Warning!: There is another gorey scene in this chapter, and any fans of Hoerk will not like it.
Chapter 7: Turning Tables
"Of all your crazy plans, Aerrow, this has to be the craziest!" Piper hissed at him as they paced through the trees of Terra Bogaton, "What makes you think that the Raptors would ever want to help us?!"
"Because, we want to help them." Aerrow replied, smiling at her.
"Since when?" Finn asked.
"Since now," Aerrow answered, "look, we have a map of the Cyclonians' take-over tactics. They have battalions, crystals and stealth. I'm sure if Repton sees sense, he may agree to a small alliance."
"Never!" Repton yelled, "The Raptors never ally with inferior species! All other species are below the Raptors and are our prey. We are superior and will not subject ourselves to such embarrassment!"
"Do you always give your victims this shit before sinking your teeth in?" Piper asked, hands on hips. Repton snarled.
"Listen, we're all on the same ship here," Aerrow stood between Repton and Piper, "the Cyclonians are trying to take over your Terra, and they'll likely be trying to take our home Terra too. Wouldn't it be better if we abandoned all past opinions on each other and worked together, just this once, for the good of Atmos?"
Aerrow watched as Repton pondered over his statement.
"I don't know," he sighed, "what have you to offer us?"
"We have this," Aerrow whipped out the map and gave it to Repton, "the Cyclonians have left all their battle tactics of invasion all over the map. With this, you can prepare yourselves for the attack."
Repton scanned the map, snarling under his breath, "You would give us this?"
"Yes, and help protect your Terra, so long as you agree to help us infiltrate one of their ships and help us to defend our Terra."
It was a lot to ask of a Raptor, but it was also a lot to give a Raptor; defending Bogaton was going to be easier said than done.
Repton looked Aerrow in the eye, "We'll agree to a small, temporary alliance. And this deal never happened."
Aerrow nodded, "Understood."
Repton turned to his brothers, "Prepare the battalions! The Cyclonians are coming!"
An hour later, the Cyclonian battalion was seen approaching Bogaton over the horizon. Piper, Leugey, and many of the Raptors' regiments stayed on the ground of Bogaton, while Finn, Junko, Spitz, Hoerk and more regiments provided air defence. Alongside Repton and a small group of Raptors, Aerrow and Radarr would infiltrate the Condor for crystals and maps.
Just like in their previous invasions, hundreds of Talons were expelled from the warships. Spitz, Hoerk and the Raptors set about beheading the Talons, while Finn and Junko simply knocked them off their skimmers.
Dark Ace looked on from the Condor at his failing troops, "It doesn't make any sense; how did they know?"
There came a sudden crash as Aerrow and Repton burst onto the bridge. Dark Ace glared at him, "Do you ever give up?!" he yelled.
"No." Aerrow answered simply, grinning.
Dark Ace drew his sword and ran into battle with Aerrow. Radarr meanwhile, ignorant of Stork, grabbed as many maps as his mouth and claws could carry, and Repton grabbed the container of crystals. As Radarr and Repton left with their prizes, Aerrow and Dark Ace continued their fight. Stork pulled down on a lever and a heavy metal block came falling down from the ceiling and onto Dark Ace's head, knocking him unconscious.
Aerrow looked up to Stork surprised, who turned his back from him and returned to the controls. Aerrow turned to leave, but then muttered, "Thanks…" before walking out of the bridge.
When Dark Ace eventually came around, Master Cyclonis stood over him scowling.
"Had a nice nap, have we?" she hissed.
Dark Ace sat up and looked around. He was lying on the bridge and it looked dark outside.
"I had to have your little battalion retreat. You've failed to capture one little Terra…" she explained shrilly.
Dark Ace leapt to his feet, "They knew! The Raptors knew we were coming!"
"And maybe it's about time you reminded them of the penalty of betrayal," she turned her back on him and began to walk away, "consider it your retribution for letting me down…"
As soon as Master Cyclonis had left, Dark Ace summoned three of his best Talons. The Raptors would not expect this next attack. He would make them pay.
Terra Bogaton was rife with excitement as the Raptors celebrated their victory. The scaly beasts roared deafeningly at the moon, ripped flesh from the bones of small Bogaton mammals greedily and play-wrestled in mud patches. As mis-managed as the festivities were, Aerrow could not help but smile.
"It may be just one victory amongst many losses," he said to Piper, "but it is a step forward. Hopefully, we may be able to take back all the lost Terras."
Piper looked up at the moon, "And maybe even get Stork back on the team…" she muttered optimistically.
Aerrow hoped the same thing. Stork may have let him down yesterday, but today… There must be more to his betrayal than we know, he thought. Would Stork really be on the Cyclonians' side if he had left their skimmers when he joined them, let him get away with a crucial map and even knock out Dark Ace to help him escape?
Aerrow's thoughts were disturbed when four Cyclonians flew above the Raptors' heads and disappeared into the dark.
"Cyclonians!" Repton growled, "After them! Kill them!"
"Murder! Murder!" came the sudden frantic scream of a Raptor, standing among the trees and pointing behind him.
Repton, followed by the Storm Hawks and the other Raptors, bolted through the trees until he reached an embankment, where he met a horrid sight; a group of five Raptors had been slaughtered, their throats and guts ripped out, bloodied organs glistening in the moon's glow. And among the bodies, was –
"HOERK!" Repton screamed, of pure horror, shock, and sorrow.
The bulkiest of Repton's brothers lay in a pool of blood, still leaking from his body. His head had been completely severed from the neck, eyes wide open and jaws gaping. Repton ran down to his dead brother and collapsed onto his body. What the Storm Hawks saw next was an entirely different side to the vehement Raptor.
Great tears ran down his cheeks as he nuzzled Hoerk's head, smearing blood on his face. He lifted his own head to the sky and let out a loud, fearful roar, the greatest of all the Raptors' expressions of immense grief
"Oh, Hoerk! What have they done to you?!" he sobbed outwardly, "What the hell have those evil bastards done?!"
Leugey and Spitz too soon discovered their brother's brutal murder and mourned alongside Repton, all three crying at the moon. Aerrow was about to turn to leave them to grieve alone, but Repton looked back at him, snarling.
"Master Cyclonis warned us of this!" he struggled to his feet and stepped towards Aerrow, "She threatened to kill us if we dared betray her. Can't you see what you've brought on us?" more tears fell from his eyes as he spoke.
"I'm sorry," Aerrow apologised, "I didn't know that this would happen."
That was a lie. Aerrow was well aware of the penalty of betrayal from hiding on the Condor the day before. Right now, he almost felt responsible for Hoerk's death.
Repton turned his back on him, "Just leave, and forget about the deal, you've helped enough. Just leave now."
"But-"
"Get out!" Repton yelled, "I will not lose anymore of my brothers to those fuckers! Get out now and never come back!"
There was no use in trying to persuade him any longer. In the short time it had taken to kill a Raptor, all of Aerrow's hopes of saving Atmos had been shattered. The Storm Hawks left the Raptors to mourn and returned to their skimmers.
Repton knelt beside Hoerk's body, "I swear, that whoever murdered Hoerk, is gonna pay for it!" he threw his head up to the sky and yelled, "You here me you bastards! I'm gonna make you pay!"
"We'll get ye, shitheads!" Spitz yelled too.
Please R&R.
