Chapter 13
A/N: Okay…this chappie may not make much sense, because of Zynnie's little idea's and stuff…I tried to make her reasoning and such as simple/scientificky as possible…but I might have failed at that. It all makes sense in my head…but that's my head…well, let's just see, 'kay? Okay…
Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Bakugan…god that was boring. Bah…maybe I should have gotten a…serial killer to say it for me…heh heh…or a panda…or someone who actually has something to do with the story…
"Support an entire planet?" Cautiously, Micheal put himself in front of the children, separating them from Zyllina. "What kind of force are you talking about?"
"Aw, come on. You're a scientist, aren't you?" One of her hands rose up to absentmindedly play with a curl. "In fact, aren't you a very good scientist? I mean, you appear in textbooks and such. For someone of your occupation, that's a great honour. I think…"
Micheal stared at her, scrutinizing her relaxed expression, until it finally dawned on him. "The sun…you plan to somehow control the sun?"
"That's impossible!" Marucho began hopping up and down, trying to see past everyone towering above him to see the girl, see if she was really serious. "You…you would be destroyed, you can't control the sun! Even if you did manage it, who knows what effects it could have on the solar system and the rest of the universe…"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it." She waved off his concerns impatiently with a sigh. "Of course I understand the absurdity of this idea. Although I am sure that if I were to harness the sun's energy, process it and have it power my spells I would grow far more powerful, I don't have the means to do so. As you said, though I am sure that I couldn't die, it would most certainly harm me in some way. It's simply too…raw. So, I had to think of other ideas. I thought about maybe trying to process nuclear or atomic energy…but then the cards appeared…"
"What are you talking about?!" Dan shouted, frustration slowly getting the best of him. "Just get to the point already!"
Zyllina tilted her head to the side, looking pouty. "But that's no fun at all. No fun at all…and you should know what I'm talking about, Danny. Afterall, you were all directly involved in the matter…does Vestroia ring a bell?"
It was at that moment that they all finally understood what she was after. That horrible, clarifying moment of understanding. "The Cores," Alice whispered, remembering Naga again. "You…you want the Cores…"
"Give a prize to orangey!" Zyllina cried gleefully, clapping her hands together. "Exactly! It wasn't hard for Bartie and I to find out what the cards were and how they were created. Little bit of spy work on Bartie's behalf, a few spells and intelligent conclusions on mine, and bang! We learned all about poor Naga, Vestroia, Bakugan, the Cores…and all of you of course. Afterall, you were the ones that decided to throw yourselves into the mess…I realized just how perfect the Cores would be. Taking control of them should be no bother. Naga, Wayvern and Draggy all managed it, didn't they?"
"But they're all Bakugan," Micheal pointed out, desperate to lead her thoughts away from that idea. "What if their bodies are more capable…"
"And I'm a magician, remember," Zyllina reminded him with a shrewd grin. "The raw energy of the sun may be beyond me, at the moment, but what about the refined, almost crafted Cores? They're controllable…as others have demonstrated. And surely with my abilities, I should be able to keep them under control…and imagine what I could do with them in my possession…"
"You're crazy!" Runo shook her head furiously, as though she were trying to reject the girl's words. "I mean…you can't do something like that…it'll mess everything up again…"
"Blah blah blah." Zyllina rolled her eyes and threw her hands up in the air. "Geez, will you just get the picture already? Powerful magician here, can most certainly handle whatever happens! Besides, I know everything that Naga had done, and what actions had ruined him. I'm a big girl now, I can do things right."
"Why are you telling us this?"
Shun stepped forward beside Alice, just behind Micheal's elbow. He was gazing at an innocently smiling Zyllina, a hard, suspicious look in his eyes. "Whatever do you mean?" she asked sweetly. For some reason, it looked as though she was trying to hold back a gloating laugh.
"You just told us your plan. What do you think is going to happen now? Did you think that if you told us, we'd just sit back quietly and let it all happen? Don't you think that we're going to try to stop you?"
"Oh, of course you'd want to try to stop me," Zyllina said carelessly. "Believe it or not, I didn't come here to visit and chat with you randomly. I came to ensure that none of you would think about putting an end to my plan."
"THAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE!" After a long period of letting his sister take control of the situation, Bartie was finally speaking up, jaded and fed up with her speeches. He was wringing his hands in the air, as though he were trying to throttle something. "How the hell does telling them everything make them not want to stop it?! WILL YOU JUST GET TO THE POINT?!"
"You're as bad as Danny," Zyllina grumbled, upset that he had ruined her dramatic moment again. "So impatient. You should trust me enough to know that I know what I'm doing."
The throttling motion became exponentially more violent.
"Oh, you're finally going to let me reveal what you've wanted to know for the last few months? Good. Now, if I can continue."
"But he's, like, right," Julie said, a confused look on her face. "I mean, what's the point of telling us at all?"
A small giggle escaped Zyllina's mouth, unable to be properly contained in her excitement. "Well, it's not like taking over the Cores will happen overnight," she said, smirking. "It could take me months to properly absorb the Cores power and wield it without harming myself. Meanwhile, Vestroia could end up the mess it was with Naga's actions, and spill into this dimension again. And then certainly you would know something was up. And what would happen? Who would band together to find out what is happening and put a stop to it? Well, who else than those who would know the most, would have the most means to solve this little problem, than the Brawlers themselves?"
"You better believe that we'd do something!" Dan growled, his eyes flashing. "We aren't going to let you get away with this!"
"On the contrary…you are." She was pacing again, this time her eyes staying on the group before her as she went back and forth. "I'm not foolish enough to give you, or any of your little friends, a chance. If I could, I would thank Naga…he handed me all of the tools I need…"
What else? What else could Naga's deeds have provided this girl, this girl with seemingly endless ambition?
"I needed something that would stop all of you from going up against me during the time I needed to absorb the Cores. Not to mention a new underling…simply can't trust Bartie anymore…"
"Hey, what do you mean by underling? Last time I checked, we were partners!"
"Details, details, whatever. Geez." Again, she stopped pacing and glared at her brother, hands on her hips. "Will you stop interrupting? I mean, you keep saying you want to know what's going on, and then you interrupt me when I'm trying to reveal it…"
"Okay, okay! Continue!"
"Thank you," Zyllina said, with a nod that couldn't be described as respectful. "Okay. Anyways, I need a new underling, someone who could be useful, and not just for carrying out little tasks. I decided that it may as well be someone who could easily stop you annoying little Brawlers in your pathetic little steps."
She began staring at each of them in turn, her sly grin growing slowly wider.
"Someone who's used to serving under those who are greater than himself, whose purpose, in fact, is to serve. Someone who's used to following orders, and gladly follows those orders to the ends of the earth and beyond…"
Alice got a sick, twisted feeling in her stomach, a sign that she had a whisper of a feeling, a premonition of who had been chosen…no. No she didn't. She didn't want to know…she refused to let the name cross her mind.
"Someone who wants something that only I can provide very badly. Someone who wouldn't have any scruples about joining me, consumed with bitterness as he is…"
God no…not him, she couldn't do that…it couldn't be…
"Someone born as a dark soul, who would always remain in that darkness, no matter how many times he was pulled out, no matter who it was that tried to pull him out…"
No, no, no…no…
"Someone who, in the end…" Finally, those vivid eyes locked with Alice's, exultant and taunting, leering, "is really…barely anything."
Her hands flew to her mouth, as though she could force down the sobs that were attempting to force themselves out, trying to blink away the tears springing to her eyes. "No…you couldn't have…"
The Brawlers and her grandfather turned to her, pain in their faces as they watched Alice struggle to keep her composure. Even without knowing the details as she did, it was only too clear whom the girl was talking about.
"You!" Dan turned away and jabbed a finger in Zyllina's direction, fury twisting his face as amusement entered hers. "You better stop this now, or I swear that I'll…"
"Do what, Danny?" she mocked, with that arrogant grin. "You're gonna stop me? How do you plan on doing that? Gonna yell at me till I 'come to my senses'? Beat me in a brawl? You child, there's nothing you can do to me, not if you value your life. You're completely defenseless!"
That was more than Dan could take. This frustrating, avaricious girl, her little mind games and plans, what she was doing to Alice, he himself being insulted…he snapped. Before Shun or anyone else could stop him, he was charging forward, fist raised and ready to punch the calm girl in her smug face, shouting out a strangled war cry.
It happened too quickly; they couldn't see what was happening very clearly. All they saw was a mess of blonde and white suddenly appearing in front of her, blocking Dan's way. Before the brunette could try to steer away, the figure had grabbed his arm, something on his face glinting brightly in the clear winter sunshine with malice. The next moment, Dan was flying in the air, crashing to the ground with a pained, offguard gasp at his friend's feet.
The figure, who was in a half-crouched position, stood up fully, calmly straightening himself out. Alice stared at him, bewildered, still refusing to think his name, let it become reality, let this person in front of her really be there.
Just like Zyllina, he didn't seem to particularly care for what Alice wanted to remain on the other side of the line, the side that separated terrible fantasy from terrible reality. He stared directly at her, and she shied away from his gaze to stare at the ground, his eyes hidden by a horribly familiar mask, a smirk on his face. A soft wind blew by them, teasing through his wild blonde hair and white coat. "Hello Alice, Brawlers, Dr Micheal." His voice was just as smug as before, fakely polite.
There was no more denying it. How could she deny it any longer, now that he was speaking to her, so obviously there? She dragged her eyes up to his hidden face, giving up her internal fight. "…Masquerade…"
A/N: Yep, you all totally saw that coming. But at least I wrote it well…I hope…probably didn't…yep, I didn't…god, that was cheesy…very cheesy…as cheesy as…cheese…I like cheese…especially mozzarella…perhaps I should say it was corny instead…but I like corn too…my favorite veggie…damn. TO THE THESAURUS! Okay…trite…dull…stale…stereotyped…stereotyped, that's totally what it is! Right? Yeah…totally…