Disclaimer: I do not own Zatch Bell

I'm aliveeeeee! *bows her head repeatedly* I'm so so so sorry for the long wait! I really didn't mean to make you guys wait so long please forgive me! I wanted to update during Thanksgiving break but I had a stupid report I had to work on. Also I had a bit of writer's block and I was just being lazy. I'm really sorry guys I promise I'll try not to make you wait as long for any of my other chapters. Just to show you how sorry I am I made this chapter extra long. Chapter 25 is about 9,000 words long my longest chapter yet!

I wanna dedicate this chapter to stevethemime who helped me with my writer's block and Vstriker and Iron-Arm-V who just lost their grandma a few days ago. I know this isn't much but I hope it helps to cheer you guys up : )

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! I'm gonna try to make a Christmas special chapter before I go back to school. I'm not making any promises but I'm gonna do my best.

Without further ado, here's chapter 25 of A Battle To Remember! ^-^

Haley gulped as the three mamodo continued to walk toward them. She tried to think of a plan, but no idea came to mind. The redhead tried not to let her fear show in her voice as she asked, "So any ideas?"

Josh, who was able to see through her façade, shook his head. Despite his usual calmness, Haley could tell he was worried by how pale he looked.

"How about we run?"

The two older teens turned to Lee and gave him incredulous looks. He shrugged, "What? I can't think of anything else."

Their decision was made when the mamodo suddenly lunged toward them. The three book owners shared a quick glance before taking off.

"Don't get separated! We don't stand a chance against them by ourselves!"

The two boys nodded as they ran with all their might. Unfortunately, their efforts were in vain when their partners suddenly disappeared.

Hazel, brown, and blue eyes all widened in surprise when the mamodo reappeared in front of them and surrounded the book owners preventing any chances of escape.

Haley and the boys slowly backed away until they were all back-to-back each facing their respective partner. She stared at the mamodo warily. "Okay so running away isn't an option. Anyone have a Plan B?"

Lee clenched his fists to keep himself from trembling. "What are we gonna do? We can't just fight them!"

Josh narrowed his eyes. "Normally, I wouldn't be worried. Even if Jyan is a mamodo, I can take care of myself, but with their little power boost now I'm not so sure."

The redhead bit her lip as she tried to think of a plan. "We have to come up with some way to disable that damn chip that's controlling them."

Josh raised an eyebrow. "How? That thing's gotta be embedded into their skin. We can't just take it out."

"Um guys?"

The older book owners turned to Lee who was looking at the mamodo. "They're getting closer!"

When they turned to see their mamodo approaching them, the two cursed. Haley clenched her teeth. "Looks like they don't want to give us enough time to come up with a plan."

Josh rolled his eyes. "How rude of them."

Despite their situation, Haley and Lee couldn't help but grin at their friend's sarcasm. The grins quickly faded when they saw Kai lunge toward them.

The redhead dropped the silver book and moved into a defensive stance. "I'll take care of Kai. He's my partner, so he's my responsibility." Before the other two could argue, she ran forward and tried to punch the black haired mamodo.

Kai quickly caught the punch and aimed a kick at her side. The girl blocked the blow using her free hand. Once her hands were occupied, the shorter teen used his other hand to punch her in the chest.

Before his fist could make contact, Haley knocked his leg away and caught the oncoming fist. Now the two were at a stalemate, each trying to overpower the other with their strength.

Unfortunately, because of Kai's superior strength, he was able push the taller girl back. Hazel eyes widened in surprise when the black haired teen suddenly lifted her into the air and threw her into a nearby tree.

Josh and Lee, who were also fighting with their mamodo, saw the move and shouted, "Haley!"

The brown haired teen tried to move toward the older girl but was stopped by his mamodo. Brown eyes narrowed. "Great so you're saying I have to go through you first?"

Instead of replying, Jyan simply jumped forward and tried to punch the taller teen in the gut. Josh caught the fist and held the black haired boy in the air. "I'm really starting to appreciate my height right now."

Jyan lifted his leg and aimed a kick at the book owner's head. Surprised at the child's speed, the brown-eyed teen was barely able to dodge the attack. While he was distracted, the shorter mamodo used his free hand to land a hard punch on the other's chest.

Winded, Josh dropped the boy and held his chest. He coughed, "D-damn brat."

Once his breathing evened out, the brown haired teen slowly stood up and glared at Jyan. "Alright now the gloves are off. "

Using his power, Josh began to predict the other's moves and easily avoided them. Due to the child's increased speed, it was still hard to dodge, but he managed to each time. Jyan tried to punch him, but the brown-eyed teen easily moved out of the way.

He then quickly responded with a kick, but the mamodo dodged by jumping into the air. Josh smirked. "Gotcha."

While the black haired child was mid-air, the taller teen aimed a punch at the other's chest. Jyan's face remained emotionless as he brought up his two hands to catch his book owner's fist.

Black eyes widened when Josh suddenly leaned in and head butted the brown-eyed mamodo. Josh continued to smirk as he quickly dropped his partner to the ground. He then winced, "Damn, Jyan, if I knew your head was that hard I would've done something else." "He'll be alright. I didn't hit him too hard. Hopefully it'll keep him stunned long enough so I can reach Haley." With that, Josh quickly ran to his fallen friend's aid while his mamodo tried to regain his bearings.

Like Josh, Lee too tried to escape from his partner in order to help the older girl. Unfortunately, Dinemo was adamant about keeping his book owner from leaving.

Lee clenched his teeth. "Damn. What am I supposed to do? Sure I've fought with Dinemo before, but this is totally different!" He gulped. "Dinemo actually wants to kill me."

He quickly shook his head to dismiss the morbid thought. Blue eyes then narrowed in determination. "I can do this. He may be under Necro's control, but this is still Dinemo. Dinemo can't kill me…I hope."

Taking advantage of the taller teen's distraction, Dinemo charged forward and tackled the other to the ground. Before the book owner could react, the younger boy managed to punch the other hard in the gut. Lee released a pain-filled gasp surprised at the redhead's sudden speed but recovered quickly using his legs to knock the mamodo back enough to crawl away.

The black haired swiftly scrambled to his feet not once keeping his eyes off the black-eyed child. He took a step back involuntarily when his saw the other's cold stare but immediately stopped himself.

Lee clenched his fists. "What am I doing? I can't let this shake me! My friends need me! Dinemo needs me! If I back down now, then I'm letting Necro win by letting my fears control me." His posture stiffened. "I can do this. No one knows Dinemo better than me. If anyone has a chance of beating him, it's me. Now how can I use this to my advantage?"

Realization dawned his features. "I got it!" He grinned, "Is that all you got, Dinemo? I expected more considering your new little power boost and all. Don't tell me you're already worn out. I'm just getting started!"

His grin grew once he saw the mamodo narrow his eyes. "Yes!" He began to run. "Well if you still got enough energy, how about you come get me? With that power boost of yours it shouldn't be too hard, right?"

Like he planned, a scowling Dinemo tore after him. Of course like Lee imagined the redhead's speed was much greater making it harder for the older boy to outrun the other. Thankful for his longer legs, the blue-eyed teen increased his speed heading for a nearby tree.

When he was only a few feet away from the tree, Lee took a deep breath and shouted, "Come and get me, Shorty!" Knowing what effect these words would have, the black haired teen didn't even have to look to know what kind of expression was on Dinemo's face.

Grinning, Lee continued to run toward the tree not once letting up on his speed. "I hope this works!"

Thinking his book owner was about to be cornered, Dinemo charged forward and lunged for the taller teen. Unfortunately for the redhead, that was not the case. With surprising agility, Lee actually ran up the tree and did a flip landing a few feet behind his mamodo.

Unable to change direction in mid-air, the child could do nothing to stop himself as he slammed head first right into the large tree in front of him. Lee winced apologetically when he saw his partner hit the tree. "Damn that's gotta hurt. Sorry, Dinemo, I'll make it up to you later when you're not trying to kill me."

Using this chance, the black haired teen quickly turned around and headed for Haley who was being lifted into the air by Kai. Blue eyes widened when he saw she was struggling to breathe. "Haley!"

Hazel eyes slowed opened as she let out a soft groan. "What hit me?" After a few failed attempts to move, she finally began to sit up. "Oh that's right. I was thrown against a tree. Again. Damn what is up with that? Is there a sign on my back that says 'Please throw me'?"

She was knocked out of her thoughts by the sound of footsteps approaching. The redhead froze when she saw Kai moving toward her. Biting back another groan, the girl slowly rose to her feet. "This is just not my day."

Before she could get into a defensive stance, the shorter teen quickly appeared in front of her and raised her into the air by her throat. Haley struggled to free herself from the other's tight grip, but it was in vain as the black haired mamodo simply tightened his hold on the girl.

"K-Kai, p-please d-don't do t-this."

The whisper seemed to fall on deaf ears as Kai continued to squeeze the girl's throat. Then suddenly the grip on her throat was gone. Instead of being held in the air, she was now on the ground with a familiar face looking down at her with concerned blue eyes. "Lee?"

She was about to ask what happened when she suddenly began to cough. Lee helped her to sit up and patted her back reassuringly. "Don't worry, Haley, you're alright now."

Once the coughing had passed, Haley gave the other a small smile. "Thanks, Lee." She was about to ask about Josh but stopped when she saw the brown haired boy wrestling with Kai. "Josh!"

Ignoring Lee's plea to not move, the stubborn redhead slowly rose to her feet and headed over to other two boys. Not wanting the girl to get hurt, the younger boy quickly ran after her.

Josh grunted when the black haired mamodo elbowed him in the ribs. "Damn. Ok so tackling the guy maybe wasn't such a good idea after all. Now what do I do?"

"Kai, get off of him!"

When he saw the black haired mamodo look up toward his partner's voice, the brown-eyed teen used this opportunity to kick the older teen away enough for him to crawl away. Chest heaving, Josh tried to rise but nearly fell over if not for the pair of arms that caught him.

Startled brown eyes met concerned hazel ones. "Are you alright?"

The brown haired teen blushed as he rose to his feet. The younger teen didn't have to be a mind reader to know that the redhead's concern was real. He coughed trying to will away the redness of his cheeks. "Yeah I'm good."

She grinned, "Good. Thanks for helping me earlier."

Her grin was infectious. "No problem though now you owe me one. Make that two since I also helped you with Jyan before too."

Haley rolled her eyes. "Right. I'll be sure to remember that."

"Are you guys ok?"

The older girl smiled at the black haired boy who came up to them. She was about to reply but stopped when she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. The girl turned to see Kai walking toward them black eyes cold and deadly.

Brown eyes narrowed. "Looks like the others are ready for round two."

Haley followed the brown haired teen's gaze to see Jyan and Dinemo moving towards them. She sighed, "Just great, now what do we do?"

"Hey guys?"

The two older book owners turned to look at the younger boy. When he saw he got their attention, Lee continued, "I was wondering. Don't you think there's something weird about the mamodo?"

Josh snorted, "You mean besides the fact that they're under a crazy mad scientist's control and want to kill us?"

Ignoring the brown-eyed boy's comment, Haley moved her gaze to focus on the advancing mamodo. After a few seconds of studying them, her eyes narrowed. "They're movements are off. Instead of acting like a group that's after the same thing, they're like separate individuals going by their own desires."

Blinking, Josh turned to stare at the mamodo before realization dawned his features. "You're right. They're making sure not to get near each other. It's almost as if they're competing with each other to see who gets their prey first."

Blue eyes widened. "That's why they're singling us out! I thought it was just because Dinemo was my partner that he went after me, but that's not it! They're going directly by Necro's orders!"

Haley smirked, "His order for them to kill their book owners. Which means they'll only attack their own book owner!"

The three shared a grin and a knowing look. The redhead's smirk grew. "You know what this means?"

Matching smirks appeared on the two younger boys' faces. "Oh yeah."

Amber eyes narrowed as Necro watched the three smirking humans form a plan. "What are they up to now?" He clenched his fists. "This is not what I had planned. Those weak fools should be dead by now. With 35% of the chip's power, the mamodo should be more than enough powerful to kill their book owners. How are they still alive?"

Vlad studied his partner's rigid posture before moving his gaze back to the screens in front of them. "It looks like Necro's plan isn't as foolproof as he thought. These subjects are proving to be very interesting." "I didn't expect Josh-kun and Lee-kun to be able to escape their mamodos' clutches. They're more resilient than we thought. And of course Haley-san isn't going down without a fight. What would you like to do, Necro?"

The green haired mamodo rested his chin on his interlaced fingers as he pondered the older scientist's question. After a few seconds, his amber eyes gained an eerie glow. "Let's leave them be for the moment. I'm interested in seeing what those pathetic humans have planned."

"And if their plan is successful?"

A dark scowl formed on the younger teen's face. "Then we'll up the ante. I grow bored of these trivial battles. Once we finish studying Haley-san and the others' actions, we'll finish this. Unless they do something to impress me, I wish to get rid of the humans once and for all."

He begins to chuckle. "After all, as long as we don't burn their books, Kai and the other mamodo will be forced to stay here. I never said we needed the book owners for all of our tests."

Vlad smirked, "Quite right."

Haley, Josh, and Lee stood side by side watching their mamodo advance with identical grins on their faces. The redhead looked at her friends. "You guys ready?"

After a quick nod from the two, the book owners took off running straight toward the mamodo. Each mamodo quickly got into a defensive position waiting for their respective partners to attack.

Unfortunately for the mamodo, that wasn't what the three taller teens had in mind. As soon as they got close enough, the book owners scattered each heading for a mamodo that wasn't their partner.

Haley grinned at Dinemo's expression. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say he's surprised. Can't say I blame him." She pulled back her fist. "I just hope this works!"

The red haired boy quickly brought up his hands and caught the older girl's fist. Black eyes narrowed and studied the girl before dropping her fist. Like she suspected, instead of retaliating, the child tried to move around her to get to Lee.

Her grin grew. "Not so fast!" She aimed a kick at his chest preventing the other from escaping. Dinemo easily caught her leg then pushed her back almost making her lose her balance.

Again he tried to pass her, but the older girl quickly blocked his path. She clenched her fists after he repelled another of her punches. "Well now we know for sure they won't attack anyone that's not their book owner. Now it's time to put the plan in motion."

The redhead unleashed a flurry of punches in hopes of catching the shorter mamodo off guard. She scowled as he parried each of her fists with remarkable speed. A smirk formed on her face when an idea hit her.

Haley leaned down and swept one leg out under Dinemo's feet to knock him over. Like she hoped, the child quickly jumped into the air to dodge her leg. Once he was in the air, the hazel-eyed girl aimed another punch straight toward his chest knowing he couldn't avoid her fist mid-air.

Before her punch made contact, the red haired boy caught it using both of his hands. His eyes widened slightly when the girl placed her other hand over both of his gripping them tightly. She grinned "You feel like flying?"

While Haley was fighting with Dinemo, Josh and Lee too were realizing that the mamodo would only fight their book owner.

Lee jumped in front of Jyan preventing him from going after Josh. "No way, dude. You're not going anywhere!"

Remembering Dinemo's training, the taller teen aimed a series of kicks at the child hoping to knock Jyan down. Unfortunately, the black haired boy was able to dodge each of Lee's attacks.

Blue eyes widened when the shorter mamodo caught his leg and pulled it making Lee lose his balance. The black haired teen scowled as he pushed himself off the ground. He tackled Jyan when he saw the other try to get away. "Oh no you don't!"

Not wanting the child to escape, the two began to wrestle each trying to overpower the other. A few seconds later Lee finally managed to stand up while still holding onto the younger mamodo. "Gotcha!"

He leaned back just barely missing get kicked by the black haired child. The blue-eyed teen grinned, "You want me to let you go? Alright fine by me!"

Josh aimed a kick at Kai's side but the older mamodo easily blocked the attack. While the other was still holding onto his leg, the brown haired teen tried to punch the black-eyed teen in the chest.

Using his free hand, Kai caught the fist then simultaneously let go of the younger teen's hand and leg and shoved him out of the way. Not willing to let the other escape, Josh quickly turned and tried to kick the black haired mamodo in the side.

Sensing the attack, Kai tried to avoid the kick, but the brown-eyed teen suddenly stopped his leg in mid-air. Before the other had a chance to respond, Josh moved his leg downward aiming for the older teen's legs to knock him off his feet.

The brown haired teen smirked when the other jumped back to avoid the kick. "That's what you get for turning your back on me."

Going back on the offensive, Josh tried to knock the black haired mamodo back with a series of punches. Each time, however, Kai was able to block the book owner's fists. When the last punch came too close to the older teen's face, he caught it making Josh smirk.

Before the other could let go of his hand, the brown haired teen moved forward and grabbed Kai's arm. He turned and pulled the mamodo's arm over his shoulder. "Don't worry this shouldn't hurt. Too much."

Simultaneously, the three book owners shouted, "Now!" then threw the mamodo in their holds into the air toward the center of the area they were fighting in. The mamodo collided mid-air before falling into a heap on the group.

The humans quickly ran toward their fallen partners to check to see if they were alright. On her way over, Haley noticed everyone's spell books on the ground not far away. After making a quick detour, the redhead headed over to where her friends stood.

Lee bit his lip. "They're gonna be ok, right?"

Josh nodded, "Don't worry, they'll be fine. I doubt they'll be down for long." He watched as the mamodo slowly began to move and get off each other. "Unfortunately, that still leaves us in a bit of a bind."

Haley stopped by the two boys and gave them their spell books. When they raised their eyebrows, she shrugged, "They may not be much use now, but who knows? I prefer to keep Kai's book close by just in case." The girl turned to look at the mamodo. "So I'm guessing our plan to knock them out didn't work?"

The older boy shook his head. "I'm afraid not. They're too strong to be knocked out just like that. We may have found the major flaw in Necro's chip, but that doesn't mean anything if we can't turn them back to normal."

She sighed, "I had a feeling this was gonna happen. Well at least we managed to get them together. As long as we stay as a group, we should be alright."

Lee smiled, "Yeah! We have teamwork on our side."

The three book owners stiffened when they heard the sound of clapping. "Nice work, you three. Very impressive. I never would have thought that you would survive this long. I must thank you for your help. Without you, I wouldn't have discovered the glitch in the chip's programming. I didn't think Kai and the others would be so literal with my orders. Well done."

Josh rolled his eyes. "So happy to be of service."

Haley scowled, "You bastard! Release our friends now! We've already beaten your damn chip so let them go!"

Necro chuckled darkly. "Now why would I do that? I have much more experiments that I need to carry out, Haley-san. I can't afford to lose such interesting specimens like your mamodo. Besides, you haven't beaten the chip yet. After all, I've only used 35% of its power, remember?"

The green haired teen smirked as he saw the book owners' faces pale on the monitors in front of him. "That's right. We're only just beginning. I was trying to be merciful by only using 35% of the chip's power to kill you three, but you've tried my patience. It's time we end this game."

Lee took an involuntary step back. "G-game?"

Brown eyes widened in realization. "That's been his plan all along. He didn't really need us to begin with. All along he's been after our mamodo!"

The redhead gaped, "What?"

"Not quite, Josh-san. I was interested in you three in the beginning, but I just didn't plan on keeping you as long as your mamodo. Humans are such weak creatures. They die so easily. I have no need for such beings in my experiments. Though I admit I do appreciate all of the information you've supplied me up to this point. You have my gratitude."

Haley swallowed as she tried to fight back the growing sense of panic in her chest. After a few seconds, she took a deep breath to calm herself. "I can't let him get to me. I won't let him see I'm afraid. That's exactly what he wants."

Once she was calm, the older girl looked up. "You won't win! I don't care what you say. I'm not gonna die here! None of us are!"

Josh and Lee watched their friend with surprised expressions before slowly smiling. Their apprehension began to slowly ebb away thanks to her encouraging words. The two shared a look before moving so that they stood on each side of Haley.

The brown haired teen smirked, "It'll take a lot more than a deranged scientist who has too much free time on his hands to kill me."

Lee nodded, "Yeah! Like Dinemo always says, 'I don't die easily!'"

Necro sighed, "Stubborn to the very end I see. Oh well I suppose that's just human nature for you." His expression grew serious as he reached over toward the knob and turned it to 50. "This ends now. Let's see how you handle 50% of the chip's power!"

The book owners watched warily as the three mamodo quickly moved away from each other and gave off an even darker glow than before. Hazel, brown, and blue eyes widened as they watched their partners' bodies change.

Each of the mamodos' arms and legs bulged with new muscles, and their skin was now an ashy grey color. Their eyes seemed even darker than before if that was possible. A chill went down each of the humans' spines when their mamodo turned their dark gazes toward them.

"Now finish them!"

Before any of the book owners could even blink, their partners were in front of them. In less than a second, Haley was slammed into a nearby tree by Kai who had a constricting grip on her throat. Dinemo tackled Lee to the ground and gripped the young teen's wrists painfully.

Josh tried to use his power, but Jyan was too fast. The black haired mamodo gave a quick punch to the taller teen's gut and kicked his book owner in the head when the other bent over. Soon Josh was on the ground with Jyan's foot stepping firmly on his chest. He wheezed, "D-dammit."

Haley dropped the silver book and tried with all her might to remove Kai's hand from her throat. However, her strength was depleting as the black haired mamodo continued to suffocate her. Hazel eyes implored lifeless black ones to release her in vain. "K-Kai, please don't do this. I know you're stronger than this. Please!"

Spots began to invade her vision due to lack of air. When she couldn't move her body anymore, she slowly closed her eyes. "Please forgive me, Kai. I wasn't strong enough. If I was a better partner if I was stronger, then we wouldn't be in this mess. If I wasn't so weak, I could've reached out to you, but I failed. I'm so sorry, Kai. You really were the best partner a book owner could ask for. You may have been a pain in the ass sometimes, but you were my friend, a really good friend. I wish it didn't have to end like this. I really wanted to make you king. You would've made a great one. I'm so sorry."

Right as she was reaching unconsciousness, a single tear escaped her eye and fell toward the ground landing on the silver book below. At first, nothing seemed to happen but then the book began to emit a bright glow. Soon the light was so bright it encompassed all of its surroundings including Kai and the barely conscious Haley.

A few seconds later the light began to dim before slowing dying away. Hazel eyes slowly opened then blinked as the redhead started to wake. "Huh?" Then the past events flooded her mind and she realized where she was.

Haley noticed she was still pinned to the tree behind her, but the grip on her throat wasn't nearly as suffocating as before. In fact, it was almost gentle. Her eyes widened in surprise when she looked up.

Tears were streaming down Kai's face as he stared at his book owner. Upon closer inspection, the girl noticed her mamodo's eyes weren't as pitch black as before. Instead, they were a dull black with small spots of blue.

The redhead opened her mouth to speak but all that came from her mouth was a scratchy cough. Once her throat was clear, Haley tried to speak again. "Kai?"

Kai didn't respond, but he didn't move either so she thought of that as a good sign considering he was just choking her a moment ago. The taller teen tried to pry his hand from her throat but couldn't move it. She sighed, "Great. Now I'm stuck. Kai won't answer me and he won't move. What do I do?" Her eyes narrowed. "Or more importantly, what happened?"

Necro's angry voice startled her. "Kai! What are you doing? I didn't tell you to stop! I said finish her! Kill her now!"

Scared hazel eyes stared into dull black ones as the grip on her throat began to tighten. "No! Not again!" "No! Kai, please stop this! It's me, Haley! Your friend! You don't want to do this! You're stronger than this, Kai! Please!"

The pressure on her throat stopped. A few heart pounding seconds later it eased off until it was gone making her drop to the ground. Haley rubbed at her throat absently as she watched her partner.

Kai was gripping his head so tightly she was afraid he might hurt himself. His lips were moving, but no sound was coming out.

"Kai, kill her now! I command you!"

Haley glared in the direction the green haired scientist's voice was coming from. "Shut the hell up, you bastard! Kai's not listening to you anymore!" She slowly rose to her feet and moved toward the shorter mamodo. "Kai?"

Kai's sudden yell of pain made her jump as he fell to his knees. The redhead ran over and knelt by her partner. "Kai!"

He continued to thrash as he held his head. Haley grabbed his shoulders. "You can do it, Kai! You're way stronger than that damn chip! Just keep fighting it! You're not in this alone. I'm right here."

Hazel eyes widened when Kai's body began to emit a silver glow. "W-what?" Soon the glow was so bright she had to squint to look at her friend. "It's like when we use Chisokumera, but this isn't a spell. What's going on?"

Lee winced as the pressure on his wrists increased. He struggled in vain as Dinemo rearranged the taller teen's arms so that the mamodo was holding down both of Lee's hands with only one of his arms. Now free handed, the redhead began attacking the trapped teen with a flurry of punches.

Luckily, the shorter mamodo hadn't been aiming for his book owner's face, but Lee's chest was now covered in bruises. He snorted, "If I'm that lucky, I wouldn't be surprised if he broke one of my ribs. It hurts enough."

Lee hissed when his mamodo added pressure to his wounded chest. "Dammit. Yep probably more than just bruising." He fought back tears when the pain increased. "I am not gonna cry. That's not gonna help anything." The blue-eyed boy sighed, "Though what's the point. I'm going to die here anyway. I know Haley said we were gonna be alright but maybe she was wrong. No matter how I see it I don't see a way out of this. I'm gonna be killed by my best friend. I'm sorry I wasn't as strong as you wanted me to be, Dinemo. I tried my best, but I guess my best wasn't good enough. I'm sorry."

This time Lee didn't bother fighting back the tears. As Dinemo leaned in for the finishing move, a few tears cascaded down his cheeks and landed on the emerald book lying by his head. The black haired teen closed his eyes as the mamodo brought down his fist.

Similar to Kai's silver book, Dinemo's emerald one began to glow brightly until the light was so bright it engulfed the two. Finally, the light died and blue eyes opened wondering why he didn't feel the final blow.

Lee looked up surprised to see Dinemo's fist only a few millimeters away from his face. When he moved his gaze to stare at his mamodo's face, he noticed the child's eyes were different from before. They were now a dull black with specks of green.

He also saw that Dinemo was biting down on his bottom lip so hard it was bleeding. Not only that, the fist in front of Lee's face was also bleeding from the redhead clenching it so tightly. The older boy looked back at his partner. "Dinemo?"

When the redhead didn't respond, Lee opened his mouth to try again but was stopped by a familiar furious voice. "Dinemo, finish him! I told you to kill the boy so do it! Do it now!"

The black haired teen watched nervously as Dinemo began to pull his fist back to finish what he had started earlier. "Dinemo, don't do it! It's me, Lee! You don't want to do this! Please fight this! Don't let that bastard win! Please!"

Once again the fist froze mid-strike. Lee held his breath then released a sigh of relief when Dinemo finally pulled away and got off of him. The shorter mamodo clutched his head and began to yell.

If it was possible, Necro's voice seemed even angrier than before. "Dinemo, listen to your master! I order you to kill your book owner!"

Lee scowled, "You're not his master! He doesn't have to listen to you anymore!" He sat up and reached for his partner ignoring his pounding chest. "Dinemo! You can do it! Fight it! I know you're stronger than him! Don't let him beat you!"

Dinemo released another pain-filled yell as his body gave off an emerald glow. Blue eyes widened. "What's going on?"

Josh tried to push the mamodo off of him, but it was no use. Jyan lifted his foot then stomped hard on his book owner's chest. The brown haired teen yelled in pain when he felt something snap. He glared weakly at the mamodo. "Damn. I think he broke one of my ribs."

Brown eyes stared into pitch black ones hoping to be able to read the child's emotions. Josh sighed, "Guess my ability doesn't work on people who are being mind-controlled." He released a bitter laugh. "Not that knowing what he's thinking or feeling is gonna help me get out of this. I'm screwed."

The older teen winced when the pressure on his chest increased. He clenched his teeth tightly and tried to block out the pain. "Dammit. How could something like this happen? I used to tell Jyan he'd be the death of me, but I didn't mean it literally!"

When he saw Jyan reach toward his neck, Josh brought up his one of his arms to defend himself but it was easily pinned down with one Jyan's. The black haired mamodo grabbed the older teen's throat and began to squeeze.

The brown-eyed teen struggled, but the pain in his chest made him stop. He wearily watched as his partner stared down at him. A spot of blue out of the corner of his eye made Josh turn to see Jyan's blue book laying nearby.

Using his free hand, the brown haired teen grabbed the blue book and gripped it tightly. His vision slowly began to darken. "Well at least I managed to keep the damn book in one piece. I did my job though for some reason that doesn't make me feel any better. I can't believe this! When did I become so weak?"

His brown eyes slowly closed. "Sorry, Jyan. Looks like I won't be able to make you king after all."

As if responding to the book owner's feelings, the blue book gave off a bright glow that surrounded the two. Seconds later, the light disappeared, and Josh began to cough as the pressure eased up on his throat.

He blinked in surprise when he looked at Jyan. Like the other mamodo, the black haired child was frozen in place. What caught the book owner's eye was the fact that the young boy was actually crying. Not only that, Jyan's eyes were now a dull black with flecks of brown.

Josh raised an eyebrow. "What the hell?" "Jyan?"

The older teen tried to sit up, but Jyan's foot on his chest kept him firmly planted on the ground. He tried to push the kid off of him, but the shorter mamodo wouldn't budge. Josh sighed, "Great. Just great."

The brown-eyed teen stiffened when he heard Necro's voice. "Jyan! Kill him! Do not disobey me! Finish him!"

Josh blinked. "What's up with him? I've never heard him sound so angry before. Hell he even sounds annoyed. What's going on?" He then smirked, "I may not know what's going on, but it sure sounds good for me."

Brown eyes focused on dull black ones ignoring the increasing pressure on his chest and throat. "Jyan, snap out of it! Since when did you start listening to someone else's orders? You've never let anyone tell you what to do before. So don't start now!"

The taller teen grinned as the pressure on his throat and chest disappeared. He slowly sat up wincing at the pain from his chest. Ignoring it for now, Josh turned to look at Jyan who was holding his head. "Come on, Jyan, fight it! I'll never let you hear the end of it if you lose to a piece of metal!"

Josh watched in amazement as a blue light surrounded his mamodo. Soon he could barely see Jyan because of its brightness. "What the hell?"

The mysterious swordsman watched with interest from his perch on a high tree branch as the three mamodo below began to glow. Dark brown eyes narrowed as he inched closer to get a better look. "It can't be."

The black haired teen closed his eyes and calmed his breathing as he focused on the mamodos' auras. His eyes quickly flashed open. "It is."

He crossed his arms as he studied the mamodo below. "Interesting. I didn't expect they would be strong enough to use their Rareiki. A mamodo's inner energy is very powerful if wielded wisely. One must have a strong mind and spirit to be able to use it. Looks like I'll need to update my information on those three after all."

The young swordsman moved his gaze to one of the book owners below. "Though I have a feeling there's more than the mamodos' strength that's involved. Underestimating those humans will be Necro's downfall. It's true that humans are weak creatures, but they also have the power to rise to the occasion. Those three are perfect examples."

He leaned back against the trunk of the tree. "It seems the pawn's usefulness is coming to an end." With that, the mysterious figure merged with the shadows and disappeared without a trace.

Necro slammed open palms on the computer console in front of him. "What is going on here? They shouldn't be able to resist me! First their books start glowing and now this? What the hell is happening?"

His book owner began typing on the keyboard in front of him and studied the screens. "For some reason, the chips are not responding. It's almost as if they're being overpowered."

Amber eyes narrowed. "Overpowered? How is that possible?" He clenched his fists. "I'll show them overpowered." The green haired scientist reached for the dial. "Let's see how they handle 100% of the chip's power!"

Vlad grabbed the mamodo's wrist. "What are you doing? This chip is only a prototype. It can't handle that much power yet! If you do that, you'll cause permanent damage to their brains! You could kill them!"

The bespectacled teen growled and pulled away from his partner. "Shut up! I know what I'm doing! It'll be fine!" He grabbed the dial and twisted it until it pointed at 100. "Let's see them fight that!"

Necro's eyes widened in surprise when the computer console began to short circuit. Soon sparks began to fly and the computers started to crash despite the two scientists' best efforts to stop it.

Finally, a few seconds later, everything stopped, and the two partners didn't move. Slowly they approached the computer console to assess the damage done. Necro scowled, "The system's fried! Everything's gone! I can't believe this!"

Vlad tried typing on the keyboard but received no response. He sighed, "I told you not to do it. The chip wasn't ready for that much power. It was too much for our computers to handle."

The shorter teen snarled, "I know that! I'm no fool!" He punched the broken console and shook his head. A few seconds passed in silence before the amber-eyed mamodo sighed.

Necro slowly straightened his posture then dusted off his clothes. He pulled off his glasses and began to polish them with a piece of cloth from his coat pocket. "I apologize, Vlad. I lost my temper. Because of that, I ruined the precious equipment you procured for us."

The black haired man crossed his arms and leaned against the nearby wall. "Yes and it was very expensive too." He chuckled, "Oh well you can't put a price on science. So what do you wish to do now?"

His partner put his glasses back on and pushed them so that a glare on the lenses hid his eyes. "Do not worry. I always have a backup plan. I think it's time we do a little field work of our own."

The glare disappeared revealing dark amber eyes that possessed an eerie calm look to them. Vlad, however, could easily see past the fake calm exterior to the demon underneath.

He smirked. Oh yeah Necro was pissed.

Simultaneously, the three mamodo screamed in pain as they clutched their heads. While trying to help their partners, the book owners noticed the lights around their friends were beginning to dim.

Haley kept a tight grip on Kai's shoulders. "I may not know what's going on, but I have a feeling that's not a good thing." "Kai! Hang in there! You can do it!"

Lee cradled his chest with one arm while the other held on to one of Dinemo's arms. "Come on, Dinemo! Fight it!"

Josh placed one of his hands on Jyan's head while the other was wrapped around his mid-section. "Don't give up now, Jyan! You're almost there!"

As if responding to their partner's words, the lights around the three mamodo began to brighten. Soon it was shining so intensely it became blinding to the humans who had to close their eyes.

Finally, when the lights began to die down, the book owners slowly opened their eyes to look at their partners. Each of the mamodo had their eyes closed and were perfectly still not moving an inch from their kneeled positions on the ground. Their skin tones were back to their natural colors, and their physical forms appeared to be back to normal.

"Kai?" "Jyan?" "Dinemo?"

The three humans called out to their mamodo hoping for the best. They held their breath as the mamodo slowly opened their eyes.

Haley, Josh, and Lee each released a sigh of relief when bright sapphire, brown, and green eyes stared back at them respectively. The mamodo appeared dazed at first before realization slowly dawned their features.

"Haley!" "Josh!" "Lee!"

The two children tackled their partners while Kai hugged Haley. She grinned, "Aw you happy to see me?"

His grip tightened. "Shut up, you stupid girl." There was no annoyance in his voice only relief as the shorter teen slowly pulled away to look at the girl. "I'm sorry. I promised I wouldn't let something like this happen again, but I did. I hurt you. Hell I almost killed you!"

Hazel eyes softened. "But you didn't. You won in the end."

Kai snorted, "Yeah right as I was about to kill you." He looked down unable to meet her gaze. "I'm supposed to protect you, yet in the end you were doing more protecting than me. If it wasn't for your voice egging me on, I wouldn't have been able to break free from that bastard's control."

The redhead leaned down enough so that he was forced to look at her. "That's what friends are for. It's not a one-way street you know. I want to protect you just as much as you want to protect me. But-" She waited until he lifted his gaze to give him a warm smile. "I'm glad I was able to help you in the end. Earlier I felt so useless. I was afraid I let you down as your partner."

He shook his head vehemently and grabbed one of her shoulders. "You didn't. If anything, I was the one who was useless. I felt like I was a stranger in my own body forced to watch helplessly as I attacked you."

Haley squeezed his hand encouragingly. They stayed silent like that for a few minutes before Kai finally sighed, "I feel like I should apologize some more, but I know you don't want to hear it so I won't. I'll always feel horrible about this, but I promise I won't let him bring me down. We're still in danger, and the last thing I need to be is distracted."

The black haired teen looked up and gave his friend a small smile. "So I guess instead of saying sorry, I'll just say thank you. How's that?"

She grinned, "Sounds good and you're welcome." The girl winked, "Anytime, partner."

Josh winced when Jyan tackled him but made no move to rebuke the child. Jyan looked up at him with wide eyes. "Dude, I'm so sorry! I tried to stop myself, but I couldn't!"

The brown haired teen rolled his eyes. "Get off. You're crushing me." The boy immediately moved off his partner and watched the older teen sit up with worried eyes. Josh grimaced at the pain from his chest but made sure to school his features so Jyan wouldn't see. "I'm not mad at you. It's Necro's fault not yours. Besides, you were able to control yourself in the end so that's what matters."

Jyan bit his lip. "Yeah I guess so." His shoulders slumped. "But it doesn't stop me from feeling bad."

His book owner sighed, "I wouldn't expect it to, but don't let it get to you. If you do, you're just gonna give Necro what he wants."

The black haired mamodo nodded, "I know." He scowled as he punched the ground angrily. "Dammit! I can't believe I let that bastard take control of me like that! Next time I see him I'm so gonna kick his ass!"

Josh released a chuckle that quickly turned into a wince. "Get in line, kid. You're not the only one."

His partner wore a worried frown. "Are you okay?"

The brown-eyed teen held his chest gingerly. "Honestly? No, but I'll live. Just don't expect me to start running any marathons anytime soon."

Jyan rolled his eyes. "Like you could even do that before."

Josh scowled, "Watch it. Don't make me have to kick your ass."

The black haired child smirked, "I'd like to see you try!"

Lee groaned, "Dinemo, get off! My chest hurts enough as it is without your heavy weight on me!"

The redhead scowled, "I'll show you heavy weight." Despite his comment, the mamodo moved off of his book owner and crossed his arms. "What a pansy."

His partner gaped, "Pansy? You broke at least one of my ribs!"

Dinemo flinched but continued to scowl at his partner. "Yeah, yeah, whatever." A few minutes passed in silence before the child mumbled something incoherent.

The black haired teen tilted his head in confusion. "Huh? What was that?"

His friend's scowl grew as he turned his fiery green eyes to the taller teen. "I said sorry, alright? I'm sorry I broke one of your damn ribs and killed you! Happy?" He then quickly moved his gaze away from the other not wanting to meet his book owner's gaze.

When there was no reply, Dinemo looked back to see a wide-eyed Lee gaping at him. "What?"

Lee remained speechless for a few seconds then shook his head. "Sorry, I just never heard you apologize to me before. I'm kind of in shock."

The redhead scowled, "Well don't get used to it. This is a onetime thing, alright?"

Lee nodded his head and began to smile. "Sure thing, Dinemo."

Slowly the mamodo helped their book owners to their feet, and everyone gathered together in one spot. Haley frowned worriedly at Josh and Lee who were holding their chests protectively. "We need to get out of here. You guys need a hospital."

Josh raised an eyebrow. "How? Last time I checked we were stranded in the middle of a forest."

Lee nodded, "Yeah! And what about Necro? I don't think he's gonna just let us leave."

While the older teens continued to talk, Jyan studied his surroundings searching for something. Dinemo gave the black haired child a curious look. "Hey kid, whatcha looking for?"

A large grin formed on the brown-eyed child's face as he dashed toward a nearby tree and began to climb it. The redhead chased after him. "Hey what are you doing?"

Dinemo's loud voice caught the others' attention and they turned to see Jyan disappear in the tree's foliage. Josh massaged his forehead. "What's that idiot up to now?"

"Hey I heard that!"

The others watched with amused expressions as they listened to Jyan who spent the next five minutes in the tree. Haley walked over to the tree. "Jyan, what are you doing up there?"

Finally, the black haired child appeared as he quickly scrambled down the tree with a large smirk on his face. "Guess what I found out!"

"What? That you're part monkey?"

Jyan scowled at his book owner while the others chuckled. "Bastard." The scowl quickly turned back to a wide smirk. "I found a part of Necro's sound system."

Kai crossed his arms. "So that's what you were looking for. I was wondering."

Dinemo scratched his head. "I don't get it. How's finding a speaker gonna help us?"

The brown-eyed mamodo shrugged, "It doesn't. Well not really. But after I looked at it, I learned something very interesting."

Haley grinned already used to mischievous mamodo's attitude. "So what did you find, Mr. Whiz kid?"

Jyan's smirk grew. "The speaker was fried. It's completely shorted out."

Lee wore a confused expression. "I don't understand. What does that mean?"

Sapphire eyes widened. "I think I get what you're saying, Jyan. Something happened."

The black haired child nodded, "Yep. Something must've gone wrong at Necro's control center causing his whole system to short circuit. Whatever happened must've been powerful since it affected the speakers out here."

Josh grinned, "I bet he's not too happy about that."

Dinemo scowled, "What does that mean for us?"

Haley continued to grin. "It means the little bastard can't listen in on us or watch us anymore."

Kai smirked, "It also means that we can set a trap for him."

Lee scratched his head. "But how are we gonna find him to set a trap?"

Josh shook his head. "We won't have to. He'll come to us."

Jyan crossed his arms. "And we'll be ready for him."

When she saw that Lee was still confused, Haley began to explain. "Because he can't see or listen to us anymore, he won't know where we are. The only way that he can continue his experiments is if he looks for us."

Lee started to grin. "Oh I get it! So when he comes for us we'll trap him!"

Dinemo rolled his eyes. "Nice one, genius. Nothing gets by you."

The black haired teen scowled, "Shut up."

Before the two could start their arguing, Kai intervened. "Alright guys, listen up. I've got a plan." The other five listened as the wind mamodo explained his plan. By the end of his explanation, everyone wore matching smirks.

Sapphire eyes gained a fiery glow. "It's time we show this bastard just who he's messing with."

The term Rareiki is not owned by me. Stevethemime is the brilliant mind who came up with it. Thanks again for all your help! ^_^

I really hope this chapter is alright. I admit after taking such a long absence I'm worried it won't be as good as the others. I also hope that no one's out of character. If they are, I apologize and I promise I'll do better next chapter.

If you guys are still wondering about the chips, the reason they don't work anymore is partly because of Kai and the other's Rareiki and the fact that Necro short circuited the chip. Thanks to Rareiki which is a mamodo's inner power there was no brain damage or any lasting physical effects on the mamodo. In the end, the combined power of the Rareiki and Necro's overpowering the chip destroyed the chip. Sorry if that doesn't make sense. It made sense when I first thought of it lol

I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! : )