Chapter 28: Search for the Core Pt. 3
(Play Bakugan battle Brawlers opening theme remixed with Godzilla orchestra theme)
"What are you gonna do?
(Dan and Shirō stand across from each other in a battlefield, gate cards in their hands.)
The odds are stacked against you
(The two look at each other as they yell and throw down their cards and Bakugan orbs.)
Back against the wall. Gotta give it your all (Ah ah ah ah ah ahhhhh)
(The bakugan spheres as Drago emerged and roared before the king of monsters himself, Godzilla rose and bellowed as the dimension shook under his power.)
This is the final stand (Ah ah ah ah ahhhh)
(There's an image of several Bakugan, a reaper, robotallion, and siege, as well as several Kaiju, Mothra, Rodan, Ghidorah, And so many others.)
The powers in your hand
(Darkness flowed as Masquerade and a boy with a mask on his right eyes rose as both bared dark grins)
Two worlds Collide, on the inside
(A battle scene between Drago, teamed with Tigrerra and Godzilla plays out as they charge on two gate cards.)
You gotta fight for what's right
(Godzilla faces Space Godzilla, Destroyah and a skeletal humanoid monster as he bellows while his body exploded red.)
Before it's gone, gone, gone
(Shiro and dan yell as they raise their ability cards in their hands and slam them down on the ground.)
This is Bakugan!
(The title appears as a Godzilla roar shakes the title until the scene goes black)
-Mt. Popocatépetl, México-
The group stood on guard as their assailants approached, and sure enough, it was an army of Garganoids. They looked at the group angrily, wanting to rip them apart. A clear sign that they had been afflicted by the negative energy in the area.
"Ghidorah, Junior, I think now would be a good time to flex those Alpha Titan muscles of yours before we become Gargonoid chow!" Shiro said to the two Alphas of his remaining three bakugan.
"Agreed." Junior nodded before he and Ghidorah roared at the Garganoids surrounding them. They immediately backed off, intimidated by the bigger, badder predators.
"Hmph. Not bad." A new voice commented, getting their attention. The group then turned to see a centaur-looking bakugan and a humanoid lizard with skeletal hands as wings approached them.
"Hybrids, incoming." Hydranoid growled as he and the others turned towards them, becoming defensive of the humans riding them.
"Welcome to the biome of Darkness and Fire, I am Centorrior." The centaur spoke.
"And my friends call me Druman." The lizard spoke.
"Cool, doesn't exactly give us a reason to care." Shirō states, folding his arms.
"Would I be right in saying that you're the gatekeepers of this area?" Ni questioned.
"Correct." Centorrior nodded.
"Then it would seem that we need to end you." Shirō said as he held up an ability card. "Ability Card Activate! Katanalóno Gaia!" He yelled as Ghidorah suddenly started gathering lightning and storms around him before he sent it out all over the place at the two bakugan.
The two hybrids tried to dodge the streaks of lightning, but they still took minor damage. Centorrior sent a glare at the hydra.
"You'll pay for that!" He yelled before raising his lance. "Dark Pyrus Vortex!" He yelled as purple lightning rained from the sky.
Ghidorah was quick to fire back with his gravity bolts and disperse the attack, giving Junior an opening.
"Atomic Quasar!" He roared as he fired his attack, only for Druman to intercede.
"Vortex Dark Flame!" He yelled as he fired purple lightning from his mouth, causing a small explosion. As the smoke obscured their vision, Junior opted to pull a surprise attack. Druman tried to block, but the Kaiju had more mass than he did and was sent flying.
"Ultimate Dragon!" Drago roared as he blasted Centorrior with his signature attack and made him stumble right in front of Nillious.
"Chimera Trident!" He hissed as they blasted the bakugan again and then it was followed up by Hydranoid wrapping his whip chords around the centaur and dragging him towards himself.
"Unhand me you—ARGH!" The bakugan roared as he was pulled to the hyper evolved bakugan's oversized buzzsaw of a midsection.
"Doesn't feel good, does it?!" Hydranoid jeered. Meanwhile, Battra was giving Druman hell as she did hit-and-run attacks on him while Junior smacked him around.
"Ability card activate!" Shiro called as Battra flew behind Druman.
"Balance Enforcer!" She screeched as she started sending her scales at the bakugan, causing them to stick to him and weigh him down, causing him to lose all his attribute color.
"You're in trouble now Druman! That ability just sapped all your power and keeps you from using any of your abilities." Shiro grinned as Junior slammed into the immobilized creature again and sent him flying.
"Agh!" The lizard yelled as he struggled to stay on his feet as he crashed into the ground. "You're really starting to get on my nerves!" He growled.
"Then I must be doing something right!" Shirõ laughed. Druman glared swords at the human-Kaiju hybrid.
Seconds later, Nillious and Hydranoid hurled Centorrior into the air for Ghidorah and Drago to bash to the ground right into Druman, causing them to struggle to their feet.
"You'll pay for that!" Druman growled, before a red glow coming from a nearby river of lava caught his eye. "Oh no…" He said before a crimson blur came out of nowhere and collided with them.
"Rapid Saber!" A voice said as the blur sent them flying elsewhere, leaving behind what looked like to be an elderly Pyrus Tigrerra.
"No way…" Nillious gasped.
"It cannot be!" Hydranoid added.
"Nova Lion!" Drago exclaimed, immediately recognizing the old bakugan.
"You know this guy, Drago?" Dan asked.
"We all do." Hydranoid nodded.
"Nova Lion is said to be the oldest and wisest bakugan in existence. He knows everything there is to know about Vestroia." Nillious explained.
"How old is he, then?" Ichi asked.
"Enough to have existed before Vestroia separated into six dimensions." The old tiger replied.
"Wait, seriously?!" Shirō gasped.
"Then, do you know what could be causing our worlds to become one?" Alice asked. The aged tiger bakugan gave the girl a light nod as he gestured for them to follow.
"Come with me and I shall explain everything." Nova Lion nodded as they followed him. "To begin with, Vestroia became what it was when the worlds split from each other after the core did the same. This was known as the Wonder Evolution and when a bakugan couldn't fit into the new ecosystem, they were cast out into the realm between realms. Each has very short lifespans as a result."
"That's horrible!" The gingerette gasped in horror.
"It is unfortunate, and it was this group of bakugan that Naga and Waivern were born into, when chaos reared its ugly head." The bakugan nodded. "And now the only way we can hope to stop this madness is to bring the cores back together within Earth. Only then can we finally see peace return and everything become stable again."
"Okay, but what caused all this?" Shirō asked.
"That my dear boy is most likely from when Naga dragged the Kaiju here. It weakened the walls between our worlds and it was made worse when Monster X came from the Doom Dimension, and when he brought that dimension Hyperspace here." Nova Lion explained as he looked over his shoulder at Shirō. "Additionally, every time you use your DNA link and other things of that nature, the damage further worsened, and now here we are."
The green haired boy looked down, feeling like he had a part in the chaos that now took place. He felt so… guilty. Dan and Alice noticed this and placed a hand on each of his shoulders.
"But, what's done is done. No sense dwelling on the past." The old timer chuckled. "The important thing is that you are all trying to fix everything. And I will try my best to assist you there." He added.
"Thank you Nova Lion." Drago nodded as they continued to walk, before they came to a narrow ravine and two very familiar attacks came out of nowhere and struck the walls above them causing a rockslide and separating Shirō and the Kaiju from Dan and the others.
"Shit!" The green haired boy cursed as he looked in the direction the attacks came from. "Oh no, It's those two again!" He gasped as they heard roars and shouting from the other side of the rocks. Nova Lion was luckily with them but Dan, Alice, Drago, Hydranoid and Nillious were getting thrashed on the other side of the ravine.
The Hybrid looked around frantically as he tried to figure out some way to get to the others. "Ghidorah, can you fly over the ravine?" He asked.
"It's too steep, by the time I reach them, I won't have enough energy to fight." The dragon said.
"And I can't blast it, I could hit the others." Junior added.
"Damn it! We need something that we know will work, and we need it now!" The hybrid cursed. He kept wracking his brain for ideas before he heard a cry of agony and three loud thuds. The others were down.
"Shiro, do you have any friends you could call for backup?" Nova Lion questioned. The boy was silent for a moment, before he remembered just the person.
"I don't… wait, that's it!" The boy started to reply before it hit him like Kong punching him in the face. Pressing a few buttons on his Bakupod, he called the one person he knew could help them. "Marduk! Marduk, come in! Can you hear me?!" He yelled frantically.
"Whoa! Calm down. What's going on?" The boy replied, a bit surprised by how frantic the Kaiju Shogun sounded.
"Dan, Alice and I are trying to take down the Attribute blockers keeping us from Naga so we can take him down, but now we've been separated by two Hybrid bakugan and they're about to kill them!" The boy told his rival "We need your help!" He added.
"What?! Shit! Alright, I'll fly there on Destroyah with the other Daikaiju! Try and hold out!" The masked boy cursed.
"Tell that to the others!" Shirō retorted as he hung up.
"I hope they move fast, or there won't be much left to save." Kevin gulped.
"Subtle Kevin, very subtle." Ichi growled.
(Elsewhere)
With the others, Dan and Alice groaned as Druman and Centorrior stood over them, but before either of them could do anything further, Alice suddenly stood up and a mask appeared in her hands before she put it on, and turned into Masquerade.
The masked brawler put a hand into his pocket and then pulled out a card, a Doom Card. "Doom Card Open!" He called as he hurled the card at the two bakugan and caused a Doom Dimension portal to appear behind them, distracting them long enough to allow Hydranoid and Nillious to get back up before the portal closed.
"What the… Masquerade?" Dan groaned as he tried to get up. "What are you doing here?" He questioned.
"Consider this a one time occurrence." The blond mask bearer replied as he held a hand out to him. "Shall we?" He offered.
"Don't have to tell me twice." The brunette nodded as he took the offered hand and got up with Drago.
"Treacherous snake!" Druman growled.
"Oh why don't you shove it?" A new voice asked as a very familiar looking oxygen beam blasted out of nowhere and demolished the wall separating the two teams.
Looking in the direction the beam came, everyone saw Destroyah with Marduk on her head. Seconds later, the rest of the Daikaiju landed next to them.
"Hey guys, are we too late to the party?" The living phantom of the opera reference asked cockily.
"Oh great, more annoyances." Druman griped.
"These 'annoyances' are about to thrash you around like ragdolls!" Biollante hissed, her vine mouths snapping at the two hybrids.
"I still can't believe we have to help my 'nephew.' This is so beneath me." Space Godzilla groaned, receiving a swat on the back of the head by Megaguirus.
"Shut your trap and get to work!" The bug-like Kaiju snapped.
"Alright guys, let's skull fuck these bitches!" Marduk said as he held up a Gate Card. "Gate Card set!" He called as the Daikaiju and other Kaiju charged in. "Megalon, Gigan! Help Hydranoid and Nillious keep Centorrior on the ropes!" He ordered.
"Right!" The beetle and cyborg Daikaiju nodded before running to the aid of the two Darkus Bakugan.
"Space Godzilla, Megaguirus, distract Druman." The boy continued to order.
"Hmph. Fine." The Godzilla clone growled before he assumed his crystal flight mode and rammed Druman while Megaguirus slammed him into the ground with a sonic attack.
"Agh! Why you little-! Vortex Dark Flame!" The hand-winged lizard yelled before firing a blast of energy.
"Oh no you don't." Destroyah said as she blocked the attack with her body, and it did not even leave a scratch on her.
"What?!" Druman gasped as the giant creature picked him up by the tail and started swinging him around.
Meanwhile, with Nillious, Hydranoid, Megalon and Gigan, the four were bombarding and mauling Centorrior as Masquerade set a Gate Card down.
"Get over here!" Gigan squawked as he fired a grappling hook at the centaur and yanked him onto the Gate Card like a fisherman reeling in the catch of the day, before both he, his brother and Nillious bolted right as Destroyah hurled Druman into Centorrior.
"Gate Card Open! Third Judgement!" Masquerade exclaimed as the card activated.
"I think not! Grand Down!" Centaurrior yelled as he slammed the blunt end of his lance on the card, nullifying it.
"What?!" The boys gasped in shock as the two bakugan got back up.
"Vortex Dark Nebula!" Centorrior yelled as he summoned a massive storm that blew everyone in different directions. "And so, the hunt begins." He said as he and Druman chased after their quarry.
(Later)
"Well ain't that just a pain in the ass!" Shiro remarked as he, Dan Marduk and Masquerade hid in a cave.
"Listen guys, I think I may have an idea." Masquerade said as the two turned to him.
"Oh, that's good, since your ideas have worked out great so far." Marduk stated sarcastically.
"Not the time." The blond Darkus brawler shot back. "Anyway, I have a plan for us to beat them, but I can't do it alone." He began.
"Hey, we're all ears, lay it on us." Shiro said as they began to discuss their plan.
Later on, Dan and Shiro came out of hiding to catch Centorrior and Druman's attention, but as they did, the two boys gasped in horror when they saw that the centaur had Nova Lion impaled on his spear!
"No…!" The green haired boy uttered with wide eyes.
"Damn it…!" The Pyrus brawler growled. The two then charged head first towards the two and attacked them, Ghidorah being quick to sink his teeth into Druman and swing him around like a leg of lamb in a crocodile's mouth.
"Let go of me, you overrated rattlesnake!" Druman yelled, pissing off the three heads.
"Rattlesnake?!" They yelled as they hurled him into an open area with enough force to leave a ditch before they started charging up an attack.
"No you idiots! We need them alive!" Battra yelled.
"We know that!" The three-headed dragon snapped as they stopped charging up. "We just want to make sure he never uses that insult on us again!" They added.
Meanwhile, Junior and Drago slammed themselves into Centorrior and sent him tumbling towards Druman.
"That was for Nova Lion!" Drago yelled with a glare. Off in the distance, Space Godzilla surrounded the two Hybrids with power dampening crystals while Megalon stomped on the ground and caused their legs to get caught in fissures, and Gigan tied them down with grappling hooks.
Next Battra and Megaguirus stung them with paralyzing venom quickly before darting out of the way long enough for Biollante to spray them with her Acidic spores, which continued to whittle down their power levels.
And on a ledge several hundreds of kilometers away, Marduk and Masquerade stood on a mountain with their partner with a long-range Ability Card in hand.
"And now for the Cu de Gras." Masquerade grinned as he held up his card.
"We will completely destroy you." Marduk grinned, holding up his own.
"Can't… Move!" Druman and Centorrior groaned as their skin burned from the acid.
"Ability Card Activate!" Two yelled in unison. "Destruction Impact: Final Demolition!/Oxygen Destruction Vega!" They added as their bakugan unleashed their signature abilities.
The two hybrids could only watch as the attacks closed in on them and blasted them off their feet, where they could only lay there groaning in pain. As they did, Dan and Shiro walked up to them.
"Time for you two to come with us." The Kaiju Shogun declared as he held up the Darkus Vexos Card and Dan its Pyrus counterpart.
"Ability card activate." They said. "Darkus/Pyrus Vexos." They added as the two bakugan were transformed into balls and sent to them.
(Later)
The four boys all stood opposite each other after the battle was over and looked at one another in gratitude.
"I can't thank you enough, for all your help Masquerade." Dan said.
"Yeah, and you too, Marduk." Shiro nodded.
"But this doesn't have to be the only time. Why not join us?" The brunette questioned the Darkus master.
"Because it's not my destiny." Masquerade replied. "But I am glad that my final battle was alongside all of you." He added.
"No!" The voice of Alice cried in his head. "Please, don't go, Masquerade! We need you!" She said.
"You will do fine, Alice." The blonde replied. "I am you after all, so everything I can do, you can do better." He added before turning to Dan, Shirō and Marduk. "Farewell my friends. May you continue the battle until the bitter end, good luck." He said as he shook their hands before he took off his mask and left Alice in his place.
"Happy trails, Masquerade." Dan grinned, waving as the mask disappeared for good.
"Goodbye, old friend." Shiro said in Japanese with a tearful smile.
"See you on the other side, blondie." Marduk smirked with a thumbs up.
After the mask vanished, they looked up at Hydranoid and Nillious, who looked down at them.
"We will fight with you, Alice." Hydranoid said.
"As it was always meant to be." Added Nillious. Alice smiled at her bakugan as she tested up.
"So, what're you gonna do, Marduk?" Shiro asked Marduk as he turned to his rival. To his surprise, the boy simply reached behind his head and removed his ponytail and then his Phantom of the opera mask, revealing that the eye it had been covering had been severely burned and scarred.
"It's Thomas, actually. Thomas Oliver." He said, facing the two. "But my friends call me Tommy, or—at least they did… When I had friends, that is." He continued, his hand subconsciously drifting to his scarred face, as if he was remembering something painful.
"Um… may I ask how you got this scar?" Alice asked hesitantly, sounding ready to drop the subject right away.
"You know how my tag team partner betrayed me and sent all my original bakugan the Doom Dimension?" The boy now named Tommy asked.
"Yeah?" Dan nodded, unsure of whether or not he wanted to hear this.
"It was in the Pyrus arena and when my last and favorite bakugan—a Darkus Serpenoid who I considered my best friend—was sent to the Doom Dimension, his tail struck one of the statues and a chunk of rock splashed lava on my face." He told them. "I was in the hospital for two weeks after it happened." He added. All three of them winced.
"Okay, now I actually can't blame you for what you did." Shiro admitted. Tommy sighed heavily as a tear rolled down his face.
"But what good was it? Mamba, Monster X—the only two bakugan who ever understood me for me—both of them are gone, and there's nothing I can do about it." He said as he sat down on the ground, Destroyah and the other Daikaiju came to his side to console him.
"Don't be sad, Tommy. We're still here." The oxygen creature said softly. Biolante then lifted his chin with one of her vines.
"Yeah chin up, we're in this together. Now and forever." She added, getting a resounding chorus from the others.
"They're right, Tommy." Shiro said as he approached his downtrodden rival, holding out a hand. "We're friends now, and I say to hell with your old friends. You got us now, so don't go moping around anymore, okay?" He smiled.
"He's right." Dan nodded with his own smile. "And together, we're gonna take down Naga and save our home." He added.
"Will you join us, Tommy? Will you become a battle brawler?" Alice asked him.
The grey haired lad looked at the three before him and their bakugan before looking at his partner, who gave him warm nods of reassurance before turning back to his green haired rival… and smiled as he took the offered hand up.
"Yeah, you got yourself a deal, Hiroshima." He grinned as the hybrid suddenly hugged him.
"Glad to hear it." Shirō said as they climbed on their bakugan. "Alright guys, next stop, the Pacific Rim!" He said as they started charging to their next destination.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile in Wardington, Waivern was with the twins in the high tower overlooking the city, when suddenly, portals appeared and Kaiju started appearing all over the place.
"What in the dimensions?!" She gasped before the Kaiju started rampaging. Titanosaurus, King Caesar, Kamakuras, Gurogumo, Hedora, and Baragon all arrived in the city. And leading them all, was Hal-G, and Naga himself!
"Go, my creations! Show these humans their new ruler!" Naga roared. The Kaiju let out their own roars before they began rampaging. Waivern held her children close as they whimpered fearfully.
"Oh Drago, wherever you are right now, please hurry!" The ashen one said as Joe quickly grabbed them and bolted out of there.
The battle for Earth has just begun.
Dragon Emperor0: … I can't believe it, I just can't believe it! You mean to tell me that Naga was just using the hybrids as a distraction and risking their lives, just so he could throw them away like the trash for a bunch of other Kaiju?! WTF?!
ThermalsniperN7: When they find out about that, heads are gonna roll! Mark my words! Anyway, being used as decoys notwithstanding, Druman and Centaurrior were surprisingly on the ropes here. One would think they'd be tough enough to take on the Kaiju.
Dragon Emperor0: Probably on their own, but let's not forget they had back up here. Also, Marduk's real name is Thomas Oliver. No wonder he wears so much black, he must have gotten tired of all the Green Ranger cracks he got on a daily basis.
ThermalsniperN7: I would be in his shoes if I got compared to Harry Potter on the regular. Seriously, that shit is irritating.
Dragon Emperor0: You too, huh? My condolences. Also, who the fuck was the heartless douche canoe that betrayed him anyway? Seriously, the guy sent his best friend to the Doom Dimension and—to add insult to injury—inadvertently disfigured him on top of that! And people wonder why he was so jaded in game and devastated after Vladitor/Monster X was gone!
ThermalsniperN7: Whoever it was deserves a right good punch to the face! But other than that, see you guys next time in the Battle for Earth arc!
