AN: Last chapter - epilogue will be posted tomorrow!
|*~*~*~*~*~
The Planeteers began running towards the mine as soon as the smoke cleared. Luckily, most of the civilians had been clear of the explosion. But Linka and Captain Planet had vanished from view…
The mines, as far as the townspeople could tell, were a wreck. The roof had caved in and all it was now, was a smoky pit in the ground. Everyone was in shock, staring at the broken shell of the mines.
The four Planeteers gazed around at the wreck and ruin of the mines, trying to find Captain Planet or Linka.
They found Captain Planet and gasped.
He was pinned underneath a huge metal barrel, with toxic waste trickling out of it in a steady steam. Captain Planet was not in good shape.
"The toxic waste has drained my energy. I need to return to the Earth to recover. The Power is yours," Captain Planet said in a dull, flat voice and vanished.
The Planeteers exchanged looks and continued to look for Linka; a flash of blonde hair or *something*.
"Linka?" Wheeler called.
Huge amounts of garbage had been thrown all over the place. Ma-ti looked back in time, to see Looten Plunder and Bleak get into a Jeep and speed off. Again, the Planeteers had lost them. But Ma-ti was more concerned for Linka's safety. If Captain Planet had been pinned by a barrel of toxic waste, where had Linka ended up?
Gi and Kwame exchanged Looks behind Wheeler's back.
"Wheeler, the sensible thing to do would be to help these poor people clean up. Linka will be fine," Kwame said gently.
Wheeler looked at Kwame for a minute and nodded. "Yeah. Clean up."
The four Planeteers moved back to the mines to see what help they could be.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Ow. That pretty much summed up Linka's state of thoughts right now. Ow. There was extreme pain in her skull. And you know, most of her body.
Yeah, she was going to call the 'Ow' complaint again.
It had been an interesting moment. The blast had thrown her toward the ground, and she'd cut her head on a rock and knocked herself out for a brief moment.
Garbage littered the ground around her. And rocks and such.
Ow.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Clean up. Nikolai was not impressed. He had been enlisted to clean up. He'd never cleaned a day in his life; that's the reason he still lived with his mother. Yet, without any effort, some Asian girl had gotten him to help clean up.
At least, he'd have something to tell Linka when she turned up.
Nikolai had the garbage bag in one hand and rubber gloves on the other, so he didn't actually have to touch the trash. Yuck.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Wheeler stared at the ground, at a crushed soda can. Linka. Where was she? She had to be okay; Linka was so resourceful… Not as resourceful as Gi, but she wouldn't go and get herself killed. Especially by one of Looten Plunder's schemes.
Wheeler's shoulders slumped.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Tatiana had also been forced into helping clean up; since most of the town's population was elderly people, so all the young adults had been made to help clean up.
She flipped her long dark hair gingerly and leant down…in time to see a hint of blonde hair.
Linka, Tatiana knew, but continued picking up garbage. A few more hours, and that wonderful looking American boy would be hers - and then Linka would be found and bandaged up.
She'd be okay for a bit longer, Tatiana decided and turned away to finish clean up.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Ma-ti and Gi were sitting with Nadia, who was horrified at Linka's disappearance.
"She is dead, nyet?" Nadia said tearfully. "I knew I should have made her stay with Mishka and I, I should have."
"Linka will be fine," Ma-ti reassured her.
Gi looked at Ma-ti. Captain Planet had been powerless when they found him, and he was a superhero. Linka wouldn't have even had her power.
Mishka caught the glance between the two Planeteers. "Linka, will be okay, nyet?"
"She will be. Why don't you go and look for her; we can stay here with your grandmother," Gi suggested.
"Da, I will." Mishka flashed a look of gratitude to Gi and Ma-ti and strode off.
He wasn't very fair up the hill when he saw his sister. She was pinned to the ground by a beam of splintered wood from the fence next to her; it had obviously been hit by something heavy. Linka's eyes were closed and she was lying very still.
"Linka!" Mishka called out, running to her, and kneeling down next to her. "Linka, can you hear me?"
"Mishka?" Linka opened her eyes. "Da, I can hear you." Mishka pulled the plank of wood off her and Linka sat up, rubbing her head.
"Are you okay? Everyone is very worried," Mishka said, concern lighting his eyes.
"Nyet, Tatiana isn't. She was here but she did not try to help me," Linka said, testing her limbs to make sure nothing was broken.
"She has her, uh, 'eye' on Wheeler. And Nikolai is supportive of her plans, as he 'has his eye' on you," Mishka replied.
"Wheeler is here," Linka smiled. The grin was not lost on her older brother.
"Da, how else would you have called Captain Planet?" Mishka said.
"We can call him from two different countries," Linka retorted. "I am glad they got the message. How are the mines?"
Mishka's face darkened. "Ruined. We will live in poverty before we can rebuild them. It will be a long winter."
"Maybe. Maybe you could sell that huge factory to make some money," Linka said, wiping the snow and dirt from her hair.
"Maybe. Can you walk? Nonna is very worried and so are your Planeteer friends," Mishka stood up, offering Linka his hand to help her stand up.
"Da, I am fine. Though, sleep would be good. And I would like a few words with Tatiana," Linka said, grabbing Mishka's hand and pulling herself to her feet, frowning.
"I pity her then, Linka," Mishka chuckled, vividly remembering her sister's temper. It took quite a lot to make Linka that angry, but when she blew up, it was a spectacular event. Mishka couldn't remember the last time Linka had been really, really angry with anyone.
The rest of the Planeteers were down where the clean up was being organized, and Wheeler was the first one to see Linka and Mishka walk back over the hill.
"Linka!" Wheeler yelled, a grin spreading over his face. He walked over to her, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her. The other Planeteers chose to ignore that particular public display of affection. "Are you okay?"
"Da, I am fine," Linka said, slightly dazed from both the kiss and minor concussion she thought she had. "Tired but fine."
"We are glad you are okay," Kwame smiled.
"Did Looten Plunder get away?" Linka asked, her smile vanishing.
"Yes, he got away. The mines are pretty badly damaged, but not unrepairable," Gi said.
"Good," Linka said, and was quickly hugged by her grandmother.
"Very worried about you, Linka. Off gallivanting and getting kidnapped," Nadia scolded. "Calling your friends from America and Asia and Africa to help you, Linka?"
Linka shrugged. "It is not my fault."
Tatiana came racing over. "Linka, you are okay, I was so worried." Her eyes were wide with false worry.
And Linka blinked at her, before launching into rapid fire Russian, anger reflected all over her face. The four Planeteers stood there, stunned, watching the two girls. Mishka winced, having been the target of Linka's fury many times - and because he could understand what she was saying to Tatiana.
Oh, and he was adding in footnotes - like how Kwame mentioned to him that Tatiana had said Linka wasn't missing and how Tatiana tried to hook up with Wheeler…
And once Linka was finished telling Tatiana off; she kissed Wheeler on the cheek and headed for the Geo-Cruiser.
*~*~*~*~*~*
AN: Ok, the epilogue with be posted tomorrow! Please review! I'm aiming for 15 reviews ;)
|*~*~*~*~*~
The Planeteers began running towards the mine as soon as the smoke cleared. Luckily, most of the civilians had been clear of the explosion. But Linka and Captain Planet had vanished from view…
The mines, as far as the townspeople could tell, were a wreck. The roof had caved in and all it was now, was a smoky pit in the ground. Everyone was in shock, staring at the broken shell of the mines.
The four Planeteers gazed around at the wreck and ruin of the mines, trying to find Captain Planet or Linka.
They found Captain Planet and gasped.
He was pinned underneath a huge metal barrel, with toxic waste trickling out of it in a steady steam. Captain Planet was not in good shape.
"The toxic waste has drained my energy. I need to return to the Earth to recover. The Power is yours," Captain Planet said in a dull, flat voice and vanished.
The Planeteers exchanged looks and continued to look for Linka; a flash of blonde hair or *something*.
"Linka?" Wheeler called.
Huge amounts of garbage had been thrown all over the place. Ma-ti looked back in time, to see Looten Plunder and Bleak get into a Jeep and speed off. Again, the Planeteers had lost them. But Ma-ti was more concerned for Linka's safety. If Captain Planet had been pinned by a barrel of toxic waste, where had Linka ended up?
Gi and Kwame exchanged Looks behind Wheeler's back.
"Wheeler, the sensible thing to do would be to help these poor people clean up. Linka will be fine," Kwame said gently.
Wheeler looked at Kwame for a minute and nodded. "Yeah. Clean up."
The four Planeteers moved back to the mines to see what help they could be.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Ow. That pretty much summed up Linka's state of thoughts right now. Ow. There was extreme pain in her skull. And you know, most of her body.
Yeah, she was going to call the 'Ow' complaint again.
It had been an interesting moment. The blast had thrown her toward the ground, and she'd cut her head on a rock and knocked herself out for a brief moment.
Garbage littered the ground around her. And rocks and such.
Ow.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Clean up. Nikolai was not impressed. He had been enlisted to clean up. He'd never cleaned a day in his life; that's the reason he still lived with his mother. Yet, without any effort, some Asian girl had gotten him to help clean up.
At least, he'd have something to tell Linka when she turned up.
Nikolai had the garbage bag in one hand and rubber gloves on the other, so he didn't actually have to touch the trash. Yuck.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Wheeler stared at the ground, at a crushed soda can. Linka. Where was she? She had to be okay; Linka was so resourceful… Not as resourceful as Gi, but she wouldn't go and get herself killed. Especially by one of Looten Plunder's schemes.
Wheeler's shoulders slumped.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Tatiana had also been forced into helping clean up; since most of the town's population was elderly people, so all the young adults had been made to help clean up.
She flipped her long dark hair gingerly and leant down…in time to see a hint of blonde hair.
Linka, Tatiana knew, but continued picking up garbage. A few more hours, and that wonderful looking American boy would be hers - and then Linka would be found and bandaged up.
She'd be okay for a bit longer, Tatiana decided and turned away to finish clean up.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Ma-ti and Gi were sitting with Nadia, who was horrified at Linka's disappearance.
"She is dead, nyet?" Nadia said tearfully. "I knew I should have made her stay with Mishka and I, I should have."
"Linka will be fine," Ma-ti reassured her.
Gi looked at Ma-ti. Captain Planet had been powerless when they found him, and he was a superhero. Linka wouldn't have even had her power.
Mishka caught the glance between the two Planeteers. "Linka, will be okay, nyet?"
"She will be. Why don't you go and look for her; we can stay here with your grandmother," Gi suggested.
"Da, I will." Mishka flashed a look of gratitude to Gi and Ma-ti and strode off.
He wasn't very fair up the hill when he saw his sister. She was pinned to the ground by a beam of splintered wood from the fence next to her; it had obviously been hit by something heavy. Linka's eyes were closed and she was lying very still.
"Linka!" Mishka called out, running to her, and kneeling down next to her. "Linka, can you hear me?"
"Mishka?" Linka opened her eyes. "Da, I can hear you." Mishka pulled the plank of wood off her and Linka sat up, rubbing her head.
"Are you okay? Everyone is very worried," Mishka said, concern lighting his eyes.
"Nyet, Tatiana isn't. She was here but she did not try to help me," Linka said, testing her limbs to make sure nothing was broken.
"She has her, uh, 'eye' on Wheeler. And Nikolai is supportive of her plans, as he 'has his eye' on you," Mishka replied.
"Wheeler is here," Linka smiled. The grin was not lost on her older brother.
"Da, how else would you have called Captain Planet?" Mishka said.
"We can call him from two different countries," Linka retorted. "I am glad they got the message. How are the mines?"
Mishka's face darkened. "Ruined. We will live in poverty before we can rebuild them. It will be a long winter."
"Maybe. Maybe you could sell that huge factory to make some money," Linka said, wiping the snow and dirt from her hair.
"Maybe. Can you walk? Nonna is very worried and so are your Planeteer friends," Mishka stood up, offering Linka his hand to help her stand up.
"Da, I am fine. Though, sleep would be good. And I would like a few words with Tatiana," Linka said, grabbing Mishka's hand and pulling herself to her feet, frowning.
"I pity her then, Linka," Mishka chuckled, vividly remembering her sister's temper. It took quite a lot to make Linka that angry, but when she blew up, it was a spectacular event. Mishka couldn't remember the last time Linka had been really, really angry with anyone.
The rest of the Planeteers were down where the clean up was being organized, and Wheeler was the first one to see Linka and Mishka walk back over the hill.
"Linka!" Wheeler yelled, a grin spreading over his face. He walked over to her, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her. The other Planeteers chose to ignore that particular public display of affection. "Are you okay?"
"Da, I am fine," Linka said, slightly dazed from both the kiss and minor concussion she thought she had. "Tired but fine."
"We are glad you are okay," Kwame smiled.
"Did Looten Plunder get away?" Linka asked, her smile vanishing.
"Yes, he got away. The mines are pretty badly damaged, but not unrepairable," Gi said.
"Good," Linka said, and was quickly hugged by her grandmother.
"Very worried about you, Linka. Off gallivanting and getting kidnapped," Nadia scolded. "Calling your friends from America and Asia and Africa to help you, Linka?"
Linka shrugged. "It is not my fault."
Tatiana came racing over. "Linka, you are okay, I was so worried." Her eyes were wide with false worry.
And Linka blinked at her, before launching into rapid fire Russian, anger reflected all over her face. The four Planeteers stood there, stunned, watching the two girls. Mishka winced, having been the target of Linka's fury many times - and because he could understand what she was saying to Tatiana.
Oh, and he was adding in footnotes - like how Kwame mentioned to him that Tatiana had said Linka wasn't missing and how Tatiana tried to hook up with Wheeler…
And once Linka was finished telling Tatiana off; she kissed Wheeler on the cheek and headed for the Geo-Cruiser.
*~*~*~*~*~*
AN: Ok, the epilogue with be posted tomorrow! Please review! I'm aiming for 15 reviews ;)