Chapter 18: Interference and Interlopers – Part 1

Wavern talked with them for a while longer before she had to 'return' due to a lack of strength. Neither Lelouch nor his Bakugan had any issue with that, being more impressed that she had used her limited time to converse for so long, particularly because the topics went from serious to relaxed banter and trading of details about them and their lives.

Wavern, despite being seen as a deity, was humble, observant, intelligent, and kind. Lelouch, having long since suspected her presence, had this calming effect, not so much enforced like his geass would his targets, but closer to those times he would snuggle up to his mother. He felt… safer, far more so than in years. With that sense of security, he was much more willing to indulge questions about himself.

The others were the same. Juggernoid, an old Bakugan, had much to talk about how things had been before the Vestals, before this fighting. Lelouch found it incredible that the giant turtle was over 800 years old.

Elfin was the youngest of his main Bakugan partners, being a little over 20 years old. Because of that, she hadn't known Preyas for more than a couple of years, but she spoke about how much fun they used to have together. They would goof off, get into silly fights, and tease each other, only to team up to tease other Bakugans.

She was, in a way, similar to Milly. Enough so that he knew if they ever met, they would be fast friends, while Preyas…well, he would have tips for Rivalz to turn himself into the sort of goofball that had girls like Elfin invested. Maybe then Milly would notice his friend's affections, as God Lord knew Rivalz was too chicken to tell Milly.

Sirenoid was older and had much to talk about. Juggernoid was a fighter. Elfin had escaped the Vestals' opening moves and subsequent hunts, but Sirenoid had been part of the first batch to be caught, and her time with them wasn't pretty. In a way, it reminded him of C.C. for all the wrong reasons. It also helped give much more context as to why she was so against trusting their Vestal comrades for the longest time, and by her admission, wasn't their biggest fan.

Returning to the others, they didn't reveal much, but Elfin did make her request to divert their trip to Beta City. Ace wasn't happy about it, more so because they refused to explain how they knew to check some island no one's been to, but Mira was on their side, and Baron as well.

"Has the weather cleared up yet?" Zero inquired as he entered the bridge, finding the rest present. Outside, their mobile base transversed through the vast ocean waters, not a speck of land in sight…or at least, they could say such if they weren't sailing through a terrible storm. The skies were darkened by pitch-black clouds, and the wind howled as waves so tall they passed over their heads kept battering at them.

If they were a typical seafaring vessel, Zero would worry that such a maelstrom would send them to the bottom. Still, being as airtight as a submarine, they only needed to worry about the incessant rocking and winds, which one could hear even from within the depths of the ship. It's good that they kept a ready stock of seasickness in case anyone needed it.

Baron shook his head, sitting at the helm of the mobile base. “No, it’s as bad as it was this morning, maybe worse.”

"It's been like this since we left Alpha. I don't get it. Why is the weather so treacherous?" Ace asked. They had departed Alpha around a week ago, and at first, the weather had been great, so much so that they could stop and rest or just have dinner outside. They hadn't stepped out since, not if they wanted to stay dry.

"Perhaps it's another consequence of the Bakugan’s plight,” Zero suggested, recalling what he had seen before he found Elfin. “With all the attributes unable to live as they typically would, it must be having adverse effects on the environment.”

Mira frowned but didn't discount his suggestion. She did have doubts about it. "We considered that, the same as the forecasts, but there was nothing about morning drizzle, never mind three days of thunderstorms." As she spoke, a streak of lightning danced through the sky, striking the waters off in the distance.

"Either way, we can't approach Beta like this; it'll be too dangerous to try and sneak in with the seas this angry." Ace glared at nothing, as with their efforts in Alpha, they knew that the Vexos would be expecting them. Trying to sneak in during the night was obvious, but even if they tried a daytime approach, they risked being spotted.

"It's a good thing we're not heading for Beta. The island should be a good place to park and ride things out." Elfin, despite the terrible weather, was in high spirits.

“Provided it's not just a tiny piece of sand and a palm tree or something," Ace grumbled.

"I've looked over the maps, and it's not on it, so I can't say for certain," Percival added, as they could look up at the map of the area overhead, one which stretched out 500km in either direction. And according to it, there wasn’t a landmass in sight.

Mira spoke up lieu of Elfin. "It couldn't be avoided. We weren't that interested in completely mapping out New Vestroia when we first arrived, which is part of why it's easy for us to hide from the Vexos.”

“Hey guys, look on the bright side, if this spot does exist and is big, it’ll be a cool little hide-out for us. Maybe we can even pick up some fruit while there. I could really go for a mango.” Baron cheered.

“We have mango juice, Baron.” Ace reminded their youngest member.

“Yeah, but I want a fresh mango.” At Baron’s retort, Zero couldn’t keep the chuckle to himself.

“Something funny?” Wilda asked, coming off more curious than judgmental to their masked member.

"Not at all, what I'm witnessing is the height of seriousness. If we lack fresh mangos, how will we procure tropical drinks and desserts?" Zero joked, Baron defending himself as just wanting some fresh fruit. Having had his laugh, Zero got into business mode. “But to really be serious, with the weather as it is, would we be able to reach our destination by nightfall?”

Mira held her chin in thought, her gaze moving to the maps again, showing nothing, but she couldn't discount them as absolute. Zooming the map to around what Zero could see was around 2000km, they could now see Beta City, near the edge of their map, to the southwest of them.

“Well, the directions you gave us weren’t that direct, but if we work with Beta as our starting point…no, at best, we’ll arrive around tomorrow afternoon, but we’ll need to dive for a bit later as the weather radar’s picking up a rough patch up ahead.” She replied, and the rest looked towards the weather radar, which showed them that despite the heavy storm around them, they weren't in the bad part yet. Out the window, they could almost see the spot in the distance, which seemed like it was a furious void of lightning and wind.

"Well, then I shall prepare something warm to drink." Zero turned to leave, but Mira stopped him.

"I'll just join you. You have too many secrets, Zero, but it's time I figured out how you mastered cooking," she joked as she moved to follow him out. Zero, amused by this, shot back.

"You're welcome to assist; I don't think I'll go easy on you. You might be the superior brawler, but the kitchen is my domain." He remarked, but Mira wouldn't be so easily dissuaded, so she just replied that she'd handle this. With the door closing, it left just the two brawlers and their Bakugan.

“Didn’t he kick us out when he cooks?” Percival asked, recalling such an occurrence not too long ago.

"Why does Mira get special treatment?" Baron asked, to which Ace laughed as he went and sat down, kicking his feet up as Baron got them ready to dive, as no way they would sail through that hellspot.

"Special? I feel bad for her. Zero's too demanding a perfectionist when it comes to cooking. She'll throw in the towel in 20 minutes, tops," he replied.

Line Break

Back on Earth, in a location whose existence was not recorded in maps or official records, sat the Geass Order's latest base. More accurately, it slept within the bowls of the Earth, buried so deep that one could walk above ground, fight a battle, and even excavate up to 30 meters down and still not find much of a hint of the location being anything special.

The order's base was constructed using both machine and slave labour, and once completed, the former was disposed of. The order's base sat in a large hollowed cavern. Buildings dotted the area, appearing almost like an underground city, no different from many that existed aboveground. It had roads, a subway, parks, and other recreational spots. But what made it different was the several labs that worked around the clock researching geass and its secrets.

Along with that were training grounds and buildings so that V.V. could ensure that those he gave power to would be prepped before their first missions, and for those who returned, it served as good places to ensure they got any additional instruction should a new assignment require it. The people didn't wear clothing like regular people, for they weren't normal. If they belonged to V.V., they were his servants, his weapons, his slaves-all in service of his dream…

He believed he shared the dream with his dearest younger brother, Charles. But now he knew he couldn't trust him. Marriane's claws had dug too deep, and despite his move to handle things years prior, like the parasite he knew she was, she survived.

'I would have never guessed it would be the Knight of 6, of course, that the witch would return to her former title. Hiding in plain sight…like mother, like son.' V.V. sat on his throne, the room vacant bar him as he stewed in his thoughts, his lips twisting into a frown.

His partner... No, for now, his master, Naga, hadn't backed down from his end of the deal. And as V.V. carried out his bidding since he departed Pendragon, he had explained what he knew. He had no idea that geass could work in such a fashion, nor that he had missed a child witness to Marriane's 'death', but it was mute now.

'I should have known, through C's World, Charles could have spoken to Clovis and discovered who killed him...I can't rely on him, I can't rely on anyone. Not now, not when we're so close.' V.V. drummed his small fingers on the armrest of his throne. As he couldn't have fathomed that Charles would risk their plans by allowing Lelouch so much freedom, if it was just to keep tabs on C.C., they could have moved to recapture her and stomped out this petty rebellion, but they didn't…Charles never requested it; he didn't suggest it when they discussed Zero.

 He struggled to understand what was different about this one nephew compared to the rest his brother had sired? Charles didn't care for any of his children; V.V. was sure he saw them as means to an end, as merely the byproduct of the political marriages he was expected to have as emperor. As tools whose competition, distrust, and egos kept attention off Charles and prevented anyone from realising something they shouldn't.

"Of course he would favour Lelouch…he's Marriane's son." V.V.'s face twisted into something ugly. As it always went back to that, didn't it? To that woman who came in and ruined everything, who couldn't even just accept fate and die, but lived on as a leech!

He couldn't even move on Nunnally to try to force a response. Charles would surely realize something when Nunnally was no threat and of no use when they couldn't locate her brother…at least Charles couldn't, but V.V. knew where he was.

"Director V.V." His eyes shot open, and his advisors, in dark uniforms and shrouds covering their faces, couldn't hide their fear from seeing such fury in their master's gaze. Instead, they bowed. "We've acquired the last of the equipment. Our technicians should have it ready by tonight.”

"Good, were there any complications?" V.V. asked, as this was a rushed job, but they had to leave no trail. Once he finished, he didn't care if Charles figured it out; it would be too late.

"None. We ensured that our contacts within Pendragon erased whatever trace could link back to us, but I'm still confused as to why we can't inform His Majesty—" V.V. cut the man off.

“Did I ask for your thoughts?” He asked, and despite his child-like body, they could all feel the anger boiling within the immortal and realised just how much danger they were in.

“N-no, director.” The one who had spoken bowed his head lower, hoping to appease their master.

“Then why did you give them when all I asked was for you to do as you’re told?” V.V. asked, giving no such mercy to the man who dared to question his orders. Perhaps if things were different, he would have shown mercy; he might not have snapped.

But things weren't different. He couldn't trust his brother to stand by him, so why would he trust these fools? No, they needed to be reminded that what he expected from them was obedience, absolute and unending. If they couldn't handle that-

The poor man looked to the rest, but not a single one spoke in his defense, leaving him to drown. “Well I….I…”

V.V. pointed to another, not knowing his name, ordering him: "You there, take him to be punished. A week should remind him why I don't ask for your opinion." The man being punished paled as he knew they all knew what it entailed and how no one would hear his screams.

“A-at once, director!” Not to join him, the second man grabbed him and started dragging him off to deliver him to the disciplinary unit.

With that done, V.V. was down to just 2 of his aides, both terrified of his wrath, to do something as stupid as question him. “Ensure that everything goes as I ordered it. I do not want distractions or delays, understood?” Both were quick to nod their heads and bow. “You’re dismissed.”

Watching them scurry out like terrified rats, V.V. could relax, at least a little, as this was just the first part. Naga would have more to demand of him; he expected the immortal to deliver on more. V.V. didn't care that he was just some monster's pawn, or that he couldn't be sure that Naga wouldn’t betray him when he got what he wanted. Because he was getting something out of this as well.

Pressing a button on his armrest, the massive TV screen mounted above him angled to give him the best picture, activated. It wasn't showing a live feed, but instead, it showcased two pictures. The first was a picture of Zero from his debut saving Kururugi. The one next to it was a picture taken from the Ashford Student Council photo album, one which he had already focused on its 'missing' VP.

'I know where you are, Lelouch, and when I find you….I'll enjoy tearing you apart and presenting your heart to your parasite of a mother.’ V.V. promised. Once he did that, it would perhaps be enough to free his brother from this and allow him to see reason. And if not…

Well, he would manage without his brother’s input.

Line Break

As V.V. plotted, Kallen walked into Rakshata’s lab within the Black Knight's submarine, being the first to follow, followed by the rest of the command staff and core members. “Rakshata, you said you have something for us?” She asked, having rushed over when she heard the communication from their scientist about a potential breakthrough she’s had.

"Something is right, while you all kept the Black Knights together and searched for the dearly missed masked leader one way." Kallen could never tell if Rakshata was trying to insult Zero or just treating him as she did everyone else. Either way, she wouldn't interrupt the woman as she spoke. “I was studying the Gawain that Kallen brought with her.”

Asahina frowned. “Not to be that guy, but I doubt we need weapons right now.” Of course, Kallen suspected he meant the opposite, as he had never been big on Zero. Of course, he hadn't been so foolish as to voice such sentiments in recent weeks, but she wouldn't be surprised if he was the first to suggest they call off the search and elect Tohdhoh as their next leader.

It helped that Kyoto, thanks to her video footage, was on her side when it came to withholding any permanent change in leadership. Even if it was mainly Kirihara and another member, Sumeragi

Rakshata waved her hand at Asahina’s statement. "I finished looking into its float unit, druid system, and hadron cannons. No, I was interested in something else. According to Kallen and the footage captured by the stolen knightmare, this wasn't so much a tear in space as it was an opening."

“What’s the difference?” Tamaki asked, and for once, his question wasn't dumb. Rakshata, having been absorbed into this entire thing, was more than happy to explain it, some glee entering her otherwise relaxed tone.

"Think of space as a body, like yours or mine. A tear is like a wound; it's not meant to be there, is caused by injury, and often bleeds or even leads to organs spilling out if it's big enough. Same thing with a rip in space, such a thing would have undoubtedly been more…destructive than what Kallen witnessed." Kallen shivered at the idea, as she had seen sci-fi growing up. For all she knew, that could have been a black hole that sucked up the entire island, if not worse.

Tohdoh crossed his arms. "But an opening would be like the nose or the mouth?" he asked, to which their scientist nodded. Picking up a tablet and unlocking it, which was linked to the larger screen on the wall, she presented some of her findings, which…Kallen couldn't make heads or tails of it, and she could see she wasn't alone.

“Correct. I still don’t quite know all the details,” Rakshata thankfully, changed it to show a simplified version of what was previously on screen. One showcased the portal, some notes and chemical formula, and dome other details like the Gawain and Kallen's presence, their positions when it all went down, and possible theories on the nature of the dragon which came through.

"But it's safe to say that the ruins serve as a sort of gateway that was somehow activated that day. That isn't the only thing I've been interested in, as much as you track in dirt when you come home from work, such an opening leaves clues of what lies on the other side."

Nagisa thought she was following along with the logic here, and it was pretty smart, but there was an issue with it. Something which reminded her of her days as a soldier before Japan fell. “I didn’t see anything off when Kozuki returned, and I’m sure she would have reported anything amiss as well.” If something was from another world, surely it wouldn't have just…done nothing, right? A portal through space would probably be like actual outer space, which she heard was a cold, radioactive hell. Yet, Kozuki's health wasn't negatively impacted.

Rakshata shrugged, but the smile remained as she explained how she might have cracked the means of interdimensional travel, being the first human to do it. "Maybe she did, maybe she didn't. Who could say when matters are this far into uncharted territory? Besides, it's a moot point as she's severed several times since."

Yes, that would make any real contaminant tests difficult, but wait-Kallen realized what Rakshata was building up to. “But the Gawain hasn’t moved since I got it back!”

The scientist smiled wider at that, pointing to a portion of the Gawain set aside. "Without realizing it, she brought back a vital piece of evidence I've been looking into for the past week. And after a thorough examination, I could find trace amounts of elements which exist on Earth but in small quantities." She shifted the screens to show the element under an electron microscope and other details.

“How little are we talking here?” Sugiyama asked, noting that they only had the image taken under the electron microscope and not on a petri dish next to something familiar for scale.

“Enough that the 3 grams worth I managed to locate is the same as mining around 123 tons of platinum.” That silenced the man, same as the rest, as Kallen wouldn't say she was an expert, but she distinctly recalled learning in school how platinum was insanely rare, more so than Gold. For Rakshata to make such a claim…"That rarity also tells us much about where our leader ended up."

“What, that it’s alien? We already knew that thanks to the talking dragon with plant powers.” To this, Ohgi grabbed onto Tamaki before he could ask or say something stupid.

“No, you simpleton,” C.C. hid her smile at how nonchalantly Rakshata roasted the short-tempered redhead. "What it tells us is that this element is hundreds, if not thousands, of times more common in this world; it would have to be for this much to just get sucked through a portal between worlds." That was good information; she felt she knew how Rakshata planned to use it.

"Okay, so we have a little more info on the location. How can we use that?" Urabe inquired as Rakshata pulled out a large, chunky-looking device. The metallic box looked like it had come out 30 years prior, with a mix and match of buttons, dials, a touchscreen, and a regular screen. Sticking out of the top was an antenna half a meter long, with several rings around its length.

“With this, it's a detector geared towards tracking this element, which I'm coining Naagvatra. With this, once C.C. or anyone really enters through the gate, they'll have an easier time tracing what path Zero used. It also has transmitters, which will help us map the route on this side." Rakshata told them, which, for the first time in over a month, sparked something in them other than desperation, stubbornness, or anger.

Hope.

"We have a chance?" Kallen asked, as this…this was a game changer. With this, C.C. wouldn't need to look around aimlessly; they could find their leader again!

"You had this tested?" Minami asked, happy about this like the rest, but not so eager that he'd leap before they looked. That's partly why they were in this mess to begin with.

"Several times. Last we docked, I had even had it moved to one of our safe houses, and it managed to lead our agent all the way back." Rakshata informed them, which, considering they had docked only two days before, meant that it was a relatively recent test. Still, it was a hard sell for some.

“Still, that doesn’t tell us how well it’ll work through an opening in space and time." Ohgi had been a teacher, but not a science teacher. Even then, he knew enough about the scientific process to know that a test needed to be similar to the conditions under which you expected something to work. Much like how you couldn't advertise a phone as waterproof if all you did was slash it with a few drops.

"It's the best I can give you with what I have," Rakshata told him. Unless he could pull a faux dimensional space out of his ass, which she could use for testing, this was what she could deliver with the few resources and time she had been given.

"No, it's plenty." Kallen approached and caught the woman, and the rest by surprise when she hugged her, nearly crushed her, really, as she buried her face in her shoulder. Rakshata nearly broke the hug, but feeling how much Kallen was shaking, the girl tried her best to be strong when the rest watched, but she struggled when filled with such relief.

When she pulled back, Rakshata pretended she didn't see the tears as Kallen quickly wiped them away. "Thanks, Rakshata, I don't know how, but you worked a miracle with this."

Her eager smile shifted, growing smaller but more sincere and open as she patted Kallen's shoulder. "I'll leave the acts of miracles to you, Tohdoh and Zero. I prefer working with things that can be scientifically explained."

Line Break

“Is everything ready?” With night falling, there was little difference deep underground, but V. V. knew what his clocks all said, and thus, he had been pleased when he returned to his throne room, finding his throne's large screen removed. In its place was a variety of equipment, including four massive generators, each almost as large as the ones that powered sections of the facility.  

One of his researchers turned to him and bowed. “Yes, director. All has been set up according to your wishes.”

“Should I make myself ready, director?” On V.V.'s side was his pick for this job in Naga. A teenage girl with light blue eyes and long pink hair. At least, she looked like a teen. Still, her demeanor was closer to an automaton, a well-drilled soldier and assassin whose record was one of the best in the order. She had no last name, as was standard, but V.V. knew he could count as Clara for this.

"No, not yet. I want to see this tested before I waste an asset." Because she was skilled, he wasn't about to just throw her without proof that this would work. Turning to one of the guards, he gave an order. “Bring us something roughly her size.”

“At once.” The woman left and returned a few minutes later with a small barrel that seemed to be empty. “Would this do?”

“It will suffice,” V.V. replied as the guard walked forward, setting the dummy target in place before moving out of the way. As things kicked off, blast shields activated, and the four Sutherlands acted as additional security, targeting the Thought Elevator in case something came through.

“Powering up generators.”

“Relays activating.”

“Power flow stable.”

“No instability detected.”

V.V. listened to all of it, from the starting hum as the massive generators powered up, sending power down the lines connecting them to the Thought Elevator, to the many sensors around it. All seemed to be going well. “Opening gateway in 3…2…1”

As the scientist pressed the button, the door's geass symbol lit up. V.V.'s mark of immortality glowed to match it, Clara feeling her geass activate without her command, feeling…stronger, in her veins, as if the power her director had blessed her with was being supercharged by this.

For V.V., he felt a slight pinch as whatever they were doing was interacting with C's World and his code in ways that weren't natural. That pinch only grew worse as more power was fed into the system, and the doors retreated further, exposing more of the light beyond.

Line Break

This wasn't an isolated incident, as those connected to geass across the world felt it was the same for form. For C.C., she had been resting in her…in her shared space with Zero, dozing after snacking on a couple of pizzas, when her code lit up and snapped her awake.

Rising, she frowned and then grimaced as it felt like someone was pouring acid on her forehead and into her veins. ‘What was…V.V. What are you doing?’ She rose to her feet, already turning to go and find Kallen and get her and the rest to speed things up. They needed to get back to Kamine Island, and they needed to do it quick.

Charles, who was just rising from his slumber, also felt the oddity. Despite his age and the early morning hour, the man was roused to alertness as he started to think what this could be. It was nothing like when he would be in C's world and feel a contract being forged. No…no, this was something else.

Marriane, who was currently napping in Anya's body, nearly panicked when her geass went active. Still, with no body-her true body, it was like being thrown into a bath of hot water. She found it a challenge to keep her control over Anya, as if something was trying to rip her soul out of her.

In Europe, a certain commander was going through reports of another batch of casualties, bar one-a soldier who seemed to resist death as much as politicians resisted the truth, when she dropped her pen, feeling her eye start to itch, and then burn. Whimpering in pain and confusion, she tried to stand, only to collapse. Unknown to her, a bright blue within her left eye was glowing.

It wasn't just on Earth, but through the void and into another world, as within the space where the two cores of New Vestroia lay. Wavern felt a spike of energy, then a pulse, all coming from a single direction. "What is this force, and why is it…no." It was coming from Earth, and it was trying to break its way into the world, but…this was so forceful, so demanding…so much like her brother's approach to things.

Zero had been asleep in his room when fire seemed to burst into being within his geass, the man waking up in a pained, cold sweat, falling out of his bed. This pain…it was almost the same as it was that day on Kamine island.

“What…is..this..?” He growled, glaring through he pain as he banged his fangs at he darkness. This wasn’t Wavern, and this didn't make him feel content or safe. It was supercharging his fear and rage- it was the opposite of her in every way. Wait…her opposite…someone who could interact with his geass…it couldn't be…was this…

In the same space as his sister, unable to interact with her, Naga only sighed in annoyance. He felt the energy, too, but he knew that V.V. had failed, that all he had done was crack it instead of smash it as he had told him. “Not…enough, that damned child couldn’t even get it right the first time despite my clear instruction. But I didn’t expect much from a human, immortal or no.”

Line Break

It did create a crack, one that seemed to form over the night scars of New Vestroia. As if the skies were made from glass, a portion shattered. That portion of broken sky was instantly transformed into smaller dark pink shards numbering in the tens of millions.

Spectra, who had been awake at this late hour, handling some tasks, was one of the first to notice as he looked out the window of the vestal destroyer and saw this happening.

His curiosity piqued, he disregarded the crew's concern and ventured out onto the deck, where he wasn't hurt by the rain of shards. Raising a hand, he could catch one, and once in his grasp, the pink glow seemed to fade to reveal something odd. “A gate card…?” He asked, looking over the card, which didn't look like any he had seen. It was faded black with a white pentagram pattern. At its core was a dark pink, almost red symbol he had never seen before, almost…like a bird in flight?

“No, this is different and yet…” This was peculiar. Most peculiar indeed.

“Master Spectra?” Gus was out, most likely having been awoken and told of the situation. Spectre would need to praise his right-hand man, as despite the late hour and how Gus preferred to rest early, he looked unfazed by all this, and his clothing was in place.

“Gus, do you by chance recognise these cards?” Still, he focused on the issue as the pink shards continued to rain around them, more than enough landing on the ship, which Gus could pick up and inspect.

“No, they’re nothing like any cards I’ve ever seen. But, they are surely Bakugan cards, right?” Gus asked, as what else could this be?

That was what Spectra wished to find out. He didn't know why…but this called to him similarly to what he felt when he had watched Zero's victory over Shalta. "I do not know. They feel like it, yet they don't…let's discuss this with the professor. I'm sure he could give us a more satisfying answer."

Line Break

And with another 2 weeks passed, we have another chapter! Those last two chapters were fun little…well, they weren't side-quests, but they did help with flushing things out back on Earth. I had wished to give Ashford some screen time, but I decided against it. Maybe Shirley would take Lelouch vanishing at the same time as Zero's last reported sighting as proof that they're one and the same, but the rest? Well, it'll just be how sad they are, which isn't nothing, a dear friend just dropped off the face of the Earth, but for the sake of the story, it never was shown.

I also handled this with a little more peace of mind, as I don't have anything to post tomorrow, so I could spend a couple more hours working on this than I otherwise would have. For those who know Bakugan, you probably already think you know what's gonna happen now. Still, as you must have seen from previous chapters, several changes have occurred. Some of them will have an impact with this chapter. I won't say what, but you'll catch on pretty quickly.

Line Break

…I wanted to add more, I really did, but I noticed my word count and realised I just didn't have the space. And to think, all this was based on the one episode of Bakugan where Runo and Julie tried to go to New Vestroia, but with so many actors and so much interconnected and happening, I just couldn't get to the real juicy bit, something of a departure from the source material, as I really explore this story.