A/N: I can't believe we only have two chapters left after this before this story's finished.
Chapter 21: Rebellion
When the freedom-fighters had seen Cyclonis flying out in her new dragon form, Aerrow had called for an immediate retreat. Most of the Sky Knight squadrons had scattered and gotten away – save for a few whom Cyclonis' fire-breath had incinerated and those whom the Nightcrawlers had captured right away. When news of what had happened at Cyclonia spread to the rest of the Atmos, as far as most were concerned, the war against Cyclonia had been lost again.
In the following days, Master Cyclonis – or Dragon Cyclonis, as some were now calling her – was attacking terras, burning their communities and people with her fire. She destroyed every terra's defences like they were nothing, and anything the inhabitants threw at her were useless against her dragon-scales. At one point, when one terra had put up a significant challenge; Cyclonis had proven that Smaug's fire and physical prowess weren't all she'd gained – a forcefield had rippled out from her huge body to deflect the projectiles, right before she'd unleashed a terrible energy-shockwave with her wing-beats that disintegrated half the population in an instant.
The Sky Knights couldn't risk regrouping after the battle with Cyclonis flying amuck and destroying everything; which left Atmosia's defences in tatters. It didn't help that everyone on the free terras were panicking at the news of Dragon Cyclonis' rampage every day; the hysteria plunged some terras into further chaos than the dragon's arrival. Only nine days after the battle for Atmos, Cyclonis was sighted flying towards Atmosia, a fleet of Nightcrawlers accompanying her. Within moments of Cyclonis' forces landing, the Chief Registrar bent the knee; the capital of the free Atmos had surrendered.
Afterwards, Master Cyclonis conquered other terras just as fast. Most surrendered with minimal damage done when they saw the black dragon coming. There were a few exceptions, but when Cyclonis was done with them, what little population she left alive quickly bent. Meanwhile, the Nightcrawlers were hunting down not only the Sky Knights, but seemingly anyone who could be considered associated with a Sky Knight – from anti-Cyclonian resistances and free terras' members of office, to citizens who'd supported Sky Knight squadrons against Cyclonians, and even children who were found to have Sky Knight memorabilia in their possession.
For a while, no-one outside Cyclonia knew what Cyclonis did with her prisoners of war, though there were unpleasant rumours. Six weeks into the Cyclonian conquest, Cyclonis publicly showed the whole Atmos what happened to her enemies: they were thrown into a gigantic Crystal Prison, frozen like they were in a giant ice cube. Cyclonis issued a public warning to all who didn't yield to her regime, this would be their fate. With each hero that fell into Cyclonis' Crystal Prison every week as the Nightcrawlers rounded up more rebels, a little more hope fell in with them.
Seven weeks after the battle to end all battles, the last pocket of resistance in Atmos was subjugated. As of now, no-one was free. Talons patrolled every terra's streets, while Far Side technology-armed Nightcrawlers ruled the skies above every house. Not even Cyclonia's allies in the battle were safe; promises of protection or amnesty were being broken every day as more Cyclonian-supporting terras' leaders were seized by the Nightcrawler street-patrols and thrown in jail. Cyclonis was tying up loose ends. All non-Talon sky-rides had been banned under Cyclonis' new rule, and all forms of air-travel were closely watched by Cyclonian military personnel. Every last illegal sky-ride the Cyclonians gathered up was being destroyed.
Which brought the new Master of Atmos to her current speech, addressing the population of Atmosia after news of the last free terra's subjugation had arrived.
Cyclonis' new dragon form, standing higher than every building on Atmosia, had raven-black scales that didn't shine but seemed to glisten in the light; just like her human form's hair had been like. The scales on her chest were steely-grey, like the underside of a mamba. She was slightly bigger than Smaug had been, her increased size thanks to the same Far Side technology that had given her her new psychokinetic powers (which electrified the air for a hundred feet around her.) Unlike Smaug, Dragon Cyclonis had a slimmer, more elegant build, though her muscles still held terrifying power packed into every fibre. Her thorax wasn't thickly-built like Smaug's, and the dorsal spines and spikes on her head were notably shorter, thinner and less decorative; all of which were characteristics that identified a female of Smaug's breed. She also had a thinner facial structure than Smaug. These differences aside, Dragon Cyclonis looked quite similar to him. Her slit-pupil eyes, blazing purple, held an unforgiving light as she looked down at the subjugated people.
"Any resistance, just like your sky-rides, will be crushed," Cyclonis said, all of Atmosia hearing her powerful voice. She lacked the underlying growl in her voice that Smaug had possessed, though it projected and resonated the same; and the voice's hissing-quality seemed slightly more pronounced. "The Age of the Sky Knights is over!"
Her eyes still looking down at the population, Cyclonis snaked the end of her long tail, curled up on the ground behind her bulk. The Cyclonians occupying the tower near the dragon saw the signal, pressing the button. The new flag of Atmos unfurled on Atmosia's Time Pulse tower… and everyone in the streets pointed and laughed. A blue Storm Hawk sigil had been less-than-crudely painted over the red Cyclonian raven.
A low growl like a thundershock came up Cyclonis' throat, silencing the jeering civilians. Her bright eyes bulged with rage, lip curled away from grit teeth as she struggled to keep her anger in check. If she'd thought she could feel terrible rage when she'd been human, she had been sorely mistaken. She twisted her body round to face the occupied tower, bringing her reptilian head level with the balcony.
"I want those Storm Hawks found!" she snarled threateningly at her subordinates, glowering. "Or everyone will suffer!" Her purple eyes narrowed particularly on one Cyclonian. "And that includes you!"
The Dark Ace lowered his eyes, growling quietly to himself; he didn't the way things were going so far in the least.
Laughter erupted on the Condor's bridge, the ship circling some uninhabited terra in a rural part of Atmos.
"I can just imagine the look on Cyclonis' face!" Finn laughed with his fellow Storm Hawks. Though once the laughter had died down, Aerrow's face became serious.
"Okay, status report," he addressed everyone. "Stork, where are we with the Nightcrawlers' weaponry?"
"Well, there's still no way to stop their Far Side technology," Stork reported, "but we might be able to drive them back with my new Nightcrawler repellent!" He whipped out a spray-can with a toot-horn for a nozzle, bearing the Nightcrawler insignia with a red 'no' symbol through it. He released a green spray from the can (accompanied by a horn-toot), which instantly made everyone gag and cover their faces.
"Turn it off!" Junko exclaimed.
"Dude!" Finn groaned loudly. "That's us-repellent!" Stork pouted.
"Junko?" Aerrow asked once it was safe to breathe through his nose again. "Any word from the Wallop Resistance?"
"Nothing," Junko reported. "I keep trying to contact them, but… when wallops go underground, they actually dig a hole." Aerrow was disappointed. It looked like for now, all they could do was play more pranks against the Cyclonians to remind people there was still hope.
"What about Piper?" Junko asked, concerned. "How's she doing?"
"Piper's… practicing." A concerned expression pinched with sadness appeared on Aerrow's face. He turned, looking outside at the lone Storm Hawk, sat cross-legged on the Skimmer ramp with her back to the bridge's windshields. After the battle against Cyclonia, Piper had just seemed to retreat into her practices with her new combined powers, not talking to the guys about much at all anymore. At first, she'd tried to get Aerrow to join, but when he'd refused out of concern over what the Binding would do to her, Piper had just started practicing her powers without him. It concerned Aerrow greatly, this was not like her at all. It had been days since she'd last spoken to anyone about anything.
On the ramp, Piper focused hard on developing her powers, forcing herself to go deeper if they wanted this power to ever be nearly enough to stop Cyclonis.
"Hurricane's Wind!" she yelled, glowing fiery-yellow. An explosion like the thunderclap erupted from the air in front of Piper, aimed towards the looming terra nearby. The great winds tore the terra's many dead trees loose from the ground, the rocks that were hit all shuddering under the onslaught.
Piper's face was hard as she observed her handiwork, mouth a neutral line. This wasn't good enough, she needed more, she needed to keep going. She knew what Aerrow had said about not using the Binding, but honestly what other way did they have? She just wished he'd see it the same way, and perhaps they could be making more headway. Didn't the guys understand what was at stake here?
"Hey." Piper looked over her shoulder, to see Aerrow step towards her.
"Hi," she greeted him, quickly turning her head back round. She hoped he would help her, but if not, she wanted to be left alone with her practice.
"So, how's practice coming?" Aerrow asked, smiling.
"Slow, but getting there," Piper replied, looking back at Aerrow. "It could be going a lot faster if we used the Binding." A certain light within her eyes was dimming, those amber pools seeming much darker than they once had.
"Piper, no," Aerrow said, gently enough though his mouth was in a firm line.
"Then what else is there?!" Piper stressed, frustrated. "Not only does Cyclonis have an army of Nightcrawlers armed with Far Side technology, but now she has all the powers that Smaug ever had and more! If we can't use my powers, then what else do you suggest?!"
Aerrow didn't reply. His face was remaining stubbornly hard, he fixing Piper with a look that was seemingly meant to be firm. He just stood up and walked back towards the ship, whilst Piper lowered her face, brooding at the uselessness of reasoning with him.
Dragon Cyclonis' temporary 'living quarters' were essentially an open platform on Cyclonia's main tower, one vast enough for the dragon to comfortably fit on. Rivets forming the skeleton for a huge dome, were all that walled the platform off from the windy skies, with workers soldering here and there. The whole thing looked like some twisted bird cage. Dragon Cyclonis' massive bulk took up the whole platform, resting in a catlike sleeping position with her tail curled around her body, eyes closed; when the loading door into the tower hissed open.
The Dark Ace, once straight-backed and loyal, was slouching as he stepped forward. News had just come from Terra Bogaton (more specifically, the ashen wasteland that remained of Bogaton after Smaug had taken care of the Raptors). The black dragon looked peacefully asleep as the Dark Ace approached, then:
"Let me guess." Her jaws snapped together, before one eye opened to look at the Dark Ace piercingly. "More bad news?"
"The Bogaton cannons will not be arriving," the Dark Ace growled, voice sour. "Ever." Cyclonis' lips curled away from her serrated teeth in an ugly scowl, a growl like a tremor reverberating. The Dark Ace was unhindered by the display, saying: "They were sabotaged – by the Storm Hawks!"
The moment she heard the squadron name, the dragoness's purple eyes widened, shock overtaking her facial features – it wasn't the expression of a warmongering empress, but a trapped, scared little girl. The show of weakness was there for only a second before it vanished, giving way to the deep, black pit of hatred that Cyclonis knew so well – the dragon's eyes clenched shut, she bore her teeth in animalistic rage, a fearsome growl escaping her. Then she roared – the sound so close to the Dark Ace that he covered his ears in pain. The dragon lashed out at the nearest thing as she twisted round in a furious flurry, smashing her tail clean through the rivet-wall. It left a clean gash in the structure, and had shattered one worker's body as he fell away. But Cyclonis wasn't finished, the raging inferno that had detonated inside of her still needing something more to soothe it. Sucking in a breath, Cyclonis blasted her fire through the rivet-dome, the blue-white flames instantly disintegrating the metal at close proximity like it was nothing. Only when there was nothing left but a gaping hole seared through the metal, did Cyclonis cut off the fire; the melted rivets at the edges glowing red-hot. Her angry explosion over, Cyclonis twisted her serpentine body round. Her purple eyes, blazing with her fury, bore into the Dark Ace as she brought her head low to the floor in front of him.
"I am done playing games," Cyclonis hissed, teeth bared in near-uncontainable anger. Then she snapped her gaze to the bloodred skies outside, as though she could pierce the clouds with her eyes to reveal where the defiance was brewing. "This rebellion ends!" she yelled loudly. "NOW!"
Cyclonis charged. The Dark Ace ducked with a cry, just in time to avoid her bone-shattering tail that whipped straight through the air right above him. Ramming her full body into the rivets, the dragoness smashed clean through, bursting out into the open skies. She let gravity pull her downwards for a few moments, then she snapped out her leathery wings to catch her; giving the limbs a pump as she flew towards her destination.
It was just a few hours after sunset, with people still out and about on the streets of Terra Atmosia. Suddenly, a huge shadow swept over them, disappearing as soon as it had come. As everyone looked up in surprise, the black dragon swooped seemingly out of nowhere, landing on the terra with houses crumbling underneath the weight distributed through her four limbs. The people quailed at the sight of their draconic Master, whose glowing eyes were cold and unforgiving as she looked down on them all.
"People of Atmosia," she called for all to hear; "thanks to the actions of a few petulant criminals, YOU'LL be paying – with your TERRA!"
Cyclonis let a few seconds pass so the message could sink in. Then she slowly sucked in a huge breath, and unleashed a blazing jet of flames from her jaws, obliterating many rows of houses in her path. Men, women and children ran through the cobblestone streets as the blaze tore through several blocks' buildings in a line, obliterating everything and everyone it touched. Breathing fire a second time, Cyclonis twisted her neck left and right, spreading blue and yellow flames in all directions, a raging cloud of heat. Many fleeing citizens were incinerated mid-run, their poses lingering imprinted in the flames for a second as they were turned to ash. A whole quarter of Terra Atmosia's surface was visible alight in the night from far away, as the small silhouette of the dragon unleashed another echoing roar and another blast of flames.
"Cyclonis, stop!" Cyclonis whirled her mad gaze round, twisting her neck, at the sound of the tannoy-amplified voice. Purple eyes glowed like a demon's with her demented expression, the glow of the yellow fire behind her casting demonic-looking shadows on her crocodilian face. She saw the Condor flying towards Atmosia, coming to hover just short of the terra's edge, near her. "Leave Terra Atmosia alone!"
"Give me one good reason," Cyclonis growled, voice devoid of mercy as she leered savagely at the Condor. With her draconic eyesight, at this distance she could clearly see the Storm Hawks through the ship's windshields, staring out at her.
"I'll give you six," Aerrow responded. "Spare Atmosia… and we'll turn ourselves in."
A sly smile spread on Cyclonis' muzzle as she knew she'd beaten them, momentarily revelling in her victory. Faster than anyone could respond; the dragon pounced forward, taking to the air with a starting-run and jump, her hind-claws splayed as she swooped towards the Condor. She buried her talons firmly in the ship's roof, only taking a moment to test her grip and make sure it was firm. Then she flew off, dragging the unresisting ship away with her.
Dawn was no more than a few hours away when Cyclonis returned to Cyclonia with the Storm Hawks – hard as it would be for any freedom-fighter in Atmos to believe they'd ever see another dawn. Cyclonis dropped the Condor on one of Cyclonia's loading bays. Dozens of Cyclonians immediately came at their Master's arrival; they ordered the Storm Hawks out of the ship at weapon-point, then put them all in purple crystal-cuffs and escorted them away from their ship. Cyclonis had stayed the entire time, pleased beyond measure to see the Storm Hawks squadron that had been a pain in her side for too long, grounded at last. She even decided to pleasure herself by having the Storm Hawks taken to the crusher, watching with sadistic satisfaction as they saw their sky-rides being crushed on a conveyor belt. Next, Cyclonis took them to the Crystal Prison hangar to see the fate that awaited them.
The Storm Hawks stared in horror at the violet crystalline structure, so tall it nearly touched the hangar's ceiling. It was filled with dozens of frozen people-shapes, like bits of vegetables mixed into jelly. Sky Knights, squadron-members, and almost every ally the Storm Hawks could name; all stared out, faces frozen in pictures of horror.
"My favourite souvenir from the Far Side," Cyclonis said, looking at the structure that was slightly taller than her. "Inside it, there is no sleep, no comfort, no time.
"But at least you'll be among friends," she purred tauntingly, twisting her neck to face the Storm Hawks with a look of cruelty. "So, who wants to go first?" Aerrow was the only one who didn't stare with a hint of horror, green eyes narrowed.
"Let's get this over with," he growled. Radarr whined keenly as two guards led Aerrow forward by either shoulder. While all attention was on Aerrow, Junko craned his head to shoot a signalling wink in one direction; the bulky-looking Cyclonians who were managing the hangar's pipes, returned it with subtle smiles. Master Cyclonis didn't notice anything off – while her eyes were on Aerrow, she could feel the subtlest changes in the air currents, but thought nothing of it with all the slight movements by guards and the captives.
"Wait," the Dark Ace protested as Aerrow was led to the Crystal Prison's caution line. He looked upward at his dragon Master's face, hand on the hilt of the sabre on his back. "Let me finish Aerrow off, in battle." An expression of contempt appeared on Cyclonis' face.
"Why?" she snapped loudly, lips curled lopsidedly from her teeth in a show of disgust as she glared fully at her henchman. "So he can slip through your fingers one last time?! But if it means that much to you, I'll let you throw him in." Cyclonis slithered away whilst the Dark Ace frowned. Her head came very low to the floor as she approached the Storm Hawk who, unlike her friends, was suspended in a cage of violet energy in addition to her cuffs.
"Well, Piper, I have to say, you've come along much better than I'd expected," Cyclonis murmured tauntingly, resonant voice soft as her lips moved three feet in front of Piper's body. "I'm almost tempted to spare you your friends' fate just to see how much further you could come with the right teaching…"
"Thanks, but I'd sooner throw myself on a blade than accept anything from you!" Piper spat, eyes filled with disgust. "But if it makes you feel better, stealing Smaug's look worked well on you!" Cyclonis growled angrily, lips shut-together as she glowered over Piper's remark.
"Goodbye, Aerrow," the Dark Ace growled, hand on Aerrow's shoulder ready to push him over the caution line. He couldn't keep the satisfaction to himself – even if he couldn't finish Aerrow the proper way, he'd settle for taking as much pleasure out of this as he could. "Any last words?" he asked, leering.
"Yeah," Aerrow murmured. "Junko! Now!" The wallop suddenly lashed out at three guards standing around him, swinging his cuffed wrists. The other guards moved to stop Junko, but were suddenly blasted unconscious – by the Cyclonians at the pipes. Whilst the Dark Ace was gaping, Aerrow took him by surprise with a lightning-fast kick that brought his legs out underneath him.
"What?!" Cyclonis hissed loudly in utter fury, glaring at the Cyclonians who'd shot their fellow troops. They removed their headgear to reveal wallop faces underneath.
"Meet the Wallop Resistance!" Junko said. A pause lasting one second followed, before Cyclonis roared with explosive rage. She swiped her tail at the wallops – they leapt out of the way just before the huge appendage smashed clean through the metal wall. The sounds of the Storm Hawks yelling made Cyclonis look back at them – Piper was breaking free of her energy-cage. Roaring furiously, Cyclonis tried to crush them with a foreclaw. Piper threw up a shield around herself and the guys a millisecond before the huge claw could crush them, instead smashing into the forcefield. Hissing loudly with her uncontainable fury and frustration, Cyclonis rounded back on the wallops, light shining up her throat as her jaws opened wide-
The wallops tore the piping on the wall free; a tirade of water exploded forth like they'd just punched a hole in a dam. The surge assaulted Cyclonis' face, and her chest hissed at the water's touch, her fire extinguished. The sheer force in the water-surge pushed the dragon back to the opposite wall of the rapidly-flooding hangar. She screeched furiously, eyes bulging madly.
As three feet of foamy water rushed in, Aerrow and the Dark Ace's heads emerged, coughing and spluttering. The Dark Ace recovered before Aerrow, quickly hauling him up by the scruff of his clothes, then throwing him in the Crystal Prison's direction. Aerrow knew when he'd crossed the underwater warning line as the huge crystal suddenly thrummed loudly. Aerrow's crystal cuffs became magnetised, fiercely trying to drag him to the Crystal Prison; Aerrow resisted with all his strength.
"Diamond's Edge!"
The bright-blue beam shot out of Piper's crystal into Aerrow, his body going rigid. Cyclonis, seeing what Piper was doing, made a slashing motion with one forelimb, unleashing a whiplash of energy. Piper redirected her crystals' energies to protecting herself, the blast bouncing off her forcefield. The energy hit the wide-eyed dragoness with such force that she was blasted clean through the wall behind her, leaving a gigantic dragon-shaped hole. Her momentum didn't stop there, Cyclonis' body shooting outward to the red clouds – slamming hard into a single patrol-cruiser, flexible neck snapping back at an angle from the impact. The dragon slid away, instantly out cold, huge bulk falling with gravity towards the Wastelands.
To Aerrow's awe, a jagged shaft of glowing crystal grew out from his hands in front of him, shattering his cuffs. Pointing it like a lance, Aerrow suddenly stopped fighting the Crystal Prison's pull. He hurtled straight towards it, plunging the crystal-lance's pointed end into its surface. Cracks instantly started spreading along the crystal structure, light shining out. The Dark Ace stared wide-eyed, and Piper raised the crystals above her head to shield her and the guys; a second before the Crystal Prison exploded, a great shockwave blasting across the hangar. The Dark Ace was slammed into a wall, instantly knocked out, as huge chunks of crystal were blown about the room.
When it was over, a huge plume of violet smoke obscured the space where the Crystal Prison had been. A bright-glowing silhouette slowly stepped out of the haze, the crystal shaft receding back into his hand. Aerrow looked amazed at the crystal-lance vanishing, right before another figure stepped from the smoke beside him: Starling.
"That was… smashing," she commented, the two Sky Knights sharing a grin. "Thanks." As the smoke cleared behind them, several dozen more figures stepped forth: Sky Knights and squadron-members, youngsters, ordinary folk, and the odd chicken. Aerrow and Starling grinned again, but then an earth-shattering roar from outside made everyone look up.
"Alright, we need to get airborne," Aerrow announced to the gathered heroes of Atmos, everyone listening intently. "Get out there and take Dragon Cyclonis down!"
"Um, tiny problem," Starling pointed out. "No rides."
"Problem solved," Finn called from across the hangar, looking under a loading door. He hit the button on the wall, the door rose – to unveil rows of Cyclonian Switchblades. "Chicka-cha!"
Twenty seconds later, dozens of Sky Knights and squadron-members were riding out on their borrowed rides. Finn held back on the outside ramp as everyone raced ahead.
"Come on, Stork!" he encouraged the Merp. "Grab a ride!"
"No thanks," Stork said, grinning as he tore the X-shaped chestplate free of his clothing. "Brought my own." Two buttons and a tiny lever sprung out on the plate's inside, Stork operating the latter. Nearby, as Finn looked up; the Condor pulled free of its restraints, chains breaking. It neatly landed above Finn and Stork's heads on the ramp. Finn looked impressed, whilst Stork just giggled mischievously.
Aerrow and Piper were the only ones left in the hangar, approaching the last two Switchblades as Junko revved out.
"Aerrow!" Piper stopped Aerrow with a hand on his shoulder. Her face was harsh, almost cruel even with the lines on it. "If we're going to do this, we need to do it now!"
"It's too risky!" Aerrow immediately responded. Piper just growled loudly in frustration, shocking Aerrow as she stormed past him to a Switchblade; she rode out without looking back. Aerrow stared after her for a moment, then moved to mount the last Switchblade. A voice stopped him, making him look back into the hangar:
"When this is over," the Dark Ace growled, standing soaking wet and battered in the middle of the waterlogged hangar; "you're going to wish you had jumped into that prison!" He drew his sabre, pointed at Aerrow.
Aerrow returned the Dark Ace's glare with a low-browed one of his own. Then he turned his Switchblade and rode towards the exit. The Dark Ace sprinted forward with athletic speed as in his legs. Just as the Switchblade switched to flight mode, the Dark Ace leapt and grabbed onto the wing, maintaining a hold as it flew out to the sky.
On the red skies, Piper had quickly abandoned her Switchblade, glowing fiery yellow as she flew with her powers alone. She looked all around.
"I don't see her!" Piper called over the rushing winds to the others. Cyclonis' black form suddenly came whooshing out of the red clouds behind her. Piper ducked as the dragon flew over her, headed towards the other sky-rides.
A/N: I'd like to point out that there is now art of Dragon Cyclonis, which you can see on my DeviantART account: SciFiLover2.
So, reviews! If you'd be so kind as to leave a review and tell me your thoughts and any feedback you have, I'd really appreciate it! What did you think of: my slight headcanon of the Cyclonian conquest; Dragon Cyclonis; Piper's characterisation; my AU version of the fight in the hangar, the Wallop Resistance's role; and that cliffhanger, with Dark Ace grabbing onto Aerrow's ride and Dragon Cyclonis about to attack the Sky Knights.