Episode 40: Meltdown of the Resistors

[Roxy Grimm]

Cerberoid's actions deserved a lot of credit. Even though Katherine wasn't a full-fledged brawler, she knew the risks involved in not checking to see if Krakix and Siege were fully defeated. The Hurranians could have reanimated them at any moment, so Katherine's proactive act eliminated that possibility...at least in the traditional sense. There was ONE factor that could change everything: Siege's black board. It is a weapon that utilizes matter altering capabilities. The other hidden fact that Siege did not disclose was that it is treated as a separate entity on the field, meaning that it's like its own entity and could function without Siege's active participation. It had higher durability than Siege himself, meaning that there was nothing any of them could have done to prevent this next act from happening.

The board secretly merged with the ground. The forgotten wasteland turned into a magnificent pool in the blink of an eye, one that was filled with many nutritional additives. Hurranians sounded like a very nutritional ingredient to the drink.

The only ones who did not drop into the liquid were Ahio and Ziperator, because they were airborne at the time the terrain was modified. Everyone else dropped into the drink to bathe in the corruptible influences of the Hurranian biological and technological network.

[Tank Stryker]

So the Hurranians decided to take them all for a swim. Tank was bewildered by this phenomenon, wondering how this could have happened. Something began to rustle him as he was floating, like something was crawling on him. This made his eyes bulge.

"Oh, shit!" Tank panicked. He grabbed Seiki with his left hand and Katherine in his right. He used up all of the remaining strength he had left to hold both of the ladies above the water. Steve was somehow saved by Ziperator and attacked to his back, so he wasn't too worried about his condition. Seiki and Katherine were a different story; they had just been infected by the Hurranians.

"What happened!?" Tank yelled out, wanting answers as to why this pool showed up out of nowhere.

[Roxy Grimm]

Seeing that the water had served its purpose, the terrain formed back into solid soil. This left Tank stuck in the ground with no way out. Siege's black box reformed in front of the Resistor. It then morphed into a Roxy.

"Even if you knock Siege out of the fight, his weapon can still function all on its own. That's how it surprised you," Roxy explained to Tank. "It patiently waited until you were all done defeating the three Bakugan. Now, you're too weak to stop the Hurranians from killing you. They see you as a HUGE threat, one that cannot be allowed to live due to your special DNA. They told me that..."

The board began to modify itself into another weapon. Before then, Roxy wanted to offer her condolences, as this was something she wishes she didn't have to witness. "I wouldn't have said this when we first met, but I heard from Markus that you were a pretty nice guy. I believe him now," Roxy confessed. "I'm sorry about what's about to happen...I never wanted to be responsible for this..."

Roxy was shaped into a silver, clear-attributed sword. It flashed once, and then a long blade of ice was stretched out to meet Tank's chest.

[Tank Stryker]

Tank was swiftly impaled by this ice-blade construct that was just created. The sheer coldness of the weapon spread out throughout Tank's whole body. It was as if the initial wound was made numb by the sheer drop in his body temperature.

"No...please no..." Katherine mumbled in a horrified, shocked mannerism. Her body trembled in such great fear that it outweighed any possible mental ramifications from her ordeal with Dharak. The thought that Tank could be or was either killed from this maneuver pierced through her heart like a sniper's bullet. "William!!!!!"

"You little-" Gladion was already exhausted, but he chose to push past his bodies limits to give this Hurranian the retribution that it deserved. He was impaled by this blade shortly after Tank was, causing Tank's life gauge to start decreasing upon Gladion's theoretical defeat. Gladion grabbed onto this ice and shattered it with a simple squeeze. He then generated a blast full of divine energy in his right hand alone, and then charged towards this black box. "FORCE OF THE GODS!"

The blast generated a godly stream of energy that traveled towards the box like a beam. The consequences of being submerged in this energy resulted it in being purged from existence. It didn't even last until the blast was done firing. It traveled through "No Man's Land" and made a straight line from there all the way to the city. Fortunately, Gladion held enough back to prevent the full blast from making it to civilization and killing someone. That's impressive, given how easy it was obliterate Siege's weapon.

That came at a great cost though...

Gladion's footing became very off-centered. He was wobbly as he tried to remain standing. He inevitably collapsed on the ground, unable to get up or return to ball form. The Body of Atlas would run out to allow him back into ball form once Tank's life gauge hits zero. He'll be out of commission for a while once it does happen. Even then, he'd probably figure that to be an unjust punishment for what just occurred in front of him.

"Dammit..." Gladion cursed. "I can't...go anymore, Tank. We're done..."

Tank was frozen in place for a bit, but then suddenly nodded his head. Blood came pouring out of his mouth from the impalement, but it wasn't an immediate death for him. His latent abilities were starting to kick in, giving him the ability to progressively break the ice by pounding against it. When it shattered, his body dropped to the ground, unable to move up from that position.

"Yeah... Hardy's healing factor would be good right about now..." Tank coughed.

"Tank!" Ziperator let Steve down so he could role his chair towards his downed friend. He knew there was nothing he could physically do to stop whatever was going on, but it was a human thing to do. "Tell me who to call right now! Eden has some sick healers right? They can help you! We're not done yet!"

"Call Tracy...to get Lars Lion here immediately," Tank commanded.

"Aye, sir!" As Steve started to dial, Seiki and Katherine were seized by an unexplained pain. It seems the Hurranian infection was advancing faster than usual. "Shit! This is making me nervous!"

[Tracy White]

Steve didn't have to call. Help was already on its way in the form of Tracy and Skystar...a rather beaten up version of them. Skystar had noticeable signs of scratches on her armor that could be easily distinguished when she descended on the field. Tracy also had a straight face. She was really not in the mood, and it showed. She was highly pissed off. She had numerous scratches, and it almost looked like she only had a sports bra on with the lower portions of her shirt being torn.

"Hmph...you'd think I'd look a lot worse from pushing through an invasion..." Tracy commented. She stepped off of Skystar to look at the current situation. She wasn't sure what to think about what she saw. Tank was mortally injured, and Seiki and Katherine were writhing in pain. What was going on?

"Skystar...heal Tank, and then let's get out of here before they realize that I'm here," Tracy ordered.

"Done." Skystar pointed her staff at Tank. The healing process was about to start.

[Tank Stryker]

"Oh..." Steve looked at Tracy for a bit to see that she was really not having anyone's mess right now. He hasn't seen that look since high school when they used to pick on her. Someone must have really lit a fuse for her to get like this. "I haven't seen her this mad in a long time..."

"Tracy...wait... I'll live for a while longer, but...Seiki and Katherine are infected. Preserve them NOW and call for Lars Lion or someone with Lydia's power," Tank pleaded. "Please...if you don't...they're going to die before me..."

"Invasion...?" Gladion DID hear that part. That stuck out like a sore thumb. "What's going on? Why do you look like that?"

[Tracy White]

Skystar grunted now that Tank wanted to make things more complicated. If the infection is as bad as Tanks says it is, Seiki and Katherine are dead if they heal Tank. If they heal Seiki and Katherine, they get to gamble on whether or not Tank thinks if he can survive his injuries or not. Either way, there was an issue with those decisions that explains why there would be a consequence for either option...

"The Hurranians have taken Eden to war. Someone there is disrupting Lars Lion's concentration, so she chose to deal with them directly," Skystar revealed. "That's why I traveled here on foot, going through many terrorists to get here."

"I was just about to get in trouble too from what your 'friend' did," Tracy added. "That's other news though. I don't know if I was followed or how long I have until someone attacks us, and we're in no position to dillydally. I can't purge them from infection, but I can save your life right now... so...that's all there is to it. I'm sorry..."

[Tank Stryker]

So there it was, the moment of despair that tells you that someone will have to pay the price for others to live. Healing spells could not completely stop Hurranian infection. It would seem like there had to be some other form of power that could stop them, like Noland and Lydia linking up, or Lars Lion extracting the Hurranians from someone's body. It was normal to expect a similar feat from Tracy, but she wasn't a Legendary Soldier nor was she a goddess walking among them. There was a limit to her power, just as there are limits to everyone else's.

"I don't believe that...I fought you and saw you fight... There's no way you can't do it..." Tank struggled to mention, and he was right. There was a particular ability Skystar used called Soul Cleanse that instantly removed any hostile contacts from her body. While Tank didn't personally witness that event, he knew Tracy was powerful. There just had to be a way that this predicament could be reversed... There just had to be...

Tank slowly lifted his head up to see Tracy, rather than to just hear her voice. He gasped when he saw her scratches. She looked like she had been through a lot. "Are you... How much power did you have to use to make it here...?"

[Tracy White]

Tracy looked at Tank with a saddened look. She knew he was right about her power, but everything can't be so simple, especially during times of war like this here.

"Enough to where I can't heal myself back to full power," Tracy admitted. "That's why if I used my power on Seiki or Katherine...you'd die...and I can't let that happen to you. I can't let that happen to ANYONE for that matter, but..." Tracy sighed as she was about to make a remark that made her disgusted, but it was no other way to put it. The facts were staring her right in the face, and she would be a fool to ignore it.

"You...you know why you can't die right now..." she said, not willing to outright say that Katherine's death was preferable over his. It wasn't in her vocabulary to say anything that painful to hear. "You know why just as well as I do. We can't deny it..."

Skystar nodded in agreement with Tracy. It had to be done, no matter what consequences come naturally from this. "I'm sorry...Gladion...but this is my decision," she declared.

[Tank Stryker]

Gladion closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It was a long one, because he tried to mentally prepare himself for what Tracy and Skystar were thinking of doing. He knew what they were going to do. He didn't like that this was the only option, but he understood why it was being done.

"Okay," Gladion accepted. "Whatever has to be done, just do it."

"Wait...does this mean...?" Steve uttered on the sidelines.

"..." Tank was too shocked to speak. He knew where this was going. All this time, he was thinking of any possible alternative to what was about to happen, but none of them had a chance of working out the way that he envisioned it. It would be stupid of him to say that he wishes he didn't have the powers that he has, as it led to him being targeted and it inadvertently put Steve and Katherine in danger as well. A significant reason why he is here now is due to his powers, so whether or not he liked the position it put him in, that was the event that he had to accept for what it was.

Ziperator and Cerberoid were at a loss for what to say or do. None of them were healers, so they couldn't do anything about it. Standing there and watching was far from enjoyable for them. Seeing this happen made it even worse to behold.

"William..." Katherine was heartbroken to hear about this. Even she couldn't help Tank get over this situation. What she could do was tell him to do is, "Do the right thing... Don't worry about what happens to me..."

"..." Tank looked over to Gladion. He had an idea of what to do after he gets healed. He was wondering if Gladion would have the power to do so after what he had been through. "Can you still use Caduceus?"

"I can summon it, but as for using it," Gladion answered, "...I could manage one person..."

"Oh..." Tank's heart was utterly shattered by this revelation. That would mean he has to choose between Seiki and Katherine...

[Tracy White]

Tracy picked up on what Gladion was saying as well. This was not going to be easy to watch, but for the sake of preserving their fighting chances, she'd have to see what transpires from this. It can come down to a couple of different choices. Tank could see who is more important to him, which would obviously be Katherine. He could then determine which one of them was more important to keep alive from a battle perspective. Seiki was ultimately more powerful than Katherine, but Katherine also picked up a good sense of battle strategy from Tank. This was going to be hard, especially since it would be in Tank's hands...

"Skystar...let's get it over with..." Tracy sadly accepted. "I can't bear to watch this get prolonged any further than it has to be. Whatever happens happens..."

A light was produced on the hilt of Skystar's scepter. It expanded briefly, and was then shot towards Tank. His body glowed upon being struck by this power. His wound closed up, and his power began to steadily return to him. Tank's life was saved, but now...he had to make a choice to see who else gets saved as well...

"Gladion...I can lend you the last bit of my power to help you if you find that you're too weakened to use Caduceus," Skystar offered, even though that would be to her own detriment.

[Tank Stryker]

"Don't. You still have the strength to stand while I don't. If we're about to be attacked, then you need to be standing, not lying down like I am," Gladion responded, rejecting Skystar's help completely.

A blue portal was opened above Gladion that dropped off the Caduceus to him. He caught it in his right hand. He then rolled over on his stomach and crawled over to where the humans were. All he'd have to do is point the staff towards one of the infected ones, and their ailments will be purged. He could only choose one in this state, as his original strength had already run out and was only being kept in monster form due to Atlas' power.

"Alright... Who's it going to be?" Gladion cut right to the chase. Who was going to live? It was as simple as that.

"..." Tank knew had to make a decision, but he truly didn't know who to pick. Seiki saved his life, but Katherine is his girlfriend and is closer to her than he'd ever be to Seiki. Was looking at it from an emotional standpoint the wrong thing to do? What about their strength? Who was stronger? It was truly a mess, and...

"Save Seiki," Katherine quickly suggested.

Now Tank was conflicted...even Seiki was confused about it too.

"...I'd ask this even if Seiki said the same thing about you," Tank prefaced, "but...why?"

"To be honest...I wouldn't have been able to answer that if I didn't see Seiki today. I couldn't be the only one who thought little of Seiki's power compared to all of you, and for good reason. Three of you are world heroes, two of you are professionals, and two of you started from the bottom. I remember when we used to think the same of Tracy too, and now...look at her. She changed so much to where she could compete with you guys. Seiki has that same strength too... I know it might sound weird, but I see greatness in her, and...she fills a role in the Resistors that I can't replicate..."

"I know what you mean... She does have potential..." Tank agreed. "But...so do you..."

"Yeah...you're right, but...lucky for women, we can see things a lot better than you can," she insisted. "I've paid a lot more attention to you guys than you think... Seiki's offensive style is what you need, someone that can take to the skies and see the things that no one else can see. I can't do that for you....you know that. She's the second strongest offensive brawler you have..."

"..."

"The least that I can do for her...is to show how much that I believe in her, and...that she doesn't always have to be compared to the rest of you when it comes to her strength. She's strong... Didn't you feel that when she battled against that Spartan?"

Tank didn't have to hear another word from Katherine to know what decision to make. He could try not to believe in what she was saying, but...she was absolutely correct, and he knew she was. There was no point in objecting to it. Ahio was chosen by Oberus for a reason. It wasn't because she was weak. It was because both of the Ventus warriors had something in common. They both knew what it was like to be at the bottom, but they pushed themselves up into the sky and soared to greatness. If Ahio couldn't do that, then there would be no reason why she was still here in the first place. She was here for a reason. Even if Seiki herself doesn't know why just yet, there was a reason that no one could doubt: Seiki was a rising star.

"Gladion..." Tank had finalized his decision. He shed a tear before he said this, knowing what this was going to mean for Katherine's sake. "Do it... Heal Seiki."

"Final decision?" Gladion asked before it was done, as it won't be reversed.

"Final...decision," Tank answered.

Gladion did show signs of hesitation, even though both Tank and Katherine supported the healing of Seiki. Before he could change his mind, he went on ahead and pointed Caduceus towards Seiki and activated its healing effects. A golden light was being transferred to Seiki's body that would purge all of the Hurranians from her body, sparing her from having to meet an identical end to Roxy's. "I'm surprised that Tank was as understanding as he was. Had this happened earlier, there's no doubt that he would've argued with Katherine over this. I would have too," Gladion said in his mind. "I know it must be an all-out war in his mind over wanting to give Katherine a piece of his mind about her decision. I guess it couldn't be helped. She'd probably never forgive him if he chose not to heal Seiki. It's a loss either way you look at it. I just hope that Tank understands the rationale behind Katherine's argument and doesn't hold it against her for essentially wanting to die in Seiki's place."

"Good..." Katherine said of Gladion's choice. Her body started to get digitized. The Hurranians were getting prepared for a complete takeover of her body. "Tank...look at me." She saw Tank trying to avoid watching her leave, because he couldn't handle it. He eventually looked in her direction after being told to. "You're going to stay alive for me, right? No more situations like this?"

"Yeah...I will..." Tank propped himself into an upright position. He went over to Katherine, picked her up, and gave her a big hug. "I promise..." Katherine gladly returned the hug.

"Hey, Steve," Katherine called.

"Y-yeah...?" Steve somberly answered.

"Keep Cerberoid out of trouble, will ya? Cut down on the alcohol, and make sure you get your homework done early instead of messing around with it at night and then calling someone else to check on your paper the night before it's due."

"Y-you didn't have to expose me like that..."

"All out of love, dude..."

"...I'm going to miss you so much..." Steve started to cry a bit, but he was smiling all the way through his tears, like there was a chance they'll be able to see her again. "Don't worry. I'll lay off the booze a bit, and I won't procrastinate anymore... Okay, I might still do that, but I'll try..."

"All I needed to hear, Steve."

Tank rested his hands on Katherine's shoulders. A blue light could be seen radiating from her skin. It can only be assumed that the infection had gone its course, and that the Hurranians now had the power to assimilate her completely. Despite what he felt, Tank did not shed any tears nor did he show any signs of altering his voice to keep his emotions in check. The only thing he could feel was the staggering amount of disgust he had for the enemy that caused all of this to happen: the Hurranians. It answered the technological theory of artificial intelligence amassing the knowledge and  the power to turn on their creators, and to wreak havoc upon modern society so they could be in the hot seat. It's even worse that Tank was not the first or the last person to experience this feeling. There is no end to their conquest. They will not stop until every person feels the pain of loss, and then they'll laugh all the way to their next victim about how everyone who was considered strong was powerless to do anything. Losing Katherine made Tank realize that none of this was a means to their end, but the beginning of the biggest revolution history will ever record. For their crimes, the Hurranians were going to pay.

They were going to pay DEARLY...

"This isn't over..." Tank assured her. "We can save you from this... They might've taken you now, but they won't have you forever. I'm going to take you back... I promise."

Katherine gave him a warm smile. She believed him when he said she would be saved, but in the event that she's unlucky...

"In case you don't, for whatever reason..." Katherine started, "...I want you to know that...you've inspired me for a very long time, and I'm so happy that I got to know you as a person... That's why I'm certain that you're never going to give up on me or anyone else who might have gotten infected, because you never gave up on yourself, even when you had plenty of reasons to do it..."

Katherine laid hands on Tank's chest, for one last time. She leaned in for a kiss, which Tank was getting ready to accept. He had kept his eyes wide-open though. Although uncharacteristic for a kiss, he wanted things to be very clear to him as Katherine gets digitized away from him. He wanted to see her for as long as possible. To his misfortune, she ended up being digitized away before she completed the motion, and then she was gone...

"I love you, Willliam... See you soon..." he faintly heard. He was visibly stunned by it. He knew it would happen, but nothing could prepare you for seeing the love of your  life being seized right in front of you and there was nothing you could to stop it. It wouldn't be far-fetched to say that he felt like a failure, both as a brawler and a person, because even though he tried his hardest, he was not capable of stopping the Hurranians when it really mattered, and his activity with fighting against them worried her to the point of charging straight into battle, even when she knew she had a slim chance of coming back... 

[Tracy White]

Tracy was very disturbed at what she had witnessed. She was nowhere near as hurt as Tank must have been, but she could still feel the negative atmosphere surrounding this situation. She could argue that she was hurt MORE than Tank right now, because she cared that much. She always has.

Sure, she has been targeted just like everyone else has, but she's really the only Resistor who hasn't experienced what it was like for someone to be snatched away from her by a cold-hearted villain. To her, the Resistors were like family to her. Her entire personality took a huge shift upwards upon meeting Noland for the first time, and being apart of their life stories encouraged her to keep trying along with them. It really bothered her that such good people could receive such horrible fates...

"Tank..." Tracy initially struggled to form the words to say to him right now. She didn't really think there was a right thing to say. Comforting words sounded "right", but would that really work? She may as well try. There's worse things that she could say that serves no purpose in this situation, so if anything, she went with the best choice of words.

"You both made an excellent choice in choosing each other," she said. "I know it stings to see her go, but be proud of her... She didn't go for anyone else but you... She loved you so much that she was willing to fight for you. Her love for you made her strong enough to stand by you, no matter what kind of enemy you were facing. As long as she knew she was fighting for you, she believed in all of the possibilities, even to the point of knowing that you'll never give up on her..."

Skystar walked near Gladion as Tracy spoke to Tank. She took her staff, and pointed it directly at Gladion. She knelt down to speak to him as well, as he had also suffered a great loss. "You would've never been pushed this hard if you weren't worthy enough to be a target. You're strong across all areas of combat, and a lot of people hate that about you. No matter how strong you are, haters can sometimes win, but not because you weren't better than them," Skystar encouraged. "They broke you down, because you're a major threat to them. Embrace that status, and make them remember your name forever."

Skystar radiated a damaging light from her staff that she used to burn the remainder of Tank's life gauge. This was done to preserve Gladion's stamina. The fight was over. There was no longer a reason to keep him pushing past his limits. He needed to rest, and with his ball form turning gray when he shifted to that state, he'd get it in no time.

"Come on, Tank... I'll heal all of you once I get my strength back, and then we can get them back..."

[Tank Stryker]

"..." Tank was visibly shaken up. This was the most painful loss he had ever experienced. First, it was John, and now this... It was beginning to be too much for any sane human being to handle. Even though he had processed everything he heard Tracy and Skystar say to him, he couldn't keep his mind off of the shameful fact that Katherine is gone...

Still...Tracy's presence made this far easier than it would've been...

"Tracy..." Tank picked Gladion up off of the ground, and then approached Tracy. To her surprise, he gave her a nice, warm hug. "I'm such a jerk... I never thought I was knocking around the person with one of the kindest hearts I've ever seen... I'm so sorry..."

"I am too..." Steve chimed in. "You're one hell of a brawler now, and such a great morale boost to all of us. I felt better just knowing you were here."

[Tracy White]

"Huh?" Tracy was quite alarmed when Tank hugged her. Then he mentioned the bit of their beginnings and well...how could she not hug back? It really made her feel better about herself, probably more than what she wanted to do for Tank.

"Oh...uh..." she nervously muttered. Compliments were flowing in all at once and she wasn't really in the mindset of receiving them. She felt like she was being put on the spot here all of a sudden. "You guys...thank you so much..."

Skystar smiled at the group. It has been a long time coming, but her presence was undeniably valued. What a turnaround for both her and Tracy.

"I'm glad, Tracy," Skystar expressed to herself. "Tank isn't THAT MUCH of a jerk when you get to know him better, right?"

She heard an explosion off in the distance, likely coming from the ensuing battle that was happening at Eden. Anyone with brains could guess that someone wasn't too happy with Skystar saving Tank's life. Who knows who the Hurranians could send after them this time. Probably the Pack again...

"We should really get going," Tracy urged, also having heard the explosion. Both her and Tank were surrounded in an orb of light and placed beside Skystar. She was preparing for liftoff, as anyone would do in this wasteland.