Piper:
It's been two weeks since the fall of Cyclonia. Two weeks since Master Cyclonis and the Dark Ace were defeated on the Far Side of Atmos. Two weeks since their followers were disbanded of imprisoned, their warships broken down to build new homes for those left without in the wake of the war, and the people of Atmosia freed from their reign of terror.
Two weeks since the Storm Hawks arrived home.
It's been pretty quiet around here since then. Quiet, but never boring.
The Elder Council of Atmosia was reinstated last week, and their first action as representatives of the people was to hold a celebration for all the Sky Knights and their squadrons who fought in the war against Cyclonia. After that came the ceremony in honor of Harrier, Aerrow, and all the other noble souls who lost their lives in that same struggle.
We have plenty of rebuilding to do, but with Atmosia free of Cyclonia's iron fist, more people than ever are willing to lend a hand to the Sky Knights.
And the Storm Hawks - well, we've had some rebuilding of our own to do.
Mara, the Rex Guardian who saved me from my fall back on Terra Majorus, nursed me back to health after I returned to Atmosia on the edge of death. During my recovery, the Elder Council paid a visit to my hospital quarters with some news. First of all they announced that they'd taken up a collection from the people in order to fund the building of a new Condor. And secondly, they offered me the honor of being the Storm Hawk's new Sky Knight.
I accepted, of course. I haven't told Aerrow yet.
As for Aerrow himself, I have high hopes for my experiments on the specter crystal. Aerrow's body may be gone, but I know he's still alive as ever in there. I've been trying to unlock some way to communicate with him face-to-face. After all, somehow Master Cyclonis was able to resurrect the Dark Ace with the same crystal. Why shouldn't I be able to achieve something similar? I think I'm close to a breakthrough, and believe it or not, it has to do with Stork's anti-mind-reading helmet. Who would have thought?
Speaking of Stork, that surly Merb is doing as well as ever. He's thrilled with the news of a new Condor on the way. He also didn't waste any time in building himself a new leg after his accident, and according to him, "it's even better than the old one!" I'm afraid to ask him what that means. Hopefully nothing flammable.
The others have gotten their hands on a few upgrades as well. Dove and Wren were able to piece together a brand-new crossbow for Finn, who is currently devoting all his time to learning to "shoot lefty" while his other wrist heals. He says it will come in handy later. Pun intended.
Junko was gifted a new, tailor-made pair of knuckle busters by the Wallop Resistance, who also awarded him their highest medal of honor for his part in winning the war. The medal was literally a rock, but he seemed more than pleased to receive it. In other news, the big guy has been spending a lot of time with Radarr. They seem to be taking Aerrow's loss harder than the others (myself not included), even after I told them that I was working on a way for them to see him again. Radarr has taken to carrying Aerrow's remaining dagger around with him in the meantime. He seems to think it was the one that took down Dark Ace, and I haven't had the heart to tell him otherwise. It's all he has that's left of Aerrow.
I almost forgot to include our newest Storm Hawk in my report! I'm still getting used to the change, I suppose.
After Adara turned on Master Cyclonis and destroyed the Elder Crystals, possibly saving us all, we figured it was high time to forgive her for betraying us. So we signed her on as our very own official mapmaker, as well as technician and junior crystal expert. Stork won't be happy about letting her near the new Condor's engine room anytime soon, but he'll get over it eventually.
What bothers me about Adara is that she still hasn't revealed to us her reasons for coming to Atmosia. I want to trust her, but it's hard when we know so little about her. Especially when her secrets were cause enough for her to side with Cyclonia to see them realized. I hope we've made the right choice in making her one of the Storm Hawks.
That's not the only thing weighing on my mind, either. All of us are really worried about Hunter and Starling. With the portal to the Far Side closed, we have no way of keeping tabs on their location or even knowing if they are safe. All we can do is trust that Starling will take care of them until we see them again. And I do trust her. After all, she did hold Atmosia against the forces of Cyclonia while we were gone. She's as much a hero in this war as anyone.
In the meantime, our best option is to keep searching for a way to reopen a portal to the Far Side and bring them home. I've spoken with Stork and Adara, and we're working on a plan that just might work. I won't go into detail here, but I'll outline the basics for records' sake: since the Elder Crystals, which housed ancient dragon souls, were able to open a massive portal between the two sides of the planet, it reasons that a human soul would be able to do the same on a smaller scale. A soul like Aerrow's. Adara mentioned that she picked up a shard of an Elder Crystal before escaping the Far Side, but it has given no sign of any usefulness to our experiment. She's continuing to work on it alone, but our best bet seems to be Aerrow's specter crystal.
I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but the logic seems sound. We'll be trying it soon. I only wish that it weren't necessary in the first place; that we had been able to bring everyone home two weeks ago. Some part of me still blames myself for not doing more that day.
But oddly enough, my biggest regret is over Master Cyclonis.
Adara tells me that in her final moments, Cyclonis appeared as nothing more than a scared, lonely young girl. Poisoned by darkness and madness though she was, no one deserves to die a terrible death in a strange world, surrounded by enemies. My heart aches when I think of Lark, the girl she could have been. What part did the Storm Hawks play in pushing her further to the side of evil? If we had done things just a little bit differently, maybe we would have been able to save her. Maybe some part of her was still redeemable. We can't ever know.
I guess it's no use dwelling on it. We made the choices we made, and Cyclonis did the same. We can't blame ourselves for the outcome. And, I think, we can't blame her either. She was only doing the one thing she knew how to do.
Whatever the cost, the Storm Hawks have done their part to bring peace to Atmosia. We've been to the Far Side and back, something no one has ever done before. Granted, we didn't make it through unscathed, but we're all the stronger because of it.
We return to our duty now as protectors of Atmosia, alongside the other brave Sky Knights and their squadrons who are sworn to the same task. Cyclonia may be defeated, but our work is not done.
We will continue to wage war against the forces of darkness as long as Atmosia will have us, and when the time comes, we'll extend that promise to the Far Side as well. Wherever there are people in need; wherever there is justice to be served; wherever there is darkness to be banished by light, there we will be.
And that's not just our job. That's who we are.
We are the Storm Hawks.
…
A/N: That's all, folks.
Thank you to those who have faithfully read since 2014, and also those who just recently stumbled across this fic. I hope you enjoyed the final, unaired season of Storm Hawks. Leave a review and tell me what you think.
Keep an eye out for the possible spinoff/sequel to The Far Side in the works, Conversations with Cyclonis.
