Hey Everyone, this will be my last update until the end of the month. Need to focus on my school-work and exams, wish me luck! Enjoy! ^_^

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C ya soon!

Chapter 3

Runo's POV

We looked around for them and found nothing, not even a small trace of their presence like a depression in the carpet. It was puzzling, yet it felt like it was expected. Kato came up and asked if we were alright. I for one didn't know how to answer him. Dan just remained there stunned or shocked or something and then suddenly his expression changed. I've seen him like this before. I remembered. It was when I had that vision and saw him following the figures. I remembered my thoughts...he had no emotion.

Then he stood up. He didn't even look at us and he just left the room. I started to puff up with anger but then I saw Shun stand up to follow him. What is going on?

"What happened? I feel strange. Where am I? "Dan's thoughts were in overdrive. He didn't recognise the corridor he walking through let alone the house. "What's going on?" He felt his thoughts shouting in his head. He heard footsteps and turned around to see Shun. Shun looked very worried. He started to approach Dan but Dan took a step back in fear and question. Shun stopped when he noticed this.

"Dan...the guys and I are worried about you." Dan was still retreating from his best friend until he started to run.

"DAN!" The ninja sprinted after him, he knew he could catch him but he also knew that Dan had a background in Martial Training whilst they were younger. He knew the latter could deceive and trick him, this piece of knowledge prompted Shun to avoid using his ninja skills but continue running after Dan. "As long as I can see him, I'll eventually catch up to him"

The chase didn't last long and eventually Shun caught up with his friend, grabbed him by the arm and pinned him down but to Shun's surprise, Dan didn't struggle at first but as he started to try to communicate with him, Dan snapped back to reality and started to struggle. It took a lot from Shun to subdue him and he almost didn't succeed if not that he had shouted at Dan to stop and tell him what was going on.

"I can't"

"What is that supposed to mean Dan, we're trying to help you?" Shun was starting to get angry." At least tell me what's going on"

"I can't"

Shun was really trying to suppress his anger and was about to attack Dan with a ninja move when his friend made an effort to sit up, Shun let him. But Dan still didn't say anything but smiled or more like smirked.

Shun POV

This is really strange. Why is he smiling like that? Then I noticed a faint shadow a few feet behind him. The shadow manifested itself into a being. I stood alerted in case; it was one of those shadow figures that the girls told us about. The being was at first unrecognisable but after a few seconds, I could not believe it. "It's my...mum!" She was right there, standing in front of me, behind Dan. I couldn't help it but I felt myself moving towards her. She looked at me and smiled, her arms outstretched. I wanted to hug her, I missed her but a part of me was taking precautions. I continued to walk towards her and I realised that we were no longer in Marucho's house. The room had been replaced by a dimension of dark purple and red clouds whirling and mixing with each other, adding shades and tints to each other's hue. There was no floor and so I was literally floating. That's when I stopped. "Where are we?" I had addressed that to my mother but when I turned around to receive her answer, she wasn't there. Instead, a shadowed figure had taken her place and then I knew too well what or rather who was behind this. The figure was trying to advance towards me and at that point I noticed that couldn't move also. I tried my best to make sense of what was going on but to no avail.

Alice's POV

"Shun and Dan, have sure been gone for a long time."Marucho said.

"Yeah, let's go find them" Julie replied.

"Alright" Everyone chorused. But I couldn't shake the feeling of anxiety off my chest. I know Shun's one of the most strategic and cool headed people I've ever met but I still feel like something's wrong. It was panic and it was telling me something was wrong. I could tell Runo was feeling it too. She composed herself quickly and returned to her normal mood but I had seen her, her hand had clutched her chest in worry.

"Alright guys, lets go find them" she echoed. Poor Runo. I saw her like this earlier. Her concern for Dan is truly a heavy burden on her heart and I feel that it must be vice versa for him. She does love him.

The shadow figure had finally managed to move and reached out to Shun, floating towards him. It grabbed him and immobilised him. Shun could hear its heavy breathing as it stood behind him and mumbled something. He had not figured out what was going on and he felt fear growing. The figure took out a knife and used its other hand to hold up Shun's neck. Shun felt himself trying to struggle free but his body was not moving. The rest of the team were searching all over the place and the anxiety in Alice grew to sheer panic. She could tell for certain that something was not right and it had to do with Shun. She was sure of it. They ran through another corridor and got to the room at the end. Alice couldn't ignore the urge to open the door and she did...

"What's going on?" Julie asked. They had found Dan at the corner of the room and Shun unconscious beside him. Alice couldn't take it anymore and she screamed out Shun's name.

The figure was ready to slash the knife against shun's neck but was restricted. It couldn't move it hands and at the same time, shun felt mobility return to his body. He quickly, without a second thought, took the knife and slashed the figure. He had expected to see a person or physical being revealed after the attack but instead the remnants of the figure was nothing but smoke which whisped away from him. Shun started hearing his name and the whole dimension fell apart, he was falling, he could make out a strange light and fell deeper and deeper towards it, hearing a faint cry for help...

"Shun!". Her voice stirred him and he opened his eyes, meeting the eyes of his friends. Their concern showing on their faces. He sat up and wondered what had happened; here he was in Marucho's House surrounded by his friends but couldn't help wondering-what had happened was real, wasn't it?

"What happened?" he couldn't resist the urge to ask. Julie answered, "Well, you guys had been gone for a very long time and you even left your bakugan, so we decided to search for you guys and here we are!" Ingram floated from behind Julie, "are you okay Shun, you look kind of pale?"

"I'm fine Ingram, thanks" he replied with a small smile and looked at Alice. The latter nodding her head accepting Shun's answer. "So what happened here?" Drago asked. Everyone looked puzzled but Shun knew what Drago meant. "Well" he began. Everyone's attention focused on him. "I went after Dan and was finally able to pin him down after he decided to run away from me. He made an effort to sit up, so I let him and he started smirking. It did creep me out a little because I didn't understand his demeanour at that time. Then behind him, a shadow started to form, I was alert and ready to attack when it turned out to be my mum or so I thought but I then saw myself in another dimension where the shadow figure appeared and wanted to kill me"

"Didn't you fight it" Gorem asked.

"I tried but I couldn't move, it grabbed me and wanted to cut me when all of a sudden, it couldn't move and I was freed from immobility. I took the knife and attacked him with it and he turned to nothing but smoke". Runo, Julie and Alice shivered. They remembered their encounter a couple of months back.

"I heard someone call my name" Alice blushed. "And I started to fall as the dimension fell apart, the next thing I knew, I woke up here."

He involuntarily looked at Dan and met his emotionless gaze. He felt his anger heat up again, attacked Dan and held him against the wall on the opposite side of the room.

"Shun!" Everyone chorused. He ignored them but focused on his supposedly best friend. His hands reaching for his neck. Runo ran up to him and jumped on his hand. "Shun, stop it now" she pleaded. Alice and Julie aiming for his another hand but despite their efforts, couldn't get him to release his grip on Dan. Dan kept his gaze on him and made no effort to defend himself but he spoke.

"Help me"

Shun recalled hearing a voice and loosened his grip on the Dan. The latter deceiving him and pushing Shun off his body. He was about to launch at Shun when Runo grabbed him and pushed off course. "Dan, stop it what is going on?"She cried.

Dan POV

"I couldn't control myself, my emotions, and my mind. Everything was just a riot in my head." I was on the floor with Runo on top of me. She was crying but my vision was blurred. Then I heard a voice, no, voices but I couldn't make out what they were saying. I looked around; my friends were standing at the opposite end of the room with the exception of Shun, who was a few feet away from me. He looked puzzled, confused and sad. The voices were getting louder in my head; I clutched my head and screamed, moving my body haphazardly. I felt restrictions on my movement as Runo held on to me tightly in an attempt to prevent me from hurting myself. I screamed for the voices to leave me alone. There was sudden peace and then I looked at Shun. Shun looked back at me, at first, stunned and then full of guilt and remorse. I tried to smile at him but I couldn't. I felt my body jerked as I coughed. I couldn't help it, my vision was darkening and my alertness was dampened by the minute. The last thing I heard was a cry from Runo. She had cried my name...

Shun's POV

I looked at him, regretting my actions. Why had I become so angry? He was on the floor laying helplessly, some spots of blood beside him. I was beginning to understand what he meant by he couldn't tell, he didn't know what was going on, just like the rest of us but it seems that unlike us, he's suffering for it.

"I'm so sorry, Dan."