Chapter 8: Flight Response
-Magnus' house-
Magnus hummed as he worked on a new glider design, Pamela sitting close by. A few days following their 'moment' at the carnival, they decided to hang out together more. Right now, they were working on a brand new glider that was in the ending stages of being assembled.
The redheaded gardener girl sat on the boy's desk as she looked over his plans while he worked on them, watching him intently.
The girl was wearing a white sundress that was embroidered with green patterns, a yellow sun hat, and a pair of tie on sandals–though notably, her sundress was thin enough to where one arrant spill of water would allow the boy beside her to see her body completely.
"Where do you come up with these designs?" She queried, seeing that this new design looked similar to a video game based one.
"Different books and games." The boy replied.
"Oh." The girl nodded as he finished his new prototype.
"That should do it for now." The boy nodded. "Now all I need to do is test it when the weather's right." He mused as he folded up the glider and stretched.
Pamela just smiled as she watched him stretch. "You're cute when you're excited, you know that?" She told him.
"It's one of my more charming qualities." Magnus smiled as he pecked her cheek. "Once I've confirmed its safety, you wanna take it for a fly?" He offered, wondering if she'd be interested in gliding.
"Um…" The girl gulped. "No thanks, I've never been a fan of flying." She told him.
"Fair enough. Not everyone's meant to fly." The red head shrugged in understanding. "But, right now, though…" He hummed as he grabbed her waist and pulled her into his lap, kissing her softly.
Pamela moaned in bliss as she made out with her boyfriend, wrapping her arms around his neck. Just like before, she loved the way he felt just by being around him.
Soon, they pulled apart, and both blushed.
"Wanna join me on my bed?" Magnus questioned, kissing the girl's neck.
"I think I can spare an hour." The olive skinned girl purred in reply.
Magnus smiled as he pulled his girlfriend onto his bed and hugged her close, cuddling her like a soft pillow or stuffed animal.
The part time gardener hummed happily as she snuggled into her boyfriend, resting her head on his chest and listening to his heartbeat. It was just as soothing as the warmth she felt coming from him.
(Elsewhere)
Speaking of couples, Shiro and Zina were also cuddling together, but instead of it being in the former's bed, they were instead in Zina's bed at her aunt Mina's house–and the two had been with each other all night–had been for several days.
With how often they'd gone at it, it was a miracle Zina wasn't pregnant yet. Then again, they were actually being careful… Well, Shiro was being careful. Zina had stated that she didn't care if she got pregnant or not, as they were a mated pair–but he still tried to be careful to avoid being decked by older brother.
Kita had actually given him her blessing after the hotel incident since she wasn't in any place to judge–but Hiro? Shiro wasn't so sure about him.
The boy was going to hope things continued to be as safe as usual, but if Zina did end up getting pregnant–then he couldn't really do anything about it except be happy. Pretty easy for him, honestly.
Though as he was musing and mulling things in his head, Zina suddenly got up and made her way to the bathroom.
'She's probably gotta use it.' The boy shrugged, laying back on his girl's bed as her voluptuous backside made its way to the bathroom and closed the door.
As he waited for his mate to return to him, he mulled over Katie's next possible targets.
Kasuki and Takashi were two guys he knew personally, in fact they showed him how tournaments worked when he was starting out.
So he really wanted to make sure that those two were okay, and stop Katie before she did something truly unforgivable–more than she had already, that is.
"What're you thinking, Shiro?" Gojira questioned.
"Katie. She's getting more and more mentally compromised as time goes on." The green haired boy replied with a frown. "I just hope we can get to her next victims before she does." He added.
"It would seem that a brawler's connection to their partner is much deeper than I originally believed." The King of Monsters mused, having not really bought into the whole 'Bakugan and Brawlers are one' thing.
"You're tellin' me!" Zilla nodded.
However, before the conversation could continue, Zina could be heard puking her guts out in the bathroom. Shiro immediately rushed to the door.
"You okay, Zina?!" He asked in concern.
"I'm not sure, my king. I've been feeling like this since yesterday." She told him, breathing heavily before puking again.
'I really hope this isn't a sign of her being pregnant…' The young man thought in worry since the plan was to wait until Naga was dealt with–correction–his plan.
As we all know, life rarely lets such plans continue without being derailed.
"You're pregnant, aren't you?" The boy questioned.
"I don't wish to get your hopes up until I know for certain, my lord." The girl replied as she finally came back out, her gorgeous body open for him to grab and hold. "But, if I were, my only hope is that you won't be so angry with me that you would leave me." She continued.
"As if I'd leave you over a plan going wrong." Shiro scoffed. Like he'd even consider such a notion… "Come here." He told her, hugging his queen close and kissing her, noticing that she'd already rinsed her mouth out.
Zina hummed in relief at his words as she melted into his arms, wrapping her own arms around his neck.
"Then I will promise you one thing, my king." The Russian girl smiled, leaning into his ear. "If I am to be with child, then this will not be our only children. I'll make sure of that.~" She purred.
"We'll have as many as we possibly can." The boy whispered huskily into her ear, his hands groping her ass. The two kissed again as they embraced, happily reveling in their… Happy accident.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, Dan was currently taking a shower while Runo–who had already taken a shower–was laying on her stomach on the boy's bed while talking to Julie on her laptop–as Dan's computer was having an update–and was dressed in a yellow robe.
"Wow! So you got together with Billy finally? That's great Julie, I always thought you two looked cute together." She mused.
"Yeah. It's been a long time coming." The caramel skinned girl smiled. "We've already had a couple of dates, and all of them were amazing." She sighed happily.
"Dan and I don't usually go on dates." Runo shrugged with a wistful sigh. "That's not to say that it's from lack of trying. He's taken me to some of our favorite spots." She continued. "But since we usually go to those places pretty much all the time, it usually feels like less of a date and more of a usual hangout." She added with a sigh. "Honestly, the closest thing we ever get to an intimate date is when we're in his room or my room together, or when we take showers and baths together." She mused.
"Billy and I have had a few moments like that, too." Julie nodded. "They're pretty low key, but there's a nice thing about them enjoyable." She added. "Wait, you guys take showers together? What are you two doing in there?" She questioned, going into gossip mode.
"What? No, nothing except bathing and maybe the occasional cuddle, jeez." The blue haired girl deflected, her face flushing. "Get your head out of the gutter." She muttered.
"Come on, Runo! You can't seriously tell me that Dan just stayed there in the tub and shower and just held you without doing something!" The Australian girl exclaimed. "I mean, I know you don't have a very voluptuous figure like me, but you're still gorgeous! How has Dan not tried to manhandle you into next week yet?!" She questioned.
"Because he's being polite! Plus, you don't know if he's the type to manhandle his girlfriend!" The bluenette huffed.
"Well no duh he's a gentleman! We both knew that since we entered highschool, Runo!" Julie retorted in exasperation. "That means that you have to give him a sign as a 'go ahead' or 'green light'! Otherwise you'll never get to third base!" She added.
"We'll get to third base when we're ready, Julie! Don't rush our relationship just to have something to talk about!" Runo snapped.
"Runo." The valley girl deadpanned seriously. "How many times in high school did I catch you fantasizing about and *ahem* playing around while thinking about Dan in your bedroom?" She questioned.
Runo had nothing to respond with on that one, only able to look away with a giant blush on her face.
"That's right, you've been wanting to go all the way with Dan since we graduated. Well, now's your chance, girl! So use it!" Her friend told her.
"I-I don't even know how to go about it!" The blue haired Haos girl yelped.
"Girl, Dan has been head over heels in love with you since we were kids–literally anything you do that's even slightly sexual will turn him on." The Subterra brawler told her. "Now stop balking at me and go get with your man!" She added, signing off, right as Dan came out in a towel, drying off Drago after giving him a scrub and setting him next to Tigrerra–who was also napping after a brushing from Runo.
"Aah, that hit the spot." The Pyrus boy sighed before he looked at Runo. "... Why are you blushing like that?" He asked with a blink upon spotting his girlfriend's red cheeks.
"Julie got me all flustered earlier." The girl told him, deflecting the question as she watched him take his towel off to put on some PJs. 'Okay, here goes nothing.' The bluenette thought as she go up and let her robe fall to the floor, before hugging Dan from behind–her breasts pressing against his back,
"R-Runo?!" He gasped, blushing from her little act.
"… Come to bed." She whispered, her voice soft with a slight almost innocently seductive 'come hither' tone to it.
Dan could only wordlessly oblige as he was led to the bed by his surprisingly seductive blue haired girlfriend. Once they were laying down, Runo started cuddling into Dan, her head settling on his chest so she could listen to his heartbeat.
The two continued to lay like this until Runo slowly crawled on top of the brunette and securely straddled his waist, grinding herself on him.
"I want you." The girl whispered, her face red with arousal.
"R-Runo…." Dan gasped before he kissed her square on the lips, unable to stop himself. "I want you, too." He whispered into her ear as they pulled apart for air. The boy then turned her over and then went down, causing the girl to moan.
(A few days later)
"So your brother's name is Hiro?" Shunji questioned as the brawlers all made their way through the airport.
"That's not exactly creative." Akira nodded.
"Shut up, Hiro is just a nickname." Shiro groaned.
"What's his full name, then?" Alice questioned.
"Sengoku Hiroshima." Akihito replied.
"Definitely a one-of-a-kind name." Magnus mused, Pamela walking next to him.
"Where is he supposed to be?" Runo questioned.
"He should be nearby… There he is!" Aki began to say before he saw his brother in the fairly close distance.
The young man in question was tall for a Japanese guy, with skin that looked like he'd been out in the sun a lot, a head of hair that was a lighter shade than his siblings and was cut rather short, save a few small strands that were probably where his bangs used to be, and he had a body that said 'I lift rocks for training' with a scar going across his left eye.
Attire wise? He was dressed in a pair of tommy bahama slacks–olive–with a white undershirt and a red hawaiian shirt that had white flowers on it, as well as a pair of sandals and sunglasses he had on his forehead with his last piece of jewelry being a silver dog tag necklace that had a koi fish, his name, and the kanji for courage engraved on it.
Bizarrely enough, he wasn't alone. He had a woman with him.
Said woman looked like she was around the same age as or older than Hiro. She had sunkissed tan skin that looked amazing, green hair that spread out like wings, the inner part oddly glowing with different shades of green and ocean blue eyes. She had a very generous figure that made her look like a probable MILF, but it was hard to tell.
Attire wise, she was wearing a grassy green dress that was supported by two straps that left the valley of her breasts completely exposed while she had two sleeve coverings on her arms that sported leaf-like designs on them. The bottom of her dress shared the same design as well in addition to the matching green high heels she wore.
She actually looked like a recolored Ragyo Kiryuin.
"Hiro?" Shiro questioned as he and the others approached the two.
"Little bro!" The man exclaimed as he turned around and ran to his brothers, hugging them tightly.
"So this is him?" Shun asked as he inspected Hiro.
"Nice to meet you too." The taller man deadpanned at the boy's rather rude introduction.
"Ignore him." Shiro told his sibling. "Hiro, these are our friends, the brawlers." He continued.
"Huh, there sure are a lot of you guys." The older Hiroshima sibling commented as he looked at the admittedly big group.
"It's nice to meet you." Alice smiled.
"Yes, we've heard quite a–." Marucho nodded before noticing something. "Um, where's Dan?" He questioned.
Everyone looked around, and sure enough, Dan was gone.
"Don't tell me he got lost again…" Runo groaned in exasperation since this happened last time they came to the airport, too.
"Oh no…" Shun groaned.
Zina, meanwhile, looked at Hiro's companion, and a familiar scent reached her nose. The same scent she noticed on Kita and herself. This woman was pregnant.
(Elsewhere)
"You got us lost again." Drago pointed out as he and Dan tried to find the others.
"It's not my fault they built this place like a maze!" The Pyrus Brawler groaned as he tried fruitlessly to figure out where to go. "Hang on." He said before looking at his Bakupod. "I can just use my Bakupod's homing beacon to find them." He noted as he started tapping away.
Drago, meanwhile, gave the area they were in a once over from his spot in Dan's pocket—and soon took notice of two figures.
One being a girl with pastel blonde hair, and the second being blonde in a white waist coat—and a very familiar mask.
"Dan, Katie and Masquerade are over there to our left!" He hissed, causing Dan to snap his head in the indicated direction.
"What the?" The brunette uttered before noticing the two. "Shit." He cursed as they started walking away. "We need to follow them, quickly." He told his partner.
"Right. Let's go." The dragonoid nodded as the two followed their quarry.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, back with the others…
"Well, guys, this is my fiance, Petra." Hiro told his brothers, causing them to react in surprise right as his soon to be step sisters walked towards him.
"It's nice to meet you Hiro. I'm Minoto, your future step sister." The modest twin greeted her future step brother.
"And I'm her twin sister Hinoa, hi!" The boisterous twin smiled.
"Huh, I hadn't realized mom got back into dating again." The eldest Hiroshima son blinked in surprise. "... Or was even engaged! Like what the hell, why wasn't I told?" He questioned.
"I literally called you about it last week." Shiro sweatdropped.
"... Oops." Was Hiro's sheepish response.
"How did you forget that?" Petra questioned with her own sweatdrop. For some reason, everyone felt like they were standing in front of an all-powerful being when they heard her voice.
"Work and classes probably." Hiro sighed.
"Your brother's fiance is pregnant." Zina whispered to Shiro.
"How can you tell?" The partner of Gojira whispered back.
"She has a similar scent to your mother, and myself—a tell-tale sign of her being with child." She replied.
"Seriously? Huh…" The young man blinked. He hadn't expected that. "Wait a minute, when did this happen?" He questioned.
"Why don't you ask your brother that?" His Queen suggested.
Shiro shrugged before he looked at his brother.
"Hey bro, how long have you known Petra, exactly?" He asked.
"We met not long after I started working as an intern at Monarch's genetics division… Why?" He replied.
"Just wondering." The middle child shrugged in reply, getting an idea of how long he's known Petra from his older bro's answer.
The answer: more than four months, by his guess.
Petra smiled as hugged the older Hiroshima brother close to herself, and whispered something in his ear, which made him blush apparently.
"Anyway, we'd like to get home. It's been too long since I've slept in my own room." The older sibling coughed.
"Don't worry, no one's messed with it… much." Akihito told his brother, implying that either he or Shiro had messed with it at some point.
This implication made Hiro look at his siblings suspiciously for a moment before he shrugged.
"Alright, let's go." He said, but before Shiro could say anything, the bakupods of the group suddenly buzzed. Looking at them, they saw that Dan had messaged them.
"Oh hey there, Danny boy, we were just talking about—." Shunji began.
"Shunji, shut up and listen." The brunette said, cutting him off. "Guys, we have a serious problem." He continued.
"What's going on?" Runo questioned.
"It's Katie and Masquerade! They're here at the airport, and I think they're after Kasuki and Takashi!" The Pyrus boy replied urgently, causing everyone's eyes to widen in alarm.
"We kinda figured that already, but glad to see that our suspicions were confirmed." Magnus nodded.
"We need to stop them, quickly." Shun stated.
"Uh, Shun." Marucho piped up. "Where's Alice?" He questioned.
This made everyone notice that Alice had unexpectedly vanished from the group without anyone noticing.
"What the–? How…?" Nene uttered in surprise.
"Think she saw Katie or Masquerade and followed them while we were talking?" Jenny questioned.
"Maybe? I dunno." Jewels shrugged.
"This sounds seriously fishy." Rikimaru mused, before looking at a rather offended Manda, Junior and Preyas. "No offense." He amended.
"Some offense taken!" Preyas exclaimed indignantly.
"Guys, guys! We can worry about Alice later—right now we gotta find Muu, Kasuki and Takashi before something bad happens!" Akihito blurted frantically.
"He's right; we need to find them before something drastic happens!" Shun nodded seriously.
"Sounds like you lot have been busy." Petra noted.
"Oh you have no idea." Shiro groaned as they group took off.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, Dan was still trying to follow Masquerade and Katie to try and stop them, but as he drew nearer, Ghidora and Hydranoid saw him coming and told their brawler—prompting him to move Katie into a crowd of people to help lose the brunette.
Dan saw this and immediately doubled his efforts to chase the two down—only to run headlong into someone and fall down.
"Owww… Sorry I was—what the? Alice, Muu? When did you two get here?" He questioned upon seeing just who he bumped into.
"Oh, sorry, Dan. I was helping Muu find Kasuki and Takashi." The ginger told him apologetically.
"I lost them while trying to find Makoto's plane." Muu explained.
Makoto, Muu's brother, had apparently applied for a boarding school in Wardington to be closer to his sister, and he was supposed to be arriving today.
"Well I saw Masquerade and Katie probably looking for them, but they gave me the slip." The boy told them. "We gotta find them before something happens." He added.
"I'll get the others, think you can take Muu with you?" Alice questioned.
"Yeah. I can do that." The Pyrus boy nodded as he looked at the girl in question. "Come on, Muu! Let's go!" He told her.
"Right! She nodded before the two went in one direction while Alice went in another.
(Elsewhere)
And outside of the airport—Kasuki and Takashi were already cornered by Katie and Masquerade, fittingly enough, right where they battled Marucho and Runo years ago.
"What do you two want?" Takashi questioned.
"It's time you two paid for not making good on your bargain with me awhile back, the time has come for me to collect." Masquerade stated, turning to Katie. "After this battle, you'll only have one more trial to complete before you can exact your revenge on Shun Kazami." He told his subordinate.
"Good." The blonde smirked as she brought out her field card along with the others.
"Field Open!" They called as the battlefield opened.
(Elsewhere)
"Oh no, we're too late!" Ryo exclaimed as his battle tracker activated, right as Dan and Muu arrived outside.
"Crap!" Shiro hissed, cursing how slow they'd been the whole time.
"Where's Alice? Didn't she go to get you guys?" Dan questioned.
"No, we never saw her." Magnus replied.
"Okay, that sounds pretty sus…" Pamela commented with a narrowed gaze.
"Let's worry about that later." Zina interjected. "Where is the battle taking place?" She wondered.
Marucho and Runo silently glanced at each other, both having a pretty fair idea of where Kasuki and Takashi might be.
"We think we might know." The blue haired girl spoke up, causing everyone to look at them.
"I know you wanna ask, but there's no time! Follow us!" The blonde boy urged as he and Runo led the charge.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, Kasuki and Takashi were now face to face with Katie and Masquerade, their battle now being underway.
"Doom Card set." The latter two intoned, dropping their Doom Cards into the field.
"Gate card set!" The four called.
"I'll start." Katie smirked. "Bakugan Brawl!" She called as she threw down her first Bakugan. "Robotalian Stand!" She added as her Darkus bakugan rose up.
"A Darkus Robotalion? Heh, this'll work!" Kasuki called as he sent in his own Robotalion.
"Robotalion power levels 320 Gs–automatic card activation–Character card doubles power of both Bakugan to 640 Gs." The Bakupods buzzed.
"Cheeky cheeky…" Masquerade mused.
"Whatever." Katie growled.
"Ability Card Activate!" The two intoned. "Robotalion Enforcement." They added as the two bakugan clashed, locking their hands–pushing against each other.
"Power increase by 200 Gs, Power Levels now 840 Gs." The machines buzzed.
"Looks like we have a power struggle." Takashi mused before holding up a card. "But I know how to turn the tide." He added. "Ability Card activate, Correlation between Pyrus and Darkus!" He called as one of his bakugan, a Pyrus Serpenoid, entered the battle.
"Pyrus Serpenoid enters battle at 320 Gs, combined power level with Robotalion at 1160 Gs." The Bakupods blurted.
"Care to help out, Masquerade?" Katie asked her fellow blonde (if they could have such a relationship).
"Of course. Bakugan Brawl!" The masked Darkus Brawler nodded before throwing one of his Bakugan out onto the card opposite of the battle. "Laserman Stand!" He added.
As the robotic robot rose up, it revealed itself to be quite strong at 450 Gs.
"Ability Card, Activate, Bullhorn Trivial." He intoned as Laserman's face flashed purple before it turned its body around and started firing at the other three Bakugan. "This ability card causes the strongest bakugan anywhere on the field to automatically lose the battle–and the weakest to be sent back to their brawlers." He added as the blasts caused Kasuki's Serpenoid to be sent back to him, and Katie's robotallion back to her–while Takashi's was sent to the Doom Dimension.
"No!" The goggled boy yelled in dismay as his Bakugan was sent to its demise.
"You could've warned me a bit better!" Katie barked.
"Now where's the fun in that?" Masquerade chuckled. "Your move boys!" He called.
"Grrr!" Takashi growled as he threw down his Pyrus Garganoid onto Laserman's card. "Gate Card Open!" He called. "Trade Off!" He added as Laserman forcibly lost the fight. "That command card makes it where any bakugan with a power level over four hundred automatically loses." He added.
"Hmph. Clever, but it merely delays the inevitable." The ruthless Darkus brawler scoffed. "Gate Card set!" He added, throwing another Gate Card down. "Katie! You're up." He told his battle partner.
"Bakugan Brawl!" She yelled, sending out her Robotalion again, whose power level was still at 840 Gs–Robotalion Enforcement still active.
"Bakugan Brawl! Juggernoid stand!" Kasuki exclaimed, his turtle Bakugan rising with a roar. "Gate Card Open! Triple Battle!" He added, causing Takashi's Garganoid to come out to play.
"Oh come on!" The girl groaned.
"These two are proving to be far more troublesome than the others." Space Godzilla mused.
"My sentiments exactly." Masquerade mused.
"Juggernoid Power Level 370 Gs, Garganoid Power Level 360 Gs. Combined power level 730 Gs." The machines buzzed.
"And ability activate–Fire judge!" Takashi called as his bakugan was surrounded in fire, giving them the power to send Katie's Robotallion flying.
The girl in questioned growled as her Bakugan landed at her feet, allowing her to pick it up.
"Okay, I'm done playing games! Let's crank it up for real!" She snarled as she grabbed her next bakugan.
"I second that." Masquerade nodded in agreement as he grabbed Hydranoid.
The two threw their bakugan onto the field after setting down more cards, with Katie sending out a Darkus Gargonoid and the hulking Behemoth that was Hydranoid stood at the card opposite her bakugan.
"Darkus Garganoid 360 Gs, Darkus Hydranoid 450 Gs." The machines buzzed.
"What the?! He's sending out Hydranoid?!" Kasuki gasped.
"I've only heard about him online, but he's way stronger in person!" Takashi exclaimed.
"Very observant, human. I am the greatest of all Bakugan." Hydranoid chuckled. "I feed on the attribute energies of the bakugan I send to the Doom Dimension, much like I will do with yours in just a moment." He added.
"Not if we have anything to say about it!" Takashi growled. "Let's go, Kasuki!" He exclaimed.
"Yeah! Bakugan Brawl!" The two called as they launched their next bakugan in, a Darkus Fear Ripper and Takashi's Pyrus Serpenoid.
They were both on the same card behind Katies Gargonoid–and it surprised them both when the two allied bakugan started fighting each other.
"... Really? A battle sham?" Masquerade deadpanned after his surprise faded.
"Wait, you know what they're doing?" Katie questioned.
"Yes. This is a particularly reckless move that can backfire if done incorrectly. I never bother with such tactics." The masked blonde explained in reply. "Because they can easily be interrupted!" He added as he tossed a card into the sky. "Chaos of the Darkness!" He called as dark clouds gathered overhead and struck Hydranoid with lightning.
"What the–?!" Kasuki gasped as he shielded his eyes.
It was too late though, as the Battle Sham successfully blasted Gargonoid and took it out, but the blast only seemed to irritate Hydranoid as he faced the two Bakugan.
"How weak of you! BEGONE!" He roared as he blasted the two Bakugan to the Doom Dimension.
"That leaves them with exactly one Bakugan each." Masquerade stated. "We can end this in one go." He added as Ghidorah floated beside him, cloaked in Darkness, as did Space Godzilla. "Aim for the card behind yours. That's a Quartet Battle card." He added.
"This'll be fun." Katie smirked darkly as she grabbed her astral Kaiju partner.
"Bakugan Brawl!" Kasuki called as he threw down his Juggernoid.
"Gate Card Open!" Masquerade ginned as Takashi's Falconeer joined Juggernoid.
"Darkus Phantom!" The two blondes exclaimed as they threw their Kaiju partners out.
"At last." Ichi growled as he, Ni and San rose up.
"My sentiments exactly, I was starting to get bored." Space Godzilla growled.
"S-Space Godzilla and Ghidorah?! How are we supposed to fight that?!" Kasuki gulped nervously.
"Better question, how the hell are they here?!" Takashi added.
"Guess you'll never know." Masquerade smirked. "Ability Card Activate! Graviton Trident!" He added.
"Ability Card Activate! Gravity Strike!" Katie smirked as well as she activated one of her partner's offensive abilities.
With a final move–the battle ended with both boys being sent flying along with their Bakugan as the field closed, and both of them tumble to the ground head first, but it was arguably worse in Kasuki's case, as he hit the railing back first and could have sworn something broke.
"AGH!" The brunette Darkus boy screamed in pain.
"Aw, I think we broke him." Katie noted in a mocking tone.
"Not our problem." Masquerade chuckled just as mockingly.
"Yeah let's get out of here." The girl nodded, right as the Brawlers arrived on the scene. "... Crap." She cursed.
"What the hell did you do to them?!" Shiro demanded with a glare.
"Oh relax, they just took a bad fall." Katie scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I've got a far worse fat in mind for you anyway." She stated, looking right at Shun.
"Your time will come, Katie. For now, it's best we leave." Masquerade told her, grabbing her shoulder and teleporting them away.
"... Seriously, Shun. This all could've been avoided if you didn't refuse her." Magnus pointed out.
"Yeah, you literally screwed not just Katie, but several people over because you chose to go back on your word." Runo sighed in agreement.
"Oh I've learned that lesson, believe me." Shun sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose while Alice came running up behind them with paramedics.
"Over here!" The ginger exclaimed as she pointed at Kasuki.
"Alice, where were you?" Runo questioned as the others approached her.
"Getting paramedics in case of a potential emergency." The store owner replied as she rushed up to Kasuki. "Kasuki, are you okay?!" She asked.
"I… Oh no, I can't feel my arm…!" He gasped in dismay.
"His shoulder's been completely dislocated. We can fix it, but there may be a chance of nerve damage or even short term paralysis with long term dexterity issues." One of the paramedics noted. "But we'll know more once we get them back to the hospital." He added.
"I can move, but I think my neck might've gotten twisted…" Takashi groaned as Muu ran to the two.
"Guys!" She exclaimed in worry. "I'm so sorry I couldn't get here in time!" She said, dismayed.
"No… It's a good thing you took so long. Who knows what could've happened to you." Takashi groaned as he propped himself into a sitting position.
"Yeah, plus if you had Makoto with you, he could've gotten hurt too." Kasuki nodded, causing the girl to look away as she blushed at the boy's concern for her and her brother.
Takashi could only chuckle painfully at his friend's reaction from their mutual crush–which honestly just made the situation oddly wholesome despite how devastating it could have been–a causal sigh of relief, if you will.
"Some of us will pay a visit to your hospital room when you're open to visitors." Dan told Kasuki as he was put on a stretcher.
"Sorry that we couldn't stop them." Runo apologized, the others nodding in agreement.
"At least we're alive. That should count for something." The Pyrus boy sighed.
"Amen to that." Magnus sighed in agreement.
(Later)
It was later that evening and everyone was now reconvening at the Misaki diner to talk about their next moves–especially with the fist Tournament coming up–when Zina dropped a pretty big piece of news for everyone to hear.
"What?!" The others exclaimed in surprise.
"You're pregnant?!" Julie shouted with wide eyes.
"I only just found out today." Zina nodded, a hand on her stomach. "Though, I can hardly say that I'm disappointed. Quite the opposite, I'm elated." She smiled.
"Is now really the best time for that, though?" Marucho asked in concern. Given the 'silent war' they were fighting, it was a fair question.
"It would be a problem only so long as the battles I'm in cause too much physical damage to myself or our child." The girl replied. "I have full confidence that this will not be the case." She added. "After all." She continued as she laid her head on Shiro's shoulder. "It is a queen's role to produce a viable heir for her king, is it not?" She noted.
"Really? You're going with that?" Pamela asked flatly.
"I fail to see how you have any room to talk, Pamela." Zina stated. "Don't think I haven't noticed how Magnus has been trying to make you… 'bear fruit' I believe were his exact words?" She added, causing Magnus to nearly choke on his milkshake.
"Oi!" The redheaded boy squawked indignantly with a blush.
"Well? Seems like Shiro and I aren't the only members of our little group of Kaiju brawlers who have an instinct to 'make' more of us." The Russian girl pointed out.
"That's because you guys are way too energetic." Akira remarked.
Though the girl's remark did manage to make Magnus look at Pamela out of the corner of his eye, and recalling his remark from the previous week, couldn't help but imagine the voluptuous redhead with a swollen belly–and found the idea very hot.
Hinoa, meanwhile, was similarly turned on by the statement, but her attention was on a different person.
"Different topic; what are we going to do about Katie and Masquerade? Those two are getting worse." Julie interjected.
"At this point? I honestly have no idea." Dan sighed. "My best guess is that we try taking at least one of them down in the tournaments–before things can get any worse." He stated.
"Maybe I can help with that." Petra said as she walked into the diner, getting their attention.
"Petra? How can you help? You don't– Shiro started to question before his future sister-in-law held up a field card. "Wait, you're a Brawler?" He blinked in surprise.
"On the side occasionally." The woman shrugged. "Though most recently I've been studying something that is equal parts fascinating and unnerving." She mused.
"Like what?" Ryo asked with interest.
"It would seem that Earth and Vestroia have been slowly merging together for years now." The woman explained. "And if my research is correct, the end result will be the two worlds being permanently combined into a single planet." She added.
"What?!" The younger brawlers gasped in unison.
"That's impossible!" Drago exclaimed.
"Quite the contrary, my young dragonoid, it is quite possible and in fact is already happening–and there's no way to stop it." The woman stated.
"Aw man! Then life is coming to an end!" Shunji lamented.
"Or it could just continue in the most beautiful way possible." Pamela shrugged.
"The only issue now is that the union is currently unstable. We need to find two power sources capable of stabilizing the two worlds that can combine without causing cataclysmic levels of permanent damage." The woman continued.
"You mean like the Infinity Core and Silent Core." Rikimaru surmised.
"Those two would definitely do the job." Petra nodded.
"Wait, how long have you been observing all this?" Magnus wondered.
"Ever since the Bakugan first appeared." She replied. "You may not know this but I used to work with Michael Gehavic, and I brought his studies of the Bakugan and Vestroia with me to Monarch." She added.
"I just know they welcomed you aboard because of that." Zina commented.
"That they did. I'm their biggest expert in the field of Bakugan study." The white and green haired woman nodded in reply. "The second being one Laurence Lowery, though he was later fired from his job and left under bad circumstances." She continued.
"Wait, Katie's dad?" Jenny questioned.
"What did he do?" Marucho asked.
"He gave Katie cybernetic implants." Petra replied, much to everyone's shock. "Additionally he was part of a project you likely already know about, Project T. Where several volunteers allowed themselves to be spliced with various DNA samples from the beings Monarch is studying, the Titans–essentially Kaiju, and then had children with these same genes." She continued. "Though Laurence took things a step further–and also spliced Katie with Bakugan DNA as an embyo." She added.
"Wait, she's one quarter Bakugan?!" Jenny yelped with wide eyes.
"Yes, specifically Laurence used DNA from a Bakugan Dr. Michael had encountered." Petra nodded. "A pure white Dragonoid if I remember correctly." She mused.
"Please tell me it wasn't Naga…" Dan groaned pleadingly. Everyone shared that sentiment.
"Oh, so you're familiar with this Bakugan, then?" The woman uttered in surprise.
This response caused everyone to face fault.
"Yeah. He's our biggest problem right now." Shiro nodded in reply as he and the others got up.
"What was that man thinking?!" Drago questioned.
"Bold of you to assume he was thinking at all." Gojira quipped in reply. "I know from experience that humans chase knowledge and potential innovations without any regard for if they should be chasing it." He added
"Splicing his own kid with the DNA of a mentally unstable Bakugan? Dumbest move ever." Battra sighed.
"And a Kaiju, lest we forget." Rodan nodded.
"How's that possible anyway?" Dan questioned. "They just got here." He added.
"Unless these titans are what inspired the Kaiju stories." Alice mused.
"In that case, which Titans were we spliced with—including Katie?" Shiro questioned.
"A lot of them, including Gojira himself." The green haired woman replied. "I'd have to read an entire list to even cover all that were involved, but generally, if you have one of these 'Kaijugan' I've heard about, odds are you share DNA with them–though maybe not the exact Kaiju you have." She added, causing everyone with a Kaijugan to look at their partners with wide eyes.
Except one.
"Uh, what about me? I have Jet Jaguar." Ryo asked as he held up his robotic partner.
"Your case is a bit odd, I admit." Petra nodded. "But due to your spliced DNA, you all will start developing latent powers specific to the genes you have in you." She explained. "As well as equally feral instincts–including the mating instincts I'm sure a few of you have noticed already–particularly with other hybrids that your body finds compatible." She added.
Right on cue, Shiro, Zina, Magnus and Pamela blushed since those had indeed surfaced apparently. Petra saw this and smirked a bit, but made no comment.
"Okay, but how does this help with Katie?" Marucho asked.
"I believe you had a theory about what could be causing her behavior, correct?" Petra asked.
"Yeah. I think that Katie's mind could be corrupted by a mix of her own Kaiju genes, residual radiation from the Silent Core that she could be exposed to due to the Doom Cards, G-Energy and I guess the DNA from Naga she got spliced with." The boy nodded.
"Which honestly explains a lot about what's been happening with her." Dan nodded.
"It really does." Shiro muttered in agreement.
"The poor girl was basically genetically predisposed to turning evil." Julie nodded.
"I say we find her dad and punch him as hard as all of us can!" Nene suggested.
"Yeah!" Aki nodded.
Shun, however, had been silent during all of this. Something that Alice noted.
"Is something on your mind, Shun?" She asked him.
"I can't help but feel like Monarch's crossed some kind of ethical line." He noted. "And you said that we can't stop Vestroia from merging with Earth, how can you be so sure?" He questioned.
"Because even if there was a solution, it would take decades before we achieved it, and it would be far too late by then." The Monarch scientist told him in reply. "This is essentially a cosmic event, so it's best to let it run its course." She added.
"Won't that be dangerous?" Alice asked.
"Interfering would be just as dangerous." Petra replied. "Besides." She continued, looking at her hand. "It was the first union of our two worlds that allowed me to come into existence in the first place." She added.
That caused everyone to look at her in confusion.
"Uh… What?" Aki asked on everyone's behalf.
"I wasn't born like most of you, rather, I was formed. Brought to be by the earth itself as it reacted to absorbing the attribute energies from Vestroia." The woman explained. "My body was formed by that process, and I fear that if our two worlds were separated, I would simply cease to be." She added.
"Okay, who even are you, really?" Jewels questioned, unable to stop herself any longer. "With everything you're saying, it feels like Petra isn't your real name." She added.
"Very astute." 'Petra' smiled before her entire body glowed a vibrant green, causing everyone to cover their eyes. When it faded, they looked back at Hiro's fiance… And their hearts nearly stopped at what greeted their eyes.
Her appearance was the same as before, but her previously white hair was now a vibrant green with the glowing color underneath being white, and instead of her sun kissed skin, her body was now an ebony brown color with a figure that was just as if not more voluptuous than before, and her body had small mocha colored scars in the shape of cracks all over it, symbolizing fault lines, and her eyes shifted between green, blue, autumn, and gray seemingly at random.
"What the…?! Wh-Who are you?!" Drago gasped as he and his fellow Bakugan/Kaijugan felt the raw power coming from this new being before them.
"My young Dragonoid, I am Gaia." The very obvious deity replied with a motherly smile, causing the group of brawlers to nearly have a collective shock induced heart attack. Even her voice had changed; it was gentle, yet boomed with power!
"I have a goddess in my diner! I HAVE A GODDESS IN MY DINER!" Runo yelled in shock as she grabbed her head with both hands.
Luckily, her parents had stepped out for the time being.
"My consciousness had always been a part of the earth since its creation, but although I could create a temporary physical form, I could never really sustain it." Gaia explained. "Until the arrival of Vestroia's power, that is." She continued.
"Uh, is it wise for you to get involved in the fight against Naga, then?" Hinoa asked with a worried look.
"Yes, you could risk being corrupted by the Silent Core." Minoto pointed out in concern.
"Hmph. As if that little drakling Naga could pull that off, much less Masquerade or Katie." The primordial mother scoffed. "Plus…" She trailed off before smirking at them. "Wouldn't fighting at the side of a goddess be an epic for your children to hear?" She asked as her smirk became a grin that spoke of an untold adventure.
"… I suppose so." Zina nodded. The others nodded as well, since it wasn't every day a chance like this came around.
"I'm still wary of the idea of our worlds combining." Drago mused.
"As am I, if only because of the possible negative ramifications of such an occurrence than anything else." Tigrerra nodded.
"Those can just as easily be sorted out if given enough time." Gaia dismissed before she walked up to Shiro and Akihito. "Besides, what kind of family member would I be if I just left them to fight alone?" She asked rhetorically with a smile before pulling the two brothers into a hug.
Any surprise the two boys might have felt melted away like soft butter in an oven since Gaia's embrace was easily the most blissful thing in their lives.
Shun, meanwhile, watched as the Bakugan and Kaijugan all rolled onto the table.
"Then I think the best course of action is clear." Gojira noted.
"G-Man's right. We gotta put a stop to Naga's monkey business and keep him from throwing a wrench in the process of convergence." Anguirus nodded.
"Yeah, and it should be easier with her on our side." Gamera nodded, looking at Gaia (who was still hugging Shiro and Aki) before looking back at the others.
"I second that. We should also should also consider doubling our efforts to find this Infinity Core as quickly as possible." Biollante nodded.
"Amen to that sister." Zilla nodded.
"When we find Naga, I want first crack at him and Hydranoid." Rodan added.
"I won't stop you, we can do both." Tigrerra nodded.
"All aboard the pain train, chu chu!" Preyas whooped.
"Um, yeah?" Manda gulped.
"Aye, let's give these bastards a kick in the ass!" Megalon nodded.
"Yep." Gigan nodded.
"Sounds good to me." Megaguirus buzzed.
"And me." Gorem added.
"*Clang clang clang*" Jet Jaguar bounced in agreement.
"Even if we still don't know how many more Daikaiju are out there, I'm glad that our numbers seem even." Skyress nodded.
"And in regards to the Infinity core." Drago chimed in at last, causing everyone to face him. "I think I may know where to look." He told them.
"Really? Where?" Shunji questioned.
"Oh that's right, we never told you guys." Dan nodded.
"The Infinity Core is inside Naga's twin sister, Waivern." Runo explained.
"Oh good. That makes things easier." The primordial goddess nodded as she let her two family members go. "And I'm assuming you know where she is?" She questioned.
"She's with a friend of ours, Joe." Marucho explained.
"And she's about to lay some Dragonoid eggs." Dan added, much to the surprise of the others.
"Wait, since when?" Magnus asked with a blink.
"Since a few weeks ago. She's probably already laid them." Dan replied.
"She has in fact, that's why I mentioned the infinity core." Drago explained. "It isn't inside Waivern anymore, it's in the egg she laid." He continued. "The core's energy has allowed her to assume a Haos attribute, but now she's completely without it, and in a very weak and vulnerable state." He added.
"Which means protecting her and that egg is paramount." Shun stated.
"Then it seems our next course of action is clear: We prepare for the tournaments that are to come so that we can keep Naga and his forces at bay, whilst also keeping Waivern safe and preparing for when the convergence begins to enter its final stages." Gaia stated.
"Right." Everyone nodded in understanding.
"… Speaking of, when is the beginning of the tournament?" Ryo questioned.
"Um, about a week from now?" Shunji noted, looking at his watch.
"Plenty of time to practice." Shiro nodded. "Let's make it happen, people!" He exclaimed.
"Hell yeah!" The Brawlers all cheered as they got ready for said tournament.
It was go time.
Dragon Emperor0: And that concludes the introductory chapters of the story. Now we can get moving with the story proper of the game that we'll be spicing up with our own stuff and a few things from the anime to really make this story its own thing—as well as set up some cause and effect/foreshadowing because we want to be extra thorough.
ThermalsniperN7: Yeah. It pays to be prepared for stuff like this. Anywho… GAIA IS HERE, AND SHE'S A BAKUGAN BRAWLER! Time for the real adventure to begin!
Dragon Emperor0: And for all of you wondering why we haven't made any mention of any of the other Daikaiju or the dragon-like humanoid mentioned in chapter one—or the game's antagonist Marduk—that's because we are playing the long game. We want things to be set up and we wanted you guys to get used to the rest of the cast first. Plus, we have a plan to have Marduk's stated backstory play a more active role here instead of being just a throwaway line at the end of the game, as well as adding in a direct connection to the Monsterverse Godzilla movies and just make the tragedy of Marduk's story have more weight than it does in the Video Game. Even if I realize that it was only made brief to keep things kid friendly. But regardless, he or the Kaijugan he's partnered with won't become plot relevant until the Tag Team Championship and Battle Royal Rumble. So be patient.
ThermalsniperN7: As for Gaia's arrival, we felt that there should be more large-scale consequences, and her appearance fit the bill for us. With the energy from Vestroia flooding Earth, it felt right. Plus, she'll be the one to counter the Doom Cards, and I mean really counter them. In the show, the only real way to counter them was to outwit whoever set them on the field, or convince them to take them out which has a 50-50 chance of working out. So, why not get real creative, and come up with someone too dangerous for even Masquerade to be an enemy of? Gaia is that answer. And yes, we're shipping her with Hiro, but don't worry. Marduk will still get a girl.
Dragon Emperor0: We're thinking either Taygen, Rabeeder or possibly Jenny or Jewels, though I'm personally leaning towards Rabeeder. She seems like a ray of sunshine that could really help Marduk out of a dark place. Also, Marduk will also have a real name. But not the Power Rangers reference one we had in the original—rather an original one that still pays homage to said name. Hopefully you guys will like it.
ThermalsniperN7: I'm leaning toward Rabeeder, too. With her personality, it's bound to help Marduk out. Plus, with what happened in the show later on… Well, I think they'll find solace in each other. Anyway, see you next time.