The dead of night has a funny way of bringing out the strangest of situations. Odd sounds, ghastly visions, cringe worthy scents, there was just something about the night that brought out these situations for people to stumble across. Many ignored them and continued on with their night, hoping to make it safely back in their homes without so much as a vision of the horrible blackness around them. But there were others who were not so lucky, those who managed to catch a glimpse and find themselves altered forever because of the experience.

This was one of those nights; a night in which strange situations would be laid out for any passerby to ignore…or stare of full on. It was a crapshoot who would stumble across this one, though…

The Sanctuary was a place that a few people knew of only by reputation. It was a haven, a safe place for those individuals who were different from the rest of society. But rumors were about that more dangerous types tended to walk in through those golden doors so it was a place to ignore, to look past and never go in.

Evidently, such a mindset made finding this situation a little difficult.

A dark wind swept through the surroundings and brushed across a dark form that lay, silently, across the front steps. It is only upon closer inspection that, under the gleam of the golden doors, one would find that the crumpled form across the steps was that of a young girl.

Dark skinned, head full of messy, tightly curled hair, the child would not have been any more than ten or so years old. Her breathing was shallow, exhausted, and that droplets of sweat across her brow were evident of a fever that was finally beginning to go down. But while such a scene may inspire pity and sadness in the hearts of those who would pass by, there were oddities that would keep their eyes from focusing on her.

You see, the most surprising fact was that the girl was wearing leather clothes: a biker’s jacket, leather pants, boots, but all of it was several sizes too big and hung loosely. They looked like clothes for someone twice her age, rather than a young child. Most disturbing of all, though that was splattered across the leather was the faint hint of red, a clue that someone, maybe not her, had bled. But these were merely speculations…right?

One would assume that…if it were not for the one bloody hand that she bore. Tightly, in her grasp, the young girl held tight to a bloodied mess; two digits, fingers, ripped from the hand of some unfortunate victim. Somewhere, someone else was suffering.

A gasp fell from her chapped lips, but the child remained unconscious as she lay against the steps. It was a strange occurrence that only the dead of night could conjure…

The darkness of a clear night, the breeze through the city as it rustles the leaves on trees, the smile it all brings to one known to be darker than the pitch of night. Syn loved these kinds of nights. For some reason they made her feel more energized. Perhaps it was because less people were out roaming around, or maybe it was just that she fit in with the darkness.

Syn had been flaunting with some of the locals at a couple clubs earlier that evening. Flaunting was hardly the truth however. The fact of the matter was that the goth princess had actually managed to start a street long brawl amongst several different establishments. Though watching humans beat each other senseless was fun it only lasted for so long before the police arrived to break things up. That was when Syn decided to head home.

Every so often something different would catch her eye along her path. Things that weren’t always there like a magazine with its pages flapping in the breeze, a homeless person curled up on a bench who wasn’t there earlier, and even a shoe that looked like it belonged to a younger boy. None of these things bothered the woman.

However, there was one sight that she just couldn’t pass up. This object was lying partially on the steps of her beloved Sanctuary. Her first thought was another homeless person had decided to camp out. A sad choice if this was the case, but upon closer examination Syn saw it was only a young girl. In adult clothing? Looking the girl over more she saw some blood on the clothes as well as the girls hand, which by the way had a pair of fingers from someone else’s hand. Intriguing.

Carefully picking up the girl Syn carried her inside Sanctuary. When she was close enough to Lisa’s desk she turned to the woman. “Give the infirmary staff a buzz and let them know I’m bringing a young girl to them. I’m not sure if she’s a mutant but I have a gut feeling she might be.” Lisa nodded and commenced to calling the infirmary as Syn made her way to the aforementioned location.

Inside the almost all white surroundings of the infirmary Syn’s red and black clothing stood out in stark contrast. “Please lay her here.” Stated one of the doctors as he gestured to one of the operating tables. “She doesn’t seem hurt, but feeling her skin she feels like she has a high temperature. She also has these.” Syn pointed to the fingers in the girls hand. A nod from the doctor and a nurse claimed the fingers in a pan and set them aside. “Let me know if she wakes up. I want to speak with her.” “Yes, of course.” Replied the doctor as the dark goddess left to her room.

Surrounded by white, the young Penelope Pepper made a contrasting sight. The dark skinned girl, still dressed in over-sized black leather, was unmoving as she lay upon the cool operating table. A doctor hovered around her, checking vitals, noting that her temperature was going down but there were no other outward signs that the girl was harmed. All the scarlet blood that had stained her clothes and flesh did not belong to her, only to some unhappy victim; so, for the most part, it was unsure as to why the girl was unconscious.

But deep inside the girl, an argument waged on. An argument that hinted as to the true darkness that lay coiled around the deepest part of her heart and laughed with maniacal glee…

Heheheeheheheheeh!!! Tonight. Was. Fun.[/b]

Be quiet! You hurt people!

Awww sweetie, I did it to protect us…hehe…[/b]

Liar. You just like to hurt everyone.

Not…everyone. Just people who want to harm us…[/b]

Like humans?

…especially…humans. Why…don’t you let me out again? I still feel like playing…[/b]

No! Not again!

Let. Me. Out…Penelope.[/b]

No no no no no!!!![/color]

There was not sensation that Penelope had been moved at all from her original position at the steps of the building. The young girl was still lost in her mind, caught up in the blackness deep in the recesses of her head that wanted to keep her from waking up. After all, with how much energy a certain alter-ego had expended, it was the obvious reason as to why the Penelope Pepper lay in unconsciousness. But these facts were unknown to the staff that mulled about, checking every vital they could.

In the end, it simply turned into a waiting game. She would wake up when she was ready. In mean time, blood was cleaned off, clothes were replaced with a gown, and steps were taken to ensure that they were indeed helping a mutant and not some human that had wandered into the wrong place at the wrong time.

It was in the middle of this testing that another gasp suddenly appeared from the girl’s lips. Weakly she cringed, tiredly she lifted her arms, and with a shudder she began to move. A staff member rushed to make the call to the red and black haired woman while another appeared at Penelope’s side ready to aid the young girl should she ask for it.

Eyes slowly squinted open and Penelope groaned as she reached up and began to run her eyes. With a yawn she slowly sat up and looked tired around the room devoid of all color. A slow panic began to wash over her as she peered about the unfamiliar surroundings.

“W-Where am I?” she squeaked as she turned her head left and right. Instantly she wished that she had stuffed animal Mr. Tickle with her…

A call came from the infirmary as Syn was casually walking around Sanctuary. She had been looking at the new people there and occasionally having brief conversations in passing. Several were deliberate conversations as they were people Syn had made note of after looking through the registry.

Making her way to the Infirmary the dark woman got to the doorway where the young girl had been watched and checked up on. She made it in time to hear the poor girl’s question. “You’re safe my dear.” Syn looked to the doctor to make sure the girl was a mutant. A subtle nod came in response. You’re in a place called Sanctuary and this is our infirmary. You were brought in as a precaution. We thought you might’ve been inured because you were found lying on the front steps.”

Syn moved closer to the girl and stood near the child’s feet. “How are you feeling? Can you tell me your name?”

Penelope was surprisingly calm as she looked around the white room. The people that mulled around were nice but they didn’t do much other than keep an eye on her and work on machines that were completely beyond the realm of Penelope’s current understanding. She watched them out of the corner of her eyes and kept her knees curled up to her chest. So far they were keeping their distance but they did not answer her question either.

Maybe they were scared of her? That was a silly thought. They shouldn’t be scared of her…Jezebel on the other hand…

She blinked, though, as a shadow of red and black stepped into the room. In surprise she turned to see a woman standing just inside, watching her with a small smile on her face. Instantly Penelope was struck by how pretty she was. Her pale skin, the pretty hair, her odd clothing, the only thing that the young girl could think of was whether or not the woman was a princess…

>> “You’re safe my dear…You’re in a place called Sanctuary and this is our infirmary. You were brought in as a precaution. We thought you might’ve been inured because you were found lying on the front steps.”

Penelope tilted her head. She was lying on steps of someplace that she didn’t know? A small frown appeared on her lips as she shook her head. Where did Jezebel take her now? She always hated it when Jezebel did this because she knew that she was always supposed to return home. But…what happened now?

>> “How are you feeling? Can you tell me your name?”

“Penelope Peyton Pepper, ma’am,” she said with a small and trusting smile. That had always been Penelope’s problem…she was far too trusting. Especially with people who helped her. “I…I feel fine,” she said as she touched the fabric of the clothes she had been changed into. “You’re very pretty,” she said bluntly as she tilted her head. “Are you a princess?”

The girl had manners that was for certain. She didn’t appear to be scared although there was a moment where a frown showed on her little face. “Well, Penelope, I’m glad you’re feeling ok and thank you for the compliment. You’re a very sweet girl.” Truth was was that Syn always had thought of herself as a princess. A dark princess.

Moving a little closer and offering a hand to the girl Syn smiled genuinely. “Why don’t we see about getting you some clothes that fit shall we?” She waited for the girl to respond before walking with her hand in hand through Sanctuary to get some clothes.

Syn let the girl pick out whatever clothes she wanted until she was happy with what she had on. “What were you doing out all alone last night my dear?” Wanting to get a feel for the girl Syn stuck to simple questions before trying to dig deeper for information as to why she had someone else’s fingers in her hand and adult clothing on her.

>> “Well, Penelope, I’m glad you’re feeling ok and thank you for the compliment. You’re a very sweet girl.”

Penelope beamed in response. People always said that she was very sweet, but Penelope never acted in any other way so she never understood if it was wrong for her to act this way. People did tend to seem surprised by her actions and it was surprise that the young girl never understood. But, still, she took the princess’ commentary as a compliment and smiled in response. She liked this woman. She seemed very nice…

>> “Why don’t we see about getting you some clothes that fit shall we?”

“Okay.” she responded as she scooted until she was at the edge of the table.

The doctor had come to help her but Penelope had hopped off and landed effortlessly on her bare feet. She smiled at the man in a “I-knew-I-could-do-it” sort of way. Quietly she circled around the table and took the young woman’s hand to be led away. While she was sure in the back of her mind something was screaming at her to not talk to strangers, she quieted that voice. After all, how could this woman be bad when she turned out to be so helpful. Surely only a good person would have helped her, right?

Penelope was led away and walked in marvel around the interior of the building. It was so big and beautiful that the young girl thought she was walking through a castle or something. On top of that, everyone in the building seemed to be just as helpful and nice, but the best part was that all of them were unique! They reminded her of her parents and the host of people they would always have over before they died. Different colored skin, animal parts, visible and invisible powers, all of it just made the girl’s head swim. It was all so pretty and impressive. For half a second Penelope believed that maybe, just maybe, she was still dreaming.

But the young woman her led her was real enough.

Soon they managed to find clothes and a place for Penelope to change. After looking through all the options, the young girl settled on an ensemble that consisted of a long-sleeved yellow top and a very colorful skirt that was printed with flowers that had caught her eye. Penelope had always been a fan of colors. It was only when she was changed did she finally feel like herself and stepped out to meet the pretty and young woman. She was not like Lilith at all…she smiled a lot! Penelope like that.

She did a little turn to show off the clothes and grinned.

>> “What were you doing out all alone last night my dear?”

Penelope shrugged as she began to wander around the room and look at knick-knacks here and there.

“I…I don’t know,” she said honestly.

It was weird. Normally she got at least glimpses of memories about what Mrs. Tickle did when she was out, but for whatever reason she simply was not remembering. It was frustrating to say the least. Sure she got to meet this nice person and see this awesome place, but Lilith was going to be mad.

She huffed and shook her head. She then turned to look at the woman earnestly. “She was supposed to take me home. I…I don’t know why she left me here.”

Because you belong here, Penelope. I belong here.[/b]

Penelope nibbled her lip as she tried to drown the voice out and turned back to Syn. Would she take her home?

Seeing Penelope look around Sanctuary with wonder spread across her face was a good sign. Maybe she would feel at home here if she didn’t already have a home. That would be another question to ask.

After finding clothing she liked and deciding to show off the colorful outfit Syn gave a big smile and applauded the girl. She looked like she felt more comfortable now than when she was wearing the gown from the Infirmary. “Who was supposed to take you home?” Syn wondered if maybe the girl had been with someone else and they forgot or abandoned her.

Penelope to feel Mrs. Tickle in the back of her mind. The gates that normally held her back were creaking and shuddered as they struggled to hold her back. The only thing that was really keeping her at bay was the fact that she was still a little tired from her excursions last night. Whatever trouble Jezebel had gotten into, she burned herself out until she was down to an ember. That was probably why she passed out here instead of taking her all the way back home.

Jezebel must have had far too much fun last night. Penelope only hoped that she was still too tired to be able to break out.

A soft, malicious giggling echoed in the darkness of her mind, but Penelope did her best to drown it out. Her darker, red-skinned alter-ego was tired, but not tired enough to keep from talking.

>> “Who was supposed to take you home?”

She blinked as she was suddenly struck with the question. For half a moment she had forgotten about the pretty woman. She really should not have said as much as she did but she was not as cautious as she normally was because this situation was completely strange.

Softly she ran her fingers through her hair to brush the tight curls out of her eyes.

“I...I…can’t say,” she muttered as she nibbled her bottom lip. “M-My sister…Lily…she said I shouldn’t tell anyone about…her. Especially not a stranger…” She blinked as her mind was wracked with confusion. Was someone still a stranger if they had been so nice to her? Even saved her life by taking her to a doctor? She gnawed on the other side of her lip as she looked up at the woman. “A-Are you still a stranger?”

The question clearly struck a nerve as the girl became nervous. Syn noticed the biting of the girl’s lip. Immediately she knew she wasn’t getting the whole story, but she wasn’t going to push too hard on the girl.

Hearing Penelope’s responses Syn thought it best to answer her question first. Offering her hand to the girl once more this time it was in a greeting form. “My name is Syn. So now that you know my name we’re not strangers right?” Another sweet smile followed.

“You were out with your sister and what happened? Did you lose sight of her?” A puzzle needed to be pieced together for Syn to get a clearer picture.

The question had been posed. Was this woman still a stranger? Penelope usually knew better than to talk to people she didn’t know but these events had been strange. She was nice to her so she had to be a good person! Also, a good person would tell her if they were still strangers to one another, a bad person wouldn’t. It all made sense!

Then, a lily white, soft hand was extended to her. Penelope looked at it briefly before she realized that the woman was introducing herself. She smiled a toothy grin as she reached out and shook it softly.

>> “My name is Syn. So now that you know my name we’re not strangers right?”

She thought…then she nodded with a smile. “I…think so. You are right!” Made sense! They knew one another’s names now! “It is nice to meet you…Syn,” she replied. Syn…that was an odd name. But she liked odd names. She remembered odd names much easier than regular names.

>> “You were out with your sister and what happened? Did you lose sight of her?”

She tilted her head. If only that was what happened! It would have made going home all that much easier. Usually, if Lilith did things that like, she was apologized to with ice cream. But, sadly, this was not the reasons for her being lost. This time it was another persons’ fault.

A shake of her head and her tight curls bounced as she looked down at her feet in the lime green flip-flops that she had picked out. Gently she curled and uncurled her toes as she tried to really decide just how much to tell. She didn’t like lying but she didn’t want to scare her new friend. She finally gulped as she looked up.

“No, last I remember…I was waiting for Lily to pick me up from the park. When…” her brow furrowed in thought. “Some older girls…they started to pick on me. They…they pushed me and I told them, I really told them not to! But…they wouldn’t stop laughing and…and…” she frowned as she pinched and rubbed her fingertips together, almost pretending that she still had. Mr. Tickle in her hand. “…they woke up Jezebel…”

Shaking Penelope’s hand and nodding in agreement Syn could see the girl felt a little better now. “It’s very nice to meet you too Princess Penelope!” She wanted to keep the girl feeling happy and cheerful. Maybe that way she would relax more and be able to tell more of her story for the previous night.

The plan had worked even if the girl still showed signs of nervousness. It was understandable given what she said. “I’m sorry to hear that they were picking on you.” She replied as the girl paused. But then a new twist was revealed. “Jezebel? Who might that be dear?”

>> “I’m sorry to hear that they were picking on you.”

Penelope nodded and dipped her head. Nobody liked to hear that kids were picking on other kids, unless the adult was particularly mean. Unfortunately what had been done was done and she just needed to move on. She could not dwell on what those girls had done, on anything that they said or snickered about, or how their hands hurt when they shoved her around. No, thinking about it would only make her situation worse right now. She could not rile up Mrs. Tickle.

She sighed and tried to breathe like her doctor had always told her to do whenever she started to feel upset.

>> “Jezebel? Who might that be dear?”

Penelope lowered her gaze as she continued to rub her fingers against one another. She needed her stuffed toy here but she didn’t even know where “here” was. What if she was really, really far from home? How angry was Lilith going to get with her for being gone so long?

“I…don’t like talking about her…” she mumbled a little absentmindedly.

Hehehehe…awww…why not?

She winced as she felt that laughter echo just a tad louder inside her head. Eyes tightly closed she covered her ears, trying to hum a happy song to herself.

“Go away…y-you’re tired…” she answered outloud instead of in her head like she meant to. Now it was going to look like she was talking to herself.

Awww, but someone wants to meet me.[/b]

“Shut up…”

So. Rude.

Penelope suddenly opened her eyes and turned to face Syn again. The dark princess that was so nice in helping her. If she could focus on her and her kindness then maybe it would be enough to keep Jezebel at bay until she could fall asleep again! It was a risky plan but it was the only thing that Penelope to think of to keep herself calm.

“Don’t talk to her, Princess Syn,” she begged. “Please, don’t talk to h—“

Her face twitched and suddenly a different expression washed over her face. Instead of sweet innocence, here was a look of malevolence and darkness. A was the type of expression that no person ever wanted to see on the face of a child; it was both saddening and quite disturbing. Eyes narrowed into suspicion as she looked up while her lips twisted into a sneer.

“Heheheheeh…”[/color] she replied in a voice that was entirely not hers, but that of a much darker, older individual. “…aren’t you a ****ing pretty sight. Hehehahahah!”

It was very apparent how bad those other girls made Penelope feel. Her stance took somewhat of a dip. It wasn’t quite the high spirited cheerfulness that showed moments before. Having the girl safe within Sanctuary was best. At least for now.

When asked about Jezebel, Penelope got that defensive little kid tone one gets when they did something but don’t want to say why they did it. It didn’t take long for Syn to witness the possible reason the little girl didn’t like to talk about such a touchy subject.

Watching and listening carefully the dark lady heard the girl talking to…someone. At first Syn thought maybe Jezebel was invisible. Go away…you’re tired? Was she a creation of the girl’s? Nope! All those thoughts were quickly smothered when the girl’s demeanor changed completely. This look and stance were ones of confidence…or arrogance.

Syn gave a look of subtle surprise. “You must be Jezebel. How delightful to meet you! From your tone you must be the one who likes black leather clothing. Though you’re much too small to wear the clothes Penelope was found in.”

Penelope Jezebel, smirked as she eyed Syn closely. The young girl tilted her head in a curious manner but the arrogant look on her face was all too disturbing. Those twisted, cruel lips twitched a little as she looked Syn up and down, as if judging whether or not this woman was actually worth her time talking to. Jezebel had heard the entire conversation that Penelope and Syn had so she knew what was going on. She was not as disturbed or clueless as Penelope was when she awoke.

So far, listening to the woman, eyeing her clothing, her stance, her demeanor, Jezebel had decided that she would allow herself to speak to her…

>> “You must be Jezebel. How delightful to meet you! From your tone you must be the one who likes black leather clothing. Though you’re much too small to wear the clothes Penelope was found in.”

Jezebel grinned as she straightened up her stance, almost as if she were trying to make herself look just a tad bit taller than she actually was.

“You obviously haven’t seen the best of me, sweetheart,”[/b] she responded in her surprisingly adult voice. Jezebel eyed Syn’s clothing and gently tapped the side of her head. “Seems we’d have meshing styles, though. Hehehe…”[/b]

Jezebel turned on her heel and began to wander around the room. She looked at everything with far less wonder and imagination than Penelope did. It was obvious that this personality was a far cry from the one that had been speaking to Syn mere moments ago. Jezebel carried herself with a confidence that did not seem befitting of her small stature. But that was only because her full power had not been unleashed.

There was time for that later. She needed to summon up the strength to form herself, though, since she was still be bit tired from her last excursion.

“So,”[/b] she started as she turned around, picking up a rainbow colored shirt that Penelope had considered wearing. She made a face of disgust and tossed it aside. “What is this place? Why are there so many mutants? Are you one too?”[/b]

Jezebel tended to be a bit more blunt.