Bakugan: Battle Brawlers - Cyber Crisis

Chapter 1: The returning champion

The energy in the arena is intoxicating. The roar of the crowd fills the air like a battle cry on the warpath. As if the spirits of long-lost warriors filled the seats to bare witness to another onslaught of power. Every seat is filled with a player, aging in ages from the young to the older, from early tweens to those in their late teens, all cheering out for one thing, Bakugan.

The cheers from the crowd all echo down the hollow halls. Every shout, cry, and roar from the audience bounces from the walls to the ears of the one walking down them. "Do you hear that?" A voice asks. "I think they're getting restless waiting for us out there." Another voice calls out, one much deeper and beasty, "Of course. They know a strong Bakugan when they see one. Just wait, I'll show them all my power."

Hovering over the arena, in a floating stand directly above the audience and battlefield is the announcer, Julie Makimoto, former member of the legendary Bakugan Battle Brawlers, now a current announcer for Bakugan City. She wears an exaggerated host outfit for the role. A hot pink jacket over a long-sleeve white shirt, with a black pencil skirt, and high heel boots matching her jacket. On her jacket is a pin with all six Bakugan attributes on it. Her hair is tied back into a large grey ponytail.

"Hellooooooo everyone! Are you ready for the first battle of the semi-finals?" Julie calls out over the microphone and is met with another uproar of cheers from the audience. "That's what I thought. Well, without another further delay, let's bring out our first two finalists."

Two spotlights appear on both sides of the arena. "Okay, everybody. On our left, we have a rising star. A Bakugan prodigy, Micheal Claws." Stepping into the ring, wearing a full-piece red suit and tie, white shirt, and perfectly combed hair, Micheal steps up to the ring, casually adjusting his glasses before making it to the end.

"Annnnnnnd on the right, we have a returning player since the days of cards falling from the sky, and an old pal of mine, Caleb Origami!" Stepping into the light, wearing a light, white hoodie with red accents, a pair of black jeans, and trainers, Caleb steps up to the arena. The light shines in their natural blonde hair as the spotlight remains on him for the journey.

The audience erupts into another frenzy of cheers as the two brawlers make themselves ready at their points in the arena. There's a screen on the side of their podiums with a live feed of the other. "I did some research on you before the fight. Not bad. You had an impressive win record, for your time," Micheal's torn comes off as condescending. "The game has changed a lot since you hung up your Bakugan. So make sure to keep the fight entertaining for me as well as for the audience."

Before Caleb can respond, his partner Bakugan leaps out of his pocket in ball form, "How dare you talk to my partner like that? We've faced opponents a million times stronger than some pompous worm in a cheap suit!" Caleb grabs their partner, "Leo, relax. Save that energy for the fight."

The moment gets to Micheal, making him cringe from the insult, "Oh trust me. My suit is genuine. Much more genuine than whatever you two can provide in this battle."

The trash talk gets interrupted by Julie on the microphone, "Alright boys, time to save it for the match." Her podium hovers over everyone, moving by itself via a remote console. "Okay, folks! Let's see some throws! Field open!" The arena lights up, and a barrier is formed in a dome shape around the ring to keep the fight contained.

Micheal takes the lead, "Gate card, set!" He tosses his gate card onto the arena. It expands to enclosure the fighting arena. He slides a Bakugan out of his holster, before tossing it into the ring, "Bakugan, Brawl! Hyper Dragonoid stand!" The ball pops open, before taking its true form, transforming into a humanoid red dragon. [Hyper Dragonoid 500Gs]