Chapter 3 - Encounters
The girl huffed in annoyance as she glared at the brunette on the other side of the field. She knew that there was nothing that could change the situation she was in now; she had no choice but to accept the brawl. "Hey boy, if I win, then I get to keep the Aquos Bakugan I wanted okay?" she shouted.
"Yeah yeah whatever." Dan replied. He's been itching to have a battle for some time now...he hasn't been in one for about a week. And with Drago with him, there was no way he could lose.
"Gate Card, set!" they both shouted as they threw a card on the open space adjacent of each other. The rectangular pieces expanded as it touched the ground and each shone a different color. The one that Dan threw was red, and the other was blue.
"Your turn first girly." the brunette smirked.
"I have a name you know. It's Miss Kaori to you!" she retorted.
"I have a name too, and it's Dan Kuso." the girl gritted her teeth in irritation as she held the light blue sphere in her palm. "You don't stand a chance against Aquos Siege! Bakugan Brawl!" throwing it hard, it landed on her Gate Card and burst open. "Bakugan Stand!" a bright blue light surrounded the Bakugan and out of it emerged a large knight-like creature that held a long spear.
Aquos Siege = 350 Gs
"We'll see about that!" Dan turned to his partner and smiled. "Ready Drago?"
"Always." the dragonoid replied as he closed back in to a ball.
"Okay! Bakugan Brawl!" he threw his Pyrus Bakugan on the field and landed on the same Gate Card as Anna. "Bakugan Stand!" a red shine appeared and a large red-scaled dragon came out of it, stretched it wings and roared.
Drago = 340 Gs
The Pyrus Bakugan eyed his opponent carefully. "We'll see if you are as tough as you think you are." he muttered.
"Let's go!"
-o-
Gale blinked once, and saw that the girl fell on her knees; crying while Dan did his signature nose-flick. "It's over?" the crimson-haired boy asked, surprised that it ended so quickly. He had never seen a battle this up close before...well, he heard that the battles were sent to a different dimension or something of the sort, but he never expected the time lapse part.
"Now you see why other people rarely ever watch brawls." the brunette winked while Drago sat on his shoulder.
"I...I lost..." she cried as tears went down on her cheeks. "Y-you'll...you'll pay for this! Both of you!" she shakily stood up and with a loud 'hmph' she left the classroom.
"Woah, that was close." Gale muttered. "Thanks for covering for me Dan. I owe ya one."
"Hehe, you already did with my math test right?" they both laughed lightly.
"I can't believe you were about to brawl her even though you said you didn't know how..."
"I couldn't let her take Juggernoid without a fight couldn't I? I am the Bakugan's Keeper after all. Making sure that they get the best partners is one of my jobs."
"Well said boy." Drago commented. "You are a very kind human. You will make a great brawler Gale."
The boy sighed. "Well I don't think I'll be brawling anytime soon-" he was cut off by the sound of the bell ringing, signaling that they only have a few minutes left till the end of lunch. "O-oh man! I haven't eaten anything yet!" he said while panicking. "Bye Dan, I'm off to get some food! Look over the other Bakugan for me!"
"Sure!" the brunette responded as he waved at him before he left the room. When the brawler turned, he noticed that all of them were open and facing each other. He kind of envied his friend now...if he can talk to all Bakugan, then he would know what they were saying. Not only Drago, Tigrerra and the other Guardian Bakugan.
Out of the blue, Griffon jumped on the boy's shoulder and joined them in their conversation. The brunette really wished he could understand them...
"Hey um...what are you guys talking about?" he asked; interrupting them in their discussion. They all turned to him, and he quickly wished that he hadn't done that. "If you can hear me, say yes." Griffon suddenly muttered. The brunette was taken aback, how come he can hear them now? "Uuh, yes?"
"Well I'll be. I've never seen a human believe that quickly before." Saurus piped up.
"H-huh? What do you mean believe?"
"You humans think that we Bakugan can't talk huh? That's just rude. All of us can talk you know...well, except for Bakugans that don't have a mouth." Serpenoid said.
"What he means is that...from Gale, you believed that we can talk just like Drago. People don't share our communication pattern...normally one can do so if you have a powerful bond between each other..." Falconeer explained. "But I think that if two humans trust each other a lot...if you believe in Gale, the Bakugan with him will open up as well."
"Namely us." Griffon finished.
"Gale's special because he can talk to all Bakugan, even without a bond present." Juggernoid muttered.
"Uuh, okay then..." the brunette was trying to follow what they had told him. He only figured out that his partner can talk to him recently, so this was kind of a shock to him that other Bakugan can talk as well. It was looking a whole lot less like a game now...
The bell rang again for the second time, signaling Dan to go back to his classroom or he'll be late. "I have to go now you guys. Stay in the bad till Gale comes back okay?"
"Yeah yeah. It's not like this is our first time here in school." Saurus uttered with a snort.
The brunette glanced at them before breaking in to a run with Drago and Griffon floating behind him. A minute later, Gale entered the room and was panting at the same time. He tiredly went to his chair and lay down on the desk; closing his eyes.
"You alright Gale?" Falconeer asked.
"Mhm..." he replied. "What...did you tell Dan..?"
"Oh, nothing."
-o-
"Finally..!" the crimson-haired boy said aloud as he raised his arms up in the air. Everyone was looking at him since well, he had never reacted like this before to dismissal. Though all his classmates and even his teacher noticed how sleepy he was today. It was as if he was terribly tired and wanted to take a nap. Yet this was school; there was no time for that. Especially for a sixth grader.
Gale sluggishly grabbed the strap of his backpack and quickly left the room despite the concerned questions of his friends. Stifling a yawn, he made his way through the halls of the campus and outside. The sunlight was harsh, and his eyes squinted when he saw it. He wondered whether the dream he had this morning had to do with his current condition, but he was cut off when a certain brunette greeted him. "Hey Dan..."
"You don't look too well. Are you alright?"
"I'm fine..." he assured while showing a smile. "Sorry Dan, I can't really stay and chat. I still have to find these guys a home after all." the boy winked at him and glanced at his bag. The other boy immediately knew what he meant and nodded. "Sure, see ya tomorrow." and with that he left the scene as quickly as he came.
He inhaled deeply and sighed. Shaking his head to clear away his drowsiness, he walked past the gate and headed for the park. Many brawlers gather there to have battles with others. Most of them were newbies, and it was perfect for the Bakugan with him.
The place still looked the same as it always was when Gale stepped on the brown-colored path. There were trees surrounding the area to give it a more nature-like scene. A fountain sat on the middle of it all, and pigeons would normally be flocking nearby it too. There were also a couple of benches to take a rest on around the area, streetlights opened if the sky went dark, and kids were roaming around as well. It was almost strange for him to take note of the time lapses now. One moment two kids would bring out their field cards, and the next thing he knew, one would admit defeat and the other smirking happily.
The Bakugan were now floating beside him and scanning the area for anything interesting. The children here didn't know him too well, but they understood what he was here for. And that was observation. If they could put up a good show, then they knew that they might earn a new ally.
Of course, they didn't know that Gale couldn't brawl and didn't even possess a field card in the first place.
The twelve-year-old soon saw a young boy that appeared to be depressed. Curious, he approached him and introduced himself.
"My name is Christopher...nice to meet you Gale." he responded. The boy had light brown hair and dark blue eyes. He wore a simple blue and white outfit and was sitting on the bench when the crimson-haired male first saw him. "May I sit with you?"
He seemed surprised by his politeness. "Uuh, sure."
The twelve-year-old smiled as he sat down and sighed. "Are you a brawler?" Christopher asked while taking note of Aquos Juggernoid who was on Gale's shoulder at the time.
"No, I'm not." he replied mildly.
"A collector?"
"Nope."
"Then why do you have Bakugan with you?"
The older male grinned. "Because they are my friends."
Christopher didn't seem to get it. "How can they be your friends? You don't battle, and they can't talk either."
"That's where you're wrong kid." he muttered. "Anyhow, did something happen recently?"
"Huh?"
"You looked sad awhile ago."
"Oh..." the young child avoided his gaze. "I was beaten again by this guy named Travis...he does it often you see. He knows that I'm weak, and that he would win every time...which is true. I can never beat him, and if I go against him, then..." his voice trailed off; a look of fear in his eyes.
"I see..." Gale mumbled as he glanced at the other Bakugan. "What's your main attribute?"
"A-aquos...why?"
"Can I see one of your Bakugan?"
"Okay..." the boy rummaged through his pocket and got one of the spheres. He then showed it to him, and it opened up. The weird thing was, it wasn't speaking at all. Instead, it was shaking uncontrollably, as if frightened that something would attack it. The movement couldn't be seen by the naked eye though. Gale noticed it and sighed. "What's wrong?" Christopher asked.
"They're as scared as you are. They're even too scared to speak." he thought; ignoring the person's question. The red head suddenly grabbed Juggernoid and presented to the brunette. "This is Aquos Juggernoid. I want you to take good care of him okay?"
Christopher looked surprised. "You're giving it to me?"
"Not 'it', 'him'." he said with a hint of annoyance. He didn't like it if people called Bakugan by 'it'. But it couldn't be helped, and he told himself to calm down. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure he'll be able to help you against your battle against Travis."
"Gale?" Juggernoid's voice echoed in his head. "Are you sure about this?"
"Positive." he whispered back. "Remember Christopher..." he muttered as he stood up. "Bakugan aren't just toys...or tools either. You can become their friends...if you want to. You're free to choose whether you want to understand them or not. But also remember that they can leave whenever they want too." he gave him a small smile. "Good luck."
He then walked away and left a young, confused boy wondering to himself about his new partner. "Aquos...Juggernoid..."
-o-
It was already night time and Gale had just finished his dinner. As usual, he was sent straight to his room by his aunt and ordered to finish up all his homework before he slept. No computer tonight, it was a weekday after all. He exhaled sharply as he changed in to his pajamas and fell on the bed. Ventus Serpenoid and Haos Falconeer were already sleeping on two small pillows that were on his desk.
The twelve-year-old was about to turn off the light when he noticed that his window was still open. He groaned and stood up from his comfortable position to close it. Yet when he was about to do so, a portal suddenly opened up right in front of him. And as swiftly it had appeared it vanished, leaving a black card behind. Gale quickly shook himself after being stunned for a few seconds and picked it up. What happened next was something he did not expect at all.
A white Bakugan jumped out of it and began to hit him. "Ow! Ow! Hey, stop it!" he whined as he used his arms to shield himself from the tiny sphere.
"Where am I?" the creature growled as it floated back and placed some distance between them.
"In my room. On Earth." Gale replied while rubbing his head. Even in sphere form it had a lot of power and gave him a growing bump.
"Earth..? I'm not in Vestroia?"
"No, you're not. Who are you?" the Bakugan didn't reply to the question. "Don't have a name eh?" the crimson-haired boy looked around and grabbed a book from his study table. Skimming the pages, he smiled when he found a name that could suit the strong creature. "Can I call you Leonidas then?"
"...I don't care human. All I want to do is to defeat all other Bakugan in existence."
Gale already had a gut feeling that this Bakugan would turn his life upside-down. "Feel free to stay for the night then."
A/N : What stalled me wasn't how to do the battle, but more on what the person is going to say next...sorry that it took so long. Hope I didn't disappoint you guys!
Please Review and we'll see what Leonidas will do! Oh yeah, you guys do remember Christopher do you..? He's not an OC if you have forgotten.