Chapter 2

Harrier shifted his shoulders uncomfortably. He had been in the cell for hours and the position his arms were chained in made his shoulders sore. The slight swaying he felt every now and again confirmed his suspicions that he was on a Cyclonian airship. His eyes were slightly damp from silently wept tears. His squadron- all dead. It couldn't be! Those with honor and good intentions at heart... They always prevailed!

Ravess was lying! She had to be! It was all part of some sick twisted game she was playing with him. She was trying to break him, that was it. Trying to dampen his spirit and send him into despair. Trying to break him down and build him back up into her own little plaything. Well, it wouldn't work. He would survive, with honor in tact. If not, he would die with honor. By his own hand, if necessary. He searched his mind for a passage of the Code.

It is forbidden to kill oneself. The only exception to this is if one is put into a situation where dying is the only solution to preserve one's honor. If one kills themselves unnecessarily, they will be considered shamed.

Harrier considered this. If Ravess was to break him, his honor would be lost. And yet there could be another solution to his problem; he just had to figure that out. Somehow, he would need to escape, but being chained to the wall made this feat nearly impossible. Even if he did escape his cell, he would need to fight through countless guards. While his Sky-Fu was nearly flawless, he had to admit that he might not be able to do it. Especially with his injuries. If he did managed to defeat the guards, then what? How could he escape the Cyclonian airship? He couldn't just leap off into the wastelands. Could he take a skimmer?

Stealing, no matter how desperate one is, is completely forbidden.

Harrier frowned. Sometimes, he had to admit, the Code made life considerably more difficult. He tried to think but music in the distance made it hard to concentrate. "What is that blasted racket?"

Ravess stopped in front of his cell. "Do you like it? I've written this song just for you." She began playing a slow dismal sounding song on her violin. It was written in a minor key and voiced fear and despair.

Harrier glared at her. "Must you practice that accursed thing here?"

"Yes," Ravess replied. "I do. And do you know why? Because I feel like it!" She looked directly into his eyes. "Does that make you mad, Sky Knight? Does that anger you? Do you want to hurt me?"

He looked away for a split second, then replied evenly. "No... For there is nothing written in the Code against practicing music."

She rolled her eyes. "Tell me, Sky Knight. Do you really live your life only by your pathetic Code? Haven't you ever wanted to do something... Wrong?" She leaned towards the bars of his cell and smiled at him.

"The Code is my life," Harrier replied. "The day I break the Code is the day I lose my honor, and the day I die."

Ravess laughed. "You amuse me. You don't know how wrong you are. You'll break the Code, and you'll live. You'll do so because I say so."

"No," Harrier hissed. "There's nothing you can do to make me forfeit my honor. Nothing! I would die first!"

Her golden eyes glittered and she smiled at him. "We'll see about that... You see, I've brought some friends with me..." Two Cyclonians appeared behind her each holding different crystals. "Tell me, Harrier. Have you ever been shot with a Lightning Stone? It's quite painful, I assure you."

"It'll take more than torture to break me," The Rex Guardian said, keeping the fear he felt out of his expression.

Ravess didn't miss the shadow of it in his eyes however. "We'll see, Sky Knight... We'll see..."

Ravess did not enjoy seeing the Sky Knight tortured. At first she thought it was because he refused to scream. A groan escaped him every so often, but every time it looked like he was going to crack he repeated, "Pain is a sacrifice a Sky Knight must make."

No, upon further reflection she realized that she actually respected Harrier. She frowned and considered this. It wasn't because he was a Sky Knight; she considered those a nuisance, no more. It was because he had standards that he actually lived up to. All the other Sky Knights she had met would prattle on about protecting the innocent of Atmos, but with him, it was more than that. Other Sky Knights would do what ever they could to win, but he would do nothing dishonorable.

"And I respect the fool for that?" Ravess muttered to herself. "Why should I respect him at all? He's just another one of those pathetic Sky Knights... I must be growing soft..."

She watched the Talons touch the Sky Knight with the stone again and watched a spasm of pain writhe across his bare chest. The lightning stone had cauterized his wounds leaving reddish scars behind. He squeezed his eyes shut and muttered the phrase from the Code again before glaring over at Ravess.

His lightning blue eyes held nothing but defiance and contempt, he glare sent as small shock wave down Ravess's spine, and she looked away uncomfortably. She immediately scolded herself for showing weakness.

She sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose with her fingers. "I think that's enough for today."

The two Talons looked over at her in surprise. "But ma'am! It hasn't even been an hour yet..."

She glared at them. "Don't question my orders! Just do as I say!"

"Yes, ma'am..." They scrambled to do her bidding, but Ravess didn't watch. Instead she walked towards her chambers, wondering when she turned so soft.