Bedtime Story

by Kiue Jin

One Shot: A Grandmother takes the time out of her busy day to tell her eight year old Granddaughter a bedtime story, but not all is as it appears.

Bedtime Story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks. I don't really know how anyone could possibly mistake this for cannon or even worthy of being shown to a studio in the first place. Despite all this, the original characters (OC's) named, used or mentioned in this story, along with any plot you can somehow locate completely belong to me. Try to steal them without my permission and I promise to threaten to sue before I get bored and drop the whole thing. Try to enjoy.

It was a very rare occurrence for the world to be in order long enough for a grandmother to tuck her only granddaughter into bed. Such events were often few and far between, something that was truly treasured by the little girl and treated with the up most care encase it was nothing more then a dream that would disperse if she spoke too loudly or misbehaved.

Snuggling into her bed and making herself comfortable, the young girl's lips twitched upwards in the direction of the only family she had ever known. " Grandma, can you please tell me a story?"

For a few seconds the older woman thought about the request, letting her granddaughter stew in the fear of rejection before returning the restrained smile with the barest of movements from her own lips upwards. "Very well little one. What story do you wish to hear?"

The little girl almost squealed at the joyous occasion. Her grandma having the time to tuck her into bed were treasures that were truly rare; Her having the time to tell her a bedtime story was worth more then all of her to... playthings and crystals put together. She was almost eight now and was much to old to be seen playing with something so childish as toys now. Playthings were a completely different field altogether... as was her closest friend and advisor Lord Raven the bear.

Hugging her advisor close to her ear so she could heed his advice, the young girls face pouted in thought before nodding in agreement. "Lord Raven wishes to hear the story of his namesake. You never did tell me why you named him Raven when you assigned him his position as my lord adviser."

Finding her granddaughters remaining childish innocence amusing, the older woman let out three slow, controlled chuckles. She had honestly been expecting this story request for quite some time. " So you wish to hear one of the many tales of Lord Raven, one of the if not thee greatest servant the royal family has ever had?"

With her granddaughters enthusiastic nodding, the older woman sighed in a clearly exaggerated way, a rare show of emotion that only her daughter ever got to see ( and survive it. Those that made her anger didn't get to talk about seeing her in that state to others.) " There are many tales connected to the name of Raven, all of which are quite grand, some even legendary. But personally I have always found his first and final hours to be the greatest tales of them all. It also marks the beginning and end of the Typon insurrection."

If it was possible for someone who was already giving something 100 percent of their attention to somehow give 10 percent more, her granddaughter would have done so. Unlike the earlier attempt at a smile, the smirk that appeared on the old woman's face seemed quite natural, almost predator like. " Now that I have your attention, settle down and I'll get started."

Watching the young girl shuffle about again, both females made themselves comfortable on the bed, one laying down, the other sitting.

And with that, Empress Cyclonis started to tell her granddaughter the tale of Lord Raven.

" The tale of Raven began around the same time that I took the throne for the first time. Back then, I didn't know who he was nor did I care to know him in any detail until almost a year after he joined the talons. Things were much different back in those days. All I was back then was Queen of a handful of Terra's who's ownership was almost constantly being challenged by a number of our neighbours, as well as pirates and mercenary scum."

" Even in the beginning Raven was talented. Looking back on the recordings and reports of battles he fought in, it was clear that he was one of the better pilots out there. However, in those days all Talons were good flyers and fighters. Unlike now a days were we have dozens, if not hundreds of recruiting Terra's at our disposal, back then on any given day we could lose or retake one of the ten nearby Terra's fighting against any number of enemies. What Talon's we had were limited and had to learn to be the best pilots out there and they had to learn it fast. Slow learners didn't live that long."

"How come we let the slow learners join on mass then without training them like but in the old days?" The young Cyclonis asked politely, her interest in her answer outweighing that of the story for the moment.

The older woman sighed a little, almost like she was suffering from... what was the word? Regert? No... Regret!. " Now a days we simply get too many recruits flooding into our forces to have the time to train them to my former standards. Besides, the reason our forces were so good then had to do with the fact that they were almost daily fighting a campaign against countless enemies who could attack at any time they pleased because our forces were often so bogged down with attacks from all sides that a counter attack wasn't possible. They were veterans of every sense of the word. Can I get back to the story now?"

With a nod from her granddaughter, the old Empress continued.

" The legend of Raven really began during the Stab. Three of our rivals had joined forces in order to attempt to take our capital in one. Brutal strike. The fight for our Terra lasted for three days. We lost nine of the ten Terra's we had fought so hard to keep because we needed to call in all possible forces for this one battle."

"On the third day, our anti air defences had been damaged enough that two of the three commanding capital ships of our enemies were able to move into the fortresses airspace, bombarding our home and turning the skies into a killing field for fliers. Despite the fact it was judged suicide to try, Squad leader Raven decided to volunteer to lead a charge on the nearest capital ship and attempt to destroy it. I remember he gave a rather inspiring speech to the talons that had been holed up in our palace at the time. I can't remember exactly what he said, but I do remember that myself and your mother who was the current heir to my throne were mentioned and held in a rather fluttering light."

" Somehow he managed to talk twenty five other talons with more courage then common sense to join him in his insane and almost certainly suicidal attack on one of the capital ships. I watched them fly out of the hanger that day and into what I can only guess is a fliers idea of hell. Between the enemy fighters and the defences and weapons of the capital ships trained on them, out of the twenty six that launched only four made it to the ship."

"Raven was one of them and if the reports of events I got afterwards were true the loss of so many of his brothers in arms angered him to no end."

If anyone ever had the nerve to ask her about it the Empress would honestly say that she had, many years ago, been afraid of Raven's wrath. While it had never been directed at her or her daughter, she had born witness to it a couple of times. It was like watching a berserker with surgical skills. He was the kind of commander who instead of getting enraged when something went wrong would stay calm, learn all the facts, find out what went wrong and then get enraged with precision.

"Within minutes, the four of them had slaughtered everyone on the ship before seizing the thing for themselves. The first thing they did was turn the weapons that had been bombarding us for almost an hour at the second ship. Taking them completely by surprise the battle between the two ships was pretty one sided; the other ship didn't even get the chance to fire back before it exploded like a firework. The removal of both ships as a threat allowed the grounded Talon's to take to the skies, as well as providing them with the support of the captured vessel."

"That battle raged for another two hours, but the moral of the enemy had been broken with the destruction of two of its heavy hitters and the death of the leadership of two of the factions attacking us. What had once appeared to be Cyclonia's darkest hour quickly became one of our brightest. Since our enemies had thrown everything they had into that one assault, we suddenly had an opening to strike back at them. Within the next couple of days we had not only reclaimed what we had lost but gained so much more."

"After the victory, I personally met with Raven and the three Talons who brought us the victory at the risk of their own lives. We only spoke for two minutes, but it was long enough for me to judge him and those that followed him worthy of being the elite of the elite. I granted them the title of 'sky knights' of Cyclonia, with Raven granted leadership of them. He would serve our family proudly for years to come before he met his end..."

The young heir of the Empire noticed a change come over her Grandma. She seemed almost... sad about something. "Is there something wrong Grandma?" was all she asked respectfully, child like worry overcoming her.

The older Empress sighed at the question. " Little one, over the years of my rule I have made decisions that in hindsight were the wrong call. When you take over my throne one day the same will happen to you. But I have always believed I made the right decision when I appointed Raven as our Terra's 'Sky Knight'. Over the years he rewarded my faith in him and more. But despite the fact that his final act in the service of our family was vital, I still find myself wishing that he was still amongst the living. I have never had another commander like him and I am truly sad to say that chances are that you won't have one like him either."

Despite understanding the situation a little even at her young age, the little girl tilted her head sideways as she looked at her grandma in a confused fashion. " Do you have your Dark Ace now? Isn't he the best fighter around?"

The question got a very rare reaction from her grandmother... she chuckled. It was such a strange and foreign noise that it was almost as scary as the woman who made it could be at times. "The Dark Ace is a good fighter and his loyalty has been proven, but he was only a runner up prize. I cannot tell you who the better fighter was since they never had the chance to fight each other, but they were very different people. Dark Ace is loyal to us, but mostly because he doesn't have a choice in the matter. He requires our aid to achieve his full power and his betrayal of the Storm Hawks prevents him from offering his services elsewhere."

"Raven on the other hand was loyal to our family without the need for promises of power, wealth or fame. He was loyal to us because he loved his Terra and knew that his place in the world was defending the rulers of our empire from its enemies. His loyalty inspired others where Dark Ace needs to use force and fear to do the same. But I guess I am a little biased on this subject. Dark Ace has only been with us for four years while Raven served us for twenty two."

"Now do you wish to hear the second part of the story or are you going to go to sleep?"

"No Grandmother, I'm not sleepy..." the young girl gave a small, cute little yawn before finishing with a strong but weaving "Lord Raven wants to hear the rest of the story."

"Very well then." was all the Empress said, her face losing the small amount of emotion that had almost had to be forced there to begin with.

"When I stepped down and your mother stepped up to the Throne, Raven and the rest of the Cyclonian Crows swore loyalty to her just as they had me. They became an elite royal guard, serving as the first and last lines of defence for your mother without question. While there were many rumours about the level of devotion that Raven showed in the safety and well being of your mother, Raven stopped no less then thirty four attempts on your mothers life over the years from enemies without and within our empire."

"Eight years ago, in order to secure our Empire's future while gaining more resources, your mother married a wealthy nobleman from a resource rich Terra. His name was Typon. Their relationship was lake warm at the best of times. You see your mother only cared about Typon's land and resources, the man himself was just plain and simply impossible to like. It wasn't like she didn't at least try to like him. I can honestly say she did her best but Typon was the lowest breed of pigheaded scum."

"He was a gluttonous, greedy, envious, prideful lazy man who was too vain and stupid to see his own flaws. His pursuits of his many lusts for pleasure and pain cost the Empire and your mother dearly. And don't even get me started on that man's temper."

To her credit, Cyclonis never looked away from her grandma, despite how angry and scary she was starting to become. It was awe inspiring to see the only mother figure she had drop her ice maiden habits and show her real, raw emotions instead of the practised and rehearsed ones she normally used. It was also the thing of nightmares. But that wasn't the only horror that was haunting the young girls mind right now.

"Was... Is such a revolting and unworthy person my father Grandmother? Am I really a descendent of Typon?"

Years later, Cyclonis would still remember her Grandma's answer to her question. Such a response had never happened before it or after it. It was a truly a one time thing. Grandma had cackled at her question.Cackled. Not laughed, not chuckled, Cackled before looking her right in the eyes and saying in a truly joyous manner "Hell No! If I ever learn what deity (Holy or Unholy) took the time to ensure that worthless sack of crap could never pass the practical examination required by all parents to have children, I would ensure that they had a temple, alter or church dedicated to them on ever Terra in the Empire."

Confusion darted across Cyclonis's face like a chicken trying to get out of the way of the treads of a speeding truck. "The Stork makes parents take a test before it hands them their child?"

Years later when she was Queen, Cyclonis would one day remember asking this question and put the palm of her hand to her forehead for how childish and stupid she had once been. However, thinking on a couple of Talon's she had under her command, the idea of having a government sectioned parenthood written test did show some promise; If only to prevent a percentage of stupid people from breeding. Something to look into in a more in depth fashion once her rule over Atmos was secure.

Her Grandmother froze at the question, her face would have been comical if it weren't for two factors. Her granddaughter had never seen this expression before and therefore didn't understand that it was meant to be funny and since she was the only one to have witnessed it no one else had to be killed to prevent such an undermining display from being made public.

With a completely straight face, the Empress managed to slip out an " Yes dear. Typon was unable to pass the Stokes test. He kept playing around, trying to cheat the system by... studying with other women. The Stokes test is as much a test of trust as it is ability and no creature, sane or not, would trust Typon with anything."

Despite the fact it was sort of a lie, it was based heavily on truth; just edited in order to be understood by a eight year old. Having spoken with Typon's doctor back in the early months of her daughters pregnancy, the fact that tests proved that Typon was barren had been a mixture of shock and relief. Plus it wouldn't be such a bad idea for her daughter to associate trust and faith with the common but vital act of sex. While such things weren't necessary for the act, it would make her life a little easier in the long run. "Now where was I..."

"After a year of Typon's constant failures and sick, petty practises, what little faith your mother might have had in the man vanished completely. Unable to tolerate him any more, your mother drove him out of the castle, banishing him back to his home Terra while remaining married to him in order to keep his resources for the Empire. It was also around this time that I suspect she found a man much more trustworthy and loyal then Typon who was able to succeed where that fat sack of scum failed."

"So this new man was my father? Who was he? How did he and my mother meet?"

"I am afraid that I cannot answer those questions honestly little one. Your mother never told me just who it was she had decided was worthy of being your father. I believe she kept that secret because she didn't wish to make herself seem weak by needing a man in her life to help ease the pain of being with her husband."

The young girl seemed... saddened by the answer, but accepted it as the story continued.

"Eight months after your Mother exiled him, Typon returned with an army of his own making. During his banishment, he had been a very busy little bug. He had, in secret, started to experiment with crystals in an attempt to create a perverted mockery of our families Binding practises. While the attempts failed to achieve what he wanted to do, what monstrosities he created in the attempts were... ghoulish and nightmarish."

Tonight was the night of many firsts and lasts for the young Cyclonis, since she had never seen her Grandmother use so many different emotions at one meetings. But like the pure joy she had witnessed moments ago, the little girl who never forget the shiver that ran down her Grandma's spine on that day, the fear and sickness that crossed her face. It only made her words of warning all the more important.

"No matter what you do when you take the throne, never do to your subjects what Typon did to his. Even after all these years we are still hunting down some of the monsters he created. I fear we may never find them all."

The silence that followed was short, but the chill it left in the air was around long enough to get the message across.

"What made matters worse, he had somehow managed to get in contact with a number of our generals. What should have been an annoyance to be slaughtered at will turned into a prolonged engagement when a quarter of our standing forces deserted us and joined the insane worm, lured to his side by promises of power, wealth and fame. You know, the standard lies you promise people to betray their Terra."

"We didn't know that so many people had defected until the ships were on the horizon and making their way unopposed towards our home. Out of the five capital ships that were meant to safeguard our capital at all times, two of them betrayed us in an attempt to join up with the rest of the traitorous backstabber's. While our loyal forces won that brief exchange in order to purge the defenders of the castle, it was a hallow victory. Moral was at an all time low, many brave talons had been lost in the senseless battle and the three remaining capital ships; Armageddon, Retribution and Crows Nest, were badly damaged from the betrayal. Combined with the fact that they were grossly outnumbered and we all knew that they were going to be fighting a battle they couldn't win."

"While we were getting your mother onto a ship with the rest of the key personal required to rally our remaining loyal forces and launch a counter attack, I remember she ordered Raven and his elite squad to join us. To save themselves by ordering them to leave with the rest of us. It was the first and only time in all his years of service that he had outright rejected an order from her. He refused to abandon those Talons who were remaining to pay us the chance to escape. Your mother was fifed about his decision, but due to her condition at the time there was very little she could do to stop him from staying. It was the last time I ever saw him..."

There was a strange but respectful silence in the room, a silent remembrance for a sacrifice that seemed random and cruel. It was the young girl who broke it first.

" Why did he stay?"

The old woman didn't answer for a moment, thinking for a few moments in silence before the question was repeated. By then she had her answer.

"I think there were a number of reasons why he stayed behind, but I've always believed he stayed because he knew that it was the only way to ensure that me, your mother and you got away safely. If he had left with us, those who were staying behind to buy us the chance to escape wouldn't have held out. They would have broken and started to flee without him there to inspire them onwards, leaving those traitors free to launch their pursuit on our escape ship."

"He traded his life for ours, little one."

The silence hung in the air for a long time before Cyclonis asked "What happened to Raven?"

"While we were fleeing to the rally point, Raven led his squad and the talons that stayed behind against Typon and his forces. Very little is known about the battle itself, since not a single man or woman who flew under the banner of the Empresses of the Cyclonian Empire fled that day, fighting to the last Talon. From the few video and communication recordings that we located from the wreckage of many fliers and ships that fell into the wastelands, Raven gave his life to destroy Typon's flagship, Feast of Carrion, killing Typon in the process. More then half of the traitor army was destroyed trying to take our castle that day and without Typon to lead them the Generals that had sided with the pig turned on each other in an attempt to seize power for themselves."

"While they were too busy with their petty infighting, those forces that had remained loyal to our family gathered together for one swift, brutal counter-attack. It was while we were waiting that you mother went into labour, giving birth to a healthy, beautiful baby girl. She... She held her daughter in her arms, beamed down at her before naming her Cyclonis and kissing her on the forehead. She then passed her child to one of the doctors who handed the future of our Empire to me."

"After your Mother saw that I was holding you, she smiled, leaned back in bed, closed her eyes and simply... passed on. While I am sure she must have regretted not being there to raise you herself dearly, she seemed...content with me raising you for her."

The silence returned full force, the very air unwilling to move in fear of breaking the moment.

"Did she love me?

"My words alone cannot begin to describe how much she must have loved you, little one. If she had been allowed more time to spend raising you, I am sure she would have happily given her life for you in a heartbeat."

The silence was short, the young eight year old running her sleeve over her eyes to wipe away the build up of tears. " Did you make those traitorous maggots pay for what they did?"

The elder woman nodded. " I drew out their agony for every possible second that I could before death cheated me of a just vengeance."

Despite the little girls sorrow, there was a smirk of satisfaction on her face. "Good."

Grandmother and Granddaughter sat there for an untold amount of time, simply treasuring the fact that someone else was there for as long as they could before Cyclonis lifted her advisor to her ear to hear what he had to say. "Lord Raven is pleased with his name. He is happy to be named after a true hero of the Cyclonian Empire and wouldn't dream of changing it for the world."

"I'm glad to hear it. Now it's time to go to sleep little one."

Raising from her spot on the bed, the Empress only turned around long enough to give a brief smile as her granddaughter called out a sleepy " Good night Grandma." before closing the door behind her.

Walking silently back to her throne room as trusted servants went about the task of setting up the traps designed to protect her granddaughter while she slept, a mask of indifference settled over the older woman's face, ready to continue her duties as Empress.

She hadn't told Cyclonis the whole truth went it came to her father.

While her daughter had kept her lovers identity a secret, even from her, the moment she had laid eyes on her granddaughter she knew who her father was. She only knew of one man that her daughter would have had the chance to trust enough with her heart, body and soul that could pass on his eyes to Cyclonis, as well as his strong will.

Raven, N'yssa, you would both be so proud of your daughter. I wish you could have seen her for yourselves...

AN: This is my first crack at a Storm Hawks fanfiction. At the moment this will remain a one shot, but depending on how it is received I might write a story that has figures like Raven and Typon as part of their history. Just to make sure everything is clear, the Typon insurrection happened four years before the Sky Knight attack where the Dark Ace betrayed the Storm Hawks took place.

Cyclonis's mother has been given the name N'yssa because there is no mention of her mother in cannon. Or her father either... strange how things turn out...

If there is anyone out there that is interested in becoming a beta reader for the works of garbage I claim are fanfictions, please contact me. I'm not that picky, I just ask that your spelling and grammar are better then my own. It's a very low bar people that I don't have the slightest clue how to set it any lower then it is.

Now, I'm sure you must be wondering why I seem to be rumbling on like this right now. I could make up some bullshit reason but I'll be honest with you. When I finished the story and added the disclaimer and Author Note, I was around three hundred words short of the five thousand word mark. While this might not seem like much, the difference is quite large. If I was to leave it as is, my One Shot would be merely one in one thousand, five hundred and sixty seven stories in the search engine of the site. However, once I get over the five thousand word mark, it becomes one of six hundred and fifty stories to pick from.

For those keeping score, this is a difference of nine hundred and sixteen stories.

And encase you were wondering, I still have about a hundred words to go at this point. I might as well get paid for ever word I type. If you annoyed with my honesty, don't be so selfish. Besides, it's not like anyone READS the author note anyway. If they did, I would have far more reviews for my other stories.

I will confess that I have yet to start looking through the fanfiction's for the Storm Hawks yet, though I plan to start in the near future. If anyone would be kind enough to point out any good stories to sink my teeth into to start with, I would truly be thankful.

So please tell me what you think and REVIEW! I cannot stress that enough.

In the words of Yakko Warner "Goodnight everybody!"

Kiue Jin.