Forgotten Portrait

An Unexpected Loss, An Unexpected Ally

Author's Note: Warning! GarryxIb is in this story, especially so in this chapter.

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                                                            ~~~Garry~~~

    Just like I was hoping it would, the door slowly swung open before me, and my pathway was opened. I hurried through the door and up the stairs, stopping whenever I saw someone standing in front of the door. My eyes went wide whenever I saw the blond haired girl standing there with the brown key in her hand. My eyes then narrowed on her. "What are you doing here, Mary?"

    A twisted smirk crossed Mary's face. "Oh? Is something wrong? Were you hoping to meet up with Ib here?" She asked, sending a chill down my spine. Her tone of voice suggested that something had happened to Ib.

    "What did you do to Ib?" I growled, tensing up like an animal ready to pounce.

    "Oh? Me? I don't think that I did anything, but... what do I know? I'm just a twisted psychopath." Mary said, a tiny smirk spreading over her features. She started to walk towards me, to which I responded by backing away. "Why do you run so easily? Are you scared of me, Garry? Are you scared that I'm going to do something to you? Kill you, perhaps?"

    I stared at Mary for the longest of times before stopping. I didn't back away anymore, standing my ground against the threat. If I was going to die, I wasn't going to run away from my murderer. She would catch me anyways... She knew that world far better than I did.

    Strangely enough, Mary merely wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me close to her. "Poor little Garry. You want so badly to run away, but... you also want to be brave." She whispered in my ear, backing away as soon as she had said it. She took my hand, slipping her hand out of mine before brushing past me. "She's waiting for you. Why don't you see her, one last time?"

    I gulped, knowing now that she had done something to Ib. I looked down at my hand and saw that she had left the brown key with me to unlock the door before me. Even so, I hesitated. I didn't know if I wanted to go through the door. I was afraid of what awaited me on the other side, but... I needed to know if Ib was okay.

    I wrapped my hand around the door knob after unlocking the door and turned it, pushing the door open with a loud bang. Without any hesitation, I walked through the door frame, ready-or at least thinking I was-to face anything.

                                                               ~~~🌹~~~

    I wasn't ready for what I found on the other side of the door, and the sight nearly made me throw up my stomach. I didn't do that though... Instead, I just stood in the doorway, utterly dumbfounded by what my eyes were seeing.

    The shattered head of a mannequin was lying on the floor in shards, each being stained red by someone's blood. I could already guess, but my mind didn't completely accept that it was Ib's blood until my gaze landed on the girl sprawled out over the floor. Her limp body rested in the middle of the broken shards. She didn't speak. She didn't move. She didn't even breathe. It was almost as if the life had left her body, but something gave it away that she was still alive-even if it was just barely. The red rose in her hair was still in full bloom, glowing brightly in the dimly lit room.

    I couldn't run to her... I just walked over-slowly-while my brain tried to process what my eyes were viewing. I knelt down by the unconscious girl, instinctively brushing the glass shards away from her body before pulling the limp heap into my arms. "Ib... You can't... Please... Wake up..." I choked on my own words, feeling tears welling up in my eyes. I quickly blinked them away. I couldn't cry there. I had her to worry about.