When it Rains…
Atmos was going through a heat-wave. In fact, there'd been no rain for months. Terra Saharr was already getting it supplies from Atmosia. No rain meant no water, and no water meant no life, and no life meant instant doom. Stork had turned on the air conditioners to their fullest, and it was still hot. Hot and horrible. A storm simply needed to be on its way. Otherwise, they were in serious trouble. At the moment, Terra Aquanos was everyone's lifeline.
The sun was beating down on the Condor, and no-one was spared from its wrath. The Storm Hawks were unusually subdued. Indeed, it seemed like all of Atmos was just trying to sleep away the weather. Aerrow and Junko were already in their rooms, and if Stork didn't know any better, he'd believe they were snoozing. Piper, too, was nowhere to be seen. Radarr lay limp and unconscious on the couch, snoring softly.
Stork had no such luxury. He had to pilot the ship. The heat was getting to him too, and he had a passing thought of ripping his clothes to shreds and standing in front of the cool blast from the air conditioners. If he wasn't careful, he'd get a nasty Heat-Bug infection. They liked this sort of weather.
The Storm Hawks were on their way to Tropica. Aerrow had decided it was better if they take it easy for a while. Besides, a nice dip in the sea would be great in the heat. Finn had seconded this idea without blinking. Stork sighed. It seemed nobody understood the dangers of Water Leeches. What was the world coming to?
Speaking of Finn…Where was he? Last Stork had seen, he was in the kitchen, shoving ice-cubes down his shirt. The merb couldn't remember the rest of it. He assumed he passed out. The amount of germs that Finn was exposing himself and the rest of the team to…It was enough to make Cyclonis pass out!
"Hey Stork…can we turn on the coolers please?"
Ahh…Speak of the Devil. "They're on, Finn," Stork replied dryly, too tired to make conversation.
"Really?" Finn groaned, falling to the floor.
"What are you doing?" Stork questioned suspiciously as Finn started make 'floor-angels'. "Do you know all the diseases that you're going to get if you do that?"
"Cold floor…" was Stork's reward. Finn closed his eyes. "Lovely cold floor…"
Stork watched, mesmerized, as Finn continued with this strange penance. Beyond a point, it was too tiring to care about Mind-Worms or Water Leeches or Heat-Bugs or germs of any kind. Which was unusual for him. He half-debated whether he should turn the ship around and go to Terra Blizzaris. Tropica's waters would be nice. But snow would be so much better. And this was Stork's idea. Stork. Who hated snow. That's how hot it had become.
It was only lucky at Cyclonia was dying through the heat-wave as well. No-one was in the mood to fight them.
"Finn," Stork muttered finally, "You're embarrassing yourself. Stop it."
"When is it going to rain!" Finn cried, "Or snow! Hail! Thunder! Lightning!" He sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Anything…"
"And you don't even have to stand here day in and day out, flying the Condor," Stork muttered.
Finn groaned, falling back to the floor. "I'm dying…" he whispered.
"Finally," Stork said, and couldn't stop a smirk. Finn sat up and looked at the merb sharply.
Stork sighed. He was bored out of his wits. He was hot. He was irritated. It was a terrible combination. Finn stood and walked over to the merb. "You need to do what I did," the blonde said, "Cool off."
"I am not doing that," Stork stated firmly, pointing to the floor. Finn laughed.
"No, not that!" Finn replied. "No…here, come. I'll show you."
"But…the Condor!"
"Oh leave her on autopilot for a moment. This won't take long!" And without waiting for an answer, steered Stork to the kitchen. The merb's eyes widened.
"Finn…I am not doing that either!"
"Oh relax…nothing's going to happen!" Finn opened the freezer and got out an ice tray. "It's all good…" His eyes glinted mischievously. There was no escape.
Miles above the Condor, something interesting was happening with the weather. New clouds were sweeping in. Darker, heavier, and bigger. And angrier. Cold winds from Blizzaris started to blow. Temperatures started falling. Almost instantly. It was as though the gods of weather had answered Finn's prayers.
"FINN STOP!" Stork cried, but he was powerless and Finn took out an ice cube. The merb backed away into a wall.
"Oh come on," Finn shoved the cube to Stork's hands. "Do it."
The merb gasped, dropping the ice. "That's DISGUSTING!" he shouted.
"No it's not. It's just—" But Finn stopped in mid-sentence. "Is it getting…?"
"Colder?" Stork completed.
There was a thunderclap. Both boys stared at each other for a moment.
Then dashed to the bridge.
Fearsome bullets of rain started gushing down from the skies. Lightning hissed and crackled. Thunder roared a war cry. Icy air whooshed with force enough to push an airship out of the clouds.
Finn and Stork watched this in horror from the safety of the inside of the Condor. This wasn't just a downpour. It looked like the mother of all storms. Finn let out a low whistle. "When it rains, it pours, huh."
Stork blinked, one part delighted, one part terrified. The Condor shuddered once, and suddenly was blown three feet off course. The merb gulped. "We're doomed."
A/N: The ending was a total letdown for me. I was trying to kill writers block and I took inspiration from the climate back at home! It's supposed to be pouring, for god's sake.
Anyway, thanks for reading! Review?