Elle

Kai

Now, Dimetri's target was Finn. The man charged for him, a fist aimed at his face. Dodging each punch, Finn knocked over the man's recliner. Propelled by pure adrenaline, he dodged another throw and landed a ways away from him, egging him on. "Come on, now! I would've thought better coming from a Talon!"

I stood by and watched as Aerrow and Finn sparred. I watched as Aerrow trained, as Finn trained. I saw the differences in their fighting styles—Aerrow could handle close combat; Finn could not. I'd only seen those kinds of things from my favorite red-head, but I'd never expected Finn to pull them off.

Finn jumped upward, landing on Dimetri's back. "Stop fidgeting, you're screwing me up!" The man flipped him off of his back, throwing him to the floor. Using his legs as leverage, Finn pulled through to the other side and quickly regained his footing. In one swift kick, he pushed the man to the ground, knocking over an end table.

"Dimetri!" his wife called, stunned.

I ran to her side, a blade in my hand. "Please, let me explain…"

As Dimetri lie motionless on the floor, Finn folded his arms across his chest. "You are low, even for a Talon. I honestly expected better of you! Your daughter was murdered by your own kind! Sure, believe them all you want. I don't expect you to trust a Storm Hawk's word over theirs; it's only natural. But taking a swing at an innocent girl? How dare you! You should have some dignity at the very least! Cyclonian or not, you should know damn well better than to hit a girl."

That's when the mother burst out into tears. "He's… he's never known better."

I watched as the tears fell. As her face soaked in her grief, her makeup began to fade, giving way to an aging bruise. "I need to get you out of here," I told her, a hand on her shoulder.

"I… I can't… I can't leave… Dimetri…"

"He's hurting you!" I shouted. "How can you stay here when he's… How can you look past the abuse?" I took her face in my hands, rubbing the bruise free of makeup. "Why do you think this is okay?!" Her rand rose to pull mine away. "Mrs. Warden… As a Storm Hawk, I am removing you from this household for your own safety." I pulled her toward the door. "Finn, let's go. Now."

"No. I'm not done with this asshole."

"Elin, you will be fine," I coaxed. "He can't hurt you anymore."

With a grateful look in her eye, she quickly asked a favor. "Please… just let me get a few things. I… I just need to get a few of Trevor's things."

I nodded, following after her. I left Finn to take care of the brute. "Trevor?"

She nodded. "Elle's late brother… He disappeared in battle…"

"I'm so sorry…" It must've been hard, losing both of her children. I kept back the tears in an attempt to stay strong. If I cracked, I felt she might not come with me. Soon enough, with a suitcase packed, Elin followed me out of the house. I grabbed Finn by the arm. "Finn… Let's go."

He nodded, kicking the man back down to the ground. Without another word, we left the house and returned to the Condor. I placed her things in the spare room, making a bed for her for the night. Though grateful, Mrs. Warden was distraught. Her stoic demeanor quite visibly changed.

I took Aerrow's blades and set them on the table. "Mrs. Warden… Is there somewhere safe we can take you? Do you have any other family? What about your sister?"

Finn left the room, muttering about something quietly.

"My sister… she lives on Mesa. Miss…"

"Kai," I smiled.

"Miss Kai… You have a kind heart. I truly appreciate everything you've done, but… I don't feel right leaving my husband. We've been together for so long… I've lived in that house a very long time. We had our children there."

I slammed my fist on the table. "Do you feel right staying behind and letting him hit you?"

The blond bit back her words. "It's not his fault… He… he works so hard; his job is very stressful!"

"I cannot allow you to go back there. I'm sorry, but there's no reason for a man to hit his wife… Not like that. I put your daughter in harm's way, and I will not do that to her mother, too."

"I… I understand… P-please, tell me. What happened to my daughter?"

I sat down beside Elin. With tears in my eyes, I explained what happened at the Academy. Though I left out a few details, not wanting to burden her with my nightmares, she had to know she didn't take her own life. Unlike her husband, the sound of us infiltrating the Academy didn't upset her.

"Elle was my bunkmate. She… she was so nice; she took care of me when I got hurt. I told Elle I would take her with me when Finn and I left; she was so happy! She wanted to leave… but they told her she wasn't allowed. Ravess took that away from her. She took Elle away from me…She murdered my friend—your daughter."

Elin smiled, tears falling from her eyes. "Kai, I don't blame you for her death. My husband sent her to the academy when she was fourteen… along with her brother. When her brother graduated and she didn't, I tried to have her released… I wanted my baby to come home. When Dimetri found out I had called, he locked me in the basement.

"He told Elle she couldn't come back unless she was a full-fledged Talon. She wasn't welcome at home unless she came back with a title. Her vacation time was revoked, and since she was no longer a student, they put her to work. When she came of age, we… no longer had a say in what she did. I was surprised she didn't leave the Academy then." Taking some tissue, she cleaned the makeup from her face, giving way to many more bruises—some fresh, some old.

"Elle called home about a week before they said she passed. She said she couldn't take it anymore and wanted to come home, but they wouldn't let her leave. I was shocked—I was told she could leave any time she wanted, but she refused… She said if an opportunity didn't come soon, she would… she would take her own life…" Her tears continued to fall.

I hugged her tightly, wiping my face. Ravess played the suicide card because she knew the situation well—suicide was believable. "There was nothing I could've done…" She shook her head. "Tell you what," I leaned back, smiling. "We're on our way to Neon as we speak. Once Aerrow and the rest come back from the rebellion… we'll take you to Mesa, it's not too far off from our destination."

She nodded, forcing a smile. "You don't know how much this means to me."

"I'll send word to have your husband looked after… We won't let him come anywhere near you or your sister. You have our word."

Elin smiled, brushing the tears from her cheeks. "Thank you, Kai…" She set the note on the table, carefully removing the picture. "I know you two were good friends… She must've meant a lot to you. Knowing my Ellie, I know you meant a lot to her. Listen, Kai," she paused, placing the photo and the necklace in my hands. "I want you to have these. I know my Ellie… She's selfless enough to put her heart and soul into anyone she calls a friend. I want you to have a piece of her, to remember her by…" I watched as mixed-emotion tears rolled down her smiling cheeks.

"I want you to know how thankful I am for the time you spent with her. She didn't have many friends, and I'm sure you were her favorite. Tell your team how grateful I am, when they return. For my Ellie, I owe you more than I could ever repay…" She sandwiched my hands together, holding them lovingly. "You are welcome at my home anytime, Kai. You will always be family."

I set the picture on the table, embracing her. It felt good seeing the smile on her face. It was the first good deed I'd performed under the Storm Hawk name. I managed to save someone from the clutches of Cyclonia… Though I would never be able to repay the debt I owed to Elle's mother, I felt the little bit of happiness I brought her would suffice for the moment. No, I didn't just feel good; I felt proud.

I truly felt like I belonged on the team. I earned my right to call myself a Storm Hawk; nothing could take that away from me.

As the team returned, they welcomed Elin to their ship. Piper made her feel right at home; she prepared a cup of tea for her and chatted for hours. Piper enjoyed stories from a Talon's point of view, knowing she could learn just a bit more about their mindset. Though, what she was really interested in were their mutant crystals. Though visually similar, their properties had been changed, giving them a world of dark power the Atmos wasn't quite sure how to handle.

Finn helped Junko and Storm unload the bikes, while Radarr cleaned off the dirt and grime. They seemed happy, having quelled the rebellion. Their moral was high—even Finn's jokes didn't seem to get in the way. They laughed, they sang, even Piper danced a bit with Elin as Finn blasted music through the halls.

I was happy as well, seeing Elin dance. Aerrow took over for Piper, showing Elin a few moves he'd learned. His smile had returned, though his face was covered in grime.

"You didn't have too much trouble out there without me, did you?" I asked, watching as they danced in the bridge.

Aerrow shook his head. "They seemed to respect us! It was strange, how quickly they calmed down. There were a few groups that gave us trouble, but we didn't have to use too much force. Apparently there were quite a few Talons living there; good to know, but not the greatest bunch to deal with. Typical Talons, nothing special."

"I'm glad; it seems like everyone is feeling much better, too!"

"Well, who wouldn't be happy seeing this lovely woman's face!" he said with a smile, pulling Elin around in a swirl. As they came to a stop, Aerrow rested his hand on her shoulder. "It's very nice to meet you, Mrs. Warden. We've heard some lovely stories about your daughter from Kai. She sounded like a wonderful person…"

She nodded grimly. "It's such a same… She could have brought so much life into this dreadful world… You would have just loved her, Aerrow."

"You did great, Kai," Aerrow smiled. "The rebellion was easy enough to handle, I'm just glad you made yourself useful."

"It was the least I could do after what happened to Elle…," I told him, shaking my head.

Finn nodded in agreement, though he was oddly disturbed by the prior events.

As the others returned the supply to the lockers, Stork treated Elin's wounds and gave her something to help her sleep. Piper stood by to keep an eye on her, and keep her company should she wake up.

I helped Radarr clean the bikes, fixing what little damage there was. A few rough landings had Aerrow and Junko scraping the farings, so I was quick to remove them for repair. As we finished up, Aerrow stepped in, drying his hands with a towel. "Is she still sleeping?" he asked, placing Radarr on his shoulder.

I nodded. "Stork gave her something for her anxiety and treated her bruises. He said she should rest until we reach Mesa. It… it was pretty bad, Aerrow."

"You should've seen the guy dealing the bruises," Finn grumbled, stepping into the bay.

"Is… he all right?" Aerrow asked, gazing curiously at Finn.

"Yeah, unfortunately. Kai made us leave before I could beat him to a pulp. Who the hell does that to a woman? I mean, seriously! How stupid can you be?!"

Aerrow sighed. "Well, you two should get some rest, too. After Mesa, we're heading back out to Neon to pick up a shipment. Unfortunately, we won't have much time to stick around and enjoy ourselves, but I'm sure you can ride the Thunderbolt while we're there, Kai."

"Oh, Neon! Yay! Can we stick around for the fireworks again?"

He shook his head. "We won't have that long, sadly. Just a few rides—that's it." Aerrow rolled his shoulders, scratching Radarr's head. "Well, I'm glad you two made it out of there safely with her. I'm proud of you, Kai. You did a great thing. Now… I want to talk to everyone." He stepped out of the bay, leading us to the bridge. "Wait here while I gather the others."