This is request for a Dark acexPiper fic from biank-the-raven. I hope its ok! Its not like full of fluff and stuff but it's more serious! By the way, I don't own Storm Hawks (though I wish I did!).

'It's easy, she's just there! Do it already! It's not that hard!' The skies were dark and blood red, rumbling with the sound of thunder. On a small terra stood a raven-haired man, a glowing red, crystal powered sword held above his head. In front of him lay a crumpled form, obviously a woman, a small blue crystal necklace glowing around her neck. She was defenceless, her crystal staff laying far out of reach. They were alone and the figure on the ground began to shake uncontrollably. Silent tears poured from her amber eyes and short breaths escaped from her mouth.

"Just do it, I don't care. They never came, they never will. Put me out of my misery!" she screamed at the man. "Aerrow doesn't care. As long as he has his precious Starling," she spat out the name with distaste "he'll never come and look for me! The squadron probably won't even realise I'm missing!! Kill me!! What are you waiting for?!". The mans Crimson red eyes opened in surprise, an emotion that was rarely seen on his face.

'Aerrow? Not look for one of his missing team? Piper, begging for death? I must have over looked something.' As all of these thoughts raced through his mind, sobs began to fill the air around him. Staring back down at the form, he saw her tears fall to the floor, creating a small puddle around her. They came at a heavier pace now and he found it hard to keep his sword above his head. He powered down his sword, letting it fall from his grasp onto the ground and just stared at the shaking form in front of him.

Why? A voice asked. He looked around wildly to see who it was.

"Where are you? Why can't I see you?" he asked in a state of confusion.

You cannot see me, for I am inside you.

"Who are you and what do you want?!" the man snarled ferociously.

I am you, the Dark Ace. Piper looked up in confusion at the man known as Dark Ace. Amber eye's darting from the floor to him and back again. Sighing, the voice spoke again. Why did you let the girl live? She is your enemy, remember? No mercy. Dark Ace looked again at the girl in front of him. He looked into her eyes and saw beauty. Even though her midnight blue hair was a mess and blood was still seeping out of several wounds on her face, arms and shoulders, he had to admit, Piper was one of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. 'Is Aerrow mental?!' he said to himself.

Most likely. The voice answered, Dark Ace now realising it could hear what he said to himself. Let me ask you one thing, do you…love her? Dark Ace listened and didn't react immediately.

"I…don't know." he replied, dark eyes filled with questions and confusion but no answers.

You have to tell her, she has to know. How can you keep this from her, for if you do, you know there would be no chance between you two. You have to. She doesn't deserve to be kept in the shadows any longer.

"But she loves Aerrow." he muttered under his breath, to keep the words from the girls ears. "I can't do it.".

Fine have it your way.

"I always have it my way." Dark Ace growled.

But you know that she will be so sad. She is going to be stuck on the Condor with Aerrow and Starling, those two pathetic excuses for Sky Knights. Aerrow's always going to make sure Starling comes first, she'd be better off with you. Dark Ace's mind was racing, he loved Piper, he always had ever since they first met. But how would he tell her that without making it sound like he was trying to trick her?

"What's wrong?" Pipers sarcastic voice cut through his thoughts. "Scared you might get my blood on your pre-" Piper was cut off as the she was pushed to the ground and the Darks Ace's lips met hers. Catching her off guard, he took this chance to roam the inside of her mouth with his tongue. As his tongue touched hers, her eye's opened wide and realised what was happening. She struggled against his embrace but he was too strong. She managed to break free and broke the kiss while unleashing her full fury. " What the heck do you think you're doing?!" Piper yelled while gasping for breath. Though the experience was pleasant, it just seemed plain wrong! Dark Ace pulled away panting and recounted the past few moments.

'I was deep in thought when Piper had begun to talk. I had stared deep into those eyes and couldn't resist. Before I knew it I had just pinned her down and kissed her, releasing all that tensed up passion I had kept hidden for so long. Yeah, great way to do it. Well done'. The Dark Ace mentally slapped himself as he came back to the present. His eyes widened with realisation. He saw what he had done wrong and knew that he had probably mentally damaged this girl's life forever. 'What on earth? When did I start worrying about other people's mental health?!' he thought madly. Staring at Piper, he knew that it was because of her that he was acting differently. He leaned to the side of her head so he could say something. Struggling for words, he finally whispered "I'm so sorry…" and ran.

Piper watched after him as he ran into the nearby forest. He didn't look back. After a while, she touched her lips where Dark Ace's had been moments ago. She wished she hadn't broke it. 'Does he love me?' she pondered. 'It's impossible! He's the Dark Ace! I'm Piper of the Storm Hawks! We're opposite, it's wrong.' Piper assured herself. But she then thought deeply and looked into her heart. 'They say that opposites do attract, is that the case? And I've always had this weird feeling for him. Maybe…I-I…love…him. I have to go after him!' Piper saw that Dark Ace's sword was on the ground just in front of her. Picking it up, she ignored the pain in her arms and legs that was telling her to give up and steadily walked into the dark depths of the forest.

He ran. He ran and ran and ran. He ran until he knew that he was so far into the forest that no one would find him unless he wanted them to. Dark Ace growled in frustration. "What did I go and do that for?". He removed his headgear and ruffled his hair suddenly realising that he had dropped his sword in the rush to get away from that place, to get away from her. "I just don't understand," he told the trees around him " I hear a voice in my head that is asking me tonnes of questions, I then go and kiss the one person I love and then I run away into the forest while that person is probably still really hurt….". He started to moan. "I'm now stuck out here with no way to get back to civilisation, I am defenceless as I don't have my sword and I am pretty sure that I am mentally ill as I am telling all my problems to a tree. Great.". Sighing, he walked over to a nearby boulder and sat on it. 'I didn't even look at her expression when I left. I don't know if she was hurt, shocked, angry or…well…happy. I'm such and idiot.' Lost in thoughts, he didn't see the shadows that were creeping among the trees. They were all around him, surrounding him.

"If you don't give her up now, we'll make sure you suffer…" a familiar voice sounded, making sure the person emphasised the word 'suffer'. Dark Ace turned and stared wide-eyed into the depths of the trees around him. Someone had been listening after all.

"Where is he, oh where is he….Oh My God. I'm lost in this hell hole of place, all alone and bleeding to death. Ok, maybe I exaggerated a bit about the 'bleeding to death' thing." Piper muttered to herself as she battled through branches, vines, thorns and all sorts of other things. Her cuts and wounds were still open and bleeding but not as bad as they were earlier on. Piper had Dark Ace's sword for self defence as she didn't have the energy to use sky-fu and her crystal staff was broken. However, she did have the frost crystal that was in her staff with her. The double bladed weapon was a lot heavier than she originally thought, her shoulders were aching and she began to wonder how the Dark Ace carried this around on his back all the time.

She came to a small clearing, littered with dead leaves and stray rocks and pebbles. Deciding to ignore the clearing and carry on, she wondered further and deeper into the forest.

After a while, she stopped and listened. She could swear she could hear voices. "I don't have her." 'Dark Ace' she thought instantly. 'He must be talking about me. But who is he talking to? Unless…'

"We know you do. What did you do with her!" 'Aerrow? What is he doing here?' Ever so quietly, Piper edged towards the voices. They became clearer the closer she got.

"If you think I killed her you're wrong." Piper heard the Dark Ace say.

"LIAR!" Aerrow shouted. Piper could now see what was going on. Quickly, she hid behind a tree, but with the scene still in view. She was hidden in the shadows, everyone else oblivious to her nearby presence. Aerrow had the Dark Ace by his collar, one of his dagger like swords activated and at Ace's throat, illuminating his face with its blue energy. His expression was unreadable. The rest of the Storm Hawks surrounded him; escape was impossible. "What did you do with her!" Dark Ace's eyes turned away. "ANSWER ME!!". Aerrow's voice surprised Piper, so much it almost scared her. She had never heard him like this before. As well as anger she could pick up worry in his voice as well. Aerrow raised his dagger threatening to strike. Piper knew what was going to happen if she didn't intervene at that exact moment.

"I'm fine." Piper spoke calmly and quickly, just loud enough for them all to hear. Though she used to despise of the Dark Ace (or so she thought), she couldn't bare to see him get hurt. All eyes turned on her as she stepped out of the shadows and into the dappled light of the clearing. Piper knew her hair was a mess and she could feel blood starting to ooze out of one of the wounds on her cheek again. Aerrow still held Dark Ace's collar tightly.

"Piper? But…how…what…" Aerrow stuttered.

'I have to get away, I can't deal with this.' Piper turned and fled back through the forest, she could hear light, swift footsteps close behind her and her name being shouted over and over again but she ignored it. She could feel tears running down her cheeks, stinging her cuts as they ran over the still open wounds. Forcing herself to run faster, she heard the voice becoming fainter and fainter. She arrived back at the clearing she passed before, convinced she had lost whoever it was that was following her. Without warning, she collapsed in the middle of the clearing, drained of all energy. Panting slightly, she managed to crawl towards a boulder in the middle and heaved herself into a sitting position, her back against the cool stone. A thin layer of sweat covered her heaving body. 'Why me. Of all people, why me?'. So many questions overtook her mind. She didn't notice the silhouette silently walk up behind her. Tears began to leak down her face again. She let them take over her body, too weak to resist. The silhouette behind her sighed and Piper heard.

"Who is it?" Piper asked, still sobbing her heart out.

"It's me, Aerrow." Piper let a little 'oh' escape her lips. His red mess of hair came into view and his emerald eyes were filled with concern. Every bit of anger she had seen erupting from him just a little while ago seemed to have just disappeared. " Piper what's wrong?" he questioned, wiping the tears off of her cheeks with his thumb. "You're never like this. You've run away from us, you've burst into tears and now you clam up and stuff. You can tell me, I'm always going to be there for you." Piper snorted at this comment

"You're always going to be there for me! Hah! So where were you earlier on when I thought I needed you most!?" Piper asked glaring into his emerald orbs with her amber ones. She began again before Aerrow could say anything. "Starling is always going to come first isn't she! While I was alone and stuck on a terra, you two were probably making out in you room, all safe on the condor, not batting an eyelid about what I was going through! I can't believe, I even liked you.". Piper turned away and stared at a tree. Aerrow was stunned by her words.

'Me and Starling!? Where did she get that idea from!? I've always loved Piper, I've just never summoned up the courage to tell her.' Aerrow went through what she had just said in his mind. '"You're always going to be there for me! Hah! So where were you when I thought I needed you most!?" Hang on. 'Thought' she needed me most? Exactly what happened when she was with the Dark Ace? And when she said "I can't believe, I even liked you." , surely she meant just as friends. Right?'

"What exactly happened when you were with the Dark Ace, Piper? And Starling and I are not…well…a couple or anything. We're just really good friends who spend a lot of time together!" Aerrow said while looking at Piper in worry.

"You're kidding about the Starling thing, aren't you?" Piper said, her voice beginning to shake.

"No." Aerrow replied, frowning in confusion.

"…but…I…oh no." Piper put her hand over her mouth in shock. "Oh no, no. This cannot be happening.".

"What is it?" Aerrow asked, his leadership attitude coming out again.

"I…can't…say. And you and Starling aren't-"

"No."

With no warning, Piper entered a full blown screaming fit. "I'm such a stupid, foolish girl! Why couldn't I figure that out! If I had known that then we wouldn't be in this mess. I wouldn't have left the Condor in a state of jealousy and then I wouldn't have found the Dark Ace and I wouldn't have been beaten in battle and he wouldn't have kissed me…" Piper trailed off, realising what she had said. "Oh…no. I shouldn't have said that.". Aerrow's eyes widened in shock as he took in the information he had just received. Piper's head was in her hands and she was rocking backwards and forwards.

"He WHAT?!" Aerrow shrieked in shock. "H-he just k-kissed you! Please tell me it was on the cheek, please!" the young teen begged. Piper shook her head in sadness. "It-t was just p-peck on the lips then right?" Aerrow's voice was getting higher and higher. Piper stared at Aerrow and wondered weather she should lie, for the sake of his mental health. Going against it, she unwillingly shook her head again. "Oh…he kissed you full on….n-no…that's impossible…he's the Dark Ace…y-your Piper…"Aerrow stuttered as he placed a hand on his forehead.

"I know…I stopped him." Piper whispered. "He apologized and then just ran off into the forest-"

"A-and then w-we found h-him." Aerrow finished while still stuttering. "We have t-to talk to h-him.".