#Emperor Barodius

[whiplashisthinkingaboutbakugan]

It’s really funny how much Bakugan Battle Brawlers is a space opera. It just is about intergalactic political drama. Probably the coldest take this platform has ever heard about the series. This children’s early 2000s anime is actually about how everyone in the room wants to stab the Julius Caesar of the season ✨✨✨

That’s what the whole Kazarina and Gill thing was. It went crazzzyyy watching those two throw subordinates at each other the whole season. Then Gill, the guy who was seething the whole time, finally just stabs her when they’re alone in the heat of battle. INSANE. Then he dies because Barodius values her MORE!

The whole Nurzak situation was fun in its own right. The whole ‘the old regime was better’ shtick made Gundalia feel more real.

Ren’s entire deal, bro GUNDALIA’S entire deal. Ren being kept in captivity and raised as a soldier. Gundalians being raised to not trust others and be ruthless. Both Neathia and Gundalia are warrior cultures too.

Fiaba’s fiancé DIED in war and Aronaut faked amnesia for her sake so they wouldn’t talk about him anymore. Fiaba not bringing up Jin for the same reason but because of that…what kind of children’s TV show..

THE VEXOS WERE WILD. Lync switching sides three different times. Spectra and Gus doing the same. Hydron going ballistic and targeting the other Vexos just to feel and appear useful. Blaming each other for their losses. Whatever the heck Mylene and Shadow Prove were running around doing.

TIME TO TALK ABOUT GUS ATTEMPTING TO ASSASSINATE ZENOHELD! Imagine being so whipped for a scene kid that you attempt to murder the head of your country….. Girl…

Also Hydron exploded himself and his father….WHO LEADS VESTAL RN? I gotta get on Mechtanium Surge.

Anyway watching Dan and Co. semi- casually wandering into two alien societies and changing the tide of their political climate never ceases to amuse me.

[pixelbytesquad]

I bring a meem

[gummy-sharks666]

Breaking: evil dictator is actually a pathetic little meow meow

[tiktokonaclock]

The Siren and the Demon Chapter 13 is here!!

[akari-diamond]

Redesign of a Bakugan OC of mine I made a couple months back and decided to post her here.

Her name is Xenia, she’s 25 years old, and she’s the biological daughter of Barodius and Kazarina that was created from her mother combining her own DNA with that of the Emperor with his permission because he wanted an heir to his throne and legacy without needing to tend to a woman and be distracted from the war. She was grown in a pod in a secret part of Kazarina’s lab where she was discovered after the war ended and later adopted and raised by Nurzak a month later when she was ready to be taken out.

She did inherit her biological father’s confidence in her abilities as a brawler and her mother’s craftiness and intelligence. But thankfully being raised by Nurzak tempered these traits prevented her from becoming like her parents and she grew up to be a kind, if a bit mischievous and playful, respectable young woman with an appreciation for life and the peaceful world she grew up in as well as detesting her birth father for the terrible things he did and tried to do.

She loves her adoptive father dearly and is grateful to him for taking her in and raising her as his own and greatly respects his work as Prime Minister to reverse the effects of the previous regime and making Gundalia a much better planet than before. Though she has very little interest in politics herself, she does pitch in every now and then with some of the charitable projects he creates to help out the less fortunate. Which Nurzak is always happy to see and make him proud to see the good, responsible woman she turned out to be.

She also inherited Kazarina’s hypnotic abilities, but chooses not to use them unless absolutely necessary.

Xenia is a Haos/Subterra brawler, with her Haos partner being her mother’s previous partner Lumagrowl, who she met when she was child and just learning to brawl. They officially became partners when she was 10 years old and allowed to register as a battler on her own per the rules agreed upon by all the races. (Humans, Vestals, Neathians and Gundalians are all at peace with each other in my mind thanks to the hard work of the Battle Brawlers. And 10 is considered the minimum age eligible age children have to be in order to be allowed to become brawlers. Considering that was roughly how old many human kids were when the Bakugan first came to earth and the game was created. But only people 18 and up are legally permitted to enter serious tournaments with things such as cash prizes due to international laws.)

I haven’t decided on a Subterra partner for her yet, but I will be working on creating one eventually and will update this post when I have them finalized.

[marukrawler]

I wish gundalian invaders had been longer cause I actually want to know some background of the twelve orders. Like How did Airzel meet Gill or how Gill and Barodius's relationship actually is but we got a smaller season and the results are wanting. I also just want to know more bout Airzel. Where did you come from?! What is everyone else's goals? Give me crumbs at least!

i'm not sure if we would've gotten those answers with a longer season. season 2 felt like it went on forever and yet, there are so many season 2 characters that we know nothing about. but i do share your sentiment because i also feel like season 3 could've benefited greatly from being a longer season.

there is some information from the japanese character descriptions about the twelve orders that may or may not be outdated/scrapped so take it with a grain of salt.

gill is supposedly an orphan who was adopted by the imperial family and raised alongside barodius, who he views as an older brother. this could explain his fierce loyalty and devotion toward the crown (the bakugan wiki says he was brought up by emperor barodius but the jpn info says it was the previous emperor who raised gill, which makes more sense.)

now, gill's page also mentions that he didn't trust kazarina because he suspected that she might want to exploit barodius' power for her own gain—but gill didn't like kazarina in the show because he's a misogynist barodius' right hand man and felt that his position as second in command was at risk of being taken by her. that isn't to say that gill and barodius didn't grow up together but there's nothing in the show to really support it either so it may or may not be canon.

according to those same character descriptions, airzel was found and brought up to be a warrior by gill and barodius. he achieved top results in the special bakugan team created by gill and was then selected by barodius to join the twelve orders. this aligns with what is written on his page in the bakugan wiki.

again, there is nothing in canon to suggest that gill and barodius were that involved with airzel's upbringing and training so this may or may not be scrapped information.

this part, however, sounds very unlike airzel. if anything, it sounds more like nurzak.

nurzak is mentioned in barodius' page, but only as a member of the previous emperor's faction and not as barodius' advisor the way he is shown to be in canon.

so perhaps some attributes that were initially given to airzel were later transferred to nurzak? there's no way for us to know for sure since nurzak's character page isn't among the others but it would be interesting to know if there had been plans for airzel to defect at some point.

the part about him having "dreams and hopes for the future of gundalia" sounds optimistic, and if it's anything close to what happened to nurzak, then airzel might have had to wrestle with his overwhelming loyalty toward his superiors and possibly turn on them.

but this is all just speculation on my part.

[laggingbehindreality]

Silly Game Time: Who are some of your favorite Bad Guys in fiction, and why?

I'm not talking a mere antagonist nor a character who might be doing bad things reluctantly or even for good, noble reasons. I mean a *villain* who's out there causing trouble and/or scheming because *they want to*, and are usually enjoying it. They can be from any sort of story (books, movies, shows, games, OCs, etc.), so long as they're an honest-to-badness *villain*.

i need to go through my inbox so lets start here

i got a 3 for 1 answer so i will keep it breif by explaining the details i think are funniest about each one

this guy is called Happy Chaos! (not his actual name he stole it from someone else.) Like me, he does not enjoy the taste of coffee because it is too bitter. Unlike me, he set off every single nuke on planet earth at the same time dw about it

This man of the cloth is named Enrico Pucci! He is 40 years old, wears $300 gucci pants, and has been described as ‘Turbo Jesus’ when his dubious haircut reaches its final form. Watch out, space-time continuum!

This alien lizard is Emperor Barodius! He loves playing children’s card games to the point of interplanetary mass murder and he hates his dad, who notably told him ‘do not murder people’. He has the most ludicrous shoulderpads ive ever seen, somehow distracting me from noticing the deep v-neck titty window for almost a decade?? who let him dress like this

[tazzyz]

kazarina  🤝  cioccolata 

slutty clothes and doctor vibes

[senotsuri]

I really want to know how the gate and key thing happened. Was it something that secretly progressed through the whole series or was it really just because of code eve(?)

Also that whole stuff with magmel and the other half of dan really makes me think that maybe dan is a neethian(is that how you spell it) or even Gundalian. Since if were going by logic, shouldn't the only beings connected be Dharak and Drago and since they're both bakugan, maybe Dan is Gundalian to match Barodius.

The Gate and Key are Eve’s way of labelling what the universe she helped create spat out as it’s good and evil embodiments- only when one of them is defeated by the other does the Gate and Key technically cease to exist as a good and evil embodiment thing, because at that point the Gates and Keys fuse into one Gate and Key (from what I remember. I’m hoping Iee-kee understands how it works, because they’re currently watching through MS part 1, which is when the Gate and Key finishes its plot function.)

It’s very much not a whole series thing- if it was we would’ve heard about it and Code Eve much earlier than the end of GI.

The “other half” of Dan is more or less a tortured Dan reacting to a massive amount of stress that’s been bottled up for ages, rather than a different alien species thing.

And yes, it should really only be connected to Drago and Dharak (convenience is the word of the day...), but because of the Switch Code (you work well with this person, according to Eve’s explanation of the Switch Code), Dan and Barodius are connected to it by proxy. This messes things up in terms of the themes (most importantly the theme of team work.)

I personally like to imagine that Dan would be neathian, if he wasn’t human, just to act as a true opposite to Barodius, but having him match up as also gundalian makes sense from a Gate and Key point of view- one alien race isn’t more evil than the other, because these two embodiments come from the same alien race.

The problem is Drago and Dharak should’ve never been in the same dimension- their ancestors had to be split away from each other by dimension, because their fights were so destructive that that was the bare minimum. Having them come across each other ends up making the split of Neathia-Gundalia from Vestroia useless? Yes they’re much less powerful than Genesis Dragonoid and Dharaknoid, but they can be just as powerful. Have you seen how often Drago evolves because he’s just given a power?

It’s weird- the Gate and Key thing is very skewed in Dan’s favour the moment he wins the initial battle for it (the one that results in Barodius becoming Mag Mel.) Barodius’ social power is slaughtered, his sanity is in pieces, and he’s forced to rely on Anubias and Sellon to gather power for him to even go anywhere that isn’t his lair. Not to mention Dharak got the same treatment, becoming Razenoid.

And that’s not even down to Dan’s eternal plot armour. And Mag Mel blows up at the end, just to seal the deal. I would’ve written Barodius as dead, but I guess they wanted to highlight why some powers are just curses to have.

[darkusharpus]

[cooplagoop]

Contemplations

Pairing: Gill x Barodius

Rating: T

Word count: 2.3k

How odd was it for the emperor of the most advanced technological species to have his thoughts plagued by his best friend? Instead of focusing on managing his planet’s finances, he was interupted by the image of Gill’s eyes, his broad shoulders & that slim jawline. Needless to say he’d been avoiding the man for 3 months, spending only the required amount of time with him as his second in command, while trying to figure out why he was feeling this way. 

Eventually he came to the realization of the cause of his newfound fascination with Gill being nothing other than a newly-formed crush on the sly bastard. 

‘Despite isolating myself from him as much as possible for 3 whole months, my… desires... towards him haven’t weakened nearly as much as I’d prefer.’

Although his desires had decreased in intensity as of late, they were still ever present. In one of his bouts of curiosity as prince he had attempted to research the phenomena called love & found a theory by a gundalian neuroscientist claiming love is experienced as a building & descending series of waves. The scientist was trying to argue that love doesn't fade away over time, but that it slowly ascends to a certain point where it is unconsciously built up within the psyche then reaches the peak of infautation once the conscience fully acknowledges these feeling & afterwords it descends into the subconscience after focus starts to waver until the next wave arrives to begin the ascend again. According to this theory Barodius' conscience should be almost completely aware of his feelings.

Being as well-read as he is, it didn’t take him more than a few weeks of research & self-reflection to conclude what these feelings actually are. He was no child after all. He’d successfully courted several women in his teenage years mostly to spite his traditionalist father, who had remained steadfast in the belief of reserving oneself for the “right one” & even tried to pick a girl for him on more than one occassion. Just thinking about this made his blood boil. 

‘THAT SHITTY OLD MAN’ 

In order to prevent himself from damaging his own chambers in a fit of blind rage, he diverted his attention to his conquest for Nethia's sacred orb. Soon. Very soon he'd make Dharak the most powerful Bakugan the cosmos has ever seen. After calming himself down for a minute or two with the thought of his inevitable succes, his overbaring anger was eventually reduced to a much smaller flame ever still threatening to consume anyone standing in his path. He sighed while recalling the events of the past 3 months again.

During the remainder of these last few months Barodius had tried to reason that he couldn’t love a man. He couldn’t recall a time when he’d been interested in any man overall making his feelings for Gill even more shocking to him. That is until he saw some naked pictures of good looking men on an erotic photography site. 

Even then the revelation hadn’t been any easier to accept. As the only heir to a long line of aristocracy he was obligated to produce children. In spite of his budding adolescence, talk of wedlock persisted among the other noble houses.

The real question was could he even be in a romantic relationship with another person. His personal outlook had been to always put himself first regardless of if others called that evil or selfish. It would be for the best if his significant other had no plans of changing his philosephy.  

Continuing his musing Barodius was once again swept away to his thoughts this time about what his ideal lover would be like. He could make do with any physical traits to be honest as long as they wore presentable clothing. He hoped they'd have an interest in jewelery as well. Jade jewlery was very popular in these times. Oddly enough Gill wore bronze jewels on the ends of his sleeves.

'Probably to match Krakix'

And just like that he found himself thinking of Gill yet again. Groaning, the emperor closed his eyes in another attempt to clear his mind.

Dharak had apperently decided an intervention was neccessary.

“Is something wrong, Barodius?“ he said after exiting the confinds of his owner's overcoat.

The emperor doubted his companion was very knowledgable on love affairs.  Then again he didn't have many options for consolence now, did he? 

Airzel is Gill’s protege, so the red head would notice without fail if Airzel slipped up for even half a second. Even though Airzel knew a great deal of confidental information regarding Gundalia, he might view his emperor’s personal secret to not be on the same level of importance or too strange for him to fully understand why such a trivial thing was to be kept secret in the first place. 

Stoica would most likely concoct some kind of ludicrus plan, which would have him questioning his sanity at the end of it. Kazarina is a workoholic with nothing aside from contempt for all Gundalians excluding her Bakugan & himself, of course. The only one left was Nurzak. He did have a wife once making him the best choice out of the Twelve Orders. However, Nurzak would no doubt try to guide him as if he was still a prince & truth to be told Barodius hated such pretentiousness most of all.

And with that he was stuck with Dharak. He knew Dharak would have no trouble keeping his secret, but there was no guarante Dharak would understand anything he said concerning his feelings for Gill. The young emperor scrutinized his partner for a good moment. 

Dharak felt he'd waited long enough for the other's response. The look the young man shot him really rubbed him the wrong way. 

“And for what reason are you looking at me as if I’ve betrayed you?”

After finally finding a respectable master, he was now being doubted. He had half a mind to start calling Barodius boy like when they had first met.

“It’s nothing. It just occured to me that I have a crush on Gill.” 

Barodius decided to be honest with his feelings. At least as honest as he felt was necessary. Some would classify this as him trying to push away those who cared about him, but to someone who knew him as well as Dharak, he had disclosed more than enough information.

“...You want to kill Gill?” 

“No.” 

Of course, Dharak would associate the word crush with destruction. 

“You misunderstood. What I was trying to say is that I-”

“You have a romantic interest in him.” was said in a manner that signified the guardian bakugan’s disbelief.

Barodius flinched at being cut off so abruptly. 

“You have some nerve interupting me while I disclosed my personal problems to you, Dharak!”

“My deepest apolagise, master Barodius.” Dharak was able to come out of his shock to form a proper apology. 

Shock. Disbelief. He was completely taken aback with the reveal. He looked over at Barodius & he was staring at him intensely as if he was expecting him to say something.

‘But what should I say?’

For the first time in several decades the strongest Gundalian bakugan that has served the noble house of the emperors for 4 generations did not know what to say.

‘I have to think this through. If I choose my words poorly, this could drive a wedge between us’

Bringing up the reality that this relationship would have an experation date due to the necessity for a successor & the general disdain their countrymen shared for homosexuality was out of the question. His master was no fool. Barodius already knows that.

‘Emperor Barodius is not interested in my thoughts on homosexuality. What he is seeking is personal advice on how to proceed with his complicated emotions towards Gill. Wait!... Does Gill even like men?’

For the next 6 minutes Dharak would try his hardest to piece together his words. Going over all the different ways their conversation could play out. The old guardian had been so caught up in his thoughts that he didn’t notice the young man had returned to his work by the time he had settled on his words. 

No matter. He knew what he planned to say.

“Barodius, if you’d allow me, I’d give you my insight on your predicament.”

The white haired man closed his eyes & said “Very well then.”

“Before that I’d like to ask one question for the sake of fully comprehending the subject at hand.”

“Go on, Dharak.”

“Do you know if Gill is interested in men the same way you are?”

A smug grin formed on the Darkus battler’s features.

“You didn’t notice the way Gill would awkwardly flirt back when women latched themselves onto him during a gala? Or the fact that he had a crush on our martial arts teacher that I used to tease him about? Or how about the reality of Gill never having a girlfriend for as long as I’ve known him? Does this answer your question, Dharak?”

‘He’s really one insufferable man when he gets passive-aggressive with me’

Nothing showed Dharak’s age more than how he would forget small bits & pieces of the past like Barodius teasing Gill over something insignificant, but now wasn’t the time for reminiscing about days gone. He had something to say.

“Barodius, I believe the best course of action is to confess to Gill.”

“That is all I assume?” the emperor inquired as he fixed his gaze on his companion.

‘Did Dharak really spend all of that time thinking to himself just to tell me to confess?’

“Yes.”

“Hmph. I refuse to entertain your idea.” 

“...What now?” 

‘He really doesn’t understand anything about romance. Heh, why am I surprised?’

In spite of Dharak being far from it, the young man couldn’t help finding him to be endearing in his attempts to help him. 

“I ask Gill for permission to court him.” was said with a renewed confidence as his signature smirk formed on his lips “We need to make arrangements at once.”

“We?” Why couldn’t the emperor excuse him? 

“Yes, you’ll be helping me.”

Barodius clearly found his inexperience to be amusing & felt like teasing him. Dharak just wanted to live a simple carefree life where he didn’t have to be berated for not understanding mushy romantic nonsense & devote his precious time to crushing pathetic insects, who dare have the audacity to challenge him. 

“Do it yourself! You already rejected my idea & figured everything out on your own already. You don’t need me to advise you.” Dharak said in a very firm tone, refusing to be used as a toy for his master’s childish whims.

After the first year or so of their partnership, their disputes had lessened significantly. It turned out the two of them were a lot more similar than they had liked to admit at the time.  Dharak hadn’t been so vocal about his objections in 4 years when Barodius “jokingly” tried to use Dharak as a royal seal. 

A displeased look crossed the young ruler’s face. 

“Stop throwing one of your fits already.” the Darkus battler immaturely deflected “I need someone to bounce ideas off of.” 

“I refuse!” said Dharak even more convinced than the first time

The evil man sighed. He didn’t want to argue with Dharak when the solution he was looking for was a hair away from him.

“...It appears my issue with Gill will remain stationary for now.” 

As much as he loved to rile Dharak up, he never meant to be rude to him. In Barodius’ twisted mind mocking was seperate from disrespect whenever he did it to his guardian bakugan. 

“Dharak”

The Darkus bakugan was still somewhat put-off. He didn’t expect Barodius to admit defeat & back off without taking another jab at him.

“Regardless of your feeling on the matter do not speak of this conversation to anyone.”

Oh, so that was why.

“Understood.”

Barodius attempted to return to his previous work. Nonetheless he was still just as unfocused as he was 20 minutes earlier. 

“What are you loafing around for, Dharak?” the tyrant snapped

“Hm, take your anger out on someone else.” was said as the old bakugan resumed his nap in the emperor’s overcoat

Barodius considered this. He had nothing to gain from forcing himself to do paperwork when his mind was preoccupied with something completely different. He also didn’t have the energy to find some incompetent fool to torture. 

Then it hit him. The gymnasium. 

Martial arts was a hobby he thoroughly enjoyed, whose aggressive nature coincided perfectly with his irritable temper.

Telepathically flicking his screen to the gym’s camera what he found surprised him. It was Gill & he was sparring with Airzel. 

Airzel was doing a good job of dodging Gill relentless blows. The Ventus battler tried to grab onto one of Gill’s arms to stop his attacks. He succeeded, but Gill simply used that to his advantage by taking ahold of Airzel’s arm & pulling himself towards him to deliver a fierce punch to the side of his protege’s head.

A cruel smile formed on the red head’s face as Airzel landed on his side. However, when the smaller man started to get back up, he quickly concealed it behind his usual stoic mask. 

“That’s enough for today. You’re excused.”

The Pyrus battler started walking towards a set of weights. 

“I’ll keep training for another hour.” Gill said before Airzel had time to inquire

The pupil nodded & curtly left.  

‘How convenient’ Barodius thought to himself. 

Once he packed all he needed he ordered his servants to carry his equipment to the gymnasium as he slowly made his way closer towards Gill’s location. The emperor was trying to contain himself from smiling least someone see him & think he lost his mind. A single thought was to blame for his childlike excitement that restlessly continued to echo in his head. 

‘I can’t wait to break that bastard’s skull!’

Author’s note: I finally made it & it only took me 7 months 😅 Well, they say the first one is the most difficult, right? I also plan to post this on my ao3 soon.  Anyways, I’d like to thank you guys for expressing your genuine interest in this pairing & my writing. I’d like to thank @laggingbehindreality for reading a very early draft of this fic & giving me some feedback. I’m gonna tag some of my friends who were interested in checking out this pairing.  @just-halbeerd-things @hailey12panther

Constructive criticism is always welcome

[anoddsamarline]

"I thought I told you to wait for my orders" Barodius said, glaring at Jake.

"So it was a trap!" exclaimed Dan, clenching his fists.

"Seems like it." Drago sighed, grimly "I'm not surprised, honestly"

"I-I'm sorry, emperor. But I couldn't just stand here, doing nothing! Please, allow me to fight!"

"Hmmm..." the gundalian emperor closed his eyes, imitating contemptation "Alright, I'll let your disobedience slide this time only if you defeat Kuso"

"I won't dissapoint you, I promise!" Jake then turned to his bakugan, smiling " Ready for rematch, Coredem?"

"Count on me!" confirmed subterra bakugan, giving Vallory a fist bump.

"Wait! Coredem?!" Drago jumped on Dan's shoulder, surprised "How did he end up in hands of that gundalian?"

"They're probably did something to him and forced to fight along with that guy!" suggested Dan.

"Hey! What are you talking about!?" exclaimed the subterra brawler in anger "Coredem and I were battle partners since I was a kid! Better prepare yourself for battle, because I won't run away this time!"

'This time? Dude, it's first time I see you!' thought Dan. But the brawler couldn't help but feel that he actually met that gundalian before.

"Say no more!" he screamed to his oponnent. "Ready for round two, Drago?"

"Of course!"

Gate card set!

Bakugan brawl!

P.S. Whew! That part sure take me a while to make. My university has started and I don't know how soon the next part will come out.

[gummy-sharks666]

My survival instincts are fucked bc I would actually go to him

[tiktokonaclock]

The Siren and the Demon Chapter 12

Zenet looked at the device in her hand.

“I-I don’t know. Haven’t seen it.” She exhaled. “Maybe- maybe you left it in the car?”

“No. I put it down after I came in. It must be somewhere in the house.”

Zenet cursed under her breath as she tucked the phone into her waist and covered it with her shirt. Why couldn’t women’s clothes have proper pockets?

She finally opened the door and swiftly walked out of the bathroom, praying god to keep the phone from falling.

“I can call it. Is it in the silent mode?”

“No.” Gill followed her as she quickly walked back to the kitchen, pretending like she was looking for her own phone.

Zenet looked around after walking in. “I left mine in the bathroom.” She finally said. “I’ll be back in a second.”

She rushed iin the corridor towards the bathroom, her heart beating in her chest. She took Gill’s phone in her hand and threw it on the bed. Thankfully, the bedroom was right across the bathroom she used.

She walked back in the corridor, her own phone in her hand. Gill’s phone started ringing in the bedroom. He walked past her and took it from the bed. Zenet walked back into the kitchen, blowing out her breath to calm her nerves down.

“I don’t remember taking my phone to the bedroom at all.” Gill expressed casually as he took two plates out of the cupboard.

“You must be getting old.” Zeent leaned on the wall and crossed her arms with a smirk.

“Very funny, Zenet.” He pointed at the dinner table. “Sit down. Time to eat.”

It was a close call. A very close call. But she had pulled it off.

What if she hadn’t? What if he saw his phone in her hand?

She focused on what was ahead of her instead of dwelling on what-ifs.

“How do you like the soup?” Gill asked.

“It’s great!” Zenet’s eyes turned to her bowl, then back at Gill. “You outdid yourself this time.”

“With your help.”

“Nah. All I did was to chop some vegetables.” She shoved her finger. “And myself.”

“Does that still hurt?”

“Not really.” She filled her spoon with the hot liquid and swallowed it. A mischievous grin appeared on her face. “I think I can smell the blood in the soup.”

“Oh my. Are you turning into a shark now, Zenet?”

Zenet let out a small laugh. “Just a tiny baby shark.”

“Careful. That’s how it begins. First, you start to smell the blood in the water. Next thing you know… You are circling the waters.” He leaned forward. “Hunting your prey.”

She leaned forward as well, with a smile on her lips. “Spooky.”

“Yeah.”

Zenet looked away. She tried to imagine herself as a “shark”. A politician who beats her rivals down, and becomes an important figure in the political arena. A young woman of power and influence. She was not able to picture it.

She returned to her soup. “You know…” she said, partly to change the subject. “I think being able to cook well is a privilege.”

“What do you mean?”

“People always assume that those who can’t cook are richer. Oh, I can’t even make an omlette. Y’know. But if you cook well, that means you have a kitchen, the ingredients, and the time. And I think that means you have it good.”

Gill shook his head. “Interesting point of view.”

“Right? People tend to take a lot of things for granted.”

“The catering in the orphanage was not very good, I am assuming?”

Zenet chuckled knowingly as her eyes turned to her bowl. “Not very good is an understatement.” Her smile faded away as she turned her spoon into the soup. “Mom used to cook well.” She murmured, her voice much lower. “Whenever she was sober enough to cook.”

“You remember her?”

“Of course.” She looked up at him right in the eyes. “Do you get any news from her?

“No.”

“Do you at least know where she lives?”

“No. I am not sure if she is even alive to be honest.”

How easy it was for him to lie without even batting an eye. She would not have suspected anything if she hadn’t seen the address in the vault.

She chose not to force it any further.

Gill got up, taking his bowl. “I think I will go for seconds. Do you want some more?”

“No. I am good.”

Gill reached for his phone to check the time. What he saw on the screen made him freeze.

“Zenet, there is dried blood here?”

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Her stomach flipped upside down, her vision got dark for a second. It felt like a thousand needles were poing into her brain.

She could not even turn around to look at his face. When she finally did, he shot a glare towards her. Like he was ready to dive right into a fight.

Fuck. Think fast. Fuck.

“I must have smudged it when I brought it to you.”

“But you didn't bring it to me.”

She made a smacking sound with her mouth. “No. You remember it wrong. I was closer to the bedroom. Because I had left my phone in the bathroom. So I took it. Brought it to you. You took it from me in the hall. Don't you remember?1

His face remained emotionless for a second, making Zenet’s heart skip a beat.

“You did?” he finally asked. His tone was free from any blaming.

“Yeah.”

“Wow. I am getting old, am I not?”

Zenet let out an emotionless laugh, doing her best to mask her nervousness. “Maybe.”

She took a long look around when she first walked onto the balcony of the great mansion. Everything in this house radiated a sense of wealth and power. The wealth and power Gill built for himself far away from the orphanage he left her in. This balcony was no different. It was bigger than the room she had shared with three other girls in the orphanage.

She hated it. She hated him for it.

That space was Gill’s favorite in the whole house, a perfectly cozy spot to spend time in.

Gill stood still, watching Zenet as she studied the decoration in detail.

He realized that her fingers were glancing at the side as she walked as if she wanted to feel the house on her fingertips. He allowed her time to take it in, to finish the thought. When she finally wore the sweatshirt she was holding in her hand and sat down on the one-person swing, he took the mugs and walked into the balcony.

“Thanks.” Zenet murmured when Gill offered her the mug. He comfortably settled into the armchair across the swing.

“You like this spot,” Gill said, more as a statement than a question.

Zenet scratched between Rocco’s ears, who had been lying peacefully under her feet.

“Yeah. I do.” She smiled widely. She looked up. “I have always wanted one of these swings. Whenever I saw these in the store I used to think; where do they even fit in?”

“Yes. You need a… wide space to fit these in.”

“Yeah.” She murmured. She looked away as she felt the air thicken with the questions they wanted to ask each other but could not.

She checked her phone when she heard the notification. “Oh no.”

“What is it? What happened?”

“They wrote a patrol duty to me for tomorrow night!” She whined.

“So I suggest you go to bed early tonight. I got the guest room on the second floor prepared for you.”

Guest room. “Thanks.”

Her eyes moved back to the view and for a second, just a split second, she allowed herself to imagine this as a regular evening in her life. That the guest room was her room. That this house was her home.

She drank the remaining coffee in her mug. Then she leaned down, kissed Rocco on top of his head, and got on her feet.

“Good night, father.”

She walked back into the house and left Gill alone in the balcony to finish his coffee on his own. In the remaining hours of the night, he would fill his glass with much stronger liquids, watch the serene view, and think.

Zenet sat on the edge of the twin sized bed.

Every single room in the god damn house was incredible. Even the guest room. And for some reason, that made her extremely angry.

She felt an odd satisfaction when she sent the address to the emperor’s phone. The house Gill ordered a pizza to in the middle of the night; it had to be important, right? In one way r another. Something had to be up with that address.

“Hello your majesty-” Delete.

“As per your command-” Delete.

“To whom it may concer-” DELETE.

Everything she wrote sounded either rude or weird. She thought of Gill’s tone in the messages he wrote to the emperor as her fingers danced around the keyboard once again.

“Good evening your majesty. I found something that you might find useful. Do you recognize this address? Gill ordered a pizza to this address at midnight a few days ago.”

She was about to close the tab when she noticed that he got online.

Online. Typing. As if he had been waiting over the phone for some time.

“That’s Kazarina’s home address!”

Zenet lifted her head. She looked up at Contestir.

“Bingo.”

Ren was lighting the oil lamp when Zenet walked in. She froze for a split second. They had been avoiding each other ever since they lost rest of their friends one by one. Besides the time Zenet asked for Ren’s help, and the time Ren refused to help her, they had not spoken much.

Zenet wanted to be there for him. And wanted him to be there for her as well. There was not a third person who could completely understand what they had been going through in the whole Empire of Gundalia.

But Gundalians did not do friendship, she knew.

“Hey.” She acknowledged him dryly as she walked further into the small room soldiers use during their patrol duty. She put her bag on the table and started to take her belongings out.

“Hey.” Ren narrowed his eyes to avoid her gaze.

She put her bomber jacket on after taking it out of her bag. It was given as a part of the Gundalian soldiers’ uniforms, and it was Zenet’s favorite piece by far. It had Gundalia’s amblem on the shoulders and the bustline. It was made of high-quality leather.

“Did they give you the walike-talkies?” She asked.

“Yes.” He handed her one of the radiophones and put the other one in his pocket.

For the first time since she came in, her expression softened and a smile, although small, appeared on her face. She took her walkie-talkie to her mouth.

“Testing. One. Two. Can your hear me? Over.”

Ren grinned. He took his own device. “Positive. Can you hear me?”

“Positive.” She shook her head. “At least we can let each other know if the shit goes down.”

Ren glanced at the clock. He had a feeling that it was going to be a long night.

Ren and Zenet walked side by side. The oil lamp Ren was holding dimly lit the hallway as their footsteps echoed in the stillness.

It had been uneventful so far. Zenet felt the need to break the ice, as she often did.

“So, what’s on your mind?” She asked, glancing at Ren.

Ren looked away as his jaw tightened. “I don’t want to be here.” he admitted, his voice in a whisper.

“You wanna go back to the brawlers?”

Marucho’s watery eyes appeared on Ren’s mind. “I really don’t know.” He ran his hand through his hair.

“I… I feel trapped. Barodius promised things would get easier. He told me he was going to explain me all I need to know about Linehalt’s powers but- I am not sure if he actually knows anything about it.”

“But we are fighting for something important.” She opposed softly. “It’s bigger than you or me, or Barodius. It’s Gundalia’s future. This isn’t about him at all. I hate the way he handles things around here but-”

“I didn’t sign up for this, Zenet.”

“Neither did I. But you need to understand what’s really going on, Ren. It’s not all shits and giggles out there.” Her thumb showed the window they were passing by. “Gundalia’s fighting to survive, Ren. Literally. People are starving.”

“But Barodius-”

“Barodius has no other choice. He is barely keeping this place from falling apart.” She narrowed her voice. “If things don’t change, it is going to go downhill from here. Walk outside for a day an you will see it. Crime, violance, desperation. Because people can’t afford to live anymore.”

“But it is not Neitha’s fault that we are so fucked up.”

“Neitha’s the worst part! They have the Sacred Orb, for fuck’s sake. They could fix it all with a wave of their hand. And it is not like they would lose anything by helping us, Ren. That magic could fix everything- the economy, the food shortage, the street violence. And what do they do? Nothing. They sit in their pretty cities instead while we rot!” She took a deep breath, her voice softening. “We are Gundalians, Ren. Our people, our future- It comes first. Always.”

Ren exhaled. Things were getting more and more complicated for him with each second passing by. “How are we going to build Gundalia’s future if we are not in it, Zenet? We are just pawns on the board. Like the others were.”

Talking about Sid, Jesse and Lena still made their souls hurt, which was why they had been avoiding using their names. Zenet fliched.

“Kazarina killed them.” Ren continued. “And for what? Failing some mission? They didn’t deserve that.”

“I know.” Her shoulders fell off. “At least Mason could get out.”

“He was lucky.”

They walked in silence for a while. Then, Ren spoke up again, his voice filled with anxiety. “What do you think will happen to us if we mess up?”

“We might end up like them. Or we might find a cheat code.”

“I don’t think I can do this anymore, Zenet. Not after everything I have seen, everything that happened to them.

“I get it, Ren. I do. But I can’t just walk away. I have things I can’t just leave behind.” Even though I was left behind by them.

“But how much longer can we keep going on like this?” Ren asked the question she had been asking herself.

“I don’t know.” She whispered into the cold, empty hallway. “I guess we’ll find out.”

Zenet smiled bitterly as they walked back into the room to spend their rest time. “Do you remember the time Jesse made me transform into Kazarina to fool you guys? Man, even Sid was terrified.”

Ren glanced at Zenet, smirking at the memory. "Yeah, Sid almost lost it. You really had him convinced for a second there. I wasn't sure what was happening at first either." He took his hand on his cheek dramatically. “I was like- what is she doing here? In the Interspace? In our control room? Are we gonna die?”

"You should have seen your faces though. It was spectacular to watch!” Zenet chuckled softly, though her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “But... it was also weird, you know? Being her. I felt so... powerful. I did not feel like the orphanage leftover anymore. But I also felt trapped in her skin."

Ren raised an eyebrow, sensing the shift in her tone. "Trapped? How so?"

She sighed, her gaze drifting off. "I don’t know. It was like wearing Kazarina’s face gave me a glimpse of what it’s like to have that kind of control, but at the same time, I hated it. It’s like... people fear her, but no one really sees her, you know?"

Ren nodded, thoughtful. "Yeah, I get it. But you are not her, though. You're different."

"Am I though?" Zenet muttered. She took her shark plushie out of her bag. Ren laughed softly, pointing at it with questioning eyes.

“I don’t have a pillow small enough to fit in my bag, and I still want to have something soft for my head.” Zenet explained as she offered it to him. “Do you want to use it?”

“No, I am good.” He crossed his arms and leaned back into his chair. “Your ability is kind of scary you know?”

“Scary? Scary how?”

“I mean- a person could walk into the room, talk to you. And you might even tell them your secrets. But that person is not the person you think they are. Like they are wearing a mask. It’s scary. It’s like the Capgras syndrome, but actually real. I find it way scarier than hypnotizing.”

“I never thought of it that way.” Zenet admitted. “You might be right.”

She checked the time. “I will take another tour around the halls.” She said. “I suggest you try to take a nap. I will wake you up when it’s your turn.” She took a few snacks out of her bag: a pack of crackers, a protein bar, a can of cold coffee and a bottle of water. “You can have these snacks if you want. You sure you don’t want the shark?”

He sent her a warm smile. “I am. Thank you Zenet.”

“Anytime.”

Zenet wished she could wear her headphones during patrol duty. She didn't like being left alone with the thoughts in her head. The dark and lonely corridors were giving her way too much space to not be consumed by her thoughts. She wanted to play her rock music. Loudly. But instead she listened to her own footsteps, as the oil lamp flickered in her hand.

Then, a door slided open and Master Nurzak came out.

"You're up early." She stated, watching her tone as much as she can to avoid sounding rude. "Can't you sleep?

"Zenet." Nurzak said, as the young girl took a few steps towards him. “I believe I could ask same of you."

"I am on patrol duty."

"Of course." He smiled. "I have always admired the loyalty you have shown to the throne.It is the have It is youth like you that give me hope.”

He turned his back to her and kept on walking. Then he stopped to glance back at her over his Shoulder. "Hope that the future of Gundalia will be better than we ever dream."

She could not talk or even breathe untill he completely walked away, leaving her on her own.

Hope... Future of Gundalia....

These were dangerous words.

The plan. The time must've come.

She took the radiophone on her mouth. "Ren! Wake up! It's can emergency!”

No answer. She started to run.

"Ren!" She shouted again as she burst into the room. "Wake up!

"What?! What!" Ren woke up with a gasp. “Zenet! Are you okay?"

She paused for a second. "Yes, but... There will be a coup tonight!”

"What?! Where did you get the information?“

"Uh... A reliable source.” She shook her hand up and down to create is a sense of emergency. "Come on. We need to hurry.”

He got up as they rushed to the cabinet together. They took out the guns and started to put them together, loading the extra ammunition.

"What do we do?" Ren asked in panic.

"We need to alert someone Superior.”

She grabbed her phone and called someone. "D-Master Gill!"

Ren heard some a murmuring from Gill's side.

"It's happening. Yes. Please come to the palace immid rately. Un-Should I alert anyone else or- you will? Okay. Goodbye.”

Ren didn't question how she had Gill's number saved.

"Which way did he go?" He asked.

"He - he went towards the east side. To the temple.”

Ren loaded the gun and wore it on his waist. He handed her the other one with an encouraging look on his eyes.

“Let's go.”

Nurzak's footsteps echoed on the temple.

The temple looked lonely, as if no one had set a foot in it for years. He turned his head up to look at the previous emperor's portrait: He looked regal, his posture radiating power. His hands were put together on the sword he was holding.

Nurzak opened the passage to the Secret route.

The two teenagers were out of breath from running through the halls of the Gundalian palace.

Zenet held Ren's elbow to stop him from just walking into the temple.

"No! It might be dangerous!”

Ren looked into Zenet's eyes with piercing gaze, searching. “Zenet? Did you know about this beforehand?”

Zenet's yellow eyes flickered. “I had heard some rumors.”

Ren did not seem too convinced. "Where did you hear them from?"

She needed to think of a convincing lie, as she often did. But her brain had Stopped working on that moment.

They both flinched when they heard the clapping sound coming behind them. They turned their heads to see the emperor, slowly applauding.

“I must congratulate you two.” He said with a grin. "You realized what was going on far before anything actually happened. Well done.”

"Y-your majesty. Zenet gulped. "Did Master Gill inform you about-“

“That's why I am here."

"Then, you will allow us to evacuate you, to a safe spot, right?" Ren asked.

Barodius laughed. "Aren't you two adorable?" He walked past them towards the temple. His finger showed them a secret spot, perfect for the two to hide. "You two will hide and watch. Do not interfere.”

He walked into the temple before anyone could oppose.

Ren and Zenet dropped on their knees as they observed the temple. If it wasn't this serious, Zenet could have enjoyed this. And also would have joked about not having Popcorn.

“You think you can hide this from me, Nurzak?"

"You are like a fly to garbage…”

“No matter how mighty the empire, or how powerful the leader, sanctity of the sacred and must not be Violated. To any who ignore this, suffering will follow. Do you remember? Those Words that your father spoke?"

Ren was probably hearing this speech for the first time, but Zenet had watched it a thousand times, on the small television the orphanage had in the common room.

A smile creeped on Barodius' face. "Of course I remember. How can I I forget when my father resited that speech morning, noon and night? He was a supercitious old fool but to his credit, he knew how to recruite a Loyal following."

He replied, pointing at Nurzak with his last sentence.

“His followers believed in him....”

“Of course they did!" Barodius snapped. Because he poisioned their minds by preaching the same supercitions that he believed in! It's easy to rule when fear is your motivator!"

Zenet was not old enough to understand anything about politics during the previous emperor's reign. But from what she heard, The sounded like a cult leader.

She imagined the emperor as a prince, sitting side by side with her father. They would probably bet her age then, or maybe slightly older. She could see Barodius rolling his eyes, and Gill crossing his arms on his chest as they share a knowing look.

Everyone is dumb except us.

“All those memories are like a rotting Stench to me!" Barodius moved his hand forward, as if he was reaching out for the future. "Now, it's time to Clear the air. My father is no longer emperor. That title belongs to me.”

"Emperor Barodius, I am going to tell you one more time, you would be wise to hear my warning.” Nurzak sounded like a father trying to discipline his son.

"And if I decline? What are you going to do, Nurzak? Are you going to sneak up to Neitha and use that thing in your pocket? To turn the orb against me?”

"What?!"

“The Switch code. I know all about it. It has been handed down through my family for generations after all! I told you, you cannot hide anything from me!"

Ren looked at Zenet. "The switch what now?"

Zenet sighed as she put her hands up in a surrendering manner. " I don't know, man.”

The bells ringed out. It was breaking dawn. A new day had begun.

Hundreds of soldiers, dressed in the same uniform as Ren cand Zenet teleported into the temple, their traditional spears all charged up.

Zenet's hand automatically went to her waist. She felt the gun secured. They were allowed to carry guns only during the patrol duty. And even though she was more familiar with the spear, the gun gave her a sense of security.

She realized Kazarina, standing between the soldiers with a smirk.

"So, it is a new day in Gundalia.” She chirped.

Zenet's eyes opened wide. It all made sense now.

"It's a setup!" She whispered.

"What?”

"It's a setup!” She exclaimed, not loud enough to let them hear. She took out her phone once again.

This time, Ren could hear the other line. "Zenet, I have just arrived." Gill said upon answering her call.

"It's a fucking setup!" Zenet repeated.

Ren didn't even think of getting shocked by the sudden cursing. And appearently, neither did Gill. "What do you mean?!" He asked.

"This is not a real coup! They are tricking Master Nurzak!”

"Just find somewhere safe and stay put untill it's safe. " Gill said and hung up.

"Zenet, how do you know it's a setup?" Ren asked.

Zenet looked at Kazarina as she made the troops attack Nurzak instead of Barodius.

“Did you think I would betray the emperor to follow an old man?” She asked. with a wicked laugh.

“Instinct." Zenet murmured. The Instinct of a shark.

She turned her head to see Gill running towards them. They shared a look.

Zenet's eyes scanned the environment once again to take in the amount of destruction. The beautiful temple, which was one of the few places in Gundalia that's actually nice, was now in rubble. Smoke arose from various spots, painting pattems on the polluted air until it dissolved.

She and Ren had been there sitting on the floor side by side for quite some fime now. They had hunched their backs and put their elbows on their knees. They did not look so different from the wreakage that surrendered them.

"He's dead." Zenet murmured. "I had spoken to him in the morning, and now he doesn't exist.”

Ren turned to her, his expression blank. He pointed at her phone with his head. "What does it say on the news?”

Zenet unlocked her phone and checked. the news. "Neithian strikes on the Capitol City kills 38. The palace remains silent."

She put the phone down and turned to him.

Ren Sighed." Does anyone actually. believe this?"

"They will believe whatever media Tells them to.”

"How can Neithia attack us when they can't even protect themselves yet?"

"No one's gonna question that." Zenet pointed at the rubble. "They will service the news that Nurzak died on the Strike and voila. His hands are clean.”

Ren left out another sigh and got on his feet. “I am going to bed." He said, leaving Zenet was alone in the wreckage.

“I admire the old prune's spirit. Thinking he could stage a rebellion... Clearly, he underestimated your loyalty. Especially you, dear Kazarina.”

So it was dear Kazarina now.

Apparently she was back on his good graces.

She sent an arrogant smile and Gill, who seemed conflicted.

"There has been a lot of sneaky behavior around here lately, wouldn't you say so, Gill?" Barodius asked with a cheeky tone.

Kazarina must have thought Barodius was merely teasing Gill, for which Gill was greateful. If he had told her about Gill's small trip to the throne room earlier, he would need to say goodbye to ever having sex with her.

Even though he would never admit, not even to himself, Gill felt a deep regret for it. He didn't know what got into him that made him want to throw Kazarina under the bus like that.

He liked having sex with her, and strangely, he liked the things that came with it.

He liked talking to her; over late-night pizza, or coffee, or more intimate pillow talk. He liked spending time next to her, even when they were both busy with different things. Sometimes feeling her presence next to him felt enough.

Maybe these things were scaring him. Maybe he was scared of how vulnerable and exposed the felt when he pulled her to his lap and looked up to her the way a believer would look at the magnificent sculpture of a goddess: Through the eyes of a worshipper. In absolute devotion.

Love was a weakness. And if this actually was love, Gill hated being weak.

He caught her eye. The same alluring look appeared on her lilac eyes with a smug smile.

See, I was right. You were wrong.

"I- suppose...”

" I extend my thanks to you, Kazarina.” Barodius repeated.

“No thanks are necessary." Kazarina narrowed her head in a fake humbleness. "Everything I do was for the glory of you and Gundalia.”

"That pleases me."

She looked back up, right at Gill.

They shared another look.

Zenet was getting used to having conversations with the emperor. Barodius could say it from her behaviour, which got more comfortable.

“I first saw the cape. It had blue foundation stains on it. But it was not enough evidence to verify anything. So I got into his phone to look for more clues. And found this."

Her hands met in front of her. "I know that it is forbidden for the members of the Twelve Orders to have any sort of romantic or sexual relationships between them, so I thought you'd like to know this.”

"Indeed.” Baradius leaned back at his chair.

“Do you know why we have that rule?”

"No. But I have a guess.”

“Do tell."

"It is to stop them from getting too close to each other. Because if they are too close they might come together to conspire against the monarch."

Precisely.

"Do you think they might try to do that?"

"I don't See why not. Some species of sharks like to hunt in packs.”

“Then, you will need to take precautions?"

"Yes. Kazarina might have proven her loyalty today but her opinion might as well change in the future. And I need to be ready for it."

"What are you going to do?"

"I do have a plan in mind. And I will need your help to put it into action."

"Of course, your majesty. Anything you need."

Anything I need, huh? Even if I need you to get yar hands dirty?"

Zenet hesitated for just a split Second before answering.

"Yes.”

He smirked. "Sit down." He said. “How do you have your coffee?”

[bakubabes-and-ramble]

Empress Kazarina and her new gown

I miss her ;_; She certainly needed an outfit to match with Baro!

(Sorry for the shipping above cut, I promise I’ll keep this stuff under keep reading but Queen Kazi’s concept inevitably includes Baro too… and I..hnnng OTP… it needs more content…)

[bearlycute-art]

Halloween Uncle Baro! Fun name for Akunogan

Side note: The Multi Surge adventure is based off the episode of The Suite life of Zach and Cody -> Arwinstein