Delphigirl689: Hello everybody. This is my second Storm Hawks fanfic. Can you believe it?! I got inspired after reading the very sad ending of "Seeing is Believing" and I got the permission from Minni Maigi to post it. Now to wrap things up, let me say that I don't own the Storm Hawks. Minni, I'm so sorry to make you wait this long, so think of this as a belated Christmas present. If you don't celebrate Christmas, then think of it as a whatever-holiday-you-celebrate present. Happy New Year, everyone!
Disclaimer: I don't own the Storm Hawks. Nerd Corps. does.
It was dark.
Pitch black.
Aerrow was surprised that he could still see his hand in front of his face even in that darkness.
"Is this what happens when you die?" he said to himself in the dark abyss.
He remembered the green crystal in Cyclonis's hand.
He remembered the pain that ensued as she began to crush it.
And he remembered what he had accidentally done to Piper.
Tears stung his eyes and he couldn't stop them from flowing out.
I can't believe I did that…to her…my best friend…the girl I loved...
Stupid Cyclonis…stupid Dark Ace…none of this would have happened if those two hadn't come and experimented on me with that crystal.
"Now, Aerrow, are you really going to beat yourself up like this forever?" asked a voice.
Aerrow looked around for the source… and what he found shocked him.
There were two people, a man and a woman, both with striking red hair like his. The man was unfamiliar while the woman he could easily recognize.
"Mom…" he said.
The woman nodded, and introduced the man beside her, "This is Lightning Strike; the original leader of the Storm Hawks." "You may not remember me, Aerrow, but I am your father. (A.N.: Now where have we heard that before?)" said the late sky knight.
Aerrow was taken aback by this and plainly told them why. "Three strange bird guys came to me one day and told me that I was his last descendent, but I thought he was a distant uncle of mine, not my own father!"
Lightning Strike understood why he was confused, "You see, Aerrow, the reason why you don't remember much about me is because I was often away protecting Atmos with the Storm Hawks."
"Well, it was your duty as a sky knight after all," said Aerrow.
The woman came next to her son and laid a soft hand on his shoulder. "Actually, that wasn't the only reason why he was fighting."
"That's right, Chiela.* I was mainly fighting to give you a better future, my son."
Chiela added, "And when the Cyclonians attacked our home, all that I could think of was protecting you; even if it cost me my own life."
Which it did, Aerrow thought to himself. Though the young sky knight could help but smile at his parents. His smile faded quickly though at the realization that they were both… for lack of a better word… dead.
Aerrow just had to know and asked, "But, if I'm here with you two and you're both… uh…" "Dead?" asked his father, who seemed to know what he was about to say. "Yeah, that," Aerrow continued, "does that mean that I'm dead too?"
His parents were hesitant to answer him but finally his mother decided to tell him, "Yes…and miraculously…no."
That answer only confused Aerrow even more.
"We aren't too sure how this is, Aerrow, but right now you stuck in limbo; between life and death."
"It is probably because you still have work to do back among the living." His father told him.
Aerrow's expression became sad again, "I wish I could just stay dead. After what I did to Piper…I don't think that I could complete the mission without her."
"You know, son," said Lightning Strike, "Those rare blue striker crystals in your twin blades are the same kind of crystals that my weapon used. And there is something very special that they possess. Whenever an innocent person is killed with a weapon that uses those crystals, they do not immediately die. They enter a comatose state. Death only occurs twenty-four hours after the coma begins. The best part is that there is a way to save the person."
"Really?" The red-head's green eyes lit up with hope and he immediately asked, "How does that happen?"
His father's face saddened and his mother said to her hopeful son, "I'm sorry, Aerrow, but that is all that we are allowed to tell you."
"Oh," was Aerrow's sad reply. Then the previous leader of the Storm Hawks decided to at least give him a hint, "However, the answer to that question of yours lies inside your heart. All you have to do is find it."
Aerrow tried to figure out what his father was telling him when his appearance began to flicker like a hologram. "It seems that you're going back to the living," said the former sky knight, "but don't worry about us. We will always be with you."
The young red-head smiled at his parents, waved gently a good bye to them, and disappeared.
"Do you think that he'll find out in time, Lightning?" asked Chiela. Lightning answered, "He's a clever boy, just like his old man. I have a pretty strong feeling that he will find out the answer he needs to save the girl he loves."
Emerald eyes opened to a dark room; his room. He was home on the Condor lying in his bed.
Sitting up, he heard an excited screech. Aerrow turned and saw his sky monkey friend, Radarr, jump onto his shoulder; obviously glad to see his friend alive and well.
"It's nice to see you, too, buddy." Aerrow said to Radarr, "Now, let's show the others that I'm okay."
The red-head and his little blue buddy left the room and headed for the bridge. Once there, Aerrow noticed that not only were his team mates there, but so was Starling.
"Starling? What are you doing here?" the red head asked. Before Starling could answer him, Aerrow was caught in one of Junko's bone-crushing hugs. "Oh, Aerrow buddy! We were so worried that you wouldn't wake up!" said the wallop as he was crying tears of joy. Aerrow, while struggling to breathe, said to Junko, "I'm glad to see you, too, Junko. But if you don't let me down, you might lose me." Junko realized what he was doing was hurting his friend and sky knight and let the red head down, saying, "Oops. Sorry." Finn and Stork came up to their once-dead sky knight with smiles of relief on both of their faces, which was very unusual for Stork; it was only when he was either crazy or extremely happy that he smiled. "Welcome back, dude." Finn said. "Yeah. We all thought you were doomed after you blacked out when Cyclonis almost crushed that crystal to pieces." continued Stork. Starling decided to interject into the conversation, "That's where I came in, Aerrow. You see, I was in Cyclonia on a mission of my own. When I saw your friends running towards the throne room, I knew something was up. So I followed them and saw what that witch was doing to you. After all that you've done while leading the Storm Hawks, I wouldn't just stand there and let you suffer and die." she explained. "Yep." Finn said, "Thanks to Starling, we all made it out of Cyclonia in one piece." "With at least some damage." added Stork.
Aerrow's green eyes widened with curiosity and he asked, "Wait. When you say 'All of us', does that include Piper?" "That's right!" Junko said with a big grin on his face. "Even though she was stabbed close to the heart, I cleaned out the wound. With the help of the heal crystal Starling loaned me, I believe Piper will make a full recovery by morning." said the merb, his smile still on his face.
That means… what Lightning-I mean my father told me… was true…Aerrow thought. And that means… if I don't find out what I need to do to wake up Piper soon… she'll be gone for good… I can't let that happen…I won't let that happen… I'll find out what I need to do to save her.
"So, where is she now?" the young sky knight asked. "She's sleeping in the Infirmary." Stork answered, "In fact, Piper has been asleep this entire time. Good thing too. She'd be doomed if she didn't get her proper rest."
"Okay guys. Just one more question. How long has it been since I blacked out?" Aerrow asked. "Twenty one hours and fifty two minutes; give or take a few seconds." Stork answered, again. "Why do you need to know how long you were out, Aerrow?" Starling asked. "Oh, no reason." the red haired sky knight answered, not wanting to get anyone else involved. He wanted to save the girl he loved on his own. Aerrow decided to excuse himself, saying, "I'm gonna go see Piper now. I'll talk to you guys in a while." He exited from the bridge and walked down the hall to the Infirmary.
After Aerrow was out of the room, Junko asked, "So, Stork, how come you know exactly how long Aerrow was out cold?" Stork replied, "Well, a guy like me can spot things like that. Plus I was wearing a watch."
The doors to the Infirmary opened and Aerrow walked inside. On the left wall was a cabinet with all sorts of remedies and cures from all across Atmos, many of which Stork had bought. On the right wall was the standard first-aid kit, which was huge because, you guessed it, Stork had bought it. In the back was the recovery and check-up area. Even though there was a closed curtain, the red head knew that Piper was lying down on the bed behind it. "Okay." Aerrow said to himself, "Twenty one hours and fifty two minutes; that's about ten minutes after I, unknowingly, st-stabbed Piper. That gives me…" he paused as he did the math in his head (He's not Finn, people. He can do math.), "Two hours and fifty eight minutes to figure out what I need to do to save her." He looked at the clock and saw the time was 9:02 at night.* "I had better figure it out soon. I've only got until midnight."
Unfortunately, try as he might, Aerrow simply couldn't think of anything at all. And, to make matters worse, time was not on his side. The clock now said it was 11:20 at night. "Only forty minutes left and still nothing!" he said exasperated. Hot tears began to spill out of his now closed eyes as he whispered silently, "Come on, dad… help me out here… please… I can't do this on my own…please…"
"Aerrow…"said a voice that the young man easily recognized. "Dad?" he asked, "Where are you?" Suddenly, a transparent figure appeared in front of Aerrow. "My son, I'm here to help you." said Lightning Strike. "Really?"Aerrow said with disbelief, "Will you tell me how to save Piper?" "I'm sorry, my son, but I still can't tell you. Only you can save her and it needs to be done on your own." The red-head's heart sank, thinking that his last hope had failed him. But his father, noticing this, told the young sky knight, "But I can help you find the answer. You need to figure it out on your own." Aerrow looked up at his father's spirit and asked, "What do I need to do?" The spirit smiled, "Don't you remember what I told you?" he asked the confused young man. Aerrow nodded, "Yeah. You told me that the answer was inside my heart. What did you mean by that?" Lightning Strike shook his head thinking, 'He's definitely my son if he's this dense.' "Tell me, Aerrow. Recently, whenever you were around your friend, how did you feel?" the late sky knight asked. Aerrow felt his face flush as he answered, "Well, I usually got this strange feeling in the pit of my stomach." "Just as I thought," Lightning said, "You had feelings for her as more than a friend. Perhaps even love." At the word "love", Aerrow immediately felt his face change from soft pink to bright red.
Is that really how I feel? Was that strange feeling… love? Even if it was, does she feel the same way? Probably not; after all, it's not recommended for members of a squadron to fall in love with each other. It's just a big distraction from the job of protecting the citizens of Atmos.
Lightning had heard, and was always able to hear, his son's thoughts and was appalled by them, "Aerrow, I know what the sky knight counsel tells squadrons. But their ridiculous claim that love is a distraction from protecting the people of Atmos is nothing but a load of dragon dung." Aerrow gave his father's spirit a look of complete shock.
'It's a load of dragon dung?!' Why does he think that about the recommendations of the sky knight counsel?
"It's because love is not a distraction."Lightning explained, "It is the most powerful force in existence; the one thing that the Cyclonians don't understand. It drives the weariest soul to continue on, even when all hope is lost and defeat seems imminent. Love was the reason why I chose to fight Cyclonia. I had fallen in love with a beautiful dancer on Terra Neon and I wished for the two of us to live happy lives in a world free from darkness. Eventually, we got married and made a small home on Terra Fauna along with other settlers. We had you a year or so later and that was when I decided to lead all of the squadrons in a final battle against the Cyclonians so that you and your mother could live freely. You were only four at the time. That day, during the final battle, my copilot and best friend betrayed me and… well, you know what happened." He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts and Aerrow, knowing it was the Dark Ace he was referring to, looked at the late sky knight's spirit with sorrow and anger in his eyes.
The Dark Ace was my dad's best friend? And the creep just went and destroyed his friends, his team, and his family all for power from the Cyclonians? That's so low it might as well be sixty feet under the wastelands!
"But, even though I had perished in the battle, I continued to watch over you. Your mother and I were reunited after the Cyclonians killed her in the raid all those years ago while she was protecting you, and we took to watching over you together." Lightning said hoping to wrap things up, "We saw how you met your friends, all the adventures you had been on, and the emotions that went on between you and your friends; especially those that involved you and the team's only female." Once again, Aerrow's face turned bright red, this time nearly as red as his hair. Lightning smiled at his son's expression, knowing that the boy was clearly infatuated with his best friend. "While studying these particular emotions between you and the girl, we came to discover something wonderful. Since you were wondering how the girl felt about you, I figure that I can at least tell you her feelings." The young man's green eyes lit up like a kid at Christmastime and he eagerly asked, "Well, how does she feel about me?" "The exact same as you feel about her." the spirit answered.
Aerrow gave his father a look of disbelief. "Are you serious?" he asked. "Absolutely, son," said the late sky knight, "While we were watching over you, your mother and I saw the subtle signs that the two of you were giving each other: when you gave her the crystal from the Oracle, the two of you looking at the sky after your adventure in the Exosphere, how she came to your rescue when Ravess tried to kill you while you were trapped by two of her Talons, the time when you gave up your breather to her so that she could escape from the sinking Condor. The list is practically endless." Now the young sky knight's face blended in exactly with his hair color. Was it that obvious? He thought. I can't believe it. Piper feels the same way I do. Well, now there's an even better reason why I need to wake her up. Aerrow looked up at the clock and saw that he was running out of time. It was now 11:50 at night; only ten minutes left. His father noticed the boy's distress and told him, "It will be alright, son. Just look within yourself and you'll find what you need." The red head smiled at his father's ghost, showing that he understood. Smiling as well, Lightning said to his son, "It is now time for me to return to the afterlife. But know that your mother and I have faith that you will save the one you love." afterwards, the leader of the original Storm Hawks squadron vanished from the condor; and Atmos itself.
Thank you, dad, Aerrow said in his mind, I know what I need to do now.
The clock on the semi-lighted wall of the infirmary said the time was now 11:57; only three minutes left until midnight. But that didn't worry Aerrow for he already knew what to do.
I have to tell her, he thought, despite what my dad said, she may not return my feelings, but still, I have to tell her what she means to me.
Aerrow kneeled down onto the floor beside Piper's bed; his emerald green eyes looking on the sleeping, dark-skinned girl with love in his heart.
Tick.
Two minutes left.
He whispered in her ear the three words he could never find the courage to say; I love you.
Tick.
One minute left.
It was now or never for him. The red head, still kneeling beside his friend, looked at the midnight blue haired girl's face, leaned over her, moved his head down slowly, closed his eyes, and kissed her gently.
Ding!
Midnight.
Aerrow removed his lips from Piper's.
I hope that she's still alive, he thought.
That hope was not in vain as the young sky knight saw his friend's chest rise and fall regularly.
She was breathing. Piper was still alive.
"Thank goodness," Aerrow whispered, "Now she's just sleeping."
The red head got up, kissed Piper lightly on the forehead, and took his leave.
The next day, Aerrow woke up in his room, wondering what would happen between him and Piper now that he had told her how much she meant to him.
She probably doesn't even remember me telling her my feelings, Aerrow thought, Oh well, I suppose I'll just have to tell her again.
Hearing his stomach growl at him like a track beast, the red-head decided to tell Piper after a good breakfast was in his system and headed for the kitchen.
Once there, Aerrow saw that there was no one around. Figuring that the others were still fast asleep, the sky knight decided to fix breakfast for everyone. An hour or so later, the red head, along with his assistant Radarr, had made three big stacks of pancakes, fourteen strips of bacon, scrambled eggs, hash browns, and sausages. Soon, one by one, Aerrow's teammates came in to eat the food that was prepared. Junko came in first as always. "Sniff. Sniff. Wow! That food sure smells good, Aerrow." the hungry wallop said. "Thanks, Junko. I woke up early and decided to cook breakfast today." said Aerrow. Not long afterwards, Stork, Finn, Radarr, and Starling (who had stayed overnight) came into the dining room. "Man! Something smells delicious in here!" Finn declared. "I quite agree, Finn. That aroma is absolutely delicious." said Starling in her British accent. Stork seemed rather relieved (which is really saying something here, people) that the smell from the kitchen was appetizing, "Well, one thing's for sure, we'll definitely have a full stomach this morning." the green-skinned merb said. Radarr screeched in agreement. "I'm glad that you're all hungry," Aerrow told his friends, "because I made us all a smorgasbord of breakfast foods. And don't worry, I made sure that there was enough for Junko and the rest of us to eat." Those words made everybody happy. And what's better, Piper came in, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, as they all sat down. "Morning, guys! Morning, Starling!" she said with a smile on her face. Aerrow gave an inward sigh of relief to hear her voice again yet he was upset because she didn't remember what he told her the night before. "Now that everybody's at the table, let's eat!" Junko gladly obliged and began to wolf down his food, cueing everyone else to do the same; only less messy.
As soon as breakfast was over, the Storm Hawks said goodbye to Starling, but not before asking her one more time if she wanted to join them. Once again she turned them down, but reassured them that one day she may just take them up on that offer. After Starling had left, the team set a course for Terra Neon to celebrate Piper's recovery. On the way there, Aerrow decided to go out for some fresh air. Looking at the clouds made him feel content in a way no one else would understand. It was just before sunset when the team was almost to Terra Neon. Piper went outside to tell Aerrow when Radarr raced out in front of her; beating her to Aerrow. "Hey, buddy." Aerrow said to his sky monkey companion, "You know, it's just not fair, Radarr. Last night I finally worked up the courage to tell Piper how I felt about her, and now, she doesn't remember a thing about it." Piper let out a silent gasp. How he felt… about me? He told me… last night? She kept listening as Aerrow went on, "It looks like I'm going to have to do it again, Radarr. She needs to know that I care about her; as more than a friend. Maybe someday soon I'll work up that courage again." Not being able to take anymore, Piper said aloud, "You don't have to, Aerrow." Shocked, the sky knight turned around to see the very person he was speaking about. "Piper, y-you heard me? Last night… you heard me?" he asked. "Yes, I did. When I woke up I thought that it was just a dream. But now, I know everything you did for me. You saved me, Aerrow. In more ways than you can think of. And I love you, too." With that said, the two of them embraced each other as though they would never let go. Radarr was so happy for them that he went back inside to give the new couple some alone time; making sure to close the door behind him. After the blue sky monkey had left, Aerrow and Piper loosened their embrace, looked lovingly into each other's eyes, and kissed for the second time. Junko, Finn, and Stork saw this through the window and they all had their own reactions to their friends' newfound love for each other. Junko got all teary-eyed and said, "That's so beautiful!" he started bawling like a baby after that. Finn scoffed at this and said, "No way! Aerrow gets a girl before I do?! That's totally unfair!" Stork was being his paranoid self saying, "Oh no! It's the dreaded love sickness! Now their minds will turn into goo and the rest of us are next! Where's my trance-helmet?!?!" the merb ran away in search of solace, away from any pesky germs. Luckily for those guys, Radarr had closed the door. For the two love birds were now gazing at the sunset together.
Delphigirl689: Well, that's all I wrote. Please read and review!