*All dragons copyrighted to Poseidon Simons

Chapter 2

Jack's Problem

"Gareth? C'mon Gareth, Johnny's waiting to meet you!" Don gave up and sighed. He'd searched the entire house twice over an there was still no sign of the black dragon. He sat down on the sofa in his living room and glanced around, "Where'd you go? Pik told me you wanted to meet Johnny more than anything else! Why did you leave?" He saw Vitara vanish into another room with her tail between her legs. He sighed and resolved to clean up whatever mess Vitara had made later. Don picked up his phone and dialed Kia's number, "Hey...Kia, it's Don. Did Gareth go home or something?"

"No, he's still there with you. He doesn't even know the way back! Pik and I were gonna come by in an hour, remember?"

"He doesn't know the way back?! Has he ever just gone out by himself? Y'know, been a bit too headstrong?"

"Yeah...but he's not stupid. He wouldn't go anywhere unless it was an emergency, or he knew where he was going. He's not prone to take many chances."

Don scratched his head, "He left, Kia. He's not here anymore."

"HE WHAT?!!!!!!!"

Don held the phone at arms length when Kia shouted. He cautiously put it back by his ear when she stopped, "He left. I'm not too sure where he went, either. Should I have watched him, or something?"

"No, no. He's not stupid. Maybe he's just playing a prank or something. He can change into pets too."

"How small?"

"The smallest I've ever seen was a Risso pet."

"Well, Vitara's the only pet I've seen around here. If you see him, could you tell him I called? I'd like an explanation."

"Sure thing, Don. Thanks for telling us." Kia hung up.

Don did as well, but he still had to wonder, "Where'd you go?"

Hana was unlocking the door when she heard the phone ring. She and Ingrid had gone shopping after Gareth had left. Gareth was nowhere in their apartment, so she answered the phone, "Hello?"

"Hana? It's Kia. Is Gareth home?"

"No, he's with you, Kia."

"Actually, he's supposed to be with Don right now, but he's not there either. I was hoping he'd gone home."

"He's not here, Kia. He would have left a note to say if he'd be gone longer."

"Umm...did something come up?"

"No. Ingrid and I have been shopping ever since Gareth left. We saw Player and you at the store."

"So he's not there either?"

"Nope. What happened?"

"I wanted to ask him the same question. Hana, he vanished! If you see him, tell him I called. He's got a lot of explaining to do..." Kia hung up her end of the line.

"He most certainly does." Hana glanced at the clock. It read 7:30. Gareth was supposed to have been back an hour and a half ago! Hana placed Ingrid in her crib and sat on the couch, letting her worry get the best of her, "Oh, please don't let him be hurt! Out of anything at all, PLEASE don't let Gareth be hurt! I don't want to lose him again."

Jack clutched his head. He had such an enormous headache! Something was wrong, he knew it, but he didn't know what, "Why does this feel so wrong? Where the hell am I?..Who the heck is Don, and why does Johnny keep mentioning him?! Besides, why is Johnny so mad at the Gareth guy? Gareth isn't bad..." Jack gasped. How had he known that?! He tried hard to remember why he knew, but it just made the headache worse.

"Jack, you sure you're alright? You've been rubbing your head since we started walking."

"Sorry. I just have this huge headache that won't go away."

Johnny forced up a smile, "You can thank Vitara for that, Jack. I'm willing to bet she gave you that headache when she slammed into you."

"She does that often?"

"Yeah. She'll pounce on any visitor, but you should see her when Ace comes over!" Johnny laughed, "Don and I found out from Player that she has a crush on him!"

Jack's eyes bulged at the names he recognized, "Ace? Player? Who're they?"

"What, you don't know them?! They're part of the greatest rock band on this island!"

"Rock band? The Deep Rockers?"

"So you have heard of them."

"They sound familiar, but I'm not sure why. I feel like they should be anthros I see every day..."

"WHAT?!!!! Okay, now I know you're bluffing! The only positions that are open for you to see them even once a month are taken by bodygaurds, and we're a bit too small to help them like that."

"Yeah...I guess you're right. Nevermind them. What's your son's name?"

"Maik." Johnny beamed with pride, "Kim is making him take his nap right now."

"Your wife?"

"Yup." Jack watched as Johnny started climbing up an enormous bench. He was about half-way up before he looked back down, "Well Jack? C'mon. This is the only way you'll reach the heater without wings."

Jack sighed and started climbing. He soon found a pattern in the bench leg and climbed up with ease. His clothes kept finding new ways to slow him down as he climbed. Grumbling as his shirt caught on the wood yet again, he yanked it free and climbed over the top. Johnny was already climbing a ladder to the top of a huge heater, "A ladder? Where did he find one that size in this huge place?!"

Johnny glanced down and saw him looking at the ladder, "Neat, huh? Don found it in a dollhouse someone had thrown away. It's great having this thing!"

Jack shrugged and started climbing. Whoever this Don guy was, he sounded like a nice anthro. The instant Jack was on top of the heater, he felt a headache start. He absently rubbed his head and walked up to the three anthros that were there.

Johnny smiled and introduced his wife and son, "Jack, this is Kim. Kim, I found Jack being hidden under one of Vitara's blankets."

Jack smiled, "Nice to meet you, Kim."

Kim smiled and shook his hand. Next, Johnny took him over to where Maik was sleeping. He whispered when Jack came close, "This is Maik. Don't wake him up or he'll not go to sleep for another three hours." Jack nodded and looked at Maik. That was all he appeared to want to do, so Johnny took the opportunity to talk to Kim, "Kim, we need to talk."

Kim glanced at Jack and nodded, "About him?"

"Yes."

"What's wrong with him?"

"I told you that I found him under one of Vitara's blankets, Kim. I don't know how he got there, or why he came here in the first place, but I know what he needs to do now."

"What's wrong with him, Johnny."

"Vitara gave him a case of amnessia. He has no idea who he is or where he came from or anything!"

Kim studied Jack a little, "You know, he looks kind of familiar..."

"What do you mean? He's not Pik, if that's what you're thinking."

"No. My mother recently sent us some mail, Johnny."

"Really? What did it say?"

"The entire letter was about a new movie star over there that every girl seems to be going crazy over."

"Even her?" Johnny chuckled.

Kim smiled as well, "She won't admit it, but even her. Here's the picture she sent me of him. His name is Richard Tyne."

Johnny looked at the picture, then Jack. They looked exactly the same, but he wanted to be sure, "Dear, did your mother mention anything about this guy's height?"

"He's supposed to be short for one of our kind. Why?"

"I was hoping...It was close Kim, but unless Jack there is standing on stilts, he's not this guy. Jack over there is about a giant anthro inch taller than me. I'm guessing a little more."

"What? But how could one of our kind get to be that big?"

"I don't know, but he is."

Jack was still watching Maik. Smiling and sitting right where he was. His clothes looked like they were already about dry. Kim spoke up, "Look at him, Johnny. I think he might be a father."

"Why do you say that?"

"He's watching Maik like Maik was his own son. He's showing fatherly pride."

"You're sure?"

"Not entirely, but he still looks it..."

Johnny gently tapped Jack's shoulder, "Hey Jack, Don's leaving for a month tomorrow. If you want I could have him drop us off at Little island."

Jack sighed and stood up, "I guess...you're a lucky guy, Johnny. I wish I had a wife and son..."

Kim had heard what Johnny had said, "Johnny, you can't be serious!"

"Why not, Kim?"

"They banished you from Little island when you didn't let them kill that giant anthro! If they see you there, they might kill you!"

Johnny came up beside her and held her head in his hands, "Kim, I still have friends there. I could hide with them. They wouldn't turn me down and you know it."

"That's only because they agreed with you when you wanted to stop killing giant anthros. It isn't easy for them to live there as it is, Johnny. If you're caught at their houses, you'll get them banished as well..."

"Look. Jack needs to figure out who he is. He'll need someone there that he already knows, otherwise the anthros there will be able to manipulate him. Besides, if he looks like that Richard guy, he'll be getting a lot of attention he may not want. All of us'll go. You need a chance to visit your mother again, Jack needs to find out who he is, and I need something to do. Let's at least try to help him, okay?"

"Okay Johnny, but I don't want you to get hurt..."

"Hey, I was a thief before they booted me off, remember? They'll barely be able to catch me, if at all."

*All dragons copyrighted to Poseidon Simons

Chapter 3

Memories

"What a kid. Johnny must be real proud of him...Man I wish I knew who my family was. It'd be nice to have a kid of my own." Jack stood up and waled back to Johnny and Kim, "Umm...Is there a place where I could sleep tonight? I want to get moving tomorrow so I can look for my family."

Johnny smiled, "Kim and I were just talking about that, Jack. We've decided to take you to Little island. Don'll fly us there."

"Fly?.." Jack gulped. It looked like a huge fall to the floor from where they were already! He wasn't sure he'd be able to handle going up that high.

"Yeah, how else do you think we'll be able to get there? It's hard to sneak onto boats that are made specificly for the huge anthros. They usually find you if you sneak on board. Trains are out of the question since they're too far away for us to walk to. It'd take us days to reach the station without Don's help. Trust me, having Don carry us is the fastest way."

"Yeah, but is it the safest?" Jack kept silent and thanked them when they handed him a blanket. He setteled down on the bench right by the heater and fell asleep. The morning sun shined in his face, waking him up a little earlier than he thought he'd want to wake up. Jack sighed and took the blanket back up to the top of the heater. Johnny and Kim were up there, playing with their son. He smiled and handed Kim the blanket, then stretched and yawned. Johnny chuckled as Maik grabbed at his hand, which was gently poking Maik to make him giggle. Jack winced as a smaller headache came on, but turned away to make sure no one noticed. A few minutes later, an enormous anthro walked in. Jack stared up at the immense creature, baffled by its sheer size.

Johnny smiled, "Hey Don. We're ready to go if you are."

Don's voice boomed slightly as he spoke, "I've got the backpack all set up for you guys. Johnny, you're sure you want to do this?"

"Yeah. Jack here needs to have someone with him that he can trust."

Don looked over at Jack, "So this is the mysterious little anthro Johnny found in Vitara's bed. Sorry about what she did."

Jack shook his head and cleared his throat, "It's--it's alright. She's just a pet. How's she supposed to know what she can't do? I'll be fine..."

Don gave him a questioning look, "Fine, huh? She made you forget who you were! I'm responsible for you until you figure out who you are again! Here, get in." Don opened up a huge backpack that looked like it was made of wood. Jack trembled as he stared down it. Don smiled, "Hey, don't worry. It'll be perfectly safe for you guys. This isn't the first time I've had to take Johnny somewhere."

Johnny helped Kim get in, then handed her Maik before he got in as well. Jack hesitantly followed them inside, freezing in fear when Don moved the backpack. Johnny chuckled, "It's okay, Jack. Don's trustworthy. If he says it's safe, then it's safe. Sit down and enjoy the ride."

It took a full day to get to Little island, but when they were there, Johnny smiled. It had been worth it. He had missed this place for quite some time. He waved as Don took off again, promising to be back in a week to check up on them. Jack had almost hugged the ground when he'd gotten out of the backpack, causing even him to laugh a little. Johnny held up a map, "Jack, these are the places we'll be going."

Jack came up and looked at the map, "Where first?"

"I was thinking of going to Wrall City first, then Icta village." He pointed to the little village that was directly North of Wrall City, "If neither of those places work, we'll head down to the only other village on this island." His finger traveled down the map to rest on a village to the Southeast of Wrall city, "Seashore Village. If you don't figure yourself out there, then you have to live on the larger island for huge anthros."

Jack nodded, "How far away is the city?"

"Not too far. We're only a few hours walk away from Wrall city. See? We're right here." He pointed to a small place they had marked with an X, "This is where Don and I decided to land if we ever came here. There aren't many little anthros living right here." Johnny folded the map back up and started walking, "Let's go."

It was nearing 5:00 when they finally arrived in the city. Johnny said farewell and headed in a different direction, saying he'd meet up with them again in an hour. Jack seemed to flinch when he'd said that, "What is it, Jack?"

"You're meeting up with us again in an hour? Umm...Is it okay if I came with you instead? For some reason, leaving you alone for an hour doesn't feel right..."

"What do you mean?"

"I--I'm not sure...I think I did that same thing once, and it turned into a diaster. I can't think where though, or with who. I dunno. Can I please stay with you?"

Johnny glanced at Kim, who nodded. He smiled at Jack and said, "Sure Jack. You can stay with me."

Jack sighed and smiled, "Okay. Where're we going?"

"To a friend of mine." Johnny waved farewell to Kim and started walking. He was wearing a hooded sweater, for which he was very grateful. They had been in Wrall city for only five minutes and already he'd seen someone who would have gladly turned him over to the police. He pulled the hood a little tighter over his face and walked on. They rached the apartment building he was looking for, and went to the top floor. He knocked on room 619, "Trent, you in there?"

There was a gasp on the other side, then the door opened. A tan-colored dragon that was shaped exactly like him stood in the doorway, "Johnny?!! Johnny, what the hell are you doing here?!!!! You'll get killed!" Trent opened the door the rest of the way and let them inside, "I swear, Johnny. Stop being so stubborn."

"It's good to see you too, Trent." Johnny stopped in the small hallway and leaned against the wall, "How've you been?"

"Not so good. I can barely pay rent anymore. Seems the new manager hates us pacifists, Johnny. You really shouldn't be here."

Johnny nodded, "I know. I just dropped by to introduce Jack here."

Trent looked over at Jack. His eyes widened, "Johnny, remind me why you are calling Mr. Tyne Jack."

"He's not the movie star. Look at him, he's huge!"

Jack scratched the back of his head, "Hi..."

"Umm...Hi. I'm Trent Bacry"

"I'm...just Jack."

Johnny explained for Jack, "He's lost his memory. I figure I could bring him here first for a little help with you being a shrink."

"Johnny, psychiatrist appointments are held at my office only. It's more calm in there."

Johnny smiled, "For you, or the patient?"

"BOTH!" Trent sighed and sat in a nearby chair, "You were always able to keep things interesting, Johnny. I'll give you that. Alright, I'll se what I can do. C'mon, Jack. You'll have to lay on the bed since I don't have anything else big enough for you to lay on."

"Okay...so, what are you going to be doing, exactly?"

"I'm just going to ask you a few questions. Fortunately, I do have my ink sheets and sand scribbles. We'll see what you think like, then I'll start asking you simple questions. Things like, what can you remember? You know. It'll be easy."

Jack swallowed, "Oh, umm...is this going to cost me?"

"Normally, yes, but I owe Johnny from the last time we saw each other. Here, lay down."

Johnny waited in the living room, sitting on the couch and hoping that Trent would be able to help.

"Now, let's see what we can do. I'll call you Jack, since that's what Johnny called you." Trent pulled some sheets out of his bag, "Okay, I'm going to hold up a picture, and you are supposed to tell me what you see. Understand?"

Jack nodded.

"Okay, first picture."

"I see a fairy dragon flying through a tree."

Trent looked at the picture, "He saw that?!!! I wonder..." Trent held up the next picture.

"That's a crowd of anthros on a train."

Trent's eyes widened as he checked the picture as well, "A train? Where does he see a train?!" Trent held up a third picture, "What do you see here?"

Jack stared at the picture, "I--I see a black dragon fighting off a water dragon. They--they hate each other. They're fighting over a girl..." Trent sighed and set the third picture down. Jack suddenly grew desperate, "NO! Put that picture back up!!!!!!!!"

Trent looked at the picture, seeing nothing of the sort that Jack saw, and held it up. Maybe they were looking at a memory.

"There were other dragons there...I see them! Look. Right there is Player, that's Ace, Pik and Kia are standing right there, and Alan's behind the black dragon...where have I seen that before?!!!!!!!"

Trent put the picture down, "We'll come back to that picture in a bit, Jack. Let's move on to the sand scribbles." He held up a picture.

Jack sighed and started crying, "That dragon is laying on the ground...she was hurt by the water dragon from the other picture. She's the girl both those dragons were fighting over. I--I--what were there names? No! I can't remember!!!!!!!"

Trent had to calm Jack down before moving on to the next picture.

"It's the black dragon and a little girl."

"Is it the girl from the first sand picture?"

"No, this is a different girl. The black dragon is showing her how to make something..."

Trent set up the last sand picture, "Here's the last one. What do you see?"

"That's a baby..."

Trent set the last picture down, "Jack, these things you see on the paper are memories. I don't see any other way you could have been able to see those things. Try hard. What was the name of the water dragon?"

"He--it started with a P. I--I can't remember."

"Okay, then how about the first girl?"

"I don't know why I saw her. She doesn't look familiar at all."

"Okay, nevermind. What about the baby?"

"The baby...I think it was Johnny's son, Maik."

"Well, you've got one name down. I wasn't going to do this, but let's try some hypnosis."

"What?"

"I'm going to make you fall asleep in such a way that I'll tell you what to do and you'll do it. Sometimes, you can get interesting dreams from this."

"NO!!!!!!!!! Don't!" Trent backed away as Jack started to go crazy, "I won't let anyone mess with my head again! Not you, not Johnny. NO ONE!!!!!!" Jack jumped up off the bed and landed as far away from Trent as was possible. Johnny opened the door right then, which was on Trent's side.

"What's wrong?"

"I won't let you!!!!!!!!!!" Jack dashed for the door and shoved Johnny aside. He opened the door to Trent's apartment and ran down the stairs, emerging outside in a few seconds and still shouting.

Johnny tunred to Trent, "Well, you found something."

"Johnny, your friend is crazy! Don't bring him here again!"

Johnny looked hurt, "I'm sorry. I didn't think he would react like that. He seemed so normal when we met...do you think he remembered enough to know who he was?"

"I have no idea. Look, if you find him, make sure he doesn't do anything that he'll regret. I don't think it's wise to let him run around in the city like this."

"Okay, I'll start looking for him right now." Johnny turned to leave, but before he reached the door, he turned back to Trent, "Thanks for trying, Trent. I'm sorry I put you through this."

"Just find him and I'll consider accepting the apology. Above all, he can't be allowed to run free right now."