Next chapter has arrived :P

I do not own the Storm Hawks they are property of Nerd Corp

Enjoy and Review!

Reviewers:

Hawk: you have no idea lol

AquaGrace: ahaha *accepts smooch* I am glad you like the story that much so far, here's the next chapter!

Rita: perhaps :P

Gatomon: hey what are reviewers for? lol I am glad you like it

Blue: Yeah well I wanted to enslave some else other then Aerrow or Piper for once so Finn got the short straw (like always lol) yes but that doesn't mean that they have to hang around for the whole story though so still is easier then the last

Penspot: Finn couldn't save himself if he tried, especially if I'm the author muahaha! O.o

Chapter 3 – welcome to the City

30 minutes later and the Storm Hawks had arrived at the crash site, but there was no sign of Finn.

"Oh well let's go back to the Condor…" announced Stork turning his back to the burning wreck.

Aerrow quickly grabbed his shoulder and turned him back around "Stork, he may be annoying at times…"

"At times? How about all the time?" retorted Piper.

"Alright all the time but he is still a part of the Storm Hawks, we can't just abandon him, that would make us no better than Cyclonis" the sound of her name left a bad taste in Aerrow's mouth.

There was a silence as they watched flames from the wreck die down.

"Fine then, what do you suggest we do?" Stork grumbled finally.

Aerrow looked up at the giant grey walls in front of them about a kilometer away "we blast through those walls with the Condor's cannons" Aerrow announced as he pointed at them.

"…Or we could just see if we can go in" Piper replied sporting a cheeky smile as she walked towards the city walls.

"…that could work too…" Aerrow went red with embarrassment as he walked quickly to catch up with the others.

As soon as they reached the wall they all looked up at the towering walls.

"State your business" a voice echoed though its owner could not be seen.

"I am Aerrow of the Storm Hawks, and this is my crew" Aerrow replied as he looked for the speaker.

"I don't care about your identity boy" the voice taunted "I can find that out later depending on your business here"

Aerrow was hurt; he was never the one to like being called 'boy' not even by Piper.

"We have come to find a friend of ours" Piper exclaimed.

"Is that so? Well then missy could you give us a description of this 'friend' of yours?" the voice replied after a short delay.

"Blonde, relatively short, very talkative…" Piper explained.

"Annoying?" the voice asked.

"By far" Stork replied catching the others a little off guard.

"Oh so you're his companions he said will 'bring terror to the city if he is not released'?" the voice almost chuckled, Piper face palmed.

She turned to her Sky Knight who had a tiny smirk on his face "now what would provoke him to say something like that?" Aerrow just shrugged as they looked back up at the top of the wall.

"Look there has been a misunderstanding, Finn can say some very stupid things when he is panicky…" Piper tried to explain but was cut off by the voice "I'm sorry but we cannot let you see him"

"Why not?" asked Junko who had been standing there silently for too long.

"He was seen riding a Cyclonian skimmer, we cannot let an opportunity to bargain just slip our fingers" the voice retorted.

Aerrow was laughing now "You think Cyclonis cares about one messily talon? Even though Finn isn't a talon…" Aerrow exclaimed.

"He would be a fairly competent one though he can actually shoot" Stork whispered to Piper who started to giggle.

"Finn was riding a Cyclonian skimmer because they destroyed ours so if you're looking for help against Cyclonis we are the ones to call" Aerrow continued.

They were met with silence.

Aerrow leant over to Piper "I wonder what's taking them so long?"

Piper chuckled "you're always impatient aren't you?" she joked before the voice could be heard again.

"How can we trust you?" the voice asked with authority.

Aerrow looked at Stork, he knew he wasn't going to like this suggestion "you may detain our ship in case we get into mischief" Storks jaw dropped.

"What are you doing Aerrow?" Stork screeched.

"Sounds like a fair deal" the voice returned, Stork was stuck with his mouth wide open looking back and forward between the top of the wall and Aerrow.

A few minutes passed before the heavy gates began to move revealing a short old man but something was odd he did not have human feet, he had hooves instead.

The old man started walk slowly towards the crew, his cane making an echoing sound every time it touched the hard grey ground.

"I…am the gatekeeper" the small man announced "I have been ordered to take you to the high ruler, Kronos"

Suddenly two other creatures appeared from the gate, running towards the Condor "what are they doing?" asked Aerrow.

"Taking your ship to the storage area" the old creature explained, Stork was nearly having a heart attack.

Aerrow noticed this "do you mind if my friend goes with them? That ship means more to him then his own life" the gatekeeper began to play with his curly white beard.

"So be it" he mumbled, as soon as he said that Stork bolted after the other two creatures.

"Please follow me" the Gatekeeper murmured as he slowly turned and made his way back towards the gate.

"So what is your real name?" asked Junko curious as always.

"Most call me the Gatekeeper, but because your new you can call me something else, want to know what that is?" the Gatekeeper chuckled.

"What?" asked Junko anticipating some weird and wacky name.

"The Gatekeeper, what did you expect me to tell you my real name? Bah you're lucky you have all that muscle or you would be utterly useless" the Gatekeeper taunted a wry grin spread across his creased face.

Junko held his breath, annoyed with this old creature, but he let it pass.

"So what is the name of this city?" Piper asked as they made it through the gate.

The Gatekeeper sighed "since when was I the tour guide?" he mumbled inaudible to the crew before continuing "you are now entering the city of Sudeki, a city not bound by the magic of a crystal but not limited by technology either, we the Capraumano have lived a life of balance for over 200 years until Cyclonis came, now we live a life of fear" as the Gatekeeper spoke the Storm Hawks gawked at the sights, each passing alley, every house, every street light was like nothing they had ever seen before but with this a dark chill was sent down their spines as they noticed glass broken and people cowering in their homes as they passed. "The city may have been magnificent in its time but it isn't now" the Gatekeeper uttered as they continued on.

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Authors Notes:

Naming things are annoying sometimes

Capraumano = GoatHuman in Italian

alright if you want a better picture of the city think the hobbits dens from Lord of the Rings meets old London.