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"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!"

Hearing the shout, Dan started running towards the guest wing with Drago holding onto his shoulder, wings flailing rapidly as he spoke

"I thought that you and Fabia were going to tell them!"

"We were! Didn't 'pant' think he'd 'pant' be back yet!" panted Dan as he turned the corner and skidded to a halt next to Fabia

The princess jerked her back and forth between him and the scene in front of her, panic look her eyes

Marucho was already back on his feet, him and Shun in a defensive stance glaring at the person before them

Confused eyes blinked at them before lighting up in recognition. A gloved hand went up to twist a lock of hair through the fingers

"Well, if it isn't the rest of the resistance"

"Hydron! What are you doing here?" growled Shun

"Wait! Wait back up a second! You three know each other?" questioned Jake, not understanding the mixed reactions between his friends and the newcomer

Marucho warily glanced at Hydron's relaxed posture before slowly turning his head to Jake to explain

"Hydron, he used to be the Vestal's prince. He and his father king Zenoheld tried to destroy all the bakugan on New Vestroia using the 'alternative', he got swept up in the explosion. We thought that he died in it, but" Marucho glanced back to the ex-prince as he slowly finished his explanation "…apparently not"

Jake scratched the back of neck, looking perplexed "So he's a bad guy then, what's he doing here"

At this point Fabia and Dan tried to interject "Ah wait—!" "We can explain!"

But alas they went unheard

"That's what I want to know" said Shun, slightly unnerved as he wearily kept his eyes on the Vexos prince. Why is he so calm right now?

Meanwhile in the back, Dan and Fabia were having a silent slapstick struggle of their own. Turning their heads forward at the same time their eyes met with Hydron's

Wicked glint in his eyes as he sent them a look, the smirk on his face grew a fraction

The duo felt shivers down their backs. Oh, shit no!

'I'll tell them'

'Don't do it, don't you dare' 'you son of a —!'

"Why isn't it obvious" said Hydron still twirling his hair around his fingers. "I live here" he then tilted his head to smile coyly at Dan "Isn't that right, Dani~~"

…

Marucho and Shun slowly turned their heads to Dan, their faces dark as an ominous aura surrounded them

"Dani?" admonished Shun, Why is he using my nickname for you

Upon the shift in atmosphere Aranaut quickly whispered to Fabia "Princess didn't you promise to have dinner with her highness, we must leave now if you're to make it"

Fabia caught on quickly to her partner's ploy and hurriedly stammered out a response

"Oh, ah y-yeah your right, I forgot all about that. I'll see you all later, bye!"

The two of them couldn't get out of there fast enough

"Traitors" muttered Drago

The awkward silence continued until Jake couldn't take it anymore, he let out a cough to get everyone's attention

"Ah why we go inside and get settled, and then we can continue this conversation" Man, what did I get myself into he thought

Hydron sidestepped away from the door intent on letting the brawlers through first. However, judging from the two glares he was getting the gesture wasn't exactly welcomed

Shrugging his shoulders, he let out a quiet hmph before turning to go back through the door. The others following shortly

They entered the common room, a large area with a small kitchenette and a large round dining table with twelve chairs in the middle of the room. On the opposite wall from the main door there was the doors to the guest rooms

Dan and Jake were the first to sit at the table, Marucho sitting opposite to them. Hydron took a chair with an empty seat between him and Dan and two seats away from Marucho, Shun chose to stand.

"Okay now that settled can someone explain what's going on" demanded Marucho his forehead creasing as he looked at Dan, awaiting answers

The brunet let a small bitter laugh "It's actually a long story"

"Here's a start, why is he acting like you two are friends" griped Shun, his arms were crossed over as he glared at Hydron through narrowed eyes

"And how did he end up in Neathia?" "Ah we-!" "Why is acting without a care in the world!" "Does Fabia know his past!" "Um—" "What if he's –"

Shun and Marucho started firing question after question at Dan, not giving the pyrus brawler a chance to answer. Jake was speechless as watched the one-sided interrogation not knowing what to do, he looked at Hydron for some help. The vexos was happily watching the exchange with his head propped on one hand, when he caught Jake looking at him, he used his other hand to wave him closer. Curious, Jake leaned over the table to hear what he had to say

"Hello, I don't think I've introduced myself. I am Hydron Vuesutã former prince of Vestal, it's a pleasure to meet you" at the end of his introduction he gave a friendly smile, although to Jake it seemed a little predatory, but he brushed the cautious feeling aside and replied anyway

"Uh…Hi my name is Jake Vallory"

Hydron lent back in his chair with his chin held high as he stared at Jake "Vallory huh…." A cat like smirk appeared on his face as his eyes started glinting with malice "I'm going to have so much fun with you"

…Wait what?!

Bang! "WILL YOU GUYS JUST STOP!"

Both Jake and Hydron started at the sudden noise, they looked over at Dan who had slammed his hands down on the table. Hydron frowned as he watched the brunet let out a shaky breath to calm down

Even Shun and Marucho were stunned at the unexpected reaction, they realised that they might gone a bit too far and overwhelmed their friend

Dan rubbed his fingers on his temple trying to ease the forming headache before looking back at his old teammates. "Now will you just listen" he said firmly "Fabia already knows about his past, and doesn't it really matter how he got here. He really isn't so bad"

Hydron had lowered his head at this point, trying to hide his face

Marucho looked at Dan in disbelief "What do you mean he's not bad. Don't you remember what he and the Vexos did on New Vestroia"

"He and the Vexos tried to get rid of us, they wanted to keep Runo trapped in between worlds" Shun then turned his eyes to Hydron, distain in his eyes "He turned our bakugan into statues, he treated them like nothing more than some rock collection"

"Yes, he did all that but -!" "But what Dan! You cannot trust him" shouted Marucho

Shun continued his attempt to make his friend see reason "You know how that saying goes Dan, a leopard can't change it's spot. He's not a good person, he will turn on you and stab you in the back. He's playing you"

"Now wait a minute-!" "Enough!"

The three of them turned to Hydron who made the interruption, his expression closed up as he turned his gaze to the Pyrus brawler. "Just forget it Dan, they made it perfectly clear how they feel" he said before standing up from his chair

"If you want a room redhead than choose one from the right there not take. I'll catch you later Dan" the vestal lifted an arm up in goodbye as he turned and started walking away from the table and towards the bedrooms. However, he stopped midway turning his head a little bit to glance at Marucho and Shun

"Gotta admit though, it's a little…amusing"

"What is" demanded Shun

"That a leopard can't change his spots. Can the same not be said about you two, after all…." Hydron's face twisted into a sinister smirk as he sneered at them "It was you brawlers who backstabbed and betrayed his trust first. Whose to say you won't do it again"

Marucho stood up so quickly, face contorted with fury. Shun was gritting his teeth, his blood boiling. Panicked, Jake got up from his seat quickly getting in between the three of them just in case. He looked over to Dan for some help, unfortunately that didn't seem to be happening

Dan was still in his seat his head was lowered that Jake couldn't see his face. But his body was trembling, and knuckles were turning white from being clenched so tightly

"O-Okay why don't we just all take at step back and have a breather" pleaded Jake

Nobody made a move for the next few minutes, until Hydron let out a hmm. Closing his eyes as he made a half shrug before proceeding through a bedroom door

The silence was suffocating

Dan seemed to have come back to reality as he raked his hands through his hair, mumbling softly "Great, just great"

Marucho turned his head to the brunet "How could you defend him after that, don't you see what he tried to do there"

Seriously thought Dan as he slumped his shoulders in exhaustion, resignation in his voice as he spoke "Do what Marucho"

"He's manipulating you, trying to turn you against us"

Dan let out a small sigh before swivelling his chair around, his back to his teammates

Watching the dejection Shun tried a different approach, speaking softly as he approached his friend

"For all we know he could be working with the Gundalians. We're your friends Dan, trust us" he nearly had his hand on top of his friend's shoulder until Dan suddenly jumped up

Shun was taken back at the conflict on Dan's face, a mixture of emotions brewing in his eyes

"TRUST!" he cried out "At this point I trust him a lot more than I do you, I even trust him more than myself"

At hearing those words come from Dan, both Shun and Marucho felt like they had been punched in the gut. Jake couldn't help but wince slightly at their expressions, but Dan wasn't finished yet

"What makes him any different compared to Masquerade or Spectra, we gave them second chances so why not him as well"

"Why? Why do you trust him so much, why over us your friends" quietly muttered Marucho

Dan was silent as he pinched the bridge of his nose, drawing in a long breath before answering

"Because Marucho, I trust him because he's been more of a friend to me lately when I needed one the most. I just…just…sigh" Dan couldn't finish his sentence, instead he just shook his head

"You know what I'm just going to bed, I'm tired and it's been a long day. I'll see you guys in the morning" he turned around and started walking away

Wait? Shun's face etched in confusion as he saw where Dan was heading "Wait, why are you going to his room?"

Dan stopped just before the door that Hydron went through earlier "Because it's my room as we'll Shun, we're sharing the same room" he said quietly before exiting the common room

Marucho collapsed back into his chair and his forehead hit the table with a thunk. Shun went and slumped into the chair next to him, face blank as he stared up at the ceiling

Jake gave them a few moments of peace before speaking aloud his thoughts

"That went…awful"

Dan entered the room to find Hydron lounging on his bed, arms crossed behind his head. Smiling as he inclined his head at Dan's entrance "I think that went well" he said cheerily

"Shut up Hydron" replied Dan as he sat on the empty bed parallel to Hydron's. Drago jumped off his shoulder and landed onto the pillow

The brunet glared at the other teen "What you said was uncalled for, why did you bring that up" he demanded

Hydron scowled as he gave a dismissive wave of his hand "All I said was the truth" he drawled, turning his face away from the human as he mumbled to himself "They deserved it anyway"

"Dan! Watch it!"

Hydron quickly turned his head at the sound of Drago's shout. Only for his vision to go white as something soft hit his face. A vein popped on his forehead as he shouted indignantly "Did you just throw that pillow at me!"

Dan had a lopsided grin on his face as he responded cheekily "Nope"

Hydron just rolled his eyes as he threw the pillow back to Dan who caught it, "Thanks by the way" he said

Dan tilted his head slightly in confusion "For what?" he asked as he placed the pillow in his lap

"You know what" replied Hydron as he started his hair habit "You stood up for me, despite what I've done to you and your friends, to my own teammates…. there are things that I'm not proud of. Yet you still tried to defend me against your old teammates"

Dan shrugged sheepishly "Yeah well, for all we went through together you're really not so bad. Besides doesn't everyone get a second chance"

Hydron's mouth twitched "You're too naïve for your own good Dan"

"And you're a jerk, so I can already tell what you're planning and I'm warning you now, don't!" Dan narrowed his eyes at the vestal his tone serious as he spoke "First of all you won't get Shun, he's a ninja for crying out loud. Second, you'll only reinforce their opinion of you and I'll never hear the end of it. Third, leave Jake alone you'll only terrify the poor guy. You've already made enemies of the castle knights don't make any more"

Hydron winced as he put a hand to his heart replying in mock hurt "How could you say that Dan I thought we were friends. We were cell buddies together, we bonded"

…

'snort' 'pfft'

The two of them started chuckling that then turned to laughter. Once it had died down, Dan removed the pillow from his lap and back to its rightful place before standing up and stretch. "I'm taking the shower first" hearing no complaints he walked over to the dresser and pulled out a long sleeve shirt and track bottoms

"Mind those bandages and remember to take your medication" reminded Drago as he watched his partner make way to the bathroom

Dan waved his hand in acknowledgment before shutting the door

Hydron waited until he could hear the shower running before sitting up and gazed at Drago

"Surely he doesn't expect me to not retaliate at those two idiots. That naivety and ability to see good in others will get him killed one day" he chided with annoyance in his voice

"Despite what happened between them he still cares about them, that's just who he is" Drago said wearily

The vestal snorted "Sentimental fool" he said as he rested his cheek on his hand

"But he was right you know"

The ex-prince let out a hmm, signalling the bakugan to elaborate

"You won't be able to get Shun, he's too quick in reflexes. Marucho on the other hand is an easier target"

Blinking his eyes at the bakugan, the vestal blurted out in disbelief "Wait are you actually helping me? To get back at them? Why? I thought you were a bakugan of honour and justice"

Drago turned so that he was fully facing Hydron, looking at him straight in the eye "Because although Dan may have forgiven them, that doesn't mean that I have. What you said to them was true, they did betray his trust, he trusted them to have his back and to belief him, but they didn't"

The dragonoid stopped to calm himself down before continuing "The humans on earth believe that dragons are known for protecting their treasures. Those two humans out there hurt mine, is it wrong for me to protect what I cherish the most"

Upon hearing those words, an image of Dryoid surfaced into Hydron's mind and his chest ached but he quickly quelled it. It made sense, back before the invasion of New Vestroia, the scientist spent some time studying the planet. Those studies found that when bakugan made family units they formed strong attachments thus became fiercely protective of them

"I'll agree with Dan in regard to Jake, however with those two. So long as no one gets hurt, I won't stop you" asserted Drago

Hydron studied the bakugan for a few moments until a cruel look appeared in his eyes and his mouth formed into a sneer to match

"Well then, guess I there's nothing to hold me back"

The laughter that could be heard from Dan and Hydron's shared room sounded like a cruel joke to the two sullen brawlers at the table

Marucho had taken his glasses off to rub his eyes "I really hate the idea of those two in the same room together, who knows what Hydron could do to him" he said to the raven head sitting next to him who was glaring daggers at the bedroom door

"You think I like it any better than you do Marucho" coldly spoke Shun, he was currently thinking up multiple ways to murder someone and make it look like an accident. It was very easy coming up with scenarios the only problem was that Dan would know who committed the murder. That would not go well on their current fragile relationship

Jake looked at them with sympathy, it was hard hearing that your friend no longer trusted them. But then finding out that he was now besties with their old enemy, now that was just the rubbing salt to their wounds…But that didn't mean that they were off the hook either

"To be honest you guys were being really unfair"

Marucho put his glasses back on before turning a questioning look to the redhead "What do you mean Jake?" he asked as Shun also gave a questioning side glance

"That whole conversation that you three had it was very one-sided. You didn't let Dan have a chance to get a word in, let alone a chance to explain. I don't know what that Hydron dude was like back on New Vestroia, but he seemed quite genuine when we talked, a little bit creepy maybe but okay. The point is that you guys want Dan to trust you again, right?"

At their nods Jake continued to speak firmly "Then you need to listen to him, communication is not meant to be one sided it's a two-way street. You need to prove to him that he can trust you again, to do that you need to trust him as well. He must have a good reason for trusting Hydron he gave him a second chance, and I doubt Fabia would be letting him wander around the castle if she didn't trust him. It seemed to me that you guys thought that Dan would be the same person he used to be, but the truth is, is that he's not the same. Even I can see that he's been through something and it was bad, he may need time. When he knows that he can trust you he'll come to you. Just give him time"

When he finished Jake walked away to find a room, giving the two some time to think over what he told them

Shun raked his fingers through his hair, taking in a deep breath "He's right, we weren't listening"

Marucho nodded his head in agreement, shame washing over him "We didn't even let him speak, we were too focused on our grudges against Hydron that we turned a deaf ear to him trying to explain"

"Jake's right we need to show Dan that he can trust us again, we already let him down once we can't do it again" announced Shun

"Right, first thing tomorrow we'll speak to him and clear things up"

…

"We're still not letting Hydron room with him, are we?"

"Hell No!" And he's no getting to call him 'Dani' either

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