Response to Reviews!
Krystal Rain: Yeah, actually that's what I was thinking. Shun's usually calm, but I'd like to think that Dan's departure kinda drove him over the edge a little. / Yeaaahhh I think so too. I don't think that Runo should be portrayed as complacent or a bystander in any way; it doesn't do her justice in the show, and she's not there just to be a romantic other for Dan. / Oh, you think so? Thanks! There's another battle sequence in here, and I hope I did it justice. / I hope you'll enjoy whatever comes next!
Now there is one review that I want to call out:
TopGun1986: Are you going to bring in the characters from Battle Planet?
I answered TopGun via PMing, but I think it would be best to answer it here as well.
My answer to that: I think for the purpose of this story, no. However, that doesn't mean that I won't bring them in for a later story, since I'm hoping to create a series (a trilogy, at the very least) in respect to this story. It all depends on whether or not people are interested enough in this one to make it work.
Without further ado, storytime!
"That's enough for today," Shun said.
Dan flopped to the ground, sweat pouring from his forehead. That day, Shun had put him and Drago through a series of agility drills, where they had to dodge different objects. This was due to the fact that they'd have to dodge flying cars and whatnot during a battle.
After their run-in with the arrogant Darkus boy, the indifferent Pyrus girl, and the mysterious Haos man, Shun had decided to step up their training.
Long story short, Dan was way out of shape with this stuff.
As he lay, panting, a shadow fell over him, and a person bent over, blocking the harsh light of the BakuTrain Simulation. If Dan squinted, he could see that the person in question is Shun.
"I think you need a break," Shun noted, his piercing brown eyes meeting Dan's red ones.
Dan attempted to rise, but his muscles gave out from the exhaustion. Dan yelped as he shot back onto the ground. He grimaced as his limbs throbbed, trembling from the exertion Dan had forced them through. "Yeah." Dan grinned weakly, flicking his eyes up to Shun's. "Yeah, I think. . . yeah."
Shun finally sighed, offering a hand at the Pyrus brawler. Dan gratefully accepted, allowing the Ventus brawler to pull him up. "You didn't do too bad today," Shun remarked. He then smirked slightly, a quick twitch of his lips. "For a newbie, at least."
Dan rolled his neck, grimacing as the bones cracked. "Yeah, well. . ." He grinned tiredly at Shun. He was sure that his grin seemed fake, but he couldn't help it; he was just so tired. ". . . this newbie's still got some skills left in him."
Shun's eyebrows shot up before he smirked, a full smirk this time. "Go relax for a bit," he offered, patting Dan on the back before turning and walking away.
Dan nodded, grinning after Shun. After a moment, he let his grin slide off his face, and he sighed, exhaustion weighing down on him heavily. He turned away and just stood there, his muscles sagging under the weight of his burdens - physical, of course, but there was something more; he wasn't sure what, and he couldn't put a finger on it -
A sound reverberated through the arena, prompting him to look up into the seats where people could watch a training session. In a clumped area, the recruits were filing out, with Jaxon bringing up the rear. Jaxon turned and sneered at Dan, probably for Dan's performance in the training session.
A flurry of movement caught Dan's eye, and he raised his eyes to lock with a girl with bright blue hair. Runo.
For a moment, the two just stared at each other. Even from here, Dan felt the heat of her intense stare. It transfixed him, leaving him unable to do anything else except stare back, rooted to the spot.
She was the one who broke the spell, turning and walking away from the balcony where she was watching.
Dan stared after her, yearning rising up in him. But yearning for what, he didn't know.
He turned away, recalling his train of thought before watching the audience walk away. He finally had a name for his other, non-physical burden:
Emotional.
"Dan?"
Dan startled out of his reverie at his partner's voice. "Yeah, Drago?"
"What are you thinking about?"
Now this was a surprise. Dan had rarely heard Drago ask him that question before. Dan merely shrugged as they walked on the sidewalk, the birds twittering and the sun smiling down on them. "It's not important."
What he had been thinking about was how the last three years had affected the Brawlers. He wondered how they managed to cope with the sudden change of the battle mechanics. He certainly wasn't having the best of times.
Then again, he hasn't brawled for a long time. . .
Just thinking of brawling opened the door to a whole flood of memories, most of them good, some of them. . . not so good. But even with the bad, Dan remembered the fun times he had with his friends. He closed his eyes and smiled slightly, overcome with nostalgia.
And then a lightning bolt flashed behind his eyelids.
Dan's eyes snapped open, and he staggered suddenly, his breathing speeding up. He couldn't think, couldn't move. He could only see flashes of lightning illuminate the night, could see the silhouettes of huge gang members towering over them. He could feel the claw slice through his eye, could feel the blood seeping -
"DAN!"
Dan snapped out of his reverie, terror still thick on his tongue and heart still pumping rapidly. He tried to say, "What is it?" Instead, his words came out as, "Whah huh?"
"Are you alright?"
Dan shook himself, chiding his sudden onslaught. It happened three years ago! It shouldn't matter now, especially in broad daylight.
And yet. . .
Dan's thoughts were interrupted when someone snagged his jacket suddenly, yanking him into an abandoned area of the park. Suddenly, lightning flashed again in Dan's eyelids. Without thinking, he began clawing at the person's hand, wrenching himself to get out of their grasp.
A harshly-filtered voice suddenly growled, "Stop it! I have to tell you something!"
The Pyrus brawler disregarded that voice, instead continuing to struggle against them. Panic welled in his throat when he realized that his captor's grip was still strong and they weren't letting go why weren't they letting go -
The stranger's grip suddenly went lax, and Dan, caught unawares, tumbled to the ground. He glanced up. . . only for his eyes to meet a dark-gray skull.
Stifling a scream, he scurried backwards, panic overwhelming any logic. He didn't stop until he was fully backed against a tree. Luckily for him, his captor hadn't even tried to pursue him, which was odd; wasn't the point of capturing him was, well, to capture him?
Now that he had a full view of the figure, he realized that the skull wasn't an actual skull, but a mask. The eye-sockets were actually blue-tinted visors, and the mask had horns jutting out of the temples and the jawline. A blue crescent was embedded on the center of the forehead, and feathers stuck up on the back of their head.
The stranger wore a jacket. A blue strip of cloth was stitched along the back of the left gray sleeve, with white stripes angled towards their neck from the shoulders. An image was stitched on the left side of their chest that resembled an attribute symbol, yet it wasn't an attribute symbol. Their right arm glinted in the sunlight, revealing armor with a strange design.
"Who are you?" Drago demanded.
The stranger spared him a quick glance before turning their attention back to Dan. "You are Dan Kuso, are you not." It was more of a statement than a question.
Dan exchanged a look with Drago. There was no point in denying it; Drago was widely known as Dan's battle partner. "Yeah. . .?"
At his admission, the stranger hissed, "We don't have much time to talk." Their left hand flexed, curling into a fist before snapping back to its natural position. "So listen carefully."
Dan, wary now of their warning, exchanged a glance with Drago, but he kept his mouth shut in order to listen.
"You're trying to fight against AAAnimus," they began, "but they are not the true enemy."
Dan felt his eyebrow raise in disbelief. Drago was the one who voiced his thoughts perfectly, albeit angrily. "They're trying to use Bakugan as weapons! Bakugan aren't toys, nor weapons, to be used by people."
"Yes, I am aware of their actions," the stranger said, sounding slightly impatient, "but they are merely the puppet used by someone else, someone who has infiltrated their ranks."
"What?" Dan shot a look at Drago. He didn't know what to make of this stranger, but they seemed deadly serious; none of the joking that Dan had grown accustomed to. "Who, then?"
Just as the stranger was about to answer, a loud, jeering voice filled the air. "Well well well! Dan Kuso! Fancy meeting you here!"
Dan recognized the voice and turned, glaring at the sneering dark-haired boy he had fought with, along with the Pyrus girl. "What do you want?" Suddenly realizing something the Darkus brawler had said, he added, "And how do you know my name?"
Out of the corner of his eye, the famous Pyrus brawler saw Skullmask (for lack of a name) tense up, their hand drifting to their jacket pocket.
"Details, details," Jett drawled, waving his hand dismissively. "What matters is that we brawl! And I see," he added, turning his leering eyes to Skullmask, "that you've a friend along with you."
Skullmask's voice came out perfectly neutral as they noted, "So it's a tag-team brawl that you want."
The Darkus brawler nodded, his grin stretching wickedly wide. "You and Kuso there, me and Azure here." He jerked his head towards the girl at the mention of her name.
Azure's eyes flashed, and suddenly Dan thought that Azure wasn't as harmless as he had initially thought. "Let's give them a run for their money, shall we, Jett?" She smirked, her eyes dancing dangerously.
"With pleasure."
"Are you willing to participate?" Dan started, turning as Skullmask rapidly spoke. "With those two working together, they could make a formidable team; Pyrus and Darkus."
Dan gazed curiously back at them. "What attribute are you?"
Instead of responding (which Dan thought was odd), the stranger merely turned back to him. "Are you in or not?"
Dan nodded without hesitation. He wasn't sure why; maybe it was because he didn't want this team to cause any more havoc, maybe he was trying to get back into the groove of brawling. Whatever supernatural force compelled him to say yes also compelled him to raise his Bakugan into the air, along with the three other brawlers, and shout, "Drome up!"
The iridescent dome billowed out, encompassing the area and leaving only the brawlers within the area.
"I'll start off," the dark-haired boy sneered before reeling his throwing hand once more. "Bakugan, brawl!"
Dan tracked the movement of that Darkus bakugan with eyes as it came to a rest on one of the BakuCores.
"Shadowclaw, stand!"
A flash of purple, and the dragonoid rose with a roar. Drago shot out of Dan's pocket, floating in midair, and unfolded. "What did he just call that dragonoid?"
"Shadowclaw." It was Skullmask who spoke, their hidden eyes leveled towards the Darkus brawler. Though Dan couldn't see their eyes, he could hear the intensity in their voice as they addressed Drago. "The Darkus brawler - his name is Jett Black. The Pyrus brawler's name is Azure Robinson, and her partner's a Pyrus Webam."
Dan stared at them. "How do you know this?"
The stranger met his eyes steadily before turning back, surveying their opponents. "I've been observing them for a while," they muttered.
Dan continued to stare at the stranger, trying to gauge their emotions. It was difficult, as their face was obscured by a skull mask, leaving them inscrutable. He glanced at Drago, whose aura pulsed with suspicion.
Dan shrugged, sighing, before reaching for Drago. "Alright, Drago, let's -"
"Wait." Dan flinched as the stranger's hand grasped his arm firmly. "Let me take care of Jett. You can deal with Azure, yes?"
Dan frowned, puzzled. He knew he could take on Jett, but he was more confused than insulted. "Yeah, but why do you want to take on Jett?"
Skullmask flicked their right hand. Dan squinted, discerning a Bakugan, but not any Bakugan he's seen before: this Bakugan was clear, with hints of lightning-blue and cyan running through the non-clear parts. The stranger brought their Bakugan up to where their mouth would've been. "I've got a trick up my sleeve he wouldn't see coming."
Dan exchanged a look with Drago. Clearly, this stranger has something they weren't telling Dan; well, they had a lot of things they weren't telling him, but this one was the most urgent. What was it that they had that couldn't take Jett by surprise? From what Dan had seen, Jett has had a lot of practice with Bakugan; he was sure that if the stranger attempted something, chances are Jett would know how to counteract it.
Though, Dan suddenly realized, the same could be applied with himself; anything he attempted, Jett could probably counter. At least Jett had never seen the stranger before; maybe that'll give them an advantage.
"Are you gonna brawl, or are you gonna sit there and snooze all day?" came Jett's jeering voice. Dan glanced over at the arrogant Darkus brawler, disgust leaking in his chest.
"Such arrogance," Dan muttered.
"Well, you were once the same."
Dan clenched his jaw together, memory upon memory of his previous arrogance. How it costed him, over and over again, all because he couldn't see battles clearly and acknowledge how big of a threat his opponents were.
He snapped out of his self-loathing just as the stranger tossed their Bakugan in the air before flinging it into the battlefield. "Bakugan, brawl!" they shouted.
The clear Bakugan rolled out onto a BakuCore before unfolding. "Thundrus, stand!"
There was a flash of cyan light, so bright and sharp that black spots danced in Dan's eyes, rendering him unable to see clearly.
When his vision cleared, he finally saw the trick that the stranger must've talked about, and his jaw dropped open as he regarded the creature.
The creature was a huge bird. Three pairs of wings ran down the length of its back, and its tail was not just tail feathers; it was an actual tail that split into two down the middle further down. Two tufts of feathers on its head made it seem as if it had horns. Piercing cyan eyes glared down at Shadowclaw, the Darkus Dragonoid, and its sharp beak and talons gleamed wickedly.
What was most stunning of all was its color scheme: a light-silver underbelly with a body made of a dark lightning-blue scheme, with cyan veins running through in an almost-technological fashion. As far as Dan knew, there was no known attribute with that same color scheme.
Their opponents' reactions were priceless: Jett's face, for once, had lost that smirk and actually seemed fearful, face pale and sweat that Dan could see glistening even from this far. Azure's expression was flabbergasted, her eyes widening in shock and worry. "What - what is that?" Jett sputtered. "That's not -"
The stranger seemed to enjoy their shocked reactions. "It's not what?"
Jett spluttered again, seemingly floundering for some tangible thought to grasp. Meanwhile, Dan turned to the stranger. Drago was in a similar state of shock as their opponents, his tiny jaw opening and closing at the sight of the Thundrus. "Impossible," he growled. "That's an attribute I have not seen before!"
"Explain." Dan stared at Skullmask. "Now."
Dan had the feeling that the stranger was grinning behind their mask. "I'm sure you've heard of me by now," they slyly stated, "unless Jaxon had no sense whatsoever and shut his mouth, huh?"
Dan suddenly flashed back to what Shun had said, earlier on:
"They informed Jaxon - mind I add, vaguely - about this new threat. This new brawler. . . their attribute is something none of us have ever seen before."
"You!" Dan stared at them. "Are you the brawler who has no known attribute? Are you the one who delivered that vague message to Jaxon?"
"Pleased to meet you in the flesh, Dan Kuso."
Dan gaped at the masked stranger, grasping for something to say. The stranger cut him off with a, "Let's finish this battle first, shall we? Then we can talk."
Dan could only shut his mouth and nod numbly.
Jett seemed to have recovered his wits, and he sneered at Skullmask. "It doesn't matter! Either way, I'm taking you down!" But Dan could hear the hint of fear in the Darkus brawler's voice.
"I don't know who you are, and I don't know how this is possible, but I will destroy you!" Shadowclaw snarled, glaring at the huge, unknown-attributed bird.
The legendary bird's eyes only glowed brighter. "Bring it," he challenged. His voice had a cold and calculating tone that sent shivers down Dan's back, and he had a feeling that the brawl won't end well for the Darkus brawler.
"Darkus Dragonoid Ultra: 700 B-Power. Unknown-attributed Thundrus: 600 B-Power."
Dan frowned slightly at his BakuPod. Even his BakuPod didn't know what this attribute was?
"Ability card activate!" Jett crowed, holding up a card. "Darkustorm!"
Wind began picking up, swirling around the Darkus Dragonoid and ripping at Dan's clothes. Dan saw dark purple clouds begin swirling, taking form over them all and obscuring everyone from outside the dome. Shadowclaw arched his back and howled, the most guttural sound Dan has heard, as purple lightning surged into him, lighting up the dark area and highlighting his silhouette in flashes of purple.
"Darkus Dragonoid Ultra now at: 1100 B-Power."
Dan, instinctively, turned towards Skullmask. To his surprise, the stranger didn't react; even with the skull mask on to hide their features, Dan could usually tell from their body language. But nothing, not even the slightest twitch, betrayed whether or not they were worried. On the contrary, they actually seemed confident.
"You're using lightning against a lighting-attributed Bakugan?" Skullmask flicked out a card of their own. "Ability activate! Generator Absorption!"
Dan frowned, puzzling over their words. Lightning-attributed? His eyes widened as he saw an aura of cyan manifest around the large bird. At the same time, Shadowclaw opened his wings wide open, the purple jumping to them, before he beat them. Hard.
Purple lightning surged out, shooting towards Thundrus. At the same time, the bird arched, letting out an almighty shriek as the purple lightning slammed into him.
Dan felt his eyes widen even more, shocked, as the lightning seemed to dissipate once it hit the aura that surrounded Thundrus, leaving the Bakugan unhurt. At the same time, the aura glowed even brighter, as if. . .
As if it was absorbing the lightning. Dan glanced at his BakuPod. It read out, "Darkus Dragonoid Ultra: 700 B-Power. Unknown-attributed Thundrus now at: 1000 B-power."
Thundrus' eyes glowed impossibly bright. Once the barrage of lightning ceased, the aura around the bird flowed into him, as if Thundrus was drawing the energy inside himself. Dan watched, awed, as the bird reared up, shrieking. He could practically feel the power radiating off of this mighty Bakugan, leaving chills down his back. The dark clouds faded out of existence, as if there wasn't enough energy left to keep them there.
"Wh-what?" Jett spluttered, his face paling even further, if Dan thought that were possible. "No! That's impossible!"
Even the Darkus Dragonoid himself seemed shocked, which astonished Dan. If a Bakugan was caught off-guard, then it must be something big. "How? That power. . . it's nothing I've ever seen before!"
"Lucky for you, you get to experience it firsthand." Thundrus nodded towards Skullmask. "Shall we finish it?"
"With pleasure." The stranger flicked up another card. "Ability activate! Lightnicane!"
With the utterance of those words, clouds swirled to life within the dome again, occupying where the dark clouds had been. But these clouds were different: they were tinted with a cyan color, indicating their origin. They somehow seemed more friendly than the cold darkness of the Darkustorm clouds, though Dan knew that these were just as dangerous.
Cyan lightning flashed, surrounding Thundrus in a bright glow. Thundrus reared up again, shrieking. "Now you will taste the true power of lightning!"
With those words, a tornado burst to life, completely encasing the Bakugan within itself. Even with the wind forcing Dan to shut his eyes, he could see the bolts of lightning that zipped around on the outside.
The tornado sped towards the Darkus Dragonoid. Shadowclaw seemed to try desperately to anchor himself, but the force of the wind lifted him off his feet. Dan watched in a mix of horror and awe as the dragonoid was sucked into the vortex of high-velocity winds and pure energy.
"Shadowclaw!"
Jett's anguished cry was followed by a howl of pain before there was a flash of purple from within the hurricane of lightning. Dan could see a tiny, dark ball being flung violently out of the tornado and landing at Jett's feet.
The Pyrus brawler couldn't believe his eyes. Thundrus took Shadowclaw down. . . as if he were nothing at all! Dan raised his head just as Thundrus dispelled the storm and disappeared in a flash of cyan, returning to Skullmask's outstretched hand.
Dan studied the mysterious brawler next to him for the first time. Though Dan knew that Skullmask's unknown attribute was bound to take people off-guard, this. . . this was a display of true power and skill. He felt respect and fear rising up in him. This stranger would make a formidable opponent. . . and a valuable ally.
Which makes him glad that he isn't one of the two brawlers that was positioned across from him.
Jett's and Azure's expressions were priceless: Jett's face was pale, his jaw hanging open and his eyes wide with shock. The Pyrus brawler next to him wore an equally-stunned expression, her eyes wide with what Dan assumed was fear.
Skullmask stepped away from the matrix. When Dan locked eyes with them, they nodded and gestured towards the matrix. "I believe," they stated, "it's your turn to deal with Azure."
Dan studied them for a moment, unsure of what to say. Should he compliment them, or should he demand an explanation. But when he studied their body language, they seemed to give the message, Later.
Dan nodded. "Fine by me." He turned and lifted Drago in his hand. "Bakugan, brawl!"
As Drago was way more powerful than the spider-like Bakugan, Azure and her Webam didn't stand a chance against them. The two brawlers fled after the brawl, both still in various states of shock.
Truthfully, the Pyrus brawler couldn't blame them. He was just as, if not more, confounded by the sheer power of the masked brawler and their Bakugan.
Together, the two were walking up the sidewalks. Since the drome pushed all the people out of the area, they have yet to see people walking through the sidewalks. And, Dan mused, that gave them adequate time to talk privately.
Dan halted, folding his arms across his chest. The stranger stopped too, still facing away from him. "Okay, so. . . what attribute are you? Really?"
"I had assumed you had a lot more than that to start off with, Dan Kuso. But I'd be happy to answer." The stranger turned to face the young man. "My attribute is Fulminus, which is lightning."
Dan frowned. He pretty much figured, but there was another, more pressing question to consider with this new attribute. "But. . . there are no lightning attributes in New Vestroia."
"No," the stranger agreed. "Not in New Vestroia, at least."
The way they worded it sent chills down Dan's back. "What do you mean?"
The stranger didn't answer. Instead, they turned their masked eyes onto him. Though he couldn't see it, the Pyrus brawler could feel it boring into his soul. "Be careful, Dan Kuso," they warned. "The people we fought against today are not who they seem."
Dan paused, taking this all in. He had initially thought that the two brawlers had just been that: trouble-making brawlers. But with these words, he had to wonder. . .
"What does that mean?"
The stranger glanced around, almost nervously. With a jolt, Dan realized that people were beginning to converge back into the park. The stranger hissed, "I'm sorry, I gotta go."
With that, they rushed towards a nearby forest. Dan suddenly realized that he didn't even know their name. With a jolt, he chased after them. "Wait! What's your name?"
The stranger paused at the edge of the woods and looked over at Dan. For a moment the sun glinted off their visors, giving an eerie glow to their eyes. "The name's Northern."
With that, they slipped into the woods, leaving Dan to stand there and ponder over the mysterious stranger.
Jett and Azure returned, both their faces pale with shock from the day's events.
The cloaked figure was in front of them in an instant, startling Jett, who leaped back with a yelp, and Azure, who screamed.
"What happened?" the stranger demanded.
A spark of anger ignited in Jett's eyes, and for a moment he almost seemed like his old self. "It was a new brawler," he hissed. "They had an attribute that we have never seen before. They crushed us, and it seems as though they know what we're up to."
The cloaked stranger pulled away. "I see." His cold tone was enough to send chills down anyone who was listening. "Then we need to step up." He turned away to face Artemas, who was watching them with an inscrutable expression. "Let Dusk know. We must commence with Phase Two."
A flicker of unease passed through Artemas' eyes. "Phase Two? Are you sure?"
"Yes!" The cloaked figure turned away. "This new brawler may ruin everything for us! We need to hasten, if we are to accomplish anything."
The Haos brawler studied the cloaked figure for a moment. Finally, he nodded. "It shall be done."
Once Artemas was out of the room, the cloaked figure turned to Jett and Azure. "You are dismissed," the cloaked figure hissed. "Leave me."
Without protest, the two brawlers departed, leaving the cloaked figure by himself. The cloaked figure turned towards a computer monitor and pulled out a keyboard. With a few swift clicks, he pulled up a map. Millions of dot blinked back at him - profiles of every brawler in the world. Though some pulsed red, others dark blue, and still others either black, white, orange, or teal, he noticed one that pulsed a different color. Cyan.
Curious, he clicked on the icon. Another window popped up, showing no picture and no stats. . . except for any past battles they have had. On the most recent one, he noticed that it was today's date.
He lifted his gaze to look at their name: Northern.
Under his cloak, his mouth lifted in a sinister grin. "Gotcha."
A/N So. . . sorry if the ending seemed rushed. . .
The ending is meant to set up the next chapter (which I will try to get out soon), and as it was a last-minute change, I kinda started rushing because I wanted to get this chapter out for all my lovely readers :D
I don't know if I sacrificed quality to get this out, though. Let me know in the reviews.
I'm sure you can figure out who Northern is supposed to be, just based on the name. If you're one of those people who don't like OCs being the main character, don't worry; she won't appear a whole lot, s'far as I can see.
If one of you guys wanna make, like, an art cover for this, PM me and we can talk about it. I will credit you, don't worry!
I also have a Twitter account, goshawk_north, so if you want to hear some updates bout writing n shtuff, feel free to follow me if you wish!
Have an awesome day!
