Episode 39: Usurp or Be Usurped

[Noland Hardy]

The news about Echo City's destruction spread throughout the planet like a wildfire. The death toll was estimated to be significantly worse than the Gamma City Meltdown incident, and, "coincidentally", the masked person with the Hades was involved in both events. No one else was aware that the mechanical Bakugan were destroyed. No one knew about the death of the Aquos Spartan, Roxy. No one even knew about the supposed death of Prince Turano.

In fact, some would even question if his death had even taken place...

Xavier emerged from his quarters like nothing unusual happened. Of course, he was still aware of what happened in Echo City. He was furious, like he wanted to seriously kill any person that was closest to him. He ventured into his laboratory to dodge the media asking him questions about what happened, how much credibility they now have for allowing a second atrocity to take place, and what measures they were going to take. His head scientist expecting something to go down by the look on Xavier's face. Indeed, there was an important discussion that needed to be had...

[Xavier Turano]

"Son of a bitch!!!" Xavier shouted while banging on a desk with his fists.

The head scientist saw Xavier storm into work with a very bitter attitude. He was about to ask him what happened, but then he hesitated because he was afraid of what the response would be. After a while of looking at Xavier steam with anger, he tried again. This time, he was successful in bravery.

"Um...would you like a cup of coffee, sir? The Queen had good things to say about it when she last visited Earth. Perhaps you'd like to try the caramel frappu-" The head scientist asked, before the eventual cutoff...

"Forget the coffee!" Xavier loudly rejected.

"Oh...uh...then...is there anything I could do to make you less angry?"

"No...there's nothing you can do. There's nothing anyone can do. You have no idea how fucked we all are!"

"What do you mean?"

"The Hurranians have been ruling over this planet for the last four fucking years!"

"Wh-what!?"

"That's right! That infection test on my 'darling' sister was a hoax! Dasia has been infected the entire fucking time!"

"How exactly do you know this, sir?"

"Because Niko showed me while I was asleep!"

"Okay... So how do you know this was something Niko showed you other than your usual dreams?"

"As if I would dream about Niko! Once you've been put to sleep by that annoying dog, you'll know the difference!"

"Fair enough, sir. So what did you see?"

A flashback occurred where Dasia - with clothing she doesn't usually wear - was seen in Echo City giving orders to MAC Spider. Everything about their operation was being talked about and performed, ranging from the explosives on the building to MAC Spider being required to bring Roxy back there as soon as possible so they would have the best shot at "getting" her. She then donned a mask and assembled her team of mechanical Bakugan.

"A-are you absolutely sure this was not a regular dream?"

"There's something the news isn't telling everyone else about what happened over there... Roxy's gone..."

"..."

"This isn't some trick. This is exactly what happened. Dasia is responsible for the murder of Roxy. Do you realize what this means...? She's in league...with Dr. Kyuki..."

[Vengeance]

In the throne room of the Mother Palace, the throne itself was sparkling with a radiance that was the Hurranian spark. A figure was being digitally created on the throne and brought into physical existence. This was the masked person in Roxy's appearance, as he/she was before being brutally defeated by the opposing masked person and Markus. He/she shifted back to their masked persona after growing tired of posing as the Spartan.

"Welp...that's going to set me back a couple of hours..." he/she regretted about the unfortunate loss.

A digital imprint of Boriates was seen in the center of the throne room. He/she was planted on the floor in the "criss-cross applesauce" position trying to rebuild this Bakugan manually. Doing this would make it easier to reconstruct the others since Boriates could build the mechanical Bakugan itself.

Then a Royal Guard member waltzed in and saw what was just being done. Before she could scream, a microscopic object dropped from the ceiling and changed her entire attitude.

"Oh, good. You're here, Melanie. Hey, could you do me a quick favor and call Xavier in here?" the masked person requested, not bothering to look away from this reconstruction project. "Tell him it's urgent and that I want him in here IMMEDIATELY."

[Xavier Turano]

"What are we supposed to do? She already fed off of everything we did! We did this to everyone who has been killed and will be killed!" the head scientist cried.

"My parents were right. There was something wrong with her." Xavier's attention turned to the head scientist, specifically about a certain task he gave him much earlier. "Didn't I tell you to conduct a test on her?"

"I did. It came back negative. I swear!"

"Negative? You mean in terms of you getting pussy? Of course it was. I'm talking about the Hurranians. If you would have detected it earlier, we wouldn't even be in this mess!"

"So now you're going to blame me? Nearly every single schematic we had was your idea! You designed these killing machines!"

"If I knew that there were Hurranians telling us to do it, then those killing machines would have been in OUR hands instead of Dasia's. That's why I sent you down there to make sure!"

"You didn't even check BEFORE you had them made! Hell, for all I know, YOU could be infected!"

"I'm infected!? You had a test come back negative when it's definitely positive she's a Hurranian! You should be infected!"

"You know what? I don't get paid enough for this bullshit. I quit!"

"Quit!? You can't quit! I'd make sure you never work again!"

A Royal Guard member was standing there the whole time while they argued with each other. Xavier turned his head to see her observing.

"Oh...how long were you standing there?" Xavier asked while scratching his head in embarrassment.

"Longer than you'll ever hold a relationship..." the woman sighed. "You've been summoned. Appear at once, or you'll appear in a graveyard."

Xavier gulped in fear as she departed from them. He knew they were going to get it now. "Why did she have to insult me like that? And...we're dead..."

"Don't you see? This is what they want us to do! They'll turn us all against each other and kill us when we've weakened one another. It's like a free-for-all to them..."

"Look, we can't go in there! We'd get slaughtered! We have nothing to defend ourselves with! The mechanical Bakugan were destroyed!"

"Then..." The head scientist pointed to the same desk that Xavier hit in frustration. "What's that?"

Xavier looked in that direction and saw that it was a Subterra Bakugan in ball form. "That's weird...and there's a note...?" Xavier went over to the table and read the note without touching it. It said:



Bring this with you when you come into the throne room. You might need it if things go south, which they will, as I know you know about me... Come right to my room and we'll talk. The only other person you can bring with you is your colleague. Do not bring anyone else. The Bakugan is infected with Hurranians for the sole purpose of watching what you do, so if you disobey me, there will be consequences.

Love,

Dasia ♥

"...She knows..." the head scientist gasped.

Xavier was frozen after reading that short note. He looked down at the ball form. He didn't know whether or not to trust Dasia that the Hurranian was not intended to infect him. What other choice did he have? He wouldn't make it out if he tried anything else. Knowing what was about to happen, Xavier took the Bakugan in his hands.

"Sir...you...you are..."

"Come. We'll stare death in the face like men, and then spit at it in defiance. It's all we're good for now."

[Vengeance]

The masked person waited for Xavier to show up. He/she spent that time doing various activities in a comedic fashion.

One involved King Richard and Queen Lauren being revived so they could play 2-on-2 volleyball with Roxy being the masked person's teammate. Richard went to far with a slam and ended up imprinting the ball on Roxy's face, so the game ended.

The next thing they tried was playing Mario Party 4 using a GameCube they hijacked off of Earth. Lauren ended up stealing everyone's star after she summoned Big Boo, leading to her being decapitated by the masked person out of sheer frustration.

The last thing they did was play Uno Attack. The masked person caused Roxy to have to press the button on the device that spits out a random number of cards if the presser is unlucky. Roxy was very unlucky when a horde of cards appeared in her lap. This resulted in the masked person being chased around the room from an irate Roxy.

After all that commotion, Xavier and the head scientist finally arrived in the throne room. The masked person sat on the throne, as patient as ever. A barrier was erected at the throne room's entrance to prevent the boys from getting out.

"Thank you for coming, X," the masked person thanked. "Would you boys like some chairs? I could summon some here if you'd like."

[Xavier Turano]

Xavier's demeanor looked calm, especially in comparison to the head scientist's. He was shaking all over his body. The mere thought of being trapped in a room with someone wielding the powers of those who have killed so many people across centuries made him want to die. He wanted the mental suffering to be over. Xavier had already accepted what was going on. He wasn't afraid; he was disappointed.

He could not understand what led to this development. Maybe it wasn't his place to try to understand. This scheme had already gone too far to stop. What would be the point of understanding Dasia's motives if she's just going to kill everyone anyway?

"Sir...do you see that..." The head scientist pointed back to the entrance. "We're...trapped!"

Xavier slowly moved towards the masked person, despite the fears of the head scientist. "I don't care about the chairs. I'll never be comfortable again," Xavier responded. "How about you take off the mask, so I can see my beautiful sister's face, or what's left of it."

"Uh...I-I would like to see that too for...um...reasons..."

[Dasia Turano]

"I'm...beautiful...? Huh...that's a first from you..." Xavier's request was a simple one. If he wanted to see what was under the mask, then so be it. He already knew the identity anyway.

The mask was removed with both hands. It revealed Dasia's face, to the boys great "surprise." She then had all of her clothing replaced with her usual business casual attire. Her hair was let out, which she was glad to have happen. Nothing about her looks was unusual. She didn't take on a robotic appearance like the other infected had. Perhaps this hinted towards a special attribute that Dasia has. Maybe it wouldn't be too far-fetched to say that she did not share this capability with Kyuki.

It wouldn't be surprising if a lot of inferences could be made about the Hurranian's plan now...

(Dasia's Revelation)

"Okay... Mask is off, face is exposed, and...you're disappointed..." Dasia concluded. She didn't seem sad to admit that. She acted rather lackadaisical towards her brother for having to witness this. Little did he know, she cared a lot more than she would like to show, but he would never know that until he joins her.

[Xavier Turano]

The head scientist was sniffing like he was getting ready to cry at this revelation. "I was really wishing that you were wrong, sir... I really did..."

"So did I..." Xavier admitted. He couldn't deny the evidence he was already shown, but a huge part of him didn't want to believe that this was the direction the universe was heading in.

"Disappointed...? You don't even know..." Xavier was emotionally shattered that it had to be his own sister slitting their throats from within the most sacred walls on the planet. The constant attacks across Vestal, the planting of Hurranians on Earth, and the amassing of all these resources all made sense now...

"Shame on you, you disgusting freak!" Xavier grudgingly condemned. "How long have you been doing this to us!?"

[Dasia Turano]

The insult made Dasia sad. Her plan of not wanting her emotions to be shown was failing hard. There wasn't much she could do to stop him from making those comments, so she would have to endure them; she had them coming from a planet away.

"I started when Father gave me the throne," she revealed. "That time turned out to be perfect since we needed to know what the Vestals' plan was in handling us. It was an off-and-on type of deal since we were still trying to learn the various ways you have in detecting our presence. It took Niko looking into my thoughts for my identity to become known. That means I have done a good job at keeping you off of my back for as long as I did."

She knew this shouldn't be something that should be laughed at, but she laughed anyway about the alleged testing that the Vestal's conduct on suspects. "There is some good news in all of this. You can come up with another testing method to try and see who is infected or not. It would really help us out."

[Xavier Turano]

"You've got to be kidding me..." The head scientist was flabbergasted that Dasia would even allow this conversation to take place if she just planned on using them again. They can't get out of the room anyway. "Why are we even here? You clearly don't have any shame. You don't have the slightest bit of care that you've taken our beloved Queen away from us and replaced her with some non-emotional murderer!"

"He's right..." Xavier agreed. "There's no need for you to feel ashamed of what you've done, because you don't want to. I know exactly how you feel on the inside. You feel guilty, don't you? You've had too many opportunities to have complete control over us; yet, you've chosen to have this conversation here knowing that it's not going to go anywhere."

"Tell me why. Why are you doing this, to us and yourself?" Xavier asked in a demanding tone.

[Dasia Turano]

"X...you're right on the money. I do feel guilty," Dasia acknowledged. "And I do realize that this conversation is ultimately pointless. You're not going to convince me to change, and I'm not going to convince either of you to change. I just thought the least I could do was give my favorite people a chance to talk before...you try to destroy me."

Dasia's eyes were fixated on the Bakugan Xavier was carrying in his hands. Through some telepathic link, Dasia forced the Bakugan out of his grip and had it stand right beside him. The Bakugan revealed itself to be Dryoid, a mechanical Bakugan that was thought to have been destroyed during the genocide of Echo City.

"It's only fitting that my brother has the opportunity to defend himself against my ambition. That's why I have offered you that Bakugan, so you could use it during your eventual battle with me to determine the fate of the universe. I never wanted to force my little brother into my lifestyle, so I didn't want to start here... That's why you two are still safe...in a way."

[Xavier Turano]

The head scientist blushed at the hearing that he was one of Dasia's favorite people. He was overwhelmed with infatuation. He took it as a sign that she loved him.

On the other hand, Xavier was not as pleased to hear that as he was. This amount of insecurity was most likely a good thing for his and the scientist's sake, but it makes it very difficult to believe that there's not a single ounce of redemption that could be had for her.

"Then why are you forcing me to do this if you care so much!?" Xavier yelled. "You obviously have enough compassion in you to allow this! Why isn't it used for the people!? Why can't you just choose to do right!?"

[Dasia Turano]

Dasia simply shook her head at the thought of her being the one that's doing wrong. The point of conflict lies in that statement right there.

"I'm choosing to do the wrong thing now?" Dasia wondered. "You accuse me of wrongdoing as if being apart of the Hurranian network is a doomed existence. In reality, it's the exact opposite. As their host, I've effectively solved all of this planet's problems. I can freely regulate sexual behaviors to curb the overpopulation crisis, remove your natural tendency to cause harm to one another, and you have more knowledge than you could ever dream about in those fancy motion pictures Earth has. Is that so wrong? Am I suddenly a monster for cleaning up your mess?"

All that is to say, "Leaders are often given unreasonable tasks that force them to come up with unreasonable promises, so it is natural that you must accept an unreasonable method to accomplish them. That is going by your definition of what makes an irrational judgment; I, on the other hand, am able to think at a higher capacity, and can look beyond your mortal mindset."

[Xavier Turano]

"'Mortal' mindset? So now you think you're God? Don't forget that you're just as part of that mess as we are. The Hurranians were not born from nothing, remember? You have the same ability of causing pain just as Chris and I do. You're not different from us just because you're some machine. You're not superior to us just because your level of thinking can exceed what we're capable of. The only thing you are is the product of a failed experiment." It was clear Xavier was having none of this talk of intellectual superiority when Dasia fails to see that she rose from the same mess she alleges they have made. What a nuisance.

The only thing more sickening than that kind of talk was the person spewing this garbage: Dasia, Xavier's only sister. Even the head scientist knew she was sick and he was close to falling over heels for this woman. If the head scientist says you're a psychopath, then you know something is wrong with you.

"Ma'am, I'm going to be very honest with you. I know this is the exact opposite of what I'm supposed to saying if I really care about you, but...you're acting a lot more bitchy than normal," the head scientist shared. "Yes, I believe you're wrong, because it is not your place to create a fake world. Yes, you can accomplish all of that via the Hurranian network, but that's assuming that you yourself are peaceful. Roxy's death proves that you are not; therefore, the only thing you are doing is making all of us like yourself. I know for a fact I don't want to end up like you right now."

"Yes, you are a monster, because you deceived everyone who loved and looked up to you because they weren't good enough for you to let them live their lives. You claim to be intellectually superior, but even the brightest minds need glasses, because they're apparently blind to what's really happening in the world, or, just maybe, there's a certain someone who refuses to see the cancer that they've become."

[Dasia Turano]

"Oh...okay then..." Dasia's heart sank when both her brother and "friend" completely ganged up on her. It was to be expected. Anticipating anything else would be stupid.

"You both make such interesting points. I'm sorry you feel that way about me." Dasia materialized a Haos Bakugan in ball form and tossed in front of her. What stood was none other than Boriates.

"Like any hypothesis, it must be tested, right? I want you to help me test everything you said to me," she proposed. As anyone could tell, it was easily a threat. "Your worldview must be 'real' as opposed to my 'fake.' In that case, what is considered to be 'real' in this existence? Is it because I'm forgoing the natural process of your development? But no...that wouldn't be the right answer, because you're in the same situation as I am; you have to coerce others into conforming to peace, whether it be by my infection or by your force. So as I see it, what you and I value is really the same thing, except my method is more effective. I will prove that it is right now."

"You have Dryoid, and I have Boriates. We'll see if you manage to create peace by defeating me; however, if I win, there will be no question about where your allegiance will lie. Is that okay?"