Hello everyone! It's been a while, hasn't it? But, life takes over sometimes, and you have to make choices. I have been writing these past few months, just not fanfiction! But I've finally broken what I have dubbed the "Chapter 13 Curse". I'm a little ashamed to say it's taken me 7 months to finally get this chapter up! But better late than never, right? And, in my defense, my Christmas fanfic "I Keep This Moment" was really a companion to this fic, so I was almost working on it... If you haven't read my Xmas fic, I encourage you to! It's much more light-hearted than this fic, as if focuses on Christmas memories of the Storm Hawks before they all met :)
A big thank-you to WhispertheWolf and Denvana, my ever-faithful reviewers! This chapter goes out to you two. I hope you enjoy it :)
Disclaimer: I do not own the Storm Hawks, nor the song "Shattered" by Trading Yesterday.
Chapter 14: Take Me Home to My Heart
Who I am from the start
Aerrow felt helpless, and for one of the few times in his life, he literally was. The Condor was pitching and rolling as Cyclonis and her Night Crawlers bombarded the airship, and where was he? Confined in a full body cast with only a straining sky monkey between him and the floor. This really wasn't his day.
Piper ran through the door and gasped at the pair's predicament. Just as Radarr began to whine and his arms shake, she pulled Aerrow back onto the safety of his bed. The sky knight glanced at the clock. He was so close to being free.
"Keep them out of here. I just need a few more minutes."
"But you've got twenty minutes to go!" Piper's voice cracked in desperation. " I don't think we can hold them off that long."
"Trust me." Aerrow smirked. It wasn't every day that he knew something Piper didn't.
The girl gave him a weary look, but nodded determinedly before racing off to help the others. Clanks, crashes and screeching Night Crawlers were soon heard down the hall. Every atom in the sky knight's body yearned to be out there with his friends. He wanted to fight. Just a few more minutes—he repeated the words in his head like a mantra—just a few more minutes and you can help.
The Condor went into its most violent rock yet. This was soon followed by Stork's groan over the loudspeaker. "A lil'... help on the bridge... guys."
Piper ran back into the room, crystal staff in hand.
"What's happening?" Aerrow asked.
"Shush!" Piper placed a finger to her lips as she moved to hide herself behind the door. "We got the Night Crawlers, but Master Cyclonis just boarded. The guys went to the bridge to help Stork."
"What are you doing?" Aerrow whispered back.
"Trust me." Aerrow had no retort as she used his own words against him.
They both held their breath as another crash rang through the ship.
"Now, where is Aerrow?" Cyclonis' snake-hiss echoed down the empty hall. Aerrow's eyes darted to Piper. Slowly, the girl let out her breath, golden eyes hidden behind chocolate lids as she held her crystal staff against her chest. After one quiet moment, her eyes flew open, her face set in determination.
"Not a chance, Cyclonis." Piper moved to block the doorway.
"Well, if it isn't my best friend forever." Aerrow heard the swish of moving fabric along with Cyclonis' taunting voice.
"You may have found us, but we're not gonna go down without a fight!" Piper stiffened, holding up her staff defensively.
Not for the first time in the past few years, Aerrow was amazed at the strong young woman who stood before him. If someone had told him when he first met Piper that the scared, broken, sick little girl would morph into a tactical, courageous fighter, he would have laughed. But Aerrow knew better now than to mess with Piper's skills. She was a force to be reckoned with.
"YAAHH!"
Aerrow was snapped out of his revery as a Night Crawler tackled Piper, the creature seemingly to have simply solidify from the shadows. Using Piper's own staff, the Night Crawler pinned her between the wall and the floor. The crystal specialist struggled, but her efforts were in vain.
"Yes, you are," Master Cyclonis sneered as she hovered into the room. With a quick flick of her own staff, the Cyclonian witch aimed her crystal at the struggling pair on the floor. They both glowed an erry purple as they were raised into the air and flung like dolls against the Condor's metal walls.
"Piper!" Aerrow shouted, seeing his friend sprawled on the floor at Cyclonis's feet. He stole a quick glance at the clock. His time was up. He'd wanted to wait to the opportune moment. Master Cyclonis was probably expecting him to do something now. If he did nothing, he would be able to surprise her even more. So Aerrow stayed still, but was ready to jump into action if Cyclonis took too much interest in Piper.
Aerrow held in a sigh when Master Cyclonis turned her mocking grin to him. "What happened to you? Slipped on a banana peel?"
"Something like that," he retorted, trying not look at Radarr. The sky monkey was shuffling towards their nemesis, holding a dresser at least twice his height over his head. The size-to-strength ratio of sky monkeys always amazed him.
"Oh really?" Cyclonis chuckled, then snapped her fingers just as Radarr was preparing to throw the furniture. With a flash of purple, the dresser landed on the poor sky monkey with a squeal.
Aerrow's confident smirk fell into boredom. He'd caught Radarr's thumbs-up. The sky monkey would wait for a better time to strike. "What do you want, Cyclonis?"
"Piper must have you on a five day plan. Smart girl. Too bad you have ten minutes left and I'm already right here," Master Cyclonis hissed as she turned to tug the green crystal from its holder. "Now, you have something I need."
"No!" Piper cried from the floor, only answered by Cyclonis's triumphant laugh.
"Now, to finish off one of my biggest annoyances, once and for all." Master Cyclonis placed her prepped staff to crackle and flash barely an inch from Aerrow's nose. He could feel the heat radiating from it, its purple glow brightening the dark room around him. But Aerrow only smiled.
"What are you so happy about?" Cyclonis asked, pulling her staff back slightly. First mistake.
"I know something you don't know." Aerrow's emerald eyes sparkled with his confidence. "That clock is three ticks too slow."
"And this concerns me because?"
"I was healed two minutes ago!" With all his might, Aerrow pushed his body upwards, kicking the crystal staff out of his enemy's hands and releasing Piper. The force of his movements rolled him over and he fell face first to the floor. His body cast smashed into pieces, leaving the sky knight room to manoeuver. Sitting up, Aerrow turned to taunt a seething Cyclonis.
"Those ticks add up."
As Master Cyclonis raised her staff to attack, Radarr took his chance, flinging himself at the gothic girl. Grabbing the end of her staff, the sky monkey was able unbalance Cyclonis. As the pair twirled in angry circles, Piper threw her own staff.
"Aerrow, catch!" With reflexes befitting any top-notch sky knight, Aerrow grabbed the staff out of the air and swung it to meet Cyclonis's. The purple crystal embedded in the tip clattered to the floor.
"Now, about my biggest annoyance." Aerrow jabbed the staff towards Cyclonis's chest as he echoed her earlier words.
"I already have what I really came for." The talon leader's smirk returned as she extracted a small green crystal out of thin air. "Maybe next time."
Pounding her staff into the floor, the crystal at the bottom exploded into light. A tower of red blinded the three Storm Hawks as Master Cyclonis disappeared, leaving only a hole in the ceiling.
Aerrow found himself staring at the night sky. He heard the clanking steps of Piper and Radarr coming to towards him. With a sigh of relief, Piper collapsed onto the floor beside him, Radarr crawling to his other side.
"Thanks." Aerrow smiled as he handed the crystal staff back to his friend.
"I could say the same to you." Piper's grateful smile soon turned into an annoyed frown as she crossed her arms. "But next time, tell me when you're already healed. You almost gave me a heart attack!"
"Come on, Piper!" Aerrow gave his friend a playful shove. "I just wanted to know something you didn't for once!"
"Could you pick something a little less life-threatening next time you play genus?" The girl's grin returned as she continued their banter.
"Deal." Aerrow's expression turned serious. "But really, thanks."
"Just keeping a promise." Piper smiled.
I promise to always look after you and protect you. And to do that, I've got to stick around, right?
Aerrow's face softened as he recalled the promise a silly little boy made to a frightened little girl. He burst into a grin as he remembered all the grief she'd given him when he forgot that she had returned that promise. Aerrow had learned long ago that his relationship with Piper was a two-way street, one of give and take. They were teammates, equals. He helped her, and she helped him. That's how a team works. That's how friendship works.
"Yeah. Returning the favour."
Take me home to my heart
"Ugly-goopy-wart-monstrosity-the-second?" Finn suggested.
"I always liked the name Clarence," Junko added.
Radarr waved his arms and jumped in circles around the room.
"I'm not calling my new pet Twinkle Toes!" Stork's voice shock in fury, his eyes bulging.
The door whooshed shut behind Piper and Aerrow, muffling their squadron mates' bickering. The pair had left under the pretense of needing to stretch their legs after sitting down watching the News for so long, but really they only wanted to spare themselves the sight of the abomination Stork called his new "pet"—and maybe keep their dinners in their stomachs. Leaving the cargo bay behind, they headed up to the bridge and out onto the balcony.
Piper took a deep breath, relishing the clear night air as she leaned against the railing. Out of the corner of her eyes, she watched as Aerrow moved to join her. They stayed like that for a moment, elbows and shoulders touching as they gazed up at the stars. Yet Piper could feel the slight tension—although it may have been more like anticipation—that hung in the air around them.
"Well?" Aerrow finally broke the silence, dragging out the one syllable he'd chosen.
Piper knew he was waiting for her to say what was on her mind. Ever since what the Storm Hawks had dubbed the "Stratosphere Incident," she and Aerrow had come out here whenever they had something that bothered them and they wanted to talk about. It was like their own special place to confide in each other. Piper hadn't really realized where she'd lead them until she'd stepped out into the cold night air. She guessed she'd subconsciously known she needed to get her worries off her chest. Anyway, she was here now, so there was no turning back.
"Why do I always fall for their lies?"
"Whose lies?" Aerrow's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. It was obvious he hadn't been expecting her to say that.
"Men like Carver, and Domiwick, or even Harrier, who seem so successful and powerful and confident, but turn out to be only ambitious, egotistical traitors!" Piper clenched her fists, her face becoming contorted in anger. "Why do I always admire them? Why do I always trust them? Why do they always destroy my expectations?"
Aerrow sighed, raising a hand to rest on her shoulder. "Piper, it's not your fault. It's kinda like... um... that mind control crystal Carver had. It looked impressive and real on the outside, but inside it was only a dud."
Piper couldn't stopped a small smile from crossing her lips. "Wow, Aerrow. I didn't know you were one to use metaphors."
"Hey, I try my best!" Aerrow flashed her his trademark grin.
"But still," Piper's face fell once more. "Every time this happens, I put our squadron in danger. Look what happened this time! If Stork's spider had been the real thing, you'd be dead right now."
"But I'm not." Aerrow's grip on her shoulder tightened and his expression turned serious.
Piper swatted his hand away angrily. Leaving the railing, she took a few strides down the balcony. Crossing her arms, she let the breeze play with her hair, not bothered that it would be a tangled mess later. She felt tears sting her eyes, and growled in frustration at her own emotional reaction. Piper wanted to be mad, yet unannounced grief seemed to be consuming her.
She heard Aerrow's boots hit the metal floor as he slowly approached her. She looked at him over her shoulder, expecting his widening eyes when he noticed her tears and surprised that she didn't really care that he saw.
"But what if you were, Aerrow?" she whispered.
"Don't play that game, Piper." Aerrow stopped just a few steps away from her and stared straight into her golden eyes. "It's only one of luck and chance."
"Isn't your speech poetic tonight," Piper's voice drawled with sarcasm.
Aerrow's eyes hardened in annoyance. "Stop brushing it all off like that, you know it's true. Life is just the luck of the draw sometimes, Piper. It's just by chance that all those guys you idolized turned out to be losers. It's only chance that we make it through each day alive. Sometimes luck is good, sometimes it's bad. You just have to live with what's thrown at you and move on!"
"You make it sound so simple, Aerrow." Piper turned to him, but dropped her eyes. She understood what he was saying. A piano could just randomly fall on your head, and then, boom! Your dead. But not everything was chance. Was it really chance that every man she thought a hero turned out to be a villain? If there wasn't a direct cause, there was definitely a correlation.
"Sometimes, it's best to keep things simple." Piper looked up as Aerrow closed the distance between them and placed his hands on her shoulders. "When things get too complicated, they just mess with your head."
"I guess." Piper wasn't convinced.
"Anyway, the important thing is you saw all those guys for who they really were. You broke the illusion. That's more than a lot of other people can say." Aerrow's determination to cheer her up lightened Piper's heart a little.
"But you don't seem to be tricked in the first place," she reminded the sky knight. "I know I joke that you're jealous, but you truly mistrusted all of them right from the start. How do you do it?"
Aerrow's hands dropped from her shoulders, one moving to scratch the back of his neck. It was obvious he was uncomfortable with her question.
"Well, umm..." it was Aerrow's turn to gaze intently at the floor. "Do those guys—Harrier, Carver and Domiwick, I mean—do they... uh... remind you of anyone?"
Piper was thoroughly confused. Why was Aerrow acting so awkward?
"Sorry, Aerrow, but I'm not following."
Aerrow glanced at her quickly, and Piper caught the knowing look in his emerald eyes. "Do they remind you of someone important? Someone from your past?"
Piper remembered a tall man with broad shoulders and strong features. She felt his loving embrace as smoke filled her nostrils and stung her eyes. She watched his large back grow smaller and smaller until he disappeared completely behind a cloud.
"Papa." Piper's voice was barely a whisper. She reached up to grasp the crystal around her neck, her whole body shaking.
"Piper?" Aerrow seemed at a loss as to what to do. She could see in his eyes that he wanted to comfort her, but she could also see that he wasn't sure how to do this.
She made the decision for him, flinging herself at him as she began to sob. Pipe cried into Aerrow's shoulder, gripping the front of his shirt with the hand that wasn't wrapped around her crystal. Aerrow's arms quickly wound their way around her.
"I'm so sorry," Piper apologized after her sobs had subsided. "It's just been so long since I've thought of Papa." Probably about as long since she'd cried in Aerrow's arms like this, she added to herself.
"No, I'm sorry, Piper. I shouldn't have brought it up. I only know about your father from what you told me. He's probably nothing like Carver or the others at all. It was a horrible suggestion."
"No, I think you may be right," Piper admitted. "Minus the obvious arrogance, Papa really was like their first impression. He always smiled, he had this quiet confidence, and he was really big and strong. So, I guess he shared some traits with the masks Carver, Harrier and Domiwick wore."
Piper could feel Aerrow nod as his head brushed against her own. She was always amazed by her friend's intuition. He picked up on a lot more than he let on at times. But then another thought came to her, and Piper turned her head to get a better look at the Sky Knight's face.
"But Aerrow, what does any of this have to do with you not trusting Carver?"
Aerrow's eyes jumped between glancing at her and staring at the floor. "Well, I guess you were right to say I felt jealous."
"How's that?" Piper was surprised all her teasing had held some truth.
"I—" Aerrow stopped, seeming to search for the right words. "Those guys all seemed a lot like how you described your dad, and... you were always so happy when we met them at first. I guess I thought that you were... kinda looking for a replacement."
"A replacement?" Piper pulled back a little, feeling a bit hurt. "I could never replace my parents, Aerrow. You know that!"
"'Replacement' wasn't the right word!" Piper was surprised by how flustered Aerrow appeared, it was just so unlike him. She was even more shocked when Aerrow pulled her back to his chest and wrapped his arms around her once more.
"I was worried you weren't happy here. I thought you might be looking for a new family, that our's wasn't good enough. I was worried you might leave us."
Piper was taken aback. She'd had no idea Aerrow was hiding these thoughts. Did he truly doubt her so much? "Aerrow, after all that we said, that we promised—"
"I know it's silly!" he cut her off. "It's not that I mistrust you. I just can't help feeling uneasy around those guys. I get these stupid thoughts about them taking you away, and it puts me on edge."
"So, you did mistrust them right from the start? Just for different reasons?" Piper concluded.
"Yeah, I guess." Aerrow mumbled.
"Well, you don't need to worry about me leaving!" Piper tightened her grip one last time before pulling away to smile at the red head. "I'm the closest thing this family has to a mother. If I leave, I don't know what would happen to you all!"
"We'd get pretty lost," Aerrow grinned back.
"You'd totally fall apart!" Piper claimed, striding towards the door confidently.
"Hey, lets not go too far here!" Aerrow laughed, following close behind. "We all need each other. Every part of a family is important, right?"
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Standing in the entrance, Piper turned back towards her friend. For a moment, the pair shared a gentle smile before Piper's turned mischievous. "But big babies definitely take much more of everyone's time and effort!"
Let me go and I will run
Radarr slowly opened his eyes and found himself in a forest surrounded by rusting metal parts. His aching body protested as he sat up, lifting a paw to find a large bump on his head. Looking himself over, the sky monkey discovered he was wearing only a tattered pair of striped pants and that he was caked in mud. What had happened?
The sky monkey turned to find a wrench lying on the ground beside him. Yes, it had hit him on the head, hadn't it? He rubbed the bulge above his eye at the painful memory. And all this rusty metal were skimmer parts! That stupid crow had chased him up a tree, and then that spider had sprayed him with that smelly green stuff. Radarr wrinkled his nose at the very thought of it. He'd fallen, and then the skimmer had followed him!
Radarr chirped happily as his memory returned, but the unpleasantness of them soon soured his mood. He had all the luck, didn't he? And where was Aerrow? They'd come here together, right? They'd been in jail and had escaped... it was Piper's plan! The sky monkey made a mental note to demand that five extra batches of sand cakes be baked to make up for all this.
Radarr stood and began rummaging through the parts around him. Some tools were among the mix, and he was pleased to find the rocket still had charged crystals inside. He could probably make something of this junk. He had a feeling they might need some transportation off this terra. It was obvious that things hadn't gone as planned, that was for sure. But, then again, when did they ever follow Piper's plans?
But what had happened to Aerrow? Radarr plopped back onto the ground, scratching his furry chin in thought. They Warden and his flunkies had been gaining ground on them... they had been surrounded! That's right. So, they'd split up. Aerrow had been followed to Widow's Peak... and there was that waterfall.
NO! Radarr gave a screech of horror as he jumped to his feet, eyes wide. But his memory fought against him. Yes. Aerrow—as reckless as ever—had jumped. Was he okay? Radarr had not idea. Aerrow was tough, no doubt, but could he truly survive a fall for that height?
Look after him, Radarr.
Radarr crumbled to the forest floor, his head in his paws. What would Aerrow's mother say? Her last request was for him to look after the redhead. Radarr had worked so hard over the years to fulfill her wish, he'd been right beside Aerrow through everything, making sure nothing too serious happened. Why had he agreed to split up? Why couldn't the track beasts have followed him?
An explosion sent shivers through the forest. Radarr turned to see a yellow mushroom cloud surrounded by choking occu-crows. It was Aerrrow! It had to be. Faintly—as if for confirmation—the sky monkey could hear the sky knight's voice taunting the Warden.
Radarr jumped up with a happy chirp and danced around. How could he have doubted Aerrow? He'd discovered long ago that Aerrow wasn't a little kid anymore. Ever since the first Cyclonian attack on Terra Neverlandis, a more serious and mature side of Aerrow had come through. He wasn't a little boy who needed constant protection—hadn't been for years. Like any good parent, Radarr knew he needed to let Aerrow fly solo and make his own decisions—and mistakes as well. Aerrow had grown up. He wasn't a lost little boy anymore. Still, Radarr had a feeling he'd be needing to remind himself of this for a long time to come.
Deep thought and epiphanies complete, Radarr returned his attention to the dismantled skimmer. He started dragging the parts together, lugging the larger pieces, while prancing back and forth with the smaller ones in his excitement. He had always believed it was possible to do anything with a trusty wrench in hand, and he was yet to be proven wrong!
Screwing the rusty bolts into place, Radarr was filled with nostalgia as he recalled the old skimmer from Terra Neverlandis. It had taken a lot of work to fix it that first time, after Piper had crashed the overheated machine into Terra Neverlandis. He had made smaller repairs on it throughout the years and it had served them well. Once they had found the Condor and all the skimmers on board, they'd decided to leave the old skimmer in the cave on their home terra, just in case they someday found themselves in need of it. Radarr was confident if they did need it, his old friend would be ready, once again, for service.
Standing back, Radarr admired his handiwork. It looked pretty good, considering it was rusting and had a few parts missing. But all the essentials were there, and in Radarr's eyes, the metal sparkled and shone in the sunlight. He was always proud of everything he built. The sky monkey's ego deflated, however, when the headlight fell off with a screech and a thud.
Oh well, nothing's perfect. With a sigh, Radarr reattached the offending light. Jumping up onto the seat, he headed towards the sounds of falling trees, growling track beasts and shouting prison guards. Where else would he find Aerrow?
The skimmer bounced along over roots and bushes. The large machine was a lot harder for Radarr to control on the ground. He may be a copilot in the sky, but land riding had never been his forte. As the forest began to thin, Radarr could make out Aerrow surrounded by the Warden and his men. Honking the horn in warning, he speed towards his friend. But luck just wasn't on the sky monkey's side. Hitting a root at a bad angle, skimmer and rider were thrown skyward. Radarr screeched as he flew through the air, limbs flailing. To his own surprise, he survived the crash back to the terra below and was able to stop right next to Aerrow. Wow, it actually looked like he'd planned it!
"Way to go Radarr!" Aerrow cheered, high-fiving his friend before turning to smirk at the confounded group of men surrounding them. "You're gonna have to clean your own bird cages, Warden. We're out of here!"
Aerrow jumped on and drove straight through the line of prison guards. The half-witted men scrambled to get out of the way, diving onto the ground. The pair on the skimmer continued, speeding through forest as they dodged trees left and right.
"Where'd you find this thing?" Aerrow quickly glanced at his best friend.
Radarr did his best to smile, just happy to have found Aerrow again and knowing they would soon be off this god-forsaken terra. The sky knight give him an odd look. Radarr realized he must have looked horrible, with one eye green and the other only half open from the swelling bump on his head, not to mention the cloths he had left were in shambles and he was covered in mud.
"You've had a rough day."
He had NO idea...
POV - Episode # - Episode Title
- Aerrow - Episode 38 - "Five Days"
- Piper - Episode 34 - "Second Chances" (reference to Ep. 17 - "Forbidden City" and Ep. 4 "The Code")
- Radarr - Episode 16 - "Escape!"
Well, that was definitely one of my longest updates yet, if not the longest (I've kinda lost track, myself), so I hope it begins to make up for the long wait!
I've got to admit, writing the first section of this chapter was like pulling teeth :S I've been writing all original stuff the past few months, so writing something that was almost completely planned out for me before I started was very hard. Thankfully, the second section left a lot more room for creativity, so the rest of the chapter came fairly easy (I love writing Radarr, so he's never really a true task for me :D).
A few notes: To you English-class junkies, I know that Aerrow's mind-control-crystal reference was more of a simile than a metaphor, but "simile" sounds really odd in regular speech, and I think metaphor can be used to encompass all comparison-descriptions, so that's what I'm sticking with!
For all the Harrier lovers who shouted "He's not a traitor!" at me, please refer to Ep. 4, when he planned to hand over the Phoenix Crystal to the Dark Ace! That's pretty traitor-ish to me... Good intended traitor-ness, but traitor-ness all the same.
And finally, was anyone else bothered in Ep. 38, when Aerrow didn't seem bothered at all that poor Radarr got crushed by a wardrobe! I mean, he screamed Piper's name when she got flung against the wall, but poor Radarr doesn't even get a worried look! Aerrow just looks disappointed and then bored! That really annoyed me, along with the fact that if he was healed, why didn't he jump up and help instead of screaming people's names like a damsel-in-distress? So, I did my best to explain this so Aerrow stays true to the character I have always seen him as.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Only four left to go!
If you want to help me decide what to write next, check out the pole on my profile page :)
Please feel free to review, I will consider any suggestions given and I love constructive criticism!