I do not own Storm Hawks. If I do, it wouldn't be famous at all. Set after three years from the current time line (the show) - here Piper would be 17, Junko would be 18, and Stork would be 23.
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01 THREE ROSES
She was the last person to give her eulogy. She hated that word. As soon as Stork numbly returned to his seat, Piper slowly sat up from the front row, and made her way to the podium. She looked up. Hanging highly against the wall, was a banner with the smiling faces of their sleeping heroes.
It was a picture they took from their trip to Terra Tropica last year. She definitely remembered that day. They managed to outrun another episode of death, and he decided to reward themselves with a small trip of sun, sand, and beach… which later escalated into a day of tossing sands at each other. They were so full of life, unlike her last memory of them in their last battlefield. She hesitated before she turned around to gaze at a sea of faces that filled the hangar of the Condor. They were faces she knew from all their travels; all here to give their last respect. None of them wore black, just like he wanted.
She had three stalks of roses, one for each coffin in front of her. It hurts her eyes to see those metal caskets. Piper wished it was all a dream; she would wake up, and laugh with all of them during breakfast. She had been wishing for it for days. She shakily lifted the first stalk.
"Radarr was more than A-Aerrow's…"
It was painful to say his name.
"…co-pilot. He was a great and loyal companion. He was brave, because even though he knew the dangers, pain and sacrifices we have to endure, he still fights alongside us. That's why he walks among heroes." As she ended it, she heard a sad 'ba-cawk!' somewhere in the corner. She still can't figure out what made that sound every time she walked down the hallway of the Condor, but she couldn't care about it right now. She laid the first rose on the coffin before she moved on to the second casket.
She plucked the second rose from her loose grip. "Finn," she forced a small smile. "…was the best sharpshooter and friend this crew could ever ask for. Also," She scanned the crowd and found the faces of Terra Vapos. "…a fair, wise, and great Domo. His presence was proof of blessing in his name, as he provides smiles even in time of danger." She sniffed. "We shall forever honor his name; as a hero, a Domo, and most of all, a friend." The old King wept silently, and Piper allowed a few of her first tears of the day to fall as well. She laid down the rose.
With a shuffle, she made a painful stop to the last casket… it was the hardest. "Aerrow…"
A strangled sob was pushed down. She was never prepared for this. They were the Storm Hawks. They were young. They were going to live forever. He promised.
"…represents the best of us. He believed in what we all have forgotten about – a vision of peace, harmony, equality…." Tears were threatening to spill. "And most of all, love." Amongst the crowd, tired survivors nodded their heads. "He loved to soar, to fly… he loved the sky. To him, it is freedom; it belongs to everyone – that is why he fights. That is why Aerrow was a Sky Knight, and the true embodiment of the 'Storm Hawks'." She laid the last rose on their insignia, which was boldly imprinted on the metallic coffin. The white rose contrasted highly against the dreary metal. Piper couldn't choose red, especially when it reminds her of his blood that caked his hair and his smile. She desperately wanted to remember his red hair instead.
She turned to Starling, who was waiting by the hangar entrance at the far end. Even from that distance, she could tell that the Interceptor's eyes were rimmed with red - a sure sign that she had been crying since she arrived that morning. With a nod, she pulled a lever down which lowered the ramp of the ship.
With another move, other sky nights appeared by the 3 coffins and lifted them gently off the pedestal. The crowd parted as the caskets made its way through them with Piper, Stork, and Junko (who was heavily bandaged. Being the meat shield of the last mission, he took quite a brunt, leaving his right arm paralyzed and his right eye damaged. Stork had to replace them with cybernetic ones) following closely behind. Some would tap the metal coffin lightly, some whispered goodbye, and some would break into hysterical sobs as they go by. Piper wanted to release her anguish like them, but she must stay strong - like how he wants her to.
When they reached the end, the caskets were lowered onto the makeshift rails. The navigator stroked their coffins one last time before she trudged heavily to the button next to the hangar. She lifted a palm and felt the round device under her palm, but she couldn't do it. Piper hated goodbyes, and this will be permanent. She bit her lip. Her vision became watery. She lowered her head, only to feel something brushing against the back of her hand. She lifted her eyelids to see two other hands layered on top of hers. Junko and Stork looked back at her, pain apparent in their eyes as well. She nodded, and together, they heard the button go "beep".
"Fly my friends… you are free." She announced. And with that, the coffins rocketed into the sky. They will go up, higher as they can go, free from the pain this world had thrust them into, forever being one with the big blue they chose to embrace.
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Yes, it's strange and we don't know if it's possible to give anyone a sky burial. I'm thinking that the coffins will continue to climb vertically, and it would stay afloat in outer space forever once it runs out of gas. Thanks for your time, readers.
