Episode 19: Out of the Shadows

[Noland Hardy]

It didn't take a full week for Xavier to begin work on the first mechanical Bakugan to be created using the battle data he presented to Dasia. He was reportedly working on the first one directly after Dasia half-authorized for it to begin. The masked person from before gave him a week's time for the Bakugan to be made, and then returned to check things out. He/she knew there was an access point in the Mother Palace's basement, but he/she was not comfortable taking that route since the guards were more active at that time as opposed to the frequent throne room hideouts. It also didn't help that face recognition was the method the Vestals used to get to and from Gamma City, so simply sneaking around wasn't going to cut it this time. His/her hands had to get dirty.

Not wanting the Mother Palace's Royal Guard on his/her back, the masked person chose to use an elevator that Vestal conveniently left active that no one uses: Beta City's elevator. He/she goes on the outskirts of the city to knock someone off of their motorbike to use for transportation. He/she gets to the abandoned city, and two scientists were wandering around aimlessly to see how the waters can be rid of their Hurranian pollution. The person ran one of them over with the bike. The other one was choked to death. 

Surprisingly, the one who got ran over was still conscious. That one was thrown into the water. The other one would be used to pass the face recognition test to unlock the elevator. All of this was successful. When he/she saw the elevator doors open upon arrival at Gamma City, the mission began. 

(Gamma City)

[Insidious]

The person stepped out of the elevator and was greeted with a very warm, but rocky, terrain. There was a short path and a downhill slope that acted as a bridge to the central building, and underneath it all explained why the climate was this way; a pool of lava was down there waiting for someone to make an improper step so they could sear their bodies upon contact.

"Wow. Deja vu," the masked person said when observing his/her surroundings. He/she made it to the bridge and descended the slope very carefully, making sure not to make any missteps.

When he/she got to the door, footsteps were heard. He/she moved to the side, narrowly out of the way to where an unaware person will not detect him/her. A take-down was definitely considered should whoever is coming sees anything, but that's not what happened. What took place was a couple of Royal Guard soldiers storming out of that door to take the Beta City elevator after the person he/she stole the motorbike from reported the crime and the general direction taken afterward. They didn't know about the scientists that were murdered just yet, but if they do, they may find out that someone is either in Beta City or in Gamma City. The time to act was surely now before they catch on.

He/she slipped into the facility after the last two soldiers exited. From there, all that needed to happen was for the person to come up with an organized path. "Okay...two things that need to be looked at here are: the Mechanical Bakugan and Krakix and Siege's containment," he/she thought about. "Hm...let's see how their security looks first before we try anything..."

[Insidious]

On the person's belt was a certain device that was likely to have been stolen off of someone he/she had killed. It was like a cloaking device that completely masked the wearer's appearance on any radar or camera systems. This made traversing the interior much easier given that any regular jamming device that affected the cameras themselves may make someone curious. He/she began moving very discreetly throughout the facility, searching for a way to get to Xavier.

While the hallways were mostly clear, the person eavesdropped on a conversation two workers were having while on their lunch break.

"Dude, this Mechanical Bakugan we're making is going too well, even for a prototype. Prince Xavier is really happy with this one," a woman said.

"That makes me even more mad that no one wants to tell me what it is. I haven't seen it yet," the man responds.

"We're making it in the frame of one of the Resistor's heavy hitters, Darkus Alpha Hydranoid. This one's going to be called Hades."

"Good choice, but why is it so special that all of you are making such a big deal about it?"

"The battle data from Hydranoid and Jamal's Vulcan are being used to craft its body and its intelligence. It'll have even more destructive capabilities and have the durability to withstand any hit it takes."

"Just what I like to hear," the masked person remarks in his/her thoughts. "Now tell me where to go."

"It's functional right now, but there are a couple of glaring weaknesses that it has right now, such as not being able to lift its own weight sometimes, but we're ironing out the kinks right now. It should only take about three more days before it's ready to be used."

"Now you turn it into something I don't want to hear. Nice job."

"Didn't that Hydranoid Bakugan use to belong to someone very dangerous? I remember hearing Prince Xavier talk about it one time. Someone named Nero, was it?"

"Yeah, but that's all in the past. That Hydranoid is a shadow of his former self anyway, so he's not that much of a threat anymore. Plus, this Hades has the power to do better than what he did. Imagine that kind of power in our hands and what it can do to the Hurranians. I can't wait until those bastards get blown up by it."

"Shame on him, but we shall see what it's capable of when I get my hands on it."

[Insidious]

Now even more curious about this Hades unit those two were speaking of, the person sought to make this Bakugan become his/hers despite it being unfinished. Based on the start of the conversation, he/she knows that one of them has worked on the Bakugan while the other has not, meaning that the woman in the room will likely lead him/her to where Hades is. There was finally a general direction to follow, but that was after the lady chose to leave and go back to her post.

The person kept a very sharp lookout of anyone else roaming the hallways to make sure he wasn't spotted. When no one was coming, he/she made very careful steps to make sure the sound of other people's footsteps was very clear. Before rounding a corner, a sound was heard. An automatic door was opened from the bottom to the top. Xavier himself walked out of it along with who appeared to be his head scientist. He/she stayed hidden around the corner and listened.

[Xavier Turano]

Xavier and the head scientist were walking back to the laboratory they were working at as they were having a small discussion on what was going on so far.

"I think this is very exceptional work, sir," the head scientist started off.

"The thanks mostly goes to all of you for handling this so well," Xavier commended. "Now only if the same could be said about the Royal Guard. They're starting to make me sick."

"Is this about the masked idiot running around playing grand theft auto?"

"Ah. So you've heard me yelling about that too?"

"We all did, sir."

"They're lucky they were down here as opposed to in the palace. I heard Dasia was furious. It's the first time I ever heard her cursing someone out."

"It's completely understandable. These are our lives, and their job is to make sure we're protected. They're failing at that job."

"And this is why we get along."

[Insidious]

Xavier and the head scientists approached a door that, when opened, led to a room filled with people, including some of the Royal Guard that must have stayed put. The person stopped tailing them when he/she saw that and knew that something had to be done to get in that room without being seen, attacked, and killed. "Hm...what to do...what to do..."

It appeared that an alternate path had to be taken since there was more security in there than initially expected. He had confidence that he could take Xavier, but not enough confidence to ensure he'd make it out if anyone else that's threatening is present. It was time to move on to Plan B, which was conveniently spawned thanks to the earlier conversation he eavesdropped on. It was time to see where the man was stationed at.

Backtracking to where he/she originally found the workers speaking with each other, he/she noticed that they had already left the room and more than likely went to their respective posts; although, he/she knew that already since the woman had to be dodged on his/her way back. The problem was finding the man. Luckily, that was never a problem. The man was still inside the room finishing his lunch while looking straight at him/her...and he was horrified.

The person closed the door as the man was about to dial for help. He/she lunged at the man, knocking him to the floor and dislodging his phone from his grip. He/she crushed the device with his/her foot as it was trying to reach Xavier. It was a tad bit too late since the call lasted long enough for Xavier to pick up, but they'll never know if he did or not since the phone has now been destroyed.

"You look terrified," he/she joked, fully aware of the man's reaction to his/her presence.

"P-p-please don't...I did nothing wrong. I'm just following orders."

"You don't even know why I'm here. Calm down. But...since we're on the topic, what is your role in all of this?"

"I...can't tell you that..."

"Even if I said I'd kill you if you didn't?"

"Y-yes."

"That's too bad. Your id is on your neck strap." He/she pointed specifically to it just to make sure the man was paying attention. "I just asked to see if you were loyal or not. I wasn't really going to kill you for that. Well...you're going to die anyway, but you're getting bonus points for trying to keep a secret. That sounds fantastic, doesn't it?"

"..."

"Just so you know on your way to wherever you're going once you die, I'll be going to your workstation and I'll cut the power, okay?"

"But...you don't want to do that. That'll release Krakix and Siege. They'll decimate everything..."

"That's nice. Anything else you want to warn me about?"

"..."

"No? Okay. Time to die." The person got the kill over with by apparently snapping his neck as seen in the way the body part was positioned while being shoved in a nearby cabinet. He/she then got ready to go to the power room.

[Insidious]

Locating the room wasn't very difficult. It was just as simple as wandering around very discreetly and relying on trial and error to finally find the entrance. The difficult part was not getting caught anymore. That was the first time in a long while that he/she has been caught while on a stealth mission. He/she was fortunate enough to have it happen in Gamma City. If it was the Mother Palace, he/she would be dead as it wouldn't have been a situation where someone can just be killed off for secrecy.

After five minutes of looking around the large building, he/she finally located the power room. Minimal resistance was to be expected; the electrician that was just killed didn't show any other than attempting to cry for help, so it would be reasonable to suspect that they weren't armed. The Royal Guard most likely were, but there was a high chance that even they wouldn't be in there, and he/she knew why.

"The guards should be kept busy with what happened in Alpha and Beta City. With Hades's creation, the bulk of their force should be in the room I refused to go in just in case anything went wrong. Another is probably watching Krakix and Siege. There shouldn't be a single guard in this room, so no worries." He/she causes the door to automatically open, startling all of the workers in there. Not a single guard was in sight. "See? Told ya."

He/she immediately beat all of them until they were unconscious and just threw their bodies to the side. There was a central console in the center of the room that controlled all of their power, much like their overall power source. He/she charged a very ominous power in their right fist and drove it into the console, completely shutting off the building's power and forcing their auxiliary power online. Shaking was what resulted once this came on; someone had been released, and it was powerful.

(Tension)

[Xavier Turano]

The shielding around the transparent barrier surrounding both Krakix and Siege deactivated, spooking the entire containment staff. The two have been dormant for quite a while, so no one really thought that it was more serious than it actually was - far above the red line from their code. It wasn't until they opened their eyes when the workers completely lost their wits and scrambled for the exit. They both broke out of their containment fields very easily. They gave each other a nod before going to work, Krakix giving his signature Chewbacca-like roar and Siege twirling his lance. They wasted everyone and everything in sight.

Prior to the semi-blackout, Xavier was going through the strengths of his Hades Bakugan. "Everyone, listen up. Here's what we have so far. As we've went over before, Hydranoid and Vulcan contributed the battle data that enabled us to advance this Bakugan beyond its base model. Its pros are: highly durable metal exoskeleton, hyper-lethal firepower, three omni-directional heads, six wings for aerial supremacy, multiple dragon heads in its interior that are detachable, four arms for close combat, clawed feet for stabilization, and the ability to perform a cyclone spin when standing."

Then there were the weaknesses. "Here are the cons: it is too heavy, meaning that it is slow on the ground and will have trouble holding it together if it gets knocked down; the sensors are not calibrated the way that they should be, and some of its attacks uses too much energy. The first and second flaw are fatal ones and MUST be fixed if it is to be viable. With that said, these problems should either be fixed or remedied as efficiently as possible once its out of the prototype stage. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir!" Everyone said in unison.

"Glad to hear it. What we should do now is..." Xavier's phone rang in the middle of his briefing. He picked up and heard an extremely panicky person on the other side. "You know, I've been meaning to ask about Robert. I haven't seen him since noon. Can you call him down here? ...Oh. He was found dead in the cabinet...his neck was snapped...Welp...considering the mood Dasia's in now, we died..."

The power then cut off, making the auxiliary power come on.

"...Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit." Even Xavier knew they were in serious trouble now.

"Oh no..." The head scientist knew what was about to happen next. "We died!"

"Hey, shut up! Get yourself together, man." He pointed directly to the Royal Guard in the room. "You know what to do." They armed themselves and headed downstairs to confront Krakix and Siege before they demolish the entire place. "As for all of you, get the hell out of here now."

[Insidious]

He/she sprinted out of the power room with extreme haste. The vibrations from the basement level were getting stronger by the minute, and it was only a matter of time before they got really acquainted with their bodies and jump their way upstairs. He/she went inside the main room where Hades was held not too long after the Royal Guard exited, but everyone else was still present in the room.

"Hey." Judging by the looks on everyone's faces, they were not very happy to see him/her standing there, especially when they've heard of his/her exploits throughout Vestal and had the nerve to stand in front of them there. "You ladies and gentlemen remember me, right? I'm that masked troublemaker everyone and their mother has been talking about. How's your day so far?"

He/she was tempted to laugh. Asking them a question like that after what has already been done will surely piss someone off in the room. It was mainly for Xavier's reaction since he/she thought it'd be funny to see.

[Xavier Turano]

The head scientist gasps at the mask's presence. "Look, there it is," he whispered. "The most ridiculous-looking mask anyone has ever seen."

"Oh, come on! Is that really the first thing that comes to mind? He's here to kill us! Forget the damn mask! ...It does look stupid though."

Looking to finally confront this masked person, Xavier stepped up out in front of everyone. As expected, he wasn't too thrilled about the carefree entrance or demeanor. He drew his saber just as he was taking the steps towards him/her, intending to really cut some sense into him/her. "If you think that entrance is supposed to be funny, then you're sorely mistaken, freak. The only thing they'll be discussing from now on is how clean your head came off of your body!" Xavier rushed at the person with very impressive speed and made a quick horizontal slash.

[Insidious]

Xavier ran faster than most people on Earth would when trying to kill the masked person. "Gosh. You must really want me dead." Then Xavier took a swing. He/she looked for the direction the saber would come from before making a move. It was horizontal, coming from his/her left. The person's body glowed with a dark purple, giving him/her inhuman reflexes to the length of being able to effectively avoid being cut by the blade.

He/she moved in the same direction the blade was going. The right elbow was smashed into Xavier's face - specifically a little above his mouth - as he/she moved to the side. The left arm was placed near the blade's hilt so that he/she could be ready to grab it as soon as the hit made Xavier's grip loosen. Once it did, he/she took the hilt. This entire process looked exactly like all he/she had to do was turn around without moving that much.

"I thought you said you wanted to behead me. That looked like you were trying to separate the halves of my body." Obviously poking fun at Xavier's fatal mistake, he/she got straight down to business. "You know, that's a nice looking Bakugan you made there. It'd be a tragic shame if it went missing."

[Xavier Turano]

"Um...that wasn't supposed to happen." The head scientist consulted with a nearby scientist about it. "Xavier's strikes are faster than Dasia's, and not only is he the best swordsman, but this guy dodged it like it was nothing. Should we be scared now?"

They all backed away from the person while someone was trying to sneak their way to the activation console to activate Hades to wipe him/her out. As for Xavier, he wasn't doing all that well. Having been disarmed and getting hit above his lip - giving him a bruise and blood along the top in the inside of his mouth, Xavier was defenseless against this masked brute...

"Don't worry. It'll stay right where it is." Xavier pressed a button on his BakuMeter in order for an electric shock - specifically on 450 hertz - to be administered to the holder of the weapon, making the weapon virtually unusable until the activator ceases the process or it returns to the rightful owner. "You're obviously on another level if you're able to move that fast. What are you?"

[Insidious]

The electric shock was a very shocking surprise. He/she released it as quick as he/she could as even their capabilities didn't mean he/she was an invulnerable god of destruction. He/she clenched his/her fist, apparently affected by the pain of the electric shock. "Me? I'm no one special. I'm a wolf in sheep's clothing. That's all anyone should know for now." The hilt of the weapon was intentionally kicked back to Xavier despite the danger the weapon itself posed. "You can have this back. You pose no threat to me with it anyway. It's better in your hands than in mine considering you'll shock me over and over again."

Sights were then turned to the Bakugan of honor, Hades. "I overheard one of your employees talking about how you were essentially stealing battle data from the Resistors and Spartans and using them to fuel their destructive capabilities. This should be the first of a possible six. My question to you is: do you think you did a good enough job for it to be used in a few...tough battles?"

[Xavier Turano]

Xavier picked up his weapon as he returned to his feet. It was critical that he understands that this was possibly a reason why this person was so elusive: he moved too fast. "With that kind of advanced movement, I won't be able to make contact. Whoever this is will keep beating me every time." It was obvious that the only reason why he has the weapon back in his hands was out of pity. The move was highly disrespectful, but he couldn't do anything to stop it, at least not with his bare hands.

"Whatever we do is none of your business, so stop talking like you're already going to take Hades. I don't care what kind of powers you have. You're on my turf, so you're going to play by my rules." Xavier was aware that his team was proceeding to activate Hades, which seemed to be the only way to stop him/her since anything physical was obviously not going to work for any of them.

They eventually succeeded in bringing it online. Hades was released from its cords and was free to take commands. The first one... "Kill him!" Hades began approaching the masked person, swiping its spiky tails at him/her and firing when appropriate (obviously not wanting to hit any of the scientists).

[Insidious]

"Oh, I beg to differ, Prince Turano." He/she activated their power once again to ensure he/she got out of the way of Hades's powerful blasts on time, and it also assisted with mounting one of its tails - definitely not on the spiky areas - jump atop of its central head. "Your sister forgot to let you know about one key detail you may have needed to know before you started making this Bakugan. I was present when you two had your discussions - every single one of them."

Hades started spinning his head and flailing about to get him/her off of it. He/she continuously platformed around Hades's upper body while continuing to discuss the matter. "Earth is digging you out of the hole Zenoheld placed you in three centuries ago. You never felt guilty about the Hurranians showing up on their planet because the batch left on Farbros was destroyed along with it, meaning that you weren't the one responsible for putting them there. You saw an opportunity to get them to shut up, so you duped them with your battle suits. In exchange, you can finally build the army your father implied for you to build. Unethical, but smart, thinking, but you made a critical mistake."

At that moment, Krakix and Siege broke through the floor outside of the room and welcomed themselves in there. Hades was not quick enough on the trigger to shoot them thanks to the masked person, so it was knocked down on its hip before it fired, meaning that all of the workers near the console operating Hades were shot instead. They disintegrated on impact. The only scientist left alive was the head, but that would soon change. "You've awakened a Gundalian because of your creations, and there's two Bakugan in this room that were very close to him. You want to take a guess on who they might be and what it could mean for you if anyone figures out that they were infected in your custody? Should I go tell them now?"

He/she jumped to the console, pushed some buttons in a very complicated fashion, and ejected a device that would enable him/her to control Hades by himself/herself, effectively claiming ownership of the Bakugan. "Yeah. Hades and I will pay them a visit. Just make sure to clean yourself up before I come back. You look like you just got your ass kicked easily." He/she hopped aboard Hades and commanded it to fly straight through the ceiling. Krakix and Siege were in hot pursuit.