I'm sorry!!! I was going to update yesterday but then the site was down and yeah. But I'm going to stop making excuses. This was going to be one big chapter, but I've decided to split it into two and leave you with a big fat cliffhanger! Dreadfully sorry about that.

Blue: I don't think Piper will be getting angry at him till he gets out of there. But i'll try to put some in for you then, if you want. I love writing shouting matches :)

me loves jelly: yay! that was sort of what i was aiming for, with the cast thing. I'm glad it worked. I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Invader Lana: I'll make sure Finn gets a hug for you.. probably in the next chapter. I'm glad you liked the traps in the tunnel, I just sorta made them up on the spot but knowing you liked it makes me happy. Sorry about the wait.

delphigirl: Yep. Aerrow has conquered his fear and I don't think it will be bothering him too much anymore. Thanks for the review! Enjoy the chapter!

Whisper: I think the God of Writer's Block hates me. And I don't think that statement helped my case either. ah well, only two chapters to go, so he (or she) won't be bothering me much longer. Cliffhanger at the end of this one just for you!!

Midnight-Rose-Dew: Yea, Finn is a bit of an idiot here.. and I liked Starling's comeback too. Made me laugh.. and I wrote it. Enjoy the chapter!

Amethyst: Well Piper appears in this one, but you won't get her POV till next chapter. Sorry about the long wait, but I hope you like the chapter.

... : oh, ok then. I'll write more, if you want. (that was meant to be sarcastic by the way. doesn't really work on the computer.) Thanks for the review!

sweet-lil-nothing: you have no idea how many times i've done that with other people's stories. I take it as a compliment that it happened to me! thanks so much!

Previously:

Putting the energy blade back where it came from, he seized the cast and chucked it forwards as far as he could. There was a faint click. The whizzing sound of many arrows moving through the air was followed by the clang of them hitting the rock on the opposite side of the tunnel. He sat still for a few more minutes, before heading forwards cautiously. Thankfully, there only seemed to be one lot of arrows, and he was soon on his way again.

A few more minutes passed, and Aerrow was getting tired. He was still weak and unfit because of his injuries, and wasn't sure how much longer he could last without a rest. Just when he was about to stop, light pierced the tunnel from a few hundred metres ahead. After rubbing his eyes to check it was no joke, Aerrow crawled faster towards the exit.

Chapter 11: Tension

He had to wait a good few minutes for his eyes to adjust when he reached the end of the tunnel. As he was gradually able to see more of the inside of the cave, he was more and more amazed. However, this astonishment was cut short when he recognised a figure trapped in a large cage that was suspended from the roof of the cave. He was so happy that she was still alive and seemingly unharmed that he nearly shouted her name, but withdrew it at the last minute, because he knew that Cyclonis and the Dark Ace would be nearby.

At his first glance into the cave, Aerrow had noticed its massive size and also the huge weapon that took up most of the space. However, as soon as he had seen Piper in the cage, those things had faded from his mind until he was utterly unaware of them at all. They had become mere tiny details in the big scheme of things. His only thought was to free Piper. He would face what came after that when it became an issue once more.

He heard murmuring voices from the other side of the cave and quickly recognised them as Cyclonis and the Dark Ace. Thankfully, they were behind the massive object in the middle of the cavern and thus could not see the entrance or Aerrow. Nevertheless, Aerrow edged around the side of the cave, flattening himself against the wall so that he would not be easily noticed in case they suddenly came into view. He spared the tunnel a quick backwards glance before continuing, which gave him the encouragement that he needed.

From the entrance, the cage in which Piper sat was hanging in front of the weapon and slightly to its right, about ten metres above the ground. Because of this, Piper hadn't seen Aerrow as he approached slowly, making his way along the wall of the cavern until he was in line with the cage. From there he could only just see the silhouettes of the Dark Ace and Cyclonis, and was counting on the fact that they wouldn't move for a while, otherwise he and Piper were as good as – well, he didn't really want to think about it.

Now that he had made it, there was one issue: How to get Piper's attention without giving away his whereabouts to the two Cyclonians. He chewed his lip trying to come up with an answer. He couldn't, and was so annoyed about the amount of time he was wasting that he decided to take a risk. He wedged himself between two large rocks near the wall so that if Cyclonis or the Dark Ace came further around the corner, they would have to look closely to notice him. Then, staring hopefully up at the cage, as if Piper would feel the heat of his gaze and know he was there, he started hissing her name, trying to blend it in with the whirring noise the weapon was making.

"Piper."

No response.

"Psst," a bit louder.

Still no response.

"Piper!" he all but shouted.

Finally, her head appeared between the bars of the cage. Her hair was bedraggled and her eyes droopy – she had obviously just woken up from a very uncomfortable sleep. She stared at him in annoyance – normally a look that she reserved only for Finn – and mouthed, "What?"

Aerrow rolled his eyes. Piper wasn't, and had never been, a particularly good morning person, and was normally still 'asleep' for a while after she and woken up. Thus he almost considered it normal that she had no idea where she was. Deciding it was unwise to talk, he adopted the use of charades, which they were all pretty good at seeing the amount of practise they got with Radarr on hand.

And so he waved his hand in front of his face a few times, and then pointed around the cave. When he looked back at Piper, he almost laughed at seeing the perfect 'O' of surprise and understanding form on her face. It disappeared after a moment however, and then she was looking at him pointedly. He didn't need to ask to know that she was examining him for any injuries. He put his left arm behind his back, not wanting to face her wrath when she found out what he had done to the cast.

(From now on italics is what they are saying/signing and details about how they said it will be in brackets)

Piper noticed him put his hand behind his back, but said nothing, instead opting for, Are you ok? (Pointing at him, then putting her hands upwards and shrugging)

Aerrow sighed. I'm fine, Piper. You? (Pointing at himself, giving the thumbs up, then pointing at her with a questioning look on his face)

She ignored his question. What are you doing here? (Hands upwards, pointing at him then at the ground)

Aerrow looked at her like she was crazy. What do you think I'm doing here? Rescuing you of course! (Facepalm and a crazy look, pointing to her then at the tunnel)

And what are you going to do about the weapon? (Pointing over her shoulder at the weapon)

Uh.. not quite sure yet. (Scratching the back of his head while smiling sheepishly)

Piper rolled her eyes. Why can't you do anything without me? (Hands upwards, shaking head, pointing at him then at herself)

I can too! (hands on hips)

Whatever. (rolling her eyes)

Aerrow snorted, which caused Piper to glare at him for making a noise. He glanced back to where the Dark Ace and Cyclonis were and was glad to see that they hadn't seemed to move yet.

So how are we going to get you out of there? Aerrow asked. (Hands upwards, pointing at her then back over his shoulder)

Please don't tell me you don't have a plan for that either. (Hand on her forehead, looking exasperated)

I do too! (Hands on hips, nodding vigorously)

Oh yeah? Spit it out, then. (Cocking her head, then gesturing in front of her mouth as though speaking)

Aerrow thought quickly, chewing his lip. It wasn't quick enough for Piper, though.

You don't, do you? (Hands on hips, facepalm)

No. (Shaking his head dejectedly)

Well, look. I've been working on this bar, and I've weakened it a bit, but I could do with a hand. (Pointing at said bar, making a slicing motion across it with her hand, then pointing at him then the bar and doing the thumbs up sign)

I'll hit it with my energy blade, which should do the trick. (Pulling out his energy blade, and pointing at the bar)

Do you want them to realise you're here or something? The noise and the light would bring far too much attention to you. (Pointing towards the energy blade, to her ears and then her eyes and finally to the Cyclonians and back at Aerrow)

Alright, I get it. But do you have a better idea? We're running out of time, here. (Shrugging the shoulders, pointing at Piper, then at his wrist)

Piper shook her head in frustration, and then turned around quickly, as if hearing something. Aerrow listened too, and what he heard made him freeze in place. Voices were making their way towards them. He could make out the silhouettes moving not far away. Acting on impulse, Aerrow grabbed his energy blade and aimed at the bar. Piper was still looking around at the voices, but turned just as he was about to shoot. She shook her head at him vigorously, but Aerrow just gestured for her to move back. She did so reluctantly, and, with the voices getting closer, he shot a burst of energy at the bar. He didn't wait to see whether it connected or not. He squeezed out of his hiding place and ran towards the exit.

Suddenly he hit something hard and fell to the ground in a daze. The thing laughed – a laugh that he knew anywhere. Darkness threatened to overwhelm him, something he was almost used to by now, but a scream from behind him brought him back to his focus.

"Piper."

The Dark Ace laughed. "She'll be alright… for now. You're the one you should be worried about," he said as he drew his energy blade, an action mimicked by Aerrow.

Their blades met in a clash of red and blue. Aerrow, weakened from his injuries and his trip through the tunnel, knew that he would be no match for the Dark Ace in strength. If he could manage to out run him, then maybe he would be able to free Piper and then two against two wouldn't be too bad. He continued to parry the Dark Ace's blows, thinking. He was beginning to tire already, his breaths coming in short gasps. The Dark Ace had noticed and was now grinning. This infuriated Aerrow, who began to fight with more vigour, but the Dark Ace kept matching his attacks. He was tiring more and more, and just as he was sure that the Dark Ace would somehow overcome him, a calm, but evil voice disrupted the fight.

"Leave him, Ace. We need him untouched for the trial," said Cyclonis, emerging from behind Ace. Aerrow looked around, but Piper was nowhere to be seen.

"Surely you don't need him completely unscathed, Master."

"I do, Dark Ace, and you would do well to follow my orders," she said more forcefully.

"Yes Master," the Dark Ace replied, bowing low.

"Bring him over," she said, before turning and walking towards the middle of the cave.

The Dark Ace grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, and Aerrow could do little to resist. He was still recovering from the fight and it looked like it was two on one even if he did manage to escape. He tried to catch a glance of the cage where Piper was being held but the Dark Ace had his neck in a tight grip and it was impossible to turn his head. It was only when they stopped that he could have taken a look, but he was too immersed in the vastness of the weapon in front of him that he lost his chance.

Cyclonis was pushing random buttons on a display board that was connected to the weapon. Aerrow tried to shuffle over to see what she was doing, trying to work out how to shut it down or, better yet, destroy it. However, the Dark Ace gripped his shoulders tightly, and he couldn't move an inch. All of a sudden, Cyclonis whipped around to face Aerrow. She smirked. Then Aerrow felt the strangest sensation, as if his muscles had all tensed up and he couldn't control them at all. He was faintly aware of the Dark Ace removing his hands off his shoulders.

Still looking at Cyclonis, he saw that she was throwing a blue crystal up and catching it again, as if mocking him. When it clicked, he realised he had been hit with a paralyser crystal. He swore. Mentally, of course.

"That should keep you out of trouble until it is warmed up," Cyclonis commented, smirking. "I'm happy to say that you will be our first human test. Quite appropriate, don't you think? Of course, your girlfriend will be the second," she said, laughing.

The Dark Ace stepped away from him to join Cyclonis, who was standing directly in front of the weapon. She turned to look at the screen, and then back to face Aerrow, smiling.

"30 seconds. This is exciting. Any last words, Aerrow, leader of the Storm Hawks?"

And I think that's a lovely note to stop on, don't you?

Again, I'm sorry, but i doubt that I'll be able to update before the weekend. Please don't kill me!

Reviews would be most welcome, though.

And I've decided that there will be one more chapter and then the epilogue to go.

Thanks everyone!

Ali xox