Chapter 1: Some Assembly Required

Present Day

A week has passed since the attack on the hotel and things were a mess. Marduk was declared as a public enemy and law enforcement agencies were acting in unison with Digidestined all over the world to look for him. Now the entire world knew about the Bakugan and everyone was busy theorizing about a subject they had only just been introduced to causing problems for random brawlers who just wanted to enjoy the game. On top of everything else, Tai had no choice but to disclose Kai's entire portfolio of Bakugan facts to the rest of the Original Digidestined. At first, several of them were trying to formulate a plan to get rid of Leonidas because of that damned prophecy but luckily, Tai had shut them down by threatening to have them removed from the team and stripped of their diplomatic immunity if they did any such thing.

Tai had decided shortly after that argument that everyone needed to cool their heads (not to mention Kai needed medical attention for his nose and jaw) so he gave them all a week to cool down and gather at Marucho's house in Wardington to go over intelligence that one of Tai's spies had been able to get to them regarding the Cult and their Bakugan. Kai's injuries hadn't been too serious so he was released a day after the hotel attack and hitched a ride on one of Marucho's private jets back to Wardington along with Shun before he was cornered by TK and Kari, not that he was afraid of anything, he just needed time to think and he certainly wouldn't get any if he had stayed long enough for them to question him.

The meeting was scheduled for later in the afternoon, so Kai decided to take advantage of the few hours they had called for a brawler meeting at his house so he could tell the rest of his team about everything he had been keeping from them. He was nervous and had second guessed himself for several hours before coming to the conclusion that they would hear of it soon enough anyway and he would prefer to be the one to disclose the full story rather than the heavily edited version that his former parents and friends had no doubt concocted.

Most of the team was situated in Kai's dining room while they were waiting for Julie to arrive. Just a couple of days ago, Kai and Tai had paid a visit to Julie's home in the desert and explained the situation to her family. Unsurprisingly, they didn't want anything to do with it, but once Kai had pointed out that nobody would be safe if the Cult got there way along with the fact that Julie was already deeply involved with the group's objectives, they reluctantly agreed to allow her to go and help. The Subterra battler's plane had landed just half an hour ago and she would arrive any minute. Kai busied himself by setting up a big breakfast for himself and the other brawlers complete with eggs, toast, waffles, bacon, hash browns, etc. Just as everything was in place, Kai heard a knock at the door and went to answer it. He was surprised to find that not only Julie was there, but Hikaru and Renamon as well.

"Hikaru" Kai said with a smile, "this is certainly a pleasant surprise"

"Yeah well, Renamon and I decided we wanted to see you properly, out of the old man disguise and blood free." Hikaru began with a smirk "So we decided to pretend that we were paying a quick visit to my pen pal before the meeting. I don't know if you've heard of her, but with a name like Mylene Pharaoh, I'd be surprised if you didn't know her." Kai began laughing at that, it looked like the fake pen pal trick worked to get passed the scrutiny of TK and Kari.

"Am I missing something?" Julie asked with a confused look as Kai stopped laughing

"Nothing I wasn't already planning to explain, Julie" Kai replied before letting both of them into his house. Hikaru was pleased to see that he had been living out of an immaculately kept two-story condo.

"Do I smell hash browns?" Julie asked as she ran towards the direction the smell was coming from

"So, this is where you live?" Hikaru asked

"Yeah" Kai sighed "Leonidas is a great partner, but it gets lonely being the only guy living here" Before Hikaru could reply, there was a small cheer coming from the dining room as Julie was getting settled in with the rest of the brawlers

"Well, you definitely won't be lonely today" Renamon commented at the sound

"I'm still trying to figure out if that's a good or a bad thing, especially considering that I'm gonna have to be the one speaking the most during the meeting" Kai replied

"Why?" Hikaru asked

"Uncle Tai said that since I'm not only the leader of the brawlers but was also a Digidestined, it only made since for me to be the one to explain the situation. Tai is amazing but I have to be honest, I'm not thrilled about this call of his." Kai could imagine the meeting now, best case scenario was that they would blow him off while the worst case was that tensions would continue to rise at the worst possible time.

"I'll be there, Renamon will be there, Uncle Tai will be there, your new partner will be there, and your team will be there" Hikaru said as she placed a hand on his shoulder "It'll be okay"

"For everyone's sake, I hope your right" Kai said as Runo walked out of the dining room.

"Kai, what's going on?" Runo asked as she saw Hikaru and Renamon "Is this your sister?"

"Yes Runo" Kai said "We'll be there i-"

"Actually Kai" Hikaru interrupted "Mom and Dad are expecting me back in a few minutes, Renamon and I have to go"

"Oh" Kai said sadly "well, see you at the meeting?"

"Yeah" Hikaru answered in the same sorrowful tone before giving Kai a hug and walking out with Renamon. Kai just stood there for a minute, not sure how he was feeling.

"Kai?" Runo asked softly as she walked to his side "are you alright?"

"No" Kai replied "I won't be alright until this mess is cleaned up, people stop hating on brawlers and their Bakugan because of that Masquerade knock-off, and I can actually have my sister back in my life" Kai shivered for a moment before Runo took his hand.

"You have every right to be angry Kai, but you deserve to be happy. If there's anything I can do, please just ask." Runo said causing Kai to smile

"Thanks, it is hard, but at least I can be grateful for the fact that I did get to talk to her" Kai replied

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?"

"I have to Runo" Kai stated "they have a right to know, I just hope they'll still want to be my friends afterwards."

"They will" Runo consoled him "They might be upset that you kept it from them, but they still admire and respect you, nothing is going to change about that." with that, the two brawlers made their way into the dining room and sat at the table to begin the meeting.

Kai made a mental note to never doubt Runo again, she was right about them being understanding about everything. Like with Leonidas, they all had gladly accepted him for who he was. They also decided on a new policy for the entire team, if one of them was threatened or attacked in any way, they all would respond with appropriate force. Kai hoped that they would never need to use the policy, but knew that hopefully never could easily turn into later today. The brawlers were currently walking down to Marucho's house as the meeting was going to start soon. None of them were particularly surprised to find that there were security guards all over the property along with multiple news crews. They entered Marucho's house while avoiding the questions thrown their way and moved through the foyer until one security guard stopped them.

"Mr. Eclipse will need to remain here for the duration of the meeting" the guard spoke sternly

"I don't know who you think you are, but Kai Eclipse is our teammate and leader. And let's not forget the fact that this is my house and I have the right to decide who comes and goes" Marucho informed the guard with a venomous glare

"Marucho" Kai said calmly "why don't you and the others go on in"

"Kai-" Runo began before being cut off by a raised hand from Kai

"I am certain there has only been a misunderstanding" Kai assured them "I will be along shortly," the guard snorted at this response but allowed the other brawlers to pass "I don't know who put you up to this, but I do know that there is nothing to stop me from attending this meeting even if I have to force my way in."

"Don't think you can threa-" the guard was cut off as Kai continued

"Did you know that Bakugan don't need a battlefield to attain their true forms?" Kai asked confusing the guard

"What?" the guard asked

"It's true, I tested it out while visiting a friend a few days ago. This is an impressive house, but I doubt that it can handle the full size of a Bakugan." Kai mused

"You're bluffing" the guard accused

"Am I?" Kai asked "Those news crews outside are eager for a story. Tell me, between a disowned child who is doing his best to save the world and a guard who was foolish enough to think he could get away with accepting bribes, which party would the media support more?" the guard was stunned into silence "Well friend, you've obviously made your choice, I suppose I'll have to go an-"

"That won't be necessary Mr. Eclipse" the guard hurriedly got out of the brawler's way "I just didn't see your name on the list, go on in!"

"Why, thank you" Kai smiled as he strolled further into the 'house' with Leonidas on his shoulder.

"You handled that well" Leonidas praised his partner "better than I would've"

"Yeah, well I don't know, an Alpha Blaster would work wonders in getting idiots to shut up" Kai jokes

"We can save it for when we're selling real estate" Leonidas quipped back, the partners shared a soft laugh as they entered the meeting room.

"What do you mean we can get started?" Tai sighed in exasperation at Davis' claim

"Well, everyone that's coming is here" Davis said

"No were not" Runo growled at the man ready to throw punches, the rest of the brawlers were just as upset along with Hikaru, Renamon, Tai, and now Riku. The Ishida teen wasn't going to pretend that he suddenly liked Kai, but he was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt along with some respect after what happened at the hotel. The Original Digidestined and Brawlers were all inside of a large conference room and it didn't take a genius to feel the tension in the air ready to snap. Kai walked into the room a few moments later and approached his uncle.

"Sorry I'm late Uncle Tai" Kai spoke "there was a simple case of confusion regarding my admittance, if I didn't know better, I would suspect bribery. But no, I have to be wrong there's no way the 'Greatest Digidestined' in the world would stoop so low"

"Well, I'm glad it all got cleared up" Tai replied feeling nervous at all the angry glares being sent towards Kai. "Anywho, let's get down to business" Tai said causing everyone to grab a seat in the conference room. "Because of his experience with the Bakugan and his ability, Kai Eclipse will be leading this briefing" Tai announced signaling for Kai to make his way to the front of the room

"Tai?" Yolie began "are you sure it's a good idea to have a" seeing the look half of the room was sending her Yolie changed her wording "child lead this meeting?"

"When did we not have meetings like this one at his age with no adult leading it?" Tai demanded immediately disarming the poorly executed attempt to keep Kai from speaking.

"That was before" Ken spoke up "Were grown up now and were wiser than Kai is"

"Kai is living on his own, has organized a team with no help of any kind, is one of the top Bakugan Brawlers on the planet and has been studying the species since they first arrived. I'd say all of that makes him plenty qualified, Detective" Tai hissed while narrowing his eyes "Now does anyone have any legitimate worries or are we going to keep wasting time?"

"Fine" TK stood up "We can't trust the disgrace, we were far too lenient when he refused to surrender Impmon to us and now he has a creature that for all we know could cause mass destruction."

"How is any of that different from us and our partners? Or maybe you're saying that if the Dark Masters, Devimon, Myotismon, and Etemon were to gang up on you and demand you surrender Patamon that you would do it" Tai shot back

"This is different" TK seethed

"I see no difference" Tai replied "I asked for a legitimate worry, not paranoia caused by a wall carving. Try again"

"Stop" Kai spoke up "Look TK, let's be honest with each other. I don't like you and you don't like me. But whether you like it or not, this isn't about us, this is about keeping the Cult from destroying everything that we hold dear and I for one am willing to deal with whatever crap I have to so we can stop them. That being said, this alliance won't work if we do-"

"Save it!" TK yelled "If you think some fancy words are gonna convince me then you are a fool"

"Shut it!" Runo yelled "I read about you and the other Original Digidestined a few years ago. I thought you were all heroes, that you had honor. Well right now, Tai and Hikaru are the only Digidestined in your group that have honor. I am ashamed to think I ever looked up to you Takeru Takaishi. A man who went along with the murder of his son's partner without a second thought, a man who keeps that same son from his sister because he dared to say no to you, forget surrendering to Devimon, you are Devimon"

"Why you little bi-" Matt began as Kai pulled out a gate card and held Leonidas ready to throw

"Finish that sentence Matt, I dare you" Kai hissed

"Well this is going great" Shun sighed walking towards the exit of the room "let me know when we actually get to work, or if we need to enact team policy" Shun told Kai, as he was about to leave Riku stood up

"This is getting us nowhere!" Riku began "I agree with Tai, Kai should lead this meeting so we can actually get something done."

"Riku" Matt gasped

"I expected this from Hikaru" TK said "But you?"

"I don't like him, but what about the good he has done, the good he is trying to do, does that really mean so little to you? Give him a chance, we have a better chance together than we will alone" Riku stated

"Fine" TK grumbled sitting down, Shun walked back to his seat as well leaving Tai and Kai as the only ones standing.

"Make that Tai, Hikaru, and Riku" Runo said under her breath

"Ok" Tai clapped his hands "We got off to a rocky start, but let's get things into motion. Kai, if you will."

"Thank you" Kai said as Tai sat down "Intelligence has reported that Marduk and a team of five other humans within the Cult of Crimson Lightning have Bakugan and are skilled with using them." Kai used a remote to dim the lights and began presenting a slideshow with information on each of the enemy brawlers.

The first slide featured a picture of Valkyria along with a unique Haos Bakugan.

"Valkyria Dreyar is their Haos Brawler, her partner is called Chromia, she is an expert at leading her opponents on before moving in for the kill." Kai pulled up the next slide with a picture of Flare on it with a Pyrus Bakugan. "Flare Nochris is a Pyrus battler that is ruthless and cunning, among the cultist brawlers, she is the one we know the least about so assume the worst if you come across her. Her partner is called Torchwick" the slide changed to a picture of Dominus, Slaine, and Sapphire. "Dominus, Slaine, and Sapphire Bates are triplets who brawl using Subterra, Ventus, and Aquos respectively. Dominus is cold and quiet, he rarely speaks and when he does it's almost always a threat of some kind, his partner is named Xol. Slaine is a people person, he loves cracking jokes messing with his opponents and crushing them as he does so, he and Dominus don't get along very well, but they work well enough together that they are nearly unbeatable as a tag team, it will take an extreme amount of trust for us to overcome them. Slaine's partner is called Icarus. Sapphire is, unsettling, to the point that her own siblings won't work alongside her unless it's absolutely necessary. She acts immature and goofy up front but when she gets upset she could easily be described as the cruelest and most merciless person to ever live. Her partner is named Levianoid." the slide changed to show Marduk and Vladitor "And finally we have the headliner, Marduk Lecal is the son of Malacree Lecal who stands as the leader of the Cult of Crimson Lightning, his personality and style remain unknown to us, and we all know who his partner is." Kai pressed the button one more time and a picture of all six of them appeared on the screen "Together they form a group separated from the Cult's main chain of command known as The Fiend Guard." The slideshow ended and Kai turned the lights back on "Unfortunately, this is all the info we have and without knowing where they are, were stuck playing defense."

"Why don't we just go and begin attacking Cult strongholds?" Davis asked Tai

"Ask Kai, he's in charge of this meeting" Tai replied coldly

"To answer your question, if we did that we would leave the homefront both here and in Japan defenseless and seeing as to how the Cult is wanting us out of the way so they can take the Infinity Core their main targets will be Wardington and Odaiba." Kai said

"He's right" Marucho observed "If I mi-" Marucho was interrupted as Kato ran into the room

"Master Marucho!" Kato yelled "It's the Cult, they've made their first strike."