(Sighs) Second to last chapter, folks! And guess what happens in this chapter! Heh, just look at the chapter title, i'm sure that'll give you a hint. ;)
Anyway, I feel that i didn't do too bad with the battle scene (for once) in this chapter... Well, i also had to make it a lil' short otherwise this chapter would have been too long. But i think i like it at the length it is, so i'm keeping it the same either way!
Now... Let's get on with the chapter, shall we?
Disclaimer: I don't own Zatch Bell OR Sleeping Beauty. SO LEAVE ME ALONE! I CONFESS I OWN NONE OF THEM! (runs away to a corner) NONE AT ALL WHATSOEVER!
Sleeping Beauty
Chapter 7
The Battle with Zophise and the Heart
"This ends NOW!" Zophise's shouts were loud and fierce as he stared down at the dark mamodo's before him. Brago glared with a crimson gaze and put on a defense position. Suddenly Zophise said two magic words… "Oruga Radom!"
Brago watched as the evil one before him began to mutate into an ocher colored beast. It glared down at Brago with red eyes and let out a roar. Zophise was now a dragon.
"What the…?" Brago stared. "Why the hell are you a dragon of all possible things?"
Zophise-the-dragon laughed in his now beast-form. "Fool! I am now much more powerful than you, prepare to die!"
"What?"
Inhaling, the dragon breathed in and out a large fire from his breath. Instinct told Brago to use the shield that was stuck to his hand so he did. The mamodo could feel the heat of the fire as it came close to him and when it stopped Brago peeked from behind the shield to look at the mutated one.
"Idiot, thinking you can defeat me?" He then smirked and shook his head. "It's you that's going to die for making me go through all this hell!"
Little did Brago know that Zophise was NOT the cause of all this. But he really didn't need to know, it's just how the story is supposed to be. And the cause of all this chaos for the characters really isn't important right now.
The fight was now on. Brago charged forward and tried to swing his sword at the other, but he growled with irritation every time he missed. And when he did miss, Zophise-the-dragon would just laugh his head off (not literally).
Swinging his sword from side to side as hard as he could, Brago charged on the other as Zophise-the-dragon kept walking backwards. With a laugh, the evil one would breathe a breath of fire at him every so often. Brago would just block it with his shield.
"Hold still so I can hit you!" yelled Brago with a hint of annoyance in his voice as he swung his sword to the side.
"No!"
"JUST DIE ALREADY!"
"No!"
Brago growled. "Would you shut up then?"
Zophise laughed. "No!"
"Yes!"
"No!" Zophise blew fire against the mamodo again but Brago blocked it with his shield.
"Do you have any other attacks?"
"No!"
"You are boring me! Stop breathing fire and do a different attack!"
"No!"
"Are you a guy?"
"No!" Zophise froze, wide-eyed. "WAIT, I MEAN YES—"
"SO YOU ADMIT IT!" Brago smirked and swung his sword at the beast. It hit him and the other roared with anger and pain.
With all his fury, Zophise exhaled fire against the mamodo again; Brago blocked it with his shield, but he could feel that his defense wouldn't last much longer…
Over to the side, Zatch, Tia, and Kolulu watched as the mamodo continued to battle Zophise-the-dragon.
"So he admitted that he really isn't a guy?" asked Tia surprised. Kolulu and Zatch laughed and began to sing.
"Zophise-the-dragon is a girly girl,
She puts on a dress and begins to twirl!
Look at her and how she always acts weird,
She's not a male so she can't grow a beard!"
All of them went into hysterical laughter as they made up the little song. Tia even began to chant along with the other two as she fell to the ground laughing. Off to the side, the monstrous beast glared with fury.
"How DARE you to sing that! YOU'LL ALL PAY WITH YOUR LIVES!" Making it as hot as he could make it, Zophise-the-dragon spit out fire at the three hoping to burn them.
They all squeaked with surprise and ran out of the way just in time. Tia flew up into the air and frowned. "That's not very nice of you! If I ever manage to get my hands around your throat you're gonna pay, Missy!"
"I AM NOT A GIRL!"
"Oh? But if you're not a guy then you must be an it."
"WHAT!" If Zophise could get any redder from anger, he would have. But considering that his dragon form was already a red color, he couldn't get darker. He just blew up with fury and began to charge at Tia.
Though unbeknownst to Zophise, Brago ran up behind him and smacked him on the head with the sword. Crying in pain, Zophise fell face flat with a loud "CRASH!" sound.
"Yahoo you defeated Zophise!" cried Kolulu as Brago walked up next to the form of the dragon. "You really are the hero!"
"Shut up already, will you?" asked Brago irritably. "I didn't kill her yet, just made her fall."
Suddenly Zophise's eyes shot open as he heard Brago's words. Standing up to his full height, he glowered at the dark mamodo with a fierce look.
"I…Am…Not…A….GIRL!" he shrieked, blowing his fire everywhere.
Brago, whom was not ready yet, got hit by Zophise-the-dragon's attack and fell backwards as he was being burnt; his shield also blew up. The other fairies cried out to him as he fell.
"Prince Brago!"
"Brago!"
The fairies all ran over to where his unmoving body lay while Zophise cackled insanely.
"Now do you all know NOT to say such things about me like that?" asked the dragon smartly. "Fools! You all should have known better!"
Brago then sat up and stared angrily at the dragon. "Don't you dare call me a fool. I have much more common sense than you!"
Standing up, the dark mamodo leapt to his feet and charged. Zophise-the-dragon then swatted at Brago with his clawed beast-like hand, sending him falling to the ground a few feet away.
Rushing up to the prince, the fairies all came to his aid.
"Prince, you must stand up!" said Kolulu. "You must defeat this… thing… it… whatever Zophise is." She put her hand on her face. "Oh, now I'm so confused…"
The mamodo glared. "Don't you tell me what to do."
"Oh, I have an idea!" said Tia and everyone put on listening faces. "We must all combine our magic on the prince's sword! That way it can defeat Zophise!"
Everyone agreed to this plan (of course Brago was hesitant) and they turned around to face the towering dragon. Laughing like the maniac he was, Zophise stared down at the four.
"Time to meet your doom," he said. "To death with you all!" Suddenly he began to inhale air all around him as he prepared to blow out fire.
Tia and Kolulu then ran up beside Brago and began to say some magic words, "Now sword of truth fly swift and sure that evil die and good endure!"
Zophise was about to breath his fire against everyone when Tia shouted out "NOW!" Brago threw his sword at Zophise and it pierced his neck, cutting it and his head fell off. Zatch freaked and his face turned green when suddenly POOF! the evil doer Zophise was gone in a flash of lightning.
"EWW! His head got cut off!" cried Zatch. "I think I'm going to be sick!"
Brago only stared. "Poof?" he echoed. "How the hell did he just go 'poof'? People just don't go poof and disappear!" At least the shield and sword were no longer stuck to his hands…
"Well, Zophise did." said Tia.
"But Zophise wasn't a person," responded Kolulu.
Zatch leaped. "So you remember? You remember he's a mamodo!"
Kolulu shook her head. "No… I was saying that he was a dragon. Plus he's an it, or his gender is unknown, so…he… she…it… Oh dear I'm confusing myself again…"
Zatch watched as she put her face in her hands and began shaking her head. He sighed and shook his own, wondering when his friends would remember what they really were. It was tiring to have to go on and on for sixteen years with friends who also had amnesia… At least he knew what he was!
Tia, now watching as Zatch Bell began mimicking Kolulu's actions, turned her attention over to Brago. "Oh! We have to go awaken the princess now!" she said.
Brago stared. "And… What exactly are we supposed to do?" he inquired. Tia just turned around and motioned for him to follow.
"Just come with me and I'll show you! There's no time!" She turned her head to face the other two. "Come on, we must go to Rosy's room in the castle!"
They both woke up and nodded their heads. "Right!"
Now the entire group began heading back towards King Jii's castle where the princess and everyone else lay asleep.
After a while of running, they finally reached the castle and began climbing up the stairs. Brago wondered what was supposed to happen in order for the princess to awaken. He'd soon find out…
Everyone climbed up the steps to the tower that Sherry was in. When they reached the room she was at and opened the door, Brago's eyes widened when he saw the motionless girl lying on the bed.
"Sherry!" he said surprised. Turning around, he faced the other three with a crimson frown. "What did you three do to Sherry?" he asked angrily.
"We didn't do anything!" explained Tia. "We just put her on the bed! This was all Zophise's doing!"
Brago huffed. "Sure…"
"It's true!"
"Fine," The mamodo then turned his attention back over to the emotionless-faced blonde. He walked over to her silently and looked down at her sleeping form and at her face.
"Now, Prince Brago, you must awaken the princess and restore everything that's done!" said Tia, walking up next to the dark mamodo.
"Oh? And how the hell am I going to do that?" he inquired.
Tia smiled. "Simple! True love's kiss shall awaken the princess, and the joyful couple shall live happily ever after!"
Gawking, Brago's jaw slightly fell open as he heard those words. He shook his head and looked at Tia to Sherry and back to Tia.
"You… want me to do… WHAT?"
"Kiss the princess!" cried Kolulu. "She's your true love! You are the only one who can awaken her!"
Brago quickly shook his head. "I'm her friend, not her true love! Dammit, what are you talking about?"
Tia sighed. "Sixteen years ago, do you remember when Zophise came into this very castle – not the same room, though – and put a curse on Sherry?"
Tilting his head upwards, the dark mamodo began to think. "Now that you say so… Yes, I remember." He stared back down at the red-head. "Your point?"
"I put a spell on Sherry that wouldn't make the curse kill her, but to fall asleep." continued Tia. "And the only way that she could be awakened again was to be kissed by her true love."
"And that's you!" said Kolulu bubbly.
Brago continued to shake his head. He even waved his arms a little. "No, no, NO! I cannot be her true love! There is no way I'm going to kiss her!" Glancing down at Sherry through the corner of his eye, Brago could feel himself beginning to blush and the warm fuzzy feeling came. "STOP IT ALREADY!" Brago yelled to himself.
Zatch tilted his head to the side. "Stop what? Are you going mental now, Brago?"
"NO!"
"Alright…"
The darker one frowned. "Why is it that I have to be the one?" he asked. "I don't love Sherry!"
A saddened look overwhelmed the fairies' faces. Tia looked to the ground. "Couldn't you at least try and just kiss her? Just in case? Rosy means a lot to us…"
Brago stared down at the sleeping figure of the blonde. Oh, how he wanted this nightmare to end SO badly… Would it ever?
Sighing, Brago closed his eyes and finally nodded his head. "Fine… I'll do it."
The others cheered as he slowly turned around to face Sherry. He looked down at her resting form and could feel the presence of three pairs of eyes boring down onto him. Jerking his head to the side, the mamodo glared.
"Just STOP staring at me, OK?" he yelled. Brago turned his head back around when he heard giggling. His glaring eyes met those of innocent amber ones of Zatch Bell.
"Zatch, shut up!" said Tia and she hit the mamodo atop the head. The blonde boy gave a whimper and his hands flew to where he was hit.
"Sorry…"
Once again giving it a try, Brago turned back around to face the sleeping girl. His eyes looked upon Sherry's closed ones and then drifted over to her lips.
Somebody help him…
Slowly and steadily Brago lowered his face close to Sherry's. Her soft, steady breath beat against his face ever so lightly; especially when his face was just inches from hers.
Gently, Brago covered Sherry's lips with his own as he kissed her. After a few seconds he quickly moved away and stared at the girl. He was blushing so hard he looked like he had a normal skin color.
Everyone held their breath as they waited to see whether Sherry would awaken or not. Then once a few seconds passed, the blonde began to slowly open her eyes to stare up at the dark mamodo before her.
"My Prince…" she murmured. Brago continued to blush, and when Zatch let out a full hearted laugh he did so even harder.
"Ha-ha-ha!" cried Zatch. "So it's true! BRAGO LOVES SHERRY!"
"I do not!" shouted Brago. He was still normal colored from blushing.
"Then how come the kiss worked?" asked Tia with a sly grin. "Only true love's kiss could awaken the sleeping princess, and you kissed her so it is undoubtedly true love!"
"Yeah," agreed Kolulu as she smiled. "You may say you don't love Sherry, but you really do! You always have, you've just never admitted it to yourself! It happens all the time, Prince Brago."
Brago heard Sherry mumble something incoherent, so he turned his attention back to her as she tilted her head drowsily to the side.
"My Prince…" repeated the blonde. She smiled up at Brago who felt himself getting a little hot. "You… You look different. You're… Normal skinned."
Zatch smirked. "That's because he's blushing!"
"SHUT UP!" Brago glared and Zatch laughed.
There's the chapter! Who can guess which movie i got the idea from of cutting off Zophise's head with a sword and having him dissapear? Free cookie to whoever gets it right! XD
Now, since I have definately planned to get things back to normal, you'll all have to stay tuned for the very last chapter to see everybody's reactions! (smirks) Hope you find it funny!
Oh, and a note: I know that i haven't updated my other story in a while (A Gift from the Dark) but i think that i'm going to just go ahead and finish this story before i get back to it. I'm still deciding what to do with the next chapter, so... (drones on) I'll also probably start another Zatch Bell story that i have in mind, a long with a couple of one-shots including one that i want to do soon as episode 48 airs... But that won't be til around the beginning of February! (cries a river)
Anyway, now on to my reviewers!
Wolf of the Night Rain: Here's the next chapter!
anonimize: Thanks! And, um.. I don't really know if Koko will appear again. Well, she might appear in the next chapter, but i do still have a few things i wanna work out for it. :) I'll try to fit her in if i can! And... well, Brago's sword is just a regular one... I don't know really. -.- It can be whatever you want! XD
PsychicLunar: Do you think the characters I've chosen fit who they're supposed to play as? I hope so... Sherry was the only girl with blonde hair so of course i chose her as the princess. XD And there was no other guy that i could think of besides Brago who would play good as a prince (and torturing him about it is fun, too :3) Oh, cool! The stories that you've got in your profile look really interesting! I can't wait 'til they come out:) I have a list of upcoming stories in my profile, too. Well here's the next chappy!
Computerfreak101: Oh Computerfreak... I'm sure you're happy now 'cause the kiss happened:) I wasn't torturing you, it's just that the chapter became too long and i didn't have enough space to throw it in there unless i wanted to make the chapter about 12 pages long... Then it'd be too big for my personal liking. So, you just have an extra chapter toread! The only one i really like to torture on here is Brago! Brago: ... Me: Don't you even start. Ooh... Thanks! It'siPod time! (cackles evily and plays a bunch of songs) Think Zophise - or should i say Zophie - will mind me doing this? Heheh... Only one law for you? Let's hope Zophie doesn't piss you off too much! (snickers)
Hiei's ice angel: Here's the next chapter!
rahkshi500: Thanks for the suggestion! As you can see i used it! Heh, i never really thought of him using the Oruga Radom (or Oruga Ladomu in Jap.) spell. That was actually really good, considering that inDisney's Sleeping Beauty the evil fairy person does turn into a dragon. Heh. Yeah, i've seen descriptions of it on a spoiler website. (sigh) I don't know what i'd do without it... Yes i have seen your reviews. What website was it that you were talking about to go to? I might know what it is... but i couldn't find it when i did what you told me to do. (sigh) Did it have all the dates when the characters would appear and whatnot? Like... Tell me what it looks like, that'd probably be the best thing...
Yamia Ishtar: Little Mermaid and Aladdin with Yu-Gi-Oh or Inu-Yasha... That'd be interesting. XD
ac: Huuhh? I honestly don't know what you're talking about...
spottedear94: Well... Honestly, Hyde looks like a puppet to me. I mean... The way his arms and hands were drawn looks like a puppet in some way... At least in my opinion it does. Sorry if it made you mad.
There's the next chapter all you peeps! Remember to come back for when i update this story one last time! The characters are all gonna be in for something... heheheh... Oops don't wanna spoil it. So i'm just gonna sign off and let you peeps do whatever now. BYE!
Twilight M.