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Montropolis - QC Planet

APQC-FK-01 Natural Blackjack By Darrel James Vanwinkle (Ratseye/Pouchlaw) Re-Written on 08/17/2014

Dalton, Georgia... 23 December... early evening hours...

The devil mouse with the miniature satyr like horns on his dark red furred head was wearing a green Christmas scarf around his neck and a brown leather strapped sling over a black thermal tunic which connected to his belt with pouches on both sides. But aside from that, he wore nothing at all. At least nothing that could be immediately seen. He was floating in mid air near a tree branch where upon he had just completed a Christmas gift giving spree to several lucky young boys and girls all over the region. As he sat there drinking a cup of hot coffee, he saw a sad little teen aged boy carrying a laundry bag over his shoulder, shivering, and it was obvious that he was not heading to a laundry mat; he was leaving town. The devil mouse knew that boy wouldn't get far in the cold snow and he knew he had to do something. "Hi kid. Where you going?" he asked of the boy while floating in mid air.

The boy looked up at the obviously unreal sight before him. "I'm running away from home." The devil mouse arched one eye as he said, "And why are you doing that on the coldest night of the year? You'll freeze and die out there." "Then I will freeze and die," replied the boy with an audible sigh. "My dad lost his job, mom says that the bank is going to foreclose the mortgage on the house, and we're going to be homeless anyway. So... I am running away... so they don't have to feed me anymore."

"Suppose I help your dad get a new job by Christmas," suggested the devil mouse with a smile. The boy leaned against a cold stone wall of a nearby building. "We're still losing the house. We'll be homeless and then the welfare people will take Eunice away from us. She can't talk and the only companion she has is Ahab, the sheepdog. Mom got Eunice Ahab for Christmas a long time ago. Welfare is going to split us up and rather than be placed in a foster home, I'm running away to join the circus."

The devil mouse folded his arms over his chest. "So you would rather be a donkey rather than possibly being the boy who saved his family. Is that it? What's your name, kid?" The boy was surprised that the mouse said he wanted to be a donkey for running away from home. But instead of getting mad, he said, "Then I'm a donkey. Where's my harness? My name? Felix Kornel, like it matters. After Christmas, I'll be Felix some other name and I'll never see my family again, so if being a donkey is better than that, then I'll take it." The devil mouse floated closer to Felix and said, "Let me find your dad a new job AND a new house for your family to live in, Felix. But you have to return home right now. I will return tomorrow night to tell you how I did. If I fail, I promise to take you to the circus personally. Do we have a deal?" Felix couldn't believe his ears. "Promise by everything that is holy?"

The devil mouse hated that question but he replied, "I promise by everything that is holey." As in full of holes! he mentally thought with a private giggle. "We have a deal," said the boy as he shook the devil mouse's furry hand.

After being shown where the Kornel house was located and making sure Felix did actually get back into his bedroom, the devil mouse said, "My name is Zecma; a member of the Imperial City Council in the underworld. When I am not in council meetings, I slum around QC Planet in both the Montropolis region as well as the Meta-Star City region. However, I am usually around the former more often. I was handing out Christmas presents earlier..." He started digging in his pouches to see if he had anything left over he could give this boy to cheer him up. That was when he felt something in his right hand within the belt pouch. I thought I didn't have any of these left. He pulled his hand out to reveal a VIP Platinum Partner card for the Digicard card game which was one of the many games that was popular in Montropolis currently. "Here, Felix... your very own Digicard Partner. But if I hand this over, you have to promise not to sell it. This is going to be your partner card for playing the Digicard games after you guys get moved. So hang on to this, okay?" Felix smiled. "Okay, Zecma. Um, is it okay if I kiss you?" The devil mouse leaned over close and puckered up his mousy lips and the boy kissed him. "You got your kiss, Felix. Now I will get to work on getting your family a job and a new house. Don't you worry about the welfare people; I have friends who can scare them." And the devil mouse departed with a parting giggle and a quick poof.

Kornel Household... 24 December... the next morning...

"You saw a what, son?" asked Anthony Kornel, Felix's father, as they sat at the breakfast table. Felix was lightly adding a little sugar to his Kahidomon cereal as he replied, "Zecma said he was a devil mouse who had QC Planet connections. He promised me that he was not only going to get you a new job but he was going to arrange for us to have a new house as well. He said he would be coming back tonight to give us the details on what he had accomplished. He even said he had friends who could handle the welfare people for us."

"I thought only toons and anime were allowed to live on QC Planet," remarked his mother, Dea Skeeter Kornel; Skeeter had been her maiden name. "You say Zecma can pull the strings to get our entire family moved into one of Albert Atticus' regions? Because if he can do that, I sure hope he can get us a farm; I grew up on a farm and I miss growing our own vegetables and having fruit trees across the field to make pies from." Felix chewed his crunchy cereal and swallowed before answering. "When he shows up tonight, we can ask him about getting a farm."

His older brother then sat down at the table with his pancakes as he reached over and grabbed the maple syrup. "So this conscience told you his name, did he? Since he was the devil conscience, where do you suppose the angel conscience was at?" Felix grinned at Lawrence whom preferred to be called Larry. "If she was smart, she should have been in front of a warm fireplace. It was really cold last night. But seriously, where ever the angel was at, I sure hope she was making plans to one up Zecma. Though I kinda doubt it. I'm not making him up, Larry... Zecma's for real."

And then his older sister and the sheepdog arrived to get their breakfast. She quietly sat down and before grabbing any food at all, she bowed her head as if to give a prayer for the morning meal. Only then did she proceed toward filling her plate. The sheepdog simply ate from his dog bowl while keeping the young lady in sight. Eunice and Ahab, obviously.

"If I hadn't been laid off from the wharfs, we wouldn't be in this desperate situation now," Anthony commented as he read over the help wanted section of the newspaper; although doing so was pointless because there were no jobs available around Christmas time. "I really hope Zecma is for real, Felix, because we're hurting here. Even if he is only an imaginary friend, I can understand your wanting to cheer yourself up. But if he is for real, then we will all see him tonight... which is the holiest night of the year. That poor devil mouse."

Dea couldn't help but to grin at the thought. "I am sure even he has more money than we do. Anyway, let's make the best of our Christmas since after tomorrow, we likely won't ever have another in this house. A shame that... but I've never really liked living in town anyway."

"He will be here," Felix adamantly stated, a bit louder than he meant to. Which earned him a warning glance from his mother. "Sorry, mom. But I'm not making him up. He will come."

Kornel Household... 24 December... that evening...

"Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house," recited Anthony as he looked around the house at what was left of the furnishings that they had left over. The furniture rental agency had picked up several more pieces of furniture which the Kornels had been renting and now the living room looked like an empty car garage. "Some Christmas this is. I failed my family; we're almost on the floor; and we lose the house in two days." Dea hugged her husband. "We still have each other." To which he replied, "But for how long?"

Then there came the knock at their door.

"Now who could that be?" Mr. Kornel said as he slowly stood up. "If it is a bunch of carolers, I will bah humbug them into an early grave." And he walked over to the front door and opened it where he saw... the Pink Panther with a devil mouse sitting on his shoulder. "See? This is the place, Mr. Pink. The Kornel family where I met Felix Kornel and learned about their unfortunate situation. I promised the boy that I would try to help him and I need your help to do it." Anthony was in shock because Felix's little friend turned out to be real.

After allowing Mr. Pink to come into the house, the entire family was soon meeting with the famed pink feline in his official tux, top hat, and cane. Floating in mid air next to him was Zecma, naturally. Felix was overjoyed when he saw the devil mouse once again. "I told you he was real. I knew you would come back, Zecma. Thank you so much."

"Hey, I gave my word, Felix," replied the devil mouse with a smile. "Besides, I followed up the rest of the stuff you asked me to find out for you. So during the Summer months, you will have a part time job. As for your new house and the job for your father, Mr. Pink has the data on that."

Of course the Pink Panther was having his own conversation with Anthony and Dea to the side, and the topic was the location of choice for their new home. From what Felix could overhear, the farm house was equidistant between Japanopolis, Montropolis, and Mythos Bay within a rural setting labeled on the map as Anime Valley. The wharf master job was located in Mythos Bay itself (and for those who don't know, that was the new name of what was once Spooky Harbor in the old Quad Counties.) Their new farm was being arranged under the 'Sponsor a Prince' protocol introduced by none other than Captain Rabbit, the hero who ran the Justice Fury team down in the Terryville region. Since their family fell under the 'Rescued Sponsor Family' agreement introduced by Cheer Bear in the Cloud Kingdoms where Care-a-lot was located, they were being given the new property free of charge since a citizen of QC Planet was speaking up for them. Namely Zecma who was not only a local recreation production manager of a games factory but he also doubled as the liaison between Lord Albert and the Underworld Council.

While Mr. Pink discussed the upcoming move with the parents, Zecma helped the boys get what little they owned packed up in their suitcases. This only equaled out to the clothes that they owned along with a few personal items that they owned free and clear.

Eunice packed up her own bags while Ahab the sheepdog watched her from the side. But when one of the welfare people looked in her window, the guard dog was immediately in their face barking very fiercely. "BOW WOW WOW WOW! Grrrr!" Anthony and Mr. Pink were in the bedroom immediately afterward as the welfare agent scrambled to get away as fast as he could. "Good job, Ahab." Mr. Kornel turned to look at the Pink Panther at that point. "This is another thing we have been dealing with, Mr. Pink. Since my daughter lost her voice, Family Services have been trying to get Eunice taken away from us."

Moments after that statement, Mr. Pink's Yuskay Lawyer arrived. (They are anthropomorphic Hellhounds who are not horrifying to look upon at all. In fact, they are pretty damned sexy in all the right ways. And clean to boot. Most of them stood around six to seven feet tall and looked as if they worked out at the local gym.) He was told of the situation with social services and once he had gotten everyone's names, he turned the focus of his job toward the welfare people.

Ahab never barked once at the lawyer; must be a dog thing.

As the lawyer did his job, Mr. Pink assisted the Kornels in getting their mobile home loaded with what little they owned. It was an older model of a home on wheels which could break down at any moment. It had the look of the one which used to be seen in the live-action Shazam! Saturday morning children's show. Once they were loaded which included Ahab's doggy bed, everyone got on board although Felix rode in the Pink Limousine with Zecma just ahead of their vehicle as they headed out of Dalton, Georgia as they proceeded toward Animation Park where they would use the transportal to the Japanopolis country of QC Planet.

Just in case this hadn't been mentioned before, normally the Toonium City region which included Wonderland and Coolsville was located within the Terryville country and it was located in the equivalent of the QC Georgia and QC Florida zone of QC America. The Meta Star City region which included Meta-Star City (which included Comita-Gotham (aka Jaded Shadow,)) Angel City, Hero Haven, and Bunny Town was located within the Meta-Star empowered hero region and it was situated around QC New York City, QC Washington D.C., QC New Haven, and QC Boston. Forest River's region which included Mega Kat City, Forest River, Hartland, and Clementine was located near QC Chicago, QC St. Louis, QC Cape Girardeau, and QC Baton Rouge (aka the QC South.) The Stampede City region included every wild west setting one could imagine which included the C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa, Quick-Draw McGraw (aka El Ka Bong,) and the Lone Ranger and Zorro. In the west was the remaining two regions of QC Planet: the Werewolf Filming Mecca and Japanopolis. The Filming Mecca consisted of QC Planet's version of Hollywood and included Studio City (home of United Beast Studios,) Seaspray Hills (home of the music production studios,) and Anaheim Beach (the usual home of Disney's Mighty Ducks.) Japanopolis' region consisted of Japanopolis (QC San Francisco,) Montropolis (QC Portland,) and Mythos Bay (QC Seattle.)

Fortunately, Animation Park had regional transportals which led to the appropriate region a tourist would normally book reservations in visiting. Mr. Pink led the motor home through the Japanopolis transportal and they were soon driving along the anime landscape and highways on the QC West Coast. They soon turned unto the Anime Valley Bypass South and continued on until they saw Crop Circle Road, which was a paved county road. Turning right on that road, they drove on until they saw the donated mailbox with their name on it. At that point, the Pink Panther pulled his limousine into the driveway on the south side of the farm road and that was when the Kornels got their first look at the absolutely beautiful farmhouse, barn, stables, a new tractor, a new lawnmower, and crop fields in the back. The farm which was larger than they expected was surrounded by a wooden white fence and it had a large yard.

Dea exclaimed, "Oh my. I thought Mr. Pink said this was a small farm."

Kornel Farmhouse... 25 December... early morning...

Giggling at his mother's observation, Larry said, "Maybe to him it did seem small; I like it." Anthony smiled as he looked toward the back of the property. "I can see me working that field on the weekends." Eunice sat there quietly holding Ahab in her arms and he was protecting her as usual. Dea suddenly pointed toward a neighboring fence and said, "What is that?"

The Kornels all looked in the direction she had pointed. What they saw was a brown and white dragon like being who was the size of both Felix and Larry. It wasn't looking their way but it seemed to be paying attention to its own farmland. Felix said, "I'll go find out what it is; be right back." And he started for the motor home door as his father warned, "Felix! Be careful!" To which he grinned at his father and said, "Dad... this is cartoon land. Duh." And Felix was out the door and heading across the farm toward the fence where the dragon like creature stood. From the motor home, the family watched as their son and the dragon like kid shake hands, then they talked at length about a few things.

Finally, the Kornels saw Felix returning with a smile. He opened the door and said, "You aren't going to believe this! Our neighbors are Digimon! They grow corn in their field and pop the excess amount, coat it in caramel, and sell the result to the markets! The kid I spoke to was called Myrdramon! He goes to school at Montropolis High School!" Dea smiled. "Sounds like you made a friend, Felix. Okay everyone... lets get this motor home unpacked and see about claiming our bedrooms."

Once they were unpacked and Ahab stationed in his doggy bed in the mud room, the family were looking over the bedroom arrangement. Anthony said, "According to the floor plan of the farm house, this is the master bedroom. And this is a daughter's bedroom. And this bedroom is for an older son. And..." He paused, as he looked over the rest of the floor plan. "Ah, there it is. The last bedroom is... there." He paused again. "No, that can't be right. The last bedroom isn't even in the main farm house." Felix looked over the page of the map of the house. "So where is my bedroom located, dad?" Anthony said, "Believe it or not, Felix, you head out the kitchen door to the outside on the deck that goes over and connects to the side of the stables, then you head up these stairs to the second floor, and there will be a mini-deck and a door that leads into your bedroom."

Dea arched an eye. "Are you serious? That sounds like a long trip for Felix to take every day to get to the kitchen and the bathroom. Are you sure that's the last bedroom." Anthony replied, "According to the layout, there is a bedroom on the second floor of the stables, and in the back of that bedroom is a walk-in closet hallway that leads to his own bathroom. But there is only one kitchen." Felix never complained at all, honestly.

Zecma had promised that he would see about getting Felix a summer job at the circus, so he was willing to endure anything. Not to mention, he had made a Digimon friend their first day on the farm. His father was going to be checking in at the new work place in the morning for a briefing with the dock personnel, while his mother was going to be in contact with Japanopolis High School, mainly to check to see if their school records had arrived as yet. Little did Felix know what Saturday morning was to bring. December 26th on the new farm was like the best Christmas present ever given. His dad had a new job; the family had a new home; and every sibling had their own bedroom. He had finished his dinner and helped his mom wash the dishes earlier, and now, he was out for a walk on the huge farm land, mainly following the fence line. Back near the woods in the far back of the farm, he saw good looking two-tailed brown fox gathering shiny rocks. Felix couldn't help but to say hello. "Konnichi wa, fox boy."

The brown Kitsune glanced over toward the fence then smiled. "You must be one of the Kornels. My name is Glitter Prower." He walked over to the fence and shook Felix's hand. "And what is your name?"

"I'm Felix Kornel, the youngest member of the family," the human boy said. "What are you doing?" The two-tailed fox grinned slyly. "I am gathering shiny stones for my father. It is a punishment. I would rather be romping in the mud swamps with Slick, Myrdramon, and Sony. They really know how to have fun." Felix grinned back. "I met Myrdramon already. He was pretty nice." Glitter nodded his head as he continued to pick up shiny stones. "He helps me with my homework." Then he stood up again. "Thanks for stopping to talk to me, Felix. I really hope you end up going to school in Montropolis. You're okay. I have to get going now or my father will invent something else for me to do. Bye." And with that, he began spinning his two tails like a rotary helicopter and flew off through the woods to the south. Felix smiled. "Prower, he said. I'll bet his dad is Tails. He even flies like him. I better get back to the house now. At least I learned some more local names." And he headed off and back toward the farm house.

At the kitchen table, Felix sat down after washing his hands and he saw his mother with that rare 'look' on her face that no one ever wanted to get. "Um, mom... you have that... look... on your face... did someone do something bad again?" Dea looked at Felix and said, "I just spoke with the Japanopolis School Board. They have the most utmost, most ridiculous rule that I have ever heard of. And it concerns you, Felix. When the school buses come on Monday... Larry will be getting on the one going to Japanopolis High. And you will be attending Montropolis High with Myrdramon." Felix was actually happy about that but he didn't dare show any happiness about it while his mom had that 'look' on her face.

"So what exactly is the dumb rule, mom?"

His mother replied, "The Japanopolis school rule is that we cannot send two children who are within four years or less apart of age to their school, so they can prevent favoritism among siblings in the school system. They told me that they have had problems with it before and they regret that this is the case now. So you have to go to school with your Digimon friend."

"You are right, mom," he replied as he picked up an apple from the fruit bowl and bit into it. "That IS a dumb rule. But at least if I am with Myrdramon at Montropolis, he can help me stay out of trouble. Not to mention show me around so I know all of the nice places in the area. It might be handy to know my way around."

"I saw you out in the back field earlier talking to a fox," Dea commented as she began setting the table for dinner. "You are just meeting new people left and right, aren't you?" Felix smiled as he replied, "Glitter Prower; the son of Tails. He said he was gathering shiny stones as a punishment for his dad. He even flies like his dad. Two tails and all."

"Tails is already married? Well... there goes my fun for the year." His mother was being funny now.

Felix giggled since that special look wasn't on his mom's face anymore. "And what would dad say about your sleeping with Mr. Prower?" And he threw in a wink at the end.

Kornel Farmhouse... 26 December... Saturday morning...

The next day brought about both sides of the locals from Japanopolis. And that in itself was pretty strange in itself. The Sailor Scouts seemed very interested in Eunice, which was typical for Anime females. Larry was meeting up with Naruto and Yu-Gi-Oh, two teachers who would be teaching him in his school. As for Felix, he was serving refreshments to the visitors as the perpetual nobody. He was almost wishing that he had gone to Mythos Bay with his dad. But his mother had convinced him that perhaps he would meet some of the local teachers from his school. So far, however, they hadn't seen a single resident from Montropolis... at all. "Mom?" Felix said. "I'm bored."

Dea hugged her son and said, "Okay, Felix. I guess we were wrong about your coming teachers. You can go inside and watch some TV; maybe you can find more caring cartoons to watch." That statement literally got all of the Anime visitors attention but they quickly began to wish that they had not turned to look at Mrs. Kornel because they were all then receiving that 'look' that Dea was famous for having when she was upset. Felix chose not to wait to see what would happen to those people who earned the scary gaze as he went inside the house and turned on the TV and sat on the sofa with a sigh. "I was excited about living here originally... now, I feel like I'm the family servant that no one cares about."

At that moment, a familiar Anime boy walked in from the kitchen and smiled at Felix. "Oh, I'm sorry. Is this the Kornel residence?" It was Ash Ketchum of Pokemon fame. Felix smiled and stood up. "Yeah, this is the right place. I'm Felix Kornel." Ash smiled and shook Felix's hand. "I will be one of your teachers this year. Sorry we were late. I had been having breakfast with Miles Prower and Tai when we were reminded that the welcoming committee was supposed to be coming up here today. I know you will like going to school in Montropolis."

At that moment, Myles Prower, Guilmon, Knuckles, and Pikachu came into the living room and greeted Felix with smiles. Felix was happy now. He was getting to meet some of the greats of Montropolis. "Am I ever glad you guys showed up today. I was starting to get bored."

Knuckles then asked, "Where is your mom at, Felix?" Felix escorting the red echidna with dreadlocks over to the front window curtain where they both peeked outside; standing in the front yard was Dea Kornel with that infamous expression on her face. Knuckles whispered, "I hate to admit this but that 'look' actually scares me." Felix grinned and whispered back, "That is my mom's famous 'look' that no one desires to get. You know you're in trouble when she makes that face. She is literally not the woman to cross when she gets like that." He then hugged Knuckles and pulled him away from window and returned to join the others once again.

About an hour later, Felix was entertaining his guests in the kitchen of the farmhouse. At that moment, Eunice and Ahab came inside from outdoors and immediately headed upstairs to her room; Felix noted that his sister looked upset. "I'll bet someone tried to pet Ahab." Pikachu then spoke in English, but with an Japanese accent. "Ahab was the dog, I assume?" Felix looked at the yellow Pokemon. "You can speak English? In the TV cartoon, you can only say your name." Pikachu replied, "Human producers tend to only want the human stars to speak English or Japanese. If everything spoke fluently in the show, then the importance of the humans would be undermined. Therefore I choose to only speak fluently off camera. And in the Montropolis School System." Felix looked to Ash. "How do you feel about Pikachu talking?" To which he replied, "Oh he's a pro. A great actor. He's helped me many a time with my lines." Felix nodded his head. Miles came over with a glass of milk and said, "I am looking forward to see what classes you take in Montropolis, Felix." Felix smiled at the two-tailed Kitsune. "I saw your son last night gathering shiny stones." Miles grinned. "He was naughty so that was his punishment. He chose that over cleaning Sonic's toilet with a single paper towel." The famed two-tailed fox winked with a smile which made Felix laugh out loud.

At that moment, Larry came into the kitchen and saw Felix's guests. "These guys are from Montropolis? I'm actually jealous, Felix! Your instructors are some of the most famous Anime toons! Mine are some of the newer guys that I've almost never heard of!" Felix turned to his brother. "Not my fault, Larry. By the way, what happened earlier with Ahab and Eunice? We saw her and Ahab go through the kitchen and up the bedroom stairs." His brother giggled at that point which obviously meant it was a classic 'do not touch my dog' moment. "One of the Sailor Scouts tried to pet Ahab and Eunice came unglued like she usually does. The next thing we knew, the Sailor Scout was lying on the ground, and then Eunice and Ahab were heading into the house pretty fast." Knuckles chuckled. "About time one of those pompous Sailor Scouts took a fall. That should make Miyuki pretty happy when she hears about this." Felix asked, "Who is Miyuki?" The red echidna replied with a grin, "Miyuki Tsukino also known as Dark Witch, a cousin of Sailor Moon. She is an interesting person."

That evening at the dinner table, the Kornel family was gathered for a meal and Anthony was telling the others what his job was to be like in Mythos Bay. "I don't see how they got anything done before I hired on there," Anthony remarked, as he spread some butter on his corn bread. "Ghosts, skeletons, and Skeletor himself roaming around the docks. And most interestingly, I'm Skeletor's superior on the job site itself. He walked me through the routine there. He was nothing like he is in the cartoons."

Dea said, "We met the teachers today, dear. They are a pretty okay bunch, but I trust Felix's teachers more than I do Larry's teachers." Larry piped in saying, "I totally agree, mom! They had shifty eyes! And they made you use your 'look'!" His mother replied, "Well, they treated Felix like he wasn't even there. And if it weren't for Felix, we wouldn't be living here at all."

Felix was eating quietly, but with a big smile on his face. He was kind of wondering who Slick and Sony were; the two others that Glitter had mentioned as being his and Myrdramon's buddies. Then he noticed everyone looking at him. "What?" His father said, "Your mind was in the clouds, Felix. Dea just said that we wouldn't be here now if it weren't for you." Felix chuckled. "I just got lucky, that's all. Besides... if my mind was in the clouds, the empowered heroes of Meta Star City would be splatting into it as they flew over on their patrols. Could you just imagine-?" But his mother cut him off at that point as she cleared her throat. "Ahem. Not at the dinner table. Or do you want that 'look'" she paused for a moment. "tonight?" Felix kept quiet after that.

Eunice finished her dinner, made some sign language briefly, then stood up and headed up toward her room with Ahab happily following her. Larry then said, "Ahab and Eunice, sitting in a tree..." Anthony wanted to warn his son that their mother was right there, but it was too late as Larry became the beholder of that special 'look' that no one wanted to get. Followed by that special 'scolding' that no one deserved to get.

Later that night, Anthony and Felix were seated in deck chairs on Felix's private deck in front of his bedroom over the stables. "This is a pretty quiet spot, Felix," said Anthony. "You have a nice arrangement out here." Felix grinned. "I'm still surprised that my bedroom is actually out here with its own bathroom and away from the main house. It is almost like VIP quarters. And its a lot quieter in there than you might think, dad. I slept beautifully last night. Especially with my not having to hear Larry's snoring. He is worse than grandpa ever was." Anthony chuckled. "I think he is worse than your mother..." Felix giggled quietly. "You better watch your mouth, dad... you have to sleep with her tonight."

Kornel Farmhouse... 27 December... Sunday morning...

Sunday morning was upon them before they knew it. And Felix heard someone knocking on his bedroom door. He got out of bed wearing just his undershorts and walked over to the door and opened it sleepily. Standing on his deck was Myrdramon, the Digimon boy from next door. "Morning Felix. May I come in? Your mom told me you were up here." Felix yawned and stepped out of the way, allowing the Digimon to come in. Then he closed the door and headed back toward his bed sleepily. Apparently, Felix was used to sleeping in on Sunday morning.

"Nice undershorts, Felix."

Felix stopped and blushed as he came awake immediately and looked over his shoulder at Myrdramon. "Um... how did you get in here...?" Having already forgot that he let the boy in. Myrdramon chuckled. "You opened the door for me, silly. Glitter told me last night that you met him. He said you were really REALLY nice. Thanks for being polite to him. He is a good friend. Anyway, I came by today to help you with choosing your Montropolis High classes. I brought the schedule book, forms, and everything. Your mom said it was a good idea so you wouldn't waste a lot of time with this stuff on Monday morning." Felix yawned again and sat on the bed, almost missing it. "Okay, come on over and sit down with me. Lets see these things. I normally sleep in on Sunday morning. Why are you up so early?"

Myrdramon came over and sat very close to Felix. "Mischief," he whispered. "Don't tell anyone..." Then aloud he said, "So... let's get your classes figured out." Felix grinned. "My bedroom is soundproof, silly. Your whisper isn't going anywhere." He then looked in the schedule book at the classes for each hour. "Is this right, Myrdramon? Three classes in the morning and only two in the afternoon?" Myrdramon looked and grinned back. "It is for you. Digimon and Pokemon have three in the afternoon. The last hour class is called Team Fighting. Its where your human partner and your Digimon or Pokemon work out for grades and improvements. Because you have no partner, you are being excused from having to take that class. You can have a study hall hour if you want or go to the Ice Cream Arcade and have a snack or play some games for prizes."

Felix nodded his head quietly. Getting to get out of school an hour before everyone else sounded pretty awesome to him. Myrdramon said, "See anything you want to take?" Felix began filling out his classes form. "I think I want Digimon History the first hour; Manga Literature the second hour; Animathematics for the third hour; then its lunch; Digital Sciences the fourth hour; and Toon Physics the fifth hour. And in the last hour class, Zecma gave me a tournament DigiCard that I can work with and I can see about learning how to work with the partner in the card. Funny that I haven't checked to see what the partner is yet."

Myrdramon grinned and licked Felix's face. "You got that out of the way pretty fast." Felix made a face. "Ewwwww!!! Don't do that, Myrdramon!"

That afternoon, the other two friends which Glitter mentioned a couple of evenings before arrived to say hello to Felix. Myrdramon was still there, naturally, since he hadn't left yet and Glitter had joined them since he lived through the woods to the North of the farm. A male rainbow colored hedgehog with green eyes and a tall slender male drakogoyle. "Hi. I'm Sony and this is Slick. Glitter told us about you, so we wanted to meet you." Slick smiled as he shook Felix's hand. "Sony and I are in a few classes together."

Myrdramon and Felix had been helping the boy's mother plant flowers out in front of the farmhouse. "Nice to meet the two of you. This is my mother." Dea smiled at the nice hedgehog boy, but when she looked at Slick, her expression seemed to sense an underhanded, shady spirit about the drakogoyle. "You boys can be friends with Felix but the first one of you who gets him in trouble will be the first ones to get both the look that no one wants to get followed by the scolding that one desires to get." She then looked at her son. "Why don't you show the boys around for a while, Felix. I need to get the rest of these flowers planted."

Before Slick departed with the others, he said to Dea, "I can tell that you don't like me much, Mrs. Kornel, but I think I can arrange a way to change your mind. I heard you had a daughter with an special problem. Would you care to tell me about that?" She almost gave him that look right then and there but instead, she replied, "Eunice lost her ability to speak because of electrical trauma to her throat. She has to use sign language to communicate. We got her Ahab as a companion dog and she will beat up anyone who tries to harm her dog."

Slick smiled at the mention of the sheepdog. Then he calmly said, "I know how to cure your daughter but I cannot do it myself." Dea's eyes opened wide at that statement. "How? Please tell me." He had her full attention now. Slick replied, "Your daughter simply needs to see someone else getting the same kind of electrical trauma she received and the shock of seeing it happen will restore her ability to speak. As I said, I cannot make it happen myself." Dea remarked, "Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Slick. I am more inclined to give you a fair chance since you knew something about the nature of this trauma. Don't make me regret this decision; I am already upset with the Japanopolis school system."

"Our school in Montropolis is a lot better environment," the drakogoyle replied. "And no, it isn't just monsters who school there; there are several anime humans who attend there as well. They wear clothes while the rest of us are usually as you see us now. Except I tend to wear a backpack for my books while in school."

Slick then rejoined the other boys for the tour of the farm. "I hope that helps to settle your mom's mind, Felix. Japanopolis has been a bit pompous lately so I don't blame your mom being upset with them so soon after moving to QC Planet." Felix then explained the nature of her upset state of mind. "It's the sibling rivalry issue. My brother Larry has to go to school at Japanopolis while I am going to your school with Myrdramon." Glitter commented at that moment. "Believe me, Felix. You are getting the far better end of the deal. That sibling rivalry crap is highly overrated and your mom has the right to be suspicious."

"So you guys are telling me that this issue is totally bogus?" asked Felix as he walked with the non-human boys on their tour of the farm. Sony replied, "I couldn't have put it better myself. In fact, if you had an accident in Montropolis, those in authority in Japanopolis would lay the blame on your brother. Just giving you a fair warning; they tried that with my brother Sega last year and he told them where to go stick their torque wrench." Felix had to laugh at that joke.

Myrdramon smirked. "Word is that they are still trying to pull it out of their backsides." Felix looked at the first friend he had made since coming to QC Planet. "Do I even want to know how how he got it stuck in their backsides?" Glitter giggled himself. "The more reliable word is that Knuckles helped Sega get the job done. Everyone knows you don't mess with Knuckles when he has the Chaos Emerald powered up." And the boys laughed again as they continued their tour of the farm. Tomorrow would be a school day.

Kornel Farmhouse... 28 December... Monday morning...

Monday brought forth the first day of school for the boys. Eunice and Dea were staying at the farmhouse, while Anthony had already left for work in Mythos Bay. The boys were at the mailbox awaiting their buses. And Felix was looking forward toward seeing how the first day at Montropolis High would turn out. Larry grinned when he saw his 'bus' coming. Except it wasn't a bus at all it was a fancy gold limousine. "Looks like I'm riding to school in style, Felix. I bet you have a clunky old school bus." But he was about to lose his smile entirely as bounding over the fences came the famous blue furred digimon, Garurumon, and he had a saddle on his back without a rider. "Which one of you boys is Felix?" he asked as he came to a stop in front of the two boys. Felix raised his hand with a grin. "That's me. But you don't look like a clunky old school bus." as he winked and made a finger pointing motion secretly at his brother. Garurumon laughed. "I sure hope not, Felix. I'm your personal daily escort to school from now on. Aren't I the lucky wolf?"

Larry was of course very JEALOUS! Not only did he have to SHARE a ride to school in a gold limousine, but his ride had to stay on the roads. He huffed and got into the gold limousine.

Felix was still giggling as he climbed up into the saddle on Garurumon and strapped himself in. "Okay, I'm set! Let's go!" And Garurumon then bounded back over the fences from the direction he had come from, heading south toward Montropolis.

Montropolis High School... 28 December... Monday morning...

Felix walked into the otherwise normal looking school building but on the inside the hallways were anything BUT normal. There were male and female versions of young anime humans, Pokemon, Digimon and other types of anime monster characters all milling around to and from their lockers and their class rooms. Many were chatting in the main hallway and the rest simply hanging out with their friends. "This...is...zany," he said as he got over his shock of his new school. He then began heading off toward the principal's office where he was slated to receive his locker assignment and get the finalization on his chosen classes.

"What do you mean that I can't take Digital Sciences in my fourth hour?" asked Felix as he spoke to the Digimon head of the school, Principal Agumon. "Digital Sciences is filled to capacity in the fourth hour, Felix," the Digimon star replied. "You'll have to take Toon Physics in your fourth hour and take Digital Sciences next year. I am sorry."

"What am I supposed to take in my fifth hour then?" asked Felix. Principal Agumon said, "All fifth hour classes are filled except for two. Anime Sewing and Digivice Dynamics. Anime Sewing is about filled, but its mainly females. Digivice Dynamics surprisingly have very few students in it. Three at last count." Felix arched an eye. "Why so few?" Principal Agumon shrugged his shoulders. "I really don't know. I always liked Digivices."

Felix thought about it and said, "I'll take Digivice Dynamics. But it is sort of pointless for me. I don't have a Digimon partner; all I got is a special DigiCard that Zecma gave me."

During lunch hour, he joined Myrdramon and his friends at their table in the cafeteria where he was glad to get something to eat. Also at their table was a random female Renamon who wore red gloves instead of the standard purple and with her was a hefty looking male raccoon/wolf/fox hybrid who seemed more than interested in the lady next to him. The meal was good and the talks went as expected but when Felix got up to take his tray over to the return slot, he noticed the hybrid had followed him with his and his girlfriend's trays.

"Principal Agumon told me that Game Master Zecma gave you a special DigiCard," he said in private as he walked with the human boy. "But he never said what or whom your partner was. Want to tell me about it? I ask because a friend of mine is a DigiCard tournament player and ever since he got interested in the DigiCard sport, he doesn't have much time to talk to me. And I was the one who taught him how to play the game originally. So give... what kind of partner do you have?"

"In all honesty," started Felix as he stopped at his locker. "I don't know who the partner is. Every time I look at the card's partner space, it looks blank. There aren't even any stats or writing on the card. But the back of the card has the words VIP Platinum DigiCard. Zecma said it was a partner card when he handed it to me but it is blank."

"Tell you what, Felix... during your last hour class, come on over to Training Arena Three Fifty Four and I will teach you how to play the DigiCard game. Maybe you won't turn out to be as big of a jerk as my other friend did. You can call me Raluta; it is short for my full species name." He held out his fur covered hand toward the boy.

Shaking the offered hand, Felix replied, "Okay, Raluta. I will join you at three fifty four during partner training class. Just don't hurt me when I am there and you will get to avoid the look that no one wants to get from my mother."

"I think all mothers have a look like that," he replied with a chuckle as he stepped over to his own locker and got out his books for his own next class. "See you this afternoon."

Felix watched Raluta depart with that swaying fluffy tail behind him much like the fox portion of the hybrid that he was. Fortunately, the five foot tall hybrid male was only interested in that Renamon he had seen earlier. She was pretty for a girl but Felix wasn't old enough to be thinking about dating just yet. He was still at the frogs and puppy dog tails stage.

And he liked what he saw of Raluta's tail.

At that moment just behind him, he heard Renamon say, "Just remember whose tail you are watching, Felix. I can tell you aren't interested in dating but you are staring and almost drooling at Raluta's backside. Then again, he is probably showing off just for you. Although if he doesn't keep his mind focused, I may decide to date Howlunarre instead."

"Sorry, Renamon," replied the boy as he looked over his shoulder at her. "He offered to teach me how to play the DigiCard game since I have a card."

She smiled at the thought and before she departed for her own class, she said, "I am sure you will enjoy it but do try not to lose your clothes during the training."

Training Arena 354... Montropolis High School... 28 December... Monday afternoon...

When Felix arrived just outside of the arena entrance where he had been asked to go, he overheard what sounded like an argument coming from within. "...and since you lost a match versus a guy I tried to warn you about," came the voice of Raluta as it echoed from the entry way. "you think it has to be my fault that you are so impetuous and impatient to the degree that you need someone else to lay blame on." And the whiny one replied, "It IS your fault! You said you were going to teach me the bank-shot maneuver and then you never did! He used it on me to defeat me! That makes it your fault, fur for brains!" Raluta countered with, "But you swore you didn't need me after you won that first match after I let you win against me in the training arena. You said your partner could teach you all you needed to know. So what happened to your partner? Why isn't he out here defending you instead of your letting me have it?"

As he peeked out from the entrance arch into the training arena, he saw the hybrid Cardmon student facing what looked like an anime human who was a bit pudgy around the waist. In truth, the boy reminded Felix of someone from back home he used to know. And the way he was talking down on Raluta was making Felix mad.

Fortunately, Renamon arrived with Myrdramon as she walked out past Felix's position and punched the whiny fat kid so he fell on his butt on the grass. "Principal Agumon just found out that you are on school property, Guido. If you beat it now, he might not catch you. Get going before he does catch you."

Myrdramon was standing directly in front of Felix as Guido did get up and quickly dash past the two as he evacuated the training arena. Then Felix's dragon digimon friend stepped aside and said, "Renamon and I are actually looking for Tai and Knuckles for a training session of our own. Just remember, Felix... if you feel like you're in trouble, yell for either me or Garurumon immediately. Come on, Renamon." She glanced over at the brown digimon dragon then back at Raluta as she said, "I lied about Agumon; play nice or else." And then she rejoined Myrdramon as the two departed to continue their search for their training instructors.

Once they were truly gone, Felix said to the hybrid, "I assume that was the jerk you mentioned at lunch, huh?" Raluta turned to look at the human boy with a grin. "I am sorry you had to see him. But Renamon was right; he shouldn't have shown up at the school. Agumon expelled him for cheating on his finals and causing property damage to one of the school Cardmon training machines. He refused to pay so the principal expelled him. Well, come on over here and we'll get you started with the basics."

After walking over to join Raluta at the basics table at the side of the arena, the hybrid held out a total of five starter packs of the DigiCard Adventure series card game. "Choose only one of these packs and we'll get you started on teaching you the basics of game play. For the record, Felix, when I bought these packs at the hobby store, I sort of cheated by using my x-ray vision to make sure you only got the five best starter packs you could get. When you choose one, the others will be safely stored away. Normally a starter pack contains three defense cards, two offense cards, and a utility card. Very rarely do you get a support card or even a rare partner card. I only chose starter packs that include a support card so your Platinum partner has help during a standard game. Therefore these packs contain two defense, two offense, a utility card, and a support card." He held the packs in a fan display.

Choosing carefully, the human boy paused his hand over the fourth pack before an inner instinct he couldn't understand told him to choose starter pack number two. With the pack in hand, Raluta put the other packs back into his duffel bag before smiling at Felix. "Okay, lay your partner card into space number one where it says Primary Partner." When the boy had done this with the very obviously still blank partner card, the hybrid continued. "Now open the pack and one at a time, pull out each card, look at the face to see what type it is and then place the card into either the defense spaces to the top or bottom of the lay out, the offense spaces to the left or right of the lay out, or the cross space over your partner card where it has the words Support Power on both ends. In tournament play, there is a locking grid to prevent the cards from being blown off the battle podium."

The first card Felix removed from the starter pack was a defense card which read Dragon Barrier - Permanent. The card had a description and a few stats. "When any dragon or partial dragon attack is used against your partner, all special damage is ignored and your partner only loses one health point. This per game effect is permanent instead of temporary unlike the common version of the cards." As he was laying the defense card into place, Raluta commented, "Damn... that defense card is really rare. I thought they discontinued making cards of that nature since opponents were all vying for dragon partners because of the excessive damage dragons can create. But... nice job, Felix. What's the next card?"

The second card to emerge was the support card which read Health Booster - Support. This card also had a description and a few stats. "At the beginning of a match, this support card provides your partner with twice as many health points and adds in a one health point regeneration effect per round. Note: this will not remove special conditions." As he placed the support card over the partner card, Raluta made another comment. "I have seen this booster a few times. It is an uncommon card a very few people actually own. You are lucky to have one of these support cards. What is next in that pack?"

The third card pulled into the open had rainbow reflective borders marking it as an ultra rare card, much like the VIP cards had. This one was the first of the two attack cards which read Elemental Strike - Combat. Like the other cards, this one had the description and a some starts. "When activated, this card creates as many elemental swords in your partner's primary element as their health points dictate per round. On your turn, you may send as many swords as you prefer at your opponent inflicting one health point damage per sword plus an additional element effect per sword. On your opponent's turn every remaining sword acts as a damage deflection barrier to return half as much damage back at the attacker. Once the swords are expended, the card's power is rendered inert for the rest of the match." He then placed this attack card on the left hand side of the grid. The hybrid whistled when he saw the card. "A Platinum offense card. You got LUCK-KEY, Felix. Pull the next one." He was getting excited.

The fourth card was the second defense card which read Opposition Dampener - Constant. Along with the description and pretty high stats, it read as follows. "When an attack element which is opposite of your partner is used against you, all damage is halfed while element effects are shared with the attacker. This can only occur once per match." He then placed this card into the remaining defense space as Raluta again commented, "That is one of the favorite defenses although it is weak versus your own element."

The fifth card pulled from the starter pack was the other attack card which was a very common and statistically despised card by the majority of the DigiCard players. Most times when this card was found in a starter pack, it was often pitched into a paper shredder simply to be rid of it. This one, however, read Distraction - Duo Effect. "Twice per match, this card may be activated to cause your opponent to lose their next turn which permits you to heal either one health point or twice the regeneration effect if you have the appropriate ability during your turn. Unlike the common version of this card, you are additionally given ten more health points." Raluta was laughing when he saw the card being placed on the table.

The last card pulled from the package was the utility card which read Blue Fairy - Utility. There was a description but no stats. "When your partner loses all of his or her health points, this utility card's power is then activated. This permits your partner to get in one last parting strike at the opponent which the other player must permit. Also remember that any beneficial card effects from other cards may still activate during this parting strike which includes regen effects from healing cards." As Felix laid this card into the 'floating' Utility card space on the table, Raluta commented, "The Blue Fairy. There are only so many of these cards in circulation. Now, I will place the glass lid over your cards and the next thing you need to do is step into this Cardmon training machine booth and press your face against the eye retina scanning mask and then speak your name into the microphone. This will activate the partner linking protocol in Monstrotopia and it will be from there that you will be assigned your VIP Platinum partner."

Felix stepped into the machine booth and the hybrid slid the hatch closed to give the boy the privacy he would require for the partner linking. Pressing his face into the scanning mask, he was briefly blinded when a flash of light caught him off guard leaving stars in his eyes and then he said his name. "Felix Kornel."

VIP Assignment Services... Monstrotopia... 28 December... Monday afternoon...

Giving the Cardmon Police the slip yet again, a crafty slender registered Platinum Partner monster arrived at at assignment services where he saw the others who had been in line now pressing themselves against the back walls as far away from the 'Next Please' light as they could get. "What the fuck is going on? You guys are acting like the next VIP partner is a girl. Well, since you aren't in my way now, you won't mind my heading to the front of the line." And he did so as he approached the sign in counter where the attendant who looked slightly annoyed at the others in the chamber remarked, "Finally. Someone with balls. Look over the card arrangement and then state your name as you place your hand against the VIP registration scanner. When you do this, you will be linked to your new partner."

The slender monster read over the cards on the monitor one at a time. "Dragon Barrier; that's nice. Health Booster; good, good. Elemental Strike; ooh. I like that card. Opposition Dampener; very useful." Then he paused when he saw the next listing. "Distraction? The most useless card in the Cardmon decks? And he kept it? Boy, does he have a lot to learn. But what is the Utility card?" He read the last entry. "Blue Fairy." He started giggling. "The second chance card is in this boy's deck? I'm in." He placed his hand against the VIP scanner and then he spoke his name. "Blackjack Jerbodra." And the power started scanning him into the system as the counter attendant now recognized just who he let into the system. "The master thief of Monstrotopia? Oh no! Help! Police!" And he pressed the alarm button but it was too late as Blackjack vanished into the matrix transporter just as the police raided the VIP assignment station.

But as was stated... they were too late. Blackjack was already being sent over and linking into Felix's VIP Platinum partner card.

Training Arena 354... Montropolis High School... 28 December... Monday afternoon...

In an attempt to stop the auto-linking protocol, the Cardmon Police stupidly tried to alter the VIP parameters to bring the fugitive back to Monstrotopia. Within the Cardmon training machine, Felix suddenly felt as if someone had not only injected him in the ass with a needle but an electrified needle at that as crackling bands of energy and power began rocketing up and down throughout the chamber while on the outside of the machine, Raluta saw the machine doing something he had never seen it do before. Fearing the worst, he did the smart thing.

He yelled for Myrdramon, Renamon and Garurumon.

From within the machine, Felix felt like he was being ripped apart as he screamed for help with tears dripping down his agonized face. The VIP Platinum Partner Card as well as the other cards within the sealed scanner begin to glow as one by one they vanished into a digital matrix and were sucked inside the malfunctioning machine. Felix's screams could be heard outside of the arena now as the others arrived and worked on getting the machine unlocked and opened to free their friend from whatever it was doing to him.

Mentally, Felix heard someone's voice. Stupid Cardmon Police. They altered the VIP linking parameters. Instead of linking to the card, I seem to be merging with the boy. They are so stupid sometimes. What am I saying? They are stupid all the time. Okay kid... just call me Blackjack. I won't burden you with the rest. I am part dragon, part kangaroo and part rat. My species is called a Jerbodra. We are considered to be a very rare breed and we live for adventure. I just hope you and I can work together. Sorry about your clothes though.

Just as the others were about to affect the emergency unlock on the trainer machine, the whole apparatus exploded which threw everyone against the walls of the arena. Dropping butt naked and face down in the center of the training field was the human boy himself still smouldering as the remnants of a new digital marking on his left hand slowly stopped glowing.

Renamon called for the school nurse while Myrdramon and Raluta quickly leaped back toward their friend to shield his nudity from the female digimon who was using the emergency comm unit on the arena's wall. Garurumon was examining the remains of the trainer which was literally gone in all the worst ways as he noticed that the cards were also missing. As were Felix's clothes; all of them. Including his shoes and even his underwear.

As Felix slowly came to, he noticed that Myrdramon was wrapping an ankle length trench coat around his naked body. "I wanna go home, Myrdramon. Please." The brown dragon digimon glanced up at Garurumon and nodded his head. "Let's get him back to the farm. He needs to recuperate in his own bed. As for the trainer, someone call Karal so he can examine that thing. They aren't supposed to explode like that." Raluta exclaimed, "I can't find Felix's special DigiCard, guys. It isn't here."

Renamon then said, "It likely went to where ever his clothes went, Raluta. I have half a mind to suspect that Guido sabotaged the trainer somehow. In the meantime, I will send word to game master Zecma and let him know what happened here. Hopefully he can cheer Felix up later tonight. These things aren't supposed to happen to real boys."

Myrdramon and Garurumon helped get Felix secured into the saddle and then with Myrdramon holding on so Felix didn't fall off, the three bounded away from the school, leaping over fences and buildings as they went heading north toward where the Kornel farm was located. "We'll get to the bottom of this, Felix," said the digimon as he held his friend in front of himself. "I promise." The human boy kept his head hung as he tried not to think about his being naked in front of his friend.

Kornel Farmhouse... 28 December... late Monday evening...

Felix was glad to be back in his bedroom in his own bed although he felt totally humiliated.

Of course when his mother found out what had happened, a good many teachers and students at the school were getting that 'look' that no one ever wanted to get. That very evening, Dea had a conversation with Anthony regarding the events of the day. "...and the school is still investigating the incident with the prototype digivice," said Dea. Her husband replied, "They had no explanation whatsoever?" Mrs. Kornel shook her head. "I couldn't get them to tell me anything. That is when I used my 'look' on them; they earned it. Felix was humiliated and the experience made him feel embarrassed." Anthony then asked, "When did the doctor say that Larry would get that glob of tar off of his hands?" Dea grinned. "A few days of constant immersion in cleaning fluids. I got to embarrass him tonight, though, when I got to feed him like a little baby in front of his siblings."

"I'll never be able to show my face in public again. I wish I was with Zecma..." Just then, a voice made an unexpected comment. "You don't really want that. Believe me." It was Zecma and he was in the boy's room having dinner on a floating platter. "I heard about the incident today, Felix. I am looking into it to see exactly what happened. But you are going to have to go back to school if you still want that carnival/circus job I promised you this Summer; I haven't forgotten." The boy sniffled one time as he whimpered. "But I was butt naked in school. I even lost the Platinum DigiCard you gave me." Zecma floated over and hugged the boy gently. "Better a game card than your life. Want me to spend the night with you?" The boy sniffled again. "Would you please?" The devil mouse nodded his head as he hugged the boy again. "Of course I will, Felix. We're friends, after all. Just let me finish my dinner."

Cardmon Security Corp... Monstrotopia... 29 December... Tuesday morning... 12:31 AM...

Thinking his surroundings were a dream at first, Felix didn't piece together that the body he was in was moving of its own accord as it performed stealth maneuvers from shadow to shadow and from ceiling tile to ceiling tile. What made him fully focus mentally on the circumstances he seemed to be in was when his body which wasn't human performed an action which he knew himself could not do as his body forced open an elevator shaft and he began shimmying up the cable toward the upper floors. The elevator itself was far below at the ground floor.

Where am I? What's going on? But as he tried to voice these words, Felix realized that like the Jerbodra monster partner from before, his voice was only being mentally broadcast to whomever was in the driver's seat. Blackjack grinned as he whispered, "About time you woke up, partner. We are currently in the Cardmon Security Corp headquarters in the process of trying to acquire the fix to what those stupid monsters in the Cardmon Police did to get the two of us accidentally merged together. Unless you are starting to like having a backseat driver on QC Planet that is... I would suggest you work with me here and I promise to teach you all of my tricks when we are separate. Although, I should explain that because we are currently stuck together like this, we now have the ability to cross the DigiCard barrier between your world and Monstrotopia whenever we like. Once we separate, which I plan to initiate back on QC Planet, we will lose that ability. But it is a small price to pay to get this mess straightened out. You DO want your personal life back, don't you?"

Well... he started to mentally reply but the rest didn't seem to want to come easily. There was some sort of weird enjoyment to be involved in whatever covert activity that Blackjack was performing at the moment and Felix for reasons unknown to even himself was starting to like this arrangement. Cross the barrier whenever we like you said, right? And you would want to give up this new escape ability... why? Blackjack just grinned in a sly manner as he continued his trek up the cable to the labs floor of the building; in a small way, he was hoping the boy could discern the advantages to this power the same way he had earlier before starting this mission. It was FUN to cross the barrier at will. Normally this was only allowed during Cardmon matches; doing it at will at any time... well, it was not only fun but sneaky as well. And as the boy just figured out, it was the ultimate escape ability.

As they exited the elevator and covertly entered the ceiling tiles space once again, Blackjack crept forward ever so carefully until he reached a marked location where he ever so carefully and quietly lifted the Styrofoam tile and gazed down at a laboratory table top where a deluxe digital repair kit satchel was sitting but it was within a digital matrix alarm field. "There's our target, Felix," he ever so quietly said to his partner. The boy who could only observe the surroundings mentally had a wider focus than his partner did at that moment. Blackjack. There are two monster guards just inside the lab door facing this way. The moment you make a grab at that satchel, they are going to see us. The Jerbodra slyly grinned at his mental partner. "Good thing you were glancing in that direction; I was so focused on our prize that I almost fucked up the whole exercise. Pardon my language. Therefore... new plan; I grab the satchel allowing the twits to see us as we dive out that window next to the table."

Aren't we on the upper floors of this building? I don't want to die here on your world, Blackjack. Felix had every right to be worried since he was paying attention to how many floors they ascended in the elevator shaft. But his partner replied, "Have you already forgotten, partner? I'm the greatest thief in Monstrotopia; I know what I'm doing. Just think of this thrill as a new roller coaster ride you have never been on. You'll see; I have done this before. This isn't the first time I've been in their headquarters."

The next few action packed moments went so fast that the boy didn't have time to close his mental eyes. Blackjack dropped down through the open ceiling tile and grabbed the satchel which set off the alarms and caused surprise in the rough looking guards at the door. But before they could close the distance and with the prize in one claw, the Jerbodra flipped backwards toward the open window pane and the last momentum enforced flip sent the thief through the small opening in the glass where he pulled what seemed to be a rip cord located somewhere on his back which caused a jet black hang glider with turbo thrusters built in to deploy in mid air. Grabbing the handholds, their flight away from the building occurred where as those giving chase simply fell after they exited the window and they dropped all the way down to ground level and crashed through the concrete at the base of the building. Anime style.

"See?" said the DigiCard partner. "Just like a roller coaster ride. Besides, aside from being purged by the Cardmon Police within their eradication chamber, monsters cannot die in Monstrotopia. So your dying in my world isn't going to happen. When we reach my hideout, I'll see about getting our digital frequencies split so we can try to have normal lives again."

But what if splitting our frequencies means that you lose the ability to be my partner?

This was the one possibility of the cure that Blackjack had not thought about. While it was true that it wasn't fair for Felix to be forced into this arrangement, the Jerbodra was starting to like having a partner to keep a lookout toward places where he might not be focusing on at the time. If the boy hadn't seen those two guards in the lab, then the two of them might be in the process of being purged right now instead of riding a black glider through the friendly night skies.

Blackjack's Secret Hideout... Monstrotopia... 29 December... Tuesday morning... 2:34 AM...

Within his own personal workspace, the Jerbodra partner was using the security kit's items to take a sample of his own digital matrix which he knew was altered by the boy's frequency to see what could be done to at least give the two of them some better peace of mind. "DigiCore Frequency is giving a 23.5 readout for the standard Jerbodra monster species, but the parameters are currently spiked all the way up at 190.1 which is the combination of all of the partner cards from the starter pack along with your own digital merging into my body, Felix. Humans have a Core Frequency of 100.0 as their readout. But for each card added to the mix, you add 11.1 to the ending frequency. Six cards plus the human partner plus the Jerbodra species equals the current readout. According to the scanner, neither I nor the equipment I currently have is capable of splitting our frequencies thanks to the DigiCards being merged in with us. We could still attempt this, but the ending result would not be our Core Frequencies; it would simply be the average which is still higher than normal. Now what do we do?"

From your own mathematical parameters, Blackjack, commented Felix as he recalled what his partner had just said. if we added another battle card to the mix, it would be like having two human partners in one body. And according to Raluta, DigiCard Masters are often adding new cards to their deck over time which means that we could become more powerful. His partner then grinned in that sly way of his again. "He said that, did he? Do you recall where he stashed the other starter decks at, Felix?" Yes, but... oh no. What new idea are you thinking of now? "Don't worry, partner... it is nothing terrible. We just need one more card added to us to initiate our ability to exist in both worlds instead of being merged together all the time. And you better hope you are NOT still merged with me when I go into rut in a few months... if you know what I mean. I sense that you are still a virgin."

Felix was not liking the thought of being around his partner during his mating season.

Raluta's Home... Montropolis... 29 December... early Tuesday morning 3:20 AM...

The Jerbodra partner was now in the mental backseat as he instructed his human partner in the art of sneaking into a friend's home. Because Raluta lived alone, there was no danger of encountering another unexpected and possibly alert roommate within their target location. Felix didn't like the idea of wearing a black skin tight outfit and the ski mask to match but Blackjack had a point that it was best that no one found out that the boy was actually doing something like this.

Getting into the home wasn't all that hard since the Digimon teenager hadn't even locked his doors before hitting the bed to go to sleep. Getting to the duffel bag wasn't all that hard either. The only thing that stood in their way of getting away with the prize was the fact that Raluta had laid a belt with jingle bells over the top of his duffel bag. Moving that belt meant ringing those bells. Clever homemade trap. I have to give your friend points for thinking this up. However, it isn't fools proof. See that small bag of cotton on the counter next to where we entered from? Very carefully use a toothpick to push a little cotton into each and every bell without moving the bells. Then we simply move the belt, take the starter packs, and replace the bells over the duffel bag. No one will be the wiser. Get busy, partner; I will keep watch so you aren't surprised.

Improvisation seemed to be Blackjack's answer to everything which surprisingly worked better than Felix thought it would. Following his partner's instructions to the letter, each bell was carefully stuffed with cotton and then they removed the starter packs from the duffel bag before laying the belt back into place and then, following the Jerbodra's odd request... removing the cotton from each bell and replacing the soft material back into the bag. Felix was glad when they were finally able to leave his school chum's house. The whole affair made him sweat.

Training Arena 353... Montropolis High School... 29 December... early Tuesday morning 4:06 AM...

"Why are we here, Blackjack?" the boy asked since being in one of the training arenas at this hour made Felix nervous. Especially nervous since there was another one of those Cardmon training booths nearby which they were using the card table connected to it for the preparation of adding another card to their mix. We can only do what we need to do if we have access to a Cardmon Reader Booth. I know the last one hurt you but I promise that you won't end up naked this time. Of course if you would prefer to play it safe, I would advise that you just strip naked here and now. I am obviously no girl and you have the same tools I have. Well, figuratively speaking. Felix wasted no time in getting out of his clothes and making sure his clothes were safely AWAY FROM the stupid Cardmon training device.

Once the boy was in the natural, the starter packs were opened as Blackjack mentally explained the rules. We cannot add in a card that is a duplicate of another card already in our mix. Additional Partner cards are okay to have although I am hoping we can get another useful tournament card. When opening the packs, simply dump the cards out so they land face up. We will use another toothpick to move cards out of the way because the moment you touch a card with your hands, that will be the one added to the mix. And you don't want a lame and useless card part of our exclusive package. There are four remaining starter packs, so let's see what we can get as a bonus. The boy quickly said, "Um, Raluta also told me that each of these starter packs had at least one support card while most packs, if the player was lucky, might include a rare partner card." Your friend is a sneaky cheater. Let's get started.

The first starter pack contained useless cards along with a support card that had a nasty drawback effect to add balance to the game. "I don't like the idea of forfeiting my next turn." I completely agree. What's in the next deck? The second starter pack had more useless cards and at least one duplicate of a nice card that Felix had already claimed. The third starter pack was the pack that Felix had almost chosen originally the day before. It contained five ultra lame cards which would disgust even the most novice player, but the sixth card was one that got both of their attention. It had the rainbow reflective borders marking it as an ultra rare card, much like the VIP cards had, but this was a card type that Raluta had not mentioned existing. It read DigiCard Master - Tournament. Unlike the other cards, this one had ridiculously high stats and a description. "When part of your deck, this card activates an elite classification ranking which should never be used against novice nor intermediate players. Your partner's statistics are quadrupled even before other card bonuses are applied and the additional ability of Adventurer is added to the player's primary controller. If you have other partner cards, they also gain this bonus at the beginning of the match." Felix wasn't the only one surprised by this card; Blackjack had likewise never heard of this card before. And he was familiar with the DigiCard rules.

That's the one, Felix. Pick it up and ignore the rest. As he picked up the special card, he felt something within him reacting to the card itself. Felix then turned and placed the card down on the Cardmon's scanner table and he closed the glass lid. Then he entered the device and he pressed his face into the padded mask and looked into the eye retina scanner.

"Felix Kornel. Additional card entry."

No one ever used these Cardmon training machines at such a ridiculous hour in the morning and because of the time in both worlds, the temp staffer who was assigned to card activation services hadn't been informed that if Felix logged into the system again to contact Cardmon Police immediately. Without a clue, he pressed the authorize button on his console before returning to work on his newspaper crossword puzzle.

Within the Cardmon training machine at the same time in which the boy said his own name, he heard his partner say, Blackjack Jerbodra. Additional card entry. And following that, the sparks erupted as the entire Cardmon training machine repeated history as it exploded in a massive fireball which actually cracked the walls of the arena. Rolling clear from the blast, Blackjack quickly grabbed Felix's clothes and after a quick glance around, he high-tailed it out of the school property. The Jerbodra was able to be active in the boy's world now.

Kornel Farmhouse... 29 December... Tuesday morning...

Just before the morning sun could rise, Garurumon was heard knocking at Felix's bedroom door. "Come on, Felix," said Garurumon as he debated stealing the entire barn. "I'm actually here early for a change. A whole hour early in fact. I want to take you somewhere and show you something nice that you might like to see. Don't make me steal the whole building." The boy opened the door and looked at the large Garurumon. He had his regular clothes on and looked as dashing as usual. "So where are you taking me? I don't want to go to school this early." Garurumon helped Felix into the special saddle and said, "Not school but something I have been told that you like even more than school. Trust me... you'll love it." And with that, he began charging off across the fields, leaping fences and farm buildings as he went.

Within the main farmhouse, Zecma had joined the Kornel's for breakfast when Anthony having seen the two depart through one of the windows remarked, "...And there they go. Garurumon just kidnapped Felix. Perhaps today will be a better day for him." Zecma then changed the subject. "From what little I was able to find out, Mrs. Kornel, apparently there was a digital energy surge that originated from the Cardmon training machine in which your son had tried to activate. The energies from the explosion is what left him in the nude in school. Further information gathered from Raluta, someone Felix had made friends with in school, revealed that an expelled kid named Guido might have sabotaged the machines to get revenge on Raluta for a petty and unfounded reason. Sadly, your son used the machine instead of Raluta and that is what caused the incident. The school had no choice but to drop the sibling rivalry accusation." Dea said, "Good thing they did because I was about to go postal on them with my famous 'look'." Anthony shuddered. "Heaven forbid, we don't want that."

At that moment, Larry entered the room and looked at the devil mouse who had been sipping his tea. "Zecma, what would it cost me to get this glob of tar off my hands so I can go to school?" The underworld rodent glanced at Dea in a 'Should I' manner of expression. Mrs. Kornel replied, "Larry, if you make a deal with Zecma, you and only you will be responsible for that deal. It is your call, Zecma; I have been invited into town today by some local mothers to discuss political things." Anthony remarked, "You just want to give new people that 'look' of yours." Zecma giggled quietly before turning to Felix's older brother once again. "What would it cost...? Well... I'll make it easy on you this first time. I don't get a point-blank offer such as yours very often so the first time should be easy so you can test the waters a little. Get used to the knowledge of knowing what dealing with a devil mouse is like on a non-dangerous level. I want you to tell me three animals that you really don't like at all. After that I will tell you what the fee will be to get that tar off your hands. Do we have a deal?"

Larry arched an eye. "That's it? This sounds like a steal! Okay, let's see... I don't like warthogs, swamp rats, and skunks. Especially swamp skunks. They stink worse than normal skunks do. Warthogs are too muddy and I don't like getting muddy. And swamp rats have beady eyes and always look like their laughing at you." Zecma giggled again and looked to Larry's mother. "I am almost sorry that Larry agreed to my deal without asking why I wanted to know what three animals he didn't like. Anyone else would have demanded my brothers to know what they were up to." Dea grinned back at the mouse. "And just what are you up to?" Zecma grinned back with a wink before turning to Larry once again. "Once the tar is off your hands and you head off to school, you will have one week to find, bodily hug, and kiss on the mouth... each one of the animals you just named, in order. If you can't do this, then you'll have to wear a diaper on the outside of your pants and have the tar glob again for a month." Larry frowned. "Oh Hell! What have I gotten myself in to?" Of course, his parents both laughed out loud.

Montropolis Fairgrounds... 29 December... Tuesday morning...

Garurumon with Felix in tow arrived at an overlook, where down below Felix could see circus tents and carnival rides. The large Digimon wolf said, "Do you like what you see?" Felix was smiling widely now. "Wow! Heck yeah! You really cheered me up! How did you know?" Garurumon grinned. "Zecma told me about his deal with you. This is the Digimon Fairgrounds. This coming weekend, the whole school will be coming here for all the fun they can handle. Its actually a reward for being so good in school. But if you quit school, you'll miss out on getting to come here." Felix smiled. "Well, I was upset because of the first day... but... I guess I can give it another chance. Thank you so much for showing me this." He HUGGED Garurumon's neck tightly.

Garurumon chuckled. "Can I take you to school now?" Felix replied, "Yeah. Let's get to school. Um, do you think it would be wrong of me to ask... if sleeping with you some night would be warm and cozy?" Garurumon grinned slyly though not where the grin could be seen by Felix. "I don't know about you but I would like that a lot." And he turned and began loping off toward Montropolis High School. Then without warning, Felix heard his partner mentally, So you like male rumpuses, do you? No wonder you had an erection this morning. Felix and Raluta sitting in a tree... The boy thought back in return, Stop that! I don't think of stuff like that! Blackjack mentally grinned. That isn't what your groin is saying.

Montropolis High School... 29 December... Tuesday afternoon...

Most of the day went by without a hitch unlike the first day. A lot of the students were a lot more sympathetic about what happened to him the previous day and told him as much. When it came time for his fifth hour class, Renamon caught him by the arm and pulled him into a side hallway where she hugged the boy and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. "About yesterday..." she said. "I know you were embarrassed because I saw you naked and because you got hurt. But please; don't be. I see naked boys all the time around Montropolis. And accidents tend to happen here in the monster mecca of QC Planet. Besides... you actually care about what I think about you. And what I think is..." she softly kissed Felix again. "you are a really good friend who cares about people. If you need any help at all, just let me and Raluta know; we are on your side. Now, we better get on to class." The two proceeded to class and took their positions at their desks. Sony came in next, followed by Mr. Mendelssohn. Slick came in last looking somewhat pale but his last class was Biology 2, so there wasn't any idea what their teacher had the students dissecting. Mr. Mendelssohn then turned to face the class as he said, "Students, today we will be focusing on the practice of player to partner conviction. In order to make this exercise more meaningful, we will be utilizing the prototype digivices that were the basis for the Digimon: Virtual Adventure Gauntlet series that aired just last year." He next produced one of the prototypes from the box on his desk and demonstrated it in use one time. "As you can see, it is equipped with a single battery which powers the light bulb on the tip."

Mr. Mendelssohn handed out the prototype digivices to his few students in the class. "The prototypes are, of course, disabled from the digital grid, therefore... they are safe to use in our teaching lessons. Let me demonstrate." And he pointed his prototype at Renamon and pushed the button. Nothing happened, of course. "As you can see, they are without the link to the digital grid. Now, I would like you to practice pointing your prototype digivice at each other and call out the classmate's name and the word Digivolve. I will grade you based on the realism of your conviction in this exercise."

Felix was doing exactly as he was told, pointing at each of the others and flawlessly shouting out the correct phrase each time. Renamon and Sony were also each doing as told, though Slick noticed that the two non-humans were not pointing at the only human in class which he decided to remedy right away so the boy wouldn't feel left out. Slick pointed his prototype digivice at the human boy and shouted, "Felix digivolve to..." and he pressed the button. And without warning the unexpected happened, as just above Felix's head for all to see unfolded the digital matrix for the DigiCard Tournament layout as the slots quickly filled with his appropriate cards. The 'Blackjack' partner card was crossed with the 'Health Booster' support card. The 'Dragon Barrier - Permanent' defense card appeared in the top slot as the 'Opposition Dampener - Constant' defense card appeared in the bottom slot. The 'Elemental Strike' offense card appeared on the left while the 'Distraction - Duo Effect' offense card appeared on the right. Finally, the 'Blue Fairy' card appeared in the floating utility card space.

The attribute statistics were the next thing to be displayed. Blackjack had a base score of 123.5 on his Health, a base score of 23.5 on his Muscle, a base score of 100.6 on his Wit, and a base score of 147.0 on his Reflexes. These were then modified one at a time by the cards on the matrix. The first modifications came from the cards bonuses themselves. This resulted in the temporary final totals of 203.5 Health, 162.5 Muscle, 251.6 Wit, and 315.0 Reflexes. Next came the special effect from the 'DigiCard Master' layout grid itself which increased all four attributes by a multiple of four before rounding up to the nearest whole number. And finally, the Health Booster doubled the starting Health score.

Thus the ending master layout grid had the following totals: 1,628 Health; 650 Muscle; 1,007 Wit; 1,260 Reflexes; +4 Health Regen per Turn. Blackjack Jerbodra's special attacks included: Raking Strike for 6 Health damage points, Shadow Breath for 3 rounds of Blindness and 3 Health damage points, and a Tail Slap for 18 Health damage points along with a 3 point penalty versus Muscle, Wit, and Reflexes due to Stun effects for one game only. Due to his high Reflexes and his Shadow element, he got a bonus on all Covert and Special Operations maneuvers. In addition and because of his Shadow element, Blindness effects were ignored since he was immune to them. To the left of the card layout was the damage location chart while the stats, attacks, defenses, and utilities were labeled to the right of the card layout. What probably surprised everyone was when the disembodied voice announced, "Tournament challenge accepted!"

Mr. Mendelssohn just as quickly shouted, "Cancel challenge! Override! Now!" And just as suddenly as the grid appeared over the boy's head, the entire layout vanished. Then the male anime teacher leaned back against his desk panting hard before lifting his gaze to look at his human student directly. "Is there something you want to inform the class about, Felix?"

Felix frowned as he realized that somehow the gig was up. To his partner he mentally said, What did you do, Blackjack? The reply was, That last card we added to our deck to balance out the frequencies... damn it! That was a Tournament Master card! I am so sorry, Felix; that stupid card made it so that anytime someone points a Challenge Beacon at you, a Tournament Match is initiated. Good thing your teacher knew the override pass code or else we would have switched places right in the middle of the class room. We need Zecma; now. The boy focused his gaze on his teacher once again. "I am so sorry, sir. We need to call Zecma. That accident yesterday in the training arena did something to me. But PLEASE! Whatever you do, please DO NOT call my mother if you want to avoid the look that no one wants to get!" Slick and Sony both quickly added at the same time, "He isn't kidding, sir; that look is for real!"

Moments later, the game master Zecma had arrived in the class room but sadly Felix's mother and his mute sister were with him. Dea had a calm expression at the moment, but her son knew how that could change at the drop of a hat. His mother said, "You told Zecma that this was an emergency, so please do not lie to me. What happened to Felix this time?"

Mr. Mendelssohn retold the events in the class exactly as they happened to both the mother and the devil mouse. "...and it was handy of me to know how to diffuse a challenge or else this class would have been in the middle of an arena battle." He looked at Zecma directly at that point. "Felix asked for you just after the situation ended." The devil mouse turned to look at the boy he liked as he produced a Digital Game Card reading device out of his shoulder pouch and activated a scan on the boy. And exactly as before the matrix appeared over Felix's head and the disembodied voice gave the announcement once again. This time, however, the surprise of seeing this almost electrifying effect over her brother's head made Eunice release an audible scream at the top of her lungs. It was Zecma whom gave a pass code this time by saying, "Players Zero! Display Only!" And the announcer replied, "Display Mode, On."

Zecma then examined the layout matrix carefully as he cross indexed a thorough scan for whatever this effect was IF it was even listed in the gaming index. "Felix... what card produced this matrix effect? I need to know if I am to help you control it." The human boy replied, "My Platinum partner, Blackjack Jerbodra, told me that it was a 'DigiCard Master - Tournament' card. In exactly those words." The devil mouse then entered in a precise search for those exact words and waited for a reply. "Just so you know, Felix... your partner is the master thief of Monstrotopia. The Cardmon Police have been after him for months. There is a huge bounty for his capture on his head and sadly, you are linked to him now. That means bounty hunters may start coming after you to get at him." Felix replied, "Fat chance of their succeeding at that; due to the accident yesterday which the Cardmon Police actually caused themselves, Blackjack and I gained the ability to cross between our two worlds at will. So even if they did catch him and hold him in a cell, I could simply pop back over here and be free in an instant."

The devil mouse rolled his eyes with an amused look on his muzzle. "That's what happens when amateurs change the linking frequency between a partner and a card. Well, we can safely say that the accident was not caused by Guido, Mr. Mendelssohn; it was caused by the Cardmon Police in Monstrotopia. They are responsible for the damage to the school's arenas." The male anime teacher replied, "I will inform Principal Agumon about that fact immediately. But what of Felix? Can you help him with his new powers?" Zecma nodded his muzzle as the information on the recalled Tournament Cards was displayed on his screen. "I should be able to... uh oh." Felix remarked, "I don't like the words 'uh oh' when I am the target. What did you find?" The devil mouse read over the data carefully before replying. "As I told you back on Earth, I personally created the DigiCard game and its rules. However, after I designed the primary cards and the game was a success, third party companies began to produce 'Special Situation' cards as part of add-on packs. They would buy a Starter Deck from my company, replace the most worthless card in the deck with one of the special cards, then repackage the new deck in their own packaging. These add-on cards were both good and bad. Some of them were approved by both me and the gaming commission. But there were a few that were deemed as far too dangerous to be allowed in the open circuit. We initiated a mass recall after a Tournament incident when one of these Booster Cards caused an unexpected display of damage to the arena itself and landed the opposing player in the hospital. In order to avoid a lawsuit, all Tournament cards were announced as illegal and a public recall was placed to get them back for permanent removal. The Tournament Card you named, Felix, is one of those special cards. It permits you to initiate a Tournament Match no matter where you are. But because your partner was merged with you, when the match starts, you and your partner switch places and he ends up in our world to do the battle." Felix turned to look at his mother and his older sister. "This just got extremely messy." And mentally, Blackjack quietly commented, We will work this out, Felix. I promise.

End of Episode One

Stay tuned for the next episode, Three of Hearts