The skies of the Far Side were a magnificent green colour and the craggy rocks that jutted out between the clouds were an ash grey. Strange beasts roamed the skies with mighty wingspans and were powerfully silhouetted against the evening sky as the misty clouds rolled by in huge, almost menacing, drifts. The team of adventures had travelled so far and fought so much that the sights excited but also made them anxious. For another had been before them and could have travelled anywhere in the huge expanse that awaited them.
Their ship hovered in the sky, no wind or storm rocked it, and those who watched from their positions gazed into the scene before them like children into a night sky. This world was unknown to them and they were eager to discover it. Then one by one their gazes drifted like the clouds and they took an inward resolution not to be so distracted again.
"Come on, she can't have gone far", murmured one, the leader with a striking head of red hair.
"I don't know, I mean the terra- or whatever that is- ahead should be the place to look but then wouldn't that be too easy? She would know we would start there right?" The girl who said this shook her head in a mixture of wonderment and worry.
"Oh come on Piper, where else could she go? Look around, there's nowhere else just this big rock thing in the sky!" Reasoned another, sharp spiked blond hair waved in the invisible breeze and his blue eyes blazed as he said this.
"Why don't we ask around that castle thing, I'm sure somebody will know something? She's been here before right? So she must have met people and maybe she's with them!" The person who said this was of the unusual disposition of being a Wallop, a creature part human part animal. While a horn and other animal characteristics made him stand out, his personality was the opposite. A friendly smile and easy going nature made him a welcome member of their team, unusual though he was.
The others too were unusual, different but unique. There was one with green skin and sharp features with an almost neurotic personality with hints of paranoia, not unusual for a Merb. Though he supposed it was an advantage as he reasoned that out of everyone in the Atmos ,he was the one of the few without a brainworm infestation at some point in their lives. The remaining creature was small and tentative, a furry animal with nerves of steel and extreme loyalty, call him Radarr if you'd prefer.
For all had there own identities that kept them separate: Aerrow, Piper, Finn, Junko, Stork and Radarr. They all worked together in their differences and succeeded as a team. They had made it this far and planned to go further, as a team. The Storm Hawks.
Stork waved them in from his position by the cockpit, steering their ship "The Condor", and making the most of this new terrain. They walked back through the window that led them onto the bridge, or what appeared to be the 'nose' of the ship. Piper was the last to return to the ship, her eyes taking another guilty scan of her surroundings before seeing Aerrow blow a piece of hair away from his face and smile at her.
"I know I could spend forever looking at this place too Piper, need a hand on your way through?" he stood crotched over by the window watching Piper try to make her way over.
"No I'm fine", she said pushing past him smirking as she rolled her eyes. Wondering if he could see the irony too. Just after everything that they had been through. Only now Aerrow suggested she might need a hand to help her, she chuckled to herself.
"Hey Radarr you were awesome earlier, sorry about… you know", Said Finn running his fingers through his blond hair. "Hey does anybody else's hair feel static?" He asked, trying to pat his down a little.
Radarr winced at the memory and ran his fingers down his mismatched back; patches of hair thinned and were missing and as he ran his fingers over them he moaned in disappointment.
"Yeah what exactly did happen there?" Asked Aerrow, shaking his head and trying not to laugh.
Stork gave a quick and sharp laugh then glanced at Radarr and back, "well you'll probably never believe this but the Night Crawlers were allergic to Radarr". Then he added darkly, "or maybe they didn't like the smell". Radarr grumbled angrily at Stork and Piper raised a querying eyebrow.
"That's strange", she muttered to herself.
"It was weird; it was like the crystals they were wearing were allergic to Radarr. Almost as badly as my allergy to sky sharks I'd say", said Junko helping himself to a cookie he found after lifting up a box, crumbs covered his face and horn and Radarr stuck out his tongue in disgust. "What?" he asked through crumbs.
"Junko you got a little… never mind", said Finn.
Radarr dragged a jaded hand down his face as he groaned at Junko's puzzled expression.
Junko shrugged and roughly wiped his face, then grinned a smile full of cookie. Piper smirked and leaned against the side of the ship then as her thoughts became bleak her smile fell. "We really don't have any time for messing around do we?" She sighed then said, "I can't believe she got away, who knows what she could be doing now, probably something bad". After she said this she slid down to sit on the floor, her head hung and eyes closed. She felt a hand on her shoulder and opened her weary eyes to see a friendly face staring down at her, she weakly smiled back.
"We beat her before didn't we? We'll do it again, we're the Storm hawks," reassured Aerrow, removing his hand and making a thumbs up.
Stork shrugged his shoulders, "it's our thing", he agreed.
"Master Cyclonis had a head start on us; she knows the Far Side because she's been here before. We can't possibly catch up with her now!" Piper moaned, sighing.
"She has a point, Cyclonis is probably getting a new army ready as we speak from her sources and anyway with the gravity differences here who knows how long The Condor can be stabilised, we get attacked here we might fall right out of the sky into the depth below," then he added to himself, "thank goodness I did install that ejector seat".
"Guys come on we just survived being attacked by the whole Cyclonian army and who knows how many Night Crawlers. This is just one person! Dangerous maybe, but she's alone," argued Aerrow.
"Yeah I suppose…the Dark Ace… it happened so fast didn't it?" murmured Piper.
"Well he got what he deserved anyway. Look its not like you could have done anything to stop him, well
Umm… exploding?" said Finn.
"Well that's one way of putting it", agreed Piper getting up from her spot and walking over to the main window.
"The Dark Ace exploded? Wish I had that on film", grumbled Stork smirking slyly.
"Dudes like we're nearly at the castle place what are we gonna do? Split up or what?" asked Finn.
" Easy we'll all split up and meet back at the condor in two hours, Junko and Stork need to stay behind for repairs on the ship from the battle and everyone else just use what you know about Cyclonis to second guess were she might go, ", said Aerrow.
"Yeah like a scary cave", remarked Finn.
Finn and Junko sniggered.
"Yeah probably, dark too!" Replied Junko.
Aerrow smirked at this and marching to the front of the ship while putting his hand on Stork's arm said,
"Think we can speed things up?"
" Hmm I don't know… those creatures ahead don't look too menacing but you never know, neither do Spiny gorge sloth's and well you learnt your lessons there", said Stork not taking his eyes away from what was ahead.
"Well why don't you land The Condor on one of those jutting ledges ahead and we'll take our skimmers over to the place ahead and ask about. The very least we can do is warn them about Cyclonis", said Aerrow working the plan out in his head.
"We'll tell them she's a wanted criminal, dangerous and not to be trusted, we can give them a description and take a look around. Maybe even get a map off somebody," added Piper turning back to them from the window.
"Right it's just like doing recon back in Atmos," reasoned Finn raising an eyebrow and frowning unsteadily, remembering how boring that was.
"What if they don't speak the same language as us?" asked Junko frowning worryingly.
"Well they must have understood Cyclonis well enough for her to get all that far side technology. So if they can speak Cyclonis, I think they can understand the Finn-ster", Finn smirked and raised both fists.
"I wonder what people from the Far Side look like? I mean from the legends they never give good descriptions but it was always something about stars mentioned. I mean look how bright it is inside those castle walls, it's practically glowing", whispered Piper gazing back and trying to squint her eyes for a better view.
"Should we wear disguises? Whose to say they aren't on Cyclonis's side?" asked Junko, puzzling over the solution to this.
"They're not, otherwise she would have stayed instead of returning to Atmos, Piper?" asked Aerrow hoping she would back him up, she blinked slowly and nodded.
"He's right, hopefully", she said.
"Well come on? Enough waiting I say we go ahead, for Atmos!" said Aerrow grinning. Everyone grinned back and Stork steered The Condor ahead towards the landing spot. The small cliff like piece of crumbling rock suspended in the sky beckoned them to land and Stork accelerated ahead, the strange far side gravity raced them forwards.
"Hold onto you dinner!" Shouted Stork pulling a lever and driving The Condor into super sonic speed.
Everyone screamed and The Condor spiralled ahead through clouds and sky. Crashing into the landing sight while dirt clods and cracked ground flew up around them. Radarr was the first to get back on his feet, he immediately fell over. Everyone groaned and Stork stood curled over The Condor's wheel,
"Opps", he said, tumbling over it, "Lets not do that again for a while, agreed?"
"AGREED", shouted everyone from their various awkward and painful positions scattered across The Condor. One of the strange flying beasts ahead gave The Condor a cautious look and if any inside had looked they may have thought it was ominous.
But nobody did.