Episode 36: Clash of the Titans

[Noland Hardy]

Yita, Alana, and Tracy exited the battlefield and returned to their respective sides. Based on that unorthodox match, the remaining four combatants could easily tell where this was headed. This was a repeat of the battles they've all had against each other when they met for the first time. 

Noland had a thought that this was going to be a double battle, him and Noland versus Jamal and Damian. Allen then brought up the fact that they split Markus and Tank up into two separate battles when those two tag teamed when they fought Roxy and Niko. Either way, they confided in one another that those two had to be brought down, regardless if it gets done solo or as a duo. 

Allen's thought turned out to be correct. They were going to split them up. Allen was set to duel Jamal. For Allen, this was personal. Losing to Jamal in the previous contest and being told about how he wasn't as effective of a brawler as he was made Allen eager to show him how the Iron Juggernaut gets things done. 

It was the Iron Juggernaut versus the Flying Fortress, the powerhouses behind the Resistors and the Spartans. Which one of them would stand the longest? Allen, or Jamal?

(Boss Theme)

[Jamal Armstrong]

"I have to say...I couldn't have been disappointed with either choice of an opponent, still...fighting Noland would have been different...and rather interesting."

That's what Jamal was thinking as he was taking the center stage. Thinking that didn't mean he wasn't completely focused on who was in front of him though. He had his wits about him, as always. The important thing to focus on here was that he wins against whichever legendary brawler he encounters. Although he knew this, he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride and joy in being able to take on the Iron Juggernaut again. They have a score to settle, as Allen would say. It seemed like the salt from their previous competition remained and piled up as time went on.

How did Jamal know that, one might ask? That was as straight to the point as the look on Allen's face. Jamal having a calm, bright demeanor about the whole thing surely didn't help ease the tension in the air that may or may not have been aggravated by the previous brawls. The last one was especially teasing. It brought back some good memories, from the Spartans' point of view.

After walking through the chitter-chatter of whether the Iron Juggernaut or the Flying Fortress was about to steamroll the other, the two met each other on the battlefield. Then there was a silence, almost like a showdown was about to take place, which it was.

"If I may say, Allen, I think the Resistors as a whole have done a fantastic job. The ones who have battled already were shockingly stronger than before, especially the three wonderful ladies," Jamal complimented. It seemed out of place for him to be giving credit to the enemy team when lives are at stake, but that's just what he did. They'd be hard-pressed to find him doing it anymore after this.

"But now," Jamal shifted gears as he activated his gauntlet for battle when the ref gave the signal, "it all comes down to us fated legends. You know what you have to do, and I know what I have to do. Now we'll see which one is stubborn enough to still be standing after all of this. I hope you've done your training, Iron Juggernaut, because I, the Flying Fortress, have surely done mine, and you can expect the same for Damian."

Jamal gripped Tec in his left hand. "Bakugan brawl!" he declared. Jamal intentionally used less power on his launch so that Tec would land a little closer to him to widen the starting distance a bit, something he wants to take advantage of to delay Gorem's advance when he comes in. "Stand, Subterra Tectonic Vulcan!"

The broad figure of the armored humanoid stood tall and strong. He revved his fists and his rings to make sure everything was ready to go. He pounded his fists together as he awaited Gorem's entry.

"Bring it!" Tec openly challenged.

[Allen Silva]

As Allen walked to the stage, he was shocked by Jamal giving the resistors a compliment. It was almost like he was brawling a different person. But, his next response immediately reassured Allen that it was the same Jamal." If i didnt know any better, id say you were admitting defeat right here. And dont get your hopes up on Damian, cause he's gonna eat dust, just like you will." Allen remarked, intending to play the same mind games that lost Allen thier second encounter.

Allen tossed Gorems bakugan ball, trying to get it as close to the middle of the arena as possible. " bakugan brawl, stand Subterra Titan Gorem. "

The golem bakugan rose up, bieng as physically imposing as he possibly could. Once at full hieght, he stomped on the ground, shaking the arena." Its tims we ended this, Tectonic Vulcan."

" ladies first." Allen said, making it clear he wasn't afraid to sling words.

[Jamal Armstrong]

Tec's actual face couldn't be seen through his visor, but any smart person would be able to tell how unhappy he was at Allen for his insults.

"How about you keep your mouth shut before I shove my fists in there?" Tec threatened.

And Jamal allowed it to happen. He wasn't the type of person to throw around threatening banter, but Allen was really asking for it here. There was always something about this character that made Jamal disgusted to see him. There was always something Allen had to say, but that was going to end. Jamal was determined to shut Allen down again.

"You know what? I'm getting the feeling that you really don't know any better, Allen," Jamal argued back. "We haven't even attacked each other yet and I can already tell one thing that hasn't changed about you from last time. You always want to make yourself look tough by how you speak to me. It makes me sick."

Jamal played his signature first move on his BakuMeter immediately. "Ability activate! Imperial Knuckle!"

Tec held his arms out in front of him and detached his fists. Using rocket propulsion, they were guided by his will. The right hand dug into the ground to get a handful of large stones to hurl at Gorem to distract him from the advancement of the left hand, which was conveniently lining itself up to slam Gorem in the back by encircling him.

[Allen Silva]

Allen could already tell his words were getting to Jamal. He was fine with that, as he was tormented by Jamal's words until his battle with Clayf. Now all he had to do was win.

Vulcans attack brought Allen out of his mind, and back into reality. Rocks were bieng thrown at Gorem, but it seemed like a bad idea to deal with that head on. Instead, he pulled out a ability that would allow him to defend on all fronts." Fine, fine. We'll get down to business Ability activate Bound barrier."

Gorems expelled the barrier from his body, blocking himself from the obvious threat right in front of him. But, since it was like a force field, it also blocked his blindside from any surprise attacks." All work and no play makes me a bored golem."

[Jamal Armstrong]

The stones were virtually blown away by Gorem's steadfast defense. The same couldn't be said for Tec's fist. While they were stopped cold in their tracks, they were nowhere near as light and fickle as a couple of rough and tumbling rocks.

"You're an all-working golem?" Tec scoffed at Gorem's suggestion. "Oh, please. Even that brown turtle worked harder than you just by taking one step."

Jamal had just the ability registered to deal with Gorem's so-called "defense." It would be dealt with in a flash.

"Ability activate! Wrecker Piercing!" The two mobile hands that were unable to get through Gorem's barrier with their colossal punches retracted back into their gauntlets and were replaced with a set of drills. They revved up and excreted a steady flow of brown static thanks to the amount of kinetic energy they were generating. Appearing to the front and back of Gorem respectively, the two drills dug into Gorem's barrier, leaving him zero centimeters of a chance of escaping without an industrial injury.

[Allen Silva]

Allen was already fishing around for his next ability as Vulcan was activating his. If it didnt activate in a flash, he probably could have found a more ideal counter. But he obviously didnt have the time." Sorry buddy, but youre gonna have to endure this." He apologized to Gorem, feeling bad about this situation." Ability activate, Unshaken fort."

Gorem rooted himself to the ground, and used his gauntlet as a shield, attempting to absorb some of the impact." Yeah, didnt want to do this early. Still, i don't care." Gorem used as much bravado as he could muster, and it wasnt all for show. The ability let him keep his ground, and to at least lessen the damage so he could fight back. After a few seconds, Gorem batted back the attack, giving himsekf a opening.

Allen saw the same thing he did, and got his first offense ready." Now its our turn. Abiity activate, Gravitron Balistae. ."

Gorem charged the projectile, all the whike still remaining rooted from the previous ability. He launched it out, aiming straight for Vulcans solar plexus.

" Im a subterra brawler Jamal. Moving when i want to is how i roll. Until then, i wont even blink. Now come at me."

[Jamal Armstrong]

Tec's fists flipped several times from Gorem's repulse, so they did not return to his body while there was an unusually strong projectile coming from Gorem's hands. The only difference between that and what Tec was doing to Gorem was that Gorem actually had to put in some effort to escape.

"Ah, yes. Of course you are. Still as a rock, just like you are in life," Jamal spat. "Ability activate! Heavy Metal!"

The metal covering across Tec's body gleamed in a shiny brown, the sparkle just barely making itself to be distinguishable from the rest of his glorious appearance. Other than a quick sheen, this ability brought his durability up to speed. It was more than enough for Tec to simply take that attack without giving an inch of care and not have a single scratch on him. The residual effects of the projectile detonating were annoying though.

"You're supposed to be making me eat dust, remember?" The fists returned to Tec's body. They revved up to produce a current, increasing their reaction time and deployment speed. This made it easy for Tec to continuously fire Imperial Knuckles at the stationary golem without having to worry about anything perilous. "You'll never scratch me by being there, but that's okay, because you brawl in a similar way to me. The key difference between our situations now is I can afford to stay here."

[Allen Silva]

Tectonic Vulcan played a ability that wasn't much unlike his own. This ability unfortunately allowed him to take on the Gravitron Balistae and attack without hesitation. He didn't leave much time for Allen and Gorem to set themselves up, but they can make do.

" ability activate, mineral barrier." Allen played the next barrier ability in his arsenal. This ability formed a moving force field of the very stoned that lay on the battlefield. This means that any attacks from Vulcans Imperial Knuckle would simply damage him, and leave Gorem no worse for wear.

" I think you Jamal are missing the point here." Allen decided to share some of Clayfs wisdom with Jamal, seeing as they are both subterra brawlers known for defense." I do not move. Sway, maybe, but you will still find me, defending and taking hits, because I won't let enemies get through my wall. What does being the Flying Fortress mean to you? Why do you have that title, and not one of a crusader?"

[Jamal Armstrong]

Tec continued to have his fists pound Gorem's newly-formed barrier. It wasn't costing him anything to keep up this relentless assault. Knowing that Gorem had to keep up what he was doing in order to survive kept Jamal and Tec in good hands, no pun intended.

"You finally understand the idea behind your moniker now?" Jamal inquired. He shook his head with a hint of laughter being visible on his face. "It's about time you've learned who you are, Allen. I never expected you'd bring that subject up, but since you did, I'll bite after I take care of a nuisance. Ability activate! Viblow!"

Before Tec's fists made contact with the barrier again, they paused a couple of centimeters away from the defensive option. They opened up to reveal their palms, and then a rush of energy surged from them. Gorem's barrier suddenly collapsed right on top of him with Tec's fists on his front and his back expelling a repulsive force. This easily caught Gorem right in the center of his little trash compactor. That was impressive for an ability primarily used for defense, in Jamal's case anyway.

"Perhaps you've forgotten when I told you this before, so I'm going to remind you one more time. My story is similar to yours. We've encountered dangerous battles during our younger years and seem to be the outliers when it comes down to who can take more hits and shrug them off. The most important difference between our respective histories is the origin of our power, when we chose to make it known."

As Jamal was explaining that, the gravitational force Tec's fists were emitting were crushing Gorem's barrier along with Gorem himself stuck in the center with no way out.

"See, you had a choice of when to raise your walls, hence why the term 'crusader' would be more applicable to you and the Resistors. I didn't have that choice. I was caught right in the middle of the action where death by assimilation was the only alternative to fighting. That is where my role as Vestal's Flying Fortress comes in. I stay in front of everyone that I care about and act as their refuge when they need protection, and I'm mobile, able to keep a steady flow of protection anywhere I please."

"You knew that already. We have fought before. Obviously," Tec said as he sent one last surge of energy into his fists to have them cancel each other out with equal force, cancelling Gorem's barrier and leaving him reeling from internal damage. His fists then returned to Tec's arms where they had to recharge before being sent out again.

"You may have the power to match up to my defensive prowess, but here's a point for you to make sure you don't miss. Your Gorem may have the power of a juggernaut who may be a threat to my stronghold, but I'm the one who is built to take all of that damage. You are not."

[Allen Silva]

Jamal's answer to Allen 's question made a smirk appear along his face. He knew that something was gettigetting through to him. Unfortunately it wasn't the mineral barrier ability, which he wanted to deal some damage with it before it broke. He didn't have that luxury, because the Viblow ability blew straight through Mineral barrier as though it was paper.

" hey, remember that heavy metal ability you played a little bit ago." Allen pointed out what seemed to be a useless piece of information. But in fact it was a clue to his next move." My Panzer Sheen should jog your think tank."

Gorem armor extended to cover the exposed areas on his body. After doing that, it hardened to near diamond strength. This new piece of hardware let him withstand Vulcan's Viblow with ease." I can do this all day. So how bout you try a new trick bud."

[Jamal Armstrong]

Jamal scratched the side of his head on that one. What Gorem was basically implying was that making yourself have more armor protects you from gravitational forces the body is not used to being under. It was quite interesting, interestingly foolish if Jamal was asked for an opinion.

"You're stupid, aren't you?" Tec asked out loud, asking exactly what Jamal wanted to ask.

"Well, if you're so keen on jogging my memory, I'll remind you about something else. I warned you about your use of your defenses, and it's tearing Gorem apart. Not from the outside, which you somehow think it is. It's from the inside. Your armor cannot protect what I just hit." Jamal was referring to the fact that Allen had just made Gorem heavier when two gravitational forces are pushing against him to crush him. That is the complete opposite of what Allen should have done if he wanted to do something about Viblow. Now Gorem had weight to carry when his body had basically tons of force pushing up against him.

"What a shame. I said that to you because I genuinely wanted to help you. Were you too stubborn to take my advice just because you have a score to settle?"

"I'd remove that armor if I were you, unless you feel like dragging yourself over to me before I knock you out," Tec suggested and threatened at the same time.

[Allen Silva]

Jamal thought he fully understood what Allen had done. His armor was already in place, and now there was nothing stopping him from dropping a serious beating on the subterra Spartan.

" see, you might find what we did foolish. And sure it makes us take more damage then we want. But do you know what is more foolish?" Gorem offered up the question to his opponents. His voice sounded strained from holding himself up." Falling into a trap."

Allen held up a glowing ability." That's right Jamal. This is the Vicious counter ability card." Allen clued Jamal in on what going to happen. He might have known before the revelation, but what the heck." And you said I had a choice of when to raise my shield. It seems like you haven't done your homework. I did what I had to do. If it was my choice, I would have been doing my own thing. I would be working out, going to school, and living my life on my terms. Instead I'm dealing with a hyped up mimic telling me that I've been given the easy road. "

At the end, Gorem appeared to have vanished. No one would be able to follow him, until he was already behind Vulcan. Swinging a powerful armored hook at him, there seemed to be no way for Vulcan to avoid some kind of damage. Maybe not game ending, but probably game changing.

[Jamal Armstrong]

Jamal gritted his teeth. There was nothing he could say. What could he really say though? He had been had. That sly maneuver - as silly as it looked - came in like a battering ram and delivered such a back-shattering hit that even Vulcan - with his fortified body - had to feel something inside.

"You let that happen on purpose..." Jamal seethed. Tec got some flying lessons in with Gorem giving him a nice boost. Forget the Heavy Metal. He may need a chiropractor. "He's still moving around like nothing happened to him..."

Jamal had no choice but to concede on that one. "I hate to say it, but you got me real good on that one. I did fall for that," he admitted. "Now I'll show you mine."

Fighting Gorem without resorting to his second-level abilities was a bit too much to ask for. This one would surely rock the place, and may even bring a golem tumbling down with it.

"Ability activate! Seismic Trigger!" The ability to manipulate seismic activity was a fantastic part of Tec's arsenal that Jamal only uses against opponents that are worthy. Allen should be honored.

Tec was forced to roll his large butt over so he could face Gorem in fear of him charging again. He detached his hands once more and relied on his rocket boots to return to a standing position. The hands revved up for a few seconds before slamming into each other fist-first. This action released a mighty wave of seismic force that created a fissure-like twist, starting from where Gorem was standing. This was done to stun Gorem and curb his momentum. The hands then separated to perform two separate functions.

The right hand conjured a landslide of earth that moved towards Gorem in a cyclone fashion, preferring not to get to its destination in just one straight line. The left hand flew over Gorem's hand and intended on punching the ground to cause it to erupt, sending lethal pieces of stone into the air like an eruption, and maybe pieces of Gorem if he'd allow it.

[Allen Silva]

Gorem finally landed a critical blow to Vulcan. He was starting to get through the Spartans armor. That is, until he activates a ability much stronger than before. A fissure stopped Gorem from making anymore forward process, and a landslide sought to crush him where he stands.

" Allen, I recommend we do something about that. " Gorem said, worry evident in his voice. He might survive the attack, but the side effects and collateral damage might be to large even for him." I mean yesterday."

" working on it." Allen was rushing through his abilities, trying to find something to stop the incoming avalanche of dirt and stone. Finally, he decided to try something stupid." Guess we are gonna have to try this. Ability activate, Equilibrium Purge."

Gorem internally charged energy, seeking to release it in a purging blast. Once enough was built up, he let it all out. Surprisingly, it stopped the momentum of the landslide, forcing it to stop right where it was. The left hand fell down, the command taken away from it. The hand wasn't useless, just not sure of what it was doing." Why would you try such a dangerous trick with all these spectators? Do you even care, Jamal?"