Welcome to the memorial museum of troubled painter Weiss Guertena. The late Guertena was said to possess a unique eye for both the macabre and the lively. But what is more astounding than his works are the mysteries surrounding them.

Two years ago, three people went missing here. Several works were also found in disrepair. The painting Mary for example went missing and in its place lay a pile of ash and a palette knife. A rose sculpture titled "Embodiment of the Spirit" was tarnished and slightly chipped. The paintings of "The Forgotten Portrait" and"Goodbye" were missing the people, leaving only perfect twisting vines that appear undisturbed by prey. Nine year old Ib Marlette and twenty year old Garrett Ruiz were located the next day, but the mysteries are still to grow...

Oh, indeed the painting of Mary was in a horrible state, but not so much that the subject was entirely lost. In fact, it took a mere hour after Ib and Garry left for Mary to piece herself back together. Her body, anyway; her heart is obviously just as twisted as ever. Her only friends had tried to burn her alive so that they could escape without her. Anybody in her place would understand the wrongness of that, right?

All that is left is her doll collection and her tarnished art tools. Somehow, her knife had disappeared, but she would have to make do with what she had. It did not take long for them to drive Garry toward the brink of madness, so how hard could a second run be?

She would escape soon, she was sure of it. And when she did, she'd make sure that they stay loyal to her.

Forever.

~o~

The remaining two survivors were inseparable nowadays, especially since Garry had been suckered into babysitting Ib for some extra cash. How else could he afford the counseling that everyone thought he needed? Just kidding-he was off to the sanitarium the minute he exited the museum parking lot that fateful day!

But in all seriousness, his bunny/doll hallucinations are still occurring. Every time he sees a little bunny in the park, he'll hop into somebody's arms. Any wonder that he's lost four girlfriends? Or that he's gotten admonished by the police on multiple occasions?

~o~

Ib has constant nightmares about her experiences in Guertena. She has sadly lost her ability to tell the difference and will often scream in her sleep. It is not uncommon that she will wake up with self-inflicted cuts all over. She swears that she doesn't remember how she got them or why she'd ever do such a thing to herself.

And boy, is she a pain in department stores. Every time she sees a mannequin, she sprints away to the shoe section. When she sees the mannequin heads, she wants so badly to kick them. She's constantly looking in mirrors to make sure they don't sneak up on her.

"Mommy," a little boy asked, "is this place haunted?"

"No, you silly," his mother answered, "why would you think that?"

"Cuz' I...I heared that a guy named, an artist named Katana-"

"Guertena, honey."

"Right, he, um, he painted a picture of a crazy girl and then he maked himself die. And this, um, the crazy girl from the painting, scary-"

"Mary?"

"No, I mean yes she's called Mary, but she's also scary. And, and she come to life and taked these people away from the real world into a picture in the museum and..."

The mother picked up her babbling son and held his head to her chest. "If you're worried about seeing another ghost, then don't worry. Mommy is right here with you and she'll protect you from any mean ghosties."

"But didn't you just say the museum isn't haunted?"

"Well, I didn't think it was. But hearing you talk about it kind of gets Mommy scared, so she wants to keep her baby safe."

"But Mommy, I'm not a baby no more. I'm three and a half-a big boy, remember?"

"Does that mean that you shouldn't be kept safe?"

The boy clung to his mother's jacket, already shivering with fear of seeing a 'ghostie'. "N-no, Mommy! I'll stay close."

"Yeah, I thought as much."

~o~

This wasn't just for the boy's protection. In fact, while the boy was just sharing a childish tale, his mother was filled with true horror. She'd heard about the incident at the museum on the news. Her parents had assured her that it was a BS hoax to get kids afraid to leave their parents' side in public. A seventeen-year-old hypochondriac, the mother was still a kid and absolutely still a member of the Paranoia Club. Especially after the incident three weeks after the museum.

The car accident that killed her parents, sister, and almost her son. She never found out what had caused it, but she did find two glass balls on the dashboard once the bodies had been cleared. One was tiiny, smooth and pink, like a decorative pearl. The other was large and purple, constructed of small triangles like some sort of stained glass disco ball.

Today, Garry is to take Ib to a zoo in hopes that she'd forget the incident for a little while. He knew that she'd want to pet the bunnies there, but even if he had to suffer a little for her happiness, it'd be worth it. He'd do anything to see her smile again. It's been weeks since he last saw her smile. Maybe that's what it feels like to be a father, he thinks.

On his way out the door, he is greeted by a UPS man. The man asks him to sign for a package. He does not look good-humored in the least. Does he know about the books I ordered? Garry hurriedly signs the man's clipboard and is in turn hit in the stomach with the box. Incidentally, it is labeled as 'fragile' under dozens of 'wrong address' stickers. Definitely not the books... Before he can say "F**k you too, Midol man," the delivery guy is gone.

Garry sits on his front steps opening the package. Inside is an ornate blue sphere embellished with patterns of roses and thorns. He is thoroughly impressed with the skill demonstrated in its design, tracing the largest rose with his fingers. How strange, the petals were almost as soft as a real rose.

He decides to show his new gift to Ib. She loves blue roses. He puts the ball back in its packaging. Then he takes it to his car, carefully sliding the box into the glove compartment. It'd be a shame if something were to happen to it.

~o~

After ten minutes he arrives at Ib's house, where she is waiting right out front. But she is not smiling. She looks horrified, in fact. In her hands is an orb nearly identical to his, only this one was red. She might as well have been holding a mannequin head for the horror on her little face. For unlike the other recipients of these balls, she knows exactly what this is. Somebody sent her this orb to harass her, to remind her of her nightmares years ago.

"Ib." She regains her composure. Her companion now looks concerned as well. "Did you have another vision?" She shakes her head. "Okay then. Well if you're ready to go, then come on."

She mumbles something then gets in the car. She notices the bulging glove compartment "You got one too. From the dickwad UPS man." It wasn't a question, but Garry nods. "Is it blue?"

"Yeah. Listen if you don't want to go out today-" He's interrupted by her sniffling. "Ib, please don't cry. Please tell me what I can do."

"We have to leave," she whimpers. He puts an arm around her and rubs her shoulder. Of course she had lied about having a vision. "If we don't, there...there's gonna be too long of a line. We may not get time to see the penguins." He smiles a little, kissing her on the forehead. He lets go of her and drives off, hoping that she doesn't have to go through anything scary like that at a zoo.

But of course he was wrong. Guertena had marked his victims with these orbs. They would have to face Mary's ashes, the possessed paintings, all of those monsters all over again.