AH! ANOTHER CHAPTER! IS IT OVER?!

Um, no. (evil laugh) You thought I would let you off that easy? Pffft yeah right.

AHAHAHAHAAAA IT'S BEAUTIFUL.

No, no, I'm not evil. I swear. I'm perfectly normal.

AHAHAHAHA!

Or not... (grin)

I do not own The Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew. And you should be thankful!

(exasperated sigh) No, I don't kill off characters, guys. Don't worry. I mean, to be specific, I don't kill off main characters. So you should take comfort in that. ;)

THANKS SO MUCH to my wonderful reviewers, and now let the FUN beginnnn! :D

"Man," one of the paramedics in the helicopter shook his head while he checked Frank over. "We've been looking all over for you!"

Frank winced as the paramedic touched the claw marks. "Yeah, it's been a time. Look, can you do this later? I have to guide the pilot to where Nancy and Joe are. They probably don't have much time."

The man sighed. "Okay, just let me work on what I can while you do."

"Alright," Frank nodded. He made his way over to the pilot. Giving instructions to him, Frank saw his journey retraced underneath him.

They'd left somebody with Bart on Frank's insistence. That horse had been through a lot, and he didn't want it getting lost with those cougar wounds on its back.

"I'm coming, Nancy," Frank muttered under his breath.

Nancy heard a low whumping noise outside the cave. Was that a helicopter?

Her heart pounding hard in her chest, the redhead ran outside, shading her eyes to peer into the sun. The large aircraft zoomed overhead and slowed, beginning it's descent.

"YES!" Nancy screamed in relief, waving at it frantically.

A flash of movement at its open door caught Nancy's eye. Frank crouched there, waving at her. Someone else pulled him back inside.

Laughing, tears streaming down her face, Nancy ran back into the cave. Joe opened his eyes. "Nan?"

"Frank's coming, Joe!" Nancy cried. "There's a helicopter! It's over, Joe. We made it."

"Thank God," Joe managed. "Get me out there," he ordered, a little bit of the Joe stubbornness showing through his exhaustion.

Placing her hands under his arms, Nancy gently pulled Joe backwards towards the door. She frowned. He was lighter than he should be. But then, she probably had lost weight, too.

Stumbling, she managed to keep herself upright. They made it out of the cave and into the sunlight.

The helicopter was hovering above, unable to enter the canyon. A paramedic was rappelling down a rope, a stretcher rig pulled beside him.

Swinging to the ground, the man steadied the stretcher. "How bad is he injured?" he shouted to Nancy over the din of the helicopter.

"Just his leg. He has a compound fracture, and probably a couple other breaks in it, too. The compound fracture's opening is infected," she yelled back, brushing her hair from her face in the strong wind.

Suddenly she saw something moving further down the canyon. Squinting, she saw a horse and rider emerging from the dust. Nancy's eyes widened. What was Dave doing here?

"Dave!" she shouted. "What happened?"

"Nancy!" the young man called as he pulled Check to a halt. "There's not much time! The others are on their way, and they want to kill you. You have to get out of here! I got a little lost on the way here, so by now they're probably almost to the canyon!"

Wind whipping her hair and clothes, Nancy gasped. Turning to the paramedic, she told him the situation. "We have to hurry!" she finished desperately.

The man nodded. "I'm going as fast as I can! Once we get Joe up, I'm coming back down for you. Stay safe. I'd suggest laying behind a boulder to stay out of sight."

"Okay," Nancy agreed. Fear clutched at her throat.

Joe reached for her hand, squeezing it. "It'll be okay, Nance. See ya in a few." The younger Hardy smiled weakly at her as he began to be lifted up. Their hands separated.

Looking up, Nancy saw Frank at the door of the helicopter. Joe's paramedic had radioed the situation back to the helicopter, and she could tell he knew. Their eyes met desperately. They were so close. Would they make it?

Trembling, she gave a small wave to him. Frank stared back at her, a longing expression on his face. Dirt was smudged on his cheeks, and one of them had a cut from when they were first captured. She saw a bloody wrap on his arm. He was shirtless, and she saw a few trickles of blood coming from the back of his neck. Frank looked pale and fatigued, and her heart gave a pang. He went through all that for her?

Suddenly she knew she couldn't wait anymore.

"Nancy!"

Starting, Nancy looked into Frank's eyes once more. His voice had carried above the deafening noise.

"What?" she shouted back, taking a step forwards.

Frank smiled a little and leaned forwards. "I love you!" he yelled down.

Nancy's heart stopped.

Finally, after all these years, her bottled up emotions burst forth. She'd been through so much with him. Different cases flashed through her mind – especially Egypt – and all the times he'd saved her, been there for her, and answered her call. And Nancy new. She didn't have to hold back. She'd known it all along.

"I love you too!" Nancy shouted, smiling through her tears. "I love you!"

Just as Joe was pulled into the helicopter, a shot rang out, the blast hot beside Nancy's ear.

With a scream, she got down, scrambling towards the edge of the canyon.

Check flashed by her, running as fast as the panicked horse could. She caught a glimpse of his riderless saddle. Where was Dave?

"Get behind that boulder!" Dave shouted, running towards her. Dust clouds puffed from his footsteps and swept away in the wind.

Nancy saw a flash of metal at the ridge above. Her heart froze. "Dave, look out!" she cried.

BANG!

The gun went off again. Nancy's heart stopped as Dave staggered, then fell to his knees, clutching his midsection. His hands came away red, stained with the blood rapidly staining his shirt.

"NO!" Nancy screamed, her voice hoarse.

Darting over, she helped Dave over to the canyon wall, shielded under and overhang of rocks. "Dave!" Nancy sobbed. "Stay with me. Don't go, please, Dave, open your eyes for me. Please."

The young man's eyes fluttered open, and he smiled slightly. "David."

Nancy sniffed. "What?"

"My name is David. I like it better than Dave, but for some reason I didn't want the guys to know me by that name." He whispered.

"David. I like it," Nancy choked. She gripped his hand tightly. "You're gonna be okay."

He shook his head. "Not this time. But that's okay," David added. "Nancy, you hold onto Frank. He loves you more than anything in the world."

The tears wouldn't stop. Nancy nodded. "I know he does."

Smiling again, David squeezed her hand weakly. "Goodbye, Nancy," He murmured, his eyes shutting for the last time.

His hand went limp, and his head sagged back against the dusty rocks.

"David," Nancy managed, then couldn't hold back anymore. She buried her face in her hands, sobs wracking her body. It wasn't supposed to happen like this.

Suddenly she heard a low rumble. Cautiously, she peered out.

The gang was mounted, and riding up the canyon as fast as they could.

Panting with fear, Nancy whipped her head around. The paramedic was almost all the way down. Her gateway to life.

Standing up, Nancy burst into the open, dashing as fast as she could over to the rope. Gripping it, she stared all the way up to the helicopter, meeting Frank's horrified eyes.

"CLIMB!" he shouted. "HURRY!"

Glancing behind her, Nancy saw the men getting closer. Hauling herself up on weak, trembling arms, she grasped the rope tightly. Making her way up inch by slow inch.

"Grab my hand!" the paramedic shouted.

Looking over her shoulder again in terror, Nancy pulled harder. They were almost here.

Stretching her arm up, she reached for the man's hand, terror giving her strength.

Angry shouts met her ears, and suddenly strong hands grabbed her around her waist, wrenching her off the rope. Hitting the ground hard, Nancy rolled, screaming. Lashing out with her hands and feet, she tried to defend herself.

"NANCY!" she heard Frank yell desperately.

"FRANK!" Nancy screamed back. She had to get out of here.

Suddenly she was hauled up onto the back of a horse. Her attempts to struggle were ineffective.

"No!" s

he punched at Kyle.

The huge man sneered, backhanding her so hard that she saw stars. "Yes," he hissed.

Kicking his horse into a turn, he wheeled and took off.

"Frank," Nancy cried softly before darkness enveloped her.

*fangirl* *fangirl* *fangirl* *fangirl*

"Everyone, Foxy's heart has stopped. Death by fangirling."

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP, she's dead, Jim.