Haha! Didn't have to wait long after the sneak peak now did ya. I had a nice time working on this chapter. Its not to action packed but it does what it needs to do. Plus there will be PLENTY of action in the future so don't worry. With all that said, I hope you enjoy.

"It's been one day since the trip to Shun's dojo and things have been rather…awkward since they got back home. Especially in the Loud household. Lincoln has been keeping to himself in his room all day with his siblings and parents starting to get worried about him. However, Lori knew full well why Lincoln wasn't too keen on socialization right now and figured it was best for Lincoln to have his space for a while.

Especially for what was planned and knowing that alone time was going to be really sparse coming forward. Might as well get it in why he could.

Meanwhile with Marucho, he was making all the preparations with Kato for the trip. What trip? The trip to find the Infinity Core of course! They had agreed to get all the Brawlers together and travel around the world and hopefully find the source of all of Vestroia's positive energy before Masquerade could find it for Naga. They were even gonna pick up Julie all the way in Australia for this so that all the Battle Brawlers would be there for the mission.

So yeah…eight people for a journey across the world that would last who knows how long. Alone time wasn't gonna be something that would happen a lot.

Runo was pretty much just doing what she's normally been doing and helping out at her parent's café while she can before she has to leave, with Alice helping out and her feminine charm attracting plenty of male customers…much to Dan's annoyance and anger.

And speaking of Dan, he was currently trying to hype himself up for the upcoming trip. While he was happy that Shun was onboard, a part of him was still rather ticked off and sort of annoyed that the Ventus Brawler was gonna be with them. Although it had more to do with Dan's pride as a brawler then any sort of emotional pain like with Lincoln. But still, Shun was a vital member to the team and he would just have to suck it up so they can defeat Masquerade.

Same with Lincoln as currently he was sitting in his room during the morning just playing on his 3ds before having to go to school and trying to take his mind off the events of the future. Might as well enjoy himself while he can. And he really is spending time with only himself as the two others in his room haven't spoken a word since he got back home.

The first of which was Lincoln's partner Leonidas. Lincoln honestly couldn't be more grateful that the Darkus Bakugan was still with him. Once Leonidas took that hit for Drago and the portal to the Doom Dimension opened, he thought for sure that he would be losing his partner that day. But by some miracle, Leonidas wasn't sucked into the Doom Dimension. Lincoln was gonna question why, but no way in heck he was gonna look this gift horse in the mouth. He decided just to be happy with it and end it there.

But there was still a problem with things. Leonidas hasn't done anything since they got back. No talking, moving, anything. At first Lincoln thought that Leonidas was simply knocked out from the fight. He did take a nasty blast from Hydranoid. But it's been a day so far and Leonidas is tougher than that to be knocked out for that long. But all Lincoln could do was wait and hope. He tried talking to Leonidas, but got nothing in response.

And then there as the second and newest one to be in the white haired Loud's room.

Reaper.

Another shocking thing that happened the previous day is that Masquerade had betrayed the Darkus Bakugan. Due to the Third Judgement gate card, Masquerade prepared from the start to send Reaper to his demise. Even with Drago sent to another card, Masquerade gave the order for Hydranoid to strike down Reaper.

But somehow, Leonidas was able to reach out beyond his card and save him. Leonidas had saved Reaper from doom. No one could have possibly seen that coming. So, Reaper was simply tossed at Masquerade's Laserman and was sent back to ball form nice and safely.

But as any villain would, Masquerade had simply left Reaper on the ground at Shun's dojo, completely abandoning the Bakugan. So, Lincoln had decided to take things into his own hands and picked up Reaper and decided to take him back home. Despite what the Bakugan had done, Lincoln just couldn't leave him like that. It was just in his nature.

But similar with Leonidas, Reaper hadn't spoken since he went home. Although considering the injury he got from Hydranoid's tail, he could actually believe the Darkus Bakugan was still out for the count. Hopefully would wake up-

"Ah! What happened?! Where am I!?" Suddenly Reaper popped open and looked around frantically from Lincoln's drawer.

…Soon…

"Huh, finally up?" Lincoln asked as he closed up his handheld system and set it down next to him and looked at Reaper frantically looking around the area and trying to figure out where he was. Lincoln couldn't help but smirk in amusement over the scene.

"What the-YOU!" Reaper then snapped towards Lincoln and, if his expression could change in ball form, looked at the Loud boy with anger. "What do you want human?!"

"Ok, first off, indoor voice. You're my roof now." Lincoln told the Darkus Bakugan with a scolding tone to show Reaper that Lincoln was in charge right now. "Second of all, what a way to talk to someone who ended up saving your life and taking you in."

"What the hell are you talking about you…wait…" Reaper looked down in thought as Lincoln's words suddenly rang a bell with him. Memories flashed in his mind about the brawl of the previous day. About Masquerade's betrayal, Hydranoid's slash, Leonidas saving him from the Doom Dimension, and finally Lincoln picking him off the ground before Reaper blacked out. "Masquerade…" Reaper said with pure venom in his voice. "That traitor!"

"So I'm guess you remember huh?" Lincoln assumed as he saw Reaper vibrating with anger. The Darkus Bakugan was obviously extremely bitter and angry over the betrayal. Lincoln couldn't blame him honestly. To work so hard with someone, even if that work was essentially killing Bakugan and manipulating humans into killing Bakugan, only to have them stab you in the back and pretty much toss you away like trash. Probably one of the worst feelings in the world. "So how ya feeling? Physically at least. You took a pretty nasty blow back there"

"Hmph." Reaper simply huffed and turned away from Lincoln. Lincoln wasn't to upset about it however. It honestly reminded him of when Leonidas first joined up with him. Heck, Leonidas still does do that every now and then. Mostly with his sisters. "I don't need to tell you anything human."

"Alright." Lincoln shrugged as he sat down in his head, crossing his arms behind his head. "Excuse me for wondering how you are after getting slashed across the chest. Guess you all are skins and bones after all." He channeled a bit of his inner Luan with that last one.

"DO NOT JOKE ABOUT ME HUMAN!" Reaper quickly snapped as he turned towards Lincoln and started bouncing something up and down. An action that didn't intimidate Lincoln and really only looked sort of funny. "Now tell me, why have you brought me here. Tell me now!"

"Well let me see." Lincoln said as he started counting his fingers. "Your partner back stabbed you, almost sent you to the Doom Dimension, and when you weren't, he just left you sitting on the ground." Lincoln listed while looking right at Reaper. "So I just figured this would kind of be an upgrade to all that."

"Hmph, so what? You're just being 'nice' to me?" Reaper questioned with a tone that showed he wasn't about to buy any tricks or such. Lincoln's answer was a simple nod, since that was exactly what the Loud boy was doing. Reaper however, wasn't believing it. "Please! I was used once, and I'm not gonna be used again!"

"I'm not trying to trick you." Lincoln stated in a firm tone as he crossed his arms. He was simply gonna tell Reaper the full truth and if he didn't believe him, then oh well. "I am trying to be nice to you. Masquerade just left you there so I just wanted to help you out so I'm letting you stay at my house."

"Even if that was true, I don't need your charity human!" Reaper growled at Lincoln as the Loud boy simply rolled his eyes. Why wasn't Lincoln surprised? "I can take care of myself just fine thank you very much!"

"…Alright." Lincoln shrugged before standing up. Right as Reaper was about to say something, he was suddenly grabbed by Lincoln and his shouts were muffled by the humans hands as Lincoln took Reaper downstairs. The white-haired boy then went to the door and opened it up, stepping outside and going over to the side walk. "There ya go."

"Ugh! Never! Touch me! Again!" Reaper shouted in a threatening tone. How dare this human touch him! He should know his place under him! But before the Darkus Bakugan could voice these, he looked around and saw that he was outside and one the side walk in front of the Loud House. "Where am I?"

"You said you can take care of yourself. So go on." Lincoln said as he gestured his hand forward. "You're outside now. You're free to go and do whatever you want. I want stop you."

"Hmph, well look at that. You actually have the intelligence to realize something." Lincoln sighed as he was seriously start to get some déjà vu from Reaper. Plus it was starting to get on his nerves about how narcissistic Reaper was. "But you're going to regret releasing me human. I still plan on destroying you as well as Masquerade."

"Well I won't regret it till you leave." Lincoln said in a blank tone as he gestured to the outside world. "Free to go anytime you want."

"I will!" Reaper yelled.

"Alright then, bye." Lincoln said before turning around and walking back inside. Reaper then turned around to face the road and begin his journey out in the human world. Missing Lincoln looking at him through the window.

"Alright, now which way to go?" Reaper asked himself as he took a look in both directions, deciding which one he should go down. "Hmmm…maybe I should have asked for some-no! I don't need that humans help! Come on Reaper, it doesn't matter which way you go!"

Reaper then turned to the left and start hopping down the side walk…at a rather slow pace. "Ugh…hard to…move around…in…ball form…" Reaper hasn't had much experience moving around much in his ball body. Most of the time he was carried around by Masquerade or whatever brawler he was assigned to. So he really didn't have to walk around in ball form. "Come on…just have to…keep going!"

But Reaper was soon met with the obstacles of the human world. Just then a group of children came running down the sidewalk, laughing and not realizing there was a Bakugan in front of them. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Reaper yelled as he was accidently kicked right into the middle of the road by one of the kids. "WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING YOU LITTLE BRATS!"

Of course the children didn't hear the Darkus Bakugan was they simply continued to run forward. Reaper simply started to mutter curses as he started to hop back towards the sidewalk he was just hopping on. "Stupid…human world…humans…not knowing their…wait…what's that noise?" Looking forward, Reapers eyes would have widened if they could in ball form as he saw a car quickly approaching them.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" While the car ended up safely going over Reaper, the wind force that was created was enough to blow the Darkus Bakugan into the air. Reaper didn't stop screaming as another car came by quickly afterward with Reaper hitting the windshield. The driver gasped, thinking Reaper was some sort of large bug, and quickly activated the windshield whippers and forced Reaper off the windshield.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Reaper continued to scream as he was blown towards the side of the road he was originally one and proceeded to bounce and the pavement. Thankfully he landed safely on a dandelion and breathed heavily as his life flashed before his eyes. "Oh…my…God…" Reaper let out in between breaths.

He…He couldn't be out here on his own. He could hardly move around…everything was bigger than him. And as much as he absolutely hated to admit this, he was vulnerable.

…There was only one thing he could do.

"On a tropical island…on a tropical island…" Lincoln sang while simply relaxing on the couch. The 11-year-old had left the window once Reaper was out of view and went to relax on the couch. He was confident about what was going to happen and decided to just sit and wait.

"Hi Linky." Passing by the living room with a before school smoothie in her hand was Leni Loud. Seeing her brother on the couch, Leni just wanted to give her little brother a quick hi and ask what he was doing. "Whatcha doin?"

"Oh you know." Lincoln said casually as he leaned back on the couch. "Just waiting."

"Waiting for what?" Leni asked while scratching her head.

Dink. Dink. Dink.

"For that." Lincoln said with a small smirk as he heard a few dinks at the door. Like someone was throwing pebbles at it. But Lincoln knew they weren't pebbles. He was about 99% sure what it was. So walking over to the door, Lincoln opened it up, looked down, and saw Reaper looking like his pride had taken a huge hit.

"…May I come in?" Reaper quietly asked, ashamed of himself for actually having to ask this human for help.

Lincoln's only response was picking up Reaper and to head back upstairs.

"Alright Reaper, so you don't trust me?" Lincoln asked as he was now back in his room with Reaper on his drawer. The Loud boy and Darkus Bakugan were looking each other right in the eyes as they spoke while Leonidas was still resting on his pillow in ball form. Completely silent.

"I think I made that very clear." Reaper growled back at Lincoln. The only reason he had to swallow his pride and ask to be let in the house was because he just could navigate, move around, and defend himself out there. Not when he's stuck as a ball. And since Lincoln was the only human he sorta knew around, well need he say more? But that still didn't mean he trusted Lincoln. Not one bit. He wasn't about to let another human take advantage of him again.

"And if I'm being completely honest, I don't trust you." Lincoln stated as, even though he took the Bakugan in, that didn't mean he was gonna start telling all his secrets to Reaper. "However, you do hate Masquerade, right?"

"Also correct." Reaper confirmed, his Darkus blood boiling over hearing the name of the masked human.

"Well I hate him to." Lincoln said as he crossed his arms. "And the enemy of an enemy is a friend. Or at least people who can work together. So I'm going to make you a deal."

"I'm listening." Reaper said as he was at least willing to hear what the human had to say.

"How about you join the Battle Brawlers until we deal with Masquerade." Lincoln offered as he kept his look at Reaper. "I'm not asking you to be friends, or even full on allies. I'm just asking that you help us take down Masquerade. Once he's dealt with, we never have to see each other again."

"Tch…" Reaper clicked his tongue as he turned away from Lincoln. He just told himself he wasn't gonna let another human take advantage of him and he was sticking to that vow. But…revenge on Masquerade does sound rather nice.

"Well whats it gonna be? Not like you have an option in the first place." Lincoln said with a grin that made Reaper growl. It was either help them out, or try and survive in the human world as nothing more then a black and purple ball. "And I'm giving you an offer that's more then you deserve honestly considering what you've done so maybe appreciate whats in front of you."

"Grrrrrrr…FINE!" Reaper yelled through his teeth as he turned to Lincoln again. "I'll be apart of your little group. But! This is strictly professional got it?! I'm only in this for revenge against Masquerade. Once I've crushed him, this whole thing ends."

"…Fine." Lincoln said as he held out his pointer finger to Reaper. "So we have a deal?"

Reaper didn't touch the finger and simply backed away. "Deal." Reaper growled, showing he clearly wasn't happy with the circumstances but was willing to at least go along. Lincoln simply rolled his eyes at Reaper's unwillingness to just shake his finger.

"Well then its settled." Lincoln said before turning to the other Darkus Bakugan in the room. "Well Leonidas, looks like we got another member of the team."

"…"

"Seriously? Still not saying anything?" Lincoln asked in a concern tone as he picked up Leonidas and held the Bakugan to his face. "Hey whats wrong partner? You know you can tell me if somethings wrong."

"…"

Lincoln sighed as he went to pick up his backpack. "Alright…you need some time. I get it." Lincoln then put Leonidas into an empty pocket in his backpack where hopefully his partner would be comfortable. "Welp, we better get going."

"Going where?" Reaper asked before Lincoln picked him up suddenly. "HEY! What did I say about touching me?!"

"Well I'm sorry but like I said earlier I don't really trust you either buddy." Lincoln explained to the Darkus Bakugan, adding some sarcasm to the word buddy. "So you're staying with me so I know you won't get into mischief. So like it or not you're going to school with me."

"Grrrr…" Reaper growled before simply shutting himself into ball form and not saying a word. Not like he could do much in this state. So, very much begrudgingly, Reaper allowed for Lincoln to put him in his pocket. With both Darkus Bakugan with him, Lincoln put his backpack on and went on his way to school, deciding to walk there today.

"Hey Linc, Leonidas doing ok?" Later into the day, Lincoln and Dan could now be seen at school. It was currently lunch time and the two Battle Brawlers were sitting at a table along with their friends Rusty, Zach, Liam, Clyde, and Stella. Drago was also there hanging out inside the pocket of Dan's red vest.

Lincoln sighed in response as he took out said Bakugan who was still unmoving and silent in ball form. "I honestly don't know guys." Lincoln answered as he held his partner in both of his hands. The gang had all met Drago and Leonidas but never really interacted with them much. Mainly due to Drago just not being exactly to social with humans other then his partner and the other Battle Brawlers and Leonidas's…less then polite attitude. "Ever since the battle with Hydranoid he just hasn't been…himself."

"Well I kinda like him better like this." Rusty stated as he crossed his arms and rose his head. "He's nothing but a total jerk to me so silence is certainly an upgrade."

Everyone at the table either glared or gave Rusty a blank look at the ginger's insensitiveness. While yes manners weren't exactly Leonidas's specialty to say the least, it was easy to tell Lincoln was worried about his partner so those kinda comments were just plain mean. "Well Leonidas was struck by a powerful attack from Hydranoid." Drago pointed out as the intense battle from before came to his mind. "Its likely he's still out."

"Hmmmm, maybe. But Reaper recovered this morning and he took a much nastier blow." Lincoln pointed as Dan groaned in response. The pyrus user was still against Lincoln taking the Darkus Bakugan with him and thought they should have just left Reaper where Masquerade left him. "I mean you saw it, Reaper had a big gash in his chest and Leonidas only got a bit burnt."

"Still can't believe you took that creep with ya." Dan huffed as he crossed his arms. "Even if he was betrayed he doesn't deserve any pity at all. Shoulda just let him rot."

"I heard that human!"

Everyone at the table but Lincoln jumped in response to the voice as the Darkus Reaper himself suddenly jumped outta Lincoln's pocket and onto the table. "What in tarnation?!" Liam yelled in surprise.

"Reaper…" Drago said in a low tone as he looked down at Reaper.

"Dragonoid…" Reaper responded in the same tone.

"Uh, Lincoln…" Clyde whispered nervously to his best friend. "Are you sure it's a good idea to keep…him around." Lincoln and Dan had told the others at their table about their many encounters and battles with Reaper being a prominent factor whenever there was a Darkus brawler. And Reaper doesn't seem like someone trust worthy…like…at all.

Lincoln simply sighed as he just decided to tell everyone the situation. "Alright everyone, listen up." Lincoln said as he got everyones attention. "Reaper has agreed to join us in the Battle Brawlers quest to stop Masquerade."

"WHAT?!" Dan yelled as he slammed his hands down on the table. "No way is that guy allowed on the team!"

"Lincoln, you're playing with nasty cards dude." Zach warned his white-haired friend. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Hmph, you should consider yourselves lucky humans." Reaper said as he looked away from all the humans on the lunch table. "With me you at least have some inside information on Masquerade."

"Exactly. Relax guys I thought about this." Lincoln stated as he crossed his arms and looked down with a serious look on his face. "Me and Reaper both agreed, he helps us in exchange for getting revenge on Masquerade. Once that's over with, we never have to see each other again."

"Well…if you're sure about this Lincoln." Stella said with a small smile. Though she still had some doubts about the situation, if Lincoln was sure about this then she trusted him. "Just be sure to be careful ok?"

Lincoln smiled at Stella's faith in him with Dan simply continued glaring at Reaper. "Well I'm not gonna convinced that easily." Dan told everyone in a stubborn tone while giving Reaper the stink eye. "I got my eye on you pal…"

"I don't need a babysitter human." Reaper growled at the Pyrus Brawler. "I won't double cross you like I was, but I do be expected to be left alone."

"Uuuuum, if you fellas are done squabbling…" Liam said as he rose his hand, getting everyone at the table's attention. Liam then pointed away from the table while telling Lincoln, "Your partners bouncing away there Linc."

"What?!" Lincoln yelled as he looked into his hand and saw Leonidas was gone. Then looking to where Liam was pointing and saw that Leonidas was still in ball form bouncing away. He must have accidently dropped Leonidas while he was talking. "Leonidas!"

Lincoln then quickly grabbed Reaper and headed of to catch his partner. "Leonidas! Try to stop yourself!" Lincoln called out as he quickly navigated past tables and still walking students to try and get the Bakugan. But like before, Leonidas wasn't saying a thing or even grunting as he bounced or make an attempt to stop himself. "Come on! Someone please catch him!"

Thankfully someone did respond to that last call Lincoln made as Lincoln's partner was successfully caught in the hands by one of Lincoln's classmates. The classmate was one Lincoln knew pretty well for it was none other then the dodgeball queen herself, Girl Jordan. "Sup Loud." Girl Jordan greeted as she held up Leonidas in her hands.

"Oh hey Girl Jordan." Lincoln greeted his friend with a smile as he looked to the Darkus Bakugan in her hands. "Thanks a bunch for catching Leonidas, I accidently dropped him."

"Hey its no problem." Girl Jordan reassured Lincoln as she handed Lincoln his partner back. Before Lincoln could leave with Leonidas at hand, Girl Jordan spoke up again in a bit more of a…flirty voice. "Ya know, talk around the school says you're quite the battler." Girl Jordan complimented making Lincoln's cheeks go a light pink. "Maybe you can…show me your skills sometime~"

"Grrrr…" Meanwhile watching from a bit away was none other then Haiku, who was growling and tightening her fist at Lincoln's and Girl Jordans interaction while glaring at the latter.

"Oh, uh, sure." Lincoln said sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. "I might be a bit…busy the next few weeks but once I'm free I'd love to show you some of my brawling skills."

"I'll hold you to it." Girl Jordan winked at the Loud boy as she lightly punched his shoulder. Lincoln sheepishly laughed a bit as he turned around and started heading back to his table with both Leonidas and Reaper in hand.

But right as he left…

"He's mine! He's mine!" Suddenly Haiku ran up to Girl Jordan and grabbed the dodgeball queen by the shoulders and started shaking her. "He's mine!"

"I'm really sorry about that Leonidas." Lincoln apologized to his partner as he made sure to hold onto the Darkus Bakugan tightly so he wouldn't drop him again. Meanwhile Reaper was now riding on top of Lincoln's right shoulder. "I should have kept a better eye on you."

"Hmph, a rather clumsy display." Reaper however showed no concern and belittled Leonidas. "Whatever happened to the mighty Leonidas?"

"…"

"Ugh, you're not helping Reaper!" Lincoln yelled to the Bakugan on his shoulder before sighing and looking back to his partner. "Look Leonidas, I don't know whats going on…but I'm giving up on you ya hear me?" Lincoln then put his partner back in his pocket when-

"Hey Larry."

"Oh sweet Vestroia I can't deal with this right now." Lincoln sighed at as he recognized the irritating and annoying voice behind him. Deciding to just get this over with, Lincoln turned around and was met with a student he wasn't exactly on friendly terms with. He was an 11-year-boy like Lincoln with red hair in a similar style to Luna, light fair skin, and freckles on his cheeks. He wore a yellow long sleeve shirt with white sleeves, which has a print of a blue gear, black pants with a black belt, and white sneakers with green stripes.

This was Chandler McCann, one of the popular boys at school and someone who always referred to Lincoln as Larry.

"What do you want Chandler?" Lincoln asked the popular boy in an annoyed tone as he put his hands in his pockets. With all the stuff that's happened lately like having to team up with Reaper, Leonidas's silence, and dealing with Shun, Lincoln just couldn't handle Chandler right now.

"Aw come on, why the sour mood Larry, we're cool right?" Chandler asked in a cool tone that simply made Lincoln roll his eyes. The red head was tossing a Pyrus Bakugan up and down in his hand as he looked at Lincoln and repeated what Girl Jordan said to him earlier. "Anyway, talk around the school says you're quite the battler."

"This human is annoying me greatly." Reaper growled as his eyes glowed, pretty much showing he was glaring at Chandler.

"You and me both." Lincoln whispered back to the Darkus Bakugan. Lincoln then looked back at Chandler with an unamused look and said. "So what if I am?" At this point nearly everyone in the lunch room was watching the scene unfold with interest.

"Well, how about…a little battle." Chandler challenged the Loud Boy as he took out a field card. "Ya know, just to show the school who's the real best brawler. I'm also rather curious to see that partner Leonidas in action."

"Sorry, Leonidas isn't up for battling today." Lincoln immediately answered. If a Leonidas wasn't speaking, Lincoln doubt he would be down for battling. Especially with a guy like Chandler. "Maybe some other time."

Chandler couldn't believe it. Larry just completely denied him! He glared at the back of Lincoln's head as the Loud boy turned around and started walking away, but then a grin came to the red heads face as he thought of a way to get the Loud boy to change his mind. "What are you Larry?" Chandler asked as he crossed his arms. "Chicken?"

"Oooooooooooo!" Most of the students in the cafeteria, and even a few of the adults, said in unison.

"Whatever Chandler." Lincoln said with a shrug, not falling into his trap or even being bothered by the insult. Living with 10 sisters gave him pretty thick skin. "Say what you want but-"

"Human! Get ready to be crushed into the ground!" However, Reaper wasn't as willing to ignore Chandler as the Darkus Bakugan turned around to keep up his glare towards the boy. "Let's see you keep up that cocky grin when I'm tearing your Bakugan to pieces!"

"Reaper…what are you doing?!" Lincoln quietly yelled to the Darkus Bakugan.

"This human's cocky attitude and dumb face pisses me off." Reaper growled while his eyes continued to glow. "I would take pleasure in destroying him and his puny Bakugan."

"Well…I guess we both could use some practice working together." Lincoln muttered as he looked towards Chandler who had an 'I'm waiting' look on his face as he tapped his toe impatiently on the floor. "But, you gotta cooperate alright? We're a team in this."

"Fine." Reaper said with an annoyed sigh. "Just promise me I'll get to crush this pathetic bug."

"Alright Reaper, you got yourself a deal." Lincoln said as he took Reaper into his hand. He won't lie, getting the opportunity to beat Chandler in something was very appealing. Even if he couldn't use Leonidas, Reaper was still a very powerful Bakugan that could definitely get the job done. So turning around, Lincoln faced Chandler while taking out his field card. "Alright Chandler, you're on!"

"Knew you'd see it my way." Chandler said in a cocky tone as he and Lincoln rose their field cards.

"Bakugan Field Open!" Both 11-year-olds activated their cards with Lincoln's glowing purple and Chandlers glowing red as the Bakugan field opened for the two boys. "Gate Card set!" Both boys then threw their gate cards across from each other.

"Alright Reaper, lets do this." Lincoln said as he took said Bakugan and inserted him into the launcher Lincoln quickly equipped once the field was open. "Bakugan Brawl!" Lincoln then fired out Reaper towards Chandler's gate card. "Reaper Stand!"

"Raaaaaaaaa!" Reaper let out a battle cry as his true form appeared on the card. Reaper twirled his scythe around before slamming it down on the ground and looking down at the red headed human. "Here's Reaper!"

Chandler was definitely put back by Reaper's fierce look and tone, and Reaper now looked even more intimidating due to the scar across his chest left from Hydranoid. But the red head was able to keep his cool and give a smug look to Lincoln. "What's up Larry? Where's Leonidas?" Chandler asked with crossed arms.

"That Bakugan is of no concern to you human." Reaper growled at Chandler, growing more annoyed at this human by the second. "Your battle is with me. So either fight, or go home crying to your mommy."

"Oh its on now." Chandler said with an irritated tone as he took out a Pyrus Bakugan and threw it to his own card where Reaper was. "Bakugan Brawl! Pyrus Saurus stand!" Now facing down Reaper was a Pyrus Saurus that let loose a might roar.

"Battle begin." The Baku-pod said as Lincoln looked at it. "Darkus Reaper stands at 3-7-0 G's. Pyrus stands at 3-0-0 G's."

"Not for long it doesn't." Chandler said in a confident tone as he held his hand out. "Gate Card open!" The gate card then revealed itself to be an attribute card that covered the battlefield in flames and boosted Saurus power.

"Saurus power boost by 2-0-0 G's." The Baku-pod showed Chandlers Saurus increasing to 500 G's.

"Hmph, how pathetic." Reaper said, not intimidated at all as Saurus charged at him.

"Ability Activate!" Lincoln was quick to pull out and activated one of Reaper's signature abilities. "Dimension Four!" Thanks to the power of the ability card, Chandler gate card was instantly shut down.

"Saurus power decrease by 2-0-0 G's." The Baku-pod said as it showed Chandlers Saurus going back to its base power.

"Oh crap!" Chandler yelled as he looked up and-

SLASH!

With a single powerful slash of Reapers scythe, Chandlers Saurus glowed red and reverted to ball form, landing right at Chandler's feet. "Hahaha! You should just give up now!" Reaper taunted as he glowed purple and returned to ball form, Lincoln catching him in his hand.

"Not bad Reaper." Lincoln complimented as he looked at the Bakugan in his hands. "You still got it."

"Hmph, like there was any doubt." Reapers words held no modesty. "This human will be easy to tear about."

"Ok, you gotta cool it with the talk." Lincoln scolded as not even Leonidas was THIS aggressive when they first started working together. "Lets just clean this guys clock."

"Grrrr, enjoy that victory Larry because it ain't happening again!" Chandler yelled as he picked up another Pyrus Bakugan and threw it at Lincoln's gate card. "Bakugan Brawl!"

The rest of the battle…went about as well as you'd expect.

Time started again as all the students and faculty watched with surprised looks as Chandler was seen on his knees, three Pyrus Bakugan on the ground in front of him with Lincoln still standing strong on his feet, Reaper on his shoulder. "Its over Chandler." Lincoln said before turning around and walking away. "You're done."

"Hahahaha!" Reaper yelled in satisfaction over the victory. Reaper had defeated each and every one of Chandlers Bakugan on his own. Something the Darkus Bakugan just loved. "That was immensely satisfying seeing him and his Bakugan so easily crushed."

"Yeah, I guess seeing his face like that did cheer me up." Lincoln commented with a small laugh. After all the stress from the last few days has been weighing on him so this was a good release.

However, the feeling only last a little while. Lincoln sighed as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his partner. This would have been a lot better if he had enjoyed it with his partner. Leonidas would have loved pounding Chandler into the ground. Plus, battling in general without Leonidas in general just didn't feel right.

He needed to find out what was wrong with Leonidas and fix this.

"Oh Lincoln, I'm so sorry to hear that." Alice said with sympathy as Lincoln finished explaining his story. Later into the day, all of the Battle Brawlers were together at Runo's family café. Thankfully today was a slow day so Runo and Alice were able to talk with the group without distraction. And of course along with the Brawlers were all their Bakugan standing on the table they were at, along with Reaper and the silent Leonidas with the rest of the group staying away from Lincoln.

"Uh, hehe, yeah, sorry to hear about that Lincoln old boy but…" Preyas said with a fearful tone as he looked at Reaper. "Does that one really have to be here? I kinda fear my life here…"

"Keeping annoying me like that, and you should." Reaper growled back at Preyas.

"Meep…" The Aquos Bakugan quickly backed up.

"Oh yeah that's just great." Runo sighed out, already annoyed and angry with Reaper. "Lincoln, what is it with you and getting all the jerk Bakugan?"

"Now, now, no need for that attitude Runo." Chrysopeon, as she usually does, was quick to play peach maker and try to make it so there wasn't any disharmony in the group. "Reaper said he would help us and that's whats important. And I say we need as much as we can get in our mission to find the Infinity Core."

"I must agree." Marucho said with a nod. "Plus, previously being with Masquerade Reaper could potentially provide us with some inside info on Masquerade bases of operation."

"I just don't get why he has to literally stay inside the house." Lori said with a groan as she was aware of how Reaper would be crashing with them until this whole thing with Masquerade was over and he could get his revenge on Masquerade. "Can't he just stay with Charles in the dog house or something?"

"Don't even think about it!" Reaper quickly yelled to Lori.

"Well this is certainly going to be an interesting development." Tigrerra commented as she turned towards Drago. "I admit I have my doubts but Chrysopeon is right. We'll need as much help as we can get."

"Hpmh, well I'm still keeping an eye on him." Drago said as he kept his eyes locked onto Reaper. He may have been betrayed by Masquerade, but Reaper still betrayed the entire Bakugan race and sent who knows how many Bakugan to the Doom Dimension. No way was he gonna lower his guard around this Bakugan or trust him, even for a second.

"Can we get back to the main point here." Lincoln with as a tick mark appeared on his forehead. Lincoln gave his partner a worried look as he said. "Something seriously wrong with Leonidas."

"Oh I'm sure its nothing to bad." Preyas said as he walked towards Leonidas. "I'm sure all he needs is some cheering up from his best friend."

"This can not end well at all." Drago said as everyone simply decided to watch the scene.

"Hey there Leonidas old buddy old pal!" Preyas greeted in usual goofy tone while standing in front of Leonidas who continued to stay closed up. "Come on and open up! Your good friend Aquos Preyas is here!"

"…"

"Come on~" Preyas lightly nudged Leonidas. "Just open up and give me a good yelling. That always cheers you up!"

"…"

"Leonidas?" Now Preyas was starting to get a bit worried as Leonidas hasn't reacted to a thing he had said. "C-Come on, just a little yell?"

"…"

"Come on!" Preyas yelled in a desperate attempt to get Leonidas to open up and talk. "Yell at me! Insult me! Threaten to squish me! Anything!"

"…"

"Oh this is just horrible!" Preyas yelled out dramatically. "It feels like I've lost a brother."

"You're not helping Preyas!" Drago yelled in an annoyed tone.

"Well least I'm trying!" Preyas yelled back at Drago. "Don't see you doing anything to help out!"

"Tch, how pathetic." Reaper clicked his tongue. "All this because he lost against Hydranoid."

Everyone froze.

All the brawlers and Bakugan turned towards Reaper with Lincoln slowly asking. "What…was that?" Lincoln needed to make sure he heard Reaper correctly.

"What? Isn't it obvious?" Reaper said as he looked towards Leonidas. "That welp's pride took a blow when he lost to Hydranoid. Its just sad how he's taking it."

"So wait a minute…" Runo began before it finally hit her what exactly was going on. "YOU MEAN TO TELL ME LEONIDAS IS ACTING LIKE THIS ALL BECAUSE HE LOST A BATTLE!?"

"Wow…" Reaper began as he looked up at Runo. "You are slow."

While Runo's temper flared up, Lincoln kept his eyes focused on his partner. So that's what was happening. Leonidas was taking the loss against Hydranoid pretty well. "I suppose it does make sense." Alice spoke up as she looked down at Lincoln's partner. "Leonidas is a rather proud Bakugan."

"And this is literally the first time he's lost." Lori pointed out while looking at her younger brother and his partner. "Before this Leonidas was able to take down pretty much every Bakugan with no problem. So he isn't used to losing…"

"Its pathetic." Reaper said while looking at Leonidas. "When I lose, I don't just hide away from the world. I use it fuel my drive to winning the next battle!"

"Hmmmm…" While everyone both human and Bakugan were discussing the subject, Lincoln hummed as he looked down at his partner. Lincoln was honestly feeling pretty dumb right now for not seeing it sooner himself. It all made sense now. Leonidas was an extremely prideful Bakugan that took his own skill and power in high regards. And this was his first lost. He was taking it hard.

But still…

"Hey! What are you doing?" Reaper was taken by surprise as suddenly Lincoln took both him and Leonidas into his hands. Lincoln then surprised the rest of the group as he stepped out of the booth.

"Hey, where you punks headin off to?" Preyas asked Lincoln with a jersey accent.

"Gotta head home." Lincoln said as he started leaving Runo's café. "Got something I need to take care of."

"Oh, well I'll drive you then." Lori said as she was about to get up only for Lincoln to gesture for her to stop.

"Nah, its cool." Lincoln told his oldest sister as he opened the door. "I think a walk in the sun will do us good. Plus I gotta do this on my own.

"Well, see ya later I guess." Runo said with a bit of a confused tone. While she was wondering why Lincoln would suddenly leave outta the blue like that, she wasn't gonna question him about.

And with that, Lincoln left.

"Alright Leonidas, we need to talk." A bit later, Lincoln was now seen in his room with Leonidas in front of him on the drawer. Reaper had fallen asleep during the walk home so luckily; he wouldn't be in the way for this. "Look, you're upset about your loss, I get that. But its not a big deal, really."

"…"

"I don't think any less of you for it. I'm honestly happy you weren't pulled into the Doom Dimension. I don't get how you did it, but I'm just happy. And it's not like you lost because you were to weak or not good enough. You willingly took that hit for Drago and probably knew what would happen. If anything, that should make people respect you even more for being willing to sacrifice yourself like that. It took a lot of guts."

"…"

"You…You're not a loser Leonidas. Far from it. If I'm…If I'm being honestly hear…I'm more of the loser then you are. I'm surprised you stuck around me for this long. Before I met you…before the Bakugan cards fell I felt like a bit of a loser a lot of the time."

"…"

"I guess its just…all of my sisters have something great about them that makes em stand out. Lori has her golf, Leni has fashion, Luna and her music, Luan's a comedian, Lynn's sports, Lucy has her poetry, Lana has her animals and her plumbing and mechanical know-how, Lola and her pageants, Lisa's super smart, even Lily has trophies for all the stuff she does. And me…I'm just…the boy in the family. That's pretty much all I'm known more. Kinda all I'm still known for even now…"

"…"

"Heh, look at me. Kinda being selfish her. I was trying to cheer you up and here I go talking about my own stupid problems. Look, the point is I'm really lucky to have you as a partner and friend. You deserve better. Don't know why you stuck around for so long when there are probably better Brawlers out there for you to team up."

"…"

Lincoln simply sighed as he stood up and rubbed his head. "I need some water." Lincoln said as he faced his door. "I'll be right-"

"You're not a loser kid…"

Lincoln froze before his head could touch the knob. Turning back, his eyes slowly widen as he saw Leonidas, no finally opened up, looking right at him. "…Hey…" Lincoln greeted with a small smile on his face.

"Hey…" Leonidas's greeted in a similar tone to Lincoln. "Hey…so…sorry about…ya know…"

"Its ok. Really." Lincoln reassured Leonidas as he sat back down on the bed. "I get it. Your first loss. It…was probably hard."

"I guess…I always thought of myself as the strongest." Leonidas explained to Lincoln with a lowered head. "So I guess getting taken down by Hydranoid…really stung…"

Lincoln sighed as he nodded his head. Honestly the lose did kinda get to him as well, even taking away the part where Leonidas could have been sent to the Doom Dimension, but Lincoln was the kinda guy to take his loses. Leonidas however didn't have any experience in doing that. But still…

"Ya know…maybe not being the strongest is a blessing in disguise." Lincoln said with a small smile on his face as Leonidas, if he could make expressions in ball form, gave Lincoln a confused look. "I mean imagine if you could just instantly defeat any opponent with ease and not even get a challenge."

"Huh…" Leonidas let out as he thought hard about what Lincoln said. "That sounds…really boring."

"Exactly!" Lincoln clapped with a smile on his face. "With someone strong out there, we now have something to work toward and train for."

"Hehe…yeah." Leonidas laughed before looking up at Lincoln again. "But look kid, no more of this doubting yourself nonsense ok? I may have not been around for most of your life, but I've known you long enough to know what your both strong and smart. And if I'm being honest here, I probably wouldn't have made it this far without ya."

"Wow…" Lincoln let out in response to the compliment from his partner. "Thanks man. That means a lot."

"Anytime kid. I guess it couldn't have been some sort of coincidence that I ended up in front of you." Leonidas explained as he recalled the day of how he and Lincoln first met. How Leonidas had ended up on the fountain at the park with Lincoln right in front of him. "Now that I'm thinking about it…I believe fate has brought us together."

"Fate?" Lincoln questioned with a few blinks. "You really think so?"

"I'm sure of it." Leonidas said with nothing but certainty in his voice. "So, there's no one I would rather have as a partner then you kid." Lincoln quickly felt himself getting misty eyed at his partners words as he started to wipe his tears away before they could fall. "Hey come on kid, no crying. Don't be getting soft on me."

"Hehe, sorry." Lincoln apologized as he picked up his partner and held the Darkus Bakugan in both of his hands and looked down on him. "We're gonna go far Leonidas."

"Damn right we are." Leonidas said as both human and Bakugan looked into each other eyes. Silently vowing to grow and get stronger together. After a moment, Leonidas sighed as he said something he brought up. "So…Reaper…"

"Yes, he's us and that's that." Lincoln quickly responded with the roll of his eyes. "So just deal with it ok?"

"Grr…fine." Leonidas silently growled. "But make sure he doesn't get in my way."

Lincoln sighed, but still couldn't help but smile.

At least this whole experience won't be boring.

"Oh that's great to hear!" Alice cheered with a smile on her face. The next day, the Brawlers and their Bakugan were all at Runo's café again and this time on a happier note as Lincoln and Leonidas and just told everyone how things were now all cool with Leonidas and how he and Lincoln were just gonna work harder to beat Hydranoid in a rematch one day.

"Its good to have you back Leonidas." Drago said as the Pyrus Bakugan walked in front of the Darkus on.

"Good to be back Drago." Leonidas responded before turning to Reaper and saying. "As for you, just make sure not to stand in my way when I'm crushing Hydranoid."

"I could say the same thing about you…" Reaper said as both Darkus Bakugan gave each other fierce and challenging looks.

Everyone simply sweat dropped as the two Bakugan glared at each other. This was certainly going to be…something with both Reaper and Leonidas on their team. But hey, life just has a funny way of working out. Just then, Preyas made the choice of walking up to Leonidas and asking. "So, you all back to normal buddy?"

"…" Leonidas then proceeded to push Preyas off the table.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" The Aquos Bakugan yelled before hitting the floor.

Leonidas let out a satisfied sigh before saying. "Its good to be back."

"Yay…he's back…" Preyas groaned while twitching on the floor of the café. "Ow…"

Like I said, a nice chapter. Establishing Reaper into the team and getting Leonidas his groove back. Also, shout out to my best friend Petrus for helping me out with this chapter a bit. He brought up the point of Reaper not really trusting anyone after being betrayed by Masquerade, something I didn't even realize. So props to this guy for pointing out a pretty important detail. This chapter may have been a bit different if it weren't for that.

Welp, not much to say. So I hope you all fav, follow, leave a review, and stay tuned for...

"The Story of Vestroia"