As Alister's life points hit zero, the virtual platform descended and the seal closed around him. "Nooo!", Deirdra screamed, rushing forward. She fell hard against the barrier created by the seal. Alister was on his knees now. Deirdra pounded the wall of green light before remembering Valon telling her how he had saved Mai with his Orichalcos stone. She frantically searched her pocket for her own stone. When she found it, she slammed it into the invisible wall, praying she wasn't too late. The green light grew brighter and she felt herself pass through something. Oh God, it's going to take my soul too, she thought. Just then the light and the seal disappeared. The accompanying force knocked her to the floor. When she had recovered from the shock, she found herself next to Alister's prostrate body. She couldn't tell if he was breathing or not. She called his name and he was unresponsive. "Please God, no", she said, choking back tears and trying not to panic as she shook him by his shoulders. Still nothing. Finally she smacked him. That elicited a response. His eyelids fluttered open and he groaned. She breathed an audible sigh of relief. He sat up and rubbed his head. "Don't tell me this is heaven", he said sarcastically, noticing Seto Kaiba looming overhead. "Maybe you took somebody's advice and went to hell", Kaiba retorted. Deirdra could tell they were about to get into it again. She put her hand over Alister's mouth and threw Kaiba a warning look. "Can we finish this later?", she asked in an annoyed tone. Both guys turned angry eyes on her and Kaiba was ready with a comeback, but Mokuba intervened. "Please?", he asked his elder brother. "Fine", Seto answered.
Suddenly, the plane lurched and took a dive as the second engine went out. Everything that wasn't nailed down went flying. The group struggled to keep their balance. A chair rolled past and crashed into the wall. Papers swirled in the turbulent air. And an embarrassed Deirdra ended up in Alister's lap. He turned red and shoved her off. "Seto, do something!", Mokuba pleaded as he fell forward into his brother. The older Kaiba made a beeline for the cockpit, Mokuba trailing behind him. The moment they had disappeared from view, Alister leaped to his feet. He took hold of Deirdra's hand and dragged her in the opposite direction, towards the rear of the plane. It didn't take him long to locate what he was after -the parachute packs he had stashed in the cargo hold. "Lucky for us, someone was planning ahead", he said rather smugly. Before Deirdra had time to register what was going on, he had strapped a parachute on himself and was helping her into the harness that held hers. "What are you doing?", she asked. "Getting off this plane in something other than a body bag", he shot back. "You're going to jump?", she asked in disbelief. "That's the basic idea, and no, we're going to jump", he corrected her. He then threw open the door of the plane. Deirdra gripped a bar that was built into the wall to keep from being sucked out into nothingness. "You're insane!", she shouted, trying to be heard over the roar of air that was rushing from the plane. "What's insane is staying on a plane that's about to crash!", Alister shouted back.
"What if Seto lands it?"
"Then good for him, but I'm not holding my breath. Now come on!"
"So you're going to leave him and Mokuba here? Why not me?"
Alister gritted his teeth.
"Because I love you, stupid!"
Deirdra's mouth fell open. She couldn't believe what she'd just heard. Had he really said it?
Alister used her surprise to catch her off guard. When he saw her grip on the bar weaken, he grabbed her arm and pulled her out the door of the plane with him. The last thing she saw before she closed her eyes in terror was that smug look on his face again. Damn you, she thought.