Chapter 4

Kanto Safari Zone

26 Ananeosis, 20 Zenoheld

That night, Kaiser led Volt to one of the guest rooms that he kept available for Trainers who ended up in the Safari Zone late.

However, sleep eluded Volt, as his brain was still buzzing. Could he have actually had the good fortune to have landed on Earth? Volt knew that the Death Bombs' specifications were kept secret, but surely the Royal Family—and by extension, the Vexos—should have known if they had stumbled across their banishment devices' endpoint! Perhaps this was a parallel universe? Or maybe he was thrown across time as well as space.

Volt yawned loudly. Traveling across dimensions, only to dodge death at every turn right after, could take its toll on any Vestal. Thus Volt headed straight to bed.

As he slept, he dreamt of his return to Vestal.

After Volt had left the Motherpalace, he had teleported back to his hometown of Varemed. Though it was a dog-eat-dog slum, it was home nonetheless.

Volt's mother—no fan of the Royal Family—had told him that Varemed was actually a bustling suburb long ago, and it had housed many a worker from Archia, the planetary capital. Much of the modern-day ruins hinted at its more high-class past: many an abandoned building had once been a restaurant, a theater, or even a quaint one-family house.

As Volt looked up, he saw the various walkways and high-rises that composed the upper city, Harburg. As the overpopulation of Vestal began to take its toll, Vestal architects used every cubic meter that they could. Thus modern Varemed came to stand literally under another city, whose elevated walkways ensured that the upper-class Harburg citizens never had to sully themselves by entering the slums that were literally under their notice.

The years of neglect clearly showed all over the Varemed streets. Litter, unheard-of elsewhere on Vestal, was a commonplace sight in the slum. However, there had also seemed to be areas where progress was evident. Volt almost got lost as pieces of graffiti that he had long used as landmarks had now been painted over. However, he eventually made it to the place that he had called home for many long years.

As Volt entered the threshold of the house, he could hear the voices of his younger siblings, who had no idea that their big brother was coming to visit.

"Wow, Volt, welcome back!" That was his little brother Watt, who had been eager to tell all his friends that his big brother was the best Haos brawler in all of Vestal, and would be joining the Royal Family's brawling team.

"Hey, guys! Volt's back!" That came from Amp, the littlest, who was always full of wide-eyed wonder. He had cried profusely at the thought that his big brother would have to leave town—and he cried even more when he heard that Volt would be going off-planet to help oversee the colonization of New Vestroia.

"You're just in time to eat." Pink-haired Lumen, the second-oldest of the Luster kids, was in the kitchen, pan of food in hand. She took after her mother, both in her cooking and in her fussiness over her little brothers.

"Awesome; let's throw him a party tonight!" Ohm, Lumen's twin brother. To the extent that Lumen was serious, Ohm was mischievous. If there was ever trouble in the house, it was almost certain that Ohm was the ringleader, with Watt and Amp as his partners in crime.

For a moment, Volt was home, among family. But as soon as the illusion came, it faded away. There had never been any one there; the voices were all figments of his imagination. Volt's steps had taken him not to a bustling home, but to a structure that was a shell of its former self. Not too long after Volt left Vestal, many of his rivals took the opportunity to vent their frustrations on his family. This place used to be home, Volt thought as he looked upon his surroundings, but now, it's just full of ghosts.

"So, was it a bittersweet homecoming for you, Volt?"

Volt looked behind him. There, in his house, was Prince Hydron, a smug smirk on his face.

"Too sad that you'll never see them again. Actually, you'll never see anything again!"

All of a sudden, Volt felt himself sinking into the ground. Hydron had not deployed a Death Bomb, but clear as day, there was a vortex underneath Volt's feet!

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Did you really think that you stood a chance against us! Against me? Say goodbye to Vestal, traitor! Oh, and don't worry about your family. The Alternative will take really good care of them!"

Hydron's cackling was the last thing that Volt heard before he sank below the floor of his home.

Volt woke up with a start.

He looked outside of his window. It was still dark, and the moon was high in the sky.

This was going to be a long night.

Kanto Safari Zone

27 Ananeosis, 20 Zenoheld / March 28, 20—

The next day, Volt and Kaiser were in Kaiser's living room. Volt had asked Kaiser about the basics of telling time on Earth. Once again, Volt had an eerie feeling that there was some connection between this planet and the one he had been on before, as much of the terminology was familiar.

However, the two men were now picking up their conversation from where they had left off the previous day.

"As I said, this here's the Safari Zone," Kaiser said. He pulled out a map of Kanto, laid it on the coffee table, and indicated a point near the southern edge of the mainland. "Right here. We're north of Fuchsia City in the Kanto region."

"Wait a second," Volt said. "Do you have a world map?"

"Sure, but whaddya need that fer?"

"I told you that I may have been on this planet before. Now I want to make sure. Do you have a world map?"

"Uh…sure. Lemme get one out."

After a few minutes, Kaiser pulled out a world map, pointing out where the Kanto region could be found on it.

Some of these landmasses look different than I remember, but unless I'm mistaken, this is Earth! Volt thought. Was this a major oversight on Zenoheld's part? Or maybe some wandering ship intercepted the Death Bomb's vortex and threw me off course?

Aloud, Volt said, "This definitely looks like the same planet I've been to. Are you sure that this is the first time you ever heard of Bakugan, Kaiser? Perhaps maybe some kid used the term before?"

"I told ya, yer the first person I ever heard talkin' about Bakugan!" Kaiser replied irritably. "An' this place is usually a hub of conversation, so I easily pick up on all the latest fads. In fact, if today weren't a Sunday, there woulda been so many people comin' in an' out, I wouldn't've had the time ta be holdin' yer hand like this!"

But if this is the same planet, you should have heard of Bakugan! Volt thought. According to the stories, Bakugan appeared all over Planet Earth after Naga attempted to get to the core of old Vestroia and caused a rift between the dimensions—the same rift that brought the Bakugan to Vestal.

Then again, all the Bakugan did leave Earth after Drago defeated Naga, so it would have been over three years since a Bakugan was ever seen on this planet—assuming that I haven't been thrown across time. Perhaps the old man just forgot about them. Looks like if I really want to know what's going on here, there's only one place to go.

Aloud, Volt said, "Never mind. When I was last on Earth, I was near a city called Wardington. Do you know how to get there?"

"Well, there ain't no 'Wardington' in Kanto, so if'n ya need directions on how ta get back home, I ain't gonna be much help in that department," Kaiser answered. "But I might be able to point ya ta some place where ya can find help."

Returning to the Kanto map, Kaiser said, "We're over here in the Safari Zone." Pointing to another spot on the map, Kaiser said, "The biggest city in Kanto is here, Saffron City. There's a train station there connectin' Kanto ta Johto, the next region over. Someone there might be able ta point ya in the direction ya need ta go.

"Ya could also try Vermillion City, which is south of Saffron City an' closer ta here. Actually, now that I think about it, I suggest that ya go there first. Vermillion City's Kanto's largest seaport, and it gets ships that travel all over.

"An' now that I'm really thinkin' of it, this 'Wardington' sounds like it could be a city in Unova. Vermillion City may just be yer ticket … ta …"

Kaiser's train of thought was interrupted by a sound like a tank rumbling towards the Safari Zone. As the two headed outside, they saw a giant robot heading towards the Safari Zone gates. It was forty feet tall and had a vaguely humanoid shape, except that it had no neck, a very large midsection, and tank treads instead of legs and feet. Its arms ended in giant red funnels. Most of the machine's body was pitch-black, except for a red "R" emblazoned on its chest.

"Not them guys again!" exclaimed Kaiser.

A/N: In the Bakugan anime, Volt's hometown was never given a name. If you've read the old version of Lost Luster, you might remember that I gave it a different name. I've grown not to like it, hence the change here in the rewrite.

Once again, to give credit where credit is due, the dream sequence is based off of the homecoming scenes in Volt's Revolt.