Chapter I

The condor flew smoothly through the sky over Atmos, thanks to Storks' piloting. Piper was still in her room, but the others were up on deck, playing poker, and Finn was losing. His face was screwed up in concentration, an angry look on his face. Junko and Aerrow were trying hard not to laugh at Finn's expression. The bet was the loser had to do the dishes on the condor for two months, and it was pretty clear that Finn would lose, bad.

Suddenly, Piper appeared on the front deck, reading a piece of paper and giggling. Finn rolled his eyes. "Girls," he muttered under his breath, and Junko nodded in agreement.

"Whatcha reading, Piper?" asked Aerrow. Piper didn't answer. "Piper?" said Aerrow.

"Huh?" replied Piper, looking up from her piece of paper. "Oh! Sorry, Aerrow. It's a letter from my best friend, Thirrin. We haven't talked in two years."

"Thirrin?" asked Finn, snorting. "What kind of a name is that?" Piper gave him an evil look.

"It means 'fire heart', Finn, and trust me, it fits her really well," growled Piper.

"What does she look like?" asked Junko.

"Well, she has - actually you guys might be able to see for yourself," said Piper, smiling. "She asked in the letter if I could visit. She lives on Terra Aqua, and we're in that vicinity. So, I was hoping, if it was okay with you Aerrow, if we could see her," she said, smiling sheepishly at Aerrow.

"What about Cyclonia? If they're on that terra -" began Aerrow, but Piper cut him off.

"Their terra has never been touched by Cyclonia. Nobody knows why, but they intend to keep it that way, so says Thirrin."

"Oh, well, I guess it wouldn't hurt," replied Aerrow.

"Yes!" cried Piper, punching the air with her fist. "I send a reply to her."

Piper whistled a weird tune, and Finn raised his eyebrow, looking at Piper like she was crazy. Suddenly, a thing swooped in and landed on Piper's shoulder, screeching. Radarr hissed at it, Junko jumped violently, and Finn and Aerrow covered their ears.

"What is that thing?" asked Finn, taking his hands off his ears and staring at Piper.

"It's a falcon, Finn. Her name is Frear, and she's Thirrin's. Most falcons are wild, but Frear is Thirrin's pet and helps her deliver her mail," replied Piper, rolling her eyes.

"Whatever," muttered Finn.

Then Piper gasped and ran to the window, pressing her face to it.

"We're here!" she cried, and the others ran to the window to see too.

"Wow," whispered Aerrow.

The terra was huge, and was obviously full of life. The northern quarter was half ice, half forest. The western quarter had a volcano that was billowing lots of steam. The eastern quarter looked like most of it was desert, except for a giant lake in the middle and a walled city. The southern quarter looked barren, except for four tall buildings at each of its poles. It was amazing to look at.

"Dude," said Finn. "That's where she lives?"

"The northern quarter, actually. She lives near the frozen part. I think I'll just send Frear back without a reply. I want to surprise her," said Piper, and she ran out of the room, towards the docking bay.

"Ugh," muttered Finn, and he, Junko, and Aerrow ran after her.

They took off ten minutes later, heading straight for the forests in the northern quarter.

"So, what is Thirrin like, Piper?" asked Aerrow.

"She's amazing!" replied Piper excitedly. "She's really smart, she knows about crystals, and she one of the bravest people I'll ever meet. Besides you," added Piper, and Aerrow grinned. "She's also really flexible. She could bend her body in ways you can't even imagine. She's pretty too. She's a great fighter, and she can have a smart mouth. That's one of her flaws. Hey Finn, I also heard that she can play wicked electric guitar now," she called, and Finn raised his eyebrows, smiling.

"Sweet!" he cried.

"But I have to tell you one thing. Thirrin's mother was killed when she was just a little kid," said Piper sadly.

"Wow, harsh," said Finn, and Aerrow nodded.

As they came in for a landing, a shower of green arrows came hurtling towards them.

"HEADS UP!" yelled Aerrow, and they all dodged, the arrows missing them by inches.

"MORE COMING!" screamed Finn, and an arrow hit the front of Finns' Air Skimmer III, knocking off the front and sending Finn hurtling towards the tress below. Luckily, Finn pulled his parachute just in time. Another shower of arrows came towards them, and they hit Piper this time, knocking the propellers off of her Heliscooter, sending her towards the ground as well. Instead of sitting and waiting to get hit, Aerrow sped up into a dive, heading straight for the source of the arrows, his blades drawn. Radarr retracted the wings, and Aerrow's Air Skimmer III Ultra transformed into his cycle, and Aerrow sped off through the trees.

Suddenly, a yellow net shot out in front of Aerrow's cycle. Aerrow slashed at it with his blades, but they didn't cut through. The net hit Aerrow with such force that it knocked Aerrow off his bike. He hit the ground hard, the net sitting on top of him, holding him to the ground. As Aerrow looked up, coughing, he saw people emerging from the trees, all of them holding crossbows. They were cloaked and wearing black masks that went up to their eyes. Then one of them stepped forward, the person's crossbow pointed straight at him. Aerrow could tell it was a girl and a young girl too. Even thought he couldn't see her face, he could see that she had the clearest gray eyes he had ever seen.

"What are you doing on our terra, Cyclonian scum?!" asked the girl in a very demanding voice.

"Where's the rest of my squadron?" asked Aerrow, and Aerrow saw her mouth move behind the mask into what looked like a smile.

"I'm the one asking the questions, Talon," she replied smoothly.

"I'm not a Talon!" exclaimed Aerrow, and the girl raised her eyebrows skeptically.

"Sure, like I haven't heard that one before," said the girl, rolling her eyes.

"I'm serious! I'm Aerrow of the Storm Hawks!" cried Aerrow, and one of the others dropped his crossbow.

"A-Aerrow?" he spluttered. "Dude! You're, like, the first guy ever to beat the Dark Ace! Linea let him go." The girl turned her head back to look at him and gave him an angry glare.

"Why should I?" she hissed, and the guy scrunched back in fear. "He could be lying for all we know!"

"Do you know Thirrin?" asked Aerrow in desperation. The girl looked back at Aerrow, her eyes wide.

"How do you know Thirrin?" she whispered.

"I don't, but my friend Piper knows her," replied Aerrow, and Linea lowered her crossbow.

"You're friends with Piper?" she asked, and Aerrow nodded. "Why didn't you say so?!"

The girl raised her hand, and the net flew off Aerrow and back into a canister on the girls' belt. She held out her hand, and Aerrow took it. The girl pulled him up surprisingly fast, as if she put no effort into it at all.

"Thanks," said Aerrow, and the girl pulled off her mask. She was very pretty, and she looked about sixteen.

"My name's Linea," said the girl, and she shook Aerrow's hand. "Don't worry, you're squadron is back at our HQ. Thirrin's my little sister."

"Really?" asked Aerrow. "Cool. Wait! Where's Radarr?"

"He's fine," replied Linea, and she snapped her fingers. Two bulky looking men appeared carrying a metal cage, and inside was Radarr, hissing angrily. They unlocked the cage, and Radarr ran out and jumped on Aerrow's shoulder, growling.

"It's okay, Radarr," muttered Aerrow.

"C'mon, I'll take you to your squadron," said Linea, and she walked back through the trees, Aerrow and the others following behind her.


The Dark Ace's footsteps echoed throughout the large room as he walked towards his leader, Master Cyclonis. Apparently she had a new task for him, for she said it was urgent.

"Master Cyclonis," he said, bowing his head in respect and crossing his arm across his chest.

"I have a job for you, Dark Ace," replied Cyclonis smoothly, her soft voice menacing and frightening. "Apparently, the people of Terra Pyro, our allies, are having trouble with their neighbor, Terra Aqua. There are some trouble makers, mostly newly knighted Sky Knights that are wiping out both Talons and Terra Pyro's brigades. Since I need their help to take over those four terras, I will be sending you in."

"What do you wish me to do, Master?" he asked.

"Wipe them out," she whispered, and the Dark Ace smirked.

"Consider it done," replied the Dark Ace, and he bowed again before turning on his heel and walking back out the door.


Aerrow and Linea reached the town sometime later. The town was huge, with a huge watch tower stood in the middle, surrounded by a huge open market. It was quite nice. But Aerrow paid no attention. His concern was only for his squadron.

"Where are they?" asked Aerrow.

"They're over there," replied Linea, and she pointed over to the front of the watch tower. Finn looked over and waved.

"Hey guys, look!" cried Finn, and Junko and Piper looked up. "It's Aerrow!"

Aerrow smiled, and he ran over to his squadron.

"Are you guys okay?" he asked.

"We're fine," replied Piper. "I see you've met Linea," added Piper, nodding over Aerrow's shoulder. Linea waved, and then returned to talking to a guard. "Thirrin's in the fields, c'mon," and they followed Piper out of town.

They reached a large field five minutes.

"C'mon Piper, hurry up!" whined Finn. "I wanna go home!"

"You mean the condor," corrected Piper, "and no. I told you guys we would meet Thirrin. Now come on!"

Then they spotted a group of kids a little bit away. There were seven of them, and five of them looked under thirteen years old. The other two were a boy and a girl. The boy had black curly hair and clear gray eyes like Linea, and he looked sixteen as well. The girl was different. She was tall and pretty, with long brown hair the fell to her back in a long braid, tan skin, and piercing blue eyes. She was wearing a green and purple bodysuit with matching gloves connect to her sleeves by black netting. Her boots were black and faded leather, like they were worn out from so much use. The girl was doing outstanding gymnastics in front of the kids to loud applause.

"Hey Thirrin!" cried Piper, and the girl looked up.

"Piper!" replied Thirrin, and she cart wheeled over to Piper and threw her arms around her. "It's so good to see you!"

"Good to see you too!" said Piper. "Wow, you've gotten really tall! Last time I saw you, you were a head shorter than me!" Thirrin just smiled, and looked over Piper's shoulder.

"Who are your friends?" she asked.

"My names Aerrow," began Aerrow. "I'm the leader of the Storm Hawks, and this is my co-pilot Radarr."

"I'm Junko!"

"Finn, Atmos' best sharpshooter," said Finn, smiling and raising his eyebrows repeatedly.

"Okaaaay," said Thirrin, backing away slightly.

"Don't worry about Finn," said Piper, elbowing Finn in the ribs. "He does that to all girls." They both giggled.

"You're a Sky Knight, aren't you?" asked Aerrow and Thirrin blushed at Piper's stare.

"Guilty," she replied, shrugging her shoulders and smiling sheepishly.

"Rock on!" cried Piper, and she gave Thirrin a high five. "I knew you would be knighted someday!"

"C'mon, I'll take you to my place," said Thirrin, and she whistled. The boy with the black hair looked up. "Damien! I'm going to go back to the house, ok?"

"Sure, whatever," replied Damien. Thirrin rolled her eyes.

"C'mon," she muttered, and they walked back towards the town.

"Who was that?" asked Aerrow.

"That's my older brother, Damien. He's Linea's twin," replied Thirrin. "He can be a real jerk sometimes. C'mon, I want you to meet my dad."

They walked through the town, Thirrin giving them a tour. It wasn't very big, but it was unlike any town they've been in. Half of it was carved out of ice, and the other half was carved out of rock. It was amazing.

Then they reached the side of a small mountain covered in trees. A staircase was carved into the mountainside.

"Where's your house?" asked Finn. Thirrin just smiled, and started up the staircase.

"I will never understand girls," muttered Finn, and Aerrow put his hand on Finn's shoulder.

"I know, Finn," said Aerrow, and they followed Thirrin up the winding staircase.

When they reached the top, in front of them was a huge house covered in ivy. It was three stories tall, with a balcony on the highest level and a wall around the yard with a wrought iron gate.

"Wow…," whispered Finn.

"You like it?" asked Thirrin, a grin on her face.

"It's great," said Piper.

"I know. That's my room up there, the one with the balcony," she said, pointing at the third story. "It's got a great view of the terra. C'mon, I'll show you."

Thirrin took out a ring of keys and unlocked the gate, and they walked inside the house. It was even more beautiful on the inside. It was painted an off-white color, and it was a big open space, like the walls were cut away to make more room. The staircase was huge and polished until it gleamed. It would have looked homey if it wasn't for all of the gadgetry crowding the large room. There were crystal scopes, crystal missiles, several crossbows and standard bows, and a huge collection of crystals. On the wall nearby was a coat of arms. It had two swords crossing each other, the top part of a crystal-powered staff going upwards from the middle, and a crossbow going down from the middle.

"Whose shield's that?" asked Finn.

"My family's," replied Thirrin. "The two swords belong to me, the crossbow belongs to Linea, and the staff belongs to Damien. My dad created that shield when we all started training to become Sky Knights. My dad wasn't so thrilled when I was knighted though," she added with a sad smile.

"Why? I would think your dad would be proud," said Aerrow.

"He was worried about me. He didn't like the fact that I'm fourteen and fighting Cyclonians," replied Thirrin. "Hang on, I'll go get my dad," she added, and she ran off up the staircase.

"She's pretty," blurted out Finn.

"Finn!" cried Piper, and she elbowed him in the ribs.

"What? She is!" defended Finn.

"Look Finn, I know she is, but could you not say it out loud? She blushes bright red whenever you say something about her looks," said Piper. "It's a habit of hers."

"Oh! My bad," said Finn, and Piper rolled her eyes while Junko and Aerrow sniggered behind them.

"Hey guys!"

Thirrin had returned with a tall, well built man behind her. He had dark brown hair and piercing blue eyes the same color as Thirrin's, but his hair was spiked in the front and he had a mustache. He would have looked menacing if it wasn't for his kind face and gentle smile.

"Storm Hawks, meet my dad, Linden," introduced Thirrin, and the Storm Hawks all waved and said hi. "Dad, these are the Storm Hawks. Aerrow, Finn Junko, and you know Piper already," said Thirrin, pointing out each one of them.

"T-the Storm Hawks?" whispered Linden, and Thirrin's smile faltered.

"Dad? Are you okay?" asked Thirrin quietly.

"How interesting," said Linden shakily, and Thirrin raised an eyebrow.

"Dad, do you need to sit down?" asked Thirrin. "You're kind of freaking us out."

"I need to tell you guys something, including you Thirrin," said Linden, "something that I haven't told anyone for seven years."

"Linden…," muttered Aerrow, lost in his own thoughts. "Linden, Linden, Linden…wait a minute!" he cried, and everyone stared at him. "I know who you are!"

"You do?" asked Thirrin.

"Yeah. I've read about your dad somewhere," replied Aerrow, and he walked up to Linden and looked him square in the face. "You were a Sky Knight, and a well known one too."

"Really?" whispered Linden, glaring at Aerrow.

"Aerrow," began Finn uncertainly, "Whatcha doin'?"

"Thirrin," said Aerrow, "Your dad was a Storm Hawk. Weren't you?" he added, narrowing his eyes at Linden. Linden grimaced, then nodded.

"Yes, I was."