Mrs Bertie's Algebra Class

by Golden Snowflake

If another world suddenly appeared before you- if it opened its arms and invited you in -what would you do? Would you be too afraid to leave everything behind, or would you jump in without looking back?

1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Mira

-xXxXx-

My life can be summed up in one word:

BOOOOORING.

"Mrs. Bertie?"

Mrs. Bertie didn't answer. He tried again.

"Excuse me," he waved his hand. "Mrs. Bertie…"

"I'm not answering any questions without raised hands; you all know that by now."

The whole class said it like we'd rehearsed it: "HIS HAND IS UP!"

"It's been up," somebody added.

Finally Mrs. Bertie turned around. She leaned forward and gave him an annoyed look. "What, James?"

"I don't get it." I covered my grin with my hand at our teacher's face.

"Could you be a bit more specific?"

"Uh…" he blinked his wide blue eyes. "…not really."

"Well, unless you tell me what you don't get I can't explain it."

"The whole thing!" he insisted.

"I can't help you then if you're just going to be ignorant."

He put his hand back down. I watched him in a mix of sympathy and amusement.

Now, I realize that no teacher is perfect. They're human, just like the rest of us. Good days and bad days. Then again, however, there are other cases like Mrs. Bertie here. She just shouldn't be a teacher. She's the absolute worst math teacher I've ever had. She swiveled her head and her curly brown hair bounced as she shifted her cynical stare to Anna. Anna's sweet but pathetically disorganized, and was currently twisted around and leaning over Andre's desk, helping him with an algebra problem.

"Anna, sit down please."

"Oh, sorry, I was just-"

"You were just sitting down. Now get to it."

With a flustered sigh she turned back around just as a pile of her crumpled-up papers fell on her lap and the floor. A couple people laughed and a girl named Katherine leaned down and picked up her pencil. She thanked Katherine softly and caught my eye. I shot her an understanding smile and she returned it gratefully.

"Now, then, in this problem, seven equals x. So if 2x plus 5 equals y, how do we find the value for y?"

"Mrs. Bertie?" It was Jonah this time.

"Yes?" She sounded like a balloon might if it could speak and was about to pop.

Although he sits ahead and to the right of me I could feel his grin before he spoke.

"I don't get it."

Suddenly a deafening CRASH shook the building - hard. Katherine and Anna both screamed, and two of the five Andrews shouted. I winced as rubble tumbled down from the ceiling. One of the popular guys jumped up and shouted, "What the hell was that?"

I took a second to use the air I'd just collected gasping in shock to blow, and I could feel plumes of dust blasting my face as I cleared my space enough to open my eyes. Paint chippings scampered down the cheap brick walls and plaster chunks clattered to the floor and on the desks. It was snowy outside, but it seemed warmer.

The wheezy hack of Mrs. Bertie ruined the moment of awe. "Everyone get up and go outside," she shouted.

"What?" James's voice was indignant - sounding, but I caught the frightened undertone. "Why?"

"GO!"

Everybody scrambled to their feet, several taking the time to yank MP3s from their bags or zip - up binders. I waited a moment longer, though, as they began to shuffle out, the few girls squeezing out the doorway first and the boys hanging back. The teacher coughed ungracefully and pushed through herself. An ear - splitting crack split the ceiling and it bent downward a meter or more. They started pushing more frantically, shouting, cursing, and shoving as another shower of debris rained down, this time including shelved books and a few renegade bricks. In a moment they were all out and pounding down the steps.

All but me, of course.

"What is that?" I was frozen with wonder. The ceiling wasn't just gone… there was something poking through the corner of the room. Something huge and metallic - looking. It almost looked like a ship of some sort. It screeched against the resisting walls and suddenly bore forward another five feet in less than a second. I shouted and leapt back.

"Hey!" I looked over my shoulder and through the shattered window behind me. The shattered window… the glass - cuts all over my hands and the back of my neck began to burn as I noticed it. That wasn't what held my attention, though. What I fixed in my stare was a blonde boy peering inside. "What's your name?"

"…the heck?" I muttered to myself. "Mira!"

His eyes lit up. "That's it! Com'ere!"

"What? Who are you?"

"You're gonna get squished by our ship if you don't!"

Well, he had a point. I glanced back at the demolished classroom a final time before climbing on the table pushed up against the wall and carefully kicking the shards of glass out. I leaned out to see kids scattering everywhere; screeching fifth - graders barreling for the road and bewildered high - schoolers coming out from across the field to see what had happened. He grabbed my arm and I leapt out, landing awkwardly in his lap. He blinked at me. "You okay?"

"I don't know," I wailed in exasperation. "How are we-" I looked down and realized in amazement that we were on a motorcycle. But, like, a flying motorcycle. He pointed with his thumb over his shoulder and I scrambled back behind him, death - gripping his shoulders. "Is this thing your fault?"

"Not exactly. Sorry about your school!" He pulled sharply back from the window and I jumped and leaned against him, pressing my legs against the side panels of his bike as I looked thirty feet down at the ground below.

"That's okay," I shouted, "I didn't like it much anyway."

"Sorry I can't explain everything, Mira! Will you come with me?"

This kid just crashed an enormous spaceship into my algebra room, nearly killed my classmates, and yanked me out the window on a floating bike. If I did go for some insane reason, chances were that I'd never see my family or home again. He was probably going to kidnap me and take me to some other planet where I'd die of diseases my immune system didn't know how to defend against. I knew immediately that my life would change forever; no more deadbeat dad calling to say he had an appointment and couldn't pick me up while his fiancée laughed drunkenly in the background, no more cheerleaders calling me anorexic because I'm skinny or emo because of my dark makeup, no more feeling guilty about costing my aunt tens of thousands of dollars for clothes, food, and insurance every year… wait…

"Sure!" I agreed.

He shot upward and I squeaked, grabbing him around the waist and holding my breath as my stomach flipped. He pulled up over the ship and toward an opening near the top. It was huge; utterly, incomprehensibly huge. He accelerated and we sped inside, wind blowing my hair back and making me squint. In two seconds he'd skidded to a halt in the big entrance room filled with other bikes. For a minute I thought I was going to scream, faint, or scream and then faint. I did none of the three.

"You get her?" Another guy, this one with red hair and bright green eyes, shot into the room from a doorway nearby. Her who? Me?

"Yep." The blonde guy craned his neck around and gave me a satisfied look. "You okay?"

"Geh- yeah," I responded hastily, swallowing the vomit in my throat. My legs were still shaky and I wasn't ready to get up.

"What's the matter," he asked as the redhead walked up, "never ride a skimmer before?"

I laughed weakly. "Nope. I've never seen one before either."

"What?" His sky - blue eyes widened in disbelief. "What-the-heck rock have you been living under?"

"Westview Middle School," I answered dryly.

"Mira, I'm sorry we wrecked your school." This was the boy with the intelligent green eyes. He knelt down and smiled at me. I immediately trusted something in them and realized I was smiling back. He extended a gloved hand and I took it as my stomach tightened up again. "I'm Aerrow," he said as he shook it gently. "We can explain more to you later when you want us to, but for now you need to know that here you're in danger. We need you to come with us back to Atmosia. So would you?"

Normally in such a ridiculously sci-fi-like situation you wouldn't have the choice, but he was absolutely sincere. If I'd been sensible enough to say no, I'd've been back on the ground (with the screaming fifth - graders) in another minute. I nodded my consent and he released my hand. It was tingling as I took it shakily back. He rose and strode back to the doorway he'd come from.

"Stork! Take us up!"

Beam me up, Scottie, I thought, and almost grinned as the ship lifted into the air and straightened before moving upward and forward.

"I'm Finn, by the way." My chauffer turned around a bit and gave me a flirtatious smile. I took my other hand off his stomach and grinned as I sat up straight. "Sharpshooter, wingman, and knight in shining armor, at your service."

I could only smile. Anybody who interrupted Mrs. Bertie's aimless algebraic ramblings was a potential boyfriend to me.

"Since you're officially our spontaneous-guest-of-honor, would you like a tour of the Condor?"

"Finn, give her a chance to breathe!" The scolding came from another figure now moving into the room. As she strode in I was floored. She was one of the most beautiful girls I'd ever seen; prettier than even our junior high's resident debutantes. Her skin was dark and her hair was bluish-black like an Indian's. Her eyes, though, were a radiant amber. Whether they were contacts or not I wasn't certain. She was petite and probably about my age. With a kind smile she stopped a few feet away. "I'm Piper. You've already met the resident moron, I see."

The resident moron shot her a dirty look.

"You can sit down on the bridge if you want, Mira."

"Thanks," I wheezed, climbing up from the 'skimmer' and following her to that doorway. She shot Finn a displeased look, and once she'd turned back I flashed him a quick smile. He cocked an eyebrow cutely before disappearing as I walked down the hallway.

"Here." Piper ushered me toward a tattered sofa in what was the main room, its curved front wall a pane of (hopefully thick) glass. The redhead (Antefix… Antelope… Aerrow! That was it!) was pacing slowly, offering a warm glance as I perched on one of the old cushions. I rested my head in my hands, staring up at the sky, clouds dissipating and vanishing as the ship passed through them on its trek skyward. She sat down next to me and gave me a worried look. "You okay?" I nodded, drawing in a deep breath. It wasn't until that moment the helmsman glared at me over his shoulder. I blinked in surprise. He had green skin, as green as pine needles, and round yellow kitten - eyes. The right of his two pointed ears had two silver hoops in it, and he was slouched depressingly over.

"This is the girl we heard about on the transmission we intercepted," Aerrow explained at the green boy's hapless expression. I looked away to watch Aerrow, since this was news to me too. The helmsman made a nonplussed grunt and turned back to piloting the great vessel.

"That's Stork," Piper informed me while gesturing at the grumpy green kid. She put her chin on her open palm and shrugged. "He'll warm up to you."

I nodded and closed my eyes, listening to my heart pounding in my chest. This was all so stressful… my head ached and my ears rung from the crash. Little pricks where the glass from the broken windows had settled throbbed with my heartbeat. I could feel blood coming from a few of them on the back of my neck. "Ouch," I muttered as I rubbed my forehead with my cold fingertips.

"What?" Piper scooted over and parted my hair in the back. She must've made a face, because Aerrow looked at her and made a face. I must've made a face after seeing his face because Piper uttered a reassuring "It's not that bad; just a few pieces," before getting up and walking off somewhere.

"How did you get hurt?" Aerrow walked cautiously up and I leaned over to let him see. I noted silently that he smelled good.

"The weight of the ship hitting made some of the back windows break," I explained. The pieces lodged in my skin hurt more now that I was paying attention to them. His gloved hands lightly brushed my neck and pulled the back of by shirt down as he inspected the minor damage. He sucked in air and I could tell he was cringing. "Is it bad?" I asked in a whisper. Being a girl myself, I knew Piper would play things down to make me feel better.

"Hold on," he replied in the same strained voice. "I think I can get this one out."

"Be careful," I muttered through clenched teeth. I trusted him, though, more than I'd trusted anyone in a long time. With one hand he lightly held my back in place, and suddenly I could feel the little piece of glass stuck in my skin to the right of my neck. His finger and thumb brushed my skin once and I thought he'd gotten it out, but as soon as I opened my mouth to ask he yanked it and I yelled in shock. "OUCH!"

"Aerrow!" Piper's footsteps returned behind me. She didn't sound happy about his little medical excursion. "Don't do that, you need tweezers and disinfectant!"

"Sorry, sorry!" He knelt down and held his hand up. "…I got it out, though."

Blinking, I raised my head. "You did? Oooh!" I peered at the shiny red window - shard in fascination only matched by his own. Stinging antibiotics hit the little empty spot and I yowled again, making Stork jump and flatten his ears in embarrassment.

"Hold on," she chided, dabbing at me with a cotton swab. "There are quite a few, but…"

"No, don't tell me," I interrupted with a wave of my hands. "I don't want to know." I turned my gaze back to Aerrow, one knee on the ground and his empty hand rested on the other. "If it's not a problem, though, I'd like to know why I'm here."

The boy's leafy-green eyes flicked over my face for a moment before he rose and began to pace. "If you didn't even know what a skimmer was, then… I don't even know where to start." He paused in thought and I flinched as a big splinter came out. "We're the Storm Hawks. I'm Aerrow, sky knight of the Storm Hawks."

"Sky knight?" I felt ignorant.

"Each terra- each of the inhabited terras -has a squadron led by a sky knight. That team protects that terra. Long ago that system was formed…" he trailed off to once again collect his thoughts. "Before the sky knights, Cyclonia, an empire that rules with torture and oppression, controlled all of the Atmos. We were formed to stop them. My father was the leader of the legendary Storm Hawks until he… until he was betrayed and killed by his closest friend and strongest teammate." Stork glanced at him. "The Dark Ace is now Cyclonia's champion, the highest under Master Cyclonis herself. Since we're not official, we have no one terra to protect. We travel across the Atmos and help the resistance wherever we're needed."

A losing battle. I knew the resistance probably wasn't like one side of a war; more likely thinly - strung soldiers after a bloody fight ends. I could see the hurt in his eyes and pursed my lips. "I think I see. Sky knights versus Cyclonia. You versus the Dark Ace. So we're going back to your world? Atmos?"

"What?" He turned and looked at me in pure bewilderment.

"Atmos and the terras?"

"Mira," murmured Piper over my shoulder, "you live on one."

-xXxXx-

"What? No I don't! I live on Earth, Earth as in the planet Earth, in the Milky Way galaxy, in this world here. No terras, no skimmers, no green slouchy guys. Just strippers, corrupt politicians, and drug dealers. There's evil, but no good guys fighting for freedom. I've traveled to other states and other countries hundreds of miles away. They're all real." I stared at the sky knight, anxiously awaiting a reply.

After a long moment, the pilot with the moss - green skin spoke. "The place where we found you is Terra Reveria, a prison for captured squadrons. It's been under Cyclonian control for as long as we can remember. The thick cloud cover made it possible for the scientists to create an environment in which all traces of the conflict were virtually invisible and undetectable to the people there. You're not on their side, but they managed to remove you from the fight completely. They left you to fend for yourselves and even created the illusion of space outside your… 'planet.' Although I hear that anyone under its spell is infected with a horrifying, incurable rash from birth."

"No." You'd expect me to completely reject the story presented to me, and that was what my brain was instructing me to do. Yet something deep in the pit of my stomach caused me to fear that this was completely true. No good guys and all evil? That explained how corrupt the "world" became. Aliens and outer contact? Or simply those unable to reach us? The part of me indignantly arguing it suddenly seemed very distant. This was no dream. I was bleeding and my heart was beating and the cold, coppery scent of the ship filled my lungs with every breath. Something deep within me knew that, somehow or other, this was all real.

"So everything I've ever known has been… faked? My whole life has been some kind of simulation? My country is nothing but holograms?" I was beginning to feel sick again.

"Oh, no, far more sophisticated than that," muttered Stork. "Their researchers used newly - developed methods to create not only realistic visual effects, but audio as well. It took them years to determine what crystals to use. They supposedly found ways to make things seem… even more realistic than they really are."

"More realistic?" I echoed, looking down at my hands. They were, indeed, different. My skin has always been fragile and almost papery. Now the sickly sheen they always had was gone. Aerrow stopped pacing and fixed me with a worried look.

"Mira, listen. I know this is a lot to take in at once, but you've got to believe us. We intercepted a Cyclonian transmission three days ago and it was about you. You write books, right?" I nodded. "Well that's where the problem is. We think they want to use your abilities to write propaganda convincing people that they're the heroes."

"Am I really that good?" I asked cynically as Piper plucked a particularly large piece out of the back of my neck.

"Yeah."

"What would happen if I didn't comply?"

The pilot chimed in with, "They'd torture you to a bloody pulp." He glanced at me and his eye twitched.

A large crash shook the ship- the Condor -and both Stork and I jumped this time.

"What was that?" I yelled, envisioning fighter jets attacking the ship with missiles and rocket-launchers. But Stork's mutter of irritation and the sky knight's embarrassed cringe calmed me down. I received a prompt answer to the question as shouts sounded down the hall.

"Where? Where is she?"

"In the bridge!"

"Oh, goodie! Can I meet her?"

"Yeah, come on!"

"Finn!" In a softer voice: "She's not mean, is she?"

"Mean?" A snort of laughter. "She's the cutest thing I've ever seen!"

"Yeay!"

The two came racing onto the bridge. The first was Finn, grinning and sauntering over. Aerrow watched him with the affection of a brother as he plopped down on my left. The second was a huge creature with dark skin and darker splotches all over it. A shock of unkempt grayish hair fluffed around his head, and he had what looked like a rhino's horn on the tip of his nose. I was immediately intimidated, so his shy smile startled me.

"H-hi."

I smiled warmly. "Hi. I'm Mira. -I guess you know that, though."

"I'm Junko." He plodded up and held his hand out nervously, staring at me with wide eyes. I shook it firmly, mine tiny in his inhumanly large one, and he seemed to relax a bit. "I'm a wallop."

"The strongest, toughest wallop in the Atmos," Finn added from beside me. "What're you doing, Piper?" I remembered to hold still and faced forward, now staring at strange, green objects that I realized were Stork's feet.

"The windows shattered when the Condor hit her school," the petite girl explained behind me.

"So that's… glass?"

She plucked a piece out and it made a popping noise. He cringed the same way Aerrow had and I smiled. It was funny. It wasn't funny when the stinging disinfectant filled the little hole. "Ouch!"

"Sorry," she said quickly.

"It's okay, it's okay," I assured, watching Junko wince out of the corner of my eye. "So how's it going back there?"

"She's gettin' there," announced Finn, peering at her work. "About… halfway done?" He looked up at her for an answer, then added a "Yep. Halfway done." Something fluffy and blue skittered out from underneath the couch and froze when it saw me.

"Uh… hi."

I didn't want to scare it, and it looked pretty scared. I waited for a hasty introduction from somebody, but when everyone was too busy waiting to see what would happen, I closed my eyes a little and smiled at it. "I'm Mira. It's nice to meet you."

When I carefully extended my finger, the little creature sniffed it suspiciously before looking up at me again. I cautiously lifted my hand and scratched behind one of it's long ears. For a minute it looked appalled, then bewildered, neutral and then pleased. It gave a happy chirp before leaping into my lap. Finn and Junko laughed, and Aerrow commented with, "Wow, Radarr, you've never been so welcoming to a stranger before." He put his little hands on my shoulders and licked my nose, and then Aerrow laughed too.

"Radarr? That's a cute name. A cool name, rather," I corrected at his look of condescension. "He's smart, isn't he?"

"He's our mission specialist," said Aerrow, sounding both amused and proud.

"I feel so welcome here!" I exclaimed. Back at my school, (yeah, five minutes ago,) nobody really liked me. I honestly had about three friends. Nobody liked them either. My dad didn't even like me. Neither did my neighbors. They thought I stole their kid's hidden Easter basket one year.

"You are welcome here." That was Finn. I looked at Radarr and the little guy clicked in agreement.

"But what are you going to do with me? Do you … keep me as a pet until you know Cyclonia isn't looking for me?"

"We fight to keep you out of Cyclonia's clutches. Then we find somewhere you'll be safe." His emerald eyes darted around for a minute before meeting mine. He chewed on his lip as I opened my mouth to speak and changed my mind.

Finally I tried again. "So I'm never going back to my home? …Terra Reveria?"

There was a long moment in which nothing was said. Piper even slowed in her glass - plucking. Finally the sky knight murmured softly, "We assumed you wouldn't want to go back."

"I…" I swallowed and thought hard for a minute. "I don't."

"Hey!" Junko seemed to have an idea. I turned my attention to him as Finn turned his attention to Piper's work and Aerrow looked at a bolt in the floor, flung into an endless train of thought by my last statement. "Mira, do you like snow?"

"Like it?" I wondered where the heck he was going with that. "I love it."

He turned his attention to Piper. "Where's the place the Blizzarians moved to?"

"Terra Nord?" Piper offered.

"They are protected by a sky knight," Finn agreed. "Two if you include the Absolute Zeroes."

"She'll be killed by an avalanche," Stork put in.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," the sky knight chided. "For now we're just going to keep Mira with us. Maybe the Cyclonians won't even figure out the crystal - created atmosphere had been breeched."

"Sure," the pilot retorted. "The scientists on Reveria are going to figure out that we came from somewhere not located in their little fantasy world and soon they'll be pouring out our little rip we made. But no sweat; the Cyclonians will never notice the six billion disoriented, heart-diseased, cancer-ridden people wandering around." He shrugged. "It's just like an extra butterfly."

Finn and I exchanged glances.

"Almost done," said the dark-skinned girl. I rubbed my forehead again.

"Are you okay, Mira?" asked Junko.

"I don't know," I wailed. "I just can't believe this is happening…"

-xXxXx-

Our footsteps echoed down the hall as the petite, dark-haired girl led me to what would be my quarters. We'd covered everything from toothbrushes to clothing to shampoo to feminine items, and I felt confident that I wouldn't be in a metaphorical pickle anytime soon. In fact, it seemed that Piper had prepared for my arrival even more efficiently than most people would for a sleepover; even kept guard as I got a shower and then washed my clothes for me. For that I was eternally grateful.

"Are you sure you don't want supper?" This was her third time asking me.

"I couldn't eat if you paid me to," I replied. "Not yet."

"Just nerves? You're not sick?"

"I don't think so," I replied. "I promise I'll be fine tomorrow."

"You sure?" She cast me a glance, and genuine concern shone in her gold eyes. I smiled and nodded. Her soft steps ceased and she held a palm out. "Here it is, then."

I was about to say something witty like 'where it is?' when the wall split in two and either side swooshed back to reveal a lilac-colored room. I bit back a Captain Kirk quote and walked inside.

"Is this a guest room?"

"Actually, it was for someone else," she explained from the doorway. "We've been hoping she'll join our team. She declined."

"Aww, really?" She nodded, making a disappointed face, and I was relieved that she seemed to be feigning it and not really upset. "Who was it?"

"Starling of the Interceptors," she replied, a wistful look filling her eyes. "She's legendary. The rest of her squadron was killed by raptors. -a lizard-like race that see sky knights as appetizers." Her gruesome analogy caused horrific pictures of such monsters to bloom in my mind. I blinked them away. "She's helped us on missions before, actually. A few here and there. She's my idol."

"Then I hope I get to meet her." As she nodded and smiled, I knew I'd said the right thing. And in fact, I did want to meet Starling. She sounded awesome. "Oh, thank you, Piper. It's so nice to be accepted for a change." I eclipsed her in a hug and she returned it.

"You're very welcome," she replied. She pulled back and I immediately knew I had found a sister in her.

"You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, as long as I don't forget I'm not at home and sleepwalk off the ship." She giggled.

"Goodnight, then." I waved.

"'Night!"

With a sigh I turned back to my bed. I'd traded my jeans for an old pair of Aerrow's pajama pants, which I kept glancing down at. I felt as if my lower half was somewhere it shouldn't be. Besides that, though, my purple hooded sweatshirt, my black t-shirt beneath, and my freshly-washed underwear (with kitties on the waistband!) had gone back where they'd been before. With a sigh I took my hoodie off (while being careful not to peel the bandages off my shoulders) and draped it over the bedpost, laying back on my … Starling's … THE … bed. I was beyond overwhelmed, and the least I could do for my well - being was to take a nap.

So it was rather odd when, an hour later, I wasn't any closer to unconsciousness. Long after the Condor had grown quiet, my mind still swam with thoughts far too persistent for me to hush. Through all the stress, I couldn't even remember who'd been raising their hand when the otherworldly ship collided with our roof. I was laying on my bed, gazing at the ceiling when I heard something. A tapping sound; what I realized was one of the pipes. Half a dozen times today I intentionally did myself harm to see if I would wake up, but how hard sleep was made me sure it wasn't a dream.

Tap-tap-tap go the pipes as I close my eyes and scowl at how noisy they are.

But I began to wonder when I heard it again.

That wasn't a pipe…

Sitting up, I stared at the door.

Tap. Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap.

"What on earth?"

With a scoff I got up, pulled my hoodie on over my t-shirt, and pushed the button to open my door. I stuck my head out in the hallway to see a flash of something disappearing down the hall. Grumbling, I pulled my socks on and walked out.

The Condor was gorgeous at night. Moonlight bounced off the metallic floors all the way from the bridge- which was, in fact, where I'd seen a glimpse of something a second before. Did Radarr run around when everybody went to sleep? I walked down the hall, mesmerized by the starry ambience, and looked into the blackness of a doorway.

"Hello?" Goosebumps ran up my arms. It was really dark in there. Then to myself, I muttered, "Stupid, stupid, stupid. One night in another universe and you get paranoid."

Just as I said it a shadow passed by the doorway on the other side of the room. I darted over, grabbing the door frame to keep from slipping on the tile floor, and swung around to look out.

"Okay, I saw you that time," I whispered nervously. "If you're a monster, just eat me now! I'm full of calcium since I drink a lot of milk."

If it was amused, it didn't show it. When I counted to ten and didn't see any movement I took a few tentative steps and relaxed. Maybe it was the piping, I thought…

Right before a pillow hit me squarely in the back of the head. I gasped and whirled around to find the hall totally still. Bending down to address it, I whispered, "Don't eat me."

The pillow didn't respond.

Picking my weapon up, I hit it hard with one fist. Who or whatever was messing with me was going to get it. Then I paused and got an idea. Making sure nothing was looking, at least to my knowledge… I sniffed it. Now why I sniff things I can't tell you. It's just a habit. And it smelled like sleep - big surprise there - but it was nice at the same time.

As I started forward, I looked carefully into the dark rooms on either side, their doors parting automatically with my approach. Nobody there … that looks like a storage room … nobody there … that looks like a living room …

So of course as I passed the living room I got hit with another pillow.

Turning around, I stormed in and jumped up on the couch. Crouched behind it was Finn, his bright blue eyes wide with surprise. I punched my pillow and held it up, ready to bring it down on his face.

"Don't hurt me!" he squeaked. "Hey, come here." With that he jumped up and ran back out. I dropped my ammunition and hurried after him.

"What? Why? Finn? Where'd you go?"

"In here! Come on!"

With a sigh I went toward the sound of his voice. He had his head stuffed in one of the cupboards when I entered. Rubbing at the ache in my forehead I took a tentative step around the island in the middle of the room - the kitchen, apparently. "What are you doing?"

"Getting a snack," he responded, not missing a beat.

"Oh, so ya wake me up to watch you get fat?"

He gave me a curious look before going back to rummaging through the cupboards. "You weren't asleep anyway. Do you like chocolate?"

"No."

"Me neither." He took a pale crinkly bag out of one of the shelves, knocking a can out. He caught it without sparing it a glance. I stared in surprise. He turned and came back over to the counter, pulling out what looked like candy and popping one in his mouth. "Cough drops," he said, and a plume of invisible cherry smoke hit my face. Apparently the people out here don't know how to make lozenges smell less offensive either. "Piper says I eat them like candy."

"Do you?"

"Well, no. I mean, yeah, I guess I do-" he paused, closed his mouth, and it clacked against his white teeth. "-but it's because my throat hurts all the time." I rested my head in my hands and watched him in fascination. His hand slipped back in the little bag and he pulled another out. "You want one?"

"Sure." Our fingers brushed as I took it from him, and his gaze faltered for a moment. I tried not to smile as I popped it in my mouth. Immediately my sinuses cleared and I felt awake.

Well… even more awake, I guess.

"Thanks for letting me stay with you guys. It feels good to be acknowledged for a change."

"Acknowledged?" The cough drop he had balanced on his head fell off and he caught it with the same precision as before. "We're like your professional bodyguards now."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." His blue eyes were wide and sincere, and he reminded me of the little cat I'd left at home. His openness prompted me to ask another question.

"So are we friends now?"

Abruptly pushing back from the counter, he grabbed the bag of lozenges and tossed it back in the cupboard. I watched him stalk quickly back out into the hall. Splendid, I thought wryly. I offended him already. Sighing worriedly I padded back out to see him disappearing into the room with the couch. I wordlessly picked my way through the streams of moonlight and reluctantly walked in.

The pillow from before smacked me in the face.

I snagged it before it hit my feet. "You are SO dead." I dove at him and he ran around the rundown sofa, around a chair, and I almost cornered him before he pushed off the wall and skidded in his socks out the door. I came out and yelled in shock as he whacked me with the pillow left lying in the hallway, blocking with my own and hitting him in the stomach. He grunted and stepped back, leaving me to race the other way down the hall. Not knowing which way to go, I glanced at several rooms as I raced past them. It was too dark to know if I'd run headlong into a bookcase or something, so it was a risk that I ducked into one that seemed particularly cluttered. I slid under what looked something like an old desk that turned out to be a big piece of sheet metal when my nails hit it. Yanking my pillow under with me, I crawled beneath it and found myself face-to-face with a stack of huge pipes. Extras, I assumed. The sharpshooter's sock-coated footsteps were accelerating down the hall, so I scrambled inside one as quietly as I could, ducking into the darkest of shadow in the back of it. Stifling a grin at how immature I was being, I put the pillow on top of me and curled up beneath it.

"Mira?" His hushed, nasally voice had risen with bewilderment. "Where'd you go?" But I didn't make a sound, opening my mouth to draw in air more quietly. Unfortunately, my cough drop took the opportunity to tumble out, clattering with a marble-like sound to the bottom of the pipe.

"Oh, shoot!" I squeezed under the pillow and squeezed my eyes shut too.

"Ha! I hear you!" To my dismay he entered the right room on the first try. I guess the whole bow-and-arrow routine makes his senses sharper, for he was scooting in the opposite end of the pipe a moment later. He clambered back and came to a stop, his baggy pajama pants swooshing as he pulled himself into a cross-legged position. There was a big floof as he poked the pillow. "Tee hee!"

"Nooo," I mumbled childishly. "You cheated."

"No I didn't," he exclaimed indignantly.

"Mleh." I stuck my tongue out as he lifted my fluffy barricade and grinned down at me. "You did too."

"Come on, let's get out of here. I don't like enclosed spaces."

"Neither did your brain, or it'd still be in your head."

"Hey!" He looked genuinely baffled at my wit. He then turned and clawed his way back out of the pipe and under the big piece of metal stuff. I heard clacking as I crawled back out and found him standing toward the door, and carefully avoided my eyes making contact with his butt as I watched him tap his foot on the floor. "What the-"

"Oops!" I realized what had happened before he did. "You know what that sound was when you found me?"

He looked over his shoulder at me. "What? -aww, man! Your cough drop!" I laughed as he muttered, shaking his leg to no avail. The little red candy stuck firmly to the heel of his patchy sock.

So naturally, our next stop was the laundry room.

Surprisingly enough, they had similar washing and drying machines to "Earth's." He dropped his socks in, and with a glare at me he led me back until we'd reached the bridge. The Condor was so big that if you'd quizzed me on everywhere we'd been, I would have given it back blank before trying and failing miserably. I realized with an excited start that I would never be taking any of Mrs. Bertie's algebra tests again and found myself overwhelmed with joy.

"I love this," I murmured, not caring that it didn't make much sense.

"Love what?" I didn't miss the nervousness that briefly flickered in his tone.

"This. The Condor. The Storm Hawks. The Atmos."

"You do realize that you don't know half of what you're saying, right?"

"Well, I know I've been living in my own little world for, like…" I paused. "…thirteen years, but if that one was a bad example and I still tolerated it, I know I can learn to love this one. Cuz' unlike mine, there's still hope in this one." I gave an expectant gaze at him, and as he leaned against the wall a thoughtful smile spread across his face. "Do you believe in God?"

"What?"

"God. Jesus-angely-heaveny God. Like, as in, oh, hoooooly niiiight, the stars are brightly shiiiiining-"

"Yes, yes! We believe in God!" My shoulders drooped with relief. He then added, "But I think Stork's scared He's gonna hit 'im with a lightning bolt or something." At that I laughed. I just couldn't help it. Then, as suddenly as everything else seemed to be happening, a huge yawn stretched my mouth.

"You tired?" questioned the sharpshooter, a bit of fondness in his voice.

"Uh-huh."

I said it through a second, bigger yawn.

"Do you know where your room is?"

"Uh-uh."

I said it through a third yawn, even larger than the second.

"Come on." I finished that third yawn as I plodded after him, picking up the pillow he'd forgotten propped against the back wall. It was as I flanked him I realized that yes, I had known where my room was after all.

I might get my sense of direction yet, I thought dryly.

"Here we are. Where's my tip?"

"Here." I handed him the pillow. He scoffed and I shrugged.

"That's good enough for now, I guess. But you owe me."

Swallowing another yawn I stepped forward and the door swished open. "Nighty-night, then," I muttered, pulling my hoodie off and flopping face-first onto my bed. After a few seconds I called, "Show's over! Come back tomorrow!"

I heard an amused sniff and the door whooshed closed.

-xXxXx-

"You were worried she wouldn't eat," mused Aerrow as Piper peered into the kitchen, holding a basket of clothes. He nodded toward me expectantly and she smiled as I glanced up at her before turning back to my salad.

"I've never seen somebody eat so much lettuce," marveled the Wallop as I shoveled it down. Their lettuce tastes infinitely better than "Earth" lettuce- cleaner and crisper. So much enthusiasm towards vegetables still probably looked funny, though, since they've never had horrid McDonald's Caesar salads. I paused to stifle a burp and began picking the little orange things out. They're like carrots, but sweeter and juicier. I popped one in my mouth and one rolled away. Junko plucked it up between one of his three massive fingers and his one massive thumb and handed it back. I stuffed it in and went back to shoveling down lettuce as Stork stared at me in revulsion.

"Thank you so much," I mumbled for the umpteenth as I gulped down my mouthful of Atmosian veggies. "Your hospitality, your food…" I downed half my glass of water and added, "Oh, I was so hungry. Thank you."

"No problem," replied Junko, watching me in admiration as I stuffed the last of my lettuce in my mouth.

"You're very welcome," added the ebony - skinned girl before starting back down the hall with the load of laundry. Aerrow gave a smile and a nod before heading out as well.

"Junko?"

"Yeah?"

"Could I have a refill, please?"

"Sure!" He gave a rough but sweet smile and plodded over to the fridge saying, "as long as you eat the salad, we won't have to!"

"Very true," I murmured in agreement, shooting a smile at Stork. He gave me a cynical stare before looking the other way. With a hint of sarcasm, I added, "I'll eat anything green."

I turned back to my salad, and could feel his incredulous stare as I speared into my second helping of lettuce.

Just as I put my fork to my mouth, a huge crash knocked me off my seat. I yelped, catching myself on my hands and knees as salad rained down on me. Junko had stumbled and stork had leapt up as his chair skittered off against the wall.

"What was that?"

"An army of raptors here to tear us limb from limb."

"Probably just some turbulence."

Needless to say, I preferred Junko's answer. And as Piper came back in, she indeed looked more annoyed than frightened.

"Did you feel that?" exclaimed Finn, racing in at the same time. His eyes went from me covered in salad to Piper, who was giving him an accusing look.

"Finn? Why is our load of socks pink?"

"Wh-what do you mean? You think I'd purposely…" as he attempted to redeem himself I remembered the cough drop from last night. What I didn't recall was the removal of the cough drop before the sock went in the water. Oops. He finished his fib and she kept on yelling, waving a magenta sock in his face.

"This isn't funny, Finn! I can wear these, but you're explaining this to Aerrow. I'm sure he's gonna love-" she was cut short by another fierce jolt that knocked her - and him and Stork - off their feet.

"Storm Hawks!" called Aerrow from the bridge. "We've got trouble!" Junko helped me to my feet and we scrambled to the front room. "Stork, back to the controls," ordered the redheaded leader. "We just got a distress signal from the Rex Guardians."

"What?" Demanded Finn in disbelief. "They came back after they got their butts kicked last time?"

Aerrow nodded. "For whatever reason, the Cyclonians are attacking Terra Rex. They caught everyone off guard and-"

"We've flown into the thick of it," finished Stork as he steered the ship downward. There was another crash; guttural, deep and directly below us. "Yeah. We're doomed."

"Finn and Junko, come with me. Piper, Mira and Stork, stay here and help lead them away from the terra." The three bolted for the hangar and Piper beckoned me over to her. She took a little hop and pulled what looked like some sort of long-distance binoculars down from their secured place above. I found another set above my head and followed suit, the metal and wires neatly unfolding as I pulled them down to my level.

"Take a peek," she instructed.

To my amazement, I could see a midair battle raging below us. I caught sight of somebody on a skimmer and instinctively turned in the direction he was going. The lens on the other end followed, and I watched the blonde pull two huge blades out of sheathes. It hurt my eyes when they flashed a bright yellow, but I was too fascinated to even blink. He leapt up on his seat and slashed out as he flew by another guy on another bike. Its engine sparked and the man on it leapt off as it spiraled toward the ground. A parachute popped out on his back and I sniffed in stifled amusement.

"The blondes with the gold armor are the Rex Guardians - Terra Rex's squadron."

"Got it. So the ones with the hideous green and brown outfits are Cyclonian soldiers?"

"Talons," she corrected. "And don't forget the weird orange goggles. Stork! On the left!"

"Got it." He pulled a few levers and switches at the helm and I watched a huge cannon pop out of the outer hull, blasting one of the approaching Talons to smithereens.

"That looked like it hurt," I observed, a little taken aback.

"It probably did! Two more on the upper right." I didn't turn my telescope to watch this time. Catching sight of the big blonde guy I watched him take out two more Cyclonians before saluting to someone- I looked in the direction he was facing and found Aerrow saluting back. I gaped as the sky knight flipped off his skimmer, landed on another, and knocked the guy off before diving back for his own.

"They're retreating," I observed, as a loud explosion made Stork jump and a screaming Talon catapulted past the window. I gaped at the sight as Piper smiled, peering through her binocular-thingies.

"She's right."

Finding Aerrow again, I was delighted when he waved and pointed at the ground.

"He's landing," I stated, hoping I had interpreted his signal correctly. "I think he wants us to land too."

"She's right again." I pulled back from the device to see Piper smiling, seeming impressed. I smiled back sheepishly as Stork gave a grunt and yanked one of the big, stubborn-looking levers and the Condor dipped downward.

-xXxXx-

"Once again, we are in your debt." Harrier stepped forward and shook Aerrow's hand as I watched from our disorganized line. (As you might've guessed, Piper explained to me that he's their sky knight.)

"Just glad we could help out. Oh, and-" he turned around and I swallowed as I realized Aerrow was looking at me. "-there's someone new we'd like you to meet."

Okay, okay, my grandma always tells me I'm pretty, but nothing prepared me for the stares their squadron gave me. One guy even gaped.

"This is - where did you find her?" There was shock in his voice that fascinated me.

"Terra Reveria. We intercepted a Cyclonian transmission that said they… wanted… her?"

But Harrier wasn't listening. He'd come over to me, gazing at me in a mix of disbelief and admiration. "Mira?"

"That… happens to be my name…" I was shocked when he pulled me into an enormous hug. "Nice to meet you too," I wheezed.

"Uh-" Aerrow was as dumbfounded as I. "Do you two… know each other?"

"Oh, Mira, you've no idea how worried I've been." He pulled back and his fingers skirted across my face. "My beloved sister."

---

This story is ancient. I started it sometime during either the summer after 8th grade or the summer after my freshman year of high school. I know, I know- Mira has a classic case of Mary-Sue-itus. This story changed me, though, and it's a journey I went through with my character. It will forever be a part of who I am. For my age at the time, I think it's pretty impressive.

Anyway, if you're not interested, no offense taken. And for anyone who wants to join the Storm Hawks on this journey, welcome! I hope you enjoy it.

XP