Finally! Chapter four is up! Sorry for the long wait. Read the last few sentences of the previous chapter and you'll know what's going on in this one. (crickets) Yeah, anyway. Enjoy.
For Sonic Writer - our bizarre banter inspired some of this. You'll know what.
Chapter IV: Choices
"The choices we make often dictate the lives that we lead."
(nine months earlier)
"Dude, I can't see anything in the fog, " Finn said, waving his hand in front of his face as if it would help disperse the cloudy mist in front of him.
"It's not that bad," Aerrow replied.
Finn stared at him. "What exactly would you define as 'bad'?"
"Uhhhh…." Aerrow had no quick answer for that. "A life or death situation?" he said with a shrug.
The blond wasn't impressed with his Sky Knight's answer. For one thing, it sounded like a question. And second, to him, this was a life or death situation. If they didn't get out of this fog and back to the Condor soon, there was a very good chance that they would either fall off the edge of the terra into the Wastelands (if their rides malfunctioned, which they probably would) or be eaten by ferocious, man-eating beasts. Or worse. Oh, great! Now he was starting to sound like Stork.
He sighed. "Man…."
"I really think we should get back to the Condor," said Junko. "Piper's probably wondering where we are."
"I agree with Junko," Finn said flatly.
"We haven't been gone that long."
"How do you know? You're not wearing a watch," said Finn. "Besides, this fog's creepin' me out."
"Yeah. Me, too," added Junko.
"What are you guys afraid of?" Aerrow stared at his friends. Well, at least he could see of them. "You think zombie pirates are gonna appear out of the fog and exact their revenge on unsuspecting victims even though they had nothing to do with stealing the pirate's treasure."
"That's just ludicrous," replied Finn. "Ships can't sail on the ground. I'm thinkin'…zombie cowboys."
Aerrow stared at him. "Zombie cowboys?"
"It could happen."
The redhead raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh." He held the scanner closer to his face. "According to the scanner, the crystals should be just ahead."
"How can you read it?" the blond quipped.
"The fog isn't that bad," said Aerrow. "Actually, I think it's starting to clear up."
"Clearing up? What terra are you on?" replied Finn. "It's getting thicker."
Junko didn't notice any difference. "Looks the same to me."
"Come on, Aerrow. Let's get back to the Condor. We can find the crystals later."
The blond didn't mean to sound whiny. He was truly sorry if it came across that way, but the fog was starting to scare him. For him, it was becoming thicker; for Junko, there was no change; and for Aerrow, it was clearing up?
"Fine then," said Aerrow. "I'm gonna go get those crystals. You can stay here...and wait for the zombie cowboys."
Finn sighed heavily; he was on the losing end. There was no way he was staying in this thick fog by himself, zombie cowboys or no zombie cowboys. "Fine. Fine-fine-fine," replied Finn. "But it's your fault if I fall off the cliff!"
"Whatever." Aerrow rolled his eyes. "Let's just get the crystals and head back."
The sharpshooter groaned, revved the engine and followed. Junko pulled up closer to Aerrow. Finn could barely see the Wallop and he couldn't see his Sky Knight at all.
"Man, this sucks," he said to himself. After a few moments, he realized he could no longer hear his friends' rides; he could only hear his. He stopped. "Junko! Aerrow! Where are you guys?" The fog seemed to be growing thicker. "Man, I can't see..." He heard the low rumbling of sky-rides in the distance. "Aerrow! Junko!" There was no response.
He kicked the engine back on and headed toward where he thought the sound of the sky-rides was coming from. What the young Storm Hawk didn't realize was how dangerously close he was to the cliff's edge.
Aerrow stopped his ride at the mouth of the cave; Junko pulled up behind him. Their path had been fairly clear of fog for the last few miles, but they were still surrounded by the heavy mist.
"This is the cave where the crystals should be," the redheaded leader said.
"Uh, Aerrow," the Wallop interjected.
"I'll go in and gather as many crystals as I can," Aerrow continued, too focused on the crystals to hear Junko.
"Uh, Aerrow?"
"Finn, you and Junko wait out here just in case something happens."
"Aerrow!"
"What?" The Sky Knight's eyes were still on the scanner.
"Finn's not here," the Wallop answered worriedly.
Aerrow turned around. "What do you mean Finn's not..." He trailed off. "Finn?" The sharpshooter was nowhere in sight. "Finn?" Aerrow called out, his voice shaky. Something was wrong. There was no way Finn would deliberately stray off in this fog. "Finn!"
The two remaining Storm Hawks began calling out for their friend. There was no response. Aerrow was ready to contact the Condor when he heard a scream—a very familiar one. Finn was screaming for him.
"Aerrow!"
The Sky Knight's eyes widened in horror. "Finn...!"
It was no use. The fog was too thick and the clouds that had been forming since he, Junko and Finn had first gone out to search for the crystals were now ready to explode with rain. And the impending storm was causing interference with Condor's instruments; the scanners were rendered useless. An aerial search yielded less than the ground search Aerrow had yelled for Finn until he was hoarse, but there was never a reply. It was as if he had dropped of the face of Atmos. He stood in his room, staring blankly out the window, waiting for the rain to fall. It was now dark and the temperature was dropping. He wasn't worried, though. He was scared.
He didn't answer when she knocked, so she let herself in.
"It's all my fault," he said, looking at his reflection. "I should've listened to him, Piper. I should've just forgot about the—"
"Stop it, Aerrow!" she said forcefully.
He flinched. He wasn't expecting her to yell. She sighed, walking over to him. "It's not your fault," she continued, taking a hold of his arm. "Stop beating yourself up. It just happened." She paused and looked out the window. "We will find him."
Finn's eyes fluttered open. It was dark. How long had he been out? He groaned as the earth shifted beneath him. Fortunately, he hadn't fallen from the cliff's main drop-off, otherwise he'd be dead. He had slid down the cliff's sloping side, sliding who-knows-how-far; and hitting every rock and prickly weed along the way. Well, at least it felt like he had. His ride had come down behind him, bouncing down the slope. Fortunately, again, it missed hitting him; but he had no idea where it had come to its stop. His head was throbbing and the right side of his face felt wet. He must of hit his head on a rock, or ten, on the way down. He started to lift his head, but the pain was so intense (not to mention the sudden blood rush) it caused him to black out.
Dark Ace couldn't fathom what would make him leave the warmth of his campsite; take his sky-ride to the opposite end of the terra, in the fog, at night and with the threat of rain (and who knows what else). He stopped his ride at the base of the Pinnacle Slopes, the frontline of Redbone Cliffs. There was no fog at the bottom where he stood but the rain had begun to fall.
"Great," he said, getting off his ride, Solaris crystal, which was attached to a hollowed-out base and handle, in hand.
He walked along the base, sweeping the light up and down the slope. He groaned. "What am I doing? "
Before he turned to head back to his ride, he took one last sweep with the light up the slope. As he swept across the dirt the light reflected back at him. He moved the light back to where the reflection was strongest—a skimmer!
"I know that skimmer," he said to himself.
He walked up the slope towards the skimmer, continuing to sweep the light in front of him. It seemed to be in one piece. The crossbow on the front confirmed it; the ride belonged to that blond kid, Finn. He walked farther up the slope and, for whatever reason, made an abrupt left turn. He sighed, talking to himself.
"Really, Ace. You seriously think you're gonna find that blond kid out here? That little punk isn't gonna leave his frien—"
The light from the Solaris crystal caught a bloody hand and arm stretched out on the ground, stopping Dark Ace dead in his tracks. He moved the light up towards the head of the body and let out a gasp; he couldn't move. He stared at the motionless body of the Storm Hawks' sharpshooter. The boy's face was covered in blood. Dark Ace felt his feet move forward towards the blond as if by their own will. He stopped at the boy's side and knelt down; the light from the crystal encompassed Finn's entire body. His shirt had numerous tears, revealing scratches and a few deep cuts. The wound on his head was still bleeding, but it was minimal. He checked the teen's pulse; it was steady and so was his breathing.
"Well, you don't seem to be in any danger of dying from your wounds. Although, if you stay out here, you'll probably freeze to death."
Dark Ace began fighting with himself over what to do. He didn't want to take the Storm Hawk back to his camp; but at the same time, he couldn't bring himself to leave the kid there. And there was no way he was taking him back to the Condor while the kid was still unconscious. The last thing he needed was any kind of confrontation with that punk Sky Knight.
He huffed. "I know I'm going to regret this."
The Talon commander stuck the end of the torch handle in his mouth and picked Finn up.
This is gonna be interesting, he thought as he carried the limp and bloodied body of the Storm Hawk to his ride.
"I'm really, really gonna regret this," he mumbled.
By morning, the rain had passed and the fog had lifted completely. Aerrow was dead set on starting a new search for Finn and he wasn't going to waste precious time with something as trivial as eating breakfast.
"Look, Aerrow," Piper said in a near scolding manner, "you're not going to do Finn any good rushing out in haste like this."
The Sky Knight stared at her and sighed. "I know, Piper. But what if he's hurt? What if he's—"
"I know what you're thinking, Aerrow. Don't you dare say it."
"But what if he is...?" Aerrow looked away. "I could never forgive myself if something happened to him."
The navigator pushed his face towards hers so that their eyes were locked. "We will find him, Aerrow. And he will be fine."
"I hope you're right."
Aerrow and Junko, along with Piper, retraced their steps back to the cave, hoping to find something that would tell them where Finn could be. They found nothing. The young Sky Knight was beginning to fall into despair. But however heavy his desperation felt on his young shoulders, he couldn't show it in front of his squad mates. He had to be strong for them; for Finn; and for himself.
Aerrow turned his ride around. "We'll do a pass over the slopes," he said stalwartly. "Junko and I heard him yelling. Maybe he—" The redhead started to shake, but quickly took a deep breath, composing himself. "Maybe he got to close to the edge and slid down the slope." He didn't want to think of the alternative—falling straight off the cliff's edge. "Let's go."
The aerial search yielded nothing at first. Aerrow's heart was beginning to sink; then Junko spotted something halfway down, what Piper called, the Pinnacle Slopes.
"Hey, guys! Look!" the Wallop shouted. Aerrow and Piper followed Junko's gaze. "It's Finn's sky-ride!"
The three landed at the bottom of the slope and Aerrow made a beeline for the ride, tripping over rocks and brush as he climbed. It was Finn's skimmer all right and it seemed to be in one piece—for the most part. The crossbow was bent out of shape; a few bearings had been knocked loose; and the shocks were shot. It had a number of dents as well, but other than that...
Junko came up to Aerrow while Piper looked around for any signs of her friend. For as annoying and vainglorious as he could be, Finn could be one of the kindest and most generous persons she knew. And for as much as he grated on her nerves, she couldn't bear to lose him. She looked all over the area. The only sign that Finn had been there was his skimmer. If there were any other forms of evidence, it had all been washed away by the rain.
"Anything?" Aerrow queried, walking up to Piper.
"Nothing," Piper replied dejectedly.
Aerrow dropped his gaze to the ground. His heart was sinking fast. He looked over at Junko; the Wallop's expression matched his own. He could only hope that if anyone had found him, they weren't malevolent in nature.
"Come on, guys. Let's get back to the Condor."
By the time he returned, with the Storm Hawk in tow, the rain had passed over his camp and was now bombarding the Condor. A few of the Talons were restarting the fire while others sorted through their rations. Dark Ace placed the still unconscious Finn into his tent. Some of the Talons noticed them but said nothing.
"Are you sure it was wise bringing him here?"
"No, Ravess, I'm not," he replied to the archer. "But there was something that wouldn't let me leave him out there." She placed the first aid kit next to him. He had radioed her en route so that everything would be ready upon his arrival. "He should be fine by morning," he said, cleaning Finn's head wound. "I'll take him back then."
Finn's eyes fluttered open. It took a few moments for them to focus, but when they did... Okay, so he still didn't know where he was. However, he did recognize that he was in a tent; but where that tent was and who it belonged to was another matter. The outer door to the tent was rolled up (the screen was down but unzipped), allowing him to see outside. There was a fire going and it seemed that the sun had just come to its full rise. He saw a couple of men walk over to the fire pit carrying what looked like a carton of eggs and a package of ham or bacon. He wasn't sure who they were or if they belonged to any kind of faction. Then he saw them.
Dark Ace! Ravess! Aw, man. I'm so dead. He closed his eyes and turned onto his left side so that his back was to them. One of them must have found me. Probably Dark Ace. He shuddered as he thought. Are they taking me back to Cyclonia? He heard the tent rustle; somebody was coming in. He yawned, listening to the rustling of...well, something. Whoever was in the tent with him was looking for something.
"Is he still asleep?" Ravess asked, peering into the tent.
Dark Ace looked over at Finn. "Probably not. I'm sure he'll get up when he smells food."
How does he know that? Finn thought. Yes, it's true. But that's not the point.
"Of course, he'll probably fall back asleep first," Dark Ace said in an amused tone.
"Sounds like someone I know," Ravess said, walking away.
"Hey!" Dark Ace retorted, following her.
Finn tried hard not to laugh but a snicker escaped his lips. He battled hard against falling back asleep and tried to get up, just to prove Dark Ace wrong; but it was a losing battle and he quickly fell back asleep.
He awoke a couple hours later to the smell of sizzling bacon. As the scent wafted into the tent and into his nose he sat bolt upright and smiled. And then frowned. Stupid Dark Ace. He was right. Finn mentally kicked himself. He just lost a bet with himself. Crud! Oh, well. Eating was better than winning a bet. Even if he had ever said, or will ever say, otherwise. But he couldn't just rush out. Then the Dark Ace would win...a bet that he never actually made. But that wasn't the point.
Dark Ace looked towards the tent and noticed the sharpshooter sitting up with his arms folded across his chest, frowning. The Talon commander smirked, walking over to the tent.
"You hungry?" he asked, looking inside.
Finn looked at him. He tried to ignore the urge to bolt out of the tent to the food; but his stomach, however, was not. His stomach growled loudly. Dark Ace stared at him; Finn continued to fight against his hunger and proving Dark Ace right. After what felt like an eternity, but in reality only a few minutes, he gave in and bolted out of the tent to the food.
"Well, you were right," Ravess said as Dark Ace stood up.
He huffed and looked at her; she had a smirk on her face. He looked back at the fire where Finn was now sitting. He suddenly realized what Ravess had meant when she emphasized "were."
He glared at her. "Was that some kind of commentary?" She replied with an even bigger smirk and walked away. "I hate it when she does that. I am this close to—"
"Wahhhh!" Dark Ace turned to see the Storm Hawk blowing frantically on his hand.
"I told ya it was hot, you idiot!" said the Talon holding a skillet of eggs.
The Talon commander shook his head. "I don't want to know."
If he hadn't of been so hungry, eating breakfast, or any meal for that matter, with Dark Ace, Ravess and a few other Talons, would have been extremely awkward...and frightening. He had no idea as to what they were planning on doing with him, nor did he want to think about it. They had not restrained him at all and neither Dark Ace nor Ravess had threatened him in any way. Even so, the sharpshooter was not about to make a break for it. He had no weapon, no ride; he was virtually defenseless. And there was no way he was going to take on Dark Ace in hand-to-hand combat and he definitely wasn't going to run. He could easily be shot by any of them. And taking on Ravess...? With his luck, she probably knew Sky Fu or some other martial art.
He sighed as he took another bite of his food (his second helping). Dark Ace had already finished his breakfast and promptly disappeared as soon as he was done; as did Ravess. Finn was now left with three of their subordinates. He didn't dare ask either of the Talon commanders where they were going or what they were going to do with him.
"What are you guys going to do with me?" he asked the two Talons sitting directly across from him.
The two of them shrugged. "Not our call," the black-haired one said.
"Are any of you actually from Cyclonia?" Finn asked, trying to keep from falling into an awkward silence.
"He is," said the black-haired one, pointing to the platinum-blond sitting at the left end of the log.
Finn looked over at him. He was helmet and goggle-less and the Talon didn't look much older than him, probably about seventeen. He didn't look like your typical Talon; there was something odd about him and not just his looks. His near-white hair and red eyes (the same shade of red as Dark Ace's eyes) creeped Finn out a little. The sharpshooter had noticed that he didn't interact much with the other Talons, except for Dark Ace and Ravess. Finn wondered which one was his commander. The other two Talons noticed Finn staring at the teenager on the end.
"His name's Dominik," the redhead, who had his goggles sitting on the top of his head, said. "He's sixteen. This is his first mission."
"Oh," Finn replied. He felt a little weird talking to two men who were supposed to be his enemies. They really didn't seem to be that bad. "So, who's his commanding officer?"
"He trains under Dark Ace," the redhead answered, "but he's in Ravess' squadron."
Finn looked at his plate. "What do I do with this?" The two men pointed to a garbage bag hanging from a tree behind Dominik. "Oh."
I wonder where Dark Ace and Ravess went to, he thought as he dropped his plate into the trash.
With his curiosity getting the best of him, he decided to explore the camp...and silently prayed that no one would kill him for doing so. The camp was set up in a clearing somewhere in a forest, somewhere on the terra. Whatever terra it was. He couldn't remember. He walked through the maze of tents to the tree-line where he saw...
"No way," Finn said to himself. He ducked behind some foliage between two trees. "Dark Ace... Ravess... Well, well. Isn't this a surprise."
Okay, so it wasn't all that surprising, not to him, anyway. Others may be shocked by it, but not him. He began singing in his head. Dark Ace and Ravess sittin'... Of course he hoped it wouldn't go any further than that. Although, he did wonder... No, no, no. He started to smack himself in the head. Get out, get out, get out. It was time to move before his mind wandered any further or... Okay, that's enough! Back to the fire! It's much safer there! He started to tiptoe away. Much safer because if either one of them caught me peeping... He didn't want to think of the consequences. He was scared of both of them; but in this case, for some reason, he was more afraid of Ravess than Dark Ace.
As he passed by a tent, he returned to his normal gate so as not to look conspicuous. He took his spot at the fire, or what was left of the fire, across from the two Talons who were now talking to each other. The one called Dominik was gone and Finn had no clue where he went.
"Where'd Dominik go?" Finn asked offhandedly.
"Probably back to his tent," said the black-haired one.
"So, see anything interesting?" the redhead queried, giving Finn a cock-eyed grin.
"No." Finn squeaked. He quickly cleared his throat. "No." The two Talons grinned maniacally at him. Aw, crud. They know. This is so not cool.
Dread began to fill him when he saw Dark Ace approach. "Let's go," he said flatly to the sharpshooter. The commander looked at his subordinates; they immediately stopped grinning. "Start packing up."
"Yes, Sir," they said in unison and quickly began attending to their orders.
He looked back at the blond who appeared to be trembling. "Let's go," he said again, a deadpan expression on his face. "Now!" Finn scrambled to his feet and followed Dark Ace to his Switchblade. "Get on."
"Where are you taking me?" the blond queried nervously.
"Back to the Condor," Dark Ace replied flatly. "Now get on."
Finn stared at him "What...?
Dark Ace scowled. "Would you rather have me take you back to Cyclonia?" Finn shook his head 'no' fervently. "Then get on!"
The teenager gulped and got on to the back of the sky-ride. He wasn't about to push the man any further.
They touched down in a clearing sixty clicks from the Condor, riding the rest of the way in. Dark Ace stopped a few clicks from the Storm Hawks' carrier, staying well behind the tree-line to avoid detection.
"Why are you doing this?" Finn asked as they came to a stop.
Doing what?" Dark Ace replied coolly.
Finn grumbled—on the inside. "Letting me go," he said, getting off the ride.
"I don't know," the Talon commander answered, just as impassively as before.
"What ever..." Finn began to walk towards the Condor.
Dark Ace looked up and said forcefully, "Not a word to anyone."
The sharpshooter turned around to see the infamous scowl of Cyclonis' chosen champion. However, the sneer crossing his lips didn't match the look in his eyes.
"Got it," Finn said softly. "Not a word."
Dark Ace watched the blond until he reached the Condor then headed back to his campsite. He was shaken up by the events of the past eighteen hours and he didn't know why. That only shook him up more. Why did he let the Storm Hawk go? Why did he help the boy in the first place?
What's happening to me?
Piper slowly walked down the corridor, passing Finn's room, trying to hold back her tears; but to no avail. Aerrow had shut himself up in his room and refused to speak. She stopped at his room and leaned against the door. Aerrow sat on the other side of the door, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"It's not your fault, Aerrow," she said softly.
"Yes, it is, Piper," he replied sharply, his voice shaky and hoarse.
"Oh, Aerrow..."
She had never seen Aerrow as upset as he was when they returned to the Condor with Finn's skimmer. Stork had mentioned the possibility of Cyclonians being in the area and that they should find a better spot to hide the Condor.
"We're not going anywhere until we find Finn!"
Piper knew very well what he meant by that. Aerrow was afraid that if somehow Finn found his way back to the Condor's location and they weren't there...
She continued down the corridor towards the bridge, stopping when she heard commotion coming from the hangar. She quickly moved onto the bridge to see if Stork had any clue as to what was going on.
"I heard commotion coming from the hangar. What's—"
"I don't know," Stork replied, cutting her off. "I heard Junko yell. He's not answering my calls."
"Hey, guys!" The two turned around to see Junko standing in the doorway with a big, goofy grin on his face. "Guess what?"
The two on the bridge looked on in confusion as the Wallop continued to grin maniacally. Then a familiar face peered around the corner. Stork grinned.
Piper gasped. "Finn...?"
The sharpshooter stepped onto the bridge. "Hey, Piper."
She slowly walked towards the blond not believing what she was seeing. Is it really you? She touched his face; Finn gave her his signature grin. As the tears began to trickle down her cheeks, she pulled him into a loving embrace, which he gladly returned.
Aerrow slowly stood up against the door, wiping away his tears. "Come on, Radarr."
"What happened?" Piper asked, pulling away.
Finn hesitated, unsure of how to explain what had happened to him without letting the Dark Ace's involvement slip. "Well, I—"
"Finn?"
The blond turned around; Aerrow stood a few feet away. Radarr chattered excitedly and ran for Finn, climbing up the Sharpshooter.
"Hey, Radarr," he said as the rabbit-dog hugged his head.
The animal jumped onto Junko's shoulder as Aerrow moved closer. He stopped in front of his wingman and reached his hand out, grabbing hold of the blond's shoulder. They stared at each other briefly before Aerrow pulled his sharpshooter into an embrace.
"I'm so sorry, Finn." the Sky Knight sobbed.
"For what?" Finn choked out.
"For not listening to you." Aerrow pulled back, wiping his eyes. Finn gave him a cock-eyed grin. "What happened, Finn? How did you...? I mean..."
Before he could answer, Junko had all of them, Stork included, in a massive bear-hug. It was followed up by a shriek from Stork; a "Junko. Can't breath" from the three humans; a snicker from Radarr; and finally a "sorry" from Junko as he let go of them.
"I'm really happy you're okay, Finn," Aerrow said as Stork made a beeline for the helm.
"So am I," Piper added, giving him a hug from behind.
"Yeah, me, too," Junko said happily with Radarr chattering in accord.
Stork mumbled something from the helm.
"What was that, Stork?" Finn asked, grinning.
The Merb sighed. "I said, I-am-glad-you-are-back-too," he said as if there was nothing in Atmos more difficult to say than that.
"Thanks, Stork," Finn said.
The rest of the Storm Hawks grinned at him. Yes, he was glad to have the sharpshooter back. However, now that he had admitted to it, he would never hear the end of it.
Aerrow looked back at Finn. Noticing the forlorn expression on the blond's face he asked, "What's wrong?"
Not a word to anyone.
"Uh, nothing," Finn answered, shaking his head. "I'm just a little tired. I'm gonna go lay down for a while."
"Okay," the Sky Knight said as Finn headed off the bridge and down the corridor to his room.
As he walked to his room, the final conversation with Dark Ace ran through his mind.
Why are you doing this?
Doing What?
Letting me go.
I don't know.
Finn sighed as he sat down on his bed. Why did Dark Ace let me go? More importantly, why did help me in the first place?
(present day)
Though he still didn't understand why Dark Ace saved his life and brought him back to the Condor, he was very grateful to the man. And now that the others finally knew the truth of what had happened to him nearly nine months ago, he felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. They all seemed to be just as stunned as he was. And for some strange reason, after he had told them, Aerrow would continuously rub his scar.
"Dude, why do you keep rubbing your scar?" Finn asked.
Aerrow shrugged. "I don't know. It just feels sore all of the sudden."
Okay...more weird.
Finn walked out onto the deck where Soren was sitting, legs hanging over the edge; Radarr was sitting next to him, snacking on some of Piper's sandcakes. The Condor was currently suspended from a cliff on the remote Terra Kjolen. They were a day out of Kainopis and Soren seemed to be a bit anxious to get there. Finn sat down next to him.
"Can I ask you somethin'?" Finn said.
"Sure," Soren replied.
"I know you said you're on an important mission for a friend and the whole fate of Atmos, blah, blah, blah...but what exactly are you supposed to be doing?"
Soren sighed. Great. Now how am I gonna work around this one? I can't lie to him. How am I gonna tell the truth without telling the truth? Of course, I don't exactly know myself. So it really wouldn't matter. Well, it's not like he asked who my friend is.
"And who's this friend of yours?"
Spoke too soon...or thought too soon.
"Look, Finn," Soren began, "as much as I would like to tell all of you everything...I can't. At least not until we get to Talon Adegan." And then we'll all know...including me.
"Oh, okay," the blond replied, slightly disappointed with the answer. He stood up. "I still say that sounds like someone's name." Soren grinned as Finn walked back down the deck towards the hangar. Halfway down, he yelled, "Hey, Aerrow! You think we could get moving now?"
It looked to be going rather well. This new crop of Talons appeared to be strong and intelligent. Most of them were native Cyclonians but a good number of them were from both free terras and those under Cyclonian control. None were over the age of twenty and all had joined willingly. Dark Ace wondered how many of them truly believed in what they were doing and of late, he wondered the same thing of himself.
The Talon commander stood on a platform overlooking the youngest group of cadets; most of them were a mere sixteen years old. His eyes locked onto one trainee in particular; the boy he had taken on the mission to Terra Ketaris; the boy he had been training himself and placed under Ravess' command—Dominik. The teenager stood out like a sore thumb and it wasn't only because of his fighting skills. Yes, there were a lot of blonds, which was kind of weird, but he was pale-blond, nearly-white hair. What did they call that? Towhead? And, not to mention, the kid had red eyes—like his. With that combination he was hard to ignore. It was also a little creepy; even for Dark Ace. Dominik was an exceptional fighter, with and without a weapon; the best he had ever seen. There were few that could even compare to the teenager's abilities. He had obviously been studying Sky Fu for years; longer than most of the other students. And those particular skills did remind him of someone.
There was another boy, however, the same age as Dominik. Dark Ace had yet to learn the boy's name, but his skill level nearly matched the pale-blond. But unlike Dominik, his appearance made him blend in; until one took a closer look. His jet-black hair was nothing special. His eyes, however, were another matter. The boy had an ocular condition called complete heterochromia, in which each iris is a completely different color. In this boy's case his left eye was violet and his right eye was red. And the only reason Dark Ace remembered what the condition was called was because the whole thing was weird. Aside from all of that, the kid seemed familiar to the Talon commander, though he couldn't figure out why. That only made him leery of the boy. He had to keep an eagle-eye on that kid.
"So, how do they look," Ravess asked, walking up to him. She was overseeing the middle group and had recently dismissed them for the day.
"Good," he said flatly, staring out over the large group of teenagers. "When's your next mission?"
"Three days."
"I want you to take Dominik with you," he said, turning his gaze to her.
"Very well."
He walked to the edge of the platform and leaned into the railing. "Cadets!" The teenagers below him stopped their training exercises immediately and stood at attention. "Physical training will resume tomorrow at zero seven hundred hours. Flight training will begin at fourteen hundred hours." His eyes swept over the assembly. "Dismissed!" The cadets saluted and promptly began cleaning their training area.
"Something's bothering you," Ravess said as he started past her. "What's wrong?"
"There's another cadet," Dark Ace replied, "almost as good as Dominik."
"But there's something you don't like about him," she said as they walked out of the training room.
"He looks familiar to me. I don't know why."
As they turned the corner, heading to their quarters', three Talons walked towards them, grinning. Dark Ace scowled at them while Ravess gave them a murderous glare, causing them to drop their grins; but as soon as they passed the two commanders their grins returned. The two of them sighed. It was becoming harder to hide it; they knew some of the Talons had seen them. It had not been her intention to spend so much time with him; but ever since that last battle with that annoying, redheaded Sky Knight, in which he had received the scar on his face, she had grown quite concerned for him. Whoever had stitched him up had done something else to him. And she didn't like it. Then there was Cyclonis. The girl didn't seem too concerned and had loosened the reigns on all three of them exponentially. Something strange was going on and it was very unnerving.
They stopped in front of her quarters. As she opened the door a searing pain shot from the back of his neck into his head, bringing him to his knees. He howled in pain, clutching his head. Ravess pulled him into her quarters and closed the door.
"Talon!" She pulled him into her arms.
His scar began throbbing. Then that voice returned.
He seems familiar to you, does he?
Dark Ace didn't respond. He couldn't get past the pain.
You should, the voice continued. You should always hold family close.
He writhed in pain in her arms.
You love her. The voice began to chuckle.
'Don't you dare do anything to her!'
There was no response; he was gone. The pain intensified for a brief moment. As it ceased, he stared up at Ravess with a distressed look on his face.
"Talon..."
He turned his head, resting it on her arm, and closed his eyes. She caressed his face with her free hand.
"I don't know who did this to you or what they did, but they won't get away with it."
There it is. And I probably just raised a whole new batch of questions. Hooray for me! I know what I'm going to write for chapter five. Hopefully it won't take me five months to get it up. I doubt it will answer many questions. But, hey. I'm just gettin' started.
Why is it whenever your prepping a chapter for posting you can hardly ever think of what to put in the endnotes, but as soon as you post it all these things pop into your head? The world may never know.
GIT 'ER DONE!
Please review. Please. Pretty please. Pretty please with a Stork on top.
Stork: Get me off of here.