DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters, locations, equipment etc used in this story, it exists purely because I want it to
WARNING: This chapter (and story) contain themes of violence, torture, segregation, slavery and death (not necessarily in that order). Graphic content has been kept to a minimum to avoid M rating, even so, viewer discretion is advised
(Stormhawk fan SHhype enters from stage right)
Greetings all and welcome, my name is Stormhawk fan SHhype, and welcome to my second Story on this site. For those of you joining us from Choices, welcome back, for all you newbies out there, my warmest greetings. As stated above this story is a dark one and viewer discretion is advised, if you do not wish to view any of the themes listed above please return to your previous page... for those of you who are staying, welcome to my domain mortals MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA - ahem, excuse me.
Anyway, this story is set in an AU of Atmos where Cyclonia actually lost the war, some years before the birth of our heroes, who have grown up in this world, yes that means there is NO Cyclonian Empire in this story, so I'm sure your wondering, "Well who are the villains then?" my dear readers, you'll just have to read on to find out who's good and who's bad, as I love nothing better than taking good and bad, tossing them in a blender, then sitting back to watch the fun.
So, Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Dear Readers (and mortals) all, Welcome to...
The Storm and the Hawk
Prologue
The girl's eyes fluttered open to stare at a blank, featureless, grey ceiling, just as she had for the last 9 years. She lay on a modest bed, it couldn't be called luxurious by any means, but it was at least comfortable and not hard or lumpy. Still like the ceiling it was simple, bland, nothing more than a mattress, a sheet, some pillows and a grey duvet, the rest of the room mirrored this, everything was simple, bland, no colour or feeling in any object, grey and featureless, would describe the room adequately, despite the fact that it had – in addition to the bed – a table with which to eat at and a desk to read and write. Not that the girl did much of that, most of her time was either spent in her bed, or outside this room – where she least wanted to be – the only other thing in the room was a portioned off area that contained a shower, toilet, sink and mirror to wash up and stay clean. The girl herself was dressed in grey fatigues, again no colour, no feeling, just bland featurelessness, the only splash of colour were the girl's eyes and hair, her eyes were violet in colour, currently they were dark - like storm clouds raged behind them - but for a split second as she awoke, they were light, almost a rosy pink colour. Her hair was a dark violet/black and came to just above her shoulders, she was roughly fifteen years of age, though her eyes would have scared many people if they could see them, a common citizen would say they were the eyes of a wild beast, a monster. A politician would have said they were the eyes of a crazy person, a scientist would have said they were the eyes of pure unbridled power. A soldier on the other hand would have said they were the eyes of someone who has seen or experienced that which they never should have, nor should any person live through.
As the girl lay on her bed, a voice came through the speaker overhead, "Good morning Subject C, how are you feeling today?" said the female voice
"Fine," the girl replied emotionlessly
The female voice then spoke again, "Administrator Long Feng is on his way for your morning routine, so hurry up and eat breakfast, you don't want to be late to your appointment."
The girl sighed and got out of bed, she went over to the only door in the room, it was large, metal and heavy with a grill to look through at head height and a smaller slot down at the bottom, which now opened before a plate of food was pushed through
The girl picked it up and took it to the table, as she sat down the voice spoke again, "What do you say Subject C?" it asked
The girl bowed her head and replied "Thank you for this meal and for feeding that which is lower than trash."
"Very good, you may begin eating now," the voice acknowledged
The girl gratefully began to eat, in all her 9 years of being here she did have one good thing to say, at least they fed her well, so long as she behaved. At first she hadn't, in what little memory she had that remained of that time she knew she had fought, struggled, tried to escape, though the reason why now eluded her. As time had passed however her struggles had lessened, and she had learned her proper place here, she was nothing but a subject, she didn't even have a name just 'Subject C', and that she must obey any and all orders given to her
Just as she finished eating, the door to her room opened and in walked a man, he was average height, had grey blue eyes and black hair done in a style that left his forehead and the crown of his head completely bald, but gave him a long ponytail that went all the way down to the small of his back. He also had a small goatee and mustache combo all neatly styled and pointed, the look was completed by a black robe with gold trimming that came down to his ankles, this was Long Feng, the administrator of the facility they were in, and 'Subject C's' only human contact. When you consider that he was also her warden and torturer, the true scope of the dead look in the girl's eyes begins to make sense
Long Feng sat in the only other chair in the room, across from the girl and smiled at her, "Good morning Subject C, sleep well?" he asked
The girl simply nodded, "Anything you want to tell me today, any dreams?"
The girl attempted to bite her tongue and stay silent, but her body responded before she could stop it, "Yes," she replied
Long Feng smiled and sat back, "Tell me about it," he said
"I'm standing on the deck of a ship, blue skies surround me, I can feel the wind on my face, the sun's warmth," the girl replies
Long Feng nods, this was nothing new, she'd had this dream many times, though it had become a regular occurrence. However, the girl keeps going, "And there's someone with me."
Now Long Feng sits forward, interested, "Who?"
The girl shakes her head, "I don't know, I can't see them very well, I can only make out a few details."
Long Feng gestures her to continue, so she does "I see blue tinted hair, dark skin, but blue clothes, with splashes of orange here and there, there's also a band of orange around her head as well, but the feature I remember most clearly is her eyes, amber and sparkling."
Long Feng listens to all this with growing worry, 'Subject C' had never dreamt of another person before, this was a troubling development, and so late in the proceedings as well. "Is this the first time you've dreamt of this person?" he asked his face very serious
Subject C nodded quickly her face now fearful "I'm not in trouble am I Mr Feng, please I didn't mean to do anything wrong," she begged, tears brimming in her eyes
Long Feng took pity on her, they were only dreams after all, "Its okay my dear, you can't control your dreams, I'm not angry, just concerned, just please make sure to tell me if you have this dream again ok."
Subject C nodded "Yes Mr Feng I will, I promise," she replied
"Good, then we shall begin with today's tests, we'll start with your combat aptitude, you know the way of course," Long Feng said, to which the girl nodded, "Good, two guards will escort you, and I shall watch you from the observation deck, understood?"
"Yes Mr Feng," the girl replied as she stood and made her way to the door, which opened automatically for her, on the other side were two guards dressed in a bland grey uniform complete with helmets that covered their heads and faces
As the girl left, Long Feng stayed seated and looked around the room, down in a corner near the bed he noticed something hidden behind one of the bed's legs, he got up and went over to the bed. The frame was made of a light material so it was easy to move, behind the leg he saw a scratching of a bird, it resembled a Hawk, how odd, the conditioning is still in place, but this dream, and this scratching, what could they mean? Long Feng's concern was elevated from the fact that Subject C had gone to lengths to hide this rather than draw it on the paper she was provided –not that she ever drew anything these days – 9 years she'd been here, and there had never been anything like this, what did it all mean, well he'd find out during the combat aptitude
Subject C walked down bare concrete corridors, the only thing distinguishing one from another were the colored lines along the floor, each one led to a different place, Subject C was currently following the red line while two guards followed her every move. She eventually reached her destination, going through a set of large and heavy double doors which closed behind her; she was now inside a large domed space with doors set at regular intervals around the entire circumference. Near the door she had come through was a table with a number of different crystals on the surface, ready for use
Long Feng's voice soon came through the speakers positioned around the room, "Alright Subject C, we'll begin with something simple," he stated, as he did, several doors around the room opened to allow in about half a dozen robots, they jerked and jittered – training mechs Subject C thought – as they approached her, crystal blasters raised. "Destroy all your opponents in the most efficient manner possible," Long Feng continued
Subject C nodded and quickly picked up a smooth white crystal, as well as a jagged blue one, as she did, she activated the white crystal creating a shield around herself, just as the mechs began shooting, crystal blasts began impacting her shield as the mechs continued to move towards her, drawing closer to one another as they did. Subject C waited until they were forced to change clips, and then lowered her shield, she then stuck out her blue crystal, activating it, her body thrumming with power as from the hand she held it, a lightning bolt erupted. It hit the closest mech causing it to begin spasming, the bolt then jumped to the next closest mech as Subject C continued to pump power into the crystal. From mech to mech the bolt jumped faster than a human could blink until they were all spasming, before each one exploded from the overload of power. Subject C cut the power to the crystal and lowered and dropped the now burned out crystal
"Very good Subject C, now let's try something a little harder," Long Feng said as another set of doors opened, letting in a pack of Terra Blizzarian wolves, from their lean bodies they had clearly been starved, so upon sighting the young teen, they immediately began moving into hunt formation. Subject C calmly turned to the table and made a new crystal selection. The wolves, despite their hunger, moved cautiously, their prey while young, smelt wrong, like the last embers of a fire, and the strange metal corpses scattered around her screamed danger to the wolves. Eventually, hunger overcame caution and the lead wolf leapt in, looking for an easy kill, he hit nothing but air, one moment Subject C was standing still, the next, she was behind him, velocity crystal in hand. Her free hand formed into a fist which she drove into the pack leaders back with savage force, the wolf gave a yelp of pain before slamming into the ground, and stayed there, unmoving, blood oozing from his side. The other wolves now backed away slightly, but hunger drove them on, this time however, they went in together, charging their prey from multiple different angles, Subject C simply pulled another crystal from her pocket, it was round and bright yellow, she lifted it above her head while closing her eyes as a bright flash filled the room. The wolves collapsed temporarily blinded, while they were disoriented, Subject C used her velocity crystal to neutralize each and every one of them, in seconds each wolf was laying on the floor, either dead or close to it
"Excellent work Subject C, your skills as always are incredible, now for a real challenge," Long Feng praised as one of the larger doors opened, revealing a monster from the black gorge, a Giant poison-tooth Spiny Gorge Sloth. Subject C quickly snatched a new crystal from the table as the sloth gave a roar and began charging towards her, as it reached her however, Subject C held out a red crystal towards the monster. The sloth suddenly found itself rising into the air, it flailed around uselessly before Subject C raised her free hand which was now sparking with dark violet energy, then she thrust her second hand towards the sloth causing lightning to erupt from her finger tips, not a large single bolt like the crystal had created, these were meant for a single target, and that target, was the sloth. The beast screamed pathetically in Subject C's grip the sound echoing around the room as Long Feng looked on, carefully observing Subject C's face, no remorse, no mercy, completely dedicated to her goal, yes, she is almost ready, a perfectly honed weapon, just one more test I think. The sloth's screams suddenly stopped, and Subject C released it, the limp corpse collapsed to the ground with a bang kicking up dust from the floor
"Marvelous Subject C, very well done, we have one more test today, then we'll be done with the combat aptitude," Long Feng said as one last door opened, through it were shoved half a dozen people in the same prison uniforms that Subject C herself wore, "These men and women are traitors to our glorious Republic, their sentence is death, I want you to execute them Subject C."
One of the people looked up towards the observation room, "You coward Long Feng, get down here and do it yourself!" he shouted
"Why should I, when it's so much more poetic for my newest weapon to do it for me," Long Feng replied, a smile plastered on his face
The man who had spoken looked towards Subject C, and his eyes widened in horror, "What have you done to her!" he exclaimed
Long Feng offered him no reply, "Kill them Subject C, and you training will be complete," he simply stated
Most of the prisoners turned away in fear and began banging on the now closed door they'd just come through begging to be let out, Subject C turned towards them slowly, but this time she hesitated, these weren't wild beasts, they were people, and currently they were no threat to her. "But Long Feng sir, they're not a threat, there's no need to kill them," she responded
"DON'T QUESTION ORDERS SUBJECT C, KILL THEM NOW AS INSTRUCTED, OR DO I HAVE TO DISCIPLINE YOU!" Long Feng shouted
Subject C winced at his words, before turning to the prisoners, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she said as she began advancing on them, sparks forming around her right hand, tears streaming down her face
"Commander Osprey, what do we do?" one of the prisoners asked fearfully
The man beside him simply collapsed to his knees in defeat "What can we do?" he replied, the prisoners closest to him looked at the Commander aghast, then one of them turned towards Subject C
"FOR CYCLONIA!" he cried as he ran at her, the others tried to call him back, but it was too late, lightning engulfed him and he began screaming in agony, seconds later he dropped to the floor dead
More valiant but futile cries filled the air around Osprey, quickly followed by the screams of the dying, then a shadow settled over him and he looked up into the eyes of his Terra's Princess, they were filled with tears, but her body obeyed the orders it had been given as her right arm was leveled at his head. "I forgive you, your highness, to die at your hands is an honor," he said, before bowing his head once more
Subject C's arm began to shake, she was torn between orders, and the fact that the threat had been taken care of, this man – who looked to be in his late 50's – was no threat to her, and yet she had been ordered to kill him. She squeezed her eyes shut and let out a scream as a bolt of lightning shot from her hand
Osprey opened his eyes in shock and looked to his left to see a scorch mark marring the ground, while he was unharmed, he looked up again at the girl standing over him, she stood there panting hard, the energy around her right arm dying down. Then Long Feng's voice filled the air again, "Disappointing, take the prisoner back to his cell, as for you Subject C, report to lab 3, NOW!"
A couple of harsh sobs emanated from Subject C before she turned and began walking to the door she had originally come through, Osprey meanwhile was grabbed by two guards and hauled to his feet, before being dragged back to the door behind him. Osprey however, could not take his eyes off the girl who had just spared his life, she's still in there, somewhere, but she's buried so deep, and who knows what horrors Long Feng has in store for her now. Then the doors shut behind him, and she was lost from view
Subject C entered a new room, it was stark white and contained only a single object, a chair, from this chair however were a multitude of arms, each with a different instrument of torture attached to the ends, from the speakers came Long Feng's voice, "Take a seat Subject C," he ordered emotionlessly. Subject C began to sob as her body robotically obeyed the order, despite the fact that her mind was screaming and begging for mercy, once she was seated, the guards who had accompanied her strapped her in before leaving the way they had come. With a hum of power the chair came to life, "I regret that I must do this Subject C, you've been doing so well, I haven't needed to do this for several years now, but if you do not obey orders, then you must be punished." One of the arms began making its way towards her, the end sparked with electricity, Subject C sobbed hysterically as it neared her
On the other side of the door the guards stood unmoving as the girl's screams of pain and anguish echoed down the corridor.
Osprey sat in his cell, deep in thought, then a timed knock came from his cell door, "Your running out of time Ace, there's so little of her left, a spark does remain, but it's so small, in danger of being snuffed out completely, you need to tell her highness to hurry, or she'll lose her sister for good," Osprey said
There was no reply, but Osprey was not concerned, there usually wasn't, not after they'd first made contact, Osprey sighed, "I'm sorry I couldn't be more help to you, to her, please extend my sincerest apologies to her highness, I wasn't strong enough to save the princess."
"Don't be a fool, you've been an enormous help Osprey, you've served her highness and her sister well, the Master sends her thanks as well," a voice said from the other side of the cell
Osprey felt tears brim in his eyes, and then took a breath, "Promise me you'll save her, promise me you'll get the princess out of this hell hole."
"I promise Osprey, Princess Lark Cyclonis will be reunited with her family, if necessary, I will die to make it happen."
Osprey nodded, satisfied, "That's all I ask... goodbye Ace, I imagine this will be the last time we speak to one another."
"Goodbye Osprey, and remember, Cyclonia lives," Ace replied, before walking off to give his report
"Cyclonia lives," Osprey repeated, a contented smile on his face, then the sound of heavy boots began echoing down the hall, ah, my executioners have come... stay strong your highness, your sister is coming for you, you will see your family again, I promise. Then his cell door opened, there was a flash and Osprey crumpled to the floor.
To be continued dear mortals, MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
ahem, I should really get that looked at... please leave a review if your liking this story so far, and as always constructive criticism is welcome