Episode 24: Showdown

[Noland Hardy]

While Noland and Allen were battling, Markus reminded himself of every clash he had with Tank and become determined for their upcoming battle to not have the same result as every battle has been with him coming in second place every time. He was confident that he could finally achieve first place in an event against him after seeing how far Allen has come from his rivalry with Noland. On the other side, Tank was not as overconfident as he was in the beginning due to how much he has seen Markus improve in the battles he watched. He still believed he could win the battle nonetheless, but seeing what happened in the meet his team attended weeks ago just to see what Markus's team were capable of proves just what that attitude will mean for him when the battle is over. Plus, he didn't want any important figures in the audience, namely college recruiters, to see his cocky attitude towards Markus. As he informed Noland at the start of the season, people actually get to see these battles, so he chose to lead by example for this brawl.

Upon the conclusion of Noland and Allen's battle, Tank and Markus were preparing themselves for the battle that was going to decide it all. Tank requested that he is left alone for the remainder of their break time so him and Gladion can focus. Noland and Tracy accepted his request and wished him good luck before departing from him, knowing that a lot of pressure is already placed on him to win. Markus did the same thing with Allen and Karen, who encouraged him to forget about the past battles and focus on the one before him. While alone with Karen, Allen noticed a mark on her arm and asked what happened. Karen made a harsh reply, asking why any of them would care about her anyway after what happened. Allen then stated that they do care, but believed that she was fighting for the wrong side. In order to get him off her back, Karen told him that Noland was the one who did it after he got angry with her about it and broke up with her harshly. She angrily asked him if Noland ever told them about how he assaulted her. Knowing that he was getting into a topic that probably shouldn't be talked about, Allen backed off, but warned her to consider switching sides before it becomes a bigger issue than it already is. As he walked away, Karen said in her mind that they were the ones who were going to contemplate switching sides once this tournament concludes, believing that she will hurt Noland just as much as he hurt her.

The time had come for the last battle of the championship. Tank, the defending national champion who was backed by Noland and Tracy, was on one side while Markus, the runner-up for the national championship, was supported by Allen and Karen. Katherine was his loudest cheerleader, much to the delight of Tank as her voice eased his nerves a lot. Before the announcer called the battle, Noland remembered some news that Tracy would love to hear after forgetting about it when he was focusing on the battle. He congratulated her on making it to nationals, which caused her to give him a death hug out of happiness. The announcer called for the battle to begin, and the rivals were prepared to have one of the most competitive brawls they will ever have against each other.


(Boss Theme)

[Markus Hederick]

It was finally time for the match to begin. Markus was too nervous because the fact that Tank has majorly improved since last time, but he didn't. Then the memory of his battle with Lico flashed. Lico really pushed him to the wall. Although Markus was more experienced, he didn't fight above the expectations of the viewers.

Markus stepped forward to the battle arena and awaited Tank. He began to do some stretches and bends just to ease off the stress. From the stretches, he moved on to jumping. First jump, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth...the sequence continued. Gargulion popped out of its ball ball form and landed on Markus' shoulder. "Alright, partner. It's time. I'm gonna give my best shot, so you better do too." Gargulion said. Scratching his head, Markus said, "I don't know. I've been weak these days... ." Markus stopped scratching and thought for a bit. He looked round and viewed the massive audience present in the stadium. "I can't let these people down. I've got my fans, so I just can't. You know what, Lion? We're in this together."

With a smile, Markus embraced whatever fate he had. "I just have to give my best and leave the rest to fate." Markus soliloquized. This was the first time Markus was too serious. It was the day he had to see if he is really strong, or weak as many people told him. "It's time," Markus said as he grabbed Gargulion and launched him to the field. "Bakugan brawl! Darkus Gargulion stand!" Markus yelled. The bakugan rolled and opened into its monster form.
 "I'm damn ready, Tank. Expect nothing less than great from me."

[Tank Stryker]

Tank had his hands in the pockets of his jacket. He had left his letter jacket in the locker room and switched into a deep blue, zip-up hoodie. It wasn't necessary for him to show off his patches, as the recruiters in the audience already knew everything, however, this match he HAD to win; for himself, for Gladion, for his mother, for Katherine, for his future. For John.

As he arrived at the platform and saw that Markus was pumping himself up as usual, the crowd grew silent as he just stood there. Moving his hood back, the crowd cheered as they realized who was battling. Tank grabbed Gladion out of his pocket and clenched the bakugan in his fist.

"Alright buddy, time to shine," Tank whispered, "We can't be too cocky, but we gotta defend ourselves, both verbally and physically. But most of all, we have to win."

Gladion said nothing in response, as per usual when heading into battle. The warrior bakugan preferred the silence before battle. Gladion judged it, listened to it, learned from it. It was like the calm before the storm.

With that, Tank unzipped and removed his jacket to reveal a solid black t-shirt with two words written in bold, blue lettering across the back of his shoulders: The General. Tank had this shirt made for him after a brawling news article about some of the top prospects had given him the nickname. His trident pendant fell back to the center of his chest, the blue piece of metal glittering as if it had been polished a thousand times.

"Markus," Tank began, "Prepare yourself, because I'm not going easy."

Tank wound up and threw Gladion on to the battlefield. "Bakugan, brawl!" he yelled as Gladion rolled onto the field and opened up. The gladiator bakugan rose from the ground and took a fighting stance, bouncing from foot to foot like Muhammad Ali. "Aquos Gladion, stand!"

[Markus Hederick]

The long-awaited battle between Markus and Tank had finally begun. Markus understood that he either had to win the battle or tie with Tank in order for his team to win the entire tournament, but he steered his mind away from forcing a tie and wanted to win just so he could finally have the satisfaction of winning against someone that has been his rival throughout high school. He announced that he might have always been the underdog in every clash that he has had with Tank, but noted that he would be brawling him as his equal this time around. He got over his prior thoughts of feeling weak by telling himself that every brawler has a time where they face defeat, but he was going to come back stronger than ever in a battle that is almost just as important as defeating the Terrorists for good. Tank activated Weapons Cache - Gladius to allow Gladion to assault Gargulion with a Roman fighting sword only to be countered by his foe's Stone Cold ability, which made the weapon bounce off of his skin. Markus silently revealed that he had found inspiration in what Allen said to him about how he was able to get his defensive skill to where it is now, and knew that Gargulion was very evasive for a Darkus Bakugan that could use his skill set to his advantage against someone as powerful as Gladion. Tank was aware of what Gargulion was capable of, and lamented that he would have to fight a different way this time around. Just as Markus had done with Allen, Tank had become inspired by Noland's battle style and adapted certain changes to his own to improve what he was already good at. 

They both went back and forth with each other in a very explosive battle that had the crowd roaring. Markus and Tank had launched attacks against each other that they were both able to counter and respond to effectively. It made it seem like both of them were aware of the other's abilities and knew how to counter each other in every way. A perfect representation of this was these series of attacks that began with Markus activating Gargoyle's Breath, an attack that made Gargulion launch a blast of gray flames to incinerate Gladion. Tank then responded with Weapons Cache - Aegis to protect Gladion from the flames and immobilize Gargulion in a stone prison, which was ironic considering his body consisted of that same material. He then attempted to bash Gargulion for a one-hit takedown, but Markus then used Endarkened Armada to summon a multitude of Bakugan to releases Gargulion from his prison and initiate a combination attack. Before their attacks hit, Tank used Earthshaker to have Gladion implant his sword into the ground to send slabs of earth into the air where he immediately defeated all of Gargulion's allies with swift slashes from multiple angles. Gargulion cleverly used Shadow Flight to disappear into the shadows to dodge Gladion's attacks and hit him from behind with his claws. As they descended back onto the ground, both fighters were continuing to trade blows to each other and didn't show any signs of giving up.

[Tank Stryker]

Gladion's feet hit the ground with a solid thud. Markus had definitely improved, but Tank was confident he could beat him. There was no way for Markus to expect what Tank was about to do because, well, it was rather dangerous. For everyone. However, before flying into his next move in the rhythm of the battle, a thought crossed Tank's mind.

The past few months had been a blur of fight after fight with a multitude of opponents, yet all of those fights against Daniel, Nero, and the other Terrorists had only seemed to temper Tank and Gladion like the fine edge of a constantly reforged sword. There was no real test of strength, no real sharpening of skill. The battles had taken their tolls, however, with the life of a friend and the future of another, and that was part of the reason Tank was so motivated, yet, something with every one of those battles was off. The battles had him surviving, not thriving.

During the time Tank spent preparing for the match, he went back and remembered every detail he could about all of his opponent's battle styles and strategies, trying to make sense of them. When he had finally done so, it became apparent that Tank would also need to study his allies as well. He spent his time after that thought pouring over every film and memory of battle he had with his allies and teammates, learning their styles and strategies, as he had done with the Terrorists', but this began to bore him. It was not until he researched Markus that his attention had become truly focused. Every move Markus had made in the past four years that Tank could remember (which was most of them) was written down and recorded, and his past battle videos studied with a fervor that could only be described as a hunger of a ravenous wolf.

Getting his head back into the battle, Tank pulled out three ability cards.

"You really think I would come into this battle unprepared?" Tank asked rhetorically, taunting Markus, "Your little magic tricks don't phase me! I know every one of them!"

Swiping the three cards through his BrawlX, Tank threw his arms up into the air, as if calling to the gods. "Triple Ability, activate!" he yelled as the crowd fell silent, "Weapon of the Gods - Warhammer of Ares plus Weapon of the Gods - Trident of Poseidon plus Weapon of the Gods - Hermes' Sandals!"

The arena began to shake wildly from the pure energy being released. Black storm clouds gathered and released a torrent of water and hail to the sounds of clapping thunder and the flashes of lightning. Spectators in the nosebleeds ran to a lower part of the stadium in an attempt to shield themselves from the weather. Tornado sirens went off in the distance as the black clouds parted, descending two of the weapons called: the Warhammer of Ares and the Trident of Poseidon. They stopped in midair, floating above the arena. Gladion jumped up, and, in a flash of bright light, was equipped with the legendary Winged Sandals of Hermes.

Flying up, Gladion approached the two weapons slowly, the crowd in a frenzy from the match and the weather. People watched and cheered as Gladion did the unthinkable: he grasped each weapon in a different hand. In his right, he held the Warhammer, and in his left, the Trident. Tank and Gladion had become strong enough to utilize three legendary, godly weapons simultaneously.

"We've spent some time training," Gladion announced solemnly, the few words radiating through the arena.

"Go!" Tank yelled, pointing at Gargulion, signalling the attack.

Gladion flew forward at a high speed, too fast for Gargulion to move out of the way. The gods' power surged through Gladion's body like electricity, powering his muscles many times beyond their peak. Gladion felt almost godly from the sheer power. Tank was gripping his trident pendant as his eyes began to shine a bright, ocean blue.

With the new power, Gladion caught Gargulion with his Trident and threw him into the air. Flying up fast, Gladion took the Warhammer and swung it down into Gargulion's shoulder, sending the gargoyle bakugan speeding towards the ground. A large crack was heard as Gargulion hit the ground, becoming implanted in the arena's dirt. Gladion flew in a slow circle around the downed Bakugan, twirling his weapons, ready to go on defense.

[Markus Hederick]

"What!? He's using all three of those abilities at once? Impossible..." Markus surprisingly grieved. Gargulion was pinned to the ground as a souped-up Gladion was waiting to deliver even more devastating attacks. The damage taken from both of his top-tier abilities will most likely leave Gargulion with detrimental damage that could make a difference in the outcome of this battle. Knowing this, Markus was aware that Tank had formed a technique that could rival Noland and Allen in the right situation. This was a technique that Markus had not foresaw, and it ultimately costed him a lot of Gargulion's health. The impact left a noticeable crack on his shoulder and extended to the center portion of his body. "I was unaware that you were capable of wielding all three of your most powerful abilities at the same time. Still," Markus began as he raised three cards to respond to his rival. "You forget that I am also capable of attaining high-caliber strength. You aren't the only one that has been practicing."

Markus stacked his cards in a single-file line and began playing them on his BrawlX with a dignified look on his face, believing that his opponent's godly weapons definitely can be countered by Gargulion. "Triple ability activate! Breaking the Chains plus Raging Gargoyle plus Fusion Ability, Delta Gargoyle!" As Gargulion lie flat in the ground, his aura began powering up and becoming tangible the form of a gray aura that also extended to his opponent. His own power began rising at an alarming rate to be comparable to Gladion's while also plummeting his rival's power back to a manageable level. The aura then had a red hue flow through it, darkening the gargoyle's emotions to make him go berserk. The arena crumbled as Gargulion powered up until he eventually broke free of his restraints in a powerful push of force that repelled his foe immediately. Once he regained proper footing in the battle, he transformed his body into emerald, turning green in color and becoming a bright spectacle as the sun's rays reflected off of his body.

"You'll need more than the god's help to get me to give up, Gladion!" Gargulion hissed. The transformation and the rage flowing throughout his body increased his power beyond what Markus normally allowed. His mobility was sent to the max level, and his power was enough to repel even the strongest attackers with ease with just a hint of force released through his drive to succeed. He zipped around Gladion and continuously shot beams from his hands that were infused with the rage energy as well as the energy granted by the transformation. The green and red blasts combined together was one of Gargulion's most powerful offensive maneuvers, only coming in second to the ability he had planned for a future attack. "Surely, you can do better than that, can't you, 'champion'?" Markus taunted.

[Tank Stryker]

"We don't need the gods' help to wipe the floor with you, Markus," Tank retorted, "I'm just giving these people a show they wont forget!"

Tank was impressed by his opponent as a dust cloud covered the battlefield. It was like he had trained hard to get his level close to his own. That thought aside, the situation Gladion was in was pretty bad. He was stuck in the ground after a huge barrage of attacks, which isn't the kind of thing that happens very often (well, it had been happening a lot more often recently), so Tank felt a pang of worry in his gut. "Come on, Gladion," Tank yelled to his partner, "Let's finish them off!" He reached into his back pocket and pulled out three ability cards, but when he looked down, he noticed they were blank.

A second after he looked down, a bright blue light filled the arena. Tank and the audience had to shield their eyes from the growing intensity as the dust cloud dissipated. The light began to dim as the last of the cloud rolled away, leaving a shining blue figure standing in the middle of the arena.

The light lasted for about a minute longer before it dimmed out. What was left was a sight to behold. In the clearing was Gladion with his head down and weapons in hand, but he seemed... different. His normally blue armor now was more accented, as if he had increased in rank. Green trim lined parts of his armor and helmet, and on the side of his right arm was a golden trident. The cards in Tank's hand began to glow with a powerful golden light before fading and revealing new cards.

"Alright, Gladion," Tank called out as he swiped the cards through his BrawlX, "Give these a shot! Triple ability activate! Weapon of the Gods - Apollo's Chariot plus Weapon of the Gods - Bow of Artemis plus Poison of the Hydra!"

After the utterance of the word "Hydra", the trident on Gladion's arm began to shine, and Gladion dropped his two weapons from his hands, which were absorbed into two black portals and the sandals he wore disappeared in a flash of light. Looking up, Gladion spoke, finally, "Call me Praetor Gladion."

With that, Gladion launched himself into the air as a trumpet sounded from the heavens. A beautiful chariot clad in armor pulled by two flaming pegusi descended upon the battlefield. Gladion landed in the car of the chariot and grabbed the reigns as the clouds above the arena parted again revealing a full moon. His gauntlets and boots turned red, along with the markings on his body. Travelling on the light of the moon was an ornate wooden bow with a golden bowstring and a quiver of silver arrows. Grabbing the weapons, Gladion grabbed one of the arrows, knocked it, and fired.

The arrow struck true, landing in the arm of Gargulion, before a flurry of arrows descended upon the helpless gargoyle bakugan. The arrows all hit their mark, guided by divine will, and the quiver kept replenishing, showing no end to the stock of arrows.

The impact zones where the arrows hit began to turn regular skin before becoming a wrinkled, disease ridden deep shade of purple mixed with green and black. The effect began spreading across the rest of his skin moments after, quickly turning the rest of Gargulion's skin. Gargulion became very weakened because of the ability, landing on the ground before falling to one knee in exhaustion and pain.

"This poison belongs to the legendary Hydra," Tank explained, "It's fast acting and quick to destroy. Gargulion's energy will continue to decrease until he becomes incapacitated." Tank chuckled a bit then returned to his previous serious nature, "Looks like I have not just the gods, but the monsters on my side as well."

Gladion began to circle the edge of the arena quickly, making him a hard target to hit. The flaming pegusi rained balls of fire down upon the sickly Gargulion, who fell to the ground, too weak to move.

[Markus Hederick]

Markus ignored Tank's response to Gargulion's assertion since he knew who was in the proper place to finish the battle. This was a huge step for Markus as he had never been in this position before. It was a perfect scenario where the saying "it's too good to be true" has its relevance. He was confident he was pressuring Gladion to the brink of defeat until his foe unfortunately evolved into a more powerful Bakugan by the name of Praetor Gladion. He became speechless upon seeing the evolved Gladion for the first time. Gladion was already tough to defeat when he was in his base form, and now the bar was set even higher upon the acquisition of greater power. "Why is there always something that becomes an obstacle in our battles?" Markus asked himself with his right eye twitching a little. "I've always come up short against him, and now I finally have the chance to unseat him from his throne. I've matched him in every category so far, but an evolution has to occur to throw everything out of order? Why? Why? Why!?"

Markus's nightmare was amplified by Tank's brutal assault on Gargulion that left him battered and poisoned. The arrow storm planted him into the ground as the Hydra's poison began taking its toll on his body. Markus was utterly stunned at how quickly Gargulion was struck down by Gladion's new abilities and couldn't possibly come up with a solution to get out of this situation since he eventually started to get pummeled by the fire balls the pegusi were launching at him. "Gargulion, keep your head up. We're not done yet. We've worked too hard and spent so much time together to allow this to stop us," Markus stated, pulling out three abilities to respond to Tank's overwhelming assault. "Defeat is always a learning experience. In the same method used to win a battle, we will fight to our last breath if we should lose. If there's anything I've learned from you, Allen, and Noland, it's that the best brawlers do not stop when things get tough. I don't care what satisfaction you get from beating me down like this. What matters is how I end this, and regardless of whether you take me down or fall to me, I will fight my best nonetheless. That is what is expected of me on both sides of the battlefield."

As Markus prepared to activate Ability Breaker, Reflective Stone, and Gargoyle's Revenge to essentially eliminate his opponent's advantage and damage him considerably although Gargulion would be left severely weakened, the cards glowed with a bright light. "So...does this mean I get one too?" Markus asked with a hint of excitement. The smoke from the Pyrus attacks began to fade, and Gargulion's body did not seem to be inhabited. In fact, the body itself was broken down and left behind a green spirit that was once covered by the stone. "It's about time that happened. That poison was absolutely nasty," Gargulion dissed. A bright light surged through him as a mysterious force began revolving around him, preventing anyone else from directly seeing what was taking place on the inside. Once it was complete, the light dissipated, revealing Gargulion in a newly formed body with a hint of new features available to him through the modification. "Specter Gargulion at your service!" Gargulion gladly presented.

While excited that he got an evolved Bakugan of his own, Markus was confused about what just took place. Seeing the confused look, Gargulion elaborated on what happened. "My species' true form is a spirit. We inhabit the bodies of inanimate objects and make them to our own liking. When we evolve, we abandon the ones of old and form more powerful ones to suit our heightened energy. That's what you just witnessed." Gargulion's new body underwent minor changes. He retained most of the characteristics his old body had since he favored the battle style that came with it. In fact, he didn't change that much in the transition aside from the body size, coloring, muscle mass, and wing size; he basically made a larger version of his old body in order to house his new power. His body no longer had moss on it, but contained various markings that originates from his homeworld and had a Darkus symbol placed on his chest. The real kicker had nothing to do with his body, but his actual form itself. Gargulion's eyes had a much more fiery appearance compared to his base form, which signals the potential increase in the power his actual form has.

"Now that we're both on the same level again, there's no more hiding. This is where it all ends," Markus stated, pulling out an ability card. "Ability activate! Soul Eater!" Gargulion's body glowed with a dark purple aura upon activation. His body became a siphon that trembled with an outpouring of energy, and everything near him would transfer their energies to him without requiring Gargulion to have physical contact with his targets. Gladion's pegasi began to disappear very quickly as their energy was sapped without warning, abruptly crashing the chariot they were pulling. Gladion would then become the next target, and his power began being transferred without Gargulion physically touching him. "That is the least of your troubles. Ability activate! Void Ripper!" Gargulion enhanced his claws with the power he stole from his attackers and hastily rushed Gladion with a frenzied assault of powerful slashes. The mobility increase from his evolution suited him well as did not suffer any drawbacks from having a body that was too large for this type of attack.

[Tank Stryker]

The speed and power revealed from Gargulion's evolution definitely surprised Tank. The fiery eyes burned with a hunger for victory that was only surpassed by Tank's own. Reaching into his back pocket, Tank pulled out the two cards that he felt would be the instruments of his and Gladion's victory.

"Like HELL you're going to win this, Markus!" Tank yelled, swiping the card through his BrawlX, "Double Ability, activate! Special Ability, Art of Battle - Air Strike plus Weapon of the Gods - Claymore of Zeus!"

The energy once flowing from Gladion to Gargulion ceased as Gladion stood up tall. He faced down his evolved foe with an undying resolve to win, his trident brand burning bright on his arm. Gladion launched himself into the air as the storm clouds began raining lightning down on the battlefield, striking near Gargulion, paralyzing him in place.

Thunder roared as the lightning continued striking, until a gigantic bolt struck the middle of the arena, heralding the arrival of one of the most powerful weapons in existence.

Slowly falling from the skies was an ornate, long-bladed sword. Carved lightning bolts decorated the long, oak and platinum hilt, as if crafted for a god's personal, yet rare, use. Gladion took the hilt of the sword, and immediately his armor and helmet became accented with white and gold, shining brightly with light. Gladion took the sword, faced the point of the blade downward towards Gargulion before plunging towards the ground at a high speed, letting gravity drive the heavy sword towards the gargoyle bakugan.

Upon hitting Gargulion with the blade, Gladion knelt on the ground for a split second before launching himself into an unrelenting series of attacks, as if he was supercharged by the lightning.

Fast, hard slashes from the blade made contact with Gargulion's body over and over as the Darkus bakugan tried its best to block the blows. Gargulion's speed was no match for the supercharged Gladion, who had the King of the Gods' blessing flowing through his veins. Gargulion managed to dodge one of the attacks, letting the blade hit the ground, creating a small crater where it hit, but that only seemed to make Gladion want to win more. Gladion launched himself again at Gargulion, backing him into the corner of the arena, the slashing not letting up for a second.

"Give up, Markus!" Tank called out as Gladion continued his assault, "It's over! You're finished!"

[Markus Hederick]

Gargulion was getting swept by Gladion's relentless assault. His claw attack was rudely interrupted by the arrival of a storm summoned by his foe. It stopped him dead in his tracks and left him vulnerable to the weapon Gladion summoned. Markus was utterly stunned by Gladion's increased mobility and became concerned about Garglion's safety. His concern was rightfully felt as Gargulion was struggling to keep himself from being heavily damaged by Gladion's sword. Surprisingly, one slash was dodged, which surprised even Markus even though he was glad that it missed after seeing the aftermath of the attack on the ground. Soon afterwards, Gladion continued his assault, not wanting to give Gargulion the chance to rebound from this punishment. As expected, Tank made a comment hinting at his knowledge of what the result would be. In Markus's eyes, he was determined to prove him wrong. "One ruthless assault is enough to propel you over me? Ha! Your comment would have actually had merit if Gargulion weren't still standing," Markus stated as he pulled another ability.

"Admit it, Tank! You're afraid that I have a chance to beat you! It must be strange having someone push you to your limits, doesn't it? Now you know how it feels to be pushed to the brink of your power! Ability activate! Solid Fortification!" Garglion transferred his energy along his entire inhabited body that increased the sturdiness of his stone body. Due to this, Gladion's legendary weapon was reduced to a mere novice weapon as it no longer inflicted any substantial damage from cutting him. Instead, Gargulion emerged from every strike unscathed, only having to deal with the force of the impact pushing him back every so often. "I'll give you the rude awakening Noland gave you a while back. Only this time, the victory will be much more important. Double ability activate! Petrify plus Gargoyle's Beam!" Gargulion released multiple energy bursts in all directions and scattered them across the battlefield to turn anything they touch into stone. As the energy touched the ground, it was turned into the same substance Gargulion's new body was made out of. The energy also hit Gladion while he was fending him off in close quarters, causing him to rapidly transform into a hardened version of himself. Gargulion then flew to the outskirts of the arena to avoid being caught in the blast radius of his next attack. He briefly gathered the energy necessary to launch the attack and then unleashed a stream of green energy towards the transforming Gladion. As it traveled toward him, it picked up a few traces of the material on the ground and merged with the attack to also deliver a non-energy based hit, doubling its power and amplifying the blast even further. "After underestimating me all these years, you deserve no better ending than this! See ya!" Gargulion celebrated.

[Tank Stryker]

The blast slammed into Gladion, smashing the, now half petrified, bakugan into the wall of the arena, yet Tank had a smile on his face. He knew this battle was over.

"Underestimate you?" Tank said, chuckling as he swiped the card through his BrawlX, "Trust me, you're underestimating me if you think that weak ability will do anything. Gladion!" Tank looked to his bakugan, whose head snapped up at the call of his name. "Let's end this. Ability activate! Warrior's Pride!"

A bright blue light flashed in both Gladion's and Tank's eyes. The intensity radiating off of the two could almost be felt by the people in the arena. This kind of situation would have any normal brawler running for the hills, but not Tank and Gladion.

The gladiator bakugan thrusted his leg forward, shattering the stone that encased it before doing the same thing with the other. Grasping the Claymore in his hands, Gladion rushed forward at his max speed, a deafening roar piercing the air. As he neared Gargulion, Gladion raised his blade, and brought it down, slashing the gargoyle. Gargulion shone in a bright purple light before reverting back to ball form and falling to Markus' feet.

The arena was silent at the end of the battle before erupting into a sea of cheers and applause. Tank's and Markus' names were both chanted repeatedly as Gladion held his sword high into the air before returning to Tank's outstretched palm in ball form. Tank looked over to his right to the pride filled eyes of his mother and girlfriend before the whip of a black leather coat caught his eye.

The man in the coat turned back to face Tank, staring him dead in the eye. The man looked nearly identical to Tank, albeit much older. Tank was staring into the eyes of his father, who gave him a warm smile, and lifted a pendant identical to his up to show Tank. His father's eyes flashed blue as he turned and exited the arena. Tank was very tempted to run after him, but knew that he couldn't. Instead, he turned and walked toward Markus, and outstretched his hand.

"Good battle, Markus," Tank said, "You fought valiantly, but, unfortunately, this is probably where our rivalry is going to end, since I'm graduating and all."

[Markus Hederick]

"I don't believe this..." Markus said to himself silently. This was the best battle he has fought against Tank as he was able to fight as his equal for the first time, and it still ended in defeat despite all of the training that he has done to prepare for this moment. He didn't bother to pay attention to the audience's chant of his name as he believed it was out of pity. In his point of view, if you're not first, you're last. This situation was no different considering that they were all fighting for 1st place, and losing to Tank for the last time may put that in jeopardy since both teams are now tied with one win each. Knowing that a tie breaker will soon follow to break this stalemate, Markus approached Tank with a disappointed look on his face, but still had the focus he had prior to fighting Tank in order to prepare himself for what was about to come. "I really thought this would finally be the day I would win against you. I hate to admit it, but you're better than me. Just as Noland said to Allen, I'll get you one day," Markus said as he walked towards Tank and shook his hand, ending the rivalry at that spot.

In just five minutes after the handshake, the announcer was ready to call the tie breaker. Both teams would have to choose one person to represent them in the tie breaker. Markus told Allen and Karen that he believes he should be the one to return to the battlefield. When asked why by Karen, he told her that he has an ability that can bring both Gorem and Elico on the battlefield. A bit angry that an ability like this wasn't used on Gladion, Allen questioned him on why he didn't just use it against Tank so that they wouldn't be in this position. Markus told him that the ability is taxing on Gargulion when targeting Bakugan belonging to other people and requires him to stand still, and Gladion was pressuring him the whole time, making the activation impossible. He stated he'll have the time to do it at the beginning of the battle considering they're not going to rush him as aggressively at the start. He also informed them that his brawl with Tank gave them the time needed to recover from their battles, so they'll have three Bakugan on the field that'll decimate whoever Noland's team chooses to send out. Karen told him that he was going to lose if Elico and Gorem do not make it to the field since Gargulion was still a bit weary from the brawl, and warned him to make sure he knows what he's doing.

Once they decided on the game plan, Markus returned to the battlefield and was ready to brawl whoever was chosen as his opponent. The audience cheered for the beginning of the true final battle with him at the helm for his team. He re-activated his BrawlX, gripped his Bakugan, and prepared to throw him onto the battlefield for the last time in this tournament. Upon noticing who was chosen to fight him, Markus smiled in approval of how smart they were and said, "I may not have been able to beat Tank, but winning against you is the next best thing. There's no question that I'm motivated to take you down more than I ever was against Tank. You'd better be prepared for your sake." Markus then threw Gargulion onto the battlefield by saying, "Bakugan brawl! Specter Gargulion, stand!" Gargulion stood in his monster form and unleashed a loud screech. He began charging energy as soon as he appeared on the battlefield.

[Noland Hardy]

Noland was relieved that Tank was able to defeat Markus. The score was now tied at 1-1, and a tie breaker was definitely going to take place to decide who would come out on top. The announcer called for both teams to pick a representative for the final battle. Tank chose for Noland to be the person to fight for them since fighting Markus took too much energy out of him to face either Allen or Karen, and he thought they would have been fools to allow Markus to return to battle so soon after Gargulion's energy has been sapped from the defeat. Tracy agreed with Tank on the matter and told Noland that Skystar would not be able to handle Allen if she couldn't take Karen down even when she had an evolved Bakugan. Because of this, they came to the conclusion that Noland was the best candidate to battle in this situation. Noland accepted their opinions and prepared himself to fight. He said to himself that he wishes for Karen to be his opponent so he could embarrass her in front of a large group of people after bringing their problems to a televised tournament.

After spending time to himself to focus and eliminate any stress, Noland took his position on the battlefield. The audience became excited to see him battle another time and chanted his name over and over again. He activated his BrawlX, gripped the Dragonoid, and was prepared to end the fight once and for all. Noticing who his opponent was, Noland was a bit confused about why they would send Markus out there when Elico and Gorem were in better condition to fight than Gargulion was. He listened to Markus tell him that his defeat would be better than Tank's. He responded by saying, "I would have taken that comment more seriously if you had been my opponent for the second battle." Noland threw Drago into battle soon after making this comment. "Bakugan brawl! Bane Dragonoid stand!" The Dragonoid landed on the battlefield and gave a loud roar before immediately approaching Gargulion with his mind set on knocking him out with the volley of fireballs he unleashed while on his flight path.

[Markus Hederick]

"Oh really?" Markus questioned. The fireballs Drago launched towards Gargulion appeared to be lethal without him activating any abilities. Their impacts produced smoke that clouded everyone's vision. A green aura was flashing in the midst of the smoke, revealing that Gargulion must have used an ability while his opponent's attacks were nearing him. The smoke began to dissipate, and when it did, it revealed Gargulion still standing as if no harm was brought upon him; however, the major difference between now and prior to the hits was the two Bakugan standing in front of them with their guard up. "Do I have your attention now, Noland?" Markus said with both Elico and Gorem on the battlefield in front of Gargulion. Revealing that he had activated an ability on his BrawlX in the midst of the confusion, Markus stated, "Nightmare Fleet is an upgraded version of the Endarkened Armada ability I used against Tank. The major difference between the two is that I can target other people's Bakugan and use them for my benefit. In other words, you're screwed."

Gargulion followed his partner's comments by saying, "You thought we would be stupid enough to come back here if we didn't have a way around our fatigue? You should expect more out of your opponents next time regardless of how powerful you are." Both Gorem and Elico knocked the approaching Dragonoid backwards when he got too close, and stood ready to be the first in the league to take Drago down. "Tank might have won the brawl, but he didn't win you the war. This fight and this championship is ours," Markus asserted. "Ability activate! Petrify!" Gargulion released numerous energy bursts towards Drago's direction that turned anything they touched into stone. He did this to pressure the Dragonoid while Gorem and Elico launched Gravitron Ballistae and Infernus Rocket respectively. Gorem charged darker energy into his hands and unleashed it in the form of an arrow/ballista while Elico changed his attribute to Pyrus, charged an energy blast in his hands, and released it into multiple blasts that scattered across the battlefield.

[Noland Hardy]

Drago was forcefully repelled from his assault and sent skidding along the ground before he was able to recover by rebounding into the air. Just as he did, Markus had already sent three attacks his way. "Three Bakugan are enough to propel you over me?" Noland questioned, intentionally copying his opponent's earlier statement towards Tank. "You're flattering me. Ability activate! Infernal Bind!" Utilizing the diamonds scattered across his body, Drago fired numerous electric bolts towards his enemies attacks that were able to dispel all of them from a direct clash. The resulting impacts caused numerous explosions that were a bit unsettling for everyone at ground level, but it didn't deter Noland from declaring another attack following his save. "Drago, Oppressive Air!" Noland commanded. Drago released heat from his body that coated the area in a relentless heat wave that completely stunned his opponents. Even Elico in his Pyrus form could not withstand the temperature and was under the same amount of torture that Gorem and Gargulion were in as they did their best to withstand it. "No, Markus. YOU'RE screwed!" Drago roared. "Noland, lets end this struggle now!"

Noland nodded in agreement, activated their special power as his hand started to glow along with Drago's color scheme changing, and held up his arm as he said, "We'll see just how much power you three have against our combined power. Ability activate! Triple Threat!" Drago held up both of his hands and began to charge an attack. A red energy sphere was seen forming at Drago's mouth. His right hand had a blue sphere forming while his left hand had a yellow sphere form. As Noland implied, he was taking power from both of his teammates and combining it with his since his special power already takes the power of other attributes. "In case you didn't hear Drago when he told you, I'll just repeat what he said. You're screwed," Noland stated. Drago fired the blast from his mouth and threw the other two blasts into it, resulting in a massive energy surge which was further boosted by the fact that it was a triple node. The blast became larger as a result of the combination and soared through the air on its way to the opposing team, shattering the ground it traveled across.