As with any Ib stories I may pop out, this one may be considered questionable, so expect it on my and accounts. More info in my profile.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Fake Garry is creepy Garry. Hopefully that didn't spook anyone too bad! I'll try to pop the next chapter out soon.