Charlotte turned back to glare at me.
"Nice one Han", she muttered. "Just nice one." I let out an annoyed whine, since I couldn't lift my head and glare back at her. The Dark Ace did so for me though, although he shushed both of us. Sam was torn between legging it or throwing the hefty stick she was carrying at the Dark Ace. He glared up at her too, and she let out a 'meep'.
"Get down", he said quietly.
"Why?", said Charlotte. 'Hardly in a position to talk, you're already on the ground', I thought grouchily.
"We can discuss my reasoning later. Now be quiet!", the Dark Ace hissed. Sam crouched down, ducking behind a tree. Even Charlotte was silent, which was an achievement on its own.
It was now that I heard the sound of feet. Clawed and heavy from the way they dragged over the leaves and cracked branches with ease. Lifting my head slightly, I peered to my left. Over the dull brown leaf rubble, some of which decided to migrate into my mouth, I saw figures moving about in the bushes. Behind me, I heard Sam and Charlotte let out a miniscule gasps.
Repton and several of his cronies, not Leugy, Spitz or Hork unfortunately (because those bimbos could mess anything and everything up), were treading through the woodland, glaring around. Repton growled with annoyance.
"He's got to be around here somewhere", he hissed, a reptilian tongue flicking out of his mouth. "Split up and search around", he ordered the goons, who vanished into the mottled green of the forest.
"Homygod", I heard Charlotte murmur. I added quietly, 'We are so screwed'. The hand on my neck lifted me bodily up, and I let out a startled "eep", alongside spitting out leaf litter. Retrieving his sword, which I assumed was the item that had been used to knock me over, the Dark Ace motioned for Charlotte and Sam to follow (I couldn't do much, especially with a grappling hook jabbing into my spinal cord). After a moment's thought, he also pulled his headpiece from my head. Good riddance, I thought, the thing had started to feel bloody heavy. Silently, we hurried away from the Raptors, also disappearing into the trees.
Once hopefully out of ear-shot, Charlotte burst out, "Why the hell are they here?!"
"Aaaand why were you hiding from them? Shouldn't you be kicking their butts if they're after you?", I added. The Dark Ace frowned.
"How did you know they were after me?", he asked me.
"Let go of me and I'll tell you", I replied, glancing from him to his arm and back, hinting strongly. One eyebrow went up: the 'Oh really?' look. I scowled.
"If it had been anyone else, they'd be hot on their heels in a chase-and-battle-to-the-death somewhere else. You know Raptors and Sky Knights, hating each other's guts. But since they have a small alliance with Cyclonia, they're more likely to set up a meeting with them, and would only go after you if you duped them with fake crystals or somethin'."
After my little ramble, I found myself reunited with the ground as the Dark Ace dropped me. Both his eyebrows were up now; the 'WTF?' look. Sam, who appeared to be holding back a giggle, failed to hold it back. Everyone gave her a 'We didn't need that' look.
"….My bad", she apologised quietly. The Dark Ace shook his head hopelessly.
"How do you know all that?", he asked me.
Charlotte answered before I could think of a bad excuse, "Becaaaauuuse, weeee'reeeee really good spies! Yep, that's it we're spies."
"Yeah, what she said!", I added.
"We're spies?", said Sam. Charlotte glared at her.
"Yes, Sam. We are spiiiiieeeees."
"Okay no need to exaggerate."
I face-palmed.
"Pardon my colleagues. We are professionals, but-"
"Master Cyclonis hired us!", interrupted Charlotte, and my stomach dropped like lead. I spun round to yell at her, but since the Dark Ace was in the vicinity, I mimed a hand across the throat, sign-language of 'Stop it stop it or we'll die!'.
"Master Cyclonis eh?", said the Dark Ace. I spun back to repair Charlotte's damage, but a savage smirk had already appeared. "I believe it must have been fate that we had met."
"Uh, really?", I said. The Dark Ace laughed, and I heard Charlotte gulp behind me.
"You were spying on those Raptors weren't you?", said the Dark Ace.
"YES!", we all chorused, nervous grins plastered on our faces and eyes now glued on the large sword on the Dark Ace's back. Charlotte leant over to me and whispered, "Are we gonna die now?"
"Hopefully not", I replied. "But it's your fault if you do."
"Whabuhwhuwhyyyyy?", complained Charlotte. Sam tapped us on the shoulders.
"Guys. He's walking away", she hissed. I could have squealed in joy as it looked like we were going to live, but instead I followed, sharpish. The fact he looked over his shoulder and said loudly, "Hurry up you three!", added to the idea of going with him.
"Where are we going now?", Sam asked, picking up scattered bags, including Charlotte's Sainsbury's bag. Guess the psychology wasn't going to be disappearing quite yet.
"If we knew that we wouldn't be going", replied Charlotte.
"I landed my skimmer quite some way away. I've also sent a message out, some Talons will rendezvous there to accompany you to Cyclonia." Once more, I felt my innards drop. "You do have sky-rides around here, don't you?"
"Repton found them", I replied quickly. "We were unfortunate enough to accidently park them near some fragile ground. It collapsed on him."
"…It what?"
"Never mind." As we followed the Dark Ace, Charlotte elbowed me, and I mouthed 'What?'
"Are we really going to see Master Cyclonis?", she whispered eagerly. I scowled at her.
"When this is over, I'm going to kill you", I hissed, mimicking strangling her. She grinned awkwardly.
"Uh, why?"
"You know she is the lordess of DARKNESS!" That last bit came out slightly louder than I intended, and got strange looks from Sam and the Dark Ace.
"Yes I know!", Charlotte replied, a little annoyed. "So, can we meet her?"
"…Cyclonis. Cyclonia. Get it?"
"….Aw hell yeah!", Charlotte cheered quietly. I rolled my eyes, and grumbled, "I'll never understand you."
"THERE HE IS!", snarled an all-to-familiar voice. We all spun round to stare at a glaring Repton, a crackling energy boomerang in his hand, well, claw.
I feel that one word in unison crossed our minds. However, I will not divulge that word as it would most probably be edited out.
Without a word, we girls spun round and started running. Fast. Around us we could see more Raptors appeared from the undergrowth.
"We. Are. Screwed", panted Sam.
"Or maybe not?", added Charlotte. I glanced over to her.
"Elements?"
"Try it?" The redhead and I linked hands and span on the spot. Wind twisted from my hand, while fire poured out of hers, effectively creating a fire tornado around us. And from the sound of screaming, we had fried a couple of Raptor tails. As the flames died down, I saw Sam aptly controlling several vines into constricting a Raptor mook. No sign of the Dark Ace.
"He's probably someplace else kicking butt", said Charlotte, voicing my thoughts. A low snarl came from behind. Repton glowered over us.
"Who are you?", he hissed.
"We're the Elemental Angels", said Charlotte, grinning triumphantly. "And we're here to kick your butt."
"Like so!" I stamped the ground, opening a hole from which poured a small flood, knocking him off his feet and into the bushes. I turned to smile at Charlotte, but she was glaring at me.
"….He's a reptile. Not an amphibian", she growled.
"Not any more", I replied sheepishly.
"Dude! Really?!"
"Dudette! Not dude!"
"Fine then – DUDETTE! REALLY?!"
"Thank you!"
"You're welcome!" We glowered at each other, then Sam managed to pull us apart before a proper cat-fight started up.
"Guys! Raptors. Ring any bells?"
"Oh yeah", I said, Charlotte still glaring smoking holes into the back of my head.
"How about you let me handle this?", she said. I could see sparking flames popping in her hands.
"But why?", snapped Sam. "You guys have been doing all the action so far!" As she said this, a Raptor sneaked up behind her. Without turning, she punched him in the snout.
"Because – well – we're more experienced!", Charlotte retorted. "And you punched him wrong."
"Oh here we go", I muttered, head in hands. Sam and Charlotte ensued in a glaring rage war, shown by the floating rocks and rubble. I pressed my fingers to my temple, starting to feel exasperated. Then another problem occurred.
Repton reappeared. Soaking wet, fist clenched around his boomerang, and most certainly furious. I prodded Sam in the shoulder and knocked Charlotte in on the head, muttering angrily, "We have a problem here!"
In response Charlotte spun round, and blew a tongue of fire at the Raptor. He dodged, glaring angrily.
"Your little crystal tricks won't save you now", he growled.
"Crystal?", said Charlotte questioningly.
"Well, they are the things that power this place", Sam said quietly. Looks like she'd remembered some Storm Hawks trivia during the while we'd been here. "He must think we're using some." Dissolving into the clearing, many more Raptors, alongside those that had recovered from earlier. Not to mention the appearance of the troublesome three: Leugy, Spitz and Hork, who looked scarier up close than on TV.
Several engines in the undergrowth snarled. We all exchanged looks, thinking, 'What?' A Switchblade Elite, trailed by two Talon Switchblades, crashed through the bushes. I stared, startled as the Dark Ace swerved to a halt in front of us.
"Need a lift?", he asked, offering a hand. 'He just cracked a joke', I thought, amazed. Still, a free ride is a free ride. I took the hand and he pulled me roughly on, so I sat between him and the Skimmer handlebars.
"Wait, how come-", Charlotte began to complain, and Sam shoved her hard toward one Talon, while she moved to sit with the second. Repton growled angrily, but made no move to stop us.
"Unless you'd rather that the fact you were bested by children other than the Storm Hawks came to the news of Master Cyclonis, I'd suggest you don't speak of this again", said the Dark Ace. Repton gave a reluctant nod. Engines roaring, we all shot off into the undergrowth again.
As the Skimmers weaved in and out of the trees, I was rather thankful to be stuck in front of the Dark Ace. Despite the fact I now had to flinch whenever a tree branch came too closer, whenever we took a sharp corner I felt I would fall off, if not for the arms that were in the way. Peering back, I noted Charlotte was also sat in front of a Talon, gripping onto her seat but looking like she was having the time of her life. She shot me a thumbs-up, and I nodded. Badass lil redhead. Sam meanwhile was sat behind a Talon, being taller than the man and perched 'side-saddle' like Charlotte, due to their choice of attire (skirts).
In a wave of sunlight that temporarily blinded me, we left the shelter of the forest. Out here, I saw sweeping grasslands, similar to that of Terra Bogaton. Which was interesting, and made sense to why the Raptors may have been here because it was bloody hot and OMIGOD!
We were nearing a cliff. And not slowing down. If anything, I felt the Switchblade engine rumble louder as we speeded up! With a pretty good idea of what was coming next, I squeezed my eyes shut so I wouldn't see what might possibly be my premature death and therefore scream.
Didn't stop me from feeling a moment of free-fall, as the Skimmer drove off the side of the Terra, or hear the sound of the wings deploying and the jerk that followed at they caught the wind that tore at my face. Gasping involuntarily, I gulped back air as the Switchblade engine roared and it rocketed away from the Terra. The feeling of flight was amazing, a sense of pure freedom. However, it carried a sense of sheer terror, for if I were to fall...
I still grinned like a madman, and guessed the others were too. The wind pressure stuck me to the seat and I dared not twist around to check my schoolmates. Even glancing from side-to-side meant I couldn't see them, and led to my assumption that the Skimmers were flying in a V-formation.
The Dark Ace's voice over the wind snapped me out of my trance: "Since we are travelling to Cyclonia, we will be making most of the journey on a Destroyer, for..comfort's sake."
Before I could ask "A what?" a loud deep fog-horn belted out from a thick group of clouds. A Cyclonian warship drifted into view, and the Skimmers curved around it. A hatch opened at the rear, and this is where we descended into the ship. With a click, a jolt and a hammering heart, the Switchblade brought in its wings, landed and swivelled sharply to the side, knocking me against one of the Dark Ace's arms. He promptly pulled said arm away with a scowl, leaving me to quickly snatch at my balance and dignity, (and the Skimmer's seat) before dismounting the vehicle. I did so also, and checked my buddies. Charlotte was checking her hair, quite nonchalantly, although one could see her hands were shaking as she went through her bag, making sure her books hadn't fallen out. Sam, hair miraculously neat, was muffling giggles of hyperness from the adrenaline rush. I sighed, relieved we had made it in roughly one piece. It was going to take some time before we became used to flight in this world.
As per the Dark Ace's order, we were accompanied to a small room, probably a spare one normally used by the Talons. It was rather cramped, and comprised of two sets of bunk-beds.
"Shotgun top bunk!", Sam belted as soon as our Talon 'guards' had left. I shrugged, dropping my rucksack on a lower bed. Charlotte, sitting in the bed opposite me, tilted her head.
"Lemme guess. You're thinking that this is way too easy, and something bad is gonna happen either on the way to Cyclonia, or when we get there", she said, almost smirking with the knowledge of her accuracy.
"Correct on all terms, mostly because of how fidgety we've been acting", I replied. "We're gonna have to get our acts straight if we're going to keep flying under the radar. By which I also mean literally, since it's very likely we'll have to fly one of those Skimmers eventually."
"Hey, most of us are seventeen", Sam dropped in on the conversation.
"Exactly. How hard can it be?", Charlotte quipped, leaning casually against the wall.
"It'll be like riding a motorbike. But with wings, and a whole lot more space", I summarised, finishing with, "Think you can handle that?"
"Sort of" and "I can try", were the group's replies.
"Now, long story short, we're gonna have to bail before we meet Master Cyclonis. Sorry Charlotte", I quickly apologised, as the redhead gaped with open annoyance.
"You did say we're her spies. Which means the Dark Ace will ask about us. When she says she doesn't know us, we're toast", said Sam.
"And I want a head-start on running away", I added. Charlotte huffed, grumbled, and finally mumbled, "Fine."
Patting her arm, I nodded appreciatively. "Thanks. Trust me, you don't want to see Master Cyclonis when she's ticked off."
"Dude, I know what she's like when she's ticked off", Charlotte retorted, shrugging my arm off. "And she's not as bad as me." To solidify her comment, she bunched up a fist in my face and fired it up. Leaning away from the fiery hand, I held my hands up.
"Yeah, yeah, I believe ya."
"So…can we sleep now?", Sam asked. "I'd rather not think about running away from evil people until after a nap. Also, it'll give us more energy."
"True. We should probably eat something too."
After a meal of chocolate, and a quick look over our baggage (I uncovered my sketchbook, which was unharmed, but mine and Sam's calculators appeared to be broken), we all flopped into our bunk-beds with agitated thoughts and tired minds. Sleep was slow to come, but acted a merciful blanket that muffled the nerves.
Unfortunately, when wakefulness came with the feel of cuffs shackled to the wall, red lighting and an angry face wearing a familiar helmet, I felt that sleep may have only increased our problems.