The Bakugan Battle Brawlers in:
Vestige City Shakedown
There was construction equipment all over the Utopia city. Pieces of wrecked buildings were being lifted gently hoping to not hurt any more people that might still be trapped. Lunaris was hovering near a building and Cera stood in front of the wreck. They both of them were in their Reversion Forms.
Lunaris looked down at her friend. "Cera… are you sure you can still do this?"
Cera nodded. "Yes…"
Both of them looked to the wrecked building. "MOON REVERSAL!" they exclaimed. The colors around them quickly turned negative and the building was re-building itself. Cera flapped her dual wings and flew above the ground in front of the main doors.
"Keep it steady as long as you can, I'll get everyone out of there!" After flying into the building she could see a bunch of people in the lobby. "EVERYONE! The building is about to collapse, you need to come with me! There isn't much time!" After many murmurs of confusion, she pointed her finger outside. "Look! You see the destruction out there? That will happen to this building soon, you need to get out as quickly as possible!"
Many of the residents of the building was moving out in a single line as directed by Cera, she made sure that word spread through all the floors and rooms, just to make sure every tenant was being evacuated. "Single-file, don't push!" she said as she floated above them. Many of the residents were shocked to see other parts of the city destroyed. Because of the time-reversal of Lunaris's Reversion Ability, they couldn't remember themselves being buried or crushed.
Cera flew back into the building to do one more sweep and saw a little red-haired Fabregan girl playing with a doll alone in her room. "Excuse me!" the girl noticed her. "You need to come with me!"
"But my parents aren't home yet." this filled her heart with worry as her parents could be anywhere in the city and they could be lost, hospitalized, or worse.
"Please, you must come with me. The building is about to come down, I'll help you find them!"
"Um…ok?" she took Cera's hand and she flew the pair of them out of the building.
Cera flew next to Lunaris. "Let it go! That's should be everyone." Lunaris stopped using her ability and the time-reversal stopped, making the building collapse all over again. The residents were shocked with many of them having their mouths over their hands in shock at the sight. Others were crying. Cera remained in the air next to her partner. "Everyone, Lunaris and I will lead you to the city's meeting point. Remember, stay in single-file. We don't want anyone getting lost." she took a breath as this was draining her energy as well.
"Um…" she looked down at the girl she was holding. "Will we find my mommy and daddy?"
"I… I'll do my best to find your parents… but for now. I'll make sure you're taken care of." the girl nodded. Cera looked up at the cloudy night sky. 'Radion… I hope you're bringing the others here fast!'
Meanwhile, Radion led the Neo Brawlers, as well as Akira's team of Alursian battlers, and the Fabregan, Jax, though the wilds to quickly get to Utopia City. At the tail end of them was Alice on her Alpha Hydranoid. As they flew through the fields, Cameron looked ahead with a serious expression.
…
"SHE WHAT!?" Cameron exclaimed after Radion told the others the story of what happened.
"Jeez…" Jayden replied while scratching his head. "Why is everything suddenly falling apart?"
"Is Akira all right? Do we know where they took Zavanna!?" Cameron yelled at Radion.
"Simmer down, will ya!" She yelled back. "Akira was hurt, but she's being treated. And I don't know where Zavanna is. I'm sorry." Cameron looked down and Aisha patted his shoulder, he felt so useless and didn't know what to do next.
Garfield turned to Alice. "Listen, Alice. You came here to get your memories back, right… We'll work on that when we meet with Akira, that way no one is out of the loop."
Liz folded her arms. "I don't get it! That girl is all right, right? If the Fabregans are going to keep getting in our way, why don't we just go right to the capital and end this?"
Zaria pinched the bridge of her nose. "We talked about this Liz, our priority is Draconoid. And we can't just storm the capital. We're not out for trying to take down the Royal Guard." Liz angrily folded her arms and looked away.
They all watched Akane staring out into the distance… obviously she worried greatly about the health of her sister. Aisha walked next to her. "Worried about Akira?"
"Deathly worried… If I lose her, I'll never forgive myself." Akane said. "Things are getting bad…" she said before she turned to face everyone. "Guys, things from here on out are going to get extremely difficult. This isn't going to be like those battles you guys had on Earth. These guys, whether they have a Reversion Form or not, they are going to go right for you. They will hurt you and maybe even kill you. And those on the High Council are relentless, they won't hold back at all. So neither should you! And I mean it." They all nodded as they eyed Akane with serious expressions.
Cameron looked at her. "So… about Zavanna do you think they will-?"
Akane let out a sigh. "I honestly don't know. We need to hope there was a reason they took her alive. But whatever happens, we've got to battle our hardest, it doesn't matter against who."
Cameron gave a serious nod and he had his fists clenched.
…
As they were all making their way to Utopia City, Cameron eyed Radion and Hanami who led the way. Akane was kneeling on Hanami trying to stay focused, she had what looked like something long on her knees and it was wrapped in thick fabric.
"Radion… how far do you think we are from Utopia City?" Cameron asked.
Radion shifted her eyes to her left side. "If we go without stopping, we'll reach the area by sunrise."
"Got it…"
Jayden though eyed Cameron as he sat on Velocirex. "Yo, V-rex."
"Yeah, what's up?"
"I'm worried about Cameron, I think he's going to overdo it. He hasn't said much after we left the tower, and I don't think Blazeon knows what to tell him."
"What do you think we should do?" Velocirex asked.
"I don't come up with ideas, that's why I'm not leader… but I'm not sure where his mind is at."
They both heard Aisha groaning next to them while Bearth ran along-side Velocirex. "Isn't it obvious, the girl he likes/loves was taken by the enemy… and his former crush was badly hurt." she eyed him. "You're right about him going to overdo it, probably as revenge for what happened. Or to make up for him not being there when it happened."
"If it comes down to it, then I'll reign him in, ain't that right buddy?" he patted Velocirex.
"Yeah, I'll make sure Blazeon dials it back."
"But... Akane did tell us to not hold back... So what's the game plan here? Hmm?"
Blazeon noticed that Cameron wasn't as talkative as usual. "Cameron… you doing alright up there?"
Cameron thought back to the last time he saw Daro, that was when Zavanna destroyed his Cybertross. Also back to what Andreas told him 'You mean you were so daft, that you couldn't even tell that Zavanna was yearning for you…?'
He remembered the kiss they shared and how much he actually liked it. 'Daro… if he did anything to her…' his grip tightened as the large group continued forward towards Utopia City.
"Hahaha!" This gruff laughter was heard coming from Rogue as he and the rest of his Alursian party. They were celebrating after the destruction of the Badlands Facility. "You're amazing, leader!" he exclaimed while having his arm around their Fabregan 'Leader'.
Vesta gently punched Andreas's shoulder. "I must admit, I had you all wrong. I guess you're all right!"
"You deserve a drink, my friend!" Rogue said.
Andreas only glanced at him. "You do realize how old I am, right?"
"Why you gotta be a downer, we won. It's time to celebrate!" he watched the starry sky and he got himself off of Rogue.
"Sorry to disappoint but, I'm not in a celebratory mood." he then walked back to the camp where their tents lay.
"What's gotten up his butt?" Lola asked.
"Eh, don't give him a hard time Lola," Rogue said. "Maybe, he's always like that."
As for Andreas, he met with their hostage who was lying down in a black tent. "You know if you try to run away, they'll be able to track you down with your scent." The man looked scared. "Look, just don't make fun of them and you'll be fine."
"Why are you helping these, animals?" the man asked. "You're Fabregan, you're better than this!"
Andreas smirked. "You forget their enhanced hearing, you dolt," he reminded. "Yes, they have animistic traits, but so what? Apart from that, they are like us in almost every way, some have better hearing, better smells… some with less sense of taste. But even I can see that what the King has been doing is wrong. And since I'm hunted… to the Fabregan Elite, I'm no better than an Alursian." he stood up. "So… I figure I should use my powers for… 'good'?" he shrugged his shoulders. "I'll make sure Rogue watches you so you don't get mauled tonight. Try not to say or do anything stupid, will ya." the man nodded and Andreas left him.
…
He found himself lying down in his tent, staring up while the white light on his side lit up the inside of his tent. He dug his hands in his pockets and looked to take out a picture, it was aged and folded. It was of Zavanna, she was smiling in the background of a blue sky and the green grass of the Fabregan wilds.
"Um…" he left his tent door flap open and he saw that Tammy was looking at him.
Andreas eyed her then motioned her inside. "I mean you've seen it anyway. Why bother hiding this?" She sat down next to him and she was handed the picture. "She's so pretty. Is she your girlfriend?"
The green-haired Fabregan was lying back with his hands behind his head. "In a matter of speaking… she was. She was the fiancee I told you about."
"Right… do you still miss her?"
"Yeah…" he chuckled to himself. "Pathetic, ain't it? I took her for granted and now thinking about her makes me regret it so much. Heh, I even begged for her to come back to me. Do you know what she said to me?" Tammy stayed quiet and didn't bother to guess. "She told me to 'Drop Dead'. That's how badly I messed up. I even betrayed some of her Earth friends."
He thought back to when both he and Phoenix kidnapped the battle brawlers and brought them to the Royal Guard on a silver platter. He in particular remembered his exchange between himself and Kimiko.
"Y-you really are a monster…"
"So…? I'd rather be a monster, than a carefree, betraying creature such as yourself. And as for Zavanna… Well, she shall suffer the same fate as the human who corrupted her!"
Then he remembered what Zavanna had said to him before his battle with her and Jayden whilst teamed up with Daro.
"Andreas… what happened? I thought you were on our side… I shouldn't be surprised, you really are just a despicable person aren't you!?"
He angrily clenched his fist, got up, and quickly stood outside of the tent to let the dry air blow on him.
"Andreas…?" Tammy nervously called out to him.
"Sorry…" he apologized. "I think... I figured out why I'm really doing this."
"Really?" she asked.
"I've proven myself to be an awful person… that much is clear. Maybe I'm trying to prove that I'm not that person anymore," he said with a defeated sigh. "But it won't matter. None of this matters, in the end. She's still going to hate me. I guess I'm doing all this just to make up for all the crap I've done… but it won't be enough. She'll still choose the human over me. Great Kishu, I'm an idiot."
"You're being too hard on yourself." he heard Tammy say as she stood up with him. "You've done some awful things and if we met much earlier, I probably would hate you. But... You're helping us… so what if you're doing it for karma points? No one here is faulting you for that. Anyone can change, for the better… and the worst. But you've helped out a lot of us, warned us about this mission, and tried to get us to leave you. Those aren't the actions of a monster." Tammy walked in front of him and looked him in the eye. "You know what I think? I think… you don't care what happens to yourself. Like you'd be fine if something bad happened to you and you'd just say you deserved it." Andreas lightly facepalmed himself and he groaned. "Tell me I'm wrong."
"Guess you're just that perceptive huh?"
Tammy shook her head. "We can all see it," she revealed. "We all see that you're just plain unhappy. But Andreas… we need you!" she took his hand. "Please hang on for a little longer, we can't do this without you. You may see yourself as a monster, but I and some of the others see you as a hero!"
"Heh, you guys need better role-models," he said turning away while taking his hand back from the Cat Alursian.
"C'mon Andreas…"
"Don't worry. This is a job I won't leave half-finished! I've done so many despicable things, doing this is a start to making up for all I've done." Tammy smiled.
"Don't give up so soon. Things will come good for you, I promise," she assured giving him a sweet smile.
He then slowly rubbed the top of her head where he messed up her black hair, he thought he heard something peculiar about her at that moment. "Get some rest, We'll talk more about the plan in the morning."
"Right… sleep well, Andreas." she walked away from him.
'It could be me but… was she purring?' he questioned while she turned and sweetly waved at him.
Hidden in an underground secret bunker within Gundalia was the small group that managed to escape. It looked like Mason was on watch.
"So what now? We've managed to survive, but we ran away with our tails between our legs!" Ace complained while he had his back to a dark wall.
"It was probably better that way," Baron said, as he remembered his interaction with Maia. "That girl… she was Gundalian, and she warned me… something about 'Staying away from the High Council.'"
"I wish we knew how deep this really goes." he then eyed Kimiko who sat by herself near the other end of the cave. "And that girl didn't use that Reversion power she claimed to have!"
When Kimiko heard him, she curled up tighter. Baron stood up. "Just chill a little… I'm going to talk to her."
Before Baron could, then saw Nurzak returning. "Well?" Ace asked.
"It would seem they have the ability to build cities from scratch. And the city they are building close-by looks to be progressing quickly," he said.
"So what shall be our next move," Jesse asked.
Nurzak thought for a moment. "It would be best to try to enter the city somehow, find out more information about what is truly going on." he walked deeper into the bunker. "We should talk more in the morning."
They all took in what Nurzak told them and Baron finally got up to meet with Kimiko. "Hey," he said, sitting beside her. "How are you doing?" he gently asked.
"I don't know…" she sadly said. "I tried so hard to get into my Reversion Form… but nothing… I don't know what happened… maybe it's because it was through a forbidden card. Maybe I was never meant to have that power."
Lycanine had opened on her shoulder. "Don't say that! I was putting to much pressure on you, I'm sorry, it is my fault."
Saint Nemus had opened on the ground in front of them. "It doesn't matter who's at fault. It is all about learning from the experience. Believe it or not, I know what it's like to have power entrusted to me." Nemus thought back to when their old team - Dubbed 'The Resistance' had attribute energies given to them by the six ancient warriors of Vestroia. "Holding onto such power can be a burden and a tough responsibility. What I'm saying is, you shouldn't worry about not being able to use your Reversion energy now. How you first achieved it, shouldn't matter. All that matters is the fact that you can get to that level. If you can do it once, you surely can do it again."
Baron scratched his head nervously since he basically let Neums control the conversation. "Heh, yeah what he said." he clenched his fist. "I don't have a Reversion form, but I'm still here fighting! And if we all fight together, those Fabregans don't stand a chance against us!"
Kimiko slowly uncurled herself. "Do you really think we can get to that level again?" Lycanine stood on her knee and faced her.
"Kimiko, you need to believe in yourself again. Then, believe in both of us. With or without Reversion, we can stop those same people that hurt you!"
Lycanine leaped on her shoulder and she stood up to her feet along with Baron "Hey, thanks, man…" both of them bumped their elbows.
"And don't forget one important thing," Baron said.
"What would that be?"
"You gotta GET PSYCHED!" he exclaimed throwing a punch forward.
"H-huh… sure… ok?" Kimiko said with a drop of sweat falling down her forehead.
The rain was starting to let up but the battle was only heading up. Maia and Phoenix stood together while Yurina only faced them, her expression unreadable since her bangs covered the top of her eyes.
"Hey, hotshot, you make yourself scarce!" Maia said. "You're in no shape to keep going, and you'd only get in my way."
Phoenix saw that Almos' power level was brought to zero because of Yurina's Katana Foxtrot. Taking Maia's advice he extended his hand and Metal Almos returned to his ball form and to Phoenix's palm.
"Who am I to get in the way." he turned around. "Just don't get yourself killed on the way, since you like getting into trouble so much." Phoenix jabbed before sprinting away.
As Phoenix made a run for it, Maia stood facing her foe. "You do realize that boy will get killed eventually," Yurina said.
"Don't get me wrong, this was a favor. Now how about we talk about something! Like how you decided to keep my past a secret from me."
Yurina shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing personal… keeping you on a blank slate would have been beneficial… but," she remembered how Maia managed to defeat both Jesse and Mason on Gundalia, after mentioning how they supposedly killed her mother. "Seeing you fight with emotion made me realize how wrong that was. I suppose the Reconditioning process is far from being perfect."
"Well, I know everything now. Her old Bakugan told me everything. Lumagrowl even buried her himself. But this other part of me… Hikari, I still have no idea of that! But I have a feeling you do!"
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Yurina replied in a playful tone.
Maia let out a sigh. "Fine… I guess I'll just have to beat it out of you!" she exclaimed. "Phoenix already did some damage, so I'll just finish the job! Then I'll finally know who I am."
"Confident, are we?" Yurina asked. "I'll admit, there is a chance you'll beat me, but Phoenix already pissed me off, so I'm not going to let you pick me off! After all, I still have an invasion to plan tomorrow. And you people have interrupted my beauty sleep!"
Kyubis: 1000 / Flare Liaru: 950
Maia placed a gate card into her gauntlet. "Well I'm ready, how about you? Ability Activate, Sunflare Claws!" Liaru sprinted on four legs towards Kyubis while his claws stretched out. They became were covered in red flames. The Haos/Pyrus Hybrid moved to slash his target. Liaru had transferred 300Gs between them.
Kyubis: 1000(-300)= 700 / Flare Liaru: 950(+300)= 1250
Yurina had raised her arm and Kyubis took on the attack, but a fiery red aura protected him from any damage. "Ability: Explosion Guard!" she exclaimed. Maia huffed in frustration as Kyubis didn't look affected in the slightest as her power rose to 800. "Sorry to do this Maia… but you decided to get in my way! Ability Activate! Burning Demise!" Kyubis had headbutted Liaru, dazing him and once she had space, she blasted a stream of white fire which engulfed the lion, burning him.
Kyubis: 800(+400)= 1200 / Flare Liaru: 1250(-300)= 950
Once Liaru was out of the flames he stepped back, and the next thing they saw was Yurina on top of a construction crane. "Yoohoo, up here!" she already had a card in her gauntlet. "Ability Activate, Meteor Foxtrot!" her fox tails were surrounded in flames and eight, large fireballs orbited around her. "Maia, you're doing yourself no favors by holding back!" she threw them down to both Maia and Liaru. Liaru's power had dropped by 500, putting him down to 450Gs.
Maia had a card in her gauntlet to keep back the assault. "C'mon Liaru, fight with all you've got! Ability Activate, Arcane Armor!" a bright yellow, transparent armor surrounded his body as the fire orbs exploded around him, blanketing the area in a fire.
Kyubis: 1200 / Flare Liaru: 450(+400)= 850
When the smoke from the explosions cleared, Liaru let out a defiant roar… but suddenly white flames were hurting him and he suddenly lost 300Gs. Which dropped him down to 550Gs.
"Liaru!?" Maia exclaimed. "What's going on!?" she asked glaring at Yurina who was sitting at the end of the crane while swinging her legs.
"Oh… Burning Demise will drain 300Gs every time you activate an ability. You really should work on your dodging skills. That's something I'd at least give Phoenix!"
"Fine, then we'll do this! Ability Activate, Fire Aura!" she exclaimed and a red fiery aura surrounded Liaru, but just like the last time, the white-hot flames returned. Putting him in more pain. "Ok, Liaru! 100Gs will be added after every ability, so that should lighten the blow of that attack!"
Kyubis: 1200 / Flare Liaru: 850(+150 -300)= 650
Yurina leaped off the crane and was high in the air. "I'm not letting you get a second wind! Ability Activate, Howling Blaze!" She made three fiery orbs surround her body and tossed them down to both Maia and Liaru. This transferred 250Gs between them, further widening the gap between the two.
Kyubis: 1200(+250)= 1450 / Flare Liaru: 650(-250)= 400
As the flames fell, Maia needed to come up with something quickly. She hopped onto him. "Get moving, you can't let those flames hit you!" he started to run around the damp ground he narrowly avoided the flames but the explosion radius still reached him, throwing him off again. She saw Kyubis was sprinting to attack them. "Big mistake! Double Ability Activate! Tail Burst plus Flaming Bellow!" his four tails had generated flames as they aimed at the charging Kyubis. He also had flames leaking from his mouth and he fired an all-consuming fire right in Kyubis's direction. At the same time, his tails fired the same stream which made the two fire attacks, cross, and fuse with each other.
Kyubis: 1450(-300)= 1150 / Flare Liaru: 400(+300 +500)+(100x2)+(-300x2)= 800
Kyubis took the attack very well and was only being pushed back slightly. "Yurina, enough of this! I grow tired of this!" she growled.
"Perhaps you're right! I should have put her away by now! Ability Activate! Soul Extinction!" a purple fiery aura surrounded Kyubis and she shot a white ghastly form of herself to Liaru. This added a further 650 to her power level, putting her up to 1800Gs.
Maia was startled and she raised her gauntlet. "Ugh Dammit! Reversion Ability Activate! Pure Energy Strike!" Liaru transformed into a bright energy lion with a comet-shaped tail and was charging right at Kyubis. His power was boosted but also drained by Kyubis's Burning Demise.
Kyubis: 1800(-350)= 1450 / Flare Liaru: 800(+650 +100 -300)= 1250
After the two energy beings clashed, there was a flash of light before it expanded into an explosion, forcing Maia to shield her eyes. However, in the air, they both saw Kyubis.
"Looks like this is the end!" Yurina said. "Ability Activate, Comet Crash!" Kyubis shot down from the sky and she had five comets of fire falling with her. Instantly 400Gs were transferred between the two.
Kyubis: 1450(+400)= 1850 / Flare Liaru: 1250(-400)= 850
'No! If that hits… I'll lose Liaru… I've got to do something!' She quickly placed a card into her gauntlet "Liaru, Ability Activate, Igniting Thunder!" his mane was covered in a huge amount of electric sparks as Kyubis got closer to him. 250Gs was transferred between them, but like the previous times, the flames of Burning Demise had taken 300Gs from the lion.
Kyubis: 1850(-250)= 1600 / Flare Liaru: 850(+250 -300)= 800
Liaru kept the electrical attack on his mane until Kyubis was very close. He roared and he headbutted Liaru making a tremendous explosion, creating a shockwave that was enough to blast Maia back. As she landed on her back, she noticed Liaru's ball form rolling towards her, causing her life gauge to fall to as little as 20%.
She tried to sit up and when she did, she saw Yurina and Kyubis standing on the other side of the construction site. The two of them were walking away. "Where are you going!?" Maia exclaimed.
"Save it, kid. I have better things to do than throw you all over this place. I need to make sure Xaramesi isn't messing with things she should."
"NO!" Maia she exclaimed. "I'm not finished yet!"
"No offense, but that battle was too easy for me! I'm not looking to waste my time with you!"
Maia looked at her hands. 'No… I was created to be a weapon… so why am I so weak!? But of course, I'm weak…' she eyed the wrecked construction site around her. 'I'm relying on a weak, human crybaby to bring my memories back. But… do I even need them? I mean that woman in the vision said so… but what does she know!'
"You will need to find someone. He is a special battler named Garfield Quinn. Find him and he will give you all the answers you seek."
'That's what she said… but even if I know about my time as Hikari. What will that change…? I only got my Reversion powers from 'accepting my memories'. I won't be able to do anything useful if I just back away from this! I need to fight!'
"HEY!" she roared… feeling Liaru's energy beginning to take over her. "I'm not done yet! Don't turn your back against me, do you hear me!?" She ended her words with a lion's roar.
Yurina turned to see Maia covered in electric sparks as it looked like she was transforming into her Reversion form. Her nine lion tails were whipping the air. Liaru had opened on the field and he was in his Reversion form too and he glared at Kyubis.
"We have a score to settle, Kyubis!" he exclaimed. Maia instantly felt better after hearing the voice of her partner again.
"That's not fair!" Yurina exclaimed. "I'm the only nine-tailed Bakugan owner in these parts! Oh well, now that you've decided to stop holding back, now you've got my attention, little girl."
"Just shut up and brawl!" Maia tossed a gate card that spread a yellow rectangular, disappearing sheen all over the area.
Underneath the Vestige City Research Facility. Xaramesi was outside of a prison cell and she looked to be talking to someone inside it.
"Whoa!" she breathed after hearing Zavanna's story about her relationship with Draconoid. "So Draconoid chose your friends to revive her… and your mother is involved in this!?"
"I wish I knew more… but apparently she's been brought back from the dead…" she muttered. "Then again, I've only seen her as an apparition… She still might not be physically alive." Zavanna had leaned against the walls of her cell. "I'm supposed to be a 'proxy' but I barely know anything."
Xaramesi reached her hand in between the bars of the cell. "Hey, don't beat yourself about this, ok. Thanks to you, I know to find your friends and we can revive Draconoid."
"Even so…? I have no idea where they are."
Xaramesi thought for a moment. "Ok, where did you last see them?"
"In Utopia City, but I'm not sure if all of them are there. They were pretty split up."
"Then that's where we'll go to start! But we need to get you out of here first!" she saw that there were electronic locks that kept the cells closes. "That's going to be difficult. Where is your Bakugan?"
"I don't know!"
Xaramesi was pacing back and forth around the cell. "Hmm… how can we-" they heard running towards them and when Xaramesi fearfully turned around, they saw a beaten-up Phoenix approaching. He was panting as soon as he got there. She saw his battered and bruised body, he was covered in mud and his glasses were gone. "PHOENIX!?" she exclaimed, fearing for how hurt he was.
"Y-yeah… I'm still alive… somehow-" he found himself getting lifted off of his feet by Xaramesi in a spine-crushing hug.
"I was soooo scared!" she yelled. "What happened to you!?"
"Ugh… mind letting me down before you kill me?" She quickly let him down and nervously pressed her fingers together.
"PHOENIX?!" Zavanna exclaimed from behind the cell.
"Oh… Zavanna… sorry about Earth by the way…"
Zavanna glared at him. "Xaramesi, you shouldn't trust him! Phoenix is-"
"Despicable…" Phoenix finished for her. "Eh, unlucky for you, I don't care what people think about me. I just survived a war with Yurina…" he turned to Xaramesi. "What's the plan?"
"Well we need to break Zavanna out firs-" Phoenix activated his gauntlet blade and he used it to start cutting the bars slowly. "Oh… ok… so after you're done there, we gotta find Zavanna's Bakugan, then we head to Utopia City as quickly as possible!"
Phoenix was done slicing the bars and the hot metal dropped to the floor. "Then let's make this quick!" he reached his hand out to Zavanna but she climbed out by herself, hinting that she still didn't trust Phoenix. "Sure thanks, Phoenix…" he said in a high-pitched tone, which looked to irritate Zavanna.
Xaramesi turned to Zavanna. "Trust me, he really sweet deep down." both Fabregans folded their arms and turned away from each other. "Ok, Zavanna let's find your Bakugan!"
However, they all saw footsteps coming towards them. They could see Heros glaring at them from the other side of the hall. "You two have caused a lot of issues today."
Phoenix's gauntlet blade was still on and he held Metal Almos' ball form. "Nuh-uh! Screw this!" he threw Almos on the ground and it activated and he imploded through the ceiling which managed to burst into the first floor. The whole building was on high alert. The three climbed off Almos's head and were in the wrecked lobby. Phoenix returned his Bakugan and he grabbed him. "They already know we're here! Follow me, I have an idea of where they are keeping your Scorchiree."
Xaramesi blinked in shock after Phoenix's quick, yet reckless thinking. "Right, we've got a plan so let's do this!" she exclaimed.
Flare Liaru was glaring right at Kyubis who stood on the other side of the battlefield. The rain had completely stopped, revealing more of the pitch-black sky once the gray clouds retreated. Yurina pointed to Maia. "Kyubis, attack them!" as she held two abilities. "Double Ability Activate, Soul Extinction-" as Kyubis sprinted forward, a white, ghastly form of herself shot forward right at Liaru. "-plus, Meteor Foxtrot!" Yurina was high in the air as eight fireballs formed a ring around her. She tossed her hand forward as the fireballs fell to the pair while Kyubis' soul form was heading for them at the same time.
Kyubis: 700(+650)= 1350 / Flare Liaru: 950(-500)= 450
Both attacks were about to strike them, and Maia didn't know where to look as they got closer.
"Hikari! You need to focus!" Liaru said. "Don't let her overwhelming attacks throw you off."
She quickly put a Fabregan Styled Reversion Ability card into her gauntlet. "Ok… thanks Liaru! Reversion Ability Activate, Leo's Roar!" Liaru took a step forward, he let out a loud, intimidating roar, and the Leo constellation formed in front of him as bright yellow energy surrounded him.
Kyubis's ghost form was the first to strike Liaru, making him slide back, his claws digging into the damp ground. The eight fireballs had crashed right into him and the flames were surrounding both him and his partner. Maia roared and the flames quickly dissipated from them. The 500Gs that she had lost was returned to them while she got 200Gs from Leo's Roar.
Kyubis: 1350 / Flare Liaru: 450(+200 +500)= 1150
"Hmm, interesting… how did you do that?"
Maia smirked. "Wouldn't you like to know!" she said as the bright yellow aura surrounded her. "Together now! Ability Activate, Sunflare Claws!" Maia sped forward by herself aiming to strike Yurina. Her claws extended and they were covered in red flames. 300Gs was transferred between them.
Kyubis: 1350(-300)= 1050 / Flare Liaru: 1150(+300)= 1450
Yurina's confident smirk remained on her face. "Careful, you know what they say about getting too close to fire. Ability Activate, Burning Demise!" she swung her arms in a circular motion while white flames followed her hands. She threw her hands forward, shooting powerful white flames towards her. As the fire got close to her, she slashed right through the fire, cutting it in half. A shocked Yurina was too late to do anything as she was slashed. Maia raced past her and slid on her feet.
Kyubis: 1050(+400)= 1450 / Flare Liaru: 1450
Kyubis leaped back as Maia tried to slash her. Maia shot right onto a broken-down wall. There was still a bright yellow aura around her and Liaru. "You still want to know what happened? Leo's Roar makes me and Liaru immune to three abilities that would normally drop our power levels."
"Clever girl, baiting me into using Burning Demise early so you can block it." Yurina complimented.
Maia glared at her. "You get her, Liaru! Ability Activate, Prideful Assault!" Liaru sped right at Yurina and Kyubis while cloaked in flames and pulses of yellow electricity. He sped to Liaru to headbutt the nine-tailed fox. His power was increased to 1850, gaining 400Gs in the process.
Kyubis looked down at her partner. "Go!" Kyubis sprinted to Liaru who began the charge. "Ability Activate, Explosion Guard!" a fiery aura surrounded her, over her white flames, and they both butted heads in the middle. Flames spread across the entire battlefield, the fiery winds had tickled the skin of Yurina and Maia. Kyubis had 100Gs added to her power level which put her at 1550 which also made her immune to abilities for a short time.
"Now that Kyubis is immune to your abilities, it looks like we are at a stalemate." Maia glared forward because she knew that her ability could only keep back two more abilities. While Kyubis and Yurina could be immune for a while. The Fox woman pulled out a Reversion Ability Card. "Oh look, what do we have here? Reversion Ability, Kitsune Reflection!" Both she and Kyubis were engulfed in white fire and when the flames fizzled out, they both looked exactly like Maia and Liaru in their Reversion Forms.
"W-what!?" Maia gasped as she saw herself standing where Yurina used to stand. "What's going on?"
"Like it?" Yurina said sounding exactly like Maia. They both still had fiery auras surrounding them. Kyubis had 500Gs added to her level which put her at 2050. "Kitsune Reflection shapeshifts us into our opponents. And allows us to use their abilities. Like this! Ability Activate, Flaming Bellow!" Liaru-Kyubis opened her maw and he fired an all-consuming blast of fire towards Liaru.
Kyubis: 2050(+500)= 2550 / Flare Liaru: 1850
Liaru was covered in flames and he roared as he started taking damage. Maia placed an ability into her gauntlet. "Hold on, Liaru! Ability Activate, Tail Burst!" Maia leaped up and four out of her nine tails were ignited in flames and she twirled in the air and four red orbs had crashed into Kyubis, making an explosion. The flames stopped barraging Liaru.
Kyubis: 2550 / Flare Liaru: 1850(+300)= 2150
300Gs was supposed to drop from Kyubis, but Explosion Guard kept her that from happening.
"Sunflare Claws!" Maia-Yurina sped to slash towards Maia with fiery claws. Maia was cut and she screamed out in pain. "Just because you're immune, doesn't mean you won't feel it."
Kyubis: 2550(+300)= 2850 / Flare Liaru: 2150
"Your turn, Kyubis! Ability Activate, Tail Burst!" Four out of Liaru-Kyubis's nine tails ignited. She flipped in the air and four fiery orbs rained down on both Liaru and Maia, engulfing them in flames. This added another 300Gs to Kyubis.
Kyubis: 2850(+300)= 3150 / Flare Liaru: 2150
When Kyubis landed on the earth, they shifted back to their regular forms. Once the smoke had cleared from Maia and Liaru, they noticed the bright yellow glow surrounded both her and her partner had disappeared. "Oh no…"
"So… your ability can only take three abilities. Interesting." Yurina noted.
Maia bit her lips. 'I'm running out of abilities. What do I do?' she thought back to when she battled with Daro and when she generated her Battle Gear using her Gundalian powers. 'I haven't tried it with a Reversion Form. Let's hope it works.' She extended her hands and the battle gear was building as her palm generated yellow electric sparks and light. After it was built, she grabbed it. "Catch this Liaru, Battle Gear Boost!" she tossed the Battle Gear and when it landed on Liaru's back, it fused with his ball form. On the field, there was a small pack on his back with two circular, flat blasters on each of his sides. His power level increased by 100Gs to 2250.
"Battle Gear? While in a Reversion Form… this is a first." Yurina said.
Maia extended her hand forward. "Ok… this better work. Gate Card open Active Restart!" the ground below them shone bright and both Kyubis and Liaru's power levels were dropping.
"What's going on?"
"Active Restart, it drops all Bakugan's power levels back to their base levels. On top of that, it blocks the opponent's Reversion Abilities!"
Kyubis: 700 / Flare Liaru: 950
Yurina had a card in her gauntlet. "Kyubis, dear. Destroy that Gate Card, if you please. Ability Activate, Ghastly Fire!" Kyubis leaped up high into the air she opened her maw and fired a stream of blue fire down to the gate card. She had 300Gs added to her power level instantly
Kyubis: 700(+300)= 1000 / Flare Liaru: 950
Maia ran right into the path of Kyubis's flames. "This might not end well, but." she held up her gauntlet. "Ability Activate, Flaming Bellow!" Maia's cheeks started to puff and she opened her mouth and shot out an all-consuming fire that managed to first block, then engulf Kyubis's flames. The Nine-Tailed fox was engulfed in the flames and screamed out in pain.
Kyubis: 1000 / Flare Liaru: 950(+500)= 1450
The gate card was still active, and because of this. Yurina was unable to use her Reversion Abilities. It was her turn to feel frustration. "I won't let you catch me out! Ability Activate! Comet Crash!"
While Kyubis was still in the air, five comets appeared by her sides and she shot back down to the ground where Liaru and Maia stood. She and the comets were surrounded by a raging fire.
"Hikari!" Liaru exclaimed.
Kyubis: 1000(+400)= 1400 / Flare Liaru: 1450(-400)= 1050
"I know! Reversion Ability Activate, Magnetoshield!" Bright yellow transparent armor appeared all over Liaru and Maia's bodies, but this armor turned blue as the attacks closed in. Kyubis crashed into them hard creating a giant crater, sending electrified shockwaves all over the area. The shockwaves reached some of the buildings in Vestige City and their power was instantly shorted out as an after effect.
When the black dust cleared, Kyubis had butted her head against Liaru and both Bakugan were growling at each other.
Kyubis leaped back as Liaru's power level increased thanks to the defensive ability.
Kyubis: 1400 / Flare Liaru: 1050(+700)= 1750
'Ugh… this girl is pushing me to the limit.' Yurina thought as she remembered Phoenix and he managed to hold her off in his battle. Going so far as to physically fight toe-to-toe with her. 'First Phoenix… now Maia! It seems the opposition may be tougher than I could have ever imagined. I somehow have to step my game up.'
"Kyubis, we both had to attack at the same time! Ability Activate, Howling Blaze!" their tails lit up, Kyubis and Yurina had three orbs surrounding them. They fired them to the pair, and the six fire orbs were closing in.
Kyubis: 1400(+250)= 1650 / Flare Liaru: 1750(-250)= 1500
"This is it, Liaru!" Maia exclaimed as she leaped on Liaru's back. "Battle Gear Ability Activate, Neo Barias Lightning!" The ports on the circular turrets opened up and they all powered up before firing a long blast of bright yellow energy beams from both turrets. The beams shot right through the six fireballs, fizzling them into harmless embers. The beams engulfed both Yurina and Kyubis and the light was so bright that they only looked like outlines when they were cloaked by it.
Kyubis: 1650 / Flare Liaru: 1500(+500)= 2000
Yurina rolled to the floor and she had bruises all over her body, and her robe was even torn in some places. Red sparkles were leaking off her as her life gauge which only had 45% left had fallen to 0%. Indicating that she lost.
Once her Reversion form had left her, Kyubis transformed to her ball form and landed beside Yurina on the ground. "We did it, Hikari!" Liaru happily said looking down at her.
"Yeah… I guess we did, huh?"
Yellow sparkles were leaking off both Liaru and Maia before they both turned back to their normal forms. Liaru had gone back to his feral state and let out a victorious roar before he dropped into Maia's hand. She gently closed it and looked at her fist. 'Gundalian Super Soldier huh? They didn't think I'd be this strong, did they?' she turned to Yurina who got to her feet. "I beat you! Now I want answers!"
The fox Alursian got to her feet and her cracked mask remained on her face, just in case prying eyes or cameras were watching. "Well you technically didn't do it alone… but fine. As part of my battle etiquette, I shall give you whatever answers you seek."
Alarms were going off all over the research facility, Phoenix led Xaramesi and Zavanna through the facility. "Are you sure we are heading the right way?" Zavanna asked.
"I dunno, do you want to lead the way and find out?" he replied in a snarky tone.
"Phoenix are you ok?" Xaramesi asked with concern.
"I just came back from a rough battle, I'm partially blind and I was nearly killed by an insane fox woman, so forgive me if I'm a bit on edge!"
The part leopard turned away. "I'm sorry…"
"No… it was my plan. I have no one to blame but myself... This is it!" he directed them to a reinforced door. "This is the impound room, this is where they put confiscated Bakugan before they try and recondition them."
"What if the reconditioning doesn't work?" Zavanna asked.
"Then they become Rouge Bakugan… then they become the Badlands' problem." Phoenix then activated his gauntlet blade but it was flickering on and off. "Dammit!" he punched it several times and it flickered on. "Well I gotta break this down before it stops working completely!" he shimmed the green blade in between the door and the frame, slicing the lock. He deactivated the blade and kicked open the door. They could see rows and rows of confiscated Bakugan. "This will take all night."
Zavanna walked forward. "No, I can feel him. He's around here somewhere."
"Awesome!" Xaramesi cheered.
"Is that a Draconoid thing?" Phoenix asked.
"No is a special connection 'thing'…"
"Got it… Mind if I help you look?" Xaramesi asked.
"Not at all, you did help me out," she said.
Phoenix decided to stand by the door. "I'll stand watch here." he closed the door. "And don't take forever, people are out here looking for us!"
After this both girls were moving through the isles trying to find Scorchiree, Zavanna turned to Xaramesi. "Um… so, why Phoenix?"
"What do you mean?"
"He's not trustworthy. I think you should keep an eye on him."
Xaramesi smiled. "I know how it seems. He's abrasive at first, trust me, I know. I was assigned with him on a job once. But like I said back then. You can attract more bees with honey than you can with vinegar. And Phoenix has one big stinger!"
"Huh?"
"Never mind! But he's really nice when you get to know him. He's just been raised to chase perfection. So in his head, anything he does is never good enough you know. Plus it was his dream to be in the High Council one day. And that's all gone now. He's doing this as a way to stick it back to them… or so he told me. His goal was to beat Yurina today… I don't know if he pulled it off, but he looks like he's been through a lot in that battle."
"But… he's done and said a lot of awful things. I just wouldn't put my trust in him. I'm expecting him to betray you. Both he and Andreas did that."
"If he does betray me… guess that's on me for being naive… But I choose to trust and give him a chance. I don't like writing people off."
"I don't know what to say…" Zavanna said thinking about her words. "I'm curious if you're this open-minded, how did you get into the High Council."
She awkwardly chuckled. "That is a pretty long story, but why don't we find your Bakugan first, huh?"
Zavanna was leading them through the aisle. When she was getting closer to Scorchiree, she looked to press her hand on a wall. She then pressed her ear to it.
"Um… everything ok?"
"This wall… Scorchiree is behind here!"
"Let me try." Xaramesi put her ear to the wall and her tail instantly stood up. "Yep, this wall is definitely hollow, maybe it's a door. But how do we find the switch?" They both thought for a moment. "Maybe Phoenix will know!"
"Um… ok, if you're sure…"
They both made their way to Phoenix who was still guarding the door. "So, did you find your Bakugan?" he asked.
"About that…" Xaramesi started. "We found a hollow wall, we think it's a hidden door. But we don't know where the switch is. We thought you'd have some ideas on where to find it."
Phoenix got up from leaning on the wall. "Well, I'm not sure how much help I'll be without my glasses. But if you can rip apart the floor near the wall and find some cables, you can follow them to where the switch might be."
Xaramesi bonked her head with her palm. "Of course, duh! That's what we should have done." she grabbed Zavanna's hand "Thanks, Phoenix!" he smiled slightly as he waved off the two girls.
…
They returned to the wall and Xaramesi dropped to her knees and was stuck her hands into the tiled ground, she ripped it off one of the tiles, and true to Phoenix's word, there were three wires under the tiles. Red, Yellow, and Blue.
"He was right…" Zavanna said. "Now we just have to rip up more tiles so we can find the-" she saw Xaramesi ripping the wires apart and she smirked as the wall opened up to the back room. Zavanna's eyes were black dots as she gave a blink of astonishment. "Or… we can do that…"
They entered the back room which was lit by dark blue light, and they could see many Bakugan in pods. They were all in their ball forms "You think…"
"They are being Reconditioned," Zavanna said. "But that means?"
"What are you two doing here!?"
They saw Aurea staring at them from the other side of the room with a clipboard in hand. "How did you know about this room?"
"You people never sleep, do you? Hollow wall, we found some wires and-" Zavanna stepped back in fear but Xaramesi stepped in front of her "Aurea… Zavanna knows how to fix all of this! She and her teammates are the key! If they share their power, Draconoid will be revived."
"And how are you so sure, she can be trusted?"
"She's Draconoid's proxy! The white hair proves it!" Aurea thought about it. Zavanna never had white hair before, and even if she fully dyed it. Some of her dark hair would be shown from that.
"Ok… then what are you still doing here?"
"Scorchiree…" Zavanna said. "I want my friend back!" Aurea walked over to one of the small pods that housed a Pyrus Bakugan that was suspended in blue liquid. She pressed a button, the liquid drained and she picked up Scorchiree before unceremoniously tossing him to Zavanna.
"You are lucky my partner isn't here to see this," Aurea remarked.
"Why would Servavi have an issue with this?" Xaramesi questioned.
Aurea sighed. "I am not Servavi's original partner. She used to brawl with Queen Rena, but she was entrusted to me a long time ago. She was a given as a gift for me getting to the High Council."
"But… how can you achieve Reversion with her if she's not your original partner?" Zavanna asked.
"Synthetic Reversion catalyst, that's how. A very early, prototype version. But it worked none-the-less. That's how Maximus and I achieved Reversion so fast. But enough about that, if Servavi was here, I'd have no choice but to stop you."
"But you're not going to stop us now?"
"The High Council was made to protect the Fabregan people. If Fabrega is saved, then the Invasion will be pointless, and everyone can be saved. I am doing my duty."
Xaramesi smiled. "I knew there was something good about you. Then why don't you come with us?"
"Absolutely not!" that reaction shocked Xaramesi. "If I defect now, that will bring more attention to you. The King will see our party as a bigger threat, and potentially try to shut us down before we can save Fabrega. And that is something that can't happen." Xaramesi looked away feeling a wave of shame pass over her. "Zavanna!" the white-haired girl looked up. "If you really are supposed the proxy for Draconoid. Make sure you get this done, quickly. The king will want you taken down if he found about this." Zavanna gave a serious nod. "Now leave! The next time we meet, it will be on the battlefield, and I will not be allowed to hold back. Got it!"
After this, Zavanna led the way out but Xaramesi looked back to see Aurea giving an intense stare at her. "I guess I'll see you later…"
"You better hope I don't."
Once they backed away, Aurea turned around to return to her assigned work. 'You better get out quick, the others might not be as lenient as I am.'
…
Zavanna and Xaramesi made it to the front door and Phoenix was waiting for them. "You got it?"
"Him!" Zavanna corrected.
"Whatever let's just make ourselves scarce before we're discovered!" Phoenix rushed them out of the room only for them to be cornered by Fabregan guards with spears aimed at them. "Great, just great!"
They all saw Heros walking to the group. "So, am I to understand that you are the cause of all this chaos, Xaramesi?" Phoenix protectively stood in front of both of the girls.
"I wouldn't come closer if I were you!" Phoenix threatened.
"You guys don't understand, we're out here trying to save the planet!" Xaramesi exclaimed. "Why can't you people understand that?!"
"Enough!" Heros sternly said. Regardless of your intentions, you've caused massive damage and shall be charged. We have little choice but to place the three of you in a level 3 cell!"
Phoenix extended his gauntlet blade. "Yeah, over my dead body, old man!"
"Phoenix… I get that you've become a betrayer, but you of all people? You would dare threaten a member of the High-"
"The only reason you think so highly of yourselves is because you've put yourselves on a damn pedestal. You're High Council, so what!? I used to in the Royal Guard but because of a few failures, I was tossed aside like I was nothing! Just to usher in the Battle Brawlers, which I brought to you people by the way! Anyway, you wanna take my friends, you'll have to go through me!"
"Friends?!" Zavanna exclaimed in shock.
Heros thought for a second. "I saw you battle with Yurina earlier. You showed some strength… but how much do you have left?"
"But he's not alone!" Xaramesi exclaimed as she held up Boreanta. "Boreanta and Phoenix have my back! And I'm not going to let Fabrega die!"
"As you can tell, we're not above tearing the whole building to shreds!" Phoenix threatened. Heros stuck his stick into the ground. Making a shock wave spread through the floor.
"Your actions today will not go unpunished!" Heros announced as he twirled his staff in the air and he put himself in a fighting stance.
"Wow, pretty spry for an old man." Phoenix mocked as he bent his knees preparing to fight off Heros. Though they all felt the entire city shake for a moment, the reason for this was unknown, and this momentary distraction gave Phoenix an idea as he stared out the wide window of the high building. He then grabbed Zavanna's wrist. "Xaramesi… I have a pretty stupid idea!"
She noticed him looking at the window and she smirked. "Heh, from so high up? And you called me insane!"
"What are you two talking about? Also, let me go!" she tried to struggle from Phoenix's grip.
Heros realized what they were planning. "No, stop them!" Phoenix ran towards the window and he crashed his left shoulder right through it, instantly shattering the glass. There were many cuts in his left arm from the glass scraping against his skin. Zavanna's eyes were as small as plant seeds as she and Phoenix were in free fall. Xaramesi followed them out and they could see the ground of Vestige City fast approaching.
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!" Zavanna screamed, Phoenix didn't let go of her hand as he tossed out his Metal Almos with his left hand while he turned off his gauntlet blade. Almos appeared beneath allowing both Phoenix and Zavanna to land on top of him. They could see Xaramesi landing on her Boreanta and she gave Phoenix a 'thumbs-up'. He smiled to himself and he then looked at the lines of blood that were leaking from his left shoulder down to his finger-tips.
"Well that can't be good…" he muttered
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" Zavanna exclaimed. "Great Jaya… have you lost your mind!?"
"Hah… probably!" he replied. He cringed to himself as Almos lowered himself to Boreanta's level. Xaramesi's smile quickly faded when she saw Phoenix's bleeding arm.
"PHOENIX!" she leaped over to Almos, took off her scarf and she quickly wrapped it around his shoulder going down his arm. "There…" she breathed.
"It's just glass… it would have healed… But thanks." she smiled back at him while her tail slowly whipped the air. Zavanna scanned the two of them and eyed them curiously.
"Zavanna!" she noticed her partner waking up in her left hand. "You're ok! What happened?"
"We had some help." He then flipped off her shoulder and landed on the ground of Vestige City and in a bright red flash, he grew into his true form. He extended his hand for Zavanna to mount him. She nodded and she walked onto him and was brought to his shoulder. "So now what?"
"We get to Maia!" Xaramesi exclaimed. She then looked to Zavanna. "Then we find your friends."
The three Bakugan moved through the city to get to Maia who was still with Yurina on the outskirts of the city.
Maia meanwhile was glaring at Yurina whose expression was unreadable thanks to the cracked fox mask. "So… are you just going to stand there?" Maia exclaimed.
"Hmm… tell me, what do you already know?" Yurina asked.
"Well… I know that I created to be a Gundalian Super Soldier… that's what Lumagrowl told me. I somehow escaped to Earth, thanks to my partner. Then… I don't know what happens after that."
"That sounds about right… you see, from the report I read. They were there to specifically draft you to our side. Phoenix and Isolde had used a one-time defense mechanism in the tower that was able to erase you from the timeline essentially. That way, you wouldn't have a past to remember. In this timeline, you tried to escape from Gundalia after finding out you were a creation. And I arrived to save you and took you to Fabrega. At least that's the memories we planted inside you. That's why your allies on Earth couldn't remember you."
'Except Garfield…' she thought.
"That's the extent of what happened-" she darted her pupils to her left as her fox ears ruffled in the wind. "It appears your friends have arrived… Congratulations, you have the freedom that Xaramesi's world wants." she walked past Maia. "Just know, this isn't over Hikari," she whispered as she walked past her.
"Hey, wait a min-" after Maia quickly turned around she could see that the Fox woman had disappeared. 'So… that's what happened…'
"HEY!" she saw Metal Almos, Boreanta, and Scorchiree moving towards her, with their partners on them.
They all dismounted with Phoenix and Xaramesi sprinted to her. "You're ok! Um… where is Yurina?" the half-Fabregan asked.
"Me and Liaru sent her backing, obviously!" she bragged, while slightly puffing her chest out.
"You do remember I wiped out more than half her life gauge myself, right," Phoenix said.
Maia smiled at him. "Right, thanks for that… by the way!" she then threw a hard punch to Phoenix's stomach and he had saliva flying from his mouth as he let out a rough breath.
"MAIA!?" Xaramesi exclaimed, glaring at her as Phoenix fell to his knee, clutching his gut
"That was for 'erasing' me out of the timeline!"
"W-what…!?"
Phoenix, after falling to one knee got back up and was holding his stomach. "Ugh… dammit! I guess I had that coming…"
"Remind me to give one to your Aquos friend too," Maia said.
"Noted," Phoenix grunted in response.
Xaramesi was at Phoenix's side helping him get up, and she kept glaring at Maia. "Don't worry, that's the only shot he's getting. We're good now." she clenched her fist. "Now did you guys have a plan for what happens now?"
Right when she mentioned this, the ground started to shake again. And just like last time, there appeared to be no apparent reason for it.
"Tremors…? In this region of the world? Occurring twice in a short span of time?" Phoenix questioned. "That is very odd."
Though they seemed to get their answer when Zavanna rushed over to them in a panicked state. "Draconoid! I'm losing her presence!" she quickly looked around as if she was trying to sense where she is. "We need to hurry!"
Xaramesi gave a serious look to the group. "But what about Yurina?"
"Forget about her!" Phoenix said and he turned to Zavanna. "Where are your friends again?!"
"Utopia City!"
"Cool! Let's move!" they quickly mounted their Bakugan, except for Maia who was giving Liaru a break who she jumped onto Phoenix's Metal Almos. Phoenix turned to Scorchiree. "I suggest you shrink down. Utopia City is across the sea, and given you're Pyrus… that might not end well." Boreanta had extended his arm for Zavanna to walk on. Once she did, Scorchiree shrunk down to his ball form and rushed to her palm. "We ready!?"
"Yes… let's go already!" Maia cried with an annoyed tone.
The two Bakugan with their four passengers flew off into the night toward their new destination.
…
Elsewhere… from on top of a building. Yurina watched them leave and she let out a tired yawn. "What a night…" she muttered. She got a call on her gauntlet and she heard Queen Rena on the line. "Hey… sorry for not calling. It was a long night…"
"Sorry, Yurina… but the King just heard about Zavanna's escape, and the cameras caught wind of your first loss. He is extremely mad and wants to see you first thing tomorrow."
She sighed. "Well... I guess I should see what the old fart wants. I suppose the invasion will be put on hold for now."
"Right… I'll get ready."
"You sleep well, Queenie. It's only a matter of time before Fabrega experiences a new dawn" she hung up and fell to her knees. "Ugh… Kyubis, take me home… It's gonna be a long couple of hours."
The two Bakugan, Metal Almos, and Boreanta were flying across the sea, their wake was kicking up splashes of water. Zavanna was on her knees on Boreanta "Hey." Maia said lying next to her. "We battled before, right?"
"Yes… actually," Zavanna replied. "Why are you helping us?"
"I've got my reasons… plus as it turns out… Just like the Gundalians before, they were using me. I guess I escaped, but I can't remember that. So yeah, I guess I'm on your side… for now."
Zavanna sighed. "Everything is a mess… I really hope we can restore Draconoid in time."
Phoenix meanwhile was glaring at the horizon on Almos's while on his knees and was struggling to stay awake. "You ok?" Xaramesi knelt next to him.
"I'm extremely tired… what the heck am I even doing anymore? Ow… that girl can throw a mean punch," he said as the salty air filled his nostrils.
"You've gone through so much today, Phoenix. You should get some sleep…" she even noticed him glaring ahead. "I'll get you some new glasses when we get to Utopia City."
Xaramesi gently leaned Phoenix onto her knees. "What are you doing…?" he tiredly asked.
"Rather my knees than lying on metal, right?"
He closed his eyes. "Whatever… Almos… until I wake up, listen to her. Got it?" Once he gave his command, Almos's eyes gleamed for a second and Phoenix fell asleep. Xaramesi slowly ruffled his hair.
She giggled to herself. "Hehe, sleep well, Phoenix."
Both Maia and Zavanna eyed the scene and the Gundalian had jabbed Zavanna's shoulder. "Heh, you really think those two…?"
"I don't think so… I don't see Phoenix as the caring type."
Maia closed her eyes and lay down on her back. "Eh, crazier stuff has happened. So, this is a shot in the dark, but do you know someone named Garfield?"
"Well yes, he's one of my friends! Why do you ask?"
Maia smiled to herself and stared at the sky. "No reason…"
Boreanta led them and they could see the dark blue sun rising over the horizon. "Whoa… look at that, everyone," he called their attention to the sunrise.
"It's nice I guess," Maia said.
"You guess?" Zavanna said. "Fabrega has one of the best sunrises and sunsets in the universe. Not even the ones on Earth come close." she shrugged a shoulder.
Xaramesi on the other hand was completely entranced by the sunrise as the blue light reflected in her eyes. "Look at that, made it to another beautiful sunrise." she looked down and saw how Phoenix was sound asleep. "Really wish you could be awake to see this."
"We're not far!" Zavanna revealed as they could see a mass of land approaching. 'Finally, we can finally take another step to reviving Draconoid… and hopefully fast.'
