chapter t w o
Finn clutched the ground in front of him, locked underneath a large metal pillar. The pain in his leg was getting worse and worse, but at least it was keeping him awake. His vision grew blurry until he heard the voices of Aerrow and Junko calling his name, "Finn! Finn, where are you?!" they would call. Out of sheer desperation, Finn let out a pained scream that slowly grew into a cry. His leg hurt so bad, he would rather have it chopped off than continue to feel this way.
It was forty feet away, the small beer can. It had been tied to the fence to prevent it from falling over. He held his crossbow steadily, "Oh yeah? Watch this." He pulled the trigger back and fired the crossbow bolt. It pierced through the center of the can with a loud pop from the metal. He looked back at the group with a confident smirk, "What do ya think about that?"
The men gave him seething scowls. All except for one seemed so angry. They split apart, revealing the impressed teen behind them, "That's nice shooting."
"Thanks." Finn smiled, "Not like that many people enjoy it around here though." He raised his crossbow to his shoulder, propping it against his shoulder plate, "I'm Finn." he held out his hand.
"Aerrow." Aerrow took a hold of his hand. Finn could tell a lot from a person by their hand shake. Aerrow's was strong and confident; He was probably looking to sell or buys something.
Finn jutted his bottom lip out, "So, why are you here? Y'don't look like someone from Lyn."
"Oh, I had a problem with my CCU, so I'm getting it fixed." Aerrow put his hands on his hips, "With your skimmer you must be planning to do some pretty long distance riding."
"Ah, you saw it in there, huh? Not really. My dad, Cid, just likes to trip my ride." Finn passed Aerrow and headed for the shop, "So you just here to admire me and get you bike fixed, or are you lookin' for somethin'?"
"Well... I'm starting a sky knight squadron." Aerrow followed, "You know, if your interested, I need a sharp shooter."
Finn laughed, "Me? C'mon, man, you think a fourteen year old like me is going to be allowed to leave my terra? Please..." Finn sat down on one of the chairs just outside of the garage, pulling a cloth out of a bucket and cleaning his crossbow, "As much as I'd like to, I think I'd have to decline."
Aerrow's shoulders sunk, "You're probably right, but I'm the same age as you." Finn looked up at him, "And I'm not just starting any squadron, I'm starting the Storm Hawks."
Finn paused, thinking, "Really, I do want to, but I think my dad would kill me if I left him to fend for himself at his shop."
Aerrow nodded, "I give you a day to think about it. Talk with your father, he might disagree with what you saying." He turned and headed for town. Finn looked on at him longingly. He didn't bring it up to his father that night.
A day passed with no word from Finn. He looked out his window and saw Aerrow preparing for flight. He leaned on one hand and sighed, "I'm not cut out for it anyway..." he closed the blinds and turned away.
Aerrow began to roll forward on his bike. The rumbling from the engine pulled him forward before he dove off of the edge of the terra, deploying his wings and setting for flight. He only made it a short distance before hearing the screams from Terra Lyn. He looked back over his shoulder to see what was going on. The red glow of there crystals immediately let him know who they were; Cyclonians. He turned his skimmer around on a dime, speeding for the terra.
Cid slammed two of the Cyclonians in he jaw with a mop, "Finn! Where are you!?" he called. There was no answer. He grunted and spun, slamming at least three more of them. Aerrow landed and leaned tot he side, skidding his skimmer into a line of Cyclonians from behind.
He climbed off of his ride and ran over to Cid, "What's going on?"
"I have no idea!" he slammed another, "Kid, I need you to do something!" He turned and grabbed Aerrow's shoulder, "Find my son!"
Aerrow gave him a stern nod and turned, only to see he was surrounded, along with Cid, "I think we might have to take care of these guys first." Cid gritted his teeth and crouched in a battle ready stance. It looked like the end for the two. Suddenly four of the men were gunned down. Aerrow looked over his shoulder at the roof of the mechanic's shop. Finn gave him a two-finger salute and continued to fire, taking down five more, leaving only two for Cid and Aerrow to finish. Aerrow sent a charged blast into one of the Cyclonians' stomachs, while Cid slammed the last one in the crotch. Aerrow looked ahead and saw a large Cyclonian tank heading for the center of town, "Finn! Shoot the tank's engine!" he ordered.
"Got it!" Finn aimed and quickly fired, bull's eyeing an engine, blowing the engine and stopping the tank. Cid pulled out a stick of dynamite and lit it on the cigarette in his mouth before throwing it under the tank. The stick blew, knocking the tank over and sending the Cyclonians inside running in fright. He looked back to the building his son stood on. Finn smiled a bit before sliding down. He walked up to the group and lowered his crossbow, "Sorry it took so long."
Cid gave him a wide smile, "Looks like you made it just in time." He leaned his mop against his shoulder.
Aerrow gave him a longed smile, "Well, I better be going." He turned to his skimmer.
Finn held his hand up, "Wait!" Aerrow turned. Finn looked to Cid, "Dad... Can I join his squadron? I swear it'll be good! It's the Storm Hawks even! I'll--"
Cid put his hand on his son's shoulder, "With your shooting I was expecting this. Sure, you can go. You just check up with me, y'hear?"
Finn smiled widely, "Really?! Wow! Thanks Dad! I swear you'll be happy!" He gave Cid a quick hug before rushing for his skimmer. Aerrow smiled happily as Finn rolled to his side and flew off with him.
Wouldn't his father be proud? Finn felt the large chunk of metal lifted off of him. His vision was blurry and dark, like he was underwater, but he could tell who his saviors were, "Thanks..." He winced as he was pulled up by Junko, "My leg--!!" he gasped in pain when the slightest bit of weight was put on his injured limb. Junko quickly held him up and pulled his legs up in his other arm, cradling him gently.
"Who's closest?" Aerrow asked.
"Well, Piper, I think, but don't you think we should split up to find both of them?" Junko tilted his head.
"No. We're not splitting up again!"
