"Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean." - Maya Angelou

Ren hissed as Linehalt fended off yet another attack, causing rubble and other debris to cascade down from the nearby building. Loud explosions shook the air and the ground beneath Ren's feet, but he had adapted to the near constant tremors easily enough. It was like getting your sea legs, except this swaying changed with each new vibration. The only thing he had trouble getting used to were the yells from nearby Bakugan battlers as they struggled to avoid the multicolored beams of light that rained down on them.

Speaking of such inconveniences, Ren shielded his head again, throwing his arms up in an "x" shape in a hope of staving off the warm winds. Another bang shook the area and he shifted his weight to accommodate the surging ground, but then found himself on one knee to keep from completely falling over. A grunt of surprise was drawn from his lips, his hand slammed into the cracked grey floor, just as more terrified shouts rose up behind him. Coughs, howls, and screams made up the mess of noise that hung in the air. All of it reminded Ren of the war.

With strong but weary effort, Ren forced himself to his feet again, taking note of the fact that Linehalt was breathing hard. Ren frowned and turned, taking in several young teenagers clutching others, some with tears running down their dirty and sweaty faces. Many of them were panting as if they had been running (which was what Ren had been seeing a lot), whereas others were just sobbing with fear. His eyes softened in sympathy. They didn't ask for this.

"Ren, the access point is only a few hundred meters away," an urgent voice said in his ear. He lifted a hand to the earpiece, pressing it harder into his ear to hear better. Zenet continued. "Can you get those kids to it?"

"I think we can manage," Ren muttered before gasping and leaping out of the way of an oncoming blast. The force of the collision between the beam and the ground sent him flying a few meters, but he was back on his feet seconds later.

"You okay?" Ren grunted in response, quickly assessing a few minor scrapes on his hands. His elbows were beyond bruised and he fairly certain he had broken a rib, but it was nothing in comparison to the punishments he had received in the past. He gritted his teeth and turned to face the teens who were watching him with scared eyes. A few were wide in admiration and one girl was murmuring something to her sister that sounded like, "He's amazing", but Ren couldn't be sure of what she said.

"The access point is close," he called out, capturing their gazes. "You're going to have to keep running, but once you get there, you should be safe. Linehalt and the others will cover you. Do you think you can make it?"

"Darkness Blizzard!" Linehalt cried out, and a torrent of purple energy and snow shot away from them. Ren ignored the blasts that exploded against it, instead keeping his determined gaze locked on his charge.

"Well?" A few nods and several shaky sounds of confirmation met his ears. He nodded and pulled the closest teen to his feet. The boy looked at him, startled, while Ren put his hands on his shoulders. "You've gotta watch the rear. This is a very important job. Can you make sure no one falls behind?" A mouth open in surprise twitched as if to say something, but when no sound poured forth, the boy eventually resorted to answering with a nod. Ren nodded back and patted his shoulder briskly before glancing around to see how his own comrades were faring.

Shun didn't appear to be having much trouble. Taylean and Hawktor were both evading the offense of their opponents with relative ease. Shun was perched on Hawktor's shoulder, hunkering down against the onslaught. His white tailcoat flared out behind him in the wind while he used his arms to protect his face. However, the smug look of satisfaction at being able to take out his frustrations on a battle was obvious even across the distance between he and Ren.

Spectra, a formal rival of the Brawlers just as Ren had been, was engaged in battle with the Chaos Bakugan nearby. He and his Darkus Helios were keeping the enemies at bay with even more ease than Shun was experiencing despite his use of only one Bakugan. Drago opted to watch from Spectra's shoulder, calling out words of advice every so often, only some of which Spectra chose to heed. When one Bakugan fell, another instantly came forward to replace it, but like Shun, Spectra appeared to be enjoying this change of pace. Before, he had been engaging in battle only one every few days, instead opting to aid Mira, Ren and Marucho in the control room. It was obvious prior to this that he was growing agitated with all of the paperwork associated with that lifestyle, even though Ren barely knew the man. When working with computers, he took off his mask, much to Ren's relief, but now he was wearing it once more. It couldn't disguise his enjoyment of this violence, however. Even though Ren had been assured that Spectra rarely smiled, he had noticed a few grins during successful attacks.

Ren had been able to pick up easily that a few of his attacks were being executed poorly, some even missing their intended target completely for their lack of proper timing. During their introductions (and due to the fact that Ren and Spectra's rooms were in the same hallway), Ren had learned that Mira was his sister. Said red head was still recovering from the battle that landed her in the hospital two days prior. Ren hadn't seen her since the EMT's carried her from Marucho's mansion (Marucho had declared that the care she needed could not be provided by the infirmary in his building), and although he wasn't losing sleep over her condition, he couldn't help but be worried himself. Over the week that they had worked together, he had grown fond of her upbeat attitude. It was clear to everyone, though, that although Spectra did not often express his feelings, he was worried about his sister.

In a way, he supposed, Spectra's reaction was similar to his own when Fabia had been hit in her battle with Stoica and Kazarina.

There were other groups scattered throughout Interspace; Ren's team was one of five. Fabia, Paige, Rafe and Linus were taking care of a group of Chaos Bakugan while defending one of the four remaining Access Points; Ace, Baron, Maron and Obsidian, Maron's Caretaker friend, were trying to escort a large group of kids to Fabia's Access Point. Mason, Lena, and Gus were guarding another Access Point while Jake, Julie and Jesse took another. The last one a team of brawlers that fought with two mysterious new brawlers, Anubias and Sellon, were guarding. Shun had been reluctant to give them this task despite their considerable skill and assigned them one of the other Caretakers from New Vestroia, Birch, the Pyrus brawler, to oversee their actions. Isamu, the Ventus brawler, had wanted to come, as he was a human and felt that this was his fight, but due to his paralysis from the waist down, he would only be a liability.

If Princess Cassie, the current ruler-in-training of Vestal, had not allowed these extra forces to be deployed, Ren wasn't sure if they would be able to keep the Chaos Bakugan at bay in the same way they currently were. This onslaught was surprisingly strong and, as far as he could tell, completely spontaneous. He, like Shun and Ace, he was sure, had his suspicions that this was somehow connected to Kazarina and the surviving members of the Twelve Orders, but he had never seen these Bakugan before. Other than this suspicion and the look Fabia got on her face when they learned of the invasion, he had no further grounds to support his theory. He could only hope this wasn't connected.

Ren returned his attention from his private musings to the task at hand as a nearby blast jarred him back to reality. Kids were now getting to their feet; word had spread quickly that they were going to make a run for it again. Mumbles of complaint were silenced by a cold look from Ren and a few of the older kids who understood the gravity of the situation. Ren couldn't help but feel a dangerous rush of hope. They could get these kids out safely, he realized. The Access Point wasn't far; they could make it.

"Linehalt, you ready?" Ren called, bracing himself against another tremor.

"Just say the word, Ren," Linehalt replied strongly, slashing at the Chaos Bakugan in front of him with his Dark Saber. Ren gave a wry grin that was quickly replaced with a frown of concentration.

"Alright! Go!" he cried, grabbing the wrist of the nearest child and pulling him in the direction of the Access Point. The kids all began to take off, charging off in hot pursuit of freedom and safety. Twin girls took the lead, their blond hair streaking behind them while their white and red dresses, now stained with dirt and in some areas scorched, waved in the wind. A boy and a girl held up close behind them, hand in hand and looking absolutely terrified. His brown hair bounced with each leap as he led her through the rubble, trying to secure her future. Her white and purple skirt was torn, but she didn't seem to care. She, like the rest of them, was bent on the possibility of safety, of peace, of life.

Ren began his sprint somewhere near the middle of the crowd, where he could should directions to the ones up front and still keep an eye out for stragglers. Rocks were nothing more than blurs in the corners of his vision as he tried to dodge those that sprung up on front of him, catching the elbows of a few who tripped. They had been running for only thirty seconds when a huge blast sent chunks of rubble flying into the air, lifting a cloud of dust and screams.

Ren stumbled, this lack of balance the only warning before his face hit the ground. A sharp stinging instantly started up on his cheek and stars darted across his line of vision, but he was on his feet again seconds after the blast. Thick smoke had blanketed the surrounding area, making it impossible to see more than a few feet in front of his face. Ren grunted, glancing around in search of the kids he was charged to protect. A touch of fear began to tingle in his center.

"You okay?" Zenet asked nervously. Part of Ren's mind wondered how she knew what had just happened before he rationalized it. She must have seen the blast on the monitor, or maybe she heard it through the earpiece.

"Ugh... yeah," Ren grimaced, rubbing his face with the back of his hand. Blood now coated his skin, manifesting in a streak heat and stickiness. He sighed.

"Ren, are you okay?" a voice called from above. Ren glanced in that direction, relieved to see Spectra's dark mask peering down at him through the clearing dust. He was perched atop Infinity Helios's head, while Linehalt stood nearby. Ren sighed.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Is anyone hurt?"

"I'm not sure, I can't see a thing," Linehalt replied in his gentle voice. Ren had to hold back a groan.

"Hey, you down there!"

"Huh?" Ren gasped, jerking his head upward.

"Who's that?" Zenet asked. Ren inhaled in surprise.

"He's a... Gundalian?" he breathed.

Sure enough, high above Ren and the dissipating cloud of dust, stood a Gundalian man. He was perched atop a building, but his figure was easy to make out. His hair was spiked and part of it fell in front of the golden horns on his forehead. A chain ran across his chest, and his shirt had some red pattern on it, similar to the one that Ren's Gundalian uniform had. He was too far away for Ren to make out the details of the design, but it looked eerily similar to those red "eyes". He also had two black, pointed shoulder plates with green gems embedded in them adorning his broad shoulders. They were familiar...

"Who... who are you?" Ren asked.

"Heh, you'll know exactly who I am as soon as I beat your friend here. Spectra, I believe your name is?" The man instantly brushed Ren off and turned his attention to Spectra. Ren couldn't say this irritated him because part of him, much to self-disgust, was glad this new enemy wasn't targeting him. The Gundalian crossed his arms. "So tell me, do you think you're strong?"

Spectra was silent, staring at this challenger with a slight air of disinterest. Ren felt his respect for his ally increase with each second of silence that followed.

"Well?" the challenger questioned when Spectra said nothing. "I don't have all day."

"Helios, what do you think?" Spectra asked leisurely. It was almost as though he truly didn't care about his pride, that he might actually walk away from this fight.

"I think that we ought to teach this guy a lesson," Helios growled, "about having respect for his superiors." He flicked his tail. Spectra smirked.

"I agree," he acknowledged. "Ren, do you think you can get those kids to the Access Point without my help?"

"Hold on a sec," Ren protested. "I'm fighting with you!"

"With all due respect, I do believe it best that we assist the two of you," Linehalt agreed. "I do not recognize this Gundalian. He may prove to be a strong battler."

"Do what you wish," Spectra said, unconcerned. Ren felt a stab of annoyance. "I don't care just so long as you do not get in my way. This character may prove to be a threat to the kids we are protecting. Perhaps you should call Zenet to take your place."

"Good idea. Zenet, did you get that?"

"Copy that, Ren. I'll be there before you know it!" She snickered. "I can't wait to watch you two smoke this creep! I've got a bad feeling about him."

"You and I both, Zenet," Ren murmured.

"No need Zenet." Shun's voice filtered through Ren's earpiece. Zenet voiced her confusion just as Ren unconsciously glanced in the direction of his earpiece. "I'll cover the kids. Ren, just tell them to get going."

"But Shun-"

"I'll handle it, Ren. Trust me." Ren fought the urge to grimace at the sharp edge to his words.

"Ugh, fine," he sighed before turning, discovering with slight relief that the cloud of dust had cleared. Kids were glancing around in confusion, scattered about in a large, uneven circle. At a quick command barked by Ren, the boy that had been tasked with guarding the rear began to organize the disheveled crowd.

"I hate to rain on your parade, but I'm afraid I challenged only one of you," the unnamed Gundalian interjected. Ren glanced up at him. " I wouldn't go making plans of teaming up without the opponents consent, although I will give you points for trying."

"Are you saying you're too weak to take us both on?" Helios growled. "Because if that's the case, Linehalt, he's all yours." Linehalt didn't take his eyes off of the enemy, barely acknowledging that Helios had spoken. Spectra sighed.

"Why should we be bothered with someone that isn't even competent enough to take two of us on by themselves?" the masked brawler agreed. "Defeating you will be mere child's play if that is what you are suggesting."

"Heh. Nice try," the Gundalian chuckled. "I could take the both of you out single handedly if I so desired. And as it so happens, I'm not concerned with you, Helios."

"What?" the Bakugan questioned.

"Be on your guard, Helios," the normally silent Drago called. Helios flicked his tail in response while Ren fought his temptation to glance in Dragos direction. This was the first time he had heard him speak in several hours, he realized.

"Why should I be interested in you when the superior one lurks nearby? I seek a match with Pyrus Titanium Dragonoid. Or, as he is more commonly known, Dan Kuso's partner Bakugan, Drago."

"What?" Drago gasped while the others shared similar reactions.

"How did he know you were there?" Linehalt asked quietly. The Gundalian smirked.

"How I know that is not important. But, if you value his life, Spectra, you will fight me!"

"What?" was the response of all the bystanders. Shun, who had just reappeared on the ground among the startled children, froze. Hawktor whirled around, giving a cry of surprise as all the nearby Chaos Bakugan vanished. Taylean, who had been in the middle of dealing a powerful blow, missed his retreating target with a gasp and stumbled to a stop.

"You heard me."

Ren wasn't sure if it was the implication that this character was responsible for Dan's kidnapping or if the smug tone he was using; Shun snapped. He had spun on his feet, launched himself in the air, and landed atop the same building their enemy had claimed before any of them knew what had happened. Before he could react, the Gundalian had been kicked beneath the chin so hard that his head snapped back. He grunted in pain, stumbling. Shun used this momentum to send himself into a backflip, recovered through a back handspring, then sent himself flying at the Gundalian again. His eyes widened and he tried to avoid this attack, but he was not quick enough to avoid several sharp, practiced punches to the torso. Barely ten seconds later, the man was lying, stunned, on the rooftop, while Shun quickly arrived at his side. His left hand closed around the fabric of his shirt mercilessly, using startling strength to yank the muscular man's chest toward his own while his right hand was drawn back, waiting to strike. His head jerked forward so that his nose was mere centimeters away from Shun's. Amber eyes full of stunning hatred and anger blazed into golden slits which had constricted to half their normal size-not in fear of course, but in surprise, as Shun analyzed, memorized, scrutinized every shadow, every pore of this new face. The gray skin, the boomerang-shaped dark markings that decorated his cheeks, the three horns that mimicked a beard along his jaw bone.

It was with a frighteningly demonic hiss that was so unlike his usual demeanor that Shun demanded, "Where is he?"

The Gundalian stared at him in surprise for a moment before his startled expression morphed into one of cruel mirth. "Ah, Shun. I didn't expect you to lose your temper so soon. And after something something so trivial, too. Don't think that your ninja skills are going to help you out here. You're playing with the big boys now."

"Why you-!" Shun snarled, the hand waiting to strike shaking from his effort to hold it back. "Does it look like I'm interested in playing your game? Tell me where he is!"

"My, my, temper, temper, Shun," he teased with an insane glint in his eye. Shun's pupils shrank. "Remember, we hold nine lives in our hands. Or have you forgotten about Runo and Joe?"

Spectra breathed in sharply, and Ren was sure he was thinking the same thing he was himself.

Nine lives?

Shun didn't notice this wording, nor did he even say anything this time; his fist just collided with the Gundalians face. A small grunt fell from the mans lips while Shun also let out a cry. His anger, his hatred, all of it poured forth in this one blow. Numbly, Shun released him and stood, backing away one forced step at a time. His breath came in ragged, rage-filled gasps, and his fists were clenched so hard they were white. The blood that ran down his knuckles contrasted sharply with this change in skin tone, pouring from boomerang-shaped breaks in his skin.

The Gundalian grunted, shooting a glare in Shun's direction, as he rubbed his jaw and grimaced. There was a long, scarlet streak now extending from just beneath his eye to the horn on the right side of his chin. Three beads of blood decorated each dark crescent on that side of his face respectively, organic jewelry that he now wiped off with a look of disinterest.

"Who are you?" Ren asked again, finally bringing himself to distract himself from Shun's tirade.

The Gundalian huffed. "It doesn't matter. What does matter, though, is that I know where your precious Dan is."

"If you have so much as touched a hair on his head, I will tear you to shreds," Drago shouted, all of a sudden shooting forward from Spectra's shoulder. The Gundalian, Spectra, Ren and Shun all gasped, shielding their eyes as Drago began to glow with a brilliant red light. Seconds later, a huge, bright red dragon stood before them, surrounded by a huge, vibrant red flame. A roar unlike anything Ren had ever heard tore through the air, and the sheer power of the sound knocked everyone within five hundred feet off their feet. Linehalt, Helios, Taylean and Hawktor were forced back into ball form with yells of surprise, while the Gundalian atop the building was sent flying head over heels.

The only two to recover, though, were Spectra and the unnamed Gundalian. Both were on their feet again within seconds, while Ren, Shun, and the children nearby all lay in daze. The Gundalian stared at Drago in mild surprise before smirking, lifting his hand up into the air.

"Let's have some fun, shall we?" he shouted before letting out a yell. All of a sudden, a device around his wrist glowed a dazzling rainbow color, causing Spectra to look up in confusion. Drago followed his gaze, his anger dulling only an instant in allowance of surprise. There, for above them, a gate had opened, shooting off large bolts of lightning in response to the digital environment. Down floated a single, black dragon Bakugan as lightning branched out around it. Slowly it emerged, drawing closer to Drago's level with each passing second.

It didn't even stand a chance.

Not even thirty seconds had passed before Drago shot forward with a fierce battle cry, his body glowing a luminous, fiery red. Spectra, in surprise but respect for Drago's anger, whipped his hand around in front of his body, calling out, "Ability, activate! Core buster!"

Instantly, a powerful, destructive ray of red shot out of Drago's mouth, dividing into a shower of meteor-like beams before slamming into the Iron Dragonoid with a loud crash. The Bakugan let out a screech of pain, and then Drago was upon it, his fists raised. They fell upon this Bakugan with startling, amazing speed, colliding with every exposed surface as hard as Drago could possibly punch.

"Drago," Helios growled from where he now floated by Spectra's shoulder. His amazement was obvious in his voice, an amazement reserved only for his formal rival. Spectra stared at Drago's heavy barrage of attacks with a similar look on his face, his teeth clenched but his lips parted. Drago's eyes were his main focus, though, eyes which were shining a brilliant reddish-white.

Drago's attacks only stopped for an instant during which he shot back from the Iron Dragonoid before him. His back arched, his legs folded beneath him, and his arms bent in front of his chest as he collected the power that glowed around him in a concentrated form. Spectra, an experienced battler, felt what ability he was to use next rather than consciously thought about it. He raised his own arms in that split second, matching Drago's timing almost perfectly. With only a few milliseconds delay, he cried out, "Ability, activate! Dragon Hard Striker!"

Instantly, lightning strikes filled the air, completely surrounding the Iron Dragonoid in a cage of violent electricity. A roar filled the ears of all observing, prompting Ren's mouth to fall open as he lifted his gaze from the ground to the sky. The Iron Dragonoid let out a roar of its own, one stricken with pain. The Gundalian on the roof stared on in shock, already amazed at Drago's display of sheer, violent power.

And then, on a planet far away, an innocent held captive, forced through torture and, at the present moment, in the midst of yet another mind-bending vision, arched his back. His eyes opened in horror, terror, agony even, as a burning completely unlike what he had been experiencing started up beneath his temples. He yelled as his eyes took on a demonic red glow and the familiar image of a many eyed, yellow masked creature flashed before them. The creature let out a similar cry of bewilderment, followed by an exclamation of his confusion. The boy gasped, forcing out rapid, breathless grunts of pain as red and white bombarded his retinas, colors and lights that were not actually before him.

But then there was a new image, a new, familiar image. An image of a friendly persona, someone the captive knew better than he knew even himself. Someone whose eyes had taken on the same glow that his own now featured, and both were aware of the other's presence in their head.

DRAGO!

DAN!

And then there was a loud shout, one that came not from the two whose minds were now Linked. "Rise, Mechtagon Venexus!"

Dan and Drago both jerked as though they had been physically struck, hair shifting and tail twitching. Suddenly, there were black, inky tendrils rising up from Drago's body, while Dan felt, literally felt, a light blaze to life around him. It held a warmth that was more than physical; it was comforting, pleasant. His fears and all of his struggles, all of his pain, was suddenly washed away, carried off by a healing flame.

Suddenly, a huge, red metallic creature appeared before Drago, floating down with startling speed in between a similar being. Shouts of surprise from voices that Dan recognized rang out, along with a surprised exclamation from someone whose name floated into the consciousness between Bakugan and Brawler.Anubias...

"How did he bring out a Mechtagon?" Anubias cried out.

A malevolent laugh rang out between the two.

Both halves of fire went rigid.

I... CAN'T... MOVE...

NEITHER... CAN... I...

All of a sudden, the red "Mechtagon" shot forward. It barreled into the black one, earning a horrible metallic screech. The black one-Venexus-flew backward, propelled by an amazing amount of force. It slammed into the Iron Dragonoid and careened into nearby building, the one just to the left of the one Anubias was perched on. A cloud of dust exploded into the air with a horrible amount of rubble, just as the sound of a Bakugan returning to ball form reached them. More screams rose up in the area around the battle, and Dan felt Drago's consciousness begin to pull away from his own. Fear, fear for the onlookers washed over him, but neither of them could free themselves from this paralysis.

The red Mechtagon recovered easily from the blow, flinging its legs out in front of it and coming to an easy stop. The dust cleared slowly, but when it did, it revealed Anubias standing alone atop his building, looking confused and horrified. The Mechtagon and Bakugan were no where in sight.

Drago pulled again, yet Dan felt himself paralyzed still. Something shifted out of place, and Drago's consciousness moved away. NO! Dan cried desperately.

Something broke, shattered between the two. Dan was back in his room, shot up into a sitting position with a look of terror on his face. The pain returned, bombarding every nerve in his body with a sensation so horrible, so unbearable, that he instantly felt the contents of his stomach pour out of his mouth. His vomit burned, blazed a trail of fire and ice through his esophagus.

It took him a few moments to recover from this bout of nausea, but he barely noticed these tribulations. His mind was elsewhere, far away, locked on what he had seen, what he had felt, what he had heard.

Drago.

HUGE THANKS TO EMPRESSPYRUS FOR PMING ME THE OTHER DAY AND FINALLY GETTING ME BACK INTO THE SWING OF THINGS. Oh my goodness, these past few months have been Hell (I know I said that before but that was before people started dying) but hopefully with the start of a whole new year things will go better.

Review!