Hi guys! Sorry for disappearing like that, I was on holiday, without my laptop, so no updates, or actual writing. The story is technically done, but I keep getting new ideas to add to it, I've doing this nearly nonstop since January. Although, it was nice on holiday, finally got around to finishing Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright, that ending, just, wow.

Anyway, thank you to Brookewyrm the Strangeling for favouriting, and thank you to Puckabrina29 for following and favouriting.

Finally, Jacob Shives, good to know you're on board! Hope you stick around for the whole thing. We're going to need more cookies at this rate.

And, at last, on with the show.

"Jackie, wake up! Jackie!"

I groaned and slowly opened my eyes. My ears must have been deceiving me, there's no way it's...

"Jackie!"

I turned my head to the side to see someone I never expected to see.

"Penelope?"

I could see her sigh with relief and smile.

I started to raise myself up, but my arms felt so weak, so I just flopped to the ground again.

"Wha-Why are you here? Where even are we?" I asked, looking around, we seemed to be in the middle of a forest somewhere.

"We're not far from the moor you were parked on. As for what happened... I, I got cold feet."

"What do you mean?"

"The takeover, I got cold feet at the last minute, there wasn't much I could do to stop them, but I got you out."

"Wait, takeover... OH GOD!" It came flooding back, the sand, the failing barriers, the arms pulling me free as I was falling asleep.

"WHAT HAPPENED TO THE OTHERS?!" I demanded.

"The plan was to capture and hold hostage. The most powerful to be isolated and, dealt with by Pitch himself."

"There's got to be something we can do." I said, trying and failing to get up.

"No! You're still weak and as far as I know we're the only ones who got out."

I lay there for a minute, trying to wrap my head around it. Realising something I turned my head to look at her.

"And why exactly should I trust your word? You joined them."

She seemed to deflate. "I'm afraid I can't really, but surely the fact you're here and not tied up underground somewhere must speak for something."

She sounded a little different than the first time I'd met her, now she didn't seem quite so confident, more mellow.

"Well, since I can't move for a bit, tell me, how did you join them?"

"They found me in the police station. An older one posed as my parent and came to take me "home". He took me aside and explained who he was and where we going. I was so excited; I could finally meet people who understood and wouldn't blow up in my face. No offence."

"None taken."

"We shadow travelled there and I met everyone, they seemed a little cold, but I thought it was just because I was new.
Except I found that they were like that with most people who didn't share their view. Our power deals with fear, so it was practice to make yourself immune to it. You can feel any other emotion in its place, but never fear.
I couldn't do it, fear keeps you alive after all, and if you couldn't numb fear, you weren't really considered one of them. It was when we last met that I decided that I wanted to get out."

I took in her story and compared with her actions, they seemed to add up, apart from the fear thing.

"Really? Then why were people screaming when I was turning people to ice?" It was such a nonchalant question, even though I felt an internal flinch.

"It takes a while to get it down." Said Penelope.

"Why didn't you want to give up feeling fear, sounds like a good idea to me."

"To understand that, I'd have to tell you my life story."

"I'm not going anywhere." I encouraged.

I heard her sigh and saw her shoulders stiffen.

"You know, sometimes it's better to let it out, rather than holding it all in."

A moment of silence, then.

"My parents hated my power, from a young age I decided that I wanted to run away, which is what I did. I didn't want to go near people, so I stayed in the woods, in order to survive I had to use my powers to hunt, which was hard at first, but now I could do it without thinking. I know exactly where on a body a strike could either kill or merely wound. That's what happened with that boy, my intention was never to kill, only to injure, but it had to serious enough for you to believe that you had done it accidentally."

That was really something I didn't want to hear, sensing my discomfort, she moved on.

"I didn't have any real contact with people, and kept on moving with my shadow travel. I found several Branches of HOG, but none of them wanted me once they saw what I could do.
As you know, a few months ago I found you and felt a connection. You were afraid of what your powers could do and you had suffered loss because of it. I thought that if I could convince you along with me, I wouldn't have to be alone, however, I didn't really know how to talk to another person anymore, and, well, you know the rest."

It took me a few seconds to let it all sink in, and when it did I was stunned. In front of me was someone who'd run into the wilderness and carved out a life for herself, if she hadn't been shunned by HOG and found me, then I imagine she'd be a lot happier than she looked now.

"I'm sorry."

"Not your fault, I was in the wrong for trying to force you like that."

"But at least I understand now."

I put my head back down and tried to lift myself up again, only to fall back down.

"Well, looks like I'm not going anywhere."

"You just need food, I'll go get some, and some wood for a fire."

I flinched inwardly as she left to deeper into the woods, the idea of a fire sent a shot of fear in my stomach, but Penelope wasn't me, she'd die out here without one.

I waited for a while as Penelope came back with fire wood and lit a cheery blaze. I managed to push myself away from it with my feet, until it no longer felt like I was burning and melting at the same time.

She had stuck a rabbit on the end of a stick and put the other end of the stick into the ground near the fire, letting it cook.

The smell was good, so good. My stomach growled in anticipation.

Penelope ended up awkwardly playing nursemaid, feeding me chunks of it since my arms didn't want to co-operate.

Once we were both done we lay back on the ground and looked up at the sky. Between the bare branches I could see the moon shining brightly, with stars twinkling beside it, more stars than I saw at home.

"So, what now?" I asked. "We can't leave them there."

"I agree, but we're just two, they're hundreds!"

My mind wandered and for some reason landed on Jack and Sandman.

"Then we go to the Guardians." I thought out loud.

"Are you insane!? There's a reason why we Descendants and beings like the Guardians, spirits, immortals, whatever you want to call them, don't work together, it attracts too much attention. And even if we did, do you know how they'll react to someone like me?"

"No, but I'm good terms with Jack and Sandman, if they're all together, we can convince them."

"We don't know where they are, Jack is a wanderer, Bunnymund is underground somewhere and who knows where the Tooth Fairy and the Sandman reside!"

"Which leaves Santa's Workshop, and everyone knows where that is."

"It's beyond freezing up there, I know you're not affected by the cold, but can you even survive that?"

"I don't know, there's only one way to find out."

"His Workshop is shielded from shadow travel."

"How do know that?"

"It's fairly common knowledge with the Descendants of Pitch." She said with a shrug.

"Many of us have tried and failed."

"Okay, then we travel to just outside and knock on the door."

"You can't be serious."

"I am."

Her shoulders sagged.

"You don't have to come in there with me if you're that worried, you can just drop me off." I suggested.

"No, I should come with you, we don't know how long it would take for you to recover, and with two of us the story will be more credible."

"So, the minute I can move my arms, we go to the North Pole. Agreed?"

"Agreed."