Note: Eh-heheheh. I've decided to... not accept your fan mamodos. I'm only using the millennium mamodos. () HOWEVER... before you kill me. I just wanted to say to those of you who have already submitted mamodos that I'd grateful for your submissions and I'll include them in my mamodo pending list for my Zatch Bell Future story. If you object, which I doubt any of you will, PM me.

Disclaimer: I just included this because everyone else has disclaimers and I don't want to feel left out. Anyway, once upon a time...

Chapter 4: Actual Old Friends

The sun was setting, and the three of us had skipped lunch and dinner. The melon patch was all covered with debris and we couldn't remain by the ruins any longer.

"I'm hungry," complained Brian. We were walking from shop to shop, asking for a job. "We've been wandering for hours."

"Stop complaining," retorted Elisa. "If you had left this demon alone, none of this wouldn't happened." I simply frowned to myself.

"Bonjour, can I have a job?" asked Brian to a man behind a counter of a boulangerie.

"No, we're closed," yelled the baker as he closed the shop window.

"Oh great, now what do we do?" asked Brian.

"Oh great, now what do we do?" mimicked Elisa.

"Hey, Alm!" called a voice from the sky. I was a voice that sounded so familiar that I didn't bother to look up, since I knew who it was. Suddenly, two hands covered my face.

"Haha, I got you now," said the voice. "Now you have to guess who I am."

"Let go, Pamoon," I laughed. "How did you end up in the sky?" He let go of my face and I saw Gelios next to him.

"So, still alive, I see," said Pamoon.

"Yeah," I replied. I went over to Gelios and rubbed his slimy body. "How's it going, Gelios?" I received a low growl as a response.

"These are your friends?" asked Brian.

"Let's hope they are, so they can offer us a place to stay," muttered Elisa after she sat down and looked away.

"Shelby, Johnny, I'd like you to meet my friend Alm," said Pamoon.

"Can you offer us a place to stay?" I asked.

"Sure, but I live in Germany, in Aachen," said Shelby. He was wearing a gray swimming suit with a green cloak over it. He also had a yellow moustache. "It's a 800-km walk."

"You can stay in my place, in Paris," said Johnny. He looked buff and he wore a blue cap.

"Yes," cheered Elisa. Everyone started walking towards Paris. "Hey, why can't we ride the dragon?"

"Use your common sense," snapped Brian. "There are seven people. You think Gelios is strong enough? Besides, he already looks tired from shipping Alm's friends." Then, Elisa and Brian started arguing among themselves, while Shelby and Johnny stayed silent.

"This is Brian, my book owner," I said to Pamoon. " Shelby came from Aachen, right? Then what are you doing in Tours?"

"It's a long story," said Pamoon, looking down. "I met a mamodo named Laila, and she hasn't found her book owner yet. I felt... sorry for her, so I decided to protect her until she finds one."

"Describe Laila," I said.

"She's about seven years old," said Pamoon. "She has a moon-shaped wand, purple hair, purple eyes, and a purple dress. Though she never smiles, I'm still beginning to... like her." I stared blankly ahead as we kept on walking.

"Where's... Laila?" I asked.

"I don't know," said Pamoon. "I lost her on the way here. But let me tell you something. While we walking here, I felt like we were being followed. I met Gelios on the way, and so we decided to team up together. Still, I felt the presence of another mamodo behind us. Day and night, I dreamt of Laila, and so I was pretty sure it had to be Laila who was following me, looking for me. We turned around and started looking for the demon who was following us, but we found no one..."

"Creepy," I said. "Do you still feel her following you?"

"No," was the short, simple answer.

"Why did you come to Tours?"

"I was chasing a mamodo I vowed to never forgive," said Pamoon. "His name was... Goren." I stopped in my tracks and gasped.

"Do you mean... d-do you mean the mamodo who turns demons into stone tablets...?" I stammered.

"Yes, that's him," said Pamoon. "I'll never forgive him. He attacked Laila on first sight! You met him too?"

"Yes, but he didn't see me," I said. "Fortunately," I added softly.

"Shelby! Stop!" yelled Pamoon. Brian and Elisa stopped arguing and looked at us. "Goren may be still around. When did you see him?"

"This afternoon," I replied.

"Let's split up and look for him," said Pamoon with an air of determination.

"A-are you sure?" asked Brian. "It's getting dark, and c-cold." Apparently, he was scared.

"If we don't hunt him out, he'll hunt US out," whispered Pamoon. "Remember that most demons will do anything to be king, and especially that Goren has an advantage..."

"Okay, okay, we know," said Johnny. "Gelios!" Gelios flew over and Johnny hopped on. "We'll search from the sky."

"Alm, you search in the northern highlands," said Pamoon. "Me and Shelby will search south, where the aqueducts are. Gelios, you stay up there to keep a lookout of any dangers. If any of you meet Goren, fire an attack in the sky."

"Yes, sir!" I yelled as Brian, Elisa, and I sprinted north.

"Up, up and away!" sang Johnny as Gelios took off.

"I sure hope you know what you're doing," said Elisa.

"Don't worry," said Brian. "I've been waiting for this kind of adventure for all my life!"

"Let's do this!" I said as we kept on running and searching for any signs of Goren. For Pamoon. For Laila. For their special relationship. And mostly, for our friendship.

All of a sudden, we stopped in our tracks. A figure was sitting next to a tree, its back leaning against it.

"Now, who could be that?" whispered Brian as he froze.

"I'm scared...," said Elisa, clinging on to her brother.

Wordlessly, I walked ahead to investigate. I noticed the figure's torn purple dress, and purple, tired eyes. A purple spell book was resting on her lap.

Laila?

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Note: Suspense rules! Anyway, you probably know what's gonna happen next.