...I know, I know, I should be working on Digimon, but I'm having trouble with that right now...don't worry, I have a plan for the fifth chapter, don't you wait. It's just that its taking me a long time to get where I want to be at...but less about Digimon, and more of me getting to the story! (Finally finished this piece).
Disclaimer: I don't own Storm Hawks. Or else it wouldn't be rated PG.
Warning: gays, slight cursings, and basically that's it. Oh and minor violence, but not , OC, but she's not, I repeat, not going to pair up with anyone (at least I don't think so yet...)
'Thoughts'
"Talking"
Memories
"Anything that's bold, underlined, or in italics, but are in "quotation marks" are emphasis." !! are break through...thingys. i don't know.
EDIT: made some editing. this is un-beta'd plus, I had a headache last night. Sorry.
R&R!
Slave
It was a hot day on Terra Saharr in the bazaar. Aerrow shaded his eyes and looked up into the crystal clear sky, the sun beating the terra merciless. He wiped some sweat from his brow, been outside for a half an hour and already felt like he just ran a marathon.
"Finn!! You got the items Stork wanted yet?" called out Aerrow to Finn, who was in one of the booths, haggling with the merchant for one the items Stork needed to fix Condor. They ran into some Talons back around the Wayside and got into battle. Fortunately, Dark Ace wasn't there and they managed to defeat the Talons without much damage to them. Unfortunately, while they got out unscathed, the Talons still managed to damage the Condor. So, in repayment, the rest of the crew decided (or forced by Stork) to make a quick pit-stop at Terra Saharr, Aerrow and Finn going out to haggle. It looked like they'll be able to leave around late afternoon. Or they hoped to, because unfortunately, most of the merchants didn't speak their language and weren't really cooperating…
"Busy…haggling…no…" was all Finn said as he paused to take breaths between wearing down the merchant. So far, the merchant wasn't giving, but he looked worn down. Aerrow sighed.
A slave came tearing down the street; She was running away, pursed by two guards. It looked like she was going to escape until one of the guards took his chain that was hanging from his belt, started to whirl it, and threw it at the girl so that it wrapped around her body. She fell to the ground with a thud. Then she started to scream.
"YOU BASTARDIZED MAN-ISH MINIONS OF A WHORE!!" she screamed, in surprisingly, English. The guards turned white and cross themselves, though the one that was holding the chain didn't let loose of it. The girl apparently knew this. "OH YEAH YOU BETTER CROSS YOURSELVES YOU MANWHORES!!" she screamed and cursed as they dragged her across the ground. Then, she latched on to a merchant's table leg with her teeth. The guards, noticing the resistance, started to tug at the chain but she wouldn't let go. Finally, a brave one went up and stabbed her in the back with his spear. Crying out, she let go of the table leg. The guards dragged her away. Aerrow watched it all, shocked and sickened by this. And as the girl was dragged, she caught his eye.
She had fire. Even though she was caught and being brought back to her booth in the most demeaning way as possible, she still wasn't broken, it was obvious in her brown eyes. She wasn't given up. Aerrow knew what he had to do; his "heroic" character rearing its justice head.
Aerrow started to walk where the guards were heading to, leaving Finn.
It was a slave booth. It was obvious. Slaves were shackled around the booth. The stench of dried blood and vomit, flies everywhere. A very dark brown woman was in the shade of the booth, a portable fan fanning her, incense wafting around her, and she was reading a magazine in a different language, obviously bored. She was obviously a different species; dark, dark brown skin, eyes slanted that it looked impossible. Her ears were flayed and pointed, and her hair was a blonde-navy blue, in stripes. She was obviously an antinantian, a race that lived out in the desert, mostly merchants and slave traders. It made Aerrow's stomach clench and anger rise. He wanted to strangle that girl. But he reeled his anger and without missing a step, approached the booth.
The girl, the slave who escaped, was tied up right in front of the little stall, sitting down, her arms above her head by her shackles, the sun shining down on her unprotected prone form. Aerrow couldn't help but scowl furiously.
"Excuse! Me," he called out, wiping the scowl from his face. The woman looked up, hunger shining in her Peach colored eyes.
"Buy sell? Trade buy?" she said in broken english. Aerrow nodded. The woman had a hungry, yet happy look to her face, like she just won a million boxes of her favorite candy. "Ehh…you want good? Want you? You want what?" she asked again.
"How much is for the girl right there?" he said, pointing to the slave that was tied up. The woman raised eyebrows and crinkled her nose, her head moving back and forth.
"Ehh…two bags crystals. No more, no less. Buy sell? Buy sell? Gimme Gimme," she replied. Aerrow frowned. Unlike regular merchants, some wanted only crystals, which were used for currency. Two bags would mean that they would be nearly flat out broke; they had only three, and expected to use all of them for Stork's run. But…
"What will happen to the slave?" he asked abruptly. The woman blinked.
"Eh?"
"What will happen to her?" he said again, pointing to the girl. The woman did the strange bobbing head thing again.
"She no good. Bad stock. Stupid me. Have to sell. Last day. If no buy sell, go to glue factory," she shrugged. "No good buy sell. Nothing important. Rest stock is good. You want buy sell?"
The glue factory. She'll be used to make glue. The thought made Aerrow furious and disgusted. He now realized why some people just out of the blue murdered some one. She, the antinantian, needed to be wiped out from the face of Atmos. People like her were sickening.
"No," he said. "I'll give you buy. I want the girl."
"Good, good," she smiled warmly to him. "Some good buy sell girls stock in-"
"I think you misunderstood me," Aerrow interrupted her. "I want this girl," he pointed to the chained up one. The woman blinked.
"Eh?" Quickly she got her composer. "Two crystals bags. No more."
"Deal."
"Eh?" she shook herself, looking at him like he was a maniac. He took out the bags. The look was replaced the now-familiar greedy look.
"Deal. Buy sell. Honest. Yes. Gimme Gimme," she said, lightly jumping up and down. He handed her the bags. Snapping her fingers to the guards, she returned to the post to count the crystals. The guards handed him the chain to the slave. Aerrow wordlessly took the chain form them. Motioning for the girl to sit up, he started to walk away, leading the girl away from the stall, away from the antinantian, away from that place. When they were out of site, Aerrow lead the girl into an alley way and ducked out of site.
"Give me you hands," he said. The girl hesitated, wary.
"You're not going to put them down your pants are you? Because like hell-"
"For gods sake all I'm trying is to unshackle you! I'm gay Damnit!!" he cried out, all the anger for that antinantian and the frustration of not being able to help those other poor slaves was rushing out because of the girl's wariness. The girl raised her eyebrows, but did as she was told. Taking out his blade, he sliced the shackles. They clattered to the ground. Aerrow put the blade away as she rubbed her wrists. He then realized he didn't know her name; he bought a complete stranger. And yet…it felt right. He felt like he made a right decision.
"Pretend that I'm your master until we get out of here, okay?" he said. The girl silently agreed. She still had her slave collar on, so it wouldn't look right if she walked around like a free person. She nodded again. Aerrow then took a good look at her.
Her body was tan, thin, and wiry, a suggestion of hips and a slight hint of breast implied that she was older, but she was obviously malnourished with dirt and grime on her skin. A ratty, dirty, torn shift was barely on her shoulders, looking like she'd been dragged through the streets a lot. Stained and worn bandages and tights were the only protection for her legs and feet against the harsh desert. Her skin was a light brownish gray color, and small scars and cuts littered her arms and neck, meaning that she tried to escape often and failed. She was obviously a natural red, her hair tied up in a ponytail, bangs hanging down her face, and of course, her hair oily and dirty. Her defiant brown eyes that Aerrow noted earlier was filled with wariness, fear, and a hidden hope that she was finally being set free. There was a bleeding scratch on her face, the bottom part of her cheek that was near her mouth and chin.
"…" he was silently, looking at her. She shifted her weight, fidgeting, embarrassed.
"Well?" she snapped huskily, never really been looked so intensely before. Really, if the red-head would just stop it…wait…didn't he just say that he was-
"Sorry," the man muttered looking away. She scowled at his back; 'make up your mind man!' she mentally yelled at him. He started to walk away.
"Come on, we have to meet one of my friends."
She had no choice but to follow.
"Dude! I finally got the stuff-what the HELL?!" cried Finn, nearly dropping the items. "What, you wanted some-"
"It's a long story Finn, Don't ask," cut in Aerrow, past ready to leave this place, headache already starting. He brushed past Finn, with the girl trailing behind. Finn narrowed his eyes, but sighed also.
"Fine, don't tell me," he answered. "But don't say that I didn't tell you so when Stork cries out-"
"-WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" cried out Stork, hands clutching his head. "What the hell were you thinking of buying a slave from Terra Saharr?! She could be a Cyclonian spy!! Or invisible mind worms!! Or a horrible, life-altering, fatal disease!! We're DOOOMED!! DOOMED!! DOO-"
"Stork! Relax, she's okay," soothed Aerrow.
"Partially agreeing with Stork," Piper piped up, arms crossed, and looking very much pissed. "Why did you bought her for two bags of crystals Aerrow? Why?" the last part she practically hissed, orange eyes sparking. Aerrow gulped, fidgeting and not meeting her eyes.
"Well…" he started, embarrassed and unsure what to really say to the crystal specialist. "It kinda started when she tried to escape and…uhh…um…I don't really know…"
"TWO. BAGS. OF. CRYSTALS. GONE!!" she made a gesture at the last word. "Do you know how many crystals, not to mention raw, rare ones are now at the greedy little hands of some antinantian because of your hero complex? I bet you don't even know her name!!"
"Umm…" She was right, he didn't. Then the girl spoke up.
"Aridrinna. Arid. Drinna. Aridrinna," replied the now-known Aridrinna, voice still husky. Aerrow looked at her; surprised, and smiled.
"Interesting name," he said. Aridrinna shrugged. Junko looked at her curiously, and talked to her for the first time since she got her.
"Do you want anything?" the Wallop asked. Aridrinna nodded her head eagerly.
"A glass of water would be nice," she rasped. Junko quickly brought back a bucket of water.
"We didn't have any clean glasses, but I found this bucket and filled it up, though you don't-" he stopped when the freed slave snatched the bucket, and proceeded to drink gustily from it, lines of water running down her mouth. Everyone stared at her until she was finished. She wiped her mouth, taking some deep breaths. She smiled gratefully at Junko.
"Thanks," she thanked the flight engineer with a clear voice, her smile filled with relief and gratitude. "I need that so badly."
"SEE??" shouted Piper, revving up again. "THIS IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!! YOU CAN'T EVEN GET HER A GLASS OF WATER!! JUNKO HAD TO DO IT YOU SHOULD AT LEAST-"
"Listen lady, he didn't know okay?" Aridrinna interrupted. "I mean, I'm really grateful that he saved me and all, so why are you harping at him? He could of just ignored it, or better yet, start attacking the bitch himself, which would of landed him in jail and probably not allowed to visit Terra Saharr anymore. Yes, I admit that he has a hero complex, but hey, at least he didn't disturb the peace like apparently I did."
Piper was stunned to silence.
"So…now that you're obviously here, what can you do?" Finn piped up, looking interested. The natural redhead shrugged.
"I can cook pretty well," she started, looking pointedly to Finn, Stork and Aerrow. "I can clean. Well, not really, but I can tidy up a bit and you won't stub your toe or step on anything. I'm a fast learner. I can fight, though I don't really like to. I don't really need my own space, as I can sleep anywhere comfortably. I'm really am an mechanic-"
"We already have one of those," Stork butted in irately as he pointed to Junko who waved back. "And he's a flight engineer!!"
"-An mechanic, but before I was captured and stuff, I finally got my Fly mechanic's permanent license, not to mention my Fly technician's official badge," she finished evenly. "I'm a Fly Hook."
Silence.
A Fly Hook.
Once moderately common, now beyond rare and officially thought to be extinct, fly mechanics is a rare and special skill. Like Piper being able to refine raw crystals, fly mechanics is a difficult if not to mention dangerous skill. Fly Hooks repair ships, yes, but they do it outside of the sky ship when it's still moving. They're supposed to repair damages to the external parts of the plane without having it make a stop. They used to work with winds whipping around them, in storms or in battle. A rare necessity that only became rarer when the unthinkable happened to Terra Tecka, ex-home of the now extinct Fly Hooks…
"But…that's…impossible… No way," whispered Stork. Piper nodded "Everyone knows what happened to…" she trailed off, didn't want to think about it. Aridrinna sighed; she knew it wasn't going to be that easy. Luckily for her, she stole back her important items before the greedy little slave trader bitch sold them…
Slipping a hand down the front of her shift, she began to rummage around. With her other hand, it slipped under the elastic of the tights and back to do the same. Everyone, except Arid, started to blush.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" yelled Stork, a red blush on his cheeks. Aerrow politely covered his eyes but his mind was thinking frantically. What she jacking off right in front of them? Did he accidentally buy a sex slave? Oh why didn't he just pay more attention-
"AH HA!!" Aridrinna triumphantly cried out, pulling both hands from her shirt and tights. "Knew they were here somewhere!" In her hands were an official Fly Mechanic's license and a Fly Tech's official badge. They were slight worn, and kinda old (like in the last five years), but they were intact. And they had the Atmos and Sky Knight seals on it. She was an official Fly Hook. The Storm Hawks couldn't believe it. And honest to god Fly Hook. "Oh my god," Aerrow calmly said, so shocked beyond belief. "She really is a Fly. We have a Fly on our hands. And honest to god Fly Hook." Aridrinna nodded.
"Don't forget, I also have my badge of Fly Technician's Honor; which also means I'm an official Fly Tech too," she added.
It was like finding a heap of gold in the midst of Junko's room.
"Aerrow you completely lovable idiot!!" Piper squealed, arms clasping around the Pilot's neck with glee. "I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but I absolutely Love your Hero complex right now!!" Finn tilted his head.
"Umm…Adriana," he started.
"Aridrinna. Arid," correct Aridrinna. Finn acknowledged that.
"Aridrinna. Um…what's a Fly Hook? I…kinda…forgot," he confessed sheepishly. Piper looked at him. No, gaped at him.
"Finn!! Don't you remember what happen?? When…you know…when you were seven…on that day," Piper reprimanded, beating around the bush of what really happened on that day that they were seven. Finn thought back really hard…except, he went too far…
Flash back
A baby Finn was busy playing with a baseball, throwing it up into the air. His parents were quarreling in the background about how their son wasn't talking like other babies. They didn't noticed when Finn accidentally got bonked on the head.
!!
A five-year-old Finn was playing with Barbie-like doll, having fun, his parents fighting about why Finn was failing kindergarten when his father accidentally stepped on a brown haired doll, breaking it. He looked disgusted. "Finn!! Play with normal toys!" he barked before going back to the argument. The young Finn dropped to his knees with horror, picking up the two pieces of the doll. He whimpered, tears filling up in his eyes.
"Sandra…" he whimpered, cradling the broken doll near his chest, like he just watched an old and dear best friend die.
!!
A seven-year-old Finn was playing with a Toy model ship, making ship noises, and basically enjoying himself. His parents were quarreling in the background, about how there son's voice was a shade higher than the rest of the little boys.
"…And second of all I will not have some faggy son in my home! Finn is not queer! Isn't that right son?" Finn's father said, berating his wife. He looked up to his father.
"I wanna marry a Merb when I get older!! Is queer like you played with the boy when mommy wasn't here?" he replied with childish innocence. Finn's mother gave a gasp of outright rage, threw a stool to Finn's father and stormed off. Finn's dad quickly changed his mood.
"Wait! Honey! It wasn't like that! Wasn't like that at all!!"
Finn went back to happily playing with his Toy ship, satisfied that he gotten payback for what he did with Sandra.
End
"Sandra!! Why did you have to leave me?! You were so young…so young!!" sobbed the present day Finn. This time, his parents weren't in the background arguing. But his fellow team members and Aridrinna were. The Aerrow, Piper, and Stork were looking at Finn like he was insane. Junko was used to it, knowing all about Sandra. Aridrinna just stood there near Finn.
"…Done?" she asked, politely when Finn finally realized he wasn't alone and quickly stopped.
"Ah-hem. Heh. Yeah," he said, blushing. "Sorry."
"Don't worry. Most people strangely have epiphanies near me. Don't know why."
"What's an epip-" Suddenly, like a burst of lightning, Finn had a self-inner realization. Everything clicked into place, and made sense of what he'd been trying to figure out about himself.
"Oh my god! I get it!!" he shouted. "And I know what a Epiphany is!! Thank you so much Aridrinna! You're on my good list for life!" he thanked the girl, shaking her hand up and down, and raced off somewhere in the Condor to do…who knows what. Finally, Stork had enough.
"So what Finn had an epiphany that was caused by the girl!!" he shouted, anger rising. Everyone stepped back, surprised. "SO WHAT!! We—'" he hissed, getting real close to her "-Already have an engineer who is—" he pointed to Junko. "-Him! And we like him! Isn't that right Junko?" Junko nodded, a goofy smile on his face. Piper quickly got between them before any fights got out. She quickly started to sweet talk Stork. "We know that Stork, and we do really like Junko. He's our friend, but he's too heavy to really go outside and work on repairs while the ship's moving unless he wants to be blown away. Besides, you don't really want to make unneeded stops to unprotected, unsafe, evil, and possibly disease –ridden places just to repair the ship, don't you?" coaxed Piper. Stork paled, possibly thinking of all the horrors in the world.
"Oh god…" he whispered.
"See?" He nodded. "Fine…I guess…but, only if she says out of the way and doesn't touch anything!" he said, becoming more like his regular self. Piper nodded. "She will, won't you Aridrinna?" Aridrinna was nodded her head so hard that it seemed to be just a blur. Stork sighed, shoulders dropping.
"Alright, she can stay," he finally muttered, sullen. "But if I find that you've been messing with the Condor other than the outside, then hasta la visa!!" and with that, Stork stalked off to whatever corner he usually when to sulk. The trio watched him leave.
"So…the guy's name is Stork, right?" Aridrinna causally said. Aerrow nodded, then realized something.
"Oh god, I totally forgot our names!" he moaned. "I'm Aerrow, the Leader of the Storm Hawks. This-" he pointed to Piper. "-Is Piper, navigator, tactics leader, and in charge of all the crystals." Aridrinna gave a nodded to her direction.
"I heard many things about the art of crystal craftsmanship. I'm honored to meet one," she answered, giving a small smile. Piper returned it back.
'Good. At least they won't be at each other's throats,' Aerrow thought, mentally relieved. Stork, on the other hand…
'Never mind about him,' his mind yelled. Aerrow continued on.
"Junko here is, like we said before, is our flight engineer and mechanic. He's a Wallop, and he's pretty smart, for one. Finn, the blond one, is our wingman and sharpshooter from Terra Lyn. And Stork, as you already know-" at this Aridrinna slightly snorted. "-Is our carrier Pilot, and yes, he's a Merb. Oh! And Radarr, the blue creature, is our mission specialist. That's it." Aridrinna smiled.
"You have quite a kaleidoscope of team members here," remarked Aridrinna. Aerrow smiled at her. "Yep." Radarr, who was busy looking at some fruit, finally came over to where they were talking. He walked over to where Aridrinna was sitting down. She smiled at him. He walked around her, sniffing. Finally, he ran behind's Aerrow's leg and started to hiss at her. Piper and Aerrow stared, shocked at the behavior the mission specialist was setting.
"It's probably because I reek of sweat, sulfur, and antinantian," reassured Aridrinna. She sniffed her self and wrinkled her nose. "Beech. I can see why he growled."
"Since when was the last time you had a bath?" asked Aerrow, curious. She pondered.
"Umm…let see…oh…really? A complete fully bath with soap? Um…two years," she smiled sheepishly. They gaped at her.
"TWO YEARS?!"
"Well, I rinsed myself off and stuff…but not a real bath, no soap or anything like that," commented the Fly Hook.
Aridrinna found herself, not a moment later, in the bathroom. She blinked and looked around. 'Hmm…not huge, but it's fine,' she noted. She rummaged around till she found an unused bar of soap.
"Why don't you take a shower? I'll get some extra clothes for you," suggested Piper. Aridrinna nodded. Piper then pointed to where the bathroom was.
She shed all of her…rags…and stepped into the shower stall. A gush of quickly warming water from the head spewed at her body. She just stood there, trying to take it in. Finally, she lathered her shoulder…
…And proceeded to scrub her body fiercely and thoroughly.
She scrubbed the sweat away. She scrubbed the blood away. She scrubbed all of her hardships, her pain; she tried to scrub everything bad away. She scrubbed and scrubbed until her wounds and scars re-opened, fresh blood mixing in with the excess suds and dirt down the drain. When she felt she was clean enough, she attacked at her hair, scrubbing and washing until her scalp started to slightly bleed too. Then, she just let the water rinse her off.
Soap was in her eyes. Her scalp was burning, plus her open wounds were stinging. She wasn't dreaming. Her nightmare was over, she could actually start a new and become was she always dreamed of: Being a Fly Hook. She laughed softly to herself.
"I've finally got here, didn't I?"
...I have a headache.