*All characters copyrighted to Poseidon Simons

Chapter 13

Crystal's Help

"Damn you Cory..." Johnny thought as he flew, "Why did you have to move?!! Now it'll take me the rest of the day to find you!!!!!!" He sighed and landed. Crystal came up by him, chirping her encouragement. Johnny lifted a hand to pet her, "Thanks Crystal, but what would really help is if I knew where they took Don." She chirped a question at him. Smiling, he answered, "What are you asking about? Don or the ones who took him?" After a moment he added, "One chirp for Don, two for the rest."

She chirped once.

"She understood me?!" Johnny shook his head and spoke, "Don's a giant. He gave me a home when I was banished from this place. The only giant I have that's a really close friend...I don't want Cory to kill him." Crystal chirped alarmingly at that, "You're surprised? Cory makes his living by killing giants. It's a pretty normal thing around here. C'mon, they can't have gotten far."

Crystal watched Johnny with interest, "I never thought these two-leggers--anthros, could be so interesting." She thought about what Johnny had said, "He's friends with a giant? How does the giant not hurt him? Wouldn't the giant be too big to keep? And why would these little anthros want to kill the larger ones? Perhaps Jack can answer later..." These thoughts kept her mind occupied while they walked. After a few more minutes of searching, Crystal heard some noise, "I wonder what that is?.." She turned to look in the direction of the noise, "PREDATORS!!!!!!!!!" Without waiting for Johnny to understand her, she scooped him onto her neck and took off. Johnny clutched her, taken by surprise at her sudden movement.

"Crystal, what are you doing?!" He managed to shout as they flew.

She chirped and pointed behind them with her head. He didn't look at first, but when he finally understood what she wanted him to do, he saw it. Below them was a wingless gryphon animal, who was glaring up at them, "I am not going to be lunch!" She shouted down to the creature.

"You will be once you land! I can wait." The gryphon followed them as they flew, never letting up his pace as they flew faster and faster.

"Crystal, look down!!!" Johnny shouted and pointed.

She did, "Little anthros...a giant!!!!!! Is this what we were searching for?" She looked back at the gryphon, "If that thing finds the anthros, he'll eat them! We must warn them!!!!" She swooped down and landed on the giant's stomach. Johnny hopped off and ran to the giant's face.

"Don! Don, are you alright?"

Don strained to look at him, "Johnny? Johnny, what kept you? They haven't let me move since you left!"

Johnny skidded to a stop when Cory landed in front of him, "You really came back then. I have to admit, I was wondering."

"Let him go, Cory."

"And why should I do that?!"

"You can't kill him, he's my friend!"

"HE'S A GIANT!!!!!!! Everyone here, except you, wants to kill him right now so we don't have to worry about him destroying all our hard work. If he found a city, he could kill hundreds of anthros just by stepping on them!!!!"

"But I would never--"

"You shut up!" Cory stomped as hard as he could where he stood. He just happened to be standing right on Don's neck.

Don choked and lifted a hand to get Cory off, but he was stopped by a crowd of little anthros who were holding him down with ropes. Johnny took a step forward, "Cory, stop it!"

"Oh, you don't need to worry about him right now. He'll live for a few days, though I can't say the same thing for you..." Cory smiled at him as two muscular anthros grabbed him. Johnny frantically looked from side to side, "Damn, where's Crystal?! She can't have--Crystal!!!!!!" Johnny shouted her name as four anthros cautiously walked up to her. One was holding a small sugar cube, which she was staring at with greed, "Crystal, get out of here! They want to capture you!!!!" Crystal, upon hearing that, chirped alarmingly and shot into the sky. Johnny sighed, only to start screaming as a gryphon appeared in front of them. The two anthros holding him--he noticed that they were two gryphons themselves--suddenly let go and ran off as fast as they could. Johnny absently wondered why they'd ran, until he saw that both had no wings. His attention was forced back to the animal as it shouted happily. It saw an easy meal here...

Don struggled in his bonds. The gryphon wouldn't stand a chance against him if he could just get up! The little anthros holding him started scattering when they saw the animal, but they had tied the ropes tightly to the ground, still effectively holding him in place. It slowly walked up onto Don's body, keeping to sharp eyes firmly on Johnny. Johnny didn't seem to be thinking clearly, for he backed up instead of flying off, "Johnny, what are you doing?!!! You should fly up so that thing can't get you!!"

"But then it'll go after you!! You can't move!!!!"

"What are you gonna do, then? I don't see any weapons around here that can help."

Johnny looked around, "I do." He ran to poseidon's pocket and started pulling on the small knife he had in there.

"Johnny, are you crazy?! You can't use that, it's way to big!!!!"

"Who--said--I was gonna--fight?" He forced the words out as he kept pulling. The knife was stuck tight!!!!! It popped out of Don's pocket, making Johnny fall back with its release from him. Johnny picked himself up and opened the knife. He took it to one of the ropes holding an arm down and slammed it on the rope. The rope snapped when it was cut, freeing Don's left arm. Don smiled and started pulling the other ropes off with his free arm. Soon he was up, on his feet. He transformed and growled at the gryphon, in the same way he had when he'd found Vitara. The gryphon was so shocked by Don's new form that it practically disappeared when it ran. Don sighed and transformed back into an anthro.

Johnny started laughing then, unable to believe how close that had been. Don sooned joined him, but his laughter was cut short by a rope swinging around his neck. It tightened and pulled him to the ground, "Not again!!!!!" This time he broke the rope in half before they could get his arms, heaving them up when the ropes wrapped around them. All of the little anthros that had been trying to hold him down screamed as they shot into the air. Some that didn't have wings started falling back to the ground, but Don caught them before they hit, "Don't even think about it." He smiled at the little anthros and set them gently on the ground. It was easy to get out of the ropes now that he was standing, and he carefully made sure that he didn't harm any little anthros as he untangled himself.

A fairy dragon landed lightly on his shoulder, followed by Johnny. Don walked away from the stunned crowd and took to the sky before they could come after him again.

Cory scowled at the retreating giant, "Damn him, I was so close! So close!!!!! How do I humiliate him now?!" He grumbled and followed them, watching what they did as they landed. The giant had landed in a spot not too far away from where they'd first caught him, "I have to kill him now. There's no way I'll get help anymore. Now...what to use..." He didn't have the large knife like back at the giants' island. He thought back to the knife Johnny had used, "It'll take longer, but I can do it. That knife was sharp enough to slide through the ropes. I just have to wait for him to fall asleep. He'll be tired since we kept him awake the entire night." Sure enough, the giant yawned and stretched before laying down in the grass. Johnny, the fool that he was, curled up and laid down on top of him. The fairy dragon glanced around a few times before she too, fell asleep. Cory crept up on them while they all snored to their deaths.

When they got off the train in Wrall city, Kim pulled a hood over her head. Jack glanced at her and pulled it off, "Kim, why are you trying to hide yourself ? It was Johnny they wanted, not you."

"Yes, but if they see me, they'll know Johnny is here as well. He and I never go anywhere without each other. I haven't been away from him for more than a day since we married..."

Jack didn't stop her as she put the hood back on, "Well Kim, you're the only one who knows right where to go. We can't find him without you, so lead on."

Lisa glanced at a building, "Umm...could we stop in there for a minute? I really need to get this paid off. If I do, I won't be in debt anymore. Please?"

Jack glanced at Ania, "Call for me when she's done, will you?"

Ania nodded, "But why do you want to help her? Isn't finding Johnny more important?"

"Yes, that's why Kim and I will keep going after him. If Crystal is still with him, I can ask her to bring the two of you." He leaned closer to Ania and whispered, "Besides, she's been in debt ever since she owned that hotel of hers. This way we can do a huge favor for someone. Wouldn't you be overjoyed if you were debt free after who knows how many years? She'll be so happy...it's worth the trouble to see it, Ania. Trust me."

"Well, okay."

Jack smiled and turned to Kim, "Keep going Kim. I'll catch up."

"What are you doing?"

"Don't worry, I'm coming." Kim shrugged and kept walking. Jack sighed and turned to Lisa, "Do you know how to speak sign-language?"

"Not really..."

Jack laughed, "Okay, just wondering. Just tell Ania when you're done, okay?"

"Alright."

"Good." He turned around and started to catch up to Kim. Half way there, he turned and waved farewell. Ania waved back at him. He caught the rest of the way back up to Kim, "Okay, I'm here."

"Jack, what was that all about?"

"Lisa and Ania are going to catch up when they're done."

"But they don't know the way!"

"That's why I'm going to ask Crystal to come and get them when they finish."

"Are you sure she'll say yes? You've been making empty promises to her quite a lot lately."

"Since when?!!!!"

"You told me that you promised her some sugar if she took Johnny back. Where's the sugar?"

Jack smiled, "I have it figured out, don't worry."

"I don't know, men tend to forget when it's convenient for them. Just make sure you keep that promise. You'll lose a good friend if you don't."

Jack sighed, "I'll remember. Unlike these other men you keep talking about, I plan to keep my promises."

"Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you when it happens." Maik started crying then, taking Kim's attention away from Jack for a while. Jack glanced around them as they walked. There were shops all over the city, mostly of fast food. Jack looked back at Kim, "Uhh...Kim?"

"Yes?"

"I kinda--well..." He scratched his head, "Oh damn, how do I ask this?"

"I already understand. Run into a restaurant. Maik and I will walk to the end of this street and wait for you."

"Thanks." Jack went over to a nearby food court and started scanning them, searching for one specific type of shop, "C'mon...they have to have one here!" He rounded a corner and jerked to a stop. As he had hoped, he found a sugar candy store overflowing with kids. It was just what he needed, "Next time I'm gonna make sure they have one before I promise this type of thing to Crystal!" He fingered his pocket, realizing how empty it was. To his surprise, he felt coins in it! He pulled some out, "What the--who gave me these?" There was a sharp pain in his hand as he dropped one of the coins. He picked it back up and looked at it, "Well, I have something to use as money now. Thank you, whoever gave me these." He picked out a few sugar-loaded looking candies and gave the clerk his money. Every time he handed over a coin, his hand hurt, "Why does that keep happening? Hmph, at least I've got Crystal's treat now." He jogged back to Kim, who was waiting patiently. They walked out of the city, Kim with Maik, and Jack with Crystal's treats. Maik saw Jack look at the treats, then cried. Jack listened to his thoughts, "I want one! It's not fair! Why does he get to have them all?!!!! I want one I want one!!!!!!!!" Jack chuckled, "Kim, can Maik have one of these?"

"Why?"

"He wants one pretty badly. That's why he's crying."

"No more than that, Jack. He can't handle a lot of sugar yet."

"Okay." Jack picked out a red one and handed it to Maik who squealed and took it. The candy was popped into his mouth with a huge smile. Jack smiled back, That's all I can give you Maik. The rest are for a fairy dragon."

"The pretty blue eyes?"

"Yes. The pretty blue eyes." Jack's smile grew as Maik giggled, remembering the fairy dragon. They soon were far away from the city, but when they reached the meeting spot, neither Johnny nor Don were there.

Kim glanced around, "They aren't here. That means they went to one of the next spots."

Jack looked at Kim, "Next spots?! How many are there?!!!!"

"There are three other spots here, two by Seashore village, and three more by Icta village. We don't usually use the other spots though. The only times we've done that was when we were in a hurry. I hope they're okay..."

The sun was gone now, with the night stars slowly shining.