...
"aay.. kurin.." the way their names rolled off the tall vampire's tongue showed the three had history. and his angered tone proved it wasn't the good kind . "i should have known you two were behind this."
"well can you blame us?" the smaller of the duo whined, a state in which dan hadn't seen. in a way it made him less frightening.. like a spoiled kid who just wanted a new toy. "it's been so long since we had even the smallest drop of human blood."
"i don't think i can go on like this.. i'm so hungry!" aay growled and kouzo flinched when he tried to leap for him but magnus stopped the male by spreading his arm out protectively.
"you know the rules aay. vampires have been forbidden from drinking human blood. it's just too risky to go around capturing humans like in the old days, they can be dangerous and stocked with technology that can easily obliterate our kind!"
"well why do you think we targeted a weakling like him." kurin scoffed placing his hands on his hips. "he's so small and puny; he can barely defend himself."
"puny?!" dan growled and clenched his fists, fueled by bravery only because of his protector that stood right in front of him. okay, he didn't really know what that word meant.. but it sure didn't sound good! "i'm not puny and i can defend myself! drago and i..-"
but was cut off by the two mean vampire's laughter.
"of course, he needs a bakugan to protect himself. how pathetic!" the green haired laughed causing dan's face to go red in embarrassment.
magnus hummed. "you know what you two.. you're right."
the duo paused and dan gasped. "what?!" they all exclaimed.
"shh, just trust me on this." magnus whispered through gritted teeth and dan bit his lip, his forehead sweating a bit. trusting the black haired was probably the most risky decision he had ever made..
"i said you're right. dan is no threat so you can have him." the black haired shrugged.
"wow. guess you're not a pain in the a-"
"but. only if you win against us in a brawl. lose, and he's mine for the taking."
at that aay and kurin groaned taking back their statement.
" you're gonna brawl against us?" the dark haired scoffed crossing his arms, teasingly. "hmph, didn't king storm say it's wrong for a prince like yourself to use your bakugan for battle?"
dan's eyes glanced at the elder in curiosity. so that's what they meant earlier! "wow is that really true? magnus.. you're a prince?"
but magnus ignored him and growled, taking nillious into his hand as it rolled back to a bakuball. "ugh, who cares what my father says?! let's just get this going! nillious, bakugan brawl!"
nillious toward over the duo and joined drago within the battle field. it roared at their green and yellow opponent ready for attack.
"well then, so be it!" kurin scoffed and took out his own bakugan which seemed to be of a darkus faction. "garganoid, let's do this and crush those idiots!" the boy rolled out his partner and joined forces with mantanoid. he was a black and purple gargoyle creature with large wings and a menacing stare. he glared over at his two opponents and roared loudly.
"woah.. he's scary.." dan mumbled.
"don't let it discourage you," magnus said to him. " brawl with all your might dan. your life is literally on the line here."
instead of motivating him, it just made the red streaked even more uneasy than he already was. if he lost, he'd be those vampire's dinner! but.. maybe he'd be okay having magnus' help. he had that crazy power up his sleeve too.
daniel took a deep breath. "okay.." and pumped his fist ready for action "drago! fly up as high as you can and use tail crusher!"
"you got it dan!"
the vampire on kouzo's side smirked at his sudden confidence, finding it.. admirable.. before focusing in the brawl himself. he rose his hand. "nail them nillious! darkus blast, go!"
and the bakugan battle went on! dan putting in all his strength within the match literally brawling for his life with the help of magnus who, dan had to admit, was pretty strong in battle and a big help to the brunette.. but, the other two vampires also had their strengths. they were also strong if not, probably just as strong as magnus and after what felt like forever the match was going nowhere with everyone still standing on equal footing.
"just stop this madness and surrender already, kid." the ventus brawler on the other end taunted. "we'll make sure none of your blood goes to waste..!"
dan clenched his hands and growled under his breath, he took magnus' advice well and refused to let those words discourage him! even if it seemed like the odds were against him and these people.. well, more like creatures, scared him out of his mind!
"i won't let myself become your little snack!" the determined teen yelled before kneeling down in front of a bakucore that had just conveniently lit up in front of him. he didn't pick it up though and instead slammed his hand against it, closing his eyes and channeling all his energy into it as he yelled. attempting to copy what he had seen magnus do earlier..
"what is he doing?" kurin asked raising a brow.
"i dunno but he looks stupid." aay replied.
"all humans do."
the two snickered and focused back into the brawl, kurin ordering garganoid to slash his pyrus opponent who defended himself with a fiery blaze. the dragon then looked down at his human partner and he too joined in on the confusion.
"dan? what's gotten into you?!"
and the vampire who knew what he attempted to achieve replied with a smirk.
"just wait for it drago.."
nillious turned to drago who looked back. "..you're about to feel this world's power." they added.
none of that answered the pyrus bakugan's question however. "huh..?"
dan's plan began to work in his favor as the bakucore lit up with sparks of electricity and the feel of heavy energy seeped from him onto the power source. everyone watched in amazement, the two across from them especially.
"wh-what's happening now..?" aay gasped.
a grin formed on dan's lips once he opened his eyes. he stood up and flung the evolution core to his bakugan friend. "drago! pyrus.. evolution!"
the effects hit the 'gan as soon as the corecell reached him. he roared as he began to transform - his wings enlarged to a bigger size and his scales grew sharp with golden like armor around his chest
once his transformation was complete, the two vampires ahead looked up at him in complete shock.
daniel extended his left arm proudly showing off his bakugan's new found power.
"behold drago's evolution.." he yelled boastfully. "hyper dragonoid!" the boy then glanced over at the black haired by him who gave him a nod in approval. he smiled.
kurin and aay scoffed. "big deal! so he grew bigger.." the boy in purple growled with a closed fist. "we can still beat you! garganoid, darkus petrify!"
aay also joined in, glaring up at his partner he barked: "you too mantanoid! optic beam!"
the bakugan charged their directed attacks causing darkus and ventus energy beams to be spewed from the opposing bakugan. but, drago quickly fired his own attack and a big ball of fire began to form from his bright orange horn, he groaned and the firey blast collided with the attacks causing the pyrus tornado to grow larger.
it shaped into a dragon's mouth before reaching the two bakugan causing mantanoid and garganoid to scream in pain as they were fired up in drago's attack.
their power levels decreased dramatically and they rolled up to ball form dropping by their partners. defeated.
"yeah, we did it!" dan jumped happily then looking up at drago's awesome power.
"i feel incredible dan." the dragon said. "i had no idea we could evolve..!"
aay and kurin looked up too then grabbed their bakugan as they both grumbled in annoyance. magnus stepped in their path and glared at them so coldly it could freeze them.
"you remember the deal boys." the masked vampire said, hands on his hips. "we beat you, now scram!"
"rrrgg, we'll get you for this magnus! i swear!" kurin growled and tried to rival his glare. "you may be a prince but that won't stop us from absolutely destroying you."
magnus simply sneered and smiled tauntedly. bending down to kurin's eye level just to make fun of him. "hmph, i'd like to see you try kurin."
the shorter growled through gritted teeth showing off his sharp fangs before turning to his friend. "let's go aay."
the two then disappeared leaving a trail of smoke behind. the tall boy stayed staring at the ground before he felt the small clutter of his bakugan sitting on his head and heard the footsteps of his new human friend joining him by his side.
"so what the heck was up with those two?" kouzo asked earning the attention of the black haired.
"aay and kurin are nothing but trouble. any havoc in this kingdom and you can bet they're the cause of it. but, luckily i'm always there to stop them." the cloaked brawler explained before a small smile formed on his lips. "like I'd ever let them take you. you're special dan, you were able to evolve your drago without any of my help."
daniel didn't need a mirror to know he was blushing from that sudden compliment. he smiled wearily and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "o-oh. thanks, i kinda just copied what you did earlier.."
"magnus is right." nillious joined in, drago looking over at them. "it took lots of practice for us to master hyper evolution and you two got it on the first try.. you and dan must have a serious bond, drago."
drago chuckled. "if only you knew.."
"well, now that that's taken care of." magnus continued, getting back to the desired topic. "let's get you two back home." his gloved hand takes dan's into his own and he leads him and his partner out of the woods.
dan looks down at their hands.
was it weird that.. he kind of wanted to stay for a little longer?