Episode 15: I Declare War

[Noland Hardy]

"Disgusting... Bakugan and Achron...working together... You should be ashamed, Drago. Your ancestors would be very disappointed if they knew about this," Betadron expressed to them.

"Now look who's trying to talk on the battlefield," Drago retorted. "Right now, you're far worse than anything Achron is."

"You really believe that? Wow... Your father and the Hydranoid you've encountered really didn't tell you anything. Shocking... I'm almost hoping you get to live to understand the gravity of your mistake. Let's get down to business, shall we?"

On cue with Betadron finally beginning to stage his attack, Dante, Vergilius, Leon, Wolveride, and Kuzuha stood beside him. Asuka followed their lead. She tapped her necklace, which caused a golden warrior similar to Geos to materialize in front of her. This being was very familiar to the few times Asuka has appeared in front of people. It was the Achron being belonging to the strongest woman of the Silver Knights: Iota Epsilon Ares, or just Ares for short.

"I will leave her safety to you, Master Blaze," Ares formally acknowledged. "Now then..."

Two weapons formed out of golden light into Ares' hands: a golden staff on the left and a golden lance on the right. This lance was abnormally big. It was about 1.5 times Ares' size. How Ares was able to carry that one-handed was anyone's guess, but it did speak wonders for his physicality. They overshadowed the round sheath on his back. There were six openings labeled with each attribute symbol. In each opening, there was a sword.

"You had plenty of time to go back where you came. Final chance before it gets really ugly for you," Noland offered no matter how futile the offer was.

"Well, it seems like you're all setup now. How nice of me to allow such a boring routine. Go ahead. Try your best," Betadron challenged.

(Boss Theme 2)

[Noland Hardy]

Drago surveyed the large list of opponents. What Betadron was going to have them all do was anyone's guess. Drago did expect to be engaged by Leon and Vergilius, but he was unsure about everyone else. Specifically...what will Alex and Daniel do?

Ares didn't waste anymore time trying to talk their way through this or to figure something else out. He stabbed the ground with his lance to emit a golden wave of light all around him. Consequently, Drago was also caught in this attack, but he was unbothered. He took the attack without moving and forcefully shrugged off the deleterious light that threatened to melt his skin and entire existence. Betadron and his lackeys were similarly struck. Golden light started to consume them. Soon, they will disappear into the light.

"Cool," Betadron commended. In an instant, the light on all of their bodies disappeared except for two: Daniel and Kuzuha. They bore the combined judgment on everyone else. "Before this one expires...she can use a forbidden card, correct? I felt it calling out to me... Cruel Embodiment!"

A truly wicked ability, it allows Kuzuha to copy a unique ability of another entity. Thanks to Betadron's assistance, Kuzuha now knew more than she should know, and could potentially use what she was never meant to use. The choice was a passive of Fury's: Till the End of Days, which causes all of existence to break down just by breathing. Such is the capability of one who wields apocalyptic energies. Kuzuha was nowhere near ready to wield such power, so her body began to crack very quickly. In a twisted fashion, Betadron extended this punishment to everyone else he had control over.

"..." Noland could see that the cracks on their bodies started to show up on the Earth. This apocalyptic force was threatening to end this planet and everyone on it, and then spread throughout the universe to bring everything to the end times. Tears flowed down Kuzuha's cheeks. The sheer power emanating from her body was too much. She couldn't bear it, but Betadron was forcing her too. Soon, they all started crying. Noland wanted to join them, because it seemed no one listened to him when he said that this guy was bad news...

"...You'd kill your own help?" Drago asked while bewildered at this choice.

"I've done it before. Works out nicely for me," Betadron smugly confirmed.

"Damn you..." Ares cursed.

"Achron has and always will be an inferior species. Move aside and bring the dragon to me. He's the only one who has a chance of stopping me..." Betadron ordered. As he said that, the effects of the existence-ending ability he forced Kuzuha to use slowed down... "...Hm...that's odd... You're slowing down this ability somehow... There's an energy coming from you that's doing this..."

"...That's a problem..." Asuka remarked on Betadron's ability to notice that.

"Isn't it?" Betadron sent his brawlers to go after Noland and Asuka themselves. Obviously, Ares and Drago paid them no mind since their objective was not to kill them. Noland and Asuka jumped backwards to get some space between them and their attackers. They then split up with Noland jumping off to the right and Asuka to the left. As expected, Petra and Sydney went after Noland, leaving Daniel and Alex to take on Asuka.

[Dark Calvin (World's Collide)]

Kuzuha gripped her staff tightly and threw herself at Ares and Drago. Ares may be slowing down Kuzuha's demise with an unknown ability, but any form of contact with her by either him or Drago could kill her. Ares couldn't care less.

"Spectral Pierce," Ares declared. Golden light poured out of the tip of Ares' lance. It burst from the top to surge energy through the lance. It now appeared as if it was half-invisible. Ares charged forward as if Kuzuha wasn't on his radar. The two collided, but when they did, Ares' lance phased through Kuzuha and struck her internally. Kuzuzha recoiled backwards and was flung several miles down. Luckily for her, Ares didn't put much force in it. Even then, Kuzuha was effectively one-shotted by this attack, so the stories of Ares' strength among the Silver Knights weren't exaggerated. Context is still key though. Natural durability is irrelevant against this form of attack, so there's practically no defense against this unless you can harden the inside of your body.

Ares continued his advance and went for Betadron next. Betadron and company stood completely still. He allowed Ares to strike him with the attack uncontested. The expectation was that Betadron would be flung backwards, but Dante was the one who was ragdolled from the blow and almost knocked unconscious from that and the impact against the several ruins he crashed into.

"You should be careful... You'll kill your comrades if you keep that up," Betadron said with a devious smile on his face. A dark arm left Betadron's body and smacked Ares towards Drago in an attempt to cause a collision between them. Drago easily halted Ares' advance by catching him. He slid for a couple of meters. Other than that, it was no big deal.

"Attack when I yell your name," Ares quickly ordered before releasing himself from Drago's grip and getting back into the action.

"...Sure?" Drago accepted. That's what he said to keep up the facade that he was actually going to follow directions. In his head, he was thinking something different. "Hope you have a way of severing Betadron's link to them. Otherwise...they're dead and we'll be next..." he thought.

"I would stop doing that if I were you," Calvin suddenly warned Betadron. "Those are two of the strongest on the planet. They're going to figure out what to do about your scheme.

"I'm aware this will be exploited eventually. I'll be fine," Betadron insisted.

Ares came at Betadron with the same approach as last time. This time, Betadron chose to respond in a...sickening way.

[Noland Hardy]

"Inheritor!" Betadron yelled out. A black rope-like substance with a watery texture to it left Betadron's body and stuck itself into the downed Dragonus' body. This appeared to be very painful for Dragonus. Having been yanked back into consciousness and being impaled by a murderous Bakugan, Dragonus let out a horrifying scream. Something large flowed through the rope-like substance and into Betadron's body. When it got to Betadron, a swallowing sound echoed through everyone's ears as it entered his body. What exactly he extracted from Dragonus wasn't clear.

Before he could be questioned about it or confronted by Ares up close, Betadron disappeared. In his place...was a measly human: Petra. Despite seeing this, Ares continued pushing.

"Seeker," Ares plainly declared. Through his eyes, a cursor was placed on Petra. This cursor moved through Petra's being and locked onto Betadron's energy signature. "Betadron Slayer!" Ares activated with passion. Ares got within striking distance of Petra. He pushed his lance straight into Petra. Rather than Petra getting her guts blown out of her body, Betadron himself was flung out of Petra's body. His back hit the ground like a meteor, and then he bounced up like a basketball.

"Drago!" Ares yelled to signal Drago to attack. Drago appeared behind Betadron using Hyper Motion. As soon as he did, he was assaulted by a myriad of dark arms appearing out of thin air. Drago swung his arm anyway to create a staggering force, which repelled these arms. This left Betadron open for an attack.

"Radiant Sear," Ares initiated. He pointed his staff towards Betadron. Out of the hilt emerged a golden light. It covered everything in sight. It even went through buildings. Betadron, Petra, Dragonus, and the others Betadron controlled were burning from being exposed to this light. Strangely...Drago was also burning from this as well...

"That's the second time you've hit me with one of your attacks..." Drago groaned. He didn't seem very bothered by it as opposed to the way Betadron and the others were reacting to it. Betadron was hissing very loudly and had a lot of difficulty moving. This seems to suggest that this holy light affects evil beings greatly.

"My intention is to target evil beings, not you specifically," Ares made known.

"Clearly I fall into that category, so it better not happen again!" Drago roared.

"He's obviously doing it on purpose, Drago," Betadron interjected as he got back up and unleashed his dark power to expand over the area. He repelled both Drago and Ares and overpowered the holy light rather easily... "You see, that's really the only reason why I'm not taking this fight as seriously... There's something he's not telling you, Drago."

Ares was comfortable regaining control of his positioning from the opposite side of Drago. With Drago's back turned towards Leon and Vergilius, the Angel duo attempted to jump him. "I'm listening if you want to tell me," Drago entertained as he got ready to engage them with his back turned.

"He finds the humans and Bakugan to be...disgusting," Betadron announced. "He's curious to see if he's strong enough to potentially dispose of you if necessary. He wants to-"

"Great Twilight!!!!!!" Ares yelled over Betadron. The hilt of his staff radiated with golden light while it dimmed the area with a twilight aura. A mesmerizing, heaven-like sound rang everywhere the aura was present.

"...reset your minds," Betadron finished.

[Noland Hardy]

Whether or not Betadron was credible was anyone's guess in Drago's mind, but so was Asuka and Ares' ability to tell him and Noland the truth. The thought that believing a villain over the protectors of the Earth bothered Drago. It distracted him for a moment.

"Chaining Strikes!" Leon leaped at Drago with the intention to pummel him into submission. As Leon threw his first punch, Drago ducked underneath Leon's fist and drove his left elbow into the lion's ribs without warning. He then grabbed Leon's face with his left hand, hoisted him up, and threw him directly at Betadron. The evil bastard moved to his right so Leon would miss him completely. It didn't look like he cared where Leon went.

"Sword Dance!" Vergilius wanted a piece of Drago, so he summoned a horde of swords to Drago's location. These swords began revolving around Drago with the intention of slicing him up.

"Dragonic Pressure!" Drago unleashed his raw power as a pressure wave around him. In doing so, he easily blew away the swords that came to take his life. He was prepared to attack Vergilius directly, but something happened that made him reconsider. A golden light washed over Vergilius, which healed some of the damage he took from Betadron's Black Burn. The same thing happened for Drago. Additionally...

"Thanks, Ares!" Vergilius thanked.

"Betadron's energy is gone from your body... That means..." Drago started to piece together what happened. Betadron's control over Vergilius was canceled. Maybe it was due to Ares' Great Twilight?

Alex, Daniel, and Sydney also ceased their attacks against Noland and Asuka. Well, for Alex and Daniel, they stopped some time ago. They were facedown on the street after being shot by a pistol Asuka had in her right hand. Sydney was unscathed for now since Noland was never threatened by her to take any lethal measures. There was an awkward silence as Noland and Sydney looked at each other.

"..."

"..."

That was a nice conversation.

"Fine... I'll admit it. That was a nice trick you did there," Betadron said of Ares' ability. "I suppose you're all going to gang up on me now?"

"Angels and Knights, withdraw!" Ares ordered. His voice rang through everyone's ears. Normally, Ares cannot order Eden's Angels to do anything. In this case, Ares thought it was necessary to try. He understood now that Betadron was beyond them, and their presence would only make this fight more difficult. Alex and Sydney are prime examples why. It was a blessing Betadron didn't exploit their Chaos Takeover modes. There was no need to give Betadron another chance to do so.

[Andrew Bullock]

Dimensional portals opened near the locations of every Angel, Knight, and their respective Bakugan, except for Asuka and Ares. They were all sucked into these portals and spat out next to Andrew who was camped outside of the city.

"Hear me out before you say anything. Don't go back to your base, homes, or wherever you go, until you get checked out by an expert on this stuff," Andrew advised them. "Despite what Ares did to you, it may not be a permanent fix. What happened to you happened to Tracy, and she's still suffering from it. Just a precaution just in case."

"Yeah... I know who to talk to for that," Alex then looked at the ruined New York City. He sighed in disgust. "...This shouldn't have happened..."

"I hate to admit this, but... We're lucky the Admiral and Noland were summoned. If they weren't here, we'd either be dead or used as puppets," Daniel noted.

"...You're right..." Sydney admitted.

Petra was too stunned to say anything. All she could think about was how they had to rely on involuntary assistance from both Asuka and Noland. No one else from the Knights or Eden came. Not a single Angel showed up to help her or Sydney. Was it because she had the nerve to date someone who happened to be the strongest brawler? How dare she! Her attachment to someone else deprives her of the RIGHT to not be left out to die by her colleagues? That's what it seemed like to her.

Not only that, but for the first time, she felt...useless. She knew and accepted that she was not the strongest of the Angels. Despite that, she believed in her ability to pummel her enemies into submission, but more importantly, to protect whatever it was that her enemies were trying to take, destroy, or whatever evil deed they wanted to pull. Her confidence in herself took a big hit, because Betadron took control over her so easily. And now this entire city is destroyed...

"...Is the difference in power really this big...?" Petra thought to herself. "...Is this why Syd and Vergilius did what they did? Was it really foolish to think we could even change anything in Eden? 'Cus right now...I feel...weak..."

Andrew and Desiree - presumably cloned versions of them - rode onto the scene on Hades' shoulders. Hades stopped where Noland and Asuka were and allowed them to hop off. It then went off to join Drago and Ares in confronting Betadron. While Andrew had Noland and Asuka's attention, he informed them of his plan.

"Any ideas on how to beat him?" Andrew immediately asked. Great plan! He had no plan after all.

[Noland Hardy]

"No more corruptions and we'll beat him the way he is now," Noland kept short. It really was that simple. "I'm not sure how much energy he needs to break free of his seal, so anymore interruptions could put is in the danger zone."

"We're not there already?" Desiree asked while surveying all of the damage Betadron already caused.

"No," Noland answered with a monotone voice. It was like he wasn't worried. "Has the media broadcasted this mess?"

"Well...I think that goes without saying..." Desiree figured.

"Then we're screwed," Noland concluded.

[Noland Hardy]

The reason why they're all screwed will become obvious very soon. Around the United States, news networks were reporting breaking news: a Betadron-influenced Calvin Kuro wiped out New York City. CNN, Fox, NBC, and other news networks' behavior did what was typical of them: showing who the enemy was, shaming someone for what he/she did or didn't do, and asking why this situation hasn't been resolved yet. The first point from that list was the most important. Why? Consider this statement: you can spend years getting someone to like you, but if you mess up once, everyone may suddenly hate you.

With that in mind, one could guess what the reaction to Calvin's actions and overall involvement in this attack would be. People HATED Calvin right now. The once beloved champion of the PBL was now a devil. He destroyed New York City, injured - and possibly killed - several Secret Service agents, nearly captured four sovereign brawlers (Alex, Daniel, Sydney, and Petra), and - the worst offense of all - he didn't seem apologetic at all for what he has done. Nevermind the possibility of being manipulated by Betadron and that the actual Calvin wouldn't have done this.

Well...maybe he would've since he willingly sold his soul to Betadron, but the point still stands!

Betadron himself was very happy about these events. He could feel the judgmental gazes from all of the citizens. It reaked of vile, disgusting hatred. He relished in that. Somehow, it was making him stronger...

"This is bad..." Drago sounded the alarm. He could feel Betadron's alarming increase in power and the siphoning of energy from all over the country. "So not only are you powering up, but you're healing very fast too..."

"Genetics are a wonderful thing," Betadron commented about his ability to do this. "Still...this is happening slower than I would like... What is this damn Achron doing...?"

After hearing Drago's analysis, Ares thought of something. A Darkus-colored light shone from the bottom opening of the round sheath on his back. Betadron then felt a wave of energy attempting to inhibit his powers. Since this energy came right when Ares' sheath lit up, Betadron put two and two together and figured it was supposed to counteract Darkus in some way.

"Breaking Dawn," Ares activated with an ominous-sounding tone. Ares' staff shone like a twinkling star. A light-orange color blanketed the sky as if the sun was setting. Within seconds, a large column of light beamed down from above and smothered Betadron. The same happened to Drago as well. The only difference between the two was that Betadron was roaring in pain while Drago was unharmed.

"Lightbringer," Ares consecutively activated. His armor radiated with golden light. Looks cool, but it wasn't clear what effects it had. "Slayer Dance!" The staff and lance in Ares' hands disappeared in a flash of golden light. An orb of light popped in front of Ares to drop off a divine odachi sword. Before anyone could get a good look at its appearance, Ares took it and rushed Betadron while he was being smothered in the light column.

"Anger...Shroud!" Betadron defiantly roared. Darkness swirled up and down his body. The effects of this weren't immediately obvious, but as Ares consecutively hacked and slashed at him from multiple angles, Betadron squirmed, screamed, and winced from these hits...until he started not to feel them... Then he intercepted Ares' last swing with his bare hands, and crushed the divine blade just by trying to make a fist...

"Impossible..." Ares stated.

"Then why did it happen!?" Betadron asked while very amped up. He drove his fist into Ares' pectoral region. The impact of this punch was so powerful it cracked his armor. Ares was jettisoned across the entire city. The only reason why he was stopped was because Asuka tapped her necklace to automatically recall him back inside of it...

"Wow... That guy's a monster..." Noland said of Betadron's power.

"Indeed," Asuka agreed without objecting. She tapped her necklace again to resummon Ares in front of her, but his armor was still cracked from Betadron's blow. Still, he stood valiantly, but inside, he was hurting...

"Ohm..." Ares hummed. He closed his eyes for a bit much like he did when he assisted Vince with fnding the Alternative's weak point. When he opened his eyes, the current situation became more clear to him. "It appears that attacks designed to combat dark beings and thwart health regeneration don't affect him much, if at all," Ares noticed. "Furthermore, his energy absorption and healing factor are much faster than the rate at which I could cap it. It might be even better than Drago's. I'm not sure who or what this being is, but he is very different from the ordinary evil... It's like a primordial darkness... I suggest the deployment of a Lost General."

[Noland Hardy]

"I suggest I take the lead and deal with him myself," Noland proposed.

"You're intending to fight him all by yourself?" Asuka asked just to make sure she was hearing him correctly.

"I think that if Ares was a Bakugan, Betadron would have been defeated already. He's still here, and he is massively stronger than what he was when he first emerged. It's because of what Ares is. If you or Ares go back in this fight, with the rate his power increase is going, it's possible he might kill us all before he gets released from the Doom Dimension," Noland believed. "He cannot easily corrupt me, and it seems that his strength increase should slow down when facing Drago. That's why I'm going at him alone."

"...I respect that decision..." Asuka admitted. "But understand that we can't afford to fail here, so...I'll be monitoring your situation closely and will intervene if the situation gets out of hand."

"Fair enough," Noland compromised. "Nero, stay alive, but stay away. If I get overpowered and need some battle energy, I'll need you."

[Andrew Bullock]

From Noland's assessment, Andrew assumed that if he stayed there, he'd be in trouble. Everyone knows he has been corrupted before, but now he's many times more dangerous than he was back then. If Betadron gets him...well, Lord have mercy on everyone else...

"I'll hold you to that," Andrew proclaimed. "Make sure you watch yourself as well... You're vulnerable too, you know."

With that said, the Andrew and Desiree clone disappeared in a flash of light. It was unknown if they were dispersed intentionally or if they teleported somewhere else. Asuka recalled Ares and flew backwards to get some distance between herself and the upcoming fight between Drago and Betadron.

In the meantime, the real Andrew and Desiree who were standing by outside of the city looked on with some concern...

[Dark Calvin (World's Collide)]

Now Noland, Drago, Calvin, and Betadron were all alone. Dragonus was there too, but he was literally sucked dry and was lying on the ground like a corpse. Calvin saw this and became conflicted over what he was currently doing. Betadron detected his doubt without having to look at him. He could feel it.

"You asked for my help, remember? This is just how it works out sometimes," Betadron said with a shrug and a chuckle afterwards.

"..." Calvin didn't respond to him. He thought his next statement to Noland was way more important. "I didn't want all of this. I wanted to make her pay... That was it..." Calvin claimed. "Why didn't any of you just comply!? This didn't have to happen! Why protect trash like her from getting what she deserves!?" 

[Noland Hardy]

"I don't know why they did. They should've just given her up if what I heard and saw were true," Noland answered very honestly. "But like Betadron says, this is just how it works out sometimes, especially when you want to do what no one else should do. It comes with the territory. I know. But you're responsible for all of this destruction, and you're nowhere near accomplishing your goal. All you're doing is letting yourself be taken advantage of. You should've just gotten it done with your own strength instead of relying on others to do what you want. That's the benefit to being powerful. You can make your own decisions. You did that once as a champion, but now, you're just another terrorist I'll have to take down for the good of everyone else. It has been an honor, Calvin, but this is the end of the line for you."

"Well then...this'll be exciting. Now I'll personally see just how far behind you are in comparison to that bastard of a father you have...HAD," Betadron announced. "Take the boy's advice this time and face me with your own power... No colossi this time, got it?"

"Not to give you tips on how to talk trash, but that would sound a lot better if you were stronger than me the way you are now. Just saying," Drago countered.

"That's the thing though... I am!" Betadron claimed.

"You hope to be," Drago assessed.

This riled up Betadron into spitting out a wide beam of energy from his mouth and aiming it in Noland and Drago's direction. Drago pushed back against this beam using his own raw power in the form of a red barrier that was barely visible. The clash of powers resulted in a massive earthquake for the entire area and even split the clouds in the sky.

"This could get messy... Watch yourself, Noland," Drago warned his brawler.

"Yeah," Noland acknowledged. "Let's get this over with..."