I have to type this part again since my internet just dropped so I will be quick and clear. I never thought of doing anything RenxZenet related until I saw a cute pic of them on DA, which really got me into this pairing. So, this oneshot takes place during episode 20 "Partners Till the End" which features Zenet and Contestir trying to help Gill fight Shun during their final chance at staying alive. And if you guys remember from that episode, a scared Zenet was asking Ren for help, who just brushed her off. So, this is my take on that moment and it goes a little differently.

Like with most of my oneshots, this one has the flashback in the middle. I wasn't planning on doing a flashback because I wanted to do something a little different, but I just feel like the flashbacks really work with these oneshots. Right?

I do not own Bakugan. This oneshot is a work of pure fiction and is not associated with the Bakugan Battle Brawlers series.

Fully italicized passages are flashbacks.

Normal POV

Zenet raced down the halls of the Gundalian Palace. Her hastened footsteps echoed down the empty halls that held the occasional soldier on patrol that easily ignored the running girl. She continued dashing through the halls, her lungs nearly on fire now, until she saw who she was looking for.

"Hey, Ren! I've got to talk to you!" she cried as she saw the white-haired Gundalian boy. She slowed down to a halt when she reached him and rested her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.

"Zenet?" he asked with concerned eyes.

"I heard Barodius summoned you for a private meeting, was it about me? Does he want me bumped off to? He must!" she asked frantically. Ren starred at the hysterical girl in front of him. Her eyes were filled with worry. She held her arms in close to her body, a clear sign of how worried and frightened she was, and held her hands together as if she were ready to beg for her life at any given moment. Zenet had put up a tough front, especially when they were on Earth posing as Neathians. She acted tough and relentless, yet she was anything but.

Ren only continued to look at Zenet, completely lost in his own thoughts and just barely hearing her words. After the last few failed missions, Sid, Lena and Jesse had all been disposed of and Mason escaped but hasn't been seen or heard from since. When the war started, there were six of them, but now there were only two. This war had been causing him much stress, especially since he had been spared punishment each time a loss was blamed on his friends. So it made perfect sense that Zenet was stressed too, she was the only one left to use as a scapegoat.

"What kind of deal did you make? Can you put in a good word for me? I've always been a loyal soldier! Even after…" Zenet slowly moved her hand up to her face and cupped the left side of her face where her eye used to be. The horns on her head had grown well enough to cover her scar, but Zenet, even Ren, clearly remembered the events of that day when Zenet lost her eye.

It was just a standard attack on one of the shields on Neathia. Despite several times earlier, the Neathians were quite difficult to put down this time. Zenet and Contestir were just in the wrong place at the wrong time…

"Contestir, look out!" cried Zenet as a Neathian Bakugan shot her partner down, returning him to ball form. Zenet cried out as another shot caused an explosion nearby, propelling her a few feet back.

"Zenet!" cried Ren, rushing over to his friend. They hadn't known each other that long since Ren had only been summoned out of his underground prison as this war started, but he and Zenet got along quite well and became fast friends.

He finally found the girl among the rubble and moved the debris off her. "Zenet…" He gasped and jumped back when he saw the blood around her head soaking into the ground. "Oh no…no, no, no…" With shaky hands, he reached out and cupped her face, turning it to the side very slowly. He nearly retched at the sight of her bloodstained face. He had never seen anyone this bloody before. It was just the left side of her face, but a bit of her hair was already soaked in her blood.

Zenet suddenly coughed and inhaled. She opened her right eye and saw Ren over her. "I-I can't open my eye! I can't see!" She tried to sit up, but Ren kept her down. "I can't feel my head!"

"No, no, no. Zenet…it's gonna be ok. Everything's gonna be all right, I promise. Just don't move." With great care, he lifted Zenet into his arms, pressing her head into his chest to apply pressure to the wound. He could already feel her blood seeping through his clothes and onto his skin.

He made it back to the ship's infirmary in time for the physicians to treat her. Once they arrived back to Gundalia, she was moved to the medical ward. Ren had waited outside the entire time, but had to leave for the occasional briefing for which he was specifically summoned. He hadn't even changed his shirt, which was still soaked in Zenet's blood. Finally, one of the physicians came out and allowed him to see her, but only for a couple minutes.

He stood silently at her bedside, watching her sleep, her chest rising up with each breath. Her face had been cleaned of the blood while the entire left side of her face was wrapped in bandages. "Zenet…"

She stirred in her rest and opened her right eye. She looked up at Ren and smiled. "…Hey, Ren." She tried her best to keep her smile, but it eventually disappeared and turned back into a frown. "How bad is it?" she asked, her throat hoarse.

Ren almost didn't want to answer. "I-it's not that bad. Just slap on some makeup and nobody will even notice."

Zenet giggled at Ren's nervous attempt to cheer her up. It wasn't just that the joke was funny, Ren was just very cute like this. She moved her hand up to feel the bandages. "You think it'll leave a scar?"

"I think so…" Ren answered sadly. He wanted to say 'no,' but he didn't want to lie to her now of all times.

Zenet whimpered a little bit as a tear escaped her right eye. "I thought so. I really hate scars. It's gonna ruin my pretty face…"

"I still think you're pretty, Zenet. Scar or no scar," Ren smiled.

"Really?" she asked. Ren nodded. "Thanks, Ren…"

"Help a girl out!...Please Ren…I'm so scared…I just don't know what to do…" whimpered Zenet. "Mason ran away, Sid, Lena and Jesse are gone. Who's not to say that I'm next?"

Ren suddenly grabbed a hold of her shoulders and shook her lightly. He didn't mean to grab her roughly, but he must have as she nearly jumped when he did. "Zenet, I know things haven't been going well for any of us. Mason was the lucky one, he got away."

"But we haven't even heard from him. For all we know he could be-"

"Zenet, what's important is that we stick together now more than ever. All we have is each other," he said to the frightened girl.

Zenet calmed down at hearing his words. "Ren…"

Ren suddenly pulled her into his arms and held her close. Zenet was shocked at first but relaxed and wrapped her arms around Ren, pulling the only source of comfort she's felt closer to her as if her life depended on it. "Everything's gonna be all right, I promise."

So that's it. Short and sweet.

Now the reason I added in the eye thing is because I noticed something. You know how Zenet's hat/head horns cover her left eye right? Well in her human form, you can see the eye, but in her Gundalian form, you don't see her left eye at all. So it got me thinking, what if she lost her left eye during battle and the disguise abilities they have just kinda make a "fake eye?" Plus I noticed that in the first few eps since she appeared, she's very "Shadow-y" and kinda mean. But later on, she comes off as more sensitive, which I thought was a sudden and rather odd change for her character. So I decided to add in a reason for that.

Tell me what you think! I hope you liked it!

Review ~ZP