Chapter 15: Initiation Part 3
Marucho's Home…
"Are you ready for a rematch?" Dan asked as Ryder turned to look at his friend.
"Oh yeah. I'm more than ready." Ryder smirked as the two prepared for battle.
"Then how about we make things a little interesting?" Dan suggested as Ryder and the rest of the Battle Brawlers looked at Dan, confused.
"What do you have in mind?" Ryder inquired as Leonidas tilted in confusion.
"Let's do a one on one! You and Leonidas against Drago and I!" Dan suggested as Drago turned toward him.
"A one on one against Leonidas and I?" Drago questioned as he gave the suggestion some thought.
"I suppose that wouldn't be too bad," Drago smirked as Ryder rubbed his chin.
"A one on one?" Ryder murmured as he thought about Dan's suggestion.
"Dan, don't you think that's a little unfair?" Julie asked as she stepped forward.
"Huh? How so?" Dan asked, causing Runo to sigh, answering in Julie's stead.
"Ever since Drago's evolution, his base G power has increased significantly. The gap between him and Leonidas will give you a huge advantage in battle." Runo pointed out as Dan came to understand.
"Oh right, my bad." Dan laughed as he scratched the back of his head.
"I actually think it's not as bad as it might seem," Marucho stated, gaining everyone's attention.
"Technically speaking though their base G power may be different, it may not be hard to close the gap if Ryder plays his cards right," Marucho explained as Shun nodded.
"He's right. While I agree at face value, it may seem that Ryder is at a disadvantage. I know that he has the ability to win." Alice agreed, knowing that Ryder had the ability to do it, making Ryder smile.
"I say let's do it!" Leonidas insisted as he flew next to Ryder.
"Of course you would," Ryder smirked as he turned to his partner before returning his attention back to Dan.
"Alright, let's do this!" Ryder agreed as Dan and the others looked at him in shock.
"You sure, Ryder?" Dan inquired as Ryder nodded.
"Positive," Ryder answered as Leonidas nodded next to him.
"Then it seems there are no problems." Drago pointed out as Dan snickered.
"Alright then, let's not waste any more time and start," Dan smirked as he and Ryder took out their field cards, followed by the others.
"Field Open!" The Brawlers chanted as time slowed to a stop, and they entered the battle field.
"Gate Card Set!" Dan shouted as he threw his gate card onto the field.
"Let's do it, Drago!" Dan smirked as Drago nodded.
"I'm ready to see what Leonidas can do now!"Drago replied as Dan grabbed onto his partner.
"Bakugan Brawl! Pyrus Delta Dragonoid Stand!" Dan yelled as he threw Drago onto his gate card.
"Pyrus Delta Dragonoid G power 700 Gs." The bakupod announced as Drago appeared on the field.
"Drago is definitely stronger than when we last battled," Ryder commented as he inspected Delta Dragonoid.
"That won't stop us," Leonidas smirked as Ryder nodded.
"You're right, Leo," Ryder replied as he grabbed onto Leonidas.
"Bakugan Brawl! Darkus Leonidas Stand!" Ryder shouted as he threw Leonidas onto Dan's gate card.
"Darkus Leonidas G power 600 Gs." The bakupod announced as Leonidas roared onto the field.
"Feeling your power up close is far different than when we were in ball form, Drago," Leonidas commented as he and Drago stared each other down.
"It is, and I'll show you how different I am from before!" Drago declared as he extended his wings and flew up to the sky.
Leonidas quickly followed, shooting up after Drago as the two dragon-like Bakugan began to fight in the air. Since Drago had superior G power, Leonidas kept to using hit-and-run tactics to avoid being hit by Drago's attack.
But Drago wasn't one to let such attacks continue as he managed to hit Leonidas with his tail knocking the Darkus Bakugan down. As Leonidas crashed onto the ground, Drago landed in front of him.
"Gate Card Open! Energy Merge!" Dan declared as the gate card glowed before revealing the card below.
"Darkus Leonidas G power decrease by 100 Gs. Darkus Leonidas G power 500 Gs. Pyrus Delta Dragonoid G power increase by 100 Gs. Delta Dragonoid G power 800 Gs." The bakupod annoucned.
"Not good," Ryder commented as Leonidas felt his power leave his body.
With his strength gone and with Drago nearly double his own G power, there was nothing that Leonidas could do as Drago bit into his shoulder. Ryder wanted to counter, but he knew he couldn't do anything that Dan couldn't easily undo.
Unable to strengthen Leonidas without wasting his ability cards, Ryder could only watch as Drago pinned Leonidas to the ground. The Pyrus Bakugan then got up and threw Leonidas off the gate card, defeating him.
"One nothing," Dan smirked as he caught Drago.
"Well, we were expecting things to be difficult." Ryder sighed as he picked up Leonidas.
"How you feeling, Leonidas?" Ryder inquired as Leonidas opened up in his hand.
"Ready for the next bout! Though let's try to close the gap more." Leonidas answered as Ryder nodded.
"Good to hear." Ryder smiled as he grabbed a gate card.
"Gate Card Set!" Ryder shouted as he threw his gate card on the field.
"Bakugan Brawl! Darkus Leonidas Stand!" Ryder shouted as he threw Leonidas onto his gate card.
"Darkus Leonidas G power 600 Gs." The bakupod announced as Leonidas appeared on the field, immediately taking to the sky.
"Time to kick this up a notch, Drago!" Dan declared as he grabbed onto Drago.
"Bakugan Brawl! Pyrus Delta Dragonoid Stand!" Dan yelled as he threw Drago onto Ryder's gate card.
"Pyrus Delta Dragonoid G power 700 Gs." The bakupod announced as Drago appeared through a pillar of flame.
"Trying to take the high ground, Leonidas?" Drago inquired as he looked up at Leonidas, who was in the sky.
"I'll need everything I have to beat you, Drago," Leonidas responded as he dove toward Drago.
"Gate Card Open! Leonidas Strike!" Ryder declared as the gate card opened, revealing Leonidas's character card.
"Darkus Leonidas G power increase by 400 Gs. Darkus Leonidas G power 1000 Gs." The bakupod announced as Leonidas was covered in dark power.
With his power now higher than Drago's, Leonidas crashed into the Pyrus Bakugan, knocking him down. Leonidas then slashed into Drago's chest with his claws as he pinned him to the ground threatening to defeat the Pyrus Bakugan.
"Hang in there, Drago! Ability Card Activate! Delta Dragonoid!" Dan exclaimed as he threw the ability card at Drago.
"Delta Dragonoid G power increase by 300 Gs. Delta Dragonoid G power 1000 Gs." The bakupod announced as burning meteors fell from the sky.
The meteors crashed into Leonidas's back, knocking him off of Drago and allowing the Pyrus Bakugan to return to his feet. Now equal in power, the two Bakugan struggled for control over the field, with neither giving an inch to the other.
"Ability Card Activate! Alpha Blaster!" Ryder declared as he held the ability card up, causing it to glow.
"Darkus Leonidas G power increase by 200 Gs. Darkus Leonidas G power 1200 Gs." The bakupod announced as Leonidas took to the sky once more.
Leonidas gathered a massive amount of power in his mouth before firing his beam down at Drago. When the attack hit Drago, the ground shook violently, and before Dan or Drago could react, the beam blew Drago straight off the gate card, defeating him.
"He actually won a battle!" Julie exclaimed as Alice nodded with a large smile.
"I guess you were right, Marucho. With the right strategy, Ryder could overcome the base difference," Runo commented as Marucho scratched his chin.
"While that is true. Ryder can't depend on using the same strategy twice, especially after using his strongest Gate Card already." Marucho pointed out as they turned their attention back to the match.
"Now that's more like it!" Ryder smirked as he caught Leonidas.
"Much better. Let's go again!" Leonidas exclaimed, ready for his next bout with Drago.
"Even with my increased power, we can't let our guard down, Dan," Drago stated as he opened up in Dan's hand.
"You're right, Drago. But I can't help but be impressed at how good Ryder's got since we first battled." Dan commented as Drago floated up.
"Now I want to see more!" Dan snickered as he took out a gate card.
"Gate Card Set!" Dan shouted as he tossed a new gate card onto the field.
"Bakugan Brawl! Pyrus Delta Dragonoid Stand!" Dan continued as he threw Drago onto his gate card.
"Pyrus Delta Dragonoid G power 700 Gs." The bakupod announced as Drago appeared on the field.
"Alright, time to use this," Ryder murmured as he picked up his own gate card.
"Gate Card Set!" Ryder yelled as he threw his gate card next to Dan's.
"Bakugan Brawl! Darkus Leonidas Stand!" Ryder shouted as he threw Leonidas onto his gate card.
"Darkus Leonidas G power 600 Gs." The bakupod announced as Leonidas landed on the gate card.
"Now then, Ability Card Activate! Darkus Attract!" Ryder declared as dark winds began to flow throughout the field.
"GUH!" Drago gasped as the wind pushed him off Dan's gate card toward Ryder's.
"Oh no!" Dan cried as Drago landed on Ryder's gate card.
"Perfect! Now Gate Card Open! Wall Lock!" Ryder declared as an invisible wall blocked Dan from further interfering in the battle.
"Now then, Ability Card Activate! Darkus Twister!" Ryder continued as he tossed the card into Leonidas.
"Excellent!" Leonidas roared as he spun to create the dark tornado.
"Darkus Leonidas G power increase by 250 Gs. Darkus Leonidas G power 850 Gs." The bakupod announced as the Darkus Bakugan dove down.
Drago expanded his wings and flew off, attempting to avoid Leonidas's attack, but the Darkus Bakugan was hot on his trail. Eventually, Leonidas caught up with Drago and knocked him out of the sky, causing him to crash to the ground.
Before Drago could pick himself back up, Leonidas dove down from the sky, crashing into Drago and shaking the battlefield. When the smoke cleared, Drago fell at Dan's feet, defeated by Leonidas's attack.
"That makes two in a row," Ryder smirked as he caught Leonidas.
"Not bad, Ryder, but I don't plan on losing!" Dan replied as he picked up Drago.
"It seems he's attempting to end the battle on his terms," Drago commented as Dan nodded.
"Yeah. During his battle against Marucho, he used Leap String, and he may do the same in a second." Dan agreed as he looked at Ryder.
"It seems like he's switched out some of those cards, so I'm uncertain if he will use that move, but if you're right, we'll need to be on our guard," Drago replied, noting the differences in cards Ryder had been playing compared to his battle with Marucho.
"Good point. We'll just have to outplay him then!" Dan smiled as he grabbed onto Drago.
"Bakugan Brawl! Pyrus Delta Dragonoid Stand!" Dan shouted as he threw Drago onto his gate card.
"Pyrus Delta Dragonoid G power 700 Gs." The bakupod announced as Drago appeared on the field.
"Leonidas, I want to test something out while we have the advantage," Ryder stated as Leonidas turned toward him.
"What do you have in mind, Ryder?" Leonidas inquired as Ryder gave him a smile.
"What Marucho told us earlier is still in my mind. I want to test it out and see if he's right." Ryder explained as Leonidas gave his words some thought.
"Let's do it!" Leonidas exclaimed as Ryder grabbed onto Leonidas.
"Bakugan Brawl! Darkus Leonidas Stand!" Ryder yelled as he threw Leonidas onto Dan's gate card.
"Darkus Leonidas G power 600 Gs." The bakupod announced as Leonidas appeared onto Dan's gate card.
"Interesting. Are you sure you can beat me like this, Leonidas?" Drago questioned as Leonidas laughed.
"Who knows, Drago? The uncertainty is what makes battles fun!" Leonidas laughed as he took to the sky.
The two dragon-like Bakugan flew into the air and engaged in combat. While Drago had the advantage of power, Leonidas was more aerodynamic due to his stature, allowing him to fly circles around Drago.
"Gate Card Open! Delta Dragon!" Dan declared activating Drago's character card.
"Pyrus Delta Dragonoid G power increase by 400 Gs. Pyrus Delta Dragonoid G power 1100 Gs." The bakupod announced as Drago let out a loud roar.
Glowing red, Drago became faster as he began to catch up with Leonidas taking the Darkus Bakugan by surprise. Drago quickly whipped Leonidas out of the air with his tail before diving down after him hoping to defeat him then and there.
"Here it goes," Ryder murmured as he took a deep breath.
"Leonidas! Let's fight back!" Ryder called out as Leonidas smiled as he was covered in negative energy.
"No way!" Dan gasped as Leonidas stopped his descent.
"Darkus Leonidas G power increase by unmeasurable parameters. Darkus Leonidas G power capped at 1300 Gs." The bakupod announced as Leonidas flew back up.
"We did it!" Ryder smirked as Leonidas and Drago clashed in the sky.
However, due to Leonidas's growth in power, the Darkus Bakugan managed to overpower Drago pushing him back into the sky. Stopping their ascent, Leonidas sliced into Drago's chest with his claws threatening to defeat Drago.
"He actually called out the power on command!" Alice smiled, happy to see such an improvement.
"Marucho only just told him his theory, and he's already putting it to work. Not bad." Runo commented as Marucho watched diligently.
"While it is impressive, it doesn't seem to be as potent as it was during my battle with him," Marucho stated, confusing the others.
"What do you mean, Marucho?" Julie asked as Marucho pushed his glasses up.
"When this power was used against me, it didn't cap off like this. It simply continued to grow until it reached its maximum. But this stopped just as it reached above Drago's power." Marucho began as he continued to observe the battle.
"Perhaps because he's using it purposely and not instinctively, it stopped with just enough to overpower Drago." Marucho finished as Shun nodded.
"He's right. It seems Ryder and Leonidas still have a lot to work on to properly utilize that power." Shun agreed as Leonidas scratched at Drago's head.
"Even with your evolution, it seems I can still match you!" Leonidas laughed as Drago blew Leonidas back with a strong flap of his wings.
"Don't get too overconfident, Leonidas!" Drago replied as Dan took out an ability card.
"Ability Card Activate! Delta Dragonoid!" Dan countered as he held up the ability card.
"Pyrus Delta Dragonoid G power increase by 300 Gs. Pyrus Delta Dragonoid G power 1400 Gs." The bakupod announced as burning meteors fell from the sky.
"Not good," Ryder commented as Drago charged toward Leonidas, covering himself in flames.
Drago crashed into Leonidas, knocking the Darkus Bakugan out of the sky as he surged with energy. Ryder, who began to sweat, attempted to increase Leonidas's power once more, but for some reason, it wasn't working. It seems that they weren't able to do it again.
Perhaps it was due to them not being in sync, or perhaps they didn't have good control over it. Leonidas's power didn't go up again. Meaning Ryder would have to counter it the old-fashioned way as he watched Drago dive down toward Leonidas.
"Ability Card Activate! Alpha Blaster!" Ryder countered as he threw the card into Leonidas.
"Darkus Leonidas G power increase by 200 Gs. Darkus Leonidas G power 1500 Gs." The bakupod announced as Leonidas charged up energy in his mouth.
Leonidas fired his beam into the sky, hitting a diving Drago with such force that it pushed the Pyrus Bakugan back to the sky. With Drago's attack stopped, Leonidas flew back up to continue the battle, hoping to finish Drago off.
"Hang in there, Drago! Ability Card Activate! Pyrus Spark!" Dan shouted as Drago exploded with energy.
"Pyrus Dragonoid G power increase by 350 Gs. Pyrus Dragonoid G power 1750 Gs." The bakupod announced as Drago released the energy on Leonidas.
The energy hit Leonidas like a raging inferno causing the Darkus Bakugan to howl in pain as he fell back down to the ground. Ryder went to counter and save Leonidas but stopped himself after analyzing the situation.
He soon realized that even if he interfered, Dan still had another ability card, meaning his counter would be useless. When he hit the gate card was covered in a massive pillar of flames before Leonidas fell at Ryder's feet, defeated.
"That could have gone better." Ryder sighed as he picked up Leonidas.
"How you doing?" Ryder inquired as Leonidas opened up in his palm.
"Drago's last attack was strong, and it even hurt. But that just makes things more exciting!" Leonidas smirked as he floated up.
"Yeah, that was Intense. I would have used Darkus Twister, but that would only tie the power. Best to save it for later." Ryder commented as Leonidas landed on his shoulder.
"If only our experiment worked better, I guess there's more to it than syncing up our feelings," Ryder replied as he looked at Dan.
"Let's finish this up," Ryder smirked as Dan nodded.
"Agreed," Dan replied as he allowed Ryder to take out a gate card.
"Gate Card Set!" Ryder shouted as he threw his final gate card onto the field.
"Bakugan Brawl!" The two brawlers yelled as they threw their partners into battle.
"Pyrus Delta Dragonoid G power 700 Gs. Darkus Leonidas G power 600 Gs." The bakupod announced as the two dragon-like Bakugan appeared on the field.
"Why did Dan let Ryder place a Gate Card?" Julie wondered, confused at Dan's actions.
"Because Ryder still has Darkus Attract. Even if he didn't allow Ryder to place the Gate Card first, they'd still end up battling on Ryder's Gate Card." Shun explained as attention turned to him.
"To put it simply, Dan was simply cutting to the chase." Shun finished as they returned their attention to the battle.
The two took back to the sky and returned to battle, clashing several times. Of course, Drago still had the advantage with his higher G power, but that never stopped Leonidas. Nor would it stop Ryder as he tipped the scales.
"Gate Card Open! Darkus Booster Ryder declared as the gate card glowed as Drago's power was sucked out.
"Darkus Leonidas G power increase by 100 Gs. Darkus Leonidas G power 700 Gs." The bakupod announced as Leonidas was covered by dark energy.
"Let's finish this!" Leonidas roared as he charged toward Drago.
"Agreed!" Drago shouted as he charged toward Leonidas.
Leonidas crashed into Drago, managing to tackle the Pyrus Bakugan to the ground with a resounding thud. However, it wasn't enough to defeat Drago as he held Leonidas back before managing to push the Darkus Bakugan off.
Getting back to his feet, Drago bit at Leonidas, who held his mouth back by keeping it open with both of his hands. The Darkus Bakugan then threw Drago away, only for Drago to open his wings and take flight. With the two at equal power, their battle would just end up in a stalemate.
"Ability Card Activate! Firewall!" Dan countered as he threw the card onto the field, creating a large wall of fire.
"Not good," Ryder commented as he watched the fire fall onto Leonidas.
"Darkus Leonidas G power decrease by 50 Gs. Darkus Leonidas G power 650 Gs." The bakupod announced as Leonidas staggard from losing his power.
"Oh boy," Ryder murmured as Drago whipped Leonidas to the ground with his tail.
Getting back up, Leonidas was ready for Drago's next attack as he attempted to bite down on Leonidas, who spread out his wings and took off. Taking back to the sky to avoid Drago's follow-up attack, Leonidas put some distance between himself and Drago.
"Hang in there, Leo! Ability Card Activate! Darkus Twister!" Ryder shouted as he threw the ability card into Leonidas.
"Darkus Leonidas G power increase by 250 Gs. Darkus Leonidas G power 900 Gs." The bakupod announced as Leonidas spun around, creating the dark tornado.
Leonidas dove back down toward Drago, but the Pyrus Bakugan spread his own wings and took to the sky. But Leonidas managed to grab onto Drago's tail before he got too far, allowing him to toss the Pyrus Bakugan to the ground.
Before Leonidas could finish Drago off, the Pyrus Bakugan bit into Leonidas's shoulder, allowing him to push Leonidas away. However, Leonidas was not deterred as he charged back toward Drago, and the two dragon-like Bakugan clashed.
Since Leonidas still had the superior G power, he began to overpower Drago pushing the Pyrus Bakugan toward the edge of Ryder's gate card. It seemed that, unlike in their first match, Drago wasn't able to boost his G power like Leonidas, and with no ability cards left, Drago was helpless.
Eventually, it was too much for Drago to handle, and Leonidas pushed him off the gate card, defeating him and ending the battle. Just as the battle ended, they were returned to the real world, where Drago landed at Dan's feet.
"We won," Ryder murmured as Leonidas floated next to him.
"YES! WE DID IT!" Leonidas exclaimed as Dan picked up Drago.
"That's right, not bad, Ryder. You did great!" Dan smirked as he walked over and held out his hand to Ryder.
"Welcome to the Bakugan Battle Brawlers." Dan congratulated as Ryder shook his hand.
"Congratulations, Ryder!" Alice exclaimed as she ran up and wrapped her arm around Ryder's, as the other Brawlers ran over to congratulate Ryder and welcome him into the team.
"That battle was very impressive, especially when you managed to make use of the power of the negative energy," Marucho commented as Ryder nodded.
"Yeah, but I still have a long way to go," Ryder admitted knowing that he wasn't able to use it that well.
"That being said, I wonder how I could go about using the other power we had. The one that we used against Shun?" Ryder wondered as they hadn't been able to use that power ever since the first time.
"Now I think it's time we celebrate." Marucho smiled as Kato came in, rolling in a large four-layered tower cake.
"Sweet! Not bad, Marucho!" Dan complimented as everyone eyed the cake.
"Wow, I've never seen a cake that big before!" Julie gasped as everyone gathered around the cake.
"Neither have I," Ryder commented as Marucho raised a brow.
"Really? I normally have bigger ones for my birthday." Marucho replied as everyone sweatdropped at the statement.
"Must be nice to be rich." They had all thought at the same time as Kato began to serve the cake.
"That being said, I can't remember the last time I had cake," Ryder noted as he took the plate Kato passed to him.
"Is it tasty?" Leonidas inquired as he landed on Ryder's shoulder.
"Most cake is, yeah," Ryder answered as he took a bite of cake.
"That gets me thinking. Do Bakugan even eat?" Dan wondered as everyone began to eat.
"Good question." Runo agreed as the Bakugan flew around the cake.
"Technically, back in Vestroia, when we weren't in our ball forms all the time, we ate whatever was around," Drago explained as Preyas flew next to him.
"Yeah, and we drank too. I don't know how it is on the other planes of Vestroia, but there was plenty of food in Aquos Space." Preyas added as Dan scratched his chin.
"That's good to hear. I was a little worried that Bakugan ate other Bakugan." Dan replied as the rest of the Brawlers shuddered at the thought of Bakugan eating one another.
"So does that mean you guys never cooked anything?" Julie inquired, creating the image of Bakugan using a kitchen.
"There was never a need for such," Gorem answered as the image disappeared from everyone's minds.
"I still wonder what Vestroia is like," Leonidas commented as the other Bakugan turned toward him.
"You know, sometimes I forget that you were born in the Doom Dimension," Preyas replied as the Bakugan sat next to one another on the tray that held the cake.
"That right. I can't imagine not knowing what it's like in Vestroia." Tigrerra agreed, knowing that it was hard to imagine Leonidas's position.
Because Leonidas was born in the Doom Dimension, he had never seen any part of Vestroia, the home of the Bakugan. He was in a unique position to not know the home where every other Bakugan had been born in.
"While I can't say much about Darkus Space. Pyrus Space is a world filled with fire and burning rock. A pleasant place for most Pyrus Bakugan." Drago informed, gaining Leonidas's attention.
"Aquos Space is the exact opposite. It's filled entirely with water and icebergs littered all around." Preyas explained, remembering his home in Vestroia.
"In Ventus Space, there isn't any form of land. Instead, it is a space filled with violent winds and calm storms." Skyress reported as Leonidas tried to imagine what that looked like.
"Subterra Space is nothing but land. Land filled with rocky valleys and untouchable mountains." Gorem stated as he looked up at the cake that towered over them.
"Haos Space is a world filled with light and reflective objects never turning dark," Tigrerra explained as Leonidas found such a world unpleasant.
"I see…" Leonidas murmured as he took in all their worlds.
"I'd like to go to Vestroia one day and see it all myself." Leonidas proclaimed as his fellow Bakugan looked toward him.
"We'll definitely return to Vestroia one day Leonidas. But first, we'll need to save it!" Drago replied as Leonidas turned toward him.
"Right." Leonidas nodded as they continued to talk about Vestroia.
Ryder listened close to the conversation between the Bakugan as he felt Leonidas's intrigue and curiosity. He hoped that Leonidas would get his wish to see Vestroia even he would like to see what it was like.
But at the same time, he knew that when that happened, it would probably be when he would have to say goodbye to Leonidas. Ryder didn't want to think about it, but the goal of the Battle Brawlers was to save Vestroia.
If they succeeded and saved Vestroia, that would mean that the Bakugan would go home. It was only natural. After all, it would be wrong to force them to stay and keep them from their home. Though he didn't want to admit it, he hoped that their journey would last for a long time.
"Something on your mind?" Alice inquired, breaking Ryder out of his thoughts.
"Oh uh…it's nothing. I'm just taking all of it in, is all." Ryder half lied to avoid the topic.
"Well, you've earned it. You worked hard to get better and become one of us." Alice smiled as Ryder returned the smile.
"Thanks. It's just so surreal, I guess." Ryder replied as he looked at the other Brawlers.
"I remember when I first started playing back in New York. I was the one everyone challenged to get an easy win." Ryder sighed as he looked at the ceiling.
"Back then, joining the Battle Brawlers would have seemed like a fool's dream. Yet here I am, standing as one of you." Ryder added as he looked back at Alice.
"Well, I'm glad you're here." Alice voiced, hiding a faint blush.
"T-Thanks…I'm still a little surprised that I won each battle." Ryder laughed as he diverted his eyes, a little embarrassed.
"Now that I think about it, I wonder what my rank is now?" Ryder wondered as he placed his plate down and turned his bakupod on.
The last time he had checked, he was in the mid-eighties, but now that he battled and won against his fellow Battle Brawlers, he was surely much higher up. To his utter surprise, he was currently ranked twenty in the world, leaving him nine to go to qualify for the finals.
"Awesome!" Ryder exclaimed as the others looked at his Bakupod.
"Sweet Ryder, you're almost there!" Dan smirked as Ryder nodded.
"With the time we have left, we should all be able to get into the finals now!" Julie exclaimed, giving a small jump.
"Don't get too ahead of yourselves. There's still some way to go for some of us." Shun pointed out as Ryder, Runo, and Marucho still had to get into the finals, with Ryder being the farthest behind.
"Well, I'm not going to stop any time soon. Leonidas and I will aim for the top!" Ryder declared as Leonidas landed on his shoulder.
"Right!" Leonidas agreed as Ryder began to take it all in.
He had actually become a member of the Bakugan Battle Brawlers, and now he was reaching the top ranks of brawlers in the whole world. At that point, he felt like no one could take him down, not even Masquerade or Marduk.
Elsewhere…
Marduk looked at his bakupod, watching as Ryder's rank increased to twenty. This caused him to smirk deviously as the time for his revenge against Ryder was soon approaching. His patience was finally going to pay off.
"Only a little while longer, Vladitor," Marduk smirked as the Darkus Bakugan opened up on his shoulder.
"Excellent. I look forward to finally fighting against Leonidas." Vladitor replied as he looked at Ryder's ranking.
"Hm?" Marduk hummed as he noticed something else change about Ryder's status.
"There's no way…." Marduk muttered as one of his eyes twitched from what he saw.
"He was accepted into the Battle Brawlers?!" Marduk gasped as he stared at Ryder's status that stated as such.
"This is…" Marduk stuttered as Vladitor turned toward him.
"Is something wrong, Marduk?" Vladitor questioned as Marduk began to laugh.
"Oh no. Not at all." Marduk smirked as he looked at Vladitor.
"In fact, it'll make my revenge all the more sweet," Marduk stated as he turned off his bakupod.
Next Time the finals for the tournament are around the corner, and Ryder manages to make it to the top eleven in the world! But before he can celebrate, he is confronted by Marduk and Vladitor, who challenges him to a battle!
Filled with confidence Ryder and Leonidas accept the challenge! Will they be able to defeat the powerhouse that is Marduk and Vladitor? Or will they end up falling short? Next Time on Bakugan Doom World: Revenge
Author's Note:
Finally got this done! I feel like it's getting a little harder to write battles each and every chapter, but that just makes things more satisfying when I get them done. Next chapter, we'll finally get a battle between Marduk and Ryder with Vladitor in the mix!
I've been waiting for this for a while, and I can't wait to start writing it, even if it becomes hard, lol. Honestly, I'm just glad I managed to get this battle long enough for a chapter, as I like to set my chapters at a minimum of 5 thousand words.
I could have had it where they used other Bakugan to extend it out, but after writing the last few battles, I didn't really want to. Plus, writing a one on one seemed like it would be more fun though I still bent the rules a little to make it more interesting.
Or at least I think I did. I don't know if you can place more than one gate card on the field in a one on one. It's been a while. Honestly, I try to make this story use the rules of both anime and real life, which are similar and different, so you know.
Funny enough, I thought writing battles for this story was far easier than other gaming stories like, say, Yu-Gi-Oh, but I've come to realize how wrong I was, lol. In order to keep things fresh and not repetitive, I have to do a lot more twisting of rules and other things to keep the battles interesting.
That's why I make so many original cards because the list of actual cards that I have is really, really low. But I digress. Speaking of Yu-Gi-Oh, as you've guys heard, the creator of the series sadly passed away a while back, and I would be remiss not to talk about it.
Honestly, it's still shocking as I grew up with that card game and the show since I was a little kid watching 4kids tv. That's why I want to write a fic about Yu-Gi-Oh or, more specifically, Gx, just because I find it easier to write a fic in that than in the original story.
I'm not going to publish it any time soon as I want to plan out the story, but I'm excited to announce it now. Plus, I know the rules of the game a lot better than compared to Bakugan, so it seems like fun, lol.
I don't want to talk too much about it, but I wanted to make it known. Anyway, getting back on the topic of Bakugan, we're getting closer to entering the tournament finals! Just a few more chapters before that comes to a head!
I can't wait to get to it and finish this tournament which will finally feel like one once the finals start. Now before I forget about Ryder intentionally using the negative energy power up with Leonidas, while he can now activate it, he can't use its full potential.
I don't want him to be able to just use it whenever he wants and win every battle, so I am making it so that he's placing a limit on himself unconsciously, unlike when it happens naturally. Plus, he needs to be in a very specific mindset to do so, meaning he can't spam it.
Eventually, things will change about that, but when that happens, I'll be changing how it works fundamentally kinda. It's hard to explain without spoiling the story, so you'll have to wait and see. That's all I have to say, for now, so let's get to the reviews:
Reader2 (Guest) – Yeah, looking back on it, the decision to make the G power so high might not have been a good idea though I may have gone a little too high with it. But it's too late to change it now, and I'll try to keep it from going too high.
As for Vladitor and Hydranoid having the same G power, I'm just using the philosophy of having the antagonists have the same G power, just like all the protagonists have the same G power. That being said, I might change that in the future.
Though that being said, what later season mechanics am I using? Forgive my ignorance, but I've only watched the first two seasons of the original Bakugan as a kid, and I still haven't watched the others.
I can't say what mechanics I might be using, so if you could tell me, it would be much appreciated. I'm glad you liked Leo's development, and I could see how his DNA is composed of negative energy, but I don't have it as that in the story. Either way, I can't wait to show off the development of that plot line further.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
NinjaFang1331 – Glad that you're enjoying the story!
Alina (Guest) – Okay, I had to use google translate. So sorry if I read this wrong. I think you were asking when the update was? So here it is, and I hope you enjoyed it!
SkylanderZilla – Okay, when you put it like that, I can see your viewpoint a lot better. Sorry, it takes me a while to understand stuff like this, but when you put it like that, I get what you're saying.
So I'll post a list of my OC cards, both ability cards, and gate cards, on my Deviantart around the same time this chapter goes up. Also, when I said about requests on my profile, I meant story requests. This is completely fine, so you don't have to worry.
I just don't want people PMing me requesting me to write a story, is all. I'll try to make things more clear in the future and keep the list on my Deviantart up to date. Also, thanks for the pointer on the ability usage and Bakugan (when you talk about Boosted Dragon and Duel Gazar).
I guess I overlooked that when writing, and I'll try not to do that in the future, lol. Thanks for letting me know!
Guest – Thanks for the suggestion, but I already have some evolutions in mind.
Guest DCDGojira – Glad you enjoyed the chapter, and I hope you liked this one!
Johannvanguard – Glad you liked the battle between Ryder and Marucho. I tried to make it seem more tactical as I feel that fits with Marucho's character, and I think I did a decent job. As for Runo knowing about Alice, yeah, I found it funny as well when writing it, lol.
I'm happy to know you found Marduk's backstory interesting. I worked hard on it, and I'm glad to hear you liked it. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Mr. Haziq – You know, looking back on it, I kinda wish I had a little trash talk between Marduk and his former partner, but oh well. Though I think crushing their Bakugan would be too much. I mean, he'd be literally killing them by doing so.
That being said, I wonder how resilient Bakugan are in their ball form. Can they even be crushed? Oh well, it doesn't matter hope you enjoyed this chapter.
RokenDarkly – Glad to see you're still enjoying the story, and having three chapters to read was probably great, lol. I'm happy to hear that you liked my backstory for Marduk since I wanted to make him feel more 'human' and less edgy.
Though that being said, I guess it still could be a little edgy in a sense. But I definitely wanted to avoid the notion that he was doing everything just because he was the bad guy. We're getting closer to the tournament finals, so just you wait on that! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
LEGOBRICK13 – I'm glad you liked the chapter and Marduk's backstory. I'm glad you liked the light-to-dark stuff I did, as I feel like it symbolizes Marduk's feelings on Bakugan in his current state.
Glad to hear that you're working hard on your story and your ideas seem really interesting. Keep up the work, and things will turn out great! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
HunterHQ – Glad you liked Marduk's backstory, and I felt like it made Marduk more likable that he didn't play dirty until after the betrayal. As for his family, I'm not going to lie; I have put no thought into that, lol!
I'll figure something out, but I mostly think his family is simply normal and nothing special. Happy to hear you liked the battles, and I hope you liked the one in this chapter too!
That's all I have for today, so I'll see you guys next time!