Wow, I can't believe I already have five reviews and none of them are flames. Whoo hoo! Actually, the reviews I received were awesome. Thank you so much to those who reviewed.

Cellosolo2007—Hey, thanks for the spelling correction and your review! Flames don't bother me that much. It just hurts a little bit, you know? Anyway, thanks for your advice, though I can't really cuss them out in this story. It is K+ after all. :)

KrazieShadowNinja—Oh yeah, that's a good story so far. I love the necklace idea. Anyway, thanks for your review! I like the bird too. What she is will be revealed in chapter 3. No, you weren't my first reviewer, but that doesn't matter cos your review made my day anyway. Thanks. :)

Worker72—Thanks for reviewing my story! And the spell that Huntsmaster is trying to make will be exposed in chapter 3 along with what the bird is. :)

AmericanDragonFan—Yes, this is actually my first attempt, and thank you very much for saying that it was good! I tried my best to make sure that the character's personalities showed through. I'm glad you liked it. :)

IndependentGirl—Thank you so much! But, I haven't really given much thought about doing a second story, and to be honest I don't know if there will be one. The idea for this story just sort of came to me out of the blue, and it seemed fun to write and see what you guys thought of it. The wait is over, here's the next chapter. :)

Chapter 2

Jake followed the anxious pixie into the exact middle of Central Park with Spud and Trixie close behind. The pixie stopped abruptly and stared into the vast clearing. She looked extremely worried.

"Dude, why've we stopped? There's like, nothing here," Spud said as he looked around the deserted area.

"I think that's the problem, Spud," answered Trixie in a tone that plainly said 'duh'.

"I don't understand," the pixie squeaked depressingly. "I left them right here." Her wings began to droop.

"Hey, don't worry, uh…" began Jake. "Um…what's your name?"

"We do not have names, American Dragon, but you may call me Iris. That is the flower I tend to," she explained while wiping a tear from her eyes.

"Well, we'll find them, Iris. I give you my word," Jake said. He turned to Trixie and Spud. "Will you guys help me search for clues?"

"Course we will, Jakey," replied Trixie.

"Yeah, sure, bro," agreed Spud.

"Great. If you come across anything out of the ordinary, shout." They began to circle the area when Spud suddenly tugged on Jake's sleeve.

"Hey, Jake. Look how weird that looks." He pointed ahead of them.

"I don't see anything but that tree, Spud," he said.

"Exactly. Why is it that the grass under the tree's shadow is greener and longer than all of the grass everywhere else?" he asked. Jake thought about it for a second. Iris said that they were captured by a shadow, and come to think of it, that shadow was much bigger than the tree's normal shadow would have been.

"You're a genius, Spud!" Jake exclaimed.

"Yeah, alright!" Spud said excitedly. His enthusiasm soon became confusion. "Wait… what did I say that was good?" But Jake didn't answer him. He stepped up to the shadow of the tree, and glanced around to make sure no one was watching.

"Dragon up!" Jake shouted. He quickly transformed from boy to dragon. He reached down to grab one of the many pixies that were now fluttering about, but before he could get close enough, his claws collided with an unseen force enclosing the tiny flying creatures. He pulled his paw back as the shadow hissed and rose up from the ground leaving the pixies free to scatter from its clutches. It watched them flee with glowing red eyes. They narrowed angrily as it whirled around to face Jake.

"You cosssst me my breakfasssst, dragon, and now you will pay," it hissed in a deadly whisper. How, Jake wasn't sure because it didn't look like it had a mouth… or any part resembling anything human-like for that matter. It was like a big blob of darkness.

"Aw, sorry, yo," Jake replied arrogantly. "I don't have any money…. No pockets! Heh ha!"

"Ohhh, I have ssssomething elsssse in mind for payment. Ssssomething very valuable. Ssssomething you treassssure," it hissed. His eyes glittered with malice. Jake looked at it with confusion. It rolled its eyes.

"Your life, idiot," it hissed with annoyance.

"Oh, right. Well, come and get it then… if you have the guts!" he said smoothly. Laughing, he turned to Trixie and Spud. "Get it? Heh, cos he's a shadow and they don't have—"

"Jake, look out!" yelled Trixie as she pointed behind him, but it was too late. No sooner did Jake face the shadow before the creature was upon him. It wrapped itself around the dragon and began to squeeze him. Jake couldn't breathe. He struggled violently, but the more he did so, the tighter the shadow squeezed. It laughed maniacally.

"Issss that the besssst you can do, you pitiful lizzzzard?"

Jake began to panic.

XXXXX

The shop grew unusually quiet after Jake and his friends left, but Grandpa and Fu Dog didn't have to wait very long for the silence to be broken. They were in the back of the shop preparing to open when a sudden commotion broke out in the front.

"What is going on? Fu Dog, go check what the problem is," said Grandpa as he was too busy to go look himself. Fu began to walk towards the door that entered into the front of the shop. He stopped just before going out and looked down at his hind legs. Sighing heavily, he dropped down to all fours and made his way out. Fu's eyes bulged as the peculiar scene reached him. He slowly backed himself back through the door.

"Uh…Gramps? I think you'd better get out there," Fu said uneasily. Grandpa looked at him questionably.

XXXXX

Spud and Trixie watched with wide, fearful eyes. They tried to get to Jake during the whole time that he was in the creature's clutches, but something was holding them back. They were forced to watch helplessly from the side. Then suddenly, they heard a ringing sound.

"Aw, jeez, Trix. Your phone's like, totally ruining the suspense," Spud said. She turned to glare at him, her hands on her hips.

"It isn't mine, Spud," she spat. "Look." She pointed at the creature, which was now holding a black mobile phone in its newly materialized hand.

"What issss it?" it asked. Its voice sounded irritated.

"It's done," the voice on the other line said. The shadow creature hung up and then let go of Jake. The dragon dropped to his hands and knees gasping for air.

"Ssssee ya later, dragon. We'll play again very ssssoon." He laughed evilly and flew out of sight.

"Come back and fight, you coward!" Jake shouted hoarsely to the retreating back of the shadow. Trixie and Spud rushed over to help him up.

"You okay, Jakey?" Trixie asked sympathetically.

"I'm fine. Why didn't you guys try to help me?"

"We did try, bro. Honest," Spud said.

"Yeah, but that shadow dude held us back somehow. It was weird," Trixie added.

"This whole morning was weird. Why did it let me go?" Jake asked.

"What do you mean? You were there. Didn't you hear the ringin'?" inquired Trixie.

"I heard ringing alright, but I thought it was cos I was so close to passing out," Jake replied.

"Oh, bro, the ringing was from a cell phone that the shadow thing had, and when it answered, a voice on the other line said that something was done and then it let you go," Spud explained dramatically. Jake thought about what Spud said, but then grew frustrated.

"Man, none of this makes sense!" Jake exclaimed. "Let's go to my Gramps' shop. Maybe he can figure this thing out."

XXXXX

Huntsgirl threw aside the phone she was holding and glanced over at her leader. They were back in their hideout. Huntsmaster was lying on the couch in pretty bad shape. The talons from the bird cut into him deeply. Huntsgirl had wrapped bandages around his wound previously, but they were already soaked through. While she re-bandaged him, Huntsmaster muttered angrily to himself.

"My plan was flawless… But, I underestimated the power of that stupid bird… As soon as I'm well, I will not fail again…" He glanced down at his injury. It looked horrible. "There must be some way to heal this quicker—" he broke off and his eyes widened as he remembered his stroll through the park the previous night. "Huntsgirl!" he shouted anxiously, then doubled over in pain.

"Yes?" she answered obediently. It took him a while to recover, but when he did there was a glint of madness in his face.

"I need you to go to Central Park," he said as he scribbled directions on a piece of paper. "I need you to go to this exact location, and when you find it, I want you to bring me back the horn of a unicorn." Huntsgirl looked at him in surprise. Her first assignment alone… she couldn't believe it.

"Yes, of course, Huntsmaster," she replied, trying to keep her voice calm. She turned to leave, but he called her back.

"And Huntsgirl…"

"Yes?"

"Do not fail me," he said menacingly. She nodded her head once and disappeared through the door.

Okay, that's it. Please review!