Episode 46: Unite or Die

[Xavier Turano]

Hearing all of that sent chills down Xavier's spine. He was too disgusted by his sister's actions to say anything about it. As the acting king, he had to step up and take charge. She had to be put down before those plans come to fruition.

"We'll work together," Xavier spoke for the Spartans and himself. "If you're willing to set aside your conflicts to stop my sister, then so will we. We will help in any way that we can."

He then eyed each of the Spartans personally before making this decree, as it applied to them more than anyone else, aside from the terrorists in the room. "That means...for any Spartan who wishes to object and walk away, you'll be declared AWOL and will receive no aid from anyone in this room."

[Damian Knight]

Damian scoffed at the threat Xavier made should any of them disobey. This man wasn't an official king and he was bossing the Spartans around. That's not his job. That's Damian's job.

"Sure thing, 'king'", Damian sarcastically responded. "Look, let's cut the melodramatic chatter and fuck something up already. All we need are two general rules that I'm sure everyone would follow if they're worth anything. Don't be useless, and don't betray anyone. You do that and we'll do whatever you guys plan."

"But if any of you, especially that guy over there," Helios started, pointing towards Nero, "wants to fuck around and kill people like he did on Vestal, then fuck your alliance."

[Tank Stryker]

"We finally agree on something!" Tank proudly followed up. It's rare that he and Damian would ever see eye-to-eye, but if he's going to bring this attitude towards it, then they're not going to have any problems.

"That's perfect, Helios. Now, let's just keep it right there without anyone being a smartass," Gladion responded, sort of attempting to keep Helios or anyone else in particular in check before they say something to spark another argument, "Good."

"Alright...progress...now what?" Tank honestly wanted to move this along to more important matters. The sooner he can beat the shit out of Dasia for everything that she has done to him would be better for all of them. After all, who really wants to team with the Spartans for eternity?

[Noland Hardy]

The skies were dark, and the Earth was dreary. The rain that constantly dropped from the sky was torrential, making it very difficult for anyone to properly see for considerable distances.

The only one who didn't have a problem was Noland himself. He was catching a ride on Drago's back as he soared through the skies. The rain drops that made contact with them quickly evaporated before touching their skin. His demeanor was unlike the disappearing rain drops though. His face was completely lacking in emotion. The only thing his face could tell you was where his eyes were pointing: straight ahead, not worrying about anything else.

This would prove to be his undoing. The Air Force caught wind of Noland traveling by air illegally again. This could only spell trouble, especially when Noland is not in the right state of mind. The Skyress they were riding on circled him, but they were not going to attack him until they figured out why he is in the air.

"Master Blaze, do you know that this is restricted airspace?" an Air Force woman asked.

"..." Noland did not answer her question. He didn't look at the person who asked either.

"Did you hear that? I repeat. This is restricted airspace!"

Noland tapped Drago once. This led to the Dragonoid abruptly stopping. The Skyress that was behind him did not expect him to do that, so it was subjected to colliding with Drago's back. The Skyress attempted to do evasive maneuvers to avoid hitting Drago. This was Noland's plan. When that Skyress started messing around, the entire unit became discombobulated along with it. Drago then casually dodged the panicky Skyress and allowed it to crash into its allies.

"Alright! That's fucking it!" one of the men said. When he turned around to look for Noland and Drago, they were gone. "I'm getting real tired of this one kid making a fool out of all of us!"

"They're not showing up on radar now either," a woman noticed.

The reason for this was that Noland and Drago were now utilizing the Switch Code to make their power levels unable to be sensed by regular beings such as them and the majority of the brawling world. Noland was smart to do this, as people will barely see him in this rain and they couldn't track him through any radars or UAV's.

"The world is still debating on whether or not they should do away with me... Your 'laws' condoned our persecution...so why should I obey?" Noland sternly asked as he continued to fly off.

[Alana Cortese]

While the battle plans were being developed by those who were specially built for that - such as Vince, Maria, and Xavier - the Legendary Soldiers were pulling certain people to the side to either train or talk with them.

Excedra had Alana and Hydranoid with him. As he was not acting childish like they are looked at as, Excedra was being extremely serious with the conversation he was having with them.

"Alana. Hydranoid. Brace yourselves. I need to say some things to you that you aren't going to like at all, but please bear with me, he requested before getting to the point. "First of all, I'm going to address the inner turmoil I'm feeling from both of you. I need you to accept that he's an enemy who is out to eradicate the humans. If he shows up anywhere near you, you need to be ready to KILL him. Do you understand?"

"..." Alana hesitated to answer.

"No...the answer should have been instant. You aren't ready to be out there," Excedra declared. "What's on your mind?"

"Why do we have to talk about killing him? Shouldn't any of you be able to subdue him?"

"...Disappointing...very disappointing. I won't waste any time. You will fight me until I say otherwise. You've gotten quite strong in a short amount of time, and now you're forgetting what it feels like to fear what an opponent can do to you. Our hands are already tied here. It is selfish of you to rely on our power rather than doing what YOU can do to stop this. There is no guarantee that we will see him first. If he sees you, you WILL NOT cry out my name because you're too afraid to do what must be done. Whether or not he is your comrade, or even boyfriend, none of it matters. He will kill you, and you know it."

[Andrew Bullock]

Andrew was a little closer to the conversation than what Alana would allow, given what happened in the past.

"I'd rather not butt in without permission, but if you're going to talk about that, we may as well tell her the whole truth about the situation," Andrew interjected. He walked closer to where Alana and Excedra were talking, but not close enough to get her on edge.

"What do you mean? Was what I said not enough?"

"No. Like it or not, Alana's still a kid. We're going to have to put this into terms she'll grasp very easily." With that being said, he faced Alana directly to tell her exactly what she needed to hear. "I just had a talk with Vince about what we're going to do about Noland. Yes, what Excedra told you was true. We are planning on putting him down. His allegiance is a major factor to this decision. He attempted to kill Markus despite the fact he saved him from Dasia. We aren't aware of who he considers a friend or foe, and the power he's working with is lethal to everyone in here. Those forbidden abilities are no joke. He can kill someone in under three seconds if given the opportunity. We can't let him have that opportunity."

"Despite how you might feel about him, there's no telling what he'd do to you if you hesitated in front of him. That power brings out the worst in him. You and I know that from experience, don't we?"

[Alana Cortese]

Alana glanced over her shoulder as Nero was speaking. She listened to what he had to say, only because she was expecting the so-called "truth" to be laid out for her. Instead, all she got was the same thing Excedra was saying, but regurgitated in a more transparent manner.

Her response to this didn't involve any words. All anyone could hear from her was a loud growl. It was easy to identify why this was the case. Hydranoid deemed it necessary for him to put himself in the conversation, even though he tried his best to stay quiet.

"You had a choice. She didn't," Hydranoid spoke in Alana's defense. "I still remember how you were before you robbed me of my soul. You're the same jackass as you are now. I should've been smart enough to crush you when you saw what that Doom Card did to Montai and you still kept it anyway."

Alana turned away from Nero. She couldn't bear to look at him any longer. The sight of him was too disgusting for the eyes. No matter how she looks at him, all she sees is the person who is directly responsible for all of the misery she has been put through because of the ensuing conflict.

"Alright. You said your piece, now go away," Alana shooed.

[Andrew Bullock]

Andrew was in no position to entertain Hydranoid's banter for right now. His purpose there was to get their minds right, not beg for forgiveness.

"I will in a moment," Andrew complied. "But first, there's something I think you should see." He grabbed a Bakugan from his pocket and tossed it towards Alana. The Bakugan stood, revealing itself to be a Clear Bakugan.

"Yo!" Siege greeted.

"Someone freed him and Krakix from the Doom Dimension. Some time ago, Vestal had them quarantined since they got infected. I let them out, and Kendrick supposedly destroyed the Hurranians on their bodies," Andrew explained, keeping it short. "NOW, I'll be taking my leave."

[Alana Cortese]

A sudden gasp came from Alana when Siege took his stance, just in time for the sound of Hydranoid's palm hitting his head could be heard. "It can't be! That's..." He paused for a brief moment to look around and think. "...Uh..."

"Siege, my dude," Siege informed him. "Her and I fought together before we got sent to the Doom Dimension. We were arguably the best Aquos brawlers around...well, I'm not Aquos anymore, so..."

"Oh, well that makes a lot more sense. I was told about an Aquos Bakugan. Seeing a Clear one threw me off."

"It's not so bad either. I'm liking what I got going on here."

"Hm...the hidden one among us is also Clear-attributed. Your species could really benefit from a skilled practitioner in the attribute," Excedra pointed out.

"Ah, so you must be the Darkus Legendary Soldier. I heard you guys were myths. I never thought I'd see one, especially not all in the same room. The way you shut Hydranoid down in the meeting room was super awesome!"

"I'm sorry, what did you say? I have my foot ready this time."

"Oh, uh, nothing! I said nothing!"

Before Siege could suffer Hydranoid's wrath, he felt something cling to his left shin. Looking down, he saw a very emotional Alana hugging him. It was like a soldier of the army coming home after being away for so long.

"Alright. We've had the emotional reunion, but now, we must go. I'm serious about you fighting me. There are some things that I must show you before all hell breaks loose."

"Heh...buzzkill." Siege coughed.

"Excuse you?"

"Oops, sorry. I should've covered my mouth. I just came from the Hurranians, so I should've been more careful."

"You should try really hard to do that next time, or else."

[Allen Silva]

While Hydranoid and Excedra were wasting time, Gorem and Clayf were getting right down to business in one of the battle arenas the Silver Knights had set up in the tower. Oddly enough, they haven't punched each other yet. The Legendary Soldier had a few words, hopefully not as long as Excedra's.

"Alright, tough guy. Listen up," Clayf spoke up like a drill sergeant. "We don't have too long to do this, so I'm going to give you something that'll speed up the process."

At that moment, Clayf pointed his axe towards Gorem. Light came out of it and surged through Gorem's body like it was scanning him. It wasn't long before Allen's BrawlX lit up like it never had before, and a new ability popped up on screen.

"We seem to be hitting the jackpot lately with this ability bargain sale going on," Allen noticed.

"I didn't think you were the type to give out freebies," Gorem curiously thought of Clayf's action.

"You probably didn't think I'd lie to you either, but I did," Clayf admitted. "When we fought the first time, I told you I took you seriously when you first used your Advanced Fusion Ability. While it did bump up your confidence, it was the wrong thing to say. The truth is, right now, you're a laughing stock to anyone who has ever used it."

"Oh..."

"You ARE strong. That's a fact, but...we need to face the facts here. We're different from everyone else. They got all these cool techs while we're stuck here using our bodies. So to keep up, we made the choice to make our bodies last as long as possible, and then here we come with our Advanced Fusion Abilities wrecking our whole strategy. Those of us who were inexperienced and used it in serious battles were made fun of constantly until they were butchered."

"Wait...are you saying that...you..."

"That's right. I can use it too, and because I've worked my way up to this level, I'm giving you the same armor that was passed down to me so Drago doesn't get the chance to crack jokes about you when you meet him in battle. It'll force your body to either limit or release the power from the ability as you see fit. Eventually, you will have enough training to be able to do it on your own, but for now, use that armor whenever you need to close the gap on someone. You don't need 100% to knock some of these fools out, so unless someone like us is coming to kill you, there's no need to go that far. Understood?"

"I got you, but tell me. When are we going to get the chance to take this armor for a test-run?"

"Right now until you're on the ground sweating," Clayf answered. "Now, I've lectured you long enough. It's time to see some results. Bring it on."

[Vince Hardy]

As other activities were being conducted, Vince, Maria, and Xavier were in the meeting room. Seeing as how those three had a lot of influence within the alliance and being the most cordial ones out of them all, it only made sense for them to speak with each other about how things were going to proceed from here. The only Legendary Soldiers present were Frosch and Lars Lion, seeing as how their wisdom and intelligence would be excellent help.

"Okay. Now that everything is flowing smoothly, let's talk about something that has been bothering Xavier and I ever since Markus played that message," Vince started out. He looked at Maria specifically before making this next comment.

"Right now, Dasia has positioned herself to be the most dangerous enemy the humans, Vestals, and Bakugan have ever faced, but...we cannot and will not stop her until Dr. Kyuki is dealt with," he said. "That man has been around for far too long, and it's about time we've put an end to it. He is about to go to war with Dasia. This chance right here is the only one we're getting. If he slips away again, we may not have enough time to catch him before she unleashes whatever this Alternative weapons system is. So the question is, are you prepared to confront him?"

[Maria Zenovia]

Kyuki was certainly one of the most disgusting creatures on the planet; not even Hitler's actions could be compared by the amount of horrors he plunged this world in. However, if one was to analyze the situation clearly they would be quick to realize- Kyuki's power comes from his intelligence and resources, not from his strength. No Silver Knight could count on fingers how many times the madman doctor escaped the battlefield before the battle even had begun. A few days ago she was so close- the man would not have walked the Earth again, but killing him would be abandoning Sylvia at the same time and she would have died as a result. No life is precious for him; he will use the tinniest bits of your life to hurt you; your family, your friends, everything you love. And during the Dark Hole Phenomenon that occurred several times and mysteriously stopped at one point hordes of monsters in Kyuki's control committed genocides all over the world. Marshal and Asuka, dealing with urgent matters at the time could not react and Maria, being stuck just fighting terrorists AND attempting to keep the population from getting hurt cannot do much to fight Kyuki. Now that everything has gone to hell she might as well completely focus on getting the world rid of that pathetic worm. Asuka seemed to have taken a role for protecting the population and erasing any terrorist she sees- Generals Yami and Kyle have accompanied her so it should not be a big deal.

"Certainly." Maria acknowledged.

"Expect him to have more tools to distract us... this time I suspect Daniel will be the one..." Hydra noticed giving a fair warning to Maria.

"I know. If he is in our way we have only one option despite how hurtful it might be." Maria replied.

[Xavier Turano]

Xavier nodded in acceptance of Maria's willingness to do this. He had something to say about the Kyuki situation as well. Even though she may think of him as an outsider and one not to be trusted due to affiliation with the Spartans, he would add his own input to it anyway in hopes that even one syllable would come out as being helpful in the end.

"Based on what I saw the Spartans do to Dasia when she took over Vestal, I'd say they are valuable allies to you if they were to face him, but..." Xavier paused, as it seemed like there was a stiff penalty associated with allying with a Spartan against an enemy as dangerous as Kyuki.

"I think you'd be better off leaving the Spartans out of this for obvious reasons. I'm assuming that the Silver Knights and the Resistors are on good terms based on what I saw at our little gathering, so what we could do is split ourselves up to cover Vestal, Earth, and the fight with Kyuki. Ms. Zenovia, I think that you should have the final say as to who you want in your squad that'll give you the best chance of winning against this guy since you happen to be one of the most knowledgeable ones about him."

"Well said," Lars Lion agreed.

"You can draft us too, you know," Frosch made sure to include. "I think two of us should suffice, at least that's what Apollonir told me to say."

[Maria Zenovia]

Maria gave it a quick thought. She had an idea of a potential structure and formation for the fight, but the problem was not the structure or formation. Problem was Kyuki; despite how important this planning is Kyuki can easily break through any formation if he tries to and that is why no one should ever get cocky while fighting him; one wrong move and person might be killed instantly. "Mister Stryker would do well as a source of damage. Mister Hederick could navigate us through doctor's laboratory and seize the man if he makes an attempt to escape again. Miss White's presence would also be appreciated if we require healing or any boost, but... I would advise that she stands away from direct fights- do not take it as me underestimating her, but we know from experience how Kyuki feels about enemies having a healer." Maria explained suggesting these Resistors in the team due to their potential to make fighting easy. Markus, giving navigation, would make sure they avoid any unnecessary fighting and Tank's Gladion has high agility and damage so he would definitely be useful against tough and/or numerous enemies. Tracy's Skystar is tougher after the training sessions and encounter with Lars Lion, but it is doubtful any of them could take a direct hit from Traqdrach; that morbid creation would immediately focus them and tear them to shreds without warming up. 

"Lydia Andersen and Alex Andersen have volunteered to participate... I assume because of their brother. Lydia is potentially useful for healing over time and navigation, but in a fight... she could be taken out by basically anything doctor has in store. Alex is only viable as a tank in this situation- according to my calculations he is at disadvantage against all anticipated enemies. Of course, these two can also use their 'Achron power' which might work well for us." Maria commented on the two volunteering. She was not very optimistic about them joining as neither had any advantages against Kyuki's creations if not using their Achron powers. Multiple Knights have been defeated by the mind-controlled Andrew Andersen, but Alex was able to defeat him alone due to the power. If they could unleash it during this fight they could make it a lot easier for everyone. "If it is acceptable to you I would like to take Clayf and Frosch with us as well. I have heard and seen enough about them to know their power will make it impossible for doctor to win. As for Hydra and myself, we will be gathering power during the fight to unleash it at any enemy if they appear too powerful." 

"I cannot guarantee anyone's safety- this is Kyuki we are dealing with. If any of them choose to decline I have no problem with it. As for you, ladies and gentlemen, any suggestions or complaints?" Maria said to everyone. She sighed slowly as if she was thinking about something, probably worried about her teammates in this situation; she knew she was prepared, but were they prepared? Kyuki would use anything to hurt them; their family, their loved ones, their friends, anything and anyone. Her face was as worried as everyone's, but that was normal- she was not ready to make such sacrifice if people in the team were going to die. Instead of pondering over the topic anymore she decided she would look after each one of her teammates. She then turned towards Xavier who was the closest to her and smiled towards him. "And you don't be hard on yourself, young man. You'll get wrinkles."

[Xavier Turano]

The Earthling's say that women who spend time here develop the skills to read men's minds. Granted, Xavier did make a comment hinting at how he felt about the situation when Vince told them what happened to Noland, but how he was acting now was relatively normal, or so he thought.

"As difficult as that is right now, I'll do my best," Xavier replied, sending a smile her way.

"Clayf is a very wise pick. He's very stubborn against his enemies, so he'll have your back. As for Frosch though...I'm not so sure..." Lars Lion commented.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Frosch feigned, then looked at Lars Lion with a less than satisfied look on his face.

"Aren't Frosch and Clayf as a duo the most difficult ones to kill out of all of you?" Xavier questioned.

"Overall, yes," Lars Lion confirmed. "I'm more than satisfied with this decision. I shall relay the news to Clayf right now."