Episode 8: Diplomatic Immunity

[Noland Hardy]

Noland and Tank led Lydia back to the hospital where everyone lied with haste. When she saw their condition and attempted to use her power - linking with Angelight who confused Noland and Tank greatly due to her human form even when Lydia explained the circumstances of Angelight's lack of a ball form to them- to do exactly what they asked for, she was speechless, horrified, and fearful. These feelings weren't because of the debilitating illness destroying their bodies. She felt this way because she had felt stress for the first time in a long while in a medical situation.  There were two people that the CIA Director trusted enough to wander into restricted areas that very well have played a part in saving her life back there, and here her power was essentially delaying the inevitable. Angelight didn't know the Hurranians by name, but she did sense their presence and noted that they were unable to destroy them, meaning that their medical procedures were useless as the damage would still catch up to their bodies quicker than Lydia and Angelight can heal them. Drago caught on to what she was referring to and attributed this to the Hurranians. Frustrated, Noland unintentionally charged his power into his fist and slammed it in a nearby table. This released an energy wave that affected the nearby Alana in a way that was pleasing to Angelight; she noticed that Noland and Drago's power was a suitable counter since he destroyed some of the Hurranians with that burst. Tank wondered if there was a way they could all combine their power into one so they can destroy the Hurranians in their bodies to prevent them from counteracting the healing by dealing more damage. This gave Lydia an idea.

She instructed Noland to hold her hand and power up. He quickly complied, supplying all of the power necessary for Lydia and Angelight to dispel the plague from within. She informed them that they would need to rest before being able to rise again. She also mentioned that they were lucky since the damage the Hurranians were doing would have become irreversible if they didn't offer a response at the time that they did. Tank sat down at a nearby chair to finally settle down since the threat was finally over. He apologized to Lydia for his brash demeanor, which she slowly understood when she thought of how her and Alex feel about Daniel and what they're willing to do to see him set free. Noland also expressed his gratitude afterward. Lydia looks down at Alana and remarks on the impossibility of ever curing a certain pain that she has. She expressed that she brought this up because the battle with Alex and the mentioning of Daniel made her realize that Noland's situation isn't too different from hers. She didn't want him and Tank to get the wrong impression of Alex over what he tried to do to her since she knows that he's one of the kindest people in the universe. The same goes for Daniel despite the countless atrocities he's responsible for. She admits being ignorant to the tension between Noland, Allen, and Alana, but she wants him to promise himself that he'll use Alex's feelings towards Daniel as inspiration for what he can do to change the course of their lives since this occurrence only reminds them all of how life can be robbed out of nowhere and not to wait until after they're dead to say that they're sorry. She exchanged contact information with Noland - briefly threatening him to consider this instance as him not having it - so that she can be close by whenever the Hurranians try this again as they seemed to be the only ones capable of treating it. She began to wonder how Noland and Tank managed to avoid infection though, but she didn't pay attention to it as she went about her business. Angelight vaguely mentioned that Noland seemed to be very different in comparison to the rest. Whether she meant that as a good or bad thing remains to be certain.

Noland called Montai back to update her on the situation and graciously thanked her for telling them about Lydia. She was happy to assist considering that they did so much to help them out in the past. Noland made an attempt to get information on Daniel using what Alex said to him during the battle as a reference, but she hesitantly turned him down on the grounds that it was something that is better for him not to get involved in rather than pull the "confidential" card on him. He then asked if she knew that Daniel was being fought in order to delay what seemed like the inevitable according to Alex's words. Shrieking at the amount of confidential information he knew, she regretfully told him that it was their job to protect all of them, especially him, Daniel, the real one rather than the one manipulated by this fiendish Bakugan. Tank nonchalantly suggested that they could just not think about Daniel when engaging the Bakugan to make it easier on themselves. He pointed out that the Bakugan is simply outwitting all of them using strategy since it knows that none of them will actually kill Daniel, so his body can be used for anything it desired without any repercussions, especially when none of them seemed to have any good ideas as to removing it entirely rather than participating in the shadow games. Knowing that he had a point, Montai conceded that their current stance on the situation, while in Alex and Lydia's favor, is not only as flawed as he says it is, but is regretfully the best they could do since the Bakugan truly was on a level that prevented them from acting any other way. 

The same masked individual from before is seen walking along the battle-ridden path in "No Man's Land" without a care that anyone might see him/her. The person looks around to see signs of struggle as if the Pack were still there coordinating their hellish attacks on the people and Bakugan around them, and he/she sighed. A Hurranian-controlled Belphenoid, Asmodeus, and Abbadon somehow spawned in dangerous proximity. Instead of attack as they usually would, all the Pack did was approach the person slowly and scowl before digitizing at the swatting away of the person's hand. "Idiots..." Another containment capsule is broken at the site to release another batch of Hurranians, and they scatter to find their next victims.

On the opposite side, the Spartans were being treated to dinner by Dasia in the palace. She did this to announce to them that they were finally going to go to Earth, which shook Xavier to the core since he was under the impression she was searching for Appolonir, making her trip to Earth seem very unorthodox based on what she said to him. Deon immediately sold Xavier out by informing her that they were already there, shocking him so greatly that he dropped his silverware upon hearing it and had his mouth wide-open with despair that things were about to get ugly. Damian wondered if doing that was to make him feel better that he got whooped by Seiki. Deon casually told him that it was because he doesn't like Xavier. Jamal suggested that they do the same to him one day since he's not very liked either. Dasia was frozen in a glare directed towards Xavier, and it didn't seem like she was going to lose eye contact either. Only on the next day when she transported herself and him to Earth was when she could figure out how much damage he actually caused, if any were to be reported.

[Dasia Turano]

The decision to show up to Earth without the Spartans in tow was a very risky choice on Dasia's part, but completely understandable. She wasn't sure what Xavier could have had them doing on Earth so early. She knew it couldn't have been anything good if Deon's loss to Seiki was any implication that the rest of them engaged the Resistors in combat. Actions like that obviously wouldn't leave a good first impression on them, especially with people like Damian, Yita, and Deon who are very skilled in pissing people off. She decided that she would be better off without them in case any of them garnered any hatred that could be extended towards her before she does what she has to do there.

Surprisingly, her earlier showing of anger towards Xavier and her apparent seriousness about the situation didn't stop her from getting distracted by the numerous stores she came across. She was particularly interested in Dunkin Donuts and Baskin Robbins. Xavier wanted to hurry her along so they could get what she had planned over with. Dasia then asked him if he was now starting to see how irritating it was when someone deviates from the objective, indirectly referencing Xavier's own actions that matched that description. Although she primarily said that to make him feel guilty, she took a liking to some of the food the "earthlings" were eating.

Since Xavier had already been to Earth himself and through the usage of Farbros, Dasia started asking him questions on what the best course of action was to get in contact with whoever their leader is. Xavier suggested for her to think like someone was trying to speak to her on Vestal, but with stricter limitations on how it could be done. As he said this, Montai somehow crossed their view when she went inside Dunkin Donuts for some coffee. Dasia complimented her looks and noticed that she looked very similar to the person that replaced Nero as the CIA Director. Unsure of how Dasia gets so lucky to never have to do things the hard way, Xavier confirmed that who they saw was that person. They walked back inside and sat her down so they can have a chance to speak with the president. After having to convince Montai that Dasia was who she said she was by summoning all six Spartans on demand, their wish was granted; however, Montai said that she wanted to have a talk with them first.

[Noland Hardy]

Eager to see the Resistors again, Horridian split himself into three using his End Guardner Alpha ability to call upon each individual to "No Mans Land" for a conference that they could tell no one about. The presence of the Vestal queen was not mentioned to any of them. All he did to coerce them into coming was for them to have an update on what was going on with the Hurranian situation that almost killed them. Seiki was an entirely different story though. Horridian kidnapped her without saying a word just to make sure she wouldn't have the opportunity for an objection even though it was highly likely she wouldn't given the circumstances.

Everyone began reminiscing on the war against the Pack when they were walking down that old familiar road to their destination. The eerie feeling was definitely mutual between them all, especially since the Hurranians have acquired the necessary DNA samples to revive the Pack in their likeness. Noland and Tank were the only ones in the group that were aware of this. They figured nearly dying was enough of a traumatizing experience for them as it was. Telling them that they're former worst enemy is now under the influence of their new nemesis wasn't even a thought that they came up with at the time. Perhaps this was a bad idea, but neither of them were bothering themselves about it.

They were escorted back into the super-secret building that was only accessible by a hidden transporter. The interior looked very fresh from their last visit, which was likely a sign that the repairs were going very smoothly and all things that could be attached to Nero were completely expunged from the organization entirely, save for Montai and a couple of her friends that actually avoided being met with criminal charges. Horridian led them to Montai who was occupying Nero's old office space. She then led them to a conference room with Dasia and Xavier sitting at the other end of the huge oval table in the center of the room.

[Dasia Turano]

As soon as they entered the room, Montai allowed all of the Resistors to take their seats. Then she proceeded to get this over with. "Alright, your 'highness.' They're all here," she announced. "Before you introduce yourself to them, I need you to do me a quick favor."

Dasia gracefully responded, "What would you like done?"

"Call them here, please. Every last one of them."

"Reason?"

"I figured it would be obvious what's going on here. Based on your activity, you should already know that these seven are among the most dangerous brawlers on the planet. You're unarmed, and you've pissed them off."

Horridian added, "Your guards might be able to protect you when these guys get motivated to kill you both where you sit."

Knowing that she was being threatened by actions started by her brother, Dasia was not very amused to hear that her Spartans have been showing out on Earth, especially when she never authorized anyone to make the jump so early. "Sure." Six figures then showed up behind her out of a dimensional tunnel, revealing themselves to be the Spartans that have pestered the Resistors already. "Is there anything else you'd like me to do?"

[Markus Hederick]

"So this is what's going on here? You're the queen of these punks?" Gargulion realized. "Yeah. The lady was definitely doing you a favor by calling them here. You do not want to be in a room with us by yourselves. EVER, especially when it comes to them."

Markus's face lit up the moment he saw those six bastards appear behind her. "You know what? There is something I'd like you to do. Not just for me, but for all of us," he answered. "The best decision you could make right now that would benefit everyone in this room and on this planet is for both of you to take the majority of your Spartans back to your home planet with you, and die in any way you see fit."

"See? Even though that escalated a bit too fast there, I told you so. You better watch your back."

"I've had the pleasure of not getting bullied by any one of you for my past, but the same can't be said for some of us sitting in here. There aren't any words I could say to describe the amount of disgust and outrage I feel just by seeing and hearing how these bastards have been treating people. The thought that either of you have leadership over them makes me sick beyond belief, and it makes me wonder why you've bothered to get in the cage with us in the first place. As a matter of fact, you didn't enter this country legally anyway, and after what you've done, I'd argue in favor of expunging the lot of you whether it's through deportation back to Vestal or by your own deaths."

[Dasia Turano]

Seeing the Darkus Resistor directly threaten them all like that made the Spartans ready for conflict. Xavier didn't budge at all since he knew what was coming. He also knew what Dasia was going to do about it, so he preferred not making her anger higher than it already is. The rest of them didn't seem to get the memo since they looked like they were about to attack Markus for what he said. It started with the simple how dare you's and how he'll be taught a lesson. Dasia shut all of that down. She shut it down really fast.

"That is enough!!" she yelled, forcing all who heard her voice to freeze in motion. "All of you, sit down, and shut up."

"And we're only getting started," Montai chuckled as the Spartans did as she asked.

"Listen, Miss. I came here to give you a warning, not to have a scenario of our deaths laid out in front of us every time someone talks!"

"It's a shame how life works, doesn't it? We got what we didn't ask for as well. All is fair in a reality that isn't fair, wouldn't you say?"

"What damage did my Spartans cause that the Resistors didn't already cause themselves?"

[Noland Hardy]

Tank didn't waste any time exposing Damian, Jamal, and Yita for causing the said damage and argued on the Resistor's behalf that all they wanted to do was go about their business peacefully without having the three of them purposely attacking their humanity. He disrespectfully requested the name of the person that led the Hurranians to their planet so he could beat them into the ground for what Katherine and everyone else went through.

Xavier warned him that they were on their last legs of giving uncontested threats before they set them straight.

Hearing his voice made Noland recognize that it was him speaking through Farbros and happily pointed him out to Tank. He also made it clear to Xavier that anything he threatens them with is nothing in the face of the Hurranians, so they could easily manage him.

Before they could go to blows, Tracy rose from her seat to impede Noland and Tank's progress. Tank warned her to move out of the way, but she strongly refused, suggesting that murdering him will still have the Hurranians on the planet regardless. Noland was dumbfounded at Tracy for not being angry at all about the people that could have contributed to her death earlier; he thought she was too nice for her own good and it allowed people like the Vestals to take advantage of her. While that was going on, Dasia was arguing with Xavier over the handling of the situation and made a big fuss on why he didn't just retreat if Noland rejected the offer.

Allen compared the argument to Noland and Alana's bickering in his head. He came forward to call the siblings irresponsible for getting the Resistors involved in a conflict they didn't ask to be put in and for endangering the entire world.

Piggybacking off of the point Allen made, Seiki complained about being pulled straight back into the mess. She gave several reasons why she didn't want to battle anymore - reasons including post-traumatic stress, clear indifference to brawling, and facing even more monsters. Ahio stopped her from going any further by shortening it to this simple fact: she wanted to be left alone.

Montai smiled at Xavier and Dasia, apparently giving them the apparent signal of 'she told them so.' Dasia wanted them to just say what they wanted. Montai urged them to clean up the mess they have made before the Hurranians scoop them up. Dasia responded by asking Montai to schedule a meeting with the President so they can work out a deal since she doesn't want to speak with her anymore.

During the time leading up to that meeting, Dasia pestered her brother to dig them out of this mess since he was considered to be the one responsible for the outbreak. Xavier saw this as an opportunity as a strategic business move, so he suggested the selling of their battle suits, a recent upgrade he was passing around to the Royal Guard for testing. He theorized that Earth's forces could benefit from the upgrade across society and can combat the Hurranians effectively should the need arise. She reluctantly agreed to this plan and sorted out the deal with the President when she returned to the States with the Spartans as bodyguards.

[Noland Hardy]