"Mike, has it been?"
"It's been great. James, I'm happy to see you again after such a long time." He went closer, "I still remember you showing us you were newly married." He gave his hand to help James stand up.
Ross took his hand and said, "Thank you!" But he fell back to the ground when he tried to walk alone.
"Oh, no! Your bones are broken from the fall. Don't worry, and let me carry you."
Ross was hesitant to be carried by an older man. "Do not worry. This old man is still strong from several months of Flow training with my wife." The man leads Ross toward the lighthouse he and his wife call home.
Mike Old-city is a 70-year-old man who still can kick ass. He doesn't let his age distract him from his training on his body and Flow. The only thing that could stop him was his vision, which was a little blurry, but wearing glasses has helped. He wears only what is comfortable for him. He has hundreds of the same clothes, driving his wife crazy.
After they reach the lighthouse, he goes to his room without his wife being there, puts James into his bed, and says, "What happened to your arm, James?"
Ross explained that a monster had bitten off his arm, but could not explain how it became attached.
"Hmmm, interesting? James, wait here and watch TV. I will return with food."
Mike turned on the TV and left the bedroom. Ross wondered how his bones were broken by the nanobots that had saved him without causing any pain. He does not dwell on it too much, focusing on the TV.
On it was a live broadcast of a show called Nine-Hour Show. The new host discussed the show's previous host, Jeff Spot, with a special guest. The old host did something he shouldn't have and got fired.
***
Going to that tragic day.
"Welcome... Welcome, everyone. To The Great 9'O'Clock Show[1]! I am your host, Jeff Spot. We have a special guest today!"
He paused a bit, then proceeded, "Can someone in the audience guess our special guest?"
Adults and children raised their hands to get picked, so he chose a green-haired girl. She was sitting next to her parents, not expecting to be selected. She said, "You choose me?" While pointing at herself.
"Yes, young lady! Who is our special guest for today?
Her parents tried to help her, but she didn't like that, so she said, "Ummm...? My favorite character is Lollipop Girl! She is cool and so heroic. I want to be like her, so she must be the one."
After hearing that, Jeff tried to stop himself from laughing, but his uncontrollable laughter took over.
"You are funny, kid. Very fucking funny. A fictional character from a children's book coming to life on our live TV is a very foolish thing to say. Like saying Santa will visit our show. But he is fake like your favorite cartoon character, Lollipop Girl!"
She started crying, prompting the audience to switch from laughter to anger. Her parents stared at Spot deeply and left the place. After that, everyone started leaving, too.
Jeff panicked when the producers looked at him angrily, so he tried calming things down by saying, "It's a joke, everyone! It's just a harmless joke. Don't take it seriously!" That didn't work, which annoyed him.
"Come on, stop being offended, our special guest isn't here yet. They are still not stopping, so he said, "Fine, leave. The truth is, Lollipop Girl is as fake as Santa, and you guys are wasting your money anyway."
A security guard whispered into Jeff's ear, "Sorry, sir. Our special guest left a while ago!"
Jeff became upset with the security for not sharing important information promptly. The live broadcasting was off then, so one person who didn't like him came to him and said, "Well, well, guys. What I told you. Jeff Spot ruined something for himself. Great job, buddy."
Everyone in the camera crew clapped after the vice president said, "I told the president to fire him, but he never listens to me by saying stupid shit, and now see what he gets us—making people angry at our show!"
Again, everyone clapped after finishing talking. "As the vice-president of this great show.. I fire you, Jeff Spot! Never come back!"
He turned around and walked away from Jeff, but before he could tie his tie, Spot choked him. He heard the guard's warning but was too slow to let it happen.
"G-g-get of-of-me.... yu-you bas-bastard!"
"Why would I? You always try to fire me, so the overreaction from the audience to those fake characters made it a perfect chance for you to fire me. I would rather go to jail and get canceled than see your stupid face!"
Choking the vice president hard, "Please die for me!"
The vice president noticed the cameras were still live, and so he signaled the cameraman to stop the broadcast. Jeff caught the single too late. The live ended, people only saw Jeff choking the man.
A kick impacted his back, throwing him a couple of steps forward. The choking stopped. The one who kicked him was a beefy security guard who told him the guest had left.
***
He ordered people to, "Hurry up and give me water!" His neck was hurting, and he was coughing.
A waiter instantly got him a bottle of water, and he drank it and went toward Spot.
He looked at the guard who kicked Spot, "Tom, roll him over." The security guard turned Jeff Spot around, facing him toward the vice president. The man sat on the Jeff, and someone lit a cigarette for him for a split second.
One of the guards came, "No, smoking in the building, sir."
He looked at the guard with disdain, "Do you want to be my tray?" That response scared the security, prompting them to quit their job and run toward the exit.
"Sorry, Jeff. It seems like nobody is offering themselves to be my tray, so you have to do."
Jeff tried everything to stop the vice president from putting the lit cigarette on his hands, but Tom's grip was strong enough to hold him in place, burning Jeff's right hand.
He was laughing at the pain of the host.
He sees that the left fists were closed, "Tom, open them for me." With a sudden force, Tom opened Jeff's fingers, revealing his hand.
"Please help me! I will free you from his abuse if someone helps me." Jeff was struggling to speak.
A cameraman swallowed his saliva, "Why are you going too far, sir? Let him go!"
The vice president looked at the cameraman, "Oh, you didn't see what he did to ruin the show, and are you also blind to what he did to my throat?"
He giggles loudly, "If you free him, then you will be at his level, a murderer. Do you want that?"
There was no answer, which made the vice president smile. "Oh, well, you still talked." He shot the man in the heart. Countless people in the show started panicking.
"Everyone, tell the police Jeff Spot is the one who killed him." Pointing at the cameraman's body, "Your family would get hurt if any of you tells the truth!"
***
Jeff split his blood on his face.
"I will be the one who calls the police and sees you get arrested in my eyes... You snake!"
"Jeff... Jeff. My ugly pig, Jeff. Do you think cops would still believe you when countless people saw you almost killing me? That includes the cops. It will be easy to frame you."
"But, if somehow they show up right now and see me doing this. I will erase everybody's memories, including yours."
The vice president instructed Tom to dump Spot outside the studio during the rain.
"Enjoy the rain and my burning cigarette!" Tom held the umbrella over the vice president's head to avoid getting wet, which would ruin his cigarette. Before returning to the studio, he missed Jeff Spot's hands even more.
"Memory Change[2]!" The vice president said after going inside.
On the current day, the new host of the Nine-Hour Show says to the guest,
"It's hard to believe that Jeff Spot, out of nowhere, kicked an innocent child. I want to ask you, Excalibur. You were one of our guests back then. I want to know from you why Jeff Spot snapped."
"I-I don't know... I left early to rush to the emergency room. But, if I were there, I would stop things from getting out of hand."
After he finished talking, gunshots could be heard outside the recording place, making everyone panic. The door swings forcefully, and a couple of people come inside.
"Sorry, we have to crash the party! The White Clan is here to crash the party, so sit your asses back down before I blow your heads off!"
Meanwhile, broadcasting stopped after the shooting, but Ross attempted to attend the Nine-Hour Show upon hearing the White Clan; however, before rising from the bed. Mike rushed inside the room, looking for something quickly.
"Mike? Mike, what are you in a rush?"
"Sorry, James. You can't do much for me anyway with that condition." Ross stands up from the bed, surprising Mike.
"Wait? Huh? How did? H-h-how are you standing up without any h-help?!"
"Model XI0 helped my bones heal very quickly." Ross said, "I want to know why you are panicked?"
"B-b-because they t-too-took my wife, and they would not-not give her back until I give them money."
"Who's they?"
"The Seven Dragons of the Sea!" Mike replied.
To be continued.
[1] Former name of the Nine-Hour Show
[2] Erases the target's mind by implanting false memories. It spans a very long distance, which can change the memories of many people in the county. The farther the person is from the user, the shorter the time the ability has an effect. Any physical changes remain. The individual will sense a gap in their memories, and at five years, the real memories fill in. Fails to work the second time.