Alright! After finishing my last chapter I decided that it was best that I finish this story as soon as possible, so I'll be postponing everything else until this story is done. Now, onward to the end!

My Little Butterfly

Chapter 9: Flight of the Crows

Raven fell back onto the wall, wincing as he hit the brick hard. Fucking idiot… He should have known better than to take on the entire Glitter army. He had managed to escape them, but only just. His Nasod Arm was sparking, and his body was covered in scratches. He sighed heavily. He wasn't able to avenge her death. Some guardian angel he turned out to be. Raven leaned back, staring up at the twilight sky. He closed his eyes, ready to accept his death. A faint rumble filled his ears. As he felt death's embrace began to wrap around him, he heard the rumble grow louder. It grew and grew until he could ignore it no longer. The hell was that noise?

Raven opened his eyes just in time to see a crimson light dash across the twilight sky. He heard explosions from where it was heading. Reinforcements? Raven staggered to his feet, stepping out into the open to look. To his amazement, a familiar airship flew over the horizon, launching a full-scale assault on the Glitters. Feedback was heard as a large voice played over the megaphone. "HEY HEY HEY! Guess who's here to save the day?! The reformed and almighty Black Crows will cleanse you worthless Glitters from the face of the Earth!"

Raven stared at his old ship as the voice called out the army. He thought all the Black Crows died during the Alterian War. "Alright, ya meatsacks, let's show these guys what they're dealing with! All weapons online! FIRE!" Following the bright and peppy voice, a vast number of bullets, cannons, and energy rays blasted out of the ship, raining hell on much of downtown Elder, where plenty of Glitter structures had begun being built. Raven began limping towards the ship, which was now hovering outside of town. If they were fighting a common enemy, surely they'd help him.

The Black Crow was filled with chatter. People were readying their swords, loading up on ammo, and giving out instructions. The intercom was blaring with commands on last minute briefings, goals, and landing procedures. A sniper equipped his favorite scope, while a nearby swordsman brought out his lucky sword. As the ship's drop ropes were dropped, everyone began lining up at the designated areas. The hatches open, and the air was filled with battle cries, as Black Crows began sliding down the ropes, the cannons showing no sign of stopping their relentless assault as the Glitters began firing their cannons in response.

As fighters surged into the city, Raven stepped out into the clearing. As he walked through the crowd of his old crewmates, and beginning to climb the ladder into the retrieval bay, his only wish was a warm welcome. Luckily, it didn't take long. Being the only guy entering the ship at this time, he immediately drew the attention of everyone in the area, one of them instantly recognizing their old leader. "Raven?!" The engineer stopped what he was doing, rushing over to support him. "Hey, what are you doing here? Wait, why am I asking you this, we need to get you to the medical wing!" Raven gave an audible sigh of relief as the man carried him to the ship's doctors. Most of them were fairly new, but his mere reputation had them working on him almost as soon as he he was set down on the table. The engineer went about repairing his Nasod Arm, no doubt using experience he gained in Altera. The doctors say he was lucky he didn't have too many serious injuries, and that he'd be up in a few days. "When can I fight?" His blunt question took the medics by surprise. "Fight? Nonsense, you are in no condition to fight for a whi-" they were silenced by Raven's glare. "I don't care. How long?" One of the less skilled doctors spoke up. "I-if you insist, you should be able to fight within the day." Raven sighed. "Good." Right as Raven was about to lay back and regain his strength, the door was kicked in by the captain, who spoke too loud for the area he was in. "HEY HEY HEY! Well, look what the cat dragged in, if it isn't our old leader Raven, how ya been doing? Nahm no need to answer. I can see it written all over your face. You want to kill first and ask later. Fine by me. Just watch who you're hitting out there." Raven mentally ran through all the captains he had known back in the day, trying to recall if he had ever met one so….annoying. Giving up, Raven laid back, ignoring the loud man. He needed to let the medicine sink in if he was going to do anything.

And that's all I'm writing tonight. I always wondered what the Black Crows would do after Raven left, and here is what I thought of. Anyway, I look forward to finishing this thing soon. See you all for the next chapter!