Safe and away from the cops, Penelope, Newt, and Jacob were now wandering through the dark fields of Central Park. Penelope had guessed that the Erumpent had moved on from the park, though it was their only lead and the best place to start looking for the enormous beast.

"You have been nothing but trouble since we arrived here, you little bugger," Newt scolded the small Niffler as he stuffed it into his mysterious suitcase. "This whole mess started because of you."

Penelope couldn't help but admire the way Newt handled the beasts he studied. He talked to them as if they were equals, as if they were his friends. Penelope tried to treat her pets like that, although she had a hard time doing so sometimes.

"So you said you heard the call of the Erumpent and saw an orange glow here, did you?" Newt asked as he latched his suitcase shut, stuffing a hand into the pocket of his trousers.

Penelope nodded, though she didn't get a chance to answer him, as a loud squawk interrupted her. She looked up as Jacob screamed, bumping into her as he leaped to the side. She saw a large ostrich sprinting past them, its wings fluffed out in alarm.

"First a lion and now an ostrich?" Penelope muttered towards Newt. "What has your beast gotten into?"

Her question was answered as the trio approached the gates of the Central Park Zoo- well, what was left of them, that is. One of the metal gates that blocked the entrance to the zoo was bent open, and the stone archway above it was smashed. Penelope knew there was only one thing that could do this- an Erumpent. The question was, however: what was in the zoo that made the beast want to get in so badly?

"Alright," Newt broke the silence that fell between the trio. He reached into his suitcase and pulled out two heavy-duty helmets. "Put these on."

Penelope didn't argue as she put the helmet on her head, as she knew the dangers of the Erumpent. Jacob Kawolski, however, looked at the helmet skeptically. "Why would I have to wear something like this?"

"Because your skull is susceptible to breakage under immense force," Newt explained nonchalantly, earning a look of complete surprise from Jacob. Newt looked at Penelope, and when he realized she had her helmet on, he took off running towards the entrance of the zoo. Penelope looked at Jacob, motioning towards the helmet in his hands before running after Newt.

As the trio stood in the broken entrance of the zoo, Newt set down his suitcase once more. Reaching into it, he pulled out two plates of chest armor. "Right," he murmured, his voice quiet as he tried not to disturb any threats inside the zoo. He handed one plate of armor to Jacob before stepping behind Penelope.

"Let's just pop this on..." He said as he wrapped the armor around her body. His hands grazed across her arms as he did so, and although she was wearing a thick trench coat to protect her against the cold, she could feel the heat of his touch through it. "Now there's absolutely nothing to worry about, my friends."

Jacob looked at Newt with wide eyes are he strapped his own armor around his body. "Tell me, does anyone ever believe you when you tell them not to worry?"

As Newt finished strapping the armor around Penelope, he looked over her shoulder at the man before him, a cheeky smile on his face. "Not really, no. But my philosophy is worrying means you suffer twice."

~

Deep within the dark, lifeless zoo, the trio finally caught sight of the Erumpent, standing just outside the hippopotamus enclosure. It was a creature as large as an elephant, with thick gray hide and a hump on its back. It had a large horn that was several feet long on its nose, just behind it was a large bulbous mass glowing a bright orange color. A low bellow came from the beast as it stepped towards the smaller animal inside the cage.

"She's in season," Newt murmured from beside Penelope, staring at the beast with wonder in his blue eyes. "She needs to mate." As he said this, he pulled a small vile of liquid out of his pocket. Pulling the top off with his teeth, he began to pour the liquid on his wrists. Immediately, Penelope smelled a strong musky scent, and she wrinkled her nose.

"What is that?" She asked in a low voice, gesturing towards the mysterious liquid in the vile.

"Erumpent musk," Newt responded without looking at her. He rubbed his wrists together to blend in the scent. "She's mad for it." He handed the vile to Jacob before quickly running off towards the beast.

Penelope had to stop herself from calling out to him as she felt a sudden twinge of worry for the man; she knew that any sudden noise could startle the humungous beast and cause it to rampage. So all she could do was stay out of the way with Jacob, and let Newt do his thing.

Newt approached the creature slowly, his suitcase in his hands. He placed the object on the snowy ground, opening it before crouching down beside it. He rolled up his sleeves to waft the scent of the musk, immediately gaining the female Erumpent's attention. Newt then lowered himself down, pulling him arm behind him in attempt to resemble a hump. He began making bellowing and snorting noises, dancing across the snowy ground to intrigue the Erumpent. It worked.

As the beast began to approach Newt, Penelope had to look away. No matter how much she was intrigued by the man's knowledge of these beasts, she couldn't bear to look if something went horribly wrong. Instead, she turned her attention towards Jacob, only to see the man holding the vile of musk above his head, his nose wrinkled in disgust.

"Jacob," she hissed, careful to not get the attention of the beast. "Stop fooling around. If you spill even a drop of that stuff, it would ruin everything."

Jacob looked at the woman with a scowl on his face, but he did as she said and brought the vile back down beside him. Just as he did so, however, something hit him in the back of the head, causing the vile to jerk and the liquid to spill out of it.

"Shit," Penelope muttered, turning around to see a sea lion standing at the entrance to its smashed cage. It barked once, as if laughing at what it had done, before diving back into the water of its home.

"Uh, Miss Finch," Jacob hissed through clenched teeth, causing Penelope to turn back around. "I'd suggest we run."

Though Penelope had already taken off, as she had already noticed that the Erumpent's attention was no longer on Newt, but on them, and it was getting ready to charge. Jacob was right on her heels, muttering something under his breath that Penelope couldn't make out. She saw that he still held the vile in his hands, and the remaining liquid was spilling out of it as he ran. Scoffing, she hit his hand, knocking the vile out and causing it to fall to the ground. She hoped that it would distract the Erumpent for at least a few seconds with its strong smell. Thankfully, she was right.

As the Erumpent skidded to a halt in front of the vile, leaning down and licking the remaining liquid from it, Penelope had managed to sneak past it and towards Newt. She had hoped that Kawolski had followed her, but when she turned back around, she saw him climbing an isolated tree in the middle of the park.

By now the Erumpent had lost interest in the now empty vile, and was now looking at Jacob. Her small eyes seemed to gleam in excitement as she saw the vulnerable man in the tree, covered in Erumpent musk.

"What do we do?" Penelope asked Newt, looking at the man beside her desperately.

"You? You do nothing- it's far too dangerous for you," he said quickly, though quietly. When Penelope opened her mouth to make a remark about stereotypes once more, he added, "And no, it's not because you're a woman. I know you're capable of helping, I just don't want you getting hurt. Just let me deal with it, Penny."

He took off running towards Jacob and the beast just as the tree exploded, causing the man to fall into the thick snow. The Erumpent bellowed happily as she galloped towards him, though Jacob quickly took off running, right onto the frozen lake. He immediately slipped and fell, sliding across the thick ice as the Erumpent quickly followed.

Penelope felt a stab of panic as Newt ran after the beast, stumbling a bit as he stepped onto the slippery ice. Though he regained his balance and ran after the Erumpent as it slid towards Jacob, his suitcase wide open. The Erumpent flailed it's front legs towards Jacob, it's tongue only just reaching the man's face as it began to get sucked in Newt's suitcase. Within seconds, the large beast had disappeared, and Newt held the closed suitcase in his hands as he smiled cheekily at Kawolski.

The two men stared at each other with wide eyes, breathing heavily, until Newt said, "Good show, Mr. Kawolski."

Jacob only shook his head and smiled, reaching out his hand towards Newt. "Call me Jacob."

Penelope quickly made her way across the slippery frozen lake, stopping beside Newt and patting his shoulder. He looked up at the woman, his signature crooked smile spread across his lips. She couldn't help but return the smile as she spoke, "You, Mr. Scamander, are a brilliant man."