Episode 31: Final Moment of Peace

[Tracy White]

There was that pesky shield of Gladion's again. There was just one flaw in Tank's approach that time: Skystar doesn't need to move any of her body parts to use her abilities. Tracy knew this very well.

"Ability activate! Space Guardian!" A key defensive ability in Skystar's arsenal, Space Guardian allowed her shoulder discs to act autonomously. They detached from her body and were covered in a sky-blue coloring. Each time Gladion's sword would try to cut her down, they moved in front of Gladion to take the blow, erecting a barrier around Skystar with each strike.

"Ha! Nice one!" Tracy complimented Skystar. She was getting excited that they were taking control for once. She knew this based on what she was about to use as a follow-up. "Try this! Ability activate! Grand Haos!"

This was undoubtedly a strong ability that took everything they knew about the Haos attribute and crafted an extremely deadly attack. First, a blinding light emanated from Skystar's staff that blinded Gladion. Then, numerous light waves poured out from the hilt and trailed along the battlefield. These waves were strong enough to cut through the surfaces that they touched, meaning that if it touched the ground, it will leave behind a trail to let everyone know who was responsible.

[Tank Stryker]

A sense of pride washed over Tank as he watched Tracy give him a good fight. This was a girl who previously couldn't take an opponent down even if they left themselves open on purpose. Looking at her now, Tank could see that she became truly strong, enough to fight on a somewhat even field against him. If that wasn't motivating, he didn't know what was.

"She's definitely been doing her training. She could be a champion someday. NCAA, perhaps even make it to the PBL herself if she keeps going," Tank thought to himself with a smile.

Gladion had to retreat temporarily when the light was first cast, but he wasn't going to let the trail of destruction end his career. He had a plan, just like always. Aegis helped him block enough of the light to make seeing somewhat manageable, but it probably wasn't going to help if those rays make contact.

"That's great, but remember. Gladion's senses are so good that he doesn't even need to see your shadow to find out where you are," Tank promised her. He swiped an ability on his BrawlX right as Gladion leaped back into the action. "Ability activate! Battle Charge!"

Gladion was starting to pump himself up in the heat of battle. His body and his weapons glimmered in a radiant blue. Knowing where the attack was coming from and hearing the light leave Skystar's staff, Gladion charged straight through the light rays, unfazed by their power to the point of splitting them into two different directions on impact using Aegis. He jumped forward and created a forceful blast by slamming the floor with his sword to disrupt Skystar's channeling of the light energy, restoring his sight at the same time.

"Can you really handle it, Skystar?" Gladion challenged as he continued rushing her without any interference.

[Tracy White]

There wasn't a lot of things that could phase Tank, aside from the very special cases out there like Noland, Allen, and - possibly - Damian and Jamal. To see Tank bounce back like that so easily made it clear why Tank was a champion in the first place. Tracy could definitely see that clearly now that she had advanced to this point in the brawling world.

"I'll show you!" Skystar challenged back with the same intensity. As she was flying back, one of her shoulder discs hovered underneath her to act as a platform. Skystar then returned to her upright position to get ready for Gladion's assault. "Tracy, give me something good."

"On the way," Tracy obeyed. She got one of her Illumina abilities on the BrawlX pronto. "Ability activate! Illumina: Strength!" This was more than likely her favorite Illumina spell and definitely more viable to use than the other Illumina spells Skystar has. This one crafted a small energy ball on Skystar's scepter and had it disperse. It created a bathing light that endowed Skystar with healing properties and empower her through the harsh environment of a battlefield. With that being said, she converted her staff into an electrified blade.

While usually inadvisable for a Bakugan with her fighting style, Skystar willingly took Gladion on in close quarters. Her spell aided her in combating Gladion's superior sword-fighting skills and stalemating his advancement. Sparks and pressure waves emanated from their clashes. It was enough to send chills down the Silver Knights' spines.

[Tank Stryker]

Tank could hear those faint comments of Tracy's power echoing throughout the crowd of Silver Knight brawlers. Indeed, this was a momentous showing for someone with her background, one that Tank had to now take seriously.

"Ability activate!" Tank shouted out. He pushed his arm forward as he played one of his new favorites. "Burning Cold!"

Using Gladion's dual attributes in perfect unison, he split the different powers of Aquos and Pyrus between Aegis and his longsword. Aegis received Pyrus, giving it the power of swamping whatever comes into contact with it in a scorching inferno. The longsword received Aquos, allowing it to freeze anything that it touches.

This proved to be extremely valuable when clashing sword blows with Skystar. Her sword became frozen after her final swing, making it very fragile. While this stunned Skystar for a brief moment, Gladion stayed in place and swung his body around to deliver a powerful back shield bash to her upper body. The explosive power from the impact sent her rocketing to the other side of the field. Her staff was also completely destroyed in the process.

"Hey, Gladion. How about we wrap this up?" Tank suggested to his partner. Gladion watched as Skystar finally made landfall on the floor.

"On you," Gladion replied, signalling he was ready for whatever Tank had in mind.

"Alright. Ability activate! Arena Trap - Bear Trap!" Two portals opened underneath the downed Skystar. Out of them came two sharp bear traps that clamped down into Skystar's legs. Gladion placed Aegis on his back for the time-being in favor for holding his longsword with both hands. He jumped over Skystar's head and pointed the blade downwards. His intention was to plunge the sword into Skystar's abdomen, which will not only inflict serious injury, but pass on the effects of the passive freezing ability to make her suffer internal damage.

Undoubtedly, this was a lethal move, but Tank would not have made this move if Tracy did not have the potential to stop it.

[Tracy White]

It would take a while for Skystar's staff to regenerate. It would also take a while to heal from all of this damage if Gladion manages to go through with this move of his. This was a dire situation.

Tracy initially looked at Tank in disbelief since she was aware of what a move like that would do and wondered why he would set that in motion. She had faint memories of how Tank used to treat her, and this same ability was used against her one of those times too. This time, Tank did not have that same look in his eyes as he did back then. There was no feeling of contempt. She could sense the mutual feeling of respect and confidence that he held with his teammates of old. That made Tracy return a smile.

It also made her eager to just cut loose and not worry about the end result. She was satisfied already. Now she wanted to see how far this can go, despite the fact she was very capable of living through this attack without the need to resort to this next technique.

"We'll just have to disappoint you guys about not getting to do a victory chant. I'm not losing, not anymore," Tracy affirmed with her BrawlX covering her face. "Now, ability activate! Mode Change: Seraph Form!"

Skystar's discs moved down her back until they reached the center of it. That spot was now where they rested. They flashed for a quick two seconds before a set of angelic wings sprouted from them. Their size made them an excellent shielding option, so she covered the entire front portion of her body with them. Gladion was suddenly stopped mid-animation, and the freezing effect from the sword did not seem to work as well against Skystar's wings as it did on her staff.

"Too soon?" Skystar cockily asked Gladion who had not called on the power of a weapon capable of fazing her in this form.

She then forcefully blew Gladion away by swinging her wings outward. The sheer force of the motion destroyed the traps that bounded her. The wounds left from them started to heal rather quickly, a possible benefit from the Seraph form. Skystar returned to her feet, generated a new staff, and stood valiantly alongside a smaller, spectral clone of herself that appeared next to her.

"Now the battle will truly begin!"

[Tank Stryker]

"Seraph Form?" Tank repeated back to himself. It would sound like Skystar had ascended to a power of an angel. He finally figured out the kind of power Tracy acquired from her test with Lars Lion. He didn't know what it was, but he got a shocking introduction to it.

That was without alerting some of the Silver Knights to the obvious growing of power from Tracy that may call their presence in their arenas as opposed to that dimension thingamajig into question. Gladion's imprints on the battlefield certainly didn't ease their conscious when he found his way back on solid ground with both the front and back of his body.

"...You..." Gladion pushed himself back up to his feet. He examined his weapons and found them to be useless now that Skystar's push rendered them powerless. "...You're a lot stronger now, Skystar."

Tank nodded in agreement, a bit surprised that this was the same Tracy that used to be weak. He knew he was beating a dead horse by constantly going back to that, but it was extremely hard to forget. Her strength was monstrous. The only question that remained was how strong Skystar was, and Tank could figure that out with one of his new powers as well.

"Gladion, scan that new form of hers, will ya?" Tank called out as he activated the ability. "Ability activate! Remnants of the Titans - Eyes of Prometheus!"

Gladion's iris' shined upon activation. This extremely powerful ability allowed them to see what was ahead in the manner of forethought. What he could essentially do is foretell what was going to happen to him when he goes against this new form of Skystar's. He deduced that Skystar's power increase wasn't the only thing he should be worried about. He saw the clone change shape in between some of her later moves, specifically that of the Resistors' Bakugan. That told him enough of what Tracy was now capable of, and Tank seemed to know this too since he saw exactly what Gladion saw.

Of course, things may turn out differently than what Gladion predicted now since Tank did not plan on continuing the brawl without crossing over to the other set of abilities Gladion has access to. Based on Gladion recalling his weapons by throwing them back through portals, he didn't plan on doing it either. That would ruin the entire point of fighting Tracy if he didn't go all out like she wanted.

"So you call yourself a role model to other people? Really?" Tank asked her, mirroring what he said to her prior to meeting Noland up close for the first time. "You're right. You came a long way," he willingly admitted.

Tank pressed a button on the BrawlX's screen to trigger a transformation. A blazing blue aura was discharged from the device until it progressively turned red. The same phenomenon occurred on Gladion's body. The coloration on his armor shifted to resemble a Pyrus Bakugan. Essentially, Pyrus became his main attribute while Aquos was a secondary, meaning that the roles were switched using the DNA Catalyst. This also gave him the power to wield the Roman side of his abilities as opposed to the ones in Greek.

"Let's see what you've got, Skystar!" Gladion challenged as he assumed a boxing stance.

[Alana Cortese]

Similarly to Gladion and Skystar, a standoff occurred between two Hydranoids in the battle arenas at a separate point from when Tank and Tracy conducted their battle. It was primarily the Silver Knights' idea to have this happen because they wanted to see which feared Hydranoid was stronger rather than going by word of mouth. Another culprit was the insane amount of trash talk and hot tempers the Hydranoid were known to do, Maria's Hydranoid being less likely to do that.

Both Hydranoid were locked in a power struggle at the center of the battlefield. They were wrestling each other, doing their best to fight for dominance in the battle any way they could.

"The Admiral's Hydranoid is strong..." Alana admitted during the fight. "Maybe even stronger than you..."

"Really? Her?" All three of Hydranoid's heads burst out into laughter as he was stalemating Zero Hydranoid at the center with his high physical strength. "Please."

[Maria Zenovia]

Neither Maria or Hydra had this battle in mind or intention.
Perhaps it was Admiral Izumo who had this happen. All what Hydra heard was that she had to fight Alana's Hydranoid for the sake of training, but her suspicion goes that Admiral Izumo had ulterior motives there; presumably just enjoying the sight from the sidelines.
She would probably die of laughter if Hydra lost and she wouldn't get off Maria's back for months because of it; that's why Hydra did not want to lose to some 'outsiders' and get Maria ashamed for it.

However, Maria is not there on the battlefield.
Recent events around the Headquarters forced her to stay in her room accompanied by nurses and her right-hand, Keto. If it was for Hydra to decide she would stay by Maria's side, too, but schedule is schedule; if Maria is not in any life-threatening danger Hydra still has to fulfill obligations delivered by her superiors.
Good thing about Hydra is that she does not require Maria's presence to use abilities at all; abilities that are exception this are her Forbidden Abilities, but she would not dare to use them in a close space inside a building. Especially with so many people inside and Admiral Izumo observing from god-knows-where.

After that comment made by Alana's Hydranoid, Hydra lowers her strength on purpose and quickly moves right while kicking Hydranoid into his feet making him lose his balance. She grabs him by his left arm with both her hands.
In that moment she starts spinning in one spot while holding Hydranoid. Because of the speed and physical imbalance Hydranoid can't counter. Hydra then suddenly stops spinning and lets go of Hydranoid forcefully tossing him into the western wall, which causes Arena to shake and Hydranoid to fall down.

[Alana Cortese]

Alana didn't seem uncomfortable at all about what she just saw. In fact, she knew Hydranoid didn't feel any pain from the maneuver. It was just a temporary inconvenience that he had been sent away like that. The only thing to worry about was how mad he was going to be. She couldn't stop herself from laughing at Hydranoid just a little bit.

The "oohs" from the observers didn't help Hydranoid's situation either.

"No she didn't..." Hydranoid was pissed now, so pissed that all three of his heads said that line in unison. He returned to his feet and walked back to the space he was at prior to Ms. Sour Puss on the other side throwing him away. "That's it, lady. You want to get rough? Let's go."

Alana got back into battle mode once Hydranoid was ready to go. She pulled out two abilities, but kept one on the backburner for now until it was necessary to use it. "Nice to see you're fighting spirit is still there, Hydranoid!" Alana commended. "Now, ability activate! Death Trident!"

Hydranoid's heads conjured three individual blasts that behaved like explosives. Without delay, he launched them at Zero Hydranoid. Their travel speed was quite impressive, but the real kicker was in the way Hydranoid launched it. They did not stay in a straight line, but curved around each other to keep the opponent guessing. Ultimately, Hydranoid's goal was to have two blasts strike the opponent while the other hits the ground to inflict splash damage.

[Maria Zenovia]

Hydra couldn't deny this tactic they pulled.
It was very smart; three curving blasts that confuse the enemy.
It's especially dangerous against slow and tough enemies like Hydranoids and Gorems, but that's where one of Hydra's specialties come in play. Her movement speed is astonishing, even for a Hydranoid.

"Hmph..." Hydra mumbles quietly. She clenches her leg muscles in a way like she is charging them. Seconds before blasts are about to make contact she jumps high into the air nearly reaching the ceiling of the Arena. Three blasts couldn't reach her in time; they miss her and cause explosions rising a cloud of grayish smoke.
At that moment she forcefully lands on the ground into the smoke. Her forceful landing causes violent tremors that make both Alana and her Hydranoid step back to catch balance.
It seems like Hydra does not intend to let them have a time-out.

Hydra opens all three mouths and inhales.
Smoke and fire produced by Alana's ability is suddenly vacuumed by Hydra. She grabs all the smoke and fire Hydranoid generated and swallows it. However, she does not engage in attack.

[Alana Cortese]

It turns out that Zero Hydranoid's choice to act in a lackadaisical manner towards Hydranoid was a big mistake. Alana intended to capitalize on that to score a detrimental hit. How much of an effect will it have? They have to find out.

"Boring. Let me show you..." Hydranoid said briefly before suddenly appearing behind Zero Hydranoid. "...how it's done!" In order to prevent her from counterattacking him so easily, Hydranoid bear-hugged her to hold her down.

Alana had a bit of a devilish smile when she played this move. It looked like her and Hydranoid were fully getting in sync with each other. That was a very dangerous thing for her opponents. "Double ability activate! Phantom Transmission plus Lash and Blast Extreme!"

Phantom Transmission obviously explained Hydranoid's flanking of Zero Hydranoid. He had warped there instantaneously. While that did mean that particular ability would be put on cooldown, it would be worth it to make this other Hydranoid move around a little. Each of Hydranoid's heads exercised the might of their jaws and clamped down on Zero Hydranoid's necks. The miniature heads were then released from his wings, and then they also sunk their teeth into the enemy, delivering a potent poison with the bites.

"It's not a very good idea to piss me off, in case you're new to how I like to do things around here," Hydranoid mumbled as he stopped his main heads from biting to lift her using the miniature heads. He first swung her to the western wall as payback for her sending him there earlier. Once she was slammed there, he delivered her to the eastern wall and did the same. He then lifted her straight up and pile-drived her to the arena grounds.

"Okay. Make this one count, Hydranoid!" Alana instructed him to do it, throwing her right arm out. Hydranoid ended the ability with a massive blast being fired from the central head, straight towards Zero Hydranoid's impact site.

[Maria Zenovia]

Hydra makes a silent step to the left.
She vanishes like a mirage and appears 10 meters away to the left.
Hydra does not seem upset about how things turned out; if she could survive both Dante and Slayerdranoid in the same time then one opponent would not make a difference regardless of how much damage they do.
And plus, her Zero Scales were reducing damage a lot.
Darkus Attribute does not have that much advantage or influence on her.

"Well then..." Hydra mumbles.
She turns towards Alana's Hydranoid in a relaxed manner. "Zero Arm." She mumbles silently. All eyes on all her heads flash in light-blue color. A long blue hand emerges from the floor, behind Hydranoid. Its claws make the hand resemble those of a devil. Hand makes an unexpected attack on Hydranoid.
It maneuvers and emerges in front of Hydranoid. It forcefully charges into Hydranoid and passes right through his chest to his heart. It is not a piercing ability, but a spiritual ability that can break laws of physics by directly passing through solid materials. That includes living ones.
The fact that it entered Hydranoid is not the problem, but what it is about to do.

Blue demonic hand suddenly starts pulsing creating a turbulent surge of cold energy right below Hydranoid's heart. Hydranoid's body starts twitching intensely as if he is constantly exposed to an uncontrollable defibrillator. This completely deletes all buffs he had accumulated so far and then hand thrusts forward tossing Hydranoid towards Zero Hydranoid.

"Zero Pillar." Hydra mumbles again. Cold energy starts to flow through the battlefield. Large pillars of ice start appearing all over the arena; about two dozens of them. And it is not usual everyday ice. This one bolsters damage if enemy was hit by Zero-class ability before.
As Hydranoid was tossed by Zero Arm, Hydra jumps and grabs him by his left and right tails. She does the same move she did at the beginning, but this time airborne. She starts spinning and at critical moments she tosses Hydranoid into one pillar making it explode and release icy energy that surrounds Hydranoid additionally damaging him.
Hydra then lands by Hydranoid and grabs him by the middle tail.
With surprising strength she lifts him up by the tail and slams him into another pillar doing the same icy damaging effect. She repeats this process a few times; tossing Hydranoid across the arena into the pillars.

She is finally satisfied by the damage done to her opponent and makes one final throw. Hydranoid hits the final pillar and slides across the icy floor on his stomach. "Are you satisfied now?" Hydra asks since her opponent practically asked for it.

[Alana Cortese]

"That's amazing..." Alana silently complimented the opposing Hydranoid. This was becoming a very entertaining match, one that she was hoping would push her to her best.

Regardless of Zero Hydranoid showing her powers, Alana was prepared to tap into her Hydranoid's powers as well. Zero Hydranoid was going to learn why Alana is as widely known as she is, and the assumed difference in experience wasn't going to alter the events in any way.

"Ability activate! Infernal Bastion!" This ability would have been the perfect check to the assault Hydranoid just endured if it weren't for that spiritual hand that temporarily barred her from doing so. Even then, the amount of damage Hydranoid would receive from that engagement would amount to about the same with either scenario.

"What a question," Hydranoid sarcastically answered while rolling his eyes at the same time. His body was covered in a fiery-like veil that served as an extra form of protection, one which absorbed power. This power transfer is what caused all of the ice to easily melt, ensuring that their opponent would not continue to take advantage of him on that terrain. Hydranoid then returned to his feet like nothing happened, empowered by this tremendous flow of energy that their opponent has granted them.

"Sorry, miss," Alana playfully apologized for Hydranoid's body remaining firm even through punishment. "He's stubborn, don't you think? Attacks like that makes him hot-headed more than actually hurting him. That's what you get when you train with the best of the offensive and defensive brawlers."

[Maria Zenovia]

Hydra gazes at the manifestation of that ability.
It is not that big of a surprise that a Hydranoid can endure this much.
Hydranoids are like a mix of a Dragonoid and a Gorem; they are like moving destructive fortresses. Hydra would be more surprised if her opponent had a hard time with those abilities.

"Am I supposed to be surprised?" Hydra replies to Alana. "He is a Hydranoid." She adds not really making it clear whether that is a compliment or an insult.
Well, if it is an insult it is very ironic at least.
Instead of trying to break through Hydranoid's defenses, Hydra decides to be passive on this one. Not because of her disinterest in the fight itself, but the fact that trying to break it right now as it is would not be so fruitful. Instead of that Hydra is plotting another plan; a bit more devilish than the one where Hydranoid got a face full of ice.
She does not intend to reveal what she plans, but one thing is certain- it is one of the oldest tricks in the book.

"Zero Soul..." Hydra mumbles and her body flashes once in light-blue color. Effect of the ability does not seem to reveal or manifest in any way and Hydra seems to have no intention on moving.

[Alana Cortese]

Hydranoid shook his heads a few times when Zero Hydranoid made that comment. "Correction. Not A Hydranoid. I am THE Hydranoid," Hyranoid corrected her. "Excedra let me say that one after I put the old bugger in his place...don't tell him I said that though."

Alana swiped a card on her BrawlX to deal with whatever Zero Hydranoid just used. It seemed to be the smartest thing to try, considering she wasn't in any immediate danger and didn't want to spring anything unless it was absolutely necessary. "Ability activate! Chaos Leap Sting!"

The miniature heads underneath Hydranoid's wings revealed themselves again. This time, they were going to bombard Zero Hydranoid with nonstop attacks. What made it was worse was that their beam attacks would get bolstered by the flame aura Hydranoid has on his body. This would buff their respective attacks and make them absorb power from the enemy in addition to causing mass chaos. The beam volleys that they shot out each had a purple flame surrounding them, making this buff clear to anyone who sees it.