Episode 20: The Mask Comes Off

[Insidious]

Even as much as he/she has been traveling incognito, to expect someone else would be doing the same thing and eagerly await the moment in which they can kill him/her would be unreasonable. Then again, it wouldn't be unreasonable to think that no one didn't want him/her dead after what has happened on Vestal in the past few months. This one was a different situation though. Krakix and Siege were infected by the Hurranians, and this person was controlling them without any issues. It could be argued that this would just be another case similar to what pros were doing in the PBL, but even their Bakugan had noticeable anger issues except for one special case. Whether it was likely that this was the same situation or not was unclear, but it was something to think about; whoever is under that mask may be more dangerous than him/her because of this factor.

At least the Valiant Strive mode his/her previous attacker was using got cancelled by the girl's interference. Now energy wouldn't have to be used to finish him off. All of the attention can be turned to the unknown attacker; although, if the two watchers still attacked him/her after seeing what this other person is bringing to the table, then death will have to be their only option.

"The feeling's mutual, but is that really all you want to say to me? You're not going to tell how you know so much about a weapon like Hades or how you're making two Hurranian-controlled Bakugan behave in front of these two nosy idiots?" he/she asked. "It seems I left some alive that I didn't intend to, so let's get that fixed now. Ability activate! Phaser Trident!" Hades's three heads opened their mouths to unleash powerful lasers capable of breaking the ground apart just by going over it. Making contact with the ground simply left large craters in its wake.

[Vengeance]

"I think you and I both understand by now that we don't need to explain anything to anyone while in the process of killing someone," he/she responded. "Go, Dive Mirage and Terra Exclamation!" Siege joined together with Krakix to give both of them the ability to dive underneath, effectively bypassing the need to face the wrath of Hades's blasters. While submerged, Krakix sent bursts of energy along the ground until it closed in on Hades's position, detonating right under its nose. The force of it was enough to get its feet off of the ground, surely in a position to topple over.

"Since you're clearly aware of how much knowledge I have of Hades, then you should also realize that I can exploit all of its weaknesses, right?" Krakix sprang up from the ground and had his sword primed to smash into Hades. "Ability activate! Infernal Bash!" The blade overflowed with power to make it stand out even more in its length and width. With this boost, he lifted it above his shoulder and slammed it into Hades, causing an explosion on its armor capable of rocketing it to the ground below.

"Void Driver!" Siege kept up the momentum by coming out of the ground with the darkus version of his weapon in hand - sharp, poisoned-tip, lance. A foul aura enhanced his being as he continuously drove it into Hades's hull, pushing it backwards continuously without any signs of letting it go. "It's your turn," he/she alluded to towards the attempting killing blow; Krakix planted his blade into the ground and watched a steady line of explosions occur throughout the area in front of him, and the opposing masked person was in its line of fire.

[Insidious]

There was a little bit of concern that Hades's weight was being exploited. The hit caused some damage to Hades, which was more than he/she could say from the previous battle. Now Siege was trying to literally rip right through Hades's exoskeleton. He/she was in trouble.

If that wasn't enough to cause a bit of a scare, Krakix was about to kill him/her. "Not shocking to me at all, but here's two things you may want to be aware of if you think that alone is going to end me." The person became cloaked in darkness in anticipation of Krakix trying to include him/her in the firing line. A button was quickly pressed on the BakuMeter, alerting Hades to the imminent danger. The left mouth was opened to shoot the same tether-like substance used on Dante earlier. It launched the man/woman into the air to avoid death. "One. I can do that, but you can't. Two..." The person landed right on top of Siege's helmet. "I can bet on your life that I know Krakix and Siege better than you do."

"Ability activate! Spatial Transmission!" Using the aforementioned dimensional transporter, Hades's central head was lifted up to get a good look at Siege and shot a microscopic orb that turned into a dimensional portal. The person dismounted Siege when he/she saw this process to be completed. Once that was done, the right head looked around Siege to see Krakix; another orb was shot in his direction. Siege was consumed by the portal and emerged from where the other orb - opening up to be a portal - acted as the exit point, right in Krakix's face so he could be pierced instead.

[Vengeance]

"Bushido Shield, now." Krakix surrounded himself in a visually-impressive aura that enabled him to catch the spear within a couple of inches of striking him with his bare hands. He didn't move a single centimeter when doing so. He dispelled the power on Siege's lance, saving him from striking down his partner. He patted Siege on the shoulder to forgive him for the forced misunderstanding and returned to face the hydra once more.

"You've done a really good job showing how much you know so far. You're losing," the person sarcastically said in mockery of how Hades is being handled against Krakix and Siege. "I shouldn't blame you for your ignorance though. All of that time spent in the darkness really made you less of who you thought you were."

Siege shifted his weapon to the Ventus variant - a polearm with a gust of wind enchanted onto its tip. "Double ability activate! Homura Firestorm plus Thunder Probe!" Siege utilized Asmodeus's ability to send lightning bolts into the sky. Aided by the searing storm of flames Krakix excreted from his body, Siege was able to summon a catastrophic storm that had actual lightning bolts striking everywhere. It was like a natural disaster.

"Now, Krakix. Deadly Nebulous!" Krakix took the throwing star off of his back and held it straight up. A lightning bolt struck it, amplifying it with the destructive properties of a real lightning bolt. Krakix then threw it at Hades, giving it a real taste of what destruction really is.

[Insidious]

He/she stood there with the gusting winds blowing through his/her face and the lightning bolts threatening to strike without a hint of worry. The lightning-enhanced Deadly Nebulous may potentially cause some problems, but that was if Hades was as normal as this individual was thinking it was just because of a few disadvantages. Everything had faults, but there was definitely one thing that wasn't a con: Hades wasn't weak, and neither was he/she.

"Coming from you, I'm honored to hear you say that. It must take a lot of Hurranian manipulation to finally become intelligent about someone else's past," he/she fired. "Ability activate! D2 Shield!" Hades became electrified using the energy of its own battery. It was struck by lightning, allowing the hydra to supercharge its own battery. This allowed for a stronger defense option than usual since the ability was supposed to amplify it's exoskeleton's integrity. It took four arms to hold the throwing star back, but it was all that was needed to block out its power and render it useless since its armor was already strong enough to contain the attack originally.

"Sorry. I thought you were winning. That attack should have done me in. My mistake. Anything else you know about me?"

[Vengeance]

"You're cutting it very close by using Hades as a lightning-rod. You're overloading its battery." Siege jumped into the air, front flipped, and was about to land back on the ground with the polearm poised to slam the ground.

"Ability activate! Gustaph Blade!" Siege's ground slam with his polearm literally blew Hades off of the ground, sending it backwards with the extreme amount of wind power.

"Gaia Control!" He exchanged it for his Subterra weapon, a jagged lance. He held it up, causing the ground underneath Hades to follow its direction. Multiple large rocks were hurled towards the airborne Hades from multiple directions, apparently exploiting its inability to track multiple things at the same time. This was sure to cause some heavy internal damage to the beast.

Krakix put his sword on his waste and was ready to finish Hades off with a bang. "Enough talk. This is it for you. Now you're going to be the victim. Ability activate! Argon Cannon!" Krakix retracted his hands to turn them into cannons. Each cannon started charging a red orb. Reportedly, it either defeated or destroyed anything it touched. At least, that's what this particular attack was known to do. No one could be safe, not even Hades.

[Insidious]

He/she didn't look particular concerned about the fact Hades's battery was being pushed to its limits by using it in that way. "That sounds like something you should be worried about. You're going to be the target, not me," he/she hinted at with their next move. "Ability activate! Photon Tail!" Hades used its tails as a means of destroying the incoming debris rather than rely on its sensors, which was presumably what the opponent was trying to get at. Each one fired lasers and flailed around to ensure that no stone was left to threaten it.

"Likewise, I believe I let you amuse me for too long. I've already been held up, so let's bring an end to this little game. Ability activate! Soul Taker!" Hades opened its mouths and flashed its eyes. A steady stream of smoke-like energy emerged from Krakix and Siege and flowed into Hades's mouths where they were swallowed. The powerful forms both of those Bakugan represented were now diminished, but Hades became more powerful, powerful enough to outrank everyone in the area by a large margin.

"You really thought someone like you would have a chance...silly. Knowing is only half the battle, and you failed to even recognize that part of the equation since you thought those two Bakugan - even though they're very strong - stood a chance against me." He/she inputted the final ability card that would need to be used. An ability on the scale of the one used on Dante wasn't even necessary. "As I said earlier, the murderous feeling is mutual between you and I. You came here to kill me, so it's only fitting that you came here to be killed by me. Ability activate! Gravity Bind" Hades flew above the weakened Krakix and Siege. It used its turbine capabilities to rapidly spin in the air, using the natural lightning energy absorbed earlier as a means of increasing the speed of its rotation. A transparent, electrified barrier was erected around Hades while it was in motion. The force of it was strong enough to pull his opponents inward.

"Goodbye. Oh, and before you die, you'll leave on a good note knowing that your efforts to destroy me were futile. Other than how weak you are, the reason is...you lack the power to make me re-experience death."

[Vengeance]

"What kind of freak are you....?" Krakix and Siege were pulled into the gravity-producing sphere of doom. Even though the situation looked grim, he/she refused to allow that to intimidate him/her. "I'm not losing to you! I won't allow it! Ability activate! Flaming Tempest!" Krakix and Siege nodded to each other. They curled into a ball and got rolling, enveloping themselves in a fireball with an identical formation process to Hades's Gravity Bind. They were hoping to clash with the attack, not like they had any other choice.

The collision resulted in a harsh explosion that blew up the area that had already got blown up...several times. Krakix and Siege were laid out on the ground severely injured. Right next to them was the masked individual controlling them, also laid out on the ground. The mask was split right down the middle, threatening to come off with even the slightest movement.

"I don't believe this..." Whoever it was pressed a button on the BakuMeter so Krakix and Siege could conjure a very familiar vortex up above, the same one previously used by the Pack to summon Bakugan from the Doom Dimension. The person's body dissolved in a bright light that went into the said vortex, and then it disappeared. Krakix and Siege then returned to their feet, exhausted, but not dead yet.

[Insidious]

Before the end result would be shown, a certain question was asked that totally deserved an answer. "Oh, it's not really hard to figure out who I am. It's very simple actually. I'm just a guy in a mask that takes pleasure in killing certain people, mainly Vestals," he/she explained. "I thought you saw that already."

The attack completely devastated the area...again. The opposing masked person was defeated and injured as a penalty for losing. With the mask somewhat broken, the person's actual voice could be heard, but it wasn't very audible. "Hm...that sounded very feminine," he/she noticed. Then the person dissolved and departed from the premises before anything could be done to finish the person off. "I'd be very surprised if that was a man behind that mask. I don't know of any man that would have that kind of voice."

With the immediate threat taken care of, he/she turned his/her attention to Alex and Lydia who were busy staring at the battle the whole time. "I'd rather not kill anyone here since I'm supposed to be helping, so I'll make you a deal. You can either forget what you saw here and let me go do what I have to do to save your pathetic planet, or I choose the most convenient option: destroy this planet so there's no more risk." Hades landed on the ground and faced the two. "What's your pleasure?"

[Alex Andersen]

Conflict between the two ended in defeat of the one who led a warrior and a Siege Bakugan through the streets. From what Alex could notice the one who lost was certainly a female, but gender and things like that did not matter at the very least. The one who came on the mechanical Hydranoid was the victor and he was saying some weird things to Alex and Lydia. Saying that he was saving their world and telling them to forget what they had seen. However...

"For heaven's sake..." Alex began. "Hearing those words coming from a freak like you..." He intended to say something, but it looked like he had something stuck inside his throat. "Ghh...what the..." He gasped at the uncomfortable sensation and grabbed himself by his neck.
When he opened his mouth again it looked like some sort of black sand was coming out of his mouth and spreading around without landing on the ground.
Alex fell on his knee as he had lost his consciousness. In a few seconds he started rising once again, but for some ungodly reason his entire body was now surrounded...in a black aura. It looked like he was claimed by death itself.

Once he finally got up after that fall and set his eyes on the masked person his face was visible. His hair became spiky and was surrounded in dark dust. On both of his cheeks there were two black scars emitting dark-blue light. It looked like he was smiling and two longer teeth could be noticed extending from his upper jaw; two fangs. As that was not enough to freak someone out it would just take to look him in the eyes. His eyeballs turned pitch-black with his pupils becoming completely red and acquired form of serpent's eyes. "I will gladly answer it to you." Alex said now.

No...it was not him. Not anymore. There was a thin line of his voice in there, but a much darker and creepier voice took over. It was not Alex's personality. "Splendid. Splendid. SPLENDID!" This dark person exclaimed in joy. Whoever he was he seemed overjoyed about something. "You little feeble creatures...feeble minds. Watching you scratch each others' faces is always so amusing I almost feel sorry for what I plan to do...hehehehehe..." Dark person maniacally laughed partially using Alex's voice and partially his own. He looked at the masked person before them with an evil smile on his face and demonic eyes preparing to say something else.

"Seeing how weak you and your toy are now I almost felt the need to interfere. In order for my plans to work I required your victory today...hehehe...congratulations..." Dark person said to the masked person and started clapping as in some sort of sarcasm of his. He then looked at terrified Lydia, Angelight and Dante and turned his sight back on the masked person. "Too bad you are saving the planet...when I am working so hard to obliterate it...Hehehehe...How UNFORTUNATE!!" Dark person yelled loudly, but with some sort of joy on the face.

"I still need these kids for my plans to work and YOU....you have fulfilled your suicidal purpose." Dark person said with another laughter at the end of the sentence. He looked at the masked person with evil eyes of a serpent. "I will be very polite today and let you leave with your life if you leave my eyesight this instant. Otherwise, you might cease to exist...You don't want that...do you?" Dark person asked with a bit sarcastic and yet threatening voice.

Dark aura started to grow bigger and stronger around Alex's body. The dark one put his hands in the pockets and looked at the masked person with an evil smile. Darkness coming from this aura was so terrifying that it was practically driving Lydia into madness considering how reactive her senses were to powers of other individuals. Even the masked person could feel infinite amounts of threatening darkness coming from whatever that thing in Alex's body was. Message for the masked person was clear: leave.
Sky turned black. Clouds started forming an unusual mass in the sky; something like a black hole. A large opening in the sky appeared and was surrounded by clouds in circle formation. Even more darkness could be felt coming from that black hole; like a huge mass of evil and despair threatening to crush everything in its way.

"D-...Dark Hole Phenomenon..." Dante said in huge fear while looking at the sky clad in darkness and his brawler being taken over by pure evil. Not even the masked person or their mechanical Bakugan seemed so dark. Not even Virus who lived in Daniel's body was capable of producing such darkness...how can then a human....

[Insidious]

"What's that?" The darkness that arose from Alex out of nowhere started threatening him/her and flaunting its power. Regardless of whether or not the power coming from it was immeasurable, he/she wasn't easily intimidated.

"Yes, it is rather unfortunate that I'm opposing you, isn't it?" he/she sarcastically responded back. "Your goal would've been better off if our roles were reversed. The plan would've been critically close if not complete, I'd follow my own rules since I am in full control of my own body, and I can do the required work myself. That would only work if I was known for donating to the needy. Better luck having that work on someone else."

It didn't appear like he/she should have been talking like that according to the looks on everyone's faces. Leaving would probably be the best thing, but this was all too ridiculous of a sham in his/her eyes. He looked to Lydia for what her thoughts were before going on his/her way. "You," he disrespectfully called, not knowing her by name. "I think you should answer on behalf of your brother. I don't really understand the language spoken by bullshit."

[Lydia Andersen]

"No! No! NO!" Lydia screamed while holding herself by the head. She was in unbearable pain. Cause of this was her high sensitivity to power and she still haven't learned to reduce the pain while experiencing such huge power outbursts. Whatever was coming out of Alex and that black sky was the source of some disgusting power that made Lydia feel like her brain would explode. She was not in any state to think or give answers to that masked person.

Angelight formed switched to Devillin and rushed towards Alex. She shouted to Dante. "Come on!" Dante also reacted and charged his lance pointing it towards Alex in attempt to prevent the darkness from hurting Lydia anymore. "Bastard! Hell Claw!" Devillin shouted and slashed hitting Alex's face, but he was not giving a single damn. Then Dante struck him with lance, but there was no reaction except that vicious smile of his. Dark force exploded from Alex's body turning Dante into orb form instantly and blasting Devilin away and turning her into her human form.

"STOP IT!" Lydia started crying in agony as it was getting worse and worse now that this darkness started hurting Alex's partner, Dante, as well. Upon seeing that Devilin approached Lydia from the back and silently rose her hand in the air.
She then struck Lydia in the neck making her lose her consciousness. She then quickly grabbed her to prevent her from falling. After that Devillin turned to the masked person. "If that will make you go away then I will do something about them. I can turn their time back. They will forget you, that robot and everything else that happened today. Just go away, already!" Devillin rudely responded to the masked person while moving back with Lydia in her arms.

That dark person was only observing their actions and smiling quietly. Due to his dark force Devillin had to make Lydia fall unconscious, so she would not feel that darkness anymore since that would seriously threaten her. "Dante! We're on the move!" Devillin shouted, so Dante could run in his orb form, but it did not seem that knight was willing to leave his partner in that dark state. "Idiot..." Devillin complained. She started moving back to avoid effects of Dark Hole Phenomenon. Main effect was appearance of Bakugan hordes similar to what Pack used, but it was summoning true atrocities. Devillin was positive her fighting alone there would be a suicide if those monsters appeared, so she decided to retreat.

She looked at the masked person once more. "If you cherish your life then go away." Devillin added and started running in the opposite direction of Alex who was still in that dark state. That would pose trouble for Silver Knights and Eden...if Alex was the source of this phenomenon...that would mean the death sentence for him.

[Insidious]

The person watched the whole thing in amazement; they attacked their ally without any second thoughts, as if it was out of dire necessity. It all happened so fast that he/she couldn't respond to the likelihood that none of them will remember the power of Hades. That was why he/she is there now; everyone needs to be aware of this power and how it came to be created, and now this Bakugan wants to make them forget it. It seems as though he/she had been beaten after all; they will all walk away not remembering anything Hades put them through, a regret they hopefully will come to realize.

"I may have to revisit them in the future. Leaving them alive is probably the worst decision anyone can make." He/she commanded Hades to revert to ball form, finally in his/her possession in this form for the very first time. Attention was directed to the transporter to the CIA's hidden base. "The time has come..."

The perspective is shifted to Montai who was just finishing up some work in her office when she noticed a lot of mechanical sounds coming from a certain room that has gone unused since Nero's defeat: the laboratory. She goes in there and sees this masked person having Hades standing out in the open; the mechanical Bakugan was too large to fit inside. "What the hell is going on here?"

"Oh. It's you. Hi." The masked person stopped what he/she was doing to address the intruder.

Montai threw Horridian into play without warning and viciously attacked the uninvited guest. He/she easily avoided Horridian's attacks just by using the dark power he/she has, granting the reaction time necessary to move out of the way. Hades used one of its tails to bind Horridian in place.

"Before you think about calling for security, don't bother. I showed them the utmost respect while on my way down here. They let me in," he/she said just as a representation of unconscious bodies littered the hallways. "I see you're the successor. You kept this place looking very nice."

"Listen, I don't care what you think. You're not supposed to be here."

"Well, here I am. Don't worry about that though. I'm not here to kill anyone; I've done too much of that earlier today. We really need to talk."

"I'd feel much better talking to someone that gets in here legally and doesn't have a mysterious mask on their face!"

"How I entered and what I look like underneath is not important. What's important is covering yourself before you suffer the same fate as the previous two directors. You doomed the entire planet."

"Excuse me?"

"You held a meeting in this facility with Queen Turano months ago. Take a look at what that decision gave birth to." He/she presented Hades, a weapon of mass destruction. "I have a list of everything in your office. I went out of my way to compile it for you. Read it in its entirety so you can hopefully convince the countries of this world to stop sucking Vestal's cock."

"...Who are you...?"

"Just a guy in a mask...who isn't really human."

"Obviously, but WHO are you?"

"None of your business."

"..."

"Oh, by the way, there's no need to thank me for doing all of that for you when I really should blow this planet up just to be on the safe side. I took the liberty of using this lab to make some tweaks to Hades for my own personal use. If you try to kick me out, I'm killing your dog. Bye now." Hades threw Horridian to the wall while it was still being fixed up. Montai and Horridian quietly left the room in horror since they were obviously not equipped to handle him/her or Hades.

[Xavier Turano]

Xavier and the head scientist awoke in Vestal's hospital some time after the Gamma City Meltdown, as people are calling it now. There was a large death toll; Xavier and the head scientist were all that was left of that attack. The city had been destroyed.

"What...? Where am I?" Xavier was initially confused about what was going on, but gradually processed the timeline of events in his head without having it explained to him. He was about to begin patching Hades so it could come out of its prototype stage. Then the same masked person that had been causing so much trouble around Vestal suddenly barged in, made demands, and either beat people up or caused them to be killed. Everything after that was a blur.

"Are we...all that's left from that? What happened? Can someone tell me what's going on?" Then Dasia walked in, and she didn't look too healthy at all. "Oh no...Dasia...did he hurt you? What happened to your arm!?"

[Dasia Turano]

Dasia had been constantly checking on Xavier during his recovery. While his injuries weren't as severe as hers, she checked out early since her only ailment was a first-degree burn. She had other bumps and bruises, but the arm was the first thing that came to Xavier's mind. She was wearing a tank top rather than her usual attire; it was very easy to spot that her arm had been burned.

"Stay down, X. Get some rest," she said, completely dodging the question he asked her. "That masked person is not here anymore. Everything will be fine from here on out. I just need you to get better as soon as possible."

"It's not your fault...it was mine..."

Dasia left Xavier after telling him to calm down. Royal Guard was standing near the entrance. They were awaiting Dasia's next move; they knew she was pissed. "Send me my Spartans, please."

"Anything in particular you want them to know, ma'am?"

"Yeah...tell them war is on my mind."