Well... as I promised, the next chapter! I'll update the next Chapter tomorrow, where things will REALLY take a turn. lol. anyways, I hope you like this chapter! (and that I didn't make Aerrow out of character!) lol. Please R&R!

Disclaimer: Storm Hawks (c) of Ace Fipke and Nerd Corps

Chapter Ten: The Spirit of the Present

Piper shook her head in surprise as she and the Spirit of the Past returned to the empty white world. "Wow… I never realized how peaceful things were then compared to what it is now," she commented.

Laura smiled. "Now, Piper, I must bid you farewell. It is time for my friend Adrian, the Spirit of the Present, to come visit you," she announced.

"Will I ever see you again?" the navigator asked curiously.

She nodded. "If need be, you can summon me through your dreams. I'll be here when you need me to be," she replied, smiling. Then she winked. "But I don't think you'll need me if you choose to return to your Sky Knight," she teased.

Piper blushed and the spirit laughed.

"Farewell, Piper," Laura said, and then she disappeared in a flurry of glitters.

The dark-skinned girl looked around the world in between life and death. "It's so quiet here," she said to herself, "and it's so peaceful."

"I know, isn't it?" a male voice questioned, sighing.

The Storm Hawk jumped and spun around towards the voice. It was a young male with short messy brown hair and light chestnut eyes. He was wearing a sleeveless brown tunic over a long, dark blue shirt with long black slacks. He looked about the age of 15.

"Hello Piper," he greeted, grinning, "I'm Adrian, the Spirit of the Present. Truth be told, I also reside in Atmos, on Terra Atmosia with my girlfriend, Kara. We're both Sky Knights. But you'll be meeting her later, so enough about that. Now… let's talk about you. I suppose Laura has explained everything to you?"

Piper nodded. "Um… y-you're rather… cheerful…" she stammered.

He laughed. "Yeah, cause I know how you miss Aerrow and how he misses you, and that kinda reminds me of how I miss my girlfriend," he explained, shrugging, "and so then I realize how different the situations are and I find that amusing." Then he winked. "And since I know you're going to make the right decision after we've all talked to you, I'm cheerful!" he finished, giving her a boyish grin.

"You kinda remind me of Finn…" Piper commented, cocking her head at him, trying to imagine him being Finn.

Adrian put his hands up in front of him defensively. "Don't look at me. I'm nothing like that Sharpshooter," he retorted, "Believe me, he forgets that he has that extra jar of hair gel whenever Radarr steals the other one."

"You mean that unopened jar in that back of the mirror cabinet in the bathroom?" Piper guessed.

"You got it! That's the one," he retorted happily.

"By the way, Adrian? What's the date? I can't really tell in this white, empty world," she questioned curiously.

"It's the 22nd. You only met Laura yesterday," he replied.

"The 22nd?! Already?! It only feels like a few hours!" she exclaimed in surprise.

He shrugged lightly. "Well… time passes when you're looking at the past. Now, speaking of time, it's time we move onto business. We're going to take a little trip to a very familiar place. I think you'd know it anywhere." He snapped his fingers and suddenly they appeared on board a very familiar airship, in the Hangar Bay.

"We're on… we're on…" Piper whispered, "We're on the Condor!"

He nodded, his smile disappearing. "Yes, we are. There is something you need to see…" he said gravely, turning towards the hallway. He walked towards Aerrow's room and walked through the door.

Piper hesitated a moment before following. She saw Aerrow sitting on his bed, looking down at something in his hands. It was Piper's crystal necklace that she normally would wear with her uniform. Adrian stood next to him, staring sadly at the necklace. Piper walked over and sat down beside Aerrow.

"Aerrow? What's wrong?" she implored.

"Piper, he can't hear you. No one can, only spirits like me. You're dead, remember?" Adrian said quietly.

"Oh Piper…" Aerrow sobbed, clenching the necklace tightly, "Please, come back to me. I miss you so much."

"Oh Aerrow, I miss you too," Piper whispered, placing her hand over his, but it went through.

"We're only spirits now, Piper, until we return to the living world, we're only ghosts to them. There is nothing we can do at this point in time," Adrian told her sadly.

"B-B-But…" she choked, "We have to comfort him somehow!"

The spirit shook his head. Then he looked towards the entrance as the door opened and Finn walked in, his blue eyes sad. Suddenly, the Condor's alarms went off.

"Aerrow?" the blonde implored worriedly, "Are you okay? We need you to tell us what to do. The Cyclonians are attacking. T-The Dark Ace is leading them."

"Let them come, Finn… there's no point…" he whispered, not looking up.

"Aww… come on, man. Think what Piper would want. She would be furious if she saw you like this," the Sharpshooter retorted.

"He's right," Piper agreed, "I would be angry, and disappointed."

The Condor suddenly shook. Aerrow closed his eyes and thought hard. What would Piper have wanted me to do? Then he stood up. "You're right, Finn. I miss her so much, but if she saw me now, giving up, she would be disappointed. So for her, and the rest of the Storm Hawks, I'll stay strong. I'm going to get revenge for Piper," he announced, "Gear up and tell the others! Prepare for battle, Storm Hawks!" Then he ran out of the room, Finn following.

"Oh Aerrow," Piper sighed, "Please be alright."

"Do not fear, Piper," Adrian reassured calmly, "he will be alright. I'd know, I'm friends with the Spirit of the Future."

"So… does that mean your girlfriend is the Angel of Love?" the navigator pointed out.

He laughed. "You're very observant, Piper. Did Laura tell you that the fourth spirit was the Angel of Love?" he implored.

She nodded, not understanding what was so funny.

"Well… Kara isn't the Angel of Love. That would be Aurora. No, Kara is the Guardian of Atmos. She's… different than normal Sky Knights. Yeah… she has powers that are way beyond imagination. On Terra Atmosia, they don't know her of what she truly is. She works undercover and very secretly. Truth be told, she's actually also helped you and the rest of the Storm Hawks out before," he explained.

"Really?" Piper asked, astounded.

He dipped his head. "She helped find the shards of the Aurora Stone after Aerrow destroyed," he said, "Now, my time's up. You've gotta get back to the World in-between. It's almost time for Chris to talk to you about the future. If you're wondering, he's the Oracle's brother."

"The Oracle has a brother?" Piper asked, clearly amazed.

"Yeah, hard to believe, hey?" he confirmed, "At any rate, I'll send you back. We'll meet again later. I'll be there when you meet Kara." He waved at her. "I'll see ya later, Piper!" He snapped his fingers and she reappeared back at the empty white world, awaiting the next spirit.

So... that was the chapter! Hope you liked it! Now I gotta go work on the next chapter, so... until tomorrow, READ! lol.

Please R&R and tell me what you think (er... thought?) lol.