Yush! I managed to finish it! Here you guys are! Lost in the Echo chapter 1 and I'm already off to a pretty good start, I believe. Anyway, enjoy!

Decisions. Some are easy, some are extremely difficult. Some require only a split second to make, while others may take years to think about. Words we hear echo in our minds, some only for a short while, while others may echo forever. The decisions we make affect everything around us. When faced with a life or death situation, which would you choose?

"Gingka! Cut it out!"

"You're going to have to try a lot harder than that if you want to stay dry, Zero!"

Madoka sweatdropped at the sound of the two bladers having a water war in her back yard. Well, to be more accurate, Zero was trying to relax, while Gingka had absolutely no intention of letting the younger blader do so.

It had been rather quiet lately, for once. Well, quiet in the sense that there had been no word from any enemies for the last few months. In the terms of actual silence, however…

"I will get you for that!"

Well, with Gingka around it was rarely actually quiet, although Madoka did not miss the silence. If she wanted it to be quiet, she could open the window and yell at the two immature champions to be quiet, gaining about an hour maximum of silence before one of them got bored and decided to instigate a war of some sort.

Madoka looked out the window, only to spot Gingka scrambling up a tree to escape Zero, who had managed to grab the hose. The redheaded blader flashed a triumphant smirk while Zero merely shook his fist, pretending to be angry, although there was a playful gleam in his blue eyes.

"Hey Zero!" Gingka brandished the water gun he was holding.

"Huh?"

"Stardust Driver!" Gingka leapt out of the tree. firing water at the younger blader, who yelped and tried to run, but failed as Gingka grabbed the back of his jacket and squirted water straight down the Ifrit wielder's shirt. Zero, in retaliation, pointed the hose over his shoulder and sprayed Gingka in the face, causing the redhead to yelp and release him.

"I call truce! I call truce!" Gingka exclaimed, running around the back yard as Zero kept up his assault.

"No way! You started this, now finish it!" Zero exclaimed. Gingka huddled up against the wall, yelping and laughing as Zero kept spraying him before the hose turned off.

"Hey! No fair!" Zero yelped as Gingka grinned triumphantly and held up the other end of the hose, which he had unscrewed.

"Are you two done now?" Madoka asked, stepping onto the back porch with a couple of towels.

"Ehh, suppose so." Gingka chuckled, patting Zero on the head as the younger blader pouted.

"I will win next time." Zero declared, causing Gingka to roll his eyes.

"You can try." The Pegasus blader grinned, ruffling Zero's hair as he stepped inside.

"Oh, Gingka, by the way… Tsubasa called and wants you to come to the WBBA Headquarters this evening." Madoka said.

"Did he say why?" Gingka asked, taking the towel that Madoka handed him and beginning to dry his hair.

"No, he just said that it was important."

"Alright. I'll get over there once I've gotten into some drier clothes." Gingka said, twisting up his towel and snapping it at Zero, who yelped as he was struck in the back of his legs. Madoka sweatdropped and shook her head in amusement as Zero attempted to return the strike, but failed.

"Better luck next time, Zero" Gingka crowed, glancing back at the Ifrit wielder as he began to head for his room- only to walk right into the edge of the doorway.

"Doorway's another foot to the right, Gingka." Madoka chuckled.

"I… Knew that…" Gingka said, looking extremely embarrassed.

Zero laughed at the redhead as he walked past him. Gingka half-pouted before chuckling and following the younger blader towards their bedrooms. Madoka shook her head in amusement and went to the kitchen to begin dinner preparation.

Gingka, meanwhile. went to his room and closed the door, still chuckling to himself about running into the doorway. As he began changing into dry clothes, his thoughts turned to Tsubasa. Gingka wondered why he had been called to the WBBA at all, considering that Tsubasa had basically banned him from coming there regularly due to an, erm, 'incident' with a paintball gun on Zero's birthday. Gingka chuckled at the memory, remembering the stunned look on the younger blader's face after he had been ambushed.

Whatever Tsubasa's reason for calling Gingka to the WBBA, it was probably fairly serious. Gingka frowned slightly at the thought. Tsubasa had called only him. Why not anyone else? Perhaps it had something to do with his father? But no, that couldn't be it. Gingka had talked to Ryo on the phone merely two hours ago. But two hours was definitely enough time for something to happen…

Gingka shook his head, frowning further before sighing as he pulled a clean black t-shirt over his head. Whatever the reason Tsubasa had called him, he'd know soon enough.

"Madoka, I'm off to the WBBA!" The redhead called as he headed past the kitchen and towards the front door.

"Alright. Dinner should be ready when you get back." Madoka called back as Gingka left.

"Why did Director Otori call him, anyway?" Zero asked as he entered the kitchen.

"I don't know, but Tsubasa did sound a bit freaked over something." Madoka sighed.

"I guess we can ask Gingka about it when he gets back?" Zero said.

Madoka shrugged. "As long as it's not something classified that only Gingka is allowed to know, yeah. Get the milk out for me, would you?"

Gingka, meanwhile, was striding rapidly down the street, multiple thoughts and ideas coming into his mind. Deciding to take a shortcut, he turned down an alleyway, his steps quickening slightly.

"Psst… Gingka…" A voice stole into the redhead's thoughts, so quiet that he couldn't tell whether it was inside his head or outside.

"Who's there?" the Pegasus wielder challenged.

"Nobody. At least, nobody that you need worry about… Yet."

Gingka looked around, but could see no one. His brain still could not determine whether the voice was coming merely from in his head, or whether someone was speaking to him from nearby.

"What are you talking about?" The redhead growled, reaching for his launcher.

"No need for that. I will not harm you. I have merely come to tell you something… Something important… That you must know."

"And what is that?" Gingka continued turning, trying to find the source of the voice, a voice that sounded strangely like his own, yet at the same time didn't. He hoped that he wasn't going insane.

"There is a deal that you must make…"

"What kind of deal?" Gingka asked slowly, suspiciously.

"But you should know first… That if you do make this deal, and you will… You will have to stand on the sidelines and watch as your friends all die… But you will save the world once more, perhaps more than that."

Gingka let out a sharp gasp. "No. I can't do that."

"I will merely explain. The choice is yours whether or not to make it, but this cannot be changed. There will come a point, and soon, where you will have to take the offer in the heat of imminent battle."

"I can't…" Gingka muttered.

"You will…"

"Ahh, Gingka. There you are." Tsubasa said as Gingka entered the room.

"You wanted to see me?"

"Yeah. It's important. Don't freak out, and don't tell anyone about this just yet. Nobody needs to know until we've investigated this further."

"What is it?" Gingka asked.

Tsubasa turned to his computer and clicked a couple of times, pulling up a satellite image.

"Do you see it?"

Gingka leaned in, then gasped. "No way…"

Tsubasa nodded. "Exactly. We're sending someone to the site to confirm this now, but it looks like it…"

Gingka stood motionless, trembling in shock, his eyes constricted.

"You will have to take the offer in the heat of imminent battle."

"No…" Gingka muttered.

"Hmm?" Tsubasa said.

"Nothing." Gingka sighed. "Call me when you know more."

"Of course." Tsubasa sighed.

Gingka turned to leave, his hands in his pockets. As he walked out of the WBBA, it began to rain. Gingka sighed, walking as much as he could underneath overhanging ledges to keep himself dry.

"I can't do it… I can't take that deal… I can't stand by and watch my friends die off one by one because I took a deal just to win a battle… There has to be another way, and I'll find it. I changed what Dynamis said would happen, and I'll change this too." Gingka thought to himself as he walked.

"You only think you will. You can't change it. Trust me, I know."

Gingka froze at the sound of that voice, once more ringing in his ears, so familiar, yet not familiar at the same time.

"What do you want?!" He growled under his breath. However, no reply came. Gingka sighed and continued walking, shaking his head as his eyes narrowed in deep thought.

"Gingka! You should have called me to come pick you up in this storm!" Madoka exclaimed as Gingka arrived. "Now go change and get a warm shower before you catch a cold. Dinner is waiting for you in the oven. Sorry, we already ate."

"That's alright." Gingka sighed, heading for his room. "Is Zero still awake?"

"No. You wore him out with that water war earlier." Madoka said. "He went to bed about a half hour ago."

Gingka nodded. "Alright. I'll be quiet then." he muttered.

"Are you alright?" Concern found its way into Madoka's voice.

"Yeah. Just… fine. Tired." Gingka said. Really, he wasn't actually all that tired. He merely did not want to have to explain anything to Madoka, because if he ever got started, she would worry to no end. Perhaps she'd worry anyway, but the excuse of tiredness would at least alleviate that worry for some time.

Madoka watched the redhead as he disappeared into the dark hallway. She could tell. after having known him for over nine years, that 'tired' was not how he really felt right now. However, he clearly wasn't in a mood for chatting, so Madoka sighed and went back to the kitchen to finish cleaning up.

Gingka, meanwhile, sat down on his bed after closing and locking his bedroom door. The redhead buried his face in his hands, breathing deeply and heavily as he allowed a few tears to fall from between tightly closed eyelids. He felt as if a great weight had settled in his mind and chest, making it difficult to think about anything else, difficult even to breathe.

"Just calm down. It'll be okay."

Gingka sighed and laid on his back, staring at the darkened ceiling. Water dripped from his clothing, creating dark puddles on his blankets. He sighed deeply, trying to calm down and just to even think about the information that he had gotten in just the past couple of hours. Thunder crashed outside and Gingka sighed, hoping that Zero was sleeping alright. He knew that the younger blader had been having trouble sleeping after the DNA incident, which had been rather scary for everyone, Gingka included.

Gingka laid still for a few more moments before getting up and changing into dry clothes, figuring he should just go to bed. Whatever voice he had heard, it must have been just in his head. He considered for an instant going to see a doctor, but pushed that thought out of his mind with a shudder. Ignoring the slightly hungry feeling gnawing at his stomach, Gingka climbed quickly underneath his blankets, curling up into a ball with his back facing the window so that the flashes of lightning would not shine in his face.

A particularly bright flash of lightning lit up the sky as Gingka closed his eyes. As a result, he did not see the silhouetted figure standing and looking in, eyes flashing brilliantly with the lightning. The next instant, the figure was gone, as Gingka drifted slowly and restlessly off to sleep.

Gingka:... Is there someone stalking me?

Me: Maybe. For all we know it's just some thing in your imagination, but who knows?

Gingka:... You know.

Me: Well, true... But nobody else knows who, or what, that thing is, or even if it actually exists in real life. You shall all see. I just hope I don't confuse myself with this plotline, because it's pretty confusing. Anyway, Galaxy out, until next time!