A/N: I do not own the rights to Bakugan Battle Brawlers or any of the characters therein. I do own a few fan characters, however, who will be introduced in future chapters.
Chapter 1: The Challenge
A loud ring resounded in the early morning air. A small snore was the only reply.
BZZZZT! BZZZT! BZZ…
The alarm clock was swiftly silenced by a first slamming down on its metal frame. Groggily, the young man rose out of bed, pulling his covers aside and running a hand through his tousled hair. Looking at the clock, Dan Kuso noticed that it was 5:30 AM. Much too early to do anything of importance. He trudged to the bathroom, and after taking a quick hot shower and brushing his teeth, he turned on the TV. Half awake, he listened to the news as he fixed himself some breakfast.
"The second in a series of murders is currently under investigation by authorities. The man is believed to be in his 30's, red hair…"
Oh no. Not this sort of depressing news again. Dan quickly flipped the channel.
"The town is in a state of turmoil after learning of the escape of an accused rapist. The man is believed to be armed and dangerous, as he is also under suspicion of felony assault. If you see anyone who matches the description, call…"
The twenty year old gritted his teeth. How could some people in society be so sick? And even worse, why did the news love to constantly talk about it? Dan wondered if there would ever be something happy on the news for once. Ha. Fat chance.
Flip.
"You woke up late for school, man you don't wanna go. You ask your mom please but she still says no. You missed two classes with no homework. Your teacher preaches class like you're some kinda jerk. So we gotta fight, for the right, to PAR-TAY!"
Ah. Much better. Dan smiled as he listened to the music, putting him in an upbeat mood.
As he always did in the morning, he turned on his Baku-Pod, and a small beep alerted him to the fact that he had received a new message. He looked at the screen. "Unknown Sender." Hmmm. He hadn't gotten one of these in quite a while. Muting the television, he played the message. A man with wild straw colored hair appeared on screen. The man's appearance looked downright pretentious. A red mask concealed his pale features, and what looked like black feathers stood up from the collar of his red long sleeved coat. Numerous buckles could be seen on the dark brown uniform he wore underneath. In his white gloved hand was a black ball that he twirled about his fingers. Before he spoke, an evil laugh broke the silence.
"Dan Kuso…I have wanted to challenge you for quite a while. It looks like now is the right time. It seems you haven't been keeping track of your opponents…I am now the second best player in the world. Now there is only one spot standing in my way to victory…yours. I'm surprised that you've let me get this far, really. Meet me by the park at 3:30 PM on the dot. Don't disappoint me!"
An evil chuckle resounded as the screen turned to static. Dan seethed. He didn't like this guy's attitude one bit. No doubt he was up to something evil. Strange that trouble should suddenly appear. Things had been relatively calm ever since the evil Naga was defeated. Dan hated to admit it, but he had lost his passion for brawling ever since his Guardian Bakugan, Drago, went back to Vestroia. He still did it, sure, but it just wasn't the same.
He wondered what Drago was up to now. Was he in some eternally peaceful state, some kind of heaven, after merging with the Infinity Core? Was he living a happy life with Wayvern, his beloved white dragoness? Dan could only guess. Pushing the memories that only brought him heartache aside, he quickly ate breakfast, packed up his stuff, and strolled off to another day of college.
It was 6:30 in the morning. Dew glittered on the grass in the early light. The sky took on a pink tinge as the sun reached towards the horizon. Alice tiredly dragged herself out of bed, rubbing the sleep out of her brown eyes. It felt as though she were carrying a heavy weight, after waking up from a dream that felt so incredibly real she could barely believe his presence was missing right now.
Silver columns were part of the entryway of the foreboding room; an arch connected their abacuses. Shades of blue and grey: on the walls, the windows, the floor, the ceiling. A full-length mirror was placed in front of her, and a tall young man with spouts of golden hair stared back. His mask was as reflective as the mirror's surface. It looked like an "upgraded" version: rounded at the edges with borders like ski goggles, showing slightly pale cheeks. He placed his hands on the barrier, fingertips pink as he forced his weight behind gloved palms.
"Put your hands to mine." His tone was almost…seductive? Nevertheless, she obeyed.
As soon as Alice did, the mirror was gone, and their fingers locked together. In one smooth motion he brought his alter ego closer, scrutinizing her. Her brows went together slightly. What was he waiting for? She could anticipate his next move.
However, it wasn't entirely what she expected. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, bowing his head as he brought his face and neck to press against the side of hers. He seemed oddly upset as she felt the warmth of his uneven breath.
"Alice. We have to battle against a new threat. But I wish we didn't have to."
The reluctant Brawler's heart only sunk further as she relived the memory of the dream. She had never heard him speak in such a longing tone until now, assuming it was real. As she walked over to the window to look at the sunrise, she heard a whisper that made her jump.
"Alice…can you hear me?"
She stopped dead in her tracks, looking around to find the source of the words. Nothing. It was probably just her mind still trying to break out of its dreamlike state. He was missing after all. She walked over to the curtains and opened them slightly.
"Alice!" The voice cried out, louder. A male voice.
Could it be…? No. Surely not…he had been gone for years. Why would he come back now, of all times? Her heart skipped a beat at the thought of perhaps seeing him again. How would he react? "Quit fooling yourself Alice…it's just your imagination trying to make that dream come true." She scolded herself mentally.
Forgetting the strange occurrence, she gazed out to take in the beauty of the sky. There was something awe inspiring about the dawn of a new day, and the fleeting splendor it brought. She took a deep breath and walked out of her room, ready to get prepared for the day ahead. But as she left it, she caught a glimpse of a humanoid shadow out of the corner of her eye. She shrugged it off, and got ready for class.
When she arrived on campus after taking the bus, she saw a few very familiar faces. "Good to see you again after so long!" A silver haired girl spoke, a smile brightening her features.
"Nice to see you too, Julie." Alice said to her upbeat friend. Some five years ago she never would have imagined Julie to be this happy again. She took her loss of Gorem pretty hard. Alice assumed that her boyfriend Billy played a big role in helping her through it.
"Yeah Alice! We were wondering what you were up to over the summer." Dan said, a sly grin on his face.
"Well, you know, not much…" Alice replied, reluctant to talk about what was troubling her.
"Do you mean to imply that you had a boring summer? You could have always gone on a cruise to the Bahamas with me and my folks." A younger blond haired boy, Marucho, replied a bit nervously, but quickly covered it up with a laugh.
"Yeah, sure…that would have been lovely." Alice forced a smile, but was admittedly embarrassed by Marucho's constant attempts at flirting with her. Although she had to confess, it was sort of cute.
"So, any news in regards to Bakugan?" Alice asked, trying to change the subject.
"Come to think of it, there is. Dan said that he got a message from some strange new Brawler that has almost worked his way up to the top spot!" Runo said with concern.
"Runo, I told you not to bring that up!" Dan yelled at the blue haired girl, a bit irritated.
"Yeah, well I'm sorry, Mr. I-Know-Everything-About-Bakugan-And-You-Don't!" She snapped back with equal force.
"Guys…I thought you had outgrown this fighting. Please, we'll discuss it later." Shun said.
"Thank goodness…I hate it when they argue." Alice took an inward sigh of relief. Some couples just never grow up. She was glad that Shun was still the stoic member of the group, always willing to speak up when things got out of hand.
"I suppose I should really get going. Class starts in five minutes. It was nice seeing you all again!" Alice said. The Brawlers said their goodbyes and headed off to their first classes of the day.
It took seemingly forever for Alice to find her classroom. She was a freshman, and so the campus was completely new to her. Figuring that she would be able to find all of the buildings on her own with ease, she never took the introductory tour of Jennings University. Now she wished she had, since it would have saved her the embarrassment of asking random people for directions. Sighing, she stepped into the lecture hall and took a seat near the middle of the room. Looking around, she was surprised to find Dan and Julie sitting a few rows behind her.
"Hey Alice! I didn't know you were in the same class. Get over here and sit by us!" Dan said in his usual cheerful way as he waved a hand in the air. Glad to know she'd have some company for the moment, she went over and took a seat between Dan and Julie.
"This is History 102, right?"
"Of course! I heard that this class is a real snoozer, too." Dan replied, pretending to yawn.
"Oh Dan, you think every class is a snoozer!" Julie said, rolling her lavender eyes.
"I do not! I happened to like 3D Design and History of Rock and Roll…" He argued. "I bet Alice would like this class, though. I never heard you complain about a single class back in high school."
"Maybe. This will probably be a lot different than high school history, though." His friend replied. Dan just shrugged.
"So, Dan, what was it that Runo said about you getting a message from a new Brawler?" Julie asked, curiosity getting the better of her. "We haven't gotten any new challenges in years."
"Oh, right. This morning I turned on my Baku-Pod and noticed this new message from a guy dressed in a red outfit and mask with some of the wildest hair I've ever seen. He told me to meet him by the park at 3:30 this afternoon for a brawl. He also claimed that he's the second best player in the world, and wants to challenge me for my spot." A hint of concern could be heard in his voice.
"That's really odd. Let me check the rankings." Julie flipped open her Baku-Pod and went online to check the rankings, which were updated with every new battle. Her mouth fell open slightly when she saw that a new player, whose avatar matched Dan's description, was only one spot away from being Number 1.
"Here it is. The player's name is Spectra, and it looks like he's Number 2 now!" Julie showed the screen to Dan and Alice.
"How could he have moved up the ranks so quickly without us knowing about it?" Alice wondered aloud.
"That's what I'd like to know. He has a lot of guts to challenge me to a battle!" Dan boasted with his usual confidence. A few other students in the room turned their heads in his direction, wondering what the fuss was about.
"Dan…don't fool yourself. You know that you don't enjoy brawling as much as you did all those years ago. We've all lost our passion for the game ever since we've lost our Guardian Bakugan." Julie stated, a hint of sadness in her voice. Dan sighed, not saying anything. Alice was about to speak up when the professor walked in and began his lecture. The group was silent until the end of class. When the lecture was over, the group walked out together.
"Dan…if you happen to need help during the battle, just call us, and we'll be there to back you up." Julie and Alice assured him.
"Thanks. I don't know how strong this guy is. I might need it. But I think I can take him on." He said with a wink and a grin. But Dan knew that his friends were right. He just didn't want to admit he had lost confidence…he had always been the leader of the group, and he was determined to keep up that image. What would his friends think of him otherwise?
A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I've since updated it to include more Masquerade/ Alice elements, and just improve my descriptions in general. Please R&R, but no flames!
