TRANSMISSION RESTORED

PART 10 — YOU CALL THIS A SPAR?

ONE YEAR LATER…

Wally wasn't sure if he had a dilemma, an obsession, or a simple "problem" with his mind. Not that he was losing it, or even going crazy, but he seemed to be losing control over what he normally thought. Whatever he began to think about, whether it was fighting, sparring, robots, his role in the Kids Next Door, or the KND in general, everything led right to Kuki Sanban, Numbuh 3. Even when he talked to Kuki, his mind seemed to go out of control.

He wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing, and even now, his tenth birthday, Kuki just seemed to fill his mind. He couldn't stop imagining her laughter dancing along the air like a butterfly spreading its wings lightly caressing his ears—

Was he falling in love with her?

It wasn't as if her filling his thoughts was hindering him, in fact, he almost hated to admit that he LIKED it—

"Hey, Numbuh 4…" Numbuh 5, Abigail Lincoln, interrupted his thoughts. Wally looked up at her and noticed that her tone of voice indicated that she was up to something. "Numbuh 5 remembers last year. On your last birthday, you showed Numbuh 5 how strong of a fighter you were. And now that Numbuh 5's trained really hard for a whole year, she thinks that she's finally ready to face off against you."

So, she remembered those remarks after all.

Smiling on the inside while keeping his stone-cold poker face, he looked at the African-American. The true desire of any warrior such is to face off against an opponent of great strength, and if Wally knew anything it was that Numbuh 5 could hold her own in a fight, in fact, she even defeated her sister Cree, ex-Numbuh 11, who had betrayed the Kids Next Door several years ago and was now a Teen Ninja. Numbuh 4 looked at her straight in the eye and said, "Foine. We kin dew this 'n moi rin'."

The two warriors walked side by side toward Wally's room, where his boxing ring/bed was.

"Numbuh 5 hopes you don't mind, but she's invited others to provide an audience."

Audience?

"Oi don't care; thoy kin wotch if thoy want—"

He almost froze when he heard voices coming from his room.

GIRL voices.

Growling, he swung the door open—

The rest of Sector V was inside, along with—

"WOT ARE AWL THESE CRUDDY GOIRLS DOIN'N MOI ROOM!"

Female faces and hair ornaments surrounded the ring. Littered through the audience were signs that read "GO ABBY!" and "NUMBUH 5!", and some that just had "5". Several cameras were also set up around the ring, and Wally KNEW that this was going to be broadcast to every Kids Next Door treehouse on the planet, including the Moonbase.

"WOT IS AWL THIS, ABBEY!" he demanded to know.

She chuckled, "Numbuh 5 knows you're good when you fight when you THINK someone's in trouble. That's called 'fightin' under pressure'. But now Numbuh 5 is goin' to see if you can fight under a DIFFERENT kind of pressure. Do you really think you can whip Numbuh 5 with ALL of the Kids Next Door watchin', AND with all these girls rootin' fo' her? Not to mention—" she pulled close a certain operative, "Numbuh 60 here was kind enough to sharpen Numbuh 5's trainin' this past year." She then pushed her cap up a bit and glared down at Wally, "Numbuh 5 may be your fellow team member, and a close friend, but NO ONE is goin' to take her title of Best Fighter from her sittin' down."

Numbuh 4 was about to say something that would make a sailor blush, but then they heard,

"Hello, everybody, and a happy birthday to Numbuh 4, under rather unusual circumstances. We're here at the Sector V Treehouse, and in his room where he has his own boxing ring, where his fellow operative Numbuh 5 has challenged him to a free-for-all fight. I'm Nick The Reporter."

"And I'm Numbuh 10. This promises to be the most watched event in Kids Next Door history, after the Delightful Children From Down The Lane hijacked the airwaves to broadcast their eating of their birthday cake, which, as they found out later, had been covered with bird poop."

"And since that disgusting display of a lack of taste buds and a sense of smell, all of the Kids Next Door has tuned in to watch Wallaby Beatles, Numbuh 4, Australian juggernaut, try to hold his own against Abigail Lincoln, Numbuh 5, French legionnaire. Above in the improvised balcony you can see our Supreme Commander, Numbuh 362, flanked by all of our Global Command, including Decommissioning Officer Numbuh 86 and several sector leaders as well—"

"WOT? 362 is here?"

"So, Wally, do you think you can fight under THIS kind of pressure?" asked Abby. The two glared at each other for a moment, but Abby didn't give Wally a chance to reply. Numbuh 60 took her aside to discuss something, and as they did, someone else showed up.

"Guten Tag, Vallaby." Numbuh 4 whirled to see—

"'Oiney!"

"HEINRICH VON MARZIPAN!" the German chubby boy growled back.

"'Ow did yew get en 'eyer?" demanded the Aussie.

"Ach, little Vally, it is a minorr arrangement done by ze Arrctic Base." He held up his hands to show they were cuffed. "I came to see you und Abby beat ze whey out of each odder." Wally was now getting into a rage. EVERYONE knew about this fight except HIM? "Und now, Vally, I know you'rre busy, but I vant to tell you a few zings." The boy adjusted his monocle and continued, "Ve may be enemies, and I may hate you all, but given zat you two arr varriorrs, und zat yourr'e going to beat up Abby—" He leaned down a bit, "I vish I could be you rright now." He straightened up again, and now a very stunned Aussie stood in front of him. The German nodded to someone, and two Kids Next Door guards stepped up, the 44 Twins, to him to escort him inside. "Now, blast zat's girrl's teeth out forr me! Blitzkrieg!" he barked.

Blast her teeth out?

But…this was just going go be a friendly spar…wasn't it?

Growling, he entered his room, and almost jumped when every single girl started booing at him.

Gritting his teeth and squeezing his fists, he marched toward the ring.

Numbuh 10 narrated, "Numbuh 4 is making his way toward the ring—"

"Whoa! Listen to this crowd! They really hate Numbuh 4! Or—they just hate boys," added Nick.

"Still, Wally's face is absolutely like stone, and the booing girls don't seem to bother him one bit—well, except for a few obscene gestures he's doing with his hand."

"But even so, Numbuh 4 has a look tonight that can burn through lead."

Wally climbed up to the ring, amid a volley of crumpled papers. He'd show these cruddy girls a thing or two.

Suddenly, the girls stopped booing and began yelling with a very shrill tone, and then chanted, "NUM-BUH 5! NUM-BUH 5! ABBY—ABBY—ABBY!"

Numbuh 5 slowly walked toward the ring, her gait displaying nothing but coolness, her gaze hidden under her cap, but she was definitely headed toward Numbuh 4.

"Now we have the best fighter of the Kids Next Door, Numbuh 5, a girl with the entire organization in her corner—or at least half of it," said Numbuh 10.

"Her cap doesn't let us see her eyes, but she seems to be ignoring the crowd."

"The French-African-American steps up to the ring and salutes our Supreme Commander, and Numbuh 4 suddenly remembers to do so as well."

"And now, their Sector leader, Numbuh 1, enters the ring and calls the two to the centre…"

Abby and Wally looked at Nigel, who had his arms crossed. "Listen you two, normally I wouldn't approve of this, and I would prefer that you'd kick some adult butt rather than each others', but I understand that you're fighters and you more or less HAVE to do this. So—just keep in mind that you two are FRIENDS and TEAMMATES, so try not to hurt each other TOO much." He sighed. "Good luck."

Numbuh 1 walked away, but Numbuh 4 and Numbuh 5 looked at each other for a long moment, holding their fists against each other.

"It's an unbelievable sight to see. They're toe-to-toe, and Abby is a whole head and shoulders taller than Wally. Could this be a case of David and Goliath?" asked Nick.

"Numbuh 5 knows Numbuh 1 is right, but she's gotta tell you somethin', Numbuh 4."

"Wot?"

"She's gotta kick your butt." She suddenly shoved his fists down to make her point. Wally almost felt scared for a moment as he realised that she was not going to hold back.

So be it. Neither would he.

The two walked back to their corners; Numbuh 60, Numbuh 2, and Numbuh 1 were with Abby; and Numbuh 3 and Tommy Gilligan (Numbuh 2's younger brother) were with Wally, along with—

"Ach, you know vat I said back zere about vanting to be you?" asked Heinrich, stepping up so Wally could hear him.

"Wot about it?"

The German boy looked at how the crowd kept cheering for Abby, and replied, "Forget it."

"Uh, woteva," replied Numbuh 4, suddenly not so confident, as a bell rang.

"There's the opening round bell. Numbuh 5 comes into the centre of the ring," said Numbuh 10.

"Are you ready, Numbuh 4?" she asked.

With a grunt, Wally stomped toward the centre of the ring, balling his fists.

"Numbuh 5 tries to cross kick to the back of his head, barely blocked by Numbuh 4," said Nick.

Wally was a little surprised that Abby would use such an underhanded technique, but as he thought about it he realised he had to expect the unexpected when it came to her. Still, it was difficult for him to concentrate with a bazillion girls in his room screaming "NUM-BUH 5! NUM-BUH 5! ABBY—ABBY—ABBY!"

Or, were they ALL yelling that?

He thought he could hear someone cheering for him among the chaos, and that was when he looked back at his corner and saw Numbuh 3 holding up a "GO WALLY!" sign, smiling and waving at—

He realised too late he had stopped looking at Abby—

"A tremendous foot sweep by Numbuh 5!" yelled Numbuh 10.

"But Numbuh 4 arcs into a handspring, flips over and lands on his feet! And now he charges at Numbuh 5—he feints an elbow punch and instead kicks her almost back to her corner!"

Wally was pulling his punches and kicks. Despite what he felt about fighting, and even fighting girls, he wasn't sure if he could bring himself to actually hurt someone he considered a friend—

"Numbuh 5 suddenly whips herself up and dives at Numbuh 4!" said the boy commentator.

"And Wally dodges her with ease and—he grabs her leg and twists her into a Reverse Figure Four! A signature move honouring his numbuh!"

Wally turned sideways, grabbed her other leg, and fell to the mat, pinning her legs with his own, and pinning her back to the mat. Abby didn't stay lying down like an actress/WCW wrestler: she squirmed and bucked, trying to break her friend's hold.

"You watch a lot of wrestlin' shows, don't you?" she asked him.

"Thoy taught meh everythin' Oi know."

"The crowd is stunned at the sudden shift, as it appears that Numbuh 4 has pinned down Numbuh 5 with hardly a problem!"

"'Hardly' is correct, Nick. Despite being pinned, Numbuh 5 isn't showing any signs of giving up, and this crowd isn't giving any signs of abandoning their fan, either—whoa! She arched herself and nearly kicked Numbuh 4 to the ropes!"

"He's a lot stronger than he looks, though."

The two returned to the centre of the ring, jabbing at each other for a moment, and suddenly Numbuh 4 smashed his head on her stomach, sending her to the mat, pinning her again a moment later. Wally was debating on releasing her and just ending this cruddy "spar", but the fact that she kept arching to prevent her shoulders from staying put was filling him with indecision. Should he let her tire herself out? Increase his hold so she'd give up, but risk a serious injury on her part? Call on Numbuh 1 and have him—

"She whips herself upright and sends Numbuh 4 to the ropes again!" shouted Nick.

"Not to mention she stirs up even more cheering from the crowd! Numbuh 4 bounces right back, however, and they now face each other one more time!"

They stared down at each other for ten seconds, and lunged at each other again, in a mix of judo and kickboxing. Since Wally had shorter arms and legs, he could give faster punches and kicks, though he thought that Abby could move faster than she was letting on. Either the "Best Fighter" of the Kids Next Door was also pulling her punches, annoying him to no end, or—

"Hey, Numbuh 5, when are yew gonna stop ployin' aroun'n get sorious? This s'gettin' bor—"

"A sliding kick in the face sends Numbuh 4 to the ropes and he nearly falls out of the ring!" screamed Numbuh 10.

"And she's not done yet! She backs Numbuh 4 to a corner and starts raining jabs on him!"

"Get outta there!" yelled Kuki.

"He's blocking as best as he can, but Numbuh 5 is lightning fast! He can't stay on balance—" said Nick.

"And he uses that to shove both of them out of the corner! Now Numbuh 4 tries to chop away at her midsection, trying to jab and kick—"

Wally backed off for a moment, and looked at his opponent.

"And Numbuh 5 just smiled at him! Her blocks are also lightning fast!"

Abby wasn't pulling back anything. She wanted to finish him off now before he got over his initial confusion. She swung kicks at his legs, trying to knock him down, but he was sturdier than he looked. Still, she had him cornered again.

"Numbuh 4 is in serious trouble! They might have to stop this one before somebody gets killed!" said Nick.

Numbuh 10 almost screamed, "Oh dear! Numbuh 4 is bleeding!"

"Whatever he told her, he woke the sleeping giant, and now he's paying the price—whoa! A solid hand from Numbuh 5 sends Numbuh 4 all the way across the ring!"

"And he's down!"

Wally, now furious, whipped himself up again, only to be shoved to the corner again.

"Numbuh 5 is continuing to pound Numbuh 4! She just will not let him out of that corner! He's just trying to get through this first round!" said Numbuh 10.

At that moment, the bell rang. Wally didn't appear to hear it, as he continued charging at Abby—

"Now the girl just grabbed his hoodie and threw Numbuh 4 into his own corner like a rag doll!" gasped Nick.

"ARE YOU DEAF, STUPID?" screamed Numbuh 5. Huffing, and with rage in his eyes, he backed off.

Nick continued, "A tough first three minutes for Wally, he's not only fighting what appears to be an invincible opponent, he's also fighting a very hostile crowd AND Numbuh 362 and Global Command looking on."

Numbuh 86 crossed her arms, smiling smugly. At last, a boy was on the receiving end.

Kuki jumped up next to the blonde in the corner. "Wally? What's going on? Is Abby too much for you?"

"Oi—Oi see three of 'er out thar!" he growled, trying to make the room stop spinning.

"Oh. Well, hit the one in the middle, silly," she replied, being her bubbly self.

"Ja! Hit ze one in the middle!" Both looked at Heinrich for a moment before suddenly realising he was right.

As Abby sat in her corner, Numbuh 60 stepped up and hissed at her, "You're not doing as you're told! The Aussie is small and wea—uh—stubby."

"…stubby…" she repeated. Meaning, he didn't have the reach she had. She had the advantage.

The bell rang again, and Numbuh 10 continued, "There's the bell for round two, and it's been a one-sided fight so far."

"I'll say. It will take more than luck for Numbuh 4 to survive this round. He's practically been hit with bombs!"

"He's trying to stay in the middle of the ring against the tall girl, though it doesn't seem to be working."

Abby connected a kick to his side. He tried a backhand, but she ducked, grabbed his shirt, and flipped him over for a body slam.

"WALLY!" yelled Numbuh 3.

Still, he scrambled to stand again, only to meet Abby's foot, which sent him down again.

Nick shouted, "Numbuh 4 goes down again—!"

"But bounces right back up! It looks like he's made of rubber!"

"He's getting killed out there!" whined Tommy.

"Numbuh 4 has taken Numbuh 5's best blows so far. He's cut and bleeding, but he's on his feet—"

"—and on the run," added Numbuh 10.

Wally had enough fooling around. Rage welled within him and now he was going to show her what he was made of.

"Blitzkrieg!"

He wasn't sure what Heinrich meant by that, but still, he ran toward her, and slid down for a kick. However, instead of sliding on his other foot, he dropped to the mat and slid on his rear.

Numbuh 5 didn't see it coming and he connected, almost knocking her ankles out of joint, and she fell to the mat. Wally continued moving by his momentum, and he smashed a fist on Abby's face.

The two rolled away from each other, but Abby felt something falling from her nose. She brought her hand to her face, and—

The entire audience suddenly stopped cheering and gasped in unison—

Numbuh 10 screamed, "SHE'S HURT! NUMBUH 5 IS HURT! And now it's WALLY going after Abby!"

Numbuh 86 almost jumped out of her seat, not believing her eyes.

"JA!" yelled Heinrich, quite happily.

Nothing was stopping him now. He came at her with a series of roundhouse kicks, with a speed he didn't know he had. Numbuh 5 was barely able to block them as they came, and now SHE was being held in a corner. He tried to grab her waist for a body slam, but she fended him off with several jabs. He came back with kicks to her midsection; the few that connected stunned her enough to weaken her blocking.

The bell rang again.

He continued to kick, and she suddenly charged at him.

Numbuh 10 couldn't believe it either. "Abby wants to continue! She grabs Wally by his shirt, shoves him against the ropes and gives him a HARD jab straight on his nose—!"

"But Numbuh 4 just picks her up and throws her to the mat in a reverse body slam! This is World War III! No holds barred on THIS birthday!" Kuki and Tommy jumped into the ring to grab Wally, while Hoagie and Patton jumped in to take Abby back to her corner. It took quite some effort to separate the two.

"I'll say! Wally may be on the receiving end so far, but he's here to fight. This is shaping up to be a personal war, and right now, it's anybody's match."

The blonde boy was made to sit, and Numbuh 3 jumped, "You're doing great, Wally!"

"Uh—thanks."

Heinrich jumped up to Wally's side. "Now she's vorried. You hurt her—YOU HURT HER!" he shouted with glee. "You see? She's not ze machine, she's ze GIRL!"

On the opposite corner, Hoagie pleaded, "Abby, are you all right?"

"How could you do this? You let him get through!" growled Numbuh 60.

"You've got her now, Vally! Blitzkrieg!"

"Blitzkrieg…"

"Blitzkrieg!"

"Blitzkrieg…"

"Blitzkrieg!"

"Blitzkrieg…wot does that mean, anywoy?"

The German boy looked at him for a moment. "NEVER MIND ZAT! JUST DO IT!"

Numbuh 4 shrugged at that.

After resting for one minute, Numbuh 5 slowly stood, her ribs aching, adjusted her cap and her braid, and looked at the blonde boy. "He's not human…" she mumbled. "He's like a walking jawbreaker…"

Wally then looked up, and he could see Abby's hardened eyes. So, she wanted more?

"Yew wont a piece of meh?" he shouted.

"YEAH!" she huffed, as the bell rang.

What followed was something no Kid Next Door would ever forget; even with decommissioning, this fight would remain in their dreams. Both the Aussie and the African-American pounded on each other with every single kick and punch they knew of. Side blows, body slams, arm and leg twists, back breakers, and even a dope slap or two. It also seemed that each punch to the head and face splattered the girls on the front row with water, saliva, sweat, and even a drop of blood or two.

The audience wasn't sure of all that was going on between both operatives, given that on one moment, Wally seemed to be winning with triple hook combos and a flying kick that nearly knocked Abby off the ring, and the next moment Abby came back with a foot sweep and a reverse body slam that nearly sent Wally through the floor.

Nick and Numbuh 10 were right: this was anybody's match.

Both wanted to finish this quickly. Extending this 15 rounds would be murder on both.

"Blitzkrieg!"

Numbuh 4 picked up a stunned Numbuh 5 and threw her across the ring again; the corner post was the only thing that kept her from rolling off the ring.

Still, she got up and went right back to the boy.

Moments later…

Nick couldn't believe it, "I hear cheers now for Numbuh 4!"

"NUM-BUH 4! NUM-BUH 4! WALLY—WALLY—WALLY!" What was more; some girls whipped up their markers and adjusted their signs accordingly.

"Nick, this place is ready to explode. Lethal punch after punch!—"

"And amazing willpower! There's the bell again, and both kids are backing off. Numbuh 4's determination is actually winning over the once-hostile crowd. This is incredible!"

"You're doing great, Wally!" repeated Kuki.

"Oi am?" he asked groggily, "Wot roun' is et?"

"Um, I don't know, I'm not counting."

"Never mind zat!" yelled Heinrich. "Therre's no stopping you now, Vally. Zis is YOUR round. No stopping now! You starrt, und you don't stop! All your strength! All your power! Everryzing you've got! You have to pin her down or knock her out! You punch and kick, till your arrms and legs fall off! Knock her out! BLITZRKIEG!"

Meanwhile, up in the balcony, Numbuh 362 was eyeing Numbuh 86 to the point that the Irish lass almost felt her helmet getting more holes. The redhead then suddenly ran off the balcony, and dashed to Numbuh 5's corner.

There, she suddenly grabbed Numbuh 60 by his shirt and barked at his face, "Ye train'd this fool—she's a DISGREECE!" and shoved him to the ground, where he was rendered helpless as she gave him a swift kick between the legs. Huffing, Fanny slowly turned to Abby, who was sitting in her corner and trying to catch her breath. The Irish lass stepped up to her and hissed in her ear, "Lees'n t'them…" her eyes flashed as she removed her helmet; the air in Wally's room was getting very thick. "Th'girls are cheer'n f'r a BLOODY BOY—!—ye IDJIT!" she spat. Suddenly Numbuh 86 gave her a dope slap, flipping Numbuh 5's braid over and nearly knocking her red cap off. "WIN ALRREEDY!"

Slowly, Abby raised her head.

Slowly, she opened her eyes.

Slowly, she turned.

Slowly, her eyes met Fanny's.

Slowly, the fire in her eyes rose until they matched Fanny's.

Slowly, the fire in her eyes overpowered Fanny's.

Slowly, fear crept into Fanny.

Slowly, Abby stood.

Slo—

The next thing Numbuh 86 knew was that Numbuh 5 was grabbing the top of her hair and was bodily LIFTING her off the floor by her hair.

"NO!" cried Hoagie, himself frightened by the rage he never knew Abby had.

Numbuh 86 was screaming in pain and was trying to claw herself free from Numbuh 5's grasp, and the audience was screaming as well—

Abby threw her to the front row, right on top of Numbuh 10. Then, she looked down at the frightened girl with dishevelled red hair, and hissed back, "Numbuh 5 ain't doin' this fo' you, OR fo' them," she gestured to the audience. "Numbuh 5 is doin' this——" she leaned down and huffed, "Fo' Numbuh 5…" She then whirled to Numbuh 362 on the balcony, and with her eyes still blazing, she pointed at her Supreme Leader and repeated, "FO' NUMBUH 5!"

Rachel just sat there, dumbfounded, stunned, and silent, as did the rest of Global Command.

The bell rang again.

Nick continued, "There's the bell. The war is on to the end. Which one of these magnificent fighters will be left standing, if at all?"

"Numbuh 5 gives a stiff jab—and another."

The two were slowly walking around the ring's centre. Abby's jabs grew in strength, and Wally had to endure a few leg sweeps as well, but he remained standing.

Numbuh 10 said, "Wally's taking hits, trying to say off the corners. Man, both kids are completely exhausted!"

Numbuh 4 wasn't returning the blows.

"Vhat are you waiting for? Hit her!"

Wally was taunting her now. He pointed at his chin, and barely dodged an uppercut. "Come on, foight meh!" he growled. Which she did, managing to land blows to the top of his head and kicks that he could barely block.

Abby jumped for another flying kick, which went too high. The boy then grabbed her arm and clumsily swung a series of kicks to her side.

Nick narrated, "The Aussie is chopping the American down—!"

"But Abby's swift right cross stuns Wally!"

"Don't go down!" screamed Kuki.

Numbuh 10 continued, "A backhand by 4, another backhand by 5, another backhand, another backhand—there's no technique, there's no strategy—this is just a street fight! It's a question of who wants it most!"

"Vat is he doing!"

"He's winning, uh, I think," replied Tommy unsure of what was happening.

Both kids seemed only to have backhands left, as they were barely able to attack due to exhaustion. Every blow was returned without any attempt to block.

"Knock herr head off, you dummkopf!"

A backhand and a foot sweep sent Abby on her back. Wally immediately jumped to the corner post and bounced of the ropes, doing a flying elbow drop toward Abby's torso. She narrowly rolled out of the way and staggered back to her feet. Looking at each other, both knew that neither could last any longer. They couldn't let their guard down, naturally, for even though both were exhausted and injured, both were still dangerous.

"…another backhand, another backhand…"

Numbuh 4 suddenly staggered back at one backhand, but just when everyone thought he was going to fall off the ring, he ran toward Numbuh 5 and did the same sliding kick again, except this time he slid a little slower then normal. Abby easily jumped over him as he slid under her, but her exhaustion and pain didn't give her much leeway.

Wally then grabbed an injured ankle and yanked her down with enough force that when she landed on her right shoulder.

For a moment, Numbuh 5 thought her joint had disconnected.

"Finish herr!"

Abby couldn't move. Clumsily, Wally crawled back up to her, grabbed a leg, twisted her arm, and pinned her shoulders to the mat.

In unison, the entire audience began counting.

"ONE!"

"TWO!"

"You're gonna do it, Wally!" yelled Kuki.

Hoagie was almost crying. "THREE!"

Nigel just shook his head. "FOUR!"

Fanny couldn't look. "FIVE!"

Rachel just covered her mouth. "SIX!"

"SEVEN!"

Abby couldn't even struggle. She had no more strength. "EIGHT!"

"NINE!"

Then, she leaned up and whispered to his ear, "Ain't gonna be no rematch…"

"Don't toll meh yew wont one…"

"TEN!"

Numbuh 5 raised her hand to signal she surrendered. "…uncle…" she barely said.

Numbuh 4 released her, and snatched the red cap off her head. Weakly, he staggered to his feet, lifting the cap as if it were a trophy.

The crowd squealed, and for a moment, it seemed that everyone wanted to pour into the ring. Even Nick and Numbuh 10 jumped in.

"Numbuh 4 has done the impossible!" he said.

"And the girls love him! It is absolute pandemonium!"

"More than ever, Wally has proven himself a true champion of the Kids Next Door!"

"AND THE WINNER: NUMBUH 4!" yelled Numbuh 1, lifting Wally's hand up high.

Kuki was next to reach him, draping him with an Australian flag, while Hoagie and Patton reached Abby and carefully tried to help her stand. Nick and Numbuh 10 finally reached Wally among the crowding girls, and offered their microphones to them, as it seemed Numbuh 4 wanted to speak.

"Thanks—" he mumbled on Nick's microphone.

"Arigato," translated Kuki into Japanese, for no reason at all, speaking into Numbuh 10's microphone. Wally looked at her oddly, but continued.

"Thank yew—"

"Arigato." He wasn't sure why she was doing that, but he continued.

"Oi—Oi came 'ere tonoight—" The crowd hushed.

"Konban, boku wa kita."

"Oi thought Oi was jus' gonna git some coik—"

"Boku ga saishuuteki-na keeki eru itekiita koto kangäta." A few in the audience snickered.

"Oi saw a bunch o'cruddy goils 'atin' meh—"

She thought for a moment, and said, "Boku wa funinjou-na onanoko no taba ni mita." ("I saw a bunch of unkind girls.")

"So, Oi guess Oi—sorta 'ated ya'll too—"

"Su, mitomeru boku wa funinju de aru hajimatta." ("So, I admit I started being unkind too.")

"But—durin' this foight—"

"Demo, kono tatakai aidani—"

"Yew—choinged 'e way yew felt bout meh—"

"Anata ga boku ni tsuite kanjita huhu käta—"

"An'—Oi sorta—choinged 'e way Oi felt bout yew—"

"Soshita boku wa wazuka ni huhu anata no koto kangerareta."

"In 'ere—"

"Koko ni—"

"Thar warr—a boy 'n a girl—killin' each otha—"

"Otokonoko to onanoko otagaina koroshita." Abby slowly blinked at him, and bowed her head in shame.

"But Oi guess thet's betta—than 'avin AWL of 'em—"

She didn't understood that very well, so she said, "Demo, kaiaku dekita." ("But, it could have been worse.")

"—uh—wot Oi'm cruddy sayin' ess—"

"Honto wa—" ("The truth is—")

"If Oi kin foight—"

"Boku wa tatakäkatara—"

"An' if she kin foight—" he pointed at Abby.

"Soshite kanojo wa tatakäkatara—"

"Then yew kin foight—" He pointed at the audience.

"Sate anata wa tatakeru!" Cheers rose again.

"AV'RYBODY KIN FOIGHT!" He smiled, raising his hands.

"MINNA-SAN WA TATAKERU!" As did Kuki.

With that, the crowd got on their feet, and applauded and cheered like never before. Reluctantly, Numbuh 362 and all of Global Command also stood and clapped, stone-faced, at Numbuh 4, all but one.

Numbuh 362 glared down at Numbuh 86, and reluctantly, she too, stood up, almost against her will, and also applauded Numbuh 4.

"Oi juss' wonna soy one more thin'—to Chad 'n Cree, in coise therr'e wotchin'—!"

"Chaddo to Kurii wa nagametara, boku wa atoipo-na kotodzuke ga aru!"

"(CENSORED) YEW, CHUMPS!" The audience screamed with laughter.

Kuki flinched and blushed at that remark, though. Thinking quickly, she translated, "INORU HAJIMARE, BAKA-TACHI!" ("Start praying, fools!")

"YERR NEXT!"

"KISAMA WA TSUGI DA!"

Wally then approached Abby, who was sitting at her corner, and placed her cap back on her head. Then, he gave her a hand to help her stand up. The two embraced, and she managed to kiss the top of his head. "Thanks for the hand—and fo' the fight, Numbuh 4." She looked at him and then lowered her head, turning to limp away.

"Abby?"

She stopped, but didn't turn.

"Abby, thare's no shoime en defeat if yew tried yer 'ardest." She just nodded, and slowly limped her way out. He began wondering if he should try to help Abby somehow, but right then Kuki screamed as she wrapped her arms around him. His legs suddenly felt even MORE rubbery and face turned completely red. He smiled a huge goofy smile at her and Kuki giggled again.

That sound was so uplifting.

As for the audience, they just continued cheering for him, but a few of them stared silently in amazement at how he had defeated whom they thought to be the best fighter in the Kids Next Door.

Numbuh 4 decided to play it cool like Numbuh 5, and he walked out of his room quiet and mysterious-like, like in the western movies he loved to see.

Of course, both fighters left for sickbay, where Kuki and several other medical officers had to patch them up.

After a rather long stay in sickbay, they sorely went up to the main deck where the others had cake and soda waiting to celebrate his birthday. Numbuh 5 seemed to walk perfectly fine to the untrained eye, but even Numbuh 4 could tell that she was trying to put on a brave face and focus beyond the pain.

It didn't help that her left eye was swollen.

Wally, too, sported a swollen face and had to get some patches here and there, his battle scars temporarily covered.

The cake was finally served, and even Heinrich was allowed a piece before he was sent back to the Arctic prison. After that, the kids sat down to play video games for the rest of the day. Numbuh 2 was still the best in flight simulators and tore everyone to pieces in that department. But when it came to "Tekken", Wally was unstoppable. As he played, Numbuh 4 caught Numbuh 362 talking to Numbuh 1, rather sternly. A moment later, the girl left, and Nigel just stood there, looking rather worried.

"Somethin' up, Numbuh 1?" he asked.

His commander stood there for a moment, and replied, "Just normal business, Numbuh 4. Enjoy your party." And he walked away. Wally looked at him for a moment, and was about to follow him, but Numbuh 3 suddenly grabbed his hand to take him to the cake again. He forgot about Nigel, for now.

This was Numbuh 4's best birthday party so far. But as always, the night came and everyone left. And, as he did last year, he walked Kuki home. As he led her to her door, she opened it up and stopped. "Hey Wally, I have a special present for you that I didn't want the others to see."

Wondering what she could possibly be talking about, his thoughts were derailed when she suddenly glomped him and kissed him on the cheek.

He just stood there in shock, and a moment later he smiled like a big doofus, the pain of his injuries momentarily forgotten.

"Good night, Wally," she giggled, and closed the door behind her.

Still smiling, he turned around and almost floated to his own house. He couldn't stop thinking about the kiss she gave him. He sure loved birthdays now—

"OOFF!"

Until he ran crotch-first into a fire hydrant.

If anything could pull him out of a trance, it was a low blow, especially this one, as it seemed that the pain connected to every bruise and cut he had received from Abby. As any other male would, he tumbled to the sidewalk and lay there for some time, waiting for the pain to subside. Eventually, he slowly got up to hobble his way home.

A loud crack of lightning behind him made him jump, and he whirled to see a large black thunderhead heading over town, and in his direction. He tried to run, or at least walk fast, in spite of his pain, but the downpour began before he reached his street, drenching him completely. By the time he opened his door it looked as if he had just jumped into a river, though the water was easing the sting off his injuries somewhat.

He hated the rain.

Tonight it seemed like God had turned on a water faucet in Heaven and left it running all night. Once inside the comfort of his room, he stripped from his freezing clothes, he dried himself, and changed into his feety pyjamas. He then slid under the covers and tried to fall asleep, but with the rumbling thunder nearby it was rather difficult, and it didn't help when his house was occasionally shaken by a nearby strike. The cloudburst didn't last too long, naturally, and eventually he could tell that the rain was dissipating, and the sound of the rain diminished to a gentle rhythm. He fell asleep quickly by then; lulled by the sound of the rain.

As darkness enveloped him, and as his body rested, two thoughts lingered in his mind:

He hated the rain.

He hated birthdays.

(…snore…)

TRANSMISSION INTERRUPTED