//------------------------------// // Flash's Greatest Challenge // Story: Bakugan EQG // by Banshee531 //------------------------------// Canterlot didn't have a lot of crime, nor did it tend to have a lot of fires or strange medical situations. All in all, Canterlot was a pretty boring place to live compared to other places. So when six girls all suddenly appear with similar injuries, their cloths damaged and the lot of them knocked out, along with being friends with one another, it obviously becomes a bit of a mystery about what the heck happened to them. The Rainbooms had all been taken to Canterlot hospital. Fluttershy had original been sent to one in Cloudsdale, but when it was discovered five others had the exact same afflictions she was transferred over so they could work on them together. None of them had any lasting injuries, but they were all going to need a few days to recuperate. Once the doctors were sure they weren't in any danger, the police came in to ask them questions. Of course, they asked the question most would think when they heard about a girl being badly injured and left with damaged clothing. But they quickly assured the officers nothing like that happened. The question was however, what exactly did happen. The girls all worried about this, none of them wanting to tell the officers the truth. The most likely outcome of that would be the adults not believing, thinking the girls had all conjured this insane story as a way of coping with whatever horrible event had actually occurred. And if they did believe them, that could be even worse. Their parents and guardians would likely force the lot of them to never Brawl again. And if the girls wanted to win back their partners, they would definitely need to Brawl again. So they all told the officers that they couldn't remember what had happened. Explaining that what they were doing before Phantom showed up was the last thing they remembered. Now Derpy and the BakuFighters had arrived to see how they were doing. As they made their way towards the girl's shared hospital room, they were all worried about what they were going to find when they got there. If they had lost their partners the way the Rainbooms had, they would have been devastated. "I hope the girls feel better with these," Bonnie looked down at the large tin of candy she had made to cheer them all up. It was a recipe Pinkie had taught her, so hopefully they would enjoy them. "Remember to be extra supportive," Lyra told them. "The girls are probably all feeling really fragile right now." They all nodded as they reached the room they had been told about. "Here goes," Flash took a deep breath before opening the door. And what they saw when they stepped in wasn't was they were expecting. "I think this Gate Card would work best as an opening play," Twilight told Pinkie as she handed the card to her. "Oh," Pinkie looked it over, "you're right." He playfully punched her head, "can't believe I didn't see that before." They looked over as saw Rainbow and Applejack sitting on a bed, polishing their Bakugan. "Just wait Phantom," Rainbow stated. "I'm gonna get Terraspin back." "We'll get'em all back," Applejack assured her. They then looked over and saw Fluttershy and Rarity, Rarity working on brushing Fluttershy's hair as the girl was going over her Ability and Gate Cards. It was then they noticed their visitors and Twilight smiled. "Flash." They all stepped over to them, "thanks for coming." "You think we wouldn't?" Flash asked, as they all sat on whatever chairs they could find. Bonnie handed Pinkie the sweets tin and the girl cheered before digging in with Rainbow. "So how you girls doing? After what happened, we were a little worried you'd all be broken up." "No way," Rainbow told him. "We might have been upset at first, but that doesn't help us." Applejack nodded, "mopping around won't fix anything. There's only one way that can happen." "We find Phantom and take our Bakugan back," Fluttershy looked more serious then they had ever seen her. The rest of the Rainbooms nodded and the BakuFighters smiled, happy the girls were doing okay. But then Soarin stepped forward. "I'm happy you're all okay, but this wasn't really a social visit." He turned to Twilight, "you told Flash that Ragnaroid evolved, didn't you?" This caused the atmosphere in the room to turn bitter and cold, Twilight letting out a sigh as she leaned back in her bed. "It's true," she told them. "Ragnaroid evolved during our battle. He's now Dusk Ragnaroid." The BakuFighters didn't like the sound of that. "That must be why he challenged the six of you," Derpy realised. "Taking your Bakugan was just an added bonus. Getting Ragnaroid to evolve was what he was truly after." "And he managed it," Leo stated as he and the other Bakugan sat on a table. "He was already powerful, but now he'll be even more so." "What do you think his next plan will be?" Wukong asked as Heath turned to Flash. "If he's going after the strongest Bakugan he can find, no doubt he's gonna be gunning for you eventually. He's been interested in Leonidas since he first showed up, right?" Flash frowned. "I think he's right," Lyra nodded. "Taking out Twilight and the others was likely practise for him. I bet he was hoping to make Ragnaroid evolve so he could be on par with you and Leo." "So what do we do?" Bonnie asked. "If Leonidas is his goal," Gaia began. "Then we should focus on keeping him and Flash safe." "No way!" Leo told her. "I'm not just gonna hide whilst someone else fights my battles for me. If Phantom wants a fight, he'll get one. Right Flash." "You bet!" Flash smirked, "Ragnaroid's not the only one that's evolved. Leo and I have gotten just as strong and when he shows up, I'll show him who the real strongest Brawler is." He punched his fist into his palm. "I've lost to him twice already. Time to make up for it." Everyone knew Flash wouldn't change him mind about this. They all smiled and nodded, promising to help out however he could. "But you're gonna need to know everything about Ragnaroid's new form if you want to face him," Twilight stated. Flash nodded and Twilight was about to explain everything that happened during her brawl, but before she could the door opened and Twilight's family arrived. "Oh," her mother noticed the BakuFighters and smiled, "are you all friends with our daughter?" They nodded and she smiled, whilst her brother Shining Armor focused on Flash. "I'm afraid we're about to reach maximum capacity," a nurse who had joined the family told them. "I'm sorry, but we have several others who want to see the patients. Fire codes, you know." The BakuFighters nodded and turned to the girls, then stepped out of the room. As they did, Shining Armor stepped out with them. "You were there when my sister got carted away," he pointed at Flash. "You know something about what happened to her, don't you?" They frowned at one another, knowing they couldn't risk telling him the truth. "Sorry," Flash told him. "But...we can't tell you." Shining didn't like that answer, "it's not that we don't want to tell you. It's just...something that Twilight wouldn't want us to tell you." "Why?" Lyra frowned. "It's...complicated." "Does it have something to do with Bakugan?" Shining asked, "Twilight's always talking about that game. If this has something to do with that then I need to know." The BakuFighters and Derpy all frowned, but just walked away. They felt bad for the guy, but they couldn't risk telling. The man continued to glare at the lot of them until the left the hallway, the team leaving the hospital. "That was painful," Bonnie sighed. "You didn't have a choice," Derpy stated. "We can't let anyone else know about this yet. If they do, who knows what'll happen." "The authorities might get involved," Heath frowned. "And they might decide to take away every Bakugan we have." They wouldn't let that happen, "we have to deal with this ourselves." "Then we gotta get training," Soarin stated. "Especially you Flash. If Phantom's coming after you, then you need to be on top form." Flash nodded and the lot of them headed off to the closest battle stadium, hoping to find the usual large group of Bakugan Brawlers that liked to show up and challenge them. At the same time, Phantom was standing atop a large building with his coat blowing in the wind. Ragnaroid was behind him, moving around in his ball form in order to get used to it. "Ahh," he sighed, "this new body is quite comfortable. And the power is like nothing I've ever felt before!" "Is it enough?" Phantom asked. "Not yet. But I know we're close." Phantom smirked at this and looked back towards the city, "then we know what the next step is." Flash was exhausted. He had spent the entire day Brawling, taking any challenge that was thrown at him. He had won them all, but the experience had been rather draining. As soon as he was in his room, he collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep with Leo on the windowsill besides him. He didn't know how long he slept for, but he suddenly found himself waking up in the middle of the night when a strange sensation washed over him. "Wha..." He slowly opened his eyes and looked around, not seeing anything out of the ordinary the first time. But then he spotted something out of place. A figure whose dark clothing made him almost invisible in the night's lighting, until he turned towards Flash and showed off a pair of golden shades. "Phantom!" "Evening Flash," Phantom chuckled as the teen got out of bed and glared at him. "Nice undies." Flash looked down and realised he was only dressed in his shirt and underpants, but quickly shook it off. "What are you doing here?" "Why else," Phantom took out a piece of paper. "I challenge you." "You wanna brawl?" Phantom nodded and held up six familiar Bakugan. "And you'll accept, if you don't want me to throw these into the deepest pit I can find." Flash growled and charged at Phantom, but the figure suddenly vanished before Flash could grab him. "Now are you going to brawl?" He spun around to see Phantom behind him and leapt at the teen again, Phantom once again vanishing with Flash landing on his bed. "Or are you not the Brawler you claim to be?" Flash turned to see Phantom somehow floating above him before throwing the piece of paper at him. "Ahhhh!" Flash cried as he shot up, panting as he looked around to see his room was normal. Phantom was nowhere to be found. "Flash!" He turned to Leonidas as the Bakugan popped open, "what's wrong." Flash kept panting and was about to say it was just a bad dream, but then he noticed something on the ground next to his bed. The paper Phantom had been holding. He got up and grabbed the paper, opening it up and seeing the instructions that would lead him to his most important brawl ever. "Leo, Phantom's just challenged us." Leonidas growled, "then we have no choice but to accept." Flash nodded and picked up his BakuColar, knowing the others wouldn't want to wait to hear this. The next morning. Twilight and the others were still in the hospital, though the doctors promised that each of them would be discharged in another day or two. All they could do was sit around and constantly work on their decks. But as they worked, a nurse came in. "Twilight," she turned to her, "you have a phone call." They turned towards the phone and Twilight stepped over to pull it off the wall, hitting the accept call button. "Hello?" "Twilight, Phantom challenged me. I'm on my way to face him now." Twilight sighed, knowing this was coming eventually. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm gonna get Spike back. I promise." "Flash," Twilight whispered, "please be careful. Ragnaroid's like nothing you've ever faced before. And if he beats you, he'll get even more powerful." "I know. But this has to end. And I might be the only one able to stop them." "Then good luck," she told him. Flash gave his thanks and hung up, Twilight putting the phone back on the wall. She turned to the others and they all frowned, worrying that Flash and his friends might not be able to pull this off. "They can do it," she then assured them. "Flash and the others were chosen by something. I don't know what, but we've seen what they're able to do. We have to believe in them." They all nodded as the doors opened, their families once again arriving. They had to end their conversation there, but Twilight took one last look out the window and prayed they would all be alright. Flash sat on his bed, staring down at all the Bakugan and Cards he had collected since starting his brawling career. He wanted to just rely on Leonidas, but couldn't trust Phantom not to pull something like throw in other Bakugan. If he wanted to win, he had to bring his absolute A-game. Leonidas was also there, staring at his fellow Haos Bakugan. "What are you thinking?" "I'm thinking I'm gonna need something strong," Flash picked up his Haos Siege. "But...I might also want something that's fast." He picked up Serpenoid. "Or one with a lot of fire power." He looked down at them, trying to use everything he knew about Phantom to decide which Bakugan to chose. Closing his eyes, he reached out and chose two Bakugan. Leonidas saw which ones he had and nodded, "good pick." Flash smiled at this and put the rest away, Leonidas jumping onto his shoulder before the pair headed downstairs. As he did, he saw Scootaloo and his parents in the kitchen enjoying breakfast. "Hey kiddo," Trail smirked as his mother put a plate of bacon and eggs down for him. "Your mom and I have the day off, so we were wondering if you wanted the spend the day together." "We could go see a movie," Misty suggested as Scootaloo put one of her Gate Cards on the table and began practising her flick with it. "Or maybe a picnic in the park." "Sorry guys," Flash sat down. "But I've got plans today. They're really important, so I can't blow them off." His parents wondered what he was talking about, but then noticed he had his hand on over his pocket where he kept his Bakugan. "You've been playing that game a lot lately," Misty told him. "It must be really fun, especially if you managed to get your sister into it." Scootaloo flicked Struthion across the table and as it landed on the Gate Card, it popped open. "Maybe we could come and watch your match today." Flash smiled at this, but then frowned. "This match...isn't gonna be in a stadium, so you can't watch it. But when I'm done, we can spend the rest of the day together." He finished off the food his mother had made for him and gulped down the juice. "I gotta get going." He rushed off before any of them could say anything. "I wonder what he's doing that's so important?" Trail asked as the parents turned to their daughter, Scootaloo looking up from her own food. "What?" She asked, "I don't know what he's doing." That was only partly true. She knew it must have something to do with this Phantom guy, but that was all she knew. She focused back on her breakfast, all the while hoping Flash was gonna be okay. "Good luck bro." Flash and Leonidas made their way towards the docks. As they did, Flash's mind thought back to everything that had happened since meeting the dragon. Finding him in the park, battling against Garble, Twilight and many others. Throwing him away only to make up with him, and the battles that led to his evolution. The last few months between them had certainly been interesting. The entrance to the docks came into view and as he got closer, he spotted Heath boarding towards him. The skater flipped over some flowers and landed next to Flash, kicking his board into his hands as he joined Flash in his march. Like Flash, Heath also remembered everything that had happened to him since becoming a brawler. Meeting Wukong, joining Flash in a tag-brawl, facing off against Fluttershy and so much more. Standing in front of the gated fence was Lyra and Bonnie, the two girl joining the boys as they marched towards their destination. Lyra remembered meeting Nimue, her battle against brawlers like Trixie and others. Then she remembered when she was forced to battle Pinkie, a tough battle to be sure. Bonnie was also remembering how she met her Bakugan Partner. She might not have been as big a target as the others for Phantom's schemes, but she had still gone through many tough battles to get to this point. Including the battle against Applejack, managing to save her from the control of Phantom along with the others. Finally, leaning against a container, Soarin stood waiting for them. As he joined them, he too thought back to everything that had happened. Meeting Garuda and facing off against Flash, the pair fighting Phantom and Ragnaroid together. Competing in the tournament and saving Rainbow from Phantom's control. Each of these teens, all appearing to be chosen by something or someone to have one of a kind Bakugan. This was their moment. If the could stop Phantom here, everything would end. They finally arrived at their location and there, they saw Phantom standing at the end of the docks. He slowly turned towards them as they approached, a smile appearing on his lips. "So," he stood tall, "you finally arrived. I was beginning to think that maybe you chickened out. "No way!" Flash told him, "I'm here to make sure you get what's coming to you." He pointed at him, "you made a big mistake going after our friends." Leonidas leapt onto his shoulder. "It's time someone put a stop to your wicked plans once and for all." "Wicked?" Phantom asked, "what's wrong with wanting to be the most powerful brawler in the world? I didn't see anyone complaining when you took that Struthion Bakugan away from its owner, just so you could give it to your sister." He took out the six Bakugan he had won from the Rainbooms, the teen beginning to juggle them around. "Your friends were strong and defeating them made me stronger." He grabbed the six in one hand and blew into it, then opened it up to reveal they were gone. He then held up his other hand and showed they were in it, "that's just a fact of life. "Don't play games!" Flash yelled, "we know what you're up to. You're working with Lucifer, trying to help him awaken. Well it's not gonna happen." Phantom then did something than made them all feel uneasy. He frowned. "Don't think you know me," he told them. "You know nothing." He held up his gauntlet, "now are we going to brawl or are we just gonna sit around talking." "Fine!" Flash held up his BakuColar and the others did the same, "we'll let our Bakugan do that talking." He glanced back at the others, "ready?" They nodded before he looked back at Phantom, the six of them all yelling in unison. "Bakugan, field...OPEN!" With that, the screens lit up and surrounded them. In the blink of an eye, they were transported to the Doom Dimension. Just being in the area was giving them to creeps and making their Bakugan feel uneasy. Flash and Phantom simply stared one another down, their BakuColars beeping to show the battle's start. Flash: 100% Phantom: 100% "Gate Card!" Flash took out the card and threw it, "SET!" As the field glowed, the two leapt into the air and spotted some power-ups. "Bakugan...BRAWL!" They both cried as their Bakugan shot into the air, Phantom's hitting three whilst Flash's hit two. "Bakugan!" They landed rolled before opening up, "STAND!" Everyone watched as a burst of purple and golden light filled the air, Flash's Bakugan being the first to appear. "Haos Robotallion!" The white robotic Bakugan stood tall, whilst Phantom's appeared as well. "Darkus Gargonoid!" The gargoyle Bakugan took to the air, spinning around before turning towards Robotallion Gargonoid: 350Gs Robotallion: 340Gs They stared each other down as their power-ups kicked in, both ready to battle. Gargonoid: 500Gs Robotallion: 440Gs Gargonoid dived towards Robotallion, but before it reached it Flash pointed to the ground "Gate Card...OPEN!" The field instantly began to glow, "Haos Reactor!" The light flew into Robotallion, the robot crossing its arms to brace itself as Gargonoid slammed into him. Gargonoid: 500Gs Robotallion: 640Gs Gargonoid bounced off the robot, who quickly rushed forward and threw a punch into its face. Gargonoid cried out as it was knocked to the ground, but Phantom quickly held up a card. "Ability, Activate!" Gargonoid spun around as its horns glowed, "Ramming Terror!" It leapt forward and slammed into Robotallion, knocking it backwards. Gargonoid: 650Gs Robotallion: 640Gs Robotallion staggered backwards as Gargonoid leapt up and flew towards him. But then Flash held up his own card, "Ability, Activate!" Robotallion began to glow, "Robotallion Enforcement!" As Gargonoid tried to slam its horns into him, Robotallion grabbed them and the horns stopped glowing. Gargonoid: 500Gs Robotallion: 740Gs Robotallion then swung Gargonoid around before letting it go, the gargoyle being sent flying as the machine fired a laser from the holes all over its body. The many beams combined into one, hitting Gargonoid in midair which caused it to revert to ball form. "Yes!" Soarin and the others cheered, Flash recalling Robotallion as Phantom's Life Gauge dropped. "First round goes to Flash. Flash: 100% Phantom: 52% "Don't think you've beaten me yet," Phantom told him as he held up a card and threw it towards the ground. "Gate Card Set!" He then leapt up onto a Mantris head before jumping into the air and threw a Bakugan towards a Serpenoid statue, "Bakugan...BRAWL!" It bounced off the statue and hit several power-ups before landing on the ground, "Bakugan...STAND!" It opened up, "Darkus Laserman!" In a flash of dark light, the gun covered robot appeared and glowed as its power raised Laserman: 690Gs "Laserman, huh?" Flash smirked as he flicked his Bakugan into the air, "think I'll go with Robotallion again." He caught it and leapt up, "Bakugan...BRAWL!" Robotallion flew through the air and struck four power-ups before landing on the ground, "Bakugan...STAND!" In a burst of yellow light, Robotallion appeared and glowed. Laserman: 690Gs Robotallion: 540Gs "Get him!" Flash cried, as Robotallion rushed forward. He took out an Ability Card, but Phantom was faster. "Gate Card...OPEN!" The ground unleashed a dark fog that shot over to Laserman, "Joker's Wild!" The fog surrounded him and prevented Robotallion from getting closer, then shot over to Robotallion and made it cry out in pain before reverting back to ball form. Flash: 70% Phantom: 52% "Robotallion!" Flash cried as the ball hit the ground in front of him, then turned to glare at Phantom. "What was that? They didn't even brawl yet?" Phantom smirked as Laserman returned to him, "the Joker's Wild card. With it, the most powerful Darkus Bakugan wins unconditionally." "What?" Bonnie asked, "I've never heard of that card before." "This is getting serious," Lyra frowned. "Flash might still be ahead, but this battle could go either way." Flash took out a Gate Card. "I hope you know what you're doing," Soarin told him. "Gate Card...SET!" As it hit the ground, Flash leapt into the air. "Bakugan...BRAWL!" He threw another Haos Bakugan towards several power-ups and hit them before it landed, "Bakugan...STAND!" It popped open, "Haos Siege!" The white knight appeared, swinging its star tipped staff around as the power-ups kicked in. Siege: 610Gs "Bakugan!" Phantom leapt up and threw it, "BRAWL!" It hit the power-ups and landed upon the ground. "Bakugan," it popped open, "Stand! Darkus Laserman!" The robotic Bakugan appeared, the power-ups raising its strength as it charged up its weapons. Siege: 610Gs Laserman: 590Gs "Ability!" Flash held up a card, "Activate!" The card glowed as Siege's staff-head glowed. "Star Staff!" Siege: 710Gs Laserman: 590Gs "Ability!" Phantom held up a card, "Activate!" The guns on Laserman's body began to power up, "All Out Assault!" They started firing rapidly, hitting everything around them. Siege: 710Gs Laserman: 790Gs Siege spun its staff around to try and deflect the beams. Meanwhile, the humans all screamed and ran as the lasers destroyed many of the statues and caused the pieces to fall towards the ground. "Flash!" Heath yelled, "do something!" "Gate Card!" Flash cried, "OPEN!" The ground glowed and caused both Bakugan to suddenly stagger, "Reset!" Their powers dropped back to their base level, as the light draining the excess out of them. Siege: 360Gs Laserman: 390Gs "That won't make a difference!" Phantom told him, only for Flash to hold up a card. "Ability," he threw it, "Activate!" The card shot towards Siege and seemed to revitalise him. "Holy Glow!" Siege held its staff up as the tip glowed, the star unleashing a beam of light which struck Laserman's face. Siege: 360Gs Laserman: 290Gs The robot found itself staggering back in surprise, whilst Siege ran forward and swung its staff around. In the blink of an eye, Laserman was knocked off its feet and fell to the ground. As it bounced off the floor, it reverted back to ball form and fell at Phantom's feet. Flash: 70% Phantom: 38% Everyone cheered as Flash recalled Siege, whilst Phantom picked up his Bakugan. "And the crowd goes wild." "Enough of this," Ragnaroid appeared on Phantom's shoulder. "The time for games is over." He turned to Phantom, "let us show him what true power looks like." "Couldn't have said it better myself," Phantom nodded as he took out a Gate Card. "You know, I was considering using your little friend Spike in this match. But why would I risk using a weakling such as him." This angered Flash and the others, as Ragnaroid leapt into Phantom's hand. "Gate Card...SET!" As he threw it towards the ground, Flash leapt into the air. "Bakugan!" He threw the Bakugan towards some power-ups, "BRAWL!" He shot through the power ups and hit the ground, popping open. "Bakugan...STAND! Haos Siege!" The knight appeared and swung its staff around, his energy rising Siege: 660Gs "Prepare yourselves," Phantom held his Bakugan up as a dark mist came off of it. "You've never seen anything like this before. Bakugan!" He threw the Bakugan, "BRAWL!" He flew through the air, leaving a trail of the mist behind him, and landed on the ground. "Bakugan...STAND!" He popped open and the mist exploded off of him, slowly taking form. "Darkus Dusk Ragnaroid!" The mist slowly vanished to reveal the now partly robotic snake scorpion hybrid. He let out a bone chilling hiss, as the others looked up at him in amazement. "This is Ragnaroid evolved," Lyra whispered. "He's horrifying," Bonnie took several steps back whilst Flash looked down at his BakuColar. Siege: 660Gs Ragnaroid: 700Gs "Seven hundred Gs on his own?" He asked in amazement, but quickly shook his head. "It's nothing we can't handle. Go get him Siege!" The knight charged forward, ready to run Ragnaroid through. But as he did, Phantom held up a card. "Ability, Activate!" Ragnaroid's tail blade glowed black as it swung it around, "Deadly Slash!" Siege: 660Gs Ragnaroid: 850Gs Siege raised its staff as the blade slammed into it, but the force was too great and it was knocked backwards. Before Flash could pull out a card, it reverted back to ball form and fell to the ground. "That was one hit!" He whispered in amazement, as the ball rolled towards him and his life gauge dropped. Flash: 32% Phantom: 38% "Not even a challenge!" Ragnaroid hissed as he returned to Phantom. "This isn't good," Soarin whispered. "Ragnaroid's way too powerful." Garuda agreed. "Flash only has one Bakugan that even stands a chance against him." They watched as Flash picked Siege up, as Leonidas turned to him. "Flash, you need to use me. It's our only hope of beating him." Flash turned back and nodded, the teen standing up and taking out a Gate Card. "This is for all the marbles Leo," Flash told him. "Let's take him down...for Spike...for Twilight. For everybody. We'll beat this guy and stop Lucifer." Leonidas agreed, whilst Phantom smirked. "How cute. You actually think you stand a chance." "I'll show you!" Flash yelled, "Gate Card...SET!" As the card flew to the ground, both brawlers leapt into the air and landed on a different statue. "Bakugan!" They both threw their Bakugan towards the same group of power-ups, "BRAWL!" The two shot through the air and each struck some power-ups before landing on the ground, rolling for several seconds before popping open. "Bakugan...STAND!" The two exploded into golden light and black fist, which quickly took shape. "Haos Omega Leonidas/Darkus Dusk Ragnaroid!" Both Bakugan appeared from the light and mist, Leonidas taking to the air whilst Ragnaroid swung his tail around. The pair glared at each other as the power-ups kicked in. Leonidas: 850Gs Ragnaroid: 900Gs "You should have joined us when you had the chance," Ragnaroid hissed. "Now you have to face the wrath of the worlds most powerful Bakugan." "Like I'd ever join a monster like you," Leonidas told him. "Now I'm gonna make you pay for all you've done!" "Funny," Ragnaroid told him. "Your little friend Spike said the same thing. Unfortunately, he couldn't back up his words." This made Leonidas growl as Flash held up a card. "Ability, Activate!" Leonidas shot down and landed upon the ground, "Omega Eraser!" His mouth sparked and he prepared to fire, as his G Power changed. Leonidas: 1100Gs Ragnaroid: 900Gs He roared as the laser exploded out of his mouth and shot towards Ragnaroid. But before it could reach him, Phantom held up another card. "Ability, Activate!" Ragnaroid exploded into a black cloud, "Shadow Divide!" The cloud split into four as the laser shot passed it, the four clouds flying at Leonidas. "Augh!" He cried as each one flew passed him, returning his power to the previous state. Leonidas: 850Gs Ragnaroid: 900Gs The clouds took shape and formed a quartet of Ragnaroid, one quickly swinging his tail blade around and hitting Leo. "Gyah!" Another then slashed at him with his metal claw, "ahhh!" One thrust its mouth forward and bit into his left arm, "raaah!" The last one then slithered forward and body checked him, "augh!" "Leo!" Flash cried as he held up a card, "Ability, Activate!" Leonidas glowed and shot into the air at incredible speed, "Dragon Flash!" Leonidas: 950Gs Ragnaroid: 900Gs Leonidas quickly dived back down and in the blink of an eye, shot passed each Ragnaroid whilst dealing them a powerful punch. The first three all disappeared whilst the last one cried out, the punch knocking him backwards. But Phantom quickly held up a card. "Ability, Activate!" Ragnaroid's tail shot up and wrapped around Leonidas' body before he could escape, "Terror Constrictor!" Many mechanical sounds could be heard, as the tail's grip on Leonidas grew tighter and tighter. "Augh!" Leo cried, as their power levels shifted. Leonidas: 800Gs Ragnaroid: 1050Gs "Hang on Leo!" Flash cried as he held up his cards, "Double Ability, Activate!" Ragnaroid glowed and the light shot off him into Leonidas, "Co-Side, plus Shining Roar!" Leonidas opened his eyes as the inside of his mouth glowed, the dragon taking a deep breath. "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" He roared, the light shooting out of him in a wave that struck Ragnaroid to both blind and burn him. Leonidas: 900Gs Ragnaroid: 900Gs The two now at a stalemate, Leonidas was able to push the tail off of him and shoot into the air. "Don't think you've won yet!" Phantom held up a card, "Ability, Activate!" Ragnaroid's chest opened up to reveal the single giant eye located within it. "Evil Eye!" The eye unleashed a light and it shot towards Leonidas, ready to freeze him and prevent his Abilities. But before it could reach him, Flash held up a card. "Ability, Activate!" Leonidas was surrounded by the crystal-shaped light, "Reflector Prism!" The light struck the shield and bounced off it, leaving Leo unharmed whilst powering him up. Leonidas: 1000Gs Ragnaroid: 900Gs As the Evil Eye's effects stopped, Leonidas shot out of the shield and flew down to punch Ragnaroid. "Augh!" He roared in pain, as he was knocked backwards. Flash smirked at this. "Now!" He pointed towards the ground, "time to pick things up a notch. Gate Card...OPEN!" The ground exploded into light, "Character!" Flash's friends all cheered at this, as the light flew into Leonidas. "Check this out. The Omega Leonidas Character Card doubles Leo's current power level!" Leonidas: 2000Gs Ragnaroid: 900Gs "Two thousand Gs?" Heath cried, as Ragnaroid tried to pick himself up only for Leonidas to fly down and smash him through a Juggernoid statue. "That's awesome!" "There's no way Phantom can catch up to that!" Bonnie cheered. Lyra smiled, "if he can end the fight here, he'll win not just the fight but Ragnaroid as well." "Maybe," Soarin frowned, "but I doubt Phantom's gonna let it end that easily." The Bakugan were all in agreement, knowing that he likely still had a trick up his sleeve. Leonidas charged forward and started slamming his claws, fists and tail into Ragnaroid. The Darkus Bakugan raised his claws in self defence, hissing with every strike. Flash smirked at Phantom, who simply stood there. "What's the matter?" He asked, "realising you can't win? Maybe you should have thought about that before attacking my friends!" "No," Phantom told him, "I'm just marvelling at how absolutely pathetic you are." Flash's eyes went wide at this, whilst Ragnaroid attempted to slash at Leonidas with his tail blade. But Leonidas ducked under it before leaping up into the air. "Time for this game to come to an end!" Phantom held up a card, "Ability, Activate!" The card glowed as Ragnaroid opened his claw, the gun barrels folding out. "Shadow Blast!" Leonidas: 2000Gs Ragnaroid: 1150Gs "Prepare yourself!" Ragnaroid pointed one gun at Leonidas and another at the ground, "to fall to my might." "The only one falling here is you!" Leonidas cried as he began charging up energy, his mouth sparking with the power similar to his Omega Eraser. Both Bakugan charged up and eventually, they fired. The two lasers shot towards one another and slammed into each other, causing an explosion. "Yes!" Flash cheered as he braced himself, the smoke surrounding him and covering both Bakugan. He expected Leo's attack to blow away Ragnaroid and blast him out of the contest, winning him to Brawl. But as the smoke began to fade, he was in for a surprise. "What?" The two beams continued to push against one another, The Bakugan constantly firing. "But how?" Leonidas asked despite still launching a laser from his mouth. "How could he survive?" Flash looked down at his BakuColar and his eyes went wide. Leonidas: 1000Gs Ragnaroid: 1150Gs "What?" He asked, "how did Leo's power go down?" It was then that the smoke on the ground faded, allowing him to see that it was no longer glowing. "The Gate Card!" He looked over at Ragnaroid's other claw and saw its barrel smoking as it pointed at the ground, Flash quickly catching on, "don't tell me!" "That's right," Phantom smirked. "Shadow Blast can nullify the effects of any active Gate Chard, making your Character card useless." "No way!" Heath cried, as Ragnaroid's laser began to overpower Leonidas' "Look out!" Wukong yelled, but the blast struck Leonidas. "AUGH!" He roared as he was blasted out of the sky, falling towards the ground and crashing down onto a Fly Beetle statue. "Ahhhh," he moaned as he lay on his back, but rolled onto his front. "I'm...not done yet!" "Is that so?" Ragnaroid raised his guns at him again, "maybe this'll do the trick then!" He charged up a blast, but Flash took out a card. "No way!" He cried, "we won't let you beat us. Ability, Activate!" Leonidas shot up as Ragnaroid fired the laser, his claws glowing as he did. "Dragon Slash!" He swung his claws forward and into the laser, deflecting it and getting in close to Ragnaroid. Leonidas: 1150Gs Ragnaroid: 1150Gs Their powers even, Leonidas reached Ragnaroid's chest and slashed at him. But Ragnaroid barely seemed phased. "Pathetic!" He hissed, as his chest opened up to reveal the eye. It lit up, blinding Leonidas. "Ahhh!" He cried, staggering back as Phantom held up a card. "And now," he told Flash as he raised it up. "Your pet lizard will fall. Fusion Ability, Activate!" Ragnaroid raised his claws as the gun barrels extended and began to glow. "Gaze of the Abyss." The guns unleashed a burst of dark light, which struck the light coming off his chest eye. With Leonidas still so close to Ragnaroid, he wasn't able to avoid the attack that was coming. "Gyah!" He cried as the the light struck him, freezing the dragon in place and draining him of his power. "LEO!" Flash cried, looking down at his BakuColar to see what had happened. Leonidas: 750Gs Ragnaroid: 1150Gs Leonidas tried to fight against the light, but it was just too powerful. He felt the last of his strength begin to fade and as he began to glow, he closed his eyes. "Spike...everyone. I'm sorry." That was all he could say before he reverted back to ball form, Flash's eyes going wide as he fell towards the ground and landed in front of him. "No," he whispered as he fell to his knees, "this can't happen." Flash: 0% Phantom: 38% (Winner) In a flash of light, they were returned to the docks as Flash's friends rushed to his side. "No," he punched the ground, "no, no, NOOOOO!" Phantom smirked as he held Ragnaroid up, the Bakugan glowing. "How do you feel?" "Stronger than ever," he chuckled back. "Even though we weren't able to take Leonidas, my power has grown greater than ever." "Excellent," Phantom turned to the others. "I guess I should say good game. But honestly, I barely remember anything that happened you were so boring." Flash looked up and glared at him, the teen panting heavily before throwing himself back to his feet. "Flash!" Lyra cried as he ran at Phantom, ready to beat the living snot out of him. But Phantom easily avoided Flash's punch, deflected another and blocked the third before thrusting an elbow into the teens chest. Flash cried out in pain as he fell back and onto his butt, the others glaring at Phantom but not daring to try anything unless he laid them all out as well. "You BakuFighters are really disappointing. You think you can stop Lucifer. Face it, you don't stand a chance. Just give up now and enjoy things whilst you can." He was about to leave, but then stopped. He slowly glanced back at Flash, seeing him still on the floor moaning. As if feeling pity for the teen, Phantom took something out of his pocket. "These things are just weighing me down. If you want them back so badly, here." He dropped six Bakugan onto the floor, everyone seeing who they were and gasping. They rushed forward as Phantom leapt into the air and onto a container, the BakuFighters all grabbing the Bakugan before they could roll off the side of the pier. "Spike!" Flash cried as he held him and Cleopal up, "are you okay?" But the Darkus Bakugan didn't say anything. "Spike?" He looked to the Haos, "Cleopal?" "Gummy?" Lyra asked, fearing she already knew what was gonna happen. "Lepusinge?" Heath shook him, hoping he was just asleep. "Fenroar?" Bonnie looked terrified. "Terraspin!" Soarin yelled, but the Ventus Bakugan's reply was the same as the others. None. "No," he turned to Ventus, "this can't be happening." The other Bakugan looked their friends over and all came to the same horrible conclusion. "They're not awake anymore," Nimue told them. "They're just like the other Bakugan again. Trapped within their own bodies, unable to communicate." The others grimaced, hating that they were unable to save them. And none was more upset about this then Flash. But what none of them realised was that this whole event had been seen, by a group of individuals that had been watching them for a while. In a dark void, who knows where, a large orb of light was the only thing that brightened the place up. Within the light, the image of Flash and his friends at the docks could be seen. From out of the darkness, six figures appeared and stood around the light in a circle. They watched the image flicker, as they let the scene play out. Each of the figures was wearing a differently coloured armor, with a mask covering their faces. One was a tall female figure, wearing golden armor and a white mask with white feathery robes flowing down the sides that had yellow trim. On her chest was the Haos Attribute symbol. To her right was a bulky individual who was wearing orange armor atop brown clothing, who appeared to have hooves in place of feet and the Subterra Symbol on his chest. To his right was a figure in red flame patterned armor. He didn't have any robes or clothing, instead he was entirely covered in armor with spikes sticking out of his arms and legs along with a large curved one sticking out his forehead. The Pyrus Symbol was on his back. To his right was a rather short figure, sitting atop what looked like a green cloud. She was wearing thin green armour under a bunch of robes, with the Ventus Symbol barely visible on her stomach, whilst her helmet had feathers coming off of it and a bird's head sticking out the top. To her right was a tall individual in dark blue armor, wearing a light blue cape with scale patterned. He was carrying a staff that had a serpent's head upon the top, whilst the Aquos symbol was on his chest. The last member of the group, standing between the blue and white figure, was another tall individual in mostly black armor with a purple cape flowing down his back that had black fur around the edges. The same black fur could be seen round his neck, elbows and knees, with the Darkus Symbol on his chest and lion-shaped shoulder guards on his shoulders. The six of them stared into the light, which the Haos figure speaking what they were all thinking. "It appears our chosen champions...have failed."