Episode 3: Quartet Battle

[Noland Hardy]

Xavier arrived on Earth in person for the first time via the dimension tunnel. He landed at the exact place Farbros's battle with the Resistors took place: the football field at the Sports and Learning Complex. Unfortunately, he appeared there around noon when people were more than likely to be inhabiting the space for exercise purposes. They weren't too happy about seeing someone travel that way since no one on Earth had the ability to use dimensional travel as a means of appearing out of nowhere whenever they wanted to, so their eyes never left the non-caring Xavier as he made his way to the outdoor track's exit. Employees who were tasked with watching what goes on outside blocked his exit. After listening to the jibber jabber of how he was able to do what he just did and how he wasn't supposed to be there, Xavier respectfully asked them to move two times. When they refused to do so the second time, he took a few steps back, unveiled a tablet, and began pressing buttons in a complicated-like manner. Everyone was understandably suspicious about this technology they haven't seen before, so they contemplated attacking him with their Bakugan, which they chose to do after three seconds of standing there in bewilderment.

A green flash zipped across them all to knock every person and Bakugan on the ground. Before they could ask what just happened to them, a Haos Bakugan appeared in the center, tethered them all in one circular dash around them, and leaped away. A blue scorpion then impaled them all with its tail to inflict a severe wound on them, and sent them in the air using a very forceful wall of water. Two brown fists abruptly smashed them into the ground hard enough to prevent any of them from getting back up. A red explosion then occurred in the center of the dust clouds the previous attack created, leaving most of them in critical condition. A dark aura then surrounded them all to make them forget who or what just hurt or killed them. Six individuals then appeared alongside their Bakugan. Xavier jokingly told them all that he told them to move even though they wouldn't hear a single word he said.

These six brawlers were revealed to be the same people that were briefed on Vestal much earlier: Dasia's Spartans. Xavier let this moment be short-lived since he sent four out of six of them back to Vestal immediately after they knocked everyone out. The two Spartans left were Damian and Jamal, the two that Dasia seems to believe in the most. Jamal warned him that he should be a bit nicer to everyone and not treat them as emotionless servants, especially citing his transporting of the rest of them without prior warning to be distasteful. Xavier ignored them until Damian made a joke about him thinking exerting power like that gives him the illusion that he's king, implying that he has an idea of Xavier's hidden jealousy. Xavier reminded them that they don't particularly like the others and that the three of them can at least cooperate with each other better than anyone else. Damian had no problem agreeing with that and believed he would do something similar, but a bit less mean. Jamal shook his head at Damian for blatantly lying about it, but he only laughed in disbelief than call him out for it. Xavier cut it short by telling them that they knew what to do before teleporting back to Vestal. This created an opportunity for Yita to transport back to Earth to disobey Xavier's commands, but Damian and Jamal were never made aware of her presence.

Jamal kicked off his field trip to Earth in a very unorthodox fashion. Rather than focusing on what he was told to do by Xavier and the higher-ups, he went into the Sports and Learning Complex to look for every woman he found attractive and started flirting with them. This led to him being shot down repeatedly and numerous reports made to the building's staff for harassment, nearly getting him thrown out of there completely. 

Damian was interested in pissing people off. He went to the aquatics center first. Using his Pyrus Bakugan's extreme heat, he was able to increase the temperature of the pools without anyone knowing it was him. Everyone scurried out of the water in panic mode. His Bakugan laughed as people started slipping and falling on the hard floors, and nearly laughed even harder when someone slipped and fell back into the water. Damian kept his laughter to a minimum to prevent anyone from catching him. He simply acted concerned just like everyone else to fit in with the crowd. It turns out Yita was following Damian the entire time since she thought he would lead her to Noland by now given his battle-hungry nature, so she was very displeased about him taking so long more than the fact he was terrorizing people and thinking it was funny.

Meanwhile, Allen was staring at the community center him, Noland, and Alana grew up in. He watched as kids walked in there, socialized with each other, and brawled with each other just for the fun of it. He imagined himself to be just like them when he was younger, walking in and out of there with a sense of fulfillment and joy as if he had nothing else to worry about. The more he thought about it, the more it made him sick of how things have turned out. He couldn't understand how or why great childhood memories seem to always fade away. Some kids spotted him and wanted him to come over for old time's sake, but he ignored their pleas and walked away without returning a word to them.

Tracy started paying more attention to the brawling community since she was trying to concoct new ideas for the various clubs she was trying to start as the senior class president. This position gave her more attention than she deserved. People were coming to her left and right whenever there was a problem in the brawling community as if she was supposed to fix all of their problems as a Resistor. She disregarded all of them except for one pressing matter that she thought Noland may have to get involved in. There were reports of a Pyrus brawler that was savagely beating other brawlers enough to knock tears out of them. She interrupted his training in the arenas with his news, and she was surprised to find out that Noland did not care about it whatsoever. Shocked, Tracy asked what had happened to him since it was never like him to toss something like that aside. Noland then fired back with the same question she had been asking herself since she got elected: Were they supposed to solve everyone's problems? Tracy tried to suggest to him that he didn't have to let Alana get to him like this, but that only caused Noland to ignore her completely throughout every subsequent attempt she made to get him to notice. Her tries didn't work, but someone's did...

It turns out that Noland had missed a call on his cell phone while listening to Tracy hag him. The number identifying the caller was unknown to him and they left a voicemail. He listens to it to hear a female voice snitching on two people that were at the community center who didn't have lives quite like his and Allen's and wants to make that peaceful place similar to their wasteland back home unless him and Allen went there together to stop them. She described them in detail (mainly on their Bakugan) so that he knew how to identify them. Noland was cautious about this threat, but he didn't deem it important enough to tell Allen about it. Allen had to tell him that he received the same message to confirm that he knew. They got to the community center at sundown to see what was going on. They walk in and see children laughing and playing with two brawlers. They were being attacked consecutively by everyone, but they showed no attempts to attack or defend since they weren't being affected at all. The Pyrus brawler commented on the fact that he didn't think this would have been such a good place for Noland and Allen if everyone was this weak. After hearing that remark, Noland knew it was him. He held his phone in the air and increased the volume to its maximum while he replayed the voicemail of the mysterious caller. 

Everyone stopped what they were doing and stepped back for a moment. Allen told him that he was too ignorant of how things really were if he's comparing someone's power to another's joy. They didn't know this, but the brawlers that were in front of them were Damian and Jamal, the Spartans that have made their mark on Earth by upsetting numerous tournament champions out in the open and having people compare both duos. Damian silently cursed Yita since he knew it was her voice that gave them away, but Jamal reminded him that they were supposed to come into contact with Noland and Allen anyway. The two Spartans tried to antagonize the Resistors by asking if the kids here that look up to him would want to be influenced by their current selves. It didn't take long for Noland and Allen to take a fighting stance against them with Damian meeting the challenge; however, Jamal paused the proceedings and requested that they fight outside so they aren't too close to the kids. Noland couldn't believe that someone who would pose a threat to them would even care about other children, but he and Allen complied with it anyway. The four of them go outside while the other children stayed far enough to not get caught in the crossfire. Then the deathmatch began.

(Boss Theme)

[Noland Hardy]

Due to the cocky personality that was implied in the comments he made, Damian suggested that all four of them use gate cards as opposed to just one person, greatly deviating from the norm everyone on Earth was used to. While Jamal was extremely supportive of this, it took Noland and Allen a while to conform after they acknowledged their fear that it would probably happen even if the proposal was struck down, effectively placing them at a disadvantage before the Bakugan hit the field. This marked the first time in a while they both shared the same views and were able to agree with each other, a fact that Gorem chose to keep to himself.

The brawlers set their gates and summoned their respective Bakugan. Noland and Allen clearly had their established guardians - Sentinel Dragonoid and Titan Gorem - fighting for them. The opposing side had Bakugan that greatly resembled theirs in size and power. Well...mostly for Noland's sake anyway. Damian's Bakugan was of the Helios species, Gamblignant Helios to be formal. He was around Drago's size with bulk equivalent to his. The only noticeable differences between the two that a bystander would be able to discern would be Helios's more humanoid look, flashier combat skin that featured majestic scales and his wings that would rap around him while not in flight that can potentially serve as a shield on the ground, the scars on his body that established him as a warrior in his eyes, and the burn marks that he unconsciously leaves wherever his foot is planted due to his outpouring of power. He casually asked if Drago was ready for this, thinking he was the superior dragonoid-figure.

Jamal's Bakugan had the appearance of a personified tank. He was known as Tectonic Vulcan. He was a massive creature clad in armor, which, unlike Helios, didn't show any scratches at all. He seemed to be proud of it too, enough to boast in Gorem's presence that he was the standard for anyone who ever thought of calling themselves a juggernaut, and he had solid ground to say that too when he showed off his high-powered gauntlet-like hands. He twisted the braces on his wrists like it was a drill, signalling that he was ready to show why even the Hurranians couldn't crack him 500 to 1, shocking everyone who was watching since Allen had similar feats that were more than likely incomparable to Vulcan's if it were true based on Noland and Allen's understanding. The Resistor duo had enough of their trash talking and went straight into the fight.

Fires were started by the challenging of extreme firepower, portions of the ground were raised as it couldn't bear the strain of withstanding the physical prowess of the duelists that wouldn't budge an inch even after trading their most powerful punches, and realizations that both sides were too powerful of a match for each other that neither side could edge one another out became apparent. The spectators who were neither afraid or concerned that the Resistors have met their lethal adversaries saw this. The country who would later view this event via the instinct of recording every fight seen would see it. Yita, the same girl that shouldn't be there, sold her "allies" out, and has impatiently anticipated her renewal of Noland's appearance and character that attracted her to him, also saw it, and silently encouraged him as he was more powerful than she could have ever expected.

Indeed, when the Spartans became aware of this stumbling block that would prevent them from beating them, they shifted their approach to a more strategic battle plan, and one strategy included the berating of the Resistors' worst attributes. While Damian admits that both he and Jamal made a mistake in underestimating the extent of their power and even commended them for being the first people that were able to match them in power, he took shots at Noland by theorizing that his strength came from his growing desire to have his revenge on a certain person. Jamal agreed, but he didn't outright say it, instead opting to nonchalantly disagree with Damian's theory since Noland went through so much trouble to save her and would never want to hurt her. This easily provoked a negative reaction out of Noland who was told to calm down by Allen since they were intentionally attempting to dislodge them from their focus. Noland fired back by saying that he didn't do such a good job of giving him that much help when it all started.

As Helios and Vulcan started to unite their power, Damian encouraged Noland to speak his mind as he didn't have to be ashamed to, and, if he were in the same position as him, he'd do exactly what was fitting for a bitch like her: kill her with the same ruthlessness showed to Vince rather than strive to take his place in the relationship like a certain "best friend" was doing. As if that wasn't enough to fully ablaze Noland and Allen's blood pressure, Jamal began complimenting Alana's charming looks and brawling skills that match even his in her defense, especially calling her a sexy woman that only a gentleman like himself should have. Damian noted that he had the potential to get with her if he was stupid enough to torture himself with the thought of it and end up in the same miserable position Noland is in. Noland became greatly enraged by their comments and empowered himself and Drago with their special power and ruthlessly assaulted both of them. His power output was great enough to completely destroy Damian and Jamal's gate cards before they could even use them, placing them on a straight path to annihilation nation except for one fact: Vulcan was as defensively adept, if not more, than Gorem was.

He unveiled his ability to detach his arms from his body, an act that instantly reminded Noland of Tracy and Skystar. Vulcan was able to continuously shove against the charging Dragonoid without ever having to move from his spot. All Helios had to do was strike him hard to inflict serious injury while he was occupied, and so he tried. Little did they know, Gorem was the answer to a powerful offense as well. He continuously repelled Helios and forced Vulcan's hand away from Drago after realizing that his power was being siphoned the more he tried to struggle against him. This was proven true even though Vulcan's hands were greatly injured as a result of trying to cancel Drago out, which brought a disappointing end to that trick for a short duration of time. Allen, who was nearly as angry as Noland became, tried to get his partner to calm down for the second time since their opponents were coordinating a strategy that they can't match unless their sync is re-established. Damian then asked Noland if a so-called "best friend" of his would conspire with his father's killer. They were suddenly grabbed onto by Vulcan's fists who jokingly warned them that the time wasn't as long as they expected.

They were were swiftly lifted into the sky and were thrown into each other at high speeds, briefly incapacitating Drago since he was physically weaker than Gorem. Helios went in for the kill with a powerful fiery breath. Noland swiftly opened his gate card, Armored Enforcement, to coat Drago in a golden armor that was more than sturdy enough to withstand the flames. Allen had Gorem use his boosters to slam his feet into the ground quickly to get under Drago. He then grabbed Drago before he hit the ground and threw him at Vulcan at a very high speed so the latter could smash into him with his Novia Charge, which nearly knocked Vulcan out of the battle, sent him across the horizon, and accomplished the very thing he said would never happen: his armor cracked. Drago and Gorem rushed him while he was down without his fists in order to finish him off without interference from Helios, but Jamal seemed to be one step ahead of them since Helios rode one of Vulcan's fists to intercept them. As powerful as he was, he could not stop Drago and Gorem from their charge; thus, Vulcan was forced to use his fists to produce a heavy gravitational force to slow them down enough for Damian to execute one of his most powerful offensive attacks. While Helios was confined to one spot while this ability was active, it made his scales glow like the sun, and a mayhem of lasers shot everywhere. Vulcan was seemingly able to protect himself by firing a bunch of projectiles from the rings on his upper chest, seemingly providing a blast shield that negated the effects of Helios's ability on him entirely.

Gorem held strong by projecting a shield in front of him and anchoring his feet into the ground, but even his strength was being broken down by this barrage. Drago stayed next to him and supplied him with his own special powers to strengthen his ability. Even with Gorem anchored and Drago giving him that kind of power, they were being pushed back by the ability and were in deep trouble. Everyone knew it including Yita. She was very concerned about Noland and Allen losing at this point, but she silently begged for him to come up with a plan to survive before it's too late. Noticing that they've all been silent and relied purely on developed instincts with each other to carry them through, Drago and Gorem admits that they've lost if they don't come together in what could be their last attempt to win. Allen breaks the silence by asking if Noland and Drago could still use an ability akin to Power Bomb. Noland answered yes, but wondered why. Allen planned for Gorem to charge straight at Vulcan to get Helios to come within his range, discovering that to have been their strategy in the midst of their divide. Gorem will coat himself in energy, and Drago would then have to detonate his body. Drago was unsure if Gorem would be able to still walk if not die from that kind of stunt, but the golem ensured him that he didn't die from being hit by it at state, so it's not going to happen here.

So it was settled. Allen flipped over his gate, Monolith Broken, to raise a city with the powers of an Ability Breaker that quickly shut both Helios and Vulcan down. Allen then used an ability to coat Gorem in powerful energy just like he said, and he was aided by Drago's phoenix avatar to close the distance even faster. Helios did come to Vulcan's aid just like Allen predicted, but his power was underestimated. Due to how strong Damian was, Noland was forced to forego the plan of having Drago be the only one left standing and took flight alongside Gorem. He used clones of himself to act as shields for the duo while they get closer. Once they got close enough, Drago amplified his palm with the ability's power, and did not hesitate to place it onto Gorem's back. The explosive - nearly nuclear - aftermath caused by this maneuver immediately knocked Gorem out of the battle and sealed him into ball form. Drago, Helios, and Vulcan were the only ones left active on the field with their bodies buried in the dirt below them. Each of them got up, but now Drago was certain to lose to his two opponents. The saving grace for him was that their plan had worked. Helios and Vulcan could not withstand the combination he and Gorem pulled off, but neither could he. Each of them returned to their owners, and the battle was over. It was a tie; no one won and no one lost, but something was certainly lost: the trust that Noland and Allen had built with each other for so long.

Damian and Jamal were finally brought down in battle, but not without making sure the same happened for their enemies. They had close to nothing to say about the disappointment that they felt for not being able to win a battle for once, but they were at least satisfied that they had the means of combating the evil that they knew was in Noland and Allen. They introduced themselves as the two strongest members of Vestal, the Spartans, the organization that was formed to protect the serving queen and her brother, and they felt that it would later be their responsibility to protect the Earth from the Resistors before their corruption eventually extends to other parts of the world, maybe even theirs. Too shaken up about the confrontation with the Spartans and with each other, Noland and Allen couldn't form the words to speak with each other. They walked away from the cheering crowd with Noland taking the lead. Yita could not muster up the courage to reveal herself to him while he's in this state. She promised that she would do something he'd be proud of, and then she'll be there for him in the way that no one else can or will.

[Noland Hardy]