Episode 48: Truth and Tribulation

[Alex Andersen]

It does not seem like this guy is going to go down easily.

Even after giving him a good beating he appears to be tanking it quite well and returning a lot of punishment. Advantage they have over him is their power in numbers, but judging by what they see in his responses that advantage will not last long. They must step up their game very soon if they want to do some real damage and, indubitably, he will step up his own. 

Tactic of using mass of Valiant Strive against Alex would work if Alex was just an everyday human, but we have established a long time ago that is not the case and damage like that might be significant, but not critical. Dante stands up once more, ready to continue fighting. "Guilt Chains!" Dante declares and his body glows- dozens of chains emerge from his left hand and tie Andrew up. He swings it and hits Andrew against pillars, walls, ceiling and the floor and then makes one final swing into the wall. 

"Thanks a lot. Now here is MY gift- enjoy!" Alex says as he emerges from the crater.

He rushes towards Andrew, who is currently disabled from countering, and punches him in the chest with all his might. Flames surround his fist and burst breaking pillar down into dust and sending Andrew into another wall. Under that pressure even chains Dante tied Andrew with shatter into little pieces.

[Andrew Andersen]

Andrew definitely got a good taste of Alex's fist this time.

That combination might have done some significant damage, but Andrew sure will not let anyone have a second of thinking they've got advantage against him. He stands up once more with a cocky smirk on his face and a mocking laughter. "Not bad. You're still alive." Andrew sarcastically commends now that their fights has been going on for over ten minutes and Dante is still not beaten and Alex is not almost on his knees. Last time Alex got very lucky to suddenly release his newfound power and defeat Andrew, but this time that element of surprise will not work. Andrew makes a quick approach towards the duo, but since they were on their guard just rushing into them would give them advantage, so in that case...

"Absolute Pressure!" Andrew yells. He suddenly stops and and swings his left fist forward as if he is punching air itself. From the way he punches multiple waves of energy are released and head towards the duo who did not expect a ranged attack from a fist all of a sudden like that. Waves push them back and stick them both to a wall. On top of that, they cannot move due to high pressure keeping them stuck on a wall and slowly, but steadily, crushing them against the wall. If this continues their insides will be squeezed out like a tomato juice.

"Hehe... now that I have some time to spare. Grand Mayhem!" He yells out again and stomps on the ground with his right foot causing turbulence that not only appears in this specific room, but also around the entire building causing even Hurranian and cultist forces to feel its destructive wrath. Clayf was barely outside of its field of effect- otherwise he might have been hit as well and his presence could have been discovered. Turbulence causes power-levels of all present enemies to drop drastically while removing their buffs at the same time and preventing any sort of health-recovery or energy-recovery. This does not do any damage, but it causes such disturbance in enemies' arsenal that their respective opponents will now be far more threatening. Kyuki gains unfair advantage against Markus because of the type of arsenal both of them use while Tank is not so significantly affected considering his opponent is barely a challenge without its true form. As for Lydia and Angelight, they do not resort to power to fight their opponent so they appear unaffected. Zero Hydranoid, who apparently has just been standing the back for this whole fight so far, does not appear to be disturbed by this sudden debuff and just keeps standing in there- perhaps her goal is to swap with another one of her teammates when they get into a critical position. As for Tracy and Skystar, they have not really been using anything much like Zero Hydranoid, but once they do it they will notice the significant decrease.

[Lydia Andersen]

While everyone is using their strong abilities, power and skill to fight their respective opponents Lydia is giving it a completely different approach. Her battle against Jennifer solely consists of speed and hit-and-run strategy. Surprisingly, that sort of tactic appears to be working quite well against that type of fighter like Jennifer. In case you do not know what that type is here are some semi-inappropriate pictures that might give you a clue about her playstyle. From this picture it can be easily guessed that she is wearing that mage/wizard outfit for a reason- in this battle she is doing exactly what it suggests; magic, magic, magic and more magic- ranging from simple attack spells such as flames to regenerative spells and those that summon minions to her aid. As for why she has to wear that lewd outfit it remains unknown- not like any form of clothing might influence her usage and power of spells, but it sure does show some... qualities that might have been caught by the eyes of two male Resistors in the room. How could they not- her chest is definitely much bigger than Maria's; certain brawler who we decide not to name might enjoy being hugged by Jennifer. Perhaps Kyuki is some crazy pervert who purposely dressed a married woman like that for his own eyes or it is his crazy wife who enjoys playing with her minions. But it is pointless to waste any more paragraph on woman's buns and curves. Important thing is- she is a spellcaster and those tend to have problems against overly quick targets such as Lydia who is very quick thanks to her power and additionally boosted by Devilin's space-type abilities.

"Serene Step..." Lydia calls in her head. This is not any form of Bakugan ability- Lydia, just like her brothers, has these supernatural abilities- it is not just her physical traits that are enhanced. Serene Steps allows Lydia to move at 500% higher speed while maintaining perfect concentration on opponent and masks her presence for as long as it is active so Jennifer will not hear, see or sense Lydia coming. "Devil's Curse: Immobile!" Devilin says as she jumps into a pillar shadow and emerges behind Jennifer. She sinks her claws into Jennifer's shoulders and makes her unable to move. This is a space-type ability that changes laws of physics of the hit target making it into an object without movement. "Good job. Now! Hawk's Blades!" Lydia commends and then grows large green shiny claws on both of her arms (they remind of emeralds). And slashes multiple times against Jennifer. Her damage will not do much, but if she manages to keep this speed game going it will give her quite the advantage.

[Jennifer Andersen]

In case you were not mesmerized enough here is another one. Enjoy.

This little girl is definitely giving Jennifer a time to remember- a quick little prick who will just run and jump around without facing Jennifer eye-to-eye. Even though she is at minor disadvantage because of this her wide array of spells certainly has things to offer in this situation. If the girl is caught off-guard and grabbed by Jennifer it will be a severe punishment for all this hit-and-run play. After receiving multiple hits from girl's artificial claws Jennifer proceeds to use her powers. "Chaos Eruption!" This is power coming from the dark element and is well-known for screwing everyone over just when they think they are doing fine- take Dark Souls for example; you smash that boss with your sword, roll, then do more smashes and then boss decides to do an AoE that will take your health down like popularity of Pokemon Go. Jennifer becomes soaked in darkness that explodes in a wide radius and catches Lydia in it- she is not pushed around or anything, but held in place and punished by the darkness that begins to leave scars all over her skin.

"Arcane Burst!" Jennifer declares again. This time she targets Devilin.

Undead beings, demons and similar things to Devilin and Gargulion are weaker against Arcane arts than other beings and will have their health pulverized in a short amount of time. Orbs of light appear around Devilin making all shadows disappear which prevents Devilin from sudden escape- all orbs then explode releasing Arcane light upon Devilin and pushing her on the floor. If she wants a chance at Jennifer she would have to switch to Angelight, but Jennifer has spells that cover all enemies' weaknesses here- this is why she is the most-dangerous enemy aside from Traqdrach. Not a good physical fighter, but enemies with physical traits set on high cannot get close because of her defense spells. "Hold still, you two. This will be quick." Jennifer says and activates two spells at once targeting both Lydia and Devilin; Lydia will be attacked by metal-type element and Devilin by Arcane.

[Lydia Andersen]

Devilin refuses to let this happen. She raises her left arm and it releases a dark-purple glow. "Space Swap!" This is one of Lydia's Custom abilities she created and gave to Devilin, whose signature abilities go well with this type anyways. It is a physics-altering ability which selects one part of space and replaces it with another one. Space around Lydia's body begins to glow in purple and, all of a sudden, girl finds herself right before Jennifer who is preparing to cast her attack spells. Because she is already in process of casting she will not be able to dodge what is coming quick enough. "Here!" Lydia yells and strikes Jennifer in the belly with her elbow. Sudden strike makes Jennifer spasm and she losses air for a second. Her spells activate by force and miss seconds after because Jennifer's inability to target during this surprise.

"Dance of Angel and Devil!" Devilin says and uses one of the shadows to make her way directly to Jennifer.

Orb of darkness forms and enlarges in Devilin's extended arm and is shoved right into Jennifer's face. Orb explodes and throws Jennifer in the air. Flash of purple light happens on Devilin's body and she swaps to Angelight. Angel's wings glow in pure white and create lasers that all hit together in one point forming a giant laser that also hits Jennifer and continues to push her around. And ability finishes with another swap to Devilin who charges at the enemy and slashes upwards and then smashes her against the floor. "Good job." Lydia commends her Bakugan.

[Jennifer Andersen]

Blue flash goes over Jennifer's body and she vanishes.

She then appears on top of the ceiling, hanging from it upside-down like Zero in Megaman X series when he gets ability to stick to ceiling... or Shadow X for that matter. From that point she has a good angle on all of the enemies above; Resistors, her kids, frog on steroids and Miss Hugs. Jennifer claps once and forms a strong force between her palms- she separates them and reveals an expanding orb of fire and darkness that hurls down at Lydia and Devilin. It hits the area between the two causing an enormous explosion and wild flames that swallow both enemies at once. She does not stop there, but produces a few more and crashes them there to make sure that landed and damaged the enemies. She then quickly switches to another ability that would target the rest of the people in the room and affect them negatively- she cannot risk entering a fight with them, but certainly can use debuff spells to weaken all of them at once.

"Demon Aegis!" She says and chants a spell.

A dome of darkness appears all across the room and begins to affect all enemies. Frosch becomes much slower and takes way more damage. Alex and Dante both become slower and they do less damage against Andrew. Lydia, if she still breathes, losses her speedy abilities and takes way more damage; same for Devilin. Gargulion and Gladion require way more energy to execute their abilities and abilities have 50% chance to not activate at all when played. Finally, Hydra and Skystar. Jennifer does not know why Hydra is just standing there, but this decreases her offense and defense by 45% in case she attempts something. Skystar becomes unable to use abilities whatsoever and her speed is reduced. And now it is time to return attention to her beloved daughter. "Come on, dear, I know you're still alive. You don't want to come to mommy and give her a hug?" Jennifer mocks with the 'original' tone of hers making her sound very mild. Is she mild? Why ask that question?

[Lydia Andersen]

"No, thanks. Hug a cactus." Lydia replies to her enemy.

She comes out of the smoke with some scratches and burns over her body. She obviously did not see that attack coming, but damage was not as severe as she anticipated it would be. Her body begins to regenerate; burns and cuts disappearing in mere seconds- that is one of Lydia's powers that makes her cells rapidly regenerate without needs of wasting others' energy to heal her. Now she can counterattack, but first thing she needs turn attention to is this Demon Aegis; with that huge debuff placed on all of them it will be rather ridiculous to try to fight these enemies- especially Traqdrach and Andrew. Devilin switches to Angelight and places her hands on Lydia's shoulders allowing her to channel some of her secret powers- her secret time-based abilities have to be channeled as well; if not she might get hurt. "Channel power!" Lydia commands and Angelight activates her ability. "Purifier Arrow!" Angelight says. Massive arrow consisting of light particles forms above the center of the dome. It descends and comes in contact with the dome; as a result arrow shatters into little pieces and takes dome down with it. Lydia feels sudden changes in her power; debuff has been negated.

Angelight switches to Devilin. "Gravity: 200%!" Devilin says as she uses her customizable ability. Changing lives of physics in a specific set of ares she forces overly increased gravity against Jennifer who is forced to land under the pressure.

"Petal Blade!" Lydia says and takes a leap with her accelerated movement. She appears behind Jennifer and forms multiple petal-like blades on each one of her fingers and begins to wildly swipe. Scratches left on Jennifer cause a tranquilizer effect and prevent her from moving allowing these two to chain up more and more damage. Devilin prepares to being with her magic attacks and Lydia's blades change to metallic material for a combo.

[Jennifer Andersen]

"Foolish little girls." Jennifer mocks her opponents.

None of their attacks will hit the mark. Jennifer's body flashes and disappears causing two charging enemies to miss completely and nearly hit one another. Jennifer appears right below them and winks. "Hello!" She cheers and activates two different spells; one handled with one hand, and second with another. "Moonlight Curse and Blood Moon Beam!" She calls out and quickly accumulates energy of light and energy of blood. Blood energy can be related to any attribute, but it is considered as a 'custom attribute' that is related to elements separated from standard ones and is probably classified into areas where Clear is placed. Moonlight Curse summons a beam of Arcane and Blood Moon Beam summons a bloody-red beam. Beams combine and become one unstoppable force of destruction.

Lydia and Devilin become swallowed in destructive beams and cannot resist, evade or counter in any way while it is going on. Once overpowered attack ends Jennifer flies up to the two and claps creating destructive turbulence catching both enemies in it and hurting them with a lot of damage stacking and causing random negative status effects upon them. Both collapse on the ground and Jennifer lands. She casually walks over Devilin's body and shoves her boot into Lydia's face. "Oh, did that hurt?" She mocks and begins to crush Lydia's face.

[Markus Hederick]

A debatable discussion could be had to determine whether or not Markus was in a worst situation than Alex and Lydia. Kyuki was very similar to Markus and Tank based on the way he fights, and he even seems to have comparable battle intellect to Frosch. His power level wasn't higher than the other two "superhumans", but it didn't have to be. With the way he was fighting, Markus wagers that Kyuki could hold his own against Andrew and Jennifer, as his approach to battle is a lot more complex than most people are able to grasp.

Based on those circumstances, Markus was not going to allow Kyuki to have the luxury of catching him out in the open, so he was hiding within Gargulion's body to prevent himself from being cut into pieces.

"I'm impressed you can fight like that. Not bad," Gargulion commended. That was the only credit Kyuki will be given. He had only suffered minor damage from Kyuki, and the same applied to the other side as well. Andrew's debuff from earlier may make things difficult if any of Gargulion's frames break and he starts striking the spirit form with some ridiculously overpowered attacks, but so far, that shouldn't be an immediate concern. What was more pressing was what kind of tricks Kyuki has left in his bag.

"Ability activate! Shade Gargoyle!" This ability is unique to the Darkus Frame. The entire area's surface is swamped in a gloomy shadow that emits a very sinister-feeling energy, something akin to that of a nightmarish ghoul creepily smiling at its unsuspecting victim from behind them. The benefit this ability gave Markus and Gargulion was the ability to attack from anywhere within the shadow's gaze. They could appear wherever they wanted to, and they can phase in and out of existence whenever they wanted to. Considering there isn't that much lighting here compared to the other environments Markus has been battling in since this evolution, this ability would have very powerful use here.

Gargulion disappeared into the shadows instantly. Kyuki will now find himself being bombarded with a variety of shadow constructs, which include: enlarged hands, tendrils, and sharp pillars. All of these came in at irregular intervals. No one knew the direction or the timing of these attacks, but they came faster than ever.

"Why'd you do it!?" Markus asked Kyuki during this assault. "What could have made a brilliant man turn into this inconceivable monster!?"

[Prof.Dr.Kyuki]

Kyuki kind of had hope he would be facing the former Admiral again, so he could finally get the hold of precious key that her body and mind are for one of his plans. Guess he will have to be annoyed longer than anticipated to get to that point. Provided, that these four weapons do their job properly it will not be very difficult to finish that Hydranoid off- even if it reaches Misfortune 13. Even if those things do not eliminate these unwelcome guests Kyuki has another ace up his sleeve that he can pull on these people- he might destroy lots of his creations in the process as well, but perhaps it is a perfect opportunity to test it out. He could use it right now, but with longer battles come interesting opportunities and data that can be used later. Anyways, onto the ongoing battle...

"Fighting does not interest me. This is nothing but a side-product." Kyuki replies to Gargulion's comment. What many might be mistaken with- Kyuki really does not remotely care about brawling or just fighting in general. Anything from minor arguments to actual fights is not among his interest. If he really has to then he will fight and has prepared his body for it. Having a Bakugan protecting him is a good option, but what happens if Bakugan gets killed? Many brawlers in war neglect their physical training and they are helpless without a Bakugan fighting for them. Being something as powerful or even stronger than Bakugan is a way better option and using different forms of technology combined with bio-engineering he made himself way stronger than natural Bakugans. "That question has been asked more times than I can count. Do not bother- my answer would not change anything. Rather settle with the common opinion that I am insane- it is easier. I won't deny it." Kyuki replies to Markus's question not intending to give any answers to that. Perhaps it is... just that. Maybe he was insane to begin with and it has never changed? Maybe there is nothing to it after all.

"Proportion." Kyuki names it. Incoming attacks that Gargulion sent at Kyuki were coming unexpectedly, but why would he bother looking for them when he just can let artificial intelligence do that? Proportion is his created ability which applies a defensive barrier around his body similar to Absolute Shield of Dante's base form- it works based on a distortion and is controlled by artificial intelligence in this laboratory. Laboratory knows where everything and everyone is, so it will detect the attacks. Barrier quickly gets data from AI on the power of enemy attack and applies the exact amount of defense needed to block and neutralize it. And barrier has a high limit on what can be blocked. Kyuki just calmly stands where he stood before and lets attacks hit the barrier that does not appear to break. He then stomps once on the ground quietly and creates a ripple of energy that flows through the laboratory. After that he takes a turn and looks into one of the shadows before snapping his fingers. Three red orbs similar to one Virus was deploying instantly spawn at the shadows and blow up releasing wild flames. It reveals Gargulion, but it did only slight damage- those are 'dummy bombs' which can be used for purpose such as this or disruptions of enemy attacks. "For the sake of a fair fight I would suggest you stop wasting energy on that. This building is not just a pile of stone- it is a living organism... It can sense anything inside." Kyuki gives a short lecture. That is what his so-called System is. It is a superweapon hiding somewhere deep in the ocean and is directly connected to main computers of every lab and acts as a super-brain. It observes and can act on its own and if that thing knows where you are so does Kyuki. 

[Markus Hederick]

Markus followed Kyuki's eyes to see where they would go in relation to where Gargulion would attack from. He noticed that Kyuki didn't bother to look directly at them, which implies an aptitude of sensing, either through him or another source. He also noticed that Kyuki has an ability to detect Gargulion's umbrakinetic movement. How? Gargulion never attacked Kyuki himself. He just sat in the shadows and watched. Kyuki did them a favor by clearing up what was happening so far, even though Markus was piecing this information together.

That's why he's a professional brawler, after all.

"Frame Pulse!" Gargulion activated. In the midst of the smoke, he swung his arm to send a violent wave of energy down range. It smacked Kyuki right in the noggin, putting him flat on his back just a couple of meters down.

"So that's it, huh? That's the best you can say for yourself after all of this?" The smoke from the explosion cleared with Gargulion standing there without any blemishes, showing that the attack was merely a stun tactic. "The common opinion is that you betrayed, stolen, and killed, and you expect anyone to think it just lies with insanity? You wouldn't have the ability to have the trainwreck of a wife you have right now if you didn't have a hint of rationality in that fucked-up head of yours."

Gargulion emitted a shine across his body, hinting at an ability being activated.

"Ability activate! Touch of Stone!" Gargulion pressed his palm against his chest. Now, the Darkus Frame had a special effect. For anything foreign that makes contact with his body, it will be petrified on contact. Markus figured this was the ideal defense for Gargulion as they were preparing to walk Kyuki down carefully, knowing that the snotty man has a plan of action.

"You want a fair fight? Face me without your extra set of eyes. I dare you," Gargulion challenged.

[Prof.Dr.Kyuki]

Kyuki slowly rises back on his feet and gives the enemy a brief stare.

Considering who they are up against they should be aware that one-on-one battle is close to a suicide mission; Kyuki's abilities might not be more powerful than of any other weapon deployed in this room or this building altogether, but they are definitely trickier and more complex. It is never something as simple as just increasing power or just hurting the enemy like what Andrew and Jennifer do- it is like stacking five things in one package every single time. "Cloaking." Kyuki declares his next choice for ability which is also one he invented for fights with dangerous effects involved. Skull emblem appears on his forehead and disappears in a second. He then points at Gargulion with his arm and then clenches it- Gargulion's body flashes and he disappears. Seconds later Gargulion is teleported right in front of Kyuki who wastes no time, but grabs Gargulion by his face. "Andromeda." Kyuki declares. Andromeda is an ability inspired by a movie where meteorites crash on Earth's surface with a parasite on them- parasite grows and works quickly by weakening the host ultimately eating their flesh. By the time host is dead they will turn him overly aggressive, insane and dangerous for those around- host will begin killing those around him and will be unable to think. Parts of Kyuki's arm begin to turn into liquid and detach from his body. They turn into liquid and splatter over Gargulion beginning to infect him- unlike Hurranians infecting anyone this will not be remotely funny for anyone as this parasite would probably eat up Hurranians as well. Kyuki found this parasite in Vestroia using one of his probes. Once Kyuki is done with that he tosses Gargulion away without activating other abilities. Seems like using Cloaking does pay off- ability that allows one to be excluded from a limited number of effects used by anyone- that includes turning to stone.

"You are in a war, not the arena. I have no rules I have to abide to. If you cannot overcome it then you should not perhaps let someone else do this for you- perhaps a certain Advent princess... she has a tendency of saving trash and putting it in her care." Kyuki reacts to Gargulion's challenge coldly and with no intent of stopping System's overseeing. And why would he in the first place? This is a deathmatch and Kyuki could not care less about pointless rules and honorable fights. Where is honor in war? Nowhere. Just death. And that is what he cares about.

"Why is it that you care? Why would one listen to a reason of a mere terrorist? Long story, result is the same and no one gets anything out of it. But if curiosity within you is so insatiable I believe Hurranians would be happy to tell you- after all, they have been inside my brain for longer than your terrorist friends inside that Spartan girl. You're an assassin. You came here to kill me- you did not ask those Eden fools why they killed your family, so why ask me anything? After all, I have done worse, haven't I?" Kyuki replies to Markus slightly irritated by the fact that Markus keeps digging into what the reason for Kyuki's destructive nature is. At this rate, Markus will probably run out of breath before he gets any answer- Kyuki really does not have time and breath to waste it on a long story no one will care about anyway (not even him) and results will all be the same after that. At this point he does not need a reason to say anything to anyone- he is a terrorist after all; might as well just kill anyone who comes his way. 

[Markus Hederick]

Markus was seeping out of Gargulion's body as a countermeasure towards this ability of Kyuki's. As he was coming out, he was laughing at Kyuki. This fool was playing right into Markus' hands.

"It's a good thing I can," Gargulion countered, confident that at the current state of affairs, he can defeat Kyuki without an Admiral-grade brawler's interference.

"Getting irritated, doc?" Markus wondered with glee. "I guess you're right. I am an assassin, and why should I care about a mere terrorist like you, eh? You're nothing special. You're just like any other terrorist, only luckier and dumber than the rest."

Markus fully exited Gargulion's consciousness. Gargulion's spirit form followed suit to escape infection. The infected body was then molded into a giant stake.

"By the way," Markus started as Gargulion hurled the construct into Kyuki's abdomen, forcing it to get completely lodged into the poor man's body, "that's not suited for me. Perhaps it'll be kinder to you."

Gargulion "soul stepped" near Kyuki to strike him in his temple with his knuckle, elbowed him right under his chin, and then forcefully kicked him in his shinbone to get him to stagger. He then lifted Kyuki by the embedded stake and stuck him to the floor.

"There's nothing worse than a villain who constantly denies the truth," Markus asserted. "You've settled for less all this time, and that's why you'll never be anything close to us, no matter how many enhancements you pump yourself with."

[Prof.Dr.Kyuki]

Kyuki's body bursts into white particles of light.

He then reforms close to the kid and his Bakugan. His wounds begin to glow and quickly regenerate while his left arm turns into a giant sickle. "That is the difference between a scientist and a brawler- latter shows his fists and thinks he is superior to others. Being arena's pet- it is to be expected." Kyuki says and then recalls this is like his fifth time he said that to someone this week. Gargulion feels multiple signatures from all directions, but sees nothing and does not sense any specific locations. Suddenly, he is smashed in the head by something very hard which gives a horrible sound of a metal impact, which sends Gargulion into a pillar. A pillar of stone 'grows' in front of Markus and becomes flexible and smashes the kid sending him into that panel that was used to stun Kuzuha. Kyuki approaches Markus and then grabs him by the neck. He begins to grind Markus's face against the wall tearing his skin off and leaving a bloody trail. He then tosses Markus on the ground. "Anything better than 'us'? Quite a confident statement considering all your fame comes from your Bakugan and not anything you own or have created. Trash-talk is a weapon you can use on kids- does not result the same for adults, kid." Kyuki says before kicking Markus in the head and making him slide across the room.

"It is quite an assumption to make that I deny the truth after I have honestly stated the truth- I am a murderer who does not need a loose trigger to slit one's throat. Nothing to justify. Aside from this and the body count we are not quite different. We are both murderers, but one among us still appears to justify it in his veil of 'revenge' and 'justice'. Humorous- reminds me of Nero and the Pack. Poor man lost his woman and declared a personal war against Bakugans and committed a mass-murder... I hear he still justifies it. In case you still do not understand books call this 'irony'; would not hurt you to read something besides those pornography magazines." Kyuki says and walks away from Markus to reach another control panel that was among many undamaged ones. He clicks a few buttons on it and a tiny hatch opens on the left wall near Kyuki. A tiny red orb appears out of the hatch. Kyuki grabs it and crushes with his right hand creating a fiery cloud for a second. He then drops the shattered pieces and begins to slowly walk back to the wounded duo. 

[Markus Hederick]

Gargulion's spirit form had gotten up rather quickly. Although the hit rocked him a little, it was far from what was necessary to actually knock him out. As for Markus though...

"That's where you're wrong about brawlers. Yeah, the majority of us rely solely on our Bakugan when it comes to who throws the punches and kicks, but there's a lot more to brawling than just the Bakugan fighting. That's why the brawlers are there. Battle strategy doesn't just come from one entity. What good is a plan if you just come up with it on your own without anyone to check you?" Markus countered. This wasn't the beaten down Markus that was just beaten down. It was actually the spirit Gargulion that had gotten hit earlier. "That's why you made a mistake in who you went for... It's almost laughable at how easy it is to get under your radar, even though you claim to have what you need to see through my tactics. You rely on scientific tools to aid you in fighting rather than having a fighting sense of your own; you don't know how to actually fight yourself. How's that for being a pet?"

"It's to be expected of a scientist," Gargulion clowned to stick up for his partner. Him - the one posing as Markus - removed Markus' appearance and assumed his spiritual appearance. Markus still kept the same style, being completely smothered in Gargulion's energy to where Kyuki wouldn't have been able to know that Markus did so within the confines of Gargulion's consciousness. So much for this so-called "system" that supposedly picks up on everything.

"I could say the same about you in terms of what you read, Kyuki. You might learn common sense and logic from it," Markus retorted in reference to the comparisons. "Yeah, in terms of the act, we are the same; however, what's an act without a reason? I don't need to explain it to you. It may not make it through your thick skull, but ask yourself this. Is it really fair to compare yourself to me, when you don't have a single avenue of justification to go down?"

Gargulion tagged Markus with his palm to absorb him back into his consciousness, seeing all that he needed to see from Kyuki. He already did his job. There's a reason why Kyuki just did what he did.

"What you just did is very telling of how our engagement went, old man," Gargulion exposed. "That's no ordinary stimulant, and you know it."