Chapter One
"Hey, you! Let's battle!"
A black haired girl was leaning against the brick wall, looking really shady, even though she was in a girly light green top, embellished with a satin ribbon around her waist. She wore tiny jean shorts that elongated her thin legs, and finally, dark green-black flats.
"What, too afraid?" the bully taunted. "You should be-but that's no reason to not battle! You can meet new friends! Battling shows the opponent into the other's soul."
"Danni, we've known each other since second grade."
One of the bully's eyebrows twitched. "Ah-ah-"
The black haired girl emerged from the shadows, tossing a tiny, gumball sized object repeatedly as she stalked towards the bully. She flipped her shiny bangs over her forehead; she sighed nonchalantly, but her ebony eyes glinted with challenge. "You really want to battle, huh?"
"Yeah, okay-"
"Okay, let's do this!"
"Bakugan field, open!"
"Why-what's going on-"
"We're in the battle zone, Danni dear," Shuna said in a high pitched coo that set Danni off the edge. She was the other side of the vast void swirling with the colors of the six elements: haos (light), darkkus (dark), subterra (earth), aquas (water) , ventus (wind), and pyrus (fire). "I hope you've battled at least once before-considering the amount of boasting you do!"
"Okay-okay-fine!"
"Game card, set!" Shuna yelled, throwing the card, invisible to Danni at the moment, since it was small, into the middle of the field. It glowed and expanded to many times its previous size. One half the game field was set.
"Hurry it up, Your Highness," Shuna yelled. "We're waiting."
"Okay!" Danni chose a card, frantically thinking of a strategy to go along with it. "Game card, set!" Danni yelled, flinging the card with all her might, extending her shoulder blade. The card soared dramatically forward, then, to Danni's great dismay, it floated back and landed at her feet. It exploded with light, and expanded to its full game form. Danni screeched and jumped back, falling over backward, luckily still floating.
Shuna looked in a skyward direction, annoyance rolling off of her in tsunami waves.
"Sorry! Sorry!" Danni wailed. "Um… what do I do now?"
"Battle long distance?"Shuna suggested dryly.
"R-right," Danni said. "Uh-"
"Bakugan, brawl!" Shuna yelled. She threw her small ball onto the playing field, and it erupted into a beautifully dangerous monster; it's green metallic feathers gleamed, and it let out a roar of pride from its silver beak. "Bakugan, stand! Go, Skyrim!"
"Okay, Ventus Skyrim, pretty predictable," Danni said, trying to hide the butterflies in her stomach. "I think I'll send you! Bakugan, brawl!" Danni threw the marble like ball with the same intensity that she applied to the game card. It didn't work out so well.
"Danni, where are you trying to battle?" Shuna groaned. "This is a waste of time! I can't believe I decided to humor you."
"Hey, I don't need humoring!" Danni squeaked, trying to scramble after her Bakugan. "Dragini, come back! Where are you going?"
"I'm not going anywhere, silly girl."
Danni stopped in her tracks. "What?"
"That… was… weird…"
"You don't say?" Shuna replied in a sarcastic tone.
"I can't believe Dragini can talk!"
"Well, she just did. So….."
"Okay, okay, jeez!" Danni cried, "Give me a break!"
"When you deserve one, you will get one."
"Hey, guys, what's up?"
Danni smiled as a short blonde girl skipped up to them. "Hi, Maru!" Danni exclaimed. "Shuna and I were just battling."
"Oh, my, that sounds like an interesting story," Maru twittered, "but unfortunately, we don't have time for it today."
"Why?" Danni cocked her head, her dark brown bangs falling over her forehead.
"We have a Bakugan Brawlers meeting in five!" Maru informed them, her voice shaking with her energy.
"No, we don't," Danni laughed. "That's tomorrow!"
"No, they changed it to today." Shuna informed her. "I just received a notification on my gaming device."
"Of course you did," Danni muttered her breath, adjusted her green goggles that doubled as a headband.
"Well, come on, then!" Maru cried.
"Hiiiiiii, Danni!"
Danni sighed inwardly at the exuberant cry. This should be interesting, she thought, as usual.
"I missed you soooo much!"
Danni was practically tackled by a tan, muscular boy that was more than a head taller than her.
"Give it a break, Julian," Maru said. "You saw Danni yesterday."
"But it's been so long," Julian said, his big deep blue eyes wide and taking in Danni's every feature.
"Okay, I can't breathe," Danni said. "You'll never see me again if I die."
Julian hopped back. "Are you okay?" he burst out, his shaggy white hair rustling with the motion. Danni nodded silently.
"Julian, could you be any more desperate? Or obvious?"
Danni turned her gaze to the final group member of their "posse". He was a lean, blue haired boy of average structure, but was still a few inches taller than Danni. He looked at Julian with almost disgust.
"You can't hide true love," Julian laughed, staring into Danni's eyes and grinning. Danni wanted to avert her gaze, but she didn't want Julian to think she was mad at him; he would be one to overanalyze things. Though this was getting a bit awkward...
"Totally," Danni muttered halfheartedly; even so, Julian practically fell back with happiness, pink hearts floating around his head. He brought down Maru with him-Shuna jumped away just in time to save herself.
"We're late!" Maru exclaimed from under Julian's huge form. "Can you get off me?" came the muffled cry.
"Sorry," Julian said, getting up, and offering his hand to Maru. She jumped up with a simple glare.
"It's just our meeting, so there's nothing to be worried about," Ruon said, running his hand through his turquoise blue hair. He looked miffed about something. You weren't the one creamed by Shuna, Danni wanted to snap at him. Stop looking to mopey.
"Um…. well…." Maru stammered, suspiciously not meeting any of her friends' gazes. "There might be someone else crashing the party…."
Danni's red-brown eyes widened in surprise. She broke off into a run into Maru's mansion of a house, leaving her friends exclaiming in surprise behind her.
"Who is that?" Danni exclaimed, her mouth agape, and her pointed finger shaking in surprise.
"Have you never seen a dragonoid before?" the mini white dragon exclaimed bitterly from its enclosed form.
"Wavern?" Dragini gasped, jumping out of Danni's coat pocket. "What are you doing here?"
"Is that really a way to treat an old friend?" the white dragonoid asked Dragini, its deep voice filled with laughter.
"It's been so long!" Dragini agreed wholeheartedly, jumping from Danni's shoulder on to the desk next to him.
"Wait, you know that thing?" Danni blurted, looking from Dragini to the other dragon in shock.
"Thing?" the white dragon's rage blew Danni's bangs back over her head. "How dare you!" He turned to Dragini. Danni wondered whether the new dragon was shielding Dragini protectively, but decided that she was just imagining it. They were just dragons after all. "Dragini," the dragon exclaimed, "does this girl treat you like that?"
"No-no-not usually," Dragini breathed, her green eyes glinting at Danni.
"Well, sorry, jeez, I'm just surprised and confused," Danni grumbled.
"So you're the stupid one they were talking about," Wavern countered, his voice dripping with abhorrence.
Danni's mouth twitched in silent anger.
"That was an interesting introduction," Maru said feebly.
"That's what we get for sending Danni in first," Shuna murmured.
"So, what is all this about?" Danni asked.
"I was going to explain nicely, before you disturbed the peace," the white dragon explained icily.
"Sorry, Wavern," Dragini said in a small , tired voice. "Danni is still a child. She can't control her actions that well."
Danni looked at Dragini, feeling betrayed, but stayed silent.
"Hey, Danni is-" Julian began, and Danni held up her palm.
"It's okay, Julian, just let the mature adults, talk it out," Danni said; she inhaled and exhaled slowly, glaring at Shuna and Maru. The black haired girl smirked back, but Maru's light blue eyes watered with pain.
"Our world, where all bakugan come from, is in danger," the dragon said.
"What?" Dragini yelped, her voice spiking with shock. "When I left, it was bad, but it seemed that it was going to get better soon."
"That is not so, dear Dragini," the dragon sighed.
"Dear?" Danni couldn't help interrupting, again, this time feeling as if Dragini was her own daughter. "What's going on here?"
"If you listened instead of talked, you would know a lot more," Shuna murmured.
"I like you," the dragon asserted. Shuna nodded in his direction coolly.
"Thanks," she replied.
"What do we do?" Dragini asked in a frenzy, shaking. "What can I do? Take me back now!"
"Hold up," Danni spoke up again. "You can't just take away Dragini from me!" She glared at the new dragon.
"Actually, Dragini never belonged to you, so stop acting like you ever even knew Dragaini."
"That is not true!" Danni retorted. "Dragini and I are best friends!"
"You haven't even known Dragini for half as long as I've known her-not even close," Wavern snapped. "If Dragini wants to go home, then she will and you can't do anything about it!"'
Danni looked at Dragini in pain, reality suddenly crushing her. Dragini came from a bakugan world? All bakugan came from a bakugan world? That world was in danger? Dragini was needed to save it?
"Dragini, do you want to go home?" Danni asked in a voice that almost a whisper.
Dragini didn't reply immediately. "I.. have to…" She replied in a choked voice.
Danni looked at her sneakered feet. She turned and walked out of the room.