Jet: Okay guys here it is Chapter 55, and I have with me today Rexdragosaurus, who will be saying the disclaimer today as part of their prize. Take it away Rex.
Rex: Hi guys, I was summoned here to say the disclaimer, but the fact is, Jetravenex actually does own Bakugan, so, uh, there.
Jet: Pull the other one, Rex, it plays "Jingle Bells".
Rex: Right, yes, sorry, I jest. Jetravenex definitely DOESN'T own Bakugan, everybody! Not one single share. (aside) More's the pity.
Chapter 55
While Aidan was struggling to deal with the shocking discovery of the existence of the Bakugan Dimension, and Mike was nursing his new bruises (courtesy of one irritated and wary masked blonde). Jet was lying peacefully in her bed sleeping off the worst of her injuries.
At least that was what it looked like when the JJ dolls and Julie walked in.
"Jet!" Skylord cried from her perch on Julie's shoulder. She jumped off and flapped her wings flying to land on the girls chest.
The girl's chest rose and fell a bit quicker as the girl began to shift in her sleep.
"She's waking up." Jewls noted standing by the door keeping an eye out for that irritating nurse earlier who hadn't been making sure Jet was as well cared for as possible. Jenny nodded at Jewls words and sat down in the chair beside Jet grasping her hand. Skylord began to bounce up and down on her chest.
"Oh, Jet I'm so sorry! Please wake up!" The dragoness pleaded. "I'm sorry I failed you, please please wake up!"
A grumble escaped Jet which made the girls perk up, the injured girl blinked open her eyes. She blearily glanced around herself taking in her surroundings and the people around her. Her lips curved upwards for a moment before she threw her hand over her eyes.
"Jet-"
"Ugh, five more minutes." Jet whined cutting her partner off. Everyone in the room blinked in surprise, but relaxed and smiled when they saw the broad grin stretching across the bottom portion of Jet's face.
"Sorry but we have too many things to tell you!" Jenny said bouncing in her seat.
"You mean there's more than 'we got Skylord back from Masquerade?'" Jet said sitting up, wincing a bit as the spot where she'd been stabbed flared up in pain.
The girls in the room, including Skylord glanced at each other before they nodded and Jenny gently tightened her grip on her hand.
"There's quite a bit we have to tell you really." Jenny said, before she launched into the tale.
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Viki was tense. It was obvious enough for Skyress, Alice and Marucho to question her about it when they happened to see her hunched over in the red plush couch beside the window in her small quarters of the ship. Wringing her hands, wringing the hem of her shirt, and shooting glances out the window beside her. But it was when Runo decided to stop by and chat that made it clear how obvious she was being.
"You know if you wring that shirt anymore you're going to rip it to shreds. What's got you so wound up anyways?" Runo said eyeing her.
Viki snapped out of her thoughts and glanced over at Runo narrowing her eyes. When the other three had asked she'd given a viable excuse 'I'm worried about Jet, I'm worried about Shun, I'm wondering what to do…' But now it was just irritating. "None of your business." Viki bit out before she turned her head away pointedly and stared at the wall.
Runo scowled and may have made a fairly rude sound in the back of her throat before getting up and moving away. But Viki didn't care. The only thing Viki cared about right now at this moment.
Was the fact that in a matter of minutes (10 to be exact from Kato's update on their ETA) she would be coming face to face with Spectra Phantom.
And she was completely unprepared.
She glanced down at herself, loosening her death grip on the hem of her shirt and winced at the wrinkles. She hastily tried to smooth down the fresh black shirt she'd borrowed from Alice, and straightened out her white sweater that looked the slightest bit crooked. Upon reaching her burnt orange scarf she found herself dissatisfied with its state and began to fix that as well.
At least she would have.
Except Fireblick had perched himself on her hand and was looking up at her; his little toy eyes boring holes in her.
"Viki," Fireblick began as the girl dropped the scarf leaving it undone hanging around her neck. "What's wrong?"
Viki holds his gaze for a moment longer before slowly lowering her eyes focusing her gaze on the floor. She didn't know what was worse, how she was acting, or the fact that she was acting so obvious that one of the densest characters of Bakugan Battle Brawlers had taken notice of her distress. She worried her lip a moment.
"Viki." Fireblick insisted waddling forwards a bit on the back of her hand before he flew up and landed on her shoulder. Settling himself there he glanced up at her face and waited.
Viki held out her silence for a moment longer before she sighed and turned to Fireblick. "It's…" She'd let him in, tell him about Spectra, tell him the thoughts that were spinning round and round her head. But as soon as she opened her mouth the words seemed to die on her tongue. She sighed and closed her mouth shaking her head. "It's complicated." She said.
Fireblick huffed shifting his wings like he was flaring them out. "Try me," He urged.
Viki frowned and shook her head. "I can't."
Fireblick heaved an exasperated sigh. "Viki, look at me." The girl reluctantly did so. The pyrus bakugan flapped his wings and lifted himself into the air so he was floating right in front of her face, and locked eyes with hers. "This has something to do with this Spectra guy?" He asked.
Viki gulped and did her best to avert eyes, but Fireblick merely flew in whatever direction her eyes were at. She tried to avoid his eyes but the bakugan stubbornly kept his eyes on hers.
"Viki," He insisted.
"Fine fine, its. Its just, Spectra is like to me… As Masquerade is to Jet." She could see Fireblick twitch, he knew as well as she did what that entailed.
The bakugan mulled it over a moment turning away before he snapped back to face her. "Is he, is he bad like Masquerade."
Viki bit her lip. "Well, he-he…" She was cut off by a buzz from the speaker above her head.
'Excuse the interruption Master Marucho and company. But we are currently flying over Wardington City.' A quick glance Viki sent towards the window beside her plush couch confirmed this. 'And we'll be landing momentarily.' There was a click and the speaker fell silent.
For a moment Viki and Fireblick didn't move, then Runo walked past and looked in.
She sent a nasty look at Viki and pursed her lips.
"Hey, if you're willing to give up some of your precious time, we need help to move Shun." The bluenette said simply. "Or stay here and be useless, your choice."
Viki's temper flared at her words and she rose quickly from her chair and rounded on the bluenette. She leaned forwards, Fireblick floating threateningly beside his brawlers head reflecting the same rage burning within his brawler. Viki couldn't deny how she liked the uneasy look cross Runo's face and the step back she took from her.
"Don't you ever talk like I don't care about his or anyone else's welfare on this ship." She snarled narrowing her eyes, before she moved brushing past the stunned brawler girl standing in the doorway.
She headed down the corridor of rooms towards Shun's room where she could see Alice and Marucho standing outside the doorway.
"So uh, what was that about Spectra?" Fireblick pressed.
Viki's response was to quicken her pace.
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Dan had been sitting at Shun's bedside for the majority of the trip. Sitting at his side in the sterile dark room with the few medical machines on Marucho's ship hooked into the ninja's body. The black haired boy looked so thin and weak with the wires disappearing into his skin and the hum of various machines beside him. So like his own sick mother it made Dan's stomach turn.
He studied his best friend's pale face for any signs of the ninja coming back to join them in the land of the living. Every once in a while a stray sunbeam would make its way through the one small window and strike the ninja's face and Dan clung to a small flame of hope that it would rouse Shun from whatever dark place he'd fallen into.
But his hope flickered out as quickly as it lit inside him when Shun didn't so much as twitch or shift in discomfort from the light shining directly on his eyelids.
So Dan kept sitting there beside Shun hunched over his bed resting his elbows on the sheets his hands clasped together. He heaved a sigh and leaned forwards resting his head on his hands.
"Is it my fault this happened to him?" Dan wondered aloud drawing the two bakugans attention to him.
"What on Earth do you mean Dan?" Drago said floating up beside his brawler. "You weren't there, you couldn't do anything."
"I could've not brought him into this." Dan said quietly looking down at his stricken friend on the bed. "I should've kept Runo and Marucho from getting to him, could've never gone to ask him to join up with us." He shook his head. "If he'd never joined up with us, he'd be fine." He said looking down.
"Dan," Skyress's voice made him lift his head to look at the darkened bedside table she was perched on. The phoenix was fixing him with the sharpest look a toy could possibly pull off. "The day you came to recruit Shun, was the same day Masquerade came after him for the same reason." Dan clenched his fists at the mention of the masked blond's name. The phoenix continued on, "Had you not been there, Shun may have not been able to beat him, may not have even wanted to." She said shaking herself. "You reignited Shun's desire to fight, that there was still something worth fighting for." She said. "Shun and I owe you nothing but gratitude."
Dan sat up at her words his face unusually somber. "I guess you're right Skyress." He murmured glancing sideways at Shun. He swallowed thickly. "I just…"
"He looks like his mother like this doesn't he?" Skyress said sadly making Dan's head snap up. "I've noticed it too. And it pains me so much to see him brought to this." The phoenix said shaking slightly.
"How could another human do this to another human?" Drago murmured in agreement nodding his head.
Dan bowed his head and let the two bakugan's combined grief wash over him along with his own. Then he took a deep breath and he gathered together something he could work with. The grief was extinguishing his spirit, and he needed to be strong for his fellow brawlers. He fished around within himself for something he could run on.
"It's almost as bad as what's Masquerade's done." Drago went on. "Sending bakugan to the doom dimension to increase Naga's power."
At the mention of Masquerade's name, did a flame spark in Dan's self. The pyrus brawlers eyes snapped open as he jumped to his feet.
"That's it! We've got to find Masquerade." Dan declared fists clenched at his sides.
His words met with silence. Skyress and Drago shooting uncertain glances with each other.
"Dan, but Shun," Skyress began. "I cannot brawl with another and…"
"And we have already lost Jet, and Julie to him." Drago pointed out.
"We know Jet and Julie are okay!" Dan said as he felt something familiar, and best of all something he could worth. Rage. All of this was connected to Masquerade. He'd started the battle with Dan, he'd forced him to go to drastic measures and recruit Shun to his team, he'd taken Marucho's Preyas, twisted Julie's friend, forced Jet to have to sacrifice herself for their sakes, allowed his minion to kidnap Julie, banished Shun and Viki to the Amazon. And the one who hurt Shun, his best friend. Had been after the very masked blond who was the root of all Dan's problems. "And think about it! It all comes back to Masquerade!" IT was kind of funny if Dan paused to think about it, Masquerade, the one who had sparked the war that waged between him and the bakugan battle brawlers, had reignited Dan's fighting will.
"I suppose if we find him, we can get a few more clues as to the identity of Shun's attacker…" Skyress mused. "But such an ambitious idea, especially when we are all split up."
"No Dan's right!" Drago piped up flying up by Dan. He flapped his wings. "We go after Masquerade, we can stop everything."
"Right Drago, we get Masquerade, we put an end to the worst of it." Dan insisted, "No more bakugan getting sent to the doom dimension, and we won't need to hunt down the guy who hurt Shun."
"Because he'd come right to us." Skyress finished nodding her head.
There was a moment of silence between the three save for the hum of the machines around Shun. Then a buzz went off and Kato announced that they'd be landing soon.
Dan sighed and rolled his shoulders a beam of sunlight lighting up the top portion of his face making his red eyes and the rage within them more apparent. "All right, lets get Shun ready to move. We'll get him settled at Marucho's, reunite with Julie and Jet… And… we make Masquerade history." He said grimly shifting out of the light.
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"So they did go after him." Jet murmured softly her eyebrows knitting together.
"Yeah, and they were fighting really dirty." Jenny added. "If it hadn't been for your friend Mike's appearance we'd have been doomed." She said shuddering.
"From what I've heard they sound like real jerks," Julie piped up clenching her fists. "And I admit, I might not be Masquerade's biggest fan but…" She trailed off and then looked down.
"What?" Jewls said narrowing her eyes. "Guys, we have to get a hold of ourselves this is Masquerade we're talking about." When all three eyes looked at her with incredulous looks she flushed and raised her eyebrows. "What?!"
"Yeah we're talking about Masquerade, who's helped me and Jet, and willingly accepted Jenny's help." Julie said pointing to Jenny. "That's not exactly standard evil villain protocol. That's like two rules he's broken in the good villain handbook." She said. "Thus he's nto a very good villain.
"Good villain?" Jenny looked confused moving her hands about as she tried to piece together what Julie was getting at.
"Uh yeah, Julie that's kind of a statement that contradicts itself. Are you saying he's an evil person, just not a good villain or a good person but still a villain." Jet said eyebrows furrowing.
Julie blinked. "Well, he's…" She screwed up her face and looked like she was thinking extremely hard then she shook her head. "I don't know its just… He's hard to figure out!"
"I'll say," Jet said with a sigh.
"Can I get back to what I was saying please!" Jewls said the other girls with some reluctance focusing on her. "Anyways, so yeah Masky's done some good, but that doesn't outweigh all the bad he's done!" She fixed a fierce gaze on all the girls, Jenny bit her lip, Julie looked away, while Jet set her jaw and met Jewl's fierce gaze head on. Jewls pushed on despite this. "I mean even you can't deny all the bakugan who he basically delivered a death sentence to!" She threw up her hands for added effect. "I mean come on."
Jet held out in their staring contest for another minute more before she sighed. "Fine, I'll give you that, but we can't ignore the good he's done either."
"So what do we do then?" Jenny asked burying her head in her hands. "I mean, we're not sure whether he's bad or good, and he's injured and all so what do we…"
She trailed off as she saw Jet's eyes widen.
"He's what?!"
"Oh, we left out that he may have gotten a concussion when he fell on me…" Jenny said her shifting her eyes away from Jet's who were now boring holes into the other girl.
"Where is he? How is he?"
"Unconscious," Julie said with a shrug. "So you're not going to be able to chat with him until he comes to but until then…"
"Wait a minute! He's unconscious!" Jewls said bolting out of her chair.
Suddenly all eyes were on Jewls like the girl had sprouted two more heads.
"Yeah… we established the fact." Jet said slowly and was turning to Julie to continue grilling her when Jewls cut in.
"No no you don't get it, he's unconscious which means he's helpless, and we have his DT, meaning even when he does come to, he can't get away!" Jewls said gleefully bouncing up and down.
"Wait wait wait, are you suggesting…" Jet said her eyes beginning to widen.
"Oh my god," Julie said jumping to her feet as well. "You're right, we can ask him anything."
"Guys really," Jet protested. "He let us go, we can't." She looked to Jenny for support but the other girl looked helplessly back at her and held up her hands as Julie and Jewls continued.
"Wait, didn't you say the brawlers were coming," Jewls said suddenly her eyes widening as did Julie who let a squeal of delight.
"Oh my god! Can you imagine the look on Dan's face when we tell him we've taken Masquerade prisoner?!"
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A/N and that is a wrap for this chapter. I wasn't initially planning on updating but I have an announcement to make so I had to deliver a chapter to have my announcement at the end.
I am trialing making a podfic for DD, starting with a rough version of the first chapter.
It is currently up on Youtube and I will be posting the link on my profile after I post this chapter.
(Or just search Bakugan: DD on Youtube and it'll be the first result on the list)
Anyways, I wasn't intending to do the Dan thing, or the prisoner thing with the girls, but I just pictured Shun looking so sick and helpless like his mother, and the image of Dan being distraught over it and then being consumed with rage and desire to avenge his friends suffering. And since Masquerade is the best choice for Dan to channel his rage towards it made sense.
And I just loved the bit with the girls at the end.
And Jet is right, shit is about to hit the fan.
I look forward to your guys reviews and thoughts on what is going to happen.