Episode 28: What I've Lived For

[Vince Hardy]

"Yes!" Vince yelled out in celebration. Noland and Drago overcame his darkness by passing this test. They were already strong before they came into Vestroia, but with the Switch and Hex Code at the ready, they had raised the bar once again. This is what they've worked towards. It was not to dish death out to all who oppose them. Their newfound power would be used to protect everyone for generations.

"I've waited a long time to see you do that, Drago...now I don't even know what to say," Apollonir revealed, flabbergasted that it happened right in front of him that he lost his thoughts completely. To Apollonir, watching him assume this form for the first time was like being there when he was born. It was that important in the Dragonoid line.

"Just for our own curiosity, we're going to do a power check just to see what you can do now. It's not that I expect anything sub-par. I just like seeing how strong you are. That's one of the perks of being your father, you know." Vince swiped a card on his BrawlX that was rainbow-colored, befitting the strength of the Switch Code. "Ability activate! Closing Fire!"

Apollonir bathed his set of wings in a bright flame that crackled with might and vitality. He then converted all of them into tiny particles - specifically tiny orbs - and pushed his wings outward. This made all of them scatter around the battlefield. One at a time - in a random order, one would pop up near Drago and expand, smothering that entire space in Dextra-attributed fire that could only be extinguished by an opposing Dextra user.

[Noland Hardy]

Noland didn't bother looking to see where those particles would be coming from. It would've been useless, so the next best thing was to make the opposing attack useless. He knew what to do, even if his set of abilities took on a completely new form from the Switch Code's influence.

"There's also a perk for the son as well: getting to surpass you," Noland mentioned. "Ability activate! Nova Sentry!" Two Chinese Dragons were unleashed from Drago. They looked more like serpents than ever before, and they were completely overtaken by the power of all attributes. They were now siphons in this state, forgoing the need of having to engage the attack directly to absorb it. They could do that passively now, freeing up room to direct responsibility to another attack if needed. This now meant that if these two constructs could not be overloaded or dealt with in a timely manner, Drago could not be harmed.

"I could face anyone now with this level of strength..." Drago said in his mind as both dragons zipped across the field and pierced through Apollonir's body with relative ease. One bound Apollonir while the other hovered above his head and was prepared to launch an attack from above and behind.

"Here's our closing fire. Go, Triple Threat!" With the Switch Code, Drago no longer had to charge it how he used to; he could fire it on demand. Through the use of Nova Sentry, Drago elected to have the Nova Sentry use the ability instead of him. The one that was above Apollonir fired a large bomb-like blast that was pushed by the power of a triple node.

[Vince Hardy]

"Tsk...it seems his speed has more than doubled..." Apollonir learned the hard way. It was a surprise for a Legendary Soldier to feel this way, but he was in actual danger of being obliterated by this attack.

"Quickly! Ability activate! Dispel Roa!" This wasn't an ability Vince had foresaw himself using against Noland, but he had no choice. Apollonir's entire body gleamed to spread his energy outward. His power traveled through the air and on land, showing noticeable cracks and distortions in them. This venting released him from his shackles at the penalty of resetting his power, but the same would happen to Drago, eliminating his Nova Sentry and Triple Threat in the blink of an eye.

"I'm not going to let you pass me up so easily," Vince declared. "Ability activate! Maximum Nova!" This was a variation of the Maximum Pyrus ability, except that it was designed to pile all of that power into a singular blast. Apollonir shot a volcanic missile at Drago that left a burning trail of fire in its wake that would not only eat away at any technique that crosses its territory, but it had the same life-eating effect Maximum Pyrus had.

[Noland Hardy]

Drago trembled at the earlier showing of Apollonir's power that disrupted his own. He was now in the same situation that he put Apollonir in before. Noland had a plan though. That was good for something.

"Ability activate! Novia Edge!" Drago pointed his tail at the incoming projectile. The trident at the end was imbued with energy to make it seem like it was a sword. He aimed carefully and detached it to clash with the blast, destroying it before it reached its ultimate destination: him. He had also launched the thorns along his body that transitioned into staves, but they were incinerated before they could ever come close to Apollonir due to the properties of the legendary technique.

"Well, there you go..." Seeing that confirmed Drago's earlier suspicion about Maximum Pyrus. Had Drago not have known about the Hex Code, he may have died when that attacked was launched. The only thing to do now was to mark his territory with his own abilities since he couldn't contest Apollonir in that area with the limited amount of experience he has in using the form.

"Let's try this. Ability activate! Crimson Bonding!" Drago's horn crackled with electricity. He eventually covered the rest of his body with the same energy. He then stood perfectly still, awaiting Apollonir's next move.

[Vince Hardy]

"Hm...what are they planning over there?" Vince found it odd for Noland to ever have Drago stand still. Drago has mentioned in the past that it was something you never want to do against a Dragonoid, and here he is doing it anyway. Something was being concocted over there.

"Apollonir, I'd stay loose if I were you. I could tell you when something big is coming from them. This is it," Vince warned. He played an ability that was hopefully going to stop whatever the boys were plotting. "Ability activate! Maximum Revolution!"

An ability akin to Drago's own Triple Threat ability, Apollonir uses this attack to bombard the opposition with an adaption of what would take place with the presence of multiple attributes. What he would intend to do was call on the power of different attributes and disperse their power in a select area to place certain effects over it, whether it was through power absorption or absolute submersion.

[Noland Hardy]

Noland kept his poker face when Vince made that move. They already knew he was planning something. At the same time, they didn't know that they couldn't have stopped him from casting this next ability even if they tried.

"Whatever that is, too bad," Noland insisted. "Ability activate! Slip Damage!" This ability was so powerful that it unknowingly taxed Drago's reserves, but they were going to go with it anyway since its use would severely detriment Apollonir. In a nutshell, this functioned as a space-time technique.

This first required Drago to have an attack at the ready. Once he does, he simply commences whatever the ability is. Noland and Drago then share equal vision with each other concerning what happens next: what happens on the way to the attack's destination. They can choose to make the attack act as if it was declared by Drago a moment ago, right before Apollonir spread his flames across the battlefield. That would make his attack unable to be nullified by Apollonir's flames since Noland and Drago introduced this technicality.

"Here!" Drago shot a beam of light towards Apollonir from his horn that infused itself into his body and took hold. It immobilized him and burned his body from the inside, interrupting the casting of Maximum Revolution in a timely move.

"Oops. We didn't let you finish that one, did we?"

[Vince Hardy]

"...What an upset..." Vince never foresaw that one at all. Noland must have exploited his and Apollonir's complacency over the flames being on the ground. Their new ability made Drago completely ignore the field conditions. That was possibly one of the most powerful techniques ever. Just imagining what would happen in the event that someone tried to defend against Noland and then he just pops that ability to ignore the defense. Its power was stupefying to say the least. It did look like it cost a lot of power though.

Apollonir had a very difficult time coping with what he was just hit with. The burning sensation on his insides and the stunning effect was almost too much to bear. He was struggling to even stand. "It takes a master fighter to get the better of me like that..." Apollonir conceded. He wasn't speaking from their ability's power; he was referencing Noland's ability to deceive him.

"Same here. He got me too." Vince still swiped an ability though. "Ability activate! Infinity Waiver!" This was Apollonir's strongest ability, one that Noland and Drago should be honored that he's using. Unfortunately for Apollonir, Crimson Bonding made it so that he could only use it at half of his strength due to the amount of damage he was progressively taking. Apollonir's chest diamond lit up briefly before a large, light laser beam was unleashed in Drago's direction. This only contained three attribute powers as opposed to the usual six.

[Noland Hardy]

When Drago heard that ability's name, he was reminded of when that ability was used. Three centuries ago during the climax of the Second Universal War, this technique was used to destroy a very formidable Helios. He could tell it was drastically weakened from then because of his efforts, but it was still strong enough to beat him.

"Noland?"

"I'm on it. Get ready." He swiped the card in style. "Ability activate! Novia Thunder!" With the aid of his horn producing identical electrical components used for Crimson Bonding, Drago developed a forceful blast wave from his mouth that acted as a counterpart to one his past abilities: Fusion Supremacy, the one ability he used to defeat Dharak back then. Its power uprooted the very foundation of the grounds they were standing on, and so did Apollonir's. When the two attacks met each other in the center, the beginnings of a cataclysmic explosion formed in the epicenter. It all took place very fast, leaving the determination of the winner up to whatever's seen when all is clear.

[Vince Hardy]

When things started to settle down, Apollonir was left reeling on one knee, his Switch Code power stripped from him. He was breathing a bit heavily from the ordeal with his son. Some bits of bruises were on his body as well.

"That was closer than I'd like to admit, but...it was an exciting one..." Apollonir commented on his victory, seeing that Drago was flat on his face across from him, leaving him the only one that's still up.

Vince was satisfied with how the brawl went. The twists and turns along the way kept it lively. There wasn't a time where he felt like Noland and Drago were completely outmatched until it came to this final clash here. That said it all for how far they had come together. That was all this test was aiming to do, and they had already passed with flying colors prior to the end of this brawl. There was nothing to be ashamed of. Being proud of one's accomplishments was the only fitting thing to do here.

"There's not too many Bakugan that can match a Legendary Soldier the way you two did, and you just took on the leader and did all of that. You're really something," Vince said in amazement. He made his way across the broken portions of the battlefield without any trouble just to be able to shake Noland's hand. "Good brawl, Noland, as always." He extended his right hand to seal the deal.

[Noland Hardy]

With Drago face-down on the ground and his Switch Code form deactivated while Apollonir was kneeling, it was clear what happened after the clash. Despite knowing this, Noland was ecstatic to find out that Vince was still stronger than him since he enjoyed working towards matching him.

"Wow...who could really be mad at that? We were that close against a legend..." Noland could hardly believe that himself, but the evidence clearly showed that he posed a substantial challenge. "Drago, everything okay down there?"

"Assuming you already know how hurt I am, yeah, I'm fantastic," Drago answered.

"Ha! I know you are. You're one tough Bakugan, Drago."

"And you're a persistent human and Gundalian. We make a great team."

Vince then arrived to enact the formalities of sportsmanship. Noland followed suit. "That was more than good for me. It was the best brawl I've ever fought," he admitted. Lars Lion as well as the rest of the Legendary Soldiers arrived when it was over. A circular light surrounded both Drago and Apollonir that healed their injuries and restored their power. The rest of the Resistors were placed behind Noland as well.

[Allen Silva]

Allen stood in absolute awe. The brawl was a a hardcore battle from thr beginning. Noland and Drago somehow passed thier test ,and beat on the legendary soldier leader." That was one of the greatest brawls ever." Was all he could get out of his mouth. He never believed that anything that is happening for real.

He had to adress the elephant in the room though. And that was Apolonirs brawler." Vnce, is that really you?" He asked, even though he knew the answer already." Its like that day never happened. Alana's back, even if she has Hydranoid. To be honest Hydranoid isnt that bad anymore. But thats beside the point. You really are Vince aren't you?"

[Alana Cortese]

Hydranoid's eyes twitched when Allen said that about him. He tried not to let that get to him on account of what he said during his own test, but he couldn't help himself. His tails rose as he eyed Allen and Gorem with an extreme intent to maim them. "Those are fighting words, boy," Hydranoid challenged.

One of his tails trembled for some odd reason, so he looked behind him and saw that Alana was giving him "the look." Hydranoid saw this and immediately stopped what he was doing and hung his heads down in shame. "I'm...sorry..."

Meanwhile, Excedra was having himself a very good time laughing at Hydranoid over the matter. "Heh. Softie," he said. This prompted Hydranoid to shoot him with a Darkus orb. Both Hydranoids went to blows with each other off to the side.

"Why are Hydranoids so childish...?" Alana asked herself. She was awaiting an answer to Allen's question with as much curiosity as the latter. It would be an interesting story to tell about why she was curious, considering what happened between them both in the Doom Dimension.

[Vince Hardy]

Vince's face lit up with excitement when he laid eyes on Allen up close. Vince considered him his unofficial son, so to be able to see him again did wonders to his happiness. "I can tell you're just as excited to see me as I am to see you, Allen," he easily noticed. "Or should I be calling you the Iron Juggernaut now? You've made quite a name for yourself, both you and Gorem."

Vince approached the young man and offered a handshake, for old time's sake. "It can't get any more real than this. It's good to see you." He almost forgot to reveal that he wasn't an illusion like some people were for certain tests.

In the back of his mind, he was wondering how he was going to confront Alana about what happened before. He didn't want to come off as overbearing about how he felt about her in front of Noland, but something was going to happen. He wanted Alana to make the first move though; she wronged him, not the other way around.

[Allen Silva]

Allen shook Vince's hand without a second thought. He couldn't believe this was happening. " I do what i can. " He responded to Vince and his mention of his nickname. " That name wouldn't be a thing without you. They started calling me that after the battle we lost you, so its not without its demons. Call me whatever you feel."

" we shouldnt graze over who's at your side. " Gorem now put in his two cents. He had sat like a good little bakugan for far too long." How did you wind up with a legendary soldier as your bakugan partner? I though you were in the doom dimension. "

[Vince Hardy]

Vince grunted slightly at Allen's mentioning of the battle with Barodius - definitely not because he lost due to the Fifth Paladin being absorbed or anything. The event still being relevant in their minds was the problem. He was going to get to that later, but for now, he was going to address his run in with Apollonir; everyone else hadn't heard about it.

"I'd still be there doing what Doom Beings do best if the Legendary Soldiers hadn't intervened and rescued me. They said that I was too powerful of a brawler for them not to risk their lives by going in there. I didn't tell them this, but that inflated my ego a lot, especially since I helped coordinate their battle strategy. That is why I'm here after all: the task of being the mediator of all six of them," Vince explained.

"Because some of us are a bit noisier than others..." Apollonir added on.

"Don't make me come over there," Oberus threatened, knowing she was one of the ones he was referring to.

"Please do. Please."

"Very professional," Lars Lion disappointingly and sarcastically sighed.

He then continued on with what he really wanted to say about the whole incident. "That's not really important right now. The main area of concern is how you're still looking at that situation. You earned the right to carry that legacy by yourself. You saved a lot of lives by doing what you did. You're a hero and a legend in my books, Allen. What happened to me would never change that."

Not wanting to look childish in front of everyone before he formally introduced himself to the rest of the Resistors, Vince was prepared to address Alana in the best way possible. "So...what should I be saying to you right now..." Vince wondered to himself.