Prologue - Alice down the Rabbit Hole
6 years had passed since the day when suddenly all across the world mysterious cards rained down from the sky. Back then the children of that time simply picked them up and tried to create a game out of it. Unfortunately, it was so much more than that.
The true gravity of the situation was only understood later as the game Bakugan had spread all across the world.
Alongside the cards, small spherical objects had come into the world, but these things were no toys as one might thought at first glance. They were actually beings from another dimension called Vestroia and forced to Earth by a cataclysmic event in that dimension caused by the one of these bakugan called Naga.
Naga, a white dragon-like bakugan had sought ultimate power by absorbing both of Vestroia's cores, but instead he was sucked into the negative Silent Core and trapped. With its negative counterpart out of control, the positive Inifinity Core was unable to maintain the balance between the 6 dimensions of Vestroia and everything was thrown into chaos. The Infinity Core accidentally swallowed Wavern, Naga's sister and was brought alongside the many other bakugan to Earth.
Eventually a group of players which called themselves the Bakugan Battle Brawlers caught wind of the true nature of the bakugan, Naga and his plan to conquer not only Vestroia and Earth, but the entire universe. Thanks to their efforts one catastrophe could be prevented and Vestroia was restored.
Ever since that time, the Battle Brawlers disbanded with the only remaining original members being the Pyrus brawler Dan Kuso, the Aquos Brawler Marucho Marukura and the Ventus brawler Shun Kazami. Together the 3 of them made new allies and defeated quite a number of villains that either wished to harm the bakugan or their own world. Meanwhile, the people came to accept bakugan as part of their world and the game became something like a modern sport.
After all, now the world wasn't endangered by these giant monsters, that could easily shrug off any weapon mankind invented and go on a rampage to conquer the universe like Naga and his minions did.
However, just as mentioned before, the end of those adventures for Dan Kuso didn't mean that it was the end for the other Battle Brawlers as people. Life moved on even for those that left the fight to the others when they simply couldn't keep up with the other's growth anymore. And even if their battles were over, other challenges simply waited behind every corner for both the brawlers and their partner bakugan.
Russia
"Alice! Come inside, lunch is ready." A male voice called over as it reached the eyes of a young woman. Wearing a yellow summer dress and white shoes she laid on the soft grass that covered the ground. Auburn hair was sprawled around her like a blanket as it reached her waist. Auburn eyes opened and looked up into the blue sky where white fluffy looking clouds passed by her field of view. Sitting up she stretched her arms over her head and let out a yawn.
"I fell asleep again, didn't I?" Alice Gehabich, former Darkus Battle Brawler of the first team of Battle Brawlers, said as she stood up. Wiping away grass sticking to her dress, her eyes were now directed on a wrist watch. "This late already! I really must have been tired. I wonder why Hydranoid didn't wake me up though." The russian girl asked as she looked around.
Alice used to live with her grandfather on the countryside when she was younger, helping with chores and her already very old grandfather. Unfortunately, Alice couldn't live like this forever as the now 20 year old young woman had to prepare for her later course in life. Still, right now she had vacation from her usual life and decided to visit her grandfather for a few days. The small hut and self made lab of Doctor Micheal Gehabich was located in a dense forest. When she was younger she often would go and play out here. Now she just enjoyed the tranquility of the nature.
However, there was still one question left to be answered.
"Hydranoid, where are you?" Alice called out when she suddenly heard muffled noises to her feet. From beneath the tall grass emerged a black and purple sphere, before opening itself revealing one large head with a red horn and two smaller ones. One could also see two arms while the upper half of the sphere resembled wings. On the lower half two small feet popped out of it. "Ah there you are." Alice said with a smile as she scooped up the hovering sphere with both her Hands as if it was a small bird. "Did you sleep well?" She asked.
Immediately the darkus bakugan literally shook the fatigue off as it noticed it had fallen asleep.
"I'm sorry Alice. I must have slept in shortly after you did." Alpha Hydranoid said, lowering ist middle head in shame. The young woman only giggled at her partner.
"Hydranoid, the former archnemesis of the Battle Brawler's leader's partner Drago fell victim to being tired." She chuckled as she said that. The small form of the bakugan in her hands would have blushed crimson if it could from the embarrassment.
"Never tell Drago about that." Hydranoid said.
"Me? I'd never do that. Come let's go." Alice put her partner onto her shoulder as she walked back home.
Later
"What's the matter Alice? You look rather pale today." Dr. Gehabich said after the two of them finished lunch and Alice was washing the the dishes. The old man was now a bit shorter than his grandaughter, but his appearance didn't change too much. Wrinkles in the face, long almost beak-like nose and a beard as he still wore glasses with a thin Frame and mostly had his eyes closed. The age had not exactly done wonders to him nor did his own involvement in the schemes of Naga. However, even if his eyes were getting weaker, he could still tell something was wrong with Alice.
"It's nothing granpa. I just haven't slept so well in the last few days." Alice said. The doctor hummed in thought at this, while Hydranoid sat down on the counter next to her.
"Do you want to talk about it Alice?" The old man asked. Alice shot her grandfather one of her usual smiles in response.
"It's fine grandfather. It's nothing serious." She said. The old man thought about bringing the Topic up again, but decided against it.
When she was finished in the kitchen and with the laundry, Alice went to her old room in the house. On her old desk was a picture of her and her friends before they sent their bakugan back to Vestroia before they returned to Earth. Looking at her old friends she couldn't help but smile before she looked into a mirror in the room. Alice's appearance had not changed that much over the years. Over all she was basically just taller than before and grown elsewhere a Little as well through the process of puperty, but one thing she noticed immediately was that her eyes were not like they used to be on the photo. Throughout the years, the battle brawlers had drifted apart. They were still friends, but each of them now took care of their own lives and so was she.
"It has been a long time since then, hasn't it?" Hydranoid's voice tore her out of her thoughts as the darkus bakugan sat on her desk. "6 years have passed like seconds when looking back to the time we were fighting Naga." Alice smiled sadly at this.
"Yes, I presume that is true." She said as she sat down on her bed. A solemn look remained in her eyes however.
"What's wrong Alice?" Hydranoid asked as he flew over to Alice, landing next to her on the blanket of the bed.
"Hydranoid? Can I ask you something?" The former brawler asked.
"Of course. What's the matter?" The bakugan asked as Alice turned to him with those sad eyes.
"Do you regret staying here with me? Don't you feel sometimes discontent with your life as it is right now?" She asked. For a moment there was silence in the room. An unbearable silence that would have wrenched someone's heart and crushed it.
"Sometimes I do." Hydranoid said turning away from Alice looking at the ceiling. "Our lives have been quiet ever since we last fought that Vexos and his cheap imitation of me. I do miss the times when we both fought side by side together for the sake of the world." The darkus bakugan did not mention the times when Alice as Masquerade had sent countless bakugan into the Doom Dimension to make him evolve from the original Hydranoid into the Dual Hydranoid he used to be before he had reached his current form by defeating the late Legendary Warrior Bakugan Exedra. Then he turned back to his partner. "But I would never exchange our lives now for any chance to fight again. Also, its not like I can keep up with Drago anymore since he has evolved for the uptenth time."
Far out on the sea a certain dragon-like bakugan, which not Long ago saved the world with his partner again, sneezed and felt slightly irritated as he almost fell off the boat he was riding alongside his partner.
"I chose to stay here with you Alice. And I'll stay by your side until the end." Hydranoid said with finality. Alice looked down on her partner before she smiled and held the bakugan close to her as Hydranoid could hear her heartbeat.
"Thank you Hydranoid." She said. "Thank you for staying by my side."
"It is nothing. Either in war or in peace, we are partners and that's something no one can take from us." The bakugan said as Alice let go and set him down. "Though I got a question too?"
"What is it Hydranoid?"
"Your dreams, no your nightmares have gotten worse, haven't they?" Hydranoid asked as the smile slipped from Alice's face. "I have noticed that over the last few weeks you sleeptalk more and are rather afraid. I'm not a specialist when it comes to dreams, but do you not want to talk about it?"
"It's fine, really-"
"You are not look fine!" Hydranoid interrupted Alice, his voice louder for a moment and his tone demanding before changing back. "Alice, I'm really worried about you. Whatever it is, it is eating you from the inside out. So please talk to me." He said. Alice looked like she was About to try and avoid that Topic, but then she let out a soft sigh, before shooting her partner a sad smile.
"Okay Hydranoid." Alice picked her partner up and sat him on her lap as she looked up at the ceiling. "My nightmares seem to always be the same. At first I barely remembered anything from them, but now I see them much clearer now." Hydranoid immediately had a bad feeling about this. Sure having reaccuring nightmares was one thing, but over the course of more than a week and to a person with a history such as Alice's it was something else.
"I always find myself waking up in a dark place. There is nothing there so I get up and began to wander around. But I always feel like as if something was watching me." Alice stops for a moment. "Then I feel how something is following me. I still can't see it, but I know ist there." Alice says looking down at her partner. Hydranoid was no stranger to that feeling. Bakugan could actually emit an aura due to their power. For example Exedra had been such a bakugan due to his power as one of the Six Legendary Warriors. Back then he simply ignored it as he was only interested in becoming stronger.
"I start running." Alice continues. "I keep running through the darkness, trying to get away from it, but it always comes after me." Her Body began to shake slightly. "Then I hear Voices."
"What Voices? What do they say?" Alice kept quiet at this. "Alice?" Hydranoid asked worried.
"I don't know. It's such a loud chaos that I never understood it, but just from the presence and their tone I can tell that it is nothing good." Alice says. "After that it catches up and then… its like I can't move anymore as everything goes dark around me. The last thing I remember before waking up is that I scream." She concluded. For a moment Alice and Hydranoid sat there in silence. Then her partner spoke up.
"Alice, I know you are going through a lot, but I highly doubt this is just the stress of your daily life. However, whatever this… thing is that is chasing you in your dreams, I know you can overcome it. You are not a coward or a weakling. You are strong Alice. Your fighting spirit is just as big as that of the other Battle Brawlers and you know that. If that was not the case, we'd hardly have been able to defeat Naga or that cheap Imitation of me. We'd hardly be where we are now." Hydranoid said, looking up at his partner. "And you can always count on me. You are my partner and even if you are no longer fighting, I will always protect you."
The young woman looked down at her partner again with a smile. The look in her eyes had brightened, but Hydranoid could still see sadness in them.
"What would I do without you?" Alice asked. That was when suddenly the house was shaken by a minor tremor definitely coming from the lab of Dr. Gehabich. "I think we should look what grandfather is up to this time." Alice said in a tone as if she expected something like this to happen. A sentiment shared by her partner bakugan.
"I agree." With Hydranoid floating off her lap and on her shoulder, Alice took off to make sure that her grandfather didn't hurt himself again… Or set the house on fire… Or anything else that could happen when your grandfather was a brilliant scientist.
Meanwhile in another world, far away from the events revolving around Vestroia and the bakugan, the sun rose over the horizon of the Kingdom of Tristain on the continent of Halkegenia. It was a world of swords and magic, wich might best be compared to the middle ages of Europe on Earth in regards of nations, culture and technological advancement. However like mentioned before this world had also magic unlike Earth. In order to wield it properly, academies existed to teach young mages how to use it.
Inside one of the towers of the Tristain Magic Academy, the best school for academy in the entire kingdom a young girl laid in her bed as she was woken up by the rays of sunlight through her window. She had long pink hair, pink eyes as she was dressed in just a white nightgown. Sitting up she stretched her arms as she sighed. Her name was Louise le Blanc de la Valliére or just Louise de la Valliére or just Louise. The reason for her to sigh on such a bright morning was not the weather, but rather what day today was. Today all 2nd years students of the academy would summon their familiars, life long servants that would also represent their masters affinity in magic and their potential.
The thing with Louise was rather... explosive to say at least. No matter what kind of spell she tried to cast and no matter what element it was she tried to control, every spell she cast exploded right into her face...literally. Her incredible failure rate in casting Magic had therefore given her a certain nickname among the other students: Louise the Zero. The one mage that couldn't cast a single spell.
But today it would be different. Today she was going to succeed. She would summon a familiar and prove to everyone that she indeed was able to use magic.
However there was one more Thing, that made her mood drop even further than it already. Yesterday, on the first day of the 2nd year in the academy, Louise did cast another spell in clase and almost destroyed the entire classroom. She even knocked out her teacher who stood right behind her. Her clothes from that day had been scorched black and were in shreds. After a change of clothes and a scolding from her headmaster who put the blame of the incident on the teacher thus in Louise's favor, she left the office only to be met by some of the people that bullied her.
When they brought up the summoning today, Louise had said with conviction that she was going to summon something that would be much better than everyone else's familiars. Something that would leave all of them stunned. Back then she had shouted this in rage. Now she was not so sure about her claim anymore. Still she would not go back on her word. She would summon a great familiar and prove once and for all that she was a mage.
At least she hoped so as otherwise she would be expelled from the school and would need to go back home. Something that Louise most certaintly didn't want to.
"Here goes nothing." Louise said as she put on her clothes and left for her classes.
Later on Earth
Dinner had been uneventful after Alice and Hydranoid treated minor bruises on Dr. Gehabich after his latest experiment blew up. As an apology the old man offered to do the dishes this time, but also to give Alice some rest. The bakugan of course helped him as Alice walked into her room. However, instead of going to bed, the young woman booted her computer up and began looking for something online.
There she was greeted by the website of the Bakugan Interspace, an invention of Marucho, who was also the administrator of this virutal place that not just the people of Earth used to fight with their bakugan in virtual arenas and fair battles. Whether you were a human, vestal, gundalian or neathian didn't matter. All brawlers of the 4 Worlds were welcome to participate in matches against one another.
It was not that she wanted to return to the fighting. She was actually happy with her normal life. However, there were the memories of those days Long gone by now and of Course the Living proof for her past as a brawler.
'Sometimes I do. I do miss the times when we both fought side by side together...' Hydranoid's words echoed through her mind. Alice's eyes were cast to the side where now rested the long outdated power gauntlet that her friend Mira had given her. She had left it here instead of taking it with her when she first left this place. After all her fighting days were over. Still, sometimes she saw children and teens running around, talking loudly about bakugan and the fights in the interspace.
Something deep inside her mind would feel a tug, a silent wish to go there and try it herself and fight once again, but then it would be overshadowed by the past memories. Of all the times she and Hydranoid sent some other unfortunate bakugan to the Doom Dimension. The looks of despair and the outcries of those sent away still haunted her memories. Ever since Masquerade was gone, Alice had been left behind with all those memories that returned.
She had hoped that time would heal those wounds, but guilt was something like that wasn't easy washed away.
Silently she opened her contact list. She had never deleted it and she did chat in the past more often with her former comerades Julie and Runo, whose partenr bakugan Golem and Tigrerra had left Earth for New Vestroia during the Vexos Crisis as they realized that they were not strong enough to keep up with Drago and the others and thus would only hinder them in the fight. But the two of them were also living their own lives by now and thus the last time she talked with them had also been more than 2 months ago. Her cursor hovered over to the contact of Marucho. The young boy had become a capable leader and was doing a fine job with taking care of the interspace. Perhaps talking with her old friend after so long would help her.
...but she didn't click on it.
'What am I doing?' Alice thought to herself. She had no right to just call Marucho out of the blue after years of silence. What was there to talk about even? How her life has been ever since he was dragged into a war between Nethia and Gundalia alongside Dan and Shun, while she lived a normal life? How she never entered the Bakugan Interspace? About Hydranoid's wish to fight again and her inability to do so? Or how Marucho's job as both the Administrator of the Interspace and as the leader of the Battle Brawlers now that Dan was out somewhere in the world must be taking a toll on him with all the responsibility placed upon the youngest member of the original Battle Brawlers?
Alice shut the computer down before looking down at her desk. Her hands clenched into fists as she really hated how pathetic she was in that moment. She hated this feeling of being unable to do anything. And at the same time she truly wondered if there was some middle way. Alice wanted Hydranoid to be happy after all. He could hardly be satisfied with such a peaceful life. She knew best that he truly bloomed in combat.
And also... He had been there for her for 3 years now. Even with the threat of the Vexos gone, Hydranoid had been with her all the time. he could have left for New Vestroia at any time and have a life there filled with battles, but he didn't. They had shared good and bad moments together. Whenever she had trouble, he had been there to help her in whatever way he could. Alice had a feeling that she owed him at least a little bit of happiness in return.
Looking over once more, Alice stood up and walked to her old gauntlet. The device still fit her slender arms, though from the videos she had seen she knew that it was long outdated. Putting it on she felt a weight on her body she had almost forgotten. Alice raised her arm she looked at the gauntlet. Nodding to herself, Alice put the gauntlet down on her desk again with a small smile, before she yawned.
"I'll ask them tomorrow…" Alice told herself when suddenly a green light flooded her otherwise barely lit room from behind her. Turning around, the former Battle Brawler found herself staring at something strange. And that meant a lot when taking into consideration everything else the young woman had been through.
Before her hovered a green glowing ovale, hovering over the ground. It did nothing else than just hovering there silently. Alice blinked a few times as she stared at the strange ovale that had just appeared in her room without any sound or other disturbance from one moment to another. Unsure whether it was hostile or not, Alice took one step towards it.
Nothing happened.
Now from up close, she still couldn't make out the texture of the object or why it was glowing like that. It was as if she was staring at a paradox itself. Slightly outnerved by this she took a step back from it.
"Grandfather, Hydranoid. Can you please come here?" Alice called out. Her door was closed, but she knew that they had heard her. She then tried to step away, but suddenly the ovale glowed brighter and Alice found herself drawn towards it.
'I-It's trying to suck me in!' Alice realized. Instintively, she reached out to the closest thing which was her bed as the ovale's suction power seemed to increase, making it harder for Alice to hold onto. "GRANDFATHER! HYDRANOID! HELP!" She shouted out and immediately the door to her room was flung open by Dr. Gehabich while Hydranoid flew into the room. Both were stunned for a moment, but it only lasted of a second as they saw how Alice was clinging to her bed for dear life. Then her fingers slipped off and her entire right arm was sucked into the green portal as it seemed to stretch itself, firmly grabbing a hold onto her right shoulder as Alice found herself unable to pull herself out.
"Alice!" Both Dr. Gehabich and Hydranoid shouted as they rushed towards Alice, when suddenly the portal shone a bright light, blinding the old man and the darkus bakugan for a moment.
"Grandfather! Hydranoid! Please help me!" Alice cried out as she tried to reach out to them. Hydranoid turned back into the light as he saw how Alice's body was more and more enveloped by the bright light.
"ALICE!" Hydranoid shouted after his partner as he launched himself into the light in hopes to somehow drag Alice out of whatevr that thing was. But within the moment before he reached her, the light disappeared and he crashed into the wall of her room. Picking himself up with a groan, the darkus bakugan looked around, but his fears became reality. Alice was gone and there was no trace left of her. "No. No no no no!"
"A-Alice...HNNGH!" Dr. Gehabich suddenly clutched his chest with one hand as he slowly sunk to the ground. The bakugan quickly turned his Attention to the old man who was having a heart attack. Cursing himself, Hydranoid flew over to Alice's grandfather to take care of him first.
A bit earlier on Halkegenia
Louise wanted to disappear. She wanted to sink into the ground and never come out again.
The reason why? The familiars of the other students.
While some students only summoned normal animals like owls or dogs, others succeeded to summon more powerful familiars like a bugbear or a salamander or an actual dragon for crying out loud!
The pinkette girl really wanted to just vanish.
"Was that everyone now?" A middle-aged man said. His head was bald and glasses sat on his nose. Professor Jean Colbert was his name and he was one of the more patient and nicer teachers of the school who at least gave Louise still a chance even after an entire year of failures and only being outstanding in the theory. However to Louise's horror a voice Louise knew all too well replied.
"No, Louise hasn't summoned anything yet." Said fellow student said as Louise shot them an angry glare.
"Ah yes. Miss Valliére. Please step forward." Colbert said as Louise did as she was told. She could feel the looks of her classmates stabbing themselves into her backside and she heard them whisper amongst themselves.
"What Zero is going to summon, I wonder."
"Probably just another explosion."
"This will be good."
"Maybe she gets expelled this time for good."
"Silence!" Colbert raised his voice making the whispered conversations fade away immediately. Louise gave her teacher a small look of gratitude before she too approached the summoning circle.
'This is it Louise. Let's do this.' Louise took a last deep breath before she rose her wand in an almost dramatic manner.
"My servant that exists somewhere in this vast universe." She began her chant, while some of the other students asked themseves what Kind of chant she was using and others simply handed it to her to be original at least. Louise however didn't listen to them as she kept chanting.
"My divine, beautiful, wise, powerful servant..."
"I wish and assert from the bottom of my heart!"
"Answer me guidance..."
"AND APPEAR!" Louise swung her wand down as the space before her exploded in a large explosion. Students and familiars alike cried out in shock as the strong gust and smoke washed over them, even making a few of them fall off their feet. Some familiars even fled the area in panic. Once the wind stopped the class managed to get themselves back together, picking themselves off the ground and looking up ahead, but their view was obscurred by the black smoke that was both shrouding Louise and the center of the explosion from their view. However, slowly the smoke began to settle and the result of this summoning was quite unexpected for anyone, including Louise.
As the dust cleared itself, Louise saw in the place where her familiar was supposed to be was a young woman laying unconscious on the ground. Sprawled on the ground in a summer dress and with long auburn hair, the young woman which clearly was older than Louise and her classmates laying there in silence. Once the fact that Louise had apparently summoned a human, her mind went into panic mode as she couldn't really tell whether the young woman was alright or not as she didn't move and didn't even show a sign of breathing.
Professor Colbert quickly moved over and checked the unconscious woman's pulse, even though he did have to not let his curiousity about her clothes, which were under closer inspection unlike anything he had ever seen get the better of him. No, health first, clothes latter. Pressing his fingers against the woman's wrist he waited for a moment, before he let out a sigh of relief.
"Don't worry, Miss Valliére. She is only unconscious." Professor Colbert told his Student as Louise herself let out a sigh herself.
"Huh? Zero summoned a girl?" One of the students asked as soon the courtyard was flooded with conversation.
"She is actually pretty."
"Can a human even be summoned as a familiar?"
"Did Louise just knock her familiar out?"
"Ha! Those clothes certainly belong to a peasant."
"Ah right! A peasant was summoned! That makes sense with Zero."
"Haha! Summoning a peasant. That really fits Zero."
More and more spiteful words were thrown at Louise who really wanted to turn around and blow them up instead. However, it was against the school rules to start fights with one another. So the only Thing she could do was to respond verbally.
"Shut up! I said the summoning spell correct. This is just a slip-up."
"How is that a slip-up?"
"Enough." Colbert once more made his class go silent. "Miss Valliére." He called his student. "I have to ask you to finish the ritual now." This clearly threw Louise off.
"What? But mister Colbert. I have never heard of a human being a familiar. Please let me try the ritual again." She asked, but her teacher countered with a hard glare.
"I cannot allow such a thing. The Springtime Summoning is a sacred ritual dating back to the time of the Founder Brimir himself. To repeat it would be sacrilege. Now please finish the ritual." Colbert said as Louise seemed conflicted for a moment, before approaching the sleeping woman. Raising her wand at the sleeping figure, the young student carried the task out as she was instructed.
"Pentagon of the 5 Elements. Bless this creature and make it my familiar." Louise said as she leaned down to kiss the unconscious woman's cheek. While she could have kissed her on the lips, kissing a peasant girl in her sleep would probably a bit too much material for gossip.
Once her lips touched the woman's Skin, Louise stayed there for a Moment, before pulling away. And as she did she noticed that the woman suddenly began to stirr in her sleep and she seemed to glow... Not that wasn't right. She was actually steaming. Her body suddenly emitted such heat that even Louise could feel it on her skin. On the woman's hand, now clenched into a fist, runes began to appear. Those were the symbol of a familiar that were unique to each familiar, marking it unmistakable as the familiar of a mage. And while all that happened, the young woman in her sleep whimpered in pain.
Then it stopped and left only the runes on the woman's hand as proof that the ritual was successful.
"Congratulation Miss Valiére. The contract is complete." Colbert said as he looked at the runes. "I've never seen such runes before..." He muttered to himself, before turning to his class. "Class is dismissed. You may go to your next class now." With that the crowd of students dispersed.
That was how something ended in another world. And at the same time, this event was marking the beginning of something new.
This was the prologue of my original idea for the oneshot The dragon and his princess. Someone asked me to make a full story out of it, so here's the prelude to the journey of my personally favorite character from the original show into another world.
So share your thoughts, suggestions and opinions in the reviews.
That's it for now. I don't when I'll get around to write the rest of it.
So see you next time and have a nice day.