Episode 28: Final Push

[Nero Bullock]

The Belphenoid in charge had a very wide grin on his face when Kuzuha became overzealous. It was like a dream come true that she had amassed so much power using an ability derived from his own arsenal. Considering the fact that Kuzuha would not be able to use his technique consecutively, it was time to turn the tables against them. "You're an idiot, Daniel. He had another Belphenoid lunge himself at Kuzuha to perform a move that should be very familiar to the sorceress. "Remember Demon Vortex from that high school raid?" His body was covered in darkness that acted as a magnet for power. Standing in front of Kuzuha enabled him to siphon all of the power she had taken away from his brothers as well as the remaining power she had, cancelling her transformation immediately. Once the power was stolen, he turned around so he could kick her in the chest using his hind legs, making her crash into Gladion as she was sent backwards.

The Belphenoid that stole the energy retreated back to the lead and gave him the energy he stole from Kuzuha. Once that was complete, the Pack began planning their next move. "Thanks to Kuzuha's help, I have enough energy to spawn some more clones. Enough of it will remain so that we can make use of some Bakugan from the dimension. All I need is a diversion." Belphenoid suggested the use of their special abilities, which the other Pack members were excited to make use of. Asmodeus spoke up about the diversion in question since he had the perfect attack in mind that would also help them thin their opponent's ranks. "Give me a boost in Ventus. I'll be the one to use the attack. Go hide really quickly so you can get them in there." Elico changed his attribute to Ventus as Asmodeus requested, which also enhanced Asmodeus's own attribute as well as allowing his brothers to use the attribute.

The Pack began to disperse in different directions to confuse the enemy. The lead Belphenoid took this opportunity to go into hiding, not giving any hint to where he was going. All that remained was half of the Asmodeus that were left over from the opponent's onslaught. "Right now would be the perfect time to look at your teammate in the eyes and voice your displeasure," Asmodeus said, pointing one of his nails towards Daniel and Kuzuha. "Welcome to our world, heroes!" The Asmodeus activated Berserk Thunder, a very familiar attack in his arsenal that blanketed the area in dark thunderclouds. In an instant reaction, lightning bolts, amplified by the addition of the Ventus energy from Elico, came crashing down over the entire area that destroyed everything in their paths. A considerable number of the opposing side's allies fell to this technique, and their destruction was only a close-up view of what will eventually happen to the main leaders as bolts were travelling across the area in every direction, even through the Resistors and Terrorists if they let it. The clouds also carried the benefit of darkening the area, which reduced the visibility in the area that allowed the Pack to hide in the shadows.

[Allen Silva]

Asmodeus unleashed a powerful thunder based attack. Allen loaded up one of his defensive abilities, in order to protect the others from the assault." Ability activate, Bound Barrier." Allen triumphantly announced. Gorem put up the barrier, using more strength to surround the rest in its protective qualities." Now that darkness is gonna be a pain in the neck. Hey partner, what should we do about that?"

Now with the barrier up, Force Gorem contemplated the same thing. He took a couple minutes, but came up with the perfect counter." C'mon, use that ability we used on Drago. Ya know, the one to clear the air."

" hear you loud and clear. Ability activating." Allen held up the ability, it shining brown signaling activation. Gorem placed his hand on the ground, channeling his energy through the earth itself. This returned the air to its normal condition, also dissipating the clouds." Let thier be light my friends. And let the equilibrium purge be what brings it to you."

[Karen Valentine]

Allen's response to the attack proved why his defense was unlike any other. It was a bit embarrassing that Gorem was able to pass off Asmodeus's attack like it was nothing once again, but it wasn't as bad when done by the Iron Juggernaut. He then followed up with an ability called Purging Equilibrium that removed the darkness from the area in an attempt to expose the Pack. As expected, he was successful in doing this. The darkness that was generously provided to them via the thunderclouds was gradually exiting the area as Gorem planned. As their surroundings were getting clearer, numerous glowing red eyes were circling the Resistors, the Terrorists, and their army. The moment when all could be seen was when the Pack's true power was revealed. If their reserves from the beginning were not enough to deter their opponents from going in the opposite direction, then the creation of even more Bakugan should do a better job at provoking a reaction especially when they were able to surround their enemies in the midst of the confusion, blocking all escape routes at the same time.

Meanwhile, Karen was casually pacing back and forth in the command center as she contemplated her possible options in dealing with Nero due to his apparent need for violence against his own workers. She also wasn't sure what to do about the Pack's hidden desires either and feared that everyone in the building may be on the menu in addition to Nero. "Regardless of whether the Resistors and Terrorists win or lose, the Pack apparently has a taste for humans despite what Nero says he wants to use them for, so two things need to happen," Karen discussed in her thoughts. "But...even if I could think of ways to stop both Nero and the Pack, there's too many things going on here. Nero's sending his own employees out to their deaths, the Pack is eating humans, the Pack doesn't have an issue with killing someone that looks like Nero, they might want to kill Nero now for some reason, Montai is scared out of her mind even though she's doing her best not to show it, I'm now forced into doing his bidding instead of by choice or I'll end up like that poor soul out in the street, and..." Karen shut down after thinking about so many things at once. This was a clear indication to her that the situation she was in was truly a terrible one without taking what she agrees with into consideration. She was screwed.

"I guess Noland was right in a way...there's no going back from this. I never would've guessed one of Vince's former best friends would throw logic out of the window and not focus on the Bakugan only. Then again, my breaking point was different from his apparently..." Karen turned around to look at Nero's BrawlX briefly. Gazing at it for a couple of seconds allowed her to see some hope for the situation, and it could do both of her desired options at once. "His BrawlX is able to control chipped individuals, and the Pack already has them embedded in their bodies...Could this be our way out?" Karen's thought process was interrupted as Elico made another attribute change. This time, he changed into Darkus, an attribute which amplifies Belphenoid's power as well as giving Asmodeus and Abbadon the ability to use some of it as well.

"Now do you see why the Terrorists's intelligence level only helps us regardless of whose side they're on?" Belphenoid asked in mockery of Daniel's ability aiding in his generation of dozens of clones, which added onto their existing numbers when they surrounded their enemies. All of the Belphenoid apart of the circle, including the lead one, engulfed themselves in a darkness cloak that rapidly healed the injuries they've received from battle, some of which was caused by the mortar and missile fire. "Gehenna Crimson Striker!" Their power had risen high above the norm when influenced by their cloaks. Using this added power, they began a stampede across their foe's entire army with murderous intent. Coming into contact with this ability was enough of a hassle, but Asmodeus and Abbadon did not let Belphenoid have all of the action. Abbadon used Reinforcing Explosion to amplify the properties of Belphenoid's ability, allowing it to have anyone hit by the ability to receive explosive damage on contact in addition to bone-shattering afflictions. The Asmodeus went behind the Belphenoid when they prepared to charge and used Infernal Echo to produce a screech powerful enough to be used as a blast wave that pushed the Belphenoid into their opponents, acting exactly like a booster.

[Noland Hardy]

Noland was highly irritated that Daniel went against their plan and got all high and mighty when attacking the Pack. Not only did he show his complete disregard for their advice to each other, but he inadvertently placed all of them in grave danger knowing that a power stealing move was just going to be used against him after copying one off of Belphenoid. One one hand, he felt like giving Daniel the benefit of the doubt since he was unaware of the apparent weakness of that type of ability, but in battle, ignorance is not an excuse. Markus was right on the money with his comment about Daniel's behavior, so Noland chose not to go any further with that issue. Of course, when the Pack surrounded all of them after Allen made their view of them clear, Noland was very tempted to bring it back up; however, doing so would only make their toleration of one another worse, and it wouldn't change the current status of the battle. The only thing that was necessary to be said at this point was saying which ability or abilities you're activating. All of the immaturity should have been left back in Pennsylvania; it was all or nothing from here on out.

That is why Noland kept his composure when Belphenoid managed to produce more of these nasty beasts. Instead of mouthing off like he would usually do, he channeled that anger into an attack of his own. He channeled his rainbow power in his hand and got right down to business. "No one engage Belphenoid while he has that active. I'll be the one to take care of it," Noland assured. He placed an ability on his BrawlX and activated it with extreme prejudice. "Ability activate! Hyper Supremacy!" As Drago changed his color scheme into rainbow for a brief moment to use this attack, he began using his newest addition to the "supremacy" line of abilities he has access to, and this one was the most powerful one yet, even ahead of Genesis Supremacy. It's his most unpredictable attack since he has the ability to combine two of his attacks into one move all while being boosted by their special power regardless if it was already on that tier or not.

"Access denied, freak," Drago said as he placed his palms on the ground, becoming surrounded by a large energy orb in the process. When he did, numerous clones spawned right on top of him in the same coloration as the former. After they appeared, they spread out to charge all of the Belphenoid coming towards them. This was the first of two attacks he was using: Rapid Fire Takedown, an old classic that allows him to summon as many clones as there are enemy Bakugan, but he held back on that number for obvious reasons, and only summoned enough to counter the incoming Belphenoid. The second came after the first, and it was highly appropriate for the attack to be used again after being dormant for a while: Sky Supremacy. The orb surrounding him collapsed into him, and then expanded outwards to cause a massive energy spike. The result was a destructive wave being sent in all directions with each of the Dragonoid clones at the center of it all. His clones extended its reach by holding their palms out and pushing the energy even further to catch all of the Belphenoid by surprise.

When Drago stalemated the enhanced attack of Belphenoid, Noland issued a command to everyone who was willing to lend him their ears. "Someone needs to destroy the Abbadon boosting his attack so I can win this clash and beat the Belphenoid and Asmodeus who used it in the first place. We need to find the leader and beat him before he spawns more of them. There's no more worrying about who is using what. Do whatever you need to do to find and kill that bastard. We are going to lose if he is allowed to continue his creations."

[Akane Huomoto]

Akane didn't want to say it out loud, but she noticed a bit of a blank atmosphere within their allies once the Pack surrounded them as fast as they did, but her Pyrus counterpart proved why he was so tough to beat. She was a little surprised Noland was able to save everyone from the sudden onslaught Belphenoid had created despite the costly mistake that was made earlier, and she was sure that they were not going to hear the end of that for a while especially if they actually lose the battle because of it. Even she wanted to say something about his actions since she didn't really agree with it, but it was okay. Daniel did eliminate a considerable portion of the enemy's forces, so it wasn't all a waste even if Belphenoid was able to replenish them from the energy he stole back from Kuzuha. "I know everyone is not overly pleased with what just happened, but complaining about it isn't going to result in a fix. If you have nothing to say that would benefit our situation in any way, then shut up and play your cards. We don't have the time nor the patience to fight alongside little children," Akane reminded them all in the kindest way she could.

Noland gave the order to search and destroy, and Akane had the perfect ability that would allow Torahu to cover a lot of ground quickly to make that objective possible to complete. "Leave it up to me to take care of their leader." Akane confidently revealed three cards that she knew would either draw Belphenoid out of hiding or damage him enough to where destroying him is a high possibility. "Front and center, Torahu," she called out to her guardian, getting her mentally prepared for what was to come. "Triple ability activate! Chaotic Agility plus Nibi Blast plus Amaterasu!" Torahu's physical parameters were adjusted accordingly to allow her to move at high speeds across the battlefield. "Be right back!" Torahu sang as she started moving rapidly from building to building, cleaving through any Pack member she came across using her sharp claws. Every time she jumped, she transitioned to a continuous front flip, which was really her curling into a ball. When she did this, she was covered in her own blue flames that soon transformed into a darker coloration of it due to Amaterasu. As she rolled in the air, flames scattered all over the area except for their allies and engulfed all who was unfortunate enough to be consumed by it. The consequence of the flames were that they were nearly impossible to put out by normal means. Once she was finished with her assault, she leaped back into the comfort zone in the midst of her own teammates.

[Nero Bullock]

The lead Belphenoid was utterly shocked that Drago of all Bakugan would be the one to take the attack he nefariously brought into the battle out of nowhere. He was even more shocked when Akane, who was always considered to be the weakest link of the Terrorists in his eyes, may have crippled his entire force. The flames that Torahu shot everywhere sporadically were very unforgiving to each of them. It even caused all of the Abbadon in the area to get out of that area before the blaze engulfed them, which caused the Belphenoid and Asmodeus in that area to get beaten by Drago's Hyper Supremacy almost instantly. Unhappy with the way the tables have turned, the lead Belphenoid appeared out of the shadows and presented himself to his enemies in the center of the war-torn road alongside his vibrant army of Pack awaiting his next order; although, all of them had noticeable burn marks on the skin of their hips, which was a penalty for the amount of exposure to Torahu's Amaterasu. Once they received word from HQ, they were going to resume their attacks.

Belphenoid stomped on the ground a few times after being forcefully ejected from his perfectly planned assault for the final time. After a deep breath, he said, "We need to open the portals this instant! These Bakugan have been a pain in my ass for the last time!" As Belphenoid gave this order with Asmodeus and Abbadon in full agreement, Nero had something else in mind. "Belphenoid, that will be all I require from you for now. Recall your forces. You're done." As soon as he said this, all three of them looked up at him as if he was crazy, nearly thinking that he was messed up in the head as he would never say that in a battle this important. "Why would we surrender when they're this close to the base? It doesn't make any sense." Abbadon challenged Nero's ruling head-on, which was very brave of him to do so, but even then, Nero had a counter. His logic was above seeing only black and white as the Pack have grown accustomed to viewing. "What doesn't make any sense is how you three are having so much difficulty combating them with all of the resources you have laid out for you. They are strong united, but so are you; yet, they've proven themselves as the superior force for now."

Nero returned Hydranoid to ball form and caught him in his hand as he brought up a diagram of the entire facility on his BrawlX, using it as the basis for his point. "This facility was used to conduct military operations during the American Civil War, so you can expect it to be highly fortified; plus, it was highly advanced at its time considering where the building is actually housed. Knowing that, would you rather them pay us a visit in here where you can have time to regroup and gather more forces while our enemies struggle to navigate, or will you continue getting hammered by mortars and missiles while you're not making enough progress against their main leaders, thereby depleting our forces until we have none left? They'll make it in here anyway, and if you make it even harder for them like you want to do, they'll have a much easier time getting to me once you're out of the picture. Every battle doesn't have to involve the opposing side's destruction. Sometimes, living to see another day is more important than anything else."

With Nero's mind set on throwing up the white flag and surrendering, the lead Belphenoid out on the battlefield received word that Nero was calling it off. He was noticeably frustrated at this defeat, but shrugged it off and complied with it. "So...this fight is no longer worth his time, huh?" Belphenoid was opposed to the idea of surrendering, but his bindings to the original Belphenoid made it impossible for him to act against his will. He barked a couple of times for the army to assemble before their quick departure. "This...will not be forgotten." All of the Pack leaped out of the street into unknown locations, not wanting to be found by their enemies until the time was right. For now, they would rest until their services were required of them another time.

[Noland Hardy]

"They're...retreating...?" Noland watches as the Pack jumped away from them and went into hiding as they were before, possibly in an attempt to conserve their power until a more appropriate time; otherwise, they would have continued to fight if they had nothing to lose. In Noland's eyes, this was a sign that Nero viewed them as a threat that could not be fought safely any longer in that battle. From that moment, their entrance into Nero's base appeared to be guaranteed. "Nicely fought, everyone. There's nothing left to stop us from entering the belly of the beast to end this struggle. If all hearts and minds are on one accord, lets finish this." The Resistors and the Terrorists pushed forward into "No Man's Land", and that was when they parted ways with the police and the military who sought to seek the Pack out and deal with them to liberate the city from their control since there was more to worry about than just getting Nero, which they thought was best left up to them. All of them were running in the same direction towards the entrance to the base when they discovered an extremely important detail that sparked a question in each of their minds: Where is the entrance when there's no building in sight?

Noland and Allen weren't too concerned with that since their minds were drifting off to their unforgettable past as the memories of their battle started flooding through them when they looked around to see the same old damaged landscape that was left unchanged from two years ago. When Drago turned around to see what Noland's opinion was, he found both of them feeling really down about it. "Remembering the past often makes us remind ourselves of why we are who we are, but which one will define you? Alana and Vince's loss, or you and Allen's victory? Their fates did not kill hope. They survived through you both." Noland walked around the site of the battle and focused his mind to where he could replay the scene over and over again as if he remembered it piece by piece. "This place just reminds me of why I can't lose. That's all I'm thinking about...other than her and dad of course..." He looked at them and found them pointing towards the alien king that was being pictured in his head. Curious, he started walking to his former enemy and discovered something very interesting. "Go Noland...finish what we started..." Getting close to the device unlocked some kind of transporter, and it was sure to lead to where they were supposed to go. When it was seen, everyone else gathered around in preparation for the trip.

[Noland Hardy]