Play "Moments of Happiness" from Zatch Bell! …Though the only video I could find of it is kind of gurgled.
Epilogue: Mamodo Party
Museum of Alien Artifacts; Closed for Partying
Nothing buried the tension between Earthlings and Mamodo like a refreshing party. Dr. Riddles had no qualms renting his museum out for the day (though it was already closed during the time he was captured). The building was set on the outskirts of a town; fitting to its theme, it was shaped like a typical UFO.
Yopopo was putting on a show with Serena, hoping to make the "Yopopoi" dance popular. Trella, Lily, Kalura, and Pokkerio were having a tea party on a picnic blanket, with Lily filing the green-haired Mamodo's nails. Spike was locked in a boxing match with Reycom, both bending sand and snow fists against each other. There was a simultaneous, misdirected swing where both elements flew into Christina. ". . ." Both boys realized the horrible crime they had committed, and were justly punished with a face-slam to the floor. Sector RT invited Cut-n-Paste for some arts and crafts. Hyde was having a skateboard race with Suna Strongarm and Ichigo. Mowchan and Doris from Sector GT were sitting on Karma and Tsao-Lon respectively, serving as perfect weights for their contest in who could get the most push-ups. Of course, Kagura found Mowchan's belly kind of comfy and rested on it, angering Karma. Juki and Kent were going for a horseback ride on Karudio, though Kent felt his pelvis freezing against the black horse's blue mane.
"So, are there Nimbi on your planet, too?" Robi asked Erujo.
"We were Angel Mamodo. But I guess we're still sorta the same. I don't get why a Nimbi would be an earthbender though."
"'Cause I like dirt and bugs as much as clouds!" Robi smiled. "I've never been in an air fight before. You were pretty hard to beat."
"And I'm surprised you can fly with those big feet of yours." Erujo waved a hand by his nose, the residual memory of the smell still lingering. "I wish I could've fought Luvbi again."
"Luvbi?"
"A Nimbi I fought 1,000 years ago."
"Huhu, that's funny. Luvbi's my gramma's name!"
"'Guess it's a common Nimbi name."
There was even a pastry shop with candies and ice cream! Tiffi purchased three sticks of cotton candy: a green one for Perry, pink for herself, and a soft purple for Leila. The Mamodo watched the two rip off chunks of the woven sweet, so she mimicked them. It was the sweetest thing she had tasted in 1,000 years. A smile quickly grew as she ripped off more bites. Perry had scarcely seen her smile while knowing her, and he knew she had little reason to… but the fact she was able to now made him happy. A short distance away, Nyoro put the finishing touches on Pamoon's new armor. She could feel the happiness radiating from him, not just from being saved, but being able to witness Leila's smile.
…
Perry would join Star in seeing the Moon Stone returned to its proper exhibit. "It's good as new, even with a few scratches here and there." Dr. Riddles said.
"Just make sure you get better security." Star suggested.
"Thanks for doing this for us, Mr. Riddles!" Perry smiled. "Though… it kind of felt a little too convenient. Super nice guys who show up at just the right time are kinda weird, you know?"
"Let's just say I'm both well-researched and very perceptive. The fact that I would be caught up in this mess, plus meeting you, can only be called fate."
"Ain't that ominous." Star said. "We already have the Vil Galaxy to worry about. But if that threat escalates, at least we have some new allies now."
"You're not gonna make them fight some more, are you?" Perry asked.
"Er, no." Star smiled awkwardly. "Just, if they wanted to… I mean, more help is always welcome."
"What are we even gonna do with all these guys? Even if some wanted to join the KND, that's a lot more supplies we'll have to sort out."
"I'll save you the trouble." Riddles said. "I know someone who would be willing to take them home."
"H-Home?"
"I go traveling with an acquaintance of mine named Apollo, in search of artifacts. And we happened to stumble on a way to get to the Mamodo World. That's where I picked up Kido!"
"Your puppet?"
Said puppet stood on Riddles' shoulder and jumped to the floor, half Perry's size. "I'm not a puppet! I'm a Mamodo, too!"
"He's a real boy?!"
"Yeah! And when Milordo first came to our museum, I had a hunch his aura was familiar! I never thought I'd meet my ancient predecessors like this!"
"These kids may not have homes to go back to," Riddles began, "but I'm certain their modern brethren can help them."
"What's their world like?" Star asked.
"It's a war-torn wasteland!" Riddles exclaimed.
"HUH!?"
"Professor, don't lie!" Kido shouted. "Well… I guess it's not completely great. There's a lot of bad guys and bad things happening. But I have lots of friends who are really nice! I bet they'll be glad to meet all these kids! And maybe… we'll make our own Kids Next Door!"
"In that case, I'd love to go there myself one day!" Star said.
"Ain't your army big enough?" Perry remarked.
"Heh heh! Either way, I might wait on it a while. I can't really go on a pleasure cruise with Vilgax over the horizon."
"We'll be happy to welcome you when you can!" Kido beamed.
"That said… I would like it if we could keep Zofis in our custody. He was connected to the Vilgaxians, so we could use him for intel. I'd say negotiations, but I wonder how much they even value him?"
"I doubt the warriors would feel comfortable with him onboard." Riddles understood. "Though, given his circumstances… maybe a part of him wants to go home as well. We'll have to see some day."
…
Perry would join Leila on a bench along the "ring" of the UFO museum, overlooking the valley where the sun set. "A KND on my world… that would be nice."
"Would you join it?"
"It's funny… I don't have to fight battles I don't want to, anymore. But now that I'm free… I don't want to stop fighting either. The Mamodo Battle was a tradition, and maybe it still is. It was one of honor, and we were encouraged to improve our powers, but there was never anything 'bad' about it."
"There's nothing wrong with a good fight. Sometimes, combat brings out the best in us, and it empties out the worst in us. We all like to fight each other for the fun of it, and we like to fight villains. It's not only productive, but it's good exercise. But when there's too many bad feelings behind the fight, it's not as fun. Especially if we… have to end it in a bad way." Demolt and Gorm's bodies were placed in the museum's basement, where Zofis and Byonko were imprisoned.
"Yo, Pear Bear!"
"Dad…?" Perry turned back, joyous to see his father alongside Ralph, Hyde, and a strange puppy. "Hey!" He sprung up and jogged to meet them. "You got my text! Who's this puppy?"
"This was the dog that attacked me, man." Ralph replied.
"This dog?!"
"I had to cut him pretty good to save Ralph." Cheren admitted. "But I had him brought to Haruka 'cause I felt bad."
"His name's Gofure." Hyde said. "He's my dog. A very tough little doggie, aren't you, boy?" He scratched the puppy's head, earning a lick.
"I didn't think he was all that bad. Good thing I held back."
"Hehe, yeah!…" Perry frowned. "Dad, I gotta tell you something."
"Sure, Pear."
The boy led his father away from them. "So, um…one of the Mamodo we fought was a huge monster called Demolt. He was really strong and a bunch of us got hurt fighting him. He even killed one of his allies 'cause he thought he turned traitor. We finally beat him with this cool combo attack, but… I killed him with my sword."
"I see…"
"I know the KND isn't supposed to kill villains unless there's no other choice… but… should I have held back? I didn't know how many more hits he would take or if that would've beaten him. And when I fought Zofis, I didn't know how much he would take either. I hit him with his own explodey ball, but what if that would've killed him?"
"It sounds like you did the very best you could. You knew these villains were too strong and dangerous and that you couldn't hold back. You said Demolt killed one of his teammates, and he could've killed your own… so, what do you think about him in the end?"
"I dunno… I sure didn't like him. He was even gonna kill Leila, too. I didn't really wanna kill him, but… I don't feel that bad. He wasn't even brainwashed by Zofis. He said he was gonna destroy more people."
"Then you should stick by that reason." Cheren placed a hand over Perry's dark hair. "I don't think I have the right words to say for this, but deep down, I think you understood the situation well and followed the only option you could. If it were a choice between your friends' lives or the villain's life, of course you should choose your friends. I don't know if there's anything else you could've done, but all that matters is the aftermath. Your friends are alive, and these Mamodo are happy now. If you run into a villain this dangerous again, do what you need to keep yourself and your friends alive."
Perry glanced up with a faint smile. …Looking around his dad, Gofure was chasing Ralph's plane around, Hyde smiling. Perry had to get pretty rough with Hyde, but he knew not to go all out. Part of him knew Hyde probably wanted to be friends, too. Perry used the appropriate amount of restraint, and knowing that gave him a bit of comfort.
"…?" Perry saw Leila staring at them solemnly, tears dripping. Seeing the father and son made her long for her parents… Perry knew this. He took his father's hand and led him to her. "I bet your parents would be happy… that you're finally free."
"…sniff. Waaaaaaahhhh!" Leila broke into sobs and buried her face in Perry's shirt, the boy patting her. Cheren knelt down for a light hug, allowing her some fatherly affection she longed for after a millennium. "Waaaaaahhh…"
…
As the party concluded, the crowd of operatives gathered outside the museum. Dr. Riddles stood before the entrance with the Mamodo at his back. The only exceptions were Zofis and Byonko, loaded on the S.P.R.A.Y.S.H.I.P. with dejected expressions, and Leila, who stood before Perry one final time. "I'm a little scared to go back home… I don't know what it'll be like. But I think it'll be okay with Pamoon and the others. I… We'll make our own Kids Next Door. We'll find new homes and make new friends. But I… hope I get to see you again. I hope I get to visit Earth again someday…"
"Only if we don't visit your planet first! But you're always welcome back here, Leila. You're our friend now. So, let's promise…" Perry raised his pinky, "to meet again."
"Uh…"
"You're supposed to wrap your pinky around it."
"Mm." She smiled. The younger child wrapped her smaller pinky around Perry's. He felt a noteworthy grip; Mamodo kids were probably more built than common Earth kids. "Well… see ya, Perry." She walked into the museum. "I hope we don't have to wait too long."
"Me, too."
The operatives traveled back to their ships to make their own flight home. …To everyone's awe, the museum rose out of the earth and ascended to the heavens, leaving a twinkle once it was beyond sight. "Hah! It was a ship, after all!" Cheren laughed.
"Heheh!" Perry laughed. "…By the way, Dad, when I tried to text you those other times, it didn't go through. …Were you and the other parents 'on business' again?"
"Oh, yeah… sorry."
"Where do you go, Dad? I like to tell you things when it's most exciting!"
"Heh, it's sort of complicated. I'll tell you about it some other time… but for now, I just want you to worry about your own missions. And to make time to hang out with your friends."
"Oh…" This only made Perry more curious what they did. He wanted to ask, but-
"Oi!" Jason yelped. "I just remembered Halloween's coming up!"
"Ah, yeah!" Isabelle beamed. "Hehe, it's not even time and it's been a crazy October!"
"I guess we'll be celebrating again then!" Star grinned. "Hope everyone's had time to buy a costume!"
"Yeah, Perry!" Cheren said. "Gonna go as Sora again?"
"Heh, no way!" Heeding his dad's advice, Perry chose not to pry further and join in the excitement. "I gotta think of someone new!"
The friends returned home in bright spirits, ready to rest and prepare for whatever would happen next.
Somewhere in the Vil Galaxy
The emperor and his associate stared at the blank screen after transmission ended. "Well, Frieza… it seems your son has become their prisoner." Vilgax gurgled in his liquid capsule. "Should we retrieve him?"
"That useless boy was assured of the success for this mission." replied a thin alien with a round head and long tail. "He has to live with his failure. Although, his actions have made the KND a worse threat. It's hard enough plotting conquests without the Galaxians around our perimeter."
"Soon, we'll be ready to crush them all. Fantos has almost located… IT."
"Splendid, Your Excellency. I can't wait to see how much power it brings us…"