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**Meta-Star City - Q.C. Planet

QCP: BJ-04 Samuel's Courage By Darrel James Vanwinkle (Writing as Ratseye) 01/17/2010

Chapter 01**

Rather than becoming a superhero with his new body, Remington chose to start up his automobile restorations and vehicle repair business again. And he was more than excellent at doing it. He was a toon now with his pre-prison memories and he didn't remember any of his criminal life at all. To say the least, Remington had a great life now.

Even Barbra Lang (Ninja) took notice of the new Williams stud. And was watching him work a LOT.

Today however, Joey was pitching hay while Samuel did one of the jobs that no one really liked doing: shoveling horse manure. And it was THAT job that was about to get Samuel into a LOT of trouble.

Virus was sitting on Joey's shoulder reading a miniature newspaper, namely the financial section. Joey could hear Samuel below complaining as he often did when he did the job that supposedly no one else would do.

"I guess I am the only one in this family who has the courage to do this job," complained Samuel as he worked. "Not even Joseph has the balls to do this. It's always me, me, me."

Virus asked, "What is he moaning about, Joey? He claims courage, yet the only way he could prove that is by going someplace you never actually got into."

Before Joey could answer, Samuel poked his head up into the hayloft. "Is that so?! Then how about a little challenge if you think you're braver than I am, Joey?"

Again before Joey could reply, Virus said, "Joey can win any challenge, Samuel. What are you proposing?"

Joey growled, "Now wait a minute! I know what Samuel is talking about and it's not something that I've ever been asked to do by dad. He's only asked you, Samuel, to do. And doing that job has nothing to do with courage."

Samuel grinned. "Yet still, you've never offered to help me, so you must be afraid of it."

Virus grinned back. "So what is your challenge, Samuel?"

Samuel grinned. "It's easy, actually. Joey transforms into Supermouse and then, without using any powers, do my shoveling horse manure job all day. However, if Joey stops working for longer than an hour or gives up, then he loses."

Joey irked. "Samuel... do you realize that when I'm in Supermouse form that I am not wearing any shoes?"

Samuel grinned. "I know." He was fully aware of the barefoot superhero.

Joey said, "Do you know how hard it is to clean slimy smelly stuff out of fur?"

Samuel smirked. "Probably as hard as it is to wash your own clothes. That's the challenge."

Virus chuckled. "If Joey agrees to do this, then you have to go do something in the meantime. That's the counter-challenge. What you have to do is this:" he writes out an address on an index card and handed it to Samuel. "Go to that address, enter the spooky old haunted house you find there, find the sitting room, locate an old TV guide with that address on it, get it, and bring it back to me. If you don't bring back the old TV Guide, then you lose the challenge."

End of Chapter 01

Chapter 02

Joey's eyes sparked as he focused on causing his metamorphosis. There came a flash of light that overtook his body causing the transformation. When the flash of light subsided, a muscular male humanoid mouse stood there, wearing a costume and armor in the fashion of the stars and bars of the American flag. Close ups of the costume and mouse parts then occurred in rapid succession, before Supermouse gave a gentle smile and a kind wink as the frontal view swept back... showing him in his full glory.

"Okay, Samuel..." said Supermouse. "hand me that shovel so I can get started. And you better get going. I don't know where Virus is sending you, but it must be plenty spooky."

Samuel handed him the large shovel. "Okay. I'm heading out. Remember: don't tell dad what we're doing. He doesn't like it when we trade jobs off on each other. But I'm always the one shoveling the manure. And watch where you step." He then headed out of the barn to start his challenge which to him sounded TOO easy.

After Samuel departed, Virus grinned as he sat on Supermouse's shoulder. "Okay, Supermouse. He's gone. Summon the rubber boots. It's one of the powers from my powers list. Summon Items. No sense in your getting your feet dirty."

Supermouse smiled. "Thanks Virus. I am really glad you're on my side." He used his Virus-based power to summon some large rubber boots, which he quickly put on. "This will fix my feet for sure."

Virus said, "Be glad he didn't say you couldn't use your powers to protect your feet. All he said was that you couldn't use your powers to shovel the manure."

Supermouse smiled. "Yeah, he didn't think this all the way through. By the way, where did you send him anyway?"

Virus grinned. "Remember the last time you and I talked about courage in front of a haunted house?"

Supermouse replied, "Lord Albert's place. But that wasn't a haunted house. It was just the place where a lot of weird cats lived. You sent Samuel there?"

Virus grinned again. "Where would be the fun in that? No, I know another Cat Lord who likes to test people's courage. That's where I sent Samuel. It's all in good fun, so don't worry so much about it. You need to start shoveling this morass. It _is_ a nasty job."

Supermouse hummed. "Yes it is. But unlike Samuel, I am not going to complain about it unless we fall down in it. And I've never heard of Samuel falling in the stuff."

Virus grinned. "Perhaps he has and has never mentioned it to you so as to put on a brave face."

Supermouse placed the shovel in position. "If you're ready for this, then here we go... horse manure from Earth has a particular odor when it's broken during shoveling. So I hope your nose can handle this."

And before Virus could reply, Supermouse made the first scoop of the shovel, breaking the surface of the manure and causing the tell-tale scent aforementioned to waft into the air.

Virus coughed a little as he said, "Rather pungent, but not too bad."

End of Chapter 02

Chapter 03

Samuel looked at the index card for which he had followed the directions, then he glanced forward toward the old black iron-wrought gate that stood slightly ajar, though rusted open and the overgrown path beyond toward which he could just barely make out the large almost camouflaged haunted house like mansion building. The grounds looked as if no one had tended to them in ages and aside from the path going in, he couldn't tell if anyone had been in the place in ages.

"Doesn't look like anyone has been in here in ages," said Samuel as he slowly squeezed through the gate opening, accidentally ripping both his pants and shirt getting inside. "Aw man... well, no one said it would be easy getting in. At least I'm still clothed." He began to make his way up the overgrown weedy grass trail.

Further inside along the weedy trail, Samuel fell into warm pool of sticky water/ooze/mud and extracted himself on the other side on the porch of the building near what looked like a doggy door of sorts. It was literally the only way inside the house and he would have to squirm his way through it since it looked as if it might be a tight squeeze like the gate had been. "Oh man... I see why Virus thinks this is a challenge now. But he isn't going to win over me."

Squeezing through the doggy door ripped his clothes even further, especially his jeans. His clothes seem to be literally falling apart the deeper into the building he went. Though once inside, he detected the pungeant scent of animal sexual activity. "What the? Virus said this was a haunted house, not a barn. Why does it smell like mating animals in here?" He continued on in further, having to squeeze through doggy doors since the regular doors wouldn't open for some reason.

Finding the sitting room was not as easy as Virus implied, obviously. After three doggy doors, Samuel was completely without any of his clothes and he still hadn't found the sitting room. But the animal mating scent had grown stronger the deeper into the building he went. "I hope I find the sitting room soon? This is getting crazy."

Samuel was also recalling the PS message on the index card that he seemed to have lost. If you yell for Supermouse or Joey to come rescue you, then you automatically LOSE this challenge. And that alone was making him push onward. He was NOT about to yell for help like a little baby. He was the older brother. He could handle this. But that scent was making his head feel funny and his loins were aching, too.

He was about three quarters squeezed though the next small opening, when he saw what looked like a sexy small scaly somewhat plump lizard like creature squeeze through a side opening just ahead of him heading toward the hole he was trying to get to. "Hey. Where can I find the sitting room?"

The scaly cutie smiled at Samuel and came over and helped Samuel through the opening. "I am going there myself. Are you here for the courage test or were you dared to come in here?"

Samuel replied, "I suppose I was dared to come in here. What is the courage test?"

The scaly creature smiled at Samuel then got serious. "The courage test is this... you spend one night in the sitting room with me and the rest of my brothers. When you wake up in the morning, you extract yourself from your sleeping spot and then comes the real challenge. You'll have until sundown to leave the entire building. But here's the catch... each of these openings you've been coming in are resetting one-way entries. You can't exit a squeeze door you previously forced your way through the same day. And you can't leave by the final exit you used to enter this place; you have to find another way out. If you get stuck in a dead end or the sun sets before you get out, then you're teleported back to the sitting room where you have to spend another night and start all over again in the morning. But if you yell for some hero to come save you, you automatically lose the challenge and are branded as a coward with no courage."

End of Chapter 03

Chapter 04

He then said, "If you give up trying to leave, you will end up in the sitting room one last time where you will be transformed into the same species I am. Of course, if you miss a day of trying to leave the sitting room, it is the same as giving up, too. Instant poof. You end up looking like me for the rest of your life. Do you have courage or is your claim of courage simply hot air? There is only one sure way to find out. Accept this challenge. Besides..." He licked Samuel's face gently. "I rather like you. I hope you choose to stay... no offense to your feelings."

Samuel wanted to strangle Virus for getting him into this situation, but it was too late because he was already inside the challenge. He was no coward and he knew it. But... being stuck here bothered Samuel a little because he wasn't sure what Supermouse and his dad would do if he didn't make it back home for dinner.

"Okay, I'll take the challenge and do the courage test," replied Samuel. "I hadn't expected one-way doors and a race to get out while pulling logic. Certainly makes it harder, but not impossible. All right, friend... let's go to the sitting room and get settled in."

The scaly cutie then said, "There is a sure-fire way out of this place, but going that way has nothing to do with courage; it tests your stamina and your nose. No one with intelligence would ever go that way. So unless you're just wanting out quick, then don't ask to be allowed to go that way."

Samuel arched an eye. "Could you permit a test sniff of that route?"

The scaly held his own nose and patted one wall and a hole opened. "Sniff there but don't go in if you have courage."

Samuel bent down and took a deep sniff. He was almost bowled back over coughing immediately! "Oh god! Close it! Close it! That's a toilet chute!"

The scaly closed the hole. "Smart boy. As I said, that exit has nothing to do with courage. It involves stamina and a strong nose. Don't ask about it again. Let's get to the sitting room now."

The two of them squeezed through the next connecting doggy door between chambers and Samuel almost immediately felt himself sliding down into the sitting room and landing feet first in a waist deep hole in the floor where he landed with a soft sticky almost locking sensation. "What in the..." and then he felt something under him that no civilized young man would ever allow to occur. At least, it felt like that for a quick moment. Afterward, he felt instantly relaxed in his new sitting spot. "Oh wow... this feels... nice..."

The scaly cutie was already seating himself in another hole nearby as he replied, "Oh yes, Samuel. The sitting room is very VERY nice. It is both a communal sleeping room and a healing chamber. It dispels exhaustion and after an overnight rest, replenishes your energy and clear thinking ability. I think you will benefit from this experience. But if you wanted to stay longer, that's okay too. Cause I like you." He snaked a tongue out and licked Samuel's face.

Samuel was already feeling lethargic and was almost non-responsive because of how nice his new sitting position was making him feel. He was thinking about how he could easily get used to this. "I wish I had one of these sitting room holes back home. This is really nice." Then he yawned and fell asleep.

The scaly cutie grinned slyly as he mentally said to the master of the property, He's connected, Master. You may start working on him. He thinks he is here for that silly Cat Lord's courage test.

End of Chapter 04

Chapter 05

That night at the Williams household, they had a nearly full house what with the family members, Joey's superhero friends, along with Overcat and a still recovering Minos Del Malign as their special guest for the night. Although Virus had remained sitting on Joey's shoulder since his deal was with the human now.

Johnathan walked in from outside and hung his coat up as he looked at the family parrot. "What's the word, Agent Teriaki?"

Teriaki grinned and said, "BRAWK! Samuel challenged Virus to a contest! BRAWK! He's not home yet! BRAWK!"

Johnathan hummed as he walked into the dining are where the others were. "Virus? Teriaki tells me that Samuel challenged you today and he isn't back home yet. It is almost dinner time. If he isn't walking in the door for dinner by the time we all sit down, you are in very arresting trouble."

Virus arched an eye. "He isn't back yet? He should have done in one hour, tops. Let me phone the guy I sent him to and see what he says. Come on, Joey. Take me over to the phone, please."

Joey got up and walked over to the speaker phone and allowed Virus to tap in the number. After a few rings, a rather pleasant voice answered.

"Salutations, citizen of honor. House of Courage. Cat Lord Felipe speaking."

Virus then said, "Felipe. I sent a human boy over to your place this morning for the Courage Test. Is he still there?"

Felipe replied, "I hate to inform you, Virus, but I would have remembered a human boy visiting. I haven't been visited all day. I have been sitting on the front porch all day painting. A human boy would have been a very pleasing experience. You know how I like being petted."

Virus gulped. "I sent a boy to your address and if he didn't show up, then I'm in trouble with the boy's police commissioner father. The boy is Samuel Williams, the brother of Supermouse. Are you sure he isn't there?"

Felipe paused, then was heard saying, "Unless he fell into a trap someplace, then I don't know where he might be. I would loved to have had a Williams boy here. I've been told that they are so cute. Perhaps you should check what you wrote and-" He then paused again and then cautiously suggested, "Did you legibly write out your '7' '0' '3' without the flair on the '7'?"

Virus gulped again as he pulled out the index card pad he had wrote out the message on and he used charcoal to rub over the impressions left behind. "Oh no... I accidentally wrote '4' '0' '3'. I don't know what's there, Felipe. Do you?"

Felipe was heard sighing. "Unfortunately, I do. That's the entrance to the Impville Cockpits. And you know what that means if your boy accidentally fell into one..."

Virus cussed. "We better call Lord Albert! Dammit... How could I have messed up a number so badly? Thanks Felipe!" He ended that call and began calling Lord Albert immediately.

Joey and Johnathan were both arching their eyes. "You sent him to the Impville Airport?"

Minos Del Malign quickly spoke up. "The Cockpits are NOT an airport, Mr. Williams. I better explain it to you..."

End of Chapter 05

Chapter 06

Valeria was of course laughing her ass off at what Samuel had been sent in to! She knew it was serious, but it was just so damned FUNNY! She had new ammunition for teasing her brother now!

Martha glared at her daughter. "Unless you want to be assigned to shoveling horse manure, I suggest you stop laughing, Valeria. What your brother is in is definitely not funny."

Valeria was still grinning as she replied, "But I can't help it, mom. The situation suggests that a girl would know not to get into something like that. It seems to be a boys only trap."

Minos Del Malign then said something that would make Valeria stop laughing. "When a girl ends up inside a dragon on one of his pride and joys, they are transformed into males. So if you think a girl would be immune, go try it."

Valeria shut her mouth immediately.

Minos then added, "Your brother will not be the same in his mind once he is rescued. He won't have the same sense of humor he once had and he may even regard himself as... cowardly. He may even feel the urge to return to the dragon. There are all manner of scenarios that might happen. He will need help even after his rescue. And if you sit there and tease him about it, you could accidentally push him over the edge. Then who would the villain be?"

Valeria sighed with her head lowered. "I'm sorry."

Overcat commented. "Minos is right. This is a very serious situation and bad for Samuel. Virus didn't intend to send Samuel to the Cockpits. It was an accident. Samuel is going to be very fragile after this experience and you can't needle him about this until he is over it. And even then, with measured caution. You don't know what might trigger his relapse into becoming the dragon's play toy again. To a victim, it's better than paradise and they don't want to be rescued."

Valeria arched an eye. "Samuel might be enjoying his situation at the moment? That's even worse than a dip in Toonium. We have to save him. Let's just send Supermouse in and pull him out."

"The reason they haven't sent me in, dear sister," began Joey. "is because I would not be immune to the world inside the dragon and I might get stuck myself. That is why they contacted Lord Albert so quickly about this. He has to negotiate Samuel's release and arrange his detox treatments."

Valeria sighed again. "This royally sucks! Our own brother is in trouble and you can't save him! When Remington got in trouble, you didn't give a crap about the Toonium and just dove in to save him! But it's a dragon this time and you are playing it safe!"

"It's out of our paws, Valeria," said Joey. "They called Lord Albert. If any one of us attempts to go after Samuel, we'll need rescued and Lord Albert wouldn't know you were in there."

Virus added, "And probably wouldn't care since she is a girl."

Valeria growled at Virus, "And just what is that supposed to mean?"

"Lord Albert is homosexual, naturally. He isn't interested in girls." Virus winked with a chuckle.

End of Chapter 06

Chapter 07

It was about a week later. Samuel was excused from all of his chores because of his recovery process and time needed for his rehab from the condition his mind had been put into by the dragon from the Impville Cockpits. His rehab doctor was in fact a rather handsome though serious looking blue Drak who wore glasses and carried a clipboard. This Drak was called Dr. Zzist and Valeria found out very quickly one day why he was called that when she cracked a joke about flying to Samuel. She was almost electrocuted by the serious Drak. You don't fool around with blue lightning Draks. Needless to say, she avoided her brother after that. Getting zapped once in a month was enough for anyone.

Perhaps what made Samuel's condition more edgy was that he still wasn't restored to his human form yet. Lord Albert had said that he needed to get an audience with the Dragon God before an official restoration was attempted to revert Samuel from his uber cute mini-dragon looking body.

However, recovery was not going as well as Dr. Zzist was hoping.

Although Samuel no longer needed to be in the 'sitting room' to survive, his mind was still the species he had been changed into. And he made no conscious effort to come out of his new state of mind.

Dr. Zzist was at wits end. Then he decided to call Joey and confide in him about his brother's situation.

"So Samuel isn't pulling out of the Samate state of mind," commented Joey. "That's what you're telling me."

"Exactly right, Joey," said Dr. Zzist. "I am not sure what to do at this point. I've tried every legal curing process in the book. He acts like there is no viable reason for him to pull out of this. I was hoping you could suggest something."

Before Joey could reply, his sister poked her head into the office. "Forgive my eavesdropping and please don't zap me... but I have a good suggestion," said Valeria. "And no, it's not a joke or a tease this time."

Dr. Zzist really didn't like Valeria, but he needed help here. "What is your suggestion?"

Valeria stepped all the way into the office and dropped some pictures on the doctor's desk. "These are my suggestion. Bring in Samuel's favorite cartoon heroes that he already mentioned before his current condition... that he really liked the most. Remember Joey? Think back with that Supermouse memory of yours."

Joey closed his eyes and thought back in time...

_Johnathan hummed. "So they tracked us down. I am just glad your hero friends are protecting you, Joseph. And I am glad you learned about this school. I think you should enroll there. It can't hurt. Who is in charge at the school?"

Joey smiled. "Panthagoyle's son, Dalis, has the most say-so at the school. Him and Bat Hound."

Lance suddenly spoke up. "Panthagoyle of the New World Mutants had a son? Awesome! I used to watch the NWM show every Saturday morning! 'Leading the Flashy Team! New World Mutants! The Boys, They are a Dream! New World Mutants! Mutants! They can really fly! Mutants! They are out of sight! Mutants! They are gonna save the day!'" He was grinning as he sung the song.

Valeria giggled. "Lance is showing his age again."_

End of Chapter 07

Chapter 08

Samuel rolled his eyes. "I preferred watching the My Little Ponies: Boys Ranch series, myself. It actually taught real world horse riding and equine caretaking information. Plus, Champion Pony was just so gosh darn _HAWT_ looking." He was blushing as he admitted that out loud.

Valeria turned to Lance. "The NWM studios are just inside the Meta-Star City limits. I'm surprised you didn't go check them out already."

Lance replied sheepishly, "I, er, was, I mean... didn't want... to go by myself."

"Brawk! Chicken Lance! Brawk!" exclaimed Teriaki loudly.

Everyone laughed out loud as Lance was the one blushing now.

...and then Joey opened his eyes. "Samuel's cartoon hero is Champion Pony from the My Little Ponies: Boys Ranch series. He admitted it right after we moved to Meta-Star City. He thinks... Champion Pony is, exact words, gosh darn hawt."

Valeria smiled. "Exactly right, Joey. And I did some checking and found out that Champion Pony's series is in hiatus right now as he is waiting between seasons before he can work again. In other words, he's bored. If he learns a fan of his is fighting to recover from an accident, and get him here to help in the recovery... Samuel will surely pull through because his hero is there to actually help him."

Joey turned to Dr. Zzist and said, "That might actually work, doc. I could go ask him to come right now."

Dr. Zzist smiled. "Please do, Joey. We need help here. And Valeria... if your idea works, then you've redeemed yourself to me. Just please leave the jokes at home. This is serious business if you want your brother back."

Joey stood up and said, "Time to suit up!"

Joey's eyes sparked as he focused on causing his metamorphosis. There came a flash of light that overtook his body causing the transformation. When the flash of light subsided, a muscular male humanoid mouse stood there, wearing a costume and armor in the fashion of the stars and bars of the American flag. Close ups of the costume and mouse parts then occurred in rapid succession, before Supermouse gave a gentle smile and a kind wink as the frontal view swept back... showing him in his full glory.

Sometime later, Supermouse returned with Champion Pony, who was just as HAWT as Samuel had once said, and then Supermouse took Valeria back home so as to give Dr. Zzist and Champion Pony some time to work with Samuel.

Lord Albert and the Dragon God were on stand-by until Samuel recovered his mind. A restoration of the body wouldn't restore the mind and Samuel might just go back and rejoin the dragon on purpose otherwise. So he needed the restoration of his mind before a body restoration could be accomplished.

And so the rehab would go... with Champion Pony assisting with Samuel's recovery. Attempting to re-enact live scenes from his TV series that Samuel was sure to have watched and remembered.

Dr. Zzist was secretly thinking, I sure hope this works. Champion Pony is very HAWT!

End of Chapter 08

Chapter 09

Three weeks later, Joey was once again called in by Dr. Zzist. And of course, Valeria came along for the ride. They were both concerned over their brother the doctor's tone indicated that something major had occurred.

"So how is he, Dr. Zzist?" asked Valeria.

He replied, "Your idea to bring in Champion Pony was an excellent idea. Not long after he started helping me with Samuel, your brother started responding. Just as you predicted. However... there is one small flaw to your plan that you were probably not aware of."

Joey arched an eye. "And what was that, Doc?"

"Champion Pony is homosexual. He told me this morning after... and your brother got involved with Champion during the night... after we decided to proceed with the bodily restoration of your brother's body. The Dragon God asked Samuel to picture in his mind himself as he was before the accident and hold that image in his mind while the process for restoring him was performed upon him. Well, he apparently was distracted by Champion Pony during the restoration, even though Champion wasn't even within sight nor within the chamber... and now..."

Valeria rolled her eyes, glancing around the chamber. "Stop beating around the bush and just tell us. What happened?"

Dr. Zzist sighed and stepped over to a black curtain behind his desk. "Perhaps it would be better if you just saw for yourselves." And without giving them a chance to prepare themselves, the doctor pulled a cord and the black curtains opened like a stage curtain revealing a two-way mirror. They could see in, but Samuel wouldn't know he was being watched.

In the chamber was a male Ranch Pony much like Champion's species, but it wasn't Champion Pony at all. Because they soon saw Champion enter the chamber with a meal for the other pony.

Joey quietly said, "Samuel got changed into a Ranch Pony like Champion."

Valeria exclaimed, "You mean... THAT is our brother?! Dad is going to flip out!"

Dr. Zzist said, "Your brother's mind is fully restored but... now he's stuck as a Pony, like his hero. Champion Pony realizes that he partially helped to cause this result, so... he has volunteered to help Samuel all the way through it."

Joey hummed. "Looks like I'm not the only hero in the family anymore. But still... he's a My Little Pony Ranch Series Pony. Like his hero, Champion Pony. What will Samuel's living conditions be like? I mean, he's still our brother and we have to support him and his restoration outcome."

Valeria sighed. "I guess the question of when can we take him home? is out of the question now. He has special needs and will probably need close attention from Champion to get through his new body's whims."

Dr. Zzist said, "Just because he is a Pony now is not a reason for you to think that you can't go visit him and still be supportive. This isn't an exile; he simply has needs that only Champion can help him with at the moment. Besides, Champion offered to get Samuel on his Ranch Pony series if he improved before the season resumed."

Joey had to smile at that. "That is one of Samuel's greatest fantasies... being on that cartoon show with his hero."

End of Chapter 09

Chapter 10

It was another week later and Valeria had about as much of that farce as she could take. Samuel was enjoying his life as a pony and with Joey working on the set of his TV Series, she and Lance had been forced to do their farm chores. Today, however, Valeria was finally fed up with the whole situation and she was going to go do something about it.

Valeria arrived at the 403 entrance to the Impville Cockpits where her brother had gone and gotten himself in trouble. But instead of walking inside herself, she called out, "HEY! I'M HERE TO TALK TO THE DRAGON!"

The voice that returned was obviously not a dragon voice, "WHICH ONE DO YOU WANT TO TALK TO?"

Valeria was actually surprised by the small though attractive sounding voice. "THEY NEVER TOLD ME WHICH DRAGON IT WAS! BUT IT'S THE ONE WHO CAPTURED MY RESCUED BROTHER LAST MONTH HERE IN THE IMPVILLE COCKPITS!"

The small attractive voice replied, "THAT COULD BE ANY OF THEM, YOU KNOW! TELL YOU WHAT... WHY DON'T YOU COME ON INSIDE, MIND YOUR STEP, AND I'LL GIVE YOU DIRECTIONS TO WHERE I AM! THEN YOU CAN KEEP ME COMPANY WHILE I ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS!"

Valeria replied, "OKAY! HOW DO I GET TO YOU?"

Soon after that, Valeria entered through the gate, which ripped her clothes, same as it had Samuel's clothes, then following the directions, she fell into what appeared to be a moat of fluids. After climbing out on the other side, she continued to follow the directions until she reached what looked like an scale covered imp boy sitting in a hole in the ground. And there was another hole close by as well. The imp boy was totally nude, or so it appeared from where she could see.

The imp boy smiled. "Hi. You're pretty. Were you the one yelling from the gate?"

"Yeah. I'm Valeria Williams. You're really cute! Anyway... I don't know which dragon had my brother last month. I was hoping he would permit me an audience with him."

The imp boy smiles, bouncing a little. "You can call me Traiper. And if you'd like, you can sit in that hole next to me and make yourself comfortable. I am sure you have a lot of dragon questions to ask, so just sit back and relax and ask me anything about what you were going to ask the dragon."

Valeria nodded her head and started to sit in the hole, when she slipped and fell into the hole up to her waist, same as the imp boy but fortunately, it felt as if she landed on a soft seat cushion. "About lost my balance, I think." She then turned to look at the imp boy. "The first thing I want to know is this... Why did he go out of his way to make my brother forget everything he knew from before? Restoring his mind was really hard, you know."

Traiper smiled, petting on Valeria's hands, actually coating them in super slippery oil for use later. "Okay, that one is a common question, believe it or not. The dragons actually have nothing to do with the memory loss. What causes that is when the subject undergoing the intense pleasures suddenly climaxes so hard and so deeply that they accidentally cause their own minds to shut off the memories. And it requires someone well-versed in opening minds to assist in getting the memories to flow once again. What's your next question?"

Valeria hummed again. "I guess getting mad at the dragon for the memory loss was uncalled for then. Then my next question is... Why did my brother enjoy being a Samate? I mean, he wasn't even a lizard fan originally."

End of Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Traiper giggled, bouncing in place a little more. Just watching Traiper made Valeria bounce a little herself. Then he said, "I can best answer that by giving you an example... what is the one silky thing that you love feeling against your bare skin?"

Valeria was now bouncing in her seat without thinking about it. "Oh that's easy... I'd say silk."

Traiper smiled. "Imagine swimming in a vat of silk that smells like your favorite sweet dessert. And then, start rubbing yourself all over with your hands. Go ahead and do it so you get the physical sensation..."

Valeria began doing just that, accidentally coating her whole body in the super slippery oil that was on her hands.

Traiper grinned slyly. "Now that you are swimming in all of that wonderful erotic pleasure, force yourself to think about the food and the scents you hate the most. Which one did you enjoy more? The erotic feeling one or the nasty one? If you chose the erotic one, then you now understand why your brother enjoyed himself as a Samate. Anything that he used to like was like the nasty stuff that you don't like. Not to mention, once he was a Samate, in his own mind he was free from the nasty crap from his old life. And being and feeling free helps make you enjoy your current situation all the more."

Valeria thought about it then she nodded her head. "Yes, I can see your point. I really did enjoy the silky sweet feeling more. So that is what Samuel experienced. I understand better now. Okay, do all dragons have a sitting room or is that only in specially prepared dragons?"

Traiper smiled. "Only untrustworthy dragons actually call it a Sitting Room. Although some dragons can magically alter their slits to look like worlds with actual towns and actual homes with real looking beds. But contrary to what you may have been told, you can actually be inside a dragon's slit safely for up to 24 hours, but not longer than that. If you want to extend your stay, simply stay in for 23 hours and 59 minutes, then exit for a whole minute, then re-enter again. And the times restart all over again. But most dragons sitting rooms are really just a chamber with a hundred or more penises sticking out of the fleshy floor that are all trying to hilt you. Not actively trying, thus you can actually prevent it from happening if you don't want to try it."

Valerian hummed. "So every dragon might have something different. I appreciate everything you're telling me, Traiper. OH, I just remembered something else I need to ask..."

Traiper smiled again. "Go ahead, Valeria."

Valeria asked, "I was told that if a girl went into a slit of a dragon, they would emerge as a boy. Is there any truth to that or where the tellers simply trying to scare me?"

Traiper actually laughed at that point. "That's one of the funniest things I've heard in a LONG time! It's a fairy tale, Valeria! If you go in female, you aren't going to change into a guy! That would be silly!"

Valeria smiled herself looking very relieved now. And that's when the cushion she was sitting on suddenly slid out from under her bottom and she fell down the hole a good three feet, but what she landed on she KNEW she didn't want to stay on. She was thrashing to get free, but she was totally coated in that super slippery oil so she couldn't get any hold on anything. And then... her clothing entirely disintegrated, leaving her completely naked where she was and finally... she felt the bottom drop out and she fell again... the entry hole closing after she went in. Uh oh...

End of Chapter 11

Chapter 12

That night, Joey and Lance came in together from doing their chores and then some. Johnathan was standing just inside the door looking directly at them.

"What's up, dad?"

He replied, "Have either of you seen Valeria since Noon?"

Lance said, "I know she did Samuel's chores this morning while I tended to walking the horses."

Joey replied, "And I've been at the studio all damned day. My super feet are killing me. She never showed up there. Have you called Champion Pony to see if she's visiting Samuel?"

Martha said from the kitchen, "Yes we did. She not over there either. It's not like her to just disappear. I hope she didn't fall in Toonium or run afoul with one of Samuel's scaly buddies."

Joey sighed. "I suppose you want me to change forms and call out a team search. Right?"

Johnathan patted Joey's shoulder. "I know you're tired, son. But we have to try to find her."

Joey sighed and took his position. "One Supermouse coming right up."

Joey's eyes sparked as he focused on causing his metamorphosis. There came a flash of light that overtook his body causing the transformation. When the flash of light subsided, a muscular male humanoid mouse stood there, wearing a costume and armor in the fashion of the stars and bars of the American flag. Close ups of the costume and mouse parts then occurred in rapid succession, before Supermouse gave a gentle smile and a kind wink as the frontal view swept back... showing him in his full glory.

Supermouse then activated his team communicator. "Protectors! We have a mission!"

Moments later, the New Protectors were searching high and low for Valeria throughout Meta-Star City and its surroundings. They soon regrouped in front of the Impville Cockpits entrance gate.

Ghost Stormer exclaimed, "Where could she have gone, guys? We've looked everywhere!"

Just then, Overcat landed near their team. "I just returned from Remington's place in Japanopolis. He hasn't seen Valeria in over a month, although he sees Ninja every day."

Supermouse said, "I asked Lord Albert to check the Cockpits to see if Valeria might for some reason be in there. I know she said girls were too smart to get stuck in a trap meant for boys, but... it's a possibility. In the meantime, we need to broaden our search. Our next searching grounds are Magicwood and Talisman City. Let's go, guys."

And with that, the New Protectors and Overcat too flight once again, heading off toward the two other search zones, unbeknown of how close they had come to Valeria's location.

Traiper the Trapper watched the superheroes depart with a sigh of relief. "That mouse guy was mighty cute."

**End of Chapter 12 End of Episode Four: Samuel's Courage

Stay tuned for Episode Five: Dog Days of Summer**