DISCLAIMER: I do not own Storm Hawks or anything associated with the show, this fanfic exists purely because I want it to, also, credit to the story's cover image goes to alienforceSH

Okay guys PLEASE don't get mad, I know I said that whole thing about remaining focused on one project back in "The Storm and the Hawk", but I've hit a REALLY big bit of writers block on that story, the next chapter is taking FOREVER! and I wanted to upload something for you guys. Now combine the fact that the idea for this story has been bouncing up and down demanding attention recently inside my head and I finally just said "Screw it!" and began writing this one.

I would like to be clear, I' AM NOT ABANDONING "THE STORM AND THE HAWK"! it's just going to take longer for the next chapter to come out, and in the mean time, you have this, it's going to be a short 5 chapter story and the chapters aren't going to be anywhere near the length I usually make em, heck this one is only just over 3000 words, a couple of the others might actually be shorter than this one. Long story short, I've had this idea rattling inside my head for a while now and was surprised to find that no one has thought of doing this one before, WHICH MEANS I GET TO BE FIRST, MUHAHAHAHAHAHA- (THUNK) ok I deserved that

Anyway, this story takes place straight after the events on Terra Tundras in the Cannon Storm Hawks universe, only we're looking at what happens with Cyclonis rather than Piper (come on I'm sure plenty of you have wondered, "what did Cyclonis do after returning to Cyclonia form Terra Tundras?"). Various characters from the show will make appearances throughout the story or be mentioned, but this is a PURELY Cyclonis story and will follow her, also while I plan to keep it rated T, I will not be holding back when it comes to turning our favorite crystal mage dictator into a victim, so get those hankies ready. Finally I will also be pulling three characters from other places to fill in certain rolls (you'll see what I mean later on), this isn't a crossover though, I just prefer the character design and personality of the ones I've chosen for these specific rolls over any of the cast from the Storm Hawks series, so I'll be using them and writing them as if they were born into the world of Atmos like everyone else in this story.

So without further ado lets start this thing

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Dear Readers all, SHhype productions proudly presents...

An Atmosian Tale

Chapter 1: Pain and Revenge

The red glow from Cyclonis's teleportation crystal began to fade as Cyclonis reappeared in her chambers, a look of anger and hurt on her face.

She rejected me... my knowledge... my power... my friendship. She turned around and threw it in my face... how dare she... HOW DARE SHE!

In her anger Cyclonis swiped her hands across one of the nearby workstations sending everything atop it crashing to the ground. Glass beakers shattered and delicate apparatus broke and snapped as they hit the ground, Cyclonis then swiped her staff through the air as it glowed with power, causing the table to go spinning through the air until it collided with the wall close to the main door to her chambers where it broke in two. Ace had been coming through the door to investigate the racket and had to duck out the way as the table came down

Cyclonis hardly noticed him though and kept destroying the workshop; after all, what was the point of it all if she had no one to share it with. All Cyclonis really needed for her work was the spider-like machine in the center of the room, she'd set up additional workstations and tables complete with apparatus and nearby bookshelves filled with scrolls and texts... for Piper... for when they would return together and unravel the mysteries of Crystal Magecraft side by side. So sure had Cyclonis been that Piper would accept her offer, she'd never considered that she would be refused. All the work Cyclonis had put in to preparing her workshop for Piper's arrival... all for naught.

"I presume it did not go well Master?" Ace asked during a break in the destruction

Cyclonis whirled towards him, only now noticing him, then noticing the destruction she had wrought and he had avoided, "Ace... my apologies, I didn't hear you enter," Cyclonis replied as she took some deep breaths to calm herself, the rage however still bubbled just below the surface. Ace simply waved her off, a signal that it was nothing

Cyclonis then surveyed the destruction around her, seeing the broken tables and ruined shelves, the scattered books and scrolls before heaving a sigh, "No it did not go well, Piper refused my offer and I failed to destroy her or the Storm Hawks."

Ace's shoulders sagged, he'd suspected as much from his Master's current state of mind, "Do you have any orders, would you like me to go after the Storm Hawks?" he offered

Cyclonis thought about it for a moment, she was aching for revenge, but she didn't just want the Storm Hawks – or Piper for that matter – defeated, she wanted them utterly crushed, destroyed, and most of all, she wanted it to be by their own hand

But how to accomplish such a feat... now that was the question

"No, for now, just find them, I want to know their whereabouts at all times until further notice," Cyclonis ordered with a swipe of her hand

Ace bowed low, he knew better than to question orders while she was in this delicate state, one wrong word, and he'd go the way of the crystal workshop that now lay around him in smashed remains, "As you command Master."

Cyclonis nodded as Ace began to make his way out, "Oh and send someone to clean this mess up, only the scrolls and texts are important, everything else can be replaced," Cyclonis added

Ace nodded as he left before closing the door behind him

Cyclonis was left alone, she gazed once again at the destruction around her, and though her rage still remained, the pain and loneliness that had been part of the reason for this mission rose above it, now mixed in with the pain of Piper's rejection. She sighed and let go of her staff which drifted over to the spider-like machine in the center of the room where one of the arms caught and held it. Cyclonis meanwhile made her way to one of the other doors in the room, draped over a chair next to the door was a large purple blanket which Cyclonis picked up as she passed through the doorway, draping it around her shoulders. On the other side of the door was her bedroom, a large four poster bed with purple sheets and covers dominating the room, the posts made of sleek obsidian stone, while the head and foot boards were carved from dark wood. Above hung a canopy of purple and violet drapes, which could be released to become curtains which would block out the whole world around the bed... her little sanctuary.

With the blanket draped around her, Cyclonis climbed into bed and curled up in the center with her head resting on the pillows. There she stayed, the entire day's events playing back through her mind, rescuing Piper... returning to the Condor... joking and laughing with Piper both before and after the other Storm Hawks returned... seeing Piper's crystal lab... learning she was self taught... going to Terra Tundras. Cyclonis felt a stab of pain in her chest as she recalled the exchange on the Terra

"So you pulled me from that storm just so you could destroy me!?"

"Oh I didn't come to destroy you; I came to ask you to join me... See, we're a lot alike, you and me, more than you'd like to admit!"

"Come on Piper, imagine, the two of us working together, the world, would be ours!"

"You've gotta be kidding, I'd never join you!"

"Well, there's always the alternative... You'll have the best seat in the house, for your friends, destruction... ATTACK!... Now, where were we girlfriend?"

"So all this-this friendship was just some twisted game to you!?"

"I don't have time for friends; I have a world to conquer!... It's amazing how much you can learn about a person after a few hours with them, and I think I know you pretty well now Piper! Well enough to know your next move before you even make it."

"I learned a lot about you too, my friend."

"You're so naive, we were never friends!"

"You can act all tough and destroy the world, but you can't hide who you really are, a lonely girl who desperately wants a friend!"

"I still have one trick left... you know what this is, don't you."

"Oblivion crystals won't work on friends, even if they were only friends for a moment, it's a dud... Master."

It was that last comment from Piper which was really eating at Cyclonis, because the thing was... she was right, the only way the Oblivion crystal wouldn't have worked was if – even if it was just a single fleeting moment in time, a mere second – Cyclonis had considered Piper a friend, and vice versa. That single fact was tearing Cyclonis apart... Piper had been her friend, but when the moment came to chose between her path to conquer the world, and staying Piper's friend, she had chosen the former... had stabbed Piper in the back... hadn't even given it a second thought...

What kind of monster must she think I' am to do such a thing?

Cyclonis's head suddenly flared in pain

She was the one who rejected US, we gave her the choice to join us, to stand at our side and she threw it in our face, SHE BETRAYED US FIRST!

Cyclonis's eyes hardened as the thought ran through her head and the rage began to rise up once more, but rather than simply let it flow out in a fit of destruction, Cyclonis began thinking

There has to be a way to make Piper pay for her betrayal

Cyclonis quickly jumped out of bed and went over to her bookshelves, where a large number of scrolls and texts were kept. She then began pouring through them, searching for the perfect form of revenge. It took the majority of the rest of the day, but she finally found what she was looking for, a complex and difficult crystal spell that would require several powerful crystals... and some way to target the victim. Luckily Cyclonis already had that covered, during her search she had come across a single strand of hair stuck to her robes... it was blue, one of Piper's. Now all she needed to do was create the crystals, at least one of them she had made in the past, and she had all of the necessary resources, it would just take time. Cyclonis didn't even hesitate and got straight to work

She worked through the small remainder of the day and most of the night, she didn't stop for anything, not even to get food, dinner was left for her by a pair of Talons that entered her chambers, but she hardly noticed them, too engrossed in her work. She was vaguely aware of Snipe and Ravess visiting her but she dismissed them almost as soon as they arrived, stating that she was not to be disturbed. At long last it was done, the last crystal was complete and set into a carefully made pattern with the others, suspended between them was Piper's hair, the target for the spell

The basic effect of the spell was to inflame any feeling of anger or resentment, no matter how small. The spell would then feed on the anger and hate it had created and subsequently grow, allowing it to spread the anger, the hate, giving it more to feed from and grow stronger, spreading until it had all of Atmos in its grip. And the best part, there was nothing Piper could do to stop it

Cyclonis was itching to cast the spell, but a yawn stopped her, glancing outside she could just make out against the red skies of Cyclonia the first signs of dawn approaching. As much as she wanted to cast her spell right now, it was better to do so well rested, even in casting there was much that could go wrong, bed rest was what was now called for. Cyclonis covered her spell carefully with the blanket she had wrapped herself in earlier; she then made sure no one would touch it, before heading to bed

Cyclonis drew the curtains to her room, leaving a small gap in the curtains for the balcony window, then after changing into her nightclothes she climbed into bed, pulling the covers over herself. She was just about to use her powers to release the drapes around the bed, when a tapping sound made her stop, she furrowed her brow, she'd given orders that she wasn't to be disturbed until further notice. Annoyed she climbed out of bed and went to the door to her room, opened it and... there was no one there

Confused Cyclonis listened carefully, but the tapping had stopped. Shrugging she went back to bed and was just about to climb back into bed when the tapping started again. This time however Cyclonis could make out that it was something tapping on glass, she turned towards the balcony, and looked through the gap in the curtains. Through it she could just about make out someone's legs standing on the other side of the balcony door, confused and curious now, Cyclonis approached the door hesitantly, she rather doubted an assassin could make it to her private chambers, even from the balcony as they were near the peak of Tower Cyclonia and the perimeter was patrolled constantly. So that begged the question, who was knocking at her balcony door

She reached the door and took hold of the handles through the curtains, then she flung it open, and was greeted by a man in the most ridiculous outfit she had ever seen complete with a hood that obscured his face in shadow, well most of his face, Cyclonis could still make out his eyes and the smile that slowly spread across his face

The man twirled a cane as he began to speak, "Well how do ya do Cyclonis, your looking lovely this morning!" the man exclaimed, with a broad smile

Cyclonis slammed the door shut again, maybe I was wrong about that whole assassin thing she thought, but she wasn't left much time to dwell on that as she heard the voice again, but this time it was inside her room

"Now is that any way to treat a guest, really, were you taught any manners growing up?"

Cyclonis's head whipped round to where the man was now seated in a chair, one leg crossed over another and tapping his cane lightly against the arm. Cyclonis turned to look out at the balcony to find that it was now empty, then looked back to see that the chair was also empty, but the strange intruder was not gone, as his voice made quite clear

"My, my, my, we certainly have a lot of work to do, I can't believe that this situation has been left to get out of hand so disastrously!" the man said as he examined the room and Cyclonis's personal affects

Now Cyclonis was getting annoyed, "Who are you and what are you doing here!?" she shouted, trying to get some answers

The man simply looked at her amusedly. "My, my, a feisty one to be sure, I'm barely here for five minutes and your already barking orders," the man replied, while picking up a Holo-Crystal.

Cyclonis had had enough, and she drew a breath, before she could do anything though the man interrupted her, "Go ahead, see what that does for you."

The confidence with which he'd spoken while he continued to examine the Holo-Crystal, suggested that he was not at all worried about anyone coming in, but Cyclonis ignored him and began yelling for Ace... she got no answer, no one came running, the doors remained closed. She tried again, this time for Ravess and Snipe... again, nothing happened, the man merely chuckled amused

"What's going on here!?" she snapped rounding on the man, only to find he was gone from the position he'd been in previously and was now perusing her books and scrolls both on her desk and those that remained on the shelves

"I should think someone of your education should be able to figure it out," he said while raising one hand and twirling a mute green crystal between his fingers

"A silencing crystal," Cyclonis breathed, then watched astonished as with a flurry of his fingers the man caused the crystal to vanish

"Just a precaution, that crystal combined with the fact that you gave orders not to be disturbed, means we have some time alone to chat," the man stated as he took a seat again in the chair he'd been in before

"Chat?" Cyclonis said confused

"Yes, I'm here to deliver a warning about that spell of yours in the next room," the man replied

Cyclonis started, "How do you know about that!?" she exclaimed

The man merely smiled, "You don't seriously imagine that a powerful and dangerous spell such as the one you just crafted would get by without someone noticing did you?"

Cyclonis stared at him blankly as he continued, "Let's just say that I'm a concerned citizen of the Atmos who would like to see everyone walk away from this situation unhurt. In fact, quite frankly Cyclonis, I'm the one person standing in the way of you being assassinated before you can use that spell. If it hadn't been for me convincing the others, you'd have gone to bed and never awoken a horrid waste of life."

Now Cyclonis was listening, the thought that she had avoided death by the skin of her teeth was a serious wake up call, however, that left her just one question in her mind. "So if you're not here to kill me... why are you here?"

"Ah, that's the truth of the matter isn't it, well since you ask, I'm here to try and convince you to not use that spell of yours, in fact, I want you to destroy it," the man replied

Here Cyclonis scoffed, "You can't be serious, do you know how much work I put into that spell, now you just want me to discard it just like that!"

Here the man's demeanor changed, he had been talking rather light-heartedly before, now he grew serious, his eyes became hard. "I'm very serious Cyclonis, if you use that spell, all it's going to bring is misery and strife-"

"That's the point, that's what it does, and I'm going to use it to not only defeat the Skyknights but also to take my revenge on the person who betrayed me!" Cyclonis shouted, angry now

The man simply waited for her to finish, and then continued, "-For everyone, including Cyclonia."

Here Cyclonis took a step back, staring at the man incredulously, "What? That's ridiculous, I control the spell, it will only affect those I command it to.

"And what happens when it grows stronger than you, when it becomes the embodiment of all the hate and anger in the Atmos? Can you really control something that powerful?" the man asked

Cyclonis stared at him as the beginnings of doubt began to eat at her mind

No it will work as it's supposed to, I haven't missed anything-

The man interrupted her thoughts "Of course you didn't, your Master Cyclonis, a true prodigy of a Crystal Mage, and that's the point, the spell will work exactly as it's supposed to, spreading across all of Atmos, causing hate and anger to spread with it, which it will then feed on, glutting itself as it feeds on the anger and hate of every individual in the Atmos."

The voices of doubt began to grow louder, but Cyclonis shook her head and stomped them out, then stared hard at the man, "Why should I take your word for it, I don't know you, your an intruder, for all I know, you're making this whole thing up just to scare me."

The man smiled here, and his light-hearted nature returned, "You are absolutely right, which is why I brought friends, they'll be here to see you shortly and maybe then you'll see why you shouldn't cast that spell... if you don't..." the man trailed off there, a sad look on his face, "Let's just say the powers that be do not want this spell cast, but thanks to me, their willing to give you a chance to change course." With that he stood and began making his way back towards the balcony window

Cyclonis could only stare at him in confusion and shock, and it was only when the balcony window opened allowing a strong gust of wind to blow through the room that Cyclonis was broken from her stupor. "Wait what do you mean friends!?" she shouted above the gale

"You'll see my dear, good luck!" the man replied before a particularly strong gust caught Cyclonis's scrolls and began flinging them around the room, Cyclonis quickly scrambled to retrieve them. By the time she had them secured in her arms the man was gone, but in the distance Cyclonis could see a bird winging its way into the distance

And there we have it, I'm pretty sure fans of Classical literature will know where this story is going but please keep your peace, after all isn't so much better when those who are not quite up to speed figure it out and we can read their delicious comments... was that last bit out loud? whoops

Please feel free to leave a review if you like this story so far and as always constructive criticism is welcome, see you all next time ; )

P.s. yes the guy in the ridiculous outfit and cane was Arygyn being his usual trolly self, everything that happens from this point forward is HIS doing ; )