A.N. Hello again. I'm back with chapter two! I took note of the reviews and made changes to chapter one, most notably the names. It bugs me when I make stupid mistakes like that. Hehe, ah well. As promised, more of the plot is revealed in this chapter. Enjoy!

"Any questions?"

Brago surveyed the group in front of him as he spoke. Two strong, well known Mamodo sat in front, behind them a mob of various other Mamodo. One of the two, who sat on the right, was a white-haired Mamodo; his arms were crossed over his chest and his eyelids were shut, concealing his terrifying purple eyes. Brago was worried about this one, for he knew the minute his plan succeeded, he would have to fight him. His eyes drifted to the left, where a rather strange Mamodo sat with his hand in the air.

Brago grunted, "What is it?"

The Mamodo's hand fell. He cleared his throat before speaking. "Could you run that by me again?" He asked.

Brago clenched his right fist. He hated this guy. He took a deep breath and tried to keep his cool. "One more time," Brago said in a deep voice, "But pay attention!"

The strange Mamodo smirked at Brago's comment. He pulled out a cigar, placed it in his mouth, and tapped the tip of an awkward conductor's-like-baton onto the cigar, lighting it. He breathed in, savored it for a brief moment, and then exhaled. The smoke began to quickly fill the small room.

Brago placed his hands onto a map that lay open on the table in front of him. His finger pointed at a town on the map.

"We begin with a distraction. This is where all of you come in." Brago lifted his gaze from the map and onto the strange, smoking Mamodo and the mob behind him. "Do what you want, just make sure you can hold off for awhile." He quickly added.

The strange Mamodo exhaled again. "Of course, of course. You underestimate me, Brago." He said smirking.

"I sincerely hope that I am, Kiees." Brago retorted.

The strange Mamodo—Kiees—frowned at Brago's remark.

Brago continued, "At this time, Zeno and I will take the palace. It should be fairly empty."

Zeno's eyes suddenly opened upon hearing his name. His purple, lightening-like eyes dug deep into Brago's.

"Do you honestly think my brother would fall for such a trick?" He asked.

"Zatch is too kind. You know as well as I do that he'll send the entire Royal Guard to deal with our distraction as quickly as possible." He responded assuredly. There was a brief pause.

"Are you sure you'll be able to defeat the 'Kind King?'" Zeno asked, his relentless stare not faltering even the slightest.

Brago's fists tightened—so much that he drew blood from his own palms. "Don't mock me..." He murmured in an enraged voice, "And remember...Zatch is mine!"

Zeno chuckled, "Yes, of course; I'm just there to deal with the remaining few..."

----

Zatch couldn't sleep at all. He tossed and turned in his overly large bed, unable to get comfortable. But that wasn't what kept him up. His mind was plagued with two thoughts that were nagging away at him.

The first was of Tia. He couldn't stop wondering what it was she was going to tell him. Childish and innocent as Zatch was, he believed it was some super-awesome secret or something. He was completely oblivious to the truth.

The second was of Brago. What he had said—"There's no way I will let someone like you be King of the Mamodo World."—Was also pestering him, but not as much. Brago was always like that. He was always full of himself. He thought that he should just ignore it, but what he had done to Tia made him worry.

"Ahh!"

Zatch gave out an annoyed cried as he sat up in bed. He moaned as he rubbed his eyes. He threw off the enormous blankets and hopped down from the large bed. He stretched and then made his way towards the balcony. He opened the glass doors and stepped out onto the moonlit balcony. The moon was very bright, and there was also not a cloud in the sky. The stars were all visible and twinkled vibrantly.

The boy Mamodo leaned against the edge of the balcony and gazed into the sky. He gave out a sigh of relief and felt calm as he peered upwards. A shooting star suddenly raced through the vast sea of stars above. It was already beginning to fade from sight, but nonetheless it perked Zatch's curiosity.

"I should make a wish." He whispered softly to himself. He interlocked his hands and closed his eyes as he began to think of what it was he wanted.

"I wish..."

His eyes suddenly opened.

That wasn't me...is someone else out here?

He peered over the edge of the balcony. Looking down at the balcony below, he saw a familiar red-head Mamodo girl who seemed to be gazing dreamily into the starry night sky. He listened closely.

"...That Zatch wasn't such an idiot." She finished.

Zatch's mouth hung open.

What? How could Tia say something like that about me! Was that what she wanted to tell me...? That I'm an idiot?

"He's just so oblivious." She began again. Zatch quickly shook away his thoughts and began to intently listen again. She sighed. "He doesn't understand how I feel about him. I doubt it would even matter if he knew..." She trailed off, hesitant on going further. Zatch was waiting impatiently for her to finish, completely unaware of the meaning of the things she had said thus far.

"...He probably likes Kolulu anyways." She concluded disappointedly.

Zatch stood there blinking for a moment. Then, all of a sudden, something inside him clicked. Shock filled his face and he let out a loud gasp.

"Huh?" Tia looked up as she heard the noise, but she didn't see anything. Zatch had pulled himself away from the balcony edge and was now sitting with his back against it. He was rather nervous that she may have noticed him, but even more than that he felt stupid. He gazed down at the glowing floor of the balcony and tried to calm himself. A new feeling began to overtake him—a feeling he had never felt before. His heart was racing and his whole body felt like jelly. He closed his eyes tightly, and as he did her image appeared in his head. She seemed entirely different to him now. Her eyes were gorgeous; her smile was pretty; her laugh was cute—she was beautiful. He could feel himself blushing. He placed his hand over his fast beating heart and sighed contently. It was such a wonderful feeling. His whole body was at ease and he soon fell into a deep sleep.

----

"Wakey wakey!"

"Zatch?"

"Wakeup sleepyhead!"

Zatch's eyes reluctantly opened halfway. He was having such a great dream...

He mumbled a bit.

"Tia?" He called out groggily.

The girl, who stood leaning over Zatch with her face not far from his own, suddenly pulled back.

"Tia? No, I'm not Tia. Were you...dreaming about her?" The girl asked curiously.

Zatch was still half-asleep and nodded unknowingly. "And yellowtail." He murmured.

"Uh-huh..." The girl said, not knowing how to reply to him.

Zatch's eyes suddenly shot open fully, and he was now alert and completely awake.

"Oh, Kolulu! Uhm, I uh, what I mean is..." He was spitting out random words, speaking before he could think of something to say. Finally, he thought of something. "...What are you doing here?"

Kolulu put a finger to her chin. "Well, I haven't seen you in a while, so I thought I'd drop by. I didn't mean to intrude or anything."

Zatch shook his head frantically, "No no, it's okay." He assured her.

She turned around and looked at the bed, its covers strewn everywhere. She then returned her attention to Zatch.

"Why were you sleeping out here anyways?" She asked as she raised one of her eyebrows. She was giving him quite the questioning stare.

His mind went back to last night as he began to remember what had happened. He could feel his face reddening as he re-imagined it all. For once, his face was a cherry. He stood up suddenly.

"Oh well would you look at the time! Haha, I gotta' go!" He blurted as he tapped his finger against a watch on his wrist that wasn't really there. He then ran from the balcony, into the room, and out the door, leaving a puzzled Kolulu all alone.

----

He felt rather guilty ditching Kolulu like that, but these new feelings he was experiencing were really messing with him. He thought it would be best to try to ignore them for the time being, as he had more 'kingly duties' to attend to. He sat down in his large throne and waited for the audiences to begin for the day. However, something else happened: Rein approached him and bowed. This wasn't new to him, but he didn't expect to meet with Rein until after the audiences.

"My lord," Rein addressed as he dropped to one knee, "We have a situation."

"What is it?" Zatch asked him straightforwardly, trying to move the conversation along as quickly as possible.

"There has been a breach within the law." He told him. He paused afterwards, as if waiting for Zatch to ask 'what do you mean,' in which he did.

"What do you mean?" Zatch asked a bit annoyed. The formalness was irritating him.

"A group of Mamodo have begun casting spells within the town. They are causing quite the panic." Rein had finally gotten to the point. It seemed to trouble Zatch greatly.

"Deal with it immediately! Send the entire Royal Guard if you must!"

Rein stood. "As you wish." He said. He then bowed and quickly made his way from the throne room.

----

Kanchomé was panicking.

This was no surprise.

The duck-boy Mamodo dropped to the ground and covered his head with his hands. Chaos was running rampant all around him. A group of Mamodo had suddenly started to attack the small town, and Kanchomé was now taking shelter next to the large statue of King Zatch.

"Amu Garuginisu!"

Kanchomé's eyes shot open as he heard that vaguely familiar spell, that vaguely familiar voice. He suddenly heard a loud crumbling sound, which was followed by the head of Zatch's statue coming crashing down a few inches from Kanchomé's body. He let out a girly scream as he stared into the stone eyes of the statue's face.

"Eeeeeeeeep!"

He quickly stood up, and as he did he saw two spring-like arms tear the remainder of the statue clean from its plinth. Kanchomé stood there frightened as a familiar Mamodo climbed onto the plinth where the statue of King Zatch once stood.

"Ahem!" The strange Mamodo cleared his throat. "Ludwig van Beethoven's 9th Symphony: Ode to Joy!"

The Mamodo began to wave his arms around in the air—along with his baton—in a conductor-like manner; all while singing horrid random gibberish.

Kanchomé knew all to well who it was: Kiees!

So he's the one causing all this! I'll stop him right here, right now! Iron Man Kanchomé will save the day!

Kanchomé built up his courage, and then raised his fist into the air.

"Iron Man Kanchomé~!

"Invincible Kanchomé~!

"Iron Man Kanchomé~!

"He always wins the day~!"

There was a long silence after Kanchomé finished his song. All of the Mamodo suddenly stopped what they were doing, including Kiees who was performing his 'Ode to Joy.'

Nobody moved.

Nobody said a word.

They all just stared at Kanchomé, until finally...

"You dare interrupt my glorious performance with that filth song?!" Kiees exclaimed as he got right up to Kanchomé's face. He was glaring harshly at the duck-boy, who in response began to back up in fear.

"Wait a minute..." Kiees murmured as he began to finally calm down. He examined Kanchomé thoroughly, taking a good, long look at him.

"It's you!" Kiees shouted, his fury coming back. "Oh-hohoho, this day just keeps getting better!" He stated between laughs. His anger seemed to subside again. He pulled out a cigar, and after he placed it in his mouth, lit the tip with his baton. He exhaled a big cloud of smoke.

"You're that duck-brat from before." He said as he began to inhale more of his cigar.

Kanchomé shook his head frantically, "No no, you must be thinking of some other 'duck-brat.' Ahaha..." His laughing was clearly showing his nervousness.

Kiees clenched his teeth, causing his cigar to break and fall to the ground.

"Don't play dumb with me, boy; I won't ever forget that horrid melody! I've been waiting so long for this day..." He lifted arms up as he spoke.

"Amu Garuginisu!"

His spring-like arms extended at immense speeds towards Kanchomé as a green light began to envelop them. Kanchomé let out another girlish scream as they drew nearer.

"Eeeeeeeeekk!"

----

Kolulu could hear a distant rumble as she stared out at the dark clouds on the horizon. The sun had just been blotted out by the clouds. It was a gloomy sight, and it caused the pink-haired Mamodo girl to frown. She spun around and made her way off the balcony and back into her room. From there she proceeded out into the hallway. She was awfully bored and decided to go see Zatch, as their last encounter ended rather abruptly. He was acting rather strange and she wanted to know why.

She began making her way down the seemingly endless hallway when the sudden sound of scampering feet caught her attention. She stopped and looked over her shoulder, only to see Ted running towards her.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" She asked once he was within earshot. Ted stopped running and approached her in a calmer manner.

"Didntcha' hear?" He asked her as if he was expecting her to already know.

She shook her head. "Hear what?" She asked.

Ted smirked as he pounded his fist into his palm.

"Some group of Mamodo started to attack the town. I dunno' about you, but I'm itchin' for a fight!" He exclaimed cheerfully. His gleeful expression turned to confusion upon seeing Kolulu's terrified face.

"That's terrible!" Kolulu's voice was full of concern.

"Uh, yeah...terrible!" He repeated in a somewhat sarcastic tone as he scratched the back of his head. He then held out his hand, giving a thumbs-up as his big grin returned. "But that's why I'm going to help!" He exclaimed in a chivalric voice.

Kolulu, however, was already halfway down the hallway.

"Then let's go!" She shouted back to him. Ted stood there dumbfounded for a minute.

"Uh, right!" He responded as he burst into a run, soon catching up with her.

They made their way through the many corridors of the palace and down numerous staircases until finally they reached the large double-doors that led to the outside. They approached them, yet Ted suddenly stopped as he reached for the handles. He heard something.

What is that? It almost sounds like...

A boom of thunder echoed from the nearing clouds. Ted's eyes suddenly widened.

"Watch out!" He shouted. He dove at Kolulu and embraced her, both of them falling to the floor as a blast of blue lightening blew through the large doors. It shattered both doors and sent them hurdling into the air.

"Are you all right?" Ted asked as he helped Kolulu stand. She nodded.

"What's the meaning of this?!" Ted demanded to know as he turned his attention to the two Mamodo that now stood in front of them: Zeno and Brago.

"You know what to do." Brago said as he began to walk forward. He walked right past Ted and Kolulu without even looking at them.

"Of course." Zeno replied with a chuckle.

Ted turned around and dashed at Brago with his fist pulled back and ready to strike.

"Where do you think you're going?!" He shouted at Brago, who didn't stop moving nor even turned around.

"Zakeru."

A bright flash erupted behind Ted, which was followed by a painful scream. Ted gasped as he stopped and turned around. He saw Kolulu's body flying through the air towards him, electricity coursing through her.

"Kolulu!" He cried out as he ran desperately towards her. He caught her and instantly began to shake her.

"Kolulu! Kolulu!"

She began to stir in his arms and soon opened her eyes.

"I'm fine..." She murmured in a weak voice. He let out a sigh of relief at her comment.

"How touching," Zeno said with a small laugh as he extended his arm at them, "Zakeruga."

A beam of spiraling blue lightening emerged from Zeno's hand. Its energy tore up the ground as it flew towards Ted and Kolulu at a great speed. There was no time to dodge. Ted readied himself to take the blunt of the attack as he shielded Kolulu in an embrace.

"Ma Seshield!"

It happened so quickly that Ted and Kolulu barely noticed it. The large shield that was now holding off the attack had suddenly appeared in front of them. They stared at it in disbelief and watched as large cracks began to form in the shield.

"Well don't just sit there! Move!"

Ted snapped out of it and quickly got out of the way while carrying Kolulu. The shield broke and vanished as they did, and the beam of lighting tore into the nearby wall.

"Meru-meru-mie!"

An armor-clad and flame-engulfed Ponygon suddenly flew into the scene with an angry cry. He dove right at Zeno, landing a successful blow that set the Mamodo skidding backwards quite a distance. His stance, however, didn't falter the slightest and he remained on his feet.

"Well well well..." He said somewhat surprised as he surveyed the scene.

In front of him was Ponygon. He seemed to be powered up with his 'Dioemur Shudoruk' spell. Not far behind Ponygon was both Ted and Kolulu, both of which were now back on their feet. And on the far right, just now descending the staircase, was Tia.

"...What have we here?" Zeno's eyes fell upon Ponygon. "We have the wimpy horse," from Ponygon to Tia, "The brat," from Tia to Ted, "The punk," and finally his eyes rested on Kolulu, "And...sweet Kolulu." He concluded with a grin.

Both Ponygon and Ted grunted at his remark. Tia, however, exploded again.

"Who are you calling a brat?!" She shouted as she shook her fist angrily.

Zeno laughed menacingly. "This should be fun." He stated nonchalantly. Everyone gasped at his comment.

"Shall we get started?" He asked as an evil grin curled onto his lips.

----

Zatch was walking sluggishly down the large rug of the throne room. He had heard loud crashing noises coming from below and decided to see what the heck was going on. He opened the throne room doors, and as he did a large orb of dark energy smashed into his body. It carried him all the way down the throne room and through the back wall of the palace. It held his body suspended in the air over the large field behind the palace. The orb began to dissipate, and as it did his body came crashing down onto the earth below.

The boy lay there cringing in pain. His consciousness slowly came to, as did his vision. He sat up, breathing heavily from the pains that swelled inside of him. Standing in front of him with a hateful glare was Brago.

Brago slowly extended his arm, the palm of his hand pointed directly at Zatch.

"The reign of the 'Kind King' ends here...!"

A.N. Oh boy, a cliffhanger! Three of them actually! Oh noes! Next time we kick it off with the start of the first of the three epic battles. Go, Iron Man Kanchomé! On a side note, if there are any mistakes in this chapter do not hesitate to point them out.