Back on the Falcon, Skyler entered the bridge where the rest of her squadron was waiting for her. Brody was enthusiastically talking about how well he did, Jinny crossed her arms and tried to encourage him without giving him a big head. Minnie was at the controls flying them to safety.

"Good job everyone." Skyler began. "Today, you have made me a proud leader! You all performed to the best of your abilities, but I don't think we've seen the last of them. We need to find out more about them. Does anybody know anything? Who they are, or who they work for?" She asked.

"I saw a symbol on their uniform." Brody said as he grabbed a piece of paper and drew on it. He held it up to Skyler. It was a symbol that resembled a bird of prey about to swoop down on it's kill. Kind of eerie, Skyler thought.

"Good work! Anybody else?" Skyler asked her squadron.

"Their ships were large, big enough to keep twenty squads of soldiers each." Minnie added.

Jinny had remained silent for a while but finally spoke up. "I fought the Dark Ace, whoever he is, he mentioned someone by of name of Master Cyclonis, I think he must be their leader."

"Great. I noticed that their defences are strong and they have nearly unlimited men. We have to find out exactly who we're dealing with. Minnie, set course for the Wayside. Someone there will know who these people are."

The wayside was the most popular rest stop for travelers in all of Atmos. Located in the center of Atmos between terras, it is famous for its unique menu of delicious food. Because of the distance between terras it is hard not to stop at the Wayside.

"Understood, we should arrive within twelve hours." Minnie said charting out their course. "In the meantime, we should get sleep." Not everything Minnie said made sense because she was from a different terra.

Skyler sighed, remembering how tired she was "Agreed, Everyone to your rooms and go back to sleep."

Skyler found that she couldn't sleep and found herself on the bridge steering the ship manually rather than autopilot which Minnie had turned on. She was still shaken up from the attack, it being one of the first she and her squadron had taken on. A few hours had gone by and the sun was just starting to rise, it was at this time that Skyler's eyelids would not stay open much longer. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, but she was interrupted by loud knocking, startled Skyler thought it was another attack. She screamed as she came out of her drowsiness. She looked through the ship's scope to see if she could see the intruder, first she spanned the back balcony but saw no one, when she checked the landing strip she saw a single man by the bay door banging rather than knocking. She tried zooming in to see his face but with the rising sun directly behind him it was hard to make out any distinct features. Skyler quickly made for the launch bay, waking Brody up on her way down.

"Why do you need me? Whatever it is I'm sure you can do it by yourself." Brody said in his half-asleep state.

"Please? It will only take a minute and you can go back to sleep." Skyler pleaded with him.

Brody sat up on his bed "Promise?"

Skyler nodded in reply. They both made their way to the launch bay, Skyler staying close to her brother who was basically sleepwalking. Skyler opened the door to the launch bay to find Minnie already there. She had her crystal sword drawn, a long blade with one incredibly sharp end, and she barricaded herself against the bay door.

"Who is it?" Skyler asked "Do you think its-" she didn't finish knowing exactly who Minnie thought it was.

Wide eyed Minnie finished her sentence "The Dark Ace. I don't know for sure, but it's the only logical explanation."

"What should we do?" Brody asked in fear.

Skyler swallowed her fear and made her way to the small window on the side and Brody followed. They peered through the window and gasped in unison.

"Open the bay door!" Skyler said excitedly.

Minnie's jaw dropped "What sorry?"

"Open the door!" Brody repeated.

Minnie did as she was told, she pulled the lever that opened the two big doors of the launch bay. The sun gave the man a silhouette as he walked in so Minnie couldn't get a good look at him at first, but Skyler and Brody seemed to know him. They both ran up and hugged the stranger. Now Minnie saw him. His hair was rusty red and was cut just above his shoulders, he stood straight and tall, and his smile was kind and warm. Skyler and Brody threw their arms around him and greeted him with questions.

"How's the academy? I want to hear everything!" Skyler said linking her arm with his.

"Why are you back so soon? I thought you said two years and it's only been half a year!" Brody asked expectantly.

The man was so smothered with questions the two were throwing out that he had to interrupt them "Excuse me, I need to talk to Jinny. Where is she?"

"Uh, in the armory I think. She spends most of her time there." Skyler said awkwardly after being shut down so politely.

Minnie, still baffled at the current situation stopped him "Sorry, but who are you?"

"I apologize." He said bowing slightly at the waist like a proper gentleman. "My name is Jaden, I'm Jinny's older brother. And what's you name?" He offered his hand for a handshake.

"Minnie, I don't know Jinny had a brother," She said apologetically.

"Yes well, it was nice meeting you miss Minnie." Jaden bowed once more and exited the room.

"I wonder why he's back?" Brody said.

"Or how he found us," Skyler added.

"What do you mean?" Minnie asked Skyler.

"Before your family came to live on terra Mar, Jaden left for training at the sky knight academy on Terra Rex, the program usually takes about two years. I wonder if Jaden finished early."

"So that explains why he is so..." Minnie stood up straight trying to imitate Jaden's regal posture.

Skyler nodded. "He has changed a lot."

Jaden opened the door to the armory and leaned on the doorpost observing the room. hundreds of weapons hung from the walls, most of them guns that Jinny had collected over the years. In the middle of the room was a work table in which Jinny had fallen asleep at. Jaden stalked into the room to look around. Jinny woke up, sensing someone in the room. Her training kicked in immediately, keeping her breathing regular while her head remained on the table and her hand searched for the nearest gun. She felt the cold metal and her fingers and gripped the handle and set it to fire. Jinny jumped out of her seat and aimed at the intruder.

"Don't move." Jinny warned, the light in the armory was reduced to one florecent light, making it hard to see her intruder.

"Jinny, it's me. Jaden." He pleaded without hesitation.

She immediately recognized Jaden's voice and dropped the gun. Jinny ran into her brother's arms, his big bulk almost enveloped her entirely, save for her two arms wrapped around his midsection. She hugged him tightly cutting off most of his air supply.

"I'm so glad you're back!" She said into his chest.

"I am too" Jaden said hugging her back.

Jinny loosened her grip on Jaden "Why are you back?" She asked seriously looking into his eyes.

Jaden took in a breath as if about to say something but smiled at his sister "You have quite a few guns, more than when I left." He said, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah well, I get around. Don't change the subject." Jinny stared ar her brother until he spoke.

Jaden sighed "I left the academy."

"You were kicked out?" Jinny said loudly.

"No! I just-" Jaden couldn't think of the right words.

"You just what? You wouldn't leave the academy without a reason." Jinny said trying to get it out of him.

"The principle and the instructors they-" Jaden stumbled over his words. "They- This one instructor came to the lessons either drunk or hungover. It was inappropriate and created an unsafe environment for the young ones. I had to look out for them, so I called the instructor out on it. When he sent me to the principle I tried to explain the situation but he didn't believe me. Nothing was done about it and my instructor didn't change his habits. I couldn't stay there and watch."

"So you left the younger ones to fend for themselves." Jinny crossed her arms in disapproval.

"Well, not exactly." Jaden covered his mouth to hide his grin "I gave the instructor a little parting gift that will hopefully put him in his place. Which is why I can't go back now."

"Oh no." Jinny's eyes widened.

Jaden nodded "Let's just say, he'll have no more to drink for a long while."

Jinny rolled her eyes, "Anyway I'm glad you're here. I need help cleaning the guns. You and I are the only ones who know gun weaponry well enough to do it right." Jinny picked up a gun that was twice as long as her forearm and dropped it in Jaden's arms.

Jaden laughed "Alright." He said as he examined the gun in his hand. "So what about you? What's new around the ship? Personally I think Brody had gotten taller since the last time I saw him. I also noticed some damage to the Falcon's outer hull. Mind explaining that?"

Jinny was already hard at work with another gun "Honestly, we don't know who it was who attacked us. We're on our way to the wayside to hopefully find some answers."

"Hmm, it looks like you survived the attack though."

"Barely. Skyler was a lifesaver and took a whole cruiser down by herself! But we all fought our battles. Next time the Dark Ace won't be so lucky to get away." Jinny said determined.

"You fought the Dark Ace?" Jaden said shocked, nearly dropping the gun he was cleaning.

"You know him?" Jinny replied in the same shocked tone.

"Yeah, he's a Cyclonian General and Master Cyclonis' most loyal ally." Jaden explained.

"I don't know who Master Cyclonis is or what his game is, but if he ever-" Jinny spoke angrily but was cut off."

"His? Cyclonis is a girl, and a powerful crystal mage. She wants to take over and rule Atmos."

"Is she powerful enough to?" Jinny asked frightened.

"I don't know. She might be. She is the number one enemy of Atmos right now."

"We have to stop her!" Jinny stood from her chair.

"Don't worry, we won't let her win. We just have to be careful who we talk to. believe it or not, she has many allies all over Atmos. As far as I'm concerned she can stay on Cyclonia where she belongs." Jaden said, giving his full attention to his work.

"Lets got there and give Master Cyclonis a piece of our minds!" said Jinny encouragingly.

"All in good time, there's no need to be hasty. But next time you fight the Dark Ace, don't forget to let me kick him where it hurts." He smiled at his sister.

"What about the Dark Ace? What if he shows up again with more of those-"

"Talons, They are called Talons." Jaden ended her sentence and stood meet her at eye level. "And if they do, we will beat them!" Jaden said putting a comforting hand on Jinny's shoulder.

"Yes we will." Jinny smiled at Jaden. She remembered how hungry she was when her stomach growled. She tried rubbing it to calm it down, but it didn't work. "Let's go get some breakfast, I'm starving!" Jinny said, walking out of the room. Jaden followed after her.

The dining hall was small and nearly empty. In the middle of the hall was a small table that had no tablecloth and was filled with cold leftovers. Skyler and Brody were already there eating the food that Minnie had set out.

Jaden scratched his head "You eat here?" baffled at the situation. Jaden was used to the gourmet food at the academy.

"Yep!" Jinny said as she sat down with the others and started serving herself.

Jaden sat down next to his sister at the squishy table. Jaden observed the food and after careful consideration took a few rolls thinking "These don't look too bad". When he took a bite he gauged at the taste. Jaden tried to hide his disgust by putting his hand over his mouth. When he couldn't bare the torture no longer he spat it out and it flew across the table onto Skyler's plate.

Skyler looked up at Jaden's apologetic face, glaring playfully. She used her fork to scoop the half-chewed food off her plate.

She held up her fork to Jaden. "This came from you right?"

Jaden coughed nervously "Yes but, it was an accident. I'm sorry." He bowed as low as he could while sitting in his chair.

Skyler looked at him with a serious face "Not as sorry as you will be." Without another word she let it loose and flinged the food and hit Jaden's face.

"Food fight!" Brody called out grabbing all the contents of his plate and threw it at Jinny, making a massive food pie out of her face.

Jinny wiped the food from her eyes and grabbed a handful of corn and threw it back at Brody. Brody deflected most of it with his now empty plate and it fell all over Skyler drawing her away from the brawl she was having with Jaden. Now all four of them were in a full on food war using whatever was within arms reach that resembled food. Just then Minnie walked into the dining hall. Frozen with shock at the sight, Minnie dropped the bowl of rice she had just prepared. The four stopped when the heard the bowl break against the floor and turned their eyes to Minnie. Skyler and Jaden stood up in synchronization and straightened themselves out, wiping off food and fixing their hair.

"We just uh- had a small problem with the rolls, and the corn..."Skyler tried to explain.

Minnie remained silent looking into the hall now covered in food.

Jaden coughed again "I apologize, I usually don't participate in such childish things." He turned to Brody "You needed my help with the engine right? We should get on that."

Brody followed Jaden out of the hall quickly.

"Hold on a minute!" Minnie said as she ran down the hall after them.

When she caught up to the boys Minnie held out her hand to reveal it full of rice. Jaden braced himself for what was to come. Minnie clenched her hand and released the ball of sticky rice making a direct hit on Jaden's face.

"That, is for messing up my dining hall." Minnie said, after she had turned around and started walking back to the dining hall.

Jaden wiped most of the rice of his face, but some of the more sticky rice still stuck. He looked down at Brody who was about to burst out laughing.

"I deserved that." Jaden said. It was then that Brody let out laughing. "Hey, Stop laughing and accept your punishment like a man."

Brody's laughter slowed to a halt as he analyzed what Jaden said. "Punishment?" He asked wide-eyed.

Jaden smiled "I'm sure you can fix whatever problem the engine is having by yourself." Jaden turned away and walked back down the hall leaving Brody alone with vague instructions and what he had to do.

Jaden walked back to the dining hall and found Minnie cleaning up. Skyler and Jinny had obviously left, they had other things to do.

Jaden stepped into the room and asked "May I help?" Minnie turned to look at Jaden "It will get gone faster with two people." He smiled.

Minnie raised an eyebrow "You very strange. You say polite things and at the same time mean things. You're a polite jerk."

Jaden went red with embarrassment. He hadn't realized what he said. "I'm sorry, I didn't know- I was just trying to-"

"Why do you keep saying sorry?" Minnie said trying to figure out the answer. When Jaden didn't reply Minnie continued "Anyway, help would be much appreciated." She smiled.

After about an hour Jaden and Minnie finished cleaning the dining hall and kitchen. As they were finishing drying off the dishes they heard the engine stop.

"Oh not again." Minnie said putting down the dish she had been holding and ran out of the room.

"What's wrong?" Jaden yelled as he ran after Minnie.

"Brody probably tried to fix the engine problem by himself. He can't fix a wind-up toy to save his life!" Minnie replied.

Minnie turned the corner and collided with Jinny who was running from the other direction. As they got up Brody came running from the direction of the engine room

"Help! I don't know how to stop it!" Brody cried as he approached them.

"Brody, what did you do?" Jinny asked him grabbing him by the shoulders and looking him in the eye.

"I don't know! It started making this weird sound and when it shut off I ran!" He replied still yelling through his tears.

Jinny hugged him close to comfort him. "You stay here. Jaden, let's go see what the problem is."

Jinny let Minnie take Brody and she and Jaden made their way down the corridor. When they got to the engine room, the door was shut. Jinny tried to open it but it was searing hot and burnt through her glove and singed her hand. She pulled away quickly and held in a yell. Jaden took her wrist and examined it.

"I'm fine, we can deal with it later." Jinny said to her brother.

Jaden nodded "Alright. We need to open this door." He drew his gun from the holster he had on his back. The gun was small and simple but was still compatible for crystal usage. Jaden took out a crystal that was diamond shaped and had many small crystals attached around the centre. "The best way to put out a fire."

Jinny examined it closely. "A Geyser Crystal! How did you get one of these?"

"I have my sources." Jaden winked.

A Geyser Crystal creates a huge blast of water, when used right. Jaden loaded it into his gun hoping for the best. Jaden took the safety off his gun so that the blast would be more powerful. He held it up from a distance and, with Jinny behind him, he shot. The blast was more powerful than he expected but he managed to stand his ground and hold the gun straight. Jinny pulled out a Frost Crystal and threw it at the impact zone where the water from the Geyser Crystal hit the door. The door and the thick stream of water froze, Jaden quickly retrieved his gun.

"Why did you do that?" Jaden asked Jinny as she walked over to the door.

Jinny kicked the frozen metal door with full force. The door bent out of shape and even cracked in a few places. "I was thinking of the fastest way. The combination of the Geyser Crystal and the frost crystal was the best I could come up with, and it worked." She said placing her hand on her hips as if to say 'my idea was better than yours'.

"I don't suppose you have another one. If we are going to figure out what's wrong before the Falcon goes down we need to get close enough to check it out."

Just then Skyler came running down the corridor with a crate of Frost Crystals.

"Did someone order Frost Crystals?" Skyler said as she slowed.

"So you got my message?" Jinny asked her friend.

"What message?" She asked as if she truthfully didn't know what Jinny was talking about but then broke down. "Yeah I did."

"Well let's get to work." Jaden said grabbing three crystals. He threw the first one in and froze the ground and the walls close to the entrance.

Jinny gave him an unimpressed face "Smooth move."

Jaden was the first to enter the engine room. He dropped the second crystal too soon and froze his feet to the already frozen ground.

"Oh great." Jaden said in a 'I give up' tone.

Jinny put her face in her hands at the sight of Jaden's miscalculation.

Skyler took a few crystals herself. "This engine just keeps giving us problems!"

She squeezed through the tiny opening Jinny had made and maneuvered past Jaden and threw a Frost Crystal, this one managed to get close enough to the engine to see what was wrong. Skyler peered through the steam they had created with the frost and the heat.

"Well, the engine is fine but what's this?" Skyler shuffled over to the crystal converter. "Someone filled the converter with Firebolt Crystals instead of Fuel Crystals. The main reactor is overheating!"

"Who would put Firebolt Crystals in the converter? Not even Brody is that stupid." Jinny said to both Jaden and Skyler.

"Maybe it was actually someone really clever." Said a voice from behind.

Jinny spun around to find the Dark Ace standing a few steps behind her.

"This time will be different."Jinny said quietly but was overheard by the Dark Ace.

"Awe, still upset that I got away last time? You got lucky miss, I came to finish my mission."

Jinny drew her guns from their holsters "Then let's finish it."

"Wait, Jinny! We'll fight him together!" Jaden said even though his feet were still frozen to the ground. Where did Jinny adopt this impulsive attitude? She could get herself killed. Jaden thought.

The Dark Ace raised and eyebrow then laughed at Jaden's defeated state. "Pathetic. But truthfully I would have liked to have at least one of my Firebolt Crystals back, but I guess I'll just have to deal without." The Dark Ace pulled out a Blocking Crystal. A crystal that can block the energy from other crystals rendering them useless. "And so will you." He shot the energy from the Blocking Crystal and it spread throughout the corridor. Now with Jinny unable to use her gun, she dropped one of them keeping the other one up at eye level. She would have to rely on her hand-to-hand combat skills. The Dark Ace again, raised his eyebrow as Jinny charged at the Dark Ace and brought her arm holding the gun around, using the hard metal to cause more damage than her fist would have. Her fist and gun went straight through what Jinny had thought was the Dark Ace, but he remained unharmed. Jinny looked at her gun and at the Dark Ace, clearly shocked at the different outcome.

The Dark Ace remained still as he spoke. "Isn't this fun? I don't know if you've ever heard of a Chroma Crystal. I'm not actually here, Right now what you see is a hologram."

Jinny tried punching again with the same result "Where are you coward!" She yelled.

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough. In fact, right about now." The hologram replied and disappeared.

Just then the ship shook. Jaden had been viciously hacking away at the ice the encased his feet and Skyler tried to help him. Brody came running down the corridor yelling as he came nearer to them what he was saying was more clear.

"Skyler! They're back! The Cyclonians are attacking again!" He yelled almost in delight.

"Really? it's only been six hours and they found us?

Skyler was thinking hard for a plan, any plan. "Jaden and Jinny, I need you two at the front, tell Minnie to fill the ships cannons with any crystals we can spare, I'll work with Brody to fix the converter problem."

Jinny and Jaden ran into the launch bay where their skimmers were waiting for them.

"What's the plan?" Jaden asked his sister who had already mounted her skimmer.

"Don't lose." She said just before she took off.