Chapter 3: New Friends
BlueTiger321: All right, so now the Storm Hawks and the Gaang have met and it's time they got to learn about each other. Enjoy!
The people around the Storm Hawks and the newcomers continued to cheer for their heroics. To Aerrow, being a hero was its own reward but he still didn't mind a little recognition for his efforts. He looked at his team to see them all accepting the praise by smiling and waving, including Stork.
Aerrow sheathed his daggers and turned to face the bald boy. He was curious about a lot of things about what he and his friends were able to do, and he thought now was a good time to ask him. Radarr joined him on his shoulders similarly to what the other monkey did to the boy.
"Hey, thanks for showing up when you did," said Aerrow. "You really helped us out." His teammates overheard the conversation he started so they joined him.
The boy turned to face the Sky Knight just as his own companions walked behind him. "It was nothing," said the boy. "We were already on our way down to help protect these people."
"Well thank you, anyway. I'm Aerrow, the leader of the Storm Hawks."
His teammates all stood beside him to properly introduce themselves to the group.
"I'm Piper. It's nice to meet you," she said while smiling.
The marksman gave his trademark pistol fingers as he said, "The name's Finn, the master blaster. Chicka-cha!" Piper grunted in annoyance at Finn's introduction.
"Hey, I'm Junko," the Wallop said while waving his hand.
"And I'm Stork," said the Merb. "I don't usually take part in the fighting, especially if pain is involved."
Aerrow eyed Stork oddly at his remark. He then pointed to his co-pilot and said, "And this is Radarr." The furry Storm Hawk smiled and chirped as if to say hello.
"Well it's nice to meet you all," replied the boy. "I'm Aang, the Avatar, and this is Momo." The monkey on his shoulder also chirped to say hello to the Storm Hawks.
Aerrow was intrigued by Momo so he got closer to him. He chuckled as he said, "It's nice to meet you, Momo." The boy Sky Knight was about to reach out his hand to him when Stork suddenly grabbed it and pulled it back.
"Wait!" shouted Stork. "You don't know what that thing could do, man! For all we know, it could be carrying some unknown parasite! Or what if it bites you? It could inject venom that makes you go insane!"
Both Aang and Aerrow looked at Stork with odd expressions while Momo sat peacefully on Aang's shoulder. The boy was now introduced to Stork's obsessive paranoia.
The brown-haired girl broke the silence by saying, "I'm Katara, and we should thank you for your help as well."
The boy with the ponytail bowed to the Storm Hawks while saying, "I am the mighty Sokka, and you should count yourselves lucky that I came to save you."
Katara elbowed Sokka in the ribs, which made him yelp in pain and rub the spot. "You'll have to excuse my brother," she said. "Sometimes he gets too full of himself."
"Yeah, I know how you feel," commented Piper. Her eyes turned to Finn as if to point out what she was saying. The blonde sharpshooter narrowed his eyes back at her.
The small girl walked up next and said, "I'm Toph, and thanks, I guess, for your help, but we would've done fine without you."
Finn felt a little insulted by that remark. "Oh yeah?" he said. "Well I bet you don't have my amazing marksman skills."
"You're right, I don't," said Toph. She walked over to him and then punched him in the arm, making him yelp in pain. "That's because I'm blind, you lunkhead!"
The boy with the scar was the last to introduce himself. "My name's Zuko," he said, "and I should thank you personally for saving my people."
"Your people?" wondered Junko.
At that moment, the civilians all walked up to the two groups. Most of them had circled around Aang and Zuko, and they kneeled down to both of them.
The father of the boy held hostage by Ravess said, "Thank you, Fire Lord Zuko and Avatar Aang."
"You should be thanking these people, too," said Zuko, pointing to the Storm Hawks. "If not for them, they wouldn't have helped us drive away the attackers."
All the people then rose and bowed to the Sky Knight squadron. Aerrow and his teammates got the understanding that Zuko was the ruler over these people. The civilians all walked off to let the group have their privacy.
Aerrow looked behind Aang and the others to look at the large beast standing off to the side. "And who is that?" he asked.
Aang turned around to see what Aerrow meant, and he smiled as he said, "Oh, that's Appa. He's my sky bison."
Finn walked over to Appa to get a better look at him, and he was forced to arch his head up to see his size. "Whoa, he sure is a big fella, isn't he?" he said.
Appa pointed his head down towards Finn, and he stuck out his large tongue and licked the blonde sharpshooter. Finn stepped back and had a disgusted look on his face as he was now covered in saliva. His teammates and the Avatar's friends all laughed at the sight.
"He likes you," said Aang while laughing.
"Yeah, I noticed," said Finn with sarcasm in his voice. He proceeded by shaking his body to get some of the saliva off him.
Radarr and Momo got off Aerrow and Aang's shoulders so they could do their own introduction. The two of them eyed each other and then chirped. They continued by sniffing each other's faces, which made the two human boys laugh.
"Well, at least those two are getting to know each other better," said Aerrow jokingly.
Katara looked to see the Storm Hawks rides parked near them. Out of curiosity, she asked, "What are these things?"
"They're called Skimmers," replied Aerrow. "We use them to travel individually."
"Hey, I noticed those attackers had something like them when they ran off," said Sokka. "Are they like your enemies or something?"
"Unfortunately, yes," said Aerrow. "But we can talk more about it on our ship."
"You have a ship?" asked Zuko.
"Yeah," said Stork. "It's the only place where I feel safe, and I'd really like to get back there now."
The Storm Hawks complied with Stork's request as they all got on their Skimmers.
"Follow us," said Piper, turning to Aang and his friends.
The Avatar's group all nodded and walked towards Appa. These new people were inviting them to their ship and they were interested to see it. The Storm Hawks revved up their vehicles and rode off through the city. When there was enough space, they put them into flight mode and soared into the air.
Everyone except Aang sat in Appa's saddle while the Avatar sat over the sky bison's huge neck. Taking the reins in his hands, he said, "Appa, yip yip!"
Appa growled and rose into the air, heading after the Storm Hawks. As soon as everyone was in the sky, they all headed off to where the Condor was located. Sokka was amazed to see the Skimmers flying the way they did.
"That is the most incredible thing I've ever seen!" he said.
"I'm sure it's nothing special," said Toph jokingly.
"Wait until you see the Condor," said Piper.
The Storm Hawks lowered their vehicles as they pinpointed where their ship lied. The Condor was still touched down over the grassy field that overlooked the ocean. Everyone except Toph looked at it and was a little confused as they didn't know what to make of it.
"That's a ship?" asked Katara.
"Yup," replied Junko. "It's our home."
Aerrow and his team went down lower while Aang and the others followed. Once they were low enough, Aerrow pressed a button on his Skimmer's controls, which made the hangar bay doors open on the Condor. The Storm Hawks' rides returned to vehicle mode as they all touched down on the runway and entered the ship. The Skimmers powered down and they all got off them. They looked out the hangar bay to expect the others to follow, but Appa stood still on the runway.
Aerrow and Piper went outside to see what was wrong. "Is everything okay?" Aerrow asked in concern.
Aang jumped down and said, "Sorry. It's just that I don't think Appa can fit in there."
"You're probably right," said Piper. "I hope Appa doesn't mind waiting out here."
By that time, everyone else on Appa's saddle climbed down to join them. "Don't worry about it," said Aang. "He knows that we'll be here."
"Then let's go inside," said Aerrow, gesturing with his hand.
The Avatar's group followed Aerrow and Piper into the hangar bay while Appa remained outside on the runway. He gave a short growl as he saw the doors close, showing his cry for being lonely.
As soon as everyone was inside the Condor, the Storm Hawks stood looking at the awed expressions of their new friends. Aerrow got the impression they had never seen anything like the ship before in their lives. Toph was also lucky that she could see through the metal floor.
"This is some ship you've got here," Aang commented. "I'm sure Teo's father would love to see it."
"Well this is only the hangar bay," said Aerrow. "Come with us to the bridge."
Aerrow walked with his teammates over to the doors leading out of the hangar bay while Aang and his friends followed. They walked down a hallway and the Avatar's group kept looking around the ship as they were still marvelled by the design. Eventually, they all came to a huge doorway that opened from the top and bottom when the Storm Hawks got close. They, along with Aang and the others, walked inside when they got to the bridge. The first one to feel giddy was Sokka as he ran over to the Condor's controls.
"Hey, what does this do?" he said while handling a lever.
"Don't touch that!" shouted Stork.
It was too late. Sokka pulled down the lever and he turned around to hear a clicking sound. Everyone else looked to see it was coming from the middle of the bridge where Stork was standing on top of a round metal piece with the Storm Hawks insignia.
Stork gulped while his eyes widened in shock as he knew what was about to happen. All of a sudden, the metal piece shot straight up to reveal a large spring underneath it, which sent Stork up through the open roof screaming. Everyone else looked to see the Merb shoot through the air.
"Oops!" said Sokka. He then turned around to look out the glass and see Stork falling into the nearby ocean.
Aang reacted by making his staff unfold the gliders and he rose through the roof. Everyone watched through the glass as he headed for the ocean and then came back. The boy Avatar came back through the roof while carrying Stork. The Merb landed on the floor sopping wet as he had an annoyed look on his face. He then walked over to the controls and pulled the lever back up, bringing the spring down and closing the roof.
Sokka looked at Stork while laughing apologetically. "Uh... sorry, Stork," he said.
The helmsman turned to the others and said, "From now on, Sokka doesn't touch anything on the Condor ever again!"
"Here, let me help you get dry," said Aang. He walked up to Stork and held out his hands. Immediately, the water from Stork's clothes and hair lifted off him as Aang manipulated it. Katara opened her water carrier and took over from Aang as she made the water go into the carrier, and then closed the hole.
"Wow!" said Piper. "How were you able to do that?"
"Yeah, and what about all that other stuff with the fire and wind, too?" said Finn.
"Oh, those are our bending abilities," answered Katara.
Aerrow shook his head as if he understood what he just heard. "Bending abilities?" he asked.
"You mean you don't know what bending is?" said Aang.
When asked that question, the Storm Hawks all shook their heads in response.
"To put it simply," said Katara, "bending is where a person is able to control one of the four elements: water, earth, fire or air."
"A person learns how to bend an element related to whatever nation they live in," added Toph.
"That's right," said Zuko. "I'm a firebender from the Fire Nation, Katara is a waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe, Toph is an earthbender from the Earth Kingdom, and Aang – well, Aang is from the Air Nomads, but he's the Avatar so he's able to bend all four elements."
Junko tried to make sense of what everyone was saying, but he only held his head in his hands and said, "This is making my head hurt."
Curious, Piper asked, "So which nation are we in now?"
"We're in the Fire Nation," replied Aang. "In fact, we're just outside the capital."
Something else that was said piqued Aerrow's curiosity. "And why is Aang referred to as the Avatar?"
Aang took in a deep breath, preparing himself to answer Aerrow's question. "The Avatar is the one who keeps the four nations in balance and maintains world order," he said. "He's also the bridge between this world and the Spirit World. Through each generation, the Avatar is re-incarnated as another person within the four nations."
"Wow," said Aerrow. "That's gotta be quite a burden to be placed on you, Aang. I mean, you're just a kid."
Aang looked down at the response. "I didn't have any choice," he replied. "Around my time, the world broke out into war."
"Over a hundred years ago," Zuko explained, "my great-grandfather, Fire Lord Sozin, started invading the other nations and used Sozin's Comet to enhance his firebending. Aang was scared of his duties, so he ran away and ended up getting frozen in an iceberg with Appa."
Katara took over, saying, "Sokka and I found Aang near our home, and ever since then we've been helping him out with his duties. We've overcome many trials and met some amazing people, but that war took its toll on all of us."
"Aang was able to end the war by defeating Fire Lord Ozai, and ever since then we've been trying to get things back to normal," said Sokka.
"Wait," said Stork. "Did you say the war started over a hundred years ago?"
"Yes," said Zuko.
Piper finished by saying, "So that would make Aang..." She stopped as she realised how old Aang really is.
Toph joined the conversation as she shrugged her shoulders and said, "Seriously, how could you guys not know that? It's like you're from another world."
The Storm Hawks shifted their eyes at Toph's comment. What she said was true and now they would have to admit it.
"Wait, you guys are from another world?" asked Toph.
"I kinda thought about something like that when I saw Junko and Stork," said Aang.
Junko looked at himself, noticing that Aang meant he wasn't human. "I guess it is kind of a giveaway," he said.
"Toph is right," said Aerrow as Radarr hopped onto his shoulders. "We're not from this world, and neither were the ones who attacked those people. Our world is called Atmos, and it's full of kingdoms on mountaintops called terras. The groups who dedicate themselves to protect the citizens are called Sky Knight squadrons, and we're one of them – the Storm Hawks."
"From the looks of your ship," said Katara, "I'd say that your world is more advanced than ours."
"Most likely, yes."
"Those who attacked today were a group of Talons, the soldiers of Cyclonia, the nation that plans to conquer Atmos." said Piper. "And that woman leading them is Ravess, one of the commanders under the Cyclonian ruler, Master Cyclonis."
"So your enemies came to our world with you?" asked Aang.
"Yeah," said Finn. "We always go through some far out things."
"So, how did you arrive here in the first place?" asked Katara.
"That's what we're trying to figure out, too," replied Aerrow.
"Was there anything you remember before you came here?" said Aang.
Aerrow put his hand to his chin and thought hard. He recalled the battle that he and his teammates were in, and that's when he remembered something. "The last thing I remember," he said, "is fighting against the Dark Ace. I was about to hit him with my Lightning Claw when this crystal popped up and took the blow."
Piper heard what Aerrow said and thought about it carefully. "This crystal..." she said. The navigator proceeded by going under the table and coming back up with a large book. "What did it look like, Aerrow?"
"It was round and green," replied the Sky Knight.
Piper began flipping through the book, saying, "Just as I figured!"
"What do you mean, Piper?" said Junko.
"During our battle with the Cyclonians on Atmos, I saw Cyclonis coming in with the same crystal Aerrow described." Piper looked through the book carefully until she stopped on a certain page. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw a picture of the same crystal on the page. Everyone else leaned in to see what she had discovered.
"That's the one!" said Aerrow.
Sokka looked at the pages and couldn't understand the language. "What does it say?" he asked.
"It's a dimension stone, a rare and mighty crystal," replied Piper. "Dimension stones are capable of transporting anyone or anything to another dimension. Cyclonis must've planned to use it against us, but she and her followers wound up coming here, too."
"If what you say is true, then it would explain how you got here," said Katara.
"But wait," interrupted Aerrow. "Shouldn't my Lightning Claw have destroyed the dimension stone?"
Piper turned back to the book and explained, "It says here that dimension stones only work when they're given a huge amount of energy." She looked back at the others and said, "If the stone transported us and the Cyclonians to this world, then that means it should be here as well."
Finn smiled upon hearing the news. "So now we've got a plan," he said with his voice full of confidence. "All we have to do is find the dimension stone, Aerrow hits it with his Lightning Claw, and we'll be back on Atmos in no time! And when we get back, I suggest we head to Tropica for some well-deserved 'R and R.'" He finished by giving his pistol fingers and flashing his teeth in a grin.
"Finn!" Piper exclaimed, causing the marksman to drop his smile. "We can't leave the Cyclonians here, either!"
"Piper's right," said Aerrow. "There's no telling what the Cyclonians could do to this world."
Finn merely waved his hands in misunderstanding at the comment. "What is everybody's problem?" he said. "With the Cyclonians out of Atmos, we'll never have to worry about them again."
"No, Finn," said Aerrow. "The Cyclonians are our problem; not theirs." The Sky Knight brought his hand over to Aang and his friends, and they all looked at Finn with hopeful expressions.
The blonde sharpshooter rolled his eyes and groaned since he knew Aerrow was right. It was the Storm Hawks' duty to protect people from the Cyclonians, and that still counted for people in this world.
"We'll help you find the dimension stone, right everyone?" said Aang.
All his friends nodded with approval. After meeting the Storm Hawks, they knew they were good people and they would help them out in any way.
"Then it's settled," said Aerrow. "We just need to find the dimension stone so we'll get back to Atmos and take the Cyclonians with us."
"One thing," Stork mentioned. "Assuming we do find the dimension stone, what chance is there that we'll end up back on Atmos and not some other world?"
"...Probably a small one, but it's our only hope," replied Piper. "And if the Cyclonians find it before we do, then we'll never get back home."
"Well for right now," said Zuko, "let's head back to the palace so we can discuss this further. Besides, I don't think your enemies are any closer to finding that stone before us right now."
"You're probably right, Zuko," said Aerrow. "We'll take the Condor over to the palace."
"Hold on," said Aang. "I should go get Appa. He probably misses me and I don't want him to get scared when this ship starts to fly."
Aerrow heard Aang's request and took him to the hangar bay. The boy Avatar ran out to the runway to be re-united with his sky bison just as the sun was setting in the sky. Aerrow could see the boy had a huge bond with Appa, and he also felt the same way with his teammates.
We're so much alike, thought Aerrow.
"Yip yip," said Aang as he got on Appa.
The sky bison rose into the air on that command, and now it would be the Condor's turn. The hangar bay doors closed while Aerrow walked back to the bridge.
"Stork, take us up," said Aerrow.
The Merb nodded to Aerrow and activated the Condor's controls. The ship's boosters exhaled blue energy and it once again rose into the sky. Aang's friends almost felt afraid for rising in the air, and they wobbled around since they weren't used to flying this way. Eventually, they got their bearings together as Stork levelled off the ship. Aang watched to see the huge ship rise behind him, and he waved his hand over for Stork to follow him. Both Appa and the Condor then flew over to the dormant volcano where Zuko's palace resided. Now that the Storm Hawks and the Avatar's group were aware of what to do next, it would be time to start building a plan.
* * *
BlueTiger321: And there's another chapter done. Man, there was a lot of dialogue in it!
Aerrow: So? That doesn't make it any less fun to read.
Sokka: Yeah, and will I be able to touch any more stuff on the Condor?
Stork: Not on your life, buddy!
Toph: Ha, ha! I wonder why nobody thought of preventing Sokka from touching anything a long time ago.
Sokka: Stop making fun of me!
BlueTiger321: Anyway, I won't spoil the surprise for the next chapter, but I will say it will get more interesting. So, until next time, folks.
Aerrow: Read and review!
