Dark Ace: I really like this chapter—
Me: I do, too! I mean, I know it's long and all, but it was soooo much fun to write-- *breaks off when notices Dark Ace glaring*
Dark Ace: As I was saying, I like this chapter, so I'm going to keep it short and sweet. Thanks to Aerrow4eva, Tege, Bergie, Pascy, Hawk-Masters, and Nezy for reviewing, and Kitty doesn't own the Storm Hawks.
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Starling and Finn hung together, awkwardly clutching each other, from a huge spire of rock above the Wastelands. As usual, Starling took control.
"Finn, I have a rope on the back of my belt. When I give the signal, I want you to let go and grab it. Ready? Now!" Starling grabbed more tightly, completely supporting herself as Finn groped around for the rope. He had it.
"Now, can you support my weight?" He nervously nodded. "Then I need you to drape the rope around my neck and then grab me again. I'm going to tie us together, and take the strain off of our arms."
Starling did as she described, binding them together in a makeshift harness.
Together, they hung there, listening to the sounds of the battle above. It sounded a lot worse, just hearing but not seeing. Every zap, whoosh, or bang startled them as they tried not to imagine what was going on. Finally, Finn voiced his doubts.
"What if we're losing? What if the shadows have killed everyone else, and we just have a few minutes until they come and get us, too? Aren't we supposed to say our last words, or something?"
Starling scowled. "I live my life ready to die each day, no regrets."
Finn stared. "Wow, that's kind of sad. I mean, I'm glad you don't have any regrets, but if you live ready to die, that's not really living. I, for one, regret that I never told y—"
The Condor descended in front of them, it's loud horn cutting off what he was going to say. Starling sighed in relief as Aerrow cut her free. "I'm never forgetting my parachute again," she swore. "Oh, and Finn? Thanks for saving my life. It was really sweet of you." She gave him a peck on the cheek and he reddened.
"So worth it," he whispered under his breath.
The Condor left Terra Gale shortly afterwards, heading back in the general direction of the Cyclonian border. Everyone sat gathered around the bridge, in their usual seats.
"So, um, what are we going to do, guys?" Finn asked.
"There is no way I'm agreeing to another game of Truth or Dare," Cyclonis quickly hissed.
"Really? Because I enjoyed it last time," Dark Ace said, smiling. Cyclonis blushed crazily.
The instruments began to fluctuate, and Stork's eyes bulged nervously. "We've got Sky Sharks on the scopes!"
"What are we waiting for? To the skimmers!" called an excited Aerrow.
"Wait," Piper said. "Lark, could you take them down with your crystal-without-a-crystal powers? I never really got to observe you doing it, and I think it might help us understand them a bit better…if you don't mind, I mean."
Cyclonis paled, but her face narrowed in determination. She handed her bag of crystals to Dark Ace as Piper quickly ran and grabbed a strange pair of goggles and a notebook.
Cyclonis took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and concentrated. Five short blasts of red-orange energy shot from her form and hit the Sky Sharks, who all instantly swam/flew away.
Piper stared in awe. "You're pulling energy from some source outside of you," she said quickly. "Crystals can run out of energy if they're overused or not cared for properly. From what I can see, there's no end to the power source you're using."
Cyclonis nodded palely. She didn't want to admit it, but it had taken a lot out of her.
"You know, I wonder…" Piper mumbled to herself. Cyclonis motioned for her to continue. "You reach out and use energy like it's the energy of a crystal…would it be possible to make crystals from your mysterious energy source?"
Dark Ace was quick to object. "We have absolutely no idea how using these powers affects her. If she tries too much to early, it may very well kill her! She's done enough for the day."
Cyclonis had a stubborn glint in her eye. "What if we come to a Terra and they need shielding stones, but we're out? Do you want it to be the first time I test out these strange powers? Better to do it now, in a controlled environment."
Dark Ace opened his mouth to argue, then closed it. "You're right, Master," he finally said. "Just—be careful!"
A pang of nervousness twisted in her gut. She nodded, swallowing dryly.
Going into the energy pool was a strange, but not unpleasant feeling. She felt hot and prickly, like she had pins and needles, but at the same time utterly invincible. She tried to channel the power through herself while concentrating on the most basic crystal: a Floater.
The Storm Hawks were forced to squint, then close their eyes as Cyclonis began shining brighter than a supernova. Finally, the whiteness dimmed, and they could see again. A small floating crystal hovered above a triumphant Cyclonis's hand.
Suddenly, Cyclonis seemed to stumble and collapse, not quite fainting but falling dizzily towards the ground. Dark Ace instantly rushed forward and caught her. "Wow…" she slurred. "You're really strong and fast…"
Piper lifted her lidded eyes, checking her pupils. They were slightly dilated. "We're taking her to the sick bay," she said. "I want to do a couple tests, and make notes on these symptoms."
Cyclonis sat in the sick bay, feeling slightly annoyed. Despite her protests, Piper had insisted that she stay here all afternoon and night so that the affects of the energy could be monitored until they wore off. Cyclonis looked at the notepad, seeing Piper's heavy scrawls.
Energy seems to be having a positive long-term affect on the body. It seems to be strengthening, and healing old wounds.
There had been a time when her father had broken her left arm. Sometimes, it ached. It had stopped aching now. In fact, the slight bump had disappeared.
Subject seems to have a slight fever. Hypothesis: temperature to fever is in direct correlation with the amount of crystal energy in the body.
Effect on mind: unknown. Probable outcome: strange behavior, loss of judgment.
She wasn't crazy. Maybe she felt a bit dizzy, but she was fine. In fact, she was more than fine.
In an impulsive, split-second decision, she decided to make another crystal. This time, she'd make a bigger one, to show that she could. Hm, she wondered, who would want a powerful crystal? She couldn't give it to Piper, or Piper would realize something was up. In her mind's eye, she saw the Dark Ace practicing with his energy-sword, a Firebolt Crystal glistening in the hilt.
She smiled, then reached into the energy inside herself.
Dark Ace was in their room, cleaning up, polishing his blade, and doing whatever other chores he could think of. The door slid open.
All he could see was the silhouette in the doorway, but he knew at once that it was his Master. She nodded to him and walked in.
There was something strange about the way she moved. It almost looked as though she was walking through water. Her steps were careful, languid, fluid, and slow. She sat on their bed, watching him, not saying a word. Dark Ace went back to polishing his sword.
"I have something for you," she said smoothly. "A crystal. I made it myself."
In all his years on Cyclonia, he had never seen anyone give someone else a gift. He turned warily. In her hand was a large, blood-red crystal. His eyes widened as he recognized it. He carefully picked it up, fitting it into the end of his sword.
"Wow," he said. "Thanks." It was the most powerful Firebolt crystal he'd ever seen, and it worked with his blade like none ever had before. Dark Ace took a few practice swipes and nodded appreciatively. He gingerly turned his glowing blade off and placed it down.
Somehow, Master Cyclonis had gotten right in front of him. She climbed on his lap, facing towards him. Her hands reached up and began to entangle themselves in his hair, moving with a life of their own.
"Um, Master, um—"
She silenced him effectively by kissing him, long and hard. Her lips were unnaturally warm, and unimaginably soft.
A lump formed in his throat. What had Piper said about making crystals? Something about how she wasn't sure how it would affect Cyclonis's mind? How it would take a few hours for the effects to wear off?
He looked into her eyes, and his suspicions were confirmed. Her pupils were huge, vastly dilated. He pulled back. "Master, you're not yourself. The crystals are affecting you. Why don't you just wait for the effects to wear off, then you'll be back to normal and all will be fine."
She kissed him again, shorter this time, then came up for breath. Her fingers lightly traced abstract patterns on the back of his neck. He was so tempted to give in, but he knew that she wouldn't want that.
"Ace, the crystals are not controlling how I think," she cooed. "The crystals just take away my fear. They take away all the stupid, little things that are holding me back. They take away the insecurities that are always in the back of my mind. Everything, all of this, this is what I truly want." She kissed him again.
"I love you, Dark Ace."
She knew exactly how he thought, and she destroyed his mental arguments' foundations with chilling precision. Control yourself, don't give in, snap out of it. Her lips met his.
"I love you, too."
He didn't resist this time as she kissed him again. Her lips were so soft, and so distracting. All he could think of was her small body on top of his, and her mouth on his. Her hands quickly moved to the back of his armor, unlatching it.
It brought him back to reality. Quickly, he grabbed both of her wrists. "Stop," he said sternly.
"I thought you said you loved me," she whispered, trying to kiss him again. This time, he was ready for it, and he held her away. He turned her around, keeping his tight grip on her wrists as he forced her back to him. Her arms were now crossed on her chest, effectively trapping her.
"I do love you," he replied. "That's why I'm going to sit here with you until you regain your senses. I won't have you doing anything you regret." His voice became more gentle. "You have no idea how much I love you."
She tried pleading. She tried ordering him, begging him, screaming at him, but to no avail. Dark Ace sat there like a statue, holding onto her, until finally, she fell asleep.
Blackness. The blackness was the first thing she noticed. It was all around her, surrounding her. She tried to look at herself but she realized that she didn't exist. There was just the blackness, and she was the blackness.
The second thing she noticed was the hunger. It wasn't really a physical hunger, as that would require her to have a stomach. It was more a constant gnawing feeling in the back of her mind, reminding her that she could never really feel satiated.
After a little while, she realized she had eyes, so she opened them. Everything looked strange; she couldn't see a landscape at all, but there was something extremely bright above her, the sun. In front of her were little stars, but they were strangely shaped and clumped together. Surrounding her was the blackness, and she could feel all of it, even though some of it wasn't her. She knew that all the blackness felt the same hunger, but there was another thought, too. There was almost an anticipation, an excitement about the stars.
One of the stars made a weird movement, and all of them moved closer to the darkness. She realized why their shape was familiar—they looked like humans, but made completely of light.
One came near her and she reacted instinctually, reaching out an grabbing its light. For a second, the hunger disappeared, replaced by complete and total bliss, then the human-star dimmed and disappeared.
She suddenly realized what was going on. She was a shadow, and this was the battle that they had just fought that morning.
She saw herself burst through the clouds, with two dimmer stars near her. She—her human self—was brighter than all the others, and had a strange aura of energy around her. She felt the need to consume her human self, more than any other of these puny men. Around her, the other shadows were thinking the same thing.
Her human self whirled, and a point of light came hurtling at her. Suddenly, she realized that this was a bolt of energy that she herself was using to kill herself. Strange.
She closed her eyes and retreated into the blackness, ordering the dream to stop. To her surprise, it did, and her mind sank into deeper levels of unconsciousness.
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Me: *chuckles evilly* I wonder why you like this chapter…
Dark Ace: What? Oh, you mean Master Cyclonis finally tells me she loves me? Yeah, that was really nice.
Me: And the fact that she was totally making out with you!
Dark Ace: I enjoyed that part too.
Me: *shots him a look*
Dark Ace: What? I'm not the one who's all flustered; that's Cyclonis. I've been very clear about my feelings for her from Episode 1 (okay, maybe 2). I mean, it takes some serious devotion to dive under a collapsing ceiling for someone.
Me: *shakes head* You're hopeless.
Dark Ace: I hope your reviewers aren't hopeless, and that they actually review.
Me: Speaking of reviewing, are you still trying to kill me? Because several of them told you not to, you know.
Dark Ace: *sarcastically* And I wouldn't dare upset our reviewers! No, but really, I'm starting to not hate you anymore after writing that chapter. Although if I had written it, I can think of one or two parts that I would have changed…well, only one, really…
Me: Thanks! Though I'm not sure if it's my writing quality you're complimenting…