"STORK?!?"
"I'm fine." Came the sullen reply. The Merb did not take kindly to being thrown about, or his beloved aircraft being smashed up.
"Good job with the landing." Aerrow said.
"Could have been better" Finn moaned as he stood up, his left arm gashed in several places by a close metal object, his first action to try and bandage it up.
A pile of rubble subsided to reveal a dusty Junko, who grunted slightly but gave them thumbs up.
"Where are the girls?" Aerrow asked, wincing as he felt a slash across the bottom of his leg.
"Lypix is here." Finn mumbled while using his teeth to help secure the bandaging, "She looks even worse though and she's unconscious."
A loud scream from their left came as Piper came to, her right shoulder impaled by a thin piece of piping. She flailed a bit like a fish out of water, but as Aerrow and Junko reached her sides she managed to bite her lip and breathe a little calmer.
"We're going to get it out, I promise." Aerrow smiled and held her hand while Junko yanked on it.
Finn crouched down next to Lypix who had been next to him when he'd opened his eyes. Her breathing was very faint, hardly stirring the dust by her mouth, and every now and again her whole body fluttered like it was weakening.
"YOW!" Piper screamed as it came out, her mood shifted between anger and irritation as she let Aerrow bandage it up.
"What about the Cyclonions?" Finn asked standing back up, "How long have we got to get out of here?"
Stork pulled down the scope, extremely grateful it was still working. "I would say we were luckier than they were. Because we got pulled up slightly, we had less momentum when we hit this Terra than they did. We don't have to worry about them."
"But others will be sent after them." Piper grimaced, "we need to get out of here."
"And Lypix needs help." Finn said, "I don't think she'll last another day without a doctor."
A small whimpering noise came from her mouth as if to emphasize the fact. "D-don't leave m-me al-lone."
"We also have another problem." Stork frowned, "The crystals aren't working."
"What do you mean they're not working?!" Piper snarled through gritted teeth as Aerrow helped her stand.
"Completely unres-"He stopped listening to a distant sound, "Can you guys hear that?"
They paused; a faint heightening noise could be heard.
Piper opened her eyes wider, "Everyone get do-"
The standing Storm Hawks pressed themselves to the ground as an explosion ratcheted above them, for a few moments they waited until it withdrew.
"What just happened?" Finn winced as he assessed the state of his arm.
"I know where we are." Piper moaned as she stood up, "We're on Terra Mas. A Terra composed completely of Leech crystals."
Stork's mouth dropped, "But that's just a legend, I mean, how would anyone be able to get away and tell a story like that?"
Piper glanced at him, "Perhaps there is a way to get out of here."
He scoffed, "Oh yeah, we just have to cross miles of wastelands to get to another Terra. Sure, like the beasties won't get us first."
Aerrow frowned, "I think we might have to Stork, and, um, we're going to have to come back for the Condor."
Stork's eyes opened extremely wide, "No way. Absolutely not! Are you mad?!"
Aerrow's glance ran slightly over Lypix's shuddering body, "We're going to have to, our wounds are serious enough, but Lypix is going to be in serious danger if we don't get out of here soon."
Piper gasped, "Of course! The Terra is affecting her heart!"
Finn made a weird expression, "You mean her heart is being absorbed by the leechers out there?"
"Not exactly, we've already done tests to see how she reacts to leech crystals. It's almost as if her body is a shield between them. But a whole Terra is one hell of a higher concentration than what we used, if we don't get out of here like Aerrow says, her heart will fail completely."
Stork stayed completely still, his body prepared for a panic attack, there was no chance in hell freezing that he was going to leave his beloved. "I'm not going then."
"Stork you can't stay here on your own, Cyclonions are going to come looking."
"Well I'll fight them off."
Aerrow frowned, "Stork, you know you won't be able to."
"We'll I'm not leaving the Condor!"
"You're either leaving with us, or Cyclonions. It's your choice."
He twisted his face in annoyance, "We'll we better hurry, she can't be on her own too long."