~Prologue~

"Futile boy! Give up! You've lost!"

"That's what you think, old man, gate card, set! Bakugan brawl! Reaper, stand!"

"Psh, a pathetic reaper, you think you can defeat me with that?" Boasted the mysterious figure.

Now that was the lighting the fuse on Masquerade's temper. "It's more than enough with the likes of you, now go!!"

"Fine fine, your destruction will come in due time." Replied the figure. "Gate card, set, Bakugan brawl! Naga, stand!"

He was done. "That's ridiculous, relying on Naga to bail you out every time. Bakugan, brawl! Dual Hydranoid, stand!"

"Gate card, open! Well, what do you know, it's the Naga character card! This means that master Naga gains double the bonus he normally would from the card bonus." Replied the figure.

"Hardly going to help any, just watch. Ability card, activate, magnetic polarization! With this card, your Bakugan is pulled to my card." Masquerade said with a certain flare in his voice, as if upset by something.

"So what? Naga still has more than 500 g's more than Hydranoid!" The figure said mockingly.

"Heh, wanna bet on who's gonna win this battle?" Masquerade responded confidently. "Gate card, open."

With that slight motion of his hand, the card shone with a bright light, revealing what it previously hid, the Tricky Gate card, allowing the Bakugan with the lowest G-Power to win the battle.

"No!!!! It cannot be! Master Naga!"

As the dark figure uttered these words, the Bakugan known as Naga was surrounded by purple light, and dragged off of the battlefield, towards a dark purple and black wormhole that had opened up just seconds previously.

"I shall have my revenge, Masquerade, you can count on it!" Bellowed the Bakugan as he was dragged into the Doom Dimension, a gruesome fate for a bakugan.

Chapter 1: Masquerade's Mission

"No, that's not it, but what is it?"

Masquerade began to question himself, and his mission. As to what that mission was, he didn't quite know yet, but he'd find out. As he continued to ponder these things, he picked up his family photo album and began to flip through the pages, wondering what to do next. Seeing all the smiling faces of his family members brought another question to the fore-front: What was this mask he wore now? What purpose did it serve? He didn't know the answers to those questions, but he was gonna find out.

That's it! That was his mission now, he was going to find out what purpose the mask served, no matter the cost. Closing the photo album, he decided it was time to visit Grandma Alice.

Chapter 2: Alice

Removing the mask, Masquerade's flaming yellow hair shortened into jagged red hair, the white coat slowly fading away, revealing a black vest over a red T-shirt, and the purple pants slowly turning black. Knocking on the door, Masquerade, now Michael, held his breath, waiting for an answer.

The door slowly opening, if soon revealed Grandma Alice's friendly smile.

"Michael! So good to see you, I hope you've been well!" She warmly greeted him.

"It's nice to see you too Grandma, but I came here to discuss something important with you." He replied with a taut expression on his face.

"Oh dear, come in, come in."

Closing the door behind him, Michael then removed his shoes, and entered the next room following Alice.

Taking the seat across from her, he prepared himself for what she might say, or if she would even believe him. Even if she didn't, he had to ask. Taking the mask out of his pocket, he handed it to his grandma and said "Grandma, do you know anything about this mask?"

The shock that covered her face said it all. "Wh-wh-where did you get that mask?" She asked him, trembling as she spoke.

"I found it on my face one morning when I woke up, and it seems like it has it's own personality. So, I'm guessing you know something about this mask then?" He inquired.

"Do you want the whole story?"

"Yes, I need to know all about who or what this mask is."

"Okay, it all started when I was about your age...."

Chapter 3: Recollection of Evil

"I walked into my grandfather's lab, and immediately sensed something was different. There seemed to be something, offset, something, evil, about his lab. He greeted me as normal, and he began to tell me about an experiment trying to connect two worlds, our world, and a world called Vestroia. Little did I know that this would be the day that would change my life forever, the day I came to be, Masquerade"

"Wait, wait, so you were the original Masquerade?" He inquired quizzically. "I'm sorry Alice, but you just don't seem the type to be evil like Masquerade."

"That's correct, but I didn't have a choice, for I had been exposed to the negative energies now found in the lab. I became Masquerade, and somehow he could take control whenever he wanted to, using me as a tool to listen in on my friends' and I's conversations, that's why he always seemed to be one step ahead of the Brawlers."

"Did the mask seem to be trying to fulfill a purpose?"

"The only purpose he had while he was with me was to send all Bakugan to the Doom Dimension. After we knew him and I were the same, I left the Brawlers to find myself, but I finally realized the Brawlers needed me more than I thought. I turned into Masquerade once more to save Dan, and that's when he left for good, or at least I thought."

"Well, obviously he didn't." Michael replied mockingly.

"That's what concerns me." Alice said, worry and fear covering her face. "Has he taken control of you that you know of?"

"As far as I know, he hasn't even come close, the only time he has control is when I let him take it."

"You tell him to take it?"

"Yeah, whenever I need a boost, I let him have control, and whenever he's done, he gives me control back. Sometimes, I even take over while I'm Masquerade."

"So, you can control him?" She inquired with an awkward tone.

"It would seem so."

"Well, I couldn't help you there, he never let me take over. Tell me, has he ever used the Doom card?"

"Yeah, we just used it in a brawl against some creeps named Hal-G and Naga."

"Hal-G? That's the man who took over my grandfather when he was exposed to the negative energy, and Naga? Oh dear, this is all starting to worry me so much." She replied with concern.

"Yeah, but I have a feeling that this worried you from the start." He spoke with a coy grin on his face. "Well, I'm gonna head out now Grandma, I'll see you later."

Following him back to the door, Alice watched as he put his shoes on and headed out the door. Why had the mask come back, and more importantly, why on her grandson? This was all so confusing, maybe it was time she contacted Marucho.

Author's Notes:

I know, generally short "chapters" but that's why I'm uploading multiple ones at a time. Please comment on the story and tell me how I can improve the story =D