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.

17. Chapter 17

So here I am, with the 17th chapter of the remaster. Quite the journey so far? Well, it's going to get better. I hope you enjoy!

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

XXX

Chapter 17: Divided

Deep within the all-encompassing laboratories of Gamma City, the epicenter of Vestal's New Vestroian Bakugan sciences, one specific chamber was alight with electricity, and the hulking metallic mass of a mechanical being. A large robotic form was being steadily charged up with numerous electric bolts.

The majority of the body was colored a metallic silver either side of the chest, with purple claws on each hand and foot. The chest itself was an especially well armored dark purple, adorned with three identical spikes. The neckline had three dark purple necks, leading to three silver dragon heads. The back has six large wings with a silver base, purple at the top and dark purple at the tip. Each wing had a propulsion system at the bottom, allowing for surprisingly quick flight. Below those wings were three tails that ended with reinforced laser cannons.

In short, it seemed to be what Alpha Hydranoid would look like if he was mechanical, instead of flesh and blood.

On the other side of the container, Professor Clay and his assistants worked feverishly at their project. In the wake of the Alpha City incident, Clay's laboratory in Alpha was compromised by a sympathetic assistant, leading to a forced relocation of all projects to the most secure of the colonies: Gamma City. Since Gamma only housed scientists and other government employees, instead of civilians, dissent wasn't anywhere near the level it was in Alpha and Beta. Gamma was ideal to finish the project.

Clay didn't actively think of any of this. His focus was all but consumed by his work, by completing his magnificent mechanical creation as quickly as he could.

"What are our levels?", Clay asked an assistant at his left.

The assistant was carefully working the controls at his station, always keeping an eye on his screen in the meanwhile. "So far, so good", he said. "The subject's currently charged up to 70%, with a 1.5% margin of error, and there's no sign of system failure. All three sets of optical scanners, the energy cannons, command sequences, and motor controls. They all seem to be working optimally, from what I can tell."

"The subject is structurally sound", the other assistant added. "There's no sign of compromised integrity."

Clay nodded, pleased with the answer. He expected it, of course. This wasn't the first mechanical Bakugan he created; it was merely the strongest so far.

Altair, as powerful and useful as it was for Lync, was merely a prototype for Clay. Proof of concept. After that, it was child's play to streamline mechanical Trap Bakugan for Lync, Volt and Spectra to use.

But his current project was different. It wasn't just using the same methods he had used to craft his previous creations. To create this mechanical Bakugan, he had to adapt the process to accommodate for the… unusual schematics: Alpha Hydranoid's unwillingly given scans. This mechanical Bakugan would match his power, even exceed it, if Professor Clay's calculations were correct.

And Professor Clay's calculations were always correct.

"Very good", he said. "Now, increase the charging rate. Don't stop until we're at 135% capacity."

"135?", one of the assistants asked. "Professor, that could strain the subject's integrity to the point of permanent damage, even systematic failure! We've been working on this for-!"

"We're not building a fragile toy", Clay argued. "We're building a Bakugan that will go into battle. Not a simulation. Real life battling. And with Shadow Prove, of all people, as it's partner, we need to ensure it can keep up with his wild battling. Increase power!"

"Increasing power."

Inside the chamber, the electricity slowly charging up the behemoth amped up considerably. Before, they were thin and individual strands of electricity. And now, the chamber had become a lightning storm with the mechanical Bakugan at the center of it.

The chamber inside undoubtedly stank of ozone. The unbreakable glass surrounding the chamber lit up brightly, as did and video or holographic projection of inside. And inside, three sets of eyes lit up a blazing red color.

"Currently at 100% capacity and climbing", Clay's assistant said. "Be advised the subject is active, as programmed. Repeat, the subject is online and active after reaching 100% power capacity."

"Advised", Clay said, never taking his eyes off the creation. "Proceed."

The lightning storm didn't let up at all, booting up the mechanical hydra. After this, it would be able to charge power on its own. It just needed a jumpstart before that.

"We've reached 135% capacity."

"Yes." Professor Clay looked over to the other assistant. "And?"

"No change", he said with amazement. "Structural integrity is remaining intact. The circuits are somewhat taxed, but not by much. According to the estimates, the subject could withstand a maximum of 220% charge capacity before breaking down."

"Same here", said the first assistant. "All technical systems are still reading as online and stable. If I didn't know better, I'd say we grossly underestimated the maximum amount of power it could take before resulting in system failure."

"We did underestimate", Clay muttered. 'If this Bakugan is to contest Hydranoid in power, we need a mechanical body that can resist the strain of overwhelming power. Just like Hydranoid's body can. And now, we have that.'

"I'm sorry?", one of the assistants asked.

"Nothing to worry about", Clay reassured. "Now, bring the power down. It's time to bring our new weapon to the Vexos's arsenal.

"Yo, prof!", a jeering voice came seemingly from out of nowhere. The three scientists in the room turned around to see Shadow, just standing there. His eyes were widened,and his feral grin gave all the testament to his sheer insanity.

"Did you hear it was my birthday?", Shadow taunted the other Vestals.

"Is it?", Clay asked. Obviously, it wasn't. Shadow was just trying to sound dramatic.

Shadow shrugged. "Okay. No, it wasn't. Still want a birthday present, though."

Clay nodded readily. "Happy birthday, then", Clay said. "We're just finishing up with your… ah, your present."

"I'm glad you could get here as quickly as you did. As my message detailed-"

"Yeah, I got the message, prof." Shadow impatiently interrupted the professor. "That's why I'm here. Where's my hydra buster?"

"See for yourself." Clay waved at the glass in front of him, at the sight he knew would satisfy the insipid Shadow.

Shadow raced to the window, gaping at the mechanical monster on the other side of the glass. His face was the contradiction of childish wonder and manic glee. "It's… beautiful…"

"Show me to introduce my newest and greatest creation." Clay couldn't help but express the pride he felt with his words. "A mechanical Bakugan with battling parameters to match, even exceed, the infamous and elusive Alpha Hydranoid. Shadow Prove, meet your new Bakugan: Darkus Hades."

The mechanical form finally moved. The three hydra heads reared back uniformly and let out a sound that was part roar, part mechanical whir. An equally deafening and threatening cacophony, only made louder by Shadow's laughter.

"Let's see what the Brawlers think of me now!", Shadow boasted. The long wait, watching his team succeed while he failed, was finally over. He finally had a Bakugan worthy of him. "This is going to be so much fun!"

XXX

Back in the trailer that was bound for Beta City, currently set on autopilot, the three occupants were all in the conference room. A holographic map of New Vestroia's supercontinent flashed advice the circular table, with the three mentioned occupants circling around it.

In Alice's absence, Shun took charge of the meeting. "Let's go over our current situation", he said. "Dan, Alice and Mira have gone over to Earth. Meaning, our power has been cut down by half."

"More than half", Marucho corrected somberly. "Alice and Dan were our two heaviest hitters."

Shun nodded, accepting the logic. "Alright. More than half", he conceded. "On the brighter side, the same thing happened to the Vexos. Mylene, Volt and Shadow are the only Vexos left on New Vestroia; and I'm including Ace in that count."

"So the Vexos have been cut down by far more than half", Baron surmised. "More like they were cut down by two thirds."

"Meaning we have a definite advantage, until they all get back", Nemus stated. "I suggest we use it."

"If there wasn't anything keeping them all on Earth, they would have already come back", Ingram said. "We have to seize the initiative while we still can."

"Exactly right. We need to strike fast, while we still have our momentum. If we wait too long, our allies on Earth will come back, and we'll be back where we started", Shun said. "Baron, we're on course for Beta City, right?"

Baron gave Shun a thumbs up. "We got a bit off course with that northern detour earlier today, but I've already plotted a path that'll get us straight to Beta City. Unless we're interrupted, we'll be there by noon tomorrow."

"So we're really going on the offensive again?", Marucho asked. "Shouldn't we hold back to plan a bit? We can't just rush in blindly."

"So we take the time to plan now", Shun advised. "We already have the skeleton of a working plan. Our success at Alpha proved it could work."

"Things will be different this time", Baron said. He pressed a few buttons on the table, and numerous holographic messages replaced the map. "These messages were the top posts in the last hour."

"Vexos are slave drivers? They're not our champions!"

"We shouldn't have ever come to New Vestroia!"

"Fight hard, Battle Brawlers! We're with you!"

Marucho shook his head in amazement. "The people are on our side", he realized, finally accepting the implications. "That will all but eliminate the need for sneaking around the city. That makes things a lot simpler."

"There's another pre-scheduled Bakugan tournament coming up in one week's time." Shun took full charge of the meeting once again. "We can repeat the same plan, but at a smaller scale. Two of us infiltrate the tag team tournament and ramp up the power as much as we can. One of us infiltrates the compound, makes their way to the controls, and resets the Controller."

"Won't it be risky?", Elfin asked. "One guy deep in the Vexos compound, and no backup at all?"

"We're shorthanded, Elfin", Marucho countered. "It's not like there's a better option."

"So who's it going to be?", Elfin asked. "You're the one who hacked the Controller last time, Marucho."

"I couldn't even walk there without literally being carried by Shun", Marucho replied. "I'd collapse before I got close."

"I'll do it", Shun volunteered. "If there's security there to stop us, I'm best able to deal with them."

Baron took a breath in, then shook his head in the universal sign of refusal. "No, Master Shun. You're the worst option between us."

"Baron?", Shun questioned. "Could you explain?"

"This isn't about getting to the Controller. It's about knowing what to do once you're there", Baron elaborated. "Master Marucho and I both have experience in coding. You don't. You can barely work the base controls. You'd be as unable to reconfigure the Dimension Controller as a headless chicken." Baron's olive skin went white. "No offense, Master."

"None taken", Shun said forgivingly. "So you're saying that you're the best option?" At the point of seeing Baron's serious face, Shun smirked and relented. "I agree. Don't let us down, Baron."

"I won't!" Baron saluted the Brawlers before him. "You can count on me, Masters!"

"And you can count on me to keep him in line", Nemus said jovially.

"I wouldn't expect anything less." Shun kept his body standing straight, his face composed. "Then Marucho and I will enter the tournament."

"Just like old times", Marucho said.

Shun gave a nod of approval. "We'll undoubtedly face Mylene in the Vexos challenge. Who her partner will be, Volt or Shadow… I don't know."

Marucho's expression darkened. "She was so strong last time…." Even with everything Marucho had at his disposal, he couldn't beat Mylene and Elico.

"It'll be different next time", Shun promised. He quickly pulled up images of three different Vexos: the same Vexos that they were imminently up against. "We didn't fully study the intelligence Kyle gave us. We're fixing that."

"Homework?", Baron bemoaned.

"Yes. Homework." Shun waved his hand, and the images disappeared. "We're all going to go over the information on Mylene, Shadow and Volt. I will, too. By the time we go to bed, we'll know it practically by heart. They won't catch us off guard again."

"Right", Baron and Marucho agreed, though Baron was more reluctant. They each pulled up the same files for themselves, via their handheld devices. Shun did the same.

They all had work to do. By the same time of day the next day, they'd be in the Vexos's crosshairs again. Another showdown was the inevitable conclusion.

They would be ready for it.

XXX

Dan Kuso was feeling somewhat nervous.

Alice had done as she'd promised, successfully transporting himself, Runo, Julie, Mira and the Bakugan they had on them to the prominent park in Wardington City. They were only a few minutes away from Dan's family's home, and a few more minutes away from Runo's family restaurant.

Dan was back on Earth. Back home. And he was about to see his mother for the first time since leaving the very face of the planet with Drago. Leaving, without so much as telling her beforehand. 'Man, I'm in for it.'

"I can take Mira to my house. She'll need a place to stay", Dan volunteered. He wanted as much privacy for his reunion with his family as he could get.

"We're coming with you", Runo said, declining the offer.

"Runo, it's fine-", Dan started to say, but Runo cut him off.

"No, it's not fine", Runo said. "You were gone for a while, and a lot happened on your end."

Julie was all too eager to list off potential questions. "Who's this girl? Who was that Masquerade wannabe? Are they really siblings? What were you doing to free the Bakugan? What is up with Alice?"

With each question Julie shot off, Dan winced as if he was slapped. Every question was a reminder of how much his friends were left out of the loop.

Runo waved her hand to signal Julie, and she sped the rapid fire questioning. "We're staying with you until we get that explanation. That's not up for debate."

On Dan's shoulder, Drago actually laughed. "I'll admit it. I missed Runo's spirit."

Dan gave Drago a betrayed look, before raising his hands in surrender. "Okay, you win", he conceded. "We'll all go to my place. I'll fill you in there."

The three Battle Brawlers made their way down a path, going down a route out of the park. Mira followed along them, looking somewhat unsure of her pace. She kept looking around at her surroundings, curiously examining them. Not just the trees of the park immediately around her, but also at the large buildings past them. And, inevitably, her gaze was drawn to the domineering spire of Wardington Tower.

If Mira was being objective, Wardington City didn't have the grand structures of her homeworld of Vestal, or the untamed, uncharted territory of New Vestroia. The air didn't stink of pollution nearly as much as it did on Vestal. There was no vibrant energy radiating from the very beginning. It was a mixture of the two worlds she knew, which formed a completely different environment for her. 'Was Vestal ever like this?', she idly wondered. 'Before industrialization became so dominant in our world?'

The new environment was a blessing for Mira. It kept her mind distracted from recalling the confrontation with Spectra. Still, she kept trying to at least process it. After they left the park and endured an area full of houses, Mira focused on sorting out her feelings about her brief time in Michael's laboratory.

Her beloved brother Keith had become Spectra Phantom, the strongest of the Vexos. There was no doubt about it now, especially after Mira had seen it with her own eyes. She only had gratitude for Alice warning her beforehand, while she could. Still, seeing Keith falling so far from grace was as humbling for Mira as it was horrifying.

Before she knew it, her three guides had stopped their walk, prompting Mira to absent-mindedly do the same. When Mira looked around again to figure out why, she saw them all facing the same two story house. "This is your home? It looks nice."

"Yeah", Dan said softly, his voice wistful. "Home."

Runo lightly shoved his shoulder. "Go on", she told him. "We don't have all day."

"Yeah. Okay." Dan made a pace neither fast nor slow up the sidewalk and to the door. Raising a fist to knock, he instead rang the doorbell as a last second mind change. A pleasant dinging sound rang out.

"Coming!", came a woman's voice. The one word was almost enough to make Dan lose his composure. But he didn't move back.

When the door opened, Dan was face to face with his mother. Her face held a pleasant smile, which fell into surprise as she realized who was in front of her. "Daniel?"

"Hey, mom." Dan flashed his mother a wide smile. "I'm back."

After a moment for her to collect herself, Mrs. Kuso's smile returned with greater enthusiasm. "Dan!" She quickly pulled her son in a hug, which Dan returned. "You're here!"

"Sorry to leave without telling you first", Dan apologized after the hug ended. "It's just that-"

"Oh, I know", Dan's mother assured her son. "Runo and Julie told me what happened the day you left. And I'm so proud of you."

She looked over Dan's shoulder, seeing Runo, Julie and another olive-skinned girl she never saw before. "Why don't you and your friends come inside? We can talk then."

"Okay." Dan looked back at his three friends. "You can come inside. It's cool."

The girls finally made their way to the door, entering the house after the Kuso duo went inside. The next few minutes consisted of the most detailed explanation of what Dan was doing in New Vestroia that he could give, especially with Drago and Mira supplementing where he missed a detail or wasn't able to fully explain.

For that brief moment, Dan felt more comfortable than he had since the end of Naga. He was back home, with Drago on his shoulder as he reconnected with his family and closest friends. It felt like old times, better times. It felt like home.

XXX

Within the clearing housing Gehabich lab, in the log cabin at the side, Alice was sitting in her bedroom, deep in thought.

The last time Alice was in this room, she was still at war with herself, unbalanced and confused. She had been missing Hydranoid's companionship greatly. She felt like she was losing control, with vivid nightmares of Masquerade's atrocities plaguing her nights more often than not. Things were so different back then.

Alice had changed so much since then. She'd regained her emotional balance, reclaiming the experiences that Masquerade had locked away. Hydranoid, as well as Leonidas, were sitting on the table in front of her.

But Alice still felt out of control, but for a completely different reason now.

"What am I going to do?", she wondered pleadingly, hoping beyond hope that her Bakugan had an idea that she didn't think of. Something that could save her grandfather from Spectra's ultimatum.

"You weren't serious when you agreed to take Drago for them. Right?", Leonidas asked. "That was just to get them off our trail and buy time, yeah?"

"Time to think up an alternative plan, yes", Alice said. "But Spectra was smart. He's keeping Grandfather under constant watch. Without my transporter card, I can't catch them by surprise and grab Grandfather while they're off guard. If I call the others for help, they'll take care of Grandfather before we even get close."

"It sounds like you're giving up", Leonidas said, accusatory.

"What am I supposed to do?" Alice's plea was desperate. "Grandfather's the closest thing to a parent I have. I can't… I can't lose him." Tears fell down from her face, staining her bed slightly.

Leonidas was about to say more, but he was silenced with a harsh look from Hydranoid. After that, the two let Alice cry out her frustration, knowing there wasn't a better outlet to be had. Slowly, Alice's sob died down as Alice recollected herself.

It was at that point in time that the three headed a knock on the bedroom door. "Hey, you decent?" It was Ace's voice, a genuine concern placed with a mocking undertone.

"You can come in", Alice said, perforating herself mentally for the conversation to come.

Ace opened the door and let himself in. "Planning out your battle against Dan Kuso?" Alice didn't give a reply, which Ace didn't seem to mind at all. "Don't want to answer? Fine. That's not what I'm here for, anyways."

Ace drew Alice's transporter card from a pant pocket and held it up for its rightful owner to see. "I've been trying to get this to work. Not having much luck. What's your trick?"

"It's biometrically locked to my D.N.A." Having so little control in this situation, Alice was glad to see something going her way. "It only works when I'm using it."

The sight of the card was tantalizing for Alice. If she could reach out and take it back… 'No.' Alice noted Ace's taunting grin. 'He's expecting that. If I make a move, he'll jerk it away. Grandfather will pay the price.'

"Figured." Ace shrugged nonchalantly. "It doesn't really matter. It's not like you'll get it back anytime soon."

"Do you have another purpose here?", Hydranoid snapped, acting in the defense and in the interests of his partner. "Or will you let Alice do what she does?"

"Actually, I do have another question." Ace wore a cruel smirk.

"Then let's hear it", Alice said.

"There's one more option for you to get your grandad back", Ace said. "I'm here to pass the message."

Despite knowing neither Spectra or his people could be trusted, Alice couldn't help but feel a brief flicker of hope. Maybe there was a way to get her grandfather back, without having to betray anyone. "What is it? What would I have to do?"

"Thing is, when it comes to 'Ultimate Bakugan', Drago's one of a pair. You can trade the geezer for Drago", Ace began, referencing Spectra's initial offer. "Or… you could trade him for Hydranoid."

That one remark froze Alice's hope into cold despair. Alice would fight her friends for her grandfather's sake. She'd take their Bakugan for her grandfather's sake. She'd even vacate the battle permanently and condemn the Bakugan for her grandfather's sake. But Hydranoid was another matter.

It didn't matter how much Michael Gehabich meant to Alice; Hydranoid was her partner, and her closest friend. His loyalty to her was unconditional, and she reciprocated that loyalty.

"Unacceptable", Alice said without a moment's hesitation. "Hydranoid is my partner; I won't give him up for anything." Ace looked disappointed at that, which honestly surprised Alice. "I thought you'd understand what that meant."

For the first time in the conversation, Ace frowned. "What are you saying?"

Alice kept pushing her edge against Ace. 'I broke free of Spectra's conditioning. Maybe I can get Ace to do it, too.' "You have a bond with Percival, Ace. The same kind of bond that I have with Hydranoid, and with Leonidas. A kind of bond that helps push you to new heights. You should know I can't just give up my partner."

Ace opened his lips in a sneer. "That bond is nothing but weakness."

"Then how is it that I beat Spectra, back in Alpha City?", Alice asked, using logic to support her claims. "While I was Malice, the pale, power obsessed imitation of myself, I was losing against Spectra. I only won after beating back his conditioning."

"You got lucky." Ace balled his fist in anger. "You're a failure who got lucky against Master Spectra. That's it."

"That's not true, and you know it", Alice insisted, refusing to back down. "I'm stronger without Spectra's philosophy weighing me down. And, in the end, so are you."

Ace kept up his glare at Alice, but his eyes started flickering. "You don't know me. Spectra's guidance helped me improve so much. Without him, I'd still be nothing more than an arrogant street rat."

"There's a limit to how far he can improve your skills", Alice argued. "And once you get there, you'll find yourself weakened by his philosophy. Because it isn't yours. And it never will be."

Ace felt a stay of pain behind his eyes. A hand shot up to his forehead, trying to massage his headache away. "Shut up…"

"Don't close yourself off. Remember who you really are, Ace!"

Ace's headache escalated to a migraine, accompanied by his own voice in his head. "Listen to her! Wake up and face the music, Ace!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP! NOW!", Ace roared, stunning Alice into silence. "Spectra's path is the path to power, and I won't stray from it! If you're not willing to accept that, then just keep your thoughts to yourself!"

Alice shook her head, dismayed at how much Ace seemed to be in denial. "I don't know you well, Ace. But I do remember how you volunteered to hold off the Vexos, to cover my escape with Mira. You gave yourself up to the Vexos to get Percival back. You're a good person, Ace, and Spectra can't hold you down forever."

"I SAID 'SHUT THE HELL UP'!", Ace bellowed. He didn't bother waiting for a response. He just walked out of the room and slammed the door behind him.

Leonidas chuckled from the display. "Nicely done. You knew exactly which buttons to push."

"I meant every word, and it was all true", Alice whispered.

"All the better, then!", Leonidas added. "If we can get him out of Spectra's funk, maybe we could use him to free the old man. And we won't have to fight our own allies."

"That's the new plan", Alice whispered back. "And we have just under 24 hours to pull it off."

XXX

Back on New Vestroia, it took almost 20 hours for Shun's team to traverse the terrain and get within sight of Beta City. The trailer was mostly on autopilot for the journey, given the relatively flat terrain, but Baron took the helm for the last leg of the road.

Shun and Marucho stood right behind Baron, watching the Vestal dome grow larger and larger at their approach. At the very end, Marucho noticed what was directly around the Beta City dome.

"Whoa, hold up", he said. "Beta City's surrounded by water!"

As the mobile base slowed down, halted, and transformed into its stationary form, the humanoids examined the water surrounding the Vestal city.

Shun, in particular, coyotes see a complete perimeter around the water. "It's a lake", he told the other two. "Looks natural, too."

"How are we supposed to get over there?", Marucho wondered aloud. "We can't take the tank over water."

Baron was willing to give an answer, but an unsure one. "Maybe we can start a battle between ourselves, and use our Bakugan to get to the city?"

"That'll get us over the water, but not inside the dome", Shun dismissed the idea. "There has to be a way inside the city…"

"We'll have to worry about that later", Ingram informed his battler. He had noticed two small flying objects coming from Beta City. In a second, he could see two Vexos pods with blue and yellow markings. "Vexos incoming."

All three of them got on edge, noticing the pods themselves. "Great. Vexos again", Marucho groaned.

"Then there's only one thing to do", Shun decided, turning to leave the trailer's control room. "They want a battle? Let's give them one."

"You said it, Master Shun!", Baron cheered. All three of them headed outside their mobile base, just as the two Vexos pods reached the nearby shore.

They descended onto the land, and landed softly. Then they opened up their cockpits to allow three people to exit.

Mylene was the first to leave the pods, glaring darkly at her adversaries. "You just couldn't stay away, could you? It's always 'full speed ahead' with you idiots."

"We have a message for you." Following her new leader, Volt left his pod and landed on the ground. "Prince Hydron made it clear. You're not getting any closer to Beta City. This is the end of the line for you."

"YYYEEEAAAHHH!" And then, out of the shotgun seat, Shadow Prove leapt off Mylene's pod, and landed on his feet, kicking up a small cloud of dust in the process. "And now, it's time to take your little Bakugan! Ahahahaha~!"

None of the Brawler Resistance members felt intimidated by the threat. To them, Shadow Prove was all bark, no bite. The last time he was a real threat was when he had Leonidas's power backing him up.

"You, and what army?", Shun asked.

"No army." Volt spoke in Shadow's stead. "The three of us, versus the three of you. That's it."

Baron smirked grimly. "Well, bring it on, then. Because we're not stopping here!"

"What he said!", Nemus pledged.

"What bravado", Mylene said mockingly. "But you must realize how outmatched you are. None of you have claimed victory over me since I acquired my new Bakugan. You don't stand much chance when we're in even numbers."

It was true. Mylene had beaten both Shun and Baron in their tag team battle, after Shadow had been knocked out. And Mylene had had Marucho on the ropes by the end of their battle. She had every right to think herself the dominant force present.

Still, things were different. This time, Shun, Marucho and Baron had all done their homework. Thanks to Kyle's donated intel, they knew a lot more about most of the Vexos, including Mylene. And they had a lot of experience against Elico at this point. The same held true for Volt and Brontes.

"Let's find out how much of a chance we've got." Shun loaded his gauntlet with his power card. Baron and Marucho followed in unison, loading up their own cards.

"Very well, Shun Kazami." Succeeding Volt's words, all three Vexos prepared their gauntlets for the Bakugan battle that was about to begin.

"Gauntlet… Power Strike!" Six gauntlets lit up with those words - two blue, two yellow, a purple and a green - and then the battle began.

"Gate Card, set!" Shadow Prove threw down his Gate Card with gusto, looking back at his two allies with a savage grin afterward. "Hey. Mind if I go solo for a bit? Prof wanted me to take my new toy for a little test drive."

Mylene chuckled. "That should be entertaining, at least. Just don't mess it up."

Volt scowled, but nodded wordlessly. Mylene gave approval, and it wasn't his place to go against her.

Shadow's grin widened to its absolute limits. He started to literally shiver with anticipation. "Oh, I'm going to enjoy this so much."

"I doubt it", Baron countered confidently. "Have you ever actually beaten us… ever?"

"That was then", Shadow remarked, holding up a silver and purple Bakugan. "It's a new day. And today, I'm the one to beat! Bakugan, brawl!" Shadow Prove flung his Bakugan with his trademark throw, straight to the center of the field. "Bakugan, stand!"

The Bakugan landed on the ground, popping open instantly. Then, a blinding purple flash exploded outwards.

Shun, Baron and Marucho all covered their eyes with their forearms to protect their retinas from the light. They felt a heat wave coming from the Bakugan and all took a step back.

As it began to die down to tolerable levels, Shun took a brief look at the Bakugan Shadow had thrown. What he saw didn't make sense.

The outline was distinct to him: a bipedal tri headed, tri tailed dragon with six massive wings. He knew the shape. "HYDRANOID?!", he gasped in shock, a shock instantly mirrored by his friends. Then, Shun instantly berated himself.

Shun knew better than to jump to that conclusion. 'It can't be Hydranoid. He went with Alice to Earth. This has to be an illusion of some kind.'

"Not quite, ninja boy!", Shadow jeered, as his Bakugan's glow finally disappeared. The outline was given the body with it: a joking mass of metal, gears, and energy cannons. "Why don't you say hi… to Darkus Hades!"

As he was introduced, Hades reared back all three heads and let out an intimidating roar. A loud, mechanical roar was clearly audible, yet there was also a granular sound added to it - the ferocious roar belonging to Hydranoid.

"Hades?" Marucho made a quick visual examination of the new Bakugan. "You're right, Shun. He does look just like Hydranoid. It can't be a coincidence."

"So Clay's made a knockoff Hydranoid", Baron said. "We can take it!"

Mylene scoffed, thoroughly enjoying the situation in front of her. "Not quite, little boy", she corrected Baron, taking great joy in belittling him. "Hades is the current epitome of Professor Clay's mechanical Bakugan project. He's taken everything Hydranoid is, improved all the strengths, eliminated all the weaknesses, and put it all in one mechanical body." Mylene smirked cruelly. "Hades isn't Hydranoid's knockoff. He's Hydranoid's replacement. Superior to the biological version in every way."

"Which means, you don't stand a chance!", Shadow summed up. "But just try it! I'd love to stamp you all into paste! HAHAHA!"

Out of all the Resistance members present, none of them had a reaction quite like Ingram's. The Vexos had stolen information off his good friend, and used it to make this… imitation. It didn't matter whether Hades was more powerful than Hydranoid; the mechanical Bakugan was nothing but a mockery.

"You dare imitate a Bakugan like Hydranoid?! Your arrogance will not stand! I won't allow it!" Ingram turned to Shun. "I'm going first. We'll tear this robot in two!"

"Just make sure to stay in control. Getting too angry won't help us", Shun advised. He set his gaze, then launched Ingram ahead. "Bakugan, brawl! Ventus Ingram, stand!"

Ingram emerged from his ball form within moments, not even waiting to land on the ground. He spread his wings and took to the air, glaring at Hades with nothing but hatred. "Give it your best shot, imposter."

Ingram: 400

Hades: 600

"Hold on… that can't be right." Marucho was shocked as he read the base power levels. "Hades's power level is at 600?!"

"Not too surprising", came Shun's reply. "Hydranoid's level is that high, too." He quickly loaded in his card. "But that won't stop us! Ability Activate! Shadow Split!"

Ingram's form started shimmering with a glowing green outline. As the beam was about to impact Ingram, he began his multiplication, with two other Ingram lookalikes flying from his form.

Ingram: 400+200=600

Hades: 600-100=500

The three Ingram copies all began to fly around sporadically, darting all around Hades, zigging, zagging and crossing each other's flight paths. It was all in an attempt to confuse Hades.

And none of it worked. Each of Hades's three heads had already locked onto an Ingram duplicate, and kept up with their pace faithfully. It didn't matter where any Ingram duplicate went, Hades remained locked onto all three of them.

"Shun, I don't think confusing Hades will work!", Marucho warned.

"Too late now!", Shadow exclaimed, his gauntlet closing in with an ability. "Ability Activate! Phaser Trident!"

In a blatant mockery of Hydranoid's signature Death Trident, Hades opened up each mechanical mouth, revealing each maw to contain a large laser cannon. Hades charged up bright purple energy in each mouth, letting them accumulate and build up until it filled the mouths, then fired them all in large beams of purple energy at each Ingram.

Amazingly, each blast made contact, despite Ingram's aerial mobility. Two of the Ingram duplicates faded away as soon as the lasers struck them, but the third screamed from the impact, and lost control of his flight. Stunned by the high power attack, Ingram began plummeting to the ground.

Ingram: 600-300=300

Hades: 500

"Ingram, hold on!" Shun had to act fast to preserve Ingram's remaining stamina from a hard bit on the ground. He quickly loaded his gauntlet with his counter. "Double Ability Activate! Shadow Echo-!"

Ingram's descent to the ground didn't slow down or become more controlled in any way, but Ingram stopped his panic. His body shimmered with a light green outline, the ability primed to go into effect, then he collided with the ground.

But there was no thud, no dust cloud, no sign of a painful crash at all. Ingram kept falling, through the ground and into his own shadow. Within a single moment, his form had completely sunk into the ground.

Volt huffed at the maneuver. "He used his own shadow to cushion his crash. Clever."

Before any of the Vexos knew it, Ingram had emerged from the ground, out of Hades's own shadow, right behind the mech. "Now, Shun!"

"Do it, Ingram!" Shun finally named his second card. "Continuous Dance - Phoenix Position!"

Ingram: 300

Hades: 500-200-300=0

Ingram didn't waste a second in his attack. He quickly started pummeling Hades from behind, raining punches as hard and fast as he could. Dozens of blows were struck on Hades's necks, wings and backs. Seconds passed, and the strain didn't show Ingram down at all.

Each blow resulted in a metallic clang, yet the metal barely dented at all. Hades's two side heads turned to leer at Ingram, then the three tails lashed out. Ingram barely saw them coming and flew out of the way.

"No way", Shun said in disbelief. "He's at 0, and he's still putting up a fight?"

"Nice try, bud." Shadow gained a wider smirk. "But it'll take a lot more than that. Ability Activate! Gazer Electron!"

Hades fixed all three of his heads on Ingram, opening them all to charge up energy. Dark purple energy consolidated in the cannons, sparking all around Hades's heads and forming a trio of dark purple orbs.

"Ingram, move!", Shun directed. Ingram quickly ascended, putting as much distance between himself and Hades as he could manage.

"Light him up, Hades!", Shadow ordered.

The mechanical hydra released all three of his orbs at that moment, straight at Ingram. None of the orbs made direct contact into the Ventus Bakugan, but they all exploded into a lightning storm of dark purple bolts.

Ingram: 300-100=200

Hades: 0+300=300

Ingram screamed as the Darkus lightning struck at him from three different directions, lightly scorching his body. Losing control, he fell back towards the ground in an uncontrolled descent.

'Hades is too powerful. Ingram needs some backup!' With that rationality, Shun quickly threw upwards his favored backup. "Bakugan Trap, Ventus Hylash! Stand!"

And just like that, Hylash rose up in a small green tornado. Quickly locking onto Ingram, he sped to his ally Bakugan and caught him in his descent.

"Thank you, Hylash", Ingram said. Hylash grumbled in response.

(Ingram: 200, Hylash: 350)=550

Hades: 300

"Let's go, Ingram", Shun said, loading in another two abilities. "Double Ability Activate! Thunderbolt Torrential Wave, plus Wind Power - Soaring Strike Shot!"

With the calling out of those two cards, both Ingram and Hylash both shifted firms considerably. Ingram transformed from his avian legged humanoid form to a gigantic bird of prey and let out a predatory caw. Hylash transformed from a bulky humanoid form to a roughly square-shaped jet plane.

After they transitioned, the two Ventus Bakugan physically connected, Ingram's claws grabbed Hylash's arms. Then, the two flew at Hades, spinning in midair and accelerating their speed. A second later, green fire sparked, then erupted around them.

(Ingram: 200+200+200=600, Hylash: 350+200=550)=1150

Hades: 300-200=100

The Ventus duo struck Hades head on, the impact alone knocking the hydra backwards several steps. The green fire that Ingram and Hylash had generated began raging all over Hades; it was only due to its metallic nature that Hades wasn't immediately scorched into submission. Still, the Ventus fire took their toll on Hades.

Ingram and Hylash separated from their combination, and switched back to their default forms. Ingram watched Hades burn in satisfaction. "Now fall, imposter."

But then he heard something he didn't expect: Shadow's manic laughter. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh, you actually thought that was enough? I haven't even started!" Shadow loaded in his next card. "Ability Activate! FARBAS!"

Although the green fire was still raging around and all over Hades, the mechanical Bakugan seemed to disregard it. His eyes began to glow bright red.

"Initiating FARBAS recovery protocols", rang a dull, male voice. "Damage dealt by Continuous Dance - Phoenix Position: 9%. Repairing…." All over Hades's back, the small dents that Ingram had scored began un-denting themselves, returning Hades to his pristine condition. "Damage dealt by Thunderbolt Torrential Wave and Wind Power - Soaring Strike Shot: 27%. Repairing…." In a sudden flash of purple light, the green fire dispelled entirely. Hades stood there, undamaged, as if the battle had just barely started. "System rebooting. Restoring original power level." And, just like that, Hades became cloaked in an aura of purple energy as his power rose dramatically.

(Ingram: 600, Hylash: 550)=1150

Hades: 100+500=600

"Check it out", Baron said. "He's back at base power level. How's that even possible?"

"It's not over yet", Marucho warned.

Hades regarded both Ingram and Hylash, the automated systems beginning their final stage. "Ventus Ingram and Ventus Hylash, analyzed. Increasing power level by 550." The purple aura intensified immensely, becoming both more visible and darker as it encased Hades.

(Ingram: 600, Hylash: 550)=1150

Hades: 600+550=1150

"Did he just give Hades over 1000 points, all in one move?!", Baron yelped. "How's that even possible?!"

"Just a little feature Hades has", Shadow jeered. "Doesn't matter how much power you've got, or how much damage you dish out, because I'll always be able to match it, and you'll never even keep a scratch on Hades! HAHAHA!"

"If Hades really is capable of increasing his power to match his opponent's…", Marucho started, not liking the implications. "Then even Hydranoid at full power might have trouble. It's the perfect counter to Merge Shield. And if that's true…." Marucho paled visibly. "We're in real trouble."

"Master Shun, he's too strong. You need some help", Baron insisted, already holding Nemus. "Let us help you."

Shun had a serious look in his eye, yet he kept his gaze on the battlefield. Still, he gave a nod of affirmation.

That was all the signal Baron and Marucho needed, to justify engaging their Bakugan. "Bakugan, brawl!"

"Haos Nemus, stand!" The humanoid staff carrying Bakugan rose up at Ingram's left, and brandished his staff readily.

"Aquos Elfin, stand!" The humanoid amphibian Bakugan emerged from a blue light, closing her hands into fists as she glared down at the mechanical Bakugan.

(Ingram: 600, Hylash: 550, Nemus: 450, Elfin: 400)=2000

Hades: 1150

"Shall we… assist you, Shadow?", Mylene asked. "It seems Hades is substantially outnumbered."

"Butt out!", Shadow snapped, thrusting out a hand. "I don't need you! Gate Card Open! Darkus Reactor!"

As the card on the ground opened up, becoming a purple rectangle that encompassed all five battling Bakugan, it had an immediate effect on the sky above them all. The previously cloudless sky became instantly covered in purple storm clouds, with many of them cracking purple lightning. Hades have a metallic growl, thriving in the new battling conditions.

(Ingram: 600, Hylash: 550, Nemus: 450, Elfin: 400)=2000

Hades: 1150+400=1550

Shadow loaded two more cards into his gauntlet, and flicked out his tongue to lock the air. "I'm tasting a lot of victory here! Double Ability Activate! Gazer Electron, plus Photon Tail!"

Hades didn't seem bothered at all by the overwhelming numbers against it, merely letting out another hybrid mechanical/bestial roar, keeping all its mouths open to expose the cannons hidden within. Dark purple energy consolidated in the cannons, sparking all around Hades's heads and forming a trio of dark purple orbs.

While the orbs were charging up, Hades twisted its tails to face the tips forward, and channeled power through the tails as well. The cannons at the ends of Hades's tails began to charge up standard purple energy that kept sparking with intensity.

And then, it all went out at one. Hades's heads released all three of their dark purple orbs, and they exploded into a storm of dark purple lightning bolts. The tails all fired single beams of bolting purple electricity, with the same targets in mind. The two lightning attacks fused together to make a pie black lightning storm, much more powerful than either of them together.

(Ingram: 600-100=500, Hylash: 550-100-300=150, Nemus: 450-100=350, Elfin: 400-100=300)=1300

Hades: 1550+300=1850

Baron quickly fished out a card. "Nemus, get us some cover! Ability Activate! Spark Roa!"

Nemus lifted his staff up as high as he could over all his allies and himself. The end of the staff shined a divine yellow light, which quickly formed into an energy shield shaped like a sun. The shield expanded more and more, until it was large enough to safely protect both the caster and his entire team, without losing any of its brightness.

(Ingram: 500, Hylash: 150, Nemus: 350+300=650, Elfin: 300)=1600

Hades: 1850-300=1550

The lightning storm struck Nemus's shield with a catastrophic level of power, sending bolts all over the place. Wherever a bolt hit the ground, it discharged into the ground with a thunderous roar and kicked up a cloud of dust. A stray bolt reached the sky, inflaming the dark clouds above.

But the vast majority of the bolt continued the attack on Nemus's defense, sparking and surfing with titanic force. Nemus was bright to his very limits in just holding off Hades's offensive.

"You've gotta hold on, Nemus!", Baron shouted, doing his best to encourage his partner. "Come on! You've got this!"

"I… I'll hold", Nemus groaned out his promise. He thrusted out his staff, further charging his shield.

"Nemus, look out above!", Elfin warned from behind Nemus.

Nemus glanced up, his eyes widening as he saw it. A stray bolt had reached the clouds of Darkus power, and they were sending numerous bolts of energy down on the Brawlers' side.

Nemus managed to angle his shield to protect all of his Bakugan friends from the sudden and new threat. As it hit the yellow barrier, the purple bolts discharged in all directions.

But some of the bolts came close to their battlers. Almost too close. Baron and Marucho shrieked as the closest bolt kicked up a cloud of dust; and even Shun gasped lightly.

And then, it was over. Hades wasn't sending them any more of his energy, and the sky was clearing up. Realizing the threat was passed, Nemus dispelled his shield and promptly collapsed atop his knees. "Go…", he breathed.

Mylene gave off a scoff. "Seems Shadow's bitten off far more than he can chew. Wouldn't you say, Volt?"

"Think we should help?", Volt asked.

Brontes hopped onto Volt's shoulder to voice his opinion. "I think the maniac should enjoy his choice of battle. He wants a solo act? Let him dig his own grave is what I say! Hehehe!"

Mylene bristled as Brontes joined in the conversation. Doubly so because she didn't disagree. "Clay did ask for a full test of Hades's systems. Don't interfere, at least for now." Volt nodded in understanding.

"We're clear", Shun advised, as the Vexos leaders were discussing the situation. "Go, now!"

It was Marucho who loaded in the next card of the battle. "Shun and Baron did their parts, Elfin. It's our turn now! Ability Activate! Shooting Stardust!"

Elfin clenched her hands into fists as the ability began to take effect. A glittering blue glow outlined her body, empowering her by a large margin.

Racing past her allies at a quick run, Elfin made rapid progress towards the common enemy. Her blue aura intensified as she neared Hades, reacting to her eagerness to dish out some major damage.

(Ingram: 500, Hylash: 150, Nemus: 650, Elfin: 300+200=500)=1800

Hades: 1550-200=1350

Ingram and Hylash didn't stay idle, either. They took to the low air, flying behind Elfin to back her up. It was clear that Elfin would strike first, then Ingram and Hylash would team up to capitalize on the damage Elfin dealt.

"Our only chance to beat Hades's recovery program is to do as much damage as we can, as quickly as we can", Marucho said. "So go do some damage, Elfin!"

"Just what I had in mind!", Elfin agreed.

"Me, too!" Shadow eagerly loaded an ability, acting as if his Bakugan wasn't in grave danger. "I love dishing out damage! And it's time to wipe you out! Ability Activate! Saurer Cannon!"

When Shadow called out his final trump card, it caused an immediate transition on Hades's chest. The chest piece, including the three spikes, began to split apart in perfect halves, opening a compartment previously hidden. In the place of the chest spikes, three identical cannons larger than any of Hades's other armaments opened up to full extension.

Elfin was alerted, but not fully intimidated. She kept up her eager pace, almost right on top of Hades. Ingram and Hylash were close behind her, and Nemus was still where they started, trying to recover his stamina.

But none of it mattered, because then, Hades opened fire. There weren't any warning signs for the coming blast; one moment, the chest cannons were stationary, and the next, they were blasting out a power output larger than anything he'd blasted so far. Three identically large beams of energy fused together, into a single purple and black laser.

(Ingram: 500, Hylash: 150, Nemus: 650, Elfin: 500)=1800

Hades: 1350+900=2250

Elfin was struck first, Hades's Darkus energy overwhelming her own power and previously untouched stamina in mere moments. She schemed with the pain caused by a single attack able to defeat her instantly, and reverted to ball form on the spot.

"Elfin, no!", Marucho cried out.

The boat kept going in the same direction, connecting with Ingram and Hylash in the next moment. The two of them were in even worse shape than Elfin, having battled for far longer, and went to ball form themselves in a millisecond.

"Ingram, Hylash!", Shun shouted.

Nemus was saved for last. Not even having enough strength to throw himself out of the line of fire, all he could do was raise his staff in a pathetic attempt to ward the blast away. When the energy struck him, that's where it stopped, and Nemus went to ball form as well.

"NEMUS!", Baron called out.

Shun: 70%

Baron: 70%

Marucho: 70%

In the wake of the Saurer Cannon, Hades suddenly went still. The light in its eyes went out, as if the mechanical Bakugan was suffering from a blackout. Still, it didn't matter. With all four of its opponents defeated, Hades still reverted to ball form and shot to Shadow's waiting grip.

Shadow gasped his new favorite Bakugan, and shot his allies a grin, made all the wider by his victory. "So, how do you like me now?"

Volt cracked a smile. "I'm man enough to say it, Shadow. Not bad at all."

"Not necessarily good, either", Mylene added. When her teammates looked at her in question, she elaborated. "It seemed something happened to Hades after you beat them all. Like it had run out of power."

Sharia was quick to offer an explanation. "The prof said Saurer Cannon might do that. It's meant to be used as a final battle gun, but it could drain Hades nearly dry."

Mylene was startled, then annoyed at Shadow's sheer audacity and recklessness. "It'll take a few minutes for Hades to recharge, you-!" She calmed herself with a breath. "Do you realize how lucky you are that that worked?!"

"Yeah", Shadow said. "But it did work. And that's what counts." At Mylene's withering glare, Shadow added more. "Prof wanted a full test drive. I couldn't not test that ability. Besides, it was way too much fun."

Mylene huffed indignantly. "Fine. Just throw in when Hades is all charged up again. Volt and I will cover your slack in the second round until you're ready."

Shadow froze as he heard that. While he knew that Hades was drained, he didn't actually think about what that meant. After a moment, he snarled indignantly. "I'm sitting out a round? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"

"No. Now, shush", Mylene snapped.

On the other side of the field, Shun, Marucho and Baron were just getting past their shock the last round had inspired.

"Marucho and I… we barely had time to do anything…." Baron was dumbfounded by how quickly his involvement had ended. So much so, he even forgot to give Marucho the usual honorific. "We were all blown away… just like that."

"We severely underestimated the level of power Hades is capable of", Marucho said. "And with Mylene and Volt here, at full power too…." He shook his head to clear the panic before it could escalate to debilitating amounts. "We'll need to pull out all the stops, and get everything right."

"High bar", Elfin remarked. "We can do it!"

Shun kept silent during the impromptu discussion, trying to think up a plan. He forced his panic and fear to recede, focusing himself to think clearly. Then, he took in a deep breath, and let it out. "Marucho. Baron. Let's do this."

With how confident Shun sounded, his two allies were pulled away from their talk. Marucho and Baron had looks of equal surprise.

"Shun?"

"Master Shun?"

Shun saw his teammates' concern, and decided to explain himself best he could. "Shadow beat us partially because we underestimated Hades, that's true. But it's also partially because we didn't think Shadow himself was an enemy worth worrying over. But we know it's better to take him seriously now. We won't fall into the same trap again."

Marucho and Baron gave Shun a nod, and all three took a hold on their Bakugan.

Even with Ingram in his right hand, Shun used his left to send forward a Gate Card. "Gate Card, set!" The card soared to center field and expanded past the six brawlers in all directions.

Shun stepped ahead, flanked by Baron and Marucho, with the trio all ready to throw in their Bakugan partners. They were contested by the duo of Mylene and Volt, who were both ready to throw as well. "Bakugan, brawl!" The five total battlers threw their Bakugan into the battleground. "Bakugan, stand!"

"Ventus Ingram, arise!"

"Strike, Aquos Elico!"

"Let's go, Aquos Elfin!"

"Go, Haos Brontes!"

"Bring it, Haos Nemus!"

Five different Bakugan all rose up to challenge each other. Brontes and Elico were the individually superior Bakugan between the lot, yet they were conflicting by their nature: Brontes were both jubilant and self-aware, and Elico was conditioned into a battle frenzy.

By contrast, Ingram, Elfin and Nemus were all united in their goals, and as in sync as some of the best teams. Each one was as ready to fight as ever.

(Ingram: 400, Nemus: 450, Elfin: 400)=1250

(Elico: 500, Brontes: 500)=1000

Marucho looked marginally surprised. "Shadow's not throwing in? Weird."

"Something must've happened with Hades", Shun asserted. "That's the only reason Shadow would sit out a battle."

"If you're right, we only have Volt and Mylene to worry about", Marucho added. "At least for now."

"We need to take the advantage as far as we can, then." Baron loaded up a card. "I doubt we'll get another chance like this! Ability Activate! Ancient Glow!"

"Don't discount us, little boy!", Mylene snapped, an ability shining blue in her gauntlet. "Ability Activate! Hydro Blow!"

Nemus angled his staff to aim the tip at Elico, steadying it with both hands after it was properly aimed. The sun design channeled a large amount of Haos energy, forming a compressed sphere of energy at the tip.

At the same time, Elico was raising up both of his arms, his orange jewel shining blue for a brief moment. Moisture collected on Elico's arms, forming actual water droplets, further collecting into floating streams.

The two Bakugan attacked at once. Nemus's collected energy shot out as a compressed yellow beam. Elico thrusted out his arms, sending two large geysers of water to cross paths against Nemus's energy.

The two attacks met center field, the collision sending water vapors and small yellow sparks flying all over the place. The collision continued to expel energy and water at a smaller scale, as the attacks kept up a stalemate.

Within a few seconds of the beginning, though, the yellow blast began to push against the water geysers. At first it went slowly, but Nemus's progress was picking up momentum.

Mylene glowered at how her initial attack was failing. "Typical. Ability Activate! Depth Surge!"

Elico's arms clenched up, and his chest jewel flashed blue fire a brief moment over again. His body sent a wave of his Aquos power to the immediate area around him.

Water droplets began to consolidate in the air, and small streams formed at the ground around him. All of the water, added to extensively by the lake behind Elico, swirled around the Vexos Bakugan, evaluating from a wave to a legitimate hurricane.

(Ingram: 400, Nemus: 450, Elfin: 400)=1250

(Elico: 500+400=900, Brontes: 500)=1400

Nemus's energy beam smashed against Elico's hurricane, but it dispelled before it could get anywhere close to Elico. The remaining energy splashed away in all directions, harmlessly.

"Come on!", Nemus groaned with an annoyed tone.

Brontes chuckled at the display of power. "Now this is much nicer weather!"

"Nicer weather? Are you insane?! ", yelled Ingram indignantly. As a Ventus Bakugan, he could acknowledge the winds Elico was kicking up… and he didn't appreciate it at all.

"YES! I am insane!", yelled back an ecstatic Brontes. "Volt! Let's cause some mayhem!"

Volt locked in his gauntlet, an ability already going into effect. "Ability Activate! Jeer Frontier!"

Brontes quickly reached out with his right arm, opening the hand wide open. He started waving around, trying to decide which enemy to persecute. Even as he did so, his normally purple hand started building up yellow energy to fire. "Eenie, meenie, miney moe. Catch a tiger by the-"

"Just attack Ingram'', Volt directed. There was no time for Brontes's antics. Not at that time, at least.

Shun and Ingram's eyes widened, alerted by being singled out.

Brontes huffed at the order. "Take all the fun away, why don't ya. Spoilsport." He aimed his hand at Ingram, and released the pent up energy he had been gathering in a single pulse wave.

Marucho gasped. He'd seen that ability used against Elfin, back at the Alpha City perimeter battle. "I remember that move now! Shun, it'll sap power away from Ingram and lock down his abilities! You can't let it make contact!"

Shun believed Marucho. He'd done his homework on the Vexos and their known Bakugan, just as the rest of them had. "Ingram, get out of there!"

Ingram spread his wings to fly away, but the yellow pulse was too fast. He wouldn't be able to escape the blast zone.

It was Marucho that saved the minute. "Ability Activate! Blue Shield!"

With almost no time to pull off her move, Elfin threw herself in front of Ingram in a desperate leap. Outstretching both arms forward, Elfin focused her part and quickly materialized a solid bubble of her Aquos energy. "Not this time, jerks!"

The yellow pulse connected with Elfin's shield and shattered. Brontes was left without his advantage, and Ingram was still fit for battling.

(Ingram: 400, Nemus: 450, Elfin: 400+200=600)=1450

(Elico: 900, Brontes: 500)=1400

"My thanks, Elfin", Ingram said.

"No problem!", Elfin cheerfully replied.

"I'll give you a problem", Mylene interjected. "Attack, Elico!"

Elico responded by directing even more of his energy into his hurricane. In the wake of its emergence, the twister was steadily losing its strength, but Elico forced it back into full gear. Now so, even, as it drew even more water from the ocean. The hurricane grew much stronger as a result.

Elfin, as well, focused her attention on keeping her protective bubble up, against the full weight of the storm. The power abated quickly, with Elico unable to keep the storm at full power for long periods of time, but Elfin was still straining to keep it at bay.

"Shun, Baron, if you've got a move, do it now!", Marucho said. "Elfin can't hold on much longer!"

"Then Nemus and I will back you up!", Baron volunteered. "Elfin can't exhaust herself this early in the round. Ability Activate! Pyra Might - Skid Roa!"

Nemus lifted up his staff, raising the sun design at the end as high above as he could manage. Yellow energy started flowing back into the tip, building to a peak.

Them, the energy spread downward in four different directions, the slants in each perfectly matching. When the energy reached the ground, it completed an energy pyramid that covered both Nemus and Elfin, with Ingram just behind it.

(Ingram: 400, Nemus: 450+200=650, Elfin: 600)=1650

(Elico: 900, Brontes: 500)=1400

With that, it was Nemus that was bearing the brunt of Elico's assault. Elico's hurricane sent water and winds to batter Nemus's shield, nut none of it got past the pyramid. After over fifteen seconds of the onslaught, Elico's hurricane dissipated, and Elico himself collapsed.

"Now, Ingram!", Shun cut in to seize the opportunity, his card in play already. "Ability Activate! Continuous Dance - Phoenix Position! Take him out!"

"As you… wish!" Ingram flew above Nemus's pyramid, darting towards Elico at barely subsonic speeds. Moments later, he was right in front of Elico.

And then, Ingram made two fists with his hands and started pummeling the amphibian Bakugan as best he could. Head, chest, shoulders and arms were all punched dozens of times within a brief, ten second period.

(Ingram: 400, Nemus: 650, Elfin: 600)=1650

(Elico: 900-300=600, Brontes: 500)=1100

Ingram kept up his barrage of blows with nigh-reckless abandon. Whenever Elico seemed about to retaliate, Ingram bobbed and weaved of of the way with unmatched speeds, then continued the attack from a different angle.

Ingram was only caught off guard when an attack came from somewhere besides Elico. Seemingly out of nowhere, from his perspective, a gleaming purple blade spun through the air and scored a mark on his back. "Ow!"

Ingram flinched and leapt upwards, trying to discern what got him. He saw a curved purple blade, attached to a large black handle, spinning through the air and into Brontes's grip.

"Forgetting about moi?", Brontes jeered.

(Ingram: 400-200=200, Nemus: 650-200=450, Elfin: 600-200=400)=1050

(Elico: 600, Brontes: 500)=1100

Volt stood tall, a card in his gauntlet flashing purple as Darkus Scythe continued to glow. "Why don't you consider me your opponent for now, Shun Kazami?"

"If that's what you want", Shun replied.

Ingram and Brontes charged each other and engaged in melee combat. Ingram attacked with his speed and fist, and Brontes struck with his scythe. After several seconds of engaged combat, the two separated to catch their breath, then engaged each other once again.

Even after several passes, it wasn't clear which side had the definite edge. Ingram was raining down over a dozen blows for every one Brontes scored, but the scythe was substantially more devastating than Ingram's arms.

Eventually, though, Ingram started to tire. His rapid fire punches didn't seem to be enough to defeat Brontes, but dealing them out still wore down Ingram's stamina. Between that, and Brontes's powerful scythe, he was sorely losing control of the combat.

At the last pass, he missed the vast majority of his hits and had to frantically retreat to avoid the scythe slashing into his chest. But Brontes didn't let up that time; he charged ahead and pressed the advantage.

"Where are you going, Ingram?", Brontes whined. "We were having so much fun a second ago! HAHAHA!"

"But it's time to stop playing games", Mylene said icily, her card gleaming blue. "Now, let's get this business settled. Ability Activate! Trick World!"

Elico's eyes flashed a distinct blue, which was matched by the chest jewel. From behind Brontes, Elico's jewel sent out a pulse wave of blue energy at the enemy.

The blue wave passed Brontes with no discernable effect, but as soon as it reached Ingram, it propelled him backwards towards his allies. As soon as it started, Ingram's eyes went wide as his senses were severely distorted by the energy pulse. "Not this again!", he yelled.

"Hang on. I've got you!", Elfin called out. She and Nemus took down their shields in order to coat the way for their attack. Then, Elfin began a multicolored glow for the briefest instant, which receded to show her newly covered green body. "Attribute change, Ventus! Let's go, Marucho!"

Marucho nodded and grunted in affirmation, loading up an ability of her own. "Ability Activate! Jamming Out!"

Elfin didn't charge into action, so much as literally leaping into the battle. Her Ventus form started spinning in midair, spreading out dust all over the place.

As soon as Elico's energy wave met the scattered dust, it halted in its progress, before inverting back to its source as the ability was reflected. With the wave diverted away, Ingram managed to land on his feet with a reasonable grace.

This time, when the wave reached Brontes, it didn't pass by him harmlessly. Instead, Brontes was knocked down to the ground with a dazed chuckle. When it came back to Elico, it had a similar effect with him. Elico was brought to his knee, clutching his head to try dispelling the disorientation.

(Ingram: 200, Nemus: 450, Elfin: 400)=1050

(Elico: 600-500=100, Brontes: 500-400=100)=200

"You got them! Nice job, Elfin!", Marucho cheered.

"Not a problem!", Elfin grinned back.

Mylene scowled darkly, not even trying to hide her mood. "Stupid little insects. Why don't they just stay still to be crushed?"

"You just need a better boot." Shadow grinned as he checked his gauntlet, which was keeping a diagnostic report on Hades. "Hades just charged up to full power. Time to get things back on track!"

"Then hurry up!", Mylene yelled.

With his trademark grin, Shadow threw his Bakugan straight into the field. "Bakugan, brawl! Darkus Hades, stand!"

Without so much as a moment of warning, a bright purple flash emitted from a spot directly in front of Elico. Hades stood up to full height, its triple heads letting out their signature growl.

"There he is. Hades", Shun noted.

"I hoped we'd have more time", Baron said.

"Then we just need more numbers!", Marucho stated.

Agreeing with that notion, all three of them took a hold of their Bakugan Traps. And, seconds later, they launched them straight into the field. "Come, Bakugan Traps!"

Fully recovering from the brief exposure to Elico's Trick World, Ingram was suddenly backed up by Hylash, who stood directly behind Ingram.

Nemus stood as tall as ever, with Piercian standing in front of him. Piercian's shields were half raised, ready to block a coming attack.

Elfin grinned as she coated in the air, with Tripod Epsilon directly under her. "Now it's a party!"

(Ingram: 200, Hylash: 350, Nemus: 450, Piercian: 350, Elfin: 400, Tripod Epsilon: 350)=2100

(Elico: 100, Brontes: 100, Hades: 600)=800

"Thinking superior numbers can overcome our power? So deluded", Mylene chided. "Volt, show them how they're merely digging their own grave."

Volt gave his affirmation by simply loading up his own ability. "Brontes, let's go! Ability Activate! Mania World!"

Brontes's body started to glow a neon yellow. At first, it was a faint outline, but it radically escalated to harsh levels of intensity. Soon enough, the yellow aura transformed into a mist, spreading out to maintain its own stability. The dark scythe broke apart into small particles as the Haos ability progressed.

"Hehehehe. Hehahahaha. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Completely losing control of his own laughter, Brontes reached out his hand, and the yellow mist rolled over the field to strike at the Brawlers' Bakugan. As it came over the six of them, they all dropped somewhat as the most stripped away their power.

"Ready, Shadow?", Mylene asked.

"I was born ready!", Shadow replied. The two of them kicked in an ability, and called them out in unison.

"Ability Activate! Scramble Zwei!"

"Ability Activate! Gazer Electron!"

Elico started to fight off the Trick World disorientation himself, rising to a straight stance. Like Brontes, he began to shine with his Attribute color as Aquos energy built up within him.

In moments, waterspouts formed in midair and coiled around the amphibious Bakugan. As the water rose up to his head, the blue glow reached its peak in intensity.

As Elico's attack progressed, Hades kept up his own ability. Dark purple energy consolidated in the cannons, sparking all around Hades's heads and forming a trio of dark purple orbs. The orbs began crackling with barely restrained voltage, belying the raw power behind them.

(Ingram: 200+200-100-100-100=100, Hylash: 350-100-100=150, Nemus: 450-100-200-100=50, Piercian: 350-100-100=150, Elfin: 400-100-100-100=100, Tripod Epsilon: 350-100-100=150)=700

(Elico: 100+400=500×2=1000, Brontes: 100+1200=1300, Hades: 600+300=900)=3200

Baron gulped nervously. "Guys… they're over 2000 points ahead of us."

"I noticed, Baron." Shun's reply was deadpan. "Freaking out won't help us."

Brontes's eyes flashed bright yellow as he held out each hand. Some of the mist around him consolidated into twin scythes, one for each hand. "Oh, I don't know. I'm fine with you freaking out. It'll be fun to hear you scream!"

Elico raised up both arms to neck level, showing off gauntlet claws that were gleaming blue. He snarled ferociously.

Hades was the first one to actually attack. The three heads launched their orbs in unison, and they shot straight at the six enemy combatants. On the way the orbs all exploded into a myriad of dark purple lightning bolts, which reacted with each other to form a storm of Darkus power. A storm which was quickly descending on the Brawlers' Bakugan.

"Feel the burn, Brawlers!", Shadow jeered maliciously. "Burn up into char and ash! HAHAHAHAHA!"

Baron took in a sharp breath, then loaded up another card. "Okay. Let's see how unbreakable you really are, Piercian! Ability Activate! Eternal Cocoon!"

Piercian began to glow bright yellow, the glow encompassing his whole body. Then, that body began to shift his form itself, becoming both taller and thinner. When the glow had finished, he'd transformed himself into a giant shield.

"Get behind Piercian, now!", Nemus called out to all his allies. "He will be our saving rock in this storm!"

Ingram, Elfin and Hylash all sped over behind the shield, ducking behind the offered cover. Lacking aerial mobility, Tripod Epsilon was slower on the uptake, but he got there before the storm had reached them.

Dark bolts struck at Piercian, surging with far more power than a natural lightning bolt. The electricity struck again and again and again, yet none of it pierced Piercian defense. None of it so much as got a watt to the other Bakugan. And then, it was over, and the Brawlers weren't any worse for wear.

"Yes!", Baron cheered. "It worked!"

"No, it didn't!", Brontes said. "See how you like this!" He flung his two sickles at the shield. They sliced through the air with no problem, but as soon as they got to the shield, they shattered into innumerable yellow pieces. "What?! No fair!"

"YES!" Baron's enthusiasm remained stable, not diminishing at all.

"How'd you do that?", Marucho asked.

"With the Eternal Cocoon, Piercian becomes an impenetrable wall of defense", Baron said. "They can try as hard as they want, but they'll never penetrate Piercian's defenses!"

"Don't you worry, dweeb. I'll penetrate 'em!" Shadow prepared one more ability. "Ability Activate! Phaser Trident!"

Hades opened up each mechanical mouth, revealing each laser cannon hidden within. Hades charged up bright purple energy in each mouth, letting them accumulate and build up until it filled the mouths, then fired them all in large beams of purple energy at Piercian's large shield.

The Darkus energy slammed against the Bakugan Trap with explosive power, three orbs working in tandem to wear Piercian out. But if was all for naught; even after the energy disappeared, the shield stood tall and gleaming.

"Not even a scratch?", Volt questioned.

"Nothing will get past Piercian, so you should stop trying!" Baron turned back to his allies. "Alright, let's turn this around!"

"Gate Card Open! Ventus Reactor!" As Shun called out the words, large green twisters formed up on the Brawlers' side of the field. Ingram, Hylash and Elfin all glowed green with Ventus power.

After opening his Gate Card, Shun loaded up two more cards. "Double Ability Activate! Thunderbolt Torrential Wave, plus Double Fangs - Jade Wing Shot!"

In an instant, Ingram, Hylash and Elfin all became encased in green energy. At first, it merely seemed to be a brighter version of the Gate Card's glow. Moments later, though, the energy began to ignite into raging green flames. Although they weren't hurt, the three green infernos were ferocious.

The three empowered Ventus Bakugan started flying around, darting all over the air. As they continued their aerial maneuvers, they started firing innumerable green projectiles down at the Vexos Bakugan. Hades bore the greatest damage, but by no means were Elico or Brontes excluded.

"Quick, before they can activate another ability!", Marucho called out. "Let's go, Tripod Epsilon! Double Ability Activate! Canyon Snail, plus Cool Snail!"

With two different abilities calling on two different Attributes, Tripod Epsilon's necklace didn't shift at all. The snail on his leaf staff did glow brightly, but it was a definite fusion of blue and brown.

With that, two effects happened at once. First off, rocks and pebbles kicked up from the long duration of the battle suddenly rose up and shot at the Vexos Bakugan. At first, it didn't seem to matter much, but within seconds, they were pulled in the smallest rocks. They were effectively trapped.

Afterward, what little could be seen of Elico, Brontes and Hades under the rubble began to shine bright blue. They all froze up, unable to move at all.

"They can't activate any abilities! Hit them now!"

Baron gave a serious smile before locking in the last ability card of the round. "You got it, Master Marucho. Ability Activate! Shining Force!"

"None of you will hide…." As he spoke, Nemus raised up his staff at an upwards slant, and yellow energy started to fill in the sun-designed tip once again. "Not from my purifying light!" He fired all of the energy at once, in a compressed orb, in an upward and forward diagonal.

The orb cleared Piercian's still-present shield and continued to gain altitude, not losing a smidge of energy while doing so, until it got halfway in between Nemus and his targets. Only then, did it reach the peak of its climb and start falling back to the ground. The descent would have it impacting the spot in between Hades, Brontes and Elico, and heavily damage them all at once.

(Ingram: 100+300+200+200=800, Hylash: 150+300+200+200=850, Nemus: 50+400=450, Piercian: 150, Elfin: 100+300+200+200=800, Tripod Epsilon: 150)=3200

(Elico: 1000-200=800, Brontes: 1300-200=1100, Hades: 900-200=700)=2600

Among the three Vexos Bakugan, Brontes was the only one that showed fear in the face of the powerful orb falling onto them. He started thrashing wildly, trying desperately to escape, but the combination of the rock pile and blue energy held him in place. "Volt? Help!"

Mylene glowered at Brontes, a disdainful look in her eye. "You can at least try not to whine. Weak willed Bakugan."

Volt would've glowered at Mylene himself in order to defend his partner, but he didn't have the chance. At that moment, the orb made contact with the ground and released the compressed energy in all directions.

Brontes wailed dramatically as his stamina was overcome; Elico grunted, unable to fully hide his pain; even Hades gave a weak whir in reaction to Nemus's powerful attack. All three Bakugan all shrunk down to ball form and retreated to the Vexos at once.

Mylene: 60%

Volt: 60%

Shadow: 60%

After that, all of the Brawlers' Bakugan and Traps shrunk themselves down to ball form and exited the battlefield. Shun, Baron and Marucho all caught them eagerly.

"We're ahead of them!", Baron cheered. "The Vexos have less left on their Life Gauges than we do. We've got the advantage!"

"Our 'advantage' is 10%, each." Shun shook his head. "That's nothing to get confident about. Stay focused, or we will lose this yet."

That sobered Baron up. He reigned in his grin and gave Shun a solemn nod. "Right. The battle's not over."

"I'd say it's barely begun", Marucho said. "We still haven't seen Volt's Bakugan Trap. And we don't know if Shadow or Mylene have their own Traps, either. We can't assume we'll have the number advantage for the third round."

"Even if we did, it may not be enough", Ingram advised. "Not again. The Vexos are very strong."

"Well, we've gotta get back in there", Elfin spoke up. "So let's get ready!"

Back on the Vexos's side, Mylene exhaled an exasperated huff. "As enjoyable as this battle is, there's a lot of work I need to get done, and I'm short staffed as it is. So, why don't you just lay down and give up, and save us all the time and trouble?"

"You haven't beaten us yet", Shun said coolly. "So quit it with your superiority complex. You're not fooling anyone."

"It's not a complex if I am superior." Mylene hefted a card and threw it on top of the ground. "Gate Card, set!"

"Bakugan, brawl!" Six battlers, three from each side, all launched their Bakugan at once. "Bakugan, stand!"

With six simultaneous flashes of light, giving way to six simultaneous blast waves, six Bakugan simultaneously rose into the battle. Ingram, Elfin and Nemus on one side, and Elico, Brontes and Hades in the other.

Ingram: 400, Nemus: 450, Elfin: 400

Elico: 500, Brontes: 500, Hades: 600

"BRAWL!", Shun, Marucho, and Baron called in unison. Responding to their call, their Bakugan all charged ahead to attack the Vexos.

Ingram and Elfin made up the frontliners, speeding at Hades with near reckless abandon.

"You ready to thrash this trash heap, Ingram?", Elfin called out.

"More than you can realize!", Ingram called back.

Shun and Marucho quickly locked in an ability each. Their gauntlets shone green and blue, respectively.

"Ability Activate! Wind Power - Soaring Strike Shot!"

"Ability Activate! Shooting Stardust!"

Ingram quickly made the transition for his most powerful attack. His winged humanoid form shifted into his bird of prey form, and let out a loud caw. He took off into the air, gaining a high altitude before coming back down into Hades. As he descended, green energy sparked around Ingram, then burst into furious flames.

At the same time, Elfin kept a rapid pace towards Hades, her own body beginning to glow a radiant blue light as her power increased. Her run sped up a noticeable amount, allowing her to reach Hades a few seconds before Ingram could.

Ingram: 400+200=600, Nemus: 450, Elfin: 400+200=600

Elico: 500, Brontes: 500, Hades: 600-200-200=200

"Who's ready for some pain?!" After saying those words, Elfin began to beat down on Hades. Her fists were flying so quickly, it was nigh impossible for the human eye to keep track of them. Yet for all their speed, the punches accomplished little more than a low metallic clang.

Elfin kept up her beat down as long as she could, before having to pull back. Just as she did, Ingram came down on Hades, striking him with all the momentum and Ventus flames he'd accumulated in his attack.

The flames spread away from Hades, all three way near the Vexos, but Brontes literally stamped them out with minimal effort. "You okay, buddy bud?"

Volt bristled at Brontes's nicknaming, but still have a cordial answer. "Yes. Thank you."

Shadow thrust his hand into the air, two abilities lucked in his gauntlet. "Double Ability Activate! Phaser Trident, plus Photon Tail!"

The reaction from Hades was well expected. It's heads all opened up to begin accumulating bland purple energy within each mouth, just as his tails all whipped around to face forward and charge up their own energy. The heads locked on Ingram, and the tails Elfin.

Moments later, Hades went to action. Each head unleashed a focused beam of power, and the tails shot out electrical bolts of purple energy, all at the two Brawlers' Bakugan. The six blasts maintained their course, bursting through the air. There was no time for Elfin and Ingram to retreat, and there was no cover to be found.

Then, a bright yellow flash came from behind them, and the six blasts started to veer off course. They shot past their intended targets, instead going straight into the circle of yellow light that Nemus had generated from his staff.

Baron grinned cheekily, holding his glowing Shade Ring ability inside his gauntlet. "You're not landing a hit that easily, Vexos." He swung out his arm. "Let 'em have it, Nemus!"

"You got it, Baron!" Nemus jutted out his staff, and the circle of yellow and purple energy shot away in a concentrated circular blast, as tall as Nemus and just as wide. It went past Hades to strike at Elico and Brontes at once.

"GAH!", Brontes crowd as he was struck. Elico only allowed a loud groan to betray his pain.

Ingram: 600, Nemus: 450, Elfin: 600

Elico: 500-300=200, Brontes: 500-300=200, Hades: 200

Hearing his Bakugan's pained cry, Volt quickly snapped an ability into place. "Ability Activate! Maniactus Magical!"

The words cut through Brontes's pain, allowing him to focus. His body began to shimmer with a faint yellow haze of power. Even under the assault of Hades's redirected attack, Brontes swept his arms through the air.

The Haos energy that Brontes had built up spread all over the place, and the opposing blast attacking him and Elico started to recede. Moments later, the blast faded away into non-existence.

Ingram: 600, Nemus: 450, Elfin: 600

Elico: 200+300=500, Brontes: 200+300+200=700, Hades: 200

"They nullified the abilities", Nemus called. "Baron, let's go!"

"Just a second, Nemus!" Baron stayed fishing for another ability card, but he was already too late.

"Not so fast, you little brats." Mylene swept out her hand. "Gate Card Open! Aquos Reactor!"

Responding to Mylene's call, the rectangular card revealed its blue hue, giving off an empowering aura to any Aquos Bakugan. From the center of the card, a large geysers of water formed up, slowly transforming the field into a large pool of water. When the pool grew enough to reach the nearby lake, the water stopped coming.

Elico rose up, powered up by the card, but Elfin did, too. "Wow! I feel like a new Bakugan!", she called out.

Ingram: 600, Nemus: 450, Elfin: 600+400=1000

Elico: 500+400=900, Brontes: 700, Hades: 200

Ingram immediately looked back at the Brawlers, who were literally up to their necks in water. "Hold on!" He knelt down, picked up the three battlers, and placed them all on his neck.

"Thanks, Ingram." Shun, Marucho and Baron looked to see that the Vexos had boarded the Vexos pods to evade the waters. "Mylene opened an Aquos card, knowing that Elfin would gain power, too."

Marucho grew suspicious. "You knew that card would affect Elfin, too. What's your game, Mylene?"

"Why don't you find out?" Mylene placed her own ability inside her gauntlet's compartment. "Ability Activate! Hydro Blow!"

Elico raised up both of his arms, his orange jewel shining blue for a brief moment. Moisture collected on Elico's arms, forming actual water droplets, further collecting into floating streams.

Seconds later, Elico thrusted forward with both arms, and the twin water torrents shot straight ahead. The water's path led it right for Elfin.

"You think you can hold us?" Marucho locked in his counter. "Not a chance! Ability Activate! Twinback!"

Elfin started to glow over more, a blue hue returning to her body. "Ingram, make some room!"

Realizing he was in Elfin's line of fire, Ingram spread out his wings and ascended. His currently avian form raced away from Elfin. "You're clear!"

Elfin focused back on the two torrents heading her way, just to visually catch them colliding into her body. The torrents didn't push her back at all, though. Instead, she actually pressed ahead, gaining power from Elico's efforts.

When it was finished, Elico was looking weaker than before, and Elfin was stronger.

"That's all you've got?!", Elfin taunted her Aquos rival.

Ingram: 600, Nemus: 450, Elfin: 1000+200=1200

Elico: 900-200=700, Brontes: 700, Hades: 200

"Because I'm just getting started!" Elfin raised an arm, and her body glowed multicolor. A moment passed, and the glow faded to reveal a purple skin. "Time for Darkus Elfin's specialty lullaby!"

Marucho placed his next card into his gauntlet. "Ability Activate! Moon Rainbow!"

Although Elfin's blue glow had gone away when she changed her Attribute to Darkus, the beginning stages of the ability relieved it with a light purple hue. Elfin made two finger guns with her hands, pointing them both at Elico.

Ingram: 600, Nemus: 450, Elfin: 1200+200=1400

Elico: 700-200=500, Brontes: 700, Hades: 200

"Now disappear!" Thin beans of purple energy shot out of Elfin's pointer fingers and shot at Elico.

"Shadow, if you would?", Mylene prompted her over eager ally.

Shadow grumbled in a rant without any real words, placing an ability in his gauntlet anyway.

Neither Marucho nor Elfin, or anyone else on their side, was expecting a hulking three headed dragonic form to land in Elfin's line of fire. In moments, the beams exploded on Hades, instead of Elico, and the mech was engulfed in purple flames. Their surprise was replaced by dead when they heard the voice.

"System diagnostic complete. Damage dealt by Shooting Stardust: 8%. Damage dealt by Wind Power - Soaring Strike Shot: 11%. Damage dealt by Moon Rainbow: 14%. Total system damage: 33%. Repairing…." With his outline barely visible within the flames, it was still clear the small dents Elfin had previously scored had gone away, the metal returning to its proper shape. The scorch marks from Ingram's green flames disappeared. The purple flames were blasted away by Hades, who became encased in his own purple aura. "Analyzing Darkus Elfin. Increase power level by 1200."

Ingram: 600, Nemus: 450, Elfin: 1400

Elico: 500, Brontes: 700, Hades: 200+1200=1400

"He used that FARBAS again!", Baron shouted.

Marucho gasped in realization. "That's why she raised Elfin's power level with the Aquos Reactor. She knew Hades would match it!"

"How are we going to beat them now!?", Baron panicked.

"You're not", Volt said definitively, throwing a mostly hexagonal object into the air. "Come, mechanical Bakugan Trap! Haos Dynamo!"

The object landed beside Brontes and opened up, emitting a flash of yellow light. Then, the spider-like machine Bakugan rose up in place and let out a high-pitched screech.

Ingram: 600, Nemus: 450, Elfin: 1400

Elico: 500, (Brontes: 700, Dynamo: 400)=1100, Hades: 1400

"Your resistance has gone on long enough!", Mylene said. She handled two ability cards at once, placing them in her gauntlet.

"Time to finish this, Brontes!" Volt, too, readied a pair of abilities to attack.

"Double Ability, Activate!"

"Scramble Zwei, plus Depth Surge!"

"Desert Python, plus Gillian Cord!"

Elico lifted up both his arms, raising the hands to eye level. His body began to shine a bright blue glow, as his power heightened. In moments, waterspouts formed in midair and coiled around the amphibious Bakugan. As the water rose up to his head, the blue glow reached its peak in intensity.

As Elico's goes became neither and brighter, he stayed to silently call at all the water in the area: the lake and the Gate Card. It all joined up with the water streams around Elico, and the water fused into a legitimate hurricane, complete with waves of water and continuous lashes of winds.

"Look out!", Nemus yelled. He and Ingram lowered down just as the storm winds reached their position. Under their feet, whatever water that wasn't drawn to Elico raged in reaction to the hurricane. Ingram put up a hand to shield the battlers on his shoulder. "Shun, are you alright?"

Looking in between Ingram's fingers, Shun noticed a series of yellow flashes of light, growing brighter and brighter. Though it was hard to see through the storm, he quickly realized they were constructs of Haos energy, heading right at Ingram's direction. "Ingram, watch out!"

Ingram didn't have time to react, before a yellow disk came seemingly out of nowhere, slicing two of his wings in the meantime. He didn't even have time to process that before a yellow beam struck his chest. "GAAAHH!", Ingram yelled, pained by the consecutive attacks.

Ingram: 600, Nemus: 450, Elfin: 1400-400=1000

Elico: 500+500+400=1400, (Brontes: 700+200=900, Dynamo: 400+200=600)=1500, Hades: 1400

Brontes cackled wildly as he held out his hand. The disk boomeranged back through the air and returned to his grip. "What fun!"

Ingram almost completely fell down from the repeated strikes on his body; it was only consideration for his passengers that kept him from total collapse.

Realizing how weak his ally was, Nemus planted his staff into the battlefield, piercing the water and penetrating the ground. "Baron!", he called out.

Baron quickly loaded in an ability. "Right. We'll cut the Vexos down to size, all in one move! Ability Activate! Bolting Arrow!"

Nemus raised his hand to the hole at the end of his staff and conjured up a bowstring and arrow of light energy. Pulling back the energy arrow, he aimed straight at the center of Elico's hurricane. Once the bowstring was pulled taught, Nemus released his grip and let the arrow fly.

Although he wasn't in the arrow's direct flight path, Brontes still leaned away when the arrow sped past him. Nevertheless, a yellow line in his chest appeared. "Ow! Ow! It hurts!", he wailed.

The arrow sliced through Elico's storm, striking the Aquos Bakugan right at the jewel in his chest. Elico let out a bellowing roar, accompanying a shockwave of yellow energy. The shockwave wiped away the entire storm in an instant, winds diffused entirely.

Ingram: 600, Nemus: 450, Elfin: 1000

Elico: 1400÷2=700, Brontes: (900÷2=450, Dynamo: 600÷2=300)=750, Hades: 1400÷2=700

"You halved all their power at once? Good job, Baron!", Marucho said.

"No problem!" Baron grinned with his Aquos ally.

"Unbelievable", Mylene fumed. "Not even my own Bakugan can squash an insect right."

"They beat you back, Mylene, but I'm not through yet!" Shadow placed another card in his gauntlet. "Hey, Brawlers! Here's another Phaser Trident!"

With Nemus still in unobstructed view, Hades had a clear shot. Each head opened up, and the mouths all filled with purple energy. The energy all shaped up into a trio of identical orbs, which Hades released simultaneously.

Nemus would have tried to evade the energy orbs, but Elfin quickly leapt in between Nemus and the attacks. Arms crossed to brace for attack, Elfin took Hades's attack without complaint. "You want my friends, you go through me!"

"You said it, Elfin!", Marucho cheered.

Ingram: 600, Nemus: 450, Elfin: 1000-300=700

Elico: 700, (Brontes: 450, Dynamo: 300)=750, Hades: 700

" 'Go through you', hmm?" Shadow gained a sinister grin, an insane gleam in his eye while he loaded in another card. "Fine. I'll blast you to cinders, then your buddies. Ability Activate! Saurer Cannon!"

When Shadow called out his final trump card, it caused an immediate transition on Hades's chest. The chest piece, including the three spikes, began to split apart in perfect halves, opening a compartment previously hidden. In the place of the chest spikes, three identical cannons larger than any of Hades's other armaments opened up to full extension.

Shun gasped. "He's using that card again!"

"We can't survive another blast like that!", Baron added.

Marucho was about to panic, too, but then he noted Elfin's Attribute. "Yes, we can." He loaded the right card in his gauntlet. "Ability Activate! Copycat!"

Elfin glanced back at Marucho, even as her body began to light up an immense purple glow. "Are you sure about this?"

"It's our best chance", Marucho insisted.

"Okay… Saurer Cannon!" Elfin opened her mouth wide, as did the frog head serving as her hat. She stood tall against Hades, preparing to use its own attack against it.

And then, the two unleashed their power. Hades's three chest cannons all fired monumental lasers of purple energy, which fused into a single purple and black blast. And Elfin's two mouths both unleashed large beams of light purple energy, and the two combined into a purple and white boat of equal proportions.

Elfin: 700+900=1600

Hades: 700+900=1600

The two Darkus blasts met center field, equal in size, energy, and intensity in every way. As such, it was a stalemate with no winner, which resulted in a massive explosion of Darkus energy.

The explosion was large enough to force all the Bakugan to the rim of the battlefield, breaking off any and all kinds of combat. The blast zone kept growing, endangering them still. And, with the Brawlers still on Ingram's shoulder, they shared his present danger.

Shun didn't waste a millisecond in loading his next card. "Ability Activate! Armored Mega Dome!"

"I'll protect you, Shun!", Ingram promised. "I swear it!" His wings extended to their full length, then folded inwards. Both Ingram and the humanoids he was sheltering became covered in a protective dome of feathers, which were lightly flowing with defensive Ventus power.

Ingram: 600+200=800, Nemus: 450, Elfin: 1600

Elico: 700, (Brontes: 450, Dynamo: 300)=750, Hades: 1600

The blast wave reached Ingram's defenses and halted their advance, leaving Ingram to deal with the mere perimeter of the fallout. Still, it was almost more than he could bear. He retreated a full three steps back and was safe, yet his wings were scorched.

When Ingram pulled back his wings, the battlers gaped at the fallout of the explosion. "Look at that…", Baron said, in shock.

Where there was once level ground, rested a huge crater that encompassed the entire battlefield. The dirt in the crater had partially melted, yet otherwise, it was just a large crater.

But the more frightening effects was what Elfin was undergoing. In the wake of the blast, Elfin almost immediately collapsed. Her body landed on the ground with a resounding thud, kicking up a noticeable amount of dust.

"Elfin?" Marucho's call went on, and no response was given. "Elfin, are you okay?!" Still nothing.

"She's out cold", Shun said. "Saurer Cannon must've expended more power than we expected. It'll take a few minutes for Elfin to recuperate."

"We don't have a few minutes!", Marucho protested.

"Neither do they." Shun pointed at Hades, who had ground to a complete standstill. "Hades is undergoing the same thing as Elfin. See? So, until they can power back up, it's essentially two against two."

Mylene snarled at Shadow. "If you're going to use that card and drain Hades dry, at least make sure it's actually going to finish the enemy off first! Instead, you let them counteract it!"

"Not my fault!", Shadow complained. "These roaches are really hard to kill!"

"Elfin's incapacitated too", Volt piped in. "If there's any time to finish them, it's now."

"Never going to happen!" Baron snapped a card in place. "Time to lock them down, Nemus! Ability Activate! Shade Cocoon!"

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 Vexos's Bakugan, it blew them back a step and covered them in yellow light.

Brontes gasped loudly as the Haos energy overcame him. His own disk broke apart into yellow particles. "No fair!"

Dynamo also gave an immediate reaction, collapsing to the floor. Its gears and metallic armor froze in place. Hades didn't react at all, already incapacitated. And Elico growled loudly, his body still maintaining free movement, but with no elemental power to back it up.

Ingram unfolded his dome and stood at full height, fully ready to attack. Realizing Ingram's readiness, Shun snapped two abilities inside his gauntlet. "Double Ability Activate! Shadow Split plus Shadow Echo!"

Ingram's body shone with a green outline for a brief moment, barely lasting a second, before the glow flickered out. Then, four Ingram duplicates flew out of the original's body and flew over the ground, all on a path to the Vexos. The real Ingram, however, stayed where he was, on account of his passengers.

Before they were halfway there, however, each copy dropped to through ground and sunk into their own shadow, disappearing from sight completely.

Only a few moments later, the duplicates reappeared from beneath each Vexos Bakugan. Elico and Brontes suddenly found themselves grappling with a duplicate each. Dynamo was smacked from below by another, and the last changed Hades in its central head.

Ingram: 800+200=1000, Nemus: 450, Elfin: 1600

Elico: 700-200=500, (Brontes: 450-200=250, Dynamo: 300-200=100)=350, Hades: 1600-200-100=1300

"Smoke and mirrors? Pitiful", Mylene scoffed. "Those duplicates will crash after a single hit, each. You'll need more than that to wipe us out."

Proving her point, Elico and Brontes went on the offensive. Elico slashed the duplicate engaging him with a clawed gauntlet, and Brontes landed a hard punch on his. Both Ingram copies faded away instantly.

"She's right", Ingram relayed. "Elfin, how are you?"

"I… no…", Elfin gasped. She tried to raise herself up, but couldn't support her weight even on her hands and knees.

"Still incapacitated." Shun ripened an analytical eye to the enemy. "Guess that means it's your turn again, Baron."

"But that'll cancel the Shade Cocoon, Master Shun", Baron protested.

"We'll have to be ready", came Shun's response.

"Okay…." Baron loaded in the card. "One last attack, Nemus. For the Bakugan! Ability Activate! Shining Force!"

Nemus raised up his staff at an upwards slant, and yellow energy started to fill in the sun-designed tip once again. The amassed energy grew larger and larger, with more and more power directed into the orb all at once. "No one will hide from the light of my… Shining Force!"

Ingram: 1000, Nemus: 450+400=850, Elfin: 1600

Elico: 500, (Brontes: 250, Dynamo: 100)=350, Hades: 1300

"Who's hiding?", Volt yelled, drawing another card. "Ability Activate! Jeer Frontier!"

Mylene locked her own card a moment after. "Ability Activate! Trick World!"

Freed from the restrictions of Nemus's Trick World, both Elico and Brontes began to glow a light hue of their Attribute colors: blue or yellow. They sent out waves of their energy, which fused into a combined wave of transparent, bicolored energy.

Ingram, Nemus and Elfin found themselves overcome by the dual energy at once, and knocked back by the backlash. They all kept standing, at least at first, but they immediately started clutching their heads with their hands.

Two simultaneous effects happened to disorient the three Bakugan. First, the environment began to change from what they could see. The lake appeared to dry up before their eyes, and the rocky ground turned into desert dunes.

Second, their senses began distorting: vision twisting right in front of them, the slight noise echoing for no reason, even smells becoming far more overpowering than what was rationally possible.

Ingram: 1000-900=100, Nemus: 850-200-550=100, Elfin: 1600-1500=100

Elico: 500, (Brontes: 250, Dynamo: 100)=350, Hades: 1300

"What in the world…?", Nemus asked, clutching his head with his left hand. "AH! My head!"

"Mine, too!" Elfin desperately held her head as she suffered through a migraine headache: the consequences of the Vexos's combination attack. She was still weakened from the overexertion of her Saurer Cannon, and this wasn't doing her any favors.

"Elfin, Nemus!", Marucho called.

Ingram felt the same pain as his allies. The headache was systematically tearing down his focus and willpower. "Shun… do something!"

Shun snapped an ability inside his gauntlet and closed the compartment. To his surprise, the card didn't light up. "What? My ability's been blocked!"

"It must've been one of those abilities", Baron said. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"You're supposed to go down like a house of cards in a strong wind, of course." Mylene swept her hand. "Go, Elico! Take them out!"

Without anything to burden or obstruct Elico, he rushed forward with raised claws and teeth bared. Rushing Ingram first, he slashed with his right hand, scoring deep gashes right at Ingram's chest.

"GAH!" Ingram reverted down to ball form in an instant, and began falling to the ground. "I'm sorry…"

Shun: 0%

Reacting quickly, Shun grabbed his two allies and tossed a rope to Nemus's staff. Using the staff as an anchor, the training ninja swung the three to the ground in a moderately hard fall, instead of a crippling one.

"Thanks, Shun", said Marucho, who landed on his butt. "That was close."

"It's just begun", came Shun's reply.

Without missing a beat, Elico loved on top Elfin, who also went down to a single gauntlet slash. The amphibious Bakugan retreated to ball form and fell at Marucho's feet.

Marucho: 0%

"I'm… sorry, Marucho", Elfin apologized in a weakened and hoarse voice.

"Elfin…." Marucho shook his head. "This isn't your fault."

"Of course it is", Mylene mocked. "It's all of your faults. Contesting the Vexos is defeat in and of itself. You lost this battle the moment you started it."

"We beat you at Alpha!", Baron protested.

"And we beat you here. Elico!"

Elico ran at Nemus and slashed both sides of his ribcage with his claws. The Haos Bakugan went just just as quickly as Ingram and Elfin, pulling back to Baron as a ball.

Baron: 0%

The Vexos Bakugan on the field all reverted to ball form themselves, retiring to their Vexos battlers post haste.

Shadow grinned. "That took long enough. Real shame Mylene got the last laugh, though."

"It isn't my fault you drained Hades too early." Mylene kept her eye on the Brawlers.

"They're still so strong. Too strong." Shun's right hand clenched into a fist. Shun punched the grind with all his strength, ignoring the backlash. "I thought, with Spectra gone… I thought the Vexos were vulnerable. That we had the advantage for once."

Mylene smirked. "Victory is such a satisfying thing, isn't it?"

Shadow grinned far more broadly than his leader. "And we'll beat them again and again and again! Who needs Spectra?!"

"Stop declaring victory", Volt advised. "They're beaten, not broken. We won, but they can get back up."

"We won't give them that chance." Mylene began to walk towards her beaten foes. "If we let them go, they'll regroup and try again. No. We'll take them alive."

Baron and Marucho stilled. "Are they actually-?", Marucho trailed off.

"We need to run!", Baron shouted.

"Don't bother." Mylene placed a different card in her gauntlet, and the tip extended a dark blue energy blade. The Brawlers froze when they saw the energy sword. "You're coming with us, like it or not."

As Mylene continued her approach, the ground started to rumble. First, it was barely noticeable shaking, then it became increasingly more intense and violent. Soon, it was impossible to ignore.

"What's going on?!", Baron questioned. "I thought the battle was over!"

After Baron said that, they all heard a new sound: a mechanical whirring that seemed to come from beneath them.

Mylene gasped. "No!" No longer having the luxury of a casual pace, she fished the Brawlers. "You're mine!"

Too late. Behind the Brawlers, a vehicle about the size of a truck, except with a massive drill at the front, came out of the ground. A door opened near the front, and two Vestals excited hastily.

"I told you it was them! I knew it!", cheered one of them: a girl around Mira's height, with purple eyes and red hair in a pixie cut.

"Nice deduction." The other was a Vestal male, taller and skinnier than Shun, with light purple eyes and black hair. "Shun and Marucho? I think you should come with us."

"Why?", asked Shun, confused by the sudden development. "What's going on? Who are you?"

"I'm Iris, and my brother here is Newt. We live over in Beta City", the girl said. "And as of now, we're your ride there."

Baron smiled thinly. "Free ride to the city? Thanks."

"Wait… stop!", Mylene sputtered, equally appalled, confused, and angered. "These people are enemies to the throne! This is treason!"

"That's why we're here, slaver", Iris shot back at Mylene, who flushed red with rage.

Newt grabbed Shun by the arm. "We really should go."

Marucho was pensive. "Shun, should we trust these guys?"

"We don't really have a choice", Shun replied. "Let's go!"

The three quickly ran inside the drill, followed by their two sudden rescuers. The drill started to spin once again, and the vehicle disappeared back into the earth.

Shadow was dumbfounded. "What… what just happened?"

"They've got more support from the populace than we expected. Dammit", Volt swore. "There's no way we can keep them out of the city now."

"Unbelievable", Mylene growled. "Those ungrateful, arrogant, traitorous brats." She took in a sharp breath. "It doesn't matter. They can't beat us. No matter how many times they get back up, we'll just knock them down again. Beta City will remain secure."

XXX

Back in the Russian forests surrounding Moscow, the cloudy skies were starting to clear up. The area had snowed during the night, but the snowfall had halted with the new day.

Alice was still in her room, with several diagrams written down. The majority of them were her writing down her thoughts on how to get her Grandfather out from under Spectra's thumb. Plans ranged from a variety of options.

The first, and most obvious, plan was to silently infiltrate the lab and sneak her Grandfather away. And, if that failed, use force to make the Vexos back off. Of course, it would never work. She didn't have Shun's aptitude for stealth or combat skill. The lab didn't have a backdoor or fire escape, so she'd have to go through the front. And the Vexos were sure to have at least two guards on Michael at all times.

The second plan was to grab her transporter card from whoever had it, use that to get Michael far away before they even realized what was happening. The problem is, she didn't know who had it; Ace could've given it to any of his teammates for safekeeping after showing it off to her. And if she picked wrong, Michael would pay dearly for it.

But it was her third plan where desperation really revealed itself. It amounted to little more than calling Spectra out and challenging him to battle. It would never work. Spectra had nothing to gain and everything to lose by accepting such a challenge and Alice had no way of ensuring she'd get the scientist even if she won. Spectra had all the power here, and he wasn't stupid enough to let his pride overcome that. Not a second time.

Plan four wasn't even a plan at all. It was an admission of defeat, an agreement to battle Dan and Drago for Spectra. And, to Alice's shame, it was the one she spent the most time thinking through.

"Are you actually going through with this?", Leonidas demanded, affronted and more than a little upset. "You'll let them blackmail you into fighting on their side?"

Alice looked downright miserable. "I don't have a choice. They might kill Grandfather if I don't think of something."

"This isn't just about the old man!", Leonidas yelled hot headedly. "They don't care about him. This is about Drago." Alice didn't even blink. Leonidas was just saying the obvious, yet previously unspoken. "Drago has a direct connection to the Perfect Core. If Spectra gets his hands on him, he'll exploit it for his own personal gain. You're about to make Spectra the most powerful battler on New Vestroia, Vestal or Earth! He'll be beyond our ability to match. And for what? For what?"

Hydranoid growled with three similar, yet distinct voices. "Be quiet. You're not saying anything helpful."

"I'm saying what needs to be said!", Leonidas roared with righteous indignation. He wouldn't let Hydranoid intimidate him into silence again. "Alice, if you do this, we will lose our next battle against Spectra. He'll crush all our allies, and the Vexos will win. The old man can't be worth losing everything!"

"If I let my grandfather die, what's the point?", Alice refuted. She knew Leonidas was right, and she had half a mind to say as much and act on Leonidas's words.

The problem was, that part of her largely spawned from the same dark areas as the lines of Masquerade and Malice. Her mind was whole, but the repeated fracturing created a wide gap between her warm, nurturing nature and cold, practical mind. One part of her would give almost anything to save her grandfather. The other knew the best option was to let him go. It was enough to give her a headache.

"If I don't save my grandfather, I may very well lose myself."

Leonidas scoffed. "Humans and their sentimentalities. I'll never understand it." With a growl, his ball looked Alice right in the eye. "And I won't go along with this. If you face Drago, you can do it without me."

Alice took in a sharp breath. Leonidas had been objecting to this all day, but she never thought he'd go so far. "I can't force you", she said quietly. "Hydranoid…?"

"You don't even need to ask", Hydranoid promised. He was clearly unenthusiastic, even reluctant, but he said the words.

"But can Hydranoid hold himself together?", Leonidas peppered. "He's using a few problems with the 'control' topic. Think he can hold up a battle against a Bakugan like Drago?"

Hydranoid shot a heated glare at Leonidas. "You made your point. Stop."

This time, Leonidas did silence himself. He made his point.

And Alice knew it. Once again, Leonidas made an irrefutable point. A battle with Drago wouldn't do any favors with Hydranoid's problems. If she was going along with with, it would mean increasing the risk to Hydranoid.

The tension in the room only grew for the next few seconds, until a knock came from the other side of the door. "Alice."

She knew the voice. Alice stood up, picked up her Bakugan, and opened the door. "Gus."

"Master Spectra wishes to see you. Follow." Gus turned and left. He didn't need to look back to know Alice was behind him. Alice wasn't the only one who knew what the current power balance was.

Throughout the time to the lab, not a word was spoken. Gus didn't offer any information. Alice didn't ask any questions; her timetable had less than 3 hours left, and Spectra wanted to remind her of the situation.

When they entered the lab, Alice was surprised to see her grandfather wasn't tied down. He was standing, seemingly directing Lync and Ace as they worked on the damaged Dimension Transporter system, with Spectra standing close behind him.

'Of course. They're using Grandfather to rebuild the D.T. system.' Alice fumed uselessly. 'They probably know enough about interdimensional transportation to avoid an attempt at sabotage, even if Grandfather would strand us from the battle on New Vestroia.'

"Here we are, Master", Gus proclaimed, announcing himself and Alice.

"Hello again, Alice." Spectra turned to face his allies. "Tell me. Have you made your choice?"

Here it was. Alice was put down to the wire. No chance of subterfuge. She had one chance to avoid betrayal.

"Spectra." Alice raised Hydranoid in her hand. "How about a rematch? I challenge you to battle. I win, he goes free."

Spectra chuckled aloud. "Oh, you must be quite desperate to issue such a challenge. Excellent." He shook his head. "No. I've made myself clear, Alice. Your opponent is Dan Kuso."

Alice kept her face stone calm. There was still the slightest chance he'd accept her challenge. If she caved in early…

"I asked you a question." In a sudden motion, Spectra jerked Michael in front of him and ignited his gauntlet blade to the scientist's neck. "What is your decision?"

Michael watched as Alice flinched. He had to speak up, tell Alice it was okay. He'd already made his peace, and it had nothing to do with these Vestals. He was already on borrowed time thanks to his negative decay; he couldn't Alice surrender her soul to buy him a little more time. "Alice, don't-!"

He was cut off when Spectra hit him on the head with his free hand. Michael cried out, cutting off his words. It was all he could do to avoid the laser at his neck.

"Grandfather!", Alice cried. "Stop! I'll do it, Spectra! Just don't hurt him!"

And that was it. She made the deal, and Spectra wouldn't let her take it back. To save her grandfather… she'd have to give Drago to her greatest enemy.

"Good." Spectra waved his free hand, signaling Ace and Lync. The two began to program the D.T. system with Wardington City's coordinates. "Good hunting, Malice."

The portal within the machine opened up, a dark wormhole through the dimension, leading to another place hundreds of miles away.

"Don't do this", Leonidas said, in an almost pleading manner. "Please. I'm on my knees and everything. You'll doom us all."

"I know." Alice walked past them all, giving her grandfather a sorrowful look. Then, she went through the portal, bound for her quarry at Wardington City.

The hunt was on.

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: Sorry, probably not going to happen. I decided that Leonidas's character of independence means he might not go along with working with the Vexos.

SkylanderZilla: was this battle's first round a good introduction? Even have him a threat boost with an early introduction to the FARBAS series.

Until next time, goodbye!

P.S. I'm so sorry for being so late. Had a bunch of religious obligations this month. Compound that with starting up college, and I barely had a moment to breathe, let alone write. I hope all this content was worth the wait. Hopefully, this won't happen again for a while.