Bakugan City, despite the insanity that had occurred earlier that day, seemed to be just as serene as it was on any other day.

The people and Bakugan that had been attacked by the Rugenga, had been treated for their injuries and found to be perfectly fine. And now that their images had been recorded, every screen and billboard in the city showed the three individuals that had threatened the city.

Those three and their Bakugan, had taken refuge in an empty area of the city. An old warehousing district that contained a bunch of old machines that may have a use in the future. Currently, the three were hiding within that warehouse as they tried to come up with a plan.

"I say we sneak into the Battle Brawler's HQ," Cursor suggested to them. "Then we can use their dimensional transporter to get us back to Vestroia."

"Except they don't have a way into Vestroia," Hayate stated. "The only places we could go would be Vestal, Neathia and Gundalia. And none of those places have a way to Vestroia either."

"So what do we do?" Skyreign asked. "We can't just sit around and do nothing. We need a plan."

As this was going on, Thalia opened one of the crates filling the warehouse. Looking inside, she shook her head before closing it and opening another one. As she did, Tigress floated up besides her. "What are you doing, if I may be so bold as to ask?"

"I'm looking for something that'll help us hack into the Battle Brawler's systems." She opened another crate and found something. "Ah, here we are." She took out a tablet-like device and carried it over to them, switching it on and finding it still had power.

The tablet protected a holographic screen and transformed into a laptop, the Rugenga beginning to hack into something with it. "What are you planning?"

"You'll see," Thalia chuckled. "Just wait and see."

Flash and his friends were amazed by the building they had just arrived at.

Said building was a large dome, which was white in colour with glass covering most of it and yellow accents. The front of the dome had a large tower and as they stepped inside, they were greeted to an entryway that seemed like something out of a posh hotel.

Standing in the entryway were a pair of individuals, who both bowed as they saw them. One was an old man in a suit, with hair only on the sides of his head, a moustache and glasses. The other was a blue haired individual, wearing an unusual brown with orange accents.

"Welcome back, Ms. Mira," the old man stated.

"Master Spectra," the blue haired individual continued. "I trust you were able to deal with the disturbance."

"In a way," Spectra replied before gesturing to the four newcomers. "Kato. Please prepare some spare room for our guests. They're going to be staying here for the foreseeable future."

"Of course," the old man nodded before walking off.

Flash, Twilight, Sunset, Moondancer and their Bakugan stared at the room around them, barely able to believe they were in such a super luxurious place after getting thrown into a completely foreign world. "So this is your headquarters?" Flash asked.

"Yup," Joe nodded. "This place doubles as both a research centre, and the Battle Brawlers' base of operations. Whenever a situation involving Bakugan occurs, we get the lowdown here and can come up with a suitable counter plan to deal with it."

"So it's just like the hub in our world," Sunset realised. "Do you often have issues you need to fix?"

"It's a rare occurrence," Mira replied. "What happened in town today, is the biggest problem we've had to deal with in over a year."

"Sorry about that," Moondancer frowned. But Mira smiled at her.

"It's not your fault. It's thanks to you, that Hayate guy didn't get any of the Bakugan he attacked. You did us a big favour." Moondancer smiled, as Spectra led them through the building. As they reached a hallway, Sunset noticed a bunch of framed pictures on the wall.

One of them showed a large group with Joe in it, though he appeared to be a young boy at that time. He was roughly twelve or thirteen and he was surrounded by other kids his age. A brown haired boy in red and yellow, a short blonde boy in blue and white, a black long-haired boy in purple and black, a girl in yellow and white, with blue pigtails, a dark skinned girl in pink with a white ponytail, an orange haired girl in cream and green and many others.

There were other pictures as well, though most of them didn't have Joe in it. Mira and Spectra were in a few of them and in each one, the same three boys were all in it at different ages.

"That's Dan, Marucho and Shun." Joe stepped up to her. "Out of all the Battle Brawlers, those three have fought in the most conflicts. They've worked hard to make sure the humans and Bakugan are able to live in peace."

"We've heard of them," Flash stated. "Dragonia told us all about them."

"Dragonia?" Joe asked, with Leonidas speaking up.

"You may know her by another name. Wyvern." That name caused Joe's eyes to widen in shock, whilst Spectra, Mira and the blue haired guy seemed intrigued by this. "She told me all about you. And about this world, where humans and Bakugan first came together."

"Wyvern...she's alive?"

"Yes," Leo nodded. "In fact, she's my mother." Joe clearly hadn't been expecting that, "in a way. It's complicated. Basically, when Vestroia was in a time of crisis, she allowed herself to be reincarnated into a new form. She became one of the most powerful Haos Bakugan of her time. Haos Dragonia. She helped protect Vestroia from evil, along with several other Bakugan. But eventually, they weren't able to stop Vestroia from being destroyed."

"What do you mean, destroyed?" The Darkus Bakugan next to Spectra growled, with Spectra keeping him from charging at Leonidas.

"Easy, Helios. Let him explain." And so Leo did, with Flash and Twilight filling in some of the pieces as they made their way through the building.

Once Leonidas finished telling them about how he remade Vestroia with his own body, Flarenix and Sorcerell took over and told them about the decade that followed until the arrival of the Rugenga. This was where Sunset and Moondancer explained what happened as well, with Flash finally returning to the story.

"And that's when I tried to get to Vestroia," Twilight sighed in disappointment. "But I failed and almost killed myself. And now, we've been thrown into this world with no idea how to get ourselves home."

"I could have been worse," Spectra stated. "You could have been thrown into a world that had no idea about Bakugan, Vestroia, or interdimensional travel. At least this way, you have a chance at getting back there."

"But first," Mira spoke up. "We need to find a way to deal with those Rugenga. And figure out who the heck they are."

"That Bakugan," Joe stepped in. "Skyreign. It looked just like Skyress. Or what Skyress used to be before she evolved."

"And she's not the only one that apparently looks like other Bakugan," Flash stated before Sunset held up her Baku-Bracer. She typed at it and all four of the Rugenga's partner Bakugan appeared.

The three stared at the holograms and were shocked by what they saw. "Drago?" Mira asked, seeing Draken. "That's Neo Dragonoid. But he's different."

"Hydranoid and Tigrerra," Joe agreed. "These were the original forms of the Battle Brawler's first partners. Well, except for Drago. But that's what he looked like when he was reborn."

"So you know all these Bakugan?" Twilight asked. "What happened to them?"

"We have a vague idea," Moondancer spoke up. "Base on what Amazon told us."

"Amazon?" Mira asked. "You know Amazon?"

"Right," Flash nodded. "We forgot to mention that. We met Amazon a little while back. He fell into Vestroia, out of a dimensional breach, and lost most of his memories. But he managed to get some of them back. He told us he was part of a mission to try and get back to Vestroia."

"He was," Spectra nodded. "But if he managed to get back to Vestroia, what the heck happened to the others?"

"Could you tell us more about that mission?" Sunset asked. "Maybe if we know why they were trying to get back to Vestroia, we might be able to figure out how the Rugenga fit into all of this."

They nodded, as Spectra led them to a room full of computers and other equipment.

Mira started the story off. "It all started about a year after the defeat of Mechtavius Destroyer." The four and their Bakugan raised an eyebrow, wondering what Mechtavius Destroyer was. "Everything was great. Most of the Bakugan had come to live on Earth or one of the other worlds part of the Bakugan Alliance. The world was at peace and nobody seemed to want to destroy it."

"But then it happened," Joe stated. "Vestroia just disappeared. All connection to the realm was cut off and no matter what we did, we couldn't open a portal there. It was like Vestroia just ceased to exist."

"But we knew Vestroia was still there," Spectra replied. "Drago had a connection to the world and could sense it was still there, even if we couldn't get to it. However, two years after it disappeared, something new happened.

Two years ago.

"GYAH!" Within the Bakugan Battle Brawler's headquarters, a Pyrus Bakugan let out a cry of pain. He fell to the ground, as his partner rushed over to him.

"Drago!" His partner, Dan, ran over to him and picked the Bakugan up. As he did, Marucho and Shun ran over to him. "Drago. Talk to me. What happened?"

Drago let out a moan. "I...I don't know. Vestroia. My connection to the Perfect Core. It's been severed."

The Brawlers all shared a shocked look, as Marucho spoke up. "But that could only happen if..."

"The Perfect Core's been destroyed," Drago stated. "And if that's happened, it means Vestroia's also been destroyed. Our world is no more." None of them could believe this. They all wondered how on Earth this could happen. And what it could mean for the Bakugan."

"It was a terrifying discovery," Spectra stated. "Everyone feared the worst and Drago was in a weakened state for months afterwards."

"Ouch," Flash hissed. "That must have been when Lucifer destroyed Vestroia and the Bakugan were all sent to our world." The others nodded. "But Vestroia was restored. Did Drago feel that?"

"He did," Mira nodded. "But whilst he could sense its restoration, he knew something was wrong. The world wasn't like it used to be and whilst he could sense a Perfect Core, he couldn't connect to it like he used to. That's why we decided it was finally time to go there."

"How?" Twilight asked.

Joe replied. "In the time since Vestroia was lost, Marucho and everyone else with the technical skills, worked to design a ship that could finally break through whatever was keeping Vestroia locked away. It was a lot of work, but we managed to create a ship with a dimensional engine able to break through to Vestroia. And when it was finished, we knew there was only one group worthy of riding it there.

Several Months ago.

On the outskirts of Bakugan City, many people were staring at a large ship that had been built to finally return to Vestroia. It was an arrowhead-shaped vessel with four wings that had tube-like thrusters on the end, being silver in colour with blue trim.

Within the ship, Marucho was at the helm with Dan, Shun, Runo, Julia and Alice. Each of them was dressed in a flight suit and strapped around their arms were Baku-Bracers. Along with them were Fusion Dragonoid, Preyas, Storm Skyress, Blade Tigerra, Hammer Gorem, Alpha Hydranoid and Amazon. The young Aquos Bakugan was excited, happy his master had let him come with.

"All systems online," Marucho stated. "Dimensional engine ready." He turned to Dan, "is Drago ready?"

"I am," Drago nodded as the round slot he was inside began to glow. "Even with my weakened connection to Vestroia, we should be able to break through to it."

"Then all systems are a go," Marucho stated as he opened a comms channel to those in the control centre.

There, Spectra, Mira, Joe and several of their friends were watching. This included the Battle Brawler's families, who were all worried about their children leaving. "It's time," Doctor Micheal stated. "Preparing for take off."

The Brawlers nodded and the engine began to power up, Spectra typing at the computer and spoke to them. "T minus sixty seconds to launch." The passengers were all strapped in tight and the ship began to power up, its thrusters unleashing smoke as the power within it built. "T Minus fifty seconds. All systems are green."

Everyone waited with baited breath, many fearing the ship would explode upon take off.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three...two...one...BLAST OFF!" The thrusters fired and pushed the vessel upwards, everyone watching as it soared into the air. After several long minutes, the ship breached the atmosphere and was safely in space.

They all cheered, as Micheal spoke again. "It's time to activate the dimensional warp drive. Are you ready?"

"We are," Dan replied. "Don't worry. We'll make it to Vestroia. And we'll be back soon." Everyone watched as the signal on the screen showed the ship's dimensional engines powering up. And eventually, a large surge of energy was registered before vanishing.

"Well?" A blonde woman asked, "what happened? Did they make it?"

"They escaped our dimension," Spectra replied. "But we won't know if they made it to Vestroia until they get there and set up a communications frequency."

"But they never contacted us," Joe finished. "We've been trying to locate them ever since, but we haven't been able to find a trace of them."

"We weren't even sure if they made it to Vestroia," Mira sighed. "But if these Rugenga arrived at around the same time, and have Bakugan like the ones that went with them, it's possible they made it."

"But your friends are supposed to be the good guys?" Flash pointed out. "So why would they try and attack Bakugan and Equestria?"

"We're not saying they're the Rugenga," Joe replied. "In fact, do you have any images of these guys?" Sunset used her Baku-Bracer to create holographic images of the six villains, the three staring at them and nodding. "Yup. That can't be them. I mean, Marucho's half the size of that Aquos Brawler."

"Then who are they?" Mira asked. "And what's their connection to our friends?"

"We'll figure it out once we've found them," Spectra replied. "We just need to find them. But first, we also need to find our own way to Vestroia or Equestria."

"And maybe our world," Twilight stated. "My parents are probably freaking out about me disappearing."

"So how do we get there?" Flash asked, as everyone thought about it. But Spectra seemed to already have an idea.

"It's quite simple. Every dimension has its very own unique energy signature. It's one of the ways we Vestals managed to get to Vestroia all those years ago. So long as we have that dimension's energy signature, we can track it back to the dimension of origin."

"Okay?" Flarenix frowned, "but how do we get the energy?" Twilight then snapped her fingers.

"We already have it. If every dimension gives off a kind of energy, then being in that dimension must cause you to get bathed in it."

"Exactly," Mira nodded. "It's harmless. Just something you happen to pick up when you're in that world for a long time. So we can take samples of that energy and use it to find our way back to your worlds."

"Great," Flash smirked, "what do you need from us?"

"I'll take you to the scanner room," Joe replied. "But we've only got three scan chambers, so one of you will have to wait."

Moondancer turned to Sunset. "I'll take the scan. The two of us have both been to the same worlds, so they don't need both of us." Sunset agreed, as Joe led them away and asked more about Dragonia.

Spectra and the blue haired guy began working on something, leaving Sunset and Flarenix alone with Mira stepping up next to them.

"Come on. I know you're probably worried about getting back to your world, but you should take this time to explore. It's not every day you get to be in a completely new universe."

"Sure," Sunset nodded. Mira led her out of the building, the pair beginning to explore the many different facets of Bakugan City.

One such facet were the many battle arenas, where Brawlers of all kinds could apparently battle against one another. "Bakugan," Sunset looked up at a TV screen, "Brawl!" A blonde human threw a Bakugan into battle, the humanoid Haos Bakugan appearing with a leap into the sky. "Rise, Haos Reptak!"

Sunset kept watching and was amazed by all the different battles taking place.

"Wow. In Equestria, the only battles we have are for training or when we're trying to fight off the Rugenga."

Mira sighed, "that's a shame. Battling is a great way to bond with your Bakugan and your opponents. Here, we battle just for the love of the game. To improve ourselves and show the world our strength. That's why we fight so hard to defend it when needed."

Sunset watched several battles and wondered if Equestria could ever have something like that.

"Mira!" The two look up and see a pair of Bakugan flying towards them. One was an Aquos Bakugan and the other was a Haos Bakugan. "There you are. What happened earlier? Apparently, there was a fight going on in town."

Mira nodded, "there's been a development with Dan and the others. We may have a lead to help find them."

"Really?" The Haos Bakugan asked. "Great. What is it?"

Mira turned to Sunset, "sorry. Let me introduce you." She gestured to the Bakugan. "This is Aquos Minx Elfin and Haos Aranaut. They're really close to two Bakugan that went missing. Tigerra and Preyas."

Elfin floated forward, "do you two know anything about Preyas and the others? If you do, can you please tell us." She sounded desperate. "Oh, I knew I should have gone with them. I can't believe I let Amazon go."

Sunset wasn't sure why, but Elfin almost sounded like a concerned mother.

"Relax," Mira told her. "We'll find them. We just need to-" She didn't get to finish, as the TVs on the stadiums suddenly went static and changed to show an image of a familiar masked individual.

"Thalia!" Sunset growled, seeing the Rugenga in question.

"Hello, Bakugan City. Sorry for the hijack, but I need to talk with a friend of mine. Defenders. Come to Twelfth and Aquos if you know what's good for you." Suddenly, the TV changed back to normal. But as it did, something happened and the Bakugan all suddenly started glowing.

"What?" Elfin asked, "what's happening?" She grunted, the other two doing the same.

"What's wrong?" Mira asked, as Aranaut groaned.

"It's...it suddenly feels like I can't hold ball form any longer. Like if I'm not careful, I'll turn back to my true form."

"What?" Mira then took out a phone and fiddled with it, frowning as she did. "No way. The dimensional wave projectors have been kicked up to full power. The Bakugan will have to really work to keep from going big."

"What's the problem?" Flarenix asked, grunting as he did. "Wasn't this place built for Bakugan to be able to transform into their true forms?"

"Yes. But if every Bakugan transforms, the entire city will be overcrowded with them. And there might be ones inside buildings when it happens."

"Can you fix it?" Sunset asked, as Mira tried. But she was having no luck.

"I don't know how she did this, but she's good. I can't override the hack."

"Then there's only one option." Sunset started running. "I need to find her and stop her." Mira frowned, but nodded before calling out to her.

"Okay. But you're going the wrong way." Sunset stopped and groaned, Mira actually chuckling before the pair heading in the right direction.

On Twelfth and Aquos, Thalia sat atop a building watching the many Bakugan attempting to stay outside in case they couldn't hold their smaller form.

And sure enough, a flash of light revealed a Ventus pterodactyl Bakugan that couldn't hold it. She chuckled, but then noticed someone running into the street. Sunset.

She and Mira quickly arrived and spotted the Ventus Bakugan, who had already taken to the air to keep himself from causing any trouble. But they both knew he couldn't stay up there for long. "Thalia!" Sunset yelled, "where are you?"

"Up here!" They looked and spotted the Rugenga, who leapt off the building and landed a ways off. "So you're the one that came. Shame. I was hoping to settle the score with Sentry. But you'll do."

"What are you planning?" Mira asked, "why do this?"

"It's quite simple," Thalia replied. "We need a way back to Vestroia and you'll obviously find a way there. So we're going to make sure you take us back with you and don't try and capture us. And the best way to do that is to hold your Bakugan hostage."

Sunset's eyes widened, "you're gonna try and take Flarenix?"

"That's right. And if you want me to lower the energy of the field, you'll battle me. If you don't, this city will suddenly find itself with a lot less space."

Sunset glared at her, then turned to Flarenix. The Pyrus Bakugan turned to her and nodded, "let's do this. We've got no choice." Sunset nodded and turned back to her.

"Fine. We'll brawl. But you have to turn to generators back down before we do."

"Very well," Thalia nodded. "I'd need to do that anyway." She took out the tablet and lowered the energy, Flarenix confirming that he was no longer having to hold back his transformation. The Bakugan in the air also managed to revert back to ball form, as Thalia and Sunset held up their Baku-Bracers. "Let's do this."

"Lets!" Sunset cried, as the Bracers activated and created the power-ups. And as their life gauges filled up, Elfin and Aranaut arrived to see the battle begin. "BRAWL!"

Thalia: 100%
Sunset: 100%

"Gate Card...SET!" Thalia threw It and once the card hit the ground, it exploded as the two grabbed their Bakugan and leapt into the air. "Bakugan...BRAWL!" Their Bakugan flew through several power-ups before landing on the ground, both rolling along it before popping open. "Bakugan...STAND!"

The Bakugan exploded, light and fire filling the street before their true forms appeared. Flarenix flew up high, whilst Tigress stood strong on the ground. Tigress roared, as her and Flarenix's power rose.

Tigress: 650Gs
Flarenix: 650Gs

Elfin and Aranaut stared at Tigress, their eyes going wide. "No way," Aranaut cried, "Mistress Tigerra?" Tigress heard that name and growled, but kept her focus on the battle.

"Ability, Activate!" Thalia swiped a card, as light formed around Tigress' head. "Crystal Bite!" The gemstone jaws formed, ready to do some serious damage as Tigress ran forward.

Tigress: 950Gs
Flarenix: 650Gs

As the tiger picked up speed, she leapt up and actually ran up the side of a building before leaping off and attacking the phoenix. Flarenix tried to escape, but Tigress was too fast and slashed at him.

He barely managed to keep his wings from being bitten into, Flarenix blowing Tigress back as Sunset swiped a card.

"Ability, Activate!" Flarenix's body burst into flames, as the bird dove down towards the Haos bakugan. "Inferno Charge!"

Tigress: 950Gs
Flarenix: 900Gs

Flarenix slammed into Tigress, but the tiger blocked with her claws and was able to keep Tigress at bay.

"Is that all you've got?" Thalia laughed. "Pathetic." She pointed toward the ground. "Gate Card...OPEN!" The ground began to glow, as Tigress pushed Flarenix away. "Haos Reactor!" The light flew into her, powering her up as she charged forward.

Tigress: 1150Gs
Flarenix: 900Gs

Flarenix tries to fly back up, but Tigress leapt at him and caught up before he could get away. The tiger roared, as she sliced at Flarenix and made him squawk. And before Flarenix could attack back, Tigress leapt away.

Mira gasped, seeing Flarenix take a lot of damage whilst Sunset took out two cards. "Double Ability, Activate!" Flarenix recovered before flying towards Tigress, his wings and feet bursting into flames. "Blazing Talon, plus Wildfire Wingbeat!"

He stopped moving and thrust his wings forward, sending the flames flying towards Tigress and hitting her.

Tigress: 1000Gs
Flarenix: 1000Gs

Tigress flinched, as the flames washed over her body. Flarenix then attacked, slashing at her with his flaming claws. But Tigress quickly leapt out of the way before they could make contact. And as she landed on the side of a building, Thalia swiped a pair of cards.

"Double Ability, Activate!" Tigress leapt off the building, as light and electricity swirled around her. "Power Charge, plus Lightning Whirlwind!"

She landed on the ground and the lightning exploded off of her, swirling around Flarenix and zapping him.

Tigress: 1250Gs
Flarenix: 900Gs

The big cat then shot forward and flew through the tornado, slashing at the bird and making him scream in pain. This caused him to be blasted back and revert to ball form. "Flarenix!" She gasped, as the Bakugan fell to the ground and her life gauge dropped.

Thalia: 100%
Sunset: 30%

Thalia smirked, as Tigress returned to her. "You're in trouble now. Do yourself a favour and give up." Sunset glared at her, as Mira stepped up.

"Don't listen to her. You can still win this. You just have to remember to play to Flarenix's strengths." Sunset nodded, as she looked down at the Bakugan she had just picked up.

"Flarenix's strengths?" She couldn't really out-muscle Tigress. But she could undo a lot of the damage the Bakugan did. She just had to play it smart. "I can do this."

Back at the Battle Brawler's HQ, Flash, Twilight and Moondancer stepped out of a trio of chambers.

They had just spent a short while being scanned and now that it was over, they could finally step out. "So?" They asked Spectra, as he worked on the scans, "did you get what you were looking for?"

"I did," Spectra nodded. "With this, I should be able to locate your world's point of origins and send us all there."

"Great," Twilight nodded. "Any idea how long that'll take?"

"None, I'm afraid. These things take time. I'm searching an entire multiverse for one with the same energy signature as yours. It's not gonna be easy." They nodded, but hoped he would be able to find the world soon.

In that moment, the doors opened before the blue haired man rushed in. "Master Spectra?"

"Gus? What's wrong?"

"Someone's hacked into the city's dimensional field generators and has set them to max. Bakugan all over the city are turning into their true forms."

"What?" Spectra moved over to a computer and brought up the info, the man realising he was right. "How? Our systems are encrypted. Marucho made sure that nobody could ever hack in. How could they have enough in-depth knowledge of the systems to get in?"

"Does that matter?" Flash asked. "Can you stop it?"

"No need," Spectra stated. "The system's already been returned to normal. But whoever hacked in can put it back to its max at any moment." As he said that, another alert sounded.

"Now what?" Twilight asked, as a holo-screen appeared showing Sunset and Thalia's battle. They all gasped, as Flarenix was knocked back into ball form. "I think we know who hacked into your system."

"So what now?" Moondancer asked, but Flash was already heading for the door.

"What else. We've gotta go help before it's too late!" The others nodded, Joe and the girls quickly heading out with him. Meanwhile, Spectra and Gus worked to try and undo the hack. But it wouldn't be easy. Whoever did this was a skilled computer user.

"Gate Card...SET!" Sunset threw her card to the ground, causing it to explode in a burst of red light.

Sunset was about to grab Flarenix, but Aranaut flew over to her. "I don't know what's going on. But please, let me help. I wanna battle this Mistress Faker." But Sunset just shook her head.

"I can't," she told him. "Thalia wants to take Flarenix. If I don't use him, she might call off the deal and raise the generators again. Flarenix and I need to be the ones to win this." Aranaut looked upset about this, as Elfin flew over to him.

"Don't worry. I'm sure she'll be able to win this. And when she does, we can figure out who those weirdos are."

Sunset nodded, as Thalia called out to them. "Are we doing this or not?" Sunset glared at her before grabbing Flarenix, both Brawlers leaping up and throwing their partners towards the ground. "Bakugan...BRAWL!" They flew through the power-ups and eventually hit the ground, "Bakugan...STAND!" Once again, a burst of flames and light revealed their Bakugan. And as they got ready for battle, their power-ups kicked in and powered them up.

Tigress: 650Gs
Flarenix: 700Gs

"Ability, Activate!" Thalia then held up a pair of Bakugan, which started glowing. "Savage Air!" She dropped the Bakugan, as the light flew off them and into Tigress. The Bakugan roared before rushing forward, her soon power rising.

Tigress: 1050Gs
Flarenix: 700Gs

But as she got in close, Flarenix was able to avoid one of her slashes as Sunset took out a card "Ability, Activate She slashed the card and Flarenix's body also burst into flames. "Incineration!"

"Take this!" He beat his wings and the flames flew off of him, flying towards Tigress before swirling around her to form several spiralling fire streams.

Tigress flinched at the heat, as the light on her body disappeared. "Sorry, Thalia. But this effect will cancel out your Ability's increase. But those Bakugan you sacrificed are still out of the match.

Tigress: 650Gs
Flarenix: 700Gs

Thalia glared at Sunset, as she took out a card. "Ability, Activate" Tigress glowed and ran forward, the fire around her extinguishing as she approached Flarenix. "Power Charge!"

Tigress: 800Gs
Flarenix: 700Gs

She leapt at the bird, slashing at him and making Flarenix flinch. But before she could attack again, Sunset pointed towards the ground. "Gate Card, OPEN!" The ground burst into flames, creating a firewall between the pair. "Pyrus Reactor!"

Tigress leapt away from the firewall, only for Flarenix to dive through it and catch fire.

Tigress: 800Gs
Flarenix: 900Gs

He slammed into Tigress, knocking her back whilst burning her, then flew up as Sunset swiped a card. "And now. Ability, Activate!" The flames surrounding Flarenix moved to her wings, "Wildfire Wingbeat!"

He let out a squawk and with a single beat, the flames flew off his wings and slammed down onto Tigress.

Tigress: 650Gs
Flarenix: 900Gs

The Haos Bakugan flinched, but stayed strong as Flarenix dove down to attack. But before he could, Thalia swiped a card. "Ability, Activate!" The light formed around Tigress' mouth, creating a bunch of gems. "Crystal Bite!" The gems formed into fangs and the tiger slammed them down into the ground, causing the Gate Card to shatter.

Tigress: 950Gs
Flarenix: 700Gs

As the flames vanished, Tigress leapt up and slashed at Flarenix. He hissed, but grabbed hold of Tigress with his claws. As she did, Sunset swiped a card. "Ability, Activate!" The claws burst into flames. "Blazing Talon!"

Tigress: 950Gs
Flarenix: 800Gs

The flames burned Tigress, but the Bakugan managed to endure it as she slashed at Flarenix again. The bird flinched and dropped Tigress, as Thalia took out another card.

"This will end it. Ability, Activate!" Tigress' claws and the spikes on her armor began to glow, "Cut In Revenger!" With a mighty roar, Tigress created a powerful wind that blow the light on her blades flew off her.

It shot towards Flarenix, slamming into him multiple times. "Augh!" He cried, feeling a lot of his energy being drained away.

Tigress: 950Gs
Flarenix: 200Gs

"No way!" Mira cried, seeing Flarenix begin to fall toward the ground. "One attack did all that?" But Sunset wasn't worried, even as Flarenix grew closer to the ground.

"Let's go!" She swiped a pair of cards, "Ability, Activate!" Flarenix burst into flames, as he spread his wings and stopped himself from falling. "Rebirth!" Flarenix felt the power he had lost being restored, as the damage he had taken also started to heal.

Tigress: 950Gs
Flarenix: 1000Gs

"Plus, Inferno Charge!" The flames around him grew more powerful, as he shot towards Tigress at full speed.

"BRING IT ON!" He yelled, turning into a blazing arrow as his power rose.

Tigress: 950Gs
Flarenix: 1250Gs

Tigress tried to avoid the oncoming attack, but Flarenix shot straight at her and smashed into the tiger at full speed. The explosion that followed, knocked her flying through the air and she crashed into the ground.

This caused part of the ground to break apart, sending a small junk of rock flying towards Thalia. And she was so focused on Tigress returning to ball form, she didn't notice it until it was too late. "GYAH!" She cried, as the rock hit her mask and caused a small crack to form in it.

Thalia: 40%
Sunset: 30%

"YEAH!" Aranaut cheered, Elfin and Mira looking pleased as Thalia staggered back and Tigress landed at her feet.

She reached up and felt the crack on her mask, which angered her as she picked up Tigress. "You'll pay for that!" She turned to Sunset, as Flarenix returned to her.

"Bring it," she stated. Thalia then took out a card and threw it.

"Gate Card...SET!" The card hit the ground and exploded, the two Brawlers leaping up once again and aiming at the nearest power-ups. "Bakugan...BRAWL!" They flew through the air, hitting the power-ups and landing once again. "Bakugan...STAND!"

Fire and light filled the street and the two Bakugan took their form, the power-ups kicking in as the brawlers took out their cards.

Tigress: 700Gs
Flarenix: 650Gs

"Ability, Activate!" Tigress roared, as the gems appeared around her jaw once again. "Crystal Bite!"

Tigress: 1000Gs
Flarenix: 650Gs

Tigress charged at Flarenix, but Sunset was ready for that and took out two cards. "Double Ability, Activate!" Flarenix squawked, as he unleashed a burst of fire that struck Tigress head on. "Incineration, plus Blazing Talon!" The flames burned away the crystal fangs, as Flarenix's claws ignited.

Tigress: 700Gs
Flarenix: 750Gs

Tigress was forced to stagger back, as Flarenix dove at the beast with both burning claws at the ready. And as he slashed at Tigress, Thalia pointed towards the ground. "Gate Card...OPEN!" The ground began to glow, "Element Merge! This card steals away two hundred Gs from every opponent on the field!"

The light from the card flew up and hit Flarenix, making him flinch as his power was sucked out.

It then flew into Tigress, powering her up whilst Flarenix was powered down.

Tigress: 900Gs
Flarenix: 550Gs

Tigress took this chance to leapt at Flarenix, pouncing on him the way a cat would a pigeon. The impact slammed Flarenix down into the ground, Tigress pinning him down and digging his claws into him. "Augh!" He cried, as Mira gasped.

Sunset was also worried, but acted quickly and took something out. "Come, Bakugan Trap!" She threw it into the air, "Pyrus Solarmander!" The egg-shaped Bakugan flew up before opening, light surrounding the Bakugan as it took its true form and shot towards the others.

Tigress looked up and was blinded by the sudden light of the fire, as the lizard Bakugan slammed into her and knocked her off Flarenix.

Tigress: 900Gs
Flarenix+Solarmander: 900Gs

As Tigress hit the ground and Flarenix got up, Sunset swiped a card. "Ability, Activate!" Solarmander took a deep breath. "Burst Fire!" The lizard spat a fireball at Tigress, which exploded as it slammed against her.

Tigress: 900Gs
Flarenix+Solarmander: 1000Gs

The Bakugan was knocked staggering, as Flarenix leapt into the air. But before he could attack, Thalia took something out. "Now come, Bakugan Trap!" She threw it upwards, "Haos Sky Horse!" The Bakugan unfolded and transformed, the light shooting towards Flarenix and slamming into him.

"Gyah!" He cried, once again getting knocked to the ground as the seahorse Bakugan appeared.

Tigress+Sky Horse: 1250Gs
Flarenix+Solarmander: 1000Gs

And before Sunset could counter, Thalia swiped two cards. "Double Ability, Activate!" Tigress' body sparked, as Sky Horse flew up. "Shining Scream, plus Lightning Whirlwind!"

Tigress ran forward and before the Pyrus Bakugan could try and get away, Sky Horse unleashed a high pitched sound attack that deafened them both. They screamed in pain, as Tigress started running around the pair and forming a lightning tornado.

The combo of the sound and the electric wind, caused the pair to both flinch and cry out as their power dropped.

Tigress+Sky Horse: 1350Gs
Flarenix+Solarmander: 600Gs

The high pitched sound was also causing the Brawlers issues, Sunset and Mira forced to cover their ears as Sky Horse kept making the horrible noise. "You've gotta stop them!" Mira cried, seeing the surrounding windows were getting close to shattering.

Sunset nodded, as she took out two cards. "Let's go, guys!" Flarenix forced himself to fly over to Solarmander, wrapping his wings around it. "Double Ability, Activate!" Flarenix burst into flames, which surrounded the two Bakugan. "Rebirth!"

He swung his wings apart and unleashed a wave of fire, which blew away the lightning tornado and knocked Tigress away.

Tigress+Sky Horse: 1350Gs
Flarenix+Solarmander: 1200Gs

"Plus, Sunlight Brilliance!" As Tigress hit the ground, Solarmander leapt out from under Flarenix and unleashed a blinding blast of sunlight from the spots on his body.

This light struck both Tigress and Sky Horse, forcing them to look away and weakening them.

Tigress+Sky Horse: 1150Gs
Flarenix+Solarmander: 1200Gs

As the two Bakugan tried to see through the light, Flarenix dove down and aimed at Tigress. He then slammed into her, knocking her backwards as she let out a roar of pain. But as Flarenix flew up to take another shot, Sky Horse flew at him and tried to keep him distracted.

This gave Tigress the time she needed to get up, as Thalia swiped a card. "Ability, Activate!" She took out two Bakugan and dropped them again, the Bakugan glowing as they sent their energy towards Tigress. "Savage Air!"

Tigress roared, the light flowing into her, as she then charged forward with her target being Sunset's Trap Bakugan.

Tigress+Sky Horse: 1550Gs
Flarenix+Solarmander: 1200Gs

"You're mine!" She snarled, ready to deal a serious clawing to Solarmander. But as she got close, Sunset swiped a pair of cards. "Double Ability, Activate!" Solarmander unleashed a blast of fire, which formed a wall Tigress was forced to run through. "Flame Defence!"

The wall of fire burned away the light surrounding Tigress, cancelling Savage Air and leaving her once again weaker than Solarmander.

Tigress+Sky Horse: 1150Gs
Flarenix+Solarmander: 1200Gs

The lizard quickly curled up and dodged Tigress' attack before using his tail to send him rolling forward, slamming right into Tigress. And as she was knocked back, Flarenix's wings burst into flames.

"Plus, Wildfire Wingbeat!" The bird beat his wings and sent the flames flying at both Sky Horse and down at Tigress.

The flames slammed into them both and they cried out, both of them barely able to hold on. But they muscled their way through, even as their power weakened.

Tigress+Sky Horse: 850Gs
Flarenix+Solarmander: 1200Gs

Thalia growled, as Solarmander leapt up onto Flarenix's back. "I'm not losing this. Do you hear me!" She took out a card and swiped it, but Sunset swiped her own card as well. "Fusion Ability, ACTIVATE!"

The two abilities activated and both Tigress and Flarenix, began to charge at each other. As they did, Flarenix's body burst into flames whilst Tigress' was covered in lightning. And as they got closer, Solarmander leapt off Flarenix's back and curled himself up.

"Phoenix Rising/Tempest Cyclone!" Tigress began to spin into a tornado of lightning, whilst the flames around Flarenix took the shape of a giant bird.

Tigress+Sky Horse: 1350Gs
Flarenix+Solarmander: 1700Gs

The two attacks collided and the impact was insane, the shockwave it caused making the entire area shake. And as the two pushed against one another, Solarmander spun through the air and shot straight towards Sky Horse.

His body was still ablaze and when he smashed into the seahorse, the flames spread to it and made it cry out. And as Sky Horse was knocked backwards, Flarenix overpowered Tigress and knocked her back as well. The two Haos Bakugan screamed, as they both slammed into the ground.

Once again, the ground broke apart and pieces of it flew all over the place. And as the Bakugan reverted back to ball form, Thalia tried to protect herself from the rocks. But one managed to hit her in the mask and make the crack on it grow larger.

Thalia: 0%
Sunset: 30% (Winner)

Sunset sighed, as Flarenix and Solarmander returned to her. "Nice work, guys." The Bakugan were exhausted, but gave her their thanks. And as Mira rushed over to them, they saw Thalia pick the Bakugan up.

"You did it!" Mira smiled, as she prepared to take Thalia in for questioning.

But as she did, a cracking sound filled the air. Thalia's mask was breaking apart and as she stood up, a large chunk of the right side fell away from it. "No!" Thalia cried, trying to cover her face. But it was too late. Mira, Aranaut and Elfin had seen her face and they all gasped, shocked by who was behind the mask.

And as Sunset looked, she also felt like she recognised her.

Thalia's skin was the same colour as a lot of the humans in this world, but her single visible eye and hair were a colour she recognised. The eye was a dark green colour, whilst the locks of hair visible under the mask were blue.

Mira just stared at her, clearly having trouble believing what she was seeing. "R-Runo?" Sunset heard this and remembered what she had been told before.

"Runo? One of your friends that went missing?"

"It is her," Aranaut nodded. "Mistress Runo. You've returned. But why are you doing all this?"

Thalia didn't answer and picked the mask pieces up, as Mira ran forward. "Runa. What are you doing?" But Thalia didn't answer, instead jumping up and landing atop a nearby lamppost. "Runo!"

"I am not Runo," she replied. "I am what Runo could be, had she not been completely stifled by all those annoying weaknesses. Compassion. Love. Honour. I am the Runo who can exist without all that baggage tying her down." She pointed at Sunset. "The next time we meet, you won't get off so easily. Remember that." She then leapt into the air and up the side of a building, reaching the roof and disappearing as she did so.

Mira watched her leave and was still in shock, clearly unable to believe what she had just seen. "Runo. What happened to you?" In that moment, Flash and the others arrived.

"SUNSET!" Flash cried, reaching her and looking around. "I guess this means we got here a second too late?" Sunset nodded, as she looked up towards the building that the Rugenga had disappeared behind.

"Who...what are they?" She asked, having more questions than answers.

Back at the warehouse, Hayate and Cursor were still there.

It was then that Thalia returned, her mask still damaged as she made her way towards them. "Well?" Hayate asked. "Did it work?" He noticed Thalia's revealed face, the girl removing her mask to reveal her entire face.

"It worked." She placed the pieces of the mask down, the whole thing turning into a black slime that began to merge together. She then took out the tablet and nodded, seeing that Spectra had been able to bypass the hack. But he hadn't discovered what she was truly after.

"I'm still lost," Cursor stated. "You were able to hack into their systems. So why did you need to implant this trojan program?"

"That hack was way too noticeable," she explained. "They would have detected it in time. But this program will be completely invisible." She fiddled with the tablet and eventually, it showed images of the Battle Brawler's HQ. They had complete access to their security system. "Now we can know everything that happens in there. When they find a way to Vestroia, we'll know about it."

"Perfect," Draken nodded. "Then it's just a matter of time before we're back there." They all nodded, as Cursor and Hayate removed their masks. In doing so, they revealed their true faces. Cursor was a young man with brown hair and reddish brown eyes, whilst Hayate was a man with black hair and orange brown eyes.

The three smiled at one another, knowing that they would find a way back to Vestroia. But until then, they had an entire world of Bakugan to play with. And Cursor already knew how he wanted to spend his time.

Author's Note

Happy Christmas Eve, everybody. I hope you have a good Christmas and hopefully, this chapter will be a fun way for you to enjoy yourselves. Let me know what you think of the chapter and the reveal at the end.