A conference room had all the chairs around its table filled, except for one. A blue-haired man with an artist's cap stood in front of his chair, and looked at the other members.

"There has been a kidnapping…" He began, glancing around. "A group found out about the party, and kidnapped an attendee for ransom…"

"Who?" asked a blue-eyed girl, obviously afraid of the answer; as the chair beside her was empty.

"Kalo."

The girl's eyes fell to the ground, and the other members of the meeting conversed.

"Ahem…" the man said, and they fell silent. "Because of the size of the kidnapping group…sending more than one person would attract too much attention. Would anyone like to-"

"I'll do it." Steven interrupted, standing.

The man nodded at him. "Any particular reason why?"

"Because it's my fault in the first place." With that, he walked to the door, and out of the room.

Dark. That's all she could see – dark. As far as she could tell, she was laying on the ground, tied up. She couldn't move, and for that matter, she could hardly breathe. She couldn't speak either, as she was gagged as well. Getting increasingly desperate, she tried to see anything – anything – that could help her escape. But the darkness was too dense, and she started to lose hope…

Steven carefully kneeled by the corner of a hallway. He peeked around the corner – nothing. Slowly, he made his way down the hallway. There were only a few doors…but if he picked the wrong one, it'd be all over…So he quietly crept along, carefully listening for any hints of trouble – or what he was looking for.

Then, he heard something. A quiet whimper from nearby. Glancing around, there were to doors close to him. If he picked the wrong one…he didn't even want to think about it. Sighing slightly, he closed his eyes and walked over to one of the doors. Wincing to himself, he slowly turned the knob, and peeked inside. It was very dark, so he tentatively searched for the light switch. He found it, and hesitantly flipped it on.

When she had figured out it was hopeless, she let out a quiet whimper. So she was just lying there, wondering what they were going to do to her.

Then she heard footsteps.

Knowing that she would be helpless to anything that could happen, her body tensed, bracing itself.

The door opened a crack, and she could just barely make out the outline of a hand. A light came on, and she winced. The door fully opened, and Steven stepped in. She merely blinked in surprise.

He seemed relieved to see her, and he quickly walked over to her. Kneeling down, he swiftly untied the ropes, and then undid the gag.

"S-Steven…" She managed to whisper, blushing faintly.

"Are you alright?" he asked quietly, studying her carefully. She nodded quietly, and he stood. She watched him, and he offered a hand. She shyly took it, and he easily helped her to her feet.

"We're going to need to be really quiet, okay?" She nodded her response, distracted by the fact that he was still holding her hand. He didn't seem to notice, and he led her to the door. She watched him peek out and look around. He nodded for some reason, and led her out.

"Hey…um…Steven?" She whispered uncertainly as they were walking.

"Yes?" He whispered back.

"…why did you come for me?"

"Because it's my fault you're here."

"…oh…" her voice dropped quieter.

He didn't seem to notice it, or the hint of sadness in her tone. Suddenly, he stopped, and she bumped into him. She blinked in confusion, and peeked around him.

The hallway was blocked by her captors.

"Looks like we got two instead of one."