Author's Note: Okay, sorry if updates are erratic on this story or any others that I'm trying to write. I sort of get random inspiration, so if the updates seem random…well, you know why!

Review Corner:

Love Shall Never Die: Thanks. Sorry, this chapter is sad too…as for nicknames, I think 'Darkie' is the absolute cutest, but I like 'Acey' too! Yeah, you know, I wonder what the Oktober Guard would look like all in pink tutus…somehow, I like to do that to every character! Well, thank you so much for reviewing!

Hawk-Masters: Yeah, that's going to be scary! Thanks again for everything.

Pascy: Sorry! Um, Prisoner will be updated as soon as I can…I have a problem with starting way too many stories for my own good! Sorry again about the sad chapter part—somehow, I just love writing angst. Which is kind of funny, because I hate killing anyone off. Also, I'm glad you like Minerva! She's my very first OC, and I think I plan for her to appear all throughout the "Shadow" Trilogy.

Yes, everyone, you heard me. Trilogy. I've decided, when I was mapping out the plot and everything, and the chapters keep getting longer, that it would just be easier to make it a set of three. So you don't have to worry about anything, just know that this saga is continuing for a good long time!

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

0000000000000000000000000

Piper placed the steaming plate of sandcakes on the table in the bridge, then she walked off to her lab and bedroom. Junko grabbed three, then was gone. Finn, too upset to eat, just left silently, and Starling hurried after him to try to comfort him. Aerrow shrugged, then headed off to his own room.

Stork, who needed a lot less sleep than humans, stayed at the helm. Cyclonis sat alone at the table, staring at the sandcakes, but not touching them at all.

"You know, you should try to get some sleep."

The Merb's voice, taking her by surprise, made her jump. She smiled weakly. "It would be no use. I wouldn't be able to sleep. Not without his arms around me."

"The term would by 'Cyclonian Snugglebunny,' would it not?"

Cyclonis nodded silently. For a few minutes, she just sat there.

Stork felt extremely awkward, standing there at the helm, knowing that the young queen sat there behind him. He glanced over his shoulder a few times, sure that she was staring at him. She wasn't.

As a Merb, he was more sensitive than humans or humanoids. Merbs had almost a sixth sense, warning them of impending doom, and right now, he felt like that doom was ready to come. It all centered from her. There was darkness circling her, in her aura, surrounding her, ready to break in and destroy the good person that she had become. She was fighting against the blackness, and right now, she was loosing.

"You're not okay," he burst out. "You can smile, and you can pretend, but I can see that you're hurting. You can't fool me."

"Why do you even care?" Cyclonis sidestepped. "I mean, it's not like you've ever particularly liked me." Snappy, and defensive. She was definitely drowning in the dark, he decided. Hmm, 'Drowning in the Dark,' good title for Merbian Darkness Poetry…

How could he gain her trust? At once, he knew the answer: by trusting her first. Stork left the ship going forward, and walked straight over toward her, looking her in the eyes. "I am going to tell you something that I've never told anyone before. If you repeat this to anyone—" he broke off. "Have you ever wondered why I'm so afraid of mind worms?"

Cyclonis shook her head, eyes wide, not knowing exactly where this was going.

"When I was twelve years old, and my little brother was seven, my mother died. My father had left us, and my mother had cancer. I sat with her for her last few minutes. She said, 'Sweetheart, I'm going to go away for a little while, now. You promise me, take care of Thomas until I get back.' I swore."

"The next three months or so, Thomas and I lived on our own. I quit school to get a job, and I cooked and cared for Thomas. Then it was his birthday, and he wanted to go to a lake. I couldn't refuse him, so I took him there. He swam around, splashing, while I sat on the beach watching."

"Have you ever heard of a certain amoeba called Naegleria fowleri? They exist in warm-water environments, in the algae on the bottom. When they're stirred up by swimmers, they latch on inside the nostrils, then eat the victim's brain. They're more commonly known as mindworms."

"Two weeks after I took him to that lake, Thomas died. No one even knew he had been infected until he had a high fever and started hallucinating that Mom was back, and by then it was too late. He died a slow, painful death. I left Terra Merbia for the Wastelands, but my survival instinct was too much. After wandering around for one and a half weeks, I found the Condor. I fixed it up and turned it into home."

As Stork finished his story, a single tear crept down his cheek. He had never told anyone anything so personal before, and it was strange for him to open up, especially to a girl he still wasn't sure he trusted.

Cyclonis looked thoughtful. "Why did you tell me this?" she asked.

"Ace…when he dropped you off at the Condor, he said to keep you safe until he came back. Just like my mother told me to keep Thomas safe. I'm not going to fail again." He took a deep breath. "You're not okay. And I can't have you doing anything rash and risking yourself because you're so upset. You have to see that we all need you. You have to see the big picture. Please. I can't fail again."

"You never really got over it, did you?"

Stork laughed. "If the Dark Ace died, and you knew it was all your fault, what would you do?"

"Kill myself." There was no hesitation in her reply.

"What about all the people who would die without you there to protect them?"

Cyclonis considered it for a moment. "I would rid the Atmos of Shadows forever, and then I would kill myself."

"Wouldn't you try to get over it?"

She sighed. "Okay, I see your point. I'm just sorry that you have to live with such a burden…" An idea hit her. She reached into the pool of energy, forming a crystal on the table. She didn't need to use crystals at all anymore; she materialized it for Stork's sake. "Do you know what this crystal is?"

"Ask Piper, not me."

She stared deep into his black eyes. "It's a modified hypnosis crystal. It can make you forget anything." His eyes widened, and he was silent for a moment.

"Thanks, but no thanks," he said. "As much pain as it brings me, I'm not letting go of my family. They make me who I am today, for better or for worse. All I can change is the future, not the past. Forgetting it won't mean it didn't happen, it just means I'm more likely to repeat my mistake."

She smiled, and the crystal disappeared. She didn't seem to mind at all that Stork had refused her offer. "Wise choice, Stork."

Stork twiddled his thumbs, staring at his lap. "So, um, if you need someone to talk to, um—"

Could she tell him? The old Cyclonis wouldn't have, but time had taught her that she couldn't take on the whole world alone. She needed help. She needed friends. She needed shoulders to cry on, and cry she did. "It was all my fault," she sobbed. "I'm such a monster!" After what Stork had told her, she felt a strange bond with the Merb. She felt the responsibility of his trust, and suddenly, she didn't want to hold her burdens in silence anymore.

"How can if be your fault if you were unconscious? It's the stupid Shadowmen's fault, not yours."

"You don't get it," she said. "It's the power. I love the power. I love feeing the life force of Shadows that I've destroyed pulsing through my veins. I am a monster; I'm turning into a monster! How long will it be before the Shadows aren't enough, and I start draining people too? How long before I hurt the only people I care about? Stork, I don't want to be evil, but it's, so hard, now that he's gone, it's like all the good in my life is gone, and I only see the darkness. And I'm all darkness. I don't want to be this way, but I feel like I'm going to be the death of you all!" All her doubts, all the little things that she had been afraid to tell anyone, came tumbling out. She wasn't sure if she regretted telling him or not, but it was too late. She had blurted it all out now.

Stork took a deep breath, trying not to look shocked. "And they say my theories of doom are crazy. Look, Lark, you're one of the best, most selfless people I've ever met. I'm not just saying that. I'm not going to promise that everything will be alright, but I do know that you're not evil. If you never stop believing that, you'll never be pulled into the darkness. It's not your fault. You're not evil. I can't believe I'm saying this, but you're not doomed. You make your own future, and it can be as bright or as dark as you wish. It's your choice."

Cyclonis smiled. "Thanks. I needed that, really badly. I just never guessed it would come from you."

Stork grinned back. "So, are you going to go to sleep now?"

Cyclonis shook her head. "I can't face my nightmares alone right now. And I doubt I'd be able to fall asleep without him. I'll stay, if you don't mind."

"I have some Merbian Darkness Poetry, if you want to read it."

"Thank you, Stork, I would love to read it."

"Are you sure? It's a bit…dark."

"I'll be fine, thanks."

Alone.

Alone. There is no one next to you.

You are alone.

There is nothing you can do,

The Darkness is closing,

The light in snuffed,

Suffocating blackness,

Alone.

Can't breathe.

Blackness fills your lungs, not air.

The whole world is filled with despair.

You can't breathe.

You're alone.

Hopeless.

All reason to live is gone,

And the darkness marches on,

The whole world sinks into doom.

Hopeless.

Can't breathe.

Alone.

Cyclonis turned the page, trying not to burst into tears again. It was not exactly the piece of literature that she needed to read. This was going to be a long night. Suddenly, a loose leaf of paper fell through the pages. She bent down to pick it up, only to see Stork snatch it from the ground first. "Um…that's not a part of the book…" he mumbled. "I wrote it."

"May I read it?" Cyclonis asked.

"Um…it's actually a song." He sighed at the hopeful look in her eyes. "Fine, fine, I'll sing it." Slowly, softly, he began. His voice was surprisingly smooth and beautiful.

Here in this place new light is streaming,

Now is the darkness vanished away;

See in this space our fears and our dreamings,

Brought here to you in the light of this day.

The tune was haunting, as if she had heard it yet not heard it before. It was like the echoes of melodies on the edge of dreams. The words had a strange power, a strange resonance, as if they were more than words.

Gather us in, the lost and forsaken,

Gather us in, the proud and the strong,

Call to us now, and we shall awaken,

Give us the courage to enter the song.

She felt the call to be herself, the call to live her life right, the call to not give in to the darkness. Stork's soft voice seemed to have an entire orchestra behind it, and the music pulsed through her, warming her. The echoes of ancient wisdoms and truths resonated behind it, almost giving it a strange double factor.

She closed her eyes, let the music flow, and sang along to the last verse.

Not in the dark of buildings confining

Not in some heaven light-years away

But here in this place the new light is shining,

Now is the Kingdom, Now is the Day!

She felt her spirits lift a bit. All the darkness in the world could be banished by a single candle. She wasn't sure what the future would bring, or if they would win in the end, but she did know that as long as she had her friends, she had light in her darkness. She was light, standing against the darkness, and she would never be alone.

000000000000000000000000000000000

Author's endnote: (didn't want to put it in the beginning, spoil it!) Wow, now I feel really depressed. At lease it was a sort of happy ending.

Naegleria fowleri is a real thing—Google it. It goes up your nose and eats your brain. I'm serious. So brainworms are real, and we're all doomed!

The Darkness poetry at the end was a bit random…yes, I did write it. I took about three minutes to try to write the most depressing thing I could. Imagine reading that all night…poor Cyclonis!

The song that Stork sings is based on the church hymn "Gather Us In" by M. Haugen. (disclaimer: I don't own that either.) If you haven't heard it, I recommend looking it up and listening; again, it's a song meant to be heard, not read.

Um, until next chapter. Please review! Hearing your opinions and what you like helps me try to improve my writing. Also, I get super excited whenever I get a review, and them I'm more likely to write more! See ya next chapter!