I'M ALIVE! Sorry for the long wait peeps but I had...business to attend to. Plus my laptop was acting silly and deleted this chapter like three times and I had to write it all over again!

Thanks to all my reviewers and likers! :)

Fighting the Fate.

Chapter 11: Stranded Hopes.

There was a thick odor of smoke and fuel oil in the air. As brown eyes opened slowly and scanned around,they registered a huge figure some distance away. The brown haired teen gasped at the sudden rush of memories and sat up quickly,holding his head.

A menacing laugh...then an explosion...a scream...smell of petroleum...and blacking out...

He took a deep breath and coughed a bit due to the smoke and then looked around. Another form was present beside him,slowly waking up. A shock of blond hair rose as their owner groaned.

"Keith?"

"Dan...what...happened?"

"We crashed. Are you alright?"

"I think so." Keith stretched his arms and looked at the smoldering figure of what was left of jet plane before glancing around, "Where's Shun?"

Dan realized the absence too and stood up quickly before calling, "Shun..."

Keith began to gather the supplies they had managed to retrieve from the falling plane and analyzed the damage of his own body. He could feel some pain in his left shoulder and right knee but it wasn't anything major to be taken care of soon. Looking over at the Pyrus brawler,he was sure for him to be fine...mainly because they hadn't fallen from too much height and he seemed alright except for a split lip and few scratches on his exposed skin.

Dan walked over to the cockpit fearfully. The tale had caught fire but the cockpit was filled with smoke and the glass of wind shield was broken. Dan cautiously peered inside the small cabin and gasped at the sight. His best friend was motionless in his seat thanks to the seat belt. His hands were still present on gears and levers,clutching them for dear life. He was unconscious.

Dan gently pulled him out of the seat and brought him outside to examine. He jumped off the now steaming engines quickly to avoid the fire. The brunette landed on the opposite side and lied down his best friend in a way that his chest supported the raven haired head. He could feel the labored breathing of the unconscious teen and the slight shudder it caused. And then,right in front of his eyes,the damaged machine caught fire and soon,the flames licked at all it's metallic body,rising to the sky. In a couple of minutes,the flames died down when the fuel finished. Keith called from the other side fearfully, "Dan...?"

"I'm alright." Dan called back, "And Shun's with me too."

He looked down as Shun coughed weakly and saw a red stain appearing on his shirt and jacket over his chest. Dan hoisted his best friend up carefully and crossed the ashes going over to the Darkus brawler. He lied the teen down gently before looking at the remainders of plane one last time. Keith came over with a slight limp and sitting beside the two best friends,he bent over Shun. The stain had now became brighter and more visible. He unzipped Shun's shirt to have a look. What he saw terrified him. A long shard of glass had embedded itself into the teen's chest,barely missing his heart by inches. Dan looked over it as well and gasped in horror.

Taking a deep breath,Keith braced himself and looked down, "Shun...? Are you awake?"

He was replied by a low groan and a deep breath,followed by a hiss of pain. He looked up at Dan, "I'm gonna pull it out."

Dan nodded as he tried to calm himself.

"And..." Keith hesitated, "It's going to hurt..."

"I know." Dan whispered, "Just do it. We have to take it out before it causes some serious damage to him."

And so,in one swift movement,Keith pulled the long blade out,earning a whimper of pain as Shun winced and shifted uncomfortably. Topaz eyes snapped open for a brief moment. Everything was spinning rapidly...turning into a blur of colors which grew darker until he couldn't see anything but black. Throwing away the blood stained glass,Keith sighed and looked at the sky before stopping the bleeding.

"Now what?" Dan muttered under his breath. Drago opened on his shoulder and Dan glanced at his bakugan.

"It's getting late,we gotta find a shelter." Keith replied.

"I can feel a strange force around...it isn't allowing me to transform." Drago analyzed.

"Okay...let's go." Dan stood.

Keith opened the small first aid box to make sure,Shun's cure was still present in it. A low groan was heard and he turned towards Dan who was looking down with wide eyes, "Shun...you're awake buddy."

"Huh?" Keith followed his gaze only to find topaz eyes glazed but opened nonetheless.

"How're you feeling?" Dan peered into Shun's glassy eyes.

"I'm...fine." Shun blinked and tried to sit up but a sharp pain in his chest stopped him and his hand flew up to his heart.

"Yeah right." Keith rolled his eyes as Dan helped the teen to at least sit up right.

"We should move now. Can you walk?" Dan asked his best friend earning a nod as Shun attempted to stand. With a low "ow..." he collapsed back down and Dan quickly supported him.

Keith stood and held out his hand for the Ventus brawler who reluctantly accepted it to stand. Once he was on his feet again,the teen swayed dangerously and Keith grabbed his arm to steady him until he regained his balance. The Darkus brawler picked up the articles which consisted of three water bottles,first aid box,some maps and a few packets of snacks. He ignored the slight pain I nhis body and began to walk. Shun stumbled after him and Dan followed the two of them.

"How much longer?" Dan grumbled after about half an hour of walking, "I'm hungry."

"I don't know. We've got to find a cave or something around here." Keith replied.

Shun took a deep breath and instantly regretted it as a wave of pain and dizziness hit him like a glacier and he coughed before Dan ran into him,whining about something.

"Oops...sorry buddy...didn't see you." Dan apologized as Shun grimaced, "Shun?"

"Never mind." Shun replied with much more difficulty than he had thought.

"What's wrong? You okay buddy?" Dan placed his hand on the teen's forehead, "You've still got that damn fever."

Shun turned to walk again,struggling to ignore the pain,weakness and the metallic taste in his mouth. His legs shook under him as the teen forced himself to move,pushing his body to the limits without concerning about his life.

Dan looked at his best friend worriedly before sighing and following,staying a little back from the ventus brawler just in case the teen collapse or faint due to so much exertion which was not good in his condition. It only made him worse. Keith glanced back a couple of times too as the went ahead in search of a shelter to spend the night. There was calm and quiet everywhere.

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"Huh?" Marucho looked at the screen in front. There was a radar present with a few blue spots.

"What's wrong Marucho?" Mira asked as she entered the room.

"We've lost the signal of my plane." The aquous brawler replied.

"What? How's that possible?" Mira quickly came forward to have a look.

"I don't know. There are no blue prints anywhere. No track of them." Marucho worriedly typed on the keyboard and a few maps appeared.

"Do you think they...crashed?" Mira asked hesitantly.

"I'm afraid so." Marucho tapped his glasses, "Why else would we lose their signal?"

"Oh no..." Mira gaped at the images in her mind...

Dan...laughing at her for no particular reason...

Her brother...Keith comforting her when she was sad...

Shun...blushing when she hugged him and glaring at Dan...

Her friends...were gone...

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"Finally..." Dan muttered as they caught sight of a small cave not much far ahead.

Keith nodded before taking a cautious step forward just in case some creature decided to show up to claim the cave as its habitat. Shun panted and his knees buckled under him as a coughing fit engulfed his respiration and he got on all fours,coughing and struggling to breathe properly. Dan knelt beside him and rubbed his back soothingly. Keith inspected the cave and came back with a relieved expression, "It's safe to stay here for night." The darkus brawler announced before throwing a worried glance towards the sick teen.

Shun stood on shaky legs as Dan supported him up. His whole body seemed to be on fire. Sweating excessively,he tried to regain balance but his fever prevented him from doing so. In his front were two Keiths,two caves,a moving sky,echoing voice of Dan,slope of plain ground and brightly contrasting spots! How could that be called normal?!

After an eternity,,they were finally able to settle in the cave. It was small but comfortable. Shun leaned against a wall for support as he sat on the hard ground. Dan and Keith began to set up the supplies.

"Why can't we give him the cure?" Dan asked again as Keith secured the small bottle in the first aid box.

"Do you actually trust Wiseman to create the cure for Shun?" Keith glanced at him then at Shun whose eyes were closed and he was sweating and shaking slightly.

"Well...no but...what do we do then?" Dan followed his gaze before standing up and went to sit beside his best friend, "Shun?"

"..." Topaz eyes opened slowly to look at him.

"Are you okay?" Knowing that his question was dumb,Dan still asked it.

Shun nodded slightly, "Cold..."

His hoarse voice clenched Dan's heart as he placed a hand on his friend's forehead again, "You're burning up...and you say you're cold?"

Shun nodded again and took a deep breathe. His shaking was visible now. Dan sighed before taking off his jacket and offering it to the teen, "Here..."

Shun looked at him gratefully,silently thanking him before he tried to take in the warmth of his friend's jacket. All of a sudden,he felt extremely nauseous and his chest tightened. The teen coughed but to no avail as the nausea got worse.

Dan quickly bent forward to support his best friend as he heaved with no result. Holding his hair back,Dan realized with extreme worry that his best friend was coughing up blood. Keith was sitting opposite him,patting Shun's back gently as he threw up blood. After a good ten minutes of expelling blood,the teen coughed weakly as pain racked his whole body. The world was spinning as he welcomed the darkness which crept over to embrace the ventus brawler.

Dan dabbed the small towel in water as he placed it on his best friend's burning forehead again. They had been here for quite a few hours now and after guarding the first two hours,Keith had slept now and it was Dan's turn to watch.

The Pyrus brawler brushed back the loose strands of raven hair from his friend's pale white face. He was embarrassed to admit it but he was scared for the life of his best friend. He wanted to help him but it seemed as if the fate was against them.

Shun shifted uncomfortably at the cold touch of damp cloth but Dan kept it in place,looking sadly at the teen and muttering a 'sorry'. They were so close to escape this darkness but now...they were once again being tested.

"Hang in there buddy...I'll get you out of here no matter what happens...I wont let you die like this..." Dan whispered to the unconscious teen...his brown eyes filled with determination. Shun sighed in his deep sleep but other than that,remained unresponsive. A shooting star somewhere listened this whisper and looked down at the two best friends before choosing to ignore them and went away.

As Dan stood to go and wake Keith for his turn,he didn't hear the quiet and barely audible whisper of his best friend as a single word escaped in hoarse voice, "I-'m...so-r-ry."

There ya go! now be good and get me some reviews! Stay tuned for the next chapter folks!

Rose out! :)