AN: So as it turns out I do have an overarching plot for this fanfic other than Angst! Drama! Occasional humor that really doesn't belong there! It is also true that if I did the entire fic from Caine and Diana's points of view there would be certain chunks missing that could really confuse you. Because even though many things will be explained some things will remain mysteries, but I do not want them to be mysteries to the readers. Which is where these chapters come in, which I like to call plot points. Most of the time they aren't assigned a specific day in the story, instead it's safe to assume that they occur around the time, give or take a few days, of the chapter it is beside. The exception to this being if it happens during a big, specific event, which will be pretty obvious if/when it happens. An example of a plot point would be the prologue, basically it doesn't really need to be there but I felt that the story would be kinda naked without it. No, this is not a very long chapter at all, but 1.) there isn't much interaction in it and it would be kinda sloppy to shove it in with a proper chapter, and 2.) through the natural gift of klutziness I managed to badly sprain my wrist and it is now in a cast. Yeah, now fun. Anyway, a big thank you to everyone that has been reading and reviewing, I greatly appreciate it. 3

Disclaimer: I, Mistystarshine, do not own Gone or the characters.

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Laughter.

It echoed out of her throat at her little servant rolled her to shore, strong and clear. Oh, they hadn't thought she could do it, did they? No, they couldn't have. It had taken desperate measures to get on the island in the first place and the witch had needed to call for help to get off. Oh yes, she had seen that. She had been watching. She was always watching, waiting from the shadows, waiting to strike. It had been rather funny, really, to see that girl flailing around in an attempt to save him. In a way it resembled a dance if you asked her. No, not a dance, a puppet. Diana was a puppet and she was the one pulling her strings.

Another laugh bubbled up from Penny's throat. This time she noticed Bug shoot her an alarmed look out of the corner of her eye. She did not say anything just yet, instead shooting him a smile that was a little too wide.

They hadn't expected her to be able to get off the island, hadn't expected her to reach the mainland. If you asked her she would say that it was because they didn't manage it themselves. That was because they weren't smart enough, weren't determined enough, weren't powerful enough. It was really rather impressive what you could accomplish when you had someone that would do absolutely anything you said, knowing that if they didn't they would suffer a fate worse than death. Illusions, horrible illusions, floating through your head and poisoning your mind, sucking you deep into the world of insanity.

But of course Penny would not know anything about insanity. She was a queen without a crown, not a madwoman. Could've been the queen to his king, had he been a little smarter and a lot less pulled into the witch's spell.

It was rather amusing to look back on.

Bug, her little Bug that was less than faithful but too cowardly to betray her, had gone and found her everything she needed to get away. He found her a path, he risked his life sneaking into the mansion to get her an inflatable boat from the storage while that pretty little healer girl tried to save the fallen telekinetic. He had assembled the boat, he had gotten it into the water, and finally he had gotten her down. Oh, the climb had cost him, but not nearly as much as it would have had he angered her. A broken arm, a sprained ankle, no doubt he was starting to starve by this point. But she didn't care. As long as he could walk she didn't care. After all, she needed someone to wheel her around for the time being.

This thought made a look of anger begin to twist across her face. This combined with her ratty hair, her tattered clothes, the dirt and various other waste covering her body, and the sheer stench emanating from her was enough to make her look like something straight from a horror movie. It was not her appearance that caused Bug to fear though. No, it was that manic look in her eye. Penny's voice was something between a shriek, a cry, and a laugh as she exclaimed, "Bug! Fix me!"

Confusion washed across the boy's face at this. He was trying his best to keep himself from stuttering as he replied, "I-I don't understand. Fix you?"

He tried to hide his fear and he tried valiantly, but it was useless when going against Penny. Didn't he know that she knew fear like an old friend? She knew how it looked, smelled, sounded tasted. No, more than that, she was fear. And at the moment fear was in control of that pathetic little boy. "My legs," she growled, "fix my legs. I need to walk."

Desperation was in his voice as he replied, "I can't! Only the healer could do that, and I don't think-" he never got to finish that thought. Instead he was cut off by the blood-curdling scream that forced its way out of his own throat as he fell down to his knees. Bug would see his legs beginning to twist into odd angles and snap, feel them start to break. To any other person watching he would look perfectly fine other than the apparent fit he was having, not that he had been dumb enough to bring them to a shore anywhere close to the town, but to him it was all too real. The same could be said for the girl casting the illusion upon him. That was why she had chosen that particular one, she knew the reality of it, the way it hurt, the sense of loss and pain. But she was not hit by a wave of misery seeing someone that had helped her believe to suffer the way she had. Instead she felt glee.

Bug pleaded, cried, and eventually she lifted the illusion. It was not without reluctance, seeing that annoying little boy writhe around in pain was great fun, but he couldn't be of any use while in this state. Without giving him time to recover she spat, "we don't need the healer. There's a thing out there, something that Caine ranted and raved about for months, something that made him kill, and I'll bet that something is what gave Drake Merwin his whip arm."

Most people would feel fear talking about what she was talking about, would be wary of the thought of such a thing. But not her. In Penny's mind it was a thing she could use to her control, something she could make heal her and make others bow to her. Penny was fear, and no one messed with fear, not even rumored cave monsters. Bug, on the other hand, had dread crossing his face.

She didn't care.

Just as he began to stumble to his feet and open his mouth she spat, "what are you waiting for!? Get to it."

Panic flashed across Bug's face. What did she expect him to do? Take her to the mine, to the Darkness? Hadn't it collapsed? There was no way he would be able to dig it out, and what would she do when that happened? In an attempt to change the subject he asked, "wouldn't you like to be cleaned off first though? We're right next to the water, might as well take advantage of it." Unfortunately she saw the distraction for what it was.

Bug fell to the ground screaming once again.