Chapter 14: Stage One – Getting on the Same Page

The day of the Bakugan tournament had arrived, and as always with New Vestroia's most popular sport, the stadium was sold out. Tens of thousands of eager and excited fans cheered, while millions more watched the event from wherever they could.

“Welcome, brawlers, to today's Bakugan Battle Tournament! We're counting the seconds until the first throw; who's ready to beat the heat, and who will be smacked down in cold defeat?” One of the two commentators hyped up the crowd as the two pillars made their way onto the field. Atop each were the two teams that would be battling.

“Go, Pyrus Verias!” On one side, a pyrus-focused brawler sent his Bakugan onto the field, allowing the ape-like Bakugan to take their true form, twirling around their staff, ready for battle. The brawler pulled out an ability card to increase their chances of victory.  “Ability activate! Verias Siba!” With that ability, Verias' staff's ends lit up into roaring flames, and when he twirled it, it created a fire wheel, which he threw towards their opponents.

“Ability Activate! Darkus Driver!” A disguised Ace easily countered as Percival flew upwards before diving into the incoming attack. He spun his body so fast that he became a living drill, which smashed through the fire wheel and kept going. He scored a direct hit on Verias, defeating the Bakugan, who let out a pained yelp as it reverted to its ball form.

“Bakugan, braw!” The battle partner of the Pyrus brawler wasn’t about to let them stand and threw his Bakugan into the field. “Subterra Flybeetle, stand!” With that, a large insectoid like Bakugan appeared, its back opening up to allow its wings to pop out, allowing the creature to take to the air.

"As if we need an ability card for this. Elfin?" Nellis asked as her Bakugan, already on the field, jumped up to where Flybeetle was hovering.

“Sorry about this, but we’re taking this victory!” She winked at the Bakugan as she punched it, the small power difference enough to send it tumbling down. At the same time, Elfrin landed without issue and flashed the crowd a peace sign.

“Hey, no fair!” The Pyrus brawler yelled at them.

“Too bad, but that's how the Bakugan rolls; these mysterious packs a serious punch! They're the team on everyone's lips, the Bakugan Brawlers!” The second commentator called out as it looked like this would be another victory for this up-and-coming team.

Line Break

As the match continued, Mira and Ace sat among the crowd, having managed to get in without detection. Those around them were surprised by the skills of their disguised teammates, especially since they had never used those appearances in tournaments before, but in the end, just about all of them thought they wouldn't last against their champions.

"Doesn't look like they're having any trouble," Mira noted.

"I thought that this would be a lot harder after we got out of Professor Clay's lab," Baron stated, shivering when he recalled how creepy it was to see a mechanical Bakugan and for said Bakugan to malfunction like that and nearly bring the place down on their heads.

Mira tried not to think about her father’s hand in that mess. "We've been careful to make sure they weren't following us. Besides, they have no reason to think we'll be here." They might know that Zero stole some files. Still, they couldn't know they were here for the dimensional controller or would participate in the tournament.

“It helps that Zero’s disguise is a pretty convincing one. And Elfin hasn’t been seen often either.” Wilda added that Nellis was still in disguise, but while Ace was wearing a masquerade-like mask, she had gone with a simple cloth covering the lower part of her face.

Baron found that a little funny but was upset that Nellis and Ace were the ones who got to fight. "I still wish I was chosen to be on the battle team; I could show how much I've learned from our training."

Nemus reminded him they weren't just sitting to the side and letting others handle things. "Our part in this is just as important, Baron. And we'll soon be heading out, as with this much power being generated now when the battles really kick-off," Baron looked up towards the ceiling, some as Mira and Wilda, while most wouldn't even notice. They did.

The arena harvested the energy generated from this match and sent it upwards toward its target, “The dimensional controller.”

Line Break

Earlier, after they had escaped from Professor Clay’s lab, the brawlers had been sure to put as much distance between them and the area as possible. Luckily, most were more focused on the stray blast from Altair, which the authorities had to handle.

“So our plans remain the same?” Mira asked as the group sat around a rooftop, trusting that while she was occupied, they had done some good recon.

Nellis nodded. "Yes, one team's going to participate in the tournament to ensure battles last as long as possible, which will generate a substantial amount of energy."

"Meanwhile, the second team's gonna sneak in and create a feedback look so the energy can't be transferred to the dimensional controller, overloading the system.” Ace picked up from there.

“Causing the controller to implode, putting us one step closer to freeing the Bakugan.” Mira nodded, as she had no issues with that. It would certainly be easier than trying to sabotage the system, as something like that was bound to have fail-safes.

"To decide who will do what, we'll draw lots." She pulled out four lines of paper, each with a different number on it. The odd numbers will be on the controller team, and the even numbers will be on the battle team.

When Nellis drew hers, she frowned when she spotted the 6 clearly written on it. "Of course, being on the battle team would be my luck."

“What’s the matter, scared?” Holding a slip of paper with the number 8 on it, Ace asked.

Nellis hardly cared for his taunt. "More like I feel I'm miscast. I could be of greater use sneaking around the facility, not out front and center." She waved the paper, seeing little value in it, which only got on Baron's nerves as he gripped at his slip, which read 7.

“Baron, are you okay?” Nemus asked him.

“I’m fine, just fine, Nemus.” Baron might have said that, but he was close to tearing up at the lost chance to battle and seeing Nellis treat it like it wasn't the cooler part of the mission.

Line Break

Back in the present, Baron had gotten over his disappointment. Still, there might be another reason he might have been a better pick. "I know I lost the draw fair and square, but those two don't seem to have the best chemistry."

“Well, they’re both…assertive personalities.” Nemus agreed as they watched their comrades go through another match.

“Ability Activate! Darkus Driver!” At Ace’s call, Percival took to the air once more, ready to end this fight.

“Like that’ll stop me when I got Anti-Darkus ability.” His opponent pulled out a counter card, having learned from what he had seen earlier.

“Gate card, open! Positive Delta!” Nellis commanded, taking advantage of the fact that their Subterra opponent was already defeated.

“No!” Freezer's power suffered as it dropped by 200Gs, leaving them vulnerable.

With a 250 G advantage, Elfin made her move, landing an uppercut that knocked the Freezer right out of the match. “And pop goes the weasel!”

However, that meant that when Percival came in, he missed his target, and his ability effectively canceled without a target, causing him to have an awkward landing on his back. “What-!”

“Percival! You did that on purpose!” Ace turned in anger towards his teammate, who spared him a glance before focusing on the battle.

“If he had activated that ability, you would have landed face-first in the dirt at his mercy; I prevented half of that, " Nellis said, which only made Ace angrier.

“Why you-!” Ace growled at him before he took the chance to throw a gate card down, followed by sending Percival back out, with Nellis quick to follow with Elfin.

“Bakugan, brawl! Pyrus Jelldon!” Their opponents, whose names Nellis didn't bother to remember, were on their last legs, their life points well below a third.

“We’re not done yet, Bakugan, brawl! Subterra Rafflesian, stand!” The second one seemed to understand that and was determined to ensure that they would be the ones to advance.

“Go!” Both called out as their Bakugan obeyed without hesitation.

“Ability activate! Tri-Gunner!” Ace called out as Percival started charging up the attack, first from the lizard skulls he had on his arms and then building up a blast in his mouth before he brought them together; all the while, as he targeted Jelldon, his power level rose by 300Gs

“Ability activate! Blue Shield!” Nellis slotted in an ability of her own, causing a coating of Aquos energy to coat Elfin. The Bakugan giggled with anticipation as she felt faster, tougher, and so much stronger, a face reflected in her power level, which increased by 200.

With her sights on Rafflesian, it was a forgone conclusion how things would end. She pulled a double-finger gun and fired off two giant bubbles towards Rafflesian at the same time that Percival's shot hit its mark, defeating both Bakugan and dropping their opponent's life points to 0.

“Once again, the battle goes to the Bakugan Brawlers, who move on to the next round!” the commentators called out to the audience's cheers, though with the victors, they weren't in a celebratory mood.

“Things would have gone faster if you stayed out of my way, get the hint?” Ace asked as Nellis turned to walk off.

“In case you’ve forgotten, this is a team match-up, so stop wasting time with ego boasting.” She reminded him, to which the boy snapped back, saying she should say that to his face, but she felt otherwise. “Let’s go, we have other things to do.”

“Those two…” Mira worried that someone would happen. She didn't need to hear them to know they weren't getting along all that well.

"Ace hasn't really a big fan of Nellis, and Nellis is…well, Nellis," Baron added, hoping that the two older brawlers wouldn't let whatever issues they had ruined the mission by losing…at least, he thought Nellis was older, she-he-whoever they were seemed to act older.

"Even their fighting styles are different, but for the most part, they seem able to stay on the same page." Wilda had suspicions about that, but he trusted that the two would be able to get serious. In fact, perhaps this would be a good time for them to get closer as teammates and fellow resistance fighters.

"Maybe, but it's like they're reading at different speeds," Mira stated.

"Looks like they're moving onto the single parts," Baron stated.

Line Break

As the single matches started, the Bakugan Brawlers left the field and reportedly returned to their waiting room. Once there, Ace provided a distraction for Nellis to remove her mask and quietly leave, but not before she entered the women's restroom and locked one of the stall doors. Ace would act as her cover to sell the illusion that she was just using the restroom during the break.

For Nellis sneaking through the stadium halls, she was unimpressed with how lax security was. Aside from the guards, she didn't need to worry about cameras or other sensors. In fact, most doors were left unlocked. She would have gotten paranoid and assumed this was some sort of type, but the Vexos couldn't have planned this. Even knowing they were in the city, they would have no reason to suspect they would come to the arena…right?

"I'm overthinking things. I just need to handle this and get back before someone notices something." She called out as she followed a map of the floor plans in her head, and right where it was supposed to be, she found it: the door that led out into the stands, but it was locked with a guard placed next to it.

“You have an idea for this?” Sirenoid asked him.

“Just watch and enjoy the show,” Nellis whispered as she marched up to the guard, who noticed her immediately. "Hey! Guard, it's a good thing I found you."

“What are you talking about?” the man asked her as she gestured for him to lean close. When he did, she followed suit.

"Listen, I think I saw something suspicious a few hallways back. It seemed to be one of those resistance bunks." She whispered to him, which immediately grabbed his attention. No doubt he had already been told to be on high alert.

"Thank you, mam! I'll handle things from here." The guard ran in the direction she pointed out, and Nellis nodded, seemingly satisfied that she had done the right thing in reporting suspicious behaviour.

“And with him gone, I just need to use a little code and…” She dropped the act and approached the door keypad, putting in a quick series of numbers to unlock it. “Right on time.” She greeted as the door opened to reveal Baron and Mira, the former giving her a high-five.

“We should be saying that. We just got here.” Mira smiled at him as the door closed behind them, and Nellis locked it again.

“Are the matches still going?” She asked as she did so.

"They're just about to wrap up," Baron replied.

"Then I'll get back to it; good luck with the infiltration." With that, she vanished down the hallway, leaving no trace that she was there. Baron and Mira didn't linger either, as Baron had hacked into their systems and acquired the floor plan; he took point as he led Mira toward their goal.

With Nellis, she sent a quick message to Ace that she was returning and to cause a distraction. Quietly opening the door to the waiting area, she spotted him in a heated argument with two girls, the Dark Angels, if she was recalling things right.

Either way, with attention on that, she could enter the women's restroom undisturbed or seen, unlock the stall door, and wash her hands at the sinks before making just a little too much noise when she returned, drawing some eyes to her.

“What took you so long?” One person asked, probably one who was waiting for another stall to open.

"I needed to take something," Nellis replied.

“Are you sick?” Another asked, a little concerned, though Nellis wondered if that worry was self-centered; after all, diseases could spread.

She added some exasperation to her body language, her words tinged with annoyance. "It's nothing serious; it'll pass in a couple weeks, but the doctors insisted that I be regular with my medication. It just takes a while to administer."

It didn’t take much to convince people that she wasn't contagious or a serious health risk, but it took attention off the fact that she had been in the restroom for nearly half their off-time.

“What’s this about a sickness?” Ace asked when she approached his side, the two standing apart from the rest.

“Would you prefer I went with constipation?” Nellis countered, which had him tick his teeth and look away but offer no verbal response. Taking that as a victory, she changed the subject.  “Anyway, the others got in without issue. Anything on your end?”

"Aside from some crying about being knocked out or boasting that they'll win, nothing to say," Ace replied, which had her looking at him and then towards those Dark Angels, who seemed to be glaring at him like he stepped on their dog and roasted their hamster.

"Any outliers we should be wary of?" She asked.

“None worth the effort to talk about?” She raised an eyebrow before sighing under her breath. God, she wished he wasn't just full of himself. Zero had enough experience with would-be hot shots with Tamaki. Ace wasn't useless in a fight, but that might just make it worse, as she can't always be sure if he was confident based on fact or ego.

Regardless, they would need to be ready for the semi-finals.

Line Break

When the single battles ended, the team brawlers were called back to the field, but instead of jumping straight into the action, they were all given prime viewing spots for a special treat for them and the viewing audience.

“Ladies, gentlemen, and brawlers of all ages, we have special superstars today. Spectre and his mighty Vexos. The merciless Mylene, the savage Shadow, the relentless Gus, and the supreme himself, Spectra Phantom!” As the commentator spoke, four columns moved onto the field; on each was the aforementioned Vexos member.

Mylene merely waved to the audience, giving off nothing but arrogance. Shadow crackled and vibrated with his typical insane energy. Gus bowed to the audience like a gentleman while Spectre merely smirked at them as if daring any to challenge him.

Spectre's demeanor, more than the rest, was getting on Ace's nerves as he scoffed at the entire practice of holding the Vexos up as if they were worth such praise.

“What’s so great about Vexos? We’ll show this crowd who’s best.” Ace turned to his teammate, who, after looking over each member of the Vexos, turned her gaze his way.

"You almost sound…jealous of their fame, Ace. You wish to be worshiped like they do?" Nellis smirked when Ace grimaced at the accusation, even with the mask on. She chuckled at his response before she turned to walk away. "We didn't come here for such a thing. Remember that when we took to the field."

Seeing her leave after one-upping him only made the darkus brawler dislike the mysterious member of their resistance even more. “Hmf, Nellis, Zero, Alban…it doesn’t matter, they all think they’re so cool. It’s getting on my nerves.”

Line break

In the inner halls of the arena, Baron and Mira continued to navigate towards their goal. Still, they had been slowed down by the sheer amount of security in the place, forcing detours and for them to hide from time to time to avoid detection. "Man, I hate it when the Vexos show up, even when we avoid them."

“I would have thought more of the guards would still be busy with my father’s lab.” Mira figured it was a long shot, especially as it was explained as an accident that was quickly brought back under control. Still, surely they’ll want more security around it for a few days.

“Hey! What are you two doing here?” Both jumped when they saw two guards to their rear, looking unimpressed to see them this deep into the arena. One of them held out their hand. “Well, explain. This is a restricted area. Show us your ID cards.”

“Well, you see…we kinda-!” Baron tried to think of a good lie but came up empty. Right as the guards seemed ready to act and arrest them, Mira saved both their butts.

She had more pep and cheer than he had ever heard from her. She exploded towards the guards, her face lit up like a billboard. "Oh, please tell the Vexos that their biggest fans are here! I heard from a friend who has a friend that they'll be here, and I just had to meet them! Especially Mylene and Gus. Do you think they'll take a picture with me or sign my jacket? Come on, let's go before they leave!"

Mira, as happy as she could be, eagerly grabbed Baron and dragged him off, singing the Vexos' praises and thinking aloud about all the things she would ask them for and beg to get, which disarmed the two guards.

“Fans, they always get through.” One grunted, shaking his head at the display.

"They need to get a life. If I had people like that chasing me day in and day out, I'd become a shut-in." The other said as they watched the two bumbling idiots for a little bit but turned to carry on with their patrol, making a note to report the sighting when they finished up. Turning a corner, Mira pulled Baron behind some boxes, hiding them from view, and only then did she drop the act.

“Wow, that was incredible. I had no idea you had it in you.” Baron smiled at her as she groaned, glad the others hadn't seen that.

“I've seen it enough times to know how to act like it; now let's go." She just wanted to forget that she had to pretend to like Mylene or Gus of all people, but if it was for the benefit of the Bakugan, she could stomach it.

Fate wouldn't let them leave just yet as a door in view from their hiding spot opened, and a recognizable group walked through.

“Hehehe, did you see the fans go crazy when they introduced me?” Shadow seemed to still be revelling in the praise and adoration from the masses.

Mylene was the opposite as she glared at him for being so happy. “Whatever, we can leave the challengers to Lync and Volt. I’m going back to Beta City.” She didn't spare another second and turned to leave, only for Shadow to jog, catch up, and keep pace with her, invading her personal space with that demented gleam in his eye.

“Maybe I’ll keep you company?” He laughed as he asked, the woman’s brow twitching in annoyance as she knew then when Shadow got like this, nothing could stop him from annoying her, and it was always her in particular.

“Shadow…” Mira and Baron didn't make a sound, letting the two Vexos members walk by, never even noticing them, but the second pair didn't seem to be in a hurry to leave.

“Do you have anything to report?” Gus asked, Mira recognizing that the two guards he spoke with were the same ones who had seen them. This was bad news; if they gave descriptions of them, they could be made by them.

“Nothing unusual,” one of the two replied before thinking about it and adding, “Few of your fans managed to get through security.”

Spectre, who seemed to have decided to let Gus handle things, turned his attention to the conversation at that second bit. “And what fans could have done that?” He would have assumed security would have never let such things through unless...

“Should I check on it?” Gus asked. The leader of the Vexos held Helios between his thumb and pointing finger

; Spectre considered Gus's question as he rolled his Bakugan about before flicking him up and catching him without so much as looking.

"…No, it's most likely nothing." He ultimately decided. Unseen by him or anyone else in the hallway, Mira had seen his move, and while most would have written it off, she didn't.

How could she when she had seen that very same thing done many times but never by Spectre? 'That's exactly what Keith does…' Mira nearly gasped, as that…why would Spectre also have that same habit? And be just as good at doing it as her brother, who did it without thought or effort.

Line Break

Spectre and Gus would eventually leave. Unlike Mylene and Shadow, who used the teleporter to get to Beta City, the leader of the Vexos and his right-hand man used their flagship to leave. But while they were the ones revealed to the audience, they weren't the only Vexos in the city, as Lync was still around, with the inclusion of Volt.

The two were waiting for the semi-finals to wrap up as it would be the match that decided who they'd face at the finals, a fight that Lync thought would be a cakewalk when they got a video call from their leader. “Some of our more…passionate fans have snuck into the arena.”

“So, the entire arena’s full of fans. What’s a few more.” Lync waved off the statement.

“This arena and city are your responsibility. I expect everything will continue as normal under your watch, so it would be best to clean house as these particular fans aren't the type we appreciate.” Spectre emphasized the first part to clarify who would answer for the prince should something unfortunate happen.

When the call cut, Lync hardly cared for the implied threat. “This arena and city are your responsibility." Instead, he repeated what Spectre said mockingly, but Volt's scowl grew as the man thought over what Spectre said.

“He can’t be…” Volt seemed to understand what Spectre was talking about, and then he recalled Lync's report about the lab incident. “Lync, what happened to those resistance brawlers you saw?”

Lync shrugged. “How should I know?”

His response didn’t get an amused or pleased response from his battle partner. “You should because you were present at the professor’s lab, or was that too much to ask of you?” Volt didn’t need to say it for Lync to get that his place amongst the Vexos was being questioned, which put the boy on the defensive.

"Hey, the place was falling apart all around me. I didn't have time to worry about them and save my own skin!" he reminded himself as he waved his hands about before stopping in thought. “Why’d you bring them up?”

Volt grunted, looking away from Lync and out onto the field where the next match was set to start. "If you can't figure it out alone, there's no point in explaining it."

“Hey!”

Line break

With just three days(including today) left in the month, we have the third chapter. Also, for those in that assigned tier, you'll be getting a surprise tomorrow. I won't say what, but you'll know when you see it. But as I've written ahead for Gwrthryfel y Ci Du, I don't need to worry about my Saturday upload, as it's been written and edited already.

With this chapter, there was some back-and-forth about where Nellis should be for this, but I'm satisfied with what I eventually landed on, as I did need to change things to account for the fact that the brawlers would be entering into this with two fewer people on their side. And before I forget, a reminder that the poll is down, and I've already downloaded the results, so if you've tried to vote since, sorry, but they won't count.

Line Break

This was meant to be longer, mainly because I was trying to cover the full episode, but power in my area cut, and knowing my luck, I decided it would be best to finish what had, edit it, and post it as power could only return in the early morning, and I would like to actually be in bed at a reasonable time. The next chapter will make up for that as I'll write one that is at least 6k words.