Zatch Bell: Kolulu Story

By:CleruSonofShintetsu

[Chapter 5: A Dastardly Concert (Part 3)]

So it was done, the group huffed and puffed and sat slumped all around Megumi's dressing room, trying to collect themselves after the battle that took place. Tia and Kolulu were thoroughly battered, Lori and Megumi were also exhausted, and they all had but one fear...that the deadly pair of Mamodo teams would be a permanent thorn in their sides if they couldn't do something about it.

Still, this was a moment to breathe, but soon enough, Kolulu groaned. "I'm so weak...I can barely handle that form, and I was unable to notice the literal cybernetic beings with laser powers ambushing me...I...I failed. They might be returning to finish us off at any moment..."

Tia perked up and immediately began to protest. "What are you saying Kolulu!? Stop being such a dummy!" she said, stamping her foot and grabbing the attention of the others in the room.

Kolulu blinked twice in confusion, and concern. "W-what?" she stammered out.

"You...you ARE strong! A cheap shot is hardly a good way to measure a fair fight! And most of all...you jumped in to protect me! You were willing to devolve back into that evil monster form just to protect me! You let yourself get scraped up and battered for my sake! That mean old monster form is NOTHING compared to you!" she said, causing Kolulu to gasp and hold her mouth, her eyes getting watery already.

Tia's eyes got watery too, her emotions running without restraint at this point. "Kolulu...you're the only friend I have left...please don't call yourself weak, I need you..." she said, starting to get further choked with emotion.

Kolulu stood up and approached her, pulling her in for a tight embrace, and letting out her own tears. "Tia...these past weeks have been horrible! I'm forced into this horrible contest, made to bear the burden of this horrific monster within me...and the few friends I have here are being strained by me. I even burned Zatch's book during a freak accident..."

Tia was listening intently, and then her eyes widened and her breathing stopped entirely for a moment. She was paralyzed by the information...Zatch? Not only was Zatch even involved, but he had his book burned?

"...Did you say Zatch?" Tia asked, taking a step back as she took in what she just heard. "Oh great...yeah, that checks out..." she sighed in frustration. She only had her feelings about Zatch confirmed, just a "weakling" in her eyes.

Lori spoke up next. "Kolulu...you did wonderful out there, both of you did honestly." she said, smiling sweetly at them. "Honestly..." she said, her expression turning neutral. "I want nothing more than a break from it all. Too much too soon, and Kolulu...I hate putting her through that awful form. She's been putting on a brave face this whole time..."

Kolulu nodded in agreement, "I hate it...I hate surrendering myself to that monster! I want nothing more than to remove it from my mind and be free from it! One day it's probably going to consume me and hurt people! I don't want that to happen! I don't want it, I don't want it!" she said, starting to pant heavily in an anxiety fit.

Tia grit her teeth, grinding her teeth painfully in the process. "When this is all over...I'm going to give his majesty a piece of my mind! That's why..." she said, putting a hand over her heart. "I'm gonna be the best queen possible! If Kolulu can push on in spite of the suffering she's going through, then surely I can do it too!"

This got the others staring at her in awe. Kolulu remembered that she came to a similar place of acceptance, but now that Tia's pledging the same thing...

Kolulu took Tia's hand and gripped it, tensing what few muscles a kid could have and staring into her eyes. Suddenly, Tia could see a fire light up in them, and she gave her a shocked expression to match. "...Kolulu?"

"Tia," Kolulu started, "...I'll fight just as hard. For you, for Zatch, for everyone back home. I can't keep letting this evil personality get to me...and if you're pledging to be a good queen, then let me pledge the same thing! That way, we can both fight for a better future...one where nobody will be forced to do such horrible things ever again!" she declared, causing Megumi to nearly tear up in awe of the two Mamodo.

Megumi shuffled over to Lori and began to speak, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You and I have such strong, wonderful Mamodo. I wish they weren't put through it, but I feel like things will only look up from here...no matter what troubles we have to trudge through. Lori...will you help us?" she asked, Lori contemplating it.

In truth, a lot has happened recently...maybe not day after day, but it's all been a brutal wake-up call for the duo. Now there were two pairs of bad folk running around, waiting to ambush them at any moment. Taking a deep breath, she gripped Megumi's hand and gave her the same determined look.

"...I will, be it here or abroad, if we meet up, we'll support you. I hope not all encounters are so serious, but I have to be strong from here on out. No more worry-wart, no more tears...we hereby pledge our part in the battle. We cannot live our best life if we do not come to terms with the possibility. Let's no longer be jaded by every battle...but let us not be hyper-vigilant, right?" she said, to which Megumi nodded in agreement. Not every day needed to be so serious, but it's good to strengthen the heart for such future encounters. Such is the lesson learned today, in this fateful battle...and may the group find peace in the near future.

The group then packed their bags, bid farewell, and parted ways, leaving the concert hall. They were relieved that the battle was over.

[Some time later...]

Lori and Kolulu returned home after the concert hall incident, trading numbers with Megumi and parting ways. On their way home, they spotted two figures hovering overhead, and a letter dropping down at them. "Huh...?" Lori uttered, the envelope slowly fluttering down at them. Lori caught the letter, it was in a green envelope. She opened the letter, and it read as follows...

"Dear gorgeous, I saw the absolutely radical display of power you and your Mamodo pulled off back there. How about you and I meet at the scrapyard for a gnarly battle sometime? Of course, I can tell you're in no mood for it, so here's my number if and whenever you would like to take me up on the offer. Just, y'know, don't accept it right away... the last thing you wanna do is show up for a fight with me unprepared."

"Your curious little fan, Eido."

How odd, Lori thought, but she shrugged it off and pocketed the letter, tossing the envelope in a nearby trash can. The two eventually arrived back at their house, where of course, their parents remained absent. The two got bathed and showered respectively, then decided to pass out on the bed together, hardly bothering to say goodnight as they rested their aching bodies after the day's events.

But what did Kiyo think of all this? Well, he was going to find out tomorrow morning...where he would soon give them a special invitation to England.