Disclaimer: I do not own anything affiliated with "Storm Hawks". Characters, places, and other aspects of the story (except for original characters, animals, locations, and some other aspects) that are referenced to do not belong to me.
A/N: After some brainstorming, I've figured out what the rest of the story is going to look like (kinda). The next few chapters are going to be over the span of a year (in the story that is). The perspectives viewed are mainly going to be through Phoenix's POV or Sparrow's POV. Please remember to review (I appreciate your input)! Enjoy!
Early afternoon on Terra Atmosia…
The crew had spent the past few days travelling to Terra Atmosia. The pristine terra with its iconic pulsing aurora stone beacon was a welcoming sight for the weary crew.
After landing, Phoenix, Sparrow, Crow, Finch, and Warbler made their way to the sky council's building.
The five entered through the grand structure's entrance and presented themselves in front of the sky council.
"And who do we have here?" stated a counselor curiously.
"My name's Phoenix, sky knight to-be." started the young soon-to-be sky knight.
"I'm Sparrow, crystal mage in training." continued the dark-haired female.
"The name's Crow, helmsman and strategist." answered the merb.
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Finch, sharpshooter and wingman." stated the young man confidently.
"And I'm Warbler, weapons specialist." finished the blizzarian.
"We're here to take up the mantle of the Swooping Sparrows sky knight squadron from-
"Terra Quies." said the counselor as he finished Phoenix's sentence.
"We have heard of your remarkable coup against the Cyclonian government, resulting in the freedom of your terra." commented another counselor.
"Quite a remarkable feat for people your age." commented another counselor as he predicted the crew's age to be around fourteen or sixteen.
"Despite the age discrepancy, your actions have given us faith in your abilities." continued the head counselor.
"And so, I hereby deem you the title of the Swooping Sparrows, guardians of Terra Quies." announced the head counselor.
"Please, sign here." offered the head counselor as he handed a document to Phoenix.
Phoenix signed willingly as his crew observed with excitement.
"A congratulation is in order, but there is a catch." said the head counselor firmly.
The members of the now officially registered Swooping Sparrows gazed back up at the three counselors as they waited for the term.
"Young Phoenix must endure the trials and tests before he is to return to your squadron. Therefore, he will spend a year here training with one of our sky knight tutors, whilst his crew returns to their terra to protect it from potential threats." instructed the head counselor firmly.
"Your training will begin tomorrow, meet at the training fields by early morning." finished the head counselor flatly.
The five headed back to the Thunderbird quietly. Despite the wonderful news of the sky council ignoring the age restriction and registering them officially, they had to part ways with their leader for a year as he had training to complete.
As Phoenix silently packed his necessities, he heard a knock on the doorframe of his room.
"It's going to be like going back to our old academy days. Don't worry." stated Finch reassuringly.
"You make sure you take care of yourself man." replied Phoenix calmly.
"The same to you." replied Finch as he patted Phoenix's back supportively.
Phoenix headed to the bridge with his rucksack and gazed at the merb busily tending to the consoles.
The merb turned around as he heard clanking noises approach him.
"We'll take good care of the terra, and we'll be awaiting the return of our sky knight." said Crow as he turned around and gave Phoenix a thumbs-up.
"I'm glad, catch you around." replied Phoenix as he waved goodbye to the merb and headed for the hangar bay.
"Your skimmer's all tricked out. Fully tuned navigational system, polished crystal blasters, and I even switched out your engine." stated Warbler with a tinge of sadness in his voice.
"Don't worry Warbler, I'll be back soon." answered Phoenix reassuringly as he bumped fists with the blizzarian.
There was one more stop before his departure.
Phoenix approached Sparrow's room and heard violent sobs emanating from her doorway.
Phoenix turned the corner to find Sparrow sitting on her bed sobbing uncontrollably.
Sparrow looked up briefly at Phoenix before returning to wallowing in her sadness.
Phoenix sat down beside his devastated friend and hugged her tightly near his chest.
"You can't leave! You just can't!" shouted Sparrow helplessly.
Phoenix could feel her grasp tightening on the back of his tunic.
"I can't bear to leave you, but I need to do this." pleaded Phoenix quietly.
Sparrow only continued to cry on Phoenix's shoulder which was now starting to soak.
"I promise to write back often." stated Phoenix as he attempted at comforting Sparrow.
His statement was only met with more uncontrollable sobs.
"Sparrow, I want to give this to you." whispered Phoenix with a comforting tone.
He took his left hand and drew out a small wooden pendant of a phoenix and a sparrow circling each other from his pocket.
"It's something I made the night after we had a day out on the town." said Phoenix as he presented the parting gift to Sparrow.
"Every night before you sleep, I want you to hold this up toward the moon and look at it. I'll be looking at the moon as well." finished Phoenix in a comforting tone.
Sparrow slowly took the pendant from Phoenix's hand and looked at it sadly.
"I really have to go. I'm sorry." finished Phoenix as he grabbed his rucksack off the floor and promptly walked out of Sparrow's quarters.
Sparrow briefly glanced up to see her friend leave, and continued to weep. The tears now dropped heavily on the pendant.
Warbler could hear the cries clearly as they echoed on the walls of the ship's hangar. He watched on sadly as his friend Phoenix mounted his skimmer and sped off the unloading ramp of the Thunderbird.
As Phoenix felt the wind whip past his face, he too could feel tears starting to well up in his eyes.