Okay, this story was basically to explore the characters, and their relationship in order to make my other fanfic, Defenders of the Far Side, a little better and more in character... Anyway, I have also explored different ways of writing and POV's and such.
So, this is basically just a fic to better my other fics, all the same, I would love to know what you think, so please R&R!
_

Aerrow
Aerrow brought up his blades to block the strike made by Dark Ace, but was knocked backwards from the force of it.
He barely had time to regain his balance and spin out of the way of the next strike.
The two were alone on the Terra, the other Storm Hawks having no clue that Aerrow was doing anything other than taking a routine flyby of the surrounding Terra's, and the other Cyclonian's apparently having no idea of their commander's whereabouts.
Hence the reason that they had been fighting uninterrupted, on the Terra, for nearly an hour.
And, as much as he didn't want to admit it, Aerrow knew he was tiring and wouldn't be able to keep up for much longer.
Maybe he should have listened to Piper and waited until the injury in his side had healed... As it was, it had just started bleeding again...
And it hurt like hell.
Never-the-less, he still managed to bring his blades up to deflect the next blow and leapt over Dark Ace's head, landing in a crouch behind him.
He couldn't hold back the burst of pain that radiated from his side and let out a small gasp of pain, as he shoved himself to his feet and grasped the hilt of his blades tighter.

Dark Ace
Dark Ace was impressed. There was no other word for it.
The wiry fifteen year old had managed to hold his own for far longer than any of the other people that had the gall to call themselves sky knights.
And it was very impressive... Even if he was tiring.
Dark Ace could see it, in the slight trembling of the teenagers arms and the shorter breaths.
But no-one knew they were there.
None of the other Storm Hawks had turned up yet, which had assured him that they had no idea Aerrow was here, and he had managed to slip past all of the Talon's that were under his command.
He had only intended to go for a ride, but running into the red headed sky knight had been a nice bonus.
And it looked like his luck was just getting better. With the young sky knight obviously tiring, he knew he could win this duel.
Still, he was impressed as the teenager flipped over him and came to a crouch behind him.
Then he frowned.
He hadn't struck him in the side... yet it was clearly bleeding profusely. And causing him a lot of pain.
Making it even more impressive when he managed to shove himself to his feet and grip his blades tighter, glaring at him.
"What are you waiting for?"He asked, voice low and clearly masking pain, and Ace had to snort.
Arch enemy maybe, but the kid was stubborn as hell... And a much worthier opponent than the other so called sky knights that patrolled the skies of Atmos.
It was a shame he had to kill him...
He lifted his sword.
"Youngest first, I insist..."
Aerrow blasted a jet of light at him and he dodged it, once more returning to the duel.

Aerrow
Aerrow was holding back pained gasps as the wound in his side opened up even more, sending blood soaking into his uniform.
He had long since resorted to being on the defensive, and, for some reason, Dark Ace wasn't pressing his advantage as much as he could be... He didn't have time to think on it, however, as he deflected and parried the blows that were aimed at him. Suddenly, a well placed strike hit his arm, and one of his blades was twisted from his grip as blood began to seep through his sleeve, his link shattered with his wrist.
He quickly made the mental adjustments to fighting with one blade, in his right hand thanks Atmos, and leapt back into a defensive stance, forcing himself to ignore the pain and blinking as he saw Dark Ace staring at him strangely.

Dark Ace
Dark Ace wasn't sure why he was letting up slightly... Scratch that, he had no idea why he wasn't fully pressing the advantage of having Aerrow on the defensive.
And when he managed to wrench one of the sky knights blades from him, damaging his wrist, and causing him to leap back defensively, he didn't feel the sense of victory he normally associated with disarming one of his opponents. Instead, he felt something akin to weariness and distaste.
Then he caught sight of the teenager staring at him strangely, and brought his sword up again, finding himself not relishing the final defeat of the nuisance in front of him.
Heck, the kid was fifteen for Cyclones sake...
And apparently had come to the fight already injured in some fashion...
Never-the-less, he spun his sword in his hand before gripping it firmly, and advanced, still impressed with the kid's fortitude as he didn't back up in the slightest... Unlike everyone else he had faced in battle...

Aerrow
Aerrow, as he parried the next few blows, knew he was coming to the end of this fight. His side was burning and sending wracking pain through his entire body, and his fatigue, which also seemed to be affecting Dark Ace to some degree, was finally reaching a peak.
He was running on instinct alone, and that would only be enough for so long...
As if to mirror his thoughts, Dark Ace's blade broke through his defence and struck him in the shoulder, sending him flying to the floor, his other blade escaping his grasp and flying several feet away.
Aerrow couldn't hide the gasp of pain as his left hand side, with the shoulder, side and arm injuries, connected with the floor, and he found he didn't have the energy to get to his feet again.
He had just managed to push himself up onto his knees, holding himself off the ground with his right hand, when he felt the edge of a sword blade resting against his throat.

Dark Ace
Dark Ace actually flinched himself when his sword collided with the sky knights shoulder, not too far from the obvious wound on his side, and froze for a couple of seconds as he watched, astounded by the teenagers sheer force of will, as Aerrow pushed himself up, left arm pressed against his side and right hand holding himself up.
Then he moved, on autopilot, and came to rest with his sword across the red heads throat.
The teenager didn't so much as flinch, as tense slightly and push himself over, so that he was facing upwards, a defeated glare on his face.
"Go ahead... What are you waiting for..."
What was he waiting for?
His arch enemy, the only one who could truly match him, was at his mercy.
He should kill him.
Finally get rid of him once and for all...
But he couldn't.
He wasn't sure why, but he couldn't...
Slowly, he took a step back and sheathed his sword, watching as Aerrow's gaze morphed from confusion to suspicion, then to surprise.
"W-What are you doing?"
"You tell me kid... There is no honour in defeating an injured opponent."
The first thing that came into his head, and he mentally slapped himself.
"I thought Cyclonian's had no honour...?" Aerrow asked, almost subconsciously throwing the barb, and looking utterly confused by the turn of events. Dark Ace gave a wry laugh.
"I wasn't always a Cyclonian."
He ripped off his link and threw it to Aerrow.
"Get your team out here to pick you up. You're in no fit state to fly a skimmer."
Aerrow stared at the link, then up at him, clearly trying to figure out just what the hell was going on.
"Why are you doing this?"
The confusion was gone, and had been replaced with disbelief, and Dark Ace couldn't blame him. He had no idea himself.
"I have my reasons-" If only... "And I have no intention of telling you." these non-existent reasons.
"But do not expect this the next time we meet Aerrow."
"... I'll count on it."
Dark Ace turned and strode away, mounting his skimmer and taking off, leaving one very shocked and disbelieving sky knight behind him.

Aerrow
Aerrow took a shaky breath as Dark Ace's ride vanished, and nearly collapsed back.
He was alive...
The Dark Ace had just spared his life... but why?
It had seemed that the Talon commander had been as surprised as the sky knight by his actions, and Aerrow was completely in the dark about his motives.
Why would he let him live?
Then he realised he had more pressing concerns and started tuning the link to the Condor's frequency as blood started to pool around him from his various injuries.
Dark Ace had been right about him being unable to fly a skimmer.
He eventually managed to get through, and half an hour later, the sound of the Condor arriving stirred him from the state of unconsciousness he was slipping into.
He had halted most of the blood flow from the wounds by ripping off his shirt and tearing the various strips of cloth around his injuries with one hand, but a dull, aching tiredness had started to settle in, and he knew that he would need quite time to recover from this particular duel...
Both physically and mentally.
He let himself slip off just as he heard Piper and Finn calling his name as they ran towards him.

Finn
"Aerrow!" Finn cursed as he and Piper ran towards him, Junko having gone to fetch his ride and Radarr being well ahead of them. He had been supposed to ride out with him this morning, but Aerrow had insisted that he stay behind because he was feeling ill.
Now he felt guilt clawing at him, and it was far worse than how he had been feeling before.
They reached Aerrow just as he closed his eyes and Finn immediately checked, relieved when he realised he was still breathing.
But he looked terrible.
The wound in his side from a few days ago seemed to have opened up again, and he had various cuts and bruises covering his torso, not to mention a few gashes on his arms and a large cut, bruised and swollen, on his shoulder.
The bandages he had managed to make had staunched most of the bleeding, but he knew Piper and Stork would need to have a look at the wounds. At a nod from Piper, he bent and picked up his friend, careful not to agitate his injuries, and slowly, as he stirred into a semi-conscious state, wrapped one of Aerrow's arms around his shoulders and virtually carried him back to the Condor.
Junko reached them just as they got to the hangar bay, took Aerrow and, ignoring the half coherent protests, carried him into the med-bay, where Piper and Stork immediately started grabbing all kinds of drips and crystals.
He finally managed to come back to something resembling full consciousness, and Finn immediately asked him what had happened.
"Aerrow? What happened bro?"
"D-Dark Ace... Duelled... I couldn't... couldn't..."
Finn, as worried as the others at the pained and yet confused and half defeated tone in their leader's voice, hastily butted in.
"Okay, okay... It's fine... Just get some rest. You can tell us when you feel better..."
Aerrow gave a faint nod, clearly suffering, and Piper finished attaching all the crystals.
"Okay... There. You should be fine in a few days... Get some rest."
Aerrow had already slipped back into his semi-conscious state, and Piper started ushering them out so he could rest. Radarr, however, stayed, and Finn, feeling guilty, decided to stick around too...
Piper didn't say anything and let them, closing the door behind her.
Finn sighed, settling back.
"Sorry Aerrow... I should have gone with you..."
"S'no... your... faul..."
"Aerrow? Damn it, you should try and get some rest..."
Aerrow, idly stroking Radarr's fur as the sky monkey curled up, shook his head.
"Cant... som'thin happened... Dark Ace... We were... were fighting and... I was already... in trouble... with my side. H-He won and-"
"But... But then why didn't he-"
"D-Dunno... Would-wouldn't say... som'thin... bout honour and all that..."
"I thought Cyclonian's didn't have honour?"
"I... I said... same thing..."
"Oh, that showed real smarts bro."
He gave a small smile, then seemed to start slipping off again. He seemed insistent on saying something though.
"Finn...?"
"Yeah?"
"Wasn't... wasn't your fault... Don't... blame yourself..."
Finn sighed, giving Aerrow a grin.
"Okay... Now get some sleep. You'll be back to your normal, ass-whupping self in no time..."
Aerrow seemed to actually pay attention to the order that time, and drifted off, leaving Finn to sigh.
"You'll be okay bro... We'll figure it all out..."

Aerrow
He just heard Finn's quiet words as he finally slipped off, but found that he couldn't fully sleep... His mind was too full of what had happened... And why it happened...
Eventually, however, he managed to start drifting off and gave himself a mental shake, telling himself to stop dwelling on it for now...
Bus seriously... Just... What the hell?

Dark Ace
As he stood in the throne room, in Cyclonia, arms crossed and lounging against the wall with a 'don't bother me' look on his face, Dark Ace barely registered the comings and goings of the various people, and Master Cyclonis seemed to self involved with her projects and her orders to notice.
Leaving him to think.
He hadn't told Cyclonis what had happened... How could he?
He had simply said he had gone for a quick practice run, and hadn't wanted to be held back by the slow reaction times of the other Talons.
She had simply ranted a little, then ordered him to stay out of her way.
Which he had been happy to do.
Why had he acted like that? Why had he let that pesky, red headed nuisance live?
Maybe it had been some lingering sense of honour...
Maybe it had been that he wanted to defeat Aerrow on his own terms, not when the kid was injured or whatever the hell else...
Maybe it was because that's just what he was. A kid. Even if he was the bravest and most skilled fighter he had ever met.
Maybe he still felt some lingering feeling towards the name Storm Hawks...
Maybe he had been impressed with the teenagers strength of will and ability to keep going...
Maybe he had not wanted to destroy the one challenge that he faced...
Maybe it was a combination of all of these things and more.
He wasn't sure, and he knew he would likely never truly riddle it out...
Either way, it wouldn't happen again. He was firmly back in the 'Destroy the Storm Hawks' corner, and had no intention of leaving it again.
It made his head hurt too much.

So... Yeah. Again, this is just to explore different things about the dynamic between the two in my current fic, but none the less, I hope you enjoyed, and their will be a time skip between this and the next chapter.
Let me know what you think!