I really am mean to Aerrow, but I guess that's because he could use it. For all we know, he's the perfect leader and friend, but it's everyone else who has the problems.
Anyway, enough of my ranting. Enjoy!
After that battle with the Cyclonians…Aerrow fell into bed and, were it not for the aches and pains that manifested themselves as he settled, would have fallen asleep by the time his head touched his pillow. There had been so many of them; nearly too many even for the Storm Hawks.
Most of the Cyclonians had been afraid. But, when you were marched out under orders either to die or capture your enemy, who wouldn't be? It had lasted all day and taken everything out of all six Storm Hawks. Stork had whipped up a rig to hold the Condor steady while he not only started repairs with Junko, but caught a few z's himself. Piper had tried to do some research on the battalion that ambushed them, but she had fallen asleep at her desk and Finn helped Aerrow move her to her bed. Finn repaired the weaponry with Aerrow's help, and they had barely finished before both had almost fallen asleep like Piper. But they had won the battle. That was something to be proud of.
It had all happened at once: Their communication had jammed, so Junko held the wheel while Stork went to go check it out. That wasn't too unusual, since various things were almost always breaking, but when the radar cut out as well, everyone began to suspect something. They had no warning when the Cyclonians were upon them, and they had to scramble to get up any kind of defence. It had been very difficult, especially with the Dark Ace, Ravess, and Snipe all making appearances, but those three had lost by a very slim margin. Too slim.
It wasn't that they were losing their edge, because the Cyclonians had compromised the battle anyway, not to mention their large numbers, but it was just nerve-wracking to see just how much power Cyclonis had.
Aerrow wondered if his muscles would be sore tomorrow, and if anyone else was as sore as he was right now. Probably, but you never know…
A slight creak in the Condor made him fully awake. Even if his body was exhausted, his mind was ready for another round. Not much more than that. Finn peeked in his room.
"That rig of Stork's is kinda cool," he said quietly, yawning, "But I'm going to bed."
Radarr jumped on the bed beside Aerrow and curled into a ball. Aerrow smiled tiredly and gave a weak thumbs-up. "Sounds good to me."
Within seconds, Aerrow's mind distanced itself from his body and he was nearly dreaming. In his nearly dreaming mind, a creak shot through somewhere…he couldn't grasp any specific position, or whether it was a work of his mind…Radarr shifted and Aerrow jolted awake. He was still on edge. Calming his breathing and trying to stop the adrenaline that had started coursing again, he tried to go back to sleep, but he couldn't. That creak…it had to mean something bad. Unless Junko was having nightmares…but he wouldn't be. He hadn't had another one since he joined the Storm Hawks however long ago that was…
Another creak sounded. Radarr lifted his head and growled. Straining to keep his eyes open, Aerrow knew that Radarr wouldn't be growling at any of the Storm Hawks. There was someone on board!
The Sky Knight jumped up, tried not to fall over as his balance adjusted to standing, and sounded the alarm. Not one sound from rising squadron-mates could be heard. After a moment of waiting for something to happen, he grabbed his energy blades and walked quickly towards the belly of the Condor.
As he went, he tried to shake sleep from his head and limbs, but it wouldn't go away. This is not good, was all he could think. A slam against the floor jolted the Condor and Aerrow almost fell again, but it righted itself. If no one heard that, then I must be dreaming…he thought, but he also realized how vivid this was…This can't be a dream…Or I'm too tired to tell otherwise.
Before entering the helm of the Condor, he rubbed his eyes, trying to see more clearly, but he entered with as much confidence as he could muster, even if he didn't really look the part. What he found made his stomach plummet.
Cyclonis, Ravess, and the Dark Ace turned to smile grimly at him.
"Welcome Aerrow! Glad you stumbled on our little meeting," Cyclonis said.
"Then you're meeting in the wrong board room," Aerrow quipped, trying to make himself look awake. His enemies actually laughed.
"No, we're in the right room alright. And we didn't bring my brother along for fear of damaging the decor," Ravess said, "Not that I think we'd have trouble without him."
"These crystals really are most useful," she revealed a green, blue and yellow mottled crystal from under her cloak. "An interesting combination of crystals." She threw it at the ground and the Condor rocked again with a muffled explosion, though only dust was left. No damage at all. "And most useful."
The Dark Ace smirked at Aerrow and turned to Cyclonis. "Do you mind if I do the honours?"
"Not at all. You need the most redemption out of all of us," Cyclonis said, and before Aerrow could call for backup, she said, "Making any kind of sound will alert no one. Ravess has disabled all communication, again, and I've put up sound barriers in the doorways of everyone else's rooms, as well as a little something to keep them sleeping until morning. We don't want anyone sleepwalking." She revealed four more crystals, yellow, red, and two oranges. "Don't worry though. We haven't done anything to harm them."
"Radarr!" Aerrow shouted, and Cyclonis sighed dramatically while the other villains just smirked even wider.
"I put the same crystals in your door way as well, once you were out of it," Cyclonis said.
Fear blossomed in Aerrow's chest, and he tried to suppress it and not let it show. It would not be good to let the Dark Ace see him afraid. He had more experience than his first fight against his enemy, when he'd lost, but he didn't know if that'd help him today. Must stay positive! Otherwise I'll lose. I…will…win…
Aerrow knew the Condor's helm like the back of his hand. The Dark Ace didn't. That would be his one strand of hope. Aerrow used his peripheral vision to judge where he was as opposed to the table. Piper and Finn hadn't bothered to put it away below the floor that night. He kept backing up because of the Dark Ace's advancing, slightly turning each time, until he was just three feet to the left of the table. He made a quick jump, fervently hoping that he'd make it onto the table. He knew that it might corner him, with Cyclonis, Ravess, and the Dark Ace closing in, but he'd take the chance.
The Dark Ace grinned evilly. He thought he had this fight in the bag. But he didn't. Aerrow knew that. He'd win this one. Even with Cyclonis and Ravess standing by in case the Dark Ace failed. That made his heart race. He glanced at them, relaxed and leaning against various flight instruments as they were. They also thought that they'd win. Aerrow bit his tongue at the odds against him.
His shoulders were tense, holding up his energy swords despite his exhaustion. The Dark Ace took a leaping jump up to stand just in front of the Sky Knight, only a hand's breadth away.
"I know you're not up to this battle. Might as well give up now," the Dark Ace said quietly, his voice laced with menace. He slowly forced Aerrow backwards, toward the opposite edge of the table.
"Leave it to you and your crazy master to bring a hero down to his lowest before attacking," Aerrow snapped. He thought about plunging an energy sword into his enemy's stomach, but before he could even gather enough energy to make it go though the red and green suit, the Dark Ace took the liberty of doing the same.
Pain shot through Aerrow's midsection and he fell forward onto his knees, dragging his blades down the Dark Ace's suit desperately, though he couldn't give it enough power to do more than draw a little blood. The dark murderer jumped off the table and laughed, smiling in triumph. He'd barely felt that little scratch, but Aerrow wouldn't survive that wound. His immune system was down as it was, and even if he was perfectly well, he would probably die.
"What now, master?" Ravess asked.
"Now we go and see if the same trick will work on Starling. Unless we kill her as well, the Storm Hawks will be back in business before we can blink," Cyclonis answered, and lifted the three of them through the hole in the roof they'd made when they arrived. She caught sight of Aerrow's blood dripping of the table and onto the floor. There was no way he'd survive until morning. That wound had been awful enough for him to bleed to death before the hour was up. Whether he was dead now….well, she didn't know. But the other Storm Hawks would wake up to a gruesome sight, whatever happened.