[Message from Kingdom Come]: Sorry this chapter is really long! It's also pretty dramatic :/ sorry for all the drama guys. But anyway, this is the last part of the Caylo brother's backstory! Yay! Now we can move on to the rest of the Twilight Knights. Also, a bit of a spoiler, but not really, The fight between Aida and Ace towards the end of the chapter, that is significant to something that's going to happen in the original regiment during the tournament. I think I said back when I started writing this that you don't necessarily have to read both, but this is one of those things where reading overture will definitely help you understand what's going on in the original story, now that we have Aida and the Dark Ace (Anteres)'s full backstory. Anyway! Hope you guys like the read! Enjoi!
"And the hangar bay you've already been to," Aida continued, as we headed back to where we started, "And that would be all there is to see." He smiled.
"So," I asked with a smile, "You're the pilot?"
"Most of the time," Aida replied with a slight smile, "Innes, my uhm…copilot…takes over when I make major repairs on the other Knights rides."
"Oh!" I began, as I leaned against my own ride, "So you're an engineer then?"
"Yeah," He replied, scratching the back of his head, "I guess you could say that…well, long story short, is that I'm here because of my engineering skills."
"You must be an impressive mechanic then," I began. I'll admit, I took a better look at Aida, and he didn't seem like the type. Perhaps it was the hair, or maybe it was just the fact that I couldn't get past the hair.
"Something like that," he replied, nervously, scratching the back of his head, "I mean…I keep telling you it's a long story…and it is, but Advent's not the reason I'm here."
"Then," I asked, turning to him, "Who is?"
"Well," He began, leaning against the wall beside me, "It was actually Nova." I raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for him to continue, but he just stood there, lost in thought for a moment.
"Are you alright?" I asked, leaning over towards him. He shook his head, returning to reality for a moment and nodded.
"Yeah I'm okay," He replied with a smile, "But like I said," He continued, "I'm the only Twilight Knight who wasn't approached by Advent…Nova she just…I don't know…she found me, I guess is the best way to put it."
Chapter III.
Aida and Anteres (Part II)
"Aida what is it!" Anteres exclaimed, as I pulled him out of the house later that night. I'll never forget it. A year had gone by since the day I we found that old rusted skimmer laying lifeless outside of the garage.
"Just close your eyes!" I chimed, dragging Anteres down to the beach. Truthfully, I think he had forgotten all about the skimmer, but I hadn't.
"Fine," He grumbled, closing his eyes, "But make it quick! If father finds that we left the house without his permission at this late hour-"
"You'll never have to worry about that ever again!" I chirped, seizing his hand and taking him into the hidden clearing, "Wait right there!" I began, rushing over to the covered mound in the center of the clearing. I ripped away the tarp and stood proudly before my work, although it couldn't be seen very well through the light of the night and under the brush just off of the beach, "Alright…open your eyes."
"Oh…my…god!" He gasped, rushing towards the skimmer, in the center of the clearing, "Aida! How long have you been working on this!"
"About a year," I responded promptly and proudly, "And…it's held together with bubblegum and tape…but it'll get you from terra to terra…or off this one at least. It's not much."
"It's brilliant!" Anteres replied. I knew he wanted to hug me, but such 'displays of affection' were not permitted in out household, so I hugged him anyway, "But…what now."
"You leave," I replied with a shrug. After all, there was no more 'now whatting' to be done. The hard part was over, or so I had thought.
"But what about you?" He asked, running his hands over the machine, "I mean the hair was one thing…what is dad going to do when he finds out about this?"
"Right," I replied, running my fingers though my newly pinkened hair. Yes, to answer your question, it did not go over well. And to shorten an even longer story, it ended with me and my father in the courtyard of our estate with a bucket of freezing water and a bamboo shaft against my bare back. It sounds less painful then it actually is, "I'll be okay…You just need to go! I'll wheel this thing up to a safe place where you can take off. You go back up to the estate, and grab everything you need."
"Come with me!" Anteres then shouted, as I began running the skimmer up the beach (and having a difficult time might I add).
"What!" I exclaimed, turning around to face him, "Are you crazy! We can't both leave!"
"I'll need your help," Anteres began, looking over to me, "I can't fix this thing! Are you crazy? I need your help Aida. Come with me."
"I can't believe I'm about to do this," I whispered to myself. I looked up to my brother and nodded. He smiled back at me as the two of us ran the skimmer up the beach and began pushing it up the hill. We set it alone for just a few moments as we silently ran back to our family's estate. I couldn't believe it that for the first time in my life I actually felt free.
We snuck inside and rushed into our bedrooms, and began packing immediately. It didn't take me very long at all. Maybe a minuet or two. I threw the satchel over my shoulder and quickly ran down the hall to Anteres' room. Without knocking, I pushed open the door. It was there where I saw him stuffing his clothes frantically into his bags.
"Are we really just going to leave?" He asked, closing the bag and hanging it over his shoulder.
"Maybe we should write a note," I replied, "You know…telling them that we're running away."
"Oh…" Anteres then added, just as I began taking a piece of parchment and a pen from the desk beside his bed, "by the way Aida…this is for you." He stated, placing a small bag in my hand, "I've been saving this stuff for a while…and I figured you spent all of your keys on fixing up that skimmer…so I owe you."
"Brother," I replied, looking down at the bag of money, "You're going to need this more than I will…"
"No," He replied, closing my hand around the bag, "It's yours…besides, I have enough to get by."
"What is going on in here?" A cold and harsh voice asked, as the two of us turned around in horror to face it. It was our father. He must have heard us, and regretfully, he caught us in the act.
"We're leaving!" Anteres growled, stepping out before him, "And there's nothing you can do about it."
"How dare you!" My father shouted, throwing his hand across my brother's face.
"Anteres!" I exclaimed, rushing to his side.
"I've been nothing but good to the both of you!" he growled, looking down at the both of us, "And this is how you two ingrates repay me!" He shouted, lifting up Anteres by the collar of his shirt.
"Leave him alone!" I shouted, instinctively, leaping towards him. It was as though someone else just took over. I grabbed him by the roots of his hair and with every ounce of strength I had left, I slammed him against a nearby wall, causing him to fall unconscious, for just a moment though, "Come on!" I shouted, lifting up Anteres as the two of us rushed out of the house. As quickly as we could, we headed down to where we had left the skimmer.
"After them!" We could hear my father shout as several footsteps then came rushing from the front gates of the estate. I panicked as Anteres and I climbed on to the skimmer.
"Do you know how to fly this thing!" He asked, as I ignited the engine.
"Of course I do!" I replied, "All you have to do is steer!" I replied as he gripped the throttle and the skimmer took off. I pulled up on the latch and the wings extended as the vehicle took off into the air. We were so close, however I made one fatal mistake. As we were taking off, I forgot to hold on to something, and fell crashing to the ground as Anteres continued through the air.
"Aida!" He shouted, moving to turn the skimmer around.
"Just keep flying!" I shouted, as I felt someone lift me up off of the ground and restrain my arms, "I'll be okay!" And that would be the last time we'd ever see each other for ten years.
Needless to say, I was punished, severely. Not to mention word spread around the isles like wildfire about how their precious inheritor, Anteres Caylo the sixth flew away into the night with the assistance of his delinquent twin. To the town's dismay they now had to settle for sloppy seconds, or me, would my father have me. Thank god I was considered a disgrace for helping Anteres escape, and so the title of Lord of the Caylo Isles would go to the first man who married one of my sisters. Truthfully, from that point on, I wasn't really even welcome in the home I grew up in. But I truly had no idea the damage that I would be causing to everyone by helping Anteres leave that night.
"Keep in mind Aida," My mother told me, a few weeks later, "That you are a guest in this house. Your father has been gracious enough to let you stay-"
"Gracious isn't exactly a word I would use," I replied coldly to her.
"Aida!" She recanted, turning to me and giving me a sharp look, "I am perfectly serious! The only reason you have yet to be turned out into the streets is because you are my son as well as your father's and I still want you to stay! But if you continue to act against him and continue on this path of reckless behavior, I must agree with him. I just wish he hadn't laid his hands on you…" She sighed, brushing my hair out of my face to reveal the bruises, and the stitches across my forehead. The rest of my marks were in places that could be concealed easily by clothing, so the villagers and guests of my father wouldn't ask questions if they saw whenever they happened to be around. Although, everyone knows what my father did to me that night. Like I said, the news spread like wildfire.
"I'm sorry mother," I replied, looking down at the ground, "I'll…I'll try! I promise."
"Thank you," She smiled, sitting down beside me and placing her arm around my shoulder, "But I must ask…why did you help Anteres run away?"
"Because mother," I replied, looking up to her, "He hated it here…"
"Yes," She replied with a slight sigh, "And you just did what I wasn't brave enough to let him do in the first place. I only wish better for you." She smiled, running her hands through my now pink hair, "And I don't care what your father says…I like your hair…it matches your eyes."
"Thank you mother," I replied. At the time, I was just a stupid teenager, really unaware of what I'd done, but I had absolutely no idea of how far my mother had truly stuck out her neck for me. After all, if it were up to my father, I'd be dead.
However, there was some happy news in all of this, at least, it was only happy for a bit. About two months had passed since I had last seen my brother, when a shabby looking letter arrived for me at our estate. It was mid morning, and the family was gathered around the table in the dining room, going about morning business as usual. My mother was combing through Alinai's hair and I was listening to Aldese talk about the various things she wanted to be when she grew up while my father sat at the head of the table reading the paper. One of the servants walked into the room, holding a silver tray, with the letter sitting on top.
"There's a letter for you sir," He began, dropping the tray to my eye level. I took it and smiled, dismissing the servant as he headed out of the room. Surely enough, my name was scrawled across the paper.
"Who's it from?" Aldese asked, standing up on her chair and trying to look over my shoulder (After all, she was only five at the time).
"Aldese, please!" My mother began, "Sit down." She snapped as Aldese sat down in the chair, and I opened the envelope. I immediately recognized the handwriting though.
"It's from Anteres," I began, reading the letter quietly to myself. The entire family perked up and took interest then as my mother and sisters gathered around me to get a better read of the letter, "He's doing well. He's living on a carrier…he's joined a squadron!" I exclaimed, with relief, clutching the letter to my chest.
"He's been knighted!" My father demanded, looking over to me with disbelief, "In two moths! That's unaccountable-"
"No," I interrupted, "He's under apprenticeship with the Sky Knight of…the Storm Hawks! He's acting as a co-pilot to Lightning Strike for now until he can undergo the trials, but it says that he would like to learn more about being in a squadron first."
"He's a lowly co-pilot!" My father growled, crossing his arms, scoffing at the notion. I thought it was wonderful, and at fourteen too.
"He says that if we could stop by terra Atmosia," I continued, ignoring my father's quips, "Then he would be more than happy to show us around the condor and the Storm Hawks would happily host us."
"Oh how wonderful!" My mother smiled, hugging me tightly as she read the letter over my shoulder, "What an opportunity! And Terra Atmosia! Why, as a matter of fact, I've never been!"
"Papa! Can we go!" Aldese chirped, looking up from the letter.
"Oh please father," Alinai smiled, asking properly.
"Hmph," He responded to the both of them, returning to his paper.
"Father the carriage," I asked, trying to reclaim his attention, "To terra Atmosia…"
"Certainly not," He replied haughtily, looking down at the paper, "Or do you all forget that this is a Cyclonian terra now?"
"Oh but dearest," My mother began, walking up beside my father's chair, "Can't we let this silly war be for just one day?"
"No," My father growled, rising to his feet, "And as far as I am concerned, Our son is no longer welcome on the Caylo isles as long as he is a Storm Hawk!" He shouted, as my heart dropped into my feet, "The both of you should have thought about that before you started on this ridiculous sky knight venture!" He snapped, leaving the room.
Yeah, in case you were wondering, I really did make a mess of things. The former golden boy of the Caylo isles was now public enemy number one, and I was to blame. Not to mention, I was a stranger in my own home. Things could have been better. But life went on, as always did. Four years passed, and Anteres and I wrote each other and he wrote to the others in the family frequently. Once Ali and Aldese had the skills they wrote him and he wrote back. The only person who he didn't communicate with was my father. Understandable, given the circumstances.
But like I said, life went on. I didn't do much engineering work, given that the nostalgia of it just kind of upset me, so I went about my days reading, studying, and trying to do what normal eighteen year old boys did at that age, which was hard, given that they're typically supposed to be chasing after girls right? Well I was attracted to girls, don't get me wrong, I had some suitors that I was interested in. I just wasn't as interested in them as I was boys. So, given that I was already kind of hated in my own house, I just kept my sexuality crisis to myself. But my sexuality was the least of my problems.
It was a cold December morning when I walked into the foyer of my family's estate. It was there where I saw my mother clutching a letter, and crying.
"The Sky Knight council has officially declared war against Cyclonia," My mother sobbed, turning to me, "the Storm Hawks will be leading the assault on Cyclonia tomorrow!" She wailed, as she handed me the letter from Anteres. I took it accordingly.
"What should we do?" I asked, looking over to her, slightly panicked.
"Do not tell your father!" She exclaimed, tears still in her eyes, "Take that letter and burn it! He mustn't know about the attack!"
"Okay," I replied with a nod, clutching the letter in my hands.
"Aida," She cried, "What if he's killed! I can't bear it!"
"He'll be just fine," I began, wrapping my arms around her, "He's tougher than you think mother…I'm sure he'll be fine."
"Oh Aida…" She began wiping the tears away from her eyes, "I hope so!"
The rest of the day seemed to drag on for eternity. My mother and I just waited for the end to come so the next day would arrive, and with it the assault on Cyclonia.
"Aida?" Aldese began, walking out into the rock garden, where I sat, alone, thinking about what might become of this, "Are you okay?"
"No," I replied, instinctively bursting into tears in front of her, "No Aldese I'm not okay!" She sat down next to me and tried to console me, but after all she was nine now, and had no idea what was going on. She didn't know what a mess I had made of everything. And so, I waited in agony for the next day to come. When it did, I wished it hadn't.
I was sitting outside, although, I don't know why. It was freezing on that day, and raining a little. I was reading, just trying to pass the time, although, I was just waiting for news, any kind of news. It was about noon when a servant then made his way into the gardens where I was.
"Lord Caylo has requested your presence in the foyer sir," He stated, giving me a quick bow and then leaving. My heart jumped into my throat as I rushed into the estate, through the halls and down the staircase and into the foyer, where I saw my father standing before the door, not making a sound. I had assumed either one of two things to warrant his motionless and vacant expression. Either A.) The Sky Knights won and Cyclonia had fallen. Or B.) Anteres was dead. Neither would bode well for me, but I was praying to the powers that be that it was option A.
"Come here Aida," My father stated sternly as I descended the staircase. He turned around to face me. His face was blank, and I was terrified. I couldn't move. I just stood still on the last step of the staircase, hoping he would just tell me from where he stood. But he then walked towards me. My heart pounded in my chest once he reached me. And I was not expecting what was coming next.
"Y-yes father?" I asked quietly, expecting to be beaten where I stood. Before he could even answer, I suddenly felt arms wrap around me. I was shocked and stunned. For the first time in my life, my father had made non-violent physical contact with me.
"Thank you," He began once he let go of me, smiling as he did do.
"What did I do?" I asked, still shocked and confused.
"The Storm Hawks have fallen," My father stated proudly, holding me by the shoulders, "And the Sky Knights have failed! Cyclonia won! And your brother…helped in stopping the assault!"
"…what?" I began, my eyes wide and sounding even more dumbstruck.
"He gave the intelligence reports to Cyclonian officials before the assault!" My father exclaimed, overjoyed at the fact that Anteres was now a traitor, "He's being rewarded and is going to be a Commander in the armada! And he would never be there if it wasn't for you! Aida Caylo, you are no longer a guest in this house, but once again my son and a hero on this terra!" he stated, but I was still in shock.
"What…what do you mean-" I began, completely at a loss for words.
"A commander!" My father laughed, walking out of the foyer, "And at eighteen too!"
But I was beside myself. I was sick. I felt betrayed and lied to, and I felt selfish because I'm sure Atmos was feeling betrayed and lied to, but had it not been for me, setting the wheel in motion, this wouldn't have happened.
I never spoke to Anteres after that day. My family went to visit him on Cyclonia on several occasions, at least my mother and father did (my sisters weren't old enough yet), and I never responded to any of his letters. They were pompous and arrogant. He just changed so much, and I didn't want to have anything to do with him, not after what he had done. Regardless, four years would pass between the time of the assault and the next time Anteres returned home. Needless to say, his first visit back would seemingly not end well, for me anyway.
So, I did say that this story was long, but there was a lot of build up to it! You know, plenty of drama and all that jazz! But on the night that Anteres would return home for the first time, would also be the same night, when my life would change forever. This was the night when I became a Twilight Knight.
It was September. The air was cool, and it was about seven o'clock in the evening, I'll never forget.
"Well well Aida," I remember Anteres call to me just as he stepped off the unnecessarily large carrier that the Master had commissioned for him. My father looked at him as though he was some sort of messiah, "It's been a while hasn't it…I see you're just as eccentric as usual." He stated, looking me over as though I had a disease.
"It's been a while Anteres," I smiled, nodding, even though I was trying to overlook the fact that he was trying to act better than myself, "Congratulations on becoming a commander."
"We're so, so proud of you my dear," My mother swooned, taking Anteres in her arms as though he were a priceless gem.
"What a legacy you've created for the Caylo name," My father doted, "A commander in the Cyclonian fleet sounds much more impressive than a copilot for some terra-less sky knight! Wouldn't you agree Aida?"
"Except there's no honor in it," I muttered under my breath, rolling my eyes as the family fawned over Anteres.
"You have something to say, little brother?" Anteres growled, glaring over at me. He had never acted like this before, like he was superior to anyone. It worried me.
"No…" I replied flatly, looking over to him, "I was just remarking that you are in a noble profession…that's all."
"That's what I thought," He replied, turning his face away from me.
"So can I come and stay with you on Cyclonia some time?" My sister, Alinai, asked, walking alongside Anteres, who acted as though he had no interest in seeing his two younger sisters at all.
"That is absolutely out of the question!" My father snapped, even before Anteres could answer, "How dare you impose on your brother like that Alinai!"
"I think she's of age father," I began, turning to him.
"And who are you to decide if someone is of age or not?" Anteres snapped, turning to me, looking me over with the you're scum look again.
"She's thirteen years old!" I replied haughtily, "I think she's old enough to spend a few days on Cyclonia with her older brother who twenty-two and who is also a commander in the armada."
"I have better things to do than to babysit my sisters all day," Anteres replied, arrogantly, trying to dismiss the fact that I had valid points. I looked over to Alinai and Aldese. They looked hurt, and I didn't blame them.
So, we went inside after our cold greeting and immediately sat down to the 'welcome home' dinner. It was not as 'welcome' as I would have hoped. It was a lot of Anteres and my father just talking about how wonderful Master Cyclonis was and how the master who was to succeed her will be just as wonderful and the armada was wonderful and terra is wonderful and the talons are wonderful and they just all sit around Cyclonia all day and soak up each other's wonderfulness! It was enough to make one projectile vomit. But that wasn't the worst part.
"So Aida," Anteres began, turning the attention towards me, "Since I am sooo busy being a commander, I don't particularly have time for a wife, but you do. So, when are you getting married?"
"Oh yes," My father began, turning to me, "I was wondering when you might single out a companion for your wife."
"What if I don't want to get married," I replied, trying to shift the attention off of me. So remember that whole sexuality crisis I touched on earlier, yeah, it's about to become kind if important about now.
"Oh but you must get married to someone," My father began, rolling his eyes, "Or else how can you-"
"I like boys okay!" I exclaimed. I don't know why I said it. It just came out. I had been bottling it up for so long and it just felt so fantastic to let it off of my chest, but the room was silent, and all staring at me.
"…what?" My father responded, with a stunned reaction.
"I-I…" I began, trying to recover from what I said.
"Get out…" He hissed, rising up from the table. I just looked at him, with a completely lost expression, "I said…get out…" I obeyed him. I rose up from the table and rushed out of the room. I heard a chair pull out from the table behind me, along with footsteps. As I walked though the foyer I heard my father yelling something, and my mother trying to reason with him, which begged the question, who was following me, but then again, I didn't really care. I immediately headed outside and headed down to the beach behind our estate. I didn't know where I was going, but I just knew I was going somewhere.
"Aida!" Anteres exclaimed, chasing after me, as I rushed down the beach, "Aida come back! Talk to me!"
"Get the hell away from me Anteres!" I growled, turning around to face him. He looked surprised, maybe given that he had never seen me so angry before.
"Aida what's going on here?" He demanded, in that pompous and arrogant tone. And that's what finally set me over the edge.
"What's going on?" I replied, taking a step towards him, "WHAT'S GOING ON! What the hell Anteres! You lied to me! I stuck my neck out for you! I made sacrifices for you! I ruined my relationship with my father, my relationship with my family, and I ruined my god damn life to make you god damn dream of becoming a sky knight come true! I haven't been welcome in my house for four fucking years Anteres!" I screamed, as he watched me, completely dumbfounded and at a loss for words.
"Aida…" He began.
"NO!" I shouted, "Don't you dare! Don't you try and make this right for me! Not now, you've got no right…not after what you've done! As a matter of fact, you can't make this right! See this!" I growled, pushing the hair out of my forehead to reveal the dark scar that's usually hidden, "I got this the night I helped you run away…you want to know what dad used to give it to me? Huh? Do ya Anteres? A candlestick, one of the pewter ones in the dining room. It took fourteen stitches! And that's not all he did!"
"…I…I can't imagine what you've been through," Anteres began, looking down at the ground.
"Shut up!" I shouted, "I've been trapped here for eight years while you played sky knight. And all I could think about was how I did some good in the world by helping my older brother make his dream come true. But you lied to me…"
"I never lied to you Aida," Anteres began, jumping to his defense, "I was just…keeping a secret…that's all."
"No," I replied, "That's called lying…and you don't keep secrets like that! Especially after all that I've done! All the damage control I've had to do! All the cleaning up I had to do after you got to kiss this place goodbye forever. YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME!" I screamed, tears running down my face.
"I didn't have to tell you anything!" Anteres shouted.
"I'M YOUR BROTHER!" I cried, "You owed me that! At least! If it weren't for me you'd still be here practicing your table manners and stuck in an arranged marriage to some gap-toothed nobleman's daughter! I picked you up off the floor by your shoulders and dusted you off! I was the one who got you a ride! I fixed it up for you with nothing but a few screws and some tape! I got you to where you are now! And you treat me with arrogance and sarcasm! You've no idea the magnitude of what you've done do you!"
"You couldn't possibly understand," He replied. I seized him by the collar of his talon uniform and pushed him down to the ground.
"I hate you…" I told him, tears running down my face "I hate you so much right now…and I wish you everything that your karma owes you, for what you put me through and for what you did to the Storm Hawks." I quivered before turning away from him and running away from that house. I didn't know that I'd never go back there ever again.
I ran for what felt like hours, and it had begun to rain, heavily. I stopped and saw a nearby shore cave. They often revealed themselves at low tide, so I ran inside for shelter. I sat down on the soaked ground of the cave, and I thought. I didn't know where to go. I couldn't go back home, and I couldn't go into town, so perhaps I could become a cave person…no…that wouldn't work. I leaned my head against the wall of the cave, and once again, I began to cry. I didn't notice anything. I didn't hear anything. I just sat in the cave and cried, thinking about how badly I screwed up.
"OH DAMNIT!" I heard a voice then shout somewhere outside of the cave. I stumbled out, trying to dry my eyes as best I could, which wasn't easy, seeing as how I was soaked. It was there where I found a young woman laying down on the beach, a smoking skimmer crashed next to her.
"Wait right there!" I shouted, jumping down from the cave, and heading over towards her.
"Thank god," She growled, "I could use some help! This piece of crap copped out on me in mid flight! Where the hell am I anyway!"
"You're on the Caylo Isles," I began rushing up beside her to see if she was okay.
"I'm okay," She grumbled, pushing me away. She then hissed in pain and I looked down at her leg, and truthfully, it was pretty bad.
"It looks broken," I stated, taking the first layer of my yukata off of my body and ripping it into shreds. I found two sizable and straight sticks and helped the woman fashion a splint as we tied it around her leg.
"Thanks for the help by the way…what's your name anyway?" She asked as I secured the splint and moved to her ride.
"Aida," I replied, standing the vehicle upright as best I could, "What about you?"
"The name's Tarja…Tarja Nova…but just call me Nova okay?" She stated. So, now you know where I'm going with this.
"Oh wow," I began, looking over the entire set up of her skimmer, "Uh…it's no wonder you crashed…who the hell is your mechanic."
"Our squadron doesn't have one," She stated flatly, "We do what work we can by ourselves…actually…right now…I do all the work I can by myself."
"Do you have any tools?" I asked, looking up from the engine and to her, "I can fix it…but not with my bare hands."
"Yeah," Nova nodded, "Some…In the back compartment…are you sure you can fix this thing?"
"I'll have it in working order in a day," I replied, looking over what she had in the compartment. More than I could hope for. A socket wrench, a few nuts and bolts, and a couple of spare parts just in case. If a normal mechanic saw this, they would think it was sad, but normal mechanics don't get a skimmer in working order from bubblegum and paperclips at fourteen either.
"So," Nova asked me. It was much later in the day, and I had used up what little she had in her compartment, so now it was time to improvise, "What's your story kid?"
"I'm not a kid," I replied, "I'm twenty-two…and it's kind if long…"
"You see us going anywhere?" She scoffed, looking around, then to her ride, and then to her leg.
"Okay," I began, taking in a big sigh. So, everything I've told you, I told her. Long story short that is, "And now…I'm here…helping you…"
"Phew!" She began, laying down on the sand, "That's some intense shit Aida!"
"You're telling me…" I replied sadly, continuing my work, "Say what are you doing out here anyway? This is a Cyclonian terra and aren't you a sky knight?"
"That's Twilight Knight business…" Nova responded flatly, "Can't discuss that with you…oh crap…"
"You're…a twilight knight…" I asked, completely skeptical at first.
"I swear to Jevanni and the old gods above," Nova began, drawing a crystal gun and pointing it in my face, "If you tell anyone we met or spoke…I will kill you…"
"I swear on my life!" I replied immediately, just wanting her to take gun out of my face. I turned back to the ride. I don't expect anyone to understand, skimmer mechanics that is, but it was still a mess, and given the situation, it's not like I could have gone back into town to but parts for it. However, it was flyable and it would get Nova off of the island.
"You're good," I began rising to my feet and closing the engine compartment.
"That is not going to fly," Nova scoffed, looking over to her ride, "There was no way you'd get that thing airborne with what you had on hand!"
"I'll prove you wrong," I replied with a smile, "Go ahead, get outta here."
"Uhm…" Nova began, crossing her arms, and nodding to her leg, "Can't really pilot this thing with a broken leg now can I? You're gonna have to do it for me."
"I…I can't," I began, looking back up the beach, in the direction of my former home.
"What…" Nova began, "You said it yourself…you don't have a home to go to. Help me fly my skimmer back to where I need to get to. You helped me out of a jam…now lemme help you."
And so I did. I flew Nova and her skimmer back to the Tempest, which was floating about ten clicks from tropica, so it wasn't too far from our initial location. Which was a good thing, because I really don't think her ride would have made it much father. The two of us touched down in the hangar bay where I met with two other soon to be familiar faces. The first, was Cyrus, and the second was Advent. Both of them didn't look at all thrilled by my presence.
"Nova?" Advent asked, walking up to her, "What's going on here?"
"Hear me out," Nova began, "This kid had talent…and we not only need a pilot…but we need a mechanic…" Nova and Advent then whispered between one another for a long time. It looked as though they were having an extreme disagreement.
"Fine," Advent sighed, obviously giving up on fighting Nova, "I will trust your judgment, but just this once! From now on, I assess all future Twilight Knights…Aida Caylo…" She began, turning to me. I snapped to attention. I must have looked terrified, "I am offering you a position as carrier pilot and mechanic in the Twilight Knights."
"I accept!" I replied immediately. After all, what did I have to loose?