Author's note to readers: Listen up, What Dark Ace says in this chapter about the Storm Hawks is NOT true. He is just trying to get inside Piper's mind and confuse her. Don't get mad at me cause their still there. It wouldn't be a Storm Hawks fanfic without them.


Piper groaned as her eyes opened to a pure white roof again. "This is like déjà vu." She thought as she stretched upward. Her gaze fell to the left of her on Dark Ace who was grinning evilly at her. "Correction, this is déjà vu."She sat up and groaned in Dark Ace's direction.

"I see you're awake."

"Yeah, yeah, just cut to the chase." Piper grumbled and Dark Ace's smile faded.

"You'd be happy to know that your friends are taken care of."

"Yeah, yeah, gloat all you… What did you say?" Piper's apathy face turned into terror. Dark Ace's claret eyes shimmered brightly.

"Your friends are taken care of?" Dark Ace asked in a childish voice.

"Yeah, that." Piper said searching for a reason in his dark eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Let's just say that their blood is shed all over the terras instead of yours. That's what you wanted, isn't it?"

"I didn't say that at all." Piper sputtered, words running too fast in her mind to say.

"Hey," Dark Ace shrugged. "At least, it's not yours." Piper jumped off the bed and, in a split second, crossed the room to grab Dark Ace's throat. Dark Ace winced slightly and let her hands wring his neck until; finally, his energy blade booted up and was on her throat. She let her grip slide and he grinned at her. "If you don't want to end up with your friends, I suggest you don't do that again." Piper nodded but she fought the urge of taking his blade from him and plunging it into her heart. She knew Aerrow wouldn't want her to do so. He would have wanted her to carry on the 'Storm Hawks' name like he had from his dad.

"Why?" She whispered lightly as she headed toward the bed. "Why does this always happen to me?" Dark Ace's usually sharp ears missed these muttered words and he cleared his throat.

"So, Piper, you up for a dance?" Dark Ace asked as if he was a geeky teenager again.

"What?!" Piper screamed at him. "You kill my friends and you expect me to act as if nothing happened. And besides, I don't want to dance. I suck at it." Dark Ace's smile turned into a grimace.

"You will dance; Piper, or else you will have the same fate."

"Fine, have it your way but I still suck at dancing. When is it?"

"Two weeks from now." Dark Ace stated proudly, happy to have a dance partner. "Besides, I couldn't dance with Ravess. She'd crush my feet." They both laughed for a bit before Piper remembered who she was laughing with.

"So, when can I leave?" She asked innocently.

"Um, after the dance, maybe." Dark Ace replied, joy turning into something completely hidden by confusion. "I haven't decided yet."

"Well, I don't think I'll be a bother since my old crew is…" She couldn't finish her sentence.

"Yeah, i guess, but still i don't want to be enemies after all of this." Dark Ace exclaimed, pain visible on his face.

"Blame Master Cyclonis for that." Piper said her voice sour. Dark Ace playfully scowled at her and walk toward a hidden door. It opened up with a pop, telling Piper that it was unlocked as it opened.

"Coming?" Dark Ace asked, holding his hand out to her. She recoiled into the bed afraid of the motive behind his politeness.

"Why?" She asked her eyes staring widely at his outstretched hand. "Where are we going?"

"We need to get you a dress, of course, and i have just the best tailor to do so." She smiled and followed him out of the room. Darkened hallways met her and she squinted to avoid running into everything.

"How do you see anything?" Piper asked her arm waving in front of her.

"You get use to it after a while." Dark Ace's voice came from the darkness and icy cold hands grabbed her waist. Piper winced but knew that would lead her through the impernable dark. they led her toward a door with a slight light coming from underneath. Piper used the light to guide her nearer, leaving the freezing hands behind. The door whooshed open and light flooded out to blind her. Piper groaned and walked into the blinding light. She regained her sight to see an amazing room adorned in dark, beautiful colours. Green, purple, and black showered the room in subtle color.

"It's so beautiful."

"Really?" Dark Ace snorted. Piper glanced at him confusingly. "Personally, i'd add a little bit of red but Ravess and Snipe don't take critism too well." The tailor sighed deeply and placed his fashion magazine down on the table. Piper spotted that one of the pages were dog-eared.

"What can i do for you, Dark Ace?" The petite man asked as he crossed the room in several strides.

"Well, Pierre," Dark Ace urging Piper closer to him. She stepped one foot toward the tailor. Pierre eyed her cautiously. "This is my dance partner and she needs a dress for the dance."

"But it's two weeks away!" Pierre yelled at the tall, black-haired, crimson-eyed man. Dark Ace stood still waiting for Pierre to settle down.

"I'm sure you can find something to fit her skinny frame." Dark Ace smiled in Piper's direction.

"Okay, fine," Pierre sighed. "What color do you want it to be?"

"Um, Claret red." Piper said smirking in Dark Ace's direction. His face lit up and he smirked.

"Okay, see you in a week for fitting." Pierre said shooing them out of the room. They walked out of the room into the darkened hallway and once more, Piper allowed Dark Ace's hands snake around her waist.

"You picked that color for me, didn't you?" Dark Ace whispered into Piper's ear.

"Yeah, I just hope you make it look good." She smirked into the darkness. They reached the white room again and Piper crawled into her bed.

"Fall asleep, Piper." Dark Ace muttered softly. "We have a long week ahead of us."

"Night, Dark Ace." Piper said yawning.

"Night, Piper. Sweet dreams." Dark Ace whispered back and he left the room, leaving a semi-conscious Piper drift into dreams of confusion.