Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here's chapter nine of "Ride the Wind II: Justice Unbound." I'm glad it took just a week to get out. This chapter has some Andros/Ashley and Zhane/Karone. The fandoms will meet in the next chapter. Stay tuned for chapter ten.

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Chapter 9: Flying On

Ashley looked out the window of her, Andros, Zhane, and Karone's plane. She could see the sun peering out from behind a large cloud. She pressed her lips together before sighting softly. It'd been an hour since they had left Angel Gove, but it seemed like it'd been longer than that. The flight had been peaceful so far. She and Andros were seated in the fifth row on the left. Zhane and Karone sat in the row behind them.

A sandhill crane appeared and started to fly alongside the plane. Ashley watched it, feeling mesmerized by it. It turned its head and looked into her eyes. It moved its head as if it were nodding to her. She waved to it, smiling lightly. She observed it flapping its wings to gain altitude. It continued going upward until it was out of sight.

Ashley looked away from the window. She licked her lips before letting out a contented sigh. Seeing a crane always brought joy to her heart, especially since it was Kim's spirit animal. She saw it as the most beautiful of all birds. She remembered all the time Kim told her she seemed to encounter a crane wherever she went. She knew the crane would be connected to her friend for as long as she lived.

Ashley turned to Andros, who was looking through her orca pictures. His table was down, as was hers. He stopped at one of Rhapsody and Ruffles spyhopping and Shachi going underwater and slapping her tail on the surface. He picked it up. He traced his finger Rhapsody. He followed suit with Ruffles. He did Shachi next. Ashley propped her head up with her elbow on the arm, a big smile forming on her face.

"These three orcas are having in this picture," Andros said.

"I know," Ashley said, chuckling. She stopped smiling and became serious. "It sucks that Ruffles has passed away. He was such a stunning orca."

"He sure was. He was believed to have been born in 1951. He died in 2010. That means he was nearly sixty at the time of his death," Andros pointed out truthfully.

"Yeah. Granny was believed to be his mother for the longest time because they were always traveling together. He was estimated to be twenty-five when he was first seen in 1976. It was assumed he was her last offspring, so she was estimated to be sixty-five," Ashley explained.

"Then DNA analysis found that Granny and Ruffles weren't related at all in 2011. His mother is listed as unknown," Andros added. "I believe he was born in the mid to late 1950s."

"Me too. Something tells me that Ruffles was part of another Southern Resident pod. His mother may have died when he was young, so he wandered between all three pods before settling permanently with J-Pod," Ashley murmured.

"That is most likely true. Either that or his mother was alive when he joined J-Pod. She may have rejected him or was busy tending to another one of her offspring," Andros commented.

"Anything is possible," Ashley said honestly. "That's for sure."

Andros put the picture down. He gazed at one of Slick, Granny, and Samish surfacing together. Willy and Nikki did a bow in the background. He couldn't help but smile.

"I remember when we saw Willy for the first time. We were surprised his dorsal was flopped over. We thought it was genetic," Andros commented.

"Then we learned it was the result of his being illegally caught and living in captivity for a year," Ashley said, frowning. "Isabella isn't here to play with her little sister."

"I can't help but wonder what her cause of death was. They never found her body," Andros said and cleared his throat.

She let out a heavy sigh. "An orca's body almost always sinks to the bottom of the ocean after it dies."

He bit his lip. "The bodies that do wash up on shore give researchers a chance to study them, especially when it comes—"

Andros jumped when he felt a hand slap him in the back of his head. He looked at a girl, who was standing next to his seat. He could see she had a big smirk on her face.

"Why in the heck did you slap me in the back of my head?" Andros asked annoyingly.

"I just wanted to see how you would react," the girl said with a giggle.

"What you just did was not nice," Ashley said, a little anger showing in her voice. "You need to apologize to Andros right now."

"No way," the girl said while shaking her head rapidly. "In fact, I should take this from you!"

The girl snapped the picture out of Andros's hand and took off running down the aisle. He pushed the table up and rose to his feet. He chased after her. He caught up to her. He grabbed her wrist. He took the picture away from her. He held it out of her reach when she tried to grab for it.

"Give that back! It's mine!" the girl yelled.

"It belongs to my girlfriend," Andros said and flared his nostrils. "I am going to find your parents."

Andros was about to take the girl with him when footsteps diverted his attention. He looked ahead to see her mother coming up to him. She stopped before him.

"Thank you for finding my daughter. I turned away for a few seconds. When I turned back, she was gone," the mother said.

"Here you go," Andros said as he handed the girl over to her. He watched her tighten her grip on her wrist. He took three deep breaths. "I am sure she is in big trouble."

The mother glared down at her daughter. "Oh, yes, she is. She is definitely not going on tomorrow's whale-watching trip."

The girl whined. "Please, let me go on the whale-watching trip! Please!"

The girl cried hysterically as her mother pulled her down the aisle. Her mother ignored her pleas not to leave her out of the whale-watching trip. Andros observed them reaching their seats further down the aisle. He sighed in relief. He went back toward his seat. Chuckling caught his attention. He stopped to look at Zhane and Karone.

"I guess you will be the one dealing with spoiling brats today, buddy," Zhane joked and wiggled his eyebrows.

"That was so funny that I forgot to laugh," Andros grumbled in much sarcasm.

"The bright side is the kid didn't tear the picture up," Karone pointed out.

"Thank goodness," Andros whispered and licked his lips. "I will never forget when I had to chase that boy down the aisle during our first plane trip to Seattle. His father was just as pissed at him as that mother was with that girl. He punished him."

"He did the right thing. Many parents wouldn't have done that. In fact, they would've yelled at you for disciplining their children," Karone grumbled with a roll of her eyes.

"Unfortunately," Andros agreed. "Anyway, I am going back to my seat."

Andros approached his seat with a soft snort. He pushed the table up to sit down. He released his hold on it. He looked toward Ashley, who furrowed her brow.

"Here you go," Andros said as he handed the picture to his girlfriend.

"Thanks," Ashley said sweetly and kissed him on the cheek. She looked it over. "There is not a single crease in it."

Andros sighed quietly. "I got lucky. That girl won't be causing any more trouble for us." He looked a little annoyed.

Ashley smiled. "That is great."

Andros tickled Ashley's neck in which it made her giggle. She swiped his hand away and tweaked his nose. She spoke gibberish while waving her hand in his face. Zhane and Karone couldn't help but laugh.

"It is fun hearing Andros and Ashley fool around," Karone said honestly.

"Tell me about it," Zhane agreed and chuckled to himself.

"Some people think thirtysomething-year-old couples shouldn't play around like little kids. I don't have a problem with it," Karone commented.

"Me neither," Zhane responded and cupped his chin in his hand. "I would say that—"

Suddenly, Zhane and Karone felt their seats lurch forward. They grunted when it happened again. They turned around and looked over their seats, finding two boys with their feet on them. They narrowed their eyes at them.

"Quit kicking our seats," Karone demanded fiercely.

"It is rude, especially when people are enjoying their fight," Zhane added firmly. They saw the boys take their feet off their seats. They turned around and sat in them. They ran their hands through their hair. "One of the most annoying people on the plane is the seat kicker."

"The seat kicker thinks it's funny kicking the back of the seat," Karone grumbled and rolled her eyes. "He won't stop unless you threaten to do harm to him."

"Unfortunately," Zhane whispered and cringed badly. He curled his hands into fists so tight that he'd break glasses if he were holding them. "The worst ones are kids. Their parents won't stop them from kicking seats. They think it is cute."

Karone scoffed. "Of course, it isn't cute."

Zhane snorted. "Why do kids think—"

The couple yelled out at their seats lurching forward again. They gritted their teeth when it happened a second time. They turned around and looked over their seats. They found the boys with their feet on them once more. Anger flashed in their eyes.

"You two better stop that right now!" Karone demanded while shaking her finger at the boys.

"We'll make you find your parents," Zhane warned. "Is that what you want?"

The boys became nervous and emitted soft whimpers. They took their feet off the seats. Zhane and Karone gave them sharp nods. They turned around and seated themselves back in their seats. They eyed each other. They breathed deeply. They managed to calm down. They heard chuckling. They turned to see Andros and Ashley looking over their seats at them.

"It appears you two will have to deal with brats as well," Andros said.

"Ah, hush up!" Zhane retorted in much playfulness.

"What is the matter, Zhane? Are you too chicken to say shut up now?" Ashley teased and made clucking sounds.

"You are the bigger chicken, Ash," Zhane responded and wiggled his eyebrows.

"Someone should cover you and Karone in tar and cover you with feathers," Andros said.

"Someone should do the same to you two," Karone responded and spoke gibberish.

Andros and Ashley blew raspberries at the couple before turning around and sitting down in their seats. Zhane and Karone gazed at each other.

"Those two are a riot," Zhane said, gesturing toward his friends.

"They sure are," Karone agreed with a nod. "I can't wait until we are in Seattle."

"Neither can I. Our friends are meeting us at the terminal when we get off the plane," Zhane commented excitedly.

"I remember part one of the Saved by the Bell episode called 'Wicked Stepbrother.' Eric said that he locked all the bathrooms on the 747 and that everyone jumped off the plane before they reached the terminal," Karone said, giggling to herself. "It was obvious that he was joking. He seemed like a nice boy. Jessie was excited to have him as her brother."

"Unfortunately, Eric turned out to be a mean boy. He blackmailed people to get what he wanted. He could've gotten Zack and Slater expelled for ruining Mr. Belding's car, though he was involved in helping his shop class take it apart. He put it back together to make up for his behavior. Jessie and her friends convinced him to stay. Lisa said she was glad Zack bribed her with MC Hammer tickets to go out with him because it helped her get to know him," Zhane explained.

"Blackmail isn't funny. It can hurt a lot of people," Karone said with a frown. "Some people will try to get revenge."

"Seeking vengeance doesn't hurt the blackmailer," Zhane murmured in a blunt voice. "It only hurts the person seeking it."

Karone nodded in agreement and kissed Zhane's cheek twice. She laid her head on his shoulder. He put his arm around her.