Chapter 29: Dove's Shock

Dove's P.o.V.

Oh! Oh dear. Oh my. Oh… breathe, Dove, breathe…

Of course she'd be her. All Commanders meet up at the Clear Skies. Why wouldn't she be here? Why didn't I remember? Stupid, stupid…

Breathe… Breathe…

Quickly as I could, I broke eye contact with… her… and focused on the rest of the room. Aerrow, Blister, Burner, and Suzy Lu were all sitting around table near the bar. Harrier stood a little ways away from them, close enough to hold a conversation with then, but far enough away to make it clear he was at odds with them. Against the far wall, his lieutenant sat alone, hands folded in her lap. Kite, I think her name is?

My thoughts came to a sudden stop, however, when I noticed that every one of them was staring at me, Harrier, Suzy Lu, and Burner's mouths popping open, whereas Aerrow's eyes widened in shock.

Confused, I dared to look back at… her … only to find her glaring at me, her eyes (those bright, piercing, beautiful eyes) narrowed in suspicion.

Feeling even more confused (and slightly hurt), I was about to ask what all the stares were for, until I noticed something odd. They weren't staring at me, not really. Their eyes seemed to be focused on something just over my shoulder…

Oh…

The staff hanging off my back suddenly felt much heavier.

"Um… hi?" I squeak out, awkwardly.

Silence.

"Dove…" I fight the urge to cringe, not only because she spoke, but due to the warning, almost cold tone in her voice. "Is that… is that Master Cyclonis' staff?"

"…yes?" I answer with no lack of apprehension.

She just stared at me for a moment, before taking a deep breath of… frustration? "Dove, why do you have Master Cyclonis' staff?"

I swallowed back my growing nerves. "She left it in my care when we parted ways."

"Parted ways?" She asked, that unnerving cold still in her voice.

"Y-Yes, when she and Piper left for 'ze Wayside, she left it with me for safe-keeping."

Did… did her eye just twitch? "She just… gave it to you? Just like that?"

"Yes…" I say hesitantly. Then I thought for a minute. "Well, she did ask if I 'ad a Cloaking Crystal she could borrow, but that was about it."

"And now… you're just going to give it back to her?"

"…Shouldn't I?"

Starling just stared at me for what felt like an eternity, those critical eyes, usually something I dream to see, now attempting to bore a hole through my head. Then she spoke, still in that cold, detached voice.

"Dove, let me rephrase that; you have, in your possession, one of, if not the most valuable heirloom in the whole of Cyclonia, a Terra we have been at war with for little over than a century. And now you are going to hand it right back to Master Cyclonis… just like that?"

O-Oh… W-Well… when she puts it like that.

With great difficulty, I swallow the rather large lump in my throat. "…yes?"

Starling stared at me for another long moment (yes, her eye is definitely twitching), before slowly bring a hand to her face, pressing it to her forehead. Slowly, her hand clenched into a fist, clutching a small bit of her bangs as she did so. Her knuckles turned white, and she suddenly took several very deep but rather quick breaths through her nose.

I chance a glance over her shoulder at the other Skyknights in attendance. Aside from Harrier, who was staring at me like I had completely lost my mind, everyone was shifting their gaze between me (or the staff; I'm not sure which) and Starling. I did see Blister edging his way towards us, his eyes locked firmly on Starling's back.

Starling let out a long deep breath. Her head suddenly snapped up, quickly folding her arms, a rather… stony look on her face.

"Okay."

I blinked; everyone did. "Okay?" I repeated.

"Yep. Okay. That's fine." She said quickly in a clipped tone, her voice slightly higher than normal. "Cyclonia is surrendering, the war is ending, Piper is in bed with Cyclonis, quite literally, who, as it turns out, has been under mind control all this time, and now, Commanders are playing pawnbroker with Cyclonian artifacts; that… that's fine. That's… that's just perfect."

Now I was eyeing Starling with a small bit of worry. "Commander Starling, are… are you alright?"

Starling looked into my eyes, something that would have made my heart skip a beat if not for the tired, almost dead look in her suddenly dull eyes. She then shut her eyes, giving a deep sigh. "I don't know, Dove. After everything that happened today, I truly don't know."

"Ya ain't alone there." Suzy Lu mumbles to herself, just barely loud enough for me to hear. I just then notices how her ears seemed to be drooping down lower than normal.

We stand in silence for a full minute, no one quite sure what to say. Then Starling suddenly stuck her arm out in front of me, palm up.

"Give it to me."

That took everyone by surprise.

"What?" I ask, not sure what she was talking about.

She rolls her eyes slightly, but small show of exasperation, that slight display of emotion, somehow made me feel a bit better. "The staff. Let me hold it."

I blinked again. Slowly, I reached behind my back, tugging the staff out of the makeshift harness I'd rigged up to carry it. "Um, okay. Why?"

"You said you want to give it back to Cyclonis? Well, this lot," She said, jerking a thumb over her shoulder to the group behind her. "Are sending me over to bring her here right now for a little chat. You can come with me if you want, but it would be best if I carried the staff instead of you."

A spark of indignation hit me at her words. "Excuse me?" I ask, a bit of bite in my words.

Starling let out another sigh this time of frustration. "Look Dove, it's nothing against you, okay? It's just that that staff is extremely valuable, not just to Cyclonia, but to Atmosia as well. I hold a lot of respect and sway with the Council, so me being seen with it wouldn't be that big a deal. Most people would probably think I was doing a mission for the Council or something. You, however… honestly, I'm surprised none of the Red Eagles said anything when you touched down."

My outrage cooled quickly at her words. If anyone else had said that to me, I would likely be in a shouting match with them by now. Heck, I probably would be anyway, even if it was her, but…

"I did get a few odd looks on my way here." I admit sheepishly.

Still, did she have to be so blunt about it?

Pulling the staff out fully, the crystal at the end glowing faintly as it had all day, I held it out for her. She reached forward and wrapped her hand around its grip.

ZZZZAAAP!

"AAAAUGH!

BOOOOOOM!

The instant Starling's hand touched the metal of the staff, electricity arced up its entire length. I let out a scream of surprise and pain as I was blasted back. I hit the hallway wall with a audibly smack, more pain racing up my spine.

Looking up, I saw Starling, staring at the staff still in her grasp, her knuckles white. The violet lightening faded to sparks, the electricity… warping around her fingers. Her eyes were wide and… did she stopped breathing?

POP!

With one final spark of light at the tip of the staff, it ended. The lightning disappeared, the only evidence it had existed the strong scent of ozone in the air.

As the silence drug on, Starling just kept staring at the staff, her eyes unseeing.

"What… was that?"

With that single question, time restarted. With a blink, Starling began to move. Once realizing what she was looking at, she quickly held the staff out as far away from her as she could. She slowly turned her head around towards the voice. I followed her gaze to see Blister looking at her expectantly, eyebrow raised.

I tried to push myself up, only to feel my spine cry in protest, forcing a small hiss out my lips.

The sound drew Starling' attention, her head snapping down to look at me. "Oh, Dove!" She exclaimed, bending down to me. "Are you okay?" She asked, extending a hand towards me.

My stinging hands and bruised spine screamed no, but all I could do was smile reassuringly, taking her hand. "I'm fine." I said, ignoring my aching back, and praying no one noticed the redness I felt in my cheeks.

No one did, because as soon as she pulled me to my feet (ow, ow, ow,), Blister asked again. "No, seriously, what in the Wastelands was that?"

"I… I don't know." Starling said, before suddenly scowling at the staff in her hand. "This thing's as unstable as it's Master."

My mouth opened quickly, my basic instinct to defend who I considered a friend raising, before a small snort cut me off.

"…hehe…"

Looking over Starling's shoulder, I saw Burner with a hand over his mouth, his whole body shaking as he tried desperately not to laugh. Not seeing what was so funny, I looked next to him to see Suzy Lu…

Oh, dear…

I was quickly aware of a second side effect of the sudden lightning: the hair on the back of my neck and my arms standing up.

For Suzy Lu, the effect was much more pronounced. Every hair on her fur-covered body was standing straight up. Most noticeable was on her face, where the static-charged fur made it difficult to see her eyes. Overall, she looked… poofy.

When she turned her head towards Burner, however, I did see her eyes… and the colder-than-ice look in them.

"Burner." She said calmer then I'd ever heard her. "One laugh, one comment, one WORD, and I will kick you so hard your grandchildren will feel it."

Burner quickly stopped snickering, but there was no removing the large grin on his face.

As Suzy Lu narrowed her eyes at him, and Aerrow, Blister, and Harrier all took a cautious step away from the two, Starling let out a sigh. She looked back at me. "We should probably go, before things get loud."

I nodded, stepping aside to let her through. Before she did, she looked apprehensively at the staff in her hand, before lifting it slowly over her head and slipping into the holster on her back, beside her nunchucks. She shifted uncomfortably as she adjusted to the weight.

"Okay," Starling said as she walked out of the lounge, closing the door behind her. "Let's go."

I followed behind her as we moved toward the front entrance, ignoring the laughs, screams, and sounds of violence erupting down the hall behind us.


A/n: First off, this was supposed to be a lot longer, but it's been way too long since I updated and I wanted to make sure you all knew that I'm still working on this story. I finally sat down and plotted out this story right to the end. Now I just need to sit down and write it. Basically, I know the destination, and I know the stops along the way. I just need to figure out which route to take.

Also… I needed to update today for one major reason. Today (4/9/15) is the third anniversary of this fic. I have no words, other than to thank each and every reader and review who has stuck with this story and my rather random updates for so long. You guys are the reason this story keeps going. Thank you all for the support.

Speaking of support, check out this awesome fanart sent to me by thegamingdemon. There's a link in my profile, or you can just take the spaces out of this: thegamingdemon .deviantart art/ The-Strength-In-Weakness-Piper-s-Dream-518610467