"This is Julie Yamamoto, coming back to you with another update on what's going on in the Empyrean!" At the base of the Empyrean, there was little lighting getting through the surface. Julie was still hiding on the farther platforms, with the cameraman being there to get whatever footage was possible. "The battle that has been waged for the longest time has yet to slow down. Everyone has been fighting for hours, and there has been results showing in the losses of enemy Bakugan that have appeared out of nowhere. Everyone is working their hardest to make sure that they all pull through!" The silver-haired woman turned away towards the battlefield, her expression falling. 'C'mon you guys. Please hang in there!'
"Ability, activate!" Ace held up an ability that shined bright purple. "Darkus Fly Arrow!" Flash Flacon Fly hissed as his entire body radiated a bright purple. He turned into a stunner gun that Percival gripped in his right arm and aimed for the Kimera-Jelldon before them.
"Say goodnight, scum!" Holding on firmly, Percival pulled the makeshift trigger, unleashing a broad and destructive glossy bright purple beam that engulfed the Bakugan…or at least that's what it was supposed to do. It instead went straight through, blowing into the platform and leaving a gaping hole inside the Kimera-Jelldon's core. That all watched in horror as the plasma shrunk down until it looked completely unfazed.
"Okay, this is starting to really tick me off!" Ace gritted.
"Our abilities aren't working on this guy! We've got to try something else!" Percival insisted.
"How's about this then!" Baron held up an ability. "Nemus, now! Float Shield!" Nemus raised his staff, summoning three golden triangular pyramids that brought together yellow electricity. It generated above the Astral Jelldon clone, but thanks to its earlier Plasmorphis, it squirmed higher, its body passing through the barricade. "Seriously?!"
"It's like this thing is untouchable." Shun noted.
The Kimera-Jelldon let out a grotesque howl as its plasmatic body suddenly solidified. Instead, the tips extended plasmatic energy that materialized into a large mass that took shape. The clone created by its Binary Plasma ability let out a loud shrilled cry upon its materialization.
"W-Whaaaaa-?!" The Radizen half of Betakor gawked in exasperation. "Are you serious?!"
"It just multiplied on the spot." The Jaakor part of Magmafury grunted.
The two Jelldon clones looked at each other, then back at the fray. The clone hissed as he raised a tentacle while the orange rings shined rainbow. It jabbed the original's body, causing the rainbow light emanating from its body to shine and turn it into Darkus. The Bakugan grouped in front of it tensed as they saw a Darkus and Pyrus aura envelop them.
"They're using the old Pyrus and Darkus Diagonal Relation technique?!" Shun's eyes widened. He hasn't seen one of those used in a long time. "How?!"
Both Jelldon hissed as their eyes shined brightly. All the gemstones on their bodies shined beautifully as electrons and ions surfaced around them. Red and dark purple plasmatic ions circulated into a growing storm as both Bakugan expelled violent cries as the domain ruptured and flashed from their combined Element Storm attack. They all looked on in excessive shock and horror as the large-scale storm dropped down in a hellish spiral. No one was prepared as the cyclone dropped down, creating a boisterous flash that engulfed anything and everything in its path. The irons exploded into several comet shards that blew Marucho off his feet, and Shun was no different.
"GUYS, NO~!" Ace cried out, but like them, he and Baron were thrown back by the inverse lights. The full-scale attack was just too much, and their combined Bakugan were blown back through the light in spheres before reverting to ball form.
"Ace! Baron!" Mira gasped.
Keegan turned back. "Mira, behind you!"
Mira's blue eyes widened as time slowed down. She barely had time to look back before an Alpha Hydranoid clone had its three maws opened wide. Just as she processed it, its Terminal Barrage was all set up and unleashed bombastic shots at Wilda, who was trying his best to defend against the mighty attack, but it was found too much and caused explosions to go off all around him.
Some of the attacks strayed past Wilda's physique, heading right for Mira. Suddenly, Andro Elico appeared and seized her before jumping away, the spot quickly vaporizing to a huge crater. The cyborg Interacian Bakugan leaped a safe distance away, putting Mira down safely.
"Thank you…" She mumbled.
Wilda's entire front steamed before he eventually collapsed. He couldn't go on and reverted to ball form, returning towards ball form than stay in his full form. "Wilda…"
A Kimera-Daedalus Abis Omega lowered to the ground beside the Hydranoid copy. It snarled as it glared at its foes alongside Hydranoid. Andro Elico turned around to face this foe, while Plitheon came down with his Vilantor Gear's turbine fuming.
"Mind if I step in?" Jesse chimed.
"Yeah, yeah! Just look alive!" Keegan warned.
The Hydranoid expelled a dark blast wave that separated into three beams, via Hellion Pulse. The attack drew closer that Plitheon prepared for.
"Ability activate, Drake Twister!" A green cyclone spiraled and began raging around Plitheon. He hollered as his spiraling cyclone swept about, spinning frantically with Hydranoid's dark jet blasts to create a fuming dark green windstorm that diffused between them.
Suddenly, a gauntlet raked through the winds, revealing Andro Elico with Keegan readying an ability. "Now! Glide Gauntlet!" The gauntlet fired in a speeding mechanical claw attached to very strong wiring.
As the attack drew in, the Kimera-Abis clone swept in front, making its tail become enveloped in a deep blue raging water cyclone. It swung its tail, sending the wave that engulfed the gauntlet and crashed into Elico, via Hydrair Tornado. He was blown off his feet in an instant, crashing hard.
The ground shook beneath Keegan, but he barely held on. "Damnit! How long is this going to keep up?!"
"I don't know…" Mira paused. "But we have bigger problems."
Amongst the carnage, it was getting to be darker by the minute. And it didn't help that the earlier magenta lava had cooled from the high atmosphere air. They could barely see the outside world as dusk brewed closer.
"At this rate, we'll run out of time before we're even done…" she quipped.
Aranaut and Sabator dropped to their knees, the battling having completely exhausted them. The Hercules Fly Beetle clone before them suddenly brought two fists down, plunging them further into the tiling as they yelped.
"Aranaut, no!" Fabia yelled.
"Sabator!" Nurzak denounced.
The dust cleared, revealing the two Bakugan unable to stand up any longer. They both reverted to ball form, causing Fabia and Nurzak to look on and realize that nothing stood in the way of the clone and them.
Suddenly, purple beams fired from out of the blue. The Kimera copy realized it was under attack and stamped its fist into the ground to bring up an earth wall, via Earth Shield. Fabia and Nurzak were shocked until Infinity Helios and Spectra came down in front of them.
"Spectra!" Fabia gasped.
"Keep sharp, Helios! Cover for them!" Spectra shouted. Helios snarled at the huge earth wall in front of him and the multiple cannons on his BakuNano glimmered energy charges. Spectra reached out. "Destroy!" With gusto, Helios fired multiple dark purple beams that raced across the tiling into the shield.
The attack was about to close in, but suddenly, a dark purple radiant shine from above caused the multiple beams to diffuse. They all dispersed to thin air, leaving only five trails that closed in on the wall.
"What?!" Helios grunted.
Spectra looked up, seeing a Kimera-Atchibee with wings shining. It was using Darkus Indignation, nullifying all the attempts that would be made for Helios. Even he looked up, but he was pissed.
"Out of my way, you insect!"
"Krrreeeee!" The Kimera-Atchibee hissed down, refusing to allow Helios any levity.
"You'll pay for that!" Helios began charging for the cannons once more, but the Atchibee's eyes shined brightly with its accents on the wings. Helios' charged completely diffused before he had the chance.
"Helios!"
Spectra called, but Helios didn't look in time before an ironclad, super-hardened Hercules Fly Beetle rammed horn-first int him. He tore through all the cannons like scrap metal, causing Helios to smash onto his back with a groundbreaking thud.
Passing by above, Aeroblitz had Dan and Gunz on his shoulders as he was trying to outmaneuver an Apex Atmos. However, with its superb aerodynamic mobility, it flew at speeds to make it shoot like a green comet through Empyrean's airspace, while Aeroblitz matched said speed.
"This guy just doesn't know when to quit!" Drago's half grunted. He narrowly tilted just as the Atmos passed by. He slowed down to a halt as it kept going. It spun on its axel and jettisoned back at him.
"Oh no you don't!" Dan showed a fused Pyrus/Haos ability. "United Ability, activate! Harvey Cannon – Impact Torrent!" Aeroblitz's shoulder cannon aimed for the Kimera copy, unleashing a bright flare that unleashed hundreds of yellow and red glossy projectiles at the Atmos.
The falcon continued diving through, opening its beak as spiraling green energy diffused for a moment before magnifying into a compressed tornado that bolted into the projectiles, via Apex Speed. They were unable to break through, leading to Aeroblitz getting struck and spun out of control in the tempest in screaming agony.
"H-HANG ON, DRAGO!" Dan pleaded. Gunz wasn't able to say anything because he was trying to hang on for dear life.
As Aeroblitz was trying to adjust, suddenly, he was blindsided by something bright. Before he could respond, a Kimera-Sage Verias threw the staff surrounded in golden energy that exploded at point blank. The Sagacious Arrow made a bright explosion that caused air ripples to horizontally fan outwards. It caused parts of the molten rock to break away, but it also made Aeroblitz fall out of the sky, screaming in angst.
As he fell, his body separated into two lights, which turned into Reptak, who reverted to ball form. Drago, on the other hand, was barely conscious as he grabbed Dan and Gunz before smashing into the ground hard.
Even as the dust cleared, Drago laid on the ground for a moment, while the Sage Verias came crashing down close by. He tapped his staff on the ground, posing with a regal vibe at his adversary overpowered.
Dan groaned heavily, exhaustion evident on his face. "Darnit…how do…we get around these guys…?" He was getting severely frustrated with no answer. 'We're running out of time. If we don't get back up, we're goners before then! Please guys, you've gotta hurry!'
At the pinnacle, the sun had set not too long ago. The waning burning sky was fixed in the distance that Riaan looked out from. Even from the pinnacle of the world, having such limited oxygen even, the atmosphere thrived with a view so grand and so lustrous, one could see an ocean of deep blue slowly becoming purple.
"The day is shifting to night, just as the hour draws near." Riaan poetically noted. "The time of dusk has arisen upon this land at last."
"I can feel the power…of the Bakugan, and the land's formations coming to its peak." Armagedoid lowly noted. "All this power…all the minerals the worlds had…and all the sacrifices that have been taken because of it."
Riaan humbly frowned. "Do you mean our closest allies, or those whose innocence that we have seized?"
"Both. It's true, our actions will never be condoned. They were innocent only because they were oblivious to what was happening around them. But now that innocence is gone, and they are fully aware of what's coming. I have no quench for their lack of understanding."
"As do I. Yes, I also feel this way. It goes without say. We have also lost much of our elites in the process of this uprising. Our trusted, or perhaps most useful, assets within their ranks have been eradicated. But who would have guessed that the cause of such a feat to expose their weaknesses than Rogue Zero? Hmph…now this truly is poetic. Rogue Zero, those who were cast aside, meant to be forgotten by the many whom they were to beside. They have emerged from their shadows, to expose and make of themselves a will against those who have wronged them of their rights. Such a parallel…" The air shifted. A much colder breeze was setting in. "…but now, it's come to the final hour. They approximately 1 hour, and 25 minutes…one final pillar to confront. The most gruesome above all pillars…"
Through the blue networks, he could feel it, the spine-cringing dread. He kept himself composed, as the dusk brewing winds stirred up the distorted dense bog of energy not too far beneath him.
'Let's hope…that his plague can be contained this time. Control…that is his center. Now let's see just how much control he can keep of the situation.'
The winds howled with a ghostly chill as the climb steepened for Luke's group. It was rewarding enough that they were able to get this far without getting so much as a few scratches, but at the same time, everyone knew this was far from a celebratory accommodation. And it wasn't just because of the clock they were against. It had to do with everything that followed since the climb.
Nobody could say anything. If they could say one thing to describe what they felt, it was…distressing. They were hellbent above all, but beneath that surface, they felt the unyielding remorse of the losses that carried them this far. While they didn't suffer any close casualties - at least not to their knowledge – the same couldn't be said about the hooded Interacian that kept to himself. He just led the path solemnly, his dull, sharp glare set forward without a bother in the world to keep him from looking back down to the graves of his allies. At the same time, everyone felt sorry, but at the same time, they weren't.
As Maximus trudged pass an arch showing the dusk-brewing world drawing near, everyone looked out and saw the mysterious setting set into place. "It's past sunset. The hour is drawing closer." Jase said with his usual straight face.
"You'd think that Riaan would have done something to speed up the process at this point. Maybe he's expecting us to reach him." Maggie pondered.
"Knowing where he stands, those odds are applicable. He's conserving his remaining strength for any likely – or perhaps unlikely – event that may hasten his process. If he emanates haste, the quality of the land will be quenched. Synthesizing requires precision and deep networking."
Esther gazed far out at the view as they kept walking in the last rays of the sun. "The Empyrean…it's strength has gotten to be this much…"
"…" Luke was silent. He marveled at the top of the world, but at the same time, its beauty didn't shroud the fact that hell was to come their way. And ironic enough, the devil was leading the way.
"You still feeling sorry for him?" Shuji asked.
Luke kept a straight face as he didn't let up his path. "Not that it will stop us from what we have to do. They're risking just as much as we are."
Shuji rubbed his own neck. "Tch…yeah, I hear ya. Can't say I don't blame you. As much as I hated those guys, too…"
Luke kept his stare on Maximus' back, his tattered, long black cape flailing slowly like a ghost. He was just as contemplative about this as everyone else, but he knew not to dwell on it. Aside from that, he's known Maximus a little more compared to the others if their past encounters were of any indication. Their bout in the Doom Dimension came back to them.
"I won't be afraid…not by you…I will rip myself of that creature that keeps glaring back at me!"
"What's the matter, Luke…you look like you've just seen a ghost." Maximus' raspy voice taunted. "Or are you happy to see me?"
By all means, he wasn't going to doubt what Esther said before. He was surely convinced that he helped changed Maximus. Otherwise he wouldn't have been here to give them all a helping hand. Thinking about it now, he knew better than to feel such remorse if this was what Rogue Zero had decided upon themselves. They had no right to question their morals anymore. They were sentients, and thus thought for themselves. That was the basis that Luke learned.
"This has gotta be hard for him on the inside." Shawn muttered to Luke. "Still, we're here to get to the top without distractions. And most of them have been taken care of."
"And we can feel it even from here…his power flowing." Esther grimaced.
As they were walking, Maximus came to an abrupt stop. Everyone stopped and looked straight up at the ceiling in modest shock of their own.
"You guys seeing this?" Shuji muttered.
Esther's eyes narrowed. "Yes…"
Right over everyone's heads, there was no ceiling that seemed visible. The growing chill they've been feeling had an answer, and that wasn't by the wind or atmosphere. No, it was by the huge purple blanket-like cloud that loomed over their heads. It didn't crackle or anything, it just loomed over them, shrouding not just the inside, but also the outside of the Empyrean as well. Everyone stood just below its surface like they were about to touch clouds. But these clouds didn't seem inviting in the slightest. No, they looked…evil.
"There's no doubt about it. This is the summit that we've seen below." Jase said, his tone hardening a little.
"This bog before us, there's an unbelievably strong level of negative energy." Esther noted. She looked down at her hand. She could feel her nerves tighten despite her strengthened tolerance. "Even with an immunity system as strong as our own, I can still feel it making my nerves feel shot."
Maggie looked straight up. "Knowing who might be left, I can take a pretty good guess at who might be the culprit."
Esther nodded. "Yes…there's only one more left."
If there are no more surprises like the Kimera for instance." Jase chimed in. "Regardless, this is absolutely critical. No one should drop their guard, even for a moment."
"You don't have to tell us a third time." Shuji dismissed.
Luke turned towards the man that stood just below the ghastly bog. He could feel the shift in pressure around him. 'Maximus.'
"…" The Interacian glared up at the bog, his eyes visibly gleaming with a bloodlust. Just the mere smell of this just was enough to make his throat vibrate with a snarl that he was trying hard to suppress. His body was visibly shuddering lightly like an animal that was seeing something that was provoking it.
Before everyone was getting their guards up, Maximus' gauntlets tightened some before loosening. He lowered his head, taking a raspy breath out. "…let's go." Still fighting this rush of negative energy that filled his body with such impulses, he fought through it and marched into the bog.
Everyone looked at each other before Luke turned ahead. "Stay close." He told, before they all embarked after him.
Almost immediately upon walking into the hazy bog, the temperature dropped by a few degrees, and their goosebumps showed without them being afraid. The horrid smell of decay was something that infiltrated their noses, much to their excessive distaste.
"It's pretty hard to see what's up ahead…" Luke grunted, trying not to complain about the grotesque feeling that this corrosive gas had on his nasal cavities.
"It smells worse than a meat locker." Shuji replied.
"It's enough to make your stomach do backflips." Shawn noted.
Jelldon turned towards Maggie. "Maggie, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm alright Jelldon." She said, her tone deathly serious. "Can't let the wind get knocked out of me twice."
"It's hard enough with such a thin layer of oxygen at our elevation." Jase noted, looking at his hand. "It doesn't appear acidic, not at this level of concentration at least."
Maximus kept going, his eyes fixed solemnly forward. He could still hear them talking, but he was still busy trying to keep himself together. His eyes grew red cracks along the sides. His vision was getting red, but even as he was feeling a negative charge build up, his mind was flooding other matters that made him feel this way.
"Oh dear…you know nothing of the ways of a genius, do you? Maximus, it appears that we have struck an impasse. Please, by all means, allow me to play my part, if you will?"
"I don't need saving…you shouldn't have from the very beginning."
"Like you can use eyes to tell what's right in front of you isn't that obvious. Get going! Now!"
"Maximus, I'd say it's been a pleasure…but then again, we weren't allowed to feel that, were we?"
As he kept climbing, he was reminiscing on the fallen allies that stood beside him up until now. Cesar. Hendrix. Ariella. Killian. These thoughts plagued his mind even more so than this sufferable mist they were going through.
"That's so unlike you. You've never worried about me before, Maximus, so why start now?"
Remembering Xander's words left Maximus with something for his teeth to clench to. The fire he felt inside had been burning this he came to a new sense in the Doom Dimension. Now, with everything that's happened, that fire had burnt so much that it was becoming an inferno that made him want to rip apart Hades Pillars and Riaan more so than anything else out there. 'Riaan…and Hades Pillars…they will pay more dearly than what we have.'
"The bog…is getting thicker." Luke grimaced.
Esther narrowed her eyes. She powered through this unnerved feeling and glared ahead. "I see the chamber entrance. Let's go."
They entered the next floor, where almost immediately, they were hit a gigantic wave of malicious purple gas that enflamed their lungs. Unlike the previous floors below, there were arches, but pitch-black walls coated them like heavily tinted windows. The outside dusk world was blocked out, and the foul air and dark shade that the room took up made it feel like an abyss if anything. No, more so. It felt like the deep depths of the darkest pits of the world engulfing them.
"Just look at all this…it's so thick, you can barely see ahead of you." Shawn noted.
Shuji looked around, unable to see much except his hand in front of himself. "It's like night. Last I checked there was still light from the outside. Unless…this is part of the chamber now."
"Given who we have left, I have a rather strong feeling that you're not far off." Jase glared ahead.
The purple mist was engulfing everything, even the floor. The more they breathed of this material, the harder it was to stay up on their two feet. Their lungs were getting tighter by the minute the more they inhaled this stuff.
Shawn abruptly coughed. "Are you alright?" Esther asked.
Shawn cleared his throat. "Yeah, don't worry. Just went down the wrong pipe…" He furrowed his brow. "This stuff, it feels like toxic."
"Poison?" Maggie let out a slight cough.
"Everyone, cover your mouths!" Luke insisted. Everyone did as told and shielded their mouths and noses with arms or hands. The only one who didn't comply was Maximus, who stood there, inhaling normally. 'What is this stuff? I can feel it, too. It's making my fingers a little numb…is this a side effect from the gas?' He coughed a little. 'It's so foul…where have I felt this before?'
"…" Maximus stood in place, glaring ahead as he kept exhaling and inhaling like nothing was happening.
'Hold on…where have I seen this before?' Luke's eyes widened. 'Wait a minute! Hold on! When Alice and I fought Cyrus! He…'
Once he backpedaled, even Luke jumped away. He held up his blade, poised to strike hard as needed. 'That was close. He just veered at the last second.' He looked at his adversary's condition, his eyes widening upon seeing something closely. 'Wait a minute, what's that…?'
Cyrus looked at Luke with a look of contempt as his arm wasn't bleeding. Instead, it looked like…purple mist? It was slow and wispy, yet it wasn't red, nor did it seem entirely like gas. It was hard to understand.
Luke's eyes widened. "What…is that?" His eyes narrowed. "That looks like…"
Cyrus hastily covered his arm. "Seems you know too much, boy."
'Back when we've fought in Solaris, I cut him, and a strange mist started coming out of his arm instead o blood. I'm pretty sure of this, but normal Interacians should bleed.' He thought back to the lab incident, with the blood splattered from the scientists. 'This stuff…and the color…!'
It suddenly came back to him. When he recognized this gaseous mist. 'It's like the stuff we went through back when we were in Thermosphere. I'm sure about it by now!' With his mouth still covered, he turned towards the others. "Guys…I think this stuff is Devil Miasma!"
The others turned towards him, awfully alarmed by the call.
'Devil Miasma, Luke?" Shawn gasped, though it was into his arm.
"That would explain the toxicity in the air." Jase stated. "I figured this presence would be familiar. This concentration is just like what we saw back in Thermosphere."
Shuji narrowed his eyes. "We didn't see anything like that the whole time we were back here, not even in the Doom Dimension. Was this guy able to transfer it all into this chamber?" He paused to cough.
"It must be coming from somewhere." Esther deduced. "But it's too dark to pinpoint."
BA-DUMP
At that moment, everyone's nerves shot to their highest points. The crude sensation in the atmosphere was overridden with a dread. They all felt it just now, that spine-shrilling tension escalate. They all stood frozen as a forlorn tune settled upon them.
"Did everyone feel that?" Jase said in a straight tone.
"Yeah, we felt it alright." Shawn said. "Verias, you got that?"
If he were in ball form, his hair would be prickling on their ends. "I can sense it, a sudden flare of negativity…it's making my core vibrate."
"This spine chill…there can't be any mistake behind it." Abis stated.
Deep within the bog, Jelldon turned as something shifted through. "Maggie…there's something over there…" he said low.
Maggie kept her eyes fixed dead ahead. "I think I can see it…but…just what is it?"
Everyone heard the ground vibrate. A low, venomous snarl echoed through the chamber's bog. It was so hard to discern just what it could be, but had enough shrill in just the tone alone to make goosebumps on the skin multiply. Compared to nails on a chalkboard, this felt more grueling. It was like something broiling as bones were gnashed.
"That sound…it's grueling." Shawn surmised. "Like some wild animal extremely pissed off."
"Looks like we're not the only ones here." Shuji figured.
Fly Beetle stood on his shoulder. "Even the ground is vibrating. Whatever it is, it sure isn't welcoming any visitors."
"Esther, this energy." Atchibee trailed off.
Esther readied her spear in response. "Yes, I can feel it as well." She stepped forward. "So, this is all your doing, isn't it?" She spoke outwards, but she was given no response. Just the odd feeling that something was looming around them.
Luke gripped his swords tighter. "He's playing with us…"
A snort was heard from Maximus. "Amateurs." He stepped forward, taking centerstage above the rest. "If you really want to drag somebody out from the shadows…you've gotta give them the right bait." He demonstrated this by lifting his head, narrowing his eyes as he hissed at the bog. "…tch, you always knew how to piss me off, didn't you? You should have just crept out than beat around the bush like you always too. Don't you think you kill the momentum enough already? At this point you're just dragging out time. So…are you going to introduce yourself and your new little pet, or is your silence going to be your way of backing out?"
There was a long pause in the air…just before everything went pitch-black. Everything shut off to make everyone feel like they were blind.
"You stand before me, yet I can feel it within all of you. The beats of your hearts, every second that passes, a thump jumping with every syllable." The dark tune echoed in the darkness. "Defiant you are, but in the end…no one is prepared for when their time to give into dread dawns."
The darkness suddenly lifted, revealing Cyrus as he stood a short distance in front. There was a gawking haze around him as his piercing glare was highlighted in the surrounding bog that came from his body.
Maximus scoffed. "Showoff."
"Allow me to reintroduce myself to you all. I am Cyrus Black, the Darkus pillar that is Hades Pillars. From the light that guided you here, through the winds of change, into the fires of hell that failed to stop you…has all lead you to the final point of life. Death."
At his last word's chime, the sound of a snarl was heard as a silhouette of something rattled far behind him. Everyone could see drags shuffling and what looked like folded wings flexing.
"To feed on one's fear, to make them submit…that is the essence of which I have purpose of. Those who defy fear, those who defy death, are brought to a fate far worse than death itself…me. I shall bring every last one of you to your knees…before the life is suffocated from your withering spirits."
Shawn took his rapier and held it up. "Should have figured you'd be saved for last. That explains this pungent air you've got."
"Flattering, but such words doesn't aid in escaping your inevitable fates. As the final pillar, it is beyond me that Milord's desires will come to pass. His reset for a new world shall begin, in due time."
Beneath everyone's feet, the blue networks shined once more, transcending energy from the floor upwards. As it did, a low, grotesque snarl was heard throughout the chamber. The lighting from below illuminated a silhouette with glowing magenta eyes in the distance behind Cyrus. It looked deformed and draconic. Its visual alone was enough to send any person over the edge.
Before anyone had a say in the matter, the one to speak up the quickest was none other than Maximus. "Tch, you just love to hear yourself talk, don't you?"
Riaan's gaze grew halfheartedly lower. "Maximus, you come here with your staunch disposition. Have I taken it that you have slaughtered the fear that plagued you all this time?"
Maximus didn't speak. He looked back towards Luke, who stood there certain. Though he could have nodded, Luke chose to just glare, which the hooded acquaintance reciprocated before looking back.
"…no…I thought of something that you would hate so much more that you would have to fear." He responded.
"Oh? Is that right? I'd be delighted to see what proof you have to enforce such a bolstering claim." Cyrus chimed.
Maximus scoffed. "Don't mind if I take the invitation for myself. You all know what to do."
Jase nodded. "Understood. We should hurry, time is running out, and the longer we inhale, the more at risk we are to the evil Miasma."
"Now hold on." Maggie intervened. "I thought Rogue Zero said that the top won't open unless all of Hades Pillars is defeated."
"Trust me, you little pest…it'll be done once you get there. Just get to the stairwell around the side." Maximus sniped. "Now then, get lost…I have something to settle with this monster."
Esther turned away, looking prompt at the response given. "Alright…good luck then." She started along with everyone, trying to maneuver towards the stares.
As they all left, Luke stayed behind, giving a serious look at Maximus. "Maximus."
The hooded menace didn't bother looking at Luke. "…I wonder. A future where demons can be truly accepted is possible…the wrong that they did can really be overlooked so that they may see a better place."
Luke frowned. He caught onto what Maximus was referring to. "What we both did before won't ever be forgotten. We just have to keep moving forward with that burden."
Maximus smirked with a sneer. "I don't recall saying anything about myself being a burden. I'm merely just stating the burden that's plagued my life." He focused on Cyrus. "But I suppose…that plague has given me benefits. I mean it, this time, Luke…don't look back."
Luke and Abis stared at him, for the last time. They finally got their fill and turned around. "We won't. Better keep up your promise when we get to the top."
Maximus face kept concealed as he gave no immediate response. It took him a moment before he came to one final response. "…what a pain you've been, Luke."
Luke took the sentiment to heart. He and Abis went off and hurried towards the stairwell that was concealed within the grueling bog. Not a single wind blew as a dread-like silence fell between Maximus and Cyrus. Both stood meters away from each other, the former's expression concealed by his hood.
"You…you bare no disgust in this bog. I sense no fear, yet do you not fear such a death?" Cyrus chimed.
"Seems that someone's on a rather slow slope. Or perhaps, even you aren't without weaknesses." Maximus rasped.
Cyrus raised a brow. "I'm intrigued. Indulge me, exactly what is my weakness that I seem oblivious of?"
"Is it not obvious? Me. Perhaps you may have forgotten. I feed on negative energy as much as you do." This was demonstrated when Maximus took a small inhale through his mouth. However, instead of having much of his desires take over, he instead looked so calmly at Cyrus without so much as a flinch.
"You tolerate the Devil Miasma so highly."
"…I hate you. I truly do. Honestly, you always throw your weight around, bragging about the spoils of fear. You always flaunt the need to control, and when you don't have it, you use intimidation to get your way."
"I can see that you most certainly feel that way. But, as you have said, we feed off the same feeling. To create such a feeling, you must create it. To do so, you must kill the fear that engulfs you. You say that you have found an ultimatum, but do you believe in such an ideology to move forward?"
Maximus lowered his head, his glare hardening on his foe. "We Interacians…we're all just a biproduct of Riaan's DNA. As he evolved, so did we…but there were some like you and I, who just happened to be those special exceptions. Honestly. Does such a world need such problems in it? I wonder about that."
"You should not." Cyrus stated bluntly. "You see, in my time with Milord, I have learned quite a few fundamentals about life. And while I do understand his position and experience, too, bare my own will on how a life must be balanced. In life, there are those who try to salvage what they can to move forward…and there are those who are distilled by dread to make them move as such. To that extent, if your heart races in the face of death, are you afraid. Or are you excited for death's toll to be paid? It seems like you are the latter, are you not?"
Maximus scoffed. "You're asking so many questions again. Perhaps I should respond with my own? Let me ask you this then…if I took you out of this world, would that kill off the plague that you've had on all of us?"
The question gave Cyrus a moment to process. The smirk on his face widened as the bog around him thickened. "It might…then again, fear is eternal. And I live to control that fear." His dark eyes brightened with a small pulse. "I will distill fear, and for Milord's name, as well as my own, plunge all who dare to defy the name of darkness, towards Hell!"
Maximus paused as he looked skywards. 'It's ironic. Empyrean is translated from heaven, and yet, even in the heavens, there's demons like this guy. Is there really such a place meant for us? I wonder about that…' He continued glaring ahead. "Hmph, you know, Cyrus, as much as a score that I want to settle between us, there's an even bigger one for what you and your little lapdogs did to Xander and the rest."
"They were weak. They will rot in the trenches of hell where they belong."
Maximus spread his feet. "It may sound hypocritical…but I'm feeling in a generous mood today. So…" He raised his head, showing his pale, wrinkled face and messed up teeth. He looked pissed. "I think I'm going to rip you apart as payback for taking them from this world!"
"I shall make you remember the true essence if darkness…and make you understand that you aren't even worthy of Hell, Maximus Rogue."
"This is Hell…a hell that I'll deprive from this world with my own claws."
Cyrus: 100% Maximus: 100%
"You have degenerated so much that you spark with such overconfidence. We shall erase that from existence first from my Hell." Cyrus reached his hand out to the side. "Vaal Abussos!"
A low, sinister snarl was heard inside the Devil Miasma. A dark purple glow was followed by the receding ball form that flew from the darkness. Maximus watched the hazy ball form with a negative energy fog around it slowly descend into Cyrus' grip. He closed his hand and retreated within his cape.
"Oh, that's right…you have a new favorite pet now as you call it, don't you?" Maximus scoffed casually.
"A pet, or perhaps an instrument for my world of fear, it matters not." Cyrus leered heavily. "I invite you to discern of your own accord. But make no mistake…everything will fall to fear."
Maximus looked ahead with a mild scoff. He didn't hesitate to grab a Gate Card and throw it out. "Gate Card, set!" The Gate Card went flying out between them, fading into a dark purple shockwave that traveled across the miasma-plagued earth. "Daemon Goblinball…let's make this quick, alright? I've had a long day, and before I want to rest, I want to make sure this self-absorbed bastard is out of the picture."
"Consider it a pleasure." Goblinball responded.
A wide grin spread across his face. "I think I'm going to savor this. Now…" He picked up his Bakugan and brought his arm back. "Let's play a game, shall we? It's called 'The Last Monster Standing'. Bakugan, brawl!" He threw his Bakugan in. "Bakugan, stand! Rise…Darkus Daemon Goblinball!"
A dark pulse ran through the miasma, dissipating a large sum of it in an instant. A pillar of magenta and pitch-black skyrocketed with shockwaves flaring the miasma in outward directions. The ground trembled as Cyrus and Maximus stood quietly as said pillar revolved into the silhouette of some demonic Bakugan with a beaming eyeball that looked feral and deadly. The pillar receded, with the body crashing down on two feet with to large wings extended out on either side. Daemon Goblinball's three eyes gleamed brightly as he expelled a shrilled roar that shook the entire chamber.
Maximus' hood flailed, but still didn't come completely off. "Now, it wouldn't be a fun game if there was only one player, right?"
Cyrus reciprocated a scoff. "If you so eloquently insist. Then I'll be delighted to showcase for you." He held up his Darkus Bakugan. "Behold, the true power of Darkus…Bakugan, brawl!" He extended his hand out, and as of projecting some kind of invisible force, shot the shadowy ball across the ground. "Bakugan, stand!"
The ball skipped across the ground, before doing several tricks. It rolled to and fro, swerving until it came to a halt. The ball popped open, revealing magenta eyes immediately shining as wings sprouted from the side, with a head with horns that popped up from the sides. There were also arms and legs, with a tail protruding.
A pulse of pure darkness spread out, causing the Devil Miasma to turn into a darker shade and expelled outwards. A pitch-black and magenta eruption of energy spiraled in the center, making a magnitude that felt like the entire tower was trembling. Despite the shockwaves flailing both their cloaks, neither Maximus nor Cyrus were fazed as they locked eyes with one another.
Daemon Goblinball adjusted his footing through the trembling earth. His demonic stare was followed by a shrilled bellow towards the colossal blast wave of darkness trying to topple him.
"Krrrrrrrrr!" Something low and bloodcurdling echoed through the fading light. It was replaced by even more Devil Miasma that settled into the atmosphere. It passed Maximus once more, but his eyes were only wide with a rush of adrenaline he was barely containing.
"Showoff…" he hissed.
Daemon Goblinball uncovered as the mass of the wake settled. He saw something suddenly sling through the air and around. He pivoted to avoid a scythe-like tail end that carved into the ground. It grazed across the ground as it slowly retreated into the bog, where a draconic silhouette with magenta eyes glared down Goblinball.
Two growths of misshaped wings expanded outwards, sounding like decrepit skin stretching. Both Interacian and Bakugan looked up as something sauntered out of the thick bog to give a proper display.
The Bakugan was most definitely draconic, seemingly quadruped, though its body posture seemed like it could stand on its hind legs if it wanted to. He had a black head with purple rims outlining the very narrow magenta eyes. His lower jaw was purple, and the jaws themselves looked rather uneven, if not unlocked some for it to show dozens of razor-sharp teeth that were deformed. His neck and upper body had gray plating with various magenta cracks; the plating themselves looked uneven. Six dark purple spikes hooked upwards along the chest area. His shoulders had two massive magenta spikes with broken purple armor. The black arms were bare until they reached the forearms, where dark purple plates were beneath what appeared to be a magenta, bony brace with ribcage-like attachment along the sides. The hands were bare, but grizzly, long, magenta claws touched the ground, making scratch marks no matter how soft the touch. The lower-half of the stomach had solid purple plating that looked stable. The hind legs had gray plating with magenta cracks, with even more magenta bony armor encasing it. Behind the knees were magenta spikes that hooked downwards. The shins had gray plating and magenta cracks, and the toe claws were thick and sharp. All along the back there were magenta spikes that went all the way up to the scythe on the end of the tail. The underside of the tail was also gray plating with glistening magenta cracks. The spread wing was black with magenta spikes at the joints. They supported the purple joints, with gray membranes stretching like they were covering up something broken.
However, what seemed to be so disgusting about this Bakugan was that draped all over his entire body, looked like some crusted, black substance that seemed like cloth or some type of leather. It had a corrosive aura around it as Devil Miasma followed its wake.
Maximus stared at the grotesque decayed beast with a slightly narrowed vision. "What the…?"
Cyrus' enlightened smirk darkened with his own glee. "Say hello…to Darkus Vaal Abussos."
His slim magenta eyes glowed bright as he craned his head around. The dragon reared up on his hind legs and expelled a low-toned screech that distorted the air around him. The tower trembled as shockwaves followed by miasma flourished in all directions. The shockwaves of his grim roar caused Daemon Goblinball and Maximus to kneel and grip the ground to void being blown away.
Luke caught up with his peers when they heard a bone-chilling shriek from down below. The walls trembled as something climbed up. Jase looked down in time to see a massive shockwave of Devil Miasma spread upwards. "Watch out!"
The shockwaves came in an instant. They all dropped to a knee and kept their mouths covered the best they could as dark purple bog rushed up with the distorted air. The stairwell trembled as blue networks shot up once more from the energy being unleashed just from the bast waves alone.
The shockwaves continued onwards, but they all persevered. Shawn opened an eye and looked down in mild surprise. "That power…it's from just standing alone?!" he grunted.
'The Devil Miasma also just thickened.' Esther realized. 'Is it coming from that Bakugan?'
The bloodcurdling echo traveled through even towards the many repaired floors below. While the Devil Miasma couldn't reach them, the echoes of a demonic beast were loud enough to cause Drago's eyes to widen and look skywards.
"Drago, what is it?" Dan asked. Suddenly, even he felt it. It felt like time slowed down for everyone when their skin started crawling with a venomous chill.
"W-What the heck is that…?" a wide-eyed Paige questioned.
Rafe clenched his teeth. He could feel his spine trembling as much as his arm. "My body…feels like it's gotten cold all of a sudden."
Wolfurio took a wary step back, turning his head in every corner alongside Boulderon. The latter seemed worn out, especially with his wrecking ball of a BakuNano having been destroyed. "I can feel it…such incredible amounts of negative energy flowing through the air around us."
"I'm getting some freaky chills-GAH!" Boulderon's comment was cut off when a Kimera-Drago unleashed a red beam, via Dragon Thrasher directly into his chest. This caused a small-scale eruption that engulfed the Bakugan as he screamed loudly in agony.
"BOULDERON!" Paige screamed, but she ended up being blown off her feet when her partner slammed on his back. The shockwaves and tremor caused her already stiff body to shut down.
"Paige!" Rafe panicked.
Elright looked up at the ceiling, his Neathian eyes shuddering twitching as his skin color paled at the gross feeling he had. "This power…don't tell me it's coming from high up…?"
On the opposite end at the summit, the echoes of Vaal Abussos shrilled the atmosphere. Dusk continued plaguing the skies which the Empyrean overlooked, but the beauty of the scenery was destroyed by the bone chill that Riaan felt through his connection. Blue networks connected with his body as he sensed what was happening. A frown came across his face.
"It would seem…that the final pillar has begun his dance of darkness." He mumbled. "I can feel it, even from this distance. Just what wonders does his Vaal Abussos have."
The shockwaves gradually reduced towards their end. It left just a thick bog of Devil Miasma surrounding them, like a hazy border that was poor on lighting as it was from before.
Vaal Abussos lowered to all fours again, giving Goblinball and Maximus a glare of pure evil. Both Interacian and Bakugan stood before the hellbent deformed zombie dragon as a grave tension settled in around them.
Vaal Abussos: 1200 Daemon Goblinball: 800
"Tch, of course you'd have the most power. Typical." Maximus sneered. "Oh well, let's just see if that power can back itself up, shall we?"
"By all means, you are free to testify." Cyrus insisted. At his statement, Vaal Abussos' scythe-like tail swayed across his backside. It carved clean through the miasma. The dragon's teeth chattered before he suddenly jerked forward, expelling another deafening roar.
Maximus clenched his teeth. "So be it." He held up his mechanical gauntlet claws, the palm's dark purple jewel showing an ability. "Then we'll be obliged to take that power out. Ability, activate!" He reached his ability gauntlet out at Vaal Abussos, just as Daemon Goblinball started charging a dark energy mass in front of his eyeball. "Black Overcannon!"
Goblinball adjusted his posture and the black orb of energy flickered several times before a dark energy laser sped across the plating below. It streamed across at an alarming speed while making an airwave from around Goblinball.
Neither Cyrus nor Vaal Abussos made any effort to dodge. In fact, they stood still like statues as the latter stood before his master, taking the attack head-on before the energy combusted into Darkus energy that flourished into an explosion.
Vaal Abussos: 1200 (-500) = 700 Daemon Goblinball: 800
The shockwaves of the initial strike sped past Maximus and Goblinball. Both contenders stood still as the explosion settled down around their targeted area. Maximus' cape lightly shifted until it came to a stop. The air fell silent once more.
He looked ahead, seeing the smoke looking more like a bog that encased. Inside, he could see a draconic silhouette, with a tail in front of its human-sized master to reduce the impact.
"Not bad." Cyrus mocked dryly. "You've gained some power, but…"
Magenta eyes shined brightly within the bog. A neck craned through before two deformed wings flapped, dispersing the wake to reveal Vaal Abussos, who expelled another bone-chilling roar.
"Kch! It's so noisy…" Maximus sneered. "Goblinball!" At his warning shout, Daemon Goblinball braced himself in front of his partner.
Vaal Abussos snarled out clouds of Devil Miasma while glaring down Daemon Goblinball. Cyrus slowly raised his Bakumeter to present an ability of his own. "This…is how you bring one's fear out into the open. Ability, activate!"
Maximus tensed up, as did Goblinball.
Cyrus raised his arm high as the card's light got brighter. "Void Scream!"
Vaal Abussos snarled as he lurched his head back and channeled dark energy into his jagged, dentally challenged maw. Several mows of teeth glimmered as a condensed purple energy orb appeared and he raised onto his hind legs. He came down on all fours, expelling another loud cry, one that packed so much power into a concentrated energy blast with dark purple sonic rings that reduced debris below to oblivion. The sonic beam zoomed in at an alarming rate, shredding up the Empyrean flooring in the process.
Vaal Abussos: 700 Daemon Goblinball: 800 (-600) = 200
Maximus didn't bother budging, as opposed to Daemon Goblinball, who brought both arms up and leaned forward. The hypersonic blast wave struck him, causing a sonic boom that erupted a blast wave past the demonic Bakugan. It rushed past him, opening a hole in the Empyrean. The debris flew out, and yet shockingly enough, the Devil Miasma stayed centered inside the Empyrean. The sonic blast wave was so powerful that it made Goblinball slide back on his heels, every couple of meters for every second. The demon. The more he tried to hold his ground, the harder the screech grinded his heels. Yet Maximus remained undeterred.
"You may have evolved your darkness to a new level, but it is still far from our league." Cyrus taunted.
"Yeah, you've got a point…so let's fix that, shall we?" Maximus showed another Darkus ability. "Ability activate, Gravity Shield!"
Daemon Goblinball's eyes gleamed brightly as he started concentrating gravitational energy before him. Just before he was about to lose momentum, he let out a demonic howl and spread his wings. A distorted field made up of personal gravity deflected the soundwaves all around them, rippling into the miasma and fading like dead spirits.
Vaal Abussos: 700 Daemon Goblinball: 200 (+600 +500) = 1300
Daemon Goblinball snarled through the shockwaves that faded. Vaal Abussos reared his head back and craned back, though his mouth smoked from the excess force of his own roar.
"You cannot hide from the darkness forever, you degenerate." Cyrus chimed. "It will find you…and you will be embraced in its hold until you rot."
Maximus frowned before looking back where the hole was repairing itself. Off in the distance, he could still see the faintest hue of the dusk sunset still brimming some measure of light to the evening before them. Just as his vision of dusk was covered by blue synthetic lines and pitch-black windows forming, he looked back at Cyrus with a scoff.
"Ability, activate…" Cyrus paused. "Mortal Typhoon!"
Vaal Abussos' nails gripped the ground ferociously. He stretched his shoulder blades up to make his large wingspan and membrane deformities showoff. He craned his head high before flapping his wings, summoning a hurricane of pitch-black energy that engulfed him. He pressed on the ground, causing the winds to expand outwards. The cyclone's wake crashed into Goblinball's shield, momentarily holding off the dark force.
Maximus' tattered cape shifted as he tried hanging in there. He grunted as his body tensed up.
Cyrus' eyes slowly widened, his pupils shrinking. "No matter how much one can defend…" The gravity shield in front of Goblinball started thinning out. "…it eventually comes to an end!"
The shield eventually was overpowered. The gravity was swamped and Goblinball and Maximus were struck by a strong hurricane of pitch-black energy. It flourished through the domain, stirring up the miasma in its destructive turbulence.
Vaal Abussos: 700 (+600) = 1300 Daemon Goblinball: 1300 (-500 -600) = 200
Maximus hissed as his cleats' spiked bottoms helped keep him anchored on the ground. He hissed annoyingly before aggressively baring his teeth.
"How generous of you, Maximus…however, my calling is for the research…and to that I dare say I shall do plenty upon dusk!"
Remembering what Cesar said from such a long time ago, it momentarily left Maximus dazed. "Tch…how ironic." He raised his right arm high, where the energy claws activated and he plunged them into the ground to avoid being caught in the cold tempest. "Before dusk he says…"
Daemon Goblinball grunted, trying to hold his own ground. But even he was starting to lose to this force.
"Double ability, activate!" Maximus shouted. "Void Mamba, plus Nebulous Destroyer!"
Goblinball summoned a dimensional portal in front and launch shadowy, thick tendrils that sped through the tempest. They snaked through, creating several holes before they seemingly clung onto something. A low snarl was heard to indicate its target's chapter.
"Bingo." Maximus raised his head. "Now fire!"
Daemon Goblinball generated a concentrated orb of dark plasma in between his hands and aimed for the center of where the tendrils latched onto. "Take this!" He fired the orb with great force, pushing through the tempest and tearing a tunnel straight after Vaal Abussos, whose body was laced in black, snake-like tendrils.
Vaal Abussos: 1300 (-300 -500) = 500 Daemon Goblinball: 200 (+300 +500) = 1000
"So he's using the tendrils to narrow down his perception…" Cyrus mused, seeing the plasma orb draw near. "But…it will still rot." He held up another ability. "Ability, activate…Battle Decay!"
Vaal Abussos' eyes gleamed brightly, before the miasma tendril drape on his entire body gave off a corrosive fume. He hissed as he stood in place. The corrosive energy started solidifying the tendrils, reducing them to dust. The plasma ball that was heading his way was also decaying into thin air.
Vaal Abussos: 500 (+300 +500) = 1300 Daemon Goblinball: 1000 (-300 -500) = 200
"Battle Decay corrodes any and all abilities. Anything that comes his way shall be nothing but dust."
Maximus made a sudden lunge with lightning-like reflexes. His energy claws were still active as he went to tear at Cyrus. He raked his claw high, but he caught onto the scythe-like end that intercepted him at the last second. The hooded demon hissed at the stalemate, while gleaming with arrogance was Cyrus on the opposite end.
Maximus had no choice but to fall back and slide across the ground. Vaal Abussos' tail swept horizontally, causing him to kneel and backflip after it passed over. When he landed, he noticed a shadow overhead, which were giant claws that he jumped away from at the last second. The hand pressed so firmly that the ground depressed from the force.
Time slowed down as Maximus was taking a moment to process all of this. He glared at Vaal Abussos while in midair, before sliding back one more time.
"Okay then…how's about we try something else more for your tastes." He held up an ability. "Ability activate, Osiris Drake!"
Vaal Abussos stomped on the ground, sending a linear decay wave across the ground, reducing it to dust as it drew closer towards Maximus. Suddenly, a vicious bright purple vortex appeared before him that blocked off the decay wave, stopping it on the spot.
"What's this?" Cyrus piqued.
Goblinball's eyes brightened through the cyclone engulfing his frame. He snarled so menacingly as the typhoon grew a draconic head around his stature before beelining through the atmosphere, swerving about until broke into a spiraling impact right above Vaal Abussos. The decayed beasts' corrosive aura was broken as it was plunged into the ground with a shockwave of dust and bright purple energy towering above.
Vaal Abussos: 1300 (-300 -500) = 500 Daemon Goblinball: 200 (+300 +500 +600) = 1600
The dust cloud engulfed Vaal Abussos, in which Goblinball spurred out of and landed on a knee. His huge eyeball at his core zeroed in on the cloud, same with Maximus as he glared at Cyrus. It soon faded, revealing Vaal Abussos standing upright once more. The attack looked like it stirred him up some, if not pissed him off.
"Looks like he just got more pissed." Maximus chimed.
"I can neither agree nor disagree with such a testimony. Emotions such as anger don't comprehend to Vaal Abussos. Nor myself." Cyrus backlashed. "It is merely an instinct. And such instincts tell you who is predator and prey."
Vaal Abussos stood upright, his wings spreading as he glared down Goblinball.
"Ability, activate…" Cyrus reached out once more promptly. "Breath Fall!"
Vaal Abussos' throat vibrated as miasma started broiling inside. A dark purple bog was surfacing inside of his maw before the decayed dragon lurched forward. A dark purple gas much like Devil Miasma expelled from the throat, becoming a large cloud of insufferable gas that engulfed Goblinball and Maximus.
Vaal Abussos: 500 Daemon Goblinball: 1600…1475…1250…
Vaal Abussos kept spraying the gas, his maw opening just a little wider. It was enough force to rival a typhoon. It kept fuming and clouding up the opponent to the point of asphyxiation. Goblinball dropped to a knee as the toxic air was deteriorating him from the inside.
"It's what's on the inside that matters, as they say. Then what if your insides deteriorate? You will be hollow…as darkness overwhelms you."
Goblinball was on a knee still, and while he was feeling the power from his body getting corroded from within, Maximus remained undeterred as he kept inhaling like nothing happened. "Weren't you listening? I said that I feed off negative energy, just like you."
"Yes, I vaguely remember such a detail. Even after Milord had put you through the condition process, your stomach and insides had undergone a mutation while you were in the Doom Dimension. So much in fact that an organ transplant could have been fatal. He just merely had to fix it to where you could sustain nourishment than just negative energy. What a folly of an existence you are, to have such a balance of both sides."
Maximus gave no response. He just kept breathing in the miasma as his cape shifted.
"It matters not who we see as friend or foe, for those who do not understand us shall suffer the consequences. We will show no mercy! This is the upstart…of Rogue Zero!"
"This is…my upstart." He mumbled. "You think you really know me, don't you? You're so arrogant." He showed an ability. "Ability, activate! Dimension Assault!"
As his power was deteriorating drastically, Goblinball was able to reach forward with his claws spread out. This created a spatial portal with a dark cosmos inside that sucked in the repulsive gas that was expelling his way. The waves that already engulfed him started to evaporate.
Meanwhile, above Vaal Abussos, another portal opened up, getting Cyrus' attention just before that same dark plume came expelling down onto the zombie dragon. The miasma sizzled along his back, causing an uncomfortable stir around him. He snarled aggressively as he was swamped by his own gases.
Vaal Abussos: 500…475…425… Daemon Goblinball: 50 (+1550) = 1600
"So you've reflected my attack?" Cyrus questioned.
Maximus hissed. "Now look who's prey."
Cyrus smirked. "Your insistence of a comeback will turn into a grave mistake. Did you forget what the essence of Darkus is all about? We feed off the weak. Vaal Abussos doesn't get weak, he becomes stronger. Perhaps a demonstration is in order." He held up an ability without so much as a flinch. "Ability, activate! Void Merge!"
Vaal Abussos snarled low as he reaffirmed himself. He opened his mouth wide. Instead of expelling energy, there was a sudden draft that he was bringing into his whole body. The drape around his body was like a sponge that drew in all the fumes and energy streams from around them.
Maximus looked up to see some of the Devil Miasma that was released before being drawn back into the beast. "It's absorbing the power…"
The purple bog was absorbed into the skin, where the cracks within the armor shined brightly. This caused Vaal Abussos' eyes to brighten for a moment before careening his head back and expelling a voluminous roar.
Vaal Abussos: …25 (+2475) = 2500 Daemon Goblinball: 1600
The ground shuddered lightly as Vaal Abussos' tail swung around, thumping against the earth. A pulse ran amock beneath, but as it traveled after Maximus, he reeled a claw back and slashed at the ground. The slash wake he made collided with the ground's wake, causing a rupture that managed to minimize the sliding across the earth. He came to a stop as another thought came to mind.
"We all knew the risks of doing this task. This is what the path of desperation has turned us into. If you weren't prepared for this responsibility…then you shouldn't have come her to begin with."
Now it was Hendrix's words that rung in his head as he gained traction. 'Why can't I…get these damn thoughts out of my head?!' He slid to a vicious stop, his trail of claw marks eventually healing along the Empyrean's earth. He looked up, snarling in aggravation.
Cyrus smirked at his upper hand. "Now then…ability, activate. Cursed Anaheim!"
Vaal Abussos raised his head and snarled. The magenta cracks that were outlined around the gray plating shimmered brightly on the stomach and the legs. His eyes were bright magenta as he glared ahead in a daunting manner.
'Was that a defensive ability he used just now?' Maximus figured out. 'In that case, he must be expecting me to attack right away. Better see what it does just to be sure.'
Cyrus' malicious smirk didn't let up as he reached out. "Ability activate, Void Scream!"
Maximus narrowed his eyes. "Get ready, Goblinball!" Goblinball braced himself as he watched his opponent carefully.
Vaal Abussos let out an earsplitting roar that distorted the air to its maximum levels. Hypersonic soundwaves of pure negative energy expelled in all directions as a concentrated jetblast of energy went barreling after Goblinball.
"Ability activate, Dimension Assault!" Goblinball reached both arms out and generated a large negative spatial portal before him. The concentrated roar fired into the portal and vanished. Seconds later, another portal opened up right behind Cyrus and Vaal Abussos.
Cyrus turned around in time as the hypersonic shockwaves were traversing out of the dimensional ability, but just as the full wake was about to hit him, Vaal Abussos' wings shielded him as the Bakugan was engulfed in his own attack. Dust and shockwaves traversed all around, gradually deteriorating the ground and the Devil Miasma past Maximus. He and Goblinball used their claws to bunt the blow, but immediately noticed something off.
"…huh. I figured that's what that last ability was for."
Maximus' testimony was answered when the miasma settled. It showed Vaal Abussos' plating shimmering with the bright aura from before. He craned his head back at Maximus and snarled. His wings unfolded around Cyrus, whose expression went from a devious smirk to a serious frown.
"You almost had me there…how crude indeed." He scoffed. "But even so, Cursed Anaheim does in fact prevents Vaal Abussos' power level from dropping for the duration of the battle. You have quite the nerve to almost hit me…I'm almost impressed."
Maximus wasn't amused, not in the slightest. He just frowned heavily as the Devil Miasma kept circulating. He relished in it, but he maintained his focus on Cyrus.
For a brief moment, he remembered what he saw just now. The look on Cyrus' face when that attack was about to hit him. His eyes were slightly wide…that alone was the indication he needed.
"Who'd have guessed that the king of fear is so fragile. Are you perhaps really afraid of something?"
Cyrus raised a brow. "Do tell me, what brought you to such a pitiful conclusion? I have no such fears of the likes of such a misshapen cretin such as yourself. You give the meaning of Darkus and its attribute such a crude name."
Maximus gave a toothy smirk beneath his hood. "In that case, before I take you out…" He bared his energy claws as his pupils shrank. He gave Cyrus another mad glare. "I'll be sure to expose to this world your fears, and make you scream once I rob you of it all!"
"You don't have the guts nor the power to do such a thing. The key to every situation you are in…is control. Control is the key to power."
"Is that so? Thanks for the advice…" His cape shifted as he stepped back. "Then I'll just have to take that first."
Daemon Goblinball reaffirmed himself as Vaal Abussos gave a bloody snarl. The zombie dragon seemed just as offended as Cyrus was, much to Goblinball's inner chagrin. "Do your worst, abomination." He sneered. "One way or the other, I shall tear your skin off just the same!"
Far below, Phosphos fired more beams from his Terrorcrest right into a Kimera-Hercules Fly Beetle, but it instead plunged a fist into the ground, where angular slates jutted up and angled all the blue beams in various directions back at the allies.
'It reflected the Battlegear Ability?!' Lena gasped. It was too late as she covered up when Phosphos was struck by his own attack, causing him to scream in pain. Likewise, the beams projected into all the nearby Bakugan, whom were barely able to react. Drago moved just in the nick of time, but Elright's Raptorix ended up struck down, cawing as it reverted to ball form.
"No!" Elright shouted. "This is bad. Our numbers are dwindling…"
Around them, engulfed in the darkness, the Kimera were closing in on them. Linehalt had to descend and drop to a knee out of exhaustion. He was dirtied, and heavily battered. But he just kept glaring at the enemies before him. "There's just no end to them…" he grunted.
"We have to keep fighting." Ren muttered. But as he kept looking at the foes, he couldn't help but decipher something. "We took out so many, and what's left looks like those guys' Bakugan."
Dan's eyes widened. "Huh?" He looked around, save for the few Alpha Hydranoid, Drago, and Helios clones, what was let looked like Luke and his friends' Bakugan. "Hey yeah, you're right."
Marucho groaned as he laid low. "How'd they holdup against us this long?"
"Don't forget, these clones can mimic abilities as well as a Bakugan's battle instincts." Shun stated. "These guys coordinate so well and work off of each other. Remember that Atmos and Fly Beetle?" He thought back to when the Aerial Stream and Precipice Slate combo struck all of them without any warning. "Not only that, but these guys have evolved with such strong ability countermeasures for themselves."
"So even individually we're screwed?" Rafe fret.
"This is really bad!" Paige panicked. "What are those guys doing up there?! Are they even at the top?!"
The Kimera-Hydranoid and Abis that were working in unison before started off in a tandem attack against Alice's Hydranoid. Abis went first, unleashing blue missiles in the form of Depth Fire that whistled down onto the original hydra.
"Ability activate, Saw Demolition!" Alice shouted. Hydranoid's six eyes gleamed brightly before his buzz saw started grinding. The spikes crackled dark static as the multitude of blue missiles. They all struck him, but they diffused to thin air.
However, this was a cover-up, and Alice realized. "Incoming!"
Just as the attack's last missile diffused, metallic tendrils reached out and grabbed Hydranoid. They laced around his arms, legs, and tail. Two more tendrils laced against the far left and right heads. The remaining head looked at the tendrils' base and saw that it came from the clone.
"Keegan!"
Seeing an ally in trouble, he readied an ability. "Elico! Ability activate, Tidal Blow!" Elico's gauntlets started turning on their axis and fired blue cyclones from them towards the tendrils.
However, just before they could reach them, a pressure change occurred within the vicinity. The Daedalus Abis Omega let out a growl as all the diamonds and gills shined vibrantly. Inside the maw, reeling back, a compressed orb of dark aquatic energy was morphing.
"Crap! It's that big move!"
The dragon unleashed a violent roar as the entire body flickered on and off several times in a single second. It fired a torrential beam of Hydrias Impact, completely vaporizing the cyclones and engulfing Ando Elico. The eruptive wake swallowed everything else beyond him, racing into the few Bakugan left as well. They all let out cries of anguish and pain before they reverted to ball form.
Keegan, who ducked low to avoid being vaporized, watched as his Bakugan rolled up to him, smoking a little in shock. "Elico…"
Hydranoid roared as he tried breaking away, but the tendrils were pulling him into the buzzsaw. It started grinding viciously against his buzzsaw abdomen, causing metal to chip off and several spikes to break off. The hydra careened his heads and roared in anguish at the Destroy Vanish doing its job.
"Hydranoid!" Alice shouted.
Helios was still helpless. Cornered by a Fly Beetle clone and an Atchibee, he was literally pinned down and unable to activate abilities while the latter moth hissed. It started using Black Solstice, radiating Helios in a light that gradually drained him of all his power. Spectra watched with a grunt.
Drago was attempting to stand, but when he did, a gravitational wind pinned him down, via the Apex Atmos above using his Draft Burden.
"Drago! Get up buddy!" Dan pleaded.
"It's no good! He's pinned down!" Gunz stated.
Dan's anger showed on his face. The platforms around him were synthetically repairing themselves from the recent Kimera-Abis blast wave, but he was losing it. They were losing it. He couldn't believe that this was happening. "RIAA~N!" he screamed violently.
The climb was heavy, but they all were making progress the best they could while trying to get through the Devil Miasma. As they kept climbing, Shawn took notice of something. "Looks like the Devil Miasma is thinning out at this height." He realized. "There isn't as much up here than what it looks."
"Yeah, but it's still not easy to breathe." Shuji panted.
"The miasma must have a density like water vapor if it's thinning at this point." Jase deduced. "The highest point for clouds is just about where the Empyrean's base falls in. Any higher and pressure would cause it to degenerate back down into the atmosphere."
Shawn looked at him. "Yeah, that's a good point. Doesn't *cough* oxygen have a factor as well?"
"With how much oxygen there is now, yes…but we're not out of the woods yet."
"The chamber's exit is up ahead. If what Maximus says is true, then we should prepare ourselves…" Esther said.
"He won't fail." Luke said, his tone absolute as he walked in front of the pack. "We all know Maximus. If anything, he's relentless. I won't look back just because he said so. I'm doing it because it's what we have to focus on. Just like he is getting us a clear path to the peak."
"Luke…"
The Devil Miasma swirled around Vaal Abussos and Daemon Goblinball, both Bakugan glaring the other down, as did their masters. Their capes shifted with the air they breathed. Cyrus gave his arrogant smirk that Maximus frowned at.
Cyrus reached his arm out as he took the initiative strike. "Ability activate, Tyrant Befall!"
Vaal Abussos' eyes glimmered brightly before the behemoth reared up on his hind legs and charged a dark indigo and black orb of energy that drew in negative streams from the surroundings. Once it fully charged, the monster slammed on his front legs and expelled multiple airwaves as the orb exploded outwards into a voluminous dark indigo and black beam. It created a deep trench as it sped after Goblinball.
Vaal Abussos: 2500 (+600) = 3100 Daemon Goblinball: 1600 (-600) = 1000
The destructive blast wave closed in, but Maximus was already prepared for that by swiping his arm forward. "Ability, activate! Osiris Drake!" Goblinball flexed his wings and engulfed himself in bright purple energy, which took up a draconic head that spun around. The beam closed in, but the outer draconic layer was durable enough to deflect the shockwaves past him and Maximus. His power level ascended towards 2200.
Some of the drafts went back to Vaal Abussos, who lowered his head and took several rocks that broke against his plated underside. The glow within the cracks receded, and Cyrus' cape shifted about as he was too far out of range.
'That will shut down his Cursed Anaheim. Now…' He swiped his arm. "Go!"
Three glowing eyes shimmered brightly as the typhoon of energy slithered skywards, swaying to and fro before leaning downwards to fly at Vaal Abussos with a gaping energy maw, with Goblinball inside beaming for the target. Maximus, spurred dead ahead.
Vaal Abussos braced himself and took the impact head-on. The results was a head-to-head collision of the bight purple energy erupting into shockwaves that obliterated, no, not even, it destroyed the ground, sending debris into oblivion when the draconic energy swept it in its currents. And yet even still, Vaal Abussos roared as his head connected with Goblinball's. Both sides tried viciously to push the other back, but it was a momentary deadlock.
Cyrus saw Maximus close in with mechanical energy claws outstretched. He decided to change tactics.
"Ability…activate!" he yelled. "Zone Murder!"
Vaal Abussos' eyes glinted again as his several jagged teeth chattered. The vile beast let out a point-blank shriek that shuddered the space all around. He spread his decrepit wings and the magenta cracks glowed brightly again. A dark purple flare expelled from him that sped across the ground before destroying it some more. The Empyrean's synthetic systems couldn't keep up with the destruction that Maximus was looking over at.
"Heh?" Catching on, he ducked just beneath the dark purple pulse wave, then got up and jumped away from the shockwave that blew him away. He crossed his mechanical gauntlets in front to shield his face.
Goblinball's draconic energy severed within the pulse wave, causing him to be blown backwards away from Vaal Abussos with a vile scream of anguish.
Vaal Abussos: 2500 (+600 +500) = 3600 Daemon Goblinball: 2200 (-600 -600 -500) = 500
Maximus opened his eyes and gnashed his teeth. He saw a rock head his way, and within moments, it cleaved into two and crashed into the ground on either side as he finished his glide backwards. He doubled over and hunched forward like a man possessed before implicating the counter.
"Ability activate, Gravity Shield!" Goblinball seized repulsing and reached his arm out, generating another distorted gravity barrier. It repelled all of the rocks and dirt, and whatever did not was crushed by the gravity of the barrier. He was able to get momentum needed to get a heel behind himself and dig it into the ground.
Vaal Abussos: 3600 (-1100) = 2500 Daemon Goblinball: 500 (+1700 +500) = 2700
The dust and shockwaves faded into the miasma cloud around them. Vaal Abussos snarled as the shield dissipated in front of Goblinball. Cyrus hardly looked fazed by the attack, as opposed to Maximus, who looked like he hadn't slept in eons.
"I'm surprised that he's even alive after that. Maybe it's finally came to him that he's nothing but a dead man now after being trounced by something he feared for so long."
Ariella's words echoed inside his head, bringing a fire into Maximus that made him more determined than ever. 'I am a dead man. But as they say, Ariella…the dead don't die! Not until I'm through with them, at least! And I have a dead man that I will bring down yet!'
Cyrus held up his Bakumeter, the same time Maximus showed his. "Ability, activate!"
"Void Scream!" Vaal Abussos opened his maw wide and charged up hypersonic dark energy.
"Black Overcannon!" Goblinball brought hands to his eyeball and channeled black energy.
Vaal Abussos lurched forward the same time Goblinball pushed outwards. Beams of energy traveled faster than the eye could blink and met centerfield. A hypersonic shockwave sped everywhere, making a wake so strong that it caused Maximus' hood to expand and reveal his shaggy head of hair. As for Cyrus, he used a forearm to cover himself.
Vaal Abussos: 2500 (-500) = 2000 Daemon Goblinball: 2700 (-600) = 2100
The shockwave escalated skywards, making a dark purple light far below Luke's group as hazardous winds of earsplitting impulse raced up and nearly pushed them over. It took everything they had to shield themselves and not fall over from the wake.
"Ability, activate! Zone Murder!"
Vaal Abussos expelled another groundbreaking roar as his expanded wings flapped. They created shockwaves that stirred debris around as he ascended into the air with a power drastically sharpening towards 3000. Goblinball expanded his wings and took to the air as well, riding the shockwaves to give himself a higher edge, but his power fell towards 1600.
Maximus went speeding right into the shockwave debris flying his way. With the reflexes of a cat, he lunged at lightning speeds and sliced into plating and darkness to get closer. He pivoted and cut horizontally, then vertically, then diagonally; a symmetrical dance with purple slashes leading the dance.
Vaal Abussos locked onto Maximus and bared his voracious fangs. His scythe-like tail snaked through the air at an angle that Maximus caught onto and showed his mechanical gauntlet with three abilities lined up.
"You talk so nonchalant…" He jumped over the blade and landed on a hand. He flipped forward and tucked in his right leg to avoid the scythe swing back. "But maybe you shouldn't speak so casually. After all, such arrogance only backfires on you. Triple ability, activate!"
Cyrus' glare hardened. 'A triple ability?'
"Void Mamba, plus Nebulous Destroyer, and Fusion Ability, Lunatic Blackout!"
Vaal Abussos was so focused on Maximus that he barely caught onto a dark mass swirling up a storm right in front of him. His instincts told him to focus on dead ahead, but he only saw shadowy tendrils that whipped and laced around his maw. In no time, the noxious fumes expelled were muzzled.
'He shut Vaal Abussos' mouth so he can't expel his miasma…' Cyrus realized.
In his right gauntlet, spatial energy kept the black whips at bay, while the left gauntlet manifested the dark plasma orb with swirling magenta, dark purple, and black energy into a solidified center. Goblinball brought his arm around and expanded the force, then compressed it to a bright hemisphere. "Let's see you handle this much!" The demon pushed forward, the same time Maximus let out a vile roar upon closing the gap. The negative plasmatic hemisphere fired at sonic speeds at Vaal Abussos; air violently flashed as it barreled through the miasma.
Vaal Abussos: 3000 (-300 -500 -300) = 1900 Daemon Goblinball: 1600 (+300 +500 +300) = 2700
Cyrus saw the attack's speed, but even through his eyes that pierced darkness, it was still clear as day. "Pitiful strength! Ability activate, Tyrant Befall!"
Vaal Abussos glared up at the oncoming blast zeroed in on him, and even though his maw was muzzled, he muscled his way through with a loud crack in the jawbone. The lower jaw opened wider than before, exposing another set of sharp teeth as dark indigo and black energy manifested. He roared outwards, expelling the orb into a beam that vaporized the tendrils engulfing him and the orb heading his way.
Vaal Abussos: 1900 (+600) = 2500 Daemon Goblinball: 2700 (-600) = 2100
The two attacks closed in on each other, momentarily slowing down time just before they got any closer. The two Bakugan glared at each other through the pulsing darkness…and then a bright explosion was accompanied by an airwave that blew away all the miasma throughout the atmosphere.
The attack's gargantuan roar caused the synthesized plating below to crack from the pressure again, despite being repaired seconds ago. Cyrus glared skywards as Maximus was trying to get closer, but once the shockwaves dug deep enough, he also went deep as he plunged his mechanical claw into the ground.
Cyrus kept observing, as if knowing where this would end up. He had such an adamant look that he was sure to see to putting Maximus in his place. However, as he kept observing, he noticed the indigo explosion having something burrowing through it.
Once again, time slowed down once a large spatial portal that sent the explosive wake and concentrated beam through its core. It resonated from Goblinball, who was still a ways through the air, yet it appeared straight below the beast this time.
'What's this?!' Cyrus leered. He looked ahead and noticed something off about Maximus.
The devil man had his right hand gripping the earth, but at the same time, his left gauntlet had an ability in it. "DO IT, GOBLINBALL! DIMENSION ASSAULT!"
"GRRAAAAH!" The demon roared as he forced all the explosion that was engulfing him into the portal.
The decayed entity fiendishly snarled as he looked downwards at his attack reversed onto him. To fast and too large, the indigo and black explosion and beam engulfed him and projected skywards. His bloodthirsty roared went hoarse inside the beam that Goblinball watched with a sharp eye.
Vaal Abussos: 2500 (-600 -600) = 1300 Daemon Goblinball: 2100 (+600 +600) = 3300
Vaal Abussos' roars of anguish were unsettling, at least towards Cyrus. He visible looked annoyed and looked forward to see Maximus' claw reeled back. "DIE!"
At the same time, the explosion was torn through by Goblinball, whose gauntlet clutched Vaal Abussos' neck and jettisoned towards the ground at sonic speeds. The dragon gave a bloody hiss as the demon pushed further down, until he let go, and kicked across the side of the face. The impact was so brutal that Vaal Abussos crashed into the ground beside Cyrus. This created a mixture of dust and miasma that obscured his vision, making him unable to see Maximus' oncoming attack.
The demonic Interacian sneered. 'Where will he strike…? Perhaps he shall elude me attack from the side, or maybe below…!'
FWIP!
A flurry of claws dated clean through, bringing Maximus into limelight. He was in front of Cyrus, much to the latter's surprise.
"You think that I act like some ghost that will haunt you, well you couldn't be anymore wrong. I'm a demon. And you never…" The energy claw sharpened as he slashed ahead. "…can compare a ghost to a demon!"
The furious blow drew closer as Cyrus' face showed genuine surprise. There was no way he was going to push Maximus back. He was already using enough intimidation with his piercing gaze, but even with that, nothing was stopping the determination of a devil. Everything went white for a still moment as he was remembering something from before.
"Cyrus, listen to me…remember what I have taught you. Keep your center of balance. It's fine for you to feel so strongly this way, but also remember. Control."
Maximus slashed harshly with all his might, right into Cyrus' forearm that he patched up from the previous scuffle with Luke. The gash this time, however, was much larger and he slid back on his two feet. The hooded being had wild look as opposed to Cyrus, whose expression was shrouded with a shadow. It felt slow for a moment before Maximus pulled away and grinded his spiked heels into the plating. Goblinball landed beside him.
"About time we've got some kind of mark laid." Maximus hissed.
Cyrus didn't move. He kept his arm up that was expelling more dark purple, hazardous mist. He kept the leaking appendage up to conceal his face, which was a mildly controlled anger. Maximus observed this phenomenon with no more than his own concealed expression.
"…I always figured you were full of hot air…just not literally."
"…you are most certainly right…I shouldn't have compared the two of us…a ghost and a devil you say…heh." He raised his head. "If you're the devil that people should never make deals with, then I suppose that makes me…the ghost that haunts all, including the likes of such demons like you." He raised his arm as he clutched the gash. "Ability activate, Void Merge."
A loud shift was heard inside the dust bog where Vaal Abussos was stirring. The bog began spinning around an epicenter, like a portal that drew in everything. More Devil Miasma was being drawn from the battlefield past Maximus and Goblinball into the vortex. A dark glow could be seen inside that outlined the dragon's visage.
It took a moment, but the vacuum was fully drawn into Vaal Abussos' mouth, revealing him on his four appendages with Devil Miasma leaking out of his maw's sides. The decrepit entity flapped his wings and raised up onto his hind legs to roar skywards.
Vaal Abussos: 1300 (+6700) = 8000 Daemon Goblinball: 3300
Maximus didn't look amused not terrified in the slightest. "Tch, of course you'd use that. Whenever you're in a pinch, you resort to sudden power surges."
"If one does not have control, then power is too spontaneous. Fear is created through a shift in that very balance. You must show a greater control of such power than that of which your opponent demonstrates. Allow me to provide an example."
Once again, the air thumped as the blackened atmosphere turned pitch-black. Maximus and Goblinball glared forward as their enemy's silhouette had a sinister aura that would have sent shivers down their spines. However, the hooded menace was unfazed as he watched Cyrus let go of his arm, allowing the miasma to leak out. But he didn't seem to mind.
"Drown in your fears…feed me your power through your suffering!" his eyes widened. "Ability, activate!" The ability card shined brightly, giving an ominous dark magenta glow. "Death-X!"
A purple core appeared in front of Vaal Abussos' chest, ensnaring him in several chords that instead faded into his body, they dissolved into a miasma-like bog that his black leather drape absorbed. As the bog faded, the dragon lurched slightly as a pitch-black bog was leaking out of the maw. The Devil Miasma was engulfed in the bog that fanned outwards. Maximus stood still and embraced the oncoming bog, but when he did, his nerves instantly tightened.
"What's this…?" He looked down at his gauntlet. He could see the literal metal getting stale and slightly rusty. Tracing down to his skin, he could see his already pale epidermis getting flaky and heavily dry.
"A forbidden energy that taps into the very darkness of all living things. As you know, devil Miasma by itself is toxic by nature. It is this planet's toxic compound, much like air pollution. But if one were to amplify that from the energy of Milord, and fuse it with a forbidden energy and a Bakugan's biology…"
Vaal Abussos lowered his head, his teeth chattering madly as the bog was surging into his front legs. Fumes of pitch-black expelled from the leather drapes on his body. The only one who didn't seem fazed was Cyrus as he smirked.
"…you get a living nightmare of decay."
"KRROOOOOOOAAAAAH!" Vaal Abussos careened his head around and expelled more pitch-black energy. He slammed one of his front legs into the ground, causing the plating and tiling beneath to gradually break down in milliseconds. It reduced to dust as dark shockwaves continued onwards, decaying the landscape far faster than what his Battle Decay had done. Everything in an omnidirectional manner was deteriorating from the corrupted evil.
Vaal Abussos: 8000 (+10,000) = 18,000 Daemon Goblinball: 3300
Decayed fragments flew everywhere as the shockwave drew near. It was like a tsunami, but Maximus snarled at it. He was picked up by Goblinball and hauled onto his shoulder before shooting skywards out of the decay's wake.
"Your feeling…is futile!"
Vaal Abussos careened his neck around again and swayed his scythe tail into the ground. A linear shockwave of black dust and decay rose up and went in a long arch across the ground towards the opponents. Maximus saw this and acted fast.
"Ability, activate! Nebulous Destroyer!"
Daemon Goblinball channeled a large sum of energy and fired another dark plasma hemisphere into the oncoming decay wake. However, once it made contact, the ability dissolved with little to no effect.
Vaal Abussos: 18,000 (-100) = 17,900 Daemon Goblinball: 3300 (+100) = 3400
'Our ability effects are weakened to where they don't mean anything.' Maximus realized. He held on tight while Goblinball maneuvered past the decay wave to get closer towards Vaal Abussos. He found a good angle, but when he attempted a long-shot spiral dive, he was hit with a dense wave of pitch-black bog that buffered him back up. The dark duo grunted as they flapped their wings to get out of range.
"I was hoping that this wouldn't have had to drag out for very long…but you have proven just how stubborn and persistent you are with your desperation. So for now, I'll abide to your wishes…but know this…what you will see coming will not be at fault by me. Ability, activate! Mortal Typhoon!"
"KROOOAAAAH~!" Vaal Abussos roared out once more, his decay wave being swept up in a pitch-black hurricane that fanned out everywhere. Everything was leveled across the ground and was either thrown about, or destroyed.
Goblinball was unable to escape and used his forearms to reduce the impact, but the dark cyclone got him still, whirling him about like a ragdoll through a tornado.
"And now…" Cyrus held up his Bakumeter. "Fusion Ability, Seal Breaker!"
Vaal Abussos' eyes glimmered once more. The Bakugan unleashed another brutal cry that distorted the air around himself. His throat vibrated as the spikes on his abdomen all gathered energy orbs and discharged them across the body. It became a dark purple magnetic field that concentrated around Vaal Abussos' skin and scales, giving them even more cracks…until he raised up on his hind legs and fumed the electrical impulse outwards into the typhoon. The entire decaying hurricane crackled with dark lightning that flashed and struck Goblinball and Maximus in its core.
Vaal Abussos: 17,900 (+100 +600 +400) = 19,000 Daemon Goblinball: 3400 (-100 -400) = 2900
Dark lightning electrocuted the entire wake of the storm. Every few seconds, the lightning flashes madly. Maximus and Goblinball hissed in agonizing pain in the eye of the storm directly above Vaal Abussos and Cyrus.
"It's painful, isn't it?" Cyrus teased. "To take in such pain, and having to bear with it. You must feel awful. But rest assured, you won't have to suffer in that body much longer. Once it's crumbled away, I'll have your soul suffer in a more proper place."
Maximus couldn't stop screaming. Neither could he feel nor taste anything but his own blood. Yet his brain was jolting with a number of thoughts running into a single direction.
"You were right. I am just a pet. Just listen and get treats. Just playing it safe…now even I don't have anything left because I listened. I did as they say, and I got paid. And I still did what they said after, and they tossed me aside. What did I even work towards?!"
'Killian…' For some reason, Maximus could feel the sentimental speech rile himself up once more. With whatever feeling he had left in his body, he was straining to make a fist and clench his teeth. 'What am I…working towards?'
Noticing the screams stopping, Cyrus frowned with annoyance. "Hm? Are you still refusing our power? Perhaps you haven't realized it, Vaal Abussos isn't anything like my previous pet, I assure you. He can take much more than what you can ever hope to imagine."
"…is that that?"
Hearing his words, Cyrus' eyes widened slightly as he saw Maximus glowering down onto him, a wild and eager smirk on his face. "Then I guess I shouldn't have to imagine at all, shouldn't I?"
Goblinball managed to work through the numbness and called his fists as well. Dark lightning crackled around him, and the decaying winds were making his armor crack, but his eyeball just looked down with just as much malice as did his partner. Cyrus could only look on, heavily perplexed by this cynical grin Maximus had. It only made him that much more annoyed.
"I'll be sure to keep note of that once I tear you into pieces! I told you before that I'll expose your fears and make you suffer for them, didn't I? Well…who's to say that it can't start now! Ability activate, Osiris Drake!" The storm was spinning counterclockwise, but when Goblinball expelled his purple energy, it turned counterclockwise. The hurricane of pitch-black opened up to reveal a dark purple light that momentarily blinded Cyrus. He couldn't even see the killer intent in Maximus' glare once his hood became loose and went back.
He raised his arm up high and lowered it. "Now, it's time! Goblinball! Rip that abomination of its skin! Let's see what monsters they truly are!"
"GRRAAAAAAH~!" The air distorted as he roared out. The cyclone of draconic energy spun faster until it started swerving trough the energy wave. It went straight down onto Vaal Abussos, who expelled larger amounts of pitch-black decay winds. He drilled straight through and closed the gap with a gaping energy maw wide open. "THIS TIME, I WON'T MISS!"
"KRAAAAAAAAAAAH~!" Vaal Abussos let out one last shriek as his decay was broken through. The maw chomped down, crushing him within its suppressing force with a spiraling hurricane of energy following behind. The entire floor depressed several feet as the shockwaves sent bright purple energy beaming through several corners until the entire ground was a bright purple landmine.
Vaal Abussos: 19,000 (-11,100) = 7900 Daemon Goblinball: 2900 (+100 +400 +600) = 4000
The roars of the dragon equaled that of the dragon winds drilling into its body. Goblinball was at the epicenter, rotating with his sharp claws slashing in a drill like fashion past the beast. Maximus spun out with the shockwaves, the drafts whisking him into Cyrus, who had no black bog around him thanks to the Osiris Drake. Enough space was created for Maximus to outmaneuver and get within a few feet of him. Time slowed down once again as his mechanical energy claws were pulled back.
Cyrus' eyes shrunk at the realization. "You wouldn't dare…!"
Maximus' glare was solid. He knew it would end either way, and the consequences that would come his way, as well as the people that suffered because of him, but one more thought came to mind.
"Go ahead…old man…you ain't nudging him. That crazy kid…is a hell of a lot scarier than you. But at least he's a loner that doesn't have to rely on someone!"
Xander's words so long ago echoed in his mind. Here now, he stood alone, and the echoes he heard inside his head were making the dark fire inside his heart fume so much was his eyes grew bloodthirsty. Not from the negative energy that consumed him, but the sheer drive he possessed.
"I! WILL! WIN!"
Cyrus didn't see it coming. It all happened so fast that it was a blur. Maximus slashed diagonally across his abdomen, making a horrendous dark hole appear within the tear. The man looked completely dumbfounded, as opposed to Maximus' wild snarl. Vaal Abussos' entire body was engulfed in bright purple fire as he came down from above, crashing close by. The dust faded away quickly, revealing his drape-like leather very torn up, and his stomach plating and bony armor having been fractured. Goblinball and Maximus stood their ground while Cyrus, while having that same shocked look, looked down and realized the gaping black gash in his clothing and flesh.
A silence fell as Cyrus found himself shuddering. He could feel all his nerves shutting down on him as his mentality was splitting. "You…what have you…?!" The pain was so sudden that the next instant, he fell to a knee and covered his gash, which was leaking out even more miasma in fumes. "Gnnngh…WHAT…HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!"
"Raising your voice, you must be in a lot of pain." Maximus scoffed. "It's hurtful, isn't it. But you know the saying, no pain, no gain."
"Silence! I…I will…" He lurched. His entire body wouldn't stop shuddering. "My…body…" He hurried for his cape to conceal himself and close off his exposure. "The…the miasma…it's coming out too vast…"
"Hmph, you know…I heard rumors that you weren't like other Interacians. Guess they weren't wrong after all." He could see the fumes escaping beneath his cape. 'Still, that isn't normal. Even I don't bleed out fumes, and I feed off this energy the same as him. And his control freak habit…I wonder…'
Vaal Abussos arose as well, his plating severely chipped and cracked. His leathery miasma drape was on fire in a few places, making parts of them fall off.
"Gnnngh!" Cyrus bent forward, his body on fire. He could feel his mental state of mind breaking down from the overload of negative energy. 'Must…control myself. I must…not enable my power to be…tantalized by some…some…degenerate insect!' He flinched. 'No! I must…preserve…make the bastard drown in eternal hell!'
Maximus tilted his head. "Heh? Looking a little contemplative there? Having trouble holding back what you really feel?"
"Silence!" he roared, gradually standing back up. "I will not allow myself…to fall to the taunts…of a lowlife like you!"
"Isn't that what we all are? It seems that you've been in the shadows for so long that your eyes must have de-evolved. You see, Rogue Zero is nothing but a group of low lives. We had no place in the world from the start. We've accepted that and what we are before coming here. So I ask you, why are you hiding your true self? Are you perhaps afraid that you will have no place if you don't accept what you are? Do you not embrace yourself?"
"You-!" He lurched as a large fume expelled from his body. Even more were coming out. 'No! At this rate, my body…!' His eyes dilated with a frenzy. "Maaaaximuuuuus!" It was happening. His body was shuddering so madly. The ground beneath him was fumigating with Devil Miasma that he couldn't hold in. "I am…Cyrus Black! I will…make you fear me…until your deaths! This world…and you all…"
Maximus stepped back cautiously. "Is that so…then show me why? Because I'm not the one shaking here!" He pointed accusingly. "You are! Show me, you monster!"
"Monster…Monsterrrrr…" Cyrus glared deeply at Maximus, his entire face flaking off. The skin was cracking with bright purple energy. "I will…DEVOUR ALL OF YOUR HEARTS! GRAAAAAHHHH~!"
Unable to hold back, his skin shined a bright purple light. His eyes rolled to the back of their sockets, turning pitch-black. His maw started gaping wider with the jawbone unlocking from the head. His screams became crude, darker, and more animalistic. The bog around him returned, and the cracks on Vaal Abussos was a dreadful sign as well.
"KRAAAAAAAAAH~!" At the same time, cracks emerged so much from their bodies that they exploded. A shockwave of energy expelled so fast that Maximus and Goblinball's eyes shrunk before they were rushed with a wave of Devil Miasma leveling the ground.
The entire Empyrean shuddered madly. The cloud of Devil Miasma was creating a massive wake that traveled upwards, surprising everyone below when Atmos looked down. "Everyone, incoming!"
"It's more Devil Miasma!" Fly Beetle shouted.
In an instant, the thin layer of Devil Miasma they climbed had turned dark purple and rushed everyone so hard that they kneeled once again. It felt as dense as water; so much so that it almost completely robbed them all of their oxygen.
"Gah! What's…going on…?!" Shawn coughed. "Everything just got hazy!"
"The Devil Miasma…it spontaneously exploded beneath us!" Jase muffled. "Something went horribly wrong just now."
"At this rate…we'll get lung poisoning…" Esther coughed through her hand.
Far below, the earthquake was heard as well. Those who were able to find shelter behind platforms were trying to hide from Bakugan when they felt everything erupt from above.
"W-what the heck is that?!" Radizen panicked, to which Roxtor replied with gibberish. "Another trap? Now?!"
"What could it be this time?!" Marucho worried.
Mason turned his head skywards, his eyes widening. "Look! Up there!"
Everyone's heads turned skywards the ceiling, which was pitch-black at this point. Blue networks were flashing in rhythm before cracks appeared. They multiplied until it broke apart. A large cloud of Devil Miasma came rushing down.
"WHAT THE-?!" That was all the time Dan had before Drago got above to cover as debris and miasma engulfed them.
The Atchibee and Hydranoid clones were in the middle of their attacks when the miasma engulfed them and their prey. No one – no one – neither Bakugan nor partner nor even an enemy clone, was able to escape the massive wave.
The black glass that was supposed to suppress the Devil Miasma within the tower was unable to suppress the pressure of the huge shockwave of poisonous cloud. Despite them being sturdy, they shattered in a few seconds, expelling fumes of Devil Miasma that scattered into the atmosphere. The dusk-brimmed view of the world was quickly overlapped by the sudden spread of the hellish bog. It spread across the distorted air below. In no time, the entire Empyrean was within the thickness of a noxious dark purple haze that made it impossible to see through clearly. The white tower's blue outlines that were the networks were the only visible thing.
"Can it be…?" Riaan looked genuinely alarmed. "…I see. This is most unfortunate. Very unfortunate."
"Master, what is happening?" Armagedoid asked. "I feel an explosion of corrosive negative energy beneath us. I could feel it from within our ally, what has happened?"
Riaan furrowed his brow. He looked visibly morose with what he had to say. "Armagedoid…Cyrus Black…has finally lost control and removed his skin." The dragon stayed silent as he processed this might be a bad sign. "Because Cyrus has done so…this world will now suffer a threat beyond our control."
"Master…what is this Cyrus Black? What is his nature comprised of?"
He frowned heavily and closed his eyes. "It seems that I must tell you myself. Armagedoid, listen very well. You are familiar with the Devil Miasma and the negative effects it has on the environment, do you not?"
"Yes, I remember vaguely before the surface came down…but I do recall a purple cloud every now and again." He pieced it together. "Then Cyrus Black is connected to this substance?"
"Cyrus…is no ordinary Interacian. Even amongst Hades Pillars, which is comprised of many whom were bridges of the gifted and the cursed, there was one outlier above them all…"
Maximus stirred on the ground. His vision was bleak for a moment, but that was because his hood shielded his eyes. "Gnnngh…what the…?"
All around him, a thick clout of dark purple miasma blanketed his vision. The ground was barely visible anymore. It was just black. Not even the blue outlining was there. He got up and looked around as everything was fogged up to where he could barely see a few feet in front of himself.
"Did all of this Devil Miasma…exploded from his body?" He found it hard to breathe, even though he was feeding off the miasma. His body shuddered towards extremes. "Gyah! The concentration is more potent…it's like breathing in spices that sting your lungs." The notion brought him back to his time in the Doom Dimension all those years ago. "Where is he…?"
Goblinball stood behind his master, but even he was raspy. He had trouble standing from the toxic levels of these fumes, but moreover, something massive in negative energy was completely overwhelming them.
"Grrroooooohhh…" A morose gurgle was heard within the thickness of the bog.
Maximus perked up. "Hm? Who's there? Show yourself, Cyrus…"
"Kwoooooohhh…" Another low growl was heard, but it sounded far larger and draconic.
Goblinball saw something head their way. "Master, I see it!"
Maximus peered forward, taking a good look at something that sauntered through the miasma. He saw scattered plating shift, and footsteps that left tar-like footprints that fumed miasma into the air. Two silhouettes that looked draconic and humanoid came to view, and hollow, magenta eyes gleamed at them
Maximus' wrinkled eyes gradually widened at what he was seeing. He was borderline speechless. "What…what are you…?"
Limping out, a black, tar-like humanoid was expelling Devil Miasma from the open pores of its body. It was the same size as Cyrus, and parts of his cape were there, though Maximus quickly saw the material corrode away. Its hollow, gaping maw had no teeth, but instead tar that dripped down like saliva and sizzle on the ground, expelling even more miasma.
Goblinball looked up at what was supposed to be Vaal Abussos as well, but the plating and cloth were burnt away from before to reveal his true form as well. His huge lower jaw had come undone, making it gape and jut out to reveal a second lower jaw that was inside. The sides of the mouth were expelling pitch-black miasma into the air. With the huge drape off the body, it revealed pitch-black scales with dull gray accents. The magenta spikes were still there, however, but they were duller in shade than what they were before. The plating along his front had been broken off, revealing the true underside, which h=was pitch-black scales with magenta outlining and accents that went down towards the torso. The behemoth stood on his hind legs in his true form more easily now that the bony braves on the hind legs were removed, revealing pitch-black scales and magenta accents, likewise for the forearm armor. The wings were another story entirely, as the gray membranes were removed to reveal sleek wings that were pitch-black with dull gray outlines, reminiscent to scars.
The two entities looked ahead with no emotion. Ho hate. No gleams of arrogance. They looked like zombies who felt nothing as they saw the Interacian and Bakugan before them.
Maximus recovered from his initial shock and leered. "So…I take it that this is what you really are, Cyrus?"
The humanoid didn't give a verbal respond. It shuddered violently in place before raising its head. "GGRRROOOOOAAAHHH!" Its roar shuddered the ground. His gaping maw expelled even more clouts of miasma that blinded the air once more.
"Many ages ago, when Interacia was within its primal stages, the land was still molding, and Bakugan that were being copied from Vestroia at the time were very territorial. The planet at the time had a very high level of negative energy. As you are already aware, negative energy can have drastic impacts on Bakugan as it does with people. It stirs up emotions that brim with hate and disgust. I set out to learn why the planet was like this, and that's when I learned about Devil Miasma. As I have just said, the miasma is a polluted compound that's plagued and killed millions of lives over the ages."
Armagedoid wasn't stupid. He was starting to understand where this was heading. "Then perhaps the miasma and Cyrus…"
Riaan frowned heavily. "In my search for the source to expunge it, I came across Hell's Gate. It's a passage within the deepest trenches of Inetracia's abyss. The Devil Miasma was extensive within those trenches, so I went further…only to find petrified Bakugan and Interacians."
Armagedoid didn't flinch, but Riaan pressed on.
"In Hell's Gate, I have found the source…but it was beyond anything that I would have imagined. You see, what I found that is now today is in fact Cyrus Black." He snapped his finger, and a holographic panel revealing Cyrus' Interacian form and his true form. "In my research, I learned that Interacian DNA is excessively unstable. With my genes modifying them on a periodic basis, the DNA helix was easy to infect. There were special cases such as Maximus, whose body mutated due to the negative energy and no food in the Doom Dimension…then there was Cyrus, a biological mass that produced Devil Miasma to an infinite degree. He was perhaps the most mutated Interacian that I have come across…he is the embodiment of the very malfunctioned mass of DNA ever born. God knows how long he's been within the pores of our world."
"I see, so this is where the Devil Miasma came from…" Armagedoid stared at the screen, then came to another inquiry. "What happened after you've found him?"
"To further understand the Devil Miasma and this unstable biomass that was an Interacian, I had to capture and detain him. My own synthetic proxy nearly gave in during the process, even with my potency of negative energy. That's how threatening this monster was." He glared up at the screen, specifically the tar-like menace before them. "He was taken to the lab, where we could stabilize him. However…"
…
"GROOOOOAAHHHH!"
"How is his condition? Is he stabilizing?!" Riaan anxiously shouted.
"No, sir! The cellular modification is having no effect! It's only making it produce even more Devil Miasma!" A worker panicked.
Inside a secluded lab, there was a large glass dome that encompassed the biomass that Riaan brought back. Nothing could be seen inside. It was all completely dark purple bog that fumed endlessly Beneath it was a silver platform connected to electrical tubes that went into the walls. Hazard masks were worn by everyone as a necessary precaution as they stayed a far away distance from the dome.
Inside, groans and gurgles were heard as the biomass expelled thicker clouds of miasma. Waves of clouds were seen inside the glass that Riaan observed with frightful discern. 'How is it able to produce an endless mass of this miasma? No, a better question is if this thing really is Interacian at all…'
"GRRROOOOOOAAAAH~!" The monster howled louder inside the case, expelling yet another frightful fume. It fogged up the glass so much that it looked nearly solid.
"Sir, pressure is reaching its maximum capacity within the containment field!" a worker worried. "I'm afraid the amount of air it's exhausting will cause it to eventually break!"
"Raise the output by a steady 140%. I understand it's risky, but we must apply a vaccination to this!"
The technicians went to work and amplified the power. A bright light enveloped the underside of the canister, causing a violent rumble that was by the monster inside. It only caused even more noxious fumes to erupt from his body.
'He's resisting even more…and the miasma isn't slowing down. His body must have evolved a constitution where it's brimming with infinite negative energy from the gas it produces.' Riaan knew they were running out of time. All the screens were in the red, especially the containment chamber's pressure gauging in the red zone. 'There's no choice then. I'll have to extort from my own powers to do this, but…' He faced his workers. "Open the ventilation systems! It won't hold for much longer! I will require a moment!"
"Yes, sir!" The workers went to their jobs and used keypads to move up some of the vents. The blockades angled to allow air to flow through.
No sooner than that instant, Riaan turned around and began concentrating. The glass around the casing started cracking Small streams of the miasma was beaming through. It drifted up into the ventilation system, which acted as a vacuum.
'I have to make this quick. To seal off the miasma, I'll have to make this as forceful as I can.' Riaan put his hands together. The ground beneath himself shined a bright magenta, coming from his true form in the deep core itself. Sirens were going off as a magenta core with a dark light at its base shined within his palms. The miasma refused to stop as it kept breaking through cracks of the reinforced glass. It gradually intensified as the light itself was compressed to a singular point. 'This should do it!' He whipped around. "It's done! Activate the amplification modulation!"
The workers did as told and one pulled a lever. A compartment beneath Riaan opened up to reveal a podium where a tub was connected to the canister's underside. He inserted the power he stored up and it went down the tube, going beneath the lab, before a hole opened up to allow the core to appear inside.
"GRAAAAAAAHHHHH~!" A loud shriek was heard as the light core's light intensified. It became a blinding blur for everyone just as the glass fully exploded outwards. Shards and miasma expelled everywhere
It took several minutes before everything settled down. The ventilation system was still working, hence the Devil Miasma flowing out of the laboratory towards the vents leading to the outside world.
Riaan uncovered himself and slowly blinked. He looked around, realizing that his associates in the room were safe from the miasma clearing out by the hazard masks, but they were knocked unconscious by the force of the explosion.
'Did it work…?'
Up ahead, he could see smoke and miasma clearing away, revealing some kind of figure that was on its hands and knees. He fell silent as he heard raspy breathing.
When most of the Devil Miasma faded, it revealed a human-shaped Interacian lying on the ground, gaping at the steel floor as he spewed black tar and gas from his mouth. He coughed it all up, until he was able to make sense of what was happening.
For the first time, the newly skinned Interacian had opened his eyes, seeing his confusing surroundings around him. He didn't recognize anything. "Gnnngh…what…where…am I…?" he mumbled.
"I see…so the conscious implant was a success." The voice alarmed the new man. He got to his feet, his bare body exposed as he came face to face with an entirely different entity.
"Who are you? Who are…you-?!" The man gritted his teeth and started shuddering. He lowered his head and suddenly expectorated some more black tar that fumed into Devil Miasma. The man gagged as his nerves and body were slightly convulsing.
Riaan watched this with sustained shock. "You are in pain, are you not? Looks like we have much work to do on your body."
The man sinisterly hissed as his eyes were shrunk. He gave a low growl, enough to make Riaan narrow his eyes. 'Such negative force…!'
…
"Using my powers and a small team of technicians at the time, we were able to seal away the Devil Miasma's source by giving it a conscience and a form. However, there were some drastic side effects." Riaan frowned heavily. "The body that we've constructed using my power was able to keep the Devil Miasma at bay inside of him, but only just that. Devil Miasma is extremely toxic, and is negative energy itself. Hence why he always has that aura that terrifies everyone around him."
Armagedoid raised his head. "So that same power was what helped give me a life and a conscience."
"The Devil Miasma's source was contained, but the body was synthetic. Since the Devil Miasma would kill off anything, he could neither eat nor drink. He only nourishes off the negativity off of others. You can say that he's hollow on the inside. I had to teach him how to contain and control his conscience…I supposed that it worked, but it's the only purpose he has. That's why we are opposites. I believe in choice, and he requires control, submission…otherwise he'll starve and his conscience would lead to a collapse."
"Otherwise…it would lead to what's happening right now."
"Yes. Cyrus has spent perhaps decades underground. The amount of Devil Miasma he's created was so immense that it was impossible even for me to stop. It's a mutated gas that's immune to even my powers. It only took until recently for all the air pockets beneath the surface and erosion to finally dissipate the miasma. Now, that infinite mass of Devil Miasma is unleashed once more. No one will be safe…not even myself…Armagedoid, I fear that this new world may have an even greater danger upon it."
A hurricane of purple and black miasma brewed around Maximus and Cyrus. Them, as were their Bakugan, were evenly apart as they looked at each other. Maximus' eyes were wide in utter disbelief, while the tar-like cretin craned his head slightly, his gaping maw expelling gas nonstop.
"GRAAAAAAH~!" His roar was just as adhesive as Vaal Abussos. The black dragon's external jaw hung open as black miasma misted out and infused with the air.
"So…this is what you really are." Maximus buffered when another wave of miasma passed him. He snarled as he could feel his skin getting paler. He gritted his teeth and snarled. "Tch, this is gonna get annoying if this keeps up."
Cyrus' eyes glinted dark purple. One of his long arms reach out as he expelled a howl. Maximus immediately glanced over and noticed Vaal Abussos' actual maw opening wider than usual. He charged up a hypersonic mass.
"Goblinball, incoming!"
Goblinball picked up on the warning and looked up. He saw the Void Scream being launched unconditionally, blinking numerous times before a massive eruption of darkness blitzed across the decayed ground, destroying everything in its path.
Maximus reached out. "Ability activate, Dimension Assault!" Goblinball put his hands out and generated a massive dimensional portal before him.
The ultrasonic beam whistled into range and blasted into the portal. The force was far stronger than what it was before, creating shockwaves that blew past the hole into Goblinball and Maximus. The former dug his heels into the ground and pushed harder to keep from falling over. Maximus covered up as his cape went wild. 'Its power is greater than before, too!'
Secondary portal appeared directly above the portal and fired the forceful beam back at Vaal Abussos. The black dragon stood perfectly still as the miasma tore a hole right towards him.
Cyrus' lifeless eyes went bright yet again. He gurgled as he craned his head up. Vaal Abussos held his ground as the magenta accents along the body shined brightly, via Cursed Anaheim. The attack shot into him, but the impact didn't even budge it. Its own power refused to drop, keeping him at 7900.
Maximus bitterly grunted at the defense made by the enemy. "It…stopped its power from dropping huh?" He suddenly felt a pulse go through him. His entire body ached. 'Gngh! This miasma…even though I have an immunity towards it, the negative energy is like splitting my head. I can't think straight…!'
Flashes of memories from the Doom Dimension filled his head at that moment. From his time as a child, to when he lost all his sense of reason against Luke. That vile feeling he had back then spiked up several nerves that made his instincts kick into overdrive.
His eyes snapped wide when he kicked up on a shift within the bog. He narrowly dodged Vaal Abussos' tail scythe. The dragon raised his head and expelled a disturbing roar that caused Maximus to feel an even greater headache than before. He slid backwards and grinded his energy claws into the plating.
"So noisy…!" he hissed. "It feels like my body now is just going haywire!" He spritzed about, trying to get closer towards Cyrus, but the unstable monster was far away and behind Vaal Abussos. He let out a gaping cry, which caused Maximus to slow down. The despairing, negative roar was something Maximus responded to in kind.
"GRAAAAH!" He screeched back. Goblinball felt Maximus' wild feelings and his eyeball sharpened. He expanded his wings and went gliding through the miasma, with Maximus doing the same.
Both monsters fluctuated in response and expelled voracious roars of their own back. They expelled even more Devil Miasma, making a shockwave of negative rotting clout that pushed Maximus and Goblinball back, drowning them in the toxic substance.
Drago gagged. His eyes shrunk to the size of peas as he collapsed on his hands and knees. He felt like he was drowning, or like someone was choking the life out of him. Dan collapsed in an instant along with Gunz. Drago was coughing so much that he was gagging, but at the same time, being a Bakugan, no vomit would expectorate.
"What *cough* the heck is this *cough* stuff?!" Dan exasperated. "Where did it *cough* come from?!"
Spectra covered his mouth and nose, but even he was at a loss. "This gas is poisonous. And it looks like we aren't the only ones affected, too…" He saw the Atchibee that was draining Helios' power was cringing and screeching. It fell to the floor in a rainbow blob, reverting to its true amorphous form. 'Looks like there's a third party in the works. Otherwise, the enemy Bakugan wouldn't be this inflicted.'
"Krreeeeeee…!" Many of the Kimera clones were unable to proceed with their attacks. The Hydranoid clone currently sapping the real one's power inhaled the negative, tainted mass. As Hydranoid backpedaled with gags for clean air, the clone was stirring and riling in place. The Abis Omega Kimera crashed to the ground, squirming around and roaring as the air was intoxicating.
"Oh shit *cough*! It's Devil Miasma!" Keegan coughed.
Alice coughed beneath her hand. "You know this stuff, Keegan?"
"Yeah, it's *cough* poisonous fumes that kept expelling from below us all the time, back when the world was shifting." He thought back to when he lived in Thermosphere, and upon his return, Devil Miasma intoxicated the masses. "It's not too deadly if you breathe so much, but this much *cough* is a lot thicker than I remember. Not even Bakugan can survive this stuff!"
The verdict was evident when the numerous Kimera were unable to maintain their copied forms. The clones of the remaining Bakugan shrieked and shriveled into their gelatinous forms, which didn't require any form of breathing. But the gas was already within their systems. They fluctuated and writhed in agony like the real Bakugan.
Helios gagged and shuddered on his back, his organic mind going stircrazy in toxic writhe. "What's…happening?!" It wasn't just Helios who was suffering. The others who were trying to stay conscious found themselves on the floor in fetal position. Mason, Lena, everyone present were dropping to their knees and gagging profusely. Nobody was able to comprehend it, let alone understand what was happening.
Marucho grimaced as his vision was getting hazy, and he was still wearing his glasses. "Ugggh…everything…is going hazy…"
Shun was too late for his ninja mask to come on. He dropped to a knee and coughed.
"Guys…I-I don't feel so good…" Radizen groaned on the ground.
"D-Dan…" Drago wheezed. "This foul stuff…it's so…evil…"
Dan laid on his side, groaning weakly ad his lungs felt inflamed/
Julie was coughing nonstop, but she continued the broadcast anyway. "I-It looks like *cough* that the enemy Bakugan have stopped attacking! *cough* They…they look to be in just as much pain as we are…this toxic gas…oh man, I don't feel so *cough cough* good…" She was so out of it was she had to lean on a platform to keep herself upright. She shook her head and faced the audience with invigorated fury. "But the situation is under control! Once those who have went ahead get to Riaan, surely this will stop! We just have to *cough cough* hold on, okay?!" She looked up at the ceiling, which was far from visible. She frowned in grief. 'At least…I hope so. What the heck is going on? This keeps up, we might actually…'
Devil Miasma fumed in a massive rush in all directions. The fumes were so powerful that they caused Maximus to step back. He dug his spiked cleats into the ground and leaned forward. The dense bog was like ocean currents that he tried to fight against, but no matter how far ahead he looked, he couldn't see Cyrus. It was so thick; so vile to where he could feel his very clothing getting stained from the life literally getting too dry.
'This bastard…always blending with those damn shadows…always feeding off the anguish…' He started thinking back to when he was chained up as punishment for failing a while ago. He was glaring at his reflection, snarling, wanting to rid of the disgusting visage. 'Now I see why. It was to never benefit my own strength…but his.'
"If you were really that intent on becoming the feared, then you must let go. But if you intend on staring in front of a mirror all day to glare at something you want to be, then it'll never happen. Riaan enlisted you for his own reasons. You may think you have power, but only because you're holding onto his hand. He actually knows how to take power for himself and make it his own, unlike you. Know your place."
"Now it makes sense…why you've always talked so lowly onto me." He stepped back. "You've never thought of me nor anyone getting stronger. You just wanted my frustration and rage, as fuel for you. You've coaxed me into incarceration periodically, so that I can see myself, but that only made me the victim to your nourishment! As I grew mentally distanced, you maintained control of yours. You…are a parasite! A parasite, that even Darkus does not deserve!" He stood tall in spite of the chipping of his pants. His pale knees were shown getting dry and decrepit. "How pitiful…how pitiful indeed…that even a monster as you can't even call a life anything but a Hell. Well…you thought right."
Goblinball's claw clamped harshly on the ground. The miasma wave was making his wing he shielded with tatter drastically, but he gradually arose and faced Vaal Abussos' direction.
"You just make life a Hell. You are Interacia's Hell. When people die, you feed off their dread…like a thirsty ghost. In that case…I guess I am a devil that dances in Hell. You've caused nothing but so much pain…"
He thought about his early childhood, about the last time he saw his mother before the Devil Miasma engulfed her. It led him to the distortions that plagued Interacia, and to the Doom Dimension.
"The pain…"
He thought about his personal hell, how he gagged in the Doom Dimension and nibbled on decayed, petrified Bakugan. To him having to not eat anything but the sheer, negative atmosphere.
"The pain…!"
He remembered his reflection, how he couldn't recognize himself. And screamed in fright.
"The pain…!"
The thoughts beyond that came flooding back to him so fast. He recalled all the losses he suffered from Luke…with the last thing was his back turned towards him. "THE PAIN…THAT A LIVING LIFE HAS TO DEAL WITH!" His eyes snapped wide open. The bloodlust fury he had returned with a furious passion. "GRAAAAH~!"
His screeched bellowed outwards, something that Cyrus reacted too. The monster's frame shuffled as he expelled a low roar, which echoed through the miasma. As a result, the miasma increased in volume to where the torrent was visible to enable Maximus to see where it was coming from.
With what focus he had, his vindictive glare fastened on the center of the bog. 'Found you…' He held up his mechanical gauntlet, making an ability show. "Ghosts may haunt like you do, but now let's see when the haunt become the haunted! Goblinball, ability activate…"
A forbidden ability activated. A pulse ran through Goblinball as his entire body flourished with a sinister pulse. One so strong that it created a dark cyclone in an opposite rotation of the miasma. It pushed much of it away, while depreciating the plating to where it became solid, but a few feet below its epicenter. A horrendous mass surged in the eye as it locked onto Vaal Abussos, who screeched out and glided off the ground after the threat.
"Our pain…will be far greater than yours will!" Goblinball declared.
"THAT'S WHY WE'LL TROUNCE YOU! NOW, ABILITY ACTIVATE! PAIN-X!"
Vaal Abussos closed the gap onto his opponents, until Goblinball's negative energy composed around his fist that he reeled back. Its force intensified a thousand-fold when he pivoted and fired his fist at point-blank into the oncoming dragon's structure. A monstrous flare of magenta energy engulfed Vaal Abussos, which spread the Devil Miasma outwards.
Vaal Abussos: 7900 Daemon Goblinball: 4000 (+17,500) = 21,500
The blast wave kept beaming out towards no end. It seemingly engulfed all of Vaal Abussos, as well as Cyrus. The entity had no say as the miasma he spewed didn't even compare to the explosive energy wake that blasted clean through the other side of the Empyrean. A voluminous wake that was a fifth of the height of the Empyrean went horizontally across the dusk-brimmed atmosphere. The dark cloud of Devil Miasma that gradually spread had a massive hole torn through it as the blast wake kept barreling hundreds of miles outwards.
Far away, under the dark skies of Solaris, it was twilight when Cole heard a rumbling. As he adorned his pajamas, he walked up to the window and noticed a black and magenta energy blast that illuminated the night sky.
"Look, Mommy! Come look!" He shouted.
His mother walked into the bedroom and saw the huge black and magenta line that sped far up across the skies. She was just as shocked as the son, if not more so.
"Mommy…is that what they call a shooting star?" Cole asked.
"I don't know, sweetheart…I don't know." She looked down at the child, with her hands moving to his shoulders. "But I heard that if you wish upon a shooting star, that your wish will come true."
"Really?" He looked to his mother with such awe. "Okay then…but what do I wish for?" He stopped to think about his possible ideas to flourish inside his head. After what he went through the other day, he was definite that the world was in such peril, as were the others. He looked up at the magenta light that still twinkled above; he knew it wouldn't last forever. He came up with an idea.
"…I wish this world's bad guys would go away."
The thunderous vibrations palpitated beneath the others that were still taking the climb skywards. They were so weak from the explosion of Devil Miasma that their bodies were still adjusting. An eruption of energy caused them to stagger again.
"The hell is it this time?!" Shawn grimaced.
Esther glanced down while muffling through her mouth. "There's a massive explosion of negative energy that was released all of a sudden." Another massive pulse of magenta and negative coloration erupted in winds, opening large pores in the Devil Miasma around them. The force of the attack was so intrusive that it was causing the staircase to shudder and crack.
No matter what, Luke didn't take his eyes off the front. 'Remember what Maximus said.'
"I mean it, this time, Luke…don't look back."
'He's using every ounce of his stable will to get through breaching a gap for us to take.' He gripped his blade and activated the laser edges, giving it a honed edge for him to slash an opening into the miasma cloud. 'Have to make use of what we have left!' "You guys, can you still go on?!"
Shawn raised his head. "Yeah, don't worry about us. Luke."
"We're behind you." Esther pulled out her spear and twirled. 'I may also have a tolerance to negative energy, but my body is still slowing down. This gas…it's adhesive to any organism. We have to keep moving with minimal speech so we don't waste oxygen left.'
Luke charged through the hole he made in the miasma. As it started closing behind him, Shawn slashed another opening, then Esther, then Jase. Followed by a punch with excessive force by Shuji, allowing a free gateway for Maggie to get through.
It took several minutes for the negative wake of the attack to fully diminish. The Empyrean was left with a gaping hole that was the size of a football field going widely across from them. The blue networks beneath were visibly blinking at such uneven wavelengths because of the damage that Goblinball's attack had done. A huge ditch was left leading from the fist all the way towards the broken brink.
As the smoke cleared, it revealed Goblinball still standing, albeit barely. His fist was still out and sizzling negative energy steam, but his entire body had dark purple cracks with a glow that looked like he was going to burst. There were cracks in his armor, and his eyeball looked so bloodshot and so small that it was almost nonexistent. Maximus was behind him, the shockwaves from the attack having tattered up his cape and hood even more than it originally was. Even he was raspy in breathing. His skin was also cracking, much like his Bakugan. It was already pale enough, but cracks were showing his dry cheeks and eyelids. They just unleashed the power of a Bakugan that contained a G-Power over 21,000. And the drawbacks were serious enough as the damages caused.
BA-DUMP!
Maximus' body cringed as he gagged loudly. He lurched forward and gagged, nearly falling over. "Tch, guess I'm not as fully tolerant of this stuff as I thought. My insides are feeling like mush." He gagged. 'Still…this miasma is far more adhesive than it normally was. Probably because it's coming from the direct source along with that Bakugan. If it were any other person they'd be dead.'
Goblinball lowly groaned. His body emanated a strong pulse that distorted air. He dropped to a knee and kept himself up using his hands. But even then, upon touching the ground, his power was so immense that touching it caused it to depress.
Maximus saw the predicament and sneered. "So we've survived this long…now where's he…?"
"Huh…?" Goblinball was barely seeing straight, but even he saw it. The direction of which all the dark purple and black miasma was drawing towards. It was going in the opposite direction of which it was expelled from. The vacuum was so strong that it was starting to pull them in.
"What…?!" Maximus looked dead ahead, his eyes sharpening at what he theorized. "Don't tell me…!"
Hundreds of ounces of Devil Miasma and negative energy drew from various directions into a single point. The drafts were so intense that they made a large cocoon around its origin. The cocoon thickened with the more energy it sapped from the atmosphere. Not just from the battle itself, but form the despair, the anguish that everyone was feeling far below them. Their coughing and wheezing as a low, insufferable death was upon them. The energy was so great, that it turned into a cyclone that rapidly gained velocity. Even from it, mire miasma was being produced. It was like a swirling toxic cloud that blocked Maximus and Goblinball off from seeing anything, despite having total night vision.
"Gnnngh, don't tell me…!"
A pair of magenta eyes pierced through the black bog, before a loud, earsplitting shriek expelled from a salivated, acidic maw. The typhoon exploded, pulsing in all directions upon Vaal Abussos flexing his wings. The entire Empyrean erupted with a magnitude as the decay waves fanned into Maximus and Goblinball. The wake was enough to throw them off their feet and flying backwards in pained grunts.
As time felt irrelevant, Maximus' eyes were wide and fixed on the visage of Cyrus. His body was unfazed s his gaping maw kept expelling plumes of raw Devil Miasma and tar that dripped, and produced even more of said miasma. He only got farther and farther away…no matter how much he struggled and clawed at the air.
"KRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH~!" Vaal Abussos expelled the loudest roar he's ever given. Everything shuddered as fragments of the ground blew in every direction. The entire floor nearly collapsed upon itself. Tidal waves of dark purple and black mixed with dust slammed the sides of the Empyrean so much that the pitch-black walls were cracking apart.
Maximus smashed into the wall so hard that his devil crown horned half still intact broke off. He fell towards the ground the same time Goblinball smashed into the wall, making a dense crater that he was embedded into.
Vaal Abussos kept roaring loudly as energy kept drawing into him. The miasma crackled with photons of Darkus energy discharging into a havoc cyclone.
Vaal Abussos: 7900 (+28,800) = 36,700 Daemon Goblinball: 21,500
Maximus' fingers twitched, which lead to him regaining his sense of awareness. That blow did more than just chip his horned crowned, it left him with a few ribs broken. And he could feel the pain flare up enough to keep him sane. "Tcccccch! What…the hell!" He read the gauge and looked at the rotting distortion happening around Vaal Abussos. "That's no Bakugan…that really is a monster."
BA-DUMP
A crucial pulse of negativity rung through his insides. He lurched over, gagging once more and coughing. It was like someone was setting his insides on fire. Not just from the pain, but the immeasurable toxicity of the Devil Miasma was bringing up his insanity once more. It wouldn't stop, neither the miasma, nor his monstrous self from growling in between gags.
Incomprehensive of the coughs by Maximus, Cyrus could still smell the negativity; despair was mixed into the miasma. It caused his tar-like body to crane upwards and convulse as plumes of miasma continued to filter through the air.
Even from outside, the miasma was traveling as fast as Cyrus was expelling. Dark purple storm clouds blanketed the white, crisp clouds of the evening, causing them to fade away. It was gradually fanning over the atmosphere, clogging the fresh oxygen.
Riaan watched from above, he and Armagedoid having morose frowns of displeasure upon seeing the gruesome sight. This was something even they were not in control of.
"GRAAAAAAH!" Vaal Abussos let out another earsplitting roar into the quaking atmosphere, expelling more black miasma that rushed everywhere. The rush was so forceful that it pushed Goblinball further into the wall.
"Goblin…ball…" Maximus panted, seeing his Bakugan suffering the same way he was. He cringed as his headache spiked further. He hunched over, wheezing in and out. His lungs were so full of miasma, yet at the same time, it hurt as it did relieve him. His chest throbbed as did his brain. Every time when he heard a thump, it would bring back various times when he was in front of the mirror. Every time he was against Luke. Every time he was given such smug and confident looks by Cyrus. Every time he was faced with so many people who wanted to make him feel endless, eternal pain. It was becoming too much. 'This pain…this pain…THIS PAIN~!'
"…" Everything went silent in that one instant.
Maximus' eyes opened once more. He found himself staring into a puddle within a decrepit land. His shock was paramount, but it was more focused on the ethereal feeling of this little boy that kept smiling at him that was himself. It was déjà vu all over again.
"You…you are…"
The little boy in the dark puddle kept his soft smile, even in the face of Maximus' rotting complexion. The ripples faded to show Maximus' current condition, showing him in a calmer, more perplexed state.
In a snap to reality, Maximus found himself back in reality, facing the typhoon of deadly miasma. The pain he felt in his head had settled significantly. He still found it hard to breathe, but he wasn't suffocating anymore. He looked down at his hand, finding it to be a little more steady.
"What was that? It's like…myself just…" Again, a surge of thoughts related to Xander as a child filled his mind. He clutched his head with gritting teeth. "Why…? Why am I feeling like this?! Is this what it means to really suffer a life you didn't deserve to live?! No…that can't be. No, the pain I'm feeling this time…it's completely different."
"That's so unlike you. You've never worried about me before, Maximus, so why start now?"
What Xander said before throbbed his chest so much that he clutched it. "It's like there's a hole in my chest that can't be filled now!"
"Maximus…I accept you. That won't change. You've tried to live enough to get rid of your fear of me. But maybe, you should look into yourself just a little more. Maybe…just a little at a time…"
"No matter what pain I've felt; from a decade, up to a minute ago…why…?" He raised his head high. "WHAT IS THIS THAT I AM FEELING?!"
"Master…Maxi…mus…"
Hearing the low murmur, Maximus perked upright. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Goblinball looking intently at him. The way that his eye was deeply transfixed onto him was something that caused his mind to once again go blank.
"Goblinball…?" It all faded to white in his eyes. Everything he felt, everything that he was concerned for…once he locked eyes with Goblinball's eyeball, he saw it.
"Huh?" Goblinball looked around, dazed. He looked up towards Maximus, seeing the dark grin that slowly formed on his face.
"…yes. These will all do just fine."
The memories came flooding back. With his eyes open, everything was coming to full circle. The actions he's taken, and the innocence he stole from not just Rogue Zero's faculty, but also their Bakugan. The long journey they have taken had come to bring them to mutual agreements that Maximus was so leisure about. And only now he saw it, the meaning behind what he felt when he remembered what they said previously.
"How generous of you, Maximus…however, my calling is for the research…and to that I dare say I shall do plenty upon dusk!"
"We all knew the risks of doing this task. This is what the path of desperation has turned us into. If you weren't prepared for this responsibility…then you shouldn't have come her to begin with."
"I'm surprised that he's even alive after that. Maybe it's finally came to him that he's nothing but a dead man now after being trounced by something he feared for so long."
"You were right. I am just a pet. Just listen and get treats. Just playing it safe…now even I don't have anything left because I listened. I did as they say, and I got paid. And I still did what they said after, and they tossed me aside. What did I even work towards?!"
"Go ahead…old man…you ain't nudging him. That crazy kid…is a hell of a lot scarier than you. But at least he's a loner that doesn't have to rely on someone!"
The words that were spoken before had returned. Maximus looked ahead, seemingly unfazed by the decaying, rotting clout before him. That dark hole that he had in his heart…it hurt so bad that no words nor screaming could ever hope to ease it. He hung his head low as the revelation piled onto him like bricks.
"…I see…so this is what it means to feel human…I almost forgot that we're genetically made to have such emotions…or at least, that's what we were supposed to be. Too bad, because of this vile…" He thought about the Doom Dimension. "These feelings and my tainted soul can't coincide…this battle…I have lost." He looked up at the pitch-black world he was trapped in. "This…is what it truly means to feel remorse. It hurts…hurts worse than any toxic air this putrid beast gives off."
"Because…this is for me and you guys."
"They all had dreams and desires of their own. While they fought to their last breaths, their hearts were shattered. The ties that bound them to their reasons to live were severed, and yet I can't help but feel like I was responsible for bringing them to their deaths!" he paused. "…and yet…somehow I can't help but feel this is the way it has to be…it's almost poetic, don't you think?" He meekly grinned. "Heh…that Luke preaching about living your life without fear. He's so stupid…but I guess…that stupid is just the ticket this world needs…not that I belong here anyways."
That smile he had on before slowly faded. He knew what had to be done, whether it was to ease this painful feeling in his heart or for his own selfish reasons…he had to make his rotting life worth it. Vindication filled his glare beneath his hood.
"Goblinball…get up. I'm sorry…but that's all I can say."
Goblinball, despite the immense pain he felt, gradually arose. His foot stomped by his partner. "Say no more, Master…it'll be my pleasure." He snarled.
"Just the words that I was looking for…"
Time slowed down as Maximus closed his eyes and gradually lifted his arms. They pulled up, with the faces and memories of his deceased comrades in mind. He could see Cesar in his chair, smirking back with success. Hendrix having his stone-serious face. Ariella leaning back in a chair, looking smug but dignified. Killian, working with documents and seeing monitors, while looking sincerely. But the last image he saw in his head…was Xander, smirking confidently and knowingly at him.
"It matters not who we see as friend or foe, for those who do not understand us shall suffer the consequences. We will show no mercy! This is the upstart…of Rogue Zero!"
Reality returned as the arms came down with energy claws out. The air grew deathly serious as Maximus opened his eyes, giving the deadliest and most focused glare he has ever had. With blinding speeds, he sped his way towards Cyrus and Vaal Abussos, with Goblinball howling as he glided right over him.
Cyrus' blank eyes saw something speed through the miasma towards his direction. He instantly sought it as a threat. "GRRAAAAAAH~!" Vaal Abussos responded by expelling a familiar roar. Both their eyes brightened momentarily at the activation of an ability.
A dark purple core that made contact with the body extended tendrils around the frame. It dissolved into him, causing the dragon to create an even stronger pulse that caused his tar-like saliva to vaporize in midair. The Death-X activated, causing an explosion of pitch-black miasma to spread everywhere, decaying the flooring and ground. Dark pulses spread vastly through the vicinity as a visible negative energy storm stirred around the highest point of the Empyrean. It thundered and crackled with dark lightning bolts that enflamed the miasma, causing it to spread that much quicker. The push from the pitch-black miasma was the ticket it needed to fan miles on end.
Vaal Abussos: 36,700 (+10,000) = 46,700 Daemon Goblinball: 21,500
The vile wake was drastically immense. Vaal Abussos expelled shockwaves that instantly decayed the mass amounts of tiling. The walls far out of reach had visibly begun cracking and losing balance. No matter how much synthetic structures were being made, it kept corroding.
Yet, through the pitch-black bog of death, a bright purple star glistened. It tore a hole straight through, via Osiris Drake, courtesy of Maximus as he kept ferociously slashing openings with a passionate fury. As he lunged forward, the Osiris Drake streamlined clean through. As the two assaults came through, Cyrus' eyes glinted again, and Vaal Abussos responded by raising his head and stamping down on the earth. He expelled an omnidirectional pulse, via Zone Murder. The attack had an amplified affect as it not only obliterated the draconian energy, but various parts of Goblinball's bodily armor shattered. Literal negative and Darkus energy expelled from him, but no matter what force came his way, he kept flying into Vaal Abussos with every bit of focused fury as his battler. The pulse was something that even Maximus could not tolerate. It picked him up and sent him flying, but Goblinball grabbed him, spun like a drill, and threw him back through the Devil Miasma shockwave with every fiber of might he had in him. Maximus bared his energy claws and brought them together to create a dark laser point that pierced through the miasma. His shoulder armor chipped and broke off into various pieces in the wake. He didn't care. He was making a beeline for something he could see in the thick bog.
"I see you!" He made contact with the ground and used the momentum to shoot himself forward dead ahead after Cyrus. The more he closed in, the more chipped his epidermis got. Dead skin cells flaked as he was inhaling the deathly miasma. He should have lost sanity at this point. But no. It was the opposite. He's never felt so sane and focused ever before. The reasons were what made him slash into the dense bog's wake. He violently carved through nearly solid miasma and had Cyrus within his sights. 'You can't hide from me this time!'
As the demonic man closed in, Vaal Abussos' scythe tail swept in from the side. Before it could touch Maximus, Vaal Abussos was blindsided by Goblinball flying in and tackling him. Instant contact caused his akin to steam from the corrosive surface. He clung on and pinned onto the black dragon, allowing Maximus to sweep under the tail and lunge for Cyrus.
'Now's the time!' he thought. "Gate Card…open! Wrecker Freeze!"
A bright light enveloped the ground, causing Cyrus to look down and give of a vile hiss. The light stung and he hated it.
"GRAAAH~!" With the snark of a devil, he slashed into the last remaining bog separating him from the monster. Without a moment's hesitation, he pivoted, brought his arm back, and swept around to drive his mechanical gauntlet right into the beast's gut.
GLOOSH!
The impaling was a success. Maximus clung onto Cyrus as the monster's miasma stopped for a moment. He looked down, realizing that a mechanical gauntlet was embedded into his tar-like body. "GRAAAAAAAH~!" He roared skywards, expelling a plume of Devil Miasma skywards.
Slowly, he started shuddering, as if he was in pain. The tar monster growled lowly as his substance splattered across Maximus' arm. It was highly acidic. The hooded man grunted as tar-like spit was gagged out of Cyrus' gaping maw and onto his face and hood. Its acidic properties burnt into his dry skin, causing his nose, cheeks, and his lips and teeth to corrode.
"…you don't like that, do you?" Maximus teased. "Well here…! There's plenty more!" He plunged his other mechanical gauntlet into the tar, causing Cyrus to screech out louder than before. The roar was so immense that it caused a sever ear ringing. At the point, Maximus was very much deaf. But he didn't care. He just looked ahead with a vengeance.
"…I take it that…you used all your abilities once, didn't you?" he wheezed. "Then you're out of luck…because Wrecker Freeze will prevent you from using all your abilities again…you talked so much about fear and hell…well now it's time for you to experience what such a place is…as will I."
"KRAAAAAH!" Cyrus screeched out in defiance. For something that was tar-like, he had a heavy bulk that punched Maximus right into his gut. He lurched so hard that black god spilled from his mouth and coughed. But he didn't let go.
"…I won't be joining Xander. Where he and the others have gone, I can never hope to follow." He lifted his head, smirking maliciously with deranged eyes right in Cyrus' face. "We aren't welcome to where they all are! Hell's where we're going, Cyrus! I can't think of a more fitting place for monsters like us who have no place in existence, can you?! I've heard that where all the sinners have gone, all those who didn't get to their knees and beg for forgiveness by the upper power. That's where your Hades Pillars are right now, trotting endlessly in the pits of Hell's flames! Oh yes…yes! I should fit right in to watch that carnage! You, Cyrus…well I fear something like you can't even be considered Hell-worthy. If Devils like me roam Hell as they'd like, then a being without meaning or feeling like you will be stepped on by me! You'll suffer an eternity!"
He plunged his gauntlets so far in that Cyrus screamed out Devil Miasma into Maximus' face. It blew his hood off and caused his face's black blood to dry up.
Vaal Abussos flailed in place, but Goblinball clung on tight. The monster dug his nails and impaled Goblinball's back, making even more energy exert, but didn't deter.
"The least that I can do for those who deserve to go that special place above…will be to take the living Hell with me. And I've got just the card to make that happen." His Bakumeter showed an ability. "Cesar warned never to use this unless it's an absolute last resort…but I guess this will suffice as an exception." His dry eyes glanced over at Goblinball. "Thank you…Goblinball."
Goblinball's eyeball looked over at his master as he kept hold. From the demonic look in the eyes given, he seemed to have forgiven him.
Maximus sneered and faced forward with a ferocious snarl. "Now then…let's move forward, shall we? Ability, activate…Infinity-X!"
BA-DUMP!
A pulse ran through Daemon Goblinball as a dark purple core appeared on his body. Tendrils laced around him, gradually fading into his depreciating body. Even as dark energy expelled from cracks, his body suddenly expelled a gravitational ripple, followed by a rupture coming from Goblinball's eyeball. He cried out as everything violently shook about.
"KRAAAAAAAH!" Vaal Abussos roared, trying to break free. All was in vain as Goblinball's tenacity kept him anchored around the waist.
"Infinity-X will grant Goblinball n infinite power, fueled by the dark energy that's infinite around us. It will continue to grow…and grow…until his body can't take anymore. And when that happens, both you and Vaal Abussos will be ripped apart from this existence.
"KRAAAAAAAAH~!" In an act of defiance, Cyrus expelled even more Devil Miasma into Maximus' face. His body kept convulsing from the energy he was feeding from.
Maximus humbly smiled, showing his rotting front teeth. "That's right…you hate power above you. You feed off everyone out of self-preservation. We both have brought people to their deaths…we belong in hell." He closed his eyes and lowered his head, showing his shaggy hair with the hood up. 'Yes…this is the way it must be. My only regret…the only wish that I have…is to make sure, that you all are smiling up there in a happier place…thank you, Luke.'
As he kept climbing, with his arm covering his mouth, Luke was swinging through the miasma, when he picked up on something. He flinched for a moment. 'Wait, this feeling…Maximus.'
Maximus kept smiling as he closed his eyes. Goblinball's dark mass within his body made a frequency that blocked out all sound. His silhouette cracked to boundless degrees as his power level kept going. From 25,000…30,000…40,000…45,000…48,000…It didn't end. Not until the Bakugan gave off one final roar.
"KRRAAAAAAAH~!" Vaal Abussos cried, his own bodily constitution being on fire. Cyrus couldn't escape neither. He couldn't activate abilities, nor could he keep Maximus off. His final acts of desperation rewarded him with a dark flare that closed in from Goblinball's center.
As time slowed down, Maximus slowed turned his head, seeing the supernova that Goblinball was becoming. It was bright purple, a color with a white center that seemed like the sun. He couldn't help but stare at it longingly.
'This will be the last time…that the light shines onto me in this life…' He reached out at it with a severely damaged gauntlet that reduced to debris in the flare. It didn't bother him a single bit. He softly smiled as the light beamed closer. 'But I guess this light…is all that I've ever needed.'
An implosion contracted Goblinball into a spherical dark orb around the eyeball, before a bright purple supernova engulfed everything. Vaal Abussos and Cyrus screeched out as both monsters of their own kind went flailing madly as parts of tar and limbs were being torn right from their bodies. Everything went silent, even their wails of pure anger and hatred. They dissolved away into the flare, along with the miasma.
Maximus kept his grin as the supernova engulfed him.
A spherical shockwave of Darkus attributed energy shattered the floor and all its bindings. Debris was obliterated as the shockwaves continued spreading throughout the realm; through the air it traveled, across the seas, upon miles on end. The entire sky was a brimming dark sun that changed the color of the sky to purple for several minutes. All the Devil Miasma and black fog that was about to reach the mainland's lush life was vaporized by this brimming shockwave.
The entire Empyrean's miasma was blown away by this shockwave, passing through each floor at sonic speeds. Upon reaching the base of it, the earlier lava that was cooled shattered to bits. The land shuddered tremendously enough that several large rocks from below went falling into the ocean.
Everyone far below saw only a bright purple sun pushed the miasma away from them. They all covered up from how blinding it was. The Brawlers and alliance had no words, only gawking shock as they tried to process what was happening.
Above, Luke and everyone stayed kneeling over. Luke grunted as everything turned to a bright purple flare…
Maximus found himself in a dark void the next instance. As he opened his eyes weakly, he took immediate notice that the Devil Miasma was no longer present.
"…where…where am I…?" He looked down at his body. The wounds that he had suffered were clearly visible, hence the grueling rotten white flesh and visible muscle on the forearms. He didn't even flinch. "Huh…that's right. It looks like this isn't my conscience after all…supposed this means I'm on my way towards Hell now." He let out a huff of acceptance. "So be it. Xander, sorry…but you're better free now from me. I put you all up there, this is for the best…"
He started walking further into the darkness with his hood up, when oddly enough, there was a faint glow behind his back that warmed him up. He stopped in his tracks and turned around.
"What…? A light?" he rasped.
"Max…!"
Maximus' eyes widened some upon hearing an echo from the light. "What…? Is that really…?"
"Max!" The light's voice was clearer than before. Its visibility was enhancing significantly. It gradually ate away the darkness that Maximus was walking towards.
He was so caught off guard by the enhanced light that beamed in his face that he had to rely on his hood to keep him from being blinded completely. Every speck of black turned towards white. When it all cleared out, the grievous wounds that he had on his body had been removed, as if nothing had happened. Instead of darkness, Maximus found himself in a hilly field of lush green grass. There was a deep blue sky with clouds that roamed beyond the angelic sun beaming down onto his face.
As he turned about, he looked to see nothing was there as before. No pain, no fire, and no aching Hell. "What…where am I…is this truly Hell…?"
"Hey! I was wondering when you'd come around! Kept us waiting, did ya?"
Maximus went completely stiff. He swiveled around, freezing in place when he found familiar people behind. But not just anyone. These people were all smiling at him, whether coolly or acceptingly. The five members of his kin meters apart from him, illuminated by the bright light along the horizon.
He stared dumbfoundedly at them, not even bothered by the brightness of the scenery before him. He was let without any sense of speech as he inspected each individual and their Bakugan there. Starting from the left, he studied them all.
"Cesar…Hendrix…Ariella…Killian…Xander…" he paused softly. "Why…you're all…?"
"Hmph, what's the matter there, Maximus? You look like you've seen a ghost." Ariella teased.
Cesar chuckled callously. "Why, what a naughty surprise this has been." He prodded his glasses. "But, I believe that this is a success. In a way, I believe we all were…hence why we're here together once more."
"I would believe so. Well done." Hendrix commended the leader.
Maximus was at a loss with what to even say. "No way…you mean that I'm not in…" Xander walked towards him. "X-Xander…you…"
Xander stopped a few feet before him, looking at him intently. "C'mon Maximus, don't really tell me that you think you deserve to be alone in the dark. Did you really forget that I'm always by your side? If you really did go there, I would've cleared the way for you, you know that."
Killian grinned. "Looks like your wish was heard alright."
'My wish…?' Maximus got an epiphany. 'Wait, does he mean…!'
'Yes…this is the way it must be. My only regret…the only wish that I have…is to make sure, that you all are smiling up there in a happier place…thank you, Luke.'
'Then…I really am among them…' He could see all the smiles of Rogue Zero, as well as their Bakugan grinning at him and Goblinball behind their partners. They all looked proud of him, something nobody ever was to him before, not ever. He was left speechless.
Xander smirked cockily at him. "Hey, that's what best friends are for, right? You gave us the right push…even if it cost your life. I think your life shined. Extraordinarily."
Maximus' pain was no longer there. He saw the approval of his cohorts that followed him to their deaths, and now here he was, having pulled out the darkness in return. His seemingly smoothed eyes softened, causing them to mist. Something warm went down the sides of his cheeks. They felt salty, but at the same time wet and warm.
It was tears, small tears at the corners of his eyes. He got his wish in the end. He got to see his allies' smiling in genuine happiness once more. They all looked so well, if not peaceful. He smirked back at them as his tears flowed. "You morons."
Killian crossed his arms. "Glad to see you, too."
"Shall you lead the way?" Hendrix stepped off to the side, with the others following to give space for Maximus to have a clear view of the sunny horizon upon the field before him.
He looked towards Goblinball, the two looking just as surprised. They looked at Xander, who nodded approvingly. Maximus kept his smile as a light wind breezed through the field of everlasting peace. He looked straight ahead at the light, knowing that there was no need to look back…because he knew that Rogue Zero would be there instead of darkness.
He started for the horizon with a scoff, his cape shifting as Xander and Rogue Zero followed him onto everlasting adventure they worked towards.
The darkness that once plagued Rogue Zero and their Bakugan faded away, as they all faded into the bright horizon's embrace, with a hooded, grinning man leading them to their destination.
The bright purple explosion gradually faded away. The immeasurable rupture that extended through miles on end had simmered down until it was nothing more than a distant sound of thunder. The crackling Darkus energy that filled the atmosphere before had faded away, along with the poisonous bog.
Dan coughed madly as he was coming around. He was on his side and opened his eyes weakly. When he realized he was still alive, he sat up and looked around. "Hah! What?!" He looked left and right, but there was no trace of the Devil Miasma within the base. His eyes shuddered with disbelief. "What…the heck was that…?"
A groan got his attention, followed by a cough. "Drago!"
Spectra got up upon hearing Helios cough up miasma, too. "Helios!"
All around, everyone else was down and wheezing. Some of them had lost consciousness, but they were still having pulses. All their Bakugan were in ball forms, having either been defeated or needed to retreat for safety. But the Kimera were all unstable clear blobs once more, lowly gurgling from the aftershock.
Spectra immediately noticed this. "The clones…they're all back in their generic forms. Helios!"
His eyes snapped wide open. The cyborg dragon rose to a knee and punched the ground, grunting out purple steam that was the miasma. He was extremely exhausted, but he was still able to fight. "You swines…are gonna get it now!"
Spectra's Bakumeter instigated an ability. "Take them all out! Ability, activate! Deep Fire – Block A!"
Helios' turbines on his back flipped open canisters and the rockets beneath shot out fumes of smoke and steam. The thrusters unleashed hundreds of dark purple missiles that locked onto several Kimera at once. They fanned out and arch into them, creating several dozen explosions that quaked the base of the Empyrean all at once.
"Drago! Ability, activate! Dragon Astral!" Dan shouted, directing skywards. Drago opened his maw, and with whatever firepower he had in him, expelled glistening fire that separated into various streams down the center.
Red and dark purple explosions painted in arches throughout the chamber. Shockwaves rumbled everything as the Kimera were completely exposed and unable to recover. They all let out painful cries as their wriggling bodies couldn't escape the explosions. They all reverted to rainbow lights, before fading out of existence.
The smoke gradually settled down, revealing Drago and Helios both on a knee each, but sighing in relief.
"Finally…took care of those guys." Dan labored sickly, but he was still conscious no less. "Hey, Spectra…you good over there?"
Spectra coughed some more, but smirked. "Heh…just fine, thanks." He looked up at the ceiling, seeing the miasma no longer present. 'But that blast wave just now…that was all forbidden power. And it eradicated the miasma in an instant. What kind of power caused this?'
As everything was settling down below, the same was for above, Luke and everyone were clinging on to dear life as they were using clothes and arms to cover their mouths. It took some time, but after the shockwaves dispersed, they were able to get themselves upright once more.
"Gnnngh…that was heavy…" Luke snapped back to reality. "Wait, what just happened?"
"We were engulfed in Devil Miasma just a moment ago, I believe." Atchibee rationalized. "But now, for some reason…I don't sense that same feeling."
Esther furrowed her brow. "I feel it, too. It must have been…"
Jase closed his eyes as he readjusted his glasses. "It appears that the trouble has been adverted…for the time being at least."
Jelldon sighed. "That was a close one."
"Yeah, you're not kidding there…look there! Above us!" Maggie pointed them upwards.
There, over everyone's heads at the chamber's ceiling, they could see that ominous shield that looked like it would take away their oxygen slowly fade away. It gradually parted, dissolving to allow them to see the blue network ceiling that shined brightly in a very vibrant accent that made it show the six attributed symbols, with a core-like outline in the center that shined the brightest.
"That must be the way up to Riaan's summit. Guess Maximus was able to keep his end of the deal after all." Shawn stated.
"Yeah." Shuji frowned. "Huh?"
Fly Beetle turned towards the center. "Look there!"
Everyone turned their heads and fell silent. They all looked down as dark purple sparkles were dancing and swirling skywards after them. They dazzled the night sky, like stars that twinkled brightly. Their head followed the cascading dust with posthumous revelation.
"Guys, you seeing what I'm seeing?" Shawn asked.
"Yes, I see it alright." Verias nodded somberly.
"…" Jase and Atmos were silent.
"This foul energy…I don't sense it anymore." Esther noted. "Then that must mean…"
Luke frowned heavily. He knew well better than anyone what this meant. He knew something was up when he thought he heard Maximus thanking him. 'So I wasn't imagining it after all. Maximus…he's really gone.'
A small, tranquil breeze brisked the particles to change direction. They scattered past Luke, and it felt nostalgic, but at the same time, sad. He watched at the particles faded away, knowing they were meant to go to a better place. He lowered his head, closing his head as he tightened his grip onto his sword.
"Maximus…thank you for everything."
"So then, they're really…" Jelldon trailed off.
"Damn." Shuji said.
Maggie looked down in grief. "You know, it's really strange. At the same time, I really hated those guys. But then, I kinda feel bad for them. It's like there's something that was a part of us that we can't ever get back again."
Esther grimaced. "I suppose…that when you stop and look back at it, you can say that Rogue Zero…is that part of us we just lost. They've been there from the very beginning all the means towards now. We're stronger than before because of them."
"When you've come to know someone for so long, whether it's friend or foe, you come to understand that person as much as yourself. In a way…I have found them to be our reflections. What would have been, in another life perhaps."
"That could have been us…but they wanted to give us a chance, one that they never got." Shawn paused at his realization. "I get it now…so that's why."
"I can't believe that I'm going to say this…but I think I'm going to miss them." Maggie frowned.
"In the end…I suppose that Rogue Zero realized their purposes." Esther said. "They chose to make the last of their lives meaningful."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Luke responded. He looked skywards, seeing the last sparkle twinkle away.
"…I wonder. A future where demons can be truly accepted is possible…the wrong that they did can really be overlooked so that they may see a better place."
'I wonder…if Maximus really did go to heaven?' It was a question with no answer, at least for now at least. Who was to say? To appease his curiosity, he just genuinely hoped so. He lowered his head and closed his eyes. "Rogue Zero…Maximus…thank you guys, for everything. I promise, we'll never forget you…rest well."
Abis floated onto Luke's shoulder. "Now, we have another reason to fight."
"Yeah, you're right." Luke faced the network looming over their heads. "Now the barrier is gone. That means there's only one thing left."
"Riaan." Shawn said. "You ready, Luke?"
"Yeah, definitely." He looked up with a serious and resolute glare. "Now…it's time that we finish the fight that so many have started!"
High above, the clear night sky was fresh. Star danced in the high atmosphere, with several comets streaming beyond their reaches. Riaan and Armagedoid stood completely still, feeling the blue networks and systems bringing them to the realization.
"Master…the final pillar…"
With a calm composure, Riaan sternly glared forward. "It seems that Hades Pillars has met their ends. All of my pillars…all of my subordinates…have fallen. I must say though, out of all the surprises to be pulled up, Maximus killing Cyrus in such a way…truly underrated. I give them all a round of applause. But now, that means…that it's our turn once more, Armagedoid. The final hour draws near. It's time…for our last stand."
Happy Birthday to me~! But seriously, I am SO very sorry for the long awaited wait for this chapter guys. It took a long time for me because I was doing so well with the few months before…and then suddenly I crash hard and was in Writer's Block mode for THREE WEEKS! It took me every bit to get this up before the end of my birthday by midnight, but I hope this is worth it to you guys. We've finally concluded Hades Pillars, as well as Rogue Zero and their endeavors.
Overall, what were your thoughts on Rogue Zero? From start to finish, did you come to like what I did with them as individual characters and coming together at a wholesome end for them? I feel like I had to put in a LOT more effort for Maximus out of the rest because of how much I had to keep track of, along with his inner turmoil and life coming to full circle. But I think this will suffice for now. R.I.P Rogue Zero. You will be missed.
Now comes perhaps the very last stretch, and it's against Riaan of all people! I have 4 weeks to give you all a grand finale for 2020. I know it's been a hell of a year, but if this chapter taught you anything, is that it could be worse. Let's try and make December worth it!
As always, your support is very appreciative! Hope to hear back from you guys, and I'll do my best to be quick for updates!
