The constant clanging of hammer and metal rattled through the hull of the Trailer. It went in repetition for what felt like a while now. The same could be said as fingers danced across a holographic keyboard, running diagnostics with many signals ringing at once. Anyone would've gone crazy if they were hearing this all day, but Shawn and Jase were doing their parts so well that it didn't bother them.

"Screwdriver." Shawn reached his hand out over his head, where Verias – in ball form – pushed the screwdriver towards Shawn. He grabbed it and turned a screw tightly to make the two metal plates meet each other.

When the two plates met, another green icon appeared in place of a red one. Jase reached for his Bakumeter to communicate. "Very good, Shawn. That should cover that part of the ventilation."

"Got it. Guess we'll move onto the next one." Shawn replied. Both got off the signal and resumed their works.

Hanging out on the lower deck, everyone was still hanging around, going through the small amount of rations they still had left. "Man, these guys sure are taking their sweet time." Zenet chimed, dropping a load of grapes into her mouth. "Deesh hins oh hoods are good." She mumbled with her mouthful.

"Please, Zenet, don't talk with your mouth full." Lena pleaded. She turned towards Ren. "And these Earth foods are called…'grapes', correct?"

Ren nodded. "That's right. Guess the food we have on Gundalia isn't around. Then again, we weren't built based on nature, so it makes sense that the plants are mostly based on Earth foods. I've heard that they even make new foods out of the natural ones that they grow. For example, did you know you can turn grapes into a sugary paste called jelly?"

Zenet swallowed her food and looked at Ren in astonishment. "Get out of here, is that even possible?"

Gus smirked. "I'm as amazed as you. Earthlings invented some unusual ways to even drink through these materials called straws."

Keegan looked at them all with an uneased look. "These guys seriously that invested in something so simple…?"

"Well I don't know about you, but if jelly tastes like these grapes, then I wanna try." She turned towards Maggie. "Hey, you carry that stuff around here?"

Maggie put her hands to her hips and gave Zenet a crude glare. "Does this look like room service to you? And for the record, the jelly is off limits. It's for the Bakugan."

"Really? Bummer."

Lena turned to her while prodding her glasses. "Pardon me, but last I recall, Bakugan do not require food or nutrients to survive. So why would you, um…?"

Maggie winked. "…it's a personal gesture. Don't look into it much~."

The small group turned towards each other and shared blank and confused looks.

"Your Highness, are you well?" Rafe asked diligently to Fabia. She was currently sitting down on a chair, having an ice pack over her bandaged wound.

The Neathian Queen managed a weak but fair smile. "Yes, I'm fine, Rafe. Thank you for your concerns."

"You still shouldn't be moving around so recklessly. Your wound just might end up reopening again." Linus instructed. "You should take it easy as well, at least until we get there."

Fabia humbly smiled at him. "I know, Linus…but until this is all over, Aranaut and I will have to give it all we've got. I'm counting on you guys."

"Yes, Your Highness." Rafe bowed, as did Linus. "We'll do our best for you."

The last red bar on Jase's diagnostics finally went green. He finished proceeding with tapping the keyboards and ensured everything was online and functional. "It's done."

Luke turned towards him. "Already? Great work, guys."

The doors behind them slid open, revealing Shawn as he stepped through with a dirtied white cloth on his shoulder. "That should cover the last of it. We should be good for long-term flight by this point."

"Great work, everyone!" Maggie chirped. "Thanks to you guys, getting there should be a piece of cake."

"Yes." Esther replied. "But it's getting late, and a long day of travel has taken a toll on everyone." She looked down at the lower deck. "Mira. Are you able to get a pinpoint on the Empyrean's location?"

Mira was currently looking through the holographic projection table, seeing the topography map and Riaan's negative energy grid overlapping the other. The results were nothing to scoff at a magenta large mass that looked like a hurricane along the seas.

"Yes, at least for the most part. It looks like Riaan is trying to use some kind of camouflaging method to conceal the precise location of the Empyrean. But thanks to the coordinates and tracing his energy signatures, we're finding him around the epicenter of what looks like this huge mass off the coast. There's no question. He can't hide from us."

"That's right. And the next time we see him, we'll make him history." Dan declared,

"Then it's settled. Tomorrow will be it. There will be no turning back." Shun declared. "We'll have to mentally prepare ourselves. With it also being late, using the darkness as cover wouldn't matter." He stopped to think about the last time he tried that. The fault ended up being put on them instead. 'We won't make the same mistake again. He'll be expecting us from the very start. Going in alone like before would be suicide.'

"This should also give everyone some ample time to rest up." Spectra chimed. "Now, it's close to sundown, shall we resume our work, dear sister?"

Mira nodded. "Yes, Keith."

"In the B.I.F, soldiers are normally given 24 hours to do as they please before departure." Jase explained. "We'll only allow everyone 12 hours here, given circumstantial means. We'll set up at sunrise. That's ample time for everyone, yes?"

"Roger that, Jase." Maggie beamed.

"Works for me." Shuji said.

Luke stepped forward. "Everyone's probably gonna need to wash up one more time. Abis and I can use the freshwater from the sea one more time if needed."

"I'm sure everyone would appreciate that, Luke. Thank you both." Esther commended.

"We won't take long." Abis commented.

Dan nodded from below. "Well then, guess that settles it. We better prepare ourselves for tomorrow then, huh Drago?"

"Yes. This may very well be our toughest challenge yet…"

With that last comment, the Trailer's gang went their separate ways. They all took their leaves to their respective activities with either the thoughts of tomorrow being their last, and only shot…or resolving what they must do for themselves.

The ocean wave slid into the alcove's sandy shores, the sunset sitting just right to signal dusk along the dark skies rolling in from the other side of the world. As sunlight was beaming beyond the cliffs that bordered the alcove, Shuji stood there, watching the waves roll up to his feet and then back into the sea.

It was hard to say how long he's been looking out, but given by the way the sun was positioned a little higher than it was now, it had to have been some time. He stared at the water blankly, seemingly lost in his thoughts with his hands clutched. He was so focused that he looked like a statue.

"You look like you're thinking about something."

Shuji heard the familiar voice and looked back towards the small beach inlet. Standing a short distance away, Shawn rested his hand on his sheathed rapier as he looked at Shuji's serious face with his own.

He calmly looked back at the seas, keeping hos fists clutched. "Heh, yeah. Guess you can put it that way."

Shawn slowly walked up to his side. "A lot's going on that it's hard to accept at first. We're so close, yet it feels so far."

"Yeah…" Shuji paused to think about what he wanted to say. "Hey, Shawn?"

He craned his head. "Yeah?"

"What have you thought about? Let's say we do end up winning this whole thing, what are you gonna do after?"

Shawn pieced it together. "I see…" He looked back at the sea and placed both hands to his hips. "Yeah, come to think of it, I haven't thought much about it. I think we've been so focused on the present that the future still seems so far away."

"Heh…yeah."

"Anyways, to answer your question, Shuji, I haven't really thought about it." He looked up towards the incoming dusk sky. "But you know, I've been thinking. Luke doesn't want to inherit his father's engineering industry. He's not really the type to sit down and think about tough schematics like that. He just goes with the flow…I think maybe I'll study under Cale for a short while with that craftsmanship, maybe take it with me to places."

Shuji looked back at Shawn in earnest shock. "You don't say?"

Shawn kept his gaze resolute. "Yeah. If Interacia can be saved in some way, then I think I wanna be here to help others with that skill. And Neathia and Gundalia will need help repairing themselves after the destruction caused. Someone needs to help rebuild, and Verias and I wouldn't have anything better to do. Plus, maybe a little bit of chrome buildings will brighten up Gundalia and Earth."

"That's a pretty selfless thing to do. Then again, that's you."

"Eve and Riaan tried making a legacy. If you really want to make a legacy for you to be remembered by, then you need to do it through your actions in earnest. Riaan did just that, and I think you understand, too. To put it all on the line for what you believe in."

Shuji looked back at the seas with an epiphany. He paused for a moment before he also had his hands to his hips. "Heh, yeah, guess you have a point. You've always been handy with tools and helping others." He changed the subject. "Hey man, listen. Thank you for being supportive out of all of us…you're a good man, don't ever forget that."

Shawn smirked impishly. "C'mon, you're gonna make me blush coming from someone like you, Shuji." He paused. "But you know, you've grown, too." Shawn looked out, with a raised brow. "…you know, there'll be some hefty equipment when I'm going around the planets and rebuilding. If you're looking for something to do, I'm sure you and Fly Beetle can help level down disaster areas. It would help build new foundations for everyone."

"You sure drive a hard bargain. Heh…guess it wouldn't hurt to try. Fly Beetle and I will think about it, but it beats going back to our old lives."

"Yeah, the Brawlers' old Bakugan are on New Vestroia, and Runo moved on…I think I wanna keep Verias by my side and set an example what a lifetime of partnership looks like."

Shuji humbly snickered s he crossed his arms. "Hmph, you sound just like a guru. You and that ape really do belong together."

"Same with you and Fly Beetle." Shawn grinned warmly at the sea. "And I'm sure everyone's thinking the exact same as we are."

The two went quiet as they stared out at the fading sunset, the waves barely crashing against their heels.

Maggie made her way down to the lower deck, turning the stairs towards the kitchen area beyond the stools and tables. Feeling a need to quench her thirsts for some fresh apple juice, she was going to head to the refrigerator when she noticed a familiar person sitting alone at a table.

Jase was leaning into the table, holding a small glass flask of what looked like adult beverage. He had a small sip, and then calmly put it down with a sigh.

Maggie walked up to his back, honestly shocked at the sight. "Jase…are you drinking?"

Jase slowly turned his head around and calmly answered. "I would have preferred a more proper bar, but beggars can't be choosers."

"I thought something was up with that weird bottle in the back." Maggie let out a small sigh as she went up to Jase's side, taking the seat to his left side.

"Weren't you going to spend your last few hours with Esther? I would have figured you'd want some girl time."

"I wanted to give Esther and Luke some time." She admitted.

Jase faced the table. "Hmm…that's so noble of you that it seems cruel."

Maggie looked down at the table. "Yeah, maybe…but she promised me we'll hang out later. That's fine." She paused. "So, Jase. What are you going to be doing when this is all over? Have you been giving it any thoughts?"

"I am technically a veteran now. I have enough within my savings to hold me over until I find an amicable militaristic position elsewhere." He paused. "But…"

Maggie blinked. "But…?"

Maggie frowned and used two fingers to push his glasses up. "…I've been thinking about creating programs to spread the technological influences between our worlds. To share what knowledge we all have kept from us to help us better grow and understand one another. After this catastrophe passes over, Atmos and I would like to help rebuild the broken worlds with the shared technology each one has."

Maggie's eyes widened. The idea of hover cars on Earth sounded like a dream come true. She beamed with pride and a wide smile. "Well I say that's a great plan. It'd definitely make a lot of people happy."

"Yes…and what about you, Maggie? It seems to me that you're onto your own ulterior motive."

"So you've noticed, huh?" The little girl looked down, her face falling serious. "I've been giving it a lot of thought…all my life, everyone's been taking such good care of me, at the risk of their own health. So many people got hurt in the process."

Jase remained silent. He thought about when he kept Luke's injury from the others.

"Everyone suffered so much that none should have gone through. My mom, you guys, all those people who died…" She trailed off, thinking back to what she saw in Fabia earlier.

"No buts, young lady. Doctor's orders. Just relax for now."

Fabia humbly smiled in defeat. "…I guess if you of all people say so, Maggie. I guess I don't have a choice." She turned around and clutched where her wound was. "Sorry for burdening you like this. But Maggie…"

Maggie went silent. She saw Fabia glance over, smiling sincerely at her. Her eyes widened at the sight.

"…thank you, for taking care of me. I'm in your guys' care."

Her fists balled tighter with every second. "When I was helping Fabia and Elright…it's like I actually learned what it's like to care for another life. That's how my mom felt, and she fell sick because of that." She grew resolute. "So that's why I've decided. I'm going to study to become a traveling nurse!"

"I see, that's a rather tall order for someone so young as you."

Maggie stood up and put her foot down in pride. "Yeah, I know. But just as you have Atmos, I have Jelldon. He can help beat up the bad guys, and I can heal the injured. I wanna travel between all these worlds and help tend to those who need help. I wanna study up on all the Vestal and Gundalian medicine too. It's like you said, using different technologies can benefit a lot of lives, and I wanna save as many lives who were hurt by Riaan and natural disasters possible. That goes for the Interacians, too. So Jase, I'm counting on you to make your goal happen as soon as I start hitting those books!"

Jase humbly smiled. "Very well, you better study up then, Nurse Deering. Children learn the best at your age." He held up his glass. "Now, you should probably put on some pajamas. It's getting late, and children your age need their rest if they want to grow up for the working world."

Maggie flinched. "You're gonna keep drinking until that whole thing's gone, aren't you?"

"This is grown-up time now. Time for children to put their toys away and shut-eye."

Maggie gave a deadpan expression. "Booo. Meanie."

Night had gradually fallen as the dusk skies had turned to night. The skies overhead were painted over by what seemed to be a large, bright moon with numerous other planets around. It looked more like something an astronomy observatory if anything. A black night sky, filled with twinkling stars and cosmic stardust, overtook the world.

"Weeee!" Jelldon somersaulted in ball form and popped open just as he was diving into the large jelly container. The sticky, sugary blob was like a trampoline that made him bounce up once before falling back in.

"Nice, Jelldon!" Verias beamed. "Alright, my turn!"

"And I guess I call dibs after you guys!" Fly Beetle chimed.

Atchibee turned towards Atmos. "Atmos, why don't you participate?"

"Yeah, one more for the road!" Jelldon chimed.

Atmos sighed. "As much fun as it is, I'd rather not smell like grape jelly at this time." He turned when Abis was right there.

"C'mon. If you don't Fly Beetle and I are gonna drag you in ourselves." He chimed.

Atmos sighed. He knew it was inevitable. "I supposed it was inevitable-!" He was suddenly pulled by Fly Beetle's ball form over, abruptly alarming him. "Excuse me!"

"Verias, move over! We've got a stubborn one who needs a freebie jelly dunking!" Fly Beetle chimed.

Watching from afar, Zenet was sitting with her fellow Gundalians, looking at the awkward sight. "Huh…I guess that answers my question about the jelly. Talk about freaky."

As Jelldon, Verias, and Fly Beetle ganged up on a flustered Atmos, the falcon in ball form was completely overwhelmed and brought to the tip of the jelly container. Meanwhile, Atchibee and Abis turned towards each other.

"It's getting rather late. Perhaps it's best that we see to Esther and Luke to see if they're okay."

Abis remained quiet as he looked out the window, watching the night sky. He was so engrossed with the scenery that he and Atchibee complete missed Atmos' head dive and buried into the jelly, forcing Jelldon and Fly Beetle to dig him out.

"…I think we should give them just a little while longer. They deserve that much with each other."

"I think you might be right, Abis."

With the Trailer on Observatory Mode, it sat a little higher than what it normally died, giving Luke and Esther a clear view of the night sky and the ocean waters. The sky looked so close that it seemed to be within arm's reach. The crashing waves were far below them that they were almost within a rhythm of its own. It was oddly soothing.

Luke leaned back as he watched on the very top of the Trailer. Esther was standing behind him, watching the night sky with him. There wasn't any awkward feeling around them at this time. It felt…comfy.

'Tomorrow's it, the final battle.' Luke realized. He looked out at the open waters. 'I wonder how it'll turn out…?'

"It's a beautiful night." Esther said calmly.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Luke glanced up at the night sky. "Yeah, it is."

Esther walked up towards Luke's side, gently sitting herself down with him. She hugged her knees as she stargazed alongside him. "Do you remember the first night we met?"

"How can I forget? That's when we were on New Vestroia. That's the first time I've ever met you and Abis." He gazed merrily. "It's strange. The sky reminds me of home, but at the same time New Vestroia. It's a perfect blend, yet it feels anything but. It's strange."

Esther glanced at him. "You're the strange one."

He snickered. "Yeah, guess you're right. But you know, it's hard to imagine. Back on that night, we were just a bunch of newbies. It's hard to believe we've come this far. I hardly recognize myself."

"Everyone probably would agree with you. Compared to before, it's like we've become something different."

"Yeah, something we all aren't going back to." He turned towards Esther. "Hey, Esther. What are you going to do? You know, after this is all over?"

Esther looked down at her knees. "I haven't decided. It'd probably do some good to maybe write about everything we've been through. If everyone heard of Riaan's tale, then even after his defeat, the many lives will be scarred with a painful truth they will have to live with for the rest of their lives." She hugged her knees tighter as she turned further towards Luke. "But they should also know, about the tales of those who were willing to accept those faults, and did everything in their power to rise to the challenge."

Luke turned towards her. "Keeping records and writing about our adventures huh? That's great. Bet it would make a heck of a seller." He looked down at his knees. "As for me…I've been wondering that same question. What do I wanna do with my life? I haven't really considered until recently…"

Esther didn't have much to counter how Luke felt. She knew what he meant, and she couldn't blame him for that. He was so occupied with trying to live his life to the fullest that what awaited beyond what their end goal was…and that's where the brakes hit. After facing and defeating Riaan, then what? It won't completely repair the damage he's done; not just physically, but also mentally. She knew very well of that personal experience of pain, and knowing Riaan's pain. She only thought about this as of recently, and it wasn't very easy to make. She had to put a lot of thought into it. Even so, up to now, their tales would still be finite. It was something that may take a few years to do, or maybe a decade at most. But she also understood Luke's position. He wasn't too hands-on with anything in particular.

"It's really strange, just like you said. I don't regret what's happened, I can accept it just fine. I'm sure the others might have figured that part out for themselves. I want to help people, that much I know. And I will for the rest of my life. But Abis and I just aren't very sure how to do that?"

"…Luke."

Luke turned towards her. "Yeah?"

"You saved that boy, didn't you? You gave him a hope before when you and Alice defended him from Cyrus. You protected him with your actions and self-imposed justice. I think that's the kind of person that you were meant to be. To instill life into those who lost their way. To keep pushing forward, good or bad."

Luke looked ahead, half-grinning at her testimony. "Yeah…I guess in a way, I'm making Luka's life mean something. He helped us at our lowest times at the risk of his own life…I think it's fair we lead an exam-!"

He was stopped when Esther's finger pressed against his lips. His eyes widened as her finger gradually returned to her as she smiled at Luke.

"You're doing just fine the way you are now. I should know, I've been watching you, every step of the way…and I'm going to keep watching you."

Luke looked towards her. "Esther…"

She closed her eyes, humbly smiling. "Tomorrow…and the day after…and the day after that…whatever you do next, I'll be there by your side to watch it happen. But I know that you'll do your best to make do with what you have. I know you won't ever take anything for granted again. You learn from your mistakes…and because of that example, you are living proof that humanity and interstellar species can have our own future. The battle may never end, yes…but we can still live and put up with it together."

"Esther…" He paused to gaze at her. After a moment, he shifted as he looked into her directly. His heart was gradually racing with each second. "Esther…I…"

"Hm? What is it, Luke?"

Luke thought about what he was going to say next. He wanted to say what was on his mind, but after seeing Esther way she was, how could he? His face softened as he turned back ahead and smiled humbly. "Nothing. It's just…thanks."

"For what?"

"For everything. For being my friend. It's strange. Even though my heart's racing…I'm not nervous. I'm really happy right now. In fact, this is probably the happiest I've ever been. I have actual friends…and Abis…and you…I can actually think for myself because of everyone here. We've been on a really insane adventure…I kinda wish this moment could last a little while longer…" He looked up at the sky. "But this is just fine. I'm happy like this."

Esther smiled warmly. "Luke…"

Luke turned towards her. "Esther…do you think you can sing that song one more time?"

"…of course." She stood up, concentrating to clear her throat. She closed her eyes and took in a sharp breath to begin her hymns.

And there you stand,

So brave and with a guiding hand.

It was there when,

You stood and declared like a valiant man.

Spectra was typing away on the scopes when he looked over his shoulder to see Mira, Gus, and Keegan all sleeping against the wall. They all looked tired, but at the same time, strangely content. He smiled softly as he turned towards Helios, and then resumed his work.

There you laid in your sleep,

Dreaming of a future so deep.

With one eye open,

You begin to see the lives around reopen.

The Neathians and Gundalians were grouped together, having this huge talk with Jesse speaking some kind of poetic theme, much to Plitheon's ire and everyone's chagrin. Fabia couldn't help but laugh.

It was but a yesterday,

When we were in such dark and woe.

We had but one way,

And that was to never say no.

Shuji and Shawn stood by the alcove, watching the stars just like Maggie and Jase were in their rooms.

But then you opened our eyes,

With your talks of new dreams.

We search for the skies,

And there we saw the light of a new dawn.

The Bakugan surrounding the jelly laughed and enjoyed as they all took one big dive together, jumping into the goopy grape jelly for a free-for-all.

The black that was but the past,

It went by so fast.

We race towards the new dawn,

Forever moving to a future so vast.

With her wholesome song finished, Esther turned towards Luke and smiled. The man reciprocated with a soft smile of his own.

"Thanks, your songs always know where to hit, don't they?"

"Yes, they most certainly do." She reached down, helping Luke to his feet. He generously accepted and both stood up. "C'mon, we better rest up. We'll need our strength."

Luke nodded. "Yeah, you're right." With one last look at the ocean and dark sky coming together, he followed Esther inside.

The Empyrean was shrouded by the bright night sky, seeing the black sky with stardust twinkling high overhead and planets like they were glowing in the dark. The air between him and his beloved master has been subtle for some time now. With another thin webbing of the Empyrean's network traveling into them, they could feel the energy of the 5 worlds once more formulating into one. One wished they were happy, but the air was not only cold, but it was dead serious at that.

A short but very meaningful silence built up to Riaan eventually breaking silence between them. "You feel that, don't you?"

"Yes, I most certainly do, Master." Armagedoid said, his tone as stern and serious as his master's. "The energy I feel coming from Interacia, is drawing within ourselves. The ground, the seas, the air…I can feel it all flourishing with life."

"This is my life force, Armagedoid. The five worlds that we have cultivated ourselves on are about to crumble away. Soon…very soon…we shall have the new beginning. Then, after that…I can go in peace. Everything that happens after that point, I will not pry further. The damage that has been done will stain those dimensions for millions of years. Armagedoid, once more, I sincerely apologize for making you feel responsible for this path you are on."

"I understand, Master." The Bakugan reciprocated. "But…knowing the truth sooner than later, it feels…liberating. I have chosen this for myself as well as you. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

Riaan humbly smiled at his Bakugan's words. "How you've matured, Armagedoid. I have to ask, have you given it any thought of what you intend for when the time comes?"

Armagedoid went quiet as he thought about what he wanted. It took him several moments to really think about it. "…I would much rather think about what I can do now, Master. As you said, these enemies are fighting for their worlds as well as we are for this one. But…I want to win. I want to see the very planet that I was born on have meaning instead of crumble away. I want to protect it, just like you."

Riaan stared down at his Bakugan, having a moment to collect on his thoughts. Several moments for him went by as he looked up to the starry sky. "…is that so? Heh, then let's make our dreams last. In less than a day, all the energy from the infected worlds will be transferred over, then that will be the end." His glare hardened. "But until then, we have a battle that must still be fought. We will not allow the true legacy we have set up be in vain without a fair fight to the death."

"Just as our enemies have accepted." Armagedoid realized.

Another thin magenta wave went up through the Empyrean Alpha's top, causing them to feel a large flux of energy. Far below, there was the collective cries of something that barely reached their ears.

"It seems that Hades Pillars' new Bakugan are starting to stir down below." Riaan chimed. "It's going to get rather noisy…"

…

Far below, within the Empyrean Alpha's domain, what looked like a white chamber had six, large canisters in them. In the center of them was what looked like the glowing orb that Cyrus had on him earlier to concentrate the negative energy. Six lines evenly distributes energy through the floor from it, while dozens of purple lightning bolts raced from it into telecoils that conducted the bolts on the roofing of the canisters, which all had magenta lights inside of them with six masses taking shapes and snarling.

Manning the operation from behind a bulletproof glass wall, Galilea was intensely focusing on maintaining the modulation controls set in front of her. She frowned heavily as she knew she couldn't take her eyes off the screens. For she knew that behind her awaited a dagger with her name on it, held by the man who stole her position by being something that she couldn't be.

Zion stood with a grizzly glare, his one eye searing a dreadful seriousness into the back of Galilea's head. "Just like that. Make sure every last drop of that is leveled evenly amongst us. Even you." He wasn't dumb. He was very much aware of his actions and what it meant for Galilea. He wasn't one for psychology, but according to what Cyrus implies, those who are suppressed will bite back from time to time. He knew Galilea was broken by the early blow, especially her hair, but it's not like he was going to go easy on her neither. "Until they have taken form, you will not get any sustenance. Is that clear?"

With a slow nod, Galilea responded. "Yes." She spoke, her tone completely robotic and hollow. She resumed the modulation process as all the containers kept a steady, even fusion of cells.

Watching meters away, Cyrus didn't bother looking at the distressed Galilea's forced labor. He was more focused on the containers that were taking inconstant shifts on limbs and outlines. He honestly couldn't wait for his marvelous creations to come before them. He could already feel their power from here.

"I've been there, and at this point I'm through. You can talk about fear as much as you want, but that won't stop me. It may what got Maximus, but it won't work on me anymore." He held up his sword, glaring intensely without hesitation. "So Cyrus, if you wanna keep talking so much about why fearing you is so important, why don't you show us instead of running your mouth?"

Those words stung Cyrus harder than they ever did before. As much as he wanted to believe that he was right, he wasn't. He didn't give Luke's fortitude as much credit as he should have. He then thought about his energy starting to leak.

his negative spat, his body started shaking some.

"…those…those misfits! They have the…the gull to stand in the face of fear! They…they believe…so foolishly that they can tame fear…instead of killing it…kill…to be the only fear! The one…that can suppress all…to keep them drowning, and feeding…" Gradually, the bandages started tearing, seeping out the misty dark purple mass again. Cyrus didn't stop. "I…cannot allow those disgusting…Earthling…to prove this matter wrong…gngh! Must…make them suffer…until they perish! Perish~!"

Even though he was all patched up, Cyrus boiled with a fury he was starting to lose control of. His eyes lit up with a broiling fury. 'I have misunderstood the fortitude that our enemies have taken possession of. But make no mistake…it won't ever happen again. This time…' The bolts intensified, causing the output to steadily increase towards its maximum limits. 'They will drown…drown the fear of what monsters that can never be cured of their hearts, no matter how hard they try.'

The magenta orb intensified its glow, transmitting the energy output as the conduction finally showed the results of six silhouettes taking various, solid forms. Each canister was vastly different, with what looked like bulky figures, to slim, but they all had dense and accented features with matching magenta eyes.

As Cyrus glared, his canister's silhouette opened his magenta eyes, letting out another earsplitting shriek that boomed throughout the chamber walls.

The ocean waves continued swaying in and out of the alcove, crashing along the rocky cliffs far below. The Trailer was quiet under the night sky, with everyone resting and sharing blankets with one another. The floor was a little hard, but they had enough pillows thanks to what the others provided. They were fast asleep, tired after a long day's worth of traveling.

Even in their respective rooms, the group was soundly asleep, all tucked away under their sheets with their Bakugan closed up on their nightstands or pillows.

At this very moment, the Trailer and everyone were having a calm, peaceful sleep. For some who fear this would be their last night of peaceful sleep again.

The night sky slowly brightened with the eastern horizon slowly rising across the ocean waters. The sky was nearly perfectly clear from where they were, signaling clear takeoff when ready. Dawn had arisen. It was time for the operation to begin.

Everyone was gathered around the lower deck of the Trailer, around the holographic projector of a 3D grid base of Interacia. Above that was a topography map that Mira and Spectra had been working on for some time now that had a magenta mass similar to a hurricane.

"I believe that we've covered up the basis for the most part. We'll depart shortly towards solid east to a straight course for the Empyrean." Jase detailed.

"Once we depart from the ground, we'll board upon the Empyrean. They'll most likely have defenses planned like they did on Vestal and Gundalia." Mira reviewed.

"In the events of foot soldiers, we'll be prepared this time." Rafe declared. "The odds are still very low, but there aren't any guarantees at this point."

"There shouldn't be anything else regarding what we know. We'll have to be at our absolute highest level of perception if we're to succeed." Jaakor said.

"Well said, sensei." Skytruss said.

"We're ready, 100%." Orbeum added.

Shun crossed his arms. "Then it seems we're all in agreement. There's no guarantee that defeating Riaan will surely diffuse our problem of our homes. Remember, this is still his proxy body."

"Yeah, I remember." Dan frowned. He remembered vividly of when he tried to tackle Riaan in fury. That last-ditch failure ended with him impaled in the shoulder. Even now, it still hurts. 'No time to act reckless. We've gotta keep our distance from this guy.'

"Our course time should take approximately 3 hours to reach at high speeds." Nurzak said. "Once we're boarded, we'll have to be ready to strike hard, strike fast, and we must not fail. If our calculations are correct, we may very well have only until sunset. After that…it'll be too late."

"Does that cover everything?" Luke asked.

"Affirmative." Ren stated. "Everyone, prepare for takeoff!"

"If I may make a suggestion." Everyone turned to see Spectra standing tall and smirking with some hidden satisfaction.

"Yes, what is it?" Fabia asked. She was still very much bandaged up, but she was at least standing on her own after a nice, long rest.

"Might I suggest an alternative to the way there. I believe it will maximize our space as well."

"You mean like our Bakugan?" Maggie asked. It's true, Jelldon was able to fly now, and he could use his Minion Deluge to manipulate everyone along the way, but it'd be too much effort when they needed all the strength they could get.

"Not quite." Spectra chimed.

Gradually, a vague shade cast over the Trailer, causing the sunlight outside to be blocked off by something large.

Dan stepped back in shock. "Woah! Did it just get dark out all of a sudden?! I thought it was still morning!"

Jase looked up. "No, it's still morning. The time didn't change at all. Something's just above us it appears."

Ace walked over to the window, being the first to gaze out at the anomaly above them. When he gazed upwards, he looked shocked. "Guys! Look up there!"

Linus glanced out the window, his shock paramount as he caught up with Ace. "W-What is that?!"

Everyone looked out the window to find something monstrously large hovering high above the treasure. Much to even the Gundalians' disbelief, it was a massive, red warship that was painted a deep red. It had cannons and yellow armored front. The size that it took up was enormous, enough to put any warship the Gundalians have made to shame. No wonder why the sun was blocked.

Zenet backpedaled in shock. "Woah! The heck! That thing's gigantic!"

Rafe's eyes widened as he recalled the large weapon. "I recognize that ship…it's the Vestal Destroyer!"

Spectra smirked. "You are correct. I believe that if we're going to battle, this time around, we should at least make a stellar entrance while we're at it."

"Amazing~!" Julie sang. "That'll be, like, totally great for the people back home, too! They'll see a grand entrance made by the alliance and everyone aboard!"

Shuji turned towards Gus. "How come you didn't tell us about this before?"

Gus humbly frowned. "There wasn't any need of it up until now. But I believe in master Spectra's words." He smirked. "It'll be fun seeing the look on Riaan's face when he sees us coming this way."

Shawn put a hand to his hip. "Gotta say, it's not half-bad. Though the paintjob could use some work."

Spectra teasingly smirked. "Perhaps I'll work on that another time, but this should cover any anti-aircraft artillery fire we may encounter. The Vestal Destroyer is lined with cannons with a sturdy hull. We'll ram the Empyrean with everything we've got."

"That just might do the trick. The Trailer wasn't redesigned for any means of combat. This should do just fine." Jase commented.

"Are you sure it's gonna be okay to just leave the Trailer behind like that?" Luke frowned. He wasn't against the idea by any means, but it felt crude to just leave it hanging. Perhaps literally.

Esther turned towards him. "It'll be fine. The Trailer has a built-in auto pilot. If we're in trouble, all Jase has to do is push a button. Isn't that right?"

"Yes, of course. I'll have the Trailer on standby so we'll have a backup in the events of a fallout." He shifted his stance. "Now then, is everyone ready?"

"Right, you bet!" Dan declared, his fist clutched.

Fabia turned towards Elright with worry. "Captain Elright, are you sure that you can do this? You're still wounded very badly."

Sitting down in a chair hunched over, Elright slowly stood up with bandages over his body. "Queen Fabia, it's nothing…" he strained. "I can still keep going. Neathia is on the line. What good would it be if I gave up now?"

Fabia frowned heavily. "…okay. But please, don't push yourself too hard. Keep your movements to a minimum. We'll help you along the way."

Luke took one more look around to see that everyone was ready. "Well, guess that settles it. We're ready."

Spectra smirked. "Very well then. I'll initiate the remote transport. Everyone sit still, it'll only be for a moment." He pressed onto his Bakumeter, initiating the signal for the Vestal Destroyer to activate.

Gradually, everyone realized that they were all fading from the feet all the way up to their heads. They all faded from the lower deck of the Trailer and onto the Vestal Destroyer.

When they all teleported together in the same place, they found themselves surrounded by a domain that seemed similar to a battlefield, though it was all white and had bright ceiling lights. The floors were clean and nearly spotless. They all stood in the center of the large room, their eyes darting around to ensure that no one was left behind.

"So this is the Vestal Destroyer's interior, huh?" Maggie chimed.

"A part of it, yes." Spectra made his way slowly towards the exit, directing them all to where the cockpit and observation deck would be. "Alright then, follow me. We'll prepare ourselves accordingly."

They all looked at each other and decided to follow him. They embarked out of the room to follow the former madman.

Outside, The Vestal Destroyer's thrusters gradually ignited, making its huge bulk ascend higher above the ground. The air roared as the thrusters were being regulated promptly. Once they were, the machine gradually made its way into the direction of the Empyrean eastward. It sailed off, flying across the ocean and away from the cliffs.

As they were leaving the ground for the final time, Luke and Shawn looked back through the window as the Trailer got farther away with each second passing by. It felt cruel in its own way, but they've done this before. Still, it was to consider their options promptly and effectively. No time to defend such a case.

Luke turned around, looking down for a moment before looking at Shawn. "Guess we better set our sights forward."

"Yeah, you're right. It's like we said, you can't move forward if we keep looking back all the time. It'll be fine." He patted Luke on the back – harshly. He stumbled some, earning a leer from him. "That's to make sure you don't get cold feet, Mr. Reckless."

"Alright, alright." Luke grunted, turning away annoyed. "Man, I know you have my back…but I'd rather not it hurt."

"Alright…" Paige rammed her fist into her palm. "Let's go kick one last Interacian butt!"

"Nowhere to hide out in the ocean. We'll find him." Rafe declared.

Spectra stood behind Gus, who was manually operating the Vestal Destroyer. "Gus, are we all set?"

"Yes, sir. The coordinates and data are all synchronized. We're on our way."

"Excellent work." He paused. "Everyone…this shall be our final destination point! To the Empyrean!"

"Right!" they all yelled.

The Vestal Destroyer made its way promptly, gliding across the Interacian skies to what lied beyond the sunset's horizon, across the crystal blue seas of time itself.

Onwards they all traveled, making their destination the only thing that should be worried about. The Vestal Destroyer was at full capacity and ready for battle, so they all had nothing to worry about. At least that's where it stans for the most part.

On the Vestal Destroyer upper deck, Spectra kept his eyes fixed on the prize while Gus piloted the huge spacecraft. The sun kept rising, eventually beaming light onto the deck that basked everyone in its warm glow.

"Man, now this is really living." Zenet chimed. "We should have jumped onto here sooner to save so much trouble."

Lena adjusted her glasses. "That's true, Zenet, but the rate that ship travels is no different from the vehicle we were in."

Zenet sulked over, sighing heavily. "Yeah, guess you're right." She straightened back up and turned towards Ren. "Hey, I just got an idea. What if we build our own spaceship when this over?"

"You really wanna push things that far, Zenet? It's still a bit early to be thinking like that." Contestir chimed.

"Not that I don't disagree with what Contestir says, but we'll have to focus on Gundalia first. The repairs will have to come first before accessories such as those." Linehalt grimaced.

"Although…" Lena prodded her finger to her glasses. "It would be nice. Perhaps we can exchange formalities with Vestal and use their debris for good use."

Baron, who was close by, heard what Lena said. "Hold up, you really mean that?" He walked up to her. "I mean Vestal is super cramped, so we don't have anywhere to put it. It would be awesome if you guys could help recycle some of that stuff."

Ren smiled. "Of course. We'd be honored if we could learn from you guys as well. I'm sure we can all move forward together."

Ace sneered. "Well, I don't know about all that, but I guess as long as everyone's going along with it, it shouldn't hurt too bad."

"I think you're all jumping the gun again, just like he said." Percival groaned.

Julie stood with her fellow Battle Brawlers, looking at them with the cameraman taking a good view of everything that the Vestal Destroyer had to offer. "Oh~, so this is the Vestal Destroyer's insides! Man did we miss out on such an opportunity the last time we've seen this thing!" She turned towards the cameraman. "Hey, make sure you're getting all of this!"

"Boy, this sure takes us back." Dan grinned. He stood besides Spectra, who kept his arms crossed and faced forward.

"Yes, I remember those days, too." He chimed.

"The last time we've been on here was when we destroyed the Alternative. Can't believe that it's been so long that it's like you never really knew how much has changed."

"You speak such truthful words, Dan. Why, it's almost like you're an entirely different person." He glanced over at him. "I supposed that this chanced meeting once more, truly means change is inevitable."

"Like what?"

Drago popped open on Dan's shoulder. "I can understand what you're saying. At the time, you were so focused on making Helios the Ultimate Bakugan, and now we're here. After Mechtavius Destroyer became history, we believed that it would be time to put down our titles for a while and have others climb to our levels. To think…" He turned towards Luke's group, specifically Daedalus Abis Omega on his shoulder. "…that they had a completely different experience that made them go further than us."

"Yeah, I know…" Dan still remembered those battled vividly. "They kicked butt, and had to fend for themselves. I almost feel sorry for them."

Spectra chuckled. "How the mighty have fallen." He looked at Luke and the others. "Perhaps this isn't a Battle Brawlers legacy, but still a legacy no less. These Bakugan they've fought are ones that have advanced weaponry and ability cards that give them unimaginable power. I say we've all learned a valuable lesson in evolution from them that we've witnessed firsthand."

"Yeah, so that's why…" Dan clutched his fist tight. "The next time we see Rian, no matter what, we won't give up. Even if it's our lives on the line."

Spectra's smirk widened. "Well said. There's the Dan Kuso fire. Good to see it's still burning."

"Yup, brighter than ever."

Mira stepped forward. "We should be there soon, shouldn't we? It won't be long now before we put that merit to the test. Riaan will throw everything he has left in our way to stall for as much time as he possibly needs."

Everyone heard her loud and clear. They knew she was right, and that they would have to be ready by any means. Gunz tightened his gloves, while Shun gripped his biceps that much harder. The Neathians present, along with Gundalians and Keegan alike, all knew what was at stake. No matter what, failure was far from any option.

With the sun still beaming through, the air roared as the spacecraft traveled through the high altitude.

BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP!

The alarms were going off for the large craft; their smooth sailing conversations finally coming to an end.

"Sir! A strong negative energy wave is dead ahead!" Gus shouted. "We're within range of the Empyrean's view!"

"Are you able to put it up on monitor?" Spectra asked.

Gus started typing into the keys, getting the projection up for everyone to see. Once the screen shined and showed the camera view from outside, everyone who was watching afar could see clearly of something in view.

Dan's eyes widened in disbelief. "What the…?!"

Julie gasped. "Hold up! That's the Empyrean?!"

Alice looked stunned. "Oh my…"

Everyone went speechless as they all gazed up at the view on the projection. To Luke and his friends, they got a striking resemblance of it with a lot of the Empyrean's designs. This one was most definitely something else.

Unlike the other Empyrean that were all connected to the ground, the giant tower didn't go down to the ocean. Instead, it was on a giant piece of land that floated above the sky It wasn't very expansive land, but only enough to give the palace tower a strong base. It appeared that there was an entrance within the giant land mound that inlet to the Empyrean's domain, which was surrounded by bright white arches in a three-story-tall dome. What amazed everyone, aside from such features, was the Empyrean's length, for it went up so high, that it seemed to be overlooking the entire atmosphere. Even in the sunlight, they could see the accents and networks on the enchanted tower shining like a star.

"Is that perhaps…but it can't be anything else…" Atmos muttered.

"Yes. That's the Empyrean, it can't be anything else." Drago estimated.

"…and we can assume well that Riaan is up there, along with Armagedoid." Esther said, her glare ever so serious.

"Check it out, it's floating in the sky!" Radizen shrieked. Beside him, Roxtor shrieked out in gibberish. "How should I know how?! Maybe he's using some kind of anti-gravitational power or some kind of forcefield keeping it from falling, I don't know."

"It must be using some dimensional gravity, just like you said." Marucho observed. "But something doesn't feel right about this. If the Empyrean is supposed to be attached to the earth, why is it so high up?"

Mira looked closer. "No, take a closer look." On her cue, Gus zoomed in on the projection's camera, specifically around the island it was based on. "That's a floating land mass it has for a base. It must have been connected to Interacia and taken with it to be used as a root."

"So like how you pluck roots and get all that dirt and rock underneath it?" Baron interpreted. "Man, that's freaky."

"Maybe, but that means he can still take the energy from Interacia and transfer it into himself." Shuji evaluated. "No wonder he's so far away. He must have figured we'd be searching all across the continents until we ran out of time."

Jase prodded his glasses. "Knowing our enemy, he probably foresaw this. It was only a matter of time."

Luke frowned heavily as he glared at the oncoming Empyrean's view. 'There it is…the final destination, between us, and what comes next. Riaan and Armagedoid are waiting for us at the top. We can't lose this time…no, we won't lose!'

…

The winds howled in the high atmosphere. From the height that the Empyrean stood, it was overlooking the entirety of the planet. One could've mistaken it for being in the stratosphere. Amazingly enough, there was plenty of oxygen that fueled the air, even from so high up. From the very pinnacle, the sky so high up was a deep blue, bordering between space and the atmosphere.

As more magenta networks integrated beneath Riaan, he sat patiently in the dead center of the bright white pinnacle's flat top. He and Armagedoid were completely calm as the air shifted with a familiar presence they felt heading their way.

"Master…they are coming." Armagedoid spoke.

Riaan's eyes were closed as he felt what his Bakugan said. Slowly, they opened. "Yes. They have come at last." He paused. "They have shown themselves at our front doorstep. I believe it's best that we answer promptly." He reached into his Bakumeter, making a one-way connection. "They have arrived. Initiate the Empyrean's exterior defense code: EXTERMINATION-001."

The Bakumeter gave off a short – beep – and a magenta energy network worked into his frame again. Riaan closed his eyes and resumed his still breathing. "Let it be known, Armagedoid we will not fall without a proper fight to the finish. This is more than just a battle for one's life."

"I understand, Master." He responded. "This…is our rectification. And we will not allow our enemy's ideals to be wasted by letting it be in vain."

"Well said, Armagedoid. Very well said."

…

The Vestal Destroyer sailed at the base altitude of the Empyrean, where it kept a straight course for the final destination. Everyone inside was starting to stir with their own sense of anxiety.

"Gus, how close are we till we get there?" Ace asked.

Gus looked at the distance between them. "At this rate, it'll only be a few more minutes until we're within contact of the Empyrean."

"It won't be much longer now…" Mira muttered.

Esther looked at the projection ahead, her eyes looking at something. "Hm? Hold on. I see something…"

Along the Empyrean, all the accents on the tower shined brightly. Magneta networks flared up at the command given earlier by Riaan. The land mass beneath the Empyrean had thick magenta cracks. The numerous arches that made up the dome had their thick walls open up. Grids that were embedded into the flat ends slid open, revealing convection energy cannon that popped out. They all elongated and locked onto the Vestal Destroyer.

Magenta energy rapidly charged at the tips, getting everyone's eyes to widen.

"Anti-aircraft defenses?" Shuji grunted.

"Should've figured he wouldn't make this easy for us." Maggie said.

"Everyone, brace yourselves!" Esther warned.

The long-range cannons charged and finally bolted blistering blast waves in the direction of the spacecraft. Energy shot wet in hundreds of thousands at them all. They rays were all small, but it compensated in sheer numbers.

The Vestal Destroyer rocked about with alarms going off. The shuddering came from the buffering of the beams attacking the hull of the ship. With how durable the Vestal Destroyer was, the laserbeams were doing very little, but they were still in gradual numbers that the repetitive long shots and aerodynamic acceleration of each blast was denting in the paintjob from the outside.

Clinking and clanging was heard loud and clear. Metal was being bombarded and the long nose of the Vestal Destroyer started exploding. The outer rims were getting sullied with clots of dust and smoke.

"We're taking heavy fire!" Shun warned.

Spectra glanced down at his protégé. "Gus."

"Right, on it!" He looked down and started typing; managing to use the fingers of his damaged arm. It stung, but he mustn't falter. "Initiating the automated defense system! Engage!"

The cannons aligned along the Vestal Destroyer got the message and turned towards the direction of the projectiles. Red lasers fired in bullet projectiles that met the long beams. Red and magenta collided in between them and the two floating monstrosities high above the deep blue ocean. It looked like an actual space battle, only it wasn't.

With the cannons along Spectra's airship allowing cover fire, the damage to the machine was kept at a minimum. Though most of it was blocked off and repelled, there was still a gracious distance carried between them that the long-range weapons had an advantage over.

"There, that should cover the distance." Gus chimed. "Now for the real fun. Time to hit them where it hurts." He started typing into the scanner yet again. "Everyone, prepare yourselves! We're about to hit the accelerate!"

The front of the Vestal Destroyer converted its energy into two bright blue points. They created two extremely large, sharp blades that aimed for the Empyrean. The thrusters on the back ignited and made the entire ship speed off towards its destination.

"Ready or not, here we come!" Spectra chimed.

The artillery fire kept erupting across the horizon, making a bright flare that was the perfect illusion for the Vestal Destroyer to use. It zoomed through the energy cloud, closing in onto the Empyrean's base. Everyone on board remained as calm as possible while they closed in on their enemy.

"Hang on tight, guys!" Dan shouted.

Inside of the meeting point for Hades Pillars, their room was completely dark as all that glowed were their attributed pillars. They illuminated with energy while a projection of the oncoming Vestal Destroyer was in sights.

Cyrus glared up at the screen, his eyes bright and deathly with a piercing glare. He was witnessing their opponents incoming for them. Little did they know, they were walking right into a trap.

"It's as you predicted so far, Lucia." Cyrus commended. "Here they come."

"Lord Cyrus, shall we initiate the EMPS?" she calculated.

"Yes…please do." He shifted his glance over towards Galilea. "Now, Galilea. I want you to activate the pulse system. It's the second phase…got it?"

Cyrus' tone was what stung Galilea more than any bee strong could. But Zion's dagger was poised for her neck if she decided to say something wrong. She slowly nodded. "Of course." She humbly tapped her Bakumeter, making clicks and sounds that got them closer to their phase.

Magnus and Amina smirked, the latter raising her head in darkened pride. "This should be fun to watch."

The Vestal Destroyer kept its course, going full speed after the Empyrean. As it did, everyone's gazes were so fixed on what lied ahead that they almost missed the little details.

"Huh?" Spectra's eye widened, picking up something.

"What is it?" Dan asked, but he looked ahead and realized where the attention was drawn. "Huh?"

The entire Empyrean shined brightly, the accents gradually gaining magenta radiance. Another network spread throughout the bottom, causing the upper rims of the arched dome wall around the base to open of eight holes that were evenly spread out. They slowly emitted eight bright blue orbs that were lustrous and crackling with plasma inside that crackled spontaneously.

The eight orbs gradually crackled, causing them all to connect into a magenta plasma ring. It crackled and flashed, until a solid ring was formed.

"What…is that?!" Helios gasped.

"I don't know, but I doubt it's friendly." Drago worried.

Cyrus glared harshly. "Launch the EMPS wave!"

The eight orbs shine, expelling an intense, omnidirectional explosion of plasma and ions. The shockwave shook the air and diffused the beams from both sides, eating its way through the atmosphere until it passed the Vestal Destroyer and kept going.

The Vestal Destroyer rumbled and shook violently with magenta static running through the systems. Everything began to shut down, even the lights were spontaneously flickering. The spacecraft was unable to maintain a solid balance until it was eventually too much. The sirens and alarms that were going off inside began distorting and slowing down, much to everyone's confusion.

"W-what's…happening?!" Gus shouted. "GAH!" He went to tap the keyboard, only for it to spark and withdraw his hand.

"Gah!" Maggie nearly fell over, but caught herself on Shuji's side. "What did they hit us with?!"

The Vestal Destroyer's momentum gradually reduced, until it finally diffused to a slow halt. The static faded into systems, making the huge blades fade back into the ship and the weapons shutting off. The lights throughout the spacecraft had turned off, forcing the emergency dim lights to activate.

As it all settled, everyone stopped seeing stars and began feeling themselves around. Those who were knocked over started standing up again, and those who were holding onto something were getting themselves situated.

Nurzak stood upright, looking around at the others. "Is everyone alright?"

"Ugh…yeah, I think so…" Zenet grumbled, shifting beneath Baron's weight. "Geez, you sure are heavy…"

"Wha-!? That's so mean!" Baron gasped.

Lena stood up with Mason, taking a look at the ceiling lights to find them off. "How strange. They unleashed some kind of weapon just now. It appears to have some gracious effects on the airship."

"Hmph! Well I wouldn't call that 'gracious', but…" Mason looked up. "Hey, are we even moving now?"

Avior floated upwards, scouting the lighting. "Looks to me that they've shut us off."

Fabia, who was supported by Linus, looked shocked. "But how is that possible?"

Shun turned his head slowly towards the front. "That pulse just now…was that an electrical disruption wave?"

Dan realized something vaguely familiar. "Wait…an electrical disruption signal? Just liked Drago's Defendtrix?" He couldn't believe he almost forgot about that device. Too bad it only worked on other Battle Suits. And singular ones at that. "Did they copy that from us and modified it…?"

"It's possible, but that doesn't matter now?" Drago informed, before floating up to the control panel. "Gus, how's the system's working?"

Gus grunted and started tapping onto the keys again. However, whenever a screen was supposed to appear, it didn't. Only shallow monitors with red boxes with warning signals appeared. It showed a grid of the Vestal Destroyer, and much of its systems offline.

"Sir! We have a serious problem! That pulse wave shut down all of our main online systems! We can't fire back!"

Spectra grunted annoyingly. "So, Riaan's making us sitting ducks, huh?" he pondered for a moment before looking back down. "Will they be able to be fixed?"

Gus typed, but even more signals were jammed. "Unfortunately, it looks like that won't be the case. The enemy is sending out a disruption wave paralyzing the Vestal Destroyer. I can't modify anything like this!"

Suddenly, a large explosion was heard, rumbling the spacecraft and everyone else again. It was collected by another eruption, then another, followed by continual barrages from the outside.

While the spacecraft's cannons were down, the Empyrean's was another story. The cannons and defense systems kept firing, dealing long-range damage on the hull and the exterior. An offline cannon barrel was struck, then another, causing them to explode and disengage.

"No! They're taking out our cannons, and we can't fight back!" Ace panicked.

Luke stood up. "Not if we can do something about it!" He turned towards his friends. "Guys, we have to take out those cannons to give us as much space as we need."

Shawn nodded. "Yeah, good idea."

Jase adjusted his glasses. "While we're at it, we should also take out or at least disable the anti-aircraft pulse wave. We'll need to most likely take them all out if we're to be sure."

Luke nodded in understanding. "Got it. Let's move!" He took the lead as they started for the doorway, hurrying for the exit to the upper hatch.

Dan turned towards the others. "Well guys, wanna give them a hand?"

"You bet!" Drago declared.

"Count us in!" Reptak stated.

Julie raised her fist with glee. "Give it all you've got, guys! We'll be here catching it on camera!" She turned towards the camera and winked. "Don't you worry, everyone! Everyone's working together to get our machines up and running! However, Riaan's anti air defenses are still kicking! Let's see how they all do, shall we?"

The outside was a one-way downpour of magenta lasers bombarding the Vestal Destroyer. A hatch on the upper deck pried open, revealing a compartment large enough for everyone to fit through and face the oncoming lasers.

Once they felt the high altitude, instantly a lot of them felt their ears pop from the air pressure. It was an aching feeling, but many of them toughed it out. Their ears rung, but they'd much rather focus on what was in front of them.

"Abis, you ready?" Luke asked his partner.

"I'm with you, Luke." Abis declared.

"Helios, time to have some fun." Spectra declared.

"This will be, once we reach the Empyrean and wipe it out from existence." Helios chastised.

Shawn stepped forward. "Listen up. Anyone who isn't able to fly, protect the ship and whatever cannons are left. The rest of us will close in and block out as much cover fire as needed. Odds are the Empyrean will just self-repair itself, so we'll need to make a window big enough to do enough damage and take out those pulse orbs."

"Understood." Shun nodded.

"Okay guys…" Dan held Drago up. "We have a plan, so let's get to it!"

Altogether, everyone threw their Bakugan at the same time. "Bakugan, brawl! Bakugan, stand!"

"Baku Sky Raider, jump!"

All at once, a large mass of lights erupted along the Vestal Destroyer. Several Bakugan like Jaakor, Skytruss, Orbeum, Drago, and Reptak all took huge leaps. The Vestal Bakugan, Gundalian, Neathian, and finally Luke's group finally emerged onto the battlefield with explosive roars.

All their partners mounted their shoulders or heads and immediately took on the charge. "Okay…time to go!" Luke shouted.

"Right!" With a shrilled roar, Abis' extremely long body slithered through the sky, making his body look almost like a flailing streamer.

"Atchibee, let's go!" Esther called out. Atchibee cried out and took off into the air.

Fly Beetle used his bottom two arms and grabbed Verias' underarms. "We've got an extra set of hands on deck, so let's do this!" The beetle declared.

"Right, thank you!" Verias said.

"Jelldon, let's take out as many as possible!"

"On it, Maggie!"

"Atmos." Without much of any words needed, Atmos whistled as he took off like a speeding bullet, making an airwaves that put Drago's speed to shame.

The Dragonoid's eyes widened in shock. "Woah, that guy really is that…okay then! Let's get going!" He flew off with Dan on his shoulder into the laser blasts.

"Let's go, Reptak!" Gunz declared. "Let's bring out Combustoid!"

"I'm with you, Gunz!"

"Okay!" Gunz tapped his Bakumeter, but when he did, nothing happened. The signal that he needed went completely off. His eyes widened. 'What? What's going on?!'

"Something else is off-!" Jaakor disappeared in time to avoid a laser that instead struck the ship's hull yet again. He reappeared closer to Reptak. "Shun! Battle Suits!"

Shun typed into his Bakumeter, only for the function to be disabled. "Wait…something's not right."

"Huh?" Marucho looked at his Bakumeter, only to realize that it was disabled. "What?! Our Bakumeters are disabled!"

"What?! You mean we can't use our robots?!" Radizen panicked. He saw an incoming laser, only to duck in fear as it passed overhead. "Now what?!"

"We can't use our Battlegear either." Ren grimaced on Linehalt's shoulder. "It must have been that pulse wave."

Linehalt flapped his wings, gliding around the beams heading his way. "So we're sitting ducks after all, huh? This might be a problem."

"Focus, everyone." Alice chided, riding on Hydranoid's main head. "We'll use whatever skillset we have at the moment. You heard what Shawn said, if you can't fly, defend the ship. We need to use what we have available."

"She's right. No time to waste then." Mason chided. "Let's go, Avior!"

"This'll be fun!" Avior stretched out his huge neck, tail, and wings, taking off into the air. Hydranoid followed as well.

They all took off sailing, while those unable to fly fended off against the lasers and cannons. Their objective was to reach the Empyrean, and take out Riaan and Armagedoid. Right now, they had to preserve whatever necessities they had left and get there in one piece. This was it!

Dan held up his Bakumeter, registering an attack. "Ability, activate! Dragon Astral!" Drago opened his maw wide, generating a flaming red-orange energy that he expelled eastward. The beam went straight ahead before separating into multiple thin comets.

All the comets met the incoming lasers, creating a destructive field in front of Drago that expanded outwards into a field of bonfires.

Laserbeams headed into Spectra and Helios' way, but neither were phased in the slightest. "Let's match firepower with our own, Helios! Ability, activate!" Spectra reached out with his glowing Bakumeter. "Deep Fire – Block A!"

The exhaust keeping Helios in the high altitude resulted in steam and smoke erupting from below. The compartments on the piece in his back opened to unleash hundreds of thin, dark purple missiles that went skywards, arching into the field of lasers. Much like Drago, a field of explosions erupted in front of him. Even more so, with the automated energy exhaust still running, even more missiles were flying out towards the Empyrean base artillery.

Some of the loose end projectiles shot direct hits into the cannons, causing explosions and for some to combust. However, even more kept firing, pushing back the missiles that kept getting too close.

"Get some!" Helios shouted through his barrage.

As he unleashed his bolting attack, Luke and Abis sped right passed him, beelining for the missiles heading their way. "Ability, activate! Depth Fire!" Abis let out an earsplitting screech as the diamonds on his sides shined brightly before expelling deep blue missiles similar to Helios' assault.

The two missile waves of blue and purple created an eruption that was so powerful that it bombarded more of the lasers coming for them. The beams that Helios missed were intercepted by Abis' attack.

"Not too shabby." Spectra smirked.

"Keep it together, here's more coming!" Luke warned.

On cue, even more beams projected at them. Abis responded in kind by opening his maw and unleashing Flood Quasar, making a dense blue beam obliterate the beam into several smaller ones. They strayed off and fizzled out in various directions, but a thin one closed in directly on Abis. Luke responded in kind by unsheathing his sword and holding up the activated energy blade, He faced forward and let out a battle cry as he bisected the beam with all his might. His battle cry got higher and louder with the more strength he pushed with it. Eventually, the beam diffused in his full swing.

Energy fire kept coming in, this time Esther and Atchibee took the initiatives. Esther twirled her spear and pointed into the fire. "Ability, activate! Black Hole!"

Atchibee hissed as he spread her wings. A large, dark portal with a gravitational pull manifested in front of her. The dozens of beams that were aiming for and around her completely changed direction and was sucked in. All the energy was drawn into it, and even more was doing just that. Meanwhile, Percival and Plitheon dashed right passed her, their respective blades ready.

"Get a load of this!" Plitheon swiped his arm, sending his Fly Slasher attack at the beams.

"And some of this!" Percival slashed his Dain Slief blade, making a bright blade slash much like Plitheon's.

The two bladed attacks simultaneously bombarded and cleaved through the assaults, gradually slicing down the mass of the beams. While Percival's was short-range, Plitheon's attack had a little more range and length, enabling him to cut into another cannon.

"Alright, nice shot!" Ace sneered.

"There's still many more cannon…look out!" Percival warned. On cue, he swept off to the side, enabling the beam to fly pass him and into Plitheon's direction. "Huh?!"

"Guys, look out!" Ace warned.

"Ability, activate! Icarus!"

A yellow barrier appeared before Plitheon, shielding him and Jesse in time as the rays became too much in a split second. The ways were all blocked off by Verias, who was supported by Fly Beetle still holding him by the underarms. Ace and Jesse looked surprised by this.

"You guys again!" Ace gasped.

"You guys alright?" Shawn asked.

Jesse, managing to recover, smirked merrily. "A last-second change in the script. You have my applause, friend." He faced forward. "Plitheon, let us make an encore, shall we! Ability, activate! Metal Verde!"

"Oh yeah, I love this one!" Plitheon crossed his arms, making the sharp metal cuffs on his wrists grow into long, sharp blades. He let out a bellow that could cause a human ear to rattle and went blazing passed Verias' shield, slicing into the oncoming beams and closed in.

Meanwhile, even more beams kept projecting at them, but Verias was on defense, making the shield for Fly Beetle, whose strong wings kept him high above as he snarled. His eyes brightened as he glared ahead. "Shuji!"

"I hear ya." He held up an ability. "Ability, activate! Horn Gaia!" Fly Beetle's horn gradually gained a large energy mass that extended into a powerful sphere that he kept under control. When it was all charged up, the atmosphere rumbled before it erupted with a violent and dense energy explosion that erupted from Fly Beetle's horn. It completely obliterated the other beams.

He arched his horn across the side, making a large, waking mass that spread across and fan into the Empyrean's arches. The giant land that it stood on erupted with an explosion that created a massive wake of its own, dispersing into a smoke cloud that faded away. When it did, the front part of the cannons and arches were destroyed. Not even debris was left.

Ace smirked. "Nice one!"

"Heh…not too shabby." Plitheon chimed.

Shawn narrowed his eyes, as did Verias. "No…it's too easy."

True to their speculations, Fly Beetle and Shuji frowned heavily as they watched synthesized lines appear on the arches. They gradually reformulated, making the stone and wall, along with the orbs and cannons. However, from what it seemed, one of the orbs was out of power.

"Wha-?! It regenerated?! You serious?!" Baron panicked.

"How can it do such a thing?" Nemus worried.

Shuji furrowed his brow. "So it's just like that Empyrean on Vestal, huh?" He remembered when he defeated Hendrix and sent him into the ocean, along with faulted debris. Shortly after did the Empyrean self-repair itself. Moreover, something seemed off that caught his and Fly Beetle's eye.

The eight orbs of plasma was now seven, something that didn't derail them from the imperative situation. 'Looks like that regeneration requires some power out of the plasma pulse after all. Maybe we need to chip at more to get it to where it can't regenerate, or the pulse system can't function again.'

With the beam cannons regenerated, they started reloading and fired back at them. "Heads up!" Shawn shouted.

"Yeah, I can see them! Here we go!" Shuji roared.

The beams continued on, hundreds of them simultaneously blasting away at them all, while many more were being dodged and heading for the Vestal Destroyer.

"Consecutive abilities…activate!" Shun shouted, striking a ninja pose. Three abilities were lined up, ready to be deployed by his Bakugan.

"Sonic Reflector!" Jaakor moved to the front of the Vestal Destroyer, creating a green forcefield that he used to protect everyone behind him. The magenta lasers struck the shield, causing him to grunt heavily.

"Full Moon – Wave Burning!" Skytruss flew high above, flapping his wings to send bright purple energy feathers.

"Supreme Flame!" Orbeum ran across the deck, his hind legs projecting shotguns that blasted bright purple projectiles at the beams.

The ninja Bakugan raced along the deck, sending their attacks to disrupt the energy beams that the others failed to get. Purple energy was on offense, while Jaakor defended the front.

"We won't fail this time around!" Skytruss declared. He ascended a little higher, dodging a straight beam before flapping down, countering with more feathers.

"You said it, bro!" Orebum fired blast beams to counter other projectiles, deflecting them across the deck.

Phosphos' Gorgon Viper fired multiple beams to deflect beams along with Reptak's Grapple Buster. Taking up the rear near the observation deck, the thinned beams were passing them into Rubanoid, who used Crimson Defense to make a strong enough guard.

"Keep up the defense! The Vestal Destroyer can't hold out this much damage for very long!" Linus shouted.

"I know that!" Rubanoid scoffed. "I could use some backup here!"

"Copy that!" Aranaut jumped up from behind.

"Oh yeah!" Radizen followed behind, along with Sabator. The three Bakugan took up arms and generated respective shields that matched their attributes. Sabator's Force Chaser reflected the beams, and Aranaut's Light Wave and Radizen's Matter Shield help up firmly to provide backup.

"Keep the support up! We need to hold out just a little while longer!" Nurzak shouted. "Our objective is to defend the Vestal Destroyer! Leave the assaults and the fortress destruction to everyone else!"

"Copy that!" Marucho shouted.

"Yes, loud and clear over here, too!" Fabia shouted. "Alright, make sure you stay back, alright?!"

"Understood, Queen Fabia!" Elright, who mounted his Raptorix, bordered a part of the Vestal Destroyer, while Boulderon and Wolfurio defended adjacent corners.

"Don't stop no matter what!" Rubanoid roared loudly.

Andro Elico's Droid Hydra made several blue beams intersect the attacks heading their way, and Keegan made sure to hang on with gritting teeth. 'This better work.'

Beams kept firing in the high altitude at everyone present. Mira, who was atop of Wilda as he used steam and constant rumbling beneath his huge legs, braced for an oncoming beam. "Ability, activate! Chest Burn!"

Two small plates appeared on either side of Wilda's pectorals to make a wide V-shape. He flexed his arms up and expelled a bright orange burning energy wave that blocked off the attack heading his way. However, even more barreled his way.

"Wilda! Incoming!"

"Somebody give me a hand here!" the Bakugan panicked. The dozens of angled beams closed in too quickly for him to react. Suddenly, dense purple projectiles exploded in their path, making a stalemate of barrages that erupted in front of Wilda. The Bakugan was saved, as well as confused. It wasn't until Mira looked up in time to realize who their savior was.

"Alice! Nice timing!"

Alice nodded. "No problem!" She looked back down at the beams, readying her focus. "Hydranoid, let's get going!"

"Right, Alice!" The hydra's wings were spread out, his Extreme Chaos Leap Sting blasting away thin beams to block of the many other projectiles. "We need something stronger!"

"Then we'll give you a hand with that one!" A voice shouted from nearby. Floating beside them, Maggie was cropped up on Jelldon's shoulder. "We'll give you backup so you can get a clear shot in!"

With no time for questions, Alice nodded. "Thank you both. Alright, let's do this!"

Maggie glared ahead, her Bakumeter shining with an ability. "Ability, activate! Thunderstorm!" Jelldon's frilled skirt beneath him unfolded into showing off all his tentacles. Plasmatic lightning crackled before he harshly grunted, projecting thousands of millions of lightning bolts that flashed across the horizon. The discharge of ions crackled and roared, meeting the laserbeams with spontaneous discharges that made a brief clearing for the others to get through.

"GET GOING! NOW!" Jelldon roared.

"Right!" Alice held up an ability. 'We need to inflict as much damage to the fortress as possible. It's vulnerable while it's recovering.' "Ability, activate! Chaos Armageddon!"

Hydranoid's three maws opened wide, as did the six tendril heads that drew in the same kind of energy. Until it reached a single concentrated point, the Bakugan snarled and unleashed his full might. With a voluminous roar that disrupted the high-altitude air flow, the hydra opened wide to expel a monstrous barrage of nine black and dark purple condensed energy beams that seared through the electrical discharge. Holes were punctured and the nine beams whistled across the airspace into the Empyrean's cannon base. Explosions went off across the rims of the large fortress, igniting the Empyrean's base with fury.

Once again, the cannonfire was minimized as the smoke clear. Energy lines synthesized into solid matter yet again, but as many of the orbs were recreated, another one went out.

"There's the window, take the shot!"

Hearing Alice's outcry, Helios sped passed her with a fury. Spectra already was set. "Ability, activate! Ragnarok Buster!"

The abdominal plating unhinged to reveal the cannon on Helios' stomach. It charged up purple energy until it was enough. "Choke on this!" Helios roared out with all his might, expelling a bright flare before dense purple energy cannon beam sped across the atmosphere, barreling into the fortress.

"Ability, activate!" Dan shouted. "Dragon Eternal Force!"

Drago's wings spread out as the undersides shined bright red. The chest diamond shined brightly with a rainbow hue as his maw charged up a cosmic fire that he finally had enough time to unleash. With all his might, Drago cried out as he expelled the blistering fire beam that sailed across the skies.

The two beams blasted across opposite arches of the fortress. They gradually ate away at the rims and erupted into spontaneous red and black explosions that lit up the base like fireworks. Orbs and cannons were shattered to oblivions through the wake. Yet at the same time, it began to synthesize yet again.

Spectra smirked. "Very impressive regeneration speed it has. In that case…" He reached out ahead. "We'll just have to keep hitting until it can't regenerate fast enough! Ability activate, Destroy Quasar!" Helios' maw opened wide as he could and expelled a blistering blast wave of dark purple and black with crackling static in it.

Jase prodded his glasses as he held onto Atmos. "In that case, let's be sure to help direct that, shall we?" He held up an ability. "Ability, activate! Aerial Stream!"

Atmos let out a shrilled caw as he suddenly broke into a Mach speed blur. Jase kept his head below Atmos' head protrusion to avoid direct windburn as he went at a breakneck blur. The falcon's ultrasonic acceleration made an air current that followed him.

As cannonfire started picking up again, Helios' attack was making a beeline for it all. Suddenly, Atmos went perpendicular and made an air current and crossed off the cannon beams into a pace following him. The magenta crossfire followed Atmos in his zigzags and arches, bringing carrying even more beams with him with the more area he covered.

When enough momentum was met, Atmos changed his direction, locking onto the Empyrean. His falcon eyes glimmered before breaking into a harsh dive onto the base and zipped passed it. The draft diffused as he curved away, but the hundreds of beams that he dragged along pelted the Empyrean's arched fortress. Arches were destroyed, and Helios' dark flames made a deep hole that went into the earth and climbed up to the base, making an even greater explosion twist into an inferno.

Abis swerved through the skies, arching his long body with a defensive stance. "Is that all of them?!"

The flames and the inferno generated gradually ate itself away, revealing the Empyrean's fortress gradually reducing from the synthesizing matter. It eventually recreated the fortress, until finally it was back to full health.

Dan clutched his fists. "Snap! Back to square one!"

Esther glared ahead. "No. Take a look."

Everyone did as she instructed. They all got a closer observation at something that caught their eye. The plasmatic orbs around the base's upper rims were all out. All except for one, the one in dead front at that.

"I see it now! Just one more hit and it'll run out of charge!" Shuji declared.

"The cannonfire if going to start up! Attack now!" Jase shouted.

"RIGHT!" They all shouted. They all readily closed in as fast as they could, getting their abilities charged up for a final long-range shot.

"Keep it going! Let's finish this!" Dan insisted.

As they all charged up, there was something that the Empyrean did yet again. Another slot opened up on the lower arches, this one being large and wide for something with a broad casing to reveal itself.

"What is it now?" Ace baffled.

"I don't know…but I'm not liking the looks of it." Percival grunted.

The casing was revealed to be a highly condensed set of slit metal that gradually shifted away. It revealed an all too familiar design that threw everyone off guard. A green crystal glimmered in the center of it, the sun beaming brightly on it.

"What the heck is that supposed to be, huh?!" Plitheon scowled.

"I'm not sure myself, Plitheon. I don't recognize that on Gundalia." Jesse responded.

"Whatever it is, we better deal with it fast before something bad happens." Ren declared. "Linehalt!"

Linehalt moved in front, spreading his wings. "Ready!"

As Ren and Linehalt readied their attack, the others, specifically Spectra and the Vestals, were looking at it in heavy suspicion. It didn't take long for them to realize what was happening.

"Everyone, stop! It's a trap!" Spectra shouted.

"What's that?!" Linehalt gasped.

"Oh no…" Mira worried. "Don't tell me…a Dimension Controller!"

Luke's eyes widened at the realization. "A Dimension Controller?" He thought back to when they were on New Vestroia for the first time. All the Bakugan were in ball forms back then. If they were out in the open, high in the air…!

Abis' eyes sharpened. He realized what this could mean.

"GUYS! GET BACK TO THE SHIP NOW!" Luke shouted.

Just as he shouted back, it was all but too late. The dimensional ripple gradually spread towards them, closing in at a very alarming rate. Everyone's eyes widened at the realization that they weren't going to react in time.

Maggie bit her lower lip. "Jelldon! Ability activate, Minion Deluder!"

Jelldon's eyes widened at Maggie's call, but he quickly adapted and realized what she meant. "Got it!" He hastily turned around and revealed his numerous tentacles at their allies. Electrical impulses crackled and shot at all the Bakugan, save for his closer friends in their personal group. With no time to spare, Jelldon pushed them all by forcing them to fly back towards the Vestal Destroyer with all the might he could make them thrust.

"GAH! What the heck?! What's the shrimp doing?!" Avior exclaimed. But his body was acting on its own, flying away to outrun the ripple effect. "My body…won't listen…!"

"Gngh, mine too!" Linehalt grunted. He was trying to slow down his rapid wingbeats, but it was futile. "I can't slow down! It's like my body is acting on its own for some reason!"

"How is that…?!" Ren's eyes widened at an epiphany. "Wait, you can't be serious, right?!"

Drago flew back at intense speeds, meanwhile Dan looked back over his shoulder with deep shock in his eyes. "Are you crazy, guys?!"

Maggie looked back at Dan and everyone getting further away. Her glare was heated and serious, enough so that Dan couldn't put up any relevant dispute. They all flew back towards the spacecraft's dull, while the ripple effect finally engulfed Abis, Atchibee, Jelldon, Fly Beetle, Verias, and Atmos.

"This…is gonna suck." Shuji grimaced.

All their Bakugan's attributed colors shined and shrunk down to their ball forms. The electrical impulses Jelldon made diffused to make everyone else fly on their own to outrun the disruption signal, leaving the twelve to plummet with horror in their gazes.

All the other Bakugan that were able to fly away made it within arm's reach of the Vestal Destroyer, just before the distortion wave struck them. Everyone who was on board suddenly fell back to their feet when their Bakugan reverted to ball form. The aerial Bakugan's riders had no choice but to break into tumbles until they came to complete stops.

Inside the hull of the Vestal Destroyer, Julie got it all on camera, completely shocked by what she just saw. "Wha…what just happened?!" She pivoted towards Gus. "Gus, tell me! Do you know?!"

"The enemy…they had a copy of a Dimension Controller hidden away it seems." He explained. "It must have activated when the last orb was under threat. Now the Bakugan can't go back to full forms without a proper battle."

"But we don't have time for that!" She whipped towards the front. "Oh no~!"

On the deck of the Vestal Destroyer, Dan grunted as the shock from that harsh landing left him winded. He blinked several times as he stirred back up. Marucho and Shun ran up to him to support him by the shoulders.

"Dan! Drago!" Marucho worried.

"Stay with us! You okay?" Shun asked.

Dan opened his eyes, blinking enough to get the hazy vision to clear up. "Gnnngh…guys?" His heart suddenly thumped as he jolted up to his feet. "Wait! The guys! What happened?!"

Everyone's shock went towards the Empyrean, seeing the cannons having been fully materialized. The last orb was directly behind the Dimensional Controller. But that wasn't their current issue. The problem…lied in the six humans that were falling from the skies at alarming rates.

"LUKE! ABIS OMEGA!" Dan screamed out loudly.

Keegan whipped his head forward, the recovery of his previous fall off of Andro Elico onto the deck being the least of his concerns. He eyed all of their plunders, his pupils shrinking in sheer horror. "Oh shit…!"

Inside, Julie screamed out as she grabbed Gus' shoulders. "Gyah~! Oh no! They're falling! They're falling! Quick, grab them! Do something!" She panicked as she moved him side to side, almost knocking him out of his seat.

Getting on his last nerves, Gus shoved her away. "Let go of me!" He managed to shove Julie off, trying his best to focus. "Look, I can't, okay?! The pulse system is making everything on this ship useless! I can't even move this thing! We're stuck!"

"But…then does that mean…?" Julie's eyes shrunk in the realization. She looked at the plummeting figures as they were dropping towards the ocean below. "No…!"

Alice looked over the edge of the Vestal Destroyer, her own horror piling to where she couldn't begin to fathom what they were thinking. "…oh no…"

While everyone panicked above, it was a different story for those who were unable to get away in time. They were descending rapidly as they plundered towards the deep blue far below. Thankfully they were able to maintain conscience despite the blood rush they were feeling.

"Maggie…what did you do?!" Shawn exclaimed.

"I'm sorry…it was the first thing that came to mind!" she rebuffed, her large sleeves expanding from the air. "We needed to make sure as many people were out of range as possible before it hit them!"

"Well…that solves the number of our forces kept to a minimum danger when put like that." Esther frowned. "But…!"

"This is bad…really bad!" Shuji grimaced. "At this height, we're gonna splatter on the ocean!"

"Sorry guys, we can't go to full form!" Verias grimaced. As much as he tried, it wasn't working for him. The other Bakugan were feeling just the same.

As they descended into the ocean, Luke looked down at the deep blue water that was closer with every meter they descended. He honestly looked horrified that this would be how it would end. He couldn't let this happen, but they had little options to go by. There must be something that could be done.

"Luke."

Luke heard the familiar tone and turned towards Jase. His eyes remained wide in surprise. "Jase…"

The former military man straightened up. He seemed completely composed. "…I suggest that you all land on your feet."

Initially confused by that proposal, Luke blinked. "What…?"

A glint in the distance caught Abis' eye. "Huh? What's that?"

They all drifted their heads in the direction of the oncoming glint beaming for their direction. It roared as it broke the sound barrier. The speeding glint was actually surprisingly fast as it sailed directly into their path. As it got closer, all of their eyes widened at what it was.

Luke's pupils shrank even more. He recognized the oncoming structure. "That's…!"

Everyone on the Vestal Destroyer saw the oncoming glint speeding with a sound barrier. Their attention went from the falling group towards it. As it came closer into view, they saw couldn't believe what they were seeing.

"Dan, do you see that…?" Drago muttered.

"Yeah, but what is it?" He asked. The answer came as soon as his eyes got a better visual.

Nobody could believe it. Fabia and Ren's eyes shrunk, and Spectra and Keegan were just as surprised. It was unfathomable at best, but the flying star said otherwise as its thrusters made it speed across the horizon at breakneck records.

"THE TRAILER!" everyone screamed.

The Trailer went flying into the group, traveling at an alarming rate. At Jase's earlier warning, Luke flipped onto his feet with everyone else doing as advised. They bent their legs just as the Trailer slowed down just enough to ensure a stable land on its flat roofing. They grasped the side railing as the auto-pilot system allowed an easy glide across the ocean another quarter mile below.

Able to hold firm to the Trailer's top, Luke grasped onto a mental thought. "The Trailer…? How did it get here so fast?"

They all got the idea of what was going on as they turned to Jase for an explanation. The ex-Colonel kneed as he prodded his glasses. Concealing his eyes in light refractions. "Before that electromagnetic pulse hit, I sent out an auto-pilot protocol to the Trailer with my Bakumeter." He showed everyone his Bakumeter, which was beeping with a digital grid on the Trailer.

Shawn huffed out. "You always know how to keep us on our toes, huh Jase?"

"Call it a bad habit in good lighting. I'm sure certain others would get that better than I would." He shot a look at Luke, who gave him a blunt stare in reply.

"Thank you anyways, Jase." Esther said, changing the subject. "Now, we better hurry."

Maggie stood up with her fist balled. "That's right! All hands on deck! Time for the Trailer to make its comeback!"

Shuji smirked. "Now we're talking!"

They all hurried over to the central deck area where the overhead hatch was waiting to be pried open. With the enemy focused on the Vestal Destroyer, the others had plenty of time to get the cover off and jump back in. Shuji slammed the hatch shut and made way lastly as they all made way to their seats.

With everyone docked into their positions, Jase deactivated the auto-pilot and shifted several holographic grids around. He took hold of the wheel and held firm with an iron pilot.

"Everyone, I do advise that you buckle your seatbelts. This is going to be a rather bumpy ride." He teasingly warned.

The ventilation thrusters on the back exploded with firepower as fuel burned. The Trailer spiked in speed and went flying skywards back into the high altitude. It nearly went straight up, causing everyone aboard to hang on tight as it felt like a roller coaster going high up. Maggie and Shuji were prepared this time as they held dead serious faces set on the problem at hand.

The Trailer beamed up and around the Vestal Destroyer, its sudden appearance staggering much of the crew on it.

"Oh, snap!" Dan flinched, watching the Trailer sail overhead. "Those guys are back in it!"

Marucho sighed heavily. "I thought they were going to be goners…"

"This is no time to relax guys! We can't launch our Bakugan, and we're sitting ducks up here!" Gunz snapped them out of their relief.

"He's right. If we stay out in the open, we'll get blown to pieces." Shun reminded. He took a close look at the Empyrean, seeing his cannons realigning for another round. "And I don't think even we will get out of this one unscathed…"

Spectra tapped into his Bakumeter, causing it to activate. "Gus, open the hatch. We're pulling back inside immediately!"

"Understood. Standby." The voice belonging to Gus responded promptly. In a matter of seconds, the hatch that they exited out of opened up for them.

"Quick, inside while the others are distracting it!" Keegan shouted.

"You heard him, go!" Paige shouted, hoisting Elright back in with Rafe's help.

Nobody argued. By the time words we restarting to pour from their mouths, they heard a familiar frequency sound that signaled energy fire. They looked back and made a break for the hatches just as hundreds of dense energy blast barreled into the Vestal Destroyer once more. The deck erupted with heavy fire taken once more, paint smearing and denting in metal as constant bombardments didn't let up.

Everyone was able to get inside, the last one being Dan as an explosion of energy erupted behind him, pushing him into the others. The hatch shut tight almost immediately as he collected himself.

"Is everyone alright?!" Drago shouted.

His third wind barely coming around, Dan grunted harshly. "Gnngh…yeah, just a few scrapes…" he muttered. He looked back towards the hatch, hearing the chaotic hellfire that was gradually eating away from the outside. "But we've gotta do something. We're trapped…"

Energy beams rained across the domain, hundreds to thousands that could make Earth artillery look meek in comparison to this laser display. The Trailer sailed around, with Jase piloting it with great dexterity. Everything inside the Trailer was pretty much being tossed around, but that was the least of everyone's concerns.

Sirens and warning were everywhere on Shawn's screen. "Artillery is everywhere. There isn't much room to get through!"

"Steady as she goes. We have to take out the anti-air defenses at any costs." Esther reminded. "If we don't, everyone will be blown out of the sky."

"Well then, time for some evasive maneuvers." Jase prompted. He tilted down towards him, causing the Trailer to arch up and for everyone to brace as the whole vehicle went even higher. The laserbeams didn't discriminate it from the Vestal Destroyer either.

The cannons that were higher up focused on taking down the Trailer, aiming higher rather than straight ahead. Meanwhile, the lower cannons had no qualms with beelining shots that struck the Vestal Destroyer's hull. It was a diverged effort, but the two-way tactic was able to halve the blows to the spacecraft.

Inside the Trailer, everyone was in their seats, all their anxiety at an all-time high. They held tight to their modulators and scanners as they felt an intense rumble from below.

"Gngh!" Luke quaked in his seat. "What was that?!"

Esther looked down at her screen, seeing the screens showing signs of holographic grids and weapons deterring. "They got us from below. The hull is taking some more damage!"

Once again, another rumble quaked everyone in their seats. Maggie nearly fumbled, but collected herself. "This is awful!"

"I know. The Trailer wasn't designed for flight combat." Shawn grimaced. "We're able to deter some of the shots, but-!" He trailed off when Jase made a sharp turn, causing the entire structure to arch and put everyone sideways. They grabbed hold of whatever they could until was able to accomplish his U-Turn and face away from the beams, getting a higher climb up.

"If we go any higher, the pressure will be too much for the Trailer." Jase warned. "And Shawn and I were able to fix the wear on the ventilation and hull, but…"

"With all this firepower, it won't matter." Shuji grimaced. "We need to get close and take out that last pulse orb and Dimension Controller at the same time!"

"But we can't use our Bakugan." Maggie reminded.

"She's right, and even if that were the case, those orbs and crystals are still thick. By the time we touch down and draw our weapons, the artillery will pick up on us." Esther said. "We need one clear shot if we're going to be able to pull that off."

"But the weapon system is off on the Vestal Destroyer." Luke reminded. "Do we have any other kind of heavy weapons?"

Everyone frowned. An awkward and discerning silence fell upon the group. As the Trailer rumbled, explosions were heard from outside. They were running out of time…and options.

Jase lowered his head, making a strict composure arise. "Yes…there is one alternative that should be enough for that kind of force."

Shuji raised a brow. "Like what?"

Jase paused. "I will warn you…that it will be a heavy price to pay for us. It'll be one shot, and that'll be the end of it."

"You're beating around the bush, Jase! Tell us what it is!" Luke scolded.

Jase didn't have to say anything. His grip on the wheel fastened, a sign that Luke and everyone was getting an idea about. Once again, a silence fell upon everyone as they realized the hints that Jase proposed. Heavy, and packed enough force for one shot. It all clicked together.

Maggie whipped around at Jase, her face painted with horror. "Jase, you're not seriously thinking about…!"

"Using the Trailer as a battering ram?" Shuji breathlessly gasped. He knew that it was risky, but this just felt plain suicidal.

"Jase…that's a really big risk." Esther said. "If we go through with this…"

"Yes, I know…as I have explained to you all, the Trailer is sturdy, but much like the Vestal Destroyer, it can't hold on forever. If we succeed in this, the plasma orb and the Dimension Controller will both be destroyed, and nothing will stand between us. But at the sacrifice of the Trailer."

Once again, another rumble shook everything in them. The side just took a hit, as shown on Esther's screen.

"Let's do it."

Everyone turned their heads in earnest shock towards Luke. He had a serious look on his face, much to their surprise. "Luke?" Abis asked.

"Jase is right, there's no time, and we can't go in as we are! If this is the most sure-fired way that we can win…then we better make the Trailer mean something!"

Shawn paused and closed his eyes. "Heh…quick to make up your mind on the cause." He opened his eyes. "He's right. If this is how it's supposed to be…then we better make it count."

"Yeah…guess you're right…" Maggie frowned heavily. But when she had time to think about it, she straightened and clutched her fists tight. "Okay then, everyone! Let's set a course for dead ahead, full-speed!"

"So this is how we're saying goodbye to the Trailer after all, huh?" Shuji questioned neutrally.

Esther lowered her head. "Yes…but, if this is for everyone else's sake, then it's a price we must pay. Our worlds are at stake. We'll make the experience the Trailer has went through be one to remember."

Shawn snickered. "Yeah…couldn't have said it better myself."

The Trailer rumbled again. The air was violently roaring as more and more warning appeared on everyone's screens.

Maggie sighed heavily, her eyes misting up. "Guess we better say our goodbyes then…"

Jase started typing into his sequences, breathing out through his nose. "I will admit. It's been an honor and a pleasure being aboard this prestige vessel with you all. Normally, it's fundamental for the Captain to go down with the ship, but we need all hands on deck for this. Listen. Before impact, we will only have a short window to jump off before an explosion will destroy everything. We'll need to time it just right."

Everyone nodded. They all tightened their grips on whatever was close by and braced themselves.

"Everyone, buckle up one last time. This…will be the Trailer's final mission."

There was no going back on this. They only had to move forward. Everyone kept their eyes fixed dead ahead as Jase went for one more U-turn. The Trailer's airbrakes initiated as he directed it to face the oncoming beams that were like magenta stars when in hyperjump. On the other side lied the Trailer's last destination point.

They all went silent as Jase closed his eyes. He made his own peace of mind before he engaged the autopilot once last time. With it engaged, he started to make the coordinates trough his grid, fixing onto the Dimension Controller and the plasma orb behind it. Once the lock-on was all fixed, all that was left was to press one more button.

"Listen. We will have approximately 60 seconds. That's how long we have until terminal impact. We'll need to evacuate to the roof once the button is pressed."

Luke turned towards him. "Right, understood. Guys…let's make this one shot count!"

Jase nodded and pressed the button.

60 seconds until terminal impact. 59…58…

As the Trailer counted down, Jase set the thrusters to full power. The levers adjusted and the exhausts went to full capacity. In a huge burst, the vehicle started towards the Empyrean at full speed. The sound barrier broke in an instant, causing everyone to jerk again.

55…54…53…

Everyone unbuckled their seatbelts and exited their seats as fast as they could. As the Trailer violently shook, they all held their balance along the sides until they reached the sliding doorways. They opened, enabling them to pass through and into the hallway.

49…48…47…

The hatch was shut, but Shuji pried it open. He moved to the side to allow everyone aboard to get up before him. As they all went up, Shuji couldn't help but take a look at the hallway one last time. As much as he wanted to savor it, they had a job that had to be done. He was the last to climb up.

The Trailer's top pried open, allowing immediate windburn to hit everyone. They all climbed aboard and stayed no higher than above their knees. They had small handling to help maintain grips as they were all lined up and felt the sheer, cold breeze in their faces.

The Vestal destroyer kept taking hits, but they wouldn't slow down. Gus was inside trying to keep everything as stable as he possibly could, but too many warnings were overloading everything. "Almost all of our cannons are out, sir! At this rate, we won't be able to make it!"

Spectra scoffed angrily. "How very annoying. There must be some way around this…hm?" He heard an incoming sound. In fact, everyone did. It sounded like thunder, and maybe wind? Whatever it was, it was moving incredibly fast.

"What…is that?" Gunz wondered, his heartrate unable to drop.

"It sounds like…a jet." Reptak turned towards the observation windows. "Gunz! Look!"

"Huh?!" He whipped around, seeing something that caused the Vestal Destroyer to shudder immensely. A dashing blur with a flaming paintjob sailed directly beside them, continuing at breakneck speeds into the line of fire.

The rattling of the spacecraft was one thing that shook everyone up, but they couldn't begin to fathom what it was.

"Was…was that a comet just now?" Zenet blinked.

"Geez, don't be such an idiot, Zenet." Mason berated, struggling to stand up on his feet. "That ain't no comet."

Fabia's eyes widened. "It's the Trailer!"

"The Trailer?! What is it doing now?!" Dan shouted. He watched it sail off into the line of fire, but the way it was looking, it didn't seem so good. A bead of sweat dripped down his cheek. "What are those guys…?"

30…29…28…

As the Trailer kept getting closer towards its destination, they all couldn't help but look on as the memories started coming back to them.

"What is that?" Maggie awed.

Before them appeared to have been something that looked like an observatory almost. It was primarily white building with fragments of faded red. With its two floors, they all saw that it was rather rusty; dirty especially. The design was something else, but it was just too bizarre to be mistaken for just the observatory gimmick.

Shuji put his hands to his hips, tilting his whole body to look at it from another angle. "Just what kind of hunk of junk is this."

"Well, Shuji. This 'hunk of junk' is what we've found on our way here." Jase explained.

"Really?" Esther looked at Shawna and Jase and back at the design. Her blue eyes looked up in slight awe.

"Looks gross if you ask me." Abis said.

"Maybe, but if those guys try to find us again, maybe we'll have better luck staying here as cover." Esther said.

Esther thought about that memory fondly. That was the very first time they've met this helpful piece of equipment.

Maggie had a dead serious face, full of resolution as memories were coming back to her now.

"I got it!" she yelled. "We should have a name for this thing!"

"A name?" Esther questioned.

Maggie eagerly nodded. "Mhm! Everyone should have a name, shouldn't they? Why don't we settle what we're on just by calling it that?" She looked out ahead, towards were Jade was riding the contraption over the land. "And I got just the name!"

"You do?" Shawn smirked.

"Heh, this should be good." Shuji snorted.

Maggie nodded. "Yeah! And I call it…The Trailer." She sounded extra dramatic as she moved her arm in an arc.

A long silence passed as everyone just stared at her. There were no words to describe how they felt, nor what to say about her little "imagination".

"Sounds good to me." Shawn deadpanned.

"Wait, what?!" Shuji gawked.

"Guess it's simple to remember." Luke shrugged.

"Hold on-!"

"The Trailer, well it makes sense." Esther pointed out.

"You-!"

Maggie chimed with satisfaction. "See? I knew you all would like it! From here on, we're calling this guy, The Trailer!"

Shuji waved his hands in the air, groaning as he turned away in annoyance.

Maggie sheepishly giggled. 'I never once regretted that name. I'm glad…that even in the end, that name still stuck with us.'

The laserbeams heading in their direction didn't let up. A dense beam fired clean through the windows of the main deck. Causing smoke to erupt. Another beam pierced the hull, and then one of the tires, destroying it. But no matter what, the Trailer kept going.

Jase kept a straight face as he thought about the Trailer's condition.

Before everyone was a fully automated structure that was built like a tank. It had many large wheels that were designed for all terrains to travel on. Rather than white, it was neat silver paintjob, and any dark spots were instead replaced with orange, and red trimmings were replaced by flame-like yellow on it. But otherwise, much of it look largely the way everyone remembered it.

Jase smiled. "Everyone, I would like to introduce you…to the Trailer 2.0." he started. "But please, call it 'The Trailer', if that's more suitable to you."

The former military man humbly frowned as he thought about the Trailer. It was such a waste to have all that refined material be for naught. But even so, at least in this light, having a death like this…would be glorious enough for this adventurous machine.

"H-hey! I think I see it!" Shuji pointed ahead of the others, referring to the Trailer that was still parked along the waves.

"Well, looks like I wasn't the only one then." Jase replied. "What a surprise this turned out to be."

Atmos popped open on his shoulder. "It looks to be alright."

"Supposedly…but you may never know." Jase's eyes narrowed, looking around suspiciously. "Looks can be deceiving."

"TRAILER~!" Maggie made a beeline straight for the massive structure and scuttled towards its side, where she immediately went and hugged it with open arms. She began to spout pouty moans with whimpers of a lost puppy. "Oh god you're okay! I thought with all this chaos that you would've sunk! I'll never leave this thing again!" She whined loudly as comical wavy tears rolled down her happy face.

Joining her was Shuji, who hugged the Trailer's side as well. "I'm never taking this huge thing for granted again!" He and Maggie gratefully kissed the cold, stinky metal repeatedly, while Jase and Atmos watched from afar.

Jase shook his head while putting his hand on his forehead. "Good grief." He smirked.

And like a real man, Shuji kept to his word. He held firmly to the Trailer in silent gratitude.

"Shawn, how are those modifications coming along?" He asked aloud.

"They're pretty steady. They shouldn't take too long now." Shawn's voice said over the intercom. He was, in actuality, in another part of the Trailer, on the underside of it to be more precise. He had a toolbox beside him that was in one of the closets of the convertible that came in emergency fixes. Using a wrench, he twisted another bolt into the centerpiece behind one of the huge tires.

"Good. Should the projection to the wheels' conversion be increased? You can tell me if I'm not applying all that much." Jase said.

Pulling away to rub his arm over his forehead to wipe sweat off, Shawn smirked. "Don't be so humble, come on. You're keeping it as stable as it is. We should have it ready soon. I'm on the last wheel."

Shawn remembered the very first modifications made on the Trailer to make it seaworthy.

Luke held on as his mind raced like the aircraft was. It was hard to believe that this was going to happen again. He was remembering everything so fast that it felt like a dream was happening with him right now. It felt like yesterday that they really did meet the Trailer. They've been to so many worlds together, and survived many brutal instances and battles. Hard to believe that it was time to end it all. And, as sad as he was, he was also very proud. Because a lot of memories were made on the old Trailer as well.

"If we die, then so be it. But no matter what, if anything happens to us, we know what's at stake…and now we're gonna fight to make that change. We'll save as many lives as possible from here on. The lives of Earth. The Bakugan. Even the Interacians. I owe it to all of them to make their lives have meaning through my actions. If I can save just one person in the end, then that proves something. And even after, I'll fight on until this matter is settled once and for all."

"Agreed, partner."

And so he kept that vow, along with Abis Omega. The two glared ahead as it was on this ship that they departed with their innocence.

20…19…18…17…

The thrusters on the Trailer started smoking from overheating. The ventilation Shawn repaired was destroyed by the lasers puncturing the front. Smoke and fire were coming out of the windows that were shattered. Everyone gripped on tightly as they were finally at their peace with what must be done.

12…11…10…

"No…" Ren's eyes shrunk. "They're gonna…"

"GUYS! NO~!" Dan cried out fiercely, echoing throughout the Vestal Destroyer.

The six all stood up, bravely holding each other's hands as they faced the eminent demise coming their way. With all of their arms linked in a chain, they glared ahead, closing in on their Trailer's funeral pyre.

6…5…4…

Another eruption happened inside the mouth of the Trailer, making smoke and one of the tables fly out from the side. Several meters away, they all counted.

3…2…1…

"NOW!" They all shouted. All at once, they turned around and ran away from the front of the Trailer towards the back. They darted as fast as possible, until they reached the tip edge of the Trailer.

Time drastically slowed down as Luke and everyone looked desperate as they avoided the flames of the thrusters, and dove through the smoke following. Debris was right behind them as they all saw ocean below…

'Thank you…Trailer. For everything…'

…0

Time returned to normal as the Trailer bolted into the arches, erupting into a bright explosion that was far bigger than anything that the other Bakugan had done. Flames and explosions went off as cannons were reduced to scrap metal, and the entire view in front of everyone. The Empyrean's entire base was nothing but a cloud of fire and smoke that roared like thunder, and howled like a hurricane that spouted scrap metal and burning debris.

A long moment passed as everyone aboard the Vestal Destroyer. All their mouths gaped wide open as they caught everyone in their line of sight. Nobody breathed, let alone move a muscle. They were left completely paralyzed in fear and awe at the kamikaze that was the Trailer. A fiery blaze of glory that shrouded up the front of the Empyrean in full. Beyond that, everything was of unknown.

For the moment, all of the cannonfire gradually reduced to only a few beams, then nothing. Even so, that didn't mean anything as the eruption of scrap metal, tires, and other accessories sprouted in all directions.

Alice clutched her chest, her heart stopping at what she just witnessed. Everyone was just as horrified as she was. "…"

"D-Did…did those guys really just…?" Julie babbled at this point, her face painted in horror.

"They all seriously just do that, right? I wasn't just imagining it…" Ren mumbled.

Paige shuddered in utter terror. "they used the Trailer…to take out the defense mechanisms…"

"Yeah, that was…" Rafe agreed. "…you don't seriously think they…" He trailed off, his inclination making an uncertain air tie everyone down.

They all watched on with adrenaline at an all-time high. It was difficult to say, but even Shun was looking uncertain. Gus and Spectra looked on heavily as they had a bad feeling as well.

Hydranoid, who was on Alice's shoulder, noticed something. "Huh? Wait, hold on."

Alice gasped, seemingly seeing something as well. "Wait, are those…"

Outside, hundreds of meters away, the explosion of scrap metal and fire simmered down. Raining debris fell into the ocean, and yet amongst them were the six bodied that were still locked together like chains. Like someone skydiving, their limbs were out as their backs were ignited in orange by the broiling destruction high above. It took them everything they had to keep themselves together as they fell down towards the ocean.

Keeping one eye open, Luke gritted his teeth as wind resistance was getting too intense. 'Did it…really work?'

As debris feel around them, so did fragments of what appeared to be the arches and the cannons. Random machinery that was a fix of the Trailer and the Empyrean fortress. Also, if one looked closely, they could see fragments of shards and glass that rained down.

At the same time, Abis opened in his ball form, surprising Luke. Atchibee glowed as well, as did everyone else. All the Bakugan present exploded into their full forms in midair. Verias was seized by Fly Beetle's lower arms as he used his wing shields and blocked off the debris from everyone else. Using that as cover, Atmos let out a bellow as he whipped his wings, generating a powerful shockwave that made the falling debris scatter further out away from them.

"Is everyone alright?" Atmos asked.

On his neck, Jase nodded. "We're just fine, thanks."

"It looks like…the Dimension Controller was destroyed after all." Maggie realized, looking up with Jelldon at the blaze overhead.

"Yeah…looks like it."

Shawn looked up on Fly Beetle's other shoulder – his partner still in Fly Beetle's clutches. He smirked as he put his hands to his hips. "Well…guess you can't say that wasn't our best move."

"I wouldn't say that…" Shuji grimaced.

Esther frowned heavily, her eyes closed as she was completely calm. "…let's hurry. We don't move out of the way, we'll end being hit with more debris."

"Yeah, you're right." Luke agreed. "Let's go, Abis."

The Aquos sea serpent complied and he and everyone carried their partners towards the island's base. There was a large alcove that was inwards to the earth. It was completely mechanical and synthetic with porcelain tiling, leading up to a small set of wide, gray stair that was the Empyrean's entrance. It was wide open, with constant glowing magenta highlights in them.

The Bakugan all sat their partners onto the ground, while they all remained floating since there wasn't enough room. They all saw flares behind as the debris to the Trailer plummeted towards the ocean.

Everyone watched it all go to sunder. The steering wheel, to the one chair that was a crisp. Everything was either annihilated, or completely unrecognizable. It was an extremely painful sight to see, especially with how much time they've spent on it.

"I suppose…this was the best way to go out, I guess." Esther mourned for the Trailer. "Much better than aging to rust."

Jase adjusted his glasses. "Yes, I agree…still, it did its part. In the end, it all comes down to how you fulfill others needs as much as your own…and I believe this qualifies."

Luke stepped closer towards the edge, watching more of the destroyed remnants of their home fading away. The air shifted his hair as he looked on mournfully, but understanding at that.

"Goodbye, Trailer…" He vowed. "…AND THANK YOU~!"

The whistling of debris was the only response he got in gratitude. Several sparks flickered, as if signaling something from the main deck area. It faced them as it passed by, descending to its grave amongst the deep blue ocean.

Abis and the other Bakugan looked on in sadness as well. They were just as fond of the Trailer as the humans were. Granted it wasn't a necessity for them, it was still a fun place for them to be in.

"See ya, jelly." Jelldon waved grimly.

Abis frowned so much that he exploded into a loud roar that distorted the air. It was a cry of honor and acknowledgment for themselves as it was for the Trailer.

With that done, Shawn turned around and faced the Empyrean's enclosed alcove entrance. "Well, guess there's really no going back now."

"You're right. Now that the Dimension Controller is destroyed, that should make things easier." Verias explained.

"And that means the Vestal Destroyer should be up and running anytime now." Maggie pointed out.

Esther walked away from the brink of the alcove, her eyes fixed on the Empyrean's radiant gateway. "We should get going. The others will be here soon."

Luke turned around, fully composed. "Yeah, good idea."

The signals within the Vestal destroyer that all blank suddenly responded. Gus looked down at the modulators and realized they were fully functional. "Guh?!"

"What is it?" Mira wondered.

Gus paused. "It appears…that the systems are all online once more. That must mean…that the pulse system was destroyed!"

Baron fist-pumped. "That's awesome! That means those guys actually pulled it off!"

"That's a relief." Ace sighed. "Man, did they really have to go and mess with us like that? It's not cool."

"I believe the expression that some live is 'living on the edge'." Nemus exaggerated. "But…glad they're alright."

Alice sighed out, her misty eyes feeling full of relief. "That's such a relief." She opened her eyes meekly with a sincere smile towards the ground. 'Luke…you really are reckless, aren't you?'

Spectra didn't bother sharing sentiments. "Gus."

"Yes, sir. It'll be my pleasure." Gus tapped several buttons at once again. He recreated the large blades on the outside with a grateful grin. "Alright…let's see anything stop up this time!"

The Vestal Destroyer's glowing blades ignited once more, thrusting forward with all the force the vessel carried. The beaming blades made a direct line for the island-like earth it was on, speeding so fast that it was breaking the sound barrier itself. The vessel didn't waste an angle as it plunged deep into the earth, making rock and earth erupt, whereas a network of magenta streamed up from the point of impact towards the Empyrean above.

The impact stuck the Vestal Destroyer deep into the underside, leaving Gus mighty proud at that piercing blow. "Sir…we've hit the mark."

Spectra started walking forward. "Excellent work, Gus. You've done most admirable. Now…shall we all pay Riaan's little hideout a little visit?"

In Hades Pillars' gathering room, they all looked on through the projection at what they all just witnessed. The Empyrean's front, the arches, was a cindering wreck, leaving debris and scrap metal to dissolve and take up the majority of the illustrious domain.

Magnus whistled. "Damn. I gotta say, those guys have some serious guts."

Lucia maintained her composure. "Call it what you will, Magnus. In any event, it makes no different. We were able to successfully delay the enemies' advances upon us."

Amina sighed as she twirled a lock. "What a shame. Those tacky-looking cannons were supposed to do the work for us. Oh well then. This is what happens when you don't use your expenses to their extent."

Lucia wanted to call out her hypocrisy, but she instead scoffed. AT this point it wasn't even worth the time nor the effort."

"Enough talk…the enemy is at our front doorstep. Their vehicles are either disabled or no more. They are no longer capable of escape once they enter this tower. We shall ensure that they never reach the top."

"…" Galilea frowned. She was in full agreement.

Cyrus' glare brightened in the darkness. "Then…let us welcome our guests, shall we? Hades Pillars, I believe you know well what must be done…I wish you all a fond adieu."

All of Hades Pillars teleported out if the room, leaving the pillars to go dark. The only thing that lit it up was the magenta core.

"Before the day's end, before they make it passed any of us…they will know why we are called Hades Pillars. Our new pets…shall exemplify these means with pleasure."

The magenta networks went straight up along the Empyrean, racing along the domain until it reached the flat top at the peak of the world, where the sun bathed right over Riaan's head. As soon as the magenta rays traveled beneath him, he could feel what just happened.

"…I see, so that's what they did." Riaan paused. "…hmph, so they were willing to make a sacrifice…I have to give them all respects for their courage. Still, this is far from the beginning. The task starts…once they enter inside."

He closed his eyes again, choosing to conserve his needs as he watched over everything on his glorious land. 'Just a little longer now. A little more…and it'll all be over. The cycle will restart, and our resolution...will be fulfilled.'

Well guys, managed to make it on time before midnight. But still, this was the way it had to be. I know it's heartbreaking for some of you, but the Trailer really did feel like part of the group to an extent. Ever since chapter 3, and ever since has it been useful. I say for something that I revised from New Vestroia with the Resistance's base, I think Luke's group made much more use of it than anything else up to the very end. R.I.P Trailer, you did a magnificent job throughout this fanfic.

Now that they're docked and boarded on the Empyrean Alpha, all that's left is to step inside and make that climb. How hard will that be? Well…let's find out what surprises I have for all of you, shall we? Until next update!