TAoP Chapter 9

Travel Plans

It was the morning after the party and Penny was running to the kitchen with Star and Midnight following. Midnight seemed to have a growth spurt overnight for he was taller and his fur thicker. Penny had a hard time picking him up this morning. As she ran, her side hurt from where Ace kicked her, but it was bearable. The thing that bothered her most this morning was the fact that she was getting taller. When she put on her shorts, they were on her knees and she remembers them being below her knees.

As she entered the kitchen, she found the new warriors sitting at tables with backpacks around them. Star found Jayden, Illiana, and Max at their own table and pointed them out. They walked over as Penny grabbed food and she sat next to Illiana.

"Mornin' guys!" she sang, stuffing food in her mouth as if she has never eaten before.

"How can such a small girl eat so much?" Jayden asked fascinated, drinking his coffee.

"She kinda reminds me of PJ," Max added.

Penny looked up and found them all wearing different outfits than before the party. Jayden's blue shirt was now clean and had pockets going down on the side. His black pants had buckles going all the way down to his boots. There were still the pockets down the pants side. He also had his staff on his back as if ready for action.

Max's red shirt had a green X across his chest instead of the outlining. His blue pants also had pockets and outlining on them was green too. On his back was his shield, which was green, and around his waist was a belt that held his sword.

"How's your side?" Illiana asked. Her purple tshirt was traded for a tank top that was a deep purple. On her hands were half gloves that were light purple with white outlining. Her white pants stayed the same and her suspenders were now the same color as her shirt.

"It's fine. Only hurts a little," Penny tossed food down to Midnight and Star ate off her plate, "Why does everyone have backpacks?"

"Oh, some of the groups are already heading out. We are actually waiting for the King to tell us our mission," Jayden said.

"Okay, and afterward you will take me home, right? I'm growing! I can't grow anymore!"

"Hey, how come you can't grow up on your island? I've been meaning to ask you about that," Max asked, scratching Midnight behind the ears.

"Oh! Star explained this to me once. With all the pixie dust from the fairies, it gets in our water supply. The pixie dust has magical abilities that not even they know what it can do," Penny explained. Star nodded her head and chimed more details, "She also says it's because I'm around her and Tinker Bell so much that their pixie dust affect me."

"Okay, as soon as the King gives us a mission, I will take you back," Jayden once again promised.

They continued to talk and the kitchen started to become less crowded. Many people said their good-byes to others while some yelled good luck. Finally when there was hardly anyone left, Donald came to their table.

"The King wishes to speak to all of you. Including you, Penny," he said.

"Okay…"

All of them got up and followed Donald. King Mickey would met them, once again, in the library, but he wasn't the only in there. Master Yensid also waited for them. When the group entered the library, the two of them stopped talking and watched them all come into the room. Once they all entered, Mickey explained their mission.

"Jayden, Illiana, and Max, you have all shown great courage, the ability to work together, and incredible strength in what you do. Especially you, Illiana, being the only female sharp shooter you had to overcome the most obstacles. You all have worked hard to become an amazing team. For that reason, I must ask you to take on the most challenging mission of them all. You must protect Penny as you take her to different worlds."

Silence followed after the speech as the four of them tried to understand. Penny frowned when she didn't hear her home mentioned.

"Why is Penny dragged into this?" Illiana asked. She wouldn't mind taking her along with them, but the girl didn't have the same training as them.

"Allow me to explain," Yensid said as everyone turned to look at him, "I must make sure of this, but I believe that Penny is meant to travel with you. Have you ever studied the Heart of the Worlds?" he asked Jayden, Illiana, and Max.

The three of them looked shocked and it was Jayden who answered," Yes, we studied them our first year of training, but we were told they were myths. Nobody could prove they exist."

"They are real and Penny has proved this theory."

"How? I just got here and I wish to go home!" Penny stated simply. Midnight whined when he heard her tone of voice. In the back of her mind, she sensed Minnie's concern.

"You can sense Queen Minnie now, can't you?" Yensid asked, ignoring her.

Penny nodded, unsure of where this was going. She could always sense her, but she found a way to block her so that she didn't have to flinch so hard whenever someone said her name. It was almost like the more she knew her, the less it hurt her head.

"Do you know where she is right now?" he asked sitting at the table with his fingers together.

"You mean she's not in the castle?" Penny yelled. She automatically searched for Minnie and she definitely wasn't in the castle. "Tsk!" Penny turned around and headed out searching for Minnie's string as she called it. Minnie knew where she was for her feelings were calm. In turn, Minnie felt the girl's anger and concern for her.

Penny, I'm fine. Don't worry, this is only a test, Minnie said in her mind and Penny could hear every word.

Safe! Test! Kidnapping doesn't sound like an awesome test to me, Penny thought as she went down the stairs outside the castle. Midnight was sniffing the ground, searching for a scent. He could feel Penny's anger and couldn't get around the anger to talk to her, so he wanted to try to help. What they didn't notice was that Jayden, Illiana, and Max was following.

"How could she run so fast?" Max wondered as they stood there panting. They decided to follow to make sure she didn't do anything stupid.

Penny turned towards the town and sensed Minnie's thread, "This way, Midnight!" The two of them ran with the trio trying to catch up. Star flew around Penny and she hovered a bit, but she didn't want to leave Midnight so she stayed on the ground. As they neared the town, Penny slowed down as the feeling got stronger but separated in different directions as if to confuse her. She ignored everyone staring at her as she searched for the right thread. Finally she caught the real one and followed it. It lead them to a shop where Penny burst in, scaring the lady behind the counter and the two children.

Panting heavily, Penny asked, "Where is the Queen?"

The lady looked behind her and Minnie came out from behind the counter, "Oh, Penny! I knew you would find me! And so fast too," she got closer to Penny as she slid down to the floor.

"Mom?" Illiana asked coming into the shop.

"Illiana! What is going on?" the lady asked as the children ran up to her.

"Just an experiment, I guess," she picked up the little girl. The boy ran to Jayden calling his name, so he picked him up.

"An experiment! What would happen if something went wrong?" Penny called.

"It's okay, Penny. What did think would happen?" Minnie asked, sitting next to her. Midnight put his head on Penny's legs, tired from all the running.

Let's never do that again, he suggested.

I don't think that's an option, Penny said to him, petting him. Out loud to answer Minnie's question, "I dunno…it was an impulsive thing. You just have to be safe and protected."

"Well, why don't we head back and you can tell that to the King," Max suggested.

"Aw, you don't have to go, do you, Illiana?" the little girl asked.

"I'm sorry, but I must. The King needs me, Angie. But I will try to visit as much as I can. I promise." Illiana put the little girl down and they all walked back.

Once they re-entered the library, they found King Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Master Yensid waiting for them. Minnie went to Mickey and talked to them in a hushed voice. Penny frowned at them, still angry that they didn't protect Minnie enough.

Yensid turned to her, "You were faster than we expected."

" What, did you want me to move slower next time? What if something terrible were to happen to her?" Penny exclaimed. The other three tried to quiet her, but she had enough, "I want to know what is going on! I want to go home! I'm growing up and I miss my family!"

"Of course. Penny, you are special. There has been a prophecy made by me and some of my fellow magicians. Back when the Darkness was almost too hard to handle, we had a vision. We saw a small girl with green eyes who had powerful magic. We have been searching for a long time and had nearly given up Hope when you were found."

"How do you know it's me? It could be any girl with green eyes." Penny was calming down now that people were finally explaining things to her.

"In the vision, beside you were those we assumed were the Heart of the Worlds presences around you. Since not even we know who they are, we believe you could find these Hearts and protect them."

"How many are there?" Illiana asked frowning as she's listening with close attention.

"As far as we know: two. Only because of Penny confirming that she can feel the Heart of this world and on her own world," Mickey said, looking at their expressions when they heard the number, "For all we know, there could be one at every world."

Penny was looking at the floor thinking hard. Midnight looked up concerned and Jayden looked down at her with the same expression, "You don't have to do this, you know."

She smiled at him, "And let you guys have all the fun? No, these Hearts need me. I will do what I can to protect them." She looked at the King, "When do we leave?"

"As soon as you guys are ready. If you three could follow Goofy and Donald, they will give you instructions," Mickey added looking at the trio, "Also, Professor Ludwig has some things to give you, Jayden."

The three of them nodded and bowed to the King and Master Yensid. They followed Donald and Goofy out. Penny started to follow when Yensid stopped her.

"A moment, please," he requested.

Penny watched everyone leave and soon they were alone.

"I heard from Queen Minnie that you can sense her through color?" he asked, moving back to the desk.

"Yes, sir, Minnie is ruby red and the Wendy lady is midnight blue," Penny explained as he pulled out a pouch and a bead. The bead was the exact color of Minnie's thread. When Penny picked it up, it was like Minnie was in the same room with her. The feeling was so strong that she could feel what Minnie was feeling at the time and what she was thinking, "What is this?"

"I gave Minnie a bead so that she could transfer some of her power into it. I need you to do the same with this one." He handed her a clear bead. Penny took it in her hand and focused on it. The bead grew warm for a short time but soon cooled. Looking at the bead, it turned into a deep green color that reminded her of Neverland. She handed the bead back to him and took the ruby red one. She tried to think of a place to put it so that she doesn't lose it. An idea came and she tied it to her hair. With it in her hair, she would always be in contact with Minnie.

Yensid nodded his head with approval, "Here are some more so that you can give the other Hearts a bead and they can give you one in return. Also, I wanted to give you these." He pulled out a pair of half gloves like the ones Illiana wore. One of them was a deep blue and the other one was a bright red. "I would suggest you wear these while you were on your travels. If you cannot control you powers, these with stop them, so you do not drain your energy."

"Thank you," Penny looked at them on her hands and tied the pouch to her belt.

"Jayden will teach you how to use your magic on your travels. Make sure you listen to him and follow his instructions. I wish you luck on your journey."

Penny smiled at him, bowed, and said, "Thank you, Master Yensid. I will do my best." She walked out of the room. Midnight seemed excited and Star couldn't wait to see other places. They found the others by the entrance of the castle. Jayden, Illiana, and Max had backpacks on; Jayden and Max carried their weapons because of the packs. Minnie spotted Penny and ran to her. She caught her by surprise when the Queen gave her a hug and walked back to the castle without a word. Penny could feel her worries and sadness. She waited for a while to see if she came back, but when she didn't, she walked over to the group. Illiana handed her a green backpack, which she took and waited to see what the others were going to say.

"Now, we wish you the best of luck on your travels and hope you come back safe. Make sure you record everything that has happen so that you can report to us," Mickey said looking at each of them. He gave them a nod and went back to the castle.

Goofy walked up to Penny and handed her something, "This is for your fight against the Darkness since your dagger won't work on them. Max will teach you."

Penny looked at what he handed her and found a sword in her hand. The hilt was green and it fit in her hand perfectly. She never received so many gifts from people in her life. She put the sword on her belt, "Thank you so much. I will treasure this and practice every day."

Goofy gave everyone one last look and hugged Max for a long time.

"C'mon Dad, you knew this day was coming," Max said as they separated.

"I know, son, but…be careful out there, Maxie," Goofy walked slowly back to the castle.

Donald was the only one left, "Now remember to get to Montressor fast so you can get a better ship. Be careful out there. This isn't practice anymore and we won't be there to help you."

"Yes, Donald! We will be safe and not fail you!" Jayden said, saluting to him in attempt to lighten the mood.

"Ah phooey, just go! Gosh, darn kid thinks…" he mumbled to himself as he walked back.

They all started to head to the harbor and Penny felt excited, sad, and nervous. She was seeing new places but she was also leaving her home. As they got to the harbor, she spotted the same ship she first went on, but it looked brand new. The three went in, but Penny looked back one more time at the castle. Midnight wagged his tail eager to go.

Are you ready for this? She asked him as Star flew around her head.

Yes! I'm ready to see some new places! Midnight barked and jumped around. They both entered the ship and it took off for their adventure.