Chapter 35: And then there were two…
Dan found himself plummeting down a muddy hill as it began to rain hard and he had slipped at the wrong moment. He was tired and weak from the battle of wills he just had with Drago. He stopped short of the bank that led to a raging river and panted hard. He laid there for what felt like hours until he heard large footsteps coming closer. He sat up and hoped it wasn't Drago and Marucho, but he was surprised to see that it was Warfang coming towards him. He scrambled to his feet adrenaline fueling his instinct to run. Sadly it was unheard of a human out running a wolf much less a big huge one that was actually a thing called a bakugan. He felt Warfang hot breath on his back and the next thing he knew he was flying through the air and then blackness.
He was back in the room again with the presence wrapping its arms around him whispering dark thoughts into him.
"Don't resist me Kuso." The presence spoke, "For I know the darkness filling your heart. Shun speaks the truth about your failure to compensate Drago's power. Then again who wouldn't want that power for themselves."
Dan tried to wiggle away, but felt the hand around his throat dig in making him collapse further inside the darkness.
"Look! Look at all that power!" The presence cried a window started to play out the scene where Drago went rogue, "You want it all don't you? Well at least you had it all. He nor you can totally control it. Just think if you were to use that card it would all belong to you and you could control it better."
He could feel the bindings tighten and his breathing became harder. Suddenly a cloaked figure appeared in front of him and reached into his chest squeezing his heart. A few tugs later it was out and still beating despite it being removed from his body, the figured mumbled some words and he felt himself go limp and he was drawn into the beating heart which the figure inserted into their own chest.
When the darkness disappeared again he was in the dark desert once more. The only difference this time around was that he was chained to a skeleton. He cried out in fear and tried to run from it only to have it be dragged behind him by the chain binding him to the skeleton. He ran until he could no more and collapsed onto the sand.
"Dang limbo." He cursed under his breath.
Meanwhile Drago was searching around the swamp for his missing partner. The others were asking the inhabiting bakugan about their wayward friend only to come up with nothing until they ran into a certain Ventus bakugan. Shun had thought at first the bulky ninja looking bakugan was being attacked by the two young darkus bakugan when in fact they were just his students. He introduced himself as Jakkor and his students were Skytruss and Orbeum.
"We were wondering if you have seen a human boy about our age with brown hair and he should be wearing black and red clothes." Mira explained praying that they possibly had.
"I believe so. Right teacher?" Skytruss asked looking up to the green ninja.
"Yes, but he was being carried toward the peaks of the fire mountains by a Darkus wolf creature. Are you sure he's human though?" Jakkor said pointing off into the distance behind him, "The fire mountains are located in that direction and if need be we could guide you there."
Mira nodded her head, "Please it's urgent if a Darkus bakugan has him!"
Meanwhile Marucho rode upon Drago's shoulder helping him search for his missing partner.
"Drago I'd hate to distract you, but what did those bakugan mean by they saw an aura of a bakugan surrounding Dan?" Marucho wondered hoping the question would not be avoided.
"Those guys were just talking nonsense." Drago said trying to brush it away.
Marucho saw through it and persisted, "Drago please don't lie. There's something Dan forgot to tell us didn't he."
"Right now it's not necessary for you to know, however I promise Dan will tell you when the time is right." Drago said before Marucho's bakumeter began to bleep indicating an incoming call.
"Hello?" Marucho answered as a screen popped up and Shun appeared.
"Bad and good news. We found out where Dan is, but it appears Warfang has gotten ahold of him and is taking him to the fire mountains. Rendezvous with us there if you can." Shun ordered.
Marucho nodded and then cut the link, but not before asking Drago if he knew how to get there in which the Dragonoid nodded having been the core of the planet at one time he knew it better than the back of his claws.
Soon the whole gang was together and they waited for Orbeum to catch the scent using Dan's bakumeter as the source to gain it.
"This way." Orbeum said taking off to a tunnel not far from them.
It would have been extremely dark deep in, but the glowing rocks that adorned the ceiling kept the tunnel well lit. The tunnel twisted viciously at points other times the wondered if they hadn't been turned around completely, but they all pressed on.
Finally they came to a huge cavern that was illuminated by a pool of magma. A figure sat behind the pool with a furry beast lying behind him.
"Dan!" Mira called racing towards the boy only to have Skytruss rescue her from an attack by Warfang.
"Get out of the way!" Drago roared with fury.
Warfang snarled and barked, but calmed down once someone spoke.
"Enough Warfang, the jig is up." The voice said making Shun and Marucho tingle with fear upon realizing who it was that spoke.
"Apokkolys?" Drago roared in surprise.
Warfang leapt back to the boy and snatched him in his jaws before he used one of his tails to punch a hole through the wall and ran away before anyone could stop him.