Oh boy! Sorry the chapter took so long. I've been a little overwhelmed at work, since it's now report time and I'm straining to get everything done without losing my sanity.

Oh, someone corrected the word 'kerb' in a review from the last chapter. I was using the Australian/English spelling, since I didn't realize (realise) that there was a U.S equivalent. Hmmm, no wonder my U.S spell check was throwing a tantrum! I'll add curb /kerb to my list of confusing words:-O

Good news for CP fans recently, too! If you didn't already know, the New York Times published an article in April about resurrecting Captain Planet... a new season is currently being planned! Hooray! The CPC received confirmation about this from the Captain Planet Foundation, so this is good news for CP geeks like us.

Okay, I'll shut up now and get on with the story...

I don't own Captain Planet and the Planeteers. I only own a car, and a dog that keeps chewing my shoes.

Alternate Destination

Chapter Ten

A large, brown suitcase was the last to be hurled into the back of Ma-Ti's truck. Wiping his forehead in mock exhaustion, Ma-Ti grinned at Linka as he returned towards the house.

"What did she pack in there? It weighs a tonne..." he muttered as he passed Linka on the wooden porch. Linka grinned in response, knowing that Gi had never known the meaning of 'traveling light.'

She lowered herself onto the stairs with one hand and sat with elbows resting on her knees. Leaning forward, Linka propped her chin into her hands and surveyed the scenery, feeling at peace for first time in weeks. Truthfully, she would have liked to stay longer,although, the four had unanimously agreed that it was time to leave. The possibility of a house visit from Zarm had obviously left a bitter taste in Gi's mouth.

On the move again.

Shuffling footsteps intruded into her thoughts as Linka looked up and saw that Ma-Ti had returned to the porch. She shuffled over for him as he took a seat beside his friend, giving her a quick, one-armed hug. Linka smiled warmly in reply, and asked if they were ready to leave.

"Gi and Max are saying goodbye. He will take Lin with him to his brother's house in Laoag while we... we do whatever it is we need to do."

Linka nodded. "Did you find your ring, Ma-Ti?"

"Yes, I'd hidden it... a little too well, unfortunately."

"Where did you find it?"

Ma-Ti shook his head in disgust. "I'd left it in one of my socks, but Gi threw everything into the wash as soon as I arrived!"

"Have you summoned them?"

"Not yet. I thought I'd wait until we know where we are going." Ma-Ti manipulated the heart ring around his index finger thoughtfully, as if he had long forgotten the sensation. "I might be a little rusty... It has been so long."

"Da. I guess it has... for you."

They sat in companionable silence for several moments, broken only by the occasional footsteps inside. An image flashed briefly across Linka's mind for a moment, disappearing just as quickly as it had come.

Sutchi?

"Where is Sutchi, Ma-Ti?"

A shadow passed over the Indian's face, reflected in his sorrowful expression. Linka immediately understood the whereabouts of the missing monkey, and patted Ma-Ti's shoulder in a comforting manner.

"He has been gone now for about three years. Sutchi had a good life, though. He survived well past his life expectancy, you know." Ma-Ti looked down at his shoes, bending to tie a frayed lace properly. "I miss him a great deal. It was like I had lost another best friend."

"That would have been hard."

Ma-Ti didn't reply. Instead, he gazed out into the paddock, seemingly lost in thought. The screen door opened behind them and Linka shuffled aside to let Gi and Max past, both holding numerous bags of precious belongings.

"You guys were the best friends I ever had. I was so young when I joined the Planeteers. Barely a teenager." Ma-Ti smiled at the recollections now flooding his senses. "I didn't cope very well, to be honest. When you... you passed away, we were all so devastated. Then Sutchi. Not to mention the fact that Wheeler deserted us... stubborn Yankee mule."

"Da, well he has never coped well with emotional tissues..."

Ma-Ti chuckled delightedly, not bothering to alter her incorrect vocabulary. Her unintentional misuse of the English language was a defining trait they had all treasured in their Russian team-member. No matter how hard she tried, Linka could always be counted on to insert an inappropriate word into a catchphrase, expression or general observation.

Linka was oblivious to Ma-Ti's thoughts, however. She peered at Max and Gi with curiosity as they embraced beside their sedan. Gi seemed to be giving her husband instructions, as Max was nodding and shaking his head in a most vigorous fashion.

"There wasn't much for me to go home to. That's why I spend so much time here with Gi. I travel back and forth to visit them every few months. Max is a great guy, worships the ground she walks on. He doesn't seem to mind me being around, either," Ma-Ti mused, waving to Max as he climbed into the car, and Gi fastened her daughter into the car booster seat in the back. After exchanging several words with her husband through the open window, Gi finally stepped back and joined the pair on the porch steps.

Linka lifted her hand and waved as Max completed a three-point turn and made his way steadily down the driveway, the crunch of gravel audible for several seconds until the car disappeared from sight.

Ma-Ti was the first to voice the question that was on everyone's mind. "Where now?"

"We need to get out of here. Out of the country, I mean," Gi replied, turning to give Linka a tired, utterly bewildered smile. "What about returning to the States? We'll have more resources at our disposal, Commander Clash is working for the CIA now, and we might have a shot of finding Wheeler in case he chooses to ignore us again."

"Da, I think that sounds great," replied Linka, "so long as we do not travel by boat."

Ma-Ti and Gi laughed. "No, I think you have seen enough to last another lifetime," Ma-Ti remarked, the irony of the statement certainly not lost on him. "Should we go? I am a little unnerved at the thought of Plunder dropping in." Ma-Ti stood and walked towards his truck, climbing in and starting the engine. The motor spluttered to life noisily, maintaining a steady rumble.

Gi stood and beckoned for Linka to follow her inside. A quick glimpse of her hand showed that she was now wearing her ring again. Linka followed her friends lead as Gi knelt down and shook Gaia awake from her prone position on the sofa. Eyes fluttered open, revealing startling blue iris's which returned their gaze with such love and trust that Linka stepped back, afraid of betraying this with her own lack of confidence and unsettled state of mind.

"We are going to the U.S, Gaia. We need to leave now." Gi gently took her arm but Gaia shook her head gently, reclaiming her limb and struggling to speak.

Her voice resembled a whimper, and Linka immediately knew that Gaia's time had indeed run out.

"I had to know that you were safe, Linka. As soon as the soul left your body, I sensed that Zarm was responsible. It was forbidden for me to intrude on the continuum, but I had to. Before I interfered and lost my power, I was able to lock onto Zarm's energy for a moment. Fragments of a plan had been formed at that stage, I had to guess the rest, even your arrival in Manila. I knew the ship would dock there. I had to believe that you would have made it onto the boat. You understand, don't you?"

Linka nodded, biting her lip in trepidation for what was to come.

"I broke the law. I meddled with time and I was punished accordingly. There is nothing you can do for me, now. Zarm will have realized that I am no longer the Earth Spirit and will certainly attempt to reclaim this title and position for himself. You must prevent this from happening, Planeteers. His last reign as Spirit of Earth was disastrous."

"We will do what we can, Gaia, but..." Linka began, but was abruptly silenced by Gaia's pleading stare.

"No, Linka, you must listen. If this situation is corrected and Zarm defeated, you cannot remain here. You are now part of an alternate universe: you will corrupt this reality if you remain. Your death and consequent arrival have already altered the future in ways you cannot comprehend."

Gaia coughed painfully, oblivious to Ma-Ti's watchful presence now at the doorway.

"Once all of the rings are accounted for and worn, Captain Planet should be summoned. After Zarm and his crew have been dealt with, he will know what to do about Linka's presence."

Gi looked like as if she were about to spontaneously combust into flames. "WHAT!" she blurted, jumping to her feet in shock. "She's not going anywhere! Who cares if there are a few changes here and there. Linka shouldn't have died in the first place! She belongs with us! This is just..."

Linka looked down at Gaia sadly, unsure of what to say.

I do not belong here, but I cannot go back to my old life, either.

"Linka will eventually have to leave. For now, there are more pressing matters to deal with, Gi. Zarm has captured a rare entity from the otherworld and has brought it to Earth. This creature has no soul and no remorse. It was banished from the spirit realm thousands of years ago. If Zarm gets hold of all five rings, the entity's powers will be limitless once the powers are transferred to it. This is all I know. I have had... had no encounter with this creature personally, but... it's reputation is feared... among all spirits."

Gaia was fading fast. Her eyes were closed, and her chest was rising and falling rapidly. Linka turned to Gi for a moment, dumbstruck at these revelations. Gi shook her head resolutely, her lips pursed in a thin line.

"Guys, we have to go. I can see smoke coming from the town," pleaded Ma-Ti, glancing worriedly outside.

"Oh God, they found us already?" whispered Gi in horror, sprinting towards the screen door with Linka. Together, they stared down towards the small town. A convoy of black cars were winding their way through the main street, disappearing behind several storefronts.

"We cannot leave you, Gaia! We must get her into the..." Linka started towards the former spirit, but was stopped by Ma-Ti.

"It is too late. Look." Gaia was no longer breathing. Her hand had fallen of the side of the couch and lay hanging, not quite touching the ground. Her face was peaceful, serene with a hint of a smile playing at the edges of her mouth. She had successfully completed her final Planeteer alert against all odds. Ma-Ti confirmed Gaia's condition with his ring, breathing the word "heart" for the first time in four years.

"Come, we have to go," Ma-Ti spoke, a new sense of urgency apparent in his voice. Wiping back tears, the girls quickly covered Gaia with a blanket and locked the house up. Bolting towards the car, Gi jumped into the drivers seat as Linka and Ma-Ti piled into the back. The Planeteer jammed her foot on the accelerator and hurtled down the driveway, throwing her passengers into the back of their seats violently.

Linka gripped onto the door handle in fear as the car skidded dangerously around a sharp corner, the gravel doing nothing to ease their escape. As they reached the end of the driveway, Gi hurled the car to the right and sped away in the opposite direction from the town. Linka swiveled around in her seat and peered through the back window, anxious that the convoy might be rounding the corner. Trying to block out Gi's angry cursing assaulting her ears in a mixture of foreign languages, Linka breathed a sigh of relief as they found the highway at last.

"How did they find us so quickly?" questioned Ma-Ti, still breathless from their narrow escape. "They practically had an army down there..."

No-one answered. Gi simply concentrated on the road ahead, gripping the steering wheel in a panicky, sweaty grip.

Linka sat back in the seat and watched the scenery once again, as she had only an hour and a half ago. So much had changed since the taxi ride. She had been reunited with two of her fellow Planeteers, and Gaia was dead. Even after these events, Linka felt as if a strange calm had descended over her body. Her eyes lulled for several moments causing the back of Gi's head to be obscured by her long eyelashes.

Ma-Ti's voice intruded into her muddled thought. She turned and watched him, comforted by the familiar motion of his hand.

"Planeteer Alert. We have a major Eco-Emergency about to go down. We have made contact with Gaia, and we are heading to the United States as I speak. Meet us at the top of the Empire State Building in New York on Tuesday night at 7pm. Bring the rings."

Gi nodded her approval at the alert, but Ma-Ti frowned slightly, as if he had forgotten something. With a menacing tone to his voice, he added:

"Wheeler, you had better be there or I am officially disowning you. "

"Good job, Ma-Ti." Gi merged skillfully into the left hand lane, propping her elbow against the open window ledge and tapping her fingers idly on the roof of the car.

"You did not mention me in the alert?" asked Linka, wondering if this would have helped.

Ma-Ti shook his head resolutely. "No way, Linka! It is not exactly something that I could mention in passing...Oh, by the way, Linka has been resurrected, Gaia is dead and we're running from every eco-villain we've ever encountered. See you on Tuesday! How would they cope with that information?"

"That is true, Ma-Ti."

"We'll be at the airport in about half an hour, guys." Gi wound her window up, feeling overwhelmed by the fumes emitted from passing traffic. Coughing slightly, she overtook a rusty, ancient BMW putting along at about half the speed limit.

"Do we have money?" Linka asked worriedly, knowing that a plane trip to the US from the Philippines would set them back several thousand dollars each.

Ma-Ti exchanged a quick glance with Gi, before turning towards Linka once again. "We received payouts from our governments after... well, you know. Some of us more than others, but it was for service to our countries."

"How much?" In spite of herself, she was incredibly curious. "I mean, it was certainly enough to keep you living comfortably, da?"

"Yes, I guess it was," Ma-Ti mused, absentmindedly playing with his ring again. "Kwame bought a house in Johannesburg with his money."

"Oh..."

The conversation ended abruptly. Linka was entirely stunned by this development. She had never even entertained the possibility that there would be compensation for their efforts. Linka had always considered her job to be a gift, an honor to be selected for. They had always been fed, clothed and housed in idyllic surroundings.

Ma-Ti spoke up, so softly that she could barely hear him. "Kwame, Gi and I chose your hometown to benefit from your payout. I hope that is okay..."

Linka smiled in response and nodded. "Da, that was a wonderful idea. But I feel, so... what is the phrase... out of the thread?"

"Loop," commented Gi from the drivers seat, but understanding Linka's choice of words. "We have a lot of catching up to do. I'm starving, so we'll grab some lunch at the airport and talk, okay?"

"Spasiba. I would like that."

Gi turned the radio on and concentrated once again on the road, indicating before taking an exit displaying the universal airport symbol.

Linka sat back once again and listened to the music. She loved music... music had always been an outlet in her younger days, a way to block out her troubled childhood. She sat quietly and listened to several songs that she didn't recognize, learnt about several new product advertisements she'd never heard of, and passed countless new models of cars. Cars that she apparently wouldn't be around long enough to drive. The thought depressed her deeply. The unfairness of Gaia's departure also weighed heavily on Linka's mind, the knowledge sinking in that Gaia had probably waited for her in that dark alley for four years.

Nothing made sense anymore.

Why should Gaia be made to suffer for Zarm's greed?

What is to become of me?

Will I end up having to return to that lonely stretch of beach, a few pebbles and photo's to keep me company?

Linka shuddered at the thought and pushed it out of her mind. Why had this happened to her? What had she done to deserve this? The tears began to well up again as Linka chastised herself, angry about her inability to control her emotions lately.

And where is Wheeler? How could he treat his friends like this? He had better have a good excuse for his appalling behavior.

Linka's anger was now bubbling into fury. She gritted her teeth and wiped a stray tear away quickly, careful not to alert Ma-Ti to her pathetic display.

She turned and faced the window, noting the planes taking off and landing in the distance. As another errant tear escaped and slid down her cheek, she sniffed and touched her forehead to the cool glass.

She could say with all honesty that she had never wanted to hear his voice so much in her life. Regardless of all the times that he infuriated them to the point of madness, Wheeler also had the rare gift of turning any eco-situation into a light-hearted one. He was quick to laugh and a lot of fun to be around, a quality that was sorely lacking at present. Linka sighed, missing him more than she had ever realized.

Please come. I need to see you.

Read and review guys...seriously, I spent about seven hours writing this , which would have been better served on paperwork :-P

Let me know if you want me to keep going.

Sarah