Author's Notes: Wow...didn't expect to update so soon. But this chapter was kinda waiting to be posted for a while. I won't say anything else except...ENJOY!!

Chapter Fourteen

Rise and Fall

Never in the time of the new Storm Hawks had there ever been a gathering of other squadrons like this within the Condor's walls. The sky knights from the entire southern quadrant had gathered within the bridge of the ship, awaiting the beginning of the meeting with Starling and the rest of the Storm Hawks. For some of the knights, this was not the first time within the walls of the legendary ship. Whether it was with the new squadron or the old, it almost seemed to bring back fond memories of times that didn't seem so bad.

"Thank you for coming everyone," Starling's voice called over the low murmurs of the teams. The former leader of the Interceptors stood within the main doorway of the bridge, the small team of Storm Hawks behind her. Every single one of the normally lively team and become stone-faced, almost attempting to avoid eye-contact with the older knights.

They stepped into the room, heading towards the large round table. Every person moved up to the table as well, knowing that it was time to begin the meeting. "As you all know, this is not how we expected to meet. Especially so soon." Starling continued, placing her hands to the table before her. "But as I told in my transmission. The prophecy has come true. Earlier this evening, Aerrow not only attacked his comrades but left for Cyclonia."

Nodding at the words, Harrier was the first to speak. "What exactly happened that brought this on? Was there any events that occurred before he just left?"

Taking in a deep breath, Piper crossed her arms, "He had gotten sick after we had found the original base of the first Storm Hawks. We found him in the woods after he had gotten into a fight with the Dark Ace. It was only a few hour later that he just suddenly passed out right here. That's when all the problems started." She explained, keeping her eyes locked upon the table before her.

At the mention of the Dark Ace's name, very knight leaned in to the conversation more. They became tense and stiff, knowing that there was never anything good attached to the man's name. "Probably tryin' to convince Aerrow to return to Cyclonia, eh?" Suzi-lu told, her voice bitter at the thought.

Stork was the first to interject to the statement, "Impossible." The Merb, though standing behind Starling, suddenly became the center of attention. "He was far too shaken up when we found him. Although," his voice trailed off suddenly, letting himself go off into his own train of thought.

Glancing over her shoulder, Starling glared to the pilot. "Although what Stork? What is it?" It was then that she noticed that every single one of the Storm Hawks were eying each other. All of them seemed to be coming to the same conclusion very quickly, though the words weren't there."

"Well," Finn spoke, looking to the knights, "He was pretty beaten up after we found him. There were some strange burn marks on his chest and his clothes were singed." Crossing his arms to match Piper's stance, the blond shook his head, "But by the time we had got him back to the Condor, they were gone."

"But he kept grabbing his chest, remember?" Junko told, letting the thoughts come faster. "Like it was bothering him a lot."

Starling was now facing them completely, eyes narrowed at them. "Why didn't you tell me this?"

Finn shrugged, "Hey. We didn't think of it as anything! Aerrow said he was fine!"

"Learn this really quickly Finn," Starling glared, causing the blond to back up slightly. "Sky Knights will always pretend that things are okay. Just to get people off of their backs." Turning back to the rest of the sky knights, she re-took her leaning stance. "Have there been any intelligence reports?"

It was now the newer sky knight to speak. His blue hair was short and incredibly spiky as he had on the uniform of the Red Eagles. He was young, there was no doubting that; most likely in his late twenties. Piercing gold eyes locked with Starling, giving a small salute to her.

"Sky Knight Locke," he told the room boldly, causing Starling to nod for him to continue on. "According to the inside man we sent in, Master Cyclonis had been working intensely on a new project for the past few months. He didn't managed to actually get to see the crystal itself, but he overheard the rest of the Talons mention it."

Piper's ears suddenly perked at the mention of a crystal. "What did they say?"

Looking at Piper, Locke continued, "She was calling it a Controller. According to the report, the stone is said to have the power over a person's free-will. She can take over everything from their movements to their thoughts."

Lighting had just struck the girl's thoughts, letting her eyes widen in shock. Piper slapped her head with her palm. "How could I have been so stupid!?"

Harrier raised an eyebrow at the girl's strange reaction to the words. "What on earth is the issue here?" he inquired, his pompous nature shining through crystal clear on every word spoken.

"Don't you see? It was so obvious." Piper exclaimed. Looking about the room, she only received blank stares of question. "Crystals that are placed into a human's body without being tested thoroughly first can cause some major side-effects. sickness being the major ones but there can be other things. Aerrow's body must have reacted to a crystal." She stopped, her expression becoming serious. "…that crystal Cyclonis must have been working on."

Starling's face lit up at the words. "Piper! You are a genius." She whirled about to the rest of the knights, gaining the same shocked reaction as her own. "This is perfect. We can work with this." Glancing about the table, Starling leaned in slightly, a smile gracing her once serious face. "I think I have a plan of attack that we can not only take care of some Talons, but great Aerrow back to us."

The Dark Ace stood beside the throne of Master Cyclonis. He had left Aerrow in the hands of some of the woman's servants who were to give him his new uniform and clean him up from being ill. There had been no conversation between him and the younger man, though deep down, he only wished to have some time to speak with him. Though even an attempt of conversation with Aerrow would have lead no where and quickly. According to Cyclonis, the Controller was within its final stage of syncing into his system. He would be able to openly speak soon without having her to pull the strings.

Though he was thrilled to have Aerrow as a member of his squadron, he could still hear his best friend's voice echoing within his thoughts. He had thought that there was no longer any connection to the man anymore, just knowing that Aerrow knew the truth made every ounce of his own memories come back to haunt him. There would be flashes of faces and times where he was once again with his old squadron. And despite his now place of power, deep within his mind, a small piece of him wanted to see them once more.

"Master Cyclonis," the words of a servant brought the man back from his thoughts. The two had their thoughts brought back to attention as a young woman of sixteen gave a small curtsey to the ruler and man. "Presenting: Sky Knight Aerrow."

Looking up to the door, the two Cyclonians were nearly taken back from the sight before them. Aerrow was no longer the simple, scruffy-looking Storm Hawk. A solid black uniform with knee high boots were barely visible from underneath a heavy leather trench coat. Trimmed in a thin strip of red, brand new silver armor clung to his shoulders and hips, shimmering in the low light. Tight leather gloves covered his hands, two smaller plates of armor wrapping about his fingers. Upon the upper right part of his chest was the crest of the Talon squadron. The handles of his weapons could be seen upon his back, red crystals now replacing the blue ones from before. His hair was still the same, his now bright red eyes narrowed and focused upon the two.

Coming to a halt before the throne once more, Aerrow took a knee. His coat flared out behind him, landing gracefully in an outstretch manner upon the floor. "Master Cyclonis. Dark Ace. I await your orders." His voice had deepened, though was still soft.

Stepping forward, Dark Ace moved to stand before the boy. As Aerrow rose to his feet, he couldn't help but smile. The young boy that he had once watch grow up was now fulfilling what the oracle had proclaimed for him. Not even all of the memories in his entire lifetime were enough to keep him from feeling somewhat proud. Reaching out, he placed a hand to Aerrow's shoulder, nodding to the appearance.

"You were born to be a Talon, Aerrow." He muttered, letting red eyes meet identical ones.

Returning the grin, Aerrow's eyes narrowed slightly. "I know. It was what the oracle had foreseen. Born to serve the Master…as her knight."

"You are correct Aerrow," Master Cyclonis' voice called, forcing the Dark Ace to turn. The woman had risen from her throne, the Controller Crystal now perched within her staff in her hands. She slowly began to move towards the two men, watching them carefully. "You are my rightful knight. You were born to be as such." Letting her eyes gaze over to the older man, she smiled slightly. "You have served your role, Dark Ace. But I'm afraid your time….is up."

A sharp pain rushed through the man's chest, a gasp quickly escaping him. He could feel his body grow tense as the sensation of something dug into his side. Master Cyclonis' expression turned into a twisted grin. The woman he had tried to please for so many years just simple sat herself back into her throne, crossing her legs in a relaxed fashion. Every gasp for air he took was becoming harder by the minute as he turned to once more look at Aerrow.

The red head had moved in slightly, one of his blades unsheathed from his back. He was low as he had both hands to the handle, making sure to dig into his victim with as much force as he could. Aerrow made no eye contact with him, though the faintest smile could be seen on the corner of his lips.

"Nothing personal Ace," he spoke softly, letting himself look up, "but its time for the real knight to step up."

The Dark Ace felt his shirt slowly becoming stained with warm blood as his skin grew colder with each passing second. "Aer…row.." he mustered out, feeling his legs giving out from the lack of blood It was as if the world about him slowly began to slow around him as he sank before the younger man, though now the more powerful figure between the two of them. He felt the blade slide out from his body and back into the hands of his owner.

It was a brief glance as he fell to the floor. For a moment, the man could have sworn he saw a flicker in Aerrow's eyes at the mention of his name. The deep shade of red seemed to vanish for a moment, revealing the same vibrate green eyes that he has shared with his mother. The young knight moved away from him, his hand slowly finding his brow. He shook his head slightly, as if trying to shake away a headache.

"Aerrow…" he breathed out, seeing the young man's green gaze on him once more. "You…are no better…than me."

"Guards," Cyclonis' voice echoed as everything slowly began to fade to black. "Take Ace to the dungeons. Leave him there to rot. My knight and I have a few plans to make."

Aerrow felt himself stagger slightly at the words. Bringing his hands to his face, he could feel a hot burning sensation running through his head and into his chest. Through his fingers, he could see the image of two guards pulling away the limp body of the Dark Ace. His blade was still clenched within his fingers, blood covering the steal, small droplets falling to the dark marble floor beneath him.

Suddenly, a soft touch came to his shoulder, causing Aerrow to straighten up. Cyclonis placed her staff before him, the brilliant violet shine of stone hitting his face, drenching him within the light. It was only a minute before the pain began to slow and calm, bringing him back to his normal stern position.

"There we are Aerrow," she muttered as she watched him straighten up as he felt the light engulf him. "We mustn't have you returning to what you once were. After all," she gently reached up to him, letting her hand slowly run down the side of his face. For a brief moment, she couldn't help but admire the fact that she had managed to let her plans fall into line. "You are my sky knight. And only mine. Just as it was foreseen."

Author's Notes: ...Yeah. Sorry about that. But I hope you all enjoyed that! Don't forget to read and review.