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.

61. Out from the Shadows

The group got a good look at their surroundings; to Luke's group, it bared a strong resemblance to a very familiar setting from the past, minus the blue sky that covered across the land. It looked like a city with large buildings with expanded cultural areas still hanging around.

"Is this it? This is Solaris?" Dan rebutted.

Esther frowned. "Yes, it appears to be." She didn't show due to her cold composure, but even she was a little surprised. Aside from the Interacian Bakugan everywhere, the buildings seemed to have gotten taller. There appeared to be more luxuries to the small houses as well. 'It looks like minor commodities is what changed here. The same with Troposphere's surface as well. But, something lurks here, I can feel it.'

Maggie put her hand to her hips. "Boy, this sure takes me back."

"Yeah, you can say that again. It almost looks exactly like how it was left." Shawn stated.

Luke took a good look at his surroundings. "I think people would mount their Bakugan in this city, right? Looks like it's all deserted."

"They probably are under evacuation or lockdown, just like Troposphere." Esther surmised.

"That's a safe assumption at this point." Jase concluded. "With the less people on the road, the easier it'll be for soldiers and Bakugan to maneuver through these streets."

"Figures they'd do that." Shuji grunted. "Never thought I'd see the guy actually look out for his own kind."

Zenet crossed her arms with a discerning frown. "So, does anyone know where we go from here? Or are we supposed to play the waiting game until he shows his ugly face?"

"Focus Zenet, this is Riaan we're talking about. Of course he'll stall." Contestir informed.

"Exactly. The longer we take to stand around and wait, the more likely we'll be open to attack." Nurzak informed. He turned towards Luke's group. "You've all been here before, so you're our best shot. Tell us, where was Riaan the most when he was within these borders?"

Luke looked at him with a discerning expression. "We've only been here one other time but…the last place we remember seeing him was…" He glanced down the main avenue. "That way."

Everyone noticed the enormous black castle with the huge cemented wall around it. The wall looked as tall as it was before. Actually, it seemed taller. The castle though looked as superb with its tower-like providence looming high like a mountain overcasting the central Solaris.

"Is that it?" Ren asked.

Jase withheld an expression of fortitude. "Yes. And it seems to be in the same shape as it was the last time."

"That place is huge!" Dan gasped.

"Yeah, you can say that again." Shun grimaced. "And if I had to make a good guess, they won't let us get anywhere near that place so long as we're here. We need to hurry and get there and stop Riaan."

Dan rammed his fist into his palm. "I'm all for that! Sounds like a plan to me! Let's go, guys!"

Suddenly, everyone's Bakumeters began going off. They all looked down to find the signals going off crazily for them.

"We've got a message." Gunz realized.

"Let's see…" Shawn picked up his Bakumeter. "Hello?"

"Guys!" The tone of voice caused Shawn to flinch away in shock and surprise. "Are you there?! Hurry! The enemy, they're everywhere-!" A short, audible gasp was heard just before the connection was turned off.

"Fabia? Fabia!" Dan panicked,

The Bakugan were still in their full forms, but they picked up on the negative energy spike. It was tremendous. Verias noticed something falling towards them. Out of instinct, he leaped into action. "Look alive!"

At his warning, everyone looked up at the monstrous Zukanator cannon beam barreling right into their path. He manifested a Territory Heart barrier in time and stopped the beam. It made contact with a vicious explosion that generated a large smoke cloud.

"What's going on? Are we under attack?" Marucho worried.

"Everyone, stay low!" Verias insisted. He jutted his blade up and dispelled the barrier. Upon it clearing, they could clearly see a multitude of eyes glaring them down.

When the wave cleared away gradually, it revealed several Zukanator cannons on aerial Bakugan overhead. They were all aimed for them, as well as Koptorix and Hurrix. The Mobile Assault Vehicles had a number of Bakugan mounting them, including the ones on the ground. The Interacians were mounting them with long-range weapons of their own, firearms at the ready to gun them down.

"That didn't take too long!" Shuji gasped. Immediately he acted. "Fly Beetle!"

"Got it!"

"FIRE!" The soldiers didn't hesitate at the command. Firearms as well as Bakugan unleashed broadened energy streams and bullets at them. Bits of the street chipped a trail towards them until they reached Fly Beetle, who managed to get in front in time with Carapace Riot activated. He crossed his arms and grunted as blows continuously pelted him. Shockwaves ran past him as he dug his heels into the ground.

The range of the attacks were still getting past them. The other Bakugan had to be wary as several waves of beams deflected off Fly Beetle's body.

"Ability, activate!" Esther shouted. "Chrysalis Shield!" Atchibee fluttered beside Fly Beetle and summoned a shield from the earth beneath aligned with pink crystals. They jutted up like a wall to shield them from the brigade attacking. Although, the bombarding shockwave didn't stop there. Fragments of the shield were already chipping.

Marucho stepped back. "This is bad! We're cornered!"

"Well we can't just sir here and do nothing!" Radizen panicked. Roxtor compromised by saying gibberish towards him. "Oh yeah, well I don't see you coming up with bright ideas!"

Reptak stayed kneeled with Gunz staying behind his heel. They were all starting to lose ground almost immediately. Drago barely evaded some of the crystals chipped off. "Dan! We need a plan! Fast!"

"I know, pal! We need to counterattack, and then make a break for it!"

"Allow me." Jase provided a Gate Card, which he lashed out and faded into the ground. He reached out with a command. "Gate Card, open! Audience Enhancer!"

The Gate Card beneath shined brightly before the terrain started fuming a dense fog. The fog spread throughout the city's area, causing a moment of blindness for the soldiers.

"Gah! I can't see!" A soldier screamed. A stray bullet got him in the shoulder. "GAH!"

"Man down!" a nearby soldier warned.

"Don't panic!" One of the more experienced soldiers shouted. "It's just the effects of the Gate Card. They changed the surroundings to make their advantage. Hurry, someone nullify the Gate Card!"

Another soldier raised his brown Bakumeter. "Ability, activate! Crush Cluster!"

A Subterra Luxtor with a Zukanator laced to its back suddenly found its strength to miraculously jump into the air and burrow into the streets. The gate Card could be heard shattering within the fog, along with the hole created from the ability. The fog gradually lifted itself, but it showed everyone apparently gone. They used it as cover, much to the soldiers' shock.

"They've escaped!" One shouted. "Where are they?!"

The experienced soldier kept his collective demeanor. "Don't worry about that right now! Warn every unit to expand their ground. Cover as much as possible! Do not let them get to the castle grounds!"

---

Inside Solaris' expansive and dark castle, everything was as accented as it would normally be. The sounds of footsteps echoed from one end of the corridor towards the other, piercing through the broad red carpet that went down for what seemed to be an eternity.

Amongst the very few that were still within the castle range, Cyrus and Zion were walking down a single corridor. The others have branched off to do one final sweep for the posts to be at their respective spots.

"Seems quite the commotion going on out there." Cyrus chimed studiously. "Zion, I understand that you're willing to enter the fray, but allow me to advise to not do so unless it is dire."

Zion remained forward. "Understood. However, if those fools get anywhere close to our lord's castle…" He subconsciously clutched the dagger that was resting on his side. His point was made clear.

"Hmph, well far from me to stop you. Do as you wish then." Cyrus paused. "Though, to be bluntly frank with you, I do understand where you are coming from. I wish to do nothing more than cause those invaders suffocation in their own darkness. They came here, knowing they must die for the cause. However, there are even those who cannot understand that they must completely kill their own fears in order to be atop. Such a shame nobody understands."

Zion offered no input.

"But enough beating around the bush. Shall we make our way? We have much for the Empyrean that will shine above all else."

"Agreed." Zion and Cyrus teleported out of each other's sights, leaving the hallway vacant.

…

Teleporting into her office area, Galilea opted to overlook everything again. This would be the last time that she would be in this office area, so she had to get everything she was missing from her last few trips.

She stopped to take a good look around her surroundings. There was her work desk, as well as filing cabinets and a number of other things that made this whole setup look like a genuine office. It was amazing how she went through all this work and was able to keep up. At least, herself of course. She had to set aside these feelings of pity before she got too distracted yet again.

'It's hard to believe…that we'll have to leave all of this behind. I've done so much work in here for Interacia…' She shook her head. 'No, get ahold of yourself, Galilea. This is no time for sentiments. You've failed Lord Riaan because you weren't strong enough on your own. I have to prove that I am still capable of what our lord desires. We must procure the rest of the data so that they won't get any leeway.'

She walked over to her desk and sat in her seat – one final time. She took a moment of solace in the cushioned leather before the screen flickered on with connected channels. "This is Galilea Vergo. Main base, respond. Do you copy? We need you to send over the Forbidden data at once."

"…" The connection was left at a total blank.

"Main base, I repeat, do you copy?"

"…"

"Tch, what's going on? The lab should be functioning at full capacity. No way we should be this busy that shouldn't be responding." Her brow furrowed. "And the soldiers from the secondary and third labs aren't responding either. I'll have to see for myself." She typed into her Bakumeter to activate any cameras, but again on the big screen, they were all black. "A blackout? I'll have to see for myself…" She went to type the coordinates into her Bakumeter, but she got a denial. Her eyes widened. "What?! Access denied?! What's the meaning of all this?!" She stood up with a worried look. 'This can't be right. Everything is out of order! Who is doing all of this? I need to go see myself then. But…' She took a moment to pause. She hung her head in regret. 'Our lord's priorities are first. Not mine. I'll have to gather every file I have and belongings. Then go see.'

She took to her heels to get her few documents still hanging around. Her pacing was fast, just like her heart rate. She was restless for good reasons, and if anyone saw this, the stress would be written all over her face.

---

Ace breathed heavily, his lungs refilling with oxygen. "I think…we lost them for now."

Baron put his hands to his knees. "That's a relief. I thought we were goners back there."

The two were in the middle of a back alley that was close by. They had barely escaped, but they were all alone. And for them, that wasn't a good thing.

"That was sure close. Good thing Jase set down that cover for us to get away. But…" Nemus looked all around, turning left and right for any signs of them. They weren't there.

They're not here?" Percival inquired.

"they must have gone separate ways in a panic. Just great." Ace groaned, facepalming. "Man! This bites! Just everywhere we go, these guys are just trying to kill us! Why can't these clowns just try and pick a normal fight, c'mon!"

"Stop it, Ace." Baron's tone was stern and straightforward. "I don't like it anymore than you, but…we saw what lengths Riaan will go to make us see everything being a lie. At least, to him I think."

Ace stopped to think of when he saw Dan stabbed on Neathia. "I know, Baron. It's just…" He thought about Luke and the others battling Riaan head-on. He could never do something like that. "If we can't even rely on Dan to help us, what about those others? Luke's friends are good, but…now I'm not so sure we can keep up."

"I understand how you feel, Ace." Percival replied, turning his upper half at his partner. "The stakes are much higher than they usually are. We have to keep going, otherwise if we don't, who will?"

"Maybe that's what the others were thinking." Nemus offered.

"Probably." Baron straightened up and looked forward. "C'mon, we have to keep going. The palace has to be somewhere now, right?"

They heard a rupture that nearly threw them over. The buildings shook as a small draft buffered them some. It didn't take long for it to settle.

"What's going on now?!" Ace impatiently shouted.

"It's up ahead! I can feel the negative energy crawling!" Percival shouted. "Someone is fighting!"

"Then let's go see." Nemus' suggestion was met with the two Vestals taking to the alley's light that was far ahead of them.

They turned the corner and were immediately met with another strong shockwave. This one was so powerful that Ace was blown off his feet and had to be saved by Baron. The air pulse so vibrantly as deathly beams rained down across the street onto a single point. It was becoming too much to even watch.

"Who's that over there?!" Baron pointed out.

In the middle of the streets, magenta rays were hammering down on Rubanoid as he used Crimson Defense to hold himself upright. But the task was much easier said than done. Even with his Battlegear deployed the attachments weren't keeping up with the brigade around them.

"Rubanoid…stay strong!" Linus was directly beneath him, but he wasn't doing any better. He found himself kneeling due to the insufferable negative energy, as well as the lack of rest they've been given. It wasn't doing him nor Rubanoid any favors.

"Linus!" Rubanoid was struck by a glint in the sky. It shot down at lightning speed and shattered his battle armor. The Destrakon Gear was utterly destroyed as well. He and Linus ended up falling onto their backs with loud thuds.

The Longfly that was high in the air glared them down. Its ability nullified their, and gave it an edge. It aimed its Zukanator cannon down with a full charge ready. The soldier atop was amongst the many in the skies that were ready to strike.

Linus was sprawled along the ground, barely comprehending what was going on. Everything to him was hazy and disoriented. That last blow left him bruised and laying on his stomach. His eyes were all hazed, but he could barely make out the many magenta lights flashing and growing around them.

"Li…nus…" Rubanoid growled. He could barely stand, let alone move. He found himself surrounded by other Bakugan across the ground in Mobile Assault Vehicles aimed directly for his face.

"Rubanoid…" Linus weakly reached for his partner Bakugan. He needed to get to him, or at the very least try. But he was so worn out, he could feel the weight of reality finally weighing him down. 'My queen…guys…I'm sorry…but I don't think that I can…' He could feel everything growing black, until he noticed purple and yellow lights flashing in the corner of his eye. 'Who…is that?'

"Ability, activate! Darkus Fly Arrow!"

"Ability, activate! Sparkly Arrow!"

A dense purple beam brimming with crackling purple lightning fired out of nowhere across the battlefield. It beelined along with a yellow orb into a number of Bakugan. The beam grazed across the sky, causing the Bakugan above to back away, while the yellow orb created an intense flash that buffered away a Gren atop of an Impalaton. The structure backpedaled a foot back.

"Huh? What the-?!" Rubanoid was left stunned at the sudden save.

Linus saw two sets of feet step in front of him. His vision came back in full to find two people picking him up by the shoulders. One arm was on each shoulder. He looked over to his left to find one boy with blue eyes, and on his right was one with gray.

"Just in time, right Ace?"

"We're not safe yet, Baron. We've gotta get these guys out of here. Percival!"

Knight Percival maneuvered Flash Falcon Fly's gun form and fired another streaking beam across the ground. It grazed through the street and created a linear explosion. But from the air, that wasn't enough to stop the numerous Bakugan still targeting them. More gunfire rained down along with Mobile Assault strikes. The street littered with explosions that not even Percival nor Nemus were protected against.

With what little cover they had, Rubanoid gathered the three battlers in his clutches and fired a Joule Deeper into the mix. The bright red beam blazed into the fray to make a sudden flaring light, which was the cover they needed. The enemy Bakugan were all caught in the distracting light long enough for them to regroup.

"Stay close, everyone! They're far from done!" Percival shouted.

"I'm with you on that, Percival." Nemus agreed. "Let's go!"

Linus looked at Ace and Baron with the upmost satisfaction. He felt so relieved that he could break down in joy. "Thank you both…I mean it."

"Don't mention it…look out!" Ace's warning directed to the beam that Rubanoid reacted to in time. He ducked to make it direct into a Fangoid. The Bakugan roared as it reverted to ball form.

Behind where it came from, multiple Mobile Assault Vehicles targeted them. The Bakugan on them even had Battlegear mounted on their bodies for additional firepower. Rubanoid, Nemus, and Percival found themselves at each other's backs against all these foes.

"Look alive guys. Don't freak out just yet." Ace prepared himself for the battle, but inside, he was still having some dreary thoughts. 'Better hope the others aren't in bad of a spot as us right now.'

---

"Get'em, Drago!" Dan directed his partner at the brigade ahead of them. Without a moment's hesitation, Drago rushed after them across the ground.

Enemy fire was directing towards Drago specifically. They drew too close in fact as Drago had come to a momentary standstill in midair. "Dan! Now!"

Dan raised his Bakumeter on Drago's shoulder. "Ability activate, Dragon Spur!" Drago's body lit up bright red and suddenly vanished moments before the attacks beelined into his spot. Explosions took up the street that billowed smoke all about. The Fusion Dragonoid sailed across the street in hyper-mobility mode into the foes without them keeping up.

"Hurry! Stop them now!" A soldier shouted.

"Right!" Another soldier held up a Gate Card set to counter. Just as he was about to toss it out, a green glint cut him off. "Gah!"

The soldier found himself flooring on his armored back when Shun was on a knee. He posed with a kunai in hand with his other one holding up a signature ninja pose. His hazel eyes gradually opened up, showing a brimming seriousness.

"Ability, activate!" he roared. "Moonlight Shadow Slash!"

Jaakor shot up from above, managing to evade the detection of the foes beneath and fired green energy shuriken that rained down with explosive results. The Mobile Assault Vehicles were totaled and many more were crippled, leaving an opening for the others.

"Ability, activate! Dragon Thrasher!" Drago fired a bright red beam from his maw that intensified as it dragged along.

"Let's go, Reptak! Ability, activate! Mega Harvey Cannon!" Reptak adjusted his shoulder cannon and took considerable aim before launching a widespread yellow plasma blast.

"Ability, activate!" Radizen readied his palm as water gradually congregated into the grip. "Luster Drain!"

"Chew on this you copycat freaks!" The Aquos creature threw the hemisphere with everything he had.

The three attacks traveled across the avenue into the army ahead of them. They all traveled and spiraled around each other, until gradual yellow, blue, and red fused into a rainbow-like blast wave that Jaakor and Shin sidestepped away from. The beam blitzed into the foes, immediately putting them down and wrecking their vehicles. The Bakugan in them all roared as they either reverted to ball form, or were eviscerated off the map.

As the explosion wave settled, Drago and the others watched smoke and fires settle. The debris scattered across them to make enough of a blockade. "Well that happened." Drago grimaced.

Dan frowned. "Yeah, sure did."

"Are the others still around here?" Marucho worried.

"We'll worry about that later." Gunz countered. "You heard what Jase said. Those guys said before that we have to get to that city palace at whatever cost."

"He's right." Dan's statement held a definitive weight towards it. For a moment, his thoughts dragged back to when they talked on the Trailer with the other Bakugan. "Honestly, I hate it just as much as you guys…but we have to worry about ourselves. We can't run risks of getting sidetracked again. We have to pull through, and win this time!"

"Yes, I'm in agreement!" Drago ushered.

In lightning speeds, two purple blurs dropped from the skies behind everyone. They all turned around to find Skytruss and Orbeum.

"Woah, you guys are fast!" Radizen gasped. He felt a rupture in the ground and saw a hole open up beside him. He flinched at the surprise guest. "Gyah! Roxtor?! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

Roxtor countered with some gibberish.

Jaakor looked towards his students. "Anything?"

Skytruss shook his head. "No, nothing. I can't get far. There's too many soldiers and aerial surveillance."

"And what's worse, more are coming this way." Orbeum warned. "We don't have much time."

Julie, who was hidden amongst her old Brawling partners, shot up with energy. "Well, I say that you guys better brace yourselves for this then! C'mon, we need you guys now more than ever! So buck up and get to that palace, pronto!"

Dan smiled at her. "Thanks, Julie." He faced Drago. "Yo, Drago! Time to split before reinforcements get too close!"

Orbeum turned towards the skies. He dodged just in time as a magenta electromagnetic bolt zapped down in his spot. He looked at the newly formed crater from said impact. He looked up at the sky, seeing a dozen Hurrix hovering around.

"Uh, I think we're a little too late on that call…" Radizen nervously muttered.

"They just won't stop coming!" Reptak held up his arm shields.

Drago touched down in front of them. "Then we better step it up then!"

"Right. Then I say…we Battle Suit through this." Shun held up his Bakumeter, which held a green monitor on it. "Battle Suit, Fortatron, deploy!"

Marucho held up his Battle Suit next. "Battle Suit, Clawbruk, deploy!"

"Battle Suit, Combustoid, deploy!" Gunz shouted.

"Battle Suit, Defendtrix, deploy!" Dan roared.

All the Battle Suits assigned were brought up and summoned onto their respective Bakugan. They all mounted and insulated themselves into the devices and took to the streets. Jaakor and Radizen took the ground, while Drago and Reptak were high in the air with her suits built for hyper-mobility.

"Let's go!" Dan shouted.

Julie was beside her cameraman as she caught everything on camera. The Brawlers went diving back into the fray as fast as lightning. Explosions were going off that she and the cameraman got onscreen. She was paying full attention. 'We can't lose hope…not again.'

Radizen maneuvered the Clawbruk to counter an Impalaton claw. The metal sparked upon impact. Jaakor suddenly pounced and unleashed green beams from the twin tails curled up backside, hitting the Bakugan square in the face and causing it to revert to ball form. She continued watching with a nervous gaze.

'You guys were our burning hope. You can't burn out again…so please, keep fighting!'

---

Magenta rays rained down from the skies onto another streets. The shockwaves caused materialistic grids to ripple across the surface of the buildings. They spread thinly as Aranaut was blown away by another attack into a backflip and slid across on a knee.

"Aranaut!" Fabia worried.

"Don't worry, my Queen, I'm fine." He aimed his Battle Crusher cannon at the Mobile Assault Vehicle before him. It was an Interacian Ventus Ziperator atop a Koptorix. He blasted it with another yellow beam.

The Koptorix maneuvered skywards to evade Aranaut's attack. Instead it traveled into the path of a Merlix with a soldier reaching down. "Gate Card, open! Chain Link Force!" The Gate Card created a distortion with Aranaut's attack. It reversed on itself and flipped back towards the direction of the Bakugan.

"What-?!" He barely had time to block in time. The yellow attack struck him and sent him and Fabia to the ground. They screamed mightily, especially Fabia as she fumbled and rolled onto the pavement debris.

Aranaut could barely get up. He was so worn out from before, not to mention there wasn't time to rest. As he got up, the Merlix towered over him.

"Ability, activate! Doom Cube!" The Interacian Merlix held up his hands and generated a cube. It spun on until it stopped on Haos. The die started shining bright, much to Aranaut's horror.

"No!" Aranaut attempted to move, but a yellow aura quickly engulfed his body. He found his means of escape impossible with his remaining energy being slowly drained away. All he could do was grunt and scream his worries away.

"Aranaut, no!" Fabia stirred, but he found himself surrounded by magenta energy blades at her neck. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

"Don't move!" a soldier ordered. "One word, and you'll die!"

Fabia swallowed a lump. She needed to get out of here, but it was too unfortunate. Aranaut gagged as his power was nearly all gone.

"Ability, activate! Bolting Vibra!" A dark purple electric blaze beamed across the sky. Everyone looked up as they saw the Merlix getting shot straight into the chest before falling over with a tremendous thud.

Aranaut's body returned to being normal again. He found his strength returning to him just as Linehalt dropped from out of nowhere. "Linehalt!"

He looked back with a confident look. "Are you okay, Aranaut?"

"Yes, I think so. But who else came?"

"Hmph, see for yourself."

At his notion, he looked up and saw the Koptorix erupting in explosions. A broad orange beam shot it clean own into the streets, where it caught on fire and made smoke. From said smoke, something large went through with steam snorting out from his nostrils.

"Nurzak!" Fabia gasped. She looked up, finding Avior in the skies with his partner smirking. "Mason!"

"Fabia!" Hearing her name, she was pulled away in time by Ren. He yanked her away from the soldiers and gave them all a glare. "Linehalt! Gigarth Ray!"

Linehalt suddenly turned around and unleashed a backwing, sending dark purple saucers that slashed through the enemy's advances. The saucers went up towards the Bakugan in the corner and struck a Subterra Snapzoid, reverting it to ball form.

Nurzak and Mason touched down beside her. The latter smirked. "heh, long time no see, your highness. You look well."

"Save your flirting for later, Mason. We have a job to do." Avior scoffed. He reared his head back and fired another beam across the avenue. It went on until it faded into the distance. A series of explosions lit up the street in a straight line.

Sabator punched into an Impalaton and sent it flying. It landed on the ground far away, exploding in a set of roaring flames.

"Thanks guys…" Fabia's fortitude returned to her face. "We owe you…but that'll have to wait. Now, let's hurry and find an opening!"

Aranaut, Linehalt, Sabator, and Avior surrounded their battlers as they readied for the waves of enemies surrounding them form the skies.

---

Soldiers ran wild through the streets. They had guns and energy blades charged and ready to shoot at anything that was to come their way. A Ventus Scaboid crawled across the street with Twin Destructor charged up and ready to gun down those pesky intruders.

From afar, a yellow spiky head of hair was barely noticeable. It withdrew just before a soldier could take any notice. The spiky yellow head turned towards its peers, which were hidden within the shadows.

"How's it look out there?" Shuji asked

Shawn frowned. "Like hell is out for blood. We're not going down the main avenue it seems. At least, not this time around."

Maggie morbidly frowned. "These guys are almost as persistent as we are. Everywhere we turn, they're all there. I guess Riaan really does know how we roll after all."

"He's been watching our every move since the beginning. There must be a pattern here." Esther noted. "Unfortunately." She looked up at the sky. She ushered everyone to a corner of a dumpster where they all could hide for a short while. They all looked up at what Esther hid from and saw a huge Farakspin glide over, hissing as it looked down for any signs of foes. Once it left, they slowly slipped further into the shallow alleyway.

They all remained knee-level and kept at a slow but steady pace. They turned a corner and saw a patrol up ahead and quickly tucked themselves away. Shuji and Luke hastily made a small alcove with trash cans and garbage bags that everyone could hide under. They all remained completely quiet just as the patrol swept by.

One officer looked at the intersection's corners and looked down at his Bakumeter. "All clear. No signs of enemies afoot. Resuming route."

The officers kept their pace as they continued their thin search. As they fanned out, the trash bags rustled lightly before slightly moving. They rustled until they collapsed, showing everyone standing up. Shuji made sure to set the heavy trash bags down gently so they wouldn't come back around.

Maggie shuddered. "Ew, trash…just how much did sanitation change around here? That stuff smells like meat left out to rot in summer."

"I thought you were over disgusting dark places, Maggie?" Shawn chimed.

Maggie gave him a despondent look. "Hey, I was complaining about the smell, not the sanction."

"It looks like the palace is close." Esther looked up at the large black scape behind the cemented wall. She could barely see the top of it from her point of view. She was right, they were very close. However, one problem still occurred.

"How are we going to get inside?" Maggie wondered. "Last I checked, we had to follow Luke up several flights of stairs and climb Atchibee to the wall."

Luke frowned. That was a really bad impulse on his part, not that he didn't know any better.

"That's gonna be a problem anyway." Shawn frowned. "The buildings are all locked, too." He tapped against the building beside them. A faint green grid rippled out before fading again. "Looks like we saw right through our tricks again. So much for breaking and entering I guess."

Jase put a hand to his chin as he thought aloud. "It seems…that he's deliberately trying to route us towards a specific location."

Everyone turned towards him. "You sound so sure." Shuji frowned heavily with his sarcasm.

"I'm not. It's just a possibility. With how he immediately separated us from the start we should consider the routes in which we take. "He held up his Bakumeter, showing a holographic layout of their area. "Take a look at this. Notice anything familiar about this?"

Luke got a general idea. He blinked. "Wait, isn't this the area we were in last time?"

"I almost didn't recognize it." Abis grimaced.

"Probably because of the haste we were in. Plus consider that at the time, Solaris was under darkness. We couldn't see too broadly. But now that there's light, and Riaan's considered our break-ins, he may be trying to bait us."

Shawn put a hand to his chin. "Yeah, that might be it. If that's the case…!" He looked ahead, realizing something was heading their way. "Crap, here they come!"

"I see them!" a soldier shouted.

"Halt at once!"

Luke grunted as he pulled out his sword. The edging glimmered with bright blue energy. "Damnit, there's just no end to these guys!"

"The main avenue we saw before, it's down this way!" Esther directed. "Hurry, we'll lose them in the skirmish!"

They all made quick haste towards the exit several yards away from them. It was a hasty retreat, but necessary. As they ran along, the alley was getting noticeably thinner with the few commodities like trash bins and cans, let alone the dumpsters they passed.

As they ran past a trash bin, Luke accidentally knocked into its side. It caused it to spin, sending it falling over onto its side. "Oof!" From inside, a few pieces of trash clumped over, along with a kid hiding inside. "Ow…"

Luke whipped around in shock. "Huh?!"

"A kid?" Shawn gasped.

"An Interacian. He must have been in hiding when the lockdown commenced." Jase assumed.

Luke went over and kneeled before the kid in the heap. "Hey, you're not hurt, are you?"

The kid got out of his daze and saw Luke and the others. His eyes widened as he jerked back against the wall, his body shaking. "Gah! No! S-stay away!" he panicked. "Mommy? Anybody?!"

Luke and the others jerked back at his fearful reaction. They looked at each other with some slight worry for their own well-being.

Luke tried to step forward with intentions to ease the kid's worries. "Hey, we're not here to hurt you…" It wasn't the truth, but it wasn't a lie either. The child shirked back against the wall in fear. Luke pulled his hand back for good measure.

"Luke, this isn't helping. He's frightened." Maggie grimaced.

"How long was he here for?" Jelldon worried.

Jase turned around towards the alleyway, seeing the soldiers in the closing distance. "We can't dawdle on that, we have more pressing problems to deal with."

"Damnit, it's too narrow to brawl in here." Shawn grimaced. He reached for his rapier, while Jase reached for his taser lance. "Guess we'll have to settle this the old-fashioned way!"

Esther drew her weapon next. "Be quick! Get him to hide somewhere if you can. We'll hold them off here."

"Got it." Luke watched as Esther and the others went to engage in battle with the enemies afoot. Maggie and Shuji remained close to his side in case any decided to get too close. He looked back down at the frightened child with inquisition. Knowing how fragile they can be when scared, he had to be careful. He kneeled down to the kid's elevation again. "What happened?"

The kid was too hesitant to answer. "I-I was playing with my friends in the city. We got the notice of the curfew, and we were still playing around when we tried going back home to get something to eat…but then, we were locked out by these forcefields around our homes. We couldn't get in. My friends, we got separated, and so I…"

Luke looked away, getting the hint of what he was saying. "…I see." He paused to think carefully of what he had to say. "Listen, I know this is gonna sound weird, but we're not here to hurt you."

The kid didn't look convinced. "But…you people killed my friend's dad! Why should we believe anything you have to say?!"

Luke was taken back by the kid's retort. 'His dad…' He got a pretty good idea of what he meant by that. It had to have been one of the soldiers that were in Riaan's armies drafted to fight. Looking at it now, he couldn't blame him for feeling this way towards him.

The kid continued. "Lord Riaan…he said he put up these grids to protect us…but I didn't listen. He's trying to save us from you…so stay away!"

Maggie frowned. "Poor kid. This is what happens to those who don't listen around here."

Shuji turned towards her. "He's called us enemies. Maybe he doesn't know who Riaan really is."

Luke paused to consider the possibilities of what to say. He took a moment, but he had to be as careful with how he put things as possible. "…you wanna go back home, don't you? I know just how you feel…but it's not because of the reasons you think. We have our own part."

The kid furrowed his brow. "Wha…what's that mean?"

"It's a long story, and we don't have time to explain. But the people that are protecting you aren't who they really are. We're hurting just as badly as you. You're not in this alone."

Jase leaped backwards from a slide. "Luke! Hurry up! Remember why we're here!"

"I know!" He shouted back. Jase went darting back into the fray. He turned back towards the kids. "It's scary, I know. And it isn't the easiest to understand, but believe me, it's better you see for yourself what I'm talking about."

The kid didn't seem to be comprehending too well. "So you're…not here to destroy our kind?"

Luke shook his head. "No, not exactly. We're here to change, not destroy, just like Riaan has been doing to us. We're not like him, we'll prove it if we must. Tell me, where do you live?"

The kid bit his lower lip in frustrations. "Um…ummm…" He looked at Luke intently, unsure of how to answer. He glanced away sheepishly. "Like…a couple blocks over…?"

Esther twirled her spear before slashing a soldier down. "Those grids will prevent anyone from getting in or house of their abodes."

Jase dodged a javelin and maneuvered around a spear. He taser slashed them both and left them stunned on the ground. "The control grid must be inside the palace. There has to be a facility there we can use to manually override the controls here."

"Got it." Luke turned towards the kid one more time. "Look, until we try and fix things for as many people as possible, just stay low. I'll come back for you."

The kid swallowed a lump. He was genuinely nervous at what Luke insisted on. But he didn't have a choice in the matter. He hastily moved towards the trash can again, cowering behind.

"Good, just stay hidden…we don't wanna bring anyone into this mess." He turned towards his peers. "Okay, looks like we're good for now."

A loud, audible gag was heard as a solder fell over. Metal clanged against the ground in front of Shawn, who breathed heavily. Everyone backpedaled and saw the number of soldiers that made up a dozen lying dead at their feet. They looked back at Luke and everyone else with a serious gaze.

"I hope you took your sweet time." Jase mused whimsically, if not chastising.

"Sorry, I tried to be as gentle as I could."

"Well if you ask me, it sounded reasonable enough." Maggie looked over at the trash bins, seeing the kid eying them warily. "But just to be safe, we should get moving. The street's just up ahead."

"Yeah, we better move it while we have space." Shuji reasoned.

They all nodded and hurried along as fast as they could. Luke stopped to give one last look at the frightened child he sympathized with, before turning forward and running back with his friends. The kid watched them take off, eyeing them with just as much awe as he did with worry. He looked back at all the dead soldiers and immediately hid again out of fear. His heart raced, for all the wrong reasons.

'I…I have to hide…hide until I go home.' He thought in the corner. 'Please…please someone tell me where we go…?'

---

The group darted out of the alley and into the open avenue. It was tremendous in width, taking up much space needed for open air. They immediately turned towards the southern area.

"That's it, right there!" Shawn pointed out. "The castle!"

The enormous black pillar-like castle went skywards, towering beyond the huge European-style castle walls that built around the base of it. They all looked up at how grand the wall was with its front golden gates closed behind the Cannonfury army with all the Bakugan having Twin Destructor Battlegear tethered to their backs.

The soldiers were looking through lenses and battle armor to spot the enemies afoot. The cannons all charged up with gusto an aimed directly for them.

"Everyone, time to battle!" Luke shouted. "Let's go!"

"Bakugan, brawl!" They all threw their Bakugan out as fast as possible. Six large tempests arose, bringing up the six evolved Bakugan. Above them, Daedalus Abis Omega craned his head around and violently roared.

The Cannonfury Mobile Assault fired away. As did the Twin Destructor. They beamed through the atmosphere after the multiple Bakugan, but they were ready.

"Luke!" Abis roared.

Luke nodded. "Let's go! Ability, activate! Crash Coil!" Abis swirled around in midair, gathering momentum like a tempest and drawing in all the cannonfire heading their way. In front of everyone present, a massive funnel of magenta energy and projectiles were condensed around Abis.

Luke reached his sword out and directed the attack directly ahead. Abis spun hastily until he dragged the typhoon around and upfront. It beamed across the atmosphere into the enemies afoot. They in turn suffered several of their front lines getting fallen over by the attack. They all covered up as they attempted to hold ground, but it was tougher than they imagined.

"Guys, go now!" Luke shouted.

A soldier grunted as he was on his knees. He pulled out a Gate Card and tossed it in. "You think you're all so clever…but clever out of this! Gate Card, open! Active Ghost!"

The battlefield shined brightly beneath. The ground started rupturing with a strong magnitude,

Shawn instigated his ability. "Ability, activate! Mangekyo Blade!" Verias twirled his battle axe overhead and generated a light at the end of the tip. He slashed into the Gate Card like an axe. The card shattered to bits like glass, much to the soldiers' surprise.

"Crap! He nullified the Gate Card!"

Verias' eyes gleamed. "That's not all!" He suddenly disappeared from view. Several slashed waves appeared on the many Cannonfury and Bakugan within the vicinity. He backed out and doubled over besides everyone as the light spread from the slash marks on all the devices and Bakugan, shutting them down.

Shawn narrowed his eyes at the move they played out. 'We're not taking chances with these guys. Not when we're so close.'

Jelldon noticed something from behind. He turned around in time to see several energy blasts heading their way. "Look out!" He summoned Petroleum Shield in time to stop a large douse of magenta electricity and beams that rained from the sky.

Maggie gasped. She looked up and saw what Jelldon defended them against. A horde of soldiers mounting Interacian aerial Bakugan were converging onto them. Many had armed Battlegear and Mobile Assault Vehicles at the ready to eviscerate them.

"Oh great, they brought in the cavalry." Shuji grimaced.

"Looks like we'll have our hands full this time." Fly Beetle spread his wing shields. Shuji was amount to mount him as he took the initiative and jettisoned into the air. They flew in after the enemy Bakugan, both showing undeterred determination. Jase and Atmos followed in pursuit to provide a helping hand.

"Atchibee!" Esther mounted Atchibee to get to the air and away from the ground reinforcements.

Jelldon and Verias were back-to-back with each other, with Abis' enormous frame at the center high above. Luke was on his head and looking around to find every direction filing in with Bakugan and enemy fire charging up. 'Looks like we're gonna have to use what we can to beat them without hurting ourselves too much. And also…we need to make an opening. We'll have to get it right this time…so we'll need to think like we always do…on the fly!'

"Here they come!" Abis careened and reacted to the large-scale forces flying in after them.

---

The Brawlers were making way down the avenue, when the skirmish that lied ahead caught their eye. Riding atop of Skytruss, Julie had a perfect bird's eye view of what was going on down below. "This is Julie, back with another update on Interacia, folks! The city of Solaris is in a mass panic. All these soldiers are running around trying to gun us down! Luckily for us, we're within eyesight of Solaris' main attraction, Riaan's castle! We'll storm in and show him what it means to really get revenge for you all!"

Reptak gasped. "Guys, look up ahead!"

"Is that…?" Gunz trailed off.

"It's Luke! And those guys again!" Dan realized. "Hurry guys, we have to get a move on!"

"Dan, wait!" Shun shouted.

Drago and Reptak, due to having the better mobility in their suits, jettisoned across the atmosphere over the line of fire. They blitzed into the fray like two darts of yellow and red that beamed after Riaan's palace. They drew so close they could almost reach him.

Dan had a headstrong expression that showed no sense of cowardice. 'This time, we'll give him the element of surprise! They'll never see a high-speed-!'

His thoughts ran short when Drago and Reptak struck something that rippled electrical magenta energy. Crackling static flared around them and their machines that caused searing pain. Drago and Reptak grunted as they stuck to the blockade while cringing.

"What the-?!" Dan gasped. "Drago!"

"Reptak, what's wrong?!" Gunz worried.

Drago gagged haphazardly. "I…can't move!"

"My body, it's-!" Reptak didn't have time to finish. The electrical impulses finally built up enough to reject them entirely. A burst of shockwaves rippled out and shoved them back into the air. As they careened back, they were forced back into ball form, leaving Dan and Gunz in freefall for a few moments before they began their descent. They screamed loudly before a blur and dark purple feathers swept them up. They found themselves clinging to Skytruss' back as she ascended and arched over the battle lines, keeping an appropriate distance from the palace.

"Are you guys okay?" Skytruss asked.

"Yeah, that was close. Thanks." Dan looked back at where the shock happened. "Drago, what happened?"

Drago opened in ball form, hanging on tightly. "I don't know, Dan. But it felt like we hit something."

"Then why did you guys went back to ball form?" Gunz questioned.

"I don't know…" Reptak gasped again. "Guys, look!"

Skytruss turned around so Julie and the cameraman can get a good view of what they were looking at. Everyone gasped at the realization and caught onto the magenta ripples that distorted to nonexistence.

Dan's eyes widened. "Wait, don't tell me…"

Shun's eyes narrowed. "A shield. Just as I thought."

…

Looking through a monitor on her Bakumeter in her office, the lights were off just as it shut down for her. However, Galilea kept the screen on to review the defense systems. It showed the barrier and Drago and Reptak's signatures dissipating. "Lucia anticipated they would all converge towards Solaris. So we've made a countermeasure to ensure that Riaan would be given even more time to get ready. This barrier was designed after identifying his genomes. Only Interacian Bakugan will be permitted to either go in…or out. Anything else that makes contact with the barrier will be instantly repelled and forced to ball form."

"I must say, those Neathians and their anti-Gundalian defenses were actually worth it." Stepping out of the shadows, Galilea turned to find Cyrus' glare fixe on the screen. "Because of this, they'll suffer a setback. At least knowingly, for a short while. It's just as you said, Galilea, we've modified the technology and added the Vestal defenses we've had. In these instances, not even attacks will work."

Galilea humbly hummed. "Yes. I agree."

…

The barrier rippled outwards towards nothing. Marucho looked up on Radizen's shoulder on the Clawbruk with shock. "It's a defensive shield. They're trying to keep us from reaching the castle!"

Radizen balled his claws with frustration. "Man, talk about biting the bullet! How are we supposed to get in now?"

"Perhaps we can go under." Jaakor advised.

Roxtor replied in gibberish, waving his claws up and down haphazardly. Radizen looked at him to interpret. "What's that? You mean you couldn't get close because it's too small and narrow?"

Shun gritted his teeth. He heard snarls from behind and turned with Jaakor and Orbeum. Skytruss descended with Dan and Gunz on the scene. Once again, the Interacian army's Bakugan were gathered around to attack.

"More coming, are you serious?!" Julie outraged. "This city is crawling with these creeps!"

Dan held up Drago again. "Guess we'll just have to smoke them out. Let's go! Bakugan, brawl!"

---

Bombastic flares erupted across the skies. Magenta beams soared into Atmos, but he was skillfully maneuvering using hos aerodynamic mobility until he found an opening.

"Double ability, activate!" Jase shouted. "Tailwind, plus Storm Valkyrie!"

Atmos' eyes flashed briefly. He flapped once and summoned an intense, green shockwave tat blew away everything within a certain radius. A swirling typhoon surrounded him and spread from the sky towards the ground. Everything that was too close was whirled and whiplashed by debris before shoved back. The soldiers were also prevented from throwing in Gate Card because of this tempest.

Interacian Bakugan took arms and fired away at the enemy shield. The wall of whirlwinds sped so fast and so intensely that everything was fading even before it could reach Atmos. He was in the middle, with Jase on his head standing completely still with eyes hidden behind his glasses.

From below, a brown glint as seen shooting skywards. With a draft picked up, Fly Beetle soared skywards beyond Atmos at Mach speed. Shuji hung on for dear life as they shot up towards the funnel's eye.

"Ability, activate! Sunder Sonic!"

Fly Beetle's accents around his body shimmered brightly. "Take…this!" He flexed his wing shields, summoning his four wings that fanned out shockwaves. Using the tornadoes' top, where winds were at their broadest, Fly Beetle's range exceeded the limitations and pushed Atmos' barrier outwards. The aerial Bakugan were completely annihilated and whirled about by this roaring energy.

At a lower elevation, a random intense magenta beam fired at Atchibee. She summoned her Wormhole to absorb the ability, giving her additional strength before Esther gave a command.

"Double ability, activate! Mirthless Blade, plus Fusion Ability, Vermilion Raid!"

Atchibee's blades glistened with dark purple, glistening energy. Instead of negative indigo flames protruding from her mouth, they generated around her scythes instead as a conduction point. She fluttered her way after the enemy Bakugan, speeding past two at once and making the Battlegear laced to their backs combust from the burning toxins. Battlegear and Cannonfury fired from below directly at her. The moth looked down at the incoming wake before it all suddenly redirected off to the side. Dozens of beams and electrical pulses directed into Jelldon's Soft Conductor, who stood there with a fierce fire in his eyes that radiated plasma.

"Thank you, Jelldon! Now…!" Atchibee didn't waste a minute with what she had to do. She sailed diagonally downwards and sped into the Bakugan whose beams were redirected. She followed through and glided about as they reverted to ball form.

An Interacian held up a Gate Card. "This'll stop them for sure-!" A loud thud made him flinch. "Huh?!" He looked up, seeing Prime Verias directly over him. He stepped back in shock at the sight of him. "O-Oh crap!"

Shawn leaped off his shoulder and came down with a piercing blow clean through his chest. The rapier jutted into the ground where the soldier gagged his last breath. Shawn withheld his rapier and looked around at the soldiers that were still going around.

Some ran after him with energy weapons in hand. "Don't let them near the shield! Stop them at any cost!"

As they drew forward, a wave of water washed them all off to the side. They crashed elsewhere, whereas a shadow swerved overhead with a gurgling roar. Verias and Shawn looked up to find Abis "swimming" through the air around, giving everyone a berth. The sea dragon snarled as Luke readied an ability.

"Ability, activate! Stealth Dweller!"

Abis' diamonds and gills shined brightly. His body began to slowly camouflage out of visibility. With Luke being much smaller in comparison, not everyone watched him jump out of nowhere onto the ground and run up to a soldier with his mighty blade. He let out a battle cry as he parried an energy blade really fast. He ducked beneath a piercing strike and pivoted around. His blade followed, slicing a clean blow into the chest and befalling the soldier.

"But…you people killed my friend's dad! Why should we believe anything you have to say?!"

That kid's words struck a chord in what Luke thought was right and wrong. He knew this wasn't the most appropriate answer, and he knew further down that maybe the kid was indeed in the right to be angry. No. He knew it. He felt his pain. Truly it was a shame.

'We don't have a right to say what we're doing is the right thing.' Luke turned to see an energy bisento swinging towards him. He maneuvered out if the way in time. 'But…' He slipped under the bisento and closed the gap with himself and the soldier. His blade carved past his torso, causing the man to fall over with a grunt. Luke's body remained unfazed as he kept hos glare forward. 'A lot more will be hurt. We all are fighting because of our causes…this is what the price is. Still, I can't get sick right now. I have to save as many people as possible! Whatever it takes!'

A light shined beneath his feet, grabbing his and everyone else's attention. "What the-?!"

The revealed Gate Card shined brightly, summoning a light that reached up to their Bakugan. Atmos' wind wall was dissipating in an instant, as well as the tailwind he provided. It didn't take long for the other Bakugan and their abilities to be neutralized. Not only that, but they were frozen in place.

"What's this?" Atmos gasped.

Jase looked down at the Gate Card, realizing what the symbols were. "A Ring Zero Gate Card."

"Damnit, they're locked into place." Shawn grunted.

"Easy pickings." A soldiers snarked as he rode atop the Koptorix with a Ventus Ziperator latched onto the cockpit. He, along with many other duplicates, locked on in a large group and aimed carefully for the Bakugan frozen in place.

The others looked around and realized they were surrounded. Fly Beetle's eyes shifted about, but even he realized he wasn't going to be fast enough.

A soldier in the air glared through his visors. "Alright men…let'em have it!" Suddenly his Koptorix rocked spontaneously, throwing off his game. "Wha-?! Woaaah!"

The helicopter vehicle haphazardly jerked about, where it fired randomly at a Hurrix. The device and Bakugan were caught in the wake and destroyed. The Ziperator attempted a manual override, but it got to where it Koptorix was being shoved off to the side by an unseen force. The soldier on it looked back and realized it was heading right for another Koptorix. He screamed in shock before meeting with death in a vicious explosion between the two combustible machines.

"What the hell?" Shuji grunted. "They lost control up there?"

Esther stepped up with him. "No, that's not it…something's moving."

True to what she was saying, there was a faint afterimage of something cloaked slithering through the air. It looked long, before the bottom-half of a Hurrix was snatched up in a powerful bite. The beam-like tendrils were popped and began dragging around. It went into a full circle before it barreled into more of its kind, exploding yet again.

Verias picked up on the image. "Is that…?"

Something long went through the air again. It was cloaked, but his Haos attribute could see rays of light going through a nearly visible stealth mode of Daedalus Abis Omega. "Shawn, that's…!"

Shawn looked back at Luke, who was to his back. "You little tricky bastard."

"Don't worry. Stealth Dweller makes Abis immune to Gate Card and ability effects. But they'll catch on, I'm sure. Hurry!"

"Right!" Shuji muscled up an ability with the distraction provided. "Nullify this! Ability activate, Ground Shifter!"

Fly Beetle's eyes gleamed bright orange as he channeled his muscles the best he could. Much to the Interacians' shock, they all stepped back as Fly Beetle started spreading his legs. His midsection pincers lifted high into the air. "You think this…is enough to keep me down?! THINK AGAIN!" He punctured the ground with brutal force. He swerved the pincers and visibly shifted the Gate Card to rotate to face the opposite direction. The light that was beneath them paused for a moment, before it started back up again, this time freezing all the enemies in place. Each individual Bakugan and Mobile Assault Vehicle froze in midair or in place on the ground.

"Go now!"

Maggie nodded. "Double ability, activate! Element Kraken, plus Sand Typhoon!" Jelldon's six primary tentacles lashed out, summoning elemental energy within each one. They fluxed outwards and expelled a large sum of sand in every direction like a twister. Soldiers trying to shoot guns for them were blocked by a huge wall of outwards expanding sand that swallowed them up. The Bakugan all around were swept up in the maelstrom that protruded ruthlessly on those unable to move of their own free will.

"Ability, activate!" Jase shouted. "Tornado Slash!"

"Ability, activate! Bolt Cutter!"

At the same time, a series of green energy slashes shot from Atmos in all directions of the sand. Verias directed them all through a series of bright light slashes he drew from his axe. The sand swirled with jettisoning green slashes with yellow auras around them. They carved through the sand into all the surroundings Bakugan and Mobile Assault Vehicles. Magenta explosions went off sporadically across the ground and sky, so much in fact that it was blinding.

The shockwaves of the rising drafts kicked back towards Julie, who was off to the side catching it all on film. She looked back at Luke's section with shock. "The…the others are really nailing these guys! I'm coming to you all with this insane footage! The Bakugan who helped in taking down Riaan and Armagedoid on Neathia, are seriously strong! It's insane! Just…" She covered up as a broken fragment of a Hurrix sailed overhead. "Just what are these guys?! Really?!"

Drago and Reptak looked back with Dan and Gunz. They saw the explosions and tornado skyrocketing crazily across the area with upmost awe and slight shock. They couldn't believe it for the most part.

"Intense…"

"Killer…"

The shockwaves of their attack skimmed down the main avenue. They breached through the concrete and alleys that were too close. One of them included the kid that was hiding. He was keeping still behind the trash bins as he watched the street flood with shockwaves from up ahead.

With the tornado as a cover, the six Bakugan regrouped in the middle. Abis was still hidden away as he swerved about above. Those who weren't succumbed to the earlier attacks were firing away at his heat signature. However, even in the infrared scanners, Abis' body was seemingly phasing through each blast like nothing was happening.

"Our abilities aren't working! There's something wrong!" A soldier panicked.

Luke glared daggers and pointed his blade at the soldiers in the wake. "Ability, activate! Flood Quasar!"

Abis, while still invisible, unleashed a deep blue beam that seared through the skies in a long arch. It whisked itself to degeneration as it grazed across the shield that kept the palace from harm. The beam's wake finally caught up. All the Mobile Assault Vehicles that were surrounding him were erupted in a large-scale explosion. They all reverted to ball form or dropped to the ground far below.

The typhoons and explosions eventually ceased. Abis swerved down to meet his fellow Bakugan with Luke on top. He dropped to the ground once more with his fellow humans. The Bakugan all remained in full form for good measure.

"We have to get in while we still have an opening!" Luke prompted.

A shadow glided overhead. They looked up and saw Shun drop down all of a sudden. He kneeled and stood up to face them. "You guys okay over here?"

"Yeah, we told you that we can take care of ourselves." Maggie bolstered. "Our opening is there; we have to get through!"

Shun shook his head. "It won't work guys, sorry. Dan and Gunz tried already…" He thought back to how easily the barrier repelled them. "There's a barrier surrounding the palace it seems. We can't get in from where we are."

"I see." Jase prompted. "So then how do you propose we get through…?" Suddenly his body began glowing. He looked down at his sleeve, seeing it go translucent.

"Gah! What's going on?!" Shuji panicked.

Shawn grunted. "Damnit! Someone's beaming us again!"

"Where?!" Maggie fret, but before she had the chance, she also grew so translucent that she was starting to fade.

Luke balled his fists, hoping for the best. "Guys! Hang on to each other!"

"Yes, let's hurry!" Esther reached for Luke's hand, to which he took in response. He looked over and saw Shawn putting a hand on his shoulder, with Maggie holding onto Shuji's leg, who held onto Jase as he was putting a hand on Esther's shoulder.

"Wait! Hold on!" Shun raced to join them, but he was too late. In a moment, they all teleported away, along with their Bakugan. The street in front of the palace was once again free from them, but it didn't distill any relief for Shun, who was taken back with shock. "NO!"

"What?! W-Where did they end up now?!" Radizen fret.

"Oh no!" Marucho panicked.

"Snap!" Dan grunted. He turned around to face the Bakugan glaring at him. Soldiers were charging at him, in which Drago prepared for. His fists were balled and he glared them all down. Dan knew they were in a pinch. "We…we have to keep fighting. No matter what!"

"Look alive, people! More incoming!" Drago warned.

The streets flooded with the Bakugan from the farther reaches of the city closing in on them.

---

Galilea and Cyrus observed through the monitor of what just happened. They looked absolutely befuddled, Galilea more so. Cyrus turned towards her. "Miss Vergo, is there something you'd like to share?"

Galilea turned to him with a straight face. "Cyrus, please. This isn't my doing. I'm honestly as shocked as you."

Cyrus glanced away. "Well then, aren't we at a quandary here? Didn't you say they wouldn't get past said barrier? The one that you said only Interacians can bypass?"

"I didn't account for teleportation, alright?! Something's wring with the lab! They haven't been responding over the last six hours."

Cyrus closed his eyes, scoffing. "Hm…sounds like you have your hands full it seems. Well then, you better withdraw your security fast if you want to be on time. The rest of us won't wait around while you ogle with your twiddling thumbs."

Galilea shot him a look. "Is that really a way to treat someone who's been working so hard for-!"

BA-DUMP

The room's atmosphere went totally desolate. Galilea's eyes were wide as she was petrified on the spot. She didn't dare make a move as she felt Cyrus' glare fixed on her. The room was so dark, which made his bright eyes shimmer like a hellish beast staring down her soul.

"…perhaps I've misjudged you all this time, Galilea. Or perhaps you're so worked up the stress is criticizing the way you're acting. Don't forget your place, you are under me and Zion. And you know why…don't go squandering such rubbish. That is, unless you think you can face this fear you have."

His words were like a knife carving at the skin of her throat. She could feel the actual chill trying to choke her. But needless to say, Galilea didn't fully back down, but she also knew that against Riaan – who was now in superiority than equality – she had no say. And Zion would literally put her at the edge of his blade. This wasn't a fight she could win.

"…I will do the best that I can. The operation will be ready in time…" she grunted. "I just need to get to the lab first, and see to the problem myself."

Cyrus smirked. He closed his eyes and turned away. "Good. That's the ethic our lord wants to see in you. Do keep it up."

With that, he teleported out of the domain. Galilea was left to herself and her own business. But Cyrus' words held a huge weight she couldn't fully get off of her still racing chest. She took a moment to compose herself before turning away.

"…no use crying over spilled milk. If they're all here, then this must be timed just right. I have to get to the lab at once." She turned the monitor off and started for the nearest stairway to take her to the lab.

---

In the depths of Riaan's large palace, six teleported lights appeared in midair, before dropping everyone on their feet and nearly staggering. Shuji was no exception. They all regained their balance and took a moment to realize what happened.

"Gnnngh…" Shuji grunted low, but he regained his composure to not get completely startled. "Gngh…where…are we now?"

"I'm…not certain." Esther looked over at the walls. She noticed the high ceilings and large chandeliers that hung at the top. She noticed the red carpet that they were on. The walls themselves looked enchanted with decorations. She had a good feeling of where they were. "This place…it must be." Her face was serious. "Riaan."

"So we were really…transported inside here, huh?" Maggie frowned. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

"So this is it…" Shawn paused. "I can feel it for sure. His energy lingering around. I remember this level of energy as fresh as Gundalia. This has to be, no doubt about it."

Luke took a quick glance around them. He didn't doubt Shawn nor was he fully including his own thoughts. He knew they had to be there. They didn't have any windows installed, so he couldn't fully ingest the speculation. 'We were transported inside on a whim, and so easily at that. Somebody must've wanted us away from the others. This isn't good.' He shook his head. 'No. They know better by now, I'm positive. We have to do our part.' He turned back towards the others. "Guys, listen. We should focus on what's in front of us. If we're inside the palace, that means we might be near a lab, right?"

Jase prodded his glasses again. "Yes, supposedly. If there's a forcefield around the palace, that must mean they're trying to hide something inside that's important."

"And I can bet you that's Riaan and the Forbidden data." Maggie prompted.

"Yeah, that would make sense." Shawn raised a brow, glancing away. "But doesn't it feel weird? If they were expecting us, why didn't they summon guards to ambush us?"

"…" Jase turned around. He was silent at the prospects.

Maggie turned towards her peers. "Well guys, I don't know about you, but while we're still here, we better look around."

"Alright, but we need to be careful." Esther warned. "This is Riaan's home after all. We could get lost, or worse."

"You think he's here?" Luke pondered. "I feel a lot of negative energy around here."

Shawn crossed his arms. "Yeah, maybe…but let's find out."

With nothing to lose, they all began their departure for the room they needed to go for. As far as they were concerned, it could very well be a while.

---

Much to their surprise, the palace was a lot bigger than they pegged it to be. Not only were the hallways long, but with each corridor, there wasn't a single guard posted. It was all empty, like a silent, abandoned castle. It would've been more poetic if not for the sounds of their feet echoing through the high ceilings across the other side. They turned corner after corner, keeping a watchful eye on their surrounds. They didn't know just who could be lurking around.

"Man, this place is really desolate." Maggie grimaced. "Kind of reminds me of those scary ghost stories I heard when I was little."

Shuji raised a brow. "Heh? You sound like you were old."

Maggie furrowed her brow in defense. "Hey! I'll have you know 5 years is a lot to wait on, mister!"

Shawn got them back on track. "Yeah, I know what you mean. There were days like this back at the manor where everyone would be outside. Luke and I would have the house all to ourselves."

Luke smiled. "Yeah, I remember those. And some days felt like they could go on forever."

"With you, they never ended." Shawn teased.

Luke slumped his shoulders. "Well, I…"

"I can relate. The high ceilings and décor remind me of the chapel." Esther admitted. "Some nights where I would pray, especially on stormy nights…it…certainly wasn't the greatest experience."

Maggie raised a brow. "Oh? What's this? You didn't like storms, Esther?"

Esther blinked, looking moderately offended. "N-No! It's not like that, I mean it!"

"Sure, sure. Everyone's afraid of something. I didn't like ghosts either until I grew out of it before coming to New Vestroia. But hey, we grow out of our fears eventually. Just look at Shuji."

Shuji raised a brow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Maggie smiled pompously. "Don't you worry about it. But hey, nobody's been giving you a hard time, have they? And even if they did, I'm sure you'd tough it out. You're good at that."

Shuji gave a mild scoff to her claim. "…gee, thanks for the backhand. That'll really help me in a pinch."

Shawn turned towards Jase. "What about you, Jase? What were things you didn't like growing up?"

Jase kept his straightforward expression. "Why, what was fear again? You'll have to refresh my memory. My youth didn't exactly give me such a luxury."

Luke glanced away nervously. 'Oh yeah. Jase had a boarding school childhood. Must've been so dull…'

Maggie chuckled. "C'mon, Jase. You can tell us. We promise we won't laugh…well unless Luke does."

"Yeah…sure." Luke shot a despondent look dead ahead. He didn't find it by any means bemusing.

"Well, since you've asked…" Jase paused, thinking about what to say. "What didn't I like that bothered me? Hm…well…"

"Yeah…?" Maggie leaned in, eyes widening.

"Hm…I suppose it's…bothersome children."

Shawn sweatdropped, whereas Luke blinked and Maggie nearly floored. Esther discouragingly sighed with Shuji. The former Colonel smiled so casually with his answer, much to their chagrin.

"Geez…" Shawn wheezed.

They pressed on their way when they came up to the end of a large corridor. They looked up at the huge, accented set of double doors that stood nearly a hundred feet tall. It stunned them, as well as gave a very uneasy vibe towards their welcome.

"Well this looks inviting." Shuji grimaced.

"I can feel something alright. It's foul." Fly Beetle noted. "…I'm not even in full form and my carapace is starting to itch."

"I can guess that means what lies beyond here must be important." Esther warned.

"Yeah, let's get ready." Luke held up his sword. He, as well as everyone, readied their respective weapons and hold steady to the grounds in which they stood on. "Guys, you know what to do."

Jase prodded his glasses. "Right. Remember, be cautious. Don't act on the fly. If you catch the first whiff of danger, make certain to swoop in."

"Alright…let's go in." Shawn insisted.

"Yeah…"

They took a moment to collect themselves. Shuji got in front and pushed open the doors. To even his surprise, they were rather light. The material and the hinges gradually swung open enough to allow them inside. They all maneuvered into the heart of the enormous throne-like chamber.

As they went in, they all looked around. While it was gradual in space, they couldn't help but feel an uneasy silence. They kept turning left and right, seeing any signs that could be Riaan or Hades Pillars…but it was quiet. Desolate.

Silent. Dead silence.

Looking up at the huge throne, Luke came to a realization. "Nobody's…in here right now…"

"This looks to be Riaan's throne room." Esther surmised. "I have a good feeling about that."

Shawn glanced everywhere, his eyes never losing those suspicious gazes. "…something's wrong here. It's quiet…too quiet…"

Jase kept his eyes locked on the gateway doors in case they closed upon themselves. They didn't. He came to a conclusion. "…he must not be here."

Luke looked back in shock. "Wait, you sure?"

"Calm down. I'm not saying that he's left the domain just yet. However, I do have my suspicions. Something definitely feels off here. Just as Shawn said…"

Shuji had his own thoughts to voice out. "He's not the type to run from a fight, right?" He squinted. "No, wait. Better thing is, from a pointless fight. Did he know we were coming from the start?"

"That's a strong possibility." Esther surmised. "But even so, he knows about us. He wouldn't let us go unless…"

The room's tone had gotten a lot darker. They didn't like where this was heading. They felt anything but levity without Riaan there where he was supposed to be.

Maggie gave them all a serious look. "I'm not liking this. We need to go, now."

"Yes, you're absolutely right." Jase nodded. "We better hurry up now…before any unnecessary cavalry arrives."

They all turned and made an exit slowly for the doorway, back the way they came. The room's solidarity was absolutely quiet…not even a wind blew through the balcony. The throne remained completely empty…as it shall be, from then to now on.

---

They continued down the hall back the way they came. Luke grimaced heavily. "That…was completely unsettling."

"Yeah, definitely." Abis murmured. "But…it's usually strange. Normally he's waiting for us when we finally reach him at his base."

Shawn put a hand to his chin. "Yeah, that's a good point. He doesn't go too far from his post either from what I remember." He thought back to Gundalia. "We had to go deep underground, in Neathia and Gundalia alike. And even then, there were only a few special cases where he wouldn't be outside the Empyrean."

"But if this palace is his home, wouldn't that make sense for him to be here?" Verias pondered.

"Perhaps…" Everyone turned towards Jase. "Or perhaps, that would be the case if it were still true."

"What?" Luke questioned.

Esther stepped forward. "Jase, what are you saying?"

He shot her a serious look. "What Shawn says is true. His strategy is to bide time and wait in the darkest reaches where he can amass his strength. He'd much rather have the fight brought to him than go exert his strength so precariously. But if he were to amass that strength here, it's be very simple. Therefore…"

Maggie's eyes widened at a realization. "Wait! Jase, you don't think…!"

Jase morbidly frowned. "I'm not for certain…but it may very well be true. He could have moved himself to a proper location, where we can't reach him so easily."

"A new Empyrean?" Shuji thought aloud.

"I don't like the sound of that." Luke noted. He shot a look back at the cracked doorway to see Riaan's empty throne room. Even from here, it gave him a very unpleasant vibe. "If Riaan moved locations, then we better figure out where he might be hiding next."

"Yes, but we also have to find the lab." Esther said. "Once we're there, we should have an inclination of how we can help Spectra and the others back in Troposphere."

Luke gave her a nod. "You're right. We'll have to do this one at a time. Let's hurry, and be as quiet as we can along the way."

They all chose to follow his lead once again. They made sure to be as careful and quiet as mice as they followed along their way through the corridor. As they embarked down familiar hallways, they couldn't help but feel all the more insecure with how to proceed through.

As they were making headway, they couldn't help but get some familiar words in.

"This place…it's like a maze." Luke muttered. "I'm sure we went this way before…"

"It's no labyrinth, but…" Shawn frowned. "I wouldn't wanna be stuck in here forever. No matter how lavish it seems, it's still a deathtrap for us."

"Yeah, I hear that." Luke looked at all the walls and décor. Aside from purple and stain glass here and there, it was mostly black and magenta. "Master Riaan…really didn't have such a broad color scheme."

"I think the black and magenta everywhere are a dead giveaway." Shawn noted.

"Yeah, tell me about it." Maggie chimed. "Would it kill him to have something more colorful? Something bright here and there doesn't hurt."

"Yeah, this whole black and magenta scheme's getting old at this point." Shuji replied.

Maggie shot him a look. "Oh? And what would you have in mind?"

Shuji scoffed. "You tell me. Aren't castles supposed to be stone?"

"That deposit seems rather outdated." Esther noted. "But looking back at it, it serves as irony." She frowned heavily. "Riaan served to bring the past materials to the present. That included the troubles brought about by man…as well as their horrors. Maybe the colors…personify his heart."

"His heart?" Atchibee added. "I'm curious, how so?"

"Well, he's chosen two colors that compliment each other/ One of life, and one of death. He's chosen the path of death, which is black. And through that, there's magenta, a brighter, but still fairly sinister color…maybe it's a way saying that even in his own darkness, there can see some light to help compliment his visage of darkness."

"Eve." Shawn figured.

"Or at least…the purpose she left behind for him." Verias reminded.

"What a cruel fate…" Jelldon mourned.

They all pressed on until they eventually came a new corridor. They had to trek around several corners and around some flights, but after going down a spiral staircase to unknowns, there was a large corridor with a room that caught their attention.

"I see something, up ahead!" Luke pointed out.

Everyone followed him to the double doors that were shut off entirely. The walls were silver with black framing, and the keypad beside it was unresponsive. They stood in front of it with a wary disposition.

"Is this it?" Shawn wondered.

"Well if the double silver doors are any indication, I say so." Maggie prompted. "Plus there's a padlock. That kind of security is best known for only a few people. And I can probably also guess what that could be for, too."

Shawn gave Jase a look. "Think you can crack it?"

"Let's see…" Jase moved closer to the padlock. He stared at it before moving his fingers across the padding. He saw a large number of security functions on it before the screen beeped red. He looked back at the other. "Seems we'll have to acquire a key. The security is sealed tightly."

"So not even authorize personnel can get inside?" Esther remarked, surprise shown in her tone. "Is the lab under its own lockdown you think?"

"Well if this thing won't budge, guess we'll have to find our own way in." Shuji hinted, before turning towards the padlock. "But first, we gotta shut that thing off for good."

Jase reached back and held up his taser lance. He extended it and made the tip crackle with electricity. He did a swift jab into the control padlock screen, breaking the glass and making the whole thing crackle into smoke. He pulled it back, retracting it to its smaller form and hidden away. He turned towards everyone else.

"Now, I believe is best to use force."

"You heard him, Luke. Give it hell." Shawn patted his friend's back, the last pat being so brunt it shive Luke forward.

"Gah! Hey…!" He shot a look back at him, but chose to focus on the task at hand. "…okay then." He grabbed the sword's hilt. "Stand back!"

Everyone did as told and took one step backwards. Luke took a pause and gathered his energy. With a violent grunt, he activated the energy function and extended the edging with deep blue energy that cleaves, carved, and sliced into the double doors. The slashes gradually added up until the doors finally collapsed upon themselves. Metal clanged against the ground with smoldering edges that quickly hardened. Luke held his sword tightly as he looked into the darkness that lied ahead.

"Everyone, let's go."

With his gesture, they hurried along. They followed him inside, where they stepped into the laboratory…or what was supposed to be it. But instead, they stepped into something that barely had any light. Once again, no sounds came from it.

They looked around, finding the room so incredibly dark to barely catch glimpses of. It was distasteful to say the least.

'It's so dark…I can barely see in front of me.' Luke thought. 'The air…it's creepy, too.'

"Where's the light switch?" Shuji reached for along a wall, but didn't find anything visible.

Esther's body was completely still. 'Something doesn't feel right. There's a pungent smell. It's fresh.'

"Hey, Shuji! Over here! I think I found it!" Shawn was on the other wall beside the door. He went ahead and flipped it.

The lights to the laboratory finally turned on. The ceiling luminescent lights shined down from high above, making the entire lab fully visible…

However, what everyone saw before them…was something that should've been left in the dark. Their eyes widened as horror and pale spread across their faces. An unseen shrill ran into their guts and left them immediately regretting turning on the lights.

Luke stepped back in shock. "Wha…what the…?"

Carnage. That's all they saw around them/ Laid across the ground, there were at least a dozen bodies that were scattered across the stained porcelain tiling. Each one was sprawled and had dried blood in heaping gashes in several areas. Some of it looked like it was going to stain. Lab coats looked like butcherwear with blotches of pink on them.

Another wave of recoil washed over everyone. Luke staggered. He looked like he was going to be sick.

"What…is this?" Shuji eyeballed. "Something happened or what?"

Shawn furrowed his brow. He looked just as disgusted as everybody else. "It looked like a wild animal tore through here. Look at this mess."

Esther looked down at the ground, her face deathly serious with mourn. 'Then that smell was…' She looked ahead at the nearest corpse. She bowed her head in grief. "Utterly pitiful. This is madness."

"This is just sick…" Even at 10-years-old, Maggie looked at the dead bodies with an uncertainty. "And they're not even armed."

Jase walked up and inspected the nearest available corpse. He made certain to be mindful of contact when getting close to the victim. With his body facing them, he looked down and saw the huge gashes within the chest. He kept a straight face, like nothing happened in the first place.

"Who did this you think?" Maggie fret. "Zion?"

"Yeah, that's a good guess." Shawn surmised.

"…no." Everyone turned towards Jase as he stood up. He looked up at the other bodies to find familiar signs of fatality. "These inflictions are too close to one another. We're well aware that Zion is more than capable of doing this, but there's a difference this time."

"Like what?" Shuji questioned. He feared he wouldn't like the answer.

"Zion uses weapons and slashes his opponents. That's what we learned from back on Gundalia. But here, there's a break in the pattern. He leaves punctures or large gashes with his weapons of choice, yet it seems these all fell…by claws."

"So if it wasn't Zion…what did this?" Maggie questioned.

Luke looked down at all the dead bodies, his mouth turning utterly bitter. He knew this was all messed up, he knew it. And it wasn't by them this time. It was something else. He's killed soldiers before, but that was one thing all by itself. This…this was just a bloody bath that made him want to puke. He looked away to compose himself before any bile could come up and jump out of his throat. He had to swallow to be sure it would stay down.

"Luke, are you alright?" Esther concerningly asked.

Luke composed himself. "Yeah, don't worry. I just need a minute." He paused and looked back. "This is…just so cruel."

"And here I thought you humans chopping fish heads off was inhumane." Abis grimaced.

A strong silence fell across the group. They knew they could bear the sight of this any longer. They had to act rationally though and remember why they were here.

Atmos popped open on Jase's shoulder. "We should do what we came here to do. It's what's needed so that our friends don't suffer either."

Jase prodded his glasses at his partner's words. "Yes, Atmos. You are absolutely right." He went over and proceeded with the technologically advanced equipment off to the side.

"We should probably look around, too." Shawn advised. "I'm sure there's more around here."

"Yes, you're right." Esther insisted.

Luke looked down at the corpse in front of him. For his and everybody else's sake, they had to press on. There was no time to mourn over what wasn't their fault. They knew better at this pint they had to soldier on. They looked at each other and fanned out slowly, cautiously at that. They didn't know what lurked just around their shoulder.

"Man, just look at all of this equipment." Shawn looked at a desk table that had a number of charts and documents. They showed a large sum of results by experimentation. "And these documents…are these all just from one Bakugan?"

Maggie looked up at a monitor that seemed frozen on an image. It showed an energy chart that unveiled everything within the vicinity. "Look at all this. Are these negative energy readings? They're enormous. Are these dots everyone else, too?"

"This has gotta be almost twice as big as the lab in Troposphere." Shawn grimaced. "No, almost three times. There's enough space to fit Bakugan along the walls." He looked at the huge glass cases that were insulted along the walls of the lab. Scanners and even thermal readings of empty cases showed that there were Bakugan here previously. 'And it looks like it was freshly used, too.'

"There's so much equipment here. It's difficult to tell which unction is for what exactly." Esther chimed.

Luke was very mindful not to touch anything. Now was a time for caution. "Yeah, I get what you mean." He looked over at Jase. "Jase, anything?"

Jase was looking through the encrypted files on the large monitor in front of him. His glasses reflected the number of files that had extremely sensitive data. He was going through each one with haste until he could have reached the last file. Something was wrong. He knew it.

"It appears that…we were too late."

"Wait…what? Are you saying, they deleted it all?!" Luke worried.

Jase looked down at his fingers, pondering about the possibilities. "That's one theory they could have done…or perhaps they've anticipated this just as Riaan perhaps."

Luke grimaced. "In other words, we're back to square one with where to track him. Great."

Jase was typing away in a double check over what he could have missed. Every file had red on it that showed nothing but emptiness. It didn't sit well for him. 'Perhaps Luke may be onto something…the files were here before. It's evident there was something here before. And the blood spilled by these workers…there's obviously a link.'

"Hey guys, come quick! Over here!" Maggie shouted.

Shuji looked over. "What is it?"

"Look!"

Everyone gathered around and saw what appeared to be telecoils that were in six different corners. At the base of each device, the conduction led to six enormous chambers. Each one had a different symbol that emblemized a various attribute of a Bakugan. Each one overtook a height that could dwarf even Hammer Gorem's height. However, each one looked completely broken. Glass was shattered across the floor they stepped on.

"What's all of this?" Shawn stepped around the area. His foot made a cracking sound as he looked down. He saw he stepped on broken glass. "Glass everywhere…"

"Everything looks like a wreck." Shuji observed. "First those guys, now the equipment too…?"

Esther stepped closer to one of the chambers. She looked at it up and down. "These chambers, it looks like they were recently used."

"Yes, I do believe you are right, Esther." Atchibee chimed. "I can definitely feel a fresh level of negative energy around here."

"It's crawling all over." Jelldon stated. "It's making my tentacles tingle. And not in a good way…I think?"

"Something feels strange about this." Abis deduced. He looked towards Luke, who stared at the chambers around him with an uneasy silence. Like him, he knew something was wrong…he just didn't know how wrong it could get.

"…"

…

Galilea's eyes were wide with shock. She couldn't believe what she saw.

She stood at the doorway of a room in the middle of a familiar hall. She stared blankly as she processed what the room looked like. Everything was in order, just the way that it was left. However, there was something that sat atop the bedspread, which seemed to have been redone to make it look cleaner than what it's been the past few weeks. On it was what looked like a very familiar red cape, with glasses neatly folded atop it. She recognized the set, especially the green streamer that went down the one end of the glasses.

"…" She was dead silent. She was on the verge of a small breakdown. Her heart was racing at something she could only depict as troublesome. "…this can't be…"

Magnus stood before a broad open doorway. He stared blankly inside as the hinges were nearly pried off. It was broken in with brute force it seems. Even underneath his visors, sheer disbelief spelled out itself as clear as day. "Boy…what the hell just ran through here?"

"SOMEBODY STOLE MY DRESS!" An echoing shriek of anger was followed by a vicious slam of a doorway wide open. Amina stood in front, and she was beyond pissed. "Who…touched…my stuff?! NOBODY TOUCHES MY STUFF! WHO STOLE ONE OF MY DRESSES?! LUCIA~!"

Lucia was looking through a holographic monitor in her domain still. She was well aware of the situation they were in, but something caught her eye. She stared blankly at a dark room with a computer screen that wasn't supposed to be on in the first place. She glanced away knowingly.

Zion was peering into a room. He stared at the small and extremely uncomfortable bed that nobody would wanna sleep in…or at least that would be because now it had a giant axe bisecting the entire thing. The legs were collapsed to made the broken bits crash into each other, but he cared little for such a matter. What mattered was what set him off. "That brazen delinquent…"

Cyrus was looking into the pitch-black room. It was dark, almost homely. However he felt a serious energy that was still stirring. With his dark vision, he noticed something in the corner of the room that was broken, but still reflected his figure.

His eyes narrowed. "Well, well…what do we have here?"

Where there would be a large wall of nothing but reflective mirror, there was pitch black. Broken mirror fragment laid waste everywhere. Any light that was supposed to be reflecting upon the wall was no more. The light was completely shattered by something that had long since destroyed it. Cyrus kept completely calm gaze fixed as he looked down at the one shard that was at his feet. He picked it up and held it closer to his face. He inspected it so casually.

With a cast-iron grip, he had the fragmented glass fall to the floor. His hand didn't even bleed. He looked so casual, and yet his glowing eyes reflecting some hidden delight. "Well now…this, has most certainly gotten interesting."

…

Shawn looked up at the Haos chamber with Verias. The two were showing great silence over what happened. "Whatever these things are, looks like they might be busted." The former proposed. "It's possible there was a strong negative feedback that overloaded something."

"What kind of Bakugan do you think they were?" Verias pondered.

"Perhaps it's best that we don't know the answer to that question, Verias." Atchibee insisted. "But still, what are we to do from here?"

Luke furrowed his brow. He stopped for a moment to consider his friend's words and nodded. "You're right. We need to get the grids shut off. That'll also lower the barrier around the palace, too."

"I'm all for that." Shuji commented.

BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP!

Everyone's surprise turned towards their Bakumeters as the signals were going off haphazardly. Incoming radio waves made an alarm set off for them.

"What? Where's all this coming from?" Shawn gasped.

"Our Bakumeters…they're picking up wavelength signals." Esther looked at her screen, seeing a strong reception within the area.

"Who's it coming from?" Fly Beetle questioned. "The others outside?"

Jase frowned. "No. Our signaling is limited with us inside the palace grounds. This barrier is sealing us and our readings from the outside world."

"Then…if it's not the others, then where's it coming from?" Maggie pondered.

Luke was moving his Bakumeter around, seeing if the signal wavelengths would deter to some direction. But much to his dismay, it was too focused on them. 'If it's not from Dan, or the others…then where might be? Somebody's trying to contact us…wait. Hold on. When we teleported…'

"Yeah, we told you that we can take care of ourselves." Maggie bolstered. "Our opening is there; we have to get through!"

Shun shook his head. "It won't work guys, sorry. Dan and Gunz tried already…" He thought back to how easily the barrier repelled them. "There's a barrier surrounding the palace it seems. We can't get in from where we are."

"I see." Jase prompted. "So then how do you propose we get through…?" Suddenly his body began glowing. He looked down at his sleeve, seeing it go translucent.

"Gah! What's going on?!" Shuji panicked.

Shawn grunted. "Damnit! Someone's beaming us again!"

"Where?!" Maggie fret, but before she had the chance, she also grew so translucent that she was starting to fade.

Luke balled his fists, hoping for the best. "Guys! Hang on to each other!"

"Yes, let's hurry!" Esther reached for Luke's hand, to which he took in response. He looked over and saw Shawn putting a hand on his shoulder, with Maggie holding onto Shuji's leg, who held onto Jase as he was putting a hand on Esther's shoulder.

"Wait! Hold on!" Shun raced to join them, but he was too late. In a moment, they all teleported away, along with their Bakugan. The street in front of the palace was once again free from them, but it didn't distill any relief for Shun, who was taken back with shock. "NO!"

'…back then, we were the only ones beamed inside. Not anybody else. And if communications are cut off, that means we're being isolated on purpose.' Luke came to an epiphany. 'Wait a minute! What if…what if the same signal was used to bring us here? That means that we might be where…'

He slowly turned hos head to look at the telecoils. He noticed they were directly in the center of it all. The air had gotten beyond drastic for his liking. He instinctively came to a realization.

'…then, we're right where they want us! But where are they?!'

Esther raised her Bakumeter to see the signal transmitting from anywhere within the vicinity. She hovered it within the general direction of the computers, but alas got little reception. She slowly turned the watch over to the telecoils, where, for some enigmatic reason – the signal was getting stronger. "It seems like…the signal is coming from the telecoils."

"But I thought they were broken." Maggie fret.

Jase furrowed his brow. "Looks can be deceiving."

Beeeeeeep…

The signal gave a long pause and faded into silence. They all froze in place as the silence was soon interrupted by an uneven flow of electricity. Dark lightning crackled at the telecoils' tips that gradually increased. They all shirked back into the center.

"Crap! What's going on now?!" Shuji grunted.

"It's a trap! Look out!" Jase warned, but out was too late.

The electricity in the ceiling started flickering in and out. It pulsed sporadically until the lights had fully went off. Darkness overtook everything. In the depths of the pitch-black lied the sparking telecoils. Their voltage was conducting power from the lab and transmitting it through the ground and into their six tips. The laboratory's light fixtures were flashing spontaneously due to the obstructing power surge. First lights were off, then they were on. Off, and then on. And through it all, the telecoils charged up at all six points to where the tips seemed excessively concentrated that they could've been mistaken for suns.

Static flared everywhere. They all turned their heads and saw random bolts shoot everywhere. One nearly got Shawn by the feet. He jerked backwards in shock. Esther stayed completely calm as she watched carefully what was happening.

"Something's happening! Get ready!" She warned.

"Here it comes!" Jase shouted.

The telecoils gradually sparked until they all created a large impulse that fired directly above their heads. Six thunderbolts fired from the telecoils and clashed into each other right over their heads. The voltage gradually grew until it became too massive to contain. The whole thing discharged into the ground around everyone's feet. Frankly it didn't shock them, much to their surprise, but it slowly faded into the earth, like nothing happened.

Slowly, the voltage was shimmering away. The crackling floor was all that there was.

"So…is that it?" Jelldon perked up. "We're…not barbequed?"

Atchibee looked around. "So, that can't be it. I feel a rise of negative energy from somewhere. But where…!" She gasped. "Everyone, look out!"

"Wha-?!" Abis looked down as the crackling floor drew in a heaping vacuum. The floor eroded away dark pixels slowly multiplying at the center. They all looked down as the pixels turned into a dark purple and black vacuum that they couldn't escape.

'Oh no! We're too late!' Luke reached for his sword to try and pierce the ground, but he looked over and saw the ground was much too far away.

"Luke!" Esther reached out for him.

Luke reached back for them. "Esther! Guys!"

As they all tried reaching for each other, they were all pulled down under by the pixilated portal. They all fell straight down, their shouts and grunts disappearing with their figures into the darkness. The portal closed up right behind them, leaving a single pixel before it swallowed itself up back to nothing.

---

"Guys? Guys?! Hey! Come in! Can you hear me?! Where are you?!" Dan shouted into his Bakumeter repeatedly, but got little to nothing in response.

Shun backpedaled to his side. "Where are they?!"

"I don't know! Their Bakumeters aren't responding!" Dan ducked in time as a bullet barely passed over his head. Shun made quick work grabbing him and pushing them both to the ground to avoid a lance that was thrown their way. The fall was painful, but thankfully for Dan's sake it was on his left arm's side and not his right. "Thanks, Shun!"

"Thank me later!" He stood back up. "C'mon, we have to stop these guys! Go, Jaakor! Skytruss! Orbeum!"

"Right!" Jaakor rushed in on his Fortatron and jumped over an Impalaton. The Battle Suite turned over and aimed straight down on the monster, unleashing bright green beams that permeated the stinger end. The stinger sizzled before the smoke cleared to show it heavily damaged. But otherwise, the device barely buffered. Jaakor landed on the other side and continued his onslaught, with Drago bringing in cannonfire across from the side and sweeping into numbers below.

Dan shook his head. He knew Shun was in the right to think that way. They had to focus on getting their own skins out of this mess. He turned and saw a soldier with an energy bisento close in on him. He hurried and started running in the opposite direction for Drago. He swept in and grabbed Dan in time to haul him up and away from the deadly weapons. They ascended into the air as fast as lightning until they got high enough to peer down on everyone.

"Let's go, Dan!"

"You bet, pal!" Dan held up his Bakumeter. 'Sorry guys, but wherever you are, you better come back soon, or we'll be in some deep trouble!' "Ability, activate! Dragon NR Gear!" Drago's body gathered bright red static that manifested into an energy hemisphere. Everything within its growing epicenter was swallowed up in a bright red burst that enflamed Solaris.

---

Luke was spiraling out of control with everyone. The pull was just too great. Despite his best efforts all he saw were colorful blurs before he felt something hard smash into his body. His body laid numb on its front as he processed everything. It all happened so fast. Sure, he was used to processing things on the fly and rolling with the punches, but that was a little too risky for his liking.

As he was gathering his bearing and fighting the urge to spontaneously hold in his lunch, he felt the ground around him. His fingerless gloves felt cold. That was enough to get him going. "Gnnngh…what…did we hit this time?" He got to his hands and knees and heard stirs all around him. His blurry vision was seeing figment that he could potentially make out as his peers. They all groaned and struggled to stand after that rush.

"Uugh…that's gonna leave a mark." Shuji complained. He got his feet underneath and looked at Shawn. "Hey, buddy, you good?"

"Yeah, I'm fine…I think." Unsure of where he stood, Shawn managed to stand to prove his words weren't a boast. He looked down at his attire, finding his rapier still in one piece. "Looks like I'm good. Guys, you alright?"

Maggie got her hands to the rocky ground and pushed up. "Don't worry. It's gonna take more than that to keep me down."

"Well, that was certainly a drop out of nowhere, apparently." Jase chimed, as though nothing happened. He dusted off his shoulder using his sleeve. "Though it could've been worse I suppose."

Esther managed to stand next. "What happened? Luke, are you hurt?"

Luke was the last to stand. His dizzy spell was short-lived after hearing her voice. "Yeah, I think I'm good…for now." He paused. "Wait…what happened?"

"It seems that we fell for a trap setup by the enemy." Jase discerned. "We didn't get the signals until it was too late. We were lucky we didn't suffer any long-term injuries during the transport, aside from a shirt dizzy spell it seems."

'Yeah, thought there was something wrong about all that. But where did we end up…?' Luke turned around to check his surroundings, but he was completely in disarray at what he and everyone else caught onto. For a moment, he felt like he couldn't breathe.

"What the…?"

The atmosphere had a very dark shrewd around it. There were no winds, and there were certainly no signs of daylight. Yet for some reason they could see just fine by the surroundings and the odd sky. There were hazy clouds and very bizarre land formations hovering around them. Some were on small formation with thin support. It could all just crumble away at any second. Even at their feet, cracks ran so deep they could see open fissures leading to cavernous depths from afar. Even far out, large, jagged mountains could be seen. They all had the same dark hue with no color in them. It was all lifeless, enough to make their skin crawl.

Finally getting the nerves to mutter out, Luke tried his best to calm down. "Where are we…? It's so…desolate."

Esther turned her head. "I've never seen a place like this before. Not even in my worst nightmares."

"My bones are just tingling all over." Shuji grimaced. "It's probably the fall or whatever, but…"

Maggie felt a small shiver run up her spine. She grabbed her arms and rubbed them to keep warm. "Man, talk about a chilly place. I'm getting shivers just from smelling the air. It stinks worse than the sewers on Gundalia."

"This energy…" Jase looked all over. He saw far and wide the atmosphere's hazy hue. There was an excessively vile amount of air that surfaced around them. "Yes. There's no mistaking it. It's potent negative energy."

"I thought this place smelled funny." Maggie chimed dryly. "That explains the shivers though."

"Our bodies have become sensitive to sensing negative energy after all this time being drawn towards it. We may have developed a tolerance towards it, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be alarmed by it. It's all around us at that."

'That explains why it's like my heart's racing at a hundred miles per hour.' Shawn thought.

The Bakugan rolled out and looked afar. They popped open and overlooked the land with uneased tensions of their own.

"Oooh…you guys feel that?" Jelldon shudder.

"Yeah, I feel it alright." Fly Beetle grunted. "Ain't doing me favors with keeping steady, that's for sure."

"It's a very strong sensation. It's all over, yet it isn't concentrated like it normally would be." Atmos pondered.

"…" Atchibee was completely quiet. She seemed hesitant to answer.

"Something the matter, Atchibee?" Abis questioned, noticing her ominous silence.

"This place…I've heard about it before. But I never would've imagined that the rumors could still be true about it."

"What rumors?" Verias pondered, before getting the idea. "Wait, Atchibee, are you saying…?"

She nodded. "Yes, I'm certain this might be it. I've only heard about this place because of the few tales Hydranoid told me about. It was back when Vestroia was still a segregated dimension and he cast Bakugan here…yes. This is it…the Doom Dimension."

Everyone's shock was apparent on their faces. They all looked at her with complete disbelief at what she just said. Jase kept a straight face, but it tensed up some.

"The Doom…Dimension?" Luke's hitched breath. The name sounded very familiar to him. It was bringing back some very discomforting memories.

"So, the place still exists to this day." Esther grimaced. "That would explain all this negative energy we're reacting to. It's the dimension of death for Bakugan who are sentenced here."

"Yeah, I remember hearing about it." Shuji looked around warily. "From back in the day when Naga came and decided to cause trouble for Earth and Vestroia. I didn't get it till later on, but this…"

Maggie swiveled around. "So then, that trap we set foot in…that was for this place?"

"Yes, it would seem so." Esther figured. "Like Atchibee said, the Doom Dimension is a place where neither Bakugan nor man can escape conventionally. There's usually only one way in, and no way out. I've heard about the Brawlers being here at some point as well, but right now, it seems we're on our own."

"That seems to be a reoccurring habit for us." Shawn grimaced. "But of all the times…damnit, how did we not see this coming? And all the signs were right there the whole time!"

"Let's all calm down." Jase insisted. Shawn and everyone did just that and turned towards him. "There's no reason we should exhaust ourselves so hastily. Remember where we are. Our resources are extremely bare."

Shuji glanced away. "Yeah, we know." He narrowed at the sharp peaks afar. "But still…if what Esther said was true, then how the hell do we get out of…this hell?"

Luke was eerily silent. He was too busy looking out before him with an epiphany of shock and deep confliction. 'The Doom Dimension…' Unsettling memories were bubbling back up, specifically a short time ago back on a certain planet.

Luka and Abis looked on with horror as their worn out minds were gazing into purple and black voids being drawn into the center like a portal. Looking at it, it brought an unfavorable resemblance.

"Wait…that wormhole…!"

Riaan smirked. "You recall when I sent you and everyone to New Vestroia? Perhaps this time you will learn to be more careful to know where you stand. You and everybody else will be drawn here…to the Doom Dimension!"

The memory was something Luke and Abis can't easily forget. The two looked at each other knowing the very nature of where this was coming from. And yet, it still clung to them like parasites.

'So this is the place that we were kept away from. We would've been here sooner if Luka and Brontes hadn't…' He looked down with grief. 'But still…we somehow ended up here. In the place that they saved us from…'

Esther noticed Luke's perplexed stare out into the norm. She had a good idea of what was on his mind. "Luke."

He stopped his momentary delusion and looked back at her. "Huh?"

"It'll be okay. It's not your fault. Besides, we can't fret on what happened. We have to deal with what's happening right now."

Luke looked down to gather his bearings. "…yeah, I know." He looked back up. "Okay then. Let's settle on what we have to do now."

"For starters, we need to figure out just how that device worked that was able to transport us spontaneously." Jase proposed. "It would mean that someone has a connection here that we weren't aware of."

BOOM!

Everyone turned and flinched at the flash in the sky. They all looked up in deep surprise at what made their heart raced so suddenly.

"What was that? Lightning?" Shawn piqued.

High above the Doom Dimension skies, the hazy hue of the atmosphere was quiet. There was one flash of lightning, and then another. Followed by another. A stray bolt crackled through the air and thundered loudly across the dimension's range. The roaring of the thunder above didn't seem to settle.

"Looks like a storm is happening."

"Lightning happens when positive and negative ions in the atmosphere clash together." Jase deduced. "The fact that the Doom Dimension is supposed to be a realm with only negative energy means there has to be a disruption here."

"Yes, and I believe that might actually be a benefit to us." Atmos deduced. "Because if there's a disruption, there's a source."

"Then if we find that source…" Jelldon trailed off.

"It'll lead us back to where we came from." Fly Beetle finished. "Heh, or maybe…something like that."

"I'll take that bet." Shuji aforementioned, looking around skeptically. "We need to find a way back, and fast. The longer we stay here, the faster our worlds suffer because of it."

Once again, an uneasy dread beamed down upon everyone. They all stood perfectly still at this ominous potency. They couldn't help but feel a skip in their heartbeats.

'This presence…' Jase frowned. 'There's a shift in the air just now.'

'My skin is crawling all over.' Maggie furrowed her brow. 'It's like…I can't even move.'

Shawn glared. 'Something's not right. The lightning stopped, but thunder is still roaring…where's the change coming from?'

Shuji remained completely still, keeping an eye out with Fly Beetle in case they saw anything suspicious moving around.

"Anybody else feeling that?" Shawn started.

"Yes, I do." Esther paused. "I feel…like we're being watched."

"I have a feeling we're not alone here, guys…" Jelldon trailed off.

"Stay alert." Atmos warned.

They all kept a wary disposition while thunder boomed across the atmosphere of the Doom Dimension. Luke looked straight up to fin the lightning gone, but the change in pressure sunk deep. He frowned heavily with discontent. He's had this feeling before. He knows something's out there. He could feel it in his bones. Whatever it was…he could feel it breathing down his neck like a ghost. It was waiting for them. Haunting them.

Abis looked up at Luke. "I'm getting a really bad feeling about this…" He lifted his head a little higher. His voice trailed off as his ball form's small mouth hung open.

"What is it?" Luke noticed his partner's expression. Even in this form, he could tell it was shock. All the hairs across his body prickled as a growing thunder roamed above. His eyes slowly widened at what his instincts told him to do.

BOOM!

A gigantic lightning bolt crashed down in the crags nearby. Luke and everyone froze in place as their Bakugan gazed upwards. Flashes pulsed their hearts. Each flash was long and casted the crag's shadow right over them. The flashes had bizarre shapes lined up, too.

Another flash, one brighter, showed them closer to be human shaped. They receded then, but they all got the notion and feared for the worst. Very slowly, they all turned around with wide eyes…and what they saw, was something that left them so stunned they could've sworn they saw death itself.

On the cliff above, one more flash of lightning showed six silhouettes looking down at them. The middle one especially had a dreary cape that was tattered at the ends, with an equally demonic hood concealing the face. Yet, the shadows within the lightning showed demonic, bloodthirsty eyes that beamed down on them, like they were looking deadest on their souls.

Luke stared eye-to-eye in the lightning's shadow. His spine crawled at the sickening gaze the figure gave him. But those eyes – those damned hate-filled eyes – were preaching him like he knew what was going on.

"It…can't be…you?" His voice was so low it was almost inaudible.

The figment's stare didn't waver. In fact, it only sharpened. Another lightning strike across the sky, briefly showed the other five at his side. And they all had a domineering glare full of vengeance that followed his lead.

"Are those…?" Jelldon stopped. He couldn't finish.

"No way…" Maggie felt her breath hitch.

"What are they doing here?" Shawn grimaced.

"…" Esther glared daggers back. She could feel an extremely menacing energy that shook the air around them. Despite there being no winds, a blood chill screamed through them all like an infectious aura.

Luke and Abis stared up in shock and awe at the demonic-looking shadow beaming down on them. He couldn't believe whom it was. "…Maximus?"

The cascaded shadow's face distorted, showing sizeable canines as a wicked smile gaped the space of the hood. "Did you miss me?"

Another lightning bolt flashed, flickering his visage from shadows to showing his pale, grizzly face. The message was all too clear to them.

Rogue Zero was back…

---

Once again guys, under the wire, but I managed my one week the best that I could in getting this chapter done as fast as possible! It's been a long time coming, and I know 2 buildup chapters may have been overkill, but I think this will be the ultimate payoff, because now, after their 21 chapters of absence, Rogue Zero is finally back! And boy does their entrance make a chill run down your spine or what?! Not only that, but of all places to return, it's in the Doom Dimension! That's right people, it happened in the original show in season 1, it happened in Mechtanium Surge…now to keep the trend solid with one more epic battle in the Doom Dimension!

I can't tell you how pumped I am to go at these next couple of chapters guys, really…But, before you all leap out of your seats with shock and admiration, I'll have to jump ship to my other fanfics for a while. I've been running this train for several chapters in a row now and the tracks need to be repaired. I need some time to plan out these multiple fights happening these next several chapters. I know you guys understand. But I promise that I won't disappoint!

So as always, reviews are VERY much appreciated! Please follow and continue the support as much as you can. I appreciate you all for reading this fanfic. So, until next time! See you in the epic Doom Dimension clash! XD