The next day, Nikita woke up from her bedroom in the helicarrier and got ready for the day. She took a nice shower and transformed into her sea monster form. After getting out of the shower, she dried herself up, thus transforming back into her humanoid form. As soon as she got dressed, Nikita headed down to breakfast with Pegatrix flying behind her. The two friends went to the main room and sat down for breakfast. Everyone was being served pancakes which are a favorite of Nikita's. As everyone started eating their meals, Marucho came into the room very slowly.
"Good morning, Marucho! Did you sleep well last night?" Julie asked. "Oh. No, not really." Marucho said somberly.
Everyone stopped eating and looked at Marucho as he sat down. He was still very upset about losing Preyas in that battle. They felt bad for him, but they didn't know what to do. It's not like they could go back in time to save Preyas and there was no way to get into the Doom Dimension without getting trapped forever.
"Look, I know you're still sad about losing your friend. But we have to move on." Dan said. "Dan's right, Marucho. We all feel sad about the terrible loss of Preyas. But we must focus on other important matters." Drago said.
Marucho didn't say anything, he just sulked in his seat.
"Come on, Dan. You know he's very fragile right now." Runo said. "Yeah. I mean, I don't know what I'd do if I lost Pegatrix." Nikita said. "Oh, Nikki." Pegatrix said.
Nikita and Pegatrix shared a close bond with each other ever since they first met. They made a great team during their adventures together and they've never had an argument yet. They also loved their friends very much and will always be there to support their friends during their time of need. Nikita and Pegatrix will both be here to support Marucho in any way possible.
"Guys! We should be helping Marucho get through this crisis together." Alice said. "I agree. We should be supporting him, not fighting." Skyress said. "But Dan's right too: we should be focusing on more important matters, like figuring out Masquerade's next move." Shun said.
As everyone began arguing over what to do, Marucho got out of his seat and walked away. Nobody had noticed that he was gone except for Nikita, she finished her breakfast and went to find him. Pegatrix floated away from the other Bakugan and rode on Nikita's shoulder. They walked outside to where Marucho was. He was sitting on a log right next to a pond that had animals near it.
"Marucho? Are you feeling alright?" Nikita asked.
Marucho turned around to see the young sea monster right behind him.
"Oh. Yeah, I'm...fine." He answered.
But Nikita had already known that he was lying. She knew he wasn't alright, she knew that he was still upset over losing Preyas. Ever since that battle with Klaus, Marucho just wasn't the same. He felt very depressed most of the time and barely ate his food. He also couldn't sleep well at night, he would have nightmares about Preyas being sent to the Doom Dimension. Nikita knew that he must be feeling very helpless right now. Pegatrix felt the same way, they both wished they could do something to help Marucho.
"Marucho...we know you're not alright." Nikita said. "Yes, we both know you're still upset over losing your dear friend Preyas." Pegatrix said. "It's true. I still miss Preyas and the pain won't go away." Marucho said.
Suddenly, the rest of the team showed up from behind them. They were getting pretty worried about their friend and went to find him. Shun saw Nikita leaving for the exit and told the others where she was going. Pegatrix flew to the same rock that the other Bakugan were resting on.
"We were worried about you, Marucho." Runo said. "Yeah. Is everything okay?" Alice asked. "I just came out here to comfort Marucho." Nikita said.
Everyone had a sad look on their faces, they've been so busy arguing about Masquerade and his next attack that they started to ignore Marucho. They knew he was feeling down for a few days, but they've been too focused on stopping Masquerade from making Hydranoid the most powerful Bakugan of all time. Dan came forward and sat down next to Marucho.
"Look, Marucho. I'm sorry for acting so irrational lately." He said. "I've just been focused on saving the world from Masquerade and Naga."
Marucho looked up to Dan and smiled. Everyone else began to smile too. The Bakugan were also smiling, even though they weren't showing it.
"Thanks, Dan. I needed that." Marucho said. "And you know what? I miss Preyas too." Dan said. "So do I." Drago said. "We all miss him very much." Gorem said.
Everyone agreed that they all miss Preyas very much. Talking about his feelings made Marucho feel a little better. But it wasn't enough to make him feel fully better. Nikita could still sense the sadness in Marucho and started feeling sad herself. Pegatrix meant the whole world to her and she didn't know what she'd do if she was sent to the Doom Dimension. She couldn't bear the thought of losing Pegatrix to one of Masquerade's pawns.
"Thanks for all your support, guys. I think I'm feeling a whole lot better now." Marucho said. "Oh! That's great, Marucho." Julie said, happily. "Yeah! Now I think I'm ready to take on Masquerade and his pawns!" Marucho shouted.
This surprised everyone, they've never seen Marucho behave like this before. Runo knew that he wanted to get revenge on Masquerade for taking Preyas away from him. But she decided to battle Julio and avenge Preyas herself with Dan joining her. Now, Marucho felt determined to achieve his goal of avenging his dear friend all by himself. This made his friends grow worried for him.
Meanwhile, back in the Doom Dimension, Preyas was wandering around the barren land. He was searching for more sticks for his fireplace at his shelter. He managed to find a couple for wood and brought them back to the cave. Since he was sent to the Doom Dimension, Preyas has been working on improving his shelter with scraps he found around the land.
"So far so good. My little shelter is going great." He said to himself. "Now, all it needs is a little more wood."
But he wasn't entirely happy, he missed his friend Marucho very much. He also missed his fellow Bakugan too. He didn't know what they were up to or how they were feeling right now. All he knew was that they must be missing him very much as well. Preyas wanted to see them again, but how can he when he's trapped in an inescapable realm? There has to be a way to escape the Doom Dimension.
"I have to find a way out of here. There's got to be a way." Preyas said. "There's no way out. You're trapped in here forever." A creepy voice said.
Preyas became spooked and looked around trying to find out where the voice came from.
"Wh...who said that?!" He asked, frighteningly. "I did." The voice said.
Preyas looked up and saw a familiar figure who hasn't been seen in a long time: Reaper!