Chapter 46 - The Moment of Destiny

Without a doubt, Spectra Phantom was the most striking, whether it was his flamboyant outfit design or his disinterested appearance. Right on his heels was Mylene, who came and passed by.

Her black shoulder pads were extremely large and flashy. These black shoulder pads on her sky-blue short jacket gave her weight, even if they were too much of a grin. She grunted indifferently as the footsteps of her white, thick-heeled boots sounded in the silence:

"I'm going back to Beta City, Volt and Lync can take care of this."

Even though there were many doubts in her mind, there was no need for her to stay here. Volt could easily deal with any problems here on his own. Even if it was difficult to trust Lync, the two of them should not have any difficulty in taking care of this place.

But that didn't mean she couldn't do something before she left.

As she walked ahead, Shadow Prove, who was constantly sticking out his long tongue in an abnormally long way, followed close behind. Hobbling awkwardly beside Mylene as if he had a limp on one leg, he asked:

"Should I come with you? Huh? What do you say? Huh? Hahahaha!"

Mylene completely ignored him. This ignoring was a sign of approval according to Shadow Prove that he did not leave her side. He bent his arms slightly. He crossed his arms behind his neck with his elbows pointing upwards and straightened his gait. They continued along the corridor, Mylene behind and he in front. Slowly loosening his grip on Dan's chin, Ryuu, like the others, breathed a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, the young guy in the orange jacket standing next to Spectra Phantom turned to the two guards and asked if there was anything abnormal.

"No problem at the moment, Sir Gus."

Not satisfied with the answer he received, the young man in the orange jacket asked a few more questions. Finally, when he was sure that everything was in order, he nodded his head and respectfully asked:

"Master Spectra, there is no abnormality. What should we do?"

At that moment, Ryuu realized something and let Dan go. They hadn't been captured and brought here like before. Had the shifts changed? What had happened to create such a situation?

As questions suddenly popped into his head, Spectra Phantom made his iconic move. He placed a red and black colored bakugan just above his clenched fist. Pushing it slightly with his thumb, he threw it upwards, and after catching it back with the same hand, he spoke:

"Then let's go. There's no point in wasting time here."

He didn't really care. There was nothing here that was useful for his purpose at the moment. So there was no point in stopping.

As they went off in another direction and disappeared from sight, Mira secretly stared at Spectra in amazement. That move was exactly the same as the one her brother had made. But it couldn't be him, could it?

She didn't want to believe it. Her brother was not a power-obsessed man, a megalomaniac like Spectra. He was a good guy. He couldn't be an enemy of the Bakugans.

While everyone was momentarily immersed in their own situation, it was Baron who brought them back to reality.

"Guys, I think we should hurry."

Even if there were no security guards around, one never knew when they'd show up, and since they were standing here, it wouldn't be nice if they spotted them right behind them.

Ryuu quickly shook his head as Mira quickly recovered and nodded to the Baron.

"You're right. Lead the way, Baron."

Baron opened the 3D sketch in his hand and checked it once more, then enthusiastically raised his free hand into a fist:

"All right, Mira!"

And then they started running in a hurry. The corridors grew wider and wider as they went down. Almost to the point where they could fit a bakugan, even if barely.

As the rush continued, Ryuu was constantly checking the system. It was the first time he had ever felt in this much danger, except for the encounter with Naga and an incident he didn't even want to remember. He was as sure as his name was Ryuu Doukan that things had changed for a reason other than a normal butterfly effect.

And each changing event created more uncertainties, uncertainties that reinforced the idea that a hidden threat, or rather a reincarnator, was a threat.

Their progress continued. Marucho stayed at the back as they hurried on. Unlike them, he tired very quickly. Everyone was so concentrated that they didn't even notice that he was left behind.

As the rush continued at full speed, a metallic door different from the other doors appeared in front of them.

When they passed through this metal door...

What they saw before them was astonishing.

There was a large pillar with bakugan rising and falling in countless small tubes around it. In this colorful image, the bakugans seemed to be in a kind of comatose state. There was no movement or anything else.

Ryuu frowned hard at the sight. Everyone else was dumbfounded.

"What the... What… is this?"

That was Ryuu's reaction. Seeing so many bakugas being taken away from their own free will and imprisoned so cruelly made Ryuu's blood run cold.

He clenched his hands in anger and tension.

Accompanying this reaction was Dan's explosive questioning.

"What is this, Mira? Why aren't they moving?"

Dan turned to Mira and asked, then quickly turned and shouted at the bakugan:

"Guys! Can you hear me? Hey!"

But there was no response. Then Mira sighed and explained with a sad expression:

"They are all asleep, they can't hear us."

Baron wanted to say something but couldn't. Meanwhile, Dan refused to believe it.

"This... This is so cruel! How can they do this!? Wake up guys! Hey!"

Mira looked to her left and right. Then she spoke:

"Dan, we have to hurry. Once we destroy the Dimensional Controller, the power will be cut and they will be free."

To which Drago added in a sad voice:

"She's right, Dan. Shouting here won't do any good."

Dan looked away sadly and just then they heard a voice behind them.

"Hey! What are you doing here?"

They turned around and there were security guards with devices known as shock batons. Two rings around the circumference of these long job-like weapons lit up the relatively dark room. The sizzle of electricity could be faintly heard through the rings.

Even if they tried to struggle in such a situation, they would be quickly neutralized. So they had to agree to be bound, even if they didn't want to.

Ryuu could use the system and turn everything around if he wanted to. But when there was already an obvious way out of the current situation, he chose to save it for the greater danger that worried him.

Time passed.

They were tied up, trying to find a solution. At this moment, one of the security guards said:

"Hah! I don't see, why would you want to go against the Vexos?"

Mira looked at them and grunted.

"To free the Bakugans, of course."

At this, the security guard snorted.

"Bakugans? What are you going to free those animals from?"

And then Dan exploded!

"They're not animals! They have their own rights, just like you and me. They are all thinking creatures, more intelligent than most of the humans!"

Mira immediately joined in:

"Can't you see the game the Vexos are playing?"

Baron concluded:

"Mira and Master Dan are right. Can't you see the truth? It's all a big lie!"

And just as the security guard was about to say angrily, Drago leaped from Dan's shoulder:

"It's true, bakugans have rights and you vestals are holding us against our will!"

At Drago's angry voice, Mira pulled her own bakugan, Supterra Vilda, out of her pocket. He spoke as if to support Drago:

"This is cruel!"

And finally, the bakugan from the Baron's pocket was accompanied by Haos Nemus in a sage tone:

"It is not too late to turn from the path of brutality."

As these and other bakugan voices rose, Ryuu remained silent, as if watching a weird show. He had almost detached himself from the place.

The commotion momentarily stunned the security guards. These things they knew as animals... were talking!

"What the hell is this?"

"Is this a joke?"

The security guards found themselves questioning themselves in shock. They took a few steps back in fear, and at that very moment...

Tak! Crack! Crack!

"""Ah~!"""

...a metal plate fell hard on the security guards. Fortunately, the plate wasn't very thick. but it looked like something had broken. And Marucho, who was sitting on it, was stunned.

He obviously didn't even know how he had gotten here. The first thing he noticed was Dan and the others, who were naturally tied up.

"Guys?"

Dan and everyone else exclaimed with the sweet surprise that came with Marucho's presence:

"""Marucho!"""

The sounds brought the distracted Ryuu to his senses, causing him to look around with a stupid "Huh?" expression on his face. Marucho quickly recovered from the same stupidity and stood up.

He glanced nervously at the unconscious security guards, but soon shook his head from side to side and untied everyone.

By this time, it became clear that he had made it here through a hole he had fallen through. What a lucky coincidence indeed!

"Let's go now!"

Dan said and they quickly got out of here and continued on their way.

***

James looked at the other security guards, who, with a sudden warning from their helmets, were scurrying towards the intruders.

One of the guards asked:

"Everyone's going for the catch. Why aren't you moving here?"

James shrugged.

"I'd rather guard this area than go directly to apprehend people whose intentions we don't know. Besides, the majority have already left."

The security guard nodded his head in agreement. So he chose to stay as well. Well, it was not what James had expected, but it was acceptable.

As James and the security guard waited, the commotion became audible in the distance. The security guard next to him was nervous, but James was undoubtedly much more nervous.

Normally, they shouldn't even be here. The slightest mistake and he could pull the plug on himself. If he went over there and joined them, in his mind, Dan would find an opening and escape and the result would be the same.

But if he waited here directly... he could cut it off.

With that thought in mind, he stood motionless in front of the door like the last boss monster of the game.

As the noises continued to grow louder, he could see Dan running towards him. Though undoubtedly different from the drawings, the general features were the same. Despite the blurred parts, he had no problem identifying him, but at that moment...

His eyes widened at what he saw. His hand involuntarily went to the shock baton at his waist.

Dan, who should normally be the only one, was running towards James, the game's boss monster, with a man whose appearance he had never seen!