A/N ugh alright here's chapter 38 peeps, and I want more reviews or I'll go an extended period without updating!

Jetravenex: reaalllllyyy tooo tired to ask someone to do the disclaimer so I don't own bakugan, okay?

Chapter 38

A burst of light erupted in the center of a shady forest floor startling all the wild life and sending them scampering, flying, or running as fast as they could away from the source. The light dimmed down and Shun and Viki were left in the lights wake.

Shun's eyes snapped open and he hopped to his feet, looking around wildly. Viki looked around using her arms to prop herself up as she too took in their new surroundings.

Around them large trees extended up to the heavens, small slivers of sunlight filtering through their green leaves above. The forest floor was teeming with wild life, bugs crawled across the ground ignorant of the newcomers, monkeys swung in the trees above, and birds soared overhead.

"What in the world?" Shun said jumping back as a snake slithered past his leg, he watched it go warily for a moment. "How'd we get here?" He asked aloud.

Viki heaved a sigh before she pushed herself to her feet to stand beside Shun. "We were sent here because Komba…" Her eyebrows furrowed. "Sent us here with his transport card… But that doesn't make sense, he didn't have contact with us at all or anything..."

Shun glanced at her. "Look, I'm sorry for acting brashly earlier, but I have a feeling… no, I know you know more than you're letting on," He turned to her. "If we're going to be able to get out of this alive, seeing as we seem to have found ourselves in the middle of a rainforest, I'm going to have to be able to trust you." Shun said firmly.

Viki sighed in defeat. "You're right, here you're the ninja you know how to fight and potentially how to survive out here."

"And you're just someone who hopped dimensions with your friend and ended up here?" Shun asked.

Viki winced. "It wasn't as coincidental as you might think." She glanced around warily and then she jumped as Shun grasped her arm. Instinctively she tried to pull back but he held firm.

"Before you start dumping you life story on me, I think it'd be best if we figured out where we can take shelter for the time being." Shun said as he began to walk forward pulling Viki along until she came more willingly. After walking in silence for a bit, Shun spoke again. "You were saying?" He said looking in her direction.

Viki took a deep breath and then let it out. "Now, what to say and what to withhold." She thought to herself, running her tongue along the roof of her mouth before she began to speak. "We live in a dimension similar to yours; in fact our 'home world' is also called Earth."

Shun raised an eyebrow at this frowning slightly. "So you're not necessarily from a different world, in a way, you're from our world, just in a different dimension." He nodded his head to incline for her to continue with her story. "Continue."

Viki sighed. "Well, in our dimension we also have…bakugan." She said quietly, Shun's eyes widened slightly and he opened his mouth to speak but Viki cut across him. "But, unlike your bakugan here, ours aren't alive, they're just toys…"

"Or they're living beings like us you just never bother to notice." At the sound of a female voice Viki blinked drawing back from Shun before she spotted Skyress perched on his shoulder. Shun nodded in grim agreement ducking under a mossy branch that hung over the path they were traveling. Viki followed suit scurrying slightly to keep up with him.

"No, Skyress, they're literally just your ball forms except made of plastic and nonliving… Although.." She reached into her pocket and pulled out the few bakugan balls she had with her, not including Fireblick who was still on the ship with the brawlers. Viki held up the red and gold bakugan balls. "They do come to life, when I throw them on the battlefields here…"

Shun frowned, and Skyress didn't say anything more merely fluttered her wings gazing at Shun for a moment.

Then Shun spoke again. "Tell me more…"

Julie stared at the concrete floor at her feet, watching her tears drop to the ground. She was tied to a wooden chair, her arms bound behind her back, her feet bound to the legs of the chair.

After watching Shun and Viki disappear from within the net, Billy had brought her into what appeared to be a bedroom. However when he'd let go of her and had opened his mouth to speak, Julie had flung herself at him.

She had let out an almost animalistic screech of fury, her hands hooked into claws and she leapt at him. Billy's eyes had widened in surprise, he'd thought he'd beaten her, he'd thought he'd won, Julie smirked slightly at the thought, though her lips turned down into a frown.

She had managed to get the jump on Billy, but she'd forgotten that Komba was there, and while she had been preoccupied keeping Billy pinned Komba had come up behind her and knocked her out by putting a rag covered in chloroform up to her mouth sending her straight off to dreamland.

Only to wake up in her current surroundings. Four solid concrete walls surrounded her now, cold and unforgiving, gray in color. There was barely any light with the exception of a little light bulb hanging down from above by a mere string that cast a dim yellow glow in the room.

And of course being tied to the chair just made everything better.

A thud came from the front of the dungeon and Julie lifted her head to see that the wooden door that sealed her prison had been thrown open. She narrowed her eyes at the person standing in the doorway and began to tug at her bonded wrists.

"Well, hello again, Julie." Billy said stepping into the cell, slamming the wooden door behind him before advancing towards her. He stopped when he was about a foot away from her. "I hope you're enjoying your new room."

Julie snorted. "No I'm not!" She shrieked angrily at him tears starting to emerge at the edge of her eyes. "I want to go home Billy!" She shouted at him, instead opting to glare at him forcing the tears back.

Billy laughed as he reached forward and grabbing her by her ponytail dragged her closer to him. Julie bit back a scream as he yanked on her hair. "This could've been easier Jules, but no." To Julie's relief he released her ponytail and let her chair rest back on the ground. He stepped back sneering. "You had to fight me, and now here you are tied to a chair, without your gorem."

Julie's eyes widened. Gorem! How could she forget about him? "You-you give him back Billy!" She shouted angrily leaning forward as far as she dared, resuming her tugging on the bindings.

Billy snorted. "Sorry, no can do Julie. You see, you almost got me caught earlier… So that means you have to be punished."

Julie's eyes widened as she drew back and realized he was holding one of his hands behind his back. Her eyes grew wider as he revealed what it was.

It was a whip. Billy turned slightly to the side raised his right arm and brought it forward quickly.

Julie barely had time to flinch or brace herself when the whip slapped her cheek. With a shriek of pain Julie jerked her head away, the tears she'd been fighting now streaming down her face in rivers as blood began to ooze down her cheek, running together with her tears.

Billy lifted the whip and Julie cringed away from him, when suddenly a beeping sounded from his bakupod.

"Billy!" Masquerade's voice came from the bakupod. "I need you to go take care of some brawlers!"

Billy suppressed a groan as he tossed the whip aside and raised the bakupod to his face. "Now? I'm kind of busy."

Masquerade's voice dropped. "If you value your life, and your Cycloid you'd get on with it Billy." He snarled before the transmission cut out.

Had the situation been any different, Julie would've laughed. Masquerade, of all people, Masquerade was the one saving her from getting whipped. But right now she was just grateful that Masquerade had called when he did and she might get out with less pain.

Billy grunted before lifting his head to gaze at Julie, then the frown he had gained turned back up into a wicked smile. Billy went up close to Julie and leaned forwards. Julie attempted to flinch away her eyes pained and wary.

Billy stopped when his lips were near her ear. "We'll continue this later." He said. Then he straightened up and turned on his heel and began walking towards the door, grabbing the whip on the way. He opened the door, and then slammed it shut the resounding thud echoing through the room.

Julie lowered her head towards the floor and resumed her crying, her tears making a plit plit sound as they hit the floor.

Viki told Shun almost everything. She explained to him how she and Jet had stumbled upon Masquerade's DT when they'd gone to a park near Jet's neighborhood. She explained that she had been visiting Jet from her home in Canada, whereas Jet lived in Chicago.

"Hence why she talks such a big game, apparently that's a requirement in the 'windy city'." She'd joked when she brought up Jet's home.

She'd told Shun about their misadventures in the bakugan dimensions leaving out as many really personal details as possible, and just giving him the story of the events.

Finally when she'd finished her story up to now they'd already found a cave dug into a cliff face, built a fire and night had already fallen.

Once she was done Viki slowly closed her mouth and watched Shun for a moment, watching as his amber eyes gazed into the fire the blaze of orange and red reflected in his gaze.

"That's interesting…" Shun said at last lifting his head to meet her eyes. "Thank you for telling me that… But how did Masquerade know?" He asked.

Viki swallowed. Now what? She couldn't just say 'well ya see I lied about us just 'finding' the DT, Jet really was invited and all by Masquerade and…' Yeah. That'd go over real well. She looked down. "He was attempting to cross into our dimension to 'explore' it for Naga I suppose." She said dismissively. "He probably locked onto me and Jet because we had his DT and we also had suddenly just burst on the scene and were taking it by storm." She said trying to relax herself and not look tense as she spoke.

"From what I hear about your friend I'm not surprised." Shun said folding his arms across his chest gazing into the fire again. Skyress remained open on his shoulder but otherwise stayed silent. He glanced upwards studying the sky. "It's getting late." He said looking at Viki. He gestured to the mouth of the cave. "You should probably go get some sleep. I'll keep watch." Then he began to push himself to his feet when Viki hopped to her feet.

"Wait? That's it? I tell you everything about me and my friend and you tell me to just go to bed?" Viki demanded her brown eyes blazing, the fire adding more to the effect. She clenched her fists. "Do you trust me now or do you-"

Shun raised an eyebrow at her. "I still have my misgivings about you, but as far as I can tell, your friend Jet would've been the one to really fear… Whereas with you," He cast a scrutinizing look over her. "Even if you did try to kill me, I can handle you," Then without giving Viki any time to reply he jumped up into the air and bouncing off of the tree trunks using his ninja abilities, he ascended towards the canopy where he disappeared into the high reaches of the trees.

Viki let out a half shriek of frustration throwing her hands in the air before stomping into the cave. Looking around in the light cast by the fire at the front of the cave she flopped down onto the sandy floor within the cave and lay there bringing her sweater closer to her as she curled up in herself. Heaving a sigh she closed her eyes and waited for sleep to take her as the fire danced before her.

A/N dull chapter I know but It'll pick up eventually.

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