Sorry for the long wait, guys! I had some major writer's block and I haven't had time to work on this. Anyway, here's chapter 4! Chapter 5 is coming soon!
Chapter 4
"This is bad," said Piper.
"How is this bad?" asked Aerrow. "We have the crystals we need to create the most powerful crystal ever! This is awesome!"
"Ok, first of all, we have only three of the four crystals we need to create the Elemental Crystal," corrected Thirrin. "We still need the fourth one. And two, if Cyclonia ever found out about the Elemental Crystal and that it actually exists, don't think they might be just a bit tempted to come and find it?" added Thirrin, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Aerrow glared at her, and she glared back.
"Which crystals do we have right now?" asked Damien, apparently trying to break the tension in the room.
"According to the book, we have the Water, Earth, and Fire Crystals," replied Linea, looking at the book intently. "We need to find the Air Crystal."
"Then it should be on Terra Sky," said Piper.
"Why would it be there?" asked Finn.
"Because another part of the legend states that the four crystal needed to create the Elemental Crystal originated from the piece of land that are the four terras below us; Terra Aqua, Terra Pyro, Terra Sky, and Terra Mire," explained Piper. "I'm pretty sure Thirrin's mom found those three crystals on Terra Mire, Terra Pyro, and Terra Aqua. So that means the only place left would be Terra Sky. Duh," she added, and Finn scowled at her.
"But that's only part of the legend," said Aerrow. "The crystal really could be anywhere on Atmos!"
"Wait," said Linea, and everyone fell silent to listen. "It says here that the Air Crystal can be found by it's three sister crystals. Well, that makes finding this thing a lot easier," added Linea happily. Everyone sighed in relief.
"You're telling me," said Finn.
"Yeah, but there's just one problem," began Thirrin. "Terra Sky is very protective of their terra. They rarely let outsiders onto their land. And those four towers you saw," she added, looking at the Storm Hawks, "conceal huge blaster cannons. If we went in for an air assault, we would only be shot out of the sky. Also the land is very treacherous. It's almost impossible to get on that terra."
"We're the Storm Hawks," said Aerrow confidently. "We do this kind of thing all the time."
"Hang on," said Damien softly. "I just remembered that I have an old friend of mine from school who lives on Terra Sky. Maybe she can help us out."
"You're just now telling us this?!" asked a aggravated Thirrin, throwing her hands up in the air.
"She?" asked Linea skeptically, smiling.
"Don't start, Linea," muttered Damien, and Linea smiled wider.
"Well, contact your friend, Damien, while I'll think up a plan," said Piper happily, and she skipped off. Finn groaned.
"Great. Another plan that is way too complicated," he muttered, and he sighed.
Thirrin walked over to the book and looked at the page, staring at the picture of the man and the dragon. 'Is that what you can do with the crystal?' she thought. 'That would be amazing! And best of all, we would actually be able to defeat Cyclonia with it too.' As she was looking at the page, she noticed that there was a tear line on the next page. She turned the page, only to realize that someone had torn the next page in half!
"Aw man," she whispered.
"What?" asked Linea, alarmed.
"Someone tore out the next page," she whispered. "Now we can finish reading about the crystal."
"Damnit!" cried Linea. "Who would do that?"
"Maybe Mom did it," said Thirrin quietly. "Maybe what was on the bottom part of that page was something she never wanted us to know. I wouldn't put it past Mom to do something like that, trying to protect us and all."
"Well, that's obvious," said Linea, and Thirrin rolled her eyes and glared at her.
"Well, I'm going back to my room and try and think of a better plan than Piper's. We don't need another one of her crazy plans," announced Finn, and he started walking towards the door to the inside of the condor.
"Don't give yourself a brain hemorrhage," muttered Thirrin, and Linea started giggling.
"You know -" started Finn, turning on his heel to face Thirrin, but then he stopped. He looked thoughtful, then said, " What's a brain hemorrhage, anyway?"
Thirrin put a hand over eyes, shaking her head sadly, while Linea giggled even harder.
"Never mind," muttered Thirrin, and Finn shrugged and walked through the door.
"I think we need to go back to the terra while Damien takes care of…whatever he's doing," said Linea, and Thirrin nodded.
"I'll come with you guys," said Aerrow, but Thirrin shook her head.
"No, you stay here," she said. "Piper will probably need your help with her brilliant plan. And besides, Linea and I have some family business to attend to," she added, and Aerrow nodded uncertainly
"Ok," he said, "but let us know if you need anything."
"Thanks," said Thirrin as she mounted her skimmer. "We will."
She and her sister revved their engines and took off, their skimmers heading for their now destroyed house in the middle of the terra. Aerrow watched them go, and then realized that the family business that had to attend to was probably their dead father. Aerrow suddenly felt sorry for Thirrin and her brother and sister. Not only did they lose both of their parents, but they lost their home too. Aerrow sighed, then walked to the door that led to the inside of the Condor, Radarr perched on his shoulder.
Thirrin and Linea landed on their front lawn, and saw a group of people in a circle, looking at something. Thirrin sighed. They were mourning her father. Despite the group crowding his body like vultures, she knew they had every right to mourn him. He was a great dad; he was even like a father to the other children in her town. She dismounted her Air Bullet Elite, Linea dismounting her skimmer, and they walked over to the crowd. They made a space for them so they could walk through to their father's body. Tears spilled down Linea's cheeks, like everyone else around her, but Thirrin remained expressionless, her mouth a hard line.
"I'm so sorry, Thirrin," said Esteé, one of her squadron members and her good friend.
"Thanks, Esteé," replied Thirrin, still impassive as stone.
"You okay?" asked Esteé, watching her friend with a troubled expression.
"I'm fine," said Thirrin through unmoving lips. Then she walked back through the crowd and into the house. Esteé watched her go.
"Is she okay?" she asked Linea, and Linea sighed.
"She was close to my father, so this is hardest for her," whispered Linea, and Esteé nodded. "I'll go talk to her," and she followed Thirrin's path through the crowd and into the house.
The Dark Ace cautiously stepped into the room. He knew that Master Cyclonis would be extremely angry that the mission had failed. Hopefully, she would be in a good mood. He saw her standing in front of a table full of maps, looking over them intently.
"Master Cyclonis," he said, bowing.
"You failed," whispered Master Cyclonis, and the Dark Ace winced.
"Forgive me, Your Highness," said The Dark Ace, bowing his head. "It won't happen again."
"No, it won't," said Master Cyclonis softly. "However, things worked out to our advantage."
"Really?" asked the Dark Ace. Master Cyclonis looked up at him and smiled wickedly.
"Oh yes," she said. "You have no idea what has been unleashed on that terra."
"Then enlighten me please," said the Dark Ace. She laughed softly.
"You fought a young girl on Terra Aqua, am I correct?" asked Master Cyclonis, and the Dark Ace nodded. "Well, she found something quite interesting. Have you ever heard of the Elemental Crystal?" she asked suddenly.
"Only once," said the Dark Ace, shrugging indifferently. "I thought it was just a myth."
"It was," said Master Cyclonis, "until the girl found three out of the four crystals need to create it."
"Create it?" asked the Dark Ace.
"The Elemental Crystal is not just some crystal you fool around with!" cried Master Cyclonis. "It is a crystal a hundred times more powerful than the Aurora Stone! And that, Dark Ace, is exactly why you have to create the crystal first. The man who mined the crystal destroyed it, thinking that in doing so he would protect Atmos. When the fool destroyed it, he split it into four crystals and hid them all over Atmos. However, he didn't realize that he hid them on four terras, all of them right next to each other! Now, the girl also knows about the Elemental Crystal, and they're looking the fourth crystal. It's hidden on Terra Sky. You will retrieve it," she added, and the Dark Ace bowed. "I don't care how many legions of Talons you need. You will retrieve the fourth crystal and it's sister crystals from the girl and her siblings. Is that clear?" she asked him, her voice dangerously soft.
"Crystal," he said, smiling. He bowed again, then took his leave. Master Cyclonis watched him go, then walked to a large crystal sitting on top of a ornately carved pedestal. It was cloudy on the inside, and what looked like smoke billowed around on the inside of it.
Master Cyclonis placed her hand over the crystal, and the clouds cleared. In it's place showed a moving picture of Thirrin and Linea standing in the ruined bedroom of Thirrin's father, looking through an old trunk. Master Cyclonis smiled.
"Soon," she whispered, "I will have what is rightfully mine. And no one," she added, and sent a powerful energy blast at a nearby pillar, crumbling it into dust to prove her power, " shall stand in my way after a retrieve it, not even the Storm Hawks."
"Form ranks!" yelled the Dark Ace, striding towards a group of Talons. They stopped whatever they were doing and formed lines. "We have another mission! We are to return to the quadrant in which Terra Sky is located. We are to retrieve a certain group of crystals for Master Cyclonis from the Storm Hawks." He then turned to a nearby Talon. "I want you to find as many Talons as you can to join me on this mission. Is that clear?"
"Yes, sir!" he said, saluting, then running off.
"Soon, Thirrin," muttered the Dark Ace, putting a hand under his own chin, looking determined and thoughtful, " we will meet again. And this time, no mercy," he added, and he strode off towards his skimmer.
"Thirrin?" called Linea. "Are you up here?"
"I'm here," said Thirrin in an blank voice. It came from Linden's ruined bedroom. Linea walked towards the doorway and saw her little sister kneeling on the floor beside the bed, looking at a photo album.
"Hey," said Linea softly, smiling. Thirrin didn't return it.
"I remember when we took this," whispered Thirrin, putting a hand on the picture in the album page. She raised the book and turned it around to show her sister. "It was after your birthday party."
"I remember," said Linea as her eyes traced over the familiar picture. It was a picture of herself, her sister, her brother, and her mom. They were doing a 'See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil, Evil' picture. She was 'See no evil,' Damien was 'Hear no evil,' and her mom was 'Speak no evil.' Of course, Thirrin was 'Evil,' sticking her tongue out and crossing her eyes. Linea laughed; she always laughed when she saw the picture.
"You miss her," said Linea, and Thirrin sighed.
"I don't just miss her," began Thirrin, "I miss life; well, life before Mom died. Grandma was still living here, and we were all happy and laughing all the time. It was, enjoyable. And then Mom-" she stopped, not wanting to say the word, "well, you know-" she added, and Linea nodded, "and everything changed. It's like it's a whole different world, and now it's only gotten worse!"
"We're going to make it through this, hon," said Linea softly. Thirrin looked up at her, her eyes glistening.
"What am I supposed to do? Not only have I lost Mom and Dad, but now, the Dark Ace is after me too! What am I supposed to do?!" she repeated, her voice rising an octave in hysteria. "He'll stop at nothing until her eliminates us, Linea! I could see it in his eyes! I won't put you two in danger because of me! I'm not going to let you get killed because of me!"
"We're going to be fine, Thirrin," reassured Linea in a confident voice, though she didn't feel all that reassured herself.
"How do you know for sure?" asked Thirrin acidly, and Linea fell silent. "Exactly my point. I need to stay away from Terra Aqua for a little while, to protect you all from the Dark Ace. At least, long enough until things cool down."
"You're not going anywhere alone!" cried Linea fiercely. Thirrin rolled her eyes.
"Listen to you, you sound like Mom!" said Thirrin, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Linea glowered at her.
"Piper and her squadron already have enough trouble on there hands as it is," muttered Linea.
"Are you inferring that I'm trouble?" defended Thirrin, putting her hands on her hips and narrowing her eyes as her older sister. "Piper is my best friend, and she would never think of me as trouble. I'm offended that my own sister would call me trouble, the same sister whom I helped to train in Sky Fu! The same sister whom I gave lots of favors too!"
"I never said th-" began Linea, but Thirrin cut her off.
"You just did say that I was trouble, so don't deny it!" yelled Thirrin. "Well, fine! If you don't want me around, I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself! I don't need you! I don't need anybody!" she finished, her voice rising to a scream. She snatched back the photo album back from Linea and pushed past her, her breathing heavy.
"Thirrin, wait!" cried Linea, but her sister didn't look back. She groaned in frustration and kicked the leg of the bed. "She's so infuriating sometimes…it's like she was born to make me mad!" she muttered, and she flopped down on the bed, grabbed a pillow, and screamed into it.
Down the hall, Thirrin had also grabbed a pillow and started screaming into it. Her sister was so infuriating! Her sister just didn't understand her at all! Everyone thought she was weak because she was young and was a girl, but she wasn't even close to being weak! She'll just have to prove that she's strong, then everyone will know she means business!
She threw the pillow onto the floor in frustration and curled up into a ball, resting her head on her knees, tears of frustration spilling over. Suddenly she heard a thump. She looked over and saw the photo album laying open on the floor. It was open to a large picture of her and her mother, laughing and smiling at the camera. Thirrin hated seeing that picture now. It reminded her of what life was like before, and she hated thinking about that.
Then again, now that she thought about her mom, she felt guilty for yelling at her sister. Her mom wouldn't have wanted her and her sister to fight.
"Stupid guilt trip…" she muttered.
Suddenly she heard her radio nearby emit a voice.
"Thirrin?"
It was Damien. Thirrin sighed and grabbed the radio.
"What is it Damien?" she asked.
"I've contacted Carina -" he began, but Thirrin cut him off.
"Carina? You contacted Carina?" she choked back, trying not to laugh. "I thought you two weren't in contact with each other anymore after you two broke up."
"Shut up," muttered Damien, and Thirrin giggled. "Anyway, she said she'll meet us at the border between the two terras. But she wanted to warn us. Her people might not be happy to see us, so she wants to be in full armor and have our weapons with us."
"No problem," said Thirrin, happier now with the good news. "I'll meet you on the Condor."
"See ya soon."
The radio went silent, and Thirrin grabbed the photo album, stuffed it under her arm, and ran out of her room, looking for her sister. She found her outside, talking to Esteé and her other squadron member, Yelsha.
"Linea!" she cried. Linea looked up, panic in her eyes, afraid that something bad happened.
"What is it?" she asked.
"It's time for the mission," Thirrin said seriously. Linea relaxed slightly.
"What mission?" asked Esteé, curious.
"We have a mission with the Strom Hawks on Terra Sky," explained Thirrin. "I'll explain the rest later."
"Let's go!" said Yelsha. Thirrin smiled grimly, and she ran to her skimmer while the others ran to theirs in the village.
"Do we have a plan?" asked Thirrin later on the Condor.
"Pretty much," said Aerrow, looking at Piper.
"Here's the plan," she began. "We'll meet up with Carina," she glanced at Damien, smiling; Damien scowled at her, "and we'll head towards the center of Terra Sky, where I'm pretty sure is where the main city is. If Terra Sky knows where the Air Crystal is, it should be in the temple."
"Temple?" asked Finn.
"Terra Sky has a polytheistic belief system," said Damien. "They have several goddesses, and the temple is where all their shrines are located. The temple is huge."
"The people of Terra Sky probably believe that the Air Crystal is sacred and belongs to the Goddess of the Wind," continued Piper. "Therefore, it would be in her shrine. And I know what you're thinking Finn," she added, glancing at Finn's open mouth as he tried to speak. "Terra Sky also believes that women are just as strong as men, if not more. That's why there are only goddesses.
"Anyway, we'll sneak in, grab the crystal, and get out as fast as possible before that tyrant catches us."
"What tyrant?" asked Aerrow.
"Terra Sky has been under the rule of a family of dictators ever since their last king, King Akeno, died almost 500 years ago," said Piper. "The leader right now is almost as evil as Master Cyclonis, but he's not on her side. Yet," she added.
Suddenly something beeped. Damien, turned away, grabbing a small electronic device from his belt. He glanced at it, then tucked it away again.
"Carina is ready for us," he said.
"Okay. Stork, Yelsha, you stay here and look after the Condor. The rest of us will go with Carina," said Piper as the others ran off towards the hanger.
They took off a few minutes later, the two large squadrons joining together to form one large squadron.
"So Thirrin," muttered Aerrow, pulling his skimmer closer to Thirrin's so he could keep his voice down, "what's up with Damien and Carina?"
"Oh, that," she said simply, glancing at him, chuckling slightly. "Damien and Carina started dating when they were about 13. I thought it was going well; of course, I was 11 years old, so how did I know?" she added, and Aerrow laughed quietly.
"Anyway, well, they dated for about 3 years; they actually only broke up about 3 months ago. When I started the Ice Dragons, she didn't want Damien to be involved with the violence that we have to experience with Cyclonians. Carina's parents were kidnapped and forced to work in the factory on Terra Gale," she whispered, AND Aerrow's eyes widened in understanding. "Her grandma, Akime, takes care of her now. She was afraid she was going to lose him too. She cared about him a lot. He told her not to worry about that type of stuff, and that it was stupid to worry. Big mistake. Women always worry, and that pretty much insulted her. Well, let's just say it didn't end well."
"Ah," said Aerrow.
"It'll be interesting to see what happens when Damien and Carina see each other again," said Thirrin quietly, and she giggled, Aerrow chuckling with her.
"Let's hope they don't try and kill each other, or we'll lose our guide," said Piper, over hearing their conversation, and they all laughed.
The song I associated with this chapter was "Starts With Goodbye" by Carrie Underwood. Of course, it only associates with like one part of the chapter, but oh well.