Huge apology to everyone who waited for this update. I was originally going to separate this into two or three chapters but decided that all of you guys who stuck with me through these years finally deserve an update, and a grand finale at that.

Many people have asked for updates and I've been meaning to get back to you guys (and then along comes school and all its complications) and well, you get the picture.

Finally, when Daya Coleman PMed me, I thought enough was enough that I should get off my lazy butt and try to finish the final chapter. I gave myself the deadline of a week (and had to extend it a bit due to school). This is the result.

Advanced apology for grammatical errors and spelling mistakes.

Thank you so much to those who favorited, followed, read, and/or reviewed this story. I may do a re-do of this story to update the quality but as for now, enjoy!

"We're screwed."

"Gee, you think?"

Dan and Billy watched as Chan tried to talk soothingly to Joe who was sitting on the bleachers with a cast on his leg and his head buried in his hands.

"Poor Joe," said Billy. "And at the last game too."

"Poor us," said Dan. "We've lost our best player!"

"Not exactly," replied Billy with a quick glance at Ren who was shooting hoops, getting warmed up for the game.

Dan sighed. It still would've been great to have Joe, especially after all his hard work.

"There they are."

The Brawlers turned towards the door to see the Gundalians walk inside the gym, faces smirking and full of triumph.

"Jerks," Dan growled.

"We can't do anything about it now," said Shun. "Not while we're in here with teachers, referees, and students-"

"What students?" asked Runo, gesturing to the bleachers. The only students present were Joe (who didn't exactly count), Julie, Jake, and Marucho. The rest of the seats were empty.

"They don't have high hopes for our win," explained Alice sadly.

"I don't blame them," muttered Fabia.

TWEET! "Okay, team, hustle!" ordered Coach Kuso as the Brawlers gathered around. "Look, I know this looks bad. I know we have an injured player, but guys, this is our last game. Let's make something out of it, okay?"

The Brawlers nodded half-heartedly.

"Starters will be Chan, Runo, Billy, Dan, and Ren. Now let's go out there and play some ball. Break!"

~Basketball Brawlers~

"So glad to see you again, Ren," cackled Kazarina as the Brawlers scattered throughout the court.

Ren did nothing but narrow his eyes as he took his position behind Chan who was getting ready for the jump start.

The referee raised his hand and up the ball went, hovering a few seconds before Chan plucked it out of the air.

"Go, Chan!" cheered Joe from the bleachers.

Chan threw the ball to Runo who dribbled towards the basket before she was blocked by Kazarina.

"Over here!"

Runo chucked the ball to Ren who cross-dribbled to avoid a steal from Mason before jumping and shooting a three-pointer.

"Nice one!" Fabia cried.

"Don't push your luck, traitor," hissed Kazarina. "We have plenty of tricks up our sleeves."

And as if to prove it, after Kazarina passed the ball to Mason, he sped towards the Brawlers before they could even set up a press and landed a quick easy two points.

"It's okay!" Alice shouted. "It's okay!" It was okay; they were leading by one point. But the Gundalians were eager to change that.

Two points from the Brawlers, then three, five, nine points from the Gundalians. The scoreboard was now Brawlers: 5, Gundalians: 11.

"Something's not right," mumbled Shun as the Gundalians scored another two points. "The Gundalians are making all their shots. They're good, but no one's that good."

Shun observed the court. He watched closely as Sid stole the ball from Billy and jumped from the three-point line. Shun narrowed his eyes as the ball soared towards the hoop. It looked like it was about to hit the corner and rebound back but a small force pushed it towards the net and Shun doubted it was the wind. The doors of the gym were closed after all.

"Gather around!" yelled Coach Kuso as the buzzer sounded to end the quarter. The score was now Brawlers: 12, Gundalians: 20.

"Okay, I know you guys are putting in your all out there, but-"

"The Gundalians are cheating," Shun interrupted.

Coach Kuso stared at him. "What?"

"They're cheating. I don't know how, but I know they are. That last shot, it was supposed to bounce off the corner, or even lodge itself in the corner, but something pushed it into the hoop. I couldn't see what it was, but I know what I saw so far isn't a lie."

"That's ridiculous, Shun," replied Coach Kuso. "I know the Gundalians are winning by a long shot but that doesn't mean-"

"Shun's right," said Ren as everyone locked their eyes on him. "The Gundalians are cheating. I know because…because I've done it before with them while I was on their team."

"What?" asked Fabia as she pushed her way towards Ren. "You-you knew they were cheating all along?"

"Yes," Ren sighed. "I wanted to tell you this before-"

"So why didn't you?" Fabia demanded. "You've had plenty of opportunities! Our practices, classes, lunches. Why wait until the day of the game?"

"I see what's going on here," Dan butted in. "You were planning to help the Gundalians win all this time, weren't you?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Ren. "Did you not see me score that three-pointer in the beginning? Did you not hear Kazarina call me a traitor?"

"That was all probably just to confuse us. A disguise. You may be wearing a Brawler's uniform but you're still a Gundalian at heart, aren't you?"

"I-"

TWEET! The referee's whistle blew.

"C'mon, team, we need to wrap it up," said Coach.

"We already did," said Dan with a glare at Ren.

"All right, same people as the starting five on the court."

"No, I want Ren out of this," said Dan.

"Are…are you sure, Captain?"

"Yes."

"I agree with Dan," said Shun as he glanced at the rest of the team who quickly murmured agreements.

Ren's heart sank when Fabia mumbled, "So do I."

"Okay…since the team feels so strongly about this, I'm sorry, Ren, but I'm going to have to bench you."

Ren didn't argue as he walked towards the bench and sat as far as he could from the team, including Joe.

~Basketball Brawlers~

When the second quarter ended, the score was Brawlers: 20, Gundalians: 33

Dan had demanded that Ren stay on the bench for the rest of the game, meaning he wouldn't be allowed in team huddles. But thanks to his father's scolding, a reluctant Ren was invited inside the team huddle.

"I saw what Shun saw," said Fabia. "Something is controlling the ball as it gets closer to the net. But I don't know what it was. It's too small and the basket is too high."

"It's a Bakugan," interjected Ren.

Fabia turned to glare at him. "Excuse me?"

"The Gundalians place two of their Bakugan on each side of the hoop's rim. That way, as the ball soars towards the basket, the Bakugan, in the ball form, can assure it gets inside the net. They're small but effective, especially since the referees can't spot them. When it's time to switch baskets during halftime, the Gundalians will simply place their Bakugan on the other net. See, look at Kazarina right now."

The Brawlers stared as Kazarina ran towards the basket to attempt a layup. Her layup was a success, but the Brawlers also caught her hand touching the rim where she placed her Haos Lumagrowl.

"If we can get rid of them, we can win the game," continued Ren. "Of course, we'll have a lot of catching up to do in terms of points, but at least we'll slow them down. We're not going to sink to their level and add our own Bakugan into the mess."

"Hold on a second, did you just say 'we?'" asked Dan.

"Yes, we," replied Ren, standing his ground. "Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, all right? I didn't like the idea of betraying my team. And when you acted cold and hostile towards me, that only fueled the flame. But when Fabia talked to me, and more importantly, listened to me and how I was feeling, that changed me. Why do you think I intervened during the fight at the park between the girls and the Gundalians? Whose side did I choose?"

The Brawlers were silent.

"Now, if we want to win, we'll need an accurate shot since none of just can jump high enough to knock them off the rim. Not accurate as in 'goes through the net.' Accurate as in 'hits the corner close enough to knock down the two Bakugan.' Remember, they're small but strong so I expect them to hold on for dear life as we pummel them with shots. So our shots have to be strong too. Also, we need an excuse, since we're aiming for their basket instead of ours. We can just say we were confused or something. It's halftime after all and it's understandable for someone to forget we switched baskets. Finally, be very, very careful not to actually make it inside the basket because then we're just giving them free points. Got it?"

The Brawlers nodded.

"Why didn't they put any Bakugan on our basket?" asked Runo. "You know, to maybe guide the ball out of the net instead of inside."

"That would be too suspicious," explained Ren. "Plus, guiding it inside the net takes less effort."

"Does Barodius know about this?" asked Billy.

"We never told him," replied Ren. "We just did it. But to be honest, I don't think he would've stopped us."

BUZZ! The buzzer sounded to signal the beginning of the 3rd quarter.

"Okay, once you've knocked down their Bakugan, toss them to me," added Coach Kuso. "I'll keep an eye on them to make sure the Gundalians don't try their dirty tricks again. Make it look like you're doing an air high-five to avoid suspicion."

"Good thinking, Dad, I mean Coach," said Dan. "Let's go team!"

"Fabia, Ren, Alice, Shun, and Chan, you're up."

~Basketball Brawlers~

The Gundalians were in possession. After Lena passed the ball to Stoica, he slowly dribbled the ball towards the hoop. As he got closer, the Brawlers tensed but they were ready.

Suddenly changing speed, Stoica zoomed towards the basket and passed it to Zenet who shot the ball. Fabia, who had been guarding Zenet, ran past her opponent and jumped, striking the ball against the rim. The ball bounced off and landed into Chan's hands who immediately took off towards the Brawlers' basket.

Meanwhile, Fabia had scooped up the fallen Haos Lumagrowl who started to spit out insults in protest.

"Unhand me, Neathian!" it demanded.

"Oh, shut up," said Fabia as she tossed it towards Coach Kuso, pausing for a few seconds to hold out her palm. Coach Kuso did the same and gave her a thumbs-up, and indication that he had the Bakugan under control.

Fabia glanced at her basket just in time to see Chan score two points and smiled. The plan was going smoothly. She didn't even need to use the planned excuse.

"Nice one, Fabia," said Ren, smiling. "C'mon, team. We still have one more Bakugan to take care of."

"I believe it's Mason's Bakugan," said Fabia. "Subterra Avior."

"It doesn't matter whose Bakugan it is," said Dan. "We're gonna take it down. Get ready."

The Brawlers got into their defensive positions as Airzel started dribbling their way. He attempted a pass towards Gill, but it was intercepted by Alice who jumped and shot the ball, aiming towards the corner. Unfortunately, it bounced off the backboard, hit the rim, and went inside the net.

"I'm sorry!" exclaimed Alice. "I thought it was our basket!" In reality, she was apologizing because she had made the basket instead of the corner.

"Alice, it's all right," said Dan as the Gundalians laughed, racing each other towards the Brawlers' basket. "Look."

The Brawlers glanced at the Subterra Avior who was struggling on the ground to get to his feet. Despite Alice's aim, the shot was probably pretty strong. "Go to your positions," said Dan as he picked up the Bakugan, disguised his toss as a high-five towards his dad, and took off towards his basket.

~Basketball Brawlers~

BUZZ! The 3rd quarter ended.

"Nice job, everyone," complimented Coach Kuso.

"It was mostly Ren's idea," said Dan. "He deserves our thanks and apologies."

"Sorry, man," said Billy as he patted Ren on the back. The rest of the team followed suit.

"To be fair, I wouldn't blame you for not trusting me," said Ren, smiling. "Apology accepted."

"I think the Gundalians know their Bakugan is missing," said Runo, nodding towards their opponents. The Gundalians were huddled next to their coach and were shooting darts towards the Brawlers.

"They don't have any replacement Bakugan, right?" asked Shun.

Ren shook his head. "They underestimate their opponents."

"Their mistake," said Dan.

"Agreed," said Coach Kuso. "Now this is our last game, our last quarter. Focus on bringing up our points. We have 33 and they have 45. They won't be scoring as much now but we still need to take this seriously. We've made it this far. Let's finish strong, all right? All in."

"BASKETBALL BRAWLERS!" everyone shouted as they threw their hands in the air.

"Dan, Alice, Shun, Billy, and Runo, you're up."

Runo quickly took her place beside the referee. After receiving the ball, she passed it to Billy who slowly dribbled towards the court with Runo trailing behind.

Shun ran up from the left wing and received the ball from Billy who cut behind Stoica. Seeing Billy's outstretched hands, Shun chucked the ball towards Billy who caught it and jumped, shooting the ball.

Swish! Two points.

"All right, let's go, let's go!" exclaimed Coach Kuso.

Slowly but surely, the Brawlers increased their score with everyone proving to be an amazing player. Shun stole the ball at least five times, twice from an enraged Kazarina. Thanks to Alice's stamina, she was able to outrun Gill to pass the ball to Billy who again easily scored two points. Runo and Dan worked like a well-oiled machine, switching defense when necessary and confusing their opponents.

When Shun shot another goal, the Brawlers heard something they haven't heard in a while: cheering.

The gym was packed. Boys and girls, even the upperclassmen had come to watch the game. Even though cheerleading was reserved more for football, Julie's entire squad made an appearance and were cheering and shouting like there was no tomorrow. With a glance at the suddenly open gym doors, the Brawlers saw that Jake and Marucho were ushering people in, screaming things like "This is one game you don't wanna miss!" or "The score is so close!"

The score indeed was close. As the quarter's final minute approached, the score was Brawlers: 49, Gundalians: 50.

"Hustle, hustle, hustle!" ordered Coach Kuso.

The Brawlers were in possession with Runo switched out for Chan. As Chan dribbled towards the basket, Mason swooped in and stole the ball, running in the other direction which caused the audience to groan.

Fortunately, Shun, who had been guarding Jesse, noticed Mason the moment he bounded towards Chan. Leaving his post, he bolted towards Mason, kidnapped the ball, and sped back towards the basket.

The Gundalians were getting desperate as they closed in on Shun. After passing it to Dan, he glanced at the clock.

20 seconds left.

Dan was about to jump before Sid towered over him with his arms high. Thinking quickly, Dan crouched slightly to pass it towards Runo who quickly passed it back to Shun.

10 seconds.

As the point guard, Shun looked desperately at his teammates who were heavily blocked by the Gundalians. Shun, himself, was being guarded by a vengeful Mason.

5 seconds.

A light bulb popped into Shun's head. He quickly dribbled towards the free-throw line, drawing the Gundalians towards him. At the last second, he threw the ball to Alice who was a bit nervous but prepared.

3 seconds.

This was it. The shot that could either make or break the team. Bending her knees, she jumped and released the ball.

The crowd held their breaths as the ball teetered slowly around the rim, once…

2 seconds.

Twice…

1 second.

And dropped innocently inside the net.

The gym exploded. Jake and Marucho whooped from the gym doors. Julie's squad screamed and squealed as Julie herself rushed towards the court and into Billy's arms. Dan and Runo embraced each other, cheering while jumping up and down. Chan ran towards Joe to give him a kiss and a hug, careful not to injure him any further. Fabia jumped into Ren's arms and kissed him full on the mouth. His eyes widened at the impact but nevertheless, enjoyed it as he returned the kiss and spun her around.

Shun ran over towards Alice to congratulate her.

"Nice shot," said Shun. "You won us the game."

"Thanks," replied Alice blushing. "But you know, it was a team effort. If it wasn't for your pass, and Runo's-"

But Shun had cut her off with a kiss. Shocked yet pleased, Alice closed her eyes and deepened the kiss, wrapping her arms around Shun's.

"Finally," giggled Runo as Dan put his arm around her waist.

"Yeah," agreed Dan, smiling. "About time."

"Congratulations, guys!"

Runo and Dan turned at the familiar voice to see an old friend. Baron, hyper as always, was jumping up and down on the bleachers. Next to him, Ace and Mira, hand in hand, waved and cheered.

"Marucho invited them," explained Runo as she and Dan waved back. "I accidentally overheard him talking with Jake and Julie. He made me swear not to tell anyone."

"I'll be sure to thank him," replied Dan. "It's always good to see old friends."

"Team, gather!" ordered Coach Kuso.

As Dan and Runo walked towards their coach, they glanced at Fabia hugging Serena and Ren hugging Nurzak before jogging towards the team.

"Look who decided to drop by," said Coach Kuso as he stepped aside to reveal a familiar face.

"Coach Harben!" exclaimed Dan as the Brawlers rushed to embrace their laughing coach.

"Amazing," started Coach Harben. "Simply amazing. Alice, that was an excellent shot back there but really, everyone contributed to this win. Everyone. I'm very sorry I had to leave so unexpectedly. My sister in Maryland isn't entirely cured, but she's feeling better so I thought I'd drop by. And I'm glad I did. This is the most dedicated team I've ever coached, or half-coached, but I think that Mr. Kuso here deserves the honor. Coach, any last words?"

"Well, I can't really say that this is the best team I've ever coached because this is indeed my first coaching experience," said Coach Kuso. "But I will say this: if I ever do continue coaching, you will always be my first team. One I'll never forget. You make me proud to be your coach."

The Brawlers smiled. Dan even started to get teary-eyed but Runo decided to let it slide instead of making fun of it.

"C'mon, hands in, everyone," said Coach Kuso. "You too, Coach Harben. Last one of the reason. Ready? One, two three…"

"BASKETBALL BRAWLERS!"

The End