//------------------------------// // Quitters Never Prosper // Story: Bakugan EQG // by Banshee531 //------------------------------// The school bell rang at Cloudsdale High School and Soarin was making his way through the halls towards his locker, all the while avoiding the glares of everyone that was shooting them at him. He reached his locker and opened it up, only for someone to slam it shut a moment later. Soarin sighed and turned to to the one that shut his locker, seeing it was one of the school's top soccer players. His former teammates. "Hey Skies," he said to Soarin with venom in his voice. "How was your weekend?" "Relaxing," Soarin replied, "you?" "Terrible. You know why?" "I told you switch to a different powder." The teen glared at him, then grabbed his shirt and pushed him into the locker. "We lost! We could have been national champions but you quit on us and now our school's hopes of having that trophy are gone. All because you didn't wanna play anymore." Soarin grabbed his hand and pulled it off of him, "you hate how she does things as much as I did. You really wanna keep going through all that just to win a trophy?" The teen glared at him, then pointed to the other students. "It wasn't just about a trophy. Everyone was counting on us, cheering for us. They dropped everything to watch us on TV and you know what happened, we let them down." He poked Soarin in the chest, "you let them down!" Soarin looked down, clearly feeling bad about that. "I used to look up to you man. But now all that respect is gone." With that, he turned to walk away. Soarin turned to everyone else and saw they were looking just as angry, the teen turning towards his locker and placing his head on it. His heart was pounding as guilt began to well up within him. What had he done? Soarin gasped as his eyes shot open, the teen sitting up suddenly and looking around. "Garuda?" "I'm here Soarin?" Garuda told him, Soarin looking down and seeing the Bakugan on his knee. "You were having a bad dream." Soarin frowned as he held his head, then looked around. He noticed he was somewhere very familiar. The roof of his school. "What are we doing here?" Soarin asked as he picked himself up, moving over to the fenced off edge of the roof and looking down. The field was empty. In fact, the entire school was empty. There didn't appear to be a single person there with them. "What's going on?" "We're not in your school," Garuda told him. "This is some kind of make believe world, created by the Guardian Bakugan." Soarin remembered their meeting with the guardians and his agreement to the test, wondering what bringing him back to school was meant to do. "I guess it is the place you'd test someone," Soarin frowned as they left the roof and headed downstairs. "But didn't think it'd be that kind of test." "Who knows what your test could be," Garuda told him. "All we know is it'll push you to your limits." Soarin frowned, but knew he had to try and do whatever the guardians wanted him to do. As they made their way through the school, they stepped passed a trophy case. When they did, Garuda spotted something that made him stop. "Is that you?" Soarin stopped and moved back to the case, seeing a picture in front of a larger soccer trophy. In the picture, he and a bunch of other boys were holding up said trophy and smiling. "Yeah. That was when my soccer team and I won the state championship." "You were state champions?" Garuda asked, Soarin nodding. "Your team must have been really good." Soarin shrugged, as Garuda tried to remember how good Soarin was. But then he realised something, "I don't think I've ever seen you play soccer before. You've never even touched a ball. What happened?" Soarin shrugged again, "life got in the way. With everything that's been going on, I haven't really had time to play." He began to walk away and Garuda leapt onto his shoulder, as the pair stepped outside the school. They made their way over to the soccer field and when they got their, Soarin was in for a surprise. "What's this?" He looked down at the ground and saw a soccer ball on one side of the field and a single goal on the other side. "Wonder what this is doing here?" As soon as he placed his foot on the ball, something happened. A bunch of soccer players suddenly appeared between him and the goal, glaring at him. "Wow!" Garuda cried, "where did they come from?" "No idea," Soarin gulped before realising something. "Maybe this is my test." Before Garuda could ask what he meant by that, Soarin shot forward and was dribbling the ball as the first opponent rushed at him. But Soarin managed to manoeuvre himself in a way that allowed him to get around him without losing the ball. He continued on and the second opponent charged, Soarin moving to kick the ball behind him. The opponent looked confused until he saw the ball somehow fly upwards from behind Soarin and shoot over both their heads. This allowed Soarin to get passed him and grab the ball. He moved on and now two opponents were heading for him. He smirked and zigzagged from side to side, the ball becoming a blur at his feet. He then shot it forwards and the ball flew right between them before they could catch on, Soarin then running forward and leaping over them. When he landed, Soarin grabbed the ball again and found his only obstacle was the goalie. He smirked and built up as much speed as he could, then fired the ball at it as hard as he could. The goalie watched it fly towards the left side of the net and leapt to catch it, only for the ball to curve the right as he did and slam into the back of the net. "Yes!" Garuda cheered, whilst Soarin pumped his arm. "Nice work Soarin. You're not just good. You're freaking incredible." "Yes, he is." The two's eyes went wide and they looked around, seeing the one who spoke appear before them. Zephyria. "You have great skill. Possible one of the best, yet you don't do anything with it. Had you taken the game seriously, you could have become a professional player by the time you graduated. Yet you didn't." "I take the game seriously," Soarin told her. "But I just chose not to follow a career as a professional." "Why not?" Soarin glared at her, "it's no fun." "I see. So you only want to play a game when it's fun. Bakugan Battling is fun, but will you want to keep playing with what's at stake. You wish us to trust you with taking down Lucifer, but how can we trust someone who won't take the battles that are to come serious." "I'd be serious about beating Lucifer!" Soarin cried, only to then hear footsteps. He turned towards them and when he did, his eyes went wide when he saw who it was. "Coach?" Stepping towards them was a woman in her mid-twenties, with bright yellow skin and spiked hair that was two different shades of orange. She was dressed in a white top, black joggers and blue jacket with a whistle around her neck. "So," she removed the sunglasses she was wearing, "the quitter returns." "Quitter?" Garuda asked, turning to Soarin. "Who is this woman?" "Spitfire," Soarin replied, "the coach of my school's soccer team." As he said that, Zephyria flew over to her. "And the person you must defeat if you wish to pass your test," the Guardian Bakugan held up a hand as the Ventus Energy appeared. "I warn you, this battle will be like nothing you have ever faced." The Ventus Energy unleashed a burst of wind that swept across the field, knocking Soarin and Garuda backwards. They hit the ground and moaned as they did so, then sat themselves up and looked around. The sports field looked the same, only now it was covered in a bunch of clouds with power-ups all around. Spitfire and Zephyria stared back at them as they stood up, Spitfire holding up her BakuColar as she prepared for battle. "So this is our test?" Soarin asked, "we have to beat you." He smirked and held up his BakuColar, "then bring it. Garuda and I can win no matter what you throw at us." "Too right," Garuda agreed. "Let's throw down." "I look forward to seeing how well you do," Zephyria stated. "And what'll happen when you face adversity." Spitfire and Soarin's BakuColars lit up. "Let's brawl!" Soarin: 100% Spitfire: 100% "Gate Card!" Soarin threw said card towards the ground, "SET!" As it exploded, both he and Spitfire rushed up and leapt onto the clouds that surrounded them. They climbed higher and higher until Spitfire was the first to leap off one. "Bakugan," she threw it, "BRAWL!" It shot towards the ground and hit a few power-ups before landing. "Bakugan," it popped open, "stand!" In a burst of green win, a green butterfly woman appeared. "Ventus Monarus!" Monarus: 330Gs Soarin stared at the butterfly woman as it flew upwards, every beat of its wing causing the clouds to blow around whilst it powered up. Monarus: 480Gs "You ready?" Garuda asked Soarin once he regained his balance. "Oh yeah!" Soarin nodded before leaping into the air. "Bakugan...BRAWL!" The orb shot through the air, hitting several power ups, then landed. "Bakugan...STAND!" It popped open and in a burst of wind, a giant insect appeared. "Ventus Bee Striker!" Monarus: 480Gs Bee Striker: 400Gs "Let's do this Bee Striker!" Soarin yelled as he landed on the ground, Bee Striker powering up as he did so. Monarus: 480Gs Bee Striker: 550Gs Monarus flew down towards Bee Striker, as Spitfire held up a card. "Ability, Activate!" Monarus thrust its foot forward started spinning, a tornado appearing around its foot's end. "Twisting Ballet!" Monarus: 580Gs Bee Striker: 550Gs As Monarus got in close, Soarin held up his own card. "Ability, Activate!" Bee Striker's stinger glowed, "Twin Needle!" It fired a pair of energy stringers, each one hitting Monarus and taking away fifty Gs each. Monarus: 480Gs Bee Striker: 550Gs This caused Monarus to flinch and slow down, the twister vanishing and allowing Bee Striker to fly in and stab its stinger into the butterfly woman's stomach. She flinched, but kept fighting as Spitfire held up a card. "Ability, Activate!" The two Bakugan were suddenly surrounded by a powerful spiralling wind that made them both glow. "Winds of Change!" Monarus: 550Gs Bee Striker: 480Gs "She swapped their G power!" Garuda cried, as Monarus grabbed Bee Striker's stinger and started spinning it around. Eventually, it let the hornet go and sent it flying until it crashed into the ground. "Soarin!" "Ability, Activate!" He held up a card as Bee Striker picked itself back up and shot into the air, it's stinger glowing as it did so. "Super Stinger!" Monarus: 550Gs Bee Striker: 580Gs The hornet once again stabbed Monarus and the butterfly flinched as it tried to pull away, whilst Soarin pointed towards the ground. "Gate Card, OPEN!" It began to glow and unleashed a light that shot into Monarus, then flew out of it and into Bee Striker. "Element Merge!" Monarus: 350Gs Bee Striker: 780Gs "That's it!" Soarin cheered, "take its power and win this." "Oh, I don't think so." Soarin turned back to Spitfire as she held up another card. "Ability, Activate!" Monarus finally pulled itself away from Bee Striker and started flying around unleashing a powerful burst of wind. "Air Battle!" As the wind struck the Gate Card, the glowing stopped and the light that had flowed into Bee Striker returned to Monarus. Monarus: 550Gs Bee Striker: 580Gs "She cancelled your Gate Card!" Soarin was shocked by this, as Spitfire activated another Ability before Soarin could. "Ability Activate!" Monarus spun around and slammed a kick into Bee Striker's face, "Fata Danza!" The kick sent Bee Striker falling to the ground and before it could recover, Monarus dived downwards. Monarus: 550Gs Bee Striker: 380Gs Seconds before it collided with bee Striker, Monarus spun around and dealt an axe kick to Bee Striker's chest. The insect cried out in pain as it reverted back to ball form and rolled back to Soarin, who frowned as his life points began to drop. Soarin: 66% Spitfire: 100% "Such a shame," Zephyria told him. "You were doing so well at the start, but now you're quite far behind." Soarin frown at her as he picked his Bakugan up. "What's the matter?" Spitfire asked him, "gonna quit? That's what you usually do whenever things get hard." "No way," Soarin told her. "No matter what you do, I'm not giving up. I'm gonna pass this test and prove that I'm no quitter!" Spitfire smirked, "we'll see." She took out a Gate Card and threw it towards the ground, then leapt up onto a cloud before leaping into the air. "Bakugan...BRAWL!" Her Bakugan once again hit several power-ups before landing on the ground. "Bakugan...STAND!" It burst open with a blast of wind, "Ventus Atmos!" "Bakugan!" Soarin leapt off his own cloud and threw his Bakugan towards some power-ups, "BRAWL!" It too struck them before landing on the ground. "Bakugan...STAND!" Another tornado exploded out of the orb, "Ventus Falconeer!" The tornadoes exploded, revealing the two bird-like Bakugan that both squawked as they took to the air. Atmos: 350Gs Falconeer: 340Gs The brawlers both landed as their Bakugan began to glow, their powers rising. Atmos: 500Gs Falconeer: 490Gs The two Bakugan shot into the air and started flying around one another, both trying to claw at the other as they did so. Falconeer's lower G Power was made up for by the fact he had four sets of talons into of two, allowing him and Atmos to be on even ground. But not for long. "Ability, Activate!" Soarin held up the card as it glowed, "Hyper Whirlwind!" Falconeer beat its wings and unleashed a powerful gust, hitting Atmos and pushing it backwards. Atmos: 500Gs Falconeer: 690Gs As Atmos tried to regain control of its flight, Falconeer dived down and tried to slash at it. But before it could, Spitfire held up a card. "Ability, Activate!" Atmos swirled around as wind spiralled around it. "Typhoon Chase!" It then beat its wings and launched the wind towards Falconeer. Atmos: 600Gs Falconeer: 690Gs This attack didn't hurt Falconeer, but it did push the Ventus Bakugan back and allow Atmos to spread its wings and land on the ground without injury. Speaking of the ground. "Gate Card, Open!" The ground glowed with light, which flew into Atmos. "Take-Off!" Atmos beat its wings and rocketed off the ground, a tornado appearing beneath it that pushed the beast skywards with more power. Atmos: 800Gs Falconeer: 690Gs It shot towards Falconeer with blinding speed, Falconeer crossing its arms and bracing itself as Atmos slammed into it. The force of the attack sent it flying backward, but it managed to stay upright as Atmos charged again. Soarin quickly held up a pair of cards. "Double Ability, Activate!" Falconeer's hand claws glowed along with its wings. "Talon Strike, plus Metal Wing Slice!" Atmos: 800Gs Falconeer: 940Gs As Atmos got in closer, Falconeer dived and started spinning. This created a tornado of wind around it, which blew Atmos back before it could strike. Falconeer then stopped spinning and slashed at it, using both its claws and wings to slice Atmos down. The bird squawked in pain as it reverted back to ball form, falling to the ground as Spitfire's points dropped Soarin: 66% Spitfire: 72% "Ha!" Soarin smirked as his Bakugan returned to him, "how'd you like that. I told you I'm no quitter!" "Maybe," Zephyria stated as Spitfire picked Atmos up. "But just because you don't quit with a little pressure doesn't mean you aren't a quitter. When things get too hard, you'd rather cut and run instead of actually trying to overcome this an obstacle. You only like challenges you know you can win." "That's not true!" Soarin cried. "Calm down," Garuda told him. "They're just trying to rial you up." "Well it's working!" Soarin took out a Gate Card and threw it to the ground, then leapt onto a cloud and climbed up until he was at the right height. "Bakugan...BRAWL!" His Bakugan shot through the air, hitting several power-ups, and landed on the ground. "Bakugan...STAND!" It exploded into a tornado, "Ventus Falconeer!" The tornado exploded with the birdman flying out of it, its Gs increasing from the power-ups Falconeer: 540Gs "It's time you faced a true obstacle," Zephyria announced. "One you won't be able to overcome easily. Then we'll see whether or not you have what it takes to face adversity." With that, her armour fell apart to reveal her ball form and she shot over to Spitfire. She caught it and threw the ball forwards. "Bakugan...BRAWL!" Zephyria shot forward and landed, rolling close to Falconeer before popping open. "Bakugan...STAND!" She exploded into a tornado that shot into the air, "Ventus Zephyria!" The tornado exploded, revealing Zephyr's true form. It was a tall woman wearing dark green light-armor, which covered her chest, shoulders, arms and legs whilst leaving the rest of her light green body exposed. Her hands and feet were covered in metal armor, giving her sharp talons on her fingers and toes. She was also wearing a green mask that covered her mouth and nose, leaving only her eyes exposed as she had light blue hair on her head that was styled to resemble wings. She also had a pair of long green wings sticking out of her back, allowing her to take flight. Zephyria: 600Gs Falconeer: 540Gs "Wow," Soarin whispered at the sight of the Bakugan. "Wow is right," Garuda told him. "Zephyria is one of the most powerful Ventus Bakugan that ever lived. Against something like this, we won't have an easy time." "We'll see about that!" Soarin held up a card. "Ability, Activate!" Falconeer shot forward, its wings glowing. "Metal Wing Slice!" Zephyria: 600Gs Falconeer: 690Gs Zephyria shot to the side, easily avoiding Falconeer's attack. "Too slow," she told it as the birdman spun around and shot forward again. But Zephyria avoided the next attack too. "How'd you expect to win with such pitiful attacks." As she said that, Spitfire held up a card. "Ability, Activate!" Zephyria's metal claws began to glow, "Tornado Talon!" The winged woman shot forward at incredible speed, her claws becoming surrounded by a spiral of air. Zephyria: 850Gs Falconeer: 690Gs Before Falconeer could escape, Zephyria was on it and slashed at the beast. It squawked in pain and was sent flying backwards, Soarin's eyes going wide. "No way," he whispered as Zephyria danced through the air. "She's so fast. There's no way Falconeer can keep up." "Be cautious," Soarin nodded and thought. He would use his next attack to knock Zephyria off balance and then open his gate card for a super power up. "Ability, Activate!" He held up a card as Falconeer prepared its attack, "Hyper Whirlwind!" The birdman Bakugan beat its wings and unleashed a powerful gale, hitting Zephyria and knocking her backwards. She didn't seem to fight this however. Zephyria: 850Gs Falconeer: 890Gs As she landed on the ground, Soarin smirked. "Time for Quicksand. Gate Card-" "Ability, Activate!" Spitfire yelled, as Zephyria's claws once again glowed. "Updraft Uppercut!" She pulled her claws back before swinging them in a pendulum arc upwards. Doing so created a power gust that swept over the battlefield, hitting Falconeer and making it cry out. Zephyria: 1000Gs Falconeer: 890Gs "Falconeer!" Soarin cried, about to activate his Gate Card. But before he could, the ground began to glow and the light shrank into a card that was blown away by the wind. "What?" He grabbed it and saw it was his Gate Card. "How?" "Updraft Uppercut can blow any unused Gate Card back to the owner," Zephyria replied. "What's more, that Gate Card can be replaced by whoever's the fastest one to throw it down." Soarin's eyes went wide at this and tried to throw his card back in, but Spitfire was quicker. "Gate Card...SET!" The card flew forward and hit the ground, exploding into light as Soarin gasped. "Now she has another Gate Card?" He asked, worrying that this might be a problem. "I've gotta do something." But he was so busy thinking about this problem, Spitfire quickly activated another card. "Ability, Activate!" Zephyria was suddenly surrounded by a vortex of wind, "Tornado Guard!" Zephyria shot upwards as the tornado surrounding her acted as the shield, the Ventus Bakugan slamming into Falconeer and throwing it backwards. "No!" Soarin looked down at his BakuColar. Zephyria: 1100Gs Falconeer: 690Gs "She powered herself up and negated my Hyper Whirlwind!" Soarin realised, Falconeer falling to the ground. He tried to think. None of his Abilities could catch up to Zephyria and if another attack landed, Falconeer would got down and he would lose. "Soarin!" Garuda yelled, as Zephyria dived at Falconeer with its claws ready. Soarin saw no other option and grabbed Garuda. "Bakugan...BRAWL!" Garuda shot through the air and landed under Falconeer, opening up and unleashed a tornado. Zephyria pulled back to stop from being blown away, as the tornado exploded. "Ventus Garuda!" Garuda was now flying next to Falconeer, the two Ventus Bakugan staring her down. Zephyria: 1100Gs Falconeer+Garuda: 1140Gs "So you think you can win by teaming up?" Zephyria smirked under her mask, "a foolish miscalculation!" She flew up high, "all you've done is give me two target to hit and deal you damage against." Spitfire held up a card. "Ability, Activate!" Zephyria raised her claws, "Hurricane Gale!" She swung them around in a circular motion, causing a powerful tornado to be created and fly down towards the two. "Augh!" Garuda cried, Falconeer squawking as they were both struck and had their powers dropped. Zephyria: 1100Gs Falconeer+Garuda: 940Gs Falconeer could no long hold on, the force of the attack blowing it back towards the ground. It let out a might cry as it struck the ground, reverting back to ball form as Soarin's life gauge dropped. Soarin: 34% Spitfire: 72% "Not good," Soarin groaned as Zephyria's attack ended, Soarin looking down at the new difference in their points. Zephyria: 1100Gs Garuda: 350Gs "Over seven hundred points of difference," Zephyria chuckled as she floated downwards with crossed arms. "Most definitely a difficult obstacle to overcome." She focused on Garuda, then on Soarin. "What will you do? Quit?" "No way!" Soarin took out three cards, "I'm no quitter! TRIPLE ABILITY, ACTIVATE!" Garuda shot upwards and spread his wings, as lightning sparked around them. "Lightning Wing, plus Blitz Bolt, plus Fusion Ability, LIGHTNING VORTEX!" "RAAAH!" He squawked as he fired a bolt from his mouth, which shot towards Zephyria. However, she easy avoided it as Garuda dived downwards and spun. Zephyria: 1100Gs Garuda: 1000Gs He morphed into a lightning drill and shot towards Zephyria. But even with all the extra power, he was still weaker and Zephyria held out he claws. The lightning drill slammed into her claws but Zephyria managed not to lose any power. "Not bad!" She then thrust the arms forward, "but still not good enough." Garuda was knocked backwards and forced out of his drill, the birdman barely managing to stay upright. "Gate Card!" Spitfire yelled, "Activate!" The field glowed, "Heavenly Winds!" A gust flew across the battlefield. Despite how strong it was, Soarin didn't feel like he would be blown over. Instead, the wind felt...sweet. "What the?" Soarin asked as he looked down at his BakuColar. Zephyria: 1200Gs Garuda: 1000Gs "Only a hundred Gs?" He asked. Zephyria smiled, "this Gate Card is a special one of mine. It powers me up and lets me reuse two random Ability Cards I've already used before." Spitfire held up her hand as two cards appeared within them. Soarin's eyes went wide. Since Zephyria had already used some Abilities before facing Garuda, he thought he could still be on even ground. But now. "Having a hard time accepting this battle isn't one you can win?" Soarin glared at her, "that's alright. Just say the word and we'll end this." "Don't you dare!" Garuda squawked as he flew up and glared Zephyria down. "This battle isn't over yet. Soarin and I won't quit, no matter how much you push against us. Right Soarin." Soarin took a deep breath and nodded, "yeah!" He pointed at Spitfire, "just watch. This won't be like last time!" He held up a pair of cards. "Double Ability, Activate!" Garuda's body began to spark and he moved around at high speed. "Spark Streak, plus Sky Burst!" Zephyria: 1200Gs Garuda: 1250Gs Garuda shot upwards before diving down, picking up speed and flying as fast as he could towards Zephyria. But before he could hit her, the flying woman barely managed to soar out of the way. "Still so fast!" He cried, quickly pulling to a stop and shooting back up towards her. "Raaaaah!" "Double Ability," Spitfire held up two a cards, "Activate!" The sphere of wind appeared around her again, "Tornado Guard" Zephyria: 1300Gs Garuda: 1100Gs Garuda slammed into the sphere and bounced off it, flinching in pain as he fell back. As he did, Zephyria brought her hands together. "Plus, Aero Blast!" An orb of wind appeared between her hands, which she kamihamiha'd forwards to make explode into a powerful but small tornado. "GYAH!" Garuda was slammed in the chest, sending him plummeting towards the ground. Zephyria: 1300Gs Garuda: 900Gs He smashed into it and cried out, the tornado continuing to push him downwards. "Garuda!" Soarin yelled, as his friend tried to push himself back up. But the force of Zephyria's attack was just too strong, "stop it. You're hurting him!" "This can all be over if you let it," Spitfire stated. "Admit it, you want to quit. This silly little game isn't fun anymore, so you're gonna give it up and turn your back on your teammates...again." Soarin tried to say something, but the words wouldn't form in his throat. All he could do was fall to his knees, as Zephyria finally stopped her attack. "It's over," the Guardian Bakugan sighed. Soarin looked down in shame, but then... "No...it's not!" Soarin looked up and gasped seeing Garuda rolled onto his front and push himself to his knees, "we're not giving up yet." "Garuda." "Soarin...what is she talking about? Why does she keep calling you a quitter?" Soarin looked down again, clearly ashamed of the truth. "Because I am," he sighed. "I abandoned my soccer team and quit playing." Garuda turned to him. "I always loved soccer. It was the most fun thing I ever did. It was the only way I knew how to have fun." Years ago. Soarin and several other ten year olds laughed as they ran around the field, Soarin kicking the ball around. A kid managed to get in front of him, but he managed to flick the ball into the air above the kid before running around him. He kicked the ball before it could land and shot it into the net, he and his team cheering at the goal. "I loved the game so much, it's all I ever did. I practised because it was fun and over time, I got better and better. I got so good I managed to make my school's team, which I only joined because it meant I could play against more people that enjoyed the game. All throughout junior high when I wasn't in school, I was playing soccer with the rest of my team. And as the years went by, we all got better and better. Then we entered high school. "Alright kids," Spitfire called out as she looked at the new students that had joined the high school soccer team. "I've heard a lot of great things from your last coach and I'm expecting big things. When you're on my team, I expect you to give it a hundred and ten percent and always go for victory. Is that understood." "Yes coach!" They all cried before Spitfire had then running laps. "I was fine giving it a hundred and ten percent, but I wasn't really focused on winning. Sure, I would try to win and we did win. But to me, winning the game was just something that happened at the end of the game. I played because it was fun. But Spitfire didn't see it that way. It was okay at first, but then it happened." "And with that, Cloudsdale High win the Regional Championship!" The crowd cheered as Soarin's team rushed over to him, hoisting him up onto their shoulders. "You did it!" Soarin's friend cheered "We're going to the state championships!" Another teammate yelled. The next week, the team was back to training. Spitfire was paying particular attention to them, watching as Soarin dribbled the ball. He then launched it at the net, only for it to hit the post and bounce off. "Skies!" She cried, "what was that?" Soarin looked at her curiously, "I missed. It happens sometimes." "Well it can't happen anymore!" She cried, "this is the state championship. One missed goal could mean a loss for us. We didn't come this far just to lose now." She pointed at the goal, "shot drills. You can't stop until you get twenty goals with no misses." Soarin's eyes went wide. "She went nuts after that, constantly making us practise like the world would end if we lost. She was always telling us how the school was counting on us, piling up the pressure more and more. Eventually, I started hating soccer practise. My favourite thing was being turned into a nightmare. I understood a lot of people were counting on us, but I couldn't take it. I loved the game, but hated how it had suddenly turned into nothing but trying to win and nothing else mattered. The fun was gone. "Skies!" Spitfire yelled after Soarin missed another shot the week before the state championship was to start, "what are you doing? You can aim better then that. What's wrong with you?" Soarin finally couldn't take it any more and turned to glare at her. "I'll tell you what's wrong. This isn't fun anymore." He turned and marched off. "Where are you going?" "I quit!" Soarin yelled, his teammates crying out and begging him not to go. But he didn't listen. "I quit the team and they lost the first match of the state championships. After that, everyone was upset with me. They said they lost because I wasn't there. Because I quit." "I see," Garuda understood now. "Soarin, it wasn't your fault." "Yes it was," Soarin looked down. "I let my own enjoyment get in the way of what my team needed. I left my friends high and dry, just because I wasn't having fun anymore. I betrayed them." "No you didn't." He looked up at Garuda. "Maybe you could have done something different, but there was nothing wrong with you walking away. You said it yourself, that you only played soccer to have fun. If it wasn't fun, then there was no point in you playing at all. You wouldn't have been able to play at your best if your heart wasn't in it." "But my friends were counting on me and I let them down." "There's no shame in putting your well being above the demands of others. If you had kept playing. what would have happened?" Soarin didn't answer. "You might have lost anyway and people might have still blamed you for not trying hard enough. Or you might have won and kept winning, causing Spitfire to get even more obsessed with training. She didn't care about you. All she cared about was winning and that wasn't your fault." "You really think so?" "I do," Garuda nodded. "You should never feel bad for walking away from something if it makes you unhappy. That doesn't make you a quitter." "But I still love soccer," Soarin frowned. "And I love brawling. With everything that's been going on with Phantom and Lucifer, brawling's gotten so serious. How am I supposed to keep brawling if I know me losing could mean the end of the world. I'll have to brawl to win and that's just like what happened before." "But there's a difference," Garuda told him. "We're fighting to stop Lucifer. And when we do, we can go back to brawling for fun. Because you're not the only one who loves this game. I do too. And so do many others. For now, we have to play to win. But that doesn't mean we'll never get to have fun with this game. Once Lucifer's gone, we can play for fun." The words Garuda told him rang is Soarin's ear and he realised he was right. Soarin smiled at Garuda, "thank you." He then turned to Spitfire and stood up. "You ruined my love of soccer. Your need to be the best destroyed my enjoyment of one thing, but I won't let you destroy my enjoyment of another." Unbeknown to him, he started glowing as he pointed at her. "I'm no quitter! I'm gonna play for fun, but I'm also gonna play seriously to protect the fun I have with this game." "Tell'em Soarin!" Garuda cheered as Soarin's light grew brighter. "I'll protect this game that I love. Cause it's not just me that loves this game." He thought about all the friends he had made during his time as a Brawler. "Flash...Leo...Lyra...Rainbow...everyone!" He glowed brighter once again, as the attribute energy glowed just as brightly. "I'll protect this game that we love. And I'll protect those that love it as much as I do. Human, Bakugan...everyone. I'LL PROTECT THEM ALL!" With that, the light shot off of Soarin and into the Ventus Energy. The orb glowed brightly as it absorbed this light, then launched it back to the ground hitting Garuda. Everyone gasped seeing this, as a massive tornado erupted around the Ventus Bakugan. "Garuda!" Soarin cried, seeing his partner disappear into the wind. He then heard a beeping noise and looked down at his BakuColar, seeing Garuda's power beginning to raise. "Power Surge Detected." The tornado started sparking, unleashing occasional bolt that hit the ground and made it explode. Zephyria was forced to fly back away from the tornado, as the lightning grew stronger and stronger by the second. Then, tornado and lightning exploded off of Garuda, who took to the air once again to reveal his new form. He was larger then before and the most noticeable thing about him was his new arms. Said arms were pure green whilst his hands were bright yellow with green claws. He had green gauntlets around his forearms which had yellow lightning bolt shaped blades sticking out of them. His chest was covered in a green armor with yellow lightning patterns around it, whilst his knees had pads on them with the same lightning blades as his gauntlets. His wings were now connected to his back instead of his shoulders, the wingspan of it now being larger with yellow lightning bolt tips on the ends of them. His head now had a large green Roman Centurion Helmet on top, with a bright yellow plume. The bird man let out a squawk so powerful it shattered every plain of glass surrounding them, both Soarin and Zephyria watching in amazement. "I don't believe it!" The Ventus Guardian cried, "Garuda has evolved!" Lightning sparked around Garuda as he glided down towards them, "he has become Storm Garuda!" "You're okay!" Soarin cheered, happy to see Garuda was alright. "You think something like that would be enough to destroy me?" Garuda smirked back at him, "I'm a little insulted. You can make up for it by helping me beat these two." "With pleasure!" Soarin smirked as he looked down at his BakuColar. Zephyria: 1300Gs Garuda: 1150Gs "You might have evolved," Zephyria told them. "But you're still no match for me." "We'll see about that," Soarin held up a card. "Ability, Activate!" Garuda shot upwards as his body began to be surrounded by an electric aura. "Sky Spark Surge!" Zephyria: 1300Gs Garuda: 1400Gs He then dived down as the lightning flew into his new hand claw, the Ventus Bakugan slashing at Zephyria before she could react. "Augh!" She cried as the lightning flowed into her, knocking her backwards. "Hahaa!" Garuda laughed, as Zephyria regained control. "You think that's funny?" She asked, as Spitfire held up a card. "Ability, Activate!" Zephyria swung her arms around, "Hurricane Gale!" The tornado flew towards Garuda and slammed into him, pushing him backwards and making him flinch. Zephyria: 1300Gs Garuda: 1300Gs Despite this, the Ventus Bakugan smirked and spread his wings as wide as they would go. "Soarin!" "Ability, Activate!" Garuda's body once again began to spark, "Storm Booster!" The birdman vanished in a flash, disappearing from within the tornado and appearing back out of it. Zephyria saw this and gasped, as Garuda warped to another area, then another and another in a zigzag pattern. "He can teleport?" She asked, but then caught on. "He's fast. Faster than any Bakugan I've even seen." Sure enough, Garuda shot down towards her in the blink of an eye, He then circled around her so fast, it looks like there were dozens of him. Zephyria: 1300Gs Garuda: 1450Gs The next thing Zephyria knew, she was being slashed at by Garuda. "Augh!" She was then struck several more times, making her cry out again and again. "Enough!" She shot straight up as Spitfire held up a card. "Fusion Ability, Activate!" Zephyria's claws glowed pink before extending, as wind and lightning began to pulse off of them. "Storm Slash! Zephyria: 1800Gs Garuda: 1450Gs She shot forward, her claws ready to end this battle with a single slash. But before she could, Soarin held up his own card. "Ability, Activate!" Garuda's yellow wing tips began to glow and spark as he pulled them back, "Feather Shock!" He beat his wings and unleash a barrage of lightning infused feathers that stabbed their tips into Zephyria, pushing her back. "Augh!" She cried, he Storm Slash Ability fading as her power dropped. Zephyria: 1200Gs Garuda: 1450Gs She fell to the ground and landed, causing the ground to shake and making Spitfire stagger whilst Soarin managed to keep his footing. As she did, she look ever at him and saw the look of determination on his face. And a look of enjoyment. "I won't quit. Because this game is too fun to let someone like Sombra and Lucifer ruin it." He took out a card, "I'll play to win so that I can play for fun once again. And to do that, I'm gonna beat you!" He held the card up, "Ability...ACTIVATE!" Garuda shot upwards and began to spin, swinging his claws around whilst cupping them to apparently catch the air in them. "Soarin and I will never give up, no matter who tries to stop us. Because we're teammates. Partners. FRIENDS!" He pulled all the wind he had caught into a single spinning sphere, condensing it into a great force of power. "Now watch us beat you!" "Aero Bomber!" Soarin yelled as Garuda threw the sphere towards the ground. Zephyria: 1200Gs Garuda: 1600Gs Zephyria gasped as the orb struck the ground and exploded, unleashing a powerful wave of wind shooting out in every direction. When the wave struck Zephyria, the Guardian Bakugan could do nothing but try and shield herself with her claws and wings. "So...much...power!" She screamed as she was pushed backwards, "it's...it's too much!" Finally, she was blown off her feet and screamed as she reverted back to ball form. Spitfire was also knocked backwards, as he life gauge dropped. Soarin: 34% (Winner) Spitfire: 0% Soarin had been forced to close his eyes and shield them from the wind, but eventually the wind began to die down and Soarin was able to open his eyes. He looked around and saw he was still on the playing field, but Spitfire and Zephyria were gone. "What happened?" "We won!" Soarin looked up and his eyes went wide seeing Garuda flying down towards him, now in his new ball form. "We did it Soarin. I knew you were no quitter." Soarin smiled as he held up his hand. "I would have been if you hadn't made me realise how wrong I was about what I did." Garuda landed in his hand. "Thanks Garuda." He took a deep breath, "no more feeling guilty. Next time I see my old teammates, I'll let'em know they can't guilt me anymore. And I'm gonna tell Spitfire how wrong she was for pushing us too far." "Good for you Soarin," Garuda nodded. "Maybe you can find some new people to play soccer with. People who don't care whether you win or lose. If you really love that game so much, there's no reason you should stop playing it forever." Soarin smiled and nodded back before they heard Zephyria's voice speak up. "Well done." They looked into the sky, as he voice echoed all around them. "You've proven yourself worthy of the Attribute Energy. And now you must return to your world and fight to protect it. Be warned, these battles coming up truly do have the fate of the earth depending on them. If you do not feel that you can handle the pressure, then there is no shame in admitting it." Soarin and Garuda smiled at one another, "how can we quit now?" Soarin asked, "the fate of the world is depending on us." He looked up at the sky. "Besides, it's not like it'll be just us. We have our friends and teammates fighting by our side. The battles to come probably aren't gonna be fun, but if winning is the only way to return the game to how it was then I'm not gonna turn and run from it. Garuda?" "Couldn't have said it better myself," Garuda nodded. "The BakuFighters brawl for fun, but we also brawl to protect those we care about. Nothing is going to make us stop." "You speak well," Zephyria told them. "I am glad I chose to team you up. Good luck, my new Ventus Soldiers." With that, the green light appeared around them and the pair suddenly found themselves being pulled upwards. Both of them cried out, as they were pulled out of Zephyria's world and returned to their's. Hopefully, their friends would be waiting for them there and they would have all passed their tests as well.