AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is my first fanfiction. It's a fanfic based (obviously) on the television show "Bakugan Battle Brawlers: New Vestroia". Also, this particular story takes place after the episode "Reunion" and before the episode "Six Degrees of Destruction". With all of that said, please enjoy the story; I hope you all like it.
DISCLAIMER: All elements of the "Bakugan Battle Brawlers" series are property of TMS Entertainment.
Dan Kuso was not in a wonderful mood. He had been asked (or rather forced) by his mother to accompany her while she went out to find him the perfect formal attire for the upcoming party they were to attend with his father. His boss had asked him and his family to come to his youngest son's high school graduation party, and everyone was to dress formally as it was a special occasion. This was not what Dan had in mind; just like most teenagers, he desired to do what he pleased and not what the adults wanted him to do. And this was one of those times.
Of course Dan looked like a normal teenager, but he really wasn't. He, as well as the friends he knew and hung out with, were brawlers. They were not brawlers as in constant, violent fighting; they were brawlers in terms of a "game" called Bakugan. This so-called game had incredible (a teenager would say "wicked") capabilities in the cards and tiny colored balls that were the main components of the game. But as normal as these objects are, a person had to remember that they were (one could say) "paranormal". The balls obtained immense, powerful creatures ranging from animals to humanoids; and the cards had the ability to give the creatures more power and additional abilities when it comes to battling another. For brawlers like Dan, it was a game to be taken seriously.
Dan and his mother strolled through the automatic sliding doors, out of the humid air outside and into the frigid yet refreshing air inside. Although it felt outstandingly good to be in a building that provided air conditioning, that didn't stop Dan from feeling irritated that he couldn't do the things he wanted to do that day. As for his partner, he was relaxing inside Dan's pocket.
If someone heard that Dan's partner was in his pocket, they would either get curious or pass it off as a joke. But it was no joke. Inside Dan's pocket was a Bakugan named Neo Dragonoid, or Drago as Dan called him. Drago, in battle form, was an enormous red-and-orange dragon (since it implies to his name) and, since he was born in the realm he was raised in, he was a Pyrus Bakugan. Pyrus was the element of fire and one of the six attributes of all Bakugan that existed. Apart from all Bakugan though, Drago, in the past, combined with a powerful Bakugan to restore their world, Vestroia- it is now New Vestroia. However, when the Bakugan world was threatened by invaders called the Vestals, Drago separated from the core and reunited with Dan to restore New Vestroia and sent the Vestals back to their home planet.
That was all past history to Dan and Drago, as was to all of their friends both human and Bakugan. With the previous problems in New Vestroia out of their worries, they could now relax just like their companions and carry on with their lives.
Dan and his mother continued their way towards the clothing department. The teenager heaved a sigh that he made sure was quiet as possible so his mom couldn't hear it. Drago on the other hand heard it and asked his human partner: "Not happy, are we?"
Looking down, Dan said quietly, "Drago, I don't need you heckling me throughout this situation."
"A situation, you say?" Drago asked, the chuckling was evident.
"Well, in your case, it isn't; but in my case, it is," Dan growled.
"Come now, Daniel," said Dan's mother, causing her son to jump up and turn to her; "it'll be fun."
"How can shopping for clothes be fun?" Dan questioned his mother.
Dan's mother smiled. "You'll see," she said.
They boarded the nearby escalator and went up to the second floor. Then, they would walk into the men's clothing section of the clothing department. Along the way there, both Dan and his mother passed by a few stores that they had no interest at looking at at the moment. Just as they strolled across the corner, the teen and his mom found themselves standing in front of a tall blue-haired teenage girl (who was about Dan's height) and a short blonde hair pre-teenage boy with glasses. Dan recognized them immediately. It was Runo and Marucho, two of his friends.
"Hey, Dan," said Runo; "what's up?"
"Oh, nothing," Dan replied.
"Then why are you here with your mother?" Marucho inquired.
"No reason," Dan answered, trying not to become embarrassed.
Everything was going great for Dan until his mother chimed in: "Daniel is here to help me pick out new clothes for an upcoming party we are to attend."
Both Runo and Marucho were snickering. Marucho was able to control himself before asking, "What might the occasion be?"
"It's a graduation party for one of my husband's boss' sons," Dan's mother replied.
"How thrilling," Runo commented.
Drago poked his head out of Dan's pocket and said, "Indeed it is."
This made Dan furious. He reached in, grabbed Drago, and pulled him out. With the Bakugan in the palm of his hand, Dan snarled, "Look, I can take your heckling when we are in a brawl. but when it comes to regular life, you are just plain annoying!"
"Have you forgotten that we are in public, Daniel?" Drago asked.
Dan's fury morphed into embarrassment, realizing that other people would believe he was having a heated conversation with a tiny toy. As he blushed, there came another voice. This one was slightly high and comedic-sounding. Practically everyone knew that voice. It was Marucho's first Bakugan partner, Aquos Preyas.
"Oh ho," laughed Preyas; "a little argument we are having, are we?"
Preyas, perched on Marucho's shoulder, looked up at Dan who was staring back at him. Then came another voice. This time, it was a feminine voice that sounded a bit like a teenager's. It was Aquos Elfin, Marucho's current Bakugan partner. "What am I missing?" she inquired.
"Oh, nothing," Preyas replied. "It's nothing that would interest you."
"Are you sure?" Elfin asked. "That's not what happened the last time."
"That wasn't my fault!" Preyas protested.
This brung up many laughs from everyone, including Dan.
Haos Blade Tigrerra, Runo's Bakugan partner, simply sighed. "I still wonder about you two," she said.
Preyas and Elfin were about to say something when Runo spoke up. "So, Dan, you wanna hang out with us tomorrow?" she asked.
"Sure," Dan responded.
"Well, we must be getting to the clothes department," Dan's mother said. "Let's go, Daniel."
The three friends said their farewells before Dan departed with his mother. Making sure he wasn't looking, Runo and Marucho commenced laughing once more and walked away as they did so. Their destination wasn't anyone else's business, but they both were certain that they could spend some time wherever they saw that looked interesting.
On the floor, dazed and confused, were the four Bakugan that belonged to Dan, Runo, and Marucho. They had been dropped in many different ways. Drago fell out of Dan's hand, Blade Tigrerra fell off of Runo's shoulder, and Preyas and Elfin fell off of Marucho's shoulders. What made their falls similar was that it occurred at the same time: when their human partners were laughing hysterically.
As they regained their senses, Drago moaned, "Daniel, you tripped again."
Preyas got up onto his feet and surveyed their surroundings. "Hey, where did they go?" Preyas asked his three Bakugan pals; fear evident in his voice. "They were here a second ago!"
Elfin got up. "Maybe they forgot us," she suggested.
"WHAT?!" Drago and Blade Tigrerra hollered.
Preyas shushed them immediately. "Do you guys want someone to hear us?" he asked in a whisper.
Blade Tigrerra turned to her left and gasped. "Too late!" she whispered. "Someone's coming!"
Instantly, the four Bakugan curled up into the sphere form and prayed that they wouldn't be seen. However, a man spotted them and scooped them up. "Hmm, what are these balls doing here?" he asked himself.
The man turned around and made his way to the toy store. He entered and looked around. There had to be a place for these marbles, he thought.
Giving up after a few minutes of looking around, the man placed the Bakugan down onto a large, wide table and left. Preyas scanned the area through the hole that allowed him to see everything in front of him. "The coast is clear, guys," he told the three other Bakugan.
They popped open and looked around.
"Where are we now?" Drago asked.
"We must be in one of the stores on this floor," Elfin guessed.
"Yes, but which one?" Blade Tigrerra inquired.
"Wow!" Preyas gasped. "Look at all of the cool toys in here!"
Immediately, the three other Bakugan gazed up to where Preyas was looking at. On the shelves of the wall, there were lots of different dolls and action figures standing proud and tall. It was obvious that they were in a toy store.
"Why are we here?" Elfin asked.
"That man must've thought we were ordinary marbles and took us here," Drago guessed.
"So we're going to be sold to unknown children?!" Preyas asked in a scream.
"Of course not," Blade Tigrerra reassured; "I'm sure that Runo, Marucho, and Dan will come back for us."
"Okay," said Preyas; "but how long will it be until they realize we're gone?"
There was no answer. All four Bakugan just stared at each other, searching for the answer in one another's face. They eventually come to realize that the only way to find their human brawlers was to do the search themselves; but first, they had to escape the toy store.
Step one in the plan was to get off of the table. There was only one problem: the area of the table they were in was made to resemble a valley. It would be extremely difficult to climb up, especially in their standards. Nevertheless, all four of them decided to give it a try.
They got into a straight, single-file line and started upwards. Drago was in front; next was Blade Tigrerra; then was Elfin; and bringing up the rear was Preyas. It was awfully hard for Drago to walk up the prop mountain side; not to mention it was also difficult for the three Bakugan behind him who, whenever Drago began to slide backwards, had to catch and assist him back forward.
After what they thought was five minutes, Drago finally reached the peak of the fake mountain. He suddenly gasped and lost balance. The dragon Bakugan tumbled down the other side of the mountain and landed on the fake grass.
Blade Tigrerra was about to take a look to see if Drago was alright, but a woman and her young child passing by stopped her from doing so. After they had walked away, the white-and-gray Bakugan gazed down to where her friend had fallen.
"Drago?!" Blade Tigrerra called. "Drago, are you okay?!"
"Don't worry!" came Drago's response. "I'm alright!"
Elfin and Preyas made their way to where Blade Tigrerra was and stood by her side (Elfin on the left and Preyas on the right). "That must've been some fall!" Preyas teased. "Just like the last one you took!"
Drago was clearly angry. He stood up, turned his torso around (since he was able to spin his torso three-sixty), looked up at Preyas, and yelled, "Don't get funny with me, Preyas!"
"Hey, I was just joking with you, Drago!" Preyas replied. He then curled up into his ball form while saying, "C'mon, let's get a move on."
Blade Tigrerra and Elfin followed Preyas in their ball forms. They rolled down the fake mountain side and ended up crashing into the side of the table. Luckily, there was a barrier to stop them from flying into the toy store.
After popping themselves open, Blade Tigrerra, Elfin, and Preyas turned to Drago. "Okay, what's the next step?" Elfin asked.
"How should I know?" Drago inquired. "I didn't come up with the idea to roll down the hill."
"Either way," said Blade Tigrerra; "we need to find the best way off of this table."
"Right," Drago agreed as he strolled towards them.
To get to his friends, Drago had to cross an unusual trail that had dark brown pieces of what looked like wood on the ground, and on top of the wooden blocks were two columns (or rows from what he could see) of silver lines. How strange, Drago thought. Who would make a trail like this?
As if lightning had struck him, Preyas jumped up. "Drago, wait!" he cried.
Drago halted right on the trail. "What is it, Preyas?" he asked in an irritated but concerned manner.
"Call me crazy," said Preyas; "but I think I know what that weird thingy you're on is for!"
As if on cue, a horn was heard, accompanied with a noise that went clickity-clack, clickity-clack. All four Bakugan turned in the direction of the bizarre sounds. While they were pondering what the noises could be, those noises were increasing in sound, growing louder and louder by the second. And then, from the prop tunnel far away, an electric high speed train popped out and was now charging towards Drago.
He sighed and said, "How original."
Drago curled up into his ball form and braced for impact. The train collided with him and sent him rolling at a high speed down the tracks. As he was being rolled as a fast rate, Drago shrieked, "DANIEL!"
Dan didn't know why but he somehow sensed that something was wrong. Even when he was in undershirt and undershorts, the teen poked his head out from the dressing room, making sure that only his head was out in the open. Dan asked his mother, "Do you think I forgot something?"
"Not anything I can recall," Dan's mother replied.
"Are you sure?" Dan inquired. "Maybe I should-"
Dan was about to complete his sentence when his mom placed one hand on the door and began to push it shut. "Oh, don't worry about a thing," she said. "I'm sure that all is fine."
Drago was still being rolled very quickly thanks to the train behind him. He felt like he would surely vomit if he actually ate something. Miraculously, the train rounded a bend and Drago bounced out of the locomotive's way. He rolled into a building made of plastic and finally stopped.
As he moaned from the experience, Blade Tigrerra, Elfin, and Preyas came rolling up behind him. Regardless of the train's speed, they had chased it without a first hesitation. Now they were to Drago's aid.
When he heard Drago's moans, Preyas shouted, "MEDIC!"
"Drago, can you hear me?!" Elfin asked frantically.
Drago popped open and responded, "Yes, Tigrerra, I'm okay."
By the sound of his voice, Drago was quite dizzy. Elfin had to slap some sense into him. "Pull yourself together, Drago!" she ordered. "We need to get out of her pronto!"
"Yes, but where do we go?" asked Blade Tigrerra.
"It's elementary, my dear Tigrerra," said Preyas in a Sherlock Holmes impression. "All we have to do is hop off of this table at one of its edges, sneak through the store without being seen, and then, once we are outside, we must commence our search for our partners."
"And how long would you say that would take?" Elfin questioned.
"No clue," replied Preyas in his normal voice.
"That's what I figured," Blade Tigrerra sighed.
Drago surveyed the section of the table they were in and noticed more plastic buildings and a forest in the distance. "Follow me," he ordered. "There might be a way we could climb up the barrier and onto the store floor."
Without any second thoughts, the three other Bakugan followed their friend and leader towards the town. They had to stop so the electric train could pass before they could cross the tracks. While strolling down the street in a single-file line, the four Bakugan marveled at the many buildings- such as a church, a grocery store, and a town hall -that were put up for display. Also present were tiny model cars and plastic people that were carefully colored by hand. This indeed was a sight to behold if a person was the size of Drago, Blade Tigrerra, Preyas, and Elfin.
Before long, the Bakugan reached a farm that was on top of a hill. Drago looked from its peak and spotted a bridge that soared up to the top of the barrier. "Perfect," he said. Then he turned to his companions and told them, "We'll take that bridge up and over the wall."
"Excellent," said Blade Tigrerra.
"It's about time," Preyas added.
"How will we get there?" Elfin asked.
Drago turned his attention to the bridge far away. "It may be another long journey," he replied; "but we must accept it, for it's our way out of here."
After they all agreed with him, Drago led his pals down the other side of the hill and towards the bridge. The painted-on trail took them across the table, up another hill which was stepper than the first, and finally in front of the staircase that led them across the bridge which went over the train tracks.
Once they finally reached the end of the bridge, Drago looked around to see if anyone was around. There wasn't anyone present. He turned to his friends and said, "Alright, remember, we have to stick together no matter what."
"What if one of us gets picked up by someone?" Preyas inquired.
Drago thought about it for a moment before replying with: "Well if that's implying to you, Preyas, that is not our problem."
Preyas was offended. "Oh, so we're going in that direction, are we?" he asked in a growl.
"Not really," Drago replied; "I was just exaggerating."
"Exaggerating, my butt!" Preyas snapped. "You were hoping that I would snatched up by some kid who will use me for tea parties!"
Within seconds, both Drago and Preyas were arguing at their greatest. Elfin and Blade Tigrerra just stood close by and observed them. In the mist of the brawl, Blade Tigrerra sighed. "I wonder what's taking our human partners so long to discover we're gone?" she asked herself.
Runo and Marucho, who had previously not decided on what destination of the mall they should go to, had found themselves in the food court. They were presently slurping their smoothies through medium-sized straws. Both were unaware of what was going on; however, after taking another slip, Runo looked at her friend and said, "My, Preyas and Elfin are awfully quiet."
"I know," replied Marucho; "this is quite new." He looked down at his pants pockets and asked, "Are you two alright down there?" There was no response. "Umm...guys?" Marucho was growing a bit concerned.
Runo looked down at her shirt pocket. "You're quiet too, Tigrerra," she said. Just like from Marucho's pockets, there was no reply from within her pocket. "Tigrerra?"
Drago and Preyas were still verbally fighting, and Blade Tigrerra and Elfin were still watching them. The brawl lasted for what the female Bakugan could assume was five minutes. After a few more sentences were exchanged between the dragon and reptile Bakugan, Blade Tigrerra got to the point that she was extremely irritated. She marched up to Drago and Preyas, got in between them, and pushed them apart while telling them, "Enough already! We are wasting time here!"
Both Bakugan knew that she was right. Each second they used to argue with one another was wasted away, and perhaps the time they have now is limited.
Drago turned to the edge of the bridge and the table and said, "Tigrerra is right. We don't have much time left before Dan and the others leave. We have to act now."
With that said, Drago took a deep breath, curled up into a ball, and rolled off of the bridge and table. Blade Tigrerra and Elfin did the same. Preyas was a bit reluctant but went ahead. As he rolled he said, "Momma, forgive me if I die!"
But Preyas didn't die when he reached the floor. Instead, he crashed on top of Elfin. When they both regained their senses, Elfin yelled at Preyas at the top of her lungs: "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"
"I CAN'T RECALL!" Preyas replied in a holler.
Blade Tigrerra had to slap them silent. "Would you two keep your voices down?" she asked in a growl. "We'll get caught if you keep it up!"
"That will do," Drago said. "Hurry now, before it's too late." And with that said, the four Bakugan curled back up into their ball forms, rolled out of the store and into the rest of the mall with Preyas leading the way.
There were many people strolling in their direction, but they didn't care. It was like they were playing some sort of internet game where the player had to avoid large objects, all four Bakugan had to maneuver around the moving people so they wouldn't get crushed or the person might slip and fall on the hard floor if anyone stepped on them. That didn't seem to matter to the Bakugan; all they wanted to do was to get back to their human partners.
Dan's mother had finally found the perfect suit for her son to wear at the party. She was now in line so she could purchase it. Its price was acceptable since she wanted to stay on a budget. As she waited patiently, Dan was also waiting- the only difference was was that he was outside the store. He was greatly glad that they whole experience was now over and he was ready to get out of the place- even though he felt like he was missing something.
He just figured out what was wrong at the same moment the calm music that filled the air was broken by two familiar voices screaming: "DAN!"
The teen instantly jumped up in surprise and shock. He turned his head to his left to spot Runo and Marucho dashing towards him. When they stopped, they could hardly form a sentence. Dan finally asked, "What's got you both in such a rush?"
"It's Tigrerra," Runo panted; she was out of breath.
"And Preyas and Elfin," Marucho added, also out of breath.
One of them was about to continue when Dan's face of curiosity morphed into a face that said he had lost interest. But that wasn't the case as he asked, "Don't tell me, you two lost your Bakugan, too?"
Runo and Marucho were frantic. "WHAT?!" they screamed.
Dan immediately closed their mouths with both of his hands. Then he said in a quiet voice, "Quiet. Do you want somebody to hear us?"
Runo and Marucho nodded while (somehow) Dan's hands were still able to remain on their mouths, keeping them silent. Dan removed his hands and questioned them: "Where was the last place we saw them?"
"I think maybe it was by the corner over there," Runo guessed, pointing at the location she indicated.
"What if they tried looking for us?" Marucho asked.
"Well then," Dan replied; "we just might have turn this whole mall upside down to find them."
But before they could began their search, a familiar voice rang out: "There they are! Dead ahead!"
Dan, Runo, and Marucho turned to where they heard the voice. "That sounded like Preyas," said Marucho. And sure enough, he was right.
Rolling across the floor in their direction were four different colored balls- two were blue-and-turquoise, one was white-and-gray, and one was red-and-orange. The trio felt relief and joy simultaneously. It was Drago, Blade Tigrerra, Preyas, and Elfin! The balls halted and popped open, revealing who they were.
As they picked up their Bakugan, Runo asked, "Are you guys alright?"
"Yes," answered all four Bakugan.
"And I feel much better now," said Preyas.
"I guess we should apologize for abandoning you guys," Dan said. "We didn't mean to lose you."
"That's alright, Daniel," replied Drago; "after all, these things happen."
"Like going clothes shopping with your mom?" Elfin asked.
Everyone was laughing- all except Dan. He sighed and asked, "Would you all please forget about it?!"
"Oh, come on," Preyas said; "we're just kidding with you."
"That's what they all say," Dan replied, rolling his eyes.
Just then, Dan's mother exited the store. She saw the trio of teenagers in front of her and smiled. "We're all getting along, are we? That's always good," she said. "Ready to go home, Daniel?"
"Of course," replied Dan. He then turned to Runo and Marucho and told them: "I'll see you guys when I see you."
The trio waved their goodbyes and Dan and his mother started for the door. On the way out, Dan looked down at his pocket (where Drago was) and asked, "So, how did you and the others search for us?"
Drago seemed a bit mad, because he replied, "Don't ask."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you all for reading my first fanfiction. Please remember (if you happen to be a member on this website) to give me a review and make my story a favorite if you wish. Also, be sure to follow my future fanfics and do the same with this one. Anyway, that's all for now! See you in my next story!