Lyra's mind was awash with images, as she felt herself beginning to come around. As she did, the images reminded her of the situation she was in. Of meeting the Guardians and being challenged by them.
As he mind cleared, she could hear a voice calling out to her. "Lyra...LYRA!" Her eyes flew open and she found the first thing she saw was Nimue, who was standing on her chest looking down at her. "Oh, good. You're okay. I was beginning to worry."
Lyra moaned as she sat up and looked around, seeing they were in a large forest. "Where are we?"
"This is Seadranoid's realm," Nimue explained. "The place where you are to be tested." Lyra got to her feet and looked around, seeing no sign of Seadranoid or anyone else.
"Well when's the test gonna start?" She asked, feeling worried she had just been dumped in the middle of nowhere and left to aimlessly wonder.
"I'm sure Seadranoid will make our test known to us," Nimue explained. "For now, let's see if we can get somewhere high and figure out the best place to wait." Lyra nodded and looked around, seeing there was actually a path up ahead of them. Seeing no better options, she began to make her way towards it.
As they did, Lyra couldn't help but wonder. "What do you think my test is gonna be?"
"I'm not sure," Nimue told her. "The Guardians said there was an obstacle holding you back from your true potential, so this test will likely have you face that obstacle. If you can't overcome it, you'll fail." Lyra frowned, wondering what that obstacle could be. But before she could think about it for too long, something came into view that made them both gasp.
It was a little old woman, who was only about four feet tall and dressed in ragged clothing with wild bushy white hair. She was laid out on the ground, looking like she had collapsed. "Are you okay?" Lyra asked, rushing forward and kneeling by her side. "Oh please don't be dead." As she said that, the little old woman moaned and opened her eyes.
"Young lady," she whispered. "Are you real or just an exhaustion induced hallucination?"
"I'm real," Lyra stated as she helped her sit up. "But what are you doing out here in the middle of the forest?"
"I could ask you the same question," the lady replied. "But to answer your question, I'm out here searching for a legendary spring."
"A spring?" Nimue asked.
"This spring is said to have the power to rejuvenate the body and grant those that drink it new life. It'd make someone as old as me feel like someone as old as you. But I can't seem to find it." Lyra and Nimue shared a look, having a feeling this might be part of her test.
"We'll help you find it," Lyra smiled. "Where's this spring located."
"It is said to be at the base of a mountain in the north," the lady explained. "But I have no idea where that is." Lyra frowned and looked up, only to then see a mountaintop above the trees.
"There it is," Lyra smiled before Nimue noticed something.
"Er...Lyra." She turned to Nimue and saw another mountain to their right, then they looked around and saw another two all perfectly distanced away from one another. Now she had four mountains to pick from. "Which one could it be?"
Lyra tried to think, then had an idea. "You said it was in the north?" She asked her new friend, who nodded before Lyra turned towards the nearest tree. She looked it over, smiling when she saw something. "Moss only grows north," she explained whilst pointing out a patch of green fuzz growing on the trunk. "So that means the mountain is in that direction!" She pointed towards the mountain in the same direction the moss was growing, the woman and Nimue marvelling at this.
"Incredible Lyra," Nimue told her as Lyra knelt down in front of the woman.
"Get on," she told her. "We'll get there quicker if I carry you." The woman nodded and climbed onto her back, Lyra hoisting her up. Despite the old lady being small, Lyra found she was rather heavy. She grunted under the weight, but kept going and began to walk towards the mountain.
"Thank you young lady," the woman smiled. "You're such a nice girl. So kind and so smart."
"Like thanks," she smiled before flinching and looking back the way they were going. The lady seemed to notice this and they kept going, eventually reaching the base of the mountain and stepping out of the trees.
There they found a large open field with many beautiful flowers, along with a large crescent of rocks in the centre. "Over there," the woman pointed. "The spring." Lyra began to move towards it but as they did, she noticed a stream that was originating from the crescent. At least it was the remains of a stream.
Instead of being filled with water, it was just a trench that looked dry to the bone. "But if the streams are dried up..." Sure enough, when she arrived at the crescent she found herself looking at an empty pit that they surrounded. "The water's gone."
"Oh dear," the lady sighed. "I was afraid of this." Lyra turned to her, "the legend says that the spring will only appear when it hears the sound of beautiful music."
"Beautiful music?" Lyra asked, wondering how the heck she was gonna do that. But then Nimue spoke up.
"Lyra, other there!" She looked around and was surprised to see a large harp located besides on of the rocks. "What's that thing doing here?"
"I don't know," Lyra was confused but realised she could use it. "Miss, could you please get down?" The woman nodded and Lyra carefully dropped her, then walked over to the harp. "It's been a while." She cracked her knuckles as Nimue looked at her.
"Lyra, do you know how to play this?" Lyra blushed and stepped forward, then started playing the instrument. She plucked at the strings with amazing skill, causing them to unleash a rhythmic sound that filled the field. Nimue and the woman were amazed by this, as Lyra played a perfect piece with barely any concentration.
As she played, the pit where the spring was supposed to be began to shake and rumble. But Lyra didn't stop and kept playing, causing it to continue. Then, from out of a small hole in the pit's base, a stream of water shot out and began to rill the bowl.
They were all in awe at this, as the spring completely filled and began to feed the stream as well.
As soon as the spring was filled, the woman pulled herself over to it and practically submerged her entire head into the water. As she did, Lyra stopped playing. "That was amazing," Nimue told her. "I didn't know you could play the harp."
Lyra smiled, "I haven' had a chance to play with everything that's been going on. Glad to see my skills haven't faded." At that moment, the woman pulled her head out and sighed.
"So refreshing. They were right about this spring. It really does have amazing effects." She got to her feet and to the girl's shock, she leapt a good twenty feet into the air before landing on one of the rocks. There she turned towards them and had a new look upon her face. "You have a good heart, and a strong mind. But one has to wonder what else lies within your ssssoul."
"What?" Lyra asked, only for the woman to suddenly become surrounded in a tornado of water. When the tornado faded, someone else stood in her place. "Seadranoid!"
"That'sssss right," the figure stated. "I chose you Lyra, for I ssssssaw much hidden potential within you. But you have allowed that potential to be squandered because of your own insecuritiessssss."
"What are you talking about?" Lyra asked, "I'm not insecure about anything."
"Oh really?" Seadranoid asked as he held up his hand, the Aquos Energy appearing in it. "Then prove it to me, and take the energy that you ssssseeek." With that, the orb flew into the air and glowed. As it did, the spring suddenly exploded and unleashed a massive amount of water that flew everywhere.
Lyra and Nimue cried out as the wave knocked them both down and surrounded them with water, the two barely having enough time to hold their breaths. When they recovered from the shock and looked around, they were both deep under the water body and looked up to see the surface ten feet up.
They quickly swam up and when they broke through the surface, they looked around and found nothing but water in every direction. They then noticed a lilypad that appeared out of the water, the pair swimming over and pulling themselves up onto it.
"What just happened?" Lyra asked, only for a blue light to make them look up and see a bunch more lilypads in the sky around them along with a bunch of power-up coins. And above that, the Aquos Energy was glowing as Seadranoid appeared floating next to it.
"Now your true test ssssshall begin," he explained before pointing to the water. "Behold your opponent!" Lyra looked down and as she did, she saw her own reflection in the water. But this Lyra was completely blue, her skin, hair and clothing all looking so.
Lyra was about to ask what was going on, only for her reflection to wink back at her. "Huh?" She pulled back, but the reflection remained the same. Then, it shot over to another lilypad whilst remaining intact before leaping out of the water. The reflection was now completely whole, landing on the lilypad and smiling as the girls were shocked.
"What is this?" Nimue asked, "how can there be another Lyra?"
"It has to be a fake," Lyra frowned as Seadranoid floated down next to the clone.
"Oh I beg to differ," he explained. "This Lyra is every bit assssss real assssss yoursssssself." Lyra didn't believe that at all, "and if you wisssssh to passssss thisssss tesssst, you mussssst defeat her."
"Fine then," Lyra stated as she held up her BakuColar. "Hope you're ready, fake me. I'm taking you down in one round!"
The new Lyra looked at her before she started giggling, surprising the pair. "Like, whatever. This is gonna be a total blast." She held up her BakuColar, "like...Bakugan Brawl!"
"What?" Nimue asked, "what is she talking about?" Lyra also looked confused, but she felt a strange sense of familiarity with the way that version of her was talking.
She quickly shook it off as he BakuColar glowed. "Bakugan Brawl!" The watches glowed and unleashed a light, starting the match.
Lyra: 100%
Lyra-2: 100%
The other Lyra held up a card, "like...Gate Card Set!" She threw it and as it landed on the water and exploded, she leapt into the air onto one of the lilypads. "Bakugan...BRAWL!" She threw the orb through the air and hit several power-ups before landing on the water, bouncing on it like a skipping stone. "Bakugan, Totally Stand!" The ball opened up and exploded, "Aquos Stug!" It sunk below the water seconds before the surface exploded, with a giant hermit crab Bakugan appearing.
Stug: 330Gs
The Bakugan glowed as its power rose.
Stug: 480Gs
"My turn!" Lyra leapt up onto another lilypad, then another and another before jumping up into the air. "Bakugan...BRAWL!" She threw the Bakugan and it shot through the air, hitting a quartet of power-ups before landing on the water. "Bakugan...STAND!" Is sank beneath the waves, "Abis Omega!" From out of the water, a giant snake Bakugan appeared.
Stug: 480Gs
Abis Omega: 350Gs
Seadranoid chuckled at the sight of it, as Abis Omega glowed.
Stug: 480Gs
Abis Omega: 550Gs
"Ability, Activate!" Lyra instantly called, "Dry World!" Suddenly, the water around Abis Omega turned into mist that filled the entire area.
"You think a little misssst can sssssstop usssss?" Seadranoid asked as Stug looked around, only for the mist to clear and reveal the water around them had vanished. They looked up and saw Abis Omega was inside a water bubble.
"Check it out," Lyra smirked. "Dry World prevents other Aquos Bakugan from using their Aquos Ability, whilst Abis Omega can still use his. Plus, it steals two hundred Gs from the opponent.
Stug: 280Gs
Abis Omega: 750Gs
"Not bad," Seadranoid smirked. "Too bad I saw this coming. That's why I chose to use Stug." He turned to the other Lyra, "do it."
"Okay," she giggled before holding up a card, "like Ability Ability!" The card glowed as Stug's body changed colour, "Dark Vice-Grip!" Its claws suddenly surrounded themselves with dark energy, which shot off and formed shadows claws that flew towards the bubble.
"Look out!" Lyra cried, as the claws grabbed Abis Omega and caused the bubble to pop. Suddenly, a million gallons of water exploded out of the bubble and refilled the area around them. "Gyah!" She cried as her lilypad was almost tipped over by the sudden flood.
"This isn't good," Nimue cried, "Dark Vice-Grip is a Darkus Ability that nullifies an opponent's last Ability and steals a hundred Gs from them.
Stug: 580Gs
Abis Omega: 450Gs
As Abis Omega was held by the shadow claws, Stug retreated into its shell and started spinning. Suddenly, it shot into the air and smashed into the snake. Abis Omega hissed in pain as it reverted back to ball from.
"No!" Lyra cried, as her Bakugan and Life Gauge both fell.
Lyra: 74%
Lyra-2: 100%
"YAY!" The other Lyra cheered as she jumped up, grabbing the returning Stug and dancing around. "I win, I win, I win, I win!"
"Now now little one," Seadranoid told her. "That wassss only round one. We ssssstill have a waysssss to go before victory is oursssss."
"Oh," she smiled and bonked her head, "my bad!" Lyra frowned as she heard this, the way her duplicate was speaking feeling off. But then, she realised something.
"No," she shook her head, "it can't be." Nimue turned to her, "no, no, no!"
"What?" She asked, "what's wrong?" She turned to the other Lyra, "do you know what that is?"
"Seadranoid was right," Lyra whispered. "That Lyra is the real me. The old me." Nimue turned to her, clearly confused. "That's the me that I stopped being a long time ago. When I was young, I was always bright. When most kids were learning a cat from a dog, I was reading at a fourth grade level and had already learned several songs on the harp. But that brightness I had caused the other kids to be afraid of me. I never made any friends and was forced to be on my own. Then my parents and I moved here to Canterlot right before middle school. That's when I decided to change."
"Change?"
"I decided to hide how smart I was. I kept my grades up but never participated in class questions unless specifically asked. And even then, I pretended I was another idiot."
A younger Lyra was sitting in her class, staring at the other kids as the teacher asked a girl a question.
The girl frowned for a moment, trying to think. Then she answered. "Like...I don't know." The teacher frowned at this and turned to Lyra, asking her if she knew the answer.
Lyra looked at the board and the answer came to her without much thought, but she frowned in fear that the other students would make fun of her. So, she played the fool and mimicked the other girl. "Like...I don't know."
"And that's how it started. I went from being the class prodigy to being a ditsy girl that constantly giggled and got confused. I made sure to keep how well I did in class a secret and whenever I wasn't working, I was playing the part of the brainless bimbo so people would like me. That was who I was throughout all of middle school."
"But you don't act like this anymore," Nimue pointed out. Lyra nodded.
"It was fun at first and I figured I could slowly start showing my friends how smart I was, but as time went on I started fearing that if I did that they wouldn't like me anymore. I couldn't stand being alone again, but I hated pretending to be an idiot who was only interested in clothes and boys. Then I started high school and I learned my friends were all going to a different school."
"So you decided to give up being that version of you," Nimue realised with Lyra nodding.
"And I was able to find friends that liked me for who I was. Who I really was. A year later Bonnie moved to Canterlot and joined us in school, and I met Flash, Derpy and my other friends. I was able to be the real me and not be alone." She glared at her clone, "but she never truly went away. The valley girl persona I made kept popping up every now and then when I got excited."
"I see," Nimue realised she was right. Whenever Lyra got scared, excited or angry, she would slip into a different way of speaking. "So this is the you from back then. But why have you face off against it."
"Isn't it obvious?" She asked, "this is my test. To prove I'm better than the old me. If I can beat this bimbo, I can finally put her behind me and move on as the real me." Nimue frowned, not entirely sure that being the case as Lyra took out a card. "Now I have to win this. Gate Card!" She threw it, "SET!" The card exploded as Lyra leapt up onto a floating lilypad before jumping up. "Bakugan...BRAWL!" The ball shot through the air and hit a few power-ups before landing in the water, "Bakugan...STAND!" It opened up and sank below the water, "Aquos Fangoid!"
The water exploded and from it, the blue horned brontosaur appeared.
Fangoid: 350Gs
"Interesting choice," Seadranoid hissed as Fangoid's power rose.
Fangoid: 500Gs
"Use Limulusssssss," Seadranoid told the other Lyra as she seemed confused about her choice of Bakugan.
"Oh," she smiled, "O K doe K." She leapt up and up until she reached a high lilypad, then leapt off of it. "Bakugan, BRAWL!" She threw it, hitting some power ups before landing. "Bakugan, Stand!" She sung that last bit as Limulus opened up and fell under the water, surging out of it moments later.
Limulus: 350Gs
Fangoid: 500Gs
The horseshoe crab scuttled forward as its power rose and the other Lyra held up a card.
Limulus: 500Gs
Fangoid: 500Gs
"Like...Ability, Activate!" Limulus suddenly dived under the water, "Dive Mirage!" It swam faster and faster, moving straight towards Fangoid.
Limulus: 650Gs
Fangoid: 500Gs
"Ability," Lyra held up a card, "Activate!" Fangoid took a deep breath as its mouth filled with cold air. "Goliath Snow!" It roared and unleashed a stream of snow that shot towards the water, causing it to freeze with Limulus locked in place. "That's it," Lyra smirked as Dive Mirage was cancelled out.
Limulus: 500Gs
Fangoid: 500Gs
"Ssssmart," Seadranoid chuckled, "but there's more to this game then just brains. Heart is a big factor as well." As he said that, the other Lyra held up a card.
"Ability, Activate!" The frozen water beneath them shook as Limulus vibrated, "Depth Tornado!" Suddenly, the ice shattered as a water vortex shot out and struck Fangoid. The beast roared as Limulus flew through the tornado and slammed into it.
Limulus: 600Gs
Fangoid: 500Gs
As Fangoid staggered back, Lyra saw no other choice. "Gate Card, OPEN!" The floor began to glow a bright light, which spread to Fangoid. "Avalon!" The light flew off Fangoid and into Nimue, "ready?"
"Always," she told her as Fangoid returned to ball form. Lyra then grabbed Nimue and threw her in.
"Bakugan...BRAWL!" Nimue flew onto the field and instantly shot into the water, which then began to glow a bright light. "Bakugan...STAND!" Moments later, the water exploded as Nimue leapt out in her true form. The lady of the lake smiled as she inherited all of Fangoid's power plus a little extra.
Limulus: 600Gs
Nimue: 950Gs
Nimue charged, dancing across the water ready to deal a powerful blow to Limulus. But before she could, the other Lyra held up a card. "Ability, Activate!" Limulus suddenly glowed, "Holograph Divide!" The light shot off him and formed a barrier, which Nimue kicked only to find she couldn't break through.
"Excellent. Holograph Divide allowed Limulus'ssssss power to grow to mirror the opponent'sssss."
Limulus: 950Gs
Nimue: 950Gs
Limulus shot through the barrier and swung its sharp tail around, slashing at Nimue and hitting her in the waist. "Ahhhhhh!" She cried, staggering back and clutching her waist. The attack hadn't done any surface damage, but she could feel her insides screaming in pain.
"You okay?" Lyra asked, as her other self held up a card.
"Ability, Activate!" Limulus opened its mouth, "Bubble Barrage!" A stream of bubbles shot out and headed towards Nimue, who dug deep and pushed herself to her feet.
Limulus: 1050Gs
Nimue: 950Gs
"Lyra!" She cried, her partner nodding and holding up two cards.
"Double Ability, Activate!" Nimue created a bubble that exploded into a current of water, which swirled around her to absorb the bubbles. "Raging River!" Nimue thrust the attack forward and it struck Limulus, reversing its last Ability.
Limulus: 850Gs
Nimue: 950Gs
"Plus Vapour Blast!" Nimue then leapt up and formed the mist in her hand, the Aquos Bakugan firing her attack that struck the horseshoe crab and knocked it flying away.
Limulus: 650Gs
Nimue: 950Gs
Limulus cried out as it returned to ball form, falling to the ground as Nimue landed. As she did, she clutched her side in pain and fell to her knees. "Augh!" She moaned as the other Lyra's Life Gauge dropped.
Lyra: 74%
Lyra-2: 40%
She reverted back to ball form and flew to Lyra, who caught her and looked worried. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she lied. "Focus on the battle. We still have a long way to go." Lyra nodded and looked over at her other self, frowning as she thought about that battle. Her Avalon should have given her an advantage, but the other Lyra had managed to even the score with a single move.
"It's like she knows everything I'm about to do."
"She doessssss," Seadranoid told her. "Don't forget, she's the you of before. She might act like an idiot, but inside she's just asssssss smart as you. Too bad she could never show it."
"That's why she's the weaker version of me," Lyra stated. "And I'll defeat her and put that terrible time behind me."
"Terrible time?" Seadranoid asked, "wassss it really so bad back then? Are you sssaying you never had any fun?" Lyra thought about that and remembered her time being an airhead, acting like an idiot. There were times she did have fun, like the many sleepovers they had had or the shopping trips they had taken. She had to admit, those were fun.
"But it wasn't the real me," she stated. "It was just an act I was playing."
"Maybe," Seadranoid chuckled, "or maybe you spent so much time with that act it sssslowly became a part of your very being. That'ssssss why you so easily ssssslip into playing it again whenever you're not focusing."
"That's not true," Lyra told him. "I'm not an idiot!"
"Nobody'sssss saying you are," Seadranoid announced before turning to the other Lyra. "I think it's time to pull out all the stopsssssss." The other Lyra nodded and took out a Gate Card, as Seadranoid's armor glowed then fell apart to reveal a Bakugan Ball. "Do it!"
"Like, Gate Card!" She threw it, "SET!" As it hit the ground and exploded, she leapt up into the air. "Bakugan!" She threw Seadranoid, "BRAWL!" Seadranoid shot through the air and struck several power ups before landing in the water. "Bakugan!" he popped open, "STAND!" The water beneath him suddenly exploded into a tornado, with a dark shadow appearing within it. "Aquos Seadranoid!"
"Here it comes," Nimue gulped. "His true form!"
The water exploded off of him, revealing a large snake-like Bakugan whose body was mostly blue. His upper head was covered in a yellow mask with a yellow fin on either side of his face, whilst a lightning bolt shaped horn stuck out from between his eyes. His lower jaw was white and that white spread down the front of its neck and body, eventually stopping before the tip of his tail. He had two pairs of blue turtle-like fins, one pair near the top of his body and another pair just after his halfway point. Finally, the tip of his tail was covered in a red leaf-shaped tail fin.
Seadranoid: 600Gs
"Behold!" It hissed, "I am Aquosssss Seadranoid. I wassss once a simple Abisss Omega, but in order to sssssave my world I evolved into what you sssssee before you." As he said this, he glowed and powered up.
Seadranoid: 750Gs
"That much power?" Lyra asked, realising none of her Bakugan could match that strength.
"Lyra," Nimue told her, "throw me in!" Lyra frowned, not thinking that was a good idea given Nimue's injury. "Lyra!" She cried when the girl leapt into the air and took out another Bakugan, throwing it towards some power ups.
"Bakugan...BRAWL!" It reached the coins but only hit three before splashing down into the water, sinking beneath it. "Bakugan...STAND!" The water exploded and Fangoid appeared, glaring at Seadranoid as its power increased.
Fangoid: 500Gs
Seadranoid: 750Gs
"You really think you can defeat me with that weakling?" Seadranoid asked before turning to the other Lyra, "make them pay for their foolishnesssssss."
She nodded and held up a card. "Ability, Activate!" Seadranoid raised its tail as the leaf-shaped tip began to freeze, "Ice Arrows!" It then swung it around and the ice broke off, flying towards Fangoid.
Fangoid: 500Gs
Seadranoid: 1000Gs
The icy projectiles flew forwards, but before they could reach Fangoid Lyra took out a card. "Ability, Activate!" Fangoid breathed in, "Goliath Snow!" It then launched the snow blast towards the ice arrows, hitting them and causing them to be deflected.
Fangoid: 500Gs
Seadranoid: 750Gs
As the attacks were nullified, Fangoid changed as Lyra took out another two cards. "Double Ability, Activate!" Fangoid's horn and the disks on the side of its legs glowed. "Horn Striker, plus Power Discus!" Fangoid swung its horn around and unleashed a shockwave that flew towards Seadranoid.
Fangoid: 650Gs
Seadranoid: 750Gs
Seadranoid avoided the attack but as he did, the disks shot off Fangoid and flew towards him. They slammed into him and ground against his body, making him groan as Fangoid got in close.
Fangoid: 650Gs
Seadranoid: 600Gs
"Ability, Activate!" The other Lyra held up a card, which began to glow. "Ocean Javelin!" Seadranoid's horn sparked as water surrounded it, firing off to form and electrically charged water bullet.
Fangoid: 650Gs
Seadranoid: 750Gs
The bullet struck Fangoid and made it roar out as it was knocked backwards, its feet slamming into the water with enough force that it cause the ocean to rock and knocked Lyra off balance. "Wow!" She cried, falling to her knees. As she did, Nimue jumped onto the lilypad.
"Use me!" She cried, "you can't win otherwise!" Lyra frowned as as she tried to think, her clone held up another card.
"Ability, Activate!" Seadranoid's mouth filled with cold air, "Frozen Breath!"
"RAAAAAH!" He roared as a gale of freezing wind flew out of his mouth and struck Fangoid, causing it to flinch as parts of its body began to freeze over.
"Fangoid!" Lyra cried, looking down at her BakuColar
Fangoid: 500Gs
Seadranoid: 750Gs
"Ability!" She held up a card, but it didn't work. "Don't tell me!" Frozen Breath had frozen her Bakugan almost completely, with only its head and tail left uncovered.
"Time to end this!" Seadranoid cried as he slithered forward, ready to knock Fangoid down.
"Lyra!" Nimue yelled, causing Lyra to flinch as she knew what she wanted. "Do it!" Lyra saw no other choice.
She grabbed Nimue and leapt up onto another lilypad, throwing her towards several power-ups before she smashed into the water between the two other Bakugan. Seadranoid saw this and a moment later, the water exploded as Nimue leapt out.
"Hiyah!" She cried, swinging a leg around and hitting Seadranoid in the face.
"Ahhh!" He cried as he was thrown backwards, Nimue landing on the water as the power-ups kicked int
Nimue+Fangoid: 1000Gs
Seadranoid: 750Gs
Nimue smiled, then flinched when she felt her side surge with pain. "You are in no fit ssssshape to fight," Seadranoid told her. "Defeat isssss inevitable."
"Maybe," Nimue sighed, "but I refuse to sit back whilst Lyra needs me." She stood tall, "you were the one who gave me to Lyra. For that, I thank you. But now I will defeat you and prove we have what it takes to save our worlds!"
"Let'ssss see about that!" Seadranoid turned to the other Lyra, "do it!"
She nodded and held up a card, "Ability, Activate!" Seadranoid dived into the water and started swimming around Nimue and Fangoid, picking up more and more speed. "Maelstrom!" The speed of his swimming caused the water to spin, the force creating a vacuum that the water began to fly up through.
Nimue could only brace herself as she and Fangoid were bombarded with the high speed water tornado surrounding them
Nimue+Fangoid: 600Gs
Seadranoid: 750Gs
"Guys, no!" Lyra cried as they continued to get buffeted about, only for one of her Bakugan to suddenly be thrown out of the tornado. "Fangoid!" Her Bakugan was knocked back to ball form, both her Life Gauge and Nimue's power dropping.
Lyra: 44%
Lyra-2: 40%
Nimue: 300Gs
Seadranoid: 750Gs
The tornado then vanished and Nimue staggered back, clearly severely injured as Seadranoid surfaced from the water. "Nimue," Lyra looked ready to start crying, "I'm sorry."
"It's...it's okay," she fell to her knees. "You don't have to feel guilty. I wanted this."
Lyra frowned, then turned to her doppelganger who smiled a happy smile. Lyra's sorrow turned to anger, "stop it! Stop smiling that stupid smile. What do you have to be happy about?" She pointed at her clone, "everyone thinks you're an idiot. That you wouldn't be able to make ice cubes if you were stuck in the arctic. Why are you so happy?" Ditsy Lyra looked confused, then just started laughing. This infuriated the real Lyra. "LIKE SHUT UP!" She then slapped her hand over her mouth, realising she had done it again. No matter what, she couldn't escape that fake version of herself.
"Lyra," Nimue looked back at her, "was your old self really that terrible?" She turned to her Bakugan, "did you hate every minute of it?"
Lyra thought about it and no, she hadn't hated every minute of it. She remembered having fun quite a lot. The sleepovers she had with her friends, the shopping trips she had gone on and just hanging out with them. It was all fun. "But it wasn't real," she stated. "It wasn't me having that fun. It was a fake girl I just pretend to be so people would like me."
"Maybe that's how it started," Nimue told her. "But over time you changed.." Lyra didn't understand. "You spend so long playing the part, that it became so ingrained onto your soul."
"What are you saying?" Lyra asked, "that I really am a ditzy airhead?"
"Of course not," Nimue shook her head. "You're a brilliant you lady with many talents. But who says the same can't be said about the version of you that liked to giggle at boys and go on shopping trips." She looked back at the other Lyra, "you don't have to be serious all the time to be brilliant. Even the dumbest looking person can be amazing. That's what you wanted to do before. Show that you were smart, but also fun."
"But nobody would take me seriously," Lyra told her. "If I acted like that, people would just think I'm nothing but a idiot."
"Who cares what other people think!" Nimue stated as she pushed herself to her feet with a flinch. "I know you're amazing and so do all of your friends. If others can't see how great you are, that's their loss and not yours. You need to be the person that makes you the most happy being."
"But I don't know what would make me most happy," Lyra looked down. "I used to love being the ditsy me, but then nobody would take me seriously. And when I started acting more serious, the old me would keep showing up." She felt like crying, "it's like I'm two people that are fighting over who gets to be in charge."
"Then don't fight it," Nimue told her. "Embrace everything that makes you you. Your brains and your heart. Don't pick one, be both."
"But what if people don't like that version of me?"
"It doesn't matter what other people think. The only one who should care about who you are, is you." Those words sunk into Lyra's heart and as it did, she felt a weight being lifted. As if a wall that had been keeping parts of her soul locked away had finally been broken down. And in that moment, she and her clones started glowing along with the Aquos Energy.
"Nimue...you're right." As she said that, the light surrounding the two Lyra exploded off them and into the Aquos Energy.
Nimue and Seadranoid saw this and were amazed, as the Aquos Energy suddenly burst into a stream of water that shot down and began to spiral around Nimue. The Aquos Bakugan gasped as she was surrounded, the force of this causing shockwaves that made the water below them rock.
"What's happening?" Lyra asked, fearing something bad had happened. She then looked down at her BakuColar and gasped seeing Nimue's power rise.
"Power surge detected"
"The Aquosssss Energy hasssss accepted her," Seadranoid hissed in amazement. "She'ssss overcome her limits. As he said that, a shadow appeared within the tornado
The water spiral then exploded, revealing Nimue in all her new glory. She looked a little taller and was dressed in more refined clothing, now wearing a ballgown that was a mixture of white along with light and dark blue. Her chest, shoulders and a bit of her arms were white with light blue dots on it that represented bubbles, whilst the waist and her arms were dark blue. Everything below that was light blue, though the very end of the gown had white wave images running along it. The front part of the lower section was missing, revealing her legs which were wearing white leggings with light blue high heels on her feet. Frilly white cuffs could be seen at the ends of her sleeves and her helmet had morphed into a water-themed tiara, whist her white hair was now up in a high-class bun with a short ponytail coming off the top and two elasticated pigtails running down the sides of her hair behind her ears onto her shoulders. Finally, she was carrying a long golden staff with a large harp on the end of it.
Nimue floated in the air for several long seconds before opening her eyes and waving her staff around, the water droplets in the air hitting the strings on the harp and making a beautiful sound. "I am Aquos Lady Nimue, and I shall stand strong in defence of my partner."
"Lady Nimue?" Lyra asked in confusion, as Nimue turned to smile at her.
"Because you were able to embrace who you truly are, it allowed me to evolve. Well done." Lyra smiled at this before she and Nimue got serious and turned back to Seadranoid, Nimue finding all her injuries were gone.
"You think you've won just becausssss you've evolved?" Seadranoid asked, "it'sss not that simple." Lyra looked down at her BakuColar and saw Nimue's new point total.
Nimue: 550Gs
Seadranoid: 750Gs
"Nimue!" She held up a card, "let's do this thing. "Ability, Activate!" Nimue leapt into the air and as she did, the end of her staff began to produce a water bubble. "Overflow!" Nimue threw the orb towards the ground and when it crashed into the water, it exploded and created a tidalwave.
It struck Seadranoid and when it did, he was knocked back. "Augh!" He cried as his power was halved.
Nimue: 550Gs
Seadranoid: 375Gs
"Gate Card, open!" The other Lyra cried as the water began to glow, "Leviathan's Wrath!"
Lyra frowned as she looked at her BakuColar, "a special Command Card for Seadranoid?" The energy from the card flowed into Seadranoid, powering him up and would double the power given by card effects.
Nimue: 550Gs
Seadranoid: 575Gs
"Raaah!" Seadranoid charged, ready to take the girls down. But then Lyra held up a card.
"Ability, Activate!" The card glowed and Nimue started playing the harp, "Whirlpool Trap!" She then swung the staff around and in doing so, caused the water below Seadranoid to explode upwards and spiral around him.
"Gyah!" He cried as he was pulled under by the powerful current. After a few seconds, he felt his strength drain.
Nimue: 550Gs
Seadranoid: 475Gs
He tried to swim through it, but as he did he felt more of his strength drain.
Nimue: 550Gs
Seadranoid: 375Gs
The other Lyra saw this and quickly held up a card, "Ability, Activate!" The card glowed as the Gate Card doubled the power it would give Seadranoid. "River of Power!"
Seadranoid roared as he took a deep breath and then unleashed a powerful stream of water, which he swung around and ripped through the whirlpool with.
Nimue: 550Gs
Seadranoid: 775Gs
Seadranoid leapt into the air and prepared to fire another burst of water at Nimue, but the Evolved Bakugan simply smiled as Lyra held up a card. "Ability, Activate!" Nimue swung the harp staff around before thrusting the bottom into the water below, "Geyser Burst!" The water exploded upwards and slammed into Seadranoid, making him cry out as he was blasted away. "This Ability Reverses the Effects of your last Ability and then either takes another hundred Gs from you and gives a hundred Gs to Nimue."
Nimue: 650Gs
Seadranoid: 75Gs
Seadranoid crashed into the water and sank below the surface, as Nimue pulled her staff out of the water. "Did that stop him?" She asked, hoping he had been defeated. But then, the water exploded and Seadranoid's form appeared from the mist as streams of water rolled off his sides.
"it'sssss not gonna be that easy," he hissed before fully extending. "Now feel me at full power!"
The other Lyra held up a card, "Fusion Ability, Activate!" Seadranoid took a deep breath that was like a powerful vacuum, Nimue and Lyra finding themselves needing to fight to keep from being pulled in by the incredible suction. "Giga Sea Destroyer!"
Nimue felt herself begin to glow, looking down at herself and seeing the light getting sucked off of her as her power began to drain. "He's...stealing my power." He fell to her knees as the light flew into Seadranoid's mouth.
Nimue: 250Gs
Seadranoid: 475Gs
Seadranoid roared as a powerful blast of water shot out of his mouth, looking strong enough to wipe an entire city off the face of the earth. And it was heading right for Nimue.
"HOLD ON!" Lyra cried, as she held up a card. "Ability, Activate!" The water blast made contact and created a large burst of mist that filled the air, Seadranoid smirking as he continued to launch the water from his mouth. But then the mist faded and his eyes went wide.
Nimue was standing completely unharmed, whilst Seadranoid's attack was bouncing off a sphere of water that was surrounding her. The other Lyra checked her BakuColar and gasped.
Nimue: 750Gs
Seadranoid: 75Gs
"But...like...how?" She turned to the real Lyra, who smirked.
"Hydro Sphere," she explained. "It's...like totally the best at protecting Nimue." The other Lyra seemed amazed by her saying this, but then smiled as Lyra took out another card. "Time to end this. Ability, Activate!" Nimue began playing her harp as the sphere vanished, whilst she began to glow. "Maiden's Fury!"
The other Lyra looked down at her BakuColar and was shocked when Nimue's power kept getting higher and higher.
Lyra smirked, "Maiden's Fury can only be used if Nimue's G Power is higher than yours. It takes the difference in the G Power, then doubles it!"
Nimue: 1425Gs
Seadranoid: 75Gs
Seadranoid could only watch as Nimue finished playing and leapt into the air, her gown flowing in the wind as she started swinging the staff around. Doing so caused bubbles to appear all around her, the Aquos Bakugan then focusing down on him. With a swing of his staff, the bubbles shot down towards him. Like a hundred wet bullets, they slammed into the snake and exploded with tremendous force.
"AUGH!" He cried with each and every impact, unable to stand the power of them as he began to fall backwards. "Excellent, my new Aquos warriors." With that, he crashed into the water and caused a tidalwave that flew over to the other Lyra.
She gasped at this and found herself being knocked overboard, as her Life Gauge dropped.
Lyra: 44% (Winner)
Lyra-2: 0%
Battle over, Nimue reverted back to ball form and flew over to Lyra. She caught her and as she did, she couldn't help but start crying. "Nimue, we did it."
"Yes we did," Nimue opened up to reveal her new ball form. "But this isn't over yet." She turned around and Lyra followed her gaze and saw her reflection pulling herself up and out of the water. Lyra realised what she had to do and Nimue jumped down so she could move to the edge of the lilypad, which slowly began to move towards the other one.
Her reflections stood up and the two stared at one another, as the lilypads appeared side-by-side. "I'm sorry," Lyra sighed. "I kept ignoring you. Pretending you didn't exist, because I was always ashamed of you. But you are me...and I am you. You've always been inside me." She held her hand out, offering it to her reflection. "I promise that from now on, I won't try and hide parts of myself I don't like. I'll let everything about me shine, for all the world to see." She smiled, "so will you accept my apology. Together, we'll totally show the world why we're a force to be reckoned with."
Her reflection stared at her for a moment, then smiled and nodded before rushing forward and throwing her arms around Lyra. The girl happily allowed her and hugged her back, the pair holding each other tightly until the others Lyra melted back into water that seemed to be absorbed by the real her.
When the water vanished, Lyra took a deep breath and smiled as Nimue leapt onto her shoulder. "I'm proud of you Lyra. You've overcome your greatest obstacle and now you can grow into the wonderful young woman you were always meant to be."
Lyra smiled back, "thank you Nimue. I couldn't have done it without you." She took her into her hand, "I'm so glad I met you." Nimue nodded and in that moment, Seadranoid's voice echoed around them.
"Congratulationsssss. I look forward to seeing what elssssssse you are able to accomplish. Go forwards in all your believessssss, and prove to me that I am not misssstaken in mine. Goodbye and good luck." With that, the lilypad beneath them suddenly vanished and the pair found themselves falling into the water.
The girls cried out as they found themselves sinking, whilst the water around them began to glow. Eventually, the water was completely replaced by a bright beam of light. All they could do was cry out as they flew through it, the memories of their little adventure burning through their minds whilst they wondered what the rest of their friends were all doing.