From Depths We Rise

by Insane Dominator

1 year has passed since Dan and the Battle Brawlers saved the universe, and when things were serene, a new group of Bakugan players are sent to New Vestroia when a dimensional interference forces them to meet each other. Caught in the crossfire with aliens seeking resources, Luke, Abis Omega, and new friends must fight using unlikely odds if they're to save all from extinction.

7. Battle of Insects

Loud cheers echoed throughout the stadium, much to the shock of those who weren't present, which can be said for only a few people. Most of the residence were surprisingly packed inside the tournament stadium, leaving ample room for a certain girl to hurry through the alleys with gusto.

Maggie hurried to a point where she was far enough away and far from out of reach. There, she was able to find room in an alley and took a moment to catch her raspy breath. She bent her knees and breathe din and out. "Are we…there yet…?" she asked in between pants.

The sounds of cheering were heard in the distance, catching her attention. "Huh?" She turned around and looked in the direction from which she came. "Wow, everyone's so riled up. Must've been a big battle or something."

Jelldon opened in ball form on her shoulder. "You uh, think Shuji's okay."

Maggie looked towards him with a serious look. "Hey, don't be such a worrywart, okay, big guy? Besides, I told him to win, so I think we've got nothing to worry about."

Jelldon shrugged. "Okay…"

"Now, let's see where we can get in here somewhere…" Maggie dismissed any worries and looked all around for anymore signs of scandals or anymore leery people. With the coast clear on all parts, she hurried to the other side of the alley and slick beside the wall, crawling on her tiptoes like a caterpillar. She slowly, but surely, made way through the alley to its corner, where she stopped at its base and glanced over her shoulder to get a look at the tower that went high into the sky. Once again, she was at a loss for words.

"Woooaah~. It's so high up." She said. "How do you think we get up there, Jelldon?"

"Oh, uh…wait, isn't everyone under the tower?" he reminded.

Maggie put both hands to her hips. "Maybe, but didn't they have to get up and then down? Ugh, feels like a roller coaster…" her eyes widened as her smile returned. "Hey wait, I've got an idea!"

"What is it?"

"Ssssh!" she hushed him. The little Pyrus girl looked around, turning left and right as the area had more guards around the tower than she thought. 'Looks like the guys are in a pickle~, better see if I can find another entrance.'

True to form, she weaseled herself around ever so casually. She stayed closed to passing people to camouflage or rather cloak herself from guards looking suspiciously left and right. Once she and a crowd passed the sidewalk, she was able to shadow another businessman until she got close enough to the tower. At the last second, she skipped to the building's side and avoided another passing glance.

With the last ditch used, she sighed in relief and grinned. "Alright, now let's see what there is here to tinker with…" her eyes wandered to something that caught her attention, something that most buildings needed. It was something that they had to do to get into Thermosphere.

With one glance at an air vent, a mischievous smirk crossed her face. This of course, worried her partner.

"Uh, Maggie…?"

"Looks like we're taking the express route!" she chirped and skipped on over towards the air vent.

---

Atmos cawed as his wings flapped, making him ascend higher to the ceilings of the corridor. Down below, Rafflesian gave a low growl. Both Hendrix and Jase were in the third round of their fight, and neither was going to give an inch to the other.

"We'll have to make this brief, Atmos." Jase informed.

"Agreed." The Ventus Bakugan said.

Hearing their voices, Hendrix maintained his calming composure. He shot a narrowed look at them with the opposite intention in mind. "Sorry, but no one's getting out of here in one piece. Ability, activate! Ground Force!" His Rafflesian was giving off a low growl once more as his many eyes started to glow orange-brown. The ground beneath began to crack apart, bursting with spouts of dust and glowing energy that centered beneath Rafflesian. His power level jumped from 450 to 750 in no time.

"Jase!" Atmos yelled.

Jase nodded. "Right. Double ability, activate! Cloud Zero, plus Typhoon Chase!"

Atmos' body gave off a light green aura outlining his body, and his wings flapped incredulously. A strong gust was picked up, coupled by a green, cloud-like whirlwind that blew at Rafflesian. The attack swallowed up the enormous plant, making him growl as the dust and energy beneath him recede back into the earth. He even started leaning back due to the winds starting to falter him.

Rafflesian: 750 (-350) = 400 Atmos: 400 (+100) = 500

Hendrix grunted as the winds were clearing away his Bakugan's power level, but he didn't do more than scoot back an inch.

"You indeed have my respects for the demeanor that you carry, but your little game of tug-o-war on power isn't for the benefits. Sorry, not that we have anything better to do, but I'd rather not have a peaceful planet suffer so abhorrently." Jase swiped his arm forward. "Atmos!"

Atmos cawed loudly as he heard his voice. In a harsher flap of his wings, he made the whirlwind pick up, becoming so strong that Rafflesian was starting to feel his ingrained body lose anchorage. The ground beneath him was chipping away only meekly, and frankly, it was starting to grate Hendrix.

His brown eyes bored daggers into the battlefield. He wasn't going to lose, not while he still had an obligation to uphold. "Peaceful, you say?"

Jase frowned in wonder.

"You truly believe that there's a thing called peace. Such a thing only comes to those who fought for the just. I'm not fighting because I want to, I'm doing so because it is needed." He shook his head disapprovingly at his opponent. "Looks like I was right all along. You have no idea on how deep you're peeping into this hole that you have dug. Consider it your grave." He held up his Bakumeter, where an ability revealed itself; the same ability that had a unique symbol on it and patterns, unlike the other kinds of abilities. "And now, it is my obligation to bury you where you stand."

Jase's eyes widened in shock at the shift in pressure he felt. His body tensed, but he steeled himself for the worst.

"Ability, activate! Chaos Booster-X!"

A purple core appeared on Rafflesian's front. Once implemented, Jase and Atmos readied themselves for what's to come. They watched as the core glinted, and purple chords began to snare and drape all over his body, squeezing with restraints. The Subterra Bakugan gave a low growl, which was stopped by a pulsing heartbeat. With that one beat, his growl grew louder as a dark aura enveloped his body. The veins returned on his body, crackling with power and pulsing energy. It even seeped into the thorny vines. The energy field around him was beginning to pulsate, and he was fixed and ready to destroy Atmos.

"So you're using it now." Jase evaluated. "Should've known."

Hendrix shot him a glare. "This is my intuition to Rafflesian."

Rafflesian: 400 (+500) = 900 Atmos: 500

Rafflesian's body had a dark aura that gave off a powerful gust of its own. It was getting stronger by the second, and as the veins on his body crackled, so did the pulsating aura he emanated.

"His power…it's convulsing!" Atmos gasped.

"This doesn't look well. We have to hurry!" Jase enforced.

"I think not." Hendrix extended his arm out. "Rafflesian, if you can hear my voice, bear with my call…end this battle." He voiced menacingly.

As if understanding by a low growl, the Bakugan's aura intensified. The rings around the eyes glowed, signaling the release of energy. Before Atmos could recoil a safe distance, the Subterra adversary let out a malicious roar, one that shook the entire ground and sent a powerful shockwave in all directions. The pulsating blast of power had a deep brown to it. It traveled fast in all directions, which prompted Jase to jump away and get caught in the winds. He covered up with an arm as he was shoved away harshly.

Atmos cawed aloud as his body contorted in the shockwaves. Tried as he might, he couldn't hold on. As walls cracked apart, and the floor plates chipping like geysers, both Jase and Atmos were shoved backwards. Atmos cawed again as the repulsion morphed him back to ball form.

Jase: 0%

The shockwaves subsided, with Jase having landed on a defeated knee with eyes closed. Atmos fell to his side, stopping on his side. His eyes remained closed as he adjusted his glasses, not a word spoken of.

Rafflesian's veins eased up a little as the aura subsided. He returned to ball form and was caught in the palm of Hendrix. He huffed meekly and closed his eyes with straight posture. "It didn't have to come to this, but I made it as fast as possible. There's been enough harm done already."

Jase picked up his Atmos and gave him a blank look. He frowned deeply at the Subterra's expense. "At least it was considerate of you to make it so that your Bakugan wasn't suffering that long."

"I offered him power, and he chose willingly. Perhaps you are mistaken, I am not like Ariella. I'd rather not do things the hard way at another's expense of harm. But if you still intend to get pass me to get to the core…" he slowly raised his balled fist and palm, joining them to make it crack loudly. "Then you'll leave me no choice but to exert the hard way."

Jase smirked. "Dedicated as you are…" he pulled out his small staff strapped to his belt. "I'm afraid I uphold my own obligations. As the Colonel of the B.I.F UK Division, I shall do everything in my power to help humans and Bakugan alike, as per my duty."

Hendrix began to slowly approach. "I don't know this 'B.I.F', but it doesn't matter here on New Vestroia."

Jase kept his stance as he pressed a button, beginning to elongate the staff. "So it would seem."

"I hate to keep talking like this, but I'm afraid I must repeat myself one more time. You and your colleagues have no idea on what's going on here. Your place is not amongst us…"

The sounds of thumping and thudding reverberated throughout the walls, stopping Hendrix from finishing. The thudding had also caught Jase's attention. Both men about to gage in battle were distracted by the thudding that went on.

Jase stared at the ceiling. "What's this?"

Hendrix looked over at the air vent on his left. He stared up at it and leered as what was the sound of a loud cry slowly echoing louder and louder with every second. There was another cry accommodating, one more frantic and hysterical than the former.

The thudding and girlish screams only intensified until it sounded like something was closing in. Startled, Hendrix backed up a step at the last second before the air vent shield flew out of place when Maggie and a frantic screaming Jelldon shot out of the ventilation ducts. Both screamed out; Maggie's being more fun as they dropped on Hendrix.

WHAM!

With oud thuds, Maggie and the vent shield fell on top of Hendrix, acting as a cushion for them to use. As the dust settled, Maggie was seen on her stomach, groaning weakly. "Oww…"

"Is the ride over~?" Jelldon groaned.

"I think so…" Maggie sat up, dusting off her pink skirt with a pout. "Man, so dirty…"

Catching his breath, Jelldon was able to calm a little. "Hey, that…actually was fun." He admittedly.

"I know, right?!" she smiled wide. "We gotta do that again!"

"Well, talk about convenience."

Hearing the voice, both Maggie and Jelldon looked over to see someone they didn't see coming. "Oh, Jase!" Maggie chimed. "Looks like we made it!"

"Well I can safely say that your timing couldn't have been better. Excellent work on getting here." He pressed the button on his weapon and reduced its size to where he stashed it away. He looked up at the huge square on the side of the wall. "So then I take it that was your way in?"

Maggie nodded. "Yup. The Ventilation Express! It was a longer slide down than I thought though…"

Jase smirked as he chuckled. "Well, in any case, with you and your 'shortcuts', you've managed to make it at just the right moment."

"Really? What did I miss?" Jase pointed his finger straight down, in which Maggie followed. She felt something off as a groan came from beneath and made the vent shield slip. She got to her feet, looking down at the unconscious Hendrix. "…oh." She hummed. "Oopsies."

Jase adjusted his glasses once again, a frown now coming to light. "Your arrival was most appreciative, but I'm afraid we don't have the luxury of handing out chocolate coins for your reward. We have something that we need to do, and hurry."

Maggie's head tilted in confusion. "Something wrong?" she looked around, noticing how everything was cracked and chipped, from porcelain tiles to cracked walls. Recognizing collateral damage, she noticed something else wrong. "Hey, where is everyone?"

"They went on ahead. Come on." Jase started to dart pass the unconscious Hendrix, leaving Maggie confused.

"Hey, wait! Shouldn't we tie this guy up first?!" she called.

"Never mind him! The others need our help!" he darted with hurry down the corridor, leaving a worried and confused Maggie to follow along. Though she bowed and apologized to the unconscious inconvenience, she had to remain vigilant and hurried on. 'What did he mean before, when we dug too deep? What's going on here, no, the better question is what is it that we don't know?'

"You have no idea how deep of this hole you are making for yourself." Hendrix's words echoed in his head. They were unsettling to say the least.

'I have a bad feeling about this. Everyone, hang on.' Jase thought as he ran down the corridor.

"Hey! Wait up! I don't have long legs you know!" Maggie complained far back.

"And I don't have legs at all!" Jelldon cried.

---

The shouts of the stadium were loud and riveting to say the least. Everyone was excited and cheering on as confetti spouted from small tubed on the opposite side of the stairways that led to two golden platforms.

"Welcome, everyone!" the adrenaline-filled announcer exclaimed. "This is gonna rock your world, because today, we're bringing the TWB to its finest conclusion yet! For today, we have two unlikely challengers who climbed their way through the rankings, and they have put on shows that we most certainly didn't see coming! We have the two challengers. In one corner, we have the battler whose gone and swarmed the underdogs with a lot of fight…Shuji!"

Shuji stepped up through the confetti-filled steps. He waved to everyone with wide smiles and jovial laughter. Clearly he still loved the attention and glory.

"And his opponent…" the cheers began to escalate a little more. "This guy is swarming the competition, and man are they a combo that buzzes in your ear until you flat out drop dead! The deadly stinger that'll leave you crying home to your mommas, give it up for…KILLIAN MILES!"

The crowds gave deafening cheers as Killian emerged from the steps, marching through the confetti with a half-grin. He made it up to the platform and gave Shuji a serious look.

"There he is." Shuji muttered.

The announcer was pumping his fists with excitement as his eyes were practically wide with adrenaline. "This is going to be one crazy battle you folks can't miss out on! It'll be two insects going head to head with needles and horns to throw you for loops! OH THE INSANITY~!"

Killian folded his arms as he half-grinned at Shuji. He seemed relatively amused, but not arrogantly. "Before we start anything, I gotta say pal, you really are a wonder." He admitted.

Shuji raised a brow. "Oh yeah?" he defended.

"Hey, relax. I'm just saying that it was pretty badass the way you took down that punk is all. Seriously, even I would've wanted to knock his teeth in too I he didn't shut that trap of his." He shrugged. "But hey, what are you gonna do?"

Shuji kept a serious stare on his opponent. He sounded like he was mocking him given his tone, but he was trying to lighten up the mood a little, granted. "Heh, well sorry if I beat you to the punch."

Killian shrugged. "Hey, no worries. All I want is a fair competition, and as long as you can do that, I don't have any beef with you." He pulled out Moskeeto. "So, you ready?"

"Yeah!" Shuji pulled out Fly Beetle. The two were glaring daggers as they held battle stances, ready to engage in battle. As they did, separate thoughts came to their minds.

'This guy's no pushover. He beat Maggie without breaking much of a sweat. I gotta watch put for that Bakugan he has, or it's lights out.'

'I know Maximus told me to stop these two, but if this one was able to unlock triple abilities, then this can be stressful. We'll have to watch out for that Infestation Stigma and Cast-Iron Carapace ability he has. If he wants to stop the core's energy regulator, then he's in for another thing entirely.'

The tension was silent, and the two were ready with their fixations set in stone.

Killian: 100% Shuji: 100%

"Let the battle…BEGIN!"

Immediately, Killian pulled out a Gate Card. "Gate Card, set!" He threw the card out to the battlefield, where it disappeared in a green shockwave throughout the ground. He pulled out his Moskeeto in his fingers, giving him a look. "You ready?" he told his Bakugan.

Moskeeto hissed.

"Alright, but watch yourself. Bakugan, brawl!" he threw Moskeeto out. "Bakugan, stand!"

In a green flash, a swift gust went in al directions. Shuji covered up from the energy waves as a long needle-like nose emerged Crying out was Moskeeto, who flapped his four wings and readied for combat.

Looking up at his opponent, Shuji could feel a slight case of nervousness arise. "Man…this guy's even more creepy up close." He said nervously.

"Yeah, freaky." Fly Beetle said.

Shuji balled his fist, trying to shake off his nerves riling up. "Well too bad. There's no turning back now, we have to win this if we wanna get that energy spiked. You ready?"

"Let's shoot." Fly Beetle closed, enabling him to be snagged by Shuji.

Shuji brought his arm back and readied for battle. "Hrah! Bakugan, brawl! Bakugan, stand!"

Fly Beetle arose into battle, his huge horn raised and the outer wings unfolding. The wings flapped and ascended into the air, kicking up dust in front of Shuji and Killian.

Moskeeto: 450 Fly Beetle: 350

Shuji smirked as he showed a Bakumeter with an ability in it. "Ability, activate! Tusk Arrow!" Fly Beetle let out a low growl as he veered into the air above Moskeeto, where he fired orange-brown beams of energy from his tusks. Moskeeto veered out of direction to avoid the two beams.

Moskeeto: 450 (-100) = 350 Fly Beetle: 350 (+200) = 550

Fly Beetle continued to work his way around the battlefield, occasionally flying around and firing beams whenever possible. Still, even in the air, Moskeeto maneuvered faster than him.

"Stay on him!" Shuji encouraged.

Killian had a serious face as he pulled up his Bakumeter. "Not so fast! Ability, activate! Aero Slim!" With his eyes flashing a brief green, Moskeeto suddenly turned around and faced Fly Beetle. Two beams went right for him, but the Ventus Bakugan had the claws out and glowed bright green. Shards exerted from them and beamed ahead, pulverizing through the blasts Fly Beetle gave and forcing him to steer out of reach of the shards.

Moskeeto gave out a large hiss as he was now the one doing the chasing and shooting.

Moskeeto: 350 (+200) = 550 Fly Beetle: 550 (-100) = 450

"Woah!" Fly Beetle flew lower towards the earth to avoid an assault. He raced over the ground as Moskeeto was high above, shooting shards constantly from above. It was like rain that Fly Beetle couldn't outfly.

"Crap! Fly Beetle!" Shuji worried.

Killian swiped his arm in an arch. "Stay on him, Moskeeto!" He watched as his Bakugan flew faster, his shadow over Fly Beetle. With aim, he reached down and unleashed shards upon his back.

Shuji growled as he pulled out another ability. "Gotta nullify! Ability, activate! Exo-Shield!"

Fly Battle heard the call and folded his wings. He landed on the ground and did nothing but stiffen as the shards rained down on his back. They pelted profusely and to of no end, making green dust flare. By the time the smoke settled, there was revealed Fly Beetle in an orange aura. His power level went back to 550 while Moskeeto's went down to 350.

"Astonishing! Shuji managed to nullify the ability!" the announcer shouted. "He just saved his Fly Beetle's bacon!"

Shuji pumped a fist. "Yeah!"

"Not bad." Killian admitted.

"Well then if that wasn't half-bad, get a load of this! Ability, activate! Horn Buster!"

Fly Beetle aimed for his adversary and orange static appeared at the end of his horn. As Moskeeto sailed overhead, he took the shot, sending a zigzag blast of brown lightning. Consequently, it struck the Moskeeto's underside, making a burst of smoke. He hissed as he descended overhead.

Moskeeto: 350 Fly Beetle: 550 (+200) = 750

Moskeeto straightened out in the air above and gave out a loud hiss. He glared down at Fly Beetle, his dull eyes glaring with heavy menace.

"Gngh! It's still standing?" Shuji growled.

"Maybe you've forgotten that Bakugan is more than a little taste of numbers here and there." Killian reminded. "Just because your power level's higher, doesn't mean you still have a more durable body."

Shuji glared daggers at his opponent. "We'll just see about that. We got a strong hide of our own, so how's about we show it?! Fly Beetle, ability activate! Sonic Wing!" Fly Beetle did as commanded and unleashed brown crescents from his wings, which went right for Moskeeto, who was straight ahead.

Moskeeto: 350 (-200) = 150 Fly Beetle: 750

As they drew in, Killian drew up his wrist with adrenaline pouring in. "Ability, activate! Clear Compound!"

The large eyes suddenly flashed green once more and reflected the Sonic Wing in his lenses. Without much movement, the green crescents heading his way dissipated upon dispelled in green energy.

Moskeeto: 150 (+200 +200) = 550 Fly Beetle: 750

"Rats…" Shuji grimaced.

"You ready for more?" Killian rhetorically asked with a straight face. With a point of his finger forward, Moskeeto obeyed and went darting for Fly Beetle. The two Bakugan met centerfield, where the claws of Moskeeto were gripping to the sides of the beetle before him. Fly Beetle fought back by digging his own claws in, trying to latch on.

Seeing his Bakugan on supposedly equal ground, Shuji looked ready and excited. "Fly Beetle! Don't give in!"

"Moskeeto, steel yourself! Gate Card, open! Silent Hanger!"

The Gate Card opened in a bright glow, and within that glow from beneath, Fly Beetle was tussling with the opponent, but suddenly stopped moving. It was like all his muscles cramped and didn't find any room to move. With nowhere to fly to, Fly Beetle dropped like a rock on his 6 appendages. He grunted as the shock went through him and grimaced.

"What?" Shuji questioned.

"Command Card, Silent Hanger. It immobilizes the opponent completely." Killian explained. "No, let's make some noise! Ability, activate! Frequency Shaker!"

Moskeeto gave out a large hiss as his wings flapped and he remained highly airborne. With the altitude, he had momentum and steeled himself with the wings palpitating crazily. Green, screeching soundwaves went in all directions, spreading out and making Fly Beetle cringe in pain.

"GNAGH!" he yelled through the vibration waves. The pain only made Moskeeto keep it up, his power plenty to spare.

Shuji covered his ears at the soundwaves of high frequency. It was making it hard for him to hear as he instead felt a ringing. "Crap! Somebody shut that thing up!" he yelled loudly.

"Frequency Shaker is Moskeeto's ability!" Killian shouted loudly through the noise. "It knocks off 200 Gs normally, but against Subterra Bakugan, they lose 300 Gs. Think of it like rock cracking during a large earthquake!"

"What?!" Shuji yelled.

Moskeeto: 550 Fly Beetle: 750 (-300) = 450

Shuji winced harder, as did Fly Beetle. The Subterra's luck ran out as his head lowered. He started submitting to the shaking in his tough body, returning to ball form and falling back to the front of Shuji. Shuji looked down in shock as the sound finally stopped, but at the cost of the round.

Shuji: 80%

"WOW! That was one crazy bugfest, ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer squealed through the intercom. "It looks like Killian just snagged that first round with flying colors!"

Killian caught Moskeeto in his ball form, giving a look at Shuji.

He bent down to get Fly Beetle. He growled at Killian before looking down at his partner. "Hey, you there?" he asked.

"Ugh…my ears are still ringing…" he said in a daze. "Looks like they were prepared for us right from the start."

"This bites." Shuji got back up, shooting a look at his adversary. 'Man, these Rogue Zero guys really are strong. They beat Maggie with ease, and that last ability was fit for me perfectly. If I'm gonna beat this guy, then I have to find a way around that ability.'

The white orb high above them pulsated. It glowed brightly as it drew in all the battle energy the two insects generated.

Killian gave Shuji another look. "Not bad. Not bad at all."

"Ha! Just you wait, I've got more tricks up my sleeve, punk!" Of course Shuji was bluffing, but he didn't have to admit to that.

Killian's brow twisted. "Then bring it."

"With pleasure! Gate Card, set!" Shuji threw the Gate Card out, ready to begin the next round.

---

Down below in the massive chambers, the corridor shuddered as Verias' staff end hit the earth. He grunted as he readied against Clawcer, both Bakugan supposedly at wit's end with the other, or at least by Verias' facial expression.

"This has gone on too long!" Shawn testified.

"The feeling's reciprocated." Ariella admitted. "You really are quite persistent, but I\my patience with you is starting to wither."

Shawn, despite the predicament, smirked. "Then I guess we're in agreement then. We'll just have to hurry up and beat you, won't we?"

Verias twirled his staff overhead before slamming it to the ground again, showing readiness.

At his expense, Ariella smirked evilly. "My, what confident spunk. Just for that, I'll give you a little taste of one of Clawcer's enhanced powers. Now! Ability, activate!" she held up her wrist, signaling her ability. "Aquos Cyclowave!"

Clawcer opened his claws again, the two pincers charging up a compressed sphere of blue.

"Her it comes." Shawn warned.

"Ready!" Verias exclaimed.

Clawcer reeled his arm back and then forward. He opened up a little, sending a rampaging blast of what was a blue laser beam with dark blue static heading right for Verias. It made the ground shudder at it closed in, again causing the porcelain ground to shudder.

Clawcer: 450 (+400) = 850 Verias: 350

As it drew in, the tension arose as Shawn's eyes narrowed. "Alright…now! Double ability, activate!" He punched forward, revealing two cards layered atop the other. "Verias Siba!"

Verias twirled his staff around, making it have a yellow energy swirl about it like a wheel. He held his ground as the attack closed in further as his own power level shot up to 550.

"Plus, Fusion Ability, activate! Lucifer Bow!"

The twirling staff was spinning like it always was, but Verias held his ground as the staff gave off a powerful light. As the yellow flames continued to spin, they began to do so remotely. As it was a wheel of light before Verias, he pulled his staff under it to make a staff with a big O atop. He reached into the light ring and reached back, making light strings and an arrow. With a shaky hand, he fired with gusto, sending the beam of light straight through Aquos Cyclowave. It bisected it completely, the light beam projected and draining the light ring in the staff as it traveled. It reached Clawcer eventually, making a yellow burst that made him fall onto his back with a loud thud.

"Bull's eyes!" Shawn grinned.

Clawcer: 850 (-350) = 400 Verias: 550

Shawn looked at Ariella with an increased sense of confidence. "Had enough yet? Lucifer Bow is a Fusion Ability that only works for Verias Siba. It halves the opponent's current power level, if not round to the next lowest number."

However, despite the setback, the dust cleared, revealing the shifting hair and clothing that the tall woman wore. Her figure was seen inside, and he chuckled mildly, much to the surprise of Shawn. "You've got a lot of nerve, kid. But not enough brains apparently. Do you honestly believe that your so-called friends have what it takes to beat us? Killian is currently facing one of those friends you carried here, and Hendrix is no pushover either. If you have any regrets to say, then say them now."

Shawn was quiet for a moment, his head ringing with Ariella's hardy arrogance. She was more than confident, but the way he saw it, it wasn't good. In fact, the irony made him smirk.

"What's so funny?" she demanded.

"You know…I never pegged the bad guys to be chatty-cathys."

"What was that?" Ariella narrowed her eyes in disgust. Haos Verias suddenly prodded Clawcer's large claw, forcing the crab backwards. She gasped in shock.

"Maybe we weren't so prepared, but that doesn't mean we're not still going through with it. There's still more of us scattered around here than you guys, and maybe power isn't in our favor right now…" he pointed ahead. "But don't think that even if one of us goes down that we give up. It's not that simple."

Ariella was silently pondering of his words for a few moments. She glared daggers at him, and apparently, she too was starting to emit her own smirk on confidence. "Then so be it. I'll make you see things the hard way."

Shawn and Verias braced themselves.

Ariella's eyes widened, showing determined annoyance. "I'm gonna crush your little ambition here and now…with this!" She held up her Bakumeter, which showed a hologram of a card. "Ability, activate!"

"Not that one!" Shawn gasped.

"…Crustacean-X!" As soon as those words left her mouth, the ability card kicked in and summoned a purple core in front of Clawcer. The purple chords extended and tangled around Clawcer's whole figure, from claws to the toes. The Bakugan growled as the chords tightened around his body.

"Verias!" Shawn warned.

Verias stepped back a foot upon his partner's call. He looked at Clawcer with an anxious expression, and his fur began to tingle with a fluctuating sense of pressure.

The atmosphere tightened around them as the chords disappeared, and a pulsing heartbeat ran through Clawcer's figure. His dull eyes flashed briefly before veins started to grow all over the body. He roared loudly in deep spite and slight sense of pain. The Bakugan began to emit a powerfully large blue aura around his body, as thick as water itself. The vapor around Verias was starting to suck into the aura, making everything around him feel dry.

Almost losing footing at a point, he spread out. "What…is this power?!" The Haos Bakugan exclaimed through the turmoil.

Ariella snickered low at the opponent wavering.

Clawcer: 400 (+400) = 800 Verias: 550 (-200) = 350

Shawn looked down at his Bakumeter with shock over the difference in power levels.

"Crustacean-X…" Ariella said, holding a confidence pose within the vacuum. "If I recall correctly, you and your friends managed to nullify this before they could feel its true power. But now tell me this: Where are they now?" she smirked.

"You…" Shawn glared.

Her lust of dominance at eased with the look Shawn gave her, she reached her arm out in a commanding gesture. "Now!" Her Clawcer did as told, the eyes flashing once more. The humungous claw with veins popping out and crackling within failed to slow down the hefty crustacean. The large claw came down on the ground, one swing and a hammer generating a massive omnidirectional blue shockwave that went through the whole area. The plates on the ground completely shattered and the furniture toppled over into heaping messy piles. The blue shockwave spread rapidly to even the walls, making them crack apart. Verias covered up using his staff to bunt the blow, but there was nowhere for him to run.

"Verias, look out!" Shawn's cry of worry fell on deaf ears as the attack picked Verias up from his feet and sent him flying backwards. The attack's strength was so strong that Shawn covered up and slid back inch by inch from the shockwaves that passed him. His grunts were as loud as the winds picked up, and Verias sailed above in a cry of angst. As time slowed down, the Bakugan's eyes narrowed.

"Sorry…Shawn…" the ape glowed bright yellow and reverted to ball form. He fell to the ground as the shockwaves subsided, and Shawn was finally given relief, only to fall forward towards his knees due to no counterbalance. Verias fell right in front of him and exemplified what could be described as a pained look.

Shawn: 0%

The veins around Clawcer receded, and the Bakugan growled low as he returned to ball form and went back to Ariella. She snagged him without looking, her victory as dominant as her demeanor.

Shawn looked down at Verias, a defeated frown fixed on his face. He couldn't speak, for there wasn't anything that could be said about the predicament he was in.

"You put up a good fight, kid, I'll give you that much." He looked up at Ariella as she spoke. "But that still didn't change anything. You see as far as you're concerned, you and your little party just happened to be at the wrong place at the right time. There isn't shame to that, but your little tenacity is fun to watch."

Shawn gave a furrowed brow as he picked up his defeated Bakugan. "So now what? You just going to flaunt this until you call security or something?" he questioned as he stood back up.

Ariella raised her head in pride. "Actually…as tempting as that is, there isn't anything good to come out of that now, is there?"

Shawn gave her a confused look. "Wait…what?"

"I was given orders to stop you, and that was all. But as it stands, seeing you squabble like you did without fighting back only proves my point; you humans and your Bakugan are the least of my concerns. Consider this a blessing in disguise, as you say."

"What does that mean?" Shawn questioned.

"You mean you're just letting us go?" Verias asked.

Ariella chuckled. "Maybe in your eyes, but if you are loyal to your friends…" her eyes shifted towards the side. "Then you should at least see for yourself with what happens to your friends when they push too deep in our home."

Shawn gave her squinted eyes as he thought about her words. 'Too deep? Taken orders…this chick…then that other guy…and the guy who beat Maggie…what does she mean when Luke's-!' Shawn's eyes widened in a hefty gasp. "You tricked me?!" he stammered.

"Oh, did I say there was just Killian? My bad." Ariella feigned such a crude tone. "Maybe I should make myself clearer when I say this…" a smirk widened across her supple lips. "This two pests, though I wanted to see their faces when I crush them, it would be much more entertaining in seeing them fall to the likes of true power."

Shawn balled his fists. "Luke…"

"Shawn, we need to go!" Verias insisted. "Luke and Abis may need our help!"

"You're right, we need to hurry!" With what speed he carried through his boots, he darted off pass Ariella, his breath hitching at the dark prospects of what could befall Luke and Esther.

Ariella turned and watched him go on, her smirk replaced by now what was malicious half-grin. "The fool. Those two even working together, they wouldn't hold so much as even a wick against Rogue Zero's crowned devil himself." She snickered low. "And his pet, too."

Luke darted with hurry down the hall, worry spelled all over his face. 'Luke! Esther! I knew having them go alone together would mean trouble…Hang on!'

---

Down the corridor they went, farther and farther away from their friends and allies as they'd like to be. They had to keep going, and hurrying with gusto, the Aquos and Darkus battlers sprinted down the elongated sanctum, with their footsteps echoing around the long and high walls.

"Hey, I think I see something up ahead!" Luke pointed ahead.

"Yes, I see it, too!" Esther agreed.

The two came saw what could be best said as a doorway up ahead. The entrance was a lot smaller than they had originally thought, but the deep accents on the end were pretty much all they needed to know. There were certain engraves of gray embedded into the surprisingly dark wall, and the chamber doorway was brown. It was bizarre to say the least, but it was the only different thing out there.

Stopping front of the end of the corridor, both Luke ad Esther looked up and down the wall with surprise and confusion.

"Is this really it?" Luke had a hand to his hip as he raised a surprised brow. "It looks creepy."

"Maybe, but from the schematics Jase went over…" Esther tapped her purple Bakumeter, in which a mini hologram of the layout they went over went around in a circle clockwise. The single red dot that was her location beeped in front of a big red square that was the checkpoint. "Yes, this has to be it." She looked up at the doorway once more. "There's no room for second-guesses, this has to be the energy regulating room."

Abis Omega popped open besides Atchibee. "So inside is this…core?"

"From what I remember, yeah." Atchibee said. "What I want to know is how exactly do we shut it off?"

"Maybe we'll find out once we get inside." Abis said flatly.

Luke stepped forward, pulling his sword back. "Alright, just leave this part to me!" he smirked.

Esther reached out to him. "Wait-!"

But she was too late to warn the impatient man. With one swing of the blade, Luke drove it into the door. The blade, to Luke's shock, bounced right off, sending him onto his behind. "Gah!" he gagged.

"Luke! You okay?!" Abis exclaimed.

Luke grunted as he sat up. "Damnit…what was that?"

Esther looked at the door, seeing it shimmer with some sort of visible filament before fading. She leered hard at the prospect that was unearthed. "A forcefield." She confirmed.

Luke stood back up. "A what?"

"It's an extra security measure. It bounces off anything that touches it. We can't get through this way then."

"Well isn't this just annoying." Luke pouted. "Then how are we supposed to free the Bakugan if we can't implode this weird machine.?"

"We'll just have to find another way in." Esther advised.

Luke sighed in defeat. He'd rather attack the door to see if he could stop or break the forcefield, but sadly he didn't have the luxury of patience, plus his blade could only take so much. He'll just have to bear with the consequences for the time being.

Atchibee pivoted on Esther's shoulder, looking at something with her red eyes. "There's something over there."

"Where?" Luke questioned.

"There! I see it, too!" Abis confirmed.

Luke and Esther looked over towards the side of the doorway. Within the deep accents, there was what looked like another PC installed into the wall. Once again, there was ticket for them to head in.

Luke walked up towards it and leaned in, scrutinizing its contents. "Huh? What's this doing here?"

Esther approached next, looking at it deeply. "It's a padlock system. I'm guessing we'll be needing a security code to open the door this time."

"That's stupid. Can't I just break this thing too with my sword?" Luke volunteered.

Esther sighed. "This isn't like the others, Luke. This system has to be aligned with this door alone. To put it simply, if we break it, we may never get it to open."

Luke shot another look at the padlock, then back at Esther. "You're more cautious than I thought."

Esther nodded with subtlety. "It's nothing to take pride in."

Luke sighed. "Well, then let's see…a 3-digit passcode…hmmm…" he crossed his arms as he pondered about the possibilities of the many codes available. "What could be a good passcode easy to remember?"

"Maybe it's more complex than that, Luke." Esther advised. "These passwords are probably thorough to where you may only get one shot. Worse case scenario, it my as well ask for facial identifica…" she heard the sounds of buttons being pushed, stopping her sentence code as Luke had already taken liberties in punching in a code without warning. She stood stiff in place as the beeps were long but confirming.

With one loud beep, the padlock flashed green with an 'ACCESS APPROVED' banner on it.

"There! That wasn't so hard!" Luke beamed with pride.

Abis was completely shocked by his partner's wits. "Well…how about that?"

Esther was at a loss for words. She blinked once, then twice, giving Luke a curious expression. "Luke…you figured it out?"

Luke gave were a modest look. "Well yeah, I mean it took some thinking, but the door seems to agree."

"What did you punch in?" Abis asked.

"Geez, what is it with you guys asking questions? You know that's getting annoying!" taking a brief moment, he sighed tiredly. "I typed in 666."

"E-eh…?" Esther sweat dropped.

"You know, the number affiliated with bad things? My folk were pretty religious on me at times, and that number was situated with the devil in some way…" he sheepishly looked away from the shocked look Esther gave him. "Anyways, these guys are bad, so what better number to define them? Besides, it's much more simple this way."

Esther blinked again. She never, in a million years, would have guessed such a padlock code. She thought on a complicated level, but Luke got it without even trying. It was baffling to say the least. "Amazing…" she said.

Feeling embarrassment rise, Luke grumbled meekly. "Well, let's just get this over with already!" he turned away swiftly.

Esther smiled and nodded. "Yes."

The two stood before the door as the forcefield dissipated. With the filament lifting, the brown door suddenly slid apart in opposite directions. The room on the other end was poorly lit sort of speak, but there was enough light for at least to see who was accounted for inside.

Slowly, Luke stepped on in, reminding himself to stay careful. He took one small step inside, which echoed on the floor. When he looked down wearily, he noticed how the floor was white, with a lot of gray accents and lines going everywhere. He looked left and right, seeing little to no figments moving, but even so, he stepped ahead.

Slowly entering alongside their battle partners, the small group began to feel something off. "Is this really the room?" Abis asked.

"It has to be, but there something not right about all this." Atchibee said.

"Yes. It's cold." Esther said. She looked ahead towards Luke, who sauntered ahead like nothing was happening. "Something's wrong here…Luke!"

Stopping, Luke turned to look back at her. "Huh, what now? Aren't we here?"

Suddenly, the dim lighting began to brighten a little. The four looked up at the ceiling, revealing the lights that had turned back on fully.

"The lights!" Esther gasped.

"Does this mean we're spotted?" Atchibee worried.

Abis Omega turned towards the doorway, seeing how it was still vacant. He looked at it warily in suspicion, but nothing happened. He turned back ahead, feeling nothing off. "…I don't know. But look!"

"Huh?" Everyone looked ahead of themselves to what Abis referred to. To their combined shock, they found something that was supposedly they were looking for. Just a hundred yards ahead of them, there was a massive machine-like figure engraved into the wall. There was a large green generator-like core that was five times bigger than them. It had deep green lights everywhere, which went all over the wall in a labyrinth, like manner. It was accompanied by what was an abundant amount of panels and in-wall monitors all around it. The whole wall had regulated health bars and the fans moving rapidly. The massive green core spun counterclockwise, all the gears transferring the battle energy as bright white electricity on occasion through the green lines through the walls.

Luke was wide-eyed at the sight of the humungous equipment. "Woah…"

Esther steppes beside him, she too having a complete loss for words to make up.

"Is that it?" Atchibee asked.

Her partner picked up her Bakumeter once more and pressed a button. The hologram of the dimensions of the chamber room where flashing red, in which they stood in front of. "No doubt about it now. This is the core of Thermosphere."

Luke raised a quizzical brow of wonder. "This is just too weird."

"Your thoughts are mine." Abis voiced. "So you humans have this kind of stuff back in your home world?"

Luke rubbed his head. "Mmmm, I guess so, but I'm not so sure about that green center. Sure that's an alien thing."

"It has to be. Earth has panels and monitors like that, but that kind of energy regulatory system isn't copied from our own resources." Esther looked down at the ground with a puzzled look blooming. "What does this mean? Or rather…how is it that they're so familiar with all of these cultural materials that we have? Something's wrong here."

Luke turned towards her with a tired expression. "Well it doesn't matter now, does it? Let's just shut this thing off and return the Bakugan to their original forms. Simple."

"Well, I guess…"

"I'm with Luke on this one. Might as well get this over with and answer questions later." Abis reasoned.

Luke pivoted and started for the generator with a serious look. "Alright, let's see how we can fix this mess now."

He approached the generator, closing in just a couple more feet, until the lights suddenly went off again, this time to full-on darkness. The group stopped in their tracks and looked left and right, but only saw pitch-black.

"What now?!" Abis exclaimed.

"The lights went off!" Atchibee warned.

"But why?!" Esther wondered.

Luke narrowed his eyes and looked all around, but the only thing that ignited the room was the green core's immense glow. It was the only thing that was light, save the green buttons and outlines around the panels and monitors. He reached for his sword just in case, poised to take action if needed.

"My friends, welcome." A voice called out.

Luke and everyone looked ahead, seeing something off about the space in front of them. To their surprise, they saw that the core flashed green again, sending white and green streams regulating through its veins through the monitors. Within those flashes, they saw two figures standing side-by-side with one another. One was hooded, yet another was not, but yet taller. The green glow settled, offering little lighting from behind their backs again.

Luke readied himself. "Just who are you?!" he demanded.

"What do you want?" Esther glared.

The two unknown figures maliciously smirked within the darkness, the shorter one answering. "You know first impressions are important. Do you know what it takes to make a grand entrance for someone special?"

"Someone…special?" Luke parroted.

"If you would."

"With pleasure." With a snap of the fingers, the taller associate responded and made it echo. The lights in the humungous chamber had once again turned on the same as before. Luke and Esther looked all around with wonder at the lights once again turning on, hopefully this time for good.

"I trust that you had a nice stay within our borders." The hooded figure continued, grasping their attention a second time. "Not to sound judgmental, but is it right to say you're not from around here?"

Luke continued to carry his confused expression, while Esther presumed a more interrogative leer glare. "Sort of speak." She replied dryly.

"I thought as much."

"You know, it's not everyday we see outcasts out of this place." His taller associate said. "We thought it was funny when we saw this."

With a snap of his fingers, a large amount of monitors appeared above their heads. In every one of the monitors, it was either a video of the battle back in the wasteland, or the team divided in various parts of the city at some point; this included a recent footage of Shuji against Killian.

"Shuji!" Esther shouted.

The image showed his Fly Beetle getting knocked back by Moskeeto, much to Shuji's frustration. Before anymore was shown, the monitors all disappeared.

"That was your friend, right?" the taller one presumed. "Well if he is, then consider this the biggest coincidence there is."

Luke's patience was thinning out. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Our own friend just so happens to be entering that tournament right now. Seems to me that he's doing quite well against yours. Hope there isn't much offense there." The hooded figure said.

The group stared warily as they were falling out of the mood.

"But you know something…" the hooded man continued. "We have a couple more of our little 'friends' that have been getting a little pestered as of late. Tell me…" his eyes narrowed beneath his hood. "Does the names 'Ariella' and 'Hendrix' ring any bells?" He saw the looks on Esther and Luke's face, both emanating explicit shock within their composed and irritated faces, respectively.

"No wonder Ariella's been more pissed than before. She's just a bluff." The taller associate scoffed lightly. "You'll have to forgive her, though I do hope Hendrix's own demeanor didn't scare you."

Abis floated beside Luke. "What are you doing here on New Vestroia?"

"To the point already? Well, guess I should explain." The hooded man said. "I'll make this as simple for your earthling heads as possible. Tell me, are you familiar with colonization?"

Esther blinked in surprise. "You mean the movement and settling into another land?"

"Precisely."

The taller one stepped up. "Sorry for any misleading, but I'm afraid the Bakugan here were a bit…underwhelming for our liking. We wouldn't want them destroying what we worked hard on here."

"And…that's why you made them go to ball form?" Luke realized.

"Along those lines, but I'm sure you're familiar with one more reason. Tell me, you recognize this…?" the hooded man lifted his arm to reveal his Bakumeter. There, an ability card showed itself, one of a different design, but similar to what Ariella and Hendrix had.

Luke pointed at the card accusingly. "Hey! That's the card that freaked me out!" he said in a shocked tone.

"We came to New Vestroia for a certain reason, and that's to find organic Bakugan befitting embodiment of power." He continued. "It turns out, thanks to our technology and resources, we were able to conduct a successful test of fully integrating organic Bakugan with forbidden abilities, thus increasing their potential."

Esther narrowed her eyes. 'Those Bakugan they seized that night…' she thought of the several Bakugan taken that first night she met Hendrix and Ariella, her eyes widening at the realization. "You mean you took them for experimenting forbidden powers?"

"Why would you do such a thing?" Atchibee gasped in horror.

Luke stepped forward. "Well I got my own questions too! Just who or what the hell are you anyway?!"

Both figures smirked maliciously at Luke especially. They seemed rather delighted by his anger. It was tasteful.

"Boy, wouldn't you like to know." The taller one scoffed.

"Rather than show you why, how about we just show you the results of their new power." The hooded figure picked up a sphere that had a dark purple and violet aura around its form. It was seeping such an incredible amount of energy from the distance that it was making almost a dark flame-like seep around the smirking hooded leader. The disposition set made Luke and Esther grow weary.

"You feel that?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's weird." Luke dryly admitted.

"With the Chaos Abilities that my associate was able to elaborate and perfect, we were able to exercise our Bakugan to an evolved level. Thanks to these, their power is much greater compared to their kind, but like all power, it comes at a price."

"What's that?" Luke inquired.

The taller man shrugged. "What else, their conscience."

Abis and Atchibee both looked surprised. Now it made sense why Clawcer and Rafflesian were so…off before.

He was given a glare by Esther, but he took it in stride. "Look hotstuff, lighten up. Their conscience aren't 'gone' gone. They'll come around…once their bodies are adapted enough to these new powers." He took in a big sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Man, Killian and his soft heart."

"Xander…rather than tell them all about our achievements, what do you say we show them instead?" the hooded leader insinuated. "I say, we give them a taste of evolved power."

Xander smirked in his shroud. "Gotcha, pal."

Esther bent forward as she went on the defensive. "It looks like we have no choice now, Luke. If we're going to shut down that core, we'll have to get through to them."

Luke held up a balled fist. "You guys get out of our way!"

The hooded man held his wrist out, which held his Bakugan in a shroud. "Sorry, ain't gonna happen. Like I said, we've come a long way here to colonize and find Bakugan to give this power to, and we ain't leaving unless you make us. Make no mistake! You were warned before by them, so now it's my turn! It's time…" he reached for his hood, very slowly. "For the leader of Rogue Zero to show you what terrible mess you've made!"

With a wave of their hood and shroud, both Maximus and Xander showed themselves in broad light. The outfit of Maximus was all the same, but with his hood off, it revealed him having small dark pupils in his eyes, almost like a madman. His light blue hair was all shaggy and unkempt, covering bangs over his eyes even. And on top of his head was a black crown, only looking like two devil horns connected behind his head like a half-halo.

And his right-hand associate with an equal demeanor was Xander. He was a few inches taller than Maximus, and had bright orange hair that was spiked up, and kept that way by a black ring around the forehead. It looked just as rigid as Maximus' crown, but not as dramatic as his. He had thin orange eyebrows and red eyes with a grumpy and smug expression. Around the neck was a black collar similar to the ring around the head, only with a red diamond in the base. It connected to the long red cape, which wasn't tattered like Maximus'. On the shoulder of said red cape was orange pauldrons with silver edging. Underneath was a long-sleeve orange-red shirt with tattered end, with a chest plate strapped to the front; it was black with a silver painting on front, and with the red Pyrus symbol engraved on it. He had a thin silver belt with a red buckle, with silver punk-like keyrings on the hips. He wore light brown pants with knee pads and elbow pads of the same red with silver edging. He had high-knee gray boots with red on the heels and laces going to the top. In his hand was a black and red Bakugan.

Seeing their faces, Esther and Luke grew very defensive. They could feel a swell of pressure emanate from them even from the distance that diverged them.

"Rogue…" Luke started.

"Zero?" Abis finished.

"Then this was a collaboration of people." Esther figured.

"Call it as you see fit, but as of the top Bakugan contenders of our realm, Rogue Zero has the privilege of coming here to find and harbor what Bakugan they saw fit. And today, you will know why we are of top percent." Maximus said. "I will only say this once before we terminate you…my name is Maximus Rogue."

"And I am Xander Hellion." Xander said.

"Remember these names in your graves. You've gone deep in our operation, and now you must pay the price." Maximus held out his Bakugan. "Get ready!"

Luke grunted as he reached for Abis. Esther did the same, though with less swiftness.

Maximus: 100% Luke: 100%

Xander: 100% Esther: 100%

"So if you call yourself the leader of this Rogue Zero, then it's fair to say you were the one pulling all the strings then, right?" Esther inquired intensely.

Maximus snickered wildly. He looked a more menacing with his hood off. "Sure, if you say so."

"Then you will suffer dearly for your convictions! Gate Card, set!" Esther threw her Gate Card first, making it land in the center. It faded in a dark purple ripple al throughout the chamber, leaving the field set.

She looked down at Atchibee with a readied expression. "Atchibee, will you help me?"

"Yes."

"Then let's go! Bakugan, brawl! Darkus Atchibee, stand!" Esther sent out her Darkus Atchibee in a dark light. Arising onto the battlefield from the black light was the moth-like Bakugan. She screeched loudly as she faced Hendrix and Maximus with a power level of 400.

"Let's get this over with! Bakugan, brawl!" Luke threw in Abis Omega next. "Abis Omega, stand!"

Arising a dark blue light, the serpent swerved and gave out a large hiss as he glared down at his opponents. "Let's do this!" he declared. He stood at 350.

Xander smirked up at them with glee. "They don't look so tough."

"Maybe not. Let's get this over with." Maximus said. "Xander, if you would."

The wicked smirk Xander had stayed the same. "No problem, bud. Now it's your turn to show us your new power. Make it serve us well." He sounded more threatening than hopeful to the Bakugan he was using. "Now, Bakugan, brawl!" he threw in the Bakugan, where it popped out in the battlefield, with the top half shockingly spinning a little.

"Bakugan, stand! Rise, Pyrus Hyper Dragonoid!"

From the sphere was a hot shockwave. The gust made Abis and Atchibee wince, and Luke and Esther were barely holding on as their attires were shifting haphazardly through the large gust. A large fire spiral slowly emerged from the glowing red ground, thin but very crisp. Slowly arising with wings folded was a black silhouette, but yet the figure's shape only made a shiver go down Luke's spine.

"What…what in the…?" he stammered.

The fire spiral dissipated as the wings of the Bakugan spread out in one foul flap. With a menacing, bloodcurdling bellow, the Bakugan was revealed in insidious residual embers surrounding him. Hyper Dragonoid was bipedal, humanoid dragon with two yellow horns that were over the head, almost like Neo Dragonoid. The eyes, however were black with small white irises in them. For most part, his supposed dark red scales on his whole upper body were all turned black. He had bulky black shoulder armor with two small yellow horns on them. He adorned two large wings that were black in the appendages and joints, but the membrane's cream color matched the whole abdominal area and chest. Yellow small spikes went down the back, one on each elbow, and several more segmented down the dark scaled thighs. The undersides of the thighs and arms, as well as the hands and feet, were all bright red.

The Dragonoid unleashed another loud shriek, dissipating the embers all around his body. They left Abis Omega and Atchibee on their guard and weary.

"And now…" Maximus brought his arm back. "Bakugan…brawl!" Throwing harshly but with deadly accuracy in a swipe, the Darkus Bakugan he had in hand went out and popped open. "Bakugan, stand!"

Same with Hyper Dragonoid, a dark purple light emerged, this one making gravity intensify. The pressure around Luke was enough to make his eyes widen and teeth bare in gritting angst. "Gngh…what now?!" he irritably shouted.

"Bakugan, stand! Darkus Goblinball!"

Rising up in a bright purple aura, something spherical started to arise, and it was surprisingly large in size than one would think. Rising up was a ball with a dark blue horn on top. It had with armored arms that ended in fingers and dark blue claws. On the arms was armored plating comprised of purple with dark blue on the back of the hand and dark purple plating along the arm. The Bakugan had two large, bat-like wings with purple membranes, but had a diamond on the far side and two sideways hollow triangles on the inner membrane. The once dark color a Darkus Bakugan would normally have was…like a tainted gray, exactly like the other infected Bakugan. This applied to not just the black spherical body, but also the fingers, underside of arms, diamond, and the triangles.

The mouth opened, revealing two bright red fangs atop, with four smaller teeth beneath. The mouth was hollow, but in the dead center was a dull yellow eyeball with red cracks in them, and a deep, feral slit for a sclera. He menacingly snarled beside Hyper Dragonoid, both glaring dull daggers at their bewildered opponents.

Goblinball: 500 Abis Omega: 350

Hyper Dragonoid: 500 Atchibee: 400

"A power level of 500?!" Luke exclaimed. "How's that fair?!"

Esther glared nervously ahead. "Such powerful opponents."

Abis and Atchibee stayed on guard as both either slithered in place or flapped aboveground. Hyper Dragonoid and Goblinball remained motionless in place, even with the large eyeball Goblinball had didn't so much as move and inch.

"Well, we're waiting." Maximus insinuated.

Not wanting to lose ground, Luke glared ahead. "Fine! We'll knock your power levels down a notch! Ability, activate! Dry World!"

Abis Omega gave out a loud hiss as he raised his head, summoning a lot of vapor around him. The vapor sucked into him like a vacuum, in which a large mist cloud formed. Reappearing from the cloud was Abis in a large blue aquatic sphere, fixed on Goblinball.

Goblinball: 500 (-200) = 300 Abis Omega: 350 (+200) = 550

Hyper Dragonoid: 500 Atchibee: 400

Abis went shooting at Goblinball with a sinister shriek, but that didn't deter Maximus in the slightest.

"Ability, activate!" Esther followed. "Lavender Shock!" Atchibee moved her tail to arch at Hyper Dragonoid, unleashing purple lightning from the curved claws at the end.

Goblinball: 300 Abis Omega: 550

Hyper Dragonoid: 500 Atchibee: 400 (+200) = 600

Both attacks closed in, but neither Bakugan was voiced to move. Maximus shot a glance at his associate, giving him the word.

Nodding in understanding, Xander held up his wrist, where a Bakumeter showed. "Alright, ability, activate! Pyrus Volting!"

"Ability, activate! Darkus Force!" Maximus followed.

Both Bakugan had mouths wide open as a compressed sphere of purple began to arise. And a surge of spiraling fire compressed into Hyper Dragonoid's maw. Both unleashed the black sphere with black static and a searing pressurized fire at the separate attacks. The Darkus attack met contact with Dry World, making a large explosion of water and purple erupt. Within the explosion, Abis' hiss of pain reverberated. The volting fire stream seared straight through the purple lightning attack and towards Atchibee. But the moth was diligent enough to evade, albeit barely.

Goblinball: 300 (+300) = 600 Abis Omega: 550

Hyper Dragonoid: 500 (+300) = 800 Atchibee: 600

Abis fell like a loose belt to the ground. He grunted, his head spinning.

"Abis! Don't give up!" Luke shouted.

The serpent struggled, but despite how that attack threw him for a loop, he shakily arose up again. Atchibee descended right beside him for support. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Pathetic." Xander scoffed. "If you want to beat us, you'll have to do better than those weak attacks."

Esther shot a leer at her opponent and held up her wrist. "Atchibee, cover Abis Omega!"

"No problem!" she replied.

"Ability, activate! Vermilion Jet Black!" Atchibee shrieked as she flapped her wings profusely, darkening everything in a dark purple fog. Hyper Dragonoid growled low as the fog surrounded him, and Atchibee took advantage and had her eyes glow and shoot stray bolts of purple lightning dead center in the chest, dropping Hyper Dragonoid's power level to 500.

Xander was completely unfazed. "Nice try, ability, activate! Interlock Dragon!" Hyper Dragonoid again opened his maw and started to generate a fireball. The fireball had searing white flares that surrounded it and enlarged with its mass. Once charged, the fireball shot into the dark fog and lightning, clearing it all clean through and continuing towards Atchibee.

Goblinball: 600 Abis Omega: 550

Hyper Dragonoid: 500 (+300 +200) = 1000 Atchibee: 600

The fireball continued, but Esther knew she had to act swiftly. "Then we'll nullify that! Ability, activate! Scan Blaze!" With her swift shout of desperation, Atchibee's eyes glowed bright red again and emitted strong waves of heated energy around her. The fireball closed in on her, but thankfully dissipated before any harm could've been dealt with. Hyper Dragonoid's power level dropped back to 500 while Atchibee's shot up to 800.

"Tch, annoying." Xander exasperated.

"Then let's say we teach them both some manners then." Maximus smirked. "Goblinball, ability activate! Darkus…Impact!"

Goblinball said nothing as he growled in response. The mouth opened a little wider and the eyes shrank. A dark purple hemisphere with dark electricity started to form around it. His power level began to rise from 600 to 900, and a straight beam of darkness was launched towards Atchibee.

Luke grunted as he saw the attack coming. "Abis! We gotta get back in there!"

"Gotcha!" he replied.

Luke held up his wrist. "Ability, activate! Coil Guard!" Abis slithered in a fast arch to get in front of Atchibee. His long body coiled tightly and tensed up to brace for impact. The laser shot at him directly, making the snake grunt loudly in painful agony. But nevertheless, he was able to hang on.

Goblinball: 900 (-300) = 600 Abis Omega: 550 (+100) = 650

Hyper Dragonoid: 1000 Atchibee: 600

"Hang in there!" Luke hoped, but he could see that it was wearing on his weaker Bakugan. His fists were balling as he could see the angst Abis was in. His teeth were gritting in rising frustration. "Crap…this isn't going to work like this."

Maximus saw his wear and was taking delight. "What's the matter? Not confident in your power level?"

"Shut it! We can do this!" Luke mustered what diligence he could in seeing his serpent take a hit. "Ability, activate! Fin Melee!"

Abis relented in his coils and swerved around a fast swipe. His tailfin slashed down in a streaking blue trail, showing off his tail swiping prowess against Goblinball, with the power level jumping from 650 to 850.

Esther reached her arm out. "Gate Card, open! Forcement Enemy!"

The Gate Card opened at its reveal, and Hyper Dragonoid and Goblinball both had wavy energy-like shadows seep from beneath them towards Abis Omega and Atchibee, whose shadows absorbed the power.

Goblinball: 600 Abis Omega: 850 (+200) = 1050

Hyper Dragonoid: 1000 Atchibee: 600 (+200) = 800

"Looks like this is getting good." Xander said as he looked at Maximus. "What do you say, we charged up yet?"

Maximus gave them a wily smirk. His arms were folded, and he looked rather amused by the sight of their power levels skyrocketing. "Why spoil the fun? I say let the two enjoy their moment before we snip them."

Esther held up her Bakumeter. "Double ability, activate! Vermilion Jet Black, plus Fusion Ability, Chaos Turnover!" Atchibee once again blackened everything with a flap of her wings. Her powers blackened the space around Hyper Dragonoid once more as her eyes brightened and unleashed purple lightning. At the same time, some black hemisphere formed in front of her mouth. It was fired with vigilance, combining with the two bolts of lightning as they traveled towards Hyper Dragonoid. The glossy purplish-white blast struck the Bakugan, making a purple smoke cloud explode in front.

Goblinball: 600 Abis Omega: 1050

Hyper Dragonoid: 1000 (-300) = 700 Atchibee: 800 (+200) = 1000

Hyper Dragonoid veered back as the smoke cleared out. The look on Xander's grumpy face served to show annoyance.

"Alright! Go, Abis Omega!" Luke enforced. With vigilance, the Aquos serpent rushed towards Goblinball with a screech.

As the tides were getting to a breaking point, Xander was looking a little peeved. "Sir, can I please?" he grunted beneath her closed teeth.

Seeing his ally's growing angst, Maximus shot him a psychotic glance. The look was enough to make him lose his growing sense of frustration. Immediately he silenced.

"I'll handle this." He scoffed. "Double ability…activate!" he sniped. "Shadow Crunch!" Goblinball's two large fans glowed dark purple overhead and waited for Abis Omega to close on in. Once close enough, the serpent swiped his tail diagonally from the left. To his and everyone's shock, the mouth snapped down on Abis' tail, stopping it and the ability cold.

"What?!" Luke stammered.

From the bite, Goblinball pressed harder, making Abis cry out in pain. As his shrieks reverberated through the air, the Gate Card began to crack apart. It cracked and chipped up until it fully shattered to pieces.

Goblinball: 600 Abis Omega: 1050 (-200 -200) = 650

Hyper Dragonoid: 700 Atchibee: 1000 (-200) = 800

Esther's blue eyes were visible with deep shock as her Gate Card was nullified. A hitch in her breath was a good indicator of her overwhelmed disbelief.

"And now…" Maximus continued on a dark note, just as the mouth opened up to reveal the eye once more, this time glimmering purple in its sclera. "Irate Eye!" Goblinball's glowing eye suddenly unleashed a large, dense ray of purple straight at Abis Omega in near point-blank range. The attack was so brutal that he couldn't help but be flown back through the air.

Goblinball: 600 Abis Omega: 650 (-200) = 450

Hyper Dragonoid: 700 Atchibee: 800 (-200) = 600

Abis shrieked loudly as the blast was too painful. With little resistance, he turned back into ball form and plopped in front of a baffled Luke, his life gauge falling to 70%.

"Abis!"

"Is he okay?" Esther looked over with worry, until realizing she was distracted and looked back ahead. "Atchibee, look out!"

"Huh?" Looking back ahead, Atchibee saw Goblinball's eye laser turn towards her direction. She crossed her two blades in front to intercept the deep purple ray, but the blast created a deep smoke cloud that ruptured the airspace around Atchibee.

Xander turned towards Maximus to see what he had in mind, but all he did was nudge forward. The signal made, Xander's cocky smirk returned and he reached out towards the battlefield.

In the smoke cloud, Atchibee's bug-like eyes were all dazed. "Gnngh…huh?" her guard down, she looked at the last second as a black silhouette showed itself to her. It closed in fast, too fast for her to block. Without warning, a black tail with a cream underside swung through the smoke and across Atchibee's face, the attack resolving itself from Hyper Dragonoid. The swing sent Atchibee backwards and she returned to her ball form without a fuss.

"Atchibee." Esther grimaced.

Esther: 80%

Goblinball and Hyper Dragonoid returned to their ball forms and landed in their masters' palms, both smirking in delight. "You get the gist now?" Xander inquired. "I think you two punks just went and barked up the wrong tree. Now you see what you're up against?"

Luke grunted as he knelt and grabbed his Bakugan. He glared back up and raised a fist. "Hey! We're not down yet! That was just the first round! You won't be so lucky next time!"

"Is that so? Then perhaps you'd like to put your own words to the test then." Maximus challenged. His smirk widened a little, a mere chuckle beginning to unfold. "Guess the fun's over. So now we can demonstrate the real power these Bakugan have."

"Real power?" Luke questioned.

"About time. So now they're all warmed up?" Xander asked the leader.

Maximus nodded. "Everything seemed well this last battle. This time, don't hold back your reserves."

Esther couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her mind was racing as fast as her heart, maybe even more so since she was palpitating profusely. 'Did I hear him right? They couldn't have been holding back much during that one fight. They beat us bad enough as it was, you mean they have more than just that level of strength? This is bad.'

Luke looked down at his Bakugan. "Hey! Abis, you up?!" he shouted.

Abis Omega abruptly popped open in his ball form, giving Luke a glare. "Geez! Don't yell in my ears like that, moron! Of course I'm awake!"

Luke clutched Abis Omega once more ad looked ahead in ready. "Then let's hit him harder."

"I don't think just plain hitting them this time around will-"

"Gate Card, set!" Xander interrupted by throwing out a Gate Card. It went out in a bright red shockwave that faded into the chamber. He snagged his Bakugan and threw him in. "Bakugan, brawl! Bakugan, stand!"

In another red spiral of flames, the wings appeared and swiftly separated, revealing the black Dragonoid that roared out in the area.

"Bakugan, brawl!" Maximus was next, throwing out his Goblinball. "Goblinball, stand!"

In a purple glow, Goblinball arose and opened his huge mouth. The horrendous eye showed itself, fixated on the enemies in front.

"Gngh! Bakugan, brawl! Abis Omega, stand!" next was Luke as he threw in Abis Omega next.

"Bakugan, brawl! Atchibee, stand!" Once again entering the fray, Atchibee flapped her wings and ascended into the air. All the Bakugan were present and accounted for, but all their sneers were intimidating one way or another.

Goblinball: 500 Abis Omega: 350

Hyper Dragonoid: 500 Atchibee: 400

Luke gave a confident expression. "You won't beat us this time! We'll free the Bakugan and stop whatever it is you're doing!"

"Oh really, is that so?" Maximus questioned. "Then perhaps it's time that we stomp you from where you stand." He raised his right gauntlet, snapping it loud and clear for all to hear. "Goblinball…show them what the power of forbidden cards gave you…now!"

Goblinball's eye dilated upon response. The Bakugan growled low as the aura around his body was becoming deep once more.

Luke leaned in. "Hm, what the…?"

"You feel that?" Abis questioned.

"Not good." Esther worried stoically.

Goblinball was growling low as a pressure began to emit from his body. Hyper Dragonoid began to wince as his body was convulsing with power. Upon the shout his partner gave, the Bakugan raised his head and gave a banshee-like shout. Like Goblinball, a dark red aura enveloped him. From both auras, the pressure was starting to rise, and the atmosphere in the chamber was beginning to palpitate.

For some reason, Luke swift beating heart was only intensifying. There was a powerful pressure and malicious aura before him, and what he saw…were two beasts surrounded by bloody auras. His eyes shrank to the size of peas. His heartbeats were actually starting to make everything else go deaf, and all he smelled and saw…was the raw power, like dead animal.

The black silhouettes before him opened their mouths wide, unleashing a powerful, rippling shockwave all around. The crazy amount of power released made Luke and Esther cover up from the rather hot winds that passed them. They yelled out as they were shoved back several inches, and Abis and Atchibee covered up as they tried to hold their ground as well.

"So you still wanna back up your words now?!" Maximus shouted through his Bakugan's shrill cry.

As the cry settled, it still echoed with piercing results. Some of the glass in the room cracked apart and shattered as the shockwave reached them. It littered the floor around Luke and Esther, the former actually quaking in his shoes from the massive force he was facing. He couldn't believe that they were being played with by this power just from the first round. It was staggering.

Xander smirked. "This'll be quick.

Hearing the piercing words made a shiver go down Luke's spine. In a hurried reaction, he held up an ability. 'Crap! We gotta run!' "Ability, activate! Osmosis!" In response to the ability, Abis Omega suddenly started to cloak with the battlefield.

Goblinball: 500 (-200) = 300 Abis Omega: 350

Hyper Dragonoid: 500 (-200) = 300 Atchibee: 400

The cloaked Abis Omega slithered through the battle area, staying as quiet as possible as he wormed around the two Bakugan.

"Running away, are we?" Maximus scoffed.

Luke's balled fists only served to tighten. "Gnnngh…!"

"As smart as it was, it's a little late for that. Ability, activate…Shadow Snatch!" Goblinball's shimmering aura around his body suddenly retreated back into his body, and instead his shadow darkened and thickened. The shadows slowly stretched behind and arch in a direction, where it reached out and separated into black ropes that grabbed something invisible. The tendrils holding onto something soon revealed Abis Omega with his head up, his body struggling to move with all the shadows holding onto him. "There's nowhere you can hide from us." Maximus added.

Goblinball: 300 (+200) = 500 Abis Omega: 350 (-200) = 150

Hyper Dragonoid: 300 Atchibee: 400

Seeing Abis Omega struggle, Luke grew weary. "Abis!"

Esther shook her shock out of her system and realized her comrade's predicament. "Don't worry, we'll draw its attention! Atchibee!"

The moth spread her large wings and went sailing at Goblinball. "Let him go!" she sped in towards them, but in a flash, Hyper Dragonoid intercepted her. She gasped when she was cut off by the firebreather.

Xander smirked. "Thought you could get by me? If you want to get to Maximus, then by all means, pass us first."

Esther glared in frustration.

"Ability, activate! Pyrus Volting!" The Hyper Dragonoid opened his mouth and began to surge more heat. As his power level jumped from 300 to 600, he unleashed a compressed broiling fire stream at Atchibee. It closed in on the moth Bakugan, even as she veered into the air a little.

Esther held up her Bakumeter. "Ability, activate! Scare Flash!" Atchibee made another shriek emit from her body as her wing patterns began to glisten. The green centers of the eye patterns started to shine bright, sending bright purple beams everywhere. The intense light met the incoming fire and immediately dispelled it. With its intensity, Hyper Dragonoid and Goblinball both veered away with low growls of their own.

Goblinball: 500 (-200) = 300 Abis Omega: 350

Hyper Dragonoid: 600 (-300 -200) = 100 Atchibee: 400 (+200) = 600

The opponents were all blind, even Xander and Maximus covered themselves using their sleeves to look indirectly away. They were, however, holding on to the best of their abilities.

"Sorry, even you are strong, we have an obligation to uphold." Esther said. "We won't surrender so easily."

Xander peered from beneath his sleeve. "Touché. Gate Card, open! Pyrus Reactor!"

The ground beneath Hyper Dragonoid started to glow red before revealing the reactor card. It had the Pyrus symbol definitely in the center with the background accounted for. Almost instantly, random fire streaks blazed across the field, cindering strong embers around Hyper Dragonoid.

Goblinball: 300 Abis Omega: 150

Hyper Dragonoid: 100 (+300) = 400 Atchibee: 600

The Pyrus dragon flapped his wings and took flight a few meters up over the flames. With renewed strength, Xander pulled up another ability. "Lights out for you! Ability, activate! Blitz Sparta!"

Hyper Dragonoid crossed his arms as the flames beneath him spiraled and surrounded them. With a loud shriek, he spread his wings, searing in cloaked flames and shot up in a fire comet towards Atchibee.

Goblinball: 300 Abis Omega: 150

Hyper Dragonoid: 400 (+200) = 600 Atchibee: 600 (-200) = 400

Hyper Dragonoid's shrilled cries pierced through the sound barrier as he powered through the beams of light shining off Atchibee's wings. In speeds the moth could only dream of, she was rammed square in the abdomen, gagging as the shock and burning sensation went through her like a virus. She yelled as she started to recoil with embers flaring from her abdomen and following her arch backwards. As she fell, the flames dissipated as she returned to ball form, falling in front of Esther again.

"Atchibee, no!" Esther cried.

Esther: 40%

"Well, well, just one blow did it in…" Xander chuckled meekly. "Man, that was weak."

Esther knelt and picked up Atchibee again. She looked up at her opponent that descended back towards terra firma, the flames beneath still lingering with a heated fury. "Such incredible power…"

Maximus faced Luke with a grin. "And that leaves just one."

Luke sneered beneath his breath. In his shock, he held up his wrist. "Gotta get my Bakugan free! Ability, activate! Fin Melee!"

Abis struggled to break free from the shadows that anchored him, but his lower body was still able to manage. With a strained crane of his head down a few notches, his tail swung in a blue streak, cutting clean through the shadows. Time slowed down as the shadows were all bisected and he was seen in a slashed position.

Goblinball: 300 Abis Omega: 150 (+200) = 350

Hyper Dragonoid: 600

"Not a bad play." Maximus admitted. "But not good enough either! Ability, activate! Darkus Force!" Goblinball turned around and opened his mouth a little wider, creating a compressed sphere of purple. Without hesitation, it was launched at Abis Omega, who was still recovering from breaking free.

Goblinball: 300 (+300) = 600 Abis Omega: 350

Hyper Dragonoid: 600

Seeing the attack heading towards his Bakugan, Luke began to swipe madly. "Get out! Dodge or something!"

Abis saw the chaotic sphere heading his way, but he was still reeling from the previous attack. He swiped his tail from out of the blue and collided with the sphere. Blue and purple static flared excruciatingly in all direction before Abis started to wane. In his struggle, he finally lost momentum and was enveloped in a purple burst of energy. The ground shuddered frantically as chunks of metal flew haphazardly. Luke grunted as he covered up from the winds generated. He managed to hold his own this time, but he saw Abis in his ball form rolling towards his feet, stopping just at the base of his toes.

Luke: 20%

"No way…" Luke feel to a knee, his shock too great for words.

"Luke, this battle isn't over yet." Esther said.

"Oh really?" Maximus asked, as his Goblinball and Hyper Dragonoid returned to ball form. They caught them both with smirks. "Not that I hate to bring more bad tidings, but I don't think it isn't very wise of you to be fighting with such a feeble state."

"What do you mean?" Luke questioned defensively.

"It means you both suck, especially you, Red." Xander scoffed. "You're so out of your league it's sad. To think that Hendrix and Ariella were making a big deal out of you."

"Save the comments for someone who cares." Esther rebuffed.

"Huh?"

"Just because we're low on points doesn't mean we're out of the fight yet. We didn't come all this way just to get scared and cower like this. We may not fully get these motives that you guys have in mind, but one thing we do know, is that what you're doing is going against nature itself. And that act alone is unreasonable, right Luke?"

"H-huh?" Barely getting out of his shock, he picked up on what she said. He didn't know what was going on, but that didn't keep him down. "Right, sure. We're still in this."

Maximus' eyes narrowed. "How naïve."

"They have no idea on what kind of mistake they've just walked right into." Xander said. "Humans are so stupid."

Maximus saw the reassured look on Luke's face, seeing his hold onto Abis Omega with shaken hopes. Still, he chose to keep fighting for his own benefits, and that what made his eyes show something most beguiling…delight. "I'm going to enjoy breaking their spirits again. They're so clueless it's sad."

---

"GAH!" Fly Beetle scowled as he was stabbed right in the underside by Moskeeto. He went descending towards the battlefield, crashing on his stomach with a ground-shaking thud.

"Hey! Get up!" Shuji encouraged.

Fly Beetle grunted as he shakily got to his six feet. He turned on his claws and looked back up towards Moskeeto high up. "Man…is that guy even trying?" he wondered.

"Man, I hate it when I'm being played with." He growled. His gloved fist was balled so tight that it was practically shaking.

Killian leered at his struggling opponent; by no means was he going to give him the upper hand. 'That battle energy just now, was that the others fighting below? They better be watching themselves, especially Ariella. Because if this slips, then this'll bite us hard.' He reached his arm out with confidence. "Don't give him ground, Moskeeto!" he yelled.

The black Ventus Bakugan shrieked loudly high above the atmosphere. His roar was enough generate some power in the white orb.

Looking up at the battle energy being absorbed, Shuji buckled down and faced forward. "Alright then, you asked for this! Double ability, activate…" Fly Beetle opened his wings and flapped profusely, giving him propulsion to skyrocket towards the higher insect. "Horn Buster, plus Sonic Wing!"

Fly Beetle generated brown electrical static at the horn's end and shot it at Moskeeto, coupled with brown crescents shot from both sides of the wings. The three-way strike went racing towards the large insect who didn't think of dodging.

Killian adjusted his glasses again and balled his fist. "Ability, activate! Clear Compound!" His Moskeeto's eyes glowed brightly and gave off green energy that enveloped the incoming triad attack. Before they reached him, they vanished from thin air.

"He nullified my abilities!" Shuji exasperated.

Moskeeto: 450 (+200) = 650 Fly Beetle: 350

"You okay Moskeeto?" Killian asked. Up in the air, he saw his Moskeeto raise his nose and hiss.

Shuji growled at his predicament and knew he had to think harder. "This guy, he's not pulling any punches on me. Man this bites."

"You're good, I'll say that." Fly Beetle commended.

"As we you." Killian replied.

Shuji twisted his brows and pulled up his Bakumeter. "Then we'll just have to get bad! Try this, ability, activate! Tusk Arrow!" With his Bakugan shooting from at a sharp degree angle up, projectile beams were launched up towards Moskeeto, making his power level jump to 550 while Moskeeto's went to 550 as well.

"Ability, activate! Parasite Claw!" Killian countered, his Bakugan angling down and his huge gauntlets aimed at Fly Beetle. Green projectile beams of similar energy shot at the attacks, creating a bright burst of energy that generated strong winds. Shuji was forced to cover up as the burst and winds were a bit much for his liking.

As the bright flash faded, the green parasitic rays continued down towards Fly Beetle. "Oh crud!" he yelled.

Looking up t the last second, Shuji showed another ability. "Ability, activate! Subterra Seeker!" Fly Beetle retained his position as his outer wings' deep brown engraves began to glow a magma-like filament. When the green lasers made contact with them, they bounced right off and back up towards Moskeeto. They struck him hard, making smoke clouds bellow around the insect.

Moskeeto: 550 (-200) = 350 Fly Beetle: 550 (+100) = 650

Moskeeto flew out of the smoke cloud from the side, signs of wear shown, much to Fly Beetle's relief.

"It'll take more than that to stop us." Killian testified.

Shuji served a smirk of confidence. "That so? Then how about this?!" he pointed towards the battlefield. "Gate Card, open! Delta Contract!"

The battlefield began to shimmer, and as it did, Moskeeto was giving off a weak green aura that was sapping at his power, while Fly Battle was surrounded by a brown aura and his power increased. Killian looked on in surprise.

"The Delta Contract is a command card that works like the Triple Node. It allows me to steal power from a fellow Subterra, Ventus or Darkus Bakugan, where as if I were of either Pyrus, Haos, or even Aquos, then I'd be stealing power if you were of those types. Sucks that you're a Ventus, huh?"

Moskeeto: 350 (-300) = 50 Fly Beetle: 650 (+300) = 950

"Oh WOW~! Shuji just blindsided the bad boy Killian!" the announcer screeched as he was standing up in his seat. "This is gonna so crazy! Just with this one move, Shuji went ahead by 900 Gs! Just how will Killian respond to that?!"

Shuji had a large grin on his face. "Betcha didn't see that move coming, did you?"

Killian kept a calm disposition. "Thanks for the heads up, I'll be sure to keep that in mind when I do this…" he held up his wrist to show another ability. "Ability, activate! Point Durance!"

Moskeeto's body suddenly pointed downwards without warning. The nose-like needle he had aimed downwards perpendicular to the ground. He went into a rapid nosedive down towards the battlefield, leaving Shuji and Fly Beetle to watch as he zipped pass the latter and continued course downwards. The Bakugan dove nose-first into the Gate Card, shattering it to pieces upon impact.

Shuji and Fly Beetle were at a loss for words as his trump card for the round was all but scrap. He couldn't help but see that Fly Beetle's power level went back to 650 Gs, while Moskeeto's went back to 350 Gs.

"Oh wow! Point Durance just nullified Shuji's Gate Card!" the announcer exclaimed, though with slightly less enthusiasm than last time.

Killian got another card to reveal. "Ability, activate! Needle Diffuse!" His Moskeeto raised his long nose once again and aimed for Fly Beetle high up. He went shooting like a missile at incredible speeds.

"Heads up!"

Shuji's warning didn't get in on time as Moskeeto's nose stabbed Fly Beetle dead center in the underside. Upon impact, a green glow emanated around him, time slowing down as the green aura was absorbed into Fly Beetle paralyzing body. He grunted as his immobility caused his to start falling towards the ground. He slammed hard against the surface, making the ground shudder immensely.

Moskeeto: 350 Fly Beetle: 650 (-300) = 350

"H-hey! What was that?!" Shuji exclaimed.

Fly Beetle tried to move, but his body was aching with every straining sensation. "I…can't…move!" he grunted as he tried to get off his underside and back in the air. His wings only fluttered weakly before they just fell limp again.

"This remind you against that guy?" Killian asked.

Shuji gave him a confused look. "What?"

"Needle Diffuse is another one of Moskeeto's abilities. He stabs the opponent with his needle-like nose and injects a nerve serum that gets potent from his own blood. It not only subtracts 300 Gs, but the paralyzing serum injected prevents you from activating any abilities."

"You're kidding!"

"Sorry bud, but I got a job to do. Nothing personal…ability, activate! Frequency Shaker!" Moskeeto's eyes glowed once more and his wings again started to hum and vibrate. From them, large-scale green soundwaves of vibrating intensity shrilled through the area. Shuji covered his ears as the soundwaves made him ache. Fly Beetle's own body vibrated profusely, too much for his liking.

Moskeeto: 350 Fly Beetle: 350 (-300) = 50

Fly Beetle's body ached and shrunk to ball form once more, shooting back to Shuji's feet. He looked down shocked and gasped.

Shuji: 20%

Killian caught his Moskeeto when he went to ball form, having no verbal say in the matter.

"CRAZY~! Unbelievable! Just…JUST WOW!" the excited announcer squealed. "Killian just snuffed out 900 Gs in just 3 moves! THIS IS JUST STUPOR CRAZY THAT I CAN'T EVEN SPEAK ABOUT IT!"

Shuji knelt and picked up Fly Beetle with a despondent expression on his face. He looked down at him with a distasteful look that spelled disheartened hopes.

"I didn't have to use my forbidden cards you know."

Shuji looked up towards Killian, seeing his own despondent look.

"C'mon, don't think I'm that dumb. I know that you know about these cards. This isn't your first rodeo, as you say."

Shuji took a step back out of shock. "Wha-what are you saying?"

Killian put a hand to his hip. "I'm saying that you know Ariella and Hendrix. Those names do ring a bell, right?" he began to think back to yesterday, when he was reviewing the data footage against Luke and Esther. "Your little friends had become a pain in the ass as of late, and we know that you know of these black Bakugan that we have. You just snuck in and didn't realize we were under your own noses, watching your every move. We know what you're after, and I really rather not jump the gun here, but your friends are in deep trouble against the rest of Rogue Zero."

Shuji was completely paralyzed in what was being told. Not only was his group's plans completely compromised, but this coincidence was planned accordingly. They were walking right into a trap and didn't even realize it.

"Feeling stupid now? Well it's a little late for that. I was originally assigned to enter this tournament to get data and test my Bakugan's enhanced powers and abilities, but then you guys came along and made a whole lot of interesting things to keep us all entertained." He sarcastically clapped very slowly. "Bravo bud, Bra-vo."

Shuji's fists began to ball tight, teeth gritting. "You…"

"If you really wanna save your buds before Maximus gets to them, then you better get by me first, you got it?!" Killian held up Moskeeto in a ready position. He was already set to throw down the next round. "Let's get this over with!"

Shuji balled his fist so tight that he threw it to his side and stomped forward. "You…you're gonna pay!"

Killian's eyes narrowed beneath his glasses. "Not as much as you are. You really don't know what's at stake here, huh?"

Shuji blinked in confusion. "Uh…I don't…?"

Killian's eyes narrowed. "Not that it's worth explaining. Just know you crossed lines the moment you messed with Rogue Zero. You and your posy won't leave here in one piece as long as I'm stopping you cold, here and now!"

Shuji held up Fly Beetle with determination. "Then we'll just have to beat you!" He spread his feet out and straightened his back, holding up a fist. "No more Mr. Nice Guy! From here on, it's do or die!"

Killian brought his thumb to his lips, nipping off a piece of dead skin in the insinuated challenge brought up. He faced away and spit it out. "Buddy…now you're just asking to get screwed."

---

Finally updated after 20 days! I intended to update last week, but my laptop completely malfunctioned, so I had to go a short while without any form of writing. Again, so sorry I left you guys hanging, but I hope the battles this chapter did more than justice. So as of now, you guys now know the top Rogue Zero Bakugan, being Goblinball and Hyper Dragonoid. I know many would've gone for original Guardian Bakugan, but I didn't think that'd be right. I figured having these kinds of Bakugan infected and having their powers pushed to limits makes more than adequate sense.

Well, if you guys liked this chapter, then you'll probably like how I intend to conclude it next chapter. Which reminds me, this February, I'm going to try and push to get my One's Road to Remembrance story finished, so I won't be doing this story for a while. It may be a month roughly, so just bear with me on this.

As always guys, favorite, follow, and review if you enjoyed anything this chapter had to offer! :)