"For all sad words of tongue and pen,

The saddest are these, "It might have been"," - John Greenleaf Whittier.

Recap:

The seal separated from the lower flap, and Runo felt her stomach knot. Her fingers now acted on their own accord, disregarding their owner's apprehensiveness. She licked her lips as they closed around a thin sheet of folded paper nestled in the body of the envelope. Gingerly, she drew the letter out, and placed the envelope in her lap. Eagerly, she unfolded the paper, recognized Dan's untidy scrawl, and began to read.

Dear Runo,

I guess it's been a while since I've written... or called... or sent you an email. I can't tell you how much I've missed you over the years. The last time I saw you had to be the day before I moved to Bayview. I'm really sorry that I didn't tell you that we were moving. I realized as soon as the plane took off that I was so wrong. I've regretted that decision for as long as I can remember. But then the war between Nethia and Gundalia took priority in my life, and my guilt somehow took a back seat. I wish that weren't the case, but sadly, it is.

Runo narrowed her eyes at the letter in confusion. What did he mean by that? Why did he use the word "is"?

I remember the first time we met. We had been chatting online, remember? My mom came into the room and told me to go pick up... what was it, Loin Tips? Runo couldn't help but smile at the memory, and at Dan's possibly unhealthy obsession with Loin Tips. And you told me that your mom told you to go pick up some meat for your Liver Kabobs. We didn't know it at the time, and then, we just bumped into each other. And that was the beginning of something that was special.

We've had our laughs and our romantic moments, especially when I got back from New Vestroia and went to hug you but you picked up Tigrerra instead. I know I was the one that said to never speak of it again, but you're the only one that will read this. When you got trapped in between dimensions and we were told that you might get stuck there, I felt like my heart had been ripped out. The thought of losing you was just too much. When Spectra grabbed you, I knew I couldn't let you get involved with any more of our troubles. It was just too much for me, and I knew that if you were close to me, you'd be used against me. I loved you so much, Runo. I can't let you get hurt.

So, I'm going to tell you my three favorite things about you. First, I love it when you smile. Your eyes light up, and I just can't look away. It's like sunshine is just bathing me in that one gesture. It lights up rainy days. I remember I loved to stay at your house when it rained. Your dad would get so mad when you took me up to your room, but when Alice was visiting Julie, we'd have a blast! Remember that time when there was a thunderstorm and the power went out, and your mom got out all the candles and made us hide in the cellar? Classic! You and I were laughing so hard... I love your laugh. Your laugh is perfect and just beautiful... like wind chimes. Like you(that was number 2). Runo smiled. I'm still not sure if you're an angel or not, because let me tell you, your smile and laugh make you seem pretty angelic. All you're missing is a pair of wings...

Third, you don't care that I'm an idiot. Let's face it. I'm an idiot. But that's the only time you're going to hear me say it! Like, once, I let Kazarina trick me into looking her the eye. Kazarina was one of the baddies on Gundalia, and she has this hypnotizing power, and the Gundalians managed to capture me. So, when I was in my cell, I was demanding her to let me out even though I knew there was no chance, and she tricked me. Thankfully, Jake was able to snap me out of it, but let me tell you, not a pleasant experience. Don't let her trick you, if you ever meet her. It's unlikely, though, since Fabia and Mason told me that she was dead. (If you were confused by the above statement, please ask Shun or Marucho to clarify). She reached the end of the page and frowned at Dan's instruction. "Huh...?" she murmured, flipping the letter over. Wouldn't he have be able to tell her?

But hopefully, you won't ever have to worry about something like that ever again. You see, I've given a lot of thought to our relationship while I was fighting on Nethia(again, sorry I didn't tell you. If you need details, ask Shun). I've decided that it might be time to move on. Runo felt her heart stop. Let's face it. This isn't working out. I live half a world away from you. A long distance relationship seemed cute at first, but now...

Runo, it pains me to write this, but I have to. I want us to stay together, but we just can't. If we let ourselves be burdened by what clearly can't be, how will we be able to live fully? I want to grow up and have a wife, and maybe a few kids. But we can't be together. It's just impossible at this point.

I hope I let you down easy. As much as I would have liked to keep beating around the bush, I thought it would have been easier to just get to the point already. Besides, it's eleven o'clock at night right now. I bet you've already forgotten about me, Runo, but if you do care about me, look at it this way. It just wasn't meant to be.

Daniel Kuso

Runo stared at the piece of paper, holding it like it was a fragile papyrus scroll. Her eyes were locked on the curved letter K at the beginning of his last name, gazing without really seeing. She was paralyzed by shock. Her mouth had dropped open, and it took her a moment until the reality of the sheet of paper sunk in.

The first thought that reached her brain was, oddly enough, of the baseball game where he'd first teased her. They'd been kids then, with no knowledge of real pain and suffering. They hadn't known that day, cards would fall, and their paths would be intertwined by fate. They had been ignorant to the harsh reality of the world in which they lived, and of trials that would one day await them. Runo remembered his nickname for her, "Kid", and briefly decided that he could have done better. He could have called her "Cotton Candy" or "Blueberry" like all the other kids her age. But no. He chose to settle for "Kid", the simplest of all the labels he could have pinned her with. What she would have given to go back to that day, when she was hopelessly ignorant and everything was, in her current state of mind, perfect.

The next one that stabbed her was of their first date, just after the Bakugan had left. He had seemed so relaxed then. So carefree. So fun-loving. Even though they had all been combatting the sadness of the departure of their Bakugan friends, they somehow found happiness. They had been the first of many to recover. And it was on that first date that they shared their first kiss, in the very place that they had begun to grow apart. When Dan was called by Drago to save his race, it had been exactly two years since that first kiss, in the very same place in the very same park.

Runo had succumbed to the savage sting of tears a few seconds before, and Julie looked at her, concerned. "What is it...?" she whispered. Runo sniffed, shaking her head.

"I- I just- just need a little bit of air," she stammered, fumbling with the handle of the door. Jefferson licked his lips, deciding that he had made a mistake, as he began to reach for the handle on his door as well. Runo pushed the door open and unbuckled, then stumbled out of the car. Julie grabbed at her crutches, and then Runo's door slammed shut. Julie grimaced, and when she looked back out the passenger side window, she noticed the tears coursing down her best friend's face.

Quickly, she reached for the handle on the door, but Jefferson had already beaten her to it. He had already gotten outside the police car and was coming around the hood to confront Runo, but Runo took one look at him through her tear-filled gaze and took a few steps back. Splight and Tigrerra floated near her, looking at her in concern.

"Runo, I'm so sorry," he said, sounding genuinely concerned. "Drago warned me-"

"Drago?" she snarled, and the pure venom in her voice made him stop short in his tracks. "Drago knew? Drago knew that Dan was going- was going to-"

"I'm really sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"SHUT UP!" Runo screamed, closing her eyes and bowing her head. "Shut up!" He took a step toward her and her head snapped back up, revealing her rage filled, agonized eyes. "Stay away from me!" she shrieked, holding the letter to her breast. "Stay away!" Jefferson hesitated, and she took several steps back. Julie grabbed the door handle and a crutch, trying to force the door open, but at that exact moment, a police car pulled up beside Jefferson's. The three of them glanced toward it, surprised, and while they were momentarily distracted, Runo turned on the spot. She began to sprint on the opposite direction, her tears glinting in the light of the sun that still hung in the sky like a radiant apricot.

"Jefferson, there was no luck at the house!" an officer reported as he rolled down his window, and Jefferson turned angrily toward him. "Dr. Michael couldn't... What's going on?"

"I gave her the letter," Jefferson said bluntly. Drago, who was floating in the backseat with Dr. Michael and Alice, came into Jefferson's line of vision.

"You did what?" he demanded. Jefferson shot him a glare. "Didn't I tell you not to do that? You fool!" His anger had caused him to lapse back into his former style of speech.

"I was hoping she might be able to give us some more answers!" Jefferson fired back. "But it doesn't matter now! Come on, we have to hurry and catch her!"

Drago would have liked to say a number of things to the police officer, but the phrase that came out of his mouth was simply,"Now you've done it,"as Jefferson swung himself back into his car.

Runo was already at the end of the street, and wasn't even close to tiring. Her sadness and emotional tumult was rendering her impervious to all physical discomfort. To all distracting sensations. Her pounding footsteps reached her ears, as well as Splight and Tigrerra's cries for her to stop, but the only thing she was fully conscious of was the sheet of paper in her hand. Her fingers burned where they met the material, and she longed to drop it before they were seared off, but at the same time, she dreaded relinquishing the page. It contained Dan's thoughts, his emotions, but it also hid a pain that threatened to engulf her very being, to swallow her consciousness. If she gave in, she would never wake up. Or at least, that's what it seemed like.

She turned a corner without being aware of where her feet were taking her. She flew down the street like fire was her pursuer. Her hair flew out behind her like ribbons in the wind, and before she knew it, her hair bands had come loose. It wasn't like she had tied them tightly to begin with, but suddenly, her hair was free, bouncing up whenever she pushed off the ground.

Behind her, she was dimly aware of the car honks, but she was deaf to everything but her own body. The road before her, bathed in the fleeting twilight, was of no concern to her. Her bangs waved in front of her eyes, but she didn't care until they began to stick to the liquid on her cheeks. Her jeans were restricting the movement of her legs, but it made little difference. She felt the resistance, but didn't acknowledge it. Her feet stung in her boots from the running, and her throat seared for water.

And then, she was skidding across the ground. Her foot had dragged against the ground, and she tripped. She let out a yelp and then a whimper as her already battered arms bounced along the ground with her torso and legs, and her white jeans were stained with dirt. Her back gently came into contact with the stone wall lining the bridge she had arrived at, and she sobbed. The pain from the fall was nothing compared to the misery burning within her like acid. She could feel her insides dying, could feel her heart shatter. Dan had decided to end it with her, and hadn't even had the decency to say it to her face.

Runo forced herself into a sitting position, brought her knees to her chest and covered her face with her arms. Her shoulders shook. Her nose ran and her hot tears soaked her sleeves. They cooled seconds later, bringing with them an unpleasant chill upon her bruised and bandaged arms. The gauze pad tapped to her cheek had come loose, and now it peeled away from her skin. The tears that evaded her sleeves stung the open wound there, and blood began to drip down her chin.

A car door slammed somewhere in the vicinity, and running footsteps met her ears. Runo refused to look up and just hugged herself tighter, gasping between sobs. Another door slammed and, seconds later, crutches made their way in Runo's direction. High heeled, running footsteps also hurried toward her, and then arms were wrapped around Runo's shoulders. She whimpered.

"Runo, what's wrong?" came Alice's soft, kinda voice. Her sentence was soaked in concern and pity, and Runo could tell she knew. The officer must have told her. If it wasn't the officer, then Drago, and it was precisely that factor that made Runo shy away. She scooted out of Alice's embrace, but kept her head tucked between her arms. Alice let her hands fall to her sides, watching Runo, confused. "Runo... we can help-"

"No, you can't," Runo whimpered. Her voice was so broken that Alice felt her heart constrict. "You can't... he..." Runo's fingers pressed the letter between them forcefully, and Julie glanced at it. She burned with curiosity, was dying to learn what secrets the letter contained. Runo's sadness, though, snuffed all that out. Julie wanted nothing more than to console the poor girl. She leaned forward, lowering herself from the two metal crutches, when Runo's cracked voice came again.

"Go away," she begged.

"Runo-" Julie started, but Runo's head snapped up to challenge her. Julie's eyes widened in surprise. Her eyes were bloodshot, her cheeks pink and streaked with shimmering tears. Her glassy orbs were wide, and she sniffed as her eyebrows came together in an expression of pure hatred and hurt. Drago hung back, feeling very, very angry that he had let her come along. Julie began to lower herself toward her.

"Don't you dare!" she hissed, and Julie froze. The tears continued to flow, and a gentle breeze lifted the hair of the three girls. The salty air caressed their faces, and Runo's cheeks were chilled. She stared at Julie with her hostile glower, just inviting her to take another step forward. Julie hesitated, rooted to the spot. Hostility pulsed from Runo's body into the air around the girls, and the officers, who were in their cars, watched nervously from a distance. Dr. Michael had gotten out of the car and was glancing around through a pair of black glasses, looking confused and oblivious to the predicament taking place nearby.

"He's cheating on me, isn't he?" she choked, bowing her head again. Julie and Alice stared at her in shock, then glanced at each other. Julie straightened up, her lips parted, and began to question the girl with the shattered heart.

"Who? Dan? Runo, why would he-"

"He's cheating on me with you, isn't he, Julie?" she demanded, the tears rolling down like raindrops down a window. Julie was at a loss for words, and very clearly showed it. Alice's eyes flicked back and forth from one girl to the other, horrified. It wasn't until Runo buried her head in her arms again that Julie found her voice.

"Why would you even suggest that?" Julie whispered hoarsly. "I'm your best friend! I know where the boundaries are, Runo!"

"Really?" Runo demanded, looking up at her again. "Is that true, Julie? Because if it were true, then why would he- would he-" She couldn't finish the sentence, and bowed her head once more. Julie and Alice watched her, stunned, and Julie's cheeks began to rise in color.

"Runo, I am your best friend," Julie emphasized, her eyes wide. A gust of wind blew their hair to the side again, but none of them noticed, nor cared. "Why the hell would you even begin to think that I'm helping your boyfriend cheat on you?" Her stomach clenched when she said "boyfriend". Jefferson had told her about what the letter said.

"Oh, I don't know," Runo snarled, shooting to her feet. "Maybe because you were infatuated with him when we all first met?"

"I was twelve!" Julie shrieked, her cheeks pink. "I was not infatuated! And he likes you! And in case you happen to be blind and deaf, I am dating Billy!" Runo could feel the color rising to her cheeks, too.

"Oh yeah? How do I know he didn't break up with you ages ago because he finally realized how much of a pink-obsessed freak you are?" As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Runo regretted them. If she could have snatched them back, she would have. But once the words were free, released into the unforgiving void between ears, she couldn't take them back.

Julie recoiled like she had been dealt a slap in the face. Her eyes were wide with disbelief, and she had to swing the crutches back a bit to keep from falling. Her lips were parted, and her appalled stare was locked on Runo. Alice couldn't believe her ears, and she gaped at Runo with such a disproving expression that she felt the guilt slice her like a knife. It temporarily overpowered the pain of Dan's betrayal of her heart, and she took a tentative step toward the silver-haired girl.

"Julie," she whispered. "Julie, I'm so-"

"Shut up..." Julie hissed. "Just shut up!"

"Julie, I never meant-"

"Oh, are you sure you never meant it, Runo?" Julie demanded. Dr. Michael and the cops stared, open mouthed, at the scene unfolding before them. "It sure sounded like you meant it to me!"

"Julie, no, I was just-"

"Just what, Runo, what?" Julie challenged, her eyes gleaming. "Are you going to tell me that you were just too upset by whatever you read in that letter to care about how your so-called "best friend" reacts to your words? Or is all the so-called 'stress' of your boyfriend being missing driving you over the edge? Oh wait a minute! You don't have a boyfriend anymore, do you?" Runo's tears were spilling down her cheeks with renowned vigor, and she was desperately struggling to keep from breaking down, but Julie wasn't done yet.

"Forget it, Runo!" Julie snarled. "Dan's kidnapping is hard on me, too! And if you think that I'm just going to let me kick you around like you just did, think again! Runo, I've put up with your yelling and your short-temper for years! I've helped you through your relationship with Dan, which has obviously gone down the toilet, and I have been there by your side from the very beginning! If this is how you're going to repay me, then I don't want anything to do with you anymore! Get lost, I don't ever want to see your face again!" Julie's angered gaze softened the tiniest bit at the conclusion of the statement, but Runo, through her blurred eyesight, couldn't see that.

She bit her lip, sniffing, and pressed Dan's letter to her chest. "J-Julie, I'm..." She couldn't bring herself to finish the statement, and instead, took off running down the street, towards the ocean.

"Runo!" Alice cried. She hesitated, torn between Julie and Runo. Both girls were dear to her, and both of them obviously hated each other now. Their friendship had been tested in the past, Alice knew, but never like this. They had never gotten so mad at each other before, and the had never run away from each other crying. It seemed as though Dan's disappearance was placing a greater strain on their bonds as friends, and Alice dreaded what the future would bring if they didn't find Dan soon.

In the end, she decided to stay here, with Julie. Runo had been wrong to react in such a way, even though Dan must have permanently fractured her heart. Alice felt very upset about the fact that she was just letting her run away and hide, but she kept telling herself that it was for the best. Runo had no more links to Dan any more. She would be safe now anyway. But something in her gut told her she was wrong.

Julie had let a few of her tears slip through her eyelids and down her cheeks, but now, she angrily brushed them away, smudging her mascara. Runo hadn't been wearing any makeup, but Julie, bing a typical teenage girl, always had a spare tube of eyeliner and mascara on her person. It was that, along with a pocket mirror, that Julie now drew out, and in the light of the setting sun, easily reapplied the makeup.

A minute and thirty seconds later, it appeared that Julie had not had any sort of clash with Runo at all. She looked the same as she had ten minutes before, and when Dr. Michael called out to the two girls, she strutted over as if nothing had happened at all. As if Runo had not even existed.

"Alice, I need you to take a look at this," Dr. Michael requested urgently. Alice forced the mixed emotions from the fight and Julie's lack of response to it out of her mind with some difficulty, and turned toward her grandfather. He had removed the black glasses, but seemed to be quite puzzled, and worried.

"What is it Grandfather?" she questioned, coming over to his side. He looked down at the goggles, then handed them to her.

"I need you to confirm something. It looks almost like there is a dimensional trail emanating from this location," he said quietly. Julie, who had been standing nearby, jumped at this news, and stared at him, transfixed.

"Really?" she squealed. Alice's jaw dropped, and Dr. Michael forced the goggles into her hands. She quickly secured the goggles to her head, taking in the misty green haze that had settled over the bridge. She instantly recognized it and began turning from right to left to see if she could make out the source of the mist: the area where it was most concentrated.

Hydranoid popped open on her shoulder, along with another Darkus Bakugan, Darkus Merlix. Alice wasn't keen to battle, but the others had insisted that she adopt another Bakugan partner. They had done the same to Julie, but she was still looking.

"What do you see?" Merlix asked. Alice turned from side to side, trying her hardest to discern where the Gate had opened.

"The signal is so clouded..." she mumbled, turning again. "It doesn't make any sense... Grandfather, we might be here for a while."

"I understand, Alice," he said quietly, opening the metal suitcase.

"Call the others," Alice told Julie, remembering that she had to keep their fight from her mind. They finally had a lead. "Tell them we've got something."

Runo didn't stop running until she reached the beach, and even then, she didn't stop right away. Splight and Tigrerra were struggling to keep up, and, when Runo sank to her knees in the wet sand, bounced onto the wet, cold ground of the shore in exhaustion. Runo peeled off her navy sweatshirt and dropped it to the side, proceeding to bury her blotchy red face in her arms again. She was breathing hard from her run, and it didn't help that her chest heaved with sobs every few seconds. She sniffed, her fingers wrinkling the paper of the letter as the wind fought to snatch it form her. The sounds of her catching her breath over the course of five minutes were lost to the roar of the sea, but Tigrerra's words of concern were just loud enough to be heard.

"Oh Runo..." Tigrerra murmured.

Runo cried out and bawled loudly, unable to take this pain. She had lost everything in just a few short minutes, it seemed. Dan no longer loved her, Julie hated her, and Alice hadn't stood up for her. Her bonds of friendship had finally been broken. Since Dan had disappeared, it seemed they hadn't had much of a chance. She and Julie had gotten into some sort of argument every day, and Runo would even snap at Alice, who would reply with some true yet harsh reality that made Runo back off and apologize. Runo would snarl at Shun who ignored her, and Runo kept carefully clear of Marucho. Something told her he wouldn't hold up to much scrutiny. When Runo saw Mira in the halls the two girls would snap at each other. This whole ordeal had been hardest on Runo, but she only expressed that through her anger and unusually short temper.

Part of Runo wanted them to sympathize with her. She wanted them to understand just how much melancholy she felt. She willed them to comprehend what she had had to endure all these years, and yet, at the same time, she knew she deserved it. Once again, her stubborn nature had dealt her a poor hand. She had been downright nasty to just about everyone around her since Dan disappeared, and had never apologized for it. She simply mouthed off to everyone she felt like, and they put up with it out of pity for her.

Now, Runo had gone too far, and she knew it. There would be no chance at winning Julie back. No chance at begging Alice for forgiveness. No chance at returning to her friends. If she begged at their feet for their absolution, she had little hope of ever getting it back.

A few silent moments passed, and Runo's fingers relaxed their grip on the letter ever so slightly. A gust of wind tore through the coast at just the right moment and it snatched the paper away, lifting it high into the air. Runo didn't look up as it danced off into the seemingly eternal sunset. The burning in her fingers had stopped, and then, she slumped to the side. Blissful unknowing engulfed her, relieving her, for the time being, of her guilt, shock, and despair.

Yeah... Not a happy chapter... Sorry about Runo seeming a bit OOC. I tried to give reason to that here. She's just so agonized by Dan's kidnapping that she can't control herself... Yeah... Please don't hate me for this!

Okay, I NEED to know what you thought, or I will keel over from ignorance. Therefore...

~~Review~~