A/N: This is a sort-of prequel to His Just Deserts, in which I tell the story of how exactly Masquerade was brought back from the nether world. This adventure is (hopefully) going to be epic, nerve-wrecking, heart-breaking and maybe, just maybe a little bit silly.

Disclaimer: I own neither rights to Bakugan Battle Brawlers nor to the song lyrics quoted below. There, that should save me from being sued.

Song: "Wherever you are" ©Disney

Once Upon A Dream

I used to believe in forever

But forever is too good to be true

I've hung a wish on every star

It hasn't done much good so far

I don't know what else to do

Except to try to dream of you

And wonder if you're dreaming too

Wherever you are

Chapter 1: Wherever You Are

Alice couldn't dream.

She used to have them. Under the blanket of sleep, nonsensical mosaics of psychedelic pictures used to swim around and blur together in her subconscious mind every night. Dreams about unicorns and rainbows; about math tests she hadn't prepared for; about starry evenings and someone's hand gently cradling her face; and then there was that weird one about militant jelly beans trying to take over the world. Alice used to dream.

Now there was only the meadow. It lay just beneath the waves and currents of her conscious thoughts, brought to the surface whenever the tides drew back with the stillness of night. Not a dream, a memory of a place non-existent. And yet the vividness of it continued to engulf her in an embrace of rolling grass over her ankles and the wind tussling her hair, his last words echoing across the landscape. Every night the same events on a never-ending loop, and still she never remembered that it was only a dream. It felt so real. As real as the memory of his mask shattering in her hands, the sparkling crystal dust blown away and spread by the winds like his cremated ashes. Goodbye forever. I'll never forget you, Masquerade.

A part of her had died in that meadow, a part she'd never really got to know, but whom she mourned nonetheless. She knew she shouldn't. He'd taken so much from her—her friends' trust in her, her trust in herself—and even in death he'd taken her dreams with him.

For three years she'd tried to move on, to come to grips with what happened and put it behind her. She no longer cried when she awoke from that memory; no longer feared the glimpse of his shadow in her reflection; no longer was she torn by a reality split between her world and his. It was over, and she was awake.

And then she'd heard his voice.

It had been neither a memory nor a dream. When she had faced Shadow Prove in battle, she'd felt her old ghost brush past her mind, pulling at her, trying to tempt her into the darkness with him. But she'd been so afraid that if she followed him down those twisted paths again, she'd never find her way back into the light. He still had the power to make her doubt herself, even if he seemed to have more faith in her strength than she did. Don't you know? It's because I am you, Alice.

She had given in, if only for a little while. And suddenly, she hadn't been scared anymore. The thrill of battle pulsed through her body like fuel, ignited by an unwavering self-assuredness that was completely alien to her and yet oh-so familiar. It was him. His presence was a physical thing; she could feel how he filled the empty spaces within her that she hadn't even realised were vacant. For a brief while, Alice had been whole. Her light and his darkness were balanced on a knife's edge, not fighting, but dancing together.

Then the battle was over, and he was gone. At first she'd blamed herself, telling herself it was her loss, her failure, her lack of strength that had killed him again. Suddenly "moving forward with her life" felt like walking away from his corpse, and every step sparked pain in old fractures that had never been properly set.

Now, the memory-dream-memory-dream-memory also haunted her waking hours. She could hear him, see him, smell him, feel him, and in her mind she was drowning in questions: Had he really come back? Or was it just her imagination? Her mind playing tricks on her? A manifestation of all her darkest desires, her worst fears? Had she simply snapped under pressure? Or had he always been there, waiting for an opportunity to come out? Then, was it her decision to fight, to avenge herself, to prove she was as good as her other half that had called him? These and more circulated in her mind like wild torrents in a maelstrom, crashing and flowing 'round and 'round towards its centre, that one singularity of certain fact:

"Masquerade is alive."

Across from her, the young scientist intertwined his fingers and leaned forward on the tabletop, his expression one of intense seriousness. He didn't look at her with the scepticism of her grandfather, nor with the poorly hidden concern for Alice's wellbeing (meaning her sanity) that Runo had shown, nor with Klaus' cold determination that he'd 'never let him hurt you, Alice,' like he wanted to rip her dark self right out of her. This man's beautiful green-blue eyes—Alice could feel her heart beating faster—were filled with nothing but sharp attentiveness.

"I thought he was gone, I had this…emptiness inside after he left," Alice said, pressing on. "But that's just it; he didn't die, he left. That means he went somewhere, and that he can come back. He came back to me when I brawled Shadow Prove…then he left again, but the point is he was there. He still exists. Somewhere. And I need to bring him back."

"If he is capable of returning by his own volition, and he has not, doesn't it stand to reason that he doesn't wish to come back?" the genius queried, cocking his head a little. Pale blonde locks brushed over his face with the movement, some strands getting caught in his dark eyelashes. Alice fought the urge to push them aside, feeling a little disturbed by how little it seemed to bother him to have his pretty face partially obscured.

"I'm not saying I would force him if he really doesn't want to." Alice bit her lip. "I just…I need to find him, just to talk to him." A sudden heavy sadness weighed down on her shoulders, making her slump in her seat. "Grandfather has tried to help me, and I'm really grateful, but he's just not getting anywhere. It just seems impossible. We're talking about bringing someone who might only still exist in my mind into physical reality. My grandfather is maybe the smartest physicist in the world, but this…this is beyond modern science."

Alice lifted her gaze, her eyes pleading. "That's why I wanted to talk to you. Because—"

"I am not of this world," he finished.

"Exactly! You have access to technology and science that no one on Earth has. If anyone can figure out how to find Masquerade, and how to get to him, it's you. I mean, you're brilliant. Your work on cyber-neurology would revolutionise the neurosciences on Earth. And your development of nanotechnology that can regenerate and reconstruct genetic material is amazing. You're perfect for what I need. I need you." A red-hot blush spread across her cheeks as she realised she was starting to ramble. And what was she even saying? Could she sound any more like a love-struck fangirl?

He raised an eyebrow, looking slightly amused. "I'm flattered you know of my work."

Alice could feel her blush marching downwards until she was sure all of her was glowing bright red with embarrassment. What was wrong with her? Was she really incapable of talking intelligently to just one incredibly pretty boy? For a moment, Alice imagined a mocking laughter ringing through her head, too rough and deep to be her own. Focus, Alice! Pull yourself together.

"Please," she burst out, "I can't do this on my own. You're the only one I can think of who is smart enough to figure this out. Please—" she clasped her hands together, "—help me. I'll do anything. I…don't have much money, but I'm sure we can come to some sort of agreement—"

"You can cook, correct?"

Alice blinked at the interruption. "Y-yeah. I mean, I cook for my grandfather a lot, and I used to work at a restaurant…"

"Excellent." His mouth quirked up in a small, almost edged grin, like he was trying to look friendly but didn't quite have the practice in to make it appear natural. It was kind of cute and disconcerting at the same time. "Then, when we've succeeded, you will cook me a meal, and we'll call it even. Agreed?"

A wave of relief came rolling over Alice, washing away the layers of teary-wet sediments—hopelessness, desperation, misery, grief—that had stuck to her skin over the past few months.

He was going to help her. And the way he spoke with such confidence—as if, to him, 'impossible' was just an unchartered land and 'limits' were threads of spider silk, easily snapped—hardened her previously brittle hopes with concrete certainty. When we've succeeded, he'd said. Yes, they would.

He righted himself in his seat. "It will be no easy task. It'll require all our joint knowledge on the physics of inter-dimensions, quantum neurology and parapsychology. A real challenge," he said. Suddenly his calm and closed expression twisted, losing all its earlier friendliness, a kind of madness coming alight behind his eyes as his face morphed into the mask of something darker, more predatory.

Keith Clay, brilliant scientific mind and the second most powerful brawler in the world, also known as Spectra Phantom, a former aspiring world-conqueror and currently Alice's only hope, looked at her with such pure ambitious delight that she felt a cold chill run up her spine—and a heat like glowing coals settle in her lower stomach.

"Well, then," he said, his voice husky, "let's get started."

A/N: My, my, I think someone has a little crush. I wonder with whom.

You know, I wasn't an AlicexKeith shipper before I started writing this, but strangely enough it just seemed to fit. Keith is basically the perfect mix of every guy Alice is ever paired with in fandom. His resemblance to another masked villain is obvious, but he's also got the sophisticated and better-than-thou attitude of Klaus combined with the leather-pants-loving silent-but-strong air of Shun. He's like the Frankenstein's monster of Alice's perfect boyfriend!

I'm actually really pleased with how this one turned out, even if it might get a little over the top with all the metaphors. I hope you (wonderful reader who stuck with me all the way through) enjoyed it, and drop me a comment if you feel like it, any and all are appreciated.