Chapter 11: I Could Be...


"Shun?" Klaus called from the screen before Shun. This snapped Shun out of whatever reverie he was in as he faced his…ally. "Are you sure about this?"

Immediately, Shun began thinking of all the things done in the past few weeks since Alice had been living with them. Did she deserve this? No. She deserved much better than what he was going to unload on her when they-if they-made it out of this alive.

"Yes, Shun," Skyress said from his shoulder. "I don't think you should go with this. There are so many other means of training and expanding your horizons. Why choose this one?"

Gently, Shun grabbed Skyress from his shoulder and placed her on the table before him. He nodded his head, which made Skyress release an audible sigh. "It's the only way I can make things right, Skyress. It's the only way I can protect those that I need to."

Sirenoid then jumped on the table before Klaus, making sure she was in video's view, too. "Skyress, Klaus and I can handle it. We can take care of everything. No one has to move; nothing has to change. Just us. We can handle it, though."

Skyress stared back at Sirenoid. Sure, she knew they could handle it, but she did not want them to. Bakugan can be very territorial and that is exactly what Skyress was being right now. This deal they were making was so critical to going throughout life. No one could do it; only themselves.

"Then the deal is made," Klaus said after a moment of silence. Shun inwardly cringed at the smugness he heard in the voice of Klaus. He could not do anything about it, though. He knew he was his last chance at doing things right. "It was a pleasure doing business with you, Kazami," Klaus concluded, logging out, which let the screen before Shun go completely black.

"You could have asked someone else," Skyress muttered from beneath him. "Better yet, you could just not do it."

Shun looked down at Skyress. "I have to."

Skyress looked back up at Shun. "I know and…making these hard decisions, that's what will lead them back to you."

Suddenly, the door swung open, almost breaking it off of its hinges. "Shun, you have explaining to do."

Once again, Shun cringed at the voice of his mother. The other parents from before soon crowded into the room from behind her.

"They're gone," he said momentously before anyone else could ask or assume things. "The Bakugan are back and it's time for us to do what we do best."

Skyress, knowing that Shun was going to explain no more at this point, continued on for him. "Have no fear, though. They have gone off in groups of two to three." The scared faces of the parents relaxed a bit. "Their Bakugan are with them, too."

"Where's Alice?" Kyo asked. Everyone stopped breathing at that moment. All wanted to know the answer. No one could say that that young girl did not find a way into each of their hearts. She had, from the time they had met her, formed a soft spot. No one could do her wrong and they would not even try to.

Shun sighed, causing all the adults to look up at him. Even Kanna looked up. "It was like it was seen. Alice has been kidnapped."

Gasps could be heard from around the room. Parents look at parents. Mrs. Kuso had to hug Mrs. Misaki, who was crying. Instantly, the other parents gravitated toward her. Maya, though, did not.

"Get her back," a feminine voice was heard. It was grave. It was brave. It was resilient. Shun looked up at his mother, the source of the words. "Get my girl back, Shun. I know you can," she said, shaking her head back and forth in disbelief at what was going on.

"Yeah," Kyo chimed in, a small smile on his face. "You and Skyress should already be off."

Shun gave a small smile his way.

"You're the only one who can do it," came Mrs. Misaki's voice. "I've seen the way you look at her."

"…and the way she looks at you," finished Maya. "The courage between you two is enough to destroy that monster and rid him of the world."

Shun nodded his head, tears actually forming in his eyes. If the parents could believe in him, his own mom, then he knew he was doing the right thing. He knew he could save the world. He knew he could save Alice.

"You're right," Shun said. "All of you are right," he said again, running to the window, quickly grabbing Skyress.

"Get 'em, Shun!" the parents shouted wit repetition.

"…and Shun," his mother called.

Shun stopped from on the ledge of the balcony. He turned around, looking at his mother in the face. Quietly, she embraced him. From this view, he could see all the other parents' faces. Suddenly, he was enveloped in the biggest hug of his life.

"Go get your girl back," Maya whispered in his ear.

He released his mother from their hug and walked away from the group of people.

"Skyress, Stand!" He exclaimed, throwing her in the air. She immediately turned into her beast form. Not taking his eyes away from his mom and the other parents, he flipped in the air, gracefully landing on Skyress's back.

"I'm depending on you guys, too," he said. They looked at him confusedly. He showed his wrist, which held his digital watch that all the Bakugan Brawlers had. "Due to Hal-G's power, we may not be able to communicate through these. I will communicate to you through those computers in there. Just click on the one of the Brawler's name to get them to them and relay my message." And with that, he was off.

Quickly, the parents circled the big oval table, Maya at the head, each of them having a keyboard and picking their own brawler to communicate with.

"Let's save the world," Maya said, pressing a button to connect with Shun. The others copied her in unison, connecting with separate children.


All she could see was black. She was sore, tired, and so on. Nothing made sense to her. So many thoughts ran through her head. Maybe she was dead. But how? How could she have died so suddenly?

"Alice," a masculine voice whispered. She felt her eyes squeeze together a bit tighter. Ok, so she wasn't dead.

Please, voice, just call my name one more time. Call my name. Give me the will to open my eyes. Please, she thought to herself as she began to feel feeling in her body.

Suddenly, she felt something warm, yet rough, on her face. It was a hand, which she could tell by the outline feeling of it. Judging by the texture of it, it was a male's hand.

Just a little more, she thought. Please help me…

"Shun," she said in a raspy voice. The hand stopped abruptly, before leaving her face hesitantly. "Call my name."

"Alice," the voice called again. "Alice, I'm sorry but…" the voice paused there, as if hesitating on what to say next.

Alice let a smile grace her lips as she felt her eyelids begin to open. When they opened the first time, she blinked again and again, trying to clear out the blurriness. She was too weak to get up, but that did not stop her from looking around. What she saw, though, stopped her wandering eyes.

"You."

The owner of the masculine voice chuckled. "Yes…me."

Alice looked down, not ready to put up a fight. "Masquerade." She watched as his lips twisted into a very hated smile. "I-I thought you were Shun."

"I don't get that a lot," he said with a smirk. The smirk could even be heard in his voice.

Alice tried to shake her head back and forth, but could only do so much. "You wouldn't," she began in a raspy tone. She sounded and felt breathless. "Shun is the total opposite of you."

Once again, she felt his hand on her face. Oh, how she wished she could swat it away, but she just could not find the strength to do so. She could not even find the strength to yell at him.

"Enlighten me, Red," he taunted, using a nickname he had just made up for her while watching her sleep these hours away.

This time, it was Alice who let out a chuckle. What she couldn't give in actions, she could at least say in words. "Shun he…he is noble. He can be admired for every little action he does."

For some unknown reason, the way she praised him caused an internal pain to Masquerade. He brushed it off, though, and continued to look at her nonchalantly.

"He knows what to say and when to say it," she said, continuing with her little rant. She was tired and weak, but just talking about him gave her some strength. This made her question herself. "He's just. He knows his good morals from his right morals. He knows how to keep someone interested."

Masquerade watched her and listened to her intently. His hand never left her face. He liked the feeling and, knowing she had no strength to push him off, he would leave it there.

"And then…there comes loyalty." Alice looked up at the ceiling, not even entertaining the fact that Masquerade was in the room with her, hands on her face. She was just in her little world. "He loves him mother and even his grandfather. Though he and his grandfather have their moments, the love is certainly there. Now look at Shun. He's helping raise his baby cousin." She smiled to herself as she said this.

"Hn," Masquerade said abruptly, snapping Alice out of her reveries. "So, let me get this straight, Red." His hand retracted from her face as he left it to his side. "Shun is…just, loyal, and righteous." Once again, Masquerade chuckled. Alice furrowed her brows. "So, basically, he is like a dog?"

"And then there is Maya, Shun's mom," Alice began, totally ignoring what Masquerade had just said. Masquerade furrowed her brows at her, this time. "The way she carries herself, it is so elegant, yet she is so brave. She has so much courage." Alice smiled, talking about her mother-figure. "You know, she was dying. But now look at her. She's fine. It's like nothing ever happened. And next was the whole raising Shun pretty much alone, thing. Do you know how hard it is for women to get good paying jobs?" She received no answer, not that she expected to or anything. She was mostly juts talking to herself, trying to keep sane. Already, she could feel the tears welling up in her eyes.

Masquerade, though, was still thinking about how Alice described Shun earlier. His mind just would not let him reel away from those thoughts, though he had heard every word she had just said.

"I could be noble," he said out-of-nowhere. This totally took Alice back.

"How so?" she asked immediately.

She received no answer, though. She took in a deep breath, still trying to hold back the tears.

With a sigh, she continued on about the Kazami family. "I can't for get about Kyo, er I mean, grandpa," she began, correcting herself. "He likes for me to call him that, you know. It took me a bit of time, but I soon got used to it. He's pretty brave, too. Actually, he reminds me of Shun. He is pretty much the voice of the family and, when he feels like it, he can be a wise voice." She let out a laugh, suddenly, trying to forget about her tears that were on the verge of coming down. "He's actually pretty funny. He…he reminds me of my grandfather."

She looked up at Masquerade, who still seemed to be in thought. In all honestly, she wondered what he was thinking about. Her question was soon answered, though.

"I can be righteous," he said, a bit quieter now.

Alice just looked at him oddly. "If I ask you 'how so?' will you answer?" No answer was once again received.

"And now there's Kanna," Alice continued. Now, the tears came from her eyes. She could no longer hold them back. They first came out in sobs and soon after they came out in full-blown tears.

She cried.

…And she cried.

…And she cried.

Masquerade just sat there, though, not knowing what to do. Finally, he could hear no more. He gently tilted her face upward so she could see his own. "Don't cry."

What else could he say? He could not promise her that she would see Shun and the rest of them soon. All he could say was not to cry. He couldn't even say not to worry.

She felt the bed shift as she saw him get out of the bed she was on.

"I can be just."

And he was out the door.

"I know," she said in a whisper, still looking at the closed door. "I know."


"Skyress, I don't know what move to make; what direction to take; I don't know anything," Shun said frantically as he rode of Skyress's back, releasing Bakugan after Bakugan to fight the ones sent from Hal-G.

Skyress shot out another fireball before continuing to talk to Shun. "You mustn't panic so soon, Shun. We will find her," she said in a reassuring voice. "We just have to think back to the last time this happened to all your friends."

Shun let out another Bakugan before replying back to her. Before he could speak though, something came into his mind. "Skyress, all of the Bakugan must be coming from a shift through the dimensions, correct?"

Skyress nodded.

"I know what we have to do," he said, quickly opening his computer-like watch. After a few minutes, his mother popped up on the screen. "Mom, put me on so I can see and talk to all the parents."

"Right," Maya nodded.

In an instant, Shun was on for everyone to see. "Ok, you guys. This is what I need you all to do. Tell Dan and the others to take more ground. Skyress and I are going to take an absence from this world for a bit. We will bring back Alice, though."

"Shun," Maya began before the adults could talk. He was ready to her his mom tell him to be careful, but instead, he heard something else. "Win this fight." And she was off.

Shun smiled. "Ok, Skyress! Look, an opening!" Shun exclaimed, pointing to a whole in the dimension. Millions of Bakugan were rushing out. "We have to go through!"

"Are you crazy, Shun?" Skyress asked, though still heading straight forward.

"Just…believe in me." Shun put his left arm behind him. Skyress could suddenly feel an unexplainable energy from above her. When Shun brought his arm before him there was a blue energy sword before him. He swung it back as he headed for the Bakugan. "For Alice!" He screamed, as they charged into the monsters and to the dimensional rip.

And for Alice…

…They had made it.


2,811 words.

I am coming to an end soon. Four more chapters left. How sad, but how happy I am at the same time. After a story is finished I feel like I have accomplished something big. Anyway, I would like to say I have come up with a new way for a human and Bakugan to work together and that will be seen in about two to three chapters. This way will change the world of Bakugan as we know it.

Anyway, what do you think about Masquerade. Something is definitely wrong with him. I can't say though.

I am sorry for the short chapter. It had to be done. I did not want to put so much in a chapter. The next few chapters will be the hardest to right and possibly very long.

Well, I hope you guys have a great week. Hope to get back to you all soon.

Love youze lots,

Lady Anata

P.S. What would you like to see if I make a sequel?

IMPORTANT NOTE! I was asked by heretohelpyou to send the link below in my story. She has decided to make an award show that she is sure will work. She fights a good argument. Her question is: Why should we be one of the only anime shows that don't have an awards show. Here is the link below. Go vote!(after you review, of course ;).

.net/topic/72797/23864166/1/