Chapter 3

Sweet Dreams

Jake laid in his bed staring up at the ceiling his mind racing with thoughts. His thoughts kept going back to the hospital and Dr. Simons results. Nothing physical was causing his blackouts. If it wasn't physical then what was it?

"Is it psychological?"

"You asking if you're crazy now?"

"No...maybe. I'm not sure anymore. Maybe I should make an appointment with a therapist..."

"You realize if you do that, you'll have to tell Chance about it."

"I'm going to need to eventually, don't I?"

"Depends. You want him to think you're insane? Go ahead if you want him to think that."

"He won't think I'm insane...won't he?"

"Not sure, but I'm guessing he will."

"I couldn't tell him tonight even if I wanted to..."

"True. He's not home tonight. He left you all alone, again." The brown Tom sighed and sat up in bed. His mind was right. Chance had left him alone again saying he was going to stay the night at a friends house. Jake thought back on their impromptu vacation and realized that ever since it started, Chance had been spending more and more time away. At first it was just for a few hours. Then it turned into several hours. Now a night away. Was he going to be gone for days next? Jake had tried to tell him not spend too much time away in case Dark Kat or someone else decided to attack Megakat City. Chance just said since it hadn't happened in so long he was sure that one night would not make any difference. It really didn't sit well with the Tom but he couldn't forbid Chance from going. He wasn't the man's mother.

"I need a drink..." Jake slowly got out of bed and headed for the kitchen. Pulling out a can of milk he quickly opened it and took a big drink. As he drank something caught his eye. A face in the window. The brown kat dropped the can of milk, cried out, and darted away from the window. His heart was pounding as he started at his own reflection in the window. It stared back at him eyes wide and mouth open. He closed his eyes and opened them seeing only his reflection once again. Trying to get his breathing back under control he moved out of the kitchen and into the living room.

"Alone...I hate being alone." Jake flopped onto the couch and pulled his knees up to his chest. He wondered what it was like to feel truly alone. He recalled having the feeling before High School, but the memories were faded and he couldn't recall the feeling itself. High School. It all started back in High School.

"What happened back in High School?"

"Don't go there."

"Why not?"

"I said don't!"

"Okay...okay..." Jake found his body shivering as his mind began to wonder back to High School. He didn't know why though. High School wasn't that bad, not from what he remembered off the top of his head anyway. But his mind didn't want him diving into those memories and he knew the stern voice in his head was usually right about those sort of things. It was better left alone. It was pointless to think about it.

"Why couldn't he just stay home tonight?" The brown Tom ask aloud as he began to rock back and forth on the couch. He could have sworn he saw someone in the window. It didn't look like his reflection the first time. It looked like someone else...someone familiar...but he wouldn't quite put his claw one it.

Chance was really have the time of his life. For a few weeks now he had been dating someone. He hadn't told Jake yet, fearing his buddy's reaction to his chosen date. He needed to find a way to break it to him so he wouldn't freak out. After all, she said she was reformed and she hadn't once talked about what happened between them from before. She did her time, getting out with good behavior. Maybe prison did her a world of good.

"More milk, my sweet?" Turmoil asked, holding out an ice cold pitcher of milk.

"I would yes. And may I have something sweet, since you bring it up?" he asked. Turmoil poured the milk and leaned in, giving Chance a kiss. The tabby Tom could hear Jake's voice in his head.

"Don't trust her. She'll betray you!" He wasn't stupid though. He knew he needed to make sure she could be trusted. That was why he always met her in his T-Bone outfit. He wouldn't share with her his secret identity until he was sure she was really reformed. He had a good feeling about this though.

"Shall I give you something sweeter, my sweet?" she asked, a soft purr admitting from her chest. Chance growled in response. He took her in his arms and laid her down on the soft carpet of the floor.

"If you insist, my dear." Chance kissed Turmoil as she began to unbutton his suit jacket.

"What if Chance wasn't around and there was an attack? What would I do?"

"Pilot the plane yourself. It would be fun."

"I'm not as good as Chance. Not by a long shot."

"Fine, a replacement then."

"No one is as good as Chance."

"Build a replacement then."

"Build one?"

"Yeah. You're a genius. Build a robot Chance. One that can fly as well or just about as well as him."

"That...that's crazy enough to work. I'm not getting any sleep tonight anyway. I'll get started on some designs."

"Knew you'd see it my way." Jake raced down to the hanger and to his work table. He pulled some graph paper out of one of the many shelves as well as some pencils. He would do as much as he could tonight. And autopilot droid that he could program with all of the data he had on their enemies and Chance himself. It would be almost as good as Chance. It would just be missing the kat intuition. But it was something he would have to live without. He needed a back-up plan if Chance was going to be gone like this. The brown Tom worked tirelessly into the night. The schematics were coming along nicely when his vision started to blur.

"Crap. I think I need sleep..." Jake yawned and packed away the plans for his droid. If Chance saw them he might get the wrong impression and it would just cause problems. He'd tell Chance about it once he had it all figured out. It would be far easier to explain then. The Tom left the hanger and grabbed his blanket and pillow out of his room. He curled up on the couch and turned on the TV for background noise. His eyes soon grew heavy and he surrendered to sleep.

"You are such a let down!" Jake flinched at the harsh voice. His small body shook uncontrollably as he stared up at the scary man before him.

"There is no use keeping you around! You failure!" Tears began to run down brown fur as each word dug into him like a blade.

"If there ANYTHING you can do? ANYTHING AT ALL?" The dark brown paw rose into the air. Jake flinched. He had only a few seconds to answer.

"I...I can build things..." his voice was high and soft, barely louder than a whisper.

"You can build things? HA! Like those junk toys you call inventions? You stupid idiot!" The paw came down claws extended. Jake fell backwards clenching his right upper arm.

"Get out of my sight or I'll do worse." Jake scrambled to his feet and ran up the stairs. Warm sticky blood ran down his arm as he hurried to his room. He shut the door and leaned against it. Silent sobs shook his small thirteen year old frame. His arm hurt so much.

"M-M-Mom..." he sobbed knowing she wouldn't answer his call. She never would again.

"I miss you Mom...Dad misses you too." Suddenly the door burst open, throwing the thirteen year old kit across the room. He turned to see glaring bloodshot eyes locked on him. A silver knife gleamed in the hallway light showing the kit his beaten and broken form in it's reflection.

"D-Dad?" he came for him, knife raised high in the air.

"DAD?"

Screaming Jake shot up on the couch. Cold sweat soaked his shirt and face. His body shook horribly as he sat there while his stomach did flips. Flashes of the dream came back to him. The yelling, the scratch, the pain, the knife, the blood. Jake bolted from the couch and to the bathroom. After several minutes he watched as the toilet water washed away his nearly fully digested dinner down into the sewer. His body still shook and now his head hurt terribly. He didn't know why the dream had happened. Nothing like that had ever happened in real life. His mom died in a car accident and his father died of illness when he was thirteen. Jake took his shirt off and looked at his arm. Moving the fur slightly he awe the four scars. But they were never from his father. He had gotten it from an angry animal from the Megakat zoo during a field trip when he was a freshmen in High School.

"What kind of animal was it again?" he wondered.

"Doesn't matter. It had claws."

"Right. It had claws. Doesn't matter what it was. It fucking hurt though."

"That it did." Jake got up and moved out of the bathroom. He made his way back down to the hanger and opened the drawer where he had put his schematics. Maybe some work would ease his mind. His eyes widened as he laid eyes on the plans. They were complete. Everything was sketched and in place. The power source was there, the main data banks, hard drive, the outer shell as well as the inside gyros that would help it move fluidly. Everything was done.

"H-H-How?" Jake dropped the plans and took several steps backwards.

"Guess you need to find other work to do. Might as well start building it."