Nepenthe

The mall we went to was a popular one, with three floors consisting of numerous clothing stores, food shops, mall kiosks, and many more. I led Jia to a particular women's clothing store and let her follow her instincts in choosing clothes.

"You gave... Me clothing... Your kindness... Is overwhelming." Jia said to me as we sat down on a bench.

While Jia did choose some expensive pieces, she did not choose very many, apparently aware of my money situation, well, that's better than buying a lot. I certainly wouldn't want to carry too much. She wore a golden green loose shirt with matching colored denim pants, along with a new pair of comfortable shoes. There was another bag of clothing, which I carried around with us.

"Well, how about some food?" Before I finished, I already guessed what Jia would say.

"You are... Giving... Me more food? Such... Kindness." Jia marveled.

Yup, I was right on the money. "Uh, of course I am. I'm hungry too, c'mon, let's choose what to get."

I escorted Jia through the food court, she swiveled her head at every sight. It was painfully clear she had never been in such a place, probably not even before her memories were erased. After explaining what each place sold, Jia promptly requested, "One of... Each."

I couldn't help but laugh a little, "L-look, that'd be way too expensive in the first place. Let's get some Wubsay (tm), that'll prove interesting enough to watch you choose what to eat."

Which it did, as Jia walked through the line, the server had to frequently get her attention in order to place her order. Jia's attention was grabbed the numerous array of ingredients which could go in the sandwich. With my help, Jia eventually decided on what to eat.

As we sat down, I could see drool drip out of Jia's mouth as she eyed the food. If one didn't know her situation, spectators could have mistaken her for some one mentally damaged... Wait a second, that might be a possibility.

Ignoring the rude thought in my head, I spoke to Jia between our bites, "I think I might know something about your situation. I looked up your name online and found it related to a certain Chinese dragon named Fucanglong, the Dragon of Treasure. That ring any bells?" While I seriously doubted it, Jia twitched her head into a thoughtful position not all that far from the famous 'Thinker'.

"Fucanglong... My name... It seems... Familiar. Dragon of... Treasure? Agh..." Jia's head jerked painfully, as a small whimper escaped her mouth.

"Huh? You okay? Do you remember anything?" I moved my hand over to Jia in order to support her head.

Jia breathed heavily and reported, "No... I see nothing. Sorry, Cahlan."

"Cal-lan... Well, as long as if you're okay, then I guess everything is fine. Still, don't worry me like that." I said honestly. I barely knew Jia, but it was natural to be worried about someone.

Jia stared straight into my eyes with her own mesmerizing blue eyes and said happily, "You care... About me. Thank... You." Beamed the girl.

I couldn't help but blush. Jia, while I tried to not believe it, obviously cared about me far more than I did, even though we had only just met the other day. Hell, we even had sex because of her initiating it, and I was still skeptical at the events that had transpired since.

Jia, interested in hearing more asked, "Do you... Know anything... Else?"

Ah yes, Nepenthe. "Yea, I also looked up the word on that vial you showed me, Nepenthe. It's an extremely powerful and ancient drug that gave people amnesia. If there actually was such a substance in that vial, I suspect that you were given that drug in order to hide away your memories."

Jia's head twitched again.

"Again?"

"I... Do remember... Something." Jia said weakly as she stared downwards.

Score!

"Really? That's great! So what do you remember?" Excited was one way to describe my manner; inflamed would be another.

"Nepenthe... I was... Given that... Stuff. Along with... Several others." Jia's words, while shaky, still held an entrancing and mystical flavor to it. "They wanted to... Control us. No... No... No, no, no, NO!" Jia clutched her head again, what remembered was not pleasant.

I held Jia up with my arms as she began to tear up. Her body seemed to emit a cold energy, though I dismissed it off as the A/C being turned up in the building.

For several long minutes, we stayed like this: Jia sobbing on my chest and I holding her. This scene, to others, would seem like two lovers encountering a sad moment in their life.

When I thought she was finished, I whispered to Jia empathetically, "Hey, nothings going to happen. You're not being controlled at all, I definitely won't let that happen." Screw being fucked over in a troublesome situation, when a guy sees a girl crying, they sure as heck are going to help her out or they're not worthy to live.

"You will not... Let them... Take me?" Jia looked up at my face with her dewy blue eyes.

Fat guy in an angel suit, I'm all yours.

"Definitely not."

I meant it.

-

A week had passed since that trip to the mall. I still went to work like usual, collecting the paycheck and taking every opportunity to make more money possible.

Thanks to me not attending college yet, I still had plenty of cash in my savings, and could easily pay for all the necessities for keeping a girl in my place.

Speaking of which, I never realized that such a situation could be so stimulating. Due to Jia's naive nature, she didn't understand how most things worked or even how to act normally, and thus, she frequently shed certain articles of clothing at seemingly random points in time.

-

One time, the two of us went grocery shopping, which turned out to be extremely entertaining, for everyone watching.

It went like this:

"Hey, uh, Jia?"

"Yes?"

"You do realize that you're not supposed to open boxes of food until we pay for them?"

Jia was currently eating a box of crackers in the aisle we were in. Thankfully, no one was in the aisle with us and I closed the box up and put it back, hoping that nobody noticed. "Ah... What about... Bags of food?" She asked as she reached for a bag of potato chips.

"No, no, we don't open any containers of food until we pay for them. That's just how stores like this operate (well, its how ALL stores operate)."

"These stores... Are not as... Kind as you. I dislike... This place." Jia crossed her arms crossly with a cute frown on her face.

-

Of course, that wasn't all of what happened, though it was still annoying to deal with. Even so, I still had fun with Jia teaching how to live like a normal person, considering she was anything but.

On another day, I saw Jia intently staring at my TV. That's right, I never did turn it on once since the day I met Jia.

I turned it on for her with the remote control while I was out of sight from Jia. The TV turned on, with loud volume, to an old western film that was currently in the middle of a gunfight.

The sudden noise and images coming from the TV surprised Jia, who immediately jumped and almost fell over from the back of the chair she was in. She reflexively pulled up a throw pillow over her face and hid herself from the gaze of the TV.

It was almost cruel of me, though I still laughed silently to myself at Jia's reaction.

Peering over the pillow, Jia vigilantly stared at the TV, and like a cat, she followed the individual movements of the actors on the screen.

It was a classic situation where a naive being meets technology for the first time.

In fact, Jia instantly had trouble with every electronic or mechanical device that she came across. Yet the even stranger thing was, when I taught her about the device in question and how to use it, it was as if the problem cleared up and she instantly knew how to utilize the device. Talk about a prodigy among prodigies.

And not once since our first time, did we have sex. Jia did try to initiate it more times than I could count on all of my digits, yet I stopped her each time. Why I did that was not because I was a prude or I found Jia unattractive, I had a much more honest reason. I refused to have sex with Jia until she could at least understand her situation. I wanted her to realize who she was, and if she continued to want to be with me, then I would agree with it. Sadly, before that could happen, she needed to regain her memories lost by that potent drug, Nepenthe.

Though how could I continue with that? I already had a possibility in mind, her pendant.

-

It was on the ninth day since I met Jia that I showed her the pendant. Originally, I thought nothing would happen, considering she had the pendant with her since before I met her, though it didn't seem like she even knew the pendant was with her at that time.

"Alright, so you haven't looked on the inside of this pendant yet?" I asked Jia.

The pendant in question held Jia's name as well as a picture of an inspiring golden dragon. If I thought more carefully, the picture of the dragon in the pendant looked very similar to the dragon "Fucanglong" I looked up online. It was just a hunch, but it seemed to weird for Jia's name to also have Fucanglong in her name, it wasn't even among the list of normal Chinese names.

"Not yet... Cahlan." Said Jia in her normal voice. No matter how times I corrected her, she could never get my name right.

"Eh, well no point in wasting time, open it up and look."

I handed Jia the pendant. Jia seemed slightly troubled when receiving the pendant, for reasons unknown to me at the time. Eventually, while holding the pendant, Jia's hand shook so much, that it flipped out and landed on the floor.

"I am... Sorry. I cannot... Hold that... Thing."

I couldn't understand Jia's hesitance, though I knew better than to force the issue.

"Uh, ok, well it's no biggie. Here, how about I hold it up for you and you can look inside? That way you don't have to hold it." Man, my compassion and empathy... I could win a Nobel Peace Prize.

"Please... Do."

Nodding my head, slowly, I picked up the pendant and opened it up. Just like before, Jia's name was printed in romanized letters instead of Chinese characters. They were printed in front of that odd golden dragon. Hesitating several seconds while Jia waited patiently, I slowly pulled the pendant in front of her eyes, letting her gaze on the inside of the pendant.

Her eyes instantly locked on to the pendant, and with unblinking or unwavering eyes, Jia stared at the pendant for a long while. Her hand went up to the pendant, but began to shake again as it got close.

Her face contorted curiously, and I couldn't help but feel empathetic, even though I had no idea what I was feeling empathetic for.

Yet, one thing in particular stood out, and quite literally at that. A scaled, golden, and shiny tail stood upright in the air. It took one minute and seventeen seconds exactly for me to look away and comprehend what I was seeing.

Jia didn't notice it. She was still staring intently at the pendant.

I rubbed my eyes with my free hand and slapped my face a little bit. At first, I thought I unintentionally took some sort of hallucinogenic brownie or mushroom. There's no way that a random golden lizard tail could pop out in front of my face?

I opened my eyes again, and the sight of the golden tail remaining squashed my hopeful delusions.

I dropped the pendant and fell to the ground. Man, let me tell you, fainting is NOT fun.

-

"Cahlan... Please open... Your eyes!"

A desperate voice cried out to me, the me who was still asleep.

I tried to open my eyes, but they refused.

I tried to look ahead, but they still wouldn't open.

I took a step forward-squish!

Something slimy and slippery decorated the ground.

Another step was taken, only to find that I hit hard rock.

"Hello?" I asked, to anything that may be out there.

"Hello." Replied a voice that seemed like Jia's, but wasn't.

Where I once stood, and where I was standing on now, belonged to a vast golden dragon. Unlike most dragons, this one had a long slim body, somewhat akin to a snake with limbs and a face of a lion. Though it was slimmer than dragons I've seen in fiction, this one was still large, bigger than school bus. It had a brilliant array of glittery scales covering practically every inch of the dragon's body, like a set of lavish armor.

"Who are- Are you Jia?" I asked with a polite voice that should have been replaced with fear considering my situation. I didn't notice, but my eyes were not pried open to their widest point before they returned to normal.

"Mhm, yes. My name... Is Jia Fucanglong. A dragon... Famously known... As the Dragon... Of Treasure."

Because of my dazed state, I didn't know which end the words were coming from. Going with my gut instinct, I turned left, and luckily came to the top of the dragon's head.

"You can't possibly be Jia..." I was calmer than ever before, even more so that after thirty minutes in a massage chair. It was a strange feeling, one that I would never forget.

"You are right. I am not... Jia Fucanglong... I am only Fucanglong."

"Uh..."

"The Jia Fucanglong... You know, cannot... Possibly be me... Yet."

The dragon spoke very softly on the last word, soft to the point where I couldn't hear him.

"Ah... Our time seems to... Be up. I look... Forward to speaking to you... Again."

-----

-Nepenthe- Part two.

I opened my eyes to see a body sitting over me with a noisy, crying face. Somehow, Jia had transported me to my bed, where I was now sleeping with my clothes off and sheets on.

Jia, like with her normal naive behavior, was currently unclothed and sitting besides me, acting like a nurse. I was too tired to react to Jia's current display. Her breasts were poking into my side, and as if the blanket was intangible, I could feel her soft, warm flesh radiating through the sheets. Jia's tired and teary face looked very cute. There was no way I could deny that.

Normally, I'd push her off, as the temptation to do something "fun" would be too great. Though I felt no desire do push her off or feel her up, I merely wanted to be in contact with the beautiful girl who was slowly going to sleep on top of me. Really, what's up with me?

I saw the time- thirty minutes till eleven at night. I was out for several hours.

Smiling warmly, I stroked Jia's head, which resulted in a cute mewl from her sleeping face. She brushed up tighter against me, and I covered her up with the blankets in order to keep her warm, and I soon fell asleep next to Jia.

-

"Sir... You're really sending those three out there?"

"I've no other choice. We've searched for more than a week in this city and we haven't found her! We know she's still here. Her power still resonates in the city. And while we know she's here, we can't pinpoint her location!"

"I know sir, but-"

"As I say, we've no other choice but to release some of... Them. That red one, Y Ddraig Goch, or however you pronounce it... The snake girl, Apophis... And that water one, Yinglong."

"Maybe so sir, though may I object to the choices of the test subjects you wish to send out?"

"Objection noted... Though I will still send them out. Y Ddraig Goch is our most loyal test subject. She'll do well in taking her down with her skills. Apophis, while violent, is good at ferreting out her fellow test subjects out. And Yinglong will also be out there in case Fucanglong decides that the water is her haven."

"Yes sir... Still, what if the test subjects regain some of their memories outside? We have no quantity of Nepenthe left to inject the subjects with."

"That is why we MUST get back Fucanglong. She is the only one still in contact with 'those' people. If she regains enough of her memories, it'll be impossible to get her back unless we acquire more Nepenthe. We wasted too much on the rest of the subjects only to find that Fucanglong is the only one still in contact. We must prioritize her above all else. A decent amount of the subjects have been indoctrinated well, and will serve as powerful assets for our supernatural military, though we still need to contact 'them...'"

-

It is morning. I had just finished making breakfast for Jia who was now getting up, finally, and walking towards the table. Her raven hair swayed behind her and there was a hint of fatigue on her body. I was honestly surprised, it was the first time Jia was wearing clothes in the morning without me having to tell her to put them on, we're making good progress.

"Cahlan... I remember... Something." Murmured Jia.

I opened my eyes a little wider, "Really? Like what?"

"Nepenthe... I was not... The only... One to take... That vile... Substance. They forced it... On my sisters... As well." Jia said ominously.

I contemplated the new information. Those government suits, apparently they not only gave this memory loss drug to Jia, but to some relatives of her as well. I didn't know how well Jia's new memories could be correct, but I decided that I was solely on her side. There was no way in hell that I would let those suits take her. What would possess them to even give her a drug like that in the first place? Just what is so important about her? I knew that the answers to those two questions lied in the depths of her memories.

A memory of tears...

"Well, do you think your sisters would be out there in the city like I found you?"

"No... I remember... That I was... The only... One to escape." Jia was staring at me solemnly, with her ever monotone expression on her face.

"Shit, well, I figured maybe we could find these sisters of yours and bring them back here... Though I would have no idea what to do then. Not like I can take care of more of you. Still, I'll do my best to help out your sisters."

"Cahlan... Your overflowing... Kindness... Will find... A way. I believe... In you."

She trusts me way too much. Well, she's not wrong. I am very determined to find a way to help her sisters out. Still, what can one man, who just became assistant manager at a local electronics store, do against government agents? I'm baffled at my own confidence from before. Still, for some reason, I felt like it would work out.

"You do... So much for... Me. Yet I... Do nothing... For you. Please let me... Do... That." Jia stumbled over to me in a comically pathetic manner.

"Weh? Uh, do what?" I stammered back.

"Ah... Please do not... Make me... Say it. It is... Embarrassing." Jia turned to the side and blushed, that's a new face I haven't seen.

Though I knew exactly what she was talking about, I couldn't help but be slightly surprised. Sure, she's come on to me before and I have done it with her before, though it still amazes me that she is so willing to relinquish her body like this. Honestly, I can't resist anymore.

I wanted to not do this until she regained her full set of memories, but it seems like my mind has other ideas.

Jia latched her hands on my chest as she looked up at my face with her captivating blue eyes. Shit, yea, I'm doing this.

Before I could maneuver my hands, Jia started pulling off my shirt. Already the heat of the morning was getting me, as some beads of sweat dripped down. I allowed Jia to undress the rest of me on the couch, which I immediately began doing the same to her once she finished. Her large bust bounced around once I pulled her shirt over her shoulders. Being a member of the male faction, I of course loved Jia's large tits. Even so, her size looked out of place on her body, yet that also added to her alluring charms. Which are many, mind you.

I stared intently at Jia's body, practically memorizing every curve and bump. As a result, my dick became hard in no time at all, which Jia eyed with lascivious intent.