Episode 13: Make the Most of It

[Fury]

(Wavern's Domain)

The land was overflowing with life. The waters were pristine, the trees were lively, and the grass was healthy. That was all anyone there ever needed to see. There was hope, not like the domain of Naga and Dharak where everything has died. This is what Genesis Dragonoid preferred, so he resided here.

Rather than sunlight, the rainbow-colored gleam from the same colored orb in the sky supplied everything that life needed. Wavern saw fit to bask in it while floating on her back in the water. She looked like she was in the dumps. The reason: she could see what was eventually going to happen.

Her mind played out all of the potential endings. She saw Betadron escape his confinements, defeat the Legendary Soldiers, and wielded the fruit to change the fate of all space-time. She saw Fury bring an end to everything he brushed past; no matter what the entity or object was, the result would be total annihilation if they can be ended. She saw all of the universes collapsing onto each other...and everything was gone...

Then she saw a bright light at the end of it all. It was a mother weeping for her children...like she has done so many times before... She had to start anew, rebuild from the ground up. But, there was an army who opposed this mother. They rejoiced in the peace and quiet, and wanted it to last for eternity. That all changed when a primordial darkness came upon them...

"Wavern!" roared Genesis Dragonoid. Wavern was startled out of her dreaming. She looked up and saw Genesis hovering over her body. "What are you doing? I've been calling you for three seconds."

"...My apologies," Wavern sighed. 

"Listen...I wanted to update you on what's going on... Dharak and I have stopped the Collision...but we have a new problem... Someone is actively seeking us...and they're trying to force the Collision to continue... Can you believe that?"

"Who would have the power to do that?"

"An old enemy... Older than me..."

[Father Tinsley]

The scene cut to Tinsley in his bedroom at 5 in the morning. Still awake from the meeting with Father Lyles, Tinsley decided that it was time to make everyone a bit more uncomfortable. He went in the bathroom where there were no windows. He looked at himself closely, because he could see the look on his own face. It was the look of remorse, almost as if he didn't want to do what must be done.

As if it was his divine duty, he lifted his hands. His aura flared up slightly, but stabilized once Tinsley tried to bring his hands closer together. There was a noticeable struggle. That was because of what he was really doing...

[Fury]

All of existence shook very violently. Even Genesis and Wavern experienced it from where they were.

"You're kidding me..." Genesis gasped.

"Did that really just happen...?" Wavern asked in disbelief.

"Whoever just did that restarted the whole process," Genesis stated. "That being must be dealt with before the crunch kills us all."

"Should I contact my brother?" A second after Wavern asked that question, Dharak and Naga warped into the domain to discuss the situation.

"No need to say anything. I know what I have to do," Naga replied as if he was listening to the whole conversation.

"But will you do it?" Genesis asked with a tone that showed his lack of faith in Naga's resolve.

"Excuse me?"

"If - for example - it was Fury who was responsible for this, you know damn well you'd stand there and cheer him on. Both of you would."

"We're doing this again?"

"I just spent who knows how long with you stopping this thing! Why would I watch it happen again!?" Dharak roared.

"Because you've done it back then, and you'll do it now!"

"Of course I did it back then! You just let those fuckers across the way walk all over us, controlling the population of select Bakugan species, and then having the nerve to tell US who the ones in control are!"

"See, that's your problem. It's all about control with you, isn't it?"

"Why do you think we were brought back, dickhead? To just standby and let these fuckwits run things when they've no clue what they're doing!?"

"You're a God of Destruction who can do anything! You're not supposed to be a tyrant! You're just an overseer! Under no circumstance are you supposed to wage war against your kind!"

"Get the fuck out of here! You've done exactly that ever since we were born! You'd rather side with those heathens instead of the Bakugan!"

"Alright. You know what? I can't do this." Wavern broke off from the 'gathering' and tried to go somewhere else. "I understand that you can't heal an eternity's worth of animosity, but even that should be put aside if you'd take this situation more seriously. All of existence is at risk, and you should be doing your jobs to stop it, not using this as an excuse to wage war on one another."

"...What she said..." Naga echoed. He also excused himself from this argument.

"...I get it..." Dharak finally understood.

"Do you?"

"Yes. You don't want me to do my job."

"That's not what I said."

"It's what you did that shows me. Only when the situation could negatively affect you, my services are finally called upon. Then, when we show that we're going to do what must be done WITHOUT starting an argument, you bitch to no end. So, do what you always do: handle it yourself. I'm out of here."

"What!?" Wavern gasped. "You can't!"

"I can, and I will. Good luck saving the world." Dharak faded away after that closing remark. Wavern was beyond furious now.

"We're doomed..." she somberly announced.

"No, we just need a new direction. You can figure out who is capable of doing this, and then I'll erase them myself. Just focus on that, and we can beat this, okay? We just need to do what we can do." Naga tried to reason.

"...Alright..."

"Hmph...I'll give you one opportunity, just this once. Make the most of it..." Genesis spoke up.

"...Yeah, okay."

[Markus Hederick]

Markus was cranky in his man cave when the quake happened. He had the tv on to see if there was any news coverage of it. It wasn't like they weren't going to say what he already knew, but it was worth a look. The state had an earthquake a few years ago, so anything could happen.

"That quake was too strong..." Markus declared with some uncertainty.

"I could feel multiple deaths because of that quake," Gargulion announced. "I thought the gods were supposed to stop it..."

[Kane Ultio]

"Nice observation," an unknown, but eerily familiar, voice replied to Gargulion's realization that this was becoming more serious by the minute. The individual appeared on the other end of the couch where Markus was sitting. He made himself at home.

"You fixed up this place real good," the man noticed. "I just might have to crash here a while. The influx of people into my domain will disturb by periodic naps. You understand, don't you?"

[Markus Hederick]

Markus was frozen when he recognized who that was. He didn't have to turn to look at the man. It felt like there was a cold air brewing throughout the house. Only one man could do that:

"...Death..." Markus uttered. "...Something happen...? You've never visited me before..."

"No one died in this house...so why are you here...?" Gargulion asked him with a lot of concern in his voice.

[Kane Ultio]

"I know it's me, but relax, please. I'm not here to kill you or whatever you think I might do to you," he quickly clarified. "I'm actually here to do something I've never done for anyone before. Consider this a peace offering."

The man opened his hands to project a scenario for Markus and Gargulion to see. It was that of four factions headed by four commanders: Genesis Dragonoid; Revelation Dharaknoid; Betadron; and Ares.

"You felt the quake. This conflict is about to explode, and the Third Universal War will begin," the man warned. "Even through death, Lars Lion's power allows her to see what's about to happen. Oberus herself has traveled to the near future while she was alive. I'm confident that these four beings will be the central figures in this inevitable war."

"I wish I could give you the specifics, but I'm not willing to risk getting replaced and then erased for altering time unnecessarily. The only thing I can tell you is that you and the Legendary Soldiers will have to pick a side just as Demaryius and Nyla have done in the past. There can only be one victor here."

[Markus Hederick]

"Another war...?" Markus asked in disbelief. It seemed like there was one war after another. There were no breaks to be had.

"Wait a minute... You could be erased for this...?" Gargulion walked back. "Help me to understand this, Death. Why would you tip us on this if there was a chance you'd get in trouble with the Dharaknoid? Also, why are you tipping US in the first place? Why do you care who wins or loses?"

[Kane Ultio]

"Because you and I are in the same situation now. We both want these conflicts to stop," he sympathized. "Despite what I represent, I do care about the lives of others. I do not reap or maintain the separation of life and death for personal reasons; this is purely professional. Whatever happens with this war could change nothing at all for me, or it'd shake things up a lot; I may even die in one scenario."

"You weren't around back then, so I doubt you'd fully understand my view of both the Dragonoid and the Dharaknoid. They're eminent gods, but they're still the same immature babies who cannot forgive and move on. They will forgo their responsibilities in favor of going at each other's throats, and we're all left to suffer in the wake of their rampage. Neither of them are bad, but they aren't good either. So, again, I will say this: pick your side. The previous Legendary Soldiers sends their regards."

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to pick up a couple of people on my way back home, if you know what I mean. Be careful...and you'd better not think of resurrecting Killian...or you'll see me back here. Promise."

[Markus Hederick]

"..." Markus watched as Death nonchalantly floated upwards and phased through the ceiling. He took a long, deep breath. It will take a while for his heart to stop beating so loud, but at least it wasn't his time to go...yet.

"Someone must've really pissed that guy off..." Markus began to understand.

"...He basically threatened to kill us if we try to resurrect that Gundalian..." Gargulion mentioned.

"Least important issue," Markus tossed aside. "Something must've happened recently to make him talk that way about the gods."

"Speak of the devil... Here's one of them right now," Gargulion called out. Markus went upstairs to look out a window. A huge shadow was covering the entire house.

[Fury]

The Dharaknoid was looking over Markus' house with bulging eyes. He knew something was going on in there....

"Gargulion, come out here for a minute," Dharak commanded. Gargulion did as he was told. He was at the doorstep in his robed form. He looked up at the god towering over him. It was too much for one morning.

"Yes?" Gargulion asked.

"Kane was just in there. I felt his presence. What did you do?"

"Wake up."

"But you're dead."

"But I'm also alive."

"Alright, wise guy. What was he saying?"

"He threatened to do horrible things to us if I resurrected a Gundalian."

"Good grief. I haven't seen him on anyone's case this much other than one other Bakugan on this planet. Just like you actually."

"...There's another one...?"

"Yeah. Same species, same circumstances. Think his name was Senpu, a Lost 'whatever.' I dunno. You'll probably meet each other very soon with the way this is going."

"We felt a quake. What happened?"

"Someone in this universe has the power to restart the Collision. I'm trying to figure out who did it, so you might be seeing Naga or I around for a while. You've been around the block. You have any ideas?"

"The Silver Knights and Eden have something going on, especially Eden. I hear there are a lot of silent complaints about the Vice President. There's also this Tinsley character that Noland is very bothered by. Finally, the Tribunal."

"The Tribunal? That doesn't make any sense... Why would they want to affect things this way...?"

"Something wrong with that?"

"Why destroy the universe when you want dominion over it? That's their deal."

"Makes sense."

"Of course. Anyway, sorry for disturbing you. I'll be on my way now. I'm in the mood to really wipe people out right now, so if there's anyone you want to point me towards for any reason, just say my name. See ya." The Dharaknoid ascended into the air and began flying around the area.

[Noland Hardy]

Dharak made the news doing what he was doing. Since he hasn't done anything, no one knew that he was Genesis' brother except for a very small group of people. Because of this, they weren't given the warning to not do anything stupid. Good for him, but not for the people.

Alana's mom was watching it on TV. Naturally, she was curious about what this Dharaknoid was and went upstairs to ask Alana about it. Since it was an emergency - especially after the quake - she opened the door to Alana's room, and she froze...

Meanwhile, Noland slowly opens his eyes, yawns, and steps out of bed with nothing on but his boxers. That's when he saw Alana's mom, and then it clicked...

"..." Noland looked very confused. He looked back at the bed he was in and noticed something very odd... Alana was in it... "...Please don't tell Grandma..."

"...School got canceled because of the quake..." Mom started saying...

"Good, because I was-"

"Thinking you were gonna have a quickie with my daughter without my knowledge."

"I mean, why would anyone tell parents about that anyway?"

"..."

"Okay. Wrong answer. There's a logical explanation for why this happened."

"I'm waiting."

"I didn't put myself here."

"Obviously?"

"I woke up because of the quake, and for some reason, I ended up here."

"To fuck Alana?"

"No!"

"Oh, so she's not good enough for you, huh?"

"So...I was supposed to say yes?"

"No! It was how you said it!"

[Alana Cortese]

Alana was rudely awakened by all this commotion. Her first reaction was to get up and assess her surroundings. For some odd reason, she hasn't processed what was happening. She was wearing practically nothing aside from a shirt and underwear that we will not be going into detail about. Her mom fainted upon the realization that something may have happened.

Seeing that, Alana regained her senses, but in the process, she saw Noland...

"..." The fact that Noland was wearing nothing but his underwear didn't faze her by itself. It was that he was there, and there was a second pillow on her bed. She then recognized that the pillow she was laying on was to the right while Noland's was on the left...

"...No they didn't..." Alana denied in disbelief. She knew the two people responsible for this. "...Did they make us...?"

[Noland Hardy]

"...I don't think so...?" Noland shrugged. "I don't feel like I've done anything here. I woke up to the quake an hour ago, so I wasn't here the whole night. I'm thinking a certain person came over here and forgot to put me back at my house. Bastard..."

"Hey! I heard a thump! What's going on up there!?" Alana's dad yelled from downstairs.

"Ah shit..." Noland dreaded. "Well, from what we heard about them, they're not jackasses like the rest of them. This is probably something they're laughing about right now. That is unless you feel anything? Not to be pervy, but...it looks like you did..."

[Alana Cortese]

"Don't worry about that. It's nothing," Alana assured him. "I figure you'd be a lot more 'excited' to see another girl in her underwear. Doesn't look like you are." Oh damn... Too bad the dad heard that comment. When he saw what was going on...he nearly lost his life.

"I was wondering when you were finally going to do that, son," he said to Noland. "Good job. You better have used protection...or else."

"Are you kidding me right now?" Alana asked him.

"Yes, I can clearly see her on the floor. I'll deal with that in a second."

"I'm talking about what you just said!"

"Look, I get you have whatever you call a 'friendzone' going here, but come on. Your mother and I were doing things like this every other day... That didn't sound too good... Anyway, unless one of you were gay, there's no way in hell another guy is coming to you late at night on occasion without smashing. Plus, you're both at that stage where you're not even fazed to be around in each other in underwear... I meant 'each other', not... I'm sorry, but I just can't believe that you two are just 'friends'. Something is definitely going on here. You either don't want to see it or something's preventing you from seeing it."

"..."

"Anyway, Noland, don't you ever come here like that again. You hear me?"