VI – Ruin of the Heart

The last thing Garry had wanted was to be separated from Ib again. He trusted Feliciano with her, of course; he had after all saved her from all of those monstrous paintings throughout the time they had been together. But the fact that Mary had so cleverly divided them for a second time; had somehow found a way to summon those damned vines in order to separate them, did he worry about Ib. Garry hadn't felt so infuriated in his life. What also annoyed him was the fact that she had control of this world again. Although the amount of control that Garry had was fairly small, he still had some influence in the museum. It made it clear that Mary was indeed there. But now, he lost control. He had no power.

As they entered the room again, Garry couldn't help but feel an uncomfortable chill run down his spine, and noticed that Ludwig and Kiku felt the same by their expressions. What made him rather shocked about the room was the fact that Feliciano and Ib were arguing about what the dolls looked like; whilst Ib said that were just small bunnies, Feliciano had retorted that they were kittens. Of course, Garry knew that their observations were completely wrong, but he felt that it would have been safe not to intervene. Garry reached towards a small slim book on the bookshelf, titled "Ruin of the Heart," and began to read it out of interest.

Ruin of the Heart

If your spirit suffers too much, you will soon start to hallucinate...

...And in the end, you will be destroyed...

...And more worrying yet...

...is that you will not even be conscious of that fact.

Garry shut the book sharply and put it back on the shelf quickly. He suddenly realised why Feliciano and Ib couldn't see the dolls as exactly as they were. it was obvious now, seeing that they seemed to be the most innocent people out of the whole of them. But it made Garry worry; both Ib and Feliciano had obviously suffered too much. It was more of the worry of how it would take for the two of them to be destroyed.

"Garry, I've found an entrance behind this suitcase; we might be able to crawl through it one person at a time." Ludwig called out, stepping away from a large hole in the wall. Garry blinked at him suddenly.

"Hmm? Oh, that's fantastic." Garry mumbled. His thoughts were still frantic.

"You seem troubled. I'm sure that Ib will be fine, Garry-san; she is with Mary and Feliciano after all. I'm positive that they will be safe." Kiku said with a knowing tone suddenly. Garry grimaced at the thought of Ib being in Mary's care. Ludwig glanced over at him curiously.

"That's the only thing I worry about: her being with Mary isn't really the best situation at hand." Garry murmured picking up one of the horrific dolls by its leg as it dangled in his grasp, staring at him with big eyes. Kiku frowned slightly as he had taken a book off of the other bookshelf.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Kiku asked, putting the book back slowly. Garry turned to him. Kiku's expression was blank and unreadable, but his dark brown eyes seemed to be flaring with, for some reason, fury.

"Well, it's complicated for me to really explain. Let's just say that Mary's not one to trust." Garry said in a matter of fact tone, dropping the blood where it was before. Kiku's cheeks when a cherry blossom pink.

"I trust her. She can be a little bit excitable at times and be quite bold, but she is fine besides from that." Kiku said defensively. Garry couldn't help but laugh coldly. He didn't know Mary like Garry knew her.

"Kiku, how long have you known Mary? I'd say, what, a few hours, at the very most?" Garry suggested. Kiku looked at him with a confused expression.

"I don't understand." Kiku said slowly. Garry leaned against the bookshelf, dangling a doll by its leg in his hands, looking at Kiku with a dark glance. Kiku seemed like a relatively sensible young man, but the way he was so protective over Mary, how he spoke so highly of her... it made Garry wonder what power she had over him.

"You may think you know Mary, but let me tell you this: you don't. You don't know Mary for what she is." Garry said in a low tone. Kiku frowned again.

"What do you mean by "what" she is?" He asked.

"Let's say that Mary and I have never particularly seen eye to eye. You could say that's why I've been in this place for so long." Garry said in a low tone. Ludwig stared at him curiously.

"That probably had nothing to do with her Garry-san. She wouldn't hurt a soul." Kiku said in a defiant tone. Garry laughed bitterly.

"Did she tell you that herself?" Garry asked. Kiku narrowed his eyes.

"I promised her that I would get her and her sister out of here alive, Garry-san. I intended to keep to that promise." Kiku said through his teeth, clenching his fists tightly.

"Kiku, she's lying to you. They're not sisters! She does this, Kiku; she's no good, manipulative, devious liar!" Garry said in an exhausted tone. A flash of silver. Garry gulped. The tip of a steel katana was just touching his throat. Ludwig cried out in shock.

"She would not lie to me!" Kiku yelled. His eyes were a sickly hazel; as a matter of fact, they were nearly bright yellow.

"Kiku, listen to me, they look nothing alike at all. Understandable they would have been seen as fraternal twins, but she is nothing like Ib. They're not sisters, and Mary is most definitely not human. The sooner you realise this, the better." Garry stammered quickly. Ludwig rushed over to Kiku and pulled him away from Garry, the pressure of the tip of the katana vanishing, leaving Garry to take a deep breath in with shock.

"Kiku, what the hell's gotten into you?!" Ludwig asked in a slightly horrified tone, placing firm hands on Kiku's shoulders. Kiku shrugged away from Ludwig, pointing his katana at him threateningly.

"The Master… won't be happy with either of you. The Master… despises those who dare doubt the heir!" Kiku bellowed, suddenly advancing on Garry, swinging his katana in the air. Garry ducked sharply, narrowly missing the blade. Garry suddenly saw Ludwig kicking the sword out of Kiku's hand and grabbing his shoulders again, this times shaking him violently. He saw Ludwig calm Kiku down with stern words and strict movement. Kiku's eyes slowly turned from yellow to brown, suddenly looking confused at the sword that was on the floor. Garry couldn't help but curse the situation in his mind.

What other tricks did Mary have up her sleeve?

"Hey Ib, can I ask you something?" Mary asked nonchalantly, as she and Ib entered the room before Feliciano. Ib looked at Mary with a slight smile.

"What is it, Mary?" Ib asked, moving to the side to let Feliciano inside with them. Feliciano smiled as he gave his thanks and began walking around the room, looking through the stacked up boxes. Mary glanced at him before turning her attention to Ib.

"You know Feliciano?" Mary asked. Ib asked, confused.

"What about him?" Ib asked, watching Feliciano pull out a fresh, clean, thin paintbrush, handling it delicately. Mary shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, what do you think about him? He seems like a really nice guy." Mary added in a devious tone, nudging Ib in her rib slightly. Ib's cheeks flushed pink of embarrassment. Of all the things for Mary to bring up, she had to bring up Feliciano.

"Mary, now isn't really the time for-" Ib muttered in a dark tone. Mary rolled her eyes at her childishly.

"You think he's cute though, don't you? Come one, only a blind man wouldn't think he's a handsome guy." Mary added in a matter of fact tone. Ib glanced over at Feliciano. She had to agree with Mary on that face: Feliciano was most definitely far from ugly.

"Well, he is a handsome man. But he's..." Ib's voiced trailed away, trying to phrase her sentence. Mary looked at her curiously.

"He's what?" Mary asked. Ib closed her eyes for a moment. The first thing she saw was, to her slight surprise, the smiling face of Garry, his expression soft and his visible eye bearing a caring glance. Her heart glowed warmly. She opened her eyes, a small smile on her face.

"He's not like Garry." Ib said softly. Mary widened her eyes at her in both disapproval and alarm.

"Excuse me?" Mary asked with a soft hiss, pulling her to the side as Feliciano looked at them with a concerned expression. Ib smiled at him apologetically as he nodded with a smile, turning his attention to the boxes once more.

"He's not like Garry. At first I thought he was like him, being scared of everything and sacrificing himself for me... but he's not like Garry at all." Ib said with a whisper, her cheeks red as she remembered Garry's embrace. Her heart didn't flutter like that when she was with Feliciano. Mary groaned under her breath in annoyance.

"Don't tell me you have a crush on that seaweed head." Mary said. Ib turned her head away in her own annoyance. Mary sighed exasperatedly.

"Ib, there is no way he would be good enough for you! Garry's an old guy who wears weird clothes and like you said, scared of anything. I bet he'd be scared of me if I tried." Mary said in a bitter tone, walking away from Ib whilst almost brushing past Feliciano. Ib followed her quickly, reached out to her sharply and grabbed Mary's arm.

"But Mary-" Ib said. Mary tugged at her arm sharply out of Ib's grasp, placing both hands on her hips.

"And besides, what's wrong with Feliciano? He's not good enough for you?" Mary asked in a bitter tone. Ib couldn't help but be taken aback.

"Mary!" Ib exclaimed. Mary rolled her eyes again at her.

"Ib, Feliciano is nearly every girl's dream. He's perfect boyfriend material; you can tell he hides his brains, he looks capable of caring for you. Ib, he even tried to calm you down whilst you were having one of your episodes. Would Garry do that for you?" Mary asked spitefully.

"I could give him the chance to." Ib snapped back. Mary scoffed harshly.

"He wouldn't do a good job, I can assure you that now." Mary sneered. Ib took a step back from her in annoyance, crossing her arms slowly and darkly. She never even noticed the flickering lights.

"Why do you hate him so much?" Ib asked with a glare, her red eyes sharp and piercing. She felt the atmosphere grow suddenly tense. Mary seemed taken aback as she started fidgeting with her dress slightly. She suddenly looked uncomfortable around Ib, looking at the floor childishly as she scuffed a box with her foot lightly.

"Because he's trying to – I don't know. It's like he's trying to take you away from me." Mary said in a small voice. Ib suddenly felt a twinge of guilt at Mary's words. She reached out towards Mary and took her hands into her own, a gentle smile on her face.

"Oh, Mary. He's not taking me away from you." Ib said in a kind tone. Mary looked at her rather tearfully before hugging Ib tightly. Ib was taken aback by Mary's sudden actions, but she hugged her sister back regardless. She supposed that Mary was right to be distrustful of Garry, seeing that he was in this hellish world for so long.

"Eh? Why is the exit blocked?" Feliciano asked, pointing to the exit. Ib looked up to see a headless mannequin standing in front of the door. But… that mannequin… surely it wasn't there before. Mary pulled back, frowning at the mannequin.

"Huh? That's weird. Ib, help me push it." Mary said, walking towards the mannequin. As she readied herself to push it Ib made her way towards the mannequin. It was eerily familiar to the mannequin from when Ib first ran into Feliciano. But it wasn't that one of course, because that mannequin was killed and they were all working upwards, not downwards. At least she hoped she wasn't working downwards.

Ib stood next to Mary, and as they counted to three, they heaved as hard as they could. And yet the mannequin refused to move. Feliciano frowned.

"You push and I'll pull." He said, positioning himself on the other side of the mannequin. Ib and Mary pushed again as Feliciano pulled at the mannequin's arm with all of his might. Ib glanced at Feliciano's injured arm. It was starting to bleed again.

"It won't move at all!" Ib exclaimed, sighing heavily as she took a step back from the mannequin. Feliciano stopped pulling at the mannequin at the same time that Mary stopped pushing.

"W-What do we do now?" Feliciano asked. Mary stared at the other door for a long while, a contemplating look on her face. She walked towards the door and turned the handle. The door opened effortlessly. She turned to Ib and Feliciano with a scarily bright smile on her face.

"Well, I suppose the only way is up!"

As the three of them walked, Mary was lost in her own thoughts about different things.

The first thing on her mind was of how Ib still had some kind of remote feelings for Garry after so many years away from her home. It was bizarre to be fair, how Ib assumed that she was in love with Garry after seeing after twelve years or goodness knows how long he was trapped here for. Mary remembered how Kiku told her for some about the red string of fate that would tie lovers together, and that no matter what happened to the thread it couldn't be severed by anyone else but the loves. Mary subconsciously wondered if she and Kiku could possibly have the red string of fate tying the two of them together.

Another thought that was a little bit more important was how Kiku was. Even when she was somewhat able to comfort Kiku when she summoned the large vine wall to separate her from Garry, she couldn't actually help but worry about him. She wasn't there to protect, and she knew that the world would act in self defence if Kiku were to try and protect himself. Would he get hurt? Would he, heavens forbid, be killed by her friends and her family? She knew deep down that he was capable of looking after himself and defending himself, but she still couldn't help but worry.

The final thing on her mind, however, was about Feliciano. As they walked across the odd looking painting that could blink and close it eyes, and when Ib accidentally knocked a strange blue triangle down the gap, and as they began walking up a strange brown corridor with red lights on the wall, Mary could surprisingly see a faint green aura surrounding him. It made Mary wonder just exactly what was wrong with him.

"It's called 'Fisherman,' yet there's no fisherman present. Odd, isn't it?" Feliciano asked suddenly with a smile. Mary blinked in surprise as she looked up at the painting with its moving waves. Mary nodded with a faint giggle. It was odd. He was probably getting himself something to eat.

The three of them entered a room, with three tables in different tables in the corners all with mannequin heads at the very edge. Mary walked past the mannequins very carefully, as she didn't want to disturb them. Feliciano walked towards the furthest one and picked up a key that was as green as ivy.

"I wonder what this is for…" Feliciano murmured, clutching the key tightly in his fist. But as he made to walk away his arm had just brushed past the table's mannequin head, which caused it to tumble and fall, and shattered and cut Feliciano's finger from the nail to the palm, to which he hissed in pain.

"Are you alright?" Ib asked fervently, checking his finger. His rose was still the same. Mary frowned. He could have been on the brink of death with his arm wound regardless. So how was he walking still as if he was fresh and ready for war.

"Ah, it's fine, bella. See, it's already healing." Feliciano said, showing his finger to Ib and Mary. And Mary saw, to her amazement and surprise, the long cut on his finger suddenly healing itself quickly until there was barely a scratch on it at all. Mary grabbed his hand and turned it around. There were no scratches at all.

"How do you do that?" Mary asked. Feliciano shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know." He replied. Mary eyed him warily. He looked as if he was telling the truth, and yet for some reason, Mary didn't want to believe him. He wasn't telling them something about himself, which was more than certain. But before Mary could ask any more questions, Feliciano quickly left the room with Ib close behind him. Mary had no choice but to bite back her question.

As they explored the place Mary noticed a painting of scarlet lips on a dark blue canvas titled 'Tattletale' and glanced at it knowingly. She wouldn't need that just yet. They soon entered a room with five sets of bookcases, with three being separated by a wall that acted like a barricade, with a tiny keyhole in the wall to the far right next to the last two bookcases.

"I wonder if this key goes here…" Feliciano wondered, going towards the keyhole and inserting the small key. He turned the key a few times, and there was the sound of something being unlocked. But nothing happened at all whatsoever. Mary couldn't help but think that it was a bit of a waste of time.

"Well, we might as well look at these books. There might be something useful here." Ib suggested, going to the left side of the bookcases. Feliciano smiled, soon following her.

"That's a good idea, Ib! And then we might find a way to get out of here!" Feliciano said cheerily, the sound of books being dragged out of their spot floating through Mary's ears. Mary giggled to herself softly. Of all people to fall in love with, why didn't Ib fall in love with Feliciano. Mary turned to the nearest bookcase, and pulled out a book that was titled 'Theories of the World.' As Mary's curiosity got the best of her, she flicked through the pages aimlessly until she landed on one particular page. Her body froze in shock immediately.

Personification

There is a legend that each nation, no matter how small or large or useful or useless as it may be, gives birth to its own body of sorts. This body is created in order to be one with both land and people, and can only survive if both are correctly balanced and if there is still some peace left amongst their people. For example, the fall of the Ancient Roman Empire led to the death of their own personifications, but it was believed that this particular body had two relatives in order to carry on such legacy, and rule over separate halves of Repubblica Italiana, being the northern and the southern halves. Although there is not concrete evidence, speculations can be made from the following photographs.

Below the paragraph was a picture of a tall, strong and powerful looking man with dark curls and ambitious eyes in Ancient Roman attire, looking boastful and childish at the same time. And yet next to that photo were two separate photos of men in 1940s war-time attire in black and white. The first man had fiery eyes despite the monotone, and dark that was parted to the man's left with a curl that wouldn't go down and a cold expression on his face, with the caption 'Italia Romano, the unofficial Italy' underneath it. And yet the man below him was none other than Feliciano Vargas himself, his smile gone and replaced with an evil glance. And underneath his photo was a caption that made Mary nearly gasp in shock.

'Italia Veneziano, the official Italy.'