.......?

Erza groaned and opened her eyes. Sparks flew from cables swinging through the air. She was upright and belted into her seat. She frowned, touching a sore spot on her head. When did I sit up? Why do I have a seatbelt on? She wondered, flinching when her hand came away covered in blood.

She struggled with the clasps a moment before cursing and drawing her knife. She hacked through the straps and fell forward, jamming her shoulder into the back of the seat she faced and dropping her knife. It skittered along the floor before impacting the cockpit wall. Why the hell is the plane tilting?

She angled herself to lay flat along the seat-back supporting her. Glancing around the head-rest, she saw Faolan slumped forward in his seat. Turning over, she saw the four siblings, Roderick, and Vladimir in similar poses beside her and toward the back of the plane. She didn't know where Lucius had gone. She couldn't see the Eagle in their section of the plane.

Reaching up, she shook Zeke as hard as she could. His head flopped on his limp neck. Oops! Hope I didn't give him whiplash. Abandoning her quest for aid from the only man she could easily reach, she climbed across the aisle and jabbed her finger into Jo's bicep. She almost tumbled down the plane when the woman jerked awake and glared.

"What the hell do you want?" Jo grumped.

She's obviously not a morning person... or a waking up person if it's not morning, Erza thought.

"I don't know what happened. I think we crashed. Everyone else is unconscious. I can't wake Zeke, and Lucius is missing. You need to help me get everyone out of here before the place blows all to hell. Get your siblings awake and out of here. All of them," Erza stressed, jerking her thumb behind her at Zeke.

"I may hate my brother, but I only want to see one man dead," Jo replied, gripping the straps confining her and ripping free.

"And who might that be?" Erza asked, climbing the mountain of seats to Rick's side.

"My father," Jo called back.

Erza's step faltered, causing her to slide backward two seats. "No matter how evil he is, killing your father is never easy. It'll haunt you all your life," she said, pushing herself onto the seat in front of Rick.

"Haunt me? Hardly. You don't know what evil is," Jo's bitter tone echoed in the spark filled cabin.

Erza replied, her tone hollow, "My father didn't just kill my family; he slaughtered them. I found my mother strung up by her ankles like a deer, her head impaled on a spear in the nearby weapon's rack. My baby sister's body floated in the moat; her throat ripped out. My little brother? There was hardly anything left to bury after my father repeatedly pummeled him with a mace. Father came after me with a sword. I killed my father in a desperate bid to survive. Trust me; killing your father will haunt you, no matter how depraved he is."

Erza shook Rick roughly. Gentleness was too much to ask from her at the moment.

Jo remained silent. Whether in pity or defiance, Erza didn't care; she'd shared her two-pence worth of advice.

Roderick's hand shot forward and grasped Erza's throat. Instinct screamed to struggle--to break free--but Erza knew the Wolf would only hold her tighter. She commanded her muscles to loosen and went lax in his grasp. She took slow, measured breaths as her most deadly friend regained his faculties.

"Forgive me, Regina. I was not myself," he said, releasing her.

"It's fine, and I'm not the Regina anymore. We've crashed. Get Vladimir up and out of here, and then help Jo with the humans. I'll get Faolan and find Lucius," she said. At his answering nod, Erza twisted, maneuvering herself into the aisle.

"In coming!" she called to those below. She bent her knees and let go of the seats she clung to. Sliding down the steep incline, she caught herself on Faolan's chair.

Supporting herself with one hand, Erza shoved Faolan's shoulder as hard as she could. The man was such a heavy sleeper; a category five hurricane wouldn't wake him on the best of days. Shoving didn't work. Neither did shaking or slapping. Time to get serious, she thought, eyeing the smoldering seats as they began to ignite.

"Faolan Hesketh," she whispered close to his ear, "if you don't wake your ass up this minute, I'll throw a Chef's Surprise into every Corvette, Lamborghini, and Ferrari I can find."

Faolan twitched and groaned, "You're a demon woman! You shouldn't be allowed to even utter those cars' names!"

Erza smiled. Sometimes knowing a person's Kryptonite worked better than using force. "Hey, it got your fine ass up, didn't it? Now help me look for Lucius," she said.

"No looking needed," Faolan said, pointing to the open cockpit door and the large hand barely visible around the hunk of twisted metal.

Erza released her hold on the seat and slid the rest of the way into the cockpit. "Oh, hell!" she exclaimed.

Lucius lay beneath an aluminum cabinet and what was left of the industrial grade steel cockpit door. Erza found a number of bruises on his large body, but she couldn't see anything below his abdomen.

"Oi! If anyone has a hand free, I need help. Sooner, rather than later!" she called into the cabin.

"How bad...? Oh, shit. We may need another person to help lift these off, not to mention drag his heavy ass out," Faolan said, skidding to a stop beside her.

"No, you don't. Male, you grab that lightweight cabinet. I'll grab the door, Erza, you pull," Jo said, sliding into the room and taking stock with one swift glance.

"There's no way you can lift that on your own!" Faolan argued.

Something exploded, rocking the plane and throwing them to the floor. Erza heard something snap.

"We don't have time to discuss it! Just lift!" Jo cried, heaving on the heavy steel door.

Erza gripped Lucius's shoulders as Faolan scrambled to lift the aluminum cabinet. She watched Jo's progress, seeing the door rise higher and higher. Jo wasn't even struggling for breath.

As soon as the warped metal was high enough, Erza hauled back on Lucius's shoulders, dragging him free. She paused, panting. He's a heavy son-of-a-bird! That's it. We're all going on diets. No more of Vladimir's yummy cooking.

Jo snagged Lucius in a fireman's lift and scrambled back up the incline to the plane door. "Hurry up!" she called back, "We're the last ones, and this plane will go any second!"

Erza didn't argue. She scurried after the younger girl, curious of the woman's stamina. With darted glances, she made certain Faolan wasn't far behind.

They'd just cleared the door when another explosion rocked them. Running as fast as their legs would carry them, they bolted for the trees nearby.

Stumbling to a halt just inside the trees, Jo dropped Lucius into a soft bed of pine needles. Nodding her thanks, Erza turned to watch their only means of transportation burn to cinders.

"Everyone accounted for?" She called over her shoulder.

"All here, alive, and mostly whole. Worst injury is Lucius," Vladimir informed her.

He knelt beside the fallen warrior, testing his limbs.

"Verdict?" she asked, moving to crouch beside him.

"Broken leg; maybe a concussion. We need to set the bone and wake him up to be sure," he replied.

"Ask Jo to help with any heavy lifting or pulling," she told him. "I'm beginning to think either all the siblings are gifted, or they aren't human," she muttered to herself.

"When Sir Eagle wakes, give him this," Emmy passed a small paper packet to Vladimir, careful not to touch him. "It's a mixture of herbs that will promote healing and dull the pain."

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"You're a midwife?" Erza asked, surprised that such ancient methods were still used in the modern era.

"I'm an herbalist. I'm a leading authority on medicinal and toxic plants, as well as some insects," she replied.

"Thank you for your aid, Emmy. I'm sure Lucius will be better for it," Erza said, grateful there was some kind of healer among their group.

"Do any of you hear that?" Prue asked. Erza turned and saw Roderick supporting the young woman as she clutched her temples.

"The explosions and fire crackling? No, we thought it was just a luau," Faolan's voice dripped with sarcasm.

Erza rolled her eyes and made a mental note to beat some respect into the man's vocabulary at the earliest opportunity.

"Not that, the screaming. You don't hear the screaming?" Prue stumbled forward, reaching for Erza. "It's coming from you!"

Erza stepped back, bumping into Jo. The Amazon woman snatched the leather thong off Erza's neck and tossed the amulet to Prue.

Unthinking, Erza spun; her instincts screaming to let her cocked fist fly. She barely restrained herself when she heard Prue's melodic crooning.

"If we can't hear it and she can, the origin is a crystal," Jo explained, holding up her hands in surrender.

Of course, the whole reason the guys went to get her, she can track by crystal! Erza mentally slapped herself and turned to watch Prue work.

"Yes, Love, I know, the crash was horrible. You're safely back on the ground where all crystals belong. You're magnificent. Look at your etchings! Not a single tool mark or flaw. It's like you grew this way! We really need to find where you came from. Can you help us? Yes? Wonderful!" Prue prattled to the darkened disk in her hands.

Erza was confused. "I thought she could track by crystal...but she's talking to it?"

"And they talk back," Zeke said coming to stand beside her.

Erza's hands shot to her mouth. "Oh, shit! I said that out loud, didn't I?" she asked, mortified.

Zeke only grinned and nodded. He stood close; his shoulder nearly touching her own. She was growing to like the sizzle-pop of her blood when he came near.

"I need to find a crystal or rock formation nearby to get my bearings, but I'm sure I can find the cave we're looking for," Prue stated. She looked up from the crystal she was stroking like a cat and reluctantly handed it back to Erza.

Erza nodded. "Vladimir, how's Lucius doing?" she asked.

"His leg is splinted, but he won't wake up," he replied.

"Roderick, Faolan, fashion a litter to carry him on. Keep an eye out for rock formations Prue can use. You ladies watch Lucius while Zeke, Vladimir and I go over what's left of the plane and salvage what we can," Erza ordered, striding back the way they'd come.

While combing the wreckage, Erza glanced around the ruined aircraft, puzzled.

When we got on the plane, the seats were blue, she thought, watching the charred red upholstery crumble beneath her fingers. Our airline was American. Reversed R's in the words on signs throughout the plane's wreckage bespoke of the aircraft's Russian origin. What the hell? Her heartbeat was beginning to stutter in panic. How could I have slept through a plane crash? Who buckled me into my seat? What the hell happened between our discussion and me waking up upside-down with sparks and flames everywhere?

"Zeke, Prue said she could find the cave for us. How can she do that if we're still in the States? The cave is in Siberia," Erza asked. She noticed she was breathing heavily as the two men stared at her; confusion, shock, and dismay flitting along their features.

"Erza, sweetie, take off your sunglasses," Vladimir said quietly. Erza scowled and ripped the darkened lenses off her face, tucking them into the neck of her shirt.

"I've told you repeatedly not to call me that, Vlad," she said, deliberately shortening his name. Erza knew he hated the traditional nickname. He knew it was tit for tat, though. The other her would never shorten his name.

Vladimir sighed visibly relieved and then asked, "What's the last thing you remember?"

"Our Q&A on the plane ending with our discussion of our curses," she replied.

Zeke blinked. "That was three days ago," he said, slowly, "We've had a couple of connecting flights since then. You were conscious and giving orders the whole time."

Erza froze. She'd suspected, but her other half had never remained active for so long before.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"Somewhere around Northeastern Russia. Beyond that, we don't know," Vladimir said, shrugging his thin shoulders.

Why would my other personality keep her emotions from me during that time? Erza thought. Crap. I really should give the girl a name; I'm starting to confuse myself!

Shaking away her troubling thoughts, Erza continued to sift through the debris.

She found Faolan's pack wedged beneath his seat. The top flap had slightly charred edges, but the article was otherwise sound. It's a miracle this thing didn't eviscerate the plane. She stuffed it into the blanket she used as a makeshift knapsack. Her Colt had an unnatural attachment to the ratty thing. He’d be overjoyed to have it returned to him.

As the sun set, Erza called a halt to their search. She surveyed their supplies as they returned to the makeshift camp: a couple of flares, a small med kit, a few blankets and tarps, and a bag of weapons. How had Rick's bag of weapons survived?

They'd also found some rope and thin wire they'd stripped from the plane. But, no food or water... not even her katana. Erza and her Warriors had survived with less, but she worried about the humans now in her care.

She dropped her haul on the ground beside a small fire. Branches and sticks had been tied together to form a makeshift tent over a sleeping Lucius. Two more branch structures dotted the nearby forest floor.

"Well, the guys have been busy," Erza said.

"Sir Wolf and Sir Horse have not yet returned from their task." Erza turned to the voice and found Emmy tying up the branches on a fourth hut.

"Where did you learn to make shelters like that?" she asked, inspecting one of the huts. The branches were woven tightly together with short branches of cedar and pine needles laid overtop. The best thatcher from her childhood would be envious of Emmy's work.

"Our father moved us from dig site to dig site all over the world. We had no choice but to learn something of surviving in the wilderness," she replied.

"Where are Prue and Jo?" Zeke asked, standing too close beside Erza. He brushed against her to set down his own bundle of salvage. Her blood crackled, and a bright blue spark of electricity zapped her where he touched. She flinched at the shock.

"Sorry," he said, rubbing his arm at the sting.

"Prue and Jo went hunting. They will return soon," Emmy said sitting down beside the fire.

"Hunting? With what?" Erza asked, concerned. What could two city-women hunt with? Sticks?

"Probably whatever they could find. Don't worry. Jo can handle herself and whatever trouble comes their way," Zeke said, joining Emmy at the fire. Erza noted the two-foot distance he maintained between himself and Emmy.

"For once, we agree on something, Zeke," Jo called. A brace of rabbits dangled from her hand as she entered the camp, and a rough bow was strapped to her back. Prue followed carrying more rabbits and a couple of squirrels; a sling dangled from her fingers.

"Where did you find the weapons?" Erza asked, eyeing the bow warily.

"We made them. I keep string on me in case of emergencies, and Prue cut off a bit of her shirt for the sling," Jo said, dropping the rabbits beside the fire. The jagged tear across Prue's midriff validated Jo's words. Erza nodded, relieved. She wouldn't have to worry about her human charges after all.

"Any change in Lucius?" Vladimir asked, squatting beside his comrade.

"He woke up, muttered some nonsense from Milton, and went back to sleep. His heartbeat is strong, and his breathing is even. Other than the leg and a bit of bruising, I can't detect anything wrong with him," Jo said.

"That is good to hear. Rest is oft the best medicine," Roderick said as he and Faolan joined them.

Jo picked up the brace of rabbits and threw it at Faolan. "Go skin dinner, Male," she said, never taking her eyes off the flames.

"What the hell, woman? You go clean dinner, that's a woman's job!" Faolan yelled dodging the flying corpses.

"Faolan!" Erza snapped, straightening her spine. "You did not just go there!"

"You screwed up now, kid," Vladimir chortled.

Roderick just shook his head and began twining branches together for a litter. Zeke joined him silently.

"You could have said anything, but you had to go with 'women's work,'" Prue said, spitting the last two words in distain.

"Traditionally, the man's job is to hunt. However the women took over that task for you, and you show them no appreciation for their efforts. Fine. You will do whatever 'women's work' needs doing until we return to the U.S." Erza said.

"What? I'm a warrior! Not a pansy assed butler!" Faolan roared.

Erza's eyes narrowed as her nostrils flared in rage. "For that crack against Vladimir, I'm demoting you to his aide. You will do whatever anyone in this group tells you, understood?" she growled.

Faolan remained silent, but Erza felt his fury in her blood.

"Are we clear, Hesketh?" she gritted.

"Don't make it any harder for yourself, Lad," Roderick said quietly as several more moments of tense silence reigned.

"Crystal clear," he bit out, bending to pick up the rabbits.

"Speaking of which, here," Faolan called tossing something at Prue's feet. "Master Cano," he said, his voice both sarcastic and bitter, "insisted we not return until we found you that damn chunk of crystal you wanted." With that comment, he turned away and vanished into the trees.

Erza saw Prue pick up and cradle the stone Faolan had thrown. From the corner of her eye, she caught Zeke looking around the group and then back the way Faolan had gone.

"He's coming back with supper, right?" he asked.

Erza laughed. The tension in the little campsite dissolved as the rest of her party joined her.

Perhaps, she thought, perhaps we will succeed after all.