Chapter 9

Kisses and Tabloids

"So Dr. Javedson you still won't admit your crimes?" Dr. Regal asked as he cracked the slender black whip that he had in his hands across Dr. Javedson's now bare back once more ripping his flesh. It was taking everything that Dr. Javedson had not to scream. "I have to say that I'm impressed by your resolve," Dr. Regal commended, "I see where your daughters get it from."

At the mention of his children Dr. Javedson raised his head glaring at the man before him and then spat in his face only to receive another lashing, this time across his cheek. "And their spirit too." Regal commented as he brought his hand across his face.

"Why are you doing this?" Dr. Javedson asked, the words practically empty.

A crooked vindictive smile came over Regal's face as he heard the words; he turned to look at his captive. "It's all part of my plan of course." He replied.

"Your plan?" Dr. Javedson asked in reply.

"Yes," Dr. Regal said, "you were all so blind just as I predicted. Your very downfall has been in the works ever since my viruses voiced my very return. You all believed that every attack that I've brought about since then was separate, all blind attacks trying bring you down, and how wrong you were. They were all connected, intricate, like the strands of a web, and now you've all flown in. They all served their purpose, giving you newfound strength, creating new relationships while straining others, part of me has to thank you. Without the secrets you all withheld from your children it would have been a lot harder," Dr. Regal concluded as he folded the whip and turned to leave the room. "Thanks for the help, and rest in peace."

"Wakey, wakey," Terra said in her singsongy voice as Lan and the others started to come too. She thought back to when they had called a car and they had to take them back to the hotel, thank goodness there was a vehicle access at the back door. The last thing they needed was someone getting the wrong idea.

Lan was the first one to come around, when he did and managed to open his eyes everything was hazy, and unfortunately the first person he laid eyes on was Chaud. He was still fuzzy so when he saw Chaud with jet-black hair he completely freaked out.

"OMG, it's a pod person!" he exclaimed making everyone in the room jump.

"Hugh!" Mega and Maylu gasped as Lan's shout brought them to the realm of the conscious.

"Lan its ok," Whisper said as she grabbed Lan and pushed him back down on the sofa, "it's just henna."

Lan slowly raised one of his eyebrows as he looked at Chaud but seamed to decide not to pursue whatever he was thinking.

"How long have we been our for?" Mega asked as he rubbed his head.

"For two hours, you really had me worried," Roll commented as she sat down by Mega, brushing the hair out of his face.

"It shouldn't have been that big of a deal," Mega replied, "there wasn't anything wrong, it was just shock."

"Shock is an understatement," Lan added, "Whoever in a million years would have ever thought…that…" Lan said as he trailed off when he felt two pair of eyes boring into him, especially Chaud's. With is hair being totally black it seamed to make his stare even more intimidating.

"You tell anyone Hikari and you are dead," Chaud stated. Lan's eyes widened, he hadn't ever heard Chaud demand something so strongly before.

"Ok," Terra said after a few seconds of silence, "who wants to play Taboo?" she asked as she held the game in her hand.

"Worthless..." Regal stated as he walked back to his temporary darkened control room holding his now bloody whip, but he had gotten what he wanted. The lashing he had given Dr. Javedson had provided him with a vital piece of information, and now he was positive the scientist's baby girl's soul would be his for the taking.

Regal smiled at his accomplishment, all of Scilab was now under his control, and soon no one would stand in his way, not Kiefer, not Dr. Hikari and especially not Dentech's saviors. They were all about to experience a loss from which they would never recover. And now everything was in place for that fall. Regal pressed a button on the PET that he was carrying causing a slight glow in the dark complex, "Burnerman, Novaman, set the charges."

Behind him we see a shift in the light as someone moves, Regal notices it too on the reflective surface of one the many framed pictures that hung on the wall. He smiles, nothing would stand in his way, not even them.

"We have a problem," Dark Whisper stated as she walked into the security room where she Dark Protoman and Dark Megaman were stationed, "It's starting."

"Where is it?" Terra asked as she rummaged through the box as she looked for her timer, she had managed to get Chaud and Proto to agree not to kill Lan and to play the game but now she couldn't find her timer.

"Here it is." Maylu said as she picked up an hourglass timer off the floor.

"No, I'm not looking for that one, its useless," Terra replied, "once everyone gets into the game no one even remembers to look at that timer, that's why I always have one that will go off, but I can't find it." Terra said as she gave up and put the box down. For such a tiny piece of cardboard it seemed to be a bottomless pit.

"You know I think it's in your luggage bag." Whisper stated.

"Why would it be in there?" Terra asked, "I never took it out and the box never came open…no it's in there…I think," Terra said seaming to remember something after receiving a demanding look from her sister.

"Well while you go look for it I'm going to change." Maylu said as she got up, Lan, Mega and her were the only ones not in pajamas.

"I might as well too," Lan said as he got up and followed her, Mega just simply switched out his program.

"Showoff," Lan stated as he and the others left.

"So sis, what do you want to talk about, because I know I didn't leave this timer in here." Terra stated as she picked up the timer off the top of her dresser.

"The bet," Whisper said with a sigh.

"You wanna back out?" Terra asked, the question being more like a statement.

"Yeah," Whisper admitted, "I honestly didn't think that I would lose, and I wouldn't have if I'd paid closer attention to you."

"Well it's not like you're the only one who lost." Terra stated.

"But you don't have anything to lose," Whisper replied, "everyone knows that you and Chaud don't like each other like that, at least not yet. But everyone knows that I have a crush on Proto, even him, the only thing that this bet would accomplish is make things weird between us. At least now I can deny it, but if I kiss him it would be all over."

"Not if you told him it was a bet, especially one that had nothing to do with him."

"But-" Whisper started when she was interrupted.

"Sorry," Terra interjected; she was going to make sure her sister saw this through.

Whisper dropped her hands in defeat. "So when am I suppose to do it, or how even?" she asked.

"You really didn't think this through did you?" Terra asked, when Whisper didn't answer she continued, "Oh well, I'm sure you'll find a way," Terra said as she tapped the timer against the palm if her hand sidestepping her sister in the process as she walked out of the doorway. "You always do."

"Found it," Terra called as she came back into the main room with the timer, and set back down on her spot on the couch with Whisper coming in a few seconds behind her. "So how do you want to play? Boys against girls, netop against netnavi, what?"

"We could answer that age old question." Lan suggested. Terra smiled.

"Which one?" she asked. "There's the question of whose smarter boys or girls, or the newer age old question of whose smarter, netop or netnavi? Which one do you want to answer?"

"It'll probably be best to answer the netnavi netop question." Mega commented.

"Why?" Lan asked, "Boys vs. girls is always fun."

"Well considering the fact that most of us now have a mental connection, how many of us would be able to ignore the voice in the back of our head yelling the answer and not cheat? Especially you?" Mega replied directing his last statement to Lan.

"Netop against netnavi it is then," Terra said as she, Lan, Chaud, and Maylu got on one side of the coffee table and Proto, Mega, Roll and Whisper on the other. "Call it," Terra said as she held out a quarter.

"Heads," Mega called, Terra flipped the coin turning it over on the back of her hand.

"Tails," Terra stated as she raised her hand and then setting the timer and grabbing her first card looking at her first word, "kryptonite".

"Ha, you so went down," Lan stated a few hours later, 3 o'clock to be exact.

"Lan you won by a point," Mega commented.

"Like I always say I take what I can get." Lan replied with a shrug.

With everyone talking Terra took a second to look at her sister who seamed to be getting more nervous by the second. "Waiting's only going to make it worse." Terra stated mentally through the link, which only caused Sky to glare at her. After a few seconds Whisper started to reach for the cards and game pieces that were lying around putting them back into the box. With the lid still open she stood up and seeming to lose her grip she let the box slip from her fingers leaving it to fall on Proto, surprisingly at just the right angle to knock his shades off.

"Oh I am so sorry!" Whisper exclaimed as she started to grab some of the spilled cards and put them back in the box.

"It's no problem," Proto replied as he helped her pick up the remaining cards as well as the timer.

"Thanks," Whisper said as she finally picked Proto's shades off the floor, "here," she stated as she handed him his shades back and at the same time leaned in and brought her lips to his, once it was all over the room was dead quiet, jaws dropped across the board. Everyone was in such a shock that no one even noticed that Terra had her PET out and had taken a number of pictures. She had her blackmail. Whisper slowly backed away looking almost mortified and walked out of the still quiet room, Terra was the first to speak.

"Ok, that was unexpected," she said to her friends who still seamed to be recovering, Proto looked as if he was in some other universe, "well goodnight, or should I say good morning?" Terra concluded as she stood up to leave seeing Sky at the end of the hall staring her down.

Terra smiled and then looked at Chaud, "Thanks for such a great day." she stated as she leaned down and gave him a light kiss on the cheek, and then throwing Lan a threatening look when his eyes widened even more as she left. As both sisters' departed everyone- or at least everyone who was confused- seamed to come out of their stupor.

"Well," Mega said once he gained his barrings, "no one can say that this vacation hasn't had an interesting start."

Terra smiled at hearing Mega's comment and continued down the hall after stopping to hear her friends reactions, her smile got even bigger when she saw the utter look of betrayal on her sisters face.

"You traitor!" Whisper exclaimed in a hushed tone as she and Terra walked into the room that they were sharing with Roll and Maylu. "What was that?"

"A kiss on the cheek." Terra replied acting as though she had no idea why here sister was reacting the way she was.

"You were suppose to-" Whisper started to say.

"Kiss him on the mouth?" Terra said completing her sister's question, "Actually I didn't have to. I said that if you lost you would have to kiss Proto on the mouth, I said if I lost that I would just have to kiss Chaud, I never specified where." Terra watched as the information sunk in and her sister's disbelief grew. Her revenge had been perfect.

"Technicalities," she stated.

"Technicalities." Terra replied.

"So it was a bet?" Proto asked; it was later that night, or early morning, and mostly everyone had fallen asleep excluding Chaud and Proto who were now speaking in hushed tones so as not to disturb Lan and Mega who and simultaneously fallen asleep half an hour before.

"Yeah," Chaud replied, "Whisper was trying to trap Terra and me together and managed to get tangled up in her own web, kissing you was just the terms of the loss. Why are you asking?"

"Just wondering," Proto replied, "It's not like I've been kissed before, so I can't say for sure, but it seamed to have a little more feeling than a kiss that was just the result from losing a bet."

"Well she dose like you," Chaud continued, "I'm sure that had some effect."

"I guess," Proto replied, "I have no idea why though,"

"Have no idea why what?" Chaud asked.

"Why she would like me to the point of having a crush on me." Proto stated, "I haven't exactly been the warmest guy she's known."

"Must be your unique charm," Chaud replied, "Sky's always had a thing for mystery and challenge, needless to say you have an abundance of both."

"Must be," Proto said in an even lower tone, as his energy level finally dropped to rock bottom and pulled him into stasis mode.

Chaud let out a low chuckle when he sensed that Proto was no longer awake, it wasn't like him to dwell over something like this.

"How much time do we have?" Dark Protoman asked.

"We're out of time," Dark Whisper stated, "he already has some of his lackeys setting the charges."

"Who?" Dark Megaman asked.

"Burner and Novaman." Dark Whisper replied.

"Well that might buy us some time," Dark Protoman stated, "Nova and Burnerman don't exactly work well together, their egos will get in they way, they both think that they're such hot shots."

"And what exactly do you suggest that we do with it?" Dark Whisper asked.

"Find some allies," Dark Protoman replied as he started to leave the room leaving Dark Whisper and Dark Megaman to look curiously at each other before they followed.

"What do you think is going on here?" Famous asked.

"I'm not sure," Dr. Hikari replied as he thought about it, "it doesn't make any sense, no darkloid have ever gone against its programming."

"Maybe it was acting," Manuela suggested, "to give us a false sense of hope?"

"And be able to flawlessly cover up deep seeded programmed hate?" Dr. Hikari asked in reply, "I don't think it's likely."

"Then what is going on?" Chief Kiefer asked, no one seamed to have an answer.

"Maybe we can clear it up for you." A voice stated that didn't belong to anyone in the group. Looking to the source of the sound the four captives saw the three darkloids emerge form the shadows. The voice had belonged to Dark Protoman and Dark Megaman and Whisper were behind him to either side.

"What do you want?" Chief Kiefer asked in a low growl.

"We want to help you," Dark Protoman replied as Dark Whisper and Megaman walked from behind him and toward the group; Dark Megaman toward Dr. Hikari and Dark Whisper to Manuela.

"We're loosing your bonds so don't move," Dark Whisper stated as she worked her fingers under the ropes and removing some of the tension to the point where if you wiggled in just the right direction you could slip out, but tight enough so you still looked as if you were held. "Sorry about the whole body snatching routine," Dark Whisper whispered as she finished and moved on to Famous.

"Why are you doing this?" Dr. Hikari asked as Dark Megaman finished and reluctantly started to move on to the Chief. Dark Megaman turned to him and answered in a tone of voice that was all too familiar, "Because we're the only ones who can." He replied.

"What do you mean you're the only ones who can?" Kiefer asked, his tone being quite less than gracious.

"We mean exactly what we say," Dark Protoman stated, "your children are out of the country, your workers have been let off, and no one suspects a thing, not even your families. If we do nothing Regal will kill you, he'll leave your kids to pick up the pieces, and he'll get away with it because no one knows he's here. In the end it'll just look like a tragic accident. Is that what you want?" Dark Protoman asked.

"What do you need us to do?" Dr. Hikari asked. It was awfully forward to trust a darkloid but there was something about the three, they no longer seamed threatening.

"You need to trust us," Dark Whisper replied.

"If you want our trust you're going to have to earn it," Manuela said, speaking up, "we're missing a colleague, Dr. Javedson, do you know were he is?"

Dark Whisper and the others looked at each other, "You don't want to know," she stated, her eyes filling with something that no one had ever seen, remorse, guilt.

"Tell us anyway," Dr. Hikari replied.

Terra woke up the next morning with the sun on her face, opening her eyes and looking at the clock she noticed that it was past nine although everyone else was still asleep. But that's what you get when you stay up until three in the morning, and the little sleep that she did get hadn't been very restful.

Once things had quieted down she had started to think about what her sister had said when she was trying to back out of the bet. How making her go through with it could make things awkward between Proto and her. Terra had been so caught up in getting her sister back that she really hadn't thought about what her sister was trying to tell her. After all it was just a losing bet kiss. But in the mist of all that she had forgotten exactly how much Whisper liked Proto. It would have been next to impossible for Whisper to kiss Emery without some of that affection finding a way through. What if Proto had detected that? She might have just thrown Sky in the middle of some thing that she knew she wasn't ready to deal with.

Quietly getting out of her bed so as not to wake anyone up she slipped into the shower and then out of the room and into the hall and walked to the lobby. Since it was still early morning there wasn't anyone around except the receptionist who was sitting at her station looking at a magazine. Deciding to loiter around for a while Terra grabbed a bagel and some cream cheese from the kitchen and went back to the lobby to eat it, immersing herself into one of the huge, plush chairs.

After a while Terra noticed that she was being watched, ever so often the receptionist would look up from her magazine and stare at her, a few minutes later she got up and went into the back to some of the offices and appeared with two other girls pointing to the magazine she had been reading and then glance at her. It was then that Terra took notice of the magazine rack that held all of the latest issues from the newest ragtag tabloid to National Geographic; but it was the latest People that caught Terra's eye.

Almost in disbelief Terra took the magazine down in both hands and stared at the cover title that was in all bolded caps. SWINGING BLAZES: the Elusive Blaze Quest Teen Vice-President Spotted Paining the Town Red! And the picture that accompanied it was a snapshot of Chaud and her in the middle of one of their 1940's dance moves. Terra fearfully turned to the page of the article and to her horror noticed that it was full of shots of she and Chaud from the day before starting from the point where they 'borrowed' the bike from Blaze Quest and stopping where she had given Chaud a kiss on the cheek that night. How had they gotten that picture? Turning her attention from the photos Terra focused on the article, that was photographed and written by some guy named Kevin Bryce and she started to read the article to herself.

"Everyone has those days, days where your boss sends you out on some mindless assignment, but for me, my day didn't end the way it started. Imagine my surprise when I'm walking down the street and for some reason just happen to take notice of a teenaged couple coming off a bus and heading in the opposite direction from me. To start with I really didn't take that much notice, after all it's not an uncommon sight, but it was the boy's eyes that grabbed my attention. Upon looking closer I noticed he greatly resembled Chaud Blaze although his hair was all black, I decided to follow the couple for a few seconds and was greatly rewarded when his companion who I have yet to identify called the boy "Chaud", seams as if this billionaire future playboy-"

Terra shut the magazine just as another voice spoke up.

"Interesting reading?" it asked, which caused Terra to abruptly turn around, it was Chaud.

"No," Terra replied as she quickly placed the mag at her side, "not really," Chaud reached down and took hold of the magazine ready to take it from her. "Trust me you really don't want to read it," she continued, "or even see it for that matter."

Chaud kept his hand out. "Fine." Terra stated as she let the magazine go. "But you're not going to like it." Once Chaud took one look his eyes instantly widened.

"Told ya," Terra stated as she walked out of the lobby and back into the hall.

"How did they?" Chaud asked as he looked at the magazine, Terra knew exactly what he was referring to.

"I have no idea," she replied, "he must have shimmed up a flag pole or something." then a thought came to her mind, "you're dad doesn't read People dose he?" she asked.

"Well this vacation just keeps getting better and better." Whisper stated as she flipped through the People that Chaud and Terra had brought back while everyone else was getting ready to leave for the day, "Chaud should be proud, he's made his first tabloid."

"And that's a good thing?" Terra asked, "Chaud's dad is going to kill him."

"When?" Whisper asked back. "When he finally comes back to our island nation in about six months?"

"I don't know," Terra replied, "but you know how far he went to protect his name before."

"Well I really wouldn't call this tarnishing," Whisper started as she placed the magazine on the table. "Compared to what every other million dollar kid is into this isn't even a blip on the radar. But it dose make good reading."

"Good reading?" Terra asked, "Sky the article wasn't impressive a well read fifth grader could have wrote that-" Terra started as she stopped in her tracks, "you're enjoying this aren't you?" she asked.

"Who me?" Whisper asked her face full and voice of false innocence.

"Yes, you," Terra replied as she mimicked her sisters tone.

Whisper shrugged, "Well you have to admit that its pretty good retribution, at least my kiss with Proto wasn't photographed and publicized for the whole US to see."

"Wow, harsh, but I guess I deserve that," Terra stated as her voice took on a lower tone. "As much fun as it was to see you trying to squirm you're way out of the bet, I've kinda started to feel guilty about making you go through with it."

"Really?" Whisper asked.

"Yeah," Terra replied, "I honestly just wanted to see how Proto would react if you kissed him, I really didn't think about how it might make things awkward, add when you finally did I want listing, I was so caught up in finding a way to pay you back for setting me up the way you did, that I didn't think things through, I'm sorry, even though you did kind of bring it upon yourself."

Looking into her sister's eyes Whisper could tell she was sincere. "Yeah, I know," she replied, "and I forgive you, to tell you the truth if I were in you're shoes I would have probably done the same thing. But that still doesn't help me with the awkwardness of the whole situation."

"Telling him it was the result of losing the bet wouldn't take care of that?" Terra asked.

"I sincerely doubt it," Whisper replied, "it wasn't just a losing bet kiss, I honestly wanted to kiss him, and that had to come through I'm sure. I mean Proto's no idiot."

Terra looked at her sister with utter guilt all over her face, she wanted to say something, something that would convince her sister that everything would be ok but she couldn't. With neither of the sisters speaking a silence quickly started to build until a third voice interrupted it.

"I'm not interrupting anything an I?" Proto asked as he came in.

"I never categorized a long endured silence as something," Terra replied taking this as her cue to leave as she picked up the People off the armchair where it was now resting leaving Whisper and Proto alone.

"She seams stressed," Chaud commented stopping Terra just short of her room at the bar in the kitchen, she hadn't even noticed him there.

"I don't blame her," Terra said as she joined him, "I shouldn't have forced her to go through with the bet when she wanted to back our, especially since I knew she liked him, I was such an idiot for not thinking that that would show through, now I've probably made things awkward between them.

"She tried to back out?" Chaud asked.

"Yeah," Terra admitted, "she was like me, didn't think she would lose, put up the stakes too high, then realized how screwed she was when she lost. And asked me to call it off, but I was too blind by revenge so see her point of view.

"Well you can put your dramatic guilt trip on hold, I told Proto it was a bet last night," Chaud replied trying to reassure Terra, "you know, that's a good thing?" he commented when Terra gave him a look that said she highly doubted everything was going to be fine.

"Chaud you and I both know that Proto isn't blind not to mention how perceptive he is, you're not going to tell me that he didn't feel anything."

Chaud looked at Terra for a few seconds before speaking again, "Actually he did," he admitted, "when I told him that kissing him was just the loosing terms of the bet, he told me that it seemed that there was more to it."

"Oh, I'm doomed," Terra stated as she threw her head down on her arms that were resting on the counter.

"Terra it's not that bad," Chaud said once again trying reassure his friend, as he picked up the People she had laid down on the counter and flipped it over on it's back cover. "Or maybe it is."

"What?" Terra asked as she raised her head slightly confused at Chaud's sudden change.

"We have another problem, or more correctly you." Chaud said as he corrected himself sliding the magazine over to Terra. "I'm guessing you never looked at he back cover."

Terra took the magazine and once again looked at it noticing for the first time that this issue had been special double feature. While the cover she had seen had focused on Chaud the back cover was another story. The glossy cover consisted of a nice close up of her and the bold headline "WHO IS SHE?- Media scrambling to uncover identify if mysterious girl seen with heir to Blaze Quest fortune. Terra once gain returned to her position of despair.

"I'm double doomed." she stated.

"Are you ok?" Proto asked just as soon as Terra had left the room, looking at Whisper whom at the moment was looking at everything in the room except him.

"Yeah, sure why?" Whisper replied just as soon as she got the nerve to look him in the face being quickly taken aback again once she noticed that Proto didn't have on his shades, his azure eyes shinning brightly. Why did this have to happen to her?

"Just wondering, you've been acting a little strange ever since last night," Proto replied as he came and sat down next to her, looking at her strait in the eye, Whisper took a deep breath.

"Proto there's something you should know," she started.

"And that's one thing you don't have to worry about," Proto replied, "Chaud told me about the bet last night."

Whisper let out a hug breath of relief, realizing thought after a few seconds that it was probably premature; an air of question was still hanging around. "There's something else?" Whisper asked deciding to be the one to say it.

"Yeah you might say that," Proto replied, "I'm no expert in the art of kissing but your kiss seamed to be a little different from one that would have been the result of the loss of a bet."

"Yeah I know," Whisper replied all the while turning her gears trying to come up with an explanation that wouldn't tell everything, after all there were still something she needed to figure out.

"Proto I really care about you, you have been through so much and you haven't had anyone to talk to, and in a way you've been all alone for a long time, you've been in dire need for a friend, and as corny as this sounds a hug, and this really awkward," she continued as she voice dropped.

"And all of that came out through the kiss." Proto said as he interjected.

"Yeah," Whisper replied feeling slightly more confident.

"Things seem to be going well," Chaud remarked as he watched the whole situation unfold.

"Really?" Terra asked as she looked up again just in time to see Whisper place her hand on top of Proto's and gave him a warm smile that Terra knew meant 'I really care about you and I want to be your friend'

"Maybe," Terra replied finally starting to calm down but soon receiving a sudden jolt that completely ruined the calm atmosphere that had formed when Lan suddenly came out of nowhere.

"So who's up for some real fun?!" he asked as he came into the room. Terra smiled, he never failed.

Regal quietly sat in Dr. Hikari's office as he awaited a reply from Burner and Novaman, this was it, the panicle if his revenge, his thoughts though were soon interrupted when he noticed a soft light flashing on one of the monitors, turning it on he found two open windows that contained the faces of Burner and Novaman. "Is it done?" he asked, it had taken the two long enough.

"Your wish was our command, the charges are set and awaiting your detonation." Novaman replied. "The lives of anyone in the building are yours."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Burnerman said as he interrupted, "we kept up out end of the bargain, where's out payment?"

Regal let a slick smile slide across his face. "I always have liked you Burnerman, clipped, tactless, and strait to the point, five darkchips as agreed," Regal replied as he downloaded them and five darkchips appeared in front of both Burner and Novaman, the two instantly absorbing them before logging out. Regal let out a dark chuckle everything was in place, everything was ready. He then slammed his hand against a device that was hooked into one the computers and watched as static and while noise encompassed the computer before spreading it to the next, and the next...

"This is Dentech TV8 News and I'm your host Ribbita Leaps, with tonight's top story..." Ribbita started to say when static suddenly flashed across her teleprompter and the display that was projected behind her.

"Come on body slam him! body slam him!" Dex exclaimed as he and Gutsman watched a pro wrestling match on PPV, it was just fixing to get to the good part when the screen seamed to erode-

"What the?!"

Higsby nervously paced back and forth in his chip shop every now and then looking at the phone.

"Higsby is something wrong?" Shuko asked, the nerdy glassed man was acting more crazed than usual.

"I'm going to do it," Higsby replied, his answer vague but completely understandable to anyone who knew him. He slowly reached up to the phone that was mounted to the wall and slowly removing the receiver dialed the number he knew by heart, Miss Mari's.

"Hello?" Miss Mari asked over the line once she picked up, Higsby almost fainted at the sound of her voice, "Hello?" Miss Mari asked again.

"Yes, yes, hello," Higsby said as he finally managed so speak.

"Oh, hello Higsby," Miss Mari replied when she realized who it was. "Busy day?" she asked.

"I guess you can say that," Higsby answered afterward another long silence ensued.

"Hello?" Miss Mari asked again.

Higsby finally built up the courage and willed himself to speak, "Miss Mari," he stated, this time actually sounding as if he had a spine, I have a confession to make," I'm in lo-"

click, duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu, schhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Regal smiled as his jamming signal continued to spread like a cancer, shifting to make himself more comfortable in his thrown he looked into the camera that had been placed in front of him and as if on cue smiled even more as the indication light turned green. Seconds later in Japan and the world over the static and white noise finally cleared only to reveal Regal on every screen, every frequency and every bandwidth. His cruel smile was completely apparent even if you couldn't see it.

"Hello," Regal stated as he gazed into the camera as well as billions of people, "My name is Dr. Alexander King Regal, welcome to hell."

TBC