Chapter 1: Captured
Authors Notes: Let me start off by saying that though I love Storm Hawks, I haven't watched the show in a while. I've started to watch it all again, but, still, I apologize if there's any inconsistency.
Second, this is my first attempt at a girl/girl relationship, and I'm not too great at romance, but I think these two deserve for me to at least try.
Okay, Enough with my excuses. Let's get started!
The Cyclonian wind whipped my face. Darkness loomed across the ground below. Talons swarm around me, weapons at the ready in case I try to escape, though they already know I won't. Snipe jerks on the chain connected to my hand cuffs, causing me to stumble, pulling me ever closer to our destination: Master Cyclonis' Tower.
And all the while, I can't stop the tears from falling.
Maybe I should start from the beginning.
My name is Piper, and I'm a Skynight. I'm also the navigation and tactics specialist of the Storm Hawks. My team relies on me to make our plans.
And it was such a good plan.
We'd heard that a large number Cyclonians were gathering near Terra Blizzaris. So we decided to check it out. I think we all knew the real reason we we're going wasn't to strike another blow to Master Cyclonis. It was just an excuse so we could hang out with our Blizzarian friends and 'shred some ice,' as Finn put it.
It didn't take long to find the Cyclonians. After Aerrow did a quick recon, we found out that the Cyclonians had discovered a large quantity of raw crystals right beneath the surface and were mining it out to an airship hovering nearby. With this many crystals, Master Cyclonis had the potential to cause some real damage. So, naturally, we had to stop them.
Thanks to one of Blizzaris' famous blizzards, Finn would swoop underneath the Cyclonian airship undetected, planting Swarm crystals along the engine constraints. Once Finn was a good distance from the ship, he'd put his marksmen skills to work setting off each crystals. Once activated, the crystals would cause the constraints to disintegrate, separating the ship from its engines, sending the ship plummeting into the Wastelands. In the ensuing confusion, me, Junko, and Aerrow would land at the mine. While Junko distracted the Talons on the ground and Finn and Radarr, using Aerrow's Skimmer, would take out the ones in the air, Aerrow and I would sneak into the mine, taking as many crystals as we could carry.
Hey, no need for all those crystals to go to waste, right? At least they'd be in the hands of the good guys.
After getting the crystals, Aerrow and I would rig some Cooking crystals on the mine's support beams. By the time the crystals burned through the beams and buried the mine, we'd be long gone. Once we were out of the mine, Stork would bring in the Condor and give us covering fire while we made a hasty retreat to the far side of the Terra to meet up with Suzy-lu and her team.
For the most part, everything went perfectly. Aside from Finn slamming his Skimmer into the airship a few times, it couldn't have gone better. The engines separated, the ship fell, and the Talons ran around like idiots trying to figure out what was going on. By the time we hit the ground, half the Talons had already been shot down, and most of the men on the ground were running away into the frozen country side. The few that didn't quickly wished they had, as 400 pounds of angry Wallop came charging at them. Everything was going perfectly.
Until we entered the mine.
We didn't have to go far to find the crystals. Several mine carts full of them were only a few hundred feet past the entrance. Being the crystal fanatic of the team, I ran right over and started stuffing my bag. "Look at all these crystals, Aerrow! Think of the possibilities! This might actually give us the power to stop Cyclonia!"
My mind was racing, all of my knowledge of crystals flooding my thoughts. All I could think about was all the potential that these crystals had, all the new experiments I could try.
So I barely heard Aerrow when he said that something wasn't right.
If I would have just looked around before rushing over to the carts, this whole thing never would have happened. I would have noticed the Firebolt crystals already planted on the support beams.
As you might have guessed, it was a trap.
I still can't believe I let this happen. I mean, this is something you'd expect from Finn, not from me.
Aerrow's the only reason I'm alive. He pulled me out of the way as just as the first crystals blew, sending several tons of rock and rubble crashing down right where I'd been standing. As the mine collapsed behind us, running that few hundred feet felt like an eternity before we leaped clear into the cold Blizzarian air, a large dust cloud engulfing us. Once the I could see again, my heart stopped.
It was my worst nightmare come to life. Snipe, Ravess, and Dark Ace stared smugly down at us. Talons surrounded us, their weapons leveled at out heads, ready to execute us in a moments notice. Above us, three Cyclonian warships hung in the air, enemy Skimmers swirling around them like vultures. Junko's Skimmer and my Heli-scooter impossible to get to, swallowed by the sea of Cyclonian red surrounding us. The worst part? Finn, Junko, and Radarr, bound and gagged at the feet of the Dark Ace. I could see Aerrow's Skimmer, battered, but still flyable, laying on its side a little ways off. I assumed that the pile of scrap metal next to it was what was left of Finn's.
Everything went about how you'd expect. Dark Ace monologued about our insignificance, Aerrow denied it, said that they'd never get away with it. The Cyclonians laughed. Then Dark Ace asked how we were going to stop them.
Thank God for Stork. If it wasn't for him, we all would have been captured. The Condor had never looked more beautiful then she did at that moment, flying out of the Blizzarian clouds like an angel from Heaven. Don't ask me how he did it. I still don't know. All I remember is a massive explosion as one of the Cyclonian warships exploded above us, then the chaos as the Condor opened fire on the Cyclonian ground forces. The three Cyclonian generals looked up in both confusion and anger. That brief moment of lost focus was all Aerrow needed to leap forward, slicing our three captured friends loose and landing a high kick to Dark Ace's back. Before the three generals could react, I threw Aerrow my last Rainbow Smoke Crystal. When he smashed it to the ground, a multi-colored cloud of smoke erupted, making visibility to near zero.
I bolted towards my Heli-scooter, jumping over any Talon in my way. I took off just as the smoke cloud dissipated. Once I was out of reach of the Talon's hands, I looked over my shoulder and say, to my relief, that the others had made it into the air as well. Even Finn had made it, hitching a ride with Junko.
I didn't have much time to celebrate, though. There were still two warships in the air, not to mention six dozen Talon Skimmers and God-knows-how-many shooting at us from the ground. Luckily, this is moment is where my Heli-scooter shined. What it lacked in speed and armor, it made up for in maneuverability. While the others simply out ran the Talon attacks, I danced around them. At times like this, I didn't think of aerial battles as combat. To me, it was art.
Above me, Stork was doing something similar, having the Condor side-wind between the two warships, causing half their shots to go flying off into the empty sky, and the other half to hit each other.
I pointed my Heli-scooter towards the Condor, pushing it's small engine as hard as it could. Finn and Junko had already made it back to the ship and were manning the main cannons, trying to clear a path for me and Aerrow.
Just as I thought I was going to make it, I heard a small buzzing sound. Before I could look back to see what it was, a purple flash blinded me. My scooter was blasted to the side, almost causing me to fall off. When I regained my balance, I tied to grab the handlebars. My heart sunk as my hands grasped empty air.
Someone, probably Ravess, had managed to aim a Firebolt arrow at the front of my scooter without me seeing it. My entire steering column was destroyed. Without it, my scooter could only so the last thing I had told it to do: fly in a straight line. I was a sitting duck.
As I looked behind me, I saw Ravess notch another arrow. When she saw my eyes widen in fear, a cruel smirk formed on her lips as she took aim.
Suddenly Aerrow nosedived straight at her, sword at the ready. Once he was in range, he took a swipe at her. She flinched out of his way, but that flinch messed up her aim. I swear I actually felt the heat from the Firebolt crystal as flew past me.
Like a Skynight in shining armor, Aerrow swooped in towards my doomed Heli-scooter. "Take my hand!" he yelled to me. I reach out to him. I actually felt our fingers touch.
We never saw him coming. Dark Ace flew straight up between us, forcing Aerrow to serve away as my wayward scooter kept flying straight ahead. I turned my head around to look for Aerrow. What I saw instead was Ravess, milliseconds before seeing the arrow aimed at my rotors.
After that, every thing's a blur. I know I pulled my chute, but nothing happened. Maybe it was shredded by shrapnel, maybe Dark Ace cut the straps on it; I don't know! All I know is that after that arrow demolished my rotors, all I could do was hang on to the remains of my scooter for dear life as the would spun around me. The only thing I remember for sure was hearing Aerrow yell my name before I hit the ground.
I don't know how long I was out. It could have been days, it could have been just a few seconds. When I woke up, I couldn't feel my legs. Actually, I couldn't feel anything. You ever lay down in the snow till your skin turns red and feels numb? Imagine that, except your wearing a skin-tight, sleeveless jumpsuit, and you have the twisted remains of a Heli-scooter pinning your legs to the ground.
I tried to push the scooter off of me, but the cold, the grueling battle, and the bone-shattering crash had completely sapped my strength.
So I just laid there. I laid there and prayed. To who, I'm not sure. I just prayed that someone, anyone, would save me.
Be careful what you wish for.
Just as my eyes started to close, with my dark skin turning paler and paler, I saw the form of a person walking towards me through the blizzard air. He was big and muscular.
"J-J-J-Ju-u-u-nko?" I called pitifully through chattering teeth.
A dark cackle answered back. "You wish."
Snipe came closer. When he was over me, he lifted his mace over his head. With no other choice, I just closed my eyes and waited for the end.
"Stop!"
Clang!
My eyes opened as far as I could manage, weak as I was. Dark Ace had intercepted the blow with his sword. He and Snipe were staring at each other with a murderous glare. Snipe actually growled at Dark Ace.
Unfazed, Dark Ace simply stared him down. "Master Cyclonis wants the Storm Hawks alive. We're luck to have found this one. Do you really want to be the one to tell her that we let the others escape and that you killed the only one we captured?"
Snipe stared at him for another minute. Then, with a grumble, he tore his mace away from Dark Ace's sword and returned it to it's sheath. With a single kick, he sent my wreaked Heli-scooter flying. With one hand, he grabbed me roughly around the waist, jerked me out of the snow, and hoisted me over his shoulder.
When they took me to their ship, Snipe literally through me into a holding cell. As cold metal met my even colder body, I found that just couldn't move. My body wouldn't answer my thoughts. So I laid there, motionless.
About an hour latter, my door opened. It was Ravess. I expected her to start ranting on her victory over me, maybe even literally kick me while I was down. Instead, she turned me over on my back. Then, to my surprise, she picked me up, gently, and set me down on the cells bed.
Maybe she was being sympathetic because we were both girls. Maybe she just didn't want to bring a sick prisoner before Master Cyclonis. All I know is that from the Healing crystal to when she pulled the covers over me before she left, I had never felt more grateful. Ravess never made eye contact the entire time. Before she left, she said, with her back to me, "Sleep. Rest. You'll need it for what Master Cyclonis has planned for you."
Not exactly a good thought to try and rest on, but I tried my best. To be honest, I knew that I wouldn't make it to Cyclonia. I knew Aerrow wouldn't leave me behind. I knew that any minute, alarms would start blaring and I'd see the Condor out my window.
And I was right.
I was awakened by the airship lurching to the right. Then the alarms started blaring, and I could hear Talons running franticly up and down the hall. Still weak, but better then before, I got up and went to the window. The normally blue sky was tinted red, meaning that we were close to Cyclonia. But that thought vanished when I saw the Condor fly past my window, cannons blazing. Then the warship returned fire. It was kind of surreal, being on the point of view of the Cyclonian's side of the battle.
I didn't have time to dwell on that, because Aerrow's Skimmer flew into my view. When he saw me, he tuned his Skimmer towards my window. Without hesitation, he leaped of his Skimmer, sword at the ready. He plunged the blade into the side of the warship, the sword actually going through the wall of my cell. He flashed me a smile before going to work. Radarr took off to avoid the Talons that were converging on him, probably to distract them so Aerrow could get me out.
Sparks started to fly as Aerrow started cutting through the wall with something I couldn't see, probably one of Stork's inventions. I stepped away from the wall as it started to glow red, before an orange blade came through. Slowly, the blade made it's way down the wall, leaving a glowing cut behind it.
Aerrow had almost gotten the blade to the floor, when I saw something behind him that froze my heart. I pounded against the wall, staring at Aerrow through the window. "Aerrow!" I screamed. "Behind you!"
He turned around too late. Dark Ace raised his sword over his head. The Phoenix crystal equipped to it glowed as a jet of flames jetted across the sky.
Aerrow barely had time to yell as he was engulfed. With nothing to fuel them, the flames quickly died away. Aerrow was in bad shape: his skin was burned, and his clothes were blackened. For one fleeting moment, our eyes met. In his eyes I could see two things: his pain...
...and his despair. Despair in knowing that he failed.
Aerrow's eyes closed as he lost his grip. He passed out, his body going into free-fall, falling out of my sight. I think I screamed.
Dark Ace dived down after him. I desperately tried to do the impossible and look down to see them. Out of nowhere, Aerrow's Skimmer shot back into my view, Radarr at the controls. Aerrow was slumped over in his seat, out cold. Radarr gave me a desperate look, as if asking me what to do. Then he looked back to the Condor.
The Condor.
The once proud airship was in tatters. Holes were blasted all throughout the hull. Windows were shattered. The port-side engine was on fire. Talons were swarming around it, doing whatever damage they could. The ships cannons were firing blindly, Finn and Junko trying to delay the Talons as long as they could.
In that moment, I came to a realization. As much as I wanted to escape, I knew the cost would be to great. The Condor wasn't going to last much longer, Aerrow needed help. And he's the leader. I'm just the navigator. So I did the hardest thing I've ever had to do.
"Go, Radarr! Get Aerrow out of here!"
Radarr's eyes widened. His shook his head slightly, saying he didn't want to.
"Go!"
The rabbit-lemurs eyes dropped for a moment. Then he looked back to me, determination in his eyes. He gave me a small nod.
The Skimmer twisted through the air, making it's way back to the damaged Condor, Dark Ace on their heels. Radarr pulled of moves I'd never even imagined before with perfect precision, slipping between Talons like they weren't even moving. How he manged to both ditch Dark Ace and get to the airship in one piece will forever be a mystery.
The Condor stayed on course for a few more moments. I could imagine Radarr trying to convince the others to give up and retreat. My guess is that he slipped a Velocity crystal into the engine before the others could stop him, because with no warning, the Condor shot of into the distance, quickly becoming just a dot on the horizon before vanishing.
When the ship was gone, it finally hit me: I lost. I wasn't going to be rescued. I was really going to be taken to Cyclonia, to have Master Cyclonis do God-knows-what to me. There was no chance of escape. Aerrow hadn't done near enough damage to the room for that. And to add to my despair, Aerrow's sword was still plunged into the wall, mocking me, telling me just how close I was to almost escaping, and what that 'almost' might have cost me.
So I did what most people with no hope did. I cried. I pushed myself up against a corner of the room, curled up into a ball, and cried. I've never felt so hopeless.
I stayed like that for hours. At one point I heard the door open, but I didn't look up to see who it was. It was probably someone checking to make sure I hadn't escaped in the battle. The door soon closed, leaving me alone once more.
Soon, I felt the ship touch down. We'd reached our destination: Cyclonia. Ravess opened the door and pulled me to my feet. My eyes stayed to the ground as she slipped a pair of handcuffs on me. I never looked up as Snipe attached a chain to the cuffs and lead me out of the ship.
And that leads us to now.
As we traveled through the Tower, I noticed on thing through my bloodshot eyes: there were no people. Aside from the occasional Talon guard, the entire tower was empty. Empty and quiet. The only sound was our feet on the stone floor, and even that sounded muffled somehow.
As they led me deeper into the Tower, I strange sound started to build, muffled at first, but getting clearer the farther we went. It was a sharp crackling sound, like lightning. Further down the hall purple light flashed.
We entered a vast chamber of purple stone. Crystals were the only source of light. At the end of the chamber was a spider-like machine, crystals of all kinds held in it's grip. And at it's base, back facing us, was...her.
Master Cyclonis.
She was the source of the lightning, a bolt flying from in front of her every few seconds.
As we neared closer to her, the generals seemed to get a little nervous. Ravess kept her head down, similar to how I was. Snips legs were actually wobbling, making a shaking sound that would have been funny, if not for the feelings of fear and hopelessness that was closed around my heart. Even Dark Ace seemed effected. His usual smug look was replaced with one of deep anger hiding beneath the surface.
She didn't turn around. We stood there for a few minutes while more lightning shoot out in front of the Cyclonian dictator. Eventually, back still to us, she spoke. "Speak."
Dark Ace stepped forward. "The Storm Hawks escaped. We lost a warship."
Master Cyclonia still didn't turn around. "That is...unfortunate." Her words were spoken calmly. Too calmly. She gripped her staff.
Before she did anything else, Dark Ace spoke again. "However, we did manage to capture one of them."
At that, her head tilted up. Slowly she turned around. Quickly I ducked my head down, doing whatever I could to avoid eye contact with her. Still the tears fell.
Everything was quiet for a moment. The tension in the air made it hard to breath. At least, thats how it seemed to me.
Finally, Master Cyclonis spoke. "Leave us."
Dark Ace was taken aback. "But, you majesty..."
Cyclonis banged her staff on the ground, sending a web of lightning into the air. "I said leave!"
Snipe didn't need to be told again. He flat out dropped my chains and ran out of the room. Ravess wasn't much better. She gave Cyclonis a bow, said "you, majesty" and ran after her brother. Dark Ace was less willing to leave. He stared at the queen for a moment before stalking out of the room.
And that left me alone with Master Cyclonis. The person in charge off the greatest threat ever to plague the Terras, and I was the only the only thing for her to focus on.
I waited for her to say something. After a few minutes I heard the sound of footsteps as she walked up to me. Still I kept my eyes on the ground. Then her boots entered my field of vision. She was right in front of me.
"Piper..."
He voice surprised me. Unlike when she spoke to her subordinates, in which case she sounded cold and threatening, right now, her voice was calm and soft. I kept my eyes down, tears still falling. I
"Piper..." she said again. "Look at me."
At first, I contemplated defying her, to try and keep true to the Storm Hawks code of fighting Cyclonia no matter the cost. But, I couldn't do it. After being almost buried, blown up, frozen, and having hope snatched away from me twice, all in one day, I just lost the will to fight. So I looked up. What I saw on her face was the last thing I ever expected to see from the Master of Cyclonia.
Concern.
"Piper...why are you crying?"
I don't know why it happened. A moment ago, I was ready to give up, to completely give myself over to Cyclonia. But for some reason, when I heard her say that, something new formed inside of me. From the pain, sadness, and hopelessness, came something I had never felt so strongly before.
Rage.
"Why am I crying? Why am I crying?" Master Cyclonis actually flinched back. I felt a look of rage twist on my face. "You sent an army after us! You had them try to capture my entire squadron. You had me shoot down. I almost froze to death! I just watched Dark Ace almost incinerate Aerrow." The tears were coming back even stronger then before. "He was hurt so bad, he might not make it. For all I know, I just saw my squad leader die right in front of me. And you're asking me why I'm crying?"
My outburst burned itself out just as quickly as it arrived. I sunk to the ground, sobbing openly.
Master Cyclonis looked down at me. Apparently my words had removed any sympathy that she had for me. "You Storm Hawks are the only thing standing in my way of taking over all of Atmos. No matter what plan I make, you six are always there to foil it. Without you, nothing can stop me."
"Then why did you bring me here?" I could still muster a little anger. "We didn't you just have me killed."
For a brief moment, that softness returned to her eyes. Then she smirked. "It's the same reason you keep defeating my soldiers that makes you so valuable."
I was confused. "What?"
"The Storm Hawks have traveled to more Terras then any other squadron in the history of the Skyknights, as well as having worked with every squadron in existence. You know how they operate. You know all their strengths..." She leaned down and whispered in my ear. "...and weaknesses."
My eyes widened. Then, despite my self, I started to laugh. It was completely out of place, and I don't even know why I laughed, but after everything that had happened to me today, I think I deserved to be a little hysterical. The weird thing is that I still cried, even while laughing.
Master Cyclonis just watched me with a mixed look of amusement and something I couldn't place. Pity maybe?
After a minute, I calmed down enough to speak. "Wha-What makes you think I-heck, any of us- would betray the other Skyknights like that?"
"So I take it you won't just tell me their secrets?"
Tears still flowing, I formed the most defiant look I could. "Never in a million years."
Master Cyclonis' smirk grew. "Unfortunate." She reached into her robes and pulled out a glowing pink crystal, so smooth it almost looked like a ball of energy. "Tell me Piper: do you know what this is?"
To my shock, I was forced to answer "No." I thought I knew every crystal known to Atmos, but this one was unlike any I'd ever seen before.
My answer seemed to amuse her. She held the smooth crystal in front of me. "This is the Mental-Absorption crystal. My own invention."
"Mental-Absorption...?" I asked perplexed. Then my eyes widened as as the reality of what she was talking about meant. "You don't seriously mean..."
"Exactly. With this crystal, I can pull whatever I want from a persons mind into my own. Their thoughts, their feelings..." She laughed as my growing fear became more apparent. With a loud snap, she attached the crystal to her staff. "Even their memories. You wouldn't believe how many Talons I broke before I finally got it right."
I tried to back away from her, but she placed her foot on the chain connected to my cuffs. I looked up into her eyes. Pleading with her. "You can't do this."
She raised her staff to point it at me. Then she slowly let it back down. Her eyes gained that same strange softness from before. "I-I don't have to Piper. Not if you just tell me what I want to know." Was it my imagination or was...she pleading with me? "Well Piper?" she asked in that soft, almost sad voice.
Still crying, still fearful, I looked her straight in the eyes. "Never."
The softness was was gone. In it's place was anger as she lifted her staff and pointed the glowing crystal at my head. "Then so be it."
In that last desperate moment, I took a gamble. "Don't do this." The crystal glowed brighter. I took a deep breath. "Please, Lark."
She froze. All emotion was washed away, replaced with a shocked, woeful look. In an instant that look vanished, replaced with a look that was more than rage. It was almost murderous.
I braced myself...
It wasn't enough. No one could have prepared themselves for this kind of torture. I could feel he physically tearing through my mind, searching for what she wanted. I could see every memory she found, and felt the stabbing pain when she simply tossed aside what she felt was useless, and the tearing sensation as she ripped what she wanted from me out of my head. It felt like she had grabbed my brain with her bare hands and was tearing it apart bit by bit.
The whole process took five minutes. The five longest minutes of my life. I knew I was screaming, even though I couldn't hear it.
The worst part was that I could feel her. It was faint, but I could feel her mind too. All I could feel was her emotions, but that was enough to add to my suffering. Anger. Frustration. Amusement. I felt them all. But the one thing that made no sense, the only thing I could consciously think about throughout the entire thing, was the pain. Her pain. Underlying everything I felt from her was a deep pain.
It ended as soon as it began. In an instant, I went from unrelenting pain to feeling nothing. I couldn't even form a conscious thought. As my mind tried to piece itself back together, I fell forward, every bit of strength leaving my body. I lay there, my entire body trembling. Occasionally I'd twitched violently. I couldn't even close my eyes.
I was barely aware of Master Cyclonis as she stumbled around the room. She held her head in both hands, her teeth clenched in pain.
Dark Ace entered the room. He rushed to the Cyclonian Queen's side. "Master Cyclonis, are you..."
"I'm fine!" She yelled at him. A few moments later, she let go of her head and regained her regal composure. She turned to Dark Ace. "Ready the warships." She ordered. "Prepare every Talon for battle." She looked down at me, still twitching, her face blank. "This war ends today."
And still the tears fall.
A/N: Not much of the romance yet, but I'm happy with how it turned out. Tell what you think: should I keep going or should stop while I'm ahead? You decide.
