TAoP Chapter 11

Not the Only One Anymore

"What do you mean he's going to make her into a Lost Boy?" Penny asked as Cubby came to her side.

"Well, he—"

"Penny?" a voice above them asked. Looking up, they saw Peter.

"Peter!" Penny called up to him and waved.

"Where have you been?" he landed next to them. Penny ran up to him, eagerly, and gave him a tight hug. "Whoa, good to see you too."

"Oh Peter! You have no idea how much I missed you…" Penny began as the other three came to shore on a smaller boat.

"Who are they?"

"They're the ones that took Penny away!" Cubby yelled before Penny could say anything.

"What! I'll take care of them! C'mon, you cowards!" Peter crowed as the three got off of the boat. He flew towards them with is dagger in front. Max pushed Illiana away and took his shield from his back. The dagger and shield met and Peter continued to fly over them.

"Stop it! Peter!" Penny yelled as Jayden took out his staff. "They're my friends!"

Peter flew higher and dived straight down on them. Penny got ready from the ground, waiting for the right moment. As he got closer to the group, Penny jumped in his way and tackled him to the ground. They fell in a pile and Peter's dagger flew from his hand.

"Ow, Penny, what was that for?" Peter said angrily from underneath her arm.

"If you listened to me, you wouldn't be here," Penny stated simply, not moving off. "Okay, let me explain: These are my friends. I'm helping them. I need Never water and Star has to replenish her dust. So here I am, back to get some stuff. And I find that you want to make a girl a Lost Boy!"

"Oh…well, we need her to believe. Tink's in—" Peter started when they heard a girl's voice calling his name, "And that would be her!" He pushed Penny without another thought and flew away. Cubby also followed without looking back.

Penny laid there in shock. How could he replace me like that? Midnight tried to talk to her, but she ignored him.

"What was all that about? Why did he attack us?" Illiana asked putting her guns away. The boys were pulling out the barrels and talking about what happened. "You okay?" Illiana stood over Penny.

"Why? Why did he bring another girl here?" Penny yelled, nearly causing the guys to drop their bundle. "And not just any girl, but a Heart, I think."

"Wait, the Wendy lady?" Illiana was shocked, "Do you sense her?"

"Well, it isn't exactly like the Wendy lady. It is the same color, but she's different."

"Different how?"

"You found another Heart? I thought they were rare," Jayden came into the conversation.

"What is a Heart anyway? Master Yensid didn't quite explain it well," Penny asked curiously, trying to get the betrayal out of her head.

"Well, umm, from what we understand, they protect the world. Remember when I explained that people have Hope and Belief in order to stop the Darkness? According to the legend, Hope and Belief is what helps prevent the Darkness and the Heart of the World uses this to create a safe place. Without the Heart, the world would be unstable. We always believed the Hearts would be the ruling class, but you disproved that with Captain Amelia."

"We also don't know who would have it. Like would it be males or females. Whoever it would be, they would have to have a strong will in order to use that much power. So far, it seems to be females," Max added, looking at his shield to see if there were any marks.

"Do these Hearts know they have this ability?" Penny was full of questions and this way it would distract her from what happened. "You can continue to talk as we head to the spring."

They walked under the cool canopy of the trees. Every plant, tree, and flower sang as they welcomed Penny back. Birds came from every direction, excited to learn that their friend was back safe. Some even landed on her shoulder, chirping so many stories that Penny's head started to hurt. She apologized to them saying she was here on a mission and she couldn't listen to their stories. They quieted down and sang in hushed tones.

The trio pondered the question as they watched the birds and Penny. From what they know from their classes, everything was mostly guess work and theories. They actually never believed the Hearts existed until they met Penny.

"Like we said before Penny: Nobody really knows much about the Hearts," Jayden stated clearly.

"That's probably why the King put us on this mission," Max added as they got closer to the spring.

"Oh, I suppose so…" Penny thought. She knelt down by the spring for a drink. It was surprisingly cold with the weather being so warm. Once she took a drink, Penny could already feel the effects taking place. They boys were collecting to water (being careful not to touch any of it) when Star and Midnight came back. Starlight started tinkling away about how all the fairies were talking about the new girl Peter brought back. Penny glared at her as Midnight came over with the pouch.

They wouldn't stop talking! It was so annoying, Midnight complained when she grabbed the pouch.

I'm sorry. Fairies love to gossip. Plus, Star has been gone for a long time. Penny checked out the dust and found a fair amount in there. It should last for awhile, depending on what she used it for.

"Now about the Heart…" Illiana started.

"I don't want to meet this one," Penny stiffened as she thought about it.

"But, Penny, you have to. She 's a Heart," Max said, confused at her reaction.

"Can't we get her later? If she's anything like the Wendy lady then she'll never want to leave."

"Well, we do have the water. And we can visit this place anytime," Jayden tried to reason.

"See? So can we go? There are many other worlds out there for us to see," Penny walked quickly away from them and headed towards the Lagoon. Midnight and Star followed without a second thought. Illiana, Jayden, and Max looked at each other, shrugged, and followed.

When they got back to the ship, Penny had already got everything ready for Illiana. Nobody talked as they headed out of the world. Penny watched her island grow smaller for a second time.

Do you think they actually missed me at all? Penny asked Midnight.

He sat in silence as he thought. Finally, he said, slowly, I'm sure they did, but from what I observed, you live a world where everything can be easily forgotten.

Penny looked down at him in surprise, You're growing older. Her tone was accusing.

I don't have to grow older. If I drink your water, I'll stay the same. However, I want to get somewhat bigger so I can protect you. He licked her face in reassurance.

She laughed and hugged him as Jayden walked up to her.

"Hey, why don't you go to sleep? It's been awhile since you slept. We'll wake you up when we get somewhere."

Penny headed down to the cabins with Midnight. She eased herself into a hammock while Midnight laid down close to her as he could. He would be there by her side as long as she wanted him.