This is for all those who bear with my unpunctuality. I seriously love you all if you actually are still reading this. Really. It's not dead in anyway.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bakugan, I'm merely borrowing characters.
Now, on with the story!

Klaus Von Hertzon had once ranked number two in the bakugan ranking list, which pretty much was the happiest he felt in a while. However, being pushed back into third place did faze him a bit, but not as much as he had expected.

(A/n: I am changing a few things here in this fic: first, that while the canon said that Klaus von Hertzon is number two while they were invited to the mansion, i am making his ranking here number three (i know it's not much of a difference). This is because i still want Shun to be in second place to Masquerade. This means that the rest of them would be pushed down a rank)

He did take it well. I am after all, a gentleman.

Therefore, when he was sent his own invitation along with the rest of the privileged top ten members for a meeting, from an anonymous source, his pride indeed returned only a tad bit laced with suspicion. Nonetheless, he was compelled by his conscience (and Sirenoid) to attend and that was exactly what he did.

It was truly sad that he didn't think thoroughly what exactly the invitation was about, or who had sent it and all those minute aspects of that apprehensive letter, which would (and could) have saved his mind. He hadn't known what hit him.

By the time he emerged out of that mansion, all he knew was that defeating a certain Daniel Kuso and his gang was his number one priority.

Naga, and his mind games

-x-X-x-

"Oh the wedding was fine and dandy and whatnot, it would have been enjoyable if the only people I knew in that place were not just my parents. I never realized I had so many relatives. And somehow, they ALL know my name and who I am. I was the only one who probably didn't know of their existence."

Runo shuddered as she recalled a brief account of her previous day and Alice and Julie laughed. The girls were currently at a mall, window shopping, as none of them had their allowances yet. It was also a small tactic to distract poor Julie from the sadness of losing her Gorem.

"But did you happen to see any cute guys?" Julie piped in once the laughter subsided.

"No" Runo sniffed "... there were hardly anyone from the groom's side. Apparently his family was against the relationship. Oh the drama that had probably ensued."

"That's terrible. Most of the matchmaking happens at weddings and here you are running off to a wedding where there is only one side of the family attending!" The Australian stated exasperatedly and turned around and suddenly stopped dead in her track, eyes widening.

"What?" Runo and Alice, who had bumped into her accidentally, asked. The girl didn't say anything and instead, simply pointed her finger towards the corner of the mall, where a few boys were fooling around.

Runo frowned when she spotted them and looked at Julie.

"I thought you had a boyfriend?" she asked sarcastically, but the silver haired girl grabbed the two of them away and around a corner so that they wouldn't be seen.

"Yes I do of course! But that's not the thing! Ian was one of the boys over there!"

"Oh! I didn't realize! That's good isn't it? Let's stop and say hi" Alice seemed pleased that Ian was adjusting well and having fun in the new town.

"You guys. You are missing the point! Did you see the way he did that hand stand?! His hair was all raised up!"

"So?" Runo asked confusion flickering across her face

Julie face palmed. "Tell me another guy that you know who has the same hair colour as Ian and hair standing up on his head and now that I think about it, same height and size!"

And reality dawned upon them like a ten ton brick.

"Masquerade?!" The girls exclaimed as they looked at each other in shock.

"Exactly!"

"so wait... you are saying that Ian is Masquerade?" Alice asked apprehensively. "That wouldn't make sense... i mean... i thought he wore that silly mask for the sake of anonymity...so why in the world would he be socializing with other people now, when as far as we know, he could be sending bakugans to the doom dimension?!"

Julie and Runo pondered over this for a minute, faces scrunched up in thought.

"Besides, being around Ian doesn't feel a thing like being around Masquerade" Alice added dimly and her two friends distinctly remembered her brief account of her encounter with the villain.

"Is he disturbing you anymore Alice? Because i swear, if he is, he will face my uninhibited wrath!" Runo questioned maliciously and Julie nodded her agreement.

"Erm... Of course not! I mean... I think it was just him trying t-to...intimidate me and now that, he realized that I'm useless, he had stopped."

Great. More lies.

For some odd reason, the bluenette and the Australian didn't pay much attention to her stuttering and instead simply sighed in relief. But Alice on the other hand pondered and pondered some more on the possible outcomes if they managed to find out that he was still involved with her. Really... this time she was truly playing with fire and she really, really should put it down before it burned her... permanently. Her only resolve: tell her friends now. And for the strangest of strangest reason, Alice didn't want these 'encounters' to end.

She realized she could use this... opportunity that had presented itself before her to study her supposed enemy better... Why was he on the dark side? Who made him? Who is he? What's his real name? A million more questions could be answered, if and only if, she'd deal with said encounters tactically.

She also realized that she still hadn't figured out what exactly he wanted with her... their first accidental meeting in a foolishly courageous moment of hers... maybe this was his own form of a twisted revenge? She invaded his personal space first... so maybe he was doing the same? Making her feel the same: Uncomfortable and unsure and confused and nonsensical?

It was decided. Next time they would see each other, she definitely would not be flustered and tongue-tied around him. Let him drop her off the roof for all she cares. When she snapped back to reality, she found that her friends had both let go of the topic of masquerade stalking her, and discussing over the likelihood that Ian was Masquerade. In the end, all three agreed that it couldn't be. Masquerade... didn't behave like normal teenage boys. In the case of appearance, Julie mentioned that on an average there are five people who look like you in the world...

Anyhow, the subject was dropped soon enough and it progressed onto Julie's boyfriend Billy, who came to Wardington City yesterday, and how their date was amazing, and how he got invited to a meeting for the top ten brawlers today.

"He was so happy! He reckons it might be some friendly brawl with the rest of the members"

"Huh? Top ten? So then Shun and Dan would have also been invited wouldn't they?" Alice asked curiously and Runo shrugged.

"I don't know, they both didn't mention anything...maybe they did. We should ask them later."

Suddenly, a strange thought popped up in Alice's head and realization dawned upon her.

"Masquerade is number one! So that means he would be invited too! Julie, did Billy tell you who it was from? The poor person wouldn't know who exactly he is inviting! Plus, if masquerade is going, we have to stop Billy and Dan and Shun!"

The girls, shocked, jumped up and ran from the mall, straight to the direction of Dan's house, which was the closest.

, who was practising her yoga, opened her door angrily after somebody repeatedly rang the doorbell without a pause, and was shocked to find three girls, panting and sweating at her doorstep.

"Runo! Alice! Julie! What happened?!" She asked frantically, worry striking her pretty features

" , where is Dan? Is he here?"

"Yeah he is here, but he is upstairs getting ready to go to-" She was cut off when all three raced past her into the house and up the stairs and began to pound his door.

"Dan! You can't go! Masquerade will be there! It's a trap!"

"Daniel! Open up!"

"Dan! Dan! Don't get ready!"

They all screamed and shouted at the door, until it opened and a flustered looking Dan, opened it.

"What... what's going on? What are you guys talking about?!" He asked confusedly

"Dan, did you get the invitation to go to the meeting for the top ten brawlers?" Runo asked impatiently and his confusion increased a bit more

"What? There is an invitation?! Why didn't I get one?!" He pouted and stared at them watching their anxious expressions turning to that of horror.

"It's a trap! Billy! Oh no!" Julie cried out, taking her phone from her purse and dialling Billy's number.

Sorry this number is switched off.

And she cursed out loud.

"What do we do?! We have to warn him!" She said, trying his phone again, only to get the same result.

"Will somebody explain what is going on?!" Dan asked perplexed and Alice resorted to explain everything to him. When it was all settled, he decided to phone Shun and ask if he had been invited. It turns out the ninja had indeed been invited, but he couldn't attend because he had to go somewhere else and so didn't give much attention or importance to the letter.

"That's suspicious. Billy said everybody in the top ten list right? Then maybe it is a trap after all. But i wonder why... and who... this is very suspicious. Maybe we ought to set up a meeting today. But first, I have to go to the supermarket. So this evening is fine?" Dan asked and the girls sweat dropped when he mentioned his destination.

"Yeah. Let's meet at the restaurant. Should we... should we invite Ian?" Runo questioned apprehensively, the brief discussion earlier popping back into her head. Dan didn't notice her discomfort and cheerfully said 'Yeah!'

"Great. So I'll come with Ian, Marucho and Shun later. See ya girls!" He called as he marched out the door. The girls followed suit after being offered some lemonade from Dan's mom. Poor Julie now had two things to worry about: her Gorem and the safety of her boyfriend and his bakugans. Oh she didn't know that she had to worry about herself and her friends too.

-x-X-x-

Masquerade sat at his desk, staring furiously at his computer, which was turned off, a small piece of metal placed in front of him. He was pissed only because his plot was discovered so early on into the game and he pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation. Who the hell knew that Willy or Billy or whatever, was the play toy of that Australian bimbo? He'd have to tread carefully now that he knew they were slowly gaining in on him. He was indeed apprehensive about sending the ninja an invitation but it he decided to gamble on it anyway. He was expecting the ninja to come unannounced to his gang and it would have been such a blow with the team's own member against them. A low blow, but a good one anyhow.

But now that his plan was deterred, albeit just slightly, he decided he was lucky to have the rest of them working under his fingertips. He had to rely on the fact that the element of surprise was still not entirely ruined. While they knew that something was fishy, they would never know exactly what was going on. That he had placed the top ten bakugan brawlers on mind control. That they would all only rest, until the entirety of that brawler gang was wiped out clean. Oh Danny boy doesn't stand a chance. He smirked inwardly.

Then suddenly, he remembered something that had slipped off of his mind not a few minutes earlier. Ian. To be honest, he had no other information about this new guy apart from what the brawlers discussed: which meant he had, technically, no clue who the hell he was. It was a bit curious that a little bit of research also failed to provide him with more information than his first name, age and the city he lived in. And it was definitely, more than curious that the female trio of the gang identified Ian as similar looking to him. This guy had to be dealt with. Maybe a bakugan or three to the doom dimension ought to be sufficient. And with that thought, he vanished with a fall of sparkles, to show this newbie who's boss around town.

-x-X-x-

Later that evening at the Misaki household, the brawlers (minus Shun and Ian) were sitting around the table and were deep into discussion.

"Have you tried calling Billy again?"

"Yes! But he still is not picking up his phone! And he hasn't even told me when he is coming back!"

"What about his parents? Wouldn't they know where he will be?"

"No, Billy came here alone to attend the meeting yesterday. He stays in a dorm with an old friend apparently, but i don't know who or where"

The gang sat in silence processing her words, trying to find solutions and alternatives but to no avail. The fact that it was a trap was, by far, the only thing that was certain.

"Then maybe we should just wait. Until tomorrow." Runo sighed, defeat lacing her voice.

"Runo, there might be no time unt-" Julie's desperate counter statement was cut off.

"No, Julie... Runo is right about this one. We have to sacrifice a day because we don't know anything apart from the fact that he attended. As for why he isn't picking his phone up.. well the possibilities are endless. Maybe he lost his phone, or, or it ran out of battery and he isn't home yet or something it could have been anything!" He knew he was stalling but he continued either way.

"We have to wait. It's already too late to do anything today. If by tomorrow Billy hasn't picked up his phone, then we're off hunting down Masquerade's ass. I'll bring him down, because play time is over." Daniel's eyes gleamed menacingly for a moment.

"Me too. I'm going wherever you are. It's time that freak is taught a lesson." Marucho, inspired by Dan's little speech chimed in.

Runo and Alice both reassuringly glanced at Julie, who felt as if she was seconds away from breaking down. First her bakugan. Now her boyfriend. Things were SO not smooth.

"By the way, I have information from Ian. He said we're to meet his friend Klaus sometime tomorrow afternoon." Dan said after a minute of contemplation.

"The thing is" He continued "Klaus is ranked Number 3 which means he probably got invited too." The silence that followed was heavy with worry and apprehension.

"This would all make so much more sense if we knew what exactly happened there..." Alice who was quiet until now had her eyebrows scrunched in concentration. A fresh wave of guilt and horror hit her as the events of yesterday night played in her head. They'd kissed. Twice. Right after he hurt her best friend in the worst possible way, sending her bakugan to the doom dimension. What the hell was she thinking?! What the hell was happening?!

After tonight, one thing was made up. She swore to avoid all kinds of interactions with him. His actions gave evidence to the fact that she'd become a fool and right now being a fool was not an option. She had to be firm and put an end to this. Once and for all.

"Well... there's only one way to find that out. We'll meet up with Klaus and let things flow from there. Honestly, I'm preparing myself for the worst." Marucho's declaration broke her train of thoughts and she firmed her mind. His remark concluded their meeting and the gang adopted a more cheerful topic to chatter until it was time to leave.

Tomorrow was going to be different. Very Different.

-x-X-x-

When bed time came about, it was evident that neither Alice nor Runo were sleepy. The girls simply plopped on one bed and went over the details of today's gathering.

"Do you think meeting up with Klaus is really a good idea?" Alice asked apprehensively, after all they all knew they could easily fall into a trap.

Runo sighed. "We literally have no other choice. He's Ian's friend isn't he? I just hope that nothing too bad comes out of it. At the same time, we must prepare for the worse, like Marucho said. Only heaven knows what will happen. But at the end of the day, it's worth a shot."

Klaus was Ian's friend. So he could be trusted. However there was a good probability that he did attend this suspicious meeting of top brawlers where there was an equally good chance of Masquerade showing up. If anything were to happen, Masquerade would have pulled a trick out of his sleeve at the most unexpected moment there. The odds were infinite and the two girls silently contemplated it side by side.

-x-X-x-

Masquerade plopped down on his bed in exhaustion. Exhaustion was an understatement; he couldn't even begin to fathom the number of bakugans he sent to the doom dimension and he felt his entire body drain out of energy. Sadly, his busy day resulted in him not able to spy up on his favourite little redhead and her despicable gang. So far he only knew they found out about his little plan a little earlier than expected but that was okay; the intended damage had been done. He smirked for a second until he realized the reason he had set out today in the first place.

Ian - the newbie who apparently looked like him. Strangely enough the boy was nowhere to be found. He checked at the local park, a couple of schools, residential areas, public places, and so on. He didn't check the mall though because well... it's a mall. His background research earlier was also futile and it definitely seemed as if the guy was practically non-existent. So in anger at the inability to locate the boy, he went on a rampage, defeating kids left and right until sundown.

Now that he was back in his mansion, he knew he ought to do some more spying work, however today, Masquerade was too tired to go on. He simply fell asleep in a matter of seconds after hoping tomorrow would be more productive. He dreamt of red hair and pale pink lips.

-x-X-x-

Once again, thank you all those who still read this. I hope you liked this chapter; it's not much but I'm slowly making progress with it, I promise. Let me know your thoughts on this chapter, so be sure to pen down a review. Constructive criticism is always welcome!

Love you guys! -Fic