Bakugan Battle Brawlers: Invasion Core

by Switch - On - 97

Two years after Dan and the brawlers saved Bakugan City from Mechtavius Destroyer a lot has changed. New battlers have appeared on the scene and will discover what it is like to brawl. Watch as the Neo Brawlers will team up, and fight with and against the newest generation of battlers, and a against a race of aliens that seek to invade Earth and all other Dimensions.

57. Paradigm Shift - Part 3

The Bakugan Battle Brawlers in:
Paradigm Shift - Part 3

Garfield and Alice were sitting on a pair of cushions, they held each other's hands as they sat in front of each other. Garfield's attribute wheel on his right hand was glowing as well. Their eyes were closed as Garfield was busy inside Alice's mindscape.

"So… how long does this normally take?" Jayden asked as he and Maia eyed the pair.

"No idea," Maia answered. "When you're breezing through your own mind, keeping track of time isn't high on my priority list." She turned away from them. "We should leave them be, it might take a while. And you've guys got a big day tomorrow."

Aisha stood near the back of her room and continued to eye Garfield, she thought back to how he looked like he was in a real low mood when he came back with Maia. 'The whole reason he's here was to save this Hikari girl… and now that he did… he doesn't seem happy.'

…

Cooper and Jax meanwhile had gone into Bones's office. "Sorry, but we didn't find Liz," Cooper said.

"We looked everywhere," Jax said. "We asked around but no one had seen her. But we'll keep trying."

Bones nodded while letting out a sigh. "Keep trying… I am getting worried about her. She wanted to head to the capital but I forbade her from this. So I'm worried she'll do something rash." Cooper and Jax both nodded and they headed back out into the city to try and find a lead on Liz.

---

Entering the city hospital was the pair of Akane and Cera. They saw Zaria in the waiting room looking worried. "Hey Z." Akane called in a gentle tone.

"Hey… sorry, there was a huge commotion earlier," she replied.

"What happened?"

"Xaramesi came back… which you know… and Reiko didn't like that. So those two went at it! Hurting each other in the process. So they are both being treated, Xaramesi suffered more than Sakuya did. But it seems for the moment that she drew Reiko away. I'm not sure how Sakuya is doing honestly. Xaramesi still loves her, but I highly doubt Sakuya can handle a relationship at the moment. But hopefully, they both can move past this. If they can't, I hope they at least don't try to kill each other."

"I am a little lost," Cera said. "Mind catching me up?" she sat beside the two.

Zaria smiled at her. "Well… it is a long story. But don't worry, I'll fill you in. By the way, weren't there more of you?"

"There were, but we split up. I think Cameron and Zavanna are out somewhere. And the others are back at Bones's place.

…

The local park was a mess, as the playground equipment was strewn about everywhere. Zavanna stopped to see the state of the area around her. "This is awful…" she muttered. "All of this because they wanted me." she felt a comforting hand touch her shoulder.

"None of this is your fault," Cameron told her.

"But… maybe if I didn't fight back… then at least the city would have been spared. Xaramesi would have come for me anyway, and so many people wouldn't be suffering right now."

"But you can't blame yourself, you couldn't have known what was going to happen in the future. I… only wish I was there. Maybe you wouldn't have been taken in the first place." Cameron sat down on a rock while Zavanna sat on the grass underneath him. "Zavanna… be honest, is it possible that maybe Draconoid made a mistake…"

"Cameron…?" she eyed him curiously.

"I've only just realized the situation we're in. The kind of people we're fighting against. It all started as a fun game to me, but now it's a battle for survival. I just feel out of place here is all."

"That's not true!" Zavanna exclaimed. "Look how far you've come, you're strong Cameron. And very kind too…"

Cameron let out a sigh before he slumped. "Zavanna… why do you like me?"

"Huh? Excuse me?"

"It's just… it's hard for me to take things seriously, I just saw this whole thing as an adventure where we just get to fight with Bakugan and beat up bad guys… but, that's not what this is, is it? So how can you look up to me?"

"Cameron…"

"I never thought that our lives would be on the line, Akira got hurt… what if that happens again to one of us…" Zavanna got up and sat next to him on the rock. "What if Yurina… decides to come after us? I don't know if any of us are strong enough to beat her."

"Cameron!" Zavanna gently hugged him. "You're sinking…" she felt relieved when she felt his arms hugging her back. "It's ok to be scared… it's natural."

"I even blew being a leader…" he muttered.

"If it makes you feel better, I thought you were a great leader," she said as she let go of him. "You just care and… you just want to make sure you don't do anything to get on anyone's bad side." she saw that Cameron's low mood didn't increase as much. "Can I ask you something?" she saw Cameron nodding at her. "Do you love yourself?"

"Promise me that you'll value yourself, as much as you value others. You matter too, you forget that sometimes."

Those were the words that Akira hit him with back in the hospital. "Zavanna… I do love myself… but maybe I just put others above me because… I don't know, I don't feel as important as everyone else. So I just try to make sure everyone is happy."

"But are you happy?"

"Yeah! I am! At least I think I am... I've got a lot to be happy about, home life is great I've got friends… so I'm happy, maybe I'm too happy actually. I just think that… I'm just not as serious as the rest of you guys, even though I try to sound like it at times."

"Ugh!" Blazeon leaped out of Cameron's pocket. "Spare me the drama, look, let's just do what we've always done. And that's to kick some ass! Only this time, you can't second guess yourself! We were the first on the team to get a Reversion Form, so what do you think that says, huh?" he exclaimed. "We've always grown stronger with each battle, so why should that stop!? Whatever this Limit Break is, we'll reach it and go higher than that!" he then bopped Cameron on the head. "So enough of the 'I don't know what to do' crap! We've always had two jobs. Battle and Win. Accept now we have three jobs, Battle, Win, and Survive! Do you know what you need? You need a battle to remind yourself of how good you are!"

"I mean as much as I like to battle… is it appropriate to have that right this second."

"Don't be a chicken with me!" Blazeon exclaimed. "We're doing this! Now, who is the strongest person you can think of to battle right now?"

Cameron thought about it. "Normally I would say Akira, but she's not able to at the moment."

Zavanna snapped her fingers. "I know! What about Zaria! I don't think we've seen her and Dragness battle in a while, and with how much 'swagger' she has, I'm sure she won't be an easy opponent for you."

Blazeon hovered in front of Zavanna. "Hmm, that's a great idea!" he exclaimed. "See Cameron, I knew you were right to choose her." Zavanna blushed while Cameron glared at Blazeon.

"You never said that."

"Haha, of course, I did. And this way, I get to show Dragness my sweet moves," he said in a smooth-sounding tone.

Zavanna smiled as she glanced at Blazeon. "You're not going to go easy on her… are you?"

"W-what me!? NO WAY!" he exclaimed while turning around. "I mean, yeah she's totally hot, but she's just another Bakugan! Another opponent to battle!"

Scorchiree leaped onto Zavanna's shoulder. "You're not fooling anyone, Blazeon."

"S-shut up!" Blazeon leaped onto a nearby rock. "I'll have you know I defeated the 'legendary' Drago. So don't think I'll go easy on her!"

"If you say so," Scorchiree said leaping onto the same rock.

Both Cameron and Zavanna giggled at their Bakugan's interactions. Though Cameron was a little surprised when he noticed Zavanna scootching closer to him. "Um… Zavanna?" he noticed she looked directly into his eyes.

"I should have said this… that night when we... you know." she started, still feeling embarrassed to mention that they kissed. "But I want you to know…" her cheeks were glowing a deep shade of red. "I care about you a lot." she leaned closer to him. "And I love being around you."

Cameron's cheeks were turning red too as he wasn't used to being showered with this many compliments. "U-um… thanks Zavanna…"

She leaned her head onto his and closed her eyes. "I love you, Cameron." she longingly said.

"Zavanna… I love you too." Cameron hugged her waist while Zavanna had her arms around his neck. Zavanna separated a little but only to gaze at Cameron once again before she closed her eyes slightly puckered her lips 'Is this her asking me to kiss her?' he thought to himself. 'C'mon… don't be a coward, Cameron!' He closed in and he pressed his lips onto hers and they instinctively held each other closer. It was a good four seconds before they both ended the kiss and let go of each other. "Whoa… um… did you like it?"

Zavanna blushed in response. "I don't know... It was… less awkward than the first kiss we had. I… Is that what it's supposed to feel like? It felt good being close to you but, I don't know… it still feels weird."

Cameron held her hand. "We don't have to it you're not comfortable." Zavanna smiled in response.

"Thanks… I just felt so much pressure that I had to do it you know…"

Cameron blushed and held his hands up. "Then we can… just be close to each other if that's better?"

Zavanna leaned into his chest. "I like that…" she then felt warmer when Cameron wrapped his arms around her.

Blazeon and Scorchiree watched the pair. "Ugh… seeing them be awkward with each other is going to make me barf."

"It's sweet and romantic! You're just heartless!" Scorchiree said

Blazeon let out a sigh. "I don't do romance… ugh…"

---

Outside of Relic City, Andreas was sitting in the transport and he had what looked like a map of the world in front of him and there were several circled spots on the map. He let out a tired yawn as he had a pencil on his cheek.

"Hey…" he saw Lola approaching him, she had her new outfit which consisted of baggy red pants and a white sleeveless shirt. "What are you planning now?"

Andreas turned to her. "I'm trying to figure out a good place to start our 'tribe', we could just go to any place in the wilds, but we'd need good places to hunt where we wouldn't have to compete with other tribes for prey, but in saying that we may want to trade... We could decide to go underground, we can craft weapons but it might be hard to find prey and I wouldn't want us to become mole people… no offense to Mole Alursians."

"Ah, none taken. But maybe we should stay above ground," she suggested. "What are we going to do first, though?"

"We find the area and prepare it." Isolde met the pair of them.

"What if it is overrun with Rouge Bakugan?" Lola asked.

"We fight them off." Andreas simply said. "Seems simple enough. We'll head there tomorrow morning." he rested his head on the headrest in the driver's seat. "I have to sleep for a week."

…

Outside the transport, there was a fire that Rogue and Tammy were sitting around it and Tammy looked like she was grilling meat. "Now this is some good eats, wouldn't you agree?" Rogue asked.

Tammy held her hand up to her chest and she shook her head. "Eh… I prefer fish." she eyed the meat and she looked distracted.

"Something on your mind… other than Andreas?" she blushed in response, shook her head and her ears flattened.

"C'mon… when are you going to stop making fun of me for that?"

"When you finally decide to ask him out." Her ears remained flat and she stared down at the fire.

"He's not going to want to… first of all, I'm an Alursian… I doubt he'll want to cause that's taboo apparently. Second of all, he already rejected me. I'm pretty much like a little sister to him."

"Then don't ask him out now… but maybe in a couple of months."

"MONTHS!?" she exclaimed.

"Andreas isn't going to move on so quickly, you'd want to ease him into the idea before asking him out." she looked down and her tail relaxed. "But don't give up, you're definitely getting through to him. Despite how cold he seems."

Tammy giggled. "I noticed… he can be a giant softie."

Rogue suddenly had an idea. "Hey Tammy, want to come into town with me? I've got a plan that might help us." As he got up, Tammy took a bite from her meat. She stood up with him.

"Right behind you, big guy!"

The pair had walked back into town, Dwayne meanwhile was keeping watch on top of the transport. Just to be sure they weren't being monitored. He turned around to see Isolde climbing up with a can of two sodas in his hand. "Ay man, how are ya?" Dwayne tilted his head and smiled. "I'll assume you're happy." he offered the can of soda to Dwayne who took it with his sharp-clawed hand. "So… what do ya think of Yurina takin' over?" Dwayne shrugged. "Heh… everyone is either excited or on the fence or absolutely terrified. But for me… well it's clear Yurina has an ax to grind with a few people. Once those people are out of the way, then she'll change Fabrega for the better - at least in her image. But I'm sure as long as we steer clear of her we'll be fine."

Dwayne and Isolde opened their cans at the same time, which let out an audible hiss. "So what do you think about Andreas's plan? You like it?" the bat gave a nod along with a thumbs up. "That's great! Surprisingly everyone's on board with this." he took a sip of his drink. "I never really saw Andreas as a leader type, but it seems he grew into that while we were all in prison. Maybe getting arrested could have been the best thing that could have happened to him - Don' tell him I said that. I'd hate to think where he'd be if he was still in the Royal Guard." Dwayne drank his soda and after the fizzy substance traveled down his throat, he hiccuped. "Hey, you mentioned you can't fly, right?" he saw the bat nodding. Isolde took out his notebook and showed Dwayne something. "How does this look." Dwayne's eyes glistened and he cheerfully nodded. "Ya got it. I'll get started on it."

---

The trio of Darius, Leiya, and Maximus was in the middle of a large park with a gray-stoned walk path with blue lines of light marking the path. The place there were standing in was filled with grass. The street lamps lit up the entire area.

"Why did you lead us here!?" Leiya asked. "You're just going to be arrested after you lose."

Darius then confidently turned to her. "Well given we're about to battle, you wouldn't want to do it in the city, right. This is the capital right?"

Maximus put his gauntlet on his arm as he prepared to battle. "Leiya, start. The sooner we win, the sooner we can free the king and restore our kingdom to its former glory."

"R-right..." her gate card was already set so there was only one thing she had to do. "Bakugan Brawl! Raptorexx Stand!" Raptorexx's sharp claws hit the ground before screeching loudly.

"You've been riding off our coattails for far too long, Darius!" he exclaimed as he tossed Prismanta up in his hand. "Bakugan Brawl! Prismanta Stand!" Prismanta's heels stood on the ground as she glared forward.

"Yo Prismanta how goes it?" Darius asked before he grabbed his partner. "Ready to rock, Spinark?" his partner closed his ball form and angrily hissed from inside it while he rocked left and right. "Jeez, cranky much…" he closed his fist. "Here goes! Bakugan Brawl, Spinark Stand!" the Spinosaurus stood as a cyclone of water appeared in the park. There was a large splash as he exploded out of the cyclone. He angrily roared as his bright orange eyes shone in the darkness.

Spinark: 1000

Raptorexx: 850 / Prismanta: 850

Leiya placed a card into her gauntlet. "Alright… here goes! After we beat you, you're going to be detained. Ability Activate, Dark Matter Wing Slash!" Raptorexx's wings were surrounded by dark energy with white stars in between them. His power increased by 300 while draining Spinark by the same amount.

Spinark: 1000(-300)= 700 / Raptorexx: 850(+300)= 1150

Maximus stood forward and there was a card in his gauntlet. "A double-pronged attack will do it! Ability Activate, Prism Sword!" Prismanta's blade arms shone blue and she rushed at Spinark along-side Raptorexx. 300 was transferred yet again.

Spinark: 700(-300)= 400

Raptorexx: 1150 / Prismanta: 850(+300)= 1150

Both Bakugan was rushing fast to Spinark and as they were closing down, Darius didn't look at all worried as Spinark bent down and prepared to fight.

"Ooh careful, you don't want to get too close!" he held his gauntlet up. "Ability Activate, Spine Fire!" Spinark raised his back and his spines were letting out bright blue glows. He fired blue, rapid-fire energy missiles to the pair of them which exploded on impact, making them stumble. Each of their power levels dropped by 500 while Spinark gained 500.

Spinark: 400(+500)= 900

Raptorexx: 1150(-500)= 650 / Prismanta: 1150(-500)= 650

They both approached after the energy missiles had exploded on them and Spinark roared and swung his tail hard which floored both Bakugan and sent them sliding along the grass.

Darius pointed up to the sky with his left hand and he snapped his fingers and an ability card was inside his gauntlet. "Ability Activate, Aquos Squall!" Spinark roared and the sky suddenly darkened and thunder rumbled as heavy rain suddenly fell around them. As the water fell onto Spinark, he felt rejuvenated and he growled angrily at his opponents. His power increased by 500 putting him at 1400Gs. "And just to be sporting, I'll tell you what that ability does. Any ability I use after this will allow my abilities to be 200Gs stronger."

Leiya glared at him. "Thanks for the hint. Now I'll just keep you standing where you are! Ability Activate, Galactic Discharge!" Raptorexx leaped up and he was surrounded by bright purple lightning and he landed hard on the ground releasing a wide pulse shockwave that was speeding to Spinark.

Spinark: 1400(-600)= 800

Raptorexx: 650 / Prismanta: 650

Darius held up a card. "You're gonna wish you haven't done that kiddo, Ability Activate, Clear Mirror!" Spinark glared forward at the electric pulse that was speeding to him. There was a clear mirror of water that appeared in front of him and the electric pulse had impacted the water mirror, creating a ripple the pulse sped through where Spinark stood but he was protected by the mirror. But a pulse of energy was immediately reflected back towards Raptorexx and Prismanta.

Spinark: 800

Raptorexx: 650(-600)= 50 / Prismanta: 650(-600)= 50

Both Maximus and Leiya were shocked as the reflected shockwave had exploded onto the two, pushing them back. The electrical energy caused them to remain still as the reflected electricity paralyzed them.

"LEIYA!" Maximus angrily yelled as both Prismanta and Raptorexx were standing there, vulnerable to any attack. "Do you realize what you've just done!?" He growled at Leiya as the rain continued to fall. "Despite the circumstances, I won't allow myself to fall to you! Prismanta, move your arm." Prismanta tried to raise her arm, and as stiff as it was, she managed to move her arm slightly. He saw she could move it, so he gave her a serious look. "If you can move it! Then we can do this! Ability Activate, Spectrum Blast!" She shakily aimed her blade forward to Spinark and it fired rainbow-colored electricity at Spinark who stood on his feet ready for another command from Darius.

Spinark: 800(-400)= 400

Raptorexx: 50 / Prismanta: 50(+600)= 650

The electric blast was speeding to him and Darius raised his gauntlet. "Oh Spinark, I've got something for you~ Ability Activate, Admiral Shield!" Spinark had a bright blue, liquefied shield in front of him, and the electricity was absorbed by the shield, making it so Spinark wasn't hurt by the attack. He had his 400 returned to him, putting him at 800Gs while Prismanta lost the 600, bringing her back down to 50Gs.

"Enough of this! Gate Card Open! Dry Terra!" Leiya exclaimed. The command card shone with a white glow before the grassy area of the park had turned to dry land with cracks inside it. The rain suddenly stopped falling and steam was rising off from Spinark. "Dry Terra is a command card that blocks all Aquos abilities and it halves the power level of all Aquos Bakugan!" True to her word, Spinark's power level was dropped down to 400Gs from 800Gs.

"Whoa boy…" Darius said. "Nice trick buuuut, none of you can move…"

"That's where you're wrong!" he saw Prismanta trying to stand and she glared at Spinark who wasn't looking so hot on the dry ground. "Maximus, you know what to do!"

"Ability Activate, Carbon Stance!" Prismanta found herself becoming lighter and she was actually moving while purple electric sparks following her. Since she was able to get off her feet thanks to her increased speed, she prepared a second attack.

Spinark: 400

Raptorexx: 50 / Prismanta: 50(+150)= 200

"Hurry Prismanta, Ability Activate! Spectrum Slicer!" Prismanta was seen leaping up into the air and she was about to fall onto Spinark. Her arm was raised as rainbow energy surrounded the blades and she was about to throw it down right into the Bakugan.

Spinark: 400(-350)= 50

Raptorexx: 50 / Prismanta: 200(+550)= 750

"Hey Spinark, back off from her!" Darius yelled, he backed away and Prismanta's blade missed, she tried to slice him over and over but Spinark was managing to avoid it because she was still being slowed by Raptorexx's Galactic Discharge. "Let's stop messing around, Ability Activate, Ancient Ripple!" his Fabregan ability card shone blue. The orange gemstones on his limbs were shining bright blue and the gemstones were making blue ripples that were echoing through the area of the card. The cracks in the ground were growing wider and wider and soon, water shot out of those cracks, making pillars of water surrounded the battlefield.

Spinark's power level was increasing. "What was that!?" Leiya asked.

"Something I save for emergency situations, Ancient Ripple reverses the effect of a gate card and doubles the reversed effects. So since you took 400Gs away from Spinark, he gets that back plus an extra 400, haha.

Spinark: 50(400x2)= 850

Raptorexx: 50 / Prismanta: 750

Spinark hissed loudly as he looked up into the sky. "Alright baby, time for the climax!" he placed another card into his gauntlet. "Ability Activate, Pressure Cyclone!" the pillars of water were still raging heavily and they all saw Spinark transform into his water form. They all lost sight of him as he was moving fast around the battlefield.

"What is he doing?" Leiya asked.

"I don't know…" Maximus said. "I normally don't expect much from Darius, he is the slacker of our group."

Prismanta backed up to Raptorexx and both Bakugan could see lines of water surrounding them. "What is happening?" they could see the watery form of Spinark sprinting around them. Before long there was a loud splash of water that exploded around Prismanta and Raptorexx knocking them off their feet. The water below them turned to a water tornado that both Bakugan were floating inside of. Leiya gasped when they saw the power levels of their Bakugan dropping.

"Oh no…" she whispered, the energy was being sapped from both Bakugan as they were engulfed by the tornado.

"Fight back Prismanta!"

"I CAN'T!" she exclaimed.

Spinark: 850

Raptorexx: 0 / Prismanta: 0

The water cyclone exploded into a loud splash and what remained of the two Bakugan was their ball forms and they landed at the feet of their partner's feet. Both of their life gauges were reduced to 15%.

Spinark returned his normal form and he roared. He reverted to his ball form and sped to Darius's hand. "Still think I'm a slacker, Maximus?"

"This is unfathomable!" Darius exclaimed. "We need another strategy!" he then grabbed Leiya's hand. "Quickly, this way!" he dragged the two of them out of Angel Park.

"Where are we going!?" she exclaimed

"We need a different plan of attack, we can't fight him here!"

Darius watched them leave. "Oh man, you do not want to do that!" he exclaimed as he threw Spinark behind him. The Spinosaurus stood and Darius turned around to face him. "Mind giving me a lift, we've got some two fugitives we gotta hunt," Spinark growled angrily before allowing Darius to climb onto his head. "Right… sniff 'em out, but don't tear 'em apart. Yurina would rather take them in alive."

Spinark marched himself out of the park to find Maximus and Leiya.

---

Inside a hospital room, Xaramesi's eyes were slowly opening as she had a large plaster on her cheek and she noticed some bandages that covered her stomach. "Whoa… I feel woozy… where am I?" she asked.

"What are you people doing out there?" she looked in front of her to see Akira's bed lying on the other side of her end of the room. "This room has done nothing but fill up with new people today." she noticed that Phoenix's bed was next to Akira's and next to her bed was Sakuya. The wolf girl was sound asleep.

"Looks like those painkillers they gave me are working very well… I feel like I'm floating…" she gave a second look to the sleeping Sakuya. "Is she ok?"

"You both were brought in and she seemed worried. But they wanted to check her in to treat her injuries too." Akira said. "What is going on out there?"

Xaramesi smiled. "I did what I had to… I finally got through to her…" she kept gazing longingly at Sakuya. "But I just have to wait and see if she'll give me a second chance. Whether I deserve it or not, I'm glad I did something."

"So are you two fine…?"

"I'm not sure… but…" she also eyed Phoenix who was asleep. "Thanks… for convincing me, both you and Phoenix."

Akira sat back. "Don't mention it." she eyed Xaramesi. "We shouldn't push ourselves too hard, enough of us are injured enough at it is."

Phoenix started to wake up. "Guh… I'm not a fan of going in and out of consciousness." he looked at Xaramesi to see her waving at him. "A-are you ok?" he asked, eying her injuries that were covered by her bandages.

She smiled at him. "Just a flesh wound." the girl gave him a thumb's up with her bandaged arm.

Phoenix shook her head. "Fool… you got yourself hurt, now what do we do?"

"We focus on getting better," Xaramesi said as she gazed once again as a sleeping Sakuya.

"So are you going to stalk her as she sleeps?" he asked and he saw her blush. "I can see that you care a lot about her. You plan on staying with her?"

"Um… there is still a lot we should talk about… hopefully we can sort this out tomorrow."

Phoenix laid back. "Right…"

---

"I'm sorry, what?!" A gasp was heard from Zaria as she was found on the beach with two others that recently joined her.

"I said I want to battle you!" Cameron exclaimed while Zavanna stood by his side.

Blazeon then hovered in front of him. "This is serious, Cameron needs this!"

Cameron was quick to backpedal. "I-I mean I don't exactly need to fight you, but it would be-"

"Seriously… grow a spine!" Blazeon exclaimed. "Well, Zaria are you going to help us?"

"We've got four guys in the hospital… and I don't want to potentially add two more." she saw Cameron trying to give a serious look to her. She let out a sigh. "What's eating you, kid?"

"I just don't think I belong here. I guess I can battle, but I'm not sure if I can deal with all the pressure of trying to save people. I'm not as serious as the rest of you. I thought we would just be saving Fabrega… but when Akira got hurt… I guess it just got real."

"Well, Dragness?" Zaria asked as her partner got onto her hand.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt," Dragness replied.

Zaria looked down at Cameron. "Fine, you want to battle? We'll do it… but afterward. I think you should talk to Xaramesi."

"Xaramesi?"

"Yeah… I'm sure she can give you a good perspective." she gazed out into the sea. "So much crap is going on right now, and unfortunately Yurina threw a tremendous spanner into the works." she let out a sigh. "We've got to get stronger ourselves because, if we somehow get on Yurina's bad side… then we'll have no choice but to fight. So prepare yourself, kid!"

…

They both stood on opposite ends of the beach and Cameron was somehow more nervous than usual. "Hey…" he turned to Zavanna. "You're going to do great. So don't worry." he gave him a kiss on the cheek and he blushed as he reached his hand to gently touch the spot where she pecked him.

"Aw~" Zaria teased. "Are you two going steady…?" They blushed and turned away from each other. "Haha, don't be embarrassed, it's sweet."

She held up her arm and her tribal lion symbol started to shine, bright red as flames surrounded it. Blazeon looked at Cameron. "Well… are you ready then?" Cameron looked forward and saw his black dragon Reversion symbol shining with red flames.

"I am…" he looked right at Zaria. "Here goes." he pulled out a gate card and tossed it on the sands. "Gate Card Set!" the card was absorbed into the sand and it spread out across the beach. Blazeon closed his ball form and Cameron grabbed him. "Bakugan Brawl!" Blazeon rolled onto the sand and once his ball form opened, his top half rotated and a cyclone was generated from the spinning dragon. The fire tornado shot up into the sky and Blazeon cut through it with his wing and he angrily roared.

"C'mon! I'm itching to fight!" Blazeon bellowed.

"So… Dragness?"

"Yes… I shall not hold back. So you don't even have to ask." she closed herself and allowed Zaria to catch her.

"Bakugan Brawl! Dragness Stand!" her ball form opened and she stood firm on the ground while pink embers fell off of her body.

"I've never fought another Dragonoid before," she stated. "So you better not disappoint."

Dragness: 850 / Blazeon: 750

Cameron and Zaria both had cards in their hands and they used them at the same time. "Ability Activate!"

"Combustion Dragon!"

"Roaring Dragon!"

Blazeon opened his mouth and he formed a blue fireball in his maw before he let it loose to fire at Dragness. At the same time, Dragness's eyes filled with flames as she powered up a pink fireball inside her mouth. She fired it towards Blazeon.

Both fireballs clashed in the middle, releasing a tremendous shower of pink, blue and orange embers that blew all over the field. The calm winds blew the embers all over the battlefield.

Both abilities would normally increase their Bakugan's power by 200 and reduce their foes by the same amount, but both abilities canceled each other out.

"You got lucky!" Zaria exclaimed.

"Please!" Blazeon replied. "Luck had nothing to do with it, fire it up, Cameron."

"Gotcha. Ability Activate, Nova Wing!" his wings were engulfed in flames and he flew up and he flung his wings forward to fire spinning rings of fire to Dragness.

Dragness: 850(-200)= 650 / Blazeon: 750(+400)= 1150

"Zaria…!" Dragness exclaimed.

"I'm on it! Ability Activate, Dragon Aeria!" streaks of pink fire surrounded her body and she suddenly disappeared as the fire rings tried to pincer attack her. The rings ignited, making an explosion that nearly blew Zaria off her feet. Dragness's power increased by 200 putting her back at 850Gs.

"Hey, don't back down yet, she may be fast. But so are we!" Blazeon exclaimed.

Cameron nodded and he lifted two more cards. "Double Ability Activate, Neo Hummer, plus Blazing Rush!" Blazeon was covered in a red aura while blue fire was leaking off of his limbs.

Dragness: 850(-100)= 750 / Blazeon: 1150(+100 +100)= 1350

"Here I come, hot stuff!" he roared and was darting around in the sky and sped towards Dragness who shot over to him.

"Don't call me that, you brute!" Dragness exclaimed.

"Get ready, Dragness! Ability Activate, Dazzling Burst!" over her pink streaks, her body was covered in a fiery aura and she was speeding to Blazeon as he flew to her.

Dragness: 750(+300)= 1050 / Blazeon: 1350(-300)= 1050

They were colliding over and over in the air, and they were moving very fast as well, they clashed with each other at the same speed as an eye would blink. Both Dragonoids held themselves in the air as they glared at each other. They rushed for another clash and they both locked their fingers after they headbutted. "Heh, already holding hands? Not bad for a first date."

"Ugh… pig!" Dragness growled in disgust and she headbutted Blazeon for the second time, making him reel back.

"Now's our chance! Ability Activate, Talon Strike!" her claws were covered in orange flames and she sped to Blazeon who was still recovering.

"This is for trying to flirt with me!" she slashed him through his neck, which made Blazeon fly back in the air after his throat was slashed.

Dragness: 1050 / Blazeon: 1050(-400)= 650

"Cameron?" Zavanna questioned as she showed concern.

Cameron didn't take long to counter. "Let's try this, Ability Activate, Dragon Edge!" Blazeon was covered in blue flames and angrily roared as he shot to Dragness.

Dragness: 1050(-400)= 650 / Blazeon: 650(+400)= 1050

"This is over!" Blazeon exclaimed as he got closer to her.

Zaria smirked. "So you think? Ability Activate, Chakra Fire!" she had two fire rings that spun with Dragness inside them. She flew up to meet Blazeon in the air. Her power increased by 200, which put her at 850Gs. Both she and Blazeon butted heads again and this created a tremendous explosion in the air. Blazeon was missing his blue flames while the fire rings still were slowly spinning through Dragness.

"What!?" Cameron gasped when he saw Blazeon's power drop suddenly.

Dragness: 850(+400)= 1250 / Blazeon: 1050(-400)= 650

"Chakra Fire nullifies any abilities that are thrown at her. So guess who's in the lead now?"

"Cameron… you have a plan?" Zavanna asked.

"Just this… Come Bakugan Trap - Flameingo!" he tossed Flameingo into the sky and had extended his wings. He shone bright red and he stood on the sand and glared forward.

Dragness: 1250 / Blazeon: 650 - Flameingo: 300

"Heh, it feels like I've backed you into a corner huh?" Zaria asked.

Cameron was sweating nervously. "Heh, I have no idea what you're talking about! Haha!"

"Seriously!?" Blazeon exclaimed. "Be a man!"

"U-um…ok How about this! Ability Activate, Flare Dance - Burning Legs!" Flameingo's legs were covered in blue flames and he leaped up to meet Dragness, the Dragonoid was avoiding his kicks temporarily but Blazeon blind-sided her with a shoulder charge, then she was getting hit by Flamingo's wild moving legs.

A downward-directed kick sent her down to the ground, making a sand crater on the beach.

Dragness: 1250(-500)= 750 / Blazeon: 650 - Flameingo: 300

"We got her now!" Cameron exclaimed. "Gate Card open! Land Pressure!" the command card shone bright white before Dragness could feel the gravity around her, pushing her down to the ground hard. Dragness's power level had dropped down by 200 putting her down to 550.

"Dragness!" Zaria exclaimed.

"Let's finish this!" Blazeon exclaimed.

"R-right! Ability Activate, Combustion Tornado!" Blazeon shot up into the air, an orange cyclone surrounded him before he rushed down to Dragness who was still struggling to get up.

Dragness: 750 / Blazeon: 650(+300)= 950 - Flameingo: 300

She saw Blazeon speeding down to her with the cyclone firing up around him. "Hold on, we're not done yet, Fusion Ability Activate, Strike Flare!" The flames spinning around Blazeon turned blue and he roared from behind the flames. His power increased by 550 which put Blazeon's power level up to 1500Gs.

He crashed right down into Dragness, digging a deeper sand crater into the beach while kicking up a huge amount of sand into the air.

When the sand fell back down into the ground, Zaria saw Dragness's ball form rolling to her feet while her life gauge fell down to 25%.

"Whoa…" Zaria breathed. "You blew me away that time. Well done, kid!" Dragness sighed as she was picked up. "Sorry 'Ness. But I didn't see that Gate Card coming."

"You should have been more aware. But that doesn't matter, what happened, happened. Now we focus on moving forward. We cannot lose the second round."

"Gotcha!" she saw Cameron catching Blazeon and Flameingo and he had a sheepish smile form on his lips.

"You did it!" Zavanna exclaimed with an excited tone. "I knew you had it in you!"

"Yeah!" Blazeon exclaimed. "So stop being such a worrywart about everything!"

Zaria cupped her hands around her mouth. "HEY!" they both turned to her. "Don't get so cocky, kid! You still haven't completely knocked me out yet, and this time… You're going to see what happens when I really let loose!" she tossed her gate card down onto the field which spread a red sheen across the sandy field.

…

At the same time, Garfield was still busy with Alice as they were still holding each other's hands. The only ones in the room were Bones and Aisha, the others had either fallen asleep or they were out doing other activities.

They heard a tired groan from Alice as Garfield was seen letting go of her hands. Garfield let out a sigh and he took in the surroundings around him. "It's night time already?" he asked as he held his head.

"Yeah… you ok?" Aisha asked.

"I think so… ugh, finding Alice's memories wasn't too hard, but talking to Masquerade was uneasy."

They all heard a groan from Alice as she opened her eyes. She took in the odd surroundings and she held her head as she could feel a migraine coming on. "Where am I?" she asked.

Bones was the first to approach her. "There is a lot to unpack, perhaps you should start with a good night's rest."

"R-right…" she muttered as she tried to stand but stumbled. Though since Bones helped her up, she was able to fall on his weight. "Thank you." Bones held her tired form and was directing her to one of the rooms.

"You good there, Garfield?" Aisha asked after she saw him lean on a nearby wall.

"I've been better I guess…" he said. "But I'm in much better shape than Alice. I can only imagine what's going through her mind right now."

"Don't stress about it so much," Aisha said, she eyed him carefully and noticed that his stance was much more slumped than usual. "What's wrong?"

"What do you mean? Nothing is wrong," he answered.

"Spare me, Garfield. I've given and heard that excuse so many times, so I have a feeling you're not being straight with me. Now spill!"

Garfield folded his arms. "It's Hika- Maia… when she got her memories back, I expected her to go back to her regular-self… but whatever the Fabregans did to her, it's irreversible. Even if she has her memories, her old self is completely gone. I don't that's the same for Alice, so at least she's alright."

"But… you did what you came here for, right?" she asked. "Maia got her memories back and she's safe and sound."

"Yeah… but Maia wasn't who I was trying to save."

Aisha realized what he meant. "Right…"

"Hikari is gone and there is nothing I can do about it."

Aisha then held his shoulders. "So what!? You got Maia her memories back, doesn't that count for something. Plus you're chosen along with the rest of us, and Akira thought you were worthy enough to come with us. So like it or not, you're stuck with us."

"But… how do I move on from something like this! It feels just as bad as when I lost her the first time."

Aisha backed away from him and walked over to the nearby door. "Walk with me."

"Aisha…"

"Humor me! You can either turn it in for the night or you can come with me. And I'm not going to let you mope out here on your own!" Garfield rolled his eyes. "Eyeroll all you want, but I'm going to cheer you up!"

He thought about it for a quick moment. There wouldn't be much Aisha could say to change what happened, and since he didn't at all feel like sleeping at all. He feared he'd just get recurring dreams that involved Hikari.

"Fine…" he said. "Just don't expect me to actually be cheery just because you say something."

"See this is why I want you to come with me, I don't want you becoming a sad sack! Now hurry up, already."

---

A fire was flickering and Andreas's group was sitting around the firepit while looking up at the stars. Dwayne was playing the harmonica while the others were trying to warm up. "The stars look great don't they?" Tammy said as her eyes gleamed up at the night sky.

"Ah… I never really noticed." Isolde replied as he was sitting on a rock.

"Heh, would be better if it wasn't so cold out here."

Andreas was looking up as well while sitting on the ground while hugging one of his legs. "Don't you have fur?"

"Hey!" Tammy glared at him. "We get cold like the rest of you! Unfortunately, we don't get winter coats."

"My mistake." he apologized.

"Hehe… looks like we're set," Rogue said with a chuckle.

Andreas didn't share his optimism. "Nothing is set in stone, big guy. Things can easily go wrong… I won't say anything, cause I might jinx us."

"Jeez," Lola said. "Was there ever a moment where you enjoyed life?"

The green-haired Fabregan actually thought about her question. "Hmm… I'd say when I was around… I don't know maybe ten, I can't remember." Tammy scootched closer to Andreas.

"That's so sad…" Tammy said as she eyed him. "So… is there anything that would make you happy? Anything at all?"

Andreas sighed. "It's not something good, unfortunately, my happiness lies in other people, not within myself."

"Right…" Tammy said while she had a forlorn look in her eyes. "But maybe we can find that one thing. There has to be something that can make you smile, and no, laughing doesn't count."

Isolde smiled. "Heh, I don't think I've seen him genuinely smile before ya know. A smirk, yes, but nothing that genuinely touched him."

"I don't do feelings!" Andreas said.

Tammy then lied down on his stretched thigh, using it as a pillow while looking up at him. "Maybe you should… it isn't healthy to hold onto all those negative feelings." he let out a sigh as she was getting into his space again.

"I'd rather not…" he replied.

"Why? We're all friends here?"

"We're friends?" he questioned.

Lola winked at him. "You bet, anyone who can do all the stuff you did is a friend of mine."

Vesta had her arms folded to keep herself warm. "I mean, you haven't betrayed us yet, and you've had plenty of chances to. So I'm sure you're good now."

Rogue smirked. "Heh, you're going to tell me we aren't friends?"

Andreas then looked down where his eyes met Tammy. "Um… I'd like to think we are friends. Right?"

He gazed into the fire. "I guess I have friends now…"

"I'm glad," Tammy said as she looked like she was struggling to stay awake. "We'll find something to make you smile eventually."

He looked to be thinking about something and he nudged her to keep her awake. "Want me to take you to your tent?"

Tammy got up. "Yeah… thanks…" Once they both stood up Andreas placed her arm over his shoulder to support her sleeping form.

Once they were away from everyone, Tammy tried to keep up the conversation. "Hey… I know that you were talking about your former fiancee, about her being the only thing that could keep you happy. I'm so sorry, Andreas. I really hope you can find your own happiness someday."

He looked down at her dozing form. "So do I Tammy… so do I…" he was slightly startled when he saw her leaning on his shoulder. "Tammy?" he could also hear her purring, but she was also muttering to herself as she was passing out.

"I'm sorry… Andreas… I'm so sorry, Grand Papa..." Right after he heard her sad apology he gently patted her arm.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Tammy…" he saw they were closing in on her tent. "Now let's get you to bed."

---

Maximus and Leiya were sprinting through the Fabregan Capital, after leaving Angel Park, they found themselves in the middle of a plaza that had many green trees that lined the white walls. There looked to be high-end homes that were on the sides, with many white walls, and wooden doors. There were also curved street lights.

"Where are we going?" Leiya asked.

"We're going to take this into the city, that way, we will have a better chance at beating him. Spinark will have a tougher time moving around buildings." Though above, they saw Spinark flying over them and he landed far in front of them while sliding on the ground. "Damn!"

Darius leaped off his Bakugan. "You know it's rude to just run from your date like that." he teased. "Now where were we?" he also saw that the floating cameras from before were still watching them. "Oh hello, adoring, late-night audience? How are we all doing?" he winked at the camera.

"Are you done?" Maximus exclaimed. "Because I will end you right here! Bakugan Brawl! Prismanta Stand!" Prismanta stood and she planted her heels on the street that made a path in the Angel Plaza.

Leiya had clenched her fist and she was shivering slightly, but she tried to make sure that she didn't show that fear in front of Maximus. "C'mon Leiya! Snap out of it!" She glared right at Darius and Spinark. "Bakugan Brawl, Raptorexx Stand!" He stood up tall and stood beside Prismanta.

Spinark: 1000

Prismanta: 850 / Raptorexx: 850

Leiya threw a glare at Spinark and Darius. "I can't let you beat me! You and your new leader, all of you that are choosing to follow her are betraying your people!" she held up her gauntlet. "Ability Activate, Cyclo Kick!" Raptorexx sped forward to Spinark. Spinark's power was lowered by 550 putting him at 450Gs.

"We'll do this then!" Maximus said while putting a card into his gauntlet. "Ability Card Activate, Dichroic Deception!" Maximus pointed forward and Prismanta had run towards Spinark along-side Raptorexx and she had clones of light surrounding her, making Spinark unable to find the real one.

Spinark: 450

Prismanta: 850(+400)= 1250 / Raptorexx: 850

Spinark hissed as he saw his two opponents getting closer and closer. "Yeah, yeah, I hear ya'." he placed another card into his gauntlet. "Ability Activate, Primeval Roa!" his body started to shimmer a glossy blue while he was surrounded by a dark, and blue aura. Raptorexx leaped up and swung his leg down towards him, he bit down on the leg, catching and stopping the Darkus Bakugan.

"Quick free yourself!" Leiya commanded and he tried to kick with his left leg but it wasn't having an effect.

Spinark growled and he saw the many Prismantas getting closer but his aura expanded into an explosion and this made the clones disappear, leaving just the real Prismanta rushing to him.

"What?!" Prismanta exclaimed as Spinark spun his body and swung his tail to slam into Prismanta, sending her flying into a solid, white wall where it left a crack. After Prismanta was dazed, Spinark swung his fangs which still held onto Raptorexx. He let go and Raptorexx flew into Prismanta and she gasped as a rush of air was forced out of her body.

Spinark: 450(+550) = 1000

Prismanta: 1250(-400)= 850 / Raptorexx: 850

Darius folded his arms. "Haha, Primeval Roa nullifies all ability effects and restores all the power that Spinark lost in the battle." he then looked up his partner. "Now, Spine Fire!" Spinark's spins were glowing and they were all firing blue energy missiles at the pair of them.

Spinark: 1000(+500)= 1500

Prismanta: 850(-500)= 350 / Raptorexx: 850(-500)= 350

"AAAAH! What do we do!?" Leiya exclaimed.

Maximus calmly put a card into his gauntlet. "Calm yourself, I'm prepared for him this time. Ability Activate, Light Dispersion!" Beams of light were shooting out from her chest and the lights shone on the energy missiles that were speeding at the pair. After the light shone over them, they disappeared in bright yellow light. "Light Dispersion nullifies all Pyrus, Aquos, and Haos abilities."

"Oooh… finally pulling out the big guns huh?" Darius said.

Spinark: 1500(-500)= 1000

Prismanta: 350(+500)= 850 / Raptorexx: 350(+500)= 850

"Make your move, girl!" Maximus exclaimed.

"R-right!" she quickly placed a card into her gauntlet. "Let's give him some of our fury Raptorexx! Nebula Strike!" he ran forward and there was a nebulous orb floating in front of his head.

Spinark: 1000(-450)= 650

Prismanta: 850 / Raptorexx: 850(+450)= 1300

"Whoa boy!" Darius exclaimed as he saw the foe speeding to him and Spinark. "Quickly, Ability Activate, Aquos Squall!" he angrily roared and like last time, storm clouds surround the sky and the area looked covered in a fog. "Whoa… didn't expect a fog… you've outdone yourself, buddy." Darius commented as 500Gs was added to Spinark putting him at 1150. He saw Raptorexx speeding to him and, their heads collided and the nebulous orb exploded and it sent Spinark deeper into the fog.

"Got him!" Leiya exclaimed.

"Yeah… but it will take much more than that to take him out!"

Darius raised his gauntlet as the rain continued to fall even heavier. "Oh, you're going to regret that girlie. Ability Activate, Dark Water!" As the rain continued to fall, there was a loud splash and a wave of dark water was seen towering over them.

Spinark: 1150(+400 +200)= 1750

Prismanta: 850 / Raptorexx: 1300(-400)= 900

Both Maximus and Leiya looked shocked. "I've got a plan! Ability Activate, Stalker Shift!" Raptorexx became invisible and his power level increased by 200 raising his power level to 1100G and the waves washed over them making a large splash. The whole area was flooded with dark water and both Maximus and Leiya swam up to the surface and took deep breaths. Prismanta was still on her feet and Raptorexx was still invisible.

"Ha, nice try!" Leiya exclaimed. "As long as Stalker Shift is active, your abilities can't touch him!"

Darius hovered in the water and put a finger to his chin. "Huh? That's interesting. Normally this would prevent you from using any Pyrus or Darkus abilities. But Spinark is a hunter, and oh look at that, we're floating in the middle of dark water, in torrential rain, now what does that tell you?"

As Raptorexx stayed invisible, he was dragged into the water as he was still able to keep his footing.

"Raptorexx!" The invisibility quickly ended and he was kicking Spinark who had grabbed his leg with his fangs. Spinark swung his claws and slashed Raptorexx.

"Prismanta, you know where they are! Double Ability Activate, Stiletto Striker, plus Fusion Ability - Photon Booster!" Prismanta leaped up from the water and she was high in the sky and her body was covered in blinding light as she fell back to the murky waters. She splashed into the water and she was striking Spinark with blinding kicks over and over and he let go of Raptorexx before was thrown back into the darkness into the water.

Spinark: 1750(-450)= 1300

Prismanta: 850(+450 +400)= 1700 / Raptorexx: 1100

The water started to drain and as the water receded, the battlers were finally back on their feet. "Oh thank you! We're back on land!" Leiya exclaimed.

Spinark was on his side after he took the hard kicks. "I'm not done yet!" Maximus exclaimed. "Gate Card Open! Crystal Casket!" the card opened and suddenly bright multicolored crystals shot out of the ground and they all grew around Spinark, effectively trapping him on the ground." His power also fell by 500, putting him down to 800Gs.

Darius stood in front of Spinark with a relaxed stance. "Heh, Well you two certainly upped your game." the rain continued to fall, but there were constant gusts of wind which made the raindrops start to sting a little. "But now I will too!" He glared at them and a blue aura surrounded both him and Spinark. As this happened, there was a growing puddle of blue water surrounding them and in the background of the plaza, there were blue water columns shooting up into the sky.

"What's happening!?" Leiya exclaimed.

Spinark got up and a watery aura surrounded him, he quickly broke out of the crystal prison that contained him. He started to grow slightly bigger, his three-fingered claws grew sharper, and so did the claws on his feet. He had pulsing lines going through his purple underbelly, his neck, and on the purple underside of his tail. His scleroses grew over his eyes, and blue glowing pupils appeared. The crest on the back of his face grew sharper. The gems all over his body turned blue and had energy pulsing through them. His most notable feature was what looked like a large shark fin that was made from blue energy that looked like water. The same energy spikes went down his spine and ended at his trident-like tail.

Darius's eyes changed as well as his eyes were glowing blue while his scleroses turned black, and his medium-long hair formed a sharp fin-like shape that pointed backward and it had the same energy as Spinark's energy fin. He also had an energy shark-fin on his back with the spinosaurus spikes going down his spine, tearing through his shirt. "Eh, oh well." he ripped off his shirt and it was revealed that his skin was turning a pale purple, there were pulsing gems that grew on his chest and shoulders. Glowing, watery energy going through the lines in his abs. There were blue scales on his arms and biceps, and there were long, blades that stuck out backward. His dark blue pants had three, upward-pointing chevron arrows on his thighs with dark blue scales covering his lower legs. His feet were bare and his toenails grew to sharp claws and the same happened with his fingernails. He outstretched his hand and suddenly there was a trident that appeared and the pointed tip of it was shaped like Spinark's tail. His teeth grew sharp and were longer.

"Ah, haven't done this in a while," he said while he twirled his trident.

Spinark: 800(+200)= 1000

Prismanta: 1700 / Raptorexx: 1100

Darius threw an ability into his gauntlet. "Ability Activate, Pressure Hunter!" Both Darius's and Spinark's eyes shone blue and they were both speeding to Prismanta and Raptorexx.

"Oh crap!" Maximus exclaimed as Spinark leaped and scratched an unprepared Prismanta while Darius twirled horizontally in the air and slashed Raptorexx with his claws. After he scratched him, he kicked himself up and he was high in the air.

The gems on his body were beginning to let out blue, echoing ripples. "Ancient Ripple!" he threw his trident down onto the ground and it impaled itself into the Gate Card and there were ripples that were spreading across the entire field.

Before long, the beaten Bakugan of Prismanta and Raptorexx had blue crystals shooting out from beneath them, trapping them. The crystals had blue watery energy surrounding them.

"OH NO!" Maximus exclaimed.

"Not again!" Leiya screamed.

Darius landed on the ground and he picked up his trident from the ground. "Hmm!"

Spinark: 1000

Prismanta: 1700(-500x2)= 700 / Raptorexx: 1100(-500x2)= 100

"Free yourself, Raptorexx!" Leiya exclaimed.

"ENOUGH!" Maximus exclaimed as he had bright yellow energy surrounding his entire body. Prismanta who was trapped by the crystals had bright beams of light escaping from her body. Her crystalline body exploded and she appeared as a feminine figure of bright light with normal limbs. Her fiery hair blew upwards. There was a sword on her back with blue runes lining the middle of the sword.

Maximus had the sword appear on his back and he pointed it at Darius who held his trident over his back. "I am bringing this to an end, Darius."

"I suppose you're welcome to try." the Aquos user challenged.

Spinark: 1000

Prismanta: 700(+200)= 900 / Raptorexx: 100

"Leiya… this is where your involvement in this battle ends."

"B-but sir!"

"No! I will hold of Darius… you find a way to leave the capital!"

"I can't! I have to fight!"

"No you don't because against Darius in his Reversion Form… you don't stand a chance! Now stay out of my way!"

"NO! I will fight with you!"

"I was afraid you'd say that!" he said as he walked over to Raptorexx. "This is for your own good." he sliced right through Leiya's Raptorexx with his sword, instantly shattering the crystals and a pained roar was heard from Raptorexx as he felt so much pain that he was covered in a dark purple aura. He was reduced to his ball form and he fell to Leiya's feet as her life gauge hit zero percent.

"Sir!?"

"It's for your own good, now RUN!" he exclaimed as he sprinted forward to Darius.

"I'd listen to him kid, things are about to get intense!" Darius said as he sped to the charging Maximus. His trident crossed with Maximus's sword and energy sparks flew as blue and yellow energy covered the pair of them.

"Sir…"

"I SAID GO!" he roared and this startled her so much that she took off in the direction that was leading her out of the Angel Plaza.

"So… are you ready Maximus, the long-awaited dual of two members of the High Council!?"

"Oh stuff it!" he strengthened his stance and he pushed Darius away, and the Aquos user slid back towards his partner. "You and that fox wench are going to perish by my blade in the name of the true Fabregan Empire!"

Darius spun his trident, aimed it forward, and held it with two hands. "Yeah… somehow I doubt that. Plus even if you beat me and get to Yurina, we both know you can't beat her. But you're welcome to try and get past me, who knows what might happen?"

Maximus glared at his adversary and he noted that they were close in power level, but he couldn't lose or Darius would win the battle outright. "This is do or die… I can't let this bastard beat me." he thought to himself.

---

Garfield was outside in the still wounded Utopia City, he looked to be standing near a metal railing that stood on a raised part of the city. This provided him with a good view of the beach to their left as well as the ocean.

"Feel good to just soak it all in, doesn't it?" Aisha said as she stood next to him.

He turned his head. "Well people are homeless, I'm pretty sure many people are either dead or missing, and I relived losing someone I very much cared about. Don't know about you, but I've 'soaked in' plenty."

"Garfield…"

"I don't know why I decided to come out here. Sometimes I wish I stayed on Earth… but since I was chosen for this, I guess I have to."

"Ugh… so Maia isn't Hikari anymore. You can't change that! And you never will, because guess what? That's how life works, it throws you a curveball, but you just have to accept it and move on!" Garfield remained silent as he didn't know what else to say to respond to that. "Look… I wanted you to walk with me so you could take your mind off things, but all you've done is just look at everything with a 'glass half empty' attitude, and I'll be honest, it's bumming me out!"

"Well, I'm sorry for ruining your mood. I can't be as 'cheery' and 'laid back' like you!"

"Hey… no need to be like that! I've only been trying to help you!"

"Yeah, well it's not like you understand how I feel, and don't even try to say that you know where I'm coming from, because you don't! Do you know what it's like to lose someone, only for others around you to say that they never knew she existed? I pretty much grieved alone! And everyone thought I was crazy!" he ranted. "Now… I had a second chance to bring her back… but she wasn't the same person I lost! All that remains of Hikari is a memory, a memory that only Liaru, Aquafibian, and I seem to remember." he glared at her. "Unfortunately, not everything goes alright, and maybe things don't work out! They haven't for me and now I had to relive losing Hikari all over again! So don't expect me to just 'accept it' and 'move on'."

Aisha stood next to him but she didn't face him and looked outward at the view. "Ok…" she replied in a short whisper. "If you have to grieve, then… I'll give you your space, but… if you keep pushing people away like this, like what you tried to do to me just now, don't be surprised when you find yourself alone after all this. I don't want that, I'd offer to grieve with you… but that wouldn't be fair since I never knew the girl. So for now I'll give you some space, but if you just hold all your emotions in, they are going to come out in some form, whether it be hitting someone or saying something you regret…" Aisha turned around. "I'm leaving…" with that, she turned to leave Garfield behind to contemplate his thoughts.

His hands tightened on the railing. "Garfield?" he looked down at Aquafibian who was in his pocket, he leaped out and stood in front of him. "I know that Hikari was special to you. But… unfortunately, we can't change the past." Garfield didn't respond and he turned away.

"I just want to be left alone! Nothing will fix this… and I could have saved her if I was strong enough… but I wasn't…" he heard roaring and in the distance, he could see the moment when Blazeon defeated Dragness in battle. "I have to get stronger, and there is only one way to do it." he tightly gripped Aquafibian and was running down the city to get to the beach.

"Ow! Garfield… what are you doing! Where are we going?!" Aquafibian exclaimed, but his yells were ignored.

…

Zaria had a confident smirk while looking at Cameron on Zavanna. "So Dragness, what's the game now?"

Before they were about to start, they heard someone was running towards them on the beach. "Huh?" they saw Garfield slightly panting to himself. "Garfield? What are you doing here?"

"I…I saw you two battling and…" he tightly clenched his fist. "I need to get stronger, so let me battle!"

Zaria thought about it "Well…" she looked at Zavanna. "If you tag team with your boy of over there, then I'll tag with Garfield, then make it a two on two."

"O-oh… of course!" Zavanna exclaimed before she eyed Cameron. "Can I?"

"Of course! Anything for you…"

"I'm rolling my eyes now… can we please get started?" Blazeon exclaimed.

"Me first, buster!" Zaria exclaimed as she outstretched Dragness. "Bakugan Brawl!" she tossed Dragness onto the sands. "Dragness Stand!" her ball form opened and she flew up and opened her wings to let out pink embers. "Well, kid. You're next," she said looking at Garfield.

He let out a sigh and looked down at Aquafibian who was closed. "Right…" he thought about how he lost to both Phoenix and Isolde.

"Garfield?" Aquafibian called out in concern.

"I'm fine… I just have to do this!" he then tightened his grip around Aquafibian. "Bakugan Brawl! Aquafibian Stand!" Aquafibian stood in the sand and extended his cape-like fins.

Zavanna held her Scorchiree. "Let's do our best, Scorchiree."

"Done, you can always count on me!" he leaped, closed himself, flipped in the air, and allowed Zavanna to catch him. "Bakugan Brawl! Scorchiree stand!" Scorchiree stood on the sand and was on one knee and a fist while he looked up at his opponents.

"And now, the main event!" Blazeon exclaimed. "Put me in!"

"Got it!" Cameron excitedly exclaimed. "Bakugan Brawl, Blazeon Stand!" after his ball form opened a fire tornado emerged on the beach.

"You guys ready!?" Blazeon exclaimed.

Dragness: 850 / Aquafibian: 700

Blazeon: 750 / Scorchiree: 750

"Alright kid, so let's try-" Garfield pulled a card out from his pocket and immediately used an ability.

"Ability Activate, Bullet Spritz!" five water spheres floated above Aquafibian and he tossed them forward to Blazeon. Instantly dropping his power by 300 putting him at 450.

"Or charge in by yourself…" Zaria muttered as Blazeon saw the attack coming to him.

"This'll keep those back! Ability Activate, Blaze Shield!" Blazeon's wings were engulfed in fire and he moved them in front of himself to block the five water spheres that exploded on him, creating a large amount of steam that surrounded him, increasing his power by 300, bringing him back to 750Gs.

"You're gonna have to do better than that!" Blazeon bragged.

But he saw Dragness in the air above him. "What about this then!?" she exclaimed. "Zaria!"

"Ability Activate, Dazzling Burst!" a fiery aura covered her as she was falling down to Blazeon who was blocking her strikes with his fiery wings.

Dragness: 850(+300)= 1150 / Blazeon: 750(-300)=450

As she continued to strike him fast, she threw her elbow hard which broke his blocking stance but before he could strike him hard, he found that Scorchiree had stopped her elbow.

"My turn!" he said as Zavanna had a card in her gauntlet.

"Ability Activate, Lava Jab!" his fists were covered in a red aura and he was throwing hard punches at Dragness which she was quick to block but she was being backed further back.

Dragness: 1150(-400)= 750 / Aquafibian: 700

Blazeon: 750 / Scorchiree: 750

Cameron had a card in his hand. "We need to keep going, Blazeon! Ability Activate, Combustion Tornado!"

"Aw yeah!" a cyclone of fire surrounded him and he leaped up in the air and he swooped down to ram into Dragness who was still preoccupied with Scorchiree. "You're mine!" His power level increased, by 300 putting him at 1050.

Garfield had raised a card. "Not on my watch…" he said with an angry tone. "Ability Activate, Amazon Spritz!" Aquafibian leaped high up to the diving Blazeon as a watery aura covered him.

Aquafibian: 700(+200)= 900 / Blazeon: 1050(-200)= 850

They both clashed heads and the fire tornado had quickly faded. Both Bakugan landed on their feet, but Blazeon was more unstable and Garfield spotted this. "I saw that! Ability Activate! Spinning Fury!" Aquafibian was covered in another watery aura and he was spinning like a drill as he shot like a bullet at Blazeon

Dragness: 750 / Aquafibian: 900(+400)= 1300

Blazeon: 750(-400)= 350 / Scorchiree: 750

"Oh boy!" he saw Aquafibian quickly speeding to his Bakugan. "Ability Activate, Neo Hummer!" Blazeon was covered in a red aura and he disappeared from view and was in the air the next moment after his power increased by 100, putting him up to 450. Blazeon was in the air the next moment. "Zavanna?"

"Yes!" she was quick to raise her gauntlet. "Ability Activate, Erupting Blast!" Scorchiree had leaped back away from Dragness and was standing on Blazeon's shoulders for a moment. He opened his mouth and he fired a lava beam from his mouth to burn Aquafibian.

Dragness: 750 / Aquafibian: 1300(-300)= 1000

Blazeon: 450 / Scorchiree: 750(+300)= 1050

"I've got this, kid!" Dragness was suddenly in front of Aquafibian. "Ability Activate, Scale Block!" Dragness had dark brown dragon scales growing around her arms, shoulder, legs, and thighs. She elbowed Aquafibian back allowing the attack to engulf her, but while inside the blast, she glared right up at both Blazeon and Scorchiree. Dragness's power increased by 400 putting her up to 1150.

Scorchiree leaped off Blazeon and the dragon glared down at her. "Ha, a nice change, but that's not going to help you!" Blazeon confidently said as Cameron held up another card.

"Ability Activate, Combustion Dragon!" Blazeon glared down at her before opening his maw and firing a blue orb of fire down to Dragness.

Dragness 750(-200/2)= 650 / Blazeon: 450(+200) = 650

She watched the orb closing in on her and once it completely engulfed her, her scales were glowing within the blue flames, she roared from inside the flames and she extended her wings and arms, forcing the flames to instantly fizzle out.

"Whoa…" Cameron exclaimed.

"You took my attack that well?" Blazeon asked.

"You can thank Scale Block for that, it increased Dragness's defenses, making sure that any power loss to Dragness is instantly halved."

Dragness flew up and met with Blazeon in the air. "I shall show you how elegance reigns supreme in battle."

"Elegance means, jack if you don't have power! You're a Dragonoid, act like one!"

"You want Dragonoid power you got it." but beside her, Garfield held up a card. "Wha- hey!"

"Ability Activate, Winged Mirage!" Aquafibian leaped off the ground and was getting closer to Blazeon while his feathered, arm-wings were fully extended.

Dragness: 650 / Aquafibian: 1000

Blazeon: 650(-600)= 50 / Scorchiree: 1050

Blazeon was cross-slashed and he was so hurt that he fell down to the sand. Cameron looked at Garfield who had a serious tone. "HEY!"

"I'm not here to play around anymore… so that's why," he replied.

"I thought this was going to be fun… but I guess not. I suppose that how everything goes now." He took out a card. "Double Ability Activate, Dragon Edge, plus Nova Wing!" Blazeon had blue flames cloaked over his body. He shot up before swooping down to Aquafibian. As he did, his wing flames turned white and he was falling down to Aquafibian.

Aquafibian: 1000(-400 -200)= 400 / Blazeon: 50(+400 +400)= 850

Garfield watched as Blazeon was falling down to him, he pulled out a Reversion Ability. "Now Aquafibian! Reversion Ability Activate, Ventus Gear Shift!" his clothing turned to green and black with darker green accents, Aquafibian's attribute changed as well as he shifted to Ventus colors. He then sped up and flew towards Blazeon and they both collided Aquafibian changed his attribute to Ventus. His power increased his power by 500. Putting him at 900.

But right after they collided, he quickly leaped off of the still-burning Blazeon and was incredibly high into the air.

"Huh?" Cameron and Zavanna gasped.

"When Aquafibian shifts to Ventus, his speed drastically increases." Blazeon landed near Scorchiree.

"We've got to slow him down!" Blazeon exclaimed.

But before they could plan their next move, Aquafibian landed close to them, at the same time, Garfield had two cards in his hands. One was a regular ability and another was a Fusion Ability. "Double Ability Activate, Water Gaia-" Aquafibian was running around both Blazeon and Scorchiree, and because of his increased speed, they could hardly keep track of him. Below the Pyrus Bakugan, they could see that a mass of water was generating around them.

"We need to escape!" Scorchiree exclaimed but he tried to run out but Aquafibian kicked him back to the center of the circle.

"Forget it, he's too fast!" Blazeon said.

"I'm not done. Plus Fusion Ability - Doomdart!" Aquafibian's sharp protrusion was shining bright red, and there was a red ring that looked to form around both Blazeon and Scorchiree.

Before long a large water tower erupted around both Blazeon and Scorchiree forcing them into the air as they were pushed inside a large water tower. From Aquafibian's perspective, he could see both Bakugan in the water tower and he leaped into the water, swam through, and was headbutting Blazeon and Scorchiree over and over with his sharp, red glowing crest. He cut the both of them and moved so fast that no one on the field except for Garfield could see.

Dragness: 650 / Aquafibian: 900

Blazeon: 850(-400 -650)= 0 / Scorchiree: 1050(-400 - 650)= 0

Both Pyrus Bakugan were covered in red auras and they both shrunk to their ball forms in front of their partners.

Both of their life gauges fell down to 10%. "Garfield?" Cameron and Zavanna asked.

Zaria eyed Garfield both Dragness and Aquafibian had returned to the pair. "Damn dude… What the heck?" Zaria asked.

"Like I said… I'm not playing around anymore. I have to get stronger!"

Zavanna looked concerned for him. "Garfield… are you OK?"

"I'm fine… rather than worry about me, focus on the battle in front of you!" He tossed out Aquafibian and once he stood in his true form, he was engulfed in a blue aura. Garfield's attribute wheel was glowing and both he and Aquafibian were transforming into their Reversion Forms. "I said I'm not holding back, so that's why I'm doing this!"

Cameron glared at him. "Fine…" he breathed. "I don't know what's up with you, but if you're going to be so mean, then I guess I'll go all out too!" he tossed Blazeon in and afterward he appeared out of a fire tornado. Cameron clenched his fists and he screamed as a red aura surrounded him.

Fire tornadoes surrounded both Cameron and Blazeon and they were both in their Reversion Forms as soon as the flames fizzled out. Zaria then looked at Zavanna and she jabbed her thumb towards the waters Zavanna nodded and met her there.

They stood together and Zaria muttered to Fabregan. "We should probably stay out of this one, and let these two hash it out. We should hope they also don't injure themselves in the process, we've got enough people on the injury list to deal with."

Cameron and Garfield glared at each other while their Bakugan mirrored their focused glances.

Aquafibian: 700(+200)= 900 / Blazeon: 750(+200)= 950

---

Darius and Maximus's battle had spread to the central hub of Valhalla City. Maximus was seen standing on one of the beautiful curved buildings that decorated the city. He leaped off of it and was high in the air as he missed Darius's powerful kick that crashed into the building. At his side was Prismanta. "Ability Activate, Spectrum Blade!" they both aimed their swords down at Darius and Spinark who were on the very wide streets.

Spinark: 1000(-400)= 600 / Prismanta: 900(+600)= 1500

They both fell down to them and Spinark stepped in front of Darius and he tried to block Prismanta's slash with his trident tail but it was brushed aside and she drove her blade across his body, drawing blood and an angered roar escaped his maw. As this happened, Maximus sprinted over to Darius and he swung his sword as hard as he could and while Darius managed to parry his strike, his body was pushed back and his Trident was high over his head.

He was off his balance and Maximus thrust his blade forward but Darius threw his trident on the ground and balanced on it with his hand and he pushed himself off of it. "Hey, Spinark let's roll! Reversion Ability Activate, Spinal Cuts!" the energy fins on the backs of Darius and Spinark sharpened and they rolled to both Maximus and Prismanta.

Spinark: 600 / Prismanta: 1500(-900)= 600

Prismanta tried to block it, but she was thrown back and she flew to a freeway underpass. She leaped up to avoid a second strike and landed on her feet. Though Spinark didn't let up as he continued rolling, his rolling body leaped onto and off the freeway underpass as he turned around. He sped back to Prismanta again. She leaped away but was Spinark turned on his heel and followed her.

Maximus meanwhile tried to parry the rolling strike but his sword flew out of his grip. He turned around, taking his eyes off of Darius for just a second and this allowed him to go right through him and after Maximus was steamrolled he flew back and landed on his back. "Gah!" he yelled in pain and he found a cut in his arm that was drawing large amounts of blood and it was spreading through his robe. "Dammit!"

"Wanna stop?" Darius asked as he uncurled, the ground around them shook and they saw Prismanta landing on her back, on a separate street.

Maximus took a deep breath before he glared at Darius. "I'll only give up when I'm dead!" He's put a Reversion Ability Card into his gauntlet. "Reversion Ability Activate, Antimatter Stance!"

Spinark: 600 / Prismanta: 600(+300)= 900

Prismanta was on the ground and her eyes shone as she looked up at Spinark who glared down at her. "Yes!" she exclaimed as she suddenly disappeared from his sight in a bright flash. Almost as soon as she disappeared she reappeared above Spinark and was throwing powerful kicks that made the prehistoric beast reel back in pain before she disappeared again. "TAKE THIS!" she slashed right through him forcing Spinark to hiss in pain.

As this happened, Darius felt the cut in his own body and he stumbled before he saw Maximus disappear in the same manner as Prismanta, he slashed through Darius 6 times with flashes accompanying his appearing and disappearing body. After Darius was down, he could see Maximus leaping right towards Spinark and there were flashes followed by cuts that were going right through him.

Darius saw that his Bakugan was being bullied. "Hey, hold on Spinark! Reversion Ability Activate, Deep Hunter!" his blue accents were glowing and as both Prismanta and Maximus passed through him, he turned to water, making them go right through him.

"What!?"

"Ohoho!" Darius laughed. "That's not all!" they both watched as Darius sunk into the ground, as it if became water, and there were even ripples that were left behind.

"W-what!?" he exclaimed.

"Maximus! Focus!" they also saw that Spinark had sunk into the ground in a similar manner. Both of them decided to stand close to each other.

"Right, we have no idea where they will reemerge."

There was a deafening silence around them and suddenly claws wrapped themselves around Prismanta's legs, she gasped as she was dragged underwater.

"PRISMANTA!" Maximus turned around and there was a splash behind him. Darius was behind him and he gasped as he could see the figure leaping high and he threw his trident at him. Maximus parried it with his sword as he had no time to dodge and his sword flew out of his grip. Soon after his arm was trapped with the trident. He could see Darius with his glowing blue eyes looking down at him.

"Take a look at your power levels."

Spinark: 600 / Prismanta: 100

"Seriously…" he breathed. "Where is Prismanta?"

"Well she's underwater at the moment… so it's just you and me…"

He growled at him. "Don't think I'll let you take me out that easily." He raised his legs and double kicked Darius in the chest making him step back, he used his left arm to lift the trident out of the ground and he saw Darius had disappeared. "Come out and get me, you damn coward!"

He heard a splash coming out from his side and he was palmed in the side of his ribs and he rolled back and he dropped the trident. Darius picked it up and he aimed it at Maximus as he twirled it several times.

"Come and get me. Reversion Ability Activate, Obsidian Sword!" the runes on Maximus's sword turned black and the blade turned dark gray and Maximus grabbed his sword with both his hands and raised it over his head.

Spinark: 600(-450)= 150 / Prismanta: 100(+450)= 550

Under the water Prismanta's sword also transformed and she glared at Spinark who was still hovering in the water and he hissed and sped to her, streamlining his body and moving his tail to speed his advances.

Prismanta held her powered sword as the predator closed in.

There was a huge splash and Spinark was seen flying out of the water with a pained hiss. After this, they saw Prismanta diving out of the water while tightly holding her blade.

She could see Maximus pushing back Darius with his sword clashing with Darius's trident. Prismanta rushed over to the pair of them. "HAA!" she swung her large sword which Darius turned to block with his trident and he was sent flying across the city.

"We separated them." they looked at Spinark who was recovering up to his feet. He swung his sword with one hand and glared at the Aquos Bakugan. "Alright Prismanta, I suggest we gut this prehistoric menace."

"Agreed!" Prismanta said as she glared at Spinark. "This is the end for you!" but he suddenly shifted to his water form and he was running around both Maximus and Prismanta, before long a tornado of water exploded around them and it was sapping the energy from the pair of them.

They were trapped inside and Prismanta could see that Maximus was struggling to swim inside it. She pushed her palm through the water and managed to push Maximus out of the water cyclone. His soaked body slid on the road and he could see the tremendous water cyclone engulfing only Prismanta.

He panted and he tightly gripped his sword and he saw their power levels.

Spinark: 150 / Prismanta: 0

He saw Spinark still running around in his water form and he powered up his sword. "Reversion Ability - Icarus Blinder!" his sword was engulfed in a blinding, bright light. He sprinted right at the spinning water cyclone and saw the watery form of Spinark sprinting around the cyclone. He raised his sword and it released a blinding light that shone got Spinark's attention and he hissed as his retinas were burning.

Spinark: 150 / Prismanta: 700

The water cyclone splash exploded and Prismanta hit the ground while coughing out water. "You can thank me later," he said to his partner.

They all saw a large water column shooting up into the air, and Darius was on top of it. "Oh you made me so angry!" he exclaimed and there was an ability in his gauntlet. "Double Ability Activate, Pressure Hunter plus Fusion Ability - Daedalus!" Both Darius, and Spinark's eyes were glowing bright blue and Spinark sprinted to Maximus and the recovering Prismanta.

Darius commanded the water column to shoot him up into the air and he fell right down to the enemy pair. While Pressure Hunter made him immune to him losing power for a short time Daedalus transferred 400 between them.

Spinark: 150(+400)= 550 / Prismanta: 700(-400)= 300

Darius landed in between Maximus and Prismanta, making a watery shockwave that forced them further apart, Spinark made sure to bite into Prismanta's shoulder as he charged at her.

"Now you're done for!" Darius threatened.

"Ugh… says you, betrayer!" He had a card in his gauntlet. "This will be our last encounter. Ability Activate, Spectrum Slicer!" rainbow energy was cloaked over his sword and he glared at Darius.

Spinark: 550(-350)= 200 / Prismanta: 300(+550)= 850

Maximus launched at his foe his sword left behind a rainbow fire as he swung his sword. He threw it down onto Darius's Trident. Darius quickly slid back and there was another ability in his gauntlet. "Reversion Ability Activate, Paranormal Ripple!" the accents on his body were shining blue and the gems on his body were releasing a watery ripple. Maximus went for another strike, out of anger and he clashed his blade with Darius's Trident and as soon as his blade made contact, a distorted, rainbow-colored ripple expanded out, sending him flying back as the shockwave reverberated around the entire area

Spinark: 200(+350)= 550 / Prismanta: 850(-550)= 300

Maximus painfully rolled on his back. "Like that?" Darius asked. "That was Paranormal Ripple, a Reversion Ability that bounces any Reversion ability, right back at 'em."

"Maximus!" Prismanta exclaimed, but she was startled by a hiss from behind as she saw Spinark sprinting to her, she swung her sword, but it was parried by his trident-tipped tail. "This is our final chance!" Prismanta exclaimed. "Fusion Reversion Ability - Photon Energizer!" Prismanta surrounded herself in blinding white light before white flames surrounded her.

The same happened for Maximus and he glared at Darius.

Spinark: 550(-300)= 250 / Prismanta: 300(+600)= 900

"RAAAAHH!" Maximus went for a sword slash and was looking to underhand slice, Darius. The impact was so hard that it made Darius release the grip of his trident. It impaled itself into the ground, the next moment, Darius was cut across his chest and blood was falling out of the wound.

At the same time, Spinark was slashed and he tried to block with his claws but her sword had chipped through his two claws on his right reptilian hand and he was cut under his chest.

Darius coughed out drops of blood as he looked at Maximus who stood over him. "Hah… so that's it then…?" Maximus was confident but he saw a Fusion Reversion Ability in enemies' gauntlet.

"Psych! GAIA VORTEX!" Darius's mouth was glowing bright blue and he glared at Maximus. Spinark glared at Prismanta, he sprinted forward but he butted Prismanta out of the way and she slid back nearly losing her footing. Spinark had blue glowing energy in his maw. He aimed his head at Maximus just like Darius was.

Both Darius and Spinark expanded a massive, pressurized vortex that had shrapnel inside it. The large water vortex started digging into the ground, then it soon diverged into smaller vortexes that were surrounding the main one. The shrapnel blue vortexes were cutting through anything as they got closer to Maximus.

Spinark: 250(+700)= 950 / Prismanta: 900(-700)= 200

He stood firm and the vortexes engulfed him and they pushed him right across the entire city, pushing up dust and destroying a couple of roads and cars in the process. The Vortexes had thrown Darius into a large white building and the water exploded outward and it was raining down around the area. Inside a cracked road, there was a crater and there was a crater where Maximus was lying down on his stomach, the top half of his robe was ripped apart completely and his sword was lying on his side, but it was completely shattered. His priest hat was off his head, revealing his short, brown hair. The bright yellow aura had faded away from his body.

Darius walked to his defeated body and he held his trident, he then saw the hovering cameras following him. He gave a thumbs-up as he knew Yurina was watching him. He took a seat on the ground as he took a deep breath. "Oh man… no wonder I don't do this often… Reversion with Spinark completely wipes me out," he said as blue particles of energy were floating into the air above him as he reverted to his normal body.

---

"Whoa…" Yurina gasped as she watched the monitor. "That was awesome! I never really saw him battle before, so this is great to see. What do you think, Aurea?"

"He is very… efficient, and as laid back as he is, he still did a very good job."

"Wes gotta get him to capture Maximus quickly. Tomorrow's a big day, we're going to take Neathia, and given Darius's performance, he deserves a good rest and a quick patch-up."

Aurea nodded on her end. "I've already sent law enforcement and medical teams to his position."

"My, my you work fast."

"Yurina?"

"Yes?"

"Of the Battle Brawlers, who are we going to use to take Neathia?"

"Hmm… you let me sleep on that, I'll be up before the sun and I'll let you know."

Aurea had pinched the bridge of her nose. "Ugh… Yurina…"

"Hehe, don't worry. I'll for sure be ready for tomorrow."

"If you say so…"

Yurina got off her throne. "Aurea… are you doing alright? You've been working non-stop have you?"

"Just because the old King isn't in power anymore, doesn't mean I can slack off. And that means I have to continue to oversee construction of the Arc project."

"I get that, really, but at some point, you've got to take a break. Maybe you should stay behind and take a break… Your body might be fine, but I can tell your mind isn't as in tip-top shape. A good night's sleep will fix all that!"

"Trust me! I have been sleeping, and I don't need rest. There is always work to be done, so I can't stop, you understand?"

Yurina had her hands on her hips. "Well, if it's that important to you, I'm not going to stop you. But take it easy from time to time, ok."

"Sure…" without so much as a goodbye, the screen shut off leaving Yurina staring at the wall in her throne room.

"She's going to crash one of these days…" the Fox woman said while letting out a defeated sigh. "Well time to get some sleep and prepare for tomorrow…" she said to herself, she eyed one of the guards. "You there, be sure to check up on Darius, and make sure he gets the appropriate amount of rest."

Another guard spoke up. "Um… Yurina?"

"Thank you! You're the first guard to call me by name. Anyway, what's up?"

"What about Leiya? Maximus gave her the chance to get away."

"Oh snap! Well, make sure the guards keep an eye out. Particularly near the airports and the Grand Elevator. If I were her, and if I were as scared as she was, I'd try to head down to Eden City as soon as possible and hide there."

"What do we do once we find her?"

"Put her in with the other elites who disrespected me. Hopefully, she'll learn her lesson."

"Yes, Yurina!" there were several guards who sprinted out of the throne room, leaving Yurina to sink into her seat.

"I'm definitely replacing this throne… how did that blow-hard manage to sit on this thing all day."

---

Garfield and Cameron continued to silently stare at each other. "Amazon Spritz!" Garfield exclaimed. He and Aquafibian were covered in a watery aura and sped to Cameron and Blazeon.

Aquafibian: 900(+200)= 1100 / Blazeon: 950(-200)= 750

Cameron watched Garfield speeding towards him with a focused look, without even lifting a card, he glared forward. "Blazing Rush!" Blue flames had leaked off both Blazeon and Cameron and they sprinted to their foes.

Aquafibian: 1100(-100)= 1000 / Blazeon: 750(+100)= 850

All parties met in the middle of the and there was a tremendous shockwave of energy. Cameron was trying to strike Garfield over and over, but his strikes were being easily blocked, and the same was happening to Blazeon and Aquafibian.

Cameron and Blazeon threw a hard punch at the same time, and both Garfield and Aquafibian blocked their strikes at the same time. Garfield then threw a knee into Cameron's stomach. Aquafibian had grabbed Blazeon before tossing him into the sky. Garfield then threw Cameron up into the sky as well where both Blazeon and Cameron had collided with each other.

"OW!" Cameron screamed.

"OH NO!" Zavanna gasped.

"Heh, don't worry, he's fine... you really like him don't you," Zaria said which forced a blush out of Zavanna.

Blazeon glared downward as he and Cameron flapped in the air. "C'mon… we can do this… play through the pain!" Cameron saw the focused look on Garfield's face as if he was scanning his every move.

"If we attack blindly… he will see through us."

"Then you let me go blindly, you hang around and wait for the best moment to strike!"

Cameron nodded. "Right." he took out a card. "Hold them off! Ability Activate, Combustion Tornado!"

"Here I come!" Blazeon exclaimed while his body was engulfed in a spinning cyclone of fire and he dove towards Aquafibian and Garfield.

Aquafibian: 1000 / Blazeon: 850(+300)= 1150

As Blazeon got closer, Garfield held up a card. "Ability Activate, Hydro Cover!" he then camouflaged into the background, hiding from Blazeon. The Dragonoid crashed into the ground, kicking up a lot of sand. Aquafibian's power increased to 1100.

Blazeon looked around and saw that Cameron was gone. "Right… looks like I'm on my own for now."

Due to Blazeon's huge size, he was unable to see Garfield sprinting up to him. "Winged Mirage!" his webbed, fingered hands were glowing as he got closer to the Dragonoid.

Aquafibian: 1000 / Blazeon: 1150(-600)= 550

He leaped up to swipe Blazeon with his arm, but it was suddenly blocked by Cameron as he crossed his arms. "Gotcha!" he said with a smirk. "Nova Wing!" Cameron's wings were engulfed in flames and he tossed Garfield back towards the ground. He flapped his wings and there were fire rings that flew from them. The fire rings crashed into Garfield before he hit the ground and he crashed into the sand hard.

Aquafibian: 1000(-200)= 800 / Blazeon: 550(+400)= 950

"GARFIELD!" Aquafibian exclaimed as he was running to his side.

Cameron saw his chance as Aquafibian was wide open. "Combustion Dragon!" Blazeon aimed his open maw down at Aquafibian and it fired right at Aquafibian. 200 was transferred which put Aquafibian at 600 while rising Blazeon up to 1150.

While Garfield was lying down, his eyes opened widely and he threw up a Reversion Ability Card. "Reversion Ability Activate, Torpedo Spritz!" Aquafibian was sprinting to the raging fireball and water covered his whole body and he shot right through it, instantly dousing the flames.

Aquafibian: 600(+350)= 950 / Blazeon: 1150(-350)= 850

Garfield was covered in the same water and he shot right up to Cameron who was hanging in the air. He smirked and Cameron shot down to Garfield. "I'm ready for you! Reversion Ability - Dazzling Wing Slash!" Cameron's wings and his limbs were engulfed in orange flames. He then clashed with Garfield and slashed through him with his wings, before performing a quick turn around and pummeled Garfield as they both hung in the air.

Aquafibian: 950(-500)= 450 / Blazeon: 850(+500)= 1350

Cameron threw a punch that made Garfield fly down to the beach, making a thick line in the sand. He slowly stood up and gave a furious glare at Cameron.

"Haha, nicely done, kid!" Blazeon said as Cameron hovered beside him.

Aquafibian stood by his partner and watched him slowly getting up. "Garfield… maybe we should just stop for now." he slowly got up and was glaring right at Cameron and Blazeon.

"No!" he continued to think back to his loss in the tower, as well as his losses to Maia when they first met. "I'm tired of being like this…" his glowing pink eyes gave an intense glare at his opponents. "All I've done is fail and disappoint… I'm tired of this!" he had two cards in his hand. "I'm sick of not being good enough!" he held the two cards up. "Power Spritz!" both he and Aquafibian had a circle of water surrounding them and they were swiftly moving across the sand. Cameron and Blazeon tried to keep up with them.

But they suddenly felt two presences behind them. They moved so fast that the pair of them were behind the Pyrus attributed duo. "Woah!"

"Reversion Ability - Slashing Fury!" water jets covered their arms and Blazeon was getting cut by Aquafibian while Cameron was somehow avoiding the slashes from Garfield.

Aquafibian: 450(+400 +600)= 1450 / Blazeon: 1350(-400)= 950

Blazeon staggered back and Cameron had a plan. "Hang on Blazeon!" he was slashed by Garfield and he was flung back and there was a cut on his cheek that drew blood. "Ugh… ok then! Reversion Ability Activate, Flare Barrier!" Blazeon and Cameron's wings were engulfed in white fire and Blazeon was using his wings to block Aquafibian's attacks.

Aquafibian: 1450 / Blazeon: 950(+500)= 1450

Cameron was blocking Garfield's attacks with his wings though he was still being forced back. "What's going on?" Cameron asked, but Garfield didn't give a response as he still tried to slash Cameron.

"Screw this!" Garfield leaped up and had a card in his hand. "Reversion Ability Activate, Aqua Shroud!" Garfield was covered in thick layers of water allowing him to disappear from Cameron's sight. Cameron looked around but he saw that Aquafibian didn't disappear, but his power did increase by 250, putting him up to 1700. "What is he planning?" but he was suddenly punched in the face and he couldn't see where Garfield was thanks to the ability.

"Cameron!" Blazeon asked.

"Hey, focus on me!" Aquafibian exclaimed as a watery aura covered his body and he was spinning like a drill while flying to Blazeon. "Spinning Fury!"

Aquafibian: 1700(+400)= 2100 / Blazeon: 1450(-400)= 1050

Blazeon's wings were still cloaked by white fire and he used them to guard himself against Aquafibian. As soon as he was hit, Blazeon's stance broke and he lost his balance. Blazeon staggered back before Aquafibian's spinning body was speeding towards him. He was hit hard in the chest and he was shot back to the rocks on the beach.

Garfield struck Cameron on his stomach, immediately flooring him. "You've lost…" he said while he was still invisible. He leaped up high into the air, his winged scarf was flapping in the air and he had one card in his hand. "Reversion Ability Activate, Winged Destiny!" his wing scarf was glowing blue and he swooped down to Cameron.

Aquafibian: 2100(+600)= 2700 / Blazeon: 1050(-600)= 450

Aquafibian was in the air as well and the both of them were flying down to their opponents, looking to slash them with their scarf wings.

"Crap! Got any ideas, Cameron?!"

"Just this Double Ability Activate! Reversion Ability - Dazzling Tornado plus! Fusion Reversion Ability - Boosted Overdrive!"

Blazeon shot into the air and there was a fire tornado surrounding him. The cyclone had blue fire surrounding his body. He shot up into the air and there were three spinning streams that were swirling around Blazeon's fire tornado!"

Aquafibian: 2700(-700)= 2000 / Blazeon: 450(+500 +700)= 1650

Blazeon had clashed with both Garfield and Aquafibian. The flames surrounding Blazeon had instantly fizzled out, and when Blazeon was going to fall from the sky. Cameron was still on his shoulder and he leaped up above both Aquafibian and Garfield.

"Ah crap!" Garfield exclaimed.

"Double Ability Activate, Reversion Ability - Dazzling Dragon plus Reversion Ability - Fire Spirit!"

Cameron was surrounded by blue fire and he screamed as there were geometric patterns appearing all over his body. He opened his mouth and he fired a growing fireball from his mouth generated while he angrily roared. He let the flames out and he was holding them up above his head. It was growing exponentially to the point where the fireball was so big that it engulfed the beach in bright orange light, the blue, inner fiery core grew. The orange flames quickly turned blue and the blue core turned white.

Aquafibian: 2000(-350x2)= 1300 / Blazeon: 1650(+350x2)= 2350

Both Garfield and Aquafibian could see the blue micro sun behind held over Cameron's head. "Now! You've lost!" he tossed the tremendous attack down as it was falling down to both Garfield and Aquafibian.

They didn't react in time as they were caught by the enhanced Dazzling Dragon. They were reduced to white outlines as they were covered by the searing flames.

The Fireball let out a colossal explosion that looked to rock the entire beach, there were blue embers all over the beach as both Garfield and Aquafibian were falling down from the sky, black smoke trails were following them. They both reverted to their original forms and Aquafibian was covered in a blue aura and he shrunk before landing on Cameron's open palm as he was slowly floating down to the ground.

Garfield crashed into the sand, and both Zavanna and Zaria rushed to him to make sure he didn't sustain any injuries. They saw he only had soot marks all over his body. He slowly opened his eyes to see the girls staring down at him.

"Hey, you ok, kid?" Garfield didn't answer as he turned away from their concerned gazes.

Cameron let out a long, tired breath. "Whoa… I feel great! That battle was a good idea Blazeon!"

"Of course it was! And I'm sure Dragness was impressed too!"

Cameron closed his eyes. "I think you should give it a rest, Blazeon. I don't think she likes you that way."

"She's only playing hard to get, She'll come around. You'll see…"

He moved himself over to where the other three were. He started to revert from his Reversion Form and he looked down at his beaten opponent and extended his hand. "Hey, that was pretty fun." Garfield ignored him and got up on his own. He started heading back to the city alone after he snatched back Aquafibian from Cameron's grip. "Hey, what's your problem?!"

"That certainly wasn't fun!" Garfield exclaimed, not turning to face them. "And unlike you, that isn't all that matters to me!"

"Hey, don't be such a sore loser!" Zaria said. "You can't win them all, kid. No need to be a jerk about it!"

He continued to leave them. "I'm leaving, I'd rather not waste any more time here." he pocketed his hands and left them behind.

"Was he always like that?" Zaria asked.

"I don't know," Zavanna said. "Garfield normally isn't like this. Perhaps something happened."

"Well, you guys better get some sleep. You've all got a big day tomorrow, the sooner Draconoid is revived, the better. Then we can finally have a plan to move forward."

Both Cameron and Zavanna nodded as they both followed her back to Bones' home in the city.

---

The winds in the dry desert had finally snuffed out the flames, Andreas was tiredly keeping watch as he saw the fire in the pit go out. When he realized he was falling asleep, he stood to head to his tent.

"Hey!" he saw Rogue, somehow still full of energy standing by the transport that they commandeered.

"Rogue, something wrong?"

"Nah, just wanted to talk." Andreas remained quiet and moved his hand to gesture him to continue talking. "I promise it's not about Tammy." he chuckled. "You don't think we'll be targeted do you?"

Andreas thought about it. "Well correctional services will want to know where all the prisoners had disappeared to, plus we did kind of steal a transport, so we aren't free. So that's why we need to find a location, preferably one that isn't easy to find. And one that's preferably out of the desert." he looked up at the night sky where the stars were gleaming brightly. "I just wonder how long we can keep running. Yurina might not care about us being loose, but eventually, someone might come after us. At least with Yurina in charge we've got more time than we would have if the king was still in charge. At this point, the game is to do as little as possible to piss off Yurina." he looked around thoughtfully. "But then again, isn't what we're doing kind of Yurina wants? Alursians and… well two Fabregans and one Human working together? I just feel that… I'm not ready to trust her yet."

"Heh, I see… to be fair, Fox Alurisans are crafty, even if they are in charge, ya can't fully trust them. But yeah, you know we've got to do our best for these guys."

"We'll keep hopping towns for now until we get out of the desert, if we find anyone that wants to join us, then I'll consider it."

"Funny you should mention people joining…" he walked over the ship and standing by the front of it was the old man from the clothing store, with a large bag over his shoulders that had many, many materials inside it. And next to him was the Bulldog Alursian from the weapon shop. He had all sorts of metal cases with him as well as some weapons wrapped in fabrics, as well as some smaller weapons that were in a single pack. "I've told them what we are doing, and they want in!"

Andreas eyed the two. "You two sure about this?" the old Fabregan man proudly pulled down his apron.

"You seem like a decent young man, your friend was able to convince me to mend clothes for you and your crew full time… for a small fee of course."

The Bulldog Alursian stepped forward and he spun his handgun which had the form-factor of a musket. "I like you folks, so I figured… why not go with you. Sure I may not get as much from being with you guys, but I don't want to only fix mining equipment for the rest of my days. So I said I'd travel with you guys if I can get some good business. Hehe, and since you gave me that Catalyst I'll have a good way of getting money if I can. No take-backs!"

"Looks like we'll need to start hunting prey…" Andreas mentioned. "We may need to move next to some other villages and maybe join their trading routes. So that's a good place to start."

"Haha, yes!" the Bulldog Alursian said as he put his arm around the old Fabregan and he was directing them towards the side entrance of the ship. "You might be old, but have you ever thought of… cybernetics?"

"My bones are just fine! I don't need no help of a machine to move around."

Rogue chuckled to himself. "Nice to have those two in the crew. Am I good or what!?" he extended his back fist to Andreas who played his game and lightly bumped his fist with Rogue's.

"Well that helps us, but we need to set things up pretty quickly."

"Haha." Rogue chuckled. "As long as we stick together and have each other's backs. This is going to work out!"

Andreas chuckled. "Heh, yeah you're probably right. I know an area we could set up close to… but it could be… awkward…"

"What do you mean?"

"I'll explain later. For now, we should get some rest."

"See you later, my man!" he then slapped Andreas on his back, making him stumble over his feet. He watched Rogue walking to his tent and decided to lean on the ship and he took a look up at the stars.

"It's not going to get any easier is it…? But at least I know what I'm going to do now." he yawned and moved over to his tent to retire for the night, knowing in his head that there was something coming on the horizon that he may have to deal with. Nevertheless, he was going to charge forward.

---

A/N: So this chapter took longer than expected, sorry about that. I've had a rough two weeks let's say, but I hope you guys liked this chapter. Be sure to tell me what you think in the reviews and I'll be back (hopefully soon) with another update. Also, my good friend Insane Dominator had drawn what Darius in his Reversion Form would look like. He is 'InsanityEnforcer234' on DeviantArt, so check it out and his other art if you like.

Until next time, stay safe people.