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The gentle crunch, crunch of her boots hitting the snow brought a rush of excitement to Alice as she hurried outside. The cafe she had been wasting time in had all but stolen her attention, and it was only through a cursory glance did she notice the white fluff slowly descending from the sky. She could barely withhold herself as she whipped her cellphone out and dialed the first person that came to mind. It didn't take long for his voice to come through.
"Hello?"
"Shun, it's snowing!"
Silence from the other end, for but a moment. "...I know. Did you..."
Alice's eyes quickly scanned the part of the city where she stood. The cafe was in a central spot right on main street; the road itself was far wider than anything built solely for humans, instead being able to house plenty of Bakugan in their true forms. Some few Bakugan, primarily of the Ventus variety, flew overhead, no doubt just as excited about the snow as she was.
"Do you want to walk around together? I'm by, um..." She shot a glance back at the cafe she had just left. "...Big Wave Cafe."
"Ah. Meeting by a cafe..." Shun laughed a bit, in his usual rather subdued way. "Just like old times. I'll be right there."
He then hung up, and Alice slid her phone back into her pocket, glancing down to her shoulder. Atop it rested a black-violet figurine of a three-headed drake; Hydranoid, one of her closest friends. He readily met her gaze, all three of his heads turning up to meet her.
"Yes, Alice?"
"How, um, do I look?"
Hydranoid let out a faint, amused hiss of sorts before floating from her shoulder, gently beginning to flit around Alice, tutting all the while. "Hmm. You look..."
Not bad, was the response Alice was hoping for. She wore a cozy, beige-brown fur zipped just below her collar, comfortable black slacks, rather well-worn boots, and rather fuzzy gloves that were bulky, if not incredibly warm. After a moment more, Hydranoid slipped within one of the pockets of her coat, dragging out a beret that rather perfectly matched the look and texture of her coat, plopping it in Alice's hands. Once she slipped it on, Hydranoid drifted just a little away from Alice, facing her with a nod.
"...well, as the humans put it, you look quite chic. Very, er, 'en vogue,' I suppose."
Alice let out a rather respectable laugh, bowing her head at Hydranoid. "Hehe. I knew letting you read some of Julie's magazines was a good idea." She reached her hands out, cupping them, letting Hydranoid land in her palms before waddling back onto her shoulder.
"Now, we, um..." She made a few wary glances around the plaza. There was some activity, from the occasional towering Bakugan that would march past to the gaggle of humans walking and talking through the snow. "...just need to--"
There was a sudden presence to her side. Alice let out a frightened gasp, shuddering, before whipping around to face whoever this unknown--
It was Shun. She let out a sigh of relief, meeting the stone-faced ninja with a smile.
"Shun! Oh, it's so nice to see you! Please don't sneak up on me like that..." She pulled him into a hug, taking inward glee as the poor brawler went a little ramrod stiff at the sudden bit of affection.
"I... um... walked right up to you. I'm surprised you didn't see me." He stepped out of the hug, giving a nod towards Hydranoid. He was dressed far more plainly than Alice: a simple, snug black coat, baggy sweatpants, low-cut darkly-shaded boots, and, of course, those out-of-place red gloves he had recently taken a liking to. His otherwise jet black hair was speckled with bits of white snow; from a glance, so too was Alice's.
Nevertheless, Alice happily hooked her arm around Shun's and began to walk off in a random direction. "So, how has your day been?"
"...where are we going?" Shun didn't seem worried; merely curious, if the gentle smile on his lips was any hint. Alice merely shrugged in response, making a wide gesture towards the open, snowy plaza.
"Anywhere, really. I just wanted to, well, see how everyone was doing. But, you were my first pick, and also, uh, probably the most available." Alice noticed the faint wince Shun made at that comment, flashing him a more apologetic smile of sorts. "...but, just to... rip the bandaid off, any word from...?"
"No, no, sorry." Shun quickly shook his head, a rather troubled frown momentarily overtaking him. Alice nodded in earnest and wracked her mind for some other topic to swerve to, but, Shun was already on top of it.
"So." He cleared his throat, his brow furrowed.
"So...?" Alice gave him a gentle nudge, grinning wide up at him.
"How's the... weather?"
Alice could barely withhold her laughter at the question. Where she was from, cold weather was often the rule and not the exception, but, with where Shun grew up, she'd have to give him some slack. "Oh, well, haha. Normal."
Shun glanced away, his lips pressing into a thin line. It was hard to tell if he was flustered, or if the chilly weather had dyed his cheeks a soft pink. "...u-um, what I meant to say was, um, how's... Hydranoid... liking this place?"
Hydranoid hopped up and down on Alice's shoulder a little. "You talk as if I'm not here! But, yes, it is quite lovely. Although I do not have many opportunities to take to my true form, I am nevertheless pleased to be visiting such a place."
Shun cocked an eyebrow at the diminutive figurine. "...really...? That was... years ago, what happened with Naga. Do... other Bakugan still not trust you?"
"L-Let's..." Alice just about put a hand over Hydranoid to silence him, but, fortunately, he didn't seem to eager to respond. Instead, she smiled back over at Shun, once again nudging him with her elbow. "...move on. Shun, how's your grandfather?"
That brought a smile to Shun's face; good. "He's been fine. He writes me quite often, and I was planning on visiting when the weather isn't so, er... snowy."
"Well, tell him I said hi." Alice looked back to the road ahead of them. They had made good progress down main street, nearly approaching where the sidewalk took a turn to the other, less-grand segments of the city. As well as they had done to blend the needs of both brawlers and Bakugan, it was still quite evident when a part of the place was more meant for humans.
"Hey, Shun."
"Hmm?"
Alice glanced up at him yet again, giving a more curious tilt of her head. "Did you bring any Bakugan with you? I bet Hydranoid's feeling a little pent up, hehe."
She winked down at Hydranoid, who responded in turn with all manner of bashful stammering.
"Wha- I am beyond such, er, barbaric means of relieving stress! I, er..." He wriggled around atop her shoulder as a snowflake gently landed on his central head, resting there for a few moments before starting to melt away. Shun let out a gentle chuckle at Alice's antics before shaking his head.
"No, unfortunately. It's been too long since I've brawled with you, though. Have you, uh, brawled much, at all...?"
Despite Shun's general aloof nature, it was easy for Alice to see that glimmer in his eye as he asked that. In turn, she nodded exuberantly, gently holding her palm out as Hydranoid wordlessly clicked into his marble form and rolled into her hand.
"Why, yes, in fact! It's been difficult competing with our Neathian and Gundalian friends, but, Hydra and I have managed. The best part is that, well, Marucho invited me to attend this, er, Earthen-themed brawling tournament he's going to be hosting soon."
Shun raised an eyebrow before gently shaking some of the snow that had gotten in his hair off. "'Earthen...?'"
"The, er, original rules. At least, for us." Alice's grin widened a little. "I thought it sounded fun, so, I accepted. Did he also invite you?"
Shun frowned, his gaze wandering a bit, keeping Alice in suspense for quite a bit longer than she was expecting. She noticed his gaze wandering a bit, but, before she could raise her fingers and snap them, he suddenly slipped his arm out from around hers and began to walk away.
"Hey, um--" Alice began to hurry after Shun, noticing him quickly approaching some random person who had been walking the same direction as the two of them were.
They were dressed in a rather plain, all-white ensemble with the hood of their coat pulled over their head. Judging by how quickly Shun made his way towards them, he likely recognized something about them, but Alice barely had any time to ask any questions until Shun spoke up once more.
"Fabia? Is that...?"
The individual turned around in an instant, staring up at Shun in silence. They were shorter than him, closer to Alice's height; their posture, however, was a lot more like Shun's. More alert; ready to jump into action at a moment's notice.
And then, there was the mention of the name. Alice wracked her mind for a bit, as the information she had studied about Neathian royalty rose to the surface. Following the resolution of the Neathian-Gundalian War, the prior queen, Celine Sheen, had stepped down, letting her younger sister take the throne. The younger sister, named Fabia Sheen. Alice decided to hold her commentary for a moment, though, instead letting Fabia at last speak up.
"Oh, um, Shun." Her tone seemed awfully casual for royalty, but, maybe she was just the more rebellious sort. Finally, Shun remembered that Alice existed, glancing back at her with more of a smile than usual.
"...sorry, Alice. This is, um, Fabia. A friend. Fabia, meet Alice."
At last, Alice got a good look at Fabia's face, but, much to her slight disappointment, she looked perfectly human. Maybe she was disguising herself, but, with how little Alice knew of Neathia, she couldn't say. And so, instead of asking a million questions, she gave a polite wave and only asked one.
"It's nice to meet you. What's, um, the queen of Neathia doing out here in Bakugan City?"
Fabia flushed a little at the question and glanced down at her feet, idly wringing her hands. "...w-well... um... Rafe helped me sneak out, uh, I... wanted to see what the city was like without having to arrange some... massive convoy or whatnot. But, um, I wasn't expecting whatever, um..." She held her hand out, gently catching a snowflake, letting it sit in her gloved hand. "...this is."
"It's snow." Shun frowned a little as Fabia seemed even more confused than ever, and Alice stepped in, hopefully to allay her confusion and not make more of it.
"Uh, it's like rain. But, frozen. We were going on a walk; did you want to go with us?"
Fabia seemed a little surprised at the offer, but, after giving Shun a brief glance and getting a nod in response, she met Alice's curious gaze with a smile. "I mean, sure! Not to be, uh, weird, but, your last name is... Gehabich, right?
Alice gave a rather matter-of-fact nod, leading to Fabia rather directly meeting her eyes.
"Shun, Dan, and Marucho often talked about you, yknow."
A little odd, but, Alice was used to Shun, so this wasn't too far from the norm.
"Oh, really?" Alice smirked over at Shun, who made a point to not meet her eyes. "Well, I'm sure it's all good things, right?"
"...yeah." Shun readily nodded a little, clearly not expecting even the faintest bit of teasing from her. They definitely needed to spend more time together in that case. However, Alice had more to do than make fun of her friends. So, instead, she happily clasped her hands together, eager as ever to learn more about the sudden friend of Shun's that had fallen right into her hands.
"Well, why don't we walk to the park? That way, we can also let Hydra wander around a little. Oh, and, Fabia, this is Hydranoid, my brawling partner!" Alice happily presented Hydranoid to Fabia, who, for whatever reason, winced a little. Regardless, Hydranoid nodded Fabia's way, otherwise remaining silent.
"The, uh, park, huh? Which way is that?"
"Follow me!"
Alice yet again hooked her arm around Shun's and continued along the path she had already picked back when she and Shun had started their merry little walk. The conversation along the way meandered about; first, Alice had asked about how Fabia and Shun had met, and, through a rather heavily abridged version of whatever had happened once Dan and friends had been dragged into the Neathian-Gundalian War following Bakugan Interspace's creation, Alice found herself reaching a far better understanding of why exactly Shun and Fabia were so close.
And then, naturally, it had gone elsewhere, back to earlier times. Back to when the cards first fell on Earth, and when Alice and her grandfather accidentally changed the course of humanity by coming into contact with Naga. She had kept the details of her own involvement sparse, though; it wasn't something that she had fully come to peace with yet, and, fortunately, Shun seemed to understand. They had eventually reached the park, right in the middle of a particularly touchy subject.
"...but, Hydranoid didn't do that of his own free will." Fabia crossed her arms with a frown, eyeing the figurine atop Alice's shoulder.
"It's... I get that, and I'm glad you think that, but tell the average Vestroian Bakugan..." Alice let out a sigh, her mind drifting past a variety of topics she could jump to. But, no, she couldn't avoid this forever. Hydranoid, unsurprisingly, had been quiet the entire time, only for Shun to break his own silence once more.
"Hydranoid, did you want to pop out?"
Fabia and Alice both looked to Hydranoid, who let out a crackling hiss-like sigh in response, bowing his heads.
"Hmph. I suppose. But, if this causes any trouble...!"
Hydranoid drifted off of Alice's shoulder and trailed off some distance away before emitting a brilliant violet glow that cut through the snowy haze. A dark shadow was then cast over the gathered trio of brawlers as Hydranoid in his true form loomed over them all, gazing down at them with his usual gentle ire.
"Well? Happy now?" Hydranoid leaned his heads down, snaking them towards Alice, who took the time to happily pet all three of them.
Fabia, meanwhile, gazed on not in fear, but merely stunned silence. It was hard to read what exactly was going through her mind, but, eventually, she looked back to Alice with a growing smile, one rife with mischief.
"Well. Heh, uh, Shun, parks are where humans like to brawl a lot, right?"
Alice felt a sudden rush of excitement surge through her mind as Fabia pulled the sleeve of her coat up, revealing a Baku-Meter strapped to her wrist.
"Oooh, I like her even more, Shun." She yet again gave him a gentle elbow jab to the chest, watching as Fabia brandished a white-and-gold marble from her pocket that quickly popped out to reveal the figurine of an odd, bat-like creature that quickly flew up beside her head.
Alice turned her gaze to Hydranoid, who readily grinned back at her, all three of his heads bearing their fangs. She then hurried to his side, all the while reaching into her jacket for that card she always kept close to her side.
"A brawl? Well, I'll have you know, you're going up against one of the original six!"
Fabia moved to stand by Shun's side, gently resting a hand on her hip. "Oh, I wouldn't have it any other way. Shall we?"
Alice brandished the card, holding it aloft, right as Hydranoid let out a deafening, echoing roar.
"Yes, we shall!"
Time began to slow, the snowfall drifting to a mere crawl as Alice's card came to life with a brilliant yet eerie white glow. She happily met Fabia's gaze, and, at last, the games were afoot.
"Field, Open!"