NOTE: Welcome back! We're finally entering Arc 3 of Stand up, Leonidas! Time for the plot to finally get moving and for the Battle Royale Tournament! Yuji's going to be meeting more characters from Bakugan Battle Brawlers in this arc, so look forward to that!

Enjoy and Review!

Chapter 18: Dark Beginnings

I know this is gonna sound weird.

But one day, my whole world changed…

A young man dressed in a short red jacket with a yellow shirt underneath, and red pants, stared up into the sky.

All around him were black cards that were falling from the sky. He opened up his hands, allowing a card to land in his palm.

You see cards started dropping from the sky. Coming down like rain.

At first we didn't know where they were all coming from or who sent them.

But all we knew is that they were more than just ordinary playing cards.

A young girl with milky white skin and blue hair, tied into pig-tails, stared out of her window, as the same black cards were dropping from the sky. She opened up her window, allowing one of them to land inside of her room.

And it was happening all around the world!

A young man with long black hair sat on a grassy hill. He watched as one of the cards landed right next to him.

In the North.

A girl with light brown hair stood in the snow, staring perplexed at the black card.

The South.

A small boy with blond hair and red glasses, wearing blue swim trunks, kneeled down on the sand. He stared down at the crab that held the same black card.

They landed everywhere!

Waking up from her slumber was a young girl with tanned skin and long gray hair. She rubbed her eyes, finding a black card laying on her pillow.

Together with my new online friends from around the world, we invented a wicked new game we called: Bakugan!

That's when the power of the cards was revealed! Each one held its own battling beast that came to life when you threw it down.

Two small kids were seen standing in a blank void. The cards in their hands opened up, revealing Bakugans. The creatures came to life and began to battle each other.

The battles were intense! And if you chose the wrong card, you lost it and the beast inside!

But that's only half the story…

Another even bigger battle was taking place in a parallel universe called: Vestroia!

The young man from the start was shown, standing behind him was a giant red dragon named Drago.

My name is Dan! And together with my friends:

Runo!

The girl with blue twin tails was shown, a giant black and white tiger named Tigrerra stood behind her. She dropped down right next to Dan.

Marucho!

The little boy stood on the other side of Dan. Behind him was a large blue amphibian Bakugan named Preyas was right behind him.

Julie!

The girl with tanned skin and gray hair was next. She dropped down right next to Marucho. Behind her was a brown titan of a Bakugan named Gorem.

Mr. Hotshot himself - Shun!

Shun dropped down next to Runo. His long black ponytail blew with the wind as he gave off a lone wolf air around him. Behind him was a large green bird-like Bakugan named Skyress.

And Alice!

The last member was a girl with light brown hair. She dropped down next to Shun, but unlike everyone else she didn't have a Bakugan behind her.

We are…

THE BAKUGAN BATTLE BRAWLERS!

….

….

However…this story isn't about us.

Standing across from the Battle Brawlers was a young man with tanned skin and black spiky hair. He wore a white hoodie with white and yellow pants. His light blue eyes stared at each one of the Brawlers with anticipated excitement.

Behind this boy was a large white and yellow dragon. His long white horn glistened from the light, his yellow beastly orbs were hungry for battle. The dragon's claws were dangerously sharp as if ready to tear something apart.

The boy lifted up a black card and the Brawlers responded the same. There was still quiet between them all, before the boy opened his mouth.

"BAKUGAN, BRAWL!"

"What are these delectable cool drinks?" Leonidas asked, leaning on the cold glass that his partner was sipping on.

"A smoothie." Yuji responded, drinking the beverage. "More specifically, my dear Leonidas, a fruit smoothie."

"What makes it a fruit?"

"When you blend fruit into the drink to give it a sweet taste." Alice answered as she drank her own smoothie. "Mine is a banana fruit smoothie." She, Yuji, and Leonidas were relaxing at an outdoor cafe, enjoying the relaxation the summer weekend brought them.

Leonidas floated over to Alice, looking down at her drink. "But I don't see a banana, Alice! Serena showed me what a banana looks like! It's a long curved yellow fruit that you have to peel!"

"I'm glad you know how to eat bananas, Leonidas." Alice giggled. Her compliment made the dragon blush, and he puffed up his chest.

"Of course! As the strongest I'm capable of understanding and performing the simplest of tasks that not even Yuji can accomplish!"

"I know how to peel a banana!" Yuji cried.

"Speaking of strongest…" Alice reached down into her bag, pulling out a confetti popper. "Congrats on being the strongest duo!" She pulled the string, allowing the confetti to pop with a small noise. All of the little multi-colored paper fell on top of Leonidas.

"Thanks, Alice!" Yuji blushed, rubbing the back of his head.

"This makes it your second tournament victory! You two are on a roll!" Alice exclaimed, pumping her fist.

Leonidas shook the confetti off of himself. "Tch…! It doesn't feel like a true victory since it wasn't just us!"

"But you and Drago were such a good team, Leonidas." Alice frowned.

"I did most of the heavy lifting."

"It was a team effort, Leonidas." Yuji sighed. "Dan and Drago were a big part of us even getting that far in the tournament. If it weren't for them then we wouldn't even have that trophy."

Leonidas frowned, silently acknowledging all of the good the Pyrus team had done in carrying them to the finals during his own inability to get over himself. He had caused his partner enough issues.

"Speaking of which, shouldn't he be teaching you guys how Royal Rumble battles work?" Alice asked.

"He was going to but had to cancel because Runo wanted to go on a date." Yuji explained.

"Was it worded like it was a date?" Alice leaned closer.

Yuji leaned closer as well, their noses just inches apart. "No, but it sounded like it was a date."

"Isn't this a date?" Leonidas joined the conversation.

"Eh?" The teens blinked at him.

"Serena said you two were on a date and that I should monitor you guys."

"T-THIS ISN'T A DATE!" Both shouted, blushing madly. Their loud voices gained the attention of the other patrons, causing them to blush even more. "W-we're just friends!" Yuji quickly added.

"Y-yeah…just…friends…" Alice muttered, looking away.

Yuji noticed the way Alice looked away, a weird pain in his heart as he observed the hurt in her eyes after she muttered those words. "D-does she want to be more than friends? Or is it that she's not confident in our friendship… I guess I have been spending a lot of time with Dan recently…" Yuji tried to think of what was bothering the non-brawler, which just caused his head to hurt from all the thinking. He had no real experience with girls other than his mom and sister, so it was hard to really tell what Alice was feeling. "Ugh…maybe Dan would know what to do. He and Runo seem to have things figured out…sort of. He's probably busy with Runo or getting roped into some battle." Yuji blinked at that thought as another weird feeling started to build up inside of him. He looked out towards the city with one thought on his mind.

"I can't really imagine Dan losing."

"SHE'S LATE!" Dan groaned loudly, slouching on the park bench. He's been waiting for over 20 minutes for Runo to arrive for their outing (date), but the Haos Battle Brawler has been a complete no-show.

"Give her a break, Dan, I'm sure she's on her way." Drago reassured.

"Yeah, but she'd be giving me a hard time if I was the one late. Oh, I'm totally going to hold this over her head when she gets here." Dan grinned as if he just had the most brilliant idea.

"Your funeral."

"Tch…you wouldn't get women, Drago."

"No, Daniel, I think YOU don't understand women." Drago rolled his eyes. The dragon's mind drifted back to a certain female dragon that had invaded the Pyrus space.

"I wish Yuji, or some other guys were here so that we could at least battle to pass the time. Hell, I'll even take Shuji!" Dan complained.

"You could call Jul-"

"Nope." He wasn't going to open THAT can of worms yet.

"Then how about facing me?"

"Huh?" Dan and Drago heard the weirdly familiar voice. They turned to see a strange looking boy around Dan's age walking towards them. He has a white mask that covers the left side of his face. He's dressed completely in black, has pointed eyebrows, red eyes, and silver hair with red streaks. He's also wearing a long black coat with a frayed tail.

"What's with the twisted face, Dan Kuso? You said you were bored, right?" The young man's smile sent an uncomfortable chill down Dan's spine.

The Pyrus brawler stands up from the bench, his partner floating next to him. Dan and Drago felt something off about the young man standing before them. "Dan…"

"Yeah, I know, Drago. Something about this guy feels off…almost like Masquerade." Dan responded.

"Not just that, Dan. His voice it sounds familiar." Drago mentions, recalling the last time they had heard this guy's voice.

"You're nothing more than a lucky brat who had to rely on some unknown Bakugan to carry him forward! You're nothing!"

"You sound just like M! The guy who verbally attacked Yuji and Leonidas back at the arena!" Dan accused, glaring at the young man.

He actually looked surprised for a moment before cooling his features. "Wow, I'm actually surprised you were able to put it together. Masquerade said you were usually slow on the uptakes."

"Masquerade?! So, you are working for him!" Dan declared.

M's face contorted into a glare at the assumption. "Working for him?! As if I'd ever work for that bastard! We're simply working together until we have no further use for each other, and right now he isn't the topic of discussion. And for the record, my name isn't 'M', it's Marduk."

Drago glared at their newfound enemy. "If you're working together then it means that you're after the same thing as him."

"What I'm after isn't important, because all I want is to battle you two. And prove that I'm stronger than the famous duo, Dan Kuso and Pyrus Dragonoid of the Battle Brawlers!" Marduk whipped out his Gate Card. "Don't tell me you're chicken, Dan!"

Dan scoffed, holding up his own Gate Card. "As if, Marduk! You're gonna regret challenging Drago and I! After we win, you'll have to tell us everything you know about Masquerade's whereabouts and your plans!"

"That's fine but trust me that when this battle is over…that'll be the last of your worries."

"FIELD OPEN!"

After the world around the brawlers finished transitioning to the pocket dimension, both teens got ready to battle. "GATE CARD, SET!"

"What? No Doom Card?" Dan asks. Usually Masquerade and his cronies were more than happy to send Bakugan to the Doom Dimension.

Instead of looking smug or confused, the enemy brawler aimed a harsher glare at Dan. "That card is nothing but a crutch to those without real strength. I don't need something like that to crush you or Drago."

"Well…aren't you honorable." Dan said sarcastically.

"Being the gentleman that I am, I'll let you have the first go." Marduk did a curt bow.

Dan clicked his tongue. "Tch! Creepy and evil, guess you really got Masquerade's team requirements down!"

"Tread carefully, Dan, we don't know what he has up his sleeve." Drago warned.

"Don't worry, buddy. We got this!" Dan reassured his partner. "Bakugan, brawl!" He tossed out his Bakugan towards his own Gate Card. "Bakugan, stand!"

Pyrus Griffon: 240 Gs!

The chimera Bakugan roared loudly at the opposing brawler, who just smirked nonchalantly at the massive beast.

"240 G-Power? Is that really the best you got, Dan Kuso?" Marduk taunted.

"What?!"

"Check this out! Bakugan, brawl!" Marduk threw out his choice of Bakugan with a powerful throw. The Darkus ball rolled across the massive card before popping open. A burst of dark energy exploded in front of Griffon, almost knocking it over.

"What the hell?!" Dan cursed. The explosion of dark energy was swiped away by the long black spear of Darkus Siege, the dark attributed Bakugan stared down its opponent with a predator's gaze.

"Dan, look!" Drago's shout made the Pyrus brawler look down at his watch.

Darkus Siege: 340 Gs!

"A Siege at 340 Gs?! This guy really isn't playing around…" Dan glared at the smirking young man. "Well, neither am I! Gate Card, open! Energy Merge!" The card beneath the Bakugan shined a bright white light. "This card transfers 100 Gs from the last Bakugan to stand on it to the first one!"

"Not so fast! Ability activate, Darkus Javelin!" Marduk interrupted the play.

"Darkus Javelin…?" Drago mutters, shocked.

"This ability switches Gate Cards with the one by it! So, no Energy Merge for you!" Marduk explained as the two Gate Cards switched positions. "Now finish him, Siege!" The Darkus brawler ordered.

Siege rushed Griffon with its spear, stabbing the Pyrus Bakugan repeatedly until it lost the strength to hold on. Dan grunted in annoyance as his Bakugan rolled back down at his feet, while Marduk's returned to his hand. "As expected, the first round belongs to me." Marduk gloated.

"Gloat all you want, Marduk! This battle isn't over till the fat lady sings!" Dan shouted.

"Then by all means, let's hear her cry…!" Marduk responded with dark glee.

As Dan prepared to bring out his 2nd Bakugan, Drago tried to figure out a plan of attack. "Not only does he have powerful Bakugan, but he's using cards I haven't heard of. I only know of an Aquos Javelin, not a Darkus variant."

"So, the guy has some new tricks up his sleeve. It's nothing we haven't dealt with, buddy. We just gotta hit him harder on this one! Gate Card, set!" Dan placed out another Gate Card but didn't plan on landing on it. "Bakugan, brawl!" He tossed his next Bakugan onto his previously used Gate Card. "Bakugan, stand!"

Pyrus Monarus: 280 Gs!

Appearing from the pillar of red light was a female figure that resembled a butterfly. She made an elegant noise as she floated above the two humans.

Marduk shook his head, genuinely disappointed by what he was seeing. "Really? A Monarus with 280 Gs? The weak Griffon was a bad enough joke."

"Quit yappin' and get to brawlin'!" Dan huffed.

"Fine! Bakugan, brawl!" Marduk sent out his next Bakugan to battle Dan's Monarus. "Bakugan, stand!"

Darkus Stinglash: 320 Gs!

Just like before, the dark energy that erupted from the Bakugan and almost knocked Monarus out of the air. The Darkus Stinglash's claws reached out for the butterfly, forcing her to maneuver out of the way. It hissed furiously at the butterfly Bakugan.

"That Stinglash…it feels just like the Siege did." Drago noticed the black mist emanating around the Stinglash. "It feels…similar."

"What do you mean, Drago?" Dan asked. "Do they feel like Hydranoid?"

"No…no not Hydranoid."

"Then what-"

"Are you gonna battle or just talk the entire time?!" Marduk's rude question captured their attention. "Aren't you the one who told me to stop talking and get to brawling?" He tossed the words right back in Dan's face.

A tick mark appeared on Dan's head, a fire burning in his eyes. "Alright, that's it! You're going down! Ability activate! Fire Judge!" Dan spun the burning card out at Monarus, the card embedded itself into her body, giving her a fiery glow. "This ability increases my Bakugan's G-Power by 100!"

Pyrus Monarus: 280 Gs to 380 Gs!

"Pathetic…! Ability activate! Double Dimension!" Marduk's ability card wrapped around Monarus, damaging her body. "Your ability is nullified!"

Pyrus Monarus: 380 Gs to 280 Gs!

"Another nullification!" Dan gasped.

"Crush that weakling, Stinglash!" Marduk ordered.

Stinglash rushed the flying Bakugan, its stinger stabbing right into her chest. Monarus' pained cries echoed throughout the dimensional space. She turned back to ball form and rolled next to Dan's feet. "Monarus…"

"And just like that, you're down to one." Marduk mocked his opponent. "I just wonder which Bakugan you're going to send out next."

Dan growled; eyes narrowed dangerously at his advisory. "I don't know what your game is, but there's no way you're getting past Drago! Ready, buddy?" He looked over at his guardian Bakugan.

"We have no choice, Dan. We have to win at all costs if we wish to discover what's going on!" Drago urged.

"Yeah… I know." He grabbed Drago and pulled back his arm. "Bakugan, brawl!" His partner soared through the air until he touched down on the only Gate Card. "Drago, stand!"

Pyrus Dragonoid: 450 Gs!

Emerging from the massive tornado of flames was Drago, the most powerful Pyrus Bakugan glared down at the human in front of him. "This next round is one you won't win, Marduk!"

Marduk gazed at the dragon, taking in the strength that Drago held. He's witnessed his power multiple times, but seeing him up close and personal was much different. "Heh, if that's what you think then it's time for the grand finale!" Marduk declared.

"What?!" Dan gasped.

"What are you talking about?!" Drago demanded.

Marduk paid them no mind, instead choosing to take out his next Bakugan. His hand was shrouded in a dark cloud of energy. Even in his ball form, it made Drago shudder a bit that familiar feeling from before arises once more. "Are you ready…partner?"

"It's time to end this, Marduk"

"Heh! Prepare yourself, Dan Kuso and Drago! You're about to witness the grand reveal of the Ultimate Bakugan!" Marduk declared. A darkish purple aura surrounded Marduk, invading the senses of his opponents.

Dan stared in shock, remembering only one other person who had done something similar to Marduk. "W-why…why is this guy similar to Yuji?!"

"BAKUGAN, BRAWL!"

Like a dark comet, the Darkus Bakugan soared towards Drago. The Pyrus Bakugan could only cover his face with his wing as his opponent crashed down into the Gate Card with destructive force. Just like the previous two rounds, an explosion of dark energy pushed Drago back, but this one was different. The other two Darkus Bakugan reveals were tame but this one was overwhelmingly powerful.

Dan watched in bewilderment as pulses of dark waves washed over the battlefield like a tidal wave. Chills climbing all over his body like little monkeys going up a tree. His eyes were unable to leave the sight before him.

"STAND, VLADITOR!"

Loud metallic footsteps emerged from the dark, like a prelude to a nightmare. The Bakugan standing before Drago was one unlike he's ever seen. A tall, dark, and medieval-like figure stood proudly, his presence all too similar.

Frighteningly similar.

Drago's eyes widened as the realization hit him. "Y-you…you feel just like Leonidas."

"Do I? I would assume such to be the case. Seeing as we are brothers after all." Valditor responded.

"W-WHAT?!" Dan and Drago cried.

BEEP!

Dan looked down at his watch and stared horrified at the screen.

Darkus Vladitor: 500 Gs!

"500 G-Power?! This guy…he's strong!" Dan exclaimed. But he wouldn't let something like this get him down! Both he and Drago have fought tough opponents, Hydranoid and Masquerade, for example! There's no way he was gonna let a guy like this get in their way! "Drago! We gotta hit them with everything we've got!"

"You're right, Dan!" Drago pulled himself back together. He glared at the Darkus knight with righteous determination. "I don't understand your relationship to Leonidas, but whatever it is will be explained after your defeat!"

"My defeat?" Vladitor questioned, not taking the threat seriously.

Dan tossed out the blazing Ability Card at his partner. "Ability activate!" The card soared into Drago's mouth, igniting a brilliant blazing flame that was just waiting to incinerate everything into ashes. "BOOSTED DRAGON…!"

Pyrus Dragonoid: 450 Gs to 600 Gs!

The flames exploded from Drago's mouth in the form of a fireball. Vladitor stood there with his arms crossed as the attack exploded against his body, causing the ground beneath them to shake from its power. With the attack finished, Drago's G-Power dropped back down to its original level.

"Alright! We smoked 'em, Drago!" Dan cheered. When his partner didn't respond back, Dan grew confused. "Uh, Drago? We won-"

"No…"

"Huh?"

BEEP!

Looking down again, Dan understood what Drago's behavior was about. The screen displaying the battle hadn't shown Marduk's defeat, but something even worse.

Darkus Vladitor: 500 Gs to 700 Gs!

Vladitor's G-Power was steadily growing by the second.

"Too bad, too sad." The mocking voice of his opponent nabbed his attention. Dan could see a shining purple card through the smoke. Marduk, who looked even more smug than he had the entire battle, stared Dan right in the eyes. "Seems I was right about my earlier judgment. You weren't anything to be worried about at all."

The smoke cleared completely, showing an uninjured Vladitor with his hands clasped together. He pulled them apart slowly, the dark energy formed into a nightmarish sphere of pure black. Vladitor stared down Drago, who truly didn't know what to do in this situation. "Your power was as impressive as I thought it would be, Drago. However, compared to me…you are weak."

"Weak…" Drago muttered, frozen in shock.

"Drago!" Dan shouted his name, but the dragon couldn't focus.

Marduk tapped his chin with his finger. "Ah, you know what before we finish you both for good. I guess I could enlighten you on something about us…or more specifically that friend of yours, Leonidas. He's…" The words that left Marduk's mouth left the Pyrus duo shell shocked.

"Leonidas…" Dan muttered.

"He's…there's no way…" Drago was speechless.

Marduk honestly laughed at their expressions of disbelief, taking sweet sadistic joy out of making them suffer. "I told you, Dan Kuso! That it would be the last of your worries! NOW FINISH THEM, VLADITOR!"

"Goodbye, Drago, Dan Kuso…" Vladitor released the black sphere. "DARK SPHERE IMPACT!"

There was nothing Drago could do as the ball of black started swallowing him whole. Dan's eyes widened and without realizing it, he was running towards the sphere as well. "DRAGO!" Dan jumped onto Drago's back, getting swallowed up as well.

The last thing either of them heard was the sadistic laughter of Marduk.

Unaware of the movement of time, Runo hurried down to the park. The Haos Battle Brawler was trying to fix her twin tails. "UGH! I can't believe Mom made me stay overtime! Dan is never going to let me live this down!"

"I'm sure it won't be that bad, my lady." Tigrerra spoke from Runo's purse.

"It's Dan, Tigrerra."

"...Right."

The two finally arrived at the park, hoping that the Pyrus duo hadn't left. Runo looked around the place, wondering where Dan could possibly be. "C'mon! He's wearing all red, he shouldn't be that hard to spot!"

Tigrerra, who was now floating in the air, searched around until she eventually found something. Her breath hitched at the sight in front of her. "RUNO!"

"T-Tigrerra?!" Runo rushed over to her partner Bakugan. She was wondering what could've made Tigrerra sound…so…huh? "D-Dan…?"

Tigrerra had found Dan and Drago, the former lying unconscious on the ground with wounds and torn clothes. His partner was in ball form, but he looked no better than Dan did. Runo dropped to her knees, carefully shaking Dan's body. "D-Dan…! Dan…! DAN!"

He coughed.

"DAN!"

His eyes slowly opened, the leader of the Battle Brawlers could barely see the person in front of him but his mind could only think of one thing. "L…Leonidas…"

"W-what?" Runo sputtered.

"Leo…nidas…and Y-Yuji…t-they…" He couldn't muster the strength to finish and lost consciousness once more.

Runo shook his body, tears brimming in the corners of her eyes. "DAN, PLEASE! DAN!"

Chapter End

NOTE: OH NO! Looks like Dan and Drago were defeated by this new villain Marduk! What a terrible way to start this arc...or NOT! I guess you guys are just gonna have to wait and see what happens next.

TL;DR Hydranoid is still stronger than Vladitor if you guys were wondering. Remember that he's constantly getting stronger, so it's not unbelievable that he's much stronger than Drago is at the moment.

I'm really excited to write more Marduk. He's pretty generic (Hopefully still in-line with his game version) in this chapter, but I have big plans for the guy going forward.

Yuji and Alice are contemplating their relationship, will they eventually take the next step? Only one way to find out.

See you guys in the next chapter!