"I think perhaps it is a good time to take down Bull." Gray comments as he cleans his chrome zephor, he is finally done with the new upgrades.
"Any special strategy?" Ababa asks, especially after they spoke about drugging Yamato.
"No need, Bull is an easy one." Gray answers like Bull is barely a good bda player. "Bull is more of a collector and builder rather than a player."
"Well, then let's go to Marda-B and then you can ask him to grant you permission to do so." Ababa makes his way over to the door, knowing that Gray will soon be on his heals.
After having a short talk and explanation and receiving orders from Marda-B, Gray is dropped off near a town where Bull usually goes to pick up parts for the upgrades that he and Armada build for the gang.
Gray knows that he will be alone.
Waiting for Bull to pass through the forest, Gray wonders how exactly he is going to go about it. After all, Marda-B is watching this one.
He just hopes that Bull keels over easily and does not put up much of a fight.
Gray's attention is drawn when he can hear voices and then his heart stops. It is Bull, accompanied by Aqulas and Shin.
Dammit. This was not part of the plan, they won't just idly stand by while Gray defeats Bull and takes his bdaman.
And the way that Aqulas pummeled Enjuy, there is no way in hell that Gray is going to stand a chance against Aqulas.
The conversation suddenly stops, and silence falls when they realize that Gray is standing right in front of them.
"Gray." Bull acknowledges him.
"I'm only here for one of you." With that, Gray points to Bull with that schooled sinister look on his face.
Gray then moves his finger and then points at Aqulas. "So, keep your nose out of this and your bdaman too." Gray uses a threatening tone hoping that Aqulas gets the point.
But Gray's plan fails as Aqulas steps in front of Bull to protect him.
"You know I can't do that." Aqulas answers calm and cool.
Gray pulls a sinister smile and then pulls out his bdaman.
"Really Bull, you're going to hide behind someone else?" Gray taunts and then uses his accurate skills to blast off a few tree branches surrounding them. Gray does this to trigger Bull's transformation.
It works when a hand appears on Aqulas' arm and then a black haired, bright eyed Bull appears. The intelligent one, not the reckless red haired one that Gray was aiming for.
"Not at all." Bull calmly answers.
"We are going to do this just like you have taught us all – we are going to do this as a team together and that way we can't fail. Remember Gray, that is what you taught us, did you forget that?" Bull's words hit home as Gray remembers that day Yamato, Bull and himself were trapped in that ice mountain, Bull just repeated his own words back to him.
Gray plays it cool. "If that's what you want. I'll walk away with two bdaman then." But deep down Gray panics, there is no way he is going to pull this off, not even if he pulled out a whole bunch of dirty tricks.
"Watch out!" Shin exclaims out of nowhere.
The next moment there is a red hue and then a blast that sends Bull and Aqulas disappearing in a ball of smoke.
When the smoke clears, Aqulas and Bull are wiping their eyes out and then they find the source of the attack.
Enjyu.
"Not so fast, we have unfinished business." Enjyu as sinister as ever steps closer and addresses Aqulas.
Ababa is right, Enjyu is a sore loser.
Enjyu then steps up next to Gray. "Or we can do it together, right Gray?" Enjyu then taunts Gray and Gray has to fight everything in him not to turn to Enjyu and to get into it with him right there and then.
"Aqulas is going to wipe the floor with you." Gray comments in a low tone so that only Enjyu hears him.
"We'll see, let's do this." Enjyu then loads his black drive shot and fires away.
After Enjyu and Aqulus' battle had gone somewhere else, it left Gray and Bull alone by themselves and after some battle Gray starts to feel like he is picking on Bull. He is just playing with him now, he could have ended it a long time ago.
"I'll be honest with you Bull, if I could just say 'hand over your bdaman and we'll call it a day', I would." Gray shouts over to Bull where he is behind cover.
"Oh please Gray, you're just busy toying with me now. Why not just end it?" Bull calls Gray out.
Gray thinks about it for a moment, why won't he just end it?
Because he is supposed to defeat him like a true agent of the Shadow Alliance would and he really does not want to hurt Bull, he does not deserve it.
Instead, Gray's strategy is to wear Bull down until he transforms back to his weaker self and then collapses. And so, that is what Gray does.
Gray and Bull end up in a standoff, but Bull is tired out, struggling to even stay on his feet.
"I can't…." With that Bull transforms and then drops and passes out.
Gray lets out a sigh of relief, this was slowly killing him.
After collecting Bull's bdaman, Gray goes in search of Enjuy and wonders what has happened in his match, maybe he will find Enjuy in the state that he left Bull.
Gray finally comes upon the scene of Enjuy lights out on the ground, his bdaman still gripped in his hand.
Stepping closer, Gray then spots Aqulas and Shin. Aqulas is propped up against a tree and it is clear that he has a broken arm and injured leg and Shin seems injured as well, probably tried to intervene somewhere.
"Ah, you did not account for Enjuy playing dirty in this one." Gray slowly wags his finger at the two. "But you still toppled him, bravo for you."
"You should have stayed out of Shadow Alliance business." Gray coldly comments as he makes his way over to Enjuy.
He then picks up Enjuy's bdaman.
Really, he feels like just leaving Enjuy face down in the dirt but there is something in him that just cannot leave a comrade behind like this, even if they are not getting along.
Gray then grabs Enjuy's wrist, pulls him up and then lifts him onto his back and then carries him off.
Reaching the ship, Gray enters carrying an unconscious Enjuy.
"I see he overestimated himself again." Ababa's tone is heard when Gray places Enjuy down to lie on the seats.
Gray then stands next to Enjuy looking down at him, a moment later he places his bdaman down on his chest.
"Aren't you glad I brought him with?" Ababa asks as he steps up next to Gray.
"I suppose." Gray answers quietly as he keeps on staring at Enjuy but in his mind all he sees is Aqulas and Shin injured.
Injured because of him, that was not part of the plan, that was not supposed to happen.
"Cheer up Gray, if Enjuy had not intervened like he had, then Bull would be the one lying here now, on his way back to the Shadow Alliance never to leave again." Ababa points out the reality of the situation but in a way to really cheer Gray up.
Gray looks away from Enjuy, Ababa is right, he should actually be thanking Enjuy because there was no way he would have been able to win against Bull and Aqulas.
When they return to headquarters, two robots step up and then takes Enjuy by his arms and then drags him off the ship. Stepping out, Gray watches Enjuy being dragged back into the base and he cannot help but wonder what they are going to do to him.
What kind of deal does Enjuy have with the Shadow Alliance? Is losing perhaps something that deserves punishment?
Marba-B said that he would be watching the match, but that was his match with Bull. Was Marda-B watching Enjuy and Aqulas battle? Surely, Marda-B would have seen that Enjyu did everything right as an agent of the Shadow Alliance, except the losing part of course.
"Let it go Gray, Enjuy has coming what is coming to him." Ababa steps past Gray like he knows what he is thinking.
For some reason Gray recalls that night he ran into Enjuy in that rainy town where Enjuy was throwing battles for money. After having a sort of a conversation with Enjuy in the bar, and then Enjuy leaving, he recalls the bartender commenting that Enjuy must have had a hard life growing up.
Gray cannot help but feel sorry for Enjuy. Yes, he is unhappy with Enjuy and will probably sucker punch him again if the opportunity presents itself but at the same time, he feels like Enjuy perhaps are in need of the sympathy.
"Let's go Gray, Marda-B awaits." Ababa draws Gray's attention and for some reason an unsettling feeling crawls up his spine.
It is just the way that Ababa said it, like there is some unpleasant experience waiting for him.
As they get closer to Marda-B's throne room as Gray has decided to call it, Gray actually starts sweating. Sure, Marda-B said that there will be no more punishments unless he does something wrong, but he is sure he has not violated any shadow alliance rules. Unless Marda-B expected more of him. More than just a member of the shadow alliance.
"Well done Gray." Marba-B addresses Gray the moment he walks in. The greeting is so sudden that Gray did not even get to kneel and so Gray stays standing as Marda-b talks to him.
"But I think that it is time that you stop avoiding Yamato. I want his bdaman, and I want it soon." Marda-B's tone carries an underlying threat and now Gray is really starting to sweat.
"Our deal just became time sensitive Gray, you better get to it." Marda-B orders in a cold tone that makes Gray shiver.
"Yes Marda-B, as you wish." Gray gives a slight bow with his response hoping it appeases Marda-B somewhere.
"You're dismissed."
Gray swiftly exits before Marda-B has any other orders that he does not want, and he follows Ababa out the door.
"You can stop sweating now." Ababa sarcastically comments.
"…" Gray is just about to jab Ababa back with a sarcastic response when he remembers that they are in common halls, and no one is supposed to know how 'friendly' they really are.
