Disclaimer: See chapter 1

Chapter 5: The brawlers suspicion, the mysterious brawler Marduk?

It had been a few days since Leaf's battle with Shuji, and the two girls had ran into Dan a few times, Drago had been seen with him. Leaf came to the conclusion that the two finally became friends, Leo of course had been antisocial when meeting Drago, and Regulus gave a simple hello.

Mila still had the doom card with her, much to her friend's chargin. The two were currently walking around and chatting away when something, or rather someone, caught Leaf's attention "What's wrong Leaf?" Mila asked, the silver haired girl pointed to the person "It's Marduk. The main villain from the game." She whispered to her friend. Mila looked over and indeed it was the silver haired, masked boy.

"Does that mean that Vladitor is also around?" She asked "Most likely." Leaf nodded as she watched the young man walk off somewhere. "We'd better be careful, he did team up with Masquerade in the game." Mila nodded in agreement She frowned slightly at that fact. Mila never liked Marduk that much. "We need to steer clear of that creeper for sure." Mila said to her friend. It was Leaf's turn to frown. "He isn't that bad Mila." Leaf said, she had a slight scowl on her face. She, like the main character from the game, didn't think he was that evil at all. She actually felt bad for him. The way he cried when Vladitor faded away was utterly heartbreaking.

"You know, you've been acting really strange since you got that stupid card! And Regulus is also acting really weird!" Leaf suddenly snapped at the Aquos/Haos brawler. "Who are you to judge!? Ever since you got Leonidas, you've been nothing but rage the entire time we were here!" She barked back at the Pyrus brawler. The argument escalated so much that Regulus and Leonidas joined in.
To anyone watching it was rather odd. From the shadows the masked blond was watching. He had a smirk on his face. It seems that the girls were reacting just as his master predicted. The negative energy was effecting the way they were thinking and their personalities as well. An added bonus was that the duo's Bakugan were amplifying the negative energy the two girls were exposed too. It was growing at an alarming rate. He chuckled to himself and vanished.

The two girls stormed off in different directions to cool off. Leo kept laughing until Leaf got annoyed and stuffed him into her pocket.

(else where)

Marduk casually walked around town after having defeated some weakling brawlers. They thought they were any match for Vladitor? Hah! As if!

He had just rounded the corner, when the masked blonde stood in his path. "Hello there Marduk." He said, the young man scowled "What do you want blondie?" He demanded "My master has an offer for you, that I think you'd be very interested in."

(With Leaf)

The silver haired girl was currently sitting on a bench in the park, writing in a journal. Something that helped her calm down when she was angry. She was aggravated with her friend, she only snapped at her because she was concerned for her. She was very sensitive to others emotions as well, which was why she picked up on the odd change in her friends personality.

In the trees, a pair of sharp amber eyes watched her, the owner of said eyes was Shun Kazami. He had been watching the blue eyed girl and her friend for the past few days and was highly suspicious of their bakugan. Especially after the fight he witnessed earlier. "Those bakugan are a bad influence on those two girls Skyress." he said to his partner, who nodded in agreement.

"I can sense a large amount of negative energy coming off them. It's also rubbing off on the girls too..." she said. Shun nodded in agreement as he watched her like a hawk.

(With Mila)

The semi-Aquos brawler was stemming in frustration. Seriously! What was Leaf's problem?! It wasn't like she was the only one acting differently!

Eventually, she calmed down enough and went to find her friend, unaware of the four pairs of eyes watching her. "I don't get it Regulus…why is she so mad at me for? It's not like I was using the dang thing…" She muttered to the lion bakugan. Regulus glanced at his partner.
"She simply doesn't understand us. We need to show her how we feel." The bakugan said floating to her ear. "Share our pain with others by inflicting it. Physical pain for the bakugan and emotional pain for their pathetic brawlers." The sadistic Haos bakugan said to his brawler.

The blonde's eyes darkened a bit as something pulsed in the area. The thought of causing pain seemed like the right course of action. Those who knew Mila knew she was easily manipulated into doing all sorts of things. It was clear just how vulnerable the Haos/Aquos brawler really was. With their bond and the negative energy, Mila's mind was being warped into thinking those things more naturally.
"You're right Regulus…" She softly replied gripping her hood and pulling it over her head. She stood up and stretched. A small smile was now present on her face. Her eyes were shadowed by the fur hood. Regulus perched himself on his partner's shoulder.

(With the Brawlers)

"They're dangerous!" Runo said with a slight hiss. She knew in her heart that something was wrong with the way Mila brawled. It scared the Haos brawler. "I agree. They're a danger to the girls, and everyone around them." Marucho said voicing his concern for them while pushing his glasses up. "Ah c'mon guys chill. They're probably just not used to people yet." Dan commented offhandedly. He just couldn't see it. After all he did see Leaf and Mila brawl a few times. "Dan, you need to be serious." Shun said not looking at the Pyrus brawler. The Ventus brawler found it annoying that Dan didn't see it.
"Those bakugan are negatively affecting them." "Yes, there is a lot of negative energy around them." Skyress said. She was perched on Shun's shoulder. "Indeed, we should keep a close eye on them." Tigrerra stated. The Haos Bakugan feared what might happen to those who brawled against Regulus and Mila, and Leonidas and Leaf. Dan sighed in annoyance "Fine." if only he knew...

(With Leaf)

Leaf was taking a nap under a tree with Leo sleeping nearby, the teen woke up when she heard something and saw Mila standing there "Oh hey Mila." the autistic girl said with a smile, before frowning when she saw the odd expression on her friends face. "Hey Leaf...I got a question." Mila quietly said, her face was stoic at the moment. It was an expression she has never seen on her usually hyper and upbeat friend. "What is it?" Leaf asked, Leo perching on her shoulder "...do you wanna have a bad time?" Mila said, her voice was cold. It sent shivers up Leaf's spine. (Virtual cookies to the ones who get that reference! :D)