First off, I would like to apologize. I am SO sorry for how late this chapter is!!! I know it has been MONTHS! Second, I'd like to give an explanation. The reason this chapter has been so late is because I started highschool this year and it's been a HUGE step up from middle school...plus there has been a lot of drama with my friends and I've had to figure some things out for myself. Not to mention a few family crises, and a ton of homework. AND I had a writer's block and simply no desire to really write. I know this isn't that long of a chapter, but I do already have more written for the next one! Don't expect it to be up very soon though...I havn't thought too much about this story so the plot is something I'll have to look over again.

Once more, terribly sorry this is so late!! And I WON'T give up on this story either...but I doubt that chapters will be updated regularly.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story...

Moving.

I'm moving.

Wait…why am I moving?

My eyes snapped open and I scouted my surroundings, brow drawn with confusion. My hands were tightly bound behind my back, which was resting against a wall, and I was smashed in between two large crates. Moonlight spilling into the confined space from a cracked window overhead enabled me to see several more similar crates scattered around. The air was cold and stale and reminded me of the market places that sold freshly caught fish.

"Mhat muew mell!" Oh, did I forget to mention I was unable to talk due to something smelly stuffed in my mouth? The dampness seeped through my clothes and I shivered. My head was pounding, my heart racing, and my mouth aching to open so I could scream.

Calm down. The thought cut through my panicked state of mind like a knife. Yes, calm. I needed to figure out where I was, and why I was here. Well, you're moving…a car? No, it's too big, a truck, maybe? Could I really be in a truck? As if to prove me correct, my head slammed against the wall behind me as the truck (I reminded myself) hit, or ran over, something. But why am I in a truck?

The only thing I was able to conjure up in my mind was stepping off the bus to see Firaga with Olette. I searched frantically through my mind. What had happened after that? Pictures were flashing randomly through my head: a tall red blurb, a mass of people spinning me to the ends of earth, and…a gun?

I shook my head wildly. I may have been the new charity case of my family, but I wasn't stupid enough to get mixed up with people that carried around guns…was I? Although, with my current state of amnesia, I had no idea how stupid I had been this past night. Then it hit me.

I was being held captive in the back of some shady looking truck; of course I had done something extremely idiotic. So, at least I now had something to focus on. I cringed. I didn't really want to focus on what might have caused my imprisonment.

The pounding in my head doubled until I thought my skull was going to explode. Obviously, thinking about what I couldn't remember wasn't healthy. I took a slow, deep breath through my nose, and then choked back rising bile. The truck didn't only remind me of fish markets, it smelled like them, too. I gasped around the gag and shuddered. What was going to happen to me? Oh God, what had I gotten myself into? A new surge of pure, blinding panic hit me like a tidal wave.

I gasped again, my eyes widening. Was this how my parents felt before they died? In that one brief second before their car burst into flames, were they filled with an overwhelming sense of fear and panic? I knew the two situations were completely different: I wasn't waiting for the after effects of a head-on-collision, but it's not unreasonable to fear for your life when you wake up with amnesia, is it?

I felt the truck screech to a halt, and my mind went slate clean. It was quiet for a total of ten seconds before I heard a grunt and saw a large door in front of me lift an inch off the floor. A minute later the door had slid all the way open, and I was able to make out the outline of a person.

"Hey, he's awake!" It was definitely a man. "See, I told you I hadn't killed him." There was something familiar about his voice that made me shiver.

"Awww, you're scaring the poor kid," a voice filled with malicious amusement hit my ears. The outline of another man came to stand next to the first dark shape.

A bright light flashed into my eyes and I squinted against the harsh glow. I could only imagine what I looked like in that blinding light: a deer caught headlights. My deep blue eyes widened exponentially, my chest heaving in anticipation…I must look crazy.

The light turned off, and the sound of people climbing into the vehicle filled the air. The next instant a warm, fuzzy glow flickered to life above my head. The two people began talking again as my eyes adjusted to the light.

"You're just lucky you were able to stop him from escaping," huffed the second man.

"Lucks got nothing to do with it, baby."

"Idiot…"

Wait a second, those voices.

"Mou!" My vision was instantly filled with two smirking redheads.

"Well, well. He's awake, Reno," two cat like eyes blinked lazily at me. I glared, unwaveringly into the otherworldly green eyes.

"Mou're-"

"Axel. Got it memorized?" Axel. The foreign exchange student. The one I had run into. I glanced at the guy next to him. Reno, was it? He looked just like Axel. His brother?

"There's a new transfer student that is soooo yummy! He has an older brother, too!" Olette's words sprang into my head. So, he's Axel's older brother, is he?

"Muat's moing mon?"

"Eh? What was that?" Reno grinned wolfishly. Axel rolled his eyes and dropped onto one knee. His peridot eyes met mine, and they held none of their warmth from earlier that night. They were cold and vicious, and I was suddenly spiraling into the different hues of green. They narrowed at me, as Axel stepped back, and I heard Reno cough.

I gave Reno an acidic look and took a deep breath from my mouth, showing him I was fully aware that the gag had been removed…and instantly regretted it. My stomach churned painfully and I found myself ridding of whatever food was in my system.

"You done yet?"

I forced back more heaves and turned an icy glare on the two brothers. "What's going on? Why am I tied up?" I barked roughly. The redheads' eyes filled with a sickly form of amusement.

"Well, I couldn't let you go after you heard my, er, conversation with Luxord," Reno drawled. "You would've gone squealing to the cops like the little piggy you are."

Luxord. The man that Reno had…I gulped.

"You killed him," I whispered. I barely noticed as Axel sent his brother a sharp glare, my mind was too busy reeling with the revelation that I was being held captive by a murderer.

"Wow, that's very astute of you," Reno smirked. "But now we have to figure out what to do with you," he sighed dramatically.

"Like keep me locked up? Maybe ask for a ransom?" I snarled at him.

"And face the wrath of our wonderful boss? Nah, he'll decide what to do with 'ya. Although we wouldn't even be in this situation if someone had been more careful," Axel huffed angrily

"How was I supposed to know the little bastard was creeping around?" Reno pouted. Axel ran a hand through his long red locks and sighed.

"You can be so annoying…" he murmured. I kept my mouth shut as the brothers turned to me. Although I was burning with curiosity, (their boss?) I was tempted to yell at them and concluded that I would only end up in pain.

When both realized I wasn't going to say anything Axel retrieved the gag by my side. With the same sick amusement in his eyes, Axel tied the rag back around my mouth. Reno sniffed with contempt and exited the truck, his brother soon following suit.

The lights flickered off and I was left alone with my thoughts. Whatever happened next, I had a feeling that it wouldn't be pleasant. The two brothers were taking me to their boss, someone who (I guessed) had been the one to order Reno to kill Luxord. Well, this was fantastic. The truck hit a bump and I rolled onto my side. So fucking fantastic.

I kicked my legs wildly trying to sit upright, really not wanting to spend another minute face down on the dirty floor. Panting behind my gag, I stopped flailing. A strangled cry pierced the air and I was startled when I realized it was my own. It was hopeless, I was hopeless, this whole goddamn situation was hopeless. With a defeated sort of sigh, I rolled onto my back and closed my eyes, sleep coming instantly.