Chapter 6
Harima's Kidnapped?

The next morning, Erika explained to Miranda alone about the three thugs that came last night and the couple nights before.

"WHAT?" She cried, "Those creep-a-zoids are the same men that attacked your father?"

Erika nodded and responded, "Those three were the ones I met when I was young. Maris, as he's called, is the ringleader; but his boss was none other than Queen Isabella, a.k.a. Meiko the Dead Sorceress."

"Isabella? Meiko?" Miranda gasped, "Oh… right. I forgot; Meiko killed your father, years before she killed Sara Maynard."

"Huh?"

"The other Sara is Yakumo's friend, the girl from church."

"Oh, right."

Erika then stretched up and said to Miranda that she wanted to speak to the others alone, as soon as Harima is available. However, Miranda couldn't know.

"Uh… the thing is…" Miranda smirked, "He didn't come home since last night."

"You don't think…" Erika asked.

XXXXX

Meanwhile, Harima woke up, tied up in a chair. He tried to struggle out, but couldn't move.

"What the hell is this?" He groaned, "Where am I? And why am I in this undisclosed location?"

"Shut ya gob!" Bruce growled.

"You think you're smart, huh?" Runt snapped, "You'd sick one of Miranda's urchins on us?"

"What are you talking about?" Harima shouted.

Maris approached Harima and made a quick sneer.

"Oh, Miranda has friends that you don't know," He said, "There's a little girl we know, who grew up to be one feisty leg of lamb. You could say that she's the daughter of Avery!"

"Who?"

"Don't play stupid, sunshine!" He snapped, "Nobody treats us with disrespect and gets away with it!"

Harima started to groan. Maris then made a phone call to his boss. She answered back that he'll be bait for Miranda and Erika. Once they arrive, she'll personally do away with them. And who would've thunk it that their boss is Mikoto Suo?

Speaking of which, meanwhile, back in Mikoto's house, she hung up her phone and growled in anger.

"No… it's just not fair!" She growled as she looked in the mirror, "That bottom-feeding Erika Avery came to Japan to foil my schemes? Damn you, Hildenhauser!"

Mikoto got dressed and covered her face with her hooded black cape. She then began to write a letter to Yakumo.

"Yes… I know that she'll be able to trust me, that fake Miranda!" She snickered, "I know where she works!"

XXXXX

Later that afternoon, Erika explained to Eri and Yakumo about what those three men were and why they wanted Miranda. They also were frightened by the fact that her visit to Japan was a trap.

"Oh, dear," Yakumo cringed, "I don't believe it."

"So, your trip here is just a set-up?" Eri asked.

"I take it that Maris and the two stooges wanted to get at me," Miranda replied, "But then there is this Isabella666 person."

Eri then asked, "Who's Isabella666? I think I heard that name from those freaks, when I was waking up."

"She could be Queen Isabella from Dark Argos, but it is proven to be impossible," Erika responded, "Or, it could be an account for the internet.

"Yeah; on account that WE killed her," Miranda added, "Who happened to be a powerful sorceress-slash-Isabella's daughter! All we know about that name is that one: she's an evil queen, who died, and two: the triple six is the number of the devil."

Yakumo was shocked to hear that this woman was an evil wizard.

"There's more to the story," Erika continued, "King Hildenhauser hired me to look after you and Harima to make sure that you'd survive."

"So you're appearance is not a coincidence?" Eri asked.

"Exactly!"

Miranda was worried. Not only she was fallen for a trap, but with Erika around, she'll need all the help she can get.

"Well, I should be going," Eri said, "Tell Whiskers that I'll be running late. I'll see him later."

Yakumo got up and said, "I should go, too. I'm late for work."

They left to the front door as Erika spoke with Miranda alone.

"They'll be busy since they are going home," she stated.

"Oh, no," Miranda informed, "Eri was on her way home; Yakumo has to go to work. By the way, does Kandy and Nick know about this?"

Erika looked away and said, "Actually, they already knew from the King. But I need to know where Yakumo works at. She was kidnapped before, so I thought you crash at Harima's place, while I watch over her. Where does she work at?"

"El Cado, I think; that's where Bruce and Maris kidnapped Yakumo the other day. It's your run-of-the-mill Cosplay Café."

As Erika left, Miranda stopped her and asked her if she was the girl from when she attacked the café. Erika said she wasn't the one; she arrived yesterday. Miranda smiled and was relieved.

XXXXX

Later at El Cado, Mikoto arrived to see Yakumo. She then called to her.

"Hey, Yakumo," she asked, "Are you feeling okay? I was worried about you the other day."

"Oh, thank you," she responded, "Well, I was terrified that I was grabbed by those bad men; the thing is that I was dressed as Miranda Maynard and they all of a sudden went ballistic."

Mikoto sat down and chatted with her. Yakumo then explained to her that she saw a glimpse of a girl who was working for those three girls; she thinks that she looked exactly like Mikoto.

"Me? Oh, well, uh, I was busy at home. Hanai and I wanted to fix the dojo that day."

"Um, I understand, but it couldn't be you. The girl had a British accent," Yakumo continued, "Although, I am surprised that she was you, but I am relieved that she wasn't you."

"Did you get the chance to know her name?" Mikoto asked, but then thought, "Damn! She could be close to figuring it out!"

"No… but she was very evil; those I'll never understand why she wanted Miranda. She and Harima have been great friends since he went to England to visit her. I find that to be very nice of Har-."

Mikoto then snapped in a British accent, "WHY, THAT IS BOLLOCKS! SHE'S NOTHING MORE THAN A WHACKED UP HARLEQUIN! Miranda Maynard is a very shifty hero! And that Harima is a stupid crum!"

She gasped and calmed herself down, "Ahem! I mean, she and Harima are great friends, likewise Eri and Tenma, who are his friends. Phew, that was close."

Yakumo then asked in a surprised look, "Um, Mikoto-Senpai, what are you here for anyway?"

She remembered and gave Yakumo a note, which was from Harima. She left with an evil grin on her face. As she went through the door, Erika stepped in front of her and took a good look at her.

"What are you doing?" Mikoto asked.

"Oh, nothing. I cannot be too careful," Erika responded, "Yakumo was attacked and it's my sworn duty to protect her. Uh, I am doing this for a friend."

Mikoto stepped back and growled. Erika was confused.

"She's clean… I guess."

Erika arrived and saw Yakumo reading the letter. She was very frightened.

"Miss Tsukamoto, what's wrong?" She asked her.

"It's… Harima…" Yakumo sobbed, "He's… he's… he's kidnapped!"

Erika gasped as she snatched the letter. She read it:

"To Tenma's Sister,

Remember those thugs who captured you? Well, they captured me. If you want to get me back, send Miranda Maynard here at 7pm at Yagami Park! And hurry!

Kenji Harima"

"Yakumo, is it? Who gave this to you?"

"Mikoto-Senpai gave it to me; it was written by Harima, who was kidnapped at the last moment. Those three are awful! I cannot believe they would stoop so low!"

Erika then asked Yakumo if she could use the phone. She accepted, but she needed change; all she have is 2 gold coins and 50 pounds. Yakumo loaned a 50 yen piece to her.

"Thank you," Erika said, "You give Miranda a call; I have to make a long-distance call."

"Huh?" Yakumo thought.

Erika went to the payphone and called Argos, via collect.

"Collect call to Nick Haskett of Argos, England, please!"

XXXXX

Miranda, who was snoozing in the bed at Harima's place, heard the phone. She got up and answered the phone. She heard the bad news from Yakumo that Harima has disappeared.

"No wonder he's not here," Miranda said, "I'll be right there!"

She dashed out of the door with the sword and shield in her hands.

Meanwhile at Argos, Kandy answered the phone in Nick's place at Desert Combs.

"Hello…" she answered.

The operator said, "Collect call from Erika Avery in Yagami, Japan, to Nick Haskett in Argos, England; will you accept the charges?"

"Yes, I do," Kandy responded.

"Kandy!" Erika called from the phone, "It's Erika! Where's Nick?"

"He stepped out for the moment. Why do you ask?"

"I need you to do me a favor," she said, "Can you view the profiles of Queen Isabella? I need to know something."

"Miss Erika, Queen Isabella has been dead for decades! Why would you want to know?"

"I'm not kidding! The Kingdom has every potential record of each Hero and Villain in Argos over the past 7 centuries; roughly they include Hanemore Maynard, Uncle Potter, Jacob Avery, Sara Maynard, and us!"

"Miss Erika! Are you saying that I can view the records for you, just because of a certain tyrant who was killed by her own daughter?"

When Erika heard those words, she shuddered a bit and started to remember something.

"Kandy, contact Nick and head to the castle! You have my word. Something is not right about this Isabella666!"

"Huh? Isn't Isabella666 a record for a person's Twitter account?"

"NO! And I don't think it is right! Just find Nick, contact the King, and call me back for anything!"

The phone hung up and Kandy frantically ran outside, looking for Nick.

"Oh, dear," she thought, "At this rate, Miss Miranda and Miss Erika will die if we don't do something! I don't know what the heck she just said, but they grow deep into my circuits."

XXXXX

Later that night, Miranda and Erika arrived at Yagami Park and then spoke with each other.

"Why are you here with me on this, Erika?"

"This Harima fellow is pretty interesting; I better meet with him, in order to save him."

Miranda then smiled, "Well, I needed back-up, so I better let you come."

"HEY! WAIT FOR ME!" A voice called.

Hanai arrived and called out to them. Erika was confused, knowing that she doesn't know him.

"Hanai! Nice to see you!" Miranda cheered, "What brings you here?"

"I, Haruki Hanai, will save that man, Harima, in order to beat up the bastards who captured Yakumo! It's the least I can do for your heroics!"

"Uh, Miranda, what is he talking about?" Erika asked Miranda.

Miranda answered, "He has a crush on her."

"Oh…"

Hanai shook hands with Erika, introducing himself. Miranda, however, ordered them to follow her.

They hid behind a tree and found the thugs, with Harima tied up. They were waiting for Miranda to arrive.

"There they are…" Erika whispered, "It won't be long now."

As they waited, the girl, with the black robe and hood, arrived in front of Maris.

"It's her!" Miranda gasped, "Here's the plan: Hanai, you wait here, until we have him saved; Erika, you and I will take out those four. Leave the jezebel to me."

They jumped out of the tree and went after them.

"Maris, has Miranda arrived yet?" The girl asked, "I grow weary of this."

"Not yet, mate, but she could be here any minute," Maris sneered.

"You… you're not gonna get away with this!" Harima shouted, "I cannot let you hurt her!"

"Oh? And I suppose Mister Delinquent has a plan, does he?" She grinned evilly, "Well, the last thing you'll see is Miranda's soul disappeared from existence!"

"You… you're gonna kill her?" He cried.

"Yes. And just so we're clear, let me show you the last face you'll ever see," she said in an evil look.

As she was about to take her hood off, Miranda appeared from behind.

"Well, wait no more! You want me, you got me!" Miranda shouted.

Erika appeared by her.

"And you got some back-up along the way!" She cried.

"Blast it! It's them!" Bruce yelled.

"Well, it would be great to see them die in front of our very eyes," Runt snickered.

"SILENCE!" The girl shouted, "Waste them away!"

"Mira, you take those two! My beef is with Maris!" Erika whispered.

Miranda replied, "I'm on it."

All three of them charged at the girls, but Miranda and Erika counter-attack them. Erika delivered a fierce kick to Maris's head and Miranda delivered a sword slash to Runt, cutting his skin. Bruce grabbed Miranda from behind with a bearhug, but she smacked his nose with her fist. Bruce staggered a bit, but he grabbed her by the hair and threw her to the ground. Erika jumped up and tackled Maris, delivering a round to punches to his face. Maris is bruised and battered, but he broke out of her attack and delivered a knee to the gut. Erika fell down and was in pain.

"You haven't been very powerful since last time, Avery!" Maris snickered.

She gingerly got up and yelled, "I just haven't been myself lately, do you, sunshine?"

She socked him on the abdomen and delivered a high kick to his skull.

"You've gotten soft, do you, ya bum?" She cried.

She then pulled out her bow and pointed at Runt.

"No… please… have mercy!"

She prepped up her bow and glowed. She shouted, "THIS IS FOR FATHER!"

She fired a barrage of sparkling arrows in one shot; the arrows nicked Runt, Bruce, and Miranda. Runt and Bruce were badly cut, while Miranda had one arrow implanted in her left sleeve. Luckily, she wasn't bleeding.

"YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO AIM AT ME, YOU BLOODY MORON!" Miranda hollered.

"Oops…" Erika said in embarrassment, "Sorry, Mira!"

"That little urchin…" Maris growled, "She's… she's gotten much stronger than last night!"

Miranda got up and smacked Bruce around with her shield. Bruce grabbed her arm and restrained her. He held her by the arm and dropped her to the ground.

"Your little sideshow is over, mate!" He cried.

Runt appeared from behind Erika and tried to attack her, but Erika turned around and socked him with her bow. Maris got up and grabbed her by the neck.

"No! They got her!" Hanai shouted, "Who the hell do they think they are? I… I have to help them! Yakumo was rescued by her and Harima… now…"

He took off his jacket and changed into his GI. He jumped out and charged towards the scene.

"Now, I, Haruki Hanai, am returning the favor! I do this… for Yakumo!"

The girl approached Miranda and sneered at her.

"You… who are you?" She asked, as she was restrained by Bruce.

"Oh, I think you know me very well, Miranda Maynard," she sneered.

"That voice… I'm trying my best to remember, but…" she thought.

She took off her hood revealing herself to be... Mikoto Suo.

"You… you're…" Miranda gasped.

Harima viewed the battle and was shocked, "No… Suo?"

"No… the girl who…" Erika thought aloud.

Miranda started to cringe, "I… I trusted in you… that buxom blue? She's Isabella666!"

Mikoto gave an evil look as she approached Miranda with a dagger.

"Now… this won't hurt a bit," she cackled, "Because I promised myself to be reborn again."

Miranda tried to break free, but couldn't. Mikoto held the dagger high and pointed it at her. She wanted to be reborn, but what and why? And more importantly, can Hanai save her in time?

XXXXX

Meanwhile, Kandy and Nick entered the Hall of Records with King Hildenhauser.

"Miss Potter, I understand that you wanted to know, but have you forgotten that you and your friends ended Meiko?" The King inquired.

"Trust me; Miss Erika insisted that she wanted to know," she responded, "Though, she also wanted us to check on Queen Isabella. I wonder why?"

Nick entered the room and scrolled through the files.

"Maybe we'll find something in the Dark Argos file; after all, she was born and raised there," he said.

"Great idea!" Kandy cheered.

The King left the room as they scrolled through the files. They tried to find news about Meiko or Isabella, but couldn't yet. Though, will they find it before it's too late?

To be continued…

(Maris): Okay, listen up! Maris 'ere, and we is gonna tell you that we got Miranda and Avery all to ourselves! Now, we shall dominate!

(Bruce): What a rush this is… those Japanese urchins won't become successful."

(Runt): He's right. Now, it's time to finish the job in the final chapter.

Next Chapter: The Evil Sorceress Returns

(Harima): Uh, guys… it's not over yet… There's more to the story.

(Maris): Shut it, slick!