Episode 51: No Sacrifice Is Too Great

[Noland Hardy]

With that staff in action, Diablo is essentially mimicking Duality. It has the creativity to do whatever it wants, and it already had the power. That MUST be stopped.

"Nexus Ability activate! Sentry Cocos X!" Apparently, the situation is so dangerous that Noland had to mix a forbidden ability into the formula. This one was special though. The Nova Sentry were a tough bunch that can handle a large-scale annihilation like this one, and giving it the properties of Dianos Cocos X may just close the gap with this godly foe.

Drago unleashed two Chinese dragons who were blessed with the Duality aura. They revolved above Drago's head and used their power to counteract the forces from above. The rays of light were absorbed before major damage could be caused, and the clouds disappeared. They also took power from other things, two of which are certain weapons...

They then flew into Drago's body for the time being, bestowing upon him temporary invulnerability and the everlasting revenge increase the forbidden ability gives. "Nice try," Drago commended. Too bad he lied.

[Dasia Turano]

"Yes...it was, wasn't it?" Diablo played along. "I'll admit, your prowess is exceptional. I imagine your father is all smiles seeing what you're doing. Aren't I a nice guy for allowing you to share that moment with each other?"

The tension in the air started to get...very uncomfortable. By now, Diablo realizes that Drago's defeat will win the Hurranians this battle and the war. It also knows that everyone else will do everything they can to jump in whenever Drago creates an opening. That tells it that there's still an undeniable difference in strength.

Diablo grasped the staff for only a second, and its power was recharged. "God: Primer," it activated. This was an ability derived from Genesis Dragonoid's power. It could give life. By touching the staff, Diablo made it a sentient being. This was undoubtedly a dangerous capability of Diablo's, especially since the staff in question already manipulated all six attributes in perfect synchronization.

"You've gotten very confident with that power boost of yours. Let's see if it'll stay that way." A barrier surrounded Diablo and Drago, trapping both combatants inside. This barrier was also Dextra-attributed. As it stayed active, a potent force of energy was expelled from it that gradually damaged the alliance.

To make things worse, the ground they stood on was lifted into the sky as a separate slab, leaving everyone else grounded. The barrier itself started to twist clockwise. As it did, torrential wind picked up that blew everyone off of their feet. Having to account for the hazardous lightning and earthquakes in its highest degree will surely be difficult, but this is what they asked for.

"The sad thing is, it gets worse from here on out," Diablo claimed. He materialized his Dextra-attributed sword and was about to take Drago to his death.

[Noland Hardy]

"Your power...I can feel it across the entire planet..." Noland caught on. This was far beyond anyone's reach. They knew Diablo was terrifying, but this was something else. If it can utilize some of the Genesis Dragonoid's power, do they really have a chance? Most people would think not, but something had to be done. After all, they're still alive. SOMETHING is possible.

"Nexus Ability activate! Novia Defense!" Knowing Diablo was about ready to behead Drago, Noland put this into play to do two very important things. The first was to save Drago's life. Once again, Drago copied his father by having the scales on his forearms elongate to form blades. He used these to clash with Diablo's blade. As he did so, his aura produced thin strands of light energy that continuously left his body as he was stuck in a sword duel. These continued to reflect off of the barrier indefinitely and even go in Diablo's direction. The barrier started to form cracks from this procedure.

"You're right. I am confident, and I bet you're not. I'm going to tell you why," Drago prepared as Diablo easily dodged the thin beams heading for it. "You have a god complex now, don't you?"

"You believe only in the power that you have yourself. It's gotten to the point where not even the Hurranians are confident enough to send anyone else in a full-scale battle except for you. Even Dasia hasn't come out to see you yet," Noland commented, as if he and Drago were saying the same thing at the exact same time.

"That's funny to me. What's the point of taking us over when you can't make use of what you got? Once you're gone, it's curtains for all of you. Me? Yeah, I have the Ultimate Warrior Gene you're after."

"But these..."weaklings" as you call them...have their own special gifts as well, and the hearts and minds to use them. Unfortunately for you...YOU weren't built for this." Drago attempted to hack-and-slash Diablo into pieces, but this didn't work out as expected. As the blades traded sparks, Drago's blades pulsed with even greater power. Absolute Defense was in the formula, which means Drago can link up with any ability he had previously witnessed being used in the battle and can apply it himself. That's where Gargulion's Nightmare Fleet comes into play.

A spark was created behind Drago that would summon a fellow ally to fight alongside him. For now, it was the hydra who had been waiting to get a piece of this thing for a while. "Surprise me," Drago challenged Hydranoid.

[Alana Cortese]

"Huh? What?" Hydranoid was surprised at his sudden summoning. He was perfectly content with just watching the carnage unfold and waiting until someone needs his help to something. He had this feeling that he was going to get scolded by Zero Hydranoid if he did something wrong. "Good. Very good. I got summoned before Excedra and Hydra. That means I've done something right. I'm finally starting to get some respect around here."

"..." Alana certainly took this one as a kind gesture. She was looking down when she heard Noland talking like that. She gave a warm smile as she picked it back up and gave Noland the help he DESERVES. "Ability activate! Alpha Gainer!" The signature ability that absorbs battle energy, Hydranoid will use this ability to rise to Diablo and Drago's level.

"Good-lookin' sword there. It'd be a shame if it was useless against me. Speaking of which, your dumbass made this area ripe for battle energy. Guess what I'm about to do with it." The interior of the barrier became lit in Darkus energy to where no one in there could see properly. When it cleared, the monstrosity that stood before them made even Alana scream. Even Drago and Diablo were frozen in their clash just looking at Hydranoid.

"Wait, I heard Alana scream. What's going on? I didn't hit anyone on the outside did I? I thought-" He got poked by his heads, and that's when he realized he had eight of them now as he looked up to see. "No...I didn't..." He looked around his body to see that he was now standing on all fours, and he had a giant tail.

Hydranoid - err, Excedra now - had his eyes bulge. He looked at himself, then looked at Drago and Diablo to see their reaction. He repeated this for about three cycles...

[Maria Zenovia]

Hydra took a moment to take a look at Hydranoid's new form.

She could sense a massive power surge within the form's body- it appeared to be an excessive amount of power granted to Hydranoid thanks to all of the battle power from the fights between Drago and Diablo. It did not seem that way, but it was plenty to give Hydranoid a possibility of transforming into an Excedra; though it was still not enough to permanently maintain such form so it was still not a full evolution. "Not bad." Hydra commended Hydranoid's successful transformation- she certainly did not expect him to reach that level any time sooner. She did not have experience with normal Hydranoids transforming into Excedra like with Ice Hydranoids; her transformation required her to evolve three times before the execution, but that could be because of requirements set for 'thirteen heads'. 

"I hope this is not just cosmetic." Hydra commented on the transformation. 

[Alana Cortese]

The transformation was far away from being a cosmetic. Hydranoid didn't know that though. He was having an identity crisis mid-battle. Somehow, Diablo was right with him, so it was open for an attack.

"Excuse me for a second, Drago," the newly-born Excedra requested. "I know you got this one, but...you know how WE get..."

Alana got a grip on reality and focused. She had two abilities materialize in front of her. Obviously, they must be used.

"Okay, Hydranoid...um...Excedra...let's see if you're the real deal or not," Alana started. "Double ability activate! Advanced Darkus plus Doomsday Trident!"

Owing to his status as an Excedra, the abilities he utilized were monstrous. It also appears that all pure Excedra do not have the same arsenal, considering these are two abilities that the Legendary Soldier does not use. Demon and Final Wizard seem to be universal for the apex evolution though.

Advanced Darkus was an afterthought since it wasn't an attack-based ability; it was support-based. The visual cue of this ability's activation was for all of the heads and the central face to light their eyes in blood-red energy. This light shined like a star, and then a devilish silhouette of a Hydranoid briefly appeared above the monster. Now, all of the heads were treated as individual bodies for offensive and defensive applications. This means two very important things, among others: (1) ALL "bodies" in this case must be defeated before this Excedra goes down and (2) the strength of his attacks will be bolstered by the presence of multiple nervous systems working together to lighten the strain of its overwhelming power. This was a strenuous power to maintain though...

Now for the real meat of the attack, Doomsday Trident. The Excedra shoved himself in front of Drago to get in Diablo's face, pushing the mechanical on the ground in the process. He put his right hand down on Diablo's right foot to hold it in a downed position. All of the heads and the central face breathed a black-and-purple infused flame downwards. The flames spread over the ground and onto the barrier itself, which was steadily eaten away. This was due to its special properties. It devours attributed energy and uses it to irritate the flames themselves, making them stronger and everlasting. In Diablo's situation, it was using all six attributes. The power from this was staggering.

[Dasia Turano]

"What the fuck is this!? A circus!?" Diablo roared in outrage over Hydranoid's sudden transformation. "You idiots talk so much about, 'How'd you lose if you're so smart, or how didn't you know this was coming, and yada yada yada.' And then this shit happens!"

It sounds like Diablo was getting very upset up there, but it wasn't as upset as Excedra who did not expect Hydranoid to undergo that transformation either.

"How absurd!" Excedra screamed. "My generation had to grow into Excedra, and now these two Hydranoid here just transform into them!? Ridiculous!"

"What are you complaining for? Isn't that what you wanted him to do in the first place? Why can't you be happy for your student like the other Hydranoid is?" Oberus complained about him complaining.

"Ha! 'Out with the old and in with the new, they say.' Now they need to carry this momentum all the way to the finish. I think we got it this time," Apollonir firmly believed, which was unlike what he was saying earlier. They have a chance with this one...

"Backfire!" Well, probably a lesser chance than Apollonir was thinking.

Drago knew exactly what was going to happen, since he saw this ability before. Special attacks such as the one Diablo is suffering from now is nothing to it, because now Diablo is going to benefit from the mechanics behind Advanced Darkus AND will be able to strengthen itself by the presence of attributed energies rather than having it destroyed.

"Get off of me, you damn dirty porch monkey!" Diablo offensively ordered. A burst of Dextra-energy erupted from Diablo's body that engulfed the entire space it had going on inside of the barrier. Not only was the barrier repaired back to full strength, but Drago and his new companion were smothered in this powerful energy the "help" helped to create.

[Noland Hardy]

Were it not for Drago and Hydranoid's earlier enhancements, they likely would've been obliterated by that ability. Instead, they were left considerably injured from the backlash. Hydranoid (Excedra) had smoke coming from all over his body and was rather sluggish. Drago was holding himself up by planting his right fist on the ground. His body was gleaming in dark power, showing that the Sentry Cocos X from earlier helped mitigate the damage a lot and rise his power to the occasion.

"Dammit all...!" Drago seethed. As much as it hurt to do so, he pushed himself up. He charged straight toward Diablo, but not without help from the brigade.

"Nexus Ability activate! Pyre Destructor!" Noland had a plan in the works. Since Hydranoid's (Excedra's) power was somewhat effective, he had a feeling that he can call someone in to bring down the hammer in a second. Before that, he had to compete the setup. Little did Diablo know, Noland planned for this.

Going back to the activation of Sentry Cocos X, Drago had absorbed power from certain weapons. One of them was the staff Diablo wielded, so he had command over the attributes present. Diablo conveniently made the barrier that's trapping them out of Dextra energy, so it can now be used as a medium. Using this, Drago was able to call upon a very strong gust that he used as tailwind to tackle Diablo into its own barrier. He then had the Nova Sentry separate from his body so they could constrict Diablo.

With Diablo now held in place, Drago generated a spark from his horn and shot it fifty meters in front of Diablo. He was summoning someone else. To prepare for their arrival, Drago jumped out of the way so he's not struck by the incoming member.

"I know it's so soon, but...I need your help," Drago pleaded with the golem who knew how to lay the smackdown on any enemy.

[Allen Silva]

Slowly walking out of the portal Drago opened up, Gorem and Allen madr thier way to the battle. It was like a scene from a action movie. The little mastermind and the muscle." Its about time that you brought in the big guns. Granted, i still feel a little sore, but i got more than enough to take down the tin can. The massive golem joked as he cracked his gargantuan shoulders. He was bluffing a little bit, as he hadnt had too much recovery time after his grueling battle to save Drago from his evil side.

Allen smirked slightly at the scene before him. Hydranoid had somehow become a Exceedra, Drago wasnt able to take Diablo down, and the world was at stake. He should, and honestly was, afraid of what happens should he lose. But, those nerves only fuled his hype at bieng the call out. It reminded him of a 3rd and long in football. His job was simple, catch the ball." Nice makover Hydranoid, like the look. Now then, ability activate, Giga potentia."

Gorem cracked his knuckles when his ability was activated. He glew with the brown energy of a subterra ability. When the light subsided, Gorem had obtained bits of armor from the Giga potentia. Normaly he would have used it at a weaker power, but to crush Diablo he is using it at the full power. There was a good reason for that. " thought I'd change my attire too. Felt a little underdressed."

" now its time to end this buckett of bolts. Triple ability activate." Allen pulled three more abilities out of his arsenal. This was to be his coup de grace. He unfortunately didnt have the time nor stamina to wear down the Farbas boosted mechanical bakugan. So he had to bet it on this one move." First things first, Kinesis Barrier."

Gorem placed his hands into the ground, using his stone manipulating powers to form the hammer that his kind was well known for. Now would be the time for him to swing it, and create his tornado. But this time he moved straight into the fusion ability Kinesis rejector. The hammers gem glowed with a deep red color, signifying the activation.

" Now Im not really a fan of this next ability. Its a monster to set up." Allen aired his grievance over using the move that he had planned. Over these recent battles, he had gained even more power to be the shield that his name implied he was. Now, with this he planned on bieng the clutch battler. " oh well. Here it is. Advanced Fusion ability activate. Kinesis... subjucator."

This new Advanced Fusion gave him something the last one didnt. Kinesis Dominator was a buff that strengthened every other move that Gorem used. Subjucator was a all or nothing attack. Even worse, he could only use this when Giga Potenia was at full power. Gorems hammer shattered, but this time was absorbed into Gorems armor. The armor then changed to the same color as the hammers gem. Lifting his fist, he slammed it into the ground, releasing a pillar of energy against Diablo. This was Gorem at 200% as well, so this should do some serious damage, hopefully winning the resistors this battle.

[Dasia Turano]

"TIMES 200!?" Clayf cried. He instantly recognized what Gorem was using, because he remembers doing that himself back in the good ol' days.

"Hm...interesting..." Lars Lion was starting to get intrigued. Drago managing Duality on his own, Hydranoid transforming into an Excedra, and Gorem going as far as pushing his power up to 200% was unheard of for beings who were at the bottom of what they were capable of experience-wise.

Diablo's sensors were going haywire when it saw Gorem's power increase. As the attack crept closer, it was beginning to realize how worrying this situation was starting to become. "OH SHIIIIIII-" Diablo couldn't finish the last word before being smacked upside its head by this ability. The barrier around them broke down into glittery particles. The platform holding everyone was crushed. Diablo was sent for a ride into the scorched grounds below them, sending it quite a ways below the surface.

Frosch burst out laughing at the Soldiers' reaction to what was going on. Some of that laughter was also directed towards Diablo itself, who was enjoying one hell of an ass-whooping by beings who are individually inferior to the mechanical in so many ways. "Glad you all are having fun over there, because I have some bad news," Frosch pointed out as he was in the depths of the Indian Ocean.

"What's that?" Apollonir inquired.

"I'm being hunted by Brutus and Dominator."

"And who are they?"

"Saltwater crocodiles.

"Pathetic! Tell us something important!" Excedra demanded.

"You're not gonna like what I have to say. Are you sure you don't want to go into this blind?"

[Vince Hardy]

"Tell us, please," Vince calmly requested. "No matter how bad it is, we have to respond in the best way possible. Don't hold anything back."

"Alright... Here it goes..." Frosch started swimming deeper into the ocean trenches. The Hurranian-infected crocs were hot on his tail. Having Hurranians involved in Earth's waters was sure to be a big part of the problem(s) Frosch would likely expose in the next few seconds. "The sea level has risen since I got here. I think the BT System has something to do with that. It might be doing something similar to what it did last time when we all got sent into ball form. All land on this planet could be submerged within the next couple of hours, provided we actually win. Mass extinction could occur. I'd stop it if it wasn't for that attack we took. I doubt my full power would return by then."

Frosch and the crocs disappeared into the darkness of the trenches for a couple of seconds. The crocs were suddenly repelled in opposite directions, presumably from Frosch's doing. It didn't look like he wished for these two marvels of wildlife to die, even though they were clearly enhanced by the Hurranians. An enlarged Frosch then had the BT System on his back and was rushing to get it out of there. "This thing and I are too heavy for Oberus to move as fast as she usually does, so it might add twenty seconds onto our arrival time. I'm debating if I even want to bring it to you guys, because if this thing does what it did last time, we're dead."

"Apollonir, how long?"

"...Two minutes."

"We don't have time for a migration. Bring it over here."

"Do you realize what you're asking?"

"It's gonna go down that way whether you like it or not. I'm not tolerating any of us moving towards it and getting hit by that pulsar with no one to help you back into monster form."

"Uh...are we...?" Clayf asked, assuming the Soldiers would know where he's getting at.

"No," Execra quickly answered.

"Yes," Lars Lion corrected. "Our job as Legendary Soldiers is to save the Bakugan from threats such as this one, no matter the cost. We WILL make sure that's done. There's no other way. They will grow more powerful if Dasia and her forces are not stopped here."

"Alright. Oberus, go as fast as you can, okay?"

"I'll try..." As soon as Frosch was about to surface, the BT System glowed in a red color to show that it was using the Pyrus energy. A hellish flame covered the device to burn Frosch into a crisp. The flames themselves had the unique attribute of burning and being treated as a combustible substance that can continuously feed off of itself to become more powerful. This allowed it to have the absolute burning effect, which can go through Frosch's regenerative capabilities and potentially kill him. "Wind Down!"

Oberus breathed green flames over the BT System to override the flames. This brought an end to the burning, but for how long? She didn't know. "Alright, big guy. Let's go."

[Dasia Turano]

Diablo punched through the earth to get itself out. When it emerged, it showed noticeable signs of damage from the combined efforts of Drago, Hydranoid (Excedra), and Gorem. This is extremely noteworthy, since the systems in place from the Custom Battle Ability would normally prevent this kind of damage from taking place. It seems that these three beings that are well past their limits are capable of miraculous things.

BUT...did their efforts leave a lasting impression?

"God: Image!" From the looks of it, Diablo was unfazed. Very pissed off, but not immediately concerned.

Diablo extended its left arm. A scanning ray analyzed its body, and began making the necessary changes. Now, mechanical was permanently glowing in a rainbow color. What this meant for the opposition remains to be known, but they surely will not be disappointed in its results.

"Go on. Show me more if you'd like," Diablo challenged. "Or is this luck of yours starting to run its course?"

[Noland Hardy]

"..." Noland knew that someone the Legendary Soldiers couldn't properly deal with would be very difficult to take down, but this was starting to get to him. Nothing was working...

"If even that won't destroy it, I don't know what will," Drago lamented, starting to lose confidence.

"But we damaged it..." Noland saw that detail from Drago's perspective, so there is hope... "Drago, this might tire us out, but we have to try it. This thing's gotta go in under 2 minutes, and the Legendary Soldiers still can't go, so we have to."

"What exactly do you have in mind?"

"You should know. It's your strongest ability, and it's forbidden." That would be the forbidden ability, Absolute Desolation X. It's an extinction-level ability, especially if it's charged to its full capacity. The only problem was...it needs to be charged. "The result itself possesses a lot more power than us. Since we're in Duality, it may be even stronger. You only have one shot."

"...Alright then." Drago got ready to face Diablo for the final 2 minutes. Their plan was in motion. They just needed to execute.

(Final Boss: Phase 3)

[Dasia Turano]

"Are you so desperate that you have to explain your plan of attack right in front of me?" Diablo gleefully wondered. "Tell you what. I'll explain mine to you as well. That ability I just used copied the latent abilities of those who have attacked me in one way or another."

Diablo sent two copies of itself out into the open, but none of them were exactly alike. One was gargantuan in stature; it was a mechanical Dragonoid on all-fours, representing the battling capabilities of an Excedra. The other was heavily armored, which would stay by Diablo's side at all times.

"And I can create 'personalities' to go along with those attributes," Diablo added on. "Neat, isn't it? Why don't you say hello to my little friend? Carnage Laser!" The Excedra-like Dragonoid supercharged itself with power these poor souls will not comprehend. At any second, a wide laser will purge the entire alliance from their miserable existences, and everything can move forward as planned.

[Noland Hardy]

"No..." This new development sent Noland into a panic. There were rare times when Noland truly felt outmatched, and - for the lack of a better description - he was out of his league. "...Nexus Ability activate! Paragon Supremacy!"

There was no better shot they had at making an immediate response to Diablo's power than this. While the Nova Sentry themselves were still hard at work, they would be overloaded instantly. They needed help to contain this massive power surge, and to do that, they needed help from an entity that could withstand that amount of energy itself. That's when the avatar comes in.

Drago released it from his body. It took the form of a Dragonoid, as always; however, there was a major difference in how it was presented than how it appeared when Drago was just using the Switch Code. This time, it was as massive as the phoenix it used to turn into. The Nova Sentry then lodged themselves into the ground and entangled the avatar to keep it steady, which also granted it the capabilities of the Dianos Cocos X forbidden power. The avatar then guarded with its wings.

"I don't feel good about that..." Drago commented on the present conditions.

"What? The new Diablos or the pressure from this ability?"

"Both..."