Chapter One: Black Myst

Log Entry: We've traveled into an unknown area. None of the charts I have have this area on them, so we thought we'd go exploring. Know what we found? Cyclonians!! I'm starting to think that they command the area. The Talons are here, so that must mean that they control these skies. What surprised me the most, though, was that they came out of nowhere! Now, we're in trouble!

Flying around on his Air Skimmer III, he shot down two more Talons. "Peice of cake!" Turing his attention back to the battle, he wound up dodging two flyers, while, in the process, nearly fell off. Junko then came around. "Hey, wanna see who can take out more?"

"Ha ha! Yeah! You're on Finn!" Junko flew off, tossing one pilot off of his skimmer.

The Condor circled the battle with Piper and Stork on board. "Can you get any closer!?"

"Any closer, and we'll be targeted!" He veered away from the battle, avoiding two shots that were fired off from an energy sword that was equipped with a Blazer Crystal. "Mmm... Soon we'll all be dead..." The Condor took two hits, which damaged the left engine slightly.

Back out in the skies, Aerrow was battling against the Dark Ace once again. They had matched strengths and skills. "Why can't you just go away!?"

"Why can't you just fall to Cyclonia!?" The Dark Ace was blocking Aerrow's strike, holding off the Atmosian's attack. "Aerrow... Can't you see that Cyclonia will be victorious no matter what you do? You'll fail! All of Atmos will fail!!!" He lowered his sword, back away by taking a few steps. "Master Cyclonis has the perfect plan... and it all starts with the destruction of the Storm Hawks!" He made another strike, but to dodge it, he jumped off of his enemy's skimmer onto his own.

"I'll never let that happen!!" He flew back to the condor, noticing that all of the other Talons had been defeated.

"I'll have my day..." He let Aerrow go, but released one more energy burst from his sword, which hit the engine of Aerrow's skimmer, causing it to fly out of control and go down. Besides damaging the skimmer, the bolt also clipped him, causing a small, but painful wound. "Good luck... You'll be needing it..." He watched as Aerrow went spiraling down, flying off back to his master after a few seconds.

"Nyahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...!! C'mon girl... pull up, PULL UP!!!" As hard as he tried, his skimmer couldn't be tamed, and before he realized it, he'd flown into a cloud, and was coming up on a terra faster than he thought he would.

"Aerrow!!" The rest of the Storm Hawks watched as he fell from the sky. Finn was worrying like never before, Junko was speechless, Radarr couldn't bear to watch, and Stork said nothing. Piper seemed to have tears in her eyes. "Stork, take us down!"

"But those clouds are too thick! It'll be zero viz..."

"We have to risk it!! Aerrow's down there!!" She was thinking about everything that could've happened during the crash. "He could be hurt badly! Just get us down there, Stork!!" She grabbed a chart of the area, trying to pinpoint where the leader of the Storm Hawks might've landed. "That isn't possible..."

Both Finn and Junko watched her as she tried to find the terra, but nothing was bringing any light to the situation. "What's wrong?"

"There aren't any terras in the area...! If these charts are still good... then..." She didn't want to think about it.

----- Terra Draconis: One Hour After The Battle -----

The crash site was quite small for the size of the skimmer. It was actually still in one peice, but it was incapable of flying at the current moment. The engines were still terribly damaged, and would most likely need to be replaced, but the main body was still in tact. Aerrow, however, had been thrown from his ride and pounded into a tree on the side where the small cut was, making things about his small injury worse.

Sitting up, he tried to look at the area in an attempt to analyze his surroundings. His vision was a little blurry, but it was clear enough that he could see the surrounding trees and bushes. "Aw... Next time, I have watch my back better... " His head turned to the left. One of the bushes was rustling, forcing him to be on guard. He reached for one of his twin sabres.

"Take it easy... You're injury will only get worse if you strain yourself." The voice was a woman's, but she was hidden.

Aerrow looked around, trying to spot her. "Agh... Where are you? Who are you!?"

"You should be resting..." A purplish-blue crystal was visible. "Sleep."

The young leader gasped. "A hypnosi..." He fell asleep.

The woman walked over to him, looking over his entire body, and the wreckage. "So young...and already a Sky Knight... He looks as old as I was when I earned my title..." She saw the cut, which was now starting to bruise. "Hm... this doesn't look too bad... Probably exhausted from the crash..." She hoisted him onto her skimmer, driving away from the wreck.

----- The Condor: Four Hours After Aerrow Was Declared M.I.A. -----

Log Entry: Aerrow's skimmer was damaged in the Cyclonian assault, and he's now missing. I wanted to go look for him, but the other disagreed. Shortly after we lost visuals of him, we heard an explosion. I don't want to think that he's hurt...or worse, but... The explosion was loud, and there are no signs of a terra anywhere near here. The chances of him being ok are small, but I want to believe that he's ok. We'll find him... I know we will.

Piper was alone in her room, trying to create some sort of tracking crystal that could find her missing friend... In her hands, she had four crystals :a cloaking crystal, an enhancer crystal that they had retrieved from their last mission to Cyclonia, a sheild crystal, and a raw crystal. Forcing their powers together in the raw crystal... a small explosion had occured, but the crystals still had their own powers. "Not again..." She was worried. More worried than any of the other members of the team.

Outside, Radarr and Finn were listening in, trying to figure out what she was doing. Meanwhile on the bridge, Junko was curious about what Stork thought.

"I say we just forget him... There was no chance that he survived a fall into the wastelands!" He faced Junko and his eyes became nothing but small slits in his face. "He's doomed..."

"Don't say that! He's your friend too, isn't he?"

Stork didn't have a dignified answer, so he stayed silent, docking the ship on a small terra. It was getting dark, and they finally gave in, knowing that they wouldn't find their leader and friend in the darkness...

----- Terra Draconis: Two Days Later -----

He opened his eyes, only to see four walls surrounding him. He sat up, his side tingling with a very small amount of pain. His armor had been removed, as well as his weapons. He looked at where he had been cut, seeing a small bandage covering it as well as the bruise. "How'd I get here?" The door behind him slid open, revealing a woman who had black and red hair, deep blue eyes, and was wearing a black top, short-sleeved jacket, pants, and boots, and was carrying a tray of food and a few other things. "YOU!!! Who are you? How'd I get here? And... Where is here, exactly?" He had calmed down, and was looking around the room.

"Calm down..." She set the tray down on the ground, and sat down beside it. "You've been asleep for the past two days... My name is Mystir... But my friends called me Myst...You can relax... This is Terra Draconis... and this terra is within the Atmos." She noticed that he was looking at the band on her left arm, which bore her squad symbol. "This? It's the symbol of my squadron... Tell me your name."

He was cautious, but cooperated. She had the upper hand, and he knew it. "Aerrow...of the Storm Hawks."

The sign of shock flowed over her face. "The...Storm...Hawks...? But I thought..." She was remembering something of some importance. "Nevermind... It's...nothing." She turned back to him. "Just out of my own curiosity... How old are you? You're barely a teenager or an adult...just a kid."

"I'm fourteen... why?"

"The youngest Sky Knight...hm..." She sighed, handing him something that was shaped like a log. "Eat... you'll feel better afterwards." She was in deep throught, remembering something about her past. "You know, I was made a Sky Knight when I was fourteen as well... My parents wanted me to become some kind of artist, but I was never good at anything except fighting... So I became a Sky Knight."

"Does you're whole squadron live here?" He stood, leaning against the wall.

"You could say that if you wanted to." There was a loud roaring coming from the east of their position. It startled her. "That must be Saelin..."

"Who?" He was really curious now. He didn't trust her, either. Things just weren't falling into place yet. "Hey, Myst?" She focused her attention on him at his request. "My skimmer... It was damaged... Was it salvageable?"

"C'mon! Follow me!" She led him down the hallway and through two doors, arriving at a garage of sorts. Inside, there were three skimmers, and a carrier. Aerrow was amazed at the size of the carrier, and didn't even care about the skimmers or the man who was inside the garage and working on his skimmer.

"Woah... This thing is huge. It must be... twice the size of the Condor!" Apparently, it was mesmerizing. It made Myst laugh.

"Heh heh. Glad you like her... She's my pride and joy... the Falcon."

"Don't you mean MY pride and joy? I'm the one who flies her." The man who was working on Aerrow's skimmer spoke up. He had long silver hair that was tied in a ponytail at the neck and silver eyes. He was wearing red armor and clothing, while a large sword was clinging to his back. "Who's the new kid? Another lone wolf?"

"No. He crashed. Why else would his ride have been damaged like that?" She turned back to Aerrow. "Aerrow, this is Saelin. He pilots the Falcon on special occasions. He also handles anything that has a mechanical problem...like your ride." She stepped away, revealing his repaired Air Skimmer III Ultra... She chuckled, letting him near it. "You owe him a lot of thanks. If Saelin hadn't repaired it, it'd still be a pile of rubble. I just hope that it can fly."

Aerrow wanted to take it out for a test drive, but both Saelin and Myst protested. She said that he needed to rest, and he said that he still had to make a few adjustments. "Fine... How about the afternoon? Can I take her out then?"

"If Saelin's done." She walked off, leaving him alone with the silver haired warrior. "Play nice with each other."

Saelin looked at Aerrow, and Aerrow lookead at Saelin. Neither of them knew what to think of each other. "So, when can I take her out for a spin?"

"Give me an hour. I'll be done fixing her up by then." He returned to his task. "Myst told you to get some rest, so go. Your ride won't be going anywhere, so don't worry about it." He went back to work.

"How long have you known Myst? Are both of you in the same squad?" Aerrow wanted to know more about his...what's the right word...? Captors, or rescuers?

"About three months after the Black Dragons were...layed to rest... She saved me from an explosion while I was trying to infiltrate the base where my former comrades were rumored to have been spotted at." He switched out some kind of part for another, and continued to work on the skimmer. "My squad was called the Wind Raiders, but when they joined Cyclonia, I left and became a solo operative. But ever since Myst saved me, I've joined with her and we now work as partners." He wiped a few beads of sweat from his forehead. "I shouldn't be telling you this." He set down his wrench and looked over his work. "There... Done."

Myst ran in, throwing the door open. "Saelin, we have a problem!"

"What is it?"

"Cyclonians, closing fast!" She picked up a lance, a bow, ten paralyzer stone arrows, along with a frost crystal, a striker crystal, and two blazer crystals for her lance.

"Should we take the Falcon?" He picked up his sword and fitted it with a blocking crystal. He got onto his skimmer, waiting for her response.

"Yeah! Let's go!" She looked at Aerrow. "You coming or what!?" She got onto her skimmer, driving it onto the Falcon

"Where are my weapons and armor?"

"I'll show you!!" She ran off of the carrier and out of the room. "Everything of yours is in there! Hurry!" She ran back to the hangar and got on board. Aerrow followed within a minute, driving his ride onto the ship. "Time to go." She turned to Saelin, who was at the helm. "Take us up! We have to defend this place at all costs!"

"You got it!"

----- Aboard The Condor -----

Once again, the Cyclonians were going on the offensive, trying to reclaim the airspace. Two ships were closing in on the Condor, and the situation was even worse since Aerrow was still missing. A battle would soon ensue.

"We got Cyclonians closing in on all sides...!" Stork, as paranoid as ever, didn't want to fly into danger, but what choice did he have. Piper was in command, and she declared that they would fight.

"Finn, Junko, get on the guns and take them out! Stork, keep us in the sky at all costs!" Despite the fact that Aerrow was still missing, she was confident in her team's abilities.

"They're closing in!"

"FIRE!"

Stork took a close look at the radar, which was picking up another ship, which emerged from thick cloud cover. "I don't know who that is, but they're starting to close in!!" There was a woman's voice over the radio.

"Attention, Airship Fleet Class Condor, this is Mystir, Sky Knight of the Black Dragons of Draconis. The ship you see is mine, the Destroyer Class Falcon. We're willing to help you take the Cyclonians out of the sky!Do you understand, over?"

"We read you loud and clear!! Let's go!" Piper responded.

"Recieved. We're sending out two riders now... Let's take them out!"

The communication ceased, but two riders appeared from the clouds, taking off from the Falcon with weapons in hand. Piper had ordered Finn and Junko to head out as well, and the four knights, followed by two cruisers. They were ready to fight. No Talons had launched from their ships, and before any more blasts were fired off, the Cyclonians had turned their tails and started to fly away, retreating.

The Falcon flew ahead of the Condor, guiding the Storm Hawks to Terra Draconis. The sun had finally begun to set by the time they reached the terra. Setting down, they all got off of their ships to exchange hellos and tears.

Myst was the first one off of her ship, and was followed by Saelin and Aerrow, who ran back to his squad and was hugged by a teary Piper. Saelin looked away, not saying a single thing.

"I thought something bad might've happened to you!" She was literally crying, overjoyed at seeing him unharmed. "I thought that you might've died!! Why didn't you contact us!?" Finn, Junko, Stork and Radarr kept their distance from Myst, Saelin, and the sad, yet happy duo. Aerrow remained silent, not even whispering a single word to her or the others.

Radarr was slowly moving toward his best friend, curious about what to think.

"Piper?" He tried to release her grip, and was sucessful, but she was still crying. "I'm sorry I didn't contact you guys..." He looked at Radarr. "Good to see you, too, Radarr..." He let Radarr climb onto his shoulder. "I missed you too." Looking at Finn, Junko and Stork, he wanted to say soemthing, but nothing came out when he opened his mouth.

"Aerrow?" Myst had a solemn look on her face. "Can we talk for a minute on the Falcon?"

He nodded, following her and leaving his squadron outside. "What's going on?"

"After this...once you leave this terra...you and your squadron won't be welcome here. If you return...I will shoot the Storm Hawks down." Her voice had nothing but a sorrow-filled tone. "I'm sorry, but this is how it has to be."

"Why?" He didn't like the thought of it. "What's all this about?"

"I've lost so much... Much more than you could ever know..." She looked away, turning her back to him. "Six months ago, my squadron was killed and it was all my fault. I can't risk the same thing with all of you, not even Saelin." Tears were starting to form in her eyes, and her voice began to crack as she spoke. "I'm sorry...but I can never see a member of the Storm Hawks ever again. I'm not saying I want death...because no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to move on... The Black Dragons meant everything to me...and now... I can't let you and the Storm Hawks become part of my life." She turned around, nearly screaming at him as she cried. "Go! Leave this place and never come back!"

He was confused. "But I--"

"No!" She drew her lance. "If I have to, I will use force! Just go." She watched him as he left. "Just go..." she whispered. Heading to the bridge to watch them leave, she cried. Every friend that she'd made since that fateful day, she'd walked away from. Saelin came up behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Why do you turn your friends away?" He whispered into her ear. He hugged her, trying to dry her tears and get her to stop crying.

"Because I have to... You don't know what it's like! The Black Dragons were killed because of my flaws!!! I can't get close to anyone, not even you!" She tried to slap him, but he caught her wrist. "Even though we're family, I can't let something like this happen!!" She continued to cry, falling to the floor on her knees, drowing herself in her own tears and sorrow. "Why me? Why did it have to be me, Faristataka? Why am I the one who has to bear the burden?"

Saelin walked away from her, heading back outside the Falcon. "Nite, sis."

----- Aboard The Condor -----

Log Entry: Well, Aerrow's back, and I couldn't be happier... Thinking I would never see him again distracted me... But enough worrying. Although, when he returned from talking to Myst, the only survivor of the famous Black Dragons, he said that we were no longer welcome near terra Draconis. Her threats sounded real enough, so we plan on avoiding it for a while. In the mean time, we plan on taking a break on Tropica for some well-deserved R&R. At least Aerrow's back. I was starting to get tired of being in charge...

"There...done."

"It's good to be back..." He watched the others as they carried out thei duties. "And to think I was gone for two days..." He sighed and then smiled.

"Piper thought you were dead. After we heard some kind of explosion, she started to cr--" He was whacked on the head with something hard and heavy. "Ow!! That was my head!"

"You deserved it!"

Aerrow laughed as he watched them fight. "It's really good to be back..." He looked at his helmsman. "Stork, set a course for Tropica!"

"Already done..."