Author's Notes: Okay, the final chapter of "Age of Heroes"!
Chapter 7: Heroes
Radarr pricked his ears and squawked fearfully from behind the Storm Engine, his eyes wide and focused on Aerrow. He wasn't moving. Why wasn't he moving? Please, he begged silently. Get up!
Master Cyclonis glared triumphantly at the fallen Sky Knight as the Dark Ace stepped up beside her. "You always have to have the last shot," she said, turning to him and smiling in amusement.
The Dark Ace replaced his sword in its sheath, feeling satisfied. It seemed that no one can beat him after. He followed the Master up to the Storm Engine. Her long, graceful fingers pressed the keys on the keyboard, and the walls of the throne room began to dissolve before their very eyes. The Dark Ace crossed his arms in order to hide his surprise and emphasize his satisfaction and admiration. He heard the crystal-tipped level meter clank and move to the highest level. Lightning-like energy bolts lit the Storm Engine, and the skies swirled above it. The machine was changed and ready.
Inside the glass case on the doomsday device, Finn and Junko could feel the machine's action. Junko shoved harder than ever at the frozen glass. Each time it cracked further but still refused to break.
Master Cyclonis stared proudly at her machine, the Aurora Stone brightly lit as its energy was in use. "And then it begins," the Master stated.
A voice behind her made her smile fall. "See," Aerrow said as he rose painfully to his feet, "that's where you're wrong." He drew his blades and ignited them, watching Cyclonis and the Dark Ace as they turned to face him. "It's already over!" he declared.
The Dark Ace frowned, wishing he had done more than a single blow. Then maybe the Sky Knight wouldn't even be alive. Well, he won't be alive for long anyway. He took out his sword and shot a blast at Aerrow, but the young Sky Knight was quicker. He leapt into the air to avoid it and back flipped over them, landing on the machine in front of its glass case, blades held at the ready.
Cyclonis summoned her staff and shot a blast at Aerrow, but he jumped into the air to avoid it. The blast struck the glass case and shattered it, causing Finn and Junko to fall backward with yelps of surprise and fright. Aerrow landed again, ready to dodge another blast. He just needed a moment . . .
Suddenly, a pair of energy nunchucks flew in and struck Cyclonis' staff, knocking away the crystal on its point. Starling, alive and seemingly well, leapt into the air and kicked the Dark Ace to the ground. The Ace slid across the floor, his back ramming into what used to be one of the walls' support beams. "No!" he yelled as his sword was sucked away in the storm. He was now weaponless.
Starling turned to Aerrow, letting him know it was safe to do whatever it is he was doing. Aerrow nodded, put the ends of his blades' handles together, gave them a twist, and connected them. This was it. This was the way it had to be. He could think of no other way. He raised the blades, connected as one, above his head.
Cylconis reached out a hand as though she could stop him. Starling and the Dark Ace stared fearfully. But Aerrow was determined. He slammed his blade down into the Aurora Stone and shielded his eyes as it grew in brilliance. The others did the same.
The lightning and clouds of the storms the Storm Engine had created began to collapse on themselves. The whole of the Cyclonian palace was slowly being pulled apart piece by piece by the storm.
The Aurora Stone had been shattered.
Aerrow jumped down from the machine, Finn and Junko close behind him. Cyclonis and the Dark Ace eyed him, furious, as the tower continued to be ripped apart. The glass case of the machine flew away in the wind, empty. "Do you have any idea what you've just done, Sky Knight?" Cyclonis growled at him.
"Yeah," Aerrow told her, betraying no fear and pointing a blade at her. "I just saved the Atmos from you." He sheathed his blades. "And the name's Aerrow," he added, pointing to her again, "of the Storm Hawks!"
Cyclonis growled and held out her crystal. It began to glow, and Aerrow had the uneasy feeling he was looking at his doom. He was saved by a wave of energy exploding from the Storm Engine, radiating just over his head and knocking Cyclonis to the ground.
The Dark Ace gasped as he saw the support beams around them start to collapse inward and the Storm Engine begin to crumble. He ran to his master's side as she tried to push herself off the ground. They couldn't help but scream when they support beams coming down above them. Knowing Master Cyclonis couldn't get out of the way in time, the Dark Ace leaned over, getting between her and the support beam.
Aerrow saw Finn, Junko, and Radarr start to run for cover, and he followed close behind. As they ran past, he saw Starling picking herself off the ground. Calling her name, he held out his hand. She took it and was pulled along after him just before a support beam would have fallen on her.
Alarms were flashing and blaring throughout the Cyclonian palace. They rounded the corner just as the ceiling came down. Aerrow saw it coming and slide to a stop with Starling at his side.
For a split second, Aerrow feared that Finn, Junko, and Radarr had been buried underneath the hunks of metal but was relieved to see Junko trying to dig his way back to him and that Finn and Radarr were also safely on the other side. However, he felt the palace shaking and knew there was no time for this. "Go!' he called to Junko, who stopped digging. "Keep moving! I'll get her out on my skyride!" he shouted, referring to Starling.
He saw Junko disappear and knew that they were obeying his orders, however reluctantly. As he turned away, he mumbled to himself, "I just hope I still have one." He ran the other way, Starling close behind.
Meanwhile, the Condor was still stuck in Hatch 35. Stork tried to get it out by reversing the engines, but nothing happen. "It won't back out," Stork told Piper nervously. "We're stuck good."
Piper was looking out one of the periscopes. Her heart plummeted to hear those words after what she was seeing. "Oh well, that's just great," she said to Stork, "'cause they're back with a bigger cannon!" Through the periscope, she watched the Raptors aim the cannon at the bottom of the Condor's hull. This was not good. This was not good at all.
Back in the palace, Starling, battered, bruised, and weary, had allowed Aerrow to help her. He put her arm around his shoulder and supported her weight as they made their way slowly through the hallways while the alarms blared. Every Talon was too busy getting to safety to stop and worry about the intruders who had caused the whole mess. They ran about the palace in panic, shouting frantically. One of them had even bothered to rescue a box of donuts.
Aerrow kept his eyes ahead of him, refusing to absorb their panic, yet he was slowly being engulfed in anxious despair. They had to get out of there now!
At last, Finn, Radarr, and Junko had found a grate in the floor. Finn stopped and pointed excitedly. "There!" he told them. "Thirty-five, just like Piper said." He gestured to Junko. "Tear it open!"
Junko smiled at the idea of escaping, and he wasted no time in igniting his Knuckle Busters and throwing the grate to the side. He and the others looked down into the hatch. "Well, what do you know," Junko said as they looked down at the Condor. "They made it."
Finn began climbing down the ladder hurriedly. Only a few steps down, he pulled out his crossbow and fired a bolt at the Condor's top, a rope attached to the end. The bolt hit its mark, and if a whole terra wasn't collapsing above him, Finn might have boasted. Instead, he grabbed the rope and secured it to the ladder before sliding down it. Radarr was close behind.
Finn jumped inside through the top hatch and landed on his feet, Radarr landing in a heap in front of him. "Better step on it!" he urged Piper and Stork. "Cyclonia's about to go boom!
"That could be a problem considering we're stuck," Piper told him, "and Repton is getting ready to blast us from below!" Piper was exasperated. Finn's and Radarr's eyes widened. Nothing was going right.
Below them, the Raptors were easing the canon up just a bit further when another shockwave shook Cyclonia. Lugey, at the base of the canon, turned to Repton. "It's kinda rumbly, boss," he commented stupidly.
"Quiet!" Repton demanded, ignoring his warning. "Just set this up and start blasting!"
Junko was coming down the ladder to the rope when his weight unbolted part of the ladder.
Inside the Condor, Piper said, "It's gonna take a miracle."
At that moment, the ladder couldn't take Junko's weight anymore, and it fell off the wall. Junko lost the rope and yelled in fright as he fell toward the Condor and threw the open hatch right onto the round table.
From the force of his fall, the Condor heaved and shook before finally sliding out of the hatch. Repton's eyes widened as he saw the ship coming down upon them. He and the other Raptors scattered, leaving the canon to be smashed under the ship.
As soon as they hit the ground, Stork pushed a lever, and the Condor's engines started up. She flew away down the pipe, making a turn deeper into Cyclonia. The Raptors barely had time to catch their bearings before the ship made a U-turn and came back around over their heads.
The Storm Hawks headed full speed out of the pipe, clearing it just as Cyclonia was engulfed in a crystal-energized explosion.
Stork didn't slow down until they had reached the Cyclonian border. From there, he turned the ship about, and they waited. Aerrow had not come back yet.
Finn stared at the skies, already beginning to give up hope. He heard Radarr howl and saw Junko put a comforting hand on the little guy's shoulder. "Don't worry Radarr," the Wallop told him. "He'll be okay." He looked back out the window. "I just know it."
Finn could only shrug. He didn't know it, and he felt guilty for ever having left their friend behind.
Piper scanned the skies desperately with one of the periscopes. There! A skyride. She zoomed in on it to be greeted with a red and blue Skimmer and a driver with a mope of red hair, green eyes, and a cocky smile. "It's Aerrow!" she announced gleefully. "He made it!" Everyone's faces lit in huge smiles. He made it!
Aerrow cast a grin behind him at Starling as they approached the Condor. He couldn't wait to have her see his ship and meet his team.
Piper narrowed her eyes as she watched Aerrow draw closer. "Hey," she asked, mostly to herself. "Who's he got with him?"
Aerrow landed in the hangar bay and was greeted by his friend's cheers, even Stork's. They all stepped forward to him as he and Starling dismounted. "I told you we could do it!" he reminded them proudly.
He looked down when he heard a soft churr and felt something clinging to his leg. Radarr was hugging him and smiling up at him. He chirped gleefully as Aerrow got down on one knee, and he gladly took his perch on his shoulder.
Aerrow stood and noticed Piper's admiring, gleeful gaze cast behind him. Yes, that's right. He hadn't yet made the introduction. "Piper, guys," he announced, gesturing to the other Sky Knight, "this is . . ."
Piper got right up in Starling's face and gasped. "Starling!" she exclaimed. "Oh my gosh, you're, like, my most favorite Sky Knight ever!"
Aerrow raised an eyebrow. Most favorite Sky Knight ever? Hey, what about Sky Knight and best friend over here?
Piper laughed sheepishly at his look. "I mean second favorite," she amended quickly.
Aerrow smiled. That was more like it!
Starling laughed self-consciously. Who knew she had such avid fans?
It was agreed that Starling would rest and recover on board the Condor while she and the Storm Hawks headed for Terra Atmosia to give their report on what happen. After all, Starling knew that Aerrow might need a little help convincing the Sky Knight Council that shattering a sacred artifact was necessary.
Unfortunately, Starling's thoughts proved correct. That night, after Starling and the Storm Hawks had given their report, the Council argu
ed with each other irritably. Aerrow noticed that one of the council members was Gull, the father of the boy who had idolized the Storm Hawks earlier. Of course he wouldn't like anything they had done.
The registrar turned to Aerrow. "Of all the brash, reckless things to do!" he scolded. "You destroy the Aurora Stone?"
The Storm Hawks all seemed a tad bit frightened by this outburst, but Aerrow, the main defendant, just simply stared at the old man, thinking, What else did you expect me to do? Let Cyclonis take over all of Atmos?
"However," the registrar continued, "taking into consideration the testimony of Sky Knight Starling," he nodded toward Starling, who smiled confidently, "this Council concedes that it was the proper course of action."
Aerrow sighed with relief. Without realizing it, he looked toward Gull and saw him frowning indignantly. Aerrow was satisfied to see that they had proven him wrong, whether he admitted it or not.
"Does that mean the Storm Hawks are official?" Piper asked, attracting Aerrow's immediate attention. He watched the Council to see what they would do.
Mostly what they did, he noticed, was turn to each other and mumble in discontented voices, the way old men do when they disapprove. The registrar only removed his glasses and gave an exasperated sigh. Gull was shaking his head firmly.
Aerrow had enough of this. If they wouldn't see them for what they were, then they weren't the great council of fairness he had always heard about and he didn't need they're approval. "Forget about it, Piper," he said. He addressed the Council, crossing his arms. "We don't need to be official to know who we are. Wherever Atmos needs help, the Storm Hawks will be there." He turned to his team. "Let's fly," he told them, dismissing himself. With one final look at the Council, he turned. Radarr leapt up onto his shoulder, smiling proudly at the Council as Aerrow left, Starling and his team close behind.
The registrar was left stunned by this statement. It was incredible the way he had left. Despite the murmurs of disapproval around him, he found himself smiling with new respect for the young warrior who had made such a speech. He whispered, "Good luck, Sky Knight."
Back in what used to be the throne room of Cyclonia, Master Cyclonis was alive and well and using a crystal to lift a heavy support beam off of her ever loyal servant, the Dark Ace. It was the least she could do for saving her life.
As the support beam was thrown to the side, the Dark Ace sat up painfully. "Master," he greeted her gratefully and regretfully. After all, he had failed to preserve her mission for the first time.
Master Cyclonis just shrugged off his failure. "You win some, you lose some," she said, walking away. The Dark Ace stood up and brushed some dirt off his shoulder. He scowled as she said, "Apparently now the same goes for you, Dark Ace."
The Dark Ace couldn't help but snarl. He would not let this stand. When he joined Cyclonia, he had sworn to destroy the Sky Knights. Now he had a specific target. The Storm Hawks. He'd show them when who was winning when he held his sword to that young punk's throat. What was his name? The Dark Ace narrowed his eyes. Aerrow.
"Don't worry," the Master assured him as she walked toward what used to be her platform. "Atmos is going to learn soon enough that I've got much more in store for it." She stopped. "And as for the Storm Hawks," she snarled, eyes narrowing, "they'll pay for what they've done!"
The high-time for evil and villainy had long since come to the Atmos. And wherever there was ill-doing, there would be heroes attempting to stop it. For every villain, a hero is born. Now it was new heroes, younger heroes ready to prove themselves and make legends of their own.
The age of heroes had come.
