Bakugan Battle Brawlers: The 7th Brawler

by SkylanderZilla

Judai Yamato was a new brawler in town, when one day after finding a talking Bakugan named Leonidas. the two found themselves as they both are thrusted into a wild and crazy adventure as they Join the Bakugan Battle Brawlers to help save both Earth and Vestroia (OC X Harem) (Rating could be changed in the future)

15. Emotions Carried by the Wind

Disclaimer: I don't own Bakugan

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The sun begins to rise over Anna's house as a rooster's crow echoes throughout the farm. Dan and Marucho, who were sitting on beds on both sides of the room, were struggling to stay asleep despite the fowl alarm. The door to their room slowly crept open, someone tipped-toed into the room, holding a pan and until the person was in the middle of the room.

The person smiled before it splashed the pan and spoon together. "Rise and shine!" Anna shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Ahhh!" Dan shouted as he fell out of bed.

"Who, what, where!" Marucho shouted as he fell out of bed and fell on top of Dan.

"Whoa!" Preyas popped open out of fear as he fell onto the floor.

"Ahahaha." Anna laughed with amusement. "It's time to get up, you lazy bums."

Anna then left the room so that they could get dressed and go downstairs.

Dan frowned, unamused. He looked out and saw the sun was barely up. "Man, it's too early…." Dan yawned. He wanted to go back to bed.

"Hmm." Marucho groaned as he sluggishly got to his feet and grabbed his glasses, and placed them on his face. "Ahh… I should have expected that to happen."

"Why did she have to do that?" Preyas questioned. "I almost had a heart attack."

"Why must we get up so early?" Drago asked. He too was tired and was not expecting to wake up.

Maria then entered the room; she was wearing a plain white nightshirt. "Cause it's a farm, and Mother is expecting you all to earn your fair share while staying here." she said with a smile

"Oh man, I feel like I'm going to regret this," Dan muttered as he stood up. "So when's breakfast?"

"I think after we do the chores," Marucho said, knowing a few things about farms.

Maria then thought about how she'll explain this to them "Well…the time now is 5 am in the morning. We'll have breakfast around 9 or 10, depending on how fast we finish our morning work." Maria explained with an awkward smile

Dan and Marucho's eyes widened; they wouldn't be able to eat for at least 4 or 5 hours.

"Time to get up!" Anna's voice came from next door, followed by the screams of Runo and Julie.

"Ahhh!" Runo and Julie screamed.

"Why did you do that!" Runo shouted, her voice full of anger.

Maria shook her head. "Well, you two better get dressed. We work for a living here, so you'll have to earn your breakfast, so if you don't work, you don't eat." Maria said before she left the room.

Later after everyone had gotten dressed and were in the front of the house.

To the other's surprise, Judai, Shun, Eva, and Mei Ling were already up when they came.

"You guys seem good," Dan said with a yawn. He was still tired.

"I didn't even get a chance to do my hair," Julie said. Her hair was barely maintained, even if it wasn't in its usual ponytail.

"Oh, stop complaining. You should pull your weight here." Mei Ling rolled her eyes.

"Oh, like we should take the advice of Alisa's errand girl." Runo frowned.

"A girl earns her right, regardless." Mei Ling said. "That's what Alisa taught me, I see my tasks through to the end."

Serpillious then popped open "Mei Ling, perhaps you should calm down and try to get along? It's not every day you hang out with children your own age." Serpillious said

Mei Ling looked at her partner and decided to relent. Anna coughed into her fist, getting their attention. "Alright, I have the list here. Runo, you and Maria are in charge of collecting eggs from the chickens. Eva and Julie will milk the cows, Dan and Marucho, you'll be overseen by Yamato and collect the crops, Judai and I will be feeding the pigs, and Shun and Mei Ling, you two will gather from the orchard, once you are done with your tasks I'll give the next one." Anna said as she gave each one of them a piece of paper with instructions written on them.

"Well, Runo, are you ready to get to work?" Maria asked

Runo just sighed "It's not like I have a choice." Runo replied,

"I've never milked a cow before." Julie said.

Eva groaned, "Neither have I."

"I'll take care of the pigs, Anna. I think those two might need help." Judai said.

Anna looked at Judai. "You sure you'll be fine?" Anna asked.

"Yeah." Judai nodded.

Anna nodded as well. "Alright, I'll teach these two quickly and join you." Anna said as she gestured for Eva and Julie to follow her.

"The orchard is that way, just follow the path, and you'll be there." Yamato told Shun and Mei Ling.

Shun simply nodded before walking away, Mei Ling grinned before following after.

"Are you sure it's ok to have her around?" Runo asked, still not sure it was a good idea to have an agent of Alisa roaming around.

Anna just shrugged "To be perfectly honest, I'm not entirely sure myself." Anna said.

"Well, let's get to work." Yamato said, wanting to get the day's chores done. The others nodded as they separated to do the chores.

Maria was showing Runo how to collect eggs as she grabbed an egg and placed it into a basket. "And that's how you do it." Maria said as she continued to fill the basket.

Runo hesitantly did so and reached under the chicken as it clucked, but Runo ignored it and pulled out an egg.

"There you go. You just have to be gentle." Anna smiled before continuing.

"Good job MiLady." Tigrerra complimented her partner.

"Thanks." Runo said as she put the egg inside the basket and repeated the process, she looked at Maria and was surprised that she was the idol that was on the tv. She had seen a few interviews with famous people, and they go into why they became an idol, and whether they were born someone nice or tragic, she always thought those were just made up for publicity.

As if reading her mind, Maria spoke up. "Funny, isn't it? Seeing an idol working as a farm girl?" Maria chuckled.

"Ahh… yeah, I always thought when idols or singers talk about growing up in some kind of environment like a farm was only said to build up publicity." Runo answered, trying not to be rude.

"Is it very difficult? And do humans really make that stuff up" Tigrerra asked; she was still getting used to Earth's customs and how humans acted.

"Sometimes, depending on the person, they'll either tell you most of their life or a little bit of their life." Maria replied, not taking any offense at all,

"I guess you're right. You're a lot nicer than I thought, but of course, you're Alice's cousin after all." Runo admitted.

"Yes, you are a very kind person, and it was nice that your parents allowed us to stay for the time being." Tigrerra said.

"Why thank you." Maria said before her expression turned sad. At the mention of Alice, Runo saw this and felt bad she knew Alice was with Alisa at the moment, and they didn't even know if she was alright for all she and her family knew that Alisa was sexually abusing Alice again.

"We're sorry for bringing it up." Tigrerra apologizes.

"Maria, I-" Runo started

"Don't, it's ok, Tigrerra, Runo," Maria cut Runo and Tigrerra off. "I'm worried about Alice, Mom, and Dad too." Now that was an understatement on her part. She was extremely worried about Alice. Unknown to her mom, she listened in on her and Wolf's conversation about Alice and something about her uncle Gray along with her grandpa; whatever it was, something was wrong with Alice, who she heard wasn't talking to Wolf at all.

"Let's continue with this work, next we need to move on to the next chore." Maria said.

At that time, Anna was finishing showing Eva and Julie how to milk a cow. She was squeezing the cow's udder, and milk poured into a wooden bucket. "There, I'm sure you two know what to do now."

"Yes, Miss Anna." Julie nodded.

"Just Anna, please." Anna said as she got up. "I'll see you two later." Anna then left to help Judai with his chore.

"This place smells bad." Eenoch said with disgust.

"Oh, suck it up." Pegatrix spoke up. "I'm sure you smelled much worse things back on Vestroia." she's been in a cave for a long time and had smelled things much worse than this barn.

"I don't need to answer you, pony girl." Eenoch remarked, not wanting Pegatrix's two cents.

"Calm down, you two." Eva told her partner. "You don't need to argue about this." She had been in many places that smelled worse than the barn, so it wasn't bothering her that much. But that didn't mean she had to like it.

"Whatever." Eenoch scoffed.

Eva shook her head before both she and Julie looked around and saw three cows; Anna told them to fill up at least 8 buckets and pour them into metal containers. "Well, let's get started." Eva said, which Julie nodded although she was a little nervous since she had never milked a cow before.

Both girls pulled up a stool and a bucket. Eva began to milk her cow while Julie began to milk her, finding it a little weird at first, but she eventually got the hang of it. The two began to fill up the metal containers, and as she finished, Eva noticed Julie was depressed. She knew what was on the whitette's mind. It was her sister and Billy. To have your sister and your childhood friend turned against you was a hard pill to swallow; she knew Alice was Masquerade, who she knew was a separate personality that Alice was unaware of, and that separate side worked for Naga, and given what they knew about both Alice and Michael it was possible that Daisy, Billy, and Komba along with anyone else were corrupted to do the evil bakugan's bidding.

"Julie, are you ok?" Eva asked.

Julie turned to Eva and gave a small smile. "I'm fine, just not used to this farming thing." Julie said as walked over to fill the last container, but she stepped in cowpat. "Oh fuck! My boots!"

Julie cursed in disgust, her white boots now covered in cow shit. "I hate farming!" Julie shouted; not only was she woken up early not able to fix her hair properly, but now her favorite boots were ruined.

"Julie, you should calm down." Gorem suggested, knowing this wasn't quite her preferred living conditions, but there was nothing they could really do in these conditions.

Eva just chuckled; obviously Julie was not fit for the farming lifestyle.

Meanwhile, Judai was almost finished with feeding the pigs when Anna showed up.

"I guess I didn't need to help you or show you." Anna smiled, she thought she would have to help, but Judai was already almost down feeding the pigs, but of course, Judai was a fast learner.

Judai smiled "Once I'm done, what else can I do to help?" Judai asked in a polite tone,

"We need to groom the horses, feed the sheep and water the fields and fill up the hay silo." Anna listed out.

"That's a lot." Judai uttered; he knew that they did a lot on the farm, but not that much.

"That's what you deal with when you work on a farm. It's really nice to have a few extra hands to help us since Maria isn't always able to help us." Anna smiled.

"True, that reminds me, is Maria's childhood horse still here?" Judai asked, remembering that there was a horse that Maria was very close to

"Of course, she's currently in the stables." Anna answered. "But she isn't a child anymore. Soon she'll be more."

"More?" Judai asked, a little confused until it hit him. "Are you saying?"

"Yep, Isabelle is going to be a mother soon. And Maria is excited." Anna smiled; it was the reason why Maria was still at the farm. Once they gave Maria the news of Isabelle's pregnancy, she literally dropped everything to come back just so she'll be there to see it.

"Congratulations, I'm so happy." Judai said, happy for Isabelle. "So when is she due?"

"Anyday now, Maria's been keeping an eye on Isabelle." Anna answered before she frowned. "Is there something you've been wanting to tell me?"

"Anna, you know about Masquerade, right?" Judai asked

Anna nodded. "Yes, I know about him." how could she not? The boy has been terrorizing Bakugan and players from all over the world. "Why?"

"When we were at Michael's lab and saw the video diary that ended with his transformation into Hal-G, we saw Masquerade with him in the background as well. I never told anyone else about this, but I figured since Hal G is Michael corrupted by Minus energy, then-" Jaden started

"No.." Anna cut Judai off as she shook her head. "No… no… no… it can't be but." Anna uttered as she covered her mouth. "Alice…" she didn't want to believe it, Alice the sweet and kind niece she always loved was the boy that was terrorizing the world. "Alice must have walked in when that video took place, but why take that form unless…"

"Yeah, pretty heavy isn't it?" Leonidas commented.

"That's only putting it lightly." Nillious remarked.

"The negative energy split her psyche, the pain that she held back for so long with Gray and Alisa, and everything was manifested into the form of Masquerade. Masquerade is the physical manifestation of Alice's pain being unleashed." Anna theorized as she placed her hand over her face.

"Wow, she really needs to go into details." Leonidas muttered.

"That's how she thinks things through." Judai told his secondary partner.

"Anna." Haos Dragonoid said in a worried tone.

"Oh father, why didn't you just leave things alone?" she wished her father would have just dismantled the Dimension Transporter; it has only brought pain to their family and others.

"Wait, what if… of course." Anna muttered. "Alisa knows…"

"Another reason why Alisa invited Alice to her 'party' no doubt it's to keep an eye on Masquerade, and Alisa definitely formed an Alliance with Naga." Judai said with a scowl.

"And the more negative emotions Alice feels, the more control Masquerade has over her." Anna deduced."Does anyone else know?"

"Besides me and you, our partners are just Eva." Judai answered, "Tell me should Maria learn the truth as well? After all, they are extremely close."

"... I need time to think about it, Maria is a smart girl, but I need time. What about your friends? Shouldn't they know?" Anna asked; she wanted to tell Maria, she would tell Yamato and ask for his opinion first, but she wondered if Judai would tell the other brawlers since they were on the frontlines of this battle.

Judai scowled; he really didn't know what he could say. "I'm not sure, I have known Alice far longer, and I don't know what'll happen if the truth were to come out." Judai groaned.

Anna sighed and placed a hand on Judai's shoulder. "I'm speaking from experience; me, Wolf, and father hid the truth about Gray from Alice and why my sister went crazy. Sometimes keeping the truth can be much worse than telling it now, and it also goes the other way around. Alice refused to talk to Wolf or me because of it, and we pushed her into Alisa's arms." Anna clenched her fist, knowing that she played a part in Alice going to Alisa for answers.

"She's right, the longer you keep this secret it could cause a wedge between you and the other brawlers." Nillous added his two cents in.

"What do I do?" Judai asked, not really sure what he could do.

"If I were you, I would tell the truth, if the others truly care about Alice they will understand but if not you could just tell a few of them just to ease the others in, is there anyone among them you can trust with this and keep calm with the information?" Anna asked.

"Shun, out of all the brawlers, Shun's the calmest and collective and he focuses on the bigger picture." Judai said the ninja boy was the best choice to tell the secret, and he could keep it secret if the others might not be ready, and he would be able to ease the others into listening.

Anna nodded in agreement. "When we are done, you should tell Shun when you get the chance." Anna said as she turned her back. "Let's continue the chores."

Judai nodded in his mind; he was wondering how the others would react if he told them the truth.

Meanwhile, Shun and Mei Ling were gathering the various fruits in the orchard

"Isn't this wonderful, Shun? Just you and Me together." Mei Ling asked

Shun just ignored her as he jumped up into a tree and picked a few apples and dropped them into his basket below, never missing one.

"Hmm, not much of a talker, are you?" Mei Ling said as she kicked the tree, making it rattle and causing the fruit to fall, and with great speed and timing, she caught each one without missing. "You know, I always admired your skills with ninjutsu and your abilities in Bakugan." Mei Ling said, but Shun ignored her again.

Mei Ling pouted. "Heh, tough crowd."

Serpillious was watching from a distance and just groaned, but he could understand Mei Ling's desire for companionship, seeing as she was just an orphan when they met each other.

"She's wasting her time." Skyress stated she took watching them.

"I'm aware of that." Serpillious said as he watched Mei Ling try to talk to Shun

"Shun isn't one to just fall for this, he's more trained than that." Skyress told Serpillious. "Alisa and her promise, I don't believe she will cure Shun's mother."

"Personally, I could care less about Alisa or her plans; the only one that I'm loyal to is Mei Ling." Serpillious stated "Just like you're loyal to Shun."

Skyress just looked at Serpillious. "How long have you and Mei Ling been employed by Alisa? If I had to guess, the girl is an orphan given the fact that She and Vivian call Alisa mother."

Serpillious sighed "Mei Ling met me shortly after she escaped the orphanage, a couple of years after that she was found by Alisa and Juri who found us during one of their vacations through China."

"So that's how Alisa found her." Skyress surmised.

"I won't say anymore. The rest is for Mei Ling to tell if need be." Serpillious said, knowing it wasn't his place to tell anymore.

Mei Ling placed her hands behind her back as she swayed back and forth. "You know, you, me, and my mother are more alike than you think, Shun." Mei Ling said

Shun turned and glared at Mei Ling. "We are nothing alike." Shun simply dismissed Mei Ling's claim as he continued to work.

Mei Ling leaned against a tree with a sad expression. "We know what it's like to lose a mother of our own."

That got Shun to turn to her, he saw Mei Ling's sad expression however, he wasn't sure if she was lying to get him to let his guard down or anything.

Mei Ling then continued as walked away with her back turned to Shun before she stopped. "My biological mom too became very sick, and she died, leaving only me and my asshole father who started dating, and once his girlfriend got pregnant, I was tossed out of the house with nothing to my name." Mei Ling said with venom; she gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, fingernails dug into her palms, drawing blood that dropped to the ground. "I was placed in an orphanage while on my knees begging for that asshole to not leave me, months later I worked up the nerves to escape, and from there I stole from people in order to get by, and one day I met Serpillious."

Shun just leered at Mei Ling listening to her story. "We got along fine, and he helped me survive, and then one day. Our luck ran out, and they entered my life." Mei Ling said as she remembered the day when she met and was taken in Juri and Alisa

Flashback

Years ago, a younger Mei Ling, whose hair was messy and tied in a ponytail. She wore a worn-out shirt with torn pants, and she was barefoot. She was currently running away from some police officers.

"Get back here, kid." Officer 1 called out.

"You are getting away with stealing!" Officer 2 shouted.

Mei Ling just grinned; she had stolen some food from the local market, and like always. The police tried to catch her, which they never did. She pushed between a few people on the sidewalk, knocking over a man who yelled at her, with the Police still pursuing her. "I could simply fly us away." Serpillious said.

"And where's the fun in that?" Mei Ling grinned before she saw a building with a fire escape; she leaped against the side of the wall, grabbed the ladder before shifting her body upward, and landed on the fire escape with grace.

Mei Ling looked down at the Police officers who glared at her. "You won't get too far!" Officer 1 shouted.

"We'll see about that." Mei Ling smirked as she continued on her way to her hideout, unaware two people were watching her from a passing car.

She thought once she had lost the cops, things would be smooth sailing from there; however, once she got off the roof she was then met by three teenagers, and she knew them well. The first one was a girl had black hair tied in a braided ponytail with light blue eyes, and she was wearing a white T-shirt, blue pants and black shoes, the second was a boy with purple hair and gray eyes who was wearing an orange obi with a matching orange hat, and finally, the third was also a girl who had black hair that was in a ponytail, blue eyes, she was wearing a beautiful kimono with a Dragon on it and she was wearing slippers on her feet.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Mei Ling," the first girl said.

"You think we've forgotten what you did to our hang out." the boy added.

"It was just payback." Mei Ling smirked before eyeing the second girl "It's been a while princess." she sneered

"I still owe you for that 'payback'. I had to take 10 showers a day for 5 months until I could leave my house." the second girl glared at Mei Ling.

"Oh don't be so mad, Sue Ling. Besides, unlike me. You and my half-sister actually have a home as well as a family." Mei Ling spat with venom, the second girl was her cousin from her father's side, a spoiled girl who was on her mother's side before she died, and of course, she and her cousin barely got along even when her mother was alive.

"You were tossed out because you were annoying and useless. Not only that you caused problems for everyone around you." Sue Ling said, brushing her ponytail behind her head, Mei Ling glared at Sue Ling. "Your little sister is such a delight unlike you. Uncle made a great decision to give you away."

"Delusional bitch." Mei Ling muttered to herself before focusing on the main point "So why are you and your lackeys here? Can't be a need to see me, isn't it?." Mei Ling asked.

"Like I said, I owe you for what you did, and I think breaking a few bones will work." Sue Ling said with a glare.

"You sure? Remember when you met my friend?" Mei Ling reminded Sue Ling as Serpillious appeared on Mei Ling's shoulder. "I'm not sure that you're in a position to threaten me." Mei Ling smirked

Sue Ling just chuckled, which made Mei Ling arch an eyebrow. "Oh, I know, and I have just the counter to your little pet." Sue Ling grinned as she held up a Pyrus Bakugan.

"Ahh, you have one too?" Mei Ling gasped in actual surprise.

"Yes, I found this Bakugan while exploring one day." Sue Ling said

Mei Ling scowled. "Serpillious, you up for this?" Mei Ling asked.

"Yeah." Serpillious said.

"Let's go," Mei Ling shouted as she threw Serpillious onto the ground, and in a burst of green fire Serpillous appeared in his true form and roared.

"Heh, now it's time." Sue Ling grinned as she threw her partner out. "Bakugan Brawl!" she shouted as she threw her partner Bakugan. The moment it hit the ground, it popped open "Stand, Pyrus Hyper Dragonoid!"

In a burst of red light, a hurricane of flame appeared as a bipedal Dragonoid Bakugan rose for battle. It was simple in appearance, similar to Drago only humanoid, with a plain chest and simple crimson scales. But he made up for simplicity in an inexplicable intimidation.

Suddenly a dome appeared beneath the Bakugan, and it pushed Sue Ling's friends and many others in the area away from the battle. This shocked Mei Ling and Sue Ling and all those around.

"What's happening?" Mei Ling asked,

"I'm not sure." Serpillious answered, "This is a new phenomenon."

"What the hell is this?" Sue Ling demanded.

Not far away, two people were watching the scene play out. "Amazing, I never thought I would see a Drome here of all places." One of them said with amusement.

"That girl, the small one is definitely full of surprises." the second one added.

"Oh well, regardless of what is happening now, this dome is convenient." Sue Ling grinned "Interlock Dragon!"

Hyper Dragonoid opened his maw, and a fireball the size of his head shot out, blazing on a collision course toward Serpillious

Serpillious took flight and flew to the sky, avoiding the fireball. However, without even a command from his partner, Hyper Dragonoid also took flight and flew after him

"Cross-Flare Flash!" Mei Ling shouted.

Serpillious roared before unleashing a powerful green flame from his maw.

"Blitz Sparta!" Sue Ling commanded

Hyper Dragonoid roared as his entire body was coated in flames before he continued flying towards Serpillious.

Thanks to his ability, he smashed through the green flames and collided with Serpillious, sending the green dragon falling to the streets below.

"Serpillious!" Mei Ling called out in worry.

Serpillious got up and shook his head before snorting. "Hmmph, is that all?" Serpillious asked.

"Not at all." Hyper Dragonoid replied before he fired a volley of fireballs at him

"Gale Shield!" Serpillious called out, suddenly a green tornado swirled around the green dragon, and it deflected the fireballs sending them flying into several buildings and causing several explosions, luckily they weren't destroyed.

"Careful, Serpillious." Mei Ling said she hated her situation, but they didn't want to bring down half the city.

"Blitz Sparda!" Sue Ling shouted.

Like before, Hyper Dragonoid's entire body was coated in flames before he continued flying toward Serpillious.

"Don't move. Wait for the right moment." Mei Ling told Serpillious.

Serpillious did what Mei Ling said and waited as Hyper Dragon drew closer. 'Wait for it… wait for it…' Mei Ling thought, knowing this had to be perfect.

"Now!" Mei Ling called.

Serpillious barely moved his body out of the way of Hyper Dragonoid's attack before he used his tail to grab his opponent's neck, stopping him in his tracks and dispelling the flames.

Mei Ling grinned. "Up and slam!" she called.

Not missing a beat, Serpillious flew into the air, his tail still wrapped around Hyper Dragonoid's neck the green dragon roared, and he spun around a few times before releasing his enemy, sending him slamming into the ground below kicking up a dust cloud.

"Sonic Thrash!" Mei Ling shouted, pointing at her partner.

Serpillious roared as he aimed his tail towards Hyper Dragonoid before charging energy at the tip and unleashing a devastating blast and it hit its target, creating a massive shockwave. Both Mei Ling and Sue Ling covered their eyes as those who had watched the battle in awe, the two from earlier watched as well and were impressed at Mei Ling's instincts.

Serpillous looked at the ground and saw a huge hole in the concert where Hyper Dragon once was. Mei Ling grinned. "Looks like I win, Sue Ling!" Mei Ling boasted.

However, Sue Ling just laughed, which confused Mei Ling. "Are you sure?" Sue Ling grinned. "Blazing Dragon!"

Out of the hole, a powerful blast of fire came and hit Serpillous hard. "Ahhh!" Serpillous roared in pain before he fell from the sky, hitting the ground with a big smash forming a huge crack.

"Serpillious!" Mei Ling yelled in fear as she ran up to her friend. "Are you ok?" Mei Ling fell to her knees in utter defeat, not believing what was happening.

"I'm sorry…" Serpillous growled, and in a flash of green light, he returned to ball form.

Hyper Dragonoid smashed through the street, roaring in victory, he was a little stretched up but was fine. "It seems like you overestimated yourselves." he roared as he returned to ball form and landed in Sue Ling's hand.

"Heh, the outcome was to be expected, a street rat like you could never defeat me. And this proves why Uncle got rid of you." Sue Ling said in a smug voice.

The dome then vanished, and as soon as the dome vanished, all the buildings that were destroyed during the battle were restored back to normal as if they weren't damaged at all and looked as if they were just recently built.

"No way…" Mei Ling muttered, not believing what she was seeing.

"Sue Ling." The ponytail girl ran up to her along with the boy who was looking around at the area.

"What the hell is happening?" the boy asked.

"I don't know." Sue Ling said, unsure what was happening, she then turned to Mei Ling. "But it doesn't matter. What matters is that the street rat gets what she deserves."

Mei Ling looked at the three who approached her, she was ready to make a run for it

Then, out of nowhere, all four saw a black dragon with purple accents on its body flying over them

"What is that?" the boy asked in shock.

"More Bakugan?" Sue Ling questioned.

"You three are such bullies, picking on a little girl half your size." a voice came behind.

The four looked to see two women, one with long orange hair, and she was wearing a white kimono with orange flowers on it with white socks and brown sandals, the second woman had long black hair tied in a ponytail had on a black business suit with a tub skirt and brown leggings with mid-heel shoes.

"Who the hell are you?" The boy demanded.

"Don't you know anything, she's Alisa." the girl said, jabbing him in the gut. "The CEO of AAAnimus. Have you seen the news about her arriving here?"

"Alisa?" Mei Ling muttered she had heard the name through people on the street.

"I never thought I would see a multi Millionaire." Sue Ling said.

"Oh?" Alisa smiled "So you've heard of me then." she asked

"Who hasn't? Word of you vacationing here has spread far and wide." Sue Ling said. "I'm sorry, but me and my friends need to teach this street rat of a cousin her place."

Mei Ling glared. "I'm only like this because of my asshole father abandoning me not long after mom died! You live in luxury while I have to struggle to survive, you pathetic whore!" Mei Ling shouted in complete anger.

"What did you call me, Mei Ling?" Sue Ling glared at Mei Ling as she slowly approached the young girl.

Mei Ling didn't move as she glared at her disgusting cousin, and to her surprise, the second woman leaped into the air and landed in front of her as she glared at Sue Ling.

"I won't let you near this poor girl." the woman told Sue Ling.

Sue Ling and her friends were beyond shocked, Mei Ling looked at the woman. She was also shocked that these strangers were protecting her? An abandoned girl who stole in order to survive.

"Why?! Why are you helping this filthy little thing? She is nothing but a waste of space." Sue Ling said in disgust.

Alisa frowned. "Juri, if you please?" Alisa simply asked.

Suddenly Juri appeared in front of Sue Ling and grabbed her wrist before twisting it backwards. "Ahh!" Sue Ling screamed in pain as she fell to her knees.

"Let her go." Hyper Dragonoid growled,

"Make us." Suzaku countered.

"You have Bakugan too?" Sue Ling asked in surprise as she tried to get Juri to let her go.

"You won't stand a chance against me." Helios said as he landed on the ground.

Hyper Dragonoid hopped off Sue Ling's shoulder and assumed his true form, and just like before a dome began to form, pushing everyone with the exception of Alisa, Juri, Mei Ling, and Sue Ling.

"Heh." Alisa just snorted while shaking her head, finding it humorous. "You really think you can beat Helios? Helios, can you show them your power?" Alisa asked

Helios gave Alisa a slasher grin as he started opening his maw and started charging energy into his attack before he fired a destructive blast of energy at Hyper Dragonoid.

"Interlock Dragon!" Sue Ling shouted, gritting her teeth.

Hyper Dragonoid opened his maw, and a fireball the size of his head shot out, blazing on a collision course toward Helios's attack

However, as the attacks collided, Helios's attack quickly overpowered Hyper Dragon's smashing through it and hit Hyper Dragonoid in the face making him roar in pain followed by an explosion that consumed him forcing him to revert back to ball form landing on the ground near Sue Ling and Juri.

'They took them out without even trying.' Mei Ling thought in awe.

"I hope that shows you the difference between our Bakugan." Alisa stated.

The dome then receded, allowing Sue Ling's friends to enter, "Hey bitch, let her go!" The girl threatened.

"Make me." Juri challenged, not even scared at all

The two just glared at Juri but before they could attack, Alisa chopped both of them in the back of their necks, knocking them out as they hit the ground.

Mei Ling looked at both Alisa and Juri in amazement, they had complete control of the situation.

Alisa walked back to the unconscious teens and Juri, who kept her hold on Sue Ling, bent down and caressed Mei Ling's face. "Are you ok? Mei Ling? Is that your name?" Alisa asked in a gentle voice.

Mei Ling didn't know what to say, all she did was nod. "That's a pretty name." Alisa smiled before she turned around. "A man who kicks their daughter out is not fit to be called a father." Alisa frowned. "And your treatment of her is not fitting for a cousin."

Juri let go of Sue Ling who moved back several feet; she gripped her wrist and twirled it around as she glared at the three. Alisa grabbed Mei Ling's hand, getting the young girl to look up at her. "Are you hungry, I was planning to get lunch."

Mei Ling's stomach growled, answering the question for her. "Yes, I am hungry." Mei Ling sheepishly answered.

Alisa smiled as she, Mei Ling, and Juri walked to their car that was parked not far away, leaving an angry Sue Ling and her unconscious friends behind. "I'll get you Mei Ling! Even if it takes the rest of my life, I'll get you!" Sue Ling declared.

Mei Ling looked back as Juri opened the back door, the young girl looked at Alisa, who gestured for her to enter, and she did. The dark dragon flew over them, and in a flash of purple light, it reverted back into ball form and landed in Alisa's hand before she entered as well with Juri closing the door before entering the driver's seat and starting the vehicle then they drove away leaving Sue Ling behind.

Mei Ling sat in the seat, she wasn't sure if she made the right choice. For all she knew these two would take advantage of her, her hands dug into her pants. However she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she turned to see Alisa who had a gentle smile.

"I saw what you did with the police officers." Alisa said.

"You.. you did?" Mei Ling said in surprise and worry. "Are you going to turn me in?"

"Now, why would you think that?" Alisa giggled

"No one's helped me before." Mei Ling admitted lowering her head. "I'm just another street rat who steals from people to get by each day, people give me bad looks as if I'm a curse."

Alisa frowned. "You aren't a curse, you are a little girl who doesn't deserve what has happened." Alisa said as she hugged Mei Ling closed. The young girl was taken aback. It has been a long time since she had a warm hug, not since her mom died.

"I also saw how you handled your Bakugan partner, you have good instincts, but you lack the skills and knowledge." Alisa said.

"Really?" Mei Ling asked.

"Yeah." Alisa nodded.

"You're very skilled with the way you leaped off the walls like that." Juri said not to take her eyes off the road. "For someone with no training at your age, you have potential."

Mei Ling was again taken aback, she had never been praised for jumping. People hated it when she did it. Of course, it was something you had to learn if you were to evade police officers chasing after you.

Alisa leaned next to Mei Ling's ear. "Let me tell you a secret, I lost my mom when I was young too. Died of cancer." Alisa said with some sadness in her voice.

"You're kidding?" Mei Ling gasped she was not expecting to hear that. "Did your dad kick you out?"

Alisa frowned. "No, my father and I have a non-existent relationship, but even he didn't kick me or my sister out when our mom died." Alisa frowned at the mention of her father but brushed it off. "Anyway, I have a question for you?"

"Yeah?" Mei Ling asked, wondering what Alisa was going to ask.

"Do you have a place to say?" Alisa asked.

"Ahh, yeah. Not that far from here, I have a box in an alleyway." Mei Ling answered.

Alisa gasped when she heard that. "Oh no, you aren't sleeping in a box." Alisa said, Mei Ling looked at Alisa, who continued. "Mei Ling, how would you like to come home with me?"

"What?!" Mei Ling shouted in shock.

"You and I have so much in common, Mei Ling, and I see a bit of myself in you. If you come with me, you'll have a warm meal, a soft comfy bed, and I'll make sure you get the best education." Alisa offered.

"And I can teach you some martial art skills so you can protect yourself." Juri added.

Mei Ling looked at the floor of her mouth, wondering if this was real? Alisa, the billionaire, was offering her a home, food, and even an education. "Serpillious… what do you think?" Mei Ling asked her partner.

"Do whatever you think is best Mei Ling." Serpillious answered.

Mei Ling thought for a second before smiling. "You got a deal, Alisa." Mei Ling said happily as she hugged Alisa, who hugged her back.

"I'm happy you said yes, and from now on. You can call me Mom if you wish." Alisa said as she rubbed the back of Mei Ling's head.

Mei Ling began to cry. The word mom was foreign to her. "Y-Yes, Mom.." Mei Ling cried into her newfound mother's chest.

End of flashback

"And from there on, I owe Alisa and Juri for giving me what I have now, I work hard to earn my keep as an adopted daughter." Mei Ling finished her story.

Shun just looked at Mei Ling, he at least knew how she ended up adopted by Alisa, and he could sympathize with how much she suffered. No one should go through that if he didn't have his grandpa who was there for him when his mom was sick, however, he had friends he could also to turn Dan would have been there the second he was alone and offered him a place to stay.

"How do I know you are telling the truth?" Shun asked; it may have been rude however, Mei Ling could have been trained to show deception.

Mei Ling simply smiled. "I understand your reason for not trusting my words. After all, I am the enemy. Just sitting in the presence of the heroes that will save the world." Mei Ling said as she picked up her baskets. "That's one of the reasons why I like you, you don't take things at face value, and you don't trust instantly, but rest assured, I can guarantee your mom will be all better soon." She said before Serpillious hopped on her shoulder before she walked away, leaving Shun to his thoughts.

"Shun." Skyress uttered as she hopped on her partner's shoulder. "Do you believe her story?"

"Hard to say." Shun answered as he continued to work.

---

(Alisa's Springtime Retreat)

Vivian had just arrived back at Alisa's springtime retreat and was extremely frustrated with what had happened recently.

"Damn, Brawlers and damn Mei Ling." Vivian growled in frustration, she not only failed but was forced to head back empty-handed as well, she entered into the training area where Leona and Claude were practicing Lupitheon and Vandarus were clashing with each other, Claude and Leona turned to see Vivian had returned.

"Well, well, the spoiled princess came back sadder, dumber, and dizzier than before." Leona said with a grin, she knew Vivian would fail; it was inevitable.

Vivian glared at Leona, not liking that she was calling her dumb. "Shut up, Leona. I've had enough to deal with." Vivian growled, she had failed her mother and was now a laughing stock.

"You should be lucky, you were able to see if the Biogan is as strong as we thought." Claude said.

Vivian turned her glare towards Claude "Fuck you, Claude, as if you could do any better." she spat

"Temper, temper, cursing at me or anyone else won't fix what little what you call pride back." Claude calmly stated. "The next Biogan is going to be mine. However, I want to test the brawler's power before I even consider using it." Claude wasn't one to just jump into a battle, he wanted to know everything about his opponents before he struck.

Vivian just glared at him before scoffing. "So Mei Ling is down on the farm right?" Leona asked. "Trying to get close to her crush now, right?"

"Yes, she's on the farm." Vivian scoffed "And it's not like we should be worried for her after all. Besides Magnus, Mei Ling is the strongest of us."

"Oh, I'm surprised that you would 'willingly' admit that Mei Ling is stronger than you." Claude said with a small sarcastic smile.

"Keh, as much as I hate her, she's the most skilled one out of all of us and has the best shot of defeating Magnus." Vivian said,

"Mei Ling is also the closest to Alisa and Juri." Leona frowned, she and Mei Ling got along fine they were like sisters, but at times she and Mei Ling would compete for their mother's affection.

"That reminds me, where's our imprisoned princesses?" Vivian asked, referring to both Alice and Chan Lee.

"Our sisters are currently with each of our moms for training, I have to say Alice isn't as good as her opposite half." Leona said she knew Alice and Masquerade were one and the same, but they were split consciousness, Alice the good and Masquerade a physical manifestation of the red-heads darker side brought to the surface.

"It's amazing she continues to deny it." Vivian said.

"It's simple." Claude spoke up. "She can't accept that she would cause harm to anyone, let alone her friends. So she developed a mental block to maintain that belief so she doesn't have to face that truth. Though I wonder how long that block can stand up to Alisa?"

At that time, Alisa frowned as Alice was on the ground. She was getting better, but it wasn't as good as her darker side. "Come on, Alice. This can't be all you have, you are my daughter and battling is in your blood, you need to be more aggressive." Alisa said as Helios landed next to her and roared.

Alice didn't move an inch, she was completely exhausted from the intense training she was taking. Hydranoid was fine as he glared at Helios.

"Alice, we'll take a break for a few days." Alisa relented. "You need to start being more aggressive, you won't get far in life if you can't show more aggressiveness, that's how I became the CEO of this company cause I'm willing to crush who's in my way to rise to the top." Alisa said, Helios returned to ball form and landed in her hand. "I'll see you later, Ali." Alisa said before she left the room.

Alice was completely exhausted; she had been at this for hours, and a part of her, for some reason, was enraged at how horribly she had battled. And her mother was talking about her being aggressive and being willing to crush your opponents, that just wasn't her.

"Alice." Hydranoid spoke up as he had returned to ball form and was on her shoulder. "You should rest."

Alice sighed. "Yeah." Alice said as she found the strength to stand up.

"Are you alright?" Hydranoid asked, concerned about Alice's wellbeing

Alice covered her face with her hand. "I don't know, Hydranoid… My mom is working me hard, Chan is my half-sister, and she is barely talking to Juri, and I'm meant to battle Judai and the others. I feel like my hands are tired no matter which way I turn."

Alice walked down the hall wanting to get back to her room; as she walked many thoughts raced through her mind. Her situation, she didn't know what she did to be here, dealing with her mother and her madness. Wolf is probably hurt. She didn't trust him not after the secret he kept from her but she still cared about him. Judai… she wondered if he would hate her and Chan for even siding with her mother and if her friends would even forgive her.

'Damn it! I hate my life!' Alice cursed in her mind.

Hydranoid, sensing his partner's unease, decided to help "Perhaps a well-deserved rest in bed would help you recover." Hydranoid suggested.

Alice thought about it and nodded "Yeah, a rest in bed would do wonders for me."

She finally made it to her room, before even thinking of lying down, Alice locked the door behind her, and she struggled as she moved the dresser in front of the door.

'Can't be too careful.' Alice thought, knowing that even if she locked the door her mother definitely had a master key for the whole estate, so blocking the door was the best option she had to get some good rest.

Alice lay down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. The mental and physical exhaustion began weighing on her. 'Everyone…' Alice thought before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.

---

(Himesato farm)

After everyone was finished doing the morning chores, it was finally time for Breakfast. Dan and most of the others were tired from all the chores. "Man, I've never been this tired." Dan said, his chin on the table.

"Yeah, I've never worked that hard in my life." Marucho added, also worn out.

"Man, I'm tired just from watching you work." Preyas stated. "I swear I was sweating out there."

"You didn't even lift a finger Preyas…" Marucho frowned.

"He is right, Preyas." Drago spoke up, knowing that they didn't even lend a hand

"Yeah, that's life out here." Judai commented.

"You don't seem that tired." Runo muttered.

"I'm used to doing things for hours. Remember my family travels a lot." Judai remarked.

"But you walk around in the coffee shop all day Runo." Tigrerra reminded Runo.

"I may wait tables, Tigrerra, but that doesn't mean I'm used to working like this." Runo told her partner.

"Could have fooled me." Leonidas scoffed

"What did you say, Leonidas!" Runo shouted in anger slamming her hands on the table and making most of the others shoot up.

"No slamming the table! Or else you'll be working extra shifts!" Anna scowled, not liking how Runo slammed her table.

"Leonidas, don't rile people up for no reason at all." Nillious commented,

"Hmph, I don't think he's even capable of not shooting off his mouth." Pegatrix remarked.

"What the hell did you say? You sissy pony." Leonidas roared

"What did you call me?!" Pegatrix remarked in disgust.

"Stop fighting already, this is foolish how you are bickering like a bunch of children." Haos Dragonoid roared. "You are in my partner's house, so show some respect and restraint or I'll make you!"

"And he can too." Anna added in. "Remember, he did go toe to toe with Helios so my partner has the power and skills to make him up." That got the Bakugan to shut up, as Anna let out a killing intent that even got Shun to sweat a little, MeI Ling however did sweat slightly, but as she looked at Anna she did see Alisa.

'She really is like my mom, same killing intent.' Mei Ling thought, remembering the few times Alisa gave off a killing intent that even scared her.

Yamato just shook his head at this useless bickering. "Oh, quit complaining." Yamato frowned. "Work like this builds character, plus you kids are too lazy with all your fancy electronics, a good hard day's work is good for you."

"Yeah, but it's painful and exhausting." Eva commented, sure she was used to her life but at least she gets some sleep

"That's the life of the farm, Eva, and I sometimes forget how much I love it here." Maria said that even when she's gone for so long, the moment she returns to her family's farm, she instantly gets right back into the routine, it was a part of her life that she would always love.

"That's because you were raised on this farm, it's second nature to you when you return from your tours, you fall right back into those routines." Eva stated.

"You all complain as much as Vivian." Mei Ling frowned.

"And that's saying something." Serpillious muttered under his breath.

"Little hard work and sweat won't kill you." Mei Ling continued.

"Oh, and we're supposed to take advice from one of Alisa's lackeys." Runo said with a glare.

Mei Ling just gave Runo a subtle glance before she gave a glance at Anna "Thank you for the food, may I be excused?" Mei Ling asked.

"Sure." Anna simply answered.

With that, Mei Ling got up from her seat and walked out of the room. "Young lady, you need to learn how to control your words." Anna told Runo.

"What did I do? Remember she is one of Alisa's lackeys?" Runo questioned.

"That may be true, but she is a guest here just like you, and she hasn't done anything to upset us yet." Anna remarked.

"We're not saying you are wrong, Runo, but you need to keep calm, yelling and complaining isn't going to solve anything," Yamato added.

"Eh, she does it all the time," Dan muttered.

"What did you say Dan!" Runo shouted.

"Daniel, please don't." Drago said, not wanting his partner to stir the pot.

"Runo, don't listen to him." Tigrerra said, also hoping to avoid more arguing.

Anna shook her head. "Is she always like this?" Anna asked Judai.

Judai didn't say anything, just moved his hand in a so-so motion.

"We almost got crushed in a cave because of her loudmouth." Leonidas muttered.

"Not now Leonidas." Nillious remarked.

"Anyway, once you are done, it's time for the afternoon chores." Yamato said.

"Afternoon?! But didn't we just finish?" Julie shouted, not wanting to do any more chores.

"We have to take a lot of the products to the marketplace and clean out some of the animal pens and also water the fields." Anna said.

"I'll take some of the boys with me to help with the produce." Yamato told Anna.

"Right, and the girls will work on the animals and the fields." Anna nodded.

"Aw man…" Dan moaned, liking the sound of this.

"You humans are a weird species." Leonidas commented.

"So much work for just one day, thank goodness I don't need to do so." Preyas said.

"It's not as bad as you make it out to be." Haos Dragonoid stated. "Aside from the chores, the farm is very peaceful from the city."

"You say that, but you aren't doing the heavy lifting." Eva frowned.

"I'm not." Haos Dragonoid verified,

"Gorem could do some of the heavy lifting." Julie suggested.

"I don't think I would really be much help here Julie." Gorem said.

"Yes, Gorem's massive size would only cause more problems than solving them." Drago stated, knowing that Gorem's size would scare the animals and could possibly kill them.

"Enough complaining, after you all are done eating, we can begin." Anna said.

Most of the group groaned, not looking forward to more chores throughout the day. Once they were finished, Anna was washing the dishes as Yamato told Dan, Marucho, Judai, and Shun what they would be doing.

"Yamato, before you go, I want to talk to you." Anna said.

Yamato looked at his wife, and he could tell something was bothering her. "Alright, Maria, do you mind showing the boys where we'll be taking the produce?" Yamato asked.

"Yes, Dad, and maybe I can check on Isabella, she is due any day," Maria said.

"Oh, your horse is going to have a baby, my sister is a horseback rider, and the horse she usually rides had a baby not long ago." Julie smiled.

"Yeah, I'm so excited." Maria smiled.

"That's so nice, Maria, I'm happy for Isabelle," Eva said, remembering Maria's childhood horse friend.

"Can we see her?" Runo asked.

Maria looked at her mom and dad. "Go on, but remember the chores, Maria," Anna said, wagging her finger.

"Yes, Mom." Maria nodded as she gestured for the others to follow her, and they left the house, leaving both Yamato and Anna.

Yamato looked at Anna who was frozen in place, he sighed as he walked over to her, and placed his arms around her. "Anna, I know something is wrong, you can tell me." Yamato said in a soothing tone.

"Yesterday, Judai told me some troubling news that I'm still having trouble believing in myself." Anna said,

"What kind of news?" Yamato asked, concerned

"The kind that concerns our niece Alice." Anna answered

Yamato frowned. "Alice? I know that she's with Alisa, we'll get her back, I promise."

Anna shook her head. "No, it's not about Alisa." Anna said, her voice beginning to crack. "You know father, and how the negative energy turned him into Hal G?"

Yamato looked at Anna, he knew about Hal G and how Michael got corrupted by the Negative Energy of the silent core when the Dimension Transporter malfunctioned. But then it clicked. "Anna…." Yamato muttered.

Tears fell from his wife's eyes. "Masquerade… Alice is Masquerade." Anna choked before she buried her face into Yamato's chest as he wrapped his arm around her back and rubbed the back of her head.

To say that he was shocked by the reveal was an understatement as Yamato comforted his wife, "There, there. Everything will be alright." Yamato said,

"I… I wish… he never rebuilt that… damn… machine…" Anna whimpered.

"I do too. I do too." Yamato sighed as he continued to comfort her

---

(Alisa's Springtime Retreat)

In the hidden lab, Alisa was overseeing the development of the next Biogan; she had also gone over the battle data that Vivian had given her. She was pleased with how powerful Megalosmasher was despite Vivian losing the battle. The project was indeed a success, if Megalosmaster, the prototype was this powerful, then the following generations of Biogan would be even more powerful.

"Heheheh, in failure, you often learn what you need to succeed. That is one of the principles of science." Alisa chuckled. "And that also applies to Bakugan Battles and life itself."

Helios then popped open "Mistress, I've been wondering, after Mei Ling, who will you send next?" Helios asked

Alisa placed a finger on her lip. "Hmmm, that's a good question, Magnus is out of the question, I know that he wishes to battle Dan and Drago again, but I believe I'll let one of the secondary squad battle."

"Interesting. And what of the mind-controlled battlers?" Helios asked

"Hmm, I care not for them well… except maybe Daisy. I believe this should be a joint mission. I'll just have a talk with the troll and have one of my battlers work with him." Alisa said. "Anything to 'stay' in Naga's good graces."

"What of your daughters? When should they be sent into battle?" Helios asked

"Not yet, the two of them aren't in the right mind to battle. However, Chan might be the best one to send at the moment." Alisa said before shaking her head. "Oh Ali, I'm stunned to see that your darker side is more willing to battle than you are."

"What of Masquerade? What should we do about him?" Helios asked,

"In good time, in good time. Hydranoid has been giving me good information on both him and Ali, and he even thought of something that might help Ali gain a fighting instinct." Alisa grinned.

"And what of Marduk and his partner Vladitor? You're well aware that they'll be a problem for us in the future, right?" Helios asked

Alisa just smiled. "If everything goes right until the finals of the UBT, they'll play their role as they have so far." Alisa said as she looked at the computer screen, she was also looking over the data on Leonidas. "Amazing, it seems like he has vast amounts of hidden power. He's only scratched the surface of it, but of course, he is still no match for you, Helios."

Helios chuckled. "None are a match for me, not Drago, not Hydranoid, not Skyress, not even Vladitor or Leonidas. The only ones who could possibly match me now are the Legendary Soldiers of Vestroia or the Forbidden Bakugan that you're searching for." Helios stated,

"Speaking of searching." Alisa said, as she typed in a few keys, she was shown a virtual map of Earth. "Where are you? You beautiful ball of light…" Alisa asked, as she was still searching for the infinity core as part of her 'agreement' with Naga, she and many she was connected with have been searching for it, if it was on earth, then they should be able to locate it.

'Hmm, unless…' Alisa thought before shaking her head. 'No, It's unlikely but very probable.'

"What's the matter? Is something wrong?" Helios asked,

"Hmm, nothing, I was just thinking about something." Alisa smiled before she called out. "What is the status of the next Biogan?"

"It's almost complete, ma'am, we're still going over some minor details." a scientist said from his computer screen.

"Excellent." Alisa grinned before she picked up her phone and made a call. "Hello, Juri, I want you to get Yukina for me."

"Understood." Juri said, "Is there anything else that you need?" She asked,

"Yes, Contact Hal G and tell him I would like one of his battlers to join in the mission." Alisa said.

"As you wish." Juri said.

"Juri, how's Chan doing?" Alisa asked.

Given how silent Juri was, it must not have been good from her point of view. "No need to say anything Juri, give Chan time, and she'll come around." Alisa said in a soothing tone.

"Yes, Miss Alisa." Juri said before hanging up.

Alisa sighed. "It's not easy being a parent." Alisa said as she continued work on the computer.

Just then Yukina walked into the lab and bowed. "You called me mother?" Yukina asked.

"Yes, I did." Alisa smiled, "Please, take a seat."

Yukina nodded and sat down in a chair. "I believe you are ready for a mission." Alisa told her.

Yukina grinned happily to hear she had been chosen to go on a mission for her mother. "Really?" Yukina said before coughing into her fist, calming herself. "I mean, I'm honored." Yukina said, trying to be professional, which made Alisa giggle at how hard she was trying.

"Well, I'm planning to have a joint Mission with Hal G, so I decided to choose you." Alisa said.

"I have to work with one of Hal G's fighters?" Yukina asked.

Alisa simply nodded. "Yes, and I'm planning on having you and your sister battle each other." that got Yukina to arch her eyebrow. "One of you will join the elite battlers."

Yukina lowered her head slightly upon hearing that, she and her big sister often talked about being promoted to the elite team, and they both had been training hard to achieve that goal, but now she and Yukito would have to battle each other to gain that promotion, which made her feel sad that they would have to battle to get it.

"I see." Yukina said, concerned.

"Is something wrong?" Alisa asked,

"No, nothing's wrong." Yukina clarified before she stood up and bowed "Thank you for telling me." She said before she left the room.

The moment that Yukina left the room, Helios spoke. "Why a battle between those two, if it's a promotion to the Elite Team, shouldn't the battler be from either from the Elite Team?"

"Simple, I want to see their resolve to rise up." Alisa simply said knew full and well of both girls' dreams of joining the elites. However, both of them were equal in skill and determination. "I want them to learn that no matter who you battle whether it's your family or friends you always aim higher and not let their feelings get in the way, this battle is to show me, the elites, and those two what they are made of and see if one of or either of them deserve to move up in the ranks."

"And if both of them succeed?" Helios asked,

"Helios, sometimes there has to be only one winner regardless." Alisa grinned. "After all, you want to be number one, the ultimate Bakugan, right?"

Helios just hummed a bit, agreeing with Alisa,

"I know what it's like to be in a rivalry to the top, me and Anna always did compete, and we both won our fair amount but… I won a prize that I barely had to do anything to win." Alisa grinned.

"Indeed, your husband, Gray, if I remember correctly," Helios said

Alisa just smiled. "Yes, and Anna took it well like I would have." She felt bad about having both Yukito and Yukina battle each other, but it was something that they had to learn that life was unfair, and she knew that very well.

---

(Himesato Farm)

At that time, Maria and the other girls, with the exception of Mei Ling, were in the stables. She showed the girl Isabelle, who was a pure white horse with a long blackish brown mane whose stomach hung, indicating she was indeed pregnant. Maria smiled as she groomed Issabelle's coat with a grooming brush.

"She's so beautiful." Runo complimented since she always wanted a horse when she was a little younger, and maybe she still did, Maria was lucky to have a house like her.

"I like how clear her coat is." Tigrerra commented.

Maria giggled, "Why thank you. She's been with me since I was a child."

"I almost forgot how majestic she looked." Eva smiled.

"Just an earth version of Pegatrix. Luckily it doesn't have her big mouth." Eenoch muttered.

"Oh, you're the last one to talk about having a big mouth." Pegatrix countered, finding it laughable that Eenoch told her she had a big mouth when he had a mouth big enough to rival Leonidas and his shit.

"Can we not fight, please." Gorem said not wanting conflict.

"Nayaaa." Pegatrix neighed

"Nayaaa, ptt." Isabelle replied.

"Did you just talk to Isabelle?" Maria asked curiously.

Pegatrix turned to Maria and nodded. "Yes, I just said it's nice to meet a fellow mare as majestic as her, and I even congratulated her on motherhood, and she said thank you, and she can't wait for her baby to be born," Pegatrix answered.

Maria smiled as she petted Isabelle on her back. "I'm excited too, Isabelle, you'll be a great mom." Maria smiled.

Julie looked at Isabelle closely before asking something. "She's a champion, right? A show horse?" Julie asked, she had been around Horses with her sister long enough that she could tell a normal horse from a champion. Daisy had taught her how to tell the difference back home.

"Good eye Julie. Yeah, I've entered her into a few horse shows and races." Maria smiled, remembering all the events she brought Isabelle to and she brought home each prize and award, however, she never cared about the awards, she enjoyed spending as much time with the rest of her animal friends.

"I wonder if I can enter into one." Pegatrix wondered out loud.

"I don't think it's a good idea to do so." Maria stated.

"Why not?" Pegatrix asked.

"Mostly because you're a Bakugan and if you entered I have a feeling it wouldn't be a competition." Eva said with a grin. A talking horse that flies, and she wasn't sure they would allow a Bakugan to enter a competition like that.

"Nayy." Isabelle neighed.

"Thanks, at least you have faith in me." Pegatrix said.

"Heh, of course. You are a horse, so of course one of your kind would." Eenoch muttered,

"Now, don't be a jerk." Tigrerra said, not wanting there to be more conflict.

Maria just giggled as she continued to groom Isabelle

---

Hours later, the boys returned back from the market with Yamato, and the girls and Anna finished with their part of the chores, now it was time for dinner. Anna and Yamato prepared a nice dinner for the kids, Dan was about to reach out for some food, but Anna smacked his hand, forcing him to pull it back.

"What was that for?" Dan said, holding his hand.

"Before we eat, we always say grace," Anna said in a stern tone.

"What is Grace?" Drago asked.

"Obviously, it's a person they serve," Preyas stated.

"Oh, it's how they gracefully prepared the food." Pegatrix suggested.

"No, saying grace is about telling the lord how grateful we are for what we have." Judai answered.

"Lord? So you do worship someone." Preyas said.

"Just drop it." Eva said, knowing it would be complicated to explain to the Bakugan.

Anna nodded. She and her family always said grace before eating, that's how it's been since she was a little girl. "Maria, would you like to say it?"

"Yes, Mom." Maria nodded as she closed her eyes and placed her hands together, soon the others closed their eyes as well, then she began. "Lord, we thank you for this meal and for a great day's work, and we hope for happy days to come, thank you, lord."

"Let's eat." Anna smiled.

They began to eat their dinner, Dan was scarfing down food which Anna scolded him for his table manners. Runo and Julie complimented on how good the dinner was. Shun passed some cornbread to Marucho, who asked for it, Judai and Eva were enjoying their plates of food.

Mei Ling finished her food. "Thanks for the dinner, Anna." Mei Ling said.

"You're welcome," Anna replied,

Mei Ling saw that Shun finished his food. "So, we've delayed it long enough, are you ready to brawl, Shun?" Mei Ling asked, clearly ready for battle now.

"Yes." Shun said, "You ready, Skyress?" he asked,

"Always Shun." Skyress said,

"Heh, Serpillious?" Mei Ling smiled at her partner.

"I'm ready when you are," Serpillious stated

---

(Alisa's Springtime Retreat)

Alice slowly opened her eyes, she sat up, and yawned, stretching her arms out "Hydranoid, how long was I sleeping?" she asked her partner.

"A few hours, it's about dinner time," Hydranoid informed.

"Wonderful," Alice said with a sarcastic tone, knowing that she'll have to see Mother soon. "Well, might as well freshen up."

She jumped out of bed and made her way to the bathroom, she decided to check the bathroom for hidden cameras again. She found a lot of them earlier, but there was a chance her mother had more installed while they were training, and she wasn't taking a chance.

"I swear my mother is a fucking stalker," Alice swore. "Who loves to micromanage my life."

To her surprising luck, she didn't find any cameras, sighing in relief. "I'll be out in a few Hydranoid," Alice said as she shut the door behind her.

Alice then began to undress, she took off her training wear then she unhooked her bra, letting her modest breasts fall loose, she pulled down her panties to her legs and stepped out of them. She turned on the shower and waited for the water to get to a certain temperature.

"I'm lucky that I didn't find any cameras in here," Alice said in a dark tone, she placed her hand in the running water feeling it was the right temperature, she stepped in and sighed, allowing the warm water to collide with her skin. Alice felt the stress from earlier slowly leave her body, she moved her head in front of the faucet, letting the water drip through her hair and down her back.

'Ahh…' Alice sighed as she washed herself, she thought back to her friends, not just them, her Aunt, Uncle, and Maria, she missed them even if she was angry at her Aunt and Uncle for keeping it a secret, she felt alone and helpless. Yes, she had Hydranoid and Chan there with her but… she wished they she could be with Judai and the others.

After a few minutes, Alice emerged from the bathroom in a bathrobe and towel wrapped around her head, steam leaked out of the door as she walked over to the dress that was in front of the door, she didn't know how she should dress even if it was her mother she didn't want to make a bad impression when it came to dinner so she picked out a bring a yellow dress, it wasn't too casual nor too fancy.

"Well, time to get dressed," Alice said as she put on a light green bra with matching panties, she slipped on the dress, she looked in a mirror on the other side of the room, and saw she looked pretty good and the dress went just above her kneecaps. Alice walked over to the closet, she opened it up, and found shoes they were many in variety, from high heels to low heels.

Alice liked shoes, she wasn't that obsessed, but she definitely liked them. She saw some pure white slippers, she took them out and placed them on. She moved her feet, surprised by how good they felt. She twirled around on her feet, her long orange hair waving wildly before she stopped.

"Hmm, these feel nice." Alice gave a small smile.

"You ready, Alice?" Hydranoid asked.

The redhead turned to her partner and nodded. "Yeah, let's just get this over with." she said as lowered her hand to Hydranoid, who hopped on as his partner placed him on her shoulder. Alice then moved the dresser out of the way of the door, taking a deep breath before she walked out of the room to meet her mother for dinner.

---

(Hmesato Farm)

Out on the fields, the brawlers, and Himesato stood on the sidelines. Shun and Mei Ling stared each other down, as the wind blew through the field as if it was anxious to see the two battle.

Mei Ling smiled. "Despite all my flirting and wanting to get your attention, I've been looking forward to this battle. Besides Magnus and my mothers, there hasn't been anyone who has given me a challenge."

"Then I won't be disappointed." Shun remarked.

"Shun will beat her." Dan said, having confidence in his friend's skills.

"I don't doubt Shun's skills, but remember the only ones who have battled her are Marucho and Eva." Anna pointed out.

"Do you two have any suggestions on how to combat her?" Haos Dragon asked Marucho and Eva.

"Sadly no." Eva admitted. "She barely used any strength in our fight."

"I even went over the data, and I can't really find a strategy that can counter her." Marucho stated, "She hit us hard and fast."

"Yeah, it was literally a hurricane of disaster." Preyas added his input "Even worse than Demon face's bite."

"What was that?" Eenoch roared in fury.

"So pretty much, Shun might have a tough time with this." Judai said, not knowing what Mei Ling was capable of, but he would have to guess that she was more dangerous and focused compared to Vivian.

"So…are you ready?" Mei Ling asked,

"I'm always ready." Shun replied.

Mei Ling just gave a hint of a smirk. "Great, let's do this…Drome Up."

The Drome then materialized around the area. As soon as the Drome was up the area began to shift. The ground began to shake and the wind began to stir violently, everyone on the sidelines tried to keep their balance even Shun while Mei Ling just grinned with her arms crossed welcoming the change. The ground began giving away as pillars shot out from under them along with those on the sidelines and all were driven high in the sky once they reached a certain point clouds formed beneath them blocking their view of the ground. A isle made of rock with foliage on the edges and in the center was sand that appeared in the center allowing Shun and Mei Ling to cross over onto it as tornados circled the entire area.

"This just keeps getting freakier and freakier." Julie commented, as she stood up straight, she probably would never get used to the area terraforming each time the drome was used.

"Indeed, and there's a chance we might get caught up in the battle by accident." Anna added with a grim look as she glanced at the battlefield

"Why is that?" Maria asked her mother

"Look down?" Anna said as she looked down and saw only clouds, she picked up a stone before tossing it down, and everyone watched as the stone fell into the clouds below, which made the others' eyes widened "This battlefield has rushing winds and tornadoes and given the fact that both Mei Ling and Shun are Ventus users, the powerful wind current that Skyress and Serpillious generate could end up knocking us to our deaths."

"O-o-oh boy, I want back on the ground." Preyas said, shaking in fear.

"Relax, Preyas, if you all fall we will catch you." Nillious said.

"Can't we just let him fall?" Leonidas asked. "I mean we can say we 'tried' to save Preyas."

"Indeed." Eenoch said

"Ahhh! You two are really supportive!" Preyas shouted in anger, wondering if Leonidas and Eenoch were being serious.

"Stop it you three, it's starting." Yamato spoke up.

"You ready Skyress?" Shun asked.

"Always." Skyress nodded.

"Ready to roll, Serpillious." Mei Ling asked.

"I am." Serpillious said before shifting to ball form as Mei Ling grabbed hold of him

"Bakugan Brawl!" Mei Ling shouted as she threw Serpillious onto the battlefield, Serpillious's ball form flew into the air before it popped open. "Bakugan Stand, Ascend Ventus Serpillious!"

In a flash of green light, Serpillious spread his wings and began riding the wind currents from the battlefield

"Bakugan Brawl!" Shun shouted as he threw Skyress onto the battlefield. Like Serpillious, Skyress's ball form soared through the air before it popped open "Bakugan Stand, Rise Ventus Skyress!"

A flash of green lightning shot into the sky into dark clouds, Skyress then descended from the sky with her wings folded before she unfolded them, letting out a mighty screech.

"Beautiful." Mei Ling commented she always admired Skyress's beauty.

"You're going down Skyress." Serpillious said, looking forward to a good fight.

"We'll see about that, Serpillious!" Skyress countered,

"Wing Tornado!" Serpillious said as he started to gather wind on his wings before unleashing a tornado towards Skyress. The tornado was enhanced even further due to the fierce winds of the battlefield.

"His attack powered up," Runo said, seeing the power of the attack had increased.

"This field increases the power of their attacks." Anna surmised.

Skyress evaded the attack while riding the wind's current.

Both Serpillious and Skyress were currently circling around the battlefield, gauging each other's movements as well as taking note of the environment.

Mei Ling looked around, keeping an eye on Skyress. 'Let's play, follow the leader.' Mei Ling thought as she moved her hand to the side.

Serpillious looked at Mei Ling and understood the gesture as he changed his pattern and flew away. Shun saw this wondering what they were planning. "Skyress, follow him," Shun called out.

Skyress did as told and followed after Serpillious. The Wyvern-like Bakugan glanced back at Skyress as she was following him before he increased his speed and continued his way.

"Not so confident. He's running away," Dan spoke up.

"I don't think that's it, Dan," Drago said, finding something was off.

"He's right, Mei Ling's up to something," Marucho said, knowing that there was more to what they were seeing.

Shun decided to go on the offensive. "Skyress! Green Nobility Violent Wind!" Shun called out.

Skyress screeched as her body was engulfed in green flames before she soared through the air towards Serpillious.

Mei Ling just grinned. "Serpillious, Wyvern's Fury!" she announced

Serpillious roared as his entire body was also engulfed in green flames before he changed directions and began heading towards Skyress. Both Bakugan clashed. Green flames and shockwaves pulsed through the area as both Bakugan fought for dominance.

"Man, that's a lot of power." Eva said, feeling the shockwaves from where they were creating. She was starting to wonder if she or Marucho even stood a chance against Mei Ling.

"At the moment, they seem pretty even." Tigrerra said.

"They both are feeling each other out." Judai said, seeing that both Shun and Mei Ling were just testing out each other looking for any weakness they could exploit.

Skyress and Serpillious continued to push back and forth, trying to gain the upperhand. However, Skyress seemed to be losing a bit of ground. "You seem to be losing a bit of steam, Skyress, don't tell me you're giving up already?" Serpillious asked.

Skyress just grunted as she continued to push against Serpillious. "Not yet." Skyress said

Eventually, their clash ended in a stalemate as both of them pulled back.

"Hmm, not bad." Mei Ling said before gaining a sinister grin. "But not good enough."

Serpillious then aimed the tip of his tail at Skyress before it started gathering energy "Sonic Thrash." he shouted as he fired a destructive blast of energy at Skyress.

"Phoenix Barrier!" Skyress screeched as she folded her wings as a green transparent dome formed around her, as the blast hit the dome, resulting in an explosion creating a smoke cloud and generating powerful winds that made everyone on the sidelines cover themselves, Drago and Haos Dragonoid abused their true forms in front of the others shielding them from the force of the winds.

As it subsided and the smoke began to dissipate, Skyress appeared with the dome still up however, it had a few cracks in it. The Phoenix-bakugan lowered the dome and looked around, seeing that Serpillious was gone.

"Where is he?" Shun questioned as he looked around.

"Hmm." Mei Ling hummed.

"Looking for me?" Serpilious's voice said.

Skyress turned around as Serpillious's came from the dark smoke and smashed against Skyress's face, causing her to screech in pain as she fell down to the floating island and landed on the ground with a sickening thud kicking up a dust cloud.

"Skyress!" Shun called out.

"Talk about a cheap shot," Julie said.

"Yeah, that wasn't fair." Runo agreed, not liking what Mei Ling did.

Serpillious landed on the ground, Skyress struggled to get up and tried to fly away but Serpillious wrapped his tail around her leg before swinging her across the island, skidding on the ground.

"AhhH!" Skyress shouted in pain.

"Skyress!" Shun called out in worry.

"You're Bakugan is an air-based fighter. So on the ground, she is practically defenseless." Mei Ling stated before pointing at Shun. "And I am not Vivian, I don't play with my food. I battle until I complete my mission, so don't expect me to take it easy on you or your friends Shun, I always play for keeps!" she said with a determined face with a fierce expression in her eyes

Maria noticed the expression in Mei Ling's eyes 'Why does she have so much sadness in her heart?' Maria thought

Anna noticed the look on her daughter's face and decided to question her later about it

"Shun better think of something fast, Mei Ling is definitely not playing around." Marucho said, now realizing how outmatched he and Eva were when they first met her, if she was like this from the very start, they wouldn't have been devastated.

"She's not like Vivian. She's all business not letting her ego cloud her mission," Judai said. Even if she was an enemy, Judai had to respect her determination and willingness to see a mission through to the end.

Shun, like Maria, saw the sadness in Mei Ling's eyes, and he began to see maybe her story was true, but that wouldn't stop him or Skyress from winning this battle. "Skyress!" Shun called out.

Skyress's eyes shot open as her body became engulfed in green flames before letting out a screech.

"We're not done yet, Mei Ling! If you want a victory, you'll have to earn it the hard way!" Shun shouted as a dark green aura surrounded him.

"Hehehe! Fine! I like it when they play hard to get!" Mei Ling laughed as a similar dark green aura surrounded her as well.

Mei Ling then bent down and grabbed a core before throwing it at Serpillious, which energized him.

"Windslash!" Serpillious roared as he flapped his wings, shooting off blades of wind at Skyress

Skyress with a flap of her wings was able to evade the blades as they cut into the ground where the green phoenix once stood. She flew up with Serpillious following after.

Shun looked down and saw a core near a rock formation not too far from him.

"Shun, the core!" Dan called out.

Shun quickly made his way to the core. However, he quicking evaded a kick from Mei Ling, leaning back and doing a quick backflip landing about several feet away from her.

"Hey, why do our Bakugan get to have all the fun right?" Mei Ling grinned as she got into a fighting stance. "If you want that core, you'll have to fight me to get it."

Shun glared at Mei Ling, annoyed at her actions.

"Hey, that's cheating!" Julice shouted, waving her arms.

"You can't just do that," Runo shouted as well.

'Where I come from, it was survival of the fittest. I had to do all I could just to survive alongside my partner Serpillious.' Mei Ling thought.

Shun immediately fell into a fighting stance, knowing that would have to fight his way out of this battle. Mei Ling grinned, looking forward to this. She always wanted a challenge from others who could do martial arts aside from her mother but she hadn't had a good challenge and now it would be a good test of her skills against Shun.

"That human girl sure is persistent," Eenoch stated.

"Indeed, I'm surprised that she didn't try any of that against you?" Leonidas said as he glanced at both Eva and Marucho,

"I have a feeling it was because she didn't consider us a challenge." Eva frowned. "Me and Marucho can't fight like her, and the fact that she has the hots for Shun makes it double the trouble."

"She does work for Alisa. Remember what she said? She'll see this battle through to the end, no matter what." Anna pointed out as she continued to observe.

"Shun!" Skyress cried out,

"You have other things to worry about." Serpillious roared as he shot a volley of fireballs at Skyress

Skyress evaded some of them, breaking into a barrel roll as she flapped her wings ascending above.

"Woah, Skyress has some moves." Preyas said.

"Indeed, I'm impressed." Maria said,

"Skyress seems to have the advantage when it comes to speed and agility, and Serpillious is power and strength along with durability." Drago stated.

"Yes, so this battle could go either way." Haos Dragonoid added.

Mei Ling in the meantime, was keeping Shun occupied. She threw a palm strike at Shun who deflected it with the back of his hand, pivoting on his feet, and threw a kick that Mei Ling blocked with her own leg with her kneecap. Everyone saw the girl didn't even budge an inch, not even his leg.

"Heh, you're pretty good." Mei Ling grinned "I'm starting to see why your family's descended from ninjas." She said before jumping back and rushing forward, elbowing Shun in the chest his eyes widened as the air left his lungs.

"Ahhh!" Shun gasped.

Mei Ling smirked as she grabbed his arm placing it over her shoulder enjoying how close he was from a second, as she elbowed him in the gut twice before tossing him over her shoulders and into the air.

Shun, despite having the air knocked out of him, recovered and landed on his feet and skidded to a stop as he held his stomach.

"You saw that?!" Julie gasped in shock.

"Mei Ling is strong and skilled." Gorem remarked.

"Come on, Shun! Don't let a girl punt you like that!" Dan called out.

"Yeah, it's embarrassing for us guys." Marucho added.

Which earned them a slap in the back of the heads, by both Runo and Eva for those comments.

"What the hell!?" Dan shouted, holding his head.

"What were those for?" Marucho shouted as well.

"We forgot." both girls answered with some hostility in their voices.

Shun spat and stood up. "You're good, I'll give that." he said, wiping his mouth.

"Why thank you." Mei Ling smiled. "I'm impressed you can still stand, normally when I hit someone, they are down for the count. You're definitely more durable than Wolf."

Shun rushed at Mei Ling, who grinned, looking forward to continuing their fight. Shun threw a punch to which Mei Ling deflected with a wave of her hand before crouching down and attempting to deliver a sweeping kick to which Shun avoided he grabbed Mei Ling's shoulder and pulled over her, tucking and rolling to a stop picking up the core.

"Skyress!" Shun shouted as he threw the core at his partner, but then ducked under a kick from Mei Ling, he did a small backflip dropping into a handstand, and sticking his legs in, Mei Ling was surprised just as Shun pushed out his legs and his shoes colliding with Mei Ling's face knocking her back and into the air.

Skyress screeched as she was energized from the core. "Green Nobility Maximum Wind!" Skyress shouted as she was engulfed in dark green flames and heading towards Serpillious.

"Sonic Slasher!" Serpillious roared as he flew towards Skyress, at that point, the wind began to gather around his body before the energy from the wind sharpened like a blade.

Both Bakugan flew at each other and right before the collision Skyress folded her wings using her natural speed and agility and ducked underneath Serpillious, she quickly flapped her wings soaring up before turning around and flying at Serpillious who didn't have time to move as Skyress slammed into Serpillious and with the added momentum from her decent sending him falling to the floating island below.

Mei Ling jumped at Shun with a bicycle kick, Shun dodged the kicks and threw two hand strikes back, Mel Ling leaned back in and broke into a backflip, Shun wasn't done as he rushed forward just as Mei Ling landed, the ninja delivered a punch to the girl's face throwing her head back before jabbing a few strikes into her gut which made her cough up a bit of blood as Shun kicked her in the guts sending Mei Ling skidding back several feet holding her stomach as Serpillious landed behind her kicking up a dust cloud with the force blowing the young's hair and clothes around.

Shun stood tall as Skyress flapped behind him ready to continue if need be.

"Alright! They did it!" Dan cheered.

"Way to go, Shun!" Julie jumped up and down pumping her arms.

"Way to go Shun baby, I always believed in you and Skyress." Preyas cheered.

"Like that is true, I could see you sweating." Eenoch said.

"Hey, I believed in them!" Preyas shouted.

"Shun and Skyress are quite skilled, they were able to push Mei Ling and Serpillious back." Marucho fixed his glasses, he was a little worried at first but it worked out fine.

Anna frowned. "It's not over." she said, getting the brawler's attention.

"What?!" Runo asked.

"Sure you jest." Tiggerra muttered.

"She's right." Yamato said, pointing at the field.

Mei Ling was still standing with her head lowered with the dust cloud her partner made still behind her. "Heh." Mei Ling laughed, lifting her head up revealing a trickle of blood going down her lip, she wiped it off with the back of her hand and looked at it. "No bad, you're more than I hoped for Shun, both you and your partner are amazing, I haven't had this much in a while."

"She considers this fun?" Runo questioned not believing what Mei Ling was saying, the Bakugan battle was one thing, but her and Shun fighting and hurting each other was different.

Serpillious then stood back up and flew back into the sky to face Skyress before giving off a roar.

"Oh boy, they just don't stay down." Eva said in shock.

"No, look, Serpillous did take a sizable amount of damage with that fall." Judai pointed out, he saw that despite everything Serpillous was indeed wearing down and so was Skyress.

"Judai's right, both of them are starting to reach their limits." Gorem added.

Mei Ling spat out some blood before speaking up. "Are you ready to end this Serpillious?" she asked her partner, as much as she wanted to continue fighting Shun, she knew that if they played around too much this could turn around on them like it did Vivian and she wasn't planning on repeating the spoiled girl's mistakes.

"Yeah.: Serpillious nodded.

Mei Ling scanned the area, looking for a core to give to Serpillious, Shun did the same looking around for a core as well, both knowing that it could decide the battle.

Eventually, both Mei Ling and Shun found a core, Mei Ling grinned while Shun scowled; they both made a break for the core, as their partners took to the air and began to fight. Serpillious fired a dark green beam from his tail at Skyress who swerved out of the way of it.

Shun was ahead of Mei Ling who followed after, the girl jumped into the air onto Shun's shoulder pulvoulting off, while pushing Shun back, "Thanks for the lift Shunny." Mei Ling said in a sing-song tone, as she flew towards the core.

"Shun!" Dan called out.

Shun quickly pulled out a grapple rope and threw it at Mei Ling and it wrapped around the girl's left leg. "What?!" Mei Ling gasped and looked at the rope before looking at Shun who pulled back on the rope with a hard tug, and Mei Ling was jerked back and landed on her side behind the ninja who ran towards the core.

"Way to go Shun." Eva cheered.

"Talk about thinking fast." Maria said.

Eventually, Shun grabbed the core first before he threw it toward Skyress who was energized by the core.

"Green Nobility Maximum Wind!" Shun and Skyress shouted at the same time.

Skyress screeched as her body was covered in dark green flames, she spread her wings wide as the flames began to take shape as they began to form into the form of a giant phoenix.

"Wow, that's cool." Eva commented.

"Go, Shun!" Marucho shouted.

"Finish them off Skyress." Pegatrix cheered.

"Serpillious, Wyvern's Fury!" Mei Ling exclaimed

Serpillious roared as his entire body was also engulfed in green flames, the flames formed into the shape of a giant wyvern; it had large wings with claws on the end with a long serpentine body.

"This is it." Drago said, knowing that this will decide the entire match.

"The match will be decided with this." Haos Dragonoid stated.

"Oh boy, I can't watch." Preyas said, closing his ball form.

"Hmmm." Leonidas hummed as continued to watch.

Shun and Mei Ling glared at each other, one scowling while the other smiled, as the wind swirled around them as if it was anxious to see the end of the battle. "Gooo!" Both battlers shouted pointing at each other.

At their call, Both Skyress and Serpillious were flying towards each other for one final attack. The two Bakugan clashed shockwaves and green flame burst throughout the battlefield as both Ventus Bakugan battled for supremacy.

"Skyress!" Shun called out.

"Take her down Serpillious!" Mei Ling called out.

Both bakugan continued to push back and forth against each other. "Give up Skyress!" Serpillious roared, putting more power into his attack which began to push Skyress back slightly.

"I'll never give up! And I will not let Shun down!" Skyress screeched as she pushed back, now matching Serpilious.

Both Bakugan continued to push back and forth until the battlefield started to act up around them and the winds started to get fiercer and wilder. Causing those on the sidelines to cover their faces from the fierce gusts of wind, while Shun and Mei Ling didn't budge from the wind as they continued to leer at each other neither batting an eyelash, as the wind blew their hair all around along with their clothes.

"What's happening?" Maria asked as she covered her face from the gusts of wind.

"The energy from the battle is starting to overload the battlefield." Anna explained.

"Here we go again." Judai commented.

Suddenly the flames around both Bakugan exploded spreading throughout the area with powerful winds and tornados forming. "Everyone take cover!" Dan shouted.

"Dan! We're on a floating rock!" Runo shouted, pushing her skirt down. "There's nowhere to take cover!"

The green flames flashed brightly blinding everyone while Shun and Mei Ling didn't look away from each other the girl smiled despite everything going on around her, Shun scowled at her the two staring into each other eyes as if they were having a secret conversation, before they were consumed by the light.

When the light died down, those on the sidelines opened their eyes and saw that the area had returned to normal. "Oh boy, that had to be the weirdest field so far." Dan commented, relieved that they were back. "Is everyone ok?"

"I'm fine." Judai said.

"I'm alright," Leonidas said.

"I'm fine as well." Nillious stated,

"We're ok too." Eva said as Pegatrix and Eenoch hopped onto her shoulders.

"Does this happen every time you all battle?" Pegatrix asked.

"Pretty much when we go up against an insane woman." Preyas answered,

"So the battle was a draw?" Gorem asked.

"It looks like it, Gorem." Julie said.

"The amount of power they have is incredible." Haos Dragonoid commented.

"Indeed." Anna agreed.

They all saw Shun and Mei Ling continuing to leer at each other without looking away; they both reached up and caught their respective partners. Mei Ling smiled as she reached into her pocket taking out a small device before tossing it to Shun who caught it in one hand.

Shun looked at the device and then back to Mei Ling. "Just like that?" The ninja asked. "It's a draw."

"I did say either you win or we have a draw. Besides, I had fun. You're definitely one of the toughest battles I've faced, Shun, I look forward to seeing you again." Mei Ling smiled, as she turned her back to him and the others. "Thank you for having me, Aunt Anna. I enjoyed working on the farm. It was definitely a change of pace from what I usually do."

Mei Ling began to walk away, but Serpillious popped open on her shoulder. "Are you alright? Aren't you angry?" Serpillious asked.

"Nah, a little disappointed I won't spend a night with Shun, but I did get a good battle out of it. The way he fought was amazing. Both of us need to up our game for when we battle them again." Mei Ling grinned. After fighting Shun, she was now looking forward to training more so when they did battle again she would be the winner next time. But for now, she was satisfied. She would do what her mother had told her before, take defeat with grace and push forward.

---

(Alisa's Springtime Retreat)

Alice walked down the halls of the mansion, making her way to dinner. She wasn't sure how to feel about it because, besides the day out she and her mother had, this was the first dinner she had with the woman since she was a kid.

"Alice? Aren't you going to go to dinner?" Hydranoid asked

Alice just sighed "I'm not sure anymore." Alice replied she didn't know what to think.

"Remember Alice. No matter what, I'm always there for you." Hydranoid stated

Alice smiled, "Thank you, Hydranoid."

Alice eventually made it to the entrance to the dining room. She took a deep breath before opening the door. She was greeted with a large room; the walls were painted white, and the floor was made of dark green. On the sides of the room had marble columns with purple curtains wrapped around them. In the middle of the room was a long dining table that had lots of food on it with a chandelier hanging overhead the crystals sparkling in the light.

"Lovely, isn't it?" Alisa asked, sitting at the end of the table.

"Yeah….Lovely." Alice said with a sarcastic tone in her voice.

"Oh, come on Ali, sit down and enjoy the meal. My cooks slavered over hand and foot to make it." Alisa pouted.

Alice just rolled her eyes at her mother's childish pout; she then sat at the end of the table. She looked around and didn't see anyone else, not even Juri. "Are we the only ones here?" Alice asked,

"Besides our partner Bakugan, yes, we are." Alisa smirked.

"Judging by all this food, I would've thought the others would be joining?" Alice said.

Alisa sighed. "They're all busy with their own things. You know it hurts having all this food and not many to like or enjoy it. Kids nowadays don't always like to be around their family for dinner." Alisa said as she closed her eyes and shed some tears for some dramatic effect

Alice just looked at her mom with an 'Are you serious?' look, "Yeah, it must be hurtful…" Alice muttered.

"Now, should we say grace?" Alisa asked with a small smile.

Alice looked at her mom. Ever since she was small, her family would always say grace. She was surprised that the woman would even keep doing so even after all these years. "Me and everyone here say grace when we all are together before we eat." Alisa smiled.

Alice sighed. "Sure." she knew if it were Grandfather or Aunt Anna they would want.

Alisa closed her eyes, as did Alice. "Lord, we thank you for this great meal and for watching over us and keeping us safe and healthy, and we hope for more blissful days between us and all those we know, amen."

Alice opened her eyes, she didn't even know if her mom was even telling the truth about what she said. She couldn't believe her mom still resolved to say grace even when her mind was as warped as it was.

"Dig in, Ali, the food is getting cold." Alisa smiled, gesturing for Alice to eat as she began to eat dinner.

Alice looked at the food for a minute, it looked good, but it could always have sleeping powder or something. Ever Since she came here, she had been on her toes, almost completely paranoid.

"What's the matter, dear?" Alisa asked, "Aren't you hungry?" she asked

Alice glared at her mother "How do I know that my food isn't drugged?" Alice spat.

"My, my, do you really think 'I' would do something like that?" Alisa said playfully.

Alice continued to glare at her mother, answering her rhetorical question

Alisa stood up and walked over to Alice's side, causing the girl to tense up before the older woman took a spoon full of soup and drank it. "See? You're paranoid, Ali. It's just good and well-cooked food." Alisa smiled as she walked back to her seat.

Alice relaxed and looked at the food again; hesitating at first, she took a spoon full of soup and took a sip. "Good, isn't it Ali?" Alisa asked.

Alice lowered her head slightly. "Yes, it's very good." Alice said honestly the soup was good and well seasoned.

Alisa gave the young girl a sweet smile. "I'm glad, and I have a 'killer' dessert that you'll absolutely love."

Alice just looked at Alisa, she just couldn't get a read on the woman. Empathizing the word killer? She wasn't sure if Alisa was joking or being serious. "The desserts are to 'die' for, I assure you." Alisa said with a sweet smile.

"Will you stop, please? It's hard to eat when you empathize with words like those." Alice asked; it was already hard to eat in the beginning, and it was even harder when her mother used words like killer and die, and it was hard to tell if she was joking about her being literal.

"Hehehe, ok, I thought adding a little humor would lighten the mood?" Alisa giggled.

'Oh yeah, saying killer and die while eating food is really humorous?' Alice thought she did not like her mother's dark sense of humor, if you would even call it that.

After Alisa was finished eating, she decided to chat with her daughter "So, my beloved daughter, how was your nap?" she asked

Alice had just finished eating as well. "I slept fine, my body was really stiff from the training." Alice answered she slept better when her door was blocked by the drawer.

"It'll be a while before you're used to it." Alisa said, taking a sip of wine. "Don't overdo it. That's why you're taking a few days off before we continue."

"Really?" Alice asked as she narrowed her eyes. "How generous of you, Mother." she said with sarcasm.

"Hehehe, it's simple. There's only so much the body can take until it shuts down. You aren't used to battling, unlike your other half. Although your Bakugan is doing most of the battling, you can become mentally strained." Alisa smiled.

Alice glared. "I'm not Masquerade! How many times do I have to tell you!" Alice shouted, slamming her hands on the table, causing it to shake.

Alisa just sighed "You still don't believe it even though I showed you proof?" Alisa asked before sighing, "Why is my daughter so stubborn."

"It's you! You must have made a fake image or video of something just to mess with my head!" Alice shouted she refused to believe any of it, she couldn't be him. No, it was impossible

"Oh Ali, the more you deny it, the more pain you cause to yourself." Alisa grinned; her daughter was just in denial. "And if that's not enough evidence, here's something interesting about your partner who is always trying to help you." Alisa smirked as she showed her the video of Masquerade battling with Hydranoid against both Dan and Shun. In the video, Hydranoid was behaving much more ruthlessly and was sadistic, even sending Reaper to the Doom Dimension

Alice looked at the video, her eyes widened and she looked at Hydranoid. "ahh… no, tell me it's…" Alice tried to talk but stopped. She jumped out of her seat and ran out of the room as fast as she could.

Hydranoid wasn't amused by Alisa's actions "Did you have to do that?" Hydranoid asked,

"Sometimes the truth hurts, and as a parent, I have to show some tough love in order to get my point across." Alisa smiled.

"Besides, eventually, both you and Alice will have to battle the Brawlers without the aid of Masquerade," Helios said "The question is…can you do it? Hydranoid," Helios demanded,

"With Masquerade, you show true ferocity and ruthlessness, but with Alice, it's a different story." Alisa said, crossing her fingers. "Masquerade is just a physical manifestation of what Ali feels on the inside. The negative energy not only brought to the surface and amplified it, but it would also only take a nudge to make her snap and become similar to me…"

Hydranoid narrowed his eyes "I will look after Alice in my own way, and we'll battle the brawlers without the aid of Masquerade's influence together in our own way without your aid." Hydranoid countered, "We just need more time to connect to each other."

Alisa could only smile. "Oh, I know, but don't forget your place, Hydranoid, I found you, and I delivered you to the perfect partner." Alisa said with a slight glare. "And I think when Ali is done resting, you both should start your own mission."

"Mission? What kind of mission?" Hydranoid questioned,

"Oh trust me, it will be a mission to 'die' for." Alisa said, her sweet smile now turned sinister.

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A/N:Please Read, Follow, Like, Fav, and Review