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"I can't believe that Linus lost his bakugan Neo to the Gundalians"

Fabia collapsed into a nearby chair as she slammed her fist down on the table, fury seared through her. Drago to roll away quickly to avoid being flattened. She hissed "Especially with the element hidden within him"

Aranaut tried to quell the princess but it only served to anger her more "Hopefully the Gundalians don't realise what they have yet. Otherwise Neathia is doomed"

Dan, who was standing next to her with his arms crossed, glanced worriedly at her, absently biting down on his bottom lip. Shun kept glancing to him, noticing how quiet his friend was, unfortunately now wasn't the time nor place to speak about it

Jake looked between the two, hesitantly he spoke "Hey guys, just what is this element anyways?"

Dan gave Aranaut a questioning look, seeing that Fabia still had her head down and couldn't see, the haos bakugan nodded. Turning to the red head, Dan tried to explain as best as he could "Well I guess you could say that…it's basically the life force of Neathia"

"Life force?" echoed Jake

Fabia spoke up to explain further, there was still an edge of irritability in her tone

"The power that comprises the element is like nothing else in the known universe, it has the ability to turn the driest deserts into fertile farmland. It can bring happiness and prosperity, where once there was only sadness and despair. Unfortunately, such great power is also a source of temptation and there are those who wish to harness it and twist and distort it for their own evil purposes, the Gundalians are such a people"

Fabia took a deep breath after her explanation "So, does that answer your question Jake. Now you know why its so important that we get it back"

Jake nodded understanding how serious the element was "Yeah, if those Gundalians get their hands on it, Neathia is toast"

Dan shook his head solemnly "It's not just Neathia, its worse" he said, his mouth turning to a grimace. "The Gundalians won't stop until they rule-!"

Beep – beep "Guys come quick. It's Linus!"

The brawlers ran into the medical bay to find Marucho trying to get Linus back into bed. The castle knight weakly trying to resist

The blonde looked at him worriedly, as he attempted to persuade the Neathian to calm down "Take it easy Linus, you need to rest"

Linus ignored the human as tried to get up again, determination in his eyes despite his body protesting "Leave me alone. I have to fix it, it's all my fault" he demanded

"What's going on?" questioned Shun as he took in the scene before him

Akwimos quickly floated in front of the group, stuttering in panic to them "Linus is f-f-freaking out! He says he's going to go after the Gundalians by himself and get the element back. Dude could barely stand up straight, tell him to chill out before he hurts himself will ya!"

"Are you kidding me?" "Marucho is right Linus, you need to rest right now" admonished the princess

Linus had managed to stand up, with Marucho's help, but he was breathing heavily. His face glistened with sweat as he responded back to the princess, his tone apologetic

"I'm sorry…princess, but not even…you can stop me"

The Neathian suddenly staggered, he quickly put a hand on the bed next to him to steady himself. Aranaut went closer to the knight, pleading to him "Linus please wait"

"To lose my partner bakugan and the element right in front of my eyes" The Neathian let go of Marucho's shoulder, clenching his fist and putting it over his heart he continued "I have to get them back before—Ugh!..."

Linus felt dizziness overwhelm him, the world started to tip around him. The knight braced himself for impact….It never came

He felt a pair of hands grip his body, lifting his head up his gaze met with Dan's. The pyrus brawler helped to steady the Neathian, giving him a once-over glance before smiling reassuringly at him "Don't worry Linus, we'll get them back for you pal" promised the human

Linus opened his mouth in surprise, as he saw a fire in Dan's eyes, blazing with determination

"It's not just for Neathia" interrupted Drago before he jumped of his brawler's shoulder and floated in the air, prompting everyone to look at him as he continued "The freedom of the entire universe is at stake"

A sudden glint caught Marucho's eyes, looking down to the ground to find the source, he bent down to pick it up

"What is this?" inquired the aquos brawler, in his hand was prism like pendent with a pyrus symbol marked on it

"It's an ID tag, worn by the castle knights. It's also a symbol of the brotherhood between battler and bakugan" answered Linus, his voice holding a hint of guilt in it

Dan looked at him, his eyes flickered with empathy momentarily. It disappeared as raw determination filled the brawler and he spoke up, his voice filled with conviction

"Linus, you can count on us. We will get Neo and the element back for you I promise buddy, right Drago" he looked to the dragonoid, already knowing that his guardian was on the same page as him

"Absolutely, we want to help. Neo is our friend as well" agreed the bakugan

Linus looked between the two, disbelief across his face as he stammered out their names. Before he put his head down in defeat, knowing that nothing would stop those two. "Very well, I trust you two" he sighed out. Giving a small amused huff as Dan's face beamed at his words

Marucho, Jake and Fabia cheered happily around them, relief filling them

Shun watched from where he leant against the wall, his expression sober as he spoke softly

"We had better move fast, it's only a matter of time before Neo's secret is uncovered"

After convincing Linus to rest, the brawlers went to their command area with Fabia staying behind to make sure that the castle knight fell asleep

Shun and Marucho were standing near the computers, watching Jake and Dan on the other side of room gesturing wildly to each other, talking animatedly. The two of them hit off well with each other

Marucho, finally for the first time that day properly took note of Dan's appearance, not having the time earlier to do it. The brunette looked tired but at least his skin wasn't ghostlike compared to the last time he saw him, he still had bandages around his forearms, there were new ones wrapped around his neck, however.

What happened to him Marucho thought sadly, before his eyes flickered to Shun. The ninja hadn't said so much as a word about their friends' sudden reappearance

The raven haired shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his arms were crossed over as he stared at Dan with an unreadable expression. He was having an internal conflict withing himself, part of him wanted to take his younger friend by the shoulders and knock some sense into him. The other part just wanted to grab him and never let go

His mind took him back to earlier, recalling their rushed reunion

Flashback

"Linus, Neo? Where are you?

Shun blinked, lifting his head up to see a dim glow through the dust cloud in the distance. A humanoid shape coming towards him, avoiding the debris falling from the ceiling

That voice! It couldn't be thought Shun, his grip on the fallen Neathian tightening in case it was an enemy. As the figure came closer, he could just make out their features, Shun's eyes widened in shock as he whispered out "Dan!"

Dan coughed as the dust entered his lungs, he kept once arm above to protect his head from falling debris as walked closer to the two, barely making out who they were

"Linu— Shun? Wha?"

He then saw Linus' unconscious form. Panic assailed him as he brunette skidded to the ground next to him, calling out the Neathian's name in worry

"LINUS!"

He relaxed a little at seeing the rise and fall of Linus' chest, indicating that he was still breathing. Until Drago called out to him, panic in his voice

"Dan where's Neo?"

The Pyrus brawler jerked ,, and he hastily started to scan his surroundings. He swore under his breath as he couldn't find the bakugan anywhere

"Dammit, we're too late Drago" he growled out

Shun stared at his friend in front of him, his mouth opened to say something, but no words came out, his mind having gone blank. Until he felt a sharp pain un his cheek, snapping him out of his stupor, turning his head to realise that Hawktor was the one who struck him.

"Shun we need to get out of here!" Screeched the ventus bakugan, Shun then became aware if the danger they were currently in. Now wasn't the time to sit around and chat

"You're right we need to get somewhere safe, Dan come on" he shouted as he got to his feet, Dan following suit. They both took one of Linus' arms and put it around their shoulders, heaving the young man up. Hawktor then teleported them out of the collapsing arena

End Flashback

They had given the others quite a scare when they arrived, but all that mattered was getting Linus medical attention

Marucho blew out his cheeks before finally speaking, unable to take the awkward silence any longer. He kept the volume of his voice low so that Dan couldn't hear them

"I can't take it anymore Shun, he's right there but why won't he come speak to us"

Shun drummed his fingers on his arm, closing his eyes as he answered "Because he's avoiding us, haven't you noticed Marucho"

The aquos brawler frowned, he had noticed. Not once has Dan spoken or looked at him or Shun, not unless it was serious or important, even then he kept very brief and never lingered, hardly giving them eye contact. Not even Drago would speak to them, every time they stood near Dan, he would roll into ball form and ignore them, but he never left Dan alone with them.

"He's…not still mad at us…is he?" Marucho asked the silent raven haired, his eyes clouding with sadness

Shun's shoulders dropped slightly, opening his eyes to look at Marucho, the ninja sighed "I would be surprised if he wasn't. After all, we basically told him to get lost"

Marucho looked down at his feet, guilt consuming him from within. They pretty much did tell him that, he took a deep breath before looking at Shun again

"Was it right? Telling Julie to stay away from Bakugan Interspace, I feel like we should have told her about Dan being here" he said

"It's for the best, if we did, she would have told Runo and Alice, they would have been on the first flight here. We don't know what Dan's been through, if we all ganged up on him, he would have been overwhelmed" reasoned Shun

Marucho nodded realising what Shun was saying "You're right. And there's too much going on right now as well, we need to take it slow"

Shun's mouth turned to a grim as he uncrossed his arms "First things first" he said as he started walking up to the table, coming up behind Dan's chair. Shun reached his hand out to touch the brunette's shoulder to grab his attention

Whoosh

Just then Fabia entered the room, a tired smile on her face

All of Dan's attention went to her immediately. He gave Jake a quick apology before rising from his chair and swiftly walking to Fabia. He never noticed Shun behind him

Shun slowly blinked, his hand still in the air. Seriously…. The ninja huffed putting his arm back at his side, as he glared looked over to the two

"How is he?" Asked Dan, his face showing concern

"Asleep now but he'll be fine" soothed Fabia, putting a hand on his shoulder

"That reminds me…" she mumbled; Dan having heard gave her a curious glance. Her brows furrowed, frowning briefly before turning to Dan with confusion in her eyes

"Why are you here anyways? I thought you were with Captain Elright" she said

Dan's face fell, he raised a hand to rub the back of his neck. Giving her a sheepish laugh, he told "Right, I have told you yet"

Fabia tilted her head to the side "Told me what"

Drago jumped on to Dan's shoulder suddenly, "Why don't we go somewhere private" he suggested in a hushed tone. He then gestured slightly with his wing(?) indicating that they had an audience

The two nodded and gave a small reassuring wave to the others, before quickly walking out the room and into the hallway

Marucho, Shun and Jake watched as their two friends and bakugan left the room

"Okay…." Muttered Jake

Dan waited until the door was fully shut before turning to Fabia, Aranaut had jumped onto the princess' shoulder to listen as well.

The bluenette shifted from one foot to the other as she waited on him to speak

Dan took a small breath, knowing that the princess wasn't going to take his news well, he then started to confess

"Elright sent me here to go after Linus and help keep Neo safe. The Gundalians were attacking the capital again, from both sides. Linus and Elright took one and I took the other, we managed to keep them at bay for awhile but…" his mouth set into a hard line and he balled his fists

Fabia wrapped her arms around her waist, not liking where this was going, she waited for Dan to continue

"The Gundalians broke through the first shield" he said finally. The Pyrus brawler watched as the girl's eyes widened and her face went white. Aranaut flustered in shock "What! But how?"

"They overpowered us" Drago told him "They used the children from here to boost their numbers, using them as soldiers. We managed to hold them off until the Captain contacted us"

Dan raked a hand through his hair "We lost contact with him just before we left, and then. Well…. You know the rest"

Fabia put both hands up to her face, tilting her back she wailed "Can anything else go wrong"

Dan and the bakugan gave her a moment to collect herself, the bluenette taking a series of deep breaths before removing her hands from her face

Her lips turned into a scowl as her shoulders sagged "There's nothing we can do about it now; we must focus on retrieving Neo from the Gundalian's hands. At least this time we have help"

She then tilted her head to Dan, her eyes softening "What about you?" Upon the confused look she received she elaborated waving her hand towards the door "How does it feel? Being back here, being around them again?"

Dan gave a small wince at the question, shrugging his shoulders putting his hands in his jacket pockets. His voice was soft as he spoke

"I…don't know, it's like I'm happy to see them, but…I'm…nervous or better yet scared" he faltered as he searched for the words to explain. "It's like I just freeze up when I'm around them, I can speak to them very briefly, but other than that…I just…."

The Pyrus brawler let out a small groan, raising his hands like Fabia earlier, he slumped against the nearby wall

"I just…I just don't know. I really don't"

Fabia looked at him with sympathy, she wanted to help but this was something that Dan had to do

Drago floated in front of Dan, nudging at his to get his human to look at him. Once he had his attention, he spoke

"You've been through a lot Dan; it will take time. We'll figure it out along the way"

Dan mulled over his guardian's words before nodding

"You're right Drago" he said as he pushed himself off the wall

"For now, let's just get Neo back"

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