It was raining heavily – not that either of them minded. Linka had been teaching Wheeler to play chess, and she'd left him in the living room, contemplating his next move, in order to make a pot of coffee.

"You had better not be cheating in there, Yankee!" she called, piling two mugs onto the tray.

"You can always tell," he muttered in response. "You've got a photographic memory when it comes to this game."

He joined her in the kitchen, his hands lingering around her waist. "That next move is going to have you gobsmacked, babe," he said, kissing the side of her neck.

"I hope so," she replied playfully. "I am getting tired of beating you all the time."

He rolled his eyes and grinned at her, helping her load the tray.

She picked it up and turned towards the living room, only to stop short, the tray slipping from her hands and shattering on the floor, hot coffee flooding across the gleaming tile floor.

"Good morning, Planeteers." Gaia smiled and glanced down at the mess. "Sorry to drop in on you so suddenly."

"Gaia!" Wheeler held his arms out and then paused in confusion.

"You can hug Linka for me, Wheeler," Gaia said, the same patient smile on her face.

Wheeler clasped Linka to him, a wide grin on his face, his eyes never leaving Gaia's semi-transparent form.

"You've been expecting me, I hope?" Gaia asked.

"Da," Linka breathed. "There has definitely been hope."

"You want to come back to Hope Island, then?"

"Of course!" Linka said passionately, just as Wheeler expressed his own heartfelt desire.

"Well, I want you back too," Gaia said, her eyes twinkling. "But there are things you need to take care of first – loose ends with tenancy agreements and mail and friends – so I'll be back tomorrow evening."

"No problem," Wheeler answered breezily. "We'll be waiting."

Gaia nodded, and gazed at them a moment later, a smile on her face, before she vanished.

Linka squealed with joy and threw her arms around Wheeler's neck. He could only laugh and squeeze her tightly in return.

It was Kwame who discovered his ring first. Yawning, he threw his book onto his bed and shrugged out of his robe, intent on reading for a short while before falling asleep. He glanced out into the dark as he stood by the window, tipping up a half-empty water bottle to water the plants balanced on the sill. He watched the soil soak the liquid up thirstily, and frowned as particles shifted to reveal a glimmer of gold and green.

He dug his ring out of the pot and smiled, clasping it in his palm and looking around his small bedroom for a moment, before he slipped the ring onto his finger.

A couple of hours later, Gi was yawning sleepily, her hair mussed and a hot mug of coffee in her hands. She shuffled her way into the lounge room, eyes still half-closed, relying instead on the force of habit to move her through the early hour. She shook a teaspoon's worth of flakes into the fish tank, watching several goldfish shoot to the surface of the water to nibble at the food.

When she saw her ring gleaming gently on the bottom of the tank, she plunged her hand in hurriedly and fetched it out, breathless as she placed it on her finger.

Another hour, and Ma-Ti paused to wipe the sweat from his brow. Children ran along the main street of the town, selling tiny trinkets and glossy pebbles for coins the tourists handed to them with smiles.

"Em troca do dinheiro?" A small boy held up a bark trinket box hopefully, and Ma-Ti flicked a coin so it flipped and flashed in the fading sunlight and landed in the boy's outstretched hand. He chuckled with delight and ran off.

Ma-Ti rattled the newly-purchased trinket box and the ring rolled out into his palm. He took a moment to gaze at it in surprise and delight before hurriedly jamming it onto his finger.

Almost at the exact same time, Linka gave a shriek of delight, having opened the box of chess pieces to challenge Wheeler again and finding her ring nestled amongst them.

Wheeler found his ring the matchbox as he went to relight the fire in the living room. He met her in the doorway, breathless with excitement.

"Ready, babe?"

She kissed him, too excited to do much else, and they slid their rings on again after five long years.

Gi barrelled into Kwame and knocked him flat on his back into the sand, squealing about how good it was to see him again.

Winded, he could only nod in response, but his smile was wide. He hugged her tightly, still gasping for air.

She tugged him up.

"Let me recover," he breathed, chuckling, his hands on his knees. "Have you seen the others?"

"We only just got here – give them time!" she exclaimed.

"No..." He shook his head and stood up properly, still smiling. "I have been here a couple of hours."

Gi's smile faltered. "No one else is here yet?"

Kwame shook his head. "No. And I have not seen Gaia yet, either."

She thought for a moment, and shrugged. "I'm sure they'll arrive soon. Linka is very excited about coming back."

Kwame sighed, his chest aching at the thought of his friends. "I have not spoken to Linka since we left here," he said. "Is she alright?"

Gi shrugged. "She can fill you in herself."

He nodded, knowing it would be more appropriate to hear Linka's news from Linka herself. He looked up and down the beach, hoping the others wouldn't be long. He missed them dearly.

Gi ran down to the shore and plunged into the water, just barely aware of the fact she was still in her nightgown. She didn't care – the others had seen her in pyjamas before. For five years she had dreamed of swimming in Hope Island's bay again, and she was unable to resist any longer than absolutely necessary.

Kwame watched her with a smile. She had not changed. She looked a little older, of course – they all did. They were in their late twenties now. With the exception of Ma-Ti, who would be in his early twenties.

Kwame frowned slightly. He couldn't help but wonder if Ma-Ti would come back. Perhaps his life was taking off in an exciting new direction... He had been so young when he first started with the Planeteers.

He shook his head as if to clear it. Answers would come soon enough.

Wheeler had somehow managed to land sprawled on the beach.

Linka looked down at him with one eyebrow raised. "Show a little dignity, Yankee."

"Says the woman who has been bouncing off the walls for the past 24 hours," he said, scrambling to his feet. "I gotta fry something." He pointed his ring gleefully at a beached coconut. "Fire!"

He paused.

"It looks like you have lost your touch," Linka said smugly, and she giggled. "Hurry up, I want to get to The Crystal Chamber and find the others."

Wheeler shook his hand as though to spark life into his ring, looking at it with disappointment. "Okay babe, let's go."

"Wheeler! Linka!"

They looked down the beach and Wheeler's mouth dropped open. "No way!"

They started running towards the figure on the beach.

Linka threw her arms around Ma-Ti and he spun her happily, a wide smile on his face.

"You can't be this grown up, man, there has to be a law against it," Wheeler said, embracing Ma-Ti and Linka at once.

Ma-Ti simply laughed. "It is good to see you both," he said. "But where are Kwame and Gi?"

"Crystal Chamber, I'm guessing," Wheeler said.

The three of them began to walk up the beach, talking rapidly.

"What have you been doing the past five years, Ma-Ti?" Linka asked, desperate to learn about her friend after being isolated from him for so long.

"Studying native medicines in the Amazon Rainforest," he said happily. "It was always something I was interested in, and I still find it incredible to learn about." He squinted up the beach. "Is that Gi?"

Linka sprinted away, needing to burn off energy.

Wheeler chuckled and shook his head, and Ma-Ti glanced at him curiously, not bothering to voice a question he already knew the answer to. Wheeler's affection for Linka didn't seem to have changed.

"Hey, where's Suchi?" Wheeler asked suddenly.

"Oh..." Ma-Ti sighed heavily. "I am afraid Suchi will not be coming back to Hope Island. He died last year."

"Oh, man, I'm sorry," Wheeler said, clapping a hand on Ma-Ti's shoulder. "How'd it happen?"

"Snake bite. He always was a little too curious for his own good." Ma-Ti smiled sadly. He missed Suchi dearly.

"So, what about you, Wheeler?" he asked, changing the subject. "Are you still in New York?"

"Yeah," Wheeler said, his eyes still on his fiancée as she sprinted towards Gi. "I was Vice President of an environmental detective unit. We investigated environmental crimes and set things right – much like an official Planeteer, I guess. Only there's more red tape and paperwork."

Ma-Ti smiled up at him. He had grown taller in the past five years, but the Fire Planeteer still towered over him. "You used past tense? Are you not still the Vice President?"

Wheeler shook his head. "I left a few weeks ago to prepare for this." He motioned around him with a grin, but it faded. "Though something tells me I should have tried to train a little harder, or something. Is your ring working?"

"I have not tried it yet." Ma-Ti raised his hand. "Heart."

Wheeler watched his friend's expression turn to one of mild concern.

"I can't get it to work," Ma-Ti said.

"Well, maybe Gaia can help us out," Wheeler said, noting the shimmering peaks of The Crystal Chamber. He was forced to focus his attention again as Gi slammed into him. He only just managed to keep his balance.

"Hello to you too!" he said, squeezing her happily.

"Missed you," Gi breathed in a sing-song voice.

"You too, Gi." He kissed her cheek.

He looked up to see Kwame spinning Linka around in delight, and embracing Ma-Ti. The five of them quickly squashed into a group hug, laughing and chatting excitedly.

"Did Gaia visit you all yesterday?" Ma-Ti asked. "She came just as I was waking up and I was not sure if it was a dream or not..."

"We should find her," Kwame said, looking back over his shoulder towards The Crystal Chamber.

They made their way up the beach, chattering constantly, Gi and Kwame both in their pyjamas – the others dressed and beginning to shed layers as the warm sun pressed gently down on them.

Wheeler quickly saw why his ring wasn't working.

Gaia looked up with a smile as the Planeteers traipsed in – dragging sand with them, as always. Captain Planet got to his feet. They all stared for a moment, until he grinned and held his arms out.

"Well come on!" he exclaimed.

Gi and Linka threw themselves at him and hugged him tightly – the men a little more restrained, but no less pleased to see him.

"It's good to see you all again," he said, removing himself gently from the group hug that had formed. "Ma-Ti, fancy an arm wrestle?"

Ma-Ti blushed and laughed. The others hadn't changed much, but he had certainly grown, and he felt a little self-conscious about it, the age difference becoming an issue to him again after so many years.

"I was wondering why my ring wouldn't work," Wheeler said, clasping his hand into a fist.

"Gaia called me early so I could see you all." Cap paused, and grinned again. "I'd like to hear a bit about Linka's new ring, if you don't mind..."

Linka went a light shade of pink, and Wheeler grinned, staying silent.

Gi shrieked at the sight of the engagement ring on her friend's hand. "Linka, you're getting married?"

Linka nodded with a shy smile.

"Wonderful!" Kwame embraced her, but he couldn't help a careful glance in Wheeler's direction. To his surprise, the Fire Planeteer looked extremely pleased with the proceedings.

Gi worked it out first, but only because she had the advantage of knowing Linka had been staying with Wheeler the past few weeks. This time, she succeeded in knocking him down with her enthusiastic hug.

"You and Wheeler are engaged?" Ma-Ti asked Linka in amazement.

She nodded, still feeling self-conscious, but very happy.

It was quite a while before they all settled down again. Gi had started to cry and couldn't stop hugging either one of them. It took Wheeler a long time to disengage himself from her and get back to his feet. Kwame and Ma-Ti were both beaming, sending curious looks towards Linka as though she might offer them more information. Finally, they all hugged again, and Wheeler kissed the top of Linka's head.

"Congratulations, again," Gi breathed, squeezing Linka's hand.

"It only took 11 years," Kwame said slyly, laughing at Wheeler.

He shrugged, and grinned at his fiancée. "I got a pretty good deal, in the end."

It took them a couple of days to get used to the time zone. They were all on different schedules and Gaia simply waited until they were all following the same rough timetable before she called them in, not wanting to prompt mistakes caused by exhaustion. The world had waited five years for its Planeteers – it could wait another two days.

"What is it, Gaia? A job?" Ma-Ti was itching to get back to work.

Linka yawned as she was in the middle of knotting her hair up into a ponytail, and Wheeler took advantage of her busy hands by stuffing his toast crust into her open mouth. She choked and smacked him.

"Quiet, Planeteer," he whispered. "Gaia's talking."

She chewed the toast as she listened to Gaia, narrowing her eyes at her fiancé.

They had all been aware that efforts towards pollution and destruction would not stop just because the Planeteers had disappeared. If anything, efforts would likely increase. Though they all appreciated Gaia's efforts to allow them a normal life, each of the Planeteers had spent their time off still working hard at restoring damage done to the planet by others.

"So, take your pick," Gaia said somewhat wearily. "It could take a while before it looks like you're making any headway against this, but trust me, Planeteers – I'm glad you're back."

They all smiled and echoed similar sentiments back to her.

"I vote we start with that oil spill," Ma-Ti said confidently. "It's the second one in as many months. Cleaning it up shouldn't be too complicated, and it will give us some practise we probably need..." He grinned, and the others agreed with him.

Linka felt very contented as she settled into her seat in the geo-cruiser. For the first time in five years, she felt as though she had a proper direction again. She glanced across the aisle at Wheeler. He was daydreaming, gazing out the window, his long legs stretched out and crossed under Kwame's seat in front of him.

She looked down at the diamond on her finger. Sometimes it seemed everything had happened so fast... and then she remembered the first six years with him, and the fact that he had loved her all that time – and she hadn't been opposed to him, exactly, just...

And then the five years without him, and how much she had missed him and how she had realised she was not able to feel whole unless he was by her side. She had missed him more than she had missed any of the others – constantly searching for news of him and then scolding herself in an effort to stay focused on the present. And despite his status and his involvement in a multi-national company, he had been very difficult to track down. Not knowing his real name had been a serious disadvantage...

He was still hers, though. After all that time. It seemed inevitable that they would end up together, really – but she was glad to finally have the confirmation. She stole another look at him. His eyes were closed.

She smiled to herself and looked out of her own window at the ocean rolling gently beneath them.

"Who can remember our very first mission together?" Gi asked, creating a gentle spout of water to flood the oil-coated seals gazing up at her miserably.

"That's right!" Ma-Ti said, remembering, his eyes brightening. "Hoggish Greedly and Rigger – and an oil spill!"

"That was the day you called me an imperialistic dog," Wheeler said to Linka.

She raised her eyebrow at him in response, and he grinned.

"I wonder where Greedly is now," Gi mused.

"He is not the one I am so concerned about," Kwame said, kneeling beside Wheeler to help him clean off the animals Ma-Ti was keeping calm. "Greedly could always be reasoned with."

"Most of the time," Wheeler agreed. "Still crazy, though."

"Plunder is the one that scares me most," Ma-Ti said. "He's clever. Blight, too. I wonder what they're up to now."

"We'll meet again, I'm sure," Gi sighed. "It's been strange not knowing what they're up to."

"Skumm is still out there," Linka said quietly, sending another pelican on its way down the beach, which was now pristine, thanks to the efforts of the Planeteers.

Wheeler looked up at her in concern. "What do you mean?"

She dusted her hands off and shrugged. "He is still out there. I – I tracked him down."

"Why, Linka?" Ma-Ti's voice held a quiver of worry.

"I felt better knowing where he was," she said. "Call it closure."

Wheeler was still watching her in concern, but he didn't say anything.

"So – what's he up to?" Gi asked after a moment's silence.

"The same." Linka avoided eye contact with the others, knowing what they must be thinking. "Dig deep enough into any drug or chemical operation and he is involved somehow."

"You haven't had to deal with Skumm on your own or anything, have you?" Wheeler asked anxiously.

Linka shrugged shook her head. "Nyet – I did not go near him. I just..." She trailed off, frustrated at her sudden lack of words to explain herself. "I felt... better? Knowing where he was. And he was still up to no good, of course, but I was alone, and sometimes it is hard convincing authorities to follow your instinct instead of their own."

Wheeler was looking at her in concern, but she avoided eye contact.

The other Planeteers were silent for a moment, watching her, until Ma-Ti sensed her discomfort and suggested that they press on and finish cleaning up the poor animals still gathered around them.

"Why do I get the feeling you're avoiding me?" Wheeler asked, a smile on his face. He leaned against a nearby tree, his hands in his pockets.

Linka looked back at him over her shoulder. She had disappeared into the forest not long after their return to Hope Island, and he'd found her sitting on a sloping outcrop of rocks, gazing out to sea.

"Nyet, I am not avoiding you."

"You sure?"

She moved over in response, and he sat next to her and draped his arm across her shoulders.

"Struggling a bit?" he asked softly.

"Just remembering," she answered. "It is still hard to think about Boris and – that mission. Skumm." She swallowed.

"Mm, I know." He kissed the top of her head and she smiled up at him.

"You smell," she complained suddenly, pushing him away.

"Yeah, like a wet seal." He pulled his t-shirt up to his nose and sniffed. "You're not too fresh either, by the way." He glanced at her sideways. "You need a wash." He shoved her and she fell forward, landing on her hands and knees in the shallow water in front of them.

"Oh!" She stared up at him in surprise, and he laughed.

"Better?"

She scrambled to her feet, and in a flash he was running in front of her, laughing as she chased him through the forest.

"Wind!"

He gave a yell as he was swept off his feet, landing heavily on the path. She landed on top of him.

"That's cheating," he coughed. "Bitch."

"Imperialistic dog," she countered.

He laughed and rolled over to look up at her. Her hair gleamed in the sunlight, framing her face in a halo of curls. "Oh, you're pretty," he sighed.

She rolled her eyes. "That will not get you out of it," she said.

"Out of what?"

Linka lifted her head and hollered in the direction of The Crystal Chamber. "Gi!"

"Oh, shit." He laughed and wriggling under her, attempting to tip her off, knowing she was calling Gi to give him a soaking of his own.

"Sorry, Linka, you'll have to get your revenge another time." Gaia's form appeared in front of them. "You have another job to do, Planeteers."

"A hero's work is never done." Wheeler heaved and tipped Linka sprawling onto the ground. "We're coming, Gaia."

Kwame checked the coordinates Gaia had given him and adjusted the direction of the geo-cruiser accordingly. The flight had started with nervous tension – the Planeteers were about to meet Looten Plunder for the first time in five years.

To take their minds off it, Gi and Linka were huddled down at the back of the geo-cruiser, giggling softly. Wheeler kept shooting curious glances towards them, but didn't disturb them. He knew how much they had missed each other and he had no intention of intruding on them when they were catching up.

"How did he propose?" Gi whispered. "Was he nervous?"

"Da," Linka whispered back, glancing at Wheeler to make sure he couldn't overhear her. "It was very sweet, though. He asked me in Russian."

"He can speak Russian?"

"Nyet – I think he learned this phrase specially. He doesn't know anything else." She paused. "Only swear words."

Gi giggled again. "Did he get down on one knee?"

Linka nodded silently. "It was beautiful. I would not have changed anything." She looked fondly down at the diamond on her finger. "And you, Gi? Is there a man in your life?"

Gi shook her head. "Not really. One or two boyfriends here and there... To be honest, I'm not that bothered. If I meet someone, great, but..." She shrugged. "It isn't bothering me at the moment. I still have other priorities." She smiled fondly at her friend. "I'm so happy for you and Wheeler. I always hoped the two of you would end up together..."

Linka smiled in response.

"What changed your mind?"

The blonde laughed and ran a hand through her hair, adjusting her ponytail. "I missed him," she said softly. "I realised he always had my best interests at heart, and that he had never tried to hurt me – only wanted what is best for me. I dated other men occasionally, but none of them ever compared to Wheeler." She snuck another glance at her fiancé. He was leaning over the seat in front, chatting to Kwame as the African man piloted them through the sky.

"He has changed," she mused. "Not so much that he is a totally different person, but... he is more... grounded?" She looked to her friend for confirmation and Gi nodded her understanding.

Linka continued. "He told me he wanted to be enough for me when he saw me again. He was always enough, but..." She shrugged. "We have both changed and grown up in so many ways. I think we both needed time. But I also think we were always on the same path, heading for the same destination."

Gi squeezed her friend's hand. "Me too."