Hello readers! (: Thanks a lot to Epic Jac who has been consistently reviewing and those who have reviewed in the past! ^^ I realized that the time skip thingy that I insert in between parts of the story isn't there, but it's only at the end of the story, so I really apologise about it!
And here's chapter 4! Enjoy! (:
Chapter 4 : Changing Sides
"Unu! I'm excited, of course!"
"We're just going for lunch, Gash," Kiyomaro laughed, watching as his mamodo ran towards the cafe where he and the pop idol had agreed to meet at.
Kiyomaro smiled to himself when he saw the pop idol with her sunglasses on, standing by the door of the cafe with her pink haired mamodo.
"Megumi-dono! Tio!" Gash yelled cheerily, rushing to his two teammates.
Kiyomaro hurried, but his smile faded when he saw that the pop idol did not just not smile, but entered the cafe without saying a word. Tio too turned around, following her book keeper.
Both Kiyomaro and Gash stood in shock, watching their friends enter the cafe. They exchanged worried looks before following.
The meal was awfully quiet and unbearable. Kiyomaro could not help but find it strange when the pop idol did not speak a single word throughout the whole meal. He watched Megumi pick up her napkin to wipe her mouth gingerly, and Tio wipe her own.
"That's strange, Megumi has always been wiping Tio's mouth for her, as far as I remember," Kiyomaro frowned as he thought to himself, recalling how the pink haired mamodo used to pout her cheeks reluctantly while her book keeper cleaned her face with a genuine smile.
"Megumi-dono, is something wrong?" Gash asked worriedly.
Megumi shook her head with a cold expression, much to Kiyomaro's horror. The Megumi he knew was always all smiles to everyone, yet this Megumi before him had not spoke a word or smiled at all for the past hour.
"Kiyomaro-kun, Gash-kun, let's head to the coast for a walk," Megumi said.
Kiyomaro froze. There was definitely something wrong with Megumi. She had just addressed him formally!
Gash looked up at his book keeper, eyes clearly asking whether they should follow. Kiyomaro nodded his head, immediately following the female pair to the coast.
Gash hopped up and down beside Kiyomaro urgently.
"Kiyomaro, Megumi-dono and Tio are acting all weird!"
Kiyomaro nodded his head.
"We'll get to the bottom of this."
The four finally reached the deserted coast, where Megumi immediately pulled out her vermillion book from her bag.
"Megumi, what are you doing?" Kiyomaro gasped.
Megumi took off her sunglasses, only to reveal a blank pair of hazel eyes which seemed soulless.
"Battling. To eliminate Takamine Kiyomaro and Gash Bell," Megumi muttered as Tio stopped by her side.
"Tio!" Gash called out.
Kiyomaro held out a hand before the mamodo king to stop him from further moving towards the two. He nodded his head towards the pink haired mamodo, and only then did Gash notice yet another pair of listless eyes.
"Battle us, Takamine Kiyomaro and Gash Bell," Tio glared intently at the two.
"No, Tio, we won't battle you!"
Tio gritted her teeth, turning to her book keeper.
"Saisu!"
A crescent beam flew towards the raven haired genius and the mamodo king, alarming them both as they both dodged the move.
Kiyomaro too gritted his teeth, pulling his red book out of his backpack.
"Zakeru!"
A shot of lightning was blasted towards the female pair.
"Seushiru!"
A capsule barrier appeared around Megumi and Tio, protecting them from the attack.
"Kiyomaro!" Gash yelled urgently after having regained consciousness from the Zakeru attack. "Don't attack Megumi-dono and Tio!"
"Gash, we don't have a choice. They're determined to battle. We have to get to the bottom of this," Kiyomaro tightened his clutch on Gash's book.
"Gigano Saisu!"
Both Kiyomaro and Gash gasped when they saw Tio clapped her hands together to form two wings for a heart-shaped object before her. The attack flew straight at them at high speed, not giving them the chance to dodge.
"Rashirudo!"
A yellow rectangular shield shot up before Kiyomaro and Gash, but Tio's attack cut through the shield like the shield was nothing.
The attack hit Kiyomaro and Gash, who both backed off from the impact.
"Since when did Tio have such a move?" Kiyomaro gasped.
"Never mind, Kiyomaro, they're coming after us again!" Gash yelled urgently.
"Saisu!"
Kiyomaro and Gash hurriedly dodged the attack.
"What do we do now?" Gash asked.
"We weaken them, and try to find a way to get them back," Kiyomaro said simply.
"Weaken them? That means we have to attack them!" Gash gasped in horror.
"That's why we'll only use Zakeru," Kiyomaro took a deep breath. "We'll be careful not to burn their book. Just one Zakeru attack on them should be enough to weaken them, trust me."
Both males looked up to meet the determined gazes of Megumi and Tio. Megumi's vermillion book began to glow once more, but Kiyomaro hurriedly read his spell.
"Zakeru!"
"Giga Ra Seushiru!"
A barrier appeared around Kiyomaro and Gash, sending the Zakeru attack back at them.
Kiyomaro and Gash both gasped, barely dodging the attack. Kiyomaro panted as he looked at his half-burnt shirt and Gash's half-burnt cloak.
"Gash, this will be harder than we hope."
"Unu."
"That's purely because you do not dare to attack us, Takamine Kiyomaro."
Kiyomaro's eyes widened when he looked up to see Megumi right before him.
"Megumi!"
Kiyomaro was horrified when the idol grabbed him by the collar, lifting him up with much effort to meet him in the eye.
"Are you that much of a weakling? You definitely have more than just a Zakeru!"
"Why, Megumi-dono?"
Megumi turned to look at Gash coldly.
"Why are you attacking us?"
"..."
"Because it's our mission."
Gash and Kiyomaro both turned to look at Tio.
"Saisu!"
Kiyomaro's eyes widened in horror when he saw an orange blast shot in his direction. He shut his eyes as he waited for the impact.
"Unu... Kiyomaro, are you okay?"
"Gash..."
Kiyomaro watched the mamodo king who was injured. Gash had his arms on Tio's shoulders, probably because he was blocking the Saisu attack.
"Unu... Tio, Megumi-dono! Remember me and Kiyomaro. We fought together, went to the amusement park together, played together, laughed together... Why are you hurting us now?!" Gash yelled right in Tio's face.
Tio seemed fazed as she took a step back. Megumi seemed to falter as she loosened her grip on Kiyomaro.
"Don't you remember us? We battled the millenium mamodos together, defeated Faudo together, and made lots of new friends together! We protected each other, how can you forget us?" Gash cried out, tears trickling down his cheeks as he swallowed.
"Gash..." Tio cried, her eyes regaining its original colour.
"And you, Megumi. After all we've been through, you want to kill me? Where's the cheery Megumi that I know? What's happened to you?!" Kiyomaro yelled, clutching onto the brunette's shoulders as he shook her.
"Kiyomaro..."
Both Kiyomaro and Gash beamed when they saw both girls regaining consciousness, yet were alarmed when a blast of electricity was fired in their direction.
Megumi and Tio were levitated off the ground. Kiyomaro and Gash coughed from the smoke, and gasped when the smoke finally cleared away.
"Twink!"
"Humans. So easily triggered by emotions. What rubbish," the cat purred with a frown, waving her tail to drop both Megumi and Tio on the ground.
"Unu-shi! What did you do to Megumi-dono and Tio?" Gash demanded.
"Me? Pft. They were just too foolish," Twink turned her head away arrogantly. "They have Chaos Spheres in them now. They'll now be at the beck and call of the Attributales!"
"Why you..." Kiyomaro clenched his teeth, rushing towards the cat.
Twink's eyes glowed red, and she immediately turned to her true form, intimidating Kiyomaro, who backed away.
Kiyomaro turned from Twink to Megumi, who laid helplessly on the ground. Clenching his fists, he knew he had to rescue her and Tio.
"Return both Megumi and Tio to us!"
"You wish, boy. I'll be bringing them back with me for now, along with..." Twink grinned, a portal appearing beside her. She levitated both Megumi and Tio into the portal. "... a few more of your precious comrades."
"Twink!" Both Kiyomaro and Gash yelled angrily, running after the large fox. The portal closed right before them, causing them both to collapse onto the sand.
"Megumi..." Kiyomaro muttered, clenching his fist tightly.
"We won't forgive them!"
"So, Megumi-san and Tio-san are a part of the Attributales now," Apollo said, rubbing his chin.
Apollo, Ropes, Li Yen and Wonlei were before the screen of the computer, while Kiyomaro, Gash, Kafka and Umagon were nervously drinking their juices.
"That's right."
"Over ten mamodos have already been defeated," Apollo said sadly. "And eleven pairs are uncontactable."
Both Kiyomaro and Gash exchanged shocked looks.
"And with Megumi and Tio, that's twelve pairs."
"Apollo, do you know who are the uncontactable eleven?" Kafka asked curiously.
"You might be shocked to know this, but..." Apollo began with a sigh. "Folgore and Kanchome are a part of it."
Kiyomaro gave a poker face, waving his hand.
"Nope, not shocked."
"Kiyomaro, how can you react like this?!" Gash cried out, tugging at his book keeper's arm.
Apollo took out a document with a few pictures, flipping through them and showing them to Kiyomaro, Gash, Kafka and Umagon.
Gash's eyes widened.
"That's Koruru!"
"And that's Cherish!"
"Riya and Alishie?"
"Karudio and Sauzaa?"
"Meru meru?"
"Momon and Elle?"
"Nyarurato and Shion-dono!"
"Haido and Eita too!"
"Baransha and Garza."
The list of name seemed endless and it horrified Kiyomaro more and more.
"Zofis isn't contactable either," Li Yen said quietly.
"Zofis? What about Zeon?"
"Dufoux gave us a reply, at the least, but I think he hasn't found Zeon yet." Apollo answered.
Gash sighed, feeling relieved to know that his twin brother was safe, at the least.
"Do you think there's another reason why they're actually uncontactable?" Kafka asked, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"I would think that it's because the same thing happened to them and Megumi. I don't think it's a coincidence," Kiyomaro frowned.
"Those Chaos Spheres... We don't know if the enemy has any more of it, so we ought to be careful," Wonlei said.
Everyone nodded their heads.
"We have to save Megumi and Tio," Kiyomaro gritted his teeth and clenched his fists with much determination.
"I know how you feel, Kiyomaro-kun, but we have to be cautious," Li Yen quickly said.
"If all those who are possessed by the Attributales are to appear once more, we should try to gather them all back," Kiyomaro said.
"I'll get some research done about those spheres, and I'll see what can be done to reverse their effects," Apollo said while Ropes nodded his head.
"Thanks, Apollo," Kiyomaro flashed a weak smile.
"No problem! Let's get them all back, even Megumi," Apollo gave Kiyomaro a thumbs-up.
Kiyomaro simply smiled back.
"Don't worry, Kiyomaro, we'll be sure to bring Megumi-dono and Tio back!" Gash beamed at his book keeper.
And… That's the end of today's chapter! I'll update every week until the end of the year when school starts again, then I'll probably only update on every weekend then. Thank you for reading and please REVIEW! It's really great encouragement to keep me going. ^^