Chapter 11: Of Families

Zale and Shine had long since left Deboro Ruins and were currently roaming through the jungle. This was the first time they had left the Ancient Mamodo headquarters as free people. Frankly, they weren't entirely sure what to do now that Zofis and the rest of the Millennium Mamodo were going to be defeated by the resistance. In addition to thoughts of the future, the words from the iconic people of their last fight were still fresh in their mind.

For Zale, he still had Angelica's definition of "change" and Kiyo's thoughts about allies and companionship:

"Zatch is right, Zale and Shine! Take me for example. Before Zatch came into my life, I wouldn't nothing to do with anyone; friends, school, nothing! But Zatch changed all that; before I knew it, I had all my friends back and we grew strong together! Someone like you, who doesn't even want to make amends with his own sister, will never understand true love and companionship!"

"Let me tell you two a little something about change—it's not a punishment, it is reality. Everything around you changes, for better or for worse. It is the way we as rational creatures interpret change that dictates its effects on us…"

For Shine, he was continuously about Zatch's and E's view of the difference between weakness and strength:

"You're completely wrong! No one truly changes; the way people look at each other does! And Shine, everyone has a moment of weakness! It is not evil, it makes us better! Why do you think after all the physical pressure you've put me under, I'm still standing? I was weak, that much I'll admit, but I've told you: my friends and allies give me strength! Seeing the sad faces on the kind people I've met that have fallen in battle…I promised them that I will become a kind king!"

"…It doesn't matter if you're weak or strong at the start, it's the end of it all that matters. You have to put yourselves in the right situation and surpass all expectations. And you can't forget there are people with you, guiding you as you go. In the end, you become strong after all."

"Curse those guys…" Shine rasped as he shut his eyes in an attempt to eliminate these thoughts, "Thinking about all that is making me feel weak."

"Let's try not to focus about that, Shine." Zale said, reverting back to his toneless method of speaking, "We have more much pressing matters to attend to. We have to get fixed up and healed, leave South America, and figure out how we are going to travel as we hunt down Mamodo to defeat."

"You're absolutely right." Shine agreed, "Sorting out our priorities are the first thing, then we focus on making me King. I don't care if I'm from one thousand years ago, I was screwed out of my chance at becoming King by Goren and my bookkeeper. I know for a fact that you and me together can see this to the very end."

"Hm." Zale responded tersely. Silence lingered between the two as they slowly but surely traversed the jungle of Deboro Ruins. They had some knowledge of its terrain, so they thought they could make their way out of it based on intuition and clues given by the forest.

Suddenly, Zale and Shine's instincts alerted them to something in their midst and they stopped walking. Silence continued to linger as they tried to use their ears to listen for whatever they stopped for. Save for the jungle noises, it was quiet as a mouse, but they wouldn't be fooled.

"Whoever is following us, come out now." The two demanded.

The two then heard soft delicate footsteps coming out of their hiding spots and come onto the trail they were walking on. "It's been a long time, Zale." Said a female voice.

Zale, recognizing the voice, gingerly and slowly turned his head and saw his older sister and her Mamodo were now among him and Shine. "So, you're Zale Schwazden," Mystrael remarked, hands politely behind her back, "Your sister has told me much about you."

"That's your sister, Zale?" Shine inquired, looking at the frowning male. "Yes, that's Myriam…" Zale said bitterly before looking back ahead and resuming their walk, "No one special." Shine unquestioningly followed his bookkeeper, "If you say—"

"Rior Maboro."

Suddenly, a spear-like spiral of darkness was shot over Zale and Shine, making the two freeze in their steps immediately. A second afterward, some of the trees that were struck by Rior Maboro fell down sonorously.

"Two gentlemen like yourselves should listen quietly when two ladies like us are about to speak." Mystrael said, letting her arm fall back to the side. Shine slowly turned to face the older Mamodo and said vehemently, "You did not just try that." Mystrael winced inaudibly under the porcupine's harsh and infamous glare. But she knew Shine was in no condition to battle, and she knew she didn't have the power to beat him if a battle ensued.

"Zale…" Myriam spoke tenderly but firmly, "I have been looking for you ever since the Mamodo Fight began." Zale glared at his older sister, "I wonder why…considering you left me alone that day." Myriam, being one of the few people alive immune to Shine's or Zale's powerful glare, sighed before saying, "Foolish little brother, you don't know the half of it."

Zale remained calm and unperturbed, "Really now? I don't think it takes three years to make amends if you wanted to. The Mamodo Fight only began so long ago." Myriam narrowed her eyes as hissed back, "You know good and well why it took me so long." Zale matched her viperish look, "My memory is vague, please remind me."

Shine and Mystrael could feel the heavy tension between the Schwazden siblings, so heavy that Shine would have trouble holding it up if it were material. Mystrael stayed quiet, knowing this one was Myriam's main goal in her life, and she wasn't going to let all that searching go to waste. Shine really didn't want to be there at all; he and Zale had better things to do than settle a petty family feud.

"Zale, you seem to have the misunderstanding you're the only one of us who had rough early life." Myriam began, "How selfish of you…even though I always loved to see that formerly kind and radiant face of yours smile whenever you made progress in your career, I was secretly jealous of you. You got to go everywhere in Sweden, and eventually got to leave the country. Me, I was left confined to our hometown, unable to really do anything to further my career."

Zale lazily waved a dismissive arm off to the side, "Well, boo-hoo for you, sis. We all have our problems, and your one of mine." He turned heel and began to walk away. "Gee, we're more alike than I thought." Shine thought, snickering and following suit.

"Rior Maboro!"

Shine, like a bullet, turned back around, got in front of Zale, and blocked the speak-like spiral of darkness. Zale whipped back around and his glare darkened, "Now why did you do that?" Mystrael dropped her arm to the side as she responded, "We weren't through talking, so I knew doing that would catch both of your attention."

Shine panted. His body was already somewhat weak from his battle with Zatch and E, so taking that Rior Maboro made it worse for him even though he did a good job not showing it. "Originally, Zale, I wanted to say 'to hell with this' and go on, but now we are entitled to defend ourselves," Shine hissed, "Besides, this Mamodo is a small fry anyway!" Zale exhaled sharply, "It's no good, Shine. You're too injured to fight another battle, and my heart energy is still gone."

"Then will you please utilize those manners of yours and listen up?" Mystrael asked with a hint of agitation, "I'm sure you don't want Myriam to read my more powerful spells."

Shine did not take threats likely, and he was a proponent of the proverb "the cornered rat will bite the cat." However, these two were hell-bent on settling this family feud once and for all, so what could he do. Zale's face practically defined the word indifference, but he had enough sense to know when to battle and when to not. Crossing his arms, he gestured Myriam to at least attempt to make amends.

"I'm certain you remember that day clear as day, Zale." Myriam began.

Sundown had graced the day, blanketing a quaint town in Sweden with a russet sheen from the twilight. The town was fairly quiet with residents, visitors, and citizens strolling about and taking care of business, all the while minding their own.

On the outskirts of the city was a fifteen-year-old Zale leaning against someone's black car. Both of which were positioned outside a small store. He was wearing a business suit in which his tie was undone lazily. Apparently, he was coming home from his classes. He grumbled in annoyance, "Come on…it doesn't take that long to—"

"Quit your complaining. I'm here." Nineteen-year-old Myriam said crisply as she approached her younger brother. Zale smiled brightly, "About time. Let's get home already."Myriam playfully rolled her eyes as she opened the car door to the driver seat, later unlocking the passenger door with a push of a button, and sat down inside along with her brother.

As their sable vehicle drove off, they failed to notice some suspicious and shady characters entering the store, followed the sounds of a violent confrontation.

"So how was your day, sis?" Zale asked, looking expectantly at his dark purple-haired older sister. "Same old, same old; nothing special." She replied. Zale frowned, "Come now. Something exciting must have happened."

"Not today, at least." Myriam tried a different response, hoping that would satisfy her brother. "Meh." Zale said as he slumped into his seat, looking forward. He was so unaware that Myriam did not have the resources or the opportunities he had. Myriam really envied her younger brother because of that.

"Oh, Zale, I have to make another stop, if you don't mind." Myriam announced, coming to a stop at another store within the town's borders. "I'll come with you this time," Zale said, "That way, at least I'll be there to make sure you don't dawdle like a thousand-year-old tortoise."Myriam scoffed as she rolled her eyes and exited her car.

Zale laughed as he too exited the car and followed Myriam inside. The two then entered the store which was a place where antique jewelry was sold. Zale grimaced at the contents of the store as he remarked, "Gee. You further delay our trip home for this?"

Myriam scowled, "Hush, boy."As she began approaching the clerk, she told her brother, "Browse around for a bit. You might find something you'll like." Zale shrugged his shoulders as walked off, "Doubt it, but all right."

Zale went down an isle in the quaint store and examined its items with mild interest. What he was really doing was killing time until Myriam got done with her business and making sure she didn't dawdle. However, something exceptional managed to catch his attention out of the corner of his eye. He retraced his steps backwards until he approached the item and got a good luck at it.

It was an Egyptian-style necklace with a black thermochromic element as its emblem (basically, a mood necklace). Zale raised an interested eyebrow. That complimented his sister and her style quite nicely. Without a second thought, Zale removed the mood necklace from its display stand and began walking back to where his sister and the clerk were.

"Excuse me. Are you done?" Zale asked politely. Myriam was currently being given a wooden box, signaling the finalization of a transaction between her and the clerk. "Yes, I am." She answered. Zale smiled, "Good, because I—"

Suddenly, the entrance to the shop burst open violently. Myriam, Zale, and the clerk turned to see two bandits at the entrance of the shop, the lower half of their faces masked by bandanas. Zale and Myriam narrowed their eyes at the intruders while clerk cowered in fear.

"Alright, hand over your valuables and no one will get hurt." One of them said raspingly. "And why should we do that?" Myriam retorted as Zale crossed his arms uninvitingly. The clerk behind them began to motion his hand toward a security button underneath the desk, but suddenly another fly toward his mouth and dragged him off.

Seeing their third partner do their job, the other smirked behind his bandana as he replied, "Because we said so." Zale sneered, "Don't think so. Now get lost before authorities come." The first bandit snickered mercilessly, "It'll take them some time before they get here. Our comrades all around are wreaking havoc and getting goods form people like you."

"What? What are you talking about?" The Schwazden siblings exclaimed in disbelief, right as the third bandit returned to his post with a metal pipe.

"We're talking about THIS!"

"Wait a minute." Zale interrupted the story, "You mean to tell me there was a third one involved, not just two?"

Myriam nodded, "That's right. Now I bet you're wondering why you didn't know while I did." Zale crossed his arms as he responded, "Well, an explanation would add credibility to your story. It's already drastically different from mine."

Myriam hope she was getting somewhere, somewhere that would lead to Zale understanding what really went down. "Why, certainly."

"We're talking about THIS!"

Myriam could sense the presence of the third bandit behind her after that statement. She managed to duck her head to avoid the swing; however, her red eyes dilated when she heard the metal pipe impact on someone else's head.

Zale, because his infamous Schwazden senses weren't yet fully developed, couldn't avoid the pipe and was struck on the head and fell to the ground. "Good, that's one down! Now get the other!" The two bandits said.

Luckily for Myriam and Zale, fate did not want such injustice to transpire. The two bandits were suddenly tackled by police forces. "Uh-oh!" The third bandit exclaimed before dashing out of the backdoor exit, the same place where the clerk made his escape after supposedly being caught by him.

"Zale! Wake up, Zale!" Myriam pleaded as she shook her unconscious brother. She didn't care that they were out of danger, her brother wasn't. He was unconscious. When the two bandits were apprehended, some more of the officers came over and tended to Zale. "Please, get him out of here." Myriam requested, "I don't want him to be in danger anymore."

The officers nodded and escorted him out of the store to be medically attended. Myriam watched pensively as the medical truck hauled away his brother. Staring regretfully, she hoped nothing bad would come out of this endeavor.

"I was…rendered unconscious?" Zale said incredulously but then interrogated, "If that's the case, then why I was still attacked?" Myriam answered, "Brother, please think. Those bandits were all around town. Anything moneymaking establishment, including the clinic you were in, was susceptible to raids."

So after all this time, Zale was missing a valuable piece of memory of that event that led his bitterness toward his sister. The story was credible. Anyone that was rendered unconscious because of a metal object would have a hard time remembering that. His sister left him alone because she cared about his safety. It was just one of those instances where fate was indifferent.

"…I see…" Zale said, softer than usual.

"In my opinion, your credibility is still a bit vague." Shine spoke up for the first time since the story began, "Some intelligent people can fabricate an intricate story like that. And if you're the sister of Zale, that comes as no surprise."

Mystrael sneered, "How dare you…"

"Stand down, Mystrael." Myriam said, closing her eyes, "If Shine is unconvinced, then there is a chance that Zale remains doubtful. If I cannot communicate my truthfulness through words…" The lavender-grey spellbook behind her started to glow fervently as Mystrael extended her right arm fully toward the two males, "Then, I'll use have to use something straight from the heart! Reizu Mabrodon!"

Darkness began to convene around Mystrael's arm, charging up for some fairly powerful attack. Alert, Shine extended his arm, palm open, as he exclaimed, "Zale! I'm sure that break charged up your heart energy. Recite a fairly strong spell!"

"Stand down, Shine…" Zale requested softly as Shine looked at him in confusion. At first, Shine thought Zale was staring before them as apathetic as he usually was, but then, he noticed there was some other type of emotion cropping up in those crimson eyes of his. Understanding, Shine let his arm fall to the side as he too braced for whatever was going to happen.

From Mystrael's arm, a raven of darkness outlined by light purple energy was projected toward Zale and Shine. Even in the face of Myriam and Mystrael's most powerful spell, the two males stood dauntless and expressionless.

A large shroud of darkness blanketed the area as Dioga Mabrodon hit its mark. Many trees were toppled or destroyed and the landscape fissured. Myriam and Mystrael only watched the scene before with equal expressionlessness. The glow from the lavender grey spellbook slowly died away in concurrence with the darkness fading away.

"You Schwazden people are something else…The ability to communicate through different methods and heightened senses…"

"Yeah, we are, Shine…Yet we are still normal people."

The darkness subsided enough to reveal Zale and Shine standing where they were, albeit with more ragged appearances and some wounds—or in Shine's cases, more wounds. Another notable thing was that Zale was now holding something in his right hand. It was a primitive, wooden necklace with a purple thermochromic element as its emblem.

"So…this thing why is we were there…?" Zale said, slowly lifting up his hand to look at it. Myriam was smiling as she replied, "Yes…sorry it came so late." Zale smiled appreciatively as he pocketed the gift as his other reached inside his jacket, "I don't know why I kept it…but, it was for you." Swiftly, the black-haired male tossed something to Myriam. Yet confused, Myriam still managed to catch the item.

With that done, Zale turned around and began to walk away with Shine—who was grinning—following suit. "I, too, got you something for that day. Though, you never got the chance to see it because of that." Myriam was speechless. She could not utter a single word of gratitude or acknowledgment at the sight of the sterling necklace Zale—albeit unintentionally—kept in tow all this time. She held the necklace close to her heart as Mystrael said thankfully to the departing gentlemen, "There's a town outside the jungle vicinity. Look for a man named Apollo. He's the one relocating all bookkeepers of Ancient Mamodo."

Shine and Zale raised their hands up in a parting and acknowledging manner. Even if this was a heartfelt part of their story, the two still worked alone and had an objective to accomplish that required bloodshed and hard work. "I hope this little reconciliation didn't make you weak, Zale." Shine said seriously. "When we encounter our next prey, you'll see." Zale replied, reverting back to his toneless way of speaking. Shine smirked, showing his serrated teeth, as he responded, "Well, you're certainly learning; that's exactly what I want to hear. As long as you and I stick together, I'll come closer to being King of the Mamodo World."

Mystrael looked at her joyful bookkeeper, "Well, Myriam, you made amends with your brother. Now what are we going to do?" Myriam had just placed the necklace around her neck as she answered, "Well, don't you have to find Mamodo that are King-material?"

"Yes, you're right." Mystrael replied as looked at Deboro Ruins in the distance, "The people in there are fine candidates for opposing Zofis and his army…Oh well. Let us move onto the next place." Myriam said, more happily than ever she said, "Sure thing."

As Myriam casted Go Maboruk, Myriam ruminated on the last gesture Zale gave her as he and his partner departed. The Schwazdens were known to communicate things through different means, and Zale conveyed this simple yet meaningful sentence through that parting gesture:

"You are forgiven."