Episode 50: Last Call

[Noland Hardy]

Drago's head propped up on cue with Hydranoid's. Something was definitely on its way in there. Two Bakugan feeling the same way about the ominous setting should indicate that something is about to happen, because neither Drago or Hydranoid would joke around about a situation this serious.

"Um...guys..." Drago called out.

"..." Noland listened very carefully for any signs of danger. While he didn't hear it, he did feel something, a vibration. "This is a really bad time for my powers to be gone..." Noland accumulated his bio-electricity and spread it all across the room. When he did this, a vexatious screech rung through everyone's ears.

"That's not Hurranian..." Drago noticed...

"Di End," Noland logically concluded.

(Boss Theme: Phase 1)

A myriad of entities started popping up all over the place. They were large blobs of darkness. Once they surfaced, eyes formed near the top, and they grew large mouths that had devilish smiles. They all laughed in unison as they began to collapse on everyone.

"Crimson Bonding!" Drago sent some of his own bio-electricity into Noland who then used that power as a medium for his own attack. Noland smothered every corner of the area with it. This current rapidly generated heat, which began to circulate throughout each foe. Even then, more kept popping up and disintegrating in a vicious cycle that was only going to get worse. This can only be compared to a virus, which could indicate that Di End was attempting to bring down the checkpoint itself so it can't be accessed.

"I'll handle Di End," Noland volunteered. "Find the checkpoint as soon as possible before this guy brings the whole system down."

[Dasia Turano]

Noland's stoppage of Hyper Di End's attack on that position was problematic, but he didn't completely negate what Di End was going for. The damage had already been done.

"Should have done that when you and the hydra noticed me the first time," Di End informed them, meaning that he already accomplished what he wanted to do. "Now, you will NEVER reach the core."

A Bakugan having the appearance of the Reaper species was digitized into the area. THIS was Hyper Di End's actual battle form. The blobs that they see before them are Hyper Di Ends as well, but they are considered to be extensions of him rather than the real deal. The more he spreads, the more of him to go around.

That's when Yita and Yashu informed them that Hyper Di End's presence was disrupting the technology around them, making it impossible for Yita to ping the checkpoint's location, because it wouldn't be able to provide a response with it being inactive.

"Fragmentation!" By Hyper Di End's command, the floor rose and the ceiling descended. They were now destined to meet each other, thereby crushing everyone and everything in the vicinity instantly. Of course, Hyper Di End would still be alive after being crushed, but his dissolved form can be reformed into a new body at any time. The same cannot be said for his opponents, except for Yashu if the conditions are correct.

[Noland Hardy]

Yashu hollered for everyone to stay put while he activated Erase, an ability that only involved him roaring to disrupt Di End's hold of the Alternative's interior. In doing so, the floor and the ceiling went back to normal, and Hyper Di End was stunned for the time being.

"Tag it!" Noland's voice turned dark as he activated the Hex Code. Drago followed suit, his scaled turning black to meet the demand.

"Dianos Durance X!" Drago extended a prickly chain to impale Hyper Di End. He now had a hold on this particular body, so if Di End tries anything funny, the now-immobilized body is going to be their card to get out of jail. This also carries the benefit of weakening the hold he has on the system so the checkpoint can be reactivated.

"That was a good try. Maybe if you had actually DONE something useful when you were alive, you wouldn't be here getting embarrassed by us so quickly," Noland proudly insulted. In reality, Noland knew that they hadn't heard the last of Di End. This was only the beginning. They MUST get into that checkpoint so they can destroy the core; otherwise, Di End could be trouble for all six of them just on his own.

"Is it working now?" Noland inquired about Yita pinging the checkpoint. She tried it again, and it worked. The only issue was that the location of it was beyond the walls of the room, which meant that they can be blasted to reveal more of the place.

[Alana Cortese]

Hydranoid heard the word "blast," and got ready to do his thing. "I know. I got ya'll," Hydranoid volunteered. "Indigo Nightmare" Hydranoid shot three indigo-colored lasers at a central point in the wall in front of them. While it definitely exposed a hidden area of the core, it brought an even bigger issue to them...

"Anyone else feeling...I dunno...weak?" Hydranoid said this as he saw a pale-looking girl coming forward from the opening.

"...Brawler Zero?" Alana confusingly wondered. Hydranoid shot at her anyway, but his laser blasts dropped to the floor and dissolved into particles for unexplained reasons. "Okay...no, you're not doing that." Alana sounded like she was picking her opponent out since Noland picked a fight with Di End. "So the checkpoint's through here, right? I'll keep this one busy."

[Dasia Turano]

Brawler Zero was breathing calmly after Alana dared to call her out. She did not pay her any mind though, as Hyper Di End was having a minor skirmish with the Master Blaze. All she needed to do was make the conditions very harsh for the enemies.

"You don't have to do that, lady," she told Alana in a sweet-sounding voice, "because everyone else will go down with you... Zero Destruction..."

No Bakugan was in sight when Brawler Zero initiated this ability, giving the impression that she was about to take care of business herself. What was even stranger was her short hair turning from black to green upon activating the ability. It remained still on her head as a violent gust of wind entered the area. The appearance of it was a dark shade of green with a hazy mist added to it. Of course, the winds were powerful enough to cause a lot of discomfort for the victims and knocked them off of their feet, but - as per her title - the properties of this wind downgraded everyone's power, making them shells of their former selves.

[Noland Hardy]

"Dammit..." Noland uttered as this strong wind blew in his face. He struggled to stand against it, mostly because his strength was being taken from him. "We're in big trouble now, Drago... Her and Di End will kill us if this keeps up..."

"Hmph." Drago scoffed at Brawler Zero's attempt to get him riled up. Because of his link to Di End's power, Brawler Zero's only accomplishment was cooling Drago down just a little bit. "All of you, relax." This was said calmly, because what Drago was about to do could be taken the wrong way. He unleashed more chains from his being and impaled every friendly in the area, including Noland. In doing so, Drago was the one taking all of the punishment from Brawler Zero's power, which was being transferred to Hyper Di End.

He was neutralized as a threat because of her...at least for now. His body started to dissipate. Without them thinking about it, a rainbow-colored spark appeared briefly on Noland and Drago's hands. What this signifies was unknown to him at the moment, but they didn't pay any attention to it. They were mostly thinking about what to do now.

"I don't care who does it. Someone get her out of here!" Noland shouted, his evil-sounding voice starting to disappear a little. "I'll pay the price for whatever she does! Just focus on her!"

[Dasia Turano]

Brawler Zero was intrigued by Drago's strategy. With that forbidden ability, he has made himself a martyr to the whole team. "How unlike the Master Blaze," she commented. "Very well then... Sub Zero!"

A circular energy field projected from her being and spread out. It was continuous in its expanse and would be never-ending. As one would expect, any being who wants to venture within the confines of this energy will do so at Brawler Zero's favorite power level. Additionally, any form of attack that goes through it will also do so at the desired level.

"Fall back a little, let them come closer," Di End suggested to her through her mind.

"Okay," she accepted. She turned around and started running away from the enemies. "Are we in trouble?"

"Not yet, but...the Dragonoid and the cat are going to be problems if not dealt with sooner than later. I'll see to it that they're excluded from the battle permanently."

"Alright. I will take care of the rest then."

[Alana Cortese]

"Yeah, that's right. Turn around and run," Hydranoid encouraged them. "Make sure you line yourselves up before I get down there. I don't have time to check every damn corner for you social rejects."

Hydranoid saw the approaching energy zone, but didn't care much for it. He had his miniature heads dive straight for the expanding energy. They sunk their teeth into it, causing it to destabilize. "Haven't you learned by now? A Hydranoid counters everything...I didn't tell you that."

Alana looked at everyone else and saw that Drago's chains were embedded into their bodies. They all looked comfortable with it too. Alana looked herself up and down to see if there was anything wrong, because she didn't feel...afraid. It was kinda weird since this forbidden ability was the one to do her in before, but now it was being used to save her. Weird...

"...Thanks...Drago..." Alana got out.

[Noland Hardy]

Drago sighed a little when he heard the hesitation in Alana's voice. He paid no mind to it though. He finally found the proper time to end the technique so no one thinks he's going to do anything evil. He proceeded to do so, then he hesitated. Two seconds later, he froze completely...

"Drago..." Noland called, as he also noticed something was wrong. "Do you...?"

"Yes," Drago instantly responded.

Noland started going through what he was feeling in his head. Considering what was currently happening, he felt like this time needed to be taken to think this one through. "Di End is here...all over the place...but how do I know this? Could it be that we..." He twisted his right forearm and took a look at it. He did the same with his left.

[Deon Irvine]

Everything went down pretty quickly and chaotically.

The worst thing was- it was just the beginning of the troubles. 

It seemed like every trash this universe could find was being piled up together and tossed at them; from petty brawling cheaters to crazed murderers. It was enough to discourage anyone from going further, but it was not like Deon did not have to face seemingly impossible challenges before. That was just another one in the line of many. Everyone was already on their way. Using crazed hacker's...Yita's help everyone was heading towards the checkpoint. Deon suddenly stopped moving and turned around seeing Noland and Drago not going as well. 

"We don't have much time to waste- you found something?" Deon inquired.

It was not like those two to just mess around in a very serious situation like this one so Deon had to check if Noland had actually spotted anything useful that others may have missed on the run.

[Noland Hardy]

Deon seemed very attentive about Noland's attitude towards this situation. That may be a good thing, because Deon was more knowledgeable about their opponents than anyone there, other than Yita if possible.

"Yeah. I found out where we're all going to die if all of us goes in there," Noland answered. "You said Di End was a computer virus. Well, that virus is now spread throughout this entire ship. Yita already tampered with enough systems here. There's no telling what he'd do to us while we're fighting."

Noland's assumption of this was accurate, even though he wasn't completely sure. Hyper Di End now exists outside of the checkpoint, since his presence here has allowed himself to duplicate throughout the ship. Once these brawlers enter the checkpoint, it would be a simple matter of linking up with the checkpoint's software and tampering with it, which could result in the untimely termination of each of these subjects.

That's when Yita suggested partnering with Noland to destroy Di End. She'd simply use the same technology Damian used earlier to aid him while Yashu helps everyone else. "Okay," Noland agreed. "I'm sorry for holding all of you up with my shenanigans, but this guy's lurking and is waiting for us to act. I'll take care of him. I won't let you down again."

[Deon Irvine]

"That waste of space should have been buried a long time..." Deon commented on Di End's very existence. Likes of him were good for nothing else, but ruining other peoples' lives and causing chaos. Even in this day and age, with this technology and possibilities it is just a surprise that people still intend to cause so much chaos for their own personal pleasures and their miserable existence. These insects would not even need to be infected by Hurranians to commit such horrific crimes. Was it the hunger for power or just the fact that if they died no one would ever remember their names unless they committed crimes that would forever leave them in history books. Such pathetic creatures who will always begin on 'you cannot defeat me' logic just because they are one step ahead of someone. Always the same and always so predictable- this is why 'bad guys' never win; arrogance is their weakness and these insects that pest-infested blue-haired waste of existence sent instead of staying in the kitchen where she obviously belonged to are going to have such blast having their dignity taken away from them.

"Just don't let yourself get killed with all those thoughts occupying your mind." Deon commented. Everyone proceeded to leave the area. Well, everyone aside from Noland, Drago and Yita. The rest headed right for the checkpoint.

[Andrew Bullock]

Back on the outside, the Alternative was now being challenged by the Darkus Legendary Soldier. Everything seemed to be going well, except for one annoying detail: Dasia could not kill anyone with the Alternative. Her attempts continued to be stopped. For that reason, the Alternative said, "Fuck it," and jetted straight for the entire alliance to run them over.

"Shade Consuming!" Excedra's main mouth amassed a large blob of darkness that he launched towards the Alterntive. Due to the superweapon's size, it was inevitable that it would be hit. When it was, the attack covered the entire machine. As time went on, its power would be siphoned away, and then it'll be crushed by the full weight of it.

This allowed Excedra to miraculously pull off a feat that only Clayf would be known to do. He stopped the Alternative's charge using his other heads. He only skidded back a few meters, but that was better than anyone else having to deal with it.

"We...are not...going to keep this up..." Excedra warned the rest. "Listen...I couldn't care less about what happens to the people in there. I'm finishing this NOW!" Excedra yanked the massive superweapon to his side and threw it, causing the ship to barrel roll in the sandy grounds of the desert.

"Well, that went well," Andrew remarked on Excedra's impressive power. He turned to Tank who he had asked to do some fortunetelling earlier. The results were desperately needed. "Well? What did you see?"

[Tank Stryker]

What did he see? Well...it'd probably be better if they didn't know since it would cause mass hysteria. Then again, that's kinda what's going on now anyway, so...

"Um..." Tank had some doubt in his voice, but he went through with the explanation. "The BT System... It's Diablo..."

Gladion stomped the ground when this information was revealed. This was beyond bad now. The Bakugan itself was already giving the Legendary Soldiers a run for their money, but now it was also able to utilize the same technology that went into the creation of the BT System itself. In a way, Diablo 3 was also the BT System, because it was able to use it to assimilate Italy.

"I didn't see it do what it would've done if Hardy hadn't taken the fall for us before," Tank added in.

"If that thing gets reactivated and it comes over here, we'll be in some deep shit," Gladion warned everyone.

[Vince Hardy]

In the ocean, both Apollonir and Diablo 3 were in a death-like state. Apollonir's body reacted differently to the Oblivion Departure X ability though. As he hinted towards earlier, his Switch Code allowed him to remain conscious while the ability was working to kill both of them.

"The place they call Italy...your kind has enslaved them all..." Apollonir commented on their assimilation. "The BT System itself is largely unnecessary now, isn't it...? This virus can't be contained since they were all infected in an instant... It will spread throughout the entire region, tainting food and water supplies until there's nothing left but machines. All of you who create for the sake of science...I hate you. I hate you ALL. Science is more of a killer than advancement, and none of you will understand that until something like this happens..."

Diablo 3 was still inactive when Apollonir was rambling to himself. It didn't seem like it would reactivate anytime soon, if it could.

"Perhaps...my compassion for Earth and Vestal in the past...was a grave mistake..." Apollonir sighed.