Author Notes
Hey there, viewers of Zatch Bell: Another Story. Long time, no see. Phew, this is somewhat embarrassing to me as, according to the records, the last time this particularly story was updated was 2/5/2012, more than a year. I must apologize to all of my faithful readers (who may be gone or have deserted the story at this point) for sticking it out while this story was in commission. This author note is to show I have NOT abandoned this story. I will try my best to maintain its flow.
The reasons why that I've been relatively in active is, well, life. This story is not the only one to have suffered immensely. All stories, series, and projects created around the time of last summer were put on hold because senior year in high school was one of the busiest years of my life. Writing big-time stories like this did not find a spot in my schedule. That, and other things kept catching my interest. For that, I again truly apologize. However, with that out of the way, let's move on.
Disclaimer: Zatch Bell is copyrighted to Makoto Raiku (characters, series, and concepts). The only things I own that are currently revealed in the story are E, Nylon, Shine, Angelica Tsukoro, Curtis Herrakoro, Gretchen, Harumi Kisamaru, Haruko, Izo Uramori, Myriam Schwazden, Mystrael, Metallix, Professor Linda, Orion, Jade, Shine, Zale Schwazden, Thoria, Cassandra, Vini, Amanda, Phoebe, Samantha, Servor, Jerrod, Phantom, Isaac, Marjorie Barragán, and Talón.
Chapter 21: Hopeless Situation
The tense, evening wind howled as Harumi and Haruko faced their slowly approaching opponents, Isaac and Phantom. They were taking this small window of time to rid themselves of any lasting reluctance and fear. It would only burden them against those two.
"All right, ladies," Isaac spoke, opening the spellbook, "You have the stage."
"How very kind of you," Harumi responded unkindly, opening up her spellbook as Haruko walked forward, "Here we go, Haruko! Haosen!" Haruko adopted an archer's stance, and a bow of light materialized in her hands. She promptly pulled back the string and fired an arrow of light toward Phantom.
"I look forward to seeing this tragedy unfold." Isaac said, chuckling light as Phantom raised his single arm toward the oncoming arrow of light, "Seryuga!" In the palm of Phantom's metal hand, a slit appeared and opened up, revealing a red and yellow eye which fired a black and purple electrical beam. Said beam almost instantly disintegrated the Haosen upon contact with it.
Haruko gulped nervously, seeing how ineffective her spell was. "Don't get discouraged, Haruko!" Harumi replied, flipping pages in the dark khaki spellbook before inputting heart energy into it to make it glow, "We have still have more to come! Gigano Haosen!"
In specs of light, a sniper rifle-style bow atop a tripod materialized in front of Haruko, her arms and hands positioned in the appropriate places on it. She promptly took aim at Phantom and discharged a larger, more concentrated arrow of light that surged its way to them.
"Not bad," Phantom commented, holding his arm up again.
"But I'm afraid you still lack proper touch!" Isaac criticized and then recited the next spell, "Argo Oshido!" Suddenly, down the entire length of Phantom's arm, more red and yellow eyes opened up. They then narrowed viciously as they released mauve-colored light to form a sort of forcefield in front of their owner. When Gigano Haosen came into contact with the forcefield, the arrow of light contorted and bended violently until it, too, disintegrated into nothingness.
Haruko gasped, both in shock at seeing her spell being destroyed and in fright at how scary those eyes of Phantom seemed. "…Freaky," Harumi commented as the eyes on Phantom's arm closed.
"Au contraire, ladies," Isaac replied, smirking, "Phantom's eyes are simply the instruments that orchestrate an artistic demise for rebellious dames like yourselves." Harumi narrowed her eyes at the conductor, "I repeat, freaky. Haosen!"
As Haruko adopted her archery stance, Isaac quickly acted, "Oh no you don't! Enough of that! Argo Ezurudo!" More quickly than the arrow of light materializing in Haruko's bow of light, a large red and yellow eye opened horizontally on the face of Phantom's faceless, metal mask. Upon gazing at Haruko's right shoulder, an eye implanted itself onto it.
The spell had almost an immediate effect—Haruko's right arm suddenly went limp, disabling from actually firing Haosen. Haruko's eyes dilated as she looked at her motionless right arm. More fear struck her when she saw the eye symbol on it. "What did you do?!" Harumi questioned irefully, staring at the two.
"Argo Ezurudo temporarily disables motor control in the affected area," Phantom explained, "I'm afraid you cannot perform any more of your marksmanship for some time."
"Allow me to reiterate, ladies," Isaac said, "Phantom's spells are meant to orchestrate your doom in the most thorough and artistic way possible. We plan to punish you for meddling in our affairs." The conductor smirked evilly, relishing the frightened look on Haruko's face, "And it seems your partner has begun to settle into despair."
Immediately upon hearing that, Harumi rushed to her partner's aide and got on her knees, holding Haruko comfortingly but tightly by the shoulders. "Get a grip, Haruko! We can't let them take advantage of us like this!" The blonde human rationalized.
"I-I'm sorry!" Haruko apologized, vividly stressed, "It's…just…can we actually beat them?" Her cerulean eyes stared at Phantom and Isaac and further cowered when she perceived the dark aura around them. "There's such….a huge difference in power between them and us…."
"Yes, of course, we can!" Harumi encouraged optimistically, "I know you're younger and smaller than Phantom, and Isaac is a more experienced partner than me, but you have to remember why we're doing this!"
"My, it is annoying to hear her prate like that." Isaac muttered in complaint, "A most unattractive set of notes."
Phantom ignored the biting criticism of his partner and opted to say instead, "We must settle this soon. Marjorie and Talon are more than likely becoming restless. I even surmise they went to retrieve Curtis and Gretchen themselves at this very moment."
Isaac inwardly cringed, remembering how neither Marjorie nor Talon appreciated detours or tardiness. He also remembered they were one of the stronger teams in the Faudo Cult, and he did not want to incur their wrath. "Agreed," Isaac said as he flipped pages in the taupe grey spellbook, "I am cancelling the Argo Ezurudo spell so that I may perform this next one."
Upon that statement, the eye symbol on Haruko's shoulder closed and vanished, surprising the two girls. "You're not getting soft on us, are you?" Harumi questioned, staring at them. Before Isaac replied with a smart-alecky comment, Phantom said in reply, "Not at all. It is simply because our time is running short, so it is now time to part."
"So, please, ladies," Isaac said, the spellbook in his hands glowing brightly, "Grace the stage with a satisfying crescendo of cries and sobs before the final curtain falls. Argo Oumi Shidoro!"
The water underneath Odaiba's Rainbow Bridge swayed with calming, oceanic sounds in the dead of night. There were minimal cars going to and fro above head. Despite the tranquility the environment provided, for this particular situation, it symbolized great tension.
On a slab of land, with the bridge itself hovering above it, Marjorie and Talon and Curtis and Gretchen were only meters apart of from each other. "I'll ask again, and it'll be the last time I do this politely," Gretchen said pointedly, "Who are you, and what have you done with my partner?" Curtis's even but labored breathing could be heard over the swaying waters. It felt like that accursed symbol on his forehead was steadily draining his vitality.
"Marjorie Barragán and Talón are our names," Marjorie responded, "And we aren't exactly responsible for the condition your partner is in, but we know what is going on with him."
She held up her hand to stop either of them asking another question or shouting, "Let me finish before you say anything else," the Spanish female stressed and then continued, "Your partner has been cursed by a Mamodo named Leo, leader of the group Talon and I are in—the Faudo Cult. To summarize the situation, you must join us to prevent him, and a few other cursed ones, from dying, and that is by unlocking an ancient warrior known as Faudo. All within four days' time."
The color in both Gretchen's and Curtis's faces rapidly left. They were reduced to a pair of slack-jawed, wide-eyed, and pale-looking messes. "I-I'm…gonna die in…four days…?" Curtis said with disbelief in his mind. "Curtis…will die?!" Gretchen shouted in disbelief in her mind, equally despairing.
"…Who….Who the hell is Faudo?!" Curtis demanded irefully, glaring daggers at the two across from him.
Marjorie and Talon sighed in unison. This was where they expected the opposition to crop up, but it would have to happen sooner or later. Besides, they were sure Curtis valued his life if he was the generic type of bookkeeper. "Faudo is a gigantic, ancient, living weapon," Marjorie answered, "He is currently dormant and unlocking the lock will revive him. Yes, he is a weapon. Yes, reviving him will activate his destructive potential."
Curtis and Gretchen registered the information they were given. When they did, their eyes narrowed viciously as menacing snarls escaped their lips. "So lemme get this straight…" Curtis spoke in an uncharacteristically dark tone, removing the battleship grey spellbook from his person. "To save Curtis's life, we have to potentially sacrifice other lives?" Gretchen growled, slowly reaching behind her to grab her scythe.
"GIMME A BREAK!" The two screamed heatedly in unison.
Quickly, Gretchen dashed for them as the spellbook in Curtis's hand glowed vigorously. "Ligar!" He casted. Gretchen swung her scythe and fired a dark, crescent-shaped projectile at them, specifically Talon. Marjorie jumped to the side as Talon hovered in the air at the same spot. "Ar Shield!" She read the spell flawlessly.
A concentrated, light silver, disc-shaped shield of air formed in front of Talon to block the Ligar. When the shield dispelled, he quickly ascended to avoid a swing of Gretchen's scythe. "Man, ya'll got to be the craziest people I ever met!" Curtis chastised, gritting his teeth, "Ain't no damn way I'm gonna help ya'll with this Faudo shit. Go someplace else!"
"You idiot," Marjorie growled, "You would knowingly sacrifice yourself? I am trying to help you out!"
"Thanks but no thanks," Gretchen state, eyeing at the airborne bird cautiously, "I happen to like the Human World. I guess taking you two will be the first step to putting an end to this crap."
"Ligaruk!" Dark energy coated the blade of Gretchen's scythe, her wristbands, and neckline of her kosode, Thanks to the power-up, her subsequent jump allowed her to easily reach Talon. "One more! Ligar!" Curtis shouted the spell again. "Haaaa!" Gretchen cried out as she gripped her scythe with both hands and swung it down vertically.
"Airzuruk!" Marjorie casted another spell in retaliation. With even quicker speed, Talon effortlessly dashed out of the way of Gretchen's swing, causing the crescent-shaped projectile to fly straight through the water and into its deep depths. Before Gretchen could even register what happened, Talon reappeared behind her. "Airzuruk!" The avian Mamodo then rammed himself into Gretchen's back, sending her immediately into the ground with great force as he flew out of the dust and rubble afterwards.
"Gr-Gretchen!" Curtis shouted in concern. He tried to run over, but he suddenly felt himself weak and was reduced to one knee. "A-Ah…! This stupid thing…keeps drainin' my energy…" Curtis thought as he panted and sweated hard, "Not to mention, my heart energy is getting' low cuz of it…" That last statement was proven by the fact that the battleship grey spellbook ceased glowing, meaning Ligaruk was dispelled.
"You can feel your life force and heart energy slowly depleting, don't you?" Marjorie questioned, eyeing at the glaring Curtis unemotionally, "What do I have to do to get you two to stop?"
"Let us beat you, that's what!" Gretchen answered, springing out of the crater that was made from the impact. Despite the recovery time, she seemed relatively unharmed by the attack. "And, Curtis, if you're low on heart energy, just use our newest spell. You know what it does."
A sudden flash of insight washed through Curtis as he remembered that they indeed had a new spell under their arsenal. And it would work wonders in this situation. "Get of some this…Vampirex Ligaruk!" Curtis rasped, the book glowing brightly.
Upon the spell being said, radiant, glowing energy that resembling the color of peacock feathers flared up in the blade of Gretchen's scythe, her wristbands, and the neckline of her kosode. The wristbands and collar also sprouted small tendrils of the same color as the scythe's blade. The somewhat bright green, blue, and purple colors lit up the dim battlefield. But, for someone of Gretchen's tomboyish nature, it was strange seeing such artistic beauty apart of her.
"Maldígalo todo…Damn it all…" Marjorie groused under her breath as the antique white spellbook glowed and Talon prepared himself. "Garu Airzuruk!" Talon propelled himself to Gretchen whilst spinning, causing a rotating column of air to envelope him.
"Ha! That's no big deal!" Gretchen counterattacked with a simple swing of her scythe when the bird Mamodo got in range. Predictably, Vampirex Ligaruk supplemented Gretchen's already impressive strength, allowing her to stop Talon's advancement cold.
"Don't let her do that you, Talon!" Marjorie shouted to her partner, the glow in her hand glowing brightly. After some seconds of clashing, this glow started to diminish, which greatly confused Marjorie. "What in the…" She mumbled in befuddlement. Before she knew it, the Garu Airzuruk spell was starting to go away, signaled by the stagnating rotations.
"Sorry to say, homegirl," Curtis said, smirking weakly, "Vampirex Ligaruk, even if Gretch is jus' targetin' yo Mamodo, will take a lil bit of yo heart energy each attack."
Marjorie gasped at the explanation, and her face was washed with surprised as Gretchen managed to brutally bat Talon away with her scythe. "Talon!" She exclaimed, going over to aid her fallen partner.
"Yes, that's it." Gretchen said proudly. However, upon saying that, Vampirex Ligaruk cancelled out. "Wh-Wha?!" She cried out; the spell had just been activated, so why in the world was it already gone? There was only one answer to that question. She turned around and saw Curtis lying flat on the ground. "Curtis!" She cried out in concern and rushed over to him.
Curtis groaned, obviously in some sort of pain, lying there sweating and panting laboriously. Underneath his ecru bangs, the symbol glowed brightly. Gretchen stared at it with increasing ire. It was as if that thing was slowly but surely siphoning Curtis's energy.
"Why is this happening?!" Gretchen cried out in anger, hating to see her bookkeeper in this condition.
"I already told you, fool," Marjorie replied irascibly, pinching the bridge of her nose to show her frustration sine she already explained what the issue was. "Your bookkeeper will die because of this curse if you don't join us."
"You bitch!" Gretchen yelled angrily, snatching up her scythe and charging at her, "You'll pay for this!"
Marjorie acted quickly as her antique white spellbook glowed brightly. She knew this would finish this increasingly irritating battle. "Go Airzuru!"
"HAAA!" Gretchen shouted with effort, jumping up and preparing to swing her scythe. She wanted to cleave this woman in half for putting them in this position and for inflicting so much harm on Curtis. In her blind fury, Gretchen failed to notice the extremely quick blur heading toward her. Before she knew it, a massive amount of pain coursed through her body. Her wide celestial blue eyes saw a grayish blur pass by as splotches of blood and a blackish material followed it. Her body suddenly felt robbed of its motor control, forcing her to fall pathetically pass Marjorie.
"G-Gretchen…!" Curtis shouted hoarsely, witnessing the entire event. In that brief moment, Talon had transformed and, with his increased speed, assailed Gretchen by slashing her torso with his outstretched wing. That resulted in the blood flowing out of her body and onto the ground. And, unfortunately, Gretchen's scythe was in the way, causing the weapon to be cleaved in several places and clattering beside the fallen Gretchen.
Talon glided back over to Marjorie as he reverted back to normal, perching on her falconry glove. Marjorie gazed phlegmatically at Curtis and asked in annoyance, "Are you done yet? I'm on a timed schedule."
Curtis growled as he gripped a fistful of grass. He could not believe what he just saw; his partner Gretchen getting handled so quickly by these two. He really did not want to help these people out, but Curtis realized they were getting nowhere. And, from the painful pulsation emanating from the symbol on his forehead, he could not forget that his life was on the line.
So, with a heavy sigh, he finally told Marjorie, "We'll go."
Myriam allowed an equally ominous look to grace her features, fingering the spellbook, "Excellent," as she perused through the possible spells, the quarter they were fighting could only stare on restlessly. What on earth was going to happen, they all thought in unison. Myriam spoke again, beckoning for her partner's opinion, "Which one? The Test of Willpower, the Test of Strength, or…?"
"The Test of Resolve." Mystreal declared, smirking at the two uneasy Mamodo.
"Very well then." Myriam replied as the lavender-grey spellbook glowed brightly. She was building an immense of heart energy in preparation for the utterance of the spell, attesting to the high level of power this particular spell possessed. Nervous beads of sweat dripped down the faces of Angelica and Kiyo as they watched apprehensively. "Deragio Maborose."
Mystrael closed her eyes as a purple aura outlined her body. Subsequently, her shadow darkened and expanded before diverging into many black tendrils . Holding her hand out toward Zatch and E, the tendrils darted out, heading toward the mat high velocities.
"Dodge it, Zatch, E!" Kiyo instructed them hurriedly.
Obeying, Zatch and E sidestepped out of the way of the tendrils. However, to everyone's surprise, the tendrils continued to advance. It was made obvious that their targets were actually Kiyo and Angelica. The two humans' eyes widened completely, unable to do anything to defend themselves. However, another surprise came, the tendrils attached to their shadows. Immediately afterwards, the massive amounts of shadows shot up, taking the form of multiple boxes of black energy before enclosing themselves on the two bookkeepers.
"K-KIYO!" Zatch shouted.
"Angelica!" E snarled, turning heartedly toward Mystrael and glaring at her hatefully, "What did you do?!"
"That is the least of your concerns." Mystrael replied mystically, opening her eyes and nodding toward the ground. Both Mamodo looked down and saw in horror that more tendrils were present and had already latched onto their shadows. Before they knew it, Zatch and E suffered the same fate as their book owners, resulting in two black boxes towering over the battlefield.
"And, now, we wait." Myriam declared, strolling to a nearby park bench and taking a seat.
"So we do." Mystrael said in accord, exchanging glances between the two boxes, "Deragio Maborose, the Test of Resolve. It entraps my candidates in coffin-like box and forces their deepest fears and insecurities to come to the surface, challenging them to overcome them without letting despair destroy them."
A rather playful and excited grin appeared on Mystrael's features as she muttered one last statement before letting the events run their course, "Or before they commit suicide. Whichever comes first."