Welcome back for another chapter of Scars! Just to recap, it's been about a week since the events of 'Going through Hell to get to Heavn', and Ace's arm is the only thing that hasn't healed yet. I don't know how medically accurate that is. I'm no doctor, and besides, Ace isn't actually human. Anyway, Ace's brother and sister come for a visit. His brother Jayme tells him about a message saying that if they want to know what happened to their missing parents, Ace has to quit the Bakugan Brawlers Resistance. Ace agrees.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Bakugan. Have we made that clear?

WORD COUNT: 2381

Ace shivered as Beta City came into view. He may have grown up there, but it'd stopped being his real home long ago, especially after his near-death experience just weeks ago. As the sun was setting, Jayme eventually pulled to a stop in front of their house. Years had passed since they'd lived there; Kiera had only been a baby at that point, and Jayme had been too young to live alone. So when Mom and Dad disappeared, the three of them were put into a foster home. Ace wasn't surprised that nobody had bought it; rumours had been going around since he was a child that it was haunted. He remembered not being able to sleep with the lights off for years, until he stopped believing in ghosts.

The house itself hadn't changed a bit, aside from collecting a large amount of dust. The door had the same creak every time it was opened exactly halfway, the furniture that remained still retained a hint of the scent of the pine-scented air freshener Ace's mother always used, and on the wall by the staircase was a record of how Jayme and Ace had grown over the years. The sense of nostalgia hit him like a tidal wave. It'd never occurred to him how much he'd missed home, until now.

Plenty of their possessions were still sitting untouched right where they'd always been. No one had bothered to move anything. Of course, no one had ever thought Mom and Dad would still be missing for years. A framed photo sat on a nearby ledge, dust completely obscuring the image. Ace reached up and grabbed it, sadly reminding himself of the fact that last time he'd tried, he hadn't been anywhere near tall enough to reach it. Carefully, he blew the dust off to reveal a portrait of a small, happy family of five.

Ace had been only ten years old at the time, grinning with Dad standing behind him, Mom holding Kiera on his left, and Jayme on his right. His big brother's arm was wrapped protectively around him, but Ace clearly remembered how, as soon as the picture had been taken, it'd turned into a tight headlock. Of course, that'd been just mild sibling rivalry. With the arguments that'd taken place shortly before his own 'disappearance', Ace doubted it would ever be like that again.

And that was just fine with him. After Mom and Dad had vanished, Jayme had changed for the worse. He'd grown colder, more distant, until the big brother Ace had grown up with had vanished altogether, and he was never coming back.

Ace felt a presence near his shoulder, and realised Jayme was standing right next to him, also looking at the picture. His expression, however, suggested he didn't feel the same way about those memories. The older brother took the photograph and dismissively set it back on the ledge, prodding Ace to move forward. Ace glared at him before following Jayme down into the basement.

This was one place he didn't miss. The number of cobwebs had increased hundredfold, as had the amount of dust. Kiera whimpered and squeezed his hand tightly with both of hers. "Why are we down here?" she whispered.

"I was wondering the same thing," Ace stated, more so to Jayme than to Kiera, "Why'd we have to come back here at all?" Jayme said nothing. "Hello? I'm waiting for an answer."

"This is where we're supposed to meet him." Jayme's response was short and rushed.

"In our old basement?! Are you brain-dead?! It's probably some sort of trap."

"What makes you think that?"

"Come on, Mom and Dad have been gone for years, then we get some message telling me I have to abandon all my friends and everything I stand for, and come meet some guy in our abandoned house. What about that doesn't sound like a trap to you?"

"Very perceptive." A familiar, high-pitched male voice interrupted the brothers' argument. "I guess you are smarter than you look." It was followed by slightly deranged laughter that Ace instantly recognised.

"What do you want, Shadow?" he snapped.

"Not much," a female voice replied casually, "Just a little favour for an old friend. Oh, and we heard about what happened last week, Ace. Especially after the damage you did to that window in the west hallway. And I thought that Dan kid was the one with the hard head."

Ace growled. "Why don't you come out and face me instead of hiding in the dark?"

"Fine." Three figures stepped out from behind a stack of boxes: Mylene, Shadow, and a random guy in a Vexos guard uniform. Ace's mouth went dry at the sight of him. He gritted his teeth, trying to block the memories that were coming back to him.

"Oh, and you remember Doyle, right?" Shadow gestured to the guard, the same demented, wacky smile on his face. The guard smirked in a way Ace found far too familiar. This was just any guard. It was the guard.

A strong blow to the back of his head brought him back to the completely one-sided conversation. "Are you going to answer me? Or am I gonna have to make you talk?"

"You're a stubborn kid, you know that? You don't know when to shut up and when to talk." Ace, curled up on the floor in his own blood, made a grab for the man's legs, but missed. The foot he'd been aiming for came crashing down on his fingers.

"Aaaaaaagh!" Ace cradled his hand, sick when he realised one finger was bending the wrong way.

His captor went for his leg next. He stomped on it, hard. Ace instinctively reached out to his injury with his other hand, only to have it crushed as well. A loud snap could be heard as the bone cracked, followed by a fiery pain spreading through his whole leg. His shouts could probably be heard for miles outside the city.

Ace had finally managed to strike back by kicking his captor's shin. However, he found that the price was just too much to bear. First was another fist to his face. Ace was coughing up blood and spitting out some knocked-out teeth when the final blow came.

The man grabbed him by the left arm and heaved him to his feet. Ace struggled to keep upright on one leg. Then his arm was twisted behind his back. Ace tried to pull free, but immediately regretted it. His captor was pulling in one direction, he was pulling in another, and a loud SNAP was clearly audible.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" It was just like what'd happened to his leg, but over a thousand times worse. He fell into the side of the table, catching the left side of his face on the sharp corner as he went down. Now blood was streaming from his cheek. Ace felt himself being picked up by the back of his shirt and then slammed into the table again, this time hitting his forehead. The world started spinning, and Ace could feel himself slipping into darkness.

The monster who'd done all that was standing right there, ready to do it again. Ace pulled Kiera closer behind him protectively. "Yeah," he spat, "I remember."

"You gonna introduce me?" Jayme cut in, sounding almost bored. Ace didn't reply. "Well? You should answer me. You know I can get you to talk, right?"

"Are you gonna answer me? Or am I gonna have to make you talk?"

Ace squeezed his eyes shut. Now even his own brother was a reminder of that experience. He whirled around to face Jayme. "Don't ever say that again," he threatened. He knew the tremor in his voice ruined the façade he was putting on. He couldn't help it. It was going to happen again.

"Hey!" Shadow interrupted, "We're still right here!"

Ace turned his attention back to the Vexos. "Why is he here?"

Mylene shrugged. "He's the old friend I mentioned. Apparently has some problem with your family and tried taking it out on you last week. Now he wants to finish the job, plain and simple. But trust me, if you weren't involved with the Resistance, this wouldn't be worth my time."

The guard, Doyle, stepped forward. "That wasn't the first time we met, though," he stated, in that rough, cruel voice, "You might not remember, but I'm sure your brother does." He slowly lifted the visor that concealed his eyes, and Ace could hear Jayme gasp slightly behind him.

"You," his brother growled, taking a step forward.

"What?" Ace asked, "How do you know him?"

"He showed up at our place a couple weeks before Mom and Dad disappeared. Remember that day someone came to the door, and we had to stay upstairs for five hours?"

Ace nodded. He remembered that, all right. Even through his locked bedroom door – which he hadn't been able to unlock because Jayme had hidden the key – the shouting downstairs had been audible, if you pressed your ear to the wood; which was exactly what Ace had been doing while Jayme was distracted with Kiera.

"Yeah, I remember a lot a yelling, and you wouldn't let me downstairs for a simple drink of water."

"Well, that was him. I had a feeling he had something to do with it when our parents went missing."

"And you were right," Doyle added, "I know exactly where they are, if you want to see them."

"On one condition," Mylene interrupted, pointing at Ace, "Hand over all your Bakugan."

Ace glared at her. "No way," he growled through gritted teeth.

"Then you'll never see your family again. It's that simple."

Ace felt something wrap around his neck, and then he realised Jayme had him in a headlock, and was digging into his pockets. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

"We don't have time for these stupid things!" Jayme insisted, "Are you going to choose some mindless, soulless creatures over Mom and Dad?"

"Don't call them that!" His utter hatred for his brother was rolling of his shoulders in waves. He tried fighting Jayme off, but with only one arm to work with, he was unsuccessful. His brother finally pulled out Percival and Falconfly, placing them in Shadow's outstretched hand.

The Vexos' Darkus Brawler's red eyes glimmered with malice. "Ooh, I'm gonna have some fun with these two!" he exclaimed, like a kid receiving a shiny new toy for Christmas.

Mylene sighed and rolled her eyes. "Alright, let's go," she ordered.

Ace was slumped over in the backseat of the Vexos' transport vehicle, defeated. Jayme had practically carried him all the way there, and it was only when he was tossed in that the Resistance fighter stopped struggling. He stared blankly at his feet, not paying attention to anything around him.

He didn't know what he wanted anymore. His parents had been out of his life long enough that he knew how to survive without them, but at the same time, he wanted to be in their arms again. He only wished he hadn't had to give up his Bakugan. What would the others say if they knew? How were they doing right now? He hated not knowing, he just hated it.

Jayme kept nudging him in the side, but Ace ignored him. That was another thing; his own brother had literally taken his two of closest friends away from him, without so much as a care. How could he be so heartless? His own flesh and blood!

And then there was whole part about going to see Mom and Dad. The more he thought about it, the more sure Ace became that it was a trap. As long as the Vexos were involved, nothing was as it seemed. For all he knew, his parents were dead.

Jayme still wouldn't leave him alone. Ace looked up and glared at him. "What?" he hissed.

"Listen, I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Sure, now you figure it out."

"So as soon as you get a chance, run."

"What?"

"Grab Kiera and make a break for it. I'll try and follow you if I can."

"But-"

"Look, she's too young to take care of herself, and you're hurt. I'm the only one who might stand a chance against these guys. You two need to get away. Try and find someone who can help."

Ace opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted when the hovercraft jerked violently. "Shadow!" Mylene snapped, "Ugh, this is the last time I'm letting you pilot this thing!"

They landed with a hard bump, and everyone got out. Ace took a look around. They were in some sort of hanger. They had to be inside the Vexos' base. Dozens of guards swarmed around the place like mindless drones. Sometimes Ace had to wonder if they really knew what they were fighting for. Mira had mentioned the ones who'd temporarily captured them at Alpha City had been shocked when they heard about the Bakugan.

Doyle grabbed Ace's bad arm and started dragging him after the others. He let out a sadistic chuckle at the resulting gasp of pain. The painkillers he'd taken hours ago were starting to lose their effect, and the rest were in Jayme's car, abandoned in front of the house.

Jayme coughed, and 'accidentally' bumped into Doyle. The man growled and let go. Ace scooped his little sister up as best as he could while Jayme and Doyle started a fierce staring contest. Shadow and Mylene, who'd been in the middle of threatening one of the guards, eventually took notice of the silent battle. "Quit dawdling, you two," Mylene snapped, "We've got places to be, and better things to do with our time."

Without warning, Jayme swung and punched Doyle in the face. Everyone turned their attention to him, completely ignoring his siblings. After a few seconds, Ace took off running towards the only open door, holding Kiera tightly.

It took them a while to notice, but soon half the guards were after them. Their blasters barely missed him by inches, but he was lucky. Ace made it out another door and kept running, through a hole in the chain-link fence – like he said, lucky – and out into the street.

Ooh, I wonder what'll happen next? Seriously, I'm not sure how this story will work out at all. Anyway, stay tuned for the next chapter!