Alright next chapter for sure is gonna get a bit more exciting.. And sorry for the wait! I'm working on other stories and I kinda got side tracked ~ anyways, new chapter yay!

She was falling now.

Very slowly she descended, through the wall of liquid around her and the many layers under. She drifted, frozen and silent, knowing where she was and where she was headed. Garry was nowhere in sight, and the last thing Ib had remembered was the strong hold of His arms releasing her.

No... Not releasing.. He was fading. Liquefying behind her as they fell, before she penetrated the still skin of water and into the all too familiar cloud of blue that had flooded her vision upon falling into the abyss. A distant screech from a mysterious creature from the deep waters below vibrated the water around her, and struck a rod of fear through Ib as she realized she was in it's territory, and she was falling towards it.

The sea around her was cold and thick, like paint. It clung to her clothes uncomfortably, filling every fold and most likely staining her garments. It went on around her for what seemed like miles in every direction. Ib's breath was held tightly within her lungs, fearing she wouldn't hit the bottom before she gave out the little air she had and drowned. Fish food. She turned her head down to search for any hint of the gallery floors. All there was to be seen below her were black waters and the emptiness beyond. Her lungs burned with the need for relief, to breathe and exhale, inhale and exhale, inhale and exhale and...

A small cloud of thick, nearly opaque bubbles floated upwards before Ib's closing eyes. The muffled rumbling of trapped air drummed in her ears. The only hope for survival was escaping her, Speeding past her lips and into the deep waters as her lungs let go of the last of her precious oxygen. As her breath was released, Ib's stomach dropped as she realized she would soon take in a mouthful of water when the last of her air left and slowly, painfully drown within the "Abyss of the Deep." Her eyes were shut tightly, seeing speckles of light and stars as she seemingly deflated. Panic took her thoughts, and her breath slowed as the last of her oxygen floated away, and on instinct she inhaled.

Thick, cold water entered her. Past her lips, into her throat, and filling her lungs. The burning within her chest stopped as cool liquid filled the space. Ib thrashed, clawing her arms and hands through the water in attempt to move faster. It slowly filled her as she attempted to cough it out and hold what ever air she had inside her and somehow make it to the bottom. Realization hit her like a hammer though as her legs stopped kicking and her arms froze, as if they had a mind of their own. Something was very wrong... In a good way.

She could breathe, as if the water soon faded within her and it seemed like she had never inhaled such a large quantity of liquid at all. Ib's round eyes shot open, adjusting to the dim light and feeling of empty liquid around her, taking her down. It was a terrifying feeling, and Ib found herself shaking in fear as a wave of frustration and anxiety flooded over her every time she would inhale to take a deep breath of oxygen rich paint water. It filled her then faded, causing her to believe she would drown even when she had known it would eventually leave again.

There was another screech, much closer now. Her head whipped around frantically in search for the source of the eerie wail and slowly, her kicks started up again. She swung her legs in attempt to swim through the thick paint. They felt as if they were tied to a weight though, for no matter how hard she kicked and thrashed and pushed, it was to no avail. She fell farther into the dark waters, the light above her soon fading as the black slowly consumed her. There was yet another piercing scream from the creature , seeming as if it originated from only a few meters away. It was then that Ib whipped her head to the right, catching a glimpse of the approaching beast. A faint aura of fluorescent cyan had outlined it's dark shade of taupe scales around it. It's jaws were extended upwards to their full length, rows of rotted and dangerously sharp teeth outlined them in perfect array. Panic overcame Ib's mind as it approached with frightening speed. It's mouth opened even wider, revealing the abyss within itself. Her legs kicked once more, downwards and to the right, in every direction away from the creature. The liquid's density only seemed to increase around her, slowing her movements to a halt as she turned back to greet large tusks, blank and unmoving eyes, scales the size of her hand, and the black waters beyond the fish's mouth as it closed around her. Her head spun back, now inside the beast as her only way out again would be through it's closing jaws. She reached desperately, finding more comfort in the dimming light than the sudden darkness here inside of the Creature of the Abyss. With a quick snap and a sickening crack of clashing teeth, the world around Ib was black once more.

When she had regained her senses, she was in a sort of daze. Her eyes remained heavy and closed, yet she could use every other sense. She lay on her side. Whether she was on the floor or a sort of table she couldn't tell. It was cold and hard, sending a chill through her as she rolled over and pressed the back of her head to it. The place she had woken in smelled of paint and dust, like an art gallery. All was still, there was no detection of any life near her. All was silent, eerily silent. She swore she could hear her blood flow within her veins, fast and constant. She pressed her palm to the surface beneath her and propped herself up to her knees. Opening her eyes slowly, all that was to be seen was blue. Was she still in the abyss? Did she reach the bottom? She could breath without consuming large amounts of water, so she assumed she was now in the gallery. Her head tilted upwards, and her eyes adjusted to the world around her. There were a few paintings on the wall, some very familiar, some completely new. Blinking twice, she pushed her weight up with her weak arms and stood. Her knees shook terribly, as if she just went for a two mile bike ride. A wall beside her was used to hold herself before she got control of her strength again. She didn't know what was happening, it felt like she was old and feeble, like an old woman. Her arm gave out beneath her and she slammed into the wall with a dry crunch emanating from her pouch. And with it, pain, much worse than it should have been with such a short range fall, rocketed through her body. Every nerve, every cell within her seemed to pinch as she fell to the floor with a cry. She was paralyzed as the pain subsided, fading away. When she had found the urge to move again she lifted her pouch, searching inside for the source of the...

Dark red petal flakes littered the inside of her pouch. It almost felt dirt as she rummaged around in search for the rose. Her shriveling, dying rose. She had always kept it on her in hopes that it would be her key back to the "Fabricated World". She lifted it out of her black pouch, holding it gently between her fingers and twirling it as flakes floated to the floor beneath her rather gracefully. Half of the rose was gone, most of it's remains scattered within her pouch, while the other half remained dry and deteriorating. She was surprised a rose would even last all these years without water. I suppose it was the fact that it was no ordinary rose that kept it preserved so well. Holding her rose, careful not to bring any more harm to it, she lifted herself off the ground.

'WATER! I need water!' She had realized. If memory serves her right, there should be vases containing a sort of healing water within this gallery, a lot of them too. It was her only hope for survival, and with this withered rose, the chances looked bleak. Looking around, she took note of her surroundings. She was in a room the shade of a vibrant green. It stretched to a far wall on either side, and it was rather narrow, like a hallway. The tiles and walls looked new, as if they were recently installed and painted. The light above them was covered in a round cone like shade, covered in a transparent green sheet of plastic, and hanging from short cables. All was silent except for the soft patters of her footsteps on the cool tile as she decided to walk towards the right wall, hoping there would be something of use there.

The wall, upon closer inspection, was smooth, cold and overall.. Normal. There wasn't anything there, no hidden passage, no oddly colored section of the paint on it, it was just a wall. Ib was very confused now, what was she to do? There were no doors, no windows, no exits! She began to panic, very afraid that she would be trapped, starve to death, and left without a single person wondering where she could have gone, and even if they did, there would be no hope of finding her.

'What do I do!?' She thought frantically. She ran to the other side of the hallway, finding no exit there or any sign of one either. 'Please no.. Not when I'm so close!' She knocked on the walls, hoping she would hear a hollow echo on the other side. She took down paintings, examining each and every inch of the paintings frame and the wall that held it. Finally, she had the thought to look down. The tile. She hunched over and frantically moved about, watching, observing, hoping one would be appear to be loose and reveal a button or escape shoot.

Finally, the far end of the left wall in the lower corner, she found it: The loose floor piece. It had a small crack surrounding the cement that held it together, hardly noticeable. She bent down, now shaking with a sheen of sweat covering her. Using her nails, she insert them as far as she could in between the tile and pulled up. The piece wobbled a bit before separating from the ground below it and revealing a small compartment. Ib placed the tile next to her before looking back to the small box underneath the floor. A single item was placed in there, perfectly in the center. It's rim was red and the glass curving down to it's base was a light pink. The vase seemed new, not a speck of dust or dirt in it. Ib feared moving the vase would trigger an alarm or trap of some sort, so she left it in place. But she was rather uneasy about the liquid inside. Instead of a clear, slightly glowing healing water, it contained a dark liquid that smelled thick and metallic, like blood. She held tightly to her rose, bringing it forward and hovering it over the edge. With only a few dry and withering petals left, Ib hoped that this wasn't a trap, a cruel joke. The smell of blood seemed to cloud around her, getting stronger as it mixed with the smell of sweat and dust. Shutting her eyes, she held her breath as in one quick motion, her fingers parted, and the rose fell into the "water" with a quick drop.

There was an unlocking sound.