Chapter 13: Cyber Nightmare

Mira didn't like leaving the others, especially because she couldn't tell them why. Maybe Ace knew, but she imagined the rest didn't, and yet Zero…Nellis, whatever their real name was, backed her up. She was grateful for that and promised that she'd make it up to them when she got back, but right now, there was something she needed to check.

Lucky for her, the city had hardly changed, and with the Vexos not putting things like their wanted posters up, she could easily flag down a cab and ride to her old residence. Walking up to it, she saw the apartment building was the same as she had left it, luxurious, clean, and yet…disgusting and tainted. Entering, she didn't find anyone outside like old or new neighbors, which saved her time, but it was unsettling when she came to her old apartment’s door.

She worried about what she'd find but also hoped that she'd also see, hear, or just-

Mira took a breath and, without thinking, pulled out her old keys, only realizing this when she had already held them up to the lock. She was about to retract them and break in, only for the door to ping, recognizing the key and opening without issue.

"Did he never remove me from the login group?" Mira asked, perturbed. Looking into the entry hallway, she spotted…nothing different. The place looked the same, from the plants to the paint; it was as if it had been a time capsule, and yet, there seemed to be no one home.

‘It was foolish to believe he would be; Dad's always busy with his work…' Mira's frown grew as she recalled what that 'work' was, but she stepped in anyway, the door closing behind her. As she walked deeper in, she was hit with memories. Memories of her brother greeting her with a smile when she returned from school or outings. Catching him doing his homework long after she finished because he procrastinated. She teased him when she entered his room in the evenings and found him working on something on his computer.

She looked through the place, ending in her brother's bedroom, which, like the rest of the place, was untouched.

Mira could tell he had not returned and that her father probably didn't bother with entering as there were still signs of life, the same ones she had seen then, from how his bed sheets were a little crumpled, his desk chair wasn't fully in, how a book on the table was opened to a page on math. At the same time, his Bakugan stand, which he dutifully cleaned every night and had been just a little dusty before, was now dull, its shiny metal muted by a thick layer of dust.

She held out hope that maybe…maybe her brother would have come back while she was gone, but that turned out to be a foolish wish. Gathering herself, she took her brother's computer to the living room and booted it up. Recalling his password was easy, allowing her to access everything she could on it.

There were the typical files, school stuff, family stuff, photos, and games, but the biggest and most detailed were his notes and data on Bakugan. He was an avid fan of the game and had a great interest in it, enough so that her father often discussed how he could have tried to join the Vexos or joined him in researching Bakugan.

'He cared too much about the Bakugan to leave it all behind. No, I just know it was because he cared that he vanished; what other reason is there?' 'So, I just need to find what it was; if there are any clues, then a good place to start would be here, where he recorded everything.'

“I know, if I just keep looking but,” As she looked, she found that he had files on more than Bakugan and brawling; he was also on the arenas, though for some reason, he had pictures of them together in those files. They looked happy and safe…but why would he put them here when he had a dedicated folder for this? “I feel like something is wrong, that there is something here I’m just not seeing.”

"I know you're fighting to free the Bakugan like me, but why couldn't you tell me or leave behind an easier clue?" Mira asked, vaguely smiling as her brother did like to mess with her. “What do you think, Wilda?” She turned to her Bakugan partner, who had been strangely silent

“Well, I…”

She turned her attention towards him, a little worried. “Wilda?” She would get no answer in time as the front door opened. Having not expected anyone to follow her; Mira jumped to her feet.

“Whose there?” She demanded, ready to defend herself but stopping when she saw it was her father, who looked just as surprised to see her.

“Mira…you’ve come back,” Her father, Professor Clay Fermin, greeted her with a smile. He seemed almost relieved to see her.

“Father.” Mira, on the other hand, was on guard with him as he walked deeper into their apartment. Mira wondered why he was home so early as she recalled that he left early and came home late.

Clay saw how she was acting and only rolled his eyes at her. Still, he quipped. "Well, I'm glad you've finally come to your senses."

“Never! If it means enslaving the Bakugan, then I’ll happily remain crazy.” Mira fervently denied that.

"Honestly, teenagers and being overdramatic, " her father sighed, which only angered her to see him still treat her and the topic like it was child play. Why can't you just enjoy your easy life, Mira? I've worked hard to ensure that you want for nothing."

She spat in the face of such an assertion. “How can I enjoy it when it’s built on the misery of others? How can you even ask me that? Or is it about your research? What could be so important that you’ll do such awful things, father? Tell me!” She wouldn't let him walk away; she refused to leave without getting answers and destroyed the dimensional controller.

His face twisted into annoyance when she brought up his work, as if she could ever understand. "Enough! These aren't things that you should know about; I told you this before."

“Then where is my brother? Where is Keith?” He flinched, but she wouldn't back down. That response was enough for her to pick up that he knew something—something she didn't. You always talked with him, more than you did with me. I know you and him spoke about your work. Maybe you didn't tell him everything, but you had to tell him something, didn't you?"

His lips moved, twisting and stretching as he nearly answered. Mira hoped that he would, but “Mira…your brother, forget about him.” He looked away from her, the light catching his glasses, making it impossible to see his eyes. “He’s not more, so please take my advice and forget you ever knew him.”

That response told her nothing, at least. She prayed it told her nothing because the other implication was…it was horrible. “Monster…” She uttered in disbelief. “You didn’t…that’s impossible.”

He turned his attention to her, having received a phone call that he valued more than the conversation. "What is it? I'm on my way." He ended the call and turned to leave, only for Mira to grab hold of him.

“Father, what happened? What did you do?”

He shook her off, looking at her like she was an annoyance and not his only daughter. “Pull yourself together, Mira. You’re not a child. I've said all I need to do on the matter is if you know what's good for you, you'll stop this pointless rebellion and do as I say." He let out a huff and turned to leave. “Lock up when you leave.”

Mira chased after him, but he wasn't slow, and by the time she caught up with him, he had already entered his car and driven off.

'No, not this time. I'm not letting you just walk away. You'll lead me to them if you won't tell me what I want to know.' She glared at the way he went, pulling out her phone and going to maps. Along the streets of the city, she could see a dot moving thanks to the tracker she had snuck into his pocket. Her father liked to run, so she had been prepared to chase.

Line Break

At the lab where Clay worked, he wore a lab coat as he walked down a hallway, being briefed on the progress of his other project. “You’re sure the tram system has reached the projected numbers?”

"Yes, sir, the data's right here and has been reviewed; no issues to be found." One of his assistants passed him the reports, which he skimmed, nodding when he could confirm nothing out of the ordinary.

"Good, I've been sidetracked with another project, so we don't have time to waste; we'll begin the experiment immediately." He increased his stride. He had been busy reviewing the battle data that Volt and Mylene captured on this Alban or Zero or whatever he was calling himself. He could confirm that his data was a near-perfect match to the 6 Legendary Bakugan, which made capturing him a priority for the Vexos.

But he had another project, one that he was much more invested in—so invested that he and his assistants didn't notice that they had a tail.

Mira had followed the tracker here and used a small trick that her brother taught her to get inside without using the entrances. Then, it was just a matter of snagging a lab coat to at least give the cursory appearance of belonging. Finding her father had been easy. He wasn't subtle, nor did he have reason to be here, so she managed to hear most of his conversation.

“This place is as busy as ever, but what is it this time?” Mira asked as she followed, using corners to keep out of sight. When he turned, she wondered where he could be going, only to feel the place shake, just like when she had last been there. That meant one of two things, but the more likely one was that they were conducting another experiment, and there was only a place here big enough.

Finding her way to a viewing platform, she quietly entered, looked out towards the staging area, and was shocked by what awaited her.

A mechanical bird almost as big as a Bakugan was being confided in place by a series of spinning rings. Its roar shook her to her bones as she looked on at its sleek body, seemingly built from the best of vestal science. But why would they need…

“What is that thing?” She asked herself, and Wilda came up to observe as well.

“I…I don’t know.” The subterra Bakugan replied as he had never seen anything like this. On the experiment floor, lightning formed from the rings and zapped the beast, which let out another roar that sounded like a horrifying mix-match of several Bakugan wails.

In another viewing arena, Clay observed with detachment for pain, for this was merely a machine that could not feel it. "Energy levels steady at 2500, " one of his aides, this one manning the control terminal, reported.

“Rise it to 3000.” He ordered, which made his assistants apprehensive.

“What? All at once.” The first asked.

“They’re strict guidelines, sir.” The second leaned in to try and advise caution.

Hearing that didn't deter him; if anything, it had the opposite effect. “We’re on the verge of a scientific breakthrough the likes of which never before seen. We don’t have time to worry about foolish guidelines, so increase power!”

“Understood, increasing power to 3000.” The aide gulped but followed instructions, increasing power as the mechanical beast was subjected to a great intensity of electrical power, but as it roared, its body started changing, not so much in appearance as in-

“It…is it shrinking or my eyes playing tricks on me?” Wilda asked as he and Mira watched as the beast was shrunk by whatever her father was doing. Mira was confused until she recalled something her father had once said. The girl had thought it was merely a thought, but…was this it?

“Don’t tell me…” She asked but got no answer, not verbal, as with a flash of light, the machine had done its job. The beast was gone, but in place was now a familiar sphere held in the air like a balloon would float.

“It worked, we did it!” Her father yelled joyfully as he rushed into the field before things could fully shut down. The sphere, small enough to fit into a child's hand, floated towards him, the man's eyes near glowing with insane excitement as he grasped it and held it up for all to see. “The power of a Bakugan…in a cybernetic body! We’ve created a new Bakugan!”

“That’s a Bakugan…that robotic monster?” Wilda asked, terrified by what had just happened.

Mira backed away, shaking her head. “Father, just how low can you sink?”

Line Break

“As I thought, security around the dimensional controller is tight.” Nellis sighed as she and the rest stood on a perch, watching the entrance to the building that housed the target or at least would give them the fastest access to it.

Lowering their binoculars, she wondered how they'd handle this, as the last two means of entry had also proven to be busts. They could attempt another distraction, but it would need to be a believable target. Even then, the supplies they'll need and the chance that it would be seen through made that highly unlikely and would probably result in a waste of time.

"Look over there, Nellis," Baron called out as he pointed towards the arena, to which Nellis did just that.

Ace, having already turned that way, saw that it was practically deserted. Only arena workers and some security were in the stands while two Bakugan went at it. However, Nellis's eyes quickly went from the two battling Bakugan to the weird energy building up off them like an electrical discharge, which was captured by the arena and funnelled upwards.

“I can’t believe I never noticed before,” Nellis frowned, lowering the binoculars. In the back of her mind, she realized that they had to be resting the arena's absorption rate before the big day. “The Bakugan’s energy is being used to keep them in chains, and they get it through battles.” On a certain level, he could respect its irony.

Much the same as how many of the more violent resistance groups back on Earth only delegitimized their cause and weakened support for them, only instead of it being a fault of common people being too self-righteous and, at times, purposely ignorant on why people would take such drastic measures. Here, the Vestals had found a means to make the very act of rebellion into tangible energy. Did all arenas in the city have it? Was it just this one?

Baron looked worried about their plans. "But what are we going to do? We can't use our Bakugan anywhere, but the arena and that'll just keep feeding the system." Ace frowned as well, as they wouldn't be getting close anytime soon, but Nellis recalled something and had an idea.

“Baron, you just gave me an idea.” Nellis smiled at Baron, who blushed though he had no clue what to feel about the pretty…he was pretty sure was a woman, smiling at him like that.

“What? I did?” he asked, and Nellis nodded. When one thought about it, it was really a quiet system. It came up all the time with electrical work, but more importantly, plumping.

Ace crossed his arms. “You mind explaining then, Nellis?”

“Later, it’ll be better to do so when Mira contacts us,” Nellis replied, only for his phone to ring. “Speak of the devil,” How quaint, she called him over the others.

“Mira, you’re right on time for your call. Have you finished your…part here?” Nellis asked when she appeared on screen, her background being pretty dark, giving little away of her location as she could be underground or in a building. She could just be under an underpass for all they know.

“Nellis, I found something much bigger than I thought, so I can’t talk much now," Mira replied softly, which gave further clues to her situation.

It seemed that Ace, who was but in, was lost on the clues. “We came here with a job, Mira. We have to destroy the controller.” Nellis glanced his way, wondering if he could read the hints or if he didn't have an inside voice.

Mira looked around herself, seemingly scared. Ace nearly gave her location away. Okay, so she wasn't just hiding anywhere but somewhere where she could be found by enemies. “I know that, but things are a lot worse here than I thought. I can't just let them continue without doing something, " she explained, turning back to them. “I can't get to you, but you can come to me. I'm sending you my location. See you soon.”

“Aaaand she hung up on us," Baron stated the obvious as Mira cut the call.

“What do you think this could be?” Ace asked.

"Whatever it is, it sounds like something better destroyed or captured," Nellis replied, getting a message from Mira that showed her location, which made her frown. "This is across town; we'll never be on time while on foot." She might be in better shape, but she wasn’t nearly as fit as Kallen, Suzaku or even Baron with how jacked the boy was. Even if she was, they couldn’t get there in time.

“Hey, I scored us a ride!” Nellis and Ace looked at Baron standing next to a cab, which Nellis had to give him credit for. The boy was proactive.

They boarded the car without wasting time, Nellis taking the front seat next to the driver.

"Welcome to Happy Cab! How may I be of service?" the robot asked. Nellis plugged her phone into the socket and quickly sent the location's details to the driver.

“I've sent the location; get us there as fast as you can." She requested.

The driver’s head snapped her way. “Are you sure about that?”

“Wha-” Ace held a hand, reaching for the controls.

"I'll handle it. We don't have time to waste, pal, so floor it!" Ace punched the literal big red button.

"Rocket boast activated. Fasten your seatbelts and hold onto your stomachs because here we go!" Nellis had to hold on tight as the taxi deployed its jet and took off, and not for the first time, she wondered why public transport even needed a rocket engine.

Line break

After she concluded her call, Mira went around the facility, trying to find out more about the…thing she saw. However, when she went to her father's office, she found his computer had nothing, the same as the terminal she had seen him working before. So, her only means of getting information would be to the central databanks, and a shortcut to them would be through a battle arena, similar to the ones she used to regularly use.

“I can’t believe it; this is like a nightmare." Mira frowned, only for the lights to turn on, nearly blinding her as she immediately went on guard, hearing someone laughing as they approached, and to her annoyance, it was a familiar laugh.

Turning, she saw it was a kid with pink hair, but if she didn’t know his name, his uniform would have given him away. “Lync.”

"You thought you were so smart coming here, Mira," Lync smirked at her, as he always did, as despite his age, he was often the cockiest of the Vexos.

“Your father’s a genius; it's a shame you didn't inherit his brain. We've been following you since you went home, and you didn't notice." He pointed out the flying mechanical bee to her back. Still, Mira didn't react as this had happened before, with the Vexos little trackers being hard to notice and harder to ditch without busting them.

Still, that meant that this had been a trap, but why let her see her father’s work? Why not stop her sooner?

Lync didn't pick up on her thoughts and kept talking, as always. “Amateur moves like that are why your little crusade’s gonna crash and burn, but I’m in a giving mood, so I’ll give you what you want.” He held out his hand, opening it to reveal what she had seen her father holding earlier, the fruit of his cursed research. “You came here to learn more about this, didn’t you?”

Closing his fist once more, Lync continued smirking. "It's real good news. Thanks to your father, a new day is dawning for Vexos, and I will show you why. And lucky us, we're already in an arena, so let's have some fun, right, Mira?" He pulled out his battle gauntlet.

“If you think I’ll back down, you’re even more of a brat than I thought." Mira mirrored that, putting it on and drawing her activation card.

“Gauntlet, power strike!” both cried out as the arena caught this and started up, but she ignored it as it was all things she'd heard before. The only difference was that this was marked as a test run, the first for her father's work.

Their brawl was interrupted when the wall and glass to the side burst, and a car came barrelling in to shock the two.

“What?” Mira yelled as the car crashed into the side, missing the two of them. Meanwhile, watching from the wings, her father glared at the interruption and yelled at an aide, demanding to know how they had gotten this far.

“Is that a cab?” Lync dumbly asked as the three resistance members slowly crawled out from the wreck.

"Thank you for riding. Happy cab-hah-happ." The robot was totaled, like the rest of the car, but Nellis couldn't bring herself to care.

Reaching for their back, she felt around as she stretched forward, trying to work out the soreness in her limbs. The last time she was in this much pain, it was after she had been forced to eject from her Burai. It would seem that Ace would inflict as much pain on him as that white menace and her stubborn fool of a friend. "Ace, you're never allowed to touch the controls again."

“Guys, you’re here!” Mira called out, relieved to see them all. Baron, the least hurt, waved back.

"In through some miracle, still in one piece after plowing through a building," Nellis grumbled as she looked around the place, noting that it was similar to the arenas she had partaken in the past and that it seemed from the lights that a brawl had already started.

“Oh, aren’t that nice? Now you can lose in front of an audience.” Lync managed to shake off the surprise from their entry, but while he recognized Ace and Baron, the third was a mystery. “Wait, who’s the new one?” He was pretty sure that they dressed like Zero, at least that was what Zero dressed in Volt and Mylene's reports, but he was sure that Zero was a dude, so what the heck…

Dusting herself off, Nellis rolled her eyes at the boy’s question. “Wouldn’t you like to know, little boy? Don’t you have homework to handle?”

That got under Lync’s skin as he yelled back. “What your mouth, old lady!”

Nellis reacted the same way stone did when you throw water at it. "Wow, truly, your retorts are as sharp as a blade, but don't you have a battle to return to?" She turned her attention to Mira, who agreed with her.

Ace snickered at how angry Lync was getting, as he was really showing his immaturity. “Just for that, I’ll make sure this sting.” Lync declared, pulling a gate card out and throwing it into the field.  “Gate Card, set!”

“Check this, Bakugan, brawl!” Now in a mood to prove why he was chosen for the Vexos, Lync threw his new Bakugan onto the field. “Bakugan, stand! Go Ventus, Altair!” Nellis noticed that the Bakugan was rotating even as it rolled onto the field…no, it was not rolling but seemingly sliding. Either way, when the Bakugan took to the field, she was stunned by what they witnessed as she had known about more robotic or mechanical-looking Bakugan, but this…this was something else.

“What is that thing?” Ace called out.

"I don't know, but I don't like it!" Baron joined in, though for Nellis, what she saw when she looked at this…mechanical creation wasn't a Bakugan but something else. It was like back at Narita when she faced that white knightmare, the Lancelot, after he had disabled his unit.

“Knightmare…” Ace and Percival heard her mutter but had no clue what she was talking about, though it seemed like a nightmare.

"It's a cybernetic Bakugan, and unfortunately, my father created it," Mira explained as the Bakugan hovered over them, its bug-like eyes watching them without a hint of emotion.

“No way.” Sirenoid, hidden in her clothing, gasped at the sight of it. She was filled with disbelief and rage, as she knew that the research to create such a thing didn't come easily.

“So, the dots connect,” Nellis noted, getting over her shock and thinking rationally about things, from how odd Mira's been to her sudden and unexplained side trip. She wouldn't announce her familial ties to evil if she were in her shoes. In fact, she had been in her shoes, both at Ashford and with the Black Knights.  'How ironic, another child of evil standing up against it. Is this fate or mere probability?'

“Wait, your dad made his own Bakugan?” Baron asked as Nemus couldn't believe what they were hearing.

Lync laughed at their surprise, placing a hand on his hips. "Don't act so surprised; vestal science can do anything and is living proof."

"You call that mechanical monstrosity living? First, Mylene's Bakugan trap, and now this. It seems the Vestals' scientific prowess is as vast as their depravity.” Nellis spoke for herself and also for her Bakugan. Elfrin was silent, but she could feel how much she was buzzing around. No doubt she wanted to scream out. And Sirenoid? If she could, she would drown half the building for this.

“Mira,” But that wasn’t that fight, and when Mira turned their way, she made that clear. “Make sure they learn a painful lesson.”

“You’re backing out of the fight?” Ace asked, somewhat surprised that their newest member didn’t want a go at the Vexos’ weakest member.

Nellis shook her head. "You want to tell me she'll need help? We came here on a search-and-destroy mission. Why not add the Vexos new toy to that list?”

“I have faith that she’ll win!” Baron declared. They had been worried about the drive here, but if this was what awaited them, then they could sit back and watch.

Ace shrugged but didn't break from the group. “Make it fast.”

Mira smiled at them, happy that they held such faith in her, even when she hadn't been the most forthcoming, but she had a battle to win right now. Stepping to the plate, she looked at Wilda. “I need you, Wilda. Let’s end this now.”

“I’m here for you, Mira. Always.” She took comfort in that response and assurance.

“Thank you. Bakugan, brawl!” Mira threw him into the field. “Bakugan, stand! Subterra Thunder Wilda!” The giant, lumbering volcano took the field with a power level of 450. Still, their opponent would start with the advantage, having a power level at the same level as Brontes of 500.

Having calmed from the interruption, Professor Clay watched the battle as it unfolded, ready to learn what he could so he could further improve his research. "Now we shall see," he didn't even notice his daughter anymore. "What my cybernetic beauty can do."

Lync made the first move on the field, pulling one of his new ability cards. "Ability Activate! Spinal Saucer!” From the rings on the Bakugan’s wings, glowing rings of Ventus energy forced and detached, boasting its power by 200.

Mira, seeing that, wasn’t idle. “Ability Activate! Gun Rock!" Magma started forming and heating up from his boulder shoulders before Wilda sent the two blasts of molten rock toward Altair. However, while he had also gained 200Gs, it was still the weaker of the two, not that it mattered as his attack missed, the mechanical Bakugan avoiding it.

But the two rings it had formed and sent out stuck home, Wilda tanking them, but not without some difficulty and pain.

"That thing is powerful," Baron stated, Ace looking similarly worried. However, Nellis was a statue, lavender eyes watching, analyzing, and learning.

Mira was similarly cool-headed as she pulled out another ability to even things. "We're not down yet, ability activate! Volcano Hammer!” Having got his footing, volcanic gas was vented out from Wilda's feet, not so much allowing him to fly as it allowed him to jump far higher than a Bakugan his size should, easily getting the upper hand on Altair as he drained 200 from his opponent and added it to his own.

That different flipping from a 50Gs in Altair's favor turned into a 350Gs advantage in Wilda's, which he didn't waste as he brought a hammer fist down into the mechanic Bakugan’s back. The beast let out a groan as it was sent hurtling down to the field, where it had a hard landing.

"Of course, she wouldn't make it east; Altair's vulnerable like this…, but that is still an opportunity to observe," Clay's annoyance faded into a clinical professional his occupation entailed, but when he saw one of his aides acting like a fool, he called it out. "Don't just stand there; take down notes!"

“So, still got some fight? That’s just because you don’t know when you’re beaten! Double Ability Activate! Mega Shield plus Thunder Fire!" The mechanical Bakugan created an energy shield around itself while similar colored electricity gathered around its tail. The effects of both cards seeing the mechanical Bakugan regain its lost 200 Gs, while removing 200Gs from Wilda, turnings things against Mira.

“Bakugan trap, I need you! Subterra Baliton!" As she threw the Bakugan trap into the air, she and the rest missed how Nellis' gaze snapped in her direction; something cold and dangerous in them before, as fast as it appeared, it was gone.

What formed on the field was a giant, powerful-looking Bakugan that reminded Nellis of a Rhino, only much more armored like an armadillo. Its protective shell was covered in large spikes, and it had a long tail with sharp nails along its end.

Right as he appeared, Atlair made its move, but the lightning storm didn't hit Wilda. Instead, it was blocked and seemingly absorbed by Baliton's spikes. Nellis chuckled, as she knew it was more about Mira's side's combined power level being much higher. Still, she liked to think it was the fact Subterra would ground lightning.

"Doesn't matter; we're not done yet-!" Lync stopped when he noticed that Altair, along with the rest, was acting up, jumping electrically from part to part as it seemed to struggle to stay airborne. “Something’s wrong, Altair!”

"Its energy endurance is failing, " one of Clay's aides informed him, the professor tickling his teeth as he suspected as much.

"The booster system can't handle it. Double ability drains too much power.” Admittedly, that was an error on his part. He should have designed it to handle such power output from the start, not having put it aside for a later upgrade, but they could still salvage this.

“It’s causing energy feedback to 3 systems,” he said, turning to the aide manning the terminal, which gave them access to Altair's systems. Increase server capacity; raise it by 30%!"

"Rising level, " the aide replied as he followed his orders, but that didn't stop Altair from acting up. While the power surge it was suffering slowly lessened, it wasn't as if it had been left undamaged by it.

“Anyone know what’s going on?” Mira asked, only to hear Nellis laugh.

“Isn’t it obvious?” The purple-haired woman crossed her arms, an arrogant smile forming across her lips. It's a prototype. There's bound to be some things they haven't worked out, and it looks like power is one of them, a common issue for these things." It happened with the units the Ashfords first made, it happened to the Guren in training, and he was sure it happened to the Lancelot as well.

It was unavoidable when creating something new, as there will always be issues you can't preventively account for until it's seen some use.

“So, all you have to do is just keep up the pressure and watch it throw in the towel!” Ace called out to her.

“It’ll be my pleasure,” Mira pulled out another ability card. “Ability Activate: Apollon Head! Let’s show this big pile of junk what a real Bakugan trap can do!” As he activated the ability, her trap’s spikes launched, not all that different from slash harkens, and wrapped around the body of the mechanical Bakugan, Baliton’s power level rising righter till there were as 300 Gs.

Retracting its spikes, the trap slowly pulled the mechanical bird towards them, which Lync wouldn’t just let happen. “Okay, you had fun; now it's time for another double ability."

“Another one? That’s kid wild!”

“But sir-!”

“No, this will yield greater data!” “Do it, Lync! Destroy them!”

“Father-!”

“Spinal Saucer plus Thunder Fire!” Lync activated the ability, creating yet another dual set of rings that slashed through the cords holding it down. That alone added 200Gs to Altair's power level. But the second ability, the one that saw its selectivity gathering around its tail, subtracted 300Gs from Wilda and Baliton and transferred it to Altair, solidly giving it the advantage—a big one.

“Mira, get down!” Ace yelled at Mira as she was too close.

"It's too much…" Nellis whispered, watching as the power gathered. It seemed like Alair wouldn't be able to contain it; its body seemed to be failing even before the move could be fully used.

"Do it, Altair!" Lync yelled as the Bakugan let out a roar. Still, its targeting systems failed as its shot didn't so much go wide, as its tail whipped about, aiming for the ceiling and firing a blinding light of energy through it, through the building, and even through the dome of Alpha City. The glass-like material melting from the intense heat as people went about their day, crying out in confusion and terror.

“What tha-it missed?” Lync asked as his Bakugan’s fried and fell to the ground, the impact making the damage suffered by the field even worse as the field shut down, the battle ending in a draw.

"Mira!" Ace called out, racing over and grabbing her shoulder to pull her along. "We gotta get out of here!”

“But-!”

"We don't have time; that last shot might bring the entire roof down on us!" He told her as she spared Lync and her another look but also turned and ran.

Line Break

And we have the second chapter of the month. I nearly thought it would be the last, but nope. The month's days are organized so that you all will get a third chapter before it ends—lucky! Also, without that commission, I don't have to worry about an upload tomorrow. Well, I'm outside planning those DLC chapters and working on those WIPs I've talked about.

The chapter was a bit of a bore to write but also easy. You'll see what I mean as you read it; there's no point spoiling that there. One last thing: the poll will stay up until next week, then I'll take it down and check the results. It'll then be posted on Ao3 and FF.net for those who read my stuff there.