Chapter 3.

"Alice," Hydranoid asked softly, "Why can you not tell me? What's so dark that cannot be shed out?" Alice clutched her head and shook it slightly. "Everything about me is…" Hydranoid sighed. Not this again… "I only wish to help, Alice," he repeated solemnly. "That is all." Hydranoid looked at his mistress with pity. She was a sorry state. Her vibrant hair looked dull and unhappy, and her eyes were decorated with a slight tinge of red. He couldn't see her like this. He still had to try…

"Alice…" he said, this time with more force anymore, "you have to tell me, the choice is not yours anymore…" Alice squinted unhappily, "Hydranoid, what can you do? How would I know what I tell you won't hurt you?" The Bakugan looked at his mistress silently, "Because I'm your friend."

"Masquerade lives in me. I'm his entity. My mind and soul are his too."

Hydranoid felt shocked for a second, but composed himself. "Why did you not tell me sooner?"

"Because I was afraid I would hurt you. I've hurt so many before. I couldn't bear for one more to be on my conscience."

"You never hurt anyone, Alice." She was silent. He changed the subject. "He has been living in you this whole time?"

"Yes. At first he disappeared, but little by little he came back. He could disappear and appear out my mind whenever he wanted. Soon, he began to converse with me. I have to find a way to help him, out of my soul. At this time, my mind and his are fused. So everything I possess belongs to him as well."

"He IS you, Alice," stressed Hydranoid. "He's not," Alice contradicted, "he has separate thoughts and emotions. I can feel them. He deserves to live on his own, not trapped in me." "Are you doing this all for the sake of him? Or are you so desperate to get rid of a past?" questioned Hydranoid.

Alice bit her lip. Maybe it was a little bit of both. She didn't know. She voiced that. "You should, Alice," advised Hydranoid.

But how…?

"So you finally told him," smirked Masquerade. "Yes I did," said Alice. "Are you talking to him again?" asked Hydranoid. Alice nodded. "You can only converse in that way? I only guessed…" said Hydranoid. Alice nodded again. Masquerade leered sullenly, "what does he going to do now?"

Alice repeated Masquerade's words. Hydranoid said simply, "Live with the fact." Alice smiled a little. She had a new job now; be the messenger.

"Hydranoid," asked Alice tentatively. "How far north are we? I don't see any Bakugan so far." Hydranoid faced her. "Look at the surroundings." Alice obeyed, and she observed. It changed drastically. The sunny atmosphere had faded leaving a damp, almost-chilled one. "What happened?" she whispered. 'We are close," stated Hydranoid. "Hydranoid, w-what happened?" she repeated, "it was beautiful- so cheerful, why is there suddenly a scene change? Hydranoid…?" No answer.

Alice walked slowly, mesmerized by her surroundings. Almost if someone had caught her in a trance, she slid her hand smoothly across a rock. She brought the same hand back and forth. The rock had intricate patterns, almost like a mosaic. But they weren't. Alice, however, felt there was a deeper meaning to those arrays. She looked at the other rocks. The same thing. All of them had slow artistic scribbles crawling up them. She proceeded to stroke them.

"Alice," said Hydranoid. He got slightly worried. Those drawings had some kind of hypnotic effect on her. "Alice!" he called louder. This time, though, her robotic demeanor shattered. "Hydranoid…" She blinked slowly, "what's happening…? This place… it's affecting me weirdly. Why-?"

"Alice, does this place make you feel unwelcome or unwanted? Even though it has the human 'creepiness'?" interrupted Hydranoid. Alice stood silent. She let the fingerless mist swirl around her. "No," she said slowly, "It doesn't. Actually, it feels like déjà vu… like I've been here before. This feels like home… sort of…" "Good," said Hydranoid, "it means your inner Darkus is becoming strong, it's gaining energy."

'Huh?" said Alice, confused now. Hydranoid explained, "Because you are a Darkus warrior, you have the Darkus energy within you. It's who you are. Usually, the energy becomes stronger by battling. The energy survives by doing that. The exhilaration of battle is food enough for your inner darkness. Since you are a Darkus brawler, you would be one with the element… What do feel?"

"Like I belong," she whispered. "Then it's working. Your inner self is drawing mana from the Darkus elements around us." Hydranoid nodded knowingly. Alice had other doubts.

"Hydranoid, I'm not a… regular battler, I hardly ever brawl, so where does my, um, energy draw it's 'food' from?"

"The energy inside you requires 'food' to burn, in other words, mana. It's like a flame. It's actually your spirit. It's that what guides you…"

"So it's like my unknown conscience?"

"Put simply, yes. Back to your question, since you do not brawl, Alice, I suspect that the 'flame' is tied directly to your emotions. The stronger you feel, the more powerful you become. It might also be one of the reasons you didn't turn into Masquerade when battling Shadow prove, but you used his techniques just as he would."

"I-it's a three-way connection?" stammered Alice. She was worried. What if this meant the flame was 'consuming' Masquerade. After all, he was her emotions, in a way…

"Yes, I think so," said Hydranoid. "What if it's 'eating' Masquerade?" shrieked Alice, "and he didn't know about it?"

"Alice, please, stop being paranoid. The energy merely uses up emotions, like fire uses oxygen. The worst that could happen is you get over-tired from emotion overuse." Hydranoid bobbed to prove his point. Alice's frenzy shuddered down. "So, basically, this energy inside me is strong enough to let me be Masquerade without actually turning into him? All I have to do is feel an intense emotion, right?"

"That would be a theory."

"How do you know all this?"

"What do you think I do when I'm alone?' mocked Hydranoid. "So these 'theories' just happen to jump into your head?" asked Alice sarcastically. "Or does Grandfather have something to do with this?" Hydranoid sighed mockingly. "You always were too smart for me, Alice." She frowned at him playfully. "Alright, I told your grandfather what happened with Shadow Prove, and what you told me. We simply combined my knowledge of the Darkus attribute and the workings of the mind and soul."

"Why didn't Grandfather tell me?"

"The same reason you for me; he didn't want you to worry."

"Good point," said Alice sadly. "So Hydranoid, this connection I'm feeling now?"

"You're becoming one with the element. Darkus Bakugan are highly skilled in using the shadows as cover. We spent years mastering the techniques."

"Well, you're a true Hydra, aren't you?" Alice teased. "But what I don't get is why I became hypnotized by those rocks." "I don't know," admitted Hydranoid sheepishly. "But I do believe it has something to do with your inner core."

"What's so special about it anyway?" said Alice exasperatedly. "Don't you see, Alice?" said Hydranoid. She shook her head. "Your inner energy or core is special, more than the others'. Every Bakugan Brawler has his or her own energy tucked away in their being. Sometimes, this energy and the Bakugan can make contact, which is when the Bakugan evolve. But it's very rare. The battler has to come to a deep understanding of his or her emotions. Have you not noticed every time there is a mutual emotional agreement between Bakugan and human, the Bakugan is a successor?"

"I have wondered about that, actually…" muttered Alice.

"Like the time you thought all hope was lost but you pulled through and said you believed in me…" continued Hydranoid.

"Against Rabeeder, yes…" she said softly. "But what does all of this have to do with me?"

"Your inner energy is greater than anyone else's, Alice. I can feel it. The emotional bond between us is complete trust and care. It is pure. Masquerade is only one of your many qualities. Another one is that you can see the power level of any Bakugan on the field. Masquerade is a true Darkus warrior. But he too has to learn about other things… like life. He was created to be a minion, but along the way he has learned, and become a part of you. His physical form may disappear, but his persona is in yours, it is yours."

"Trapped." Alice pushed her eyelids together as hard as possible. "Not trapped. A part of you," said that voice, Masquerade's voice. Alice opened her eyes. She didn't bother to reply.

"An alter-ego is a separate person even if it is part of me." Alice bowed her head down quietly. "He will live."

The sky seemed to disappear as the girl walked into the darkness.

This chapter is slightly deep, wasn't very easy to write, had to make so many analytical points... Anyway, I hope you guys aren't angry with me for posting so late, and thank you for the new reviews! Yes, there will be ShunXAlice, but quite little. I know alot of you aren't very fond of the pairing, so I apologize, but it WILL be moderate, trust me on that. The ShunxAlice is there to satisfy my shipper needs... *rolleyes* (lol) and for ShunXAlice's fans. I'll try to update soon, maybe by next weekend...? I can't make certain promises, but I try. :)