Chapter 6
Practice makes it Perfect
Aerrow ran his hand through his red hair. He sat on his bed, confused, pondering over the current situation. He glanced over at Stork, who was reading a book about repelling 'poison blood algae'. Stork was deep in thought as usual, tilting his head slightly higher up as he read. His yellow eyes scanned every word of the book, taking it all in as if it would save his life…
…One day.
Radarr chirped as he bounced on Storks hotel bed, jumping up and down in a playful manner. Aerrow smiled as Radarr performed various twists and flips as he trampolined on the squeaky mattress. The blue furred creature cried out a satisfied squawk after every daring flip he completed, before plopping his nimble body on top of the bed out of exhaustion. Aerrow laughed at Radarr, commenting to him as to how entertaining he can be at times. He looked up at the ceiling, back into thought again. One question raced through his mind.
Where are Finn and Junko?
The two haven't reported to him about leaving. They haven't even left a note in their dorm to tell them where they are. Their sudden disappearance worried him, and he was unsure as to whether to search for them or not. Was he too paranoid? Maybe. It could be from the fact he had shared the same room with the most paranoid member of the Storm Hawks overnight, and he could have picked up his habits.
Stork turned over a new page of his book, adjusting his seating position a little before sighing. Aerrow watched his movements. He seemed so calm when he is learning about different disasters, diseases and doom… his panicky and mentally unstable side only shone through when he actually encounters the impending doom.
Doom, doom, doom, doom, doom…
That was all he ever thinks about, doom. Everything is out to get him. The whole world is about to throw him into turmoil. Everyone is out to inflict him unimaginable pain. For him, living is torture. All his life he has been trying to dodge his greatest fears. Sometimes Aerrow thinks that Stork is far more afraid of life than actually losing his life. Stork is one of the most complicated members of the Storm Hawks.
But then again, everyone has their own perks. Dealing and handling each of those perks are as equally hard as Storks paranoia in their own unique way. Junko has his habit of collecting things that are irrelevant and useless to him and the others (not to mention his infamous eating habits). Finn had his insecurity with girls, and always tried to pull them in with incredibly unsuitable methods. Piper… well, she was girl. Sure, he can understand Piper with generalities. But when it comes to femininity, neither he or the other Storm Hawks could help her. They could only count on Starling when she comes for visits.
Starling…
That woman is incredibly hard to understand. Not because she was female, but because of her new place with the Storm Hawks. They all welcome her with open arms, but she always refused their offer of a place with the Storm Hawks. Every single time she could never accept the position she has been proposed with. It was as if she was against it. As if she was stopping herself. There was something deep down inside her heart, something was there and it affected her decision. The reason as to why she stopped herself was a big mystery to Aerrow. And, even worse, he doesn't how to ask her about it. Aerrow wouldn't know how to talk to her about such personal matters. To make matters worse, he didn't want to be involved with such a touchy subject since it might bring up the Interceptor downfall. He knew how sensitive Starling is with the topic of her former squadron, and tried to avoid talking to her about it as much as possible.
Poor Starling was what always crossed his mind whenever he thought about such a matter. It was sad. Incredibly sad.
And then, it all comes down to Radarr. For a start, he doesn't even know what species he is. Secondly, communicating with him is hard enough, in addition with his miming and charades. Aerrow tried teaching Radarr and himself sign language so they both could be able to understand each other. Both of them failed to even have a grasp of it. It was far too complicated for the two, and even if they do manage to grasp it they are still going to have more trouble to teach the rest of the team sign language in order for them to understand the small co-pilot.
Well, I guess we're gonna have to stick with chirping and charades.
Thinking back on all of this, Aerrow couldn't help but grin. He realized just how much he doesn't know about his close friends. Despite how long he has known them, he still keeps discovering new things about them, and every time he learns more about them he soon discovers other things that apply as a mystery to him.
Another thought had crossed his mind; wow, I don't really know that much about myself either!
"Dude, what are you smiling at?"
Aerrow almost jumped out of his skin in shock. Finn had walked into Stork and Aerrows hotel room so quietly the three didn't notice. Well, Radarr couldn't have noticed anyway, he was now fast asleep on Storks bed.
"Finn, Junko!" he replied, if not a little startled. "Where have you been?"
Finn shrugged, murmuring 'out' as he did so. Junko gave him a grin before glancing over at Stork, whom was oblivious to the fact they had returned as he quietly carried on with reading his book. Stork turned over a new page of his book.
Finn walked over to Aerrows hotel bed and sat next to their leader. The mattress squeaked and sank violently as Finn reclined on the bed. He wiped his brow with the back his hand from sweat, sighing lightly as he closed his eyes. Junko sat on the bed with Radarr. The mattress on Storks' bed was in even worse shape than Aerrows, and a few springs pinged up through the sheets. Junko yelped as some of the springs poked Junkos' poor bottom.
"YEOUCH!" he cried as he quickly stood up, his hand on his rear instinctively. Radarr woke up with a startled jump, landing on top of Storks head. Stork yelled in surprise, throwing his book in the air. He stood up and ran in circles around the room, shouting and yelling in panic ("THE SKY IS FALLING!"). Radarr was clinging on Storks' head for dear life as he screeched in discomfort. Gravity took the book back down on top of Radarr. He grunted upon the impact of the heavy book and let go of Stork, flopping onto the floor in a daze. Stork tripped over the hardback and flew into Aerrow and Finn. The two held their arms up as they braced themselves for the collision, and grunted as the blow came. Junko laughed at the four as the dust settled.
The room door opened, and a confused looking Piper stepped inside. She was dressed hastily into a large T-shirt and a pair of green shorts. Her hair was still dripping wet as she had previously just taken a shower.
"Guys, are you okay? I heard a lot of noise and…" she scanned the room. Radarr was still on the floor, holding his now sore head. Junko was laughing hysterically at Finn, Aerrow and Stork, whom was in a big pile on top of Aerrows bed. Stork was seeing stars run circles around his head, while Finn had his eyes swirling in circles in different directions in a daze. Aerrow could only look at Piper sheepishly. He tried to shift himself from underneath Stork and Finn.
"… What are you doing?"
Junko's laughter died down as Finn regained his sight back. He shook his head and shoved Stork off him. Aerrow nudged Finn off, blushing at his awkward position in front of Piper. Piper could only raise a brow, a few drops of soapy water dripped on her soggy shoulders from her hair. Aren't they starting to get a little too old for play fights?
"Sorry Piper. I didn't see ya there" Junko greeted warmly with a smile. Piper could only smile back Junko.
"Hello Junko," she returned the welcome. "Where were you by the way? We wondered where you and Finn went."
Junko shrugged and looked over at Finn. The boy was dusting himself off and sorting out his messy blonde hair. "Out…" Finn mumbled as he adjusted his gloves. Piper raised a brow, frustrated about Finn's vague answer. She turned to Junko for a more cooperative and useful reply as to where they were the whole day.
"We went to see how the Condor was doing" he said simply. "Me and Finn kinda got lost though… that's why we took so long" Junko added after he saw Finn give a worried glance in his general direction.
"Okay…" Piper shrugged her wet shoulders. Her hair was still dripping, and a small wet patch was on the floor where she stood. Although wet, Aerrow couldn't help but notice how much longer it looked when her hair was down.
"Your hair looks nice down, Piper" Aerrow blurted out suddenly. He cringed; embarrassed at himself once he caught on to what he had just said.
She raised a brow at him. She opened her mouth to speak, to question him, but she didn't know what to say. Aerrow never complimented her about how she looked before, and this was the first time that Piper was speechless. She wasn't the only one aware of this. Finn, Junko, Stork and Radarr knew that Aerrow had never spoken to her about such a subject. Stork's eyes widened, out of shock and paranoia.
"Dude…" Finn mumbled. "Only girls say that kinda stuff to each other, man"
Stork gulped loudly, pointing a finger at Aerrow. His eye twitched nervously as he watched Aerrow blush a dark crimson.
"Aerrow…" Stork started. His breathing came in small, brief gasps. "There could only be two options… either you are infected with the dreaded giggly femme fungus, or… you must be gay-"
"WHAT?!" Aerrow cried, the colour suddenly drained from his cheeks. "W-what… h-how the hell… w-what the hell?!"
Piper cringed away, leaving the room quietly. Aerrow could only look at the others with horror. When did this get so awkward?!
"HEY! LOOK!" Junko shouted, oblivious about the current conversation. He pointed outside the hotel window. Junko rushed to the hotel balcony, staring up at the sky. Finn and Radarr followed, while Stork trailed slowly behind them. Aerrow was grateful that Junko had distracted them, and put his head in his hands. Never before had he said anything so stupid in his life. Never before had he been accused of something so absurd in his life. And, never before had he been in a situation where someone had to leave the room due to its obscurity. He sighed before he stood up from the bed to tag along with the others.
"Whoa…"
"Cool…"
"How did they do that?" Finn cooed as he stared up at the sky. Aerrow followed his gaze, looking up at the clear sky. He could see little black shapes, not quite falling, but descending towards the ground. A few of the black points were twisting and twirling, some with a flurry of crystal entrails behind them as they fell. Each smoky trace glowed a different colour, and one colour only to each of the falling people it is assigned to.
They were air boarders, practicing for the upcoming championships.
"Look! See that? That's Raphael Madera, champion air boarder!" Finn said excitedly as he pointed at a person with a golden colored entrail. It certainly was the most exciting performance, with its well choreographed twirls and spins.
"Oh my gosh! Look! And the red one is Jet! And the green one must be Frank!" Finn started identifying them excitedly, watching real sports stars performing in front of his eyes. "The blue one! The BLUE ONE! Oh my gosh, that's Troof! Troof Confession! I can't believe I'm seeing this so CLOSE!"
Junko scratched his head in confusion. "But Finn, this isn't even close enough. We can't even see what is going on"
Finn never took his eyes of them, and watched excitedly at the performing group. There were many different colored trails, and there must be around twenty air boarder's sky diving in the air. None of the shapes were recognizable, and the only thing that could identify them from each other was the different color of the crystal smoke. But it wasn't really the crystal colours or the moves they were pulling that was interesting Aerrow, it was how high up they were.
"Finn…" Aerrow started. Finn gave a small grunt in reply. "Finn, how high up are they?"
The excited teenager calmed down slightly, furrowing his brows a little in concentration. "By the looks of it…" he began. "At the moment they must be at around ten thousand feet…"
Aerrow nodded as he observed. "They must have just started falling then…"
Finn, however, shook his. "No, they don't start at ten thousand, that's way too low. They usually start at around twenty-five"
Aerrows mouth parted in shock. Stork looked away from the air boarders to face Finn. Twenty-five thousand feet? That's way too high! The low pressure must be dangerous on their bodies!
"Isn't that too high up for them? I don't think they'll be able to breathe!" Aerrow continued. Again, Finn shook his head.
"No, they are used to it. To them it must be like holding their breath longer than usual. You have to remember, they are athletes, and they are amazing!" he said with admiration. "And plus, they are practicing. In the real deal they have to start their descent at Thirty-five thousand. They can have the option of having air tanks and pressure helmets, but they tend to mess up with their aerodynamics. Most of them choose to go without."
Impressed, that was what Aerrow was feeling. Junko was also overwhelmed to the extent of how tough these athletes had to be. Stork, however, was a little intimidated.
"They'll suffocate! And low exposure to oxygen is also a very dangerous environment to be in… unless…" Stork's eye twitched dramatically. "…unless they wish to be infected with the dreaded dangling tongue disease! Very deadly…"
Aerrow raised a brow at the hypochondriac. There he goes again… nattering about the things that could go wrong. He stared back at the air boarders. Some of them had reached the ground now, none of them needed to use their parachutes if they still had their board.
"Finn," Aerrow began, again. "How do they get up so high in the first place? I don't see any skimmers or air ships to drop them off"
Finn sighed in irritation. "Dude, how can you not know about such things? These are air boarders! Hard core air boarders! The nearest thing we can get to actually air boarding is sky surfing! And we need to be towed by a skimmer on a string! Air boards are crystal powered, and they can just soar up to the sky on just their boards"
Piper came to the balcony to join them. Now fully dressed, her hair dry and up, she ignored Aerrows' previous comment and stood beside him.
"Air boarders, huh?" she said monotonously at Finn, whom was staring into the distance with real interest and determination. She glanced at the distance, watching a few of them ascending back in the air. Piper watched an individual who had bright pink contrails.
"I like the colour of the trail in the one that's rising up now" she commented. "The pink one, maybe I should find a hair band that colour…"
Finn snorted to himself, but Piper chose to ignore it. Aerrow looked at her.
"Piper, do you know how air boards work?" he asked her, feeling a little silly. "I thought you might know about it because it uses crystals."
Piper carried on watching the individual with the pink trail. "Sure, of course I know how they work" she started. "They need a very complex combination of lots of different crystals, and they need loads of types. I can only vaguely calculate which crystals they use for the docking shield, and that's not even the only thing an air board can do. You need to include boosters, levitation, stabilizers… the works"
He nodded in reply, before turning away to watch the athletes in practice again. They were all silently watching these sports stars, even Finn was quiet. He wondered how far Finn could see, with his excellent vision for being a sharpshooter. Aerrow couldn't really see what was going on, and needed Finn's usual sports commentary. This time, though, he was quiet. He was just watching them, watching silently at the sky.
"Finn, your really quiet… what's up buddy?" Junko questioned, clearly not the only one who noticed Finn's unusual silence. Finn looked up at the Wallop with a grin.
"Yeah, man. I'm fine" he replied. "I'm cool"
He paused for a while before pointing at the sky again. "Guess who is in pink, Piper!" he said with a smile. Piper shrugged at Finn's question, unable to identify the sports star in the sky. "C'mon, Piper! The one in pink is-"
"IN TROUBLE!" Stork screamed, startling Radarr once again, causing him to screech.
They all stared at the athlete with the pink contrails. The person was falling, and the owners' air board was too far away. Finn, Junko and Aerrow ran as fast as they could to their skimmers, Radarr on their heels. Stork ran off to his room, leaving Piper on her own on the balcony. She tried to see what was really going on. All she could see was the air boarder falling towards the ground at frightening speed.
"I got it!" she heard Stork say triumphantly as he returned. In his hands he held a pair of binoculars. He held it up to his face, adjusting the lens and the focus wheel. "Yup, just as I have suspected… dangly tongue disease!"
Piper snatched the binoculars from him and looked through it. Finns words echoed in her head.
'Guess who is in pink, Piper!'
Through the lens she could see her falling. Bright pink hair whipped wildly in the wind as she descended to the ground. Other air boarders were trying to get to her, some were activating their boosters, but they weren't fast enough. She was still falling, far away from the others reach.
"Oh my gosh! That's Roxis!" Piper exclaimed. Her eyes were closed, and she was motionless, like a rag doll. "She unconscious! They'll never make it in time!"
- - -
"Finn! Have my booster crystal! You have the fastest skimmer out of all of us!" Aerrow ordered as he tossed a blue crystal to Finn. He caught it and popped it in his fuel hatch. His skimmer shook before thrusting forwards with a burst of speed. Junko and Aerrow did a steep dive, ready to hopefully catch Roxis just in case Finn missed her.
"What do you think happened?" Junko shouted, the wind ringing in his ears. "Why is she out cold?"
Aerrow looked ahead as Finn sped up at the forefront. "My guess is that she couldn't breathe up there"
Radarr gave a small whimper to Aerrow, his eyes wide with worry. Aerrow gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry Radarr, she'll be okay. Finn knows what to do, he'll catch her…"
- - -
"WHAT AM I DOING?!" Finn screamed as he sped forwards. He was still a little too far from her. "I'M NOT GONNA MAKE IT!"
It was true. Still his skimmer wasn't fast enough to get close enough to catch her. It would take a miracle to even get his skimmer near enough. Finn gasped as he saw her falling, her air board just below her. Then, Finn had the craziest, most stupid idea ever.
"I can't believe I'm gonna do this…" he groaned. He activated his crossbow shooter and aimed it at the air board. He pulled the trigger, sending a speeding arrow towards the board. It hit, causing the board to spin. It hit her on the side, making her drift a little towards Finns' direction. It wasn't enough, it was still too far.
Finn groaned internally, knowing that he had to do it! He looked around for Aerrow and Junko, both of whom were going too far away to catch her just in case he missed. He knew that he only had one chance, one chance to get her. Finn looked down at his skimmer sadly, patting the cold metal. He looked up, focusing on Roxis.
I'm gonna do it! I'm gonna do it! I'm gonna do it!
Finn stood up and ran forwards on his skimmer, jumping ahead off the nose.
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
He held his arms out and grabbed Roxis around her waist. Finn held her securely before activating his parachute, floating towards to ground slowly. He looked down at his skimmer as it flew over the edge of the Terra, into the wastelands.
There goes my ride…
…again…
- - -
Uwahahaha! OMAHGAWD! I HAVE UPDATED! :O I wonder when the last time I updated this sto- HOLY POO POO! LAST YEAR?
That can't be good... remember to review sorrowfull little me...
Anyway... had loads of fun when I wrote this chapter! Not much in Finn awesomness but I think I when I was writing this I thought 'Hmm... I think I'll trash Finn's ride'
