A few days after the excitement over Dan's possible talking Bakugan, Silver had once again set out to find Masquerade. Though even after long hours spent looking for him, the girl could never seem to find him.

Now seated on her large bed at home, Silver sighed as she ran her hands along a fine wooden frame. The frame was holding a picture in its grasp. The picture was of Silver, Shun and Dan on the face of Shun's computer, all smiling.

It was originally supposed to have Dan in person, but he couldn't make it the house in time, so the photo had him on the call screen instead. Silver could only imagine the picture, and wished she could see it.

The picture was supposed to be a present for Shun, so her blindness wasn't really a problem there. But she has never gotten the chance to give it to him.

Tears flanked Silver's eyes, for the picture had no purpose if the holder couldn't see it. She sighed and set the picture down on the bed, laying down beside it. Wishing she could have changed the outcome of this day.

Today had been nothing but bad luck for Silver and the Brawlers. Nothing had gone right so far.

First of all, visiting Shun had once again...failed. Silver hadn't even got past the fence this time, she had been sent away as soon as she had approached the place.

And second of all..Runo had called up claiming that she had fought Masquerade and lost many of her Bakugan to him.

The poor girl had complained and even blamed Dan for what happened. Though Runo wasn't the only victim, kids all over the world were losing their Bakugan to this guy, and Dan was determined to find and fight Masquerade much to Silver's horror. Even worse was the fact that the other Brawlers actually cheered him on.

Even though Silver had never fought Dan before, she knew he didn't stand a chance.

Silver could only hope she could find Masquerade before more chaos happened. She was the best Brawler in the group next to Shun, but of course..he was out of the question.

Silver sighed and rolled around on the bed for a moment until she heard Leonidas pop out of his ball form.

"Hey girl, whats getting you down?...well besides Shun that is" The Bakugan's gruff voice sounded as he walked...well..hobbled over to Silver on the uneven bed sheet.

"Well, it saddens me that I couldn't be there to protect my friend" sighed Silver.

"Hey, calm down. Even if you tried..how did you expect to get over there fast enough? Heck, you haven't even met Runo in person yet!"

What Leo had said was true, out of all the Bakugan Battle Brawlers, Silver had only met Shun in person. The rest had always been from the online chat, though she planned to one day meet them all.

She had also relied on their descriptions of themselves to give her a mental image of them all.

"Yeah, I know" Silver replied. "But I would very much like to meet them..even if I can't see them."

"Finally getting to hug your friends for the first time goes a long way, you know." Leo said.

"Thank you, Leo." Silver hummed as she slid off the bed. Feeling around for Leo as he popped back into ball form.

"I haven't had friends in a long time, and I just don't want them to get hurt"

"Just don't forget that they are my friends too, and I would also do anything to protect my friends" Leo said in understanding.

Silver headed downstairs to be greeted by Rose. After having a bit of small talk with her about the cookies she planned to make tomorrow, Silver headed towards the door. She grabbed a coat from the coat hanger on her way.

"Where are you going, dear?" Rose asked, always a little concerned. Even though she knew Silver could handle herself.

Silver looked back, smiling. "Just out for a walk"

"Okay dear, but be back soon!" Rose called as Silver opened the door and headed out into the rather empty neighborhood streets. Silver quickly put on the coat, because even though it was quite warm during the day, the evening air in Wardington got rather chilly.

"I hope summer arrives soon" Silver muttered, pulling up her coat collar an continuing down the street.

She wasn't quite sure where she was headed..all she knew is that she needed to find Masquerade before he hurt another one her friends. Her small neighborhood wasn't really the place..but the main city area was indeed a place to look.

Silver felt her Bakugan moving around in her coat pocket.

"Leo, keep an eye out..I plan to find Masquerade today. Even if it takes me a long time"

"Alright, but don't blame me if Rose gets mad at you for missing dinner"

Silver laughed a little as she continued towards the general direction of the park. A place where many Masquerade encounters had been.

After quite a while of walking aimlessly around the park, looking for Masquerade or anyone associated with him, Silver began to feel tired. Nothing had happened for the past hour and no one that Silver had talked to had seen Masquerade around recently..nor had information about him.

After a break on a park bench, Silver decided to head into the main area of the city, and down all the alley ways and lone streets of the place. Wardington was indeed a huge city filled with these lonely sideways

As silver headed onwards she had found herself near the railroad bridge.

There was an area underneath the railroad bridge where lots of brawlers met to have a battle. Since it was surrounded by a large chain fence, and not many adults came here. She figured this would be a good place to look.

As Silver approached the area, she heard a very familiar voice.

"So, decided to show up? And I get to put a face to the name."

Silver would recognize that voice anywhere

It was Dan!

Countless time calling him on the computer. Countless times she had heard his voice.

It sounded so quiet now, so different to his usual hyper load tone. But Silver could never forget a voice.

"I hear you've been stealing my buddies' Bakugan!" Dan continued, much loader this time.

Silver's heart nearly stopped. Was he talking to Masquerade?

"Leo" silver whispered to her Bakugan. The small creature lifted its head out of her pocket.

She could hear Leo gasp in surprise. "Its..him".

"It stops here, Masquerade ." Dan shouted determinedly, confirming the Bakugan's words.

Dan was indeed talking to Masquerade, and by the sound of it..he planned to brawl him too.

"Its time to battle Dan" came a low unfamiliar voice. It must be Masquerade's.

"Wait!" Silver managed to shout. "You can't fight him!"

She yelled as she rushed towards the two boys.

But it was too late, shouts of "Field Open!" ran around the air, momentarily stopping time itself.

It was only seconds before everything was normal again, unable to see where she was going, Silver collided into Dan, who had been searching the ground.

"Drag-AUGH" Dan exclaimed as he nearly toppled over with the force of the collision. Thinking fast, he managed to catch Silver and help her balance.

"Woah, Silver" Leo flailed around in her pocket. "Slow down before you kill me"

"Augh, that was a close one...can you watch where you-Hey, i know you!" Dan gasped in surprise as he recognized Silver.

After regaining her balance, she managed out a "Hi, Dan"

Dan studied her for a minute before remembering that he was looking for his Bakugan.

"Ahh, Drago!"

The boy looked around for the dragonoid, finally catching sight of him on the ground near his feet.

"Drago.." Dan picked up the small Bakugan ball.

"Is he alright?" Silver asked.

"I spared him for you" came the voice belonging to Masquerade. "You realize I could have captured your Bakugan, but I decided against it."

Silver let out a small gasp. "Did..did you beat him?"

"Well, sort of.." Dan sighed.

Silver heard the soft footsteps of Masquerade and realized he was leaving.

"Its been a slice, Dan" Masquerade murmured

"Wait! I can still beat you!" Dan tried to hurry after Masquerade, but the boy dismissed him..

"Bakugan is not a mere game, kiddos" Masquerade said.

"There are other dimensions and powers involved" The boy continued. "Its a battle that can lead to the destruction of the entire world."

"For real?" Dan gasped, taking this all in.

"And the only way to stop it, is for you to defeat me." Masquerade finished and turned to leave.

"W-Wait! Tell me more!" Silver shouted at his direction.

Masquerade merely smirked at her. "If you want more, you are going to have to fight me for it" and with that he vanished into the tunnel under the rail bridge.

Silver stood in silence as she heard his footsteps fade away. She had found him, but she had not defeated him as planned.

Leo lifted his head at her. "Well...at least we saw him...well..I saw him anyway"

Thats when the Bakugan noticed Dan on the ground, slowly beating at the ground with his fist.

"This bites!" the boy shouted. "I will beat you Masquerade!"

"Calm down kid...whatever you did in that brawl scared him away..so it must've been good." Leo spoke up.

Dan turned his head to see the concerned pair. He remember that it was his first time meeting Silver in public.

"Oh..um..Hi" he murmured, getting up off the ground.

Silver dipped her head, still looking concerned. This whole thing was a huge confusion. Dan had encountered Masquerade, and walked away with all his Bakugan intact. Yet he claims he didn't win.

Something big must've happened in that fight, something that even Masquerade was impressed at. Something involving Dan's new Bakugan...the dragonoid named Drago.

Silver had a strong feeling that she had to find out.

Later that evening, both teens were leaned against the chain fence, taking in the events of the day. The fight with Masquerade and the conversation after raised many questions, and neither one knew how to answer them.

After a bit of awkward silence, Dan cleared his throat and decided to speak up.

"So...um...come here often?"

Author's Note: Hi guys! And I finally finished the second chapter! I'm really sorry for the long wait...between real life, lack of motivation and not knowing where to go with the story...I had a hard time completing this, but I'm glad it's finally done!

Thank you all so much for the reviews so far! I get motivated to write every time I see one of your reviews! And don't worry, I will reveal more about Silver and Leo soon..I'm just trying to find a way how without spoiling some things. I think the next chapter will probably go in an entirely different direction from the actual Bakugan episode...so that will be interesting.