Destiny

Paula never went anywhere without her red backpack anymore. During the school year it held her books, but this summer, it would contain supplies for whatever journey lay ahead. Unsure of what to bring, she'd been collecting things together based on what they'd needed for their first adventure: the Franklin Badge, her Holy Fry Pan, a new defense item called a Jade Coin she'd bought on a vacation to Summers last year. She wondered now why she'd purchased it -- because it was pretty, or because something was guiding her... preparing her for destiny?

Paula's mother had made her a few Hand-Aids, which Paula knew would be useful, although she hated the thought of having to put them to use. She didn't want anyone to get hurt, not even a scratch, didn't want to go through this nightmare battle again. She had just been slipping the Hand-Aids into the front pocket of her backpack when the phone rang. It was Belinda, and she wanted to see Paula and her friends as soon as possible, because she'd discovered someone else who could see himself in the painting.

Now she was outside the Fourside Museum of Art, backpack bouncing along as she ran up the steps to where Ness was standing. "Where's Jeff and Poo?"

"Inside already, with Belinda and Tandy," Ness replied as they walked in together.

"Tandy? So that's his name," Paula mused. "She didn't tell me much, something about him being a janitor or something?"

"Yeah, apparently he had just been hired here at the museum, Belinda was giving him the grand tour and he saw his face in the picture." As they came around the corner, Paula spotted someone new, a tall, thin boy with reddish hair, immersed in a conversation with Poo. Jeff stared at the painting, analyzing every inch, contributing a few words here and there. "Hey guys, Paula's here," Ness said, and the three of them whirled around. "Where's Belinda?"

"Oh, Ness..." Jeff sighed. "There's someone else, Belinda went to get her."

Ness swallowed hard. "Someone else who can see..."

"Possibly," Poo interrupted. "There was a phone call from a woman whose daughter attends an art day camp program here. She was concerned because the girl insists that there was a painting of her in the museum, all bordered in pinks and reds."

"A little girl?" Ness and Paula drew nearer to the group. "How young?"

"Eight years old," Poo explained, shaking his head.

"She's supposedly very bright," Jeff chimed in. "Recently skipped a grade in school. That's why her mother was so concerned, because it didn't seem like her to make things up like this."

"But she's still a child..." Paula trailed off, looking up at the red-haired boy. "I'm Paula Polestar. You must be Tandy?"

"Tandy Phillips," he said, shaking her hand. He obviously had a few years on the rest of them, but Paula couldn't tell how many. She guessed he was about eighteen. "You're the psychic, they've told me some about you..."

Paula blushed. "Well, we're all psychics. Oh, except Jeff." Jeff put his head down slightly, but Paula didn't notice. "You're not, are you?"

"I dunno, all this stuff's kinda weird to me," Tandy replied, scratching the back of his neck. "I didn't think people could really be psychic. Well, except for you guys, everyone knows about you 'cause of what happened before. It's just weird, it feels like a joke." He paused. "This isn't a joke right?" His eyes searched Paula's, as if he knew he could count on her for the truth.

Paula almost laughed, but stopped herself. "I wish it was," she repsonded seriously. "I don't want to have to fight anything any more than anyone else here. And it was so tiring last time..."

"Belinda!" Ness cried as the tour guide appeared by the doorway. Beside her was a small girl, the thoughtful expression on her face somehow contradicting her purple shirt and light brown ponytail. And behind the girl stood a worried looking mother.

"Hi everyone," Belinda said as she came closer. "Now I just want you to show me the picture you mean, Ginny," she addressed the girl.

The child's eyes widened as she glimpsed the red painting. "It's that one!" she exclaimed, stepping towards it. "See, it's a picture of me, don't you believe me now, Mom?"

"Ginny..." Her mother's voice trailed off as she watched her daughter staring intently at the painting. She could see it herself, a canvas covered in swirls of deep crimson and a pale white orb in the center, and nothing there. But the girl saw her own face. "What's going to happen to her?"

"I... wish I knew, Mrs. Monotoli," Belinda said slowly.

Ness, Paula, and Jeff grew alert at the mention of her name. "Monotoli? Pardon my asking, but a relation of the late Mr. Geldegarde Monotoli?" Ness asked.

She nodded. "He was my father-in-law, my... late husband's father." Her eyes shut lightly.

"Oh, oh, I'm sorry to hear that..." The hall was quiet for a moment.

"It's all right," Mrs. Monotoli finally spoke up. "It was a year ago, just a few months after his father passed away actually, but you know how it is." She watched Ginny, unusually oblivious as she looked at the painting, probably admiring her own reflection. "We wanted to have another one, but that didn't happen... her name is Eugenia, but she's always been our Ginny." She smiled, her mind clearly elsewhere.

Ness was trying to think. "Has she ever exhibited any, uh, unusual..."

"She's not a psychic, no," Mrs. Monotoli answered, as if she'd read his mind herself. "I can't think of any reason why anything would... want her like this, she's only a little girl, she's not equipped for anything like what happened back when you all..." She stopped for a moment. "You'd take care of her, wouldn't you? I mean, if anything happened and she..."

"Of course," Ness responded, nodding. "We don't know what to expect, but we have a better idea about it than Ginny or Tandy might... he's new to this also. And you have my word, Mrs. Monotoli, that we'd look after your daughter with everything we have... I don't understand it either, but she sees herself, and that's not normal, you must admit that." He looked over his shoulder and caught a glimpse of Ginny, still mystified by the painting. Paula, her knees bent some so that she was at Ginny's eye level, seemed to be whispering to the girl, perhaps trying to explain, perhaps trying to warn.

Mrs. Monotoli blinked. "I know," she sighed. "Thank you... I just don't want anything to happen to her, she's all I have."

"You can be assured we will protect her," Poo said, addressing the worried woman. "And it's possible that sometime very soon, she will find that she has the means to protect herself and others as well."

"My Ginny..." She looked almost misty-eyed. "Ginny, I don't know what's going to happen, honey, but if anything does, these very nice young people will take care of you..."

Ginny's trance with the painting was temporarily broken, and she ran to hug her mother. "Don't worry, Mom, I'll be all right. Paula said she knows magic!" Ness looked at Paula, and she smiled. "And Paula said that I see myself in the picture because I'm very, very special."

"Yes, honey," Mrs. Monotoli said through light tears, stepping back to look at her daughter. "Yes, yes you are. Very, very special, Ginny, and I love you."

"I love you too, Mom!" Ginny cried, grinning, and Mrs. Monotoli tried to smile too.

"What do you suppose all of this means?" Jeff spoke up. "I mean... was there a time frame, when it started with you, Ness? When you were first warned, and when everything started happening to you?"

"Well, not really," Ness replied. "I mean, it all kind of happened fast, and strangely. Pokey came to my house in the middle of the night and we went up by the meteorite looking for his brother, and then Buzz Buzz just kind of appeared, like he rose from the glowing embers." He paused, squinting, thinking. "Then we met up with a Starman Jr. on the way home, and then I got the Sound Stone, and the rest is history. No telling when, or where..."

"Who," Paula added. "It started with you last time. But this time, there's no prophecy and... do you know what I mean? I don't wanna wake up and have it be me..."

"If it is," Ness said, putting a hand on her shoulder, "if you wake up and... something's happening, I don't know, you just do what you have to do, and get ahold of us as soon as you can."

"Yeah, I guess..." Paula made herself smile. "At least now, we know who the whole team is ahead of time."

Ness looked down at the little girl who might have been at the edge of her own destiny. "Hey Ginny, do you have a backpack at home?"

"Of course I do! For school, to put my homework and stuff," Ginny replied.

"Well then," Ness continued, his eyes meeting Mrs. Monotoli's for a moment, "it might be a good idea to start cleaning that backpack out so you can fill it with things you might want to bring with you, that is, if we have to go anywhere for a while."

"I've been working on that," Paula said, tapping her own backpack with her hand. "My mom made some Hand-Aids for me, and I still have some things I had with me last time. Oh, Jeff, I brought my mom's old flute, found it in the attic and it's broken. I know you have a way when it comes to fixing things, I thought maybe you could have a look at it later."

Jeff perked up. "Sure thing, could come in handy!" He eyed the painting suspiciously, then looked back at the group. "Do you think we should just go home, or what? I mean, nothing's happening..."

"Know what you mean," Ness agreed. "I feel like I want to camp out in front of this thing and just stay here until something happens, but I mean, we don't even know if the painting will react when something does. Maybe it'll change, as a signal, but maybe it won't, you know?"

"I can take Ginny home and help her start... packing a few things," Mrs. Monotoli said, reaching for her daughter's hand. "I mean, I'm sure she doesn't have any of the kind of gear you're all bringing, but I'll see what I can do..."

"Don't worry about that, Mrs. Monotoli, most of what we used we either bought or found along the way," Ness assured her.

"I think it might be best to adjourn for now. I have some more training to do when I get back to Dalaam, I've been preparing myself." Poo looked very serious. "We must be ready at all times."

"I guess that's a good idea," Paula said, and she noticed Ness nodding. "If anything happens," she added, turning to Mrs. Monotoli, "we'll be sure to contact you. See you soon, Ginny?"

"Yeah!" Ginny exclaimed. "Can you show me your magic then? I always thought magic was impossible!"

Paula grinned. "You'll see it in due time, Ginny. Now off you go, you've got packing to do!"

"Okay, c'mon Mom, let's go!" Ginny practically dragged her mother out the door, but Mrs. Monotoli looked a little relieved to be going. Surely this whole experience had been somewhat overwhelming for her, finding out that her daughter was perhaps destined to stand up alongside the Chosen Ones in a battle to save the world.

"Well, I've got to get going now," Poo started. "Want me to drop you in Winters, Jeff?"

"Sure, thanks Poo," Jeff said. "Keep in touch, guys..."

"We'll be seeing you, I'm sure," Ness called as they headed out. "You should probably get some stuff together too, Tandy."

Tandy nodded. "I'll get on it. I... well I'll be hearing from you, right? I mean, I'm supposed to be working here, you'll be able to find me."

"And if anything happens here, we can round you guys up," Belinda jumped again.

"Yeah," Tandy said, hovering by the door. "So I'll be seeing you guys..."

"Okay, later." Ness watched him leave. "Boy, who would've known what one harmless little painting could start, huh?"

"Not harmless," Belinda cut in. "Something happened to Hank Anderson that night, I don't know what, it's like I saw it, but I didn't. He said it was like biting, and he felt dizzy. He said it felt like something was very wrong. He didn't want us to reopen the wing until the painting was removed." Her eyes passed over it accusingly. "You don't think the painting will come to life, and attack... or something will come out of it, and..."

Ness sighed. "Guess there's no way to know."

"I know we're always examining this thing, but maybe we shouldn't stand too close..." Paula took a step back as she peered at the painting, scrutinizing its every brush stroke. "I mean, we really don't know where it came from, still, and it did hurt Mr. Anderson..."

"Paula!" Ness startled her, and she jumped. "Sorry," he said. "I was just gonna say, why don't you do that thing, where you read objects and get images and stuff? I don't know if it would --"

"Oh, yeah!" Paula said. "I wonder if it'll work, yeah, but I can give it a try. It would be nice to get a clue or something, anything... you think I should?"

"Go for it," Ness said as he watched her step towards the painting, closing her eyes, clearing her thoughts.

"All right," Paula said, her eyes still shut, "you guys be quiet, I'm just gonna try to concentrate really, really hard and see if I can get anything..." She squeezed her eyes shut tighter, her whole being beginning to focus. She tuned out the world around her, the museum, the hallway, Belinda and Ness, concentrated on making circles in her mind and with her fingers as she reached out in front of her, slowly and steadily, ready to lay her fingers on the canvas and feel the energy flow. Closer, closer, she reached out in blindness, until finally...

"Aieeeeeeeeee!" Belinda and Ness couldn't believe their eyes.

Paula's hand had gone through the painting.