Chapter 20
A/N: Glad I could keep you alive, Fen. If you committed suicide, even just spiritually…I shall poke you with a spork in disdain and anger. That's right…a spork…be afraid…very afraid…
Ooh, thankies Shehzain! *dances and glomps Zynnie* I loves meh Zynnie…not in that way…yeah…I just love characters like her, for some reason…yeeeeeaaaaaah…ah yes, and in reply to your Love To Hate You review…PLEASE SEND ME THE SECOND CHAPPIE! PLEEEEAAAAASE!!! It's now possible to PM me (YAY!), so try it that way first.
And now…because I know I'm just gonna keep forgetting him…let's say that Dr Micheal is currently sleeping…in his room…he went straight to his room after telling Alice and Julie off, and then slept through everyone kicking the door and yelling…and he's still sleeping…okay, yes, a rather lousy and impractical excuse…but I'm just gonna forget him anyways, so…wait…perhaps I shall use this to my advantage…*shifty eyes*
And by the way...in case you care...though you prolly don't...I just decided to be a beta reader. *flexes muscles...to feel cool* So yeaaaaah...just felt like putting it out there...you know...just because...okie...to the story...
Disclaimer: Baaaaah…I don't own Bakugan…at all…I do own Zynnie and Bartie, however. Yes…I am the genius behind them…if there is any genius behind them…you'd think I'd know…
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"I've got popcoooorn!"Julie sang as she practically danced through the door, bowl of said snack dangerously close to flying out of her hands and hitting Dan on the head. Alice followed her meekly, her face still pale. "Aw, why aren't you guys putting in the movie? Come on, I wanna watch it!"
"And risk being blown up, or hypnotized or whatever that witch did with it?" Runo snapped at her, poking the DVD case suspiciously as Alice sat beside her. Pardoning the small nudge, the case lay still on the coffee table, plain and innocent. But as endless hours of mystery movies and such had taught them, the plain and seemingly innocent suspect was always the one who committed the most heinous of crimes…particularly if they happened to be a butler. "I'm not gonna put it in."
"I don't think that there's really anything wrong with it," Marucho said, voice confident if you decided to excuse the nervous tremble.
"You haven't even opened it. How are we supposed to know if it's gonna do anything if you don't open it?"
"Okay, this is just getting stupid!" Dan finally shouted, throwing his hands up in the air and nearly smacking Julie in the face (perhaps revenge for nearly being hit by the popcorn bowl...?). "It's just a stupid DVD case! It's not like it's gonna grow teeth and bite us or something! Just open it!"
Runo raised an eyebrow as she crossed her arms stubbornly, looking away from the case to glare at the brunette. "If you're so sure, then why don't you do the honors?!"
"…Uh…well…fine then!" Dan strode over to the coffee table and, ever so hesitantly, picked up the case with two fingers, with all eyes in the room on him. He held it away, uncertain as to what to do next.
"Hey Dan, here's an idea. You open the case." Runo helpfully mimicked the action. "Like this."
"Hey, I know how to open it!"
"Well then, do it!"
"Guys," Shun said warningly, his voice brittle and tense with irritation as he glared over the group from his spot against the wall. Instantly Dan and Runo shut up, looking sheepish and put off.
"Yeah, yeah," Dan mumbled, wrinkling his nose. "Whatever, big shot. I'm opening it now, okay?"
"About time," Runo muttered.
Everyone's stares grew more intense as Dan grasped the case tightly in both hands, poorly restrained uneasiness in his eyes. He took a deep breath…and the case slipped out of his hands.
Julie shrieked, the popcorn bowl falling out of her hands and crashing to the floor as the case stopped suddenly in midair, hovering just an inch off above the carpet. "Wha…oh my god…it's floating! DVD cases don't float!"
"Well…I suppose that such logic no longer applies here," Marucho said weakly as it slowly rose, up to Dan's eye level. The brunette stared at it, bewildered, before summoning up his courage to reach out and touch it…
"OW!" Dan stumbled back as the case suddenly whipped away from the light touch, smashing against his forehead. It didn't stop there; he was forced to raise his hands to his face as it continued to flit around his head, darting in to give him another quick, sharp blow. He tried to beat it away, but it was as though it had a mind of it's own, not to mention eyes; it just simply wove around, easily finding openings in his inefficient defense. "Hey, stop that! Ouch!"
"I knew it!" Runo howled, slamming a hand against the arm of the couch. "I knew that Zyllina had done something to it!"
"She's having it beat Dan?" Alice asked incredulously as they continued to watch Dan's losing battle, too surprised to think about actually doing anything. "That…that doesn't seem very…well…threatening."
"You aren't the one getting beat!" Dan retorted before diving for the fallen popcorn bowl, grabbing as he skidded onto the carpet and jammed it on his head, somewhat triumphantly. The case continued to fly at him, only to bounce off the plastic makeshift helmet.
Finally, it gave up, slowly floating away until it was hovering gently in the middle of the room, facing the rest of the group assembled on the couch. They all shied away and gasped as curly, elegant script slowly appeared on the cover, glowing white.
Idiots. What's with all the time wasting? All you gotta do is pop the DVD into the player, not that hard. Geez.
"What's going on?" Cautiously, Dan lifted the bowl away from his face, shaking bits of popcorn out of his hair. He first saw the gaping shock on his friend's faces before finally noticing the case and the words inscribed upon it. "Whoa! That's freaky! The DVD case has words on it!"
In almost immediate response to his exclamation, the words hurriedly erased themselves, like chalk off a blackboard, and were quickly replaced with new ones.
Wow, that must be the weirdest thing you kiddo's have ever seen! Now, how about we move on and you use your limited brainpower to understand the instructions I am about to give you. Okay? Lady Zyllina won't be patient forever.
Dan's mouth moved silently as he frowned at the words, slowly comprehending exactly what they were saying. "Hey, did the DVD case just call us stupid?!"
No, of course not. I'm simply mocking your intelligence. Now MOVE ON AND PLAY THE DAMNED DVD.
"Hey, we are not stupid." Runo jumped to her feet, hands on her hips and glaring at the small case.
Yeah yeah, whatever makes you feel better, it doesn't freaking matter. Can you just put in the DVD?
"You still think we're stupid!" Dan pointed at it, looking as though he would very much enjoy smacking it out of the air. "Well, what do you know?! You're just a stupid DVD case thing! You don't even have a brain!"
"You tell him…it, Dan!" Julie cheered, clapping her hands together.
Okay, no need to get rude! I just have a job to do, okay?! Can I PLEASE carry it out?
"You do realize that we're talking to a DVD case, right guys?" Marucho asked, peering at said 'inanimate' object timidly. "Perhaps we should just watch the DVD…"
YES! THANK YOU!
"I dunno." Runo narrowed her eyes at the case, chewing on her lip. "I mean, listen to a magical DVD case delivered from some crazy witch that wants to take over the world, and that keeps telling us that we're stupid? Something just isn't right about that…"
OH MY GOD! I'LL JUST STICK IN THE DVD MYSELF!
Much to their shock, the case suddenly snapped open, flat as though it were on a table. There was a small clicking sound as the DVD itself, gleaming and silver, worked its way out of it's little prison, finally forcing itself out. They continued to watch as both case and DVD glided through the air to the TV, smoothly descending to the DVD player's level.
"…Wow," Marucho whispered as the case jabbed at the machine, hitting the Open button; with a whir, the disk slide popped out and the DVD settled inside. "That…that's just amazing. To make an inorganic object able to…to be able to do this, to practically have it's own thought…this Zyllina must be capable of truly great things…"
The case rose back up to eye level, closing itself shut. You could almost imagine it to be smug.
Well, I'm sure Lady Zyllina would be flattered. But this…this is just the tip of the iceberg, kiddo.
"I'm sure," Shun muttered darkly.
Okay then, let's get to it, kiddies. Time to start this movie up!
Alice quickly grabbed the remote, quickly turning the TV to the right video. Immediately, two words, huge and white on the black screen, popped up.
CLICK PLAY!!!
"Telling us the obvious thing to do, it's clear that her opinion of our intelligence is high," Shun said, surprisingly sarcastic. Runo rolled her eyes as Alice clicked the Play button, her finger hesitating for just a microsecond.
"Hey Bartie, that camera on?" They all jumped as Zyllina suddenly appeared on the screen, frowning at them and leaning back into what appeared to be a throne, lavish with it's deep red cushions and golden arms. She had her legs drawn up, tapping the tips of glossy black high-heeled shoes, looking as perfect as she had before. "Because we aren't recording yet. We've got to plan out how this is going to work first…"
"Trust me Zynns, it's off." Bartie's bored voice filtered through the speakers, slightly more muffled than his sister's. "Why would I have it on now?"
"You sure?" Zyllina leaned forward a bit, eyes scrutinizing. Her skin was bleached out in the bright light that flooded the room. "I see a green light on. Doesn't that mean that the camera's on?"
"Okay, Zynnie, listen to me. Even after years and years around technology, you still can't grasp the blunt mechanisms of a calculator. Trust me, it's off."
She drew back, disgruntled and sticking out her tongue. "Oh, shut up. No need to get all sarcastic on me. I swear, if you're lying to me I'm throwing you outside and leaving you for dead. I mean, who knows what kind of rabid beasts lurk outside…"
"You wouldn't."
"I would."
"…It's off, okay? I wouldn't lie to you. Never."
"Well…my trust is in your hands. Betray it, and the rabid beast is getting a good mouthful of Abartimeaus…"
"I get it. Just think about how you're doing this."
She stuck out her tongue again, most likely just out of habit. "I am. Now, obviously I'm gonna need the lights dimmed…"
"Couldn't we just keep them on?! This is the first time in years that I've actually been able to see what this room looks like!"
"Too bad. Light won't help make the kind atmosphere needed for this. Moving on. Should I bring Masky in? You know, just to shake the little squirts up a bit?"
A snarl almost erupted from Dan, and the entire group tensed up. Shun swore softly, glancing at Alice. Her face was completely emotionless, if not for the trembling lips.
"Go ahead. I don't really care, I'm just the one making the magic happen backstage."
"No, no…it'll be a lot better if I'm just alone. But I think I should still mention him…I simply love how uptight they are about him!"
"As I said, I don't really care…"
"Well, do care. This involves you almost as much as it does I. I mean, we're partners, aren't we?"
"And now you finally acknowledge that little fact? I still don't care."
"Oh yeah?! Well, I HATE you!"
"Can't we just fast-forward through all of this?" Runo asked, as Bartie coolly responded with a reply almost identical to his sisters. "I have a feeling that this junk isn't why she sent this down…"
"Bartiiiiie, don't you realize how important this is?! I really need to make a good impression with this? I mean, I'm sure the Brawlers got a good idea of how amazing I am…but I think I might have come off a bit…well, a bit childish."
Suddenly, they were looking at the floor of the mysterious room as someone, most likely Bartie, lowered the camera. "A bit childish?" he said incredulously. "A bit?"
"Exactly!" The camera moved back up to her face just in time to catch her jabbing a finger towards it, punctuating her point. "I'm not childish, not in the least! But what if they think that? I am totally going to rectify that with this video! Got that? That means I need an imposing atmosphere, shrewd and keen dialogue, a relaxed and honest demeanor…"
"I get it! Okay, here's a tip…ignore everything around you and just focus on being as…creepy as you can be."
"Creepy…?!"
"And stop being distracted."
She glowered at the camera, biting the bottom of her lip before surrendering. "Whatever…but I want a wine glass. With wine."
"…And that would be a completely unneeded detail."
"But one that works very well. It looks cool. Just go get some. Now."
Once again the camera angle was lowered roughly as Bartie stomped away, grumbling something about a 'little brat'. And they were left to listen to the sounds of Zyllina huffing and tapping away impatiently at the arms of her chair.
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"ABOUT TIME YOU GOT BACK! I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT THAT TOOK YOU HALF AN HOUR! NOW GIMME MY WINE!"
The Brawlers jerked up, blinking sleepily as the image on the screen finally changed. The camera was lifted back up, showing the black-haired girl daintily holding a delicate wineglass, gently swishing the amber-coloured liquid around.
"She's hot," Dan mumbled drowsily, still half-asleep and not quite yet realizing what was going on. He awoke fully when Runo smacked him on the back of the head, though.
"Well, sorry. Blame it on Masquerade."
"Why should I? What did he do?"
"…Well…he didn't actually do anything…he just wouldn't help me find the wine…"
"Well, no duh. You really expect him to know his way around here? Geez, stop blaming others for your faults. Now, turn down the lights. I know how I want this to go…"
"About time," they heard Bartie mutter as Zyllina's image bounced away for a brief moment and the lighting dimmed. "Lights…camera…" Zyllina's form was focused on once again. "And…action."
"…" She stared at him, looking baffled. "Bartie, that green light didn't change. Shouldn't it be doing something to show that the camera's on?"
"No, no it doesn't. Good job, you just ruined it."
"Nuh uh!" She drew back, insulted. "This your fault! Try it again!"
This moment would have been perfect for the Brawlers to sweat drop as Bartie groaned. "Fine. Okay…action."
A/N: And I shall end this chappie there…because I just got so off topic and distracted that I practically wrote a chappie in itself, and just out of a DVD with attitude and Zynnie being a brat…I really need to learn how to focus on the matter at hand…-_-"