WHO-HOO! look at me go! an update in less than a month! yes, i am proud of myself. Enjoy the new chapter, and please don't forget to review!
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!. There. I said it. It hurt, but I did it.
Kate Van Helsing: Cliffhangers are a writer's priviledge. P
Chapter Nine – Wait for Me
The nose of the jet pierced the foreboding jungle foliage, moments before the screech of tortured metal filled the once peaceful area. Rivets popped and metal twisted and crunched. The plane tore relentlessly through the jungle, leaving behind a swath of destruction. The wings were bent back by great tree trunks before being torn off. Finally the thick vegetation wrapped the metal menace in its thick creepers, slowing it to a halt.
Nanashi coughed and waited for the dust to clear. Blood trickled down her face, a gash down her cheek created by a flying fragment of the windshield. It had been shattered by a branch that had pierced through it like a lance, missing her own head by mere inches. A little cramped, but no serious injuries.
Something popped and hissed next to her leg, burning a hole through her pant leg. She hurriedly unbuckled herself and wriggled out. She crawled through the tangled mess that was the cockpit and entered the back of the plane. A gaping hole tore down the side, but it wasn't nearly as bad as up front.
The door to the kitchenette was jammed, and she heard a persistent knocking. Muffled voices could be heard shouting for attention. "Nanashi! Kaiba! Big brother! Anyone there?"
Nanashi inspected the latch for a moment. "Stand back!" she shouted. Leaning back on one leg, she raised the other and forcefully kicked it. The gray door groaned, but stayed closed. She tried again. This time it popped and swung back.
Mokuba charged out first. "Is Seto okay?" he demanded. Receiving no reply, he ran into the cockpit.
"Sorry about the landing. It was my fault. I over—Yugi, are you okay?"
He tenderly touched a gash above her eye and winced. "Yeah, I just learned to watch out for flying objects during crash landings. Although the question should be are you okay?"
"I'll be fine."
"What about Kaiba?"
She shrugged indifferently. "I don't know."
He gave her an odd look that confused her and began to say something. He was cut off, however, by an outburst from Mokuba. "Big brother!"
They instantly were in what was left of the cockpit. Seto's head stuck out above a panel wedging him in. Yugi grabbed the end with his hand. He pulled out in, it didn't budge. "Nanashi, can you help me with this."
Nanashi sighed and used her good hand to grip it. They both strained against it. "Maybe if we wiggle it," she suggested. They did that, and it slipped a little, and then suddenly came free. Nanashi leaned it against the co-pilot's seat.
Solomon crowded in and felt for a pulse. "He's alive," he announced, "but out cold."
"Guess he won't be much help," Nanashi mumbled.
They surveyed the situation. Even with the panel gone, the space between Seto and the mangled instrument panel was fairly small.
"Mokuba, your hands are small," Solomon said. "Reach in and see if you can unbuckle him."
Mokuba slid his hands along the belt fabric until he found the buckle. He tried every possible motion he could think of. "It won't…budge." It had to, it just had to! He tried harder, but without any luck. Suddenly he whirled angrily on Nanashi. "Do something!" This was all her fault in the first place.
"We need some way to cut the belt," Yugi thought aloud.
"Cut…or sever," Solomon echoed.
"A gun."
Everyone stared at Nanashi questioningly. "What do you mean?" Solomon asked.
Without answering, she pushed past and out of the cockpit. Kicking off the debris covering a beige seat, she yanked off the cushion.
A gun glinted in the patches of sunlight streaming in through the plane's gash, steel gray and black. Next to it laid extra cartridges of ammunition.
"Prepared, aren't we?" she murmured cynically. She jammed the cartridges in her pants pocket, then picked up the gun. As she turned to go back upfront, a gray wisp of smoke outside caught her eye. She walked to the side and peered out. Jungle plants tangled up in the torn wing smoldered, bright patches of orange breaking out occasionally.
"Fire!"
Her cry caused Yugi and Solomon to back out of the cockpit. "Fire?" Yugi echoed uncertainly. His mind raced with every movie scene containing a dramatic explosion of some sort.
"Open the door," Nanashi ordered.
"Why don't we just jump out the hole?" Yugi questioned.
"It's safer that way. Now do it."
Solomon disappeared into the kitchenette and soon came back carrying a first aid kit. Yugi opened the door and he tossed it down.
"Go."
"Be safe," Solomon told Nanashi before crawling out.
"I try. Ready, Yugi?"
"What about Mokuba and Kaiba?" No matter how much of a pain the elder could be, he didn't deserve to die trapped here. And at the moment, he couldn't quite put it past her.
"I'll get them out. You should wait outside."
"But-"
"No but's," she cut him off. "Now go." She gave him a slight push, and Yugi nearly fell out the door.
"What are you going to do with that?" Mokuba demanded as Nanashi reentered the cockpit. He stood defensively between her and Seto.
"No time. You need to leave."
"No. I'm not leaving Seto." He crossed his arms and planted his feet. Any fear he might've felt was covered up by the loyalty and determination shining in his eyes.
Nanashi looked uncertain of what to do for a moment, before suddenly kneeling in front of him. "Mokuba, I know you have no reason to trust me. No one does. But, please, right now, I'm asking you to."
He was silent.
She took a deep breath. "If you go wait with Yugi and Solomon, I swear to you, I swear, I'll get Seto out of here." Or I'll die trying, she added silently.
He pondered this for a few moments. "You swear? You're not trying to trick me?"
"I swear."
Mokuba seemed to decide she was sincere. He reluctantly backed away from Seto. "Don't hurt him," he warned before disappearing.
Nanashi set to work. If she shot a bullet through the safety harness, she could hopefully sever it. She aimed the muzzle at the thin profile created by the strap's edge running around his waist.
A gunshot echoed through the dying jet. One end of the strap dropped down. Now the shoulder strap. That one would be harder. She would need to life the strap off his chest. An explosion rocked the plane, interrupting her efforts and flinging her on top of Seto. Black smoke belched into the cockpit. Nanashi rolled off of him and coughed, groping for the shoulder strap. The smoke soon lessened, dissipating out the broken windows.
She lifted up the gray strap and slid her injured hand under, letting it rest on top of her wrist. She rested the butt of the gun on Seto's chest, and craned her head around to aim.
A hand snaked out and grabbed her wrist. "What the hell are you doing?" a cold voice demanded.
"Trying to get you out," she grunted, wrenching her wrist free.
"Oh, really? And why would you do that?" He turned his head and studied her. Not a bad plan, he thought.
She paused for a second, and caught his gaze. "I gave Mokuba my word that I would get you out. Now shut up and hold still."
"Where is Mokuba?" His words were punctuated by the sharp report of a pistol. She suddenly pressed against his chest as the bullet ricocheted and shot past her head. "Get off me," he growled.
"Gladly. Let's go." She grabbed his arm and began pulling him out. The smoke was getting thicker again, carrying with it heat and the crackle of fire.
Seto's left leg was caught. He twisted and jerked it free. Pain shot up his leg as a scrap of metal dug into his calf.
Flames licked and devoured everything they could, curling up the walls and across the ceiling, leaving behind the charred remains. They laughed at Nanashi and Seto as they ran out, pouring out their black smoke in an attempt to choke them.
"The gun," she gasped urgently, only a few feet from the open doorway. She whirled around, heading back for it.
"Forget it!" Seto blocked her path with his arm and leapt outside, dragging her with him.