Waving his rook around, James recounts Max’s revelation.  “Yup, that guy went through all that trouble to convince us he was simply a distant relative, plagued with the dishonor of a dead family member, and when he almost had us all convinced, he turned out to be a fraud.  Epoch Blaze was trying to infiltrate our military school for the top-secret information we have here, as well as to take me out, of course.  Mind you, he might have succeeded if not for the big secret that he had coming to him.”

    The group gasps and Elf asks, “What?  What?”

    “Have you ever heard of Max and A-Tron, as in the original Max that joined with the traitor A-Tron; not Ultimax, but Epoch Blaze in his first form?”  The kids all nod anxiously.  “Apparently, A-Tron was still alive and well inside ol’ Maxie Poo’s noggin.  Right when I was about to get my one-way ticket to the Drawing Board, as I’ve heard it called, that no-good robot froze where he stood, ready to take me out.  Another voice called out to me from within Max, saying he was A-Tron.  For centuries, he had regretted the horrible things he had done, but he was unable to override Max’s dominant programming.  The most he could do was finally gain enough control to hold Max still long enough for us to make a comeback and scrap that coward.  So, I guess you could say that my friends and I saved the world from Epoch Blaze.”

    “Wow!” The kids all say at once, with Faye interviewing him on the moral aspect of the fray.  “So, the whole thing came from a guy who was dishonest to keep his own hide safe.  In the end, the real hero was A-Tron for being able to admit his wrong and not give up on doing right, even if he was many centuries deep in failure and selfishness.”

    James looks at her funny.  “I wouldn’t invite the guy to my birthday party, but I can see what you mean.  Oh, by the way, buddy, only because you’re new to this will I tell you that you are one move away from beating me.”

    Kammy eagerly wiggles her eyebrows in a taunting motion.  “I was hoping you wouldn’t notice, but since we’re at this point in our friendship, it’s time to destroy you.”

    Laughing, James teasingly scolds her for not following the rules in notifying him of potential danger.  After a quick refresher, Kamron apologizes and announces, “Check!”  This results in three more moves each, with the death blow finally landing.  “I win,” declares Kammy, “because I can’t remember the ending word!  Check check!  More check!  Checker!  This is why it’s called Checkers, because it’s better than check!”

    James can’t stop laughing at her attempts to redefine the game’s vocabulary.  “You say ‘checkmate’ if you win.  Go ahead.”

    And so, Kammy Crystal wins her first game of chess.  “Checkmate!”

    Sitting back, with one leg over the other and her foot wiggly in the air, Gracie G. coldly points out, “He let you win.”  Gi has no idea.  This is just a guess since the guy’s got to be an expert at the sport whereas it is only Kam’s first game.

    “No,” he disagrees, “I didn’t go easy on her.  She genuinely beat me fair and square.”  James laughs as this results in an exchange of sticking out tongues and such.

    Duplica is not laughing.  “Gigi, Kammy, act like adults.  It’s rude to stick your tongue out like that.”

    “Sorry,” is the echoing cry.

    “Well,” says James as he stands up, checking his watch, “is there anything else you need me to say before I head off to ball practice?”

    “No, dear, you’ve been more than wonderful to my kids.” Duplica motions for everyone to stand and get ready to leave.  “In fact, you should realize what a role model you are for my students.  You’re the first one in your family since King Richie to have an interview with us.  That’s how highly I think of your character, in contrast to some of the previous generations.”

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