With this story now getting into the bulk of the first story arc, expect there to be a lot of action for the next few chapters. But for now, enjoy!
"You're really taking this to heart, aren't you..."
"Well of course!" Beau huffed. "I will not allow this... this riff-raff to disrespect me!"
"'Riff-raff'?" Hannah asked, barely containing her laughter as Asuka looked at the boy with disgust.
"Whatever, can we just do this already?!" Venam huffed.
"Gladly! Vespir!" Beau read. Buck smirked deviously as he raised his right hand towards the students. His palm suddenly opened, a silver colored stinger resembling that of a wasp shot right out of his hand, only barely missing Adrian, who was pulled to the side by Asuka. The spike zipped past the students and into the field, traveling halfway through it before it burst in a cloud of yellow and black.
"Hmph, you think you're slick?" Buck scoffed.
"Thanks." Adrian said to Asuka before turning to the rest of his classmates. "You guys should probably get back."
The three bookless students jogged a fair distance away from the ensuing fight with Hannah grumbling about her burnt book.
"I'm afraid we can't leave any witnesses." Beau huffed. "Get them!"
The teenage Mamodo scowled as a pair of bee-like wings sprouted from his back and with a huff, he charged at the three students and just when it seemed like he was about to grab Aliyah, a wing struck him in the face.
"Now see here..." Buck wiped at his face before looking at Windsor standing over him, his scowl just as heavy. "I will not tolerate senseless attacks towards innocent civilians, you ruffian!"
"I don't know half of what he just said, but we're not just gonna let you push around people that aren't in this battle!" Venam added.
Adrian looked at the wings on Buck's back and, after only a short moment, a light bulb went off in his head.
"Windsor, take him to the skies!" He called out. With a huff, Windsor fluttered above Buck and grabbed the Mamodo with his talons. The wasp-like teenager gasped at the sudden movement before calming down and glaring at the bird.
"Do you really think that will work?" Beau laughed. "Vespir!"
Windsor released the enemy Mamodo, allowing Buck to freely use his own wings to stay within the air before firing another spike at Windsor.
"Ventir!" Adrian read. The spike spiraled towards Windsor, who launched his wind sphere attack right at the spike, completely stopping it as the two projectiles collided in a silent burst.
"Fighting us in the air is useless! We are just as capable on the ground as we are in the air!" The young child exclaimed as he watched the two Mamodo fighting in the air. Adrian turned his attention over to the girls. Sensing that Adrian was looking at her Asuka quietly looked back at him. Keeping quiet, Adrian nodded his head over to Beau and once she understood what Adrian was getting at, the Asian girl gave the boy an affirmative nod.
Suddenly, Asuka grabbed Venam's head and positioned her to look directly at Beau. A sly grin formed on the Mamodo girl's face as she immediately knew what to do.
"Joboido!"
With a clasp of her hands, Venam sprayed a wave of acid as her grin only grew as she could practically taste the sweetness of success that would come from burning her first book in this battle...
"Vespishield!" Beau suddenly called out.
Buck zipped away from Windsor and stopped right as the acid attack was about to hit Beau. With a wave of his hand, a circular field of white and black energy formed in front of the duo, buzzing as if it was a swarm of actual bees. The ball of acid struck the field and was quickly devoured by the shield, as if the 'bees' consumed the acid.
"Haha! Did you really think a simple distraction like that would be enough to beat us? I may be young, but I am far from stupid! You whelps, though? Hmph, I expected better!" Beau scoffed.
"Ugh, does this kid ever shut up?" Hannah groaned.
"Getting used to these fights is stressful enough, we don't need some bratty kid mouthing off as well." Asuka added.
"Try living with him..." Buck shook his head.
"Eh? I'll have you know that I simply eloquent and more intelligent than any of you will ever be! As for you, Buck, I expected more respect from you! I am you master after all!" The kid growled.
"You're my bookkeeper, not my master." The bumblebee Mamodo sighed as his shield faded away.
"Well, my father is more powerful than any of you can even comprehend! He could have your book burned faster than you can snap your fingers!" Buck hissed at his partner before looking at all five students. "As for you lot, this fight is far from over!"
"Ventir!" Adrian called out. From above the field, Windsor shot out another ball of wind at Buck and Beau, the Mamodo pulling his young bookkeeper away from the attack before buzzing his way back into the air.
"Y'know, you're really getting on my nerves, Birdbrain!" Buck hissed.
"Is that so? Well, I suppose that means I am doing my job well." Windsor scoffed.
"As cool as this is to watch, isn't there something that we can do?" Aliyah asked. turning to her bookless friends.
"If there is, I don't see it." Josh shrugged. Hannah thought for a moment before smirking.
"Actually, there is." The pink-haired girl replied. "If that kid and his bee have moves to counter whatever those two try to throw at them then this fight will go on forever, and we can't afford for that to happen. So they'd have to come up with a game plan, but if they try to talk to each other, it potentially leaves them open. Now, that bee guy can't cover the ground and the air at the same time, and they know that, but he's too fast for them to capitalize on that."
"So what do we do?" Josh asked.
"Aliyah, you and I will come up with a plan with Asuka. Josh, you go to Adrian and do the same thing. Then, once we get an idea of what both sides are thinking, we'll come up with a plan and then tell them both so that they can work in sync with each other."
"That could work!" Aliyah nodded as Josh looked stupefied.
"Man, where do you come up with this stuff?!"
"Eh, it's a gift." Hannah shrugged.
As their class ended, Brendan and Savannah exited the campus building for their date, although the latter would vehemently deny that it was a 'date'. While she had tried her best to hold a deadpan and uninterested expression on her face, she couldn't help but be confused that Brendan was leading her away from the campus' coffee shop.
"Uh, where are we going?" She asked.
"Hm? Oh, I figured we could go somewhere nicer. It's not too far from here. If you need to go to another class soon then we can go to one of the spots on campus." Brendan replied.
"No, I'm done for the day. I just... wasn't expecting that, is all."
"Cool I think you'll like this place!"
The two left the campus grounds and headed over to a cafe called 'Milk + Roses'. Brendan smiled to himself as he looked inside through the window, the cafe wasn't too big and the interior looked rather quaint, or at least he thought so. He didn't expect Zoe to like the somewhat rustic look the cafe had and the bookshelves around the interior, but she had a habit of surprising him. He was only hoping that Savannah liked it as well.
The wide-eyed look on her face was a bit hard to read, but Brendan knew that the location had certainly caught her off guard.
"So, what do you think?" He asked.
"It's... actually pretty cool..."
"Well, come on, let's go in and have some lunch!" Brendan smiled, chuckling a bit as he held the door open for the young woman. As the scent of candles and the sound of a soft, yet melancholic piano piece hit her ears, Savannah's smile widened.
"Okay, move now!" Hannah called out to her group, the two girls ran over to Asuka, who had Venam close to her to guard her book as well as Adrian's.
"Hey, A!" Aliyah greeted with a hint of an overly-cheerful tone.
"What are you two doing here? I thought you were going to stay back." The bookkeeper groaned.
"Eh, it looked like you two could use some help." Hannah shrugged. "Besides, it's not like you're making much progress."
"But you can't do anything to help us here." Asuka replied with a hint of a scoff that did not go unnoticed by Hannah.
"Uh, hello? Not true! We're in the middle of coming up with a plan now! We know you're trying to think of something, and so is Adrian. If we find out what you're thinking then we can help you come up with a plan!"
The Asian girl looked at Hannah and Aliyah for a second before sighing.
"Alright..." She said. "So here's what I'm thinking; if we can keep that bee guy in the air and distract him, Venam can get in close and burn the book. Happy?"
"Very." Hannah smirked as Aliyah nodded. "Now we just have to find out what Adrian's thinking."
Josh was making his way over to Adrian much more slowly as he appeared to be trying to watch the aerial fight. Once he was close to the bespectacled boy, he tried waving at him, but Adrian's attention was locked on Windsor and Buck.
"Yo, Adrian, what's up my man?" Josh called out, making Adrian jump a bit at the sudden noise. "Did'ya think of a way to put this kid in his place yet?"
Once he was sufficiently calmed down, Adrian looked back up at the two Mamodo in the air.
"Not exactly." Adrian answered. "I know Asuka and Venam have a better chance of burning the book, due to their closer proximity. But with this Mamodo's speed and strength, finding that opportunity will be hard. He's easily speeding to the ground to block Venam's attacks and then flying back into the air to avoid any spells I have Windsor use."
"So what can you do?"
"Well, in theory, if we can just keep that Mamodo in place long enough for Venam to get in close, then we may win this battle!"
"Cool, I'll let the girls know so we can figure something-"
"You do know we're aware of what you're trying to do, right?" Buck called down to the students from above. All eyes zipped up towards him as the older teen looked down at the kids with an unamused expression.
"You consider me a fool, do you?!" Beau spat. "Is that it?! Well, you whelps are going to learn a new meaning of pain! Melionem!"
Windsor lunged at Buck as soon as the teen dove towards Venam and Asuka, but the insect proved to be too quick for him to catch. The girls braced themselves for whatever he tried to do but were caught off guard when he suddenly stopped. In a move that disgusted all of the girls, Buck suddenly spit out a yellow substance that quickly grew in size before splashing down on Asuka and Venam. It did not burn Venam's book, but it did envelop the two in a globe of the yellow substance.
"Eww!" "That's totally sick..." Hannah and Aliyah gagged.
"It's just honey, relax." Buck scoffed. "I special compound of honey that's unbreakable and not really made to be eaten, but honey nonetheless."
"And that honey will be your tomb!" Beau growled. "Enough of this, you'll see why I am an esteemed member of the Musical Assassins!"
'Musical Assassins?' the remaining students asked themselves. The two trapped girls could only watch the boy vocalize his anger as the sticky substance prevented them from hearing anything.
"Do Vespidon!"
Buck's wings began to chitter and flutter as a swarm of yellow and black aura began to envelop him and expand around him. The aura continued to grow until it resembled that of a hornet with its stinger primed to strike.
"GO!" Beau shouted.
"Uishiru!" Adrian read. With a flap of his wings, Windsor formed a shield of wind that attempted to block the oncoming giant hornet. It moved slowly, but that didn't stop the growing panic that was instilled in the four fighters. They knew that if they were hit by that attack, it would surely be all over for them.
Asuka's heart raced as she saw the giant insect and she knew Venam was feeling the same way. The shield might slow the attack down, but it was much larger than the shield itself.
This was it.
This was the end.
...
...
A sudden purple light caught her attention and her eyes went back to her spell book. She wasn't sure if she could still cast this spell when encased in the honey but it was worth a try. It had to be if they were going to somehow get out of this.
"Aceraido!"
The honey around Venam's head and hands began to quickly bubble up and dissolve as a milky white began to flush out of her. The wind with Windsor's shield began to slow down rapidly as the force of Buck's spell began to break it down. Inevitably, the sheer force of the attack destroyed the shield and crashed into the honey in a burst of yellow and black.
Aliyah began hyperventilating in a panic while the rest of the students were quiet in shock.
"Well, that part's done." Buck shrugged as he looked over to Windsor, who scowled at the teen despite clearly sweating in fear.
"GYAHAHAHAHAHA!" Beau laughed. "It serves them right! Nobody disrespects me and gets away with it! Now then..." He turned his attention over to Windsor in the air above him. "That's one down and one to-"
"Joboido!"
A sudden stream of acid from the purple haired girl splashed onto Beau's book and a bit onto the boy himself. Beau gasped and dropped the book as it began to burst into flames.
"Y-You! What have you done?!" He screamed. Buck sucked in his teeth as he fluttered back onto the ground with Windsor quickly going after him. Buck casually walked over to Beau and the still burning book, looking at the two with disappointment.
"Damn, this really had to happen this early?" He asked to no one in particular.
"It shouldn't have!" Beau whined. "Our group was supposed to be the strongest ever! We were supposed to- MY SHIRT!"
The acid from Venam's spell had burned right through Beau's expensive clothes, allowing the older kids to see right past them and even see a bit of his undies.
"Pfft!" Hannah laughed while Josh was already cracking up and even Aliyah was trying to hold back her laughter.
"I... I will make sure you all suffer for this injustice!" The little kid yelled, tears forming in his eyes.
"You really are a brat, aren't you..." Buck sighed, his body almost completely fading away. Beau looked at him with just as much indignation and fury as he was showing the students. "Grow up..."
Beau's face was entirely red as he turned to the three students and four fighters standing in front of him. "You... Laugh all you want now, but mark my words, my mom and dad will make you suffer! The Musical Assassins will see to it that your books are all burned!" Beau ran as fast as his little legs could take him. Josh motioned to follow him but Asuka and Hannah held him back.
"Hey! What are you doing?" He whined. "We can't just let him go without giving him a wedgie first!"
"As funny as that would be to watch, I think we ought to head inside. Lunch is almost over."
"Oh, and we never got to eat!" Aliyah groaned.
"We still have some snacks." Venam suggested.
"Plus, by my calculations, we still have a few minutes before we need to be inside. It'll be close, but we can stay out here for a bit without being late for class." Adrian added.
"Perfect, then we can formally introduce ourselves to Asuka's Mamodo!" Aliyah cheered. "Hi, I'm Aliyah!"
"Oh, yeah, your name's 'Venam', right?" Hannah asked before laughing again. "Like, 'Venom'?"
The young Mamodo blushed and pouted as Josh and Hannah continued to laugh.
Savannah and Brendan exited the cafe looking pleased with their meal and chat, the former still holding a smoothie she had ordered.
"You know... this was kind of fun." She said. "I never took you as the type to enjoy death metal."
"Well I do like some variety in life! I may like classic rock the most, but I can always appreciate something different." Brendan laughed.
"I should probably get going though, there are some things I need to take care of."
"Sure, I'll see you around!" Brendan smiled, his grin only widening when the young woman gently patted his cheek. As Savannah walked away, she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket from a text message.
'looks like you had a good time'
Savannah looked around a bit, trying to remain as subtle as she could when she noticed the brown haired woman standing on a rooftop with her glass-wielding Mamodo by her side.
'it wasnt totally boring'
'dont forget that you still have a mission to complete'
'totally. trust me' Savannah texted back before smirking as she sent one last message...
'me being with him is just business'
Brendan was in high spirits as he made his way back over to his apartment. Not even the inevitable mess that Kolm likely left could bring him down. Just as he crossed the street onto his apartment block, however, he noticed something that caught him off guard.
It was Emily, the homeless girl, with her dog, Aspen, sitting in an alleyway. The girl was eating a candy bar while the dog gnawed on an old chicken bone. Brendan cautiously approached the duo.
"Hey..." He said as softly as he could, getting their attention and causing Emily to jump to her feet, nearly dropping her candy while Aspen got into a lunging position. The girl's eyes widened as she recognized Brendan.
"You, you're that teacher!"
"Yeah, I am. What happened to you? Before, I mean." Brendan asked. "You just vanished in a cloud of smoke."
Emily lowered her guard just a little bit as she looked behind her and past Brendan.
"Someone I work with got me out of there. I didn't know they were even watching until they grabbed me."
"Did they hurt you?"
"Nah. I know them. They just thought you were after me and decided to help me out."
"It looks like they didn't give you any food or shelter though. Did they really help you?"
"Hmph, well they got me out of there when things were getting heavy!" Emily huffed. "Besides, it's not like you were going to do any of that stuff!... By the way, where's the big guy? Is he waiting around the corner or something?"
"You can choose to believe me or not, but I would gladly help you! I'm a teacher, and being a teacher means helping kids who need it in any way I can. As for Kolm, he's not here, I left him home."
Emily never got the chance to say anything else as Aspen suddenly dashed past Brendan, the dog's ears perked upwards.
"Aspen!" The girl called out as she quickly ran after her dog. Fearing for her safety, Brendan followed right after her, though the three didn't go very far as Aspen had stopped in front of a large, hulking man with dark skin wearing a yellow goodie with a green crown symbol on it, green jeans and white sneakers. The late-afternoon sun shone on his shaved head and his dark brown eyes bore down on the three of them. In his hand he had a plastic water bottle with its typical contents replaced with what looked like some sort of reddish-brown sludge.
"Oh, sorry about that, man." Brendan said, pulling Emily and Aspen back. "Didn't mean to hold you up."
"Nah." The man said, his tone dark. "You ain't holdin' me up. I'm right where I need to be."
The man opened his bottle and poured its contents on the concrete in front of him. Aspen began to snarl, Brendan and Emily's eyes widened when the man pulled out a spellbook of the same color as the sludge from his front hood pocket.
The puddle of sludge bubbled for a moment before the liquid rose up from the ground and expand until it grew into a humanoid shape that towered over even the hooded man. Onlookers began to scream and run at the sight of the sludge man. Once the creature was fully formed, the monster opened its eyes, revealing two bright green orbs that lacked pupils and irises.
Even if the eyes were far from normal, the three could tell that the beast looked down on them and opened a gaping maw before unleashing a bellowing screech at the three.
"And here I was, thinking today would just be a normal day..." Brendan sighed.
"Hmph, well this is pretty much normal for me!" Emily huffed. "Dealing with a grown up that just wants to show that he's the one in control of my life!"
"This ain't personal, just doing what the boss tells me to. But that means me and Plasmund here gotta beat you down!"
"What? The boss put you up to this?!" Emily gasped.
"I don't know what boss you're talking about, kid? You're not with my gang!"
"Not with your...? Then who are you?" Brendan questioned.
"That's for me to know and for you to never find out, now get set to get shredded!"
Emily opened her sapphire book as she glared at the duo that were several times her size while Brendan looked panicked he still didn't have his spellbook, he would just be a walking target if he stayed. But he couldn't just leave this kid to fend for herself, that just didn't sit right with him. This was the first time since his adventure started that he was truly defenseless against a Mamodo and, just like before, he did not like it one bit...
And that is where this chapter will end off! I do so love to leave off with cliffhangers, aren't I just the worst for doing that?
Jokes aside though, I want to thank everyone that reads this again for sticking with it. I know the names of the spells themselves may be a bit off compared to the ones in the actual series, but I'm trying to keep them consistent to the show's rules so hopefully I'm doing a good job on that end.
But for now, our heroes have taken down one member of the Musical Assassins and are faced with the second! Not to mention the fact that there are six more waiting in the shadows! How will our heroes be able to deal with this and can they get out of this war intact? Stay tuned to find out!