Hello! Thank you to everyone who's been reading so far. I hope I'm doing okay with it. Slight hint of Cyclonis and Aerrow (unintentionally) but bit for the fans who ship those two haha! ! Reviews are always helpful, enjoy!
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The air within Cyclonia was tense and muggy.
Dark Ace mounted his switchblade skimmer. He rode it out onto the hangar and opened the wings of the vehicle as he reached the edge.
Dark Ace flew out into the open air of the Terra, a light breeze swept across his face.
Dark Ace was annoyed at what he first spotted upon flying out.
The red headed boy.
"This one again?! Obviously he didn't learn his lesson the first time!" Anger stretched across Dark Aces face.
The memory of Lightning flashing back to him again. Everything felt the same, the weather, the tension in the air. It felt the night he took Lightning's life.
And you will join him... Dark Ace thought to himself.
Both Dark Ace and the red head met at the highest point above the Terra.
"You're determined I'll give you that. But it takes much more to be a Sky Knight. I know, I've defeated more of them than anyone." Dark ace gloated.
He had taken down many a Sky Knight after Lightning, not all had the same sticky end. Many of them were imprisoned in Cyclonian prisons, tortured for information or forced to work as slaves for Cyclonia.
But all he did, he did for power, for control, for her...
"So tell me Sky Knight... Are you just pretending?" Dark Ace grinned.
He wanted to irritate the boy, he was young and possibly easily to aggravate. He wanted a real fight, wanted to see rage and anger surge through the boy.
"Let's find out." The red head said calmly.
They circled each other, hitting one another's blades like once before, a display of red verses blue energies.
Dark Ace had the better hit, the boy was jolted slightly.
Dark Ace jumped, mustering all his energy to his blade, aiming the energy in the boys direction.
He watched as the boy rode away.
God damn it!
Dark Ace tailed him once more.
Standing on the nose of his skimmer, looking with hatred towards the descendent of Lightning.
"This time, no mercy". Dark Ace spoke.
He watched as the boy performed a move, the move of Lightning, the move of a Sky Knight.
For a split second Dark Ace lost his focus as his memories were flooding back, forgetting to move, forgetting to dodge.
The boy hit his switchblade skimmer and it crashed down towards the Terra below.
Dark Ace screamed out in anger, in defeat.
He pulled the wings out to open up his glider
Yelling loudly with sheer anger, he had been defeated by that idiot boy. He had allowed himself to lose focus for a mere split second, and that second had cost him the fight.
Elsewhere on the Terra, Repton and his brothers had regained themselves, they had tracked down the Condor once again. They had followed the eerily painful sounds of the metallic screeching as the Condor had wedged itself into a small pipe.
They began pelting hits at it with their weapons.
"We need more fire power" Repton spoke. Swiftly thinking of what they could possibly use.
"Move!" Swiftly gesturing them to follow.
Inside of Cyclonia, Cyclonis smiled to herself, realising the time, realising all of her Talons would have returned from patrol elsewhere on Atmos, the Sky Knights time was up.
Cyclonis' storm engines dial moved up a few more segments. The storm was almost ready.
Cyclonis could hear the blonde and Wallop talking above her. She was oblivious to their conversation, choosing to ignore it, more focused on her work.
She clicked buttons on her storm engine, the arms moving with every click she made.
"Storms made us. Storms tore us apart. And now storms will help us rebuild". She paused.
"My way..."
She smiled. Hearing a noise behind her, she heard the bodies of her Talons falling at a small boom sound which was followed by an electric hissing sound.
The doors opened, Cyclonis heard them being pushed rather than being allowed to open automatically.
"Or we can do it my way!" An unfamiliar voice spoke.
Cyclonis turned swiftly at the sound of the new voice in her lab.
"This is getting annoying". Cyclonis said angrily, she was losing her patience now, her storm was almost ready and these idiots kept interrupting her.
"Shut down the machine and gimme back what you stole... Master Cyclonis?" The boy looked at her a little surprised to what he saw.
She smiled, looking to him.
"Let me guess, you're that pesky sky knight? Aren't you a little young?" She smirked a little.
He wasn't what she expected at all, the way Dark Ace had described Lightning Strike, this wasn't what she imagined the famous Storm Hawks descendent to look like.
"I was gonna say the same thing about you" he responded.
She grinned evilly, she liked he was young, it meant he was inexperienced, she had been training her whole life, he couldn't have been fighting for very long. She knew she had the upper hand.
She looked to her staff which was leaning against the wall and it hurled towards her, her arm stretched out, it landed perfectly in her hand, just as she knew it would.
She raised it above her head, holding it tightly with both hands, her evil smirk had not faded.
There were two purple crystals either end of her staff, both crystals glowed, the purple lit her whole body and she levitated from the ground.
Her grin wide and cynical.
She moved herself towards him, the boys eyes widened and his pet which was resting on his shoulder whimpered.
Cyclonis reached for the clasp of her collar which had the Cyclonian crest on it. Pulling at her dress and removing it with one swift pull, placing it on the ground beside her.
She landed to one knee gently, standing up as she had placed her dress down.
Much more comfortable.
She smirked.
The boy readied his weapon.
She aimed her staff to him, the crystal sparked red.
Her grin grew more cynical once more.
She heard something, she glanced to her side as something purple flew towards her.
The crystal was hit from her staff, pieces of metal breaking from her staff along with it.
She screamed, shielding her eyes from the piercing light, her arm ached from the recoil.
The purple crystal skimmed across the floor.
A purple haired woman jumped across the room.
Nice try.
She smirked, holding her staff to the side, purple light blanketed it, the metal and crystal flew back towards the staff, fixing right back into place until it was completely repaired.
Cyclonis spun her staff around playfully.
"Ooooh you're good!"
She smirked.
"I'll hold off the witch, go help your friends" the purple haired woman spoke.
Cyclonis saw the red head run in another direction.
She aimed her staff at the woman.
The woman sent out a flurry of shots in her direction.
Cyclonis deflected all the shots with her staff and send red sparks of energy towards the woman.
But the persistent woman kept dodging.
The woman was a good fighter, quick paced, Cyclonis would admit that much.
A volley of purple and red energies shot through the room as the woman dodged Cyclonis shots and Cyclonis deflected the woman's.
The female had jumped out of Cyclonis' sight.
Cyclonis gingerly looked around, keeping her staff ready.
The woman jumped up behind her.
Cyclonis turned, facing her, smiling menacingly.
Cyclonis sent a shot of red energy at the woman, impacting her directly to the ground.
The woman screamed.
Cyclonis smiled deviously as the woman lay helplessly on the ground.
Years of practice finally coming in handy. Cyclonis thought to herself.
"Starling!" The boy called out to the woman on the floor.
Cyclonis turned, her smile had not faded.
The boy was on top of her storm engine. He readied his weapons.
Cyclonis did too, her staff began to generate a blue energy now, a cool air surrounded her as she generated the new energy.
The boys pet screeched.
Cyclonis shot at the boy, but he dodged. Her shot created a ice cage around her storm engine as it had impacted it.
How annoying...
The boy had landed, he jumped to the air. Sending his Sky Knight energy in her direction.
Cyclonis didn't blink or flinch, she was ready for this.
She watched the energy fly forward, waiting for the right moment.
She deflected the power with a force field that seemed to demolish the energy completely, and keeping her from harm.
As the boy landed, his facial expression had changed, a look of worry across his face.
Her smile becoming more and more cynical the more she succeeded.
The red head raised his weapons again.
Cyclonis wasn't stupid, she knew of the sky knights powers.
She had prepared for this many times over, practising with Dark Ace as a young girl, it failed a few times and he had hit her. She knew the pain she would endure if it failed.
However Dark Ace was a mere shadow of what a Sky Knights power could do, only recently had she been able to test out her shielding strategy properly, with Carver. She had perfected it, the reason she allowed some of the Sky Knights to be imprisoned was so that she could practice, test things out on them. But now, she had full confidence in her abilities.
Nothing can stop me now...
"You can't win sky knight..."
Cyclonis felt a gentle breeze in the room, she glanced at something in the air above.
"You'll do your moves and jump around but the end result will be the same..." she paused.
Cyclonis wanted to smile as she glanced at the figure behind him.
"I unleash the full fury of nature and you..." Her face full of pure evil.
"Well actually I don't really care what happens to you". Her voice was now a softer, almost cute tone.
Knowing Dark Ace was near, knowing he would finish the job.
Dark Aces blade buzzed with energy behind the red head, before he had a chance to move Dark Ace struck down the boy.
His body slid to the ground, his weapons with him.
"You always have to have the last shot" Cyclonis smiled as Dark Ace stepped behind her.
He smiled too, putting his blade into the holster on his back.
Dark Ace remembered their combat practice, although he never liked to hurt her, he always made sure he had one up on her in combat, as sort of a little payback from when she used to beat him at chess as a child.
She didn't mind, she had learned a lot from Dark Ace, he had done her proud.
Cyclonis walked over to her storm engine, Dark Ace followed her. Crossing his arms and watching her as she worked.
She clicked at some buttons, they made a sound he hadn't heard before.
Slowly the roof above them disappeared piece by piece, Dark Ace watched.
The storm engine whirred and shook the room slightly.
The more powerful wind now sweeping through the room, the red of the sky lighting the now open lab.
Cyclonis continued to click at the keys, her storm engine pushed up to maximum power.
Blue electric sparks flowed up the storm engines body.
Blue lightning filled the sky above them, fuelled by the storm engine itself.
A huge bolt of lightning rose to the air.
The sky was filling with purple and blue energy, the electricity filling the air.
Dark Ace stood at Cyclonis side, watching the sky.
"And then it begins". Cyclonis spoke softly, smiling.
"See"
Her smile faded as a now familiar voice spoke.
"That's where you're wrong". The red head paused.
"It's already over!" He continued.
Dark ace swiftly pulled out his blade, throwing a red spark in the boys direction.
The boy jumped and dodged his attack.
Cyclonis grabbed her staff, sending a red spark his way, but he dodged her shot too, her shot cracking the ice on her storm engine.
Dark ace stepped back, readying his weapon again.
Starlings nunchucks flew to Cyclonis, hitting the crystal from her staff once again.
Red sparks running up Cyclonis arm and she let out a scream of pain.
The sparks were more painful, the recoil more painful too. Cyclonis didn't like pain.
Starling came flying towards Dark Ace and kicked him down to the ground, he slid across the floor and his blade flew from his grasp and the wind carried it into the distance.
He was defenceless.
The boy snapped his blades together as one weapon, he held it above the storm engine, aiming down at the Aurora stone.
Cyclonis held her arm out towards it, as a plea to urge him to stop.
Dark Ace watched with wide eyes, terrified as to what may happen.
The boy plunged his blade into the stone, it filled with sparks and emitted a blinding blue light.
Cyclonis yelled out and shielded her eyes from the light.
Starling yelled out too.
The storm engine began to spark purple, loud thunder now roared through the Terra.
Purple energy forming back into the storm engine itself.
The Aurora stone hissed and was pierced with light protruding from it.
The storm pulled items up from the room.
Cyclonis let out an angry groan
The storm engine whirred aggressively.
Dark Ace got to his feet.
"Do you have any idea what you've just done Sky Knight?!" Cyclonis shouted at the red head with severe anger.
"Yeah, I just saved the Atmos from you" he responded, pointing his blade at her.
But he retracted his blades, putting them on his back.
"And the names Aerrow of the Storm Hawks!"
"Agh!" Cyclonis held the crystal that was once in her staff, aiming it towards Aerrow.
The storm engine sent out a thunderclap and hurled a wave of purple energy her way, her attack halted, she shielded her face but was hit down by the energy
Dark Ace gasped under his breath, the metal from the roof was creaking, he looked up as it bent before his eyes, the storm manipulating it.
The storm engine collapsing, crumbling into pieces.
Cyclonis was hurt, her body ached, she let out a soft groan as she pulled herself up. She couldn't find her staff it wasn't in her hand any longer, neither was her crystal.
She gasped as she looked up and also noticed the metal caving downwards.
It was going to collapse onto her.
Dark Ace panicked, he didn't have his blade, he didn't have anything to protect her.
Without a second thought he ran out towards her.
He screamed out as the metal structure fell downwards, he lunged forwards over Cyclonis' fragile body to protect her from harm.
Blackness, he couldn't see, he couldn't hear. This was the end.
She held her eyes shut, white noise was all she could hear, she was dead, she was sure of it.
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Hope you enjoyed this one! Final chapter for the "Age of Heroes" episode will be the next, and will also be where I will need some honest advise from readers here on the future of this fic. So please, review, send any questions/suggestions. All helps!