Time meant nothing as each moment seemed a year and each second a fraction of itself absorbed by the darkness. Turning to action I'd tried to untie my ankles by bending backwards but found the knots tight and ungiving enough that my cold-numbed fingers were not up to the task. Neither were my wrists tied with enough slack to draw my arms around my legs and have them in front. My one consolation was that I was alone and I prayed that meant Athrun was safe.

Finding enough strength I had explored as best as I could my cell. This included a great deal of rolling and wriggling with frequent pauses so I wouldn't pass out from lack of air. At least my efforts had resulted in loosening the gag a bit enabling me to breathe easier around the obstruction. From all this I could guess that it was a completely cement room measuring about eight feet by nine feet and had a slight slope towards the middle where a drain had been set. I also found protruding into the space a set of narrow, also concrete, stairs up to what must have been a door. Either it was night or the door connected to a darkened building because I still hadn't seen a crack of light. Sitting up in the darkness made me horribly dizzy so I tried to gather what little power I had by lying on the floor.

Everything hurt. Reliving the horror that had brought me here had my mind retreating and shying away from all logic and I wrestled with myself to reign in reason. My exploration had done nothing to stem the flow of blood from my head. I knew that head wounds that didn't bleed were more dangerous but blood loss was not my friend either. Surrendering to sleep was not an option – I refused to sit on my hands in any situation, plus sleep in my current condition might be fatal.

My pockets were empty, any items had been removed while the rest were either in my purse or my jacket – which were both left in the car. Athrun carried everything else of note.

Athrun. The last thing I'd seen before passing out was his face, eyes drawn and panicked, calling my name as I succumbed to the gas first underneath him, all the while he bled heavily from his side. Shaking myself I forced my fear for him to the back of my mind. I had to believe in him – believe that he was alright, that he was looking for me right now and that he would find me, that in the end we would both come out of this unscathed and whole.

The gag was soppy in my mouth and bitter, perhaps laced with further chemicals to dull my mind and senses. Tearing about in my memory I tried to bring to mind any information that might help me through this. My Father, Kisaka, and even Athrun had planned over the years for every scenario, drilling me throughout the years on what I should do to rescue myself or at least better my circumstances should I be captured.

Such training had deeply concerned Athrun; that his teachings would be responsible should he fail in his duties and that I would have to make up the difference in such an occurrence. I could tell a part of him had battled with the idea but he had strengthened his resolve to help me however possible, even if that meant being hard on me, demanding, so as to hone my skills. Looking back with the hindsight of my current predicament there were times that I perhaps could have been less bull-headed.

I knew that there had to be some lesson or resource I'd forgotten, but the cold had taken hold of me and my mind sluggishly tried to cipher through my training. Curled up in a ball I tried to puzzle through my options. I had no jewelry except for the ring, no way to break or loosen my bonds; even the concrete stairs were old and crumbling. For all intents and purposes my captors seemed to want to keep me as uncomfortable as possible, perhaps to further their demands at the threat of my situation and potential demise.

In a desperate attempt to get back some water I had been sucking on the rag in my mouth but I could feel the chemical pull even stronger. Clinically I realized it had been prepared and placed there with obvious purpose. The gag left my mouth stretched wide, chaffing against the sides and it brushed along my teeth. Whoever had tied it must have…

My eyes drew wide staring out into the darkness as one memory from about five months ago swam to the surface. Kisaka and Athrun were trying to suggest a new precaution should we ever be separated in a serious situation. Since they both knew better than to gang up on me Athrun had brought it up again later when we were alone together. I had flung every suggestion he gave right back at him; since he had proposed it I thought that I could goad him out of the idea and get myself off the hook.

"You never know when you might need it. It pains me to say this but there might be a time when I'm not there or I can't protect you" he tried to reason. Although logically it was possible I refused the idea. It would be a serious constraint on my freedom and could be used against me – against the country – in worse circumstances.

"Like heck would I do that. If you like it so much why don't you get your own!"

"If I did it would you do the same?" He challenged with a slight tilt of his head, it was in times like these that I really wished we were the same height still.

He kept my gaze as I tried to figuratively stare him down. My eyes narrowed on his. "Would you really?"

Nodding he kept the challenge light. "It could even be customized so that you would have to activate it personally, although it would be painful."

I glared at him, hoping he would fold but he stared right back at me. Blinking I regarded him shrewdly. "You're actually worried about this."

His mouth set in a firm line. "Yes. The fact of the matter is I want you to have any and every advantage possible." Unspoken words hung between us. He waited, patiently letting the choice be mine.

I hated having these discussions the most. Had it been anyone else I would have considered it emotional blackmail but I knew he was just that serious about my safety. "Okay, then. We'll go over the options tomorrow."

Once again he nodded and bringing his arms around me, drew me close. "Thank you" he whispered, his head on mine.

My eyes had started to mist over at the memory of his touch. Shaking the longing away I turned myself back to the corner of the stairs which was my only option. As far as I could tell there was at least no railing on the first step to hamper my decision and it should be hard enough to suit my needs. Angling myself I flipped over, ignoring the protest in my whole body. Lifting my head I found the corner of the step and traced the gritty cement over my left side teeth. There. Practicing three or four times I took a moment to steel my nerves.

One. Two. Three.

I yelled into the gag and slammed my head, more specifically my left third molar, right into the cement stair corner. Fireworks exploded before my eyes and I literally saw stars as I screamed from pain into the cloth. My eyes were streaming, my head injury and now my neck were in agony, my check and mouth throbbing from the blow, but most importantly I felt that the crown of my second to last molar had come loose above the raw nerve, activating the locator that had been lodged in my tooth months ago.

While resting my head on the wonderfully cool concrete floor I could feel blood seeping into the gag. Hoping it was enough I closed my eyes, and finally let the ever present darkness engulf me.