Episode 41: Reformation of the Spartans

[Noland Hardy]

Jamal committed the ultimate act of treason by attempting to murder the queen. The fallen debris pushed Dasia and Dryoid away from Xavier. Tec grabbed Xavier with an airborne fist. He placed the prince on his left shoulder, standing beside Jamal who was on the right shoulder. Jamal asked if he was interrupting their bonding time. Xavier irritably answered yes since he was just about to get infected. Jamal told him that he was welcome in advance.

Tec landed on solid ground to activate Seismic Trigger. He caused a very powerful earthquake that not even Vestal's structures could handle. He leveled the Mother Palace in an attempt to destroy every single organism that contained any traces of Hurranian DNA. 

Jamal let Xavier know that Niko was the one who shared information about Dasia's decent into darkness and that he is well aware of what happened to Roxy. As the new leader - due to Damian being branded as an international criminal - he was placing their resources with Xavier, the acting king of Vestal. Xavier yelled at him for making jokes at a serious time like this, but Jamal corrected him; he wasn't joking at all.

Dryoid broke out of the debris with Dasia curled up in its hands. The mechanical warrior dropped her off on the ground as they confronted the Flying Fortress, perhaps for the last time on speaking terms. 

[Dasia Turano]

Dasia looked around her as her subjects - the people of Alpha City - frantically scurried around, pretending like they were scared. That facade was probably getting old now, since her secret was exposed to the most powerful people on the planet.

"This is the fastest response I've seen from a Spartan since you were established. I don't know if I should commend you for doing so or put you to shame that it took me coming out of my shell for you to do your jobs. Either way...you're all fired. I don't need you anymore." Dasia conjured a spark to drop on the ground. It progressively grew into a MAC Spider. Boriates rebuilding the mechanical Bakugan before taking on Dryoid was crucial to her plans. Xavier and Jamal were about to find out why.

"YYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEESSSSSS! I'm back! Wooooooo!!!!!" MAC Spider shouted in excitement. It started shaking its abdomen in celebration. "I'm still salty about what happened to me back in Echo City, but that's okay! I've returned with even greater powers than before. Check this out. I can lay eggs. Wanna see?"

MAC Spider laid two of these figurative eggs. Both of them were mechanical Bakugan: Boriates and Diablo.

"Ahhh. Backup systems are nice. I love them so much," MAC Spider barely clarified. Although this did look dangerous, there was one side effect related to this process in regards to maturity... It didn't want to tell anyone this.

[Jamal Armstrong]

Jamal snickered when Dasia fired him in his face. He thought that was already implied. She'd be stupid to think Jamal would stand with her as a villain.

"That's funny. I was actually thinking about quitting too, because I always take the heat for what everyone else is doing while I'm busting my ass containing the outbreaks YOU keep spreading," he stated. "Plus, I don't really believe in the job security anymore. It's hard to trust in that when you decided you wanted to start killing us off."

"You're going to be next," Tec suggested as he pointed to Dasia. "You've exploited every soul on this planet and beyond. Doing that to your own protectors is one thing, but what you've done to these people and Bakugan is just downright disgusting. You're not going to get away with that, not again."

Jamal readied himself to handle whatever Dasia had to throw at him. His battle style allowed it. Even against that many powerful opponents, Tec can take them all. He's been doing it for years. "You would have been better off doing this on Earth. They don't know how to combat you effectively," Jamal criticized her. "Too bad the Spartans do."

[Dasia Turano]

"Oh, but I know how to combat myself as well. I was trained to do so just like you were," Dasia returned. "That is a good idea though. I'll make sure to make time for it. There's a certain fellow I'd like to go on a riot later on. Perhaps I'll schedule a meeting with Kyuki to see what is on his table. Meanwhile..."

MAC Spider converted itself into a huge pile of Hurranians. They surged right into Dasia's body, providing a mild sensation that could be felt across the environment. It wasn't a painful procedure, but it was a bit uncomfortable. This was shown through her wincing when the absorption process occurred.

"Don't mind that. I just need to download this critter to another location. Do you mind being a good boy and playing with these three for a bit? Oh wait...maybe I should get Boriates out of here too? Ah, man. Decisions, decisions..."

[Xavier Turano]

Xavier looked at Jamal and Tec, then he looked at Dasia's forces. He looked at Jamal and Tec again, then back at Dasia. He repeated this at least three times to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Does Jamal know what he is about to get into? Xavier wasn't so sure, but Jamal should know what he's doing.... He could only hope.

"Jamal...do you realize what's over there right now? You're going up against Damian, five resistors, and one professional, all at the same time." Figuratively speaking, five brawlers were present through these mechanical Bakugan. Diablo had Noland and Damian, Dryoid had Allen, Tank, and Blade, and Boriates had Tracy and Alana.

"Shouldn't we be rounding up the others, just to be safe? This can turn bad very quickly..."

[Jamal Armstrong]

Jamal did not concern himself with the petty details. He knew what was in front of him. That didn't change what Tec said. He could handle the situation. The Flying Fortress was always used to unfair fights. He'll stay up while the opposition goes down. That's his philosophy.

"Heavily altered versions of those brawlers, but yes, that's who I'm facing," Jamal acknowledged. "As for the rest of them, I wouldn't bother waiting on their help. I prefer actual teammates. They should be here soon."

Jamal got his BakuScanner online and ready to go. He gave a thumbs up to Tec to signal their preparatory time. "Tec, you ready to go?" Jamal inquired.

"Oh yeah! Let's wreck this place!" Tec answered, pounding his chest with his right fist.

"Perfect. Before I forget, Dasia - since you don't deserve to be given your due respect anymore - let me put this into terms you'll understand." Jamal gave a cocky smile towards Dasia before he and Tec said this next line together.

"I quit."

"I quit."

(Boss Theme)

[Dasia Turano]

Dasia smirked at Jamal's obvious attempt at disrespecting her. It was ironic that the Spartan most loyal to her had done a complete turnaround so quickly.

"Regardless of whether or not you need their help, I would have loved for you to gather them all here anyway," she agreed in regards to the other Spartans arriving on the scene. "I know you'll be the good boy you've always been and get them here according to my wishes. You know what they say on Earth? They believe that you don't get over your feelings so easily."

Dasia swiped two cards on her BakuScanner. "Double ability activate! Bolt Shooter plus Radiation Charger!"

Boriates unveiled a minigun from his right arm. Taking aim at Xavier, Jamal, and Tec, Boriates unleashed hell upon them with flesh-tearing bullets. Their power was reinforced by the radioactive energy applied to them by Diablo's intentional leakage of its battery's power.

[Jamal Armstrong]

"Tec!" Jamal called out in a hurry. The moment he saw the minigun appear, he knew something needed to be done. The dps was too much of a factor to ignore.

"Viblow!" Tec responded. He held out both hands and opened his palms. Brown energy was excreted from them to give them the power over repulsing forces. The radiation-smothered bullets were all caught by Tec's steadfast defense. They were suspended in the air until Tec decides what to do with them.

"There's only one problem with that statement. I'm not from Earth," Jamal countered. He pointed to Dasia. Tec simultaneously repulsed all of the toxic ammunition back towards Dasia and her mechanical trio. The damage inflicted upon them would be devastating to their inner workings. Dasia might luck out though. Her cancer may be even more toxic than radiation itself.

[Dasia Turano]

"You're close enough to a human to be compared to them in that way," Dasia said. Funny thing about it was that it was true. Vestals were not very different from humans in terms of their biology and their appearance.

"Ability activate! Mars Shield!" A brown, circular barrier surrounded the party in its entirety. It shielded them from the unfortunate reversal of Boriates' shots. It will continue to be a nuisance to Jamal unless he breaks it; otherwise, he can continue to bear witness to a shield that recharges itself back to full power across the timespan of battle.

"Now...double ability activate! Firebolt Axe plus Kinetic Burn!" Diablo jumped further to the left of Boriates. It developed fireballs in its shoulder claws. It dropped them into the ground so they could start moving on their own towards Boriates.

Boriates then protruded a double-sided axe from its right arm. It would use that to have the moving fireballs come into contact with it so they could turn gold. Here was the present situation.

Diablo's Kinetic Burn is designed to have the fireballs increase in intensity proportionate to the amount of kinetic energy it has built up. Boriates' axe has a property called golden fire, which suppresses the power of the enemy it is either close to or smothers. Jamal and Tec would have to deal with this combination in careful strides. The flames were traveling across the landscape, building up their powers. They soon became large enough to dwarf them all in size and power, and they were about to collapse on Jamal and Tec.

[Jamal Armstrong]

Tec carefully tracked the traveling flames. He stayed ready to move at a moment's notice. He could feel the tension in his arms as his power was being suppressed by the golden fire.

"Nasty combo," Tec remarked. "Too bad it won't work. Jamal?"

All Jamal had to do was get one ability in play to get this blight off of the field. "Ability activate! Imperial Crunch!"

Tec spread his arms out. He detached his fists so they could act on their own. Once the flames got within reach of them, they opened up and slammed themselves on top of them to put out the fire. This was done because the ability allows Tec to absorb the power of the victims grabbed by this ability. It was to Dasia's misfortune that the fists were not organic body parts. He might have felt the pain caused by that maneuver if they were. There were burn marks across them both.

While that was being done, Tec went on the offensive. He used his rocket boots to push towards the mechanical trio. He aimed his cannons at them and shot concussive rounds of Subterra energy at them. They looked like trails of electricity in a generator.

[Dasia Turano]

There was nothing like seeing a defensive-oriented Bakugan playing offense. It was very pleasing to Dasia's eyes. It makes it easier for her to exploit Jamal's flaws. She knows them all already. The Spartans have been watched for far too long.

"How about this one?" Dasia inquired on her next move. "Ability activate! Iceburg!"

Diablo jetted towards Tec. It covered its body in a bluish flame that caught the individual blasts in its gaze. One could hear the sounds of the shots freezing and breaking in a matter of a second. Then there was Tec who was then shot at by a solar beam of this magnitude. Soon, Tec would become completely frozen in this power and would be unable to move due to his non-Hurranian DNA.

"You can't defend if you're frozen by our biological weapons," Dasia insisted. "Ability activate! Tempest Arrow!"

This ability was for Boriated, but Dasia had something else in mind when she played that. She was tapping buttons on her BakuScanner that had something to do with Dryoid's suit.

"Command accepted. Dryoid armor change confirmed. Equipping Deadeye Armor."

Dryoid's visor outlined a lock-on system that it could use to track its targets. An armor piece near its hips retracted to reveal a small blaster. It was currently unknown what it fired, but chances are that it shoots something out of there.

It grabbed the sword hilts that were attached to its sides and had them converted into pistols. The hilt on its back stayed as it was due to its presence being for emergency utility. Dryoid was then zapped by Boriates, which caused a lot of energy to be generated inside of it. This led to Dryoid shooting powerful bullets that carried a hyper-lethal current of electricity, which continued to expand across the field with each shot that was fired.

[Jamal Armstrong]

Jamal was quick to the punch with his next ability. Dryoid was going to tear through Tec with what it had going there.

"Ability activate! Sensory Fire!" If Tec couldn't move his body, then he would need to use something that could move on its own: the rings on his body. They heard Jamal's call and lit up to respond to Dasia's deadly attack.

"Sorry, but I'm still kicking," Tec announced. The rings consecutively shot energy beams in all directions. Many struck the progressive covering that was doing a good job of encasing Tec, except that it was relieved of its duties just as quick as it came in. The others counteracted the intimidating force of Dryoid's guns. The bullets were canceled out easily. Tec's counter was so great that the shots were able to reach the mechanical trio and land some good hits on their hull.

Tec regenerated a new pair of hands before bringing in the pain once again. He knew that he couldn't act the way he wanted to if Dasia had more biological weapons like the one she just used, so he put his arms up and was ready to move when his opponents did.

"What else do you have? I feel like I'm going to be seeing more of those, since relying on those brawlers' abilities doesn't seem to be working out so well right now," Jamal wondered.

[Dasia Turano]

"I'm so glad that you asked. There is something I have under wraps that would come in handy right about now," Dasia hinted at. "This may come as a surprise to you, but I agree with you. I think having the abilities of the Resistors and Spartans is a total waste on its own. That's why I have been working on improving their skills, leading them to surpass the brawlers that they are derived from."

Dasia pulled up an outline of a large mechanical beast on her BakuScanner. She looked like she was prepared to call it in.

"Hm...nah. Let's not do that right now." She quickly switched it over to something else. This time, it was five knight-like Bakugan that she took due to their alliance with a Bakugan whose DNA is safely in the Hurranian database...

"'Flying Fortress' my ass... I'll show you a couple of critters who have been there and done that already..." She pressed something on her BakuScanner to cause five holograms to show up on the battlefield. They materialized into physical versions of Barodius' personal guard: the Fifth Paladin.

[Xavier Turano]

"Oh shit...you're kidding me..." Xavier was stunned when he saw those shielded knights show up. They were the perfect pairing for someone as devastating as Barodius' Dharak. They were a primary reason why Gundalia was so dominant, even against Earth's strongest forces.

"It's like this is her own little playpen..." Xavier realized. Seeing the Fifth Paladin up close and personal was the breaking point. It forced him to recognize the brutal fact that they have to contest: they were being played hard here.

"Well...Jamal...just...do what you do." Xavier could only hope that Jamal knew what he was doing. Their deaths were imminent with that unit on the field.

[Jamal Armstrong]

Jamal nodded at the Fifth Paladin showing up. He wasn't intimidated by them at all. All it meant for him was that it was going to be more of a challenge to break Dasia.

"That would be enough to force Damian to use Helios' Second Layer," Jamal commented on the Fifth Paladin's power. It wasn't clear whether he was downplaying them or not. "And I thought Yita was crazy... You're just on an entirely different level. You're stealing everything - jobs, lives, and even other people's power. How embarrassing for the leader of a planet."

Tec involuntarily stepped back a few steps. It wasn't out of fear, at least he hopes it wasn't. His body wasn't trembling. It was the danger that the Fifth Paladin posed to him that could get him killed. The Fifth Paladin's shields could reportedly guard against any form of attack. If Tec attacks the wrong way, it could open him up to the mechanical Bakugan and get him infected. The Fifth Paladin was so powerful that the mechanical Bakugan would not have to use defense anymore.

"Jamal, we need to be careful here. Things just got a whole lot worse," Tec reminded him. "Taking them from the front is a bad idea, but I have no other choice right now. If we play our cards right, we can sink them."

"Heard," Jamal acknowledged. He got his BakuScanner ready to go so he could rapidly respond to any movement he sees.