Episode 38: Betray One Friend For Another

[Noland Hardy]

The sinister Bakugan came back in Noland's head to congratulate him on making Karen this distant from him. Noland was too confused about her being found innocent since he remembers feeling too invigorated after Karen hugged him earlier, so it didn't make any sense how nothing was found when he ended up infecting Markus with this Bakugan's power. He ignored the Bakugan's presence and walked back with Kendrick to their seats to watch the battle. The Bakugan became persistent to get a reaction out of him, so it chose to tell him the truth behind the matter just to aggravate the circumstances. It mentioned that its carrier was definitely Karen, but she isn't aware of its existence or how she transfers its power to other people. Noland gulped in reaction to the Bakugan confirming that his and everyone else's suspicions were accurate, but Karen was being honest about her not being the perpetrator behind it all; it was this Bakugan acting through her as some form of conduit. Drago revealed that he could hear the Bakugan speaking in Noland's head since he was in ball form and theorized that this might be how the other Bakugan are able to be controlled once their brawler's emotions start to turn dark. Noland demanded to know how a Dharaknoid would be able to have that much power without being physically present. The Dharak challenged Noland to come up with an answer to that question through extensive research, and once he does, he just might stand a chance at stopping it. For now, the Dharak preferred to gaze upon the consuming of another victim: Tracy and Skystar.

Noland didn't understand the point in taking control of this many individuals at once, so he demanded to know its purpose. The Dharak informed him that it was feeding off of the negative emotions of the ones he infects in order to accumulate enough energy to restore this "point of access" to full power after a certain descendant of his drained it all. It generously requested a rematch after the previous human he took control of failed in his venture. "Point of access" and "drained" were the only things Noland needed to hear to connect the dots and guessed that what it was talking about was the Doom Card. The Dharak congratulated him on figuring that one out and then asked him to guess who is in possession of it now. That wasn't a hard question to figure out for Noland and Drago since Karen was most likely the one with the card. Drago hesitantly asked who it really was. The Bakugan refused to reveal its actual name, but promised that it might be willing to give up some of that information if they took a few history lessons. 

[Noland Hardy]

Noland watched helplessly as Tracy did everything in her power to put up a fight against Karen. She did that and even more, which was very surprising to the audience. Skystar was overwhelming Hydranoid through her constant checks on his techniques and protected herself through her defensive maneuvers and healing spells. When it appeared that Tracy had scored the final blow on Hydranoid using her triple node fusion ability, Elemental Vanquisher, Hydranoid emerged from the blast unscathed due to his Final Fusion ability card. Karen at least gave Tracy credit for her improving herself consecutively ever since they first battled each other, but she reiterated one more time that she would always be one step ahead. With Karen's activation of Clean Slate, Hydranoid erased Skystar's defenses and defeated her. With Tracy knocked out of the competition, Karen earned herself the final spot in the semifinals.

Drago preferred for Noland not to talk to Tracy since they could expect to find the usual results, but he did it anyway. Since that was the last battle taking place that day, Noland didn't catch up to Tracy until they were checking out of the coliseum for the day. Before he could say a word to her, Tracy wanted to ask him a very difficult question. She wondered why he never loved her as her eyes started to turn red. Noland started stepping away from her gradually, but she kept moving that much closer to him. She asked if it was because of the two year difference in age, her personality, her brawling ability, or that she was possibly not pretty enough to him. Tracy charged up dark power in her fists and broke a table in half as she demanded an answer from him after Karen broke his heart too many times while she was always there waiting. Unfortunately, Katherine was at the wrong place at the wrong time when she stumbled upon the confrontation, heard what she said, and told her that she should probably take a hint that no means no. Noland silently warned her that she shouldn't have said that and tried to pull her back, but Tracy walked up to her and slapped her. Tank saw this from afar and ran over there to give Tracy a piece of her mind for hitting his girlfriend, but he was quickly silenced when Tracy placed her palm on his chest to prevent him from getting any closer. In the midst of that confusion, Noland fled from the scene with Katherine close by.

[Noland Hardy]

When they got back to the hotel, Noland and Katherine hid from Tank and Tracy in Allen's room. Allen did his best to keep her calm since she was worried about Tank. Noland gave Montai a call to ask her a few questions. It took her a while to answer, but she eventually responded. Noland asked for more information regarding her encounter with the Doom Card when she touched it according to the lab report. Montai conceded that she couldn't tell him even if she wanted to since she doesn't remember anything done while under the Doom Card's influence. Noland wasn't too surprised to hear that since it was consistent with the reports the tournament's victims have already reported. He took a leap and asked if she never heard a Bakugan's voice in her head, specifically that of a Dharaknoid. Montai was beginning to get confused he was asking for this information and asked why. In response, Noland confirmed that every Resistor except for Allen were compromised by a Dharak class Bakugan that's making them go rogue. Montai paused for a moment before guessing that there was a Doom Card on the loose.

Montai warned him that the Doom Card needed to be destroyed immediately so that the Dharak's power could be cut off from their dimension. Allen and Montai simultaneously wondered where it was. Noland slowly confirmed that the card was in Karen's possession. There was a moment of silence in the room before Katherine ultimately concluded that they needed to get it off of her hands right now by any means necessary. As they spent a few minutes coming up with a plan, someone knocked on their door. Fearing the worst, Allen slowly crept up the door to see Markus standing right there. Remembering that Markus was already corrupted, he initially refused to open the door. That's when Markus allegedly stated that it was Montai. Noland asked for proof, which was provided by the transformation back into her normal form. When Allen opened the door, she quickly went inside to avoid any unnecessary conflicts with the others.

She revealed that some of the technology Nero left behind at the lab came in handy, especially his BrawlX's ability to transform into others provided that they have the sufficient DNA sample. She said it was a hair sample leftover from his time in the labs when he was beaten by Nero the first time. Noland asked if it was illegal for him and Allen to have it to protect themselves from the ones the Dharak has under its control, but Montai refused partially because it would cause her to get arrested for giving away military applications only approved for the most covert operatives in the United States. Plus, since Noland implied he was infected, she didn't want to risk him going out of control with that kind of power in his hands. Saying that reminded her to ask how Noland was doing after the brief escalation of power during his battle with Markus. Noland claimed to have suppressed the Bakugan's control over him, but it was still lurking inside of his head similarly to everyone else. Montai decided to place Noland under careful eye until this situation was resolved, but the primary focus was dealing with the Doom Card.

[Noland Hardy]

Montai plotted to have herself, Noland, and Allen deprive Karen of the card. She instructed Noland and Allen to standby while she confronts Karen about it at the pool. She didn't want any of them to be seen unless it became more than just a simple talk. They followed closely behind her until they got near the entrance to the pool. Montai walked in right as Karen got out of the pool. Noland and Allen did their best to listen to the conversation, but they weren't audible from where they were standing. Karen was reluctant to listen to Montai very much since she was still very distraught from Noland's continuous distrust of her, so she was walking off while being talked to. This forced Noland and Allen to stay out of sight for the majority of the conversation as she walked back into her room in preparation for a shower. Montai told them both to wait until she was finished since she had had just about enough of the disrespect.

When Karen got out of the shower and became fully clothed, Montai got straight to it. She didn't want to make Karen that mad too early, so she progressively asked questions leading up to now in terms of what happened after Baalenoid was destroyed. The answer to one of her questions caused Montai to break off her loyalty to Karen completely. When she asked her if she picked anything up after the brawl was over, Karen told her no and was very upset that even she was jumping onto the bandwagon. Montai assured her that she wasn't against her, but had conflict with what she was carrying and told her that it needed to be surrendered since it was causing damage to everyone in the area and will extend to the entire planet. Karen's eyes glowed brightly as she lost control of her emotions at the constant pointing of the fingers at her and shouted that it wasn't her. Montai nodded, backed away from her, went to the door, and let Noland and Allen inside.

[Noland Hardy]

Their entrance prompted Karen to call on Hydranoid's power to transport all of them outside via Phantom Transmission since she was ready to fight them both. Allen did not want any confrontation over the matter since they weren't there to fight her; all they wanted was for the Doom Card she was holding to be destroyed so they can end this fight altogether. Karen regretted that the only sensible human being she had left that could be considered a friend to her betrayed her just like everyone else did. Noland stepped towards her while maintaining their stance of destroying the card as soon as possible. Karen warned him not to come any closer towards her for not only mistreating her, but almost getting her arrested for a very serious crime. Noland told her that she left him no choice since she refused to listen to those who are only trying to help her, so he has to take matters into his own hands and take it from her by force to save her.

Karen gripped Hydranoid and summoned him for battle. This caused Montai, Noland, and Allen to throw in Horridian, Drago, and Gorem respectively. Hydranoid didn't try to fight them though. Karen's eyes glowed red again as she materialized the Doom Card in her right hand. She laid it out on the ground and told them to destroy it; it was worth noting that her voice was not her own, but the Dharaknoid's. Drago blasted the card, but it wasn't destroyed. All three of them tried to destroy the card, and it still didn't work. Karen then clapped as Seiki, Tank, Markus, and Tracy appeared next to them, threw in their Bakugan, and sent many attacks towards the Doom Card. Just as the previous attempts demonstrated, it could not be destroyed. Still using the same voice as the Dharaknoid, Karen asked if they gave up. When she saw no further attacks being made, she took the Doom Card back.

Since Karen did not want a full scale confrontation, she planted the Doom Card into the ground to make anyone that gets defeated score a one-way trip to the Doom Dimension. Knowing what that action meant from personal experience, Noland and Allen withdrew from the fight and urged Montai to do the same since they didn't want any of their friends being sent there without knowing how to counter the card. Knowing that the powers of the card were too strong to be destroyed conventionally, Noland pleaded with her one more time to stop this madness, but it fell on deaf ears. They got away from Karen very quickly, but kept watch when they were not in their sights anymore to see if she was going to act after activating the card. Karen recalled the card once they left and went back to her room. Tank, Tracy, Markus, and Seiki soon snapped out of their hypnosis and questioned each other about why they were there together.

[Noland Hardy]

Allen was livid about them being intimidated that easily. Noland understood this frustration, but regretted that there was nothing they could do to stop her without figuring out how to destroy the Doom Card since taking her down would solve nothing and would only make them the villains for sending people to the Doom Dimension. The Dharaknoid laughed at their helplessness since it had free reign over the proceedings, but sincerely wished that the display of power they just saw was enough for them not to interfere with its business. Noland knew that Allen was scheduled to face Karen in the semifinals while he fights Carson, so the best time to get the card away from her was for him to win the battle to extract the card. He theorized that the Dharaknoid's dark power would weaken when the said person is subdued just like Team Blaster and Markus, so it would make sense if its hold on Karen would disappear if she loses.

Semifinals

This is what they planned for leading into tomorrow's matches. Noland and Allen did not talk to any of the other Resistors about what they were planning. All they focused on was the goals they set for each other. They watched Markus, Tank, Tracy, and Jason fight over placement. Every person fought three battles against another person, and based on the amount of wins they received, they would get placed accordingly. Jason got dead last between the four. Tracy was defeated by both Markus and Tank, so the two rivals fought over their placement. They tied, so they ended up receiving the same ranking, which angered them greatly. The semifinal matches started after their brawls. Noland and Carson were the first ones to battle. The Haos champion showed tremendous skill against Noland, but even a powerhouse like him wasn't able to stop a determined hero from winning the brawl with an immensely powerful combination using Dauntless Spirit and Dragonic Boost after Tritonus sapped his power through Draining Space and tried to k.o. him with Star Charger.

With Noland headed to the finals, all that remained was deciding who would join him: Allen or Karen. Before the battle, the Dharaknoid mocked Noland by saying it would soon have the second greatest weapon to use against him once the brawl was over. Angered at the possibility of this happening, Noland confronted Karen for possibly the last time on somewhat friendly terms. He understood her anger with him and everyone else for what they were doing, but he tried to reason with her that she had a Doom Card in her possession that contained the powers of a Bakugan great enough to plunge their world into another war. She finally conceded that she figured out what was going on last night since the Bakugan chose to meet with her and explain everything, but there was nothing she could do. Every time she would attempt to get rid of the card completely, it would maul her consciousness away from her in an instant. She gave Noland one choice if he wanted to stop it: destroy her.

[Noland Hardy]

Noland didn't want to believe that was the only possible way of ending this crisis, but Karen was ashamed to admit it was the only way. She referred to the Dharaknoid as the most diabolic creature she had ever seen. It was a Bakugan so powerful that it could toy with the negative emotions of an individual to transform them into monsters acting off of their own darkness. She cringed as she explained how it made her watch what happened to Nero very slowly and even replayed her own memories over and over again to the point where she didn't think she wanted to live anymore. Thinking this was funny, the Dharaknoid mentioned how it would like to give everyone else their share as well starting from Tank, but it had more on its plate at the moment. Drago challenged it to show itself to see if what its doing will be so funny after getting killed. The Dharaknoid was delighted at the idea of silencing him, but was regretfully unable to due to being "physically challenged" for a very long time.

Noland told her he couldn't follow through with that decision and promised that he would find another way to stop the Dharaknoid from succeeding in its plans. Karen noted his refusal to hurt the ones he cares about in times of crisis is his greatest weakness that is constantly being exploited. She would stop it if she was able to, but she was too weak to measure up to its strength. She left that task to either him or Allen; whoever ended her first would be the one that saved them all. Knowing that she had a brawl to get to, Karen hugged Noland closely and thanked him for caring for her as much as he did; she also apologized for putting him through so much since she was always involved in evildoing. She left for the battlefield, leaving a depressed Noland behind in the process. His emotions were starting to flare at the thought of the Dharaknoid purposely keeping its presence hidden from Karen only to tell her about what she has been doing involuntarily for a while now and made her live through it multiple times.

Drago didn't want to be the one telling him this, but he believed that unless there were any solid evidence of a Doom Card being destroyed in any other way, dispatching Karen was the only viable option. Noland chose to see what Allen did before any option like that was considered. He sat with his teammates as they watched this highly anticipated brawl take place. Tracy asked him why he looked so down, which caused Noland to yell at her for not already knowing due to all of them trying to kill him after being under Dharak's leash. Drago perched on his shoulder to apologize for his outburst, but he wanted them all to understand that what is happening right now is making it difficult for him to keep his emotions under control since the Dharaknoid has infected his body too. Tank would have been just as frustrated as Noland was since he could imagine how useless all of them were in the buildup of this tension. Seiki was more frustrated about it since she was the first one out of them all to get turned. She promised Noland that if there was anything that could be done to help, she would offer her support. Noland put both of his hands on his head as he watched what was happening on the battlefield with a very careful eye.

(Boss Theme)

Allen and Karen began their long-awaited bout in a very explosive fashion. Karen's will to get rid of the Dharaknoid forced it to control her actions for the battle since she seemed to not want to fight Allen this way. With the weight of the world on his shoulders, Allen fought at his highest level. He was able to contest Hydranoid's heavy attacks using his unparalleled defense and was able to score decent blows using his favorites, Gravitron Ballistae and Avalanche Vulcan. In order to keep up with the pace of the brawl, Karen was manipulated into fighting Allen very seriously. She used Maverick Spicer to place Hydranoid's power into a tier of its own, forcing Allen to call on Gorem's Goliath Fortress ability to match him. Karen made use of Phantom Transmission to instantly teleport Hydranoid in front of the structure and forcefully shatter it with a jab. He then attempted to grind Gorem using Guillotine, which removed Gorem's defenses entirely. Allen used Gaia Nueva to force Hydranoid out of Gorem's face while dealing a lot of damage in the process, but it wasn't enough to stop the hydra from setting up his Marauder Gazer to allow his power to destroy everything around him with laser sweeps. Gorem used Richter Blockade to pick up a portion of the ground to guard against the blasts as he charged towards the beast to ram him with full force.

[Noland Hardy]

Hydranoid used Guillotine to cut into the ground as Gorem rushed him. Surprisingly, Gorem quickly transitioned to Megalith Boxer and pummeled Hydranoid in the face and body repeatedly. Karen activated Grand Down to repel Gorem with a forceful power wave sent from a stomp in the ground. Gorem responded with a swift ground slam using Rave Wrecker that sent Hydranoid into the walls. Seeing Hydranoid recover slowly, Allen activated Tremor Lariat so Gorem could jet-sprint towards Hydranoid to end the duel with a devastating take-down. As everyone cheered for Allen and Gorem running to their path of victory, Karen cut their excitement short by picking him apart. She used Merge Shield to bring Hydranoid's power to the same tier as Gorem's, which allowed him to counteract the golem with a vicious swipe of his tails.

Gorem then activated his Giga Martyr ability to don his best set of armor in the later stage of the brawl. Karen commented on Gorem's waning power after her attack and suggested that he considers dropping out soon to prevent himself from getting hurt, which was a combination of how she was feeling and the deterrence the Dharaknoid was trying to achieve. Allen ignored this and continued attacking her. This prompted Karen to defend herself using Dual Gazer to strike Gorem's shoulders, injuring him severely. She told him her desire not to hurt him and asked him to consider conceding. Allen made it clear he wasn't giving up on her since he refused to watch another person be consumed by darkness as long as he was able to alter their course. He also warned her not to underestimate him since his power comes from his faith in Gorem, which is a strength that no one else could measure except for him. Noland nodded when he heard this as he shared this same sentiment.

The Dharaknoid took over Karen's emotions to cause her to become more vicious in her attitude towards Allen. She used Gazer Excedra to repeatedly fire dark blasts at Gorem. Allen reinforced his belief in his Bakugan by using Vicious Counter to coat him with energy proportionate to the amount of power Hydranoid was using. This allowed him to swat the blasts away with ease. Hydranoid responded with Dual Stinger to slice straight through Gorem, but he also resisted this attack by deflecting the blasts back at the beast. Karen knew Allen was starting to get at his strongest, so she used Auragano Revenge to drop Gorem's power level, but he made quick work of that using his Purging Equilibrium on himself just as he did against Gladion. He responded with Fault Switch to knock Hydranoid off of his feet with an earthquake caused by his fists, and then rushed towards him to end the brawl once and for all.

Karen activated Clean Slate as a last-minute attack to what would have been her defeat. Allen unleashed his secret weapon for that technique and used his fusion ability, Grandios Bunker, to make the armor he was clad in from Giga Martyr even stronger. With no other attack that could penetrate Gorem's defenses, Karen used her fusion ability, Destruction Impact, to make Clean Slate's power rise to meet its challenge. The aftermath of the attack showed Hydranoid laid back on the ground after being punched by Gorem. On the flip side, Gorem's armor was destroyed, which prevented Hydranoid from being knocked out by his hit. As close as he was to beating Karen, it didn't matter when it came to battle; Gorem knelt on the ground after taking the full force of Hydranoid's attack, growled at Hydranoid, and then returned to ball form, bringing Allen's life gauge to zero.

This upset meant that Noland was going to have to fight Karen in the finals. Allen wasn't concerned about his placement in the tournament. He was disappointed and stunned that he failed to save Karen regardless of how hard he fought to save her. The Dharaknoid was excited about the opportunity to emphasize Noland's inability to do anything for her. Noland was too worried about what he was going to have to do to her since he was the only brawler remaining that could challenge the Dharaknoid. He let the Bakugan have all of the satisfaction it wanted out of this, but he warned it not to celebrate too early since he was going to make sure its rampage came to a screeching halt. The Dharaknoid laughed at this gesture and challenged him to try as Allen looked up at him with glowing red eyes as all of his predecessors had before him.

[Noland Hardy]