Okay, here is the latest update of Captured! Sorry the last one was so short. This one is a bit longer (according to my page count that is). Enjoy the madness!
They were still trapped.
Ryuga and Kyoya panted heavily as they glared at the section of metal that they'd been trying to bust through. Gingka stood a few feet behind them in the dim room, still tightly holding his elbow as he grit his teeth, trying to keep the pain from his face. His efforts were futile since every time the Legendary Spring and Summer Bladers turned to make sure he was okay, something they'd never admit to, they could see the agony flashing in his eyes.
"Well this isn't working," Kyoya grumbled as he caught Leone for the twentieth time after being imprisoned in the metal room with his rivals.
Ryuga nodded. "I don't know why we're down here but I have a feeling it's not good."
The two turned to Gingka who stood tall, doing his best to ignore the throbbing in his upper arm. "We need to find a weak spot in the metal. Kyoya, launch Leone and make him hit every inch of the metal on this half of the room," he said, gesturing with his right arm towards that side of the room. Turning to Ryuga, he jerked his chin towards the other half of the metal. "Do the same with L-Drago for the left side. Make sure you both only use half power so that I can see if there's a glitch in the metal."
For a second, Ryuga glared at Gingka defiantly. Gold clashed with golden-brown as Gingka met the look with an equally fiery stare. Kyoya stood back in awe as he watched the exchange, his own eyes widening in surprise as Ryuga broke the connection first.
Ticking irritably, the Summer Blader attached L-Drago to his launcher, his back facing Kyoya's as the two took aim at opposite sides of the room. Launching their respective beys, Gingka watched with a careful eye as the two beys collided with the walls, sparks flying with each rotation. His golden-brown eyes suddenly narrowed as he stepped towards Kyoya's half of the room, the slight waver in Leone's path only noticed by him.
Turning to his rival, Gingka nodded, the silent signal for Kyoya to call back his Leone. Hearing the sound of only his own bey grinding against the metal walls, Ryuga caught L-Drago and turned towards where his fellow Legendary Bladers were.
Kyoya and Ryuga watched as Gingka stood directly where Leone had been only moments before, running his right palm across the surface. When his finger grazed the area at eye level, Gingka scanned the area around it, noticing the slightly dipped section where a hairline crack ran from the imperfection.
Smiling, Gingka turned towards his rivals and pointed at the chipped part of the metal. Kyoya and Ryuga grinned mischievously at each other before aiming simultaneously at the spot. Taking several steps back, the Pegasus wielder watched as the two launched their beys directly at the section. Seconds after impact, a larger crack appeared beneath the two beys and the three men smirked triumphantly.
Just as Gingka was going to ask them to go to full power, bright light exploded around the dim room as a fluorescent spotlight shone on the three. An evil chuckling resounded as a silhouette appeared on the ground. Looking up, all that the bladers could see was the same silhouette as it cackled above them.
"Who're you? Let us go!" Kyoya growled, his fists clenched at his sides.
The evil laughing continued for a few more seconds before a sinister voice croaked, "Now why would I do that? I didn't capture you for nothing."
"Why?" Gingka demanded, his eyes blazing angrily.
"Hm, let's think about this: you three are probably the strongest of the Legendary Bladers. Gingka, the World Champion, and Kyoya and Ryuga, the only two who even have a chance of defeating Gingka in battle. If I want to accomplish my goal of taking over the world, I'd need to have the ones who could stop me behind steel. I'd be stupid not to kidnap you!" the man declared as if it were obvious.
Ryuga glared up at him, "Pathetic."
Growling under his breath as realization struck him, Gingka took several steps in front of the other two as he looked up. "I'm much stronger than them," he stated. His rivals yelled defiantly, but Gingka ignored them. "Let Kyoya and Ryuga go and I'll stay here with you." Again they protested, but Gingka waved his good arm behind him, instantly silencing the two.
The man above them seemed to be considering this offer as his hand rose to rest under his chin. After a while, he suddenly called, "Alright, fine. I'll let the kitty and the lizard go but they have to promise they won't send the other Legendary Bladers."
Turning to face his rivals, Gingka noted the questioning looks in their eyes as they stared at him. He smiled inwardly, knowing what this might look like to them since they had no idea what was happening. But the urge to protect them from this madman overthrew his brotherly affection for his two rivals. Gingka raised his brow at the two and Kyoya and Ryuga nodded their heads once in affirmation, though the two saw the miniature motion of Gingka's hand down by his leg. It looked as if he was motioning for the ground to stop. The two understood exactly what he meant: youth.
As he turned back to face the mysterious man, Gingka nodded, not giving his friends any more time to protest, before a chuckle rumbled from their kidnapper. "Okay, get out of here, little kitty and scaly lizard. I have no purpose for you any more."
Ryuga eyed the man apprehensively, not sure if he liked the evil tone of this pathetic man. "What do you mean you have no purpose for us any more?" Kyoya snarled, his eyes blazing, the L-Dragon wielder looking equally as agitated when the Spring Blader glanced over at him.
"I only wanted Gingka, the only blader who can defeat all of the Legends without help," the man cackled, his laugh sending chills down the prisoners' spines.
"So we were only a means to get to Gingka?" Kyoya growled, fear rising up in him. This isn't good, the Leone Blader thought, if he wants Gingka prisoner, then what could he possibly be thinking?
Unease settled deep within the L-Drago wielder as each second ticked by. "You're in trouble," Ryuga murmured to himself as he glanced over at Gingka, surprised to see that his rival didn't look shaken or even surprised by this seemingly sudden statement. Instead, realization was covering the redhead's face and a flash of horror appeared that was almost too quick for Ryuga to see.
"Open the door and let them out now!" the Pegasus wielder demanded, his voice hard and his eyes cold and stony with determination. His rivals jumped a little at the sudden change in Gingka's voice, normally so upbeat and excited, as a shot of fear zapped them. What could be so bad that Gingka was trying to save the very people who were always trying to crush him?
The strange man chuckled. "Fine, fine. Begone with you," he stated as he shooed them with his hand towards a doorway that had suddenly appeared as sunlight spilled in on the dim room. The three shielded their eyes from the sudden intrusion as the summer's warmth flooded into the chilled room.
Turning to their friend, Kyoya and Ryuga pleaded with their eyes. "What about Hagane?" Ryuga asked the strange person plainly though his golden orbs were focused solely on his rival.
Gingka shrugged, trying to appear indifferent. "I'll be fine. Just get out of here and don't look back," he commanded as he pushed the two out the door into the blazing sunlight, paying little attention to the shock of pain the movement induced.
The two bladers only had enough time to turn back around to see Gingka's fear filled orbs as they flashed golden-brown in the natural light before the heavy metal door slammed shut in their faces.
As the two turned to leaved as instructed, not even staying long enough to find out what their prison looked like, their blood ran cold as an agony filled scream split the air. Kyoya and Ryuga's faces went ashen moments before they simultaneously nodded at each other and dashed as quickly as they could into the surrounding woods. The awful sound continued to send chills down their spines several minutes later as the two crashed through the trees and bushes.
"We've searched everywhere and there's nothing out here. What are we going to do?" Ren asked softly. She, Madoka, Zero, Shinobu, and Maru had all been searching for the three missing Legendary Bladers for four hours now and they had nothing to show for it aside from the abandoned pit and Gingka's bloody headband.
"I don't know," Madoka sighed in defeat.
Zero suddenly punched his palm as he growled, "Well I know what I'm not going to do: stand around while I wait for something to happen! Come on, there has to be something…"
The Ifraid wielder was suddenly cut off as rustling came from the bushes just off to the right side of the path. Everyone tensed, watching and waiting for whatever was hidden from view.
However, when a head of red and white hair along with another that was crowned with green hair, Madoka's face split into a wide grin. "Kyoya, Ryuga! You guys are alright!" she yelled excitedly as she ran towards them, helping the two bladers out of the mess of twigs and leaves.
When the two were free of their confining green adversaries, Shinobu asked, "What happened to you guys? You look awful!" The Legends were covered head to toe with purple, black, and blue bruises, scrapes with dried blood covering them, and each carried an air of complete exhaustion.
Ryuga ticked angrily as Kyoya growled, eliciting a quick apology from the Salamander wielder before the two Legendary Bladers crossed their arms over their chests simultaneously. "We got kidnapped by some psychopath who plans on taking over the world, you know, the usual," Kyoya replied as he leaned against a nearby tree.
"Do you know who kidnapped you?" Ren asked, her eyes wide.
Shaking his head, the L-Drago wielder closed his eyes. "We don't know," Ryuga replied quickly.
Raising her brow curiously, Maru asked, "And he just let you go?"
Neither Madoka nor Zero missed the quick glance shared by the two Legends before Kyoya nodded his head in confirmation. "Right," Madoka drawled. "Now what really happened?"
Giving a hint of a smile, Kyoya gave a short laugh. "Never could fool you, Madoka. We're actually not too sure how we managed to get out, but we did thanks to Gingka."
Zero's eyes rounded. "Gingka was there? Was he okay?" he demanded, hope building up inside at the prospect that his hero was perhaps safe.
"Can it, kid," Ryuga snapped, instantly silencing the younger blader. "Either Gingka knew who had captured us or he just knew something we didn't, because suddenly he was asking the guy to free us while Hagane stayed there."
"We were suddenly being shoved out of the room we were being kept in and Gingka looked… scared," Kyoya finished, his eyes downcast.
The wind ruffling the trees was the only sound that encompassed the small group as they all avoided eye contact with each other. A few moments of the stillness later, Madoka suddenly turned to her young pupil. "Maru, may I see your computer?" she asked, her jaw set in determination.
"Sure, Chief," the pink haired girl replied, digging out her laptop before handing it to Madoka. "But why do you need it?"
Typing a few commands on the keyboard, Madoka's eyes remained focused on the screen as she replied evenly, "Tsubasa asked me to call him when we found them." Nodding in understanding, Maru watched along with the rest as Madoka bit her lip, waiting for someone to answer.
When a silver haired man and a purple haired one appeared on the screen, a smile broke out across Madoka's face. "Hi guys!" she called.
"Hey Madoka! Did you find anything?" Benkei asked.
Madoka nodded. "Yeah, we found this pit where Zero discovered Gingka's headband with blood on it." At this, the eyes of the two onscreen nearly bugged out, but the mechanic didn't give them time to ask questions. "We searched the area for several hours, then these two suddenly appeared," she finished, having moved so that the two Legends stood behind her and were in full view of the laptop's camera.
Tsubasa covered his ears in annoyance as Benkei yelled, "Kyoya buddy! I've missed you so much!"
"Jeez, Benkei, take it easy! My ears can only take so much," Tsubasa grumbled as he glared at the Bull wielder.
"Back off, Benkei," Kyoya growled, instantly silencing the excited man to the younger bladers' surprise. For all the time they had known the Manager, no one was ever able to silence him nearly as quickly or as effectively as the Legendary Blader of Spring whose blue eyes flashed from beneath his green bangs.
Flicking his eyes over the Bladers of Spring and Summer, Tsubasa raised a brow. "What's with all the bruises and scrapes?" he asked.
"Happens when you get kidnapped," the Spring Blader replied snipily, feeling as if he were being interrogated for the second time in a very long day.
"And what's your excuse?" Tsubasa asked, his attention flipping towards Ryuga who had been silent for a while. This quiet, though typical of the Dragon Emperor, was different. It held a sort of uneasiness and almost fear that Ryuga had never displayed before.
His golden eyes flashed dangerously as the L-Drago wielder grit his teeth. "I'm going to find that pathetic man and make him pay for this!"
"For scratches and bruises?" Ren asked, her finger on her lip as she tried to understand the blader. Turning towards her, Ren suddenly became the object of the Dragon Emperor's full attention. She gulped uneasily, though not scared of him more than she wanted to understand.
Ryuga shook his head once. "No, for hurting Hagane."
"What do you mean? There wasn't that much blood on his headband," Shinobu replied in confusion.
"His head got scraped from when he fell and must have lost his headband when he was kidnapped," Kyoya replied. "Gingka's upper arm is definitely broken, bad enough that it kept him from launching."
Gingka had always been a reckless blader, never thinking about his own well being while he fought for others. No one said a word, each thinking the same thing: If Gingka was hurt so much that he couldn't even launch, then how much more was he truly hurting?
"When we were leaving, we heard a scream from behind before we ran," Ryuga continued, shivering slightly as he remembered the terrible sound.
The color instantly drained from Madoka's face. "He was… in pain?" she whispered in shock, shivering involuntarily.
"Who did it?" Zero growled, his body shaking with emotion. "Do you know who hurt Gingka?" he asked as his blue eyes flashed towards the two Legends.
Ryuga shrugged. "We don't know."
"But Gingka did," Kyoya finished.
Giving them a confused look, Tsubasa asked, "Did the guy sound familiar to either of you? Did he sound like someone either of you knew? Someone you maybe met a long time ago or something?"
Kyoya shook his head, his bangs falling over his eyes. "Not really. If I ever find out who kidnapped us, though, my Leone will defeat him," he growled, his body rigid with determination as he eyes glared at an unseen force. Even though he wouldn't outright say it, Gingka was Kyoya's friend and was like a brother to the Legendary Blader of Spring. Ryuga was too, in a weird distant twin sort of way.
Nodding his head with equal determination, Ryuga snarled, "Whoever dared to capture the Dragon Emperor is going to pay!" Glancing over at Kyoya, the Summer Blader saw his own burning anger being reflected back to him. And whoever dared to think he could hurt Gingka, the two thought simultaneously.
There it is! All finished and waiting for your reviews! Tell me what you thought and how I can improve my writing! Laters!