried to retreat backward, throwing out his foot to kick the
  mannequin's arm in half. He pulled the arm that was in his shoulder out and
 used it like a spear, stabbing it through the mannequin's torso as it fell to
 the ground. He repaired the illusion, letting his eyes stay somewhere between
   focused and unfocused as he tried to keep his eyes in the illusion he was
making for Ib as well as outside of it to see what actually resided outside the
                                   illusion.
Ib turned at the mannequin's scream to see what looked to her like a man lying
in their living room in a puddle of his own blood. She put a hand to her mouth,
                 her eyes horrified, "Garry!? What happened!?"
Garry came up to her, ignoring the pain in his shoulder, "Robbers. Come on, we
 have to get out of here. He might have friends." He took her hand and nearly
 dragged her from the room, taking her down several corridors of the castle to
try to avoid the massive fight that was currently raging. While it looked to Ib
 like she was being dragged through a relatively quiet street at night, Garry
 was slipping through the battlefield as stealthily as he could, avoiding the
          mannequins and dolls and paintings that were out for blood.
Eventually he felt her pull on his hand to stop him, her eyes worried, "Garry,
we need to get to a hospital. Your shoulder..." She couldn't understand why he
 still looked so panicked. They were away from the apartment now and the night
  was pretty peaceful, so she couldn't understand why he seemed so unnerved.
  He shook his head at her words, giving her the illusion of shuffling in the
  alleyways near them to spook her. The grip on his hand tightening gave him
reason to believe it worked. He muttered, "We need to hide." He was on the move
 again and this time Ib didn't stop him, keeping close to his side nervously.
                 Eventually she murmured, "Where do we hide?"
A light bulb went off in his head. The gallery! He needed to get her to realize
 she was in the gallery. He'd been planning to 'take her back' much later, but
 it didn't seem like they had enough time. Especially with them being tailed.
  They were being rather stealthy about it, but he could sense the paintings
            following behind, watching for where he was taking her.
  He started for where the museum would be in the illusion, "We could hide in
 that world." She frowned at his back, "What world?" There was a silence until
 she understood, digging her heels in and nearly knocking him over as she came
                            to a sudden stop, "NO!"
He looked over at her, pursing his lips to prevent himself from yelling at her,
                            "Ib, there's no other-"
"There is!" she interrupted frantically, "There has to be! Maybe the police-!"
                     "The police can't help with this Ib!"
                                  "Why not!?"
Garry had to force himself to calm down. The old Garry wouldn't yell at her, so
he couldn't either. Then again, the old Garry was gone. Who was to say what he
       could and couldn't do? Only that he'd push her away, he supposed.
He tried to gently tug her with him again, his voice soft, "Ib, it will just be
               for a little bit and we'll come right back out."
   He could see the utter fear in her eyes, though. There was no way he was
  talking her into his being a good thing. She shook her head and pulled away
  from him hard, her hand jerking from his grasp. He felt his body jerk again
 with the movement, something falling from his pocket. He ignored it and kept
his eyes glued on Ib, reaching out slowly for her, "Ib, we need to go. We need
                                   to hide."
 Her eyes weren't on him, though. She was breathing quick, shallow breaths and
 staring at the ground. At whatever had fallen from his pocket. His eyes moved
 to follow her gaze and he felt his breath catch as he saw where her panic was
                                 coming from.
   There, on the sidewalk, was a handkerchief. A white, lacy thing with "Ib"
                          embroidered on the corner.
          The same one she'd given to the mannequin a few weeks ago.
  Perhaps if he hadn't been so panicked he might have been more level-headed
about it. Came up with some excuse. Made some story about how he found it on a
  mannequin. Something that made sense and made him seem completely innocent.
  He certainly hadn't meant to freeze up upon seeing the incriminating thing,
like he knew he was in trouble. For all he knew, he was. She was a smart girl.
                        Maybe a lie wouldn't cover it?
Either way, it didn't matter, because the horror on his face was enough to make
  her expression mirror his. Even when he realized and tried to settle into a
                   more neutral expression, it was too late.
  She took a few steps back from him, her voice shaky as she looked up at him
finally, "G-Garry...?" Her eyes were piercing. Analyzing. Beneath that, though,
  he could see doubt. Denial. Like she'd already came to her conclusion, but
                          didn't want to believe it.
 He watched her crumble and felt something foreign tighten in his chest at the
sight. His eyes stayed focused on her as he approached her, hands out slightly
         and palms up, as if approaching a frightened animal, "Ib..."
   She took another step back and murmured almost brokenly, "Are you really
                                  Garry...?"
    He swallowed. He could lie. It was what he wanted to do. It was what he
 shoulddo. But, he knew by her expression that she already knew it would be a
    lie. She didn't seem too sure herself if she wanted him to lie or not.
           He settled for speaking in almost a whisper, "I am, now."
 He immediately regretted those words. He could see her crumbling at them and
  with her, his chances of everything he wanted. Power, authority... and her.
 He didn't know whether to feel surprised or regretful as he felt power pulse
 off her in waves. It seemed her aging had done a bit of good. Her body seemed
to be resonating with her new power, even if she had no clue how to control it.
 In the next instant, though, it blew off of her in a rather sharp wave and he
  realized too late when it hit the boundaries of his illusion, shattering it
    around them. Almost like shards of glass, he watched helplessly as the
    nighttime street fell away around them, to the familiar hallways of the
                               Fabricated World.
 He watched emotions fly through her eyes. Surprise, anger, sadness, fear....
 they cycled through her face one-by-one until her expression settled on pure
                fear, turning on her heel and fleeing from him.
Chapter End Notes
     I'm so sorry this took so long to come out, guys. I tried to make it
     a long one in compensation. Not only are there holiday vacations, but
     it feels like half my family has their birthdays in October through
     November. It makes it rather hectic. Hopefully I can get the next
     chapter out quicker than this one took, but I apologize if it takes
     until after the holidays for me to get my shit in order.
***** Chapter 3 *****
Chapter Notes
     Music Corner: Red in the Face - Assassin's Creed OST
See the end of the chapter for more notes


Ib tried to ignore the feeling of her head wanting to split as she ran through
the halls haphazardly, not really paying attention to where she was going. She
 only knew she needed to get away. A sharp chemical smell permeated the air, a
 strange mix of wet paint and the coppery smell of blood. Between that and the
loud noises that accompanied the battle, she could barely hear her own thoughts
other than “RUN!” repeating through her head. Her lungs ached, her legs burned,
but still she ran, barely avoiding attacks thrown at her out of sheer luck and
                                   hysteria.
 Garry... Garry wasn't her Garry. Not anymore. How long? Why? Was he going to
  tell her? What happened to the real Garry? An image flashed in her mind of
 Garry, limp and weak as he sat against the wall and told her to go on without
him. Her legs faltered and she nearly fell face-first into the floor, managing
to right herself and keep her legs pumping forward through the twisting halls.
He wasn't... he couldn't be... dead? Another image. Mary's gleeful smile as she
 plucked the last petal off Garry's rose. Her giggle as she dropped his barren
                   rose and stomped on it for good measure.
                               He's not dead...
 She shook her head as tears welled up in her eyes. Her vision was almost non-
                            existent by this point.
                          He can't be... not Garry...
 She barely registered at first when a strong, stone-like hand wrapped around
her upper arm and pulled her into one of the rooms where the fighting had died
  down. Mannequins in red dresses and blue dolls laid strewn about the room,
 unmoving. The loyalists had obviously won this particular area of the battle.
 Her eyes finally moved, flickering around to see several mannequins in yellow
dresses, gathered around her. If they had faces, she'd swear they'd be leering
             at her. At the little girl they wanted to tear apart.
 Through a heady mix of panic and adrenaline, she managed to push her feet to
the chest of the mannequin in front of her and push hard, knocking it back and
at the same time pitching her body backward hard enough to throw the mannequin
 behind her, who was still holding on to her, off balance. She slipped out of
its grip, only to have the side of an arm slam into the back of her head as she
 tried to make her escape. Her vision exploded white, then dimmed nearly black
as she lost her balance and fell to her hands and knees on the floor. She could
                 swear she saw stars as they closed in on her.
                              No... please no....
 She cried out as she felt slender but unyielding fingers thread into her hair
      and grab a handful, jerking her head up to look up at her captors.
                                   Garry...!
  She saw one of them flatten their hand out and ready their arm back, almost
                like a spear. Like she was going to be stabbed.
                                 NOOOOOO!!!!!!
  Garry couldn't move initially as she ran. He picked the handkerchief up off
 the ground and looked at it, rubbing it between his fingers lightly before it
sunk in that there was still a battle around them. Regardless of the chance he
    blew, she was in very real danger of being killed. The denizens of the
fabricated world that saw her as their queen would surely never forgive him for
                                     this.
  He growled and took off after her, but found it to be a challenge to keep up
with her. She was small and seemed to be noticed a lot less than him, whom the
 loyalists saw fit to attack at every opportunity. He made an attempt to avoid
  most of the attacks, but a few times they were too persistent to be able to
                                    ignore.
 It wasn't that he was worried about her personally. However, he'd been waiting
  for a long time now for his chance to rule their world. He'd been so close
before, but then that little wench Mary had taken it from his grasp. Now he was
                  so close again to having this world be his.
  He could just kill her. Killing Ib would ensure no one else would have the
power, active or dormant, to challenge his authority. Then again, unlike Mary,
  the beings of their world actually gave a damn about Ib for the most part.
  There was a large likelihood that they would fight to the death rather than
  serve the one that took a  good  queen away from them, or at least make it
         extremely difficult and frustrating for him to gain control.
 There was the option of letting her go back to her world. He wouldn't have to
kill her, nor would he have any competition. Still, there was no guarantee that
            the denizens of their world would listen to him still.
 No... More than that, he didn't want her to leave. She was  his . As easy as
 letting her go might make the situation for the throne, he couldn't help the
selfish urge to keep her for himself. The girl who conquered the queen who had
 conquered him. It was an indirect victory, but one nonetheless. It gave him a
      great amount of satisfaction to have her wrapped around his finger.
  Well, she had been, until he'd blown his cover. He should have continued on
 with her. He should have taken it more slow. Gotten her out of harm's way and
tried to more patiently coax her into what he wanted. Instead he had pushed too
 hard and this is where it got him. He was used to getting what he wanted, so
this whole thing with showing her patience and understanding was wearing on him
   Despite his manipulations and lies, he'd never once hurt her. Despite his
 incessant need for control, he couldn't bring himself to raise a hand to her
for reasons he couldn't seem to understand. If it were anyone else, there would
                               be no hesitation.
 He heard her scream and pushed his legs even harder in a mad sprint for where
   the sound had come from. The sound of stone grinding on stone and muffled
  screams bounced along the hallway, making his anger grow as he followed the
noise to its destination. Ib's screams were the most pronounced noise from the
 room, nearly being a single, sustained scream from how much she was doing it.
He barreled into the room, only to go still in shock. Mannequin bodies, friend
and foe, lay about the room with the dead dolls. The room was taken up by what
was best described as a web of vines, stretching from various parts of the room
 to other, random points on the opposite walls and ceiling. Several mannequins
were strung up in the thorned vines, unmoving for the most part other than one
         or two that were still giving strange, muffled moans of pain.
 Ib herself stood in the center, a good deal of the vines wrapping around her
halfway to their destination across the room, almost cocooning her. Her screams
  didn't seem to be from the enemies around her attacking her. In fact, they
 didn't seem to have been able to even touch her, judging from the lack of her
                                blood on them.
No, her blood was spilling. Dripping on the floor. But it was by her own doing.
 He realized this outburst of power was much like the one that had broken his
  barrier: completely involuntary. In fact, her power seemed to be unable to
 distinguish her from the foes she was unconsciously trying to drive away, the
     thorns sinking deep into her skin as her vines squeezed her tightly.
 He rushed forward past the enemies there, grabbing her shoulders and shaking
 her gently as he tried to be heard over her constant screaming, “Ib! Ib, you
                           need to snap out of it!”
Her body shook and tried to pull from him violently without even looking up at
him, reacting more to being grabbed than actual awareness of who was there. He
 could see in her face that, underneath it all, she was frightened out of her
mind. Her fear made her incapable of controlling her power. It was also likely
                to kill her if she didn't get it under control.
He tried pulling the vines loose to no avail. His own vines couldn't pierce or
move them and the fire from Garry's lighter had no effect on them. He tried to
 shake her out of it again, but got no response. Getting desperate, he grabbed
her face between his hands and forced her face to tip up to face him, trying to
 catch her eyes with his. Her eyes darted around beyond her control until she
   somehow managed to focus them on his face. He watched them look at him in
                  horror, but her thrashing merely got worse.
                      Shit. Right. He was a bad guy, too.
He growled in frustration and considered knocking her unconscious. There was no
   telling if that would still her out-of-control power, though. He was at a
  complete loss and started to feel rising anxiety at the possibility that he
                             couldn't  stop this.
                                     Ib!!
  He tensed as he almost felt the cry run through his body rather than in his
head, his body almost moving on its own accord as he lunged forward and took Ib
                                 in his arms.
 This time the screaming actually stopped and it took all of his willpower not
 to look down in shock, both at his own behavior and the fact that she finally
 started to calm down. He awkwardly stroked her hair and held her head to his
   chest gently, muttered soft words of comfort even as the thorns dug into
various parts of his arms and torso in his attempt to calm the frightened girl.
  She eventually stopped hyperventilating and sobbing, her crying reduced to
   light hiccups. It still hurt like hell, but she wasn't panicked anymore.
  Garry murmured by her ear, “Ib, these are yours. They are only hurting you
 because you didn't tell them not to. Why not try it, Ib? Tell them to let you
    go. With your mind, with your words, whatever you're comfortable with.”
She tried to speak, but it came out as a jumbled mess. Eventually she seemed to
think  something, because the vines loosened around her body. Garry slowly let
  her go, watching as the vines fell to the floor much like a length of hose.
Realizing that she might object to his presence, he took a few more steps back
 to give her space. She looked up at him finally, looking hurt and afraid. He
   somehow had the sense to look a bit ashamed and was thankful when he saw
 movement out of the corner of his eye, a few of the dolls having found their
                               way to the room.
  He looked at Ib one last time before turning to the two dolls in front, his
           voice soft in volume but certainly not in tone, “Report.”
One of the dolls looked to Ib with concern as she spoke up, “The resistance has
 been nullified for the time being. A small portion got away, but the bulk lie
                                    dead.”
 Garry nodded in approval at this before nodding toward Ib, “She needs... she
 needs help.” He waved a hand toward Ib before slipping out the door and down
           the hallway, his head spinning with conflicting thoughts.
  The doll watched him go with no small amount of confusion, but Ib's safety
 needed to come first. She could only guess what happened based on the look of
the room, sympathy crossing her face as she came closer to Ib, another doll at
                                  her heels.
 Ib felt herself unconsciously shrink back. Being attacked by monsters in the
   gallery again made it hard to distinguish who did and didn't have hostile
                            intentions toward her.
The dolls stopped their approach and regarded her with worry, the male speaking
              up now, “Ib, it's okay, we don't want to hurt you.”
 His voice sent a jolt through her and she watched him with wide and confused
                              eyes, “S.. Seo...?”
   He looked down and merely nodded, clasping his hands behind his back and
         looking sheepish, “Um... yeah. We're sorry we deceived you.”
 His sister nodded in agreement, her vivid red eyes looking to Ib pleadingly.
Eyes that were just as vivid as Cassie's, just red instead of green. That same
                                 hair as well.
 Ib mouthed her name but couldn't seem to get her voice to come out this time,
unsure of what to do now. She was back in this world. No... she'd never left it
to begin with. She'd been here for so long. Her parents would be worried. Were
             they still even looking for her after so many years?
Cassie took another cautious step forward, “We didn't mean to hurt you, Ib. We
  just thought you could use some friends here. Friends you didn't have to be
                                  afraid of.”
Ib didn't seem to be sure if she could trust Cassie or not. Cassie and Seo had
 been her best friends for years now, but to find out it was a lie? That they
 weren't human at all? What else had they been lying about? Maybe they didn't
 actually like her. Perhaps they were just close because... Garry... told them
                                      to.
 Then again, it was hard to fake the amount of sadness the brother and sister
were giving off. They weren't coming any closer than she felt comfortable with
                     and were concerned about her wounds.
  She finally felt the last of her adrenaline leave her, the only thing left
 being pain and extreme fatigue. She sank to the floor, the room blurring and
   spinning. Cassie and Seo ran forward and helped balance her the best they
                                    could.
  She wanted answers. She wanted to know many things about why she was still
 there and what it meant for her now. About where Garry was and who this fake
 was. But, she was exhausted now. She'd get her answers, but first she needed
 rest. That was the last thought that passed through her head before her eyes
                 fell closed and she slumped over unconscious.
            [Promise (Reprise) from Silent Hill 2 (Akira Yamaoka)]
  Ib gave a light sigh as the last bit of exhaustion left her and she slowly
opened her eyes, finding herself on something rather soft. She realized she was
             lying in her bed. Well, her bed in Garry's apartment.
                           Wait, Garry's apartment?
    The previous events flooded her brain and she sat up hastily, the world
  spinning a moment. She felt a plush hand on her lower back trying to steady
 her, but only had eyes for the door as she tumbled out of bed and ran for it.
  Was she in the illusion again? Was 'Garry' going to really try to trick her
                               with this again?
 She flung the door open, only to blink in stunned confusion. Rather than the
 brightly lit hallway with white walls she was used to, the walls were a dark
      blue and the lighting made her think more of the Fabricated World.
"This room is real," a small voice piped up from behind her. She turned to see
   one of the dolls, Cassie, sitting on her bed. Seo was behind his sister,
           peeking out shyly, as if afraid Ib might be mad at them.
 And she was. She was intensely angry with the both of them for deceiving her.
At the same time, though, she wasn't sure why and her mother had taught her at
least to hear someone out before you let anger set in at them. She bit her lip
softly, nervous now. They didn't seem to mean her harm. If they did, they would
 have done something by now, right? She slowly moved back over to her bed and
              sat down, earning a sigh of relief from the twins.
 Ib sighed and tried to think of what to ask first, the twins being incredibly
patient and letting her speak first. Eventually she spoke, "It's hard to decide
what to ask. I guess I kind of know the important ones. Where are we? The world
inside the paintings. Why am I still here? I never left. It's just details I'm
                            confused on, I guess."
Cassie gave a nod and sat by Ib, "Well, when you defeated Mary, you became the
                           new Queen of this world."
  Ib jolted a bit at that revelation and looked at the doll by her side that
  vaguely resembled her best friend, "Queen? Me? But I never asked for this."
   Cassie shook her head and looked a bit bothered, "It's not something you
choose, it chooses you. Regardless of milord's reasons for keeping you under an
 illusion and having us help you adjust, the fact is that you.. you can't..."
 Seeing his sister struggle with the words, Seo piped up in a soft voice, "You
  can't leave, not anymore. You are as much a part of this world as any other
 work of art. In order to leave, you'd have to do what the previous Queen did
       and bring someone in from the outside world to take your place."
Ib felt like her world was spinning again. Stuck? She was stuck here? She could
  certainly bring someone in to replace her, but that would be just cruel. As
much as she resented being stuck in this place, it certainly wasn't a fate she
   could push off onto someone else. She closed her eyes and tried to breath
 deeply, murmuring quietly after a moment, "I want to know everything you can
   tell me. About the fights, about the truth behind the illusions, about my
                            powers... everything."
The twins looked at each other a moment, then nodded and started in. They told
 her everything they could. About the pockets of loyalists still in resistance
  to her rightful rule. About Garry's illusion being there to try to ease her
into her life there without panicking her, something that was mostly a lie, but
 that they were forbidden to tell the truth about. They told her about how her
life had been compressed into three days due to a spell and her fourteen-year-
   old form was a product of that so she could hone her powers. They finally
explained that her powers were a direct result of her position as Queen in the
                                    world.
 "The Queen gains power by those who believe in her," Cassie explained, "There
 is obviously also other requirements. Being Queen means you are strongest in
the realm in some way. Our previous Queen was the strongest and thus gained her
 title. You toppled our old Queen and so you were then passed the title. Your
  power came at that time, but grows stronger as more and more of our people
  believe in you as our Queen. The more followers, the stronger your power."
 Seo nodded in agreement, "We can only be thankful that the previous Queen is
dead now. Were she alive, the amount of remaining loyalists would be enough to
                      give her considerable power still."
Ib wasn't so sure that the girl she'd believed to be her friend being dead was
 something to be 'thankful' for, but only nodded in understanding. She saw the
twins staring at her expectantly and gave a light sigh, "I... I just... This is
                         a lot to take in, you know?"
 Cassie frowned and put a small, plush hand on Ib's arm, "I know, sweetie, but
   it's the truth of the matter. I'm sorry you're stuck here, I really am."
      Ib sighed and gave the doll a hug, Cassie freezing in shock, "Ib?"
 The girl put Cassie down and gave a half smile, "Thanks. To both of you. It's
 good I at least had a few friends here. Even if you were made to lie to me, I
                      can see you didn't lie to hurt me."
Seo made a squeak of protest in his throat, looking somewhere between flustered
and offended, "We'd never! We really do like you, Ib. Everyone here does. It's
why you're so strong. Everyone was hoping for a nice Queen like you before you
                         even won against the other."
Ib laid back against her bed and stared at the ceiling. It was hard to believe
that the fake Garry had gone through so much trouble to actually construct this
 room for her. Not an illusion, but a real room. There were a lot of negative
 things to this whole ordeal, but so far, no one had really gone out of their
                     way to hurt her, save the loyalists.
 She closed her eyes, "I..." She hesitated, then began again, "I can't promise
anything. I'm only fourteen, technically, and this is a lot of responsibility."
  She crossed her arms behind her head, "Though... like I said, it's a lot of
responsibility. It would be horrible of me to just throw that all aside and let
everyone else be hurt because of it. I'm stuck here anyway, so I'll try to be a
                             good Queen, I guess-"
  She was cut off by two little bodies tackling her into a hug. She let out a
squeak, her eyes shooting open and an embarrassed blush crossing her face, "H-
   hey you guys, come on!" She gave a smile and hugged her two friends back,
 giving the closest to a real smile she'd had for a bit now, "Like I said, no
                promises. You guys will help me though, right?"
Cassie sat up on Ib's stomach and grinned from ear-to-ear, "Yup! We'll help you
            be the best Queen ever!" Seo gave a cheer in agreement.
 Outside the room, Garry leaned against the wall by her door, listening to the
  conversation with a grim expression. He wasn't sure whether to be happy or
frustrated that she was going to take an active role in her rule. It definitely
        messed with his plans. Oh well... he'd just have to improvise.
Chapter End Notes
     Sorry this took so long guys! Lots of stuff kept me occupied. I know
     this wasn't super long, but I'll work on getting the next one out
     sooner than in a few months this time. A fan started an MMD comic of
     my story if you want to check it out. There's a link to it on my blog
     and there's a link to that on my profile page.
***** Chapter 4 *****
Chapter Notes
     PLEASE READ
     This chapter has a trigger warning for sexual assault. I don't want
     to spoil the chapter, so I won't say anything specific. I'll give
     more thorough author notes after the chapter, but all you need to
     know is that something is happening in this chapter that might set
     certain sensitive readers off. Please read with caution.
     Music I listened to for this was Reminiscence from the Trinity Blood
     OST. There is no music for the trigger scene that I listened to. I
     didn't mark where I stopped playing music, but you'll be able to
     tell.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Ib sat with Cassie and Seo, happily munching on some sandwiches as they relaxed
under a tree and discussed various aspects of the Fabricated World. It had been
 a few days since she had made the choice to work on being proper queen of the
place and her days were often spent with them, training her powers and learning
                  the various ins and outs of her new domain.
   One such project was the room around them. It was incredibly rough at the
 moment. She had been complaining about how dark and cramped so many parts of
 the world were and asked the twins how Mary had made the world that seemed to
be drawn from crayon. It gave her a tightening in her stomach to even think of
 that area, but it was obvious that the place could be altered because of it.
   The result was that her first lesson for mastery over her powers was her
 mastery over the world. It was a very broad topic, one that was probably too
  early to be teaching her, but they saw how tense she'd been lately. Maybe a
                     space of her own would help calm her.
And it did. She hadn't been able to create much for the space yet. Other than a
door in and out of the place, it looked like an endless field of grass under a
  bright, blue sky. In the center of the room was a giant tree. It was rather
 plain, without fruit or flowers, but it stretched out over them and created a
nice umbrella that shielded them from the false sun in the room. They told her
 that as she gained more power and precision over her power, she could create
         something more detailed here and make the room truly her own.
  "And so," Cassie continued, "While the color of the mannequin dresses were
 initially a sheer coincidence, it seems like the dresses almost change color
         now based on their allegiance-- Ib, are you listening to me?"
Ib had been locking an unfocused gaze on the far horizon of the room, munching
     slowly on her sandwich. At her name, she jumped and looked to Cassie
 sheepishly, "Sorry, this is just a lot. I feels like you don't stop talking."
      She stuck her tongue out playfully to a slightly indignant Cassie.
Seo chuckled, leaning back against the tree trunk beside Ib and grinning, "You
                know how she gets. Once she picks a subject..."
Cassie stuck her little stitched tongue out at Seo, "Well excuse me for wanting
                to make sure she knows about her own kingdom."
 "These sandwiches are so good~ Even if we don't really need food here, fruit
sandwiches are the best!" Ib broke up the little back-and-forth the twins were
starting, grinning as she swallowed down another bite. At the sheepish look on
Cassie's face as she looked aside, something dawned on Ib and she scowled, "Let
                                 me guess..."
     Seo scratched the back of his head, "Yeah, that sounds about right."
 Ib looked at the sandwich with longing before putting the rest of it back in
    the basket and leaning against the tree in irritation. Ever since that
encounter a few days ago, the fake Garry had been acting weird with her. Cassie
 said he was trying to earn her favor, but what for, she couldn't fathom. His
 intentions as a whole were a mystery to her. All she knew is that she wanted
      nothing to do with this stranger that wore the face of her friend.
  That hadn't stopped him from trying to pamper her. He made a library in the
world for her to study in, one that reminded her more of the kind you'd see at
 a school rather than the darkened rooms that dominated the world around them.
  He tried coming in on her lessons to give input, though he would eventually
    leave when he realized she was just too awkward around him to continue
properly. He'd offer more illusions of movie nights, even offering to stay out
of it and let it just be her and the twins. But she just couldn't bring herself
 to respond to these gestures. Whatever kindness he might have been displaying
 toward her, the fact is that he looked a lot like her Garry and not only did
  that confuse her greatly, but gave her the feeling that he might have done
    something truly horrible to the real Garry to look like him in the end.
  Garry had been getting more and more surly with each attempt to please her,
eventually giving up by the third day. Or, what she assumed was the third day.
Honestly, time moved slowly there and there was no real sun to keep time by. So
     "days" were an estimate to her, based on when she slept and woke up.
  That day and the day before, Garry seemed to have simply resorted to making
   food for her to give to the twins, who would in turn give them to her. It
             seemed these sandwiches were a gift from him as well.
  Ib let out a sigh of frustration and looked up at the sky through the thick
          canopy over her head, "Can you guys just tell him to stop?"

The twins shared a glance before Seo chuckled nervously, "Umm... Pretty much no
 one here can really tell him to stop anything. When he wants something, he is
pretty aggressive about taking it, even if he has to hurt people who try to get
                                 in his way."
 The young girl snorted and closed her eyes, "He sounds like a real treat..."
  She just felt further convinced that she wanted nothing to do with him. He
  sounded like a downright bully. It unnerved her that someone like that was
 waltzing around, looking like her Garry. The frustration gave way to sadness
 and she had to forcefully shake off the feeling. Now wasn't the time to feel
 bad for herself or Garry, she supposed. Maybe when she was alone. She didn't
                           want to worry the twins.
She peeked down at them, her lips twisting in displeasure as they looked at her
            with concern. Okay, she didn't want to worry them more.
She gave them a smile and waved it off, "I'm fine, sorry. So what's this about
                               the mannequins?"
    Garry lay on his back on his bed, staring up at the ceiling with a grim
 expression. He found some weird part of him missed Ib's created room, as well
 as the illusionary apartment then had shared, and made himself the room from
his illusions in physical form. At the very least, it was better than skulking
 around the Fabricated World and resting in random corners of it when he felt
 the need. He took a light drag of the cigarette in his right hand, using the
 vivid memories he'd gained from the real Garry to trick his body into feeling
what the effect would have been. Sometimes it was nice to drown himself in his
 own illusions. Especially if it helped lower his ire, which had been steadily
                             building as of late.
 He wasn't sure what to do now with Ib starting to get enthusiastic about her
  role. In a strange way, it was satisfying to watch his Ib come into her own
like this. But, that feeling was buried beneath resentment as he saw his reign
over the world drifting further and further out of his reach. He had hoped that
 maybe he could win her over with kind gestures and still assert some control
   over her, but she seemed to not go for it. Every kind action was met with
  suspicion and resentment. In a way, he couldn't blame her, but it was still
               intensely frustrating for her to not fall for it.
   His eyebrow quirked as his door was slowly pushed open and, for one brief
 moment, he entertained the idea of the intruder being Ib, finally deciding to
                               give him a shot.
 Instead, as he expected, it was the twins. He didn't bother even sitting up,
  continuing to lie there. His eyes drifted back to the ceiling as he slowly
 exhaled a long wisp of smoke from between his lips. After a moment, his mouth
             twisted into a scowl, "Do you not know how to knock?"
The twins looked at each other with mild worry, but there was a slight hardness
 to their expressions that put him on edge. They obviously had a bone to pick
  with him and even the threat of him killing them for their insolence didn't
         seem to stop them from addressing it with him. Interesting...
 He sat up and released the cigarette, which faded out of existence before it
even hit his bed. No doubt this visit had to do with Ib. The twins were highly
 protective of her, something he wasn't sure about as far as whether that was
good or bad. He muttered darkly at their lack of response, "Well, what is it?"
  The twins shared another glance before Cassie took a step forward, taking a
 breath before speaking tensely, "Milord, what are your intentions toward our
                                    queen?"
Garry wasn't so much surprised by their question as much as he was at the fact
  that they had been brave enough to ask it. He gave them an even look, "I am
quite sure that my intentions toward Ib are none of your concern. Now, if that
                                  was all..."
Cassie bristled with outrage, but it was Seo's voice that cut through, putting
  out an arm before his sister to cut her off, "Actually, it is milord. Ib is
 wondering the same thing and her worry about your intentions has her entirely
on edge. It's bad enough that it hurts her study time, but it bothers her every
moment between and we can see that. If she had but even a little bit of insight
               as to your intentions, it might put her at ease."
   Cassie looked at her brother with mild frustration and worry, while Garry
 looked at both of them passively. The male twin was always a bit more shy and
 soft spoken, but Garry had been witness more than once to how he got when he
felt strongly about something. Not even his sister could hold back his opinion.
         It was admirable, if not quite aggravating in this situation.
 Garry pinched the bridge of his nose as he thought. So Ib was thinking about
him. Even if it was with unease and distrust, he couldn't help the bit of pride
   that surged at the fact that he was occupying her mind. Put her at ease,
                                    huh...?
  He stood up out of his bed, hands in his pockets as he looked down at them,
              "Tell her I want to have dinner with her tonight."
That took the twins off guard a bit, though Cassie spoke once recovered, "With
   how things have been recently, I'm not sure she'll go with that request."
Garry raised an eyebrow. The fact that she decided to think of it as a request
was almost cute. Though he supposed if he wanted things to go his way, he would
  have to play this a bit differently. He sighed and focused his gaze on the
female twin, "I know she listens to you. Convince her. I'll talk to her tonight
                        and clear things up with her."
   Cassie and Seo shared a confused look, not sure how to take this. It was
possible that, while unwilling to share his intentions with them, maybe he'd be
willing to do so with Ib. But, then again, they knew he was manipulative at the
 best of times and downright deceptive any other. Still, it would probably do
 them both some good to get things out in the open. After a moment, it was Seo
 that nodded, "Alright, we'll talk to her. We can't promise anything though."
Garry felt a bit of annoyance at the response, not wanting to tolerate excuses,
but simply gave them a curt nod and watched them leave his room. He closed the
 door behind them firmly and stalked back over to his bed, sitting on the edge
 of it and looking down at his hands. Hands that were his and yet not his. And
                          now Ib knew the difference.
         And things were just so much more complicated because of it.
He wouldn't let it get in the way, though. The Fabricated World was his. Ib was
 his. He would have everything he wanted, because after so many years in this
place, being under that damn girl, this is what he deserved. His hands clenched
  into fists as he thought. He was used to taking everything by force, but he
would play this game for now. He would try the talking approach. Try to win her
trust. It would be so much better for her to be his of her own accord. For the
                      world to be given to him willingly.
                                   "No way."
    Cassie winced at the sharp words. She shared a look with Seo that spoke
  volumes. They knew this would be her response, but they still had to try to
                                 persuade her.
                  Seo spoke gently, "Ib, it's just dinner..."
Ib stood in the middle of her room, arms crossed as she looked at the slightly
 guilty twins sitting at the edge of her bed, "And I said no. I'm not going to
 have dinner with that... that..." She bit her lip and turned away from them.
  To be honest, she didn't know what to call him anymore. She couldn't bring
 herself to use Garry's name anymore, because he wasn't Garry. But it was rude
to call him fake, at least to his face. She knew no other name for him, either.
                    So in her mind, he'd just become 'him'.
Cassie sighed, "Look, he said he wants to talk. Didn't you say that not knowing
                      his intentions was bothering you?"
 Ib turned to face them again and ran her fingers roughly through her hair in
exasperation, "I... I did, but..." She slowly moved to sit next to them, worry
  etched on her face. They were reminded that while she was physically twelve
 now, and to an extent mentally, she was just a young girl that was forced to
 grow up too fast. She tried to be tough about it, but they could see that she
                  was having a hard time holding it together.
She jolted a bit when she felt two sets of arms on either side of her, hugging
 her tightly in reassurance. She gave them a shaky smile and murmured quietly,
                              "Thanks, you guys."
 They each sat on her lap, one on each leg, and looked up at her with concern.
   Cassie was still unhappy with how things had progressed, but considering
everyone was stuck here with each other now, she hoped that maybe fences could
   be mended, "Ib, I think you should go. Just give him a chance to explain
 himself. Nothing says you have to believe him or even let it sway you, but I
            think you should at least give him a chance to say it."
  Ib gave a sigh and closed her eyes, giving it some real thought. Cassie was
 right, she supposed. He wasn't going to vanish just because she avoided him.
    They were all stuck together. She didn't think she could live like this
forever, always being tense and questioning. Always being in the dark about it
            all. She wanted answers, even if she didn't like them.
 She opened her eyes and they flickered to the single red rose on her dresser,
   sitting in its vase. For a brief moment her eyes unfocused, imagining the
fuller blue rose of her counterpart. She missed Garry so much. The real Garry.
 She resented that this other Garry likely did something to the real Garry for
 this, but she supposed she wouldn't know for sure, know the truth, unless she
                                    asked.
  She looked down at the twins and gave a hesitant nod, "Alright, I'll go to
                               dinner tonight."
   The twins smiled happily at the response, their shoulders drooping as the
   tension eased out of them slightly. Maybe things would be okay after all.
  Then Cassie got a wicked grin on her face that made Ib's unease skyrocket,
                               "Um.. Cassie...?"
She rubbed her hands together gleefully and jumped off Ib's lap, "Let's get you
                                    ready!"
                                    Uh oh.
Garry sat on a blanket in Ib's meadow room, under the giant tree. His eyes were
looking around in an appraising manner. She'd done rather well on this room so
 far. He had a rather expert eye for this sort of molding of the world, so he
could see the fine creases and distortions here and there that the average eye
might not catch, but overall he could tell she was grasping what was normally a
  rather difficult bit of magic to control. He didn't want to fix it for her,
   figuring this was a work in progress and he should see what she could do
 herself. However, he did change the time of day to night. A wave of his hand
sent small balls of light out around the area, the tiny things hovering almost
 like fireflies, lighting up the area around the tree. It wouldn't quite feel
                like dinner if it looked like noon, after all.
Since his talk with the twins, he'd been thinking about what sort of setting he
  should do for dinner. He thought of making an illusion of Garry's apartment
  again, but even he realized that was asking too much of Ib and scrapped the
  idea immediately. Another idea had been making a room look like one of the
restaurants in the real world, but in the long run, he decided that an illusion
was a bad idea. His deceptions had been the very thing that set her off and he
   had a feeling that no matter the context, more illusions were probably a
horrible idea if he was trying to get back on her good side. After a short talk
 with Seo again, who was kicked out while Cassie got Ib ready, he decided Ib's
  meadow room would be best. It was a space she created, so it was obviously
    comfortable for her. And unlike his illusions, this room was as real as
                          anything got in this world.
   So he'd retreated to her room with a large blanket to sit on and a picnic
  basket full of food. "Dinner" in this world was a rather loose concept. The
 food was tangible and certainly edible, but was really only a step up from a
   full-on illusion. No one in this world needed to actually eat to sustain
themselves. Since Ib was part of their world now, this counted for her as well.
  But she seemed to miss flavor when she didn't eat, so she continued to eat
           snacks here and there for that small sensation of flavor.
   His eyes moved to the door as Ib came in, her face anxious as she looked
around. As she shut the door behind her, it vanished for the time being, which
 left the room with the illusion of being just an endless meadow around them.
  Her eyes wandered around, a small frown on her face, until he realized the
     source of her expression and spoke up, "I just thought this was more
                 appropriate for dinner. It's only temporary."
Her eyes darted to him and he had to fight to not make a negative expression in
                           response to her reaction.
 She looked at him with some odd expression, almost looking hopeful before her
expression fell into one of hurt and sadness. He knew without her saying. They
had very little interaction since she found out his secret. Especially the last
   two days. Hearing his voice had unconsciously made her respond hopefully,
 because she didn't hear 'him', she heard 'Garry'. But then she remembered it
   wasn't him and her heart ached. He had to fight extra hard not to let his
                               bitterness show.
Instead he tried to give her a comforting smile and patted the blanket in front
                         of him, "Come on, let's eat."
Ib looked reluctant, but after a moment she slowly walked over to where he was
  sitting, stepping into the lights. She heard him suck in a sharp breath and
 paused a moment before sitting down across from him, the basket between them.
He didn't know whether to be happy with the twins or utterly frustrated. Making
her this cute did not help his self-control. They put her in a light blue dress
that fell to her knees, though the exact tone was hard to make out in the dark,
 even with the lights there. A darker blue jacket was worn over it, the bottom
 barely reaching the bottom of her ribcage and open in the front. Her hair was
 also pulled up for once, some sort of clip he couldn't see holding it up in a
 bun at the back of her head. Only a few strands managed to escape it, framing
          her face. It gave her a cute and yet strangely mature look.
 Meanwhile, she noticed that he'd changed his appearance as well. Rather than
 the usual outfit he'd been wearing, which was the exact outfit Garry had been
  wearing during their entire adventure through the Fabricated World, he was
 wearing a v-neck shirt with long sleeves. She couldn't tell the color in the
   dark, but she assumed it was gray from what she could tell. He was still
 wearing his jeans like normal, though. Perhaps he was trying to differentiate
himself from Garry? She wasn't sure if she appreciated it or not. She looked up
  at him to see him look to her feet and blushed, "I... I don't normally wear
                            shoes in here. Habit."
It was such a surprise to hear her talk after so long that he almost forgot to
                 respond, giving a chuckle, "I don't mind it."
They sat in an awkward silence for a moment before Garry broke the silence with
a smile, starting to pull out various foods and spread them out on the blanket
              between them, "Umm, we should probably eat, right?"
She almost flinched at his attempts to talk like Garry. She wasn't sure of his
 real self, but it was painful to hear. She grabbed the closest thing to her,
          which looked like some sort of burger, munching it quietly.
Garry noticed her subdued reaction and frowned a bit. He grabbed a macaron and
took a bite, unable to help his attraction to these little treats. He tried to
give her another smile, "Is it good, Ib? You should try these, too. They're--"
                         "You don't have to do that."
He was brought up short as he heard her mutter the words, her eyes looking down
  at the blanket. She looked almost sad until he caught the dark look in her
eyes. Those crimson orbs darted up to him when she realized he probably didn't
    know what she meant, her voice even, "You don't have to talk like him."
   For a moment, he felt like his brain had stalled out. He certainly hadn't
 expected her to say something like that. To be honest, he hadn't even really
 been trying that hard to talk like Garry. In this form, such a thing was very
 easy to do and he was in the habit of doing so for her so often that he just
                           did it without thinking.
He raked a hand through his hair, weighing his options. He wasn't sure that he
    could be as courteous to her if he talked like normal. However, it was
 obviously bothering her that he was talking like Garry. He could try to fake
that he was unable to talk any other way so he could continue talking to her in
 that gentle way and not risk scaring her, but at the same time, all it would
 take is one instance of him not talking like that in front of her for her to
  realize he was lying. While he had no problems lying to her, he did have a
                      problem with being caught doing so.
   He sighed, his voice dropping a bit. Not quite an octave, but still a bit
 deeper than Garry's normal voice, "Alright, I'll try to stop. But just so you
know, it's not like I was trying. It just happens." His eyes locked on hers and
she could swear they took a red hue for a moment before fading back to violet.
 She was somewhat relieved to hear him instead of Garry, but she was uneasy in
general with him. She took another bite of her burger, chewing as she tried to
  think of a way to ask her question without sounding too accusing. It didn't
  work as well as she liked because the words came out a bit harder than she
        meant to, "Why did you make yourself look like Garry? And how?"
 He narrowed his eyes at the question. Despite his talk with the twins earlier
  about sharing his intentions with Ib and being honest with her, the fact is
that he had no such plans. After all, he was quite sure that speaking his plans
aloud would result in them never coming to pass. And he couldn't have that. He
could lie to her, but after how his last lies blew up in his face, he was quite
  wary about making more. He watched her face, watched as those piercing eyes
 watched and waited for his answer, then spoke curtly, "You don't want to know
                             the answer to that."
 She felt herself bristle at the answer. She didn't know him and only vaguely
knew what he was capable of, but she couldn't help but lash out, "If I didn't,
                            I wouldn't have asked!"
 He could read between the lines of her reaction. He knew she wasn't so stupid
as to antagonize anyone, especially someone of his power, without a reason. And
  her reason was Garry. In the short time the two had been together, she had
gotten almost as protective of him as he had of her. He couldn't help the envy
  that bubbled up in his chest at the fact that, even with him gone, she was
    still so protective that she was willing to lash out at him about this.
 He pursed his lips together before speaking evenly and slowly, the battle to
   not lash back out at the small girl evident in his voice, "You would most
  likely not like the answer. Trust me when I say that you are better off not
  knowing of his fate. The previous queen killed him. That's all you need to
                                    know."
She shook at him mentioning the words 'killed him', looking torn between angry
and sad. He could see her eyes watering with unshed tears, her voice breaking a
 bit, "Mary isn't the one parading around looking like him!" She could see he
    wasn't going to make an effort to tell her anything, despite the twins'
 insistence that he'd invited her to dinner so they could discuss things. She
  forced herself not to yell at him some more, speaking from behind clenched
                         teeth, "This was a mistake."
  Garry was seething by this point. He knew it was unfair that he was keeping
things from her, but they needed to be kept. His ambitions aside, it would only
 hurt her to know that Garry wasn't even able to rest in peace. That his soul
  was absorbed inside him. His voice came out between clenched teeth as well,
trying hard to push down his building temper, "I'm just trying to protect you."
  Those words were the last straw for her and she couldn't help but explode,
  "Protect me!? From who?? I was going to go home! I was going to leave with
       Garry and we were going to be fine! But you ruined everything!!"
 "You are so naive," he bit out, "He was dead, Ib. You weren't going anywhere
                                  with him!"
She shook her head, tears running down her face angrily, "He.. he wasn't dead!
                             He couldn't be dead!"
 "Trust me, he was. Is. He is gone, Ib. The only thing I could take from that
                      corpse was his memories and face."

                "Stop it! Just stop! I don't want to hear it!"
 She tried to cover her ears, but he grabbed her wrists tightly and pulled her
hands forcefully from her head, "Hear me, Ib! You asked for the truth and there
                        it is! That's how it happened!"
                                     "No!"
He struggled to bring his voice back down, "The only thing you have left of him
                                    is me."
She eyes moved to his and he had to fight not to squeeze down on her wrists and
break them from anger at her expression. He could see the rejection as clear as
 day, as if she were screaming that he wasn't good enough. That if he was the
               only thing left of Garry, she wanted none of it.
   He swallowed down the lump in his throat, his voice barely above a harsh
                whisper, "Is there no way for us to reconcile?"
She looked back up at him, unable to help the vicious resentment in her chest.
  Because of this... this monster! Because of him, her Garry was gone and she
would never get him back. She gave a whisper back, just as harsh as his, "No."
 That set him off. Both of her wrists were suddenly in one of his as his free
   hand flew out to sweep the food out of his way as he descended on her. He
pulled her hands above her head and used the weight of his body to pin her back
 to the ground, his eyes wild, "I've tried, you know Ib?" His voice was harsh
  and breathy, nearly hyperventilating with his anger, "I've tried doing nice
   things for you, giving you things. I've done nothing but try to give you
  everything here! But it's not enough, is it!? Well I've had it. I've had it
trying to be nice and get you to come to me willingly. If you won't be mine by
               your own will, I'll just take you the hard way!"
His actions put her into shock more than anything, though as his words started
          to sink in, she felt a cold jolt of fear shoot up her body.
  Pretty much no one here can really tell him to stop anything. When he wants
  something, he is pretty aggressive about taking it, even if he has to hurt
                       people who try to get in his way.
 Seo's words echoed in her head and she started to squirm in his grasp in fear
 only to freeze up when she felt his lips descend onto hers. She cried out in
  fright, but it only resulted in giving him access to her mouth, his tongue
 invading forcefully. He could almost see the wheels turning in her head and a
 second before her teeth could close down on his tongue, his free hand shot up
to grab her jaw, pinching close to the hinges so she couldn't close her mouth.
 His body settled between her legs, forcing her dress up high onto her thighs
  and leaving her legs mostly exposed to the air. She tried to struggle again
   beneath him, but between his weight pressing her down and his grip on her
wrists and jaw, she couldn't get herself free, left helpless against him as he
   took his time ravishing her mouth. After a time he pulled from the kiss,
  leaving her gasping for air as he let go of her jaw and instead brought his
                   kisses down against the side of her neck.
"S.. Stop..." She managed to somehow get the word from her lips, but it fell on
deaf ears as he continued to leave little bites and kisses along her neck. The
 hand not holding her wrists was now tearing the jacket from her shoulders and
 carelessly tossing it aside. The topple backward had knocked the pin from her
hair, which now flared out around her head beneath her. He took a handful of it
and tugged her head back, causing her to cry out but exposing more of her neck
to him. The hand in her hair moved down the back of her neck and to the back of
             her dress, feeling the zipper that kept it together.
Panic took over her as she felt him running the zipper down, trying to pull her
   legs back enough to kick at him. Anything to try to get him off her. His
response was to lean his body in closer to hers so that her legs had nowhere to
 go and find purchase against his torso. Seeing that she wasn't going to stop
  struggling long enough for him to fully unzip her dress and pull it off, he
settled for pushing her skirt up more so it settled around her waist, exposing
 her lower body to him. She couldn't articulate anything past a scream of fear
          and tried to pull her hands from his grip to cover herself.
 He wasn't having any of that though. Keeping his grip tight on her wrists, he
  pressed his hand to the ground and two vines sprung up, wrapping around her
  ankles and a bit up her calves to keep her legs from moving around. "That's
better..." she heard him murmur, though his hair was so much over his face that
 she couldn't make out his expression other than an inhumanly-wide grin on his
            face, one that made the terror that much worse in her.
He wasn't sure where the feeling was coming from, but he had a strange feeling
in his stomach as he began to touch her at his leisure. He used another set of
vines to keep her hands above her head, free up both his hands to run along her
       sides and the insides of her legs. Why did he feel so unsettled?
                                Don't do it...
  He ignored her thrashing and yelling, one of his fingers tracing up in the
  inside of her thigh only to rub her through her panties. Her body locked up
   under him and he couldn't help but smirk at her response. So despite her
        protests, she still felt pleasure from it, huh? All the better.
She felt her face blush in shame and shook her head side to side as his finger
slowly rubbed up and down along her panties. It made her feel very strange and
not in a way she was liking. Rather, in a weird way it almost felt good, which
 was something she didn't want to associate with this experience in the least.
She felt relief when his hand moved away from between her legs, only to cry out
  in horror and embarrassment when his fingers hooked over the inside of her
panties and pulled sharply, hearing rather than seeing him rip her panties from
 her, exposing her rather intimately to his gaze. She tried hard to close her
 legs, but the vines around them wouldn't let her. Tears ran down her face and
 she found herself wishing again that he didn't look like Garry. It just made
the situation that much worse. The face of her beloved Garry, smirking in a way
that didn't match his face, doing things to her that her Garry would never do.
He dropped his gaze from her tear-stricken face, for some reason having a hard
time looking at it. He pushed the thought aside, his fingers brushing along her
slit unhindered now, ignoring her protests as he ran one of his fingers inside
                                     her.
                         Don't touch her like this...
He didn't push too deep, for fear of breaking that barrier of innocence within
 her. No, when he did that, he had much bigger plans for it. Instead he moved
 his finger in and out of her just enough for her to feel it but nothing more.
Her small body arched under his in pleasure that she didn't want but he forced
upon her anyway. A darted glance to her face showed him the war going on within
 her, between her physical reaction and her emotional one. He grinned at that,
                     but it couldn't quite reach his eyes.
 Her body, at least, responded well to the treatment. Once he felt she was wet
 enough for what he was planning, he pulled his hand away. He considered using
another finger and trying to stretch her out a bit so this would hurt less, but
     he was getting impatient, his erection almost painful by this point.
Ib didn't want to even let herself hope that he was done, afraid of what could
possibly come next. She tried to see through the haze of her tears, watching as
   he gave a sharp sigh of relief when he unzipped and unbuttoned his jeans,
freeing his erection from the tight confines of his pants. Her mind reeled and
 she remembered the discussion she had with the twins about sex. Terror seized
her even harder and she tried desperately to thrash out of the vines. She tried
to figure out how to use her powers in this sort of situation, but not only had
 the twins not taught her anything combat related or useful to this situation,
  but it felt like any time her power surged, it was absorbed into the vines
                                 holding her.
Indeed, Garry had seen how panic caused her to unconsciously let out her power
 before against the mannequins. Not wanting to take that chance, he made sure
               her power would be kept under control this time.
 He stroked along his shaft a few times and settled himself between her legs,
lifting her hips a bit so he could line himself up better, nearly shaking with
   anticipation to be inside her. He ignored her pleas for him to stop, but
                    couldn't seem to get his body to move.
                          No!! Don't do this to her!!
 He clenched his teeth, practically throbbing in his hand as his cock ached to
              be inside her. So what the hell was stopping him??
           Look at what you're doing to her! Look at her, damn you!!
And he did look. Right up at the face that was full of fear and despair at his
  actions, as well as embarrassment at the reactions of her own body. He felt
                          bile rise up in his throat.
                      Don't you dare do it, you bastard!
 He tensed before pulling himself back from her, unable to find words to say.
 What did you say to the girl you nearly raped? What could he say? He did the
  only thing he could think to do and pulled up his pants and then left, the
 vines fading around her. The night faded back into day, leaving Ib to curl up
       on the blanket and cry beneath the canopy of the tree above her.
Garry sprinted through the halls of the Fabricated World, having no real clear
   direction. He just needed to get away. Away from the feelings that lanced
  through him, nearly taking actual words as they haunted him. What was wrong
  with him?! He was possessive of the girl, sure. She was his, after all. But
    feelings? No, he certainly didn't love her, if that's what that meant.
And yet, the sight of her had been too much to bear. He had been unable to take
  her, right as he was about to. Everything he'd worked toward nearly in his
                         grasp and he fucking blew it!
 He eventually came to a stop and rested his back against a wall, sliding down
 it until he was sitting on the floor, panting heavily. He looked down at his
 hands, his body. No, Garry's body. Mary had been so sure Garry was dead, but
  some part of him seemed to live here. Now. Inside of him. And that part was
 slowly warping him. Twisting his feelings. And he didn't like it one fucking
                                     bit.
             "Shit..." he bit out, "What am I supposed to do now?
Chapter End Notes
     Okay, now for the mile-long author note. Firstly, I apologize if the
     near-rape freaked anyone out. To be fair, I DID give a trigger
     warning. Part of why this chapter took so long to get out was me
     wrestling with whether this scene was really necessary or not. It was
     also that writing this for you guys was really, really difficult.
     Even if I accelerated her aging a bit for plot convenience, the fact
     is that this was very dicey territory. We're talking a 12 yo girl
     nearly getting raped by a 20-22ish-looking guy (by my story's canon,
     anyway. we don't know Garry's age).
     I feel this shouldn't have to be said, but I want to say it anyway
     and get this out there. I do NOT condone rape in any form. That scene
     was not meant to feel sexy or any other feeling that might be
     remotely positive. It was meant to make you feel uneasy. Because it
     was an uneasy and horrible situation that honestly I needed to happen
     for the sake of plot. I did a lot of thinking on whether it was
     necessary, and came to the conclusion that it was, as sick as it made
     me feel to type for you guys.
     I also apologize if the quality of the chapter suffers due to me
     pretty much forcing myself to type something I wasn't entirely
     comfortable with. I tried my best with it. I'm sorry I wasn't
     specific with my trigger warning, but I felt a warning for that would
     have given it away. Especially because the trigger would likely point
     to attempted rape, which gives a spoiler to the fact that Fake Garry
     chickens out before he can go through with it.
     Anyway, I hope this chapter was otherwise enjoyable and I'm sorry
     again for how long it took to get out. This was a very hard chapter
     for me. I will hopefully have the next chapter out a lot sooner.
     I didn't put the Rape/Non-Con tag on this story because technically,
     rape didn't happen. However, if the attempt is enough that you think
     that tag should be present, please let me know so I can slap that on.
***** Chapter 5 *****
Chapter Notes
     I meant to post this a lot earlier, but things didn't quite work as
     planned. I'm so sorry for the long wait!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
 Their previous queen had once mentioned to him in passing that he had a flair
            for the dramatic. He'd told her it was utter nonsense.
Garry found himself in one of the many rooms of the Fabricated world, laying on
 his back and staring up at the ceiling. There were shards of broken mannequin
heads littered about that he pointedly ignored, as well as a few holes here and
there that once dispensed a rather horrid gas, but now laid inert with nothing
  escaping. There was nothing in that room but a painting of a woman with an
 umbrella and a torrent of rain that was currently falling on him, soaking him
 to the bone and running down his face almost as if he were crying. He'd added
            some thunder and lightning just for the effect, though.
     Okay, maybe she wasn't so full of shit when she called him dramatic.
Dramatics aside, he couldn't bring himself to do anything more than lay on the
  floor in that room and think. The droning of the rain helped to soothe his
              nerves somewhat as he ran over events in his mind.
He'd felt emotions so powerful it was as if someone were shouting in his head.
   It wasn't something he was used to or something he cared to continue. The
                     question was why this was happening.
  His first thought was that Garry was still alive in him somehow. Perhaps he
 wasn't as dead as Mary had claimed. However, he'd checked himself. The guy's
        heart had ceased beating. He was absolutely certain about that.
 Maybe his emotions were somehow rubbing off on the fake? Also ludicrous, but
not entirely impossible. It was certainly more possible than the notion that he
  was legitimately gaining feelings for this girl on his own. No, he had more
 important things, like the conquest of this world. He had no feelings for her
         outside of her capacity as a tool to give him what he wanted.
 So then why wasn't he able to take her earlier? Why did he fail in taking her
   body? After something like that, it would have been so easy to break her
                        emotionally. Make her a puppet.
                      Why did that thought make him sick?
                                   Monster.
 He dug his nails against the ground and clicked his tongue in annoyance. His
 mind seemed to be taking it upon itself to torment him, because there was no
                   way Garry was in his head talking to him.
    He sat up and shook the rain from his hair, thinking of what to do now.
  "Well, for the time being..." He stood up and stretched, giving a sigh. He
would keep his distance from Ib for now. Maybe it would help sort his head out,
 let him see he had no actual feelings for the girl. Perhaps he'd been around
      her too much recently and that was what was messing with his head.
Besides, there were some things happening in this world that he needed to check
                                     out.
  Cassie wondered to herself for what felt like the hundredth time if Ib was
                           pushing herself too hard.
 It had been a week since that fateful dinner with the fake Garry. Ib had been
gone too long, to the point where Seo and Cassie had to seek her out. When they
  found her, it wasn't hard to tell what had happened. It wasn't until a day
later that she'd been emotionally stable enough to even talk to them, enough to
 tell them that the deed they thought had happened didn't occur. He had backed
                  off at the last minute and left her there.
 Still, she was shaken for the first two days. Then, out of nowhere, she threw
                      herself into her work even harder.
 They'd been concerned. On one hand, Ib was a strong girl. They'd seen her get
 over things quickly. They'd also seen her come face-to-face with things that
                            barely made her flinch.
Still, there was the possibility that this was bothering her far more than she
 let on. That she was trying to drown herself in her training and battles as a
    way of running away from the feelings that night gave her. They weren't
    entirely sure if it was healthy or not to let her continue on this way.
Especially with how reckless she was getting. It didn't help that she was still
rather young. Garry had wanted them to age her more than she was now. They had
  only stopped because of a fight that had broken out. A twelve-year-old girl
barely had the power to do some of the things she was doing, yet she was doing
 it anyway. It was only a matter of time before she broke down at her current
                                     pace.
  Seo came up beside her, watching Ib with his sister as Ib neatly slashed a
loyalist doll wide open, darkness and stuffing flying everywhere as it was cut
                              as easily as paper.
    It had taken a bit of trial and error for Ib to figure out a weapon for
herself. Mary had been partial to knives and daggers. The fake Garry seemed to
 prefer whips and bindings. Ib had tried weaving her roses and vines into all
  manner of implements. She had outright refused whips when she found out the
  fake used those as a weapon of choice. She had tried swords and other such
melee weapons, but found that she simply didn't have the arm strength to wield
them properly. She'd tried daggers despite Mary's affinity for them, but found
                   she couldn't bring herself to swing them.
 In the end, she had proven handy with the most unlikely weapon: a scythe. The
 thing was mostly vine along the handle and the blade was practically made of
thorns around more thickly braided vines. It was heavy, but once she figured it
 out, she was able to use it effectively. Rather than relying on her, frankly
 poor, physical strength for her swings, the weight of the head along with the
circular swings would leave the strength of the swing to centripetal force. It
 was a bit slow, but whatever she hit wasn't getting up any time soon. Still,
   her body was too small to wield it effectively. They would have to find a
 better long-term solution. Perhaps it was time to fast forward her again. But
                how would they bring up that subject with her?
                            "Stop! Mercy, please!"
Ib's scythe came dangerously close to another doll's head before she heard the
plea and managed to stop the blade's momentum. She gave the doll a hard glare,
but nodded her head forward as if motioning for the doll to get the heck out of
there. It didn't need any more prompting than that and ran away like the hounds
                          of hell were on its heels.
 That was another thing that worried Cassie. Ib was reckless, but also far too
 merciful for her own good. If an enemy was actively attacking her, she had no
 problems with cutting them down, but if an enemy pleaded for mercy, she had a
  habit of letting them go. So far it hadn't come back to bite her in the ass
        yet, but Cassie was worried that it was only a matter of time.
  With the last enemy gone, Ib scanned the battlefield with her eyes one last
   time. Satisfied that there were no other threats, she nodded to the other
  mannequins and dolls to go rest. Her forces had been rather small at first,
especially after a few battles early on, but she found that as she continued to
 win battles against the loyalists, more denizens were coming to her side. It
                  was relieving, as it meant less opposition.
Then why did it feel like they just kept on coming? How many creatures lived in
                              this world, anyway?
 She sighed and dropped her scythe, rubbing her sore arm muscles as the weapon
    seeming melted into a pile of vines before seeping into the ground and
vanishing. She made her way to Cassie and Seo, smiling stiffly, "Well, that was
                                  something."
Cassie shook her head, surveying the landscape of shattered mannequins and torn
 dolls, "You know, Ib... I can't help but feel like you're stretching yourself
                                  too thin."
Ib gave her a stubborn look but said nothing. They'd already brought this up a
 few times, but the resulting conversation never actually got anywhere. It was
 obvious that Ib was either not going to admit to pushing herself so hard, or
              wasn't going to do anything to change her behavior.
        Seo was the one to pipe up this time, "Let's have some lunch."
    Cassie was a bit frustrated at the sudden subject change, but Ib looked
relieved, "Yeah, that sounds good." She made her way to her meadow, Cassie and
  Seo fast on her heels. Seo whispered something in Cassie's ear that had her
frown, but then veer off and go a different direction. When Ib opened the door
 to only find Seo behind her, he smiled a bit, "Cassie's getting some food and
                           told me she'd catch up."
 Ib frowned but then gave a nod, slipping through the door and waiting for Seo
 to join her before letting the door shut. She left it visible so Cassie could
                            easily find her way in.
 The meadow was in daylight again and in much better shape than the first time
she'd crafted it. Many of the seams were gone now and the grass had sprinklings
of tiny flowers here and there. The tree in the center had a different shape to
  it now, Ib having decided on a cherry tree in the end. She had the tree in
  bloom at the moment, the entire thing covered in delicate, pink blooms that
swayed in an artificial breeze and occasionally drifted down to rain over their
                                    heads.
 She sat under the tree with Seo, giving him a pointed look, "So what did you
                             want to talk about?"
He blinked then gave a sheepish smile, scratching the back of his head, "Eh....
                           I was that obvious, huh?"
 Ib raised an eyebrow, but there was an amused glint to her eyes, so he was at
   least relieved to know she wasn't angry. He sighed, "Look, you really are
 pushing yourself too hard. You're only twelve, technically. Someone your age
shouldn't be doing such complex magic or wielding a weapon taller than she is."
 She shrugged a bit, looking to the side, "If I don't, they'll kill me. Or you
                  guys. Or anyone else on our side, really."
Seo gave a sigh, his next words coming out in a more serious tone than she was
 used to hearing from him, "Ib, you are our queen. It is good to hear you take
 such responsibility. But at the same time, are you really doing it for those
         reasons? Or are you doing it to run away from other things?"
Ib tensed at his words, as if trying to ward off feelings she didn't want to be
  feeling right then. She gave him a dirty look, then sighed and looked away,
                 "Maybe both. I don't want to talk about it."
             Seo bit his lip, looking frustrated, "Ib, your body-"
                 "Well then, let's just make me older again!"
 Cassie, who had been coming in the door right then, nearly stumbled over the
basket she was carrying. She'd been thinking of how to bring up the subject, so
                 she was kind of happy to hear Ib bring it up.
 But, she had only heard the end of the conversation. Seo, on the other hand,
frowned at her, "Ib, that's not what I meant. Yes, it's a good idea, but I feel
                like you're doing it for the wrong reasons..."
Ib huffed and bit the inside of her cheek, "I need to be able to use my powers
                better, right? Besides, that scythe is heavy."
  Cassie brought the food to their spot under the tree and sat with the other
     two, pulling out an apple and biting into it, "She has a point, Seo."
Seo let out a small growl of frustration, "Yes, she does, but she doesn't need
  to use having an older body as an excuse to continue pushing herself to the
                               breaking point."
   Cassie's eyes widened as the scope of the entire conversation seemed more
clear, seeing now why her brother was unsure. She frowned and Ib was frustrated
     to see this was going to be two against one, with herself as the one.
Seeing the look, Seo gave a sigh, "We're not saying we won't do it, Ib. At the
 same time, you really need to sort things out in your head and come to terms
 with the things that have happened and what the best way to approach them is.
  We'll respect your choices, but I don't believe that running away from the
  things that hurt is the proper way to deal with them. As a person and as a
                                    queen."
Ib was angry. Very angry. What the hell did they know about what happened? She
pushed her anger down when she realized that yes, they did know at least a bit.
 They knew what happened to her, from the moment she entered this world to the
 moment Garry pushed her down in the grass and beyond. They knew the sorts of
things that tormented her. They were her best friends after all. It wasn't like
                            they were against her.
  When she thought of it that way, her anger ebbed a bit more. Right... they
 weren't telling her these things to hurt or embarrass her. They honestly felt
her recent actions were unhealthy. She sighed and drew her legs up close to her
 body, wrapping her arms around her legs and resting her forehead against her
 knees. She let her eyes drift shut and thankfully the twins stayed silent and
 let her think. That made her smile a bit. They really did know her well, huh?
  Maybe she was messed up in the head. She wasn't sure. Sure, she felt a bit
 uneasy from what the fake Garry had tried to do to her, but she'd gotten over
 that soon after. He hadn't actually managed to do anything to her and she was
still very much intact. Oddly, it was the argument just before he attacked her
as well as the fact that he'd even backed off that made her feel conflicted and
confused. She wasn't sure what to make of him or his intentions. Her mind was a
 constant swirling mess if she let herself stop long enough to think about it.
She sighed. Maybe they could talk about it; her, Cassie, and Seo. For the time
                     being, though, she wanted to drop it.
  She looked up at saw them both looking at her expectantly. She gave them a
sheepish smile and took a sandwich out of the basket, nibbling it, "Um... would
 you guys be willing to continue this conversation later? I think I need a few
                       years to sort out how to say it."
The two looked to each other, some sort of silent conversation seeming to flow
     between their expressions before they needed and returned her smile.
         Things would be dropped for now. But this was far from over.
  Immersing yourself in an illusion willingly was a strange experience to be
 sure. When this spell had first been cast on her, she had no clue it was any
different from reality. This time, since Ib was the one using her own power to
  support the spell, she was intimately aware of its nature. Hell, she was in
control of it. It was kind of fun, in some ways. It was like having a very long
   lucid dream. One where you could control every facet of the dream to your
                                    liking.
 Well, for the most part. When you don't have two pushy best friends who want
                             what is best for you.
  As with last time, they insisted that she get some schooling in. It wasn't
    enough to make her physically older, she also needed to mold her mind.
  Still, it had taken an in-illusion month of her relaxing on the beaches of
       Hawaii before either of them had any luck teaching her anything.
 They skipped the school pretense this time, at least. Rather than making some
fake school, the three of them just lived in a house together in her head. They
 let her keep it on the beach if she promised not to keep skipping lessons to
           swim every other hour. It had been difficult to promise.
It was very rarely all three of them at the same time. They were still wary of
possible attackers, so often she was with either Cassie or Seo while the other
   kept watch. They took turns sitting in that house with her, relaxing and
            teaching her everything they could get their hands on.
 Several years passed in her head, though it was mere days for Cassie and Seo
                           outside of the illusion.
              "Alright, Ib, that's the end of your last lesson."
 Ib let out a satisfied sigh and leaned back, letting her upper body flop down
outside the open door to the sea and breathing the breeze in deeply, "I'm going
                                to miss this."
                  Cassie let out a chuckle, "What, lessons?"
  Ib stuck out her tongue but didn't bother to sit back up, "This in general.
 Living with you and Seo on the beach. The days being lazy and peaceful, other
                    than your demonic educational lessons."
                                    "Hey!"
Ib grinned cheekily and sat up, "I definitely need to make a beach somewhere in
             the Fabricated World once I'm out of this illusion."
 Cassie realized that her cleaning up after the lesson was basically unneeded,
 as this space would no longer exist soon, and instead dropped herself down to
 sit next to Ib, looking out at the ocean with her friend, "Yeah, probably. I
                     think you have me hooked on it, too."
Ib tugged playfully at a strand of her hair, "Would be cool if we could figure
             out a way to do this, too. The human form business."
 Cassie pouted and tugged back at a bit of Ib's hair, "Hey, what's wrong with
                            how I normally look??"
Grinning widely, Ib batted her eyelashes at Cassie, "Nothing, it's just nice to
  be able to hug you without feeling like I'm going to crush you. Plus, Seo's
                       actually kind of hot as a human."
                          "Ib!! That's my brother!!"
                     Ib smirked, "I'm just kidding, geez!"
   Cassie huffed, but then blushed and let it go when Ib rested her head on
Cassie's shoulder. Ib mumbled a bit more calmly, "There's also this I'll miss."
  Cassie rolled her eyes but gave Ib a pat on the head, smiling as her friend
            closed her eyes and just relaxed against her shoulder.
                        "Cass. I'm afraid to go back."
      The red-eyed girl turned her eyes down toward Ib, sighing, "Garry?"
        Ib nodded a bit, "I still don't know how to deal with it all."
 They had talked at length during her time in the illusion about things. About
all the events up to this point and Ib's feelings regarding them. Cassie wished
 she had all the answers, if only to get the sad look from her friend's face.
 Cassie's fingers ran through Ib's hair comfortingly, "One step at a time, Ib.
When you get back, we'll ask around for some answers. Even if Garry won't tell
you what's going on, there's bound to be someone who knows what happened to the
 real Garry and how things got to this point. We just need to change the angle
                          we're coming at this from."
Ib nodded in agreement. It made sense. With how hunted the two of them were, it
  would be hard to keep everyone in the dark about their whereabouts. Someone
                      besides the fake Garry had to know.
 After a few more moments, Ib sighed and stood up, "Well, I guess it's time to
                            leave this place, huh?"
  Cassie stood up too and dusted some sand off her backside, "Yeah. It's been
              four days, who knows when the next attack will be?"
                Ib nodded her agreement, "So what... do I do?"
 The other girl put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a wide smile, "I guess
                                 just let go."
 Ib gave her a last look before trying to let go of her power. It was hard at
 first, as it was something she'd been doing passively for what felt like four
years now. Once she realized how tensed her power was, it was easy to find that
  part of herself that was holding it together and just let it all loose. She
   closed her eyes as the world was swept out from under her and went black.
Her eyes opened a moment later to find Cassie and Seo standing over her, faces
  pinched with worry. She gave them a reassuring smile and sat up in her bed,
stretching her limbs, "Ugh, I need to get some exercise. I feel all stiff." Her
  voice was a bit scratchy as well and she accepted a glass of water from Seo
                                  gratefully.
 Cassie plopped down on her lap and gave her a cheeky grin, "Welcome to being
   sixteen, Ib. Please try not to crush me with your boobs when you hug me!"
           "And what was this about me being hot in my human form?"
                          Ib groaned. These twins...
 While Ib had been in her illusion, Garry had been gathering some intel of his
  own. He'd spent a large amount of time in what equated to enemy territory.
 Luckily, they seemed too intimidated by him to really mess with him. The fact
    that Ib wasn't with them helped to dim their interest in attacking him.
 No one seemed particularly helpful in terms of giving information. Even a few
        tortures and interrogations did nothing to help the situation.
   Still, being on that side of the Fabricated World let him figure out some
                      things he wouldn't have otherwise.
 The entire place still felt choked by Mary's presence and he wasn't entirely
 sure if that was a bad thing or not. At the very least, it might explain the
  aggression of the loyalists. The presence of their old mistress in the air
might have been enough to keep their loyalty for her intact. Then again, there
 was the slim possibility that the reason her aura hadn't left the Fabricated
                  World yet was because she was still alive.
That was absurd, though. He had watched Ib burn her portrait. There was nothing
                                     left.
   He felt he needed to validate that, though, and made his way through the
   various rooms to where her painting was usually hung. He sighed a bit to
 himself for having been so paranoid. There was no painting on the wall. Only
  the burn marks from where it was set ablaze. No one was in the room at all,
                               save for himself.
 He shook his head and turned to leave, but noticed something different in the
 corner of the room. Fresh paint and soiled brushes. There was no sign of any
   painting in the room, though. Perhaps they were from Mary making her own
pictures, alone in this room. He gave the paints another, uncomfortable glance
               before turning on his heel and leaving the room.
                                Utter nonsense.
Chapter End Notes
     Sorry for the shortness, but that scene is where I wanted the chapter
     to end. Hopefully it's still a good chapter. I was worried it might
     have moved too fast. Let me know!
Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed
their work!