Flying higher Than Ever Before
I do not own the characters of Tail-Spin only the characters that I made up.
The Soviet Soldier: part 4
Kris, Rebecca and Baloo were walking through the jungle as they followed the Russian soldier to the lagoon where the Air Pirates were hiding. The walk through the jungle was a hot one, but the group kept on moving forward. Kris quickly ducked when Ivan suddenly let go of a branch that he had been holding back for himself.
"Hey, watch it Ivan!" exclaimed Kris as he straightened up while he glared at the soldier in front of him. "You could have knocked my head off with that branch!"
"Yeah soldier boy, what's the hurry?" asked Baloo as a frown crossed over his face.
"We need to get to lagoon so we can ambush Air Pirates!" exclaimed Ivan as he turned to glare at both Baloo and Kris in annoyance.
"And how are we supposed to ambush those Air Pirates when there are only four of us?" questioned Rebecca as she came to stand beside Baloo with a frown on her face.
"You talk too much!" shouted Ivan before he turned around and began marching off again.
"Man, that guy is a lot bossier than you Becky," voice Baloo.
"For once I agree with you," whispered Rebecca with a nod of her head.
"You'd better keep that to yourselves you two," whispered Kris in warning. "Because I don't think Ivan would be too pleased if he found us talking behind his back."
The two bears nodded their heads in agreement because they knew better than to make the Russian soldier angry. The trio quickly followed after the human soldier so that they wouldn't lose him within the jungle's underbrush. The walk continued on for about an hour until they finally came to the lagoon where the group found Karnage and his crew. The air pirates were all gathered around a campsite with their biplanes all parked on the beach while they were talking or shouting at each other.
"Looks like we found them," voiced Kris to his two friends.
"I should say so," whispered Baloo as he and the group hid in the underbrush of the jungle.
"Then what are we all waiting for?" hissed Ivan impatiently. "Let us attack!"
Ivan made a move to run out of the bushes, but Baloo quickly grabbed the soldier by the back collar of his shirt and pulled him back into the underbrush.
"Hold it right there soldier boy," said Baloo as he glared down at the adult human. "You can't just go running out head first without a plan."
"He's right Ivan," whispered Kris in agreement. "Remember, there are only four of us and 15 or 20 of them."
"Then what do you suggest we do then little boy?" questioned Ivan angrily.
"We form a plan that's what we do," answered Kris as he glared up at the soldier.
"Good thinking Kris," voiced Rebecca in praise, "Any ideas?"
Kris didn't answer right away as he turned his eyes back onto the pirates and their campsite. The 14 year old began to think for a moment before an idea suddenly came up within his head.
"Ivan, do you have any traps laid out on this island of yours?" asked Kris out of curiosity.
"Yes I do," replied Ivan with a nod of his head. "Why do you ask?"
"I might have an idea that could help us get out of this mess," said Kris with a smile. "All it takes is a bit of tricking and a lot of team work."
"And why should I work with you and your stupid bear friends weird boy?" hissed Ivan angrily.
"You want to get off this island, yes?"
Ivan glared down at Kris for a moment before he reluctantly nodded his head at the 14 year old boy.
"Then we've got to lure those pirates away from their campsite so that you can get a chance to grab one of their biplanes and get out of here." Kris explained to the soviet soldier his plan.
"And I can fly back to my home country!" exclaimed Ivan in a quiet voice with a large smile coming over his face. "Weird boy, you are genius!"
"Thank you, I think," said Kris before he turned to Baloo. "Think you can get the Sea-Duck back up and running again big-guy?"
"With a few more tweaks, yes," replied Baloo.
"Then you'd better get back to the plane and start tinkering on it right away," advised Kris, "I have a feeling that we might need a quick getaway when this whole event is finished."
"You got it Ace," said Baloo as he gave the 14 year old boy a thumb's up before heading back down the trail that they had took a moment ago.
Ivan looked at Kris with a confused look on his face: "Your real name is Ace weird boy?"
"No, it's not," replied Kris as he glared up at the soldier. "And stop calling me a 'Weird boy', it's annoying."
"Well you are a weird boy," argued Ivan.
Kris let out a small growl before he quickly turned to look at Rebecca: "I'm not getting into this stupid argument."
"A very wise choice," voiced Rebecca with a nod of her head.
"Okay, putting the stupid argument aside, let's begin with a plan on how we lure those pirates into the jungle. So here's what I'm thinking on how we should do this. The Air Pirates don't know that Ivan is on this island, but they probably know that we're here. So Rebecca, you and I will lead those pirates into the jungle."
"And what about me?" asked Ivan as he pointed to himself.
"You can help by getting those traps that you have hidden in the jungle ready." Kris answered the soviet soldier's question. "Rebecca and I will lead the pirates into the jungle and after we do you'll meet up with us half way. You'll then take Rebecca into hiding while I continue on leading the pirates towards your traps."
"If that is what you wish," said Ivan with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Uh…I have a question before we do this," stepped in Rebecca. "These traps aren't dangerous, are they?"
"What do you mean bear woman?" said Ivan as he scratched the side of his head in confusion.
"I think what Rebecca is asking you is, the traps that we're leading the pirates into aren't death traps, are they?" Kris said with a frown on his face, "Because if we are leading them into death traps then we're going to be losing some serious 'G' ratings on this story."
"Oh," said Ivan in understanding. "Nyet, the traps are only snares and pit traps."
"That's good to hear," sighed Rebecca in relief.
"Alright, let's get this show rolling," said Kris to the two adults in front of him.
With the pirates
"I'm surrounded by idiots!" shouted Karnage in anger as he glared at his crew members. "Do not tell me that you all are afraid of a little jungle?"
"But captain, there are rumors saying that there's a curse on this island," whined Mad-dog with a shudder. "They say that those who enter the underbrush of the jungle never come out again."
The other pirates all mumbled and nodded their heads in agreement to what Mad-dog had said to their captain.
"Ugh…you are all acting like a bunch of babies!" exclaimed Karnage in frustration. "You all are supposed to be pirates you idiotic fools! Pirates are not supposed to be afraid of anything!"
"Is that what you're all called? I thought that you guys were the traveling clown circus who just dropped by to perform on this island."
"Yeah and the clothes that you're all wearing are the perfect example to clown costumes."
The Air Pirates all blinked in surprise when they heard two voices speaking up from out of nowhere.
"Who said that?" demanded Karnage as he looked around for the two people who dared insult him and his pirate crew.
"We did, Captain Idiot!" answered the first voice from the pirates' far left.
Karnage and his crew quickly turned to see the source of the two voices and saw Kris and Rebecca standing in front of them while the 14 year old leaned up against a nearby palm tree. The pirates instantly recognized Rebecca but were clueless on who the boy was.
"Who are you boy?" questioned Karnage as he glared at Kris suspiciously.
"What, you don't recognize the voice of the one who insulted you, you stupid dog?" questioned Kris with a smirk playing out on his face.
Karnage's eyes widened in shock after he realized just who Kris really was before his temper started to get the best of him.
"You!" shouted Karnage as he unsheathed his sword while pointing it at Kris in anger. "You're the brat who had dared to insult me, the Great Don Karnage!"
"Guilty as charged," replied Kris. "Now, if you clowns' don't mind, Rebecca and I have to be going now."
With that said, Kris quickly pushed himself off from against the tree before he and Rebecca made a run for it as they headed into the jungle.
"What are you all waiting for, an invitation? Go after them!" shouted Karnage to his pirate crew.
The pirates didn't need to be told twice as they quickly got up from the sandy ground and started to chase Kris and Rebecca through the jungle. Kris and Rebecca ran as fast as they could through the underbrush before they quickly stopped to catch their breath.
"Hold up Rebecca," said Kris as he looked back behind them. "We have to make sure that we don't lose them completely otherwise the plan won't follow through."
"No complaints here," panted Rebecca as she turned to look at the 14 year old teenager.
Kris glanced at Rebecca for a moment as he gave her a quick smile before he turned back to look behind them again while they both waited for the Air Pirates to catch up with them. It only took about 9 minutes for the duo to wait until the pirate crew finally appeared over the jungle brush. Kris smirked before he quickly began to get the pirates' attention.
"Hey you stupid clowns, we're over here!" shouted Kris.
That got the pirates' attention as they saw Kris and Rebecca standing right in front of them.
"Come and get us!" called Rebecca while Kris blew a raspberry at the pirates.
"There they are!" barked one of the pirates as he pointed towards Kris and Rebecca when he spotted them.
That was Kris's and Rebecca's moment to split as they ran through the jungle again. The two ran as fast as their legs could carry them as they raced through the jungle with the pirates hot on their heels.
"You know…when I first started out on this trip…I thought that we…would be having a normal day!" exclaimed Rebecca between pants as she ran beside Kris.
"Well, as the people would always say…baggers cannot be choosers!" shouted Kris as he began to feel the exhilaration of excitement catch up to him.
The exhilaration was something that Kris had only felt once back in his home world when he would race against the other kids at his old school. Kris and Rebecca ran for about an hour until they came to the spot where Ivan was to meet up with them. The two quickly came to a halt when they saw how far ahead they were from the pirates again and began to wait while they tried to catch their breath.
"Oh boy," panted Rebecca as she bent forward while holding her left hand over her chest. "I haven't ran this much since I was a little girl."
"Let's just be glad that those pirates aren't very fast when it comes to chasing us through the underbrush of this thick jungle." Kris said as he gulped in a breath before continuing. "I just hope that Ivan is ready with those traps of his."
"Of course I'm ready," spoke a voice in front of Kris and Rebecca.
The two looked up and saw Ivan walking towards them. Kris panted for a moment before he finally found his voice.
"Alright then," said Kris before he turned to look at Rebecca. "Rebecca, you and Ivan go on ahead of me. I'll continue on leading the pirates towards the traps."
"Will you be okay by yourself?" asked Rebecca in a worried voice as she looked at the human boy in front of her.
"I'll be fine," replied Kris. "You two just get going."
Ivan let out a groan as he turned to look upwards at the jungle's canopy: "How in the name of Mother Russia did I wind up with bossy weird boy?"
"My guess is that you just have bad luck," answered Kris with a shrug of his shoulders.
Rebecca and Ivan quickly ran into the jungle before Kris quickly turned when he heard the pirates crashing through the underbrush of the jungle while they shouted at each other angrily.
"Where did those two go!" shouted one of the pirates as they came into the clearing.
"Over here you clowns'!" shouted Kris as he got the pirates' attention.
"There's one of them!" shouted another pirate as he pointed towards Kris after he spotted the boy.
Kris took off running again as he led the pirates straight towards Ivan's hidden traps. The pirates angrily followed the 14 year old human boy while shouting out curses along the way. Kris ran as hard as he could until he finally came to the location that Ivan's traps would be. Kris quickly came to a stop and took a quick look at his surroundings before he turned to look over his shoulder to see the pirates coming up fast behind him.
'I hope this plan works,' voiced Kris inside his head before he took off running again.
The pirates chased after Kris as the 14 year old teenager led them towards the traps while making sure that he didn't trip on any himself. When Kris had first came to the location he had noticed that the ground was covered with leaves and the 14 year old knew that there were traps hidden underneath them. Kris ran for all he was worth, while dodging the pile of leaves that littered the ground in front of him. The pirates kept chasing Kris while not knowing that the boy was leading them into a trap. Two of the pirates who were running in the back of the mob suddenly found themselves hanging up-side-down in the branches of the trees while seven or eight of the pirates fell into hidden pit traps. The last few of the remaining pirates that were still chasing Kris through the jungle didn't notice that they were a few pirates short. Kris panted as he began to feel the stress of running so much come over him. A major stich was beginning to form in the 14 year old boy's side.
"Come on Kris, just a few more feet," voiced the 14 year old to himself as he kept running towards the last trap.
A huge pile of jungle leaves came into Kris's line of vision along with a jungle vine hanging high above it. Kris quickly forced his legs to go faster as he neared his target while timing his jump carefully.
'Okay now Kris,' thought the 14 year old to himself. 'You have to time this just right or else you're dead.'
Kris counted the seconds within his head as the 14 year old neared the trap while hearing the beating of his own heart pounding inside his chest and against his ribcage.
"Three, two, one…Now!" shouted Kris.
At the last second, Kris quickly jumped and grabbed onto the vine. The 14 year old swung over the trap while the pirates, unfortunately, ran right into it. The pirates soon found themselves in a large net all together while Kris landed safely on the ground as he tried to catch his breath. The 14 year old slowly stood up from his crouched position and turned to look at the pirates that were caught in the net with a smirk forming on his face.
"Not so tough now are you clowns?" mocked Kris as he watched the pirates struggle inside the net.
"Kris!" shouted a familiar voice as the 14 year old turned to see Rebecca running towards him.
Kris was taken completely by surprise when the she-bear suddenly threw her arms around his neck. Kris stood shell-shocked for a moment as he looked at Rebecca and saw tears streaming down her face. The 14 year old gently smiled before he wrapped his arms around the she-bear.
"It's okay Rebecca," said Kris in a soothing voice.
"I thought that you would be caught by those Air Pirates," said Rebecca as she pulled away from Kris to look at him. "Then what would I tell your sister?"
"But everything turned out alright in the end" reassured Kris with a smile. "So there's nothing else to worry about, right?"
"Wrong you naïve little monkey," spoke a voice from Kris's and Rebecca's far right.
The 14 year old teenager and she-bear quickly turned their heads towards the voice and saw Karnage standing before them with a gun in his right hand. Kris and Rebecca froze when they saw the gun. Kris glared at Karnage as he quickly stood in front of Rebecca to protect her.
"Looks like I forgot about the chief clown of the pirate gang," muttered Kris angrily to himself.
"You have to be much cleverer than that to trick the great, and noble, Don Karnage little boy," the pirate leader retorted with a smirk. "Now, any last words monkey boy?"
"Yeah," replied Kris with a sneer. "I'm not a monkey, you stupid mutt!"
Karnage looked at Kris in complete shock before blinding red anger took over his senses.
"Why you insolent little brat!" shouted the pirate leader. "I'll show you to respect me!"
That was all Karnage could say before he was hit quite hard on the back of his head. Kris and Rebecca watched in surprised amusement as the pirate leader teetered for a moment before falling to the ground shortly after. Kris and Rebecca looked down at the unconscious form of the pirate before they turned their attention upwards and saw Ivan standing in front of them with a large thick stick in his left hand.
"You sure know how to make an entrance, Ivan" complemented Kris with a smile.
"Thank you," said Ivan as he threw the stick aside "Now we vamoose out of here before clown boy wake up, da?"
"I would say so," replied Rebecca.
"Then let's go!" exclaimed Kris as he, along with Ivan and Rebecca, ran back to the lagoon.
Kris, Rebecca and Ivan ran as fast as their legs could carry them until the trio finally came to the lagoon where the pirates had been sitting on the sand half an hour ago. The group stopped for a second to catch their breath before Kris turned to look at Ivan.
"Okay Ivan" panted Kris. "Pick your plane and start flying on out of here."
Ivan nodded his head at Kris before he raced over to a red biplane and began to look it over. He checked to see if there were any flaws within the flying machine's systems. Kris and Rebecca walked up to Ivan before stopping as they stood two feet away from him and the plane.
"So how's it look Ivan?" asked Kris curiously.
"Well…it's not perfect, but I think that it will fly," answered Ivan without looking at Kris and Rebecca.
Kris nodded his head: "We'll leave you to it then. I hope that you have a safe flight."
Kris and Rebecca soon turned as they started to walk back to where Baloo will be waiting for them along with the Sea-Duck.
"Wait," said Ivan as he called Kris and Rebecca back to him.
Kris and Rebecca turned to see Ivan facing them with a serious look in his eyes. The three stood staring at each other for a moment before Kris and Rebecca got the surprise of their lives. Ivan suddenly stood ridged in front of the duo as he saluted the 14 year old and the she-bear before him.
"Thank you," said Ivan in a soft yet proud voice. "You helped me find a way off this island and for that I am in your debt."
Kris smiled before he proudly saluted back at Ivan: "We were happy to help you sir, good luck."
Ivan looked bemused for a moment as he relaxed from his saluted position before he smiled back at Kris.
"You are one strange boy," stated the soldier in amusement.
Kris relaxed from his own salute position as he only shrugged his shoulders with a chuckle emerging from his throat: "I'm just that type of kid."
With that, Kris and Rebecca turned again as they continued on their way down the path that will lead them back to the Sea-Duck. Ivan watched the two disappear into the underbrush of the jungle before he got to work on starting up the plane.
With Rebecca and Kris
Kris and Rebecca ran down the path with the 14 year old a few steps ahead of the she-bear before he slowed to a walk when they came to the sandy shore of the beach. Kris looked around before he quickly spotted Baloo kneeling on the sand. The bear had just started packing up his tools before he spotted Kris and Rebecca coming up to him and a relieved look passed over his face. The pilot quickly finished packing his tools in his tool case.
"Thank goodness" Baloo sighed as he stood up from the ground with his toolkit in his right hand. "Are you two alright?"
"We're fine Baloo," answered Kris with a reassuring smile. "Just a little tired after all of the running we've been doing."
"Yeah and I have to say that being the bait isn't what it's cracked up to be," added Rebecca as she rubbed the back of her neck in exasperation.
"I'll bet," said Baloo with a chuckle.
"So, how are the repairs coming along?" asked Kris curiously.
"Already done kiddo," replied Baloo with a smile. "It took a lot of work, but I managed to fix the damage that Karnage had inflicted on the plane's engine."
"Then let's get this bird air born!" exclaimed Kris.
Suddenly a bullet quickly whizzed past Kris's face before it collided with the metal body of the Sea-Duck.
"Whoa!" shouted Kris, Baloo and Rebecca together in surprise before they turned to see where the bullet had come from.
The trio gasped in fear when they saw Karnage and his pirate crew running towards them.
"Oh-no, not them again" groaned Kris in an annoyed voice. "I thought that clown of a leader would be out for at least an hour after the blow Ivan had given him in the head."
"Get them!" shouted Karnage angrily. "Don't let them get away!"
"What are we going to do?" asked Rebecca in a fearful voice.
Before Kris or Baloo could say anything they suddenly heard the sound of a plane coming towards them. The trio quickly turned their heads to the sky and saw one of the pirates' biplanes flying over the canopy of the jungle as it came towards them. The pirates quickly stopped in their tracks as they turned their attention to the sky.
Karnage was the first one to speak: "What is that-Ah!"
The pirate leader and his crew quickly ducked as the plane dived bombed on them. Kris, Baloo and Rebecca watched in amazement as the biplane quickly pulled back up to the sky and flew above their heads.
"Clip my wings, what's going on here?" asked Baloo in confusion.
"I don't know," answered Kris with a shake of his head, "But what I do know is that now's our chance to fly on out of here."
The two adults quickly nodded their heads in agreement as they, along with Kris, boarded the Sea-Duck. Baloo, Rebecca and Kris quickly took their seats as the pilot started up the engines of the plane. The Sea-Duck's engines roared to life as Baloo started to back out from the shore of the beach. Karnage and his crew started to get up from the sand, but they quickly ducked back down when the biplane that attacked them from out of the sky suddenly dived bombed on them again.
"This is just not my day," groaned Karnage as he covered his head with his hands.
Baloo changed gears once the Sea-Duck was in deeper water. The pilot quickly turned the plane away from the island's shore line before getting the Sea-Duck up into the air. Kris quickly leapt up from his seat once the plane had straightened itself out. He ran over to the window to see Karnage and his crew still lying on the beach. Kris smirked in amusement before he began to wave.
"So long, dog-breath Karnage," said Kris in a sing song voice.
The two adults chuckled at what Kris had just called the leader of the pirates before Baloo got serious.
"Well…not that I'm ungrateful or anything, but I got to ask. Where did that biplane come from, and who exactly was flying it?"
"That would've been me Mr. Bear pilot," answered a Russian voice on the radio.
"Ivan?" echoed Rebecca and Kris, who quickly turned around, in surprise.
"Da, it's me," said Ivan in a prideful voice. "And it was also me that saved your bacon."
"But…why?" asked Rebecca in a confused voice.
"Let's just say that I'm just repaying you all for what you've done in helping me," replied Ivan bluntly.
"Then I guess that means we're even then, huh?" said Kris with a smile as he walked up to talk clearly into the radio.
"Da; that we are weird boy" said Ivan. "And now that we are even, it is time that the truce is over. Now I'm free to find a way home!"
Kris lightly frowned as doubt came into his mind, but he didn't have the heart to tell Ivan that there was little chance that he could find a way back home. Kris looked at Baloo and Rebecca for a moment before taking a deep breath in and began to speak one last time to Ivan.
"Well Ivan, I hope you do," said Kris with as much enthusiasm as he could put into his voice. "Good luck in finding your way home."
"Thank you for your praise weird boy," spoke Ivan. "Now, as you Americans say it, catch fish with you later!"
Kris, Rebecca and Baloo looked at each other once the radio clicked off. Baloo was the first one to speak among the group after a few minutes of silences.
"That guy seriously needs a lesson on how to pronounce his sentences better," muttered Baloo with a shake of his head.
"Ditto," said Rebecca with a nod of her head.
"Well," began Kris with a smile "Despite the guy's American grammar, he did help us out of a tight spot."
"Yeah I guess you're right kid," said Baloo with a light chuckle. "Now, how about we get our deliver to Spango-Pango then head back to Cape Suzette for some well-earned rest."
"For one, I full heartedly agree with you Baloo," spoke Rebecca as she leaned back in her seat with a sigh.
Kris nodded his head in agreement as Baloo turned the Sea-Duck in the direction of Spango-Pango. Kris walked back over to his seat and sat down while still thinking about the adventure that he had today. The 14 year old couldn't help but smile.
'Who had thought that I would have so many adventures in this world,' Kris mused to himself. 'Dad and mom would have loved it here.'
The Sea-Duck flew through the wide open sky as it took the group to their original destination.
With Ivan
The soviet soldier flew through the northern sky in his new plane for what felt like hours to him. Ivan stared straight ahead of him with a smile plastered on his face.
'Ah…if feels great to get off of stinky island,' thought Ivan to himself. 'Now I can fly home to Mother Russia.'
Suddenly, as if reading his mind, a thick fog began to form over the surface of the ocean.
"What on earth?" said Ivan in an astonished voice before he and his plane were quickly engulfed by the fog bank.
"What in the universe is going on?" questioned Ivan to himself as he looked around franticly.
All was quiet around the soviet soldier with only the sound of the wind blowing around him. The silence lasted for about a minute until Ivan finally cleared the fog bank as a familiar sight met his eyes. Standing in front and below him was the crumbled buildings of his home, Russia. Excitment dance in the Soviet Soldier's eyes when he saw the sight in front of him.
"I'm home!" exclaimed Ivan in excitement. "Looks like weird boy was wrong about Cold War ending."
Suddenly, a plane with the familiar marking of his people's flag flew close beside his own. A voice began to crack over the radio as it spoke in Russian.
"Stranger flying in unknown plane, identify yourself."
Ivan quickly responded as he picked up the speaker on his radio: "This is Lieutenant Ivan Styorvinski reporting in."
The voice on the other side of the raido responded as a surprised voice spoke from it.
"Ivan Styorvinski, is that really you comrade?"
"Da, it is me."
"we thought you were dead, where have you been Ivan?"
"It is one long and crazy story comrade."
"Well you'll have time to tell it back at base, follow me!"
With that, Ivan followed after the Russian plane as he headed back to reunite with his fellow soldiers. Ivan was finally back home and is now a part of the history of the Soviet Union. And it was all thanks to Kris and his two animal friends.
To be continued
Sorry for the long wait you guys, I just had to figure out how I could put this story together.
White Hunter, howling out to you and the spirits!