Episode 21: Truth Be Told

[Insidious]

Montai went back to her office and saw the documents the masked person provided for her. Tape recordings of the conversations Dasia and Xavier had with each other, the Vestal government's agenda, and what they're doing with the money Earth spent on those battle suits were all included. She went through all of them, every single piece of information multiple times. She was too disturbed and confused to give that just one look. It was more unbelievable how someone like the masked person could get that much information in his/her hands. There had to be more to the story than what it appeared to be.

She went back into the laboratory unannounced to talk with him/her about this issue. The masked person had his/her mask off of his/her face, so he/she had to quickly put it back on before speaking once footsteps were heard. 

"Do you usually just walk in unannounced?" he/she hypocritically asked. 

"Oh, get over yourself." Montai put the stack of intel on the observation desk, right in front of the masked person. "I want you to explain the 'why' behind all of this, especially when it comes to telling me all of this."

"I was just starting to forget how many questions you people ask." He/she was continuing to work on Hades while talking with Montai. He/she didn't consider it that important to not multi-task. "It'll be more useful for you to know than that Valiant bullshit brat I had to deal with earlier, so I'll bite. What do you want me to start with?"

"Valiant? You mean Valiant Strive? You mean you actually survived against..."

"You're starting to ask too many questions now. One at a time, or I'll change my mind."

"Oh my gosh..." She was actually scared now, something that she hasn't admitted since she was an assistant. "Okay...can you start with who you are please...? I'm not asking for your actual identity, but give me an idea of your background so I can know whether to trust you or not..."

"Okay. That one's simple. I'm classified best as a Doom Being."

"A...what?"

"Yes. You heard me correctly. I was one of the humans sent to the Doom Dimension."

[Insidious]

"There's a very powerful presence that resides in the Doom Dimension. One of them is a servant, an actual creation to be exact. Fury is his name, and one day, he looked at me and was sick to his stomach just by looking at me. So he made me better by using a forbidden ability on me."

"You mean like the ones Noland was using...?"

"They're similar in that they derive from the same power, but this one is arguably more dangerous. The particular ability I'm talking about is called Chaos Ability X, a technique designed to force evolution."

"So by using it on you, he forced you to evolve..."

"Exactly." He/she covered himself/herself in dark aura to reaffirm what he/she just said. "That's why it's best for me not to call myself a human; that part has been killed off a while ago. I've been reborn as something completely different, capable of performing feats that cannot be compared to by any of your standards."

Montai became a bit more suspicious of the masked person now. An evolution along those lines must mean that it came with a catch... "Wouldn't there be some strings attached in that process?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. We may never find out..."

"You know whether you're supposed to do something evil or not..."

"Sure I do."

"Then tell me!"

"I don't feel like it." Hades roared in interruption after he/she started implementing changes to it. Something came up on the screen on the console he/she was operating; it showed that the energy usage had steadily gone down, a much-needed change that was necessary. "At least you know that nothing I have planned involves anyone here in the immediate future. This mechanical Bakugan can destroy your planet, but I chose not to. Now that I say that...how about you ask me about that one next. That'll be something I actually care about answering."

[Insidious]

Montai sighed out loud at the masked person's insistence to be difficult with her. "You're not really making it very easy for me to trust you."

"I don't recall ever telling you I cared about that," he/she disagreed. "I'm only here to inform you of your stupidity and ignorance before I resume my activity. Whether you believe me or not is of no concern to me; it'll ultimately be up to all of you to take this information and apply it. I can't do any of that for you."

"You're also here to leech off of our equipment to power your own needs."

"This stuff isn't yours. Don't get that twisted." He/she turned to face Montai, his/her patience having been worn out. "I'm only going to entertain you as my guest for a few seconds longer unless you get straight to the point here. I have work to do."

Montai didn't want to give in to that kind of talk, but she didn't have much of a choice. Whoever this masked person is identifies as a source, and it has to be confirmed to be credible, whether the person was likable or not. It could spell the difference between life or death. "Tell me everything you know about Vestal's agenda."

"Ah. There it is, the question I was dying to answer." He/she gave Montai his/her full attention for this one; the current work on Hades was halted. "Listen very carefully. I'm only going through this whole thing one time."

[Insidious]

"Vestal has a certain event documented in their history called 'The Second Universal War.' It was a war between the Bakugan and the Vestals - more specifically against Vestal's king, Victor Zenoheld, because he was using the Hurranians, causing many to leave the planet. The war came to its close through the introduction of the most powerful weapon ever created: the Bakugan Termination System, a weapon that terminates all Vestroian life across planetary lengths. The most powerful Bakugan at the time, the Six Legendary Soldiers of Vestroia as they're now called, turned the weapon against Zenoheld and modified it to where it would destroy the Vestals and the Hurranians. Those who left Vestal earlier were spared; those who stayed were erased along with the Hurranians, or so they thought..."

"They're still here now, so the weapon must not have gotten every single one of them."

"Right. We fast forward to current times where the ruling king and queen were taken to siege by that remaining Hurranian. They're both killed in the invasion, but the king did not die before putting his daughter in power."

"Queen...Dasia...?"

"She, along with her brother, Xavier, were given multiple things. The least important of them were the Spartans. They consisted of six individuals who fought the Hurranians to a standstill and still gave their planet a fighting chance. You know by now who those people are. Caught in the middle was a task that involves a very controversial celebrity here."

"For what reason?"

"The Dragonoid is the only reason why he was relevant in that discussion. It turns out that the power they use to power up - the one where they become lit in a rainbow color - is the same power that activated the aforementioned B.T.S. They figured that if they could find the weapon, they can use Noland and Drago's power to activate it. On the flip side, the other option was to find the Bakugan that activated it so they can be told where it is and have him use it again. Both of the siblings are split on this decision: Xavier wants Drago's power while Dasia wants to find Appolonir. Then things start to get more interesting with the last job they were given. That's going to be where you came in."

[Insidious]

"Surely, you must understand that the majority of Vestal's population was destroyed when the B.T.S. was fired. They still suffer from a lot of problems from that war despite how many years it has been. One of them is overpopulation. They have so many problems keeping their pants on more that they don't even have enough living space to accommodate the surplus amounts of people, which leads to the next problem: finances. They can't afford to support the amount of people they have, so the poor live in terrible communities that are mostly going uncontrolled by the government. Other than staying out of bed with other people, they discovered a solution to the money shortage."

He/she pointed straight at Montai. She knew what was being implied there. It had to have been the battle suits. "So we've been played, huh?" she asked.

"Big time," he/she quickly responded. "You'd think the people would have been the first priority, but Dasia is a sneakier woman than you might believe. What they were really using that money for was something very threatening to even me." He/she points at Hades to direct the attention towards it. "Their main goal towards immediate survival: Mechanical Bakugan. They're supposed to be replicating what Zenoheld was using back then, but they've surpassed him far beyond his prime. They purposely have the Resistors and the Spartans at odds with each other for this as well. Those thirteen have the most potential out of anyone else, so they're using their battle data to forge these monsters into more powerful versions of what they originally would have made. Hades is a combination of Jamal's Vulcan and Alana's Hydranoid, so it has devastating firepower combined with an impenetrable outer shell. There are at least five more Bakugan planned with these statistics in hand."

Montai had to believe that one. Hades was basically a replica of Alpha Hydranoid from what's in front of her, so it wouldn't be a big surprise if what he/she just said was completely true. "If Hades is capable of doing what you said, then it'd be a nightmare if something with Noland, Allen, Tank, or even Damian's battle data was made..." she realized.

"It's a scary future to think about. I'm not sure if they're going to be used solely for defense against the Hurranians, but there's something suggesting to me that it would be a good idea to stop them all from being built even if they're being made with the right intentions. It is why I leveled the city Hades was built in."

"Go on..."

As unbelievable as it was about to sound, the truth had to come out. "...It's another masked person that opposes me."

[Insidious]

He/she heard Montai sucking her teeth and shaking her head at the ridiculous behavior of the two of them. "I had to fight with that person near the teleporter. Whoever it is has the ability to control Hurranians. I suspect she is infected by them."

"Wait. Hold on." Montai had to fact check that one. Something wasn't quite adding up. "There were brawlers here using Hurranians to act as performance enhancers on their Bakugan, and they still controlled them. Are you suggesting that everyone who uses those Bakugan are infected?"

"Yes, I am. It's not possible for a Hurranian-infected Bakugan to be used by anyone who isn't infected. A brawl between a partner and a Bakugan only works when the two are on the same plane of thinking. That isn't possible if one of them is infected while the other is not. This generally doesn't come up anyway since the infected Bakugan or partner can infect the other just by making contact with each other, so they're both on the same page regardless. This is one of their masking mechanisms to prevent the users from realizing the damage they're causing to themselves because they're only going to see what the Hurranians want them to."

"Oh...so about that masked person...how do you know it's a she?"

"I'm assuming that based on the voice that was barely audible; it didn't sound masculine. The Bakugan she was controlling were Krakix and Siege, Noland and Alana's former guardian Bakugan. Someone pulled them from the Doom Dimension and they ended up there, in Hurranian hands..."

Montai was more than horrified by that detail. Noland's dark power would grow by the second if he became aware that Krakix was in that position.

"They're also capable of operating machinery as well. Considering the Pack has already been resurrected by them, it won't bode well for either side if these series of Mechanical Bakugan were all taken over. They would destroy us all before looking to other worlds to take over as well. Not even the planet Earth hates the most, Gundalia, would be able to stand up to them. That is why Vestal, more than anyone else, needs to be sunk before they create something not even the Legendary Soldiers could save us from."

[Insidious]

"Okay...that's a lot to take in..." Montai admitted while cycling all of that information through her mind. "I have one more question for you."

"Alright."

"You said before that your simplest solution to all of this was to destroy us." Montai got a little bit closer to him/her before asking this question. "Why didn't you?"

It took a while for him/her to come up with an answer to that one. He/she didn't know himself/herself. It was better to just say what came naturally. "I wanted to take a different approach," he/she answered. "I walked a path on my own for quite some time, and that hasn't worked out too well. I'm remaining optimistic about our chances in this fight, because this is something that can't be done on my own. It becomes more difficult that way."

"You sound like someone I know...or I use to know anyway..." Montai started reminiscing on her past experiences. "Vince understood that very well, but Andrew...he was missing that a lot. I wish he would've found out the truth before..." She held herself back from finishing that statement. It sounded like she cared about him to some extent.

"Before...?" He/she was trying to lead her on to saying what she was trying to say. Now he was the one asking questions.

"Oh..." She noticed she said something she never wanted to say. "It's nothing...sorry."

"It sounds like you shared some level of concern for the previous director. It's a shame that things went down like that, but difficulties are required to learn, some harder than others. That's just the way of life. His example should be more than enough of a reason to check in with your superiors about what I've told you so that you might be spared from the Hurranians, Vestal, and...me."

"I understand." She turned around to walk out of the laboratory to continue her work. "I'm sorry, but I have to ask one more question just for our sake."

"Of course." He/she knew that would be the case. "What is it?"

"Does anyone on Vestal even know where the B.T.S. is located?"

"They'd dig their holes all around it if they knew," he/she theorized. "I'm more concerned about the Hurranians getting their hands on it, but I don't want any of them to have access. Once I'm done with Hades here, I'll be returning to Vestal to see what they're up to. Their Spartans may be after my head, so I need to make sure I'm battle-ready before going."

"Do you need anyone to go with you for support?"

"I'd say yes, but I don't trust the knight freak to protect my life nor do I want to involve any of the Resistors unless it's absolutely necessary. They're young and their potential is limitless; they're not supposed to be throwing their lives away for war."

"I understand. Do us a favor and pretend like you were never in here for our sake. If for some reason you get captured or blamed for something you do there, Dasia doesn't blame it on us until we're absolutely sure we have to go to war with them."

"Noted. Take care now."

[Insidious]

Montai had left the laboratory on a good note, armed with a lot of lethal information for humanity. Now all that was left to do was to fix or remedy the remaining issues with Hades's prototype form and it'll be complete.

"This weight issue is becoming a real problem..." he/she said. "Unlike the unnecessary energy consumption, there's not really anything I can do to fix your weight problem. You're just too big, but that's also one of your key advantages. Four arms is a bit overkill though...should I take those off or should I leave them on?"

Having difficulty deciding on what needed to be done to Hades, he/she took a walk to think about it. The same entry way to the ruins that Elico broke - somehow left the way it was - was where he/she strolled into. He/she got all the way to the murals, untouched by the ravages of war. The Dragonoid and Dharaknoid on the mural looked as ready for war then as they do now.

"One would think that this is here for a reason. This can't just be some random picture." He/she couldn't have been more correct. By merely touching it with his/her hands at the midsection of the Dragonoid, it became rainbow-colored; the same was true for the Dharaknoid. A laser came out of their eyes that each split into three circles. In each of these circles were attribute symbols. "A puzzle...is this some sort of lock...?"

He/she looked around him/her. Those ruins didn't look like they were made yesterday. There is an accurate depiction of what happens between the Dragonoid and Dharaknoid. The two Bakugan glowed and six attribute symbols appeared out of nowhere. Something was in there. "...Oh...uh oh...."

[Jamal Armstrong]

Before Damian and Jamal would figure out that Dasia is calling for them, Damian and Jamal were having their usual gathering. In comparison to Noland and Allen, they do hold a conversation with each other; unlike them, however, they fight whenever they come together like this.

They were in one of the palace's arenas. Vulcan and Helios were already standing firm across from each other, ready to give one another a taste of each other's fists.

"Try to make this brawl have a definitive winner this time," Tec suggested, pounding his fists together to acknowledge he was going to take his own advice.

"Ability activate! Imperial Knuckle!" Tec put his arms out in front to detach his fists. He separated the two in different directions - one from above and one straight ahead. This was done to limit Helios's mobility in the air as well as pressuring him from the immediate threat in front of him.

"Have you visited home at all in the past few months?" Jamal inquired. "It has been a while since we last saw them. They must be worried about how we're both doing all the way up here."

[Damian Knight]

"That would imply me killing you," Helios counter-suggested. He roared very loudly as Vulcan declared his first attack: the usual opener of Imperial Knuckle.

"Worried? Those heathens are worried? Please..." Damian scoffed at the question Jamal asked him. He played the ability he was getting ready to use on his BakuMeter, making sure to plan ahead of course since that's what Jamal likes to do for both the questions, answers, and the brawl. "Ability activate! Savage Air!"

Helios unwrapped his wings around him and took off, straight ahead. He flew at blinding speeds since the ability freely let him do so. He waited until he got within close proximity to Vulcan's fists before doing a barrel roll, narrowly avoiding being clubbed by both of them. The other bonus was implemented in relation to the flames that already leak out of his body; the wind that blew through them due to Helios flying so fast irritated them greatly and made them more potent than usual. He was planning on passing on some of those flames to Vulcan with a shoulder tackle from his right hip. His speed helped him do so without any countermeasures.

"I have a better question. Do you have a convincing reason to share with me that might get me to care just a little bit?" Damian inquired.

[Jamal Armstrong]

Jamal saw the wildfire Helios became just by moving too fast. He knew of the ability's potential to cause a scare despite Helios not using the ability in the way that he usually uses it - a tell-tell sign that Damian was holding back. Jamal figured he'd go with the pace of the battle unless Damian chose to up his power to the Third Layer; then he'd really have to try.

"A lot have tried, Helios. TRIED." Tec was apparently trying to tempt Helios to use more of his power, just like always. It wasn't every day that Helios felt the need to go above average like he did against Drago. He'd have to take what he can get for training.

"Ability activate! Heavy Metal!" Tec's body gleamed in a superbly-maintained metal covering. The increase in his durability allowed for his body to handle the power of Helios as well as covering any additional expenses in the form of the uncontrolled flames burning across the ground and in the air as a result of Helios's movement. The response time for his fists have also been increased, giving him a slight edge when it comes to methodical attack patterns.

"You're looking for other reasons besides the fact that we're Spartans and are supposed to care for everyone's safety. I get it. So ask yourself this question." While he said that, one of Tec's fists grabbed Helios, completely taking the flames as if they were nothing to him. He then proceeded on a crash course to Helios's other fist from above.

"Gaia Collision!"

"Your own family is living in a community that the Hurranians use for their prowling grounds on the daily basis. Doesn't that bother you, even just a little bit like you said?"

[Damian Knight]

Helios expected Vulcan to be stubborn in his defenses. His fists returned a lot faster than it should have, most likely a product of him sticking to his comfortable moves and perfecting them. Being jettisoned to is other fist like a meteor and being stuck was hardly news to him.

"Nope. I'm actually quite happy with how things are turning out down there," Damian heartlessly said. "Ability activate! Dynamic Warrior!" This ability was one Damian doesn't use too often, mainly because there's rarely a need for this kind of move and Helios could just slip into more powerful forms instead of this; however, when an opponent does present themselves worthy, that is when this ability isn't so useless. What it does is temporarily gift Helios with one characteristic from his Layers.

He chose the Third Layer's heat. This allowed Helios to literally melt Vulcan's entire hand. Helios resumed flight again, waiting for the fist he was supposed to connect to to come around; it melted before it even got close. After that was done, the temporary enhancement was deactivated.

"Oops." Helios casually played off.

"My family died years ago, so the Hurranians getting them wouldn't be anything new to me besides them thinking I care about them enough to be scared when they revive them. Their deaths now would only officially cement their doom in my mind."

[Jamal Armstrong]

"No wonder Queen Turano never sends Damian near Charlie Town. He'd probably kill them all if he even saw it..."

Tec's hands were being reformed on his arms since they were unexpectedly destroyed. Doing that was a feat well within Damian's caliber, so there were no surprises there either. They were restored in minimal time to be ready for use again.

"Ability activate! Seismic Trigger!" Tec detached his hands once more. They got within medium-range of Helios before stopping. This time, it wasn't to throw any punches. This technique was more special. His fists revved up a little bit before releasing energy waves throughout the area. The action gave Tec free reign of controlling seismic activity, hence its name.

"How about YOU choke on this!" Tec shouted in mockery of Helios's common saying when using certain attacks. The fists bumped into each other, releasing a force great enough to stun Helios completely while in the air. He plummeted to the ground below where Tec will attempt to cause an earthquake to knock him out; all he'd have to do is have his fists slam into the ground or Helios himself, and he chose to do the latter option.

"I understand our hands played out differently despite being dealt the same deck of cards. With that being said, what if you're wrong? What if they are very much alive right now - alive in the mind?"

[Damian Knight]

For the first time in a while, Damian was actually getting really pissed off. This was a topic that really set him on fire. He had enough to the point where he wasn't going to pull back any punches from this next attack.

"Your joke is over the line, Jamal," Damian pointed out. "You at least have to give me some credit with how I haven't went back there to end their lives yet. Being related to the ones who hold me responsible for complications such as childbirth - just one of the many examples, of course - isn't always easy. It was nice to see you and the others smiling in the midst of our conditions. I'm all smiles too though if you haven't seen that already. Shouldn't that be enough for you to drop it?"

He played two cards on his BakuMeter, but he revealed only one of them initially. It appeared to be Helios's Second Layer because his scales became more rigid - making it appear like he donned a set of armor - and his wings reflected the color of the sun.

"Ability activate! Melt Stream!" Another ability designated to the Second Layer transformation, Melt Stream gives Helios the ability to raise lava out of the ground underneath Vulcan in an attempt to incinerate him with the power of the planet's own natural power.

[Jamal Armstrong]

Tec's seismic smash had to be aborted in favor of protecting himself. Helios might be damaged by it, but he definitely wouldn't go down since he shifted to the Second Layer. The same couldn't be said for him in terms of the lava; despite being clad in his earlier defensive enhancement, Tec would be one-shotted if he was submerged in the lava. Plus, the attack was supposed to be off limits since it's a lethal attack, disregarding the state of everyone in the building entirely.

"Quickly, Tec. Viblow!" Tec's hands returned to his arms so that he may use his ability. They glowed in a brown coloring. He hovered in the air using the jet boots he was equipped with so that he wouldn't get burned. He pointed his hands downwards and expelled gravitational force so that he could force the lava to return back to where it came from before it caused any significant damage.

"I know it's a fake smile, Damian. I know you want to crush them deep down, and as your friend...brother...I have to help you overcome it," Jamal explained. "It's not that I want to piss you off by bringing it up again. These conversations need to be had. Having all of these emotions bottled up inside only leads to preventable destruction...like our adversaries know already."

"It's going to hurt, but you just have to keep getting back up every time you're struck down. Don't let their darkness have control over you; otherwise, we may as well put everyone in the universe under rubble, including ourselves."