Hello all. Before anyone says anything, I know there was a big delay and I'm sorry. I was in my school musical which had intense rehearsal schedules. It's over now though :'(. Anyhoo, read on.-bp
Aerrow turned to Radarr in his cockpit. "You didn't happen to bring my blades did you?" Radarr looked at him and shook his head 'no'. Aerrow cursed under his breath, than noticed a crack in the rock besides him. He glanced at Piper. There was no way that he could fit in that crack, but she might, with a little extra space for Radarr. Piper saw him looking at her.
"What?" she demanded "Aerrow what are we going to do? They're getting closer!" Aerrow nodded.
"I'm not going to do anything." he said. "But you are." Piper glanced at him, confused.
"What do you mean?" she asked "Aerrow, we don't have time for this! They're getting…"
"Closer. I know." Aerrow interrupted. "See that crack?" he gestured towards it. Piper nodded, than her eyes grew wide.
"No." she said "No, no, no. I'm not leaving you!" Aerrow sighed
"You have to." Aerrow whispered forcefully. "I'm the one they want, not you. If they catch me, I'll stay alive. If they catch you, they'll kill you, and Radarr." Radarr looked at him sharply. It was obvious that he had intended to stay with Aerrow. "You both can fit in that crack. I'll go ahead into the passage and try to stop them from finding the skimmer. Once you're sure we've gone, take the skimmer and get out of here. Get back to the Condor." Piper looked into Aerrow's leaf green eyes. There was no way she could argue with him. He was determined to protect her, even thought he was in dire condition himself. Piper sighed, than nodded. Aerrow smiled. He winked and began to walk down the passage as fast as he was able. Piper bit her lip, then made a decision.
"Aerrow, wait!" she called. Aerrow turned as Piper ran to him. His eyes widened as she kissed him full on the lips. Piper broke away and hugged him gently. "Good luck." She whispered. Aerrow grinned and started walking down the passage again. Piper watched him until he rounded a corner and was out of sight. She then backed up and joined Radarr in the crack. They then both listened as the skimmer engines stopped, and a deep laugh filled the air. The laugh of the Dark Ace.
"So Aerrow," The cruel voice sounded "ready to be a good boy and come with us?"
"I'm not too sure about being a good boy but yes, I'll come with you." Piper could hear the smile that was on Aerrow's face.
"So where's your little girl friend?" The Dark Ace taunted. "Did she leave you to your fate?"
"No, actually." Aerrow said, a little more defiant, "We split up. She's probably out of here by now."
"Well isn't that a pity." The Dark Ace sneered "You won't be able to kill her now."
"Oh, that was Master Cyclonis' grand plan, wasn't it?" Aerrow smirked "Sorry to ruin it for you, but I've got a plan of my own." Piper then heard an audible thump, and the Dark Ace's grunt in pain. She then heard footsteps running down the passage away from her and Radarr, the Dark Ace's cry of 'Stop him!,' the blast of a cyclonian staff, and the footsteps were silenced. It took all of Piper's will power, and Radarr holding on to her belt, not to jump out of the crack and kill every single cyclonian she could find. She had to stick to the plan. The sound of skimmer engines filled the air again, then faded into silence. Piper crept out of her hiding place and mounted Aerrow's skimmer. Radarr jumped into his cockpit and they drove off, trying to find a way out and get back to the Condor so they could find their friends.
Aerrow awoke in a dark cell with no windows. He groaned and sat up. His shoulder was paining him more than ever, and the pounding in his head didn't help matters either. He then began to register a voice that wouldn't stop talking.
"Aerrow? Aerrow, snap out of it dude! Hello? Is anyone in there?" A sharp rap on the side of his head caused what little vision he had to go blank for a moment, then he registered another voice.
"Finn, don't hit him! Can't you see he's barely conscious as it is?"
"Well sor-RY, Dr. Stork. And for your information, I didn't hit him, I tapped him, lightly!"
"Uhhhh, Finn, if that was lightly, why did he fall back down?"
"Hey! Who's side are you one Junko? I thought you were my friend!"
Aerrow chuckled a bit and opened his eyes. "Finn, I'm going to have to agree with Junko and Stork. You hit me, hard."
Junko laughed and even Stork couldn't keep a smile off his face. Finn grinned sheepishly.
"Sorry dude," he said, looking Aerrow up and down "You look like you could use a little vacation to Tropica if we ever get out of this, you know, a little surfing might do you good!"
Aerrow smiled, "Ok, we can go to Tropica when we get out of here, not if."
Stork looked at him in disbelief "You mean, you have a plan?"
"Nope!" Aerrow said cheerfully "but Piper might."
"You mean, Piper's free?" Junko asked, wagging his ears in happiness.
"Yup," Aerrow said. "How long have I been here?"
"A couple hours." Stork replied.
Aerrow grinned "That gives Piper more than enough time to figure out a…" The door exploding cut off Aerrow's sentence. The dust cleared, and there stood Piper in full Cyclonian garb holding her crystal staff, and a box. Aerrow smiled at her, and she smiled back.
"Did you miss me guys?" she said, opening the box and taking out Finn's crossbow, Junko's knucklebusters, and Aerrow's blades. "Let's get to the hanger. Radarr's waiting with all the skimmers. I've put cloaking crystals on them."
"Going somewhere?" a malicious voice said behind them. They all turned to find the Dark Ace standing there, alone. Aerrow activated his blades, then staggered back, suddenly dizzy. The Dark Ace laughed.
"I see the final stage of that gash on your shoulder is taking effect. I'd say you only have about five minutes." Piper looked at Aerrow. She hadn't told him about the effects of the gash. Her eyes grew wide though, when Aerrow laughed, and leapt into his standard fighting position.
"Your calculations were off Dark Ace." He said, still laughing, "I was supposed to die about a day ago." And with that Aerrow sent a Lightning Claw blast at the Dark Ace, sending him flying into the opposite wall, where he lay there, unconscious. Piper turned to Aerrow.
"You've known this entire time, haven't you?" she demanded.
Aerrow laughed. "I studied crystals and their effects during training. Those pink crystals in the cave? They were healers. I was exposed to them long enough to reverse the effects of the firebolt crystal." Piper smiled in relief. Finn looked from Aerrow to Piper.
"Uhhhhhhhh, dudes?" he said to Junko and Stork "have I missed something here?" Junko shook his head looking equally confused.
Stork just sighed and said "Can we go home now?" Everyone laughed, and soon they were all taking off from the hanger, and into clear blue sky. Aerrow sighed in happiness. He remembered something his older brother once told him.
Once you feel the wind on your face, than you know that you are truly free.
The story is done, but never fear, there is more to come. Thank you one and all, for reading this, and just wait. I shall be back. Count on it.-bp