Hai! Konichiwa!

<Tokyo>
Zack and Cubie strolled down the crowded streets, stopping to check out
items in an indoor mall. The stores were a hodgepodge, with an open sushi
bar sharing a wall with a high-tech computer store.
"Cubie, check this out! A computer that uses a virtual keyboard." He
waved his hand over a small black chip sitting on the countertop, and a
glowing hologram of a laptop flashed into view. He typed a few commands in,
got an error message, and blinked in surprise as it burst into virtual
flames and disappeared. The store owner started chattering at him in
Japanese until Cubie intervened with their credit card. The shop owner
scanned it, deducted the cost of the defunct laptop, then handed the
smouldering chip to Zack and shooed the couple out the door.
Cubie sighed. "Zack, you should know better than to touch anything
with electronics. Good thing we're filthy rich."
Zack shrugged. "Well, there IS that. It's certainly made this
vacation a little different than our usual fare."
Cubie grinned. "If you mean not jumping every time we hear a police
siren, then yes. It has been different. But we've still done all the
things we usually do."
Zack stuck a finger up in the air. "Ah! But THIS time we WON the air
hockey tournament!"
Cubie rolled her eyes. "That's because you bought the bar the
tournament was in and kicked everyone else out."
Zack sniffed. "So my strategy was unorthodox. I still assert that the
trophy sits uncontested in our hotel room."
Cubie laughed. "Of course! We snuck it out the back door because
there was an angry mob of air hockey contestants beating on the front door."
Zack froze suddenly, and Cubie looked around. Spotting the Japanese
tourist with a camera, she leaned over and gently cooed in his ear. "It's
all right, Zack. There's only one."
Zack closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Letting it out slowly, he
forced himself to relax. Finally he spoke, his eyes still closed. "Is he
gone?"
Cubie watched the man snap a couple pictures of the nearest skyscraper,
then ambled off down a side street. "He is now."
Zack sighed, then opened his eyes. "Whew. You know, I thought you
were crazy for suggesting a visit to Tokyo. You know how afraid I am of
those hordes of Japanese tourists with their flashy cameras. Always
flashing! Always clicking! They never stop!" His voice was slowly
building to a screeching crescendo.
Cubie smacked him on the back of the head. "Easy, Zack. That's why I
brought you to the one place on the planet where you probably won't run into
a large group of them."
Zack nodded uneasily. "True."
Distant screams caught their attention, and they looked back where they
had come from. A swarm of robotic spiders was scuttling up the side of one
of the skyscrapers. People were screaming and running pel-mel. Zack looked
at Cubie with a grin. "Cool! Street thater!" He started jumping up and
down and shouting "Godzilla! Godzilla! Come and get 'em, ya big old
lizard! YEAH!!"
Cubie grabbed Zack by the collar and they dropped into a jump-tube.
Seconds later, they tumbled out into the promenade of the Blue Dwarf.
"Zack, we've got to find out what's going on. Come on!"
The couple scurried off to find someone with a clue.
~Zack & Cubie~
~Back from vacation for a spell~