Episode 49: The Fallen Hero

[Noland Hardy]

"Ain't that the truth?" Drago sternly responded upon Gorem believing that his new ability amounted to anything. In case they forgot, Noland was also given abilities from the Silver Knights, one of them being the tricky Dimension Dweller that allows Drago to partially slip into another dimension to achieve intangibility. Through this, Drago was able to walk straight out of the fist without any damage being done to him.

"I was wondering when you were going to play one of those. I guess I only have one other ability to be concerned about before you're finally history." Having learned his lesson from fighting Alana, Noland had already assumed that Allen had beefy abilities as well, so putting his own in play was safe since he doesn't know how they function. Had Gorem hit Drago with that ability, Noland would be in serious trouble. Since it didn't...

"Ability activate! Hyperstrike!" This was a quick attack that Drago wasn't really known for making all that powerful compared to his other moves, but thanks to being in an imperfect state of Duality, he could utilize this ability on a new level.

By manipulating the energy making up his aura, Drago formed numerous rays of pure, harmful energy across his body. They all formed into dangerous lasers that converged on Gorem and Allen's position.

[Allen Silva]

Allen and Gorem had forgotten about dimension dweller. That was one ability you surelly didnt want to forget about. Using it, his last ability amounted to nothing as far as winning was concerned and he wasted his ace in the hole. Now the only ability he had left to swing things heavily was his Kinesis Dominator. But Allen was sure he didnt need it to win this battle." Actually, i kinda forgot that little number existed. In hindsight, not a good idea." Allen cracked a small quip out so he didnt seem as nervous as he really was. Every plan he had come up with was spat back out by Drago.

To make matters worse, Drago was still pushing the offense, keeping Gorem on his back foot so to speak. Anyone who knows how to fight knows that its easier to win by staying in the advantage. Either way, Dragos newest attack was a much stronger version of a old ability, and it was in Allens best interest to not get hit again. So he pulled a ability that he thought would do the job." Gorem, youre gonna have to hold on here. Ability activate, Goliath Fortress."

" ooooh. I like where this is going." Gorem whistled out, aware of what was going to happen next. He slammed his hands to the ground, charging it with some of his energy. While doing this, he increased the amount of his total power he was using to 75%, that way his familar could stand up to a duality attack. The large version of Gorem rose from the floor in front of him, taking the attack for its master. Able to absorb the power and still move it attempted to smash Drago with a open palm straight to the floor. Although it was surviving, the Goliath fortress was about ready to crumble just from this action.

[Noland Hardy]

"What are you plotting...?" Noland mumbled. He was very aware of the Goliath Fortress receiving the same armor Gorem currently had on him, so the construct was able to utilize the Advanced Fusion Ability's power. Obviously, this wasn't an immediate problem, because Noland wasn't born yesterday.

He knows that Allen isn't stupid and that he's setting something up. There has to be a reason why he is not resorting to using his Advanced Fusion Ability at 100%. In terms of power, doing that would be the most ideal option in attempting to shorten the huge gap in power. Since he did not do so, that must indicate that there's something else, the other ability Admiral Asuka is responsible for handing out...

"Ability activate! Pyre Might!" The sheer magnitude of Noland's power took a frightening turn when he decided to take this ongoing attack to the next step. Now, the discharged rays of energy radiated with a damaging Dextra-aura that began to break down the Goliath Fortress at a significantly faster rate. Drago also had this phenomenon occur through his own aura as well, giving him both an offensive and defensive option against whatever was brave enough to contest him.

[Allen Silva]

" thats gonna be a huge problem. We gotta end this real quickly." Allen tried to think of a way out of this situation. But every thing he could muster seemed to put him in a bad situation. So now he had to bet on a long shot. On a move that could put him in more trouble than others, or could win him the battle.

" lets do this then. Ability activate. Tremor lariat." Allen activated one of his most trusted abilities. This involved Gorems own body having to be in the line of fire. Those dextra energy waves could take him out in one move. So this was a real gamble. Allen expected no less from what could be his final brawl.

Gorem first swung his arm back, causing the giant to do the exact same motion. But once the Goliath Fortress begun to attack Drago, Gorem also begun to rush at Drago with his own lariat.

[Noland Hardy]

Gorem coming for Drago was the perfect opportunity for a one-shot kill, but is that what Allen is expecting? Noland didn't know if Allen had finally lost his mind, but it seemed like there was no better opportunity to get Allen out of here than with his signature ability, especially when Gorem does not have anything in his arsenal to respond to Drago as he is now...at least, that's what he believes.

"Hmph...what a shame. That's not good enough, Allen," Noland sternly warned his rival. It may as well be the calm before the storm, because what Noland was going to play next was an intended death blow. "Ability activate! Slip Damage!"

There was no remorse for stressing Allen out this much. If he survives this engagement, he can complain all he wants to, but for right now, he was coming face-to-face with his own imminent death.

They knew how this ability worked. Just by Gorem existing in battle with his base form, his strength right now meant nothing. As long as Drago is able to, he will only have to contest with the power that Gorem had while in base form at the time. If Gorem and his familiar were too far in their lariat to realize what this meant, they were about to find out.

"Coming at you hot!" Drago quipped. For a little while longer, he kept his damaging Dextra barrage active as they'll raze through Gorem's body that is nothing more than an ant compared to a god.

[Allen Silva]

Allen knew that this was the time to finish this. Even if this wasnt how he wanted it to go down, he still had a fair chance of victory. Since Drago had used Slip Damage, they lost thier best defensive tool. So all that was left was to end it."i know this suck bud, but its time to put a end to it. You know what to do.LETS GO, GRAND REINFORCEMENT!""

Gorem nodded, making it fully aware that he knew the meaning of those words. He utilized the Grand Reinforcement's power.his armor hardened to a much harder version, that is even further amped by his giga potentia ability. His familiar also hardened from this, as it mimicks his abilities activation.This should be able to put a end to even a powered up Drago. That was only true because he isnt fully in control, so this isnt his full strength. Either way, once he got the ability set, he was going to come out with the victory." Im ready when you are amigo. I just hope Drago is ready to feel the sting of defeat."

Allen pulled two abilities from his pocket, believing this to be his coup de grace. He was intent on seeing this through, and putting a close to the chapter, and to Nolands spot as the leader. He wanted to shed a tear for his comrade, but could only find the rage that brough him to this point." Dual ability activate. Gravitron Balista."

Gorem charged purple energy in his hands. While he did this, his large familiar did the exact same with the exception of a brown energy. Thanks to the Giga Potentia, this attack is going to have a lot more umph behind it than most itterations. Which was exactly what he wanted. Both Gorem and the Goliath Fortress fired a concentrated energy blast at Drago. But before he think theres a break, the duo created two more equally powerful blast, courtesy of the Gravitron Hydra ability. As quickly as he could, Gorem lauched his pincer attack in order to crush Drago one last time.

[Noland Hardy]

"What the..." Drago's confusion was welcome, because this ability everyone there knew Gorem didn't own allowed him to suppress the damage enough to where his world renowned defense could keep him alive. The question was...how and why...?

Noland could clearly tell that Gorem did not power-up from the ability in terms of his power level. Grand Reinforcement obviously did SOMETHING, which can only be attributed to a defense-buff. This meant that Slip Damage was effectively useless from an offensive standpoint, because Gorem was able to perform a miracle and increase his defense to the point where he now resembles how he was when he fought Tec. As he is not in the Advanced Fusion Ability state in Drago's eyes, this wasn't an immediate problem, BUT...since Gorem actually is in that state, and he just played that ability...

"Oh shit..." sums that up quite perfectly. Mixing those two, Gorem's defense is 175% past his limit. The imperfect controlling of energy that comes with this imperfect Duality state will not allow Drago to avoid this calculation, as the Slip Damage effect will end right about...now. As powerful as he is right now, a hit from Gorem AND his stronger familiar at their level will not be a pretty sight.

"Ability activate! Hyper Supremacy!" Allen's showing was strong, but Noland wasn't going down just yet. He still had cards to play.

Drago's old and faithful ability from the past allowed him to combine any two abilities within his arsenal and make them even more powerful. Before Allen could see what this would result in, explosions occurred around both Noland and Drago from the Gravitron combo; however, there was a huge construct in their place, which means they survived...

"Not yet," Drago returned to Gorem in a condescending tone. His was within the presence of his own avatar, the one befitting the Dragonoid on a mural that a madwoman is currently mimicking...

"So we finally got to see that last ability of yours...and it's as awesome as I expected," Noland admitted. "You're pretty awesome yourself. I hate to admit it, but you're tempting me to resume the life I once lived. This reminds me of old times where you and I went back and forth with each other. The battles were always explosive, and neither one of us were letting the other get away with anything. Times have clearly changed though."

Noland's cockiness was warranted. The two abilities he combined were Paragon Blazer and Absolute Defense. The Paragon part was obvious, but Absolute Defense wasn't. The defensive ability can link previous moves to aid in its coverage. With the ability requesting the aid of the previously used Dimension Dweller, the avatar simply allowed Gorem's offense to go right through it. Now, Drago's health and stamina are being replenished, which means he can maintain the Duality form longer. Soon, he'll be at the point where he can use Slip Damage again. The only reason why he didn't do it this time was for health reasons, but when it does happen, it'll all be over.

"You should understand by now that even if your indomitable spirit could survive against a superior opponent this long, it'll be worn down with time, just like with Alana," Noland declared. "You're time's just about up."

(Boss Theme - Phase 4)

[Allen Silva]

Allen laughed at Noland's current move. Sure it was a terrifying combination of abilities, if you were a moron. The kicker was that he mixed two of his defensive abilities together in order to gain some form of advantage. And thats where this guise of superiority falls away." Did you get afraid or something? A move like that isnt going to help you against Gorem. We are the masters of defense. And with that, we are also the masters of breaking it down."

" He seems to be unaware that we havent forgot about his slip damage. So good try with that little do dad, but i think we win here." Gorem poked fun at the almost braindead desperate move on him. Gorem then moved his head to Allen, looking for his next move." if only we had a way to hit him... maybe a giant fist or something. Too bad we dont have anything that can handle that."

Allen had the ability already on the ready." I think i have something for that. How about we try out our good friend Powers Polish." Allen gave the large bakugan exactly what he wanted. Of course he carried that on for too long, but now it was time to play with Noland. It was his game now.

Gorem's armor begun to increase on pure sheen, as the ability begun to take it effect. This wasnt the good part. The good part was what came next. This ability could take a portion of another ability and make it is own. Gorem already had the perfect one to handle this situation. Fist of Atlas worked out really well to do this. The portal opened up in the sky, with it came a giant fist to lay the smackdown on Drago.

[Noland Hardy]

There it was, that same fist ability from last time. Noland didn't think it would be used against him again or he wouldn't have talked all that shit a second ago. Drago's avatar was smacked down by the giant fist; however, his raw strength allowed him to hold himself up by lodging his fists into the ground. Too bad the ground shattered when this happened, but at least he can still move around after taking a serious hit to the back like that. That was still preferable than getting hit in the head.

"So this is how Maria felt then..." Noland was slowly starting to get it now. These abilities the upper ranks of the Silver Knights know about are ridiculous enough to turn the tide of any battle, regardless of whether or not you are stronger than the other person. Allen's ability setup was absolutely perfect, and here Drago is with a 25% decrease in defense and speed. No doubt Gorem powered up from that too.

"You...!" Drago's anger was starting to flare up. The thought of him being beaten right now set him over the top. Noland wasn't having any of it either.

"Let's say you do end up defeating me," Noland hypothesized. "You're going to pay a hefty price for having your Advanced powers active for that long in addition to using those abilities you were given for the very first time. Whether you like it or not, you lose either way. If you don't die here, you'll die afterwards, and that's all I care about at this point."

Pulling out one ability, Noland started putting his final plan into motion, his deadliest one yet. "Ability activate! Nova Sentry!" The avatar spawned two serpentine dragons from its being. They revolved around the giant fist, causing it to disperse into several glittery particles that rained over Drago. Now, if Drago wanted to, the Nova Sentry can be disposed of at any time to use the power contained within the Fists of Atlas for his own nefarious purpose, but that would be a waste right now since they were nowhere near the max amount of power they could contain.

The Nova Sentry then bit into the avatar to energize it completely, giving Drago a sense of temporary invulnerability. At the same time, the harmful debuffs he suffered at the hands of the Fists of Atlas were progressively absorbed by the Nova Sentry to get Drago up to speed, literally.

"I'm just as stubborn as you are, buddy. You aren't getting rid of me with those abilities alone," Noland assured him. "Ability activate! Oppressive Air!" Drago's power distorted the artificial atmosphere around them. Natural disasters began to form such as tornadoes, tsunami waves, earthquakes, etc. The power of all six attributes united culminated in this god-like ability. Foul gases spewed from the ground to act as additional hazards to Gorem, which - combined with the torrential weather making it difficult for Drago to be spotted - should leave him in a state of bewilderment. To top it all off, Drago's power rises the longer he's in this environment.

Using his sensing abilities, Drago was able to locate Gorem without having to visually see him. He continuously swung his fists from multiple angles, creating force waves that would blow Gorem and his familiar right off of the map at the same time.

[Allen Silva]

Noland decided to take one last jab at Allen, by stating the blowback to his abilities. And he was right, this combination was deadly to its user as well as his opponents." You think i didnt know the consequences to facing you?" Allen asked, staring Noland deep into his eyes. His resolve could be easily seen." I came here in order to stop you. And i dont think we ever had a winner in our battles. So of course if you had to die, i would go down with you."

" Theres no way we didnt plan to go down with the ship. We cant lead people. We were the shield, and you were the sword." Gorem continued on, further clarifying Allens point. He couldnt see Drago, but he did his best to stay on guard. The battle was reaching its climax, each brawler using as much of thier arsenal as physically possible. There was only one ability Gorem and Allen could play to get out of this mess." so 'hero' i guess its time for you to fall like a star. Allen....do it."

" ability activate. Equilibrium purge." This was the only thing they had for oppressive air. Gorem used his own energy, chanelled through Giga Potentia, to rid the air of the particles in it. This ability was much more controlled thanks to its chanelling, only targeting Drago's boosts. So now he was sitting there, bassically defensless, about to get pummeled down by Gorem." Ill give you one last move, as a courtesy. Make it count."

[Noland Hardy]

"...What...?" This was the most confused Noland has ever been. Allen's sentimental language was mind-boggling to him at best. Allen is aware that they're in the battleship of a blue-haired witch who is trying to destroy them all, and this is what he says and does? It sounded awfully selfish coming from a good guy. It caused him to ignore Allen's last comment altogether. "You'd really admit to how useless you all are without me? And here I thought you weren't spineless like Alana. What a shame."

"So what you're saying is, you have to kill yourself in order to beat me," Drago summed up. "That sounds like a 'Drago wins' argument to me." He was getting extremely close to the point of being able to use Slip Damage again. All he needed was ten more seconds inside of the avatar, and it was a done deal. The avatar back-flipped back to his side after being seen in broad daylight to prepare his ultimate attack, aside from Slip Damage of course.

Noland knew of the best way to keep Gorem occupied while those ten seconds go by, or outright kill him instantly. Despite Gorem's insanely high-defensive stat, Drago's forbidden abilities can't care any less about that. Strategically, he had nothing better to keep Gorem at bay.

"For being such a good opponent, I'll send you off with a painless death as opposed to letting you suffer afterwards," Noland 'kindly' offered. "Double ability...activate! Supremacy Big Bang plus Absolute Desolation X!" This was the most powerful offensive move Noland has ever used on someone; however, he still wasn't using the forbidden ability at its fullest potential. That was because these two abilities did not mix perfectly due to Drago being in the incomplete version of the Duality form. If it was perfected, this move would be complete.

Essentially, what Noland put in play were two different versions of a killing roar. One charges quickly while the other is slow. To balance it out, the Switch Code version was going to make Absolute Desolation X charge quicker, but it will only function at 50% of its power. Still, that percentage is more than enough to get Gorem out of here if he spends even one second in Drago's destructive wake.

Initiating the attack, Drago's color scheme flickered from bright to gloomy. Energy particles were steadily flowing into Drago's mouth, and then he pointed his head down just a tiny bit. He unleashed this powerful roar in all of its monstrosity, creating a force so devastating that it was steadily breaking down the entire environment as the force wave began to destroy everything - EVERY SINGLE THING.

[Allen Silva]

Allen was impresed with the power that move had. Clearly this was meant to be his big finish. To bad for him that this wasnt going to go at all like he planned." You know, i wish things could go back to what they were all the time. In fact, that one time we all got knocked into dreamstates, thats exactly what i saw. But of course,with all thats happened..." Allen shifted his eyes to Alana, or at least the lifeless body of his former comrade."...theres no chance of that again. Do you know the only thing she asked about before we begun this final escapade?"

Allen had lost all signs of anger or despair. In thier sted, a calm collectedness that only leant more weight to his words. The malice towards his former best friend cut deep with each sylable leaving his mouth. But, beneath the surface was simply remorse." She asked me if we would really have to kill you. You were her one worry, her weakness. Maybe you two can hash things out in the afterlife. But first, im going to put you down. Ability activate, Vicious counter."

The Vicious counter ability allowed Gorem to momentarilly move extremely fast into the blind spot of his opponent, and deliver a return strike to them. But, the strange thing was, he kind of seemed to hesititate when he would go for the final blow." Here is the moment we have all been waiting for. Dual ability activate, Kinesis Rejector plus Advanced fusion Kinesis Dominator."

Thanks to him not having the orriginal hammer, he was able to skip the self destructive portion of Dominator and immediately summon the energy version to strike with. He swung the hammer up to get it into position, before bringing it down right onto Drago's current position." game over, my friend. Find your piece in eternity."

[Noland Hardy]

Noland knew the moment Gorem showed up in Drago's face that they were getting hit by the full force of the ability and there was nothing he could do to stop it. It was an inevitable result, a costly mistake of not having an answer to this Grand Reinforcement of his. Before Gorem struck Drago with that hammer, Noland only had this to say about their current predicament.

"You will NEVER be able to kill me," he said in the face of impending defeat. "It's as Drago said to the poor bitch lying next to you. THIS is my identity, my true form! The one that has always cringed at my other half for being so stupid trusting you these damn humans! You will ALWAYS remember me!"

"Oh no..." Drago groaned. Considering he was the one about to be hit, his reaction was entirely different from Noland who had the luxury of watching this happen. This one was going to hurt...

"Mark my words... I'll be back... I'll always come back," Noland cursed. He welcomed Gorem's finishing move with open arms, literally. "I hope this was worth killing yourself over, because the humans will know bedlam one way or another. If not through me, then through the Hurranians!"

The resulting smackdown from Gorem caused an eruption of overpowering force. A large dust cloud loomed over the entire battle arena, specifically Noland's side. The arena returned to the same Colosseum-like area they were initially in before Alana and Hydranoid's interference. Considering Alana had gotten out of her checkpoint, it can only be assumed that it was because whatever engagement that happened in there ended, which means only one thing here...

Allen...actually did it...

The dust settled after a few seconds, and both Noland and Drago were on the floor, Drago on his belly and Noland on his back. Strangely enough, Noland's form transitioned back into his human state. This was right on time with his life gauge dropping to the colossal value of ZERO. Neither him or Drago moved a muscle after that. It was almost as if they were gone...

[Allen Silva]

Allen looked apon the lifeless forms that became of those he called friends. He felt a deep pit in his heart as he continued to stare at the corpses. One of a man he could have almost called a brother, the other of the third musketeer of thier little group. He remembered all of the good times they had before the calamitous events that set this whole foul road into play. Back when things were just playing Bakugan for the hell of it, and having no worries in the world. Lost in the labyrinth called thought, Allen cracked a smile.

The sound of Gorem hitting the floor brought him back to his senses." Oh crap." Allen exclaimed, heading to his massive companions fallen body. Gorem had taken so much damage that Allen wouldnt be surprised if that was the end of him." Hey, hang in there my man. We cant tap out just yet."

As if responding to those words, Gorem transformed back into a ball, sitting defenseless on the cracked surface where thier destined battle had taken place. " Dont worry brochacho. Im not gonna keel over and go to the great beyond like that." Gorem assured his distressed battler. It didnt really help the situation that he was coughing in between each word. It made him seem like he was much older than he really was. " I am gonna have to sit sideline for a few minutes...or hours. That Giga Potentia really took it out of me."

Allen couldnt help but laugh a little bit at Gorems almost upbeat personality given all that just happened." Yeah, so lets head to the others and come up with a way to beat the smurf haired hag who put us up to this."

" what are we going to do about Alana? We leave her here and she might just haunt our asses."

" you wanna lift Hydranoid right now?"

" i dont think i could lift Alana right now, let alone that lug."

" Well that settles it. Now lets get going before something eerie and ominous happens." Allen proclaimed, before hobbling towards the door they came in through. Now he had one last thing on his mind. Kick Dasia down the biggest well possible. Hopefully it would lead to whatever underworld the Vestals believed in.

[Dasia Turano]

"So I heard that Gorem is really weak from his new ability?" Dasia suddenly inquired over an intercom. She didn't want to give Allen and Gorem any time to move away from this little crime scene. "This sounds like the PERFECT time to infect the two of you, Hydranoid, and...I guess Alana. I dunno what she's good for, but I might as well include her too just to clean up this place."

A light pillar beamed down about 50 meters in front of the knuckleheads. When it dimmed, a shiny Boriates stood there ready to go. This Bakugan had more than enough firepower to blow everyone up and has access to powerful heals. There was little chance of Gorem walking away alive in the condition he's in. Boriates seemed to concur with this possibility, assuming that its laughter at the impending scene meant that it was confident in taking Gorem on.

"Kill him, then take their bodies! Every last one of them!" Dasia ordered.

Boriates raised its left arm on cue with Dasia's order. It revealed hidden barrels underneath its forearm. Pulses of electricity were felt coming from it like a heartbeat. Soon, it would make use of the ability called Tempest Arrow, which will allow it to strike all of its enemies down at once with a powerful lightning strike.