Hey, folks! Sorry for the long update but i've been REALLY busy with school. (sigh) Hopefully next week or the week afterwards i might get some more free time. It's just that they gave us all these essays to write, projects to do and tests to study for ALL before Thanksgiving break and they expect us to have it all done when we get back! Meh... Well, here's the next chapter! Sorry if it seems slightly rushed - but i was in a rush:)
Disclaimer: I don't own Zatch Bell. But i DO own Kalu!
A Gift from the Dark
Chapter 23
A Haunting Past
"It's Zophise. He's back." A grave silence fell upon both Brago and Sherry as those words escaped the mamodo's lips. Kalu, oblivious to what this whole ordeal was, looked up at her parents with an innocent look.
"Zophise?" she inquired. "Who's that?"
Sherry stared down at the floor in silence. She detested the mere mention of that mamodo's name. To relive everything that she went through because of him… to remember the pain she went through…
She hated him.
Kalu looked from her mother and then to her father. "Daddy, who is Zophise?" she asked, seeing that Sherry wasn't going to answer.
"He's a mamodo," responded Brago, "A mamodo that your mother and I fought back when the Battle for King took place. He's—"
"—He's the one responsible for taking away Koko," ended Sherry. Brago looked at her oddly as she shook her head. "Zophise made Koko betray me… he… he…" The blonde clenched her fists, which caught the eyes of both Brago and Kalu.
The woman probably stood as so for a few moments before Brago walked up to her. "Sherry?" His voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she turned to look at him.
"…I'm alright," she sighed. "I just… I just hate that – that thing!"
"I know you do," Brago nodded his head. He wrapped his right arm around the blonde's shoulders. "But come on, now's not a time to think about him."
Kalu watched as her father comforted Sherry. She had never seen her mother so worked up before… This Zophise person must have really upset her from what he did to her friend, mused the girl. Looking down at Yuki, whom was still in her arms, the hybrid sighed and glanced back at the writing on the mirror. She turned her attention back to her parents. "What are we going to do about home?" she finally inquired.
"Well, that's another issue," said Sherry. "I guess we could spend some nights in a hotel while we hire some constructors to fix the place."
"I hate hotels," growled Brago. He was about to say more when Sherry placed her index finger over his mouth.
"Yes, Brago, I know you do. But you're just going to have to deal with it." She removed her finger while Brago let an impish smirk cross his features for a quick second. Sherry sighed and then began to walk over to a spot in the destroyed mansion. "I guess we could go find some things to pack and then head out and search for a place to stay," she said.
Brago growled again and walked off. There was nothing for him to pack but his Black Book, but that was with Sherry. Luckily she had brought it with her that day for the sake of it. She would do that more often now; ever since Kalu was first attacked she brought the book with her on occasions.
The mamodo then turned his head to the side as he walked through the halls. He had just noticed it, but… there was something odd around there… Brago went off to search around the house to see if Zophise left anything else behind. Meanwhile, Sherry then walked off too to go find some things to take with her. At least not too many things were damaged. She'd be able to grab some things and head out the door.
Setting Yuki down on the ground, Kalu began to head to her room up the steps. She sighed as she noticed the different ornaments around the house all smashed and glass shattered. Furniture was turned over and every once in a while there were some holes in the wall. I wonder how strong Zophise is compared to Daddy, wondered Kalu; they did beat him though in battle, right?
Suddenly, as the little girl turned a corner in the hallway, she noticed something… strange.
She thought she saw a silhouette of a strange being dressed in a robe with long, orange hair. It smiled devilishly at her and seemed to float towards her. There were no sounds made, and as it drifted closer with an outstretched hand Kalu's eyes widened as a shriek escaped her lips. The figure's hand was now inches from her own face…
And then she blacked out.
-o-o-o-o-o-
"Kalu? Kalu, are you awake yet? Kalu?"
The sound of her mother's voice drifted into the hybrid's ears. Slowly, the little girl opened her eyes and looked around.
"…Mamma?"
She was lying on her back, her head resting in her mother's lap. Brago stood about a foot away peering down at her as well. Yuki was off to the side asleep on a chair. They were all in a room inside a small building. A couch was off to the side and a tiny kitchen was seen on the other side of the room, complete with a refrigerator, oven, and other supplies. A window with long curtains could be seen and doors leading to other rooms were to the side.
Kalu looked around and blinked as she sat up. "Wha – what happened?"
"I found you lying on the ground passed out," answered Brago, "Right after you screamed."
The little girl blinked. "I screamed?" she asked. "When?"
"Earlier today, a few hours ago," answered the mamodo, "When we came back from training. Remember that the house was destroyed and the talk about Zophise?"
"Who?" Kalu was puzzled, which only made her parents even more so.
"Kalu, don't you remember?" Sherry stared down at her daughter with a curious look. "You went off to pack your belongings so we could stay in a hotel. Remember?"
"Remember what?" A bemused look was painted on the hybrid's face as she glanced at her mother and father. "Mamma, Daddy, I really don't know what you're talking about. And where are we?"
Brago and Sherry exchanged glances before turning to look at the little girl once more. "You really don't remember?" they both asked. Kalu shook her head.
The dark mamodo sighed. "You and I came back from training to meet up with Sherry to spend some family time together," he began, "We came back to the mansion and found it was destroyed. A message was found on one of the mirrors which was from Zophise – the mamodo that took Sherry's friend in the beginning of the Battle for King. Afterwards you and Sherry went to go pack so we could stay at a hotel while we hired some people to fix our home. Your mother and I heard you scream and you were found on the ground unconscious. Now we took you back to the hotel we were going to stay in and have been waiting two hours for you to wake up."
"Oh," Kalu stared at the ground and swung her feet back and forth a little. "Well… I don't remember anything." She glanced around the room once again, leaving a puzzled pure blood mamodo and human.
"Odd," Sherry mumbled as her daughter sat up and went over to pet her kitten. She turned to look at her husband. "Kalu doesn't remember anything. What do you propose happened?"
"I don't know, Sherry," answered Brago. He watched as Kalu let a soft giggle when Yuki began to purr. "I really don't know."
