Episode 28: Final Push

[Noland Hardy]

Kuzuha teleported all of them to an unknown location. Despite not knowing where they were, Noland immediately started looking for the nearest hospital to address Markus, Allen, and Tank's conditions. Before he tried this, Makoto noticed that they were not alone in the area. Not too long after he made that comment, an entire squad of U.S. officers surrounded them with their Bakugan and immediately apprehended them. They were brought to the nearby Raven Rock Mountain Complex, or Site R, where they were confronted by the President himself. Upon realizing who they were, the President asked Noland why they were leading the Pack and walking with the Terrorists, who were treated very harshly after all they've done. Noland informed him of what happened and presented the unconscious bodies of the three chipped Resistors as well as their Bakugan. The President then ordered some of the medics he had with him to take care of them, but warned Noland that they'll have to hold the Bakugan down since they needed to be in monster form for the chip to be removed. Once they were prepared to begin the procedure, they summoned Gorem, Gladion, and Gargulion. Their earlier defeat made them too weak to cause any damage even though they tried. Drago personally kept Gladion face down on the floor using his foot. Gorem was pinned to the floor by Ahrangi and Ahio's combined power. Kuzuha and Skystar took special care of Gargulion to make sure he was prevented from using any technique as he was the most dangerous one out of the trio in the current situation due to his crippling abilities. Torahu sat this one out as she was still recovering from her injuries.

During the operation, they received confirmation that they were chipped, which brought a slight smile on Noland's face knowing that they wouldn't have to do anything drastic to them since what they were doing and saying was not their will. The operation took an hour to complete. While it was going on, Noland sat next to Seiki to check on her after her breakdown on the battlefield. Not really being used to talking about her feelings especially when not having the courage to do so with Ahio on occasion, she was shying away from Noland when he tried to offer her some comfort. Knowing this as a sign of not wanting to talk, Noland informed her that he understood her pain and advised her to talk with someone about it since it seemed like it was getting too far, not mentioning what she said specifically about suicide. He also congratulated her on Ahio's evolution and said that she was the reason why all of them won. As he got up to go see Tracy, Seiki grabbed his arm to ask him what he thought about her. Before he could answer her, Tracy found him to tell him that the operation was over. They rushed back to the room where it was done and found Allen, Tank, and Markus in working order again with puzzled looks on their faces since they did not remember anything after being imprisoned by Nero. Their confusion quickly turned into aggression once they saw the Terrorists by Noland's side. The three of them attempted to fight them before being stopped by the President, who regretted that they were necessary to make it to Nero. He also said they should be thanking them since they helped Noland's group take them down to prevent them from doing something irreversible. Knowing that they didn't know what the President was talking about, Tracy told them that they were being chipped, leading the Pack into an attack on Pennsylvania and attempting to kill them all.

Regardless, Tank was furious with them all for teaming with the Terrorists after what Daniel did to his best friends. Knowing that this new alliance will cause some discord with the Resistors, the President did announce that he will not grant Daniel, Makoto, and Akane amnesty just because they need the their help and assured him that they'll be arrested once Nero was dealt with. Markus was very happy to hear that and urged them to get the briefing over with so he wouldn't have to deal with them for too long. Allen backed up his statement; although, he silently questioned if Noland should be checked for a chip in his head for doing the last thing someone like him would ever consider doing. Daniel chose not to say anything to their apparent distrust not only because he knew why they didn't trust him, but he didn't want to make the situation worse by saying what he really wanted to say. With their minds focused on what needed to be done, disaster struck. A squad of Abbadon and Asmodeus had ventured too far into their territory. The guards outside swiftly dealt with them by irritating nearby Bee Striker nests, causing the Pack members to flee in fear of being stung. Due to this, the President did not waste any time in giving the details. Daniel's information was confirmed to be true when they were told of Nero residing in "No Man's Land". Drago asked him how he knew this since Nero was always a secretive man. He also mentioned information that he purposely withheld from Noland until his unforgettable encounter with him like the document left to the current director of the CIA. The President warned him that what he spoke of was classified information, which Noland quickly shot down by bringing his morals into question by keeping a secret that could have very well lead to many deaths, including John's. Aware that he had no choice but to say it, the President told them that it was the schematics for a bio-weapon designed to protect the planet from attacks that they couldn't do anything about themselves. He said that Nero was supposedly working on the project after Vince's disappearance, but has apparently come up with the monster known as Belphenoid out of it. 

When the Pack began to form, he admitted that he was panicking over their attacks and constantly called Nero plenty of times to check on the progress of what Vince wanted to create, but it was met with excuses every single time. It was not until Nero began his assault when he realized what his time was being used for all this time. Recently, he has had multiple people report to him that they've seen Nero's body on the ground being heavily mistreated by the Pack, which was very astonishing for everyone to hear. Noland warned him that this situation would likely create a scandal that can very well get him impeached, which was acknowledged by everyone in the room. Markus took it a step further by insulting his inability to maintain the country's national security and placed all of the blood of the lost and the earlier poisoning of his little sister on his hands. Tank, who rarely agrees with Markus, had to support him this time, and mentioned that the type of activity the President participated in was illegal, which already should get him impeached. Seiki and Akane interrupted all of them by telling them that they didn't have time to point fingers. The President rushed all of them to the tunnel he used to escape from Nero. He instructed them to follow that tunnel to a certain point so they would arrive at the White House, and then make their way to "No Man's Land" from there. Allen was curious as to how these tunnels were created, and the President told him that the Wormquake infestation proved to be useful to them other than a simple annoyance. Before they left, Noland asked him what was on the blueprints Vince left, assuming that Belphenoid was not the original plan. The President urged him that he really didn't want to know what it was, and that it would be best if that information never resurfaces.

The Resistors and the Terrorists traveled through the tunnel quickly and quietly in hopes of not encountering any of the Wormquake that was said to make up an infestation. Unfortunately, they were rushed through the tunnel as a Wormquake made its presence known by chasing them from behind most of the way. When they finally made it to the White House, they made their way to the surface. They were very cautious in their approach since they were aware that the territory was already occupied by the Pack. When they didn't detect their presence in the immediate area, they started moving. They all stuck together as they made their way to Capitol Hill to confront Nero for the last time. Noland and Allen didn't tell anyone else about their uneasy feeling going to "No Man's Land" since the area received that name for a reason; it was the site of that particular battle that none of them like to revisit. To add on their nervousness, they saw what the President was informed of when they saw Nero's dead body on the pavement with numerous scratch marks. They could only conclude that Nero had released a monster since they didn't know what to think when they saw it. Unfortunately, they were going to have to go back to where it all began to end this disaster. As they started getting closer, howls were heard across the city, signalling that the Pack knew they were coming. They didn't care about that though since the only thing on their minds was that within the next twenty four hours, regardless of what happened along the way, the war was about to come to a close.

(Final Stretch)


 

[Karen Valentine]

Karen was not aware of the Resistors actions recently after seeing Tank, Allen, and Markus deployed among the Pack's ranks. She was taking a leisurely stroll throughout the base, following Montai, Nero's assistant, around while she worked. Karen rarely had the chance to speak to her due to how strenuous each of their schedules were, so it was only logical to take whatever chance she could get to poke the mind of Nero's most trusted employee. The first thing she asked Montai was what got so many people to agree with Nero. Montai laughed a little when she asked that question and responded, "Don't let our behavior mislead you. You'll rarely ever find any job in this field where every command given by the boys and girls in charge will be agreed to by everyone else." Karen thought about her answer for a second and became confused that some of the workers would rather exchange lives for the value of the dollar if they didn't believe in what they were doing, so she asked, "So, in other words, there are some of you here that do not believe nor understand what's going on here, but they do it to keep their jobs?" Karen didn't know if Montai was implying that she didn't agree with what was going on here, so she wanted to poke her mind a little to see if she could provoke a reaction out of her. Unfortunately, Montai was already aware of what she was trying to do given what has happened recently with the incident involving a body of Nero. "That, and there's another reason," she said while leading her into a conference room to show her exactly what she meant.

Using her BrawlX, Montai pulled up an article about the situation and explained its origins. "If you didn't know this already, Nero's body was spotted on the street a couple of blocks near here that was horribly mutilated, giving the public the impression that the main ringleader behind this operation was killed in a horrific fashion by a rebellious army led by Belphenoid." Elico popped up on Karen's shoulder and butted in the conversation unannounced and uninvited. "Nero is watching a movie in his quarters while stuffing his face with popcorn. Are you trying to say this is some cruel scare tactic by Nero or is it something more serious?" Montai was startled by his sudden entrance, but still remained on track with the point of bringing up this incident. "It's...both, Elico," She paused for a moment while saying that due to it really scaring her in a way. "He made it clear when he fought against the Terrorists that anyone who decided to resist will get the same treatment he was giving the Bakugan. That decree didn't just apply for the general populace; it extended in here as well. Due to this, whenever one of us decided to either voice our displeasure about what he's doing or attempt to leave our job due to morality," she announced while zooming in on the dead body of Nero, "he will override the BrawlX they were wearing, install the disguise application that he kept from his days as a spy, transform them into his likeness, and throw them out in the street with nothing to defend themselves with. The Pack finds them, and murders them without any thought. That isn't even the worst part of it either." Montai decided to whisper this next part in her ear since this piece of information was different than what she was already saying in that everyone in the building was aware of the prior situation. "Nero...doesn't order the Pack to kill them..."

Karen and Elico were shocked to hear that the Pack did not care that the people sent out there could have potentially been the actual Andrew Bullock. They killed them anyway without any order given from Nero, which could only mean that there was a severe disconnect between the two that can potentially be a sign of rebellion. If Nero was sending people out there in his image for that to happen, that could also mean that he is fully aware of the Pack's intentions and is only exploiting it to instill fear among his own staff. "Oh...my....God..." The bombshell Montai dropped shocked her to the core, and it was proof of what she tried to tell Noland and his band of Resistors about concerning his influence, but they didn't listen. She did agree with Nero to a certain extent, but what was happening here was taking it way too far even for her. "I'll let that sink in for a little bit. By the way...I really love your hair." With that said, Montai left the room to resume her duties while Karen was left alone with Elico to ponder over what was currently happening. As she started to think, she could hear the multiple howls the nearby Pack were making as if something dangerous was coming their way. Not knowing what was going on, Karen ran all the way to Nero's quarters, barged into his room without knocking, and rudely interrupted what he was doing. "Why are you relaxing in the middle of a war you started!? You haven't even taken control of the entire country yet, and you're sitting here like you've already won the fight! Why are the Pack making so much noise!?"

[Nero Bullock]

Nero was taking a break in his quarters enjoying one of his favorite series of movies of all time, Star Wars. He was watching episode five where he was just getting to the scene where Darth Vader says one sentence to Luke Skywalker that would change his life forever. Ironically, Karen invited herself into his room unannounced and started yelling. "Well, damn...I never told you that doing your hair wasn't acceptable while this was going on. I can't relax at all? Everyone else gets to." While annoyed at that question, he was intrigued by the mentioning of the Pack making noise. This made him serious enough to immediately stop what he was doing and listen for a few seconds to hear them. After listening to it for two seconds, he pushed Karen out of the way and ran to his command center with haste. There he found the original Belphenoid, Asmodeus, and Abbadon napping next to each other. Once he got in his chair, he was in full work mode from that point forward. "Hydranoid!" Nero called out to his guardian to awaken the Pack members from their slumber since something serious was coming towards them. "Belphenoid, look into the eyes of your brethren and see what they're seeing. They have eyes on whatever is coming and I need to know who or what it is since they apparently haven't made an effort to attack yet." Belphenoid used his innate ability to see through his clones. While not showing it on his face, he was disturbed by what he saw.

"We have nine visitors attempting to come to our doorstep. The Resistors and the Terrorists seem to be...working together?" Nero was slightly disappointed that this meant Noland was successful in defeating the Resistors he brainwashed, and now they were coming to him in full force along with the Terrorists. He sat there with his legs crossed in his chair thinking of what to do in this situation. "I'm impressed, Noland. I really am. Despite all of those stumbling blocks along the way, you're still resisting me. Your unwavering devotion is almost as sickening as Vince's, but it's inspiring to watch. If you want to make it to me, then I'll put you to the test." Nero turned around in his chair and looked at Karen as a good alternative to either himself or the real trio being sent out there against all nine of his enemies. "Karen, would you be the kind and loving daughter you are and have Elico link with these three? Our forces will definitely benefit from the wide array of techniques they'll have access to under his influence. Plus, I'd rather not have you out there alone with all of them anyway."

[Karen Valentine]

Karen was pushed aside when Nero ran all the way to his command center to assess the situation. To her surprise, Noland and Daniel's forces were detected by the Pack, and they apparently found out where they were conducting business. They were advancing towards them with the intention on confronting them for the final time. Nero was really shocked by this since he didn't think Noland should have survived this long after sending three of the most powerful brawlers he had as allies up to Pennsylvania to kill him and his friends, but even that didn't stop him. To make it worse, it appears that Noland was able to have their chips removed, and they were now coming back for revenge along with the Terrorists who seemed to be allies with the Resistors at this point. "Noland...are you crazy...? Why would you ever choose those three...?" Karen asked quietly, not understanding his thought process in the decision to team up with those people. "Then again...who wouldn't be desperate in times like this?"

Karen then heard Nero ask her to link Elico with the Pack so they could benefit from his power. Knowing that Nero was becoming a little too comfortable with power, she was very tempted to say no. She would have made that her answer if Montai did not have that talk with her earlier since she was not aware of the employees essentially locked into a death contract if they chose differently than what Nero wanted. She didn't know if Nero would ever do that to her considering she was his "daughter", but after hearing about something so damning to someone's reputation, she couldn't be too careful. Out of fear in ending up in the same unfortunate situation as the employee who objected earlier, Karen complied with his order and summoned Elico in monster form to carry out the act. "Sure...dad...whatever you say..." Elico stood behind the Pack to stick them all in the back with his tentacles. Doing so enabled him to link his attribute changing abilities to their own so they could share it with their clones. This would make them even more threatening than they already were. 

After the transfer, the Pack came out of hiding, and lined themselves up along the road to "No Man's Land". The Belphenoid in charge of that entire section of the army stepped forward when the Resistors and the Terrorists came into their view. "It seems you didn't learn your lesson very well from last time, Master Blaze. You had the opportunity to get further away from us, amass an army of your own, or even outright surrender to not delay the inevitable, but yet you stand here right in front of us, ready to challenge our superior power once again. You're a very brave soul, human, but that doesn't get mercy from the Pack. You want a battle worthy to be called a finale? You can bet your life that you'll get it." Belphenoid howled for the attack order to be given. Once it was acknowledged by everyone else, they all began their assault. They started rushing towards their opponents to end this fight for the last time. "Bring it on, Hardy!" Belphenoid roared as he stayed a bit behind the entire force, which could have made up approximately 100 Bakugan without counting any summons.

[Noland Hardy]

The howling that was being heard during their approach was getting Noland in a fighting mood. After everything that they have been through because of those demons, it was winding down to their final bout. This next battle would likely decide the fate of everyone else, so he was afraid. His fear didn't come from the Pack's noise nor the Pack themselves, but the thought of being defeated by them again was a bit too much to bear. To make matters worse, they were on Nero's home field as they always were, which makes the battle even more unpredictable than it already was. Still, he knew had to be brave, and so did everyone else. They didn't come this far to turn back due to intimidation. By now, everyone knew how much of a threat Nero actually was, so there was nothing to be surprised about. He didn't care if he had to come face to face with either Karen, Nero, Belphenoid, or all of them at once. Whichever one decides to confront them all, he was sure they would do everything in their power to put them out of commission for the sake of the rest of the world. It all started with their actions here, so they couldn't mess this one up.

None of them thought they were being sneaky since they knew they were being watched, so everyone's Bakugan were already deployed in anticipation of the Pack's arrival. "For all of that howling they're doing, they're being a little too non-confrontational. Seems kinda strange to be acting that way on their own home turf." As Noland silently said that, they started seeing multiple figures jump out into plain view, lining themselves up in a blockade-like formation to halt any more advancement. "There's our welcoming party," Drago alerted everyone. A Belphenoid stepped forward to berate Noland's stubbornness for continuing to fight against them, and then threatened to give him a final battle that would be worth his time. With his final words spoken, he waged battle on them all by deploying an entire army of Pack. "Superior power, huh? I guess that's why even you couldn't stop us from taking our friends away from your control and coming to you, right?" Noland sarcastically mocked. All of their Bakugan got into battle ready position in preparation for the assault. While not in Noland's plan, some of the soldiers from Site R have followed them through the tunnel after narrowly dodging the Wormquake that were in there in addition to the police and citizens that have already been terrorized by them from the start with their squad of Bakugan already deployed, which consisted of Lasermen, Saurus, Robotallion, and their newest addition, Hynoid. "So what were you saying about that army of ours, Belphenoid?"

[Nero Bullock]

"They have friends..." Belphenoid sighed, not anticipating the sudden appearance of U.S. military and police. Nero acknowledged the arrival of their help and was content that he made the right decision to have Elico's attribute power accessible through the link. "While their allies are finally coming up from their holes, the Resistors and Terrorists are in a defensive stance, anticipating our charge. They might guard against a direct assault, but they won't be ready for a sudden AOE that doesn't require us to touch them. Asmodeus, are you ready?" Abbadon called out to his Ventus brother to do a cooperative attack on their enemies while they still believe in a defense. "Ready on your mark, brother." Nero sat back in his chair while they were conducting attack procedures entirely on their own. He didn't know why they were so tolerable of each other since they usually had a history of fighting with each other, so it was a nice change of pace.

"Elico, attribute change." Nero casually enforced. "Make it Pyrus." Elico quickly changed his attribute to Pyrus, which, by extension, allowed the Pack (except for Abbadon) to switch their attribute to Pyrus; Abbadon's Pyrus powers were amplified by this conversion due to already being Pyrus himself, which was a crucial component in what their next attack would be. The Pack then used a triple ability against their enemies: Dragon Breath, Shadow Burner, and Violent Pressure. All of the Abbadon unleashed a fiery stream from their mouths that were more than enough to set the entire area on fire. This was further boosted by Belphenoid's Shadow Burner that coated the flames in his own likeness to darken the color, which made the flames even more potent. Asmodeus' Violent Pressure allowed him to blow air at a high pressure over the flames to make them even more violent in appearance, allowing them to spread across the area even faster. This was a quick display of Nero's power that was threatening to engulf everything in a searing blaze.

[Tank Stryker]

Tank had been pretty silent on the way to the battlefield, his focus intensifying for the monumentous battle ahead of him. He was wearing John's newly repaired jacket, having sacrificed his own to do so. His pendant glowed a brilliant blue on his black "General" t-shirt, and his jeans were brand new as well.

When they reached the battlefield, Tank became a little nervous at the sight of the assembled Pack, but was relieved when the police and military showed up. He knew that the fight had just become fair. As if he were in charge (and it'd be a miracle if they listened to him), Tank began to command the entirity of the army ammassed.

"Alright, guys," Tank said, grabbing Gladion in his hand, "Follow my lead. Aim for the underbelly of The Pack bakugan and keep a safe distance away from the battlefield if you can. They just changed attributes, which is pretty new, so keep your head up and hit them with everything you've got!"

With that, Tank pulled his arm back and threw Gladion hard into the battlefield. "Bakugan, brawl!" Tank yelled as Gladion opened up, "Praetor Gladion stand!"

Gladion rose from his ball form with a deafening roar. He took an unarmed battle stance before Tank swiped a couple cards through his BrawlX. "Gladion, lets show them what the power of Poseidon is! Double ability activate! Weapons Cache - Aegis plus Weapon of the Gods - Trident of Poseidon!"

A purplish black portal opened above Gladion, depositing a shield on his left arm before a monstrous downpour sacked the battlefield. The storm clouds above opened up a bit to let a blue, shining trident down onto the field into Gladion's outstretched right hand. Grabbing it, Gladion brandished the shield in front of him to block the blaze that was about to reach him. The rain did its job and put out most of the fire, only a few smoldering embers were left on the ground. Gladion kept his shield raised before charging at the bakugan, petrifying them in place before stabbing one Abbadon in the underbelly and throwing it into a Belphenoid, causing both to disappear in a bright light.

"Hit as many as you can, conserve your abilities, and watch each other's backs!" Tank called out to the rest of them, "Let's finish this now!"

[Karen Valentine]

Belphenoid, Asmodeus, and Abbadon angrily hissed at Gladion's Aquos ability serving as a counter to their fiery attack. Karen was slightly amused by their frustration so early in the battle that she couldn't resist instigating the situation. "Is there something wrong, boys? It's just one hundred of you versus nine of them. It's no big deal." Knowing that she indirectly insulted the Pack's battle efficiency, Elico attempted to distract the Pack from her remark by initiating another attribute change. In this way, the power they were receiving should hopefully keep them from saying or doing anything that wouldn't be pleasing to him, which was going to be hard to come by from this point forward due to the hostile work environment Nero has created. "Subterra should be able to amplify your physical abilities to contend with your close quarters combatants. Sending it over now."

With that said, Elico changed his attribute to Subterra, which also allowed the army to change into it as well. Doing this caused their bodies to become more rigid and rough than before, giving them increased defense. It also vastly amplified the power of their physical parameters to make themselves more powerful than their opponents when it came to overall raw power. Asmodeus used this to his advantage. The loudmouth gathered plenty of Asmodeus' into a central location on the pavement. They decided to use the ability Screech Cannon. Each Asmodeus reeled back for a moment before unleashing their sound as loud as they could in the Resistors and Terrorists direction. The effects of their screech were detrimental to their surroundings. The sheer power was enough to detach all of the streetlights and traffic lights from their spots and into their enemies noggins. Parts of the street, if not the entire thing due to more pieces of rubble coming up then being left, were lifted into the air as well to pummel their enemies bodies on impact. The debris was an obstacle all on its own while the screech itself was enough to tear every listener's ears and Bakugan's bodies apart.

[Tracy White]

Tank's first strike was able to avert the immediate danger, but the Pack's first attack showed them just how much power Nero actually had at his disposal. It was almost enough to scare her completely out of fighting when Tank was quick to notice their attribute change, which was an ability that none of them were aware of how it was obtained. This was where Tank's leadership skills were key against opponents like this since he often notices their best chances of winning the battle, and she was sure Noland took that skill into consideration when making the hard choice to break them out of their hypnosis. While not thinking about that too much in comparison to the battle in front of her, she did think everyone's individual abilities will be important to match the power they were up against. "We're right behind you, Tank!" Tracy called back, acknowledging his attack procedure as planned.

The Pack then received another attribute change following Gladion's attack. This time, they turned into Subterra. Tracy was astonished at what they were able to do with Pyrus, so she was very curious to see what type of effect Subterra would have on their attacks. She watched as a bunch of Asmodeus lined up and fired a shattering screech in their direction. Luckily, and necessarily, she slipped an ability on her gauntlet when she saw them reeling back since she expected sound on that level to be used. "Double ability activate! Orbital Shield plus Roa Glowdown!" As if it was a sudden reaction to the debris coming their way, the discs detached from Skystar and revolved around all of their allies to produce a transparent shield that shielded them from the projectiles that would have done a great job at limiting their movements from the start all the way to the end.

Piercing the dark atmosphere these monsters created, the ability allowed Skystar to use the sun's energy to cover the group of Asmodeus in a serene light that, when their attack was launched, decreased its noise to allow all of them to tolerate it on a much more manageable level than the lethal blow they would have taken if kept at the same noise level. After hearing it at its max for a quick second, it would not be wise for any of them to hear again as it has already damaged them too much so early in the fight. "Anyone else's yelling is a blessing compared to what I just heard. Another second could have meant the end of all of our journeys." Skystar admitted Asmodeus' power was very close to beating them, but unfortunately for them, almost was not enough. Using the solar power that weakened Asmodeus, Skystar charged the energy into her staff to shoot several bolts at the group that initiated the attack. It zapped them until they all disappeared in a bright flash of light.

[Nero Bullock]

Nero was watching the Pack's reactions to determine how the battle was going, and it seemed like they were encountering a bit of heavy resistance. He waited patiently for what they were going to say next, but he was eager to hear some report on inflicting some heavy damage since that's what they were known to do. "Does anyone else think that the damage we just dealt was worth all of those Asmodeus? I sure don't think it was," Abbadon angrily announced. Upon hearing that, Nero started asking questions since he was getting impatient. "Belphenoid, what's going on down there? What are they doing?" As he awaited an answer, he was thinking of what attribute they could possibly turn into next depending on the answer he was given. While he would still be angry about what his opponents were doing either way since all he wanted them to do was lose, he was interested in his opponent's progress and wanted to see if there was anything specific that can be done to stop them entirely.

"They're glued together and have no intentions of straying too far into our zone," Belphenoid noted. "As Abbadon said, the sound wave damaged them more than they thought even though they had an answer for it, so they're getting weaker already. You have nothing to worry about in terms of the state of the battle; at this rate, they will lose." Nero then had another statement in mind that was directly related to this so-called win that he was sure he would claim. "I have nothing to worry about when Abbadon over here is complaining about lost Asmodeus'," Nero repeated sarcastically. "If you're sure that a win is achievable, do us all a favor and not have too many casualties. You seemed pretty stressed after an entire session of production, so I'd advise you to preserve as many as you can so we don't have to keep taking steps backwards. Change into Aquos for me."

Elico reverted back to his original attribute to force the Pack to change into it as well. Once Aquos, Belphenoid's scattered across the entire location in an instant in preparation for their amplified Blizzard ability. Each one opened their mouths wide to fire an Aquos-influenced blizzard towards their foes. Through Asmodeus's support, the blizzard was noticeably more violent as the strength of the wind was more powerful. The combination of the treacherous blizzard and heavy wind power made it nearly impossible for the enemy to respond quickly in the midst of a terrible storm. The Pack did not have an issue dealing with it as much since they were naturally able to traverse harsh environments. A considerable amount of them began to charge the opposition, sending numerous Bakugan the Resistors and Terrorists had for their help out of commission while also dealing significant blows to their Bakugan through their bites and scratches.

[Makoto Nakashima]

Makoto swiftly put an ability into his gauntlet and immediately activated it to get Ahrangi close to the Pack since melee combat was their thing. "Ability activate! Sword Storm Rain!" Makoto said once he activated the ability. Card manifested in form of large energy flow inside Ahrangi's body which was channeled into creation of thousands of swords around him.
Once Ahrangi could not be seen anymore due to a large number of swords he pointed his fingers at the Pack and swords rained down at them with an impressive speed that was almost invisible human eyes. 

Ahrangi's swords first stabbed numerous Pack members in their feet in order to disable them from making further movements and remaining swords were used to decapitate all those Pack members that were caught in the rain of his swords. "Black Tempest!" Makoto yelled and then put another ability card into his gauntlet.

Ahrangi swung all four swords and released energy waves which were turned into a storm of black crow feathers which covered some of the Pack members. Ahrangi snapped his fingers and once a snap was heard black feathers started to detonate as some sort of explosives.
With each explosion one member of Pack after another was eliminated by either dissolving it completely or decapitating it.

[Seiki Maki]

"Noooooo!!!!! Not this ability again!!" Ahio screeched when Blizzard was used on her for the second time. The ability's effects were very detrimental to her ability to fly, so her irritation was expected. Unfortunately, as she was flailing around in the air, trying her best to maintain her form, the Pack rushed towards them to cut all of them down to size. Fortunately for them, Makoto's ability served as a quick answer to their aggression. As if he was using telekinesis, he manipulated the energy swords he summoned to stab the Bakugan that were attempting to pounce on them. This gave Ahio enough time to recover. "That was a close one. Domo, Makoto!" Seiki was now ready to be the one to attack the Pack. She was really looking forward to doing some damage after everything those animals have been responsible for. Of course, she wouldn't be satisfied until all of them were gone, but getting rid of some was a start even if it wouldn't be as many as she liked.

"Ability activate! Absolute Configuration!" Ahio glided overhead when the ability was activated. She spread her wings as she traveled, and numerous illusions of herself appeared alongside her. Although they were not essentially real on the physical side of things, the damage they inflict displays the exact opposite. With a flick of the wing, the illusions descended upon their prey with their claws out, ready to cling onto them until they were no more. They did so once they made contact, and in mere seconds, they disintegrated into particles. "These beasts disgust me! Hey, Belphenoid, take this! Wings of Despair!" She folded her wings for a brief moment while she generated a dark wind clone of herself right in front of her. She strongly flapped her wings to send the clone on its way, directly targeting the Belphenoid that was giving attack orders. Due to this, everyone deemed it the perfect opportunity to begin pushing up. The Lasermen began firing mortar rounds at the Pack, causing multiple explosions to occur across the road while the Robotallion began firing missiles from their bodies. "Keep moving! Go! Go! Go!"

[Karen Valentine]

The Belphenoid that was in charge of that particular army was being targeted by an angry bird, which wasn't really a surprise given what he's done and all of the meal jokes he made. "Fusion Cutter!" The Belphenoid held up his right paw, drew his claws, and amplified them with his power. When the wind clone came in his face, one swipe was all it took to completely disperse it. "Don't think you're a big girl now just because you've evolved. You'll need more than that to step to me!" Out of nowhere, mortars and missiles were being shot. The sudden barrage caught the Pack completely off guard. As the Belphenoid began looking around, he saw various Pack members taking heavy damage from it all. While not wanting to do this as it would show a sign of weakness, he was forced to make a tough decision. "Gah! I hope that motherfucker gets killed!" Belphenoid had gotten angry to the point where he made a very obscene comment about the bird, but chose to ignore it while he got to a more important issue. All of you rascals need to fall back now! I repeat, fall back!"

With the order given, the Pack started running back towards "No Man's Land" to get some distance between them and their opponents so they can properly regroup for their next assault. In order to do this, Belphenoid had a tricky attribute change to ask for in the control center. "We're doing great, guys! We have them on the run! Now give me Haos so we can finish them off!" Karen became curious about Belphenoid's request. It sparked so much curiosity since she found him a bit dumb for asking for Haos as an attribute if their opponents were actually running away from them. "You mean Ventus, right? Karen asked while trying to hold in a laugh. "If they're actually running away from you guys, it only makes sense for you to heighten your mobility with Ventus so you can easily run them down. What's really happening over there?" Belphenoid, who was strapped for time due to the circumstances, was easily irritated by her mockery. "Just shut up and give me the damn attribute! I don't have time for your games, Karen!"

Elico complied and transformed into Haos to extend it to the Pack. Once they were Haos, Belphenoid allowed a few Abbadon to stand next to him and curl into balls of light. They each slammed into a central point in front of Belphenoid to create a blinding effect on his opponents, allowing him the opportunity to back up a little. He regrouped with his brothers half a mile down the road to ruin. In anticipation of their enemies acting in quick pursuit, the Pack each unleashed their most powerful long-range attacks: Belphegor Hell, Cursed Seven, and Blood of the Fallen. Because it was used in unison with each other, they were able to unlock the fusion ability, Satan's Wrath. Due to Haos upping their energy reserves, they were able to safely use an attack like this on demand without any problems to their health. They each charged an energy pulse in their mouths upon activation, and launched them all at their opponents with each blast joining together in midair to create a more devastating blast.

[Daniel Andersen]

This time Pack decided to be a bitch and change into Haos attribute and that one can be nasty when used by monsters like Pack. They combined their attacks into a powerful blast in order to do the major damage to Resistors and Terrorists. As if they were in a big rush to defeat them they already started to bring out the big guns. "Hmph...they for real?" Daniel said through a sigh sarcastically while watching Pack's attack reaching them at high speed.
"It seems you will have free snacks, Kuzuha. Ability activate! Violet Infusion!" Daniel said and pulled out a Darkus ability and put it into his gauntlet. Upon making a flash with her wand Kuzuha was wrapped up in violet flames which swiftly changed her form again, but this time it was neither Drago or Gorem.

Violet flames were extinguished only to reveal Kuzuha's new form and it was no more or less, but a copied form of Belphenoid. In this form Kuzuha was not in the need of using her wand anymore, so she made it vanish. Her new body form looked like a taller version of a bipedal Belphenoid with several spikes coming out of her hands and elbows and with some slight changes.
Only her head and hair were spared of completely changing into Belphenoid form, but Kuzuha's fox mask was switched with a mask that looked entirely like Belphenoid's upper jaw. 
At this point she could use an array of attacks by copying Belphenoid and when Daniel meant 'snacking' he was not in sarcasm. "Ability activate! Focused Absorption!" Daniel said and then activated a modified Ability for this Belphenoid form.

Kuzuha made a jump in forward in order to get right into the attack and instead of blocking or stopping the attack she used herself as a magnet in order to receive the attack. Unfortunately for Belphenoid those were not good news since he noticed that she did it on purpose. Her new form combined with a powerful ability allowed her to absorb their combined attack in order to overcharge herself. "You should say the prayer. It's time to eat." said Kuzuha with a dark tone and an evil smile as she watched the Pack completely exposed to what she was about to do to them. "Ability activate! Twilight of Belphegor" Daniel said again and put another ability.
He was not concerned about what Tank said about conserving abilities since he had a little fountain of energy right in front of him and Pack itself was that fountain.

This time dark energy shrouded Kuzuha and then she rushed forward to the Pack. Her new body form and a combined ability allowed her to extend her fingers into long blades similar to claws of the Pack and the started slashing and stabbing violently against each of them. All those Belphenoid clones were first to get hit considering they stepped out to initiate the attack from before. Kuzuha did not just slash and stab, but decided to chop their limbs and heads of in the process to make sure they don't regenerate. What was the most uncomfortable part about Kuzuha's attack against the Pack was that literal meaning of 'having a snack'. 
Kuzuha literally used her Twilight of Belphegor in order to release dark energy from her palms and seize all parts she chopped off and a few Pack members that got careless. Dark energy from her palms started to dissolve everything that was seized and soon all that was caught was turned into pure dark energy.

All that dark energy formed itself as some kind of dark-purple gas in front of Kuzuha. In order to receive the energy from dissolved enemies Kuzuha took a deep breath inside the dark gas and in only a matter of seconds she was able to inhale all the dark gas. When all the gas was absorbed Kuzuha flashed in dark-purple and dark cloud shrouded her. "You call this food? Pack tastes so rotten." Kuzuha complained to Daniel and then extended her claws again while shrouding herself in more darkness. "You owe me for this." she added.
"Quit whining, maybe we find you something in Nero's lab." Daniel replied and awaited for others contestants of the current freak show to make their moves.

[Markus Hederick]

Surprisingly, Markus was in full agreement with Tank's suggestion to conserve their abilities and fight at a controlled pace. Judging by the Pack retreating a few steps backwards, it was clear that their way of combating them was working. In situations like this where one false move could easily break their momentum, it was a shocker to see Daniel attack the way he did. It was as if he completely ignored everyone else's interests and fought for himself, which was an action that angered Markus to the point where he was sure the Terrorists were out to get them killed. "Daniel, Daniel, Daniel...so much for conserving abilities, huh?" Markus muttered his name three times while shaking his head at the Terrorist's move.

What he really wanted to do was throw him and Kuzuha directly at the Pack so the monsters would dispose of him before the Terrorist gets them in serious trouble. In any team scenario, anyone who fights for himself/herself is a dangerous threat to the entire squad. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Our battle plan just went through one ear and out of the other with you. The military and the police were doing absolutely fine with their long-ranged attacks, so there was no reason for you to do that. I'm sorry that you must not care for your own well-being, but the rest of us, except for Makoto possibly, would rather live through this crisis."

Markus started the process of attacking on his own after his brief critique on his enemy's actions; yes, despite the alliance, all three of the Terrorists were still his enemies, and they would remain that way even if they were able to save the entire planet alongside each other. He didn't want to say it out loud, but he was aware that Daniel just picked their poison since a technique copied from Belphenoid would obviously indicate that the victim of the copying had access to a similar attack. As an experienced Darkus user, it would have been impossible to not to notice how Daniel's move can go both ways that, if exploited by their enemies, could very well place all of them on the path to death in an instant. Unfortunately, the action was already done, so it was his job to watch his back as much as he didn't deserve it.

"Double ability activate! Power Neutralizer plus Gargoyle's Beam!" Gargulion unleashed a wave of green energy from his body that seeped onto the battlefield. It covered the Pack in their entirety and began to take hold on them. Their Haos coloring steadily faded from their bodies and returned them to their original attributes, signalling that the ability stripped them of that privilege for now. Once the Pack's boosted power was reduced down to size, Gargulion charged a green blast in his mouth upon activation. Instead of the rapid fire variant he could do with it, he chose to go for the more powerful alternative by charging it to its full capacity and launching it in the center of a group. The blast's explosion expanded across their territory in order to vaporize those caught in it instantly.