Episode 33: Weapon of Mass Destruction

[Noland Hardy]

(Ambience)

The elevator finally reached the floor that was very deep underground, the Dark Zone. Everyone stepped out of the elevator constantly observing their surroundings only to become slightly alarmed at the sudden activation of the lights on the ceiling. The gloomy atmosphere was not enough to intimidate any of them. Their minds were completely set on the goal of ending the fight. This is what they constantly told themselves until a very disturbing object was found a couple of feet from the first checkpoint down there. Markus approached it to observe it. All that did for him was infuriate him since he knew it belonged to a Bakugan. He wasn't comfortable arriving to a certain conclusion as to who it belonged to, but he noted that Nero was down there with them. Tank urged everyone to get their minds in one accord since they were about to have the fight of their lives. Everyone began to follow except for Karen, who was stunned at what she saw. Noland placed his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her since he had an idea of who it belonged to, but gently pushed her along so they wouldn't lag behind. Along the way, they began seeing even more tentacles on the floor and scales scattered all over the place. Noland continued to look over at Karen to see how she was doing and noticed she was purposely not looking at what they found just to keep her composure. Seiki also shared the same feeling of disturbance with her. It made Ahio cringe at what happened down there considering what they witnessed earlier. Unfortunately, she turned this feeling into a comment that didn't sit well with Karen at all. Allen annoyingly eyed both Seiki and Ahio and told them to keep their comments to themselves. Noland quietly grieved at what the reaction was going to be if what he was thinking was actually happening, making him slightly regret bringing her down there with them.

They eventually made it into a large circular area that was a little dim in the lighting. Karen noted that the room where all of the recordings are should be the sector on their right. They all began running into that area and didn't waste any time pulling up the recordings so they can see what they're up against. Unfortunately, as Karen noted, the video recordings were erased from the system fifteen minutes prior to them getting down there. Confused, she wondered how that could have been possible when there was no other way to access the Dark Zone except for the elevator they used to get there. Nero intervened in their conversation on the intercom and called them all idiots for believing there was only one way down there. He hinted at an access way he didn't speak much of that was kept secret as a form of security in case he were ever trapped down there. He de-activated the elevator they used to get there and ordered them all to come to him in the center room. Noland suggested that this was there last chance to get themselves together as it was about to get ugly. They went into the center room and found the Pack putting a decoration on the wall. Belphenoid detected that the Resistors entered the room as he growled a bit loudly at their presence. Nero soon entered the room out of the North wing with the damage from the battle with the Pack still being seen on his body in the destruction of his jacket and a minor cut on his left arm. All of the Resistors immediately geared up for battle at the sight of him, but Nero was acting a bit carefree about it. He wasn't surprised that they were so eager for the carnage to begin, but he wanted them to see something very cool first. The Pack finished what they were doing on the wall and moved aside. Nero casually told them all to look at the new improvement he made to the bland design of the wall. What was seen there put a shocking look on everyone's face. It was a trophy of...Elico's head.

Karen was too despaired to even finish his name once she realized who it was. She then just froze there, not knowing what to say or do. The Resistors then had a moment of silence for Elico's loss while they shook their heads in disbelief that Nero killed a Bakugan that was once his guardian. Nero admitted that Elico put up an impressive fight against him, but declared that he was powerless compared to the Pack and Hydranoid, and like any used goods, he was tossed aside into the garbage in replacement of something new that'll perform their roles better than he did. He compared it to the evolution of brawling equipment such as the BrawlX. Tank angrily questioned if he thought the Bakugan were simply toys. Nero then told him to explain his side to that question, referring to him as a top contender for the national title to signify his usage of the Bakugan as a tool for sport. He then told him that the Bakugan weren't toys, but weapons capable of dishing out extreme devastation and that he was only allowing Dharak to serve his purpose to exact revenge on the race that caused them all so much pain. Noland then wondered what Nero would have to gain by destroying an entire race instead of only focusing on the Bakugan with the intent to destroy them all like Daniel did. Tracy added onto this by reminding him that there were plenty of humans in this world that would love to do the same thing those Bakugan were doing. Nero knew what she was getting at and acknowledged that she was correct; however, he made an analogy about what would happen if people were to become equipped with the same explosive Akane created, would they allow them all to exist if one person used it improperly. This was the same point he was making with the Bakugan as they were essentially weapons of mass destruction. Markus rudely interrupted him by letting him know it was because of his fiance's death. Nero accepted that as a huge contributor, but did not cite that as the only reason. He let them know about his career in criminal justice, and what he has had to witness with his own eyes during his entire life. 

Noland looked over to Karen to see how she was doing. As expected, she wasn't taking Elico's death too well, and Nero's disrespect of his corpse only added insult to injury. Noland asked how she was doing after giving her some time to come to terms with reality. Karen turned to him with a tear going down her eye and urged them all to shut up and fight him already. Allen understood where she was getting at by making that comment since there was nothing that can be said by anyone to change what has already been done. All that was left to do was to stop what is going on now, and for that to happen, they had to bring Nero down one way or another. Allen asked everyone if they were ready. Everyone activated their respective BrawlX's and gauntlets without saying a word. Nero understood that the time for talking was over since he'll never get through to them, so he activated his BrawlX as well. When he eyed Noland, he could see a silhouette of Vince standing right beside him with same look on his face as it was when Barodius and Dharak attacked the first time. Nero sighed that he was being forced into doing this, but told them all that anyone who dares to step up to him will be knocked straight back down. 

(Final Boss Theme 1)

[Noland Hardy]

"This is it..." Noland attempted to ease himself of the stress he was feeling from the overall importance of this battle. He knew his opponent was extremely powerful throughout all of their encounters, but these current circumstances almost made it unfair. Hydranoid is already a Bakugan that causes him a lot of trouble and can even be considered another rival of his, but the power the Pack was packing was absolutely ridiculous. There's already Belphenoid to worry about since he's basically Dharak, but faster. Asmodeus and Abbadon were also major problems themselves since they received the same evolutionary enhancements Belphenoid had, and none of them knew how their new power worked. All they knew was that they had an easy time dispatching the incredibly versatile Elico, who could previously contend with all three of them at once with some difficulty. This wasn't even counting Hydranoid in the equation, who was also a major problem for defeating Allen, Tank, and Markus all by himself. This almost made Noland call him...overpowered.

He wasn't just by himself though. All of the Resistors were prepared to face this challenge along with him as Alana said they would. They had Karen tag along as well with Montai's Bakugan, which can prove to be a valuable asset to the team. None of them stood a chance against Nero's forces by themselves, and they knew it. That is why fighting as a team is more important than ever now. If all else fails, at least they can say they fought at their best together rather than at their worst separated. "Drago...be careful out there. It's painfully obvious already, but this is an enemy we can't mess around with, especially since it's that bastard Dharaknoid." Noland gripped the Dragonoid in his hand and put it towards his chest as he closed his eyes to pray over the situation. Once he was done, his eyes opened, lit with a will of fire. "Fire when ready, Noland," Drago commanded.

Noland reeled his arm back and forcefully threw the Bakugan onto the field. "Here we go. Bakugan, brawl! Bane Dragonoid stand!" The Bakugan landed onto the floor and stood with a red tornado surrounding him. He dispersed it by flapping his wings once. His eyes were now dead-centered on the Pack to ensure he was focused on their movement. At the same time, everyone threw in their own Bakugan as well: Allen's Force Gorem, Tank's Praetor Gladion, Markus's Specter Gargulion, Tracy's Guardian Skystar, Seiki's Kamikaze Ahio, and Karen's Horridian. "None of us even need to tell each other how important it is to pay attention and work together. You all know what we have to do, so let's just do it." Noland then looked across from him towards Nero and glared at him, possibly in an attempt to provoke him to make a move.

[Nero Bullock]

"It seems someone's rather upset over there," Nero noticed when looking at Karen's reaction to Elico's death and laughed about it. Belphenoid, Asmodeus, and Abbadon turned their attention away from the trophy head to prepare themselves for combat once the Resistors activated their brawling devices. Nero followed their desires and primed his as well. Once he did, the Pack lunged to their places in front of Nero and got into their triangle formation. "Alright, Resistors, and Karen. I'll participate in your little deathmatch. If a group of consistently unruly children want to die so badly, who am I to deny you that request? I have no problem serving as your own 'Dr. Death' if you're so willing to try and stop what is necessary and prudent. Let's end this here," he concluded by swaying his hands in a "bring it on" provocation.

His enemies launched their Bakugan to the field. He was surprised that Karen was following their movements, so he was curious about what she could be using since Elico was no longer an issue. He looked at each of his opponents and confirmed that they were Bakugan he already knew about, but Karen's was a surprise. It was a Darkus Horridian. "Horridian... Even in her absence, Montai still has a way of defying me. So much for being my go-to assistant. You're such a disappointment, Horridian. You'd follow in Elico's footsteps and oppose me too? I figured you would have counted yourself fortunate to not be targeted by me, but now, you'll just follow Elico's footsteps into the grave." Nero didn't care about it as much as he was portraying. He was going to do the same thing against the Resistors even if Horridian wasn't present in the battle. It didn't make much of a difference except adding one more Bakugan to his list.

After taking attendance, Nero paced an ability on his BrawlX to start the fight with. "Ability activate! Crimson Strider!" This ability, a Pyrus variation of Darkness Waver, was utilized by Abbadon. He jumped into the air while accumulating power in his mouth. When he reached the apex of his jump, he rapidly launched giant, circular balls of fire towards the Resistors. The attack was highly potent in explosive power, so it would surely cause a lot of damage to anyone directly hit by the attack and those within its blast radius; however, it also had another trick. Once it detonates, it separates into multiple fireballs and will continue to do so with each impact until it no longer has the necessary size to duplicate. "You wish you could do that, Drago," Abbadon taunted in praise of his own power.

[Markus Hederick]

"You really just referenced that guy? Dude...how sick can you be?" Markus recognized the person Nero was talking about when he made that comment. He was rather disturbed by it considering what the person he mentioned did in the past. Now he used it in a cruel manner when threatening them. Nero was at least creative with his approach to it rather than being downright violent in his statements. "Here they come!" Gargulion shouted to jolt the Resistor's attention. Abbadon jumped into the air and used a very powerful ability against them. The fireballs looked like they packed a lot of power, so it would be wise for them to get rid of them before they introduce some serious problems so early in the firefight. "Leave this one to me," Markus called out, placing two cards in between his index and middle finger as soon as he read his opponent's move.

"Double ability activate! Petrify plus Reflective Stone!" Markus swiped the two cards through his BrawlX to get them into play. The first one in line was one of his favorites, Petrify. Usually, his target was always set on the opponent whenever he used this technique simply because it provided a means of forcing the opponent to do what he wanted to do, but that wasn't what he had in mind this time. He knew the Pack were too evasive for a move like that, so he wasn't going to try that this time. Instead, he opted to take a different approach to it. "You know, Abbadon, I'm curious to know what you actually think Drago wishes to do. Was it to do this by any chance?" Gargulion opened his mouth to shoot multiple beams of light down range. They each scattered to hit each individual fireball Abbadon sent out, turning them to stone as soon as they were impacted.

Once the projectiles were reduced to nothing more than a high-speed rock, Reflective Stone was now the center of attention. Gargulion hardened his body to that of metallic glass. With his body now fortified, Gargulion took flight and approached each of the stone balls in order starting from the one that was closest to hitting them first. He swung at each of them with his right and left arm. Each swing sent the rock straight back towards the Pack. Every stone returned was a stone hitting them dead-center in the face. "What? Didn't see that coming?" Markus mockingly asked Abbadon who was too busy basking in his own power to ever consider it being used as a weapon against him.

[Tank Stryker]

"Don't get too cocky, Markus!" Tank called, trying to keep his rival's unnaturally inflated ego in check, "Get ready for the counter attack!"

Gladion picked up on Tank's warning to Markus and took a defensive stance as Tank reached into his back pocket and drew out two of his own ability cards. Holding them tightly, Tank swiped the two cards through his BrawlX. The screen glowed gold as the system registered the abilities. "Double ability, activate!" Tank yelled, "Weapons Cache - Aegis plus Weapon of the Gods - Warhammer of Ares!"

Dense, thick, black fog permeated the battlefield, red electricity crackling through as if the god of war, Ares, himself were angry at Nero. Clouds similar in structure to the fog rolled in as a purpleish-black portal appeared above Gladion, dropping the legendary shield to him. The clouds rumbled, but in place of thunder was the screams of a thousand fallen warriors' battle cries. As the cries rang out, the clouds parted and a cackling, red and black warhammer descended slowly to Gladion, who took it in his hand. Putting the shield up and bracing himself, Gladion prepared for the counterattack.

[Nero Bullock]

"Nuisance..." When Markus took a creative approach to dealing with Abbadon's attack, Nero was rather impressed. He could have a thought like this even when tasked with the duty to get rid of them all. The attack wouldn't affect him either way as seen by the absence of damage from all three members of the Pack when they were pummeled by the debris. This made Nero give Markus the look of disappointment as he hyped up his efforts with words, but that was to be expected from the Darkus brawler. As expected, his rival, Tank, aimed to keep his cocky attitude from getting in the way of their fight by making sure they knew that a counter-attack was well on its way to them. "How about we try this for a change?" Nero pulled out two abilities and held them at his side in advance for his next endeavor. "Now, move aside! Double ability activate! Hypersonic Blast plus High-Skewed Waver!"

Hypersonic Blast was an ability used by Asmodeus. The evolution he was blessed with gave him an upgraded pair of lungs that were greatly appreciated. This gave him the ability to no longer have to take a moment to prepare for his attack. Now, he could cast it on demand as he did with this one. As soon as the card was played, Asmodeus unleashed a shattering wave of energy from his mouth. This wasn't a scream that became trademarked by his aptitude of sound-based attacks, but a sound wave capable of literally trucking the target like a wimp getting run over by a football player. This is what Hypersonic Blast aimed to do. Asmodeus made sure the attack covered the entire space in front of them to hit all of their opponents at once. Doing so would push the entire force back and cause a lot of damage to anyone not keeping their guard up at the right time.

The next step was High-Skewed Waver, a very original ability used by the Dharak species. This was an ability that was obviously going to be used by Belphenoid considering who he is. High-Skewed Waver was a variation of the Darkness Waver ability Abbadon made use of on the previous turn, but it is more concentrated in energy than the latter, making it harder to pull of. He opened his mouth to use the technique, and as he did, it started to glow purple, signifying that energy was being charged. Once complete, he fired multiple electrically-charged orbs of darkness towards the opponents as they were being pushed back by Asmodeus. The technique had an added benefit of functioning as a homing attack, which meant that it would follow its target on a certain course if they move to another location, making it very difficult to dodge.

[Markus Hederick]

"What the-" Asmodeus's attack came out of nowhere. The attack was pushing every Resistor backwards due to the sheer amount of power it had. Gargulion was already fortified by Reflective Stone from the turn prior to this one, but the sound ability was completely ripping him apart. The defensive move didn't even matter at that point since he was still being punished by the attack just as he would be if he didn't have anything activated. "Point taken," Markus responded to Tank's suggestion of toning down his overconfidence. As always, Belphenoid chose to make things worse by launching powerful blasts towards them all. This was a rather dangerous situation for them all, but Gargulion had a solution. "You're not going to just stand there with a hammer and shield up the entire time, are you, Gladion? Hit him with it already!" Gargulion urged. "Allow me to pave the way for you. Stone Wall!"

As he was flying backwards, Gargulion shifted his head forward. He charged multiple gray blasts in his mouth, and shot them towards the floor in the direction where Belphenoid's attack was coming from. As each blast touched down on the floor, stone walls were raised at the impact site; although, due to Gargulion not managing the energy in a concentrated manner as he would do with his hands, they were neither as big or as fortified as the wall he could make. On the bright side, it was enough to act as a deterrence for Belphenoid's attack as each one ceased to exist as they crashed into his constructs, which were consecutively weakened from Asmodeus's annoying sound wave. After sparing his allies from having to waste their time defending against the attack, Markus was primed to launch another. He quickly swiped a card through his BrawlX to give Tank the opening he needed to bash some skulls in.

"We'll be annihilated if they keep us on the defensive since they're this powerful. They must be struck while they still can. We have the power to make it to happen. Let's make use of it. Ability activate! Specter Flight!" Gargulion assumed his shadowy form and merged into the floor. He quickly swerved around all of the places he shot the Solid Wall blasts into in order to not make his approach too obvious. Once he got close enough to the Pack, he emerged from the ground right under their noses. "Would you shut up already!?" Gargulion angrily yelled as he lunged towards Asmodeus and delivered a strong punch to the jaw. This easily disrupted the entire process of making the sound wave and nullified it completely. Not wanting to stay in that area too long to avoid being ripped to shreds in close quarters due to lack of mobility, he descended back into the ground after throwing the punch to move back to the safety of his allies.

[Tank Stryker]

Tank was impressed by Markus' handling of the situation. Honestly, he felt that he might have had to intervene with Aegis' supernatural ability. Alas, Markus had grown as a brawler, but his cocky attitude might still get in the way.

"Quips every now and then are good, Markus," Tank called out as he readied two abilities, "But take note of Gladion's demeanor." Tank swiped the two abilities through his BrawlX, "Be as cold and calculating as you are loud and obnoxious, and know when to strike! Double ability activate! Weapon of the Gods - Poseidon's Trident plus Special Ability, Art of Battle - Air Strike!"

Gladion launched himself off one of the stone walls emerged from the ground, flying high into the air, the shield being used as a guiding sail of sorts as the wind picked up. A torrential downpour began assaulting the battlefield, drenching everyone in sight. This rain, blessed by Poseidon himself, gave a surge of energy to Gladion and the rest of the Resistors' Bakugan, its holy might filling their muscles with divine prowess.

From the clouds, a magnificent golden trident adorned with sapphires and other blue gemstones descended to Gladion midair. The tips were made of an unbreakable, sanctified bronze, forged beneath the ocean waves in the forges of the cyclopes. Strapping the Warhammer to his back, Gladion took hold of the Trident and launched it at Belphenoid's gaping maw.

The trident hit true, embedding itself in Belphenoid's throat, creating a blockage to prevent future breath attacks like the last one from occurring until the trident was removed. Still in the air, Gladion retrieved the Warhammer from his back, and poised to strike with it, letting gravity take hold. With the weight of the Warhammer augmenting his descent, Gladion took aim at Abbadon. The timing had to be impeccable, Gladion and Tank both knew this. Winding his arms up, Gladion waited for Tank's command, knowing his vantage point was better than his. At just the right length away, Tank called out, "Now!"

Swinging his hammer as hard as he could, Gladion slammed the black and red instrument of destruction into Abbadon's face, sending the bakugan flying into Asmodeus. The velocity of Abbadon forced the two bakugan to fly back and land at Nero's feet, mangled and bloodied, their bones broken.

"That being said, Markus," Tank said, his eyes beginning to burn a brilliant blue and his mouth forming a big grin, "It does feel nice to let the emotions of battle take over you every once in a while."

Landing on the ground a few feet from where Abbadon was, Gladion retook his defensive stance, his shield pointed at Belphenoid. Letting the cursed energy of Medusa's eyes flow freely from the shield, Belphenoid became paralyzed in place, caught in what the Ancient Greeks called an eternal stare.

[Nero Bullock]

"I appreciate the graphic nature of your attacks just to take me seriously, Tank. However..." Nero was slightly amused at the way the Pack were being treated, but that amusement was only a mask for his true feeling of anguish that his opponents were holding out pretty well so far. It was still the beginning, so anything could change. At the very least, the attack power of the abilities the Pack withstood paled in comparison to what can really be called a detriment to their health. "What's the point of being like that if it's not going to work?" Asmodeus finished. Abbadon and Asmodeus returned to their starting positions after being repelled by Gargulion and Gladion. They lent their energy to the frozen Belphenoid to release him from his constraints. Abbadon then clamped down on the trident in Belphenoid's throat and pulled it out. He then forcefully broke it in half. The resulting wound began to rapidly heal after its removal.

"The ability Power Scale brings all of them to the same power and status as the most powerful one out of the three. That would mean Abbadon and Asmodeus's crippling injuries from the hammer was as useless as your weapons were to Hydranoid that day. Shame, isn't it?" Nero then swiped a card through his BrawlX that he was sure would break the struggle of power between them all. "You all know who the Doom Beings are, don't you? Sure you do. Ability activate! Apocalypse Vortex!" The Pack joined together and utilized the Doom Card's power to open a dimensional portal right above them all. Floods of Fear Ripper and Reaper descended onto the battlefield and attacked the entire Resistor force simultaneously. In the process of doing so, the Pack began to hide themselves in the midst of this confusion. "Feel the wrath of the Doom Dimension!" Belphenoid called out.

[Markus Hederick]

As usual, the Pack never stayed down. They took Gargulion's and Gladion's attacks like champs, making it look like what they did was pretty much useless. Then they decided to use the annoying ability that they all hated: the summoning of an army. The towering numbers of the Bakugan that came out of the Doom Dimension was far too much to handle properly in this type of circular space, even though it was large, whereas a wide-open area like the D.C. streets would make it much easier to manage with the array of options that can be used. "Well, Soul Eater is completely out of the question now since Gargulion will be cut in pieces before that process finishes..." Markus always had a quick way to deal with attacks like this using his signature Soul Eater ability, but he knew that the ability's process of absorbing power would take too long to take away the power necessary to make them stop since they were coming in way too fast in expansive numbers, which meant that Markus could run the risk of Gargulion being left wide-open to an attack before the transfer is complete and the energy could be harmful to him if the Pack continued pouring them out.

"These Bakugan appear to be a different rank than the ones we've seen them summon before. Their power levels are high enough to pose a problem to all of us especially when there is this many," Gargulion noticed when analyzing the army a bit closer. He looked at the blood-covered claws of the Fear Ripper and the menacing edge of Reaper's scythe to discover the hidden properties related to them. They were capable of literally shaving off their power levels if they got hit even once. This made him wonder what other dangers could be lurking in the Doom Dimension if this was what comes out. "If you all value your power levels, I would make sure that the blood on their claws and scythes doesn't become yours. Take that any way you will," Gargulion warned before getting ready to respond to the assault. He did notice that he lost track of the Pack while this was going on, but that would be a waste of his time to worry too much about that when power-stealing Doom Beings are coming towards them with the intent to kill.

Thus, Markus unleashed two cards to use that would aid in their fight against the Pack's army as well as conserve as much power as possible for when the three Dharak's re-emerge. "Follow Gladion's lead, Gargulion," Markus called out as he swiped both cards on his BrawlX. "Double ability activate! Stone Cold plus Touch of Stone!" Gargulion's body temperature decreased to the point where touching a piece of his body would send shivers down your spine. This brought his durability up to where a weapon would bounce off of his body. He also placed a certain effect on his entire body that made a green flow of energy throughout that will transform anything that comes in contact with his body into stone. Knowing that their attackers were planning on bringing the battle into close quarters, Markus fortified Gargulion's body so that the weapons will bounce off of him and be rendered useless by the Touch of Stone ability, which will give everyone else a chance to beat them. "Any takers?" Markus asked.

[Nero Bullock]

Nero was becoming more impressed with the Darkus Resistor when he continued finding ways to foil his strategy. Based on his performance, it would seem like the numerous shortcomings he has had in battle never told his entire story. The defensive option provided by Markus deprived some of his Reaper and Fear Ripper of their weaponry. As this happened, Tank responded by activating the Battle Charge ability. This doubled the strength Gladion currently had, making his physical prowess more of a prominent threat to the Pack. With his shield up, he ran through multiple ranks of the Pack's army that were stripped of their power thanks to Markus. He constantly bashed multiple Bakugan with his hammer and shield with outstanding power, enough to destroy those he touched in one hit. As Gladion and Gargulion worked together to severely cut into the Pack's forces, Nero enacted his back-up plan to avoid being knocked out of the battle.

"You both are really starting to get on my nerves," Nero despicably growled. He swiped a card through his BrawlX to respond to the immediate threat. "Ability activate! Thunder Probe!" The Pack revealed themselves huddled with the army they summoned. Just as Gladion was approaching them, Belphenoid activated a lethal technique that would hopefully incapacitate him, or deter him at the very least. Belphenoid, Asmodeus, and Abbadon were covered in dark-colored auras with colors respective to their attribute. This same power was then used to strike the remaining forces of their army to give them a field of protection as well. This shocking area of effect technique forcefully repelled Gladion from his assault and prepped them all for the offensive nature of this attack. Each Pack member and Doom Being in the area had numerous lightning bolts projected from their auras that were sent in the Resistor's direction, threatening to destroy them all one by one. "It feels GREAT to be using these abilities again! I thought this cursed mutt's body would never be able to get this far," Asmodeus remarked.

[Allen Silva]

This was the final battle. Even if it took 1000 rounds, only one group was leaving this building. So far Allen had been letting Markus and Tank take on the pack. But once Thunder Probe was active, he had to make himself a presence in the battle. He pulled out one of his favorite starter abilities. One that would without a doubt stop this thunder assault." Ability activate, Bound Barrier." Allen called out the name of the ability, making it glow brown with activation.

Force Gorem shot to the front of the group, prepared to block the attack. He channeled his energy to his palms, before using it to create a bubble shield surrounding the whole group. The shield was successful in keeping the resistors from harm." I thought you were smarter than that. Did you really think that ability was going through." Gorem taunted the evil that was Nero.

[Tracy White]

Strangely, Tank and Markus had solid teamwork dealing with Nero's attacks up to this point. Unfortunately, Nero stepped up his game and began launching more potent attacks after pressuring them with his army. This resulted in Gladion and Gargulion being forced into a defensive role, which is what the Pack ultimately wanted out of them. This is where the brawlers with the best defense came into play. Allen was obviously the front-runner for anything related to defensive play. He commanded Gorem to cover all of them in a bubble-like shield that defended against the repeated Thunder Probe ability really well. The only problem now was the Pack's electric field that also functioned in a similar way to Gorem's Bound Barrier in that attacks launched at them will do absolutely nothing. "We can defend against this all we want, but that field of protection they have from that ability needs to go," Skystar warned as she readied her staff. "Tracy, it's our move!"

"Right!" Tracy acknowledged. She placed an ability on her gauntlet without a moment's notice as soon as Skystar made the call. "You're going to have to add two more people to that list of yours, Nero! Ability activate! Sol Reflection!" Skystar's belt shifted to Pyrus upon activation, making the attribute symbol glow to signal it's activation. She pointed her staff towards Gorem to amplify his power with hers. This enabled the Bound Barrier he was keeping active to be covered in an overflow of bright red energy. What this did was increase the shield's effectiveness in taking the Pack's technique by giving it the ability to reflect it right back at them. "I wonder if that exhilarating experience you have for activating those abilities will change once you're hit by them!" Skystar retaliated. Each lightning bolt that struck the shield struck right back at the Pack, which is sure to be the most effective way in dealing damage to the protected Bakugan.

[Nero Bullock]

Repelling both Tank and Markus after they bugged him for the short time that they did was a satisfying feeling. If their defensive brawlers had to intervene to stop the attack, then they must have known they were going to be in trouble, which is why Allen and Tracy's interference meant that the Resistors were now being placed on the defensive. That was enough of a reason for Nero not to concern himself with Gorem and Skystar's taunts towards him. He understood what must be done to break the Resistors, so now it was up to the Pack to capitalize on the foothold they currently have. "I suppose it's an uplifting achievement to guard against the attack that would have sent you to the Doom Dimension if your precious leader hadn't stopped it himself. Are you proud of yourself to now be able to do that, Allen?" Nero jokingly asked to downplay the Iron Juggernaut's power.

"You'd be wise to step it up before she leeches off of your success too," Abbadon suggested to Gorem, referencing Tracy being carried by her teammates multiple times. Despite Abbadon making a fair statement, Skystar placed a spell on Gorem's shield that now made it a threat to Nero. Thunder Probe was now being sent back their way. The safe haven that was their shield was now canceled by the equal force of their own attack, which was a minor setback at best, but still an annoying one. "On a side note, THAT was something I didn't see coming, Markus," Nero admitted. He revealed two abilities that would easily overload his opponent's power should they attempt to contain it within a measly reflective shield. "I dare you to think a shield is going to stop this one, Allen," Nero challenged. "Double ability activate! Evil Blow plus Darkness Glow!"

Upon activation, the remaining armada of Reaper and Fear Ripper jumped out of the Pack's line of fire to avoid being included in the blast. "Asmodeus! Abbadon! Link up!" Belphenoid ordered. They joined their powers together to make the attack more powerful, which was necessary given that they were facing seven Bakugan at once. They gathered energy in their mouths before projecting a catastrophic attack in the form of a giant laser beam towards their foes. That was the power of Evil Blow, but Darkness Glow was on a different level. Unstable, rippling energy began amassing on the Pack's horns. They fired that energy towards their opponents in combination with Evil Blow to create an attack powerful enough to push any defensive option to its absolute limit given that three Dharak's are using this attack rather than just one.

[Allen Silva]

Even with defending the Packs attacks, the three Dharak's just came up with a more powerful combo. The combo of Evil Blow and Darkness Glow created a attack that nothing he had done before would be strong enough to block. So he needed to pull out a new trick. For this, Allen pulled two abilities." Dual ability activate, Equilibrium purge plus Fusion ability Hard returner." Allen called out both abilities names, activating thier respective effects.

For Equilibrium Purge, Gorem channeled energy through the ground. Now usually this would clear the field of any lasting effects, but since thier was none, this was only a set up. Once the energy reached where the dual assault was, Hard Returner took effect, erecting a wall of energy, one that was bieng constantly charged by Gorem's power. This wall proved strong enough to withstand the two abilities powers, but once again by only a hair." Allen, I'm getting real tired of all these close calls."