Bakugan Battle Brawlers belong to Sega Toys and Spin Masters.
...Well, this is awkward.
When Erik offered to run tail from that incoming headache of a brat, he'd hoped that his new companion wouldn't be so... closed off. Not that he minded the silence, mind you, it was much better than those loud brats back at the fountain square, but at least a "thank you" would've been nice.
...But then again, she didn't say a single word back at school, or at least he didn't see (or hear) her speaking with anyone.
Nevertheless, they have been walking side by side by the cobblestone pathways on the park for a while now, with the girl frequently looking around the park and kicking away the occasional leaf or pebble that came in the way. He, in turn, kept staring straight ahead, occasionally fixing his grip on Laika's leash as to not let her run away. Said Laika who, to Erik's amusement and suffering, ended up becoming attached to their new walking companion, occasionally brushing up to the girl's leg, demanding pets. The girl, in turn, just smiled and scratched Laika below the chin or behind the ears before looking around again.
At least she liked dogs. Points for her, he guessed.
They passed some time like this, before Erik decided to break the ice before it froze them both. He cleared out his throat, diverging his gaze when she turned her head to look at him, before he stared straight ahead, looking at her from the corner of his eye, and asked:
"So, why was that kid so angry at you?"
Erik watched as the girl sighed, absentmindedly kicking a pebble at the cobblestone path. She said nothing, first lifting her hands, as if to gesture something, then stopped herself and, to Erik's increasing curiosity, picked a small notebook from her pocket and, picking the pen latched at the book's spiral, wrote something down. She then stopped, nodded to herself and held the notebook out for him to read:
"I knocked his brother into the fountain by accident. Instead of taking the apology, he wanted to "battle" me.", it read.
...Okay then.
Erik snorted, earning him a very harsh glare from the girl. Looks like that was the wrong response.
"And by "battle", I'm guessing you're talking about a Bakugan battle?", he coughed, "I mean... he'd have to be a jerk to hit a girl..."
She frowned, but nodded nonetheless. She scribbled some more onto the page and held it out again:
"I had never heard of the game before. Freaked out and wanted to dip. My brother roped me in."
He winced in sympathy, breathing in through the teeth:
"That sucks. If it were me, I'd have punched him straight in the nose.", he paused, awkward, "Uh, no offense."
She huffed and waved away casually, as if to say "none taken", leaning a little to pet Laika behind one of her ears:
"It's too bad though, that your first impression to Bakugan was a screwy one." He said, furrowing his brow, "It's always jerks like them who take it too seriously and ruin it for other people..."
He hears some scribbling, and by now he got an idea of what is going on, and isn't surprised when the notebook is offered to him.
"You play?"
He huffs a small laugh
"Yeah. Played a lot, decided to quit, came back a few days ago." he answers "Though I understand it ain't for everyone. A lot of stuff to take in at once, y'know?"
She nods, then looks towards nothing as she seems to think something, then scribbles at the notebook quickly, only pausing to scratch at a phrase before continuing to write. When she offers the notebook again, Erik has to take her hand in order to properly see what is written:
"The game itself isn't bad." He reads, "Although…the - toys - giant monsters - rules take some time to get used to."
He can't help it and snorts a little, stifling a laugh as he lets go of the girl's hand, waving a hand dismissively:
"Well, it really takes some time for the weirdness to fade out. I could give ya a few tips, if you want."
She tilts her head to the side, curious. He, in turn, just raises one eyebrow, waiting. The girl then makes a dismissing motion, and kneels to pet Laika once again:
"Well, won't force you." He shrugs "Offer's still open whenever."
She looks up and nods, rising to her feet and dusting off the gravel from her pants:
"One more thing though."
She stares.
"Don't freak out about the giant monsters. You get used to them."
The girl huffs and swats lightly at his shoulder. It stings a little, but she has a half-smile on her face, and somehow that brings an amused smirk on Erik's. Both jumped in surprise when Laika jumped and bit the air, where a butterfly had just passed, and Erik ends up doubling over in laughter. He can't hear if the girl is laughing as well, but for some reason he doesn't mind.
When he finally stops laughing and gets up, he finds the girl staring at him again, a curious expression on her face, as if looking straight through him. A shiver went down his spine, and he gulped drily in response, quickly averting his gaze. It seemed that she had gotten the message, because he could feel her stopping the impromptu staring session.
What a weird girl.
They were both thrown out of their thoughts by the shrill sound of a phone, making them both jump out of their skin. Erik watches as the girl digs through her pockets, takes out her phone and, after frowning at the screen for a few seconds, begins typing furiously at it. After some seconds, she huffs and shoves her phone back into her pocket, tucking it away and scribbling something on her notebook again:
"My brother. Only got to the square now."
He held back a laugh:
"And how was the daycare?" he asked.
She smirked and wrote:
"The redheaded one, Akira, he lost. Was throwing a tantrum when my brother got there."
Erik let out a loud cackle after that, startling Laika in the process. In the corner of his eye, he could see the girl smiling as well.
"Well, hope he didn't have anything scheduled. Poor dude's gonna be stuck for a while."
The girl just shrugged. She once again wrote something down:
"Gonna stay here and wait for him. He'll throw a fit if I go without him."
And just below that:
"Thanks for the quick bail and for keeping me company."
...Well, he got the thanks he wanted.
Erik scratched his cheek with his free hand, offering her an easy smile:
"Hey, no problem. Name's Erik, by the way. Don't know if ya knew that, but..."
The girl smirked and wrote:
"I'm Zoe. Pleasure to meet you."
"Zoe, huh... nice name." he answered.
Zoe just smiled, tucking her notebook into her pocket and turning to the opposite direction on the road they were in. When she was about midway from the road, she turned back and waved at them. Erik waved back before she turned and left, using the downtime to kneel and scratch Laika behind the ears, earning a happy whine from her.
"You did the exact opposite of what we came here to do."
"Jesus Christ!". He jumped. "A warning, Vladitor. A warning!"
"You were the one who forgot I was here.". Vladitor floated away from his place in Erik's pouch. "Be glad I didn't interrupt your little moment."
Erik just stuck his tongue at him, getting up and dusting off pebbles and grass from his pants:
"So what if I didn't train today? The tournament starts next week's weekend, I have this weekend and an entire week to get rid of the rust."
"That is called procrastinating and has led to many crushing defeats. All of them shameful and embarrassing."
"And what would you know about that?!"
But Vladitor didn't answer him. Apparently having said his piece, he floated back into Erik's pouch and remained there, silent:
"Fine, fine, stupid old man, I'll sneak in some training today!" Erik grumbled, ''Let me at least get Laika back home and make dinner. If I have to suffer without a training montage at least let me do it with a full belly."
In the end, Zoe ended up waiting almost half an hour for her brother, sitting on one of the benches near a particularly big tree, close to the playground. She watched from afar as children kept running around, playing, laughing and shrieking in a way only children can, while their parents tried to usher them into going home, seeing as the sun had left its peak and was starting to set.
With a small smile, she doodled the scene in front of her, only giving a sigh of disappointment when she found that even the distant figures of the families, etched into the page, were starting to give her that familiar headache, the glare of red edging into the corners of her vision before she rubbed her eyes in frustration:
"What are you doing?" a gravelly voice echoed out of nowhere.
It was at those moments that Zoe felt incredibly grateful and incredibly frustrated for her lack of vocal cords, lest she would've shouted at the top of her lungs and made a damn fool of herself.
She did, however, have the ability to jump in surprise (knocking her sketchbook out of her grasp again, poor thing) and search for the source of the voice, finding Leonidas's head poking out from an opening in her pouch:
"Why are you speaking so fast? What is a 'motherfucker'? How could I be that when I don't even know what it is?"
...Oh yeah, mind reader.
[Ignore that. You scared me.] She thought. [Warn a girl next time, Jesus.]
At Leonidas's tilted head (or rather, a full body tilt to the side), Zoe sighed and picked him up, placing him on top of the bench, while she picked up her sketchbook (which was already running out of pages. She had to buy another one.), dusting off any debris that laid on top of the open pages.
[Well, BEFORE you scared me into ruining my artwork, I was drawing.] She thought, making sure he caught her annoyed tone. [It was turning out good too...]
"I didn't make you do a thing." Leonidas said, not reacting when Zoe stuck out her tongue. "And you did not answer my question."
[I did. I was drawing.]
Silence.
[You don't know what drawing is.]
"It appears so."
[Don't start with the sass. You don't know what sleep is, you don't know what drawing is, what else do you not know?]
"Why I decided that a haughty spark like you would serve as my beacon."
[Well excuse me, mr. Alien Dragon! I did not ask to be an extraterrestrial headlight!]
"Again with those words! Speak clearly for once!"
[I am speaking clearly! Did you forget I can chuck you into the nearest trash can and never think of this madness again?]
"I'm well aware of that!"
"Hey Zoe! Leo! Why is Leonidas shouting?"
Both heads turned in sync to see a smiling Alex making his way towards them. Said older brother paused upon seeing his sister's glare and feeling the unwelcoming aura around them, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck and letting out a strained laugh as an attempt to ease tension:
"Wow... woke up on the wrong side of bed today? Anyway, sorry for being late. First coach held us till past lunchtime back at the gym, then I... uh... ran into some trouble in the way here... but whatever! Teach is here and class is now in session!", he laughed, descending to an awkward chuckle at the sight of his sister's annoyed expression.
"What do you mean by that?" Leonidas asked "Are we not going to fight in that 'tournament'?"
"Well, yeah. But ya need to know how things work here." Alex answered, "There are rules we gotta follow, you can't go around beating up everyone that comes up."
"What do you mean?"
"It's bad sportsmanship, it's disrespectful."
"Why should I care about that? If they are my opponents, then I am going to crush them no matter what."
[That's classical villain talk you're spewing right there. Are you sure you're not here for world domination?]
"Little Beacon, you are becoming increasingly annoying with your nonsense words."
"OKAY! Let's get started.", Alex interrupted with a laugh, pulling out a card, "Or else we're gonna be here all day."
Zoe sneaked one last annoyed glare at the Bakugan, shoving him in her pocket before pulling out a similar card as her brother's, bracing herself when both cards started to shine and the world slowed down around them.
Leonidas was tired.
No, forget that, he was annoyed and tired.
After that...weird...event, he felt like he barely had the energy to do anything. He couldn't feel quite right, as if his soul was trying to readjust from being flung out of his body. In his mind's eyes, the images (images, he had managed to actually see them, the moon, shining bright on a night sky, the few stars twinkling in a sky overcome by smoke, the smell of burnt metal and blood and the pain in his neck and hecouldn'tbreathehecouldn'tbreathehecouldn'tbreathe-) still flashed incessantly behind unseeing eyelids.
He had yet to understand what that was, how did his mind comprehend, remember, name things he had never seen in his life. Was that knowledge from the souls that made him? Was it a kindness or an afterthought? He was vengeance, he was hatred, he was a cacophony of lost souls who wished to share their torment with something. There was no reason for him to know what a sky was like, what a moon was, know that the sky he saw had too little stars.
But nevertheless, the treatment he had after waking had been less than pleasant. Though Zoe handled him with...somewhat care, the bite in her words was starting to slowly wear at him. Her spark could not lie to him – she wanted to be rid of him. She hated what he represented (whatever that was, he did not tell her his origins, and the link they had was not that intrusive), and she wished she was never involved in the first place.
The resentment curled, a silent poison, and she made sure to fling it at him, since it was (apparently) the first time she could bite back as promptly and effectively.
Too bad she was taking this out on someone who, frankly, could not care less.
They were kindred souls, her a beacon to guide and him a weapon to hurt. Anything outside of that was not of Leonidas's concern.
Other was not as helpful either. Leonidas wished he could stop dragging both of them around. Now treating...whatever they were doing...like a particularly slow game.
He was nervous when the atmosphere's energy started to shift, as a foreign light overtook both sparks, even though he still heard the Little Beacon's voice ringing in his head, meaning she was not yet lost. When he was transported as well, he felt the thrill of the souls linked to his, which contributed to the lurch in his body when they got to their destination.
They were in Vestroia, somehow. It was a pocket dimension again; Leonidas could feel it, but the energy was so similar Leonidas was thrown off guard for a second. He felt the Beacon's spark flitting next to him, but Other's spark was nowhere to feel. He was still present, although too far away.
[Leonidas? You ok there?]
Ah, so she had the decency to check up on him.
"I am here." was his only answer.
[Not sick or anything?]
"...No."
[Oh, thank God.] she thinks. [Would have hated it if you threw up on my clothes.]
...What?
Suddenly, before Leonidas could comprehend Little Beacon's statement, Other's voice rung out, clear as can be despite his spark being so out of reach:
"So!" He started, "Here's how we're gonna do this: I'll reteach you the basics, so that Leonidas may get the gist of it as well, I'm gonna tell you about ability and gate cards, and then we'll have some practice brawls to get what you battle style is, capiche?"
"Understood." Leonidas answered. He still didn't understand why he had to follow rules or 'play fair', but he wasn't going to speak against it either.
"Great!" Other's voice rung, "Let's get started, then. Place a Gate Card on the field, sis!"
[Oh boy...] he heard the Beacon's voice ringing [Strap in, it's going to be boring.]
Leonidas isn't sure what she means by that, but he doesn't comment on it.
Alright, for (what he believes is) the first time, he had to fully agree with the Little Beacon.
The first aspect of those "rules" Other was so insistent were simple enough. Overpower the opponent. He could do that. He was made to do that. If it was just that, Leonidas would even be tempted to poke fun at this "game" of theirs.
But then it came the so called "cards".
Leonidas hated those cards.
It was all more complicated than it was worth. Other said stuff about "G-Power" and "Boosts" and "Swaps" and, honestly, things that passed through one ear and went out the other. Without a proper description, he felt, quite literally, in the dark.
Little Beacon was definitely not helping either. Her mind switched between focus to boredom to distraction to boredom once again, her mind reeling and thinking and talking and not. shutting. up.
"Little Beacon." he hisses.
[U-huh? What?] her mind stops the current rambling.
"Be quiet. I am trying to listen."
[Why do you need to listen? I'm the one who needs to remember all of this!]
"You are not even paying attention."
[What is that supposed to mean?!]
"Exactly what I said."
[Why you little-]
"And that's the gist of it!" Other's voice rings out. "Pretty easy, right?"
There's a moment of silence. Annoyance flickers within Little Beacon's spark, and, for the first time, Leonidas hears a sound coming from Little Beacon.
She coughs once.
And that's it.
"Ah - hahahaha, don't worry, sis, no worries!" Other laughs. "I feel like you and Leonidas will learn better during brawls."
"Did it take him this long to figure this out?" Leonidas mutters.
[Shush], Little Beacon scolds.
"Well, now the fun really begins!" Other almost shouts, "Hope you are ready! I'm gonna be your opponent for today!"
Leonidas breathes as Little Beacon's spark flickers. He feels the touch of something, hesitant, then he's roughly enveloped in something and then flung forward. He feels the wind around him as he bounces once, twice, and then lands on the land of Vestroia.
And then he feels the power return to him.
And he truly feels like himself again.
Zoe hesitates to pick Leonidas up when her brother calls for a match, but under his expectant gaze and the aura of menace and annoyance around Leonidas, she doesn't feel like arguing much.
She picks him up from her pocket, breathes, and then throws him towards the Gate Card.
She watches as he bounces once, twice, and opens within the card. His small, yellow eyes glow in a dull light, and a lilac surge of lightning strikes down on the field.
It's a powerful thing, enough to make Zoe step back and cover her eyes from the sudden flash. There's a loud boom, and the tingling of static lingers as the sky around them darkens, as if covered by storm clouds, and when she turns her head to look at the field again, her heart stops for a second.
Emerging from the explosion, with purple lightning dancing around his body like plasma onto solid surface, is Leonidas.
The sight is unnervingly familiar.
First, black, leathery wings unfurl from his back, highlighted by the electricity, connected to a powerful, muscled back, then the hint of sharp, violet horns adorning a shark-like head, as he stands with sturdy legs and arms with violet claws sharp like knives, a swaying tail covered in small, purple spikes almost resembling a spine, the slick and lustrous black scales reflecting the light of the storm above him like a mirror.
Like an undead corpse, he unburies himself from that tiny form of his. And when he roars, Zoe swears that the voices that have been perturbing her ever since she met this damn dragon screech in tandem like some sort of twisted chorus.
And for some strange reason, Zoe does not feel scared at all.
She hears Alex say something, but doesn't register a thing. Mesmerized by the sight before her, entranced by the foreign feeling of power (she feels big, she can almost feel the spark tingle beneath her skin, and it is so, so addicting), she barely recognizes a light grey thing shoot towards the ground, and when a pillar of light shoots skywards, and a knight in pure white armor emerges from the pillar, a golden lance in hand and no light in its red eyes, it takes some time to pry Zoe's eyes away from Leonidas, and look towards the creature, a splash of white against a pitch black background.
And when Leonidas moves his head towards the knight, Zoe can feel a foreign anger build up. A tiny voice in her head.
Destroy...
Destroy...
KillkillkillkillkillkillkiLLKILLKILLKILLKILLAVENGE US-
Everything goes black.
And suddenly she's big, lightning tingles under her skin, wings unfurl from her back, her tail sways almost lazily, and when she looks at the knight in front of her, slightly taller, lance at the ready, she almost has no need to think at all.
She shoots forward, claw outstretched, revels in the way they scrape against metal with a screech. Delights in the way that thing topples like nothing under her, how it almost cannot fight back, scars and dents slowly building up. The voices are content, for once, they revel as well, as desire is finally fulfilled. One will join them, in the ranks of the dead.
She scratches, and claw and claws and claws at armor. It's a rhythm, a dissonant melody of metal and screams only she can hear. There's comfort in that, for no one can stop her.
"He - hey! Stop!" she hears a voice ring out. "Leonidas, stop! Siege! Come on, get up!" she hears her brother call out.
Leonidas...
Her...brother?
Leonidas...
Wait, she had a brother... she was... human...
This is wrong... Leonidas...
But then, who was this?
Leo – o – ni- das... Stop, you're hurting them...
They were not human, they were Leonidas...
Leonidas... You'll kill them... Leonidas...
Yes, he was Leonidas, he was a Bakugan, he was with a human...
[STOP! LEONIDAS!]
Zoe...?
Leonidas stops his onslaught, almost cradling the body of the knight Bakugan, and moves his head towards her, his dull, yellow eyes shining like a mirror. Zoe, in turn, looks back, heaving, covered in cold sweat, as if just woken up from a nightmare.
What the hell was that?
"Ability Activate! Counter Swap!"
There's a second of silence, and then Leonidas screams as both him and the knight glow in a violet and white light respectively, and then there's a crack as the knight slams the base of the lance under Leonidas's chin, making him stumble back and giving space for the knight to get up.
It's a sorry sight. There are dents and scratches everywhere on the armor, and the many wounds that now adorn grey skin are glowing in a faint yellow light, almost like a fissure revealing sunlight. The helmet is cracked as well, showing no face under it, only pitch darkness and the glow of red eyes. The knight (Siege, she heard Alex say, Siege) heaves and stumbles, barely able to stand, leaning onto their lance which looked like it would snap in two. Nevertheless, they stand, pointing the golden, sharp tip of the lance at the snarling figure of Leonidas.
[What the hell was that!?] She screams in her head, knowing that Leonidas would hear her. [Leonidas, answer me! What is going on!?]
Leonidas doesn't answer. He roars, angry, and there's a moment of weakness in Zoe's part, as the scene around her spins and tilts. She stumbles like a drunk, but manages to catch herself. He makes to stand, seeming to lunge against Siege once again, but this time Alex seems ready:
"Ability Activate! Lightning Shield!"
Siege steadies themselves, then spins the lance in front of them, the golden light from the blade forming a circular, mirror-like shield that parries Leonidas's claws. He roars, frustrated, and Zoe flinches at the screech of claw on glass that reverberates through the area. Unlike previously, where Leonidas was undoubtedly on the advantage, he seemed far more tired than Siege, who at least had some of their wounds closed.
[Leonidas, stop!] She calls again. [You're not gonna win, just give up! You're trying to kill them!]
"Quiet!" Leonidas roars, lightning cracking from within his mouth, tongue clicking in annoyance.
[Listen to me, damnit!]
"No matter how violent you are, you won't win without strategy!" Alex shouts, any hint of smile gone. "Ability Activate! Haos Double Input!"
Zoe watches as he throws the card towards Siege, enveloping it in a golden light once again, as Leonidas breaks the shield and is immediately greeted with a punch from a gauntleted fist, knocking him back and making him fall to the ground with a rumble.
"DO SOMETHING!" He screams at her, the heavy smell of ozone now far too near. She flinches once again when Siege delivers a kick to Leonidas's torso, and there's a crack as his body slides closer to Zoe.
Her heart is beating way too fast, and she can barely think. When Siege walks up to Leonidas's prone form, her heart drops as the knight raises the golden, star-like blade of the lance, pointing it towards the middle of Leonidas's back.
There's a single thought in her head.
She pulls an ability card, a faint purple aura circling around it when she flings it at Leonidas, enveloping him in said aura and transferring to Siege, who paralyzes as their life and Leonidas's trade once again:
"Yeeees..." Leonidas groans, and gets up in a menacing sort of glee, as Siege tries their best to move to no avail.
[I think it's enough brawling for the both of us.] She thinks.
Leonidas stops, turning his head towards her:
"What..." He groans, voice rough and low.
[You'll learn to listen to me, you crazy dragon.] She breathes deeply, trying not to cower under Leonidas's attention on her. [Gate Card open. Peacemaker.]
"Zoe -!" She hears Leonidas shout before him and Siege are slowly enveloped in light, their forms slowly converging on themselves and, like a shooting star, retreating to the hands of their respective brawlers.
Zoe breathes, one...two...three...then sinks to the floor, kneeling and bracing one hand on the cold, stark white ground, while the other clutched Leonidas's ball form like a lifeline. She heaves and coughs, like she hadn't in a very long time, and as the world around her changes and the night sky of the park shines faintly with stars, she doesn't dare to move.
I have no idea when I'm gonna have inspiration to write nymore so here you go.