Finding You Can Change: Chapter 01
Chikorita-Trainer1
T
Disclaimer: I don't own Zatch Bell!

Author's Note: Never written a Zatch Bell! story before. I haven't read much of the manga (though I know how it ends), or seen all of the available dub. But Brago and Sherry are my favorite characters. This is just an idea I've had mulling around my brain for a couple weeks now.
Author's Note 2: I think I should be fairly obvious what inspired this story. *wink*

Ever since Zatch had become King of the mamodo world, things had changed drastically.

Mamodo children were attending school. The selection of the next ruler would not be determined by fighting. Mamodo owned their own souls, their identities, their lives. Zatch had made the mamodo world as close to the Human World as he possibly could. And everyone seemed happy.

Brago was not happy.

This was not the world he knew. He liked the mamodo world the way it had been before; a cutthroat, take-no-prisoners, competitive world where mamodo lived with the expectation that one day they would be selected for the 100 children who would be sent to the human world to duke it out. He had spent his childhood undergoing elite training, and for what? To come in SECOND to that blonde brat Zatch, who was now king. That was fair, of course, he had won. But did he have to so radically alter the world Brago called home?

"Again? This is the third time this week!" exclaimed Zatch as he sat on his throne, while Brago was hauled in by guards and laid at his feet.

"Destruction of public property, disturbing the peace and threatening a citizen with violence," said one of the guards. Brago growled as he yanked his hands out of the grasp of the guards.

"Leave us," said Zatch, standing up on his feet and descending the few steps down to the floor. The guards nodded and left the throne room. Zatch sighed. "This is your third strike, Brago. You know what this means."

Brago just growled under his breath and refused to meet Zatch's eyes.

"Is this what you really want? To just destroy everything until it costs you your freedom?"

No verbal response from Brago.

Zatch called for more security to cuff the dark mamodo and take him down to the dungeon. Brago was placed in a cell, with a bench for sleeping and a toilet in the corner. He had been imprisoned, period.

Back upstairs in the castle, Zatch had called for Tia to walk with him and offer advice.

"I may be king but I don't know how to rule over ALL my subjects," said Zatch. "Everyone seems happy and follows the laws, except Brago."

"I think you did the right thing by locking him away," said Tia. "That's what criminals deserve."

"Then why do I feel bad?"

"Probably because you're such a nice person, and when other people feel bad, you feel bad for them. That's what makes you a kind king."

"I know. But how could a kind king throw one of his allies in jail?" asked Zatch.

"You can't be Mr. Nice Guy all the time," said Tia. "Don't worry about it so much."

"I just feel like what Brago needs isn't punishment, it's help."

Down in his cell, Brago was pacing like a caged animal. When he couldn't contain his frustration any longer, he would drag his claws down the stone wall. When that wasn't satisfactory, he would attempt to punch the wall. However, in the mamodo world, elements were much stronger than in the human world, and therefore, Brago couldn't simply shatter stone with a mere punch.

"Urrgghhhh...this is BULLSHIT!" roared the dark mamodo.

CRACK! went the stone blocks.

He looked at his fist and it was bleeding. Fuming, Brago turned towards the bench that would serve as his bed, grabbed it, ripped it from its bolts in the stone, and slammed it onto the floor.

"FUCK YOU, ZATCH!" he bellowed, kicking a piece of the shattered bench. "I LOST TO YOU, FINE! BUT WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DESTROY MY WHOLE WORLD?!"

He picked up a piece of the bench and hurled it across the small distance of the cell. It bounced off the wall and back at him. He dodged, but the action just made him angrier. His rampage continued until there was nothing left to destroy.

The Human World:

"Sherry, you have put this off long enough. You will respond to Master Peters at once!"

"Mother, I won't marry him!" Sherry Belmont shouted.

"You will not disgrace this family any further, Sherry!" cried her mother.

"I am not a disgrace to this family, Mother," said Sherry. "You just have outdated, unrealistic expectations of me. It is not my job to please you. It is my job to be myself and make myself happy."

Sherry had gained tremendous strength in herself since her childhood. She had been terribly abused by her family, but through experience and relationships, the debutante had discovered herself, her worth, and her voice.

Koko had helped her find hope. Koko helped her find her worth. Koko helped her find that she was entitled to happiness, and that she owed it to herself to endure hardship so that she could find it.

Brago helped her find strength. Strength to stand up for herself, strength to go get what she wanted. Strength to not let others destroy her.

Her mother found this infuriating.

"Sherry, you cannot inherit unless you marry! You cannot give the Belmont family grandchildren if you do not marry! You will not—"

"Excuse me? Who says I'm having kids?" Sherry demanded.

"Don't be absurd, you foolish girl!" scoffed her mother. "You are my only daughter. It is your duty to—"

"Alright, Mother, I've had enough of this," said Sherry, getting up from her seat at her desk. "You can't tell me what to do. I am not your property."

"How dare you?!" screeched her mother. "No child of mine shall speak to her mother that way!"

"Then disown me."

"I SHALL!" cried Mrs. Belmont. "IF YOU DO NOT MARRY, I WILL COMPLETELY CUT YOU OFF! YOU WILL NOT LIVE IN THIS HOUSE, YOU WILL NOT HAVE ANY MONEY, YOU WILL BE RUINED AND DESTITUTE!"

Sherry, while terrified, did not let it show on her face. She narrowed her eyes and stood her ground.

"I will not marry Andrew Peters," said Sherry. "I will not marry ANYONE if I don't want to."

A long silence passed between the two women. Finally, Mrs. Belmont extended a smidgen of mercy.

"You will write back to Master Peters, you will tell him you have accepted his proposal, you will thank him for his generosity and you will do it BY TONIGHT."

SLAM! went the bedroom door.

Sherry finally began to shake with silent tears. How could her own flesh and blood, who birthed her, be so cruel? How could she treat her own daughter like a commodity to be bartered for wealth? It was heartbreaking and dehumanizing.

I'll write a letter, alright, thought Sherry, sitting back down at her desk and uncapping a fancy fountain pen. Grabbing a piece of Belmont stationary, she began to write a letter.

Dear Mother,

I will never submit to your will. You don't own me, and you can never control me. I am not your servant, your pet, your property or your possession. I accept your terms. I am leaving. I don't need your money, I don't need your attention, I don't need your approval, I don't need you.

Goodbye forever,
Sherry

Just as she put the pen down, a small sparkle of light appeared on her desk. Sherry gasped and scooted her chair back in surprise. The sparkle got bigger and brighter, until a ball of blinding light appeared so bright that she had to close her eyes and look away. When she looked back, an envelope was in its place.

What in the world? thought the blonde. She picked up the envelope, broke the seal, and pulled out the letter inside.

It was written in the same language her mamodo spell book was written. Illegible to the normal human eye, but its magic touched her heart and she automatically knew what it said.

Dear Sherry,

This is Zatch. I have a problem in the mamodo world that I can't solve. It's Brago. He's the only one of us who isn't happy with the laws I've passed. All the mamodo are happy and thriving and going to school, and all he does is cut class, pick fights and destroy things. I've locked him up in the dungeon but I don't just want to punish him, I want him to adjust and be happy. You were the only person he ever respected or listened to, so I am asking you to come to the mamodo world and teach him to be a better person. If you accept, all you need to do is place your hand on this paper, and wish with all your heart you were here with us, and you will be transported to the mamodo world. I hope to see you soon.

Zatch

Unreal, thought Sherry. This is my way out! Just as I get kicked out by Mother, I get welcomed into another world. I can do this. I can teach Brago to be better. I accept, Zatch.

Sherry stood up and laid the letter flat on her desk. She stepped back and took a deep breath. Gathering the strength inside her heart, she placed her hand on the letter. Immediately, she could feel a warmth growing inside her. She had her eyes closed, but light was surrounding her as she began to disappear.

Just then, her mother came back in.

"Sherry, I realize I may have overreacted. There are other suitors—SHERRY!" she gasped as she saw her daughter engulfed in light and sparkles.

"Mother, I—" Sherry only managed to get out a few words before her mother fainted and she disappeared.

When Sherry opened her eyes, she was in the great hall of a beautiful castle. The walls and floor were made of marble, the carpet was red and gilded with gold thread, and when she looked before her, she saw the three steps leading up to the platform, and there, on a throne, sat Zatch Bell.

"Hi, Sherry! So glad you could come!"

END OF CHAPTER 01
Please review, thanks.