Goodbye Condor, goodbye Storm Hawks
The Storm Hawks were on Terra Neon, only this time; there were people on it this time, so it was far more enjoyable with the presence of more people. Only, one thing was wrong- the Cyclonians were having fun as well. The Storm Hawks, knowing their enemy, stayed their distance. Some of them, such as the Dark Ace, Aerrow noticed, seemed to be very bored. He was standing around, watching his fellow Cyclonians (although they didn't look it, as they were disguised in civilian clothes, as was Dark Ace). They were handing out some sort of leaflets. Aerrow had to fight down a laugh, whilst on the Ferris wheel with his co-pilot. Radarr poked him sharply in the ribs, and shook his head. Radarr then pointed to Piper and Stork, who were heading in the way of the Dark Ace. Aerrow panicked, wondering what the Cyclonians would do to them if they figured out that the Storm Hawks were there. Give them a beating, he supposed. Radarr grabbed hold of Aerrow
"Hey!! What are you doing?" he said, trying to shake Radarr off.
Radarr looked in Aerrow's bag. Aerrow looked at him suspiciously. Radarr straightened up, holding a button. He gave it to Aerrow, who took aim and threw it at Stork, who looked up angrily. Aerrow pointed at his explanation, and Stork and Piper turned their backs on them and walked away from trouble.
Finn and Junko were, most presumably, on one of the rides that would make you sick, even if you hadn't eaten anything, so they would be out of trouble, for now. The ride stopped, and the two got off.
Radarr pinched a leaflet off a cyclonian (they'd recognise Aerrow), and gave it to his friend.
"Trying to get people to join Cyclonis? Do they ever get the message that the people aren't interested?" He asked Radarr. He and Radarr tracked down the rest of the team. Stork had attempted to win something at a ring-toss, but failed, so Piper was having a go, and she won a bear with "winner" stitched on it. She gave it to Stork anyway, who was still carrying it as they met up. As Aerrow had predicted, Finn and Junko had been stupid, and gone on all of the rides that would make you sick- Piper had to drag Finn to the Condor, but Junko stepped in (as a wallop, he had a strong stomach). When they reached the Condor, Piper put Finn to bed- he tried to get up, and protested he was feeling alright, but when he threw up on the floor, she scolded him, and dragged him to bed. And unfortunately, she had to clean up after him, much to her disgust.
The following morning (when Finn assured the team he felt much better), they went out to the fairground again, and as predicted, the cyclonians were there. The team hastened to stay away from them, and went on rides that were away from Cyclonian view. This time though, they were noticed, and the Storm Hawks didn't like the looks that the Cyclonians were giving them- winning looks. Had they known beforehand that they were there? The team hoped not.
After an hour of fun on the rides, at which they saw, nor heard Cyclonian Talons, they headed back to the Condor, only, they realised, that the Condor, was gone. Their possessions were scattered on the floor. The team packed their possessions into bags. Thankfully, their other vehicles were still around, but something went wrong.
Stork took one look at the missing spot where the Condor was, and collapsed. The team ran over. Stork wasn't breathing too well, and he wasn't moving
"Great, this is the last thing we wanted" said Piper "a missing home, and a friend who's fallen into shock. Wonderful" she said the final word with sarcasm
"How is this wonderful? And what are we going to do with Stork?" asked Junko
"Hospital for him" said Aerrow, putting his companion on his Skimmer, along with his, Radarr and Stork's possessions. He looked at Piper, who was holding her hair, and pacing around frantically
"Where's the nearest hospital?" he asked her. She stopped pacing, and said "Atmosia"
The team sped off to Atmosia immediately, where they were told that, if the Condor didn't return, or if a new ship wasn't bought, Stork would stay that way. The team trooped outside, arguing.
"Whose idea was it to leave the Condor there?" demanded Finn, his hands on his hips "we should have left it somewhere more secluded!!"
"Well, we didn't know that the Cyclonians were going to take it!!" answered back Junko, his arms folded
"We should have left the second we saw them" Piper snarled back at the two
Aerrow ran up to the team "Stop it, we've got to get through this"
Finn folded his arms, and took a few steps backward "I'm not doing this with them."
"Fine, well, if you're feeling that way" said Piper "I quit!" she said the last word fairly loud. She stalked off towards her heliscooter, and flew off
Aerrow looked at her figure, growing smaller in the distance, in amazement. She'd done this before, but she'd come back last time. She seemed perfectly serious now.
Finn moved towards his vehicle "I quit too" he said, as he flew off
"Good riddance" said Junko, leaving Aerrow and Radarr alone
Aerrow looked at Radarr, who was tugging at his trousers, looking worried. He picked him up
"Don't worry, I won't leave you" he said. Radarr grinned. Aerrow smiled, but as he looked at his friends' silhouettes in the distance, the smile faded. He put Radarr back on the Skimmer, looked at the window in the hospital where Stork was lying. He nodded at it
"We'll save you Stork" he said, speeding off
Piper had headed off to the Skyside Shanty, and took down a sign inside that said "waitress needed". She worked from early morning until late night, taking orders, working as a barmaid, running odd jobs that involved collecting things from nearby terras, using her heliscooter. Her employers said to other workers (when they asked why Piper was working there) that it was a "waste of time, a clever young girl, working as a waitress". Piper tended to ignore this comment, whenever she overheard it. There was absolutely no way she would crawl back to them. She'd survived without them at one point as their specialist. So why should this time be any different? Her employers were very kind to her. They allowed her to have a room all to herself, and an hour for lunch. Because of all this kindness, she was grateful. Piper only worked there until she could earn enough to cure Stork, and get a new ship
Finn had gone to terra Neon, and was now entertainment, playing his electric guitar in front of hundreds of people every day. He never thought once about his old team, until one day he was asked to go on a world-wide tour of Atmos, to which he wondered if he'd see any of his old companions. Again, he only worked to save Stork
Junko had gone back to live with his aunt, who had been worried sick about his sudden disappearance. He ran errands for her, (some included babysitting Tynki) and always wondered about Finn, his best friend in all of Atmos. He did worry about the others as well, but Finn was a special case, as he had known him since he was small. He always wondered what the rest were doing, and tried to get money by doing more errands than his family required. His aunt understood, and helped him out
Aerrow stayed with Radarr, and never once thought of abandoning him, as the others had done to him- he needed the company. Life was difficult without the rest of the team, but at least he'd learn in time. He sped around on his Skimmer, trying to find the ship that would bring Stork back. He didn't want a new ship, as the doctor had mentioned, there was only one ship for him and the others: the Condor.
It was a cold day in Atmos, when their beloved ship was found. Not by the Storm Hawks, but by Angel. She was visiting her brother (by visiting, I mean arguing). She was sick of him trying to get her to join the Cyclonian Talons, and was just leaving, when she saw the Condor being hauled in. The rumours of Stork in hospital were true. She sped towards it. Some Talons were attempting to redecorate when she appeared. They looked up at her when she spoke
"Hey!! What the heck are you doing with that? It isn't yours!!"
They ignored her- they always did. She advanced on them, sai at the ready. At the sight of her armed, they backed off slightly, but remembering there was only one of her, they started to threaten her. Dark Ace came down, right on cue.
"Problem?" he said sarcastically to his younger sister
She looked at him "I'll join your team, if you give me the Condor!!" she said quickly, without breaking eye contact, which was a trick of hers
Her brother looked at her "how do I know you're not lying?"
She looked at him with her eyes, and batted her eyelids "Please…" she said smiling so sweetly
Dark Ace sighed "all right, just don't do the cute thing. It drives me mad". Angel hopped on the Condor
"Hold on!! I thought you were going to join my team!!" he shouted after her
She grinned at him "Oops!! Was that a part of the deal?!" she added sarcastically, winking and mocking saluting him as she drove away with the Condor
Dark Ace looked after her, his mouth open. One of the Talons came up to him
"Er, sir, you've just given away the Condor, and you know she isn't going to return with it" he said, standing out of sword's reach
Dark Ace shook his head "Forget the cute thing. She drives me mad" he said as he walked off, muttering something that sounded like "how could I fall for that trick?"
Angel wasn't having a difficult time flying the Condor out of Cyclonia. The Talons were just having a really fun time trying to catch her. She swerved into them, knocking them off balance, and above all, drove into the wastelands, so they wouldn't follow as easily.
Atmosia proved to be really easy to find, after losing the Talons in Cyclonia. She came up from the Wastelands, and parked it near the hospital. She took the keys from the Condor, and walked the rest of the way to the hospital. She asked at reception where Stork was. The doctor looked at her suspiciously, and asked why. After all, she wasn't a Storm Hawk. She showed him the keys, and told him her story. The doctor led her up to her friend's room. She put the keys in his hand, and closed his fingers around them
"Hope you get better. Pretty soon, I expect" she smiled, before leaving.
Whilst she left the hospital, Stork's grip tightened around the keys. He opened his eyes, and moved to the window, just in time to see his saviour leave on her skimmer, and to the left of her, was the Condor, his home. He sprinted off downstairs, fully clothed (he had been wearing pyjamas), and hugged his home (those watching wondered if he was mad). He walked in, and made a call to the Archangel who had given him a cure
"Er, Angel? That you?"
"Yes. You are calling my skimmer, Stork"
"Thanks for curing me"
"No problem"
"Do you know where the others are?"
"Not really, Aerrow's still flying around with Radarr, trying to get the Condor. I've seen him. Do you want me to call him, and tell him you're well?"
Stork thought for a minute. He wanted to tell his friends, but there was that urge to surprise them "No, let's surprise them!"
Angel looked up in surprise. This was a side of Stork she'd never seen before. A beeping noise on her intercom meant that someone else was calling. Her brother, she suspected.
"I'll have to put you on hold for a minute, someone's on the other line" she said
It wasn't Dark Ace calling her. Instead, it was Izzie
"Oh, hi!" she said "I thought you were my brother" she laughed
"Why? What have you done now?!" sighed Izzie
"Er, nothing. Why are you calling?" Angel said, changing the subject hastily
"Oh, Piper is working at the Skyside Shanty"
"What?!" Angel nearly fell off her skimmer in surprise
"I know, what the heck happened to the Storm Hawks?"
"What the rumours said" Angel answered darkly
"Er, got to go. Talk to you later, Amber's here, if you want to talk to her"
Angel's eyes widened. If she wanted to find the rest of the Storm Hawks, she needed to talk to the rest of the team
"Can you put Fern on?" asked Angel curiously
In a few seconds, she was talking to the sharpshooter
"Hello?" came Fern's voice
"Hi, have you seen any of the Storm Hawks lately?"
"What?! Oh, yeah, I saw Finn on Neon. Seemed happy. And Dove saw him as well. You know she's now a Rebel Duck"
"Thanks. Can you ask the rest of the team where Junko is, and tell Dove 'congratulations' from me"
Angel waited patiently for a few minutes, and then Jay picked up the phone
"Angel, I saw Junko. He's back with his aunt. Don't worry, I asked his second nephew's- third uncle's -first cousin"
"Thanks! Can you hold on for a minute, while I call their designated driver?!" Jay held on. Angel switched back to Stork
"Don't worry, I think I've found the team Stork" she said
"Oh goody, are you any good at making phone calls to organise parties?!"
"What? Yeah, sure. What's the plan?!"
"Re- group party at the sky- side shanty!" came Stork's excited voice
"Right, I'll get right on it. Is tonight OK?" she asked. She might as well ask the host
Stork gave a positive answer, and Angel called up the Skyside Shanty. Piper picked up the phone
"Hello? This is the Skyside Shanty, how can I help you?"
Angel put on a fake voice "Hello, I was wondering if you could help with a party, and we heard that you were the best"
"Er, sure. What time's the party?"
"Is eight all right?!" asked Angel anxiously
"Er, fine" said Piper's voice, after she checked with her employer
"See you then"
"Ok, bye!" came Piper's voice as she put down the phone
Angel's next call was to her friend Dove, but Wren picked up
"Hello?!" he said "who is this?"
"Er, this is Angel, of the Archangels. Is Dove there?" she asked. She waited for a moment, and then Dove answered
"Hello, Angel, what can I do for you" she asked
"Do you have a leaflet, from Finn's last show?"
"Finn? Yes"
"Is there a number on it? Because I need to know, it's important!!"
"Hang on" she said. Angel could hear her running to her room.
"You still there Angel?" she said when she got back
"Huh? Yeah"
Dove gave her the number "why do you ask?"
"Er, don't worry, Dove, he's not in danger"
"I never said he was"
"Just wanted to tell you, you know!!"
"But I don't love him!! That's just a rumour!!"
"Bye!!"
Dove raised her eyebrow at the phone, and put it down. She picked up the phone a few minutes later, after looking at it anxiously. She dialled the number she had given Angel, and the answer to the question in her head was revealed. She sat back down smugly
Her grandfather looked at her "Why are you so happy, all of a sudden"
Dove laughed and flew off, leaving Wren to look after her silhouette. He shook his head as he looked at the leaflet
"I'm never going to know that girl. She's growing up to fast" he sighed, going back inside
Angel was having a lot of fun calling all the Storm Hawks. She dialled Junko's aunt's number
"Hello?" said a feminine voice
"Hello, my name is Angel, I'm a friend of Junko's, and I need to talk to him, it's pretty urgent"
Junko picked up a few minute later "Er, Angel, I really can't talk, I'm babysitting Tynki" he said slowly
"Er, how would you like to help me?" she said
"I can't. Babysitting"
"Er, you can bring Tynki if you want, and you're aunt, if she's willing. It's just some family fun!!" she said as her excuse
Junko thought for a minute, and then asked his aunt what she thought
"Alright, I'll come, but this better not be dangerous!" he added. Knowing what Angel got up to, he expected it was. He hung up
Angel looked at her intercom.
"One last call" she said smugly. She called Aerrow. Radarr answered.
"Is this Aerrow?" she asked, in her fake voice. Aerrow was put on immediately
"What's the problem?" he asked
"I have something, and you can do something for me if you want it back" said Angel
Aerrow thought "Dark Ace?" he said
"Be at the Skyside Shanty at eight or its forfeit" she said hanging up. She howled with laughter. Apparently, the impression she could do of her brother had its benefits.
She called Stork, and told him the time and place. He seemed happy. She hung up after that. Now to face her dear brother, in Cyclonia
Back in the Skyside Shanty, Piper was having some unwelcome guests. All disguised (although Piper recognised them) Dark Ace, Ravess, Snipe, and to her great disgust, Master Cyclonis (who was Lark, again). When they came in, Piper simply turned on her heel, and walked in the other direction, pretending to be busy. The other waitress, put her hand on Piper's shoulder, and turned her around
"You're meant to take their orders Piper" she said softly
Piper panicked "I really don't want to take their orders" she said, her knees shaking slightly
"Why's that?"
Piper pointed with her thumb "They are Cyclonians, and I really don't want to serve them" she whispered
"What makes you think they are Cyclonians?"
Piper looked at her "they're using chroma crystals; I'd recognise 'Lark' anywhere. She's Master Cyclonis"
The waitress wheeled Piper (who was attempting to escape) over to their table.
Piper tried to run for it, but the waitress' look seemed final. Piper took a deep breath, but before she could say anything, Dark Ace did
"Well, well, well. Look who we have here" his smile filled with malice. Piper bit her lip, to try and stop her self from answering back
"Last time I checked, you were a lame sky knight" said Snipe, smirking
"Can I just take…" began Piper, but she was cut off
"Aw, look at her, and I thought she could sink no lower" said Ravess
Piper tried to talk again, but she was cut off again
"What happened to your friends? Did they ditch you? Apparently, she doesn't have any. Isn't that right?" said Dark Ace, but as he wheeled around to talk to her, she ran off, in tears. Master Cyclonis folded her arms, and looked at him
"What?!" Dark Ace said
Master Cyclonis stood up "you had to say something, didn't you? First you lose the ship, and then you lose the very person I'm trying to get!!" she stalked off in the direction of Piper, who was crying her eyes out in the ladies' room
Master Cyclonis came in
"Come to throw another insult at me?!" said Piper through streams of tears.
"In case you didn't notice, I wasn't the one being insulting" said Cyclonis quietly. This didn't comfort Piper at all, she just sat there crying
Cyclonis went over to her. "Did you know that there is a party on tonight?" she said
Piper gave her a dirty look and nodded "I helped arrange it"
"You staying for it"
"Not if you are" said Piper, leaving. The other waitress had taken the Cyclonians' orders.
"You better get some rest before the party Piper. Don't you ever sleep?" she said as Piper approached. Piper looked up, and trooped off to bed. She only slept for a few hours, and then the waitress woke her up at half seven.
"Best get the decorations ready" she said
Piper got out of bed. The woman handed her a white dress, with a white apron and white shoes. She put them on, and made her way to the dining room, where the first few guests had arrived. As more people arrived, she couldn't tell who had wanted to see her, but the Cyclonians were still there. She stayed away from them.
Stork had parked up outside, and had made his way in, wearing his Storm Hawks outfit to meet his friends. He took a seat
The band arrived, and Finn came in holding his guitar. He wasn't wearing his old outfit, but was wearing jeans, and a shirt. He sat down near the bar with the rest of his band, waiting to go on.
Junko came in, holding Tynki, so Tynki was facing in the opposite direction to his babysitter. Junko's aunt came in before her nephew. Tynki waved his arms at the sight of Piper, who "shh'd" him quickly, trying to conceal her delight at seeing her old friend
Finally, Aerrow came in, with Radarr on his shoulder, looking around for his nemesis. Radarr kept a look out behind, but on seeing Piper, tapped Aerrow on the head.
"Ow!! Stop that Radarr!" Radarr pointed at her, but Aerrow picked him off his shoulder, and carried him as if he were a baby, which Radarr snarled at
Piper went over to Stork's table
"Can I take your order, sir?" she asked politely
Stork looked up, and Piper nearly fainted, but Stork grabbed her wrist in time to stop her falling on the floor. Piper hung there, midway to the floor, and burst out laughing. Stork put her back on her feet. She grinned, and hugged him tightly. Stork hugged back, at the same time wondering if she'd ever let go
"So, what's the order?" said Piper, once she'd let go. Stork pointed at her. "Fair enough, stay here, I've seen Junko somewhere" she added
She went over to Junko's table, Tynki was crawling away. Piper picked him up, and asked Junko sarcastically if Tynki was his. Junko's mouth dropped open on seeing her, before pulling her into a bone-crushing hug
"Stork is over there" she said, pointing to Stork, who had already come over, Junko hugged both of them, clearly glad to see them. Stork looked up, just in time to see Radarr trying to find Piper again. He pointed to their furry friend, and all three of them sneaked up on Aerrow, who had stopped his friend from making another escape. Junko put his hands over Aerrow's eyes, and Piper and Stork stepped out in front of him. Radarr jumped on Piper, who fell to the floor as Radarr hugged her. Junko removed his hands from over Aerrow's vision, and saw his helmsman standing in front of him. Aerrow simply hugged him, amazed at his friend's recovery. He picked Piper off the floor, and Radarr pounced on Stork, who patted him on the head
"Anyone seen Finn?" asked Aerrow, but his question was answered as the guitarist of the band went up on stage. The five stood at the front of the crowd, grinning. As Finn started to play his guitar, he noticed some old friends of his, and stood there, with his mouth open. He smiled at them. Stork clapped his hands, and a banner came down with "Storm Hawks, reunited at last" written on it. Stork noticed Angel and the Guardian Angels clapping like mad. Not to mention all the teams they had ever met were standing around, even the Rex Guardians were there. Billy-Rex and Suzi-Lu were cheering. Dove and the Rebel Ducks were clapping; Starling was smiling, and gave Angel the thumbs up. The extra Storm Hawks were included as well. Angel came over
"Don't tell me you invited half of Atmos!" said Stork
"Why not?" giggled Angel. She and the Guardian Angels pushed the reformed team up on stage.
Piper smiled like mad, and winked at her enemies, giving them a message "see? I have friends!!".Dark Ace stood like a gargoyle with his mouth open, before coming up on stage, to fight his nemeses. The other teams realised, and blocked the other team, ready to fight back. The Cyclonians backed off. Fern was playing a mock-up of their typical tune on her crossbow
"Oh, shut up!!" Snipe growled at her. She rolled around laughing
"I can't believe you sometimes" muttered Jay to her. Fern carried on laughing, her crossbow now pointed at the enemies.
"So this was what you were doing with the Condor" said Dark Ace softly to his sister
"Guess I'm worse than you're lot" she answered back, winking at him, "plus, there's always more back- up if we need it" she showed him her most prized possession- a phoenix crystal, which controlled all of them
Dark Ace looked at all of them "Who are these people? They can't all be Storm Hawks!!"
"What was your first clue?" said Dreamy, who had made her presence visible by levitating herself on to Junko's shoulder.
Cyclonis understood what she was, and said "you have a sky siren?!" mockingly
"Oh, yeah" said Amber. Tynki was grinning in Junko's aunt's arms, which was standing behind her nephew, and looked up at Dreamy, wondering if she could do any harm. Dove kept her eyes on her number one enemy- Dark Ace. He looked at her.
"What are you doing here?" he asked her
"About to kick your butt back to Cyclonia, unless you want to leave now." She said softly.
The cyclonians looked at all the back-up the team had, and took Dove's words to mind. They left without a word
"And stay the heck away from the ships!! Unless you want to go with Dove's options again!!" Angel bellowed at them. No need, the cyclonians took their own vehicles again. The teams put their weapons down
"Thanks" said Aerrow, his mouth open. The extra teams turned around. Harrier was about to ask Angel something
"No, so don't even ask" she said, not looking at him, and putting her crystal back in her bag
Piper was the first to break the silence that followed "so, what about the party?!" she said quietly
Billy-Rex cheered loudly, Suzi- Lu covered her eyes with her hands and ran off to avoid humiliation. Finn was about to play his guitar, but Dove, under Stork's influence, took a walking stick from the cloakroom, and pulled him off stage. He walked right into her
"So, er. Sky knight now" he said. Dove smiled
"It isn't so easy being the leader of the Rebel Ducks" she said. Some sentimental music came on. Finn looked hopefully at her. She rolled her eyes "Fine. One dance" He dragged her on the dance floor
The Storm Hawks still had their arguments (mainly between Finn and Piper), but they still learnt a lesson from this, and believe me, it definitely wasn't "get Angel whenever the Condor goes missing"!!