It's been a long wait, but the sequel to my fic "Friends and Enemies" is finally here!
Here's a recap: The Cyclonians set about taking over Atmos by mass killing of lives on the Terras. Dark Ace forced Stork into betraying the team, but Stork came through in the end, rejoined the team, thwarted the Cyclonians' plans and defeated Dark Ace. In Dark Ace and Stork's final fight, they both inflicted near-fatal injuries on each other. Fortunately, Stork survived. Unfortunately, Dark Ace survived too.
Now, Dark Ace and Stork both think each other is dead, but they are about to discover the truth. And Master Cyclonis has devised a new plan of taking over Atmos, which will also single out another Storm Hawk and tear the team apart.
As with my first fic, this fic contains violence, blood, gore, language and more StorkPiper references.
Chapter 1: Fallen from Grace
Dark Ace collapsed onto the surface of the pontoon. The glowing green katana rose into the air and came down, the tip of the blade stabbing his chest. He made a choking, retch-like scream as the blade pulled down, tearing through his chest, stomach and gut. A three fingered hand delved deep into the wound and began to pull out the slimy rope of his intestines.
Dark Ace could not feel any pain, only fear, looking up at his attacker, a silhouetted figure whose slim posture, elongated head and pointed ears were that of a Merb. He could not move either; he was completely paralyzed. He could only watch on as the assailant raised his head and laughed a deep demonic laugh. He knew what was coming next.
The katana rose again, as it had done all the previous times, and plunged deep into Dark Ace's left eye. He screamed, blood streaming over his face. Through his remaining eye, he watched as the black space of the attacker's face faded, revealing the light green Merb skin-tone, a pair of pale yellow eyes, and oil-black hair, falling over the side of his face. A single name stuck out in Dark Ace's mind;
Stork.
Dark Ace awoke with a start, screaming hoarsely through his dry throat. He silenced immediately and sat up on his bed, wiping a layer of sweat from his forehead. He clambered out and proceeded to dress into his Cyclonian uniform.
Pulling on his black, skin tight legs, he glanced at his wall mirror. Stretching from his collar bone, right down his middle and across his chest and stomach to his gut, was an immense scar. It was thin, but the length of it made his body look ugly. He had a second scar, this one in place of where his left eye should have been. It was much smaller, but it resembled a tree root, a thick twine of flesh.
"Six months..." he muttered to himself, "six months, and still these nightmares torment me..."
Six months ago, Dark Ace had been involved in a fight to the death with the Storm Hawks' carrier pilot, Stork. He had been unexpectedly talented and strong. The merb had fought Dark Ace with all he was worth and had been the cause of both his scars. The large scar down his body had been the result of an injury by Stork's katana that had almost entirely eviscerated him. Stork had left him to die, but Dark Ace had taken a final shot at him with his sword, deciding that if he was going to die, then Stork would die with him. But he had been lucky, having been found by a Talon and taken back to Cyclonia to heal.
His scars may have healed well, but the near-death experience had left Dark Ace somewhat traumatized, the fateful day reenacted numerous times in his dreams. He had tried to dismiss these dreams as merely aftermath shock, but they had continued throughout the entire six months it had taken for him to heal. It soon became apparent to him that the dreams may never recede and would probably last his entire lifetime. Like with his scars, Dark Ace would just have to bite the bullet and carry on. Master Cyclonis would not care if he suffered.
A knock came at his door, "What?!" he shouted, back turned.
A Talon entered, "Dark Ace, Master Cyclonis has summoned for you."
She must be tired of waiting, he thought, "Fine, Go!" he commanded.
"When I told you not to come back until you had healed, I didn't expect you to waste half a year of my life." Master Cyclonis hissed as Dark Ace entered her chamber.
"Well, an evisceration wound doesn't exactly heal overnight." he answered bitterly.
"Nevertheless, I have devised a new plan. We tried to take over the Terras last time and we failed. So this time, we'll take over the Sky Knights. I'm sending you after all the Sky Knight squadrons in Atmos to carry out a 'special' type of attack on them. The tracking devices I've sent to them all should have entered the systems of them. Take the battalion I've prepared for you, and track each squadron down," she turned to him, "and you'll need this."
She handed him what looked like a small leather bridle, a tiny black thorn attached to one of the straps.
"And what is this?" Dark Ace asked, taking the device.
Master Cyclonis smiled, and began to explain...
To be continued.
And it begins... again... SS.
