Episode 51: No Sacrifice Is Too Great

[Dasia Turano]

"What!? Are you fucking kidding me!?" Diablo was NOT happy about what the Spartan just pulled.

"No he didn't!" Dasia said in disbelief.

"Yes, he fucking did! They destroyed two of them now! Happy!? Fuck those Ultimate Formations and fuck YOU for putting me in them! They don't fucking work!" Diablo put its feet down on the ground and started pushing against Helios. Despite the latter's massive boost in power, Diablo was slowly, but surely bringing this calamity to a halt. "FARBAS Evolution!"

Three red rings showed up above Diablo's head and went straight down its body. Now, its power was being adapted to Helios' own, meaning that the large increase in power won't mean a thing.

"You are MY creation and under MY control, so I advise you to know your place," Dasia warned Diablo. "Ability activate! Self-Destruct Mode!"

"Wait, WHAT!?" The words "self-destruct" were alarming; however, it wasn't for Diablo 3. It was actually for the scorched Assail System. Hurranian organisms gathered around the mech to force it to explode, which should bring much-needed tragedy to the alliance.

[Vince Hardy]

While Helios got Diablo 3 into hand-to-hand combat, the remaining portions of the Assail System were now starting to glow on-and-off. A heartbeat-like sound could be heard coming from it as well. This was definitely the appearance of a bomb.

Tec's fist came back and hovered over Apollonir's body. He pressed the flames down on the dragonoid. Because these flames were of a primordial nature, they were able to be used as a revitalization technique for Bakugan who are powerful enough to handle it. Of course, it goes without saying that Apollonir is more than qualified to take that in, and he did. He was revived and getting back up.

"Rise and shine," Vince greeted. Apollonir looked at Vince, but he didn't offer a response in a timely manner. "What's wrong...? I expected something like, 'The BT System is active. Get over there and shut it down,' kind of thing."

"As it stands right now, we've lost," Apollonir decreed.

"Okay. We'll talk about that in a second." Vince pointed to the bodies of the Legendary Soldiers. "Get them up first." Vince's eyes changed to a darker shade as he activated the Hex Code for Apollonir. "Dianos Regulus X! Do it now!"

Apollonir would normally absorb attributed energies from bodies with this ability. Instead, he was giving them up. Out of Apollonir's mouth came five different energy beams, all colored in the attributes of the Legendary Soldiers. This revitalized their power and brought them back up to speed.

"Alright. Talk to me."

"That blast we took just now...it targeted our molecular makeup. That's not something that can easily heal. If we get hit by that again, we're goners. For the rest of them, that's a one-shot kill."

"Even for the Admiral?"

"Yes. One might expect her Misfortune 13 form to offer some resistance to it much like Excedra, but this form of attack doesn't care about physical attributes. This is a similar situation to last time. Apollonir and Drago's genes are strong enough to resist it to some degree, but not us. I'm afraid that if Apollonir hadn't intervened when he did, we'd have gotten infected back there."

"It might still have that same ice weapon too. If this Helios drops out, we'll be in some deep shit."

"Listen, we've done our fair share, maybe even more. I think this kid gets it now. We're going to be fine, but we need to act quickly. Apollonir, share the location of the BT System with Oberus and Frosch. Oberus and Frosch, get it out of the ocean depths."

Apollonir laid hands on Oberus and Frosch to let them feel what he senses is going on in the area. With that done, they made their move.

"Reversal!" Frosch shrunk to a small enough size to where Oberus could safely transport him to where they need to go. He hopped on her back and patted her to get going.

"I hope you fall off," Oberus wished just because Frosch is treating her like a ride animal. She got high in the air and took off to the east of Africa. She was kind enough to leave sonic booms from her departure as well.

[Noland Hardy]

Drago was relieved to see Apollonir back on his feet, but he knew something wasn't right. It was all in Apollonir's body language. That was the least worrying thing on his mind right now. All he knew was that there was a feline heading straight for a machine that was ready to explode...or so they thought.

"No! Stop! What the hell are you doing!?" Drago ran over to the scene to stop Yashu from making contact with those pieces, but he was too late. Yashu had attempted to take control over the pieces so they could have some extra artillery, but it ended up working against her.

It turns out that consulting with Drago should've been the first thing Yita did before putting that plan into action. Those pieces were not really set to detonate. It was a ruse designed to lure the hack-happy Yashu in. When he got close, pulses of energy stuck to Yashu, THEN the pieces exploded. Drago placed his left wing in front of him to guard himself from the shrapnel, but the explosion blew him backwards and onto the ground.

"Uh...is that bad?" Noland wondered. He saw that Yashu now had his mechanical parts exposed, which was good since he didn't blow up; however, the Hurranians took that opportunity to take it over. That's not good. "This has to be on purpose..."

[Damian Knight]

Damian witnessed the explosion from his peripheral vision. He rolled his eyes, not because of what Yashu did, but what happened after. He knew what Yita was trying to do, which would've helped tremendously if it worked. That same strategy was now going to be used against them.

Yashu was manipulated into rebuilding the Assail System. Now it was Yashu piloting the mech instead of Diablo. Before she could do anything, Lars Lion appeared right in front of the mech.

"Purge!" Light left Lars Lion's body and overtook the Assail System. Soon, the light exited the mech, taking all of the Hurranian influence with it. "You've raised our confidence with this move of yours. Thank you very much." It sounded sarcastic given what Yashu did to himself, but Lars was serious. With the Assail System in the alliance's hands, their chances of winning has increased.

Helios continued to trade volleys of melees with Diablo, but the machine was matching him blow for blow. Each time they struck each other, a pressure wave was made that extinguished some of the fire burning throughout the desert.

[Dasia Turano]

"What's the matter? I thought this Fourth Layer of yours was soooooo dangerous that none of us would be here when you used it. You remember saying that to Drago before he exposed you for all the bullshit you've been talking?" Diablo taunted Helios directly in his face. "And the funny thing about this is, you're going to die from this. It's hilarious!"

Diablo was now poised into making Helios' waning life miserable. As it can recall, Helios activated an ability that completely maxed out his attack stat. "Super Cell!" Now, Diablo thought that buff was so amazing that it's now going to adapt that same buff to its body on top of the fact that it has already attuned itself to this power. This means that Diablo 3's attack is now twice as strong as the Fourth Layer's maximum capability.

"Why don't YOU choke on this!?" Diablo threw a swift punch directly towards Helios' heart. It made contact. Helios' body ceased all movement and just fell directly down in front of it. "What a joke! So who's next? The one that just took over my Ultimate Formation!?"

"Wait...but a moment ago, you were saying..." Dasia chimed in before getting cut off...

"I just killed someone, okay? Can I just have this moment please?"

[Damian Knight]

No doubt Helios' heart was stopped by that attack, but Damian was shaking his head with a smile on his face, trying to figure out why that would matter to him.

"Well, well, well. I think congratulations are in order. You had just killed Helios...or, you would have if he was in Third Layer and below," Damian pointed out. "Oh, shit. Sorry. Since you guys boast about your tech and all, you probably heard me from all the way over there. Listen up then, 'cus I want you to hear these two abilities. Rekindling plus Nova Eraser X!"

The heart was not the body part keeping Helios alive right now. It was his fiery core. As long as it burns, he still lives. The core's energy bathed his body in flames and made everything work again. As he got up, he swung his head upward to smash his horn into Diablo's chin. This next hit would be legendary.

"You forgot to laugh," Helios coldly reminded Diablo before initiating this ability. He grabbed the mech's neck and squeezed as hard as he could. Then, both Helios and Diablo were engulfed in a large, spherical object that greatly resembled a sun. It pulsated a few times, and then it imploded on Diablo.

Helios was blown back a considerable distance due to the recoil, but Diablo remained where it was. It was scorched beyond what a normal Bakugan would be able to take. Many parts of it were starting to chip from the massive damage it took. It then fell to its knees like the bitch it is.

"Ha, ha, ha!" Helios mocked Diablo for thinking this was such a joke before.

[Dasia Turano]

Diablo's visor was flashing red on-and-off. Helios did much more than damage Diablo; it outright murdered it, and here's why. According to the alarming statistics that Diablo was seeing, Nova Eraser X took two of its stats and burned it away: attack and defense. Whether or not that was by choice was irrelevant. What really mattered was that Diablo's attacks will not scratch Helios, and it could not offer a defense against any form of attack.

"Hm...okay then..." For the sake of a strategy, Diablo was not going to let the enemies know that it's aware of what was done. On its visor, a command came up to ask whether or not Diablo wanted to do a system restore, which the enemies probably forgot as the FARBAS Continuum ability from when it was Diablo 2.

"Virtualization!" The namesake implies that Diablo would be running off of another operating system than its own, and this was correct.

"Hmph...so you finally decide to run me, eh?" a very familiar voice said. Diablo rose back up to its feet very slowly, still clearly damaged. "It's about time you leave things to someone who actually knows what he's doing. Why do you think Xavier's business empire stayed afloat for so long? It's because of me. Now, try this! Balance Cell!"

With no defense, Diablo was poised to get one-shotted by its souped-up opponent. For this reason, the Balance Cell records the current conditions, and - no matter what the opponent does - Diablo will remain in that condition for a small period of time, no more than 15 seconds.

"Ramzana Arrow!" Diablo's body had a bright red light shine in front of it in a horizontal line. Arrow-shaped energy blasts were spawned from it and flew towards the enemies at a rapid pace. There seemed to be an unlimited supply to go around.

[Damian Knight]

Helios walked through the Ramzana rounds, the G-Shield making him completely impervious to any attack Diablo throws at him. "Not using the power you stole from Drago this time? That'll cost you DEARLY."

"Ability activate! Ultimate Quasar!" Once again, Helios found himself unleashing a corona-imbued blast at Diablo. This time, it was a blistering beam of white-colored fire. Striking Diablo directly, it ate its power away.

Despite knowing nothing about the effect of Balance Cell, Helios' use of this ability would benefit the alliance greatly. Victims of this ability will have their active abilities getting burned away the longer they are subject to its wrath. This means that the time of temporary invulnerability would drastically decrease, and then Diablo will have to answer to Helios' dominating performance.

"Not gonna lie. I expected someone giving the Legendary Soldiers a hard time to be tougher than this," Damian remarked about how the battle was going. "You're really making them look bad right now."

[Dasia Turano]

"Oh, here we go! I'm about to be taken out of the story again! Are you kidding me right now? This is robbery! I should've been the main villain! Did you see how many times I got physically abused by this madwoman? I clearly suffered the most here!" The head scientist's unhappiness was cut short by Diablo moving out of the way and hopping side-to-side to prevent further damage.

"That would be useful, wouldn't it?" Diablo replied, making light of its current situation. "Be honored that what you'll die to today will be from your own arsenal." Diablo wasn't referencing the Fourth Layer's penalty. It was going to use Helios' power to put him out of his misery.

Diablo drew its blade and stuck it into the ground. This same blade was used against Oberus from before, the one that had all six attributes. When it happened, rainbow-light emanated from it that quickly nullified the flames from the Ultimate Quasar.

The immediate question would be how Diablo did that when its attack and defense are completely wiped out. The answer was simple. There was a fatal flaw with Helios' ability that only the Hurranians are capable of exploiting. If the weapon was a product of Diablo's power itself, the blade would be utterly useless. This would suggest that the blade was produced by other means.

"Do you really think I don't know what you did to me, boy?"

[Vince Hardy]

Apollonir growled very loudly when he saw Diablo squeak by once again. Now he was certain what would have to be done. "Clayf, stay ready. This is it right here," he decreed.

"I gotcha," Clayf complied. "Excedra, do me a solid and provide backup for the backup."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you guys say... Someone just say the Helios is dead already..." Of course, Excedra whispered that last part.

"You could raise your voice a little," Vince commented on Excedra's response, as he heard exactly what he said.

"For once...I couldn't... He has earned my respect. I'll let him have his moment to the very end."

[Damian Knight]

Damian was frustrated that Diablo managed to survive, but to him, it was a minor inconvenience. All he requires is one clean hit with a strong attack, and he wins. He knows it. Diablo knows it as well. It was time to try.

"Alright...that's fucking it... Fuck this planet..." Damian was getting very angry now. This time, Damian knows that going for a killing blow is the smartest move to make, and that's what will happen.

"Did the other idiot you call on tell you to ask me something you know the answer to?" Helios questioned, knowing what virtualization is thanks to Yita and Yashu's presence. "Too bad you did nothing about it."

"Ability activate! Cataclysm!" This was the intended finisher. It is the total opposite of mercy. Helios would now bring the world's destruction with each passing second in an attempt to destroy Diablo 3.

First, explosions occurred underneath Diablo that sent it into the sky. The ground then opened up to reveal a caldera. Magma shot straight up and engulfed Diablo completely. Helios jumped up to meet with Diablo one more time. A nice, clean claw swipe across the body from any angle will result in an explosion that will be strong enough to burn away any traces of Diablo from the universe.

[Dasia Turano]

For Diablo 3 to be pushed this far shows just how terrifying of a force Damian truly was all along. If this upcoming slash hits, then they win. Of course, being the crown jewel of the Hurranian army, Damian's plan will not go uncontested.

"I'll give you credit for only one thing, Helios. You are the most dangerous Bakugan I've ever seen, aside from the six Legendary Soldiers," Diablo claimed. "Even then, I couldn't care less. Garland Pulsar!"

Helios' deadly debuff meant nothing to a bio-weapon. No matter how intense Helios' flames were, it did not make him a Hurranian, meaning that the red energy wave that was unleashed like a scanning pulse would affect him. Helios was stunned as he was preparing to attack, leaving him motionless. His planned movement did not quite work out. He collided with Diablo though, knocking the mechanical out of the deluge and onto the ground when it descended. Helios was still flying far away from Diablo at the time.

"Geothermal Blade!" Diablo used this ability via the Dextra-attributed blade that was currently stuck in the ground from before. The energy from Cataclysm greatly added fuel to the fire, and it was made into a tarry, dark-colored red stream coming out of the blade itself and impaling Diablo. Doing so caused Diablo to receive power proportionate to the amount Helios was using to potentially kill it. This was important, because now energy was being sent from the body back into the blade, increasing its firepower and piercing properties. This led to a large pillar of this same energy rising up from the ground and making itself at home in Helios' body.

[Damian Knight]

The bio-weapon was problematic, but there was good news. The Fourth Layer's burning energy was aiding Helios in attempting to resist its effects. He still struggled...A LOT. That just shows how potent the Hurranian bio-weapons are. Their engineers would probably make the United States drool.

"You're right, because you cared a lot to tell me that," Helios agreed, acting like he wasn't just impaled through his whole body. In fact, this was a sign that the Fourth Layer was taking its toll on the body. The nerves were being damaged to the point where pain could not be felt.

Damian felt a tingling feeling in his chest. It wasn't a heart attack, but it was something. He knew that he was being told something, but he wasn't sure exactly what it was. Then a card materialized in front of him. He grabbed it, and he could see that crimson claw marks decorated the ability he could now activate. "Seems simple. if you just put an ability out here in front me, I obviously need to use it, right?"

Damian quickly put this ability into play, not knowing what it was going to do. "Ability activate! Supernova!" The ultimate ability of the Fourth Layer, Supernova will take anything and everything around Helios and explode.

First, the energy from the Geothermal Blade disintegrated, and its leftover particles were absorbed into Helios. The same thing happened the sword in the ground. Second, Diablo was being pulled towards Helios as a bright crimson aura covered his whole body. The red hue in the sky was flickering on-and-off as the ability neared completion. The weather destabilized as an added detriment to everyone else.

"Now, tell me, Diablo. Is it bullshit now!?" Helios wondered before unleashing his power. "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The resulting explosion was grand in scope. It could be seen from outer space. It covered so much of Africa that only the southern part of the continent could be seen.

[Xavier Turano]

That battle happened in Africa, but even in the United States, Xavier could feel Helios' power. It sent an unspeakable horror into his head, the thought that a Spartan like Damian was capable of such destruction and what could've happened to them if they pushed him even more over the edge in the past.

"Oh..." he reacted. "Uh...okay then..." He pulled up communication with the alliance to hear about what actually happened. "You all are still alive...right?"

The alliance was covered by Excedra's power. Through the use of Graviton Wizard, he was able to repel the explosive power outward to avoid getting the alliance blown up too. Case in point, everything else around them were craterized...everything. It wasn't a desert anymore...

"And you wonder why we get treated like animals here," Excedra sighed.

"Look who's talking," Clayf clowned.

"I DIDN'T ASK FOR YOUR OPINION," Excedra growled.

[Dasia Turano]

Diablo was lying in the wake of Helios' power. It didn't stand a chance. The Supernova could not be guarded against. That tidbit is nothing compared to taking that devastation from close range.

Diablo was a machine, but even it was beaten to the point of not being able to respond. Its right leg was crunched up. Both of its arms were missing hands and forearms. Hurranians were now starting to leak out of the machine unintentionally.

"N-no...no way..." it said in disbelief. "To think...that I'd be bested...by THIS GUY!?" Hurranian screeching was heard coming from the mech. Surges of electricity were seen accumulating around it. It was attempting to something, but what...?