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.

23. Chapter 23

Hello again! I've returned with a new chapter for this story. Sorry it took longer than the previous one; going back into college with a new semester of work. In any case, I hope you enjoy! Now let's begin!

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

XXX

Chapter 23: The Battle of Gamma City

Hydron watched intently as the Battle Brawler group descended down the first elevator on the route to the Gamma City supercomplex. He couldn't currently watch them in person, but was still able to see the elevator they were descending within.

One of Professor Clay's more useful infrastructure inventions was a robotic bee-shaped android, capable of moving through the air and transmitting real time surveillance directly to his servers.

Hydron currently had a swarm of those androids observing the Brawlers. They wouldn't be able to hide from him this time.

"I see you, Brawlers", Hydron sing-songed, smirking all the time. Then, he directed his voice to a different holographic screen. "They're almost to the platform. You know what that means."

Shadow Prove grinned back. "You bet I do!", he replied. "Oh, this is gonna be so fun! HAHAHAHA!"

"Don't let me down." Hydron cut the connection, allowing his Darkus champion to focus on his battle. "Shadow Prove will do his part. All the Vexos will."

Another screen appeared, showing the magnificent Ves Palace from a distance. The gleaming structure, connected to the earth only by a thin elevator to Gamma City, was kept in place due to a state of the art propulsion system.

"Even if we do lose Gamma City, it won't matter." Hydron began tapping controls on his thrones arm. "By then, the Gamma Controller will be expendable, anyway. Final Controller, on!"

The walls on Ves Palace's top section began to slide down into the main structure of the Palace, revealing a chamber holding a perfectly cut green crystal; it was a design consistent with a Dimension Controller, except several times larger than any of the colonies' versions.

Hydron watched with satisfaction as Ves Palace's Dimension Controller began spinning, emitting a dimensional wave that spread far beyond Gamma Controller's effective radius.

It encompassed the entirety of New Vestroia.

"Let them fight my Vexos champions in Gamma's depths", Hydron spoke, his smirk turning more cunning. "They've already lost the war of New Vestroia. They just don't know it, yet."

XXX

The elevator containing the Brawlers opened up, allowing the whole group to enter a large platform that encircled the artificial sinkhole. The seven Brawlers exited the elevator, looking around to orient themselves with their surroundings.

The platform did ring around the inside of the sinkhole, with a smooth wall rising too the surface of the sinkhole. The only obstruction they could see was the large elevator shaft up to Ves Palace.

"This is Gamma City?", Marucho asked, perplexed. "I thought it would be different."

"No." Ace shook his head, and pointed to another elevator at their left. "The main elevator's over there. This is more of a processing station."

Shun looked closely at the elevator Ace pointed out. "No guards there, either."

"They're definitely trying to lure us in." Mira confirmed Shun's suspicions.

"Then let's go." Alice spoke definitively, concluding their discussion. They all began moving towards the elevator, wary for traps all the way.

That was the only reason they spotted the humanoid standing on a rising elevator. They saw the humanoid leap of the elevator, moving through the air towards Alice at rapid speeds, and jutting his leg ahead of the rest of his body. "SHADOW KICK!", he screamed.

Shun blitzed between the maniac Vexos and Alice, circumventing the kick by dodging it, then grabbing his leg. Before Shadow could react, Shun had flung him to the edge of the platform.

But Shadow landed on his feet and recovered quickly. He threw his head up and laughed uproariously. "AHAHAHAHA! What a rush!" He seemed ecstatic with the failed attack. "You're as spry as I remember, Shun!"

"Shadow Prove!", Mira snapped.

"We don't have time for you, Vexos creep!", Dan stated.

"Yeah, well, I'm not here for you!", Shadow countered. "I'm here… for her." He pointed at Alice. "I'm calling you out, little girl. Let's have ourselves a little rematch! What do you say!"

Alice sighed, then stepped ahead of the others. "Go on ahead", she ordered. "This shouldn't take too long."

Baron quickly began an objection, knowing what Shadow had in store for her. "Master Alice-!"

"Go!", Alice reiterated.

Realizing they were wasting time, the group finally left after that, running up to the elevator and using it to further descend into Gamma City proper. Leaving Alice and Shadow to settle their score.

"I've been looking forward to this little match up!", Shadow taunted, brandishing his gauntlet. "Can you guess why, little lady?"

"Not really", Alice replied, looking somewhat troubled. 'I beat him last time, and I've only grown stronger since then. But he seems so confident now. What's changed?'

Shadow's grin widened even further with his glee. "You don't know? Ha! Man, your guys really dropped the ball on the info sharing this time!"

"What's he talking about?", Hydranoid asked.

"I don't know", Alice hesitantly answered, her apprehension rising. She raised her to Bakugan to speak with them. "Hydranoid, Leonidas? Are you ready to fight?"

"Always", Hydranoid swore.

"Count me out", Leonidas countered. His voice was rather tense.

Alice winced. 'Leonidas is still mad at me, I guess. He's barely said a word since Dan returned him to me.' She understood, of course. Alice had fully disregarded Leonidas's opinion in choosing to take Drago for Spectra, almost fully severing their mutual trust. It would take a while to heal that, and Leonidas wasn't even willing to try yet.

"I understand." Alice chose to acquiesce to Leonidas's wishes. "Hydranoid, let's do this." Hydranoid jumped into her palm, and Alice closed it around him.

Then, Alice loaded up her gauntlet, glaring at Shadow all the while. She couldn't help but note the contrast from the last time they'd faced each other in battle; Alice was no longer the inexperienced battler, too terrified of her own darkness to even properly use an ability. She was now a skilled and experienced Brawler, acting in full sync with her Bakugan. Unless Shadow had changed just as radially, he stood no chance.

Alice's newfound feelings of rage soared for the upcoming battle. While Alice really wanted to battle Spectra for her retribution, Shadow was an acceptable substitute. Alice was ready to express some of her anger. 'I'll make you pay, Vexos.' "I'm ready for you, Shadow!"

"Rock on!" Shadow loaded the power card inside his own gauntlet. "Gauntlet-!"

"Power Strike!" Both Darkus battlers finished the activation phrase together. Their gauntlets shone an identical purple, readying the area around them for battle.

"Gate Card, set!" Alice set the first card without delay. It expanded across their section of the platform. "Go, Hydranoid! Bakugan, brawl!" Hydranoid's sphere shot from Alice's hand and onto the card, opening upon impact. "Darkus Alpha Hydranoid, stand!"

The three headed biped rose into the battlefield, glaring down Shadow with three sets of intimidating red eyes. "Bring it, Shadow! RRRAAAHHH!" The three heads let out bellowing roars in an attempt to establish supremacy.

"With pleasure!" Unfazed by Hydranoid's opening display, Shadow took out a silver and purple Bakugan with a gleeful smirk. "Time for a mirror match! Bakugan, brawl!"

'Mirror match? What's he talking about?', Alice wondered, for the first time unsure about this confrontation.

"Bakugan, stand!" The Bakugan Shadow had thrown landed on the ground, sparking up a brief storm of purple electricity. It was weak enough to not affect Hydranoid nearly at all, but bright enough to blind both him and Alice.

When Alice could see past the lightning storm, the figure she saw was a near exact replica of Hydranoid. The heads, tails, wings and even chest spikes all correlated. It was only as the glare fully disappeared when she realized it was a mech carefully created to resemble Hydranoid. "What the?!"

"Alice, I'd like you to meet my hydra buster. Darkus Hades!"

Alpha Hydranoid: 600

Hades: 600

Hydranoid snarled with irritation. "They made a metallic Hydranoid. I don't know if I should be flattered or annoyed."

"Probably smarter if you felt threatened, lizard brain", Shadow snarked. "The Prof made Hades to do everything Hydranoid could do, better than he can do it! He's better and stronger in every way!"

'Why didn't anyone tell me about this?!', Alice wondered behind an emotionless mask. Then, she remembered how that debrief had gone: she derailed it all when she broke down about Michael. She couldn't say for sure, but she could guess that was why Shun didn't disclose knowledge of Hades to her.

In any case, she now understood why the others were hesitant to let her battle Shadow alone. Hades would be formidable for Hydranoid to best alone.

But that didn't mean Alice wouldn't give it everything she had. "Ability Activate! Death Trident!"

Hydranoid began charging up his signature ability, with a trio of purple orbs forming within each of his opened mouths. Each head was locked solely on the robotic doppelganger. Then, the biological hydra sent each orb out towards Hades in quick succession.

Alpha Hydranoid: 600

Hades: 600-300=300

Shadow sneered and prepared his own card. "Whatever! Ability Activate! Gazer Electron!"

Hades fixed all three of his heads on the area around Hydranoid, 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.

The mechanical hydra released all three of his orbs at that moment, straight at the three orbs Hydranoid had shot at it. None of the orbs made direct contact with the orbs, but they all exploded into a lightning storm of dark purple bolts. The electricity forced Hydranoid's attack to explode prematurely, leaving Hades unscathed and no longer threatened.

Alpha Hydranoid: 600-100=500

Hades: 300+300=600

The lightning bolts didn't stop with Hydranoid's attacks, though. Unfortunately, they kept going at a consistent pace directly at Hydranoid. They struck the area around the hydra, engulfing him in a storm of electricity so intense, the flash hid him from view.

"Hydranoid, no!", Leonidas exclaimed, distressed.

"Yeah! Guess your hydra's not that great, after all!", Shadow jeered. "So much for Alpha Hydranoid, huh? He's nothing compared to Hades! Hahaha!"

"You speak far too soon!" The lightning slowly dissipated, revealing that Hydranoid was engulfed in a light purple aura that protected him from the voltage. Not even a single stray bolt got through to shock Hydranoid.

Alpha Hydranoid: 500+100=600

Hades: 600

"Huh!? How'd that happen?!", Shadow demanded.

"Fusion Ability, Final Demolition." Alice let out a small sigh of relief, yet refused to look away from the battle. "That was too close."

"Alice, keep going!", Hydranoid prompted.

"Right. Double Ability Activate!" Alice didn't waste any time in activating her next attack. "Indigo Nightmare, plus Chaos Leap Sting!"

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

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

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

Alpha Hydranoid: 600+300+100=1000

Hades: 600-200=400

Shadow merely locked in two abilities of his own. "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 charged up a large amount of purple energy bolts. All six of them centered onto the sole opponent Hades had to focus on.

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 Alpha Hydranoid. The six blasts maintained their course, bursting through the air.

Alpha Hydranoid: 1000-300-300=400

Hades: 400

The energy lasers from Hades's three heads crossed streams with Hydranoid's purple and black energy, canceling out all six beams in an instant with a large explosion.

At the same time, the smaller blasts from Hydranoid's mini heads clashed with the three lightning bolts that came from Hades's tails. And, similarly, the electric bursts forced the beams off course, neutralizing both of those attacks as well. The result was a continuing stalemate between Hydranoid and Hades.

"They're even in power", Alice observed.

"Ha! Not for long!" Shadow pressed the attack, loading in another card. "Go, Hades! Ability Activate! Saurer Cannon!"

Hades's chest armor, 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.

Within an instant of charging power, 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, with Hydranoid right in the danger zone.

Alpha Hydranoid: 400

Hades: 400+900=1300

"This is Hades's final battle gun! No way you survive now!", Shadow yelled.

Hydranoid snarled. "Alice! Now!"

"Right." Alice prepared her counter. "Ability Activate! Merge Shield!"

Hydranoid spontaneously summoned a dense aura of dark purple energy thick enough to obscure his appearance. The energy became concentrated in front of Hydranoid, forming a barrier against the incoming laser.

"I'm going to blow that misty shield away!", Shadow yelled. But then he remembered exactly what Merge Shield did. "Wait! No-!"

The Saurer Cannon then hit Hydranoid's shield, sending types through the semi corporeal defense. Not a single bit of the energy got past the Merge Shield. By contrast, they were absorbed into Hydranoid's attack, making the sense aura several times more intense by the time the absorption was finished.

Alpha Hydranoid: 400+300+900=1600

Hades: 1300

With all of its power spent, the lights on Hades's went out. All of its mechanical movements ceased as Saurer Cannon's recoil fully drained its power for a brief time.

Alice noted the development with Hades. 'Did Shadow really drain Hades's power? This early in the battle, too? Is he taking this seriously at all?'

Shadow's eyes widened. "No fair!" He was as annoyed with Saurer Cannon failing as he was with the toll it took on Hades.

"It doesn't matter how powerful your Hades is!", Hydranoid declared ferociously. "You'll never defeat us! You are too weak!"

"Too weak?" Shadow repeated the words. "I'm not weak! I'm Shadow Prove of Team Vexos!"

"You also talk too much." Alice used the time to get another card ready. "Ability Activate! Trident of Doom!"

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

The three orbs kept their course above the temporarily immobilized Hades, yet they didn't stay that number. Halfway to their destination, the energy orbs split apart into a total of nine orbs. Each orb was a third of the original trio, they flew ahead at a much more rapid speed. Then, they all descended at once onto the mech.

Alpha Hydranoid: 1600

Hades: 1300-900-300=100

"Oh MAN!" Shadow haphazardly threw his Trap into the blast zone. "Bakugan Trap, Darkus Fortress! Stand!"

The cubic Trap opened up on midair, creating the armored Bakugan right in front of Hades. Fortress arrived just in time to intercept Hydranoid's attack, fixing it to beat the explosive power instead of Hades. Despite taking a direct hit from Hydranoid, though, Fortress managed to remain in the battle.

Alpha Hydranoid: 1600

(Hades: 100, Fortress: 400)=500

"A mechanical Bakugan Trap, too?", Alice wondered aloud. "It shouldn't matter. We're well over 500 points ahead and Hades is immobilized, so we should be fine. Keep going, Hydranoid!"

"Right." Hydranoid, still coated in the Merge Shield aura, began a steady pace towards Fortress and Hades. One for, then the next. Neither mechanical Bakugan was capable of considerable movement at that time, which meant Hydranoid's approach was surefire.

"NO! NO! STAY AWAY!", Shadow yelped, loading up his next card. "ABILITY ACTIVATE! CROSSFIRE!"

Fortress quickly began its attack. The purple plating on its shoulders opened up, and the six cannons hidden within extended to join the others. All of the numerous cannons on Fortress's body began building up purple energy.

And, in an instant, it was released. All of the cannons began firing purple lasers in a rapid barrage, again and again and again, all against the incoming Hydranoid and his Merge Shield. Wherever a laser impacted the energy barley resulted in a powerful explosion.

Alpha Hydranoid: 1600-300=1300

(Hades: 100, Fortress: 400+300=700)=800

But it wasn't enough to even slow Hydranoid down. He maintained his steady pace throughout the barrage, not even resting to the explosions meant to hinder him.

Shadow started breathing rapidly, almost to the point of hyperventilating. "I'm losing? How am I losing!? How, how, how!?"

"You want to hear it?" Hydranoid continued closing in on Fortress. "It is because you are pathetic!"

SNAP!

Shadow heard the sound of a thread snapping, and then he stopped. His breathing quieted down beyond the point of hearing. His pupils shrunk down so much, they could barely be seen. His arms dropped to his sides, then his movements slowed to a complete stop.

In Shadow's mind, he was reminded of every remark and criticism against him all at once. Loudest of all, and the ones he could fully hear the echoes of, were from his most consistent battling partner and current leader, Mylene.

"Honestly, why do I bother with you?" Mylene didn't have faith in his power. "Get off your high horse." They both knew his arrogance was unfounded and baseless. "Don't get carried away." She treated him like a child.

"Ability Activate! Chaos Leap Sting!" Alice announced the reactivation of her latest card.

The mini heads, along with their tendrils, emerged out of Hydranoid's six wings once again, expanding the dark aura where they extended. From within the slowly thinning mist, the six mini heads aimed their open maws at Fortress and began firing back a similar barrage of purple lasers as Fortress was expending.

While Fortress's energy seemed to have no effect on Hydranoid, the hydra's counter struck the armed Trap several times with piercing shots. None of them were permanently debilitating, but they did force Fortress to stop firing.

Alpha Hydranoid: 1300+100=1400

(Hades: 100, Fortress: 700-200=500)=600

"We can finish them now." Hydranoid looked back to Alice, finally allowing his aura to dispel. "Let's do this."

"I want them to hurt", Alice declared. "Destroy those mechanical Bakugan, Hydranoid. Don't let them revert to ball form!"

Hydranoid's central head nodded. He knew of Alice's desire to make the Vexos pay, and would gladly aid her in that. "It will be my pleasure!" His tendrils continued their barrage, mainly striking Hades. While Hades's tough armor deflected a majority of the attack, they were slowly tearing the mechanical hydra apart.

And, while his Bakugan were being slowly dismantled, Shadow was still, remembering every disparaging remark sent his way. "You are pathetic!" Hydranoid's words, overtly declaring him a weak and unworthy opponent. Even his enemies found him a joke.

Shadow looked at Alice, noting how composed she was even as she ordered his Bakugan's total destruction. Shadow's mania was a downright detriment by comparison. It made him among the weakest of the Vexos. And it had to stop.

'Fine. No more fun and games.' Shadow took a look at Hades's glowing eyes, signifying that it had recharged enough power, he loaded his next card. 'Time to get serious.'

"This… is… it!" Hydranoid finally reached the end of his barrage, sending last blasts into each of Hades's three heads. The energy pierced the metal, going clear through with literal headshots. "It's over."

"I thought battling a mechanical Hydranoid would be more challenging", Alice remarked. "I guess Hydranoid has grown beyond the data you've based Hades on."

But then, Hades proved Hydranoid and Alice wrong. It's body began to glow a purple coloring bright enough to obscure all of the damage dealt to it. "FARBAS recovery system is now in effect", rang a monotone, robotic voice.

"FARBAS?", Alice repeated. She took note of how, as the purple energy on Hades's grew brighter, the substantial damage seemed to disappear.

"Diagnostic complete. Total system damage: 81%. Repairing…" the glow dissipated, revealing Hades in pristine condition. Everything from the tiniest scorch marks to the crippling damage to its heads are fully undone. "System damage repaired. Analyzing opponent Hydranoid… increasing power level to 1400."

Alpha Hydranoid: 1400

(Hades: 100+1300=1400, Fortress: 500)=1900

Alice took a step back. "Does it have a recovery program that can increase its power simultaneously?"

"YOU-!", Shadow began roaring with excessive volume, before catching himself and forcing himself to start again. "You think I'm pathetic?" This time, he was speaking with a more quiet and forced calm. "Fine. Maybe I got carried away a bit. But I'm not pathetic, and neither is Hades."

Alice drew in a breath. She would have expected Shadow to rant and rave, boast a bit, then laugh hysterically. But he wasn't doing any of that. He was forcing himself to stay calm. And it unnerved Alice as much as the FARBAS system.

Alice could figure two things from this. First, that she was suddenly fighting against a very different enemy than she was up till now. One she couldn't necessarily predict the attacks of and thus, wouldn't be fully capable of counterattacking.

Second, the real battle had just begun.

XXX

Dan and Shun ran slightly ahead of the others as they progressed into Gamma City, even as Alice and Shadow's rematch raged on above them. The elevator had long beforehand finished its descent into the city, and they ran through hallway after hallway in an attempt to make progress.

Not that it did them much good. Despite managing to infiltrate deep inside the supercomplex, they could note Gamma City by its emptiness. No guards to slow them down. No scientists at work. Even the laboratories were seemingly stripped bare of the projects that should be contained within them.

"I thought this was a top secret laboratory complex", Baron said as they examined the eighth empty lab in a row. "Where is everything?!"

There was no good way to answer that question. Having no guards to patrol the outside was one thing, but this was something else.

"It's like Hydron's just letting us have Gamma City. Not even putting up a token resistance", Shun rationalized. "But why would he do that? I thought this Dimension Controller was all he had left to maintain his dominion. He shouldn't be able to afford giving it up."

"Maybe his plan is to keep us running around in the complex while closing off the Gamma Controller's systems from our access and potential sabotage." Marucho had a worried tone. "We'd be nothing more than rats in an exit-less maze."

"Don't be ridiculous, Brawlers." All six of them went on edge as they heard Mylene's voice projected through the city's announcement system. "Like we'd ever leave you alone."

"Mylene!", Mira gasped.

"Don't sound so surprised, Clay." It was Volt that said that. "You didn't really expect us to just let you loose on Gamma City, right?"

"Hydron cleared out Gamma City, so there's no need for us to hold back." Mylene picked up where Volt left off. "You'll find us in Laboratory Z; outside the lab you're in, turn left, left again, and go through the last door on the right. You have five minutes to come to us, or we'll go and hunt you down!" There was a clicking sound, and the system went silent again.

"So that's their plan", Baron said. "Draw us in for a head to head showdown where they can fight at full power."

"Call me crazy, but couldn't we just dog pile them with superior numbers?", Elfin suggested.

"What if they're trying to lure us into a trap?", Marucho corrected his Bakugan. "Besides, there's still the other Vexos to think about. We can't afford to divert all our resources here."

Dan gave a flashy grin. "I'll take them on!", he volunteered.

Shun frowned. "Dan, I'm not sure about this."

"Look, if it's a trap, Drago's tough enough to fight his way out", Dan said. "And if it's just a real fight, his Perfect Core power will go a long way to overloading the Dimension Controller. Best we get him on the field as soon as possible, right?"

Drago opened his ball form. "A sound strategy, Daniel."

Shun blinked, acknowledging in his mind that it was a reasonably good idea, given their situation. He nodded his approval.

"Just hang on, Kuso", Ace interceded. "You might need some backup to battle two Vexos by yourself."

"Hey, the more the merrier." Dan easily agreed to the request. "Let's go!" He ran outside the door, followed by Ace, and went down the route Mylene specified.

As they left, Shun and the others watched them go. "Good luck", he called out to them.

They reached the laboratory Mylene directed them to quickly; of their five minutes of allotted time, they had three to spare.

The lab they found themselves in was less of a research center and more of an artificial battlefield. White panels comprised the floor, walls and ceiling, and the room was a hexagonal shape. The top of the wall on the far side was thick glass that accommodated a currently empty observation room.

And, sure enough, Mylene and Volt were both waiting for them on the other side of the battlefield.

"Dan Kuso, I presume?", Mylene spoke to the Pyrus battler. "I don't believe we've ever truly met before."

"We haven't", Dan confirmed, only just realizing this. Mylene and Shadow were the only Vexos he hadn't run into as of yet; not that Dan was that surprised by this, given Spectra's monopolizing of his time. "But don't think that I'm not ready for this."

"Considering this is our first meeting, I'll give you this offer here and now: give up Drago to my custody, and you can leave both this lab and the city without issue." Mylene raised her right hand. "If you refuse," she closed her hand into a tight fist, "I'll crush you and simply take him by force."

"I won't let that happen", Dan declared. 'No one's ever going to take Drago away again. Especially not one of the Vexos!'

Volt eyed Ace. "So you've come to fight too." He latched his gauntlet into his arm. "Time to stop talking, Mylene."

Mylene nodded. "Agreed. They've forsaken their chance to surrender, so it's time to crush them."

"Like we'd let you", Ace countered as he and Dan loaded their gauntlets in unison.

"Gauntlet, Power Strike!" Each gauntlet glowed with their respective colors - red, purple, blue and yellow - readying the battlefield to house their coming battle.

"Gate Card, set!" It was Volt that set the first card, having it land in the center of the battlefield and expand to the limits in a yellow wave. Volt held Brontes up to speak. "Brontes, are you ready to fight?"

"Heck yeah! Put me in, put me in!", Brontes chimed excitedly.

"Bakugan, brawl!" Volt flung his Bakugan into the battle. "Bakugan, stand! Haos Brontes!"

The Haos attributed jester rose up, laughing all the while. "Come one, come all!", he proclaimed. "Haos Brontes is ready to dish out some damage!"

"Not going to happen", Ace countered, sending in his Darkus Bakugan. "Bakugan, brawl! Percival, stand!"

The Bakugan landed on the ground, summoning a bright purple tornado. The tornado quickly abated, with Percival appearing in its place.

"Flashy", Brontes commented.

Mylene furrowed her brow in a scowl. "Elico, battle. You have no alternative." Her newly awakened Bakugan grumbled, but Mylene paid it no mind. "Bakugan, brawl! Aquos Elico, stand!"

Elico rose into the battlefield in a bright blue glow, standing beside Brontes with an enraged look on his face. His eyes flickered between their natural yellow and the conditioning-imposed red. "Battle…", he grumbled.

"Okay, buddy. Let's do this!" Dan took hold of Drago and threw him in. "Bakugan, brawl! Drago, stand!"

When Drago's ball landed on the battlefield, it summoned a large fire tornado that reached all the way to the ceiling. When Drago dispelled it, he was coated in a faint multicolored aura associated with the Perfect Core's energy. Drago literally shone with power.

Neo Dragonoid: 500, Percival: 450

Elico: 500, Brontes: 500

Volt frowned as he checked the power levels. "Hey, something's up", he noted. "Drago shouldn't have that much power." From his memory, it was 100 more than it should've been. Granted, it had been a while since then, but he still remembered it clearly.

Mylene nodded, noting that information. "He'll likely have more stamina, too. Stay sharp." As much as she wanted to be asked in her victory, that attitude was what caused her failure in Beta City. She couldn't repeat her mistakes.

Volt loaded his first card. "We'll take Drago out of commission first, then. Ability Activate! Jeer Frontier!"

Brontes raised both of his arms, lighting up a faint yellow color as the ability went into effect. "Pleasant dreams, Drago! HEY-OH!" He stepped forward and held out his open right hand, sending the accumulated Haos energy in a concentrated yellow ring at Drago.

"Not this time, Volt." Ace loaded his own ability to counter. "Ability Activate! Black Maiden!"

"You're mine, Brontes!" Percival gripped his cape with his right hand and swept it over his shoulder. The cape's motion sent out a small burst of wind that went in between Drago and Brontes, crossing paths with Brontes's yellow energy.

When the wind hit the yellow ring, it broke apart into tiny fragments, and even those disintegrated into nothing. Drago was fully protected from the potential attack.

"No fair!", Brontes complained.

"You want some unfairness? Try this!" Ace got his second ability in place. "Ability Activate! Tri Gunner!"

Percival quickly thrusted his arms out, keeping them straightened and aiming forward. His head opened up, as did the gauntlets on his wrists that resembled miniature versions of his own head. Within each maw charged up light purple energy, which began to overflow and shoot out.

At once, all three mouths blasted the energy out in thin beams of light purple power, which fused into a single blazing blast. The fused purple blast quickly closed the distance between Percival and the Vexos's Bakugan.

Neo Dragonoid: 500, Percival: 450+300=750

Elico: 500, Brontes: 500

But just before it would make contact with Brontes, Volt got another ability inside his gauntlet. "Not so fast! Ability Activate! Maniactus Magical!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Brontes slowly raised up his arms, summoning a mystical yellow energy around him. The energy rose up to his chest when Percival's blast made contact.

But the Darkus energy didn't get any closer to Brontes than that. The purple blast fully dissipated and continued to dissipate the moment it got to the area that Brontes affected with his ability.

Soon enough, Percival had to cancel his attack. He panted once it was over, not acting like he had as much energy as he should have had.

Neo Dragonoid: 500, Percival: 750-300=450

Elico: 500, Brontes: 500+200=700

"What's up, Percival?", Brontes teased. "Feeling a little drained? Ahahaha!"

"You…." Percival groaned, bending his knees and placing his hands on them to restabilize himself.

Mylene chuckled darkly. "Now, it's my turn to attack. The Dragonoid's mine. Ability Activate! Scramble Zwei!"

Elico turned his head slightly, looking straight at the Pyrus Bakugan on the battlefield. "Dragonoid…." His body lit up a bright blue hue, especially in the chest jewel that is normally blue. He raised both arms, brandishing the clawed gauntlets on each one, and charged at Drago.

Neo Dragonoid: 500-400=100, Percival: 450

Elico: 500+500=1000, Brontes: 700

"It won't be that easy!" Dan's gauntlet shone red with his first ability. "Ability Activate! Tornado Barrier!"

Drago raised up his wings and began spinning in a circle, immediately forming flames around him. The flames rose in the same circular fashion as Drago's rotation, resulting in a flame twister only barely large enough to contain Drago's form.

"Fire? Please", Mylene snarked. "Water beats fire every time."

"Yeah, we'll see about that!", Dan easily countered.

When the banter was done, Elico reached Drago's position, being confronted by the fire twister. Undaunted, Elico's clawed gauntlets slashed against the flames, only to be repelled back a step. His blue glow faded away, the ability being negated instantaneously.

Neo Dragonoid: 100+400=500, Percival: 450

Elico: 1000-500-100=400, Brontes: 700

Mylene growled. "Don't stop! Keep attacking!"

Elico growled back at Mylene, yet followed the order regardless. The next time Elico tried to slash Drago's tornado, it passed straight through the fire and came back out the other side. No solid body was struck.

"Looking for someone?" Drago flew out of the tornado, appearing right above the Aquos Bakugan, and slamming his tail into Elico. The force of the impact flung Elico backwards, landing him a little over halfway across the battlefield.

Mylene figured out what happened. "They used the dense flames to hide Drago's precise position. That let them lure Elico into an ambush position. I'll admit that was clever."

"Cleverness alone won't save them!" Volt quickly loaded up his gauntlet with his next ability. "Ability Activate! Mania World!"

Brontes stood still for a moment, but his body was reacting to the card. After a pulse of energy, like a heartbeat of a hundred time's the volume, rang out, a harsh and bright yellow aura encased him. The aura continued to become brighter and brighter, making the lights of the well lit battlefield seem like dim torches in comparison.

But Brontes didn't immediately go on the attack. Instead, he looked at his Aquos ally. "Why don't you back me up, Elico?"

Mylene nodded. "Yes. Elico, show them what real power is! Double Ability Activate! Depth Surge, plus Hydro Blow!"

Elico began to light up blue, with the glow most concentrated in the orange jewel in his chest. The intense glow began to emit forced water droplets to appear, and merged them together into large streams of airborne water.

Simultaneously, even more water began to appear in his hands, building up from simple droplets to increasingly large torrents of water.

Neo Dragonoid: 500-100-100=300, Percival: 450-100-100=250

Elico: 400+400+200=1000, Brontes: 700+400=1100

"Time to show you..." Brontes began. He outstretched both of his arms, and the extreme levels of Haos energy he'd accumulated shot forwards at breakneck speeds.

"... our POWER!", Elico finished, thrusting both of his arms forward as well. In reaction, the accumulated water from both the area around him and what accumulated on his hands all shot out with a waterfall's force.

The water crossed paths with Brontes's energy attack, but they didn't adversely affect each other in any way. The result was two incredibly powerful attacks spelling peril for both Drago and Percival.

Dan grinned, loading up his gauntlet. "Then I guess we should return the favor. Drago, let's show these clowns our power!"

"I'm ready, Dan!", Drago agreed. The blue diamond on his chest began emanating a multicolored light, starting to build up in power.

"Ability Activate!" Dan's card glowed multicolor, signifying it was more than a simple Pyrus card. It contained the power of the Perfect Core. "Dragon Contender!"

And then, the Perfect Core light within the diamond intensified, expanding throughout Drago's body to incase him in multicolored energy. The energy grew more and more erratic as his power built, eventually resembling a multicolored flame that had engulfed Drago. When his ability had reached its peak, Drago spread his wings and charged the two enemy attacks.

Although the massive water torrents and intense Haos energy was the result of Elico and Brontes's strongest efforts, they didn't seem to impede Drago at all. When he reached the attacks, he sent out a wave of Perfect Core energy that beat back all of that power at once.

Neo Dragonoid: 300+200+600=1100, Percival: 250

Elico: 1000-500=500, Brontes: 1100-600=500

"IS THAT ALL YOU'VE GOT?!" Drago glared at Mylene and Volt challengingly.

Mylene gasped. When she next spoke, her voice was faint. "So, this is it… the power of the Perfect Core." Her body shook involuntarily, and it wasn't from exhaustion. She'd never felt this much power before, and it truly worried her on an instinctual level.

Volt nodded, feeling a similar sensation himself. Every survival instinct he had was sending out danger signals. If not to run, at least to tread very cautiously. "This won't be easy."

Ace chuckled, recognizing the Perfect Core's power from when he had helped battle Drago. "Gotta be honest. I'm glad he's on our side again." He loaded up his next card. "But he's got a team to help him. Percival, let's pull our weight! Ability Activate! Darkus Thunder!"

The area above the battle suddenly grew darker in color, with unnaturally purple clouds somehow appearing at the top of the enclosed chamber. The clouds grew more numerous and more dense, eventually crackling with purple lightning as the Darkus energy condensed.

Mylene glared at the sudden attack. "I see." She held out her hand. "Elico, Attribute change!"

Elico glanced back at his battler questioningly, unsure of how an Attribute change could help. Still, he wasn't willing to be punished for disobeying. He allowed his body to glow multicolor for several seconds before ending up in his Haos form.

Within that time, an especially powerful lightning bolt shot from the clouds, landing on Percival's raised pointer finger. Percival aimed that finger at the other side of the field, channeling the electricity to the Vexos's Bakugan.

Neo Dragonoid: 1100, Percival: 250+300=550

Elico: 500-100=400, Brontes: 500-100=400

Mylene nodded at Volt, which he took as a signal for his upcoming counter. "Gate Card Open! Haos Reactor!"

The floor of the battlefield began to emit a large amount of sparking light particles, like what one would see on extensively cleaned glass, which rose up in the air. Elico and Brontes both absorbed a large amount of the light particles into their own bodies, causing them to light up a harsh yellow as their powers both increased tremendously.

Neo Dragonoid: 1100, Percival: 550

Elico: 400+400=800, Brontes: 400+400=800

Elico held a hand out, catching Percival's dark lightning in his webbed palm. The energy deflected to the walls on either side. Elico kept up the improvised blocking until Percival stopped sending lightning his way. "It will… take more than that."

The Brawlers gasped. "You're awake?", Drago questioned.

"I am." Elico crouched into a fighting stance.

"Then why are you fighting us?", Percival aggressively demanded. "We're trying to free the Bakugan from the Vexos's oppression!"

"I… cannot stop." Elico looked like he was in mental conflict for a moment. But the moment concluded when his eyes flared red, and he charged on relentlessly. "I can't! I can't stop!"

Drago craned his head back to look at Dan. "Elico's not acting of his own free will."

"Yup. We've gotta get him away from Mylene!" Dan punched the air with his loaded gauntlet. "Double Ability Activate! Burning Tornado, plus Burning Dragon!"

Another flame twister formed around Drago, one considerably larger and hotter than the previous ones. It quickly rose to the ceiling of the battlefield dispelling the few clouds that remained from Percival's Darkus Thunder attack.

A moment later, the tornado imploded, transforming into a fiery cloak that encased Drago's form. He flew over the battlefield, firing a portion of the flame coal at Elico in the form of a large fireball.

Neo Dragonoid: 1100+200+200=1500, Percival: 550

Elico: 800-200=600, Brontes: 800

"Elico is my Bakugan. You'll never take him from me!", Mylene roared, locking in her next card. "Ability Activate! Flash Freeze!"

Elico momentarily halted his charge, remaining in the path of Drago's fireball. But it would never reach him. Elico began to shine a blindingly bright yellow light, one that made the Haos Reactor seem dull in comparison.

Once Elico's light began shining at peak intensity, the fireball was snuffed out like a dying ember. A few seconds later, and Drago's fire cloak dissipated just as swiftly, leaving him exposed to attack. Drago snarled, looking away from Elico to minimize the effect the glow would have on his eyes.

"Okay Volt. Now!", Mylene directed.

Volt snarled as he placed his card inside his gauntlet. "Darkus Howl Trigger!"

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall! HAHAHAHAHA!" Brontes held out his hand towards Drago, sending out several waves of Darkus energy faster than Drago could react.

Thanks to Elico's light drawing his attention, Drago couldn't even see it coming. The energy waves struck his body, sending his flight out of control. Drago landed on the ground in what was a mostly uncontrolled crash.

Neo Dragonoid: 1500-400-200=900, Percival: 550

Elico: 600+200=800, Brontes: 800

"You okay, buddy?", Dan asked.

Drago stood back up, keeping his breathing steady. "Yes, Dan. I was more winded than anything else. Let's get them back!"

"Well you heard him, Percival." Ace loaded his card with a calm demeanor. "Payback time. Ability Activate! Night Explorer!"

"I will show you what true Darkus power is, clown." Percival's eyes, glaring vehemently at Brontes, flashed purple as the ability went into effect. He rose into the air, spinning rapidly and with an accelerating velocity. Before long, Darkus energy swirled around him to form a twister of purple energy.

"Let's finish this!" Dan's next card glowed with the Perfect Core's multicolor. "Ability Activate! Strike Dragon!"

Once again, Drago's diamond lit up in its Perfect Core hue, allowing Drago to light up with the Core's colors and power. This time, instead of remaining within Drago, the energy started blasting out in indiscriminate waves. Percival was the only Bakugan spared from Drago's attack, showing the Darkus twister to continue unchecked.

Neo Dragonoid: 900+400=1300, Percival: 550

Elico: 800-400=400, Brontes: 800-300=500

Volt and Mylene both covered up to keep Drago's energy waves from blasting them backwards. Even so, they were dragged backwards. There didn't seem to be any way to effectively counter this; even if they nullified this ability, they'd leave themselves vulnerable to Percival's attack. Overpowering it was a pipe dream, considering their power levels. Their Gate Card was already opened, so it couldn't help them either.

"No!" Mylene glared furiously at Drago. "I can't fail here! Not again!"

"You will!" Drago's energy waves picked up even more. "This is it for you!"

XXX

BA-DUM!

In a laboratory deeper within Gamma than the Brawlers had currently infiltrated, and closed off to percent their intrusion, Spectra and Gus were still at work on Helios. Except, instead of modifying the alterations, all they could do was monitor and observe.

BA-DUM!

They could even stop the process if it took a wrong turn, as that would only ensure Helios's destruction. They truly only could wait and watch.

Watch as the Forbidden Card wrapped around Helios tightly enough to be painful, kicking his body into overdrive for several hours to imbue the foreign genetics into himself. His muscles had bulged to sizes far beyond what they were, his eyes were dilated, he was almost entirely encased with a thick purple aura, and he was thrashing uncontrollably.

BA-DUM!

Helios was beyond the ability to scream in pain. It felt like every neuron in his body was sending out pain signals, and he could barely stay awake through it all. But he did stay awake; he knew that he had to in order to survive this.

That didn't mean he was aware of his surroundings; any and all external senses had long failed him by this point. In fact, all he could really perceive was the searing pain that Chaos Ability X was inflicting on him. It gave him so much power, it seemed to be eroding his body.

BA-DUM!

After the latest thumping sound, the tendrils finally - finally - dissipated, freeing Helios from their constrictions. Yet the worse pain hadn't dissipated; in fact, it had only gotten worse.

Helios's skin began to glow a faint color, like a light was being put beneath the scales. The scales split in his chest, with light shining through like a stadium light, in a crack that was slowly expanding. More cracks began to appear all over Helios's body; the limbs, wings, tail and the back of the head. And the light of the Perfect Core shone from each and every crack. The Core's power was destroying his body.

Helios's breathing began to slow down. He collapsed onto the floor of his chamber, his movements slowing down. His sight started blurring and darkening. Even the extreme pain began to dull. 'Is this dying? Am I about to die?' He began to close his eyes, feeling more exhausted than he'd ever felt before. He just so desperately wanted to rest…

"HELIOS, GET UP!" The sound cut through the anathema, forcing Helios to hear it.

The Pyrus Bakugan slowly opened his eyes, but all he could see was a dim blur. 'Who… is that?' It felt familiar to him, but he was so tired, he couldn't place it. And he didn't even care enough to try. His eyelids began to close again. 'So tired…'

"DON'T GIVE UP, HELIOS! GET UP! YOU HEAR ME!?"

Helios opened his mouth in a slight gasp. 'That voice… I know that voice!' The darkened blur both brightened and cleared up enough to let him see the sieve of the voice.

Spectra looked downright desperate as he looked on. "Don't you dare die on me, Helios! You've asked me to put my faith in you, and I do! So come on! Don't prove me wrong now!" Spectra took a step closer. "Helios, I know you can survive this! I know it!"

Helios took in a breath, his head clearing. The pain was beginning to return along with his success, but he managed to ignore it more easily this time. He couldn't allow himself to submit to the pain again. "Sorry, Spectra… I just needed to catch my breath!" He stood back up and began focusing intently. 'I can't die here!' The cracks on his body began to close, the scales being forcibly put back together by his focus. 'Not in this damned laboratory! NOT LIKE THIS!' Once the cracks were all fully closed, the Perfect Core's light redoubled its intensity. Helios's whole body glowed so brightly, it hid his finer features entirely. Then, his form began to shift.

Outside the chamber, Spectra grinned. "Yes. He did it!" He'd been terrified the last few moments that Helios's forced evolution would fail, as that had seemed to have happened. Yet it looked like Helios had forced himself to survive through it by his sheer force of will. And it relieved him to no end. Beyond that, even, he was elated.

One of the most notable changes on Helios's body was on his chest; a diamond-shaped structure formed on his chest. Then, Helios spoke. "I can feel it! The Perfect Core's power is flowing through my body! It's amazing! Glorious! Hahahaha!"

The light began to grow even brighter, forcing Spectra and Gus to both look away. Helios's newly secured connection with the Perfect Core was real and profound, sending a feedback pulse through the Perfect Core…

… and everything else that was connected with it.

XXX

Drago felt the feedback, even if he didn't know what it meant. His Perfect Core light began fluctuating. "Gah!" As he gagged, the energy waves he was firing out unexpectedly turned off. He collapsed from the severe sensation. "What is this?!"

Neo Dragonoid: 1300-400=900, Percival: 550

Elico: 400+400=800, Brontes: 500

"What the-?!", Dan and Ace exclaimed in unison.

Mylene was shocked, too, but knew better than to let Drago recover from what was obviously a failed ability activation. "Go, Elico! Ability Activate! Mythran Judge!"

The six tendrils on Elico's back all glowed in unison, emitting another powerful yellow light that was almost as bright as the last one. Moments later, they all detached from Elico and shot towards the dazed Drago.

Drago couldn't even react before the tendrils slammed into him, propelling him to the wall and pinning him there. He tried to struggle away, but it was far too late. His movements were heavily restricted.

Neo Dragonoid: 900-200=700

Elico: 800+100=900

"Drago, no!" Dan loaded his next card to nullify the ability restraining his partner. "Ability Activate! Burst Shield!"

"Too late!", Mylene snapped. "With Mythran Judge active, your Bakugan can't use any abilities." She shot a glare at Ace. "That goes for Percival, too."

However, it didn't cancel the ability Percival was already using. His Night Explorer tornado was as strong as ever, though Elico was powerful enough to negate it if the confrontation became direct.

Ace sent a withering glare back at Mylene. It was all he could do against her.

"Now," Mylene held out her arm, "disappear!"

The tendrils forcing Drago in place all exploded at once, making the dragon take the full force of the ability. The power forced him to glow red and shrink to ball form.

Dan: 60%

"My turn now." Volt kept his gaze on Percival, who was still unable to attack thanks to Elico's ability. "Ability Activate! Darkus Scythe!"

Brontes opened his right hand, chuckling in a maniacally sinister fashion as the ability was processed. Purple energy appeared near Brontes's right, consolidating into a large scythe with a black handle and jagged purple blade. Brontes took hold of this weapon with his right hand and flung it right at Percival and his tornado.

Percival: 550-200=350

Brontes: 500

The jagged blade of the sickle sliced straight through Percival's energy, scoring a deep gash in Percival's chest armor before dissipating. The gash lit up purple as the slice took effect, forcing Percival to go right to ball form.

Ace: 70%

"Hahahaha! Who's the boss?" Brontes shrunk down to his ball, shooting straight to Volt's hand.

Elico, meanwhile, cast a blank face at the Brawlers. "I'm sorry…." Then, he too went to ball form and returned to Mylene's waiting grip.

Dan and Ace picked up their Bakugan looking suitably discouraged about how the first round had ended for them.

"Drago, are you okay?", Dan asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." Drago sounded just as confused as Dan and Ace both felt.

"What happened?", Percival asked his ally. "What canceled your ability?"

Dan paled as a thought struck him. "Did I overtax your body, Drago?"

"No, that can't be it", Drago rebutted. "Spectra had put me through far worse than that with his Forbidden Cards. And my body didn't feel tired." He paused, as if unsure of what to say. "It felt like there was a problem with the Perfect Core itself. That something had affected it fundamentally, and it reverberated to my ability to call upon it."

Dan frowned. The implications of what Drago was explaining didn't make any sense. They were also incredibly worrying. "We can worry about that later. Can you use the Perfect Core now?"

Drago shook his top half, simulating a head shake. "I don't think so. I'll tell you when the Core feels more stable."

"Then we'll have to brawl without your Perfect Core abilities", Ace realized. "That could be troublesome."

"No sweat!" Dan gave Ace a thumbs up. "Drago didn't need the Perfect Core to become the Ultimate Bakugan, he became the Ultimate Bakugan to take the Perfect Core. We can fight without it."

Ace shrugged. "I guess we don't have a choice." His gaze sharpened. "Let's do this!"

"Gate Card, set!" Dan set the second card for the battle. "Ready for our comeback, Vexos?"

"You wish!", Volt retorted. He, along with the other three battlers, all launched their Bakugan simultaneously.

"Bakugan, brawl! Bakugan, stand!"

XXX

Directly above Gamma City, a five battle continued to rage on. Hydranoid was locked in a grapple against Hades, who had proven to be far more equally matched to his own strength than Hydranoid had initially presumed.

And Alice could say the same thing about her opponent, Shadow Prove. He'd apparently been pushed to the breaking point, and had seemed to instantaneously become far more threatening than he had ever been before.

Hydranoid forced himself away from Hades, ascending into the air to get some distance between the two hydras. "I will not lose here!"

Shadow raised his arm, showing the gauntlet processing a card. "Yes, you will. Ability Activate. Phaser Trident!" His tone was hauntingly calm, and it worried Alice more than any of his manic yells of the past.

Mimicking its battler's precision, Hades focused all three heads on Hydranoid, and opened their maws. Without any kind of delay, each head simultaneously unleashed a beam of neon purple energy against Hydranoid.

Alpha Hydranoid: 1400-300=1100

(Hades: 1400, Fortress: 500)=1900

'That might hurt Hydranoid a lot, with that kind of power gap. I can't let it hit!' Reasoning it out, Alice raised her hand up. "Fly up, Hydranoid!"

"Got it." Hydranoid tensed up his six bulky wings, using their strength to propel him upwards with incredible speeds. Hades's lasers blazed beneath him, not getting anywhere close to hitting their mark.

"Bad move." Shadow glared at Alice.

Alice gasped as she realized what Shadow meant. With Hydranoid no longer standing in front of her, she was in the line of fire for Hades's attacks. Purple began to overcome her vision before she fished out her answer to the problem. Her transporter card glowed brightly, transporting her away from the danger zone.

Alice reappeared on top of Hydranoid's central head, physically undamaged from the near miss. Still, she was breathing hard as her adrenaline caught up with her.

"Are you alright?", Hydranoid asked.

"Yes." Alice looked back at Shadow, who was far below her now. "Shadow's different now. He's as callous as ever, but much more focused. More dangerous."

"Agreed. We can't take victory for granted this time." Hydranoid snarled as he noticed movement. "Incoming!"

The movement was Hades, propelled by purple energy being shot out of the bottom of its wings in an effort to gain altitude. When it got near enough to Hydranoid to be back within range, it's mouths opened to release another round of Phaser Trident beams.

"Hydranoid, let's go!" Alice's gauntlet loaded her next card. "Ability Activate! Chaos Trident!"

"We do not fear you, replica!" Hydranoid's mouths opened wide, focusing his energy into a set of pure black pens that formed within each maw. As the orbs grew larger, they began emitting a chillness in the air around them. Once the energy had risen to optimal levels, the biological hydra let them lose against Hades's beams.

Alpha Hydranoid: 1100+300=1400

(Hades: 1400-300=1100, Fortress: 500)=1600

The two opposing attacks met in midair, causing a bright flash to appear where they collided. Yet the difference in power was made clear in an instant. Within seconds, the purple beams were all deflected down to the earth, and the black orbs continued their pace.

Hades's wings began to propel it in a different direction in an attempt to dodge the Chaos Trident. Still, one of the orbs caught it in its leftmost head, damaging the area above the mouth in the explosion. "Warning. Damage in head C optical sensors. Overall visibility reduced to 75%."

Alice waited for the damage to heal thanks to FARBAS, but it didn't. The head remained damaged. "FARBAS must not be a continued effect. We just need to beat Hades before Shadow activates it again!"

"Ability Activate. Proton Mars!" Shadow's voice barely reached Alice's ears with her height, but she could make it the words.

Alice instinctively looked down, catching the major movement from Fortress. 'I forgot about his Trap!'

Fortress began to bend its body backwards, into an angle that would have certainly sent it tipping onto its head had its feet not been bolted to the ground. Once it was at a 90 degree angle backwards, it focused all of its cannons on Hydranoid and fired a purple beam from each one at him.

Alpha Hydranoid: 1400

(Hades: 1100, Fortress: 500+200=700)=1800

Several of the beams struck Hydranoid. Two of them were on the metallic spikes and were refracted away, meaning they were of little concern. Another three struck the skin around that area, leaving minor scorch marks. The rest were near misses.

'This isn't good.' Alice began her analysis with the thesis. 'With Hades in the air and Fortress firing at us from below, maneuvering in the air will be hard. But if we go back down, we could be easily overwhelmed by their firepower. I need a distraction….' Deciding on her course of action, she threw a cylindrical Bakugan down to the ground below. "Bakugan Trap, Darkus Legionoid! Stand!"

The Trap Bakugan opened up before hitting the ground, meaning what landed was the fully formed six-headed serpent. It faced Fortress, giving the robot six identical hisses. Purple venom dripped from each maw.

(Alpha Hydranoid: 1400, Legionoid: 350)=1750

(Hades: 1100, Fortress: 700)=1800

Shadow glared at Legionoid with a much metaphorical venom as the serpent was producing in the literal meaning. "That won't stop me." His gauntlet locked an ability within it. "Ability Activate. Photon Rain!"

With all of its cannons already facing upwards, all Fortress has to do to accommodate the new ability was divert the focus by a small margin. The cannons all charged with more energy, this time being released in several short bursts of power.

Hydranoid saw the bursts shoot past him, ascending even higher in the air then he currently was. "Did he miss?"

"No. It's coming back down!", Alice warned.

True enough, the barrage began to descend even more quickly then it had ascended; gravity was assisting in accelerating it on its way down. And Hydranoid was right in the blast zone.

(Alpha Hydranoid: 1400-200=1200, Legionoid: 350)=1550

(Hades: 1100, Fortress: 700)=1800

Having little choice, Hydranoid began to descend himself in a bid to outrun the barrage. Even at top speeds, though, he could only just keep ahead of it. And the ground was getting closer by the second.

Alice, meanwhile, was preparing a solution to the problem. "Don't worry. Legionoid can help us here." When they had gotten within the Trap's range, she made her move. "Now! Double Ability Activate! Infusion-!"

Legionoid's heads swerved away from facing Fortress. Instead three of them pointed at his own body, and the other three looked upwards at the descending Hydranoid. Then, they all blasted out a purple tinted liquid at both of them. The second the liquid hit either Darkus Bakugan, they were absorbed into the skin, leaving a pristine shine once it was over.

Hydranoid landed back on the ground, eyeing the incoming barrage of lasers. His eyes glared as he named the second ability. "You're mine! Indigo Nightmare!" Energy in a mix of purple and black color blasted out of his three mouths, connecting with the first lasers of the barrage. As they exploded, they affected the lasers in the barrage behind them. Once the explosions were all done, not a single laser from Fortress's Photon Rain managed to hit their target.

(Alpha Hydranoid: 1200+200+300=1700, Legionoid: 350+200=550)=2250

(Hades: 1100, Fortress: 700)=1800

Shadow growled loudly, before forcing himself to calm again. He didn't calm his hateful glare, though.

"Now, go for Hades!" Alice looked up at the mechanical hydra. "Don't let it counterattack!"

"Right!" Hydranoid glared up at Hades, his mouth overflowing with Darkus energy. "Take this!" The energy reached the mechanical duplicate within seconds, consuming its entire metal body like a wildfire. The mechanical hydra was slowly lowered to the ground, still blazing in Hydranoid's attack.

Once it landed, though, the energy dispersed. Hades was still standing and intact, ready to continue the battle. It growled a mechanical sound.

"It's still able to battle?" Alice was slightly worried. "It's endurance is astounding."

"You're not beating me again. Not this time." Shadow's voice carried through the battlefield. "You won't look down on me anymore. No one will look down on me after this. Not after I wipe you off the map!"

Alice gasped. 'He's definitely more intense. He's about to attack!'

"Double Ability, Activate! Gazer Electron plus Photon Tail!"

Hades opened each maw for one more attack, aiming them in the general direction of Hydranoid and Leonidas instead of directly at them. 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 pitch black lightning storm, much more powerful than either of them together.

(Alpha Hydranoid: 1700-100-300=1300, Legionoid: 550-100=450)=1750

(Hades: 1100+300=1400, Fortress: 700)=2100

"Take cover!" Alice could barely get the words out before the lightning was upon them. Electricity was striking them from what seemed to be all directions at once. Legionoid screamed in pain and Hydranoid roared from all three heads.

A stray bolt struck Alice, making her wince. Thankfully, it didn't feel like anything worse than a static jolt; still, it made her realize how badly this could escalate.

"No more time. We have to do it now!" Alice locked in her response. "Ability Activate! Merge Shield!"

Hydranoid's eyes glowed brightly as the ability went into effect. He breathed in deeply, drawing in a large portion of the bolts inside his body. A dark aura engulfed him, becoming thicker and denser with every passing moment. The aura consumed the rest of the voltage, only growing even larger and stronger as a result.

(Alpha Hydranoid: 1300+2400=3700, Legionoid: 450)=4150

(Hades: 1400, Fortress: 700)=2100

Alice gasped as she noted Hydranoid's power. '3700! That's a higher power level than ever!' "Hydranoid!"

"I'm… alright… Alice." Hydranoid's words were spoken with labored breaths in between them. It was clear that maintaining control was taking a lot of effort.

The aura then erupted into a violent storm of dark energy. Winds were picking up around him like it was a raging twister. A beam of dark energy blasted into the air, clearing the clouds that were above them. The artificial ground beneath them cracked from the pressure he was giving off. As Alice watched, some of the energy formed the shape of two extra Hydranoid heads, except it was only semi corporeal.

"AAAAHHHH!" Hydranoid roared mightily, trying desperately to control the high levels of energy. He forced a large amount of it through his mouths, channeling it out to Hades. "CHOKE ON THIS!" The energy struck Hades with the force of a nuclear bomb, blasting the mech of its feet and onto the floor. Then, energy from Hydranoid's aura attacked Hades like a series of lightning bolts. After that, it was another blast from Hydranoid's maws. With Hydranoid's rapid attacks, the energy dissipated only slightly, with the intangible heads fading away.

Alice realized what was going on. 'Hydranoid's rapid fire attacks are channeling as much energy as his empowered body can generate. As long as he stays on the offensive, he can keep the energy from tearing his body apart.' "Keep going! Don't stop for anything!"

"YES!" Alice's aggressive order was all Hydranoid needed to press on. He began firing an endless barrage of orbs from his dark aura, all headed to Hades.

But Hades stood up and withstood all of that, enduring the damage despite all of Hydranoid's efforts. Under the barrage, it's body shone bright purple with another ability activation. "Total system damage: 93%. Damage level critical. Activating FARBAS recovery system." As the purple glow persisted, all of the damage dealt to Hades was instantly repaired. Even the damaged left head was suddenly good as new, without the slightest scratch to denote possible damage.

(Alpha Hydranoid: 3700, Legionoid: 450)=4150

(Hades: 1400+2750=4150, Fortress: 700)=4850

Alice gasped. "Hades is able to contain that much power?!"

"Come on!" Hydranoid sent another volley of energy orbs at Hades. The mechanical Bakugan's aura seemed to simply deflect any possible damage. The aura around him began to increase its potency. 'Dammit! I can't keep this up much longer, and that thing's not going down!'

Shadow's gauntlet was still glowing with the FARBAS card. "There's nothing you can do. Hydranoid may have gotten a bit stronger, but he's still got limits. Hades doesn't. I'll go as far as I have to in order to beat you-!"

Shadow was halted mid sentence when he saw Hades's aura begin to fluctuate, then flare unexpectedly. "Warning! Energy levels exceeding safety parameters! Hades system cannot sustain a power level of 4000 or higher. System reboot in T minus one minute."

If Hydranoid had a human mouth, he would've been smirking. "I… thought Hades… didn't have limits." He chuckled aloud, thoroughly bemused by the turn of events.

Shadow's face whitened in fear as he realized that he might have just nuked his own battle. 'Everyone looks down on me. Treats me like an incompetent clown, or worse. Even my own allies think like that about me. That has to change! I have to win! They'll treat me like how I should be treated! Enough playing around!' "I'm done with this battle. Hades, annihilate them!"

Although Hades couldn't sustain such a high power level for long, it was still able to attack for the moment. His heads unleashed uncontrolled beams of purple energy at Hydranoid and Legionoid.

Alice forced her breath to keep steady. 'Hydranoid can't raise his power level any higher than it already is. It's up to Legionoid, then.' "Ability Activate! Diffusion!"

Legionoid whipped his heads around to ensure that they all faced the incoming energy. His body slithered to the side of Hydranoid's body, in order to get a clear shot. Then, each head blasted out a concentrated blast of light purple liquid.

Incredibly, despite the intense power Hades was giving off, Legionoid's venom had no trouble eating it away. The liquid passed through the energy seemingly unchallenged, with the energy diffusing the minute they touched. Legionoid's venom got as far as Hades's body, diffusing the aura around him. Within moments, the aura was completely dissipated.

"Warning! FARBAS power boost has been canceled! Power level is rapidly declining."

(Alpha Hydranoid: 3700, Legionoid: 450)=4150

(Hades: 4150-2750=1400, Fortress: 700)=2100

"NOW!" Hydranoid roared with all his rage, sending a wave of storming dark energy at his enemy. The energy crackled and surged with power, ready to overwhelm Hades.

Still, Alice was worried. 'Hydranoid's attacks are growing more and more erratic. Is he losing control?'

Shadow, on the other hand, was already on the attack again. "Why do you keep fighting back? Just go down! Consecutive Abilities, Activate!"

"What?! Impossible!" Alice had, for a brief moment, entirely lost her composure. Consecutive abilities beyond the standard combinations were supposed to be beyond a Bakugan's endurance level. 'I suppose mechanical Bakugan aren't limited by that.'

"Proton Mars." Fortress went back into action. Noting the positions of its enemies, it straightened out its body to focus on Hydranoid and Leonidas. All of its cannons begin to fill with the same purple colored energy as before.

"Saurer Cannon. Phaser Trident. Full Burst!" Hades shuddered as it bore the brunt of the consecutive attack. The spikes on its chest split apart, revealing the massive cannons that were hidden within them. As those cannons extended to their full length, every outlet of energy that Hades possessed charged up a massive amount of power. The energy buildup was especially intense in its heads and chest spikes.

(Alpha Hydranoid: 3700-300=3400, Legionoid: 450)=3850

(Hades: 1400+1000+900=3300, Fortress: 700+200=900)=4200

Hydranoid was breathing hard at this point; constantly staving off a power surge by endlessly attacking took a large toll on his body. Still, his power had decreased by a margin once Hades's Phaser Trident activated, and that made his effort moderately easier to handle. "I'll do what I can to end this, Alice, but we'll need Legionoid to keep them held off."

Nodding, Alice loaded Legionoid's last ability. "It's all on this! Ability Activate! Corrosion!"

Legionoid hissed as threateningly as he could, before blasting a third kind of liquid from each of its gaping maws. This venom was a dark purple in color, acidic enough to bubble and steam while in the air.

The acidic venom doused Hades and Fortress simultaneously, coating them in the liquid. The liquid steamed even more as it started corroding the metallic bodies of the mechanical Bakugan.

(Alpha Hydranoid: 3400, Legionoid: 450)=3850

(Hades: 3300-200=3100, Fortress: 900-200=700)=3800

"That won't stop anything", Shadow declared. "Fire!"

Hades and Fortress moved to comply, releasing all the energy they had charged up. All it accomplished was sparking two explosions, with the mechs at the epicenter.

Shadow raised his arm to cover his face as the explosions' blast rushed past him. "What? No!"

"Hades system compromised. Attack system is inoperational. Activate… recovery…" Hades gave the report, before the voice distorted and cut off. Both it and Fortress had armor that was badly melted. The circuits within were sparking as hardware was left in heavy disrepair.

"But how?" Even if it was good news for her, Alice was confused. "Corrosion shouldn't have been that effective." Her eyes widened when she gasped. "But we never used it on mechanical Bakugan before. The corrosive toxins burned away the circuitry. They're just lumps of metal now!"

"No!", Shadow denied, abandoning his calm demeanor. "You can't do this to me! Not again!"

"Yes, I can." Alice locked in her last card. "Ability Activate! Destroy Vanish!"

Hydranoid chuckled morbidly, knowing how well that ability would work in this scenario. "Good choice, Alice." He stepped forward in a steady advance to the useless mechanical Bakugan. "If they can't counterattack…"

"Then Destroy Vanish will rip those mechanical Bakugan apart." Alice finished the declaration. "Do it."

Hydranoid walked up to Hades, dragging up the slightly melted doppelganger and pressing it against his chest saw. The saw began to spin, digging into and typing apart the metal armor with surprising ease.

Alice chuckled, as she realized why. "Metal fatigue. Legionoid's acid weakened the metal."

Even as Hydranoid's saw bore into Hades, his dark storm continued to rage on. Although Fortress wasn't directly affected by Destroy Vanish, the storm released numerous stray bolts into the Trap which damaged it almost as effectively.

Shadow growled. "No! They're both losing power at the same time." And, since they weren't able to process any more abilities, he couldn't stop it.

"Keep going, Hydranoid." Alice kept her eyes on Shadow, but she wasn't seeing him. In her mind, she saw the smirking image of a victorious Spectra. Then, her mind gave her the image of her own Grandfather in his burial site. 'Spectra will get what's coming to him. But Shadow's first!' "Make them pay! Keep going, until they're dust!"

"Yes, Alice." Hydranoid redoubled his intensity for the attack. In the next instant, one of Hades's heads was ripped away from the body, and Fortress lost one of its arms.

'More…' Hades and Fortress lost their remaining arms to the onslaught, then their legs. Hydranoid roared on, the storm around him as potent as ever.

'More!' A blast of dark wind completely obliterated Fortress, tearing its body into small scraps of metal and circuitry. It's power level had depleted down to 0 right before its destruction.

'MORE!' "I WILL DESTROY YOU, IMPOSTER! HRAAAH!" Although Hades power level had only declined below 1800, it was still low enough for Hydranoid to finish it. He grabbed the remaining two heads, stamped on the main body, and pulled. In an instant, the necks were ripped away from the torso, leaving Hades in a state of utter disrepair.

Shadow: 0%

"No! No! NOOO!", Shadow yelled. "You monster!"

Hydranoid growled at Shadow. "Who's the monster?"

Shadow gulped, taking a step back. Then, he turned away and began running. "I'll get you for this! I swear I'll get my revenge!" His body dematerialized as he was running, with him being transported away from the battlefield.

Hydranoid growled, forcing his body to contain the dark storm around him back into himself. He'd already done this a few times before, yet it seemed as difficult as ever. Still, he managed it, and then shrunk to ball form. He and Legionoid shot into Alice's waiting grip.

"It's over", Hydranoid said. "Hades was more formidable than I expected."

"Ha! You took care of him easily enough." Leonidas spoke up. "And, uh. Good job, Alice."

"We should probably get into the city now", Alice reasoned, running up to the same elevator she saw the others take. Yet, as she approached, the doors didn't open automatically.

"Huh?" Alice tapped her hand against the door, yet it still remained closed. When she tried prying the door open, she was greeted by a darkened elevator room. No amount of working the controls made anything happen.

"They cut the power to the elevator", Alice realized. "Shadow's attack wasn't about beating me, it was about buying time; Hydron just wanted to keep me out of the city." She looked down and sighed.

It seemed her friends would have to fight on their own.

XXX

Spectra looked incredibly pleased as the containment chamber finally opened up, allowing Helios's newly altered ball form to exit and shoot towards him. "So you managed to adapt to the D.N.A. infusion. Good. You had me worried for a minute."

The ball form opened, a multicolored outline lighting up around Helios. He audibly scoffed at the notion. "Ha! Like I'd die in a damned laboratory, of all places." After a tense pause, he continued. "I told you to have faith in me, Spectra, and you did. I wouldn't disappoint that trust."

Spectra grinned. "I'm glad you proved my trust to be warranted."

Gus then races up to the battler and Bakugan. "Helios actually survived the process! I can hardly believe it." He examined the Bakugan more closely. "Then Helios's evolution was a success? Is the ultimate power finally ours?"

"No. Not yet", Helios denied. "I can feel the Perfect Core's power within me… but it's incomplete. I cannot fully command the Core."

"As I suspected." Spectra turned to a one way transmission showing four Bakugan in a Gamma City battlefield. "It seems that we'll need to get rid of the competition before your evolution can be completed."

"Then let's go." Gus moved towards the door. "Dan Kuso and Ace Grit are engaged in a battle against Mylene and Volt. If we take them now, they won't stand a chance."

"No!" Gus flinched as he heard Helios roar. "I will not strike a weakened Dragonoid like a cowardly scavenger! When I rip Drago's Perfect Core away from him, it will be when he is at full strength, and nothing less than that!"

"You heard him, Gus." Spectra's glare had Gus back down. "Our progress is further along than ever, and we'll complete it soon… but not today."

Gus nodded in acquiescence, before moving to the other important matter. "What of the other Brawlers? Alice has been locked outside the city, and Ace and Dan are being occupied in battle, but the others…."

"All essential systems have been locked down, and they have no way to find the Dimension Controller." Spectra stared at a real-time video of the group they were talking about, and amusedly noted how much they resembled the human idiom 'rats in a maze.' "They're no threat to the Gamma Controller. We can leave them alone."

"Are you sure, Master?", Gus asked. "They might prove a good test for Helios's new powers."

"No, it's better to let Helios rest up and recover", Spectra denied Gus's assumption. "The process took a lot out of him."

Gus sighed. "Alright."

As the two Vestals were conversing, Helios remained silent. He was still trying to reorient himself within his new body. The level of power he felt from even his ball form was exhilarating, yet he could almost feel Drago's presence. It was like a phantom limb, and it infuriated him. 'Drago… I will crush you. The power will be mine! All of it! And nothing you can do will stop me!'

Meanwhile, Spectra looked at the feed from a different monitor, one that was relaying the fantastic display of power that had taken place above Gamma City. 'So it seems Alice managed to defeat Shadow Prove.' Despite Shadow being more of an ally to him than Alice, he was glad. Alice was too formidable to lose to a maniac with a windup Hydranoid copy. 'Perhaps Alice should be there when I claim the ultimate power. She'll be given the consolation that Michael's fate wasn't in vain.' He liked that idea, even grinning outwardly at it. 'Yes, that's a good idea. I'll see if I can arrange that.'

XXX

Drago and Percival were floating a few feet off the floor, being confronted by Elico and Brontes for the second time that day. With the battle just beginning, no one was moving yet. They all seemed to be waiting for the opportune time themselves.

Neo Dragonoid: 500, Percival: 450

Elico: 500, Brontes: 500

Mylene looked over to her comrade. "I need a few seconds to set up my strategy. Can you provide that?"

Volt grunted with a nod. "No problem." He flung his arm upwards, sending his mechanical Trap up into the air. "Come, mechanical Trap Bakugan! Haos Dynamo!"

The Trap Bakugan opened when it was halfway to the ceiling, summoning the android it contained. The arthropodic robot landed on Brontes's side, with Elico being on the other side of the jester.

Neo Dragonoid: 500, Percival: 450

Elico: 500, Brontes: 500, Dynamo: 400

Brontes chuckled jovially. "Oh, time for Dynamo to have some action? This will be fun! Hahaha!"

Volt didn't respond with words, only by placing his ability card inside his gauntlet. "Ability Activate! Sub Dimension!"

Dynamo aimed its head at Drago's form, sending out a quick burst of energy out of its glowing eyes and faux mouth. Drago attempted to fly out of the attack's range, but he was far too slow. In an instant, he was engulfed in a circular orb of dark purple fog.

"Huh?! What's happening?!", Drago called out from within the sphere, clearly alarmed.

"Drago!", Dan exclaimed.

Neo Dragonoid: 500-300=200, Percival: 450

Elico: 500, Brontes: 500, Dynamo: 400

"Nice move", Mylene complimented her ally's choice.

"It won't hold them for any longer than a few seconds." Volt kept his eyes on the battle. "If you have a love, make it now!"

"Right." Mylene extended her hand. "Time to get serious. Elico, Attribute change!"

Compelled by the authoritative directive beyond his ability to resist, Elico began the Attribute shifting process. His body lit up multicolor, giving away the transition to the Brawlers.

Ace narrowed his eyes. "Not this time, Mylene. Ability Activate! Darkus Driver!"

Percival raised up his cape and flung it ahead of his body, covering his body with it. Within moments, the cloth had encircled Percival's body. Wrapped up in the cloth, he started to spin with increasing speed, resembling an oddly colored drill more she more. Then, he shot at Elico with alarming speed. "I'll take you down before you can shift your Attribute!"

"Don't think it will be that easy!" Volt's gauntlet glowed purple with his next card. "Ability Activate! Darkus Howl Trigger!"

"Forget about Elico, Percival!" Brontes extended his right arm, hand opened at Percival's direction. "You're all mine to terrorize! Hahaha!" Dark energy was sent out in several waves to combat Percival's drilling charge.

When Percival's body was struck by three dark waves, his motion was forced to a total halt. Despite trying to increase his momentum, Percival was eventually sent back by the several energy waves emitted by Brontes.

Neo Dragonoid: 200, Percival: 450+200-200=450

Elico: 500, Brontes: 500, Dynamo: 400

Percival unwrapped his body from the cape, allowing him greater mobility once again, and snarled. "Sorry. I couldn't stop them."

"It's not your fault, Percival." Ace looked ahead, watching Elico complete the Attribute change. "We're not done yet."

When Elico was done, he was in his brown, orange and beige Subterra form. He crossed his arms, showing off the metallic drills that were running over his arms and sprouted from his shoulders.

"He's Subterra!", Ace pointed out.

"Doesn't matter!", Dan fired back, readying his counter to Dynamo's Sub Dimension. "Drago, let's do this! Double Ability Activate! Tornado Barrier, plus Fire Tornado!"

Although it couldn't be seen outside of the murky cocoon Dynamo had trapped Drago within, the Dragonoid was spreading out his wings, forcing his flames to appear within the enclosed space. After a few moments, a twister of flames bright enough to shine through the darkness formed, ripping apart the Sub Dimension attack in an instant.

"Good call, Dan." Drago's voice was heard clearly over his flames. "Let's get them back!" The twister grew an ounce larger, sending mild waves of heat at the Vexos.

Neo Dragonoid: 200+300+100=600, Percival: 450

Elico: 500-100=400, Brontes: 500-100=400, Dynamo: 400-100-100=200

Mylene chuckled victoriously, leading in her next card. "Subterra Elico will ground your pitiful offensive to a halt. Ability Activate! Gaia Luze!"

Elico's body glowed orange for a brief instant before he went into action. He crouched low enough to touch the ground and punched the floor with impressive force. The glow dissipated after that.

Then, at the point of impact, dust began to materialize and rage like a sandstorm. The dust storm went in Drago's direction, diffusing the fire tornado when it hit.

"What?!", Drago exclaimed.

Neo Dragonoid: 600-100=500, Percival: 450

Elico: 400+100=500, Brontes: 400, Dynamo: 200

"Good luck trying to activate any abilities." Mylene sniped with no small amount of malicious sarcasm. "Either of you, really. It would just fail. Gaia Luze raises Elico to base level, lowers his opponents to their base levels, and blocks their abilities."

Percival growled. "It'll take more than that." Then, the dust storm was on him, sending him back a step. He regained that step, but it was a continuous struggle for him and Drago.

Mylene laughed haughtily. "I would applaud your tenacity, but it makes me sick. You've lost. Accept it."

"So we can't use abilities. In that case…." Dan whispered his musings to himself, before grinning widely. "Sorry, Mylene, but we're not out yet! Bakugan Trap! Pyrus Scorpion!" He threw his Trap upwards on an arc, and it landed on the field. The large arthropod rose up to do battle, screeching in anticipation.

Neo Dragonoid: 500, Scorpion: 350, Percival: 450

Elico: 500, Brontes: 400, Dynamo: 200

"He deployed a Bakugan Trap?" Mylene gasped. "Gaia Luze won't block it's abilities! No!"

Dan smirked, placing his card inside his gauntlet. "Why don't you try that Gaia Luze of yours! Ability Activate! Reflection Boost!"

Scorpion's back armor began to unripe itself, and two large satellite dishes opened up to face the enemy. When the dust storm reached the dish, the ability was somehow overturned and sent back the way it had come from.

Neo Dragonoid: 500+100=600, Scorpion: 350, Percival: 450

Elico: 500-100=400, Brontes: 400, Dynamo: 200

Before Mylene or Volt could react, their Bakugan were the ones engulfed in the dust storm. It wasn't thick enough to obscure their vision, but their power was effectively shut down.

"They reflected Gaia Luze! Those brats!", Mylene snapped. "Volt! Do something!"

"What can I do l?", Volt countered, gesturing to the battlefield. "My Bakugan were caught in it, too."

Mylene scowled, her blue eyes seeming to darken. "Do I have to do everything? Fine!" She tossed her Bakugan Trap into the air, being the third battler to do so. "Bakugan Trap! Aquos Tripod Theta!" The Trap opened in midair, summoning a dark cloud where it did so. The mythical trident wielding warrior descended from the cloud, landing far enough behind Elico's position to be clear of the dust storm.

Neo Dragonoid: 600, Scorpion: 350, Percival: 450

Elico: 400, Tripod Theta: 350, Brontes: 400, Dynamo: 200

"Time to wash out this errant Gaia Luze." Mylene picked in her next card. "Ability Activate! Dark Flood!"

Tripod Epsilon raised his trident up in one arm, sending a pulse of energy upwards. Almost out of nowhere, even more storm clouds appeared, darkened, and released their blackened, seemingly polluted rainwater. Yet the rain was effective in countering the redirected dust storm, washing it away until nothing was left.

Neo Dragonoid: 600, Scorpion: 350, Percival: 450

Elico: 400, Tripod Theta: 350+200=550, Brontes: 400, Dynamo: 200

"Oh, that feels so much better!" Brontes raised both arms up in an imitation of a strong man pose, despite being far too thin to pull it off. "I feel like I can thrash my enemies for the rest of the day! Hahahaha!" He broke down into a manic cackling that sent a chill down the Brawlers' spines.

"Then let's get that started." Volt placed two cards inside his gauntlet. "Target the Dragonoid. Double Ability Activate! Desert Python, plus Gillian Cords!"

"You got it, Volt!" Brontes held out both of his hands, channeling his power into the air around both open palms. Yellow energy appeared and solidified into two glowing rings, which Brontes took hold of in both hands. "Now, you're mine! Haha!" He flung the two rings straight ahead at Drago.

Meanwhile, Dynamo's mechanized head moved to aim at Drago. Once locked in, the red triangles on the head glowed bright yellow, before blasting or bursts of yellow lasers at the Pyrus Bakugan.

Neo Dragonoid: 600, Scorpion: 350, Percival: 450

Elico: 400, Tripod Theta: 550, Brontes: 400+200=600, Dynamo: 200+200=400

"That's harsh." Dan narrowed his eyes as he saw the attacks were heading towards Drago. "Hey, buddy! Ready to go a hundred percent?"

Drago shook his head. "No, not yet!" He could feel the Perfect Core's energy, but it was too unstable for him to use. It was odd; like someone had dropped a rock inside a pool. The Core was stabilizing, but it would still be a few more minutes. "I need a few more minutes!"

Dan smirked. "Alright then. Plan B." He stretched out his hand. "Gate Card Open! Pyrus Reactor!"

As the red rectangle shone on the ground, the effects began immediately. Flames rose around the Bakugan at about half their height, forming a ring encircling them all.

Drago and Scorpion both glowed bright red as the card empowered them both. With the enhanced power, Drago blocked both of the Haos attacks with his right wing, and was no worse for wear over that. The yellow energy dissipated after the failed impact.

'Now!' Recognizing the right time for what it was, Mylene loaded her next card. "You fools have sealed your own fates. Ability Activate! Aculus!"

Elico started to raise up both hands, keeping the palms of each hand open. Responding to Elico's movements, first on the earth started swirling around Elico, making the beginnings of a tornado of dirt. A second later, Elico's arms were fully raised, and the tornado had risen above his head, raging around him.

Flames from the Gate Card were drawn into the tornado, combining with the dirt to make an even more powerful attack. The tornado grew even larger, reaching almost to the ceiling with the increased matter imbued into it.

Neo Dragonoid: 600+300-100=800, Scorpion: 350+300-100=550, Percival: 450-100=350

Elico: 400+300=700, Tripod Theta: 550, Brontes: 600, Dynamo: 400

Drago growled, incensed. "So he can also use Pyrus power with that card. I see."

The tornado slowly died down, with Subterra Elico looking easy to fight. Except, his face looked strained. "Stop… me…", Elico spoke. "Please…"

"He's desperate", Dan realized. "Ace, we have to get Elico away from Mylene."

"And we will." Ace threw up his Trap Bakugan. "We'll start by taking down the others, that'll give us a better shot at widening the gap! Bakugan Trap, Darkus Falcon Fly!" The Trap opened in midair, and the enlarged dragonfly emerged into the battlefield.

Percival, seeing his favored battle partner, flew up to Falcon Fly's position. He stood on top of the Trap's back, letting Falcon Fly's higher speed transport them both over the battlefield.

Neo Dragonoid: 800, Scorpion: 550, Percival: 350, Falcon Fly: 350

Elico: 700, Tripod Theta: 550, Brontes: 600, Dynamo: 400

"Now that the gang's all here…" Ace showed off two ability cards, placing them both in his gauntlet. "Let's get down to business! Double Ability Activate! Fly Enemy, plus Tri Gunner!"

Both Percival and Falcon Fly began to charge up long range attacks after their battler called out the words. Falcon Fly's mouth began glowing neon purple, and Percival started building up bright purple energy within his mouth and both gargoyle gauntlets. The two attacked the Vexos simultaneously, with Falcon Fly shooting innumerable energy pellets at Brontes and Percival unleashing a large scale energy blast at Dynamo.

Neo Dragonoid: 800, Scorpion: 550, Percival: 350+300=650, Falcon Fly: 350+200=550

Elico: 700, Tripod Theta: 550, Brontes: 600, Dynamo: 400

Volt snarled, loading his next card to defend his Bakugan from the incoming attacks. "I won't let you! Ability Activate! Darkus Scythe!"

For the next attack, Brontes called upon its minor affinity for the Darkus Attribute in his response. Dark purple energy appeared, quickly consolidating into a large scythe with a long, thin handle and a jagged purple blade. Brontes took hold of the sickle and began spinning it defensively.

As Falcon Fly's pellets began to teach him, he sped up the spinning of his weapon. Somehow, none of the pellets made contact with Brontes, either being deflected by the scythe or slipping past and not hitting anything but the floor due to their flight path.

Neo Dragonoid: 800-200=600, Scorpion: 550-200=350, Percival: 650-200=450, Falcon Fly: 550-200=350

Elico: 700, Tripod Theta: 550, Brontes: 600, Dynamo: 400

"You can't hit me! You can't hit me!", Brontes teased.

"I can hit him", Percival countered, continuing to aim his Tri Gunner at Dynamo. When it hit, there was a large purple explosion with the android at the epicenter.

Dynamo didn't stand a chance at surviving the blast. Before the explosion could even fully abate, it reverted to its smaller form and shot to Volt's feet, defeated.

Volt: 90%

"Okay. One down." Ace looked at Dan with a triumphant smirk. "Let's keep on the pressure! We can do this, Dan!"

"Yeah, we can!", Dan agreed.

Mylene snarled loudly. "That was the only mechanical Bakugan we have, you idiot!" She loaded up her next card. "Whatever. This will finish them off anyways. Ability Activate! Mythran Judge!"

Dan drew in a sharp breath, recognizing the ability that had taken him out last round. Fortunately, this time, he had a counter to it.

For the second time that day, the six tendrils on Elico's back all glowed in unison, emitting another powerful yellow light that was almost as bright as the last one. Moments later, they all detached from Elico and shot towards Drago.

Neo Dragonoid: 600-200=400, Scorpion: 350, Percival: 450, Falcon Fly: 350

Elico: 700+100=800, Tripod Theta: 550, Brontes: 600

"Woah!" Drago quickly averted his flight, well aware that he couldn't afford to be hit by the tendrils. Before the tendrils could catch up, he dove behind his arthropodic Trap Bakugan. "Now, Dan!"

"Useless!", Mylene declared.

"Time to prove you wrong!" Dan loaded his next card. "Ability Activate! Max Reflector!"

Scorpion's back opened up once again to reveal the satellite dishes within them, seemingly to reflect the incoming attack back where they came. But when the tendrils met against the satellite dish, they halted in place.

"What?!", Mylene snapped.

"Max Reflector is Scorpion's ace in the hole." Dan made a fist as he explained. "It'll send your attack right back at you, with double the power."

Mylene's eyes shrunk. "Double?"

As they spoke, more tendrils somehow appeared within the dish. Scorpion's ability truly was enhancing the attack before it would send it away.

Neo Dragonoid: 400+200=600, Scorpion: 350, Percival: 450, Falcon Fly: 350

Elico: 800-100-200=500, Tripod Theta: 550-200=350, Brontes: 600-200=400

"And that's not all." Dan reached his arm straight ahead. "We're going to send it to all your Bakugan at once! Do it now, Scorpion!"

Then, the tendrils shot away from Scorpion's back, heading for the remaining Vexos Bakugan. Their number wasn't six, however; they had multiplied to an even eighteen. Six for Elico, Brontes and Tripod Theta each.

Volt gasped. 'If those make contact, we won't be able to use our abilities. If that happens, the Brawlers will surely take Brontes.' And that thought terrified him.

Volt was self aware enough to know he had no semblance of a moral high ground, after everything he did with the Vexos. Yet he did care about Brontes. 'He's annoying, but he is a true friend. Perhaps the only one I have.' His left fist tightened, the veins bulging. 'I won't let them take him away from me!' Mere instances before it would be too late, before all of their Bakugan would be rendered helpless by their own redirected attack, he locked in his next card. "Ability Activate! Maniactus Magical!"

"Good call, Volt! Ahahaha!" Brontes spread out both arms, sending his energy all over the area. Wherever his Haos energy went, it left light particles in the air. When the rejected tendrils reached the glittering aura, they all shrunk down into nothing in an instant.

Bring that, the light particles shot to the ring of flames, encircling the battlefield, that indicated the Pyrus Reactor's continued activation. As the light made contact, the flames diffused as quickly as the ability, and the red rectangle went dark.

Neo Dragonoid: 600-300=300, Scorpion: 350-300=50, Percival: 450, Falcon Fly: 350

Elico: 500+200-300=400, Tripod Theta: 350+200=550, Brontes: 400+200=600

"Tch. You just lowered Elico's power, too." Mylene was more than happy to reprimand Volt.

"Would you rather an assured loss?" Volt fired back against Mylene's accusation. "At least you can increase it back up again." Volt loaded in his next card. "And I'm not finished yet. Time for Brontes's secret weapon! Ability Activate! Aurora Dimension!" The card glowed purple, signifying it was a Darkus ability.

"Oh, yeah! Time to slap these punks down for good!" Brontes held up his right arm, pointing it at the ceiling above their heads. At the top of the battle chamber, an eerie aurora appeared above everyone. Then, as Brontes lowered his arm, the aurora descended into the battlefield.

"What's happening?!", Drago demanded as the aurora engulfed him. He looked around, taking note of Dan, Ace, Percival, Volt, Mylene and their Bakugan. They looked as if they were glowing faintly, though that could have been the aurora.

Neo Dragonoid: 300, Scorpion: 50, Percival: 450, Falcon Fly: 350

(Elico: 400, Tripod Theta: 550, Brontes: 600+100=700)=1650

"They combined their power levels?" Ace spoke his thoughts aloud. "How are we going to match that kind of power level of we can't do the same?"

Dan, meanwhile, was preparing his next move. "I guess we don't have much choice." He readied three specific ability cards. "Hey, Drago! Let's take them out! Triple Ability Activate!"

Volt and Mylene heard the last three words, and were instantly on guard. Mylene, specifically, was already preparing her counter.

"Burning Dragon, plus Burning Tornado, plus Fusion Ability Pyrus Slayer!"

"I'm taking you all down!" Drago's body rose up enough to lift his feet off the ground, then he started to spin at a rapid pace. As his body kept spinning in midair, flames formed around him and rose up higher and higher. In no time flat, the Dragonoid was engulfed in a raging fiery tornado.

As the tornado persisted, the aurora seemed to lessen in the area around it. The energy was being pushed back to the Vexos's Bakugan, like Brontes's intangible energy was actually being overpowered.

Yet Mylene looked unworried over the amount of power Drago was showing in the battlefield. "That triple ability won't help you here. Double Ability Activate! Flash Freeze-!"

Elico's body instantly lit up in a blindingly bright yellow flash, akin to looking directly at a planetary sun. The light's intensity was only enhanced by the aurora on the battlefield. In the light of Elico's ability, the blazing tornado around Drago dissipated into harmless embers, almost like there was nothing there at all.

Mylene smirked cruelly. "It doesn't matter how many abilities you use at once if I can nullify them. Tripod Theta! Tempest!"

Tripod Theta quickly seized the opening. With a wave of his trident, he slashed the air. Where the blades slashed, a rush of wind blasted to the other side. The wind rushed over to Drago, blowing him a slight distance backwards.

Tripod Theta wasn't finished, though. He raised his trident overhead and began to twirl it in a quick spin. Every time the blades sliced through the air, it created a powerful gust of wind. Continuously spinning the trident allowed Theta to create a miniature tornado centered around him.

Neo Dragonoid: 300, Scorpion: 50, Percival: 450, Falcon Fly: 350

(Elico: 400, Tripod Theta: 550+300=850, Brontes: 700)=1950

Dan and Ace crouched down to keep the winds from blowing them off their feet. "This isn't going well", Ace said.

"Yeah, no kidding!" Dan looked over to Drago. "Drago, we're running out of options! Are you ready yet?"

"Just a few more seconds!", Drago called back. While his body was focused on withstanding Theta's windstorm, his mind was fully focused on calming the Perfect Core energy within him. 'Dan needs me. I can't let him down!'

"Shall we finish them off?", Mylene asked, holding two abilities in her right hand.

"No sense in holding back anymore." Volt loaded in his ability just as Mylene placed in her cards. "Ability Activate! Mania World!"

Brontes's body started emitting large quantities of yellow mist that spread across the battlefield like an airborne viral infection. The mist combined with the aurora effect to create an illusory effect so powerful, it was impossible to see beyond the faint outlines of the Vexos Bakugan.

"Double Ability Activate! Scramble Zwei, plus Power Merge!"

Elico was next to make his move. His body lit up a harsh blue, enough to shine through Brontes's obscuring illusions. As the blue glow became brighter and harsher, water collected around him in large amounts. Soon enough, a large water tornado had formed in a circular area around Elico.

Tripod Theta, meanwhile, had cut off the power in the wind slashed to focus on his next attack. His trident shot out three thin beams of energy that connected with Percival instantly.

"Gah!" Percival cried out as Algiers all of his innate power was drained away from him by the three strands of power. A third of it went to each of the Vexos Bakugan. "Ace!"

Neo Dragonoid: 300+200-100-400=0, Scorpion: 50+300-100=250, Percival: 450-100-300=50, Falcon Fly: 350-100=250

(Elico: 400+600+100=1100, Tripod Theta: 850+100=950, Brontes: 700+800+100=1600)=3650

Ace gulped. "That's a lot of power. Maybe Misty Shadow could bring them down…." He frowned, already having done the math as he said it. "No. They'd still be over 500 points ahead of all of us."

Suddenly, there was a reaction with Brontes's mist. It receded back into Brontes, showing off him and his allies.

Brontes was glowing with power, holding a yellow handhold sickle in each hand. His ever present manic smile was as sinister looking as ever. "Time to cut some Bakugan down to size!"

Elico's tornado had faded away, leaving his form clearly visible. He had shifted back to his Aquos form, and was shining a brilliant blue. Both of his hands were raised, the gauntlet claws fully evened and ready to slash. "Please… get away…!", he begged.

"You can't beat us." Mylene boasted, her face twisted with a look of dark triumph. "No matter how hard you try, in the end, you'll never beat the Vexos. This world is ours, and it will be ours forever. The legend of the Perfect Dragonoid ends here! Annihilate them!"

Both Brontes and Elico charged ahead, intent on using their melee weapons to inflict serious damage. Their advance was quick and in pace with each other as they coordinated their attack, bringing down their sharp melee weapons to slash at their enemies.

"Dammit! No time to dodge!", Ace cursed. "Percival!"

Percival tried to evade, but collapsed before he could move at all. He panted, or of breath. "Too weak… sorry, Ace."

"NO!" Percival and Ace were flabbergasted when Drago, out of nowhere, got ahead of him to intercept the attacks. One clawed hand went to Brontes and Elico's chests, and Drago's strength shoved them away.

"Drago?", Ace questioned, confused. "How in the world did he stop them, with that kind of power gap?"

"Huh?" Brontes was stalled when Drago had forced him a distance backwards. "Shouldn't you be out of power?"

Despite the truth to those words, Drago glowed multicolor for a second, then did so once again, like the glow was a beating heart. "That doesn't matter", he declared. "So long as I fight for New Vestroia, I cannot allow myself to lose again. Not to you, Spectra, or anyone else!" He looked back at his battler. "Dan? It's time to end this battle. I'm ready!"

Mylene sneered. "Ridiculous! Even with the Perfect Core's power, you can't turn the tide this late in the battle! It's over!"

"Guess it's time to prove you wrong again." Dan smiled, loading in his next move. "Drago, let's pull out all the stops. And I mean all of them! We'll blast the roof off this arena!"

"That sounds like a plan to me!" Drago extended his wingspan as wide as it would go in preparation.

Dan grinned, and at top activating his attack. "Okay, then. Triple Ability Activate!"

Volt's eyebrows raised. "Another triple ability?"

"Dragon Contender!"

Drago's Perfect Core glow shone once again, even brighter than before, and concentrated within the Perfect Core diamond on his chest. Soon enough, the glow evolved into a fiery multicolored aura that cloaked Drago.

"Come and get it!" Drago charged forward with reckless abandon, slamming his body into Elico and Brontes at once. When they collided, the colored auras of power around the two Vexos Bakugan fully dissipated, and they were pushed all the way back to their side of the field. The two collapsed to the ground, their sudden power loss leeching them feeling heavily drained.

Brontes groaned, his sickles breaking apart into light particles. "No fair!", he whined.

Mylene shook her head in disbelief, fully grading what would happen next. "If that's the first card, then… no, he wouldn't!"

"Yes, he would!" Dan retorted against Mylene's denial. "Strike Dragon, plus Fusion Ability Dragon Clash!"

With those words, all of the energy around Drago's body suddenly disappeared, with a single notable exception. The Perfect Core diamond's glow became brighter than ever. The sheer intensity fully outshone the aurora over the battlefield, even seeming to dampen the brightly lit battlefield.

Neo Dragonoid: 0+500+600+400+400=1900

(Elico: 1100-600-400=100, Tripod Theta: 950-600=350, Brontes: 1600-1100-400=100)=550

Ace gaped a moment at the bar power exchange. "You sure this is a good idea, Dan?"

"If anything's going to break the Gamma Controller, this will", Dan answered confidently. "Crack it up, Drago! As much as you can! Don't hold back!"

"Wouldn't dream of it!" And then, somehow, the Perfect Core light became even harsher.

Even though he wasn't the intended target, even Percival had to look away from the harshly lit energy. "Blow them away, Drago."

Mylene had to cover her eyes with her arm, instinctively trying to protect her retinas. "It's so bright! What are they doing?!"

Volt, however, barely seemed to notice the brightness. He was more concerned with the power level difference. Drago being 1350 points above their combined level would be enough to take their Bakugan. Permanently. And he couldn't close the gap in time with the abilities he had left.

Desperate, his mind flashed back to moments he'd shared with Brontes.

' "Huh? Why wouldn't it?", Brontes questioned. "This got something to do with why you didn't brainwash me?"

"It has everything to do with it." Volt gazed directly at Brontes before he began. "When I first started out with the Vexos, I thought that conditioning would bring out a Bakugan's true strength. It's what I was told, so I did it. Even if I hated it." In his mind, he envisioned Tentaclear: the most recognizable among the Bakugan he had conditioned. "And I did hate it."

"It all changed when Hydranoid evaded capture. He and Alice continued to fight past any Vexos that challenged them. Myself included," Volt continued. "I didn't understand why Alice continued to progress and improve, or why even Mylene could never beat Spectra or Gus."

"It was then, I realized something", Volt said. "Free will has its own advantage in battle. For some reason, any battler who tries to truly ally themselves with their Bakugan intends to improve in power and skill. Just take a look at Drago or Hydranoid. They've evolved enough to mark themselves above any challenging Bakugan. If they've become so much stronger by connecting with their partners, it only makes sense that I can do the same."

"So what you're saying is," Brontes surmised, "you think becoming pals will make us stronger? And we'll stomp on all our enemies?" He laughed maniacally. "I'm game!"

Volt kept his steely face. There was one last matter to check, before he was sure about Brontes. "You need to understand", he said. "I am an enemy to New Vestroia. To the Bakugan. To fight alongside me is to betray your own kind. Would you do that?"

"Who cares about the other Bakugan?", Brontes asked without hesitation. "I like kicking them into the dirt! Let's have some fun already, Volty!" '

'I forged a true partnership with Brontes, based on real friendship, but we're about to lose it anyway.' Frantically, Volt called a last ditch order. "Brontes, get out of there!"

"Huh?", Brontes questioned.

"RUN!" Volt screamed at the top of his lungs, his eyes widened with flashed pupils. Yet his effort was futile.

At that moment, Drago had finished charging up his attack. Without a word from him, the diamond in his chest blasted out a large beam of multicolored Perfect Core energy. The beam was large enough to engulf Elico, Tripod Theta and Brontes all at once.

Elico gasped loudly. Despite the pain, he grinned thinly. "Thank you."

Tripod Theta lowered his steady as the power consumed the rest of his stamina.

Brontes was the only one of them to actually cry out. The pain was overwhelming to him, enough so that he knew he wouldn't be returning to the same battler after he lost this time. "VOLT, SAVE ME~!", he wailed, heartbroken. Then he and his two Aquos comrades shrunk down to ball form, shooting across the field.

Mylene: 0%

Volt: 0%

As enraged as Mylene was over her loss, that anger was quickly converted into horror as she realized Drago's Perfect Core blast wasn't stopping. It was still coming their way. "Volt, duck!" When her Haos counterpart didn't respond, Mylene hastily tackled him and forced him to the floor.

Volt was in shock from losing his Bakugan, but he was still startled when Mylene slammed into him. Before he could question her, he saw the multicolored blast apart above, dangerously close. It struck the far wall, tearing through it and carving a path of destruction straight through the heart of Gamma City.

Drago only formed off the blast when it had torn all the way through the city and left its structure. He smirked, self satisfied, before he and his side reverted to ball form.

"That felt good", Drago admitted when he reformed to Dan's waiting hand.

"Yeah." Dan looked at the three Bakugan he'd captured, holding them in his left hand. "You got all their living Bakugan away from them. You're the best, buddy!"

Ace smirked, enjoying the victory despite not having been the one that secured the win. "Nice job, Dan."

"HOW DARE YOU!" A scathing roar got all their attention. They looked and saw Mylene looking downright murderous. "ELICO WAS MY BAKUGAN! YOU HAD NO RIGHT TO TAKE AWAY WHAT'S MINE!"

She probably would've said more, had four more figures not appeared from the rubble path behind her. Shun, Marucho, Baron and Mira all approached the trashed battlefield, wearing identically victorious faces.

"You really made a mess of things, huh?", Shun asked rhetorically.

"Way to go, Master Dan!", Baron cheered. "You carved a path straight through Gamma City!"

At that moment, the city began shaking beneath their feet. The overhead lights fluctuated for a moment, before it all stopped. "Alert! Energy cells overcharged at 5000% capacity. Dimension Controller: offline!"

Dan and Ace looked delighted once they heard those words. "We did it!", Ace declared.

"The Controller couldn't withstand the energy your battle generated." Mira fixed Dan and Ace with a curious look. "What did you do?"

"Respond to an opposing power level of over 3000 by using triple Perfect Core abilities", Dan answered.

Miss blinked. "Yeah. That would do it."

"Alright!" Dan grinned. The Bakugan were freed, now that the Vexos couldn't use Gamma City as a control center for the Bakugan. He waited for Drago's true form to appear, but it didn't. "Wait… what? Drago, why are you still in ball form?!"

That stopped any fledgling feelings of triumph or celebration cold. The Dimension Controllers were all neutralized, yet their Bakugan were still in ball form. It doesn't make sense to what they knew.

Mylene's haughty laugh caught their attention. "Ha! You truly thought it would be that easy to win?" She grinned wide. "So your plan was to fully destroy Gamma Controller, given that there weren't civilians to worry about. Clever… but not clever enough." She and the dazed Volt began to disappear, being transported away feet first. "You may have taken our Bakugan, but this planet is still ours. And it always will be!" After she said that, the transportation had fully taken them away from the battlefield where they had lost.

And that left the Brawlers in what should have been their last battlefield of New Vestroia, only to be painfully told that the fight continued. The Vestal royalty continued to possess a chokehold on the Bakugan. And they had no idea what to do next.

XXX

"What an incredible display of power."

The laboratory within Gamma City that Spectra and Gus were using had been totally decimated by Drago's final attack. The chamber that had hosted Helios for his transition was one of the few things that remained intact; it was built to withstand such force, no matter if it came from inside or outside. However, all of the computers were razed.

Spectra and Gus were lucky to have survived it undamaged. That they had managed to run to the other side of the room from where the blast would rip in was more due to their own luck than anything else.

Still, Spectra was exhilarated. Drago's Perfect Core had power enough to rip a Vestal supercomplex in two, leaving it a waste. It was power only matched by when Spectra had pushed Drago's body beyond its natural limits with Chaos Ability X. The power left him adrenaline filled.

It was honestly the most normal he could remember feeling for quite a while.

"Do you see that devastation? That raw power, my friend? You can now match that power, Helios", Spectra said with pride. "Go beyond it, even. And, soon enough, we'll be even stronger than that."

"Nothing will stop my rise to power, Spectra!", Helios declared. "I am the Ultimate Bakugan. Soon enough, I'll become the Perfect Bakugan!"

"And no one would be able to stop us", Spectra added. "It's so close. I can almost feel it."

"In any case, Master." Gus spoke up, trying to get Spectra's attention. "It's clear we've lost Gamma City. Now that we've done what we needed to here, we should retreat and regroup at Ves Palace." Spectra didn't answer, seemingly in a daze, so Gus tried again. "Spectra! We need to go."

Spectra gave a short, almost imperceptible, nod, but Gus caught it. The two of them began fading away, being transported out of the lost complex.

'Soon, Dan and Alice.' Spectra thought to himself. 'Soon, I will claim the ultimate power. You'll have the comfort in knowing the lost didn't die for nothing.' He didn't like that he still felt guilty over that. The elated anticipation of more power helped full his regret, but he couldn't fully ignore it.

'The longer I think over this, the more unsure I am that I should continue down this path.' He gripped a fist tightly. 'No. It's too late to second guess myself. I'll prove my ambitions to be warranted!'

When their transportation was concluded, Spectra and Gus found themselves in one of Ves Palace's transporter rooms. Several Vestal officials, employed directly by the royal family, were working at nearby stations. Another employee faced the two Vexos. The two recognized her as one of Hydron's personal attendants.

"Spectra. Gus." The attendant, a red eyed Vestal woman with black hair, bowed her head respectfully. "My Prince Hydron wishes to see you in his throne room immediately."

"Very well." Spectra nodded. "By all means."

The attendant turned around, leading the two Vexos to Hydron's throne room.

XXX

When Spectra and Gus reached the throne room, they saw the rest of the Vexos already there. Yet, instead of kneeling as they had in the past, they all stood straight. Hydron sat in his regal throne.

"There you are, Spectra." Hydron beckoned them forward. "Come. We have much to discuss."

The two remaining Vexos silently approached the throne, only stopping when they stood beside their Vexos teammates. The six of them waited for Hydron to continue on.

"Alpha. Beta. And now, Gamma. All of their Dimension Controllers have been neutralized." Despite describing what should've been a major setback, Hydron detailed it dismissively. "Yet we still have New Vestroia. The Final Controller is active." Pressing controls on his throne had a holographic map of New Vestroia appear. It showed a dot where Ves Palace was, being the center of a large circle that had all of New Vestroia in the radius. "As long as we have that, the Bakugan will forever be under our control. We can finish off the petulant Battle Brawlers at our leisure."

"Excuse me, sir." Mylene interrupted. "I must ask… how? My Elico and Volt's Brontes were just taken. Shadow's Hades and Lync's Altair were destroyed. What Bakugan would we finish them off with?"

Volt shuddered when he heard Mylene mention Brontes. He was still in a daze from the result of the recent battle. He was only barely paying attention to his surroundings. Yet no one seemed to notice his plight.

Hydron went on, only taking note of Mylene's question. "A valid concern." He pressed more buttons with his right hand, twirling his hair with his left. The room shuddered when the wall between his throne and trophies opened up.

Except that corridor was empty. There were no Bakugan trophies.

Mylene gasped. "Prince Hydron?"

Hydron chuckled. "Surely you didn't think I wanted that collection solely to satiate my own ego?" Of course, his ego was the primary factor in that decision; it just wasn't the only one. "They are my final line of defense, many to be utilized only as a last resort. It's time to use that last resort. Professor?"

Taking his cue, Clay walked into the room, carrying a closed metal briefcase in his arms. As he approached, he opened the briefcase to show off five different Bakugan balls. "Fully reconditioned, as ordered."

When Clay said that, a stray question reached Mylene, and she voiced it. "I thought it took a whole day to condition a Bakugan."

"It did." Clay's glasses reflected enough light to hide his eyes. "The process began little over 24 hours ago."

"Then that means…" Mylene's voice talked off as she went through the logic.

"Yes." Hydron interrupted her train of thought. "I expected we would lose Gamma City after your failure in Beta. The brawl in Gamma City was meant, first and foremost, as a way to stall for time. And you were successful." He stood up from his throne, walked up to Clay, and took the Subterra Bakugan that Clay held. "Lync. Volt. Mylene. Take your new Bakugan."

Lync eagerly took the Ventus Bakugan offered to him. "Oh, I'm going to love using this one."

Volt was subdued, but still accepted the Haos Bakugan Clay gave him. "I'd rather she not be conditioned."

"It's not a choice this time", Clay rebutted. "You were able to convince Brontes to comply, but I don't think there's any existing argument that could earn you willing obedience this time."

Volt nodded. He expected as much.

"I'll never understand your unwillingness to use properly conditioned weapons." Mylene gleefully took the two Aquos Bakugan, leaving the case empty. "Perhaps you would be more agreeable to mechanical Bakugan."

"Maybe." If nothing else, Volt wouldn't have to worry about the free will of a robot.

"Shadow." The Darkus Vexos looked blankly at Hydron. "Unfortunately, we don't have another Darkus Bakugan of Hades's caliber, or even of high enough caliber to be usable here. You'll have to sit the next battle out."

Shadow nodded. "Got it." He turned around and, without being given leave to, left the throne room.

"That was odd", Lync said. "He's usually more of a manic freak."

Spectra noticed something else. Hydron had taken the Subterra Bakugan for himself. Did that mean… "Prince Hydron, will you be participating in this battle?"

"Since Shadow Prove cannot fight anywhere close to full strength, there's little choice", Hydron placed his new Bakugan in between his fingertips, sporting a thin grin. "It's time I get my own hands dirty for a change." He walked away from the Vexos and turned to face them. "This time, we will fully divide and conquer them. Within the hour, you are to be on the way to your battlefield of choice. Your opponents will be brought to you."

"As you command", echoed the Vexos.

Spectra hid his reaction behind a neutral face. He was just confirmed that Hydron would be leaving Ves Palace to fight the Brawlers himself. Which was fantastic. His own plans could benefit greatly from this. 'Your time is limited, Hydron. Soon, the royal family won't even be relevant.'

Not privy to Spectra's thoughts, Hydron grinned confidently. "We may have lost numerous battles, but now we are armed with the greatest Bakugan of their Attribute. We cannot fail. More than that, we will win this war. For the Vestal Empire!"

XXX

I'm truly sorry for this chapter taking more than a month to truly finish, but I hope you enjoyed reading it more than you disliked the wait!

If you did enjoy it, 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: As you could tell, I carried over most of the major players of these battles from the last story. Minor differences though, and of course the battles were more fleshed out.

SkylanderZilla: that would be a particularly embarrassing typo I let slip through my fingers. Thanks for catching it.

PenX5: I truly appreciate you reading my story. Thanks even more for dedicating some time in critiquing it. I acknowledge your point on Gus's lack of autonomy, and can only say that will not last for long. As for Hades, well, I've got nothing to say except "you might have a point." Thank you.

Until next time (hopefully less than a month, but I promise nothing), goodbye!