//------------------------------// // Rainbooms Rise and Fall // Story: Bakugan EQG // by Banshee531 //------------------------------// Night had once again fallen upon Canterlot City. And atop the roof of Dark Industries, we find Phantom sitting on the edge of the building with Ragnaroid curled up besides him The Bakugan then popped open and turned to him, "you've been quiet for a while." "Just...thinking." "Thinking about what?" Ragnaroid replied. "Nothing important." Ragnaroid didn't seem convinced, the Bakugan jumping up onto his knee and looking up at Phantom's shade covered eyes. "What?" "I can see it within you," he told him. "A look of doubt in your eyes. You don't want to help Sombra and Lucifer." Ragnaroid saw Phantom's lips quiver, "I know that look because I have had it myself." This surprised Phantom, who gave Ragnaroid and surprised look. "You really think I ever intended to free Lucifer back in Vestroia?" "You didn't?" He asked, Ragnaroid shaking his whole self in reply. "But you did-" "Only because it was my only choice," Ragnaroid stated. "Had the six Guardians of Vestroia not defeated me, I would have kept the power for myself. But instead, I was defeated and they sealed me within that cube. So, I knew my only hope of being freed was with Lucifer's help." "I see," Phantom whispered. "So you transferred the power to him, allowing Lucifer to break out of the Perfect Core." "And he was about to capture one of the arcs and bring it here, allowing me to once again be freed. And now I can continue my quest to become the most powerful Bakugan in all the world. Even more powerful then Lucifer himself." "Then why did you awaken him?" Phantom asked, "isn't he a major threat to you?" "What threat is he? He has no attribute of his own. And even if he's able to acquire more power, he'll pale in comparison to me. And eventually, I'll crush him myself and take whatever power he accumulates. But I'll need a partner to help me achieve that power." Phantom looked unsure about this, Ragnaroid jumping off as he got up and moved away from the edge. He turned his back from Ragnaroid, who watched with baited breath. "I don't know. Sombra and Lucifer are the ones who made me who I am. To simply turn my back on them..." "Answer me this," Ragnaroid told him. "For what purpose were you created?" Phantom remained quiet for a moment, but then spoke. "My purpose was to become the most powerful Brawler in the world." "And how can you be the most powerful, when you're stuck serving another? Only by defeating all those around you, can you truly deem to call yourself the best. And that includes beating Sombra and Lucifer." Phantom stayed quiet for a moment, then spoke again. "You may have a point. But still..." Ragnaroid then leapt into the air and landed on Phantom's head, the Bakugan glowing along with Phantom. "What are you doing?" "So that's it," Ragnaroid chuckled. "A bit of master Lucifer's energy's in your brain. So that's how you can do what you do and feel like you need to be loyal to him. Well, that needs to be fixed." "What do you-AHHH!" He gripped his head as he fell to his knees, the light around him being absorbed into him before he started coughing. As he did, a white mist-like energy flew out of his mouth and disappeared into the air. "There," Ragnaroid leapt off his head, "I was able to force out what Lucifer used to control you, but was able to keep what makes you you. Now," he turned to look up at him, "how do you feel?" "Err..." Phantom moaned before turning to him, "different. Like...my head feels a lot clearer." "Then let me ask you this. What would you rather do? Spend the rest of your days as someone's loyal lapdog, or actually try and be the best, like no one ever was?" Phantom thought for a moment, then smiled before standing up. "I wanna be the best. No...I will be the best. And nobody's gonna stop me. Not even Sombra and Lucifer." "That's what I like to hear," Ragnaroid leapt up and Phantom caught him. "But until we're ready to take them down, we'll need to make sure they think we're still on their side. That means doing what they told us to do." Phantom nodded, "and I know exactly where to start." The next day. Two weeks had passed since the event that had finally brought the team of Flash, Lyra, Heath, Bonnie, Soarin and their Bakugan together. In that time, there hadn't been any other attempts by Phantom or his flunkies to take Leonidas or any of their other Bakugan. This meant that the five of them could work on improving their skills as a team, doing multiple double Brawls to improve their teamwork. Now they were only a few days away from the big tournament that was coming up. But whilst they were able to work together, there was one problem they were facing. "I say we call ourselves the Awesome Brawlers!" Heath stated as they sat in the stadium's foyer. He looked around the table and saw his teammates frowning at him. "What? That's an awesome name." "It sounds like something a bunch of twelve year olds would come up with," Lyra stated. "We need something more refined and dignified." "Like what?" Flash asked. "I say we call ourselves Team Tsunami, because we'll barrage our opponents with wave after wave of defeat." "That sounds a little harsh," Bonnie frowned. "What if we called ourselves Rose Clover. That's the name for a five leaf clover. There's five of us, so it works" "We're not naming ourselves after a flower," Soarin told her. "Besides," Garuda jumped up, "shouldn't it be ten leaf clover since we're a part of this team too." Soarin nodded. "We should be called team Storm-Breaker. You know that sounds awesome." "NO WAY!" All except Flash told him, Flash letting out a sigh as he leaned forward on the table. "How can coming up with a name be so hard. Twilight and the others didn't seem to have this issue." "Yeah," Soarin nodded. "They came up with an awesome name in seconds. Rainbooms. Wish we had thought of that before them." The others nodded and sighed as they tried to think of something to call themselves. As they did, Derpy moved over to them from the front desk. "Hey guys. Still trying to think of a name?" They nodded and she smiled, "I'm sure you'll think of something. But remember, you need to have your name ready in time for registration. That's only three days away." "We know that," Flash told her before noticing she looked like she was about to leave. "You going somewhere?" "I'm heading over to help with the finishing touches at the main stadium." Said main stadium was one that was three times the size of the one they were currently in, which had been designed with only one battlefield. The brawlers weren't sure how the tournament was going to work, but they had a feeling it would be a free for all battle instead of the one on one battles. "You've been helping out a lot there," Lyra pointed out. "Of course," Derpy smiled. "The more I help now, the less I have to help in the tournament. I wanna be able to watch the whole thing without needing to be called upon. See yah." With that, she ran off before any of them could say anything else. "I wonder what they're making her do over there?" Heath asked, "what help could a receptionist be when you're preparing for a tournament?" "You should have asked her," Lyra told him. "But now that you mention it, I guess it is pretty weird. She's been really really busy lately." "Well like she said, she wants to be free to watch the tournament." Flash then turned towards the doorway, "I just hope Phantom doesn't show up and give her any trouble." "Why would Phantom target her?" Leonidas asked, "she's not a brawler." "He might grab her to use as bait to draw us out," Lyra pointed out before frowning. "Actually, I doubt that. I don't think Phantom actually met her. The last two times he was here, Derpy wasn't around." "Oh yeah," Flash leaned back. "That is weird." "Probably just coincidence," Soarin told him. "I mean, a lot of people probably come here and weren't around when Phantom appeared." The others nodded, though Flash continued to think about Derpy and turn back to where she had just been. "We should focus on coming up with a name," Bonnie stated. "Derpy's right, we only have a short amount of time before we need to register." They all nodded and began to think up new ideas, but still nothing they could think of was met with unanimous agreement. "Ahhh!" Heath cried, "why is this so hard?" "I wish Pinkie or the others were here," Lyra sighed. "They might be able to come up with a name for us. Where are they anyway?" "I don't know," Flash replied. "Maybe they decided to go to another stadium to train?" Twilight and the rest of her team weren't at another stadium. She had been on her way to the stadium, when Rainbow had sent her a message asking to meet her at an address Rainbow had sent her. Deciding to see what she wanted, she headed off in that direction. "I wonder what she wanted to talk about?" "Who talk about what?" Twilight turned to see Pinkie and Rarity walking towards her, the pair appearing to be going in the same direction she was going. "Hey Twilight." "Hey," she smiled, "did you get a message from Rainbow too?" "Rainbow?" Pinkie looked confused, "no. We got a message from Fluttershy." "She said she wanted to meet up at the basketball court under the highway," Rarity explained as Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Strange. Rainbow wanted me to go there as well. I wonder what they want to talk about?" The girls shrugged and all headed over to the area they were asked to head, which was a large highway that ran from one end of Canterlot to the other. Under a section of it, a fenced off area could be found that had been made into a basketball court with a bathroom next to it. When they arrived there, they spotted Applejack sitting on one of the side benches. "Applejack!" Pinkie cried, the girl looking up from what she was doing. Twilight saw she had a toothbrush and her ever faithful Bakugan. "Giving Fenroar a cleaning?" Twilight asked, Applejack nodding. "Yah. A'h used ta do this once a week. But ever since a'h learned Bakugan were alive, a've bin makin' an effort ta do it at least once a day." The other three girls nodded as they sat on the bench or the ones next to it, each taking out their favourite Bakugan and looking it over. "You ever wonder what they're thinking?" Twilight asked, the others turning to her. "Nimue said our Bakugan's consciousness are probably asleep within them. But a part of me wonders if they're awake and can see and hear everything around them, but are unable to move or talk on their own." "It's hard to say," Rarity stated before opening up Cleopal. "But if they are, I hope they know how much we care about them." "Gummy's the best," Pinkie smiled. "I don't care if I never win another brawl again. As long as I'm with Gummy, I'm having fun and that's what matters." "We talking about our awesome Bakugan?" They turned to see Rainbow and Fluttershy had arrived at the court. "Yeah, no Ventus Bakugan can beat Terraspin." She held up her Bakugan and smirked. "I remember when I first got him. I thought he was a completely useless Bakugan, but then when I used him he managed to withstand attacks from three Bakugan at once. He's like a freaking tank." Fluttershy held up Lepusinge and smiled as she placed it up onto her face. "I might not know what he's like, but I know he'd be an absolute angel." She rubbed it up against her cheek, "a rascal but one that's pure of heart." The others smiled at this, all looking down at their favourite Bakugan and thanking whatever god or cosmic force brought them all together. "Anyway," Applejack turned to Rarity, "what'd ya'h wanna talk about?" Rarity looked confused at this. "What are you talking about, darling?" Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Ya'h sent me a message, telling me ta meet'cha here." "No I didn't," Rarity shook her head. "I'm only here because Fluttershy sent me a message." "I didn't send any message," Fluttershy told her. "Twilight sent me a message, saying to come here with Rainbow." Now Twilight was confused. "I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't send any message." She turned to Rainbow Dash, "I don't suppose you sent one to me?" Rainbow shook her head, Twilight looking incredibly confused. "This doesn't make any sense. We all got sent a message by the other, telling us to come here. But now it turns out nobody sent the messages." "Someone had to have sent them," Rarity pointed out. "But who?" Pinkie asked. "Me." The girl's eyes went wide and they all looked around, eventually spotting the owner of the voice standing atop on of the fence poles with crossed arms. "Phantom!" Rainbow cried as everyone got up, Fluttershy jumping behind Applejack. "What are you doing here?" "I'm here to challenge you all," Phantom stated. "Sorry to trick you all, but I knew that if I told you, you'd likely bring Sentry and his little friends with you." "What's the matter?" Twilight quipped, "scared they'd take you down." "Oh please. Those fools are nothing I have to worry about. I just have other things to focus on at the moment. Squarely, defeating the six of you and removing as much of their support as possible. Now..." It was then that Phantom raised his arm and his BakuColar began to glow, then unleashed a bright light that shot towards the six girls and hit them before they could do anything. "LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!" "AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHH!" They all screamed as they were consumed, the light blinding them for a moment before fading. They opened their eyes and when they looked around, they gasped seeing something worrying. "The Doom Dimension," Twilight whispered. They were once again in the realm where Bakugan met their unfortunate end, the dark storm clouds exploding above them whilst the statues stood in different states of disrepair. It was then they heard a chuckling sound and looked up, seeing Phantom sitting atop a Mantris head with his Gate Card in hand. "Welcome. Here we shall battle and here you shall meet your doom." "I don't think so!" Rainbow cried as she stepped forward, "I'm taking you down right here and now." "Maybe you will," Phantom chuckled as Ragnaroid leapt onto his shoulder. "But I doubt that'll happen when I have the ultimate Bakugan on my side. It took Vestroia's most powerful Bakugan to defeat him." "And even then it was close," Ragnaroid continued. "The six of you shall be no challenge." "Then you won't mind if we fight you all together," Twilight stated. She and the others girls nodded as they stepped forward, ready to take him down. "Be my guest," Phantom smiled. "That'll speed things up anyway." As he said that, their BakuColars all beeped. Rarity: 100% Pinkie: 100% Twilight: 100% Rainbow: 100% Applejack:100% Fluttershy: 100% Phantom: 100% "Gate Card...SET!" Phantom threw the card and it hit the ground, exploding in a flash of purple light before Ragnaroid leapt into his hand. "Prepare yourself. For this will be the last Bakugan you ever face. Bakugan...BRAWL!" He threw Ragnaroid and he shot through the air and landed on the ground, rolling along before popping open and glowing bright purple. "Bakugan...STAND!" Ragnaroid appeared and let out a might roar, which caused the ground the shake and made all the girls suddenly fell very intimidated. Ragnaroid: 500Gs "Prepare yourselves," he hissed as he snapped his claws. "Make one mistake and I shall make you regret it." Fluttershy looked like she was about to cry, as she jumped behind Rainbow. "I don't like this." The others wanted to comfort her and tell her everything would be fine, but they honestly weren't sure if that was true. "It'll be fine," Twilight told them. "Who cares how powerful he is. It's still six on one." "Twilight's right," Rarity nodded. "We can do this. We just need to stick together." The others all nodded and whilst they still looked worried, they all stood in line and took out their Bakugan. After taking a deep breath, they pulled their arms back. "BAKUGAN!" They yelled together as they threw their arms forward, "BRAWL!" The six Bakugan shot through the air towards Ragnaroid and then fell to the ground, all six of them rolling along it before popping open. "BAKUGAN...BRAWL!" Tornadoes of fire, wind, sand, water, light and purple light appeared before Ragnaroid before fading to reveal his opponents. "Lepusinge/Terraspin/Fenroar/Gumigator/Cleopal/Spikenoid!" Cleopal: 410Gs Gumigator: 390Gs Spikenoid: 450Gs Terraspin: 430Gs Fenroar: 430Gs Lepusinge: 440Gs Ragnaroid: 500Gs "Ha!" Ragnaroid cried as he slithered forward, "this will be too easy!" He then swung his tail around to try and smash them all. Fenroar, Lepusinge and Cleopal managed to leap out of the way, whilst Terraspin, Spikenoid and Gumigator all braced themselves and took the attack. The tail hit them and they were knocked back, but in that moment the girls all held up a card. "ABILITY!" they screamed together, "ACTIVATE!" Each Bakugan unleashed their attacks, Spikenoid being first. "Spiking Strike!" Spike's back spins glowing before the light shot off and flew towards Ragnaroid, who managed to evade all but one of them. "Shell Saw!" He looked up and saw Terraspin flying towards them, transforming into a buzzsaw, the Darkus Bakugan holding his claws up as it slammed into him and ground away at his points. "Howlin' Force/Blank Stare!" As Ragnaroid threw Terraspin away, Fenroar and Gumigator unleashed their attacks. Fenroar fired a sonic howl whilst Gumigator's eyes glowed, Ragnaroid glowing as well. "Cats Eyes!" Cleopal leapt into the air as her eyes began to glow, unleashing a light which struck Ragnaroid in the chest. "Flaming Slap!" As Ragnaroid slithered backwards, Lepusinge shot forward and swung its ears around. He tried to block with his claws, but the force was to much and he was thrown backwards. "AUGH!" He cried as he hit the ground, everyone looking at their BakuColars and seeing his points drop. Cleopal: 410Gs Gumigator: 390Gs Spikenoid: 450Gs Terraspin: 430Gs Fenroar: 430Gs Lepusinge: 440Gs Ragnaroid: 0Gs "Yeah!" Rainbow cried, "we got him!" "Take him down!" Twilight ordered, as Spikenoid charged at the downed Darkus Bakugan. Before as he prepared to stomp on him, Phantom held up a card. "Ability, Activate!" Spike shot his foot down, only for Ragnaroid to suddenly explode into a cloud of dark smoke. "Shadow Divide!" The cloud split into six clouds and grew larger, then took shape and began to fade to reveal clones of the Bakugan their were brawling against. "Surprise!" Ragnaroid laughed before the six of them swung their claws around and smashed them into each of the six Bakugan, making them cry out as they were thrown backwards. Cleopal: 410Gs Gumigator: 390Gs Spikenoid: 450Gs Terraspin: 430Gs Fenroar: 430Gs Lepusinge: 440Gs Ragnaroid: 500Gs "He cancelled out our Abilities," Rarity realised. "No fair!" Pinkie cried as Phantom held up another card. "Ability, Activate!" The card glowed, along with Cleopal and Gumigator. "Super Co-Side!" The light shot off the two Bakugan and into one of the Ragnaroid, causing him to roar as his power increased. Cleopal: 410Gs Gumigator: 390Gs Spikenoid: 450Gs Terraspin: 430Gs Fenroar: 430Gs Lepusinge: 440Gs Ragnaroid: 700Gs "Super Co-Side?" Rainbow asked. "I've never heard of that ability," Twilight stated. Phantom laughed, "I have friends in high places." "So he has Ability Cards no one else does?" Applejack asked, as the Ragnaroid grabbed Fenroar, Lepusinge and Cleopal before throwing them at the others. Fenroar slammed into Terraspin, Lepusinge knocked Gumigator over and Spikenoid barely managed to catch Cleopal. "How are we supposed ta beat him if he has those?" "By working together," Twilight stated before holding up a card. "Ability, ACTIVATE!" Spikenoid threw Cleopal into the air before taking a deep breath, "Fire Burst!" Cleopal: 410Gs Gumigator: 390Gs Spikenoid: 650Gs Terraspin: 430Gs Fenroar: 430Gs Lepusinge: 440Gs Ragnaroid: 700Gs Rarity then held up her card. "Ability, Activate!" The crystals on Cleopal's scarves began to glow, "Gem Leech!" The crystals fired a blast of light towards the Ragnaroid that had received the Super Co-Side energy. "Ability," Applejack held up her card, "Activate!" Fenroar jumped up and ran as fast as he could, sand flying off his fur as he began to run circles around the real Ragnaroid and formed a tornado. Ragnaroid suddenly felt sand in his single eyes, forcing him to shut it as the Gem Leech hit him. Cleopal: 410Gs Gumigator: 390Gs Spikenoid: 650Gs Terraspin: 430Gs Fenroar: 430Gs Lepusinge: 440Gs Ragnaroid: 550Gs In that moment, Spikenoid launched the green fireball that shot towards Ragnaroid as the sand tornado vanished. "AUGH!" Ragnaroid cried as he was struck in the chest, causing him to fall back as his duplicates vanished. "Our turn!" Rainbow cried as she, Pinkie and Fluttershy all held up a pair of cards. "DOUBLE ABILITY, ACTIVATE!" They glowed as their Bakugan charged. "Shell Guard, plus Shell Spin!" "Aqua Claw, plus Ocean Assault!" "Power Dash, plus Flare Jump!" Terraspin's shell glowed before it started spinning, whilst Gumigator spat out a large bubble as its claws glowed. Meanwhile Lepusinge shot forward at incredible speeds before leaping straight up into the air, then spun around and shot towards Ragnaroid with his foot thrust forward. Cleopal: 410Gs Gumigator: 540Gs Spikenoid: 650Gs Terraspin: 630Gs Fenroar: 430Gs Lepusinge: 690Gs Ragnaroid: 550Gs The bubble exploded and rained down meteor drops of water, hitting Ragnaroid and making him stagger downwards before he was smashed, slashed and stomped on. "AUGH!" He was thrown backwards, hitting the ground and sliding along it. Phantom saw him coming and leapt into the air, causing Ragnaroid to slide passed him and crash into a Siege statue. "That got him!" Rainbow cheered, a smirk on her and the other's faces. But then they heard laughter and turned to see Ragnaroid pick itself up. "You think that's enough to defeat me?" He asked, then started slithering forward. "Don't you get it. THE FIGHT IS WHAT FUELS ME!" "Double Ability, Activate!" Phantom held up a pair of cards, as Ragnaroid's tail shot out and grabbed Spikenoid. "Viper Coil, plus Dark Light!" Ragnaroid squeezed the Bakugan tightly, making him cry out as his power was drained away. "SPIKE!" Twilight cried, as the other Bakugan charged in to help him. But when they did, Ragnaroid's head eye exploded with purple light. Cleopal: 410Gs Gumigator: 540Gs Spikenoid: 550Gs Terraspin: 630Gs Fenroar: 430Gs Lepusinge: 690Gs Ragnaroid: 850Gs The Bakugan all cried out, as all but Spikenoid were blasted backwards and each crashed into one of the statues and caused immense pain. Ragnaroid then smashed Spikenoid down into the ground several times before throwing him, the wingless dragon roaring before it crashed into the ground and rolled to a stop. "SPIKE!" Twilight cried again, seeing her partner pick itself up but looking pretty badly beaten up. "Now you see," Ragnaroid hissed. "How outclassed you all are." "This ain't over yet," Applejack told him. "We're not giving up," Rainbow almost yelled. "No matter how impossible it seems." "We believe in our Bakugan," Rarity stated. "They're our friends," Fluttershy claimed. "And we know they can beat you." "Because they're awesome!" Pinkie jumped on the spot. "So don't even try and make us doubt them." "Don't you get it?" Twilight asked, "you can't make us think it's hopeless. Because it isn't hopeless. When we're together, fighting as one..." "NOTHING CAN STOP US!" The girls yelled, unknowingly beginning to glow the colour of their chosen Bakugan attribute. Then, something happened that completely shocked the lot of them. A new voice filled the air. "That's right." Everyone's eyes went wide as they turned towards where the voice had come from, Spikenoid. "We're not letting you beat us." "You...you can talk?" Twilight asked in shock, only to then spot a purple light coming off Spikenoid and then saw she was glowing as well. "Of course we can," another voice stated and they turned to Cleopal as she picked herself up. "We were just unable to do it until now." "Cleopal," Rarity whispered as she saw the light around her. "But now it seems that is no longer the case," Fenroar growled as he stood up. "Lamb sakes," Applejack stated before noticing the orange light around her and Fenroar. "Enough talk," Lepusinge pushed himself up. "It's time we beat this guy, once and for all." "Lepus...singe," Fluttershy saw the red light she and the bunny were glowing. "Thank you," Rainbow turned to Terraspin as he stood up. "Thank you for seeing something in me. I didn't think anyone would think I was worthy of being used." Rainbow smirked, then noticed the green light they were both emitting. "No problem." Pinkie then turned to Gumigator, who glanced back at her. He then gave her a thumbs up and she laughed, then noticed the blue light then both shined. "Ooh, sparkly." "What's happening?" Phantom asked, turning to Ragnaroid. "How are they talking?" "Because Bakugan can do that," Ragnaroid replied. "It appears that whatever dark energy they were exposed to when Lucifer took the arc, has finally worn off. But how?" He thought for a moment, looking very interested. 'Was their friendship able to overpower the dark energy? How interesting.' "Watch out!" Twilight cried as she and the girls all took out their cards, "because the Rainbooms are about to make you cry uncle! Ready girls?" "READY!" The rest yelled as the cards all began to glow. "ABILITY, ACTIVATE!" Each Bakugan began to glow their respective colours, along with powering up. "TRIPLE NODE!" Cleopal: 710Gs Gumigator: 840Gs Spikenoid: 850Gs Terraspin: 930Gs Fenroar: 730Gs Lepusinge: 990Gs Ragnaroid: 850Gs Ragnaroid hissed as Terraspin and Lepusinge rushed forward, both preparing to cause him a lot of pain. And as he tried to avoid them, Fenroar and Gumigator rushed around him and prepared to attack from behind. At the same time, Spikenoid and Cleopal readied themselves for a distance attack. "Take this!" Lepusinge slammed his foot into Ragnaroid's chest, whilst Terraspin slammed one of his flippers into him. "Ability," Applejack and Pinkie cried, "Activate!" Fenroar's claws extended and Gumigator's mouth was suddenly filled with jagged ice, "Wolf Claw Strike/Glacial Fang!" Cleopal: 710Gs Gumigator: 1040Gs Spikenoid: 850Gs Terraspin: 930Gs Fenroar: 730Gs Lepusinge: 990Gs Ragnaroid: 850Gs The two charged forward, Fenroar slashing at Ragnaroid's back whilst Gumigator bit down on the end of his tail. "AUGH!" He screamed, then quickly wrapped his tail around Gumigator and slammed him into the ground. "Ahhhh!" The caiman hissed before Ragnaroid threw him at Fenroar, the wolf being smashed and thrown into the ground with a canine howl of pain. "Ability," Twilight and Rarity cried, "Activate!" Their Bakugan's claws began to glow. "Tearing Claw/Mad Scratch!" Cleopal: 910Gs Gumigator: 1040Gs Spikenoid: 950Gs Terraspin: 930Gs Fenroar: 730Gs Lepusinge: 990Gs Ragnaroid: 850Gs The two leapt at Ragnaroid, ready to slash at it him. But the snake scorpion hybrid quickly raised his claws, blocking their slashes but wincing at the feel as the claws dragged along his claws. "Is that all you've got?" "You're gonna regret asking that question," Spike told him as he and Cleopal leapt back. "I don't think so," Ragnaroid stated as he lowered his claws. "This game has been amusing, but I think it's for it to end." He opened both his claws, reveal the eyes hidden within them. "Phantom." He nodded and held up a card. "Ability, Activate." The eyes began to glow, "Dark Gaze!" They then shot out a bunch of purple laser, which shot forward and struck both Spike and Cleopal. "Ahh!" Spikenoid cried, feeling himself freeze up. "No!" Cleopal cried, unable to move, the others gasping before seeing Ragnaroid turn and point the lights at Gumigator and Fenroar. Both cried as two were frozen, Ragnaroid then turning them on Terraspin and Lepusinge. Both attempted to evade, Lepusinge jumping around and Terraspin taking to the air, but eventually they were struck by the beams as well. "Augh!" They both froze up and fell to the ground, the girls gasping before looking down at their BakuColars and seeing the new scores. Cleopal: 810Gs Gumigator: 940Gs Spikenoid: 850Gs Terraspin: 830Gs Fenroar: 630Gs Lepusinge: 890Gs Ragnaroid: 850Gs "Can't move," Terraspin moaned as he tried to pick himself up. "And we can't activate any Abilities," Rainbow realised. "What do we do?" Fluttershy asked, looking worried. "Don't sweat it," Lepusinge cried out. "My power's still higher then his. Once I can move again, I'll clobber him." "But that won't be for a while," Twilight realised. "And until then, he can activate all the Abilities he wants." "Who says we need Abilities to take you fools down?" Ragnaroid laughed. "He's right," Phantom stated as he pointed to the ground. "A simple Gate Card's all we need." The girl's eyes went wide as the ground suddenly began to glow, the light spreading to all the Bakugan. "Gate Card, open!" Each of the Bakugan suddenly felt themselves growing weaker, crying out as their power was sucked away. "Ragnarok!" "What's happening?" Rainbow asked before they all looked down at their BakuColars. Cleopal: 410Gs Gumigator: 390Gs Spikenoid: 450Gs Terraspin: 430Gs Fenroar: 430Gs Lepusinge: 440Gs Ragnaroid: 500Gs "He reset them back to their base power," Twilight realised before Phantom laughed. "I did more then that." As he said that, Ragnaroid suddenly felt himself beginning to power up. The light around the other Bakugan was sucked into the ground and transferred into him, boosting his power. "This is a Character Card. And for every other Bakugan on the field, Ragnaroid gains fifty Gs. Cleopal: 410Gs Gumigator: 390Gs Spikenoid: 450Gs Terraspin: 430Gs Fenroar: 430Gs Lepusinge: 440Gs Ragnaroid: 800Gs "We're in trouble," Pinkie gulped whilst Fluttershy looked terrified. "Maybe not," Twilight told her. As she said that, Spike suddenly felt himself beginning to move. "The Dark Gaze is starting to ware off!" Rainbow smirked at this and held up a card, but it still didn't activate. "But not fully." "Which means I can finally bring this Brawl to an end," Phantom smirked as he held up a card. "Fusion Ability, ACTIVATE!" The girl's eyes went wide as Ragnaroid brought both of his claws together. "EYE OF DARKNESS!" He yelled as he opened his claws and the eyes glowed black, a wave of shadows exploded out of them before flying towards his opponents. Cleopal: 410Gs Gumigator: 390Gs Spikenoid: 450Gs Terraspin: 430Gs Fenroar: 430Gs Lepusinge: 440Gs Ragnaroid: 1100Gs "No," Twilight whispered as she saw the wave heading towards them. But before it could hit it, Spikenoid suddenly threw himself in front of her. "SPIKE!" The other Bakugan did the same, shielding their partners as the wave struck each of them and they were all bombarded by an intense amount of pain. "AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHH!" The six of them screamed as they tried to endure the attack, but just couldn't. And all at once, the six of them were reverted back to ball form and the wave continued by striking the six girls. "AAAAARRRRRHHHHH!" They all screamed in pain, as they suddenly felt themselves blacking out. Rarity: 0% Pinkie: 0% Twilight: 0% Rainbow: 0% Applejack: 0% Fluttershy: 0% Phantom: 100% (Winner) When Twilight woke up, the first thing she realised was that she appeared to be floating. She felt nothing around her, but she wasn't falling through the air or suspended in water. It was like she was in space. She opened her eyes and looked around, spotting Spikenoid in ball form along with the others floating around her. "Guys?" None of them said anything, making her realise they were unconscious. "GUYS!" This awakened Spike, Rainbow, Applejack and Pinkie, who quickly looked around and saw the situation they were in. They then managed to awaken the others, who were just as confused at their current situation. "Where are we?" Rarity asked. "I don't know," Cleopal told her. "I don't like this," Fluttershy whimpered as Lepusinge turned to her. "Oh relax. We'll be fine. Promise." "Don't make promises you can't keep." The twelve of them turned towards the voice and spotted Phantom, floating several meters away from them. Ragnaroid was floating next to him and Twilight had a feeling he was smiling, just like Phantom. "What are we doing here?" The glasses wearing girl asked, "what is this place?" "Nowhere you need to worry about," Phantom told her. "Just understand that from this point on, the twelve of you will be working with me." The girls and their Bakugan all glared at him, Phantom not giving them a second to refuse. "Your first assignment is an easy one. Defeat Flash and his team and take their talking Bakugan. You will then hand them to me." "No way!" Rainbow cried, "we're not doing anything for you." "Ya'h honestly think we'd work with a creep like you?" Applejack nodded. "Or betray our friends," Rarity continued. "It's clear fashion sense isn't the only thing your brain has trouble with." Pinkie and Fluttershy nodded, whilst Twilight spoke up next. "I don't care how long you keep us here. Nothing will make us turn on our friends." The others nodded in agreement, but Phantom simply chuckled. "Oh, you'll help us. Our master will make sure of that." With that, they turned around and floated off. Twilight was about to call out to him, but they disappeared in a flash of light before she could. "What did he mean by master?" Pinkie asked, the others shrugging in response. But then, a bright light caught their attention and made them cry out and cover their eyes. They all looked upwards, trying to see what was causing the light but could barely see anything. All they could see was the outline of a humanoid figure, which appeared to be the size of a child who had eight angelic wings sprouting from its back. "What is that?" Rainbow asked, the Bakugan staring at it and suddenly being reminded of a legend from long ago. "It can't be," Terraspin whispered. "Not him," Cleopal gasped. "This is bad," Fenroar growled. "What is it?" Twilight asked Spike, who was shivering if fear. "The one who first brought Vestroia into a time of peace, then terrorised it." With that, the light from the figure increased and became so bright it felt like it was burning the girl's skin. "LUCIFER!" That was the last word any of them heard before they all blacked out, the light completely consuming the lot of them. The light that had originally been emitted from Phantom's BakuColar and filled the under-bridge basketball court finally faded. As it did, Phantom and Ragnaroid stood staring at the ground. There, the six girls and their Bakugan were laid out unconscious. "Did it work?" Ragnaroid asked, only to see Twilight and the others begin to come around. "Let's find out," Phantom replied as the girls picked themselves up. He focused on Twilight, who was correcting her glasses as he spoke. "Who do you serve?" Twilight turned towards him, as if confused, then gave a wicked smile. "That's a stupid question. Only one being has my loyalty. Master Lucifer." In that moment, Spikenoid leapt up onto her shoulder and opened up. "And anyone that gets in his way is our enemy." The rest of the girls and their Bakugan nodded, causing Phantom to smirk. "Excellent. Then you understand what is expected of you?" The girls nodded again. "Good. And we all know the perfect place you can fulfil your assignment." He turned to walk away, the girls following him. "Flash Sentry, and all his little friend, won't know what hit'em." Several days later. "WOW!" Flash, Lyra, Heath, Bonnie and Soarin cried out in amazement, as they and Derpy looked up at the giant building they were about to enter. Said building was the massive battle area that would host the tournament they had signed up for. It was a giant dome with six entrances, each one with a Bakugan Attribute above it, located in the same positions as the magic circle. They were currently at the Pyrus entrance and around it were several statues mimicking Bakugan one would usually associate with the Pyrus attribute. The was a Serpenoid, Griffon, Warius and several more. "Pretty cool, huh?" Derpy asked with a smirk on her face, the others nodding as their Bakugan leapt up onto their shoulders. "I must admit, it's certainly impressive." Gaia turned to Bonnie, "I was worried I might not be able to fit in here." "I wonder how many Bakugan this place can hold?" Wukong asked, Heath turned to him and shrugging. "This is totally awesome!" Lyra cried, jumping on the spot. "This is, like, gonna be the best tournament ever." She then realised what she said and blushed, "sorry." "It's cool," Flash assured her. "You're right. This is gonna be the best." "Then what are we waiting for?" Soarin asked as he stepped forward. "Let's get in there and win this thing." "YEAH!" The six of them headed inside, discovering it looked just as impressive as it did on the outside. The room was one large round corridor, which they assumed circled the entire building. This area was red, but further along they noticed the hallway turned green and orange on the other end. Several doors lined the back room, each with a sign over the top that said either 'bunker' or 'stands'. The bunker signs also had numbers under them. There were also multiple screens on the wall showing different Bakugan Brawls, the six even noticing some with them in it. "Must be showing previous matches from all the competitors," Lyra realised. "Exactly," Derpy nodded before pointing towards a desk with a long line in front of them. "That's where you confirm your team's registration." They all moaned, but got in line anyway and waited as the woman working the desk confirmed the people in front of them. It took ten minutes, but eventually they reached her. "Welcome," she smiled at them, "are you competing today." They nodded. "Excellent. I just need your team name and the confirmation code sent to your BakuColars." The five teens and their Bakugan all smiled, having managed to come up with a name they all liked. "No problem," Flash pointed at himself. "We're...the BakuFighters." "BakuFighters," she typed the name into her computer. "Yes, we have that name on record. Now if you can tell me the five different codes you were each given." One by one, the teen recited the codes sent to their BakuColars. When Soarin gave his, all five were confirmed to be the same as what their team's file had. "Excellent. You're now registered. Team BakuFighters will be stationed in bunker forty five. Please make sure you're there before the tournament begins." "Got it," Flash nodded as they stepped away from the table. "I wonder what they mean by bunker?" "I'm guessing they mean those doors," Bonnie pointed the the doors with the word written above it. "I guess we've just gotta find the one with a forty five on it." Derpy giggled under her breath. "A bunker is the room given to the team in order to rest or strategize. It's basically just a square room with benches in it. It also has a bathroom and vending machines to get food from. A person could spend days in one of them." "Cool," Heath smirked as they entered the Subterra area of the stadium. And as they did, he noticed a group step into the room. "Hey, look." The others followed his gaze and saw the group, their eyes going wide at the sight of them. It was the Rainbooms, but there was something different about them. They were all dressed in new, dark, clothing. Twilight was leading the pack and she was wearing a black button up shirt and black skirt, with a sleeveless leather jacket and boots on as well. Rainbow was wearing a back T-shirt with a blue thunderbolt on it, under a leather jacket with black combat pants and leather boots. Applejack wasn't wearing her hat, instead wearing a black button up shirt under a buttoned up leather overcoat, with black pants and boots like Rainbow. Fluttershy and Rarity were both wearing leather dresses, Fluttershy's having netting around the chest and neck, under leather jackets with black heels and net tights. Finally, Pinkie was wearing a leather skirt and crop-top, under a black leather jacket and black boots. Her hair was different from her usual look, now being straight and flat. The girls had black streaks in their hair, along with black lipstick, eye shadow and nail polish. "Wow," Flash whispered. He, Soarin and Heath were having a hard time looking away from them, whilst Lyra, Bonnie and Derpy rolled their eyes. "What happened to them?" "Maybe they're trying out a new look for the tournament?" Heath suggested before they moved over to them. "Hey, have any of you seen them in the last few days?" Bonnie asked, the others realising they hadn't. The girls had been completely off the grid. Flash couldn't even remember seeing any of them at school. "Twilight!" He called out, the girl in question turning towards him. The minute she laid eyes on him, a shiver suddenly ran down his spine. "Hey. Been a while. How have you been?" "Busy," Twilight replied darkly. "We've been...training." "Training?" Lyra asked before smiling, "well so have we." "Yeah," Heath nodded, "training hard to win this thing." Soarin turned to Rainbow, "looking forward to a good match." He held out a hand, "maybe we can finally settle the score." Then Rainbow did something none of them expected. She slapped the hand away and shot daggers at Soarin. "Oh, I intend to settle the score. And when it's over, I'm taking your talking Bakugan and handing it over to Phantom." The BakuFighters all went wide-eyed hearing this, unable to believe Rainbow would say that. "Dash," Soarin whispered, "what are you saying?" "She's saying we've seen the light." That wasn't said by the girls. It was then that a Terraspin leapt up onto her shoulder and opened up, "we're on the winning team now. Phantom's team." "You can talk?" Garuda asked, only for the other five girl's Bakugan to leap onto their shoulders. "We all can," Spike stated. "And now that we can, you're gonna find we're a lot harder to battle against." "Not that they could beat us before," Cleopal laughed. The others followed suit whilst the five brawlers, Derpy and their Bakugan all stood completely still in shock. "I don't understand," Flash turned to Twilight. "This isn't true, is it? You haven't really joined Phantom. You wouldn't." "Don't talk to me like you know me," Twilight told him. "This is ya'h only warning," Applejack started. "We're gunning for you," Fluttershy hissed with venom in her voice. "And we're not gonna hold back," Rarity stated. "We'll enjoy hearing you all beg for mercy," Pinkie told them. "Even though we have no mercy to give." "We're gonna wipe you out," Rainbow smirked as she said that. "And take you Bakugan for Phantom," Twilight finished. "So enjoy your time together." The six of them turned and walked off, the others watching as they left in a line. "It won't last much longer." The BakuFighters all just stood there, shock and horror filling them as their closest friends and rivals left. None of them could believe what they had just heard, but knew it was real. Somehow, Phantom had turned them against the BakuFighters. And now they had to worry about not only losing to the Rainbooms, but having their partners taken from them as well. "This...isn't good," Flash stated before turning to Leonidas. He could tell just by looking, that the dragon agreed. Down below the stadiums, underneath the battlefield, a secret lab had been constructed. Only a select few new about this lab, but to many others it didn't exist. Hidden behind a wall in the battlefield's maintenance area, it could only be opened by those with a specific thumb and retinal scan. And only two people had such a scan. One of them entered the lab, the wall sliding open to reveal the man known as Sombra. He smiled as he stepped into the room and looked around, seeing all the different machines along the wall. And in the center of the room, with cables plugged into it that come from the roof and ceiling, was a machine that was a round podium with a round glass case over the top of it. He stepped up to this machine and pressed a button, the glass lifting off the podium and allowing him to place a familiar Bakugan on it. "Ready?" Lucifer opened up and looked around as the glass came back down and sealed him in, the Bakugan chuckling. "Ready."