Within their secret base, the Rugenga were all gathered with only Beck being missing.

Currently, Kiyrah stood in front of Cursor with her new Bakugan in her hand. Cursor and Draken were staring at him and nodded. "Welcome, Hydread. It's good to see you have awakened. With you, now more than half of us have obtained our full strength."

"AHHHHH!" Azalea cried, stomping her feet on the ground. "Why won't my partner awaken? No fair! No fair! No fair!"

"Would you relax," Thalia stated. "It'll happen. Just be patient." Azalea glared at her, as Thalia turned to Cursor. "Even so, those Defenders are getting stronger. Ever since those humans showed up, things have been getting harder and harder for us."

"Indeed," Hayate nodded. "It's because unlike us, they can come and go from Vestroia whenever they please. So when we detect a breach, they warp there and keep us from getting inside."

"We need a way to keep them from stopping us," Cursor agreed. "But how?" It was at that moment that Beck arrived, appearing to have heard what Cursor had asked.

"I might have a way we can solve that issue." The others turned to him, as he stepped aside and allowed something else to float into the room. That something was a metal orb, hovering in the air thanks to a pair of rotors that were connected to metal arms on the sides. The front of it had a red camera lens.

"What the heck is that?" Azalea asked, as the machine flies around the room.

"A drone," Beck replied. "A Brawling Drone. I've built a bunch of them and installed everything our computers had about Brawling into them. They can shoot Bakugan, launch Gate Cards and activate Ability Cards as well as any of us can."

"Is that so?" Draken hummed with suspicion. "If it's a machine, I doubt it'll have the imagination and quick thinking truly needed to be a master Brawler."

"Maybe not," Beck nods. "And it's very likely that the Defenders can defeat these things. But they should work well as a distraction."

"I get it," Hayate nodded. "We send these things all over Vestroia. And when a breach appears, they'll fly through them and cause havoc in Equestria."

"Exactly," Beck nodded. "And with the Defenders distracted, they won't be able to stop us from entering their world."

"Perfect," Cursor nodded. "Send them out. Have them lock onto any portal they detect. If they manage to get through the portal before the Defenders arrive, make them cause as much havoc as humanly possible."

"It shall be done," Beck nodded before the figure left the room with his drone following behind him.

Kiyrah then turned to Cursor and bowed her head. "If it's alright. I'd like to be the one to go through the portal if these drones actually manage to distract the Defenders."

"Yes," Hydread hissed. "I am itching to use some of my power and I think using it to wreck this Equestria place, would be a rather fun way to scratch it." Cursor nodded, as Skyreign spoke up.

"I'd like to go to. I still have a score to settle after how my last battle against them went." Hayate agreed, with Cursor nodding once more. The pair headed out, leaving the other Rugenga eager to see how things work out. And how well the Defenders react to what is happening.

Back in Equestria, almost all the Defenders were enjoying a nice lunch in one of the castle gardens.

The only one not with them was Braeburn, who had decided to decline the event. They had just finished a hard day of training and were sitting under Celestia's golden apple tree, their picnic helping them relax after the stressful work they had been doing. Meanwhile, Dragonia and Leonidas were in one of the tree's branches discussing something.

"Joe?" Leonidas asked.

"Yes. Back during my first life as Wyvern, I met Joe after acquiring the Infinity Core. He was a sickly boy that was always hospitalised and couldn't do anything he wanted. When I first met him, he'd suffered an attack from his condition that very well may have killed him. But I was able to use the Infinity Core to cure him."

"And he became your partner?" Leonidas asked.

"Yes, though not until later. We only ever battled together once, because I was having trouble controlling the Infinity Core. And after I sacrificed myself to pass the Infinity Core to Drago, I was forced to say goodbye to him. I haven't gotten to see him since."

"Because you were a spirit bound to Vestroia?" Leonidas asked, with Dragonia nodding.

"And after Vestroia and his world were cut off, with centuries passing, I believed I would never get to see him. But now that I know barely any time has passed in his world, a part of me wonders if I might get to one day meet him."

"I'm sure you will," Leonidas stated. "But we need to focus on stopping the Rugenga before we can hope to find him."

"Truer words were never spoken," Dragonia agreed.

Down on the ground, Flash was enjoying a spring roll whilst looking over at Twilight as she was sitting away from the others reading an old looking book. Her eyes didn't leave the pages, as she used her magic to feed herself a sandwich.

"Hey, you okay over there?" Twilight looked up from her book for a moment and nodded before looking back at said book. "Geez. Must be one engaging story."

"It's not a story," Sunset replied. "That book is an ancient tome of rare magic. It's written in a language so old, barely anypony knows how to read it. Twilight's one of the only ponies alive that can."

"Is she looking for something specific?" Lyra asked.

"Who knows," Moondancer stated. "The one thing you need to know about Twilight, is that she's obsessed with studying. It used to be so bad that she would ignore almost anything else."

"True," Sunset replied. "You would know. Considering what happened with your party." The humans raised an eyebrow at this, as Sorcerell jumped onto Lyra's shoulder. "Moondancer wanted to be friends with Twilight and threw a party for her, but Twilight never showed up."

"Seriously?" Flash asked, shocked by that. "That doesn't sound like something my Twilight would do."

"Well she's not your Twilight," Sunset pointed out. "And she did kind of have a reason for it. With Nightmare Moon's return and all. Then she moved to Ponyville and well..."

"I get it," Moondancer stated. "I didn't exactly take it well." Sorcerell leapt onto her shoulder. "Who knows what would have happened, if I hadn't met Sorcerell when I did. I'd probably have turned into a major shut-in." Sunset nodded, as they spotted Braeburn walking through the gardens carrying a massive crate above him.

"Wow," Flash whistled, "how's he carrying that thing?"

"Yeah," Soarin nodded. "Even if it's empty, it must weigh a ton."

Sunset chuckled. "He's an earth pony. Every type of pony has something special. Pegasi have wings, unicorns have magic and earth ponies have incredible strength and the ability to help plants grow."

"Really?" Lyra was impressed. "What about alicorns?"

"They have all three," Moondancer explained. "They're the embodiment of tribal harmony between all ponies."

Flash nodded, as he turned back to Braeburn and waved. "Hey, man. Don't you wanna take a break? You were training pretty hard earlier."

"A'm good," Braeburn replied. "If a'h don't get all this energy out of me, a'm gonna be awake all night." Flash looked confused by this, as Twilight explained.

"Braeburn is a member of the Apple Family. And one thing to note about the Apples is that they can't sit still for a moment. If there's work to be done, even if it's not their work, they'll do it."

The humans and Leo were suddenly reminded of a particular Apple named friend of their's and wondered if there was any relation, at least counterpart wise.

"Also, Braeburn's more hard working than any of them." Sunset shook her head. "I guess you'd have to be, to live somewhere like Appaloosa."

"Appaloosa?" Soarin asked.

"Braeburn's home," Dragonia explained as she and Leo flew down. "He actually helped found the town. It was a harsh environment that required only the strongest ponies to settle it."

"Cool," Flash smirked. "No wonder Braeburn's so tough when he brawls. Living somewhere like that must really toughen you up."

"Indeed," Dragonia agreed. "But it comes with a downside of making him too active for his own good. If he only did his Defender training work, he wouldn't be able to sleep at night. And he thinks if he doesn't work, he'll grow soft and be unable to handle things when he returns home."

"So that's why he's working so hard," Soarin frowned. "But he needs to give himself a break. He might be strong, but he's not a machine."

"We've tried telling him that," Sunset stated. "But he refuses to listen."

"Yup," Twilight nodded. "Another thing about the Apples. Stubborn as a mule." They suddenly heard a noise and looked over to see a humanoid mule who was apparently the gardener. He stared at them, having clearly heard Twilight's statement. "No offence."

"None taken," the mule replied before getting back to work.

Everyone kept talking about this for a few minutes, as Braeburn returned no longer carrying a crate. But he seemed to be going back for another crate, as the others finished off their picnic. But as they did, their Baku-Bracers began to beep.

This made everyone jump into action, Braeburn rushing over to them as Twilight vanished their picnic. Sunset quickly teleported them all to the control hub, the Defenders rushing to the computer as Rosemary and the others worked to figure out what was happening. "Is there a breach?" Sunset asked.

"Yes," she nodded. "And not just one. We're getting three different breach signals in varying locations." That was new. "Two level two breaches and a level three one. The level three breach is right outside of Appaloosa." That statement caused Braeburn's eyes to go wide.

"What?" He turned to the others, "that's my home. My friends all live there!"

"Then you should go keep it safe," Sunset stated. "But you can't go alone."

Soarin stepped forward, "I'll go with him." Braeburn frowned, clearly wishing to protect his home himself. "The rest of you should protect the other two breaches. Something like this is exactly what the Rugenga are after." They nodded, Sunset turning to Moondancer.

"You're with me. Flash and Lyra. You head to the other place."

"Got it," they agreed before the lot of them headed into the transporter. Braeburn and Soarin were the first in, the pair getting transported to the location of the breach. In the blink of an eye, the pair found themselves warped an area and the first thing they heard was the ocean.

When they opened their eyes, they found themselves staring at the open ocean.

They looked around and realised they were on some kind of island. The island was crescent shaped in appearance having a large beach that filled up the entire inner section of it whilst the outer edges were covered in rocks that went several feet up to form cliffs.

As they looked around, Soarin hummed. "Maybe this wasn't the best area for you to come to."

"Huh?" Braeburn turned to him, raising an eyebrow at this. "What do ya'h mean by that?" He looked over and saw the large breach. "This leads to ma'h home. Of course a'm gonna protect it."

"But Gunstinger isn't really the best Bakugan to fight in this environment," Valkyria stated. "No offence."

"No," Gunstinger nodded, "I get it. I'm confined to a single area on the beach. You, Leonidas, Flarenix and especially Amazon are much better Bakugan to use this terrain. The only one worse for this area is Sorcerell."

"Doesn't matter," Braeburn stated. "A'm gonna protect this area and nothin's gonna stop me." He moved over to a nearby rock and sat to wait, Soarin also sitting and wondering what was up with him.

"So what's Appaloosa like?" Soarin finally asked. "I don't know much about Equestria, other than Canterlot."

"It's nothing special," Braeburn replied. "It didn't even exist until a couple of years ago. But ma'h friends and a'h worked hard to build it. Every day, we toiled under the sun and slowly managed to build it up to be somethin' worth calling a town. We faced many challenges and almost went to war over land disputes. But now it's our home and a'h won't let it get destroyed."

"I understand," Soarin nodded. "And we'll help however we can. Right, Valkyria?"

"Of course," the Ventus Bakugan nodded in agreement. "We Bakugan owe you ponies a lot for letting us stay here and putting your world at risk. It's only fair we do what we can to keep it from taking any more damage than it's already suffered." Soarin agreed, but Braeburn still didn't look so sure about this.

In his mind, Braeburn imagined Appaloosa being attacked. And whenever he imagined Soarin or someone other than him protecting it, the idea didn't sit right in his stomach.

However, before this thought could fester too long, Gunstinger noticed something. "What's that?" He gestured towards the sky and everyone looked up, expecting to see a Rugenga transport ship. But they didn't.

Instead, four small dots were moving towards the island over the ocean. And with each passing second, they got bigger and bigger. "You ever seen anything like that?" Soarin asked, as they both stood up.

"No," Braeburn shook his head, "can't say a'h have." They watched and prepared themselves, for whatever the heck they were.

"Drones?" Soarin asked, as they finally got close enough for him to identify them.

"What's a drone?" Soarin often forgot that whilst Equestria did have some advanced scientific devices, it had somehow forgotten to come up with others.

"Machines. They're designed for all manner of things. But there's only one place these things could have come from."

"The Rugenga," Gunstinger hissed as the devices flew towards the breach. "We've gotta stop them!"

"How?" Braeburn asked, wishing he had brought Sunset along. Her magic would have been useful to shield the breach. But instead, he and Soarin were alone with no way to stop them. Or so he thought.

"Catch!" He turned to Soarin and saw him toss a rock at him, the Earth Pony catching it as Soarin threw another. And all those hours practising his Bakugan shoot came in handy, as the rock slammed into a drone and damaged its rotor. And as it flew out of control, Soarin started aiming for another one.

Braeburn also threw the rock, his pony strength allowing it to sail up and hit a second drone and rip right through one of the arms. The whole thing was ripped in half and as it broke apart, something fell out from within it.

"Is that a Bakugan?" Valkyria asked, as Soarin rushed over and managed to catch it.

"Gotcha!" He held it up and found it was a Pyrus Bakugan, which led him to believe something else. "The others must have Bakugan inside as well." Braeburn didn't like the sound of that and grabbed another rock off the sand, trying to hit the others but missing each one. Even the broken one was able to avoid him and head to the breach.

And much to their dismay, the two non-broken ones managed to get through the portal. "No!" Braeburn yelled, grabbing another rock and throwing it as hard as he could.

He managed to hit the damaged drone seconds before it flew through the breach, causing its other rotor to break and make it fall to the sandy ground. And when it crashed into it, Braeburn ran towards the drone and ripped it apart.

This caused another Pyrus Bakugan to fall out, Braeburn picking it up and turning towards the portal. "They made it through."

"Then let's not waste anymore time," Soarin cried. "Come on!"

Appaloosa wasn't much to look at in the grand scheme of things.

It was mostly two rows of buildings with a few other buildings located behind them. It was pretty much an old western town, complete with tumbleweeds and ponies that wore cowboy hats to protect their heads. And it wasn't just ponies, as a bunch of humanoid buffalo also called the place their home.

Currently, these ponies and buffalo were all staring at a shimmering thing that had appeared not too long ago.

They all knew what it was, as the few Subterra Bakugan that called it home could feel Vestroia's power behind it. And they all knew that it was very likely that someone or something could come through that portal and cause utter mayhem.

"Alright!" The pony known as Sheriff Silverstar stepped up to the front of the group. "Ya'll know what to do. We gotta evacuate the town in the opposite direction this thing is in. So we need to head up to the rocks." He pointed at a large collection of rocks in the distance, many of the ponies and Buffalo making their way towards it.

"But what about the town?" One pony asked. "It might be destroyed."

"The town can be rebuilt," Silverstar stated. "We can't. Now scram!" Everypony began to move and as they did, the portal wobbled. "HURRY!" They knew what that meant and ran for it, as the two drones flew out of the place.

They started scanning the place and zeroed in on something. "Bakugan located!" They raced towards it, the Bakugan in question riding on a buffalo's head.

But before it could reach it, it picked up another signal. A Baku-Bracer signal. And as it turned around, it saw Soarin and Braeburn leap out of the portal. "Stop right there!" Braeburn yelled, his friends hearing his voice and smiling. Braeburn looked around and saw how close he was to the town. "Ya'll want ta cause problems, ya'll have to go through me."

"You mean us," Soarin replied whilst he quickly activated his Baku-Bracer. "I'm here to help as well, remember?" Braeburn frowned, as he activated his own. The two connected as the drones got closer, they realised the machines really did have some kind of brawling system within them. Their Baku-Bracers linked to two more signals, confirming the drones could brawl. "Let's do this thing!"

"We have to be careful," Braeburn looked around. "One wrong move and the whole town could be destroyed."

"We understand," Gunstinger stated. "We'll try our best to keep the collateral damage to a minimum." Braeburn frowned as he turned to Soarin, who nodded with Valkyria.

"Okay," he nodded, "let's do this." They turned back to the Drones, as their Life Gauges filled. "Let's Brawl!"

Soarin: 100%
Braeburn: 100%
Drone 1: 100%
Drone 2: 100%

"Gate Card...set!" One of the drones suddenly spat a card out of a slot, which hit the ground and exploded.

"A'h can't believe a'h machine is actually able ta brawl," Braeburn stated.

"I've seen stranger things," Soarin replied as both drones suddenly had a gun barrel fold out of themselves. "Look out!" They both leapt back, but they quickly realised those weren't real guns.

"Bakugan...Brawl!" Haos Bakugan shot out of the gun barrels, with the barrels folding back into them. Those Bakugan flew through some power-ups before hitting the ground rolling. "Bakugan...Stand!" The two popped open and exploded into a bright light, both taking shape and forming Bakugan Soarin and Braeburn had never seen before.

"Haos Hoplite!" One Bakugan was a centaur-like Bakugan, only instead of a horse it had the lower body of a big cat. That body was white, with yellow cuffs around the feet. Meanwhile, the top half of its body was also white but covered in yellow armor. That armor covered its entire torso and stomach, but left the white arms exposed. Its head was also covered in a yellow helmet, with only a small opening for its eyes and mouth.

The top of the helmet had blue fur sticking out the top, whilst the back had an opening for a mane of wild white hair to stick out of. In one hand, it carried a simple sword, whilst its other hand carried a large round shield. Both the weapons were bright yellow, the shield having a blue gem in the centre.

"Haos Bellona!" The other Bakugan was a humanoid lion creature, its fur being bright white in colour. Its head was covered by a yellow gladiator helmet, whilst its arms and legs had yellow armor as well. It was also carrying the same sword and shield that Hoplite was carrying, the two Bakugan standing there ready for battle.

Hoplite: 460Gs
Bellona: 430Gs

The pair then glowed, as the power-ups kicked in and raised their power.

Hoplite: 610Gs
Bellona: 580Gs

The two Bakugan roared, as they looked ready to rampage through Appaloosa. But Soarin and Braeburn were ready, both grabbing their partners as they leapt into the air. "BAKUGAN...BRAWL!" They threw the Bakugan through several power-ups before hitting the ground. "BAKUGAN...STAND!" The pair spun open and exploded into tornados of wind and sand, as their true forms appeared.

"Ventus Valkyria!" The winged warrior woman flew out of her tornado, ready for battle.

"Subterra Gunstinger!" The lamia cowboy slithered out of his tornado, his tail gun ready for battle. The two both glowed, their own power-ups kicking in.

Hoplite: 610Gs
Valkyria: 650Gs
Bellona: 580Gs
Gunstinger: 630Gs

Drone One then spoke up. "Gate Card, Open!" The ground beneath them began to glow bright, "Haos Reactor!" Hoplite and Bellona both glowed, their powers rising.

Hoplite: 810Gs
Valkyria: 650Gs
Bellona: 780Gs
Gunstinger: 630Gs

Hoplite then charged towards Gunstinger, who quickly slithered around to avoid getting trampled. Bellona also charged, running towards the skybound Valkyria. It then leapt into the air and slashed at her, but Valkyria managed to avoid it. As she did, Soarin took out a card and swiped it.

"Ability, Activate!" Valkyria brought her hands together, "Aero Shot!" A sphere of wind formed in her hands and with a strong throw, she launched it towards Bellona.

Hoplite: 810Gs
Valkyria: 950Gs
Bellona: 780Gs
Gunstinger: 630Gs

The Haos Bakugan saw this coming and managed to raise its shield at the last second, the air blast hitting it and knocking it down towards the ground.

As it landed, Gunstinger managed to avoid Hoplite's sword attack whilst Braeburn slashed his own card. "Ability, Activate!" He pointed his gun barrel tail towards him. "Quickdraw Sand Shot!"

Hoplite: 810Gs
Valkyria: 950Gs
Bellona: 780Gs
Gunstinger: 930Gs

He fired a blast of sand towards Hoplite, who barely managed to raise its shield in time. The sand slammed into the shield and knocked it back, whilst Valkyria threw another Aero Shot down towards Bellona. But as she did, cards suddenly appeared from out of the drones.

"Ability, Activate!" They both spoke in unison, as their Bakugan's shields glowed. "Power Shield!" The glowing from the shield blocked the attacks, the light then flying off and flowing over Valkyria and Gunstinger. Both of them flinched, as they felt their Abilities being negated.

Hoplite: 810Gs
Valkyria: 650Gs
Bellona: 780Gs
Gunstinger: 630Gs

Hoplite then flew into action, galloping towards Gunstinger before slamming his front paws into his chest. "GYAH!" The Bakugan fell to the ground and was soon pinned under the large paw, as Hoplite pointed his sword downwards ready to stab him.

"Hold on!" Valkyria cried, diving down in an attempt to save him. But before she could, Bellona leapt in front of her. It slashed at her with its sword, Valkyria raising her arms and using her armor to block the attack. But the impact still pushed her back.

"Valkyria!" Soarin cried, Braeburn rolling his eyes.

"So much for the help." He drew a card and swiped it. "Ability, Activate!" Gunstinger's snake-head arm flew up and bit into Hoplite's leg, "Mercury Fang!" Hoplite flinched, as the venom was injected into it.

Hoplite: 710Gs
Valkyria: 650Gs
Bellona: 780Gs
Gunstinger: 630Gs

This forced Hoplite to pull its leg back, allowing Gunstinger to roll out from under it. As this was going on, Bellona charged at Valkyria and tried to slash at her. But before it could, Soarin swiped a card.

"Ability, Activate!" Valkyria pointed her gauntlets at Bellona, "Wind Shooter!" Blasts of pressurised air exploded out of the holes on her gauntlets, which shot towards the Haos Bakugan and slammed into it.

Hoplite: 660Gs
Valkyria: 650Gs
Bellona: 630Gs
Gunstinger: 630Gs

The Bakugan staggered back, but managed to stay on its feet whilst Drone Two slotted out a card. "Ability, Activate!" The Bakugan's sword glowed, "Razor Light!"

Hoplite: 660Gs
Valkyria: 650Gs
Bellona: 730Gs
Gunstinger: 630Gs

Valkyria prepared for the oncoming attack. But was shocked when Bellona suddenly spun around and slashed its sword towards Gunstinger. "LOOK OUT!" Gunstinger heard this and looked around, just in time to see the light fly off the sword and sail towards him.

"WOW!" He barely managed to duck beneath it, the energy blade flying over his head and hitting a nearby building.

Braeburn gasped, seeing that building collapse. A building he and his friends had worked hard to build, causing him to turn toward Bellona and growl. "Damn you!" He took out two cards and swiped them, as Bellona launched another light blade at Gunstinger. "Double Ability, Activate!" The sand beneath Gunstinger flew up, swirling around him and forming a barrier. "Sand Barrier, plus Rattle Break!"

The light blade slammed into the tornado and exploded, but did nothing against Gunstinger.

Hoplite: 630Gs
Valkyria: 650Gs
Bellona: 630Gs
Gunstinger: 830Gs

Seconds later, Gunstinger exploded out of the tornado and flew towards Bellona. And with one quick spin, he slammed the rattle on the end of his other arm into Bellona's helmet.

The Bakugan roared, as it was knocked back before reverting back to ball form. It fell to the ground, the drone flying down to retrieve it whilst its life gauge dropped.

Soarin: 100%
Braeburn: 100%
Drone 1: 100%
Drone 2: 60%

But as this was happening, Hoplite charged towards Gunstinger whilst a car slotted out of Drone One. "Ability, Activate!" The Bakugan glowed. "Power Charge!"

Hoplite: 780Gs
Valkyria: 650Gs
Gunstinger: 830Gs

Gunstinger was still reeling from using his last attack, as Hoplite prepared to run him over. But before he could, Valkyria flew down and Soarin swiped a pair of cards as well. "Double Ability, Activate!" Valkyria beat her wings and unleashed a burst of wind, which created a tornado around the two Defender Bakugan. "Whirlwind Defence, plus Blade Wing Dance!"

Hoplite slammed into the tornado, getting pushed back as the light surrounding it began to fade away.

Hoplite: 600Gs
Valkyria: 850Gs
Gunstinger: 830Gs

And as it tried to regain its balance, Valkyria beat her wings again and caused the tornado to explode into a bunch of wind blades. These blades shot towards Hoplite and slashed at it multiple times, knocking it off its feet and causing it to revert back to ball form.

As it fell to the ground, the first drone also flew down to retrieve it whilst it lost life points.

Soarin: 100%
Braeburn: 100%
Drone 1: 50%
Drone 2: 60%

Gunstinger smiled at Valkyria, who gave him a thumbs up before the pair returned to their partners. "Thank you," the Subterra Bakugan then said. "If you hadn't warned me, that Razor Light attack would have done some serious damage."

"Of course," she nodded. "And Braeburn. I'm sorry for the building that was destroyed. If I had reacted a little quicker, I could have stopped the attack instead of only warning Gunstinger."

Braeburn frowned, as Soarin turned to him. "I'm sorry too."

"No," Braeburn shook his head, "a'm sorry. A'h just...my friends and I worked so hard to build this place and make it somewhere worth living. And now it's all at risk of being lost."

"Don't say that," Soarin stated. "We can keep this place from being damaged anymore than it already has. We just need to work together. Those drones are probably linked by some kind of wireless system, allowing them to know exactly what the other is planning on doing."

Braeburn frowned. "It's almost like we're facin' one Brawler instead of two."

"Exactly," Soarin nodded. "Which means if we want to win this fight, we've got to work together." He smirked at Braeburn, "so let me help you protect this town. Because what matters is having the town be saved. Not who saved it."

Braeburn stared at him, then over at Appaloosa. Soarin was right. If the only way to save Appaloosa was to potentially not be its savior, that's what Braeburn had to do. "Okay." He tipped his hat, "let's do this thing."

"That's what I like to hear," Gunstinger cheered. "And you know you've got my support."

"And mine," Valkyria nodded. "Let's protect this town as best we can." Before anyone could say anything else, the drones spoke up.

"Cease conversing. Make move in next thirty seconds or forfeit Brawl."

Soarin smirked, "I never forfeit!" He took out a card. "We were just coming up with our stratagy. And now that we have it, you bucket of bolts don't stand a chance!" He threw the card "Gate Card...SET!" The card hit the ground and as it exploded, the two leapt up and threw their Bakugan.

The drones also flew up and launched their Bakugan out of the gun barrels. "Bakugan...BRAWL!" They all flew through the power-ups before hitting the ground and rolling. "Bakugan...STAND!" The four opened up, Valkyria and Gunstinger spinning as they transformed. In the blink of an eye, the four Bakugan stood in place as their powers rose.

Hoplite: 710Gs
Valkyria: 750Gs
Bellona: 730Gs
Gunstinger: 780Gs

"Here we go!" Soarin and Braeburn swiped their cards at once. "Ability, Activate!" Valkyria spun around, causing the wind to swirl around her, then beat her wings and launched the wind blades forward. "Blade Wing Dance!"

At the same time, Gunstinger slithered forward whilst shaking his rattle arm. "Rattle Break!"

Hoplite: 710Gs
Valkyria: 950Gs
Bellona: 730Gs
Gunstinger: 980Gs

But before either attack could hit the Haos Bakugan, the drones both activated their Abilities. "Power Shield!"

The Bakugan raised their shields, which started glowing as the attacks landed. Hoplite blocked the wind blades, whilst Bellona intercepted Gunstinger's rattle club. The light from the shields flew out and hit the Defender Bakugan, making them both flinch.

Hoplite: 710Gs
Valkyria: 750Gs
Bellona: 730Gs
Gunstinger: 780Gs

Bellona tried to slash at the Subterra Bakugan, but Gunstinger managed to grab the blade in his snake mouth and hold it in place. "I don't think so!" He smirked, as Braeburn took out a card and swiped it.

"Ability, Activate!" Gunstinger suddenly swung his tail at Bellona and wrapped it around the gladiator. "Coil Shot!" He held Bellona tightly, as the gun barrel on the end suddenly started firing sand into it. This made it flinch, as its power dropped.

Hoplite: 710Gs
Valkyria: 750Gs
Bellona: 580Gs
Gunstinger: 780Gs

However, this seemed to work in the drone's favour. As it soon summoned another card. "Ability, Activate!" The shield it was carrying began to grow hot and Gunstinger suddenly found himself getting burned. "Blazing Lumino!"

Hoplite: 710Gs
Valkyria: 750Gs
Bellona: 630Gs
Gunstinger: 630Gs

"Ahhh!" Gunstinger was forced to uncoil and leapt away. Bellona slashed at him as he did, but he dodged the attacks only for Hoplite to try and charge him.

But before it could get close, Valkyria flew down as Soarin swiped a card. "Ability, Activate!" Valkyria spread her wings as they started glowing green. "Feather Darts!" She swung her wings around and launched the light off them, morphing into a bunch of darts that slammed into Hoplite.

The power each dart removed was small, but they all added up.

Hoplite: 460Gs
Valkyria: 750Gs
Bellona: 630Gs
Gunstinger: 630Gs

Valkyria then dove down and before Hoplite could counter, she spun around and slammed her foot into its chest. The force of the impact caused the lion centaur to be thrown backwards, crashing into the ground and sliding along it. Valkyria had struck at such an angle, that Hoplite was thrown in the opposite direction from the town.

"Yeah!" Soarin cheered, Braeburn smiling whilst Gunstinger tried to fight against Bellona.

As this was all happening, Soarin and Braeburn were completely distracted from the breach. As such, neither of them realised that a pair of individuals had jumped through the portal.

Hayate and Kiyrah looked around, spotting the battle that was happening. They watched as Valkyria dove down to attack Hoplite, only for Bellona to leap away from Gunstinger to intercept Valkyria's attack. "Looks like the drones are doing their thing," Kiyrah chuckled.

"Good," Hayate nodded. "That means they won't notice us. Now come on. We can't stay out in the open like this." Kiyrah nodded and the pair ran towards a nearby rock. They would stay there until it was safe to move to another spot. By the time Soarin and Braeburn were done, the pair of them would be long gone.

Bellona pushed Valkyria back and slashed at her with its sword, giving Hoplite the time to pick itself up.

Gunstinger slithered forward, only for both drones to activate a card. "Ability, Activate!" Both Bakugan glowed, the light flowing off of them and into each other. "United Front!"

Hoplite: 660Gs
Valkyria: 750Gs
Bellona: 830Gs
Gunstinger: 630Gs

Valkyria attempted another attack, but Bellona blocked with its shield and actually managed to push Valkyria back this time. Hoplite then charged at her and tried to stab her with his sword, only for Braeburn to swipe a card.

"Ability, Activate!" Gunstinger aimed his tail blaster at the centaur, "Quickdraw Sand Shot!"

Hoplite: 660Gs
Valkyria: 750Gs
Bellona: 830Gs
Gunstinger: 930Gs

Gunstinger fired and the sand slammed into Hoplite, pushing it backwards and making the Bakugan flinch. But this didn't protect Valkyria, as Bellona charged and slashed at her. But Soarin was ready. "Gate Card...OPEN!" The ground began to glow, creating a wall of wind between Bellona and Valkyria. "Ventus Saver!"

The wind wall then blew forward and slammed into Bellona, knocking it backwards before it also hit Hoplite. The two Haos Bakugan were blown even further away from Appaloosa, with the drones controlling them also getting caught up in it.

Hoplite: 460Gs
Valkyria: 750Gs
Bellona: 630Gs
Gunstinger: 930Gs

"That Gate Card allows me to negate the Abilities of any non-Ventus Bakugan I choose. And it also keeps you a fair distance away from us and prevents any new Abilities from activating for a short while." The wind stopped, as Soarin took out another card and swiped it. "And now, Ability Activate!" Valkyria brought her hands together and formed a sphere of wind. "Aero Shot!"

"Take this!" She launched the wind sphere towards both Bakugan, Hoplite raising its shield to protect itself as best it could.

Hoplite: 460Gs
Valkyria: 1050Gs
Bellona: 630Gs
Gunstinger: 930Gs

The sphere slammed into its shield and exploded, unleashing a powerful gale that knocked the Bakugan back until it crashed into a bunch of rocks. Soarin was actually surprised it managed to keep itself in the fight after such a powerful hit.

At the same time, Bellona charged at Gunstinger whilst the drone slotted a card. "Ability, Activate!" The Bakugan raised its shield and the blue gem on it began to glow, "Shield Glazer!" The gem fired the light and it struck Gunstinger.

"Gyah!"

Hoplite: 460Gs
Valkyria: 1050Gs
Bellona: 630Gs
Gunstinger: 730Gs

Despite still being weaker, Bellona charged in an attempt to take Gunstinger down whilst he was knocked off balance. But Braeburn was ready for this and swiped two cards. "Double Ability, Activate!" Before Bellona reached him, the tornado of sand exploded around him. "Sand Barrier..."

The slash Bellona did had no effect, the sand tornado acting like a solid wall. And even when it fired another Shield Glazer, the light was bounced off.

Hoplite: 460Gs
Valkyria: 1050Gs
Bellona: 630Gs
Gunstinger: 930Gs

The sand then exploded and the wave knocked Bellona staggering backwards, as Gunstinger attempted to charge. "Plus Mercury Fang!" Gunstinger thrust his fangs forward, ready to sink them into Bellona's body. But before he could, Hoplite suddenly appeared.

It tried to use its shield to negate the bite, but Gunstinger was already prepared. At the last moment, he pulled his snake head back before spinning around. He then thrust the head downwards and bit into Hoplite's leg, making it roar in pain as it threw its weapons away.

Hoplite: 360Gs
Valkyria: 1050Gs
Bellona: 630Gs
Gunstinger: 930Gs

The shield flew through the air and almost hit one of the drones, with the other one not being so lucky. It was slammed by the shield, causing it to malfunction due to the damage done.

As soon as Hoplite was defenceless, Gunstinger pulled his fangs out of the Bakugan before pointing his tail at it and firing. The sand blasted Hoplite off its feet and before it could land, it reverted back to ball form.

"Oh yeah!" Braeburn laughed, as the small ball flew towards him. "That's what a'h like ta see." He caught the Haos Bakugan, as the damaged drone lost all its life points.

Soarin: 100%
Braeburn: 100%
Drone 1: 0%
Drone 2: 60%

Moments later, the drone finally exploded and fell to the ground in a heap.

"One down!" Soarin cheered, as Bellona turned towards both its opponents. The Bakugan charged forward, as the drone slotted out a card.

"Ability, Activate!" The Bakugan roared, as its body glowed. "Gladiator Rage!"

Valkyria: 1050Gs
Bellona: 880Gs
Gunstinger: 930Gs

The Bakugan started slashing wildly at Gunstinger, but the snake Bakugan was able to shift and move in a way that made him impossible to hit. He and Braeburn were planning to go on the defensive, but Soarin called out.

"Valkyria. Give him cover to make the finishing blow!"

"You got it!" Valkyria dived down and landed in between the two, as Bellona swung its sword down. But she managed to catch it between her hands, as Soarin swiped a card.

"Ability, Activate!" She beat her wings and a vortex of wind appeared around her. "Whirlwind Defence!"

Valkyria: 1050Gs
Bellona: 630Gs
Gunstinger: 930Gs

The wind slammed into Bellona and knocked it backwards, with Valkyria still holding the sword and forcing it to release the weapon.

And as it staggered back, Valkyria and Soarin glanced at the other two and nodded. Telling them to finish him off. "With pleasure," Braeburn took out a card and swiped it. "Fusion Ability, Activate!" Gunstinger raised his rattle arm before it started shaking, "Rattling Sand Shootout!"

Valkyria: 1050Gs
Bellona: 630Gs
Gunstinger: 1430Gs

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" He thrust his rattle down into the ground, causing a massive wall of sand to explode upwards. And after he pointed his tail into the wall, he fired more sand into it. This resulted in the two sand streams to mix and explode towards Bellona, forming a sand hurricane that looked like it could rip a car apart in seconds.

Bellona raised his shield and tried to protect itself, but the impact knocked it flying backwards and sent its shield sailing away. And as Bellona was slammed into a nearby rock, its shield hit part of the drone and sent it flying out of control.

"Game over!" Braeburn cheered, as Bellona was forced back into ball form and flew over to him whilst the Life Gauges went down.

Soarin: 100% (Winner)
Braeburn: 100% (Winner)
Drone 1: 0%
Drone 2: 0%

The second drone began to malfunction before completely exploding, falling to the ground in a pile of scrap alongside the other one. And as Valkyria and Gunstinger returned to their partners, the pair cheered as they high fived. "Thank you," Braeburn told Soarin. "And sorry a've been so dismissive of ya'h help."

"Don't worry about it," Soarin smirked. "I get it. But you gotta remember. The Bakugan are just as important to me as they are to you." Braeburn nodded, as a light caught his attention and made him look around to see the portal was beginning to close.

Once it slammed itself shut, he sighed knowing his home was safe. "This is Braeburn," he contacted Canterlot. "The breach is closed and the drones are taken down."

"That's great to hear," Twilight replied. "But did you say...drones?"

"Long story," Braeburn replied. "We're ready to be warped back. What about the others?"

"Haven't heard anything from them. But I'm sure they're fine."

In another part of Vestroia, Leonidas and Amazon were standing within a forest as a bunch of Bakugan moved over to Flash and Lyra.

The pair caught them, whilst looking over at the machines that had tried to get through the breach. But they had failed and tried to beat them, with limited success. And in another area, Sorcerell and Flarenix stood victorious as the Bakugan they had defeated flew over to Moondancer and Sunset. The girls also stared at the destroyed drones that had attempted to get past them.

Sunset's Baku-Bracer then went off, the girl quickly answering it. "This is Sunset."

"Soarin and Braeburn have just returned," Twilight explained. "They said some kind of machines attacked and used Bakugan."

"The same thing happened to us," Moondancer was cleaning her glasses as she said that. "And it's weird. They didn't seem all that good. They were able to play, but we didn't have much issue taking them down."

Sunset agreed, as she picked up part of the device and frowned when she noticed something inside of it. She took it out and gave it a good once over. "An energy absorber. And an energy transmitter."

"What was that?" Twilight asked.

"I think these drones were absorbing the energy given off during the battle," Sunset explained. "And sending it somewhere else. But I have no idea where."

"So the battles were just a way to gather energy?" Moondancer asked, with Sunset frowning as she didn't have an answer to that. She knew the Rugenga were after something, but what could it be?

In their base, Azalea and Beck watched as two gray Bakugan sat within a strange microwave-like machine.

"Energy transfer is almost over," Beck stated. "Looks like the drones have all gone offline." Azalea huffed at this, as the energy flowed into the Bakugan. "I was right not to give those drones too many Bakugan."

"They might have won if they had," Azalea pointed out.

"No. Those drones are still a work in progress. They can brawl, but their strategies were too straight forward."

"Doesn't matter," Cursor stated. "What matters is that Hayate and Kiyrah managed to get through to Equestria. And hopefully, they managed to do so undetected." He turned to Beck. "You gave them the equipment they needed, didn't you?"

"Yes," Beck replied. "Once they're in place, the true fun can begin."

"Good," Draken nodded. "Then let's prepare what we need on our end." Everyone nodded, as Beck and Azalea retrieved their partners from the device. They all headed out, ready to give the Defenders the surprise of their life.

Back in Equestria, Flash, Lyra, Moondancer and Sunset had returned after their breaches were closed.

When Flash and Lyra stepped out of the transporter, they looked around and wondered where Braeburn and Soarin were. "They're still in Appaloosa," Twilight explained. "Braeburn wanted to help repair the damage done to the town. I said it was okay, so long as they kept their coms open in case we needed them."

"Good," Sunset nodded. "But I don't like us being split up like this for too long. There's no telling when more breaches will open. Three at once can't be a one off thing. I get the feeling more breaches will open at the same time."

"I'm with Sunset," Dragonia agreed. "The dimensional wall between these two worlds is growing weaker."

"Isn't there any way to repair it?" Lyra asked, fearing what might happen in the wall between worlds grew any weaker. Many of them were imagining Vestroia and Equestria slamming into each other, doing who knows how much damage.

"We've been looking into it," Twilight replied. "Celestia, Luna and I have been searching every scroll and tome we can find, hoping to discover some way to repair the dimensional barrier. But there just hasn't been enough research into this subject."

"We'll find a way," Dragonia assured her. "Even if the Guardians and I have to risk our own lives repairing it. We'll restore the balance between worlds. And hopefully make it safe to still travel between them. Until then, it's up to the Defenders to protect both worlds and find a way to stop the Rugenga once and for all."

"Got it," Flash nodded. That was exactly what Flash intended to do. They needed to locate the Rugenga's base, wherever it was. "Time to strike back against them. No more just playing defence. We're taking the fight to them!" The others wondered what he was talking about, but knew Flash had a plan. Or some made idea resembling a plan.

Back at Appaloosa, as Braeburn and Soarin helped fix the broken building, nobody noticed the two individuals that had snuck through the town and were walking through the desert.

Hayate and Kiyrah groaned, the feat from the place driving them crazy. "Of all the places for that breach to throw us out at," Kiyrah complained. "It had to be a blazing hot desert." She looked around before removing her mask, allowing what little wind there was to blow onto her face whilst keeping it hidden with the hood.

Hayate was about to do the same, only to then hear a sound. "That's a train." He had been walking along the tracks, hoping it would lead them to their destination. And as they looked down the way they had come, he saw a bunch of smoke filling the air.

"Yes!" Kiyrah laughed, "finally."

Hayate looked around and spotted a large rock nearby, the Ventus brawler pulling the Darkus one behind it.

The pair waited for the train to get closer, Kiyrah replacing her mask as the pair looked around and saw it coming. And when it got closer, they realised it was a cargo train. Just what they needed. "Get ready," Skyreign told them. "You'll only have one shot at this."

The pair watched as the train raced past, then leapt out from behind the rock and ran along the train. When they saw an open box car, they prepared themselves and leapt towards it as soon as it was next to them. The two landed within the car and managed to keep their balance, both grabbing onto the sides as they looked in the direction they were going.

"I think I might know where this is taking us," Hayate stated. "And if I'm right, it's exactly where we need to go."

Author's Note

A nice look into Braeburn's determination. He wants to protect not just the Bakugan, but the home he worked so hard to build. And hopefully, Soarin and the others can help him do that. Now, how will things turn out with Hayate and Kiyrah? Stay turned to find out.