Junko in Menaphisiem
Aerrow sat at the Condor's meeting table, his hands covering his face and his head hung. It was dark on the bridge; all the remaining light crystals had expired. The small chunk containing Stork was before him, glowing dimmer and dimmer as the hours ticked by. The merb was either too faint to talk or was asleep. The sun was tardy rising and the distant Menaphisiem terra was the only brightness in the horizon. The red lightning was visible miles away.
Piper opened the door and shut it as softly as she could, a small plate in her hands. She approached Aerrow cautiously. "Aerrow? Do you think you could eat a little?"
Aerrow raised his head from his clenched hands a bit. "Huh? Oh, no thanks." His head fell back. "I'm not hungry."
"C'mon, Aerrow!" Piper put down the food and sat beside him. "You can't think if you don't eat properly."
Aerrow just stared at the table top. "Maybe that's a good thing."
Piper put a hand on his shoulder and pulled him toward her. "What do you mean?"
Aerrow swiftly smacked her hand off of him. "Don't you see? Menaphis is right! I'm a lousy, brainless, stupid leader! Every idea I've come up with lately has gotten us into a huge mess! First we crash landed on a remote terra with a bunch of loony traitors, damaged our ship and ourselves, practically gave Cyclonis the wrath crystal, and then got hurt even more! And now I abandoned my helmsman so much, Cyclonis managed to get a hold of him and now, thanks to my neglect in rescuing him right away, the wrath crystal through him is taking over Atmos! Now do you see what I mean?!"
Piper stood, her eyes wide in concern. "Aerrow! You know that none of those things are you're fault! I thought we all agreed that it was just one of those freak things!"
"We were wrong!" Aerrow snapped, and then collapsed wearily to the table. "We always are."
Piper didn't know what to say. She stood gazing sadly at the back of the sky knight's head. Finally she pushed the cold plate of food toward him and turned to leave. "I'll just leave this here in case you change your mind… for the better."
Aerrow gazed at the table from between his fists. His head ached. His back was reeking with pain. His left ankle felt like it had been jarred. His hands were burned from fighting close combat with enhanced striker crystals.
The table blurred. Aerrow didn't bother to check the tears that came coursing down from his glazed eyes. There was no point. His eyelids were already red and dry from continuous scrubbing.
What to do? What to do?
He felt like giving up. He was ashamed of himself for it, but he truly felt like giving up. Maybe Atmos wouldn't be so bad under Menaphis' control. There wouldn't be any rebellious fighting, everyone would be under the same rule, there wouldn't be any dispute over land, there wouldn't be anymore innocent lives accidentally killed in fights…
And maybe Finn and Piper would get along (yeah right).
Aerrow leaned back with a moan.
What to do?
"Don't think too hard. You don't want to strain that incredible mind that got us all into this mess in the first place."
Aerrow didn't feel like talking, especially to respond to the Dark Ace's smart comments. The sky knight ignored him.
Dark Ace paced up to stand behind him. He snapped his fingers in front of Aerrow's face, shrugged, and then strutted off to stand before the bridge's window facing Menaphisiem. "And I thought the Storm Hawks were great."
"Don't blame them," Aerrow said bitterly. "Blame me."
Dark Ace looked back at him with an almost pitying expression. "Don't blame them? Well, if that excludes you, then that would leave the scrawny girl and the hotshot with half a brain."
"And Junko."
Dark Ace turned back. "Nah. The wallop's probably dead by now, since we abandoned him."
Aerrow opened one eye to glare at his enemy's back. "If you don't have anything useful to say, then why don't you go and jump off the edge of the terra? It'll save me one more thing on my 'to do' list!"
Dark Ace laughed. "And leave you four hopeless cases alone? Unlikely."
"Then help me think of something!" Aerrow shouted angrily. "Because apparently, since everyone's blaming me for this mess, I can't do it alone!"
"Don't flatter yourself," Dark Ace said grimly. "You can't do it at all."
Suddenly the alarms set off and the bridge went off in a dim red light show. Aerrow glared hatefully at the blinking lights. Even the alarm crystals were going out.
Lark, Radarr on her shoulder, rushed onto the bridge, Piper not far behind. "What? What's wrong?"
Aerrow lowered the periscope and peered into it. Dark Ace searched the landscape through the windows. Aerrow swiveled the periscope, turning it here and there.
Lark hefted her staff. "Anything?"
"Yeah, yeah!" Aerrow aimed it eastward. "There're several skimmers coming this way!"
Finn, his hair sticking out in odd angles, poked his head into the bridge sleepily. "Talons?"
"I… can't see!" Aerrow squinted hard. "The sun's just rising and they're just silhouettes!" He pushed the periscope aside and drew his energy blades, heading for the door. "Arm yourselves! Get ready to fight whoever's coming!"
Finn rubbed the back of his head bashfully and Piper and Dark Ace just stood there, looking lost. "Um… yeah. What arms? Only you and Lark have weapons."
Lark tipped the point of her staff toward him. "And I have no crystal. My frost shattered when we were fighting the Talons."
Aerrow paused to think before darting out the door. "Um… grab something! Anything that might hurt if you hit anybody with it!"
Piper picked up a length of torn pipe from the ground and smacked Finn on the arm. "Does that hurt?"
Aerrow skidded to a stop in a cloud of dust outside the ship, his blades glowing weakly. The skimmers were just folding up their wings to land on the terra's dry surface, still only dark shadows against the red eastern horizon.
Aerrow stood his ground. "Who are you?"
The figure on the lead skimmer stepped from the vehicle and approached Aerrow unsurely. "Aerrow? Is that really you?"
Aerrow blinked. "S-Starling?"
Starling stepped closer into view and the blinding sun was cut off. She gazed at Aerrow. "Aerrow, you look awful!"
Aerrow lowered his blades. "W-what are you doing here? I thought Menaphis got you for sure."
Starling looked past him as the others came rushing down the ramp. "I somehow escaped."
Piper stopped in her tracks at the sight of Starling and Finn smacked into her. "Starling!"
"I've been searching all these small terras all night for you," Starling said. "I was afraid that you were killed."
Dark Ace glared at her and Starling's own expression was less than friendly.
Aerrow began to speak, but she held up a hand to cut him off. "Explain later. Right now, we need to come up with a plan. Oh yeah," Starling turned to the other skimmers. Several others were standing behind her. "I brought some help whom I think you'll recall."
Lin and the other 'reserve Storm Hawks' from the Cyclonian cadet school smiled.
Junko heaved on the chain with all his might. The cavern was deserted save for him, finally giving him an opportunity to try out his wavering strength at breaking the extra extra extra thick chain thick enough to restrain two fully grown wallops. It was so heavy, Junko could barely lift it. Netherless he threw his weight against it, grunting and crying out as the manacle cut into his ankle. Not only that, but it was the one he had badly injured during their adventure on Terra Snowgra.
His yells echoed in the empty room. Outside, the rolling thunder mocked his efforts by shaking the ground and sending him toppling. Time after time, Junko picked himself up and set back to tearing at the chain, the wall where it was attached, and the manacle. His hands were sweaty and bloody from repeated slips on the rough metal and his throat was as dry as a bone.
Scattered food, books, and water mixed together into one, big, sludgy mess under his stomping and tripping feet. He slipped and panted in the mess, one hand pulling on the chain and the other gripping at the stones that formed the floor. Sweat pored from his forehead into his eyes and mouth, filling his already clouded senses full of a salty scent. He was blinded with exhaustion.
Aerrow.
Piper.
Finn.
Radarr.
Stork.
He kept hauling on the chain with all his will, his strength gone long ago. Tears leaked unnoticed from the corners of his eyes, his breath coming as heaving gasps. Finally, his heart fluttering weakly like a moth, the wallop collapsed. His mind went as black as his hopes.
What's going on? Where am I?
Junko opened his grey eyes. For a moment, everything was out of focus. It was bright, that was for sure, and colorful too.
He raised his head. No longer did his muscles ache, he was dry, and the floor beneath him was not stone. He looked around. It was the Condor's hanger.
All of the skimmers were perfectly in line, his on one end and Stork's Storkmobile on the other. They were clean and looked brand new.
Confused, Junko looked out the open hatch. Outside, it was sunset, the sun setting in a dazzlingly array of fiery red and purple in the west. Terra Wallop was far below, looking more vibrant and hostile than ever. His heart warmed at the sight of his home.
"What are you doing on the floor, Junko buddy?"
Junko rolled over and saw Finn standing at the doorway. His friend, his uniform no longer torn and his skin clean (or as clean as Finn could get), and his face smiled down at the wallop.
Junko gawked up at him. "Finn? Is it really you?"
"I think you had a nightmare, buddy!" Finn gestured him over. "Let's go bother Stork. He's extra pessimistic today!" He popped back inside.
Junko didn't move. He lay there on his back in the hanger, gazing at the unsoiled ship and trying to wrap his brain around the events.
What happened? Where did Menaphisiem go? Stork's back? He's being pessimistic? What does pessimistic mean?
Was it all a dream?
He got up and stepped toward the door leading to the bridge. Piper passed it, carrying a plate piled high with steaming sandcakes fresh from the oven. "Oh, hi Junko! Hurry up, dinner's almost ready! Oh yeah, will you tell Finn to quite pestering poor Stork?"
Junko grasped the door frame, looking inside. Everything looked in place; it was as if there had been no crash. Aerrow sat with his feet on the table top, reading a romance book upside down. Finn was flicking rubber bands at Stork's back, who was trying to ignore him and keep the Condor steady at the same time. Piper set the sandcakes at the table and went back to the kitchen.
Junko stepped timidly inside, looking around at the contents of the bridge as if they would blow up in his face at any time. He approached the controls, his fevered eyes on the back of Stork's head.
Finn glanced back at him, a rubber band at ready. "Hey, Junko. What the next shot?"
Junko walked around the guard rail to stand behind Stork, staring unsurely at the merb's neck.
"Junko, buddy, are you okay?" Finn asked, lowering the rubber band.
Junko reached out and hovered his hand over Stork's shoulder blade. The helmsman either didn't notice or ignored him. Junko took a baited breath and placed a finger on the merb's shoulder.
Menaphis burst into his face, tearing into him with curved fangs. Junko managed one shout to warn his friends, and then his vision was coated in red. He fell, his face wet, and his jaw hit a cold, hard ground.
His eyelids quivered slightly. His cheek rested on the stone floor, his raspy breath sending up little swirls of steam on the frost coated surface. Boy, was it cold.
Junko slowly sat up, peeling his half frozen skin from the stones and blinking ice from his eyelashes. He was back in Menaphis' throne room, still chained, still bloody, still sweaty, and still in the middle of a mess of sludge.
The room fogged, but not as much as before. Junko stood. He was unsteady and faint, but at least he was on his feet.
The chain rattled as he took a shaky step toward the wall. What the half-dead wallop didn't notice was a human shaped foot print in the sludge, not far from the tire thick ring securing the chain to the wall. Metal shavings scattered the floor under the ring.
Junko blinked, not seeing the filed dent in the metal ring. He took up the rattling chain in one hand, turned and griped a floor stone weakly with the other.
Aerrow.
Piper.
Finn.
Radarr.
Stork.
He yanked… and the chain snapped like string. Junko stumbled forward in surprise, the shattered shackles still in his fist. The wallop slowly straightened and stared dumbly at the broken end. He did it? But how? He was twice as weak before he fell asleep, but now he broke it on his first try? How?
There was no time for questions for the barely conscious wallop. Junko hurriedly glanced around the abandoned cavern before scrambling out the double doors.
He ran, gasps rising from his lungs. He slid around one corner down another hall. Junko had no idea where he was going, or what he would do once he was out. But what else was he going to do? Go back and just sit there for Menaphis to punish for attempting to escape?
Junko skidded to a stop. Up ahead, a gang of Talons had their backs to him, chattering with their enhanced striker staffs leaning lazily beside them. Junko darted down a narrow hall to his left. He came to an end and arrived to a long two way hall. One side had another gang of Talons, backs to him, but the other way was deserted. The wallop went that way.
Time and time again Junko came to hall after hall. Talons would be crowding one end, so Junko's confused and clouded brain automatically told him to go the other way. He stumbled blindly like a rat in a maze, herded like a lost sheep.
There was a small light ahead at the end of the dark hall. Junko slowed and pushed on the door softly. It opened, and Junko peered through.
It was the way out.
He was at the very bottom of the terra. More precisely, on a ledge overlooking the peaks jutting out of the mist serving as a moat around Terra Menaphisiem. (long sentence, sorry)
Junko looked over the edge of the ledge timidly. There was at least a fifty foot drop from where he was standing to where the mist began. Pass the mist, who knew how deep it went or what was waiting beneath.
Junko stepped back toward the door. He was trapped. The ledge was about fifteen yards in length and about thirty wide. Nothing was on it except some crumbling boulders and a few bushes. No, not bushes. Junko approached the clump and parted the dead branches. Inside, concealed not to well, was an old skimmer.
The wallop looked over his shoulder at the door, looked up, side to side, and then back to the skimmer. Was he just lucky, or was he being punked?
Junko pulled the skimmer from the bushes cautiously. The second the back wheel hit dirt, Junko pushed it away from him and leaped away, covering his head with both arms.
The skimmer toppled over on its side with a clang. No explosions, no confetti, no creepy circus clowns. Junko peered out from between his hands at it. It lay there innocently.
The wallop inched toward it, prodded it with his toe, and then recoiled as if it were a poisonous reptile ready to spring. Nothing.
Junko lowered his protective arms. "Oh."
A moment later, he drove the vehicle from the ledge's side and the wings unfolded. For a breathtaking second, the skimmer kept dropping, but then a storm driven gust of wind rushed beneath the rusted wings and he was swept away from Menaphisiem. Finally.
Junko leaned over the steering control eagerly, his grey eyes searching the skies for any sign of the Condor or any other skimmers. Only if he knew that, hidden cleverly between his right ear and his spiked hair, a tiny tracking device blinked softly.
Menaphis was always watching and listening.
Wow, this chapter is deep. I should be able to update soon. I have two weeks off from school! Falls on knees and cries in happiness. Finally! Maybe I can actually sleep now! Anyway, review and tell me how much you feel for the characters. From the reviews I got for the last chapter, I can tell you were a little shocked. Good.
