Bakugan Battle Planet is on Netflix, so I should be able to post more reliably now, at least until I finish Season 1. After that, I'm hoping that Netflix gets Season 2 quickly. Anyways, here's the next chapter, enjoy!
Misinformation is often worse than not knowing in the first place. Someone starting up a ban on Bakugan then forcing them to do damage convinced the entire population to turn against them. It was only through a stroke of luck, either good or bad, that something came along to help us prove our case. However, we can't count on something like that happening again. We must remain vigilant, or else it'll all crumble.
Reality Shift, fight for the Light
Order follows Entropy, Creation after Destruction
Chaos is following, we're the only ones
We've got the power to oppose, to save it all
We stand for what's right, through the plight
Stand against Entropy, and the enemies that be
I rushed around, trying to get ready to go. Leo watched me bustle around, finding humor in my predicament. "You know Atom, if you had just doubled checked your alarm,"
"I know, I know! But that's not helping!" I put on my work clothes and hat, then grabbed Leo and my cards. The door opened as I approached it. Dan and the others walked in.
"Hey Atom, we need to ask you about"
"No time right now guys! Sorry!" I called to them. I attempted to get around them to leave, but couldn't find an opening.
"Come on man!" Said Wynton. "What's the rush?"
"I'm running late!" I replied. "I gotta get going."
"Can't you talk to us first?" Asked Lia. "We wanted to ask you about"
"The things I did when the satellite fell? I'll tell you guys, but later! I gotta go!" I shoved my way past the three of them, running towards the burger shop. The three just looked at the dust cloud I left in my wake, then sighed as a group.
"Well, there goes that plan." Said Lia.
"Yeah! Can you imagine the views we'd get if he taught us how to do those things?!" Exclaimed Wynton.
"Yeah, but we can't ask him until he gets back." Said Dan. "So, what should we do?" Lia grinned.
"Well, I do have a new camera I was hoping to try out."
Gorthion and Cyndeous stared each other down, ready to battle. "Okay!" Called Lia, wearing a new headband. "New camera in place, and we are now, rolling!" Cyndeous sent a wave of fire at Gorthion, who crossed his arms to defend himself. He was pushed back a bit, before retaliating.
"Bodyguard!" He called, creating a shield in front of himself. He started walking back up to Cyndeous.
"Gorthion! Finish this with a really big, theatrical smash!" Called Lia.
"Okay!" Gorthion rammed into Cyndeous shoulder first, shoving him back quite a distance. Lia turned to Dan, Wynton, and Lightning.
"How was that? Could you see it?" All three looked like they were about to be sick.
"The image is too jerky." Said Dan. "It's making me dizzy."
"We can't put it online unless you want people to cry." Added Wynton. Lia walked up to them.
"Really?" She asked, grabbing the tablet. She grabbed the camera and looked at it. "I think once I get the hang of it, I'll be able to shoot some dramatic scenes." She looked at the video, and noticed something odd. "Hm? There's something there." She looked around a bit, then heard a horse whinny. She started walking towards it.
"Hey Lia?" Asked Dan. "What's going on with you?"
"Hm?" Asked Wynton. Lia gently pushed a branch out of her way.
"It's like something's calling to me." Lia continued walking towards the source of the sound, stopping in a cone of light. In the center was a brilliantly white flower. "Beautiful." A dome of liquid began to rise up around the flower, engulfing it. "Hm?" The dome suddenly popped, dousing her. "Goh!" She recoiled. She looked back at where the flower was, then realized she had something in her hand. "What's this?" She opened her hand to reveal another Bakugan. "A new Bakugan!" She rushed back to Dan and Wynton.
"What did you say Lia?" Asked Dan.
"Did we hear you right? It was kinda hard to hear." Agreed Wynton. "Something about a"
"A new Bakugan!" Yelled Lia.
"Yep, that's what we thought you said." Said Dan. Lia turned away from them.
"Bakugan, Brawl!" She called, sending out the Bakugan. It landed on a white core and quickly transformed, revealing itself to be a form of Pegasus, as well as sending a glowing light down upon the group.
"This feels great!" Said Dan, as the light landed on his face.
"I'm so chilled out." Agreed Wynton. Lightning groaned and whined a bit in agreement.
"This is amazing!" Said Lia, staring at the new Bakugan. "What's your name?!"
"I am Pegatrix." Replied the Bakugan. "I can calm the battle-weary heroes!" Lia looked at her hands, then back at Pegatrix.
"That's cool, but do you have any other awesome moves? Or anything like attacks for kicking enemy butt?" Someone was observing the group from afar, and was scanning everyone present. A little girl laughed in a massive room.
"Looks like I found my next match." She said to herself.
The group found themselves back at Studio D, wanting to take a break and upload some of the footage. However, it wasn't too long before someone came knocking. Dan opened the door. "Uh, hello?" He looked up at someone dressed in very formal clothing with a rather flat face.
"Is this where the Awesome Ones reside?" Asked the man.
"Uh, yeah. Why?" Asked Dan.
"I come with a message." Lia looked down from above.
"A Message?" She asked. Dan let the guy in and Lia came down.
"Indeed. I have come to deliver a message to Miss Lia from Miss China Riot." The man held out a tablet for the group to see.
"China Riot?" Asked Wynton. "Who's that?" Dan took a closer look at the message.
"Wait, first tell me who the guy in the penguin suit is!" Said Dan.
"Miss Riot would like to invite you to a special Bakugan Battle." Said the man. "You'll find the rules for the battle all outlined below. Please read them and sign on the dotted line if you would be so kind, and then she'll agree to battle with you." The man handed Lia a small contract.
"She must be good if she's challenging me, just saying." Lia grabbed the offered pen and signed the contract before she read a word of it. She handed it back to the man. He looked it over, then gave her a small bow.
"We shall see you tomorrow, then." The man left and returned to his vehicle, followed by the AO. They watched him pull away.
"Check out that car that never ends!" Said Dan. "That girl must be rich!" Wynton looked over the copy of the contract that was given to them.
"Hey! This contract says that the winner of the battle gets to take the loser's Bakugan!"
"What?" Asked Lia. She grabbed the contract from Wynton and read it over. "It's true alright! So if I lose the battle with her, she'll take Gorthion from me?" She glared down at it. "Well okay!" She closed her eyes and lowered the paper. "Just won't lose then, will we? That poor girl won't know what hit her when we power up!" Pegatrix floated in front of her.
"You'll lose if you don't give this battle more thought! Overwhelming the opponent with power isn't a beautiful strategy!"
"But I won't lose." Argued Lia. She looked away from Pegatrix. "Hmph." She looked back. "Beauty doesn't have anything to do with it. This is a Bakugan Battle." Lia walked away. Pegatrix watched her go as I walked up. I put a hand on both Dan and Wynton's shoulders.
"What did I overhear about a wager battle?" I asked. They both looked at me surprised, then Wynton slowly handed me the contract. I read it over. "1 on 1, standard, no holds barred battle. Battlefield chosen by China Riot, so on and so forth, the winner takes the loser's Bakugan." I looked up from the sheet. "Okay then. That's kinda a big deal. And who set up the challenge?"
"The man told us that China Riot challenged Lia." Said Wynton. I sighed, then shook my head.
"There's only one reason someone would challenge another for such a big wager. They fully believe and know that they will win. I'm afraid Lia's gotten in over her head this time."
"Wait, you mean that" started Dan.
"Yes, as she is now, she will not win against China Riot. Especially since it was a battleground chosen by her, and based on the size of that limo, was likely constructed using her money. Which means"
"Anything can happen." Finished Wynton.
"Exactly." Pegatrix looked at me. "Huh? A new Bakugan?" I asked.
"Do you have any way you could help Lia?" Asked Pegatrix.
"Well, there might be some training I can do with her." I stated. "But with how she looked as she walked off, I doubt it'll be effective." I sighed. "We just have to hope for the best. Maybe I'm wrong. I really, really hope I'm wrong." I shook my head. "Anyways, shall we head into Studio D? I know you guys want to ask me about something."
"Uh, yeah! That's right!" Said Dan. "We were so caught up in this challenge that we completely forgot! Come on, let's go!" He and Wynton ran towards the door while I slowly walked over.
"How much are you going to tell them?" Asked Leo.
"As much as they ask for." I walked in, only to be greeted by the three sitting down on chairs, looking at me. In front of them was a fourth chair, which I assumed was for me. "Is this questions or an interrogation?"
"Just sit down." Said Lia. I complied, sitting down in the chair. "Okay, so, first things first," she started.
"What was that hole you made to get away from the Anti-Bakugan crowd?" Interrupted Wynton.
"Ugh, Wynton!" Complained Lia. I softly chuckled.
"It's called a Dimensional Gate. By focusing my energy, I'm capable of creating them, albeit very unstable ones. Anybody without a heavy resistance to negative energy would be seriously hurt by one, if not outright killed, if they go through it."
"So, not for us. Got it." Said Dan.
"Yeah. No offense to you guys, and more so because I like you guys being around, but stay away from any Gates I make."
"Okay, so what was that thing you did when you and Leo glowed together before changing?" Asked Wynton. I put my hand to my chin.
"How best to explain Reversion? Uh." I gave it a few moments of thought. "Okay, I think this'll work. Reversion is basically me and Leo combining our energy to create a massive boost in power. As a result, we both gain slight traits of the other, much more pronounced on me instead of him, but still. Because of it, I can be technically qualified as a Bakugan for the battle, at the cost of being attackable and affected by things that would affect Bakugan. However, it uses a lot of energy to keep up, so I tend to limit my usage of it. I didn't really have a choice in the matter when it came to the satellite, but I can assure you that if I held it for much longer, I would've had to have been admitted to a hospital for extreme exhaustion."
"So, what was that thing where you made copies of yourself and Leo?" Asked Dan. "And, follow up question, could you teach us to do it?! Please!" I shook my head.
"To answer out of order, no, I cannot teach you guys to use Attributic Split. You must be in possession of an Alpha Realital Gene to have the opportunity to use it. As for its effects, you guys saw it. Me and Leo both split into all of our Attributic forms. But, it didn't quite work as well as it should've. There's six Attributes in the Attribute wheel. Pyrus, Ventus, Aquos, Darkus, Haos, and Subterra. As you guys remember from when we first met, Pyrus is fire, Aquos is water, and so on. When me and Leo used it, we only split into five of the six, and we were missing Subterra. I have not attempted anything to find out why since then, but my current theory is that it's been weakened for some reason. I brought my hand up. "The power manifests itself in this symbol on my hand. This Attribute Wheel shows each Attribute I can use, and each symbol is for each Attribute." I looked at my hand to point them out, but my words died on my lips. I must've looked quite confused, because Lia spoke up.
"Hey, Atom, you okay?"
"Yeah man, you're looking freaked out." Agreed Wynton.
"Uh, I, uh, I don't know anymore." I said. "These symbols, they're nothing like the ones I know! Not to mention that the Subterra color is missing, and in return there's now a golden color instead!" I flopped my arm down. "No wonder the Subterra Clones didn't appear. This has suddenly gotten quite weird." The room was silent for a moment, before I turned to Lia. "So, what possessed you to sign a contract despite the risks associated with it?"
"Uh, well," Lia looked away.
"You did read it before you signed it, right?" Lia giggled nervously. I sighed and face palmed. "Okay. Lia, you're coming with me. Now. To the clearing." I stood up, followed by the others.
"Atom, why do you want her to come with you?"
"She is getting training to prepare her for her battle. We have until when, exactly?"
"It's tomorrow, so we have the rest of the day." Said Lia.
"That's not enough time to teach you everything, but it should be enough to teach you what you'll need. Now, come on! Let's go!" I grabbed her arm, and gently tugged her to the door. She followed swiftly behind. Dan and Wynton could just watch as we left, leaving them alone.
"So, uh, want to watch some TV?" Asked Wynton.
"Absolutely."
I stared Lia down. "Are you ready? I'm going to be going hard on you, so be prepared."
"Yeah, of course I'm ready!" Claimed Lia. I shook my head.
"No, you're not." I countered. "Every heard the term Haste makes Waste?" I lifted a card. "Would you kindly open the Drome?"
"You got it!" Said Lia. "Drome, up!" The Drome came up quickly. "Bakugan, Brawl!" Called Lia, throwing Gorthion.
"Gate Card, Set!" I threw it down. "Bakugan, Brawl! Let's go Leo!" Leo and Gorthion transformed and rammed into each other as soon as they had. I lifted another card before Lia did anything else. "Ability Activate! Aero Split!" A second Leonidas formed, this time Ventus. "Get to it! We need to knock this cockiness out of her asap!"
"On it!" Lia grabbed a Bakucore.
"Not so fast! Gorthion!" She threw the core, only for it to be sent off its path by a stern gust of wind from Ventus Leo.
"Atom wasn't kidding when he said you weren't ready." Said Ventus Leo. "Remember, this battle you're going into is up against a rich kid. Anybody who is capable of constructing their own battleground needs to be analyzed carefully for every advantage and disadvantage. Marco's cheating was small potatoes compared to what's possible. What we're doing will only prepare you for a few possibilities." Lia growled.
"Oh come on! You expect me to believe you know all of this?!" She asked. She grabbed another core. "Now, let's try this again. Gorthion!" She threw the care directly at Gorthion again, only for Ventus Leo to blow it back. Leo got the advantage in the grapple, and shoved Gorthion back, knocking him over.
"Lia, I know you think yourself great," I started, "but your haste to get the advantage is clouding your judgement. Step back, take a deep breath, and reassess the situation. Start by listing what you know." Leo kept Gorthion pinned down.
"Give her a moment to analyze before you try and get back up, okay?" Asked Leo.
"Uh, sure. Okay." Agreed Gorthion. "This is all to help her, right?"
"Yeah." Said Leo. "She's too stubborn to accept the fact any other way." Lia took in the situation.
"Okay, so, it's two against one right now." She said. "And every time I try and throw a Bakucore at Gorthion, the other Leo just blows it away before it can reach him."
"Good, you've done the surface level analysis." I said. "Now, go deeper. What's giving me the advantage right now?"
"Well, you've got two Bakugan!" Claimed Lia. "That's your advantage!" I shook my head.
"No, that's still surface level. It's easily apparent that I have 2 Bakugan right now. How can you use the information to determine my strategy?"
"Uh, well, so far, you've only used Leo to keep Gorthion at bay, while you used the other one to keep me from helping."
"Now, what can you do to counter it?" I asked. Leo let go of Gorthion, letting him get back up.
"Um, stop throwing Bakucores straight at him?" I nodded.
"Now you're thinking. Vary how you do the action." I picked up a Bakucore. "Think of Bakucores as frisbees. You can throw them easily, and they'll glide through the air with ease. But the angle you throw them at, how hard you throw them, what direction you throw them, they all matter." I changed my grip on the Bakucore I held. "Watch and learn." I twisted my hand to the right, and threw it up as hard as I could. It arced into the sky, above Ventus Leo, then came straight back down, landing on Leo and absorbing into him. "Make it seem like you missed, and your opponent will let their guard down. Then when it strikes true, take the advantage and go!" Lia grabbed another core.
"Okay, think of it like a frisbee. I can change the angle it goes at." She twisted her hand, and aimed up. "Here we go!" She threw it, and it landed a foot in front of her without going anywhere. "Oh man!" I laughed a little.
"It takes some practice." I grabbed another core and tossed it to her. "Catch." She barely caught it. "Try it again. This time, try and send it right at me."
"Got it." Said Lia. She lined up her shot, and threw it towards me, nearly parallel to the ground. I caught it with ease.
"Good." I said. "Now, I want you to throw it closer to the ground. Like this." I bent down low, and shot the core very quickly at her, nearly twice as fast as before. Lia couldn't react in time as it went between her legs and landed behind her. "A throw like that would allow you to get past most, if not all, Bakugan that are blocking your path to your Bakugan. Now, try and get it past Leo and to Gorthion." Leo stood in front of Gorthion, attempting to block Lia's shot.
"Oh man, I am bored." Said Wynton. "There's nothing good on right now."
"Yeah, tell me about it." Said Dan. He leaned back. "I wonder how Atom and Lia are doing. Can you imagine what he's teaching her?"
"Nah, I can't imagine. But I want to know anyways." He looked out a window. "It's starting to get late. I've gotta go soon."
"They sure are out late." Agreed Dan. The door opened. Lia walked in, followed by me. "Hey guys!" Lia sat down hard.
"I'm exhausted." She said. Wynton and Dan turned to me.
"What did you guys do all afternoon?" Asked Wynton.
"Yeah!" Agreed Trox. "We've only seen her this tired once, and that was when we stayed up really late brawling!"
"Eh, it was nothing much." I stated. "I've only seen what one person's cheating looks like, so I trained her in every way I could think of to bypass those cheats."
"He had me running around everywhere to get Bakucores." Added Lia. "Not to mention all the tricks he showed me with how to throw them, which took a lot of Cores."
"Is she ready for tomorrow then?" Asked Dan. "I can't wait to see her training in action!"
"No, she's not." I said bluntly. "As much as I tried to, I couldn't decrease her cockiness."
"Oh come on! You've been saying that I'm not ready the entire time!" Complained Lia. "I've got this, don't worry about it."
"My point."
"Well, if she's so sure about it, then there's nothing you can do about it." Said Wynton. "I mean, she has the hardest head out of all of us. Once she gets a thought in it, it doesn't leave until she's done it." I sighed.
"Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you." I looked Lia straight in the eye. "Go home, get some good rest, and make sure you're well prepared for tomorrow. Being tired is no excuse for losing a brawl."
"Fine, I will." Lia stood up slowly. "But don't say I didn't tell you. I've got this, no problem!"
The four of us entered the limo, ready to go and see Lia's battle with China Riot. There was little small talk during the ride, as we all knew the stakes. But, before we knew it, we had arrived. The limo stopped, and we were let out. As we turned to the chosen arena, each of us had a different reaction. Lia's face was one of shock, Dan one of intrigue, Wynton's surprise, and mine stoic. Dan spoke first. "This is where the battle will be?!" Looking across the arena, we could barely see the man who had shown up before, and a little girl. We slowly walked up.
"I'm super pleased to meet you, Lia!" Said the girl. "Welcome to my Bakugan stage!"
"Nice to meet you too, I think." Said Lia.
"China Riot, I presume?" I asked.
"Yep, that's me!" China took a sip of her tea.
"Um, isn't it time to battle?" Asked Lia. China put her cup down.
"I'll just have one more cup of tea." The man poured her drink. Me, Dan, and Wynton all noticed Lia's reaction as she slowly walked closer.
"Is this girl for real!?" Complained Lia, obviously upset. Dan and Wynton grabbed an arm each to stop her.
"Stay calm, Lia!" Said Dan.
"Don't let her get to you!" Agreed Wynton.
"Huh, the annoyance tactic." I said. The other three looked at me. "Intentionally making the opponent upset before the brawl to cloud their judgement. It's not expressly cheating, per say, but it's more than bad sportsmanship." China finished her tea.
"Okay, ready! Here we go!" China winked. "This is fun! Drome up!" A spark of light appeared in the middle of the arena, and quickly expanded into a dome. China held up her Bakugan, and Lia did the same with Gorthion.
"Bakugan, Brawl!" They both called. China's Bakugan hit a green Bakucore first and transformed into something resembling a minotaur. Gorthion rose quickly after, banging his fists together as an intimidation tactic.
"Maxotaur! Smash it to the max!" Called China. Maxotaur charged quickly.
"Get it done, Gorthion!" Called Lia. Maxotaur attempted to slice at Gorthion, but he deftly dodged and counterattacked, hitting him back.
"No!" Cried China. "Please don't be a meanie to my Maxotaur!" Lia's rhythm was thrown completely off by that comment.
"Meanie to her Maxotaur?" She asked. "Um, this is a battle." Maxotaur charged again, already down by 200. He slammed into Gorthion, causing him to lose 300. "Gorthion!" Lia ran up to him.
"Oh dearie me!" Said China. "When you're fighting, you can't let your guard down!" Lia looked at China shocked, then angrily.
"This is totally infuriating!" She claimed. China smiled.
"I think it's time for me to get serious!"
"I need a Bakucore!" Said Lia. She turned around. "There!" She started running to it, and China pressed her stuffed toy's eye. The section that the core was on began to rise, putting it out of Lia's reach. "Huh? What's going on?!" China laughed.
"Maxotaur! Time for max power! Strength of Maxotaur!" China threw a Bakucore, powering up Maxotaur. His body bulked up in response to the command. Gorthion slowly got up, and China pressed her stuffed toy's eye again, causing Gorthion to be knocked off balance.
"Look out Gorthion!" Maxotaur charged in and struck Gortion with a battleaxe, weakening him further. Before Gorthion would recover, Maxotaur charged in again, defeating him. "Gorthion! No!" Gorthion returned to ball form and rolled to China's feet. She bent down and picked him up.
"You're all mine, Gorthion!" Lia growled. "It can't be helped. We agreed the winner gets the loser's Bakugan. No take backs! You signed a contract, didn't you?" A bead of sweat rolled down Lia's face as she closed her eyes.
"It's our turn then." Said Dan. Lia opened her eyes quickly to see me, Dan, and Wynton in front of her. "And if we win, you'll have to give Gorthion back!"
"Yeah, we want to challenge you right now." Agreed Wynton.
"Cheating in any capacity is not going to be tolerated." I said. "Regardless of what the contract says, your poor sportsmanship would disqualify you from the battle, rendering the contract null and void!"
"Wait!" Said Lia. "She can make the ground move something fierce! You can't win on a battlefield that's rigged like that!"
"But Gorthion is a member of the Awesome Ones!" Said Dan. "We have to get him back!" Lia gasped. "We can't leave him behind!" China chuckled.
"I'm going to get three more Bakugan for me? Yay! This is the best day ever!" The three of us raised our Bakugan.
"Let's go!" Said Dan. I brought out a card.
"Gate Card, Set!" I called.
"Bakugan, Brawl!" Called all three of us.
"Bakugan, Stand! Let's do this Haos Leonidas!" Drago, Trox, and Leo rose up, ready to battle.
"Maxotaur, get them!" Yelled China. "Get them!" Maxotaur roared and charged at us.
"Let's do this Drago!" Called Dan. China pressed another button, and one of the tiles under Drago shifted down, throwing him off balance. "Drago! The ground!" Maxotaur rammed into Drago as he rightened himself. "Drago! Fight!" Wynton readied himself.
"Trox! Rock Riser!" Trox flipped and landed hard on the ground, creating his signature rock spikes. However, as they approached Maxotaur, the space he was on began to rise, blocking the attack. Trox looked up as Maxotaur began attacking him, dealing massive damage. "Oh no! Trox!" Leo went in from behind.
"You forgot your blind spot!" He called, going in for the attack.
"Ability Activate!" I called. "Pyro Split!" A Pyrus Leonidas appeared above Leo, flying over the battlefield. The ground under Leo shifted, toppling him, but Pyrus Leo flew true, striking Maxotaur.
"Hey! No fair!" Called China. Maxotaur grappled against both Leos as they approached, their combined might demanding his full attention. Lia walked up to where Drago and Trox landed.
"Aren't you embarrassed, using all those dirty tricks?" Accused Lia.
"It's called strategy." Rebutted China. "It's a big word. Wow, you're about as weak in the head as you are in battle! No offence." Lia's fist tightened.
"I won't let you get away with this!" Lia glared right at China, then ran forward.
"This is utterly disgraceful!" Said Pegatrix. Lia stopped running and turned to her.
"Huh?" Pegatrix floated over to her.
"Lia, you're letting those little girl's taunts take complete control of you!"
"You guys need to hurry!" Called Leo as he and Pyrus Leo were thrown away. I raised another Ability, only for the ground under me to knock me to the side.
"But you and I can create a new type of power together." Continued Pegatrix.
"What do you mean a new type of power?" Asked Lia.
"You'll see that if we tap into that, I know we'll be able to win beautifully."
"Uh, you mean, it'll be really dramatic?"
"Yes, like nothing you've ever seen!" Maxotaur threw its axe at Drago, who was standing atop a large pillar. It boomeranged around and hit Pyrus Leo, defeating him and making him vanish.
"Not good!" Said Drago. "Dan, I need a power core!" Dan started running as much as he could, trying to find one.
"Where are they?" He asked. I stood back up.
"With how uneven the battlefield is, we won't be able to see them from down here!" I called. Dan turned a corner as China watched.
"Na na nana na!" She gloated. "Don't worry, we're almost done!" China prepared to press another button when a shadow went over here. She looked up quickly. "What's that?!"
"Dan, there's a power core on the other side of that wall!" Called Lia.
"Huh?"
"Keep running! Then go left! Hurry!"
"On it!" Said Dan.
"Wynton, behind you! Climb that wall!" Called Lia.
"You got it!"
"Lia, whatever you're doing, keep doing it!" I called. "Leo! Get a lock on Maxotaur! Ability Activate! Alpha Blaster!" Dan and Wynton grabbed a core each.
"Come on! Catch!" They called, throwing them. They struck true, giving Drago and Trox more power.
"Oh yeah!" Said Lia, looking up from her phone at Pegatrix. China looked up as well, and gasped.
"There's a camera on her leg!" She yelled. "No way! That's no fairsies! That Bakugan is cheating!"
"China Riot, do you REALLY want to complain about someone cheating?!" I yelled, threateningly.
"Maxotaur!" Called China, ignoring me. "The enemy's above!" Maxotaur reared back, then threw its axe directly at Pegatrix.
"Watch out! Pegatrix, careful!" Leo fired his Alpha Blaster at the axe, knocking it off course enough for Pegatrix to avoid the brunt of the attack. It still hit her wing however, damaging her. China laughed.
"We need to do something fast!" Said Leo.
"Maxotaur! Finish her!" Yelled China. "Might of Darkness!" Maxotaur glowed, and several portals appeared around him, each one bringing a weapon. All of them shot at Pegatrix, only to be stopped by three attacks. "What?!" Asked China.
"Okay!" Said Trox and Drago.
"Just in time." Said Leo. One sword came out of the explosion and continued on its path. Pegatrix reared back a bit.
"Energy Draw!" Called Lia. Pegatrix glowed, and a shield of pale blue light erupted around her, striking the sword and shattering it. Its remains went into her horn, reenergizing her. "Wing Cutter!" Pegatrix reared back again.
"Sure!" She charged down towards Maxotaur, striking him hard enough to knock him down to nearly zero. He stumbled backwards.
"What?" Asked China. "No way!" A shadowy figure emerged from her shadow. China turned to it. "Don't you be coming into this! You told me that if I took her Bakugan, they'd be weak! How do you explain this then?!"
"The Brawler of Light." Said the Negative Shifter. A blob of darkness appeared in its hand. "Your part in this is done, China Riot. You have lived up to expectations, no more, no less. The rest of this battle is mine." The blob of darkness turned into a very dark green Bakucore. "This is only the beginning!" The Negative Shifter threw the Bakucore at Maxotaur, only for it to be blown off course by Leo. It landed next to the wall. Leo approached China and the Negative Shifter, and I jumped off, landing in front of them.
"This brawl is over." I stated, drawing my sword. "Energy Twist! Light!" My blade was encased in a blinding light, and I swung it at the Negative Shifter, dispersing it into darkness upon contact. I sheathed it, then glared at China. "Pull a stunt like this again, and I will find you parents. How would they like to know that their perfect little girl is a spoiled brat who doesn't care for others? How could they trust you to be a good heir to whatever it is that they own?" The Bakugan surrounded Maxotaur, and prepared to attack. "Become a better person, or be destroyed by your family." The Bakugan attacked, defeating Maxotaur. He returned to ball form as Pegatrix flew up.
"Revitalize!" Shining bits of light began flowing from her, landing on everybody.
"Look at that." Said Lia. "It's beautiful!" Gorthion lept from China and returned to Lia, who caught him, as Maxotaur rolled to China's feet. "Good to have you back, Gorthion." Lia looked up at China. "We won. You know what that means!"
"Well I'm not giving you Maxotaur!" Yelled China, turning away. Dan, Wynton, and Lia all showed varying degrees of annoyance.
"What?!" Asked Dan.
"But what about the Contract they signed?" Asked Wynton.
"What contract is that?" Asked China. She was picked up by the man. "You mean this one?" She asked as she threw ripped up pieces of paper everywhere. A helicopter came down and dropped its ladder. "Na na!" She gloated. "You big chuckleheads! I can't wait for our next battle!"
"Tell me what just happened." Said Dan.
"Not too sure myself." Said Wynton. I glanced up.
"You know, we still have the copy of the contract!" I yelled. "You may have destroyed the original, but the copy still holds power!" The helicopter flew away.
"Ugh, whatever." Said Lia. She turned to Pegatrix. "Anyway, thank you Pegatrix, my new friend! I know we won that battle all because of you!"
"And it was dramatic, wasn't it?" Asked Pegatrix. Lia laughed in agreement.
"Ok, whoa, smiling looks a bit freaky on her." Whispered Dan to Wynton. "Kinda weird."
"Yeah, do you think she's becoming more laid back like Pegatrix is?" Wynton asked, not watching his volume. Lia turned to them.
"Hey you two! Listen to me!" Dan and Wynton turned to her, sweating profusely. "I told you not to join the battle, and you did, didn't you?"
"Yeah." Said Dan. "But,"
"We wanted to help Gorthion." Said Wynton. "And, uh," Wynton nervously laughed.
"I didn't ask for your help!" Stated Lia.
"Nope, no way, not laid back at all." Said Dan.
"Huh?! What did you say Dan?!" Lia marched towards Dan and Wynton. "What's that supposed to mean?!" Dan and Wynton ran from her, and I grabbed her arm. "What!?"
"Take a deep breath and calm down." I said. "Yes, we helped despite what you asked of us. However, we helped after you had lost, essentially engaging in a second battle." I thought back a bit. "I've lost too many friends during my time in Bakugan, before I met you guys. I was not going to let another friend be taken away. Dan and Wynton, this was their first time. It was a knee jerk reaction. This time, let it go, okay? If I was in their shoes, I wouldn't have let you go in alone to begin with. They at least gave you a chance." Lia huffed.
"Fine. But I still get to be mad at them!"
"Deal." The two of us walked after Dan and Wynton, who were still running.
"We've gotta move, dude! Otherwise she'll catch us!" Yelled Wynton.
"I know, I know! Just keep running!" I rolled my eyes.
The first taste of defeat is always hard to swallow, but these three at least got through it. And hey, this time the problem was solved without me using one of my special abilities, so I don't have to explain anything further! But I can't shake the feeling that we've just gotten started with all of this. Something's coming, I know it. It's just a matter of when.
