I'm back with chappie 13! Sorry it took me so long to update. But this is the final installment of Captured. Enjoy and virtual cookies for everyone! XD

-S-

The hidden headquarters was in a flurry of activity. After Gingka had woken up, everyone was wanting to see him so that they were each sure he was alright.

But Dynamis and Yuki were adamant that only one person was allowed to see him except them.

As Yuki shuffled the Ifrit wielder towards the infirmary, he glanced sideways at him, taking note of the blader's tense shoulders. Smiling slightly, he nudged him. "He asked specifically for you Zero. The first words he said were 'where's Zero'. You mean a lot to him."

Despite the Mercury Blader's encouraging words, doubts continued to plague Zero's mind.

What if he plans to kick me out because I caused all this? What if he takes Ifrit back? What if he doesn't want to be around me anymore? What if…

Zero's thoughts were ground to a screeching halt as the sound of a soft chuckle hit his ears. Jerking his head up, he realized he was standing beside Gingka's cot, the redhead's laugh shooing away the worries.

"Gingka?" The duo haired blader questioned, his brow raised suspiciously. Why is Gingka laughing when he's about to kick me out?

When the Pegasus blader only laughed harder, a tick mark appeared on Zero's forehead.

"What's so funny?" He demanded, stomping his foot childishly.

At this, Gingka snorted. "Really? You've saved the world and you still do that?" He smirked.

Zero rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "Like you don't do anything childish, Mr. Burger-eating-contest-winner!"

"Hey now, that's an art. I doubt you could eat fifteen burgers in less than ten minutes."

"And like you could?" Zero challenged.

Gingka smirked. "I did it in under five." He laughed at the stunned expression on Zero's face before calming down enough to motion for the blader to sit on the bed.

With Zero perched on the edge, Gingka smiled gently. "So how are you doing? Your lip looks pretty good."

Touching were his bottom lip had been cut open with a punch to the face, Zero shrugged. "I'm fine. But a building didn't collapse on me. How are you?"

"Feeling ready to leave this room forever." Gingka replied with a grin. "I think I've spent quite enough time in here to last me a lifetime."

Zero chuckled and shook his head. "Yes you have." He then tilted his head to the side, his brow raised. "So why did you call me instead of Madoka or Kyoya?"

Giving a nervous chuckle, Gingka grimaced. "I'll be hearing about that, I'm sure." He then smiled gently at his young protege. "Zero, I'm your friend, right?"

When the blue eyed blader nodded, Gingka continued, "When I got captured, you came searching for me. You're definitely my friend, so why wouldn't I do the same for you?"

As tears gathered in his eyes, Zero sniffled. "Thank you, Gingka. Thank you for not leaving me there." He said barely above a whisper before wrapping his arms gingerly around the redhead and hugging him tenderly.

-S-

"You're not serious, are you?"

"Come on, King. It's not that bad." Chris replied.

All of the Legendary Bladers were scattered around the Command Room, either sitting in chairs, standing, or leaning against the wall, as they debated heatedly over what their next course of action would be.

Kyoya rolled his eyes as he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. "You haven't been fighting this guy for years. You don't get to say that."

"No, but I do." Gingka spoke up, all eyes in the room turning towards him as they all instantly silenced. Sitting in his rolling chair, the redhead made eye contact with each of the other nine bladers before continuing.

"I've been fighting him just as long as you, Kyoya. Maybe even longer if we want to get technical about it. I was also there when that building fell. I know what Ziggurat went through, I know the amount of change his mind has gone through between then and now. Minutes before that warehouse fell, he was out to destroy me. Now he thinks I'm his role model."

"That's great and all, Hagane, but we can't trust him just because he thinks he's your new best friend." Ryuga cut in sharply, earning a few nods of agreement.

From his position standing beside Gingka, Dynamis frowned at his friends. "I believe you all have forgotten what the Legendary Bladers stand for." He stated icily, causing several of them to look away in shame. "We fight for what we believe in simply because it will create a brighter future and leave the dark past behind us. We are hope for bladers everywhere. Ziggurat is a blader. If you decide to alienate him because of his dark past, then I have been misled in my thoughts about you."

Gingka nodded in agreement as the two aimed their fiery gazes towards the remaining eight.

The bladers shifted nervously under their intense stares before Kenta nodded slowly in agreement.

"It's true, guys. We can't call ourselves Legendary Bladers and then turn our backs on a blader. Ziggurat lost his memory about his hatred for Gingka and his want to rule the world." The Summer Blader said as he smiled at the Pegasus wielder who returned the grin.

Tithi laughed and bounced on the balls of his feet, his eyes bright with excitement. "I say we give him a chance! Who knows, we might even learn something from Ziggurat." The Quetzalcoatl wielder said with a grin.

Several of the other bladers nodded in agreement until there was only two left.

Looking around the room at the hopeful gazes directed his way, Ryuga's golden orbs met burning golden-brown before he smiled faintly. "You gave me second chances over and over again, Hagane. I guess I'll give one to Ziggurat."

Gingka smiled before turning towards Kyoya who huffed and pushed away from the wall. "Fine." He grunted before he began walking towards the exit, pausing as he passed Gingka to fistbump the redhead and exchange smirks with his rival.

As the nine legends watch the retreating figure of their tenth as he left the Command Room, Gingka slapped Dynamis' palm, the two smirking at more than their blind high five.

-S-

Sora watched with narrowed eyes as Anis, Drew, Charity, and Ray battled against each other, his gaze flicking periodically towards the battle raging in the stadium across from them.

"Are you sure we should be battling? You still look hurt and exhausted." Ziggurat called from one side of the bey dish. He no longer wore his suit, instead a red t-shirt, jeans, green shoes, and a black jacket had been given to him.

Grinning from his side of the stadium, Gingka widened his stance. "Never stopped me before! Pegasus!"

"Reckless as always, I see." Madoka said as she stepped beside the Cyber blader. "How long have they been at this?"

Sora grunted, crossing his arms over his chest with a shake of his head. "Two hours, which actually isn't that much, but..."

"But since he just got out of the infirmary, it's a lot of strain on his body." She supplied with a sigh. "I don't think he'll ever learn."

The amber eyes blader snorted. "The day he learns to not be reckless will be the day I finally beat him in battle."

Chuckling, the brunette shook her head and cupped her hands over her mouth so that she could be heard over the clashing beys and fiery spirits. "Gingka! Come on, you have to go see Yuki!"

Turning his head from the battle, the redhead whined, "But Madoka! I don't wanna!"

At this, Anis and his friends snickered, their battle forgotten as they watched the adults.

"I don't care, let's go!" Madoka replied sharply as she grabbed ahold of Gingka's scarf and began pulling him out of the training room.

Letting out a yelp, tears streamed down Gingka's cheeks as he tried to get away. "Don't let her take me! Please someone help me!"

Sora rolled his eyes and waved at the two with a chuckle. Turning back towards the four bladers who were sweatdropping. "Come on, guys. Let's get back to training."

Anus and his friends nodded excitedly while Ziggurat left the way Gingka and Madoka.

-S-

"Are you sure we should be going this way?" Tsubasa grumbled as he ducked under a low hanging tree branch.

Continuing pushing through the woods, Benkei shrugged. "I don't know. I'm just walking around and hoping we find them."

Tsubasa groaned and animefell before jumping back up. "Benkei!"

"What? How am I supposed to know where to go?" The Bull wielder asked.

"You're supposed to know because you're leading us!" Tsubasa exclaimed.

Shrugging, Benkei pushed past a bush, stepping face to face with a cliff face. "Whoa. When did that get there?"

Standing beside his purple haired friend, Tsubasa tilted his head. "It wasn't there a minute ago." He scratched his head.

"Hm, I think we're all turned around. They wouldn't have gone this way." Benkei muttered as both he and Tsubasa turned their backs on the cliff, looking back the way they had come. "Right?"

"Nah, we did."

Whirling, the two searched for the owner of the voice.

Walking towards them from out of the woods to the right of the cliff was Zero, Ren, and Shinobu. A toolbelt was around Zero's waist while Shinobu carried a toolbox and Ren held a strangely shaped piece of metal.

"Shinobu! Zero, Ren! Where have you all been? Why haven't you called us?" Benkei demanded stomping his foot for emphasis.

Looking sheepish, the three chuckled nervously. "Heheh, whoops."

"Yeah, whoops." Tsubasa replied as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"It wasn't entirely our fault. We've been kind of busy lately." Shinobu said as the other two nodded in agreement.

The adults looked at them in disbelief. "Really? With what?"

The three looked at each other before shrugging. "A little rescuing, a little helping, some kidnapping and a lot of new friends." Ren grinned.

Benkei blinked and Tsubasa stared at them. "Huh?"

"In short, they've been helping us a lot." Kenta said as he walked up behind the three, Ziggurat following shortly behind.

"Kenta!" Benkei exclaimed before both he and the Eagle blader growled at the man behind the Summer Blader.

Suddenly, the two whipped out their launchers. "Look out Kenta!"

Waving his arms around, Kenta stood between his old friends and his new one. "Wait, he's okay! He's not evil any more!"

"What?" Benkei and Tsubasa echoed just as the cliff split in half, revealing a hidden base.

Stepping out into the light was the Leone blader who was instantly glomped by Benkei.

"Kyoya buddy! You're okay!" The Bull wielder exclaimed as he hugged Kyoya tightly.

Laughing at the muffled yelp from the Spring Blader, Kenta shook his head before he began walking inside. "Come on in and we'll explain it to you guys."

Dragging Kyoya with him, Benkei followed the brown eyed blader, the others trailing behind him.

Once inside, Kyoya finally broke free from Benkei's grasp and put several feet of distance between him and Benkei before smirking at Ryuga who was walking towards them.

Raising his brow silently at their two newcomers, Ryuga sent a questioning glance towards Kyoya who nodded slightly. The two then looked at Ziggurat and nodded towards the elevator with small smiles.

Returning the smiles with a grin of his own, Ziggurat took the tools and metal object from the younger bladers before he stepped into the elevator, giving a small wave to the bladers as the elevator doors closed.

Tsubasa watched them, glancing over at Kenta who shrugged with a smile. The greenette then stuck his tongue out at the two Legendary Bladers.

Gasping in surprise, Tsubasa and Benkei waited for Kenta's demise and were surprised when the two only made faces at the Saggitario blader.

With a giggle, Kenta shook his head at them before turning to the others. "Follow us and we'll take you to Yuki."

As the eight bladers began walking up the stairs towards the Command Room, Tsubasa asked, "So this is where you've all been?"

Kenta nodded. "Yup. But only Yuki is here all the time. The rest of us are usually stationed all around the world. We all came back to HQ when we heard that Ryuga, Kyoya, and Gingka were missing. A lot has happened since then, so we've all stayed around."

"A lot?" Benkei asked.

"Yeah. Bombings and a building collapsed. Oh, and Zero got kidnapped too." Ren replied with a grin.

Tsubasa's eyes widened and Benkei stared in shock. "What?!"

Elbowing a chuckling Ren in the ribs, Zero looked at them sheepishly. "Yeah, but I'm okay." He then grinned mischievously, glancing out of the corner of his eye at the three Legendary Bladers. "Remo and Amon saved me."

"Who's Remo and Amon?" Tsubasa asked as they reached the top of the stairs and walked into a room whose walls were lined with glowing monitors.

Sitting in a chair in front of one of the screens was Yuki, his glasses reflecting the bright screen. Beside him was Sora, who turned in his own chair with a smile directed towards them.

"That's for Remo and Amon to tell you." The amber eyed blader replied.

"Well where are they? I want to meet them!" Benkei asked, looking around for the two.

The younger bladers snickered, causing Benkei to huff in frustration. "What's so funny?" He demanded.

"Because you know them already, Manager." Zero chuckled. "So does Tsubasa."

"We do?" Tsubasa looked confused. "But I would remember…"

The Eagle wielder was suddenly cut off by some yelling outside the room, causing everyone in the room except Tsubasa and Benkei to sweatdrop.

From just outside the door, someone yelped. "I don't want to! Don't make me!"

"You're going to!" Suddenly, an angry Madoka opened the door, tugging something behind her.

Fistbumping each other, Ryuga and Kyoya smirked. "Having fun?"

Turning her burning gaze on the two, Madoka growled. "Not a word out of you two."

"Madoka?" Benkei asked cautiously.

Seeing her two friends for the first time, Madoka beamed. "Hi guys! Wait, what what are you doing here?"

Tsubasa glared. "Looking for you since you never called."

The brunette looked sheepish before a chuckling came from behind her. Whirling, she glared. "Like you can talk!"

Standing and brushing dust off of himself, Gingka grinned at his two friends. "Long time, no see."

"What's going on here? Someone please explain this to me!" Benkei cried. "Gingka's supposed to be captured, Ziggurat should be evil, and there are two people we've supposedly met but have no memory of them. What'd we miss?"

"A lot. But we'll catch you up." Yuki said with a laugh. He then turned towards the redhead. "As for you, why are you blading already? You should be resting, not putting more stress on your body!"

Pouting, the Pegasus blader looked at the floor. "But I like blading."

Yuki rolled his eyes. "Thanks for the tip. Now go rest."

Still pouting as the redhead turned and left, Kyoya snorted. "You know how long he's going to rest? The two seconds between the doorway and the top of the stairs."

"Yeah, I know." Yuki sighed.

"Crazy blader." Madoka mumbled, earning nods from everyone in the room.

-S-

As everyone within the headquarters sat around the dining hall, Gingka couldn't help but smile at them all.

There was Madoka to his right, laughing at a joke King had shared who was on her other side. Then there was Sora and Kenta, the two laughing with several of the villagers while Ziggurat smiled at them. Down a little farther was Tithi, Dynamis, and Yuki, arguing over who was the better blader between them. Next was Aguma and Benkei, the two comparing their different training techniques with Ryuga interjecting a grunt of approval or disapproval here and there. Chris was making crazy faces behind Kyoya, causing the children to laugh and Tsubasa to sweatdrop and chuckle. Ren and Shinobu were playing rock, paper, scissors in a debate on who got the last roll. And on Gingka's left was Zero, the young blader grabbing at the roll while his two friends weren't looking.

This was why he was a blader. It wasn't all of the fame that he received that motivated him. No, it was everyone at this table and so many more all over the world who couldn't be there with them. They were the reason why he bladed, why he trained hard everyday. So that he could protect them from any evil that dared to come after them.

But sometimes the tables are reversed and his friends aren't the target, the world isn't the current goal. Sometimes Gingka was the reason for the rising evil, sometimes he was the prize needed to be obtained.

The Autumn Blader had had his fair share of challenges from bladers, and he'd won three different times against people bent on ruling the world and helped with one years later. He wasn't a stranger to crazy people wanting world dominion. He'd even been kidnapped before, but this time… This time it was different. Not only had his enemy kidnapped him, but they had also taken his two closest rivals, tried to kill off an entire village who opposed them, and dared to kidnap his protege.

Glancing to his left, Gingka frowned slightly at the almost completely healed cut on Zero's lip. He'd done everything in his power to keep the enemy's sights on him, but Zero had been caught in the crossfire.

His gaze focusing on Ziggurat who was telling a joke that had his audience doubled over and crying with laughter. The man who had once led Hades Inc. and had created the Spiral Force. The man who had tricked Toby into aligning himself with him. The man who had kidnapped Zero, Kyoya, and Ryuga. The man who had worried his friends and blew up their homes. The man who had hated Gingka with a vengeance.

The man who had also had all of those memories wiped from his mind. The man who now had friends instead of just allies.

The redhead smiled at the villagers, at Anis and his friends. He wouldn't have gotten to know any of them if things hadn't happened the way they did.

He smirked at Zero and his friends. Three new-generation bladers who had been apart of it all and would carry on the legacy.

The Pegasus blader snorted when he caught the eyes of each of his fellow Legendary Bladers in turn, all nine giving him weird faces before returning to their own conversations. Each of them had played their part in finishing the attack on them.

Tsubasa, Benkei, and Madoka; three friends who had been fighting evil almost as long as he had been and were still willing to help whenever he needed them.

Gingka chuckled and shook his head. And to think, all these people were at this table because he had stupidly fallen into a pit in the middle of the rode. They were there because they were worried about him.

All because he had been captured.

-S-

Well that wraps it up! Captured is finished! Hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Now, my next project will be finishing Siblings, which I'll update as soon as Captured is posted.