Episode 59 - The Switcheroo

Part 3 - Not So Leader

When Aerrow saw the deceased guy standing there a little bit too close for comfort, he instinctively jumped away from him like a frightened animal.

"Wow, why are you so scared? You look like you've seen a ghost." - the spirit said.

The boy blinked. Was that supposed to be funny because he was dead?

"I'm not afraid of you, but I didn't expect you to appear right beside me. That'd startle anyone." - the sky knight told him.

"Well, it's not like I could choose where I'd appear when you've dragged me out of the other realm. You should've been prepared for this." - the monk shrugged - "And may I ask what this is all about?"

"Ah, master Sinjin, it's an honor to see you again." - the old man bowed in an oriental fashion.

"Xhun! You haven't changed at all, old friend. I'm glad to see you too." - Sinjin bowed back, though he didn't even smile, which made his statement about being glad almost seem like a lie - "But why have you summoned me?"

"You see, these here are Aerrow and Piper, an aspiring duo that has recently achieved the perfect sync." - Xhun told him - "They were interested in helping you. So I thought having you escorted to the Zenith would be a good idea."

"The Zenith?" - the ghost was surprised and in awe, but then he looked down - "Xhun, you know I don't deserve to go there... And asking people to take me there on a trinket? You're going out of your way for nothing."

"But, master Sinjin..." - the old man tried to reason with him, but was interrupted.

"No, Xhun! Forget this! I knew the price I had to pay the moment I made that decision. And I accepted my punishment. Now leave me alone. Please..." - the spirit lowered his head.

The two Storm Hawks looked a little worried at the elder. Sinjin was being quite harsh with him. But the old monk didn't mind that, he felt too much pity for the deceased young man to be annoyed by his manners, in fact, he was sad that the poor soul kept tormenting himself like that.

"Ah, Xhun? Maybe we should go for our special training now, then. We're kind of expected to be done with it by the end of the day, that's why we came so early." - Aerrow suggested in an attempt to lighten the mood and change the subject.

Piper got his idea and played along.

"I think it'd be best if we started now. And, since Sinjin is already here, he could stay for a little while and watch. Maybe even give us some advice. Just so his trip won't be a waste." - she said.

"I guess you're right. Master Sinjin, would you join us?" - Xhun asked almost expectantly.

"Hm... I do have to wait until the effect of the trinket wears off so I can go back to the other realm." - the ghost pondered - "Very well, I'll stay for now."

The three smiled after hearing that. If he didn't want to go with them, he could at least watch them, right? It'd not be so bad, he had to wait anyway, might as well join them in the afternoon instead of doing nothing. The group then walked towards the area where the training would begin.


On the Condor, the guys were waiting for Stork to come up with a group activity. The merb was simply sitting on the pilot seat, reading a book and working on a small device he had started building. The others just stared at him in anticipation, but nothing happened.

"Uh... Stork? What are we gonna do?" - Junko asked.

"Nothing." - the pilot said.

"Really?" - Finn questioned.

"Do whatever you want, but quietly. And don't disturb my work here." - he spoke without moving his eyes from the device he was tweaking.

The guys exchanged glances and shrugged, then Kaya came walking past them and went straight to the tech expert.

"Stork, you're supposed to coordinate the group in a collective event." - she told him - "If you don't, then you'll fail the test. Everyone did it, so you gotta go through it too."

"Fine..." - he closed the book and put his device somewhere safe - "We'll check on the Condor for maintenance needs."

The Grandmaster smiled as she took some notes. The others observed as the merb picked up a box with some strange tools and followed him down the corridor.

"Mind telling us what we're looking for?" - the blonde asked.

"I've installed a holographic control panel that shifts position once every hour inside the Condor." - the pilot explained - "From my calculations, it should appear right here in 5 seconds."

And just as he said that, five seconds later a blue control panel appeared on the wall in front of them.

"Yeah, you know your stuff." - the sharpshooter commented.

"Now we just have to scan the ship for any problems." - Stork said as he pressed some buttons on the panel, soon, a scan went through the entire ship, causing the others to blink a little startled as the light passed through them, then the panel returned the message saying everything was okay - "There, it's done. We don't need to do anything on the ship. The activity ends here."

The other Storm Hawks looked bored as ever and Kaya cleared her throat a little irritated and impatient. Didn't he get he was being evaluated on a test?

"C'mon, Stork. You gotta think of something to do." - the wallop insisted.

The merb sighed.

"We'll do some tweaks on the ship, then. Just because there aren't issues it doesn't mean we can't improve a few things here and there." - he finally decided - "We're in need of better cannons, shields and some more improved features."

"You're doing well now, just divide the work among the team." - the little girl stimulated him.

"You two will work on the towers." - he pointed at Finn and Junko, then turned to Radarr - "And you and I'll test the shields. We'll meet on the bridge to work together on the other features."

"Finally something to do in this Boredomland." - the blonde said, and he turned around to walk, patting on the wallop's shoulder - "Let's go, big buddy."

The flight engineer smiled and followed him to the canons.


Back at the temple, Xhun had begun Aerrow and Piper's special training so they could master the bridge of the body.

"The first part of the training is very important. It'll test how much you know each other and how you perceive one another. If you lack knowledge, you'll gain some wisdom, if you have abilities but don't know how to use them, it'll polish your skills." - the old man explained - "Your test is: sewing an outfit for your partner."

"Wait, we gotta make clothes from scratch?" - Aerrow questioned him, to which he nodded - "But... We don't even know how to sew. At least, not that well."

"My sewing skills are pretty much patching up our old clothes to keep them together... And now I got rustier than ever since we started wearing these improved uniforms." - Piper gestured to her armor.

"Why, that's what the wisdom you'll gain is for. You're going to learn. But there's one more thing: just like you've got here without the use of your vision, you'll be doing this blindly as well." - the elder told them.

"So you expect us to guess each other's measures?" - the navigator was skeptical about that, after all, how would that help them?!

"It's all a matter of how much you know each other. All you need is..." - the man was going to explain when he was interrupted by Sinjin.

"Xhun, wait... Just what are you two?" - the spirit asked.

"What kind of question is that?" - the sky knight looked at him with a weirded out expression.

The ghost gave him a look that made it seem like he was insisting on having an answer one way or another, but upon seeing the boy didn't get what the question was about, he sighed.

"Siblings? Cousins? Married?" - he amended, to which the two shook their heads in disbelief.

"Hah, we don't look anything alike, we're not related." - the girl said - "And do we look like we're even old enough to be married?"

"In my time, young ladies at your age were already mothers in a family." - Sinjin told her - "Can't help but ask, though men were usually older than him. But I believe anything is possible after what I've seen in my life." - he pondered - "Anyways, you still didn't answer me."

"Uh, I don't know... We're friends?" - the boy said like he was stating the obvious.

"Hm... This is not gonna work like that, Xhun." - the spirit monk said - "They're on a different level. They need to start with the basics first."

"Perhaps you are right. Maybe this wasn't the optimal order for them to master the four bridges. But they've already come a long way to get here, so let's not waste their time." - Xhun agreed - "We'll start with basic perception training, then. Come here, you two, and stand one on each half of this mark."

The man was pointing at the symbol of perfect balance, the Yin-Yang. Piper stood over the Yin half while Aerrow stood on the Yang half, both back to back, according to Xhun's instructions, so they'd not be able to use their vision to aid them.

"First, you'll have to learn how to observe your surroundings through sensing the sound, temperature, feel and smell of where you are." - the elder said.

The two teenagers stood there silently, with their eyes closed. Their task was to create a mental map of the area by their blind perception of it. After quite a while, their senses were finally put to the test.

"I think they studied the place long enough, we better check if they managed to map it." - Sinjin suggested.

"Very well. Young ones, I'll begin the test, switch positions and keep your eyes closed." - Xhun told them, and after they were done moving, he started - "Where is the tree with the golden leaves?"

Piper pointed to her left and Aerrow pointed to his right. Both were pointing exactly at the tree they were asked about.

"Good! How did you know that?" - he asked.

"The sound of the leaves gave the tree's position away." - the boy said.

"Heh, they're getting the hang of it." - the spirit crossed his arms amused.

"Where does the wind come from now?" - the elder did the second test.

"From the north." - the two Storm Hawks answered in unison.

"Correct. And why?"

"It's possible to feel the magnetic pull from the north in this temple, and the wind is coming from that same direction." - the girl explained.

"That is right. And last question: about what time is it?"

"Two in the afternoon." - the girl began, then the boy amended quickly - "More or less."

"Yeah, you guessed it. How?" - the ghost monk asked.

"From the time we spent here, we could notice the Sun changing position." - Aerrow told them.

"Yes. We came here in the morning, the Sun was above our heads over an hour ago, now it's not, so it's a little past mid-day already." - Piper finished.

"Very good. You two have passed the basic perception test." - Xhun said as the two walked to him.

"Well, I'll admit, I'm impressed. That was one of the fastest times yet, and you can bet I've seen many try this." - Sinjin complimented them.

Aerrow and Piper exchanged glances. They did it! Now that was some progress. If they kept that way, they'd be able to master the bridge by the end of the day! Well, hopefully, that is. They didn't really know how many more tests they'd still have to go through.

"In the next training lesson, we'll use both your newly acquired abilities. Please, put these blindfolds." - Xhun gave them two black pieces of cloth so they could tie them around their heads, covering their eyes - "Your sensorial perception will tell you about your partner's measures, and you'll use the psychic bond to project them in your mind. Then I'll test if you were accurate with your projections."

They were given a few minutes to concentrate on the task. After being able to somehow guess what each other looked like, the elder prompted them to test their skills.

"First, gesture to your partner's head." - he told them.

The two moved at the same time, which caused them to bump their arms on one another. They quickly retreated a little embarrassed by their own clumsiness.

"Uh... You go first." - Aerrow said, to which Piper giggled sheepishly.

"So, ready now?" - Xhun asked, and she nodded - "Head." - he said, and the girl gestured to the sky knight's head accurately - "Correct. Shoulders. Correct. Elbows. Correct. Hands. Correct. Knees. Correct. Feet. Correct. Heart. Correct. Very well, you did it perfectly. Now let's see how your friend will go."

"You can do it, Aerrow." - the navigator gave him some confidence.

"Head. Correct. Shoulders. Correct. Elbows. Correct. Hands. Correct. Knees. Correct. Feet. Correct. Heart." - Xhun was instructing, and at that last one, the boy hesitated a little, not because he didn't know where it was but for other reasons, still, he pointed, from a greater distance, at her heart - "Correct. You learned quickly. Now you two should be ready for the test from earlier." - the elder said as both removed their blindfolds.

"What are we waiting for, then? Let's get to it." - Aerrow said determinedly.


Finn and Junko were working on the right tower of the Condor. The first was using a wrench to regulate some screws, in order to adjust the aim of the gun, while the latter was looking for some metallic parts to make a few modifications to its barrel.

"Oh, yeah, now that's what I call aim." - the sharpshooter said - "It's so dead on it can hit a seed on the head of a bird on the top of a tree a mile away."

"Hehe, that's good. Imma give them more firepower. And then they'll blow the whole tree up." - the wallop commented.

"Sure, just let me finish fastening this and..." - the blonde was tightening a bolt when suddenly the nail jumped off the tower and fell through the skies - "Eh... Hehe." - he smiled sheepishly.

Suddenly the gun part started to disassemble itself, nearly knocking Finn over the edge of the platform. He screamed for a brief second, then tried to push the pieces together. Junko quickly ran over to help him and held the gun in position.

"You shouldn't have fastened it too tight, you know." - the flight engineer said - "Fix the other screws while I hold this."

The boy made quick work of all the bolts, reassembling the gun like it should be, though that undid his modifications on the aim.

"Great, now I'll have to adjust the aim all over again." - his shoulders dropped.

"Why don't you let me upgrade the firepower first? This way I won't ruin your work later." - the wallop suggested.

"Yeah, guess that'll do." - Finn shrugged - "Need help?"

"Sure. Help me replace the barrel with this new one I made." - Junko said.

And with that, both went back to working on the tower.


Stork and Radarr were inside the engine room, where there was a control panel for the improved shields. The merb was by the panel, pulling out some cables from behind it.

"Plug these into the levers over there." - he handed some cables to Radarr.

The little animal climbed a ladder to where the levers were and plugged the cables, one on each lever. Then he gave Stork a thumbs up.

"Good, now align the levers and let go when I turn the circuit on." - he said.

The mission specialist pulled on the levers so they'd all be exactly in the middle, but before he could let go of them, Stork had started the engines. The little guy blinked as he noticed the lights coming up again and the noise of the engines running when he was suddenly electrocuted.

Upon hearing his screams of pain, the pilot quickly turned everything off and looked behind him. The poor animal had some of his fur burned and there was smoke coming out of him. He dizzily lifted his head to look at the merb, then glared at him and growled a little.

"What? I told you to let go of the levers." - he said.

That just made Radarr even more irritated. Yeah... But he didn't warn when he was going to turn the engines on! That also made the animal wonder whether the pilot did that as revenge for earlier. He rolled his eyes. Better not get on that merb's bad side...

Soon they were finally done with tweaking the shields.

"Well, that's what I can do for now." - he said as he dusted his hands off - "On to the other upgrades."

He shoved his hand on his pocket in order to pick up a list of improvements he had thought of, but then the ship shook a lot causing him to lose his footing and Radarr to fall on top of him. The two heard some laughs and quickly ran to the bridge to see what was going on.

Arriving there, they saw Finn and Junko making some tests with the improved towers. And what towers they were, alright: they were twice bigger than before!

"Haha, now you're speaking my language." - the wallop said as he shot at the sky and a much larger and faster blast disappeared into it.

"I bet these things can one shoot any Cyclonian cruiser now." - the blonde commented and shot as well.

The canons had so much firepower they were shaking the whole ship.

"Stop that now!" - Stork yelled angrily after losing his footing thrice in a row, and once the ship finally stabilized, he continued - "What in the world are you doing?!"

"What else? We're improving the canons." - the sharpshooter smiled as he aimed once again - "Check this out!"

But before he could shoot, the merb suddenly pulled the barrel of the tower downwards, to prevent him from doing anything.

"No! Don't you dare shoot with this thing!" - he shouted - "Undo this right now!"

"What? Why? It's about time we caught up with them in firepower." - the wallop gestured to the sky, referring to their enemies - "What's the problem?"

"If you haven't noticed, the Condor isn't meant to be a heavy shooter. She's a light armored cruiser meant for speed and flanking!" - the pilot told them - "These canons have the worst recoil ever! They're pushing the ship around like a ragdoll. I can't fly her that way."

"Aww... But we were just trying to make some improvements." - Junko lowered his ears, his eyes grew like a sad puppy's, and Finn seemed to be disappointed as well.

"Fine... Take 50% of the extra power you added off. I guess the Condor might handle that then." - Stork finally decided.

The other two's faces lit up at that. Well, at least they could get something done their way, even if partially.

"Okay, this should take only a few minutes. And after that, what's next?" - the blonde asked.

"Other customized modifications." - the merb said - "I have notes of Aerrow's suggestions for improved weapon systems and Piper's idea of a bigger lab. We'll work around those and anything else that comes to mind."

"Does that mean we can have a dance floor then?" - Finn asked almost expectantly.

"No. We're not gonna build a dance floor." - the green-skinned humanoid said unimpressed.

"But you just said we'd work on anything that comes to mind!" - the sharpshooter objected.

"Anything useful that comes to mind." - the pilot emphasized.

Finn crossed his arms and walked away pouting. Hmpf! Nobody ever accepted his ideas... Junko patted his back supportively, so he'd not feel so bad, but that didn't make much of a difference. They followed the merb down the corridor so they could start. Kaya smiled at them from a corner in the bridge, then took some more notes.


Back at the temple, Xhun had given the two Storm Hawks the very first test again. They were meant to craft clothes for each other, and they seemed to be having a hard time making any progress.

"Just remember your previous training and you'll know what to do." - the old man said.

"Uh, no, I won't. I might know her measures, but that doesn't mean I can sew an outfit." - Aerrow retorted a little irritated as he lifted his amazingly awful piece of cloth he was crafting.

"Well, you really lack talent for that." - Sinjin commented, to which the boy just stared at him unimpressed in return - "And for someone who said she was rusty, your friend's doing fairly well." - he nodded towards the girl.

The sky knight saw the navigator was indeed doing a much better job than him. She had already gotten to making a piece of cloth that didn't fall apart completely like his. Kind of unfair that she was going to give him at least a decent outfit, while he couldn't even come up with wearable clothes. He stared a little upset and disappointed at his work. Sinjin was right, he had no skill at sewing whatsoever. He envied Piper's versatility... Did he want to know how to do many things as she did.

"That's because she knows a little bit of everything. And at least she did practice sewing before." - he said.

"She also knows how to imagine things differently, while you seemingly don't. At least, not in this regard." - the spirit responded.

"And I suppose you know-it-all have a better understanding than I do, then?" - the boy said cynically.

"As a matter of fact, I do." - the deceased monk crossed his arms - "You need a new angle."

He took off his cape and walked towards Piper like he was minding his own business, then he suddenly knelt near her and placed his cape around her, like a very short dress.

"Excuse me." - he said without really waiting for her answer.

"Huh? What are you doing?" - she was startled by that sudden proximity.

"Don't worry, I cannot physically touch you. I'm just helping your friend open his eyes." - he assured her, showing absolutely no interest in even thinking of doing something she'd not approve. He was dead, after all, why'd he even want to try anything? What was there to try?

Then he stood up with his cape in the form of a small mannequin and walked back towards Aerrow.

"What did you...?" - the red-haired boy was about to inquire but was interrupted.

"Here, an angle." - the spirit said as he gestured to the floating cape in the form of a very short dress with Piper's measures.

Aerrow blinked, then looked at the ghost with a skeptical and slightly confused expression. So that was his brilliant plan? Hah... Like that would make any differenc- Wait a second... And it was then that he was struck by an idea. He raised an eyebrow at the spirit.

"So you knew all along, didn't you?" - the leader said, getting the hint.

"Of course. You're clearly more of a practical thinker than a theoretical one." - Sinjin commented - "I found out even more, actually, things I'm surprised you two haven't noticed yet. But I suppose you'll learn everything when the right time comes."

"Wait, wait. What's it we haven't noticed?" - the sky knight asked, after all, it could be something important, but the spirit simply shook his head.

"What part of 'you'll know when the time comes' you didn't get?" - the deceased monk retorted - "Don't rush it, if you figure out everything too soon, you'll mess up your training. Now you better start working on your part, because your friend is nearly done with hers." - he pointed a thumb at Piper, who was indeed almost finished.

The boy frowned unimpressed, but decided it'd be best to quickly get his part done, plus, it seemed he simply couldn't win an argument with that ghost. It was like arguing with Piper, that guy was smarter than him. Hmpf, of course, he had experienced and learned much more than he did...

A few more minutes later and Aerrow had finally finished crafting an outfit. He had made a top with the collar tied around the neck and a pair of shorts and one semi skirt on the back and another on the front.

"I guess it's alright." - the boy said.

"Alright? Took you long enough, alright." - the ghost told him - "It's weird that you actually do have some talent with handcraft but your sewing skills are awful."

Aerrow realized what Sinjin was referring to once he followed the direction of his stare at a very specific point: a tiny blue crystal.

"How did you know?" - he inquired.

"Well, it's hard not to see that when your energy is all over it." - the spirit shrugged - "Has anyone ever said you could make a living with that?"

"Uh... Not that I recall." - Aerrow replied.

"Then give it a thought someday. Even if as just a hobby." - Sinjin suggested.

The boy simply blinked, not sure what did that have to do with anything. Then his attention was drawn by Xhun's voice calling him.

"Well, the time is up. Please bring your attires over here." - the elder said.

The two Storm Hawks walked to him and showed what they had made: Piper had tailored a pair of trunks that would reach right above Aerrow's knees, while he had made the top and the shorts with two semi skirts.

"Ah, very good, both of you. Now get dressed so we can start the process of mastering the Link of the Body." - the old man told them.


Back in the Condor, the team had finally finished the new upgrades to the ship. They had installed a brand new weapon system, improved the lab and made a few tweaks on the engines, to make the cruiser faster.

"Well, time to test the auto aimed weapons." - Stork said as he looked at Junko standing on the right tower's platform.

The wallop nodded and threw a target with a Cyclonian symbol in the sky.

"Uh... Are you sure it's okay for me to be out here?" - Finn asked as he flew on his skimmer.

"Of course. I installed a Friend or Foe detector on the Condor. She's supposed to be able to recognize you as a friend." - the merb explained - "In any case, you'll be the official accuracy test subject."

The pilot pressed a button in the control panel near the helm, activating the system. Several tiny missile launchers appeared from small holes on the hull and were shot in the sky.

"What?!" - the blonde blinked in disbelief.

When he saw the huge cloud of missiles coming down at him like rain he screamed in fright and cowered to protect himself. However, the missiles never hit him, they narrowly avoided him and went straight to the Cyclonian marked target, annihilating it. He observed as the target was completely destroyed and turned into dust in a matter of seconds.

"Haha, wow! It worked!" - the flight engineer cheered.

"Good. Now on to test 2." - Stork said.

"No! No, no, no, no, no! I will not be a test subject again!" - Finn yelled as he quickly flew back to the hangar bay.

"Why? C'mon, the missiles didn't even scratch you." - Junko insisted.

"Yeah, but they could have!" - the sharpshooter retorted while he got off his skyride - "Didn't you see what they did to the target?"

"What target?" - Kaya remarked as she checked some items on the list.

"Exactly!" - the blonde shouted.

"Well, I guess we'll have to make the final test later." - Stork shrugged - "Now the improved lab. The scanners indicate it's fully operational. We didn't make it bigger, but it's more advanced, with the production rate at 120%."

"Alright, the cooperative activity is finished now, then." - the Grandmaster said - "You did a great job, Stork. Even though it took a few pushes to make you actually do something."

"I'm not the leader kind of person. And I prefer doing things by myself." - the merb told her.

"Yeah? Like cleaning the bathroom?" - Junko retorted, reminding him of how he requested assistance when he was in charge of cleaning the bathroom the last time they did their spring cleaning, to which Stork rolled his eyes.

"You still have your tactical and combat leading test to go through, so just stop complaining so much and get it over with. Simple." - the little girl pointed out.

"Fine... What's the test gonna be?" - the pilot mumbled.

"Good news: it's something you'll most likely do very well. Bad news: you can't pilot the Condor. You'll have to do it like Aerrow and take charge of the front line." - she explained.

"So you'll have me play the sky knight on a skimmer...?" - he questioned.

"It can be any skyride, even your Storkmobile, just not the ship." - the Grandmaster told him - "This way you'll learn how to be more present on the battlefield, because you're always behind in the Condor, hidden from everything."

"I don't have a choice, do I?" - he sighed.

"Not on this." - she said - "But you'll get to choose who pilots the Condor and who goes with you into battle."

"I'd rather have the Condor on the auto-pilot..." - the green-skinned humanoid mumbled - "But fine... Radarr'll pilot her."

The little guy chirped happily at that, while the other two Storm Hawks exchanged confused glances.

"So you trust him on the helm more than us?" - Finn asked in disbelief.

"Well, he was the one who piloted us out of the Great Expanse." - the carrier pilot remarked - "I'd say that's convincing enough for me."

"Yeah? But I was the only one able to pilot her when your merb scouts screwed her over!" - the blonde retorted - "And I had to fly her upside down!"

"Nothing that couldn't easily be fixed. Facing the Sky Siren was far more dangerous." - the merb crossed his arms.

The sharpshooter looked away angrily in defeat. Ugh! He wanted a chance to pilot too! And as if Radarr could do a better job than him or Junko.

"Then it's decided. Now I'll explain your test." - Kaya said as she gestured to what she had prepared for them - "Over there is a Cyclonian squadron of A.I. dummies. You gotta take out their commander and catch their treasure from the crate inside their cargo ship, without having your commander, Stork, and your treasure, Mr. Softy, taken down or conquered."

"So it's like chess. You can't lose the king." - Stork assumed.

"Yep. That, and I'll be recording your time, so you better make all your moves count." - the girl told him as she showed him a chronometer - "Ready when you are. Any questions?"

"I was gonna ask why our treasure is a slimy caterpillar while theirs is a crate, but I don't really wanna know the answer." - the merb shrugged - "And, I already figured out how to play this game."

"Very well, then let's get started." - she said as she pressed a button on her chronometer.


A couple of minutes after having passed their sewing test, Aerrow and Piper were wearing their outfits and were ready to get into position.

"You did a pretty good job on these. They fit perfectly." - the girl said to him as she checked herself out.

"Yeah, you too." - he let her know her piece of cloth was also comfortable and well crafted.

They stood in front of Xhun in order to take their last test and finally master this new bridge. That was it, that was the time to overcome one more challenge.

"This is the final test, by passing, you'll have mastered the Link of the Body and will be able to use it at will." - the elder explained - "Unlike the Link of the Mind, the Link of the Body doesn't need consent to work, but since it's your first time, you might want to give each other a hand and offer to share your senses." - he laughed a little, causing the others to smile - "Sit here, facing each other, and concentrate on the bridge."

The two sat down to perform the test. They closed their eyes in order to focus on their other senses to make things a little easier. Their objective was to reach for the bridge, like last time. They emptied their minds and hearts of anything that could cloud their perception. After a little while, they could feel a tingling sensation all over their skins, like there was really some sort of bridge being formed between them. Soon the bridge was starting to solidify and their essences materialized on top of it, completely isolated from the real world.

"That's it, very good. You're almost there. Just remember, when the bridge is stable, you'll be able to pretty much walk across it and lend and borrow your senses." - Xhun said.

From inside the isolated bridge, Aerrow and Piper exchanged confused glances.

'Did he say we should walk across the bridge?' - she asked.

'I don't know, I couldn't hear him very well because of this strange barrier around us.' - he told her.

'Maybe it's so we'll be able to mutually share our senses?' - she suggested.

'I guess you're right, let's give it a try, then.' - he decided.

Both walked across the bridge ending up on each other's end. Xhun and Sinjin watched confused. Well, the elder actually just perceived them since he couldn't see per se.

"Xhun, are they really supposed to do that?" - the spirit asked.

"I... Don't think so. It's been quite a few centuries since the last time people mastered this bridge. My memory is slipping me a little." - the elder said as he shook his head.

Suddenly, the bridge disappeared and both their essences were sucked back into their bodies. They turned to Xhun upon noticing him humming out loud in thought as he analyzed them.

"No, it didn't work." - he said bluntly.

"What do you mean?" - Piper asked, drawing their attention.

Aerrow stared at her with wide eyes, and it was then that he realized what had happened.

"Uh, Piper, you might want to take a look at yourself." - he said, and when she saw him, she frantically looked at her own body - "Or should I say... Myself."

That was right. They had switched bodies. Upon noticing she was in the body of a guy, Piper couldn't help but scream in fright. Now that was really creepy!