So, quick recap, Aerrow and company are infiltrating a depowered Cyclonian headquarters via an exhaust shaft. Stryker is en route to finish off Cyclonia with a fleet of ships. And, The Condor has crashed into Terra Cyclonia while both Stork and Piper were still on board. Things are looking grim...
Heart of Darkness...Emerging from Darkness
Aerrow, Finn, Junko and Radaar found themselves in darkness as they moved along the exhaust shaft. The slick surface of shaft made at hard at times to keep their footing. Several times Finn had fallen and had trouble getting up.
"Dude, do they ever clean these things?" Finn complained in his usual tone after having slipped and fallen for the fifth time. "I mean, there's like grime and soot everywhere. Don't get me started on the smell."
Junko helped him up. "They keep these reactors running non-stop, Finn. They wouldn't be a time when super heated exhaust isn't flowing out this shaft. We're lucky to not have to worry about them restarting the reactors while we're in here."
Finn let out a quick, sarcastic, laugh as he regained his footing. "Yeah, lucky us."
Aerrow was in front of the group, with Radaar perched on his shoulder, he stayed quiet while still thinking to himself about what to do next once they had reached the reactor. He couldn't keep his thoughts focused, they kept shifting back to his memories of seeing The Condor crash with two of his friends still on it. Unfortunately. the mixture of him being lost in thought, and the complete darkness around them, he failed to notice the the ground beneath him suddenly declined. He immediately fell forward and, without thinking, he grabbed back to reach for Junko. But, the slippery surface of the shaft only caused Junko to fall forward with him, as well as Finn who had been leaning on Junko for support.
"AAAAAAGH!" they all screamed in unison as they now found themselves sliding down the steep shaft. It was completely dark, but further below them they could see some kind of light quickly rushing up at them.
"Oh man!" Fin yelled in between the screams. "This is gonna be a rough landing." He then went back to his usual high pitched scream.
The next moment the found themselves shooting out into an open, but still mostly dark, area. They all landed in a pile with Junko having found himself on top.
Both Finn and Aerrow groaned under Junko's weight."Ah, sorry guys." Junko said as he quickly stood up. Aerrow and Finn were quick to get up as well. Junko looked around, taking in their surroundings. Looking around they found themselves in an open area with really nothing in it. The same dirt and grime lined the walls that had been in the shaft. Small traces of light leaked through four viewing holes on the ceiling of the chamber. Several spots on the walls and were open with other shafts similar to the one they had just fallen out of.
"Seems that we're in one of the reactors side venting chambers now." Junko stated looking at Aerrow.
"Great." Finn said as he rubbed his shoulder on the spot where he landed. "Now how do we get on the outside of this cozy little place?"
Junko thought for a second. "Well, these places really aren't designed to be accessed from the inside, but there should be an entrance port somewhere." Looking around Junko spotted a rectangular hatchway. "There we are, now just to open it."
Junko walked to the hatch, looking close he didn't see any latch or handle to turn so he could open it. "Guess we do this the Wallop way." Junko said, he then cracked his knuckles and drew back his fist. He quickly punched the hatch, in response to his superior strength, the hatch flew open and off it's hinges.
"Good work Junko." Aerrow said patting the Wallop on the shoulder. "Hope nobody heard that." He quickly looked at his friends. "Beyond here we have to be careful. We don't know what to expect, but at least all the Cyclonians are in the same bat as us with no weapons crystals. But, I'd say we're more than a match for them in a fist fight." He then turned toward the hatch. "Storm Hawks! Let's move."
They climbed out the hatch into another open area, this one looking more like a traditional engineering room. They quickly moved across the room to the entrance and opened the door. What they saw when they opened the door, however, was something they completely didn't expect.
They were all speechless, except for Finn. "Dude, this is so weak."
...
The Condor, smashed and torn, lay smoking on the craggy terrain of Terra Cyclonia. The bridge was a bleak scene. Consoles and various objects laid strewn about over the floor, many broken from the impact of the crash. Glass was scattered about on the floor from the windows breaking. And the most radical change had happened to the steering controls.
Where there once was various levers and a steering wheel, as well a Merb and a young girl, there was only a giant white column from floor to ceiling. The surface of the column was rough and uneven, like the surface of a dried sponge. The air around it was beginning to form a light mist, along with several cracks starting to appear on the surface. Muffled noises started to pour out of the cracks.
"Move your shoulder!" One voiced yelled out.
"I can already feel it starting to dislocate. Besides, your knee is dangerously close to making me sing soprano!" The other voice chimed back.
"Well maybe you shouldn't have grabbed me so quickly. It startled me, and whatever this stuff is has my leg kind of stuck there."
"Hang on." a couple of grunts could be heard as more cracks began to appear on the surface of the column. Then with one final grunt a green hand broke threw the surface.
"There." Stork said as he pulled his hand back. "It looks like we can finaly break out of our little cocoon. Just push around you and it should start to give way. On three we'll push out together. One...Two..."
With a loud yell, Piper kicked out with both arm and legs, shattering the all the material that was surrounding both her and Stork.
Stork looked around nervously. "Uh...Three." He laughed nervously.
Piper regained her composure after having to exert herself, then quickly looked at Stork. "What exactly was that stuff?"
"Impact foam." Stork began to explain. "Stored under pressure, designed to release on an impact exceeding speeds that would surely kill a normal person. Foam shoots from both floor and ceiling to encase anyone standing at the flight controls protecting them while at the same time creating a support structure to keep the space from collapsing."
"Why just you?" Piper asked as she began looking around at the damage on the bridge.
"Well I figured most of you would have had the common sense to have evacuated the ship before any kind of major crash." Stork shot back at her. Stork then began to take in his surroundings, much to his own horror. "AAAAAAAGH!"
Stork began running around the bridge fiddling with various instruments, avoiding broken glass, and trying to reattach consoles to where they once were. It wasn't going well. Eye twitch in gull gear, Stork was on the verge of of suffering another case of sky shock. Piper quickly grabbed Stork to try and calm him down.
"Stork!" She yelled at the the trembling Merb "Calm down!"
Stork quickly shook free of her grip. "Don't just grab me like that. Can't you see in trying to have a nervous breakdown here!?"
Piper rolled her eyes. "Hey, you didn't have any problem grabbing me just as we were about to crash."
"Ya, but that was just to make sure we were both in the area where we would both be covered by the foam." Stork shot back at her.
"Well maybe if you weren't so secretive about all the things you have stored around here for emergencies I would have known you'd be okay and happily been ejected into the sky with everyone else. Instead, I get stuck with the most paranoid person in the Atmos inside a smelly cocoon!"
"Well excuse me for saving your life!" Stork yelled back. "I'm sorry we can't all smell as heavenly as you!"
"I meant the foam smelled, not..." Piper stopped, she wasn't sure what she just heard. "Wait, what did you just..."
"Shhh..." Stork cut her off as his ears perked up. "I hear something." He moved to the front of the bridge and peered out where into the sky through the broken window. Just as quickly as he had stuck his head out, he pulled it back in, a look of dread on his face.
Piper walked up to him. "What is it?"
Stork looked at her, his face a shade of pale green. "Talons."
Boom, double wammy on the cliffhangers. Maybe I over did it? You tell me. Reviews of all types are appreciated. The more I get, the quicker I'll probably turn out the next chapter to let you know what happens next. Till next time, see ya.