Episode 38: Markus, The Phantom Blade

[Daniel Andersen]

Daniel takes out a card with a wolf-head emblem on it.
He rises it and the head glows. "Ability activate! Law-Maker!"
It is one of the most dangerous classes in Daniel's arsenal and it is quite surprising that Kuzuha is not the one using it. Kuzuha did create it though; being a sorceress she still knows how to implement different formulas to create abilities for other Bakugans.
This is one thing that makes her deadly- she could invent abilities based on powers she copied and then give that to others to use it freely. So, she could technically take power of Valiant Strive and start a freaking Christmas giveaway.

This ability comes from one opponent that mechanical Bakugans should not be allowed to face and that is no other than Lydia and her Angelight. Angelight is an expert in using time-and-space abilities which can become so lethal that they could potentially reduce Valiant Strive to nothingness within seconds. Her time-and-space effects are plentiful and therefore they cannot affect living beings (unless she uses Forbidden abilities), but as for mechanical Bakugans the 'living' part does not apply.
Kuzuha is not only able to copy others' abilities; if Bakugan whose ability she copied is weaker than Kuzuha then she can use formulas of enhancement and additionally improve those abilities. Her creativity is her power.

Wolveride's eyes flash in red and his black armor starts emitting creepy white energy. "I would agree on that." Wolveride comments on what the person said. Wolveride then roars intensely releasing a shocking pulse through the entire area.
Diablo's body suddenly starts buzzing and emitting strange noises. Suddenly, scars and scratches that Wolveride previously caused and were repaired suddenly reappeared out of nowhere. And to make it worse this time anomaly causes them to rust quickly. And energy Diablo gained suddenly is pulled out of its body by force and disperses into millions of pieces.
On the good side, this ability affects Wolveride as well. It reset him to time when he was using 'Sub-Zero Moonlight', so basically... here he goes again.
While Diablo is defenseless Wolveride launches a breath of cold fire that hits Diablo and gives him an old three-sixty in the air before letting him kiss the solid ground.

[Vengeance]

The masked person did not seem to falter from Wolveride's comments. "Yes...you would, wouldn't you?"

"Warning. Anomaly detected. FARBAS system offline." It was fortunate that there was a fail-safe installed in Diablo in case anyone with power like that were to render the FARBAS system useless. That fail-safe was the masked person.

He/she emitted a pulse that touched Diablo. Numerous sparks were seen coming across its frame that seemed to reset the mechanical Bakugan's FARBAS system and supplied the power for it to be re-activated, placing it back on the level it was on before Wolveride stopped FARBAS somehow.

"Command accepted. FARBAS system online. Re-commence destruction of primary target." Diablo appeared ready to glass this opponent.

"Ability activate! Hyper Cell!" Diablo generated a potent beam from its mouth that appeared to have the properties of its new base power mixed into it. It appeared blue as a result of Wolveride's influence. It traveled down range very quickly, striking Wolveride and sending him on a speedy path down the road past several buildings, many of which collapsed right on top of him. An interesting thing to note was that Wolveride had actually been caught on fire from his own blue flames when he was struck, and moving past those falling buildings have actually allowed them to be set ablaze as well.

[Daniel Andersen]

It seems that Law-Maker was useful for only a short period.
This is simply a game of endurance for Wolveride and he's got plenty.
Being thrown around does not mean he is losing strength; Kuzuha can throw him around without using an ability, nothing special.

"Ability activate! Vital Circle!" This ability is a mix of two abilities brought to Wolveride by Kuzuha's craftsmanship. Combination of Angelight's 'Circle of Time' ability and Wolveride's 'Bloody Chomp' ability. First one could invert timelines of two items or beings for a temporary amount of time and Bloody Chomp is used against living Bakugans only where Wolveride bites them and drains their life force out of their soul. Combination of the two makes Wolveride able to do this on non-living beings and drain their energy and 'time'.

With a swift step forward he activates boosters on his back and charges forward like a bullet, erasing all the flames on himself and surroundings. He brutally strikes Diablo in the belly and then time stops freezing both Bakugans where they are. All of a sudden they both flash for some reason and time unlocks. Wolveride continues his charge strikes again sending Diablo against the ground in a position where the large monster could easily break lots of its components.
And then effects behind that flash occur. Wolveride's power rapidly recovers thanks to draining the 'juice' from Diablo and it also stole Diablo's 'time'. Wolveride took FARBAS's property and healed himself while leaving Diablo unable to do the same. Scars and rust from before again reappears on Diablo as a result.

[Vengeance]

"I see...this technique of yours isn't natural. You've been cheating the system all along..." The masked person picked up on what was going on. There was only one Bakugan with a capability like the one Wolveride just showed. The memory banks clearly show Lydia Andersen and her Angelight being capable of this, not Daniel and Wolveride.

"It was clever of you to come to us prepared, unlike your brother; however, you did not prepare enough. You have behaved carelessly. I will show you what I mean." He/she played an ability. "Ability activate! Geothermal Blade!"

It could be said that Diablo had just entered the "Second Layer" since geothermal energy was being brought into the equation. Its sword was ejected from its back and grabbed by its tail. The tail pointed the blade in the direction of Diablo's body and turned it on. The blade erected a smoky form of crimson-colored energy that impaled Diablo. As a consequence, it also impaled Wolveride. The energy itself extended way past the point where Wolveride was stuck to.

"Alternative solution reached. Target incapacitated," Diablo acknowledged.

"I should thank you for being my test subject. You have shown us that there are some things we have to work on. I appreciate the lesson that you have taught us." Diablo's blade started to flow intensely. It pulsated with fiery power, burning the inner workings of Wolveride's body without a hint of a pause. It then quickly surged back down until the blade was retracted, starting from the top all the way through until it went past Wolveride and Diablo. This violent maneuver left a rather disgusting sight of Wolveride's body that could barely be recognized unless you looked at his face. Diablo appeared to be unharmed from getting impaled; it actually ran off of that energy, restoring its frame and power back to tip-top shape from being hit rather than being destroyed.

"The upgrades your Wolveride has in its body comes close to what the Vestals could do. Fascinating. We could benefit greatly from this astounding find," the masked person commented on Wolveride's body. He/she could do this because Wolveride was now infected by the Hurranians and under their control. The wolf slowly rose to its feet - despite the fatal injury remaining on its body - along with Diablo. Wolveride then went elsewhere to confront the others who would try and make a mockery out of the Hurranian's power.

"Is your other Bakugan next, or will you be a good boy and surrender?" the masked person wondered.

[Daniel Andersen]

Well, than was an unfortunate turn of events.
Daniel did not expect that Chrome Fusion Metal which protects Wolveride can be so easily destroyed by simple attacks like those. Seeing that it IS possible after all Daniel is fascinated by how far these insane projects of Hurranians and Kyuki have gone that they can instantly penetrate Wolveride's armor.
That only proves that the threat of Hurranians is huge, but judging by how far this Diablo has gone it is not impossible to defeat Hurranians. The only issue is that there are currently no matters of an organized plan on how exactly to create a proper strategy to deal with Hurranians.
After all, this jump by Markus, Vince and Daniel all of a sudden shows that all too well.
People should be working on strategies to stop this before these machines become virtually invincible.

"How useless..." Kuzuha mumbles impatiently giving infected Wolveride an angry gaze. That was completely pathetic in her eyes, even for a Bakugan like Wolveride. While she was Sakura, Wolveride was superior to her, but now she notices how feeble he is.
She jumps off Daniel's shoulder and stands on the battlefield. Her orb flashes and she emerges from violet lights that orb produced. "Morph: Sten!" Kuzuha yells and slams her staff against the ground forming a magic circle on her position.
She turns her face towards Wolveride and points her palm towards him. A ray of light emerges from her palm and charges at Wolveride hitting him directly in the eye.
At that moment a horrific change on him began; his body quickly started turning into stone. Piece by piece and in a few seconds his entire body becomes solid stone; it is not a coat or a trap- his head, eyes, legs, tail and insides became stone.
Kuzuha's staff flashes and she teleports in front of Wolveride instantly. She slams his front legs with the staff. Both legs crack and shatter into thousands of pieces followed by back legs as well leaving Wolveride immobile even if someone found a way to negate Morph.

Daniel then takes a look at the masked person. "What astounding find?" He asks in a dark sarcastic tone almost as if he knew what Kuzuha was about to do. He did NOT know, but was not surprised by this action. "Now then..." Kuzuha says as she turns towards Diablo.

"Ability activate! Invocation: Åska Projectil!" Daniel takes Kuzuha's card and rises it into the air. This is one kind of ability that Wolveride does not have and cannot have in his arsenal for certain reasons. However, this ability is very effective against mechanical Bakugans, Aquos Bakugans in general and any Bakugans that rely on equipment that conducts electricity.
She slams her staff against the ground and creates yellow magical circle on the ground and opens her palm towards Diablo.  Four parts of the magic circle release one large thunder each. Thunders collide before reaching Diablo and the fifth thunder is released from Kuzuha's palm.
It hits the collision point and transforms the thunder force into a large electric projectile. Like a bullet it charges into Diablo and impales it into the chest.
Electric shock produced on impact makes Diablo lose control and hit things uncontrollably as its important cells and circuits are damaged by the thunder. Thunder projectile then goes through Diablo and exits on its back still leaving a strong shock that fries every component that lies inside it.
If person tries to use that recovery ability again than tactic is plain simple; transform Kuzuha and destroy it before it can recover or use a stronger thunder to fry its vital components that let it recover in the first place.

[Vengeance]

Seeing what Kuzuha just did was infuriating. They really didn't want to let anyone have any fun. "You are such a buzzkill. I had planned on using that, you know. Oh well. It looks like we will have to make copies in case we cannot undo that spell of yours."

Diablo had unintentionally caused numerous structures to collapse because of its strength, most of which consisted of buildings and lampposts. That was the penalty of being a simple machine, being susceptible to attacks that are very effective against them. It was to the Hurranian's advantage that they were not simple machines.

"I would like for you to continue doing what you're doing. You are only building up our resistance to this tactic of yours. There will not be an effective way for you to short-circuit us very soon." The masked person was definitely on to something by saying this. It compared the Hurranians to a disease without directly saying it. Daniel could keep exploiting the flaws of mechanical Bakugan if he wants to, but he would eventually have to do something far worse in order to phase the Hurranian creations.

The spark eventually subsided from within Diablo's systems via Hurranian intervention. Its inner workings started to be repaired on the spot, making it very difficult for Daniel and Kuzuha to combat it any longer with a less-than-effective strategy.

"Come on then, assassin. Give me your best. That's all you have left," the masked person challenged.

[Vince Hardy]

Vince and Markus were making good time across the city streets without encountering any heavy resistance from the Hurranians. Hades was making sure they didn't have any catch them off-guard, which was somehow a good thing coming from that masked person. No one would have expected for him/her to preserve their well-being to this extent.

Suddenly, Appolonir winced from what he had just detected.

"Hey, are you alright?" Vince checked.

"A word of caution, for the three of you. Do not be distracted or overconfident. Keep your wits about you at all times. I cannot stress that enough. These mechanical Bakugan are no joke. I do not sense the power level from Daniel's Bakugan anymore."

"What about the other one he has?"

"She is still kicking, but for how long, I'm not too sure. If we take too long with this, we will need to abandon this mission. That boy is tactically more important than this girl."

"Understood. Markus, let's speed up."

[Markus Hederick]

Hearing Apollonir give the condition on the battle with Diablo had Markus concerned. These mechanical Bakugan may have deceptive strength when the Hurranians are involved. He could only hope Daniel did not take a challenge he can't handle. His arsenal was varied and could handle many things, but would that be enough to get past the Hurranians? Markus was hoping that would be the case, because allowing Kyuki to have his way here would mean the worst for what is going to come their way.

"Got it," Markus acknowledged. "Gargulion, ability activate! Ventus Frame!"

Markus was fortunate enough for Gargulion to have been able to use his powers in his spirit form, or he would have drastically slowed down in this transformation process. He levitated above Gargulion as the gargoyle broke his body down and reformed it into a bat-like body, coming equipped with a sleeker wing design to cut through the air more efficiently. With that done, Gargulion was right on Apollonir's heels as the Legendary Soldier sped up.

[Prof.Dr.Kyuki]

Kyuki's radar detects two incoming forces.
Judging by the amount of power one has, it is definitely Apollonir. And the other one Kyuki could only realize by running a more detailed scan since he could not care less about Gargulion or any Resistors' Bakugan for that matter.
While Kyuki personally did not care whether Roxy died or lived it was his intention to bring her 'saviors' into the trap. And his target were not specifically Roxy's saviors, but to cause enough mess to make powerhouses leave their posts and head here, so Silver Knights' HQ would be exposed for Traqdrach to attack this time. And if Maria thinks she can overcome that threat then she'd either have to be on drugs or insane.

And as for two unfortunate visitors, what could be more appropriate to entertain them, but Kyuki's newest development (Fina's, to be exact, but who cares).
And that development is called 'Six Nightmares'.
Copies of Six Legendary Soldiers which can definitely be distinguished from originals by their colors, shapes of their bodies and even types of attacks.
Individually, none of them is as strong as Legendary Soldiers, but together they can be quite uncomfortable to fight. Plus, unison of their power brings unimaginable disaster upon those who are to face it. Still, it cannot be used right away.

What makes it more uncomfortable, not even Kyuki knows this secret. He was asked to produce copies of Six Legendary Soldiers by Chrono Elite. He does not know that his enemy, Cult of The Triad, is actually behind it. They are also part of Chrono Elite, but are in conflict with Kyuki and they managed to get fake soldiers. They do not need their strength, but secret behind it.
If Kyuki was to find out he'd probably murder all six copies by himself.

"Activate! Gate 666!" Mysterious and dark voice says. It is coming from a nearby building.
Vince and Markus can clearly see it is another masked person, but not in any fashion as previous two you see here and there; this one clearly has cultists' robe and Chrono Elite's emblems can be noticed on certain parts. Mask also holds emblem of a dragon and two human-like heads.
Once those ominous words, Gate 666, were said a large gate opened up not far before Vince and Markus.

"Demonic Flames' Cruelty!!" Horrific voice yells from behind the gate and gate breaks as endless rivers of black fire blast through it. Flames do not stop and head towards Vince and Markus ready to take them and their Bakugans out in one quick swoop.
As this happens silhouette of Kyuki appears along with the one of this cultist, but then disappears after a second.

[Markus Hederick]

There they go again. Very "surprisingly," there was someone else trying to get in Markus' way. Whoever was responsible for this must have a serious condition in the form of underestimation. This incoming attack was and always will be weaker than his motivation to right what was wronged on this day.

"It's this guy again!?" Markus quickly swiped an ability to get him out of this situation without losing their speed. "Ability activate! Shade Winger!"

Gargulion - and Markus, by extension - phased through this malicious attack. Using this ability, they chose to cut through the buildings themselves, their solid form not being an obstacle to them anymore.

"This is starting to get dangerous. Where the fuck are the other Spartans at!?" This was definitely a fair question. it was their planet, after all.

[Vince Hardy]

Markus' maneuver was very smart. Gargulion wasn't as quick as Apollonir was just yet, even with the Ventus body involved. Apollonir could afford to divert from the path more than Gargulion could. Kyuki was really trying to be the straw that breaks their back.

"What a nuisance," Vince concluded. He didn't think much of Kyuki himself. He was just another monster that has no remorse for his terrorist activity.

Apollonir quickly blew himself back using his wings to change his direction entirely. He briefly planted his right foot into the ground in order to make a jump, uprooting the street he was on when he took off. While in the air, he conjured a flame in his hands and threw it in the north-east direction. It acted as a flare. Small, but bright, sparks of fire erupted from it to let Markus and Gargulion know where they needed to be.

Vince then contacted Markus on his BrawlX with his own, and said the following words: "Follow the flare. We'll catch up with you once Kyuki is sent on his way. We can't have whoever tried that attack lurking behind us."

Apollonir put up his guard in anticipation for his opponent, or opponents, to reveal themselves so they can get this over with. "I'd rather not wait for this doctor to show himself. If you're brave enough to attack me, let's see what you're made of up close," Apollonir challenged, in a very threatening manner.

"This is a boring way to call me out, Doctor. What abomination do you have to put in front of us this time?"

[Prof.Dr.Kyuki]

Gate remains floating in the sky.
Smoke created from the attack prevents clear sight on what hides inside the gate, but ominous energy coming from it tells it is not to be underestimated. As smoke starts to clear six shadows jump out of the gate and soar through the smoke.
It slowly clears then, revealing a special surprise Kyuki left out there.

On the front is a Bakugan whose distinction from Apollonir would not be possible to recognize if its skin color was not dark-purple instead. It looks very much like Apollonir, but this one is not friend to anyone. Behind him reveals another shadow; a large pitch-black bird resembling Oberus in all, but color. That appearance makes it look more like a crow.
Third shadow follows and soon is revealed; a gigantic frog, but with spikes all over its back and long sharp teeth making it resemble creature from nightmares. Fourth shadow is next; a gigantic Gorem with hands inside two large power-gauntlets for punching; it certainly does not resemble Clayf, but it is a menace regardless.
Fifth shadows is a winged monster; it has two pairs of wings, long arms with crimson claws on them and skulls tattooed on its entire body. It has one head that resembles those of Excedra, but only one. Kyuki assumed it would only be a drag to create multiple when he can mass power of multiple into one. And sixth shadow is a knight of some kind; in one hand bearing a golden hammer and other hand holds a staff of some sort.

Ominous energy slightly reminds of that of Six Legendary Soldiers, but it was turned into wicked power instead. Not every Bakugan resembles the original, but they are no less a nuisance when it comes to destroying.

Another powerful feeling is coming from the gate, but Belial (fake Apollonir) snaps his fingers and gate forcefully closes preventing whatever followed them to come out of that gate. He then takes a breath and roars releasing purple flame at Vince and Apollonir.
Flames do not exactly go towards them only, but spread and start hitting buildings down below. After that large bird spreads its wings and flaps releasing feather-like projectiles that head towards Apollonir and start destroying nearby buildings. Frog-like monster roars creating a toxic cloud above the buildings and Apollonir; it starts raining acid.
Gorem-like creature hits its fists against one another and creates waves of power that head to destroy everything in their way. Demonic winged monster opens up its mouth and releases an orb of darkness that heads towards Apollonir and explodes releasing multiple needles in all directions. And finally, knight monster rises her staff creating thunders in the sky that strike down on the ground.

"Hmm... their power seems to be a bit lower than what it used to... did something happen behind that gate before it was closed? And what was planning to come out that Belial stopped...?" Masked cultist thinks as he observes status of all Six. They are obviously damaged here and there; not horribly, but what could have attacked them behind the gate. Their mission was inside the Doom Dimension and there are no creatures in there that can harm those six when they're together... at least that is what cultists assume. Something DID happen in there and they're lucky Belial closed the gate soon.

[Vince Hardy]

The only thing worse than all six of those deranged creatures attacking all at once was how many people that died from that display. Vince didn't know if there was anyone in those buildings, but why would that be his business to know? Whether they were or not wasn't his problem; he wasn't the one that leveled the place.

"Oh, give me a break. That's what you came up with?" Vince was visibly disgusted at the blatant copies of the Legendary Soldiers, even though they were far from being perfect duplicates. "Ability activate! Crimson Steelers!"

The armor-like scales on Apollonir's wrists were gleaming for a short period before turning crimson. When this happened, he extended his left palm outward to put something in the way of all of the incoming forces that wanted to meet with him head-on. When each individual attack made contact, a barrier was erected each time. His right palm was placed above his head to create a form of umbrella for his head and Vince's.


"So you've created a copy of me, huh? I'm flattered, and very angry," Apollonir warned Kyuki. A blade protruded out of his right wrist to stab the acid clouds, dispersing them on contact, and then retracted instantly. Apollonir then performed a backflip to get back. While his back was turned to his opponents during the transition, he put his hands behind his back like he was being cuffed. He then swiped his arms outward, quickly extending his blades so he could cut every fake Legendary Soldier by surprise. They would quickly feel a very intense burn from within their bodies as a penalty for being pierced by this ability.

[Prof.Dr.Kyuki]

Cultist that is 'controlling' six copies gazes as the battle continues.
His clear purpose there is not revealed since six copies do not require control; they can perfectly act on their own just like originals.
Cultist holds a strange device and measures six's parameters.
Perhaps he will use that data to improve the six.

"Severing Jaw!" Bakugan based of Excedra yells and his neck starts extending like crazy. Within seconds it becomes longer than of any Hydranoid or Excedra and then quickly heads towards Apollonir. He chomps on Apollonir injecting venom with his long teeth. As Apollonir is held in one spot five others go for an attack. "Nightmare Blaster!" Belial spreads his wings and releases burning river of dark flames from each and puts them together. Like a projectile they collide with trapped Apollonir and explode as Apollonir is caught in this evil fire.
Bakugan based of Lars, raises her staff and staff produces Haos meteor consisted of light energy and metals that collide against Apollonir additionally damaging him.

And there are three more. Large bird flaps its wings releasing chaotic fires and feathers, Gorem warrior launches strong energy pulses from his gauntlets and they head towards the same target. And finally, giant frog launches a slime filled with essence that paralyzes those caught in it.

[Vince Hardy]

Apollonir eyed the Excedra-like head that was biting him. He nodded a bit. "Not bad. Excedra might be jealous," Apollonir complimented. "Vince? Blow them away."

"You asked, you shall receive." Vince complied with the order by getting the specific ability ready. "Ability activate! Dispel Roa!"

This was a perfect technique to use against multiple targets. Apollonir's body shined brightly with scarlet lights. This energy traveled through ground and the air, forming noticeable distortions in the atmosphere and cracking the ground. The venting of energy forcefully erased the fakers' attempts to faze him. All of them were pushed back a considerable distance by this display of power, hopefully serving as a reminder to the differences between a fake and the real deal. The Excedra clone would definitely need to regenerate a new head if it had that ability since it was erased.