Episode 22: Don't Underestimate Me

[Noland Hardy]

After the last confrontation with Nero, Noland became increasingly angry at his enemy after the director did something to his little brother that made him very unresponsive to anything that is said to him. Noland took Kendrick to the hospital so they can figure out what Nero did to him. To his surprise, the doctors detected a chip that was planted into his skin shortly after performing an x-ray on him. Since this was a very unusual material to have in a human body, they opted to remove it surgically to see if it would make a difference. Noland informed his grandmother of the procedure and allowed her to make the final call of what was going to happen. She accepted it and let them perform the surgery. While waiting for the process to be completed, she had a long talk with Noland about what he did to Karen prior to going after Nero. She understood why it was important to get the information away from her, but she did not approve of the brutal methods he used to defeat her. In his mind, Noland was not concerned about how he got the information considering Karen was basically allowing Nero to do whatever he wanted to Kendrick since she acknowledged she knew where he was. Regardless of this fact, Grandma urged him to stop taking the law into his own hands when dealing with these enemies and compared the way he beat the information out of Karen because of a stolen little brother to killing someone who killed someone you loved; she noted that the law will not exempt his actions for retribution by making this comparison, and that he was lucky no one else saw him do it nor did she report him for it. She also stated that he doesn't want to get involved with an action like that with another girl since the male will most likely be the loser in situations involving violence. Noland then asked her what she would do if it was Vince who was taken captive by one of the most dangerous people and she found the only person who could tell her where he was, but that person defiantly refused to disclose the location. He told her this wasn't an ordinary criminal that they were dealing with, so if there was any chance of stopping him from doing anything to Kendrick, he was going to take that chance regardless of what the law tells him to do. Fearful that her grandson may end up becoming someone she doesn't want him to be, the grandmother was about to do what Vince tried to do while he was still around and forbid him from combating any bad guys; however, knowing that he ended up doing so anyway when he put that rule in place, she opted not to do it and sighed. Karen walked out of a hospital room after recovering from her injuries and passed by Noland without saying a word, obviously still angry about how he acted previously. Noland was unaffected by this and waited patiently for Kendrick's surgery to be completed, which resulted with the effects of the chip disappearing upon its removal. As they were going home, Noland told his little brother that he was proud of him for how strong he was battling with Elico and Hydranoid and decided to become his mentor after initially protecting him from battling, which brought a smile to grandma's face. The chip used on Kendrick was kept for evidence when they reported Nero to the police, with the latter stating they will begin the investigation. The only reason why they didn't want to attempt to get Karen in trouble for being an accomplice was because the grandmother liked her and wanted to get her help for her situation rather than getting her in trouble.



Upon returning to practice, Noland set his sights on getting Drago in prime condition for the upcoming battles that will lead to the championship. The team went to the Sports and Learning Complex for rigorous training where they encountered Markus once again. Tank urged his teammates to completely disregard those three and focus on training. He especially instructed Noland to stay away from Karen and to not respond to anything she says or does; he stated that if she tried to approach any of them or get anyone else to, each Resistor will band together and report her as they agreed to upon learning of her identity from Noland. Tracy chimed in to tell him that if he needed any kind of support, they were there for him. While initially feeling terrible about the ordeal, Noland was uplifted by the continued support the other resistors were offering. Tank immediately returned to talking about the championship and told them that the matches leading up to the championship will be elimination style; the first team who defeats all three members of the opposing team wins. The championship would be much different, but decided to keep his mouth shut about it until they actually make it that far. With that said, Tank and Tracy challenged Noland to a battle each so they can improve their abilities while fighting against an evolved Bakugan. After fighting Drago enough times, both Skystar and Gladion fought him together, which not only made all three of them stronger, but it also improved their teamwork.



The day finally came for when the most important battles that they've had as a competitive team was about to take place. Noland's grandmother was proud that he was brawling this way again as opposed to the more dangerous battles against Terrorism, and stated both her and Kendrick will be rooting for him in the audience. Before Tank could focus on the event, Steve approached him in his wheel chair and encouraged him to do well, knowing that the team had a high chance of winning. He then said he would be right next to him once he wins just like they'd always did. Katherine also approached him with John's Letterman jacket and wished him good luck. Tracy's parents were very proud of their daughter for making it this far and encouraged her to 'bring home the gold', already making a place to place her rewards far in advance. When the three teammates met with each other for the final time before going to the Complex to end this entire thing, they each discussed their final thoughts on what has gone on so far. Tank told them that it was a wake-up call when Daniel and Nero came into the picture since he never would have expected everything he dreamed about with Steve and John by his side would be taken away so easily by people so evil, but he realized that he was inspired in a way by who he is teamed with now. He stated that while he must not have been the best person in their eyes when they first met, he realized that Tracy's commitment to getting stronger and Noland's will to fight was what kept him going; he especially recognizes Noland's talent and sacrifices and said that he probably would not have made it through his losses if Noland wasn't there to help him through it. Tracy believed that a major reason why she has been able to be as strong as she is now was because Noland had always been the one to defend and teach her, which was something she deeply appreciated since no one had done that for her up to that point. While flattered that he had an effect on their lives, Noland stated that Tracy is a perfect representation of why he started mentoring other brawlers since Alana was initially the same way she was since people like her often have the most potential. He also stated that Tank had a major effect on his brawling considering he never had as much thought about how to deal with opponents as tactically until he battled him for the first time. Nonetheless, he informed them that meeting both of them and the other members of the Resistors reminded him that they are reasons why he battles, which is to not only help people who are in genuine need of it, but to protect people from suffering losses or hardships that they don't deserve and to prevent it from happening to anyone else like it happened to him. Regardless of what happened from that point, Noland declared that it was definitely not a mistake that each of them made it to this point and told them that whenever you have friends around you that makes you strive to be better, they are good friends, and he believed he found that on this team.



They arrived at the Sports and Learning Complex in a timely manner and agreed with each other on the planned lineup: Tracy, Tank, and Noland. Noland decided to keep the original lineup he came up with a long time ago considering that it was perfect for a situation like this. Tracy not only needed more battles to make it to nationals, but she was strong enough to the point where she could actually take on entire teams by herself. Tank and Noland both agreed that they could switch spots with each other at any time they wanted to if they deemed it necessary. To their surprise, some battles didn't have a 1-on-1 battle at all; there were some where they made the entire team battle together against the other team 3-on-3. They continued to fight as a unit: Drago was used as their main offensive Bakugan, Skystar was their support, and Gladion was a combination of those roles. They breezed their way through the first rounds with very little difficulty. On the other hand, Markus was having trouble coping with the situation considering that neither him or Allen trusted Karen after the Kendrick incident. They both talked about what they were going to do knowing that this might have an effect on the way they present themselves in battle. One of the points he made referenced how she might end up throwing the match if Nero told her to do it, which scared him at the thought of it. Many of the battles they had to fight together was sloppy as a result of the disconnect, which didn't cause them to drop any games, but it was more difficult to move on than it had to be. Karen noticed their change in behavior and started getting depressed over it despite showing that she didn't care about what they thought.



Eventually, both teams made it to the championship battle that took place two hours after the semi-final matches were concluded. This gave them enough time to reflect on their actions and what needs to be corrected before the final battle begins. Tracy was getting really nervous about the event, which caused Noland to comfort her and tell her that she was doing more than any of them could have expected. Tank reminded them that regardless of what happens in this battle against Markus's team, they were still going to do the best they could. Both Noland and Tracy saw through his statement and knew what he was actually saying was that they had better win against them since he wasn't accepting any losses against Markus regardless of who it was. Tank jokingly acknowledged that it would be something he would say, but told them that he was serious this time around and wouldn't have it any other way. Karen confronted both Markus and Allen and asked them what was going on with those two acting so different even though she knew the answer. While Markus was not able to come up with a solid excuse, Allen was brutally honest and told her that her actions and who she was working for was something they cannot accept. He later states that it makes it difficult to trust anyone when they're aware of her affiliation with a dangerous enemy to them. He stressed that it didn't make them want to harm her in any way however. After hearing enough of them talk about it, Karen excused herself as she wanted to be alone for a while. With her out of the picture temporarily, Markus began asking Allen about how he was able to earn his moniker. Allen replied that as soon as he received Gorem and used him in battle, he noticed that his mobility wasn't as quick as other Bakugan and decided to use what Subterra Bakugan are primarily known for, which is their strength. Seeing Noland launch attacks that were as strong as ever, Allen sought to get strong enough to resist them, which allowed Gorem to train long enough to reach that level of endurance. In essence, his rivalry with Noland inspired him to get stronger. Markus then told him that his continued frustration with losing to Tank makes him keep practicing until he is able to win, which was something he never felt confident in doing until he saw Allen face to face for the first time. He then reminded himself that he also has another reason to get stronger in the form of protecting his little sister after a Terrorist nearly caused her to die from poisoning. Allen revealed that his reason for fighting was along the same lines as Noland's, which was to make sure nothing on that level of extremity ever took place again; however, he was more concerned about the effect it has on people, namely himself, who had to suffer his best friend disappearing when he needed him most after the ordeal despite never telling Noland how it made him feel. He admits that he was never the one to make a lot of friends, and it causes him to value the ones he does have greater than anyone else. Not wanting to stay on that conversation too long, Allen mentions that he probably shouldn't have said what he said to Karen since they would be in a tough situation against Noland if they couldn't get themselves together, which caused Markus to inform him that it wasn't going to be that way at all since the championship is not handled in that way. The officials will randomize who faces who, and the team who wins the most battles will win. Allen then brought up Markus's earlier point of Karen throwing the match on purpose due to what happened, and Markus referenced the fact that she doesn't like to lose, so he wanted to believe it wasn't likely that something like that would happen, but he had his doubts.



The time had come for the championship match to begin. Before the battles were announced, the national anthem was going to be sang. To the Resistor's surprise, Seiki was the one who did it. After singing, Seiki approached them and wished them good luck, stating that she would cheer for both teams; however, Ahio had a different opinion and was only going to cheer for Noland's team since Karen was on the opposite team, which infuriated the Aquos brawler greatly. Noticing that Ahio said too much, Seiki excused herself into the audience while disciplining the bird. The announcer called the first match that would be between Karen and Tracy. Although Tracy was worrying about how to handle Elico due to being defeated on their last encounter, Noland and Tank urged her to not worry about the past and focus on what was going on now. They also reminded her that she is way stronger than she was before and would not have any problem taking out an enemy to the Resistors as a whole if she believes in herself. Spurred on by her teammates, Tracy takes her place on the battlefield with the intent on proving herself as a stronger battler and getting revenge for both her betrayal and victory the previous time.



(Boss Theme)

[Tracy White]

"No time to play, Karen," Tracy said grabbing Skystar. "This time, I'll take the victory. Gate card set! Bakugan brawl! Haos Skystar stand!" She yelled as she threw Skystar on the gate card.

Tracy then put on her sunglasses and said, "Your go."

[Karen Valentine]

The harsh breakup that she went through and the reaction from the Resistors has been a contributing factor in their difficulty against certain opponents on their way to this championship. She tried her best not to let it throw her off her game, but their behavior served as a constant reminder to a painful memory that she didn't want to relive. The way she was handling the pain took a toll on her and made her a little depressed, and it was easy to spot as she was not making a good attempt to hide it. She also harbored a more serious emotion within her that she showed briefly during her various encounters with any one of the six. That emotion was anger, and it was growing every time something would happen that would remind her of that terrible moment. It was for this reason that she did not smile for the entire tournament, which was unusual considering she loved to have a playful attitude during a battle to keep her calm.

Upon being called to battle, she took her place on the battlefield with the intent of getting the battle done as quickly as possible. The team's stance in her victory or defeat was not a concern to her. She was just focusing on making sure that nothing else was done to make the situation worse. She was also waiting for the opportunity for someone to utter a single word about the situation so she could take all of her anger out on whoever makes the comment. After hearing Tracy's words, Karen sarcastically stated that no one makes it this far by playing around. She commended her opponent for at least being able to have enough strength within herself to take this seriously, but stressed that no one in this circle could have any room to openly declare victory over the other until the battle was at its end considering everyone being nearly equal in power. She activated her BrawlX and threw Elico into battle. Once he stood, Elico reminded his opponent that the training wheels were off. Skystar agreed and stated that her experiences have forged her into a more powerful warrior who was prepared to handle any opponent, especially him.

The battle commenced as both sides began trading fierce blows toward one another. Tracy made an effort to prove herself as a powerful brawler to both of her teammates and Karen, so she did not have any problem using Skystar's full power to provide a challenge to Elico, who, at that point in time, was the most balanced Bakugan nationally, and was put on par with Drago, Gorem, Gladion, and Gargulion; Elico was even said to be the overall best Bakugan in the league at that time based on his abilities with the attribute changes. These statistics did not deter Tracy from giving her best, and even said those stats were meaningless as Drago had already beaten Elico despite being ranked lower than him. Karen did not offer much of a response to Tracy's thought of her Bakugan. Instead of using words, she showed her might with action by continuously being able to ward off Skystar without using a glimpse of her full power nor having Elico initiate an attribute change.

Tracy acknowledged that she was testing the waters before having to resort to her more powerful abilities to see where she stood against an opponent like Elico. Upon knowing that Skystar was matching Elico in power at this stage in the battle, Tracy upped the power of her abilities and used powerful cards such as Indigo Slash, Solar Thunder, and Streaming Steel to briefly overwhelm Karen with a powerful flame-charged melee attack in an enlarged state. Noland noticed that Skystar was pressuring Elico and concluded that she was currently winning the battle based on the power difference. Karen was immediately placed on the defensive and changed Elico's attribute to Subterra upon knowing that Skystar's onslaught would knock him out if he didn't have the resources to defend himself from it. She activated Hydro Booster to combine both Aquos and Subterra into an attack to encase Skystar in mud and hardened it, preventing her from moving a muscle. She then used Almighty Smash to allow Elico to land a devastating punch into Skystar's chest, seemingly incapacitating her in her restraints.

Horrified, Tracy tried to get Skystar to recover, but Karen warned her that there was a significant difference between getting struck by the wave of force the punch emits and getting hit by the punch directly, and the likelihood of Skystar continuing the battle in a state where she could match Elico was very slim. Tracy defiantly activated Lightning Finisher and its fusion ability, Fusion Energy Plus, to stun Elico with lightning strikes from the sky to prevent any more blows and directly hit him with a stream of lightning energy respectively. These impacts caused smoke to appear in the arena. When it cleared, it revealed Elico in a highly damaged state with his Subterra armor left in cracks, and his attribute change was cancelled entirely. He knelt down on the ground briefly after being hit by that heavy attack and was in a state of recovery. On the other hand, that attack used so much of Skystar's energy that Karen's warning came to fruition; the pain from Almighty Smash and the attack sapping her energy completely immobilized her. Tracy attempted to urge her partner to recover since they have a chance to win the battle, but Skystar couldn't move at all.

---

Karen was getting increasingly angry that Skystar inflicted that much damage to Elico that probably would have knocked him out if his body was not reinforced by the Subterra transformation. While it helped, the attack completely destroyed his armor and was enough to cancel the transformation altogether. She didn't know whether to be angry that Tracy became strong enough within that short amount of time from their last battle to be able to battle with such high efficiency, or to be amazed at her progress. "Elico, are you still able to move?" she asked. Elico was rising to his feet slowly after enduring that much power and responded, "Yeah...I'm working on it..." Karen was relieved to see Elico still able to move freely and said to herself, "Despite our differences, this girl really became a force to be reckoned with. Noland and Tank really knew what they were doing when they helped her realize her potential. That scenario actually reminds me of someone I know..."

She then placed an ability on her BrawlX to end this battle. With a lightly irritated look on her face, Karen initiated a powerful attack that could easily spell the end for the spellcaster that provided such a surprising challenge. It was only fair that a now-powerful brawler meets their end with an attack worthy of their time. "Your journey describes you as one that is familiar with a common enemy to all of us: failure, the one thing that happens when you put so much time, money, patience, and care into something only to have it collapse around you within a blink of an eye. Then you have the feeling that causes you to feel really down about yourself: disappointment. You start to wonder if it was ever worth your investment in the first place once you reach the point where all odds just seem to be against you, and you never seem to be able to pick yourself right back up afterwards because the thought of something like that ever happening again continues to haunt you over and over again, and then it becomes embedded into your mind, making you believe that all of the progress you thought you made was really just an illusion. Did you ever consider this to be your true detriment? Was this ever anything you thought was worth building yourself up over only to be met with results such as this? Where has that drive to succeed gone now? Has that disappeared along with your chances of beating me?"

She activated the card on her BrawlX as a signal for Elico to end the battle. "Ability activate. Scramble Zwei." Elico was engulfed in a dark blue aura that doubled his power, which was visibly evident by the cracks left in the ground by the power that was being unleashed. Drawing out his claws, Elico approached Skystar with the intent on delivering a severe injury to deal with her for good. As a sign of pity, he chose to only reveal the claws on one arm instead of using the other in conjunction with it only to not go overboard with it.

[Tracy White]

"Noland...Tank...I'm sorry..." Tracy was beginning to lose hope in winning the battle due to Skystar's current condition. She was unable to move due to energy consumption and the Almighty Smash ability that prevented her usage of abilities due to the amount of damage it inflicted, and Elico was approaching her with an ability that would definitely finish the battle in one swipe. As he got closer, she kept looking back and forth between her gauntlet and her Bakugan to see if anything could be done, but with Skystar in a condition where she is most likely incapable of responding to any further attacks made by her opponent, it was seemingly over for them. She started to accept this fate and hung her head down, unwilling to see Skystar be defeated in this manner with her own eyes. "Why has she always succeeded where I failed?" Tracy asked herself. "Why does she act like she knows exactly what I'm thinking right now?"

Skystar looked up at the approaching Elico who was ready to deliver the final blow and offered one more act of defiance before meeting the edge of their blade. "Everything that we've worked for to reach this level was not all for nothing. Our journey was never just about power; it was to become more acquainted with ourselves on a personal level. Back then, we were too weak mentally and physically to make any difference on the battlefield or in other major areas of life. As a result, we were always taken advantage of and took a backseat to those whose convictions were strong enough to allow them to achieve any goal they set out to do, but that isn't who we are. Our direction changed once Noland and Drago taught us the meaning of having courage, and the fact that I was able to damage you as much as I did when I previously couldn't do anything major to you is a shining example of how much change we've applied to our lives. I don't have any sympathy for those who want to bring others down simply because things didn't go their way. You may have been the failure in your love life, but we've achieved far greater things, and you can't ever take that away from us regardless of what you do to me right now."

Astonished, Tracy looked at her partner with new-found motivation and smiled due to her understanding of everything Skystar had just spoken. "Skystar...you're right. Everything did change once we found that conviction. What we've done so far has not only been to make ourselves better, but we were able to save others as well through the battles we've fought against those Terrorists. Even now, I'm fighting on a championship team when I previously couldn't even compete with the school's main team. There is progress there, and regardless of whether I win or lose this battle," she said as she began pointing at Karen. "That's something that even you can't tarnish, Karen." With that said, Tracy's gauntlet started to glow with a bright yellow color along with Skystar, who released a blinding light that was bright enough to prevent anyone from looking in her direction, stopping Elico from approaching any further. The glare lasted for about ten seconds, and then it began to recede, revealing Skystar in a form that was quite different from her last. It looked as if Skystar had just experienced an evolution.

"Ooooohhhhh. This feels niiiiiiice. So this is what evolving feels like," Skystar mentioned. Her appearance went through a minor change in relation to her armor configuration. Her body was now entirely covered with a chrome-colored armor that had streaks of yellow span across it vertically. The armor was sleeker than usual in order to make Skystar more mobile rather than limit her movement with heavy protection while still giving her as much defense she could receive. The defense boost was significant, but it was nothing to phone home about. She also received a belt along her waistline that had three attribute symbols on them: Haos, Pyrus, and Aquos. The triple node formed with this belt was an ability granted to her to allow her to shift it to another symbol to change attributes, which was a well-received bonus. The wing-like object on her back was now optimized for boosting and flight capabilities, and it was now able to separate from her body briefly to form more complicated attacks. Her staff also has a shiny orb revolving in the center of it that gleamed in both radiance and power. She was now a very proficient spellcaster that could also hold her own in close quarters if required. "You have the attention of Guardian Skystar, Karen. Let's see if you'll have such a breeze with this new power of mine," Tracy declared.

[Karen Valentine]

Elico backed away slowly when Skystar appeared in her evolved form. He was concerned about the direction this battle was going to go if Skystar's evolution proves to be a match for him after receiving a lot of damage from what should have been their last attack. He still had his claws drawn from the activation of Scramble Zwei, but he wasn't sure how he was going to use it since his opponent looked prime for defense. Currently, this was a situation where a mistake will cost him the game. As he stood ready for whatever the opponent was going to launch against him, Elico continued to stare Skystar down in order to develop an attack procedure. On the other hand, Karen was about to explode in anger after Skystar specifically mentioned the relationship. The championship itself was blocked off from her mind at that point. Her primary objective now was to brutally teach Skystar a lesson. "It's a shame how they actually call you Resistors heroes. Any time there is someone you believe is a villain appears right in front of you, all you do is condemn. You never try to understand anything about them. You never ask about their background nor do you wonder why they're making the decisions they make. Instead of helping me, all you do is judge me. I'm sick of all of you treating me like this. You'll be the first example of what happens when you unleash my wrath. That is a promise," Karen declared.

Karen turned her attention to Elico and commanded, "Change into something that'll reflect my emotions." With that said, Elico initiated an attribute change into Darkus. His tentacles turned into sharp claws filled with Elico's poison. His armor configuration was very similar to his Haos variation in terms of durability and radiance with the only difference being the color. "Let's get this over with. Ability activate! Twisted Light!" Elico used his Darkus attribute to coat the entire area in a dark, eerie setting by essentially turning light into darkness. As this happened, a purple fog spread throughout the arena. This was done to allow him to camouflage within the fog due to his armor coloration. While not being seen, Elico repeatedly swiped at Skystar with his claws from a variety of locations that could not be pinpointed by the naked eye. His claws were venomous due to the attribute change, and each hit would result in the victim falling prey to the toxins that hasn't met a cure.

[Tracy White]

Skystar took a defensive stance when Elico blanketed the area with a fog that prevented anyone from seeing. This was readily apparent to be futile as Elico knew where she was and repeatedly slashed her with his poisonous claws that left noticeable marks on her armor in addition to having her health attacked directly. Noticing that Elico was still a threat despite Skystar's evolution, Tracy immediately commanded, "Ability activate! Divine Protection!" Skystar's belt turned to the left in order for the Pyrus symbol to appear in the center. Although she was getting weaker, Skystar used her remaining strength to cast a spell with her staff. This spell placed a shield around her body to guard against the unseen foe. It also summoned a small phoenix avatar to hover over head to continuously heal her of her ailments while she is being protected.

"Remember this, Karen. God doesn't like ugly," Tracy said, ending any further remark to her with that statement. She then pulled out another card to respond with an offensive move. She also wanted to deal with her surroundings as she knew hitting Elico wouldn't be possible with Twisted Light continuing to mask his approach. "Ability activate! Roa Glowdown!" Skystar pointed her staff upwards and unleashed another spell. This one allowed the sun's rays to shine directly on their area, nullifying the ability. As this happened, the bright light began to clear the area of any dark influence as well as charging Skystar's staff with solar energy. Once enough of it was absorbed into the weapon, she fired a concentrated laser beam at Elico as soon as she made eye contact with him. "You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?" Skystar taunted.

[Karen Valentine]

Karen chuckled when she heard her opponent imply that she was the scum of the earth. Without placing too much care into what was said, Karen replied, "Then He sure doesn't like you." She quickly placed an ability onto her BrawlX and said, "Ability activate! Mythran Barrier!" Elico surrounded himself in a dark shield that was designed to protect him from attacks in all directions. Another capability that it also has is combining the Aquos attribute with the attribute Elico is currently transformed into. Due to this, he combined the Aquos attribute into this Darkus ability to allow an absorption effect to be added onto the ability's effects. This meant that the barrier not also prevented him from being damaged, but it also siphoned the power used to make the attack possible. "I don't think it'll be easy," Elico noted. "I KNOW it'll be easy. Your evolution does not affect who the eventual winner will be. I am more than capable of handling you."

After defending herself from the attack, Karen placed another ability card on her BrawlX and activated it with a non-emotional look on her face. "Disappear. Ability activate! Raze Striker!" Elico changed his attribute to Ventus upon the activation of the ability. His claws turned into talons, and he amplified them with Ventus energy as the ability extended the reach of his tails spontaneously. In an instantaneous motion, Elico bombarded Skystar with multiple tail strikes that seemed reckless and everlasting; they also seemed to move at the same speed Elico moves while using Mach 5. Each hit formed a large crater in the ground that only got bigger as Elico kept attacking. The strikes were performed in a stabbing motion that were intended to cut right through the enemy, but they appeared to have enough power to cause environmental damage as well. This was definitely one of Elico's strongest offensive abilities.

[Tracy White]

Elico revealed an attack that Tracy and Skystar were not familiar with. This was the fastest and most devastating Ventus ability they had ever seen. Elico's talons were extended to reach long distances and were able to strike consecutively in a blur. The amount of damage that it did in combination with how fast he was going struck a certain fear in Tracy's heart. She realized that her adversary might be stronger than her regardless of Skystar's evolution. It got to the point where she found it unbelievable that Noland and Drago were able to deal with someone like her. "They sure are strong to have defeated someone like this," Tracy noted in her mind. "She's strong, but I'm making the mistake of allowing it to intimidate me. I can't let her psyche me out. There's more to Skystar than brute strength." With that said, she pulled out two ability cards: an Aquos attributed ability card and a card with yellow, red, and blue outlining the edges. "Hey, Elico. You're underestimating us again. That got you nowhere when Skystar wasn't evolved, and it sure won't mean anything against us now. I'll make you a believer of how much more powerful we are!" Tracy declared, placing the two cards on her gauntlet to signal the activation.

"Double ability activate! Frost Fire plus Sentinel Automation!" Frost Fire's activation shifted Skystar's belt to the Aquos symbol. While being ruthlessly assaulted by Elico's Ventus ability, Skystar managed to separate the wing-like objects, the large rotating discs, on her back from her body in the midst of the pain she was receiving. They hovered over the impact site, aimed towards Elico, and shot blue flames like a flamethrower. The attack covered Elico's claws and completely froze them, sparing the heavily damaged Skystar from receiving any more punishment from the ability. Once this was done, the two discs began to spin to generate kinetic energy, which powered them up even further to augment the Aquos power onto them in their entirety. With it, one disc sliced through Elico's talons to cut them all off. Both objects then proceeded to rapidly cut their way through Elico without showing a sign of escape. Each hit would result in the impact area freezing before the partner disc returns to shatter it. "What was that about this being easy?" Tracy questioned with a smirk on her face. Skystar emerged from the large crater left by Raze Striker exhausted and beaten. While Tracy was feeling confident, Skystar was feeling pain on every muscle of her body. "I've never been hit that hard in my life. Lets hope this works..." Skystar suggested, staggering a little while trying to recover the best way she could.

[Karen Valentine]

The only noise that could be heard from the audience was the abrupt flow of gasping from Tracy's counter. The Aquos ability took Karen by surprise and eliminated all of Elico's talons. When this happened, the transformation was cancelled, reverting Elico back to Aquos, which was something that Karen began to get frustrated about since this would mark the third time one of her transformations were ever cancelled; one happened against Noland that ultimately costed her the battle while Tracy has been able to do it twice in one battle. There were noticeable signs of pain on Elico's face the moment his bread and butter were removed from his body, but he endured it up to their eventual regeneration. Although he got relief from their restoration, it did not last long once Tracy began using those discs as a mobile weapon capable of freezing him on contact, making him fragile against the partner disc that could shatter the impact site, potentially making this a fatality. He attempted to dodge them as best as he could, but it was a futile effort due to their speed and unpredictability. As he was cut, he began to freeze. Fortunately, Tracy did her a favor by cancelling the transformation so that the freezing effect is not as lethal due to Elico being Aquos at the moment. The problem of losing body parts was still an issue though.

Karen glanced at Skystar's return and noticed that she wasn't standing as strong as she was earlier. The way she moved was enough to convince Karen that attack her one final time might make a difference between winning or losing at this point considering that she was being overpowered. Elico was continuously attempting to not get bisected by Tracy's lethal attack and stated, "There's only one Bakugan worthy of using multiple attributes on the battlefield. That Bakugan is I! You jumped onto the bandwagon far too late." Karen placed a multi-colored ability on her BrawlX. It appeared to be an ability designed to utilize the power of multiple attributes at the same time. "I'm impressed you've actually learned an attack like that. It seems Noland and I are not the only ones who have embraced our inner darkness," Karen stated, indirectly condemning Tracy for using a lethal move such as that. "Fusion ability activate! Delta Zwei!"

The ability allowed Elico to combine any three attributes that he has already been transformed in into a triple node, one of the most powerful combinations available to a Bakugan through the link of three related attributes on the attribute wheel. Fortunately, Elico has already been three attributes that form a triple node: Darkus, Ventus, and Subterra. Because of this, Elico was able to power up due to the triple node combination, enhancing his body's offensive and defensive capabilities. Doing so caused both of the discs to become useless in Skystar's attempt to beat him as he was impervious to them at this point. Without delay, Elico released this energy into multiple lasers that were aimed directly at Skystar with pinpoint accuracy. "This one's going to be painful," Karen jokingly noted while winking.

[Tracy White]

"What type of ability is that!?" Tracy shrieked. She was not aware that the ability Karen activated was an ability that utilized the triple node capability, but she knew that Elico powered up by, in her opinion, unimaginable means. What her opponent didn't know was that Skystar was capable of benefiting from the triple node ability as well since all three attributes on her belt formed one. Fearing that the incoming attack might knock her out, Tracy activated the ability with haste. "Fusion ability activate! Elemental Vanquisher!" Skystar's three attribute symbols on her belt shined brightly upon activation. She formed a giant energy ball above her head using her staff's powers. She combined Haos, Aquos, and Pyrus into this attack to power it up to an identical level to Elico's Delta Zwei. Once completed, she launched the attack towards Elico in an attempt to push past the armada of blasts he sent towards her. Unfortunately, she did not accomplish this task. She forced a stalemate instead, causing an explosion that completely rocked the arena and severely damaged both combatants.

Both Skystar and Elico were standing with numerous injuries after the clash. The crowd held their excitement in while waiting to see who the winner of the ordeal was. Both Bakugan stared at each other with a stone-cold look that could have only been matched by Karen's attitude and Tracy's stubbornness to continue fighting against impossible odds. "Skystar...?" Tracy said to get her Bakugan's attention while still trying to figure out what happened. Three seconds after she spoke, Skystar finally gave a reaction, but not to her brawler's expectations. Her legs gave out, causing her to hit the ground and return to ball form, which ended the battle in her opponent's favor as Tracy's life gauge hit 0. Knowing this, Tracy had a highly shocked look on her face, looking at Skystar's ball form in disbelief that she had been defeated even after evolving and matching Karen in all possible areas. She couldn't bear to say anything else after that as words would not have mattered after the battle had already made the last statement.

[Karen Valentine]

The explosion caused by the clash did not affect Karen as much until she saw how much damage it had on Elico's body. Once she saw his condition, she started to worry a little. She did not expect someone who she has toyed with the previous time to be able to come this close to beating her in such a short time frame. For once, she was actually worried about losing to Tracy. "Elico...are you alright...?" Karen couldn't hide the concern in her voice when asking about her Bakugan's condition. Losing the battle would be bad enough considering that her teammates would be placed in a dire situation; although, she didn't care about this since she didn't care about any of the Resistors at this point. Losing to Tracy was an entirely different subject matter concerning everything that has happened and what she stands for in unison with the other five members. Watching Skystar's legs give out and Tracy's life gauge plummet to 0 gave her the much needed relief that she wanted. The battle was finally over after fighting against an unexpected evolution while already weakened.

"That was more of a hassle than it was worth. Even when evolving mid-battle, you still failed to bring me down. An evolution does not automatically make you superior to me. That was your downfall," Elico stated while returning to ball form. Karen turned her back to Tracy and began to walk back towards her teammates, earning them the win that they needed. The crowd was in an uproar in the explosive battle that just took place, but she didn't pay them any attention. Instead, she ignored the constant chants of her name. The victory was all that mattered to her, and doing what she said she was going to do at the beginning of the battle increased her desire to get the revenge that she felt entitled to. "One down...five to go..."

[Noland Hardy]