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Terryville - Q.C. Planet

QCP: BG-02 Carnival Cleanup By Darrel James Vanwinkle (Writing as Ratseye) 06/06/2006

Chapter 01

Saturday morning.

On a typical Saturday morning, Gerard would normally be sitting in front of the TV watching cartoons. But because he now lived in Terryville, simply walking outside of the house put you in a cartoon. Besides, he had other plans for this morning. After having his mom pack him a lunch and borrowing some of his father's tools, Gerard set off for Fenmire's home. He hadn't ever been there before, but seeing where Fenmire lived had been on his mind ever since he'd met the rat.

The night before, Oslo and Gerard went through the basics of martial arts lessons, which proved to be a lot of fun. And if Gerard's mom had found out that he was learning martial arts, she'd literally have kittens. He had been disappointed by not impressing the coach for softball, but Oslo kept up his end of the bargain like a true friend.

As Gerard stepped through the thick bushes leading toward where he often saw Fenmire disappear to after getting off the school bus, he just barely stopped in time to prevent himself from stepping right off into a muddy swamp. "Oh boy, that was close. Right... there's the path to Fenmire's pontoon house." And he headed along the edge of the mud toward the odd little house.

When he got over to the tarp awning covered plywood porch, which seemed to only barely support his weight, he knocked on the door lightly, almost afraid that his knocking on it might push the entire house down. True, he didn't see the Big Bad Wolf or Three Little Pigs around, but on Q.C. Planet, you couldn't be too sure.

When the door opened, a taller more muscular unkempt looking rat was standing there in the buff. "Who are you and what do you want?"

Gerard replied, "I'm Gerard Prince, from down the street? Fenmire and I are supposed to be going on an outing today. Is he here?"

The rat grinned, allowing Gerard to step inside. Then he closed the door and said, "Fenmire is off fetching the mail from the post office. Why don't you come on back into my room and have a seat? I feel naked out here in the living room." And he turned, walking back into the back part of the house, down a thin corridor, wagging his tail behind him.

Gerard followed the rat, not having much choice and because he didn't know which room belonged to Fenmire. Just inside the larger rat's room, Gerard noticed that half the room was furnished, and the other half was blatantly open to the muddy swamp out back of the house. And the larger rat was stepping into the mud, settling himself down into a pool that was soon up to his neck.

He glanced at Gerard and said, "Have a seat anywhere. That love seat is sure to be sticky with either jam, honey, or semen... take your pick... or you can sit on the floor over here near me. It's funny that the floors are probably cleaner than the furniture."

Gerard came over as close to the rat as he dared without getting into the mud and sat down on the floor with his legs crossed. "Are you Fenmire's brother or his dad?"

End of Chapter 01

Chapter 02

The large rat grinned and said, "Older brother. Our dad divorced mom and took us with him to Jaded Shadow in the Meta-Star City region, and we lived there for about 2 years, then dad got drunk and threatened to kill us if we didn't get out of his house. A friend of mine had just sold me this place, so being the nice brother, I brought Fenmire to live here with me. That was about 2 years ago..." He studied Gerard for a moment. "...so you're Fenmire's newest toy. Funny, you don't look like donkey material. But I suppose that will change."

Gerard irked. "What do you mean by 'donkey material'?"

The rat grinned. "Fenmire usually only pals around with donkeys or mules. He never talks about humans around here. But he sure talks about Lampwick and Wilwick a lot. By the way, you can call me Scott. Scott Rat. Took my GED last year, so I'd have a diploma, but I make sure Fenmire gets a real education. He sure hates going, though. I can't blame him, really... we're rats, after all."

Gerard reached his hand out to shake Scott's furry hand. "Pleasure to meet you, Scott."

Scott grinned as he took Gerard's hand in his own, shaking the hand. Then, rather than letting go, he gave Gerard a nice tug toward him and Gerard acked, as he fell forward right into the mud!

Gerard sputtered the mud out of his mouth! "WHY'D YOU DO THAT FOR?! Aww man!! I can't go on an outing like this!"

Scott smiled and pulled Gerard into his lap and hugged him tightly. "Don't worry about it. Whenever Fenmire returns, I can have you cleaned up as if you didn't have any mud on you at all in under a few minutes. You won't even be able to tell that I pulled you in... so relax and keep me company. Besides... as often as Fenmire gets in trouble, you might be over here a lot, in the coming weeks or so, and it'd be nice if you knew that you could count on good old Scott."

Gerard arched an eye. "You can really have all the mud off my clothes and everything in under a few minutes?"

Scott nodded his muzzle in response.

Gerard hummed. "How do you do it, then?"

Scott grinned and licked Gerard's face a little. "Tell you what, Gerard...from now on, anytime you get your clothes too messed up to be seen around your house, you come on over here and I'll fix you up with my trick. In return, you spend some time with good old Scott and I'll educate you on things that I know about. Do we have a deal?"

Gerard grinned. He liked learning new things. And Scott wasn't asking for much...just some company now and then. Gerard thought this was the perfect deal. "You have yourself a deal, Scott."

Scott then helped Gerard out of the mud. "Then I better get you cleaned up with my trick. I can hear Fenmire returning home. And we don't want him seeing you looking like a mud man, now do we?"

End of Chapter 02

Chapter 03

And soon, just as Scott promised, Gerard, who was very surprised that it could be done at all, was spotless of the mud. And not a second too soon, as Fenmire came into the house carrying the mail.

Soon, the two were off together, walking down the street.

Fenmire was a little miffed that he could smell his brother's scent on Gerard's face, but at least Gerard still had his clothes on. Fenmire said, "What did you think of Scott?"

Gerard calmly replied, "He's a trickster, that's for sure. He dunked me in his mud after a handshake. Then got me all cleaned up before you came home. He's an okay rat, I guess. He helps to take care of you... I mean, you have a home in his home, so he can't be all bad."

Fenmire chuckled at the mud dunking statement. "He muddied you. That's how he finds out if a person can be trusted as a friend or not. I'm surprised you didn't kill him."

Gerard grinned. "So where to first?"

Fenmire replied, "I have to go pick up Benwick Weasel. His parents hate humans, so you can't come with me to there. In the meantime, I want you to go pick up Huckwick Hound and Tomwick Dane. The two dog boys from school? They live over on Thorn and 9th Street. Well, actually... go to that intersection, and hang a left down the dirt road alleyway of sorts, around the curve of the wooden fenced pastures you'll see, and you'll get to the Kennelmount Farms. That's where they live. And for gosh sakes, Gerard... don't get caught with your pants down over there or we might be late getting to the island. Okay?"

Gerard arched an eye at that statement, but Fenmire had already parted company with him, heading off to fetch Benwick Weasel. Gerard shrugged his shoulders and headed off in the direction of Thorn and 9th street.

Finding Thorn Street was pretty easy; it was right on one edge of town. There were fenced pastures on one side of the street and somewhat of a housed forest on the city side of the street. And he could tell that this was literally the canine toons side of town. He knew this when he saw the mailboxes of Wile E. Coyote and Big Bad Wolf on that street.

It took about an hour of walking, but he finally arrived at the dirt road alleyway like turn off, and he headed in toward Kennelmount Farms. Gerard couldn't imagine why a canine's home would be called something like -mount, but he was curious enough to want to find out.

As Gerard arrived in the yard of the farms, he saw several cartoon hounds trying to get a rowdy cartoon stallion under control in the barnyard. The stallion was uptight about something, and he was knocking hounds away from him left and right, and then... he saw Gerard.

And more so... he caught Gerard's scent.

And in the next moment, Gerard had a big stallion leaning on him, rubbing his muzzle against Gerard's chest.

End of Chapter 03

Chapter 04

The head hound came over and placed the horse's blinders over his head, saying, "Well, I'll be... Raging Hell is kitten calm. I've ne'er seen anything like it. What's your name, sonny?"

Gerard smiled. "Gerard Prince. I'm here to see Huck Hound and Tom Dane. Are they around?"

The head hound nodded his muzzle. "Why sure as I'm a doggy. They're in their room packing up for some sort of overnight camping trip." He then pulled out a 10-spot and handed it to Gerard. "This is for your help in calming Raging Hell down. We couldn't have got him calmed without you."

Gerard blushed, as he pocketed the 10 dollar bill, then turned to head into the bunkhouses to find the two boys. Well, he thought he entered the bunkhouses, as he was suddenly face to face with Buckeye the Stallion. "Buckeye? What are you doing here?"

Buckeye, the cartoon stallion who outran the Prince's car, backwards, smiled when he saw Gerard. "Hey! This is no place for you, Gerard. The boy's rooms are in that building over there." He pointed the way.

Gerard arched an eye. "So what's in this building?"

Buckeye leaned in close and whispered, "Breeding Barn. Now if you don't care about being caught with your pants down, then come on in. Otherwise, you better just stick to getting the boys you came after."

Gerard didn't need to be told twice, as he back-peddled out of the barn and turned toward the right building. But yet still... he was curious about what Buckeye was doing in the Breeding Barn. He decided that he'd return another time to find out.

Inside the boy's bedroom, Gerard found Huck and Tom all packed up and ready to go. "Come on, you two. Fenmire will be meeting us at the lake dock with Ben. The head hound said you two were packing up for an overnight outing. We aren't going to be on the island all night, are we?"

Tom replied, "Fenmire told us at school yesterday to be prepared to spend the night there, just in case. So we're being prepared."

Gerard hummed. "Fenmire never mentioned anything like that to me. I wonder what he has planned this time?"

Huck grinned. "He's probably got some surprise present prepped up for you."

Gerard hummed again. "Anyway, let's get going, guys. I'd like to get some work done on the carnival before dark."

The three left Kennelmount Farms and proceeded around the outskirts of town, where the dogs showed Gerard where some of the fun places to visit at night were. Finally, the three arrived at the lake dock where Fenmire and Benwick Weasel were waiting on them.

End of Chapter 04

Chapter 05

Once the five were in the boat, Fenmire got the boat moving, piloting the old wooden vessel over to the island and the dock thereof. As Gerard was helping the others out of the boat, he said to Fenmire, "I didn't know you could pilot a boat. You're really talented."

Fenmire grinned. "Just one of my many talents I have under my belt. Let's get a move on while the morning sun is still on one side of the sky. Lampwick and Wilwick are waiting on us."

Gerard and the other boys headed up the trail to the carnival entrance where they were greeted by Lampwick and Wilwick. Lampwick said, "There you guys are. I was starting to get worried when you didn't show up at sunrise. Come on in and we'll see about getting some work done on this place."

The group followed Lampwick into the old closed carnival and split up into teams of two so as to work on various portions of the carnival. Fenmire and Benwick headed off over into the roller coaster section of the old carnival. Huck and Tom headed off toward the game booths section of the carnival. And Gerard ended up with Wilwick and Lampwick between the fun house and old billiards hall... a section once known as the indoor attractions section.

Gerard worked well and with precision, much to Lampwick's delight. However, Wilwick was often getting distracted every time Gerard would bend over to get a nail out of the sack of nails on the ground. Wilwick dreamily smiled, as he imagined himself pouncing an all bent over Gerard.

Eventually, Lampwick announced that he was going to make a few rounds through the park to check on the others who were evidently being quieter than usual. To make sure that Fenmire and the others were still working, like they were supposed to be. And off Lampwick trotted.

Gerard smiled at Wilwick and said, "It's just you and me now, buddy."

Wilwick nodded his muzzle, then hung his head and moaned a little.

Gerard arched an eye. "Are you okay, Wilwick?"

Wilwick lifted his head slightly and replied, "Tummy hurts. I skipped breakfast because I was so wanting to see you again. Could you escort me over to my place so I can get something to eat? It's about lunchtime anyway and we could come right back afterward."

Gerard nodded his head in reply, saying, "Sure. I think lunch sounds like a fine idea. Let's head over to your place. Which way is it?"

Wilwick slyly grinned to himself. "It's this way. I'll show you."

Wilwick began to lead Gerard off deeper into the carnival and straight up to a wooden back wall with a door in it. "Right through here. Watch your step..." And once they were through the door, Gerard saw another side to the carnival that Lampwick hadn't mentioned...

This side of the amusement park was still operational and looked fairly new.

End of Chapter 05

Chapter 06

Gerard asked, "You mean there is a functioning carnival on this island? So what were we repairing over there?"

Wilwick grinned slyly without Gerard seeing. "Well, Lampwick was saving this as a surprise for you, because you offered to help fix up the other carnival. Come on, my place is this way." And he started off in one direction.

Gerard followed slowly, though he began to notice boys with donkey ears and donkey tails wandering to and fro between the games, refreshment stands, and the rides. Although Gerard was also trying to keep Wilwick in sight, he soon collided by accident into one of the eared/tailed boys, both falling down on the ground.

Gerard shook his head as his vision slowly came back into focus at the half donkey boy in front of him. "All my fault. I'm terribly sorry."

The donkey eared/tailed boy giggled as he pressed a soft gooey chocolate bar into Gerard's mouth! "It's good, isn't it?"

Gerard wasn't prepared for that reaction as he mrrfed and swallowed the addictive super sweet chocolate that was given to him. And the moment he did, the dizziness returned with a pounding rush! And Gerard knew that he just had to have another chocolate bar! "MMMMMmmmmmmmm! That was super delicious! My name is Gerard! What's yours?"

He replied, "I'm Cris! Wanna get some more chocolate wif me? I'm glad I met you!"

Gerard grinned, still dizzy from the chocolate. "Heck yeah! Let's get some more chocolate!"

Cris grabbed Gerard's hand and dashed off pulling Gerard with him!

Soon the two were within a building that smelled like chocolate, and they were both sitting down in an odd tub next to each other, wearing bibs. Cris grinned. "You want to try the milk bunny chocolate or the dark donkey chocolate?"

Gerard grinned back. "Let's try the dark! Why not? That chocolate bar was really good!"

Cris smiled. "It's your first time, so I'll let you push the button!"

Gerard patted Cris on the shoulder, which seemed a little more furry than it did before, then he pushed the button. The moment he pressed the button, the bottom of the tub dropped out and the two fell down into a huge, deep, sticky vat of dark donkey chocolate!

KER-PLOP!!

Cris giggled, as he watched Gerard's clothes get totally ruined by the chocolate, and then, another load of the sticky chocolate dumped down from above on top of them!

End of Chapter 06

Chapter 07

But Gerard, at this point, didn't really seem to mind. He was enjoying the chocolate too much. And Cris liked his new friend. It was only a few hours later after Cris helped Gerard out of the chocolate vat, minus his clothes, did Gerard ask Cris, "Is this what happened to your clothes?"

Cris replied with a smile, "No, I lost mine on the swamp ride. I was wearing clothes when I went on the ride, but when the ride ended, my clothes were gone. But I really don't mind at all. Wanna go on the swamp ride with me now?"

Gerard nodded his head in agreement and the two headed off to ride the next ride.

Back over in the rundown carnival, however, Tom Dane had arrived on the scene where Wilwick and Gerard was to have been repairing some doors and windows, so he could borrow a hammer, and he saw that no one was there. Perplexed on where they could have went, Tom headed back over to where Huck and Lampwick were working.

When Huck saw Tom approaching, he asked, "Did you get the hammer?"

Tom replied, "Actually no. Gerard and Wilwick weren't there."

Lampwick looked up at the sun, then back at the two. "Well, it is lunchtime. I'll bet they found a spot to sit down and are having lunch. No need to worry about them. They'll turn up soon."

At that moment, about part way across the old carnival, Fenmire and Ben were working on one of the old broken roller coasters, when Ben saw something across the fence. "Hey Fenmire? Wasn't Gerard supposed to be repairing the indoor amusements section?"

Fenmire grinned. "Yeah... him, Wilwick and Lampwick. Why do you ask?"

Ben pointed out toward a place across the fence. "...because that naked boy over there looks just like him."

Fenmire glanced over in that direction and said, "You know something? You're right. That does look like Gerard. But we both know that can't be him because only donkeys can open the special door to the other carnival. So that has to be someone who looks like Gerard. In a way, I wish it was him, so I can finally be able to say that I finally saw Gerard naked."

Ben grinned. "You really like Gerard, don't you?"

Fenmire nodded his head, blushing. "Yeah, I have to admit that I do like him. When Gerard is around, I don't get into as much trouble as I normally would."

Ben hammered on his side of the track for a moment, then said, "What thoughts did you have when you first laid eyes on Gerard?"

Fenmire grinned. "Now Ben... I can't tell you that... There are readers watching."

End of Chapter 07

Chapter 08

Gerard had no idea what time it was when he started to snap out of the chocolate bar sugar rush, but what he did realize right away was that he was naked in a slow moving log plume ride with Cris, who was sitting right beside him. "Um, Cris? What happened to my clothes?"

Cris grinned at Gerard and replied, "You lost them in the chocolate bath and you said it didn't matter. You and I have been riding rides ever since, all over the park, and eating lots of great food and stuff. You're the bestest friend I've ever met, and the most fun to spend a day with. I am really glad I met you."

Gerard was blushing profusely now. "Um, I'm naked, Cris. How the heck am I going to explain losing my clothes to my parents?"

Cris smiled, hugging Gerard a little. "Honestly?"

Gerard nodded his head quietly. He was majorly embarrassed.

Cris held him and rubbed his shoulders. "Don't be embarrassed, Gerard. It was an accident and it wasn't your fault. And that's the truth. I don't see the problem. Besides, unless someone fetches you some replacement clothes, you might as well not even attempt to go home, or everyone will see that you're naked. You'll need to get someone who's clothed to go get you some clothes while you wait here for them to come back. And then... there's the other concern you should be having."

Gerard arched an eye at Cris. "What concern is that?"

Cris steeled himself up for a possibly angry Gerard, as he held up a donkey's tail that was obviously not Cris'... "You have one like mine. I don't recall when you got it, but I know you've had it the last few rides." He paused. "...the ears, too. Like mine."

Gerard had grabbed the donkey tail when Cris touched it, then slowly reached up and felt his new donkey ears. "Why am I changing into a donkey? I haven't been acting like a jackass, have I? I befriended you and spent the day with you. I shouldn't be changing like this? I don't get it. How do I get out of this?"

Cris replied, "If you want out of it, you're going to have to petition Lord Lampwick for a favor to be restored. But as long as you're planning to get restored, you might as well have some fun in the meantime. Lord Lampwick won't be back at his quarters until late tonight and we have a whole day to go before then."

Gerard said, "Oh, I know where he is. I just have to go back through the door in the wall and ask him. That shouldn't be too hard."

Cris grinned. "Except for one little flaw in that logic."

Gerard asked, "And what's the flaw?"

End of Chapter 08

Chapter 09

Cris kept grinning, as he rubbed Gerard's shoulders. "Only full donkeys, like Lord Lampwick and Lord Wilwick can open that door. No one else can open it. That's why I suggested that you just continue to have some fun until Lampwick returns to his place tonight."

Gerard sighed. "So until he comes home, I'm stuck here in this carnival?"

Cris nodded his head. "I'm afraid that's how it works."

Gerard hummed. "You said Lord Wilwick... he's the one who opened the door for me originally. What power does he have here in this carnival?"

Cris grinned. "You're probably going to be mad at him, but... he's the recruiter for this carnival. It's his job to find boys who haven't been good and dump them into this carnival so they can get changed into donkeys. But like you said, Gerard... you haven't been bad, so I don't know why you're changing, unless you're goofing off when you should be doing something."

Gerard placed his hand over his eyes. "I was supposed to be working today, repairing the other carnival. Wilwick asked me if I'd like to go to his place for lunch, and it was lunchtime anyway, so we came over here, and when I ran into you, I lost track of where Wilwick went."

Cris sighed. "And I unwittingly kept you entertained for a better part of the day. It's all my fault. I am so sorry, Gerard. Please forgive me. If I had known, I would have taken you straight to Wilwick's place. Now, you have to wait for Lampwick to get restored, because Wilwick can't do it. He could have stopped you from getting changed, but once you started changing, it was out of his hooves, so to speak. Now only Lampwick can undo this."

Gerard hugged Cris, petting him in return. "I don't blame you a bit, Cris. Sounds like we were both misinformed."

Cris smiled. "I am still glad we met, Gerard. Even if you do get restored, I think you're swell. No one has ever purposely spent a day with me before, and it... um... feels nice to have a friend like you to pal around with."

Gerard smiled back at Cris. "How long have you been stuck here at the carnival, Cris?"

Cris replied, "A couple of years, since I got lost from the high school class I was with and I ran into Wilwick, and he invited me into the carnival so I could get something to eat and drink for the night. And somehow, I got separated from him, got shown around the carnival by another donkey eared/tailed boy, and the next thing I knew... I had the ears and tail, too. And when I realized that I had the ears and tail, the other boy had left me to myself, and I never saw him again. So I continued living here at the carnival, having a blast by myself until I met you."

Gerard arched an eye again. "Your name wouldn't happen to be Cris Ketchum, would it?"

Cris nodded his head. "Yeah, that's who I am. How do you know me?"

End of Chapter 09

Chapter 10

Gerard and Cris soon got off the log plume ride and headed over and got into another slow moving ride that slid through an indoor environment that looked like the inside of a giant toy box. They were joined by two other donkey eared/tailed boys, as the ride was a 4-seater.

Gerard then continued his conversation with Cris. "I asked Professor Stromboli who the missing students were, by name. He said Cris Ketchum, Alex Trent, and Brent Knight. If you're here, where did the other two vanish to?"

Cris smiled. "Oh, they're here, too. I see them, occasionally. Brent went full donkey and now works for Lord Lampwick over at the estate on the back side of the island. Alex is still humanoid, like me. But he said that he didn't want to go back to school unless the school erased his failing grades. So he just lives at the carnival here and there."

Gerard then asked, "What are Brent and Alex like?"

Cris shrugged then said, "Brent was a really bad boy. He was a bully and picked on other kids. His parents were getting ready to ship him off to... somewhere the grown ups refer to as... That Place. Brent caught wind of what they were planning, so during the next class outing to Pleasure Island, Brent headed inland and asked Wilwick if he could hide out on the island for a few weeks. Naturally, Wilwick brought Brent into the carnival and left him there. And within a day, he was a full donkey. Only after he became a full donkey did he start to realize that it was probably a bad idea to be a bad boy, but at the point, it was too late. After a couple of years, he worked up the courage to ask Lampwick for a job on his estate, and for the past year, that's where he's been."

Gerard nodded his head. "And what about Alex?"

Cris smiled. "Alex started out a lot like you, Gerard." Then he frowned. "Then Oslo caught him, and Alex wasn't quite the same after that. Then, he and I arrived here at the carnival, and he seemed to snap... and though I occasionally still see him around, he's not someone, now, that I'd prefer spending a day with. You might say that I wouldn't want to have to trust him."

Gerard hummed. "And where does Alex normally hang out, or do you care to know?"

Cris irked. "I know, but I'd rather not tell you. I wouldn't want you to get hurt by Alex, even by accident. Why do you want to know anyway?"

Gerard smiled. "I'd like to meet him just once. If you'd prefer to be there when I meet him, so you can be sure I wasn't hurt, that's okay too. I just like meeting new people, good or bad."

Cris hummed as he thought about it. Then he said, "Okay, I'll take you to meet him, but I still don't think it's a good idea. Alex isn't someone that I'd trust. And he can be tricky, too."

Gerard nodded his head. "That's okay. You've warned me enough. I want to meet him."

Cris said, "Okay. As soon as this ride ends, I'll take you to meet him."

End of Chapter 10

Chapter 11

When the ride ended, the two headed deeper into the carnival. They made one stop to pick up some food and drink, eating and drinking that, before heading onwards again. They soon arrived at an oddly dark building that smelled somewhat of chocolate and vanilla.

Gerard asked, "Is this where Alex hangs out?"

Cris nodded his head and knocked on the door. "He usually sleeps during the day and prowls at night, but because it's so late in the day, we might get lucky and he would already be awake."

After a few silent moments, Cris was about to knock again, when the door opened and a donkey boy blinked his eyes at the light outside. "Cris? Is that you? Come on inside and bring your friend with you. You know I don't like the light." And he retreated back inside the building, as Cris and Gerard followed him inside and closing the door behind them.

Inside the building, Gerard saw something that made him glad that they came here. Alex had suitcases full of boy's clothes and shoes. The next thing Gerard saw was that the front room was apparently being used to store clothes in, though there was another room further back, and a hallway beyond that.

Alex led the two into the second room, where he sat down on a large mattress on the floor and looked back up at Cris and Gerard. "Okay, his is a face I don't recognize. And I think I would recognize someone as nice looking as him."

Cris said, "Alex, this is Gerard. We were talking earlier, and I accidentally mentioned you, and he decided that he wanted to meet you."

Alex slowly grinned, though in truth, he was upset that he had only been mentioned by accident. "I am very glad you did mention me to Gerard. Tell me something... does any of the four lords know that Gerard is in the carnival?"

Cris irked. "Um, one of them does, but not the main one."

Alex nodded his head and then asked Cris to go get some chocolate bars from the store room in the back hallway. Cris' eyes twinkled at the mention of chocolate bars, and Gerard had to force himself to not go search for the candy too. Then, after Cris was out of the room, Alex offered some mattress space to Gerard for sitting, and asked, "I am going to hazard a guess and say that Lord Wilwick didn't purposely dump you in here. So, what's your story, Gerard?"

And Gerard explained the whole story to Alex, including what his job was supposed to have been. "And if I could negotiate some of these clothes from you, I'd be super appreciative."

Alex grinned. "Clothing does tend to vanish around here. Tell you what... promise me that you'll return here to see me another time, and I'll let you use any of the clothes here as often as you like, whenever you like. Do we have a deal?" Alex thought Gerard looked really sexy with the tail and ears of a donkey, though he knew that in order to convince Gerard that he was sincere, he would have to let Gerard go, this time.

End of Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Gerard thought the deal was a good one, so, he readily made the promise to return another time to see Alex. Then, Gerard glanced toward the hallway and asked, "What's taking Cris so long?"

Alex replied, "He probably is devouring those chocolate bars that I got just for him. And I should warn you now, Gerard... don't eat any more chocolate here at the carnival, unless you love having the donkey ears and tail. The more chocolate you eat, the more donkey you become. That's what happened to Brent, and it was a sad thing to witness. So that's my good deed for the day. For now, however, I think you better gather what clothes you think you'll need, then head on over to either Lord Wilwick's place, Lord Merlion's place, Lord Donkaroo's place, or Lord Lampwick's place, and ask one of them to restore you to your normal human form. You are able to be restored, at the moment."

Gerard finished gathering up some underwear, pants, shirt, belt, socks and shoes, then turned to Alex again. "What is Lord Donkaroo? He sounds like the cross between a kangaroo and donkey."

Alex grinned. "Good guess, but he's a stud and he loves to help people." Alex refrained from mentioning that the Lords would charge a fee for the restoration.

Gerard hummed. "I'd like to see this Lord Donkaroo then. Maybe he can restore me without any real problems. How do I get there?"

Alex stood up and showed Gerard a removable toon hole. "I have several of these, and if you're going to be living on Q.C. Planet, you best learn how to use these things." And with that, Alex taught Gerard how to use the removable toon hole. "Now, I'll open the toon hole to the correct destination, the first time. After you go through, pick up the toon hole and put it into your unseen pocket, just like I taught you. And remember what you promised me, Gerard."

After a well placed toon hole, Gerard headed through and emerged in a warm chamber elsewhere. He then picked up the toon hole and pocketed it, like he was taught. Then, he took a step forward and called out, "Lord Donkaroo? Are you home? I need to ask for a restoration, please."

Lord Donkaroo was indeed home and all too eager to restore his handsome visitor. Then, as the restored Gerard was beginning to get dressed in the borrowed clothes, Lord Donkaroo said, "How will you be paying me for this restoration, Gerard?"

Gerard irked, as he turned to look at Lord Donkaroo. "No one said I had to pay for the restoration. What do you think is appropriate?"

Lord Donkaroo smiled. "I'll make it simple. This summer, you return and work for me around here. Odd jobs and what not. Anything extra you make you get to keep. And besides, Wilwick was looking for you earlier. Do we have a deal?"

Gerard understood now why Alex had him promise to return now. "We have a deal, sir."

After that, Gerard and Wilwick returned to the other carnival where the two got busy trying to catch up on the work that they had fallen behind on. And Gerard was sure not going to tell Fenmire about what had happened to him. Even Gerard was allowed his own secrets, after all.

End of Chapter 12 End of Episode Two: Carnival Cleanup

Stay tuned for Episode Three: Out After Curfew