Epilogue: Rising Up

[Noland Hardy]

"Hello...? Master...are you awake...?" a familiar voice spoke. The scene was in a vast, empty void with a bright light radiating throughout it. Wavern was present, but the light wasn't her. Her back was turned to it.

"No," Genesis Dragonoid replied.

"Oh, that's too bad. I was going to ask you a question about your creation."

"Aw, yeah. I tend to sleep through noise, so that may have to wait."

"Well, when you get the chance, should we have gotten involved with Earth and Vestal?"

"What's your reasoning behind this question?"

"I'm wondering if we chose what was best."

"It was important for us to be optimistic. The humans and the Vestals are interesting civilizations. They are unlike Neathia and Gundalia where the two planets diverged between the light and the dark. They are like us. They are capable of the greatest good and also the greatest evil. They will live or die by their principles alone, not because an usurper wants to demand action. That isn't their place. That job...belongs to our brothers."

"Indeed..."

"Dharak and Naga would destroy them both... They have already tried...so we must believe that the humans and Vestals will take our actions as signs that they CAN improve so that we have enough of a leg to stand on when we intervene. It's not too late for them..."

"I hope you're right..."

(Credits Theme 1)

[Xavier Turano]

The return home to Vestal was...interesting. People remembered the planet collapsing after the Alternative's Power Ball was doing its work, but that's all they could account for. They knew nothing about their deaths, confirming Genesis Dragonoid's statement of bringing Vestal back in the way that it was prior to its destruction.

Genesis Dragonoid also left them a kind gift: a fresh Mother Palace and Alpha City. Business can now resume as usual.

It has only been a couple of days after the Vestals left Earth, and huge progress was being made. A holographic entity was moving towards the throne room to address some of these recent developments in Vestal society. The person gently opened the doors to the room, and the conversation commenced.

"Good afternoon, sir - I mean, my king," a very popular voice greeted. Upon a closer look, it was none other than the assistant, Chris, but only in a holographic state. And on the throne...

"Calling me 'sir' suits you better, so we'll keep it that.... I'm glad to hear your voice again," Xavier happily received.

"Likewise."

"Let's ditch this room. Walk with me." Xavier walked his former assistant out of the throne room and through the palace's hallways to discuss what they needed to. "In time, we can recreate your body based on the specific attributes we recorded during the time you were alive. You'll have to bear with the digital getup for a while."

"Do you really think it's a good idea for you to bring me back like this?"

"The PR Department said that we have no choice. Until the science and technology division has its safety rating boosted up, this is the best we got. No one's going to apply for a job where pretty much everyone from the division was slaughtered in less than an hour. Plus...they shouldn't know that I basically broke the law in acquiring enough information about you to make you into an A.I. construct."

"Makes sense."

"Besides, you and Yita are going to do amazing things for us. This new testing environment you two are coming up with called Bakugan Interspace will cut experiment costs across the board. We can simulate any situation we might find ourselves in. It's perfect."

"I agree. We have already begun creating a virtual replica of Alpha City and the Mother Palace. Depending on how this goes, we can borrow leftover data from when we were looking at Slipstream's overall analysis of our planet. With that in mind, its alpha stage should be ready in a few weeks."

"Sounds good to me."

"By the way, have you looked into a replacement for Roxy?"

"I haven't gotten around to it yet. I'm busy getting applicants in here to interview for my personal guard. Mira Fermin and Ace Grit will be here in less than an hour."

"Wait, what about the Spartans?"

"The Spartans are getting a rebranding. They're children. They still exist, but...only as a last resort. They'll be back some day, but for now, we'll let them rest. They've gotten beaten up enough."

[Damian Knight]

"You haven't gotten beaten up enough!" a girl's voice expressed, the loudness of which rattled throughout the laboratory down in the newly-rebuilt Gamma City. It was Ebony yelling at the usual suspect.

"What the hell is the point of kicking my ass after I did all of what I did? You're back now, so why can't you leave me alone?" Damian replied in a softer tone in an attempt to bring voices down while people were working. They were causing a scene.

"You didn't bother calling me to tell me what happened! I'm just now figuring out you're out on leave for activating the Fourth Layer! And you didn't even finish her off! You let the Master Blaze have all of the glory...again!"

"Gee, thanks for rubbing it in, woman! And I'm not obligated to tell you EVERY SINGLE THING EXACTLY WHEN IT HAPPENS."

"Yes you are, dude. Relationship 101," a female Royal Guard member said after eavesdropping.

"Not. Helping. Brianna," Damian replied.

"So you're admitting you two are..."

"No comment." Damian and Ebony finally entered the same room where Hades was built. There was a large tank in the middle where Helios was stored. The holographic Chris was presiding over it as expected.

"You're late," Chris commented on their arrival. "To think I'd be showed up by the likes of you... I wanted to make Dasia late for her meetings so many times...and I never succeeded." Ebony blushed at this obvious innuendo.

"Can you NOT? People are going to get the wrong idea!" Damian barked. "Now, just tell me what I need to know so I can get the fuck out of here. All I want is to get Helios back, and then I'm blowing everything up."

"Ah, yes. I bet you'd want to reverse all of the character building you did and go back to everyone hating you again. Well, I don't mind that at all. First, let's talk about you, Damian."

"You already talked about me."

"I did, but apparently, you neglected to tell your wife anything, so I'm going to go over it again."

"...When you get your body back...you're dead...Now go on...make it quick..." Damian was seething in rage over the constant teasing. Luckily, his suffering will only last a few more minutes.

"Looking forward to it. Now, Ebony, please forgive him. He wasn't paying any mind to calling you, because we told him to stay indoors for at least a week. To him, that meant be anti-social, so there you have it. Thanks to Genesis Dragonoid, he was able to recover nicely. There are no long-term complications to his health."

"That's good to know, since a certain someone wants to be difficult."

"As for Helios...we weren't so fortunate. The injury that made the Layers possible was aggravated greatly when the Fourth Layer made its mark. Even with Genesis Dragonoid stopping him from dying, there was a large opening in his body around the chest area. All of his organs were permanently damaged, and...as much as we'd like to say we have the technology, we couldn't do anything to that through conventional means."

"...Are you telling me Helios is a lost cause?" Damian questioned with a concerned look on his face.

"He would've been, and probably should be; however, we were moved by your teammates' decision to not say goodbye to you and Helios." Chris opened the tank to reveal Helios in a...mechanical stature. "We made him a cyborg. We call him...Orbit Helios."

"Mhm...cool name...I guess." Damian looked Helios up and down to see what was done to him. He had crimson-plated armor covering his upper body and his extremities. He had metal spikes along his shoulders, arms, legs, and spine. He also had a strange circular pod on his back. "Weird...he hasn't talked yet. He'd be the first one to tell me all the cool things he can do."

"He's still unconscious, so I'll just tell you. We used the FARBAS system to restore all of his bodily functions. That injury from before...completely gone. He can now start exercising the power he was meant to have...and he has some of the power from Diablo to top it all off."

"Hm...what's the catch with this?" Damian knew there were strings attached. There had to be.

"The King wants Vestal to have its secret weapon, just like Noland is to Earth. You alone will bare the responsibility of being Vestal's champion."

"I'm going to stop you there. If it means kick someone's ass, sign me up."

"Gladly..."

[Jamal Armstrong]

"Xavier and I are going to have a long talk about him weaponizing Damian and Helios," Jamal planned, walking through Alpha City with Ebony by his side.

"Well, it's not like there was another choice. They patched them both up for...well, free," Ebony pointed out. "Besides, the boys love being strong. The people that took care of Damian said he looked really down that he wasn't going to get to fight anymore."

"I figured you'd be more worried about the implications behind this. The Spartans were created to protect the rulers. If he is to have as much of a commanding presence as the Master Blaze based on what Chris said, then I fear we might be in store for more than just guardianship. The Spartan initiative could follow Damian into whatever unknown territory he just signed us up for."

"When you put it that way...yeah, that could get bad. Maybe Xavier is different from Dasia - uh, the 'other' Dasia. He cured me from my NCL."

"He did what?"

"Yeah. I'm not going to die anymore. I'm all better now..."

"...FARBAS?"

"FARBAS."

"...I want to believe the Turano family isn't some form of unethical regime now. He's bringing his science into his duties as our ruler. It's not sitting well with me... AT ALL."

"Jamal...it was voluntary on my part. Seeing as how I would've died otherwise, I will be the test subject to see if this can be used for medical application. I know that's not what you're getting at, but I want you to take it easy and give this a chance. To make sure nothing like the Hurranian disaster happens again, we MUST change. There could be something worse lurking out there. He just wants us to be ready.

"We NEED to be patient. Politics don't move as fast as science, and society sure doesn't think smarter than the idiot who made all of this happen. We need to tackle present problems first before we start gearing up for what's to come."

"Like...you and Chris' luck with the ladies being about the same? That sounds like a present and future problem."

"...Know what sounds good? Hitting up our old friend Mylene Pharoah. Remember how often her and Damian hung out before she moved? They were PERFECT for each other. I heard she's right here in Alpha City, and she has been contacting me a lot to try and talk to him. Her place is a few blocks down. I'll be right back."

"Wait, no! You can't! I'm sorry!" Jamal started running forward with Ebony chasing after him.

Meanwhile...on the outskirts of Charlie Town...

"This is the dumbest idea you've ever had. What makes you think I'm going to get out of my suit to play party to your little gravity training regiment?" Tec complained to Jamal who found this idea.

"Helios' situation opened my eyes. Your suit can be compromised at any time, then what? I figure the least we can do on our time off is train our asses off so we can catch up to the newest Subterra Legendary Soldier. We need a Soldier on this planet, and it's us."

"Okay. That's cool and all, but...please explain yourself. Me, taking off my suit? Ridiculous!"

"I did some research on your species in the archives since Xavier was nagging me about it. It turns out that you and Gargulion aren't too different, except that you were born with your body instead of you having to make one. Still, that suit is an extension of you. There's a being in there controlling it, right?"

"...You're going to laugh at me."

"No I'm not. Now look, if you do this without the suit on, then you won't even know your suit is on when you go to knock someone out. Who knows? Maybe you'll end up evolving off of this. Don't you want to see what could happen to your suit if you evolve further?"

"...Alright...I'm coming out..." Tec's suit had a brown line flow through the center of it. The suit split open to reveal a humanoid creature that looked like...an actual human. He looked like an Olympic weightlifter, except for the fact that he also looked like a boxer.

"See? Was it really that bad?"

"..."

"What? What's wrong?" Tec used his finger to carve a message. It read, "The suit changes my voice. My actual voice is high and sounds like a girl. If I make any sounds while training, and you laugh at me, I'm stepping on you."

"...Okay, buddy... Let's just see how this goes...Might as well call Yita for a revive in the next few minutes..."

[Alex Andersen]

The war against Hurranians has finally ended with their defeat and utter destruction by the power of Genesis Dragonoid. For once that ridiculous machine was used for something good- erasing those filthy parasites out of the universe. After what they did to Earth the planet would never return to normal; damage was far deeper and beyond material damage. Everybody already knew that- especially Silver Knights who were butchered beyond any other organization on the planet with those Hurranian attacks. Even Headquarters in Washington were infected by those parasites and then flattened to the ground by Knights' Admiral, Asuka Izumo. Every Knight in USA was offered a temporary stay in Eden's HQ until the situation is resolved. There were unconfirmed rumors about significant replacement, but no one could confirm for sure... Not that anyone cared at that point with how much damage there was to fix. There were dead to mourn and bury. A couple of weeks after Daniel's burial Alex returned to work as a Silver Knight with his good friend, Michael Schulz- this time in Eden's HQ. Both were exploring the HQ now that they had a permission to.

"Fancy place." Alex commented.

"A fancy labyrinth that is..." Michael complained as he was not impressed.

"The guy offered us a map, but you said it was fine." Alex jokingly pointed out.

Two of them were taking a good amount of time to explore meeting some familiar faces on the way such as Victoria Nelson who greeted them respectfully and informed them of the ongoing situation with Cult of the Triad along with Chrono Elite. She also talked about the said rumor about replacements from before... After that two Knights continued their journey around the building.

"N.O.A.H....?" Alex hesitantly repeated what Victoria mentioned.

"High-tech Silver Knights' HQ in Sweden... Strongest Silver Knights in the world, best offensive and defensive technologies, best accommodation, supported by people and government." Michael affirmed while mentioning everything he heard before about that place.

"So they won't be rebuilding our HQ? We are being sent to Sweden?" Alex questioned.

"She didn't say anything, but it is likely. Jason, Seth and Marcus were sent to Asuka's 'mobile HQ', the helicarrier. Maybe we'll go there. Though I wouldn't mind going to Sweden either- women there sure are pretty." Michael jokingly stated. Alex just gave him a cold annoyed stare. To break the silence Michael tried to change the topic. "So... about Daniel..."

"It's fine- I don't want to talk about it... From the very beginning I agreed with miss Izumo; he was a lost cause- I just did not want to admit it to myself. I just hope his soul finds peace in the afterlife... And, about Josh..." Alex replied and then changed the topic to Michael's little brother who could not be saved- he was sick and the infected by Hurranians. By the time infection disappeared his sickness was already in severe state and nothing could be done for him. Even then he smiled before passing away in Michael's arms. 

"......" Michael was silent there for a few seconds. "...ah, fuck it... I need a drink." Without saying anything else to Alex he simply left Eden's HQ and went straight for the nearest bar. He was never a person to throw his worries into alcohol, but that appeared to change with the war. Seeing how nothing could be done at that moment Alex left HQ as well to catch some air. He was not feeling very well- almost as if he was sick... he wanted to fall on the ground and throw up, but he neither had energy to stand or will to fall down. He simply began walking in a random direction occupied by countless thoughts he could not bring himself not to think about. He only had hope that tomorrow would be better than today and that none of this will stay as it is.

[Lydia Andersen]

Lydia did not have as much time as Alex to think or mourn the dead. During the victory celebration she only showed her face, but left minutes after to continue with her work. There were plenty people who needed her medical assistance; especially after that cursed war. Many people were now homeless, without families, injured, nowhere to go... they all needed some sort of support and it was Eden's mission to ensure all of them were taken care of as soon as possible; there was no time for celebrating or enjoying yourself. Not that Lydia complained- her priority were the people and their lives. She was not a 'fun' type anyways. Only thing that bothered her was constant thought of Daniel and her inability to stop the chaotic event in any other way but to allow his death. Thanks to the loads of work she was buried into she could not worry about it anymore- her body and mind began mechanically doing the duties she was given with the rest going completely blank. She did have to take breaks so her body would not fail. After performing a successful operation on one of the patients she went to her apartment which was just a giant extension from the original building.

"That went well..." Lydia said with a deep sigh of relief as she just crashed in the bed- it was too cold to feel comfortable in it so she tried to fall asleep as soon as possible as her alarms was set to wake her up only 3 hours away from that point.

"I advise you to consider a long rest- I sense the instability in your body already." Maste, Lydia's partner and evolved form of dual Bakugan Angelight/Devilin, advised as soon as Lydia decided to go to sleep.

"...Apologies- there is just no time for it..." Before Maste could say another word Lydia's reply ended with her closing her eyes and falling into deep sleep. Maste just looked over the girl knowing she would not last long with how much work she put on the shoulders. Even though Lydia declined usage of Maste's abilities for purpose of health restoration Maste could not bring herself to promise she would not use it. Since Lydia was asleep she would not notice anyway. "No time... Little human, it is the least I can do for your safety. Sleep well." Maste said as her Bakugan orb flashed in pure white. Lydia's bed was trapped in a translucent dome consisting of some sort of energy that could not be explained without further questioning. "Time Shape." Maste used one of her basic time-controlling abilities that normally allows her to do anything with time of a creature or an object on a smaller scale of change. Area inside the translucent dome was affected- the time in it would pass much slower than normal and Lydia's senses were disrupted so she would not be able to feel this happening and so she would not be able to wake up until a full 12-hours-long sleep and once she awakens she would be well-rested.

She looked at Lydia peacefully sleeping and set herself on a table. "Cannot believe years ago my mission was to erase the humanity... Now I have someone to protect- again." She said before going silent, presumably going to sleep as well.

[Niko Adrian Nyx]

"You have odd tastes on what to visit."

"What can I say? Now that I can see, I can go and see anywhere I please~"

"But why the earth human's excretion area?"

There the once blind girl stood in the public restroom of some supermarket, her partner in the form of a shadow that blended in nicely with hers. Her once dull eyes now filled with light that she never thought would return. In the bathrooms nonetheless. Then again, they were more lit everywhere, it's just that it was odd seeing this in the bathroom.

The female's shadow move erratically, unlike her own movements, and huffs, "But seriously, the restrooms?"

"Give me a break, I haven't seen it with my own eyes for the past few years!" Niko exclaims, catching the attention of a couple of men walking in. Of course it was out of habit for her to come into this one, and she could well pass as a male, especially in her regular baggy clothes. It was an odd statement to hear to say the least, someone who wanted to see the bathroom after a few years of not. It raised unspoken questions of how this teen came to be this way. But it was unsaid and unanswered for Niko didn't voice anything of the sort. This was just something for her and Donovan to understand. And maybe Yita if she really felt like it, but her sister wouldn't gave a second thought about her. Especially not when she had Noland's hand not. Not literally- thankfully- but still.

"I feel like it looks different... Certainly doesn't look like it..." Niko huffs before taking one last glance around before ushering out, the shadow creature following, sticking to the floor and walls that his partner's shadow was cast upon. After weaving their way through the maze of the market (eyes lingering on everything, once again having not seen the stuff for years) they came out into the bustling area of the city that is said to never sleep. And odd place for the one who constantly sleeps, but now that she didn't, might as well see what all the fuss was about this place.

After the whole fiasco of whatever the heck happened- It was all a blur. War, illness, battles, her god forsaken sister, and the return of the very sight she had lost, Niko decided to go wander the lands and planets, whatever the universe had to offer, and see then with her now working eyes, now that she was able to see once again. She wanted to look at anything and everything (not literally of course) if she were to ever loose sight again. Her attention was especially brought to the last picture she had of her little brother, the one that met a demise worse than how Niko was left off with.

Donovan was all mighty now, having fed off her dreams- nightmares, and converting them to energy for himself- or something of the sort. Whatever he did, it made him very strong and feared in the kingdom which he came from. However, the wolf demon grew attached to the one he had been following and feeding off of for the past few years, and continued to follow her. She still had nightmares every so often, and he gobbled them up without a second thought. That is still his food.

All sorts of lights flashed in the dark skies of New York city, no longer making them dark. Murmurings of people that became nothing more than white-noise could be heard along with the occasional screech and honks of the many cars that dared to drive on the road. It was most certainly a beautiful sight and Niko was quite glad to be able to see much rather than hear or smell. "It's nice..." She mumbles with a happy sigh before she too walks in with the crowd of people crossing the road.

"Now, where to next?"

"May I suggest the Great Wall? Much better than restrooms."

"Oh hush you. It was a theoretical question for myself."

[Seiki Maki]

"So...I heard Noland got sick from him becoming...well...more overpowered. Imagine that," Ahio briefly commented before putting her input on her own powers into the discussion. "I'm looking down at all of these people, and they are moving SOOOOOOO SLLOOOOOOOWWWW. I can't even tell how fast I'm going. Can you?"

Seiki was on Ahio Airways, presented by none other than Kogarashi Ahio, her newest form. She had a wyvern form this time. Feathers were bountiful across her body; however, that was all that could be said. No one really knows what kind of powers Ahio has access to now due to their ignorance to this whole brawling craze.

Speaking of which...

"I...uh..." This was Seiki's first time riding on Ahio's back since the evolution took place. This whole "going fast" routine was very new to her. Usually, she'd just sit back and enjoy the nice breeze, but at the rate this is going, the trip will only end in a couple of seconds, maybe a minute if Ahio gets lazy.

"Say, is this how Oberus always felt? I wish she was here to answer that..." Ahio's comment brought up an important point. Seiki and Ahio were the Ventus Legendary Soldiers now, but...was anything about them legendary?

Before Seiki could make a comment about that issue, something spooked Ahio. Out of nowhere, Noland and Drago popped up next to them despite how fast Ahio was moving. Since she didn't expect anyone to appear like that, she shrieked. Her reflex was to dart right out of there. In doing so, Ahio moved fast enough to break the dimensional barrier. When Ahio regained control of herself, she and Seiki ended up in a different dimension altogether.

"...Oops..." Ahio sighed. "Sorry...they really startled me..."

"But...where are we...?" Seiki kept looking down at her newly acquired BrawlX for directions. Nothing was coming up nor were there any signs that something was going to show up. This means they were somewhere else altogether, but it was still Earth. She looked down to find an expansive body of water. Her head started to shift upwards as a red Dragonoid rose to greet them.

"Ah, there you are, Drago. Can you do us all a favor and NOT pop up whenever you want to? Sheesh," Ahio started.

"Uh...who are you?" the Dragonoid asked.

"Who am I? Are you off your rocker again?"

"Um...Ahio...this Drago looks...different..." Seiki was right. This Dragonoid was Fusion Dragonoid, the one that belonged to Dan Kuso from the original series. In fact...

"Hey!" a voice from below yelled for them. It was Dan Kuso in the boat he left with at the end of Mechtanium Surge.

"He's alive!?"

"Of course...he is... Are you okay?"

"Are YOU okay? You changed your appearance all of a sudden, and the Dan Kuso we know about is supposed to be dead."

"Okay... I... Just go down there so we can figure out what happened. Either you're crazy or you're not from here. Honestly...I'm thinking the former."

"Gee, thanks."

Seiki and Ahio went down to Dan's boat to explain to him the apparent circumstances of their arrival there. Ahio's breaking of the dimensional barrier placed both her and Seiki in the original series' world.

"Ah, so that's your story," Dan fully realized. "You must be crazy strong then. I guess the answer wouldn't be as simple as going back the way you came. So, want to battle?"

"No, no. That's fine," Seiki quickly refused. "I...really just want to get back home. I'm trying to get my singing career started up again, and at this rate, I'm going to be late..."

"Oh well. Since you're here, tell me a little bit about your world. Is it different from ours? Well...that should be obvious now, since you said I've already croaked in yours?"

"Yeah...but no one really knows what happened to you there though. Even the history books doesn't tell anyone about how or why you disappeared."

"Huh...I was important there?"

"Dan," Drago interrupted.

"I know, I know. I'm just curious. That's all. So, Seiki, was it? Maybe we can get you back if we go through the Current of Time."

"Current of Time... What's that?"

"It's this place in the Doom Dimension where you can go back in time if your connection to that point is strong enough."

"Doom WHAT!?"

"Scared?" Drago wondered.

"You should be scared! I heard there was some Bakugan called Fury in there that's totally bad and stuff!"

"Who?"

"Nevermind that. Dan, I have some questions for you. Are you a hero here?"

"Well, I don't mean to brag, but Drago and I have saved the universe...uh...how many times, Drago?"

"Six times."

"Why did you? I know you're probably going to reply with something along the lines of, 'They were evil and yadda yadda yadda.'"

"Well, duh. But, in all seriousness, I treat it like it's a game. Yeah, I know how that sounds. It was just a way of seeing things the way they were when my friends and I created the game. I was a more risky player than others, and it got a lot of people mad at me. Still, I always pulled through when it mattered the most. I can't ignore how much damage these battles have caused though. People and Bakugan have died, but I learned to accept that those things just happen when evil psychos out there wants to kill everybody."

"Interesting... Do you feel like you HAVE to do that, as if it's your responsibility?"

"I was never responsible to do anything I did. I always did what I thought was the right thing to do. Nothing more than that. When I found out about the Bakugan being sentient beings and learning about Vestroia, I wanted to do anything and everything I could to help Drago."

"In return, I did everything in my power to help Dan whenever he needed it most. We're in sync with each other's wishes. That's how we got here. None of us have been paid off by anyone despite everyone knowing who we are and what we've done. It's not some hobby either. If you can make a difference, go for it, but don't wait for someone else to take your place to do it for you. They may not always do what is needed to be done. Trust me... I know."

"Oh...I haven't looked at it that way. See, I have this...friend... I promised him that I'd help him since he helped me, but...now, I'm supposed to be the Ventus Legendary Soldier. The one before us, Oberus, had this job of protecting the Bakugan all the way to the end. Is that...what a Legendary Soldier is supposed to be like?"

"That's interesting... We're Soldiers as well," Dan replied. "But that title doesn't mean you have to do anything special. The other Soldiers went back home to live peacefully after they became Soldiers, so it's not like you're forced into doing what Oberus did. All of these battles should be showing us how good it is to be free to go on adventures together. They sacrificed a lot so we could be here. When someone comes along to threaten it, you don't HAVE to do anything about it, but if you CAN, and you sit by and do nothing, could you live with that decision if something goes wrong? I'll leave that for you to answer."

"And with that, we're finished here." Genesis Dragonoid showed up in front of Dan's boat as a mirage. "It's time for Seiki and Ahio to return to their own dimension."

"Aww, already? Ah well. It was nice to know that there are other brawlers out there we don't know about. I hope we cross paths again some day. Maybe I can meet this friend of yours. He sounds like an awesome person."

"He...is..." Seiki realized. Through Genesis Dragonoid's power, her and Ahio returned their own world. She was standing in front of the studio she was supposed to be at, and she was nowhere near late according to the BrawlX's time. It was the same time as it was before Ahio accidentally brought them where they should've have gone.

"Well, that was...different. Who would've guessed I would be the one to bring us all the way out there to meet Dan Kuso of all people?" Ahio was sure acting calm about what they experienced, not like there was anything else to do.

"Yeah...I feel...happy and inspired for some reason," Seiki noticed about her disposition. "Tracy became strong after being taught by Noland and Tank. Maybe I could...?"

"I have a bad feeling about that. You know how Tank gets," Ahio reminded her.

"True, but...I think it would be good for us. I want to be strong...just like them."

[Asuka Izumo]

"...Wake up..."

"They still ring in my ears- those unforgiving sounds of guns, roaring cannons stationed across the horizon, screams of men echoing through the air, their bodies laying around in the dirt, being drenched by the thick rivers of red... My feet buried under the layer of carcass, the flaming tongues of forsaken fires devouring the corpses of the sacrificed, noises of conflict roaring from the distance- far, now close... closer... closer and closer... 'Nothing is sacred' was my first thought as my hands bandaged the red gaping holes of the survivors. Indeed, nothing is sacred. Whatever brought us to existence must know- we are a flawed creation; one is ready to make decisions that will impact many for his own selfish appetites and for his own sick and degenerate pleasure. And men of the present do not learn what selfish whore conflict truly is- they glutton on the accomplishments of soldiers that now lay as carcass on the battlefield, forgotten by the present, forgotten by the history. Past passes, present is now and future arises- yet we do not learn; we merely change objectives and the approach while still using exact same, flawed tools for achieving those objectives. And then we step into the present with knowledge of the past and claim on our lips that history shall not repeat- yet how many times we claim the same utter nonsense to ourselves and our children..."

The conflict against Hurranians has ended. Everyone was trying to return to their normal lives and duties. Countless repairs were under way and the aid from organizations such as Silver Knights and Eden were mandatory for eventual restoration of human life as we know it. While many ignore rumors of N.O.A.H. becoming new center of Silver Knights' organization higher-ups are aware of the possibility becoming reality relatively soon. While the organization does much for society the people continue to complain- certain people were not even seen during the conflict against Hurranians. 'Where was Marshal? Where was legendary brawler, Izumo? Where are Twelve Generals?' Those were all reasonable questions considering the power of each of these individuals- their contribution would have been a great plus for the conflict, but none of them showed up. Two Generals aided in cleansing Stigma monsters and Chrono Elite, but that was all. Questioning began- were Silver Knights truly aiding this world or just cowards trying to hide away their powerful brawlers and sending off weaklings like some members of Mighty 5 or Eden to avoid losing the strong. Asuka Izumo was very aware of the suspicions and her concern was growing weaker day after day- in her eyes Silver Knights, as an organization, were doomed and there was no fix for it. It was only a matter of time before her actions would not matter any more so she put her power into a small, yet meaningful project that would teach humanity an important lesson in the future.

"...It all began with fall of Franz Ferdinand... back in the 1914... The war was raging like never before. With development of new technologies combat between warring factions was getting more violent every day. Such treacherous times those were- and much hasn't changed. I was happily married, but the life did not seem any brighter with the looming cloud of death and destruction looking over us every day. My mission was to tend to the wounded- every survivor on the field was my patient and I had the duty to make sure they 'live to see tomorrow', according to what our officer said, but I like to translate it into 'so they can continue serving as fodder for this maniacal parade of death'. My mother died when I was 30 years old- poisoned... there was no reason for it considering her irrelevance to the world and then SHE appeared... that treacherous snake. My father married her with no second thought- she appeared so conveniently after my mother's funeral. To this day I still don't know what she did, but I was sure of one thing- she wanted his property and I guessed it right. My father died not so long after the serpent whore was included into the will. Two years later- still on the battlefield with the wounded and she appears- coming to root out the last bit of 'competition' inside the will. Too late to react and I was stabbed- powerless..."

Asuka walked into the Mirage Towers, the bio-engineering section that was highly-confidential for everyone. Not even Generals may enter the area, but only Admirals, Marshal and a handful of chosen scientists. She stood in the room for a while, looking at the container filled with blue fluid, bubbles dancing wildly inside it and a single human body in a curled-up position floating in the midst. She walked closer. "Wake up..." She said gently almost as if her voice could reach inside.

"...the face of that disgusting serpent still haunts me... All I could hear were whispers- was I hallucinating, was I going crazy? Wish it was the case... 'Will you really allow this? Will you let this happen? Don't you want revenge?' Yes, the revenge sounded so sweet- in my pain I accepted an offer from what seemed like an imaginary specter and the moment sooner I stand before the treacherous serpent in health better than ever, my scalpel deep inside her chest... Now, nothing could have replaced the pleasure of revenge. But the truth is- it was not worth it... because my death would have been better than me having received the Whisper of Beelzebub. As that nightmare still haunts me to this day. What is K.Y.U.K.I.? Everyone who bears the name is marked by the evil touch of a devil. I have become one- my gluttony for knowledge grew so big where my scalpel knew to slice further than the chest of a traitor... into the chests of many innocent. Millions of innocent... And why did I do that? I don't know... Wish that whore had it her way instead of me surviving as I have become one thing I feared- death...."

"...And in my hope to rest for eternity- again I hear that voice... Is that really her?"

"You have rested enough. Now wake up." Voice finally broke through and so the darkness was cleared- the sight of a redheaded beauty in the midst of a spacious room. 

"Y-You..."

Joseph Friedrich, field medic during World War I and a war scientist during World War II. Unimportant and irrelevant figure who witnessed many draw their final breaths, who saved many and who took breaths from many as well. There are billions of people on Earth and one has to have great misfortune to be chosen by the Beelzebub himself to be his host; that was the fate of this man. However, the fate of one can be easily predicted if one is to use proper tools. Asumi Izumo, a spy and an assassin and her husband's partner Gram knew Joseph was chosen one. And if he was to be eliminated one of his close family members would become the chosen one. The goal was to kill the family one by one, but Asumi was too late- Joseph's hatred for humanity and for her has already peaked... the Whisper of Beelzebub took him over and her assassination mission was incomplete. With such failure she was killed and the man who once saved lives lived for another hundred years or so to terrorize the population of Earth. He was given a name 'Kyuki' after a secret relic from which all Seven Demons origin- a relic that is rumored to have existed before time itself- something that goes beyond gods and can create gods at its own will or demons if is suited. One bearing name 'Kyuki' is already touched by another demon- all good created by the relic has been devoured by these hideous creations. 

Silver Knights have used bio-engineering to bring 'Kyuki', Joseph Friedrich back to life, but without Beelzebub in him. Thanks to Resistors and some other Knights the demon left the body and soul. Asuka Izumo personally 'captured' Joseph's soul and requested a new body for him. Once that was done- his memories and soul were placed into the new body.

"...You look so much like her. Every time I see you... it disgusts me." Joseph said, laying naked on the ground, surrounded by the liquid that came out with him from the capsule.

"...Asumi..." Asuka replied silently.

"In the gods' name..." Joseph said as he began to tear up very quickly. "...why can't you people just let me die!?"

"Joseph, we need you..." Asuka replied.

"NEED ME!? I gave everything I could for this hell of a world... I watched my family die one by one. Love of my life burned to ash- I died so many times I cannot count. I killed so many because of him... I wanted to end the world's suffering- not to be one responsible for it. It is almost as if you want to torture me- is it because I killed HER? IS IT!?" Joseph angrily ranted at Asuka, tears rolling down his eyes and his voice roaring like of a lion through the room, spreading across corridors.

"No..."

"Then WHY!? Why must I suffer!? You think Resistors suffered!? You think Vestal suffered!? They, at least, got to make peace. What did I get after all this, huh? It has been over 100 years... Have any of them lived to suffer for so long? I don't think so..."

"Do you think it is fair, Joseph? For all those people who have died to Beelzebub? To all these wars? Was it fair?" Asuka questioned the man and then she knelt in front of him.

"F-Fair...?? They were slaughtered... murdered... tortured." Joseph quickly responded.

"Do you think this will stop because Hurranians and 'Kyuki' are gone?" Asuka inquired.

"Of course not... peace is just a sweet illusion for modern fools... People will continue to suffer."

"That's why we need you, Joseph. That's why I need you. The humanity must see the end of its suffering. It has been going on for far too long- generations of mine have lived and died in attempt to cease it. With your knowledge- what Beelzebub provided and what you attained by yourself you are currently the key of the Final Solution... Final Solution existed for very long, but you are the first and only key... If you become my ally I promise I will put my life on the line to make sure not you or anyone suffers again... Please, will you come with me?" Asuka said as she stood up before Joseph and offered him her hand waiting patiently for his response.

"...I-I... I will... be by your side... if you allow me one thing..." Joseph said as he hesitantly looked at Asuka's eyes. "...my wife..." He muttered silently and before he could speak again he was cut off.

"Yes." Asuka accepted already.

With a flash of happiness in his eyes the man slowly rose from the ground- slowly and weakly, but eventually he made it. Body was still fragile and needed to adapt. He grabbed Asuka's hand and leaned against her shoulder. Admiral and Joseph walked out of the room side by side with intention of creating the so-called Final Solution; the solution of bringing the Earth to the state of everlasting peace no matter how childish and unrealistic it sounded. It was possible and Asuka was going to see it through now with Joseph by her side. The world will not be ready for it, but it is going to end the chaos it is in.

"There has always been one solution..."

[Yita Aileen Nyx]

The constant creaking coming from a spinning chair continues to fill the quiet air with the occasional long sighs from the one who sat on it. It had been almost half an hour since she last touched her master computer, now just playing the waiting game.

The expression oh her face was one that screamed unhappy. "Express order my butt." The female grumbles as she continues to rock back and forth and back and forth and back and forth on her chair. The repetitive noise earned quite the glare from her partner- and of course- it went without notice. Yita didn't care like usual, but especially when she had something very important coming her way.

She thought that after all that she had done she would get some special treatment, and she is- but not how she was envisioning it. Sure she was literally the most powerful female here on Vestal now, but she was still missing something... And it wasn't being given to her in a timely manner. Yita had spend so much time making sure that this was perfect, every detail in place and the setting perfect for its arrival. The place was much colder than usual, Yashu curled up in a small ball of fuzz, his eyes and ears poking out from it.

"They have lives you know." Yashu grumbles as he tucks himself closer to his fluff that kept him warm. "It's only natural they would take some time. Especially how big it is."

"What can I say? It's life-sized~"

"Yeah. That's creepy as heck."

Yita pouts and crosses her hands as she continues to rock back and forth, a bit more vigorously than before. Seconds later, someone was at the door- and Yita was there in milliseconds, flinging the door wide open. "Mine!" She hisses, grabbing the box close to her and tossing the delivery person some portion of currency before taking the box in and shutting the door, locking it as well.

The box was brought to the middle of the cool room and some grumbling could be heard from Yashu who shifted to look the heck away. Yita unboxed the good with ease and squeals with delight- nothing sure of pure delight. It sounded rather annoying though- according to the bakugan. There in all it's glory- after months of constructing this in a 3D program, making sure everything was accurate, right down to the hairs, and the placing the order with the best chocolate sculptors around- you guessed it folks. It's the one and only...

Yeah.


It's the chocolate Noland everyone has been waiting for.


Especially Yita.


"At last~" The not crazy female purrs as she eyes the candy. Literally eye candy. She sits down and flips the lights so that it bounded off the chocolaty goodness. "He came home~"


"Why did I get stuck with this weird Nyx?"

[Maria Zenovia]

(Credits Theme 2)

Maria returned to Eden's HQ to have some sleep. Upon the end of the war she was tasked with supervising the Knights in their helping duty and she had to aid if there was any need for it. Even with rank of Admiral given back to her she did not feel like having it- she was considering changing to a different job within the organization; perhaps paperwork would be a better idea. She was never a fighter so she was entirely useless in that war- any role she fulfilled could have been fulfilled by anyone else on the planet. One of the strongest Admirals seen as a mere weakling did not help her reputation as a member of Advent on the planet- a 'useless alien' who does nothing, but 'drains the resources'. That was what people felt towards alien races- what president said nobody really cared about. There were still plenty of people on Gundalians' neck and with that on every stranger's neck.

"Maybe he was right all along..." Maria recalled her thoughts from years ago. She was referring to her brother's statements when she came to Earth to save her once their parents were murdered by terrorists. "This worthless worms, backwater monkeys that infest the planet- they feed on the carcass of each other and start endless wars over scraps and yet have the guts to look at us as 'different and dangerous'... You chose to side yourself with them? To aid them... you are mistaken, sister... you are gravely mistaken." Those were his exact words when Maria refused to leave Silver Knights and with that 'chose humans over Advent'. Xera was not pleased and left the Earth with his faithful servants, Theres and Reinhardt. Years later Maria began to question her motives- were humans really worth it? Were they actually worms and useless trash of the universe. The answer was obvious even by objective opinion... Races like Advent did not have a single war for the last two thousand years. And yet this race knows nothing better than to raise conflict and their hands on each other.

During her sleep Maria's mind was harassed by negative thoughts and nightmares that kept on appearing for the past two months. She could not shake them out of her head. Before she could get a good amount of sleep she suddenly gasped and woke up with an expression of shock on her face- she must have seen horrible things in her sleep to look so traumatized. Two minutes have passed with her just staring at the blanket and thinking before tears began to form in her eyes and slide down her cheeks onto the blanket. Hydra quickly rolled over to Maria with concerned tone in her voice. "Dear, what is it? Bad dream again?" Hydra asked. Maria did not respond for some time- she just shook her head. After a few minutes she began to talk. "I want them back, Hydra..." She muttered through the tears and saliva that she could not get rid off when she cried. "...I'm sorry, dear... I was certain we could do something back then..." Hydra responded in a sad tone. They were referring to Maria's parents who were killed approximately 10 years ago by Chrono Elite. They were revived by Kyuki for purpose of killing Maria which is an event no child deserves to experience- she was finally able to see them after so many years and they were there to kill her. Hydra attempted to knock them out so any chip could be found and so the issue could have been solved, but... there was nothing- they were created evil. Maria knew what Asuka did- she brought the 'real Kyuki' back to life with all the knowledge he had from both his life and the one that some demon forced him into. Maria did not listen to Asuka's excuses for it as she simply could not trust the man even after the most-logical explanations. He wanted to redeem himself and he even offered to do all in his power to bring her parents back to life as they used to be, but...

"...even he failed out of all people..." Maria muttered. The attempt of resurrection through scientific methods seemed to bear same results as human transmutation from certain anime. They tried various methods, but it all ended in the same way. Despite Maria's cheerful and nice attitude towards everyone she was just thin layer of glass pressured by the horrible burden that will eventually break her. 

"Maria, please... you still have me." Another female voice came from the near. It was yet another young white-haired woman. It was Maria's younger sister, Sylvia Zenovia. She was very much like Maria in terms of kindness and good will, but never someone who came across as intimidating or looked at as a brawler. The girl was concerned about her older sister's well-being- so many negative thoughts and nightmares were not there for no reason, but they had to be dealt with one way or another. Sylvia sat by Maria on the right side of the bed and hugged her sister without saying another word. Maria's eyes were set on her for a while and after a few minutes in that position they finally started to close. Sylvia decided to stay by Maria's side until she wakes up. "Thank you, Sylvia." Hydra thanked quietly as she looked over Maria's face to find a little bit of a smile on it. It was not much, but it meant a lot to the concerned 'mother' to see that tiny smile. She rolled over to Maria's left side and decided to sleep by her as well.

[Dasia Turano]

Dasia was pacing back and forth in her room within the Mother Palace, still trying to come to terms with everything going on with her. The room was clean, showing no signs of Dasia damaging anything. Her body was in order as well. These two facts were noteworthy for someone who had to watch her infected persona terrorize so many people for as long as she had. She had to live through all of the acts the other Dasia did, EVERY SINGLE ONE.

The weight of her sins spiked her blood pressure to pre-hypertension levels, something which the higher-ups took notice of. Dasia had an onyx-crusted necklace around her neck that had a red jewel in the center. It shone as its effects cleansed Dasia of the stress she was feeling.

"Someone...help me..." she begged, her body involuntarily shaking from all she was thinking and feeling.

"Okay," Chris said, waltzing right in through the closed door due to his digital parameters allowing him access to Dasia's room at all times due to her situation.

"No...not you again..."

"Yes, it's me again. Don't worry. I know my place. With you feeling so bad and me not having a body, I won't be making my usual rounds here. I'm here for another of your daily checkups, the second of four."

"...Okay..."

"Now, don't be alarmed, but I've been watching you sleep for totally not creepy and perverted reasons. The sad thing about that is, you can't."

"...Yes..."

"And why is that, Princess?"

"Because...I finally know why my Hurranian self rejected you all this time..."

"Please tell. I think there's a general consensus among the community that I was clearly the right person for her."

"It's because...she was struggling with her sexuality... That Maria girl's tits were-"

"Do you mean to tell me that the only reason why I've been rejected all this time was because she was a lesbian, and this Maria was the one that made her gay?"

"Well...yeah..."

"...I can't even be mad at that. I saw her, and I was like, 'Damn. How can any woman who sees her be straight?'"

"Mhm...makes a lot of sense, doesn't it?"

"And then I realized that I was in the Hurranian network with her for a good length of time, and not one transmission of homosexual activity was made known to anyone, which is a nice way of saying you're full of shit and I will be doubling down on my advances when we get rid of all of this fear and guilt."

"..."

"Come on... It's me. I've looked at you for years - I mean we've known each other for years."

"You didn't even try to hide what you said."

"I'm hiding something even bigger right now."

"Just die already!"

"I did, but on to more important things. Notice how your mood suddenly changed from blaming yourself to being hilariously annoyed at my shenanigans. That's an improvement. See?" Chris pulled up a digital page for Dasia to see her overall health. He was correct. This little exchange improved her condition considerably as it was deemed more normal than her haunting experiences. "The more we can pull your mind away from what the Hurranians did in your body, the better of a chance we'll have at rehabilitating you. For now, you must keep this neat necklace Donovan gave you so that he can constantly eat these thoughts."

"...Honestly, Chris...why do you keep doing this? What do you see in me?"

"Those are details I'll save for the proper time. After all, we'd need you to believe in what I see for you to take it seroiously, right?"

"So you'll allow someone you have a crush on to believe that they're beyond help?"

"No, no, no. That's not what I'm saying."

"Then WHAT?"

"Because this isn't about you and I. The King came in here and told you some things as well, but here you are. As long as Earth, Vestal, and the Bakugan remember your Hurranian side, you will ALWAYS feel this way. You said yourself that this body of yours is tied to every atrocity that was committed. Right now, what the King and I think pales in comparison to what the masses believe. That is what's really going on with you."

"..."

"You want to be loved, to feel wanted, to be acknowledged that you're still here. Our mission is to get you to understand what love is again. You lost sight of that, but that's okay. It happens. The good thing about love is that one person's love for you can amount to an entire civilization's love, but you have to be willing to accept it. What I'm telling you is that the King loves you more than anything else, and he is doing everything within his power to keep YOU around, because you deserve so much better than what happened to you. Don't you think so?"

"...I do...but..."

"It will take time. I know. That's why the King is here. It's also why I'm here. Until you feel better, I will not accept a new body. Yes, I know that's unnecessary to limit myself for your sake, but if I can't take this journey with the woman I love, then there'd be no reason why I should be here now."

"...Okay...I'll try," Dasia finally accepted. "You really must want me to give you a chance, huh?"

"If this doesn't work, nothing will. I'm still dead anyway, so it's not like I'll lose anything by trying one more time."

"Hm...alright... You win..."

"...No...you didn't... Did you really just say that?"

"Sounds like you don't understand what love is now," Dasia joked as she walked out of her room to go get some food. "I'm putting you on the spot now, so hurry up and feed me before I change my mind."

"...Yes ma'am... I'll get someone to steal from Earth right away..."

[Markus Hederick]

Markus let out a depressing sigh as he walked into his dorm room back at Princeton University. He made sure the window was covered up, as he didn't want anyone seeing what he was about to do.

"If I knew you were going to attempt this, I would've kept quiet about being able to do this now," Gargulion said, disappointed in accidentally revealing what he can do now. "...I will give you five minutes, get in and get out. DO NOT attempt to take anyone out of there. Do you understand?"

"Yeah. Thanks in advance," Markus responded, laying out a yoga mat for him to lay on. He rested his back on it and closed his eyes. "Ready." Gargulion's energy radiated through his body, showing a green aura sizzling around his figure.

Markus quickly opened his eyes to see a canvas of absolute darkness. The only reason why he could tell this was the case was due to a bright light emanating throughout the realm. It was an exact replica of his own house, which was somehow giving light to the area. He walked inside the house, immediately looked left, and saw Maya and his parents waiting for him inside of the family room.

"Son...why are you here...?" The father questioned.

"To ask why the three of you are here," Markus replied. "I guess you're here to tell me something?"

"Well, yeah," Maya answers. "But first, can we get revived? I feel like everyone else has been brought back except for us."

"...It's quite the opposite," Markus clarified. "I asked Gargulion to bring me here since our new power as the Darkus Legendary Soldier allows him to do so. He could feel the uneasiness in my spirit, as if something was calling out to me. That's why I'm here. The three of you don't have to wait for me. You can go..."

"Not fair!" Maya complained. "I'm not ten years old yet! I shouldn't be dead!"

"Your deaths were complicated. Since you had Tank's blood, there's no point in resurrecting you if you're just going to die immediately. There was one Bakugan who could've made an exception, but he chose not to, so this is where we are. If I take your souls with me back to the world of the living, there is a certain being called 'Death' that will hunt me down until he gets you back."

"Death's not real though."

"He's very real, Maya. I know this, because they HATE Gargulion since their souls are among the exception. They don't wander into the afterlife like everyone else. They defy the natural order of life and death, which is why Death is on his way here to kill me as we speak."

"...Then go..." The mother said. "We don't want you to be burdened for eternity by this being for our sake. Your father and I have seen you grow up, so we're content. We will watch over your sister."

"..."

"...Phooey... Fine. Is Roxy still there?" Maya wondered.

"Unfortunately, no... She didn't make it..." Markus sorrowfully answered.

"...Oh...I'm sorry...but Tracy's still there, right?"

"Don't you do it!"

"What? She's nice to everyone else, and no one gives her anything in return. You two are already close, so I don't see why not."

"There was a blue cat that told her to tell you before the Hurranians got us," the mother clarified.

"Well, you know what I think? That cat can kiss my-"

"Language."

"Ass."

"Markus!"

"Not cool, man," Gargulion commented. "Hurry up, by the way."

"Alright. My time looks like it's running out, so I'll keep this brief," Markus started. "I'm still the same knucklehead you raised, but...I'm doing very well for myself. The Pro League is about to start up again since their investigations are coming to an end, but I won't slack in my studies. I'll apply for my internships, make sure the room stays clean, and to make sure I eat. And...um...Tracy said yes..."

"...Knew it..." Maya chimed.

"We're not in the same realm of existence anymore, but I promise this. We'll meet again someday, but it can't be here. Don't hold yourselves up for my sake. I'll be okay. If I mess up, Gargulion has my back. I know you will too."

"...We know..." the father remarked. "Oh, and...uh...we're sorry about the whole not getting life insurance thing... Probably should've done that after the Pack came in and did what they did..."

"Eden's sorry for you, so it's all good." Markus brought all three of them together and gave them a hug, before disappearing before them.

"Tell Kendrick...that I love him, 'kay?"

"What!? You're too young for that!" the father yelled.

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you are! While you're in my house, you're not 'loving' anyone until you're out on your own."

"You say that as if we're still alive!"

"Doesn't matter! There's probably tons of guys that are dead right now!"

Markus turned around, looked up, and nodded. Within a few seconds, he was gone. He rose up from the mat in the dorm room when he opened his eyes again. "They've moved on..." Gargulion commented on the state of things.

"Good," Markus replied.

"How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good, actually. With what we just did, imagine what we could do."

"Yeah, I think with our abilities, we'll be a global force for good and-"

"Nah, nah. I was thinking about visiting sites like graveyards, abandoned cities, 'haunted' houses... There's probably so much they want to tell us. Imagine how much knowledge we could get. I bet we can even figure out if these religions have any weight to them. That's way better than shaking people down and killing them."

"If you didn't have some asshole ruling over an entire plane of existence breathing down your neck, then yes, it would be. I prefer the latter option. There's a whole new brawling sect called the 'Underground.' How about we kill time there instead of investigating things that might get us killed?"

"Good. Let's do that too."

"Figures..."

[Tank Stryker]

While Markus was busy talking with people in the afterlife and dreaming about graverobbing, Tank was training. Rather than Gladion being out and about as one would think, Tank was jogging around GWU's turf field, hoping to get his athleticism back.

"You know how many gods and goddesses we have that can make this unnecessary, don't you?" Gladion mentioned concerning the removal of the complications his femur breakage caused.

"Where's the fun in that?" Tank said in between strides. "It's more interesting of a story if I do all of this myself. Besides, I can't rely on you to fix all of my problems, and I shouldn't."

"Very admirable of you," Gladion commended.

"Isn't it?" That voice wasn't Tanks, but a very familiar one who had been waiting for Tank to get around the field so he could join in.

"...No..."

"Yes!" Tank yelled in celebration. He high-fived the person now running next to him, which was none other than Steve.

"You see, Gladion, we humans have doctors that tell us what we can or can't do, then there's doctors who can actually help you."

"Of course, I was there making sure it wasn't another Eden scientist giving him my blood."

"I-I don't believe it," Gladion stammered on his words. "And you didn't think to bring me along with you so I wouldn't be this surprised about it?"

"Well, I was, but then you were like, 'But my powehs!' when I told you I was going to do something important," Tank responded.

"You should've been specific!"

Tank and Steve sat down on a nearby bench to rest before continuing this lovely conversation. "Speaking of your powers, what exactly can you do now?"

"I...don't know..."

"Neat. What's your new name?"

"...I don't know that either..."

"Damn. You made some good progress then."

"...Thanks for noticing..."

"Hey, um...I know this is like, a sad topic, but how's everything going with the funeral setup? I know her family said they didn't need our help, but I can't help BUT want to help..." Steve asked.

"I know what you mean..." Tank knew, wiping sweat from his forehead while trying his best to hold back any feelings of depressing sadness. "The family had everything covered. I don't think they expected us to help at all."

"So...do we know where it'll be?"

"Evangel Cathedral, Saturday morning. It would've been nice if we had a body. Everyone else must feel sick that they can't literally see her one last time."

"That's why they have us to tell them all about it. As sad it was for us to see that, I say it was worth us being there to see the true love you two had. I'll be lucky if I see anything like that ever again."

"You and me both, buddy."

"Oh, you'll be fine. The ladies love Tank Stryker! As for me...I'll have to come up with a new strategy. The wheelchair's not going to cut it anymore. It's a shame too. Had a lot of good conversations about that..."

Tank laughed at this suggestion, because he knew it was true. When Steve was frequenting Legion's practices and events, he has often been the target of ladies' attention, with most of the conversations starting with him being in a wheelchair. "You're a righteous man, Steve. If I can make do, I expect you to. THEY expect us to." Of course, Tank was speaking about John and Katherine.

Gladion allowed that part of the conversation to die down a bit before asking this upcoming question. It was kinda important. "I wanted to let you get through the funeral before telling you this, but I can't wait anymore. While you were off doing things without me, I was contacted by someone named Ares," Gladion revealed. "He was talking about something called the 'Trial of the Twelve.' I don't know what the hell that is, but...we were invited."

"Just us?"

"As if we were that special to get a sole invitation. No, the other Resistors got invited to. Even Ahio got one."

"Seriously!? Just how strong is she now? I have to see this for myself. Sign me up for whatever that is."

"Hey! What about me!?" Steve wondered.

"Sorry. Better luck next time."

"Is that a nice way of saying I'm too weak?"

"Uh...Tank, you wanna-"

"Yeah, Gladion. What do you think?"

"..."

[Tracy White]

"Hm...how did she find out about that...?" In a very clean family room, there was a robed figure reading a book on the couch. She was in a trance, noticing nothing around her, not even an unsuspecting Tracy walking down the stairs in casual shirt and jeans. Without warning, Tracy pulled out a gun and shot this figure in the back of her head. The bullet bounced off and fell flat to the floor. This robed being slowly turned around as if she didn't believe what just happened.

"Gee, thanks for shooting to see if I'm awake. Can't you see I'm doing something important here?" Skystar complained.

"What!? Sky!?" Tracy asked in an alarmed tone. "When did you learn to do that!?"

"Where did you get the gun from? That's not like you."

"That's not important! You didn't tell us that YOU were the robed one coming in and out of the house!"

"Who else were you expecting to look like Lars Lion in these clothes!? Another one of those stupid terrorists who wants to kill you for whatever reason!?"

"Yes!"

"Ridiculous!"

"No it's not!"

"Look, I'm not entertaining this. You of all people shouldn't be anywhere near a gun. Put that darned thing away, and stop pointing it at me before you shoot someone else by mistake!"

It took a few minutes for everyone to calm down, especially the neighbors who heard the gunshot. Tracy stubbornly sat down across from Sky who was still burying her face in whatever book she was reading.

"...It was my Dad's gun...wasn't supposed to have it..." Tracy silently confessed.

"You seem to be making very...adventurous decisions lately. Why?"

"...No reason...?"

"Yeah, yeah. I already know why. Anyway, I apologize for my...absent mindedness lately. I know there are things you are doing that it looks like I'm paying zero attention to, but do know that I am very aware of what's going on with you."

"Well, tell me about this book then. I never saw you this captivated by something before. What's in it?"

"Do you remember Lars Lion pulling a tome out when that whole incident with Gargulion happened? This is the same tome she was using. It seems like she gave it to me. The whole thing is in Vestroian language. Thankfully, Drago was able to teach me the language so I could understand what it is that I'm looking at."

"You...learned an entire language...that fast...? It has only been three weeks since we've all evolved..."

"I learned it in less time than that, but yeah. It turns out that Lars Lion recorded certain spells in here that I could use. One of them was the same one she used on Gorem and Clayf where we link minds and have them do whatever they need to do in less time. She seems to have a lot of spells here..."

"I'm guessing something in there told you how to be in that form?"

"Yeah. It also had something about the Legendary Soldiers' 'secret arts' too. I bet we could learn how to do them soon."

"Wow..."

"So...we can come back to this book later." Skystar threw the tome in the air, and it disappeared in a flash of light. "So what is Ms. Legendary Soldier up to, huh?"

"A LOT," Tracy sighed. "I'm conflicted, Sky. I don't what to do with my life right now."

"Why?"

"There's a lot of D1 schools trying to get us, and then there's Eden..."

"The part about the schools is a nice problem to have."

"Well...yeah, but..."

"BUT...you really want to do this thing with Eden. They probably have some nice benefits for college students as well. I assume you've already looked into that, so I'll tell you what I think. Do both."

"...I can...but what if space is limited in Eden? Their application process can be competitive, and-"

"You are qualified to do ANYTHING you want to do in life, Tracy. Your actions ever since we met Noland and Drago has proven that you are. You've become strong, which was something we could only think about before. You can make a difference with or without Eden, so it's okay if we don't go with that option right away. You have your whole life ahead of you. What we're focused on right now is college, and you have a choice to make. Whether you do it for academic reasons or for NCAA titles, it makes no difference to me. I'll be there for the ride, no matter what."

"Heh...you know...I can hardly believe there's so many schools after me... I remember when we could only manage D3 schools based on my school activity alone... Tank and them were getting all the attention... I can't help but feel accomplished and, most of all, grateful. I feel like I should do something nice for Noland...something he wouldn't expect, but would make him the happiest. Tank helped me out too. Markus, Alana, Allen...bless their hearts. But what can I do though?"

"You can tell them we know about the 'secret arts' and then we teach them how to do them? That'll get them here quick."

"Yeah...let's do it. But first...let's call Tank and Gladion. He knows about these schools the most, I think."

"Good idea. Want me to establish the telepathic link between all of us?"

"Wow...that book really has a lot, huh...? Yeah...if everyone's willing. We're stuck with each other now, right?"

"Hopefully...after all we've survived together, we're family. I believe that to be true..."