Episode 23: Always By Your Side

[Deon Irvine]

Deon Irvine Tyr

Deon watched as the masked person spoke more and Hades attacked his bakugan partner. Deon didn't know what to do at first until his partner landed from the result of the attack. His partner had mad a little dent in the ground where he stopped himself from sliding too far back. Deon simply nodded at his partner before getting out another card. "Say about me all you want, don't you think i am used to being questioned about that by now?" Deon simply stated  not caring if the person found it funny or not. "Bull Terra!" Deon then said before activating his next card. His Bakugan simply grunted knowing what this meant and got up from where he was. Hades would be in trouble, as it's feet quickly sunk into the ground so movement wouldn't be an option or at least Deon hoped so. His bakugan then to fell slightly into ground and therefor couldn't move either. Unknown to everyone else however that was meant to happen. Not long after this a bright ball began to form by his bakugan's horns which he lowed. The ball got bigger and bigger until it was nearly the size of him. At this point the bakugan moved his head up causing the ball to go shoot as a beam that would deal the damage Hades had done back to it.

Made by Sifr @ THQ.

[Insidious]

Hades's feet sunk into the ground. It was careless about that, but more concerned with what this meant for Tyr's engagement pattern. It analyzed that closely, not as much as the masked man though.

"Of course I wouldn't know since I never asked you about it, smart one" he/she fired back instantly. "I am wondering why you threw away the only advantage you had over me by making that move."

He/she capitalized on this opportunity by playing an ability that was sure to score a monumental hit on the Spartan, if not outright kill him. It wouldn't be in the way that they envisioned it though...

"Ability activate! Spatial Transmission!" Hades's central head shot a gray-colored orb at the attack Tyr sent their way. This was done using the dimensional transporter technology, meaning that the orb in question produced a dimensional portal for the attack to go through. Hades's left head looked at Beta City. It designated it as a target by also shooting an orb above it so the attack Tyr just launched to kill him would be used to kill the people he's trying to protect. They may just destroy Macubass for them with that kind of firepower.

"Nice shot, gentlemen," he/she commended. He/she even gave them a thumbs up to boost their approval rating. They greatly needed it.

[Xavier Turano]

Xavier was the hidden factor behind the fight. He saw Deon use a move that placed him at a disadvantage, not only in the battle, but in being able to stop whatever scheme he/she was concocting. It didn't appear that Deon would be able to stop what was attempted, so that's where he had to come in.

"Not another city..." Xavier controlled Slipstream while it was in orbit to shoot a laser down to the surface. It was aimed a few kilometers above the entire city so that it was covered entirely in the green barrier that was erected. The explosion from the attack rocked the barrier and the people and the structures within its protection, but it held.

"Ability activate! Orbital Strike Zone!" Slipstream zoomed in towards the planet to get a good look at Hades and the masked person for lock-on purposes. Once their location was confirmed, it amassed a hefty amount of green particles in its mouth, so much so that a green ball of light was growing bigger by the moment. This appeared as a faint light to the ones that saw it on the planet. It became that much clearer when it was released through the planet's atmosphere so that it'd go right on their heads.

[Insidious]

When the shield was erected out of nowhere, it got him/her concerned about who did that because Tyr definitely had nothing to do with that. Then a giant beam of death was shot down right from the sky, or so it looked like. The distance must have suggested that whoever did it fired from space.

The masked man's reaction to this was very telling. There was a sense of panic in the next activation.

"Ability activate! Inhibitor Release!" he/she rushed out. Hades released itself from its dirty shackles by lifting its feet right above ground without too much trouble. The ability ensured that it wouldn't be trapped like that again. It was an important bonus to consider having when there's an orbital defense system already in place.

Since Hades was naturally too slow to dodge the blow normally, the masked person placed his/her hand on the mechanical and activated the dark power to enhance its reflexes. Thus, it was ensured that their survival rate would climb significantly. Hades used this temporary boost to thrust itself backwards over a considerable distance - 800 meters to be exact. The aftermath of the blast left several burn marks across the ground.

"What in the-" He/she returned the attention to Deon, assuming that there was more at work here than what meets the eye. "You..."

[Deon Irvine]

Deon Irvine Tyr

Deon wasn't sure what to feel or say about this. His attack nearly failed on him but someone had helped him and from the tone in the masked person's last ability they were starting to panic a bit. But the masked person had now turned their attention back to him. "Don't look at me bud, it was a surprise to me too.  But with that said, can we get back to battling?" Deon said before looking at his partner, "Tyr!" This was enough for Tyr to get his feet out of the ground and Tyr soon grunted still not happy with Hades or the masked man. 'The queen sent me to do this, and i will succeed' Deon though to himself before thinking a little bit. "Deon I think it is time to ventus it up a little more." Tyr said on about a certain card. "You sure?" Deon asked Tyr knowing Tyr had some trouble last time they used this card. "I am sure Deon, I got a small idea of what I got to do." Tyr said and Deon nodded before taking out the card. It was a normal ability but it might surprise Hades and the masked person a little. "Ventus Soar!" Deon called out before a green light appear on the back of Tyr slowly forming into something. it was unclear at first but after a burst of green light Tyr appeared but a bit different. Tyr now had wings and as such was a flying bull meaning his speed could be even faster now. Tyr began to flap his new wings and carefully went up into the air. All seemed OK and Tyr trying turning and flipping where he was quickly before attacking. Deon nodded at Tyr signalling to him that he knew he would be OK and Tyr soon nodded back at him. Tyr then began to fly around and around Hades trying to do the first attack but this time it would be faster and they now had the air to help them. Tyr flew in random pattern around Hades before choosing random times to hit into Hades at full force. Tyr and Deon was determined to follow their assignment to the end and wasn't going to fail if they could help it.

Made by Sifr @ THQ.

[Insidious]

"...have help," he/she finished saying. There was more concern placed into what shot at them than the Spartan. There was fear that the weapon will kill them faster than Deon ever could. This turned out to be a huge problem. There might be a whole new set of words that need to be made to describe how this didn't go to plan.

"Let's see here..." he/she was contemplating to himself/herself as Tyr changed form and bombarded Hades with his horns, its durable frame being stubborn enough to not let Hades submit. "That's most likely a creation of the prince. I could try shooting it, but this guy may get in my way, and there's nothing suggesting that it can't move on its own to dodge it before my attack leaves the planet...then again, I may not get as lucky as I did with the last one, so..."

Obviously unsure of what to make of this sticky situation, he/she improvised with an ability to create some time to think this one through. "Ability activate! S.H.R.E.D.D.E.R!" Hades unlocked a canister above his chest cavity to bring out an outpouring of miniature-sized Hades heads. This was done for two reasons. One, they were extensions of Hades, meaning that it could use them as an extra set of eyes, which was very important in looking out for another attack from Slipstream. Two, it serves as a countermeasure to Tyr's ruthless battling style. They stuck to it across the body to ensure that they were looking in all directions for a threat, and then they'd respond to it.

This is what they used to see Tyr coming from his assault. He thought moving around sporadically meant that he was safe, but it wasn't going to work out. When he charged again, Hades saw it coming and delivered a punishing move for it.

"Go, Lash and Bash Extreme!" Hades didn't have to turn around to catch Tyr. The miniature heads did that for it, seizing the bull with an electric tether - especially roping him around his legs. Four units attached themselves to Tyr's wings and chomped them cleanly off of his body. They then attached themselves to Tyr's horns in an attempt to self-destruct in his face. This would all be done while Hades uses all three heads to charge three individual laser blasts to blow the Spartan into smithereens.

This was the first time that he/she made a serious attempt to kill him.

"I don't know if it's just me...no, wait. Maybe it's just you. You're washed, aren't you?"

[Deon Irvine]

Deon Irvine Tyr

Deon watched as his next attack failed and someone was helping him. The question was why was they helping and if it was someone he knew like someone from the castle shouldn't they know about what the queen sent him to do? But with any action that caught Deon's attention the most was Hades ripping the wings off Tyr and the stuff after that. 'Dam it! What now?! We are doing really bad! What did the queen see when she sent me to do it?' Deon though to himself while trying to think of something quickly. 'OF COURSE!!!' Deon then said to himself before getting out to cards this time. "Boom Box!" Deon said activating the first card of the two. This card made Tyr smile knowing what he had to do. He managed to make a small explosion that would make Hades let go of him enough so Tyr could teleport to infront of Deon to deal with the attacks going for him. "Bull Barrier!" Deon then said activating the second card which would hopefully help them out a bit. This card created green light at Tyr's horn that began to create a barrier. This barrier would bounce the attacks right at Hades and would heal some of  his wounds as well. This was a handy card and Tyr needed some help like this. 'Come on!!!!!!!!!!!' Deon said to himself hoping this would work because it was getting annoying that his attacks wasn't going how he planned them to. Tyr stood his ground meanwhile, putting more and more into the barrier as he healed up .

Made by Sifr @ THQ.

[Insidious]

The S.H.R.E.D.D.E.R. units stuck to Hades locked onto its repelled blast and shot it out of the air, creating a dust cloud in the process.

"Yeah. You're definitely a shadow of your former self. I remember who you were now," he/she recognized. "Soul Taker, please." Hades opened its mouths and flashed its eyes upon activation. Smoke-like energy left Tyr and flowed into its mouths, a clear sign that his power was being stolen. This was done to curb Tyr's power up while empowering Hades even more, making it even more poised to finish him off in one shot.

"You were a bad boy growing up according to the CIA's records, you and Makoto that is. You alone ended rival gangs, which is why I'm surprised you'd want to brawl this way, by protecting one thing you don't even believe in protecting: Vestal. It's like a genocidal freak being the CIA Director; it doesn't add up well, which causes miscalculations and, in your case, a terrible brawler. You're only faking it to make it."

He/she got ready to play another ability before another thought popped up in his/her head. "Oh, and if that doesn't explain your performance, then...you just suck, man. Really. I'm trying to help your character out by not killing you so fast, but damn...I can only do so much here. Help us out."

[Noland Hardy]

There were two distinct facts that were readily apparent about the way things were going. Fact number one, the masked man was exposing something out of Deon by the way the latter was being toyed with, a weakness that was alluded to by his past activity on Earth. Fact number two, none of that mattered since the masked person already knew the brawl was unwinnable in the current situation thanks to Slipstream's overview of the area.

Having his/her attempts at destroying Macubass thwarted over and over again, the masked person decided that the only feasible option was retreating from battle as the only other option was death. After nearly dying by Xavier's interference with the orbital weapon, the masked person allowed Hades to be struck by one of Tyr's attacks on purpose and hitched a ride; that momentum was used as an easy passage to a dimensional portal opened with Hades' dimensional transporter. With them heading back to Earth, Deon had averted imminent danger and played a role in saving Beta City, it's citizens, and Macubass - Vestal's naval defense against Hurranians in the water.

Within the dimensional flux, the masked person silently regretted that this failure meant that Xavier would have more time to construct the other weapons that were planned and that it was imperative that a solution is found to combat Slipstream or else any future attempt at the other mechanical Bakugan will end very poorly.

In an unknown location, there was a prison hallway littered with corpses. Some of those corpses were steadily being taken over by Hurranians, a costly result of 'drug' dealers - really Hurranian dealers - being put in there. In solitary confinement, there was a familiar face, Makoto Nakashima. He recounts the sole event that landed him that spot in there - re-killing people who came back from the dead thanks to the Hurranians, even though he originally killed them before it happened. Ahrangi cursed the individual that snitched them out and wished piccolo on them. Makoto is reminded of the same thing happening when he was seven-years old when someone had actually assisted him from the shadows by cowardly standing back while him and Ahrangi were on the front lines. He mentions that people like that are never able to stand on their own since they like to use others and forsake them when it's convenient for them; thus, he announces his hatred of those who would have close association only to end it in a blink, and then run away like a prancing fairy. He declares all of those who behave like that to be weak, and always will be; eventually, he'll carve out those betrayals on Ahrangi's blades.

Deon returns to Dasia to confirm the mission to be completed, but was very disappointed that he was unable to do it on his own. Dasia was equally as disappointed since the mechanical Bakugan was able to do a better job than a Spartan, tarnishing the credibility of the organization altogether. She chose to apologize to Deon since she found fault for how she was primarily using him, which was for missions that typically involved Deon performing a certain job undetected. She assigned him for training in the battle arenas to work on his skills in confrontation, something that she believes he lacks as a result of always taking on his enemies without them knowing he was there.

When he left, Dasia thought about what she said and remembered how she heard of Deon's exploits, typically when it came to the matters of regicide and how he stopped it. She remembers him not taking a single attack, almost like he specialized in that style for a very long time. She almost wondered if the same would happen to her, and would keep a close eye on him just in case.

[Noland Hardy]