Chapters The Lightning Boy From Another World! Part 1View Online
Zatch Bell Equestrian Battles!
The Lightning Boy From Another World! Part 1
It was a beautiful Morning! The sun was shining, birds were singing, and everything was right with the world. However, in a small town in America, a young teen was about to be flung into a series of events that would change his life forever.
"Kiyo! Don't you think about skipping school again!"
"Why bother I'm smarter than everyone anyways."
This young man is Kiyo Takamine. Just turning 14 years old and moving to a new country he has had a lot of adjusting to do but it hasn't been very difficult. Kiyo Takamine has always been smarter than the average teenager, in fact, he can match wits with most college professors most would call him a prodigy.
Currently, Kiyo was trying to read a book as his mother tried to convince him to go to school. But...
"That attitude is exactly why those bullies pick on you so much!" His mother shouted as she banged on the door.
"WHO CARES! I don't want to be friends with those bunch of brainless losers anyways!"
"Hey, Mr. Rude Boy! That isn't any way to talk to your mother!" Someone's voice shouted from outside.
Kiyo turned around towards his window and saw something truly bazaar. Outside his window was a boy hanging onto what looked like an Eagle with a yellow tail strapped to his back. The boy appeared to be around 6 years old and had lightning blond hair and for some odd reason, he was naked.
"Ok....I guess no more snacks before bed." Kiyo said as he went back to bed.
"DONT YOU IGNORE ME!" The boy shouted as he and the eagle broke through the window.
Kiyo stood in shock as the bird dropped the strange boy and swooped back through the window.
"Your professor Takamine's son, Kiyo Takamine, right?" The boy asked as he put his stuff on the ground.
"Who the heck are you! And why in the world did you bust through my window like that!?" Kiyo shouted as the strange boy handed him a letter.
"I'm here cause your father asked me to help you. My name is Zatch bell and he asked me to hand this letter to you Kiyo." The boy, now known as Zatch, explained while Kiyo examined the letter.
"Dear Kiyo, Congratulations on your 14th birthday. I know this may sound a little strange but the boy who delivered this letter is named Zatch Bell. I found him in a forest in England and saved his life when I took him home. Then he told me he would like to return the favor. "
Kiyo could just imagine his father doing something as crazy and bizarre as this. He had always been kinda eccentric and out of the ordinary but this was a whole new level for him!
"Zatch may be a little off but he's a very good boy. Unfortunately, he seems to have lost most of his memories. The red book with him seems to be the only clue to his past, however, I wasn't able to interpret it. Maybe with your intelligence, you can decode the book and help Zatch retain his memories. "
Kiyo turned around to see Zatch trying to scarf down the yellow tail as it flopped around on his bed. He watched with a deadpan expression as Zatch scarfed down every bite of the fish, even the bones!
"Please study the book and help him get home safely Love, Dad?" Kiyo read aloud as he looked at the strange red book.
Suddenly Zatch jumped up on his desk and startled Kiyo so much that he fell out of his seat.
"For now on I'll be in charge of your training and you'll have to take care of me!" Zatch explained as he jumped off the desk and finally put some clothes on which happened to be a strange blue and black cloak that had a white bow and yellow jewel in the middle of the bow.
"I have no intention of being tutored! Especially by some little brat like you! ZAKER OR WHATEVER YOUR NAME IS! " Kiyo shouted as he tried to punch him.
However, Zatch suddenly spun around while both of his pupils suddenly disappeared as he opened his mouth as a yellow light began to form. With a loud bang, a giant explosion caused the room to go up in smoke as Kiyo was thrown into the wall.
"W-WHO TURNED OUT THE LIGHTS!?" Zatch shouted as his cloak fell over his head.
"Was that lightning!? What kind of monster are you!" Kiyo shouted as Zatch finally got his cloak off his head.
"Zatch Bell Like I said!" He explained before having to hiccup which caused a small spark to flow out of his mouth.
Later on after getting his room cleaned up Zatch, Kiyo, and his mother discussed what to do next in the kitchen.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF HIM IF I STAY HOME!?" Kiyo shouted as he slammed his bowl on the table.
"Don't argue with me! Your father sent Zatch here to help you and thats that!" She exclaimed with a stern expression while holding Zatch in her arms.
"Give me a break mom! This guy can shot lightning out of his mouth!" Kiyo exclaimed while his mother raised an eyebrow.
"Don't be ridiculous! He can't do any such thing, right Zatch?"
"Yeah I think Kiyo has been reading WAY to many comic books!"
"He's trying to play dumb. Fine, then I'll just go to school then!" Kiyo exclaimed as he got up and went upstairs to get dressed.
"Why didn't I think of that!?" Kiyo's mother said sarcastically.
After getting dressed in a white button-up shirt and some jeans, Kiyo walked back downstairs to see Zatch and his mother talking with one another. However, Kiyo was more interested in the red book Zatch had in the hood of his cloak and remembered how his father couldn't decode it.
"I'm just gonna borrow this." Kiyo said as he ran past them and snatched the book from Zatch while his mother shouted at him.
"I'm sorry Zatch he's always been like that. It's one of the reasons he doesn't make many friends."
"Would you like Kiyo to make some friends Mrs. Takamine?" Zatch asked with a smile.
"O-Of course!"
"Then leave it up to me! I'll make sure Kiyo has so many friends he won't know what to do with them! I won't let you down!" Zatch exclaimed as he jumped out of his seat.
"Thank you Zatch but I want you to be his friend too ok?"
"Of course! I'll be his number one friend numero uno!" Zatch said as ran out the door and chased after Kiyo.
Meanwhile, Kiyo was sitting in class trying to solve the mystery that was the red book. No matter how many times he flipped through the pages he couldn't read a word of it, except for one passage.
"What kind of book is this? I've never seen this kind of writing before! I wonder what language it is? " Kiyo thought as he reread the page over and over again.
"Hold on......What's this? The first spell Zaker? How come I can only read the parts in red ink? " Kiyo thought as he suddenly heard someone calling his name.
"Mr. Takamine? Come Solve the equation on the blackboard."
"Minus 5-XY Squared to the sixth." Kiyo deadpanned as the teacher gritted his teeth.
"Thats correct......Sit down."
Kiyo sat back down with a bored expression, however, out of his prereferral vision Zatch had managed to sneak in wearing some kind of sports bag disguise.
"Wow Kiyo! You really are smart! " Zatch thought as he watched Kiyo with child-like enthusiasm.
"What a simple equation..... " Kiyo thought as turned his attention elsewhere.
"Who does he think he is?"
"He's so stuck up!"
"If you don't need to study then just go home!"
As the class gossiped amongst themselves Kiyo drowned out the voices. By now he was used to this it was just like back at his old school so nothing had really changed except for the location.
"There's gotta be some reason to be here..."
After class Kiyo immediately packed up his things and started to walk out the door. Zatch silently watched as he followed closely behind, however, while Kiyo was walking away a happy bubbly voice called out to him.
"Hey, Kiyo! Don't tell me you're going home already!? It's not even lunchtime!" The girl with the cotton candy-like haircut exclaimed as she came bouncing after him.
"You haven't been here very often so why not stay for a while?"
"Why bother? Not like anyone wants me here anyways." Kiyo exclaimed not even turning to address her.
Ever since he came to this new school this girl, Pinkie Pie, kept pestering him. She has been incredibly persistent to the point of being annoying and she was always talking about some kind of party she's gonna throw.
"If you're bored with class you could always help with my studies again~." Pinkie begged which seemed to send Kiyo over the edge.
"Just mind your own business! I'm sick and tired of this stupid school anyway! " Kiyo shouted at Pinkie which didn't seem to phase her by much.
"But when you tutored me in math it was like super easy to understand! Even for a squash-brain like me! You really are a genius Kiyo!" Pinkie said with her usual bubbly attitude.
"JUST BE QUITE AND LEAVE ME ALONE!" Kiyo shouted as he turned around and stormed off only to stop when he heard an annoyingly familiar voice.
"SHAME ON YOU KIYO! CAN'T YOU SEE SHE'S ONLY TRYING TO BE NICE TO YOU! WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SO MEAN!"
Kiyo turned around and nearly felt his eyeballs shot out of their sockets as he saw Zatch standing behind him in some kind of ridiculous get-up.
"Hi! Are you one of Kiyo's friend too?" Pinkie asked as she kneeled down to his level.
"I'm Zatch Bell!"
"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Scartch!" Pinkie said oblivious to the fact that she said it wrong.
"Um....No, it's Zatch." Zatch tried to explain only for Kiyo to interrupt them.
"WHY ARE YOU HERE!?" Kiyo shouted while Zatch stared blankly at Kiyo's demon like expression.
"Well, I came here to help." Zatch explained bluntly as Kiyo grabbed him.
"You can't just follow me around!" Kiyo whispered as everyone in the halls stared at them.
Kiyo suddenly grabbed Zatch and sprinted down the hall only to suddenly rush past a very angry looking girl with red and orange hair. It only lasted for a second but Kiyo could swear he saw her glaring at him.
Afterward, Kiyo and Zatch had run outside to the trash furnace where Kiyo tried to explain to Zatch that he couldn't just follow him to his school, however, no matter how much he tried Zatch didn't seem to retain anything that he had said.
"Look Zatch you can't just-"
"ALRIGHT KIYO! ITS TIME WE START, OPERATION: HERO OF JUSTICE! " Zatch exclaimed with enthusiasm while Kiyo sighed as he realized that he couldn't reason with him.
"There are probably tons of bullies at this school! So your gonna beat them up and make a ton of friends!" Zatch explained while Kiyo imagined himself in a cliche superhero costume standing over a bully while the school cheered him on.
"What are you talking about! That kind of stuff never works!"
"Alright.......Then let's try getting on our knees and begging them to be your friends!" Zatch suggested as he drew a picture of them both bowing to the class.
"THATS AN EVEN WORSE IDEA!" Kiyo exclaimed only to suddenly got a spark of inspiration.
"Hey, Zatch.....I got an idea." Kiyo said with a mischievous grin.
However, what he didn't realize was that a certain girl from earlier was listening in on his conversation and with a dark grin she pulled out her cell phone and started typing away.
"I like this kid....Might be worth the effort to see what he does to that brat. Especially after what I have planned. " She thought as she sent the message while cackling to herself.
TO BE CONTINUED!
The Lightning Boy From Another World! Part 2View Online
Zatch Bell Equestrian Battles!
The Lightning Boy From Another World! Part 2
Later on, that day Kiyo guided Zatch towards the roof top. Kiyo had made quite a mischievous plan to trick Zatch and get him out of the way that way he could at least get some peace and quite for the rest of the day.
"So is this the place Kiyo?" Zatch asked as he turned a corner and looked towards the door leading to the roof.
"Yup, if you go up those stairs you find the place where all the bullies hang out!" Kiyo explained as Zatch looked at him with his usual innocent expression.
"And when the bullies come to pick on me?"
"Then I'll come up there to rescue you!" Kiyo explained with a sly grin, however, Zatch wasn't the most perceptive kid in the world.
"Alright! It's time to start, OPERATION: HERO OF JUSTICE! " Zatch exclaimed as he ran up the stairs.
"Yeah right! I don't care what my dad says....That kid is a royal pain. "
Kiyo sneered as he began to walk back down the hallway. Meanwhile, Zatch opened the door to the roof and looked around only to see that no one was there.
"Alright come out you bullies!" Zatch exclaimed only to suddenly hear a familiar voice from behind.
"Oh hello again!" The bubbly voice of Pinkie Pie said as Zatch turned to greet her.
"You're the girl from the hallway!" Zatch exclaimed bluntly while Pinkie just grinned happily at him.
"And your Kiyo's friend! I'm Pinkie Pie by the way! I'm Kiyo's besty but he doesn't know it yet! Though I wish he wouldn't be such a grump but hey I kinda like that side of him." Pinkie exclaimed while whispering that last part to herself.
"Nice to meet you again Pinkie!"
"And it's nice to meet you, flash!" Pinkie said once again not getting it right but not caring a single bit. You gotta wonder if she's just doing it on purpose at this point.
"MY NAMES ZATCH! Um....Wait a minute, don't tell me you're the big bully?" Zatch asked while Pinkie just giggled.
"Naw if you're looking for a bully you should look for Sunset Shimmer or Kane. But I wouldn't suggest it cause those two can be super duper mean! They do all kinds of stuff like taking people's lunch money and picking on them and stuff! If you ask me their nothing but a bunch of meanies!"
However, what Pinkie didn't realize was that while she was explaining this to Zatch, Kane had walked out onto the roof and was, ironically enough, beating up on some kids and taking their lunch money before making fun of them.
Kane was around 15 years old and was easily one of the biggest, and arguably buffest, guys at Canterlot High school. He stood a lot taller than most of the students at least a 6 and a half feet tall and wore an unbuttoned white shirt with some worn out blue jeans.
"What's up Pinkie? Who you callin a bully?" Kane asked as he stepped behind her.
Pinkie slowly turned around to see Kane glaring down at her which seemed to catch her off guard and caused her to scream in surprise.
"You, ya big dope! And you better watch out! A bully like you would be squashed by Kiyo the Hero Of Justice!" Zatch said with a confident expression while Kane just glared down at the child.
"The hero of justice is gonna tear you apart so yo-" Zatch tried to say before Kane snatched him up by the collar.
"You sure know how to talk a good game kid. So why don't you show me..." Kane said only to suddenly start beating Zatch to a pulp before throwing him to the ground.
"If you can walk the walk with Kane."
Pinkie stood in shock as she tried to help Zatch in whatever way she could while Kane just cracked his knuckles. However, high above them, they had another strange spectator watching them with some binoculars. Somehow he was able to levitate in the air on what appeared to be a skateboard and was also eating a hamburger.
"Wow! Looks like those two guys are fighting over a cute girl. YES! I'm gonna make her my new girlfriend!"
"Eido would you please get serious! Can't you think of anything else but girls?" A voice said as a boy suddenly appeared on the man's back.
As the boy took the binoculars he saw a familiar looking boy with yellow hair trying to defend some girl from a thug. After closer inspection he instantly realized who it was.
"What's the dealio Hyde?" The man, now known as Eido, asked as the boy, AKA Hyde, looked at him with a confident smirk.
"Look, I found a weak Mamodo for us! Let's go Eido!" Hyde said before suddenly vanishing again while his partner pulled out a green book.
"JIKIR!!" Eido shouted as the book let out a bright green glow.
Suddenly a gust of wind seemed to appear almost out of nowhere as the man started to glide down towards the rooftop.
Meanwhile, Kiyo was downstairs heading towards the front entrance only to stop when he heard a few students talking to each other from the staircase.
"Well, it wouldn't have happened if you didn't wanna go to the roof top! Still.....Kane took all my money!"
"Oh please, you only had like fifty cents anyways."
Kiyo watched as the boys walked away and suddenly felt a chill run up his spine.
"Kane's on the roof top? " Kiyo thought as images of Kane and Zatch fighting popped up in his head.
"Oh, what do I have to worry about? Worse comes to worse Zatch can just shot lightning at him. Besides, I don't care what happens to that brat anyways." Kiyo whispered to himself before accidently dropping his bag causing the red book to fall out.
As he stared at the book he thought about how Zatch had trusted him so much and how he had trusted every word he had said to him. As well as how much Zatch wanted to help him make friends, even if he was a little annoying it felt wrong to do nothing.
Kiyo sighed as he picked up the book and walked towards the stairs not noticing the girl from before had been following him.
Back on the roof Kane was currently beating Zatch to a pulp as Pinkie tried to stop him with little success. Suddenly Kane threw Zatch against the chain link fence with enough force to cause Zatch to gasp for air.
"That's enough Kane he's just a little kid!" Pinkie shouted as she stood in between both Zatch and Kane.
"Out of my way Pinks!"
"Zatch get out of here! Run away!" Pinkie exclaimed while Zatch slowly stood back up.
"No way! Kiyo is coming to the rescue so you had better watch out! Cause when he gets here, he's gonna....beat the pants off of you for sure! Because Kiyo's the real deal, The Hero of Justice" Zatch said confidently as he glared defiantly at Kane.
Meanwhile, Kiyo had walked back to the roof but gasped as he saw what had happened in the time he wasn't there. Zatch was battered and bruised with cuts and gashes here and there.
"W-Why is he hurt so bad? Why didn't he shot any of his lightning bolts?" Kiyo whispered to himself as he watched Kane push Pinkie over as he made his way towards Zatch.
"Do you really think Kiyo's coming to rescue you?"
"Definitely!"
"Oh don't make me laugh! That punk doesn't care for anyone but himself." Kane explained While drop kicking Zatch and sending him spiraling to the ground.
"He's right! There's no use waiting for me Zatch! Get a clue you little shrimp. " Kiyo thought as he watched Kane slowly walk towards Zatch who was struggling to get back on his feet.
"He thinks he's something special, and everyone else is just garbage!" Kane exclaimed as he picked Zatch up by the collar again.
"That's right everyone else is just garbage. "
"And he just thinks you're a whiny little baby!" Kane shouted as he reared back and threw Zatch into the ground.
"When are you gonna realize that you've been fooled Zatch and run away!? "
"HE DOSENT HAVE ANY FRIENDS! HE SHOULD JUST GO HOME AND STAY THERE FOREVER!" Kane shouted as he pushed Zatch over with his foot.
"NO ONE WANTS HIM HERE!"
Kiyo felt his body tremble as what Kane had just said reverberated through his body like an echo in a cave. The words kept echoing in his head over and over again. It was the truth.......The undeniable truth that Kiyo knew all too well. It's always been this way ever since he was a kid it's always been like this.......It was tr-
"That's not true!" Pinkie exclaimed while Zatch tried to push himself off the ground.
"Kiyo is......My friend." Zatch choked out under sharp breaths as he tried to keep his balance.
"Why would you want to be friends with a guy like that anyways?" Kane asked as Pinkie tried to keep Zatch from hurting himself, however, she could tell by the look in his eyes that she couldn't stop him.
"BE QUIET! What do you know about Kiyo anyways! Do you think he likes the fact that he's a genius, fat head? Well, he doesn't! Kiyo's father said, in elementary school he had plenty of friends but in junior high they started to get jealous because he was smarter than they were!"
Kiyo clenched his fists as he listened to the same kid he tried to trick before defend him. Zatch, a boy he hated for trying to make him make friends! Was trying to defend him! The guilt fell on him like a wave as he watched this brave kid defend him......Like a real friend would.
"And the truth is, Kiyo didn't change at all but the way his friends treated him sure did! What did Kiyo ever do to you anyways! He didn't say all those mean things like you did! He didn't go around hurting anyone like you! He didn't take money from them like you! YOUR THE ONE WHO SHOULDENT COME BACK TO SCHOOL! YOU BIG BULLY!"
Kiyo felt tears run down his cheeks for the first time in a long while. Kiyo watched Zatch stand against a thug like Kane, who had him beat in every way, and saw the courage he possessed and how it seemed to give him strength! Strength Kiyo wished he could have had before.
"If you insult my friend one more time! You'll have to answer to me and I promise you I won't let you off so easy!" Zatch said with determination dripping from his every pore.
"That's right and you'll have to deal with me to!" Pinkie exclaimed as she stood with Zatch who wasn't budging an inch.
"Oh yeah? Then why isn't he coming to save you then? He's not your friend thats just another lie!" Kane proclaimed with a cocky grin.
"He is coming! He umm, had to go to the bathroom really bad!" Zatch explained with his usual childish enthusiasm.
"Yeah thats it!" Pinkie said siding with Zatch's proposal without a second thought.
However, Kiyo felt his jaw drop while tears flowed down his face at the sheer absurdity of the situation. Suddenly all the tension from before vanished as Zatch tried to justify why his assumption was correct.
"Kiyo! YEAH, YEAH! KIYO THE HERO!" Both Pinkie and Zatch chanted while Kiyo himself couldn't help but feel proud to have friends like that.
"You guys..... "
"AHH THAT FELT GOOOOD! " Kiyo shouted as he flung the door open which shifted everyone's attention towards him.
"What took you so long pal?" Zatch asked, however, Kiyo's response was a determined expression and a new fire in his eyes.
"You were in there forever."
"I hope you washed you hands."
Kiyo felt his eyebrow twitch as he listened to the two knuckleheads. It was true that he was lucky to have friends like these but still.....
"WHERE DO YOU TWO COME UP WITH THIS STUFF!" Kiyo exclaimed as Zatch and Pinkie smirked at each other.
"Hey ugly! Guess what!? Kiyo's here so I guess you're the liar now."
"Thats right dog breath! And now that I'm here your gonna have to answer to me!" Kiyo exclaimed only to have his but kicked a second later as Kane started smacking him around like a rag doll.
As Kiyo was firmly receiving his own butt on a platter both Zatch and Pinkie tried to cheer him on. However, it didn't seem like it was doing much good as he tried to crawl back towards the both of them.
"I-I can't....Beat this guy.....This fight was impossible." Kiyo managed to say as large bumps and bruises covered his face.
"What do ya mean? Everything's going great! Your plan is working perfectly! You should see the look on your face!" Zatch exclaimed as Kiyo took a second to catch his breath.
"I'm telling you Kiyo you look more alive than ever before!"
"A-Alive?"
Kiyo looked down at his scuffed up body and realized what Zatch meant. Finally, he felt like he was doing something! He wasn't just doing something for himself anymore he was finally trying to do something for others.
"Thank you so much for saving us Kiyo! It's almost like your the main character of some anime or a badly written Fanfiction!" Pinkie exclaimed with her usual bubbly tone, however, no one understood what she was talking about.
"Three cheers for the hero of justice!" Zatch said as he held Kiyo's hand up in the air while Pinkie clapped along.
Kane, on the other hand, looked kinda mad......Scratch that he was really mad! Like super mad! Like if you took mad times like 5 that would be the level of mad he was at. You could say that it was almost.......maddening!
"ARE YOU TRYING TO MAKE FUN OF ME!?" Kane shouted as a vein appeared on his forehead as the anger pulsed through him like fire.
"O-Oh crap.....Now he's really mad." Kiyo said as he felt his body begin to shake.
"Don't worry Kiyo! I already thought of another plan just in case of something like this happened." Zatch proclaimed as he pulled out a pencil and paper seemingly out of nowhere.
"Oh yeah, Whats that?" Kiyo asked with the slightest tinge of hope.
"I call it, The praying to the heavens plan! Now something will fall from the heavens and save us!" Zatch explained enthusiastically.
"THERE'S NO WAY THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN!" Kiyo exclaimed as Pinkie suddenly looked up to see something moving towards them.
"Why don't you pick on someone your own size!"
Suddenly Kiyo, Zatch, and Pinkie moved out of the way as what appeared to be a weirdo riding a skateboard touch downed right on Kane's face before skating towards Pinkie.
"Hey, cutie! Nice skirt!" The stranger said with a devious look on his face before Pinkie grabbed her skirt with a blush on her face.
"YOU LITTLE PUNK! How did you skate onto the roof like that!?"
"I came with the wind. But I guess that I would be hard for you to get.....For a big air head like you."
Without a second thought, Kane charged the stranger preparing to beat him to a bloody pulp, however, the second he tried to touch him the stranger lifted his hand up and shouted,
"JIKIR!"
Suddenly a strong gust of wind shot out of the strangers hand and sent Kane spiraling through the air and into a pile of boxes next to the entrance to the roof.
"W-What was that?"
"Wind just shot right out of his hand."
While both Kiyo and Zatch were watching Kane the stranger skated around Pinkie before grabbing her wrist.
"Hey, Cutie. Your gonna be my new girlfriend~."
"What!? No way let go!" Pinkie explained as she tried to loosen his grip only for it to tighten.
"I'm wicked strong you know and I always get what I want." The strange guy said with an intimidating tone as Pinkie struggled to free herself.
"Stop right there! Let go of her!" Kiyo exclaimed as he and Zatch both stood in his way.
"You don't wanna mess with the hero of justice!" Zatch proclaimed as he ran over to them.
"That's enough out of you little man!" The stranger said as he held his hand up again.
"JIKIR!"
Once again a strong gust of air shot past Kiyo and Zatch almost like blades as the cut through their skin before pushing them both back. As Kiyo felt his body begin to break down from the strain he suddenly heard someone shouting and saw Zatch sprinting towards the stranger. Kiyo saw how the strangers book began to glow and now with a sudden burst of speed, ran over to protect Zatch before he got himself killed.
"JIKIR!"
Suddenly Kiyo noticed something strange about his attack now that he was closer. It was a faint figure of a child but he could definitely see him as he swung his hands which caused the wind to appear.
"A kid? " Kiyo thought as he slid across the ground with Zatch in his arms.
"Didn't I tell you I was strong?"
Kiyo turned around and noticed something that hadn't occurred to him until just now.
"That guy has the same book as Zatch and that kid who's making the wind. He has the same weird eyes as Zatch with those lines underneath. Which means that the wind power is actually coming from that kid and from that book with some kind of spell. "
Kiyo looked down at the red book and a thought entered his mind. Memories of earlier that morning when Zatch blew a hole in his wall with his lightning!
"Now I get it, I must have accidently called out the spell when I was holding this book. " Kiyo summarized as he held the red book in his hands.
"Eido, hurry up and finish him off." The boy exclaimed as his partner prepared himself.
"Yeah, let's show this guy our full power." Eido said as he skated towards Zatch and Kiyo while his book began to glow.
Kiyo slowly got to his feet and opened the book to the page where the red ink was as a faint red light began to shine from the pages.
"Take this, the books first spell!" Kiyo said as the red light shined brighter and brighter.
"ZAKER!!"
Suddenly Zatch's eyes disappeared as a strong electrical charge began to build up in front of him. Then with a thunderous bang, a giant bolt of lightning shot towards Eido and Hyde. However, just before the blast hit them, Hyde managed to move Eido out of the way of the blast as it collided with the wall causing a giant explosion.
Kiyo and Pinkie felt their jaws drop as the explosion caused a strong back wind that blew rubble all over the place. Meanwhile, Zatch's eyes suddenly returned only to see the destruction around him.
"That was seriously cool." Kiyo said plainly as Pinkie had no words for what they had just seen.
"What's going on here Kiyo? Lightning sure does strike a lot around this place." Zatch said oblivious to the fact that HE was the cause of the blast.
"He doesn't realize that he's the one who makes the lightning? " Kiyo thought as he watched Zatch and Pinkie talk with each other excitedly over what had happened.
However, everyone didn't notice the girl from before had been watching them from the door leading to the staircase.
"Was that Equestrian magic? No....It was something different. Heh, well then......It looks like I might have to start my plan a little ahead of schedule now that Kane's gone and gotten beat up." She whispered before walking downstairs.
Meanwhile, Eido and Hyde had managed to escape from Zatch and Kiyo's and were currently hitchhiking on the top of a semi truck.
"What the heck Hyde I thought you said they were weak!?" Eido shouted as he tried to catch his breath.
"Its no use those guys are on a whole nother level."
"Dear dad, Thanks for the birthday present. It seems like my life just got a little more interesting, thanks to Zatch Bell. "
As Kiyo finished his letter to his father he turned around in his chair to see Zatch asleep on his futon. He smiled and turned off his desk lamp and walked over and placed his hand on his head only to feel something sharp pinch his hand. On further inspection, Kiyo found two small horns sticking out of Zatch's head.
"What the heck are you Zatch?" Kiyo whispered as he got into bed and let the events of today replay in his head.
"Umm.......Yellow Tail~" Zatch said dreamily as drool streamed down his cheeks.
Zatch Bell Equestrian Battles!
A Chilling Encounter! Part 1
It's been two days since the incident on the roof and Kiyo has spent these past two days trying to decode the mystery of the red book with no success.
"This is hopeless!" Kiyo shouted as he threw a book on eastern languages onto the pile of books he had collected on foreign and ancient languages.
"I've stayed up for last two days trying to decipher this book but all I've been able to read so far is the passage written in red ink." Kiyo said as he flashed backed to the moment he had read the book on the roof and Zatch unleashed that lightning blast. It was pretty hard to imagine that a kid like Zatch had an ability like that but the bruises don't lie.
"That kid unleashed a powerful electrical shock and he doesn't even realize that he's the one who does it." Kiyo whispered to himself while turning to see Zatch sleeping peacefully on his futon.
"Still.....I can't believe that I stood up to Kane! " Kiyo thought as memories of Kane beating him to a pulp on the roof came back to him.
Kiyo has never felt such a rush in his entire life like the one he felt that day. True he may have gotten the snot beaten out of him but now he finally felt like his life had an inkling of meaning.
"I wonder how he knew I felt so useless before? " Kiyo thought as Zatch suddenly chomped down on his foot.
"OWWW! "
"Ugh...Kiyo why did you have to wake me up! I was dreaming of delicious yellow tail~" Zatch said in a groggy voice while Kiyo glared at him.
"Zatch...." Kiyo said in a threatening voice while Zatch suddenly felt like he was gonna have a bad time.
After Breakfast Kiyo got dressed and made his way towards the front door only to stop when Zatch showed up in his sports bag costume again.
"Kiyo its time we continue Operation: Hero of Justice! " Zatch exclaimed while Kiyo sighed in annoyance.
"I thought I told you that were done with all that!" Kiyo exclaimed while Zatch just ignored him.
"We still have a lot to do! Your father asked me to help you make more friends at school and thats exactly what I'm gonna do!" Zatch proclaimed.
"If this is what its gonna take for you to make friends then you're just gonna have to fight bullies every day!"
"Buz off! Your nothing but trouble for me you little twerp.Plus I'm embarrassed to be seen with you anyways." Kiyo exclaimed with an annoyed look on his face.
"I'm sorry Kiyo I didn't know you were so embarrassed by me." Zatch said as he walked away with a distraught look on his face while Kiyo's mother walked out of the kitchen.
"Kiyo! Zatch is only a little kid, how dare you speak to him like that! Go apologize to him." She demanded as Zatch start fumbling behind the door to the bathroom.
"You should have told me you didn't like the sports bag earlier Kiyo! How about this one?" Zatch said as he walked out wearing a small backpack that he had cut some holes in.
"T-That's not exactly what I meant..." Kiyo deadpanned as he watched Zatch jump into a suitcase, a shopping bag, a potato sack, and all kinds of ridiculous bags.
"Which one finds your fancy?" Zatch asked as he pushed all his costumes over to Kiyo and his mom.
"I think you look good in all of them Zatch but I think the one you usually wear is the best." She said as she held the green sports bag.
"Thats the one I like to!"
Kiyo sighed as he realized that nothing he could say was gonna change the obvious writing on the wall. He put his shoes on and walked out the door with Zatch following closely behind.
Afterward, Kiyo and Zatch were making their way towards school through the park. Zatch was admiring the blooming of the cherry blossoms that had just come into season while Kiyo was still deep in thought about the red book.
"Awe it's such a great day! The Cherry blossoms are blossoming and the river is filled with fish popsicles, just like in my dreams." Zatch explained as bluntly as possible while Kiyo stopped and did a double-take of the river only to see that it had been completely frozen over.
"FISH POPSICLES!"
Kiyo felt his jaw drop as Zatch jumped out of his costume and started chowing down on the frozen fishes.
"W-What the heck? Why is there ice in the parks river when it's the middle of Spring?" Kiyo whispered to himself as he suddenly heard a car horn go off.
Kiyo turned his attention towards the road that ran through the park and saw a man wearing a suit standing in front of a red sports car. Suddenly a giant pillar of ice shot out of the ground in front of the car which caused the driver to throw it in reverse only to get stopped by another ice pillar.
Suddenly Kiyo noticed a boy with icy blue hair and torn up clothes walking behind the man. Not only that but Kiyo also noticed what the man was carrying in his hands.
"That guy has a book! And that Kid! He looks just like Zatch! "
The man threw the driver out and climbed inside while the boy walked over to the passenger side. Suddenly the car engine sprung to life as the carjacker and the boy suddenly sped off. Kiyo wanted to do something, however, something told him that this wasn't the last they would see of them.
later in the day around lunch, Kiyo was on his way to lunch as he heard everyone whispering to each other over both Kiyo and Kane's injuries.
"You hear? Apparently that new kid Kiyo Takamine had a fight with Kane!"
"Seriously? That brainiac? I seriously doubt that guy could ever pick a fight with someone as nasty as Kane. I mean even Sunset Shimmer doesn't like to tango with that guy!"
No matter where Kiyo went the whole school was buzzing with the news. To be honest, Kiyo found it a little annoying. Being the center of attention like this wasn't exactly the most harrowing experince for him.
As Kiyo entered the lunch room he felt his bags get lighter and saw Zatch run towards the lunch line.
"Something smells really good in there Kiyo!" Zatch said as drool ran down the side of his cheek.
"Oh yeah, I forgot the cafeteria is serving Yellow tail burgers today."
"YELLOW TAIL BURGERS!" Zatch shouted as he tried to run past a few people to get his prized burger.
"Hold up Zatch!" Zatch exclaimed as he tried to stop him.
But it was too late Zatch turned into a monster as he tried to take as many yellow tail burgers as he could. However, the only problem was that he couldn't reach them.
"Here you go kid."
Suddenly a girl with rainbow colored hair and a tomboyish appearance handed Zatch one of the burgers which he happily took and swallowed whole with a satisfied look on his face. After that, Kiyo managed to finally catch up only to see the girl standing with Zatch.
"Nice to meet ya!" She said with a cocky grin.
TO BE CONTINUED!
Zatch Bell Equestrian Battles!
A Chilling Encounter! Part 2
"So is it true?" The rainbow girl asked as she, Zatch, and Kiyo ate lunch in the cafeteria.
"Is what true?" Kiyo asked as he took a bite out of his burger.
"Um duh! The big rumor around school is that you tried to fight Kane! And apparently, it was so epic that Kane wound up looking like a punching bag!"
"Well.....Um, I wouldn't say fought but...." Kiyo tried to explain only for Zatch to suddenly interrupt.
"Kiyo beat that big bully without even breaking a sweat!"
"Zatch!"
While Kiyo and Zatch argued with each other the girl just laughed which caused the both of them to stare at her with confused expressions.
"Oh man! Pinkie was right you really are a hoot Takamine." She exclaimed as she whipped a tear from her eye.
"Your friends with Pinkie to Mrs?" Zatch asked as she nodded.
"The name's Rainbow Dash! It's cool to meet you both." The girl, now known as Rainbow dash, said while she extended her hand.
Kiyo shyly lifted his hand and Dash took it and shook it violently almost to the point where he felt like his arm was gonna fall off. Rainbow laughed as she took a bite out of her sandwich.
"You know it's funny you remind me of a friend of mine." She exclaimed in between chewing her sandwich.
"Oh yeah? Well continuing with our conversation from earlier, who was the one who spread that rumor?" Kiyo asked as Dash just sneered.
"Sunset Shimmer....."
Zatch once again swallowed his burger whole and looked up to dash with a raised brow.
"I've heard her name before! Pinkie told me she was a bully!" Zatch exclaimed while Kiyo looked to Dash for answers.
"Yeah well you're definitely not far from the truth kid. Sunset Shimmer is one of the meanest girls at this school! She always has a stick up her butt and she always has to belittle someone in order for her to feel better!"
Kiyo felt a sense of Déjà Vu. The way Dash was describing her wasn't too far off from the way people described himself. It was pretty evident that whoever this Sunset Shimmer was almost like himself.
"Anyways! Did you hear about the park freezing over? Freaky stuff huh!"
"Yeah.....I've heard of global warming before but global freezing?" Kiyo said as he remembered the events from this morning.
"Hey, Kiyo?" Zatch said while pulling his sleeve.
"What is it Zatch?" Kiyo said looking down at him while Zatch stared at the door to the cafeteria.
"Do people like those guys go to this school too?"
Kiyo looked over to the entrance to the cafeteria and felt his blood run cold when he saw the same man and the child from this morning walk in. And the worst part was.....he was holding a gun.
Suddenly the man raised the rifle into the air and fired causing everyone in the room to freeze. Everyone stayed deadly quiet as the man lowered the gun and laughed as he reloaded.
"Now then everyone! If you all be so kind to move towards this side of the room! I promise if you follow orders and do as I tell you, nobodies, gonna get hurt!"
Everyone slowly got up and walked over to the right side of the cafeteria. Kiyo, Zatch, and Rainbow Dash made their way over to the back of the group as to keep hidden amongst the crowd.
"Now then Can I have some of the boy's move these tables over to the windows?" The man asked as everyone stayed still.
He sneered before lifting the rifle into the air and firing again causing everyone to jump. Suddenly some of the upper-class boys started to push the tables as the man instructed that also included Kiyo and ironically Kane as well.
While Kiyo struggled to push the table Kane walked up beside him and helped push. Kiyo noticed the scared expression on Kane's face and was shocked.
"D-Don't get the wrong idea. I just don't wanna die today, ok?"
As they both pushed the table towards the window Kiyo could see that the police and the Swat teams were already lined up.
"How could they have gotten here that fast?" Kiyo asked silently while Kane just sneered.
"Who cares! Let's just hope they can help us." Kane said with an annoyed tone before slowly walking back to the group of students.
"This doesn't make any sense! How could the police have gotten here so quickly! We should have at least heard the sirens before this guy even got here. And even if they were chasing him the school probably would have sent out an alert to the teachers to stay in class......Unless! "
"Kiyo we gotta do something!" Zatch shouted with fire in his eyes.
Kiyo watched the man carefully making sure to memorize every feature of his face. He looked over to Zatch who looked like he was about ready to explode.
"I understand Zatch but we can't do anything rash." Kiyo explained as he noticed the man pull out a blue book.
"I was right he has one of these books too! " Kiyo thought as a blue light filled the room.
"FREEZUDO! "
Suddenly the room's temperature dropped dramatically as a thick layer of ice covered the windows, thus blocking the view outside. The man closed the book and pulled out his cell phone and made a call.
"Hello? Yeah, I'd like to talk to the person leading the police outside Canterlot Highschool. Why? Oh, nothing much I just want to talk to him about what I'm gonna do to these little brats if I don't get what I want!" The man explained as he shot another round into the ceiling scaring everyone in the cafeteria.
"Yo Kiyo! What should we do?" Dash asked while Zatch looked at his friend expectingly.
"I'm telling you we should stay put!" Kiyo exclaimed only to hear someone crying near the front of the room.
The man turned around to see a girl with pink hair curled up in a ball crying her eyes out. With a devious smile he started walking over to her and in one swift motion, he grabbed her by the hair and yanked her off the ground.
"Perfect. Yes, cheif of police? I'd like you to listen to a few of my demands! And just to show you that I'm serious I'll let you hear what's going to happen if you don't follow through." The man explained as he put the phone next to the sobbing girl.
Kiyo suddenly noticed Dash's expression had changed dramatically with pure hate in her eyes. She was shaking with rage as the man continued to hold onto the sobbing girl. However, before Dash could charge the guy someone who was sitting next to the girl stood up.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!" A girl with purple hair shouted as the man turned to her with a devious grin.
"Want to be a hero huh? Sit down! Unless you want this girls blood on your hands."
Suddenly the man placed the barrel of the rifle up to the girls head and made her cry even more. Now thoroughly pissed off Dash was about to charge him but was quickly grabbed by Kiyo.
"LET GO I'M GONNA-!" She tried to shout only to stop when she saw Kiyo's expression.
His expression was a lot more focused now. He was beyond pissed for sure but it was almost scary how calm his face was. The same could be said for Zatch as a few moments ago he looked like he was gonna charge the guy too! But now......It was like they both had the same idea.
"Trust me were gonna save her." Kiyo said confidently which caused Dash to blush slightly as she sat back down.
"So what's the plan?" Zatch asked while Kiyo looked at the thug.
"He has a bolt action rifle, one shot from that and were dead either way. We need a distraction in order for this to work." Kiyo explained while looking a Dash who only nodded.
"Just tell me what to do."
"Ok, Dash will distract the gunner and draw his attention away from me and Zatch. Zatch, I need you to sneak over to the entrance of the cafeteria and then I need you to stare at the guy. Then I'll make my way to the other side of the cafeteria on the opposite side of the hostages then I'll grab his attention."
"But doesn't that mean you'll be the target!" Dash exclaimed which Kiyo only nodded in response.
"Yes, however, if were smart about this we can get that girl out of the way. Dash, once his attentions on me I want you to find the hardest thing you can find an-" Kiyo tried to explain only for someone else to interrupt.
"That ain't gonna work." Kane explained as he made his way over to them.
"She's not got enough strength to knock the guy out! Just leave it to me geek!" Kane explained while Kiyo begrudgingly nodded.
"Ok, Kane will make his way over to him while he's distracted and knock the rifle out of his hands then while he's going for the gun the girl can get out of there! Then leave the rest up to me and Zatch."
Everyone nodded and suddenly the plan had begun. Zatch slowly crawled over towards the entrance while Kiyo went in the opposite direction and finally Kane made his way to the front of the group.
"HEY!" Dash shouted as loud as she could which caused the gunner to turn to her.
"Huh? What another hero?" He asked with a cocky grin.
"Umm......I seriously gotta go to the bathroom." Dash explained as Zatch carefully crawled to the entrance.
"What? do you realize what kind of situation you're in?"
"Well yeah but I don't wanna piss my pants! Especially not in front of all my classmates." Dash explained as Kiyo quickly made his away around.
"Ugh, this is why I hate kids! Look you better hold it you brat! You only got a few more minutes anyways." The man explained as he shot another round into the ceiling which caused Rainbow to take her seat.
"Damn kids toda- HUH!" The man mumbled to himself only to turn around to see Kiyo standing in front of him.
"DAMMIT KID! I'M NOT SCREWING AROUND TAKE A HIKE OR ELSE!" The man exclaimed as he unloaded the barrel.
However, before he could reload he suddenly noticed what Kiyo had in his hands. Kiyo held out the red spell book which caused him to turn and see Zatch waiting by the door.
"YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!" He exclaimed in a panic.
"HOSOKAWA!" The boy shouted, however, it was too late.
Kane sprung from the group and slammed his fist into the man's face which caused him to lose his grip on the rifle and the girl. Kane suddenly rushed forwards and grabbed the girl and ran for it. Now beaten and confused the man, known as Hosokawa, stared at Kiyo with furry in his eyes.
"Ok let's hope this works! THE FIRST SPELL ZAKER! "
However, instead of a bolt of lighting like last time now there was nothing but empty silence. Kiyo froze as he glared at the red book with fear in his eyes.
"Dammit! One more time, ZAKER! "
Once again there was nothing and now Hosokawa was back to normal. However, now he looked a little more amused than anything else.
"I gotta admit you had me worried their kid." He explained as he pulled out his blue book.
"When you brought out that spell book I gotta admit I was wondering what kind of spell you were gonna use." The boy exclaimed while his partner walked up to Kiyo.
"Seeing as you don't know how to use that spell book it'd be a shame to let you keep it." He explained while he held out his hand.
"Look kid you don't know what you're doing with that thing so just hand it over and we can call it a day."
Kiyo froze as he stared at the man with curiosity.
"Look I'll admit you outsmarted me! Gotta amend you for that one, however, without that spell book your powerless. So hand the book over and I'll leave without hurting another hair on your friend's heads."
Kiyo looked down at the red book as thoughts of getting everyone out of harm's way seemed the most logical, however, he didn't like the idea of just handing it over to him.
"KIYO DON'T HAND HIM THAT BOOK!" Zatch exclaimed which caused Hosokawa to sneer and focus his attention on Zatch.
"I've had enough of you kid! FREEZUDO! "
Suddenly a blue light began to shine from the book Hosokawa was holding as the blue haired boy suddenly unleashed a freezing wave towards Zatch. Without even a pep Zatch was frozen solid by the icy spell.
"Ok, now you got two options. Give me the book and I'll take the kid and go, or would you rather the kid stays on ice?" He asked as everyone looked at Kiyo expectingly.
"If he stay's in there too long his hearts gonna freeze you know?" The boy explained as Kiyo gritted his teeth.
Kiyo for the first time in his life didn't have an answer for what to do. How could he in a situation like this! If he doesn't hand the book over Zatch will die and probably others too, but if he hands the book over there's a chance that he'll leave, free Zatch, and everyone can get out safely.
"W-What do I do!? " Kiyo thought as his heart began to pound in his ears.
"Well, what's your answer kid? Yea or nay?" Hosokawa said with a smug grin.
"KIYO DON'T HAND OVER THAT BOOK! "
Kiyo suddenly heard Zatch's voice shouting at him and he quickly turned his head towards Zatch's frozen state. Even though he couldn't move it was like Zatch was speaking to him telepathically.
"WERE THE HEROS OF JUSTICE! "
Suddenly Kiyo stopped shaking and now he was able to think clearly. The answer was clear as crystal! No matter what!
"I CAN'T BETRAY MY FRIEND!" Kiyo shouted as Hosokawa frowned.
"Oh well! Guess I'll just take out the hostages!" He exclaimed as a blue light began to shine from his book.
"NO WAY WE WON'T LET YOU! RIGHT ZATCH!" Kiyo shouted as a red light began to shine from the book.
Suddenly there was a loud cracking noise and everyone's attention shot towards the entrance as Zatch's icy prison began to melt away as a fierce red aura surrounded his body. Suddenly the room got a lot hotter as steam covered everything in sight blinding almost everyone in the room.
"YOU READY ZATCH!"
"YOU BET I AM!"
"ALRIGHT HERE COMES THE FIRST SPELL!" Kiyo exclaimed as the book shined brighter and brighter.
"ZAKER!"
Zatch's eye's once again vanished as a strong electrical charge began to form in front of him. Then with a thunderous bang, that roared out all over the cafeteria, a giant bolt of lightning shot out causing an explosion that destroyed everything in the cafeteria.
Later....
Kiyo and Zatch stood in front of a large gathering of new's reporters and cameramen as they asked Nemours questions as to what happened. Apparently, he managed to get away but they got the guy on camera so they know his face and thanks to Kiyo's testimony they got his name to. Everyone was congratulating him and thanking him for what he had done.
However, Kiyo tried to explain it wasn't just him. But as he tried to find Kane and Rainbow Dash it seemed pretty evident that they were nowhere to be found.
After the press had left, Kiyo and Zatch made their way back home only to be stopped by Rainbow Dash.
"Hey, guys." She said with a tired sigh.
"Dash! What happened to you!" Zatch said in a worried tone.
"You vanished right after everything happened. Where did you go?" Kiyo asked while Dash rubbed the back of her head.
"I took Fluttershy home. I knew she wouldn't be able to handle all those reporters right now. Heck while I was taking her home she was crying and snotting all over me!" Dash explained while drawing attention to her wet and sticky clothes.
"Oh, so that was the friend." Kiyo said bluntly which caused Dash to raise an eyebrow.
"That friend I reminded you of? Remember from earlier." Kiyo explained while Dash suddenly realized what he was talking about.
"Oh! No way! I was thinking of someone else!" Dash explained rapidly as a blush covered her face.
"Anyways, how did you cause that explosion earlier?"
Kiyo suddenly jumped as he realized he would have to come up with some kind of excuse for what happened earlier.
"They said that you tripped a circuit breaker or something and caused an explosion in the kitchen. But when you screamed that gibberish earlier that's when the explosion happened."
Kiyo felt his heart stop as he realized Dash had such a precise memory. Thinking of a good excuse was gonna be hard seeing as she saw so much. However, before he could think of anything Dash just grunted and started to walk away.
"Well, whatever! It doesn't matter now! Oh, and by the way Kiyo...." Dash exclaimed as she turned towards Kiyo with a cheerful expression plastered on her face.
"THANKS! I OWE YA ONE!"
Later on, that night Kiyo and Zatch watched the news report the story. Kiyo couldn't help but think of how crazy this day had been! Flashbacks to the moment when Kiyo unleashed the Zaker spell played in his head over and over again.
"I can't believe how much you've grown in only four short days Kiyo!" Kiyo's mother said with a sigh of relief.
"Of course! Don't forget I'm training him!" Zatch exclaimed with his usual cheerful grin.
"Zatch your really booming! I think you've grown a lot too!"
"Really? You think so? Maybe now I can lift the box!" Zatch said as he picked up the TV with hardly any effort.
"WOW! I can even hold it one handed!" Zatch exclaimed as he held the TV up with only one hand.
"Maybe you should take the groceries in for me later!" She said with a chuckle as Zatch continued to play with the TV.
Kiyo smiled as he let the thoughts of today vanish as he relaxed on the couch. However, one thing was still bugging him.
"How come that guy knew how to get into CHS without any commotion? And how did the police know to get their so quick? The only way would have to be......No, there's no way someone would help that creep......Right? "
Kiyo reached over and picked up the red book and thought back to the moment he heard Zatch's voice.
"Does this book allow Zatch to hear my thoughts? What is this thing....." Kiyo whispered to himself as a flurry of ideas swarmed inside his head like an angry bee hive.
Before he could become lost in thought Kiyo suddenly noticed the book begin to glow. He opened the book and was shocked to see another passage had been filled in.
"No way! I can read another page! I guess that means that Zatch has a new power." Kiyo said as Zatch continued to goof around.
TO BE CONTINUED!
Zatch Bell Equestrian Battles!
A Chilling Encounter! Part 3
"The second spell, Rashield?" Kiyo recited as he rubbed his tired eyes.
Once again Kiyo had dedicated an entire night to studying the red book and the new passage that had appeared. After reviewing the book in its entirety it seemed like the only real thing that changed was the new passage.
"It seems like I won't be able to read any more of the book until I learn how to use it. Still I wonder what kind of power this new spell will give Zatch?" Kiyo said only to imagined Zatch unleashing a gigantic electrical blast destroying whole buildings in its wake which sent a chill up his spine.
"On second thought maybe I should try ignoring it. "
While Kiyo was studying Zatch was doing his usual morning routine of running around the house and making sure everyone was up. And on his mission, he walked into Kiyo's room and saw him reading from a book.
"Hey Kiyo, Breakfasts ready."
"Not now Zatch."
"Come and get it!"
"Not now Zatch! I'm trying to study here!" Kiyo exclaimed with an annoyed sigh.
Suddenly Zatch pulled out a musical triangle and started ringing it. Kiyo, tired and annoyed, felt his eyebrow begin to twitch and before long he felt his patience snapping altogether.
"ZATCH I'M TRYING TO CONCENTRATE!"
After breakfast, Kiyo was getting dressed before making his way to the front door only to stop when he saw Zatch putting his shoes on and getting ready to go out as well.
"Ok Kiyo, I'm ready to go!" Zatch exclaimed while putting on his Sports bag.
"To go were small fry!?" Kiyo said with an annoyed look on his face.
"To school of course! Where else!?"
Kiyo felt a migraine begin to form as dealing with Zatch was always a challenge especially in the morning.
"Zatch you can't come to school with me." He explained bluntly while Zatch looked at him with a teary-eyed expression before grabbing his pants leg.
"BUT WHY NOT!? WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO ALL DAY WHILE YOUR GONE!?" Zatch cried as Kiyo tried to snatch him off his pants leg.
"I don't know! Watch Tv, Eat a bug! I really don't care!"
"How could you treat me like this Kiyo!? I thought you and I were friends! How could you just leave me here all alone all day!!!!" Zatch said while crying his little eyes out.
Kiyo tried to cover his ears while Zatch continued to throw his little temper tantrum, however, after 2 minutes of non-stop whining Kiyo had finally had enough and decided to make something to distract him.
"Fine you want a friend?"
"BEHOLD THE VULCAN 300! " Kiyo exclaimed dramatically while Zatch looked at the Vulcan with excitement.
The Vulcan 300 may look like a simple cardboard box with chopsticks glued onto the sides, however, thats were the Vulcan would fool you! However, it was easily enough to fool Zatch cause he was already playing with it the second Kiyo handed it to him.
"Very cool isn't he? I bet no other kid has a friend like that." Kiyo said with a smug grin knowing that his plan had worked.
"Wow! Kiyo I love it! How old is he?"
"Five minutes."
"What is a Vulcan 300 exactly?"
"A super robot that fires 300 turbo flux missiles! With a body made out of indestructible cardboardium and fully articulated chopstick limbs!" Kiyo explained in an overly exaggerated tone.
It seems like that was just enough for Zatch cause it seems like he didn't question anything Kiyo had said. With that, Zatch started throwing the Vulcan 300 up and down while Kiyo opened the front door and quickly made his escape before Zatch could notice him.
Meanwhile....
In one of the more poorly lit parts of CHS, a certain orange haired girl was on her phone reviewing what she had observed the past two days. Taking videos of both events with the new student, Kiyo Takamine, involving the strange red book and the blond haired boy. Of course, there was another problem she had to contend with but that could wait to later.....She had company.
"SUNSET SHIMMER!"
The girl, now known as Sunset, turned her head to see the large figure of Kane as he stomped his way towards her with a very unhappy expression plastered on his face.
"Can I help you, Kane?" She asked only for Kane to punch the lockers next to her causing it to bend inward.
"Your damn right your gonna help me! What was that shit yesterday!?"
"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about." Sunset explained bluntly only for Kane to fly off the handle and grab her by the collar and lift her off the ground.
"I got this text the other day. It told me to go to the roof cause somebody wanted to fight, however, all I found was a brat and a coward!" Kane shouted while Sunset stared at him with a bored look.
"Then yesterday that guy somehow manages to sneak in here and hold us hostage. But there's really only one way to get in the building without anyone noticing and you and I know it all too well! Not only that but the cops were already there even though nobody called them. And to top it all off guess who I didn't see at Lunch?"
"Is there a point to this story, Kane?" Sunset asked as Kane felt his blood begin to boil.
"What the hell are you up to Sunset!? You always been a real pain in the ass but this is a whole new level for you! What do you want with Takamine and that kid?" Kane demanded before letting her go.
Sunset straightened out her outfit and looked at Kane with the same bored expression from earlier. However, Kane was smart enough to realize he couldn't actually lay a finger on Sunset. The last person to do that wound up in the hospital! If there was one thing everyone at CHS knew it was to not mess with this girl.
"Let's just say......He's caught my attention. Stay out of my way Kane or else." Sunset said with a sinister tone before walking away.
Kane sneered and stormed off in a fit of rage but he knew what he had to do even if he didn't like it.
Back with Kiyo, he had just managed to get to school before the bell rung. However, as he made his way through the halls he noticed a lot of people were staring at him. As Kiyo made his way past a few groups he heard some faint whispers but he couldn't make out what they were saying.
"This is weird. I wonder what they're all staring at? " Kiyo thought as he passed another group of students.
"Hey Kiyo what's going on? How come everyone's acting so strangely this morning?" Zatch asked as he walked beside Kiyo.
Kiyo suddenly stopped then looked down and felt all his hairs stand on end as his eyes nearly popped out of his sockets.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE! I THOUGHT YOU WERE PLAYING WITH THE VULCAN 300!" Kiyo exclaimed while Zatch just smiled while holding up the Vulcan 300.
"Oh yeah! Well, I thought I would bring him along! He was so much fun I thought I'd show him to Pinkie." Zatch explained with his usual cheerful attitude.
"Ohh swell~." Kiyo said sarcastically before shoving Zatch in the sports bag and making his way to class.
"KIYO LET ME OUT! IT SMELLS LIKE DIRTY SOCKS IN HERE!"
Once Kiyo had finally made his way to his classroom he noticed that once again everyone was staring at him. It was kinda odd to see everyone staring at him, even Kane was staring at him more intensely than usual.
"Ok it's the same in here. " Kiyo thought as he took his seat.
Suddenly Kiyo felt someone pat him on the back and looked up to see a boy with fair colored skin and blue hair wearing a black jacket as he walked past him.
"Hey man that took real guts." He said while giving Kiyo a thumbs up which just seemed to confuse him even more.
Suddenly a pink blur ran up to him and literally shoved a newspaper in his face.
"Kiyo this is super duper amazing! You totally made the front page!" Pinkie explained so quickly that he couldn't understand a word.
Kiyo took the newspaper and saw a picture taken yesterday of both Kiyo and Zatch as everyone was exiting the building. The title of the article was "Young teen saves hostages! " which caught him off guard seeing as he wasn't the only person to help in that situation.
"A story about what happened yesterday. I get it now......That's why everyone was staring at me today. " Kiyo thought as he finished reading the article.
"Woah! Look at that were famous!" Zatch said as he looked at the newspaper from behind Kiyo.
"Um did you just say something Kiyo? I thought I heard something." Pinkie asked as Kiyo shoved the newspaper in front of her as he pushed Zatch back into the bag before zipping it up.
"It was nothing! Just talking to myself thats all."
"Anyways you mind if some of the girls come over to say hi! You're suddenly everybody's hero all of a sudden! Convenient huh!?" Pinkie said in a bubble tone as all the girls in the class swarmed him.
"Kiyo was it true that you were risking your life?" A girl with green mint hair asked as everyone stared at Kiyo expectingly.
"Well, I guess....To be honest, I wasn't really thinking about it." Kiyo explained as everyone gasped.
"Weren't you scared?"
"I would have been scared out of my mind!"
"Well, I'm not gonna lie my knee's were knocking a little. But everything happened so quickly that I didn't have much time to think." Kiyo explained bashfully while rubbing the back of his head.
Suddenly everyone heard a chair fall over only to see it was Kane as he made his way over to where Kiyo was, however, just as he was about to get there Zatch suddenly leaped out of the bag and landed in front of Kiyo. However, this didn't seem to bother Kane by much.
"Look you little squirt! Get out of my way or else I'm gonna-" Kane tried to say only to feel someone grab his shoulder.
"Gonna what Kane? Sit down and behave yourself? Perfect." Their teacher Cranky said while Kane sneered.
"Fine....Kiyo let me see you after class is finished." Kane explained as he took his seat which caught Kiyo a little of guard.
"What would Kane want now? "
While Kiyo was pondering this Cranky walked past him and placed his hand oh his shoulder which seemed to snap Kiyo out of his daydream.
"By the way, bravo Kiyo. However, for the time being, if you don't mind I think will have this little guy wait in the nurse's office until our class is over." He explained as Kiyo nodded and watched as Zatch helplessly begged to stay.
After class, Kiyo was making his way to the nurse's office only to be stopped by Kane who signaled him to follow. To be honest, Kiyo would usually just ignore him but he seemed different today. After making a few turns Kane stopped in a dark hallway with a flickering light on the ceiling.
"Why doesn't anyone change the bulb for that? " Kiyo thought while Kane sighed angerly.
"Look don't get me wrong. I REALLY don't like you!" Kane exclaimed as Kiyo just stared at him blankly.
"You brought me over here just to tell me that?"
"No, you smart ass! I brought you here so that I could warn you." Kane explained as he pulled out his cellphone.
This news had managed to catch Kiyo a little off guard. He never expected Kane of all people to be giving him advice! However, it bothered him a little that he was giving him a warning.
"The other day I got a text from someone who wanted to fight on the roof. It had the exact time and everything, but I didn't figure out who sent it till today.....It was Sunset Shimmer."
Kiyo suddenly remembered the girl from that day he had accidently bumped into.
"Does she have orange and yellowish hair?" Kiyo asked as Kane nodded.
"Yeah, and trust me when I say that girl is nasty! She is easily one of the most messed up people I have ever met! She can easily make your life a living hell. If yesterday wasn't a prime example for you." Kane explained as Kiyo's pupils suddenly shrunk to the size of pinpricks.
"You mean she's the one who-"
"Yeah, I don't know how she did it but I have no doubt she's the one who brought that guy here." Kane explained as Kiyo tried to think of what he might have done to make her so angry with him.
"Look I don't know how you managed to do that stuff yesterday or the day before. Frankly, I don't care but my advice to you is to try not to piss her off anymore." Kane said as he walked past Kiyo, who was deep in thought, and turned the corner.
"So she must have given that guy the instructions for the hostage situation. Which means she must know more about the Zatch and the red book which is why she called that Pyscho so she could test us? " Kiyo thought as felt his head begin to spin as the thought of one of his classmates trying to kill him was just too much.
Meanwhile....
In a dark alleyway in town, Sunset was lazily playing with her phone until she heard footsteps coming her way.
"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU AT!?" A very angry sounding man shouted as he kicked a trash can into the side of the wall.
Sunset looked to see the man from yesterday with the same blue haired boy and grinned as she made her way towards the both of them.
"Hosokawa!" The boy exclaimed while pointing at Sunset as she came into view.
The man turned around to see her and sneered as he rubbed his head in aggravation.
"Don't tell me YOUR the one who gave me these instructions!?" Hosokawa shouted as he pulled out his phone revealing the messages sent by an unknown user.
"Yeah got a problem with that?" Sunset asked as the man just laughed.
"Naw but I'm surprised some kid wanted to help me take her own classmates hostage." He exclaimed as the boy stared at the girl with an icy glare.
"I honesty was just testing you and that boy, Kiyo Takamine." She explained which seemed to make Hosokawa mad.
"Yeah, that brat...."
"You want revenge right?" Sunset asked with a knowing smile as the man glared at her.
"Oh yeah~."
Sunset laughed as she walked over to the man and handed him a phone. He looked at her with a raised brow as she just looked at him with a blank stare.
"When I need you again I'll call you on that phone. When I do you'll get your chance to get your payback." Sunset explained as she began to stroll away.
"Hold on why exactly should we work with you! You're not gaining anything from this and neither will we, so why even bother?" Hosokawa asked as Sunset turned to him and grinned.
"Trust me once my plan gets underway. Will have enough power to take over the entire world."
And with that Sunset walked past a corner and left. Hosokawa tried to chase her down, however, by the time he had turned the corner she was gone. He sighed and looked down at the small flip phone then placed it in his pocket.
"let's go Reycom!" Hosokawa shouted as the blue haired boy followed behind him.
"Looks like things just got a little more interesting. "
TO BE CONTINUED!
Zatch Bell Equestrian Battles!
Sparks on The Dance Floor! Part 1
After getting that warning from Kane, Kiyo was deep in thought over Sunset Shimmer and what she could want. it wasn't until now, however, that Kiyo realized how weird the names around here were. In fact, he was so deep in thought on this subject that he hadn't realized that he was walking towards the Library until he accidently bumped into someone.
"HEY WATCH WHERE YOUR GOING!" A kid shouted at him which seemed to finally snap Kiyo out of his thoughts.
"Huh? Oh sorry about that." Kiyo said as he saw the two boys standing outside the library entrance.
It was then he noticed what they were doing as he looked into the library to see a girl with purple hair doing some pretty weird things with the libraries books. Kiyo felt a bead of sweat drop down his brow as he observed the girl holding an encyclopedia in her mouth. He turned to see the boys recording the whole thing on their phones and frowned.
"Get lost!"
Without arguing the boys instantly ran off while Kiyo sighed before walking over to the girl.
"Umm need a hand?" Kiyo asked as the girl turned on her knees to see him holding his hand out.
She instantly shot to her feet with the book still in her mouth, however, after seeing how much Kiyo was staring at the book she let it go with a nervous giggle.
"What are you trying to do?" Kiyo asked with a raised brow.
The girl sighed as she picked up the books she managed to collect. After seeing a few of the covers Kiyo seemed to realize what she was trying to do.
"I get it, you're trying to study history." Kiyo summarized as she nodded nervously.
"Umm....Please don't tell anybody I did any of that."
"Trust me I wasn't planning on it. Looks like you got a lot their need some help?"
After a moment of thought, she nodded bashfully and Kiyo started picking up a few of textbooks she had collected. However, after observing them he noticed that they weren't very helpful, or even related to what she was trying to study, so he put those which didn't seem all that relevant up and picked out a few more.
After that, Kiyo and the mystery girl studied together for what felt like hours. It was surprisingly difficult for her to understand most of what Kiyo was trying to explain. Not only that but her handwriting was remarkably bad, almost un-legible, and most of the textbooks she tried to read from were filled with terms she couldn't even wrap her head around.
Needless to say, it was a very long afternoon of studying...
"So what's your name anyways?" Kiyo asked as he decided now was a good time to take a break.
"Oh, my name is Twilight Sparkle! It's a pleasure to meet you!" She shouted just now realizing that she hadn't introduced herself.
"I gotta admit I'm kinda impressed." Kiyo said as he closed the textbook in front of him.
"I could say the same for you! I've never actually had the chance to study with others before. It's definitely a welcomed change!" Twilight exclaimed excitedly.
"Well, I've been reading books far more complex than these since I was a kid." Kiyo explained as he remembered his days back in his dad's study.
"Really!? These books are really complicated!"
"Well, my dad happens to be a professor in England and he usually brings a lot of books home with him. So seeing as I didn't have many friends when I was little I spent a lot of time reading."
While Kiyo was talking about his past Twilight couldn't help but see something in Kiyo that made her slightly nostalgic.
"He was just like me.... " She thought as Kiyo laughed a little.
"Yeah.....But recently I've had to deal with some pretty weird stuff because of him." Kiyo explained which caught Twilights attention.
"What kind of weird stuff?"
"Well, I just turned 14 and my dad usually sends some books and clothes as a present. However, this time, he sent me something pretty strange." Kiyo explained as he reached into his bag.
Twilight felt a cold feeling run through her body as Kiyo pulled out a strange red book. Twilight suddenly froze as she saw the symbol printed on the front of the book. She had seen a symbol similar to this one before, however, it shocked her that such a thing was here.
Suddenly they both heard yelling coming from the hallway and turned to see a Yellow-haired boy running up and down the halls with tears in his eyes.
"KIYYYYYYOOOOOOOO!!"
"I guess that's my Que. Anyways It's been a pleasure Mrs. Sparkle. Oh, and my name Is Kiyo by the way." He explained as he packed up his things and prepared to leave.
"WAIT!" Twilight shouted while grabbing his arm which caused Kiyo to look at her in shock.
"Do you mind meeting me here tomorrow?" She asked as Kiyo looked at her with a raised brow.
"Umm, sure.......Any particular reason?"
Twilight looked down at her feet which made it seem like she didn't want to talk anymore. Kiyo sighed and agreed to meet her tomorrow and left the library as he grabbed the screaming Zatch and made his way back home.
"I wonder what that was about? "
The Next day!
Kiyo felt his blood pressure begin to rise as once again. Zatch had followed him to school. However, today felt a lot more strange seeing as everyone, even the teachers, were on their phones and gossiping about something.
"Hey, Kiyo what's everyone so worked up about?" Zatch asked while Kiyo stared at a group of giggling students laughing at their phones.
"Don't know Zatch.....But maybe it's about time we find out." Kiyo said as he and Zatch made their way to the library.
However, on his way there he suddenly felt someone grab him and drag him into away. After taking a second to register what had happened he suddenly realized who had drug him into an empty classroom.
"Pinkie!?"
Pinkie gestured to keep quiet as she pointed to the other side of the room where a girl suddenly burst through the door with Twilight. The girl had pale white skin with curly purple hair with a white top and a royal purple skirt with three diamonds stitched onto it. Kiyo and Zatch watched as the strange girl started to measure Twilight before putting a bright green top with a matching skirt with a blond wig.
"Oh yes~! this is good! Now no one will be able to recognize you." The girl with the incredibly posh accent explained as Twilight just stared at her with a confused expression.
"Rarity why wouldn't I want anyone to-" Twilight tried to say only to be interrupted.
"And will need a disguise for your pet dog. Which is too bad cause he so adorable~." She exclaimed while gesturing to the small purple dog sticking out of Twilight's bag.
For a second Kiyo almost thought he could see hearts in the dog's eyes. However, before he could ponder that any further someone else suddenly burst into the room. She had tan skin with a blond hair tied in a ponytail she also wore a green and white vest with a simple blue skirt.
"There you are Twilight!" She said in a strong southern accent.
"So much for the disguise." Rarity exclaimed as the southern girl walked in.
However, right behind the southern girl, another girl walked in but this one was all too familiar. Kiyo gasped as the girl from the hostage situation peeked her head through the door. Kiyo remembered her name was Fluttershy from what Rainbow Dash had said back then.
She turned and locked eyes with Kiyo and instantly she looked like she was about to burst into tears. However, before she could the southern girl walked over to help her.
"It's alright Fluttershy. Why don't you say hello?" She said as Fluttershy nodded and walked up to Kiyo.
"H-H-Hello......T-Thank you...." Fluttershy said in a type of tone that made it seem like she was whispering.
"Well at least her name makes sense......Sorta. "
"Why were you all looking for me? What in the world's going on?" Twilight asked as everyone's attention was drawn back to her.
"Oh, it's horrible! She hasn't seen IT yet!" Fluttershy said as Pinkie pulled out her laptop and placed it on the table.
Youtube Video
Everyone was flabbergasted, to say the least. Both Kiyo and Zatch stared at the screen with blank stares while the rest of the girls cringed at the imagery. As the video ended there was a long drawn out silence as everyone looked at Twilight who was trying her hardest to hide under the table.
"Has everyone seen this?" Twilight asked as the rest of the girls nervously looked at each other.
"Ugh.....Nobody is gonna want to vote for me after seeing this!"
"Umm Twilight, if its still ok with you, I'd like to vote for you." Fluttershy said as everyone turned towards her.
"Um well.....You stood up for me when Sunset Shimmer was trying to bully me! So I-I feel like I owe you...."
Twilight seemed to relax, however, Kiyo shuddered at the very mentioning of her name. But he tried to keep cool as to cause any suspicion, after all, the last thing he needed was to get in any more trouble.
"Hold on a second what are you guys talking about?" Kiyo asked as everyone turned towards him.
"Oh sorry bout that. I guess cause your new here you don't know much about the Princess of the Fall Formal party." The southern girl exclaimed with a tip of her hat.
"Fall Formal?"
"It's this thing Sunset Shimmer wins every year! And old Twilight over there is gonna be the first girl to challenge her for the crown!" Pinkie explained as Kiyo stroked his chin in thought.
"Hold on a second....This feels way too convenient. Just as this Fall Formal event is about to take place the school gets attacked. If I believe in what Kane told me.........Then this sunset shimmer might be more dangerous than I had originally had thought. "
What many people didn't know about Kiyo was that he had a bad habit of muttering to himself whenever he is deep in thought. So.....Basically, he was whispering to himself while everyone stared at him.
"Umm is he ok?" Rarity asked while Zatch nodded.
"Yeah, Kiyo can be a little....Strange sometimes! Yeah, thats it! Kiyo's REALLY weird!" Zatch said enthusiastically while the girls giggled amongst themselves.
"Oh, Zatch~!" Kiyo said in a threatening tone as Zatch froze on the spot.
"YAHHH! I'm sorry Kiyo! I didn't mean it! HONEST!" Zatch yelled as he tried to appease his angered friend.
"Anyways, if you still wanna run for princess maybe there's a way I can help?" Pinkie said as Rarity raised a curious brow.
"Oh really? You want to help huh? Funny seeing as you like to be a glory hog." Rarity said while folding her arms
"WHAT!?"
Pinkie turned towards Rarity with fire in her eyes as her face turned bright red. Suddenly they heard something coming from the front of the room and saw the southern girl throwing away an apple she had been eating.
"Yall still angry at each other? Grow up and get over it!"
"Oh, really Applejack? Just like you *got over* your little problem with Rainbow Dash?" Rarity asked with a cocky smirk as Applejack frowned.
"Rainbow told me she was gonna bring all the teams to my bake sale. I told everyone that they would be there and not a single person even bothered to show up! She made a liar out of me thats different!"
"IS NOT!" Pinkie and Rarity shouted in unison.
"ARE TOO!"
Suddenly the room erupted into a war zone as everyone except for Kiyo, Zatch, and Twilight started arguing with each other. Heck, even Fluttershy was fighting with the group which surprised Kiyo seeing as he kinda saw her as a doormat.
"GUYS!"
Suddenly everyone got quite as they turned towards Twilight who looked pretty upset.
"I wanna show you all something." Twilight exclaimed as she pulled out a book from her bag.
As she turned through the pages Kiyo managed to summarize that it was a yearbook. Then she turned to a page with a group of girls that he was all too familiar with.
"You all were friends at one point! But something changed and I believe it had something to do with Sunset Shimmer." Twilight said as Kiyo suddenly caught onto her tone.
"It's a nice theory but it's not Sunset Shimmers fault for Pinkie ruining my silent animal auction. It was supposed to be a serious event and she ruined it!" Fluttershy said with a huff.
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!? I got a text from you saying you didn't want a Silent auction! You wanted a big party!" She explained as she pulled out her phone showing her texts.
"I-I didn't send you a text?"
"Hold on you don't think that she's been the one sending me those Emails do you? Every time I offer to help with events at school I get and Email saying that Pinkie already has plenty of help already. Then I learned that she had done everything herself!"
"I didn't send you any Emails." Pinkie said as she looked through her phone.
"You don't think she was the one who caused all that mess between me and Rainbow Dash do you?" Applejack asked with a worried expression .
"Did you ask Rainbow Dash about what happened?" Zatch asked as Applejack rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly.
"I kinda stopped talking to her after what happened."
"WHHHHHHAT!? ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT THEY ALL DIDNT EVEN THINK TO ASK A SINGLE QUESTION ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED!? " Kiyo thought as the girls looked at each other with embarrassment written all over their faces.
"Well then maybe it's about time we change that." Twilight said as she stood up and comforted her friends.
The girls all started towards the door until Twilight turned to see Kiyo deep in thought.
"Are you coming to?" Twilight asked Kiyo as he shook his head.
"No, not yet. I need do something before leaving school but how about I catch up with you guys later?" Kiyo said as the girls all seemed to nod their heads in agreement.
"Then meet us at Sugar Cube Corner! See ya later Kiyo!" Pinkie exclaimed as the girls walked outside.
"Kiyo?" Zatch asked with a worried tone.
Kiyo knelt down and placed his hand on top of his head. Zatch noticed the look in Kiyo's eyes and remembered the day when he and Kiyo were on the roof.
"Zatch......It's time we start operation...." Kiyo said with a determined look in his eyes.
Zatch suddenly felt his eye's light up in excitement as Kiyo stood up and pulled out the red book. Without skipping a beat Zatch and Kiyo chose their next words very carefully.
"HERO OF JUSTICE!! "
TO BE CONTINUED!