Disclaimer: I do not own Zatch Bell

Hey everybody! I'm back! So far I've got a steady update schedule going on I hope I'll be able to keep it up ; ) I'm so glad you like my new characters and enjoyed the last chapter even with its lack of action. Thank you for all the awesome reviews!

Iron-Arm-V: I hadn't even noticed how close I was to 100 reviews til I read your review. I can't believe it! I'm so excited X D

Here's Chapter 21 of A Battle To Remember! I hope you enjoy it! ^_^

Haley dropped her backpack when she got closer to the water. "Hey kid, get back! I'll get her!"

The blond haired boy turned toward her and opened his mouth to reply, but the redhead had already jumped in the water before he could say anything.

Heihachi put a hand on the younger boy's shoulder and guided him away from the rushing waters. "Don't worry, she'll save your friend. Haley's really reliable."

The grey-eyed child simply nodded, "Logically speaking, your friend would definitely have more of a chance of saving Uuda than me. Her arms and legs will help her swim farther than what I could be capable of." He turned to face the older teen. "Though I would have preferred that you jumped in instead, Sir. A lady shouldn't have to do such things if a man is available."

Heihachi sweatdropped. "Wow this kid's intense. I've never seen someone this young so serious. And now I feel guilty." "It's not like I wouldn't have jumped in, but Haley jumped in before I could stop her! Once her mind's set on something, you can't stop her."

The blonde gave the orange haired teen a dull stare before switching his gaze back toward the water. Heihachi sighed. "Somehow it feels like I'm talking to a brick wall."

Haley took a deep breath as she emerged from under the water. Hazel eyes quickly surveyed her surrounding before she zeroed in on the girl struggling in the water. The redhead swam over to the child as fast as her body would allow.

Despite the intense current, Haley was finally able to reach the other girl. All she could see of the child was the girl's head which had long straight black hair. At the moment, the child's eyes were closed as she fought to stay above water.

The redhead reached out and grabbed the flailing girl. Immediately, pure white eyes opened in surprise at seeing Haley. When the shock wore off, the child swiftly clung to the older girl like a lifeline with one of her hands. After she made contact, she brought her other hand out of the water which was holding a large highly decorated straw hat. "T-thank you!"

Haley grinned as she maneuvered the black haired girl's position so that she was on the hazel-eyed girl's back with her arms around the redhead's neck. "No problem, kid. Now hold tight, I'm gonna get us back on dry land."

When she saw the white-eyed child nod, the older girl began swimming toward the shore where Heihachi and the blond haired boy stood. Finally, after a good couple of minutes swimming, both girls made it to dry land.

The hazel-eyed teen collapsed to the ground as soon as she made sure the other girl was alright. She panted, "Ok that was my exercise for the day."

Heihachi chuckled, "Quite a workout." He leaned over the redhead as she turned so that she was facing the sky instead of the ground. "You okay?"

Haley nodded, "Yeah I'm fine." She shifted her gaze to the black haired girl that was sitting beside her. "What about you? Are you alright?"

The white-eyed child smiled, "Yep! I'm fine thanks to you, Miss. You were like my knight in shining armor! Except you're a girl and you didn't come on a horse or wear any armor. That reminds me." She turned to the blond haired boy who was standing nearby. "Why didn't you try to save me, Marly? The prince is always supposed to save the princess!"

Marly sighed, "That would have been illogical. If you were so easily swept up into the current, how would I have fared? You shouldn't have been playing so close to the water in the first place."

His friend pouted, "It's not my fault! The wind blew my hat off into the water I had to get it! I didn't mean to fall in!"

Haley sat up and attempted to squeeze the water out of her ponytail. "Oh so that's why you were holding your hat like that. I was wondering about that."

Marly walked over to the redhead and bowed his head slightly in a respectful manner. "Thank you for saving Uuda, Ma'am. We are in your debt."

The older girl blinked not used to seeing such politeness or seriousness from someone at such a young age. "Uh you're welcome. It was no problem. You don't have to pay me back or anything. I did what any normal human being would have done. And you don't have to call me 'Ma'am', my name's Haley. Your names are Marly and Uuda, right?"

Uuda grinned, "That's me! It's nice to meet you, Haley!" She then giggled, "But don't expect Marly to drop the polite talk. He's like that with all older girls."

Marly gave his friend a stern look. "You should treat your elders with more respect, Uuda. Especially since Haley-san saved your life."

Haley scratched her head. "I really don't mind actually. I'm from America, so I'm not used to such formal talk."

Heihachi smiled, "Even though I've lived here in Japan all my life, I'm not a big fan of it either, so you kids can call me by my first name as well. My name's Heihachi by the way."

Uuda squeezed the water out of her hat and put it on her head. "Nice to meet you, Heihachi!" She frowned when she noticed how wet the floral sun-dress she was wearing was. "Marly! We need to go shopping! I can't walk around looking like this!"

Marly gave her a bored stare. "Why can't you just lie out in the sun and let your clothes dry?"

White eyes widened. "I can't do that! I'll catch a cold! Or worse, my dress might wrinkle!"

Haley couldn't stop herself from laughing when she saw how the blond boy simply continued to give his friend a dull look. "You two are really interesting." She rose to her feet and brushed off the stray blades of grass from her uniform. "How about you two come over to my apartment? I think I might have something Uuda could wear. I have a few articles of clothing that are too small for me because I left them in the dryer for too long. I've been meaning to get rid of them but haven't gotten around to it yet. And while you wear some of those, I can put our clothes in the dryer."

Uuda smiled, "That sounds great! We'd love too, right Marly?"

Marly sighed, "If it means we don't have to go shopping, I guess it's alright. Are you sure, Haley-san? We wouldn't want to be a burden to you or Heihachi-san."

The redhead shook her head. "It's no problem. Besides, I need to head home anyway, so I can change my clothes."

Uuda pouted, "You're so cheap, Marly! The only reason you're saying we can go is so we don't have to go shopping!" She walked over to the blond boy and leaned over to try to kiss him. "But I still like you anyway!"

Marly easily avoided the kiss and shook his head. "Stop behaving so weirdly. Your actions don't make sense."

Haley gave the black haired girl a sympathetic look when she saw the imaginary bolt of lightning strike the child at the blonde's words. "Looks like Marly's pretty dense to Uuda's feelings. Poor girl."

Heihachi also noticing the exchange tried to lighten up the mood. "Maybe we should get going? You two shouldn't stay in those wet clothes for much longer."

Marly nodded, "Heihachi-san is correct. Would you please lead us to your home, Haley-san?"

Haley blinked, "Uh sure thing. Follow me."

She made a move to pick up her discarded backpack, but Marly beat her too it. He also picked up a small black travel bag that was lying nearby. When he noticed her raised eyebrow, the blonde simply said, "I'll carry your bag for you, Ma'am."

The redhead smiled, "That's very kind of you, Marly. Thank you, but you don't have to. You're already caring a bag of your own."

Marly shook his head. "It's no problem, Ma'am. It's the least I can do after all you've done for us."

"Ok if you're sure."

Haley scratched her head. "Man, I don't know how I'm gonna get used to this politeness. I gotta say though his parents sure did a good job at teaching him manners."

"I'm so glad to be out of those wet clothes."

Haley continued to dry her hair with a towel as she walked out of her room. Instead of her uniform, the redhead was now wearing a green t-shirt and white shorts. "I definitely prefer wearing shorts over skirts."

"I don't!"

The older girl looked behind her to see Uuda frowning while crossing her arms. The black haired child was dressed in a large white t-shirt and blue shorts. "These are so not fashionable!"

Haley sighed, "I already said I was sorry. When I was your age, I never wore girly clothes. It was strictly shirts and shorts for me. It just kinda stuck with me."

Uuda grabbed the older girl's hand and gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry you had such a sad childhood, Haley." Before the redhead could respond, the child's expression became more determined. "But that ends now! We're gonna go shopping and buy you some cute clothes! And while we're at it, we can get me some new clothes too!"

Marly shook his head. "You can't just make decisions like that Uuda. Haley-san might not want to buy clothes, and I do not want to spend my money on more clothes for you."

Uuda pouted, "You're such a spoilsport, Marly!"

Haley crossed her arms. "Well it's true I'm not a big fan of shopping, but I don't mind taking Uuda to the mall as long as she doesn't make me try on any clothes. In fact-" She grinned, "I have someone else in mind you can dress up, Uuda. How does that sound?"

White eyes widened. "Really? I would love to! Who is it?"

As soon as the question was spoken, the front door opened to reveal Kai with a laughing Jet hanging off of his arm. Kai frowned, "Will you let go already? I told you I'm done playing. I want to go to sleep."

Haley winked at Uuda. "Here he is now." The older girl walked over to her partner. "Hey there Kai, where have you been? I was kinda surprised when I didn't find you here sleeping."

Kai pulled his arm away from the younger mamodo. "I was in the park napping. Unfortunately, this kid found me and made me play with him for hours. Even after I told him I was going home, he wouldn't leave me alone."

"Jet?"

Haley and the two mamodo turned to look at Heihachi who was staring wide-eyed at the blue haired child. Jet grinned before he tackled the orange haired teen with a hug. "Heihachi! What are you doing here? Are you done with school now? I was having so much fun with Kai that I didn't pay attention to the time."

Kai gave the two a suspicious look. "Haley, why is that kid's book owner in your apartment?"

The room went quiet when everyone heard the wind mamodo's question. The silence was broken however seconds later by a flurry of questions.

"He's a mamodo?"

"How did you know I'm a mamdo?"

"Haley, you're a book owner too?"

"You know about mamodo?"

Marly, the only one other than Kai who had remained quiet, sighed, "I think it would be best if we take turns speaking instead of shouting at each other."

Kai raised an eyebrow at the blonde. "Who is this kid? And why are they're so many people in your apartment?"

Haley grinned sheepishly. "Well you see a lot has happened since I left this morning." She quickly explained to her partner what all had happened to her including meeting Heihachi and saving Uuda from drowning.

The black haired teen shook his head. "You're just a magnet for trouble, you know that? Leon's right you really don't need to go anywhere by yourself."

Haley huffed, "Shut up. I can take care of myself."

Jet turned to Heihachi. "Were you really gonna let yourself get beat up again, Heihachi? I thought you said you were gonna be more careful. I know Rikichi is your neighbor, but you shouldn't be so reckless when I'm not around to protect you!"

The orange haired teen put a hand on the child's head. "Sorry about that, Jet. I promise from now on I'll be more careful. I mean it. Besides, I have a feeling I'll face Haley's wrath if I don't."

Haley smirked, "You got that right." She smiled at Jet. "Don't worry, Jet. I'll make sure your book owner stays out of trouble at school."

Jet grinned, "Wow you're just as nice as Kai! I'm glad you're a friend of Heihachi's."

She chuckled as she raised an eyebrow at her mamodo. "Nice as Kai huh? That's quite the compliment."

Kai scowled, "Shut up. It's not like I had any choice in the matter."

Jet tilted his head in confusion. "If you knew I was a mamodo, then why didn't you say you were one when we first met?"

The wind mamodo shrugged, "Too troublesome. Besides, I didn't want to end up having to fight you. Fighting is such a pain."

Uuda walked over to the taller mamodo. "But don't you want to become the mamodo king?"

Kai scratched his head. "Not really. That's all Haley. She's the one who wants me to become king."

Heihachi laughed, "Somehow that doesn't surprise me."

Haley crossed her arms. "Kai will make a good king. I just need to beat all that laziness out of him first."

Her partner rolled his eyes. "Good luck with that."

The redhead stuck her tongue out at her mamodo before shifting her attention toward Marly who had been quiet for some time. "Hey Marly, would it be okay if we don't do any fighting today? I know Heihachi doesn't like violence, so he wouldn't want to. And Kai could really care less. Personally, now that we're friends, I don't want to fight with you either."

Grey eyes stared at her briefly before he nodded, "That's fine with me, Ma'am. It wouldn't be right to make a lady fight if she doesn't want to."

Haley grinned, "Thanks, Marly. You're a good kid."

Uuda smiled, "Marly's the best!" She attempted to kiss the blonde like before, but he avoided her again. Marly shook his head. "You're acting weird again." At his words, the black haired child was struck by another bolt of lightning.

The older girl walked over to Uuda to try to cheer her up. "Hey Uuda, how about we go on that shopping trip? You're clothes from earlier should be dry by now, but we can still go to the mall."

At her words, the white-eyed child's face immediately brightened. "Really? And we can pick out a new outfit for Kai too?"

Haley winked, "Yep. You bet."

Kai frowned, "Hey wait a minute. Why do I have to go shopping?"

His partner smirked, "Because you need some new clothes. What kind of partner would I be if I made you wear the same thing every day?"

He was about to complain but stopped when he noticed the honest look in the redhead's eyes. Kai sighed, "Fine, but it better not take more than an hour."

Haley and Uuda high-fived. "Alright!"

Jet tugged on Heihachi's arm. "Hey let's go too, Heihachi!"

The orange haired teen raised an eyebrow. "Why? I didn't think you liked shopping."

His partner shook his head. "I don't, but there are some food shops in the mall right? I'm hungry!"

Heihachi chuckled, "Alright it's fine with me. Hey Haley, do you mind if we tag along?"

Haley grinned, "Not at all. The more the merrier." She turned to Marly. "Is this okay with you, Marly?"

Marly nodded, "As long as Uuda doesn't spend a lot of money, it's alright. Be careful she tends to go overboard."

Uuda pouted, "I do not! I only buy what's necessary!"

"Last time you tried to buy a diamond necklace."

The black haired child put her hands on her hips. "It matched perfectly with my dress!"

Haley laughed, "How about you get changed, Uuda? Your clothes are in the dryer in the room beside mine."

Uuda beamed, "Okay! I'll be right back!" The child swiftly ran out of the room.

Heihachi grinned, "She sure seems excited."

Marly shifted the strand of wheat to the other side of his mouth. "Uuda loves shopping. She could do it for hours if she had the money."

Haley smiled, "She acts just like a human girl would at her age."

Kai shook his head. "Don't let her fool you. I can sense a lot of power from that kid. By the way-" He raised an eyebrow. "How could you not tell she was a mamodo? Have you looked at her eyes?"

She crossed her arms. "I kinda had more important things on my mind at the time like I don't know saving her from drowning? After that, I didn't really give it much thought."

The wind mamodo rolled his eyes. "Of course you didn't" He winced after getting hit on the head. "What was that for?"

"You deserved it."

Uuda ran back into the room once again wearing her floral sundress and her wide-brimmed straw hat which had finally dried off. "I'm ready!"

Kai sighed, "Let's get this over with."

Jet grinned, "This should be fun! I've never been to a mall before!"

Uuda smiled, "It's amazing! You'll love it!"

Marly followed his mamodo as she headed for the door. "Maybe I'll find a good coffee shop there."

Heihachi sweatdropped. "Coffee? Seriously? How old is this kid?"

Haley smirked, "This will definitely be an interesting trip."

Haley took another sip of her soda as she sat with Marly in the food court. Currently the two were by themselves because the others had disappeared into different parts of the mall. As soon as the group had entered the mall, an excited Jet took off in a random direction and Heihachi had to run after him.

Not long after that, Uuda had grabbed Kai and dragged him into the nearest clothing store. Haley and Marly, who didn't want to go inside the store, decided to wait outside. Before the black haired child had run off with Kai, Haley had managed to give him enough money for clothes, so the two mamodo wouldn't need to look for her later.

After the two book owners got the drinks they wanted, they sat down to wait for their mamodo to finish with their shopping. Haley watched Marly, who was sitting across from her, drink his coffee. She internally cringed. "I can't believe he can drink that stuff. I can't stand coffee. I don't even like the smell of it."

For about an hour, the two sat in silence waiting for their mamodo. The blonde haired boy wasn't very talkative, and Haley couldn't think of anything good to talk about.

Surprisingly, Marly was the one to finally break the silence. "Haley-san, may I ask you a question?"

The redhead slightly jumped in her seat apparently caught off guard by the boy suddenly speaking. "Yeah sure thing, Marly. What's up?"

Grey eyes focused on her. "Why do you want your mamodo to become king?"

Haley scratched her head. "Hmm I asked myself that same question not long after I met Kai. It's obvious he doesn't want to become king. Hell, right now I can't see him getting very upset if his book happened to get burned."

"Then why?"

If the blond haired boy was surprised by the older girl's sudden grin, he didn't show it. "Because he's my friend, why else? When we first met, he saved my life, but that's not the reason why I help Kai. It might have been at first but not now. After all the different mamodo we've encountered, like the ones who hurt others or want to win for selfish reasons, I felt that if anyone should become king it should be Kai. Kai may be lazy, but he's reliable. He's also very smart. I think with his quick wit he'd be able to rule the mamodo world wisely."

The edges of Marly's lips curved slightly upwards. Haley had to blink to make sure she wasn't imagining things. As soon as it appeared though, the expression quickly faded reverting back to the blonde's usual straight-faced look. "I see. That seems like a logical reason."

She laughed, "I don't know about logical, but it works for me."

Their conversation was cut short by Uuda shouting, "Hey guys, we're done!"

The two book owners looked up to see their mamodo walking towards them. Haley smirked when she saw her partner. Instead of his usual clothes, Kai was now wearing a silver shirt, a dark blue jacket, a silver scarf, black pants, and black boots.

Haley whistled, "Wow good job, Uuda. You actually managed to make Kai look cool. You really are a pro at this."

Uuda gave her a thumbs-up. "Of course! There's no such thing as a person I can't dress up!"

Kai scowled, "I'm not a doll. And quit talking about me like I'm not here."

His partner chuckled, "Sorry about that. So what do you think of your new outfit, Kai? It can't be all that bad considering you're wearing it and not complaining."

The wind mamodo sighed, "It's fine I guess. I'm only wearing this because she wouldn't let me leave the store unless I did. Little brat."

Uuda gave him the puppy dog eyes. "But I thought you liked your clothes, Kai."

"Why does everybody keep doing that?"

Marly walked over to his partner. "I hope you didn't spend all of Haley-san's money, Uuda."

Haley smiled, "Don't worry about it. It was money worth spent. Kai needed some new clothes."

Kai muttered to himself. "My old clothes were fine." He then yawned, "Can we go now? I haven't gotten the chance to nap in hours."

The redhead rolled her eyes. "Yeah yeah. It's not up to us, Kai. Uuda and Marly might want to stay longer. And we still need to find Heihachi and Jet."

"Here we are!"

Heihachi and Jet walked towards the two while eating vanilla ice cream cones. Heihachi grinned sheepishly. "Sorry about running off like that. Jet's a really inquisitive kid. He gets like that with new things."

Jet smiled, "The human world is so exciting!"

Marly turned toward Haley. "We can go if you want to, Haley-san. I think Uuda's done enough shopping today anyway."

Uuda crossed her arms. "Aw Marly! I've only been to five stores!"

Haley sweatdropped. "Only five?" "Well it is getting late. I probably should be heading home. My brother gets off work soon, and I don't want him to come looking for me once he realizes I'm not at home."

Marly nodded, "That's fine. We'll escort you."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "Escort? They're the kids. Shouldn't we be taking them home?" Instead of voicing his thoughts out loud, the wind mamodo simply sighed, "Whatever. Let's just get out of here."

Both Uuda and Jet pouted, "Aw do we have too?"

Simultaneously, Heihachi and Marly answered, "Yes." Heihachi grinned at the other book owner while Marly simply gave the other a dull stare.

Haley chuckled while shaking her head as she began walking toward the mall's entrance. "What a day this has been."

"Hey Heihachi, where exactly do you live?"

Heihachi shifted his gaze to give Haley a questioning look. The three mamodo teams had been walking together for around ten minutes since leaving the mall talking with each other. At the moment, the group was walking down a deserted road with large trees planted nearby. He raised an eyebrow. "What's with the sudden question?"

Haley shrugged, "I was just wondering. After all, I'd hate to make you walk with us all the way to my apartment if you live on the other side of town."

The orange haired teen grinned, "Don't worry about that. I live near the park where Jet met Kai. It won't be that far of a walk for us."

She nodded, "I see. I hope your parents won't be mad about us keeping you out so late."

Heihachi scratched his head. "Well it's not all that late, so it should be alright. Besides, while we were in the mall I called my mom to let her know I'd be home later than usual. She's probably not even home yet since she usually works late."

"What about your dad?"

Haley immediately knew she said something wrong when after her question Heihachi's and Jet's expressions became sad. Hazel eyes widened. "Oh I'm sorry! I shouldn't ask such personal questions. I only just met you today."

The blue-eyed teen brought his gaze up and smiled sadly. "It's alright. I know you didn't mean any harm by it. It's already been over a month since my dad passed away. He died while he was test flying a new plane. He was a great pilot, but there was an accident. They said something was wrong with the plane's controls. Whenever he's mentioned, I can't stop myself from feeling down."

Jet frowned when he saw his partner's sad expression. "Heihachi."

Marly, who had been relatively quite during the trip, nodded solemnly. "It's understandable. No matter how long ago the loss took place anyone would still feel sad about it."

Haley put a reassuring hand on the orange haired teen's shoulder. "We're only human. So don't worry about it. I know if I were in your shoes I would feel the same way."

Heihachi gave the other book owners a warm grin. "Thanks, guys."

Uuda twirled on her toes. "That's what friends are for, Heihachi! So now you don't have to be sad anymore! Whenever you're down, we'll cheer you up!"

Jet grinned at his partner. "That's right! Remember what I told you before, you're not alone anymore! Now you have even more friends!"

Kai stretched his arms. "As long as you have people by your side, nothing's too hard to overcome. You'll be fine."

Heihachi's grin grew at the mamodos' words. "Thank you. It means a lot to me."

The cheerfulness didn't last however as an unfamiliar voice shouted, "Dataru!"

Everyone froze when they heard what sounded like a dog barking. The mamodo quickly grabbed their partners and jumped out of the way just in time to dodge a large dark blast of energy.

Immediately, the book owners pulled out their books from their bags while their mamodo got into a defensive position. When the smoke cleared from the blast, two figures could be seen. One was a teenage boy who appeared to be around Haley's age and was close to 5'9. He had curly brown hair with matching eyes. The newcomer was dressed very plainly with a white t-shirt, blue jeans, and white sneakers. In his left hand he held a dark brown book.

Beside the brown haired teen stood one of the largest Rottweilers Haley had ever seen. The pitch black dog bared its teeth at the group. Haley gulped. "That is not a normal dog. That thing is like half as tall as its book owner!"

Kai narrowed his eyes as he moved in front of Haley. "Looks like we're in for a fight."

Heihachi clutched Jet's red spell book to his chest. "I was afraid you were gonna say that."

Jet grinned, "Don't worry, Heihachi! There's six of us and only two of them! Besides, I'll be doing the fighting you just need to read the spells!"

The orange haired teen sighed, "Either way it's still fighting."

Marly kept a firm grip on the peach colored book in his right hand. "Unless you wish to run, we have no other choice in the matter. I highly doubt they'd let us run away anyway."

Uuda put her hands on her hips. "This will be easy! That dog won't stand a chance against us!"

Haley smirked, "That's the spirit. I wish Kai had that kind of enthusiasm."

Kai yawned, "Whatever."

For the first time since arriving, the brown-eyed stranger finally spoke. "We have no interest in the two mamodo children or their partners. We only want the wind mamodo and his partner. If you don't want to get hurt, I recommend you come along quietly."

Haley stiffened while Kai glared at the other book owner. "Why do you want us?"

"You'll find out if you come with us."

The wind mamodo was about to decline, but the two younger mamodo beat him to it. Jet crossed his arms as he stood in front of Kai. "No way! Kai and Haley aren't going anywhere! You'll have to get through me first!"

Uuda nodded as she stood beside the blue haired child. "We won't let you hurt our friends!"

Marly moved so that he was standing closer to Haley. "A man should never stand back as a lady is forced to do something she doesn't want to."

Heihachi put a hand on the redhead's shoulder and grinned, "That's right."

Haley smiled while Kai wore a small smirk. "You heard them. We're not going anywhere."

The brown haired teen sighed, "So be it. Ace, it looks like we'll have to use force."

His partner let out a loud growl. The dark brown book gave off a bright glow. "Dataru!"

Ace opened its mouth and fired another dark blast of energy at the group. Uuda moved in front of the attack. "Now, Marly!"

"Unu!"

The black haired girl lifted her open palms and fired a large beam of slightly morphed space at the oncoming spell. The beam moved very slowly, but when the two spells collided, the energy blast became slower. With every second that passed, the energy blast's speed decreased.

Haley whistled, "Wow that's some spell."

Kai watched how the dog mamodo's spell continued to slow down. "I see. Your spell must somehow steal the kinetic energy of whatever it touches. Interesting."

Uuda grinned, "That's just the beginning of it! Let's use the second spell, Marly!"

Marly nodded, "Ugawu!"

His partner raised her hands toward the slow moving spell in front of her. With a flick of her wrists, the energy of the dog mamodo's spell was sent back to Ace and its partner.

"Dataru!"

Ace released another energy blast to counteract the one about to hit them. After the smoke cleared from when the two spells hit, the dog mamodo took off into a run heading for the group.

"Daranes!"

Hazel eyes widened when she saw the Rottweiler's teeth become larger and sharper. "Uh oh that's not good. Kazedron!"

Kai lifted his hand and fired a wind blast at Ace. The dog mamodo easily dodged the blast and attempted to bite the wind mamodo.

Jet got in between them however. When Ace moved to bite him, he shouted, "Heihachi!"

"Mekagi!"

Right before the dog mamodo could make contact, the blue haired child opened his mouth revealing a small cannon in place of his tongue which fired a large cannonball at the Rottweiler.

Ace let out a weak growl as it got hit straight in the chest. Due to the spell's power, the dog mamodo was sent flying back over to where its owner stood.

Kai smirked, "Not bad, kid."

Jet gave him a thumbs-up. "Thanks!"

The brown haired teen frowned, "It seems we'll have to use a stronger spell. Gran Durano!"

Ace howled as its body gave off a dark aura. Before anyone could react, the Rottweiler was in front of them aiming to strike.

"Dataru!"

Everyone had to jump out of the way to avoid the dark blast of energy. In a blink of an eye, Ace was in front of Jet. Before the blue haired child could dodge, the dog mamdo sunk its teeth into the other mamodo's arm and threw him to the side.

Heihachi's eyes widened. "Jet!" He quickly ran over to his partner and picked him up. "Are you alright?"

Jet winced when he moved his right arm. "Y-yeah I'm okay."

Haley narrowed her eyes at Ace when it turned to look at her. "You'll pay for that! Chisokumera!"

Kai's body emitted a silver glow before he vanished. When he reappeared, the wind mamodo was in front of the Rottweiler. He attempted to kick the dog mamodo, but it dodged.

"Daranes!"

Ace opened its mouth and tried to sink its teeth into Kai, but the taller mamodo avoided the attack. This process continued with Ace attempting to bite the other while Kai tried to land a hit on the shorter mamodo.

Marly tugged on Haley's hand to get her attention. When she looked at him, the blonde spoke. "Haley-san, I have a plan. But we'll need both Kai-san's and Jet's help to do it."

Jet looked up when he heard his name. "What do you need me to do?"

Marly gathered the group together and explained his plan. When he finished, Uuda grinned, "Just leave it to me! Once I use my spell, you guys can finish that dumb dog off."

Haley smirked, "Sounds good to me."

Heihachi sighed, "I really don't like fighting, but if it's to help, then I guess it's okay. I'm in."

Kai jumped back just in time to avoid getting scratched by the dog mamodo's long claws. He lifted his leg and kneed Ace in the jaw. "Ha! Serves you right, you dumb mutt!"

The black haired teen raised an eyebrow when he saw Haley signaling him. "What the hell is she planning now?" When he saw Jet raise his arms toward Ace, Kai realized what his partner was trying to tell him. He sighed, "Why couldn't she have just said 'Move'?"

Once he saw Kai was out of range, Heihachi shouted, "Dio Mekanse!"

The fingers of Jet's raised hands turned into mini-missiles that quickly flew toward Ace. The dog mamodo attempted to dodge the missiles but no matter where it went the spell would follow him.

"Dataru!"

Ace released another blast of dark energy, but the attack only managed to take out half of the missiles. Before the Rottweiler could move, the rest of the missiles surrounded it and hit their target.

When the smoke cleared, Uuda could be seen standing near the fallen dog mamodo. Her arms were raised with open palms facing the large mamodo. "Now, Marly!"

"Uzuruku!"

A blue ball of energy shot from the black haired girl's hands and hit Ace head on. She grinned, "Mission accomplished!"

Brown eyes widened as he watched his partner attempt to get up. For some reason, the dog mamodo was moving incredibly slow. "W-what's going on?"

Marly shifted his gaze to look at Ace's book owner. "Uzuruku has the power to decrease the speed of whatever it hits." "Though it only lasts for five seconds."

The brown haired teen took a step back in surprise when Kai appeared in front of him. "W-what?"

Haley grinned, "This battle's over! Kazedron!"

Kai smirked as he released a large blast of wind at the unguarded spell book in the other's hand. The brown-eyed teen dropped the burning book and quickly ran away from the wind mamodo.

Heihachi smiled as he lifted his hands into the air in celebration. "Alright! We did it!"

"Dures Vatu!"

Blue eyes widened in horror as a purple sludge hit the red book in his raised hand. "No!" Jet watched wide-eyed as his spell book began to burn. "H-how?"

Heihachi tried to put the fire out, but it was no use. Instead, he only burned his hands. Jet grabbed his partner hands. "Stop, Heihachi! It's too late! You're only gonna hurt yourself!"

Tears streamed down the orange haired teen's face as he lifted his gaze to meet Jet's. "I-I'm so sorry. I couldn't protect the book."

Jet shook his head as tears ran down his cheeks. "It's not your fault, Heihachi. You've always done your best to protect my book. Despite how much you hate fighting, you still agreed to help me in the battle. I can't thank you enough for that."

Heihachi attempted to wipe the tears from his eyes but stopped when he realized it was in vain. He pulled the blue haired child into an embrace. "If it wasn't for you, I would still be how I was after I found out my dad died. When he died, I thought I was all alone, so I would lock myself in the garage and tinker with all of my inventions. But you reminded me that I still had my mom and that I had you. I can't thank you enough for that."

Jet smiled, "I really wanted to stay in the human world longer, so I could help you with your dream, Heihachi. I was looking forward to riding in your airplane."

The orange haired teen chuckled weakly. "Me too. I enjoyed having you help me with building it. Once my dad died, I thought I would be stuck building it by myself."

The fading mamodo hugged his partner tighter. "Don't give up on your dream, Heihachi. One day you will fly the skies in your very own plane. I know it, so don't give up."

Heihachi nodded, "I won't. I'll build it. Hey who knows? Maybe someday I'll find a way to fly to the mamodo world."

Jet pulled back from the hug enough to grin at his friend. "I'd like that."

Haley and the others ran over to the group. "Heihachi! Jet!"

Sapphire eyes narrowed. "What happened?"

Heihachi shook his head. "I-I don't know. I think there's another mamodo here. I can't think of any other explanation."

Jet pulled away from his partner and smiled at the others. "Thanks for being so nice to me, Kai. I had fun playing with you today." He looked at the others. "I had fun with all of you!"

A teary-eyed Uuda hugged the blue haired child. "We'll miss you."

The blue-eyed mamodo tried to wipe away his tears but failed. "I-I'll miss you guys too! I hope you and Kai will able to play with me again back in the mamodo world."

Kai placed a hand on Jet's head. "Anytime, kid."

The blue haired mamodo turned to look at his partner. "Thanks for everything, Heihachi. I'll never forget you!"

Heihachi gave the child a watery smile. "Same here, partner. You better take care of yourself, Jet."

"I will!"

Jet gave the group a large grin before he completely faded away. For awhile, everyone remained silent as they thought of their friend.

Haley clenched her fists as she looked down at the ground. "How could this have happened?" She scanned her surroundings. "We know you're out there, bastard! We won't forgive you for this! You better come out right now!"

Everyone stiffened when they heard a dark chuckle coming from behind one of the trees nearby. Before anyone could react, a grey sphere was thrown at them and exploded into a large smokescreen.

Haley coughed as she clutched the silver book tightly. "Guys!"

"Haley, read the spell!"

The redhead opened the silver book and shouted, "Kazedron!"

Kai fired a large blast of wind from his hand that quickly blew away the smoke surrounding them. Hazel eyes widened when she saw Uuda lying on the ground with Marly kneeling beside her clutching his arm. She quickly found Heihachi who was standing not far from her with no apparent injuries.

Haley ran over to the children. "Uuda! Marly! Are you alright?"

Marly looked up at her and shook his head. "Uuda's unconscious, Ma'am. I found this in her neck." He showed her a small syringe. "I think it was filled with some sort of anesthetic." The blonde then pointed to another syringe that was lying on the ground. "That one hit me in the arm. I pulled it out as soon as I could, but I think it still managed to get into my system."

"You're quite smart for someone your age."

Everyone looked up to see two figures walking towards them from the shadows. The shorter of the two was the green haired teen that had looked through the file with Haley and Kai's picture on it.

The other was a very skinny man who stood at about 6'1 and who appeared to be around 30 years old. He had scraggly unclean-looking black hair and grey eyes. The man was wearing a black t-shirt, dark brown pants, and black dress shoes. Like his partner, the black haired stranger wore a white doctor's coat.

Haley moved in front of Marly and the unconscious Uuda. "What the hell do you want?"

The green haired teen grinned, "My how rude. Oh well I guess this should be expected considering what all you've been through today. My name's Necro and this is my partner Vlad."

Vlad bowed, "Dr. Vlad Risco at your service. It's a pleasure to meet you, Haley Storm-san."

Kai scowled as he walked in front of his partner. "I don't think you understood my partner's question. What the hell do you guys want with us?"

Necro continued to grin. "Oh nothing much. I simply wish for you and your partner to accompany us to my lab that's all."

Haley glared at the other mamodo. "Like hell, we'll go anywhere with you! You burned Jet's book! And you attacked Marly and Uuda! There's no way we're gonna let you get away with that!"

Marly's eyes widened slightly when the redhead picked him up. "Haley-san?"

She didn't answer the blonde until after she grabbed Uuda. "Don't worry, Marly. Everything's gonna be alright." The older girl handed the two kids over to a surprised Heihachi who had walked over to the group. "Heihachi, I need you to take these two to safety."

Heihachi gave her a shocked look. "What? What about you two? I can't just leave you here to fight by yourselves!"

Haley smiled, "We'll be fine."

Marly tried to free himself from Heihachi's hold. "It's still not a good idea, Ma'am. It's too dangerous. I know Uuda and I may not be any help at the current time, but you and your mamodo should attempt to escape as well."

The redhead shook her head. "Sorry, Marly. That'll just put you guys at risk. I have a feeling no matter where we go that bastard is just gonna follow us. So please understand."

After a few seconds, Marly nodded reluctantly. "Yes ma'am." Not long after he spoke those words, grey eyes began to slowly close as the anesthesia took over. Seconds later, Marly was unconscious like his partner.

Heihachi wore a determined expression. "I'll do it, but as soon as these two are safe, I'm coming back. I'll bring that brother of yours as well. Didn't you tell us earlier he had a mamodo?"

Haley grinned, "Yeah. I'll hold you to it, Heihachi. So while we distract him, you make a run for it, got it?"

Necro chuckled, "There's no need for a distraction, Haley-san. We have no need for those three. That's the reason why I burned the blue haired child's book and incapacitated those children. They do not interest me like you and your partner do."

Haley scowled, "You bastard! You can't just do as you please! Chisokumera!" When she saw Kai charge forward, the girl looked back at the others. "Now, Heihachi!"

Heihachi simply nodded before he took off running in the direction of Haley's apartment. "You better be careful, Haley!"

She smirked, "Aren't I always?"

Kai aimed a punch at the shorter mamodo, but Necro managed to jump back just time to avoid the attack. The green haired teen sighed, "I don't have time for this."

Necro pulled out several small yellow spheres and threw them at the black haired mamodo. Sapphire eyes widened when he saw the yellow spheres release a yellow gas after he dodged them.

The gas spread so quickly that the wind mamodo was unable to move away from it fast enough. Kai only breathed in a little of it, but that was enough to bring him to his knees. "Wha?"

Necro grinned, "A paralysis drug. Sorry but you're not going to be able to move for awhile now. This is why I wanted you to come peacefully. Oh well."

Haley ran over to her partner. "Kai!" Before she could reach her partner however, the redhead was stopped by Vlad. "Get out of my way, you bastard!" She tried to punch him, but the taller man easily caught her fist.

Vlad smiled, "Sorry, but I can't do that. We have plans for you and your mamodo." He pulled out a syringe filled with a weird blue liquid. "Don't worry, this shouldn't hurt much."

Hazel eyes widened as she began to thrash. She tried to kick the syringe out of the black haired man's hand, but Necro appeared and grabbed her foot. He wagged his finger. "Now, now no need for violence. We're simply scientists. If you behave yourself, we might not have to hurt you."

Haley scowled as she tried to free her capture hand and fist. "Screw that! Let me go, you bastards!"

While she was distracted by Necro, Vlad quickly injected the blue liquid into her arms. She grew wide-eyed as she stared at the two in shock. Then suddenly her eyes began to droop. "Huh? W-what's going on?"

Necro smiled, "Don't worry, we simply used the same anesthesia on you like we did on those children. You'll be asleep for a good couple of hours."

Haley sunk to the ground after her foot and hand were released. She glared at the two. "Y-you bastards."

The redhead tried to stand but couldn't make herself move. Her eyelids grew heavier as she tried to fight off the anesthesia. Finally, after a few minutes of struggling, hazel eyes closed and Haley collapsed to the ground.

Necro wore a sinister grin. "Team 3 captured. Now the real fun can begin."

I mentioned it before but now that I've properly introduced them I'll say it again: Marly and Uuda are the awesome creations of stevethemime. I hope I did your characters justice and hopefully I didn't mess up their battle style. If I did, I promise I'll do better next time : )

And Kai's new outift was the amazing idea of Munchlax Jr. Thanks again! X D

Mwuhaha yes it's another cliffhanger! I simply cannot resist! lol And if you guys are wondering if Necro has kidnapped other teams other than Haley and Kai, then you are correct! Feel free to guess who you think it is. *Hint: The other two teams are not my OCs* ^-^

Now I know that you have to push down on a syringe to inject its contents into somebody but let's just say these are specially made for combat. Also Uuda passed out first because she was the first to get hit. Marly was hit just before the smokescreen was lifted which is why he was still awake. I tried to make it so that Marly and Haley both stayed awake the same amount of time before they passed out. I hope I didn't make Haley pass out too quickly.

And if you're wondering about the brown haired teen and his mamodo and what role they play in this. Just wait it'll be explained in the next chapter ; )

I hope you guys liked the chapter! I look forward to your reviews! X )