Chapter 6: Mochinoki City, part 2
Soon, Abby, Ed, and Double D, along with the group of Book Owners and Mamodo, were heading toward the large stone castle Zofis presumably inhabited at the moment.
A few minutes before, the Book Owners and Mamodo had introduced themselves to Abby's group. The boy with the Red Book was Kiyo, and his Mamodo (the blond-haired boy) was Zatch; the girl with brown hair was Megumi, and her Mamodo (the pink-haired girl) was Tia; the green-vested man was Kafk Sunbeam, and his Mamodo (the little horse) was Ponygon; and finally, the orange-haired man was Parco Folgore, and his duck-billed Mamodo was Kanchome.
"So, you're telling us that Zofis might be after Kiyo, and he's also looking for something called a Keyhole?" asked Megumi.
"Yes, that pretty much sums it up," said Double D.
"Well, if there's a Keyhole, there's a door that goes with it, right?" asked Kanchome. "What's Zofis want with a door?"
"You said those Heartless things have something to do with that Keyhole," said Folgore, his voice wavering. "That's not going to make it worse, is it?"
"Once we seal the Keyhole, if anything, things will get better," Abby answered. "Either way, Zofis needs to be stopped, right?"
"If we want to save humans and Mamodo alike, yes," Sunbeam piped up. "If Zofis succeeds in whatever he's ultimately planning, who knows what he'd be capable of?"
Ponygon was too busy "conversing" with Ed to add anything (how exactly they could converse was debatable, since Ponygon's vocabulary was limited to "Meru meru me").
"Kiyo, you're awfully quiet," Tia suddenly said, looking at the Red Book owner. "Are you okay?"
Kiyo seemed to snap to attention. "Oh…I was just wondering…what does Zofis want with me? I mean, if I'm really who he's looking for. That can't be good either, right?"
"It's okay, Kiyo!" said Zatch. "I don't care what he's planning. As long as we're together, we can't be defeated!"
Kiyo gave a small smile. "Thanks Zatch," he said. He turned to Abby. "But…are you sure you guys can't tell us anything else?"
Abby turned to the Book Owners. "Sorry," she said. "We don't mean to seem shady, but we have our mission, too. That's all we can tell you." Just then, Abby stopped in her tracks.
"What's wrong, Abby?" asked Ed.
"Something's coming," she replied.
Just as Abby said this, the whole group found themselves surrounded by Heartless.
"WHOA!" said Kanchome.
"I say the sooner we end this, the better!" Folgore exclaimed.
"So, this is the outpouring of resistance I've been detecting?"
Everyone turned to an area just behind the circle of Heartless, only to see Zofis emerge from behind a tree.
"Well, this is convenient," the evil Mamodo said. "I have the Key bearer and the Hero right here. All I need now is to find the Keyhole, and I'll be all set."
"But why do you need Kiyo?" asked Zatch. "What's this all about?!"
"In order to open the door, we need all seven Heroes of Heart," said Zofis. "Nothing else will do."
"Open…" said Double D.
"…The door?" Ed finished.
"Zofis!" Suddenly, Koko also emerged from the trees. "They found it. It's in the lower reaches of the castle."
Zofis glared at the group. "I see," he said. "I suppose I can secure the Hero later. Right now…" He held up his right hand. "…the Keyhole is our priority."
Koko's book began to glow, and she opened it to a specific page. "Gigano Radom!"
A giant fireball formed in Zofis' hand, and shot itself straight toward the group.
Out of the corner of her eye, Abby saw that Kiyo's book was glowing as well.
"Rashield!"
A giant yellow shield appeared before the group, meeting the fireball head-on. As expected, the entire area filled up with light. And when the light cleared, not only were Zofis and Koko gone, but so were the Heartless.
"Well…that was somewhat convenient for us," said Double D.
"Is that convenient too, Double D?" asked Ed, pointing at something.
The combination of Zofis and Zatch's attacks had peeled back most of the surrounding trees, revealing that the group was a lot closer to the castle than they originally thought. There were two doorways carved into the wall of the castle.
"Now what?" asked Sunbeam.
Suddenly, Abby stepped forward, holding the Keyblade out in front of her.
"Abby?" asked Double D.
Abby waited for a minute before speaking. "From what I can tell," she said slowly. "…no matter which way we take, it will ultimately lead to the same place. And apparently…that place is right to the Keyhole."
"And Zofis?" asked Megumi.
"I wouldn't be surprised," said Abby.
"Then I guess it's now or never," said Kiyo, stepping forward. "I think our only real option is for each group to take a path."
"What?" asked Zatch. "But Kiyo…" He looked at Abby, Double D, and Ed. "There's a lot less people with Abby's group. Will they be okay?"
Everyone else looked unsure about how to answer. Abby, on the other hand, just smiled.
"Yeah, it's just Double D, Ed, and me," said Abby. "But keep in mind, Zatch. Zofis might be after Kiyo. It only makes sense if there's a lot more people around to make sure he's okay, right?"
Zatch still looked unsure, but finally nodded. "Well…okay," he said. "But Abby needs to be careful too! I don't want anyone to get hurt here!"
Abby nodded back. "Don't worry about us," she said. "We're all going to make it out of here."
With that, Abby's group went through the left doorway, while Zatch and Kiyo's group went through the right doorway.
---
Meanwhile, Zofis and Koko had already gotten to the room with the Keyhole in it, and the Mamodo was beside himself.
"Excellent!" said Zofis. "Things are going in our favor, Koko! And with the power of darkness combined with my Mamodo powers, I can control this entire world!"
"So you're planning to set out on your own, Zofis?"
Zofis started as the shape shifting shadow emerged from a dark corner of the area.
"Aku!" he exclaimed. "You heard me?"
"Remember what I told you about the darkness, Zofis," Aku answered. "I can very easily find a replacement."
"Oh…"
The two were interrupted by Koko staring toward the doorways at the other end of the room.
"What is it, Koko?" asked Zofis. "Is our resistance group coming?"
"Yeah, but…" Koko paused.
Zofis grinned. "Oh, I see," he said. "Our other uninvited guests are here as well."
Koko frowned. "Sherry…"
---
Throughout the dark corridor, Abby's group was busy trying to get to the other side as quickly as possible, and fighting off the occasional group of Heartless.
"Abby," said Double D as the group soldiered on. "Are you sure it was a good idea to let the others go on their own?"
"Well, that's what they were probably going to do before we got here," said Abby. "And they're determined to stop Zofis, one way or another."
"What about those other guys?" asked Ed. "The ones who used gravity."
Abby and Double D stopped.
"Oh yeah," said Abby. "I almost forgot about Sherry and Brago."
"They seemed adamant about beating Zofis themselves," said Double D. "Do you think they would be the same with Zatch and his group?"
However, Abby didn't seem to listen to what Double D was saying.
"Are you okay, Abby?" asked Ed.
"Oh no…" said Abby. "I'm getting some strong energy readings up ahead, and not the good kind."
"Oh dear!" said Double D. "You think they're in trouble?"
"Only one way to find out," said Abby. "Come on!"
The trio began running as fast as they could toward the end of the path.
---
Unfortunately, "trouble" was an understatement. When Abby, Double D, and Ed entered the room with the Keyhole, it was absolute chaos.
Sherry and Brago were on one side of the room, Koko and Zofis on the other side. Large amounts of gravity and fire were being sent to each other, shaking the entire foundation of the castle.
On the ground were Zatch, Tia, Megumi, Kanchome, Folgore, Ponygon, and Sunbeam, looking incredibly worse for wear. And even worse, Kiyo was nowhere to be seen.
"Hey, what happened?!" asked Abby as she and her group ran up.
"Aah!" Kanchome exclaimed. "Abby, it's horrible!"
"They were already fighting when we got here!" said Megumi. "They won't let anyone get too close!"
"But…Kiyo!" Tia exclaimed. "He fell through a hole in the ground! Zatch was able to save his spell book, but Kiyo's just disappeared!"
Abby started, and glanced over to Zatch. The poor little Mamodo was clutching his Red Book to his chest, desperately calling out Kiyo's name and getting dangerously close to the ensuing fight.
But then…Abby saw something else. Behind the fight was the wall on the other side of the room. And on the wall was the open Keyhole. And standing next to the Keyhole was what could only be described as a living shadow with a sinister frown on his face.
"Aku…?" Abby asked.
Aku said nothing. Instead, he seemed to slink into the wall.
"Meru meru me!" Ponygon exclaimed.
"Zatch, be careful!" Sunbeam called out. "Your book will get burned if you get too close to that!"
"Let's get out of here, please!" Folgore cried out.
"No!" said Zatch. "We can't leave yet! We need to find Kiyo!"
"Abby, seal the Keyhole!" Double D called out.
"Right!" said Abby. "I just need to get a good shot…"
Abby pointed the Keyblade toward the Keyhole. The second she got a clear opening, a beam shot out of the Keyblade and hit the Keyhole dead-on, causing another clicking sound to be heard.
Unfortunately, Zofis noticed. "No!" he exclaimed, making to aim toward Abby.
"Ion Gravi-Rei!" Sherry called out.
A large circle of gravity shot out of Brago's hand, flattening anything in its path, and causing the castle to give another violent lurch.
"We can't stay here any longer," said Sunbeam. "The whole castle will collapse if this keeps up!"
Abby began to run toward Zatch. "Zatch, we need to get out of here now!" she said.
"But Kiyo…!" Zatch began.
Abby knelt down in front of Zatch. "Kiyo was taken away to a different world!" she exclaimed.
Zatch and the rest of the group went silent.
"What?" Tia exclaimed.
"Look out, Abby!" Ed suddenly yelled out.
"You…"
Zatch and Abby looked up. Standing above them was a very angry-looking Brago.
"Didn't I tell you…" said the dark Mamodo, raising a clawed hand.
"NO!" Megumi yelled.
"NOT TO GET IN MY WAY?!"
Abby grabbed Zatch and threw her body toward Brago's attack. She gave a few faltered steps forward before regaining her momentum and running back toward the doorway.
"Ohh, Abby!" Zatch cried out.
"Come on!" Abby called to the others.
As everyone ran out of the crumbling castle, the group could clearly see the four deep scratch marks that ran across Abby's back.
---
However, receiving a full-on attack from Brago was not enough to save Abby from the disapproving glare from Double D once everyone was safely in the woods again.
"I'm sorry," she tried again. "It just slipped out…"
"Take me with you!" Zatch pleaded. "Take me with you to this other world so I can help Kiyo!"
Double D finally stopped glaring and gave a guilty sigh. "I'm sorry, Zatch," he said. "But we just can't do that."
"It'd be mudd-mudd…meddling too much," Ed added.
"Oh…" said Zatch, obviously disappointed.
"Well, at least let us heal your back," Tia spoke up. "I know a healing spell, so…"
"Thanks, but you should save it for yourselves," said Abby. She then turned around to show everyone why.
Although her shirt was still ripped, the four scratches that once adorned Abby's back were nowhere to be seen.
"Meru-me?!" said Ponygon, who looked shocked.
"What?!" asked Folgore. "How'd your wounds heal so fast?!"
Even Ed and Double D were surprised.
"You see, I'm psychic," said Abby. "My body heals faster than most people. That was nothing compared to some of the injuries I've sustained."
Then, she turned back to Zatch.
"Zatch, I know we didn't succeed in keeping Kiyo safe, but Ed, Double D, and I are going to do everything we can to make sure Kiyo comes back."
Zatch sniffled. "Really?" he asked.
"Really," said Abby. Then, she took something out of her belt pouch. It was the blue and yellow friendship bracelet with the Red Book charm. "And that's a promise."
"Wow!" said Zatch, seeming to cheer up. "What's this for, Abby?" he asked, taking the bracelet.
"This is to show we're friends," said Abby, taking another bracelet that matched Zatch's out and putting it on her belt. "And as long as we're friends, we'll always have a reason to fight. So you have to be strong for us too, okay?"
"Okay!" said Zatch. "I know Abby and her friends will help Kiyo come back! And we'll keep fighting too!" He put on the bracelet.
Suddenly, Kanchome walked up to Abby. He was holding something.
"Abby, Folgore and I want to help find Kiyo, too!" he said. "So we want you to have this!"
Abby took the item Kanchome was holding. It was a CD with Folgore's picture on the front.
"That's the hit CD with my number-one song on it," said Folgore. "You can use that to call Kanchome and me whenever you need help fighting. It's the least we can do."
"Gee…thanks," said Abby, who had just finished reading the title of the CD: Chinchi no Mogu (AN: Which should roughly translate into "Groping Breasts." I hope I spelled that right).
"If you ever have the time, come back and visit!" said Tia.
"We will," said Abby, standing up. She, Double D, and Ed began walking back to the Gummi Ship.
As they left, the group of humans and Mamodo waved goodbye to them.
"Say hi to Kiyo for me!" Zatch called out, just as the trio disappeared over the horizon.
'Don't worry, Zatch,' Abby thought. 'We will.'