Episode 21: Truth Be Told

[Vince Hardy]

"Well said," Apollonir commended. He erected a strange, crimson-colored energy veil that poured out of him until it made contact with Drago. It surrounded him and essentially suppressed the dark power that was within him, cancelling the form change entirely. "By the time I'm finished with you here, you won't need that kind of power. I promise."

"What you've stood for already proves you've defied the stereotype. You just need to be willing to tell yourself that you're your own person who doesn't abide by the supposed laws of their caste," Vince reminded him. "Speaking of which, we should move on to why you're here. Believe it or not, you're perfectly fine right now despite the kind of power you have."

"The reason why you were able to use those forbidden techniques without any costly drawbacks was because of your genetics," Apollonir explained. "Drago, you are a rarity in the Dragonoid line. You and I possess what few have been able to grasp in the entirety of history: the Ultimate Warrior Gene. You have a piece of the original Dragonoid locked away in your body that allows you to use abilities on par with his power without significant penalty, unlike the rest who would die by using the power you had.

"That's where your power originates from. Noland is able to unlock that potential, making him an ideal candidate for partnership. That's what we know as the Switch Code, but yours is incomplete. You lack the proper training to control it properly as we've seen with how sporadic your energy output is when you use it."

"The only exception in this case in terms of who lives or dies by using forbidden power is Fury; the Dharaknoid we're up against pumped him with the power to wield his strength in his absence. So to answer your question, Drago, he is the skeletal-looking Bakugan you've heard of and has four guards that greatly outmatches the Bakugan. We don't know what they are, but it's good for us that they're in there and not over here."

[Noland Hardy]

"Switch...Code?"

"Switch...Code?"

That put a new spin on things. They knew what to call their power-up now, but it opened up a whole new set of questions. This certainly wouldn't be the first time they heard of Drago being special; Krakix had already given them a hint of this when he traded places with Drago in the Doom Dimension. The mystery behind that has been solved. It was surprising that Krakix was aware of Drago having the Ultimate Warrior Gene, or he was probably impressed that Drago was able to match him that he had to concede he was special. No one could tell for now. The only disappointment in everything Apollonir described to them was that their Switch Code was not pure in form. Coming from a Dragonoid of his caliber, they could only believe they were out of their league when it came to that power.

"So that's what you're going to try and get out of me. You want me to master this power," Drago pieced together. "Can I get an idea of how I'm supposed to look when it's perfected? You possess the form too, so I just want to see it."

[Vince Hardy]

"How you appeared when you used your forbidden power is how it should look when you've mastered this form," Apollonir explained. He complied with Drago's request by showing him what a perfected Switch Code form looks like. He simply shifted the coloring of his scales and armor to reflect the fusion of all six attributes: Dextra. He was rainbow-colored, absent of any high-powered auras.

"Considering you're still young in that power, you'll still have some excess energy pouring out of you while you're compressing the energy, but this is how you should look by the end of it. You shouldn't see any blazing auras anymore when you do this," Vince added. "You're already aware that doing this boosts your physical parameters by a large margin and gives you access to a whole new array of moves. Perfecting it will give you even greater power beyond what is normally possible. You'll have a much more efficient power boost on par with your forbidden power and then some."

"Achieving this takes arduous practice, more so than its dark counterpart. Darkness is easier to use when compared to light, but the former can't be controlled nearly as well as the latter," Apollonir chimed in again.

[Noland Hardy]

"Darkness is easier to use when compared to light" was the best thing Noland has ever heard because of how true it was. It explained the differences between the two forms completely in only two sentences. Losing control of that power during his killing spree gave even more credibility to that statement. If there was a way to be that strong without having to do that, then Noland would have to find a very good reason to reject that offer. Plus, he was learning from his dad again. There's definitely nothing wrong with that.

"Nothing we did was ever easy..." Noland accepted when hearing how difficult it was going to be. "Drago, if it's okay with you, we should do this."

"It's more than okay with me," Drago allowed. "There's just one more thing I'd like to know first."

Noland waited to hear what Drago had to say. Whatever it was had to be important. "We lost the ability to use the Switch Code when we used that dark power. Would that happen again if we slipped into that form after we regain use of it?"

[Vince Hardy]

Vince conceded that he didn't know about that himself. That was well within Apollonir's territory. He let him have the floor. He was just as interested to hear the answer to that as Drago was.

"My answer would have been a clear yes just to scare you out of using that form, but you're my son. I know you're going to do it anyway just like I did," Apollonir surrendered. "You will still have access to that form regardless of what you do with the Switch Code. I'd like to be rid of it, but light and dark have to co-exist with each other. Doing one or the other may cause you to forget the opposite force."

"You will still be able to use both forms, but you're going to have to make some sacrifices to draw out the full power of both. I prefer for you to prioritize the Switch Code, but it's your power to use; I can't force you to do what I want you to do," Vince simplified.

Apollonir recognized that Noland and Drago were ready to undergo the grueling task, so he started to make preparations. Vince gave them the rundown of how things were going to go.

"I never thought I'd get to do this again. It brings me a lot of pleasure to train with you," Vince proudly admitted. "You and I will train specifically to perfect your power based on what Apollonir has planned. I will keep you here until I see a circular diagram emerge from your hand. Once I see it, I'm going to give you a break. During that time, we're going to watch the other five Soldiers test your friends."

"I see you as a leader, so if you're going to be one, you'll need to overcome obstacles with them as you go through your own," Apollonir explained.

"When everyone's finished, your test will be begin. It's going to be a one-on-one with me. Is that understood?"

[Noland Hardy]

The thoughts cycling through Drago's head when he heard he was going to fight Apollonir were like these: nervous, nervous, and a thousand times more nervous. His dad was immensely strong, powerful enough for even Drago to admit his inferiority. How was he going to cope with that? Would the completed Switch Code even the field a bit? He didn't know, but he didn't want to disappoint. The feeling of being afraid of not being at least close to him in power made Drago want to take this seriously as much as possible. He knew that if he didn't, there wouldn't be a glimmer of hope for a win. Apollonir was strong, but so was Drago. He had to be to have made it this far against so much.

Noland also got wind of this since Apollonir canceled Drago's transformation without even moving. Power like that had to be feared, because there were probably even more brutal techniques in his arsenal. This was very new for them, but fearing an opponent was absolutely unacceptable. They weren't alive right now because they were scared of everyone else. Drago grew up some, so he was going to be ready to fight, even if it's against a legend.

"We got it," Noland answered. "And Dad...it's good to have you back."

[Damian Knight]

Damian and Jamal arrived in the throne room thirty seconds before the deadline Dasia set downstairs. They were the last to arrive out of the Spartans. Without looking at any of the Royal Guard's concerned looks, they took their positions next to their teammates, not knowing that Xavier had not shown up yet like he was supposed to. While they waited, Damian and Jamal saw that Niko had dozed off again. Jamal took the honor of waking her up by having Vulcan clap his hands near hers and Donovan's ears.

It took one minute from the time they walked in for Xavier to show his face. His injuries were still readily observable. The mark underneath his nose wasn't as visible as before since medical treatment was provided to him. It didn't take away from Damian and Helios's amusement. They laughed at Xavier, not caring about what anyone else had to do or say about it.

"Is everything okay?" Damian asked in between chuckles. 

"You look like you've gotten hurt." 

[Xavier Turano]

Xavier was in a very depressed state facing his sister in that state. He hadn't gotten over what happened, and he probably wasn't going to. He knew why the meeting was being called. Certain people did not do what they were supposed to do, and a heavy price was paid for it. He was considering pleading for one of the people being punished to be him; he was just a stepping stone for the masked man, and he just stepped right on up to the top to hurt his sister, the queen, the one he cherishes the most right now.

Then Damian thought the whole situation was funny. That was the type of response needed to trigger Xavier's emotions, almost completely removing his sense of self-control in the presence they were in.

"Today's not the day, Damian!" Xavier barked on his way inside. "Neither of us have time for your bullshit. Just stand there and shut up!"

[Damian Knight]

"You sound very angry right now...almost like you lost a fight," Damian added, still laughing right in front of everybody.

Damian felt a tug at his sleeve from Jamal who must have been gesturing for him to cease what he was doing before they all get in even more trouble. Having the queen get hurt was one thing, but laughing at her own brother's injuries is leaping over the line. That's not even counting belligerent mocking of a very serious situation with a highly detrimental outcome. Of course, he didn't care. He kept on going with it.

"I have a good idea, Prince Turano. Let's settle this in a brawl." Damian and Helios completely lost it after that was said.

[Dasia Turano]

Dasia menacingly pointed a finger at Damian from her chair after she had heard enough come out of his mouth. "One more sound out of both of you and you're gone," she mandated. She gave him a look she had never given anyone before. She looked like she wanted to kill Damian with her bare hands. That wasn't a good sign for things to come.

"Before we start, let me just say that I'm glad all of you are still living. The Gamma City Meltdown, as the media are calling it, is the second worst massacre in Vestal history, right behind the Bakugan Termination System being used by Apollonir. Confirming that all of you have survived brings me a lot of relief." That sounded like the end of her niceness. Now she was ready to go all in.

"Spartans...I have a question for you." She faced all six of her Spartans, not speaking to any particular individual. Whoever chose to speak for them had the mic. "Why are all of you here?"

[Jamal Armstrong]

That was a relatively easy question to answer. Dasia had to have known the answer to that already, unless anyone else was going to drive their input in there out of nowhere. That wouldn't be the best idea since Dasia looked like she was ready to throw everyone out of there herself.

"No one else is going to say anything?" Tec was surprised that all of them were silent. This was one question that they each knew how to answer. The only explanation for this was if they were uneasy about the response they'd get if they said anything. "Jamal?"

"Right. We're all here because..." Jamal was constantly getting distracted by how cute Dasia was when she was angry. Of course, he wouldn't say that in a time like this. "...your father had asked us to watch over you and Prince Turano in his absence after we brought the war against the Hurranians to a moderate standstill."

[Dasia Turano]

"Mhm. Exactly right." Dasia was in full agreement with what Jamal said. She noticed how long it took for a response to come out. She wasn't very happy to see that, but that was the least important factor in terms of the problem she has with them right now.

"With that in mind, answer this next question..." The Royal Guard all stopped looking at Dasia and put all eyes on the Spartans. "Are you able to do that for us when most of you are spending most of your time on Earth?"

She was implying that their activity was a major problem, but she didn't outright say it yet. She may as well have just said it, but she preferred for the Spartans to do it themselves. Everyone else knows the problems surrounding that organization, but it won't do any good unless they know that for themselves.

[Jamal Armstrong]

Jamal thought about that one for a quick five seconds before pumping out a double-sided answer. "Yes and no," he said.

Tec wasn't sure where Jamal was going with this answer, but at least it included a no. That was something Dasia wanted to hear among other things.

"I'll start with the more obvious one I know you're implying. We're too distracted from our time on Earth to come to your aid when things like this happen. Some of us are also more lazy than others and barely move around at all." He was indirectly referencing Deon and Roxy with that statement, but he chose not to name and shame just yet.

"As for how we can do those things while we're not on Earth, we can monitor the forefront of the Hurranian development. It's common knowledge among all of us that they're amassing a much stronger force than we've had to deal with thanks to their brawlers accepting the Hurranians as a support system. We did what we could there to make it easier for all of us here."

"With that being said...we understand where you're going with this. We will make any adjustments in our travel time to make you happy," Tec added.

[Dasia Turano]

Dasia understood the reasoning behind the "yes" part of Jamal's answer, but she didn't buy it. "You of all people should know that you can't defend from every angle, Jamal," she countered. "And what about the Resistors? Should we be hiring them to take your jobs here too? Every luxury you have as a Spartan is given to you in exchange for our protection, so I do not expect you to surrender your responsibility to do what they should be doing themselves."

"I do appreciate you taking responsibility for it, so I'm not going to be too hard on you...for now; however..." Dasia then got more serious when she gave this next order. "You are all restricted from going to Earth indefinitely. I need you here in case the masked person or something worse comes back here to commit another atrocity. I also cannot allow you to go there in good conscience when I know your deaths are a top priority."

"If you choose to disobey me and go to Earth anyway, do not bother coming back in here. Do I make myself clear?"

[Damian Knight]

Damian was silenced by Jamal after Dasia threatened to fire him if he talked anymore, but this decision was one that he wasn't on board with. Helios filled that part in for him. "Crystal clear, but it doesn't mean we agree with it. If that mask is on Earth, that's where I'm going to be until whoever is behind it dies," Helios responded.

Damian began to clarify. He wasn't joking around this time; he was completely serious.

"Wouldn't you be setting us up for death anyway by us not going to Earth?" he started. "We lost more than life with that attack. That masked man took something with him that can blow us up. He'd probably do it too if we let him."

"We'd be making the same mistake we made when we first heard of him. He has a weapon of mass destruction that we can't let him utilize."

"Gee, I wonder whose to blame for that..."