The Bakugan Battle Brawlers in:
Paradigm Shift - Part 1
As the azure sun of Fabrega was slowly rising, Andreas and his allies were awake. They all looked to be packing up their equipment for their next plan in their journey. Rogue was walking around the camp. "Hurry guys, get to the food tent and eat up! We've got another long day ahead of us."
Andreas had a map in front of him with Vesta next to him. "We need to get to the nearest city in order to re-supply. We can't ration the emergency prison food for much longer." He pointed to a circle on the map. "Unfortunately the next city from here is at best a two-day walk if we don't stop. We don't have enough food and water to last that long."
They both heard whimpering near them and they saw the Fabregan Technician they kidnapped, cowering near them. "What's your deal?" Vesta asked.
"They were all growling at me…" he said with a shiver. "I thought they were going to rip me apart."
Andreas rolled his eyes. "Look at the 'superior Fabregan' cowering in front of the 'savage Alursians'. Just stay put so I don't have to watch you all the time." Andreas thought for a while. "We still need a fast way to get to the nearest city. And I think I have a plan?"
"You do!?" Solaria exclaimed. "Tell us! Tell us! Tell us!" she begged like a small child.
"Word of the facility being destroyed would have spread to the higher-ups. They are likely to send an investigation crew to the destroyed base. The Rouge Bakugan have split off so it will be safe for them to investigate."
"So what's the plan?" Vesta asked.
"They will likely come with a Royal Guard class transport, not a whole warship. That makes it easier for us." he looked at Vesta. "Are you in for the next operation?"
Vesta smirked. "Heh, glad you're not keeping me on the sidelines this time? What are we planning?"
"I've got an idea in mind, and for once, it might not get us killed." he walked over to the group as they were all around a fire pit that wasn't lit. "Rogue, Lola, Tammy. You guys in for the next plan?"
Lola got up and held her cup of hot water. "Two operations in a row, keep this up and I might be convinced you're starting to like me."
Andreas folded his arms. "Sure… you in or not?"
"Of course I'm in… no need to be annoying about it…"
Rogue had his arm around Tammy's shoulder. "Hah, you know I'm in, and I know your little girlfriend is in too."
"W-wha- Girlfriend!?" Tammy exclaimed with an embarrassed blush. "T-that's not!"
Rogue laughed. "I was kidding, little one. You're so adorable." Tammy folded her arms.
"That was not funny!"
"Great!" Andreas said before looking at their hostage. "Hey, pencil-neck!" he flinched and got up. "How long before you think an investigation party will take to get to the site?"
"Well, they would have been woken up last night to be informed. So they might be there within the next two hours."
"Got it, now… let's head out." he turned to Dwayne who was eating a bowl of porridge. "Dwayne, until we get back. You're in charge, keep everyone in line." the bat Alursian nodded with a smile and gave a salute.
Cheetra jumped on Lola's shoulder and opened. "So… what do you have in mind this time, Andreas?"
"Well I'll explain now, but I have a feeling you guys will like it." he moved to their hostage and lifted him to his feet.
"Whoa… wait!"
"You're coming with us!"
"N-not again!? Why?" he cried.
"You're our bargaining chip… just in case this plan goes wrong for some reason. Now be a good hostage and come with us!"
"I should have taken my day off when I had the chance… I saved up a lot too."
"Quit bellyaching!" Lola said glaring at him, which made him cower again as he covered himself up in a fetal position.
Andreas folded his arms before he let out a sigh. "I wonder how long before our luck inevitably runs out."
Tammy skipped next to him. "So, how are you feeling today?"
"I'm wondering how I pissed of Kishu to end up in this situation…"
"Aw c'mon. You got us this far! I'm sure if we see your fiancee again! We'll show her just how wrong she was about you!"
"Somehow, I doubt that will happen, and even if we do meet again, I don't plan to talk with her. She has her thoughts on me and I have to accept them. Zavanna is part of my past, and I just have to move on from it."
"I glad to hear you say that. So, um… what do you plan to do in your future…? Since that girl is part of your past and all…"
"Who knows… and that's assuming I somehow get out of this alive-"
"And you will!" she interrupted.
"Well, I'll just go with what happens afterward. Not looking to do anything in particular."
"Aw, I'm sure it will come to you!"
"You're quite chipper for someone who's in... as she described: 'a small army or something'," he said using air quotes.
"Hey, unlike you. I don't need a reason to be happy!"
"Ok… let's move already 'Happy girl'," he said with a small smile appearing on his lips.
"Is that my nickname? Cause I like it!"
"In that case… I won't call you that from now on."
"Jeez!" Tammy folded her arms. "You're just not fun are you?"
"Sorry to disappoint."
As the two of them led, Lola glanced at Rogue for a second after she eyed their interaction. "So… you think they will… you know."
He chuckled. "Hard to say… Andreas might think he's made of stone, but Tammy's definitely chipping away at him. He definitely said to me that he didn't want to entertain the idea of them being an item." Rogue chuckled when he saw Andreas messing up Tammy's short hair and she threatened to claw him in protest. "But she's definitely growing on him."
As sunlight hit Utopia City, smoke was still rising from the put of fires. In one of the waiting areas where many of the people were waiting to meet with their families, hoping to find them. Near one of the broken-down walls, Cera was asleep with her back leaning on the wall. Lunaris was sitting close to her, keeping watch in her real form.
A pair of footsteps approached her. "Yes, that's her!" Lunaris looked down to see the red-haired Fabregan girl from before, leading two adults that stood beside her. Cera slowly opened her eyes after a groan and saw the three figures in front of her.
Cera heard the voices and groaned to herself before she slowly opened her eyes."Excuse me, are you the girl who rescued our daughter?" the father asked.
Cera got up to her feet and recognized the girl that she flew out of one of the buildings she and Lunaris went to. "Yes…" she answered while rubbing her eyes.
"We are incredibly grateful! We went to the store for a few minutes to an hour. We were so scared when the city was falling apart. We were horrified when our home was nothing but rubble. But we found out a butterfly Reversion girl and her Bakugan got everyone out of the building."
"Then we found our little girl here." her mother said. "We are eternally grateful."
Cera bowed respectfully. "I was only doing my part to assist everyone I can. My only regret is that I wish I could have done more." she saw the little girl holding her hand.
"Thanks for saving me!" she flashed a cheeky smile. "You're amazing!"
The girl smiled in response. Cera eyed the family and she remembered an old picture of her own family before the house fire changed her life. "Please keep yourselves safe."
The parents nodded while Cera looked up at Lunaris. "I think we should check on Akira." Lunaris complied and lifted Cera with her hand.
"I'll get us there quickly." As Lunaris hovered into the sky, she could see what looked like a small army of Bakugan approaching the city. She leered forward and noticed that Radion and Hanami led them. "They are finally here! We should get closer to them!" Lunaris flew close to them and after they got close near the entrance of the city. They both met in the middle.
"Cera!" Radion exclaimed.
"You're ok!" Aisha exclaimed while Bearth stood near the entrance.
"Whoa…" Garfield breathed. "What happened here?" he asked with a worried tone after seeing the sorry state that Utopia City was in.
"I'll catch you all up, but we should probably get around by ourselves. The city was torn apart by a Bakugan battle." Cera briefly explained.
Akane looked at the others around her. "You heard the lady."
…
After their Bakugan retreated to their ball forms, the large group was inside the city. "What could have done all this?" Alice inquired.
"The battle we had, tore the city apart. Daro's Cybertross and Heros's Bakugan - Mortar were the most destructive."
"So… this is how powerful one of the High Council's Bakugan are?" Jazz muttered.
Cameron looked around and his mind quickly went to the previous events as to how Akira didn't want him to come with when he was offered. "So where's Akira? Is she ok?"
"She's in the hospital," Radion answered.
Cera had a worried expression on her face. "We should approach her gently. She's not in a good place right now."
Zaria had an idea. "Right, she looked at Cameron, Garfield, Aisha, Jayden, and Alice. You guys should go see your friend. The rest of us will find Bones and see what we can do from here."
"A-and me?" Jax asked as he was pulled to Zaria. "You're sticking with us, kid." he was pulled towards her and there were blushes on his face. "We'll meet later." she looked to Akane. "You should go see your sister." Akane silently nodded while she held the solid shape in her hands that was wrapped in fabric. "What's that?"
"It's something that was given to me a while ago… "
"Well good luck…" she said as she put her hand on her shoulder.
"Wait!" Jazz ran over to them. "If you get a chance, give this to her doctors." he dug into his large backpack and he handed what looked like an orange and green device with a green-tipped nozzle and a hand trigger on the side.
"Hold on? This is a Wound Kit? I thought only Fabregan Elite hospitals had this."
"They do… I replicated it after I stole a blueprint for it," he admitted with a blush. He was rubbed on his head making his raccoon tail wagged slightly.
"Heh, you're a good kid." Akane looked to the Neo brawlers and Alice. "Well guys, let's go."
They all followed her to the hospital, and while Zaria led the others to look for Bones, Sakuya's ears ruffled slightly. "Eh, something up, Sakuya?" the wolf-girl shook her head.
'I thought I felt something… something familiar…'
'This something I should be worried about?'
Sakuya shook her head again after hearing Reiko's question. 'No… I don't think so. It's probably nothing.'
…
The large group entered the Hospital and Cera led them to the front desk. "We're here to visit Akira."
The woman looked at her with a pitiable expression. "I'm sorry, but since we are at over-capacity… we have to limit the number of visitors to three."
"What about Bakugan?" Radion asked.
"They can still visit, only in their ball forms, obviously."
Akane looked to the group. "Well, who's coming with me?" Akane asked.
"I'm worried about her, I'd at least like to see if she's doing better," Cera said.
After Akane's question… Cameron looked forward with a serious expression. "I'd like to come with you too."
"I'll hold down the fort here," Aisha said as she gestured to Alice, Jayden, and Garfield. They watched as the three walked over to the elevator to get to Cera's room.
They took a seat in the waiting room just so they could give the others time with Akira. "I hope she's alright," Garfield said.
Aisha forced a smile. "I'm sure she's going to be alright. Akira is strong, she usually pulls through in the end."
"But… Radion seemed very worried." Alice remembered. "I hope you're right Aisha…"
Outside of the city, at the request of Zavanna. Metal Almos and Borenta landed on the beach. Xaramesi leaped off with Phoenix, asleep on her back. "Thanks, Boreanta. You can take a deserved break." the Bakugan shrunk to his ball form and landed on her shoulder.
"Thanks, Xaramesi… you don't mind if I sleep for a bit?"
"You deserve it…" he closed his form and leaped into Xaramesi's pocket. She turned to Metal Almos. "You too, Almos… you were more than awesome today." the metal bird tilted its head in slight confusion. "Has… Phoenix, never complimented you before?" the bird made let out a screech as there were green electric bolts all over his body. Xaramesi then noticed the dings and scratches with some of his metal parts falling off, revealing some of his internal components. "We gotta find a mechanic for you buddy!" Almos turned to his ball form and landed on her left palm.
Zavanna looked at them, and Maia who was sitting in the sand. "First thing's first, we need to find Bones."
"Bones?" Xaramesi inquired. "He's here! Oh wow… how long has it been since I've seen him?" she asked while she had a nervous smile. "Yeah, he'd be the best person to trust right now."
"Ugh…" Phoenix groaned.
"Time to get up Phoenix~!" Xaramesi sang and she gently lay him down on the sand. But she grew scared when he looked like he was running a fever. She unwrapped her scarf from his arm, The wounds hadn't fully closed upon his arm. "We need to get him to a hospital!"
"I know where it is!" Zavanna said, given how much time she spent in the city. When she looked at how damaged the city was, her chest filled with sorrow. 'If we never came here… This city wouldn't be…'
"Hey!" Xaramesi got her attention. "The hospital?!"
"Right!" she turned to Maia who was staring at Liaru's open ball form as he rested on her pointing finger. "Are you coming?"
She shrugged and stood. "Yeah sure… I'm stuck with you guys for the time being, might as well."
Phoenix groaned as he was on Xaramesi's back again. "Don't worry, you're going to be fine!" she turned to Zavanna who stood next to her. "So… lead the way?"
"Ok."
Elsewhere on Fabrega, Yurina had gotten up from her short sleep and her hair was messy and pointing in different directions. "Ugh…" she groaned.
"Yurina." she heard as her partner called out to her from the vanity dresser. When she saw Kyubis leaping to her, she smiled. "Did you sleep ok?"
"Nope!" she said with a cheery expression. "But I've got to roll with the punches, right?" she looked at Kyubis. "I should apologize for last night. I battled poorly, huh?"
"We are partners, Yurina. We succeed together and fail together. So if there is any blame to be had. It should be on both of us."
"That or…" she thought about how hard both Phoenix and Maia fought. "They just had better resolve I guess. Perhaps I haven't been fighting hard enough." she stood up and stretched. "That's just reason for me to up my game." After getting up, Kyubis leaped onto her exposed shoulder.
"Perhaps we haven't tapped into our real power," Kyubis suggested.
Yurina suddenly felt cold, but after her chilling thought, she had something else cooking in her head. "You're right… we haven't..." she replied. "But accessing that power isn't really easy. And you really need a certain type of an opponent to really push your power into that territory. No disrespect to Phoenix and Maia… and although they beat me… they aren't the type of opponents that can push me to that point… But there is someone who can. But it's risky… there was only one pairing that I know of that could use that power… and luckily for all of us, those two are buried six feet underground where they can't hurt anyone."
"So can it be performed by only a Reversion User?"
"Theoretically, no… any brawler can reach that level… but that's the thing. Most people don't. My mother even tried reaching that level with you." she placed Kyubis on the dresser as she walked to her back room to change her clothes.
"Did Ran-Seki ever succeed?"
"Ha, are you kidding!? My mom wouldn't have the fortitude to push herself that far. She already thought of herself as powerful as a god. Plus if she did, I don't think we'd be here having this conversation right now." She came back out in her usual robe
"I see… so what now?"
They both heard a knock on the door, and they saw Queen Rena opening the door with a tray of what looked like cereal and a plate of sausage and egg. "I hope you slept well, Yurina."
"Aww thanks, Queenie!" she sat down on her bed and ate from the tray. "So how's hubby doing?"
"Not happy. You should have seen his face when he heard about the Badlands Facility being destroyed."
"Whoa, that happened!? I thought that was just a wild rumor! Oh wow… do we know who did that?"
"If the rumors are to be trusted, it was Andreas and a couple of Alursians."
"And the surprises keep coming. First Zavanna, Xaramesi, Phoenix, and now Andreas. Something has to give…"
The queen smiled. "Well, you'll be meeting the king later today. I hope you've got a plan."
The Fox woman smiled. "Don't you worry! I've got a plan… Until then…." she looked down at her food. "I've got some food to wolf down." she started to eat the food in front of her and Rena smiled cutely.
Still, in Utopia City, Akira was in bed and she was watching what looked like a news report that was showing all the chaos that went down the day before, Utopia City, The Badlands, and in Vestige City. They mentioned that the King was going to address the people later in the day.
Akira heard the door open and coming inside first was her sister followed by Cera and then Cameron. "Akane? You guys?" she saw Radion speeding to her.
"You're OK!" she exclaimed.
"I guess I am… I'm still in a lot of pain though." Cameron hung back by the door, he had no idea what to say in the situation. Cera hung back next to him.
"You doing alright?" Cera asked.
"I don't know… At first, I was excited about coming here. I mean I was confident we could stop the Fabregans and come back home. I thought of this as an adventure at first, but I took it as seriously as I could."
"And now…"
"Cera… I think I'm in too deep." He saw her open the door, she tilted her head to Akira and Akane, hinting that she wanted to give them some privacy. He took the hint and he followed her outside.
The second the door was closed on the outside, a swift hand was swung across Cameron's face and Cera gave him a furious glare.
"Ow! What was that for!?"
She put her hands on her hips. "I honestly don't know what those two see in you! 'In too deep'? Did you think we're on vacation or something!?"
"No! I just never thought it would get this bad…"
"Well, you better sharpen up! Cause real people are suffering out there!" she pointed out the window down the hall which gave the view of the ruined city. "Suffering that we might have prevented if we were strong enough!"
"W-well… I mean…"
"You're one of Draconoid's chosen. This is no time for you to feel out of your depth!"
"I just… I don't know what to do, Cera. All I know is how to battle… that's about all I'm good at now. I'm no good at that all that other stuff, like being a leader and bringing others together. And looking at 'the big picture'."
"Just forget about it!" Cera said. "As our team as is, we don't really need a leader right now. Just do you and think about what's going on! We have to save a planet from dying, as well as fighting against powerful battlers that might just kill us if they have the chance." Cera said laying down the reality of their situation. "You may not have realized it by now, but Akira and Zavanna are driven by your strength. Whether you like it or not, that's a responsibility you hold on your shoulders right now. If you crack, one of them can pick you up. If they crack, they can pick you up. But if you're both cracked, then you're both doomed!" she exclaimed. Cameron looked down, he thought about everything she said. "Akira needs you right now! I saw her yesterday, she barely had any life in her eyes yesterday."
"Ok…" he said in a slight whisper.
"Good, now when Akane's done. You're going to head back in there and cheer the hell out of her! And don't worry about Zavanna. We'll all get her back."
"Right, thanks, Cera."
She put her hands on her hips and smiled triumphantly. "Heh, it's nice to be appreciated for once!"
…
Inside, Akane saw next to Akira. "Hey sis I got something for you. Well, two things." she had the Wound Kit in her hand. "Show me your cut."
"Akane?"
"Do you trust me?"
Akira didn't answer as she shuffled herself in the covers and lifted her gown to reveal her stomach wound. Akane placed the end of the Wound Kit on Akira's stomach, near her cut. She pulled the hand trigger and there was a needle that plunged itself into her bloodstream. Akira winced in pain and tightly held the sheets. The pain subsided and Akane lifted the kit from her little sister's stomach. "Ow… what was that?!"
"Something to speed up the healing process. That's something that only the high-class Fabregans have, you should feel special." she giggled for a second. "Jazz made it."
"Huh, your quote inventor," Akira said. "I'll be sure to thank him when I get the chance."
"How are you feeling?"
"Just not good, all things considered… I nearly lost Radion, and I got myself hurt in the process. I could have been worse, and I realize that… Maybe I'm not strong enough."
"Yes, you are!" Akane exclaimed. "It just hasn't really clicked the kind of enemy you're dealing with. Which is why I brought you this." she handed the weighted fabric she was holding and gave it to Akira. "Go on… open it!"
Akira started to unwrap it and her eyes grew as she could see what was a long, lightweight thin blade that looked to be a shiny green color, she could see her own reflection in it. "Akane… where did you get this?"
Hanami leaped upon Akane's shoulder. It was a blade long used by my old partner, she had long since passed and buried it. I figured that Akane would be the person I could pass it down to."
"Buuuuut swords aren't really my style." Akane said.
"Do not worry," Hanami said. "If you're hesitant on how to use it, I can teach you the basics."
Akane sternly looked at her. "This isn't me giving you an invitation to hack and slash at anyone who pisses you off. But this is something you should use to protect yourself."
Akira held the blade on its hilt and she could feel how lightweight it was for her. Almost as if it was made for her. "I don't know what to say."
"Just promise me you won't charge in like that again without thinking."
"Then I'm going to need some practice."
Hanami leaped onto the covers. "As I said, I'll teach you as much as I can."
"Thanks."
The door slightly opened and Cameron peeked his head inside. "Are you all done in here?"
Akane stood up and patted her younger sister on the shoulder. "Well, I'm going to head out. You get better soon, sis." once she left the room, Cameron hung by the other end of the room. Still not knowing what to say.
"Are you going to stand there all day?" Akira asked.
"O-oh right…" he got closer to the bed and sat down closer to it. "So… is the wound ok?"
"I don't know, give me a day and I'll let you know. So why don't you just say what you really want to?"
"H-huh? I don't get it!"
"That I stupidly put myself in danger, and it was my fault that Zavanna got captured. Go on… might as well get it over with."
"W-wait… I wasn't going to say that!" he exclaimed. "I'm sure you did the best you could in the circumstances."
"You like to beat around the bush don't you? Then again look who's talking…" muttering the second part of that to herself. "Why don't you just tell me how you really feel!"
"You want to know?" she saw his fists tighten as he was sat on the stool. Akira was about to reach out and touch his hand for support but thought better of it. "I'm angry, ok!" he lightly hissed as he turned away.
Akira turned away as well. "I'm sorry, I guess I should have done better."
"No! Not at you… at myself!" Akira gasped and took a look at Cameron to see his entire body shivering. "I never took the situation seriously enough… I took this as some vacation and now when awful things happen… I have no idea what to do, say, or how to react."
"What does your gut say?" Akira asked.
"My gut says that I should be angry at that Daro guy! But… maybe if I came along… then this never would have happened."
Akira found herself sinking into her bed. "Then that's my fault. I was so insistent on going alone because of my stupid feelings… But then I let Cera talk me into letting her come."
"But still… I should have stuck up for myself in front of you!" he argued. "And I didn't! How can I be strong when I can't even stick up for myself when it matters?" He then palmed himself on the head. "Idiot, and here I am supposed to be cheering you up," he said. "I'm just useless aren't I?"
And for the second time, Cameron felt a hard palm going across his face, this time on his right side. "Ow!" he cried. "What is with you girls today!?"
"Snap out of it!" she exclaimed. "You're spiraling and I'm not going to let that happen. You're going to say that you got this far just on dumb luck, or on Blazeon's strength alone? Last time I checked, it takes a special kind of someone to utilize Reversion, or am I wrong." she saw Cameron rubbing his cheek. "None of us would have gotten where we are if we didn't have the strength. And if you really are useless as you say, then why would Zavanna like you so much? She may be naive at times but she's not an idiot. She sees something in you, something that you aren't aware of, apparently."
"Akira…" Cameron breathed.
Akira folded her arms. "You have your faults, but so do the rest of us. I could point out all your good qualities, but if you don't believe them deep down. Then it will go in one ear and out the other."
"I… um… I guess I have some thinking to do, huh?" he then looked at Akira who sat on her bed while her arms were folded. "You know… you shouldn't be so hard on yourself either," he said which got her attention. "If it helps, I think you should remember we're allowed to make mistakes, even you."
Akira gazed at the sword that Akane gave her. "Yeah… and that's not a mistake I'll never make again." she then looked into his teal eyes. "Promise me something." Cameron looked down at her, giving her his full attention. "Promise me that you'll value yourself, as much as you value others. You matter too, you know. You forget that sometimes." she gave a genuine smile to him. "And if you forget again, I'll slap some sense into you again!" her smiled morphed into a serious frown while her eyebrows slanted downwards.
"R-right…" Cameron nervously mouthed. Akira giggled at his apparent fear. "Well, I'm going to go, alright."
He put his hand on the door. "Hey…" he turned back to Akira. "Remember what I said, ok. Don't forget to love yourself, got it."
He opened the door and smiled before he left Akira behind. The girl exhaled and saw Radion staring at her while she sat on the sheets in front of her. "Glad to see you're back to your former self," Radion said. "So does this mean you're back to battling?"
Akira gave a nod as a reply. "As soon as I am allowed to be out of here." she then picked up Radion with both her hands after putting the sword under her hospital bed. "Radion, from here on out. I promise the only one who will lay their hands on you will be me."
"Aww~ thanks," Radion replied. "But you shouldn't pressure yourself like that. I don't want to see you break down again. We both have to protect each other, that comes first above all else."
Akira laid back in her bed. "Sorry, Radion. I'm just emotionally exhausted."
"Well, luckily. I'm here to bring your spirits up!" Radion danced on her covers earning a giggle from Akira. "Haha, I got a laugh out of you!"
"Where would I be without you?" she said.
"Luckily… we don't have to know the answer to that! But you should get some rest, ok."
She closed her eyes and fell back onto her pillow. "Yeah… I think I'll do that…" she began to rest and the stresses that overwhelmed her were slowly melting away.
Still down in the lobby, Aisha, Garfield, Jayden, and Alice were waiting for Akane, Cameron, and Cera to return. "I really hope that Akira is alright," Aisha said.
"Same here," Garfield said. "We'll just have to wait for Akane and Cameron and see what they say about her."
Jayden rested on the chair and cross his legs. "We'll find out soon."
The doors of the hospital were thrown open and they all saw a figure with a leopard tail rushing in with someone on her back.
"Hey! Can you help my friend!?" she exclaimed to the woman at the reception desk. The girl was panting to herself.
"U-um…?" she could see the scars on his body and she pressed a button that was calling a stretcher down to the ground floor. "I've called someone to pick him up, but we are at capacity, so we can't have you visit for a couple of hours."
"What?!"
"But… don't worry, we'll give him the attention he needs."
"T-thanks," she said.
Garfield tapped Aisha's shoulder. "I remember that guy!" she said looking at Phoenix while he was being dragged away on a stretcher. He remembered the moment when both he and Isolde defeated him and Hikari. He shot an angry glare at him.
"And isn't that the Xara girl that is part of the stronger Fabregans?" they both noticed Jayden had disappeared from her seat. "Where'd Jayden-"
Xaramesi was quickly filling in the paperwork for Phoenix, as she handed the clipboard back to the receptionist, and she just noticed Jayden leaning on the counter while giving a flirty gaze at her. "O-oh… hi there." she greeted.
"Hey~, so... what brings you here?"
"Um… just helping my friend… who are you?"
Jayden winked at her. "I can be anything you w-" He was smacked in the back of his head by Aisha. "Ow, c'mon Aisha. You jealous or something?"
"You do remember who she is, right!?"
"Not really, but…"
Garfield approached them. "Why are you helping him?" he hotly asked, glaring at Xaramesi.
"Because he's my friend, that's why," Xaramesi replied. "Who are you guys?"
The hospital doors opened and Zavanna walked in while she was panting. She tiredly placed her hand on the frame. "You left me… behind…"
"Zavanna…!?" Jayden and Aisha gasped.
"Jayden, Aisha, Garfield!" she called out.
Xaramesi perked up. "Are you her friends?!"
"Yeah," Garfield replied. "B-but how did you get here? We thought you were kidnapped."
"That was true… but Xaramesi and Phoenix saved me… And they brought me here."
Aisha's eyes turned to black dots while Jayden has his arms folded and looked to be in deep thought. "Um… could you maybe explain further?" Aisha asked.
"Hey!" they all looked to the door and Garfield's pupils shrunk as soon as he saw the person. "Thanks for leaving me by the way." he could only wordlessly stare at the girl he thought he had lost more than two months ago. "Oh… you're that kid," she said after seeing his face.
"H-Hikari?"
"Yep… you're definitely him," she said flattening her eyebrows.
Bearth stood on the counter. "Zavanna, mind catching us up?"
Aquafibian landed on the counter next to him. "Yeah, I'd like an explanation too."
Zavanna nodded. "I'll try to explain as best as I can."
In the Royal Capital - Valhalla City, a ship had docked with a large building. The side doors opened to reveal Yurina leaving the ship while passing guards that straightened their stances as soon as she passed. The bridge they all stood on connected the ship to the royal complex as they stood over the white clouds below.
She entered the complex and was passing through a purple hall with gold pillars and accent colors. Yurina passed through these halls plenty of times in the past, but she never was summoned to meet the king alone. With her being the leader of the High Council, she could operate independently and not report to anyone. However, it seemed this time would be different.
As she turned the corners towards the large doors, she looked very composed and professional as her mask covered her face. As if she had no fear at all. She pushed open the double doors, when they swung open they made a loud clang. She looked up at the two thrones which had the king and queen sitting next to each other. The thrones were on top of a flight of small stairs that were covered by purple royal carpeting.
As Yurina stopped by the stairs, instead of bowing she simply looked up from behind her mask and said. "What seems to be troubling you?"
An angered growl escaped the King's lips as he didn't get the bow he was expecting from her. "You have a lot of nerve, Yurina. Have you forgotten who's palace you're standing in?"
"Oh." she bowed and placed her arm over her knee. "Right… your great grandfather's palace that you inherited from your father, who inherited from his father and so on and so on. But I forgot to show my respect." the king growled further while his wife giggled beside him.
"Do you know why I called you here today?"
Yurina stood up. "If you're going to treat me like a child that is in trouble, then I am going to leave. I have important matters to get to."
He angrily got up from his throne. "YOU WATCH YOUR TONE!"
Yurina took a deep breath. "Right… so why did you call me here?"
"Yesterday was extremely chaotic. You let Draconoid's new proxy escape, you humiliatingly lost, not to mention you let Phoenix pressure you. On top of everything, our research facility in Vestige City suffered huge damage because of you."
"Yeah, and I expect to be billed with that any day now. I assume this ends with you making an eventual point?" Yurina said, trying to hurry the King up.
"All of this was on your watch!"
"Hmm, interesting…"
"Huh?"
"It seems while everything was falling apart, you just sat back in your ivory tower, just sleeping away. Where was I? I was awake, doing my job. Aurea was up all night doing her regular duties. I don't even think that woman hasn't had a good night's sleep in forever."
"What are you getting at?"
"A real leader doesn't sit back and just watch from the sidelines, a real leader takes initiative! Which is something you never do. In fact, I don't think I've seen you lift a damn finger the whole time. All you do is get mad and expect people to follow your orders. You're only King because you inherited it! You didn't earn nothing, not like I did."
"Know your place you damn ani-" he stopped short of finishing his sentence.
"Ohoho! You called me… a fellow Fabregan, an animal? Now why would you say something like that?" she started to slowly walk up the stairs. "Unless… you know something I don't?"
"GUARDS!" there were three guards that put themselves in between Yurina and her path to the king. "I've given you too much freedom as leader of the High Council, it's time you went back on the leash."
Yurina slowly raised her hand. "Heh, now I finally understand."
"What are you talking about?"
She raised her face to her mask. "I understand why my mother hated your guts!" she threw it off and as soon as she did, her foxy features re-appeared. Her three tails whipped the air and her fox ears appeared on her head.
"GET HER!"
The three guards charged to her and Yurina grabbed one of their spears and palmed the guard back to the other two that were charging. Only one of them kept their balance as he charged down the stairs to get her. She quickly twirled around him and elbowed the back of his neck, making him tumble down the stairs. She held the bladed spear and broke the wooden grip over her knee before tossing it aside.
Before she could progress there were more guards, but they were armored and were aiming their laser rifles at her. "STAND. DOWN." the king demanded.
"Why? So you can put me back in a pod and try to re-write my memories again? Not going to happen. I still retain my memories… unfortunately, the same can't be said for someone else, and she is just as pissed as I am." She cupped her hands over her mouth. "Oh Kyubis, dear!"
There was an explosion of white fire that blew through the windows of the throne room. The armored guards staggered back from the flames while Kyubis leaped in through one of the shattered windows, her impact with the ground made the entire palace shake. Kyubis glared at the guards who were aiming their rifles at her.
"You planned for this!?"
Yurina smirked. "Maybe… but this doesn't have to end like this."
"What are you proposing?"
"Simple!" she pointed at the king. "We have a battle, the winner gets to become the new King of Fabrega." the King clenched his fist. "How about I sweeten the deal for you? I won't use my Reversion Form and no Reversion abilities! How does that sound?"
"Heh, you can use all the Reversion Abilities you like, even that Reversion Form of yours. I want no excuses to come out of your mouth when I beat you." A smirk appeared on his lips. "So what happens to the loser?"
"Well… I was thinking the loser gets ejected out into the cold, vacuum of space… but that's maybe a bit too far. We could also fight for the hand of your beautiful wife over there."
Rena blushed and became incredibly bashful while she fanned herself. "Oh my…"
Her ears perked up. "Got it, the loser will be exiled from Fabrega! The loser must leave this planet/dimension and never return!"
"You're going to regret this, Yurina."
"Whatever you say. And let's sweeten this deal even further!" he pointed at him. "Let's televise the heck out of this! King Oeruaqx versus Yurina Ravenwind, a battle for the ages, the winner leads Fabrega, the loser leaves and is never to be seen again!"
"Ordinarily I would object to this, but taming you on the battlefield, in front of a live audience doesn't seem like a bad idea. We battle at noon! On the Royal Palace battlegrounds!"
"You're on!"
"Now until then! Get out of my sight!"
Yurina bowed and she hopped on Kyubis. "See you at noon~!" Kyubis leaped through the broken windows and out into the sky. The Fox Bakugan landed on one of the lower buildings of Valhalla City.
"Yurina… are you sure this was a good idea. The King seemed very confident in his chances." Kyubis said.
"You're definitely right about that. But I'm banking on something, something that if I can't do, then I'll never be powerful enough to achieve my ultimate goal: Leading a united society while culling the unsavory people." she pointed down to many of the Fabregans that were walking the streets. "Look down there. Those people are blind to everything, they prefer to just cover their ears and shout 'lalalala' into the wind." she glared at them. "When Alursians are being mistreated it is these people that remain silent, and some of them even benefit. These people, the high-class Fabregans are arguably the worst of the bunch, and will be the first to be removed when I'm in charge!"
"I understand how you feel, Yurina," Kyubis said. "But if I may ask. Why have the battle televised?"
"To shock the system! If I win, I want those in the wrong to be scared of what's coming. I want to drive up hope for those that were suffering. If I win, I want the whole world to see the paradigm shift that will take place." she slowly rubbed Kyubis's white fur. "I can rely on you to be there for me, yes?"
"Of course! In victory or defeat, I shall always be with you!"
"Loyal till the end, that's a quality you hardly find in anyone these days. Well, I believe we have some preparation to do."
"Like what?"
"Trust me, I think you'll like it. But first." She eyed her robe. "Hmm… I've got some ideas…" she tapped the side of Kyubis and she began leaping from building to building.
At the Utopia City hospital, Zavanna and Xaramesi had explained their situation to everyone else in the room.
"Whoa… awesome. So you're like a rebel now, aren't you?" Jayden asked, smirking at Xaramesi.
Xaramesi giggled. "Well, maybe, I think…"
"Man, I never figured someone from the High Council to be extremely kind," Aisha said complimenting the half Fabregan.
"Not everyone in the High Council is the same, I can personally attest to that. Just like how every Fabregan isn't out to destroy everyone that isn't them." she stood up. So now that everyone is here! Let's round up your friends and get this ritual started!" Xaramesi exclaimed.
"Well, they aren't all here," Aisha said. "Akira still has to recover after getting hurt pretty bad."
"What about that Maia girl and Garfield? What's up with them?" Jayden asked.
Xaramesi shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine." they could see the both of them chatting outside.
Aisha thought for a moment. "Garfield was really hung up about her. I think they both have some chatting to do."
Jayden suddenly slid next to Xaramesi. "Speaking of chatting, maybe we should get to know each other."
Xaramesi put on a smile. "Um sure, but hehe." she gently punched Jayden on the shoulder. "I'm not looking for anyone right now."
"Hey, who said I'm out for doing that?"
"It's pretty obvious…" Aisha said as she folded her arms.
…
Outside, Maia and Garfield were chatting, and Maia was catching up with Garfield about what happened with her meeting Venus.
"You had a vision from Venus too?"
Maia had her arms folded. "Yeah, that's right. Don't get it twisted, I'm only here to get my memories back. Those people kept my past hidden from me, and apparently, you're the only one that can help me."
Garfield awkwardly looked away. "R-right… time so… want me to try?"
"You mean you don't exactly know how!? How do I know you won't screw up my head or something?!"
"I don't think my powers work that way. I did use it on myself to recover memories of someone else… Look, just trust me ok."
Maia blew a breath in front of her. "And you?" she gazed to Aquafibian. "What say you?"
"Trust me, Garfield only has up your best interests at heart," he replied after opening his ball form.
"I'll choose to trust you." she said… "So how are we going to do this?"
Garfield extended his hand. "Maybe it would be better if we didn't do this out in the open in the middle of the city."
"I'm not taking your hand."
"Fine…"
…
Inside the elevator, Cameron was in the elevator with Akane and Cera. "So… you gave Akira a sword?"
She chuckled. "Ahaha, yeah. Hanami gave it to me, and I figured it would fit better for her than with me."
"Are you trying to turn her into a ninja?" Blazeon asked.
"Hey! It would fit well!"
Cera chuckled. "She dresses like one, so I'd say she's halfway there."
Cameron leaned against the elevator. "I'm glad Akira seems to be doing better."
"What about you?"
"I think I'm alright. Just… not too confident in myself these days."
"We gotta get your mind back into shape?"
"With a battle?"
Cera let out a sigh. "You have a one-tracked mind, don't you?
"Eh… I think we're gonna have to go a lot deeper than that." Akane said.
"Perhaps you should try meditation."
"You think that would work?"
Akane gave a shrug. "We won't know unless we try." the elevator got to the bottom floor and the passengers were notified by an audible 'ding'. Once they got into the lobby, they were greeted by everyone but Cameron immediately stopped walking when he noticed Zavanna staring at him.
The two stared at each other for what felt like a long time as everything else around them didn't register.
"Zavanna…?"
"Cameron…"
After they mouthed off each other's names, they both sprinted to each other and in the lobby. The pair tightly embraced each other while the others eyed their interaction, but they didn't care. They were just incredibly happy to see each other again.
"I'm sorry!" Cameron cried. "I should have been there! I should have made sure that-"
"You're here now…" Zavanna replied. "You're here with me now, and that's all that matters. There is so much I want to say to you… So much I want you to know..."
Cameron let go of her and looked into her bright red eyes while still holding her hands. "Um… s-sure. What do you want to say…?"
"Hey, get a room you two!" Jayden exclaimed while chuckling, making Cameron and Zavanna turn away from each other with red faces. "Haha, ow!" Aisha roughly poked him in the ribs with her elbow.
"Jeez, they were having a moment, jerk!"
"Um… guys…" Akane directed their attention to the TV. "Something is going on. And I think we all will want to see it."
"Yes, we just confirmation." the dark blonde woman had said from behind her news desk. "Our Lord, King Oeruaqx will be accepting Yurina's challenge where the winner will be the new leader of Fabrega. The battle will be taking place at the Royal Stadium at Noon today." she brought all her notes together and put them together. "The battle will be available to watch on all channels, and will also be broadcast on audio channels where the battle can also be listened to."
Xaramesi stood up from her chair in shock. "No way… Yurina is seriously going for it!"
"What are you talking about?" Jayden asked.
"Ok… Yurina is trying to make a move to take over the leadership of Fabrega… and if she does… then, she's going to force her will onto everyone. Those that don't agree with her, she's going to make life difficult for them, or worst. That's what her 'United World.'"
"But isn't the king just as bad?" Cameron asked.
"He is…" Zavanna said. "But I'm unsure of Yurina. Public knowledge of her is low, the general public sees her as the powerful, masked leader of the High Council."
"So the King is sort of like that 'Devil you know' type guy," Jayden concluded.
"So? Isn't there anything we can do?" Alice asked.
"There is no way we'll get to the Royal Capital before the battle ends," Xaramesi said. "All we can do is watch and see how it ends."
"It doesn't make sense, why would someone who leads the strongest unit in the Fabregan army go against her king?" Cera questioned. "Something else is going on here."
…
On the beach, Garfield and Maia arrived there a couple of minutes ago. Garfield was sitting on the sand with his eyes closed and his legs crossed. Maia sat in front of him with a tilted head. "So… what now?"
"Um… we've got to hold hands…" he said with a flushed expression.
"Fine, just don't make a big-" she heard something on her gauntlet and it was the same news report that was being broadcast on all screens, but in audio form. "What's happening…?"
…
Bones as well as Shino, Zaria, Sakuya, Jazz, Cooper Liz, and Jax had seen the broadcast. As soon as the news broadcast ended. The black panther leered at the screen when it showed a picture of a masked Yurina standing next to Kyubis. 'What is your game… Yukiko…?'
In the Badlands, the heat haze could be seen on the ground. A wheel-less transport was hovering off the ground while kicking up dry dust. It quickly moved across the desert. Inside there were two pilots with two armed guards and a single detective that was dressed in a suit.
"We are approaching the facility sir." one of the pilots said.
"Right, Hopefully, we can get all the evidence we need from this." the detective said.
The vehicle was slowing down and as soon as the ship stopped as it's engined powered down. The investigator stepped out and was walking forward to the entrance of the destroyed site. When he took another step, the ground started to shake. And before long there was a Haos Bakugan that shot out from the ground almost right in front of the ruined entrance.
On top of the Sentinel Gleamroller was Andreas and Rogue as he looked down. "Hey guys, how are you doing?" the two guards turned their attention to Andreas.
"Hurry! Get him!" but before they could do anything a burst of dust knocked them off their feet. The dust burst stopped moving and revealed itself to be Cheetra.
Lola smirked as she sat on top of her partner while holding the kidnapped technician. "Nothing like knocking some Fabregan heads to put a smile on my face." Lola quipped.
The pilots had strapped themselves in. "We gotta get out of here!" they fired up the ship but a rolling Bakugan was steamrolling towards them. It uncurled, slid towards the ship, and held it in place from the front with his claws.
"You're not going anywhere!" Tammy yelled as she sat atop Arminx.
The investigator looked around to see Bakugan all over him. And when he looked up, he saw Solaria in the sky who was hovering down. "Well, Vesta?" Andreas asked.
"Nope, they've got no backup. They're all alone out here!" Vesta said.
"Which means bad news for you guys!" Solaria chimed.
Andreas climbed down off Gleamroller and he clenched his fists. "Good morning, detective." as he stepped forward, Tammy excitedly ran up to him.
"Did I do good? Did I?" she asked.
"Um… yeah you did. But I was kinda in the middle of something." She noticed that the detective was giving them a stare.
"Right… sorry."
"Y-your Andreas… you broke out of the prison. So this is where you've been? Wait… are you with that girl?"
"I could be… but that's none of your business. Now… before I was interrupted. We'll be taking your ship now."
Noon finally hit and standing on the battlefield of the Royal Palace was Queen Rena all by herself in the middle of the field with a microphone in hand. There were many floating cameras that were recording her, putting her face on every screen possible all over the planet. They were seeing her live. The fight was scheduled to take over all channels. And for others that didn't have a screen, they had to settle for listening to the battle with commentary over it.
Rena cleared her throat. "Ladies and Gentlemen, as you would have no doubt heard by now. Our Lord, King Oeruaqx will be taking on the leader of the High Council, Yurina Ravenwind. The Winner of this bout will have the distinct honor of leading Fabrega into the future. The loser will be exiled from the planet, to never be seen from again!"
The was even a full crowd of royal watchers that eyed the battle in the royal stadium. They all made were cheering so loudly because most of them would be seeing the king battle for the first time.
"And now… introducing the combatants!" the king was the first to enter the battlefield, he was dressed in what looked like gold armor that was covering his entire body. He wore what looked like a black cape with his family's crest printed on the back in gold. The crest had an image of the royal palace itself with two large hammers crossing it, and there was a lion on top of the palace. "First our glorious Lord and current leader - King Oeruaqx!" he walked to the field with his heavy armor and it was making an audible clang as he walked on the tiled floor of the battlefield. He folded his arms and waited for Yurina to show. "And second, she's the current leader of the High Council, some say she's cunning and witty while others are too scared to approach her. It's Yurina Ravenwind!"
Yurina slowly walked out from behind her red curtains, and she looked to be in a brand new outfit, gone was the robe that she usually wore, instead, she wore a black top that was cut off from her shoulders but still went up to her neck and had a diamond cut on her chest, revealing the valleys of her breasts. The top half was black while the bottom of her top was red and there was a dark red outline that served as the accent color for the top. Her tight shirt left her stomach uncovered, revealing her navel. Below that was a short white skirt with a long red loincloth going down the front and back in front of her skirt. There were white, tribal flame symbols printed on the front and back of the loincloth. Her feet were covered with sandals that wrapped around her entire foot but revealed her toes. She had a gold bangle below her left knee. Her arms were covered with long white, kimono sleeves that had orange flame symbols on them. Underneath that, she had gold sleeves that stopped at her middle finger and stretched to her elbow. Her vibrant, orange hair was tied in a large bun with a dark red bow holding it together. Her white and red fox mask covered her face and underneath it, she looked as composed as ever.
The floor underneath Rena cut away and she was hovering into the sky with the floor platform. "This battle will go on until a combatant's life gauge hits zero percent. As far as restrictions go, there are none, both battlers can use whatever is at their disposal to win! Though in the spirit of competition, I ask that you both try not to kill each other in the process."
Elsewhere, the rest of the High Council as well all remaining members of the Royal Guard were viewing the battle. "So… anyone has any idea as to why this is happening?" Darius asked as he had two beautiful women sitting beside him with his arms around them.
"Who invited them?" Daro asked, gesturing to the women.
"I did," he replied. "One of the perks of being in my position, you should try it sometime… oh wait, you can't cause no one likes your ugly mug."
Aurea eyed the battle curiously. "This isn't something that we can't take lightly, if the king loses… it could mean a whole new leadership and regime for Fabrega."
Leiya eyed the two combatants. "But Yurina is losing her touch, there is no way she loses to the king. I think this will be over quickly if you ask me."
"Not everything is as it seems, young one," Heros added. "Yurina wouldn't have made this challenge in the first place if she didn't think she had a chance."
"Still…" Maximus said. "I highly doubt the King will let himself lose to a cocky Yurina." he glared down at her. "I never liked her anyway. Hopefully, the King will put me back as the rightful leader of the High Council."
"No, he won't old man," Darius said as the women beside him giggled. "Everyone knows that Aurea is second in charge, then it would go to you. So unless you and Aurea have some beef to squash, then you're not going to lead any time soon. Hah!"
"Why you little-?"
"Enough!" Aurea exclaimed. "Something isn't right… for some reason, I can feel it!"
"Yes…" Servavi said. "I feel it too. But I can't put my finger on it."
"I suppose we will find that out eventually."
Andreas and his crew had taken control of the transport and while the detective, security, and pilots were restrained, they were all viewing the monitor in the transport which was showing the fight.
"So, Andreas… who's your money on?" Rogue asked.
The Fabregan shrugged. "It's just a grudge match between two of the top Fabregan battlers in the world, I'd want the king to lose, but I don't know if Yurina would be a better leader."
"Heh," Isolde laughed. "Well I for one like Yurina, she's pretty funny too. I think she'll make a great leader!"
Andreas had his arms folded. 'Why do I get the feeling something else is going on behind the scenes… it's so unsettling!'
At the same time, in the large community hall of Utopia City, a lot of the citizens gathered to watch the battle on the big screen. Bones stood next to Shino, while Zaria, Sakuya, Cooper, Liz, Jazz, and Jax were by themselves in a group.
"Well looks like there is some in-fighting among the Fabregans," Zaria commented. "Good for us right."
"Um... maybe..." Jax replied. "I don't know much about Fabregan politics."
"It's just two Fabregans, duking it out!" Liz said while folding her arms. "Why should we care?"
"C'mon Liz… it's still a chance to see a good battle." Marvellion said.
She turned her nose up into the air, ignoring Marvellion.
Bones meanwhile glared at the screen while his arms were folded. "Master… is something wrong?" Shino asked.
"Shino… I greatly fear the conclusion of this battle, I urge you to watch carefully."
"R-right!" she nervously bowed and looked at the screen.
The people were cheering as it looked like the battle was about to start. Queen Rena hovered close to the king. "So any final words for your opponent?"
"I don't have any words for those that think they can defy me! Let what happens to Yurina serve as a lesson to what happens to those who think they can betray me!"
Rena hovered up from the king. "Wow, some strong words from our lord… now what does his opponent have to say." She hovered over to Yurina. "Well, Yurina… do you have a rebuttal?"
She extended her hand for the microphone to be handed to her. "Queen Rena… if you please?"
"Oh of course." she gently handed the microphone over and Yurina had her other hand over her mask.
"Everyone… I have a confession to make." the cameras zoomed in closer to her face to get a better look at her as she talked. "I have not been honest with most of you. This mask I've been wearing is nothing but a facade to who I really am. Most of you know me as Yurina, and that is what I have chosen to call myself… but… the truth must be revealed. She lifted the mask off her face and her eyes remained closed. As soon as the mask hit the floor, she shattered it with her sandal. She opened her eyes to reveal her green foxy eyes which many gasped at. With a lack of eye-rings that only meant something was off. But soon there was a bright light surrounding her and her large fox ears appeared with orange puffs inside them. Her orange, white-tipped fox tails made their appearance as all three of them stretched out from her backside. There was a stunned silence from the crowd and even those all over the world were stunned.
Maximus's pupils were shaking. "I-Is Yurina… no, this has to be some sort of joke! I refuse to believe our leader is a filthy animal!"
Aurea's grip tightened on the metal rail. "So this is what I was afraid of… Yurina, what in Aeson's name have you been hiding this whole time!?"
"Whoa… am I the only one who thinks she's hot?" Darius got stern stares from the rest of his teammates. "What? Oh, come on! She's at least a nine!" the girls beside him both folded their arms. "Sorry ladies, but I gotta tell the truth."
"But why are we being led by an Alursian!?" Leiya asked. "How did this even happen!?"
Inside the Utopia City community center, there were many gasps of shock. Bones started to tense up slightly. 'So you've finally played your hand, Yurina…'
"Bones… did you know about this?" he nodded in reply. "But if she is one of us, then it will be good if she wins, right?"
"It is never that simple, Shino. Keep watching… I have a very bad feeling about this."
"Whoa! Yurina was a fox this whole time!?" Liz exclaimed with stars in her eyes. "This is great!"
"How do you figure, she's in the High Council?" Zaria asked.
"Yes… but if she wins, things will get better for us. An Alursian will be in charge! It will be great!"
Sakuya didn't look to share Liz's enthusiasm and neither did Cooper. "Something smells funny," Zaria said. "Why hide this? Why reveal it now?"
"WHO CARES!? Yurina's about to kick some royal ass!" Liz was punching the air. "THIS. IS. AWESOME!"
...
Back in the hospital, Xaramesi tensed up and Zavanna had her hands over her mouth in shock. "So, you've finally made your move…" Xaramesi said.
"This whole time! Yurina was an Alursian?" Zavanna asked.
"Well… that's good right. She's battling against the king, so she must be on our side, right?" Aisha said.
"Something tells me it won't be as simple as that."
"No…" Xaramesi said. "The world she wants is not a world that we should live in. And this is how she's going to make her vision a reality."
"S-should we be worried?" Cameron asked.
"I am…" Xaramesi said.
"Ok… so who are we rooting for then?" Jayden asked. "Personally, I'm behind the hot fox lady."
Akane looked hard at the screen. "If the King wins it's business as usual, but if Yurina wins… All bets are off, no one knows what's going to happen. At least that's what I'm getting from you, right Xaramesi?" The half Alursian nodded in reply "Well, all we can do is watch…"
Yurina remained standing on the ground with the microphone. "My name is Yukiko! I am the daughter of Ran-Seki!" there were fearful gasps coming from all over the stadium.
Maximus had dropped to his knees in defeat. "Yukiko… the king told me she was dead, she wasn't supposed to survive those injuries!"
"Looks like the king lied to you…" Aurea noted. "But… if she is the daughter of Ran-Seki… this might be a problem."
"A problem? No, it's apocalyptic!" Leiya exclaimed. "We can't possibly trust her now!"
"Ran-Seki…?" Shino breathed. "Bones… is she really…?"
"Yes… she isn't lying. I've known Yukiko for a long time. And that is definitely her."
"So… if she wins… what happens?"
"That's what I'm afraid of." Bones said with a worried tone.
On the other end of the community center, there was less worry from one person in particular.
"WHOA!" Liz excitedly exclaimed. "She's the daughter of the Ran-Seki! Now she has to win!"
"Liz… think about this!" Zaria said. "This could just be an over-complicated revenge plot."
"And… the King has looooong had it coming to him!" she was shaking Cooper. "C'mon you guys, isn't this exciting! She's one of us!"
"Alursian doesn't equal good, Liz. There is still so much we don't know." Cooper replied.
"Whatever, be boring! I am going to show my support. YU-KI-KO! YU-KI-KO!" she cheered. "C'mon Marvellion, get into it!" she asked with a smile.
"Um… go Yukiko… hehe…"
"You're the worst cheerleader ever…"
"I'm sorry…"
Jazz looked over at Jax who stared at the screen. "What do you think this?"
"I don't know... I honestly have no idea what to think anymore..."
"What the heck is going on!?" Rogue asked.
"What does it matter…" Lola said. "We obviously support Yukiko."
Andreas growled to himself. "Andreas…?" Tammy approached him. "What do you make of this…?"
"I have no idea." he then got up. "Everyone, grab what you can and get inside! We need to get moving, you'll watch the battle on the way!"
The Alursians were gathering inside the small ship and Andreas was listening to Yurina talk. "Tammy… you want my honest opinion?" the cat Alursian nodded. "I don't like this. If Yurina had a problem with the king, why wait this long? Even then, why reveal all this to us…" his eyes shrunk slightly. "Crap! Everyone we need to move!"
"W-why!?" Tammy asked.
"If this is going to go the way I think it will… we need to get to a city as soon as possible! If Yurina wins, chaos will fill the streets. Supplies will be looted! If we move now, we'll get a head start before the mobs!"
Rogue got up. "Right, you all heard the man! Let's move quickly!"
Yurina continued to speak. "The King callously killed my mother after I made an offer to take her back to Alursia. Not only that, but he saw fit to try to put us to extinction! But I'm not mad, for you see I have a vision. But you'll only find out when I win." she handed the microphone back. "Thank you, dear."
"Well knock my socks off and call me Draconoid! Yurina is an Alursian everyone! And also Ran-Seki's daughter!" Rena exclaimed this reaction was met with a roar of boos from the royal crowd. "Whoa, rough crowd!" Rena on her platform flew up high. "Well now! Battlers, are you ready?!"
The King nodded and Yurina only revealed Kyubis's ball form. "I am going to enjoy putting you back in the cage you belong!" the King said.
Yurina only kept quiet and closed her eyes. She remembered when was impaled by Andreas and watched her own blood leaving her body. All the pain she felt; the physical pain sprung by the king's trap, but also the emotional pain she experienced when she learned of her mother's death. Her wild glare was directed at the king. 'This is more than about a rematch… I will draw on every drop of power I have.' "Kyubis… this won't be the first time you've faced the King's Bakugan, but it will be the last. Are you ready?"
"Always, until we die!"
The King quipped his black and gold gauntlet and Yurina had raised her hand and white fiery energy surrounded her. The flames made her fox-face Reversion symbol glow bright red.
"This is your end! Yurina!" the power card in his gauntlet shone orange and he had a gate card in between his fingers. He tossed it in and the card had landed on the field and it sunk into the ground and released an orange pulse of energy that spread across the entire field. "Bakugan Brawl!" he squeezed his Subterra Bakugan in his fingers and tossed it into the field. "Kang Stand!" Kang stood on the field and the large Subterra gorilla growled in anger as he bashed his cybernetic hands on the tiled floor. "Remember this!?"
"I remember beating it…" she muttered to herself. She leaped, backflipped and in the air, and tossed Kyubis. "Bakugan Brawl! Kyubis Stand!" Kyubis stood on the field and she regally stood on the ground and glared right at Kang.
Rena stood in between the large Bakugan while on her floating platform. "Now that we have the preliminaries out of the way. LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!"
Kang: 1000 / Kyubis: 700
"Kang! Let show this fox how inferior their species are! Ability Activate, Energy Jaw!" Kang opened his mouth and a bright blue core was charging up. The core exploded into a long blast of energy that was heading right for Yurina who kept her glare despite seeing it speeding towards her.
Kang: 1000(+400)= 1400 / Kyubis: 700(-400)= 300
Yurina leaped away from the beam as it exploded on the far walls of the battlefield. "HEY!" Rena cried. "What did I say about killing each other!?" Yurina though didn't take her eyes off the king and his Bakugan. She closed her eyes and Kyubis then nodded almost as if she heard her thoughts. Kyubis ran over to Kang.
"Whoa… despite early rush from the king, Kyubis is charging in!"
The king laughed. "Haha, are you trying to lose? Your Funeral!" he threw a card into his gauntlet. "Ability Activate, Atlas Charge!" Kang's rear boosters activated and he charged forward towards Kyubis.
Kang: 1400(+500)= 1900 / Kyubis: 300(-250)= 50
Yurina then had white flames surrounding her and immediately entered her Reversion form. She suddenly grew nine tails and all her hair and turned white and she grew fur covering her hands and feet. Kyubis' power level rose to 250 as she gained the constant white flames that surrounded her. Kyubis collided hard with Kang as she flew back and landed on her side. Yurina ran to her and rubbed her hand along her fur. Her eyes opened before she got back up to her feet.
"Yurina… I trust you." Yurina nodded and she walked in front of Kyubis. She finally pulled a card from her kimono sleeve.
"Ability Activate, Explosion Guard!" a constant fiery aura surrounded both Yurina and Kyubis. Though their power level only increased by 100, putting them up at 350Gs.
"I hear you, Yurina!" she got up and shot towards Kang.
"I don't believe this, Kyubis took two hard hits and she's still asking for more?!" Rena announced. "W-wait a minute!" Everyone saw Yurina sprinting alongside her partner. "It looks like Yurina is attacking alongside her partner for a pincer type attack! But with her power level so low, will it make a difference?"
The king smirked. "You've signed your death warrant." he rose his gauntlet up into the air. "Ability Activate! Earthquake!" Kang roared as he slammed his hands into the ground, making sharp, jagged rock pillar stick themselves out of the ground, but it looked like Yurina and Kyubis were doing a very good job of avoiding them.
Kang: 1900(+500)= 2400 / Kyubis: 350
"The power level difference is over two thousand, but Yurina isn't giving up. They seem to be dodging the king's Earthquakes!"
"No! Your power level should have dropped." he heard a technician speak into his ear.
"Sir, Explosion Guard keeps Kyubis from losing any more power in the match for a limited time! You need to try something else."
"Fine!" he growled. "Ability-" he saw Yurina standing in front of him and she silently raked his face with her claws, leaving a three-clawed mark on the King's face. "How dare you?!" This distraction allowed Kyubis to get close to Kang.
"Kyubis, Burning Demise!" Kyubis fire a stream of white fire that covered Kang entirely in flames, and the gorilla growled in pain. He swung his arm to bat Kyubis back, but the flames were hurting him as the white flames remained around his body.
Kang: 2400(-300)= 2100 / Kyubis: 350(+400)= 750
"And that's the first strike on Kang, can Yurina stage a comeback. Oh, I'm shaking with excitement!" Rena excitedly shook.
The King leaped away from Yurina. "Keep away you filthy animal! Gate Card Open! Pyrus Spotting Out!" there was a bright white sheen that shone from under the battlefield, and Kyubis fell to her knees.
The technician spoke in the King's ear. "That's it, sire! The command card will sap 500Gs from them."
Kang: 2100 / Kyubis: 750(-500)= 250
"There we go, back to being weak like you should be- huh!?" he saw blue flames covering Yurina's body as she stood in the middle of the battlefield.
"Ghastly Fire…" she muttered as the blue flames exploded outward from her as it made a fiery shockwave that spread across the entire battlefield making many of the views in the front row feel the intense heatwave. Luckily for them, the flames were repelled by the invisible energy dome that protected the spectators.
"WHOA! Can someone get me a fan up here?! It's getting toasty here!" Rena quipped while comically fanning herself. The King looked down to see his command card burning to ashes. He watched as the ashes flew away into the wind.
Kang: 2100 / Kyubis: 250(+500 +300)= 1050
"Whoa… say goodbye to that Gate Card!" Rena exclaimed as her platform swung in the air.
When the blue flames cleared, The King could see Yurina glaring angrily at him but there also seemed to be a very, very focused look on her face. 'Is she a Bakugan or something! What is with this parasite!?'
"Slowly but surely, Kyubis is catching up! But surely the King has something up his sleeve!"
They all saw Kyubis leap up into the air and she had all her nine tails surrounded by fire and eight fireballs surrounded her before firing them down to Kang. His power level decreased by 500, putting him down to 1600Gs.
"Stop that Kang, Ability Activate, Bio Shield!" he threw his gauntlet into the air and the card shone, making a blue hemispherical barrier around him that managed to block the fireballs that rained around him. His power level went back up to 2100+300 as Kyubis's ability was nullified. Which meant he was up to 2400Gs. "Hah, how do you like that! Look at our power levels, why don't you just give up and bow down to the superior being!" Kyubis landed hard on the ground, and as a response, Yurina slowly shook her head no. 'Why isn't she talking!? It's really off-putting!'
The white fiery aura suddenly appeared around Kang and he roared in pain. "NO! What's going on."
Kang: 2400(-300)= 2100 / Kyubis: 1050
"Sire, it was the effect of Burning Demise, each time you activate an ability, Kang's power level will drop!"
"Ugh! NOW you tell me! You're so useless!" he could see Yurina stretching her arms and legs on the other side of the field. "Take me seriously! Ability Activate, Rocket Fist!"
"SIRE NO!"
Kang fired one of his cybernetic fists at Yurina and it flew across the battlefield to Kyubis, but Yurina leaped in front of her and stopped the fist with one single hand. She glared right at the king and slowly shook her head.
"OH WOW! Yurina caught that fist, with ONE HAND! Has she been holding back the whole time!? Oh somebody, pinch me! We could be seeing the battle of a lifetime!" Rena exclaimed.
Because Explosion guard still protected Yurina and Kyubis, Rocket Fist - which would have normally drained 500 from the enemy had no effect.
Yurina then tossed the fist up high into the air. Kyubis looked up at it. "Howling Blaze!" three fiery orbs were generated and she launched them into the air as they made contact with the fist. Completely destroying it, releasing twisted metal and shrapnel raining all over the battlefield.
Kang: 2100(-250)= 1850 / Kyubis: 1050(+250)= 1300
"Looks like Kang just got disarmed!" Rena quipped.
"RENA!" the king exclaimed. "Why aren't you supporting me!?"
"My job is to remain impartial and entertain the crowd! But you're doing great honey!" she said waving down at him.
"Tch! Airhead!"
Yurina looked at her hand and could see the fiery aura starting to fade. "One fist, that should prevent him from using that Earth Wrecker Ability. One last hit!" she then saw that Burning Demise was in effect again as his power dropped by 300 yet again, putting him down to 1550Gs.
"AGAIN!?"
He saw Kyubis high in the sky and he was falling down to him with comets at his side. "Comet Crash!" she exclaimed as five comets surrounded by flames fell down alongside her.
Kang: 1550(-400)= 1150 / Kyubis: 1300(+400)= 1700
The king threw up his gauntlet. "Kang, we will not lose! Ability Activate! King Fortress!" Kang roared loudly and his muscles flexed, rocks grew on his body and his defenses increased.
Kyubis crashed hard into Kang despite him increasing his defenses. Kang's power increased by 500, putting him at 1650, just 50Gs lower than Kyubis.
Yurina had a purple aura surrounding her. "Soul Extinction…" the fiery aura exploded and there was a ghastly form of Yurina that was speeding over to Kang who was preparing to take the attack.
The ghost Yurina looked to slash right through Kang with a katana and the defensive rocks exploded off Kang and the large gorilla fell to his back.
Kang: 1650 / Kyubis: 1700(+650)= 2350
The King's pupils were shaking as Kang exploded into orange energy and shrunk to his ball form. He bounced in front of the King and his life gauge fell down to 30%.
There were roars of boos going along the entire stadium as the elites just watched their King lost a round of what could be the most important Bakugan battle in Fabrega's history.
"Yurina won!" Rena exclaimed. "And took a chunk out of the King's HP! Can he mount a comeback!? She practically went through this without flinching or looking worried even once! Are we looking at Fabrega's next leader?"
"RENA!?"
"Sorry, dear!"
"We're going to take a quick break, but don't worry we'll be right back after these messages!"
As Rena went to a break, Yurina sat down on the battlefield, with her legs folded, and began meditating. She let out a long exhale before breathing back in.
"What is that animal doing!?" the King exclaimed.
"Never mind her!" the technician radioed into his ear. "We need to do something about Kang! His arm won't regenerate in time for the next battle! What do you want to do?"
"Get the suitcase!"
"The case? But my Lord! The Catalyst is untested against a Cyborg Bakugan. It could kill you!"
The King screamed into his earpiece. "I would rather die than lose to that parasite! Get me that case we have in storage! Do you hear me!?"
"Y-Yes? I'll arrange that right away!"
King Oeruaqx glared at the fox woman who remained meditating with her partner sitting next to her, who also appeared to be meditating.
There were murmurs and some cheers in the Utopia City community center.
"THAT. WAS. AWESOME!" Liz excitedly yelled, still with stars in her eyes.
"Wow…" Cooper breathed. "Even I could see that the King was struggling."
"Yeah, I see what you mean. Yurina didn't even look fazed." Zaria commented. Next to her Sakuya was observing the battle carefully. "Sakuya, are you ok?" She turned to Zaria and gave a shrug. "And you, kid?" she asked looking at Jax. "What's going through your head?"
"I-I don't know. How should I feel about all this?"
"C'mon Yukiko!" Liz yelled while pointing at the monitor. "Finish his royal ass off!"
Bones meanwhile was uneasy as he watched the entire battle. 'So… she's trying to do it? Huh…'
"Bones… Yurina won against the King… and she didn't look stressed at all. It was like she didn't break a sweat." Shino noted.
"Of course…" he answered while his arms were folded. "Yurina isn't holding back. She has already hit the ceiling of her power already. Even though she didn't use any Reversion Abilities, she still humbled the King. She wants to goad him into using stronger abilities."
"By why? She can easily beat him… why not just finish him off."
Bones opened his eyes. "She's trying to reach past her limits. The first step is not holding back her own power, the second step is executing all of your power against a tough enemy."
"A-and the third?" Shino asked, nervous herself to know the answer.
"...Limit Break…" he simply said. "There was only one person who has ever ascended. And I have a feeling you know who as well."
"Y-you mean him?!" Shino asked. Bones slowly nodded. "And she's trying to reach that power!? Bones… if Yurina becomes that powerful… how will we be able to stop her?"
"We won't…" he grimly concluded.
…
"Whoa… that is how strong Yurina is?!" Jayden exclaimed.
Xaramesi shook her head. "She's always been strong, but the way she's battling right now. That's new to me! It's like Kyubis and Yurina are psychically linked or something."
Zavanna had a freezing feeling of dread in her stomach. "I have a really bad feeling about this…"
"How bad could Yurina really be though?" Aisha asked.
"I don't know…" Xaramesi said. "She wants to make a united world… but she has a grudge against the elites. So I'm worried about what she will do…" she was shivering slightly.
"Hey, you ok?"
"W-what? Yeah… I think so, the king is the worst, I've met him personally. But with Yurina… you don't know what you're going to get…" she looked at the hospital TV which had a commercial on. "Like with this battle… no one saw it coming."
Andreas's crew were inside the large transport, Andreas was at the wheel with Rogue on the passenger seat. "So…" Rogue started. "If the King loses… what do we do?"
The Fabregan shook his head. "I have no idea… personally I only knew Yurina as the strongest of the High Council. And if she wins… I guess she did our job for us. Once that happens, I doubt there will be people looking for us. The entire Royal Guard and law enforcement will be in chaos, we'll slip under their radar."
"Heh, doesn't sound bad."
They ran over a bump and the entire heavy vehicle shook. "Let's hope that by the time we get to Relic City, the place won't be in chaos. I'm just worried that if Yurina wins, the Fabregans who think less of Alursians will become violent. Hence why I think there will be riots if Yurina wins."
"If they want to come after us, then we'll fight them off!" Lola exclaimed.
"I'd rather we get through this without punching civvies. We'd rather keep any attention off of us!" Andreas looked at the appearance of everyone in the vehicle. "That and we need to get out of these prison clothes."
"Ey guys!" Isolde said, getting everyone's attention. "Da battle is about to continue."
A metal suitcase had slammed into the ground and there were two syringes in them. One bigger than the other, and they both had an orange, viscous substance. There were two doctors that were standing close to him, one of them was holding a laptop, they were monitoring his and Kang's vitals.
"Is it ready?" he asked.
"Yes… but are you sure about his, sire…?"
"There's no other choice. This fox needs to be tamed!"
Hoping to not anger the King further, the doctor lifted the syringe before sticking it in his arm. The Subterra Catalyst was going through his bloodstream. He eyed Yurina who continued to be meditating, but strangely enough, she was floating in the air with a thick white aura around her. There were white wisps snaking around her, and the white energy was pulsing in sync with her breaths.
"Aaaaand we're back!" Rena announced while high in the air in front of one of the floating cameras. "The King needs to make a comeback, but with how serious Yurina is, can he pull it back?"
Yurina's eyes slowly opened and she rose to her feet and was stretching her limbs. "Yurina…?" Kyubis asked standing beside her with the blazing white flames surrounding her. "Are you OK?" Yurina looked to her partner and nodded slowly. "Aren't you going to set the field?" Yurina held a gate card in between her fingers. "Is this supposed to happen… I am feeling a huge surge of power waiting to be released." Yurina then gently rubbed Kyubis's leg, she looked up to her partner and smiled while cutely tilting her head. "Ah, so you really are still in there. I was worried for a second there."
Yurina looked ahead to seeing the King glaring at her. She tossed the card down onto the field where it spread out into red energy that spread across the field.
"Whoa… it looks like Yurina is ready to go already!" Rena exclaimed, we're all waiting on our Lord's response.
He tightly gripped Kang while he was breathing heavily. "I'm going to make sure that when I win. I will personally send you off my planet! Bakugan Brawl!" he tossed Kang onto the field and he stood on the field and roared loudly. He was still missing a right hand and he angrily punched the tiled floor. "Do it, inject him!"
One of the scientists rushed to Kang and injected his exposed foot with the larger syringe. Kang only felt a pinprick and after this, the blood was rushing through his body.
Kyubis knew what was happening. "Yurina, they are using a catalyst! Now is our chance!" she wanted to attack but Yurina held her back by holding her arm in front of her partner. "Are you sure?" Yurina nodded while not keeping her look of Kang and the King.
"Kang! Time to unleash our true power!" he suddenly heard his heartbeat and he fell down to one knee and held his chest. "AAHHHHH!" he was sweating and his vision was blurring. He was breathing in and out and he suddenly started seeing what Kang was for a split second.
Kang on the other hand was growling as rocks were growing on his chest and his the back of his shoulders shone orange and he was covered in orange electric pulses. Suddenly there was a mass of flesh that was growing out from where Kang's right fist used to be. Both Kang and the king were screaming in pain. Suddenly a red muscly fist grew out of it and there were drops of bodily fluids that fell from the new arm that was pulsing. Kang was holding his head in pain as his muscles were growing and his glowing eyes glared forward as he looked to be in constant pain.
"RRRRRROOOOOOOAAARRR!"
Everyone in the stadium, except for the battlers were covering their ears. The King was sweating as he stood up as an orange aura covered him. His muscles grew so much that he threw his gold armor off, revealing his black clothing. "OH STOP CRYING! THIS IS THE ONLY WAY WE CAN WIN!" he told Kang.
Kang: 1000(+200)= 1200 / Kyubis: 700
"WHOA!" Queen Rena exclaimed. "The King had achieved Reversion! THIS IS CRAZY!" Rena exclaimed while her platform flew up high to avoid the energy shockwaves that were pulsing all over the stadium. There were cheers from the spectators.
'Cheering as a Bakugan is in pain… Disgusting…!' Yurina thought.
The King had a Fabregan Reversion Ability in his gauntlet. "I know my wife said no killing, but screw it! I am going to end this! Just like I did your MOTHER! Reversion Ability Activate! Terra Cluster!" The King and Kang raised their hands into the air and they were summoning rocks and multicolored gemstones that were coming together in a giant cluster.
"NOW KANG!" they both threw the rock, crystal clusters to Yurina and Kyubis.
Kang: 1200(+500)= 1700 / Kyubis: 700(-400)= 300
'We're going through it Kyubis!' Kyubis heard Yurina in her head and she sprinted towards the clusters with her partner.
"WHOA! LOOK AT THAT! The power level difference is huge, but Yurina shows no fear!"
"Reversion Ability! Cursed Guard!" Yurina while covered in a pure black fiery aura, rushed forward and she scratched through one of the clusters with her claws, shattering it instantly, Kyubis had slashed through the other one with her claws too. After they shattered, the king was shocked. He saw his ability numbers reversing as if the ability was nullified. There was also a drop in 300Gs from his and Kang's power level.
"NO HOW!?"
Kang: 1700(-500 -300)= 900 / Kyubis: 300(+400)= 700
'Is she immune to my attacks again?' he asked. "STOP HIDING BEHIND IMMUNITIES! FIGHT FAIR AND SQUARE, DAMMIT!"
Upon his request, the black fiery auras disappeared from both her and Kyubis, opening themselves up to another attack.
"That's it!" he held up his gauntlet. "Ability Activate, Energy Jaw!" Both their mouths opened and they were filled with blue orbs of energy that were being generated from the Star Core. Both beams shot forward to the pair. The beams even crossed as they got closer, the attack transferred 400 from them.
Kang: 900(+400)= 1300 / Kyubis: 700(-400)= 300
Both Kyubis and Yurina split off and the large beam was guiding itself towards Yurina. "Yurina watch out!" Kyubis exclaimed. She had a purple fiery aura surrounding her, and while her ghastly form sped out of her body, her real body unsheathed her Katana and sliced through the beam, splitting it in two as it sped right towards the invisible ripple shield that protected the spectators.
"Impossible! Her power level is 1000 lower than mine, how is she doing this!?" the King cried, but he failed to see the ghastly form of Yurina speeding down to him, threatening to slice through him. He leaped back, dodging the attack and when he punched the white figure, it quickly disappeared in a puff of white smoke.
The real Yurina turned around after deflecting the blasts and looked at the King who looked startled.
Because of the ability: Soul Extinction, Yurina's power increased by 650.
Kang: 1300 / Kyubis: 300(+650)= 950
"Whoa… talk about a counter-attack. That's definitely one for the highlight reel!" Rena exclaimed.
Kang roared out in pain again as he was struggled to stay on his feet. "My opening!" Kyubis said to herself. "Take my Howling Blaze!" Kyubis leaped up and had three fire orbs that rotated around her body. She made them rain down to Kang.
Kang: 1300(-250)= 1050 / Kyubis: 950(+250)= 1200
"Oh no, you don't! Reversion Ability Activate, Mesosphere!" a bright purple barrier formed around Kang, and the fireballs had bounced off the shield and they were heading back to Kyubis. "How do you like that! Mesosphere adds 500 to Kang and turns your ability against you!"
Kang: 1050(+250 +500)= 1800 / Kyubis: 1200(-250)= 950
Kyubis saw the fireballs turn purple as they sped back to her. 'Your instincts! Use them!' she heard Yurina call from inside her head. Kyubis closed her eyes and she could hear the flames getting closer to her. She leaped and twirled in the air while easily avoiding them. Leaving Yurina the only one left in their path. Her eyes were closed as well and with one swing of her blade, the flames trickled into embers.
"W-WHAT DID WE SEE KYUBIS JUST DO!?" Rena exclaimed. "She escaped that like it was nothing, and without an ability no less!"
"YOU'RE OPEN!" the king exclaimed as he was rushing to Yurina. "Ability Activate, Atlas Charge!" 500 was immediately added to himself and Kang while Yurina and Kyubis lost 250.
Kang: 1800(+500)= 2300 / Kyubis: 950(-250)= 700
Yurina sheathed her sword as the King got closer. His shoulder was glowing orange. But as he got close, he saw Yurina disappear from his sight. "HUH!?" he then felt she was behind him, so he swung his arm back, only for Yurina to slide back, leaving after-images of herself. The whole time her eyes were closed "TAKE ME SERIOUSLY!" he angrily threw a punch which Yurina, easily caught, surprising the King. Her green eyes opened and the white flowing aura that surrounded her while she meditated returned.
"Ok," Yurina replied in an angered tone to the King's request. There was a ring of 8 fireballs that surrounded her and she made them rain down on herself and the King.
"AAAAAAAHHHH!" the King screamed as he was on fire as he was rolling away from Yurina on the ground, trying to put himself out. Kang could also feel the pain and he screamed as well.
Kang: 2300(-500)= 1800 / Kyubis: 700
Yurina leaped back to where Kyubis was waiting for her, and when she got on her end she outstretched her hand. "Gate Card, Open. Nova Reactor!" the card was glowing red and orange and suddenly Kang found himself on one knee as the battlefield changed to one where there looked to be a sea of lava with rocky islands for them to stand on. There was a large rocky island in the middle of the field.
"W-what is this!?" The King asked.
Rena who was on her platform was going through her cue cards. "Um… let's see, Nova Reactor… I swear it was in my notes… Ah got it! It's an area card that favors Pyrus Bakugan and drains Subterra Bakugan. 500Gs is transferred between all Pyrus and Subterra Bakugan.
Kang: 1800(-500)= 1300 / Kyubis: 700(+500)= 1200
The King was on one knee. "My lord, this form is taking too much strain on your body, you need to end the Reversion." one of the scientists said through the earpiece.
"I've had just about enough of you!" he grabbed the earpiece and tossed it into the lava. But he was shocked when he saw Yurina walking through the lava and she didn't seems like she was getting hurt at all.
"Screw walking on hot coals, Yurina is walking on lava!" Rena excitedly yelled. "Ouch, it's like she's become a Pyrus Bakugan! I wonder if a lava bath can open your pores?"
Yurina waved her hand in a circular motion and white flames and the white energy followed it. She threw her palms forward, firing while flames towards Kang who was on the rocky island.
The flames covered him and he roared as the white flames covered him. Kyubis stepped into the lava with Yurina. 'Burning Demise should help us in our battle.'
Kang: 1300(-300)= 1000 / Kyubis: 1200(+400)= 1600
"HEY! Don't go down!" he yelled to Kang. He tried to get to the center island but he didn't want to step foot into the lava.
"Enough of this nonsense! Ability Activate, Earthquake!" Kang raised his arms and he slammed them down on the ground, making jagged rocks shoot out towards Yurina. Before Yurina could even think about dodging, her body reacted to the jagged rocks and she leaped away from the rock pillars that had lava dripping from them. The pillars followed her, but she seemed to dodge them so easily, almost as if she knew where they could come out before they struck her.
Kang: 1000(+500)= 1500 / Kyubis: 1600(-500)= 1100
Rena spoke once again. "While Earthquake normally nullifies the opponent's gate card, Field Cards like Nova reactor can't be nullified but-!" they all saw that Earthquake made a rock bridge for the King to walk over to the center island where Kang was. "The King used it to help him across the lava, smart strategy!"
The King climbed on top of Kang and they could see Kyubis who was standing in the lava. "GET HER! Reversion Ability Activate, Atlas Demolition!" Kang's rear Boosters ignited, his shoulder turned to gold and his rear boosters opened up. But instead of blue afterburners, they were red.
Kang: 1500(+1000 -300)= 2200 / Kyubis: 1100(-500)= 600
The burning white flames surrounded him as Burning Demise took 300Gs from Kang after 1000Gs was added...
"C'mon, play through the pain!" Kang sped through the lava as his feet were getting burned and he was looking to charge right into Kyubis!" The nine-tailed fox managed to leap out of the way while the white flowing aura continued to pulse around her. Kang turned around and saw that there were Nine Kyubis's surrounding him.
"W-what… I don't remember Kyubis being able to do this!" The King noticed that all the Kyubises around him had unstable figures as if they were still moving. 'NO! Unless!'
"I-Is Kyubis moving so fast that she looks to appear in different places at once?! And I don't recall an ability activating for that! What did those two have for breakfast this morning, cause I want some of that!"
"WILL YOU SHUT UP ALREADY?!" the King yelled to his wife. "No one asked for your stupid comments!"
Rena huffed and folded her arms. "Rude…"
This distraction made him miss Yurina speeding past him. She slid on the lava as she came into his sight. "Kang! You know what to do!" the King said as he stepped on another rocky island. "Ability Activate, Rocket Fist!" Kang aimed his left cybernetic fist to Yurina who stood in the lava. Her power level fell by 500. Undeterred by this she leaped up into the air using the rocket fist as a jumping platform.
Kang fell to one knee as he couldn't stay up due to the fire burning him again.
Kang: 2200(-300)= 1900 / Kyubis: 600(-500)= 100
As she was in the air, she was surrounded by fire and there were five comets that appeared beside her. "Double Ability - Comet Crash plus…" she unsheathed her Katana which shifted to a red color. "Reversion Ability - Katana Foxtrot…" her body kicked off the sky and rushed down towards Kang who was left vulnerable.
Kang: 1900(-400 -950)= 550 / Kyubis: 100(+400 +500)= 1000
The King raised his gauntlet. "That's meaningless if it is nullified! Ability Activate! Bio Shield!" Kang made a bright blue hemispherical barrier that fully formed over him.
Kang: 550(+300 -300)= 550 / Kyubis: 1000
The king gritted his teeth as the flames from Burning Demise looked to have stymied Kang again. But he grew completely shocked when he saw Yurina's blade make contact with Kang's Bio Shield. The next moment, the barrier shattered completely, leaving Kang wide open! Once Yurina cut through. The comets followed her, creating a tremendous explosion. Before the dust could even clear. Yurina extended her hands forward, shooting blue flames from her hands that struck Kang. The Ghastly Fire added 300Gs to both herself and Kyubis which placed them at 1300.
The King wouldn't dare get close due to the lava blocking his path, so he placed two cards into his gauntlet. "This is it! I'm GONNA KILL YOU! Double Ability Activate - Fusion Ability Diamond Surge plus Reversion Ability - Star Core Jaw!"
When Kang saw Yurina in front of him, he could feel his core overclocking itself, putting it into overdrive and he opened his maw and there was a bright white core in his mouth, thanks to the fusion ability there were nebulas around the energy core that continued to grow. The white flames burned Kang once again but he ignored that as all that was on his mind was total destruction.
"Star Core jaw transfers 600 between our Bakugan, and Diamond Surge doubles the power of the ability!"
"WAIT!?" Rena commented. "But that means!"
Kang: 550(+600x2)+(-300x2)= 1750 / Kyubis: 1300(-600x2)= 100
The crowd was cheering as they saw that the King was about to win, in convincing fashion. Yurina remained in a battle stance. And as she held her sword, she closed her eyes and the bright white aura re-appeared allowing her instincts to take over and everyone in the audience were surprised when they saw Yurina pull off the same trick that Kyubis pulled. She seemingly split herself into three and they stood far apart from each other, meaning Kang could only take out one target.
"Looks like Yurina still has one more trick up her sleeve! But can she reverse these near insurmountable odds!?"
"FOCUS KANG! JUST HIT HER ALREADY!"
As Kang picked his target, he was about to fire, but he could feel a very painful sharp pain in his back. This pain was so great that he arched his back and he fired the combination blast from his maw up into the sky. The beam narrowly missed Rena as her platform avoided the blast.
"HEY! WATCH IT!" Rena exclaimed as the beam flew up to the sky as it made contact with the shield that was put in place to keep the spectators safe. The shield dome shattered into a tremendous explosion that let off a lot of sparkles that were falling down all over the exposed spectators. "KANG'S BLAST JUST SHATTERED THE BATTLE DOME! Rena screamed. "I'm feeling a little exposed out here!"
"B-but how… Just HOW!?" the king exclaimed.
The mysterious energy that covered Yurina was still floating off her as she leaped up high into the sky. As she was high, the energy was covering her body in a shiny bright white light. As she hovered up, Her nine tails stood up and her body looked to split off into nine different identical copies of Yurina. Each of them having the flowing energy around them while they each had a single foxtail. They then all had white flames surrounding them and they were all falling down to the ground.
"Double Ability, Vulpine Blaze plus Reversion Ability - Nine Kitsune Soul Attack!" All nine Yurinas unsheathed their blades. Five of them had landed around the confused Kang. In less than a blink of an eye, they slashed the gorilla and Kang roared loudly in pain as he gave up and fell down to his stomach.
The other Yurinas surrounded the King with their swords unsheathed.
"No! NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!" he was slashed one at a time by the Yurinas. One through his gut, another slashing upwards. Another leaped up and slashed through him from above, and finally, from behind. The last Yurina ran through the king while cutting through him, drawing blood that splashed on the tiled floor.
Kang: 1750(-900 - 450)= 400 / Kyubis: 100(+900 +450)= 1450
Kang was glowing orange as sparkles were leaking off him. His Reversion form finally gave out as he lay down on the ground.
The Yurinas came back together and she reformed in front of the King as he was losing his Reversion form.
"H-how dare you…" the King said as he had scratches and bruises all over his body. He looked up at Yurina who still had that mysterious energy around her. She had her sword aimed at his face. The point was very close to the bridge of his nose.
"UNBELIEVABLE!" Rena exclaimed. "But… can Kang get up?" her question was answered as the gorilla was covered in an orange energy glow and he sped to Yurina. She extended her hand backward as she caught the Bakugan without looking. The entire stadium was silent, everyone in their seats looked terrified. Rena then got to the ground and stepped off her platform. "Y-YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!" she exclaimed. "Your winner, and new King of Fabrega! YURINA!" she exclaimed.
"Not if I CAN HELP IT! MAXIMUS!" Prismanta appeared in the battlefield and Maximus leaped and the both of them were in their Reversion forms. Maximus had his and Prismanta's sword and attempted to stab Yurina from behind.
But the second he got close, he found his sword flying from his hand and it shot itself into the crowd, narrowly missing one of the spectators who was completely terrified. Maximus saw that Yurina knocked his sword from his hand with her sword.
The energy that surrounded Yurina faded away and the intense shadow that covered her receded. The King was waiting for Yurina to end his life but suddenly her sword moved away from his face and she sheathed it back. "No… you don't get to go out that easily. Everything that is yours… is now mine. And trust me, by the time you are exiled… you would have wished I killed you." She aimed her blade at Maximus. "You! Take this scum to a level 4 cell." Maximus glared at him. "Or would you rather you and your family share his fate?"
Maximus got up and bowed. "Y-yes. My King." he stood up and he lifted the injured king and tied his hands behind his back.
After this, Yurina looked at Kang who was blackened in his ball form and was unresponsive. "How awful…" she closed her palm and walked to the center of the stadium where Rena was waiting.
She then bowed to her. "Ah, my King!" she said as she had the microphone. "Since you are the new leader of Fabrega, how would you like your subjects to address you."
The Microphone was held in front of her. "I choose not to have a title that puts me on a pedestal that my subjects should worship. I am just like all of you, so I require no title. Just call me Yurina, or Yukiko if you prefer."
Her statement was met with roars of boos from all over the stadium.
"YES! YES! YES!" Liz cheered as there were mostly smiles in the community center. "Yukiko won! We have a new leader! Aren't you excited!?"
Zaria smiled. "Heh, well I gotta admit, having her beats having an Alursian hating King… I dunno man, guess I don't know too much about her."
"Well, I choose to be hopeful!" Cooper said. "She can't be worse than the old King, right?"
Bones on the other hand was shivering. "Yes… I recognize that kind of power anywhere. She's achieved that power… Limit Break…"
"What should we do next? Master?" Shino asked.
"Shino… I don't know… Right now there isn't anyone in the universe powerful enough to defeat her. So we should have to hope we don't have to fight her."
Back in the stadium, the boos continued to roar and many of the Elitist Fabregans started throwing their food at her.
"HEY! HEY! This is your new leader!" but Yurina held her hand out in front of Rena.
"It's ok, Queenie. These sick people are nothing more than naughty children who are throwing tantrums. And what do you do with naughty children? You give them a time out!" Yurina floated upwards and there were eight fireballs that surrounded her and she spread them across the entire stadium and they were falling down towards the spectators. All of them screamed as they feared they would be hit. But no one was hit or burned. They all looked at her as she issued a command. "Lockdown the stadium! No one except anyone in the Royal Guard may get out!" every one of the spectators gasped as they were fearing that they were being imprisoned. They all panicked and scurried out of their seats.
Many of them were trying to exit the stadiums as they were all leaving their seats. "They will be kept here for 72 hours!" Yurina continued. "They are only allowed to be fed Water and minimal food."
The Royal Guard managed to shut the doors of the stadium, preventing anyone from leaving. Despite the people's best efforts, they were trapped inside with many of them banging on the doors. None of the guards dared to defy Yurina so they all complied. The stadiums were locked and there were sounds of people crying and screaming.
Yurina floated down to the battlefield before transforming out of her Reversion Form. "Oof… that was intense." she looked at Rena. "Well Queenie, shall we head home?"
"Call me Rena. That thing about you not having a title spoke to me. So just call me Rena from now on."
Yurina smiled. "Sure, Rena." she took her hand and leaped up onto Kyubis's back taking Rena with her.
"Oh right, I still have to plan your coronation ceremony! When do you want it to take place?"
"In about two days." she looked at the people in the stadiums. "These people don't deserve to see it." she then called Aurea on her phone. "Hey, Aurea… I know that there are some big changes coming up, so I want to see you, to discuss future plans."
"Um… of course, Ma'am."
"Just call me Yurina. What did I just say about titles?"
"Right…"
After this, Yurina hung up and looked down at Kyubis. "You were amazing, Kyubis!"
"Yurina… it was all you… that power I felt… it was something I can't even describe… What was that?"
"Well… you know how Reversion is where the Bakugan shares their power with their partner. Well, this power is almost the reverse of that. Where my I broke the limits of our power… and shared it with you. 'Limit Break' is what it's called. I think you'll love it!"
"That's amazing! Congratulations."
"Aww~ thanks! Now I believe we have earned some rest." Kyubis leaped out from the open roof of the stadium and started to leap through the entire city. As she did she had a smile on her face.
Xaramesi sat down defeated on her chair. "I was afraid of this…" Zavanna sat down next to her.
"I don't know how to feel about this… but one thing is for sure. We need to help those people."
Xaramesi nodded. "I agree… but what about Draconoid? Will we still have enough time?"
Jayden raised his hand. "We're a large group, so why don't we split up? Zavanna can take us back to get the ritual done. Xaramesi, you lead Akane and the others to free those poor saps."
"That might work," Cameron said. "As soon as Akira recovers, then we can hurry and revive Draconoid."
Aisha stood up from her chair. "Sounds like a plan!"
Xaramesi walked to the hospital door. "Well what are we waiting for?!" but she was trailed by Akane.
"Um, Xaramesi… before you leave. There's something you need to know…"
Xaramesi swung the doors open. "Can't it wait, we need to move qui-" she stopped talking when she saw Zaria, Cooper, Liz, Jazz, Jax, and the person who was hurt by her all those years ago.
"Why do you look familiar?" Liz said pointing to Xaramesi.
Sakuya was shivering to herself and there were tears welling up in her eyes. She covered her mouth before she turned on her heel and ran off into the city. "Sakuya! Wait!" Xaramesi exclaimed. "Please come back…" she muttered. She was about to run after her but she felt a rough hand grabbing her. "Huh?"
She saw Zaria giving her a glare. "Yeah, you really think it's a good idea to go after her right now!? Y'know after everything you did!"
Xaramesi could feel the tears coming as the memories of Zaria getting tranquilized and Sakuya being threatened by Yurina returned. "I'm sorry…"
"First thing's first! You and I need to have a long talk!" After this, Xaramesi gave her a slow nod.
Bones was standing on top of one of the buildings, he let out a sigh as he looked into the afternoon sky "Ugh..." he took a seat on the roof. "I know you are there, Shino."
She slowly came up and sat next to him. "I've never seen you so hopeless. That power… is it possible for one of our brawlers to reach that power?"
"In theory… anyone can reach that power… it doesn't even require Reversion. But the Limit Break is called that for a reason. Most battlers never reach their limits, and those that do, don't have the concentration needed to reach that power. Getting to that level is extremely difficult. Staying at that level is near impossible!"
"Don't you think it is worth it to try?"
He let out a sigh. "It might be a worthless effort. But it is better than doing nothing. If Draconoid believes in those children, then at least one of them must have the ability to reach Limit Break." he stood up. "There is so much to do, and Yurina already has a headstart on us! Our first priority is restoring Draconoid. Once Fabrega is saved, then we can figure out what to do about Yurina."
Andreas was driving their stolen vehicle while celebrations were roaring in the back. "AW YEAH!" Lola screamed. "Yurina is the new leader! Things are finally gonna change!"
The celebrations continued and it was shaking the rear of the vehicle. "HEY!" Andreas exclaimed. "Don't move so much back there!"
Rogue walked to the front seat while Tammy was on his shoulder. "So… does the affect our plans?"
Andreas thought about it. "I don't know…" he said gripping the wheel tighter. "We've got Elites being imprisoned, but I'm not about to rush in to save them."
"Andreas…" Tammy asked with a concerned tone. "Are you ok?"
"This isn't going to end well…" he muttered. "I'm sure there are rioters in the streets by now. With the way, the King went down, and to an Alursian no less… that's going to piss a lot of people off. Alursians are going to celebrate, and many scared Fabregans are going to riot and fight back against this. You saw how those people reacting in the stadium. I'm sure Yurina will lockdown the Royal Capital by now."
"So… what is our plan?"
Andreas kept his tight grip. "I don't know! I just don't know…" he repeated. "This is incredibly complicated. So we're going to go to Relic City loot clothes and supplies and see where we stand from there."
"Andreas…" Tammy leaped off Rogue's shoulder. "You're worried aren't you?"
"Tammy… please, not right now. I have to think! And if you haven't noticed, I'm driving right now!" he snapped.
"R-right… I'm sorry." she took a seat on the other pilot's seat. "Just know… I'll stick with you no matter what."
"Yeah… we'll see…" the heavy vehicle was roaring through the dry desert and in the distance, there was a city that had black smoke rising up from it.
Whoa... so that was something! Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the latest update. I'm really getting back into the swing of this and hope to have another update for you guys soon.
