Episode 42: Scorched Earth Policy

[Noland Hardy]

Noland was briefly knocked unconscious by the sudden outpouring of energy from a certain section in the Silver Knights HQ. He was in a gathering hall of sorts where people socialized within the building. This place was not the gathering hall he remembered upon regaining his senses. The gathering hall it became was a congregation for the Hurranians.

"Noland! Noland, get up! Get up now!" Noland could barely hear Drago's voice calling out to him. He had his right hand on his head. He shook this pain off and started regaining his vision. By that time, he had seen it all. He was in a pool of lava.

"Wh-what?" He saw Drago in a fierce exchange with two Bakugan: Solar F-Ripper and Siegfried, two S-class Bakugan that are immensely hated by the Silver Knights. They were present along with their owners: Walter and Commander Blaze. Noland distinctly remembers their names from eavesdropping on conversations he should not have been listening to. 

The problem was that Siegfried was in his Blazing Mode, effectively turning this warrior-type Bakugan into a golden barbarian whose impacts must have brought this lava into the area. This was troubling, because the Fear Ripper was constantly on Drago's tail, leaving the legendary Dragonoid zero opportunities to get anywhere. 

"That's enough!" Noland's urge to end the fight quickly turned into an amassing of chaos energy. Drago's scales turned pitch-black. By assuming the Hex Code, Drago easily broke Siegried's hammer and axe upon being hit by them, and he gave the Fear Ripper an early manicure. 

"Die!" Noland ordered with a forceful arm thrust. Prickly chains emerged from Drago's body and impaled both high-profile terrorists, including the owners. Dianos Durance X was the forbidden technique used to do this. He absorbed the energies of his enemies and restored his body's full power. Doing so left hallow carcasses of the dangerous opponents.

Noland sighed as he powered down, just like Drago did. "What just happened?"

"Something powerful knocked out everything in here, including you..." Drago stated to keep it brief. "Those two came out of nowhere and got the jump on me... They were nasty opponents. I would have been doing better if I was prepared."

"Well, we just have to be prepared at all times then," Noland concluded. His BrawlX started to rumble as if someone was calling him. Wondering who it was, Noland answered. "Hello? Who is this?"

[Asuka Izumo]

Woman wearing Knights' Uniform of Balance walks by the Headquarters.
On her shoulder sits a golden Bakugan in its orb form. On her path lie mutilated corpses, bloody trails, raging flames and other products of others' malevolence.
Even in here her gaze does mourn the dead and her step does not falter from its course; almost as if none of this is real she walks calmly along the horrors.
World of destruction is her homeland and the stench of spilled blood and carcass is where her path goes.


"Greetings, Master Blaze." She formally greets. Her voice is feminine, but dark and deep- even colder and darker than Daniel's. There is a clear lack of emotion in her expression and the way she speaks. Almost as if death itself found its home inside her lips.

"This is an ally. It is all you need to know." She provides a rather cold explanation of her identity. "What is your condition?" She inquires.


Enemy does not wait for this to finish; he makes a move. A rather hesitant one. Multiple heat signatures begin to appear close around the Headquarters; perhaps terrorists or mechanical Bakugans.
No, it is neither.
A specific presence this is and a very familiar one, indeed.
Infamous Stigma, no one else it can be. Reproduced with professor Kyuki's technologies to match the numbers with Silver Knights. A clever plan that is.
Clever enough it is not. 

[Noland Hardy]

"Ally, huh...? Okay then..." Noland didn't sense any ill intent from this woman. It would seem odd that she didn't give a name at the very least. As long as it wasn't anyone sent to kill him, she could do whatever she wanted.

"I'm alright now. I don't really remember much before this all happened, but Drago tells me something powerful did something to knock me out. I woke up to two terrorists trying to kill me. I think it was...Commander something and someone else with a Fear Ripper of some kind... They're over there." Noland points to the carcasses that were left of their bodies, all four of them.

"So what's going on? Who is causing this?"

[Asuka Izumo]

Woman continues to pursue her patrol around the building.
Death and destruction, all the way eyes can lock on. She makes her path over corpses depraved of their lives in this fruitless conflict. A truly sad way to observe it, but it is none than reality either.
The longer she walks the bigger this graveyard becomes; floor becomes covered in corpses of men and their Bakugans- some Knights', some terrorists'.
All man to man, Bakugan to Bakugan, numbers become large and sickening. Question still remains: what is the meaning behind it? Terrorist is aware of danger. Yet, in this fruitless conflict, he throws his life away against a superior opponent.

Danger grows as she walks; signatures grow in number and come closer. She can sense their presence, their beastly nature and cold lifeless eyes in every corner. They come closer and fear no death. They sense the danger, yet fear no pain. They sense the power, yet fear no enemy. Is this the future of the conflict? Living, breathing machines of flesh and blood on the battlefield; replacing a man hiding in his cowardice to take up the sword and face the fate and burdens of his own deeds.
Woman's Bakugans jumps off her shoulder; it is time for combat once again. Creatures have grown bold, they come closer. They cannot be ignored.

"That explains it... I have called 4 times already..." Woman replies coldly to what Noland said to her. She harbors no real interest in why he could not answer as long as he still draws breath and can act in combat.

"Terrorists." She says. "It appears they have found access to the one known as Virus and used his body for teleportation and tactical scattering." Woman explains.
Virus does not cooperate with terrorists, as ridiculous as it might sound; he works on his own accord to obtain liberation from the body of Daniel Andersen and act on his own without being bound to human body. However, it does not prevent terrorists from using his 'services' for their own purpose, which is all thanks to professor Kyuki.

Creatures begin to come very close to the woman and her Bakugan. They have sensed her warmth and they urge to feed on her flesh and blood. One can notice how all bodies on the floor begin to vanish; being taken and devoured by the monsters.
Time for conversation with this Resistor boy becomes short.

"Daniel Andersen does not respond. He is clearly harmed." Woman explains. Out of necessity, she begins to draw a card out of her pocket; appearance of the horde becomes too large to be ignored any further. "Alex Andersen does not respond, either." She adds.
Two of Admiral Maria Zenovia's pets and two of three 'monsters' Kyuki urges to obtain for his own purpose.

[Noland Hardy]

Virus was the trigger word for Noland. He just knew there was something fishy about that tournament. Every punishment that was laid out was now starting to happen. This is what Noland got for doing his job. What a mess.

"This is starting to make me feel uncomfortable..." Drago gulped. It wasn't like him to fear much of anything, but things were looking pretty glum from their side.

"I'd like to check this problem out myself, but...I would feel bad leaving you here all by yourself. Then again...judging by the look of your uniform, you don't really need my help against whatever is coming, do you?" Noland was hoping he was accurate on that charge. "Then again...neither is Maria. Is she handling the situation?"

[Asuka Izumo]

They are all around. Hissing, growling, moaning... they have found a worthy opponent- worthy of their skill and their appetite.
Among them all walks the tallest; the alpha monster.
One and the true Stigma, creation brought by the process of destruction. Form that was given life by depriving lives of others; a disgusting parasite that urges for blood.
Opponent worth of Knight's blade or yet another insect for her to crush? It is about to become clear if professor Kyuki has finally created an opponent worthy of the strongest of Admirals.
Her Bakugan's orb begins to glow fiercely entering the process of transformation into its true form.
Sounds of chains being dragged across the rock floor fill the atmosphere and chorus in Latin can be heard all around.


"Miss Zenovia does not respond either." Woman answers. Situation of Maria Zenovia is one that cannot be ignored, but it cannot be momentarily dealt with either. If Maria Zenovia dies it can become a tragedy for Silver Knights. "You are a person closest to the required location." Woman claims and then types a pattern of letters on her phone.
Combination of letters arrives at Noland's BrawlX and his device begins to react; it emits a strong ray of light that points in the northwestern direction of the Headquarters.

"I require this of you: 1. follow the direction of light..." She begins to explains slowly so he could understand. "...2. access the room it leads you to..." Creatures begin to jumps around.
Hesitant to being their attack they still observe providing the woman with plenty of time to explain. "...3. access the head computer... it shall activate the self-destruction sequence." Woman explains it. Her intention is very clear. If threat has come to this level then a safe option is to stop the increase of threat for the future. "...we cannot allow them to gain access to the Heart and archives. Goal will justify the means. Once it is active you will have..."

"...exactly 180 seconds to withdraw..."

With this explained a giant golden knight forms in front of the woman. In left arm he wields the golden holy staff and in right arm he wields a magnificent golden lance with silver edges. On his back he bears a round sheath with six openings; each opening containing a sword. Every sword, beautifully colored and shaped, represents one of the six attributes known to the Bakugan race.
Creature whose power is recognized as one of God's emissary; origins of the unknown and race of the unknown. An angel? A Bakugan? It remains a mystery.
But it's gold, is clear as ever: purify the unclean.
 

[Noland Hardy]

"Oh...I see...Scorched earth policy..." Noland nodded to show that he understood what was going on. It did feel wrong in a way for him to be tasked with this job. This became an important place. It was his safe haven from a ridiculing public, and now it was being besieged. It was a bit heartbreaking.

"Okay. I understand. Doing it now," Noland acknowledged. The call was ended abruptly after he accepted the mission. He looked in the direction the light was leading him. He could only guess it was directing him to more trouble.

"Hey, Drago...that was an Admiral, wasn't it?" Noland asked Drago, looking at him for an answer.

"I think so...?" Drago guessed.

"Man...they're so strong...and very hot..."

"Wait until Yita gets here and then see what she thinks about what you just said."

"Please don't tell her..." Noland begged.

"Looks like someone is warming up to her."

"W-what? No! I meant that I don't want someone getting killed!" Noland shouted.

"Heh. Sure you did."

"Tsk...whatever." Noland went through the mission in his head one more time. It felt like he was a Silver Knight, but he really wasn't. He deeply sighed before moving, almost as if he was scared. Drago returned to ball form so they could go.

"I wonder what happened to Allen and Alana...as well as the others... I know where Tank and Tracy are, but Seiki...where could she have gone? I hope she's okay..." Noland was running through the path until he started feeling vibrations. "I don't know...I kinda don't want to follow the Admiral's instructions. The Andersen's are in here...and what if Allen and Alana are here too? I can't sacrifice them...or...must I...?"

"Stop, stop, stop," Drago urged him. Noland was thinking too much that he didn't even realize where he was going or what he was about to walk into.

"I'm stopped," Noland obeyed. He was about to enter another sector, presumably the battle arenas. The door opened automatically when he approached it.

[Alana Cortese]

The devastation was just as anyone might expect when they walk into a section completely besieged by towering creatures known as Bakugan. The battle arenas were no different. The Silver Knights have strict guidelines that do not allow Bakugan of a certain caliber to battle in this sector since they were not designed to house the upper echelon of the brawling world. Alana did not seem to follow that law, but neither did a certain enemy of theirs...

The Necro Brawler...Brian Black...considered to be the sixth most dangerous terrorist in all of U.S. history.

He and his Necro Hydranoid were clearly reanimated by their Hurranian masters who sought nothing short of the pleasure endless destruction brought them. This was a horrifying enemy to face, but Alana and Hydranoid were keeping it together. She was breathing a bit heavily from this ordeal, and so was Hydranoid, hinting that he had to put in some significant effort to stay in this fight.

[Noland Hardy]

Drago was dumbstruck. He knew who Alana's opponent was just by looking at the Bakugan. He was even tempted to get on that battlefield and take Necro Hydranoid down himself.

"What a view..." Noland whispered quietly concerning the state of the sector.

"Noland...do you even KNOW who that is?" Drago asked him.

"Maybe?"

"Look, enough playing around here. This is serious."

"Of course it is. I overheard you and Dad talking about this guy multiple times, but that's besides the point. Do you even know what's going to happen if Hydranoid sees you popping up and stealing his kill? He'll try to eat us on sight, in the middle of battle."

"It's better than being devoured by that mess over there. I'd doubt he even knows what to identify as now."

"Oh, relax. Alana's strong. She's got it covered, man."

"What makes you think his power hasn't been bolstered by the Hurranians? This guy can become just as terrifying as Barodius at this level. We can't let pride get in the way of this one. He has to go now."

[Alana Cortese]

"Argh...! Anyone who kills him before I do will join him!" Hydranoid bellowed, confirming Noland's suspicion even though none of them were aware that he and Drago had entered the sector. It sounded like a Hydranoid type of deal, one where he must assert his dominance over the other.

Necro Hydranoid challenged Hydranoid in close quarters using the Corrosion Claw ability. The name spoke for what the ability did. The toxicity in that technique was enough to make someone sick just by hearing about it. If that wasn't enough to make someone uncomfortable, then the Hurranian intervention would. The poison was the least of Alana's worries. She knew if that ability pierces Hydranoid's scaled, the Hurranians would jump on him without hesitation.

"Hydranoid, stand your ground! You got this!" Alana ordered and encouraged. "Ability activate! Merge Shield!" The safest way around Necro Hydranoid's ability was to simply absorb its power. Hydranoid was able to suck the energy in like a vacuum, gradually dissipating the poisonous substances Necro Hydranoid was carrying.

"Nice try, loser. Now I'm going to show you what an actual Hydranoid does to get the job done," Hydranoid insulted. He charged towards Necro Hydranoid with the same intensity after being bolstered by the power level his opponent had just forfeited to him. They met each other in close quarters, constantly trading blows. Hydranoid had the upper hand though, thanks to Merge Shield. He knocked Necro Hydranoid back, and left him reeling.

That's when Necro Hydranoid prepared a surprise attack via Dead Trident, one that makes use of the strongest parts of a Hydranoid's body: the tail.

"Ability activate! Gravity Cage!" A spin on Hydranoid's powerful Gravity Chamber ability, this invoked specialized blasts in each of Hydranoid's mouths that, when fired, will act like completely separate Gravity Chambers. This was helpful in the fact that Alana beat Brian Black to the punch since Necro Hydranoid's blasts would just be sucked into the individual blasts that were placed on the floor. Unfortunately for him, this process was carried out exactly in Alana's favor. Hydranoid positioned his shots in a delta-like formation near Necro Hydranoid, offering him the chance to be completely crushed by the gravitational forces.

Then...Necro Hydranoid surrounded himself in a red wave of energy and skyrocketed his power level, enough to where he wasn't being affected by Hydranoid's attack as much as he was. It wasn't going to help him though.

"Too late for that. Ability activate! Alpha Demolisher!" A stronger ability than the one Alana revealed in the battle against Yita, this one spawned numerous Hydranoid heads proportionate to the battle energy that was in the area; however, doing so would drastically burn the amount of available energy at a faster rate, and the staying power was not on par with what was shown previously. Still, what it gave up for longevity, it definitely made up for in pure damage potential.

The spawn locations for these heads were random, making them very difficult to anticipate. They razed Hydranoid's Gravity Chambers with relative ease before chomping down on Necro Hydranoid. This process continued until Necro Hydranoid's power level was completely eaten up, which, by the other attribute of this specific ability, automatically takes it out and provides Hydranoid a nutritional source of energy to further his growth.

[Noland Hardy]

Noland and Drago were awestruck at Alana's ruthless defeat of Brian Black. They couldn't question Hydranoid's return to form now. He was making it very clear who the terror of the brawling universe really was, just as he was doing in the past.

"So, Drago, what were you saying about us getting devoured by the Necro Brawler?" Noland asked with a confident smirk on his face. Brian Black himself digitized away from the scene following his defeat. With that being shown, there was really nothing Drago could stand on to display how dangerous the terrorist was to Alana and Hydranoid.

"Oh, uh...nothing. I said nothing," Drago played off.

Noland navigated his way through several debris. He made sure to be extra careful around fallen power lines. He recalled having an immunity to the element of fire, not electricity. When he finally stepped forward on Alana's battle space, he announced his presence.

"THE Hydranoid is back in full swing," Drago alleged just to feed Hydranoid's ego for the day.

"Awesome job, Alana. I'm glad to see you're still okay," Noland added.

[Alana Cortese]

Alana gasped as she turned around to see Noland standing behind her. His presence formed a powerful reaction from Alana. She stood there in shock for at least three seconds before lunging at him, hugging very tightly.

"You're not going to be okay if you make me worry about you like that again. I called you so many times," Alana scolded, then calmed down. "I'm so glad you're okay..."

Hydranoid started flexing after Drago complimented his form. "You know it. The one and only," he agreed. "Every single one of these terrorists are coming up from their holes and trying to act like they were better me, but no sir! Once I hit the field, they experienced the overwhelming weight of my power. I almost sympathize with all of them. They have no idea what kind of monster I am."

Ignoring Hydranoid's usual trash talking, Alana focused on something that was way more important: the abilities the Necro Brawler was using. Letting go of him so he could breath, Alana relayed those details to him.

"Noland...I think something bad has happened to the Admiral..." she started. "Something about that battle just now wasn't right... It was like he was using power that wasn't his..."

"Drago, do you recall the time we fought against that robot lookalike of you when the Hurranians assimilated the Lasermen and Robotallion into its body? Well, that's exactly what happened here with that Hydranoid," Hydranoid added in. "The coloration of his scales were too similar to Zero Hydranoid, and the nature of his abilities were on that level of power, when he didn't directly use her powers against me. I don't think this is a coincidence at all. She's usually the type trying to sit me down to not embarrass myself in situations like these. I haven't seen her at all."

[Noland Hardy]

The hug made Noland blush very easily. At the same time, it also made him unable to breathe. The sorcery Alana and Tracy were using to make these hugs lethal weapons was really pissing him off. He could not understand why he was the most prominent victim of this treatment and why most of the women either hurt him, secretly plots to kill him, or just doesn't like him altogether.

Drago found it comical that Noland was gasping for air when he was released. He had to dodge a couple of swipes while he was laughing at the situation. It was only when Alana and Hydranoid mentioned a certain quirk about Necro Hydranoid that they stopped fooling around and taking things seriously again.

"So...you're suggesting that she's infected..." Noland didn't want to believe that was true, considering she has monstrous brawling capabilities. It would be unbelievable if even she couldn't defend herself against them, or - even worse - she could use that strength against them. "That would explain why the Admiral said she lost contact with Maria..."

"Hydranoid, are you absolutely sure that this was Zero Hydranoid's power you were facing? We don't know if the Hurranians had anything similar to pump Necro Hydranoid's body with..." Drago's question was a valid one. Since they do not know if any other Bakugan in the Hurranian database can do what Zero Hydranoid can do, it would be safe to consider all of the possibilities before ruling Maria out as an enemy.

[Alana Cortese]

"Drago, once you've had an out of body experience after getting hit by her, you know when she's here...that didn't come out right," Hydranoid said, then sort of retracted at the same time.

"Maria let me train with her, so I have a good idea of what her Hydranoid can do. What we fought just now...that was it," Alana confirmed. "This is very bad... If those Hurranians learn how to tap into her Misfortune 13..."

"That's the least of our worries. They have something much worse: her knowledge," Hydranoid suggested. "Infecting an Admiral is one of the worst things that could have happened. There are weapons here that the Hurranians now have knowledge of. If she is infected, there's only a matter of time before they try to acquire that technology. We cannot allow anything these Knights have to fall into their hands, or we're all dead."

[Noland Hardy]

"That's why she wants me to destroy this place!" It suddenly clicked for Noland. Whether or not Admiral Asuka knew of Maria's forced defection wasn't relevant. It was the risk that mattered. Any individual with high authority and high level access can be an organization's worst enemy if they turn rogue. With the Hurranians loose inside the HQ, there was no room for any guesses to be made that everything was going to be okay.

Drago's ball form started to light up. He suddenly opened up into monster form. He walked forward slowly as he was using some kind of power he didn't quite understand. "So this is what it feels like... Interesting..."

"What's that, Drago?" Noland inquired.

"I'm able to sense power levels from afar now, but not as good as Apollonir's yet," Drago clarified. "I can sense Gorem's power level..."

"So he's still okay? Thank goodness..."

"Let's not drag our feet on this one. There's one other power level there that I don't recognize, and it has impressive power..."

Noland looked on his BrawlX for the number used to contact him previously. He had it dialed so he could speak with the Admiral again. "Please pick up...please pick up...please..."