Hey guys, this is Insane Dominator, the one and only. So I have been thinking about this story for quite some time, and I think I am finally ready to get started on it. I'll warn you all that this will be far from what you shall ever expect, as I have planned several factors to make this story stand out, but rather than explain it all here and now, I'll let you read and tell me what you think.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bakugan.


In tales that lie in stone, there lies a tale that follows its entities. Those entities that dare to take the path of righteousness out of all odds shall cometh of six worlds. Six worlds that intertwine into what shall spark the dawn of a revolution. Numbers though small, their hearts follow in valor behind a man and the rising dragon. The two souls that have been blinded by darkness once shall forever make a stand, and bring forth a world in which all shall be undone. The reset by these brave souls shall start with the visit of one world, where those souls shall meet and forever be destined to change all that has been written. From then on, the man of darkness shall see the light and carry his brethren to the end of diversity. A soul of cindering red shall be quelled by scales of deep blue, edging into the bond between man and Bakugan for eternity.


A land of wonder; a land of possibilities; and it was all shrouded in utter darkness. Walls of sleek gray had deep patterns engraved in them, simple but complimentary to the purple carpet that had gold insignias lined on the sides. The many unknown figures were walking and constructing, stitching and hammering at fabrications of unknown. As many of men shrouded in odd colors, some had pale skin, and some had a darker shade, but had robust attire. Were they really engineers? Were hey human? It was hard to tell.

As sparks were being lit from blowtorches, others were taking breaks. Some, however, were as anxious as children waiting for presents on a Christmas morning.

"So…this is what's considered 'advanced' these days?" A shady voice belonged to someone who happened to be walking past the construction. Those working kept their backs as their spines crawled at the voice. Those resting immediately froze. One in particular was so paralyzed that he couldn't tur his head to look at the tattered cloak that shifted over his head.

The bizarre figure's toothy smirk was seen. "Interesting."

At the sound of his voice, many shot up and went straight back to work. They all didn't want to look at him a second longer.

Another figure shrouded in mystery was seen with a dark red tattered cape of his own. "Pfft. Lazy morons. They got some nerve to just dawdle when we're nearing our goal here."

"Well, all things considered, I wouldn't imagine having working endlessly wouldn't come without some fair share, right?" Another figure asked, walking behind his colleagues.

The figure before him looked over his shoulder. "Who asked you?"

"Just saying."

A taller figure followed behind in brown heels, which tapped as she inspected. "Not too bad if I do say so myself. We should be on schedule, shouldn't we?"

"Yes." The red tattered caped individual said. "Better be by tomorrow. I've been getting anxious for quite a while now. The operation's only begun, and yet we stick around here while something slap happy happens elsewhere."

"Are you talking about our friend?" The red-caped figure implied. "He's fine."

"You're missing the point!"

"Quiet!" The dark cloaked figure snapped. His tone was more gravely than the others, but it was enough to snap the anxious follower to face him. He didn't bother turning back to see if he was looking obedient or not, he already knew. "Everyone is rather anxious today, aren't they?" He mused rather well over the fact, moseying along well. "We're all here watching whatever seems fit, but don't forget. We're still waiting, you know."

The follower behind him lowered his head in shame. "I know…"

"We'll have our chance yet. Just wait, that is all. Just a little longer…" A malicious smirk formed in the corner, showing his own eagerness. Above that, the sliver of a dark pupil showed. "Anytime now…"

The five unknown figures were revealed. The one who spoke had a dark hood and cloak that shrouded his face, but his aqua blue hair was shown, revealing it to be shaggy and unkempt. It looked like a pair of horns were sticking out from the top, making the hood unable to conceal the forehead. The figure displayed a short-sleeved black jacket, having blue pauldrons with silver edging, almost like plates. The elbow section that showed skin had crossed iron lacing, with bulbous bolt nuts on the edging. On the forearms above were covered in long black gloves. He sported white pants with black boots, but black straps were on the pant legs on the thighs, while more iron cross hatching and restrains were on the boots for décor. He looked up, smirking as he saw the humungous construction. It looked like a massive hole, with dozens of panels everywhere. The longer he looked, the more he seemed anxious as his comrade. The time had come, and it was but few hours to come.

The hooded figure turned towards one of his taller subordinates. He was a male given his broad forearms, which had hairlines. "Has everything been arranged?"

The man nodded. "Yes." His tone was deep and quiet.

"Has everyone in the designated areas been through the simulations?"

Once again, he nodded. "Yes. They're now fully equipped with preparations for adaptation."

The tall woman beside him flipped her hair over her shoulder, huffing. "Cesar gets all the fun. He's almost done if he sent all those duplicates, right?"

The individual with glasses turned towards her. "C'mon, you know Cesar."

"Exactly. He likes to take his 'sweet time' in his own business."

The tall broad person crossed his arms. "Your candor, please tone it. We have a lot to do tomorrow. This deflection of stress isn't helping."

"Agreed." The cloaked leader said. He turned towards his colleagues, frowning deeply. "The announcements shall be tomorrow. Let's get ready ourselves, shall we?"


1 year. It's been one year since there has been no word, and that Earth's mightiest pair of man and Bakugan have disappeared. When mentioning the names of Dan Kuso and Drago, mutual reactions spilled at first, but lord knew how fates will intertwine them all again.

As time went on, everyone eased. Bakugan were integrated into Earth, and all were feeling lively. This marker in Earth's history was but a stepping stone that was about to begin with a fresh, bright May morning.

The sun peered through open curtains in a very lavish establishment. The estate was massive, and upon the many staff and maids that housed it, there was but one who was yet to be awake. Or so some believe. In reality, as sun went through the glistening red curtains of a very expensive yet very fancy room, a grumble came from a head that was still putting on a black shirt. "Hmmmmph…" With one more pull, the fabric went over his red hair, which was long and spiky. "Man, this is getting harder by the day." As though many insisted to him before, they sought to have his hair cut, but he was against it, saying it was fine. His parents didn't care, but it would only be a matter of time. He strapped on his fingerless brown gloves and gave another huff, turning to look at the sun.

His green eyes glistened, but they squinted in the bright sun. "Great, it's getting early." Realizing he was almost out of time, he hurried to get his wardrobe on his person.

Soon enough, an eternity ended, and he clipped the last yellow button on his coat. Standing in front of the full-length mirror, he had a good look at himself and his appearance. He had a rude disposition set on his face, with his green eyes baring daggers as his long, spiky red hair went down his shoulders, stopping above the shoulder blades. He had a black shirt tucked into his brown pants with an orange underside. He had silver and blue boots on, and aside from his brown fingerless gloves, he adorned a large white coat, with short sleeves and deep blue edging. On the sleeves were insignias of blue crosses in blue circles. Two yellow buttons held it together near the chest, and to complete the ensemble was a circular silver buckle on the belt with the same sign.

This was the story of Luke Drake Revolutia, 17-year-old heir to the estate and family legacy. Unfortunately, his idea of a story was rather more mischievous for everyone's liking.

He turned towards his large window once more, walking towards the one-story balcony. Even with the sun peering through the glass, he blinked as he looked out. "I wonder if he's back yet? It's been a while." He shrugged, unlocking the vaulted doors to his balcony. "Guess I'll have to see for myself."

He opened the doors and ran out to the balcony, ready to greet the morning. He jumped off the ledge and landed on a knee just a few feet below. Upon getting up, he looked around to see if he was in the clear, in which he was…to a degree.

"Huh?" Hearing feet, an elderly man with a green shirt with an orange apron turned around. His glasses fixed on the young man, his grin appeared. "Oh, Luke, you again."

"Huh, oh! Hey there, Cale." Luke greeted.

"You taking that exit again? You know that's dangerous, especially around your age." He explained.

Luke dismissed the comment with his hand. "Nah, I'm fine. That was nothing!" He looked pass the man, seeing that he was hauling fine material in a wheel barrel. "Huh? Wait, are you constructing again?" He questioned. "Shouldn't you be retired by now or something?"

Cale looked shocked. "What? Why would I? I like to construct, it's a pretty nifty way to pass the time for someone like me."

Luke looked away as he groggily rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, yeah…"

"It does my heart good knowing the walkways and remodeling I do for your place does come in use. It'd be a shame if people tread on grass rather than stroll down smooth stones down to the garden." Cale smiled. "For as long as I can remember, I've had a fun time seeing things in a new perspective. From one shape to another."

"Yeah, yeah. I know." Luke rudely dismissed. "You told me this like a hundred times already. Besides, it's not like my dad has anytime to appreciate that stuff. He's too busy even to just get a cup of coffee for himself."

Cale sighed in seeing Luke's ignorance. "His Grace is just busy with matters. I'm sure you'll understand."

"And I'm trying to get everyone to understand being here sucks!" He retorted. "I mean really, is there anything to do even other than just stand around in and out of a palace enclosed by gates?"

"What about your tutors?"

"What? Master Riaan? He's still not back yet! Is he?" His eyes widened in realization. "I just remembered, I need to go find him." He walked of callously with a smile. "Anyways, I'll be out for a short while. Don't tell anybody, okay?"

Cale watched as Luke went past him. "Huh? Wait, aren't you-"

"Later!" Without regard, Luke waved back towards him, leaving the elderly engineer of the establishment with a confused and saddened frown pursed on his lips. He knew Luke behaved so impetuously, but seeing him take everything for granted – even his works – left him worried.

'He's going to get himself into a lot of trouble one of these days.'

Luke continued his trek out of the garden and around the side of the mansion. He managed to slip pass a few maids and bypassed servants otherwise, but despite a few close calls, he eventually made it to the intricate massive gate that bordered the estate from the outside England world. Looking up at it, he smirked knowingly and grabbed hold of the swirling hooks and engraved material in it. He took one last look around, making sure he was all clear. When so, he climbed the massive gates, until he finally made it over the edge.

Sitting n the ledge, his legs dangled as he looked up at the sky. He seemed contemplative as his smirk turned to a frown. He watched as the morning sky kept rising, yet the clouds were moving over his head. He always watched clouds come and go, but he never knew where they'd go. He wanted to see the sky in so many ways, wander aimlessly like them. But reality was that he wasn't a cloud; he was human. And as an heir, he was stuck like a child without supervision to even go out of his room without a responsible adult. "This whole place is boring…"

"Hey, Luke! Is that you up there?!"

A voice ranged in Luke's ears. He looked down, seeing that instead of a guard, it was nothing more than someone else on the other side of the gates beneath him. With his feet in the grass, a rather kempt young man around Luke's age. Seeing him down below, Luke called back down. "Shawn!"

Shawn Just, just an average human being who lives close by. He had short yellow hair, which was spiky yet kempt in a way. He had blue eyes and yellow thin eyebrows. He had a fir body one might say, with brown boots that went up to his calves. He sported a green button dress shirt beneath a cream-colored vest with light brown edging and folded high-collar. The green short sleeves overlapped a little over the black sleeves on the forearms and elbow sections. He adorned brown gloves and belt, holding his black pants and gray sash that housed his yellow sheath, which carried his weapon of choice it seemed.

The blonde man winked up to the heir. "I thought you'd be sneaking out again."

Luke gave a grouchy look as he shushed his ally. "Shhh! Keep it down, would ya?" He jumped down from the fence, once again landing on his knee. Once up, he put hands to his hips and gave Shawn a stink eye.

"What's with that face?"

"C'mon, you know my folk get ticked bad if I'm unattended. If you go blabbing, I'm so screwed!"

Shawn folded his arms, raising a cocky brow. "Is that right? Why sneak out to begin with?"

Luke clutched his fists and gritted his teeth. "Gnngh! That's my business! Why go around my place anyway?"

"Well…" Shawn gave a cocky smirk again. "Who else reads you like a book?"

Luke just gave in and sighed. "Really, you can be so annoying."

Shawn shrugged. "Hey, it was your call to wander out here. So what's the deal this time?"

Luke was about to say something, when a call of a maid twitched in his ears. In speeds faster than lightning, Luke leapt into the bushes, grabbing Shawn by the collar and dragging him down in time to evade a maid who was passing by on the other side. As she looked around, she saw no sign and moved to another spot, calling out constantly.

Overhearing the cries, Shawn looked towards his friend behind the bush. "You know being crafty like this won't last long."

"Well I don't see you making excuses." Luke retorted. "I can't stand that place. I need some fresh air, one way or another."

Shawn sighed again, knowing it was perhaps futile to argue with his friend. "Honestly, now you're the one who's getting annoying. This is your what number of the sneak outs you've attempted?"

Once again, Luke grew flustered and growled. Pouting like a little kid was all he was good at, and Shawn was just rubbing salt into the wound. He looked away, giving no reply instantly. "Well, whatever. How many times doesn't matter. If it gets me wherever I need to go, then so be it. By the way, Shawn, do you know if Master Riaan is in town?"

Shawn raised a brow as he pondered. "Master Riaan? Good question." He put a hand to his chin as his elbows supported him. "Now that I think about it, it's been almost a month since we've seen him. He should be back anytime now."

"Exactly. All this waiting around isn't good for my health." Luke sighed.

"Oh really? And does that mean you sneaking out is good for everyone else as well, Luke?" A voice inquired. Both teenagers went wide-eyed and found that they weren't alone as intended. When they looked up, they saw that the sun was beaming on the object of their mind.

Looking up, they saw a mature, tall man who had black hair that was all spiked up and over. He had black eyebrows and small beard. He sported a black top with magenta edging along the zipper, and the long sleeves went down to knight gauntlets. He had two large black cloths with magenta edging around his hips and reaching down to the shin guards, over the black pants. He sported a red cape with a white version of Luke's family crest on the back. The most intriguing part about him was his eyes – as magenta as one could possibly imagine. "What are we snooping n today?" He teased.

"Master Riaan!" Both snapped to attention, their earlier talk completely erased.

Riaan chuckled. "Up to your old tricks again, Luke? You should know that won't last forever."

Luke looked at the gates and back at him, flustered. "Uh, I-I…wasn't doing anything!"

Riaan chuckled as he shook his head. Moving right along, he turned towards Shawn. "And you, Shawn, it is great seeing you again." He held out his hand to the friend.

Shawn shook the gauntlet with a smile. "The honor is all mine, Riaan."

Luke pumped his fists with excitement. "Oh! It's so awesome that you're back now! I've been waiting forever! I could've sworn I died from boredom a couple times!"

"My apologies. I didn't intend to be gone this long." Riaan apologized.

"Don't be. Still, that was quite the surprise you gave us." Shawn said. "Where'd you come from all of a sudden?"

Riaan smirked. "Well, that'd be telling, wouldn't it?"

"Aw man, another riddle?" Luke pouted. "I thought I said no more of these silly games!"

Shawn looked at him with a raised brow. "Oh? Well maybe you'd understand if you grew up a little, Luke."

Luke's eyebrow twitched. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Shawn shrugged. "Oh nothing. Maturity, height, it could use beefing in those departments." He cooed, showing he was in fact a few inches taller than Luke.

"Hey~! That was below the belt, and you know it!"

Riaan watched as Shawn and Luke went along with the banter, making him smile and chuckle eventually. "Well, it's good seeing some things didn't change much I see. Seeing you two like brothers."

Luke and Shawn stopped and looked at the other. They processed what he said, and Luke was the one who put hands behind his head and looked away. "Hmmm, maybe."

Shawn simply smiled at his best friend.

"Anyways, I'm here now, and that's what matters, is that right, Luke?" Riaan steered them in the direction of the conversation, where it was meant to go anyway.

"Oh, yeah! I can't wait to start training again today! My sword has gotten much better thanks to those tips you gave me, wanna see?" Luke eagerly reached for the sheath that was resting on his belt. Before he had the chance to pullout his polished blade, Riaan shook his head.

"Perhaps later. Right now, I must get acquainted with the Royal Guard welcoming their head once more."

Shawn mentally facepalmed. "That's right, you're the head of security for Luke's family. I forgot about that."

"Aw~." Luke sulked.

"Be patient, Luke. Patience is a virtue most worthy of one's self-preservation in its end." Riaan spoke. "Now, I do believe you should tend to your stay? Unless you prefer to get in trouble again?"

Not wanting to take anymore chances, Luke turned towards the gated he had to escalate before. "Fine, I'll go back." He started climbing. "But you better train me!" He called from high up.

Riaan turned towards Shawn next. "And what about you, Shawn? How would you like to come in?"

Shawn looked honestly surprised. "You sure?"

"Why of course. You are a family friend still, what's the harm? Come." He wandered along, with a gracious Shawn following behind. As they made way for the front gates to be properly announced, Luke had a more than stressful time sneaking back into his room, especially with the maids in every corner. In short, it was an eventful morning.


In a large dining room, there was a large rectangular table that welcome well over 50 people. The intricate furniture had many chairs, with the big chair at the far end belonging to a civilized and well-nurtured man with shaggy dirty blonde hair. He had a white mantle with the yellow family insignia on the front and back. He sported a sleek sleeved shirt that was navy blue in color and dark dress pants.

Besides him was a woman with long red hair that flowed down her back like a waterfall. She sported the insignia and mantle as well, with the same color yellow, but she had a neon green dress.

Both parents looked at Riaan and Shawn, who had taken their seats close by. They both smiled vividly upon seeing the faces again. It wasn't just them, but the whole room had at least ten guards that were well-dressed with weapons. It was like being in a president's house if implied.

The woman bowed. "It's so good seeing you again, Riaan."

The husband nodded. "Yes, we're glad to see you again after your hiatus."

Riaan nodded with satisfaction. "Your welcoming is all that I needed to hear, Claire, Augustine."

Claire looked at Shawn next. "And you, thank you for looking after Luke again. He's such a handful."

"He can be a handful, but it's okay." Shawn said sheepishly. "Still, it's kind of overwhelming for someone like me to be in one of the richest family homes in the country, you think?"

Augustine chuckled at Shawn's impish manner. "You're fine. We're not arresting you for just breathing." He laughed.

The door handle opened all of a sudden, getting everyone to turn towards the direction where another person entered, revealing Luke. "Sorry for the wait, Father." He greeted, closing the door behind.

The father nodded as he sat back in his seat. "Luke, good to see you're up." From the sound of his voice, he didn't seem too pleased.

Luke looked away embarrassed. "Sorry, I was in the bathroom."

Claire gestured to the seat next to her. "Luke, take a seat."

"Okay." The heir to the establishment walked over and around the table. He scooted into the chair next to his mother and sat across from Shawn. His eyes met Riaan, a big smile fixed on his face. "Master Riaan, it's great to see you!"

"As it is for us as well. Right Shawn?" He insinuated. "I was fortunate to have bumped into this young man on my way back. I figured why not tag along extra company, right?"

The parents chuckled, easily buying the rouse set up. Once the atmosphere died down a bit, Augustine spoke up.

"Well, we're just glad you're all here with us. Especially you, Riaan. How was your month back at your home?"

Luke's eyes widened. "Wait, that's where you were this whole time?"

Riaan folded his gauntlet fingers over the other, a serious look on his face. "Regrettably. I apologized that my time away may have been troubling, but I can assure you, my family needed me. It wasn't something made up on a whim."

"It's fine, really." Claire insisted.

"Family is important. We understand." Augustine said. "But what else is important is that now we have the Royal Guard commander take control again. Francis is currently away on his vacation, and as the second in command, you could imagine how exhausted he must be."

Riaan nodded. "Ah, yes. It's not easy running an establishment with worthwhile materials. It's getting harder knowing that these Bakugan have been aiding humans in their line of work."

Claire put a hand over her heart, sighing. "Honestly, these big creatures end the world, and now they live amongst us. It's almost frightening."

"Frightening?" Luke retorted. "Mother, what's wrong with Bakugan? Why can't I have my own like everybody else?"

"It's for your own safety, Luke." Augustine advised.

"But-"

"No buts. Now remember, we're better off safe than sorry. We're forced to heighten security now these days since some Bakugan can change shape and turn invisible. We need to remind ourselves that we're still human, and not animals ourselves."

"But…that makes no sense! How come Master Riaan gets to have a Bakugan of his own then?!" Luke argued.

"It's important for the commander to have as much security measures as possible." Claire said. "We can allow him to have one on his person, but we agreed as long as it is outside, it is permitted."

"And I intend to abide by that conduct we agreed on." Riaan finished. "Don't be like that, Luke. It's perhaps best to treasure what you already have than what you don't have. You may not have a Bakugan, but what about this way of living perhaps."

Luke pouted in his seat with a disgruntling manner. Sure he was mad he wasn't like anyone else with his own Bakugan, but he still had fancy rich livings, which his father earned. But it wasn't making him feel better knowing he didn't have a monster to fight with.

"You have your sword lessons from Riaan, that's all the self-defense you need." Augustine said, his tone dropping the subject. "Now, back to pressing matters. How long shall your stay be this time, Riaan?"

Riaan looked at him with a surprised gaze. "My, what's with the rash questioning all of a sudden? I'm not getting fired, am I?" Of course he didn't think it was the possibility, but he did enjoy lightening the mood a little.

"No, no." Claire laughed. "We're just curious because you have a lot of family problems at home."

"Yeah. The one before this last trip, it's taken a week." Shawn reminded.

"Well, for my next venture, it's hard to say…" Riaan put a hand to his chin, looking like he was heavily thinking. "I do believe once Francis returns from his vacation, perhaps."

Luke's eyes widened again. "What? But that's not long at all! That's in another week!"

Riaan frowned. "I'm sorry, Luke. I have to, but I shouldn't be too long again, I'm sure."

Luke shot up from his seat, holding a clutched fist. "Then who's gonna train with me?! Or pass the time somehow?!"

"You have Shawn, too, don't you?" Riaan asked. "I tutored you both, so perhaps it is best that you should pick up along the way."

Shawn sat back, arms folded. "Well, I'm holding nothing against it. Plus, it's not bad when you think of it."

"However, Luke, until Francis comes back, I shall instruct you as much as you want until I must return to my home again." Riaan offered. "That should suffice for the time being."

The light in Luke's eyes returned. "Really, you mean it?"

He smiled. "Of course. I'll even allow Shawn to accompany against my Luxtor."

The news startled Shawn. "Huh?"

"Riaan!" Claire snapped.

"It'll be fine. No abilities, I assure you. Think of it as a small test for Luke if he is ever going to get ready for the real world. Once he comes to age of course, he'll have whatever use of the mansion as he desires. But he must have the ability to make the right decisions."

Augustine looked down at his seat, looking fixated on what he wanted to think about the potential threats and progress this little training practice could bring. Of course what Riaan said does spark some ideas. "…very well then. Just this once."

Luke jumped in joy. "Alright! I'll go get my sword!" He went ahead for the door, leaving everyone to just watch him go along.

"Good grief." Shawn sighed.


In front of the palace, everyone, even the Royal Guard, was holding some sort of fake weapon, Sticks, clubs, anything for the hand. In any case, as they all trained in small areas around the field, Shawn sat off to the side as Riaan was in the center of the plaza, waiting for Luke to come around.

"Boy, you guys sure do take your training seriously." He said, looking over to see the many other men wearing pads and running into each other. It was like watching hockey and football at the same time.

Riaan nodded. "Indeed. These are hard working men. They put their time and effort in their shifts to make sure this property is safe when I'm not around." He heard footsteps from nearby, seeing that it was Luke. "Ah, Luke, so you are ready now?"

Luke nodded. "Right!" He reached with his right hand, getting his thick yet small blade out. The end pointed at his master. "Let's get another self-defense lesson started right away!"

Riaan reached back, pulling out his own sword, one longer and more curved. "Very well then. Don't hold back! Show me what you can do!"

"Gladly!"


The dark ceiling glass gave little light to enter the space beneath. But inside, it looked like a dark red laboratory. It was all so advanced, and at the same time revolting. It was decrepit in a way, but not moldly or damp. Just a little sick to look at is all. In the morbid yet majestic setting, the dome-like upper-half gave way to the massive gate with many panels.

Standing in the way of the panels and the large mechanism itself, the five figures were present, and they were all accounted for and ready to go.

"Now has everyone got the memo?" The hooded leader said with an amused grin.

The jittery red tattered cape figure smirked beside him. "Absolutely."

The tall woman put a hand to her hip. "So if I'm understanding this, Cesar already has the connection set up?"

"Yes." The quiet tall man said. "Look over here."

Everyone turned towards the monitor on the big screen beside the gate. They saw static, but it eventually subsided. It shifted about, revealing a man who looked to be in his mid-20s perhaps, if not more. He looked to have purple lipstick, with black framed glasses over his dark pupils. His shoulder length white hair framed the sides of his face, with him holding his white gloves over the other and sat down in a chair.

The man chuckled under his throat, a wily smile appearing. "Ah, you all."

"Hello, Cesar." The figure with glasses remarked. "How is everything there?"

Cesar smirked. "As well as you'd expect. After all, I am a genius you know."

"Sure you are." The red caped figure said. "Look, did you at least get everything set up?"

Cesar cleared his throat, finally stepping up. "Well, your insidious candor aside, I would appreciate it of you'd at least say please once in a while, thank you very much."

The figure sighed. "Good god."

The cloaked leader stepped up. Instantly the mood shifted with his demeanor as well. "Cesar."

The man on the opposite end of the screen leaned on, adjusting his glasses. "Ah, Maximus. I see that the months have been kind to you. As shifty as ever I see!" He chuckled. "I shall now embrace my invention and obligations! May these creatures know of our fullest extent! Now, thanks to our advancing technology, we can at last take charge and take this place as our own! Thanks to all these sample DNAs we have achieved!" He maliciously laughed on, leaving the others with mutual thoughts.

"Goody for you." The mature glasses said.

"Well, I see that you're enjoying yourself without us." The tall woman said.

The big guy behind her stepped up, getting a serious and respectful look on his face. "Cesar, please. Let us proceed." He insisted.

Cesar smirked again, showing satisfaction with the plea. "Ah, there is what I asked for. You see than, Xander? You could learn a thing or two from our good friend here."

The red-caped figure hidden looked annoyed at best, but offered no input.

"The announcement has been made half an hour ago Let's hurry and begin the transport." The leader ordered. "Cesar, are the coordinates set?"

Cesar bent down, tapping keys on his holographic keyboard. "Why yes, how silly. Almost forgot. A~nd…there!" He pressed one more button. "The coordinates are locked on."

"Good. So then here on out, we'll be operating at this new world, is that clear?" The figure turned towards the tall blue-haired woman and the broad man. "Hendrix. Ariella. You two will be going out on this one. Go find us some Bakugan and bring them to us when you depart."

Ariella whipped her hair behind her head. "Sure."

"As you wish." Hendrix groaned.

"The rest of us will reside in the northern city. Cesar, make sure you have everything ready by then." His eyes narrowed in a threatening manner. "Is that clear?"

Cesar adjusted his glasses, his smirk still present. "Ah, my friend, don't you worry. I left everything as it should've been. So long as my research hasn't been tempered with, I should have those complete with all this data I now possess!"

"Good, then start at once."

Cesar raised a finger. "Right! Activating correlation dimension hole…now!"

Upon that call, there was multicolored static raging inside the gate/ Though it seemed blank, the gate was discharging a lot of static. Which flickered constantly into an on and off realm of perspectives going far away. Only black and white was seen, and that was the ticket.

"Killian."

The man with a red – more kempt – cape made way for the control panel as instructed. He stood before the many switches and modules. He flipped a switch up, showing a much smaller screen of what looked like a massive dome. He flipped another, revealing another. The two segmented areas took two small screens, and after consecutive power calibration knobs that had to be turned, the domes were beginning to react.

Large modules hidden in their bases reacted with their core giving off violent static throughout their domains. The entire set of domes were then seen becoming translucent, and particles-like stars were shimmering brightly.

Cesar kept the calibration fixed, smirking in glee. "That's it. It's almost over…"

The light enveloped both massive domes. The monitors showed the two buildings were now two huge stars, which suddenly became beams of light that shot up into the sky, leaving twinkling speckles to glimmer in what were their remains – deep craters.

"Eureka! I'm a genius!" He shrieked. "The dimensional wide-range transport system is officially online and functioning 100%!"

"Well it's about time!" Xander snapped. "All these single trips would've taken months."

"Now, I believe we have business to attend to next, right Cesar?" Maximus asked.

Cesar nodded and began tapping the controls once again. "Why certainly. I'll recalibrate containment fields and make sure you all get there next." He tapped the many buttons and the controls fixed around him, and with what has been noted, the wormhole in front began to minimize.

Maximus and his crew stepped up, ready for departure next. "Is everyone ready?"

Hendrix nodded. "We know our role."

"As you say." Ariella sighed.

Cesar pressed one more key, then turned towards everyone. "Now, jump in, quick! The power was drained from those massive jumps! Hurry and come here, now!"

Maximus smirked in a toothy manner beneath his hood. "You don't need to tell us twice."

With that, the five walked into the portal with what time was left. They all made haste and carried on, their figments fading into the portal. Just like the two domes, they too were sent off.


Cesar slouched in the back of his chair, giving what was a very long sigh of relief. "Oh good grief." He pinched the bridge of his forehead. "I swear, being so intellectual does a number on you…hm?" The screen fixed on the panel in front of him began to flicker on and off, showing the green turning red. A small siren went off as the page began to show a rippling effect in the gateway created. Instantly he straightened up. "What's this?" He tapped furiously on the keyboard. "The calibration of the transport, its fluctuation is causing a distortion! I better fix this!" He began to tap on the keyboard profusely, typing on coordinates that aligned and codes that were making the decode/encode calibration stabilize. The helix-like wormhole that was shown on the screen began to slowly straighten out into a tube as it was intended. Once settled, he took in a brief sigh of relief. "There, hopefully that didn't reach any interference."


Luke panted as he had legs spread apart, standing meters away from his master and supervisor. They've been going at it for the longest time, and after so many parries of blades, they finally drew to a stalemate. Luke's breathing was raspier compared to Riaan, but that was to be expected.

"So…how was…that?" Luke asked.

Riaan grinned as he sheathed his blade slowly. "Good. Very good. You've progressed rather well I see."

Luke gave a cheeky smile, unable to contain his excitement and praise.

"Now that I got a feel of your level of experience, would you like to move along to the main event?"

"Would I?! I thought we'd never get there!" Luke chirped. "C'mon, let's get started already!"

Riaan turned towards Shawn, who was sitting on a bench and watching their training like it was nothing. "Shawn, why don't you join us? This could be a good lesson for you as well."

Showing no objections, Shawn got up from the bench. "Sure. I don't see why not." He walked towards Luke's side, both contenders watching as Riaan readied himself by getting several meters away for proper room.

"This is so cool! I'm finally going to see a Bakugan in real life! TV is so boring now." Luke said.

"Take it easy." Shawn reached for his scabbard, slowly pulling out his fencer. "Save your energy for the battle."

"Right!" He adjusted his word, ready to battle.

Riaan inspected both, seeing that they were fully set on training. When he looked around, he saw his many other followers were training hard, attacking and using defensive and tactical dodging. They all had to prove something, even if it was nothing more than just a job. The world was advancing, and so should they.

He pulled out a small dark sphere, looking at what was his Darkus Luxtor. "Then let us begin." He pulled his arm back. "Bakugan…" Before he could complete his sentence and throw, a flash emanated from between the trio. Everyone stopped what they were doing and saw a very odd static shoot down and hit the ground.

"What?!" Luke snapped.

"What's going on?" Shawn gasped.

The multicolored discharge of energy flared everywhere, suddenly warping and causing a panic. The Royal Guard instantly closed in to surround Luke and shield Riaan. They all followed the protocol and managed to get weapons set up.

Riaan's eyes widened at the discharge of static that was coming from above. "This feeling…everyone, fall back! Don't get anywhere near that!"

The security all looked at him confused, but knowing the position they were in, they all were covering up as the discharge intensified. They all cowered away, letting Luke to duck as they all stumbled over him.

Seeing many of men barely holding themselves together, Luke looked back at the light in confusion. "What is all this?! What's going on?!" He stood up, holding his sword towards the light. "What are you?!"

"Luke, get away from there!" Shawn shouted. In a hurry, he ran towards his friend, not realizing the distressing discharge was flickering profusely into a growing field. The polarity and the bright light began to grow into a dome, one that stopped Shawn from moving towards it, as it instead went for them instead.

Riaan's eyes widened in deep shock. 'This is bad!' "Luke!"

Unable to move, Shawn stared with deep despair as the light went for him and Luke. "Luke!"

Luke screamed as everything for him suddenly went white. His screams were muffled by the frequency and the flash that followed. All that he could feel and see in a span of a few moments, was energy swirling, and his body spiraling uncontrollably. That was all before everything around him faded to black.


It was a very enchanted land one might say. It was all very eccentric with a sky that could've been mistaken for space itself. There were patches of grass that were all about within the nearby forests, and paved trails from large feet were evident. The wind was crisp and calm, a land that had a certain being lying on his back, eyes shut.

After what felt like forever, Luke's eyes began to open. "…gnnngh…what…what just happened?" His vision cleared, revealing that it was night. "What happened? Why is it so dark? And why is-!" His attention snapped to the ground, his gloves tracing the dirt that he laid in. "Dirt?" He looked around, seeing that he was all alone. "Wait. Shawn? Master Riaan?" He stood up, looking around the cliff that he was on. He peered into the forest, his voice calling out. "Shawn~! Master~! Hello?!" Despite all echoes, he didn't get much of a reply. All he got out of it was silence.

He tried again. "Master~! Anyone~?!" Once again, he was met with vacancy. Realizing he wasn't going to get much of an aid, he crossed his arms and looked at the ground.

"Oh great. Where did they go now? What happened to begin with anyway?" He contemplated, showing twisted frustration as he tried to recap. "I…can't remember. The last thing I remember, was it Master and I-!" His eyes widened in the epiphany. "That's right! He was about to throw his Bakugan, then everything went in this big flash." He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "What happened to me anyway?"

A rustle from the bushes behind caught his attention. He instantly whipped around, giving the forestation a quizzical look. "Huh? Who's there?!" He drew his sword, poised to strike. A long wait came and went, and he stayed absolutely quiet in a crouched position as the rustling and leaves turning came from deeper within. He kept a high guard as the sound drew closer, as did a figure.

Seeing figure draw in, he realized by the shape and the legs that it was human. Instantly his guard dropped upon hopes rising. "Wait, hold on…" He closed in, smiling. "Master Riaan, is that you? Thank goodness I found yo-!"

However, he was met with another epiphany. His eyes interlocked with another human who came across him, and she wasn't anyone who he was familiar with. She was a young woman around his age it seemed, and she was slender, if not had a slight voluptuous built to it. She had average height with fair skin. She had blue eyes and long, light brown hair that had bangs barely over the right eye. Her attire was something else entirely. It was a high collar golden edged top with a silver mantle with intricate symbol-like incantations engraved. The silver went downwards towards the yellow belt with a triangular buckle. The silver middle had golden edging as well. She was sleeveless, leaving her shoulders bare, but she sported long sleeves-like black gloves with the same silver and incantations on the edging. On each elbow was a yellow diamond, and the wrist to the fingers had white gloves covering the ensemble. Below the belt were four massive pieces; two cloths for front and back, and two thicker pointed cloths that were black with gold edging, but had silver incantations stitched onto them. The front and back were bare; though the back had golden edging while a yellow diamond shape was on the black material. She had a dark red attire beneath the neck and what appeared above the knees, where purple stocking took below the knees to the black boots with gold soles and top.

"Huh?" Luke looked at her questionably, seeing that it was no one he recognized. "Hang on, you're not Master Riaan!"

The unknown woman looked at him, a frown on her face. "So I did hear a voice after all. So I wasn't the only one transported here then?" She inquired.

"Hey, don't ignore me!" Luke irritably reprimanded.

The woman looked to him with wonder. "Sorry, I'm just a little spacious at the moment."

Luke sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, looking away from her modest figure. "Gnnngh…it's fine. Still, where could Master Riaan and Shawn be?" He looked back towards her. "Hey, you. Have you seen them by any chance?"

The girl looked at him in confusion. "Are they acquaintances? Sorry, but you're the only one I've met."

Once again, he folded his arms. "Great, back to square one."

The unknown woman looked at him, giving a rather quizzical expression. She inspected him, seeing his red hair as wild as grass itself. "You…have red hair."

Luke heard her statement and looked up to his own hair. "Huh? Oh, this? Yeah, I guess so. And your hair is long."

She took notice of her own hair, seeing that it was cut just at the waist. It was silky smooth like a waterfall to begin with. "Yes, it is." She grinned at him. "It's nice to not be alone out here."

"Yeah, I guess so…" Luke looked at the forest behind her, seeing nothing but darkness and dirt. "Say, where is 'here' anyway? Where are we?"

She closed her eyes to think. "I think the answer lies up." She implied.

"Huh? What do you mean, because all I see is…!" Luke looked up, but his imagination ran wild without jurisdiction upon seeing the many shapes and somewhat pinkish starry night. "What the-?! What happened to the sky?! I don't remember it being that freaky at night!"

The woman looked up as well. "This isn't common from where we're from. Something went wrong, and somehow we must've been sent elsewhere."

"Sent elsewhere?!" Luke snapped. "You're saying…?"

"I'm saying that something happened that transported us here, away from the possibilities of Earth. Tell me, what can you remember?"

Luke leaned back, putting his hands to his hips and tapping his foot against the ground. "Hmmm…well, I was training with Master Riaan, and then all of a sudden this big light shined down and everything just went weird. Are you sure this isn't a dream?"

She shook her head. "No. So then I wasn't the only one. It happened to me as well."

Luke's eyes widened. "You mean you were hit by lightning, too?!"

"Possibly, but it's hard to be certain what exactly it was." She looked around, inspecting the view they got from the cliff. "Wherever we are, it doesn't look like we are anywhere near our origins."

"Really? Not Earth?" He couldn't wrap his head around it, not even in the slightest. He continued to look at the sky, seeing how it had such wondrous shapes and stars in its bizarre planetary skies. How many moons did the planet have? Was this truly a dream? It was hard to tell, but when he realized he was on a cliff, his attention drew towards the actually ledge that was ten feet from him. In wondrous haste, he ran up to the top, looking out at the wondrous view. His eyes opened in deep revelation as he looked over the valley of lush trees and hills. His astonishment never ceased to arise.

He was completely out of it. He stared in deep shock at the nighttime sky accompanied by the valley. He's only seen pictures of starry hills and mountains on television in his room. He's definitely seen lightning before, but this was something else. "What…is this…?" He was speechless. It was so majestic.

The woman beside him walked up to his side, overlooking the valleys and forestation that lied beneath. "That? That must be a valley. There must be some water or something to sustain ourselves perhaps down there."

"A…valley?" He looked at it up and down, seeing the multitude of cliffs and trees. It was all tall, it made him feel almost so small. Such a big world yet he didn't have a clue.

The woman turned away. "It's best that we head down to where we shall find water. Staying in one place too long isn't good for our survival." She pressed on, but Luke was still in a daze. "Are you listening over there?"

"H-huh? What…oh, right!" Looking away, he followed her, but that didn't make his annoyance shine any less. "Hey, why are you leading? I don't even know you."

"Then we can get acquainted. Call me Esther." She said as she went along.

"Okay, but do you even know where you're going?"

"I have an idea, but do you happen to have any suggestions? Besides, staying in numbers will ensure our survival."

Her rebuttal gave him silence. He backed down from the idea, but he wasn't too appeased knowing nothing about where he was. It only frustrated him more. He just followed along silently, hands behind his head as Esther took the lead into the forest.


The walk took them for miles down the slope. The mountain trail was as dense as the black coat of night. Everything was quiet. Too quiet. Luke and Esther alike made sure to keep their guards high in the event of anything going awry. For the most part, it was all silent and empty. Virtually no obstruction or wildlife hampering them. Their trek led them to ground level eventually, the pair falling into silence as Luke was taking in every single thing, ranging from the tall trees to the massive purplish cotton ball plants that were high over his head.

"Man, what are these things?" He asked, passing another massive purplish cotton ball high above.

Esther looked up, staring at the alien plant life. "I'm not sure. This isn't native to Earth, I think."

As the two went on, their footsteps faded as something small and ball-like scuttled from the underbrush behind.

"Huh? Who's there?!" Luke turned around, his sword out as he was faced with nothing.

"Is there something wrong?" Esther looked back, giving Luke a questionable look as she saw nothing.

Weary of what he heard, Luke looked around, head turning left and right. "I could've sworn I heard something just now. Was that the wind?" Staying cautious, he slowly stepped carefully back on track, but kept his sword out. "We should move faster."

Esther nodded. "Right."

As they pressed on, hidden in the underbrush, some more marble-like colors rolled. They stayed quiet as they observed the two humans. With every bush that Luke and Esther passed, more figurines showed themselves, observing from the branches and beneath large petals. Their numbers continued to watch them, further increasing the uneasy feeling up Luke's spine.

After a few more hours of walking, the two eventually came across what they were looking for. They drew closer out of the forest, finally hearing the sound of rushing water. Esther turned her head towards the sound, moving aside a large leaf that obscured her vision. When she moved it, she smiled.

"We made it."

Luke moved to the side to get a view. Like her, he seemed relieved to have found a waterfall. At its base was a massive pond, fit for drinking. The water glistened from the stars in the sky, and yet it was so clear that they could even see the very bottom of it. The water smoothly glided along the riverbank that flowed from its base, making him all the more glee.

"Fresh water, finally!" Luke hurried towards the edge, with Esther following. Once at the base, Luke fell to his knees and cupped his hands, scooping up some water. He looked at it for a moment before he dunk his face into the scooped liquid, washing his face clean of any dirt. He rubbed vigorously, making sure to wash away the wear in his eyes.

"This should do us well for the time being." Esther figured. "Let's refresh here."

"Sure, sure. Man, this is so good." Luke took another scoop of water, drinking it all in no less than a few gulps. After so many cups into his hands, he finally let up with a sigh. He looked down at the flowing river, watching his reflection through the clear liquid. He stared at his face, getting lost in his own wonders.

Esther looked towards him, seeing more concern on his face. "Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm in another world. I just can't believe it." He thought about it for a long time. He wanted to get out and leave his home, but not like this. He wanted out of the estate, not out of this world, literally. Shawn always did tell him to be careful with what he wished for, and now he's learned the hard way. If this were a dream, it'd be too freaky. He cupped his hands to get more water and rubbed his ace again, refreshing his skin.

"You know if you rub your face any harder, it'll probably be scraped off."

Hearing the cocky comment, Luke turned towards his right side. "Well excuse me, but I've been asleep for…" He trailed off, realizing that no one was there. "Uh, was I just imagining things?"

"Try looking down." The same voice said.

Confused, Luke followed his gaze towards the ground beside the river. There, a blue ball with lighter blue markings all over it. Luke leaned in, giving the ball an odd look.

"Hold on, are you…?"

The ball opened up, with a curve as a tail popping on one side and the upper section bending up and supporting the slithery head. The pop-up looked up to him. "Hey, not so close. I need my space, too."

Luke went wide-eyed and fell on his bottom. His thud alarmed Esther, making her turn towards the blue figure. Luke supported himself using his hands, veering way in surprise. "Wha…what the heck?! Is that a Bakugan? And did it just talk?!"

"A Bakugan?" Esther asked.

The snake-like finned serpentine didn't move his position. "What's that supposed to mean? Don't we all talk just like you humans?"

Luke looked perplexed to say the very least. "How…wait, is this really a dream? Are you Bakugan really talking?"

"Well duh. Welcome to reality, kid." The Aquos Bakugan sniped.

There was a quiet rustle that followed in the shrubs and bushes. Esther turned around, seeing many small figurines slowly erode from hiding. They all silently crept up and looked towards Esther and Luke, staring at them with curiosity. Though their curiosity only alarmed the humans.

"What the?! Where did they come from?!" Luke snapped.

"Looks like you were right. We were being followed." Esther said. Her head turned left and right, seeing the many Bakugan ranging from the Anchorsaur to the Stug that was hiding beneath a small leaf. "Look at all these Bakugan. I've never seen so many in one place before."

Luke looked equally as shocked, but offered no input.

"Huh, so that's how humans drink water?" The Aquos Bakugan said, getting Luke's attention. "That's pretty gross."

Luke raised an irritated brow. "Huh? Who says you can judge? I was thirsty! Don't you guys get thirsty, too?"

The Bakugan turned away. "Not as desperate as you."

Luke crossed his arms, turning away with a pout. He wasn't appreciation Bakugan talking after all.

Esther inspected the many Bakugan that were around her. She was still amazed with the numbers, but there were still questions that needed to be answered. She slowly took steps towards the small figments, who slunk back out of fear. They all stayed cautious as Esther stopped a safe distance away and crouched down, meeting their height.

"We apologize. We didn't mean to startle you all." She said. "Please, we just want to ask some questions."

The Bakugan turned towards the other, looking wondrous. Eventually, though, a Pyrus Verias turned towards.

"What is it that you want to know?" The ape-like creature inquired.

"My colleague and I, we were wondering where we are." She said.

"You mean you don't know where you are?" An Aquos Fly Beetle asked.

Esther shook her head. "Can't say I do."

Coming up next was another Bakugan, who scooted up to get a good look at her. It had red eyes and tiny curled blades. It had open wings to look like a moth, and a tail curved out above. It looked like an Atchibee. "Are you humans familiar with your own planet, Earth was it?" The Darkus Bakugan insinuated. "Well, here, this is New Vestroia, the home of all Bakugan."

Esther and Luke gasped in deep shock. "New…Vestroia?" Esther repeated. 'Maybe that would explain the vegetation and oversized plants.'

Luke sat cross-legged as he folded his arms. "So wait, you're saying that we're in the world where all Bakugan came from? That doesn't make sense."

"Well humans being here doesn't make much sense either." The Bakugan beside him argued. "How'd you get here anyway?"

Luke rubbed the back of his head again, showing annoyance. "It's too big of an explanation. It was just a big flash and next thing I know, I met her."

"We're not sure how we got here exactly, but it sounds like there was an interference happened here if that's the case." Esther figured.

The Atchibee lifted itself, floating in front of the other Bakugan. "So then you're not responsible for who did this to us?"

Esther looked shocked. "No. What happened?"

"What you see is nothing more than an alternate form of ourselves." A Ventus Fly Beetle said. "We were shrunk to this state for some reason."

"Huh? Wait, so you're saying these tiny balls the size of golf balls are really not your actual forms?" Luke questioned.

"I don't know what this 'golf ball' thing is, but sure." The Aquos Bakugan said. "Man, you really freak out a lot, do you?"

"Shut up!"

Esther turned towards the Atchibee. "Go on."

The Darkus Bakugan continued. "You see, we Bakugan are actually larger creatures. When we shrink to this form, it makes us vulnerable but more manageable in your human environment, at least from what our brethren said on Earth. But here, our forms are large all the time."

Esther put a hand to her chin, pondering away. "I see. So then something happened that made you into this ball form." She turned towards the Aquos Bakugan next to Luke. "Can you tell us what happened?"

"Sure. You see, it all started this morning. Out of nowhere, these weird wormholes opened, and that somehow brought along these weird ships or something. I don't know what, but they appeared in two places at once. The next thing we knew, some weird energy wave made my long body shrink down to this."

"And my body shrunk as well." Atchibee said. "It wasn't just us, but all over New Vestroia. It's like they planned all this."

A Pyrus Verias turned towards a Haos version. "This wouldn't be the first time it happened."

"How many times do we have to suffer like this?" A Haos Hammersaur huffed.

"We're not the ones causing trouble here, but someone just goes and meddles with us anyways. What did we do this time?" A Haos Jelldon asked.

Esther frowned heavily for the misfortune that fell upon the Bakugan. They were once big creatures who could do anything. Now they were tiny spheres with forms that barely fit into a palm of a human hand. Feeling a chance to open up, Esther reached out to the Atchibee in front of her with one glove. Though hesitant at first, the Darkus Bakugan rest her underside on her warm hand. "I'm terribly sorry for what you have gone through. You have my deepest sympathies. I'm sure a solution shall come in good time."

Though he wasn't so caring about the prospect – or story for that matter – Luke knew about courtesy and had to show some level of hope for the Bakugan. "Yeah, sorry about you guys." He groaned.

"It's fine, human." The Aquos snake said. "But you know this isn't exactly your kind of place."

"We know. We're just finding shelter until we find a way home soon. Shouldn't be too hard, right?" He looked around, seeing the many Bakugan who were looking at the other confused again. Suffice to say that this didn't give Luke the confidence boost he needed. "Well?"

"Not my call." The Bakugan said.

Luke pinched the bridge of his nose. "Man, you're even more useless than I thought."

The Aquos Bakugan lifted itself and floated to his side. "Well sucks for you, pal. We all have our fair share of problems now, don't we?"

In the thick of the bonding of humans and Bakugan, there was the sound of more rustling. It came from afar, this sound alarming Esther immediately as she jolted up.

"Someone's here."

Luke bolted up, and with him the Bakugan he spoke with. "Really?"

The duo saw something in the distance, but it wasn't clear to make out. From what it looked like, it appeared to be a man and a woman, almost like them, but taller. They shuffled swiftly, looking to be on the alert.

"Are those more of us?" Esther asked.

"Looks like it. You think they're Shawn of Riaan?" Luke walked up to her, waving out to the figures that were hidden inside the forest. "Hey! You guys! Over here! Hey!" He expected them to recognize his voice, but it didn't go as intended. The two figures turned towards the sound, but only ended up startled.

"Hey! Over here, guys! Over-mmmf!" He was silenced by a hand grabbling his mouth, revealing Esther hushing him.

"Keep your voice down. You don't know if they're even your friends…" She looked back ahead. "Or foes."

"Well how will you know if you don't ask?" Luke rebuffed. "Come on!" He took off towards them, without any regards as to slowing down.

"Wait-!" Esther reached out, but it was too wait. With a distressed look on her face, she looked at the Bakugan that were around her. She looked at the Atchibee and Abis Omega that were beside her and faced the wayward Luke. Without anything to do, she forced herself to rush for him, with Atchibee curiously following.

"Hey, aren't you tagging along? C'mon." The Darkus Bakugan urged the snake, who didn't seem at all interested.

The Abis Omega huffed, turning towards the river. "Hmph! Alright, if it'll kill a minute or two." He floated behind Atchibee, following acquiescently. "But really do we have to?"


Luke jumped over bush after bush; branch after branch. He rushed towards the two figures that were scuttling away, continuing to trek. "Wait up! Come on!" He shouted. However, they were only drawing away from him, making him irritated. "Aw man~!" He picked up his running pace, heading deeper into the woods.

Up ahead, the blue-haired woman carried the lead, scouting the land beneath her feet. "Would you hurry it up? I think I hear something."

Following behind slowly, Hendrix scouted the ground and little details carefully. "I know." He deeply said.

Ariella looked around hastily, huffing as she moved bushes around. "How many Bakugan ae we supposed to bring back to him?"

"Any 6, he said." Hendrix repeated. His eyes caught whiff of a small brown figment hiding underneath a push. His brown eyes locked onto it. It looked like a Rafflesian, at least from what the earlier simulations said. He knelt down, meeting the tiny Bakugan.

The Rafflesian's many eyes looked up towards Hendrix, looking rather curious yet scared at the same time. It said nothing as Hendrix was the one who frown.

"Little Bakugan, please. A moment of your time." He said. "I didn't come here to harm you. I came to enlist you in aid."

The Rafflesian slowly inched out of the petals, slowly making itself visible. It looked more curious than timid now.

"I'm not asking you to join in my case, but if you wish to take your chances in hopes of power, would you feel obligated?"

As odd as it was, the Rafflesian felt compelled. Though still having his doubts, the Rafflesian popped back into a ball and slowly rolled into Hendrix's hand, in which it was upright in his palm. Hendrix slowly arose and looked down at his palm, giving it a nod of understanding.

"Your decision shall be rewarded in good time. I promise you."

An Aquos Clawcer pounced away. "Oh no you don't." A hand snagged it, yanking it up and forcing it into a ball again to avoid tension. The hand belonged to Ariella, who held the Aquos Bakugan in her palm, smirking. "That's a good Bakugan. Now, you work for us."

The Clawcer shuddered inside its ball. It didn't look too happy with how menacing Ariella glared.

Walking up, Hendrix gave her a deep frown. "You know cooperation will only go so far."

"And your point?" Ariella rebuffed. She held up her other palm, revealing a Ventus Bakugan. "I already have two. And as for you?"

Her insinuation of her methods was her way of proving him wrong. However, she was the dumbfounded one when Hendrix opened his other palm, revealing a Darkus, Pyrus, Haos, and the Sub Terra Rafflesian he just "recruited". The look he gave was unemotional and composed, in stark contrast to the sneer Ariella gave.

"Tch, fine." She huffed. "We have what we came for, now let's just…"

"Hey! Guys!" A voice came from close by, startling the two. They turned with surprised looks, seeing someone approach from the underbrush a ways away. From the sound of it, he was a teenager. "Over here!"

"Who's that?" Ariella questioned, wanting to get a better look. However, Hendrix put an arm in front of her, shielding her.

His eyes narrowed. "Careful. Stay on guard."

Ariella did as told and retreated a ways away. She and Hendrix made haste away from the voice, wanting to get out as soon as possible. They both made way towards the outskirts of the forest, where there, they had a massive amount of room at the base of a cliff, where on the one side, flowing water went down like a waterfall.

Realizing they were cornered, they turned around, seeing two figures approach from the forest they trekked through. Readying, Hendrix stayed calm while Ariella stepped up, showing no fear.

"Whoever's there, come out." She ordered.

From the forest, Luke appeared, looking chipper. "Hey, wait up!" He yelled. "I was wondering if…" His eyes widened, seeing two new figures that he never saw before. His feet came to a halt, his confusion rising. "Wait…"

Following behind, Esther caught up, catching her breath and seeing that they were met with strange new faces. Like Luke, she showed shock at the sight of the new faces.

The one man was tall and muscular man, looking in his late 20s if not early 30s. Though he was broad with power, he had brown eyes, eyebrows, and a short beard. He had short hair in a style similar to Riaan, only the small beard and hair was connected by thin dark brown sideburns. His attire consisted of a large brown t-shirt beneath a two-tone dark yellow coat with wavy orange edging from bottom to the bent collar. The orange edging on the sleeves was thick, with orange petal designs all the way around, and much larger ones on either side below the waist length of the coat. He sported white pants and brown boots.

The other was a woman who was around his age, only a little short by a few inches. Her blue hair was slicked back into a side-bud, allowing her long hair to flow straight down from the bud like a waterfall behind her left shoulder. She had a slender built with silver earrings and green eyes of her own. She adorned a light blue t-shirt that exposed her stomach and belly button, while being low cut to show some small hints f cleavage, but barely. Over it was a large brown vest that had yellow edging over the shoulders and chest, and on the shoulders were white bubbles stitched on, larger at the top and decreasing on either side. The back of the long vest was the same with a large white bubble and shrinking all the way up the edging towards below the chest. A yellow belt held up her massive navy-blue skirt and two bright blue cloths on either side, with brown shin guards beneath with black heels.

Luke was at a loss for words. "Who're…?"

"Kids?" Ariella questioned. "What are kids like these doing in New Vestroia?"

Hendrix stayed fixated on them, his broad, hairy arms crossing. He showed a sense of calm as he looked at them carefully. "It's hard to tell."

"Wait, who are you guys? Were you transported here, too?" Luke asked.

Esther looked at Ariella's hand, seeing the two Bakugan she caught. "Are those…Bakugan?"

Following behind, the Darkus Atchibee and Aquos Abis Omega caught up, looking from behind as they saw the conversion.

"That's none of your business, you brat." Ariella scoffed. "You know kids like you shouldn't be out here all by yourselves. Where's your little party?"

Esther narrowed her eyes. She wasn't appreciating the cruel tone on this woman's voice. "Who's asking?"

Ariella raised a brow. "Oh, a snappy tongue. Well aren't you the little trooper. Well, these Bakugan?" She showed the ones she managed to find. "We're just borrowing them for a little bit. That's all."

"Borrowing?" Luke questioned.

Hendrix turned towards Ariella. "Enough, Ariella. We have what we came for. We don't have to patronize others at this time."

Ariella looked at him with another shocked gawk. "Seriously? You're just having punk kids waddle over you?"

"Their voices are unnecessary. It would do you good to keep that in mind."

Esther stepped up, showing no signs of backing down. "I'm not asking a third time. What are you doing here, and why do you have that many Bakugan?"

Ariella shot her a look. "Like I said. It's none of your business."

There was a drop in the temperature all around them. No winds blew, but nevertheless, everyone was having a stalemate. They showed caution and the atmosphere was so tense that you could cut it with a knife. The uneasy silence was not easily tampered with; even the Abis Omega and Atchibee that followed were left without words as they watched the conflict unfold. Luke was more or less confused, but he could see the hidden venom in Esther's eyes. She was hinting well in what was going on.

"…you're stealing them, aren't you?" She clutched her fists, her eyes glaring at Ariella and Hendrix.

The smirk on Ariella widened. "Well, points for you catching on so fast."

"Give those Bakugan back!" Atchibee snapped.

"Yeah, they're not yours!" Abis Omega shouted.

"You two?" Luke gasped, just realizing they arrived.

"Oh, and if not mine, who are they then?" Ariella rebuffed. "We didn't do anything wrong. We're just looking for some Bakugan; nothing more, nothing less." Her smirk widened. "But if you really insist on taking on what we worked hard to get, then you'll just have to come and take it from us."

Esther glared. "You wouldn't."

"Wouldn't what? What's going on?" Luke asked, completely clueless of the situation.

Hendrix took a deep breath and slowly clutched his fists on either side. "This isn't what I asked for. However, I won't let such a small obstacle stand in my way." He frowned in seriousness as he glared at the two. "We got what we came for, but if you want to pry them, then so be it. We have obligations to uphold."

Ariella shrugged. "And besides, do you two have Bakugan of your own?"

Esther and Luke both gasped in surprise. They realized the predicament they were in, but had no means of fighting if they didn't have a Bakugan. Their looks made her smirk. "That's what I thought."

Getting agitated, Luke knew he had to defend himself somehow. He reached for his back and pulled out the small sword he still had on him. "Oh yeah? We'll show you!"

Seeing the sword in hand, Hendrix's eyes widened but a little. He inspected Luke, seeing his red hair, green eyes, and ferocious glare. This only piqued him. "Interesting."

Ariella, however, looked confused. "Uh, kid? Is that all you have?" She held up the Clawcer she snagged earlier. "We have Bakugan, that can grow and crush you in one stomp. You really think a mere sword will do anything?"

The grip he had tightened. "We won't know unless we find out! Bring them out!"

"Geez, this human is pretty bold." Abis Omega chimed.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Atchibee asked. She turned towards Esther. "But…" The longer she stared at her, the more she felt compelled. She looked at the human and thought back to what she said about the Bakugan and her apology. The way she threatened made it clear she was in it for a good cause, like a warrior of honor. Atchibee didn't have an opinion on her per se, but she looked at the Bakugan in Ariella's hand. Seeing them all held captive in a tight fist was no way even the likes of an ant should be treated. It sickened the Bakugan.

The moth-like creature floated beside Esther, near her shoulder. "Human, what is your name?" She asked.

She glanced at the Bakugan, showing no change in posture. "Esther Conland."

"Okay then. Esther, let me battle instead."

The sudden statement made Esther and Luke alike. Both looked at the Bakugan with shock. "You what?" Esther asked.

"Wait, you want to actually fight?!" Luke was so baffled that he almost forgot how to speak.

Abis Omega turned towards the fellow Bakugan, looking surprised. "You really going to brawl with this Earth woman?"

"This is more than just ideals, Abis Omega. Take a look ahead." She gestured ahead with one tiny claw, in which Abis followed. The Bakugan got a good look of the captive ones in hand.

"Look, I know these humans have their own affairs, and honestly this doesn't bother me, but look over there. Those are Bakugan. Those are us. The moment they took them, that's an instant obligation. I'm not letting them go without a fight. So, just this once, I'll see to it that we teach these ones a lesson."

Abis Omega looked ahead, seeing the 6 Bakugan that were held in their grasps. Coaxed or otherwise, it still somewhat unnerved him. Sure he disliked to engage in pointless scuffles, but then again, considering that if nothing was done, but Bakugan species would be jeopardized, including his own well-being. Really he didn't have a choice.

Knowing where he stood in the argument, he turned towards Luke. "Alright then, you."

"Me?"

"Yeah, you. What's your name?"

Luke gave him a quizzical look next. "Luke Drake Revolutia."

"Alright, I'm Aquos Abis Omega. Guess we're hitching us some experience then."

"You mean…! Realizing he was going to battle, Luke almost backed away. "Hold on! I-I never battled before! I don't even know what you can do!"

"Well, I guess you can say you'll be learning on the job then, because there's no backing out now." Abis said. "Let's look alive as possible…otherwise we're dead."

The anecdote wasn't helping at all. Luke saw hundreds of battles on television from his room, so he had a general idea of what a Bakugan battle was about and how the rules were set up. He generally had the idea, but he was short on experience. A tutorial would be helpful, but he'll have to stick to what guns he had. In this case was an average Bakugan resident, which had nothing special.

Looking down at her watch-like Baku-meter, Esther saw the screens pop up with the ground as the background and her background as a dark purple, with Ariella and Luke's being a similar blue, while Hendrix was like an orange-brown.

Hendrix: 100% Luke: 100%

Ariella: 100% Esther: 100%

Ariella smirked as she saw the layout. "Well then, guess we'll start things off with ladies first, shall we?" From out of nowhere, the blue-haired woman pulled out a Gate Card. "Gate Card set!" She flicked it to the middle, where the card laid for a split second before fading into a massive blue ripple beneath everyone's feet.

In her two fingers, the closed Clawcer was held, and she smirked at Esther. "Looks like we'll be getting some testing done before we return. Let's see how well you handle a battle, shall we?" She pulled her arm around, remaining confident all the way.

"Here she comes!" Esther warns.

"Bakugan brawl!" Ariella sideswiped, tossing the sphere ahead. The sphere went out and bounced across the ground a couple times until reaching a stop. "Bakugan stand! Go, Aquos Clawcer"

Upon command, the Bakugan opened up, and was enveloped in a powerful blue light. The glow expanded, much to Luke's shock. To his astonishment a massive crab emerged. It had a basis of a blue crab body with red ball-like eyes sitting atop of two short yellow stems. Its underside was shown to be of a glacier-shaped yellow pattern with a light blue hexagon pattern rippling from the center. It had two small light blue stars for cheeks, and four small crab legs and a small left claw. The right claw, however, was completely different. It was as large as the underside, and three silver spikes aligning on the top. A yellow star was in the center with small arrows above it, while on the one side had a yellow insignia arching towards the pincers, which were silver and humungous. The Aquos Bakugan raised his right claw, snapping it as a show of intimidation.

"W-whoa! What he heck?!" Luke nearly fell on his bottom again, this shock trumping all else. "I knew Bakugan were supposed to be big, but I didn't think it'd be this humungous!"

"Trust me, you'll be surprised with what other shapes to come." Abis said.

Ariella chuckled, seeing her Clawcer in action. "Not too bad. I like it."

Esther glared at Clawcer before turning towards her Atchibee, who she had rest in her hand. "Atchibee, I don't want to put you through this if you don't want to."

"Don't be so naïve. A Bakugan always enjoys a battle." She said. "But this one is dire, so let's see what we can do this time around." She closed herself, revealing a pattern like a caterpillar.

Her confidence up, Esther clutched a fist. "Very well then." She brought her arm back. "Bakugan brawl!" She swung upwards, sending the black sphere with purple insignias. The sphere bounced only a few times before landing. "Bakugan, stand! Rise, Darkus Atchibee!"

The red eyes glowed and the Bakugan was encased in a purple light. It glowed and arose, revealing her true form. Atchibee was a moth-like creature, but had a long body. She had large red multi-cellular compound eyes with two massive silver antennae sticking out above. Its body was long, though it seemed flatter going to the tail. The body was a black shade with six curled barbed arms near the ridged neck, and beneath were two massive arms that had silver spiky scythes. The long body had circular yellow spots along the tail end that were outlined in purple, leading to the base, where silver rounded pincers were seen, almost like smoothed claws. The wings were like that of a butterfly, being purple in color; the bottom ones having two purple markings above large dark purple markings with a yellow core. The top had bright patterned eyed with dark purple "eyelashes", and yellow circular eye-like centers. Clearly this Bakugan didn't need to wave herself around to intimidate because her wings did all the work.

"Here we go!" The moth announced.

Clawcer: 400 Atchibee: 400

Ariella kept her eyes on the prize. "Alright then, let's see what your little bug has again a crab." She held up her gauge, which was blue like Luke's. "Ability activate!" A hologram of an ability card appeared, shining a bright blue. "Vice Snipper!"

Clawcer raised his right claw, the pincers waving about to get a swing onto Atchibee. The Darkus Bakugan moved out of the way to avoid the attack, dodging one swing, and then another to the other side. With an opening, Clawcer jabbed forward, snapping his massive claws on her tail pincers when she tried to go up.

"Huh?" Looking down, Atchibee saw that her end was caught, and a small blue static went from the pincer to her body. The blue static flared around her body, making her shriek and grunt.

"Atchibee!" Esther worried.

Clawcer: 400 (+200) = 600 Atchibee: 400

Clawcer maintained his steady hold, unwavering while Ariella looked pleased. As the two started off strong, Atchibee grunted and reeled her head around. "Esther!"

"Right! Ability activate!" She raised her left wrist next, her purple Baku-meter exerting a hologram of an ability that shined a purple glow. "Vermilion Jet Black!"

Atchibee found room to spread her wings. She flapped them constantly, causing an eerie black mist to engulf the light around them. With the sudden shroud, Clawcer let his grip on her go, turning left and right in wonder. Meanwhile above, Atchibee's eyes glowed red and unleashed compressed purple static that zapped Clawcer head on, causing him to recoil.

Clawcer: 600 (-300) = 300 Atchibee: 400

Ariella's eyes narrowed in disgust. "Big deal. Ability activate!" At the call, Clawcer regained himself as the shock wore off, his pincer raised and the star in the center glowing bright blue. "Star Lance!" Her Bakugan unleashed a beam from the star shape that went after Atchibee.

Clawcer: 300 Atchibee: 400 (-200) = 200

Esther's eyes narrowed as she held up her wrist again. "Ability activate! Scan Blaze!"

Atchibee watched as the attack came for her. Her eyes glowed a bright red as before, but this time red heat-like waves exerted, reaching the incoming blue beam. The beam dissipated within the red waves, much to Ariella's shock.

"What the-?!"

Clawcer: 300 Atchibee: 200 (+200 +200) = 600

"You nullified my ability?" Ariella exclaimed.

"Not only does Scan Blaze nullify my opponent's ability. It also adds 200 Gs to Atchibee." Esther explained. "We won't let you take us so easily."

Luke stared ins hock, completely overwhelmed by his own show of a Bakugan battle. "Amazing…"

Ariella looked towards her teammate, seeing him watch with a composed expression. "Alright then, guess I'll need you to help me here. Get in here already." She ordered.

Hendrix understood and looked down at his hand, where he held a closed Rafflesian. He bowed his head to the Bakugan. "Please bear with me." He brought his arm back, ready to throw. "Bakugan brawl!" He threw the Rafflesian, which bounced just like the others and rolled. "Bakugan, stand! Sub Terra Rafflesian!"

The Bakugan glowed a bright orange, and arising this time was yellow massive vines with thorns that plunged into the ground. With anchorage, a bulbous Bakugan with a dark brown body. It had a small brown stem going upwards with very small green buds cluttered beneath the stem's top. It had five humungous light brown petals that were all closed, with each petal having an "eye", which was sideways, green for sclera, brown for the pupil, and a blue center.

"Another Bakugan?" Luke gasped.

"Stay focused!" Esther warned. "Remember it's two against two here."

Ariella smirked. "But not for long."

Hendrix held up his Baku-meter, revealing an ability card that glowed brown. "Ability activate. Mineral Plight!"

Rafflesian complied with his new master and the ground beneath him began to glow an orange-brown.

Clawcer: 300 Atchibee: 600

Rafflesian: 400 (+200) = 600

Rafflesian launched many yellow vines up towards Atchibee, who was trying to dodge to the best of her ability. She maneuvered left and right, making sure to evade even the thorns. With Rafflesian keeping Atchibee occupied, Ariella stepped up.

"Nice job. Just like that. Ability activate!" She called out. "Power Merge!"

Clawcer unleashed small blue beams from his eyes, which shot at Atchibee once she was in a general area. Once caught off guard, she cried out in pain as the beams made contact, sapping her energy.

"Atchibee!" Esther called.

Clawcer: 300 (+100) = 400 Atchibee: 600 (-200) = 400

Rafflesian: 600 (+100) = 700

"Power Merge is an ability that saps 100 Gs for every Bakugan on my side." Ariella explained. "It's too bad. Looks like this battle's already over."

Esther gritted her teeth, watching her Atchibee descend back to the ground, flapping her wings to try and shake off the recoil. "Atchibee, are you okay?"

"Yes. I'm fine. I won't fail you." She assured.

Abis Omega turned towards Luke, seeing the bewilderment he had. "Luke, now's our chance."

"What?"

"Throw me in. Time to even this battle out." He closed himself, ready to be used. Without warning, Luke forcibly caught him, making his unsound as he almost tripped. His clumsiness aside, he looked towards the battle of three rampaging monsters; two gaining up on Atchibee.

His uneasiness was evident, but as he looked at the battle, he thought of his parents. "Mom…Dad…" He closed his eyes, trying to think hard, his fists clutching tight. 'I know you said never to allow Bakugan, but maybe…' A shake in the hemisphere snapped him back, seeing that Rafflesian was lashing at Atchibee. The shock was seen on Esther's face, and her distress. When he looked at her face, he knew what he had to do, even if it meant going against what he was raised to do.

His attention was focused, and his green eyes glared ahead. 'I'm sorry. I'll make up for this somehow! Forgive me and my practices, Master Riaan!' He brought his arm back at long last, throwing the blue Bakugan. "Bakugan, brawl! Hrah!" With a cry, he threw the blue beast and he went bouncing off the ground constantly until reaching a stop.

"Bakugan, stand! Aquos Abis Omega!"

A blue light enveloped the battlefield, causing Rafflesian to cease his attack and look at the long tail with a small fin at the end. With everyone's attention turning towards the massive, slender body that had many turns to it. Ariella and Hendrix looked piqued as a blue serpentine Bakugan entered the fray. He had a light blue underside all the way, with blue markings on his face and around his sharp orange eyes. He had many white fangs and a huge fin atop his head. He had two large fins on either side of his body, and traveling alongside his body were rows of light blue diamonds to the finned tail-end. He opened his mouth, hissing at his enemies.

"Now it's my turn to bring some hurt!" He declared.

Clawcer: 400 Atchibee: 400

Rafflesian: 700 Abis Omega: 350

"So now your little amateur partner has joined as well, huh? This'll be fun." Ariella held up her wrist. "Hendrix!"

He nodded. "Yes. I'll deal with the…infestation problem. You just stay alert for the water snake."

Ariella smirked maliciously at Luke, their green eyes reflecting mirrors to the other. "Okay then. Let's see what you got."

Feeling challenged, Luke readied himself. "You better watch it, because here we come! Abis Omega, ability activate!" His wrist arose, the blue Baku-meter showing a blue glow. "Fin Melee!"

Abis Omega hissed loudly as he swung his tail down, with blue streaks following in his slash.

Clawcer: 400 Atchibee: 400

Rafflesian: 700 Abis Omega: 350 (+200) = 550

Clawcer raised his right claw, defending a parry of one slash from the snake's fin end. But Abis Omega continued with another lash, blue slash after blue slash starting to draw Clawcer back.

"Go!" Luke punched forward, urging Abis to keep up the assault.

"How annoying! Ability activate!" Ariella countered. "Carapace Shield!" At her command, Clawcer continued to huddle as Abis Omega slashed constantly. A blue forcefield expelled from his body, expanding just around his circumference and deflected Abis' shots.

"Huh?" The serpent veered away, his precious strike bouncing off.

"It was blocked?!" Luke snapped.

Clawcer: 400 (+100) = 500 Atchibee: 400

Rafflesian: 700 Abis Omega: 550 (-200 -100) = 250

"Your ability was nullified, not to mention a simple 100 Gs transfer. It looks like you're still out of your element, kid." Ariella reached her hand down towards the ground. "Gate Card, open! Aquos Reactor!"

The ground glowed a bright blue, revealing a massive card with the Aquos symbol and colors to match in its backwards. All of a sudden, geysers of water flushed around every corner of the battlefield, spraying water everywhere and dampening the area. Both Clawcer and Abis Omega stared at each other, each one of them glaring daggers. Ariella gave a smirk as she watched the look on Luke's ace show worry.

"Why are you so happy?" Hendrix asked.

"Just seeing the look on that runt's face is all." She mused.

"Perhaps, but that so-called 'run's' power level is also rising, if you haven't realized it sooner."

Ariella snapped to attention. "What?!"

Clawcer: 500 (+100) = 600 Atchibee: 400

Rafflesian: 700 Abis Omega: 250 (+100) = 350

"Seems you have forgotten something important." Esther said as light droplets fell like rain around her. "An attribute card boosts all Bakugan of the same attribute on the battlefield. Not just your own."

Luke turned towards her, surprised. "Really?"

Ariella sneered, but Hendrix made sure to make use of the distraction. "Ability activate! Root Seep!"

Rafflesian burrowed his thorns deep into the ground, where they disappeared beneath Atchibee. The Darkus Bakugan looked all around, seeing that the thorns were out of her sight. Completely off guard again, the thorns shot straight up, the tips growing yellow as they coiled and snagged along Atchibee's body. The moth shrieked s she tried to break free, but struggled profusely.

Clawcer: 600 Atchibee: 400 (-200) = 200

Rafflesian: 700 (+200) = 900 Abis Omega: 350

The reaction was priceless as Esther found herself stuck again. "No!"

Hendrix looked ahead, glaring. "Don't focus on the small stuff. Stay focused on the task at hand here."

Ariella looked towards him with a huff, showing annoyance. Rather than rebuff, she chose to glare ahead and point at Abis Omega. "Go, Clawcer!"

At the command, Clawcer pinched the air and went for Abis Omega, who was awaiting for a counter. The massive pincer arose, and the serpent maneuvered around using his slender body, dodging and snaking around the crustacean.

As he slithered, his orange eyes glared at his battle partner. "Hurry!"

"Uh-right!" Luke gave a serious face as he readied himself. "Let's try this then! Ability activate! Dry World!"

With one massive rise of a pincer, Clawcer readied the big blow on a cornered Abis Omega. Suddenly, the ground burst into mist, which spread everywhere. The Clawcer recoiled, startled by the mist that was like vapor. He looked around, realizing that all the geysers in the area were suddenly gone.

"What's going on?" Ariella leered.

The mist cleared up, giving Clawcer a view of the Gate Card's water being nowhere in sight. The crustacean looked up, seeing where it all went. To everyone's shock, Abis Omega was hidden inside a massive bubble of water, which was gathered from the Gate Card.

"With this ability, we'll transfer 200 Gs back to Abis Omega!" Luke announced.

Clawcer: 600 (-200) = 400 Atchibee: 200

Rafflesian: 900 Abis Omega: 350 (+200) = 550

"Alright, big deal. You got some power back, but we're not done yet!" Ariella shouted.

Luke reached out swiftly. "Go! Hurry, Abis Omega!"

"With pleasure!" The serpent rushed ahead, yelling out as his massive globe of water surrounding him was like a massive wrecking ball. He rushed into Clawcer, who tried blocking with his claw. The impact was so great that it pushed Clawcer back, throwing him off balance and allowing Abis to do a U-turn back to him. As Clawcer turned, he was struck on the side, causing him to falter again.

"Is that the best you can do? We'll just strike back then. Ability activate…" Ariella held up her wrist, but nothing was popping out. Her eyes went to her accessory, catching wonder in her. "Huh? What's going on?"

"Is something wrong?" Hendrix asked.

"Dry World is a unique ability to Abis Omega." Luke explained. "It transfers 200 Gs, but it also prevents the opponent from using Aquos abilities."

"Not possible!" Ariella gasped.

Esther smiled. "Good job."

"Now…" Luke swung his arm down in a chop. "Let's go!"

High above, Abis Omega sneered loudly as he divebombed downwards onto Clawcer. As he closed in, the crab was unable to block as the massive bubble of water crashed down onto him. The body slam caused a massive explosion of water to burst in all directions, revealing Abis Omega. As water flooded everywhere, Clawcer's cries went deaf as his body glowed blue, compressing into a ball once more. The Bakugan shot back to the ground, bouncing until it stopped in front of a frustrated Ariella.

Ariella: 70%

As Clawcer laid at her feet, she showed anger. "That sneaky little…!"

Luke clutched a fist, smiling. "Sneaky is my way!"

Abis Omega glanced back at him, smirking. "Hmph. Not bad." He commented, making Luke cheekily smile.

Hendrix grunted as he was left alone for the round. He glared at Atchibee, who was still in trouble. "Rafflesian, finish the job!" He asked.

The massive plant growled as its thorns were sinking into Atchibee, the moth shrieking in anguish.

"Wha-oh no! Forgot about her!" Luke spouted. "Abis Omega, let's-!"

"Wait." Esther insisted. "Let us handle this."

"Esther…?"

Her eyes narrowed. "We'll hurry it up, so get ready, Atchibee!" She raised her arm, in which two holographic cards shined; one atop of the other. "Double ability activate!"

Luke's eyes widened. "Double?"

Hendrix grunted. "Forgot Bakugan can activate more than one ability at a time."

"Scare Flash, plus Lavender Shock!" Atchibee continued to struggle in the coils of thorns, but eventually her head craned down towards Rafflesian, her massive wings spreading. The eye patterns on the wings glowed a powerful purple light, one that was so bright that Rafflesian recoiled away. He let go, his own thorns feeling weaker and prompting a halt. As the beams of bright purple shimmered with rays wearing Rafflesian, Atchibee raised her tail, the pincer end shimmering in purple static between the round bards. A blast of purple lighting shot directly at Rafflesian as his guard was down, hitting one of his eyes directly. The massive creature cried out in agony.

Rafflesian: 900 (-200 -200) = 500 Atchibee: 200 (+200 +200 +200) = 800

Abis Omega: 550

The shock from the attack was beginning to wear down Rafflesian. The Bakugan eventually relented, finally falling back as the purple zap fade. His body turned to grown, swirling into a small sphere again and fell back to Hendrix's feet. He picked up his Rafflesian with a frown, otherwise showing no emotion.

Hendrix: 40%

Luke stared in awe, completely dumbfounded. "Whoa. I never saw a counter like that before."

"That's because these days, everyone uses one ability at a time." Esther explained. "It never hurts to look back at other possibilities. That's how we managed."

Atchibee and Abis Omega glowed purple and blue respectively, returning to fall form and into their hands. Catching them, both smiled as the field faded back to normal.

Ariella showed anger as she held up her Clawcer. "You may have won that round, but this is far from over!"

"Stay true to your words if you mean them." Esther swung her arm to the side, throwing a Gate Card. "Gate Card set!" She threw the Gate Card, which landed on the ground. It faded into purple and outwards, covering the land beneath them briefly. "Bakugan, brawl!" She threw Atchibee, who once again opened on the battlefield. The moth arose from the ground, standing high above everyone else.

"Bakugan, brawl!" Ariella followed, her sphere being Clawcer again. The crab arose once more, pinching a claw.

"Hmph! Bakugan, brawl!" Hendrix followed with his ball rolling and popping into Rafflesian. The thorns were seen plunging into the ground, arising with the plant to follow.

Luke looked down at his hand, seeing Abis Omega ready to go. "Well, guess we better go then." Knowing he was lucky, he'd better make sure to keep them on their toes this time. "Bakugan, brawl!" Like the others, Abis Omega was launched, his ball form popping up and his massive body flexing his fins and fangs.

Clawcer: 400 Atchibee: 400

Rafflesian: 400 Abis Omega: 350

"I'll handle the girl. You take care of the boy." Ariella ordered.

"As you wish." Hendrix shrugged.

"Ability activate!" Esther shouted. At her call, Atchibee flapped a little higher above the ground. "Vermilion Jet Black!"

Atchibee repeated the same as before. She flapped her wings, darkening the atmosphere before shooting dark static from her eyes. "Take some of this!" Her attack directed towards Clawcer, who didn't bother moving.

"Ability activate!" Ariella yelled. "Carapace Shield!"

A translucent blue veil enveloped Clawcer, stopping the purple lightning completely. With everything clearing up, Ariella smirked. "Do you really think we'll be falling for the same trick twice?"

Esther grunted once more, realizing she was going to have it rough of she didn't step it up.

Hendrix faced Luke, raising his wrist once more. "I would've preferred to not get involved in such conflicts, but you've left me no choice…ability activate." He raised his fist, summoning another ability. "Root Seep!"

Rafflesian complied and his roots began to burrow beneath the ground again. Abis Omega remained alert as everything went awfully quiet around him. The ground suddenly shuddered, causing him to be startled. "Huh?" Looking down, bits of the ground suddenly was breaking apart, shooting up wines and thorns that snared the serpent. Abis found himself tangled in the thorns that shimmered with brown.

Clawcer: 500 Atchibee: 300

Rafflesian: 400 (+200) = 600 Abis Omega: 350 (-200) = 150

"Surrender please." Hendrix insisted. "I'd prefer to not have my hands sullied by any guilt."

Luke clutched his fists as he found himself in a tight bind. 'Man, I'm in trouble again. My Bakugan won't last long with a power level that low.' He watched his Abis Omega struggle, moving his head about. 'I need to think for a minute. If I can't move, then maybe…I need to nullify the ability! That's it!' He pulled up his wrist, showing readiness. "Help is on the way!"

"Gnnngh! I could use it!" The struggling serpent endured.

"Ability activate!" Luke shouted. "Coil Guard!" Abis Omega thus widened his eyes, his body beginning to get into a tight coil. He began to squeeze into the thorns, applying resistance and making Rafflesian feel the energy he felt dissipating. With his vines and thorns weakening, Abis Omega squeezed harder, finally breaking free and hissing.

Clawcer: 500 Atchibee: 300

Rafflesian: 600 (-200) = 400 Abis Omega: 150 (+200 +100) = 450

"So you got free. Congratulations." Hendrix commented.

"We're not done yet! Ability activate!" Luke followed. "Sea Helix!"

A helix of water surrounded Abis like a veil, bringing his power level up to 550 and bringing Rafflesian down to 300. "Take this!" With the helix of water surrounded him, Abis lunged at Rafflesian like a jet, speeding ever so quickly. His head rammed the front, causing the plant to recoil again.

As his Rafflesian recalibrated, Hendrix pulled out another trick. "Ability activate! Bud Bomber!"

Rafflesian's small stem top's buds began to glow a bright brown. Within the bright glow, volleys of brown spores were unleashed in gunfire. The massive assault was continuous from those small buds, expanding and bombarding Abis and his helix of water. The attack was so powerful that he screamed in pain.

"Abis!"

Abis Omega screamed as his power level drastically dropped from 550 to 250. The blast dissipated his helix, pushing him back.

Meanwhile, Atchibee was keeping a safe distance above her foe, dodging every swing of Clawcer's mighty claw. The moth shifted away, hovering over Esther as she swiped to the side.

"Ability activate! Lavender Shock!"

Atchibee lifted her tail, unleashing a purple shockwave same as before. As the blast traveled, Ariella prepared herself.

"Oh really? Well then double ability activate!" She announced, making Esther wide-eyed.

'Double? Just like me!'

Ariella smirked. "Star Lance, plus Vice Snipper!"

Clawcer raised his claw, the star in the center glowing blue and firing a laser at the shock heading right for him. It overpowered the attack and Atchibee was forced to dodge, not willing to take it head on. As she maneuvered away, she was suddenly met with an incoming claw that snapped her abdominal region, sending blue static throughout her body. The insect yelled out in pain, much to Ariella's delight.

"It's over."

Clawcer tossed Atchibee to the ground, the insect fluttering haphazardly to stay airborne, while Abis right beside her fell over, lurching in a daze. Above both Bakugan, Rafflesian and Clawcer towered with might, both ready to finish the brawl.

"Not good." Abis grunted.

"What are you doing?! Move!" Luke shouted.

Ariella folded her arms as her Bakugan closed in on Esther's. "This is what happens when you mess with strangers and their business. Now, we'll be taking those Bakugan and be on our way."

Hendrix closed his eyes, showing no satisfaction. "Let's just get this over with."

All four Bakugan were pitted against the other, two against two, and Luke wasn't liking how it was going. He was so lost in the situation that his mind was flipping out. He couldn't even activate an ability as Rafflesian's Bud Bomber began to charge up again, and Clawcer raised a claw. All he could really do…was clutch his fists as his heart raced. "Crap…crap…"

Abis hissed as he glared at his opponents, his own sense of skill deteriorating.

"CRAP!"

Esther swiped her arm. "Gate Card. Open!" Suddenly, the field beneath glowed, and the massive card they battled on showed that it was a command card. "Pyrus, activate!"

Rafflesian and Clawcer did nothing more than look down at the ground, feeling their own power fluctuating. They both felt an odd feeling, and Abis Omega and Atchibee arose once more, their own shock beginning to wear off.

"What is this?" Hendrix growled.

Ariella looked down at her Baku-meter, her shock evident.

Clawcer: 300 Atchibee: 700

Rafflesian: 250 Abis Omega: 400

"Our power levels were swapped?!" She exasperated. "When did she…?"

Luke gasped, realizing the plan Esther made. "You did what?"

"Don't focus on how. Stay in the battle!" She reached out towards her opponent, showing a serious demeanor. "Now, Atchibee!"

"Absolutely!" Atchibee spread her wings and closed in on Clawcer. The crustacean raised his claw to strike, but Atchibee was a little faster. She closed in, swinging one of her massive scythes, making purple streaks follow. The slash was powerful enough to push Clawcer back, making him stumble and look back to find Atchibee slashing with her second blade. With that purple streak, the impact made Clawcer lurch, and he fell backwards, turning back into a blue ball once more that went to Ariella's feet.

Ariella: 0%

The woman looked shocked beyond words, but her fists clutched, showing her anger.

Rafflesian continued to fire more brown energy spores from the small stem atop, sending volley after volley at Abis. The blue serpent hurriedly maneuvered and slithered left and right, dodging. But he knew he couldn't keep up forever.

"Luke, now!" He shouted.

Snapping to realization, Luke blinked. "U-uh, right!" He hastily raised his arm, showing his fierce look. "Ability activate! Fin Melee!"

Atchibee: 700

Rafflesian: 250 Abis Omega: 400 (+200) = 600

His eyes widened, and the snake yelled out as his tailfin lashed out, several blue streaks swinging left and right with every parry. He parried each blast, each volley that was striking him. He yelled out as he slashed and closed in on Rafflesian, who was unable to do anything more than try to push him back. With each slash, Abis closed in, until at last his massive body slunk skywards, curving overhead.

Hendrix gasped in surprise. "Curses!"

Luke brought both arms down, as though he were swinging a sword. "Go!"

Abis Omega brought his tailfin down, making a vertical streak follow that went into Rafflesian. The Bakugan yelled out as he was struck by the slash, the last of his stamina chipped. His body glowed and swirled into ball form, returning to Hendrix's feet. Realizing he was beaten, Hendrix closed his eyes.

Hendrix: 0%

Luke stared in shock, his eyes wide with wonder. "Wait, did we actually…" He looked at Abis, completely lost. "…win?"

Abis Omega turned towards his battle partner, showing a nonchalant expression. "Yeah, I guess we did…" Even the serpent was caught off guard. With such a low power level, he wasn't anything more than a weakling. He wasn't even much of a fighter to begin with. He just swam along and minded his own business, and nothing more. To think he had a stroke of luck made him feel…appeased.

Esther smiled at her Atchibee. "We did it."

Both Bakugan returned to ball form, falling back into their hands. Both cupped them and the two opened again, looking up at their battle partners.

"Not bad. Not bad at all." Abis commented. "…for a newbie."

Luke gave a pout. "Whatever."

"Atchibee, thank you." She praised.

"My pleasure." She responded.

Ariella clutched her Clawcer, showing hostility and disappointment. "What trash; to be snuffed by these amateurs…" A hand was put on her shoulder, the broad arm belonging to her associate, who was taking the loss rather well.

"Let it go, for now." He insisted.

As much as she wanted to stay and teach them a lesson, she knew better than to argue some more. She turned away, showing annoyance. "Fine. We'll let them go just this once. I'm tired anyway. We have what we came for, so let's just go back."

"Agreed." He and Ariella both stepped back, the two standing still as Luke and Esther were still commenting their Bakugan.

"Huh?" Luke looked at them, seeing them stiff. "hey, that's right! Fork over those Bakugan!"

Ariella smirked again. "Well aren't you persistent. Sorry kid, but I'm afraid we have other business elsewhere."

"What?"

Hendrix folded his arms. "You've been warned. Don't interfere again. Next time, prepare yourselves." With that, both began to turn translucent, their bodies beginning to fade up.

"Wait-!" Luke went for them, but he was too late. Before he even made it within two steps they were gone, much to his shock. His hand was retracted, his shock growing. "What was…"

"Where did they go?" Abis asked.

"I don't know. Did they run away?"

Esther shook her head and frowned. "No, I'm afraid they teleported themselves."

"They what?" Luke snapped.

"It's hard to explain, but whoever they were, they must have some devices or engineering that enables them to be transported. I'm afraid they gave us the slip."

Luke clutched his fists, glaring down at his right boot. "Man…"

A silence fell upon the group, the duo – or four – were unsure of what to do for the time being. They were confused to say the least, but not just with the recent circumstances. With the long silence between them, someone had to break the silence.

"So…what now?" Abis asked.

"Beats me." Luke said. "I guess back to square one?"

"Most likely. We should look for shelter for the time being and gather our thoughts." Esther said. She looked at Luke again, seeing him close up. "Luke, was it?"

He turned towards her. "Hm, yeah?"

"Tell me, was that your first battle?"

He raised a brow. "Yeah…was I bad?"

"No. You were very helpful. Thank you." She smiled.

Luke looked up to her smile, his green eyes again matching her own. The way she looked at him was of sincerity, and her lips curved just enough to show it. Realizing he was staring, he turned away bashfully.

"Well, let's just get out of here already!" He started walking. "I just want to get off this planet and back to Earth as soon as possible. This place is too weird."

Esther watched him walk way, but she kept a small grin as she watched him go along. She soon followed, leaving Abis and Atchibee to look at the other and back at the humans before they floated above the ground and in their shadows to wonders beyond.


In a dark domain, a pair of white doors opened, revealing Hendrix and Ariella, the latter taking the lead along the red carpet towards a spacious chamber where a lot of mechanical parts and panels were set up.

Walking past many flasks and liquid, disregarding static in some machinery, they continued behind a set of double doors, staying silent all the way as they slid open, revealing the hooded Maximus' back towards them.

"You're late." He sneered.

"A thousand apologies." Hendrix bowed.

He turned his head a little. "So enlighten me, what took you both so long? You know I don't appreciate short-sided late instances." His dark eyes that were covered by a shadow narrowed.

Ariella put a hand to her hip. "There was a little trouble a long the way, but it wasn't something we couldn't handle." She mentally felt displeasure upon the lie, but she'd rather die than admit such a thing.

Maximus turned back towards the massive panel, almost like a round table with cables everywhere. "Tch, fine. Did you at least bring me 6 Bakugan like I asked?"

Hendrix and Ariella stepped forward on either side, presenting the Bakugan they had stored. They were all cluttered in front of Maximus, who glared down at them with a frown. Ina rush, they all opened, revealing a Clawcer and Rafflesian as before, as well as a Ventus Moskeeto, a Haos Freezer, Pyrus Hyper Dragonoid, and what looked like a Darkus Goblinball. They all looked around, seemingly confused.

"Where are we?" Hyper Dragonoid asked.

"Huh?" Goblinball looked around, dazed. He looked up towards Maximus, seeing the dark grin that slowly formed on his face.

"…yes. These will all do just fine." He snickered beneath his breath, looking rather appeased. "Well done. Get Xander and the others. Tell Cesar that we have a very good group of subjects worth testing on."

Ariella and Hendrix stayed still as Maximus chuckled louder than before, the atmosphere growing dark with the possibilities about to unfold.


Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers out there! So I now got chapter 1 of my Bakugan story up and running, and I am very proud with how I made it seem. So basically the timeline is roughly 1 year after the events of the series finale, but I'm making my unique twist to things. I am making basically everything as original as could be, save for the characters.

The characters are a different story, literally! I wanted to make a Bakugan fanfic for some time, but I needed a basis of a plot to go off of. I was watching some anime, and I came across Tales of the Abyss. I really love it, and its characters! Hence why I based a majority of designs and characters off of them if you haven't realized it.

Now I know some of you might be thinking 'why didn't you give them guardian Bakugan? That would make it a lot better than these guys!'. Well to be honest, I wanted to do a group of heroic Bakugan that stood out in a way, but in a way that proves the little guys and underrated weaklings can grow and evolve. Remember Juggernoid and Jenny and Jewel's Siege and Centipoid? They were average, and they still defeated Taygen. So what's wrong with that logic implemented into this story. I figured as for guardian Bakugan, why not some Bakugan that could be seen as weak but still try to make a change? Why not weaklings no one saw coming who blend in, like Abis Omega or Atchibee? This is my type of logic, which is why I don't always use Mega Evolution in my Pokémon Battles.

Anyways, here's chapter 1, and I hope to get the next chapter up in a few weeks. The holidays are coming along and it's all going to be hectic, but I'll be sure to jump back to this story soon! Until then my fellow Bakugan fans, review and comment what you like and thanks again for reading! :)