One day, all these cards started falling from the sky, like rain, or frogs. Together with my friends on an awesome Twilight forum, we created a FAR-OUT game, and for a while it seemed like harmless nonsensical fun. But on National Bakugan Day when the beasts within started slapfighting, we knew they weren't harmless.
My name's Dan. Together with my friends Runo, Marucho, Julie, not to mention (SHUN IS NOT APPEARING IN THIS EPISODE AND DOESN'T DESERVE TO BE MENTIONED -Editor), and Alice, we are...the Bakugan Battle Brawlers!
Bakugan! One goal, two worlds!
A, a-a, a-a, TWO worlds COL-LIDE! On the inside! Gone, gone, gone, this is Bakugan!
Episode Nine
Fight or Flight
A train passed overhead on a very high and long railroad as two boys talked to one another nearby. "Hey, you know what's totally COOL about Bakugan, dude?" the spikier-haired one to the right said, leaning on a rail. "Usin' the ability cards to block a move!" His bushy fake eyebrows rattled with excitement!
The slightly-less-spiky-haired and more-glasses-y one replied with a snort, "Well, gee, what gets ME totally stoked about it is getting into a combination attack with your rockin' ability cards! Because DUUUUUDE! You've gotta see one of THOSE!" He looked to the side with a guttural laugh. "Hey, Ben, you GOTTA see THIS girl. Let's teach her a little something, huh?"
"Hey, little girl!" the one called Ben shouted. "Want us to teach you some of our totally rad Bakugan moves?"
"Huh?" The teenaged and not-very-little girl had been looking through a chain-link fence at the train station.
"Yeah!" the other brother screamed. "They're really cool!"
"Sorry, not interested."
"Hey, why're you standing near the gate like that? In the two days we've come by, you've been there every time! Huh huh!" The huh-huh symbolized guttural laughter.
"I've been waiting for some guy here…" And we dived head-first into a short flashback.
A businessman walked through the train station, holding her younger brother's hand. "Seeya later," her brother mumbled sadly.
"If only my brother would come back…I've been waiting for him…"
"Uhh…whaddaya say we wrestle, Ken?" Ben suggested.
"Uhh, why?"
Ben whispered, "To get into character."
"OH. Urgh! Take that!" They pressed their arms into one another!
"Waiting won't make anything happen…you have to make things happen." Mask the Money appeared suddenly! He revealed two Doom cards! "I can give you anything you want, with these."
Ben got close and whispered, "Are your glasses on straight? Because we've met you before!"
"Really? I don't know you, do I?"
"Uhh…no? Just give us the cards!"
"Okay, but use them wisely…muahahahahaaaaa…" Mask the Money walked off, having given away the cards.
"Let's sell 'em on the internet!" Ken insisted.
"Huh huh! Then you can, like, BUY your brother back! Isn't that what you want?"
"I'm not sure if that's possible…but if you can get him back somehow, I'll do anything to repay you…"
"Then…uh…give us all your Bakugans!"
"Okay."
"Score!" Ben and Ken high-fived.
At the Cross-Continental Railway terminal...
All of the CCR's train terminals were high-tech and cutting edge. Solar panels both inside the building and out, wide open spaces, refreshments, random weird folk, goodie bags...almost makes one want to postpone their trip.
Two strange people began running towards poor Alice, still dressed in the same old, same old yellow dress. "Alice!" one Runo-y voice squelched happily.
"Oh, heh heh, it's you," she laughed wimpily. Both Runo AND Marucho were there to greet her!
They took five minutes of silence to get seated in an comfortable-but-plastic orange bench. "What's up? Exhausted from the trip here?"
"No, not really," she uneasily replied. "I came from Moscow, so, y'know."
"I understand completely!" Marucho said, on the other side of the bench. "Although had you made proper arrangements, my butlers would have picked you up on our private jet!"
"No, that's okay."
"Really!? Because you know you could get on it whenever you want..."
"Advertisin', ADVERTISIN'!!" Suddenly, like a mosquito coming out of somebody's mouth, Preyus appeared! "Geeeeeeee WILIKERS, you sure are prettier up close than you are on that huge television thing Honcho's got!"
"Why, thanks!" she mustered. "And you're handsome~!"
"Awwwww, I smell shipping!" Runo blushed.
"Also, I brought Preyus and Halo Tiger something from back home!" Alice said cheerily, digging through her bag. To the Bakugan, she'd completely opened up!
Halo Tiger suddenly jumped out onto the bench with the other, bluer Bakugan. "Really? Truly?"
"You know what they say! A good Preyus could never resist a gift from a lady like you!" Gottfriedmarble said. She held out what looked like combinations of a cell phone and a tablet. "What the heck are these?"
"They're battle simulators! Use them when you go do battle! Copyright 1959, antique and Russian handcrafted!"
"Ya see," Marucho said, interrupting their romantic conversation, "Alice is the shy one of the Bakugan Battle Brawlers. More of a tech buff than anything else."
"She doesn't battle, though. Why is she in our group, anyways? I mean, Bakugan is just too--"
Marucho whispered to his blue-haired comrade, "Don't ask. You don't know what she'll do if you bring THAT up."
"Oh. Uh, okay."
"What were you saying?" Alice cocked her head.
"Nothing! Just disregard it!"
"Is Dan by chance around here, in this specific CCR terminal?"
At the terminal...somewhere else in the terminal, I mean...
"Fat chance!" Dan said, walking through a crowded hallway. "Wait, what?"
"I just said, 'You should know all about this, Dan,' " Drago clarified, sitting in his breast pocket. "Haven't you noticed we've been WALKING IN F***ING CIRCLES!?!?"
"Nope! Hey, let's keep going left!"
"No! That's just getting into the same circle AGAIN! Some Dans never learn..."
They began to go around the same circle again. "Hey, Drago," Dan said, "I wonder what'll happen if we go RIGHT this time."
"PLEASE do that!"
As they were about to turn the corner, Suchi and Akuma leaped out of the hallway! "Surprise!" Suchi cried. "Let's brawl!"
"Aah! No!" Dan ran away, fearing for his life. Drago sighed.
Back with the others...
"My Alice senses tell me...Dan's nearby, and he just said "fat chance"," none other than Alice said, pressing two fingertips to her forehead.
"Ah, well, guess he didn't show up!" Marucho sweated a little. He murmured to Runo, "Did you remember to tell him?"
"No."
Marucho's eyes grew wide. "Sooo anyways, what compelled you to visit us here so suddenly?"
"I just felt like seeing you all in person...but I guess Dan's not around, for whatever reason..." She bowed her head a bit. "Thank you, Runo, for letting me stay with you at your house."
"No problemo! You'll love it in Huaraz! Everyone's totally stoked about you staying with me! My mom even made her Bleep Surprise just for the visit."
"Wait, what's Bleep Surprise?" Marucho wondered. "I always thought it was TUNA Surprise. What's with the sudden name change?"
"It attracts more customers."
"OHHHH. Alright."
"But I don't feel like eating any, so...guess you'll have to eat it all up."
"Don't worry. I love tuna -- I mean, bleep."
Runo blushed again. "I smell shipping! Alice x Preyus, Alice x Bleep...what's next?" Marucho stared at her, disturbed.
Suddenly, as Marucho and Runo got into an argument about how much bleep her mom was going to make and for whom, Alice remembered Drago's speech in the previous episode. She also had a ditzy smile as she thought back to it.
We must find the man who corrupted our world. I remember his name. His name...is Michael.
"It's Michael," a voice from the doorway clarified. Wait, was that just a vision she had? It wasn't totally clear. gee, thanks for ruining the WHOLE MOMENT with your CRAPPY JUST-NOW CLARIFICATION.
Why do I keep having these visions? she thought, ditzy face gone. What exactly does Grandfather Michael have to do with this? What's he up to? Why does he want to destroy Vestroia, the home world of the Bakugan? Bakugans? Ah, whatever. I'm going with the cool way: Bakugan. Anyways... She looked back at Runo and Marucho.
"Hey, when you get there, you wanna have two slices of bleep?"
"S-s-stop calling it that! I'm NOT having any slices of BLEEP, I am having two slices of TUNA! Got that, woman!?"
They're having a stupid argument, she realized. If they knew I was so interested in finding out more about Michael, what would they think of me? I know Dan's reaction to him wasn't very pleasant...
"Hey, you!"
Ben, Ken and that girl stood before them! "Where's the one called Dan CRAP? Heh heh, CRAP. Huh huh," Ken chuckled gutturally, pushing his glasses further onto the bridge of his nose.
"Not here. Who the hell are you?" Runo snapped.
They held out some Doom cards.
"Hoo!"
"Haa!"
"AAH!"
Believe it or not, those were all actually screams.
"YOU were SENT by MASK the MONEY!?!?" Runo screeched.
Dan was JUST CONVENIENTLY turning the corner JUST THEN. "Phew. This is the place!"
"I TOLD you to TAKE A RIGHT [i]SO MANY TIMES!![/i] But you're here now, so...where are your friends?" a certain Drago muttered.
"I remember them discussing something about benches, and winking a lot, like everyone was in on it. But I wasn't...until Dan da Man went on da case! Just like secret agent Daddy 007!"
"Don't get into that again."
Back outside of the station, where Ken and Ben and Girl were before...
"Runo, are you sure you forgot to tell Dan?" Marucho said, preparing for battle with "new" foes Ben and Ken. "I mean, he DID wink a lot in our last chat."
"Totally! And besides, we don't need a JERK like HIM to help us. We've got Alice on our side."
"But...uh..." One of Alice's knees buckled under the strain of it all.
"There's two of us," Runo said confidently, "and two of them! (and Alice) It's a perfect match-up! Let's GET 'ER DONE!!" A blue inferno spiraled around Runo.
"Ken, did'ja hear that?" Ben said. "Looks like we've found some decent competition. Two of us, and two of them! (and her)"
"Uh, guys, are you, like, sure about this?" Girl said likely.
"Are you saying you don't want us to battle?? HA!!"
"If we beat them, uh, y-y-you'll get to see your brother!" Ken lied.
"Oh, uh, I, uh, guess I believe that."
"Sure ya do, girly," Ken said slowly. "Sure ya do."
"But...uh..." One of Girl's knees buckled under the strain of it all.
"Looks like she's thinking of Bakugan strategies, too!" Marucho shouted.
"What makes you think that?" Alice wondered aloud.
"Just look at you two!" Alice and Girl were in the same position. "You're like soulmates! Destined to be exactly like one another in composure!"
"Qui'cher yappin'!" Runo demanded.
"Field, Open!" the four competitors called out. Everyone on each side held hands. Things stopped, but you KNOW you don't care about THAT right now. Pretty soon, they were settin' the Doom cards onto the table.
"Gate Card, Set!" they said simultaneously. A near-Windows symbol was the new battlefield.
"I wonder what attack we should use first," Alice wondered.
"How about this one?" Marucho grinned. "Bakugan, Stand! Hueh! Super Robotic Wet One Ultra!" A real poser was summoned on the opposite side of the flag. "Do your stuff!"
"A Super Robotic Wet One Ultra? Huh huh! Don't make me laugh! MORE! Bakugan Brawl! Super Robotic Marcus Ultra, Stand!" A real poser was summoned in front of Ben.
"You know what that means!" Preyus screamed in agony. "Right? Because I don't!"
"It means," Alice mumbled, "that their power levels are doubled."
"CALCULATING POWER LEVEL. MULTIPLIED BY 2. BOTH POWER LEVELS ARE 620 G'S."
"Useful, huh?" Ken mentioned.
"No, not in this case," Alice said bluntly.
"Well, you better rethink that, 'cuz here comes the awesomest part...the Ability Card! Y'see, since both Wet One and Marcus are next to each other on the element wheel, my guy gains the power of Wet One!"
"POWER LEVEL INCREASED TO 700 G'S."
Alice checked through her Bakugan data stuffs power-packed into her watch. "Wait, how does that even make sense?"
Halo Tiger decided, "Marcus and Chaos are a powerful force when used with one another."
"WHAT THE HECK DOES THAT EVEN MEEEEEEEEEAN!?!?" Runo yelled.
"It means Super Robotic Marcus Ultra gets to slaughter you with a gallant punch! You gonna use an ability card or somethin'?"
"Uhhhh, nope!" Marucho's eye sparkled.
"Well, TOO BAD!" He opened his mouth wide and, with a punch in the gut, Super Robotic Wet One Ultra was sent flying in, just part of today's meal. "Yum yum. Huh huh!" Ben said, rubbing his stomach.
Marucho looked down, apparently saddened. "Hey, short kid?" Ken taunted. "Sad now that you've lost your little Bakugan through a vanishing act into my brother's tummy!?"
He turned his head back up slowly, teeth sparkling. "Thanks for getting rid of him for me."
"What's with this kid?" Ben whispered to Ken.
"I dunno," Ken whispered to Ben. "I mean, nothing was up with his the LAST time we battled."
"WHAT last time?"
"NO last time! This is the first time we've ever met, you know that?"
"Hmm. Well, you DO look familiar, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt."
"Perfect..."
"What's perfect?"
"Everything! We get to beat you up and all that crap!"
"Oh. You seem suspicious, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt."
"Perfect..."
"If you don't want me to think you're suspicious, don't act suspicious!"
"W-we're not suspicious!"
"Oh, well, I'll just give you the benefit of the doubt."
"Perfect..."
"Poor Bakugan...!" Girl said, shocked by the tasty display.
"Hmph!" Ken grunted, catching his Bakugan after that fit of sudden repetition.
"You're gonna pay for being suspicious!! Bakugan Brawl! Rhinobot, stand!" Everyone's/no one's favorite white rhino arrived on the scene.
"Let's shut'm down, Men -- I mean, Ken!" Ben backtracked, holding a card with confidence...and style.
"Huh huh, yeah, you go do that!"
"Gate card, set!" And so it was, next to Rhinobot's. "Bakugan Brawl! Snakerake, stand!" And there was a snakerake, which needs no explanation.
"SNAKERAKE POWER LEVEL 320 G'S."
"He's goin' with Snakerake!" Runo scowled. She mumbled suspiciously whilst rubbing her chin, "And its power level is at 320..."
"Well, yeah, that was obvious!" Marucho said, pumped for battle. "I know how to take him down, don't worry!"
"Wait!" Alice finally butted in. "Don't be so eager to jump into battle! Remember what happened last time, with your robot thing. You don't want that to happen again, do you?"
"Of course not!" Or did he?
"Look at what you're up against!" They looked up at the trio, who looked to be mumbling to each other. Alice and Girl were like mirror images. It was ridiculous.
"Yeah, two oddly-familiar guys and a girl who's a lot like you," Runo stated. "Anything else?"
"Not them! The field! They've activated a diagonal relationship between Pirate and Marcus. Don't just focus on THEIR ability cards, focus on the ability cards THEY use as well."
"You put emphasis on weird words, Alice," Runo admitted.
"Maybe...but do you understand now? And next time, Marucho, you really need to power up your Bakugan so that it can actually defeat the enemy." She held her hand up to her mouth. "Did I just say too much...?"
"AH, NOT BAD!!" Preyus spat into Alice's face, suddenly appearing by her side. "Brains as well as beauty! A winning combo!"
"I envy you," Halo Tiger gasped.
"Ah, well, you know, that's just my seldom-used job in the Bakugan Brawlers brigade! I'm starting to like you two!"
"Like I said," Runo whispered to her comrade, "Alice x Preyus. Alice x Preyus."
"Oh, I'm not a Bakugan, so I'm not usable in battle. But Halo Tiger and Preyus would make a great team, am I right?"
She heard us!? Marucho was shocked.
On the other side of the flag-like field, Ken said, "Huh, what're those other guys talking about? I mean, two girls and a guy! Whatevurrrr!"
"Guys, I think they're talking about Bakugan strategies," Girl said hesitantly. "And we should be discussing them, too."
"No way!"
Before he could say "huh huh", Marucho broke the tension, arguably! "Gate Card, Set! Hyaaaaargh!" A card flashed over, making the row closest to our heroes a little bit longer. "Now, Bakugan Brawl! Terrycloth, stand!" A blue crab appeared. It wasn't terry cloth-like at all. What a gimmick. As if to laugh at this shortcoming, its orange eyes sparkled like a deer's in the headlights.
"My God!" Ken gaped. Realizing he sounded a lot like Men, he shook his head wildly and forced everyone to forget all about it. "I'll take him down!" Ben gave him a glance of accusation. "Huh huh ha-huh huh!" he managed to push out of his ailing throat. "Somebody give me a lozenge! Bakugan Brawl! Fearripper, stand!"
With a little teenagery "rawr" a guy who rips the fear out of many stood gallantly before them.
"Yeah, boy! Gate card, opeeeeeee-e-e, e-e, en!" Runo sang weirdly. Something which has no name was activated just as Fearripper ran, for some reason. The field started to glow!
"FEARRIPPER POWER LEVEL 350 G'S. RHINOBOT POWER LEVEL 410 G'S."
Ben gave Ken another odd glance, for some reason. "Heh heh -- what?"
Hushed, Ben uttered, "Act harder."
"Uhhh HUH HUH HUH HUH HUHHHH!! Ability, activate! Diagonal Relationship between Pirate and Marcus!" An image of a pirate and a fat guy appeared over their heads. The two had their backs to each other, so their relationship was pretty diagonal indeed, perhaps. And with that, Snakerake squealed as Fearripper ran after the rhinoceros!
"FEARRIPPER POWER LEVEL INCREASED TO 450 G'S."
Fearripper slashed at Rhinobot and slaughtered him so hard that he fell into a certain Ken's mouth.
"Hey, yo! No fair!" Ben yelped. "You're gettin' all the good meals this time around! I mean, this first time!"
Runo bit back tears, then retorted with a line meaningful enough to capture the essence of losing one's adversary forever... "Hey! Gate card, set! Bakugan Brawl! Panja the Chaotic White Lion, stand!" Panja the White Lion Demon appeared, only this time his wings and scales were the same color as his fur, and he wasn't actually the same guy. "C'mon! Come and get me!"
"She still thinks we're gonna fall for THAT?" Ben remarked. "NEWS FLASH! She's LAME! Just because you've got the field card doesn't mean it gives you the radical advantage! Bakugan Brawl! Rhino Demon, stand!" Despite what you might have been expecting, it did NOT look like a football when it appeared this time, thank heavens.
"BAKUGAN POWER LEVEL STABLE."
"What the hell is THAT supposed to mean!?" Ben shouted.
"Uh, please don't say things like that," Girl timidly said, and - wouldn't you know it - she caused Alice to speak for a moment, too.
"Hey, guys," Alice said, "I feel the need to say something right now. Ignore me!"
"Ability card, activate! Rapidfire!" Some fire appeared, saying '' right before a black-and-purple turtle was summoned over it.
"What kind of silly move is that?" Preyus said, levitating as apparently usual. "Not only did he cut into his brother's battle, or somethin' like that, he used FIRE to summon a MARCUS! It just DOESN'T WORK that way!"
Screaming like a frightened hawk, Rhino Demon stood on Turtle Marc's shell. They made a, uh, formidable team.
"POWER LEVELS COMBINE. POWER LEVEL NOW A WHOPPING 610 G'S."
"Hyuk hyuk!" Ben suddenly developed a signature laugh! "That ability card let a hip-and-happenin' turtle join the fight! Now the guy's TWICE as strong! Almost!"
"A combination play!" Ken was nearly awed by his brother's performance. Nearly.
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?!?" Marucho screeched, completely overreacting and flying backward a few hundred centimeters.
"Huh huh! He can't even compreHEND how specTAcularly RADical this MOVE is! Let's go easy on 'im, bro!"
Ben whispered to him, "If you don't know him well enough to predict he's faking, you're an IDIOT, Men."
"That's not very nice."
Speaking to his team again, Marucho's glasses became intensely reflective, just like Gendo's. "Desperate times call for desperate measures...and these times are not very desperate...!"
"Oh, well, whatever you're planning, go ahead." Runo shrugged. "Just DON'T BE AN IDIOT!!"
"Gate card, activate! Trade-Off!" For a moment the field glowed...and then the two guys were transformed into marbles again!
"Oh NO, man!" Ben looked at the marbles, then at Ken, then at the marbles again in disbelief!
"He beat...our Bakugans! Huh HUH!?"
Terrycloth was also sent back to its respective owner. "Heh!" Marucho said, catching the thing. "You see, the card Trade-Off allows the player activating the card to promptly send any Bakugan - or combination thereof - with a power level over 400 G's back to the opponent, which in this case would be that guy over there, whose name I don't really remember."
"Well done, Marucho," Halo Tiger congratulated.
"Now THAT'S usin' USEFUL cards for ya!" Preyus congratulated.
"So...are you boys paying attention?" Runo called out.
"Huh HUH!" Alice chuckled.
"Grr! She stole your laugh! Let's never forgive her!" Ben roared.
"Huh huh! Yeah, I OWN this laugh! Nobody, especially not a LAME, QUIET type like YOU is gonna take it from ME without a FIGHT! A...Bakugan fight, that is. Oh yeah. When I say Hillshire you say Farms. Hillshire." Luckily, everyone ignored that last part, as usual.
"I set another gate card! Bleh!" Marucho did so. "Bakugan BRAWL, bleh! Terrycloth, stand yet again!"
"Not THAT dum-dum again! Then I'll..." Ken noticed Ben was staring intensely at him again, sweaty.
"Make that laugh yours."
"Huh huh huh HUH!! Take -"
"I see your card and raise it WATER REFRAIN!!" The short dorky kid's card stuck into the field and pulsed through it.
"Huh huh! What's THAT gonna do?" He pretended not to remember what the card did.
"Obviously I don't know you, so it should appear that I was right to give you the benefit of the doubt!"
"Perfe -- uh, I mean, continue."
"Huh? Oh, right. Like I was saying, you cannot activate your ability card right now because I've sealed it!"
"Nice move, huh, but there's no way you can win this battle!"
"That's right, Girl!" Ben said rather loudly. "We're doing this so that you can see your brother!"
"Wait, what did he just say?" Runo asked the other Brawlers. All the others could do was shrug, so they all ignored it.
"Ben...Ken..." Girl muttered, smiling weakly.
Ken nodded a little before shouting, "Bakugan Brawl! Super Robotic Marcus Ultra, stand!" A burly black robot came up behind Snakerake, gettin' pumped all the while.
Runo scoffed, "You're using THAT one again? Don't make me-"
The robot had Snakerake in a hugging choke-hold!
"What the -- this is all so totally WHACK!" Runo panicked. "Why are they doing this!?"
"Huh," Ken grinned.
"Hyuk," Ben smirked.
Two brothers with their goal within reach once again...!!! they thought in unison.
"There is only one decent explanation," Marucho said, pushing his glasses. "These Bakugan are masochistic."
The Bakugan Battle Brawlers will be right back!
The Bakugan Battle Brawlers are back! Battle on, kiddies!
"Gate card, open! Now!" Ben commanded, and purple light began to emanate from below the two wrestlers. Snakerake now had the upper hand as he magically swirled around the robot's grasp and started choking HIM instead!
"Why the schnoodle would they be schnikeys-in' masochistic!?" Runo seemed to be blaming Marucho.
"I don't like this." Marucho pouted. "The brawl's getting weird and Runo just invented a new slang word.
"They're trying a battle sham," Alice said quietly.
"Sham-what?" Runo said, and the two faced her again.
Before she decided to answer, the force from a squished Super Robotic Marcus Ultra blasted Terrycloth into Ben's mouth!
"Nooooo!" Girl screamed, holding her hands over her ears to stop the chewing noises. "No, poor Terrycloth! We hardly knew you!"
Ben paid no mind. "Yummy in da tummy! Crabs make a good vanishing act -- into my stomach! And by vanishing act I mean meal!" he said, avoiding suspicion at the last moment.
Marucho turned around.
The other marbles flew away, having completed their battle whammy whatever. "Good job, bro. Hyuk hyuk," Ben hurriedly added. "We've just sent those OTHER DUMBER Bakugans into the Doom Dimension!"
"It's the ultimate fake-out!" Ken said. "And, huh huh, best part is our guys get to stay in the battle! Let's have a victory wrestle! Huh HUH!!" They dog piled atop one another for a few seconds.
"So that's why it's called a sham-what! It's all a sham and it...wait, what was I saying?" Runo said. "And, wait, how does that even work? Was anybody harmed? What?"
"Bit of reckless strategy, if you ask me," Alice said, scratching her chin.
"So!?" Ben interrupted. "We're gonna be as AWESOMELY reckless as we **** WANNA be, right, Girl?"
"You and that person behind you, you mean?" She pointed to the seldom-useful girl by the name of Girl. What a horrible name.
"Y-y-yeah, hyuk hyuk!" He sweated profusely, turning to Ken for assistance.
"Uhhhh, she's got a brother, a-and we don't know where to find him! Right, Girl?"
She nodded a little.
"Huh huh! And she loves Bakugan, right, Girl?"
"Eh, not really."
"And we have this Doom Card, see?" He held up an aforementioned Doom Card.
"I thought you already threw both of those onto the field!" Marucho shouted.
"Uhhhh, Mask the Money gave one to Girl, but she didn't want it!"
"That's not true!"
"You be quiet."
"Oh, um, okay."
"So like I was saying, huh, this girl, huh, she doesn't know where her brother is, huh, y'know? So, like, we were thinking, huh...if we used these Baku-gan or -gans or whatever we could raise our ranks, right? And then our ranks'll get so high he's sure to notice us sometime!"
"Your plan's flawed," Girl stated, somewhat wisely. "How can you be so sure he loves Bakugan so much he's just gonna HAPPEN to face you? And maybe you're not that great at playing the game, anyways."
"Who's telling the story?"
Girl stopped.
"That's so sad," Alice said, connecting spiritually with Girl somehow. "Poor girl. She's so easily manipulated she doesn't have the strength to break free and be smart about things."
Maybe Grandfather Michael could help her. A slightly-scary image flashed through her mind.
"Yeah! We'll do anything for Girl!" Ben said.
"Oh, boo hoo! How sad! Cut the crap before I beat you twice as hard as I'm planning to!" Runo rudely said.
"Send me in, milady!" Halo Tiger said. "Utilize me!"
"Whatever you say, polite old English lady! Bakugan Brawl! Halo Tiger, stand!" At her command the large cyborg of a tiger stood somewhat gallantly...and roared.
"If it's a battle you want, it's a battle you shall get!"
"I'm gonna step it up a notch!" Ben shouted. "I've been waitin' in the WOMB for this! Battle, huah! Birdman, stand!" Now an anthropomorphic bird stood in front of the largely-forgotten Panja.
"PANJA POWER LEVEL 290 G'S. BIRDMAN POWER LEVEL 340 G'S."
"You don't have a chance! ...Unless you use an ability card, of course!"
"WE'LL SEE ABOUT -- oh, you're right. BUT WRONG!! Gate card, open!" She forced some other guys to join in on the fight!
"I-i-i...huh-huh-hu-uh...IT'S A QUARTET KETTLE!!" Ken howled.
"Oh, goody good day!" Preyus flexed his thumbs. "I get to show my stuff and do my thing!"
"GOOD GUY POWER LEVEL A WHOPPING 590 G'S. BAD GUY POWER LEVEL A WHOPPING 690 G'S."
"What was that about good guys and bad guys?" Girl asked.
"You be quiet!" Ben demanded. "Power levels haven't changed, and we're still ahead!"
"YOU be quiet! Ability card, activate! Cut and Savor!" She threw the card into an unflattering place, which made Halo Tiger embarrassed and want to join in on the brawl.
"Been waitin' for ya, Haley!" Preyus greeted.
"That's NOT MY NAME!!"
That was their cue to end the match. All three of them kicked/pounced/scratched wimpily and together defeated their enemies. Marbles bounced away.
"Good work, team!" Halo Tiger brightened up some. "We couldn't have done it without all three of us. Except for maybe Panja, we could have done it without him."
The lion frowned.
"No way! Huh, this isn't even possible!" Ben and Ken shook heads voraciously.
"Please! Stop the match!" Girl sobbed. "Please stop! My brother means a lot to me, but not enough for me to just go along with your stupid plan like I have been for the last hour or two! One stupid plan isn't worth all these lies!"
"What's the matter, Girl?" Ben asked, obviously not listening.
"You're so cruel! Not only are you fighting these marbles, but...but you're eating them! And saying it's yummy!" She made a sobbing gasp and fell to her knees. "Something's wrong...this game used to be so much more innocent-seeming. But it's like that guy with a horrible fashion sense just came to turn it all around, and made me face the cruel, cruel reality!"
"She's right!" Alice marveled. At the same moment she, too, felt her knees buckle under the stress of the moment.
"No way! We're gonna keep fighting until we win! Huh! Huh!" Ken huh'ed.
Runo screamed back, "IF IT'S A FIGHT YOU WANT IT'S A FIGHT YOU'LL --"
"Wait!" Alice grabbed her shoulder, barely able to stand back up. "You have to stop fighting."
"Why? Because wittle baby Girl's cwying?" She sighed. "Seriously, all this crying is getting on my nerves.
"Runo," Ben said in a serious tone, "we won't get much brawling done if she doesn't stop crying. Let's stop the match, Ken. Victory comes to us, but not at this point in time."
"Yeah," Ken replied, "you're right. In the words of the Reaper, victory comes to those who follow their path wherever it may take them."
"Truer words have never been spoken, my brother." Suddenly they sounded like two completely different people. (And not personality-wise, they really did sound like they were actually Ken and Men in disguise. Like that would ever happen!)
"Are you sure?" Girl said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "If you recall the Doom cards, nobody will get harmed...right?"
"...Hey, you're right. Hyuk hyuk!" Ken and Ben smiled at one another. "Doom Cards, return!" The cards flew magically back into their hands.
Runo and Marucho grew near-dangerous smirks. "Let's do it."
"Bakugan Brawl!"
"Wait! No! I didn't mean that!" She silently sobbed to herself.
Back inside of the station...
"Hah! Hee! Ho! Hah!" Dan ran wildly, running over several people accidentally. "Hey, those training exercises really DID help me!"
The other six kids stood on an escalator heading down. "After all of that, we lost anyway..." Ben sighed, now giving off the aura of some other familiar guy. "Oh well. We'll probably see you guys again!"
"Yeah!" Ken agreed, having changed just as much.
"Ah, don't sweat it," Runo said. "Things get said in the heat of battle."
"Your Bakugan skills are quite good," Marucho said. "Almost as good as mine!"
Ben and Ken were a bit saddened, wanting to respond but knowing it to be true.
Girl caught up with the brothers as they tried to walk quickly away. "Hey, I know you meant well during the battle, but please don't let me get involved with your crazy schemes again. You've really changed. I really hate you." With that, she walked away, off to wherever.
"We've changed...?" Ben was confused.
"Hey," the blue-haired one said, "how come you called me Runo? I don't remember me ever saying that to you guys."
"...HEAD FOR THE HIIIIILS!!" The brothers Ken and Men ran away from the brink of discovery.
"Now that I think about it," Marucho said, "those two look a lot like Jen and Ten, the cross-dressing duo we met at my place."
"And THEY looked a lot like Ken and Men, two magicians I brawled at a theme park with Dan!" Runo punched the nearest pillar, making some cracks. "Ken...Men...YOU TWO GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!!"
But they didn't, escaping her tsundery reach. Soon they forgot all about them and any other twins they might encounter throughout the series...FOR NOW.
Right outside again...
Mask the Money looked around...and saw nothing. Weird, he thought, I had the strangest feeling I'd find a couple of Doom cards around here somewhere...
Back with Dan...
Dan decided to give up after a while, now just sitting on a plastic bench with his buddy Drago. "You know, I heard about this guy who got lost in the train station for a YEAR. What an idiot! Hope we don't turn out like him!"
"You're just the type of person to do that, Dan..."
"You really mean that!?" Dan sounded ecstatic, for some reason.
"HEEEEEEEEYYYY!!!" some little kid suddenly shouted. "Talkin' Backooganz! Lemme see the talkin' Backooganz!" He eagerly grabbed at Drago.
"Woah there, little obnoxious buddy!" Dan pushed him back. "No touching Drago until I get over this cold! You could get infected!"
"Huh!?"
"You like Bakugan a LOT, huh?"
"Eh. Sorta."
"Well, I'll tell ya this...it's not pronounced Backooganz."
"Awwwwwwwww." He pouted. "I just remembered! I have to go meet up with my sister today! She's weird. After all these years of asking my dad finally said I could go!"
"Well, don't see why I should really care! Bye!" Dan flashed his round teeth, relieved that a guy more annoying than him was off his back.
"Hey! Dan!" a Runo said.
Dan turned around to face three other kidz. "Hi there."
Outside...
"You mean to tell me you were here THE WHOLE TIME?? And here you had me thinkin' I was only imagining all those hints you gave me! And you gave no effort into finding me? Thanks for NOTHING, guys!"
"It's not like we WANTED to find you," Runo remarked. "Besides, it's your fault for getting lost."
"Stop fighting!" Marucho interrupted.
His ultimate powers of persuasion instantly calmed them! "So you had a good time brawlin'? Did Alice do anything at all?"
"Oh, no." She looked down bashfully at some ants. Maybe I should tell them about Grandfather Michael and the weird dreams I've been having lately, she thought. "Wait. I have something else to tell you."
"Hey, what was that about Bleep Surprise?" Dan cupped his hand over his ear. "I couldn't hear you over that BACKGROUND NOISE."
"Wait-"
"What background -- OH. THAT background noise. Anyways, stop calling it Tuna Surprise, it sells better that way."
"Wait, you-"
"I wonder what's making that irritating background noise? It sounds oddly familiar, like a sound I don't hear often." Dan turned to look at Alice, who wiped away a tear. "Hey, Alice just got something in her eye!"
"No, I just got something -- wait, you're right. Oh, well, whatever, it's nothing."
"You're sure of that?" said Marucho. "I was pretty sure you were about to say something right there."
"No, really, it's nothing."
"I was kinda starting to like that background noise..." Dan contemplated.
Coming up on the next Bakugan Battle Brawlers Dan has Drago Runo's got Halo Tiger and Marucho has Preyus but look out a new Bakugan in on the horizon!!! Lol Julie thinks their all so cute and cuddly but just wait until Billy shows up he proves they have a real dark side!!! This ones got real bite. so get some rest because these bakugan will haunt your nightmares forever!!! So dont miss it!!!
We leave our audience today with...the Bakugan dance.
Dooby da doo DEE dooby da doo DEE, dooby dooby doob DEE dooby dooby doob DEE, dooby da dooby doo dee!