So this is a rewrite of a rewrite because I will eventually get a story that I am happy with and hopefully this is the one.
The Wayward Diner was always busy. Airships were constantly arriving and leaving and the owner (and head chef) remained on neutral ground. He'd quickly learnt that no matter who came to his diner, be it Cyclonians or Sky Knights, he received profits. Due to this, the most he did towards either side was break up any fights that occurred within a good few feet of his diner and within its boundaries, and constantly remind people that this was his Terra, therefore they had to follow his rules. For the most part, customers did that. There was an awkward air in the diner when enemies would cross paths but no one was willing to test the owner, and simply gave a silent truce for the time being. Fighting was the last thing the owner had to worry about. He signed truces with nearly every Terra imaginable. Refugees could claim refuge, Cyclonians could have a chance to be normal and Sky Knights could delve into the more 'dark' activities if they so wished. None of this would be held against them on the Terra nor upon leaving.
However, just because his diner was a known place of safety, didn't mean he wasn't attacked by pirates or desperate people upon occasion. That's exact what was occurring on this day. The diner was held up by four individuals; one was a tall human, possibly about the same height as the Dark Ace, with dark skin, piercing hazel eyes and long, black hair that was gathered into a ponytail. He stood taller than the Head Chef and radiated an aura of anger and danger, preventing any of the customers inside the diner from doing anything due to the fear of possible retaliation. The man's arms were rested at his sides and his head was held high. For the most part, he seemed calm and collected, but every now and again, his eyes would flash with emotion before he recollected himself. His clothing couldn't be identified due to the large cloaks they all wore but the owner could immediately tell from their stance that they were armed and prepared to fight.
The person next to him was a female Raptor. Her eyes were a distinct copper colour and her scales were a forest green, darkening to a deep green at her tail, which whished around her ankles. Her face was set in a seemingly permanent scowl as she glanced around the room and her eyes studied each of the people who were cowering in the booths.
The final two were both Blizzarians and appeared to be related. Their fur was an ice blue and they were about similar heights. However the older-looking one had blue undertones on his face and muzzle, and his eyes were a honey brown. He had grown the fur on the top of his head out and it hung loosely around his face. The Blizzarian next to him appeared to be the least dangerous out of the group, with eyes a similar copper to the Raptor and a slight smirk on his face. Unlike his companions, who all stood rigid and tall, he slouched slightly, almost appearing to be enjoying himself.
The owner swallowed, taking in the whole situation in a moment. They stood at the main exit of the diner but both Raptors and Blizzarians were very fast on their feet. If anyone tried to run, they wouldn't get far and nothing about these people suggested any acts of mercy. The dark-skinned man with scary eyes appeared to be the leader, as the others clustered around him, and they were almost casually studying the place, as though they had just walked in for lunch and were trying to decide if they would go elsewhere or remain here. The owner took the time to collect himself and straightened his shoulders, drawing himself up. "Can I help you?"
His words rung around the diner, breaking the silence. There were murmurs of discussion rising up between the customers but no one dared to move; not even the Third Degree Burners who were seated in the corner. The man stepped forward calmly, one hand sliding towards his back. "I want every single crystal that you have. Now."
Unlike his casual stance and movements, his voice was as cold as a Frost crystal and held the promise of pain to anyone who refused his demands. The owner felt his jaw drop and he gaped at the thief. Every single crystal? Every single crystal in the diner? That wasn't possible. There were crystals in the lighting, the ovens, even his incompetent security system and this man had calmly demanded all of them? When he was not able to bring himself to reply, the man rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, losing his relaxed stance. "Did you not hear me or did you just fail to understand me? I said that I want every single crystal you have. Get them now!"
His voice rose to a shout and his friends shuffled behind him, one of them appearing to reach for a weapon in their cloaks, and the owner kicked into gear. Negotiations were his specialty. "Are you going to harm any of my customers?"
"Not if you do as you're told." The Raptor replied. Her eyes were trained on the far exit but he could tell that she was easily able to focus on him at the same time. The owner shook himself out of his shocked stupor and frowned grimly. "I would like a guarantee. I want a guarantee that you won't hurt any of my customers."
The older Blizzarian responded; "As long as no one does anything stupid, your request is granted." His dark eyes narrowed at the owner and he bared his fangs. "You'd better hurry."
The owner rushed off. He had a stock of emergency crystals in the basement and had decided from the moment of the demands were made to give the thieves the bare minimum. The emergency stock weren't as much as what he had running his diner but it would be enough to hopefully stall or bluff the thieves into leaving until he could call for help. He just had to look like he was grabbing the crystals. It took him a good ten minutes to hurry around, using sleight of hand to fake removing his crystals and he quickly stuffed the spares into a bag before rushing back to the counter. The younger Blizzarian looked up, arms crossed across his chest and narrowed his eyes at the owner. "Good timing."
Not knowing if he was trying to provoke him or not, the owner grimaced and handed over the bag. The leader's eyes narrowed for a moment and the owner was worried that he was going to call the bluff. But the man glanced back, the group communicating silently before he gave a nod. Turning back to the owner, he saluted with a smirk and they walked out of the diner calmly. The Third Degree Burners immediately leapt to their feet and sprinted outside after the thieves. Many of the customers swarmed to the windows, itching to see the fight and having justice delivered but were shocked to see that the thieves were no longer outside. The Third Degree Burners stood in the ship-yard, looking around in confusion. The thieves had seemingly disappeared into air.
The owner looked up as the Third Degree Burners re-entered the diner and shrugged. Their leader, Blister, shared a confused look with the owner. "Where did they go?"
No one was able to answer his question, all thinking the exact same thing. Customers began to murmur to each other and the Third Degree Burners went back outside to search again. After taking a moment to compose himself, the owner rushed to his transmitter, dialling up the closest squadron. This was going to be all over Atmos within hours and he wanted the truth to be said instead of any convoluted plan a customer would cook up. This was his diner thus it was his story to tell.
There weren't many times a meeting was called by the Sky Knight Council. Unless an event involved Cyclonians or any other known threat to the Atmos, Terras and their squadrons were left to deal with their problems individually or in a temporary alliance. However the surprise attack on the diner was causing turmoil and strife. And the Sky Knight Council was determined to have something done. They'd even summoned the Storm Hawks, despite the lack of an official register by the young group. Everyone was needed.
The large chatter filled the hall as squadron after squadron filed in. Those of nearby Terras had the full squadrons, minus one or two, while those in the far-away corners of Atmos had sent representatives, usually those who held the tactics and navigations position in the squadron. The Council stood by their podium, calmly waiting for silence. Every single squadron knew why they had been summoned. Silence slowly approached and the Council began its briefing.
"As you are all aware, yesterday afternoon a group of four thieves held up the Wayward Diner and successfully stole crystals from it. Luckily, the owner of the diner managed to hand over fake crystals instead of dangerous ones but he stated that they appeared to be able of holding the entire diner hostage and were possibly capable enough to battle any of those who tried to apprehend them. We've called this council to alert all squadrons and organise an official taskforce to the investigation and capture of these thieves."
"And how are we going to do that?" Harrier said snottily. "Should we not be protecting our own Terras against these menaces?"
"Because these menaces, as you so politely put it, won't hesitate to ravage your Terra in moments." Starling snorted. "So if we get them out of the way earlier, you won't have to worry about getting your uniforms dirty."
Aerrow shared a glance with Radarr and Finn before the three snickered in unison. Piper rolled her eyes at them, gesturing for them to be quiet as the Council continued their speech.
"We are not asking every squadron to abandon their Terras in order to track these thieves down. However, we are asking you to either offer forward one of your members or a representative to join this taskforce in order to expand the chance of apprehending these thieves. We would like every squadron to put forward at least one member for this taskforce, but we do understand that this could be an inconvienence in these times."
For a moment, no one moved. Aerrow turned back to face his squadron, noting that they all looked prepared for the task, but before he could walk forward to offer the Storm Hawks' services, Starling let out an amused huff before walking up to the podium and writing her name down. After the bout of courage, slowly squadrons began to follow her lead.
Finn grabbed Aerrow's arm. "Dude, we are still going aren't we?"
Behind him, Junko nodded in agreement, his eyes wide with excitement and mouth fixed in a large grin. Without a break to breathe, Finn continued, "I mean, can you imagine the reward we'll get when we catch them?"
"There's no guarantee that we'll get a reward," Piper reminded him, crossing her arms. "And it's a group effort, Finn. Even if there is a reward, I doubt we'd be able to keep it to ourselves."
Aerrow nodded in agreement, allowing Radarr to climb onto his shoulders. "Yeah, Finn, Piper's right. Since this is going to be a group effort, we'd most likely have to share it with the other members of the taskforce!"
"A concept you're clearly still learning," Piper huffed under her breath.
"Oh hardy hah." Finn muttered, rolling his eyes in return to Piper's remark. Stork crept into the argument. "I only have two questions. One; will there be a chance of doom and destruction? And two; will there be mind worms because I've just received my new book and there is a new cure I'm just itching to try out."
Aerrow spread his arms, trying to placate the Merb. "I don't know about mind worms, Stork, but everything we get involved in seems to have doom and destruction. That's something, right?"
Stork mulled over the options as Junko charged back over, holding a piece of paper in his hands. "They've started up a second page. We get to sign this one if we want to join."
He handed the paper to Aerrow, who shared a grin with Radarr, before beaming at his squadron. "All who want to go bandit hunting, say aye!"
The Storm Hawks cheered happily, Aerrow quickly scribbling down their names before they settled back to wait. The Council took the list, murmuring quietly to each other, before the head Councillor stood. "We have enough volunteers to successfully instate this taskforce without the need to draw any other resources. Starling, if you would care to be in charge?"
The purple-haired Sky Knight nodded, stepping forward as the Councillor finished; "All those who have not volunteered for this taskforce, you are dismissed and can return to your respective Terras. If anything that will concern your Terra comes up in this investigation, you will be notified immediately."
As many people moved to leave the large hall, Finn leant forward to face the rest of the Storm Hawks. "This is going to be fun."
Anyway, this is a rewrite of Scion Tempest with quite a few changes made to it. For one, the main characters are not the squadron of the fictional Terra that I've created. There will be more information supplied as the story goes and I will answer any questions possible that, obviously, do not relate to spoilers. Hopefully you enjoy.