Hello again faithful readers! Here's the next chapter! God bless ya'll!

I don' own Ojamajo Doremi; that's all Toei.

XxxxXxxxX

Attack

"The four smaller ones that attacked me first were 'bout my size. They had some kinda horn on their head and black eyes with a pink dot in 'em," Mirabelle explained to Patina, who was using her powers to sketch the creatures as Mirabelle described. "It had a few spikes on its back that were covered in a purplish, shadowy fog, I think. Like it was made from the stuff, or something. Oh, and a short tail! Not that short, Patina!"

"Well your 'short' and my 'short' are obviously different! Be more specific!" the greenling shouted.

"I wouldn't have ta be more specific if ya did it right the first time! An' whaddaya mean 'be more specific'!? I'm tellin' ya how it is! What? You want me ta grab a ruler an' measure it out for ya!?" Mirabelle argued back, yelling just as loud. Everyone present sighed tiredly. The two had been going back and forth like that for the past 20 minutes. Still, Mirabelle was the only one that had come into contact with the creatures and was able to get away with all memories and details of them intact. So, quite honestly, they had to deal with the arguing for the time being.

"Fine! Is that better!?"

"Now it's too long! Make it shorter."

"Are you kid-," Patina began, but choose to wisely keep her mouth shut and adjusted the drawing again. At this point, Reanne chose to interject to help avoid any further arguments.

"You know, Mirabelle . . . it doesn't have to be completely accurate. I'm sure it doesn't matter how long the tail is."

"I'm the victim! Let me decide how this done," the blue Ojamajo pouted as she went back to critiquing Patina's drawing skills. The other girls started to sweat awkwardly in response.

"Ah . . . if you say so," Reanne relented. She was at least glad the country girl was back to her old self.

"Well, at least she remembers the details to the point. Most everyone else could barely see straight after an attack," Ellie mused. She got a room full of nods as a result. It was at this point that Queen Lumina and her right hand, Amaretta, decided to make their appearance. The girls, sans Mirabelle, and the fairies gave a quick bow and returned their attention back to the project at hand.

"How's the sketch coming?" the queen asked patiently.

"Patina! The eyes aren't that far apart!"

"Does it matter!?"

"Yes, it matters!"

"I see . . ." the lunar queen tilted her head away from the yelling. Amaretta kept her ridged stance but cleared her throat absent mindedly in response to the scene playing out in front of her. She decided to sit and wait patiently with the other girls until the sketch was complete.

Never the one to be too comfortable in silence, Dorie attempted to make small conversation with the lunar queen.

"So, how are things going in the Lunaverse? I mean, you took a real chance coming to school yesterday. Is everything alright?" the pink Ojamajo questioned. The queen made a face through her veil that went unnoticed by the girl, but sighed in response to the question.

"As well as it can go for now. There haven't been any more attacks since Mirabelle's encounter that we know of. Which is good, for the time being; however, I can't help but feel a little apprehensive," Lumina explained. Her worries for her kingdom were well justified. If anything happened now, then what?

The red head furrowed her brows in thought. Momoko further reclined into the counter she was leaning on to try to relieve some tension. The child star opted to slouch in her stool and place her head in her hands while Reanne shook her head. Hana, now feeling the full weight of the situation, rested her head on her arms on the counter and began pondering. Caitlyn was over by Patina and Mirabelle, looking over the sketch.

"Okay, an' their arms were bulky, but not too bulky. And they had these strange glowing, pink markings on 'em. Patina, the legs weren't that long! It's not like they were six foot two!" Mirabelle scowled.

"Then you draw it!"

"I can't draw!"

There was a store full of groans soon afterwards.

After about ten more minutes of arguing, critiquing, and some more yelling, the first sketch of two was finally complete. Patina grouchily handed it over to the queen while mumbling that Mirabelle better be grateful for her assistance. At long last, the queen would finally be able to gaze upon the foul beasts that have been wreaking havoc on her kingdom. Amaretta herself couldn't help but try to sneak a glance at the sketch.

"T-this . . . this is . . . ," the queen gasped. Amaretta furrowed her brows in agitation.

"Ya think that's bad, jus' wait 'til ya see the sketch of the bigger one." Mirabelle huffed. Patina growled just thinking about having to take Mirabelle's direction in sketching again. The girls moved over to take a glance at the picture. To say the least, they were surprised something so seemingly small could cause so much damage.

"That's what's been causing all this trouble? It looks like it's barely bigger than we are." Momoko scoffed.

"Well looks can be deceiving . . . ," Ellie mused.

"Hard to imagine this thing using you as a battering ram across the shopping plaza, huh Mirabelle?" Dorie questioned slyly. She smirked playfully at her blue haired friend's glare.

"Very funny. We'll see who's laughin' when you almost get crushed by a flyin' car." Mirabelle sneered.

"When that happens, I'll bring the popcorn." Caitlyn snickered. A light glare was sent her way from her sister. Hana just laughed.

"Kettle corn or movie theater butter?" the yellow Ojamajo smirked. The smallest Ojamajo shrugged.

"Why not both?" she grinned.

"I like your style of thinking," Momoko praised the young girl; she wrapped her arm around the girl's shoulder and stretched the other in front of her were they both could see, "options, options everywhere!"

Everyone laughed at the red head's expense. She sighed in defeat, but smiled happily. The queen had consulted her right hand about the new information.

"Amaretta, I believe I've seen this creature somewhere before . . . ," she paused in thought, "but I just can't remember where . . ."

Not coming up with any ideas either, the council woman shook her head in confusion. Understanding her friend's shortcomings, the lunar queen decided to leave the subject for now, until they returned to the Lunaverse.

"We'll drop this for now. Besides, perhaps we can find what we're looking for in the castle library."

The council woman nodded in conformation. Queen Lumina returned her attention towards the girls once more. There was still one more thing she needed to take care of before they left on their way. She cleared her throat to gain their attention.

"Girls, besides the sketches we came to retrieve, there is something else that needs to be taken care of."

"Like what, your majesty?" Reanne questioned.

"Amaretta, if you please."

Amaretta nodded with confirmation and with a wave of her hand, a box appeared before her. It was a velvet chest embroidered with gold and sparsely with jewels. It was beautiful. Everyone's attention was soon turned to the chest in awe. The queen continued.

"The battle against these creatures is growing more and more perilous, in the Lunaverse and now in the human world. We must be able to defend ourselves from this threat. From what we've seen previously and recently from Mirabelle's attack," she paused as she mentally cringed remembering the video from the news, "we can no longer allow this to continue without proper retaliation."

She paused and allowed what she was saying to sink in. The queen herself was never one for fighting. Heck, she couldn't remember a time where she actually had to fight, and with fists no less. However, desperate times call for desperate measures. She could clearly see the looks of apprehension on the faces of Patina and Lareli. It seemed to her that they weren't comfortable with what she was implying either. With a heavy sigh, the queen placed one of her hands on the velvet chest.

"I wish I didn't have to do this, girls, but I am left with no other choice. To protect what we hold dear, we do what we must. In this chest are new transformation taps for you."

A chorus of 'What!? Seriously!?' and 'Huh!?' was heard as a response. Even the fairies and Patina seemed surprised.

"Be warned, however. These taps are very special and should not be misused," Lumina opened the chest to show them. Compared to their previous taps, these new ones were relatively simple. As a matter of fact, they looked similar somewhat to their original taps. Except that, instead of one middle button and several smaller buttons surrounding the center one, there was just one button in the center of the tap. It was white in color with silver embroidery and that was it. Nothing really special looking about them.

The queen picked one up out of the chest and handed it to Mirabelle. Which confused most, considering whenever new taps were to be given, the first one always went to Dorie to try first. They soon let it go when the queen began to speak again.

"These taps are special in the sense that they will be able to help you all battle the creatures more efficiently compared to your colon taps. These taps were made for battle more than for other things. Mirabelle, I saw that you used an energy based attack to push back the creatures and to down one of them, correct? Do you remember how difficult that was?"

The country girl nodded slightly. She knew her tap wasn't meant for that type of thing but she had to do something. And that fact that everyone else tried magic and failed before didn't really ease her nerves about it either.

"Yeah, I remember. I was really tired and felt weak after that when I got home."

"Indeed. Your colon taps weren't meant for that kind of use. Turning your power in your tap into raw energy takes a lot of skill and practice, and to use it with something that wasn't meant to channel that type of power, even more so. To be honest, I was quite impressed to see that you had pulled it off."

The girls gave small cheers of congratulations to the blunette as Patina snuck in a nod of approval. The queen approved at such a feat as well.

"But now, I give you an item that is meant for that purpose. Instead of your previous powers, these taps channel raw energy in its purest form. Of course you will still be able to use your magic, but it won't be as strong as before considering that it doesn't seem to affect those creatures much. Now, please Mirabelle, demonstrate. Please place the tap above the center of your chest and press the center button."

She did as she was told and placed the new tap above the center of her chest, just below the collarbone. Mirabelle then pressed the button. A bright flash of blue light erupted from the tap and engulfed the blue Ojamajo. Unlike previous transformations, this one had no uplifting music to tap to. There was just silence, which rather fit the mood. Once the light began to dim, everyone could see the girl's new figure filling out. The blue light soon dispersed and Mirabelle was in her new uniform.

The uniform was super simple compared to their Dokkan uniforms. It came in a plain skirt, a simply designed belt, and a tight fitting short-sleeved turtle neck t-shirt. The gloves and boots weren't very flashy and the hat even less so. The only new thing about the uniform that actually gave it flare was the full body cloak, similar to what Patina wears. And it was all in her coordinating color. Mirabelle certainly looked more mature, that was one. She gave herself a once over.

"It's not much to look at, but it feels great! I can really move in this. Though for somethin' that's made to channel energy better, I don' feel much different. Ta be honest, I was expectin' sonthin' different."

"That's quite alright. Don't think too much into it. To be honest, these uniforms were to be the uniforms that were to be assigned to you when you were returned your orvals (crystals); the taps just replace them for now."

"EEEEEHHHHH!?" the girls shouted in disbelief.

"You are able to modify them if you wish, but please save that for a later date. I realize they're not quite what you're used to. Also, your orvals do not operate the same way these taps do; these taps were modified for combat, while your orvals were not created for such purpose. It just so happens that these uniforms were best suited for the tap's use."

"That's sounds pretty cool." Caitlyn contemplated.

"Besides being able to better control pure energy, do these taps do anything else?" Patina questioned as Amaretta passed out the rest of the taps to the remainder of the girls.

"Ah, yes. They also increase physical abilities such as strength and agility." the queen replied.

"Physical ability? By how much?" Ellie asked.

"A hundred times."

"A HUNDRED TI-! GUUUURRRRLLLL, don't give me that kind of power! You don't know WHAT I can do!" Momoko grinned. Mirabelle smirked right alongside her.

"Those things won' know what hit 'em!" the country girl cheered. They high fived one another.

"That's what I'm counting on. But do be careful. And please don't do anything reckless." her highness warned.

"We'll try to stay out of trouble." Reanne comforted. Ellie, Dorie, and Hana nodded in understanding.

"We'll watch out for them." Patina promised. The queen approved of this and began to take her leave wishing everyone a farewell. Soon after, Mirabelle had changed back and pocketed her new tap. She turned to the greenling and her fairy.

"Now about that second sketch . . ."

By that time, the others were maneuvering towards the exit and to their respective homes.

-MISORA ELEMENTARY-

"You gggguuuuyyyyssss!" the Japanese-American girl yelled while nearly tackling her friends to the dirt. It was lunch break and the group decided it would be best to enjoy some fresh air. So, they decided to eat outside in the courtyard. Their yellow headed friend had been running a little late until she came barreling in from left field and nearly ran them all over.

"Geez! Slow down, will ya?" the Osakan complained about her meal nearly turning into roadkill.

"Yeah, seriously. What's the big idea?" the child star dusted herself off from the dirt her friend kicked up. Her response was a flier being shoved in her face by an all too jittery yellow Ojamajo.

"There's gonna be a festival downtown tomorrow! Aren't you excited!?"

"Oh yeah that. They hold one every year. I was even asked to perform live at a mini concert being held there."

"Oh yeah, the festival is tomorrow, isn't it?" Dorie smiled. She always enjoyed the festival when it came around. All the stalls, games, and especially the food. She sighed contently just thinking about it.

"How about we all go together. It'll be fun." Reanne suggested. She was met with various nods.

"Alright, we'll meet up at the front entrance. And let's make sure to meet early so we can get some time in with Ellie before the concert." Momoko added.

"I'll be practicing before hand, so I'll be there."

"Okay!" everyone cheered. The bell was soon to ring, so they quickly finished up eating and made their way back inside the school.

-NIGHT OF FESTIVAL: GOODWYN HOUSE-

Mrs. Goodwyn was just finishing the back of Caitlyn's yukata with a traditionally tied bow as Dorie was trailing down the stairs with her father. She and her sister were dress in similar yukatas in their respective colors and Dorie had a small white rose clip in her right bun for style.

"You ladies ready?" Mr. Goodwyn asked.

"Just about. Just need to make a few finishing touches." Mrs. Goodwyn replied as she smoothed out her youngest daughters yukata.

"We promised we'd get there early. We need to hurry." Dorie explained. She was at the door tapping her foot lightly, ready to get a move on. Her mother gave her a sideways glance.

"I'm sure your friends won't mind if you're a little late. Besides, I'm almost done."

"Actually mom, I'd like to hurry too." Caitlyn interjected, if not only to back her sister up then to get out of the house faster. The well-meaning mother smiled and quickly finished up. They were soon out the door and making their way towards the festival.

-FESTIVAL-

The festival was in full swing by the time the Goodwyn family arrived at the front entrance, much to the dismay of the two sisters; it meant that they were late. Super late. Despite that, they tried to shake it off and enjoy the festival that only came around once a year. They soon broke away from their parents and located the others fairly quickly. After some slight scolding, they were off to the many booths. Of course, food had been on the brain for a while so that was the first stop. It wasn't uncommon to run into a few friends and classmates along the way either.

About an hour into the festival, Ellie had to break away to change out of her designer yukata and into her stage attire for the upcoming concert. They bade their farewells and promises of attending later before resuming previous activities. They ended up at a shooting gallery a few minutes afterward.

"Ooo! Hana wants that one!" the white Ojamajo exclaimed, pointing to a giant stuffed panda. It wasn't long before Mirabelle was rolling up her sleeves to give a crack at it.

"So, did everyone end up coming with their parents like we did?" Dorie asked.

"I did." Momoko answered, eying Mirabelle's shot.

"Me too. Baya also came with us." Reanne nodded.

"What about you Mirabelle." Dorie questioned. The Osakan girl made her shot. She missed, much to Hana's dismay.

"Dang. Huh? Oh, I came with my Ma and Pop. My Ma was visitin' at the time." she smiled.

"That's great Mirabelle!"

Mirabelle smiled sheepishly as Momoko gave her a clap on the back. As everyone was giving the blunette congratulations, Dorie noticed Hana giving a longing glance at the panda she wanted, not paying attention. She smiled at the blonde and whispered.

"Don't worry. Your mama will get you that panda."

Hana was well aware that her mama was not as hand-eye coordinated as some of her other friends, but her heart was in the right place.

"You can do it, Dorie! Hana believes in you!"

With a nod, the red head positioned herself for the shot. Just as she was about to pull the trigger, a horrible noise grated on her ears.

"Hey Dopey! I had no idea you could shoot!" Todd teased as he and a group of their classmates came up from behind. The red head didn't even give him a sideways glance, deciding to stay focused on the task at hand. Though, that didn't stop the scowl from creeping across her face.

'Ignore him, and maybe he'll go away . . .' she thought hopefully. She tried to regain her focus for the shot. Until she felt a hard slap across her back that almost made her pull the trigger. Her brows knitted in irritation.

"You having trouble Dopey?" he snickered.

"You know, Todd, most people would like to be left alone when doing this kind of thing. Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Well I thought you were just stuck on how to do it, that's all. No harm in giving a little push, am I right?" Todd continued to tease. She went back into her position and was going to try again. Momoko and the other girls laughed at the banter. Reanne, noticing the time, urged Dorie to finish up.

"Dorie, it's getting late. The concert's going to start soon."

"Not to mention the fireworks show afterwards!" Momoko beamed.

"Our folks are probably waitin' for us. Let's hurry it up." Mirabelle added.

Dorie ended up grumbling at everyone rushing her. She lined herself up to the target and prepared to fire the cork gun. In the distance, music from the concert began to play signaling the concert had begun. Choruses of 'hurry it up' and audible groans were heard but the red head ignored them. She almost had the right position, she was sure of it. She wasn't walking away without the stuffed panda. Dorie aimed and fired. She hit the target and waited for the satisfaction of it falling of the head board. When it began to wobble and steady itself back, the pink Ojamajo was ready to walk away in defeat. Some snickers were heard from some of her more obnoxious classmates like they expected any less. There were some reassuring pats on the back for trying.

"Hey, it's still going." Reanne pointed out. True to her word, the target was still teetering back and forth, deciding whether to fall or not. This put the pink Ojamajo on edge a little as it should've stopped rocking by now. After a few more seconds of waiting, the target ultimately decided to fall off the head board, much too some disbelief.

"Alright Dorie, you got it!" Momoko cheered giving her friend a pat on the back. Hana was especially happy for the small victory.

"Congratulations little lady. You can pick one of our jumbo prizes; which will it be?" the stall manager asked. The red head halfheartedly pointed to the stuffed panda and barely registered handing it over to the hyperactive girl in white. No, she was more interesting in the head board where many other targets were standing. As she looked closer, she noticed that they were moving ever so slightly. She was so distracted by the tiny change in movement she didn't notice her friends trying to get her attention.

"Dorie, is there something wrong?" her sibling asked.

"Something's not right . . ." she trailed off. The slight change in movement by the targets was becoming more noticeable as they continued to shake. By this time, everyone was noticing it.

"Hey, what's going on? Is this game rigged?" Todd questioned.

"N-no. It couldn't be." The stall manager replied just as confused. Suddenly the targets were falling off the head board and onto the ground as the shaking became more profound. It was so noticeable at this point that the ground itself was beginning to rumble. It was even beginning to affect other stalls and everyone was noticing the ground shaking.

"Is it an earth quake?" Kayako murmured. Dorie's brows furrowed.

"No, it's something else . . ."

Just as the words left her mouth, the ground began to rumble violently and the entire area was vibrating roughly. And just as suddenly as it started, it stopped. Before anyone could collect their bearings, a loud scream from an unsuspecting bystander shot out through the night from behind. A few yards behind the group of kids stood a creature just as Mirabelle described, lurking in the shadows. And it was not alone. A hoard of them hovered over some stunned bystanders.

"What are those things!?" Josie screamed in terror. The Ojamajos just looked on in horror not believing this was happening. A booming crash resounded in the group's ears as the stall in front of them practically exploded as another shadowy creature emerged from a portal on the ground. It was mere feet away.

*SSSSCCCCRRRREEEECCCHHHH!*

The hoard charged into the sea of festival goers and began attacking anything and anyone in sight. Screaming innocents fled in terror, some even running each other over to get to safety. Kids were lost in a matter of seconds, injuries were already beginning to form on those unfortunate enough to be in close range of the creatures' assault, and this was only just the beginning. It was utter chaos.

The creature that had demolished the shooting stall made eye contact with the group of children, who in complete disbelief, hadn't fled yet. Too much in shock to move. Dorie had, in time, just regained enough of her bearings to take action.

"RUN!"

Ellie had expected for her friends to be a little late, so she wasn't even upset when she didn't see them in the crowd with their respective families. She knew that they would show up soon enough. What she didn't expect, however, was the sudden earthquake that had interrupted her first number. Then the loud crashes, and almost immediately after, that gut-wrenching scream from far off. The audience was a little concerned to say the least, and to be honest, the child star didn't know how to pick up from there.

Ellie could see her parents' looks of confusion from stage right and really didn't know what to do. Still she tried to pick it back up as best as she could. However, the stage suddenly started to break from underneath her and she quickly backpedaled to avoid falling in the now giant holes in the stage. What happened next completely chilled her to the bone. Two of the shadowy creatures Mirabelle had mentioned the other day had ripped through the reinforced stage floor and were now climbing out of the rubble. A quick glance back at the audience showed at least twelve more of them charging at the unaware crowd. And ultimately, her friends' families as well.

Ellie barely registered her parents run onto the stage and wrench her off in a hurry in a hysteric panic. Before she was dragged behind the stage curtains, she could clearly see the monsters closing in. Once the crowd was out of view and she was behind the curtain being hauled away by her frantic parents, all she could hear were the screams. The horrible, horrible, blood-curdling screams.

I would like to thank everyone for staying on board for so long and for sticking with me. I appreciate your reviews and comments! Thanks and God bless you all!