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A breath. That was all that was heard that night; a small sigh of excitement from an intruder as he placed his claws around the small sphere. That sphere… That sphere was the key to balance in all the realms. Kept in the depths of the Council’s Stronghold, it was as secure as any object could possibly have been. However, a lone humanoid single-handedly penetrated the fortified castle, made it down 6 floods into the deepest, darkest room; The Sanctuary.

Each day, the council meets in this room, watching over the clans. They have been the major force in keeping Humans, Vestals, Gundalians and Neathians from clashing with their Bakugan partners. Many times in the past has war been avoided thanks to the leaders of the Attributes; The Legendary Soldiers of New Vestroia. Each of them inhabits a different floor in the Stronghold; a line of defense for the eye into the balance for the realms.

Now, the Eye of Harmony has been stolen from those who keep war from striking the realms. Between New Vestroia, Gundalia, Neathia, Earth and Vestal, the clans are spread. Some having multiple groups spread across the 5 realms. The eye of harmony being used by any clan could cause chaos to ripple across the universe. The eye must be recovered.

-----

In the shadows of the forest, a lone humanoid leaps through rays of moonlight that would beam through the canopy.  In the sky above the humanoid, a larger being flies. The crusade pauses at the treeline, looking up at the large Bastion positioned on a tall crag. Lights had once dotted the outside through open windows. The two figures remain still until each light had faded to black. With a wordless command and a flash of light, the campaign hurled forward, lofting into the air and off the ground. Approaching the rough rock surface of the stronghold, they landed on a ledge silently. Slipping in a small crevice in the face of the wall, they were in. They had entered in the second floor of the stronghold.

From there, only small flashes of the being could be seen on the surveillance drones planted in the corners. This being was fast, strong and cunning. The being was a little bulky, with oddly shaped appendages and form. Unlike a Gundalian in form, unlike a Neathian in speed and agility; unlike a Vestal or Human in cunning. This one being stealthily made his way down to the 6th floor and into the Sanctuary. Slowly approaching the glowing orb, the 4 drones in the room managed to make out a figure. Claws enveloped the orb and the figure fled; disappearing into the shadows and out into the many realms.

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“How could this have happened, Apollonir? I thought our traps were foolproof?” spoke Lars Lion.

“Tripwires coating the floors, pressure plates for the walls and ceiling. The drones sense movement and they alert us immediately. None of these were triggered, and the Orb of Harmony was stolen. What are we going to do?” Exedra growled.

“I’m not sure. First thing will be to look at the drones footage to see if they caught anything. We must tell the clans it was stolen. Oberus, send the message. Quickly!”

Oberus walked across the room to a panel of buttons and lights. Pressing a few, Oberus sat up straight and stared at the screen. “Apollonir, we’re too late. There’s an alert here from the Reptile Clan in Gundalia. They were attacked by a single being early this morning, before anyone was awake.”

“What could the Reptiles have that is worth being attacked?!” Apollonir snapped from the news.

“It’s not a thing… It’s a who… A member has disappeared.” Oberus spoke sullen.

“An actual member? Are they sure?” Apollonir turned to face Oberus with a tone of panic.

“They’re sure. They’ve attempted to contact him with the communicators they recently gave all their members. No answer. They attempted to ping the transmitter. It’s not even functioning. They believe he’s been taken by the one who attacked. “

“How could we allow this to happen?! The same one who has the Eye must be the one who has attacked the Reptiles. How else could one lone being take a member, not to mention know where the Reptile base is located?” Clayf spoke solemnly.

“There’s more. They have said they found a lone white feather outside the room of the member who disappeared. There were no signs of struggle, but the feather doesn’t match anyone in the Reptiles.”

“It’s a sign. Feathers are symbolic of the Avian Clan. This lone being must be an Avian. That is how they were able to get past the trip wires and pressure plates!” Frosch deduced.

“The drones would have caught them flying, Frosch.” Exedra pointed out. “We could see the truth if we had the Eye. Whoever this being was, they know how the system works, and have broken the chain.”

“Then we start with the Avian Clan. That’s all we can do now. Oberus! Go to the Avian Clan, find out as much as you can. Which members were not there that night, anything," Apollonir commanded in a rage. "Frosch. You go to the Reptiles, find out who was taken, bring the feather here, anything you can. We MUST get the Eye back.”

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"... properties originate in the stomach of the reptilian Bakugan. The method of regeneration is another feature that should be preserved." a low, rough voice spoke somewhere outside the dark abyss behind my closed eyes. Letting out a groan, I peeked my eyes open only to snap them closed again due to a blinding light above me. I tried to move my arms but something was holding them still. It was cold in the room, my energy was low.

"Oh, you're awake. See that, kid? Your partner is just fine... for now.” said the same low voice. I heard some muffled moaning coming from the far side of the room. I recognized the voice immediately.

“Kelda? Is that you?” I heard murmuring in reply. It was him. We’d been captured in the middle of the night. I remember feeling a small sting on my neck before seeing a small creature shoot Kelda with the same thing. Then my vision went black and I wake up restrained in a cold room. Being a Reptile, the cold did little to help my energy. I felt weak and scared. “Kelda? Are you alright?”

“Don’t worry, he’s fine. At least for now. Is it true that a true human and Bakugan pair can sense each others pain and agony? I guess we’ll find out. Goodnight…”

My gut tightened, before feeling a release drag across the softer skin of my stomach. Through my own pain-filed groaning, I could hear Kelda’s gagged screams too. Pain shocked through my body. I could only imagine what Kelda was feeling of this. The cutting stopped, but something slick and cold reached inside the gaping hole, ripping something from inside. I couldn’t take the pain and passed out. What happened to me? Why was I taken like this? I was just a normal member of the Reptile Clan. Kelda and I had been friends for years, and decided to finally join a clan. We hadn’t been members for more than a week before this happened.

-

I could see my partner, Amazon, lying on a table in a dark room. I was tied and gagged in the corner, watching as this shady human thing strapped him down and prepared blades and knives of all sizes on a small counter. A blinding light was turned on, pointed as Amazon. What was he going to go? I felt like I was dropped into a Frankenstein movie. Whatever that thing was in the room, it wasn’t normal. It wasn’t human. The voice sounded deep and strong, not like anything I had ever heard before. I called to Amazon as best I could.

“Quit your wailing! You can’t do anything to save your partner here. All you can do is watch him writhe in agony, unless you feel the same pain. You’ll die by the amount I could inflict. The more noise you make, the more I’ll do. So shut up, unless you want your partner here to die!”