Here's the next chapter. I figured since I've already got it written up and I head back to school soon, I should throw you guys a bone. XD

Review Replies:

Storm: Yeah, I figured it would be to unbelievable if he actually won. I mean come on, Ren's an experienced veteran while Soren's still a newbie lol

Alana: yeah...

lilly: here you are!

drake: Thank you. I'm glad you like the fic. If you added it to alert on that shared account of yours, you'll be informed of updates ;)

nai: Thanks

Layra: All right, all right. Here you are ;)

I do not own Bakugan, only Soren, Lex, the Next Gen Brawlers and other OCs. This fic is not associated with the Bakugan Battle Brawlers series.


Normal POV

Soren sat in his father's apartment while Ren and his friends were in his office discussing the new information they had just learned. They had sent their children home, leaving young Soren all alone. It almost felt like torture for him, all this waiting. He had finally met his father and revealed their relationship to him and all Soren could do was wait to see what Ren was going to do now that he knew what he knew.

Ren sat in his chair while his friends crowded around his desk. He just found out that for the past fourteen years, he had a son. 'How could this have happened?' he thought. Ren quickly remembered back to his wonderful but brief time on Earth. 'Oh yeah, that night when we…'

"Ren, you don't actually believe this kid do you?" asked Zenet.

"Man, you had a better time on Earth than you let on," said Mason elbowing Ren in admiration. Ren brushed Mason's arm away from him in an annoyed sigh. Now was not the time for jokes and playfulness, despite the amount of cheering up he needed.

"Mason!" berated Lena. "But still, there's no actual proof that what this kid is saying is true. He could just be a fan with some elaborate ruse," added Lena. "We could easily conduct a DNA test and this whole thing can be over."

"It is true…he's got a photo of me on Earth and he's got Lex. Besides, he looks just like me and he's got her eyes. Her beautiful blue eyes…" said Ren in a trance, remembering the last time he looked into those eyes fourteen years ago. They were in tears and it was the last time Sora ever spoke to him. She had confronted him about him being a traitor. She was crying and she shouted, "I hate you! I never want to see you again," before she ran off.

"Ren, I can't imagine what you must be feeling but…" started Lex.

"Oh really? I just found out that I've had a son for the past 14 years!" he shouted. Ren sighed and leaned back in his chair before rubbing his temple. "How could she not tell me?"

"Well how did you expect her to tell you? It's not like she has a dimensional transporter of her own and it's not like you came back," said Lex.

"Don't try and turn this around on me! She's the one who never told me about this!" he shouted, pointing his finger in accusation at Lex.

"I'm not trying to do that, Ren. I'm just saying that if you really still cared about her, you would have come back to her and then you would have known about Soren. He could have grown up with a father."

Ren groaned. "I don't know what to do. I've got a thirteen year old boy sitting in there expecting me to be his dad and I don't even know where to begin! And in case you all forgot, I'm supposed to get married next month! Lilith is freaking out over all the work and organization of the wedding and she's going to freak out even more when she finds out that I have a son! Linehalt, what do you think?" Ren looked up when he didn't hear Linehalt and scanned the room for him. "Linehalt?"


"So, you're Ren's son?" asked Linehalt. "You look just like him."

"Um, yes, my name is Soren. I only found out about my dad a couple days ago."

"You mean Sora never told you about him?" Linehalt asked, surprised.

"No, I'd ask a few times, but I could see that she didn't want to talk about it, so I just dropped it."

"How is Sora anyway?" asked Linehalt.

"She's ok…" he answered plainly.

"So since Ren is Gundalian and your mother is Human, that would make you…"

"Half and half, yeah. I have to disguise myself whenever I go out. You're my dad's Guardian Bakugan right?"

"Yes, ever since he was a child. I am Darkus Linehalt. Did Sora give Lex to you?"

"No, no, she offered but I declined. I don't really feel like an Aquos Brawler...I don't really have a Guardian Bakugan."

"So tell me about you. You go to school right? Who are your friends?"

"Oh, I've got tons of friends. We've actually sort of taken over the Brawlers from our parents. There's DJ, Bailey, Chichi, Shin and the twins," said Soren, counting off his friends with his fingers.

"Uh…" Linehalt started.

"Oh, sorry. You don't know them. Well, DJ is Dan and Runo's son, Bailey is Billy and Julie's daughter, Shuichi, we call him Chi-chi, is Marucho's nephew, and Shin, Shizuka and Shiori are Shun and Ayden's kids. And I met Izzy, Zeke, Juliet, Bruce and Floria yesterday."

"Wow, it's good to hear that our old friends are doing well and have families of their own," said Linehalt. He and Soren looked up as Ren and his friends came out of the office.

"Soren, was it? Listen…" Ren spoke, nervously rubbing the back of his head. "Until we get this thing sorted out, you should probably stay here. Guest room's over there," he said, avoiding eye contact during the conversation while pointing to another room.

"Oh…" Soren was expecting a bit more than that. "Thanks…" He picked up his bed and made for the guest room to unpack his things.

"Hey…does your mother know you're here?" he asked nervously.

"No…" replied Soren.

"Well, I should probably give her call…to, you know, let her know you're here…"

"Right…" Soren pulled out a piece of paper and wrote something down before handing it to Ren. "That's our phone number. I don't know if you'll be able to reach her from here."

"I'll take care of that. You should probably get to bed, you've had a long day."

"Yeah, thanks da-…Ren."


Ren's POV

It was nearly midnight. Jesse, Mason, Lena and Zenet all went home with their kids while I stayed in my office, wide-awake. I fingered the piece of paper that Soren had given me with Sora's phone number on it, completely ignoring the mountains of paper work I had due the next day. I had to call her and let her know that Soren was here, that he was safe…but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Was I nervous? Was I afraid? I think that was it. I was afraid to hear her voice, to hear what she might say. I was afraid she wouldn't take me back, even after I returned to the Brawlers' side. That's why I never went back to Earth. I was a coward.

"Ren, you can't put this off any more than you already have," said Linehalt, breaking the silence.

"I know. Could you excuse me, Linehalt? I'd like to be alone," I said.

"Of course, Ren. I understand." Linehalt flew out of the office and I was alone. I looked at the number in my hands before reaching for my communicator and typing in her number.


I honestly don't know or care how the whole communication across dimensions would work without Marucho's stuff. lol. But whatever, that's not the focus of the fic .

Next Chapter - The Phone Call: Sora is worried over Soren's disappearance but then receives a blast from the past when an old flame calls her up.

Review! ~ZP