resplandorrosa626: I'm glad you liked it.

stormnml: I'm glad you liked it so much. I've always imagined what a close GG Galaxy would be like. The characters had so much potential. It's a shame the show was so plot-centric. I really didn't have much to go by so most are just headcanons and stuff, so to thanks.

Guest: Ikr. I had so much fun writing the two of them. As for them getting together, well, maybe that'll happen, maybe not. Although it's more likely to be the first one.

Guest #2: I know, right? The whole story had so much potential wasted. You're right, you can't walk away after having your life sucked out. You've given me an excellent idea for Kyoya (maybe this fic, maybe another) so thanks. Don't worry, you'll get your explosions soon enough.

Mawazo: The show has awesome characters. It just wasted them though. I'm glad you like my characterization so much. The fight between Tsubasa and Excalibur happened because I really liked it and it won't be happening in the fic again. As for seeing what happens, you'll have to wait for a chapter or two. This one will be focused on Gingka and the next one on Madoka (I don't care what anyone says, she's a part of the team). Sorry for not updating in so long. My reason is given in the A/N at the end.

Guest #3: Haha, lol. Now I can't wait either.

Guest #4: Yup, never mess with the ice-cream.

Guest #5: I see. That's quite interesting and not to mention, it gave me an idea for that scene. Thanks!

Sequestration: Chapter 14: The Kidnapper

Gingka had no idea what was going on. Yes, he knew that he had been ambushed and kidnapped. But that was as far as his knowledge went. He didn't know where he was, he didn't know who his kidnapper was and he had absolutely no idea how in the world he would get out of this one.

And this, he guessed, was why Kanade had been against letting "children" run around the world on their own. Of course, it had been her word against the chairman and all those other people who just wanted to get it all over with.

He sighed, taking out Pegasus from his pocket. "How on earth are we going to get out of this one?"

He didn't get a reply not that he had expected one.

The door clicked and he immediately put Pegasus back. There was no need to give his captors any ideas.

A blond entered the room and Gingka asked, "Why are you here?" He was not in the mood to deal with the person responsible for this.

The guy shrugged. "Thought you died or something, since you stopped complaining."

Oh. When he'd woken up, Gingka had shouted non-stop but since that had no effect, he had stopped a while ago. There was a moment of silence but the guy seemed bent on staying for some reason.

Now that he got a closer look at him, the blond seemed to be his age. Just what the heck was he doing, kidnapping people? "Chris," Gingka began. "Why are you doing this?"

The blond gave him an annoyed look. "I told you. I'm a blader for hire. I do whatever my client wants me to do."

Seriously? That made no sense. "Even if it's illegal?"

Chris shrugged. "Doesn't matter. No matter what the conditions, my clients orders are absolute. Nothing else matters."

Gingka remained silent. Why would he want to live the life of a puppet? Didn't he realize that he could get in serious trouble for this?

Then, another thought hit him. Did he even have a choice?

Just what the heck was Chris's story, anyways?

"Why would you want to live a life like that?" he asked before he could help himself.

Chris gave him a look, his eyes considering. "It doesn't matter," he finally said. "No one ever gets what they really want in the end."

"I don't believe that," the redhead said. "I mean, even if we don't get it, we still have friends to help us around. We don't really have to do anything alone."

Nothing more was said between them as Chris turned and left without another word, leaving Gingka to wonder if he had said something wrong.

Everything was as planned. Gingka had grabbed his chance the moment a distraction appeared. And he didn't even know what was going on! There had been a crash, the captors had been distracted and Gingka slipped away unnoticed.

Running along the seemingly endless corridor, Gingka couldn't help thinking that it had been a bit too easy. He didn't say it out loud though. He didn't want to tempt fate.

There was no need for that either. Apparently, fate could read minds and wanted to toy with him.

Between Gingka and the door to freedom stood one thing.

Chris, with his eyes hard and bey pointing at Gingka.

Honestly, Chris was the last person Gingka wanted to fight. Unlike his other captives, he actually seemed to have a heart.

"Chris–" he began but was cut off when Chris launched. Left with no choice, Gingka launched as well.

As the two boys collided, Gingka decided to confront him. "Chris, why are you doing this?"

Chris glared at him, his purple eyes narrowing. "What's it to you?! Orion!"

The two beys had been trying to push the other back but on Chris's order, his burgundy bey backed before delivering a blow strong enough to knock Pegasus back. However, the blue bey regained its ground and attacked again.

"I want to know!" Gingka shouted back.

"Why?!"

"Because I want to get to know you!" Chris faltered and Gingka took the chance. "I don't know what you've been through, but I want to know! I want to be your friend, Chris."

That seemed to jerk him awake. "Friend?" Chris let out a laugh – a small, bitter laugh. Gingka never knew one could sound so self depreciating and hollow.

Just what on Earth was Chris's story?

"Don't give me any of that crap!"

"It's not!"

By now, Gingka had completely forgotten about the battle and Chris's order served as a reminder. A horrible reminder.

Orion slammed into Pegasus, sending the blue bey flying into the wall. "Pegasus!"

"Time to end this!" Gingka turned back to Chris. The blond was seething with anger.

But his eyes shone with pain.

"Orion, Bernard's Loop!"

What happened next was too fast for Gingka to comprehend. There was a flash of blue, a small explosion and some strange sound, like a building falling to the ground.

The next thing he knew, rubble was falling down on Chris and all the blond could do was stare, completely taken off guard. Apparently, Gingka wasn't the only one who forgot their surrounding.

Without thinking, Gingka grabbed his arm and pulled him away, mere seconds before the wall fell where he had formerly been.

Gingka stared at the destruction before turning to his companion. Chris was staring too, but not at the rubble. Rather, he was looking at Gingka, eyes wide and filled with a number of emotions.

Disbelief.

Shock.

And...fear?

"Chris?"

The blond remained silent, still staring. That was when Gingka noticed that he was trembling.

"Chris?" he tried again, much more gently and the blond's breath hitched.

What the heck was going on?

Footsteps reached his ears and Gingka accidentally let out a curse he'd heard Ryuga say. That seemed to get a reaction out of Chris and the blond jumped slightly, making Gingka let go of his arm.

As the footsteps got nearer, Gingka's mind flew into panic mode. He couldn't leave Chris. The blond would, no doubt, have to face the consequences of letting him go if he ran away. But Gingka didn't want to stay either. He had to go back.

So, he followed the only option that came to his mind.

He snatched the beys from the ground, grabbed Chris's arm again and dragged him into the forest that had revealed itself from behind the now pile of rubble, ignoring Chris's shocked cry.

Once he was sure they were no longer being followed, Gingka Dell on the ground, breathing hard. "W-We...made it..." he breathed out.

When he received no response, he turned to the blond who had remained silent since the wall broke. Chris had his knees brought to his chest, his head buried in them and his arms wrapped around his legs tightly. He was shivering and mumbling stuff too low for Gingka to hear.

"Chris?"

No response.

Gingka reached forward and grabbed his shoulder. That got a reaction. The blond jerked backward and held his arms in front of his face in a defensive position, looking at him with wide, fearful eyes. His trembling increased and his breath picked up as he panted.

Gingka drew back immediately. "Hey, it's okay!"

Although he still looked suspicious, Chris relaxed a bit, still eyeing him for any sudden move.

"You okay?" Gingka asked the only thing that came to his mind, even if the answer was an obvious 'no'. Surprisingly, Chris answered. "...n-no..."

Gingka didn't ask anymore questions. The quiet, shaky answer had been enough to let him know that Chris needed to calm down.

For a while, silence reingned between them and Gingka used the time to calm himself down. He couldn't help Chris. At least, not before he calmed down and answered his questions. His mind went back to the whole thing. Then, one thing sunk in.

Gingka had kidnapped his kidnapper.

No wonder Tsubasa always said that he did the strangest things.

"W-Why...?" Gingka turned to Chris, not having expected him to say anything. Maybe he had imagined it. It had been quiet.

It seemed that he was wrong, however, for Chris spoke up again. "Why did you help me?"

Gingka mulled the answer in his head. The last thing he wanted was to give the wrong answer and test the possibility of having Chris freak out again. It was clear as cleaned glass that he hadn't completely recovered, if the shaking was anything to go by.

Then again, he also didn't want to lie. From what he'd seen, Chris didn't believe in anyone but himself, so there was the chance that he'd been deceived and liked to before.

Eventually, the second reason won over any excuse he could ever come up with.

So, Gingka told him the truth. "I told you, I want to be your friend."

"This much? You do realize that you're putting yourself in danger, right?"

Gingka removed his gaze from the ground – when had he started staring at it? – and turned to Chris, studying his expression. The blond had a far away look in his eyes as he stared at the trees, as if he was looking at something that wasn't even there.

The redhead decided to speak up. "Well, friends are always worth anything."

Chris turned to him, his gaze suddenly cold and calculating. If he was being honest, it unnerved Gingka. "You really believe that?"

Just what was with this guy? Why was he so bent on not believing him? "Chris, did something happen to you?" Chris froze at the question and looked away. "Why are you always trying to be alone?"

"It's none of you business." His voice was low and filled with emotions – and none of them good – but it felt like he was being

shouted at. "What do you know about me, anyways?"

Gingka didn't know why, but for some reason, he wanted to show Chris that friends were supposed to be there for you. "Nothing, but I want to know, if you're willing to talk."

Chris turned to him again, his eyes searching for something Gingka didn't know. Finally, he looked away and spoke up. "My friends left me. There. End of story."

For some reason, Gingka could help but laugh. "That's not how you tell a story. There's supposed to be a start before and ending."

Chris shot him a scowl. "Fine." Then, his scowl faded and even though he wasn't looking at him anymore, Gingka could see a new emotion in his eyes. Loneliness.

"We were on the same team, competing in the World Championships. They weren't really bad. I was just better. Whenever they'd lose, I'd win for them. But you can't advance if your team doesn't win. I tried to tell them that it was okay, that we could try again next time but..." Chris glared at the trees, his hands curling up as his shoulders tensed. "They left me." The three words held more rage than Gingka had ever heard in his life. "They left because I was too strong. They... They were supposed to be there. You said that friends help each other. They didn't even care about me." By now, all anger had left his voice, but Gingka wished it hadn't. It had been better than the utter resignation and defeat that replaced it. "They didn't care at all..."

Gingka remained silent. What could he say to that? But one thing became clear. The reason why Gingka wanted to help him so badly was that Chris reminded him of Ryuga after the whole Dark Nebula thing. Alone and hopeless.

Chris turned to him with narrowed eyes. "Now what?"

"Huh?"

His eyes narrowed further. "You're going to leave too. Am I right?"

For a moment, Gingka was silent. Anything he might have said would have seemed insincere. After a while, he said, "No." Chris's eyes widened. "I get where you're coming from now, so I won't ask you to consider me a friend right away. All I want is for you to give me a chance to show you that people can be trusted."

Gingka's eyes didn't leave the blond as he stared, thinking. "Fine," Chris said after a while. "You did save my life." His eyes narrowed again. "But if you even try to turn on me–"

"I won't," Gingka cut him off. He was going to earn his friendship and show him that he didn't have to be alone.

And that was a promise he was going to keep. No matter what.

Okay, so this became more of a Chris chapter than Gingka. Not what I had in mind, but I guess it works. If anyone thinks that Chris is OOC, remember that he was introduced in Fury, which is a year after this, so he had more development in the canon than he did at this point in this fic.

Now, if you haven't read my profile, all my storied are going to be on a temporary haitus or at least will have vey slow updates. Sorry, but my exams are just a week or so away and I have to study or my tab will be confiscated. Besides, my brother had to take the laptop with him to the hostel and I'm still getting used to writing on something other than a real keyboard. Sorry again.

By the way, does anyone know how to add a line break on the phone?