From Depths We Rise

by Insane Dominator

1 year has passed since Dan and the Battle Brawlers saved the universe, and when things were serene, a new group of Bakugan players are sent to New Vestroia when a dimensional interference forces them to meet each other. Caught in the crossfire with aliens seeking resources, Luke, Abis Omega, and new friends must fight using unlikely odds if they're to save all from extinction.

14. Merciless Trap - Part II

Another clash of pincers and purple hands brightened the space between Luxtor and Brontes for a moment's time. They grunted heavily as both tried to force the other away in a sheer collision, and neither was going to give an inch unless they really intended to let their masters down. They persevered to the best of their abilities, and they handled so well that their force was making the ground beneath once again shudder.

Across the territory, Luka seemed to be more into it than Riaan. "C'mon, Brontes! Push harder!"

The clown Bakugan chuckled in the forms of tedious grunts as he was shoving harder against Luxtor.

Riaan watched with a calm expression on his face. He was a little shaken up with the results so far, and as of yet, the energy around them has yet to be peaked. 'This confliction is getting nowhere.' He thought to himself. He started to wander off in thought as Brontes and Luxtor continued colliding, and he used this time to check up on his Bakumeter.

Luxtor: 800 Alto Brontes: 800

'Where is all this energy coming from?' Curious, he looked down at his Bakumeter as the coordinates were put into it. As the new settings were adjusting, the screen changed on it to show a non-holographic screen revealing Luke and Jase's current. What he saw made him show surprise for once.

On the screen, he saw Luke and Jase both looking distressed; Luke more so than the Ventus associate. Both them and their average Bakugan were faltering from the four opponents that were gaining up on them. He even measured the power levels to see that the numbers were about to turn against them, and the reason was too clear.

'Trap Bakugan.' Riaan deduced with a furrowed brow. 'So then Rogue Zero really was holding back more than what they lead on. But I didn't think they would…'

A loud sundering boom reverberated through the room, getting Riaan to look ahead to see his Luxtor falling onto his back. He gasped as he saw the Darkus creature squirming while Brontes stood tall. "Just like that! Now let's finish this!" His master roared.

Once again, Riaan could feel a sense of urgency flourish. 'This isn't what I was expecting. It'll only be a matter of time before they push through. I'm wasting precious time like this. I'll have to use my trump card this turn.'

"Go!" Luka ordered Brontes loud and clear. The clown closed in and readied all his fingers. "Ability activate, Trance Rapture Illusion!" Brontes unleashed a barrage of jabs that were moving so fast that it made him look like he had a thousand arms jabbing at once.

"Gate Card, open!" Riaan shouted intensely. "Misty Solitude!"

The Gate Card beneath Brontes and Luxtor finally revealed itself. As the thousands of blows closed in on Luxtor, the background began to envelop in a yellow misty psyche plane, one that upheld a silence in it. When the jab reached Luxtor, he suddenly faded, leaving Brontes momentarily surprised.

"H-huh?" The Haos Bakugan began to look around, noticing that his scenery had changed. He seemed disoriented as he tried to find Luxtor, let alone his partner. However, as he turned left and right, he found himself without either in company.

"Brontes?" Luka called up, but no response. "Brontes, what are you doing?! The opponent is right there in front of you!" He even pointed ahead of Brontes at Luxtor to illustrate his point, but to no avail.

"It's no use." Riaan mentioned. "As long as the Gate Card Misty Solitude is in action, your Bakugan can't hear you. You won't be activating abilities for a while now unless he gets better hearing…but then again, hearing loud and rude voices would be unkind."

Luka could feel his anger rise. "Damn you…!"

"Ability activate, Alvert Impact!" With his opponent disoriented right in front of him, Darkus Luxtor let out a shrill shriek as he lifted himself onto his lower half and was eye level with Brontes' core. Once set on target, he discharged another intense beam of darkness, one that was dense enough to cause a ripple upon launch.

Unable to react efficiently, the disillusioned Bakugan was struck hard by an invisible force hat got him where a human diaphragm would ache. The impact sent Brontes for a loop as he fell downwards, his mass physique slowly toppling onto Luka. Luka looked up with his own shock as Brontes began to fall onto him. He closed his eyes and winced, unable to face what could be a messy end. However, the Bakugan glowed his attribute color, and instead morphed back into a ball that plopped to his feet.

When he uncovered, he realized that he wasn't crushed. He looked down, seeing that Alto Brontes was there at his feet. "Great…" He looked ahead, but what he saw made him mentally curse himself. "What the-?! Where'd he go?!" He saw that Riaan, even Luxtor, both had been vacant in what should've been their spots. His fists began to ball tight out of anger. "Gnnngh…those guys gave me the slip while I was flinching."

Not wanting to wait, he picked up his Brontes and stared long and hard at him. He then slowly glanced up, his glare as hard as steel. 'You won't get away from me this time. You've just dug your own grave.'

Farther up ahead, Riaan was running ever so swiftly. Shockingly, his strides were long, almost like a ninja's long jump across the ground. The rate in which he traveled was staggering at best. As he went on, he frowned. 'I can't waste anymore time here. I have an agenda to complete. I'll get home yet. There's so much that I need to do for the ones that I need now more than ever.'

With one more foot planting on the ground, he took off faster down the corridor.

---

In the colosseum, Abis Omega screeched low in defense as Atmos flapped right beside him. Both Bakugan seemed to be on the defensive end as Hyper Dragonoid and Goblinball not only awoke a few moments ago with conscience, but now they had greater power than ever thanks to their new arsenal.

Fortress adjusted its robotic arms, aiming its guns, while Metalfencer gave a cybernetic scowl with the stinger pointed at them.

"What in the hell are those things?!" Luke retorted in shock.

Jase gave them a scrutinizing look. "Trap Bakugan…"

Luke shot him a look. "What Bakugan?"

From across the battlefield, a scoundrel's cackling laughter could be heard. They both turned their attention towards Maximus, who had both hands beneath twitching with lust like a crazy man would; the evil smirk was just icing on the cake. "Guess you wouldn't know since your planet probably finds these guys obsolete, huh? Well then how about we enlighten you. Trap Bakugan are a sub-species of Bakugan that are native only to New Vestroia. They're quite rare, but they have characteristics that normal Bakugan don't usually have."

"How so?" Jase inquired, trying to stay calm despite his furrowed brow,

Maximus' glare darkened thanks to the bangs over his eyes. "…I think it's best that you find that out yourselves, don't you think?"

"I couldn't agree more." Xander mused.

Luke stepped up, showing anger. "But using ore than one Bakugan is against the rules!"

"Bakugan, yes." Maximus clarified. "But then again, Trap Bakugan aren't technical Bakugan, are they?"

Luke's fists balled in growing anger. As Maximus began to chuckle, the more agitated Luke began to feel inside.

"Luke, don't lose sight of the battle!" Jase reminded. "Stay calm, we'll work through this."

Abis Omega got over his initial shock, glaring ahead with Atmos in annoyance. "So you chose to rely on robots rather than follow through with your own dirty work, huh? Just like your typical coward if you ask me." Abis Omega taunted.

Xander smirked. "Taunt all you want, but let's see you run your mouth after we blast it to bits, shall we?" He raised his left wrist, showing his Bakumeter that showed an ability already. "Ability activate, Mal Fender!"

The stinger end on Metalfencer arose to point at both Atmos and Abis' general area. Once aimed, the green eyes glimmered brightly before an intense, bright red beam shot across the field at them.

Hyper Dragonoid: 200/Metalfencer: 400 (+300) = 700 Atmos: 400

Goblinball: 400/Fortress: 400 Abis Omega: 450

As the beam traveled over the battlefield, Atmos and Abis Omega held their grounds. They braced for the attack while Jase raised his left arm to show a counter. "Ability activate, Winding Winds!" Atmos flew a little higher and looked down at the expanding red beam. He flapped his wings profusely, sending a green whirlwind that swallowed the incoming ray. As it was sailing in, the green whirlwind diffused the whole thing. Metalfencer adjusted as its power level went back to 400, yet Atmos arose to 600.

"Too simple." Xander huffed.

Maximus was next to show his Trap Bakugan off. "Then I guess it's my turn now. Ability activate, Proton Mars!" His Darkus Fortress began to dislodge the back of its footing, allowing levers to pull and have three tubes stick into the ground, the shoulders slid open to reveal rows of cannons ready to set fore. It leaned back and aimed at the general direction they were in and all the cannons on the body were glowing brightly. Once charged, they all fired at once as dozens of small purple laser beams with the intent to destroy.

Hyper Dragonoid: 200/Metalfencer: 400 Atmos: 600

Goblinball: 400/Fortress: 400 (+200) = 600 Abis Omega: 450

As the lasers all closed in, Luke intervened with his own ability card ready. "Ability activate, Sea Helix!"

Abis Omega was the one to get in front this time. As he readied for the lasers, a cyclone of water began to arise from beneath. "Bring it on you rusted tin can!" With a loud shout, his body was swallowed in a helix of fast moving sweater that acted as his shield. All the lasers fired into it, but as many of them that fired, Abis Omega wasn't budging. The voluminous water acted as a bunker.

Hyper Dragonoid: 200/Metalfencer: 400 Atmos: 600

Goblinball: 400/Fortress: 600 (-100) = 500 Abis Omega: 450 (+100) = 550

"You see? Even we can take those robots!" Luke shouted.

Maximus continued mocking with his smirk. "Heh, looks like Cesar has some kinks to work out with their power…" He swiped his arm to the side. "But let's see how that is once we try this! Goblinball, infuse yourself with Fortress, and quick!"

"Metalfencer, Battle Unit Mode!" Xander exclaimed.

Both Luke and Jase stared up in surprise. "What…?"

The visor on Fortress glistened, while the green eyes on Metalfencer glowed once more.

"As you wish, master." Goblinball willingly floated in front of Fortress, standing in its way as its body remained stationary. The Darkus floating demon slowly backed into the main body in front of the pelvis cannon. The cannon closed its valve and allowed Goblinball to reach his arms out to either side. The arms of Fortress began to turn in, allowing the elbows to show open holes with mechanical engineering inside. The armored arms and claws entered both inserts, allowing synchronization to occur. The visor to Fortress began to glisten red, allowing Goblinball to see through the whole panel, and not just from one eyes.

As for Metalfencer, it slowly levitated and began to draw itself into Hyper Dragonoid's back. The Bakugan settled into the spikes, and allowed its tail to slowly align with Hyper Dragonoid's. The arms and legs also began to align sooner after, making them heavily armored with open blasters on the wrists.

Both Bakugan let out loud, shrilling roars as they exemplified a new and profound power unleashed.

Hyper Dragonoid/Metalfencer: 600 Atmos: 600

Goblinball/Fortress: 900 Abis Omega: 550

"What the heck?!" Abis Omega snapped.

"Did they just infuse?" Atmos gasped.

Maximus' smirk widened. "Surprise~!"

"No way!" Luke exclaimed. "How can they even do that?!"

Jase, however he may have felt, began to show signs of aggravation. "So that was their aim…" He adjusted his glasses, allowing him to see better. "So the Trap Bakugan are to enhance fire power then I see. Seems they're making use of their functions then after all."

Xander had a smug look on his face. "What's wrong there? At wit's end with our little tricks?" He laughed mockingly, seeing how stone-cold in the face Jase was being. "Not talking now? Well that's fine with us. I was just thinking the same thing." He reached his arm out, readying an ability already glowing. "Because now I want to try this out! Ability activate, Red Valkyrie!"

Hyper Dragonoid with the Metalfencer suit on aimed his arms and pincers at Atmos in the sky. The Ventus Bakugan stayed as sharp as possible as the red pincers widened on the wrists. Once ready, a volley of orange, heated lasers went firing in rapid succession. Atmos found himself caught completely by surprise at how fast the volley was moving, and in an attempt to evade, began to fly haphazardly about.

Hyper Dragonoid/Metalfencer: 600 (+200 +200) = 1000 Atmos: 600

Goblinball/Fortress: 900 Abis Omega: 550

"Atmos!" Jase warned. The Ventus Bakugan sailed overhead, trying to make all the turns he could possibly make. However, as he spun in a fashion similar to a barrel roll, a red pincer with a silver barrel aimed.

Hyper Dragonoid narrowed his eyes. "Say 'ah'!"

The prolonged projectile blast was finally fired. A narrow but long orange beam went shooting skywards at Atmos, and the bird was rolling right into it. Try as he might've, he straightened out, only to be aimed at square in the face. The bird cawed loudly as he was too slow to act, and was enveloped in a loud explosion of smoke in the sky.

From said smoke cloud, everyone awed, with some scattered flinching at the painful blow. From the cloud, Jase watched as a green ball descended downwards and plopped in front of him. He glared ahead with a deep frown as Maximus snickered.

Jase: 20%\

Luke pointed ahead accusingly. "Hey! You caught us off guard!"

"Don't look at me." Maximus facetiously smirked. "But while we're on the subject, let's say we try and see what your supposed above-average Abis Omega can do, shall we?"

"You…!"

"Ability activate, Darkus Force!" Goblinball raised the arms and elbows of the Fortress he operated and aimed the guns at Abis Omega. Channeling his own power into the energy circuits, the demon-like Bakugan let out a small but harsh scowl as the guns shot dense purple projectiles with dark static running along its sides. It raced across the round in a ripping fashion that sped even over water, splitting it in half to get to Abis Omega. As it sailed on, the power level bumped all the way up to 1200.

Luke glared ahead with crippling worry. He had to do something, and fast, but what was there to do? As the attack rolled in, he knew he had to counter, but he had to do so without indirect force to save Abis.

Unable to come up with something, he pulled out an ability card. "Ability activate, Dry World!"

Hyper Dragonoid/Metalfencer: 1000

Goblinball/Fortress: 1200 (-200) = 1000 Abis Omega: 550 (+200) = 750

As the beam zoomed in, Abis Omega hunched over and swerved about in place. A misty swirl began to envelop him as he tried to summon a vapor shield. Slowly water began to materialize, but it came up too short as the field of vapor ripped open for the purple blast to take out Abis. The Bakugan screamed loudly in pain as the place wave swallowed him entirely, sending him airborne backwards.

"Abis!" Luke covered up as the shockwave of raw power went pass him and Jase. They persevered as the strong winds and the quaking of the ground was right beneath them. No matter how hard the vibrations, the platform made it so they wouldn't fall off. As the bright blast began to dissipate, it allowed them both to uncover, seeing a blue ball plop beside Atmos.

Luke: 50%

Luke dropped to a knee, looking shocked down at his Bakugan. "But…that was just…"

"Oh, and what a blow that was!" the announcer exclaimed. "The Darkus Force empowered by the Trap Bakugan left Luke alone to be no match against two of the most powerful Bakugan players out there! Maximus and Xander have once again left everyone in awe as they brought out their trump cards!"

The two defeated battlers of the round looked up with signs of anger as they saw the four Bakugan glowing their respective colors and return to ball form, along with their square-like shapes for the Bakugan Traps. Once they were situated in the palms of their masters, Maximus and Xander were seen with malicious smug looks.

"Well, that turned out better than what I expected." The Rogue Zero leader admitted.

"Seems we've overdone it some, though." Xander buffed.

"Maybe so…but there's no such rule in tournaments that exemplifies too much overkill now, right?"

Luke picked up Abis and glared at them with rising annoyance. "How did they get so powerful all of a sudden?" he asked his associate.

Jase stood up next with Atmos in hand. "An anomaly we didn't know of." He sniped. "How could they have created such pieces of warfare?"

As the two were pondering of the specifics, they could hear the low cackling of the unstable Maximus once again. His insidious tone was what made them turn with such high alarm.

"Is there something amusing?" Jase inquired.

"You can say that. It's nothing to get too personal with…it's just that this worked out better than what we'd expect."

"What's that mean?" Luke demanded.

"Are you not aware of the fact that you can't communicate with your comrades?" The question made Luke and Jase realize what t was that jammed their signal. "Looks like you've figured it out then. Let me put this simple for you to understand. As we speak, your friends have been transported off their course to the core, and now they're in their own battles against Rogue Zero's newest additions, Cesar's little side project that's been quite the expectance. So who will it be that will emerge when the smoke clears? You and your friends, or will it be Rogue Zero with Trap Bakugan?!" His hand gripping both Goblinball and Fortress was beginning to shake, but oddly from adrenaline. He never felt so excited before that even his smirk showed happiness that left Jase astonished. "This is making me tingle…!" He started to slowly cackle a weak chuckle, which started to blossom into another full-on uproarious laughter.

Luke and Jase stared with wide eyes as they saw how mad their opponent was getting. It was like all reason and solemn instinct was taking over, and if this wasn't the prime result because of one brawl, they would surely be in for a wild ride.

Luke's heartrate began to quicken once more. "They tricked us…this was another trap!"

"So it would seem." Jase's tone offered no sound emotion, but from the deepest of people's understandings, one could feel a tint of regret. "It seems we've been dealt with a bad hand this turn."

Luke's fists started to ball tighter than before. His teeth started to grit so much that his annoyance was once again starting to overcome him. He was once again played like a fiddle. All of them. They were once again walking right into a trap, and they didn't even have the slightest clue. "Damnit…damnit…!"

Xander saw their angst and marveled in it. "You worrying about your friends? Well save the worry for your own skins if Hyper Dragonoid's fire doesn't give it third degree char."

Luke stepped ahead. "You're not getting away with this, you hear me?!"

"We hear you alright, but what makes you think we haven't already?"

"Because there's still another round we can still win, that's why! And when we do, we'll find the others and stop your other traps for good!"

Maximus' snickering started to subside as he heard Luke's proclamation. "Well now, quite the boast you're sharing with us…you care you back that up, too?"

Luke held Abis Omega out without asking. "You bet!"

Jase glared ahead, looking at the situation with a shrewd expression plastered on his face. 'We're going to need more than just our standard strategy we've created. This is going to take all of us to get out of.' His thoughts dissipated into darkness as he could feel one piece missing. 'But…there's still one thing I feel isn't right about all this…'

---

Esther and Maggie looked uncertain as they were staring into the cold, icy eyes of Ariella. She seemed to be relishing in their recent blunder, unlike Killian, who seemed humbler about his own win compared to her. Both battlers were looking down on Maggie and Esther as they were left to realize their fault.

"This was a sham." Esther snapped.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Ariella sarcastically apologized. "Were you looking for a description before we invited you to battle? If anyone's to blame for their own defeat, may want to start looking at yourselves in a mirror before deciding to point those fingers somewhere else."

"You dirty…!" Maggie was about to say something else, but an arm reached out, blocking her path. When she looked up, she saw that it was Esther who was frowning, but her glare was fixed on her opponents.

"Maggie. Save your breath." She said coldly.

"But…"

"The art of battle isn't for mocking purposes. If they wish to talk so much about us, then far be it from our interests…but we won't allow their underhanded tactics to get through to us. We'll get them back. Just keep patient, okay?"

Maggie looked back at her opponents with uncertainty. In a way, she really wanted to get back at them, especially Ariella now with her taunting. At least Killian wasn't like that. But it was better to stick to her own level than sink to a grim underhand to deal with. That isn't how her mother raised her. "…okay." She huffed.

"Are you ready, Killian?" Ariella chimed. "Let's single out that little runt first before we save the other one for last. I'd like to have her all to myself."

Killian pulled out a Gate Card. "Don't choke on your own aspiration now. Gate Card, set!" He threw the Gate Card he and Ariella planned, sending it out to where it dissipated as a green shockwave across the battlefield.

Esther braced herself. "Here we go, Maggie. Atchibee."

"Ready!" The moth Bakugan shouted.

Maggie nodded.

Together, everyone shot out their Bakugan one last time. "Bakugan…brawl! Bakugan, stand!"

All at once, a blue, green, purple, and red glow ignited the battlefield. Their Bakugan stood once more, ready for battle.

Clawcer: 450 Atchibee: 400

Moskeeto: 450 Jelldon: 350

Ariella inserted an ability first. "Ability activate, Star Lance!" Her Clawcer moved his claw upfront, where it fired a blue beam in the shape of a star right at Atchibee. As it traveled, Atchibee's power level diminished to 200.

"Ability, activate!" Esther countered. "Scare Flash!" As the attack closed in, Atchibee's wings expanded a little as the eyeball patterns started glowing. From the center, their eyes unleashed powerful, blinding rays that almost immediately vaporized the incoming beam. The residual burning rays reached Clawcer and Moskeeto, who both covered up as the rays seemed fairly burning to the touch.

Clawcer: 450 (-200) = 250 Atchibee: 200 (+200 +200) = 600

Moskeeto: 450 (-200) = 250 Jelldon: 350

With their enemies incapacitated, Maggie went and made yet another move of her own. "Let's go, Jelldon! Ability activate, Shockwave!"

The four appendages on Jelldon began to circulate red static all over them. The rapid discharge began to magnify and condense, and Jelldon lifted his stingers. "Take…this!" He slammed all of his appendages down at once, sending an omnidirectional wave of red electricity that pulsed outwards. The electric field passed Moskeeto and Clawcer, who both were electrocuted to an intense level.

Clawcer: 250 (-200) = 50 Atchibee: 600

Moskeeto: 250 (-200) = 50 Jelldon: 350

"Yes!" Jelldon cheered.

"Don't go celebrating too soon, little girl." Ariella taunted. She then threw something into the air. "Come, Bakugan Trap, Aquos Tripod Theta!"

Once more, the Bakugan Trap was summoned forth through the air. He popped open, glowing in a blue light before blue static went shooting down in front of them all. As the small blast of lightning dissipated, it revealed mist and dust dissipating to reveal Tripod Theta with his staff once more. He stood at 350.

"Darkus Ability activate, Sea Curse!" At Ariella's demand, Tripod Theta's body was surrounded by a dark purple aura, and his trident was rising. Out of thin air, dark purple water began to spiral around the trident, increasing its power. Once aimed, it pointed at Jelldon and shot the dark water vortex at him.

Clawcer: 50/Tripod Theta: 350 (+200) = 550 Atchibee: 600

Moskeeto: 50 Jelldon: 350

As it closed in, Maggie readied herself. "Get ready, Jelldon!"

The jellyfish responded with a nod. "Right!"

"I don't think so!" Killian intervened. "Ability activate, Max Sonic!" He reached out, encouraging his Moskeeto to get in there and do some damage. The Ventus Bakugan now having a conscience back glared at his adversary with a grueling hiss before his eyes glowed bright green. The wings began to palpitate at an alarming level, and then in one go, gusts went everywhere as a pulsating green soundwave funnel ripped through the air towards Jelldon.

Clawcer: 50/Tripod Theta: 550 Atchibee: 600

Moskeeto: 50 (+300) = 350 Jelldon: 350 (-300) = 50

T spiraling dark water went circulating alongside the green frequency funnel. As they both traveled alongside each other they began t slowly mix, intertwining themselves to make an even larger funnel that tore through the air at Jelldon. This time, it freaked Maggie and Jelldon out.

"Big uh-oh!" Maggie shrieked. Jelldon was wailing in place.

"I got this!" Esther enforced. "Maggie, get ready!"

Maggie swallowed a lump, hurrying as she scrambled to find herself upright. "Uh, r-right!"

The green and dark purple funnel closed in, hurrying with great gusto at Jelldon and now Atchibee alike.

At the same time, both Maggie and Esther;s eyes flashed open. "Ability, activate!" They shouted in unison. "Pyrus and Darkus Correlation!" Together, both Atchibee and Jelldon began to glow their respective attribute colors. Jelldon could feel a strong, enigmatic flow of power coarse through his squirmy body, as did Atchibee as she can feel herself get empowered from being close to Jelldon. The moth and the jellyfish gave out strong auras as they used either blades or crossed stingers to hold themselves together as the attack encompassed them both.

Clawcer: 50/Tripod Theta: 550 Atchibee: 600 (+300) = 900

Moskeeto: 350 Jelldon: 50 (+300) = 350

Both Bakugan were enduring the blast wave quite well. Everything around them was swept away in a dense tide that mixed with the green cyclone. They were defending so well in fact that they almost seemed unfazed as the aura between them was actually distorting.

"Nothing?!" Ariella exasperated.

Beside her Clawcer was gurgling his own shock. "H…huh…?" He was beginning to feel a stir as well, but it was relatively weak compared to Moskeeto's conscience.

"Maybe you weren't paying attention." Esther retorted. "By using the Pyrus and Darkus correlation method together, we've given each other power that has multiplied our strength considerably." She shot a glance at Maggie. "Maggie."

The little girl nodded in understanding. "Right, okay then." She looked ahead, readying an ability card. "Here we go! Double ability, activate! Sting Ray, plus Power Sting!"

From inside the cyclone, no one could hear anything. It was all nothing but the sound of a wave and a strong tornado. Suddenly, red static began to crackle, seen only once. Then another. Then again. The crackling enveloped the funnel until the rupturing caused the whole funnel to implode. It completely collapsed, rendering everyone bewildered as Jelldon was expelling more red electricity than ever. Ariella and Killian shared a shocking experience as they saw Jelldon turn and shoot his tentacles outwards, sending a straight, compressed bolt of lightning at Tripod Theta. The lightning bolt shot over field, and Tripod Theta used his staff the defend. It blocked the powerful blow, but it wasn't enough to keep from a drastic discharge of smoke to keep him from faltering backwards several feet. The seaman-like creature hunched over, grunting as he used his staff to hold himself up.

Clawcer: 50/Tripod Theta: 550 (-200) = 350 Atchibee: 900

Moskeeto: 350 Jelldon: 350 (+200 +200) = 750

Maggie pumped a fist in sheer glee. "Yes! That's my Jelldon!"

Esther nodded in approval. "Right, good job."

Ariella grunted in sheer annoyance. "They're starting get on my last nerve…" As she mentally cursed in sheer impatience, she shot a look at Killian. "Don't just stand there! Throw out El Condor!" she snapped.

Not wanting to take any ganders with her snapping, Killian leaned away. "Alright, geez." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his own three-sided pyramid again. Once set, he tossed it skywards. "Come forth, Triad El Condor!"

In the form of a green light, El Condor appeared. He looked ready to serve for Moskeeto as he stood at 350.

Killian held up his Bakumeter, showing an ability. "Subterra ability, activate! Mosaic Stone!" Triad El Condor's green tiki upfront then began to move away, allowing the brown tiki to reveal itself. As the tiki glowed, so did the eyes. His hands came together and created a brown mass of energy. He expanded his hands out more to mold that energy into shards of stone as solid as rocks. They all went firing at Jelldon, who was the target of this attack.

Clawcer: 50/Tripod Theta: 350 Atchibee: 900

Moskeeto: 350/Triad El Condor: 350 Jelldon: 750 (-200) = 550

"Ability activate, Gel Shield!" Maggie defended. Jelldon's four brown spots glowed on his front, and from them, a red watery translucent shield eroded from his body. It enveloped him, shielding him from the stones that were reduced to thin air upon reaching the shield. This made Jelldon's power level shoot back up to 750.

Maggie showed upmost excitement as she saw how well Jelldon was doing. It was making her smile as wide as ever. "Eeeeee! Jelldon, we're doing so awesome!" she squealed. "Keep it up, keep it up!"

Jelldon nodded in a small sense of joy himself. "Yeah, sure. Okay!" Getting a little eager, he huffed as he faced his opponents again, ready to go on.

Esther looked ready herself, with Atchibee flying overhead. "This is it, Atchibee. Let's hurry."

"As you wish." Her blades went up as she went ahead. She, as well as Jelldon, both went and made head-on charges at their opponents. Jelldon squirmed across the dirt, while Atchibee sailed overhead.

As they drew in, however, Ariella began to smirk.

Esther took notice and realized the mistake. "Wait-!"

"Now, Killian!"

Hearing her shout, Killian snapped his fingers. "Gate Card, open! Darkus Battle Audience!"

As Jelldon and Atchibee advanced, the Gate Card opening beneath them got their attention drawn. "What…?" Atchibee trailed off as the glow from the card began to alter the battlefield. Slowly manifesting around them, a dark, distorted realm faded inwards. Everything had a black and purple hue towards it, and when Atchibee looked ahead, she saw something else.

The pigment on all the Bakugan started to alter. No longer was Clawcer black and blue. Instead, the blue on his body turned into purple. His red eyes became yellow, and Tripod Theta's own pigment began to change to a black and purple as well. The same was Moskeeto as parts changed to dark purple, purple, and gray. El Condor was exceptionally no different as all the green became black.

Esther's eyes widened. "Their attributes changed too?"

"Sure are." Killian said in a matter-of-fact tone. "This Gate Card changes the battle environment to any attribute I choose. It also changes all the Bakugan on my side to the same attribute. And there's one more…"

Maggie looked down at her Bakumeter, her brown eyes widening in surprise.

Clawcer: 50/Tripod Theta: 350 Atchibee: 900

Moskeeto: 350/Triad El Condor: 350 Jelldon: 750 (-250) = 500

"Jelldon's power level just went down!" Maggie gasped.

Ariella smirked. "That's right. All non-Darkus Bakugan on the field thus lose 500 Gs. Although, it seems you've got lucky this time." She reached outwards. "Now, disappear!"

As if on command, all the Bakugan on the opponent's side started to camouflage into the terrain. The darkness enveloping the atmosphere was the perfect shroud as they used it to hide.

"They vanished!" Atchibee warned.

Esther glared to her side. "They should be here somewhere…"

Maggie readied herself. "Right, stay frosty, Jelldon." She waited for a response, from him, but didn't get it. "Jelldon?" She looked ahead to see what the problem was, and once she registered it, a bead of sweat appeared on her head. "…oh."

Jelldon was shuddering in place, quivering like gelatin even. He was palpitating so much that it looked like he was going to scream at any given moment. "D-D-D-D-D-Dark…very, very much dark…" he muttered. "Wh-where'd it all come from of a sud-AH!" He turned to look at Atchibee, seeing her big red eyes and creepy wing patterns. "Ah! Demon of darkness!"

Atchibee grew a bead of sweat below her antennae. "It's me, Jelldon."

"…oh!" In an instant, it was like he calmed down upon recognizing her. "Hey, Atchibee…hold me!" In an instant, he jumped onto Atchibee, all the tentacles he had wrangling around her. The act caught Atchibee by surprise as the added weight was like a massive water jug trying to make it harder for her to fly.

"Jelldon, get ahold of yourself!" Atchibee snapped. "It's not that dark." She calmed down and turned to look around, trying to search for her opponents in the shroud. "At least I don't think so…"

Within the darkness enveloping them, the two Bakugan could hear the sounds of shrilled hissing. They could even hear the sounds of some hardened layers crawling along the darkness, like many legs. Now there was a good reason for Jelldon to hold on tightly.

"Aw, what's the matter? Afraid of the dark, little Bakugan?" Ariella taunted. "I figured singling out you first would be proven useful. Once we're done with you, then we can squash the bug. Now, ability activate, Crustacean-X!"

Somewhere in the darkness, a purple core brightened up, expelling an array of purple hashed chords that ran in an X shape.

Jelldon was keeping himself latched onto Atchibee still as the latter was trying to use her sonic radar to pick up on her opponents. As they were staying very weary, they could feel an intense power spike shoot up from out of nowhere. It was making Jelldon even more unsound.

"You feel that?" Atchibee asked quietly, being weary of her surroundings.

"Y-yeah. I do." Jelldon looked out behind him, but he wasn't getting anywhere. His six eyes blinked once, slowly, and then a silence fell.

In that strong sense of silence, it was almost dead, and that's when the opportunity came. A loud shriek followed by an invisible dark force that pulsated everywhere. The shockwave was so powerful that it blew Jelldon right off Atchibee and plopped onto the unseen plane below. The impact was so heavy that it even caused Atchibee to falter towards the ground.

The invisible strong winds surged, causing Maggie and Esther to both cover up as much as possible. They tried to hold on the best they could, but they could feel themselves faltering some.

"Where is this power coming from?!" Maggie screamed through the maelstrom.

"It's Clawcer's forbidden ability!" Esther answered.

Clawcer: 50 (+400) = 450/Tripod Theta: 350 Atchibee: 900 (-500) = 400

Moskeeto: 350/Triad El Condor: 350 Jelldon: 500 (-150) = 350

Looking at her Bakumeter, Maggie was shocked at the results. "Our Bakugan just went back to base level?!" She gasped at the realization, turning her attention ahead towards her partner. "Jelldon!"

Jelldon and Atchibee alike were doing what they could to persevere through the fight. The winds unleashed felt like they came from just a simple wave of a claw. It came from straight upfront, but they still were unable to get any means of a good glimpse on their foe. They stayed on the ground as the shockwaves were still trying to drag them away, but they were persevering to the best of their capabilities.

Killian raised his Bakumeter next, showing his card. "Ability activate, Infestation-X!"

As he roared out, yet another purple core shined in the darkness.

The shockwaves of the attack finally began to subside, leaving Atchibee and Jelldon both very much shaken up. They struggled to stand upright again, but eventually managed, albeit with some hiccups.

"Is it over yet…?" Jelldon sure as hell prayed it did.

Atchibee looked ahead, trying to see if they were alright. A grotesque hiss came from inside the darkness, followed by the sound of what appeared to be constant buzzing. "No…"

Suddenly, a dark green swarm of insect-shaped energies emerged from the negative void ahead. The malicious swarm of unadulterated mayhem swam on in without the need to stop and blew right into a shocked Atchibee and Jelldon. Both Bakugan had no time to recover as the wave of dark comets similar to Fly Beetle's Infestation Stigma crashed into them like a tidal wave. Their screams had also gone into muffled shouts as well.

Clawcer: 450/Tripod Theta: 350 Atchibee: 400 (-300) = 100

Moskeeto: 350/Triad El Condor: 350 Jelldon: 350 (-250) = 100

"Atchibee!"

"Jelldon!"

The battlers were watching with horrid looks on their faces as their Bakugan were succumbing to the green swarm that was fully surrounding and digging into them. The green, reflective filament surrounded them both, and it was itching bad. But they couldn't even move at the moment. They were in too much pain to act.

Every muscle they moved. Every time they attempted to breathe even, it was like something bit into them. The more Jelldon flinched, the more his soft body was aching.

Ariella watched their struggling with a chuckle. "We've warned you countless times now that resistance was futile. I highly doubt standard Bakugan can have any prayers against a Bakugan who has power to match a Guardian Bakugan, maybe even more so. This was your mess you refused to clean up, so now this is how it'll end…in darkness." The tone and emphasis on the last part was what rattled cages. "It's over!"

Esther glared ahead with growing anxiety. Her eyes were beginning to close, a grievous sigh escaping from her. She can't afford to see Atchibee like this; on the ground, hissing in angst.

"Wait…" Esther heard that sound. When she looked over, she saw that Maggie was standing still with what looked like a puzzled look on her face. "Did she just say…they were Darkus now?"

Esther blinked. "…yes, why?"

Maggie's puzzled look was fixed on her face for a moment before a mischievous smirk appeared with large twinkles for eyes, like someone who just struck the motherload. "Oh! When then this just got a whole lot easier for us!" she chimed loudly like there was no care to the world for her.

Ariella frowned beside Killian. "What's she on about over there?"

Killian furrowed his own brow. "Not sure."

Maggie cupped her hands and yelled out to her distressed partner. "Jelldon!"

"Ow! Eeeh! Ah! Ow! Ow! Ow~!" The shriveling Bakugan was jumping and squirming in place as the green reflective filament around him was trying to dig deeper. It was worse than any itch. It was like negative energy was injected with each bite. It was making Jelldon slower. "M-Maggie?!" he whined.

"They're Darkus. You know what that means?"

Jelldon was itching and feeling his energy sap, but when he got the realization, he froze in place and began to succumb to the reality of it all. It was still dark, but there was still one trick they still had. "…oh!" He realized. Like battler, like Bakugan. "Yeah, do it! Ow!"

Maggie nodded in understanding. "Okay then…" She raised her left arm high, showing her ability card. "Let's go! Ability activate…Darkus Jailer!"

"Darkus what?!" Ariella snapped.

Trying to shake off any uneasy uneasiness about the darkness, Jelldon glared ahead, mustering what strength he had to power through the itching and the weakening of the limbs. Vermilion static began to envelop his body and discharge into the limbs. Once ready, he jutted them out as hard as possible with squinted vision, zapping into the darkness with a rapid-beating heart. The attack jolted into the shroud, and within its cloud, a variety of shrieks were heard.

Esther's eyes widened at the realization. "That ability, of course!"

The shroud of darkness slowly cleared away, revealing vermilion static enveloping around and upholding the four Darkus Bakugan. They were all grunting in pain as their large bodies were unable to move. They were in four vermilion cage-like static fields that all resonated from Jelldon's two tips, held up high like displays.

Clawcer: 450 (-300) = 150/Tripod Theta: 350 (-300) = 50 Atchibee: 100

Moskeeto: 350 (-300) = 50/Triad El Condor: 350 (-300) = 50 Jelldon: 100

"That sneaky little…!" Ariella was at a loss for words, practically speechless.

Killian balled his own fists, showing his own anger. "Damnit, we walked right into a trap! We should've known!"

"That's right, and now thanks to that, you can't activate anymore abilities." Maggie winked. She then nudged her head towards Esther. "Esther, if you would be so kind?"

Esther grinned and nodded. "We shall. Atchibee!"

Mustering up what strength she had, the moth Bakugan could begin to rise once more. As Moskeeto was incapacitated, it felt like his power was dissipating. The green energy around her was sinking in, but was dissipating just as quickly. Once up in the air, she was fixed for battle. "Let's do this!"

Esther showed two abilities this time. "Double ability, activate! Lavender Shock, plus Fusion Ability, Chaos Turnover!"

Atchibee's tail began to give off purple static once more. It was reeled forward, and from its base, a discharge of purple lightning shot. As it went on towards the four Bakugan, her bizarre mouth made a violet, dark purple, white, and black wispy ball of energy. The ball was fired in conjunction with this lightning, and as the two attacks traveled, the fireball began to slowly erode into the lightning, making it thicker, and far more glossy than before.

Clawcer: 150/Tripod Theta: 50 Atchibee: 100 (+200 +200) = 500

Moskeeto: 50/Triad El Condor: 50 Jelldon: 100

The glossy thick lightning zoomed skywards into the four opponents clustered together. All the Bakugan were hissing and roaring as they were unable to act or move about. In one big bolt, a glossy flash enveloped the airspace between the four battlers. Killian looked amazed, yet Ariella was stupefied. Esther and Maggie looked relieved, as to where Atchibee and Jelldon had relieved but serious looks of their own.

As the bright flash dissipated from the air, the darkness around them all finally lifted into the room again. All of Killian and Ariella's Bakugan and Trap Bakugan became their shapes and plopped in front of them as both their life gauges dropped completely to 0%.

"It can't be! How could I lose?" Ariella exasperated. "This wasn't supposed to happen!"

Killian snapped his fingers in his own retort. He seemed to be taking his loss well despite the consequences.

Maggie smiled wide at the victory. "Alright!" She reached up to Esther again, who seemed to be reluctant at first, but did a high-five. The two shared what was a happy grin.

Their Bakugan returned to them, both tired, but still alive. Once they were returned, the overhead lights suddenly went off, putting them all in darkness once again.

"Oh come on! Not this again!" Jelldon whined.

"What's going on now?" Atchibee questioned.

"I'm not sure…" Esther trailed off in her own search for answers when she began to feel something off. When she looked down, she noticed that her legs were beginning to teleport away, same as before. It went up her body and arms.

Maggie looked down, seeing her own skirt being teleported away. "We're being teleported again!"

"Then it looks like we've passed after all." Esther said. "Let's hope the others are okay."

Maggie nodded before she turned towards the defeated Ariella and Killian. With the appendages left, she stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry at them before fully vanishing with Esther.

With them finally gone, Killian and Ariella were once again left alone, dwelling in their own thoughts as silence came over them.

The Aquos woman turned away, refusing to accept the possibilities. "Great, just great! Now what?"

"Don't look at me. That Gate Card strategy was your idea." Killian pointed out.

"What was that?" Ariella turned towards him, giving a very sharp look of intimidation. Killian, however, just walked away like any right-minded person would.

"Nope. Not doing this."

As Killian walked off, Ariella looked down at her Clawcer and Tripod Theta. The two Bakugan were laying in her palm as she couldn't begin to go into detail how cold of a stare she was giving them.

"Gnnngh…what happened?" Clawcer groaned.

Ariella's stare was beyond grim. "Pathetic."

---

"Gate Card, set!" Hendrix was the one to set the field as a brown shockwave ran across the ground. "Now then, Rafflesian, give me your strength once more."

"As you wish."

Hendrix threw him in. "Bakugan, brawl! Rafflesian, stand!" Once more, his Rafflesian entered battle, standing at 450.

As Shuji and Shawn watched as their opponent stood, the Haos battler leaned into his larger partner. "We need to take out those Traps again if they bring them out, that's our first priority."

Shuji nodded. "I think I follow, but what about that Freezer? Won't it try and use those abilities to stop us in place?"

Shawn shot him a deeper look, a silence befalling before it picked up again. Then we'll need to work this out one step at a time."

"Bakugan, brawl!" Cesar shot in his Freezer next. He stood at 450, right next to Rafflesian.

"They have chaos abilities with them, on top of which they have Trap Bakugan in case they find themselves in a tight spot. I'll stand on defense and take them by surprise. Shuji, can you and Fly Beetle act as bait and hold them off until their guards are own?"

The Subterra battler grinned as he held up a balled fist. "Don't worry. Ain't nobody getting past us. Right Fly Beetle?"

Fly Beetle nodded. "Yeah, we'll give you cover to attack."

"Much obliged, good buddy." Verias replied. "Alright then, let's say we get this started then?"

"Right!" Both battlers shouted. They tossed in both of their individual Bakugan. "Bakugan, brawl! Bakugan, stand!"

Fly Beetle and Verias arose to do battle, both standing once more at 350.

Cesar shot Hendrix a look. "Hendrix, if you would?"

The Subterra Rogue Zero slowly nodded. "Yes." He raised his Bakumeter, showing an ability. "Ability activate, Root Seep!" Rafflesian grunted as his thorny tentacles arose from the ground and arched to face the earth. Once ready, it all plunged deep, sending a quake all around. Once it settled, Verias and Fly Beetle both remained vigilant as they waited for results. Suddenly, vines arose from around Fly Beetle, snaring his claws and plunging him into the ground with a loud bang.

Freezer: 450 Fly Beetle: 350 (-200) = 150

Rafflesian: 450 (+200) = 650 Verias: 350

Fly Beetle was unable to move, much to Shuji's aggravation. He balled his fists and raised one. "Hey! Don't nap on the job, pal! Let's get in there! Double ability, activate! Horn Buster, plus Sonic Wing!"

Fly Beetle struggled to stand, but what he was still able to use was his horn. With his head turning, the crackling brown energy began to charge, and the wing shields being closed forced open and allowed the wings to protrude out. "Get some of this!" From the side, brown crescents zoomed in arches, while a straight shot of the Horn Buster went sailing over the ground.

The two attacks met Rafflesian and Freezer alike. They were pelted by a barrage of brown crescents converging in front, whereas a discharge of brown energy startled them front between.

Freezer: 450 (-200) = 250 Fly Beetle: 150 (+200) = 350

Rafflesian: 650 (-200) = 450 Verias: 350

With himself free from the vines and thorns, Fly Beetle flapped his wings at massive speeds and glided off the ground. In an instant, he charged right for Freezer through the smoke and rupture. The horn made full impact with the face, making Freezer hold on while Fly Beetle dove out and back into the air.

Cesar looked devastated as he was seeing his pet being thrust head on. "Yaaaah! What is this?! I have to do something or else my reputation will surely plummet!" In a desperate need, he pulled out an ability. "Ability activate, Haos Force!"

Freezer continued to sail into the air with Fly Beetle, but when he found his momentum, he grabbed hold with his tentacle and finally shoved off. He took off in a high jump over Fly Beetle and began to charge a yellow core with dark yellow static around it.

"Plus, Fusion Ability, Plexus!" Cesar added.

As the attack charged, the sphere of the attack began to give off a yellow aura around it, with the inside giving a white crystal-like glow. Instead of fired as a beam, it remained a sphere that went at Fly Beetle.

Freezer: 250 (+300 +100) = 650 Fly Beetle: 350

Rafflesian: 450 Verias: 350

As the attack closed in, Fly Beetle continued his charge. "Shuji!"

"I know!" He pulled up his Bakumeter, punching outwards. "Ability activate, Fly Arrow!"

Fly Beetle's red eyes glinted some before unleashing two brown beams at the incoming yellow orb. The two attacks met in a steep center, causing a sparkling flash to erupt between the two battling Bakugan. Shuji covered up using his elbow, while Cesar looked genuinely amused.

When the smoke cleared, it revealed Fly Beetle unfazed, untouched while Freezer landed on the ground beside Rafflesian.

Freezer: 650 (-100) = 550 Fly Beetle: 350 (+200) = 550

Rafflesian: 450 Verias: 350

"Tch, ingrate rodent." Cesar scorned.

Hendrix held up his Bakumeter next. "Ability activate, Ground Force!" His Rafflesian grunted as a brown, intense aura enveloped his body. The earth beneath began to crack apart as waves of dust began to spout from the rumbling beneath. Rafflesian finally exerted a large growl as two brown dust waves gushed from beneath.

Freezer: 550 Fly Beetle: 550

Rafflesian: 450 (+300) = 750 Verias: 350

The waves of dust ran along the ground, rushing and cracking towards Verias as he remained still. Shawn, however, showed an ability card. "Ability activate, Siba Feral!" Verias gripped his staff tightly and waited as the large dust wave closed in on him. Once it was at a close enough range, the ground vibrating was light against him. He brought his staff overhead and released a large howl as it slammed into the earth, making the shockwave of dust roar out of control all around.

Freezer: 550 Fly Beetle: 550

Rafflesian: 750 (-200) = 550 Verias: 350 (+200) = 550

The dust began to dissipate, revealing Verias untouched. He adjusted his staff while Fly Beetle floated atop. Both Bakugan opposed Freezer and Rafflesian as they began to show signs of wear.

Shuji smirked wildly. "How's that?"

"Careful, this is where it gets touch." Shawn warned.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, Cesar was observing the battle with some vexation. "Hmmm, well they seem to be fighting rather hard. Shall we make this test number two then?"

Hendrix looked down at his palm, being the brown cylinder in hand. As he stared at it, he could feel the power flowing from the help they could be getting. He balled his fist tight, glaring back up at their foe once more. "…yes."

Together, both of them tossed up and out, sending their different shaped helpers out to do some damage. "Come forth, Bakugan Traps!" they cried out.

As they cried out their individual Bakugan traps, a brown and yellow light enveloped the battlefield beside the respective Bakugan. Beside Rafflesian, the six-headed Legionoid let out a loud roar as the heads craned about, bellowing loudly. And arising was Dynamo as the drone spider stood beside Freezer with no sound.

Freezer: 550/Dynamo: 400 Fly Beetle: 550

Rafflesian: 550/Legionoid: 350 Verias: 550

Seeing the traps, Shuji balled his fists. "Looks like we got some uninvited party guests."

Shawn shared a grin of his own. "Looks like it. You ready?"

Shuji's smirk widened. "Sure am. Been wanting to get back at them since the last round. Now we get to see what they can really do."

Cesar chuckled amusingly. "Don't think that this shall be a walk in the park." An ability showed on his chair. "Ability activate, Sub Dimension!" The mechanical eyes of Dynamo began to ignite a bright color. Slowly, a dark hemisphere enveloped Verias. The simian looked around, noticing how everything looked so distorted about him.

Freezer: 550/Dynamo: 400 Fly Beetle: 550

Rafflesian: 550/Legionoid: 350 Verias: 550 (-300) = 250

Shawn furrowed his brow. "Looks like they're switching things up as well. Verias! Ability, activate! Caroline Protector!"

The simian grunted as he began to spread his feet apart. The staff arose above his head and he started to twirl and twist it like a helicopter blade. It began to slowly draw in and vacuum up the dense black void as if it were some fog and twirled even faster to keep it from going anywhere. Once charged, he swung his staff once more, sending the distorted black and purple energy in a streaming blast from that solemn swing. The attack struck Dynamo square in the blue diamond chest, causing it to get blasted and falter over. A distorted burst happened in front of it a rupture magnified, sending it falling backwards and flipping like a table.

Cesar once again panicked. "Wha~t?! Dynamo!"

Freezer: 550/Dynamo: 400 (-300) = 100 Fly Beetle: 550

Rafflesian: 550/Legionoid: 350 Verias: 250 (+300) = 550

Shuji put his wrist up to show another ability card. "Ability, activate! Horn Buster!" Once again, Fly Beetle unleashed a weak brown blast of energy from his horn at Rafflesian and Legionoid. Both them hollered out as a trail of brown raced in front of them, making them unwilling to tread anymore feet.

Freezer: 550/Dynamo: 100 Fly Beetle: 550 (+200) = 750

Rafflesian: 550/Legionoid: 350 Verias: 550

Hendrix grunted as smoke bypassed him. Once he recovered, he moved his arm and shot Fly Beetle a look. "Ability activate, Dense Poison!" From one head of Legionoid, the maw opened wide and expelled a brown beam of toxins overhead. The heavy ray sailed through the air, causing Fly Beetle to ceasefire and twirl out to evade.

As Fly Beetle maneuvered, one faltered spin made it dense ray of venom pass by him, barely grazing his legs. He spiraled out of control and his power level was subtracted back to 550.

Once he straightened out, Fly Beetle looked disoriented. "Man, that felt heavy!"

"Save your breath for fighting." Hendrix retorted. "Rafflesian, ability activate! Mineral Plight!" Once again, a weaker, but just as efficient brown energy field enveloped Rafflesian, making his power grow more to 750.

Verias obliged by holding up his own arm. "Ability activate, Haos Drain!" Verias spread his feet and unleashed a beam of yellow energy from his gem on his head. His power level shot all the way up to 750 as it made way into Freezer. The harsh impact created a tremendous bright explosion in front of Freezer, one that sent him flying backwards and land on his side.

As the thudding began to subside, Cesar looked like he was going to blow a fuse. However, instead of doing so, he smirked. He chose to instead sigh it off and flicked his white locks over his head. "Hmph! Looks like our patience really is being thinned here, isn't it?" He looked towards Hendrix, who was staring ahead.

The Subterra battler's glare was hard and deep like tough iron itself. His brow furrowed slowly as he observed the rumblings.

"As I had thought. Now then, I say we try and mix it up a bit, shall we?" On his armrest, an ability revealed itself. He picked it up, smirking evilly with his purple lipstick as the card had a purple core on it. "Well now…guess the mice are just puckish. Then let's give them a treat."

Hendrix nodded. "So be it."

Cesar raised his arm, making his ability show. "Ability activate, Experiment-X!" The purple core appeared again on Freezer, just like when he battled against Abis Omega. With it on his and the chords extending all over his body, the Bakugan hissed in angst as the pain and uneasy feel he had was evident.

"Here it comes, guys!" Shawn warned.

"We know!" Verias exclaimed.

Suddenly, the chords of the chaos ability expanded outwards, stretching far out towards Verias. The Bakugan held his ground and tried to use his staff to block, some, but too many at once was a blunder. Only a few latched onto the staff before they bypassed towards the abdomen. And then the legs, then arms. Verias strained intensely as he could feel the tight squeeze and the stinging of each splintered end of a hash on his fur. He roared out as a yellow glow enveloped his body, enveloping the chord as well and travel back towards Freezer. The energy transfer as before had finally begun.

"Verias!" Shawn exasperated.

Cesar smirked maliciously as he could see the results fly. "That's it, Freezer. Keep giving him pain that he gave you. Let him feel it instead of yourself."

Verias grunted and struggled to break free, but he was feeling nothing but aching and someone trying to put his whole body on fire. He was hollering madly and in searing agony, but the stinging just didn't stop.

Hendrix was next to pull out his ability. "Ability activate…Chaos Booster-X!" Same with before a dozen times, a malicious bright purple core appeared on Rafflesian's front. The Bakugan was instantly enveloped in chords like Freezer was, only instead, he could feel the chords sinking into his skin, convulsing surges that were in deep veins that crackled. A dark, malicious aura enveloped Rafflesian as he exerted a more vocalized roar. This time, it coursed through the atmosphere with a fierce magnitude.

Finally, the chords around Verias connecting him to Freezer finally stopped glowing. The glow and the chords evaporated, leaving Verias to ache and fall to the ground. He thud on his stomach like plopping onto a hard bed, a really hard mattress that made his throbbing insides flare upon impact.

Freezer: 550 (+200) = 750/Dynamo: 100 Fly Beetle: 550

Rafflesian: 550 (+500) = 1050/Legionoid: 350 Verias: 750 (-200) = 550

"Crap! They're taking our power!" Shuji retorted.

"There's more." Cesar chimed. He shot a glance at Hendrix from the corner of his eye and nodded. The Subterra battler nodded in understanding and made another ability show as his forearm was still up.

"Ability activate, Draft Poison!"

Legionoid bellowed out once more, all six heads exerting powerful, shrilled cries of their own. One different head finished its roar and aimed straight up. A green, dense energy-like toxin beam was fired skywards, where there, it sailed higher and higher, until finally it reached a critical point and erupted into four beams that arched downwards into the allies. They all sailed down and began to dissolve, becoming green drafts that streamed and began to surround them all in a dense whirlwind. The cyclone barrier enveloped them all, and they gave off such a powerful force that it was too critical to even get close to.

Fly Beetle landed, looking at the whirlwind shield round them in shock. "The heck's that?!"

Inside, four figures with dense shadows were seen. They all had menacing gazes as their low growls beamed an intimidating stature.

Freezer: 750 (+600) = 1350/Dynamo: 100 (+600) = 700 Fly Beetle: 550

Rafflesian: 1050 (+600) = 1650/Legionoid: 350 (+600) = 950 Verias: 550

Shuji went wide eyed with complete disbelief. "WHAT THE HECK JUST HAPPENED?!" he wailed. "IS THIS A FREAKING JOKE!"

"No." Hendrix bluntly answered. "Draft Poison increases all Bakugan on my side by 100 Gs for each Bakugan on the field."

Shawn gritted his teeth. "Damn. Not good."

Cesar's wily smirk lengthened as he saw the level of fear the others had on their faces. "Well, as overkill as this may seem, I think good measures are to be taken doing this." He snapped his fingers, the echoing reverberating loudly. "Dynamo! Freezer! Octavius Drone Mode!"

"As you…say…master…" Even with a hazy conscience, the Haos Bakugan willingly jumped into the air, his body under the control of his master's bidding. The Dyanmp's head spikes inserted and slid backwards into the helmet as the spider neck and head went down.

Shuji looked up in utter surprise. "What the…?"

Freezer slowly descended downwards to plant himself on top of Dynamo. The six tentacles he had aligned with the six arms Dynamo had. The cybernetic shoulders of the six arms slid open like mailboxes, allowing the six appendages to place their tips inside. Once inserted, the Dynamo was under the control of Freezer as the Bakugan used his six arms to maneuver the legs to walk like a spider a few feet ahead. The Freezer let out a loud, malicious shout that reverberated through the airspace around him. Together, their power levels now combined to equal 2050.

Shawn stepped back out of shock. "They combined?!"

Cesar laughed meekly at his expense. "Meet Dynamo Freezer, or rather Octavius Drone Mode, however you kindergarten brats spell it out the simplest." His glance went towards his side. "Now then, Hendrix, if it's no trouble…?"

Hendrix grumbled beneath his breath and began to reach out once more. "Gate Card, open! Phantasm!" The Gate Card beneath finally revealed itself towards the battlers, and beneath Fly Beetle and Verias, the latter having slowly staggered to his feet some, their lower halves began to crackle and solidify. They looked down, realizing they were being turned to stone up to their knees.

Dynamo Freezer: 2050 Fly Beetle: 550 (-100) = 450

Rafflesian: 1650/Legionoid: 950 Verias: 550 (-100) = 450

"Oh man…" Shuji could feel his throat getting tight, almost to where he could feel himself pale. "This ain't right."

"I'm not out just yet!" Fly Beetle assured. "We still got abilities to play, right?"

Shuji's eyes widened a little. "Hm? Well yeah…"

"We know what we have to do then!" Verias enforced as he held his ground, quite literally.

Shawn nodded. "Right. Shuji."

Finally getting the message loud and clear, Shuji nodded his head. "Okay then, let's give it a whirl."

"Now then…" Cesar pointed ahead ever so valiantly. "I think it's time we make your deaths quick and painless! You shall taste the merciless mercy…of Cesar the Genius! Ability activate, Grapple Bazooka!" Dynamo Freezer lifted his front section, revealing two of his arms. The claws on the ends unhooked, allowing pistols to be seen. From them, two intense yellow beams went blitzing across the battlefield at both Verias and Fly Beetle.

Dynamo Freezer: 2050 (+300 +300) = 2650 Fly Beetle: 450

Rafflesian: 1650/Legionoid: 950 Verias: 450

Once the beams closed in, both Verias and Fly Beetle cried at the same time. "NOW!"

"Ability card, activate!" both battlers exclaimed.

"Pillar Shaker!"

"Subterra Seeker!"

Verias raised his staff overhead and used his back to hunch over and aim the staff's end into the battlefield and Gate Card. The simian hollered exponentially as the staff touched the ground, making shards beneath shatter into oblivion. In that instant, a pillar of light swallowed everything around him, sending shattering yellow ripples across the ground towards the opponents. The ripples made impact, causing them all to falter.

As to where that happened, the shockwaves bypassed Fly Beetle as his wing shields lifted. The magma color returned, and when the two intense beams made impact with the beetle, instead of vaporizing him as intended, the beams instead stuck to the shields like glue, continuing to be drawn in until their ends were finally met. They were instead two giant balls of yellow sitting atop of Fly Beetle before they fused into one big ball of light. It was then launched in a massive beam back at the shaken Dynamo Freezer, making a harsh impact that created a yellow explosion and smoke to implode around them.

The enemy Bakugan all scowled in pain as the ground beneath them continued to rupture to no end.

Dynamo Freezer: 2650 (-200 -200 -300 -300 -300 -300) = 1050 Fly Beetle: 450 (+100 +100) = 650

Rafflesian: 1650 (-200) = 1450/Legionoid: 950 (-200) = 750 Verias: 450 (+100) = 550

"What?" Hendrix was covering up from the blast wave, but even he was rendered flabbergasted with this intense counter the others had created. Beside him, Cesar had a stupefied expression as he was faltering in his chair.

"Switch!" Shawn yelled. He reached his hand out towards Shuji, who returned with them both carrying a strong high five. Once the clap ceased, they were ready to switch their targets.

"Do it, guys!" Verias roared.

"Yeah, we can take it!" Fly Beetle roared into the air, taking flight to go against Legionoid and Rafflesian. Once however above, he saw the two Bakugan still recoiling from Verias' ability.

"Alright then, you asked for it!" Shuji let out a loud shout as he raised his arm high, showing three ability cards stacked atop each other. "Triple ability, activate!"

Hendrix's eyes widened with a gasp.

"Horn Buster, plus Fly Arrow, and Fusion Ability, Terra Surge!"

Fly Beetle's entire body was enveloped in a light brown aura as his eyes began to glow a bright color. He could feel the powerful array of energy coursing deep through his body, and it was something he hadn't felt for a short while. The rush he felt when he fought Mystic Elico was once again returning, and the ground beneath him was cracking apart, surging with a small glow beneath. The beetle took one big step in front, the gravity of which beginning to magnify. Small shards of earth began to surge and spiral up his body and surround the horn and tusks as both were beginning to glow with high frequencies resonating at alarming rates.

"Triple ability, activate!" Shawn was next. "Haos Drain, plus Verias Siba, plus Fusion Ability, Lucifer Bow!"

Verias was also surging in a bright yellow light of his own, one that magnified as his eyes were glowing a bright shade of yellow. He began to wildly turn his staff about as yellow, flaming energy twirled in a wheel. As it was formulating into solid energy, Verias quickly got his staff out and stabbed the bottom end and held it like a big targeting system. Once that was accomplished, he aimed his gem on his forehead into its center, where there, the yellow energy also began to discharge profusely into static all over the head area.

"FIRE!"

Together, a bright orange beam with a helix of stones expanded across the battlefield alongside a bright yellow blast of equal proportions. The two attacks took up the entire space that was for the enemy Bakugan, swallowing them in two distinct lights. Both Rafflesian and Freezer howled in agony as they couldn't see as a bright light was enveloping them.

A large explosion took up the airspace there and then, making a magnitude so great that it made Legionoid, who was out of blast range, hunched over and grunted. The smoke cloud enveloped him, but the residual light energy that was given off by Verias shattered everywhere. The bright explosion and Dynamo Freezer smashing into him was what created an even brighter explosion. Hendrix and Cesar were unable to hold themselves up any longer and were finally picked up and off the ground and fell to their sides. The chair Cesar sat on fell over, making him topple onto the ground with a pained thud as shockwaves ran over their heads.

Dynamo Freezer: 1050 (-550) = 500 Fly Beetle: 650 (+200 +200 +200) = 1250

Rafflesian: 1450 (-100 -200) = 1150/Legionoid: 750 Verias: 550 (+200 +200) = 950

As the smoke waves subsided, all the enemy Bakugan began to morph back into their forms, being ball, cylinder, or hexagon. The four Bakugan were picked up by shockwaves that sent them back to their fallen partners' sides. As they struggled to stand, their life gauges dropped to 0%.

Shuji raised his fist high. "AW YEAH!"

"That actually worked." Shawn couldn't believe his luck. "Verias, how do you feel?"

Looking up, both Verias and Fly Beetle were in their respective attribute auras. The two Bakugan were howling steadily into the airspace as their auras refused to seethe out any less power than what they had poured out already. Both Bakugan concluded their roars and morphed back into ball form, dropping into their partner's hands.

Suddenly, they began to feel something off. Instantly, their feet began to disappear, and slowly reaching atop them was the same energy as before. Shawn and Shuji both looked down, each surprised in their own way.

"This again?!" Shuji exasperated.

"Looks like we're out of here." Shawn remarked.

With that, the teleportation enveloped them both; Shuji being thankfully calmer than before. With them finally gone, that left Hendrix to get up and dust his arms off.

The burly Subterra battler grunted as he swiped dust off his hairy biceps. "If Legionoid hadn't been struck by that Haos attack, then there would be a need for a replacement."

Lying on the ground, Cesar was balling a fist and gritting his teeth. He was on his hip, but he stomach was turned so he could ball his fists against the ground. "To think that they could go as far as Triple Abilities now…" He bashed his fists into the ground. "Damnit, another miscalculated error! Science, why are you so cruel and unkind…" He shook his head mournfully as he despaired over his own folly.

Hendrix looked away from his despairing associate and faced the spots where Shawn and Shuji were supposed to be. He knew that with their loss, something would come up, and he wasn't going to like it one bit. "This mess is getting too big to clean alone." He grunted.

---

In front of the corridor's entrance, where many of guards laid in various arrays of agony and pain, some couldn't even be recognizable. As they laid disoriented, an open spot laid in the center of it all. That open spot was where four energy bodies began to manifest.

As the four lights flashed, the space was distorted with a loud sound similar to shimmering metal. Once it dialed down, the four spots had the bodies of Esther, Maggie, Shuji, and Shawn, all accounted for. While the four figures were now getting a fix on where they ended up, they were caught by surprise as they were face to face with each other once more.

Esther looked away from her considerable bust towards Shawn and Shuji. "Shawn! Shuji!"

"Esther?" Shawn looked at her with overwhelmed surprise. "I'll be damned, you're back! The heck you go?"

"I was about to ask you both the same thing."

Maggie skipped on over and came between Shawn and Shuji in a hug to their waists. "You guys, you made me so worried!"

"Woah, hey now!" Shuji was caught by surprise at Maggie's tight grip, but not to where it was suffocating. She seemed awfully pleased to see them both alive, so he chose to discard his initial shock. If he was honest, he'd be worried too. They did have to win a really tough battle after all.

"Did you guys end up battling anyone?" Shawn inquired to Esther.

The Darkus girl nodded. "It was an ambush by Rogue Zero. We walked right into their trap."

Shuji rammed his fist into his palm. "Those rats are gonna pay for this!"

"We can worry about that later. Right now, we've got a bigger problem." Shawn turned his attention over towards the many of guards around them. As he saw the many that were laying with uncertain degrees of wounds, other were visibly seen holding onto something, as if covering up open wounds inflicted. From a few glints, he could even see that some had gashes and cuts on them. He knew it must have been by means of a sword. "Looks like a scuffle happened here." He said. "I think it was Master Riaan."

Everyone there looked mildly surprised at the revelation. Shuji looked deeply shocked. "Wait, what?!"

"You're saying…?" Esther trailed off as she turned towards the group of fallen soldiers at their feet. "He did all of this?"

"Oh boy." Maggie said dryly. "I don't know if I should feel awed…or sick." Her face began to pale as she saw some of them continuing to bleed weakly.

Verias looked up towards his partner. "Are you sure this was all him? For all we know, maybe Luke and Jase already won."

Shawn put a hand to his chin, scrutinizing the evidence carefully. "No, can't be. I know Luke, and he's not the kind to do something like this kind of defense."

Esther offered no input on the matter at hand. She just looked ahead as she seemed deeply in thought. Her memories were all too clear, and Luke was indeed not that kind of guy, as far as she and the others were aware thus far. He can battle, just not be willing to kill.

"Do you think they're okay?" Maggie questioned.

"Not sure. The communication system is still down. We can't even get pass a few meters." To demonstrate this, Shawn tapped his Bakumeter several times to try and reach Luke and Jase. However, what he got was a screen brimming in static.

Esther looked towards the walls and ceiling, trying to come up with a solution. "This tunnel's chrome must have a thick layer of anti-detection that makes it difficult to get messages in and out of." She figured. "I don't think we'll be getting anything out of here in terms of communication with Luke or Jase."

"Then I suggest we focus on getting back to what we were doing first." Atchibee insisted.

"She's right." Shawn pointed out. "Master Riaan should be fine. I'm sure it'll take more than this to stop him. But still…" He looked into his Bakumeter, tapping some new coordinates. Fortunately this time, he got a picture of Riaan on it.

"Shawn, is that you I see?" Riaan asked with surprise.

Shawn's brow furrowed. "Yeah, It's me. Do you copy?"

"Yes, I copy. I assume you're all well now?"

Shawn nodded. "Yeah, we ran into some trouble with Rogue Zero. Fortunately we were able to stop them and end up back here."

Riaan nodded in understanding. "I see…" He closed his eyes, bowing his head in shame. "My sincerest apologies to you all."

"It's fine. Thanks for being concerned." Shawn took one more look around, seeing the many bodies before facing the Bakumeter again. "Do you know what happened?"

"Sorry for that as well. It seems they did not reason well with my ambitions."

"I see…"

"Are the others with you as well?"

"Yeah, we're all here. Where are you?"

"I'm making way down the corridor. I ran into some interreference along the way, but I should be getting close to the chamber with the core as we speak."

"Got it, thanks for letting us know." With that, the message turned off, and Shawn faced his allies with a serious expression. "He's heading down to the core as we speak. C'mon!" He turned and began to run off in the direction where his master was.

Still lagging, Shuji trailed behind. "Hey, wait up!"

Maggie and Esther followed, with the Pyrus girl furrowing her own brow. "Do you think they'll be alright?"

Esther continued on ever so casually. "It'll be alright. Jase is a capable fighter. But Luke…" At first earlier when she thought about it, she had a feeling Luke could handle them. However, after the run-in with Rogue Zero and their latest Trap Bakugan, her suspicions were beginning to grow sour. 'I just hope I'm wrong about all this.'

Maggie had a confused look as Esther ran along.

In the front of the dashing pack, Shawn was leading them this time, and making sure they had vigilance as s shriveling feeling crept up his spine. 'This is getting wrong in all the right ways. There's something amidst here, and I can feel it even from here. Riaan, just what is going on that we need to know?'

He powered on, with everyone else following in tow down the orange and yellow tunnel.

---

From across the other side of the battlefield, Maximus was mockingly snickering. Luke was on pins and needles with how low his enemies have gone. If it wasn't for Jase calling out when he did, he would've done something messy again.

"Luke…relax."

Luke harshly turned to him. "Yeah, easy for you to say! You have any idea how unfair this is!" he stammered in anger. "Man, this bites! First they pull out these freaky new weapons, now the others are who knows where! I thought you accounted for all this!"

Jase looked unemotional as he faced forward. "So I'm labeled the group's all-knowing, am I?"

Luke grunted in annoyance.

"Luke, have a sense of patience. It's what will help you win this battle. Just focus on your task at hand, then we can worry about the others later." He pulled out a Gate Card. "Believe me, I know how you feel…but worrying now will only hamper the results that we need. Don't worry about anyone's business until you can handle your own, understand?"

Luke wanted to say something, but for the time being, nothing came to mind. He knew Jase was right to some degree, but he didn't like being outdone by people or matters he didn't appreciate. But he had to remain vigilant if he wanted to get the results he wanted. "…fine." He huffed. "So what do we do?"

"We'll use this when we need it." He held the card between two fingers. "It'll be just what we need when the time comes."

Luke's face twisted. "What the heck does that mean?"

"Pay attention and you'll learn. Now, get ready!" Jase swiped his arm, sending the Gate Card outwards towards the field. The green shockwave went everywhere, ready for everyone to give it their all.

"Alright, battle fans!" the announcer exclaimed above. "Let the next round…begin!"

"Bakugan, brawl! Atmos stand!" Jase threw in Atmos. The Ventus Bakugan immediately spread his wings and took flight.

"Bakugan, brawl! Abis Omega, stand!" Luke threw Abis Omega again, landing on the battlefield than the water.

"Let's get this tussle over with, shall we? Bakugan, brawl! Goblinball, stand!" Maximus threw in Goblinball once more, flapping his wings with a grizzly look in his one eye.

"My turn then!" Xander threw in Hyper Dragonoid, who arose in a small fire spiral. "Hyper Dragonoid, stand!" The Bakugan scowled in a roaring howl as he entered battle in the air like Goblinball.

Hyper Dragonoid: 500 Atmos: 400

Goblinball: 500 Abis Omega: 350

"You really think you have what it takes now?" Maximus scoffed.

"Don't sell me short yet!" Luke insisted. "Ability activate, Fin Melee!" Abis Omega lunged dead ahead at Goblinball, swinging his tail around with a blue streak following. The impact made time slow to a stop as Goblinball was smacked with a glistening blue tailfin.

"Ability activate, Aviana Tempest!" Atmos began to flap his wings at an alarming rate. As they flapped, a large-scale whirlwind palpitated throughout the airspace. The residual wings began to envelop him while the rest of the gust blew about around Hyper Dragonoid and Goblinball, trying to deter them.

Hyper Dragonoid: 500 Atmos: 400 (+200) = 600

Goblinball: 500 Abis Omega: 350 (+200) = 550

Covering up from the gusts that blew about, Xander glared ahead with shrewd annoyance. "If you think that this will be enough to stop us, you're dreaming! Ability activate, Pyrus Volting!" Hyper Dragonoid raised his head high, roaring out at Atmos was the whirlwind surrounded him. As his power level shot up to 800, a roaring, pressurized fire soared skywards towards the falcon.

Jase showed another ability of his own. "Ability activate, Typhoon Chase!" Atmos ceased his flapping briefly, allowing a green aura to outline his body. Once charged, he cawed as the wind veil around him gave him some power into the next wing flap, sending a powerful blast of wind that cancelled out the fire. Along the ground, Xander grunted as embers and hot winds rained down.

"Don't think dreams can knock you around as well." Jase said. "This dream could very well be your nightmare."

Hyper Dragonoid and Atmos glared at each other, their power levels both rivaling at 800 Gs.

Maximus scoffed lightly. "Ha. How amusing. Ability, activate! Irate Eye!" Goblinball grunted as his eye dilated, the sclera unleashing a thin beam, which expanded outwards to reach Abis Omega first.

"Double ability, activate!" Luke countered. "Coil Guard, plus Sea Helix!" Abis Omega hurriedly got into a coil as the beam came for him. Hurriedly, a helix of seawater arose and spun around him. As it swept up and about, the blast of purple was stopped cold by the spiraling water. As Goblinball kept trying, his power level dropped to 400, while Abis Omega went up to 750.

"Not bad." Maximus commended evilly. "But now let's see you really take the heat now. Double ability, activate! Experiment-X, plus Darkus Force!"

Luke's eyes widened. "You're kidding!"

"No, I'm quite serious, my friend." He retorted. "Now that he's conscious, he can take in as much power as he needs…" he reached out. "Shut him up, Goblinball!"

"As you wish, master." The Bakugan roared out as he allowed a purple core the appear on him. The core immediately began to spread the tendrils and coils around him, and they circulated so that they could grip his body. The chords and core instantly vanished, absorbed into the body as a loud heartbeat took over. At that instance, Goblinball's eye dilated.

Abis Omega steeled himself as he felt the negative energy levels increase. "This again…"

The eyeball glowed a devilish color, and from the whole body eroded a large mass of dark, foul energy that spread like a virus. It was one massive field with pink, white, black, and violet that swept up everything. Abis Omega had to coil up and brace himself as the dark energy began to swallow him.

"Abis!" Luke shouted.

High above, Atmos and Hyper Dragonoid were arching and clashing into each other. The bird and dragon went in opposite archways and smashed into each other once more in a deep dive and climb. Hyper Dragonoid's claws interlocked with Atmos, the bird being more on the ascended side.

As they duked it out, he looked pass Hyper Dragonoid to see that down below, a black field with a menacing red eye in one spot was glowing. That left him open for Hyper Dragonoid to break away and get around him.

He grabbed his by the wings behind and held the shocked Atmos in the sky. "Careful where your eyes wander." He chimed. He harshly kicked Atmos in the back, sending the bird downwards in a harsh caw.

At the same time, a dark purple beam was fired from that point, surging dead ahead across the battlefield towards the paralyzed Abis Omega. The cold, stinging energy was shrilling and fierce, and no way was he expected to make it out. That's the moment when Atmos entered the expanding darkness as well. Instantly, it felt like a dark wave enveloped and tumbled both him and Abis. The two Bakugan were swept in the dark tide, both screaming out as they clashed into each other and felt like they were underwater, because their whole worlds were swept and going haphazardly.

"GUYS!" Luke roared.

The black, malicious energy dissipated, revealing dust bare dust to clear out. Lying on the ground, dazed and disoriented, Abis Omega and Atmos were shaken up bad as they attempted to steadily rise. However, they were so shriveled and so cold, it was taking a while; not to mention the wind was knocked right out of them.

Hyper Dragonoid: 800 Atmos: 800 (-500) = 300

Goblinball: 400 (+300) = 700 Abis Omega: 750 (-500) = 250

Maximus chuckled as Goblinball's malicious aura around him retained, while Hyper Dragonoid descended beside him. "Well that looked like fun.'

Abis Omega shook his head and turned towards them. "Gnnngh…what just hit me?"

Atmos, though faltered, was able to recover to where he could at least stand on his two feet.

"Now then, it's time we finish this. Xander?"

Xander smirked, holding up a Trap Bakugan. "Sure am. Let's make this quick."

Together, both of them threw in their respective Bakugan Traps. They went thrown inwards to beside Goblinball and Hyper Dragonoid.

Jase adjusted his glasses, making them glimmer white. 'Now.' He reached out towards the battlefield. "Gate Card, open! Field Lock!"

The Gate Card beneath finally opened, revealing a glow that radiated beneath them all. As it shined brightly, Fortress and Metalfencer were about to pop open, but suddenly struck an invisible force that shot them backwards towards their masters once more. Both Xander and Maximus caught them without a problem, but they weren't too pleased.

"What the…what the heck just happened?" Luke turned towards Jase, hoping he would explain. Thankfully he did.

"The command card, Field Lock, is a card that seals the battlefield. It means now that they cannot do battle with anymore Bakugan except the ones they currently have on the field, thus disabling their use of Trap Bakugan."

"So then you were waiting for that, huh?" Maximus inquired.

Jase frowned. "Sometimes it's not what's on the field that you have to focus on. Ability, activate! Green Talon!" Atmos finally expanded his wings and shook off the remainder of his dizziness. Fighting the cold energy that was luring him from consciousness, he ascended several meters, where he faced Hyper Dragonoid and fired two beams from the red gems on his chest. The two beams made impact, bursting in a cloud of smoke that knocked Hyper Dragonoid out of the air and slammed into the ground harshly.

"What?!" Xander gasped.

Hyper Dragonoid: 800 (-200 -100) = 500 Atmos: 300 (+200 +100) = 600

Goblinball: 700 Abis Omega: 250

"Let's try this then!" Luke showed another ability. "Ability activate, Dry World!"

Abis Omega gave out a sneering hiss as he leered up at Goblinball. Suddenly, water gushed up from the pool in the center of the battlefield, creating a mist cloud that concealed him from his enemies. Goblinball glared into the mist cloud, waiting for what will come out. After several moments, the mist cloud burst open, revealing Abis Omega in an aquatic globe zooming towards the Darkus Bakugan. Abis Omega roared out as he closed the gap between them.

"Not good enough." Maximus said.

Luke showed another ability. "Fusion Ability, activate! Blue Mega!" The globe surrounding Abis Omega thus began to glow and glisten a bright blue, like a crystal ball.

Hyper Dragonoid: 500 (-100) = 400 Atmos: 600

Goblinball: 700 (-200 -100) = 400 Abis Omega: 250 (+200 +200) = 650

"Go, Abis!"

"Hope you like a nice day at the beach!" Abis Omega smashed his way into Goblinball, creating a large explosion of mist and water that expanded upon impact. The tides created swept up Goblinball and Hyper Dragonoid, making them sink beneath the waves until one big one picked them up and crashed into the battlefield. The whole battlefield shook as the water dissipated, revealing Hyper Dragonoid and Goblinball on their backs.

Abis Omega landed beside Atmos, both free from their earlier disarray.

Seeing his Bakugan soaked and caught in the tide, Xander balled his fist in anger. "Hey! What's the meaning of this?! Hyper Dragonoid, get up!" At his command, the Pyrus Bakugan slowly opened his eyes and got back up. At that same time, Goblinball also arose beside him.

'This is getting rather old for my sake.' Maximus argued in his thoughts. 'If we're going to win this, we'll need those Bakugan Traps out there. No excuses.' He turned towards Xander with a demanding scowl. "Do it!"

Xander faced the battlefield with gusto. "Right! Time to try this out then." He showed yet another ability. "Ability, activate! Flare Dive!"

Hyper Dragonoid stood straight up and spread his wings out. Once ready, he took a big leap and ascended into the air, shooting like a rocket. All eyes followed him as he shot so high and so fast that keeping track was nearly impossible. Once he reached a certain point high up, he hovered over the battlefield and uncrossed his arms, summoning fire all over his body. He then shot straight downwards, falling like a flaming star that was aiming solemnly for the dead center of the Gate Card.

The attack made impact with the ground, creating a fiery bolt that disappeared for one moment before an upscale eruption of fire expanded. The field of red flames shred across the battlefield, picking up bits of the card and forcing Abis and Atmos to veer away to avoid impact of shrapnel to the face.

Hyper Dragonoid: 400 Atmos: 600 (-200) = 400

Goblinball: 400 Abis Omega: 650 (-200) = 450

"Crap! They destroyed the Gate Card!" Luke snapped.

Jase's brow furrowed. "I figured they'd try something like that."

Maximus smiled. "That's better. Now…come forth, Darkus Fortress! Bakugan, stand!" The Trap Bakugan was thrown into the air, where its appendages were all unfolded like an armed gun would. Once popped open, it took its true form and lowered towards the battlefield to aim its guns.

Xander was next as he threw Metalfencer out again. "Come forth, Bakugan Trap, Pyrus Metalfencer!" Like Fortress, Metalfencer lowered towards the ground, standing beside Hyper Dragonoid.

Abis Omega and Atmos took defensive stances in the air and on land as they were once again faced with four opponents.

Luke took another uneasy step back. "Great, they brought them out again!"

"So it would seem." Jase frowned.

"Got any brighter ideas now?"

Jase remained silent as he evaluated the battle of two against four. It was time for critical thinking.

---

Footsteps tapped against the ground, soon revealing them to belong towards Riaan as he walked over and stopped several meters before where the tunnel of light ended. The tunnel of orange instead closed in on a dark background, where Riaan peered into. With a frown, he had spotted what they were looking for.

Up ahead, surrounded by an array of alarm lasers, there were various, bulbous panels with varied pictures of the terrain, and the areas around the city, including the battle going on right now. Surrounding the half-bubbles sticking out of the wall was an array of panels that had numerous switches and knobs. It looked a lot more diverse than the simple Thermosphere modules in the core room. However, the main prize on the dark wall was what was on the other side of a gigantic half-bubble. On the other side of the light blue glass, there was what looked like a turbine, bright orange core. Unlike the green color Thermosphere had, it had a deep orange and bright yellow, and it was much more safeguarded. What was shocking was that all the bubbles weren't at all hollow; even the turbine generator itself had water in it.

Looking ever so casual, Riaan frowned as he took a moment to look at it all. He had a feeling that just from touching the lasers, one touch would cut off his hand, amongst any other body parts. He had to tread lightly, and that's what he did.

Using his sword that he unsheathed, the glossy, reflective metal was swung. The lasers supposed to incinerate instead went in another direction. Their deflections beamed into other lasers, or otherwise grazed along walls and blasted the laser origins. They were all grazed and spliced into as Riaan swung his sword, deflecting the alarm beams. What made it more shocking was how he seemed so casual about it and looked forward.

The alarm lasers kept deflecting and blitzed into each other, and soon enough the beams were diminished to where only a few would stand off to the side. Simply holding out his sword, the beams deflected as he tilted evenly towards it, still looking ahead. As he walked on, the last of them were destroyed.

He frowned as he stood in front of the generator, seeing how it was a lot of water it carried and supplied.

"You!"

The shout came from behind, getting Riaan to look over his shoulder. What he saw was a figure was more than persistent, and he had what looked like an angry, green-eyed scowl plastered on his face.

---

"Goblinball, Armed Fortress Mode!" Maximus roared.

"Battle Unit Mode, now, Metalfencer!" Xander shouted.

Both Mechanical Bakugan's eyes glowed, answering the calls of their masters. Instantly, Metalfencer locked into Hyper Dragonoid and began to align its arms and legs with his own. Goblinball floated in front and aligned himself with the center of Fortress as his arms inserted into the elbows. Once fixed in, the Bakugan both roared out as their mechanical armors were fixed into place.

Hyper Dragonoid/Metalfencer: 800 Atmos: 400

Goblinball/Fortress: 800 Abis Omega: 450

The Rogue Zero Bakugan gave menacing glares ahead. "So, who will be the first to be destroyed?" Goblinball inquired menacingly.

Luke showed uneasiness as he stared coldly ahead. "Damnit…Abis Omega, look out!"

Maximus inserted his card first. "Ability activate, Photon Rain!" Goblinball aimed the hand guns upwards, where they readied to fire when charged. Once purple energy formed, the multitude of lasers shot skywards, vanishing at the top of the dome.

Abis Omega looked up in wonder of what happened, but then he saw a purple glint in the sky. That's when he saw that closing in, hundreds of purple lasers shot at high speeds into him like raining arrows.

Hyper Dragonoid/Metalfencer: 800 Atmos: 400

Goblinball/Fortress: 800 Abis Omega: 450 (-200) = 250

"Luke, a little help would really be appreciated!" Abis Omega shouted.

"Then how about this on for size!" Luke threw up his arm, giving it a big glow as it revealed itself. "Ability activate, Diamond Shower!" Abis Omega remained completely still as his body thud expelled an array of diamonds that went in all directions. The funnel of diamond-shaped energy went in a tornado-like fashion that enveloped everything. Hyper Dragonoid and Goblinball both used their armored mechanical arms to shield themselves as the blue diamonds bombarded against them.

Hyper Dragonoid/Metalfencer: 800 (-200 -200) = 400 Atmos: 400

Goblinball/Fortress: 800 (-200 -200) = 400 Abis Omega: 250 (+200) = 450

The diamonds bolted skywards to stop the full-on attack. Bright explosions enveloped the skies and airspace as the audience looked completely shocked at the results. Many even covered up as the atmosphere was quaking haphazardly.

Xannder smirked. "How impressive, but can you back it up even further?" This time, he held up his wrist to show his ability. "Ability activate, Red Valkyrie!"

His Hyper Dragonoid was covering up as he defended against the onslaught. Finally having enough, he uncrossed his arms and aimed the wrist guns at the raging diamonds. "Alright, punk. Want fire power? You got it…!" He blasted orange lasers in constant fashion against the diamonds, bolting out as many as Abis dished out. The blue diamonds and red lasers were bursting into smoke clouds, in which slowly the attack belonging to Hyper Dragonoid began to break through.

Hyper Dragonoid/Metalfencer: 400 (+200 +200) = 800 Atmos: 400

Goblinball/Fortress: 400 Abis Omega: 450

The bullets of orange energy continued to break through, and it was doing so well that Abis Omega had nothing short but a realization. In a hurry, he stopped his now pointless attack and sprung out of range. He barely missed the orange lasers just as he made a beeline dive straight into the water.

"You don't like that?" Xander taunted. "Well here, we got plenty more." He began to wickedly smirk as he held up his writs, revealing his next card. "Hyper Dragonoid, ability activate! Fire Blazing-X!"

The bright purple core appeared on Hyper Dragonoid's chest, where it started to extand its hold all over his body like the other Bakugan. His body convulsed as a heated, blazing aura started to rise from his body, one that pulsated extreme levels of heat. The energy was beginning to erupt like a volcano, one that had Hyper Dragonoid at its epicenter. He roared loudly as his body expelled a monstrous level of incinerating levels of blast waves.

"Crap!" Luke covered up as the heat waves instantly met him and Jase. Both of them could almost feel instant sweat rise up from their bodies as the entire battlefield had a streaking bonfire right beside Goblinball.

Atmos backed away into the air to avoid the heat waves, but it was still so hot and shockwaves kept resonating from the fire with a dark shadow within it. After another convulsing roar, a heated bellow went outwards, shaking Atmos in the airspace and throwing even him off balance.

In the water, Abis could feel the temperatures of the waters rise. They weren't cool anymore. No, far from it. It was getting warm, almost uncomfortable. He stopped in place down below and looked around to see what the problem was.

Hyper Dragonoid/Metalfencer: 800 (x2) = 1600 Atmos: 400 (-200) = 200

Goblinball/Fortress: 400 Abis Omega: 450 (-250) = 200

The battlefield was beginning to scorn and scorch about haphazardly. Blazes of fire constantly burst from Hyper Dragonoid as he exerted a massive amount of fire. The heat even reached as far as the audience, who were all beginning to get frantic. Even the announcer was feeling unsound. "I…I'm not sure what's going on, everyone. But please, remain calm!"

Xander swiped his arm. "Go! Let nothing stand in your way!" Hyper Dragonoid unleashed a loud, violent shout as his entire body looked like a molten slab of fire with a mechanical spider on its back. With a simple beat of the wings, Hyper Dragonoid blitzed off the ground towards Atmos, roaring loudly as he closed in.

Maximus smirked. "How's about a little salt to that? Ability activate, Proton Mars!" Goblinball aimed the guns of Fortress skywards, where there, his power level went up to 600, and purple beams from the many cannons were launched.

The dozens of purple rays and the inferno heading his way, Atmos could see he was in a lot of trouble. He glared down as he was waiting for what might come.

Jase's glare hardened. "Now what better way to fight fire, than to use a wind attributed Bakugan?" He showed another ability, his calm, unemotional face showing no signs of anger nor determination. "Atmos, let's say we make their plans backfire…ability activate, Cloud Zero!"

Atmos' eyes suddenly dilated to a bright yellow. He responded well by cawing exponentially louder than before. He began to flap his wings again, making a cool, green, cloud-like whirlwind gush from his flapping green wings and expand into one giant cloud. The cloud swallowed up the fire and the lasers, all of them dissipating and cooling off.

"GAH! What's going on?!" Hyper Dragonoid shouted within the green storm.

Goblinball covered up using his Fortress and was swallowed in the green cloud. Both of the enemies were back n the ground side by side, and a green cyclone was enveloping them entirely.

Hyper Dragonoid/Metalfencer: 1600 (-1200) = 400 Atmos: 200

Goblinball/Fortress: 600 (-200) = 400 Abis Omega: 200

As the green cyclone enveloped the powers of the Bakugan, the pool water began to settle. Though still warm, Abis Omega shot up and out, springing into the air to attack.

"Now! While they're trapped!" Luke roared. "Ability activate, Fin Melee!"

As Abis Omega's power level bumped up to 400, he soared into the cyclone head on. He brought his tail around and created a blue arch that followed behind. The bolting blue tailfin slashed clean through, dissipating the winds and revealing their opponents. They looked startled to say the least, but even more so since they were running out of ideas.

"We're not out of this fight quite yet." Atmos announced from above. "Though you are valiant adversaries, you have nothing less than pets, slaves to power! And we will fight such a thing!"

Hyper Dragonoid looked up. "Oh quit your pointless squawking already. We don't care!"

"Your opinion on us isn't our concern in the least." Goblinball scorned.

"We'll see just what you think after we smack each other around some more." Abis Omega huffed. He was battered and tired, as was Atmos. They both remained by the other's side, both adversaries set and ready to end it.

"Luke." The mentioned turned towards Jase. "I'll stop them if I can. Of I fail or they hold on, Luke, then you take them out. Got it?"

Luke gave a furrowed brow. "Uh…right." He faced the battlefield. "Abis, hold now!"

Abis Omega screeched out at his opponents.

Xander showed one more ability. "I've had enough of this already! Time to end this! Ability, activate! Red Valkyrie!" Hyper Dragonoid let out one more roar as he unleashed bolting orange lasers once again, both spread out to get Abis and Atmos.

"Ability activate, Darkus Impact!" Goblinball used his mechanical arms of Fortress and aimed skywards. Having grown tired of the avian, he unleashed dark purple and black beams from his cannons and shot them in thin compressed manners at Atmos.

Hyper Dragonoid/Metalfencer: 400 (+200 +200) = 800 Atmos: 200

Goblinball/Fortress: 400 (+300) = 700 Abis Omega: 400

The lasers and dark beam closed in, and that's when it all happened.

"Abis, trip them!" Luke ordered.

Abis Omega remained out of water and in front as the two Bakugan continued to focus on Atmos. The serpent swung his massive tail around to the best of his ability, sweeping at Hyper Dragonoid. "HRAH!" The serpent Bakugan swept his long body's tail into the side of Hyper Dragonoid's leg, just once. That one blow was all that was needed and Abis immediately slithered away.

"Huh?" Goblinball's eyes traced Abis as he slipped away. He readied and was set to fire at him, but before he could make a successful shot, an intense force in the form or Hyper Dragonoid clad in Metalfencer armor slammed and made him fall over. Both Bakugan crashed into the ground hard, the rupture and dust wave being enough of a cover for Abis Omega to leap into the water.

With that splash, he was safe. And as the smoke and dust cleared, it showed Hyper Dragonoid and Goblinball scrambled and unable to get up in their armors.

"Seems you have forgotten that wearing such ridiculous accessories makes you slag." Jase teased.

"Jase, let's." Atmos said.

"That we shall. Double ability, activate! Typhoon Chase, plus Fusion Ability, Anemoi Grace!"

Having been able to evade the misfired shots before, Atmos now had a clean shot. He clawed loudly as the green aura around his body returned, and he started to bring his wings back. This time, however, the air around Atmos began to sparkle with glinting green stars. There were countless of them, like exploding atoms. Once ready, he made the last caw before he flapped forward, sending a maelstrom with streaming green currents shooting at gracious speeds down on the hefty Bakugan.

Hyper Dragonoid/Metalfencer: 800 (-200 -100 -200 -100) = 200 Atmos: 200 (+100 +200) = 400

Goblinball/Fortress: 700 (-200 -100 -200 -100) = 100 Abis Omega: 400

The typhon mixed with green comets soared into the trapped Bakugan. Unable to get up in time, both opened their mouths wide and let out loud roars of swears and vengeance. They were both swallowed in the typhoon, bombarded repeatedly by green pelts. With each impact, a smoke cloud with green sparkles showered everywhere. The ground rumbled and shook violently to where the water was shaking.

From the depths of the water, Abis Omega hopped out of the pool in a slippery hurry. He slipped onto dry land and onto the other side of the battlefield, where he and Atmos both landed and looked with hefty breaths as the smoke began to settle.

Maximus and Xander both frowned in disappointment as their Bakugan finally came out of the explosions…only in their ball and cube forms. They plopped to their fronts, sitting there as they were seem out of it.

Xander: 0%

Maximus: 0%

Maximus humbly dropped to a knee, bowing his head so his hood can fly up and over his head in same. "I can't believe I lost." He said in a casual tone.

Xander grunted in shame as he punched the ground, frustrated at the outcome.

The audience roared loudly in deep excitement. They all cheered boisterously as their excitement and fears of the battle finally boiled down to a decent ending they greatly adored.

"Alright!"

"Wooooh!"

"Man, that was freaking awesome!"

"Did they seriously just lose?!"

"And it looks like the tournament for the day is over!" the announcer exclaimed. "Today, we now congratulate both contestants for what was a highly memorable fight! Today, even though it was a slim shot, we congratulate Jase and Luke in their first Troposphere randomized showdown!"

Jase took in a deep breath, and then finally sighed in deep relief.

"We won?" Luke blinked. "We…won?" Slowly, the realization dawned upon him, making his smile widen further. He gritted his teeth and balled his fists tight. "Yeeeaaah!" He roared, jumping in the air. "Alright! We so whooped butt! Yes!" he turned around, looking like someone who was about to open a Christmas present. "I can't wait until I tell Master Riaan about this!" he chimed excitedly.

Abis Omega and Atmos let out loud shrieks to the domain all around them. The battlefield that was once shaking has now been cleared, revealing cracks in the battlefield, the walls being damaged with char, and some parts of the battlefield even being depressed. It was staggering to see such results. It was amazing no one was seriously injured. Shocked and deeply horrified, yes. Some even were passed out; some couldn't even open their eyes; some even through popcorn and snacks out of outrage of losing bets on who would win. The ones betting on Rogue Zero definitely weren't so pleased.

Abis finished his hiss, showing exhaustion as his head lowered. "What a relief." He morphed to ball form and went back at Luke.

"Indeed…" With a tired groan, Atmos glowed green and morphed to ball form. He shot back to Jase, both having caught their respective Bakugan.

Luke looked pleased as he smiled at Jase. "Did you just see that? We won!"

"Yes, we did." Jase said flatly before frowning. "But I'm afraid we'll have no time for a victory dance yet I'm afraid."

Luke turned confused. "What do you mean? We just beat Rogue Zero, what's not to celebrate?"

Jase closed his eyes and folded his arms. "Perhaps the answer lies over your head."

Unable to answer the inquiry, Luke got the notion and looked towards the top of the dome. He looked straight up. But all he saw was the dome's chrome and archways, even some cracked glass here and there. But otherwise, he was lost.

A pout crossed his face. "Just spit it out!"

"Is the energy orb overhead still working?"

Luke went wide-eyed then and there, finally realizing what he meant. When he looked up, he focused on the glowing white orb high above. His body was tingling all over as he could still feel what could've been Bakugan battle energy that was taking its time being absorbed into the orb.

"If the orb is still working, that means something went wrong." Jase turned around. The platform they stood on was starting to slowly descend once more. "I'm afraid even if we defeated Maximus and Xander, there's no guarantee this went as planned. If it's still working, the feedback loop must have not been reset manually."

"Why's that?" Luke gasped in realization. "Wait, you think something happened to Master Riaan and the others?!"

"Only one way to find out."

The platforms of both sides slowly lowered back into place. Once they reached the ground, the second they inserted back into place, Luke immediately jumped off, followed by Jase closely behind. They hurried pass the security lines and the guards, surprising them greatly, as well as the audience.

"What's this?" the announcer questioned. "It appears that the winners are vacating."

Everyone mumbled and muttered incoherently out of shock and wonder. Why would the underdogs suddenly up and go? There was still an awards ceremony to get done. Everyone was clueless of course, except for Maximus and Xander. Both Rogue Zero members frowned heavily as they knew the reason why.

"Well this will certainly make for a show." Maximus sarcastically huffed.

"Hey, get back here!" Xander moved to get at them, but he was stopped hen Maximus brought his arm towards the side, stopping him completely.

"Don't bother with them."

"But sir…"

"Trust me, pal…as far as what events turned, we'll be needing to save our own skins." A half-grin plastered itself on his face. "Those guys still have no idea…"

Jase and Luke hurried down the corridor, escaping with what vigilance they had.

---

A pair of knees dropped to the floor, alarming the group. When they looked back, they saw that it was Shuji who was weighing them down.

"Shuji!" Esther barked.

The older boy huffed as beads of sweat ran down his face. "I'm sorry…but that last battle did me in…" he huffed. "I just need a moment."

Maggie put her hands to her hips, giving him an annoyed look. "In case if you haven't noticed, we're don't exactly have the luxury for time." She scolded.

"She's right." Esther said. "If you can't hold your own weight, don't expect us to drag you along."

Shuji shot them a look. "Hey, I said just a moment, alright?!"

"Well he's not wrong." From the side, Shawn was looking to be sweating somewhat as well. He was looking almost equally, if not more so, exhausted than his Subterra ally, but he was still standing. "We just got out a battle, and those guys were really hammering us. Verias can hardly even move right now, look." To demonstrate what he meant, he held his palm up, revealing his Haos Verias open and laying on his side.

Maggie began to furrow her brow further. "Oh come on, Shawn, not you too."

"Look, I'm just saying we might need to catch our breaths before we venture further, that's it."

Esther turned around, facing the front without any emotion showing. "There's no time for this. We're not getting anywhere like this. If we're to discard our health to cleanse this sin, then that's what we must do."

"Esther…" Shawn muttered low.

"HEY! GUYS!"

The shouting came from behind, instantly drawing away the conflictions of the group. Esther and everyone turned around to look at whoever was incoming, and to their surprise, they could see someone with red hair and long brown hair both riding something that was incoming rather swiftly on a blue serpent.

Maggie leaned forward and squinted her eyes, getting a visual on the two. "…wait. Is that who I think it is?"

Turning around, Shuji looked quizzically at the incoming sound. "Huh?"

Closing in from afar, Luke was smiling wide as he raised his arm up high in a wave. "HEY~! OVER HERE!" he shouted.

"Is everyone alright?" Jase announced.

Together, the two were riding atop Abis Omega as he slithered down the hallway. The harmed serpent was hissing as he serpentine down the long corridor with great speeds, his fins folded as he closed the gap towards them and the rest of the group.

Esther's eyes widened. "Luke!"

Shawn smirked as he put a hand to his hip. "Well I'll be damned. They actually made it."

Maggie returned to wave of her own. "Hey guys, over here!" she cheerfully exclaimed.

Abis Omega continued to slither onwards until he got close enough. He stopped and lowered his head, allowing for his master and Jase to jump off. Almost immediately, he morphed back into ball form and landed in Luke's palm. He was caught effortlessly and opened in his ball form.

"I can't believe you made me be your so-called 'train ride'." The serpent Bakugan labored in exasperation. "I'm a little banged up here, in case you haven't noticed, Luke!"

Luke shot him a glare. "Hey, shut up! We couldn't ride Atmos because he couldn't fit in here! It's not my fault!"

"Gnnnngh…!" Abis growled beneath his long throat. If he wasn't so tired, he would've knocked Luke down a few pegs with some choice words, but he exhausted so much energy in the battle. Of course he could at least still stand…or was able to anyways. But that was nothing compared to Atmos. The falcon was hardly even able to move in his ball form.

Maggie rushed over, immediately looking up towards the two. "You guys made it! You won't believe all the crazy stuff that's happened to us!"

"Yeah! Yeah! We were transported, a-and Rogue Zero battled us, and…" Jelldon was going on about the details, but he was trailing off as other began to surround them. He was then unsoundly interrupted by Shuji, who was on his two feet once more.

"What all that jellyfish is saying, yeah, that happened." He deadpanned. "You guys actually won?"

Jase had a modest look as he adjusted his glasses. "Well, to say we've won wouldn't be inaccurate. It was no small feet dealing with Maximus and Xander's tricks of folly constantly trying to apprehend our mission…but fortunately with Luke's support, Atmos was able to handle them."

"Pffft, like it was a big deal at a…wait, what?!" Luke looked towards Jase with shock. "What do you mean?! I did a lot, too!"

Jase continued looking ahead, but his grin and eyes were fixed on Luke's annoyance. "That may be, but who did all the thinking throughout the competition?"

"Well I…" Luke wanted to say something, but he was intervened by Esther, who seemed unemotional just as Jase was.

"So you both made it out in one piece I see." She said. "Good."

"Ah, Esther. I trust things went as well as what our own venture told?" Jase inquired.

She nodded. "More or less."

"I see…" the Ventus battler looked at the group, noticing how they were all pieced together as they originally were. But there was something missing that didn't go unnoticed. "What happened to Riaan?"

"We're not sure. But as far as what we know, he went on ahead." Shawn answered.

"…I see."

"We're closing in right now. It shouldn't be too much farther ahead." Esther explained.

Luke looked positively shocked. "Really? Well what are we waiting for?! Master Riaan can't do this by himself! Let's go!" In a rush, the Aquos battler hurried in a quick walk pass the group.

"Hold on, Luke." Shawn said.

Luke stopped and turned towards him. "What is it now? Can't you see we're a little rushed here?"

"Look, I'm saying we should at least take a minute to examine this first."

"Yeah, and I say we can do that along the way! Now c'mon!" He waved everyone over as he began the venture towards the deeper layers of the corridor, leaving everyone else behind.

As he went on, Maggie looked ever so casual. "He's gonna wear himself out again rushing like this."

"Maybe, but he has a point." Esther started next. "We'll think as we hurry along. We need to get to that core as soon as we can. We can't afford anymore distractions." She glanced over her shoulder. "Shuji, Shawn, are you both ready?"

Up on his feet, Shuji nodded. "Sure am."

"Alright." Shawn agreed.

With all in agreement, they hurried along, trying to catch up with Luke as he was making quick pacing with the pack at hand. While he was oblivious to whatever notions, the others were in the middle, and taking the rear of the group, Jase and Shawn were upholding a defense. This was also where they could catch up on matters that concerned them.

"Shawn…"

He nodded as he ran. "I know. Something was wrong when we were ambushed."

"You mean that Riaan wasn't fallen in the trap?"

"Yeah, something like that…I can't help but feel like something's to do with Riaan. He's been a little…off."

Jase's brow furrowed. "So then I'm not the only one then."

"I still highly respect my master, but it feels like ever since he came to New Vestroia…"

"There's been a lot of questions rising, is that right?" Jase paused to allowed Shawn to look down at the ground in confirmation. "Look, it's times like this when you have to keep an open mind. Don't rule out any possibilities. If you find anything amidst, don't hesitate to set those pieces on the pedestal or later insulation. There's scattered fragments about this frame after all."

"…yeah." Shawn's pacing began to increase. "So you think Master Riaan knows what he's doing?"

"That's not in our place to say. We'll find out when we get there."

From ahead, Luke shouted. "Guys, hurry up! I think I see something up ahead!"

---

An intense standoff came between Luka and Riaan. The Haos and Darkus battlers of their own respects were staring at the other with full attention. Neither side was going to give an inch in this argument, and each one pressed their hard eyes to assert themselves of where the opposition was held.

"So you've kept up I see." Riaan started. "Persistent, I'll say that."

"Just what the hell are you up to now?" Luka irritably retorted.

"That business is mine alone. I'm only making sure that I get myself and everyone back to where we all belong."

"You're making a big mistake!" Luka snapped. "That's all a farce, and you know it!"

"And what do you know about that?" he countered. "Are you implying that my intentions aren't pure? I'm keeping true to my word. I'm bringing my allies with me home."

"And what is home then?"

Riaan's eyes narrowed. His memory from last night's talk with Jase resurfaced once again.

"And what's home to you?"

The question caught Riaan by surprise. "Beg your pardon?"

"You seem to be quite fond of 'home', wherever it may be. Are you really that attached to it that you would go so far as to consider everything else nothing but ill-respect?"

Riaan glared ahead as Luka continued.

"You sound so sure that you know what you're doing, but what about that yahoo group that's been leeching off you for advice? You seem to know your way around, but it's clear the path your taking is nothing but a lead-on."

"Yet they follow me out of their own free will. Now why would I lie when I never spoke anything but hints? If anyone really understood, they would have made the decisions for themselves long ago."

"So then you do admit it."

"I admit that I have been fair with everyone's opinions and judgement. They can see me as they see fir\t. What matters is my own opinion. Is it not the same for you?"

Luka's glare hardened. "And you're saying you know everything about me now?"

"And look now who's pointing fingers. It's better if you just drop it and let the cards fall."

Rushed footsteps came from out of the blue. In a hurry with labored breaths, Luke and the others followed behind finally made it into the core room. To their immense surprise, they found that everything was of completely different design.

"Woooah." Maggie marveled. "Check out this room."

Shuji looked around, seeing many bubbles having liquids on the wall. "Hm? Hey, is that all water?"

"Looks like it to me." Atchibee said. "This place also supplies energy from water if I'm not mistaken, right?"

Esther looked weary. "True…"

Shawn and Jase stood beside each other, looking around briefly before Jase shot a glance ahead. "Look. Up ahead."

"Huh?" Shawn saw the scene, seeing his master talk to Luka. "It's Master Riaan, and is that…?"

Jase nodded. "Yes. That's the perpetrator from last night."

"What is he doing here?" Maggie asked.

"Maybe he was following us?" Jelldon inquired.

Jase put a hand to his chin. "How interesting…" As he thought on, Luke bypassed him, catching him by momentary surprise. "Luke?"

Luke ran in front of the pack, seeing that his master was squaring against Luka. "Master Riaan! Hey!" However, he got no reply as he was face to face with Luka. "Ria…a…" he blinked. "…wait, is that…?"

Esther caught up on the revelation. "It's him."

Shawn's eyes narrowed. "That guy from last night no less."

"You mean that one?" Verias asked. "Why are they both here now?"

Shawn kept quiet as he observed. He was making sure to stay quiet and see for himself what was going on. "Look, it's times like this when you have to keep an open mind. Don't rule out any possibilities. If you find anything amidst, don't hesitate to set those pieces on the pedestal or later insulation. There's scattered fragments about this frame after all." Jase's words rung in his heads like a bell. He knew he had to remain vigilant if he wanted to know.

Luka glared from the corner of his eye at everyone present. "You guys…I thought I told you not to stick your nose where it belongs. Now look at what you've done..." He shot that same sharp look back at Riaan. "I gave you all a warning!"

Everyone stared at him in slight shock. They all fell silent – even Luke was left baffled.

"Whatever you call yourself, I sure don't think it's the right example." Riaan retorted. "You claim to be an avenger, but of what exactly? What you said last night…it still leaves a piece of me troubled. Is there a compromise to all this that you're proposing?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Like negotiating is really an aim I would go for." Luka scoffed.

"Oh? Then what are you aiming for exactly?"

Luka's mouth formed an angry scowl. "Tch, going around in circles again, are we?"

Luke stepped forward. "Wait, Master Riaan, everything's okay, right…?"

"Stay back, Luke." He ordered. "That's an order."

"But…"

"Listen to your master, pal." Luke gasped as he turned towards Luka, scowling at him. "This is grown-up business. Not that you wouldn't get that."

"What was that?!" Luke angrily said.

Luka glared at Riaan. "If you really want to go 'home', then by all means, try right now. But this way will only lead to trouble."

Riaan gave his own furrowed brow. "Trouble had already begun when you stepped in line."

"And yet who was it that crossed it?"

Maggie looked towards Shawn, looking confused. "What are they talking about?"

Shawn's leer was heavy. "Not sure…"

There was a still silence between the group and the two that were arguing. Riaan was making his position firm, while Luka was also making his own stand. Both sides were unwavering, yet they refused to accept the other…or rather, they refused to falter from their own.

"Why don't you go back to your own 'home'." Riaan ordered. "Worry about the problems you have to deal with rather than the ones that concern you."

Luka closed his eyes, snorting with a scowl. "Looks like you've left me no choice then…"

"Hm?"

Everyone watched as he slowly made a sidestep towards the machinery on the wall. As he closed the gap, he steadily kept his composure as he drew his right arm towards his scabbard. Luke looked shocked at this act.

"Just know…you made me do this."

SHING

In a bright glint, a yellow trail slashed across the mechanical wall, more specifically across the main panel. The atmosphere was heated as a laser blade of yellow was at the end of the sword, the one that Luka slashed and held so casually. The machinery had grizzly static flaring that burst in a fashion like fireworks, rupturing like pop rocks.

Riaan's brows arose as a startled expression showed.

"What did he do?!" Shuji panicked.

"Did he seriously just destroy that?!" Fly Beetle gasped.

Esther and Maggie had no words, only gasps to exclaim. Shawn, Jase, even Luke all had lips parts and surprised looks plastered. They all seemed completely overwhelmed with this change. Time slowed down as they all saw Luka with a cold frown as his red hair flowed in the bursts of smoke from the side.

Riaan glared cold hard daggers as he saw where this was going. His eyes closed as the smoke billowed overhead.

"Warning: Main control paneling system inoperable. Core residual energy protocol 0-1000, failsafe residual war drive initiative to activate." An overhead voice announced. The sound could've been heard all throughout the city.

Everyone topside was hearing this, and they all had varied reactions. Some looked confused, while others were scared. Some didn't seem to care, and yet others were looking to be annoyed.

"A warp?!" Maggie gasped.

"Oh great, not this again!" Jelldon panicked. "Uh, s-somebody get the Warp Gate Card set or something, hurry!"

Jase frowned, adjusting his glasses. "We would…but that won't work this time."

"What? What do you mean?" Shuji questioned.

"We're all here right now, are we? If one of us were topside, then this would work, but unfortunately, we're all down here."

Esther's brow furrowed. "And that makes it difficult."

Luke's teeth gritted angrily as he turned away from his friends to look back ahead. "Master Riaan, look out! Do something!"

Riaan glanced over at Luke for a moment before he processed what it was he was saying. The two shared a mutual look before the superior swordsman turned on his heels and went over towards the nearest panel that was intact in front of him. He looked around before finally reaching up to a panel, pressing in a random code that was seemingly applicable.

"What are you doing now?" Luka angrily scowled.

Riaan kept punching in a code, but his glance went off towards him. He leered heavily, as if he gave no remote care to the world. As they made extreme eye contact, they could see that they still opposed the other.

From the side as the code wrapped up, the wall opened to reveal a hand-size hemisphere of shining blue water. On its side was a red ball of energy, almost like a gumball. He picked it up and looked over his shoulder back at everyone. "Luke…you and everyone else better start running. This is going to get messy."

Luke looked shocked once again. "But, Master Riaan…!"

"I'll be okay, Luke. There's no need for you to fret over me just yet."

"But Master…!"

Riaan's eyes closed, looking away. "It was my job to protect you from this harm, Luke. Please, accept my apology of not telling you sooner. There were some things you were just not ready for."

"Master!"

Shawn put his hand on Luke's shoulder. "Luke!" He got a very sharp look from his best friend, one full of annoyance and what looked like angst. He did what he could to disregard it for the time being. "…we have to go."

"Shawn, you too?!"

"It'll be fine." Shawn looked ahead, facing Riaan with a distinct gaze. The way he gazed at his master's back spelled uncertainty of what he felt, but it wasn't of much remorse, moreover being suspicion. "He'll make it out…somehow."

"You don't know that!" Luke snapped, his eyes wide and shuddering madly from his exasperation.

"Luke!" Riaan's shouting got his attention. He could see the leer coming from his magenta eyes, ones that spelled warning. "Don't hesitate now. I'm giving you this chance to go. Don't let this be for nothing. The least you can do is accept what I'm saying, be a soldier and follow what you are told!"

"But, I-!"

"NOW!"

The air fell silent between Luke and his master. There wasn't one time that Master Riaan spoke to Luke in such a tone. This time, it completely baffled him to where he was completely shocked. Throughout the years that they have known each other, Luke was never scolded harshly for such a thing. In fact, Riaan was always docile when it came to the ways of handling him, better than what his parents did, that's for sure. But seeing him like this, this was the sheer face of someone who was looking almost desperate. How could he deny such a demand, especially from him?

Esther grabbed his arm, her touch getting him to snap out of his watery shock. "Luke…let's go."

Luke hesitated to do so, but as he gritted his teeth in shame, he glared ahead at his master with twitching eyes. He seemed upset to where he could breakdown, but now wasn't the time. Disgruntled, he shut his eyes and shrugged Esther off, but still turned around.

"FINE!" he snapped, walking away with bangs over his eyes. "…but you better come out of this, you hear me?!"

"…dully noted." Riaan answered. "Now, go."

Without a word, the group turned and began walking out of the corridor back the way they came. They all made haste as they ventured towards the long way that could very well take forever to get down once again. As their footsteps went hollow and echoed, their figures were vanishing, leaving Riaan and Luka alone once more.

"Planning to buy them time?" Luka inquired. "How pointless."

"Sometimes it's best to not know the truth." He reasoned. "Still water runs deep, but one can always tie a bucket to rope."

Luka's eyes narrowed. "You won't buy them enough time to get out, you know that, right?"

"I'm aware of that. I just wanted them far enough so they wouldn't be in direct lining with where we're going."

"You bastard…!" Luka drew his plasma sword once more and held it in hand. He went and started for his enemy in a dash. "Hrraaah!"

Riaan looked so casual as his enemy drew closer. "What is it that you are after?"

"Die!"

"Maybe you'll understand the answers where we're going." His eyes closed as he held the red capsule over the blue liquid bauble. Time began to gradually slow down as smoke and fire billowed around them, and the plasma sword was sticking out ready to impale him by the hands of Luka.

"YOU MONSTER~!"

"…so be it."

The red capsule was dropped in an instant, plopping into the liquid. The water shined brightly, and the water in the bubbles all across the board began to glow in an instant, like a bright chain reaction. The energy began to ignite in the turbine, making its spin suddenly excel. The liquid inside began to bubble profusely. The turbine began to brighten, creating a bright light in its liquid center that electrified the water. The water shined brightly, causing Luka to stop his advance and cover up.

"Gngh!" He grunted in pain as the water was churning, making a high-powered frequency that was pulsating at an alarming rate. The frequency it gave was ear-ringing, and by no means pleasant. He had to cover them up as it was too late to make the next move.

"We'll see each other again…" Riaan's voice was barely audible through the ringing. "…in a place that will change everything…"

"You…YOU'RE GONNA PAY~!" His screams of anguish and vengeance went hollow as the massive bubble on the wall erupted, expelling its bright light everywhere and swallowing everything in its path. Immediately, Riaan and Luka were caught up in the blast, disappearing with the bright light.

Far down the corridor minutes away, the whole area was shuddering like an earthquake. Getting a bad feeling, Luke and the group turned around, their eyes widening as they saw a fast-moving radiating light wave swallow everything and moving across the ground in rapid fashion. It was so fast there was no way they would be able to get away from it.

"Wha…what is going on?!" Luke panicked, fright spelled on his face as the light drew closer. "MASTER~!"

"LUKE!" Esther reached out and grabbed onto him, seizing his arm just in time.

Maggie held onto Shuji's side. The Subterra battler looked down with shock of his own as the scared girl was holding onto him tight, tears on her eyes. In an act of toughness, he gently sat a hand on her back and looked at the light, gritting his teeth at impending death. "Damnit…"

Jase and Shawn looked at each other with shock before facing the light once more. Their brows furrowing, both made a little push and had a hand to Shuji and Maggie's shoulder, both also using their other arms to grip Esther, who held onto Luke.

"Everyone, brace yourselves!" Jase yelled.

All closed their eyes as the light fully engulfed them. With not just them, their Bakugan all clung on tightly as they braced for what could be the end. All they saw then and there was solid white, followed by silence.

---

As the atmosphere shook in the chamber, the light began to penetrate the side of the wall, reaching Ariella and Killian.

The Aquos battler looked at the light with shock, eyes wide with horror. "What?! Already?!"

Looking so casual, Killian hunched over and sighed as the light began to envelop him. "Man, she's gonna kill me…"

In another room, the light beamed in all directions, starting to swallow everything around Hendrix and Cesar. The Haos battler growled angrily at his folly, banging his fist against his armrest. "Those damn mice…!"

Hendrix scoffed in annoyance as he turned his back from the light as it enveloped him and the Haos associate.

Topside, the light was beginning to erupt in a large field starting from the center of the city. The entire space was swallowing everything and everyone in a hefty climb. Many who weren't already accepting their fates were making a run for it, only to end up screaming as the light swallowed them.

From the radio tower point atop of the battle area, Maximus and Xander were both hanging by their hands and holding onto the tower as they watched the eruption of light come towards them.

"Looks like it's starting." Xander said dryly.

"Yes." Maximus had his hood up, but his wily eyes and malicious smirk was seen as he chuckled meekly. "Indeed it has begun!" His wicked smile widened as he maniacally laughed at the light. It enveloped him and Xander alike, his laughter echoing cynically through the dissipating rays.

The light enveloped the whole town, even through the rock and waterways. The light traveled far out to cover almost the whole basis of the island, even as far as swallow up the Trailer in the process.

From far away, as mid-afternoon was waning, the shadows were starting to envelop to globe of light that was on the rock. Its radiance was dazzling to where it was enigmatic. Its shine went on for minutes on end, unable to finish until the first signs of fading showed.

When the light dialed down, it didn't recede into a sphere, nor did it become sparkles. It just faded. It all faded into nothing…nothing. There was no city when it faded. There was no waterways. No land. No nothing. All that was left as evidence…was a massively wide crater inside a massive rock slab sitting at the basin of some falls.

Like it was so casual, water from the residual streams began to pour into the now empty rock. Over time, it would soon become a lake, one that would envelop the whole spot where thousands of beings had mysteriously vanished in a blink of an eye.

This was also where at that point, what happened to Luke and everyone, was to be changed forever.

---

I was SO delayed on the update. I would've posted this chapter earlier in the afternoon, but I got sidetracked watching My Hero Academia and Tales of the Abyss. It's just one of those days I guess…oh well, no skin off my bones! So now we've gotten into some interesting detail with Riaan and Luka, and the mystery of which they spoke of. What is this 'home' they speak of, and why does it have such an importance to Riaan? Just what happened to Luke and everyone, well…that would be telling.

This concludes the New Vestroia Arc, and now we make way into the next arc to come! It'll be something once again out of left field, so better prepare yourselves! Until then, hope you review and liked this chapter!