Lightning Strikes

In the beginning, there were Six. Six guardians to watch over the worlds of Vestroia, Earth, Gundalia, and Neathia to keep the peace between worlds. It had been the good days. Humans and Bakugan alike would find homes on the two different planets, and form bonds like any other found in the universe. Even a few Vestals, Gundalians and Neathians settled on Vestroia. And so, the Six were formed.

For many years, peace and happiness flourished between worlds. Until one day, everything changed. The leader of the Six, the Pyrus Ruler Argo, decided to step down. While he loved the people and Bakugan, he was growing older.. and decided it was his time to leave. The news spread like wildfire through the worlds, and people and Bakugan alike were both shocked that he was finally stepping down from his position after staying for so long. But this news reached Bane, the Darkus Ruler.

Bane had always wanted to rule over the Six... and even more than that. But he had never been able to do that, since Argo had been chosen to rule. So he then sought out Argo, to beg. But Argo would not listen. He knew deep down, that greed and power lurked in Bane’s heart, so he would pass on his rule to his successor, Arathorn. When Bane learned of Argo’s intentions, the darkness in his heart blossomed and grew until it utterly consumed him. And on the day that Arathorn would join the Six, Bane struck. He attacked the Six mercilessly, striking down and killing anyone who dared to stand in his way.

And so Argo watched as the friends he knew and loved were slain before his eyes, along with their Bakugan. Bane stood before him and gloated, calling himself the ruler of the universe. For he and his Darkus Dramon would take over all worlds. Defeated and heartbroken, Argo looked up at Bane and pitied him. His pride would be his downfall. He called Arathorn over to him, and placed a small trinket in his hand.

“Run,” He whispered. “Run and wait until the time is right.”

Arathorn nodded and ran until he reached his Dragonoid, disappearing off into the setting sun. Argo, with the time he had, hurried until he reached the cave to the hatchery. Six different colored eggs lay in the center of the cave, and he sighed in relief. Wasting no time, Argo placed his hand on each egg and muttered a small incantation; feeling his palm pulse with energy as he did it. Once he had uttered his spell over each egg, he stepped away and gave a small prayer into the heavens that his spell would work. For if not, all would be lost...

And that is when Bane appeared. He laughed at Argo, calling him a fool; then sent out a dark bolt of lightning straight into Argo’s chest. And as Argo lay on the floor dying, he looked up at Bane and smiled before letting a ragged breath pass through his lips; finally falling into the void of oblivion. And Bane knew then what Argo had done. Bane tried with all his might to destroy the eggs, but to no avail. They could not be broken. Reluctantly, Bane took the eggs and hid them deep inside his new palace. He would never let those eggs see the light of day.

Twenty long years passed, and the worlds fell into darkness. Old grudges were renewed, and tension between worlds were tight. All of the wild Bakugan were now vicious beasts, and brawling now became matches to the death. Bane waited for the day the eggs would hatch, but it never happened.

One night, a lone figure and his Dragonoid broke into Bane’s palace. And in the dead of night, he stole three of the eggs before disappearing under the cover of darkness. Bane sent out a whole army to try and find the eggs that were taken, but it was no use. The rider and his Bakugan could not be found. And for the first time in a long, long time... Hope was forming.

“Nova, dive!” I yelled.

Nova released a roar and folded his large, leathery wings against his spine as he dove straight down. Right towards Aquilia. The female Dragonoid released a screech and collided head-on with Nova. The two became a tangled mess in the air, and were both collapsing like stones down into the cave floor. And just before they hit, they broke away. Nova glided over to the cave wall and sank his talons into the rocky surface, while Aquilia took refuge on the ground.

“Nice try, Aquilia. That all you got for me?” Nova taunted, and I rolled my eyes.

Aquilia hissed, and the gills alongside her neck flared. “One of these days, I’m going to kill you.”

“Nah,” Nova snorted. “You’d miss me too much.”

Aquilia roared and took back to the air. She looked like a large, blue crystal cutting through the air.

“Nova!” I called, pulling out a card from my pocket. “Fire Tornado, NOW!”

And within an instant, Nova spread his wings and jumped into the air and started spinning as he dove down. What started out as a small spark soon became a blazing, fiery tornado. Aquilia reared up sharply in the air and tried to get away, but Nova crashed back into her, and she too was soon completely enveloped in flames.

Eventually, the flames died and Aquilia fell to the ground with a loud thud. She shook her head and staggered to her feet, snapping her jaws shut as her tail lashed angrily behind her. Dark burn marks were stained on her beautiful blue scales.

“Are you alright, Aquilia?” A voice called.

“Yes...”

“Excellent. Use Heavy Deluge!”

Suddenly, the air in the cave became very humid, and small droplets of water formed on my skin. My eyes widened when I suddenly realized what was about to happen. “Nova!!” I screamed. “Get out of there!”

At first nothing happened, but then large bodies of water suddenly formed in the air above Nova. My heart leapt into my throat as I rubbed my sweaty palms onto my pants. And then they all fell. One by one, on top of Nova; pounding him mercilessly. Nova tried his best to stay up, but he couldn’t. He hit the ground hard, and I winced when he did. The water just kept pounding down on him... I didn’t know if it would ever stop.

Nova was struggling to catch a breath of air, and with every attempt he made to get to his feet, he would just be slammed back down against the rocks.

“Stop!” I yelled. “He’s done-- can’t you see he’s done?!”

And after that, the water stopped. Aquilia sat back on her haunches and lifted her head with pride, a deep grumble erupting from her chest. A boy, around the age of 18 walked over near Aquilia and gently patted her side. He had the body of a swimmer; lean and tall, with shaggy black hair and sea-blue eyes.

“Well.. I can’t say that was exciting,” He said smugly, a smirk on his lips as he began walking towards me.

Heat surged into my cheeks, and anger boiled in my blood. Nova lay not too far from me, panting hard and shuddering every now and then. He didn’t have to do that to Nova…

“What the hell, Hunter?” I yelled as I marched up to him, trying to resist the urge to slap him.

“You wanted a battle, so I brought the party.”

“You call THIS--” I pointed over to Nova lying against the ground “--a party?!?”

Hunter folded his arms across his chest, looking down at me with an unamused expression. “You wanted our best.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t mean for you to keep pounding on Nova! I swear, ever since you hit puberty you’ve become a jerk.”

“And you’ve become overly emotional and annoying,” he spat. “You honestly think when we get out of here… that everyone else is going to take it easy on him? He’s got to learn to defend himself, Max, and you need to help him do that. You’re not always going to win. Out there, brawlers and Bakugan alike would want to rip him apart.”

I clenched my fist at my side and bit my tongue. As much as I hated to admit it, he was right.

“Still... this is training… you didn’t have to go so hard.”

Hunter merely snorted, turned on his heel, and strutted back over to Aquilia. She lowered her tail and wrapped it around Hunter gently, placing him on top of her head before opening her turquoise colored wings and flying into the air; disappearing into a dark tunnel.

A frustrated sigh escaped my lips, and I walked over to where Nova was laying. He had now pushed himself up onto his stomach and folded his wings back against his sides. He blinked a lazy emerald eye at me sadly.

“Forgive me for being so weak, Max,” he said, nudging his large nose into me.

Warmth blossomed in my chest and I gently stroked his snout, resting my forehead against his scaly skin. “It’s not your fault, Nova,” I whispered. “We’re just not strong enough yet…”

I pulled away and I noticed my hand was glowing. My eyes narrowed and I sighed. My birthmark of the Pyrus symbol that was on the top of my hand. It was the size of a small ball, and was blood-red in color with white markings in the middle to form the Pyrus symbol. Around it, were black lines that stretched out all over my right hand. Hunter and Josh had a birthmark too, except theirs were different. They both had the black lines, but theirs were the color of their attributes: blue for Aquos and brown for Sub-Terra.

“This is the third time this week...” I muttered.

“You should really ask Valdir about that,” Nova replied, pulling away from me. He yawned, showing off his large white teeth and then stretched out like an oversized cat.

Shaking my head, I crawled onto his foot and held onto his leg as he raised it and lowered his head to allow me on. I crawled on and linked an arm around one of his golden horns. He grumbled and unfolded his wings, pouncing into the air and gliding through it like a pro. He circled the cave a few more times before diving through the tunnel that Hunter and Aquilia had gone through.

My heart seemed to stop when the darkness seemed to swallow Nova and I whole. How Nova knew where he was going amazed me, but then again, Nova and the other Dragonoid Bakugan here were more than just amazing.

Soon, light filled my vision, and we swooped into the commons area. Griffon was settled over on his normal spot while grooming his paws. Aquilia was curled up in her roost, her scales back to their shimmering glory. She truly was perfection when it came to Aquos. She had mixed colors of turquoise and royal-blue, and had hints of silver throughout her body, with eyes that looked like ice-blue marbles. Webbing was between her long, slender fingers; and a dolphin tail was shaped at the end of her own, along with a pair of gills near the top of her neck.

Hunter was sitting against her side and was reading a book, flipping carelessly through the pages.

Nova landed not-so gracefully onto the ground, and lowered his head so I could get down. I slid off and stretched, happy to be back on solid ground.

“Maxie!” A voice chimed happily as arms suddenly wrapped themselves around me. All the air rushed out of my lungs for a second, and I was swung from side to side before being set back down on the ground. “Joshie!”

I turned around to see brown eyes staring into mine. Josh was the closest thing I had to family down in these caves. We’ve known each other since we were kids. He was a few inches taller than me, and had chocolate colored eyes with thick, messy brown hair.

“You okay? I heard Hunter hit you and Nova pretty hard,” He said, folding his arms across his chest.

“Yeah, because he cheated,” I muttered.

“It isn’t my fault you can’t properly defend yourself, Max,” Hunter called.

I rolled my eyes and sighed while Josh simply patted me on the back. “It’s okay. We all know he’s a douche.”

“HEY!!”
Josh and I laughed, and Nova nudged at Josh’s side. “Josh?”

“Hmmmm?” Josh asked, giving Nova a gentle pat on the nose.

“Where is Bruton? We were supposed to go explore the east wing of the caverns today.”

“Somewhere... over there,” Josh sighed, shaking his head with a smirk as he pointed over to the mud-pit.

A deep grumble echoed throughout the cave, and everyone fell silent. My eyes drifted over to the large mud pit far off to the side. I narrowed my eyes, trying to see if I could catch a glimpse of Bruton. At first I saw nothing, until I spotted golden eyes staring at us intently. Slowly, a large, bulky head and neck emerged from the mud... followed by a torso and hind legs, and finally, a tail.

Bruton stood before us in his glory, shaking the mud off his huge body. He was easily two times bigger than Nova and Aquilia. His head was huge and boxy, and his nostrils rose a few inches off his snout from when he was submerged in the mud. His whole body appeared to be made of muscle and stone, and his jaws seemed like they would be able to snap Nova in half. But despite Bruton’s appearance, he was actually a very kind Bakugan. The gentle giant among us, so to speak.

“Nova,” Bruton yawned in a deep baritone voice, “must we go now? I was rather enjoying my mud bath.”

Nova snorted and shook his head. “You have been sleeping all day. If you hadn’t been sleeping, I wouldn’t have needed to battle Aquilia. Now come on!”

Nova lunged forward and nipped at Bruton’s feet, then darted away and jumped into the air; spreading his wings and dashing off into a tunnel. Bruton growled, flared open his own wings and quickly followed after Nova, and then they were gone. A smile formed on my lips. Those two were such good friends.

“So, Josh... Is Valdir back yet? It’s nearly dinnertime and I’m starving.”

“Nope,” Josh said and began walking away. I ran up to his side and followed him until we reached a desk with a lot of paper and books stacked on top of it, with a torch hanging overhead. “He said he wouldn’t be back until late.” He pulled out a chair and sat down, and I pulled out another for myself.

“Oh, okay... and Josh?”

“Yeah?” He muttered, pulling out a pencil and piece of paper and then scribbling something down.

“Has your mark been glowing again?”

His eyes darted up to meet mine, and we stared at each other in silence for a while. “Yes... not too long ago. Did yours do it again too?”

I nodded shyly. “After I got done brawling... Josh, our marks haven’t glowed since we were born and the bond was made with our Bakugan. Why are they doing it now?”

Josh leaned back in his chair and stared off into space while crossing a leg over the other. “I don’t know… I’ve talked with Hunter about it, but he doesn’t really know either.”

“It’s weird, though...” I whispered, bringing up my hand to stare at my mark. “I feel like we’re supposed to know something... like we’re supposed to do something other than just sit here and rot in these caves for the rest of our lives.

“Well, tell that to Valdir. You know he’ll never let us outside.”

“We should get to go outside,” I grumbled.

“Is that so?”

My blood ran cold and I winced, slowly turning around to see Valdir standing in front of one of the many entrances to the caves. His arms were folded across his chest, and he had a slightly annoyed expression on his face. His sandy blond hair was pulled back up into a pony-tail, and his grey eyes held no mercy in them.

“You know the rules,” he snapped. “You cannot go outside until you are fully prepared for the dangers—”

“— ahead of us. Yes, we know this speech,” I groaned. Josh tried not to smile.

Valdir merely shook his head. “Say what you like... but you will thank me for keeping you safe one day. Now, what was it you were telling Josh about your mark?” He asked as he strutted towards us, leaning against the desk.

“Nothing,” Josh and I said at the same time. We looked at each other shyly.

Valdir raised an eyebrow at us. “Tell me...”

“Well, you see...” Josh laughed nervously. “Our marks have been glowing recently, and—”

“What?”

Josh blinked. “Huh?”

“You said your marks were glowing...”

“Well, yeah.” I said with a shrug. “They’ve been doing it for the past few days.”

“Why haven’t you told me about this?”

“Maybe because we didn’t think it was really that important?”

Valdir sighed and brought a hand up to rub his temple, sighing heavily. “You all must tell me these things... It could be very important.”

“Yeah, right. What could happen?”

A roar echoed through the caves, and then another. Bruton and Nova heard it as well. “What the--”

The room began to shake violently, and I whirled my head around to see Aquilia slamming herself against the wall, screeching and lashing about as if she were possessed. Her eyes were glowing bright white, and her teeth were bared with a hiss. Hunter was laying on the ground several feet away, staring up at Aquilia in shock.

“Hunter!” Valdir screamed. Hunter continued to stare.

Quickly getting to my feet, I rushed across the room to reach him. I stumbled from the shaking, but was able to stay on my feet. Grabbing him by the arm, I pulled him to his feet and dragged him along behind me to get as far away from Aquilia as humanly possible.

“What’s wrong with her?!” Hunter yelled with panic in his voice.

“I don’t know!” Valdir replied, staring at Aquilia in awe and shock.

And suddenly, Hunter collapsed against the ground like a sack of potatoes, clutching his hand and trying not to scream. His mark was glowing bright blue.

“Hunter!” Josh yelped, crawling down to his side to shake him. Then Josh’s hand began to glow as well. He hissed and recoiled from Hunter and pulled his hand to his chest, hissing in pain. My heart was pounding painfully in my chest. What was happening? Are Nova and Bruton acting like Aquilia is too?

A white hot pain shot into my hand, and I tried to bite down a scream. I fell to my knees and cradled my hand against my chest, gasping for air and trying to will the pain away. My whole arm was pulsing red-hot, and in the distance I could hear Nova roaring in agony and rage. But why? What was suddenly causing all this?

And that’s when I saw it. Faces of Bakugan, and people I’ve never seen before, flashing behind my eyelids. Their whole lives played in my mind like a movie. Two brothers, one girl, and a boy. They had Dragonoids of their own, but they were of different attributes. For a moment their faces looked so real it felt as if I could simply reach out and touch them. Their names rang out in my ears, and one in particular stuck... it was....

And then my world faded to black.

-------------------------

It was dark in the palace, but even darker outside. The sky was churning with black clouds, and thunder boomed loudly off in the distance. A lone figure stood near the window, staring down at the rookery; wondering if his partner had finally calmed after the recent events. A pair of knuckles knocked against the door, and he turned his head to see his brother standing in the entryway.
He bowed his head, the waves in his hair flowing down just barely past his shoulder.

“Brother,” he greeted, straightening himself and walking into the room. He took a seat on a black leather couch and stared into the fireplace that was a few feet away.

“Have Chrone and Dacirus finally calmed down?” The figure at the window asked, closing his eyes and folding his arms behind his back.

“Yes. Took them awhile, but… they appear to be fine.”

“And the others?”

“They seem to be faring well... a little shaken, but doing fine.”

The man turned on his heel and stared his brother down, curiosity in his black eyes. “Did you... see anything, Zenith?”

Zenith raised an eyebrow. “See what?”

“You know what I’m talking about,” the man sighed. “The vision… about the girl and two boys.”

“What about it? It was just a vision, Obsidian, and nothing more.” Zenith replied, linking his hands behind his head. “You worry too much, brother.”

“Just... why did we did have the same vision, and see them of all things? I’m a bit curious…” Obsidian said to himself, turning to look back out the window at the distant mountains.

“Maybe we’ll see it again. Maybe not. I guess we’ll find out.”

Obsidian chuckled. “Perhaps so.”

My brain was pounding hard against my skull, and I moaned and tossed in my bed; pulling the blankets up to my neck. So warm... so cozy... A warm hand rested itself on my forehead and then pulled my blanket down a few inches, giving my shoulder a gentle shake.

“Max, wake up... Please wake up.”

I winced with a sigh. “No... I want to sleep more...”

“You’ve been sleeping for almost three days, Max. I think it’s time you woke up.”

Three days? That can’t be right... But then the memories flooded back to me. The earthquake, and then the sudden images of people, who I’d never met nor seen, running through my head. I sighed and pulled myself up into a sitting position, rubbing my eyes with a yawn. And then I suddenly realized that my mouth was insanely dry.

I gagged and rubbed my throat, and a glass of water was placed in front of me. I looked over beside me, and Valdir and Josh were at my bedside. Valdir was standing with his arms crossed over his chest, while Josh urged the cup into my hand as he sat down in his chair. I greedily brought the cup to my lips, gulping down water as if it were nectar from the gods above. After I had drunk every last drop I could, I turned my attention back over to Valdir and Josh.

“So... three days, huh?”

“Yeah. We all took it pretty hard to the head,” Josh sighed.

I nodded. “What about Hunter? Is he okay? And what about the Bakugan—”

“They’re fine,” Valdir interrupted. “But they are as confused as we are on what happened...”

Those faces still burned freshly in my mind, and it was almost like I had known them all my life. But there was something about them that threw me off... they seemed darker, and more serious than my friends I had grown to know and love. I stretched my limbs and crawled out of bed, running a hand through my hair to pull out some of the tangles and make it look at least halfway decent.

Valdir placed a hand on my shoulder and looked down at me sternly, raising an eyebrow. “You should stay in bed, Max.”

Swatting his hand away, I got to my feet and began making my way towards the door. “I need to check on Nova.”

“If you don’t come lay back down, I’m afraid I won’t let you have seconds after dinner.” I could practically hear the smugness in his voice.

“I don’t really care, Valdir,” I snapped. “I want to see Nova, and like hell if I’m going to let you hold food over my head for it.”

Slamming the door behind me, I strutted down the hall. It was pretty dark. If it hadn’t been for the torches every so often, it would have been pure darkness. Thankfully, I have grown used to living in the darkness, mainly because Valdir never let us outside. Well, we could, but that was only if we wanted to travel to the top of the mountain. There is a small opening you can crawl out of to view the outside world. And I love it.

The sun is so warm, and I love feeling a cool breeze on my skin. The air is fresher out there too. I wish Nova could experience it too, but he’s too big. He can hardly stick his head through the entrance.

“Max, wait up!”

Josh ran up to my side, elbowing me in the side a bit in a playful manner. “You do know Valdir was only joking, right?”

“Oh, really,” I snorted. “The man only has one tone. It’s kind of hard to tell when he is.”

A low growl echoed throughout the hall, and a shiver ran up my spine. I walked just a bit faster, eager to see my partner. Eventually we reached the rookery, and I exhaled the breath I had been holding. Aquilia was in the small pond near her ledge, occasionally dipping under the water to soak her scales. Bruton was digging a rather large hole over in another corner; stopping to examine his work and then sticking his head down into the mud.

“Bruton,” Josh laughed, “what are you doing?”

Bruton pulled his head up and blinked golden eyes at us innocently, then lunged into the mud... causing large mounds of it to splatter everywhere. I barely missed being hit. Josh, on the other hand, was covered from head to toe in the stuff. He just stood there in silence, and for a second I thought he was going to lose it. Instead, he wiped the mud from his face with a smile and charged towards the large Dragonoid with a mock battle-cry.

He jumped into the air and landed right into a deep, muddy part of the pit. Josh threw large handfuls up into the air and at Bruton, and the Bakugan only cooed happily as he then plopped down further into the mud, enveloping himself in it; even going as far as slamming his tail down to make a small wave of mud wash over Josh. The two were acting completely ridiculous.

I shook my head with a smile, and looked up near the ceiling. There was a small cave that was built into the walls, and up there is where Nova spent most of this time when we weren’t together. Small foot-holes had been carved into the rock, and it would take me a good fifteen minutes to reach the top. When I first had to climb the rocks, it took me almost two hours because I was so terrified of the height. On the bright side, it improved the strength in my arms and helped me get over my fear. But I won’t deny that for the first two years I always made Nova fly me back down. Yeah, whatever, call me a sissy.

When I reached the top, I pulled myself up and ran a hand through my hair when I saw a faint glow out of the corner of my eye. I looked over my shoulder and saw rows of different sized crimson crystals. Some were poking out of the ceiling; others were cluttered together along the walls. The fire-crystals. Oddly enough, they gave off heat. Valdir had brought a few home as a gift once, and Nova fell in love with them and demanded more. And whenever he could, Valdir would bring home just a few more at a time. Over the years, he had gained quite the collection.

“Nova?” I called, walking down the tunnel. At the very end I could see the faint gleam of his scales with a few hints of gold and silver. An emerald eye fluttered open, and a warm grumble echoed throughout the cavern.

I reached out a hand and gently stroked his neck, feeling warmth radiate off his scales like a heater. Nova huffed out a breath of air and rested his head on his talons, letting his eyes fall back closed. “So, how are you feeling?”

“Better,” Nova responded.

I sat down beside his large head. “You seem upset... What’s wrong, buddy?”

He opened his eyes and stared at me. “I heard them. They talked to me.”

“Talked to you?” I frowned, crossing my arms.

“The other Bakugan,” Nova sighed, lifting his head and staring down at me. “I saw them, Max... They’re marked.”

“I know... I saw their hands.”

Nova nudged his snout against me, giving a small coo. “Do you think we’ll meet them one day, Max?”

“No idea, but... Maybe we will.”

------

“Syrena,” Zenith barked, walking out onto the arena.

Standing in the very center of a dirt arena was a girl, probably no older than eighteen. Brown hair flowed down her back, and she looked back at Zenith with cold eyes. She was dressed in green robes and black tights, with silver gauntlets on her arms, while a silver circlet adorned her hair. One would have thought she was an elf, but her rounded ears gave it away.

Zenith’s dark hair was blown back wildly, as if he had been caught in a hurricane. “Can you please learn to control Zephros?! Because if you don’t teach that feathered lizard any decency, Dacirus and I will teach it to him ourselves.”

Syrena whirled around at him with cold green eyes. “Zephros can do as he wishes. You were mostly disturbing him as he was training.”

“Bullshit!” Zenith snapped, his dark eyes filling with rage. Very rarely did Zenith get angry, so for Syrena to see him literally shaking with rage meant that Zephros must have done something bad.

With a coy smile, Syrena tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “He did nothing wrong.”

A thunderous roar echoed overhead. And suddenly, a dark shadow swooped down and landed with a heavy thud against the ground. The Dragonoid tossed his head angrily before its eyes fixed on the girl in the middle of the arena. Its pupils conformed into thin slits, and its red eyes glowed red with rage. Curling its onyx talons against the earth, Dacirus leaned forward and released a deafening roar. Syrena flinched and backed away, groaning and giving a scowl towards the large beast.

Dacirus snapped his jaws together and lashed his tail around in rage. “You shouldn’t be so arrogant towards my master, girl,” he hissed. His onyx scales shined brightly, and flecks of silver were lined on the membrane of his wings. Zenith chuckled and walked over to pat his Bakugan’s leg.

“Relax, Dacirus,” Zenith purred, looking over at Syrena coldly. “She and Zephros will get their recompense in time.”

“Are we all fighting again?” A voice called.

Both Syrena and Zenith lifted their heads to see a figure sitting on the ledge near the top of the arena. He was dressed in white with hints of gold, with tanned skin and light brown hair that seemed to hang into his dark eyes. A feral smile formed across his lips and he jumped into the air, seeming to slowly glide down flawlessly until his feet touched ground.

“Vanitas...” Zenith said slowly with a hint of warning.

Vanitas brushed his bangs out his eyes with his hand and smirked. “And you two always call ME, of all people, the childish one,” he mused.

“We’re only arguing because Zenith just can’t learn to defend himself properly.” Syrena gave Zenith a smug smirk, and Zenith growled in annoyance.

“One day, Syrena... One day.”

An eagle-like scream echoed in the wind, and the sound of wing beats soon followed. And in the next second, a large black and green Dragonoid glided with ease over the arena. Dacirus smashed his tail against the ground and roared up at Zephros, flaring open his own wings to join Zephros in the sky. The Bakugan merely circled the arena once more and then landed on the top of the stadium. Zephros at times seemed more bird than Dragonoid. His wings were attached to his front arms and his snout eventually turned into a sharp, glossy black beak; and along with hard emerald green scales, he had a few feathers decorated on his head, wings, and tail.

“Zephros,” Syrena cooed, bring up a hand to beckon him forward.

The Ventus Dragonoid glided down to her, gracefully landing beside her and leaning his head down for her to stroke his nose.

Dacirus crouched low to the ground like a cat ready to pounce on its prey, his crimson eyes never leaving Zephros’ form. Zenith folded his arms across his chest. “Dacirus...”

But the Darkus Bakugan was zoned out. He was completely transfixed by Zephros.

“So,” Syrena began as she turned to look over at Zenith. “How about a little brawl?”

“I think Dacirus and I would enjoy that.”

Dacirus growled and hissed with anticipation. “Yes...”

That’s when Zenith felt his hand begin to tingle, and he pulled off his glove to see his mark of the Darkus symbol glowing a dark indigo. Zenith smiled happily. “On second thought… let’s wait an hour. Vanitas, would you care to join us?”

“Why?”

“Because Obsidian is coming home.”

I clung to one of Nova’s golden horns for dear life, pressing myself into his scales and keeping my eyes closed. I hated going up through this tunnel, and I hated that it was especially narrow. I was shocked Nova could even fit into it. But he could, and I was thankful for it. A deep grumble came from Nova’s chest. He was laughing at me.

“What?” I asked in a small voice, my eyes still squeezed shut.

“You’re being such a hatchling; clinging to me for dear life and whimpering. But it’s kind of cute.”

My eyes flew open to stare out into the darkness, but I caught a few glimpses of light from up ahead. “Because you’re climbing straight up and I don’t exactly like being in small, tight places with a large clumsy Bakugan.”

Nova gasped in mock hurt. “Why, Max... I’m hurt. Clumsy?”

My cheeks darkened and I huffed. “Shush.”

Nova only grumbled in laughter, and continued to scale up the rocks of the tunnel. After another 30 minutes of scaling the rock surface, we made it to our destination. Light peeked out of a small hole just big enough for a human to walk through. My size. Nova settled himself on a ledge just big enough for him to sit. This was the only place where we could see the outside world. See the stars. Know what real air tasted like.

Valdir would kill me if he knew I came here, but I loved it. I loved it more than anything in the world. Underground everything was cold and dark... but out here, everything was bright with colors and constantly changing. The leaves on the trees would change different colors, the sun would warm my skin, and sky change color. To think all these things happened! The sound of wind howling in the sky freely on its own without being generated. And flying type Bakugan like Ravenoids, Atmos’, and everything else you could think of flying about effortlessly.

Nova and I envied it. The freedom they had. We both wanted to explore the world and just learn everything there is to learn. To actually get to feel and see the seasons change. Not just come up every few weeks and see the leaves have fallen away, then grow back the next visit.

I crawled into the small opening and sat down, staring up into the night sky. The moon shined bright in the sky, and stars twinkled like tiny diamonds. The sounds of different nocturnal Bakugan filled the air. The outside world was just humming with energy.

“Don’t you just wish we could stay out here forever, Nova?” I breathed while taking a seat on the ledge. My feet dangled off to the side. The ground was a long way down.

“Mhmm... it looks beautiful tonight,” he replied. I could only see his eyes because the shadows seemed to swallow him up, but those emerald orbs shined brighter than the sun.

I pulled my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them, resting my chin on the top of my knees. Judging by the temperature and constellations, it was the middle of summer. Sadly, Nova and I wouldn’t have free time to come back up here until the middle of fall. Mainly because Valdir’s chambers were near the entrance to get here. And if we came here all the time, he would grow suspicious and catch us. So it wasn’t something we did every day.

I raised one hand out in front of me and snapped my fingers, seeing small sparks flare up for a second before dying out. Frowning, I did it again. Same result. I sighed in frustration and muttered under my breath. Nova snorted and barely nudged me in the back with his snout.

“Still no luck trying to get a flame?” He inquired, tilting his head like a giant puppy. A giant puppy with scales and razor-sharp teeth.

“Nothing,” I uttered, staring at my hand. I glared at the symbol on the back of my hand and slightly cursed it. “I still don’t understand why Josh and Hunter are able to control their elements but I can't. Josh can levitate boulders and everything else, and Hunter can control the water. But me? I can’t even so much as make a small flame.”

And it was true. This was something we all hadn’t practiced very much. Mainly because Valdir stressed that it was more important we study what attributes are a bit stronger over others, how to use strategies in battle, and let our Bakugan learn to fly and fight. We all practiced our own abilities when we had the chance, but didn’t really have the time to do so unless it was around the time to go to bed. Or when Valdir was gone and not hounding down on us to get crap done.

“Well, just keep trying,” Nova said brightly, “I’m sure you’ll get it eventually. Who knows. Maybe this is a sign. You may not be able to do it now, but when it does happen, you’ll make an inferno that covers the entire sky.”

I gave a wide smile. “An inferno that could cover the entire sky? I don’t think I’d ever want that, and plus, talk about the sunburn.”

Nova gave a deep laugh. It was contagious. When we had both stopped, I leaned back against the cave wall. Then something caught my eye. A small light was off far into the distance.

“Nova... What’s that?”

The crimson Dragonoid poked his head out of the cave further, blinking and releasing a small huff of air. “I don’t know.”

A loud screech filled the air, and then all was silent. I froze and looked out into the darkness to see what had made the sound. Nothing. I leaned out a bit further and then regretted my decision. Something large and fast struck the side of the mountain, making the whole formation shake with the impact. I lost my footing and slipped. My life flashed before my eyes as I began to fall down, down, down...

The air left my lungs, and I opened my mouth in a scream but nothing came out. Wind howled in my ears as I just continued to fall. Of all the ways to die, it had to be like this. Just my luck. Nice going, Max.

Something large and warm suddenly wrapped itself around me, and I stopped falling. Was I dead? Wow, that wasn’t nearly as painful as I originally thought it would be. At least it was painless.. poor Nova... he would go crazy without me. Something sharp poked my side and I winced. Nope. Not dead. Very much alive, much to my disappointment.

I peeked my eyes open to see two large yellow ones looking down at me. A large Ventus Falconeer was holding me in his hand talons, staring at me with keen interest. Oh lovely. If I thought becoming pizza on the ground was bad, becoming bird feed was even worse. I swallowed hard and stared back into its yellow eyes. I could hear Nova roaring from above, and I could see an occasional flash of orange light illuminating the night sky.

“I... Thank you,” I said quietly, swallowing hard.

“What were you doing on a cliff, human?” he asked in a voice that made me cringe. It sounded like someone raking their nails across a chalk-board.

I didn’t want to talk, but I figured that I should so he wouldn’t drop me and make me plummet to my death. “Watching the stars with my friend,” I replied.

The Bakugan made a clucking noise and then gave a large flap of his feathered wings, moving upward. “Stay away from cliffs, human. You are lucky I caught you.”

“What? I was doing just fine until you knocked yourself against the side of the mountain!!”

The Falconeer’s eyes narrowed, and his grip tightened a bit. “I was trying to get away from the others,” he remarked.

“What others? Did you do something bad?” I asked in a bit of a mock gasp with a smile.

The Falconeer said nothing, and brought me back to the opening of the cave. Nova’s eyes calmed when he saw me, but he still growled when he saw the other Bakugan.

“Max! Are you okay?! I thought... for a moment...”

The Falconeer gently placed me back down onto the rock, and I rushed forward and pressed myself against Nova’s large snout. “I’m fine... just a bit shaken. Falconeer saved me, though.” I spoke while turning to node at the Ventus Bakugan.

The bird merely shook his head with a sigh. “Foolish, humans... be careful from now on. I can’t always be there to catch you silly things.”

“Alright, alright,” I laughed shakily. “Thank you, Falconeer. I owe you one. If I ever see you again, I’ll be sure to repay you.”

The Falconeer turned to fly away, but then stopped and looked back at me. “... What is on your hand?”

I looked down and sure enough, my birthmark was glowing a bright red. “Oh,” I breathed. “This? It’s just a birthmark...”

“But why is it glowing?” The Bakugan insisted.

Nova growled and bared his teeth. “None of your concern,” he snapped.

“Nova,” I hissed, slapping his nose lightly.

The Ventus Bakugan said nothing and merely stared for a few seconds before dashing away into the night sky. Nova and I just stared after him before I finally turned to Nova with a scowl.

“What?”

I said nothing.

“What?!”

“Did you have to be so rude? He saved my life,” I said sternly.

“He was asking about your mark, and I didn’t like it... I got bad vibes from him. Besides, you’re not supposed to talk about your marks to people we don’t know.”

Groaning, I ran a hand through my hair. “Okay, whatever. Let’s crawl back down the tunnels and get to bed before Valdir gets up.”

“Agreed.”

--------------------

Obsidian moved quietly through the halls of the castle. His long hair was slightly tangled from the wind, but otherwise looked fine. He still wore his leather gloves on his hands along with his riding boots. His training with Chrone had been a success, so he would take the rest of the day off. Unless something came up.

“Brother!”

Obsidian stopped to see his brother Zenith running towards him, nodding his head. “Hello, Zenith,” Obsidian greeted.

Zenith folded his arms across his chest. “How did it go?”

“Very well. Chrone continues to grow stronger with each battle.”

His younger brother raised an eyebrow with a smirk. “Care to go a round with the Terrible Two?”

“They want a tag-team battle?” Obsidian inquired, turning to continue on his way to his room. Zenith followed.

“Yes,” Zenith said quietly, and Obsidian could tell his brother was angry. “Syrena let Zephros attack us in mid-flight.”

“What?”

“Dacirus and I were going through his paces... and Zephros just dropped out of the sky and attacked us out of nowhere for whatever reason. Almost knocked me off... if my legs hadn’t been tied into the straps I most likely would have been killed. Not to mention Dacirus has several cuts on his face from the blasted Bakugan.”

Obsidian grunted. He had never liked Syrena, nor her Bakugan. “I’m up for it.”

“Good, let’s go.” Zenith said with a proud smile.

“My lords!”

The two brothers stopped and saw a small man in armor rush toward them. “His highness Bane demands to see all the Marked immediately!”

“Why?” Obsidian and Zenith asked at the same time. They did that a lot.

The smaller man sucked in a lungful of air. “We may have the location of the other Marked.”