Alice in New Vestroia: Remastered

by ariace613

This is my first story, "Alice in New Vestroia" as a deluxe version. Better battles. Denser story. An alternate version that still works with my other stories.

13. Chapter 13

And I'm back again. Sorry for keeping you waiting, again. I hope my writer's block hasn't grated on your patience too much. Anyway, let's get to the chapter!

P.S. All the abilities shown of Hyper Dragonoid and Clawcer in this chapter belong to the one and only Insane Dominator. Guy's a real legend with his Bakugan concepts and story. If you like my content, you'll like his content more. Read his story. Seriously. READ HIS STORY.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bakugan or the characters.

XXX

Chapter 13: Mask of Rage

Mira and Baron stood together, at the same tower that Alice had just vacated. In the mere minutes after her battle with Kyle, the tag team semifinal battle had been set up. Now, the two were up against another pair of Vestals.

Mira and Baron were uneasy. They were supposed to have met up with Alice after her semifinal battle, just to check in with each other. But, in the little time they had, neither of them could find her. Even after splitting up, they found no sign of Alice. And then, they had to leave to get to their own battle.

It uneased them, but they weren't too worried. There were a plethora of reasons why Alice might not have been able to meet up with them. They may even have just missed her entirely. It wasn't too worrisome. Nothing to get distracted over. Still, it was unsettling.

"And here we are, at the end of the semifinals!", the announcer yelled, excited as ever. "After the thrilling battle in the singles division, these two teams have a high bar to reach."

"On one side, we have a pair of tournament newcomer Vestals. Much like Malice and Kyle, though, they've made a real splash in the first round, winning without any real trouble! Give it up for Mira and Baron!"

Baron smiled wide, and waved his hands around as the crowd cheered. He seemed to greatly enjoy playing up the attention. Mira, meanwhile, just sighed quietly and maintained her composure.

"And on the other side, the overwhelming duo of fire and water! Twins who's style complement each other as well as any tag team can! Let's hear it for Amber and Drake, also known as Inferno Wave!"

The mentioned siblings had the olive skin standard of Vestals, and matching blonde hair, but that was where the physical similarities ended. And their attires were similar, as well. Amber wore light red pants with a maroon shirt, and Drake wore light blue pants with a royal blue shirt. Their eyes matched the colors of their respective clothing, as did their gauntlets.

"I wonder how this power duo met up, sister dear?", Drake remarked in a rich voice. "Casual get together between friends, you think? Or something else?"

"It doesn't matter, brother dear." Amber closed the hand holding her Bakugan. "What matters is that they're here, as our opponents. Winning this will be over too quickly."

"Alas, you are correct." Drake dramatically raised his hand to his head. "What a shame. The times most worth experiencing… they are over far too soon!"

"All the reason to enjoy those moments while we can", Amber remarked.

"What's with these guys?", Mira wondered.

"Probably just trying to psych us out", Baron rationalized. "We can't get distracted by their antics."

"My thoughts exactly", said Mira.

"Battle begin!"

"Gate Card, set!" Amber moved first to set up her own Gate Card. "Shall we, dear brother?" She opened her hand to show off her Pyrus Bakugan once again.

"I think we shall, sister dear." Like his sister, Drake opened his hand to reveal his Aquos Bakugan.

"Bakugan, brawl!" Both siblings launched their Bakugan straight down and onto the card. "Bakugan, stand!"

"Pyrus Hyper Dragonoid!"

Amber's call preceded the rise of a bipedal Dragonoid Bakugan. It was nowhere near the visual majesty of Neo Dragonoid, with a plain chest and simple crimson scales. But he made up for simplicity in an inexplicable intimidation.

"Aquos Clawcer!"

Drake foretold the rise of a giant blue crab-like Bakugan. His right claw was significantly larger than his left, and sharpened like quality steel. His mouth was rimmed with a seemingly good lining. The rest of his body was royal blue with light blue lining.

Mira and Baron needn't even share a glance to throw their own Bakugan in simultaneously. "Bakugan, brawl!"

"Subterra Wilda, stand!"

"Haos Nemus, stand!"

With those two calls, the bulked up Wilda and majestic Nemus rose up side by side, facing off against Hyper Dragonoid and Clawcer alone.

(Wilda: 450, Nemus: 450)=900

(Hyper Dragonoid: 400, Clawcer: 400)=800

"Let's brawl!" Baron's shout came along with his first card. "Ability Activate! Ancient Glow!"

Mira sighed slightly, before following up with her own move. "Ability Activate! Gun Lock!"

Nemus went first, raising his staff overhead and channeling as much of his innate Haos energy through it as he could. The energy traveled to the sun design at the end of the staff, filling the open hole with intense yellow energy. Then, nemus aimed the staff in Hyper Dragonoid and Clawcer's general direction, unleashing the power he'd charged up in a single concussive blast.

In the meantime, pores on Wilda's shoulders began to glow orange, charging up an energy attack. A moment later, the pores began to alternate firing orbs of orange energy directly at both Hyper Dragonoid and Clawcer, in an unending barrage. The orbs just kept coming.

(Wilda: 450+200=650, Nemus: 450+200=650)=1300

(Hyper Dragonoid: 400, Clawcer: 400-200=200)=600

"Trying to overwhelm us with a preemptive attack?" Drake's voice dripped with mockery. "I'm afraid that won't work. I am a wave that never recedes. My sister is an inferno that never burns out. We are the ones that overwhelm." His gauntlet flashed blue with his first card. "Ability Activate. Carapace Shield!"

To properly execute his ability, Clawcer scuttled in front of Hyper Dragonoid, barring his claws threateningly against the yellow and orange energy heading his way. Just before the attacks could make contact, though, a blue sheen overcame him body, like an exoskeleton made up entirely of Aquos energy.

Nemus's yellow energy made contact with Clawcer first. Despite it having a stronger energy output than Wilda's barrage, Clawcer's shield just bounced it off. The yellow blast was decoded to the ground, made useless.

When the barrage hit, however, Clawcer actually stumbled back. Wilda's attack, having many different orbs, was having greater effect, but Clawcer still defended and deflected the orbs well enough.

(Wilda: 650, Nemus: 650-200-100=350)=1000

(Hyper Dragonoid: 400, Clawcer: 200+200+100=500)=900

"That ability is giving Clawcer enough defense to take everything we're dishing out." Mira crouched as she began to focus fully on the battle. "And we can't hit Hyper Dragonoid from this angle."

"Can't you attack them from below?", Baron suggested.

Mira nodded. "Good thinking." She pressed on the appropriate ability. "Ability Activate! Ground Detonator!"

Before he could follow through with the new ability, Wilda had to stop the barrage he had been doing out. The orb's speed firing, the shoulder holes began to smile with the exertion they endured.

Wilda then raised up his right leg, stomping the ground hard. The ground rumbled as Wilda's power rushed through it. Starting where Wilda was, large rock spikes shot out of the ground, forming a path to Clawcer and Hyper Dragonoid.

(Wilda: 650+200=850, Nemus: 350)=1200

(Hyper Dragonoid: 400-200=200, Clawcer: 500)=700

Drake gestured to his sister at the battle in front of them. "This one is yours, dear sister."

"Hyper Dragonoid, go!" Amber's gauntlet shone red with her first ability. "Ability Activate! Interlock Dragon!"

Out of nowhere, Hyper Dragonoid leapt into the air, taking flight to get a clear shot. He opened up his mouth, and a fireball the size of his head shot out, blazing on a collision course with Wilda's earth spikes.

Once the two forces met, something unusual happened. The fireball actually burned through the spikes, and no more emerged from the earth. The fireball continued, as if unopposed, on its way to Wilda.

Wilda covered himself with his rock-like arms before the fireball got him, but he still felt it would do massive damage to him.

(Wilda: 850-200=650, Nemus: 350)=1000

(Hyper Dragonoid: 200+200+200=600, Clawcer: 500)=1100

Baron was quick to pull out a card. "Ability Activate! Pyra Might - Skid Roa!"

Nemus took a step forward and raised his staff as high as he could, high above himself and Wilda. The design at the tip began shining a bright yellow light, forming a pyramid of light energy surrounding himself and Wilda.

The fireball crashed against the suddenly appearing pyramid, exploding in a massive expulsion of firepower. Waves of heat went in all directions.

But Nemus's pyramid withstood it all. And when it was all concluded, Nemus kept it up. Wilda relaxed his defensive position, reverting to a simple crouch under Nemus's cover.

(Wilda: 650, Nemus: 350+200=550)=1200

(Hyper Dragonoid: 600, Clawcer: 500)=1100

"Look at that. They have no idea what a tag team battle means", Amber sniped.

"We bring a spear and a shield. They bring two shields", Drake agreed. "Yet I wonder how long they can hold out."

"I'll enjoy this a lot more than I should." Amber reached out with her hand. "Gate Card Open! Pyrus Reactor!"

As the red rectangle on the battlefield glowed, signaling its activation, multiple pillars of fire rose up, encircling the four combatants.

Hyper Dragonoid let out a loud roar as his power began to rise. His body became encouraged in a thin red veil.

(Wilda: 650, Nemus: 550)=1200

(Hyper Dragonoid: 600+300=900, Clawcer: 500)=1400

Mira scowled. "I don't like this. They're up to something. Baron, let's go!"

Baron nodded, quickly placing an ability inside his gauntlet. "Nemus, go after Hyper Dragonoid! Ability Activate! Shining Force!"

Nemus gripped his staff with both hands and raised it at a slant, aimed above Hyper Dragonoid. The tip of the spear blasted an intensified orb of bright yellow energy in the direction the staff pointed. After it was released from the staff, the orb began to arch downwards, centering onto the Pyrus Bakugan.

(Wilda: 650, Nemus: 550+400=950)=1600

(Hyper Dragonoid: 900, Clawcer: 500)=1400

"Not so fast, sir!" Drake calmly loaded in his own ability. "Ability Activate! Vice Snipper!"

Clawcer shifted his larger claw, pointing it right at the yellow orb threatening his ally. The metallic claw began to light up bright blue, concentrating the energy to the tips of the claw. Moments later, the vice fired off the blue energy in a single bolt.

(Wilda: 650, Nemus: 950)=1600

(Hyper Dragonoid: 900, Clawcer: 500+200=700)=1600

The blue energy locked paths with Nemus's own orb as it descended onto Hyper Dragonoid. The two destroyed each other in a joint explosion.

Seeing the way cleared, Amber smirked. A single ability loaded in her own gauntlet. "Time to start our real plan! Ability Activate! Dual Dragon!"

Hyper Dragonoid suddenly roared in outrage, his red aura growing slightly and becoming a deeper red. But that was only in preparation for the reckoning to come.

Hyper Dragonoid began to split, in the most literal meaning. The red aura diminished heavily, just as his body duplicated into two identical copies of Hyper Dragonoid. Each one landed on both sides of Clawcer.

(Wilda: 650, Nemus: 950)=1600

(Hyper Dragonoid: 900, Hyper Dragonoid: 900, Clawcer: 700)=2500

"That's not an illusion", Mira realized. "He actually copied himself."

"Is that even allowed!?", Baron protested. "We're supposed to only use one Bakugan at a time, right?"

"To answer your question, Baron, that other Dragonoid is an extension of that ability. So it's perfectly legal!"

"Of course it is", Mira murmured. "So it's three on two."

The two Hyper Dragonoid clones each eyed Nemus and Wilda, and bellowed twin roars of dominance. Then, they charged forward and attacked.

XXX

Alice's vision was tinted in red.

Her eyes were forced to look at the Helios portrait, with the glowing eye. Her entire body was in lock down. The only thing she could move at all was her mouth.

Spectra and his lackeys stood behind Alice, watching as their secret weapon did its work. All of them had confident grins on their faces.

Confident, Spectra walked up to Alice. "You know, you and I aren't that different."

Alice heard the words. She listened to the words. But she didn't accept the words. "No… I'm not… like you." Her words were muted and full, but she got them out.

"Not true." Spectra sounded patronizing, like a schoolteacher correcting a wilfully incorrect student. "You pretend otherwise, but I see the truth. You are driven by power."

Memories rushed through Alice, of battling merely for the sake of gaining more power. Of crushing weak and strong alike. Of raising Hydranoid to the highest level attained by a Bakugan. They were Masquerade's memories.

"No… I'm not…", Alice insisted. "Masquerade did… I'm not him…"

"Come now, we're all friends here." Spectra worked to keep his tone cordial. He suspected Alice would prove difficult to corral into line. "You don't have to lie. Masquerade was a part of you. His desires are your desires."

Alice couldn't argue. Spectra was right on the money with that. Masquerade was a part of Alice. She felt his battle craze as her own. She didn't respond.

Spectra smiled, realizing he'd struck a chink in Alice's defense. "Admit it, Alice. You love the sheer rush of power. Don't you?"

Alice sucked in a breath. "What…?"

"Why else would you show off Hydranoid's incredible limits so often? To crush the enemy. Make them cower in fear and experience their insufficiency. It's exhilarating." Spectra placed a hand on Alice's shoulder. "You can admit it. You can admit it to us. I'm sure if any of us could, we'd be doing the same."

Memories of all of Alice's battles on New Vestroia fished by her. Shadow Prove. Volt and Lync. Gus. Even Spectra. Showing off Hydranoid's power, pushing him to the very edge… it was exhilarating. In her current state, it seemed obvious. The power was amazing. Addictive. It's partly why she kept doing it.

"I do." Spectra's smirk widened at Alice's admission. "I love the rush of power."

Spectra was tempted to relax, but he didn't. He was finally making progress, he couldn't slip up now. Time to move on to the next phase. "I see a new world order. One where the only thing that matters is your power. The strong do whatever they want, and that's all that matters. You could experience that rush whenever you wish. Does that sound so bad?"

Alice's first thought was that it wasn't. After all, the strong were already the ones to make decisions, whenever they chose to simply seize authority. Alice was always an apex. A world where she could freely push Hydranoid to his very limits, unrestrained by anything? Where she could stand at the top, or directly under that level? It sounded like a personal utopia.

'No!', Alice protested. 'This is wrong! This isn't what I believe.'

'I can choose what to believe in', snapped a different voice in Alice's psyche; her more vindictive side. The part of her where Masquerade spawned from. 'A world where I have free reign sounds very much like something I'd like to believe in.'

'What about the Bakugan? The Brawlers! They'd never go along with this!'

'Who cares?' Alice's vindictiveness was ice cold. 'Why should I care about them? What have they ever done for me?'

'N-nothing. They haven't done anything for me.' And Alice was at least partly responsible for New Vestroia's reformation.

'The way I see it, the only ones I should care about is Hydranoid, and maybe Leonidas', claimed Alice's new inner voice. 'And, right now, they're being hunted. If I take control, I can end that manhunt. So why not?'

Alice's primary voice didn't have a response. She wasn't even sure it was her primary voice anymore. The other voice was growing louder by the second.

Sweat rolled down Alice. Her breathing went ragged. "Get out… of my head… Spectra."

"No one is in your head but yourself", Spectra reassured Alice, who was anything but reassured by that. "I'm simply ensuring you keep an open mind to what I'm saying."

"Before, when we battled outside the city, I didn't just make an offer to your hidden side; the power hungry side we both know is there. I also appealed to your compassionate side." Spectra retracted his hand. "Had you accepted my offer then, I would have kept my word. I would have graciously freed your old friends. But now that you're here, I can be fully honest. That compassion of yours is a massive waste of personality and effort."

'It is', growled Alice's other voice, in total agreement. 'Doesn't matter how many times you save the world. They'll never give you what you deserve in return. So it's better to look out for yourself.'

"So now, I appeal fully to your desire for power. Indulge in it. Join my team, join my crusade, and you'll gain everything you could ever want. You could claim it with your own hands." Spectra's voice went soft, but the hunger behind it was undeniable. "Seize your destiny as your own, Alice."

It was tempting. So tempting. A large part of Alice just wanted to accept without thinking it over. But another part of her - a larger, but slowly eroding, part of her - resisted on mere principle. She couldn't accept it. She couldn't give in to Spectra. She had to think of something.

'This must be what happened to Ace', Alice thought, desperate to distract herself from what was happening to her. 'This temptation is overwhelming. No wonder he couldn't withstand it.'

The distraction failed. Alice could feel her desire to give in to Spectra's logic grow as she thought it. She was forced to commit all of her focus on holding back the decay of her ideals. But she could only hold out for so long, and it was a losing battle. And no one was coming to bail her out.

'Think of something. Think of anything!', Alice thought desperately. 'If only I could move! I could look away and end this!'

But she couldn't. She was forced to keep gazing at the Helios image, which kept hammering away at her resolve.

Spectra chuckled internally. Alice was holding out longer than Ace and Gus combined. But she was falling. It was only a matter of time.

XXX

Back at the tag battle in Alpha City, the first round between Drake and Amber against Mira and Baron was in full swing and dead heat. Two Hyper Dragonoid, identical in everything up to and including power levels, were directly combating Nemus and Wilda. An Aquos Clawcer stood in the back, ready to provide support whenever prompted by Drake. Nemus was holding off a Hyper Dragonoid with his staff, and Wilda with his physical strength. But the dragon's were quickly wearing them down.

(Wilda: 650, Nemus: 950)=1600

(Hyper Dragonoid: 900, Hyper Dragonoid: 900, Clawcer: 700)=2500

Both Drake and Amber fished out an ability each. "Ability Activate!"

"Item Core!"

"Power Merge!"

Out of nowhere, a large construct of red and silver color appeared in the air between the two Hyper Dragonoid. The construct broke apart into two pieces, revealing one to be a razor sharp battle axe, and the other to be a large shield.

Both Dragonoid broke off their attack to claim the constructs. Both weapons were claimed by the Pyrus Bakugan within moments, and they brandished the medieval weaponry at Nemus and Wilda.

Moments later, the two Dragonoid, as well as Clawcer, began to glow in their eyes. Their irises shot out thin lines at Nemus, attaching to him instantly. Each line siphoned off a small portion of Nemus's power. Individually, none of them would be too much trouble. Collectively, it made Nemus groan weakly in pain.

(Wilda: 650, Nemus: 950-300=650)=1300

(Hyper Dragonoid: 900+100+100=1100, Hyper Dragonoid: 900+100+100=1100, Clawcer: 700+100=800)=3000

"A power level of 3000?! Seriously?!" Baron began freaking out. "This is insane!"

"At this rate, we might lose our Bakugan to these two", Mira remarked.

"And we can't even bring in our Traps. We'd be disqualified!", Baron added. "What do we do?"

"You're surprised?", Drake taunted. "You shouldn't be. The reason we're so far ahead is because you don't possess enough offensive prowess to drop our power. But I thank you for allowing us to show off."

"Oh? We don't have enough offense to beat you?", Mira said. "Baron, let's prove them wrong."

"What's the plan?", Baron asked.

"I'll take the lead. You follow." Mira loaded in her own ability. "Got it?"

Baron nodded an affirmative, getting ready to load in his next ability. "Got it!"

Suddenly, the two snarling Dragonoid clones made their move. One gripped the battle axe with both hands and slashed at Nemus, the other charged Wilda to team him with his shield.

But Mira was already ready to begin her plan. "Ability Activate!" The card in Mira's gauntlet flashed red. "Clay Wall!"

Wilda raised up one leg as high as he could, tilting over to make it difficult to balance on his other leg. When he finally stomped the foot onto the ground, it created a large rumble that shook the earth.

As the earth continued to rumble, a large wall of rock rose up from the earth in front of the two Dragonoid. The two Hyper Dragonoid had to back up to avoid slamming into the wall.

One Hyper Dragonoid slashed at the wall with his axe, and the other rimmed it with his shield. The wall repelled both the sharp blade and the solid shield.

(Wilda: 650+200=850, Nemus: 650)=1500

(Hyper Dragonoid: 1100-700=400, Hyper Dragonoid: 1100-700=400, Clawcer: 800-400=400)=1200

"A stellar counterattack! Mira responded to superior numbers by dropping them all down to base, pulling ahead in the meantime!"

"They took away so much power", Drake observed.

"It isn't a problem", Amber responded, two more cards in hand. "Double Ability Activate! Interlock Dragon, plus Blitz Sparta!"

Each Hyper Dragonoid began to utilize a single ability each. Their eyes glinted red with the ability activation.

The clone with the shield opened up his mouth, and a fireball the size of his head shot out, blazing on a collision course with Wilda's earthen wall. Upon that collision, the fireball exploded in a release of all that energy, and the giant wall was brought down.

Once that was done, the clone with the axe, hovering over the ground, began a charge for Nemus. As he progressed, orange flames flickered to life around his body, until the Hyper Dragonoid and his weapon were coated in fire.

(Wilda: 850-200=650, Nemus: 650-200=450)=1100

(Hyper Dragonoid: 400+700+200=1300, Hyper Dragonoid: 400+700+200=1300, Clawcer: 400+400=800)=3400

When the wall came down, though, and as the axe wielding Hyper Dragonoid charged at Nemus, they weren't prepared for Nemus to already be in the beginning motions of an attack. His staff was thrust into the ground, and his hand had moved to the design at the top.

"Do it, Nemus!", Baron directed. His gauntlet was already shining with an ability. "Bolting Arrow!"

Nemus raised his hand to the hole at the end, conjuring up a bowstring and arrow of light energy. Pulling back the energy arrow, he aimed directly at the incoming Hyper Dragonoid.

Then, Nemus released the arrow. The bolt struck through the flames, forcing Hyper Dragonoid back several paces. His foams sputtered or, but the Bakugan was still raring to go.

(Wilda: 650, Nemus: 450)=1100

(Hyper Dragonoid: 1300÷2=650, Hyper Dragonoid: 1300÷2=650, Clawcer: 800÷2=400)=1700

"Well, I guess you have some proper offense after all." Drake brandished another card. "Then Nemus will be the first to go. Ability Activate! Shield Crush Delta!"

Clawcer's right arm, excepting the actual claw, began to glow a bright blue color. The armored limb began to harden considerably, the shield becoming a weapon of its own. Then Clawcer scuttled over the ground at a surprisingly quick pace, rushing Nemus with a vengeance.

(Wilda: 650, Nemus: 450-300=150)=800

(Hyper Dragonoid: 650, Hyper Dragonoid: 650, Clawcer: 400)=1700

Nemus wearily raised his staff, ready to defend, but the power difference was immense. Things didn't look too good.

"Baron!", Mira shouted.

"Don't worry; it's fine." Baron smiled confidently. "Masters Shun and Dan taught me to not lose my cool too much. I used Bolting Arrow for a specific purpose. It's time to win this battle, and I know exactly what to do." He locked in a duo of cards. "Double Ability Activate! Shade Cocoon, plus Fusion Ability Flow Skylight!"

Once again, Nemus utilized his staff to execute the ability, pressing the back end of it to the ground. The impact point released a shockwave of yellow energy that phased through Nemus's entire team, without doing any harm. When it reached the two Hyper Dragonoid and Clawcer, it coated them in a bell of yellow light.

At first, the yellow glow didn't seem to affect the three Bakugan. Until the yellow light intensified and shot back to Nemus. The Haos Bakugan began to glow with power, and the two Hyper Dragonoid and Clawcer all collapsed in exhaustion.

(Wilda: 650, Nemus: 150+1550=1700)=2350

(Hyper Dragonoid: 650-600=50, Hyper Dragonoid: 650-600=50, Clawcer: 400-350=50)=150

"What?!", Drake and Amber shouted in unison.

"I just swapped Nemus's power with your collective power", Baron stood with a smirk. "By the way, I also locked down your Bakugan, so you can't use abilities."

"Oh, no", Drake said.

Nemus's glow of power didn't diminish at all. It didn't grow any more, either, but Nemus was at the very limits. 'How could Hydranoid have ever managed even more power than this?' He pointed his staff at the three opponents. The design at the end filed with power as Nemus directed all of his power into the staff.

Baron nodded. "Go for it, Nemus!"

'You want your power back? Take it!' And then, the staff blasted out a wave of Haos energy. It passed all over the field. There was nowhere to run, and neither Hyper Dragonoid clone, nor Clawcer, had enough strength to withstand it.

As the energy wave rolled over the three Bakugan, two Hyper Dragonoid roared in equal pain. Clawcer bellowed as he was overwhelmed. When the wave receded, it left them as two Bakugan balls.

The defeated Bakugan, succeeded by their own victorious ones, shot over to Baron and Mira. Mira caught Wilda, and Baron caught everything else.

Drake: 0%

Amber: 0%

Drake and Amber didn't take the loss well. Drake looked away, embarrassed, and Amber clenched her fists and snarled. Neither one said anything.

Mira exhaled a sigh of relief. "Nice work, Baron. We almost lost control for a second, there."

"What are you talking about?" Baron gave Mira a thumbs up. "We were in control the whole time."

"I said 'almost'."

The two shared a friendly grin with each other. In the wake of winning an unexpectedly difficult battle, their unease of Alice's radio silence was completely forgotten.

XXX

Alice's entire psyche was in turmoil.

She was still paralyzed and ensnared within Spectra's trap, still gazing at the unique Helios portrait. Still fighting the part of herself that had succumbed to Spectra's suggestions.

And the worst part was, that part of herself wasn't anything foreign. Not really, if she was being brutally honest. It was the same part of herself that rejoiced in the heat of battle. The same part of herself that always craved the rush of power. The part of her that spawned Masquerade. The only difference was that it was being inflated ridiculously beyond proportion.

"Tell me, Alice", Spectra spoke again. "What is your decision? Will you join my team? Serve under me, and gain all the power you could ever want?"

Those few words reignited the turmoil inside Alice into a full scale conflict. So much of her mind was already taken over, it was all she could do to keep from instantly agreeing. Standing by her friends, saving the Bakugan; Alice wasn't considering any of that. A single thought spurred on Alice's fight:

'I can't let Spectra win.'

Images kept coming to mind. Of crushing her allies and enemies alike underfoot, being free to do whatever she wanted.

'I can't let him win!'

Unrestrained by attempts to save the Bakugan, she could freely unlock Hydranoid's power, to the very limit. He'd be safe.

'I won't let him win!'

'Then don't.' Whispered Alice's other voice. 'The strongest rules, right? Prove you're stronger. Take control.'

Alice had no argument. Any thought of the innocent, of saving the Bakugan, even of her friends had been defeated already. Opposing Spectra was her last leg to stand on. And it had just crumbled.

Alice's mind had achieved harmony once more.

Spectra began to frown. 'This is taking too long. Is she resisting?' It shouldn't be possible. His device would keep wearing Alice down until she finally submitted. But she should've submitted already, by now. "Alice, will you serve under me? Accept your destiny of power?"

Spectra honestly expected continued silence, as the conditioning went it's course. Perhaps his newest prompting had done the trick, and she would submit to his command. He didn't expect any kind of vocal resistance.

Naturally, Alice jerked her head violently, looking away from the portrait to glare at Spectra. A dark gleam was in her eye. "And just why would I do that?", she snarled.

Spectra sucked in a breath. If he had an actual human biology instead of a semblance of it, his heart would've skipped at least one beat. Seeing someone who should've been under his power, not only successfully rebel, but glare at him with such rage…

At that moment, Spectra swore that he'd never reveal what he felt at that moment. Because what he felt was absolute terror.

"I… I'm sorry?" Despite his fear, Spectra fought to keep his tone controlled. He was in control. He had to be. There was no way his methods hadn't left a profound change in Alice.

"Why would I serve you?", Alice repeated, her mouth contorting into a borderline sinister grin. "Why… when there's no reason to think you're stronger than me?"

For the first time in a while, Gus spoke up. "You dare claim you're anywhere near our Master's level-"

"Shut up!", Alice ordered. And Gus actually listened, his skin paling as Alice turned her glare on him. "Spectra and I had one battle. He had the advantage of superior numbers, and I still drove him away. I didn't win the battle, but he ran away. Why should I think he's the strongest here?"

Gus cowered. He hated doing it, but it was instinctive. The same instincts that did him to serving Spectra were telling him to get out of Alice's way. The instincts of a predator to bow before an apex, or get slaughtered.

Satisfied, Alice turned her attention back to Spectra. "Creating a new world, where the strongest is in control? I'd fight for that. I'm just not convinced the strongest is you."

Spectra's breathing began to normalize. His methods had done their work, instilling his philosophy in Alice. She was giving him his own stances. If she were anyone else she'd have ceded mastery to Spectra.

But Alice had actual reason to think herself better than Spectra. It wasn't pride or arrogance. It was an interpretation of facts. One that Spectra was avidly trying to convince himself wasn't the truth.

The important thing was, Alice hadn't fully fought him off. She just needed to be put in her place. Spectra could work with that.

"Did you have anything in mind?", Spectra inquired. "Your hard-earned Vexos challenge?"

"Precisely what I was thinking." Alice shot a predatory grin. "One on one, Spectra. You and me, no holds barred. All out. And to the victor, the spoils."

"Agreed." Spectra nodded in that agreement. "Until then, Alice."

"It's Malice, now." She bent down to retrieve her fallen mask. Placing it back in her face, the pupils glowed red as the mask turned back on. 'Malice' was no longer an alias. It was so much more, more. She'd claimed it as her new identity, just as Spectra had claimed his new name.

Without another word, Malice drew her card and teleported herself away.

Once Malice was away, Ace finally mustered the will to speak. "What kind of monster have we created?"

Spectra didn't know. And he didn't know what would happen if he lost. It worried him.

"Master," Gus began, worriedly, "we're taking a risk here. What would happen if Alice-"

"She is Malice, now", Spectra corrected. "We, of all people, should respect that aspect of her rebirth." Gus nodded in acceptance. "As for your worries, they are unfounded. Malice is no match for me. And, in a few minutes, I will prove it."

Gus and Ace smirked, scrotum his words as fact. If only Spectra was so easily reassured.

XXX

Kyle was confused.

A matter of mere minutes ago, the kindred spirit he found in 'Malice' had disappeared, right in front of him. He searched for the entire duration of the next battle for her, but she seemed to have vanished.

He was worried. So worried, he honestly considered heading over to an official station, to file an emergency. In fact, he was on the way there when the single division's Vexos challenge began.

"Now that the tournaments are all but over, it's time to begin the Vexos challenge!" The announcer's voice swept past Kyle as he rushed past hallway after hallway. "First, we'll start off with our promising single's champion!" Kyle paid it precisely no mind. "And there she is! Malice!"

Kyle's eyes shot over to the nearest screen. And sure enough, his semifinal opponent was there, at the top of a battling pillar.

Kyle relaxed. "Okay. She's fine. Crisis averted, I guess." But he couldn't look away. Something was different about her.

The masked girl had never acted aloof, but now she was downright aggressive. Her hands were clenched into fists. Her stance was fully straight. If Kyle could see past the mask, he'd bet she was glaring.

"What's up with her?", he wondered. "She pissed about being pulled away or something?" Even as he said the words, he felt stupid. It was clearly something far deeper than that. More profound.

"So, let's hear it!", the announcer prompted. "As the single division finalist, Malice can call out any one of the Vexos to battle. And, if she does well enough in the battle, she'll be given the opportunity to join their ranks! It all depends on who she calls out! So, who will it be?"

The masked battler started straight at the announcer's booth, and snapped in a clear voice. "Spectra! I challenge you!"

For a few seconds, no one could say anything. Nobody could expect this challenge. A Vexos challenge was one thing, but nobody aimed higher than Gus. Challenging Spectra to battle just wasn't done. He was regarded as a force of nature; to battle him was to lose your Bakugan.

But this mysterious battler challenged him anyway. And the crowd roared in approval.

"Is she crazy?", Kyle wondered. Even Kyle's plan only involved him challenging Gus to a rematch. Spectra was way out of his league, and he knew it.

"Okay, she's good. Good as Spectra? I don't know. But Leonidas can't possibly stand up to Helios." He had a thought. "Did she keep a Bakugan in reserve, too?" He smirked. "Actually, I kinda hope that's the case. Beat him into paste, 'Malice.' I'm eager to hear what you've got to say."

XXX

Deep within the complex, three male humans stood in front of a screen. Two were flabbergasted, but one kept up a calm demeanor.

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Marucho said, "but I'm pretty sure the plan was for Alice to forfeit the battle, then join up with us. Right?"

"Yeah, that's right." Dan scowled. "What's her damage? She's our backup! We need her-"

"We need her exactly where she is", Shun stood, interrupting Dan before his rant could begin. "She hasn't altered the plan. This was always the plan."

Dan's scowl turned on Shun. "What are you talking about?"

"We need to keep moving." With that simple statement, Shun rushed forward, through the corridor, still carrying Marucho with him.

Dan had no choice but to follow. "Shun! What is the plan?!", he demanded.

"We have a right to know", Marucho agreed.

Shun didn't slow his pace or unsteady his breathing at all as he explained. "Didn't you notice that, after she got us in the compound, Alice's role in the plan seemed redundant? We already have you as backup, Dan."

"That doesn't mean she should go rampant and challenge Spectra to a battle!", Dan retorted. "No way she can keep a low profile now!"

"Exactly." Shun gave a nod of agreement. "Even if everything goes to plan, the royal family and the Vexos will vehemently deny our message. It's our word against theirs, and they've spent their entire lives earning the Vestals' trust. So, we need a viable reason for the Vestal people to listen."

"So how does that equate to battling Spectra?", Marucho asked.

"The Vexos are loved because they're the strongest. Spectra is the most acclaimed of them all", Shun explained. "To make our voice loud enough to rival the Vexos', we need to prove that we're stronger. If their new champion has something to say, they'll listen." A moment later, he spoke again. "Especially if said champion battles with the famous Alpha Hydranoid."

Dan shot Shun a sour look. "You could've told us, you know. Trust goes both ways."

Shun kept his face impassive. "Alice and I didn't know how you'd react. Acceptance, a rash reaction, even a forcible attempt to stop it before it started, there was no way to know. We couldn't take the risk. We couldn't allow the plan to fail." His impassive face didn't change at all. "Better for you to find out now, when you can't do anything to stop it. It was the best way to pull off the plan. Alice will do her part; we just have to worry about ours."

"You still shouldn't have kept this from us", Marucho argued. He was surprised when Dan held up a hand.

"It's fine", Dan said emotionlessly. "Shun's right. There's nothing we can do about it now. We've gotta keep moving." But Dan's face didn't give any forgiveness. It was clear his pride was wounded by the slight. He wouldn't forgive quickly, or forget easily.

In the meantime, Shun was unnerved. Everything he'd told his friends had been the absolute truth. He and Alice had come up with a plan to usurp Spectra's away with the masses.

But there was something about how Alice made her challenge. It was aggressive

Too aggressive. It wasn't right. Every instinct in his body was telling him something had gone wrong with the plan.

XXX

It only took a few moments for Spectra to show up on the pillar opposite the challenger's. Even to the casual observer, it almost seemed like he was expecting to be called out.

Spectra was sporting a gleeful grin that mirrored Malice's own. Both of them were in a crouch, ready to throw their Bakugan at a moment's notice.

The announcer then started his role in starting the battle. "Here we are, about to watch the greatest showdown in New Vestroia!"

'You have no idea', was a thought shared by both masked battlers.

"In one corner, the new rising star who's taken every Bakugan that's gone up against her… Malice!"

The crowd screamed their eagerness to see the coming battle in an unintelligible wave. And Malice was sick of it.

"And on the other, our undefeated champion since the day the Vexos were formed… Spectra Phantom!"

Spectra flourished his hand upwards in greeting, and the crowd went wild.

"Before we begin, it's my job to make clear the rule change. In Vexos challenges, battlers may use a single Bakugan, as well as a single Bakugan Trap, each. We all know most challengers need it against the Vexos! Understand?"

The two nodded, letting the announcer know they understood. Even as they did, Malice started analyzing how that could affect her strategy.

"Let the battle begin!"

"Gate Card, set!" And Spectra threw his first card out with a crisp toss. "Well, Malice, are you ready?"

"More than you'll ever know", came the Darkus battler's response.

"Very well then!", Spectra said, clearly showing off Helios's ball in his right hand, then throwing the ball down on the field. "Bakugan, brawl! Bakugan, stand! Go, Pyrus Helios!"

Moments later, Helios's ball opened upon contact on the ground, and the red and black dragon materialized on the battlefield. As he rose, a wave of heat emitted from the Pyrus Bakugan, and a red veil appeared around Helios. Helios reared back his head and let out a bellowing roar.

"RRRRAAAGHH!"

Malice smirked wide as she witnessed Helios's rise. In response, she held up her own Bakugan: a Darkus specimen different from Leonidas. "There he is. Don't hold back at all."

"I won't let you down, Malice." Hydranoid's ball suddenly became engulfed in a dark aura. "Together, we're invincible."

"Yes, we are." With that, Malice released Hydranoid with an overhead throw. "Bakugan, brawl!"

Hydranoid left Malice's platform and fell all the way to the ground. His ball opened as he got to the ground.

Instantly, a wave of negative energy rolled over throughout the field, only to be reminded as it reached the limits of the battlefield.

And the three headed Bakugan rose up, in all his glory. He proved a near perfect contrast to Helios; his dark wave was cold, counteracting Helios's heat. Hydranoid himself was still cloaked in dark energy.

"Alpha Hydranoid, stand!", Malice announced.

XXX

Up on the VIP podium, Lync and Volt stood open-mouthed as Hydranoid was announced.

"Well, I guess Spectra was right", Volt remarked. He expected some kind of witty jeer from Lync, but nothing came. "Lync?" Still nothing. "Lync?"

Volt turned to look, to find his Ventus counterpart staring at the masked orangette, literally shaking in fear. "V-volt… something's up with Alice. W-why am I so scared right now?"

"Because you're scared of a pretty girl", Brontes jeered.

Lync didn't have the mind to counter. Alice was emitting such a malicious wave, he was nearly petrified.

XXX

Alpha Hydranoid: 600

Helios: 600

"No way…", breathed the announcer. "Cycloid was one thing… but this? It's incredible! Say hello to Darkus Alpha Hydranoid!"

The crowd, which had been silenced by Hydranoid's arrival, began another cacophony of cheering. The noise was louder than it had ever been before, seeing the prospect of Spectra being in a real fight. The roar was beyond deafening.

And Malice had officially had enough of it. "Shut them UP, Hydranoid!"

Three barbed tails struck the ground at once, kicking up a massive cloud of dust. Hydranoid let out a massive roar, from all three heads in unison.

"GGGRRRROOOOOAAAGGGH!"

As loudly as Helios had roared, Hydranoid was nearly twice as loud, and three times as ferocious. Terrified, the crowd shrieked fearfully before finally silencing themselves.

"Better", Malice judged.

Even Spectra marveled at how different his opponent had become. Alice Gehabich would've gladly abided by such annoyance, but Malice put a stop to it without even hesitating. She was radically changed.

And that made her an even more dangerous opponent. He couldn't waste any time. 'I need to corral Malice into line with an unquestionable victory. I can't slip up!' "Gate Card, Open! Pyrus Reactor!"

Just like the previous battle, the card that Spectra deployed erupted, with orange flames forming a rectangular border around Helios and Hydranoid.

Alpha Hydranoid: 600

Helios: 600+300=900

Malice snorted derisively at the inferno engulfing the battlefield. Slowly and exaggeratedly, she moved to load in an ability of her own.

'Not enough. We need a wider margin!' Spectra loaded his own cards inside his gauntlet, before his opponent could lead hers. "Double Ability Activate! Maximum Quasar, plus Nova Defenser!"

Helios's mouth opened up, filling up with a powerful surge of flames. At first, they were dark orange, but then another burst of lighter orange fire appeared in Helios's maw. The two flames synergized perfectly with each other, creating a wave of heat so powerful, it seemed like a supernova all on it's own.

When Helios was ready to release his blast, a roar of dominance rang out. His mouth blasted out a subatomic shockwave of flames, raging and scorching the ground it traveled over. And Hydranoid was the prime target.

Alpha Hydranoid: 600-400=200

Helios: 900+300+200=1400

The flames of the Gate Card sputtered out in the wake of Helios's superheated inferno. The flames were powerful enough to make the ground below them sizzle. And Hydranoid has no choice but to endure the increasing heat as the flames drew closer and closer.

"Pathetic." Malice finally loaded her card, and snapped the gauntlet shut. "Bring all the firepower you want, Spectra. Hydranoid and I are champions of darkness. We will not be denied! Ability Activate! Trident of Doom!"

Spectra gasped in surprise. 'She was preparing a nullification ability before I even loaded an ability card? How'd she know?!'

Hydranoid started off by charging a purple and white energy orb in each mouth, the hemisphere growing steadily in each one. Then, after several seconds of charging and enlarging the energy, the hydra craned each head upwards at a slant and unleashed the orbs in a slanted arc.

When the orbs' upward velocity ended, and they began to fall back down, the orbs all blew up, each one splitting into three smaller orbs. The nine total orbs fell down, four aiming directly at Helios, and the other five at his fire blast.

Nine dark purple explosions rocked the field. Helios was at the direct epicenter of four of them, and the other five lined up his blast of flames, wiping away the fire and defusing the threat. When the explosions cleared, there wasn't even an ember left on the field.

Even more satisfying to Malice was Helios's painted roar as he reacted to the explosions.

Alpha Hydranoid: 200+400=600

Helios: 1400-500-300=600

Spectra stood in place, watching as his monumental flame attack was wiped away in an instant. Instantly, he began to berate himself. 'This isn't a regular Vexos challenge you can blast away in one attack. She's a real threat. I have to treat her as such.'

Malice sent Spectra a knowing smirk. "Well, that was underwhelming. Anything else?"

Spectra fought to keep his emotions under control. Blind anger would only serve his enemy here. Still, he had to take action. To do anything else would be to give Malice the advantage. "Double Ability Activate! General Quasar, plus Fusion Ability Omega!"

Helios opened up his mouth, revealing an intense orange fireball already forming within it. As it grew, it began emitting waves of heat that bristled the enemy Bakugan. Hydranoid quickly covered up to protect himself from the heat.

Moments later, Helios's eyes started blazing red. The fireball in his mouth started to gather heat and firepower at an even higher rate. It was like a scorching sun, all on it's own.

After the fireball's enhancement was complete, Helios launched the fireball straight at Hydranoid. While on its way, the fireball exploded in midair, turning into a blazing firestorm.

Alpha Hydranoid: 600

Helios: 600+200+200=1000

Hydranoid stood still, even as the firestorm reached and surrounded him. Flames circled around Hydranoid, so thick he could barely be seen. The roar of the fire covered up any pained grunts Hydranoid would give off.

Spectra observed the carnage with a clenched fist. His first thought was that he'd scored a decent hit, but he knew better than to lower his guard.

And his guard was proven needed when Hydranoid flexed his body. The flames were forced away in a shockwave of Darkus energy.

Malice remained unwavering after both the flames and her own partner's shockwave. An ability was already glowing in her gauntlet. "Ability Activate! Chaos Trident!"

Hydranoid opened his mouths once again, focusing Darkus energy for another trio of energy orbs. But these ones were pure black in color, and far more intense than the ones from before.

Alpha Hydranoid: 600+300=900

Helios: 1000-300=700

Hydranoid was quick to release his orbs, his three heads acting in unison. The trio of black orbs sailed side by side on its way to Helios.

Spectra slashed out with his own ability. "Not so fast! Ability Activate! Burst Core!"

Helios craned his neck and roared once again, the sound waves alone causing Hydranoid's dark energy to fluctuate. Then, orange flames stormed up around Helios, forming a defensive dome of fire around him, spreading out to surround his body.

It didn't even take a few moments for the Chaos Trident orbs to impact Helios's shield. Any explosion that would've resulted from the collision, however, was snuffed or before it could start by Helios's flame barrier.

Alpha Hydranoid: 900-300=600

Helios: 700+300=1000

Spectra tightened his fist. 'He's vulnerable now!' "Now, Helios!"

With his ability still active and raging, Helios roared once again and began to fly towards Hydranoid. He angled his shoulder to be the first thing that would strike his three headed opponent. The flames burned all over his body, ready to instantly neutralize any attack Hydranoid might use to intercept him.

And then, the flames dissipated, snuffed out themselves by what was seemingly a gust of wind. Helios barely had time to realize what had happened before he collided with Hydranoid.

And Hydranoid wasn't fazed. His three heads immediately lashed out, biting down on Helios's wings and neck. Helios growled as the Darkus Bakugan dug into his scales.

Alpha Hydranoid: 600+300=900

Helios: 1000-300=700

"No… he couldn't have!", Spectra protested.

"It's Double Dimension. A standard Darkus ability used to nullify the opponent's ability", Malice said, brandishing the card. "Your Burst Core is capable of countering any and all kinds of offensive abilities. I've found a workaround for that, though."

Spectra gasped yet again. 'She planned a counter for my Burst Core, too?' "Helios, break free, now!", he shouted. 'Before Malice activates Destroy Vanish!'

Helios's pupils glared back at Hydranoid, and he pushed Hydranoid away with his arms and with all his strength. Somehow, that was enough to release Hydranoid's hold on Helios, and the Pyrus Bakugan darted away.

Spectra quickly placed a card inside his gauntlet, and Malice did the same with ferocious fervor. "Ability Activate!"

"Void Stream!"

Helios immediately reacted to the ability, opening his mouth wide. A blazing orb of pure white energy, lined with a red outline, formed and grew larger. Red electricity began to crackle around the orb, a sign of the high intensity contained within it.

"Death Trident!"

Hydranoid opened up all three of his heads once again, channeling energy for another energy attack. Then, each head formed an orb of condensed light purple energy, with blue lightning crackling around each one.

Alpha Hydranoid: 900-400=500

Helios: 700-300=400

Having started charging his orb a few moments beforehand, Helios finished first. As he concluded, he launched his Pyrus energy orb straight ahead, aiming for Hydranoid.

The red lightning crackling off the orb surged as the orb sailed through the air. The orb was much more powerful than any of Hydranoid's current attacks.

Recognizing this, Malice was quick to issue her directions. "Center and left heads, stand by! Wait for my signal!"

Hydranoid hefted his center and leftmost heads, aiming the orbs they contained at the one that Helios had shot at him. Three sets of eyes watched as it got closer and closer.

Were he fighting for anyone else, Hydranoid would be hesitant to hold off. But, even as changed as she was, he knew that he could trust his partner. As Alice, as Malice… even from long ago as Masquerade. Their bond was what made them strong, nigh invincible even. It was sacred; neither would ever betray it. So he would wait until…

"Now!", Malice ordered.

Hydranoid sprang into action. Two of his head paddocks their payloads directly at the enemy's orb, creating a three pronged explosion. Individually, Helios's orb would eclipse Hydranoid's, but two of them would match Helios's output.

Spectra didn't bother an open reaction, yet he was still enraged. 'We're exposed!' He forced his rage down, and set up an analytic calm. 'I thought if I could figure out Alice's main strategy, I could overcome the power gap between Helios and Hydranoid. But I never realized that-'

Malice didn't waste a second with her next card. "Fusion Ability Activate! Final Demolition!"

And with that, Hydranoid an aura of purple Darkus energy instantly encased Hydranoid. He reared back his center and left head and bellowed in strength, as his right head remained fixed on Helios. The remaining orb grew by over half its original size.

Alpha Hydranoid: 500+100=600

Helios: 400

'Alice was a master of Bakugan strategy, Malice perhaps even more so. The disparity in our strategy levels is comparable to that of our Bakugan's power.'

"It's fine to show New Vestroia that even the supreme Spectra Phantom can be beaten." Malice held up her right hand, and snapped the fingers. "Take him out, Hydranoid!"

And the last energy orb of the round flew, aiming right for Helios. Without any protection set up, the orb got Helios with the combined power of two abilities.

Helios's stare went blank as he weakly groaned. When the orb finally dissipated, Helios stood still for just a moment.

'Outmaneuvering them is nearly impossible!'

Then, the dragon tumbled down towards the floor. He shrunk down to ball form before getting close. That ball shot to Spectra, who frowned at his first ever loss in the tournament arena.

Spectra: 60%

"Unbelievable…." The announcer finally spoke up after Hydranoid began to shrink back to his ball form himself. "I never thought I'd see the day when Spectra and Helios were knocked down a peg! I guess Malice is the queen of surprises!"

Contrasting her opponent's unease and discomfort at the situation, Malice sported a promptly malicious grin as she caught Hydranoid's ball in her right hand. "Well done, Hydranoid. How are you feeling?"

"Never better, my friend." There was a distinct pride Hydranoid expressed. "I knew you wouldn't let me down."

"Spectra seems to think the secret of power is cultivating it around himself, treating even his own Bakugan as a mere weapon." Malice sneered in derision. "But the ultimate strength is forged through a genuine friendship with one's partner Bakugan. Spectra will pay for that little oversight of his. He'll pay… with everything he has to give! Gate Card, set!"

Her flung card shot onto the field, growing to encompass the entire arena before disappearing.

Malice and Spectra both acted at once, throwing the same Bakugan as before into the next battle. "Bakugan, brawl!"

Within purple and red lights of equal brightness, Hydranoid and Helios emerged once again. Both dragonic Bakugan took battle ready stances, growling ferociously in preparation of the impending carnage.

Alpha Hydranoid: 600

Helios: 600

Once again, Spectra made the first move. "Ability Activate! Void Stream!"

For the second time that day, Helios immediately reacted to the ability, opening his mouth wide. A blazing orb of pure white energy, lined with a red outline, formed and grew larger. Red electricity began to crackle around the orb, a sign of the high intensity contained within it.

"It didn't work before, and it won't work now", Malice retorted, loading in her own card. "Your power can't save you from Hydranoid's Trident of Doom!"

Hydranoid started off by charging a purple and white energy orb in each mouth, the hemisphere growing steadily in each one. Then, after several seconds of charging and enlarging the energy, the hydra fixed each head upwards to aim straight at Helios, then released the orbs.

As the orbs continued their progress towards Helios, the orbs all blew up, each one splitting into three smaller orbs. The result was a total of nine explosive orbs of Darkus energy.

The nine total orbs then struck Helios, and nine dark explosions of equal size blasted away. The power of the blasts blew away Helios's own white and red orb, and engulfed the Pyrus Bakugan in a storm of dark power.

Alpha Hydranoid: 600

Helios: 600-300=300

Dark flames wrapped around Helios, hiding away his features and form. Helios had no choice but to endure the dark power trying to whittle him down.

Spectra glared at the battle, displeased with how it was proceeding. "Not again, Malice! Ability Activate! Maximum Quasar!"

The dark firestorm immediately receded to reveal Helios, looking only marginally worse for wear. His mouth was slightly opened and overflowing with orange flames.

Moments later, Helios fully opened his mouth, and a concentrated stream of blistering orange fire blasted out of his maw, centering straight onto Hydranoid.

Alpha Hydranoid: 600

Helios: 300+300=600

Hydranoid watched, composed as ever, as the flame blast neared him. He wasn't worried in the least; if all else failed, he was at the same power level as Helios. Still, he knew all else wouldn't fail.

Malice's response to the attack was a simple finger snap, and five words. "Gate Card Open! Darkus Reactor!"

The ground underneath Hydranoid suddenly surrendered the earth to the eerie dark fog, which rose around Hydranoid at a quick rate. It was fast enough that, when Helios's fire stream would have hit Hydranoid, the dark fog was able to entirely intercept it.

Alpha Hydranoid: 600+300=900

Helios: 600

'It's happening again', Spectra raved internally. 'She's pulling ahead without any trouble. It can't just be that Hydranoid is stronger and she's more skilled. What else is there? Why is it so hard to keep up?' His mark's pupils flared red. 'That's it! I'm done playing around!' "Annihilate them! Triple Ability Activate! General Quasar, Nova Defenser, plus Fusion Ability Omega!"

Helios opened up his mouth, revealing an intense orange fireball already forming within it. As it grew, it began emitting waves of heat that bristled the Darkus Bakugan.

Yet Helios kept charging up his attack. The orange flames suddenly surged, with a darker tint being added to the color. The fireball grew to twice the size of Helios's head, and it was still growing. The fire orb finally finished growing, reaching a size of triple Helios's head, and it became more compact.

Spirals of heat started to channel into Helios. The energy buildup started spreading throughout Helios's body, lighting him up an intense red glow. With the red aura around his blood red and black body, he almost resembled a hellish demon.

Alpha Hydranoid: 900-400=500

Helios: 600+200+200+200=1200

At last, Helios unleashed the full power he amassed. The flames he'd generated didn't blast outwards as a stream. They exploded outwards as a subatomic wave of fire. And the wave was going in every direction.

The only reason the crowd didn't flee was that, despite being exposed to open air, the stands were protected by an invisible energy cage that contained the battle. Still, they felt the sweltering heat of Helios's inferno.

Hydranoid groaned as the flames reached him, raging all around him. They were taking an undeniable toll.

Malice felt the heat worst of all. Shed broken out into a sweat all over, the heat worse than the hottest day she'd ever experienced on Earth.

Still, she had more than enough presence of mind to load in two of her own abilities. "Like Hydranoid would kneel to a heat wave! Double Ability Activate! Merge Shield-!"

All six of Hydranoid's eyes began to glow purple, and a faint aura of purple energy appeared around Hydranoid. Even under the brunt of the firestorm around him the hydra ransomed composed.

The new aura that had engulfed Hydranoid suddenly pulsed once, and a rush of dark power emitted in all directions. Orange fire gave way to dark energy, blistering heat was overcome by an eerie chill, and the raging inferno was entirely replaced with a cloud of Darkus power.

Once the dark cloud became dominant, the aura began to divert itself off the field, collecting around Hydranoid. The hydra's purple aura intensified several times over, transforming into an incredibly thick dark mass.

Malice smirked as she called out the second ability to her combination. "Now! Indigo Nightmare!"

Each one of Hydranoid's heads reared upward, looking at the opponent Bakugan and taking aim. The three heads opened up, revealing purple and black energy to already be gathering in each one's maw. The energy buildup caused it to exceed the limits of the mouths.

Then, Hydranoid blasted the energy outwards in continuous blasts. The triple streams of energy progressed side by side, each one nearing the opposition.

Alpha Hydranoid: 500+900+300=1700

Helios: 1200

Helios couldn't evade the three blasts in time. They struck him, covering him in purple energy. The energy moved like flames, blazing around Helios with a bone-chilling, yet still painful, cool. The enthusiasm died down within a few seconds, but Helios was visibly worn down by the attack.

"Spectra, your Helios is mine for the taking!", Malice boasted, sensing imminent victory. "Helios can't overcome Hydranoid, and you can't beat me!"

As soon as she said the words, Malice felt a brief push of doubt. 'Is this what I want? Is this who I am?' She squashed the thought down instantly. 'No! Those are Alice's thoughts! I don't have those weaknesses anymore!'

When Spectra made his next action, Malice forced her attention on him.

Spectra sucked in a breath angrily, but his composure was as surefire as always. "This isn't just a battle between Helios and Hydranoid, Malice. And I can beat you, with this!" He partially opened his hand, revealing that he held a red box-shaped object in his hand.

For once, Malice was the one that was surprised. "A Bakugan Trap?"

"One unlike any you've seen before!" Spectra flung his Bakugan Trap high in the air. "I unleash Bakugan Trap, Pyrus Metalfencer! Stand!"

The object glowed before ever landing on the ground, opening up and materializing its battling form in midair. The battling form, however, was truly unlike any Malice had seen before.

It had a thin body and four consistently thin legs, all colored a standard red. Aside from the number of legs, it almost resembled an arachnid, complete with a scorpion-like tail. Except the tail, and the ends of the legs, were cannons capable of firing lasers. The head contained numerous green eyes that were nothing more than green dots, obviously artificial in nature. As it stood, it let out a distinctly mechanical screech.

"A mechanical Bakugan Trap!", Malice realized. 'I didn't think the Vexos had more mechanical Bakugan in store. They're more dangerous than I thought!'

Spectra didn't relax; Metalfencer's deployment was only half complete. "Metalfencer, assume Battle Unit Mode, immediately!"

Metalfencer's green eyes all glowed in unison as it processed the command. It angled it's body and altered its trajectory to fall on Helios's back.

When it landed on Helios, Metalfencer's limbs and tail all snaked over Helios's own, the mechanical Bakugan snapped itself into place, providing Helios with an exoskeleton full of firepower with the completed command.

"Meet Battle Mode Helios!", Spectra announced.

XXX

"No fair!", Lync shouted in indignation. It was the first words he spoke since the battle had begun.

"What's unfair?", Volt asked, unsure what his partner was implying.

"I was supposed to show off the first mechanical Bakugan to the public! How's Altair going to look special after Spectra brought out a mechanical Trap Bakugan? He completely stole my thunder!"

Volt sighed. "I don't think he expected this matchup. It was obviously a last resort."

"That's not the point", Lync argued. "It should've been me!"

"So you want to battle Alice, one on one?" Brontes was the one to make that remark. When Lync paled considerably, the Haos jester laughed. "Yeah, I didn't think so."

XXX

Alpha Hydranoid: 1700

(Helios: 1200, Metalfencer: 400)=1600

'Metalfencer's acting as an exoskeleton, sacrificing Helios's speed and agility for a massive boost in firepower', Malice thought. 'So, take out the support, or counter Helios directly? Where's the weak spot?'

"Now, the battle begins!" With newfound confidence, Spectra loaded in his own ability. "Ability Activate! Red Valkyrie!"

Helios spread out his wings, catching air and taking flight as fast as he could. His hovering limbs and tail, along with the cannons attached to them, all aimed at Hydranoid.

And then, each of the five laser cannons began to glow red, with Pyrus energy building up in all of them. They all blasted the energy at once in a steady stream of red energy.

Alpha Hydranoid: 1700

(Helios: 1200+200=1400, Metalfencer: 400+200=600)=2000

The red streams pierced through Hydranoid's dark aura, and struck the Darkus Bakugan without any issue or delay. Hydranoid's central head gasped as he felt the attack in full force, being caught off guard for a direct hit.

Five direct hits with energy so potent overcame Hydranoid's remaining stamina. The Darkus Bakugan shrunk down to his orb, and he shot down towards Malice in defeat.

Malice: 40%

Hydranoid wasn't the only one caught off guard. Malice herself was astounded. 'Hydranoid was finished off in one shot? Metalfencer is that powerful!? Damn! I wasn't ready for this!'

Spectra chuckled as he caught his two combatants. 'Professor Clay has truly outdone himself this time. With this added boost, defeating Malice will be feasible, if not easy.'

Malice was still caught in her own ravings. 'How didn't I see this coming? I thought this would be between Hydranoid and Helios.' Another thought crossed her mind. 'Bakugan Traps are allowed to give the challengers an advantage, and Spectra just turned it around. How'd he outmaneuver me?'

"Malice, calm down", Hydranoid said, sensing Malice's mounting rage. "Losing control only serves Spectra."

The rage drained out of Malice. "Yes. You're right." She breathed, forcing her anger down. "Sorry. I lost myself for a moment."

"We both got caught off guard." Hydranoid's voice had a small growl to it. "Spectra surprised us. But that will only work once. We'll be ready for that mechanical crutch now."

Malice nodded, a smile far softer than her recent sneers and mocking grins on her face. "Right. He won't get us again." A feeling of actual friendship rang through her.

"Stop this!"

Malice's eyes widened as she heard a desperate call, in her own voice. No. Not her voice. Malice would never sound that emotional.

It was Alice's voice.

"Spectra's playing you for a fool! We were Masquerade; we already know where the path of unrestrained power leads! Don't go any further than this!"

'You don't know that', Malice thought in her own mind. 'Masquerade was a single attempt. Just because he failed, doesn't mean I will!'

'Who do you think you're kidding?' Alice's retort was nothing short of condescending. 'Masquerade all but self destructed when he burned out, and I don't want Hydranoid caught up in the blast if you repeat history. Stop following this path! This isn't our destiny!'

'If my destiny isn't to wield the ultimate power, I'll change my destiny. And you won't hold me back!' With those words, Malice forced her counterpart down, along with her own feelings of kindness. Her disposition soured instantly. "Get ready for more battle, Hydranoid. It's time to finish them off."

"I am ready", Hydranoid pledged. "Now and forever."

Malice couldn't help it. She knew Hydranoid's loyalty was genuine. As much as she didn't want to, for fear of giving her weaker half a foothold, she couldn't help but appreciate it with equal genuineness.

Spectra was oblivious to Malice's turmoil, he was busy examining Metalfencer for any signs of malfunction. Eventually finding none, he flashed out a Gate Card of his own and threw it down. "Gate Card, set!" He held up Helios and Metalfencer for Malice to see. "Are you ready to finish this?"

"More than anything!", Malice shot back, Hydranoid in her own grip.

"Bakugan, brawl!" The two masked battlers, once again, launched in their Bakugan. The two halls landed on the ground, opening up. "Bakugan, stand!"

"And, Bakugan Trap, Pyrus Metalfencer!", Spectra added, launching the cube at Helios. "Stand! Assume Battle Unit Mode!"

Moments later, the three Bakugan were fully formed. Metalfencer and Helios had materialized connected to each other, already in their joined form. Helios stood alone, his three heads growling as ferociously as ever.

Alpha Hydranoid: 600

(Helios: 600, Metalfencer: 400)=1000

For the third round, it was the Darkus specialist that made the opening move. "Double Ability Activate! Indigo Nightmare, plus Chaos Leap Sting!"

Each one of Hydranoid's heads reared forwards, looking at the opponent Bakugan and taking aim. The three heads opened up, revealing purple and black energy to already be gathering in each one's maw. The energy buildup caused it to exceed the limits of the mouths.

At the same time, Hydranoid's six wings all flexed in unison. With a mechanical ripping sound, the holes at the tips of the wings unleashed small dragon heads tethered to the wings. All six of those mouths opened up, charging light purple energy in each one to attack.

Then, Hydranoid blasted all of the energy outwards. His heads unleashed triple streams of purple and black energy, and his tendrils all fired purple beams in a repeated barrage. The countless expressions of Darkus energy shot ahead, using straight for the Helios and Metalfencer duo.

Alpha Hydranoid: 600+300+100=1000

(Helios: 600-200=400, Metalfencer: 400)=800

"So confident. So foolish!", Spectra taunted, with two of his own abilities picked within his gauntlet. "Ability Activate! Red Valkyrie!"

Once again, Helios spread out his wings, catching air and taking flight as fast as he could. His hovering limbs and tail, along with the cannons attached to them, all aimed at Hydranoid.

And then, each of the five laser cannons began to glow red, with Pyrus energy building up in all of them. They all blasted the energy at once. Unlike before, though, the energy blasted out in a barrage of short bursts instead of continuous blasts.

Alpha Hydranoid: 1000

(Helios: 400+200=600, Metalfencer: 400+200=600)=1200

The red lasers collided with every bit of Darkus energy that Hydranoid had fired off. It wasn't an even match at all; the red lasers blasted the purple energy apart every time. The red barrage ended before Hydranoid was stricken, but Hydranoid's entire offensive had been neutralized.

"This is over!" Spectra promised fiercely, announcing a series of commands whilst losing the appropriate cards in his gauntlet. "Gate Card, Open! Pyrus Reactor!"

The card reacted to the order, allowing standard flames to rise up. A small wall of flames appeared between Helios and Hydranoid, only reaching to the height of their knees.

Helios landed himself back on the ground, feeling much more secure in a head on fight. His arms and tail, along with their cannons, remained locked on Hydranoid.

But Spectra wasn't even close to done. "Double Ability Activate! Maximum Quasar, plus Red Valkyrie!"

Helios's mouth opened itself slightly, and began to overflow with orange flames. At the same time, each of the laser cannons asking at Hydranoid began to glow red, with Pyrus energy building up in all of them.

Moments later, Helios fully opened his mouth, and a concentrated stream of blistering orange fire blasted out of his maw, centering straight onto Hydranoid. His laser cannons opened fire once more, unleashing continuous beams at the targeted Darkus Bakugan.

Alpha Hydranoid: 1000

(Helios: 600+200+300+200=1300, Metalfencer: 600+200+200=1000)=2300

'If that hits, it really is over for Hydranoid!' Malice couldn't even nullify it with the time she had; she had no choice but to simply overpower it.

"Ability Activate! Merge Shield!"

Hydranoid's body began to emit an eerie dark purple mist, not thick enough to obscure his body, but still easily visible. It coated his body, and Hydranoid adjusted his stance to brace for Helios.

At that moment, the entirety of Helios and Metalfencer's collective firepower blasted into Hydranoid. Rather than damage him, however, it was absorbed straight into Hydranoid's new aura. As it absorbed the flames and lasers, the dark aura became thicker and darker, so much so that Hydranoid ceased to be visible.

Alpha Hydranoid: 1000+1500=2500

(Helios: 1300, Metalfencer: 1000)=2300

Hydranoid stood still, feeling the rush of overwhelming power over more. The dark aura was little more than a storm of power, with him controlling it in the eye. The power wasn't something external, as much as an extension of his own body. He controlled how much it raged, and directed it at his enemies as much as he could.

It was absolutely glorious. And then it stopped.

A sudden shockwave of flame and heat passed over Hydranoid, burning away the entire Merge Shield cloak. Within an instant, Hydranoid was exposed and vulnerable to attack once again. His power level declined all the way to 1000.

Helios and Metalfencer stood in the center of a new dome of flames, raging long after neutralizing Hydranoid's ability. The flames and lasers had ceased; which was the only reason Hydranoid wasn't already blasted to oblivion.

Spectra's confident smirk remained. His gauntlet flashed red, with Burst Core active. "You got ahead of yourself."

'Only because you forced my hand!', Malice raved. 'What do I do? Legionoid can't stand up to this kind of firepower, and I can't use Leonidas! Am I… is Spectra my superior, after all?'

"He isn't", Alice argued. "He's only winning because you're fighting like him!"

'Shut up! I don't need this!' Malice squashed down her counterpart once again, directing her rage onto the battle. "Well, Spectra? What are you waiting for?"

Spectra grinned in victory, loading another pair of abilities. "Nova Defenser, plus Void Stream!"

Right before the abilities' true effects could begin, the Burst Core dome flickered out, the advantage it gave Helios disappearing along with it. Helios chuckled forebodingly; he'd have vocally taunted Hydranoid if he could have gotten away with it.

Then, Helios began his attack, summoning another orb of energy within his opened maw. Like before, it seemed a fusion of two distinct abilities. The outer shell of the orb was the raging orange fire of Nova Defenser. The center of the orb was a white sphere, lined and crackling with red energy. The sphere grew larger and larger, until it became larger than Helios's head.

Within seconds, Helios unleashed a blast of white energy, lined with orange flames and red lightning, against Hydranoid. The Pyrus blast struck the Bakugan and blasted him off of his feet and sent him flying through the air. A massive omnidirectional shockwave rang out at subsonic speeds, only further propelling him backwards.

Alpha Hydranoid: 1000-400-400=200

(Helios: 1300+200=1500, Metalfencer: 1000)=2500

Audience members screamed as the shockwave reached them. Even muted by the containment barriers, whoever was standing was knocked down, and whoever was sitting was forced to the stands behind them. The battle wasn't a spectacle; it was pandemonium.

When Hydranoid landed back on the ground, he collapsed on the ground. His three heads were breathing hard, scorch marks were all over his body, and his metallic spikes were almost melted. Still, he remained steadfast. He didn't back down.

But Malice was in more disbelief. 'If Spectra does prove himself stronger, at least I'll be at the side of someone truly worthy.'

"Are you giving up?", Alice ridiculed, avidly refusing to stay down. "Give in to Spectra? I thought you had my backbone!"

'Look at the power difference. I couldn't beat Spectra if I tried.'

"Hydranoid's not giving up." Malice gasped as she realized Hydranoid was standing back up. "He's at the end of his strength, but he won't let that stop him. He's letting something greater than ambition spur him on."

'Greater than ambition? What?' Malice felt her own mind begin to break. The strain of fighting the two fronted war was finally starting her down, rapidly. She neared her limit.

"Loyalty. Trust. Friendship. Things he shares not only with us, but with Leonidas. With Ingram. Drago. All of our friends. That's why we've gotten this far!"

Malice averted her gaze, starting into the crimson eyes of Hydranoid's center head. All she saw was trust. 'He still believes in me.'

CHINK!

Malice heard a crisp snapping sound within her own head. And, with the floodgates opened, feelings of shame rose in her. 'How could I have forgotten? How did Spectra get his claws so deep into me?' There was no darker voice to counter Alice's words; Malice was gone.

"Hydranoid!", Alice said. Hydranoid's eyes widened, recognizing the difference. "We aren't out yet! Let's go!"

Pride filled Hydranoid's eyes, alongside renewed determination. The three heads bellowed with newfound energy. He righted his stance, ready to keep going.

But Alice had one last thing to do. "Bakugan Trap, Darkus Legionoid! Stand!" She threw her cylindrical Trap Bakugan overhead, and it opened as it landed on the ground.

The six headed serpent Bakugan formed directly behind Hydranoid. Six heads hissed in unison, fresh and fierce.

(Alpha Hydranoid: 200, Legionoid: 350)=550

(Helios: 1500, Metalfencer: 1000)=2500

Spectra narrowed his eyes. He didn't think Malice would be that defiant in the face of his overwhelming power. "So be it. Perhaps it's time Helios finally confronts his own limits." He placed the appropriate cards in his gauntlet. "Triple Ability Activate!"

'Helios's power level is already so high! Is he insane!?'

Hydranoid growled low as he heard the words. 'Bring it on.'

"General Quasar, Red Valkyrie, plus Fusion Ability Omega!"

Helios opened up his mouth, revealing an intense orange fireball already forming within it. As it grew, it began emitting waves of heat that bristled the enemy Bakugan. The two covered up to protect themselves from the heat.

While the fireball was charging up, Metalfencer's cannons on Helios's arms and tail lit up for one more attack. The three cannons began glowing an increasingly bright red, building up Embry for a single fatal blast.

Moments later, Helios's eyes started blazing red. The fireball in his mouth started to gather great and firepower at an even higher rate. It was like a scorching sun, all on it's own.

After the fireball's enhancement was complete, Helios launched the fireball straight at Hydranoid. The three cannons unleashed their lasers at the exact same moment, sending them alongside the fireball to make a nearly invincible offensive force.

(Alpha Hydranoid: 200, Legionoid: 350)=550

(Helios: 1500+200+200+200=2100, Metalfencer: 1000+200=1200)=3300

"This is insane!", the announcer cried. "Spectra's Bakugan have achieved a power level of over 3000! How far will they go!"

Almost immediately after unleashing his fireball, Helios very nearly collapsed. The side effects of a consistently high power level ripped through his body, yet he refused to give in to his pain. Helios was too stubborn for that.

"Do you see it now, Malice?", Spectra shouted. "Do you see the power I command? The hopelessness of your battle? DO YOU SEE IT!?"

"No, I don't." Alice loaded a pair of abilities inside her gauntlet. "We haven't lost yet, and we won't lose. Double Ability Activate! Infusion-!"

Legionoid's six heads all shifted the directions they were facing. Half of them aimed at Hydranoid, and the other three his own body. Then, each head opened up, repressing a deluge of nearly white liquid, with only a hint of purple on the coloring. The liquid struck each mark, dissolving into the lizard like creatures' respective skins.

The two Darkus Bakugan almost glowed as the liquids dissolved into their bodies. The adrenals and stimulants kicked in instantly, and the two roared and hissed with newfound power.

Alice smiled. The power increase would allow Legionoid to survive what was coming. Now, all she needed to do was allow Hydranoid to pull ahead for good. "Hydranoid! Merge Shield!"

Hydranoid opened up his mouth standing still for a moment to gather the strength that Legionoid had granted him. Then, he charged ahead to tackle the enemy's attack head on.

A smoky purple fog appeared around Hydranoid, deeper by the power of the ability. It was only when Hydranoid made contact with Helios's fireball and Metalfencer's lasers that the fog changed.

Absorbing all of the Pyrus energy, the fog became a thick aura of Darkus power, consuming Hydranoid within a moment. The enemy's attack was neutralized once again, without a single bolt or ember moving on to affect Legionoid, and Hydranoid was stronger than he'd been the whole battle.

(Alpha Hydranoid: 200+200+2500=2900, Legionoid: 350+200=550)=3450

(Helios: 2100, Metalfencer: 1200)=3300

"I can't believe it! Malice has exceeded Spectra's power! The battle's not over yet!"

Spectra stood, dumbfounded, as his greatest expression of power yet had been entirely trumped by Malice and Hydranoid. He'd seen Malice surrender, give in. Then she didn't, and fought back harder. 'What happened? What changed?'

Hydranoid breathed hard as the power both circulated around him and pulled throughout his body. He felt the immense power moving throughout his body, like it was in his blood. His already ragged breathing became a weary heave.

A wave of cool air blasted in all directions, wiping out the remaining flames. The dark fog became more erratic, thickening around Hydranoid and rising high into the air. Hydranoid's form could only barely be seen through the darkness, except he almost seemed to have five heads instead of three.

Dread rang through Alice. She recognized what was happening. "Power surge", she whispered. Not surprising, considering how much she'd been pushing Hydranoid in this battle. "Hydranoid, hang on!"

Hydranoid was in a world of his own. A world of pain. Of power so large, it threatened to literally tear him apart from the inside. It was excruciating, yet exhilarating. He wanted the pain to end, but he wanted to hold onto the power.

'Is this what Alice felt?', Hydranoid wondered. 'When she was under Spectra's influence?' It made sense. The rush of power was both addictive and destructive.

'Alice fight it off, so will I!' With one breath, Hydranoid forced his power outside his body, and lowered the energy levels raging inside his body as a result. It was almost as hard as moving a mountain, but Hydranoid managed to reject enough power to stabilize his body.

The dark fog diminished as a result, enough so that Alice could clearly see Hydranoid.

Spectra was confused at what he was seeing. It almost looked like Hydranoid forcibly expelled his own power. 'Why would he waste his own strength like that?' Suddenly, he thought over Alice's own actions and attitude. 'Is that why she was so reluctant to fully embrace Hydranoid's power? Is it destructive to Hydranoid?'

Still, he recognized the small opening presented to him. 'This is it. My last chance to turn the tide!' "Ability Activate! Nova Defenser!"

Helios opened his mouth once again, charging up one more orb of flames. These flames were entirely dark orange in color, compressed within a single orb and raging tremendously.

"You're out of time", Alice remarked, her own ability already locked in. 'We will defeat you, Spectra. But we'll do it as who we really are, not who you tried to transform us into. This is who we are!' "Ability Activate! Trident of Doom!"

Hydranoid started off by charging a purple and white energy orb in each mouth, the hemisphere growing steadily in each one. Hydranoid worked to put as much excess energy in the orbs as possible, in order to further stabilize his body.

After several seconds of charging and enlarging the energy, the hydra craned each head upwards at a slant and unleashed the orbs in a slanted arc.

When the orbs' upward velocity ended, and they began to fall back down, the orbs all blew up, each one splitting into three smaller orbs. The nine total orbs, all nearly twice the strength they would normally be, fell down on Helios and his charging fireball.

(Alpha Hydranoid: 2900, Legionoid: 550)=3450

(Helios: 2100-300=1800, Metalfencer: 1200)=3000

Nine subsequent explosions, each one blasting Darkus energy in all directions, came from the orbs. Abs Helios and Metalfencer were at the epicenter of each blast. Weakened so much by the exertion of the battle, Helios finally lost his stance. He wasn't blasted away by the orbs, but he did begin to collapse. The fire in his eyes dimmed to nearly nothing.

"Legionoid, go!"

Alice's call spurred the snake to action. The six headed Bakugan slithered past Hydranoid, with all six mouths opening up. Each head reached Helios and bit down on the dragon, chomping down on the limbs with one head each and the remaining two biting the neck, causing even more pain to the dragon.

That final attack was finally more than Helios's limits. The dragon, dragging his automated exoskeleton with him, glowed a distinct red and shrunk to ball form.

Spectra: 0%

"It's over", the announcer breathed. "This has to be the greatest upset in the history of the Bakugan tournaments! After a display of power beyond any recorded in history, the winner of this bout, our new champion, is MALICE!"

Spectra stood limply, unable to move even to retrieve his Bakugan, and observed his opponent catching her own Bakugan. 'I lost? No… it can't be. This isn't how it was supposed to end!'

Alice let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Hydranoid. Legionoid. The two of you went above and beyond. I'm so proud to be your partner."

"You are back", Hydranoid stated. "I thought you'd beaten Spectra's programming in the middle of the third round. Was I correct?"

"Yes", Alice confirmed. "How'd you realize?"

"Instinct", Hydranoid said. "I can't explain it. I just knew."

'The bond between battler and Bakugan', Alice theorized. 'It has to be. We truly are partners.'

"Hydranoid…." Her grin diminished. "We should probably get moving."

The platform began to sink back into the pillar, and the crowd cheered them goodbye.

The announcer gave them parting words. "Now that the single division champion has been decided, we're moving on to the tag team division! Rest up, Malice, because the award ceremony is just a few minutes after that!"

XXX

Kyle jumped up from his seat and raised his fist high in the air. "Yes! You did it!", he exclaimed excitedly. "That's the way to show up the Vexos! Beat the number one at his own game!" He grinned madly. "Man, her plan worked better than I ever could've done it."

He wanted to spread the same message that his Darkus compatriot did, and she just proved herself the strongest battler on New Vestroia. His pride was fully assured by that battle. "If she used Hydranoid in our battle, I never would've stood a chance. Those power limits are beyond insane."

He sat back down on his bench, an expectant gleam in his eye. "Well, you've done it, Malice. All of New Vestroia, and most of Vestal, will have their eyes and ears on you. One thing's for certain: this awards ceremony will be one for the ages."

Even Kyle, who was in the loop about the Bakugan, had absolutely no idea how right he was. It wouldn't just be the event of the year. It would fundamentally alter the course of Vestal history.

XXX

Mere moments after the two had disappeared from public view, Alice and Spectra congregated in an empty room in the complex. The two apex battlers stared each other down in a silent contest of wills. The masks' eyes were as steadfast as their actual irises.

Spectra chafed under his situation. He made a bet, fully expecting to win. He lost, and now his own philosophy forced him to confront his position at the top.

With a resigned sigh, Spectra bowed his head in deference to the Darkus battler. "Never let it be said that I am not a man of my word", he said. "I… I am at your command."

"No, you're not."

The words caused Spectra to look up. "What?"

The female human in front of him removed her mask, letting Spectra see that her eyes were both tearing up with sheer anger. "During the battle, I rejected your philosophy. I don't want anything to do with it. I don't want anything to do with you." She turned to leave.

"Alice Gehabich." Spectra noted that she didn't correct him. 'She broke free so quickly. That shouldn't be possible! How strong is her willpower?!'

"That's right", Alice agreed. "You have no power over me, Spectra. Goodbye."

"No. You can't just leave!" He reached out and grabbed Alice by the arm.

Alice wheeled around, using the force of Spectra's pull to build momentum, and slapped Spectra's face. Her face struck the bare cheek, stunning Spectra into repeating her.

But when she pulled back her arm, it accidentally tugged against the mask, pulling it off Spectra's face.

Piercing blue eyes started into Alice's own. Eyes filled with intensity. Eyes that Alice found eerily familiar.

'Those eyes… they're the likeliness of Mira's', she thought. She recognized the face, back from pictures that Mira had shown her. The hair was dyed blond and much longer; otherwise, it was an exact match. 'No… it can't be…'

Keith Clay snarled, taking back the mask and placing it back in his face. "Well, that was rude." He waved his hand dismissively. "You've made your choice. Next time, we'll be having a very different conversation. I promise you that."

"We'll see." Alice turned around and made her way out of the room. And Spectra made no effort to stop her this time.

Spectra was deeply troubled by the revelation the encounter uncovered. 'So that's what changed in the third round. Alice freed herself from Malice. Does that mean she's stronger without my ideology?' The implication was worrisome: did that mean that he was going about achieving strength the wrong way? That his entire approach needed to be overhauled?

'No… that can't be it. After everything I've accomplished, I have to be doing this right.' He started to relax because of his self-assurance. 'It's more likely Malice was imperfect, a lost cause, from the start. I'll have to put more effort into it later, and alter the plan to accommodate what's happened today.'

'The end result won't have changed. I will stand at the pinnacle of everything. And there's nothing Alice can do to stop my ascension.'

XXX

And that's the chapter. I hope you enjoyed! If you did, be sure to follow or favorite the story. If you want to say anything, feel free to leave a review or PM me. Before I go, responses:

Alice Gehabich: Yeah… neither of them were in a position to interfere. It was up to Alice to break free on her own.

Plasma Dragon 312: You're right, he wouldn't. He's power hungry, but not that immoral. Also, this story is rated T, and I'm not interested in altering it into an M.

Sharklife9999: I'll definitely separate the NV arc and the post-NV arc into two different stories. As for how many chapters… I really can't say. I'm kind of winging it on that front.

Until next time, goodbye!

P.S. for all those American boys reading this, myself included, happy Independence Day! I hope it's one to remember for you all!