A/N: sithlorde1988 here, with the next chapter of Bakugan: The Pyrex Chronicles! And yes I actually managed to get around to doing a chapter 2 this time! I know I never got that far with the original write-up, but unfortunately between numerous tech failures and forced hiatuses, one tends to forget/lose track of various stories. This time, that shouldn't be an issue hopefully. That said, let's get the disclaimer over with!
Disclaimer: sithlorde1988 does NOT own Bakugan, Battle Brawlers, or any element/character affliliated with that series (save of course for his OC Rubedo) and the ones that DO own those shows know who they are so credit to them for their work!
That said, speaking of credit, as always credit to JustAnAverageGuy101 for co-writing this story with me. But anyways, enough waffling! On with chapter 2!
Chapter 2- Sleepover Fun! Rubedo, Brawl!
(Intro, first part narrated by Dan)
My whole world changed one day when all these random cards started raining down everywhere. At first, they seemed harmless enough, so a bunch of us kids invited this cool new game! That's when we realized these cards weren't so harmless after all. They were packed with incredible powers from another world! My name is Dan! *Dan's photo pops up on screen* And together with my friends Runo *a shot of Runo appears on screen*, Marucho *like with Runo, a shot of Marucho appears on screen*, Julie *as with Runo and Marucho, Julie's photo pops up on screen*, not to mention Mr. Hot Shot himself, Shun *Shun's photo pops up on screen*, the new kid at school, Rubedo *Rubedo's picture appears on screen and hovers off to the side for the time being* and Alice, we are (accompanied by Runo, Marucho, Julie, Shun, Rubedo and Alice as their pictures fall into place so it shows the pictures of the Brawlers (plus Rubedo's photo) hovering around a mysterious silhouette in the middle of the screen) THE BAKUGAN BATTLE BRAWLERS! Bakugan! One goal, two worlds!
What are you gonna do?
The odds are stacked against you
Backed against the wall
Gotta give it your all
This is the final stand!
The power's in your hand!
Two worlds collide
On the inside
You gotta fight
For what's right!
Before it's gone (gone, gone)
This is Bakugan!
(End intro)
(Inside the limo with Marucho and the Brawlers plus Rubedo)
"Huh, you weren't joking about this limo being huge, were you Marucho?" Rubedo asked Marucho, blinking as he took in how large the back of the limo was, now that it was driving on the road towards Marucho's house. Marucho smiled, nodding at Rubedo.
"Nope. I was very much serious about that. But I can see how you'd be skeptical if you've not been in a limo like this before." Marucho said and Rubedo nodded. Dan then perked up as a thought occurred to him.
"Say, since you're in on our sleepover, I think we might get to have that battle we discussed after all." Dan said to Rubedo who blinked then nodded.
"It certainly looks that way. Though with all respect to you, I'm not in a hurry to get to that. I would honestly prefer getting to spend some time getting to know you guys better first. Unless of course the rest of you would rather just watch me and Dan battle?" Rubedo said, blinking before adding the second part of his statement as an afterthought while looking at the other Brawlers after realizing he didn't know them that well as yet so he couldn't really begin to assume what they might or might not want. Fortunately for him, Alice spoke up at that moment.
"No, I quite agree with you on that Rubedo. It would be fun to see how you stack up against Dan, but getting to know you would probably be more fun as a whole." Alice said, ignoring Runo and Julie giggling behind her at her statement. Rubedo nodded to Alice.
"Good point. Sorry Dan, but maybe a little later on we can have that battle?" Rubedo said to Dan who shrugged.
"Yeah, I'm good for whenever. I suppose we shouldn't be too hasty with things." Dan replied. Shun couldn't help but give a slight chuckle at this.
"That's rich coming from you, Dan. I didn't think you knew how to be patient most of the time." Shun joked, causing Dan to roll his eyes at the quip while Rubedo just blinked in confusion at the mention of Dan's impatience.
"Oh right, you wouldn't know since you just moved here not that long ago. Dan isn't always the most patient person. But he's usually pretty good about not overly being impatient around others." Runo explained to Rubedo, seeing his confused look. Rubedo nodded.
"Ah, I see. Well I can't really say that's surprising. Dan doesn't exactly seem like the type to hold still for long when he's excited." Rubedo replied contemplatively, causing Julie to pout slightly.
"While that is true, Runo doesn't mention that Dan also has a heart of gold!" Julie said, unable to resist standing up for Dan. Rubedo blinked at her statement.
"I...see. And I'm guessing you're not just saying that from experience?" Rubedo said uncertainly, as both Alice and Shun actually laughed out loud at Rubedo's question.
"Oh, she's totally speaking from experience. After all, after Runo, Julie here is probably one of Dan's biggest fans." Shun pointed out with a rare grin, not really feeling the slaps he got on the arm from Runo and Julie and ignoring the unamused glares he got from Alice and Dan. Marucho just shrugged at that, not really having much to say to it.
"Ah. I guess that makes sense. And from your tone, you seem to find that amusing Shun. Honestly, I'm guessing from that you have no real interest in Runo or Julie then. No, if I had to guess, you're probably not into girls younger than you much." Rubedo said, a contemplative expression on his face. Shun shrugged.
"You're not wrong. Besides, I don't really see the point in being in a hurry to find someone for me. Living life to the fullest almost seems more important somehow." Shun remarked offhandedly, making Rubedo blink at him. Surprisingly, it was Marucho who cut in next.
"That may be so Shun, but don't forget that Runo and Julie aren't the only female Brawlers here. Even if she doesn't necessarily play Bakugan, Alice is basically a Brawler too." Marucho pointed out, not seeing both Alice and Rubedo frown slightly at Marucho's comment while Shun blinked.
"That's true. But I think we can also agree that Alice probably doesn't like any of us Brawlers that way either, Marucho." Shun replied.
"Not to mention, shouldn't it be up to Alice who if anyone she shows interest in, as well as if she ever decides to get Bakugan of her own? After all, you don't have to necessarily play Bakugan to enjoy the game. Back where I used to live, I knew a couple of people who didn't own Bakugan but still loved to watch others Brawl. So that really should be Alice's choice on if she ever decides to actually get Bakugan of her own much less play the game." Rubedo pointed out, feeling the need to interject when he saw Alice look unhappy with Marucho subtly trying to slide her into the conversation like he did. Alice then perked up considerably at Rubedo's defense of her. She smiled at Rubedo happily.
"Thank you." Alice said shyly to Rubedo as she gave him a grateful smile. Rubedo nodded, briefly looking away to cover his embarrassment at how pretty Alice looked smiling at him. He then turned back to her.
"You're welcome. Hopefully Marucho was only just messing around bringing you into the conversation the way he did. But anyways, I think we got off-topic. I think we were discussing how awesome this sleepover will hopefully be. And maybe poking a bit of fun at the possible triangle between Runo, Julie and Dan." Rubedo said, changing the subject, while also somehow managing to get the three named Brawlers to simultaneously facefault at being basically called out by Rubedo, prompting Alice to giggle in spite of herself as she subconsciously rested her head on Rubedo's shoulder while Marucho and Shun smirked at their friends' predicament. After the facefault, Dan rolled his eyes at Rubedo.
"Not fair man. Runo and Julie are both nice enough, but come on! Do I look like either of them and I would be a good couple?" Dan protested sheepishly, making Rubedo laugh.
"Maybe one day down the line, but not now. After all, there's plenty of time for that later on. For now we should be enjoying our lives and having fun." Rubedo said to Dan who nodded, pumping an eager fist.
"That's what I'm talkin' about, Rubedo!" Dan said, as he spontaneously grabbed Rubedo's fist and did a fist-bump with him, to Rubedo's surprise. Julie then giggled from next to Dan, making Rubedo and Dan turn to face her.
"Oh look, Alice is totally resting on Rubedo. How cute!" Julie said, smiling as she pointed towards where Alice's head was still resting on Rubedo's shoulder. Shun and Marucho laughed at the sight while Dan and Rubedo rolled their eyes.
"Egh, I don't mind if she feels the need to use my shoulder as a pillow. I find it kind of cute actually. Besides, it's not like it'll be the first or the last time something like that probably happens. So let her be." Rubedo said calmly before smirking.
"Besides, I'm surprised you two didn't think of doing the same thing. After all, Dan has two open shoulders you know." Rubedo pointed out with a smirk, prompting both Runo and Julie to gape at the reply, Dan to once again facefault, and both Shun and Marucho to both actually laugh at how easily Rubedo turned the tables on Runo and Julie, the latter of which huffed.
"Very funny, kid. I suppose next you're gonna make some dumb joke about me and Julie sharing Dan?" Runo scoffed, not seeing the grin on Rubedo's face at her reply.
"Your words Runo, not mine. And kindly DON'T call me kid. I'm older than you are. That'd be like if Shun were to call his mother or grandfather 'kid', basically highly disrespectful." Rubedo said as he glared at Runo when she called him 'kid'. He then shrugged as he kept speaking.
"But no, somehow I doubt you and Julie could settle something like that peacefully without a catfight breaking out." Rubedo quipped.
"Though maybe wait until we're out of the limo before you two catfight, yeah? I don't think Kato, nevermind my parents, would be too happy if we trashed the limo over that." Marucno pointed out with a grin of his own. Alice giggled from on Rubedo's shoulder.
"And since when would YOU know what a catfight is, much less have the chance to see one, Rubedo?" Alice asked innocently making Rubedo blink, the reply he'd been about to make about Dan possibly needing a bodysuit if he gets caught in that catfight dying on his lips as he turned to face Alice at her comment.
"Believe it or not Alice, I've had other female friends before. Granted most of them were just casual acquaintances that I never got that close to, but I did have others. And you'd be surprised how often catfights break out at schoolyards." Rubedo replied simply, smiling down at her as he gently patted her on the head like she was a puppy or a kitten, making her both huff and blush at his touch.
"Fair enough. And don't pet me like I'm an animal, Rubedo. It's nice, but I'm not a puppy or a kitten." Alice said with a pout ignoring the giggles of Runo and Julie as she chastised Rubedo. Rubedo nodded, giving Alice his best attempt at a contrite look, which was admittedly pretty good.
"My apologies. That was just a kneejerk reaction to you leaning your head on me. I mean I could've probably done something else instead, like put an arm around you, or just stroke your hair, but I thought patting you on the head might be less embarrassing for you." Rubedo explained. Alice blinked.
"I actually hadn't thought of that. Good point. But for the record, I probably wouldn't have minded you putting an arm around me." Alice admitted with a bit of embarrassment on her face. Rubedo nodded.
"Good to know." Rubedo said to Alice. Dan huffed.
"Boring. Can we change the subject?" Dan asked. Shun and Rubedo exchanged amused eye-rolls.
"Yeah, sure. Let's go with your original topic attempt. Does everyone in town play Bakugan, or just some of the town?" Rubedo asked, genuinely curious.
"According to my calculations, mostly kids our age play Bakugan. Not too many older people play it that I know of." Marucho answered Rubedo, who nodded.
"I see. Hmm...well that's interesting I suppose." Rubedo said, trailing off as he tried to think of another topic to discuss. At this point, the limo suddenly shook as Kato applied the brakes abruptly, making the Brawlers get tossed around, with the comical results that Runo ended up in Dan's lap while Alice ended up in Rubedo's lap. As for Shun, Julie and Marucho, they ended up landing on their butts on the ground. Needless to say, both Runo and Alice's faces turned bright red as they realized where they'd ended up. Dan also got a bit red-faced, though he gently pushed Runo off of his lap and on to the seat next to him.
However, Rubedo shrugged, got a bit red-faced and put one arm around Alice, not overly bothered by her being in his lap, making Alice smile as she put her head back on his shoulder happily. Runo frowned slightly as Dan pushed her off his lap but smiled as he sat her down next to him. Unseen to any of the four still on a seat, Julie pouted a bit from the ground on seeing Runo in Dan's lap. Eventually Shun helped Julie and Marucho back onto their seats.
"What was that, guys?" Shun asked after Dan, Runo and Alice's faces weren't red anymore. Marucho frowned.
"Probably Kato had to brake to avoid hitting something if I had to guess." Marucho said, before deciding to find out. He grabbed the phone that connected to the driver's seat. Kato saw this and picked the phone up on his end.
"Sorry, Young Master. Some crazy hooligan was in the middle of the road and I had to hit the brakes so I didn't hit him with the limo! I do hope none of you were hurt from the shift back there." Kato explained to Marucho who smirked.
"Nah, no one was hurt. Though it MAY have caused some interesting results to happen back here." Marucho said laughing as he ducked out of the way of Dan AND Runo both trying to tackle him for his joke, whilst Rubedo shrugged at his comment and kept his arm around Alice, who seemed to enjoy the closeness. Julie saw this and giggled.
"Aww, how cute. I knew she was sweet on him." Julie said to Runo who whipped around and grinned widely as she saw Alice contentedly leaning into Rubedo as he kept an arm around her while she stayed leaned into him. Surprisingly, Shun almost frowned slightly at the sight, but just turned away, choosing to busy himself with holding Dan back so he couldn't try to snatch the phone away from Marucho to call him a liar.
"I see. Well, I suppose I should at least let you and maybe Master Dan out so you can see what this hooligan wants, yes?" Kato said as Marucho nodded.
"Very good, Kato." Marucho said, hanging up the phone. He turned to the others.
"Apparently someone was in front of the limo so Kato had to slam on the brakes so he didn't hit them. All Kato said was it was a male. Apparently he wants Dan and I to see what they want." Marucho said as Dan smirked.
"Cool. Maybe it's another Brawler." Dan replied, making Rubedo chuckle.
"Does Dan always have such a one-track mind?" Rubedo asked Alice with an amused expression on his face. Alice chuckled at the question without lifting her head off of Rubedo's shoulder, enjoying her position in both his lap and techincally his arms.
"Mm-hmm. He's the leader of the Brawlers, after all. Of course he's always thinking about Bakugan." Alice replied with a giggle, ignoring Shun's huff at the 'leader' part of her reply. Rubedo had seen it however.
"Shun, I'm sure you're a good leader in your own right. So don't feel bad that Dan's leader. I'm sure you're the natural go-to in the event Dan is unavailable for whatever reason." Rubedo said to Shun, hoping to make him feel better. It worked, to a point.
"That's true." Shun eventually said. At that point, Kato opened the back door to the limo so Dan and Marucho could get out, which they did so.
(Outside the limo)
"All right, who'd Kato have to brake to avoid hitting? And why were they out in the road in the first place?" Dan said as he and Marucho got out of the limo, only for Dan to stop in his tracks, Marucho literally almost bouncing off of him as he got out as a result. Eventually Marucho got out as well.
"Rikimaru?!" Marucho asked, surprised to see the Aquos user there at that moment.
"Why are you here, and why did you try to stop Marucho's limo?" Dan asked, frowning as he realized that Rikimaru had probably jumped in front of the limo.
"First of all, I apologize for almost causing the limo to crash. I was just trying to get your guys' attention since I fancied a rematch with one of you guys. Granted I could've probably just tried to run into one of you out and about but this seemed like a more direct approach. Though I think I got lucky you guys were out and about in the first place." Rikimaru explained as Dan frowned, looking at Rikimaru.
"While I can understand wanting a rematch, you could've gone about it in a way that didn't almost give most of us whiplash! Not to mention, you nearly caused some of us to end up in embarrassing positions from the brakes being applied." Dan huffed at Rikimaru. Marucho glanced at Dan.
"Should we battle him?" Marucho asked Dan, but before Dan could reply, the rest of the Brawlers (and Rubedo) got out of the limo, curious what the holdup was. Rikimaru looked at the others getting out, blinking as he saw Rubedo get out.
"Wait, I thought there were only six of you? Who's the new guy?" Rikimaru asked, pointing at Rubedo as he spoke. Rubedo looked at Rikimaru with a frown.
"First of all, it's rude to point! Secondly, my name is Rubedo. I just moved into town about a week and a half ago. And you are?" Rubedo replied, introducing himself to Rikimaru. Rikimaru smirked at Rubedo.
"Ah I see. You're a newcomer to the neighborhood. Do you play Bakugan, Rubedo?" Rikimaru asked Rubedo who nodded to the question.
"Yes, as a matter of fact I do. Kinda would have to though if I intend to be able to even come close to being as good as the Brawlers. I assume by your question you play it as well?" Rubedo asked Rikimaru. Dan saw Rubedo's confused look and looked at him.
"Ah right. This is Rikimaru. He and I once battled and he put up quite a fight though I ended up beating him in the end." Dan said. Rubedo nodded.
"Nice to meet you, Rikimaru." Rubedo said with a polite nod to Rikimaru who smirked.
"Likewise, and yes I play Bakugan. You know, I WAS planning to challenge Dan or possibly even Marucho to a battle but if you're here, why don't you and I have a battle instead? Could be a good chance to size up how good you are. Plus, it could be a chance for you to show your stuff to the Brawlers. What do you say? You in?" Rikimaru said, extending a challenge to Rubedo who only briefly hesitated before smiling.
"You raise a good point. Eh, why not? I'm in. Best case, I manage to hold my own and win. Worst case, I try not to fall on my face TOO hard, so to speak." Rubedo said, accepting the challenge as he and Rikimaru got out their Field cards to open the battlefield, the other Brawlers (minus Alice who simply put her hand on Rubedo's shoulder as he made to use the Field card) did the same.
"FIELD, OPEN!" Rikimaru and Rubedo called out in unison as time slowed down all around them, everyone and everything (excluding the Brawlers, Rikimaru and Rubedo) found themselves trapped in suspended animation as the battlefield opened up, moving the group to basically another dimension. Once inside the 'battlefield', Rubedo and Rikimaru each took out a card.
"GATE CARD, SET!" Both Rikimaru and Rubedo called out as each set down a card that glowed the color of their respective Attribute (blue for Rikimaru and red for Rubedo) as Rikimaru took out a Bakugan.
"I'll go first! Bakugan, Brawl!" Rikimaru called out as he threw the Bakugan that was in his hand, managing to land it on his Gate card.
"Bakugan, STAND! Aquos Robotallion, stand!" Rikimaru said as Rubedo grabbed one of his Bakugan out of his coat pocket, smirking.
"Here goes nothing! Bakugan, BRAWL!" Rubedo called out as he tossed his Bakugan out onto the field, landing it on the Gate card he'd set,making it open up on contact with the Gate Card.
"Bakugan Stand! Pyrus Centipoid, stand!" Rubedo said as Centipoid stood on the Gate Card. Rikimaru smirked, grabbing a second Bakugan.
"Bakugan, Brawl!" Rikimaru said, taking aim and landing his Bakugan onto the same card as Centipoid.
"Bakugan Stand! Aquos Juggernoid, Stand!" Rikimaru said as the Bakugan were registered on the Baku-Pods on Rikimaru and Rubedo's wrists.
"Registering battle. Pyrus Centipoid and Aquos Juggernoid have entered the battle. Computing scores. Advantage Pyrus Centipoid by 40 G's." Rubedo's Baku-Pod read out as the scores were analyzed. Rikimaru smirked.
"Or is it advantage Centipoid? Ability Card, activate! Super Shard!" Rikimaru said as Juggernoid launched a bunch of blue energy-shaped blasts at Centpoid, making him wince as he was pushed back a tad.
"Power transfer of 50 Gs from Centipoid to Juggernoid registered. Now updating scores. Advantage Juggernoid by 60 Gs." Rubedo's Baku-Pod updated the scores, making Rubedo smirk.
"Nice try! Gate Card, OPEN! Triple Battle, activate!" Rubedo said as he picked another Bakugan and threw it onto the same Gate Card as Centipoid and Juggernoid.
"Pyrus Fear Ripper, STAND!" Rubedo called out as Fear Ripper stood on the Gate Card, activating it.
"Calculating new power levels. Fear Ripper and Centipoid power levels increase to a combined 720 Gs! Advantage Fear Ripper and Centipoid by 330 Gs." Rubedo's Baku-Pod read out, updating the scores once more. "Now attack!" Rubedo called out as Fear Ripper and Centipoid rushed forward, slamming into Juggernoid and sending him flying back towards Rikimaru in ball form. Dan and Shun exchanged smirks at this point.
"Is it me, or did Rubedo handle that really skillfully?" Dan asked Shun who just nodded as the battle continued.
(Remaining Bakugan: Rikimaru-2 Rubedo-3 Remaining Abilities: Rubedo-3/3 Rikimaru-2/3 Remaining Gate Cards: Rubedo-2/3 Rikimaru- 3/3)
"Gate Card, SET!" Rikimaru said as he threw down a second Gate Card. He then grabbed for his third Bakugan, having lost Juggernoid and still having Robotallion on the field.
"Bakugan, Brawl!" Rikimaru said, tossing his Bakugan and landing it on the Gate Card he'd set.
"Bakugan, STAND! Aquos Siege, stand!" Rikimaru said. Rubedo blinked but shrugged, getting a Gate Card out.
"Gate Card, SET!" Rubedo said tossing a Gate Card down. He then reached for another Bakugan. "Bakugan, Brawl!" Rubedo said as he took aim for the Gate Card he'd set, but missing by a bit and landing his Bakugan onto the Gate Card that Robotallion was stood on.
"Bakugan, STAND! Pyrus Centipoid, stand!" Rubedo said as Centipoid stood once more.
"Registering new battle. Pyrus Centipoid and Aquos Robotallion entering battle. Calculating scores. Advantage Centipoid by 50 Gs." The Baku-pod read out.
"Ability Card, Activate! Water Slap!" Rikimaru called out as a torrent of water emerged from Robotallion's fist, hitting Centipoid and weakening it.
"Bakugan power-down registered. Re-checking scores. Advantage Robotallion by 50 Gs." Rubedo's Baku-Pod rang out as Robotallion punched Centipoid sending it flying back to Rubedo in ball form. Alice and Marucho both frowned at this.
"Well that's unfortunate. But I suppose there wasn't much Rubedo could do there, since by my calculations, Rikimaru had the advantage locked up pretty good on this battle." Marucho remarked as Alice sighed, but nodded.
"That's fair. Come on, Rubedo! You can do this!" Alice said, as she cheered Rubedo on, eliciting a smile from him as he heard Alice rooting for him.
(Remaining Bakugan: Rikimaru-2 Rubedo-2 Remaining Abilities: Rubedo-3/3 Rikimaru-1/3 Remaining Gate Cards: Rubedo-2/3 Rikimaru-2/3)
"Gate Card, Set!" Rubedo said as he set his last Gate Card. He then reached for a Bakugan.
"Bakugan, BRAWL!" Rubedo said as he threw his Bakugan, landing it on the Gate Card he set down.
"Bakugan, STAND! Pyrus Laserman, stand!" Rubedo said as Laserman stood. Rikimaru grabbed his last Gate Card.
"Gate Card, set!" Rikimaru said, tossing his Gate Card down. He then reached for a Bakugan.
"Bakugan, BRAWL!" Rikimaru said tossing it and landing it perfectly on his Gate Card.
"Bakugan, STAND! Aquos Robotallion STAND!" Rikimaru called as Robotallion made its third Stand of the match.
"Bakugan, BRAWL!" Rubedo called out, tossing his last Bakugan and landing it on the Gate Card he'd laid down a few turns previous.
"Bakugan, STAND! Pyrus Fear Ripper, STAND!" Rubedo said as Fear Ripper stood once again. Rikimaru grabbed his third Bakugan.
"Bakugan, BRAWL!" Rikimaru called out, landing the Bakugan on the Gate Card that Fear Ripper stood on.
"Bakugan, STAND! Aquos Siege, Stand!" Rikimaru said as Aquos Siege landed on Fear Ripper's Gate Card.
"Next battle registered. Calculating scores. Advantage Fear Ripper by 40 Gs." Rubedo's Baku-Pod read out as Rikimaru smirked.
"We'll see about that! Ability-!" Rikimaru said, making to use an ability but Rubedo cut him off.
"I don't think so! Gate Card, OPEN! Wall Lock! You can't use Abilities on this battle!" Rubedo said as Rikimaru's Ability was neutralized for the battle. After that, Fear Ripper raced forward, raking his claws across Siege's chest, making him stagger back, falling to a knee as he was sent back to Rikimaru in ball form. Runo and Julie cheered at the result while Alice smiled.
"That was unbelivable. I don't even think Dan could think that fast on his feet! No offense, Dan." Runo said, as Dan frowned.
"That's true but you could at least TRY to act like you have faith in me, Runo." Dan said as Julie giggled at Dan chiding Runo.
"You tell her, Danny! Don't let her roast you like that!" Julie said enthusiastically. Alice rolled her eyes.
"As amusing as this by-play is, can you all shut it or at least focus on the match and not whatever crazy love triangle you three have going?" Alice snapped, trying to focus on Rubedo's battle, ignoring the unified huffs from Dan,Julie and Runo.
"ENOUGH LOVE TRIANGLE TALK!" Dan, Julie and Runo snapped in unison, then blinked at speaking as one, prompting Alice to giggle, Shun and Marucho to laugh and Rubedo to roll his eyes but stay focused on the battle, trusting Alice to have the situation under control.
(Remaining Bakugan: Rikimaru-1 Rubedo-2 Remaining Abilities: Rubedo-3/3 Rikimaru-1/3 Remaining Gate Cards: Rubedo-1/3 Rikimaru-2/3)
"Bakugan, BRAWL!" Rubedo said as he tossed Fear Ripper back out, managing to unintentionally land him on the card Robotallion was on.
"Battle 4, start. Calculating scores. Advantage Fear Ripper by 60 Gs." Rubedo's Baku-Pod read out as the Brawlers watched, too busy studying the battlers to say much. Rikimaru smirked.
"Gate Card, OPEN! Reload, activate!" Rikimaru said as his used abilities returned to his hand. He then held one up.
"Ability Card, ACTIVATE! Super Shard!" Rikimaru said, as Robotallion blasted the familiar blue energy blasts from his chest cannons, hitting Fear Ripper and causing a power down.
"Power down registered. Re-checking scores. Advantage now Robotallion by 40 Gs." Rubedo's Baku-pod read out as Robotallion reared a fist back before swinging it at Fear Ripper, striking dead center and sending Fear Ripper flying back to Rubedo in ball form. Shun winced at the power play by Rikimaru.
"Dang, that's some clever tactical moves on his part." Shun remarked. Dan huffed at this as did Alice.
"That's not tactical planning. Rikimaru just got lucky, that's all. Besides, I didn't see any abilities be played by Rubedo, so he still has the advantage here." Dan said authoratatively, as if that settled the matter. Alice smiled and nodded.
"Agreed. If Rikimaru keeps going through his Gate and Ability cards like he has been, he's not gonna do very well in the final battle." Alice pointed out with a smile. She saw Rubedo look back at her and blushed a bit in embarrassment as she looked back at him.
"Go get him, Rubedo! You can do this!" Alice said supportively, and Rubedo nodded, turning back to the battle. Alice of course ignored the knowing smirks on Julie and Runo's faces and the laughs from Dan, Shun and Marucho. Rubedo, however, turned his attention back to the battle, knowing each side had one Bakugan left so he had to make this next battle count!
(Remaining Bakugan: Rikimaru-1 Rubedo-1 Remaining Abilities: Rubedo-3/3 Rikimaru-2/3 Remaining Gate Cards: Rubedo-1/3 Rikimaru-1/3)
"Bakugan, BRAWL!" Rikimaru said as he tossed Robotallion back out, landing him on Laserman's Gate Card.
"Bakugan, STAND! Aquos Robotallion, stand!" Rikimaru said as Robotallion made his fourth Stand.
"Final battle commencing. Calculating scores. Advantage Laserman by 70 Gs." Rubedo's Baku-Pod read out as the Brawlers got nervous watching this. This battle decided the match. Dan and Alice in particular were nervously watching, hoping Rubedo could pull out the win.
"Ability Card, ACTIVATE! Aquos Javelin!" Rikimaru said as Robotallion grabbed a javelin and switched the card it and Laserman were on with the empty card next to it.
"Ability Card, ACTIVATE! Fire Wall!" Rubedo said as a wall of flames sprung up in front of Laserman, attempting to lower Robotallion's power.
"Ability Card, ACTIVATE! Water Slap!" Rikimaru said as he activated Water Slap to try and both negate Fire Wall and lower Laserman's power.
"Not gonna happen! Ability Card, ACTIVATE! Frame Fire!" Rubedo said as not only was Water Slap negated but Laserman gained an extra 50 Gs on top of the 50 G power down that Robotallion suffered.
"AND! Just to be sure I have this, Ability Card, ACTIVATE! Fire Judge!" Rubedo said, adding his third Ability Card for good measure, giving Laserman an extra 100 Gs on top of the 50 he'd already gained.
"Re-checking scores. Advantage now Laserman by a whopping 270 Gs." Rubedo's Baku-Pod read out as Laserman loaded his artillery while taking aim at Robotallion.
"Laserman, finish it! Open fire!" Rubedo said as Laserman fired his weapons, pelting Robotallion with energy shots, making him fly backwards to the ground before he flew back to Rikimaru in ball form, ending the match and causing time to return to normal as the group left the battlefield amidst approving cheers from Alice, Julie and Runo at Rubedo's victory and approving nods from Marucho and Shun plus a wide grin from Dan.
(Remaining Bakugan: Rubedo-1/3 Rikimaru-0/3 Remaining Ability Cards: Rubedo-0/3 Rikimaru-0/3 Remaining Gate Cards: Rubedo-1/3 Rikimaru-1/3)
"Dang, I lost. That was impressive. You're not bad, Rubedo." Rikimaru said to Rubedo who shrugged.
"Eh, I got lucky, that's all. You're a pretty good brawler yourself. Had I not kept all my Ability Cards in my back pocket for that last battle, you might have won that with that combo you tried at the end." Rubedo said, both trying for some humility and trying to be gracious to his opponent. Rikimaru shrugged.
"Well, that was pretty good. I guess I should let you guys get back to what you were doing. I can rematch you lot some other time." Rikimaru said as Dan smirked.
"Sure thing! Anytime, anyplace!" Dan said to Rikimaru who nodded before turning around and walking off, leaving a confused group of Brawlers who got back into the limo with Rubedo, with the seating arrangements working themselves out so Marucho ended up in the middle of the seat with Dan and Rubedo on either side of him. Ironically, Runo and Alice ended up next to Dan and Rubedo again respectively. Eventually the limo started moving again towards Marucho's house. As the limo started moving, Dan and Shun looked at Rubedo.
"Gotta say, you didn't do that bad on that battle, Rubedo. Granted, you cut it a tad close for my liking, but you did get the win in the end so I suppose we can overlook that." Dan said conversationally to Rubedo. Rubedo shrugged to Dan's statement.
"Eh, you're not wrong. I got lucky at the end there. But Rikimaru is a good player. So I definitely have room for improvement." Rubedo said, as Alice smiled while laying her head on his shoulder.
"Perhaps, but at least you won. And that's what matters. Besides, it's not like you don't still have plenty of other chances to get better as a Brawler, Rubedo. So relax and let yourself enjoy your victory. After all, I believe the saying goes 'To the victor goes the spoils.' or something like that." Alice pointed out with a smile as she let herself relax, deliberately not looking over next to her where she was sure Julie had a knowing smirk on her face. As it was, Runo giggled.
"Aww, so cute." Runo said, smiling as she leaned back in her seat while watching Alice relaxing on Rubedo. Julie smirked.
"Those two are so obvious. Sort of like how Dan and I could be that obvious." Julie spoke up with a slight squeal, as Runo scoffed while Dan groaned.
"Not this again!" Dan said in a petulant/whiny tone. Shun and Marucho laughed at Dan's expression. Runo however wasn't so amused.
"OBVIOUS?! More like unlikely." Runo scoffed, huffing annoyedly at Julie's comment.
"Am I the only one here who realizes that Dan hasn't really given HIS opinion on how 'obvious' either of you with him is?" Rubedo pointed out casually, causing both Runo AND Julie to facefault off their seats while Dan grinned at Rubedo's remark, clapping him on his free shoulder.
"EXACTLY! Rubedo gets it. I mean, both of you are nice girls, but I see you both as just friends." Dan replied, causing Julie and Runo to both groan from on the ground.
"JUST FRIENDS?! NOOOO!" Julie and Runo both wailed dramatically, making Dan wince as Shun and Marucho laughed at Runo and Julie's plight while Rubedo and Alice rolled their eyes at the reply.
'Drama queens.' Rubedo and Alice both thought. Shun shrugged as he helped the girls back into their seats, smirking.
"And this is why love can be over-rated." Shun deadpanned, ignoring the surprised looks he got from Alice, Julie and Runo at his comment.
"Amen, Shun." Dan said, nodding his agreement with Shun's statement.
"I concur. By my calculations, most of us are too young to really get into anything serious with each other anyways. Besides, who knows what the future may hold?" Marucho said sagely, as Rubedo smiled, nodding his agreement.
"Well said, Marucho. We shouldn't be in a rush for anything. We should just enjoy our lives as we live each day to the fullest. If some of us happen to find someone special along the way, all the better." Rubedo said with a smile, subconsciously putting an arm around Alice as she leaned into him while he agreed with Marucho's remark. If he noticed the possibly semi-jealous look on Shun's face as he watched Rubedo put an arm around Alice, Rubedo made no mention of it.
"Aww, is Shun jealous of Rubedo? I didn't think he liked anyone that way." Runo said giggling, having seen the look on Shun's face. Shun scoffed.
"Don't be absurd, Runo. Me, jealous?! As if!" Shun said with a frown. Julie smiled.
"You know it's not a crime to like someone, right Shun?" Julie said to Shun, who blinked at the question.
"Of course I know that, but where did that come from?" Shun asked Julie.
"Just making sure you knew that. Besides, it's not like Dan and Rubedo can help being chick magnets." Julie replied, not seeing Rubedo groan at Julie's use of the term 'chick magnet' and Dan facefault at Julie dragging him into her comment.
"WE'RE NOT CHICK MAGNETS!" Rubedo and Dan said in unison, blinking in surprise at speaking at the same time. Runo, Julie and Alice giggled at their unintentional synchronicity while Marucho outright laughed at them while Shun smirked.
"Obviously not. Granted Rubedo and Alice do look rather cozy together, but I don't see Dan cuddling anyone anytime soon." Shun pointed out, unable to resist taking a jab at Dan. Rubedo rolled his eyes at Shun.
"Shun, be nice. I won't deny that having Alice on me like this feels oddly nice, and almost, dare I say it?, right. And don't poke fun at Dan. When he's ready, he'll find someone for him, probably once he takes notice of a girl as more than a friend." Rubedo remarked, looking pointedly at Runo as he chastised Shun, to the surprise of not only Shun, but of Runo and Julie. While Runo silently cheered that Rubedo thought she went well with Dan, Julie pouted that he was implying Dan and Runo were good together. Dan just grinned at Rubedo standing up for him again. Alice merely smiled as she kept leaning into him. Rubedo couldn't resist grinning as he looked down at Alice.
"You know, you seem really really comfy there on my shoulder, Alice. Perhaps I should get a pillow so you can sleep there?" Rubedo joked, smiling at Alice as he made a quip. Alice shrugged.
"Can I help that you have very smooth and soft shoulders? Not to mention you're so comfy to lean on. For a guy, you make a really cuddly pillow." Alice said, going pink a bit as Runo and Julie giggled at her response while Shun, Dan and Marucho chuckled at the dumbstruck look on Rubedo's face at Alice's explanation. After a bit, Rubedo spoke again.
"I...see. I guess I should take it as a compliment that you find me so cuddly and smooth. Eh whatever, I don't mind if you relax on me, Alice. Hey Marucho, how far are we from your house, out of curiousity?" Rubedo said, aiming the first part of his statement at a now smiling Alice before turning to address Marucho with the latter half of his reply. Marucho smiled at Rubedo.
"Good question. By my calculations, we shouldn't be far from my house at all. I suppose for now, we can keep finding stuff to talk about while the girls either join in or decide to use us as pillows to take a nap. Either one works." Marucho said, grinning as he looked at the other Brawlers. Alice merely smiled, giving a contented sigh as she relaxed on Rubedo's shoulder, ignoring him going slightly red next to her from embarrassment (and totally not from shock at her being comfortable with him.)
Runo and Julie blinked at Marucho's comment before Runo smirked, getting an idea from Marucho's comment and deciding to copy Alice by resting her head on Dan's shoulder, smiling as she let herself relax like Alice had, ignoring the confused/shocked expression on Dan's face and the pouting look on Julie's face at Runo staking claim on Dan's shoulder. Shun, Marucho and Rubedo chuckled at the look on Dan's face at Runo's bold move while Alice just smiled, giving Runo a nod of respect for following her lead.
At that moment, the limo finally pulled up to Marucho's house. Kato parked the limo in the garage and got out to open the door for the Brawlers who got out of the limo one at a time, Rubedo and Alice being the last ones out because Rubedo had to struggle to get Alice off his shoulder so they could get out (apparently she was REALLY comfortable leaning on Rubedo.) After they were all out, Marucho guided the group towards his room while taking the chance to give Rubedo a partial tour of his house.
After the group reached Marucho's room, they got comfortable in various places ((Marucho sat at his desk in his usual chair, Shun got comfortable sitting cross-legged on the floor, Dan took a seat on the couch with Julie and Runo rushing to claim seats on either side of him, to his annoyance. By default (and possibly coincidence) it left Rubedo and Alice to get comfortable sitting together on Marucho's bed, making Shun and Marucho chuckle at how eagerly Alice sat with Rubedo while Dan had a girl on each arm (even if he didn't necessarily agree with it!)) After they'd gotten comfortable, Marucho looked at the group.
"So, what should we do first guys? We could either play some games, chat about various things, or something." Marucho said to the group who shrugged. Dan opened his mouth to speak, but Shun cut him off with a glare.
"No Dan, when he said 'games', Marucho didn't mean Bakugan." Shun said before Dan could speak, making him huff. Rubedo looked at Shun.
"And how do you know what Marucho might have meant, Shun?" Rubedo asked Shun, looking at him in confusion. Shun smirked.
"Simple. Knowing Marucho, when he says 'games' he likely means something along the lines of Truth or Dare, 2 Truths 1 Lie or possibly some other party game along those lines." Shun explained. Rubedo nodded at Shun's logic. Dan smirked.
"Huh, not gonna lie Shun. Thought you were gonna add some game to the effect of Seven Minutes in Heaven or possibly Spin the Bottle to that list." Dan said, making both Rubedo AND Shun blink at his comment, while both Runo and Julie were embarrassed by the two games Dan mentioned, both knowing what they entailed. Marucho blinked at Dan.
"I don't even think any of us even know how to play either of those games." Marucho pointed out.
"Or are old enough for them." Rubedo added helpfully. Alice smiled next to him.
"Not to mention, I get a feeling we'd be having to keep Runo and Julie seperated all night if we did either of those since they'd probably be fighting over which one of them gets to do either of those games with Dan." Alice pointed out with a smile, proceeding to laugh with Rubedo, Shun and Marucho at the twin pouts on Runo and Julie's face and the epic facefault Dan did (right into Runo's lap, funnily enough without trying!)
"First of all, pretty sure both of those games are somewhat randomized. Secondly, I was just listing party games I knew of." Dan defended himself. Runo flushed a bit in embarrassment as she saw Dan's head in her lap.
"Umm, can you get your head out of my lap please Dan?" Runo asked Dan. Dan looked at where he was, went red and sat up immediately with a look of embarrassment, both himself and Runo looking away from each other and thus not seeing the grins on Shun and Rubedo's faces while Marucho and Alice laughed at the look on their face while Julie crossed her arms with a huff. Alice looked at Runo.
"I bet that was nice for you, getting to have Dan's head in your lap. Or did you not like it?" Alice asked Runo who huffed.
"Very funny, Alice. But there's a difference between Dan being the one to facefault onto me and me facefaulting onto him." Runo said, her cheeks going a tad pink as Dan shot her a confused look but smirked at her remark.
"Anyways, assuming we can find a game that doesn't end with one of us teasing someone, that could be a good starting point." Rubedo spoke up. Marucho nodded to Rubedo's remark. Julie smirked at Rubedo's remark so she wouldn't have to think about Dan's head being in Runo's lap.
"I'm pretty sure that's not gonna happen but I suppose we can try." Julie remarked. Runo saw the slight frown in Julie's expression and childishly stuck her tongue out at Julie, ignoring the laughs from Rubedo, Dan and Shun at her action. Alice just rolled her eyes at how immature Runo and Julie were being while Marucho wasn't paying attention. After a bit of awkward silence, Marucho finally looked up at the others.
"I got an idea! Since we can't decide on what to do, I propose we start out with a game of '2 Truths 1 Lie', with the stakes being that the two of us who correctly guess the most of each others' lies will get to have a Bakugan battle with each other. Or, if Alice makes the top 2, she'll be replaced with either 1st or 3rd place depending on if she takes 1st or 2nd while making top 2. Everyone agree?" Marucho asked, and the other Brawlers nodded.
"So how it will work is simple. Each of you, starting with Alice because ladies first, will come up here and type three statements about yourselves on a Word document I've prepared and opened up. I will then print out several copies of the list of statements and we will then try to guess which of each other's statements are lies from the 3 each of us writes. After we do that, we will then take turns revealing our lies and whoever guessed the most will face whoever guessed the 2nd most in a Bakugan battle unless 1st or 2nd is Alice, in which case she'll be replaced by the person with the 3rd most. Any questions before we start?" Marucho asked the group and no one raised their hands.
"OK then, let's start! Alice, you're up first." Marucho said. One by one, the Brawlers came up to Marucho's computer and added their statements to the list, ending with Marucho who then printed out the list making several copies, one for each Brawler. He then handed each Brawler a copy of the list along with a pen to mark their guesses. Rubedo looked his copy over and it read as thus:
Alice: Had a box full of stuffed dragons when she was little, has a pet salamander, likes long walks under the night sky
Julie: Prefers salted caramel to most every other candy, had 4 dogs when she was little, was good at baseball when she was younger
Runo: Was really into sports when she was younger, used to be a tomboy, Works at her family's restaurant
Dan: Likes spicy food, broke his leg in the same place twice playing soccer when he was younger, tried doing the same yoga routine his mom does
Marucho: Won a mathematics competition 7 years in a row, has an IQ of 180, wanted to be an astronaut
Rubedo: Was trapped in a collapsed cave for 3 hours, is more of a dog person, once fell onto a campfire
Shun: Received a katana from his grandfather for his 10th birthday, used to be afraid of heights, likes to play the flute.
After looking at the list for a bit (and remembering not to mark a guess for his own per Marucho's instructions), Rubedo eventually marked circles around 'has a pet salamander', 'had 4 dogs when she was little', 'used to be a tomboy', 'tried doing the same yoga routine his mom does', 'won a mathematics competition 7 years in a row', and 'used to be afraid of heights' before setting down his pen and waiting for the others to finish their guesses. After a few minutes, all the guesses were marked and Marucho looked up at the others.
"Good, we're all ready. Starting with Alice, we'll all reveal what our lies were so we can see how many we got right." Marucho said as Alice nodded.
"My lie is 'has a pet salamander'. I'd never be caught dead with a salamander honestly." Alice said sheepishly.
"My lie is 'had 4 dogs when she was little'. I never had any dogs." Julie said.
"My lie, perhaps unsurprisingly, is 'used to be a tomboy'. I'm obviously still something of a tomboy." Runo said smirking.
"My lie was 'tried doing the same yoga routine his mom does' because like heck would I do something my mom does." Dan said with a grin.
"My lie was 'Won a mathematics competition for 7 years in a row'. I've only won one 4 years in a row, not 7." Marucho said.
"My lie was 'was trapped in a collapsed cave for 3 hours'. It was a fair bit longer than that." Rubedo said ignoring the shocked gasps from the girls and the stunned looks on Dan, Shun and Marucho's faces.
"My lie was 'used to be afraid of heights'. I've never been afraid of them." Shun said. After everyone tallied up their scores the final tally looked like this:
Alice-4/6 correct, Julie-4/6 correct, Runo-3/6 correct, Dan- 5/6 correct, Marucho-4/6 correct, Rubedo-6/6 correct (with a lot of lucky guesses!), Shun-4/6 correct
"So by my calculations, it looks like Dan and Rubedo are the ones having a Bakugan battle at some point." Marucho said as Dan grinned seeing his chance to battle Rubedo. Rubedo blinked, still surprised he'd gotten them all right. He half-expected to get at least one of the lies wrong. He was also surprised to find out none of the other Brawlers (save for Alice who got lucky with her guess and got his right) got his lie right. Alice smiled as she looked at Rubedo.
"Good luck. You're not a bad battler, but Dan's good as well. So don't expect to have an easy time against him. But I'll root for you regardless." Alice told Rubedo, smiling shyly at him. Rubedo smiled at Alice.
"Thank you, milady. It means a lot that you'd go out of your way to root for me." Rubedo said, smiling appreciatively at Alice. Alice nodded happily.
"You're welcome. Do your best out there." Alice told Rubedo with a smile as she let him plan his strategy out (as much as he can against Dan at least). Dan was just excited to battle Rubedo, so much so he went off by himself for a second to plan his game out a bit. He did this moreso so he didn't have to worry about Runo and Julie being all over him while he was preparing for battle. Eventually, the group was gathered in a large open room that Marucho had gotten permission to use as a battling room, Field cards in hand. Dan looked over to Rubedo with a smirk.
"Ready to throw down, Rubedo?" Dan asked Rubedo who nodded.
"As ready as I'll ever be, I suppose. May the best Brawler win, Dan. Good luck to you." Rubedo said. At that, all the Brawlers (again, except for Alice who grabbed the closest Field card holder, which happened in this instance to be Shun) pulled out their Field cards.
"Field, OPEN!" All the Brawlers (except Alice) said in unison as they were transported to the battlefield while everything else around them was trapped in suspended animation as the battle commenced. Dan and Rubedo then each grabbed a Gate Card.
"GATE CARD, SET!" Dan and Rubedo said as they threw down their Gate Cards, two flashes of red materializing onfield as they landed on the battlefield.
(Remaining Bakugan: Dan-3/3 Rubedo-3/3 Remaining Ability Cards: Dan-3/3 Rubedo-3/3 Remaining Gate Cards: Dan-3/3 Rubedo-3/3)
"I'll start this off if you don't mind! Bakugan, BRAWL!" Dan said as he threw a Bakugan, taking careful aim and landing it on his Gate Card.
"Bakugan, STAND! Pyrus Griffon, Stand!" Dan said as Griffon stood on the Gate Card it landed on. Rubedo grabbed a Bakugan.
"Right. Gate Card, SET!" Rubedo said as he tossed down a second Gate Card next to the first one he'd set down. He then grabbed his Bakugan.
"Bakugan, BRAWL!" Rubedo said as he tossed his Bakugan out, aiming pretty carefully as he landed it on his first Gate Card.
"Bakugan, Stand! Pyrus Centipoid, STAND!" Rubedo said as Centipoid stood on the Gate Card he'd landed on. Dan smirked.
"Bakugan, Brawl!" Dan said tossing another Bakugan out and landing it on the Gate Card Centipoid had stood on.
"Bakugan, Stand! Pyrus Saurus, STAND!" Dan said as Saurus stood on the Gate Card Centipoid had just stood on.
"Battle 1 commencing. Checking scores. Advantage Centipoid by 40 Gs." Rubedo's Baku-Pod read out. Surprisingly, neither Dan or Rubedo made a move to use Abilities.
"BATTLE!" Dan and Rubedo called out as their Bakugan did battle. Eventually it ended with Centipoid putting the literal squeeze on Saurus, knocking him to the ground as he flew back to Dan in sphere form. Runo and Julie huffed at this while Alice smiled.
"NO FAIR! Go easy on him!" Julie and Runo said before blinking at simultaneously defending Dan, prompting a giggle from Alice, smirks from Shun and Marucho and eye rolls from Dan and Rubedo.
"You two, you DO realize this is Bakugan? There's no such thing as 'go easy' in Bakugan." Alice pointed out calmly to Runo and Julie who huffed before the battle proceeded.
(Remaining Bakugan: Dan-2/3 Rubedo-3/3 Remaining Ability Cards: Dan-3/3 Rubedo-3/3 Remaining Gate Cards: Dan-3/3 Rubedo-2/3)
Rubedo grabbed his last Gate Card before tossing it out onto the battlefield.
"Gate card, SET!" Rubedo said as he threw down his last Gate Card. He then reached for a Bakugan.
"Bakugan, BRAWL!" Rubedo said, tossing out a Bakugan and though he aimed for his own Gate Card, he underthrew his shot slightly and landed on Griffon's Gate Card by mistake.
"Bakugan, Stand! Pyrus Centipoid, STAND!" Rubedo said as Centipoid once again stood, this time on the same Gate Card as Griffon.
"Battle 2 commencing. Analyzing scores. Advantage Centipoid by 10 Gs." Rubedo's Baku-Pod read out the scores as the other Brawlers watched the battle with intrigue, excitement and (at least in Runo and Alice's cases) bated breath, curious to see which Pyrus user would come out on top. Dan smirked.
"That advantage won't last long once I do this. Gate Card, OPEN! Triple Battle! And as it's my turn to throw, I get to throw the third Bakugan in! So, Bakugan, BRAWL!" Dan said as he took aim and tossed Drago down right onto the Gate Card.
"Bakugan, Stand! Drago, STAND!" Dan said as Drago stood on the Gate Card, activating the Triple Battle.
"Triple Battle detected. Re-checking scores. Advantage now Dragonoid and Griffon by 370 Gs." Rubedo's Baku-Pod read out as Rubedo blinked, knowing he didn't have nearly the ability cards to overcome a gap that big.
"Attack!" Dan said as Drago and Griffon charged forward, smashing into Centipoid and sending it back to Rubedo in ball form.
"That Triple Battle was overkill!" Alice protested eliciting a laugh from Shun.
"No, it was smart. Dan knew Griffon was screwed otherwise so he did what he had to do to keep Griffon in the battle." Shun replied calmly ignoring the glare Alice gave him as she cheered on Rubedo.
(Remaining Bakugan: Dan-2/3 Rubedo-2/3 Remaining Ability Cards: Dan-3/3 Rubedo-3/3 Remaining Gate Cards: Dan-2/3 Rubedo-2/3)
Rubedo shook his head in disappointment but grabbed his next Bakugan nonetheless.
"Bakugan, BRAWL!" Rubedo said as he tossed his next Bakugan out, easily landing it on the closer of his two Gate Cards.
"Bakugan, Stand! Pyrus Fear Ripper, STAND!" Rubedo said as Fear Ripper stood on one of Rubedo's two remaining Gate Cards. Dan reached for his Bakugan.
"Bakugan, BRAWL!" Dan said as he tossed Griffon back out, ending up landing him on Fear Ripper's Gate Card.
"Bakugan, Stand! Pyrus Griffon, STAND!" Dan called out as Griffon stood on Fear Ripper's Gate Card.
"Battle 3 commencing. Checking scores. Advantage Fear Ripper by 20 Gs." Rubedo's Baku-Pod read out while the Brawlers kept watching. Dan wasn't worried, though.
"Ability Card, ACTIVATE! Fire Wall!" Dan said as he played his Fire Wall Ability Card which dropped Fear Ripper's G-Power by 50 Gs.
"Power Down registered. Re-checking scores. Advantage now Griffon by 40 Gs." Rubedo's Baku-Pod read out. Rubedo chuckled.
"Dan, you're not the only one who can turn the tables, you know. Gate Card, OPEN! Triple Battle!" Rubedo said as he activated his own Triple Battle Gate Card amidst surprised gasps from the other Brawlers at the turn of events. Rubedo then reached for his third Bakugan.
"And now to throw in the third Bakugan for this battle! Bakugan, BRAWL!" Rubedo said as he took aim and landed Laserman onto the Gate Card with Fear Ripper.
"Bakugan, Stand! Laserman, STAND! Triple Battle, ACTIVATE!" Rubedo said as the Triple Battle card kicked in.
"Triple Battle detected. Re-checking scores. Advantage now Fear Ripper and Laserman by 360 Gs." Rubedo's Baku-Pod read out while Dan checked the scores on his own Baku-Pod. He frowned as he knew there wasn't anything he could do.
"Now go you two, take out that Griffon!" Rubedo called out as Fear Ripper and Laserman rushed Griffon, taking him out quickly and sending him back to Dan in ball/sphere form.
"Ookay, maybe that Triple Battle from before WASN'T overkill." Alice said, conceding her earlier point to Shun. Shun nodded, approving of Alice conceding the point. The battle continued even as Runo and Julie huffed at Dan being backed into a corner.
(Remaining Bakugan: Dan-1/3 Rubedo-2/3 Remaining Ability Cards: Dan-2/3 Rubedo-3/3 Remaining Gate Cards: Dan-2/3 Rubedo-1/3)
"Gate Card, SET!" Dan said, tossing his next Gate card down while he gritted his teeth, surprised it'd gotten this far.
"Looks like it's all down to you, Drago. Let's do this! Bakugan, BRAWL!" Dan said as he tossed Drago back out, landing him on the Gate Card he'd laid down.
"Bakugan, Stand! Drago, Stand!" Dan said. Rubedo grabbed a Bakugan.
"Bakugan, BRAWL!" Rubedo said as he tossed his Bakugan onto his last Gate Card.
"Bakugan, Stand! Pyrus Laserman, STAND!" Rubedo said as Laserman stood on Rubedo's last Gate Card.
"I skip this Brawl turn since I have no more Bakugan to throw." Dan said as he shrugged. Rubedo nodded.
"Bakugan, BRAWL!" Rubedo said, taking aim with Fear Ripper, and manging to land him on the Gate Card Drago was stood on.
"Bakugan, Stand! Pyrus Fear Ripper, STAND!" Rubedo said as Fear Ripper stood on the same Gate Card Drago was on.
"Battle 4 commencing! Analyzing scores. Advantage Fear Ripper by 10 Gs." Rubedo's Baku-Pod read out.
"Not for long! Gate Card, OPEN! Go Character Card!" Dan said as the Gate Card opened to reveal it was Drago's Character Card.
"G-Power Boost detected. Re-checking scores. Advantage now Dragonoid by 190 Gs." Rubedo's Baku-Pod read out.
"Get him, Drago!" Dan said as Drago rushed forward and tackled Fear Ripper, knocking him onto his back and launching him back to Rubedo in sphere form. Rubedo shrugged.
(Remaining Bakugan: Rubedo-1/3 Dan-1/3 Remaining Ability Cards: Dan-2/3 Rubedo-3/3 Remaining Gate Cards: Dan-1/3 Rubedo 1/3)
"Looks like it all comes down to this, Dan. Let's give this last battle our all, and may the best man win!" Rubedo said as Dan nodded.
"Bakugan, BRAWL!" Dan said as he tossed Drago back out, landing him on the last Gate Card, which was the one Laserman was stood on.
"Bakugan, Stand! Pyrus Dragonoid, STAND!" Dan said as Drago made his second (third if you count the Triple Battle he assisted Griffon with as a stand) stand of the battle.
"Final Battle commencing! Checking scores! Advantage Laserman by 20 Gs!" Rubedo's Baku-Pod read out as the Brawlers were getting nervous now (especially Runo and Alice) as this battle decided the whole match. Dan smirked.
"Ability Card, ACTIVATE! Pyrus Tornado!" Dan said, though Rubedo chuckled.
"I thought you might try that which is why I didn't do this before! Ability Card, ACTIVATE! Frame Fire!" Rubedo said. As a result, Drago's attempt to boost his own G-Power while lowering Laserman's was blocked AND Laserman gained an extra 50 Gs.
"Re-checking scores after Ability Cards used! Advantage still Laserman, but now by 70 Gs!" Rubedo's Baku-Pod read out. Dan laughed.
"Good try Rubedo, but NOT good enough. As they say, it's not over until the final card is played. But how about I show you what I mean? Ability Card, ACTIVATE!" Dan said though it would be Drago to call out the ability name!
"BOOSTED DRAGON!" Drago called out as his G-Power spiked by 100 Gs, to Rubedo's stunned disbelief. He was so stunned by this, he completely spaced out that he hadn't played his Gate Card OR his final ability card yet.
"Re-checking scores after G-Power boost detected. Advantage now Dragonoid by 30 Gs." Rubedo's Baku-Pod read out as Dan grinned.
"Finish it, Drago!" Dan said as Drago charged forward, smashing into Laserman before Rubedo could activate either his last Ability card OR his Gate Card, knocking him down and launching him back to Rubedo in sphere form and ending the match with Dan's narrow victory as time returned to normal outside of the battlefield. Alice sighed in disappointment at the result, but clapped for both battlers regardless. Runo and Julie cheered their heads off at Dan's victory.
"YAY HE WON!" Runo and Julie cheered at the same time, ignoring Shun and Marucho laughing at them while Alice pouted at them basically celebrating Rubedo losing.
(Remaining Bakugan: Dan-1/3 Rubedo-0/3 Remaining Ability Cards: Rubedo-1/3 Dan-0/3 Remaining Gate Cards: Dan-1/3 Rubedo-0/3)
After the match, Rubedo sighed, hanging his head in slight disappointment, but after a moment, actually lifted it up and smiled at Dan.
"Wow, that was an incredible match, Dan! Congrats on the win! I almost had you though! You were just quicker on the draw there at the end than I was or I could've won since I had both an unused Gate Card AND an unused Ability Card but you finished the battle before I could use either." Rubedo said conversationally. Dan nodded and held his hand out to Rubedo.
"Yeah. You're not too bad at Bakugan, Rubedo. You've come closer than some of the Brawlers to beating me at least. So don't feel bad that you lost. There's always next time. And believe you me, as long as you stick with us, and as far as I'm concerned, you're one of us if you want to be, there'll DEFINITELY be a next time!" Dan said to Rubedo, who smiled and shook Dan's hand in a gesture of good sportsmanship.
"Sounds great, Dan! Though I'm guessing when you say one of us, you just mean I'm one of your friends, and not a Brawler. Or am I wrong?" Rubedo said, his slight tendency to self-doubt coming forth to the amused giggles of Runo and Julie, the amused smirks of Marucho and Shun and the smiling face of Alice. Dan laughed.
"Nah, I mean you're a Brawler if you want to be, Rubedo. You've got the talent for it at the least." Dan said as Rubedo actually grinned at this.
"Awesome! I didn't think I'd end up a Brawler when I agreed to join this sleepover, but I'll take it!" Rubedo said happily. The other Brawlers smiled at Rubedo accepting Dan's invitation to join the group, most of them coming up for handshakes (or in Alice's case a big hug that left both Alice AND Rubedo slightly red-faced, to the amusement of the other Brawlers) as they welcomed Rubedo into the Brawlers. Marucho then gets an idea, a grin spreading over his face.
"You know, we're techincally not done with this sleepover yet, guys. We still have time for a few more games before bed. Would we rather play Spin the Bottle, or Truth or Dare?" Marucho asked, as Shun shruggged, not having a preference. As for the others, Runo, Julie AND Alice all went wide-eyed at the mention of 'spin the bottle' while both Dan AND Rubedo facefaulted at Marucho's question, drawing giggles from the girls and smirks from Marucho and Shun at the unplanned but humorous synchronicity between Dan and Rubedo.
"Was that really necessary, Marucho?" Rubedo asked after he got back to his feet, both annoyed and confused by Marucho's mention of 'spin the bottle'.
"What Rubedo said! Plus why are you encouraging the girls?" Dan added, ignoring Rubedo's amused grin at his question. Marucho laughed.
"Because I knew you two would react precisely the way you did. Plus, what's a sleepover without some embarrassing stuff in it?" Marucho pointed out, as Shun nodded while both Alice and Julie laughed at the question. Runo huffed at the question while Dan and Rubedo shrugged.
"That's a fair point. Though I notice that the only ones of us not to be embarrassed at least once yet tonight are you, Shun and Julie." Rubedo pointed out to Marucho, who blinked as he realized Rubedo's remark was correct, causing Dan to laugh.
"That's true. Though I think that can be fixed by the end of the night." Dan said as Rubedo, Alice and Runo laughed at the simultaneous blinking expressions on the faces of Shun, Julie and Marucho.
(Outro/preview of the next episode)
"Preyas here! Next time on Bakugan Battle Brawlers, the Brawlers wrap up their sleepover while simultaneously getting used to the newest member of the group! However, that's not the last of the bombshells that will be dropped on Rubedo as he finds out that some of us Bakugan can talk, and he gets filled in on what Drago told the other Brawlers. However, that's not all! After the group goes their seperate ways again, Marucho and Julie (who decides to stay at Marucho's house for a few days while her folks are out of town) find themselves challenged by a pair of Tag Brawlers recruited by Masquerade to try and take down the Brawlers! Can Julie and Marucho handle the challenge or are Gorem and I headed on a one-way trip to the Doom Dimension? *shudders* I sure hope Marucho and Julie know what they're doing! But for sure you won't want to miss the next episode! Be there or be square! LATER!"
End of outro AND chapter
A/N: And chapter! I know this took awhile to post, but it took my co-writer and I some time to sort out the particulars of certain parts of this chapter! With some luck, that won't be an issue we run across often since it delayed the chapter more than it needed to be, but hey it's not the first time my stories have hit unexpected delays, and it PROBABLY won't be the last either! That said, I'm undecided on what will be updated next. Though odds are good it'll be either Digimon Data Squad Redux (rewrite), AMIATTTWRR, Shuffled Journeys or possibly (POSSIBLY) another chapter of Hacker's Memory-The Amasawa Files! Granted I just updated the latter recently so it's unlikely to be chosen for the next update, but anything can happen! Anyways, enjoy the chapter and until next update, sithlorde1988 out!