Chapter 21: Masks

The first clash between the masked men, between the Top ranked brawler and the Man of Miracles, but just because they desire this fight, does not mean the world and the realm beyond it can allow it, or perhaps something more is at foot...

"Are you sure you can walk on your own?" Zero tried to restrain his annoyance at Mira's question and her refusal to let go of him even as they approached the cave.

It was natural that she would be concerned. They had all felt it, but she and the rest had seen him having another of his attacks, one so strong he half expected he would shed tears of blood. It hadn't vanished immediately, but he was growing accustomed to it, enough to power through as it finally dissipated.

"It's just some headaches; my legs are perfectly functional, " he remarked, even as the weather seemed determined to grow worse. The winds, which were already tearing through the island, picked up speed, enough so that they were fighting against them just to keep moving, their rain coats forced hard against their bodies. Flashes of lightning increased, along with the following booms of thunder.

"You say that now, but then you could see double…" Mira yelled back at him, less out of anger and more to be heard over the maelstrom they walked into. Rain came down in sheets, each drop of rain hitting like little pebbles. Mira could pick up the hail that had formed and pelt them hard.

Not wanting to be caught out should the hail increase in size, they forced their way forward, one step at a time, as they slowly approached the cave's entrance. It was met with cheers from Baron when they finally made it and rushed inside, safe from nature's wrath.

Untying themselves and lowering their hoods, they looked around, expecting another cave. This one was anything but, and its interior left them speechless.

“Wow, I wasn’t expecting this…any idea what it is?” Ace asked, as the cave was massive, almost as big as an arena back in one of the cities. But it wasn't just some empty space; within it lay a set of ruins, an impossibility because New Vestroia didn't host any Vestal presence before they arrived. Bakugan didn't build things like this.

“Impossible,” They turned to Zero, who sounded completely in disbelief and fear. How could he not, as he had seen ruins like this only once, but once was enough. It was just like Kamine Island, the design, the materials, and even the doorway mark.  “How…how can this be here? It shouldn’t even exist in New Vestroia.”

Sirenoid and Elfin were just as shocked by this as they had never seen it, but they had heard about it, and from how their human was acting, they could confirm this was it, but…why did it feel so gut-churning? Why did just being in here shake them to their bones? “Wavern….she wouldn’t have left it out, but surely she would know…right?”

“That’s why…but if it’s here, wouldn’t that mean…” Elfin asked, as she was getting scared. If her Preyas was here, wouldn’t that mean that-

“I see you’re familiar with these ruins,” a voice said, catching all their attention as they looked to the side and watched as 2 figures walked out into view. Their raincoats were removed, revealing their regular clothing. "I must say, I was hoping for something, but this is much more than even my wildest prediction.”

“Spectra!” Baron yelled as they all got ready for a fight. Zero was slow to follow, still sluggish from the proverbial knife to his brain. But he didn't need to be 100% to know this wasn't normal. This was a deserted island in the middle of nowhere; it had nothing of value and wasn't even on the official maps the Vestals made. They came here on the word of a neat God-like being.

So why was Spectra here? Why was he drawn to this cave as well?

Spectra, for his part, seemed amused. He had been honestly caught unawares by the storm, and it was only thanks to Gus' over-preparedness that they had raincoats on hand. This cave was just as intriguing as Helios and Vulcan could feel something about it long before they entered, something Helios converted.

And Spectra had found that his Bakugan had always had a good eye for such things. They had been more than willing to follow them in, and it seems like they'll get a bonus out of it, as this would be the first time he would see the Resistance in full.

"Evening, brawlers, it has been quite some time since we've seen each other, face to face." His gaze went towards Baron, who flinched under it, but he shifted to his followed masked brawler, someone on his radar for a while now.  "But now we have a new face. One which has been causing quite the stir since your little Beta city stunt.”

“Well, I do make an impression on people. A big one if they sent the top 2 brawlers they had after us.” Zero stated, shoving his pain to the side. Spectra being here could only mean the blue-haired man to his side had to be his right-hand man, and the Vexos' 2nd best Brawler, Gus Grav.

Spectra chuckled. "Sent is a strong word. I came of my own volition. On a hunch, really, one which has paid off quite well. I would offer you a chance to come with me, but I doubt you would accept."

“You’ll be correct.” Zero's tone dropped a few levels, a quiet danger in his words, as the very idea that he would join in the oppression of the Bakugan and use his talents for anything close to what Charles called right turned his stomach.

"Were you the ones who caused this storm? What are you doing with these ruins? This is bad news, Spectra. Even a guy like you must have noticed that!" Baron yelled at them, immediately suspecting the weather had something to do with the bad guys.

Gus narrowed his eyes as he stepped up to defend his master. “Watch your mouth, else I’ll shut it for you.”

Spectra stopped him, and he took no offense. “You think too highly of us if you assume that the Vexos have this kind of power, or perhaps…” Mira bit her lip at how his lip curled. He had figured something out. "Oh, this is proving far more intriguing than I imagined.”

"Gus, let us deal with them. I believe we'll get the information we seek." Spectra suddenly suggested, reaching for his side and pulling out his gauntlet.

“As you wish, master Spectra.” Gus quickly mimicked his master, closing off the slight chance this wouldn't have turned into a battle.

'Spectra Phantom. Leader of the Vexos and its top brawler. Nothing is known about him, no history, no goals-not even his true name. He's the Vestal me…which only makes him all the more dangerous.' Lelouch felt a drop of sweat form on his brow, as this must have been like what his enemies thought about him. But just like Cornelia’s dogged pursuit of his head, he couldn’t back down.

‘Still, they know something. Something we don’t.’ Spectra had to have a reason for being here, and if he wasn’t lying, he wasn’t here on orders. Did he tell the rest? Was it something personal? “You think we’ll just tell you what you want to know? How about a wager? Whoever wins gets to ask the questions and the loser must answer.” Zero proposed, as if a battle was unavoidable, they might as well try to maximise their gains.

“Oh, quite confident you’ll win, aren’t you?” Spectra didn’t refuse outright, but he didn’t accept either.

“Zero, are you insane? You can’t handle Spectra. Even Gus could clean your clock.” Ace reminded Zero, whispering so that the two opponents didn’t hear them.

“You see any other way out of this?” Zero countered, as they could try and make a break for it, but with the island seemingly facing a world-ending storm, that would be suicide. Trying to activate a duel so that their Bakugan could help them run would only allow their foes to give chase, amplifying the issue.

"We came to figure out what's happening, and we can't do that when they're in our way,"  Zero said, reaching for his gauntlet. "The Only way past them is through them."

"Stay back, this could get messy, and we could use the bailout." Mira stepped up with him, as she wasn’t about to let Zero take on both top brawlers by himself.

Still, she whispered a question to him: “Zero, are you sure you can handle this?”

“He’s focused on me, and probably thinks I’m not at my best. Best case, he lowers his guard.” Zero replied, as he had no illusions that he could win this fight, but if he could buy them time…

"Or do you just want those questions? As you seem to know a lot more about this place than the rest of us," Mira hit the nail on the head, his silence being more than damning as she pulled out her gauntlet. “We will discuss this after this, just focus on not falling over.”

"Yes, ma'am." With that said, all 4 equipped their gauntlets and slotted in their combat cards.

“Gauntlet, power strike!” they all yelled, their gauntlets lighting up as the storm picked up greater strength outside, unseen by them. The gate seemed to vibrate, the pinkish-red marking almost glowing as it quickly faded.

“Gate Card, set!” Spectra was the one who kicked this off, casually throwing a card into the field, watching as the red light expanded to encompass the entire space. “Bakugan, brawl!”

“Bakugan, stand! Show them your might as the strongest, Pyrus Viper Helios!” Helios landed on the field, and with a flash of his eyes, erupted from his ball form, his massive, muscular body glowing as if bathed in fire. This mean-spirited dragonoid was cloaked in crimson scales. His head, chest, upper tail, and leg skin are black with golden markings.

Spikes studded his arms and shoulders and crowned his shoulders, lower chest, and knees, while thick, rumpled hide shielded his legs. Three horns—two black, swept back, and one forward—guarded his head. Finishing it off were colossal, burgundy-red, bat-edged wings.

“Everytime…” Baron gulped as he felt himself start to sweat despite how cold the cave was.

“So, that’s Helios in the flesh…” Zero couldn't fault Baron for his reaction; he could feel it, something far more intimidating than facing Lancelot, who seemed so weak in comparison. "How odd. For all the hype I've heard, I'm not impressed."

Helios didn’t react to the bait. "I've heard worse from stronger and crushed them into dust."

“Don’t count us out before the battle has even started. Bakugan, brawl!” Zero declared that she had reached Sirenoid and threw her into battle. “Bakugan, stand! Let’s show them what we can do, Sirenoid.” As she formed in a sphere of water, lyre in hand, she didn't speak but glared at Helios and his master.

“Bakugan, brawl!” Gus's turn was to enter the battle, sending out his Bakugan partner. “Premo Vulcan, stand! With master Spectra on our side, we'll crush their puny Resistance!" Pre Vulcan was a massive Bakugan, larger than just about every other Bakugan that Zero had seen, including someone like Wilda. His body encased in hulking brown, orange, and grey armour.

As Vulcan groaned and took just a single step, he smashed up the rock beneath him. “All Mighty Terra, give me your irresistible power.”

“This won’t be easy, but we can’t just stand by, not when we can fight. Bakugan, Brawl!” Mira was the last to enter the fray. “Bakugan, stand. Subterra Thunder Wilda!”

“I’m ready to rumble, Mira. Let’s show them how a real brawler fights.” Wilda wasn’t the biggest on the field, but he wouldn’t let that stop him.

Zero took a moment to check their power levels with all sides on the field. Sirenoid sat at 400Gs, while Wilda was a little stronger, being 450Gs. His worry came from Vulcan being as strong as that mechanical Bakugan of Lync's, having a power of 500Gs. At the same time, Helios claimed the top spot at an incredible 600Gs.

“Their power levels are insane…” Zero frowned, but didn't dare let his concern show. He wouldn't let his opponents get anything from him. At the same time, Mira was equally unmoved, having known about the power disparity beforehand.

Their opponents didn't wait, as both charged them, Vulcan rushing like a rugby player and crashing into Sirenoid.

“Sirenoid!” Wilda called out, only to need to dodge as Helios fired a blistering hot fireball at it.

"You should worry about yourself, Wilda," Helios told him as he fired a second shot, using it as cover to fly towards Wilda, taking advantage of how large the cavern was.

Seeing the incoming dragon and knowing he didn't have time, Wilda held out his hands and tried to catch Helios. Still, it was easy, as the dragonoid had far too much momentum. With a power difference of close to 200Gs, Helios ploughed right through, knocking Wilda into his back.

Seeing Sirenoid barely block a punch to the face, Zero pulled an ability card. "Where one starts is not the end-all, be-all of battle. Ability Activate! Ripple Shield." With the ability activated, Sirenoid reached for the strings of her lyre and pulled on them, playing a soft melody. Vulcan and Helios' power dropped by 400Gs each, giving Sirenoid a 300Gs advantage. At the same time, Wilda had a 250Gs advantage over Helios.

Sirenoid was able to force Vulcan back and even land a few good hits, forcing the Subterra juggernaut to take more steps back. On the other side, Helios' next dive went disastrously for him, as the stronger Wilda caught him, killing his momentum before tossing him towards Vulcan, trying to use the Dragonoid as a bowling ball.

At the same time, Sirenoid had created a wave of water behind her and unleashed it onto Vulcan, aiming to see it washed out of her sight, preferably with his Vestal master.

Gus wasn’t about to let that happen. “Cute, but it won’t work. Ability Activate! Heavy Aegis!” One of Vulcan's gauntlets started to spin, turning his arm into an oversized drill, which he plunged deep into the ground, sending out an almost earthquake-like vibration and reverberating through the air. The result was that the wave seemed soaked into the earth, leaving not so much as a drop to hit that. It also had the effect of cancelling Sirenoid's ability, allowing Helios to recover and easily avoid crashing into his fellow Bakugan.

"Not even a mighty ocean wave can hope to defeat the subterra's power." Vulcan declared that both Helios and Vulcan bore down on Sirenoid.

"I'm not going to let you two walk away from this without some new scars." Helios declared that she had swiped at Sirenoid, an attack she just barely blocked. However, it was still sent tumbling onto her back, leaving her wide open for Vulcan, who was moments away from running her over.

“Not good, Ability Activate! Gun Lock!” Mira called out. Wilda's massive boulder shoulders lit up before he fired two shots of magma towards Vulcan. The armoured Bakugan turned to block the attack but was knocked back, allowing Sirenoid to pull herself up.

“Thank you, Wilda.” She stated as Wilda patted her shoulder before he marched up to meet Vulcan.

"Hey, if he's so insistent that subterra's so great, might as well try it for ourselves." Wilda declared, meeting his fellow Subterra Bakugan's stare.

“Have you forgotten about us? Ability Activate! General Quasar!” Spectra, called out as Heilos, who circled overhead, took a breath before unleashing a blast of red-hot flames towards Sirenoid. As he did so, his power level jumped to 800Gs; an attack would surely incinerate her.

"Oh, we haven't, but it's best to put out your flames, Ability Activate! Devora Anthemusa!” Sirenoid, despite the attack heading towards her, didn't panic. Instead, empowered by her ability card, she pulled a few of her lyre's strings, summoning forth a wave of water, surrounding her on all sides. The wave exploded, rushing to cover the entire field. As Ace and Baron raced to find high ground so as not to get washed away, Sirenoid's ability did its job.

Dousing Helios' attack, nullifying his power boast, while giving her one of 300Gs in turn. Her wave was still travelling towards Helios, over whom she had a 100Gs advantage.

Zero expected Helios to try to avoid the attack, staying in the air. Or maybe Spectra would pull out an ability to cancel out his or augment Helios' power.

He wasn't expecting Helios to land and present his full chest to the attack. When it hit the dragonoid, all it did was sink square his stance and laugh as he was enveloped in the water, coming out of it unmoved.

Red eyes mocked Sirenoid’s counterattack. “Oh, was that all you had? It almost tickled.”

“Muscle bond brute,” Sirenoid remarked, not letting herself grow intimidated. This would never be an easy fight, but she wouldn't let herself fall.

"Be careful! Spectra's the one who captured Skyress and Golem!" Baron yelled as he and Ace stood on a small boulder, raised high enough on the ground that another aquos ability wouldn't risk washing them out into the storm.

Those names meant little to Zero, but he could feel Elfin stew in anger, the Bakugan popping out of his cape to glare at Helios. She hadn't known any of the 6 outside her Preyas. Still, how he spoke about them, the stories he would tell, and how much he would laugh and smile, she knew they were dear to him. She heard from Wavern that he might be here because he was looking for them, and yet here was this brute looking so smug about capturing them for who knew what?

He hadn't met someone she so badly wanted to beat the snot out of as she did now, as Helios took the chance to gloat. "Compared to them, you're just ants I'll crush under my feet."

“Then let’s do so, Gate Card, open! Pryus reactor!” Spectre called out as the wet ground suddenly burst into flames, the lions’ share going towards Helios, increasing his by 200Gs, putting him firmly back in the advantage, all while Vulcan and Wilda continued their own battle, the former being the stronger of the two.

As Zero reached for another ability card, Spectra watched him and his gauntlet, which was recording the battle feed. And the data was just as he was expecting. A near-perfect match to Volt, Mylene, and Lync's data on him. But he suspected this wasn't all there was, it was merely the surface, and much like these ruins, if he just looked and prodded…“Now then, show me what you can do, Zero. I want to see it for myself.”

Line Break

Watching the battle from the crevice in the wall, two Bakugan remained out of sight and hearing, as they had since the two vestals arrived. They had no desire to get involved, not wanting to end up like others, mere playthings to those invaders, but that was until they heard one yell that this Helios Bakugan, a fellow Pyrus elemental like Drago, had been responsible for the disappearances of two of their friends.

“He…he was the one?” Drago asked, feeling a burning, near all-consuming anger boil in his heart. “And he’s bragging…he dares to act like this?”

Preyas stopped him before he could try to rush down, as, despite being level-headed, that typically only applied in situations where their friends and world aren't at risk. If that was the case, Dragon could be a hot head. "Drago, ole buddy, you might want to calm down. I want to clobber them as much as you, but I kind of don't have arms to clobber them with right now."

Preyas wiggled his little arm, winging things to prove the point.

“Then what do you suppose we do? Keep watching?” Drago asked as the battle continued to rage below them, rock, magma, fire, and water sent in all directions. Each one seemed to be emphasized by a blast of thunder outside.

“Not a lot of options,” Preyas stated, but paused when the really loud crash of thunder seemed to pierce through the roof, dust and pebbles falling from it. What, did lightning hit the top or something? "Darn storm, is it trying to rip away the rock above us?"

“Preyas, I don't think it's just a coincidence." Drago managed to rein in his temper, as one didn't need to listen hard to hear how the storm seemed to be worsening; even this deep in the cave, they could hear the winds howling and what sounded like trees being toppled. And with each ability used, it seemed to only get worse.

But there was something else, as Drago's eyes landed on Zero, who was collecting the fallen Sirenoid, the Aqous maiden having taken a hard hit. As his teammate set another gate card and they both sent their Bakugan into play, Dragon could feel it again, which seemed to counteract the presence of the doom dimension.  "Can't you feel it? That energy coming off that Zero character?"

Preyas stopped and looked at Zero as well. If he had his regular body, he would have been squinting his eyes right about now. Still, even after he had put extra focus into it, he got nothing. All he could feel was the creepiness from the cave and those strange ruins. “Uh, no. I’ve never been good at that spiritual mumbo jumbo stuff.”

Dragon groaned, but didn’t argue on the issue and just got straight to the point. “It’s like…it’s like Wavern, but it shouldn’t be possible.”

Preyas did a double-take, disbelief etched into his face, but Drago would never say that lightly. Wavern's presence was as unique as cloud shapes.

"Well, Drago, old friend, our condition shouldn't be possible. But here we are, small enough to be held by those Vexos kiddie hands and very marketable. What is possible kinda got thrown out the window." Preyas told him he could question it, but he accepted it and moved on. The follow-up was the better question for him, as if Wavern had decided to give some of her power to that masked guy, where did it leave them?

“Then…is it possible he's seen her? That he carries her goodwill?" Drago asked, but Preyas had already made his choice.

“Let’s get down there.”

“What?” Drago tuned, seeing Preyas approaching the battle, the danger not stopping him.

A stray blast of fire flew overhead, missing them by only a meter or two, and while Preyas jumped in fright, he didn't slow down. "You heard me, we gotta move. Come on, let's burn some rubber! If he's got the A-okay from Wavern, he can't be a bad guy, unlike the others. So we can head down and lend a helping hand, or do you want to sit here and watch?"

Well, when he put it like that, “You’re insufferable.” Drago sighed as he moved to follow along.

“Love you too, buddy.”

Line Break

Zero and Mira had seen better days, and so had their Bakugan as they had faced another defeat, barely clinging onto the fight to escape a clear and brutal defeat. “Impressive, you’ve lasted longer than I thought you would, but you know you can’t win this.” Gus mocked them, which only got on Zero's nerves, but as painful as it was to admit, it wasn't without merit.

Gus still had 300 Life points, while Spectre had even more at 400Gs, having hardly taken any damage. In contrast, the masked man had been dropped to just 50, while Mira wasn't much better off, having 150. The storm outside, having grown in strength, didn't make things better as it was like lightning was striking the island every other minute, while Lelouch's geass was buzzing like a scared dog.

"Zero, you use Elfin. I'll send it to Baliton as well.” Mira suggested, palming her Bakugan trap to deploy them.

"I can't say I'm a fan of those Traps, but what's stopping them from sending out their own. Mylene had one when we battled; they could as well." Zero asked in turn, but she gave him a hard look.

“We don’t have much choice, do we?” She asked, as they would just have to work with what they had, though Zero thought about whether he should try to pull something out, a card he hadn't used since first acquiring Sirenoid. It could help, but it would need to be tactfully deployed.

Gus wasn't about to let them take all the time they needed to devise a means of escape. "If you can hurry up, it would be appreciated. But then again, I can't blame you; no one would skip towards their own downfall."

“Hey, they’re still in this!” Baron yelled back at them.

“Yeah, I would watch your mouth, pretty boy!”

With a second call, the brawlers paused. Even Spectre, who had been smiling until now, let his smile drop into a mildly annoyed look of confusion as he scanned the room.

“Who said that? Baron, can you do voices now?” Ace asked, as that voice sounded like it came from their side, but he knew he didn't say anything.

Baron shook his head. “I only said that first thing.”

“Zero?” Mira asked her partner, who, if this were any other situation, would chuckle and give a non-answer, if only for amusement, but he was on high alert.

"I'm good, but I'm not needlessly random," Zero replied, only to feel Elfin pop out of his cape and onto his shoulder.

“Wait,” She called out, something new in her voice, an emotion none had heard from her as it sounded weak, but also filled with a deep hope which could never be destroyed.  “That voice, it couldn’t be-but I can never forget.”

“Hello, over here!” The group turned to a ledge where they saw a Bakugan perched, its shape unlike anything they had seen. Still, for Elfin, she recognised it instantly. Preyas, with Drago at his side, announced themselves for the brawlers to see.

Jumping down, he folded into a ball form to bounce on some rocks several times before landing behind the Resistance, who had fully turned to look at him. "This party has room for 2 more?"

“Preyas!” Elfin cried as she jumped off Zero's shoulder and smacked into Preyas, trying to hug and punch him the best she could. “Oh, I’m so happy to see you! You big dummy, why’d you run off like that? I am so mad at you!”

Baron fell over, his hand shaking as he pointed to the two Aquos Bakugan and Drago, who had also jumped down and presented themselves to them all.  “I…I can’t believe it, it’s the Legendary Pyrus Dragonoid, Drago….right here…am I dreaming?”

Ace felt like he needed to sit down after hearing their resident Bakugan fanboy call the Bakugan something like that. “Maybe because this can’t be real.”

“Well,” Spectra didn't know how good his luck could get, but this was more than he could ever hope for. "It seems like this trip will have plenty of good things. I had no idea I would find 2 of the missing Legendary Bakugan here, but I would be remiss if I didn't do my duty."

Drago heard that loud and clear and, jumping onto Mira's shoulder, glared towards the resistance's opponents. "You, what did you do to them? Where are my friends? What battles have you forced them into?"

“Battles?" Spectra asked, only to let out a chuckle that only made Drago want to set his coat ablaze. “Oh, my poor Drago, I'm afraid you're wrong. Prince Hydron isn't much of a battler, but he does enjoy his three trophies."

“Tro-you fends…” Drago growled, but he had to focus. He had to know, and thus turned to Zero. “You, Zero’s your name, right?”

“It is,” Zero responded, wondering what this Legendary Bakugan wanted with him, and how long he had been listening, if he knew what he was called…unless Waven had something to do with it, but he doubted.

"I will ask you one thing, and you'd better answer: Did Waven choose you?" The name drop didn't go unnoticed, not for the Brawlers, not for the Vexos, and especially not for their Bakugan. The question was how would…why would Drago ask something like that?

Zero could feel their eyes on him, and he knew he needed to give an answer and be honest. So, despite how much this would come back to bite him, he had to answer. “…Yes.”

Dragon, upon hearing it, didn't fight, dismiss, or shift. He only took a moment to think before he replied, “Then I shall place my trust in her judgement, as I have in the past.”

Preyas came up, having managed to calm Elfin enough that she left him go, though she remained close. “Same as me, so whatya say? Tag me in? I’m itching to get some serious payback against these bozos.”

"As for me, I would like to battle with you, Mira," Drago asked, though he knew it would be a big ask for her.

“Are they being serious here?” Gus asked, as they would not only be subbing in new Bakugan, but they must know that they’ll fight even harder to secure them. Was it a ploy? A short-sighted confidence?

Spectre didn't think it was either, as one had to be careful when it came to things like this. “I believe they are, Gus. But I don’t see any reason to stop them.” But he also saw no reason this couldn’t be fun, as with the storm hitting the island harder than ever, enough so that it felt like the ground beneath them was shaking, it wasn’t like they’ll be able to make it back to their ride, much less fly off.

"You might regret that, Spectra Phantom. Gate card, set!" Zero felt his geass burning, like it was tearing at his eye, but he pushed through the pain and threw his card down.

“Bakugan, brawl!” Giving Sirenoid a well-earned break, he reached for someone eager to get into the fight. “Bakugan, stand-Aquos Elfin.” Elfin, the magical girl loving Elfin, came out with as much flair and pomp as she often did. Still, when she smirked at the two Vexos, it was a little wider and much stronger, as she wasn't without her first partner. Speaking of-

“And why not bring in some reinforcements, Bakugan, brawl!” Preyas was giggling like a madman as Zero finished scanning him and threw him into battle. “Bakugan, stand. Aquas Preyas!”

“Oh, I am back in action!” Preyas roared, a big smile on his face as he landed with a pose he would call one of his finest, ending with a strong manly look towards their opponents. “And it’s good to be back!” He could take on the world when he had Elfin at his side.

“Bakugan, brawl!” Mira followed suit. “Bakugan, stand. Subterra Wilda!”

“I hope this works,” She muttered as her Subterra-aligned gauntlet near-rejected its scan of Drago, but that was all the luck she would have. But she needed a win, and if this was how it came, she wouldn't complain. “Bakugan, brawl!”

“Bakugan…stand, Pyrus Ultimate Dragonoid!” Much like all the time Helios had taken to the field, Drago seemed to be born from fire. Yet, he looked nothing like his fellow dragonoid, his colours softer and stronger to Mira, with eyes that didn't seem to carve destruction and power but still burned with a righteous anger and conviction.

Seeing not one but 2 Legendary Bakugan facing him should be scary, and it was, but Spectra was more in awe at the dragonoid, at this chance to face it in battle. “Magnificent. Do you see this, Helios?”

Helios, who had been silent, nodded. A sense of battle hunger in his voice as he growled out. “I see it, and I will defeat him. I will prove I am the superior dragon, that the flames which flow through my veins burn hotter than he can imagine.”

Watching what had to be the last round of this battle start, Spectra only sent our Helios while Gus supported Vulcan with a Bakugan trap of his own. Hexados, Baron, and Ace watched with baited breath as 2 sides clashed, attacks hitting harder and coming in faster than before. All while it seemed like all they could hear outside was the storm tearing apart the island. They glanced at the opening, and they couldn't see anything beyond what looked like a hail shower thick with fur.

As Baron hoped that their base wasn't damaged by the freaky weather, he saw something in the corner of his eye coming from the gate. What he saw felt like the biggest shock of his life. “Is…it is supposed to do that?” he pointed out, Ace looking at what had made him look slack-jawed and pale and immediately joining him.

“Guys, we have a problem!” he yelled at the two fighting, but the noise of the battle and the superstorm hitting the island outside made them unable to hear him. They didn't even notice it, as their attention remained firmly on the battle.

“Double Ability Activate! Boosted Ultima plus Quicksand Hole!” Mira called out, playing ability cards for 2 separate attributes. Drago was boosted by the flames. Wilda stomped his foot, turning the ground beneath Hexados and Vulcan to quicksand, trapping them as their power levels dropped.

“Like I’ll let you land such an attack. Double Ability Activate! Eraser plus Titan Knuckle!” Gus countered, Hexados cancelling out the ability. At the same time, Vulcan went on the attack, but his power was still weaker than Drago's, if only slightly, and he took a heavy fall.

“Guys! The ruins!” Baron and Ace yelled, but they weren't heard, and when they tried to get close, the ground only started to shake even harder.

Spectra didn’t let that stop him. Not when he was so close to capturing the once superior dragonoid, when he was about to force Zero to show all he had. “Double Ability Activate! Void Stream plus Maximum Quasar!”

As Helios charged up an incredible amount of firepower, his power rising by 300Gs to an insane 900Gs, his targets, Preyas and Elfin's power dropped to 0Gs. Worse was that such an attack would surely catch Zero in the blast, and it would be lucky if he was only burned.

‘We need to finish this quickly!’ Zero thought as his geass, his entire body was on fire. It was taking all he had not to flinch. Unknown to him, he wasn't the only one affected. Everyone involved in the brawl could feel it. It started as just crawling across their bodies, but now it was burrowing into their flesh and bones. Sirenoid and Elfin are getting the worst of it, almost as much as their brawler.

“Gate card, open! Hyper Merge!” With the gate card shining, both Elfin and Preyas got 200Gs back, but it wasn't nearly enough to save them; Zero had planned for that.

“I’m not done, Double Ability Activate! Twin-Back plus Blue Squall!” Slotting in the abilities, the ground beneath started to crack, the roof shaking as lightning pelted it without rest, blasting apart dirt and stone as each strike pierced deeper, all. At the same time, Ace and Baron yelled about the ruins, but couldn't get close enough to shake their two teammates into seeing it.

In the battle, Elfin laughed as she got back her lost power doubled, while Preyas weakened Helios by 200Gs. It was too much, too much energy, too much chaos, too much disturbance against the bounds of dimensional walls. They could have never known their role in this; most didn't even realise the importance of the site, and the one who did barely understood it.

As the clash once more, searing hot flames, the force of 3 elements clashing, each produced by some of the strongest Bakugan in existence, it was only a matter of time before one side broke. It just wanted any of the brawlers as right as Mira and Zero slotted in double abilities, and Preyas shifted to darkus-

That was when the world screamed.

Line Break

And we're here, the second last chapter of this story, before I go on break, though, for a few days. Since I didn't look up its notes, I assumed it was the last one. But that just means you all get one last chapter, and I can split what I wanted to write. Hence, it flows easier, as this chapter will mainly focus on the Brawlers and the mysterious island they find themselves on.

Next chapter…Well, I won't say what it will be about; that'll be a spoiler, but it will be the end, perhaps for the year, as it'll take me considerable time to work on more story content. Like I said before, it's because I'll be handling two CG-related commissions, one of which is a crossover.