*All characters copyrighted to Poseidon Simons

Chapter 9

One More

Tiny Problem

 

                Johnny sighed when he saw Griffin returning.  Griffin looked troubled by something...Johnny stood up where he was and flew to Griffin's eye level, "Something the matter?"

                Griffin looked at him, scowled, then broke down.  The scowl was replaced by a pleading look, sorrowful, "I don't understand it!  Poseidon actually seemed SCARED!!!  He was numb with shock!  His chip is only running a training exercise and he can't even break through the EASIEST setting!  What's wrong with him?"

                Johnny sighed again and landed on Griffin's shoulder, "Griffin, Poseidon's been here before, against his will.  The micro chip inside him was placed there, whether he wanted it or not.  If you want the truth, when Poseidon came BACK from this place, he had been set on getting rid of it!  By the time that was possible, he thought better of it, kept it.  It was useful."

                Griffin nodded a little, "But why is Poseidon so scared of this place?  I've grown up here!  I know every single thing about this place!"

                Johnny doubted that, "Every?"

                He wasn't that surprised by Griffin's reaction.  Griffin's shoulders slumped a little, his head lowered, "Okay...not every.  I hadn't known Father could do that with the training equipment..."

                Johnny didn't ask what Griffin meant.  He knew his point had been made, "See?  Your 'father' keeps secrets from you.  I'll still bet he's lied to you more often than tell the truth."

                Griffin laughed.  It sounded a little on edge, forced, "No, he finds ways to say something without saying ANYTHING!  I ask him the same questions day after day, and only recently I got ONE of them answered!  I don't know WHAT to think anymore!"  Griffin laughed again.  This time it sounded like it bordered madness.  Griffin calmed himself, "I've grown up living a lie then!  All this time!  It's all been a lie!  ALL of it!!!"  He laughed harder, "My entire existence is a lie!  I'm NOT REAL!!!!!"  He laughed so hard that he fell on the floor.  Johnny backed away, back into the room where the capsule he'd woken from was.

 

                Griffin couldn't stop laughing!  He didn't know WHY it was so funny, but he could NOT stop laughing!  What was wrong with him?!  He laughed and laughed.  He was rolling on the floor, tears were streaming from his eyes!  What was so damn funny about this?!  He laughed and laughed.  He was out of breath, but he couldn't STOP!

 

                James woke with a growl.  He'd been tricked!  His tail must've missed somehow!  There was no way he could have lost!  He'd never lost a fight before!  NEVER!  He sat up quickly, checking himself over so see how badly he was hurt.  His side still hurt from where he'd been kicked, but that was only a bruised rib.  James stood up and looked at the door.  It was wedged in tightly...

                James roared and threw himself at the door.  It gave way almost too easily.  He made his way through the many halls, passing a window now and then, seeing the first rays of morning appear, "I need a rematch...I should have won!"  Or at least, that's what he thought.

                When he found Griffin, he wasn't so sure.  The guy was cracking up!  James slapped him hard and stepped back.  The action seemed to have calmed Griffin down.  If that hadn't done it, SEEING James must have!  He was suddenly on his feet in a fighting stance.  His arm dripped once from where James had bitten him.  James rolled his eyes, "Where's Don?"

                Griffin, never taking his eyes of James, answered, "Outiside.  I took him out.  Johnny asked me to.  If you're even THINKING about leaving, I'll knock you out again!  And this time I WON'T hold back!"

                James shook his head, "You let Don out?  Why not the rest of us then?"

                "Damn it, DON'T change the subject!  Get back to your room!  It's bad enough that ONE of Father's guests left before he wanted them to!  I won't allow another!"

                "Where's Johnny?"

                Griffin was caught off guard by this question, and motioned to the room he was standing beside.  James nodded and walked in, "Johnny?  Hey, can we talk?"

                Johnny glanced up from the table he sat on, "James?  What is it?"

                James sat down by the table, "Could you check on Nino and Crystal?  They haven't answered me, and won't come out!"

                Johnny stepped back once, "What?!  I went in there once already!  I'm NOT going back in!"

                "Please?  They won't SAY anything...I'm worried that the fight I had with Griffin might have hurt them..."

 

                Johnny stared, stunned.  He knew how easily a punch could have crushed them...he'd been hit by Griffin in the air, and been imbedded into a wall!  With nowhere to flee to, those two little animals could have gotten seriously hurt!  He forced back his fear, "I...I'll need a flashlight..."

                This sparked Griffin's interest, "What?  What are you planning to do?  Go INSIDE him?!"  When neither laughed at his joke, he realized that, yes, Johnny WAS planning on going in there.  He watched them, enthralled.

                Johnny glanced around a bit.  What could he use for a flashlight?  There were NONE of the normal things used to make one...Griffin suddenly handed him a tiny flashlight, shaped exactly like the normal flashlights large anthro's used.  Johnny looked up at him, dumbstruck, "How did--where..."

                Griffin smiled and stepped back.

                Johnny stared at the flashlight, puzzled, until he thught of it, "His chip!  He can make things grow or shrink, like Don!"  He wondered why he hadn't thought of that sooner.  Johnny motioned to James to open his mouth, then went inside.  It smelled horrible in there.  The saliva gave off a pungent acidic scent, mixed with various foods...mostly meat.  The result left Johnny gagging.  How could those fairy dragons STAND it here?!  He called backwards towards James's mouth, "Hey!  James, you NEED a breath mint sometime soon!!!"  His voice echoed a little inside James...Johnny ignored it.  He remembered where Nino and Crystal lived, and made his way down, hoping that the noxious smell lessened where they were.  One could always hope...

                Surprisingly, the air where the fairy dragons lived seemed almost fresh, like Johnny was back outside.  He gasped in a few grateful lungfulls of air and shined his flashlight around, searching for the animals.  His light glinted off a line of crystal blue, which he hurried toward.  Crystal was there, and Nino was beside her.  Both were laying down, "Hi Nino..."  Nino glanced at him, then back at Crystal, who wasn't stirring.  He nudged her head with his and whimpered.  Johnny walked closer, "What is it, Nino?  Is something wrong with her?"  He shined his flashlight around a little...some sort of clear liquid caught his interest until Nino moved.

                Nino glanced back at him and whimpered again.  He tried to stand up, but his legs gave out beneath him.  He whimpered a third time.  Johnny kneeled down by Nino and checked him over.  Three of his legs looked like they were broken, the fourth looked twisted.  He grimaced and moved on to Crystal.  She was out cold, but breathing.  Her wings were broken, but that was the worst of her hurts.  Besides the injuries Johnny could so easily see, nothing seemed wrong with them, "Hang on, Nino...I'll try to wake her.  Don't get up.  You'll hurt yourself."  He kneeled down by Crystal and set the flashlight so it illuminated her head.  He walked to her back and gently, so as not to move the wings very much, shook her, "Crystal...c'mon girl...wake up."  Johnny sighed and tried again, "I can't believe I'm playing a vet right now..."  For somewhere near five minutes, she didn't stir.

                Johnny sat back, wondering how he would get Nino out when he heard Griffin's voice coming down James' windpipe, "Johnny, are you alright?  What's keeping you?"

                Johnny called back, "Crystal won't wake up!  And Nino looks in pretty bad shape!  I don't know how I'm gonna get either of them out of here!"  Again, he thought his voice echoed as it travelled up James' windpipe.

 

                James stood there, mouth wide open, bored, yet scared for the tiny fairy dragon's lives.  He didn't dare close his mouth, although that comment from Johnny earlier had made doing just that very tempting...Griffin was pacing back and forth, periodically shifting his gaze between James' mouth, a clock, and the window.  It was starting to get bright again.

 

                Johnny wiped his forehead and gave up...Crystal wasn't moving, "C'mon Nino..."  He started toward the blue fairy dragon, "Let's get you back out..."  Johnny reached out to help Nino to stand.

                Nino snapped at him.

                Johnny drew back, startled.  He looked at the hand Nino had bitten at, then back at Nino.  The stern reprimand died on his lips...Nino was nudging Crystal like his life depended on it.  He looked so sad...Johnny started forward again, but Nino growled him away, fiercely protecting Crystal even though he could almost not even move.  Nino went back to Crystal; started licking her face.

                "Nino...I don't think she's coming back...c'mon.  We should get out of here..."

                Nino kept licking her.

                She shifted!  Her breathing suddenly sharpened, and she jumped bolt upright.  Crystal shouted in pain as her wings shifted.  When Johnny was able to calm her down, he pointed with his flashlight up James' windpipe, then at Nino.  She nodded...like she understood, and began to force Nino onto her back.  Johnny gaped for a little at Crystal's intelligence, then, once he was over his innitial shock, helped her.  As soon as Nino was on her back well enough, he called out, "Hey!  We're coming out!  Tilt down to make it easier for us James!  Nino can't walk!"  He had to steady himself as James moved.

 

                James leaned halfway on a table.  When he felt them walking up his throat, he had to resist the urge to gag.  He was wondering why they were taking their time...until they got out.  Once he saw Nino, he was all sympathy toward the little creatures, "Nino, what happened?!!  How badly are you hurt?  Can you walk?"

                Nino whimpered where he was set down, "Legs hurt...bad.  Crystal's wings broken...not sure what happened to our ne--"  His eyes suddenly went wide.

                Crystal's too, "Our NEST!!!!!"  She was suddenly frantic to get back down James' throat.  He backed up before she could.

                "What is it, Crystal?  What about your nest?.."  James asked softly.

                She danced back and forth, running forward each time James opened his mouth slightly, "Our nest!  I must get back to our nest!"  She chirped at him angrily when he did not open his mouth again, "Let me in!  I need to get to the little ones..."

                Johnny suddenly gasped.  James glared at him, "What is it, Johnny?.."

                Johnny grimaced and looked at Crystal, who was now trying to take flight to reach James' mouth and hurting herself further, "She's frantic..."

                "Yeah...she wants to get back to her nest..."

                Johnny nodded, as if this confirmed what he'd been thinking, "James...what if they had EGGS down there?"

 

                Johnny was now nearly as worried as Crystal, "James, I saw a clearish liquid down there where their nest was!  What if they had eggs that were--that were crushed?.."  If that was the case, then Johnny felt sure that those eggs were gone now...broken, and the children inside them were dead.

                When it dawned on James what Johnny was saying, he blanched, "But then that would mean that I--when Griffin and I fought...oh DAMN!!!!"

                Griffin seemed puzzled, "What's all the fuss about eggs?  I mean, they're just EGGS, right?  It's no big deal..."

                "No big deal?!!!"  James and Johnny shouted.  Johnny explained it before James could, "Griffin, eggs are CHILDREN!  Your fight with James killed some children!!!"

                He didn't seem that upset, "Some children that belonged to two very tiny animals...I still don't see the big deal..."

                "THEY WERE CHILDREN!  LITTLE THINGS THAT HADN'T HAD A CHANCE AT LIFE YET!!!!!  HOW CAN YOU DISMISS THEM SO EASILY?!!!!!!  YOU came from an egg too!"

                Griffin half frowned, "No I didn't...I came from a blood sample, was grown in those gel chambers.  As far as I'm concerned, an egg is just that.  An egg.  Part of a meal.  It's not that big a deal to me."

                This left Johnny and James speechless.  To them, Griffin suddenly sounded heartless, evil...and then, as if to prove them wrong, he gently picked up a fairy dragon in each hand.  They didn't protest.  He was gentle enough that he had managed to pick them up without harming them...a task that was extremely difficult.  He spoke softly to them, then with his palms open and a fairy dragon resting on each, he started glowing!  Johnny and James watched, dumbstruck, as Crystal and Nino were lost in the bright glow...and when they could see them again...

                ...Nino was walking on all four legs as if nothing had happened to him, and Crystal was already gliding towards James' mouth on perfectly fine wings.  She made it in, too.  James was so shocked that his mouth was hanging open.