For last chapter, I had very little inspiration to keep me going. Well, actually, I had inspiration coming out the ears. Just not for that one chapter. All of the awesome ideas that I had could only come into play later, aka, NOW. So, naturally, this chapter came VERY easily. That being said, I hope you like it. Weird plot twists are my forte, so don't expect anything to be what it looks like. Except for the love between Johan and Judai. That is the unquestionable factor, as it really should be in every Spiritshipping fic. I'm so tired of fics where one of the two of them starts doubting the other one and then goes into emo-ville. One must never doubt love. Fear is a-okay, as long as there is little room for doubt. That's a lesson to be learned in real life, too: don't doubt your lover! Being a jealous, untrusting prick will not get you points.

DISCLAIMER:

Judai: Johan-tan!

Johan: Judai-tan!

Judai: Zettai aishiteru!

Johan: Watashi mo!

Both: YOKATAAAA! (kissu)

You know I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX because the scene above didn't happen in the actual show. Dammit.


Judai's vision was fuzzy and unclear at best. It felt like his mind was completely swamped with some kind of mud or something equally disgusting. He wasn't sure if he could move anything because the thought never crossed his mind. But at least he was awake, to a degree. He blinked, for that was the only thing that he could do. His eyesight did not improve. He tried to focus his efforts elsewhere. A few stray thoughts popped up, but they were impossible to pin down. A few were about Johan. One was about food, predictably. Judai was almost sure that one of them was his captor's face. Another was a thought about thinking. That one was confusing, which spawned more pointless and irritating thoughts about thinking about thinking about thinking about thinking. Such thoughts were definitely not helping him concentrate. Judai thought specific thoughts to himself as hard as he could, trying to concentrate not only on thinking the words, but comprehending them as well. When his mind felt as weird as it did now, it was hardly an easy feat. I'm pretty sure I was drugged. There's no way that my condition would be this bad otherwise. I hope I don't have a fever. I hope to God that they didn't get Johan. Maybe Hane Kuriboh found him. Maybe he's going to attempt something really stupid like a rescue without consulting somebody else first. That idiot. That's totally something he'd do. I love him to pieces, but one day I really need to sit him down and teach him about a beautiful thing called 'common sense in the face of danger'. Weird. I'm thinking about common sense. If O'Brien or Jim heard about this, then they'd start laughing straightaway. But good old Johan would kick them both before five seconds were up. Dear God, I love that man.

It was getting easier to think, easier to analyze his situation as best he could. Even his eyesight had improved a little, but the world still looked like it did when one opened his or her eyes underwater without goggles on. Judai now knew perfectly well that he couldn't move not because of his drugged befuddlement, but because he was bound, hand and foot. He also was aware that Kuriboh was nowhere nearby. Maybe he really had gone to fetch Johan. Well, that much was going according to plan.

Judai's eyesight had improved rapidly. He could now see that he was in a fairly dark room with very uneven walls. Actually, it looked more like a cave than a room now. He could only make out very dim outlines, but what he did see consisted of food, bedrolls for at least three people, lanterns, boxes so small they could only be holding matches, and a good number of other provisions for a lengthy stay in rugged terrain. It did not escape Judai's attention that there were a few abandoned sets of walkie-talkies lying around.

It looked like a regular camper's hideaway, once you got past the guns in one corner.

From what Judai could see, this place had to be the sole living quarters of the kidnappers. Even he knew that you weren't supposed to keep gunpowder in the same room as things like matches, lighters, etc. If they were forced to keep all of these things in one place, then there was nowhere else they could go. If that were true, then they would've had nowhere else to stash Asuka. But Asuka wasn't here. That much was clear. There was nothing to suggest that anyone had been kept here for an entire day. Judai couldn't help but wonder where on earth she was if she hadn't been kidnapped.

Hey, wait just a damn minute.

Voices.

Voices were coming from outside the cave: three of them, arguing heatedly but quietly amongst themselves. Sure enough, three men entered the cave. One was comically short, another a little on the tall side. The third one was of an average height. This one seemed to be the one dominating the conversation. Judai could make out some words, but his brain was still not working well enough to really take in their meaning enough to pick out the missing pieces. The short man pointed straight at Judai.

"Aww, hell, I think he's waking up."

"You didn't use enough, if he's waking up this soon after being drugged."

"I'm terribly sorry sir. I'll be more careful next time."

"Damn skippy. I don't want this kid hitting the buttons on any locators or anything equally fancy he might have on him. Duel Academy could be able to find us through him if we let him run about unchecked."

Some terrible-smelling cloth was placed over Judai's nose and mouth. He nearly gagged, but almost instantly felt himself falling under again. Back again we go, he thought dejectedly before everything went dark all over again.


"JUDAIIII!"

"Johan, he's not-"

"JUDAAAAIII!"

"Johan, maybe we should-"

"JUUUUUDAAAAAIII!!" Johan sank to his knees, out of breath and out of patience. "And no, Asuka, I'm not going back to Duel Academy without him!"

Asuka's face tightened. "I know how you feel-"

"Oh do you, do you now? You sure about that?" he snapped.

"Yes," she replied firmly. "Because I feel the same way. In every meaning of the phrase. I want to stay out here. I want to look for him until my arms and legs are bleeding and I have no voice left with which to shout for him, but that isn't the best thing that we can do for him right now. This was a trap, and I hate that I was a part of it! We can only help him if we enlist the help of others, and right now, you're making it SO much harder than it needs to be!"

He stared down at his fingers, shaking. He was angry with her, but also a little ashamed for being angry. She didn't blame him; she only wanted to knock some sense into his head.

"Fine…" he whispered, "but as soon as they know what's happened up there, I'm coming right back down here. I don't care what they say then. Anyone else who wants to come can."

"Thank you," Asuka said, trying to smile. Judai's scream was still heavily embedded in her mind. She wanted to find him alive as badly as Johan did. After all, if he thought that he was the only one who loved Judai, he was dead wrong.

They trudged up the side of the island, both completely silent. Ruby tried to mew her own thoughts, but she could sense Johan's inner turmoil and fell silent herself.

It had gotten quite late, so most of the students were not out and about. No one saw the two of them make their way to the Chancellor's office. Johan opened the door, throwing it wide.

"T-Tenjoin-kun!! You're alright! Thank goodness! Ah, but, uh, where is Judai-kun?" asked Samejima.

"It was a setup," Johan said simply.

"I was never kidnapped at all. I went out into the forest for reasons of my own and just got lost on the way back. I don't know how the culprit knew my personal schedule, but either way…" Asuka turned her face away in shame.

"Judai was taken. We heard him scream and we know where he vanished, but we can't find him now. I know, I searched that bluff for a couple hours at least."

Samejima cupped his face in his hands. "How… how on earth did something like this happen? Nothing of the like has ever happened in the history of the school! Why me!" Johan and Asuka exchanged looks at this over-exaggerated show of self-pity. "Tenjoin-kun, you still need to speak to your parents. I will call all of your friends here and you can explain to them in full," he said.

"Thank you, sir." Asuka took the hand phone on his desk and began dialing a number. As she spoke in hushed tones of reassurance, the Chancellor made announcements to various dorms to send Kenzan, Sho, Ryo, Jim, O'Brien, Rei, and Misawa down to the office.

Not ten minutes later, the entire congregation burst through the door, panting and demanding to know what had happened. Half of them were in pajamas.

All gasped to see Asuka safe and sound and ran over to her (save for Ryo, of course. He simply nodded his head regally in her direction, which she graciously accepted). "Guys, I am so sorry that I worried you all. Now, I have to tell the story in full. You're not going to believe me."

They sat in various places, situating themselves for the story. It was Rei, predictably, who noticed first.

"Huh? Where's Judai-sama? Shouldn't he be with you?" she asked Johan.

Asuka answered for the blunette, her face tight again. "That… is also part of my story."

She took a deep breath and began, explaining the whole story in detail, though she still refused to tell the others what she had been doing out in the forest in the first place. There were some parts of the story that Johan had not heard yet, though.

"…And so when it was getting a little dark, I was thinking of heading back, but for some reason, I got really sleepy. I passed out by a tree, I think, but when I woke up, I was at some place I didn't recognize. If I had been by that tree, I would've been able to find my way home easily, but I had no clue where I was in relation to Duel Academy, so you can see where I got a little lost. I had been wandering around for a little while when I heard Johan muttering to himself, or, more likely, to Ruby, am I right?" Johan nodded a confirmation. And we were going to go rendezvous with Judai, but…" Asuka bit her bottom lip, turning her face again.

"Judai was kidnapped for real. It was all an elaborate trap to get one of us," Johan heard himself saying. "We heard him scream. Hane Kuriboh came to fetch us, but by the time that we got to the place where Judai had been, they had taken him away. We don't know where he is, nor do we know his condition. We're right back where we started, or maybe a lot worse off."

The others either gasped or hid their faces, depending on their natures. Jim, O'Brien, and Ryo all just looked at Johan with pity on their faces. Their thoughts showed on their faces quite clearly: I can't imagine what it must be like for him. It must be terrible, having the one you love be snatched out from under your very nose.

Frankly, Johan thought that not one of them should be worried for him. They should be concentrating on getting Judai back. That was all that mattered at this point.

That was all that should ever matter.


Judai was awake again. He had no idea how long it had been since the brief spell of alertness before, but he knew that it was dark out. The men seemed to not mind that he was awake this time, which was a blessing in itself. Judai liked being awake a lot better than being out cold and helpless. It wasn't a good feeling. Plus, the drug, whatever it was, smelled like death.

The men spoke to someone that had yet to show themselves over the walkie-talkies all the time. The orders were coming from the mystery person. Oddly enough, two of them proved to be almost good-natured, in the gruff bad guy sort of way. They had even given him names to call him by (aliases, of course) so that he wouldn't have to call them improvised names, which often were slightly insulting. The rather tall man wanted to be called Brian and the short man wanted to be Allen. Judai had raised eyebrows at their choice of non-de plumes, but decided to let it go. Brian was the nicer of the two, but either way, he knew that they weren't going to let him go anytime soon.

"Umm… Brian-san?"

"Hmm? What do you need, kid?"

Judai swallowed, eyeing the hotdog that his captor was cooking over a small fire. The man followed his gaze and laughed nervously.

"Sorry. Really am. I'm kind of on strict orders. 'Sides, we need this food. As soon as we set demands, they're probably going to get you back right away. You'll get food soon enough, but in the meantime, we scoundrels over here have no reliable source of nourishment other than that which we already have. We can't afford to give any to you," he said apologetically. Judai had already picked up on the fact that Brian was the talker.

"Oh. Ah, it's okay, I don't mind."

"You're a good kid." Allen whacked his much taller companion over the head with a skewering stick, giving him the look that said 'don't get too close to the captive, you clod'. Poor Brian had gotten that look a lot in the past hour or so.

"Speaking of which," Allen muttered, "we really should be sending the demands soon. I wonder when that guy is ever going to get around to it."

"I know, right?"

"Wait no longer." The two men spun around in their sitting positions, staring as openly as Judai at the third kidnapper. Judai had never gotten a name for this one, having only heard him referred to as 'that guy'. Judai… was a little afraid of the third man.

"You mean… demands now?"

"That's right," he said. He hefted a camcorder in one hand and a camera stand in the other, beginning to set it up. He sent a toothy grin at Judai, which made his skin crawl. "We'll be sending a nice video feed. Let's make 'em squirm a little, huh?"

Judai's jaw locked as he tried to edge away from him. Seeing as he was in a cave with a solid rock wall at his back, this plan didn't go as well as hoped. But the man noticed, and laughed in that creepy way.

"Nervous? Should be. These two idjits don't really get the concept of kidnapping. The victim ought to be afraid, right? They coddle you too much. Well, I'll fix that right up," he never stopped smiling. "Brian, hit the record button and then get the hell out. Bring the midget with you." Allen's mouth twitched downward at the insult but left as instructed.

Judai did not want to be alone in the same place as That Guy.

"Hey, there Duel Academy! As you can see, I've got myself a nice, real, live captive this time. He's sweet, right?" A hand came up and cupped the side of Judai's face. The boy's eyes darkened as he shied away from the touch.

"Well, here's the deal. You want him back, and I know that I certainly don't want him. So we'll trade, nice and simple. Person for a person. You give up someone in your care, and I'll send the little tyke back over to you. Here's who I want: Johan. Andersen."

Judai's eyes shot open and he couldn't help the horrified gasp that escaped him.

"Hmm? Oh, that's right, you know the kid. Well, then maybe Johan would be a little more willing to… cooperate… if…"

Hands were suddenly where they shouldn't be. Lips that were rough and most decidedly unwanted were preventing a scream. Judai settled for a muffled yelp of indignance. Then the hands moved south.

Judai couldn't help it. He cried out. He fought back as best he could, but while tied up and held down, there was very little he could do. He threw his head from side to side to try and throw the older man off. He almost cried, but he remembered that Johan might be watching. Johan had to know that he was okay. He could still escape. Johan had to know that he shouldn't give himself up. There was still a chance. Just one look, that was all it would take. He looked straight at the camera and tried to force as much feeling into that one look as he could. He could only pray that Johan would get the message.

Please, he prayed, I don't care if this guy murders or rapes me, or whatever. Just so long as Johan is still safe at the end of this thing. Johan… please don't be stupid for my sake.

"Remember what could happen if these demands aren't met.

The man reached up and hit 'stop'.

Just like that, the hands were gone. Judai lay there, pressed flat to the ground, breathing heavily. His shoulder and spine were hurting like a mother, but other than that, was completely okay. Without a second look at the half-molested boy on the floor, the man left.

Brian and Allen ran in, asking questions simultaneously. Brian pulled Judai up with very concerned eyes.

"Kid, are you alright? What did that sick fuck do to you?"

"Hey, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? Can you still talk?"

Judai tried to look at them straight, but his sight was going fuzzy all over again. "I'm okay… but… Jo…han…"

His world was dark, and in more ways than one.


Chancellor Samejima turned off the VCR with a grave look on his face.

"This tape was delivered about half an hour ago. Decisions ought to be made now."

Johan stepped forward.

"I'm going."


Oooh, drama!

I really wanted to make some bad guys that are real people, but still bad guys. Everyone portrays bad guys as either good guys who are somewhat brainwashed or totally psycho people who just want to either take over the world or kill people. I love villains who know perfectly well that what they do is wrong, and are able to accept that and live their lives like normal folks or maintain a human personality. I'm not looking for a good guy. I'm looking for a human being.

Please, review! Once again, I find myself shocked at the masses of feedback I get with each chapter. A lot of my fanfiction never gets noticed, so I'm used to maybe two reviews per chapter? Now I'm getting, like five a chapter and it's making my head spin.

Thanks so much for reading!