Work Text:
Joe was the kind of person who spoke without thinking, never filtering his words. He always means well, there wasn’t a malicious bone in the boy’s body. Everything he said was with earnest sincerity. Of course, there was the occasional misunderstanding, when Joe was too blunt, or his wording too strange to be understood. Though nothing that couldn’t be fixed, so he never thought too much about it.
Sometimes he forgets that not everybody is aware of or accustomed to that habit of his. Dan was the first kid he had talked to face to face since he was checked into the hospital. He was also the first bakugan brawler he met and actually talked to. Despite being the webmaster, he hasn't interacted much with the people who made use of his website. While Dan went on about… whatever he was talking about, all Joe could think about was: “This could be my only chance to brawl against someone who won’t hesitate to go all out just because I’m hospitalized.”
Dan accepted the challenge with some hesitation, but it was quickly replaced with fiery determination and passion. Good, Joe was beyond gleeful at the prospect of brawling someone who’d take him on seriously as an opponent. Even though his hands shook through the entire brawl, Joe was grinning through it all. Basking in the new experience, and marveling at every little thing in the pocket dimension. For the first time, e finally got to see his own bakugans out in the open, rather than trapped in their mechanical marble forms.
It was… exhilarating.
He didn’t hear much about what Dan was saying to him before and during the brawl. Just that the Battle Brawlers think he’s working with Masquerade. Joe didn’t know what was going on with Masquerade, heck he’s only ever seen Masquerade’s leaderboard icon. That was the only exposure to Masquerade he’s gotten past sighting posts that were usually text-only. However, Joe did take precautions, no matter what, he knew the number one brawler was dangerous to all brawlers.
There was a moment where Joe considered telling Dan this, but when Dan threw out one of his bakugans onto the field, the thought was tossed aside. All of Joe’s attention was now on the giant creature that loomed above them.
Joe had fainted mid-battle though. The only thought that crossed his mind when he woke up was that he felt bad about possibly scaring Dan away from ever brawling with him again because of this incident. He never considered whether or not he should’ve told Dan about his condition first before they started their brawl.
His safety, his life, all of that swept aside momentarily to feel the thrill of a bakugan brawl.
The others seemed okay with forgetting about the incident when Joe reassured them he was fine. He told them that he never felt better than ever, and would be ready to brawl at any point now.
His strange dream was almost forgotten as they continued to speak with each other. He was lucky that the topic of brawling and Bakugan scratched something in the back of his head, resurfacing the memory of the most lucid dream he’d ever had. The only dream he’s ever remembered after waking up as well.
“Oh yeah! I found the Infinity Core.”
He saw it in his dreams. The word itself didn’t mean much to him, but he felt it was important for the brawlers to know about the dream, what he found, and his exchange with the giant white dragon that took his breath away. It seemed too important to be a silly dream he imagined himself, he wouldn’t consider himself creative enough to come up with something that elaborate, so it had to be real… in some way.
The desolate flat land, the foggy air, and the rough terrain that he treads through all felt too real (he could still feel the phantom ache of stepping on pointy pebbles even now); And of course, the colorful flashing light that practically blinded him when he looked upon the mystery Bakugan.
The white dragon’s only words were warning him to never let Naga get his hands on the Infinity Core, and that the core was hidden with him. Whatever that meant.
“It’s in me.” The statement that slipped from Joe’s mouth once again meant nothing to him, but something was scratching at the back of his head. Was he told this already? Joe’s hands went to his chest, a low thrumming reverberated back. That wasn’t his heart.
“It’s in you?!”
“How does that even work…”
“No way!”
A chorus of interjections rose from the brawlers.
“Well, our job here is finished then, we know where the Infinity Core is now.” Shun stated plainly, turning away from Joe. The others looked at him with their mouths agape, way too casual of a reaction to such a revelation. “Not like we can do much now, we can see Joe having the core inside him as another layer of protection against Naga.”
“That is true…” The rest muttered to themselves in agreement, before dissipating into a different topic; the need to evolve their bakugans further to stay toe to toe with Masquerade. Joe sighed, disappointed he couldn’t help the brawlers more.
Even with the offer to join the brawlers, accepted as one of their own… surely he could’ve done more for them. With some final words exchanged between each other, the brawlers bid him goodbye and headed home with their goal complete.
Joe let out another heavy sigh, returning to staring outside the window, fingers rubbing the ends of his hair. What should he do about the core that’s ‘inside’ him?
Would he have to throw it up? Gouge it out from his stomach, his chest? He didn’t know how the core stuff worked, the brawlers would figure it out. Maybe he’d see her again in his dreams, he’d be able to ask her more questions.
He did get to see the white dragon again, yet again in a dream but he didn’t get the chance to say much. She repeated her warnings again: “Do not let Naga get his hands on the Infinity Core.”
She left as quickly as she came.
There was no more correspondence from her in the next couple of days. That was fine, bakugan wasn’t at the forefront of his mind right now. He was busy thinking about where his mom was going to take him, and the things he’d get to experience now that he was out of the hospital.
He wanted to tell the brawlers about his upcoming trip while he was still in town.
So he did.
Meeting up with them wasn’t as hard as he thought. Marucho and Julie were hard to keep up with, but they eventually led him to meet up with Dan and everyone else. They congratulated him on the trip and would be ready to welcome him back with open arms whenever he returned.
Joe promised to bring back souvenirs for each of them.
Joe settled on visiting his hometown in Malibu.
It’d been years since he visited, having moved closer inland for his mom’s job, and his eventual hospitalization kept them from ever returning for visits. Joe was happy to see the beach again, even if the sea tasted as pungent as ever, and the shore was littered with cans and slimy seaweed. It was home, and so it was comfortable.
Malibu was never a particularly clean place to begin with.
He managed to see some familiar faces, old classmates spending their last few weeks of summer at the beach, the same worker at a shaved ice stall, the same owner working the surfboard stand.
Joe greeted them all but had no recollection of their names or what they were like. Just that they were familiar faces, that he had known much better years ago.
His mom wouldn’t let him surf, too soon, she said. He understood her reasons, even if he was disappointed. He kept that complaint to himself, opting to sit at the shore, feeling the waves lap at his feet before retreating.
He’d keep asking his mom to go back to the beach, every other day. When they weren’t spending time there, his mom took him to see places they had never seen before. A quaint museum with a huge theatre and lovingly carved statues that he was unfamiliar with. There was a gorgeous pond with so many lilies and pads that he could barely see the koi fish that swam underneath.
He almost stuck a hand into the pond to pet one of the fish before his mom dragged him off to see the rest of the building.
There were some days when they just stayed in their hotel, Joe would sleep until late afternoon, hoping for a dream. His mother continued her journalism during these days.
The dream never came.
Eventually, his mom drove him elsewhere, further away from Los Angeles, further away from Malibu. Fresno wasn’t all too interesting, but it was quaint and the smell of manure never really left.
Scratch that, Fresno was miserable, but it was an experience nonetheless. Joe appreciated it.
The last two weeks were spent in Oregon, where the air was cleaner and the rivers ran clearer.
The drive back to Wardington went smoothly, Joe slept in the car the entire time while his mom moved him and their belongings to a Uhaul. By the time he woke up again, he found himself in the front of a truck, watching familiar apartments and houses pass by him.
Joe liked the new apartment, it was fairly big and well-furnished by the time they moved in. While it was expensive, as most homes in California were, his mom seemed content with everything. So it couldn’t have been too bad, or she was just that good at hiding her feelings from him now. Who knows.
He carried his boxes into the house one at a time. Mindlessly unpacking until the floor in his room was covered in clothes, toys, and miscellaneous items. He briefly left the house to speak with Alice, in her words she was visiting just to welcome him to the neighborhood since the others were preoccupied. Being in the Doom Dimension and all that, Joe couldn’t fault them for not being able to meet him in person this time around.
Alice gave him a baker’s dozen of the nicest smelling pastries he didn’t like. It was a shame that he couldn’t fully enjoy the treat, but at least his mom would be able to. He continued unpacking, since what else could he do? He and Alice were both stuck on the same boat: waiting for the other brawlers to come back safely.
The last box was in the house, and a flash of light made Joe stumble back, the box in his hands dropping to the ground.
“Bakugan…?”
“Joe.”
The young boy stared up at the white and magenta figure that floated in front of him dumbly, mouth opening and closing.
“You must not let Naga obtain the infinity core.”
Those words again.
Oh!
He knew this bakugan, how could he not? What a familiar voice, what a familiar face, familiar colors, and familiar words uttered to him so many times now.
“Wavern?” Joe called out, smiling as he crawled towards the floating bakugan with his knees. He cupped his hands underneath her, allowing the bakugan to easily rest in his palms. He raised his arms as he stood up, getting a better look at her. “Oh, it is you—”
She gave a slight nod, or at least what Joe assumed to be a nod.
“—and don’t worry, everything will be alright.
Who he was saying that for, who knows. It felt like the only thing to say in this situation. Wavern who endlessly worried about the infinity core and Naga. Joe who supposedly had said infinity core inside him, someway, somehow. Everything will be alright, for both of them.
He hid her in his pockets, pushing his remaining boxes to the side as he sidestepped his mom and excused himself to the apartment complex’s rooftop. Wavern stood at the edge of the roof, explained what the cores did, how the infinity core saved his life the day he battled Dan. It wasn’t explicitly stated, but he knew she was telling him he would’ve died if it weren’t for the infinity core.
“It was hard for me to harness it, and move around freely in your world.” Wavern rolled to face him as she spoke. “It was inevitable that I’d end up letting it go, though completely on accident. I had meant to search out Salamander… to get help with keeping the infinity core within me but…”
She trailed off and turned away from Joe again. “Well, you can guess what happened then.”
“It… found its way to me.”
“Yes, it searched you out, for some reason, it went to a human, rather than a bakugan.”
Joe pressed at his chest again and felt the thrumming of the core. Why save him, why choose him, why choose him to be its proxy? Of course, the core didn’t answer, and neither could Wavern.
“That’s why I came to you, Joe. You will need my help, as I will need yours.
“I get all that, but why me?” He didn’t mean to sound so emotional, really he never even thought too much about it ever since his first conversation with Wavern. But, it was a little scary now that he knew all of this
He was just some sickly kid that enjoyed coding, thought the mechanisms of bakugan were cool, and had a lot of free time and a perfectly functioning laptop to create a simple forum page. Why him, why not any of the other battle brawlers who had more experience and passion? Why not anyone else?
Wavern didn’t answer that question, he supposed she didn’t know either and didn’t want to make up something to have an answer. This would’ve normally upset Joe, but for once, the lack of a response felt better than actually having one. He was a little afraid of the answer. Hopefully, this would just be another thought buried in the waves of his subconscious. It wouldn’t become a big deal, and it’d drift so far out that he never questioned it again. Joe could only do his best, keeping the core safe, with Wavern as his self-proclaimed failsafe (whatever that meant), and his self-appointed guardian bakugan.
It felt good being like the other brawlers now.
They told the others to make it seem like Wavern was the one holding onto the infinity core. Just as a precaution, but somehow that precaution brought him to an inevitable fate all brawlers suffered: brawling Masquerade.
(Joe found it weird he was sought after for a brawl, it wasn’t like he was anywhere on the leaderboards but… he did want to understand the wariness people felt towards the number one brawler for himself.)
The confrontation with Masquerade was suffocating. Perhaps it was just the infinity core reacting to a being created from the silent core (as Wavern explained to him), but Joe persisted with Wavern’s aid as always.
He expected Masquerade to leave after his loss, but he didn’t. The masked figure stood his ground, standing stiff with a neutral expression. The way he just stood there, silent and foreboding unnerved Joe. He didn’t want to stay on the rooftop, the blossoming joy of his first victory didn’t feel so good anymore.
“Good brawling you Masquerade, better luck next time getting the core then yeah?”
Masquerade sneered, “We’ll see about that, Joe Brown. I may have lost, but thanks to this I know a little more now.”
Joe’s blood ran cold, did the other boy already figure it out…?
Ah. Oh well.
Not like Masquerade could do anything about it, that was one precaution down but the core was still with him. It wouldn’t go anywhere if he didn’t willingly give it away, or if he lost control of it.
Losing control was an unlikely scenario, seeing how he couldn’t use the power of the orb as Wavern could. Therefore, he wouldn’t be getting weaker or more powerful even with the orb. It was just peacefully thrumming within his chest as always.
Joe responded with a tilt of his head and an easygoing grin. “Aha, did you? Well, I hope you can tell me about it next time! I really should get going though, that was a fun brawl!”
Masquerade scoffed, disappearing with a flip of the card in his hand.
“Are you alright Joe?”
“I will be after everyone comes back… I really hope they’re okay.” He held Wavern with both hands cupped together, bringing her closer to his face. He leaned into her, wishing to have the chance to interact with her when she was in her other form. She looked like she’d give great hugs.
Even in her little ball form, she did her best to comfort a young boy, leaning her head against his.
“They will come back Joe, I know they will.”
“Right…”
Of course, they’ll come back, they’re the Battle Brawlers after all. How could he forget their accomplishments against Masquerade and Hal-G. The Doom Dimension… while it was a whole other league, he had to believe they’d be able to triumph through it as well.
“You’re right, let’s go talk to Alice about this, I’m sure she wants to stay updated about Masquerade’s whole thing too!”
“Call her in advance Joe, she might not be at home for all you know.”
“Ah, you’re right! You’re always right, you know that Wavern. What’d I do without you?”