chapter t h r e e

Piper was on her stomach against the cold metal ground. She slowly opened her eyes, becoming aware of her position. Her legs and waist were locked under a blown in door. She placed her hand on the door and attempted to push. She was unsuccessful due to a mixture of the door's weight and her weakness. She fell back against the metal floor and looked across the room weakly. Starting to hear her friends, "Piper!!" Finn's voice rang through the cold air. She laid her head against the floor, her cheek growing cold with the cold metal.


Piper took a large bite of her biscuit as she looked through her telescope. She spotted her subject; A White Belly Crested Dafiwing. She smiled, "Aren't you beautiful?" She put her biscuit down and pulled a journal out of her bag, writing and speaking aloud, "Subject spotted in natural habitat, seems to be male, searching for female." She dotted her period. She felt a gust of wind next to her. She quickly looked over to see the female, trying to snatch her food, "Hey!" she grabbed hold of the food, keeping a tight grip on her journal with the other hand. The two fought for the food before Piper lost, losing her balance and rolling off the edge of the hill, tumbling down to a pile of bushes. She wearily sat up, leaves and twigs caught in her hair. She opened her journal, "Female mate spotted, either nesting or very hungry." She blew a lock of hair out of her face, frustrated. She heard a loud thud a few yards away. She pulled the leaves of the bush out of the way cautiously, seeing a pair of Cyclonians standing in front of two teenagers.

The redheaded teenager was tall, his eyes were an emerald shade of green, and his armor seemed to be welded together by hand. The second teenager, the blonde one, dawned similar clothes, but his hair was golden blonde and his eyes ocean blue. The Cyclonians began to close in. Piper gave a scowl before pulling a rod out of a holster on her back. She jumped out from behind the bushes, slamming one of them in the back. The two teens stood as she fought with the second. The talon slammed her in the chest with a blast from his crystal blade, knocking her onto her back. The talon walked up to her, holding his blade to her neck, "Poor little birdie gonna get hurt." he patronized.

There was a loud clank noise. Piper winced in fear before opening her eyes again to see the talon fall to the ground, revealing the redhead, "Better think twice about hurting this birdie..." he said smoothly. She slowly stood up, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Who are you guys? What are you doing on Terra Amazonia?" She put her hand on her hip.

The blonde slunk out from behind the bushed, "Ah, yeah, I was just trying to find my- uhh... crossbow!" he held up his crossbow. Piper gave him a quizzical stare.

The redhead held his hand to his chest, "Well, I'm Aerrow." He pointed to the blonde, "That's Finn. We're the Storm Hawks."

"The Storm Hawks? Like the legendary ones?" She smiled.

"Well, not exactly. We're... the next generation, so to speak." Aerrow gave a nervous smile, "And your name is?"

"Piper." She held her hand out, "Now once again, why are you guys here?"

Aerrow took hold of her hand, "We were trying to find a certain crystal. It's supposed to locate a certain power signal that we need to find to get to the Condor."

Finn scratched his head and looked at the two knocked out guards, "We were caught by these guys, we think they're lookin' for the same thing."

Piper raised an eyebrow, "The Condor... The old ship that the Storm Hawks used to fly in? That means you're looking for a beacon crystal!" she smiled widely.

"You sure know a whole lot. Where did you learn?" Aerrow smiled at her.

Piper paused and looked down, "Well, I don't have a teacher. I kind of taught myself."

Aerrow, despite her sorrowful stare, looked amazed, "You learned all of this by yourself? What else do you know?"

Piper smiled, "A lot! I know about navigation, crystals, history, legend, re-con, tactics..." she seemed to go on and on. Aerrow felt nervous to interrupt her, but Finn seemed to be missing that part of his brain that said 'This would be rude.'.

"Okay, okay, okay. You know a lot,. We know. What can you tell us about the beacon crystal?" he crossed his arms and sneered.

Piper gave a pregnant pause and glare, "... I know that it's under heavy Cyclonian guard. This place is patrolled by the highest rank of talons. Worst of all, the captain of the talons here is the Dark Ace."

Aerrow thought for a moment, "Then we're just gonna have to sneak in and steal it." he began to walk back to his skimmer.

Piper grabbed his arm quickly, "Wait! You cant just try to sneak in there. Do you even know where you're going?!" The was an awkward silence, "I can help you, you know. I have just what you guys need!"

Finn shook his head, "Sorry, but we don't need any--"

"What is it?" Aerrow pulled his arm free gently.

"Well... I have this." she pulled a map out of the bag resting on her hip, "It a map of the complex where the crystal's being held. And... you two could use those uniforms to sneak in."

Aerrow reached for the map, but it was pulled back by Piper, "What?"

"I need payment for this." She put her hand on her hip, dangling the map playfully.

Aerrow sighed, "We don't have much money... but I guess I could give you this." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bag of money, "It's all we have."

Piper stared at the money, "... I have an idea. you let me in on the team, and I'll help you with getting that crystal. And, promise me I can study it."

Aerrow smiled happily, "Sure!"

Finn's jaw dropped as the redhead slipped the bag back into his pocket, "You aren't doing this! We just met her and you're letting her on the team!? C'mon, Aerrow! Even I'm not that gullible." he crossed his arm sternly.

Aerrow shook his head, "Calm down, Finn. I think she's the perfect addition to our team. Welcome to the Storm Hawks, Piper." He offered his hand.

Piper took hold happily, "Happy to be here, Aerrow."


Piper winced as the metal was pulled off of her, "There you guys are. Are you okay?" she pulled her self up.

Aerrow nodded, "Yeah, we're fine. Are you?"

"Yeah, I think so. I just hit my head a bit." She rubbed the back of her head, "... Just a little sore."

Junko smiled, "Good! Let's go find st--" he walked directly into a hole in the floor.

"Junko!" Finn screamed as he fell.