So, let's talk about Zatch Bell for a moment! Anyone remember Zatch Bell? It used to be on Cartoon Network back in the day, but I only recently read the manga. And, not only was it as good as I remember, but it became better than I expected! The first 80~ chapters are sort of episodic, basically a collection of mini arcs or villains to beat, but when they cross to the Ancient Mamodo Arc and the ones following, MY WORD, the tension amps up! Exciting and tight battles, wondering which allies would survive or kick it, having to keep track of which villains were still active, especially the more despicable villains where you're just, "Hurry up and beat this guy!" and then just the sweet, heartwarming moments between the friends and how they fight together! X3 Oh, and the comedy we get in-between is just gold. So, as you can guess, we're basing our next plot off of that series, and this will be a long one.
Now loading…
Kids Next Door mission…
Operation:
M.A.M.O.D.O.
Milordo's
Ancient
Mamodo
Outbreak
Determinedly
Onslaught
Loading transmission…
A hundred slabs surrounded the center of the chamber. An outer circle, middle circle, inner, and some in-between. A ray of blue light highlighted the center, where stood a white-hatted figure in a purple robe with yellow prongs around the collar. A metal mask covered their face, but orange curly bangs hung out.
A frog with a clock on its chest and three-leaf clover antenna set the final tablet in its place: one of a small-horned figure with a crescent symbol. "And that's… one hundred." The figure hissed in a whispery, malicious tone (they sound like Wuya from Xiaolin). They spun and calmly studied the hundred lithographs, each depicting different designs of different creatures. "Now, let's begin the resurrection ritual…"
"A-Are you sure we should wake up all these guys at once?" the frog shuddered. "If they're as strong as the legends say… I think we should handle this more carefully-gero."
"Patience, Byonko. After centuries of slumber, these warriors will be more than indebted to me. I'm positive I can… persuade them. Now, pull the lever!"
"Gero…" The frog hopped to a side of the room where a lever waited. Upon flipping it, the ceiling slowly opened, allowing more of the pure blue light to coat the slabs. The full moon shone in the clear sky, a sequence of huge lenses guiding its glow into the stone which graced them with its light.
"BY THE POWER OF THE GREAT MOON'S TEAR… I, MILORDO-Z, CALL UPON THE ANCIENT POWERS LOST TO A THOUSAND YEARS. NOW, AWAKEN, MY ANCESTRAL BRETHREN… AWAKEN, AND LEND ME YOUR POWER!"
"I thought they were just supposed to awaken, is the incantation really necessary?"
"IT IIIIIIIIIIISSSSS!"
Regardless of the credibility of this claim, Byonko nervously awaited the fruits of this endeavor to grow. They waited… and waited… but nothing happened. "Ahem… AWAKEN, AND LEND ME YOUR POWER!"
They waited a half-minute longer… yet, the tablets showed no signs of change. "…AAAAAAAHHH!" An enraged Milordo slammed their fists against the ground. "THAT STUPID CURATOR SAID IT WAS FOR REAL! I stole this thing from the museum for nothing! Now what'll I-"
"B-Boss, wait! Look!"
"Huh?!" The figure stood back up, seeing the tablets glow. "Yes! I KNEW IT!" Byonko's terror, the designs within them stretched into 3D forms. Though all the lithographs were the same, holdable size, the beings within them grew to varying sizes, ranging from child, adult, to more gigantic proportions. Several of them were human-like with peach skin, colored hair, or unusual fashion. There were a few cyborg-like ones, a small crocodile, panther, dog, and other beasts.
"W-W-What is this?!" exclaimed a crown-wearing boy with a disproportionately wide, adult-like face.
"How long… was I trapped in that stone…" questioned a purple panther with three tails. "How long… were we imprisoned…"
"Your freedom is thanks to the will of the moon." answered the masked one. "And… to my generosity."
"And who do we have to thank?" asked a cyborg boy with a gold, star-like head. "Just who are you?"
"I am one of the Mamodo of the modern age: Milordo-Z. Your descendant after 1,000 years."
"ONE THOUSAND YEARS?!" bellowed a giant, muscular, pharaoh-like monster with an orange and black headdress.
"I've called you back so you can finish what you started! The war that the empire had summoned you to, long ago… is still ongoing. I've brought you back… to conquer this planet!"
"The war… is still going?" A little horned girl with a crescent on her dark-purple dress, matched by her short hair and shoes, uttered in masked worry. Her light-purple, half-closed eyes bore a droll stare to match her tone. "Why… It doesn't make sense."
"A war that has lasted for eternity would not end in a single millennium, understand? But now, we need you more than ever. You will do as I command… and crush our enemies."
"But we don't wanna fight, anymore. We wanna go home…"
"Weren't you paying attention?" Milordo smirked, rows of sharp teeth showing through their purple lips. "You have no homes to go back to. Your families all died 1,000 years ago. And for all that time, our country has lived for the same purpose: to serve the empire! You have no choice but to keep fighting! Or else you will return to your stone prisons."
They waved a hand, gesturing Byonko to pull the lever. The Moon Stone rose back into the sealing ceiling. "The Moon Stone channels the chi from the full moon and amplifies it to dispel the curse on you… but after 24 hours, that blessing will disappear, and you'll return to your tablet prisons." The light was completely blotted, darkness shrouding the chamber as Milordo shone a purple aura. "Swear your loyalty to the empire, and to me, and redeem yourselves as the original chosen warriors! Do so, and I will keep you nourished with the Moon Stone, so you'll never return to endless slumber! Fail me… and return to your prisons FOREVER! Do I make myself clear?!"
A glint of purple flickered in the warriors' eyes. Their heads rang with the same desires… I don't wanna turn back to stone… I wanna be free… The purple child, especially, already felt a longing to reunite with the moon, the fear of her flesh becoming cold stone weighing on her heart. But in order to see that moon again, to bathe in its light, the answer was quite clear: Obey the empire… Obey Milordo-Z… Fight for them, defeat their enemies, prove our loyalty…
"If you understand, then swear! Pledge your loyalty to us!"
"Very well." replied a large, purple snake with jester-like horns. "I, Gelios, pledge my loyalty to you and the empire."
"I, Pamoon, pledge my loyalty…" The star-headed cyborg crossed his gauntleted arms like an X.
"Fine. I, Tsao-Lon, pledge my loyalty." A muscular boy with blue spiked hair twirled his red bo staff. He dressed like a martial artist. "But I'll only fight the strongest."
"I PLEDGE MY LOYALTY, TOOOOOOO!" The pharaoh giant spun rapidly on his stone throne, which he seemed to be attached to.
"I pledge my-"
"Okay, okay, this is gonna take all day. Just, all of you at once, we're on schedule!"
"WE PLEDGE OUR LOYALTY TO YOU, MILORDO-Z!"
"I-I pledge my loyalty… too." The purple child said with a weak breath.
"Perfect, perfect! Now, as with any good war, this will be won with training and strategy. You all must be stiff after being in those stones, so you'll need a chance to warm up your chi paths. We'll begin training downstairs. Afterwards, I'll tell you about our enemies… the Kids Next Door who run this world!"
One week later, Gallagher playground
Perry Uno had never anticipated such a tricky foe after school. A small, remote plane with brown wings and a blue body with black streaks zoomed around the air with swift speed. The plane shot lasers as it dove down at Perry, his Hylian Shield raised to block them. The plane would have to arch and sweep back up, and the tip of Perry's gold diamond-patterned sword barely cut its hull in time. The plane began to swerve around Perry and stir a whirlwind, threatening to blow him off balance. Perry whipped out a sail, "Whooooaaaa!" and flew into the air! He was ejected from the wind, but in having to hold the sail on his descent, he was vulnerable to the plane's assault.
Perry bit the right sail handle in his teeth, leaving his hand free for the shield to block the laser's. When the plane was close, Perry forced himself to spin and throw the shield with momentum, striking the plane clear in the propeller. It went flipping back and falling, but backup propellers activated in the bottom to keep it afloat. Perry was already leaning himself to fly toward the plane, which blasted a gust of wind to push back. It blew at Perry from a diagonal angle, but once close enough, the boy swung off the sail with his shield in front to block the wind. With his left hand, he grabbed the sword from its sheath and slashed in an upward arch, splitting the front portion of the plane upon his fall. "WAAAAH—OOF!"
"OH, DANG!" Ralph Gilligan climbed off the playground and ran to his friend's side. "Dude, you okay? The heck were you thinking?!"
"Hnnn…" Perry groggily stretched himself into a stand. "It… wasn't that bad! Oh…" He slumped.
"And you say I'm too competitive sometimes?"
"Well, you are! I can take losing to Christina, but hearing you laugh at me is just irritating."
"You're just a sore loser, man."
"No, you are!"
"Whatever, bro. You're lucky I saved this for you." Ralph reached into his lunchbox and grabbed a pear-flavored Kool-Aid.
"Sweet!" His face beaming, Perry pressed the drink to his lips and slurped it down. Ralph walked to retrieve his fallen plane. A blue and brown, eel-like, energy creature with goggles flew out of the plane, repeating, "Joaquin! Joaquin!"
"I know, man, Perry's gonna poke someone's eye with that thing."
Perry's duty as Kids Next Door Supreme Leader had been passed down from his father, the stand-in leaders waiting until he was ready to take the office. Being placed with such high hopes and expectations at such a young age would be overwhelming to any child, provided they weren't given the right approach. But Perry was raised with the same mindset as his other peers: he was taught the heroism and excitement of the KND and steadily raised with an eagerness to join. It helped that they had videogames depicting their parents' adventures, games designed to be fun and getting kids hyped to have adventures of their own. Of course, the kids would be cautioned of the dangers that would arise from being an operative, but it was only through experience they would come to understand the scope of that danger. Perry and friends hadn't quite reached that stage, yet; though they were cautious in battle, they fought villains with optimistic mindsets, simply happy to be making the world a bit more peaceful and enjoying working alongside friends.
Perry's education was a bit more ahead, being the Supreme Leader. He was taught to keep track of all his operatives, the identities of the most noteworthy villains, and important pieces of history. He and his peers didn't know everything about their parents' adventures; that would be a little too overwhelming, so the kids were taught just enough for them to make their own adventures. But most importantly, even though Perry's mind was sharpened enough to be a responsible leader, he knew to make time to have fun with friends like any kid should.
"Might want a drink of milk along with that, Perry!" The boys saw Perry's father approaching, a glass bottle of milk in hand. "Hyrule milk is good for the bones! Imported from the ranch itself!"
"I love me some Lon Lon!" Perry raised his hand, awaiting the bottle to be drawn to it upon his dad's toss. With a quick swig of it, Perry felt the ache in his legs decreasing.
"So, what's happenin', Mr. Uno?" Ralph grinned.
"Just heard you kids were having a duel and came to check. 'Guess I was just in time for the best part. You know, there's a legend in Hyrule saying that Link once had to fight off an aircraft invasion just like that."
"What, they got invaded by aliens or something?" Ralph asked. "You guys say so many things about Link, I feel like you make 'em up."
"Yeah," Perry followed, "like how Link turns into an adult when he gets the Master Sword one time, but another time, he can wield it as a kid no problem. Link can at least keep his stories straight." He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Speaking of, when am I gonna get the Master Sword, Dad?"
"When you really need it. For now, be proud of the sword you have. You earned that Gilded Sword with your own two running shoes!"
"Heh, I'll never forget that." Perry smiled, gazing at his thin, patterned sword. About a year prior, Perry was brought to Hyrule so that he could personally shop for his own unique sword, one that would be an upgrade from his training one. By coincidence, the kingdom was hosting a marathon that would reward the Top 10 with any prize among a collection, one of which was Gold Dust, which the smithy explained could craft quality blades. Perry decided to enter the race and barely managed to place, and luckily, no one else claimed the dust. With it, he asked the smithy to create the sword he held today.
"Yeah! A sacred sword's a given, but a good blade that's naturally crafted is a real treasure!"
"Whatever you say, sword-hog."
"Oh, Pear~. Anyway, you kids wanna go for ice cream? Mom and I are going out tonight, and we might not-"
"Heeeeey! You guys there!"
With a call of an unfamiliar voice, an orange-haired boy came rolling on a skateboard. He wore a purple shirt and orange boots, and a long cowlick hung by his face. As he skid to a halt, Perry greeted, "Hey there. You new in town?"
"Kind of. I was wondering if you've seen my dog? I was racing him, but I sort of lost track."
"I haven't seen any dogs, did you?"
"I was with you the whole time, man." Ralph replied.
"Ah, man… You think you guys can help me look? I gotta be home soon, and my folks are gonna kill me if I come back without 'im."
"Um, I guess we could. Is that alright, Dad?"
"'Course it is!" Cheren smiled. "There's always time to make a new friend! But try to find him fast or I might not be able to join you for ice cream~"
"Joaquin will be able to find him easily!" Ralph said, applying a quick fixup so his plane could take flight again.
"Haha, see if you can find him before us!" Perry hopped on the boy's skateboard. "Mind if I hitch a ride?"
"Sure thing, shorty. The name's Hyde, by the way."
"Name's Perry! Nice to meet ya!"
Perry and Hyde rolled out to the shopping area while Ralph stuck to the urban streets, alternating from searching his surroundings to studying Joaquin's plane's-eye view via his monitor. "Hmmm…ah? There's a little doggie." He saw a puppy wandering the sidewalk a few blocks over. Ralph made his way to that location. The puppy was white with a brown rear and spots, and it had a leash. "Aha! I bet you're the-" the dog hightailed and ran, "…dog. Joaquin, after it!"
Hyde and Perry rolled behind a grocery store. There were no people around, but parked trucks. "So, where you from, Hyde? You said you were new here?"
"Yeah, we're just kind of visiting."
"Heh heh…" For being so quick to ask them for help, this boy seemed pretty introverted. "Um, what're those lines under your eyes?"
Thin, vertical lines connected Hyde's eyes with the jaw. "I mean, most of us are born with these, so I dunno."
"Most of… who?"
"Let's stop here." Hyde slid to a halt and stepped off the board.
"Okay…" Perry looked around in confusion. "Still no sign of your dog. You raced pretty far if you came from here to Gallagher."
"You know the problem with making new friends, Perry?"
"Huh?"
Just as Perry turned to address this sudden question, the young leader was blown against the wall by a forceful gust. "They might just stab you in the back. Or the front." Hyde swiped his arms, sending thin gusts, Perry hastily dodging and grabbing his shield to block them. Hyde rode his board to ram Perry against the wall, the shield between them, but he brought his sword around to cut Hyde's hip. The skateboarder retreated and did a twirl jump, spinning a small whirlwind that was sent at Perry. The leader dodged, but Hyde sent several more to blow him around. He could use the sail again, but this could give an advantage to the threatening airbender. "See if I can pull this off…HAAAAAAH!" Perry went with the flow and performed a Hurricane Spin, swirling his way to Hyde, who chopped more wind slices. Perry tanked the cuts and left a good wound on Hyde's stomach before the boy retreated.
"C'mon, get back here, puppy!" Ralph chased the dog in a foresty area in-between neighborhood blocks. "Ugh, I better just call them and ask if…?" However, the puppy finally seemed to get tired, facing Ralph. "Great, can I check your license now?" Ralph approached the pup and bent down to read the medal on its collar. "…?" There was a weird symbol on it. "Well, that doesn't mean any-?!"
The portly pilot fell back horrified as the dog grew and morphed into a sharp-toothed beast, its back made of spiked stones and claws sharpened. "AAAAH!" The dog gnashed and bit Ralph's leg, the boy pulling a 4x4 rifle to shoot it off. He controlled Joaquin to fly down and shoot lasers, the dog aiming its tail to shoot spiked rocks. Ralph ran as he raised his wrist comm. "Perry, guys, this is Ralph! I'm being attacked by a monster dog, I'm by-" The dog ambushed him from around the trees, ramming Ralph back-first and puncturing his stomach.
"'ey, Ralph, you okay?! Where are you?!" Shimmy was the first teammate to respond. "We were about to call ya, there's a horde of weirdos attackin' the McClintock School!"
McClintock's annual festival had ended with a bang as soon as the monsters arrived. A red, serpentine sea monster, a blue-haired icebending boy, a small red dragon, and numerous others ravaged the high school and the festival's attractions. Sector V divided themselves, turning the grounds into a warzone. "HOY!" Jason socked the dragon in the jaw, the beast flying and pain coursing from the impact.
"Didn't Lord Z say to be careful?!" the sea serpent hissed. "They're the most dangerous team-"
A Light Fist struck the serpent between its six eyes, smooshing its head in as it flew and crashed against the school wall. "All you baddies think the same: attack public place for no reason and get beat up. Don't you have anything more…?" The presence of stars appearing around the air brought Jason into confusion. "Oi, what're all these? AAAH!" The stars assaulted Jason with lasers, the captain frantically dodging. "That the best you can do?!" Jason was able to deflect some of them with his bending—"YOW!" but there were too many to keep track of, burning him from several directions.
Christina Uno was assaulted by both the icebending boy, Reycom, and the serpent Gelios. Christina spun a twister of fire to melt the icicles surrounding her, but was blasted head-on by Gelios' Water Gun. Christina rocketed against the water, aiming to ram him with a Torpedo Spin, but the serpent turned and stretched one of his horns, stabbing Chris in the shoulder. "OOOOW!" Christina threw a fiery fist against the horn, snapping it as she fell, but Reycom surprised her with icicles on the ground. An enraged Christina melted the ice and shot a large fireball at Reycom, who blocked with an ice shield. Gelios spun and whipped his tail, hardened with metal, but Chris still managed to hold it back with her strength.
"HEY! Whoever's makin' these stars, get out here and show yourself!" Jason demanded, impatiently blasting the stars away with his light.
The answer to his demand would be found in the school's camera room. Pamoon observed the battle via one monitor and had willed his stars to appear in that area. His first plan in any battle was to play it safely, especially against the alleged strongest operatives. If Pamoon underestimated them, there would be consequences.
"Oh, and there's one more thing I should mention." Milordo-Z said. "Your freedom is also powered by your consciousness. If you get knocked out, you will revert back into tablets. So, you'd better not lose."
But though Pamoon was cautious, he was unaware of the shadow creeping up on him. Silica York emerged and sent Inky to gnash against the cyborg… only to wind up hurting her teeth on his armor. Pamoon twisted around, his shiny eyes glaring. "That… could've been planned better."
Pamoon's only response was two lasers, Silica Veiling and retreating. "Looks like I have no choice now. No matter… I can't get any stronger like this." With that, the boy conjured a giant laser and blasted clean through the monitors and school walls. The KND gaped seeing it pierce the exterior. Pamoon flew outside and unleashed a flurry of beams at Jason, the captain evading some while capturing one and meshing it into a sphere. Jason spun the giant sphere along with his arm, so as Pamoon launched toward him, his and Jason's fist met with a colossal impact. Both broke apart afterward: Jason's knuckles were bruised, but Pamoon felt little pain in his dented mechanical fist.
"That's more like it! Welcome to the party, Starman!"
"So, you the boss of these jerks?" Christina asked, her body ignited as she pursued Reycom. Gelios dove headfirst, but she spun and smashed her fist through his armored jaw, pumping fire through as the beast roared in pain. "What's your deal? Guys don't like festivals?"
"I am Pamoon… of Milordo-Z's Elite 10 Mamodo."
"Elite 10… Mamodo?"
"And in the name of the Irken Empire, we will subdue the Kids Next Door of this planet! You may be the strongest sector, but we'll see how you handle TWO of our Elite 10."
"Hah, so there's another strong guy here? Then bring him on!"
"Then allow him to demonstrate on your friends!"
"?!" The two ops spun in the festival's direction.
Shimmy chose to retreat on her small train and search for Ralph, leaving Laruta, Trella, and Mali as the only other operatives to handle the monsters. Isabelle was already preoccupied with something of her own, so they couldn't stretch their numbers too thin. "Oh!" Mali faced skyward, her big eyes reflecting the shape of a "V". "Laruta, what's that?!"
"VICTORY BEEEAAAAM!"
"AAAH! MALI, TRELLA, RUN!" The girls bolted upon Laruta's cry, but the V's impact with the ground sent them stumbling forward. Their moment of weakness allowed the Mamodo to bombard them with powers.
"SECTOR V! You are unworthy of the 'V' you stand for!" Another robot descended: his body was two V's stacked onto each other, with a face, arms, and legs sticking out. He mounted himself below the tip of the V-shaped hole in the ground. "Victoream will lay waste to you, in a Very Violent fashion! THERE'S THE VEEEEE!" His hands became buzzsaws, arms stretching to slash at the trio.
Trella summoned Carpentry Monkey to block him with its own saws, but redirection of the arms carved the ape up. Victoream blasted a storm of smaller V's, bombarding the girls. "OOOOW! Laru-chan, it hurts!"
Trella cupped hands over her mouth and summoned the four Baby Ninja Monkeys, small and swift as they beat down the surrounding monsters. One of them zipped around and bashed Victoream, but he was more frustrated than fazed by the attack. Laruta, take Mali and treat her! I'll try to hold them back.
"Okay… but you should at least hurry beside Chris and…?" However, their worries only grew as a black vortex spawned between either group of operatives.
"He's here already?!" Victoream screamed. "Darn it! He's going to totally ruin our Victory!"
"Sounds like someone worse is arriving!" Laruta said. "Mali, let's hurry! Can you run?!"
"I-I'll do my best!" The giant straightened her legs and jogged alongside her tiny teammate. Victoream tried to shoot another V-Beam, but suffered a rocket-powered kick from Christina.
"Hey, those brats are fragile! Leave them alone!"
Spinning his fists, Jason deflected a flurry of stars, concerned by what foe may be arriving from the portal. It gave him satisfaction to see Gelios and Reycom burned and beaten on the ground. "Aaahh…ah…AAAH…" But the two choked in their unconscious state, squirming.
"Damn…" Pamoon cursed. "I hope Milordo-Z will allow them a second chance."
"AH…AAAAH…" They could both feel it… the stiffness swallowing their bodies… their flesh becoming cold rock. They could feel their innards compressing from the sensation of reverting back into flat lithographs.
"Uh…" Jason could only gaze dumbfounded. "What just-"
Beams of black chi fired from the vortex, blasting the captain into the school. "Sorry, boy…" Pamoon said, "but I don't plan to return to that stone."
With Perry
The amount of sword wounds in Hyde's body left him bleeding all over. Perry should've been on the verge of collapse from exhaustion, but the freckled leader refused to sit before his opponent. "Huff…I didn't expect you… to be so brutal…" Hyde breathed.
"I don't really… like to be… but you started it. You should be… able to treat them… at least."
"Huff…" Hyde mounted his skateboard and rolled off with the speed of wind. "Either way, I'm just a weakling. If you're the leader, taking out the rest will be easy!"
"Huff…the rest?" Perry fell into a sit. He quickly grabbed his phone. "Dad, it's me! Hyde attacked me, it was a trick! I'm behind the Groker, can you come get me?"
"Perry! I was just about to call… Ralph was attacked, too."
Fear weighed on Perry as he awaited his dad's car to come around the corner. The boy hastily climbed in. "Dad, what happened to Ralph?! He said he was being attacked, but…"
"A minute ago, Ralph texted his location to me. I drove up there and saw him barely fending off a rock-shooting monster. I ran up and stabbed it before it could do any more damage… but Ralph passed out. He was still breathing, and I called an ambulance, so he's on his way to a hospital. Haruka will get him up and running again, I'm sure of it!"
"That's good… So, Hyde was setting us both up… but why? What did we ever do to him?!"
"I don't know… but what I'm also wondering is why weren't any of his teammates around? Ralph should've called them, too."
Fearful of this, Perry raised his comm. "This is Perry to any Sector V agents! Anyone from Sector V, respond!"
"Oi, this is Shimmy! Where the heck is Ralphy-kun?! He said somethin' about bein' attacked by a crazy puppy!"
"Shimmy, what's your team doing right now?!"
"Beating up monsters by McClintock, whaddya think?!"
"Shimmy, Perry, this is Laruta! The monsters… It looks like the monsters fled from McClintock. But our…our friends are…"
Barely clinging onto life, Sector V wasn't sure what was worse: the pain or the humiliation of loss. …Probably the pain. It hurt very much to stand right now.
Mali's boo-boos were planted with big Band-Aids, childish designs on them… but her pain seemed like nothing to the state their friends were in. "Jason-kun… Chris-chan…" The 6-year-old gently picked them up in her big, tender fingers.
"They're still alive… at least." Laruta frowned, helping raise the still-conscious Trella. "Trella, where'd they all go?"
They got away… thanks to that portal monster. They carried the unconscious monsters with them. When that V-guy punched me, it hurt so bad I decided to play dead and hope it would work. Was that… bad?
"It's fine, Trell. But where's Silica? Was she attacked in the school?"
"Relax, I'm over here." Silica limped out of the school, scars visible through her ripped sweater. "I got swarmed by a few beasts. When they escaped, I sent Inky into one of their shadows, but she says she couldn't follow them into that portal."
"Well, you can help carry them to the hospital!"
"Just let Mali do it, I'm beat…"
"Puh…" Jason spat a tooth out, groggily sitting up. "Stupid cheating portal drongo…"
"Don't move, Jason." Mali said. "Let Laru-chan treat you first."
"Hey, Mali… that star guy… mentioned his boss. His name was…"
Milordo's Lair
"You didn't chase them?!" the robed being hissed. "You fool! If they were running, finishing them off should've been easy!"
"They knocked out several of our troops." Pamoon answered. "We saw them revert back into stone, and it made the others anxious."
"But we finished off the two most threatening, thanks to my brilliance!" Victoream boasted.
"It was thanks to Gorm's assistance."
"IrreleVant!"
"My Lord… if you could restore the reverted Mamodo, we could return and eliminate the others."
"Sigh, such high hopes…" Milordo passively gazed at the fallen Mamodo. "But it matters not… So long as we have the Moon Stone, victory is assured. I can restore and awaken them as many times as necessary, until the KND are finished."
"Then we will keep battling… for as long as possible."
"That you will, Pamoon. We'd best freshen the rest of you up, too, so you can advance to your next targets. I'll send others to clean up the mess you left behind."
Sector V Treehouse
Perry joined Shimmy and Silica to their base while Laru and Mali made sure their friends had a safe trip to the hospital. From there, they called Jasmine and Frasmine on Moonbase, briefing the awful after-school experience. The bad news would only worsen from there.
"Sector GT's farmland was turned into a lava lake by a huge monster." A photo displayed of a shadowed, muscular, three-eyed giant with flames beneath it. "Patty managed to get this photo to us. The rest of his team were knocked out and left on islands in the lava. Sector JP was attacked by two plantbenders, an earthbender, and a giant robot. Ichigo wound up tanking the most injuries, and Mazu and Koda were KO'ed. Joto had to turn giant to carry them all away. And finally, Sector L was ambushed at a restaurant playground. We heard what happened through that mermaid child…"
A couple weeks back, Sector L had rescued a dark-haired, 7-year mermaid who had been turned human and robbed of her voice. She stayed in their treehouse until they could find a solution for her problem. The three sectormates invited her out to a restaurant, where she played freely amongst other kids and enjoyed herself to the delight of her caretakers.
But it came all too sudden: a spike-haired, staff-wielding boy, dressed like a martial artist, tore down the barred blockade of the playground. Upon identifying the KND, Tsao-Lon stretched his staff at Erin with deadly force, bending in her stomach as she flew back and smashed into the opposite bars. Nora leapt down from the playground and attacked him furiously, mixing kicks with her waterbending, but denied by his staff and knocked off her feet. Mack, meanwhile, ripped the metal fence out of the ground and tried to snare Tsao-Lon with it, but the fighter evaded swiftly and used the same staff-stretching technique to blast Mack up the street.
While Nora recovered for the next round, the shoeless mermaid raced between the stopped cars and over to Mack, concern welling in her blue eyes. Mack achingly pulled himself up against the street pole he crashed against. "You… really shouldn't run in the street, kid. I think we oughta get you home. Here." Mack turned her around and slapped a jetpack to her back. He typed coordinates into its terminal. The child's screams were silent as she whooshed off into the sky. But through the jet's smoke, Mack bent up a shield to block the swing of Tsao-Lon's staff. It was strong enough to knock the shield aside, allowing Tsao to kick Mack across the jaw.
"This is the best Lord Z could give me? They're not even worth finishing…"
The mermaid would be dropped before Erin's house. Through the best of her gestures and Mermish writing, she would communicate the crisis to Mrs. Horvitz and get her to go to the restaurant, hopeful she could heal the kids. The child would then climb up to the treehouse and contact Moonbase.
Of course, the version she would write to Jas and Fras went like, "They took me out to play, but this bully attacked, he had a stick, and Ms. Erin got hurt, and…"
"So, we had to fill in the details." Frasmine admitted.
"Simultaneous attacks on multiple sectors…" Perry recollected. "And according to Jason, they called their selves Mamodo… Milordo-Z is their boss, and… they work for the Irken Empire?!"
"Sounds like THESE losers are a little out-of-date." Silica sneered.
"Either way, I think these ones only attacked the school to lure out Sector V. They're only targeting operatives and not civilians… but they must have some other end goal in mind. They just can't do it with us in the way. Have you contacted GKND?"
"Unfortunately, they've been dealing with consecutive alien attacks on the base, their school, Star Haven, and several planetoid settlements."
"That can't be a coincidence! Ugh…okay, let's calm down." Perry pinched his temples. "No operatives have died… as long as they can recover, they'll be fine. Sector V knocked out several Mamodo, so they're not insanely strong; but Jason said there was an 'Elite 10' among them. We'll probably need our best operatives to handle those ones."
"Perry!" Jasmine yelled. "We just got two emergency calls! Sectors Q and W reported attacks in their towns, they're going to deal with them."
"Ghhh…!" Perry expected the next round to happen soon… and the operatives in question were being lured out of their treehouses just the same.
"Oi, I hate to interrupt, but we gotta go check up on Isabelle-chan." Shimmy mentioned. "She's fightin' a monster in the forest!"
"Okay, okay! Jas, Fras, have Sector MG back up Sector Q! Shimmy, Sill, go and help Isabelle. I'll head to Sector W myself."
"Ain't you just get out of a fight?"
"Well, these monsters ain't giving us any rest, so I don't have time to. You have your orders, so get on them!"
"Perry, wait!" Against the protests of his cousin, Perry was rushing down to the garage. "Ugh…at least wait for us to come down! Stoopid boy…"
"I wonder if they plan to attack Moonbase, too?" Fras wondered. "We can't just leave this place unguarded. Especially since a certain GOOFBALL hasn't reported in! Shimmy, Sill, take care of what you need to, but make sure your friends get a safe recovery. We don't want any bad marks on Perry's record!"
Seeing his son's R.O.A.D.S.T.A.R. fly out of the garage let Cheren know immediately there was more trouble ahead. "Sigh…this is a pretty bad time to do a Gateway." The father sighed. "And most of the others are already inside. Well, something like this was gonna happen eventually. It's up to you to figure this out, Pear Bear."
Virginian Forest
Isabelle took refuge in the branches of a tree, trusting the autumn leaves to hide her. Listening intently through the rustle of the wind, she honed her hearing to filter out any discrepancies in the peace. "…!" Through the orange, between the trees, a mass of purple conflicted with the brown ground. She pulled an arrow—… stopped. That panther, prowling slowly… was it really there? Isabelle listened more closely… it walked, and she heard the faintest crunches beneath its paws… but the direction was wrong. She pulled her bow and loosed a distance to the left. "GROWL!" The arrow punctured a force, the true panther reforming its color.
With a strum of her harp, Isabelle flew out of the trees and above the panther. As the creature pranced away, Isabelle ran and leapt along more branches before dropping onto the beast like a predator in her own right. She tried to squeeze and choke the panther, but stone armor formed around its flesh, forcing the Shandian to flip off, assuming a crouched position as they eyed each other. "I am impressed the KND can have such a skilled hunter." Baransha spoke with a soft, refined voice. "I haven't had such fresh game in 1,000 years."
"A thousand… years?"
Baransha bellowed a laser, Isabelle rolling behind a tree. By the time she peeked out, the three-tailed panther had turned invisible, preparing the next ambush.
Far enough away from that battle, Perry cut through the forest with ease, following the road that would eventually lead to Ashland. The R.O.A.D.S.T.A.R. was built with cues to help guide and direct him with this speed, so he was allowed to let his mind wander like any driver. His gaze directed to the hilt of his sword as seen in the rearview mirror. …And the image of Hyde bleeding flickered. "I didn't expect you to be so brutal." Perry hadn't been in many serious fights, but against his parents, he was trained to cut in just the right way that wouldn't be fatal. They said he might need to cut harder against stronger foes, but that boy couldn't have been such a foe. Hyde was about as young as Perry, and yet he was really trying to hurt him, possibly kill him. He'd already made himself Perry's enemy, so he had to fight back. He had to hurt Hyde to survive… but it still left a bad taste inside him.
Dad said things like this could happen… That they would have to fight a little hard in order to win, that Perry might not always be satisfied from winning. But as long as children and adults were still alive in the end, as long as the bad guys were stopped, then it wouldn't be so bad. It was up to Perry to end a fight with as little regret as possible. He shouldn't kill a foe if he didn't need to, but he shouldn't let friends get killed. It was hard for the boy to grasp… but it all boiled down to, "protect people" and "beat the bad guy." He wondered if other operatives were taught the same. Maybe the children of veteran ops have, but what about newbies? Whatever the case, he hoped they could fight these monsters the best that they could.
Ashland Children's Museum
Sector W would've liked to visit interactive history museum on a better day. They would've liked to play with other kids on the attractions designed to be climbed and explored. That's why it hurt them to hear the entrance was smashed clean through, the children and parents inside forced to retreat. To the awe of the citizens, a huge whale made of clay came "swimming" across the town streets, carrying the band of four children (and a 5th one too small to see) that would be their heroes. Because Sector W made up the youngest operatives, they were fairly famous to the younger children of Ashland.
They disembarked Jolene's clay whale and entered the museum, following the trail of destruction down into a chamber with a makeshift pirate ship, set on some water under a painted cloudy sky. Nothing could've prepared them for their opponent: a glue stick being with arms, legs, a red neckerchief, and scissors at its back. It was a bit taller than the kids. "You've fallen for our trap, Sector W! I am Cut-n-Paste, the Crafty Mamodo! And I'll craft your defeat into a work of art!"
"…" The first reaction he garnered was Jolene picking her nose. "Guys, you should be careful not to lick his glue." The pudgy-faced girl warned. "I know it looks like cream, but Dad says it's not, and it'll clog your mouth up…"
"Yeah, I'm not THAT dumb." Spike scoffed. "Alright, who wants to snap him? Should we decide on Rock, Paper, Scissors?"
"Hahaha! I get it!" laughed Lily, standing on Spike's head.
"For this case, we should replace rock with glue." Kent mused. "How would that work, though… Glue could kind of beat all of them, when you think about-"
"QUIT MOCKING ME!" The Mamodo shot multiple wads of glue, sticking Robi and Spike's feet to the ground, while Kent ducked and Jolene bent a clay shield. "Now, take THI-" He would grab his scissors and try to dice them, but Jolene shoved her wad of clay in his face and pushed him into the water. "AAAAH! HEY, GET ME OUTTA HERE! IT'S RUINING MY STICK!"
"That was easy." Spike said. "Alright, Clayface, I'll let you have this one. And if you get us out of this glue, maybe I'll buy you some-"
"LIGHT RING!" A large ring of light flew down at the group, blowing all five kids backward. This was followed by a swarm of crescent moons, spiraling down and forcing the kids against the ground. Only Lily managed to survive the onslaught, though her small frame was shaken by the shockwave of the attacks. Only then did they see the small angel boy descend from the ceiling, curly blonde hair with green eyes, a whitish-blue cloud dress, and a gold wing design on it.
"Is that a… Nimbi?!" Kent asked, pushing himself up.
"We know you guys are Earth and plantbenders." Erujo said. "But you can't use your powers much here."
"You realize this ground is made of real earth, right?!" Spike smirked, breaking a portion of the "shore" into sand and thrusting a Sand Fist up at Erujo. The angel maneuvered around the air and threw a Light Ring to break the sand up, but Spike opened his cuffs' spikes and shot bursts of red, hot sand into Erujo's eyes. "And FYI, that lightbending is cheap compared to Jason's!"
"MOONS!" Lily screamed as another swarm of moons flew down. The kids bent the earth up into a shield to block them, but it still cracked against their force.
They removed the shield and saw the culprit on the ship's deck: a purple-haired, horned girl with big droll eyes, wielding a moon-topped magic wand. "Another one?" Kent said. "Was that moonbending?"
Erujo flew into the water, both to wash his eyes and to pull Cut-n-Paste out. "Don't stop, Leila, keep attacking!"
"I know…" Leila cast a Lunar Beam, the kids dodging backward and deciding to retreat from the room. Fortunately, the havoc dried up their glue enough to where Robi and Spike could run on their own.
"He's kind of right." Kent said. "I don't wanna use lavabending in here. We have some plants in our cube for Lily, at least."
"At least there's more earth out here," Spike replied, "so let's just lure them out-"
Erujo and Leila used combined attacks to blow down the doorway, the angel flying first at them, but Spike bent the dust from the blast to shove him away, smothering his face. Robi got some potted leaf plants from the cube as Lily bent them into Razor Leaves, swarming them around Erujo to carve his dress and wings. "Why are you hurting this place?" Robi asked in his empathetic, soft-hearted tone, stomping some rocks out of the floor at Leila. "You guys are kids like us. Kids like museums…"
Leila blocked the rocks with a crescent shield, but Lily bent some leaves around to scratch her. "We're different." Leila said, pelting the earthbenders with beams. She aimed down at Lily and was about to shoot again… but she feared that one shot could reduce the tiny alien to nothing. These enemies… they were kids, too. The KND were trained to fight enemies just like the Mamodo… but did they want to fight? No, they just wanted to protect… That was clear in Robi's words.
Her hesitation allowed Jolene to envelop her in clay, and Spike caught Erujo in a mass of sand. However, Cut-n-Paste ambushed from behind his friends, snapping his scissors to cut waves across the air, leaving small, but painful cuts in the benders. Leila burst free of the clay and unleashed another round of crescents.
…
Perry learned of the commotion taking place at the museum, police surrounding the exterior. "Hey, kid, it's not safe to go in there!" one cop said.
"Yo." Perry showed his blade.
"A sword? Well, go on in, then." Perry nodded in thanks and rushed in. This law existed since the days of yore: if a child bore a sword, they were allowed into any dangerous zone.
Robi dug his hands into the ground and hauled up a large stone slab, flipping it right onto Leila. She hadn't the time to conjure out more chi, so the young girl would be flattened… but with her bare hands, she pushed up against the stone and sent it back to Robi, who raised arms with a start as he subconsciously made the rock break against him. Spike proceeded to pound the moonbender with a flurry of Sand Fists; though she was knocked around, Spike could feel the resistance she was putting up. "Heh, girl's got some muscle."
Cut-n-Paste rushed to attack him, but Spike dedicated some sand to punching him; only to find out it was a Paper Clone. The glue stick creature had formed a squadron of such clones, but Jolene molded a swarm of Clay Zombies to counter them; the zombies in question were blobby versions of herself. The real Cut-Paste lunged at Jolene with scissors, but she bent a zombie over to clog the blades. Afterwards, she bashed that clay against the monster until he was KO'ed.
"Ack…ah…aaaahh…!" Following his defeat, the creature began squirming and choking.
"Cut-n!" Erujo gasped, hurriedly shaking off Lily's vine entrapment. The vision of his comrade becoming a stone slab heightened his resolve. Still, the angel felt his limit drawing near, and any moment, the lavabender could decide to fight. "I can at least finish the small one!" He dropped in the hopes of squashing Lily, but the Kateenian dodged. "OW!" A shield flew and bashed his head.
"PERRY!" Kent exclaimed.
"Cousin!" Robi beamed.
"Hi, Rob!" Perry smiled. "Are these the only enemies?"
"We think so!" Spike answered.
"Crud! Ugh, we should've lured them to the bathroom, Leila!" Erujo shouted, sweeping Cut-n off the ground. "Let's get outta here!"
Perry jumped to try and cut the overhead angel, but a Moon Beam thwarted his attempt. "I'll hold them off! Get away and wait for Gorm!" Leila called.
"No you don't!" Spike bolted after them, stepping on the fallen Perry's stomach.
"Jolene, let's go!" Kent said, following him. "Sounds like there's gonna be someone else!"
After Jolene left, Perry pushed himself up, and the remaining two facing Leila warily. Perry dashed, but Leila conjured a crescent shield—Lily stretched a vine to her legs and yanked her down. Perry leapt over the shield's curve, seeing Leila squirming to get up, but a swipe of his blade swatted the wand out of her hand. "Wai-" Perry quickly kicked Leila into the wall, ready to follow with a swing of the Gilded Sword. "No—wait!"
Leila threw up her hands in terror, her eyes curving in sorrow. Perry stopped the swing. Part of him knew this was a bad decision… but he couldn't bring himself to cut a girl already down on the ground, looking at him with such fear. He still kept his sword handy. "I…I won't attack, anymore." Leila said. "I told those two to leave, so… I could talk to you myself."
"Hm…well, I only met one Mamodo before you, and he tricked me. See all these cuts in my clothes? Hyde's a jerk."
"I…I'm sorry."
"…" Perry sheathed his weapon. His free hand opened for Leila. "I'll risk it."
Leila nervously took Perry's hand and pulled herself up. She could see Robi watching her cautiously, ready to throw a rock if need be. "So, you gonna cooperate?" Perry asked skeptically. "Why're you people attacking us?"
"We're just following Milordo-Z's orders… the same orders the empire gave us. To destroy the Kids Next Door…"
"The Irken Empire, you mean. Just what are you Mamodo, anyway?"
"We're aliens… to you guys, I guess. Our homeworld is Mamon."
"Never heard of it."
"I don't even know what it's like now, after 1,000 years."
"Huh?!" Lily gasped. Leila only just noticed the Kateenian by her left shoe. "You're a thousand years old? I thought you were Robi's age!"
"I'll just start from the beginning. So, a bunch of different races and families live on Mamon, and they're all born with element bending and other kinds of powers. And every five years, they hold a special tournament for the most gifted children. A hundred of us get chosen… and the winner is rewarded incredible wealth."
1,000 years ago
The Postmamodo traveled up a crescent-shaped mountain, visiting an ordinary house. He knocked the door: a purple-haired man answered and was handed a letter. Bidding the Postmam farewell, he unfolded and read the letter. "Oh! Leila… you've been chosen for the King's Challenge!"
"Huh?" The 6-year-old looked up, playing with toys on the floor. "They… picked me?"
"That's amazing!" Her mother sat and gave her a soft hug. "You're the best moonbender this generation! We're so proud of you!"
"Does that mean… I have to fight a bunch of people?"
"You'll be fine, sweetheart." Her father assured. "Nobody dies in the tournament. Just being chosen is the greatest honor you could have!"
"Now's your chance to show everyone what a great bender you are! Even if you don't make it far, we hope you'll try your best."
"Okay… I will!" Leila didn't know how to feel about such an honor, but if her skill was deemed that great, she didn't want to disappoint.
"Our next battle… LEILA AND PAMOON!"
Leila had never expected to make it to the Top 25. Having survived two matches and watching many others fall, she was on her way to facing the best. Pamoon was a handsome human-type Mamodo a couple years older, their elements empowered by the night. Stars and crescents lit the stadium grounds, colliding as though heaven had fallen to earth.
We fought for different reasons… and some were meaner than others… but I had fun.
Leila was on her back, unable to survive the volley of Pamoon's Star Storm. The boy kindly helped her up, sharing a smile.
And that was when… he appeared.
A fleet of dark-red, alien ships descended around the colosseum. One hovered beside the throne up top, and a huge, fat, armored alien with buggy brown eyes on his green head rested on the throne. "HELLOOOOO, MY MAMON! What's uuuuup? Mah name's Tallest Jirk, Emperor of Planet Irk! So, your king and I made a little deal, and now, this tournament is under new management! You can go ahead and finish it up… but when it's done, ALL Y'ALL KIDS BELONG TO ME! WOOOOOOO!"
None of us knew what to say… but when the tournament was over, the Irken soldiers led us onto ships and took us away. Our parents got angry and tried to take us back, but…but I never got to see them again.
"So, here's the gist, kids." Jirk began. "The Galactic KND abduct kids from a bunch of planets and make them fight us… so, I decided to do the same. Hah, MAN, this planet was hard to find! But it was worth it, 'cause you're probably the best batch of brats we coulda asked for! Now, let's get to work!"
Of course, the Irkens didn't understand our language very well, so they made us learn their language. We helped them invade several planets and plotted ambushes against the GKND. They used Jirachi's magic to make it so that non-operatives couldn't get close, but we were able to trace them when they flew to different worlds.
Erujo ambushed Luvbi on Tornadus; a fatal error as her airbending was amplified on this windy world, whereas Erujo had only lightning to give his light brief boosts. Pamoon was painfully crushed under an elephant Mobian, breaking several bones, but the elephant was bombarded and KO'ed by Leila's moons. The child looked over Pamoon's broken body in horror… Fortunately, the Irkens were willing to repair him as a cyborg.
We fought for them for a year… and one day, the Irkens realized something about Pamoon: since he possessed "Star Power," he might be capable of breaching Jirachi's barrier. And they were right. He punctured a hole in the barrier, wide enough for some of us to fly through. We closed in on the side closest to Star Haven… our target, Jirachi himself. The GKND arrived to hold us back. Pamoon flew straight for Jirachi and confronted the kids' leader. Pamoon overpowered her and tried to finish her with another Star Storm, but Jirachi flew to take the damage. But he wasn't damaged… Jirachi absorbed the Star Power. Without the Star Rod, Jirachi could only grant small wishes. The barrier wish was effective because it was in the region of Star Haven… but with Pamoon's stars, he had enough magic for a stronger spell. So, the leader declared-
"I WISH THEY'D ALL TURN INTO ROCKS!"
Jirachi unleashed an explosion of magic… and we were all transformed into stone slabs. I could feel my consciousness fading… but I think what I saw was, the GKND gathering us up and shooting us off into the stars. We flew separate ways… and crashed on different planets. I'm sure some of us hit the same ones, but we were too far apart. After that… I was all alone.
Lost among the shrubs of Flora. Darkness… quiet… Left to be rained on, walked on by bugs and animals, buried beneath shifting soil. Leila lay helpless… unable to move. Her voice unable to leave the stone. SOMEONE! ANYONE! HEEEEEELP! GET ME OUT OF HERE! PLEASE! HEEEEEELP! HEEEEEEEEEELP!
No one came. No one heard her. She was alone. Imprisoned forever. …Mama…Papa… She hoped she'd get to come home and see her parents again. Home to her peaceful mountain house… Warm meals… Warm bed… She would never see any of it, or feel anything, ever again… Someone… help… Please…
She lost count of how long it had been… but eventually, some explorers did find and dig up her lithograph. An ounce of hope lit up… thinking she could be freed. Instead, she was left to display in a museum… and at one point, she was brought to a school. A Lunarian girl approached and traced her moonlit finger over Leila, as if she thought something was wrong. Instead, she turned away. Don't go… please… get me out of here…
But then, a strange frog appeared to take her. Before long… she was reunited with the rest of her brethren. She was… finally… free…
Currently
"Milordo-Z… revived us all with the Moon Stone. I didn't know what to feel… but then, he told us the war was still going. He said he was an emissary of the Irken Empire… that we were still fighting the KND. We had no homes to go back to… so, we still had to fight."
"You've been lied to." Leila looked up at Perry's sudden claim. "The Irken Empire was stopped decades ago. They're good now. Whoever this 'Z' is, they're tricking you for their own gain."
Leila bowed. "Why…why do we have to keep getting used… I don't want to…"
"You won't have to now." Perry smiled, taking her hand. "Just come with us. You can help us convince the other Mam-"
"No!" Leila flinched. "If I don't go back… I won't get to see the Moon Stone. We'll turn back into stone after 24 hours unless we absorb its light. If I don't go back, I'll…sniff…" Tears began to drip. Leila hugged herself, feeling her skin stiffen like lifeless rock. "I don't want to… turn back… into stone…sniff!"
The feel of Perry's hand on her shoulder restored her senses. "Then we'll beat Milordo-Z and take the Moon Stone from him! We'll find a way to make your freedom permanent! Just… trust us!"
Leila had never felt hope in 1,000 years… but somehow, in this boy's eyes, there was more than enough hope to last a lifetime. Was it blind optimism? Or even manipulation? Leila didn't know or understand… but it was the safest she's felt in years. "I…I can't go with you. But I want to help. Milordo's base is somewhere in South America."
"We'll slip you a tracking device. I'll get a bunch of friends to come and put a stop to this. We'll all help! For now, just be careful and do what you can."
"…Okay."
"Heh heh…that explains why my earpiece can translate you; you're speaking Irken, right? How do you say 'I'll see you later' in your language?"
"Um…" She uttered something indiscernible.
"Haha, that's a tongue twister!" Lily laughed. Robi tied his own tongue trying to repeat it.
"Anyway, I better hurry outside. Gorm should be coming soon; he's the portal Mamodo that takes us to these locations."
"Is he one of these Elite 10 I heard about?"
"Yeah. I don't have time to talk about them, but the one you should really worry about is-"
"Uh, Perry, what's that?" Robi pointed. The hallway was blocked by a forming black vortex.
"It's Gorm!" Leila gasped. "I… You guys have to play dead!"
"Take this first!" Perry flicked her a small device. "Alright, Robi, drop!"
"Oof!" Robi fell on his back in a sloppy pose. Perry fell on his front against the wall, dropping his sword a short distance away, while Lily simply hid in Robi.
Gorm, a black, tall, and bug-like Mamodo climbed out of the portal. Gorm eyed the fallen kids and began to move ecstatically, speaking in an insect-like noise. "Gor! Go go-go gor! (Leila! Yo, you're still alive! Er, not that I ever doubted you, but Erujo was running like a baby from those other three! But looks like you took care of these two just fine!"
"Yeah… so, are we gonna chase those three?"
"(Nah, I'm beat from warping around all day. Let's just get home, Lord can always send another gang to stomp 'em. In we go!)" Gorm dove back into the portal. Leila gazed over Perry with a hopeful glimmer before climbing in.
The portal closing signified it was safe for them to get up. "Glad that worked." Perry sighed. "You'd think he would try to check for pulses…" or maybe that didn't really matter to Gorm…
Milordo's Lair
Milordo returned to a large ship, parked in a semi-natural hangar. He activated a screen as it displayed a fizzy, shadowed image. It was of a bulky humanoid with a tentacled face, attached to tubes and bubbles around him. "Is the operation proceeding as planned?" he asked in a raspy voice.
"Yes, Sire. Minor setbacks aside, the KND were taken completely off guard."
"WHAT setbacks?"
"Er, a few of the more cowardly operatives slipped away from my soldiers. But, we were successful in destroying several noteworthy sectors, including their strongest agents. Soon, we'll be ready to move on to their Moonbase."
"Good. The Galaxians are starting to interfere with our efforts in holding back the GKND. You must have that planet under control within 30 hours. Make sure those outdated soldiers… are worth the effort we've spent on you, Zofis."
Transmission ended. "W-We got 30 more hours, gero…" Byonko stuttered. "You think we can make it? Some of the Mamodo haven't woken back up…"
"There's nothing to fear. We've beaten their strongest with the element of surprise, and our Elite 10 are still active. This battle is all but won… and I will be the NEW Mamodo King!"