The Condor burst through the cloud, smoking in several places from Talon gunfire. Stork was madly throwing the huge airship through the skies, trying to avoid as much of the harmful crystal shots without tearing the Condor to pieces. "Ahh, this is not good! We're gonna get it this time!" the mad Merb cried. Finn shot past the bridge, upside down with his skimmer on fire. That didn't stop him from cackling with glee as he shot down another Talon trying to put the Condor out of action. Ravess and Snipe were trying to double team Junko, but he was holding his own, barely. The Dark Ace and Aerrow were in the middle of an epic duel and Piper was trying to get a shot at Ravess to help Junko out. It looked dire for the Storm Hawks, with the Condor falling ever lower, towards the wastelands, and yet more Talons circling above, ready to dive into the fray like vultures on a dying beast.

Earth, Present day.

"Eagle 2-6, this is Eagle 2-lead. You are 40 miles off course, please come to heading 240 and increase speed to 600 knots." Growled the old squadron leader.

"Copy that lead, I hear you. My instruments are playing up. Could you give me a hand, help me fly outta this mess. It's a massive storm down here, and I can't see a thing." Came the female reply.

'Oh god,' the old man thought, 'I knew women pilots were a bad thing for the Air Force. And an Australian to boot!' The grizzled old veteran adjusted his helmet, and turned to the east to pick up his wayward pilot, like a bird teaching its offspring to fly. 'Damn this Bermuda weather!' He thought. "Eagle 2-6, I'm on my way. Wedgetail out."

"Copy that Wedgetail, Kookaburra maintaining this speed and heading."

That would be the last traces of the two pilots and their multimillion dollar F15 fighter jets anyone on earth would ever hear.

The Wastelands.

Dust clouds blew at breakneck speeds across the broken landscape, and the charred remains of cruisers, airships and skimmers littered the ground. Into this mess descended the Condor, smoke billowing from nearly a dozen large holes. Junko saw the Condor heading down, and dived to stay with it. He didn't want to lose his home.

"This is it! She can't take anymore! I'm gonna die!" screeched Stork.

"Hold her, buddy! I'm trying to keep these Cyclonians off your tail, but you're flying all over the place!" replied Finn.

Even though Stork knew that one more hit was all he could take before he was doomed, he fought to keep the Condor above the horrible place, clinging to the hope that some miraculous event would save him and his beloved Condor. Lady luck was on his side today, and she provided just the event.

The Bermuda Triangle.

The storm was only getting worse, and now both Wedgetail and Kookaburra were stuck in the middle of it. As they squabbled and tried to work out a way to escape the nightmare storm, they flew into the eye. As it calmed down, an eerie feeling descended upon them. "I've got a bad feeling about this..." Wedgetail proclaimed. They seemed to be the magic words, for suddenly a huge bolt of lightning stuck both his and Kookaburra's jets, sending them out of control! They both spiralled towards a small island, tumbling at great speeds. Just as they were about to hit, another lightning bolt stuck the island, transforming it into a shimmering portal of energy. Kookaburra hit the throttle. "Yeehaaa!!!" she screamed, as she hit the portal at mach 2.

Wedgetail groaned as his fighter spun towards the portal. "Amateur."

The Wastelands

Stork gasped as a huge tower of lava erupted right in front of the Condor. "We're dead." Was all he could say before the most astonishing thing happened. Instead of flying straight into his imminent doom, the lava disappeared in a flash of blue light. As he brought his hands down from shielding his eyes, Stork saw two flaming things burst out of the shimmering blue pool of pure energy. They shot straight up, past the Condor at speeds he didn't know existed.

"Whew..." Stork sighed. One crisis averted, far too many to go. That is, until the sonic boom hit him.

It nearly ripped the Condor apart, the shockwaves buckling the airship so violently it was pointed upwards towards the clouds. Every skimmer, Cyclonian and Storm Hawk, was sent spinning in every direction. Stork took this as his cue to floor it, and the Condor powered out of the wastelands, breaking free of the horrible place into the airspace of Atmos once more.

"Whatever that was, I hope it never happens again." Stork whimpered to himself.

Aerrow dusted himself off as he rose to his feet. "What in all Atmos was that?" He saw Radarr next to his crashed skimmer, trying to put it back on its wheels. "Easy buddy, here, let me help." The two of them managed to right the skimmer, and mounted it. "Ready to go find the others?" Aerrow asked his companion. Radarr nodded. Aerrow gunned his skimmer, and quickly hit a ramp like rock, taking to the skies. "Piper, Junko, Finn, Stork! Are you guys all right?" He called over the radio.

"Finn here, I'm ok. I've got Junko and we're coming up behind you."

"Aerrow, I've found the Condor, and I'll meet you there." Came Piper's voice.

"We made it." Was all Stork would say. Relief washed over Aerrow. His team was alright! As if to destroy his nerves, the Cyclonians returned.