Episode 24
It was quite a busy week. I managed to swipe Piper's hynosis crystal which was kept under lock and key because of it's ability and lifted the hypnosis on the wrestlers. Starling snuck the teradon scientists onto the battleship I was using to drive the wrestlers to their favorite hangout, the Wayside, with instructions to leave them on an uncharted terra which would now be theirs. No one knew of it but us so the scientists should be kept out of trouble. They chuckled sheepishly and rubbed the back of their heads. They may have looked weird but they were really just like overgrown children, like Finn, only with inventor-like smarts. Finn does have his moments of genius, which was kinda hot.
This also allowed me some time with the gang. As I watched Atmos Access's, which was a celebrity update show, report on the second encarceration of Carver from the Red Eagles, Piper passed behind me on the couch with a book in front of her.
"Close call eh?" I said, the moment of the crusier crashing replaying on the TV.
"Yeah," she said after looking at the screen. She wiped imaginary sweat from her forehead. I gave her a knowing smile. She blushed.
"Just goes to show how much we need each other." She said, more to herself it seemed like.
"It wont be a bad thing if you guys became an item." I told her.
"You and Finn either."
"...good to know." I said, after getting over the shock. With a triumphant smile, she got back to her book and continued on her way to her room. Looks like she and Aerrow know. It's safe to guess Junko and Radarr know too. However, Stork could care less.
At night I slipped from under Finn's arm and went back to Cyclonia to return the ship I borrowed. I was given a message there that said I had to watch over Dark Ace in the Tundras. There has to be a way for me to get in her good graces. I couldn't possibly be out could I?
"Where'd you go last night?" Finn mumbled sleepily.
"Uh, to eat." I said stupidly. Coulda said to get a drink of water.
"Mmm, you do need to eat more; you're getting skinny."
"I'm already on it."
I had plans to train hard that day, beat everyone on the team, but it was cut short when Stork came in.
"I have some good news and some very bad news." He said.
"What's the very bad news?" Aerrow asked.
"My poisonous cricket's-deruhhh-loose on the ship." Finn yelped and jumped into Junko's arms who cringed and lifted a foot off the ground as if that would help.
"You're kidding right." I said. I don't do lethal posion.
"Well what's the good news?"
"I can create a cure but I need to buy one and the nearest dealer is all the way at Saharr."
"Well...looks like we're going to Saharr."
"Does anybody see it?" Finn said, voice wavering.
I walked with Finn hand in hand and looked around the market here in Saharr. Finn pulled me to a flea market stand and bought a rubix-like cube game and we ducked when it transformed into a massive venus fly trap when a feed came alive in our earpieces.
"Guys, we have a situation here..." Piper mumured. As soon as the venus fly trap returned to it's rubix cube form, I ran back to where we diverted from, pulling Finn behind me. The others had done the same and we met up back in the center.
"I just saw Dark Ace!"
"Where?" Arrow asked. Wherever the Dark Ace was there was trouble but he shouldn't be in Saharr right now. I was immediately suspicious. Piper had asked a man who was questioned by Dark Ace then tossed to the side what Dark Ace told him. Dark Ace had asked where Rem'sWin shop was and tossed him after he pointed the way. We ran to Rem'sWin shop, a dealer of rarities, and got there before Dark Ace did. Piper put on a green cloak and pasties with wool on them for the old man's eyebrows and a mustache. She would find out what he wanted while the rest of us hid in the back.
"Trust us, you don't wanna to deal with this guy." Aerrow told him. Rem'sWin nodded.
"I normally go to one of Master Cycloniss's experts but this need not concern her. Do I make myself clear? There will be dire consqeunces if you speak to anyone about what I'm going to show you..." Dark Ace took out a glowing blue crystal with swirls all over it that made it look like a brain. The Medulla Crystal.
"I need to know if this is real..." Piper gasped.
"I can see from your reaction that it's authentic, that's all I need."
"Not so fast Dark Ace! I don't know how you got the Medulla crystal, but we're not letting you leave with it!" The gang came out of hiding and prepared for a fight. I pushed Rem'sWin and his apprentice farther back. Dark Ace threw a lamp which could have caused a fire and ran off. Aerrow caught it in time and they went after him.
"Next time someone like him or any Cyclonian calls or shows up, do let us know." I told them and caught up with the gang.
"Years ago, a Sky Knight inventor built a battle suit. He called it The Suit of Untold Vengeance. Lightweight, transformable, with enough firepower to level a building. A legend said it was cursed but it wasn't really, it was just too complicated for one person to control. So the blue Medulla crystal acted like a second brain. But the Medulla crystal was seriously unstable. Anyone who used it went crazy. So the suit was buried at the top of Mount Vulture and the crystal was destroyed, at least it was supposed to be." Piper explained.
"Well, if the Dark Ace has the crystal, then he must be after the suit. Stork, set course for Mount Vulture!"
"Oh...I can't wait to see it in action..." Stork said, his voice wavering from his shiver of anticipation.
We had to climb up the pillar-like mountain because it was too windy to fly with our rides. Climbing was the safest way but the strong wind currents made it hard to maintain a strong grip. Heights is my fear and I mastered not looking looking down but the wind was distracting. Finn, however, was scrambling up the mountain quickly. ok ok ok ok, one-two, one-two...I pep talked myself, and got to the top first and ran after Dark Ace into the cave.
"Dark Ace!" I yelled, the only source of light came from the crystal in his hand he was using to lead him to the suit. The brighter it glowed the closer the suit was.
"Get out of my way!" He growled. He swiftly tossed the crystal into the machine's chest and hopped into the opening at the neck. It whirred to life and it's head flipped over his. I ran back out as fast as I could as he stomped back out, the machine breaking some of the rock off from the cave's inside. He blew out of the opening, large chunks of rock flew off of the terra.
"Storm Hawks, how convenient. Saving me the trouble of hunting you down."
"We know about the suit, what makes you think you can control it?"
"For one thing, I'm not like weak minded Sky Knights." The suit must have had some juice in it. He attacked us with the machine's large hands. The top of the terra was already small and his big butt made it hard to duck out of the way.
"You may have been trouble for me once but times change." He stopped to admire his new toy. "More power, mine to control, nothing can-what the-" The machine gave powering-down moan. "More fuel...already?! Grr! Consider yourselves lucky!" He growled and ran off of the edge and ejected the machine's glider and soared easily through the wind currents and disappeared into the grey clouds. Goddamnit Dark Ace...!
"Woah, it can fly too?" Junko commented.
"Admire it later. Back to the Condor!-Stork, lets monitor all channels. Any sign of the Dark Ace, I wanna hear about it." Aerrow commanded. Finn's rubix whirred noisily each time he pushed in a piece.
"Come on Finn, we need to focus on finding the Dark Ace right now." Aerrow scolded.
"Just a sec-And what are we gonna do when we find him?"
"Finn's actually right." Piper said. "The Dark Ace still has the battle suit. With that kind of upgrade he's invincible."
"Hmm, then maybe we need upgrades of our own..."
"I know exactly who can help us." I said.
The Medulla Oblongata helps regulate autonomous functions like breathing. "Sensory and motor neurons (nerve cells) from the forebrain and midbrain travel through the medulla". Meaning this crystal connects to the user via their nervous system so they can control the SUV similarly to the Jeagers and pilots in Pacific Rim. Subscribe to my YouTube channel Atmos Access as I will talk about things like this and more, if you don't, no worries, you do you.
btw, if Aerrow comes out Arrow, it's the autocorrect. I don't always catch it.