Episode 51: No Sacrifice Is Too Great

[Damian Knight]

Helios was breathing heavily from the ability's execution. As everyone can see from the results, power like that will take a lot out of someone. Helios took a few steps towards Diablo, and then stopped.

Damian was standing there watching this all go down. He chuckled for a little bit, and then he burst out into laughter. "That's right, Helios! That's what we do!" Things would start to go downhill from there.

Helios' flashy apparel from the Fourth Layer started disappearing in clouds of steam. His body looked...appalling. His scales were charred, and his skin...disgusting. He stood there without moving a muscle, but he was unconscious...finished.

Damian was not in the same category of severity, but it was still life threatening. Steam left his body from all angles, and his BakuScanner had a permanent red color on the screen.

"Listen...Ebony...you better not nag me anymore..." He started to fall backwards. "I did what you asked me to do..." he said as he fell on his back, losing consciousness as well.

[Jamal Armstrong]

"...Oh shit..." Jamal knew what was happening the moment he saw steam. That's when he started getting frantic. Now that the battle was seemingly over, none of the Spartans were in danger of getting blown to kingdom come.

"Tyr! You're on! Finish it for Helios!" Tec suggested, even though he basically ordered it to be done. "I will remove Damian and Helios from the battlefield!"

"You heard him! Go!" Jamal echoed. He boarded Tec so he could go get Damian personally. Tec started dashing over there as quickly as possible. Damian was likely suffering from heat stroke, and Helios was covered with fourth degree burns, no pun intended obviously. They were definitely on their way out. Even if they are mostly useless for the rest of this fight, Jamal didn't want them to die, not when they had finally realized what they could do to help people.

[Deon Irvine]

Damian and Helios were suffering drastic consequences from usage of Fourth Layer; as expected it was a huge power in exchange for their own health. Their bodies were on the brink of dying after that one, but in the very least they took care of that annoying and overly loud melodramatic machine. All there was to do was to finish it off so it does not return to harass the battlefield any more. Deon was given a perfect opportunity to rid the combat of that unclean creation once and for all. "Time to put that robot back to the scrap pile." Deon declared as he prepared one ability he was going to finish it off with. It was an instant-damaging ability that did not require any channeling so the damage output would be huge in one single swoop. "Ability activate! Goliath Pierce!" Deon declared naming this special kind of ability meant for dealing with things like machines and, generally, tankier foes. Goliath Pierce allows Tyr to produce a heavy-damaging and very accurate projectile that might not look as impressive considering it is a green thin needle-like object, but once it hits the target it releases a shockwave into their body breaking any other defenses they might own and frying their insides while it is at it. Additionally, any functions they might have or use are instantly reduced by half- that includes preparation of abilities, healing, self-healing, repairs etc.

Tyr pointed his two horns towards the lying Diablo and an electric spark flashed between the horns a few times before turning into bolts. Bolts began raging and sparking quickly before a loud and powerful flash that released a thin needle-like projectile that began moving alarmingly quickly towards Diablo aiming for the thing's head from where the circuits would be fried and if that thing attempted to recover itself, provided it survives the impact, it would take him twice as much time allowing anyone to use it for maximizing the damage. The projectile headed towards Diablo and it was a matter of time before the impact.

[Dasia Turano]

"...Oh shit..." Diablo knew just as anyone else that there'd be nothing it can do to stop its impending destruction if Tyr's attack makes even a tiny bit of contact. "Hey...now's the time to do something since you know everything..."

"Who? Me? You want my help?"

"I'm about to get destroyed here, so yes!" This was the benefit of activating Virtualization earlier. Without it, Diablo could do nothing on its own here. Its only hope was allowing the Hurranians to operate on it from within their own personal space.

"Ah, yes. Here I am being the backbone of the team once more. This never gets old."

"You better shut up and help it or we lose!" Dasia loudly ordered. As they were bickering between themselves, the projectile was inching closer and closer. They sure were acting like they weren't worried about anything when they should be. Then again, it should be noted that Hurranian communication this way takes a much shorter time than humans could possibly comprehend on the outside.

"Fine. I know I'm not going to get anything out of this anyway, so I may as well do a lousy job in doing something. Metalmorphosis...now leave me alone. I may as well cry about not getting Dasia one last time before all of our asses gets killed."

The parts of Diablo that were unusable due to the damage it suffered were digitized away and replaced with parts of another mechanical Bakugan in the Hurranian arsenal: Boriates. Of course, the parts were adapted to the make of Diablo so that there weren't any compatibility issues.

"Perfect..." Diablo celebrated with an evil-sounding tone. "Activating the Custom Battle Ability." Diablo sprung up on its feet to meet Tyr's incoming attack. It caught the projectile on its fingertips, and it held on until the energy from it dissipated. "I'm back."

[Andrew Bullock]

Andrew didn't bother making any faces or making any noises from seeing Diablo get up...again. It was to be expected at this point. It was clear that Diablo 2 and 3 were made to act as One Man Armies, but this was just ridiculous. Diablo was pretty much gone until it sprung that move. Now what?

"Hades...scan it..." Hades analyzed Diablo from every detail. It sent this information to Andrew's BrawlX. A digital page popped up on the device to show him exactly what happened. "Just as I thought."

He called up Xavier to see what he thinks about it. "Boriates' parts were merged with Diablo. It restored its functionality, but the damage from Helios is still lingering. What does this Custom Battle Ability do?"

[Xavier Turano]

"Aaaaaand now it goes from worse to impossible..." Xavier sighed. An explosion was heard behind him as he conversed with the alliance. It would seem like the Hurranians are eager to shut him up right about now.

"The Custom Battle Ability basically gives Diablo increased perception and healing factor. It's also supposed to adapt it to whatever's going on in battle, which... Yeah...we're screwed. That's going to stack with the powers it already has. I doubt anyone can take that thing on by themselves now..."

Diablo's prior showing against Oberus and Apollonir shows that its sensing abilities were top-tier. The introduction of the Custom Battle Ability will make this worse, because now its perception rate will effectively double, vastly surpassing any Switch Code user. That includes its ability to heal as well, so hits here and there will not be effective, and that's without talking about the FARBAS systems.

"Okay. We can still do this... We need to get as close as possible to Diablo's current level if we want to cause damage to it; otherwise, we can't do anything to it."

[Noland Hardy]

Jamal and Tec had successfully recovered Damian and Helios. Their dying wishes has just crumbled in front of them all as Diablo rose again. It looked impossible to defeat now. If only they lasted in the Fourth Layer for one more ability, the battle would've been won. Still, their sacrifices meant a lot, as the facade of invincibility had been broken.

Noland was still stuck in between amazement at Damian's true power and the dread that came with his untimely failure. His arms were trembling for some odd reason. The same was happening to Drago who started looking at his body with great confusion.

"The power Drago and I have is not something that can be told; it has to be felt," Drago remembers Apollonir saying during their battle. Hearing this, Drago got wide-eyed. It was actually happening...

He knew this for two reasons. One, he could feel that terrible feeling he and Noland had when the Hex Code took them over for the second time. Two, that same feeling was now being suppressed by another force. Noland understood what was going on as well. He couldn't explain how or why it was happening now. He just knew that it was necessary to combat Diablo 3. That's all he cared about now.

"This thing's really something else, huh? Even Damian couldn't do it..." Noland's left arm started glowing in a rainbow color. "I don't know why his sacrifice is affecting me so much. It shouldn't, but it does..." His right arm glowed in a foul aura that can only represent the darkness of the Hex Code. The same appeared on Drago's arms. "And that's the first time I've ever seen him put anything else before himself. If a bastard like him, can do it, then so can I..."

Noland and Drago's pupils changed color to reflect the combination of the Switch and Hex Codes. They amassed the energy necessary to transform, spread their arms out, and dispersed this energy. They were bestowed with the aura that constantly switched from rainbow to darkness, the aura of Duality.

Drago jumped forward to confront Diablo 3 personally. As he was now the only one who could come close to rivaling the sensing abilities of the machine, it was only fitting for the lead to be him now. "That power you stole from us didn't quite help you back there, did it?" Drago mocked. "Don't worry. It won't help you here either."

(Final Boss: Phase 2)

[Dasia Turano]

Good grief. As if the Fourth Layer wasn't enough, now a Duality user other than Apollonir has to show up. This is ridiculous...

"I'll let you believe that," Diablo responded. What it really wanted to ask Drago was what would've happened if Diablo was never hit by that nasty debuff. If Diablo had an attack and defense stat, do they really think Helios would've done as well as he did?

"Oh yeah...My colleagues told me about you... That young Dragonoid who saw all of his little friends get infected right in front of him..." As Diablo's main operating system was Professor Clay as mentioned before, this was his first time seeing this Dragonoid. "You can run like you did back then. Just leave all of those weaklings behind you to me."

"Ice Burg!" Diablo emitted a flashbang from its body, one that will stay active throughout the duration of this technique. The bio-weapon was now ready to fire. Blue lightning-like energy beams were pushed out of its body and were aimed at encasing all of the non-Hurranian organisms in unbreakable ice.

[Vince Hardy]

If this bio-weapon leaves its mark, it's over. They can't afford to be hit by this again. This is essentially Diablo 3.5 they're dealing with now.

"Apollonir!" Vince called out. He had his head hung down and his eyes closed, but he could still discern what their surroundings looked like. He held up his left hand, and rainbow-colored energy flowed through it; however, an attribute symbol didn't show up. This means they were going back to the basics.

"On your mark," Apollonir followed.

"Ability activate! Dispel Roa!" Apollonir had rainbow energy flow through his body. He needed to power-up a little bit so his ability can be intense enough to nullify all of what was just thrown at them. Since he was weakened, he had to do what he could when he could.

Rays of light left his body, then he roared, bringing cracks in reality that were potent enough to make the flashbang and all that it brought disappear. "No way that's working twice," Vince asserted. "You want to win? You're going to have to BEAT us. Understand?"

Apollonir took a good look at his son who has just entered the state of Duality on his own. It was a prideful moment for sure, but not one he could take a whole lot of time to celebrate. "We're right with you, Drago. Just do what you do best and nothing less," Apollonir encouraged.

"You got this one, son. Show it what you got," Vince added in.

[Noland Hardy]

Drago gave a thumbs up behind him to acknowledge Apollonir's encouragement. He was still VERY focused on Diablo.

"Thanks for the tip. All the more reason to stay since you're too scared to finish the fight yourself," Drago asserted. "All of the ones back then and the ones leading up to this day that you've infected...they're all about to see justice done. Right here, right now."

Noland was all for making it happen. He was now equipped with the signature "Nexus" abilities. The possibilities were endless for them. "It's because of you idiots that I found my purpose in all of this. Take a guess as to what that might be." He swiped a card to give it a hint. "Nexus Ability activate! Chained Fire!"

Drago threw a punch from afar, and it produced an extremely powerful vacuum wave that could be seen in the air. Its impact would cause flames to spread everywhere, live flames that will stop at nothing to make its home in the targets body. In fact, the flames actually burn themselves into the body to cause internal damage as well.

After doing that, Drago disappeared from where he was at, kicking up dust off of the battlefield from moving so fast. He wanted to strike around the same location his vacuum wave had targeted. His body can also burst into flames at any time, and the same stipulation would apply. Diablo had a fight on its hands now. 

[Dasia Turano]

"You poor thing." Diablo could clearly see where Drago was going to strike without having to use an ability to detect him. Things were obviously going well for Diablo; however, it may not be what it seems, as it learned from the battle with Helios.

"Alright. Here it goes." Diablo first blocked the vacuum wave with its right arm. The force behind it sent it backwards a bit, and the flames that were now being spread throughout its body were problematic...except that the Custom Battle Ability was active, so it didn't matter. It had to brace itself for Drago's entry though, as that fat bastard couldn't be kept back with just one hand holding him. It had to use two.

"Sensory Breaker!" A sonic wave was emitted from Diablo's body. This wave deprives any being within its reach of their senses. Drago could not hear, feel, or see his incoming demise, but it was surely coming.

[Noland Hardy]

If Drago doesn't have his senses, there's no way he'll stand a chance. Fortunately, Drago wouldn't have to worry about that since Noland has him covered.

"There goes nothing," Noland retorted. Using his power as a Gundalian, Noland took aim towards Drago and zapped him. With Drago not being able to feel anything, manipulating his body's nervous system was a lot easier to do. He forced Drago to put his head down and drive his horn into Diablo's skull.

The stun did Drago some good, because Noland was far from done. He had Drago knee Diablo in the abdomen region, and then swept his right foot underneath it to make it fall over. Now was the chance to get some good attacks in.

[Markus Hederick]

A green circle appeared around Drago's chest. Out of it came you know who, the bloodlusted spirit Gargulion who was sick of the Hurranian regime and wanted them gone for good.

"I was either partly responsible or entirely responsible for your last two deaths. Guess you're not sick of me yet," Gargulion theorized. "I'll be here for the third time. Hold still."

"Double ability activate!" Markus declared nearby. "Power Theft plus Nightmare Fleet!" Gargulion savagely took hold of this sensory deprivation power and removed it from Diablo's body entirely. He then jumped out of Drago's body, stomped on Diablo, and had a shadow pop up right beside him. Before the identity of that being would come to light, Gargulion made sure to activate the stolen power so Diablo couldn't respond to what was going on with its sensing abilities.

"Got one more coming in. Watch yourself," Markus clowned, considering that Diablo cannot hear what he was saying.

[Tank Stryker]

The shadow stopped just underneath Diablo. Without warning, Gladion rose from it with a hammer held up, smashing into the mech's back and lifting it up off of the ground. Landing softly on his feet, Gladion prepped another swing downwards. He made contact with its stomach, and it was smashed into the ground by the god of war's hammer.

"Double ability activate! Art of Battle - Sleight of Hand plus Remnants of the Titans - Scythe of Kronos!" Gladion's attack speed has now increased, which means more powerful strikes being dealt in lesser time. Gladion repeatedly hammered Diablo into the ground without letting up. The crater he made from that appeared as if he was digging for gold.

"I'll thank you for being an annoying fucker and coming back again, because now I get the chance to kick your ass myself," Tank declared. A portal opened on the battlefield that dropped the scythe off, but it was not above Gladion's head. It was above Drago's. Before it dropped, Gladion got one more swing at Diablo before letting its body ragdoll.

"How about one more for old time's sake, Drago?" Gladion signaled. Gladion swung down, and Drago swung up with his fists. Both fighters sandwhiched Diablo in between hyper-lethal forces. Gargulion then finished up by kicking it upside its head. Diablo's head skidded along the ground and got stuck in it.

[Dasia Turano]

Diablo instantly broke through the ground in getting its head out of there. There are words that are simply unfit to describe how pissed Diablo is now.

"Hellion Knockout!" Diablo was intent on making Gladion and Gargulion pay with this technique. While he was targeting them mainly, Drago will also be included, but it was important to note that Drago will likely survive this attack while the others will be grievously injured at the very least.

Pillars of barely visible light left Diablo's body and shone over Drago, Gladion, and Gargulion. In a moment's time, physical energy pillars will appear in an instant, dealing monumental damage to the ones who are caught.

Unfortunately, it wouldn't get to hit anyone with this, because Seiki had Ahio take Gladion's Scythe of Kronos. She swung it to time-skip Diablo. This did not work on the mechanical itself, so it attempted to punch the bird down so she can be included. To its surprise, the time-skip didn't work on Drago either, so he continuously blocked Diablo's attacks while Ahio moved Gladion and Gargulion out of the way.

"So that's how it's going to be?" Diablo retreated for now, seeing as a new form of attack had to be made. "Element Glow!" Taken from Boriates, this ability allows the user to shape its energy into any form of weapon suitable for manipulating attributed power.

Diablo materialized a staff in its hand. It pointed its hilt towards itself and had it stamp an attribute circle on its back. The staff was then planted into the soil. Clouds began forming above them all, and it looked like the weather was about to get stormy. These clouds had light sources form within them that looked to be getting more intense with each passing second. Before they knew it, rays of light were beaming down on the surface, damaging light to be precise.