Notice: So, guys, ever since I last updated this story, I revised it, so I recommend reading it all over again before reading the new chapters. The changes weren't major, mostly just more fluid dialogue and a few more jokes were added.
Episode 61 - The Comeback
Part 2 - Race Against Time
The Condor flew in the skies silently. Ever since Kaya left to warn the Guardians, the crew didn't feel as uppity, for the last news they had received were that Cyclonis had dangerous plans in mind, and their defeat by the Night Crawlers lowered the general morale. They never thought that even after some tough training they've had they'd take such a beating. But they had their own plans too: they had been instructed to fly to a special place where they could train really hard - the Astral Training grounds, somewhere they had to learn more about from Sinjin.
And speaking of their ghost passenger, after the Grandmaster left some channeling crystals with the group, Piper had placed them around the Condor at key points and set them to activate only when Sinjin stepped into their area. That meant that as the spirit wandered around within a certain radius around Aerrow's position, he'd appear out of nowhere in certain points of the Condor so that obviously caused quite a few scares. The latest one was with Finn.
The blonde was walking in the corridor, heading to his room, when the deceased monk walked inside the area of one of the many crystals set on the ground and was instantly materialized. The sharpshooter screamed in fright as he nearly jumped, putting his arms and one leg in front of himself protectively. He then relaxed his position after recognizing the monk.
"Stop doing that!" - Finn shouted.
"Doing what?" - the spirit eyed him weirded out.
"Scaring me like that." - he responded.
"I won't do anything, no need to be scared..." - Sinjin spoke, his shoulders dropping unimpressed.
"I know, but you popping up all of a sudden still startles me." - the sharpshooter crossed his arms.
"Well, there's nothing I can do about it. I'll appear whenever stepping into the channeling fields, whether I want or not." - the ghost said, then he shrugged - "You'll just have to get used to it."
Yeah... That'd not be so easy, especially when that guy was rather reclusive, which made the boy sometimes forget he was there at all. He'd keep mostly to himself, but he still knew how to socialize and had sincerity in his tone. He didn't exactly appear to be comfortable with being too close to anyone, but he seemed to be open enough for a bit of an acquaintance thing. An awkward silent moment passed.
"So... You enjoying the trip?" - the blonde broke the silence.
"Uh, yes. Traveling with this group is being... Enriching, to say the least." - the deceased monk commented.
"That's cool, man." - he replied, to which the ghost clearly noticed he didn't fully understand what he had meant - "How long ago did you...? You know."
"I died? I don't know, a few hundred years maybe. Why?" - the spirit inquired a reason for such question.
"Just asking." - the kid shrugged - "You still know your way around?"
"You're worried if I can guide you all, huh?" - the dead young man observed - "Yes, I still can navigate, even after centuries gone and all the changes. I see things in a different way, I view the world I remember on top of this new one, that's how I can localize myself. And some areas barely changed, like this path we're going through."
"Then you planned this route before." - Finn realized, to which Sinjin nodded.
"Kaya had this in mind when she suggested the course before she left." - he explained - "The place we're going to is kinda far, so we better travel as concealed as possible. This is a secret path. It's impossible to be tracked down and only a few people know how to get here."
"So we should be safe from the Night Crawlers if we stick around here." - the blonde concluded.
"Yes. Unless there's a Hooded Shadow that knows this place. But that's very unlikely, otherwise, they'd be swarming us by now." - the ghost said.
"Uh... Yeah... You're right." - the boy grimaced at the thought of a mass invasion against the Condor, especially considering they were totally owned in the last fight, he decided to change the subject - "So, you had any hobbies in your time?"
"Hobbies?" - the spirit repeated.
"Yeah, something you like to do in your free time." - the sharpshooter explained.
"I know what a hobby is." - the dead young man clarified - "And no, not really unless training hard until you collapse counts."
"You liked that kinda thing?" - Finn raised a questioning eyebrow.
"When you're meant to be a fighter, training to get stronger and skilled becomes your purpose in life." - the monk said - "The lack of other activities makes it easier to enjoy the training too."
"So all you ever did was train?" - the boy asked.
"For a long time, yes. When I wasn't training my body, I was training my mind through meditation." - the soul told him - "The only times I stopped my routine were to actually fight or save someone."
"How did you just do that? Didn't you get tired of it?" - the blonde crossed his arms.
"It all comes down to finding entertainment in what you do, even in the seemingly most boring task ever." - Sinjin smiled knowingly.
He had already managed to sense that kid was all about fun and games. While that could help make a dispiriting situation more bearable with focusing on bringing the mood up, it could make it harder to consider certain things interesting to do if they're not "fun" enough. This also meant that kind of person might be less likely to cooperate on tough team tasks. He could even picture it...
As the ghost thought about that, Finn smiled to himself. Yeah, the spirit had a point about what he had said. Finding entertainment in what you do... He did do that before a few times. Anything could be fun if you try to spice things up a bit.
"Heh, I guess you're right." - he said - "Like when I made my own squadron in Terra West. I taught them how to be cool like me and it was really fun. Being the leader is awesome!"
The spirit laughed, yet something came to his mind.
"You know, you don't need that self-promotion you do all the time." - he began, to which the blonde looked at him with a raised eyebrow and a questioning stare - "I already can see your past through your presence and your belongings."
"So you messed with my stuff?" - Finn was suspicious.
"Look, I can't spend energy to materialize myself often. I didn't move anything around, that I can assure you." - the spirit said.
"Still feels like my privacy's been violated." - the sharpshooter mumbled.
"I'm not nosy... I saw nothing personal." - the Sinjin insisted - "And what's the big deal? You know most of my story, so it's only fair I learn a little about yours."
"Fair enough." - the kid eventually agreed - "So, what feats you have?"
"Hm... Well, I reached a whole new level in martial arts, won countless fights, I guess I also won a record for the longest fight ever with over 36 hours of non-stop..." - he listed.
"Woah, slow down, 36 hours? And that's the only kinda deed you have?" - the blonde questioned him.
"What type of accomplishment were you expecting? That I got rich, ruled a kingdom and married someone I liked?" - the ghost shrugged.
Finn stayed quiet for a second until it sank in.
"Oh, so you had a girlfriend! I almost thought you never cared about that stuff." - he said like he was insinuating something.
"No, she wasn't my girlfriend, we didn't really start anything. She... Died before we had the chance to." - the spirit told him.
"Oh... Sorry about that. But... Didn't you get to see her after you died?" - the blue eyed boy asked.
"No. She went to a way better place than me, the Zenith. I was punished for something I did so I couldn't enter. But you guys gave me the chance to redeem myself and be accepted there." - he explained.
"Ah, that's great! I'm happy you'll see her again. Hey, what's she like?" - Finn was curious about what kind of girl drew that stoic monk's attention - "Is she pretty?"
"Of course I think she's pretty, liking her affects that, even if you think she's not for you." - Sinjin said, to which Finn's shoulders dropped disappointed at the lack of a description of the girl.
"Okay, point taken. Was she nice, then?" - he asked hoping to at least get a better answer on that one.
"I could say your friend there reminds me of her sometimes." - he nodded towards the general direction of Piper's lab.
"What... Her?" - Finn looked towards the lab, then back at the monk and repeated that once more, finally, he sighed - "I swear, you guys have the weirdest taste in girls..." - he placed a hand on his forehead like he was facepalming.
Sinjin blinked. He really didn't expect that last part... He ignored querying further about what it had implied, though, for he had other questions in mind.
"What's the problem with her? She seems to be a great person." - he asked.
"Sure. It's great to be overly demanding." - the kid rolled his eyes - "And she can be such a show off with that perfectionism of hers too."
"Hm... You're not one to talk when you brag as well." - Sinjin said.
"But when I do it I don't sound annoying." - the sharpshooter responded.
"Pretty sure everyone sounds the same when boasting about themselves." - the spirit raised an eyebrow at his logic.
"Well..." - the blue-eyed boy tried to think of a comeback, but he just didn't have a good argument to back that up - "Okay, never mind all that. Let's just change the subject."
"That's something I can agree with." - a voice suddenly said.
Finn immediately jumped frightened and screamed like a girl at the strange voice's sound.
"Don't look at me, I didn't do anything this time." - Sinjin crossed his arms dismissively.
"Pardon me for startling you." - the voice spoke again, approaching the two - "But I have urgent news I must tell your leader about."
They turned to look at the person addressing them. It was a tall and slender man. He wore a dark hood that cast a shadow on his face, concealing it, but his light gray eyes were still visible and were as piercing as daggers. His clothes were also dark, they were somewhat puffed pants, army boots, a skintight long-sleeved shirt, a belt with some gadgets, gloves, a scarf and a vest he left unzipped so both halves hung loose beside him. The two blinked at the stranger, Finn looking a little confused and surprised, while Sinjin remained solemn.
Everyone was soon reunited in the bridge around the round table. In a clockwise manner, they were Aerrow, Radarr on his shoulder, Piper, Stork, Junko, Mr. Softy on his shoulder, Finn, the hooded man and Sinjin beside Aerrow. Their foreign guest was about to tell them the news, but first, he introduced himself.
"I go by the codename Mr. X." - he placed a hand over his chest - "I'm a spy from Liberty Reign. I lead the Umbralurkers guild."
"I think I remember you at the leaders meeting." - Aerrow put a hand on his chin in thought - "You were sitting on the last chair across the table."
"Yes, that was me. When the reunion was over, I mobilized some of my followers to form a small task force that'd watch the Hooded Shadows tower." - he told them - "This morning I saw something that might be of great interest to you." - he pulled a purple crystal from his pocket and placed it on the table.
The crystal shot out a light field, and within it, a hologram of the tower was formed. It showed the enormous army of carrier and warships moving out from the tower and disappearing in the distance. All the Storm Hawks gasped.
"Wow, what's going on there?" - Junko asked - "I-Is Cyclonis planning to attack already?"
"I don't think so." - Piper leaned closer to the hologram - "From the formation of the ships, it looks like they're escorting something." - she gestured to one slightly different looking ship and the warships flying around it.
"That was my guess too after I noticed they weren't going to any reign." - the spy commented.
"What could she possibly be doing she needs an army to escort her for?" - Finn looked at everyone weirded out.
"Well, she'd only put that much effort in security if what she's transporting is worth protecting." - Stork pointed out - "I'd say we have just so much time until they get to their destination and doom us all. Maybe I should start my countdown-to-the-end-of-the-world hourglass." - he pulled the glass with sand inside, still not set to count, from his pocket.
Everyone stared at him unimpressed, then Aerrow approached the hologram and observed it for a moment.
"The main question is: where are they going?" - he asked the obviously most important question.
"I told a small group to keep track of their path and scout ahead. So far there are only 3 places she could be heading to." - Mr. X showed them some papers with photographs of the places.
One of them was a very cold tundra, clearly devoid of life. The other was a lush jungle very rich in all kinds of plants. And the last one was a thunderous mountain.
"What can she find in these places?" - the sky knight inquired.
"The tundra is filled with crystal ores underground. That's the place with the greatest amount of raw crystals you'll find here." - the man explained the first photo - "This jungle is home to literally all types of plants you can think of. All the plants of the world can be found there." - he told them about the second photo - "And this mountain here is just the place with the highest lightning strike rate in the whole Greatland." - he gestured to the third photo.
Piper gasped in realization at the last part, while Stork just narrowed his eyes.
"She must be heading to the mountain." - he said, to which the girl nodded in agreement.
"Why? The other places have so many resources. What would she get from a mountain constantly hit by lightning?" - Junko didn't understand that logic.
"Power." - the merb explained - "If she wanted crystals or plants, she'd just have sent her Night Crawlers to fetch them. She wouldn't need to move herself for that." - he pointed at the image of Cyclonis standing on the balcony of the strange looking ship - "She must be going there to harness the electricity from the lightning because she doesn't have enough energy on her tower."
"And what is she gonna do with all that energy?" - Finn was almost afraid to ask.
"I think she's trying to power up that machine Domiwick told us about. The one she needed the Mirror Stone for." - the navigator said - "And if she had an expert in anatomy like Dr. Sins build it for her... Then..."
"Wait, so she's gonna use that machine on herself?" - Aerrow caught on her line of thinking.
"Well, she'll use it on someone. It could be herself, Dr. Sins, Domiwick, a Night Crawler... We can't know for sure." - the crystal mage clarified.
"We better stop her either way. By the size of this crazy plan of hers, it can only be something really bad." - he concluded, to which Radarr nodded, then he turned to their pilot - "Stork, set a course to that mountain, we need to get there fast."
"Just hold on a minute." - the spy suddenly said, making the boy stop dead in his tracks - "This Cyclonis has a huge army under her command. Are you sure you're prepared to take her on right now?"
Radarr's ears could only fall sadly at that.
"To tell you the truth, we got beaten pretty badly the last time we fought them." - the wallop admitted sheepishly, Mr. Softy mimicking him, not for antics, but because he felt exactly the same way.
"Yeah, they won without breaking a sweat!" - the sharpshooter said dismayed at their current situation.
Aerrow just stared at the ground. It was true. The Night Crawlers had defeated them rather effortlessly, and they even had Kaya's help! Now that they no longer had her with them, they would be overwhelmed even more easily! It felt like Cyclonis was always one step ahead of them. She was very meticulous with her plans alright... And with such a big plan in motion, she'd be extra calculating. She'd do everything in her power to succeed. But they couldn't just let her, they had to do something to stop her. Yet, they couldn't simply barge in and ruin her party, not when she had such an army protecting her. But what could they do? They didn't have nearly as many resources as she did. However, their guest was about to propose a solution.
"If you'd like, we could head to my mobile base. It's not too far from here." - Mr. X suggested as he pointed a thumb at the general direction of his base - "I can't move my forces to aid you, but I'll lend you some gear so you can at least have a better fighting chance."
Everyone's faces lit up and they agreed. Yeah, that sounded like a good plan. They'd need all the help they could get.
Soon the Condor had approached a hovering metallic tent. It was the mobile base Mr. X had spoken about. It remained suspended in the air thanks to four very large pontoons made of thousands of floaters merged together, one on each inferior corner. The barrack itself was very similar in shape to the one built on Terra Saharr that was used to make the improvised skyride that had saved the sky knights in the day of the annual skyrace but being made of metal, it had a silvery gray color and some weird circuitry all over it.
When the ship came closer, a ramp was extended from the base to it, so the Storm Hawks could leave the Condor hovering outside while they entered the base. The squadron followed the spy leader across the ramp.
"Welcome to my humble base." - Mr. X gestured to it as they walked, then chuckled - "Where we make campfires, play music and tell stories all day long."
"Really? With marshmallows too?" - Junko asked as he licked his lips, his eyes glimmering. He loved camping! Well, at least the eating part of it, since their last... "Camping" experience in Terra Tropica wasn't exactly pleasant.
"Uh... No. I was just joking that my base looks like some camping tent." - the man told him, to which his shoulders and ears dropped in disappointment - "We do have these fruit gums, though. Everyone here loves them." - he picked up a glass pot filled with colorful sugar covered gums and offered it to him.
The wallop didn't waste time snatching it from him and devouring all of the candy. He smiled while still chewing on them. Yummy! The spy leader didn't mind that, but he was sure his followers would be bothered by the sudden disappearance of their beloved candy. Oh, well, they'd have to make do for a little while until it was time to resupply.
The group followed him to a door with a panel beside it. He removed his glove and placed his hand there, so it'd be scanned. Then he leaned in so it'd scan his eye. Afterward, a panel with buttons was unlocked, so he typed in a long code. And finally, a microphone popped out of the wall.
"Entrance authorization: Xyler." - he said to it, then a second later he added as everyone behind him got startled - "And some guests."
Several weapons had started to pop out but stopped halfway after he warned about the guests, so they were just frozen while partially armed and in awkward positions. Then they retreated back into their original hidden spots.
"So... Is Xyler your real name?" - Aerrow asked curiously.
"Yes, it is. Haha..." - the man laughed nervously while rubbing the back of his head - "Yeah, I know, 'Mr. X' isn't exactly the most discreet disguise name for it... But that's all I could come up with at the time, and it's too late to change it now."
The redhead just smiled in sympathy. He knew very well what it felt like to have to stick with a nickname you didn't like. Oh, the non-stop teasing... He could still remember it... He couldn't help but roll his eyes at that thought. Suddenly the group heard the sound of two quick air jets that depressurized the doors, then they opened, at last, revealing the inside of the base. It was full of all kinds of devices, machines beeped, some others printed data and buttons flashed lights, everything was fully operational. But there was one thing: the place was empty.
"Just how's everything still working without anyone else here?" - Finn asked with a raised eyebrow.
"What are you talking about? All my agents are here." - Mr. X eyed him weirdly.
It was then that the squadron noticed there were really many people in there, by paying close attention to them flashing in and out of invisibility very quickly.
"They're all using cloaking crystals!" - Piper realized.
"That's right. Each spy has at least one with them." - the man said, then he leaned a little closer to her and put a hand near his mouth as if to prevent what he was going to disclose from being heard by others - "Seriously, that's the main requirement to get into the spy career. If you can't work while cloaked, this isn't the job for you." - he flitted his eyes to one of the cloaked people.
It was a very thin and short man. He was fixing himself in front of a mirror... While the cloak was still on! And, weirdly enough, he got to the desired result, since he quickly flashed out for a second just to nod satisfied with himself and then went invisible again. The girl could only blink. Well, that was certainly amazing. The squadron observed the people from there for a brief moment. They were all doing their tasks normally while fully invisible, just quickly flashing in and out when the need for seeing themselves was prompted, even something as trivial as getting some coffee from a coffee machine was done while cloaked.
"Sweet!" - the blonde smiled. All that definitely looked pretty cool.
"They seem kinda busy." - Junko noted after a little while since the people in there seemingly didn't even acknowledge their presence.
"They are, indeed. Monitoring all kinds of movement and transmissions is quite the work." - the spy leader told them - "Let's not bother them, I'll get you geared up myself. This way." - he signaled for them to come along.
He led them through a small corridor to a room with some equipment. There were several crates piled up and many gadgets displayed on the walls.
"Here you go, take all you need." - he gestured to the room.
The squadron walked inside to study the equipment.
"Wow, a grappling hook!" - Aerrow approached the hook and picked it up - "This could come in handy." - he quickly tested how mobile was the hook itself.
"Flash grenade, paralyzing grenade, tear gas, sticky explosives, remote bombs..." - Stork listed the objects he was grabbing one by one and separated them on a table to take them all.
"Don't you think that's too much?" - Piper asked him as she took the tear gas canister in her hand.
"There's no such thing as being overly prepared." - he responded bluntly - "Besides, nothing is too much against those Night Crawlers." - he said that last part a little angrily.
Yep, he definitely held a grudge against them. It had been the third time already they had violated the Condor by stepping inside it. He'd not forgive them for that... Ever. He'd have his sweet revenge come down upon them. The first officer just shook her head at that amused. He really would go overboard when it was about the Condor.
Radarr came across a small device on a shelf while he explored the room. He leaned in to smell it, but he got electrocuted by it when his nose got too close.
"Careful, that taser is kinda sensitive." - Mr. X said, to which the little animal just stared at him.
Well, it would have been nicer to have had that warning before he got too close to it and ended up being zapped. He briefly stroked some burned pelts of his. Gee, his fur was starting to beg to be treated better. At that rate, he'd go hairless! And that certainly wouldn't be good for his reputation as a proud furred animal.
Finn walked past a strange looking device that caught his attention, so he stopped, took a couple steps back and examined it.
"What does this do?" - he asked pointing at it as Junko approached him.
"That's a jammer. It disrupts enemy communications." - the spy leader explained.
"Hey, we could try using that to prevent Cyclonis from starting her machine!" - the wallop suggested, to which the blonde grinned in agreement.
"Great idea, Junko. We'll have destroyed that machine by the time their communications get back." - the sky knight complimented him, then he turned to the others - "Everyone, gather all the equipment we'll need and take it to the Condor. We gotta move now, we'll make up a plan on the way."
Just as he said that, a spy came running into the room, turning off his cloaking crystal in the process.
"Sir! We just got the latest report!" - he said urgently - "The Empress has arrived at her destination!"
The squadron gasped.
"Oh, no. We're too late!" - the navigator clenched her hands in front of her heart.
"The end is near..." - the merb murmured as he leaned back like he had just given up on living.
The rest of the team, except the green-eyed boy, appeared dismayed and desperate, as if the world was about to end right in front of their eyes. Junko and Mr. Softy had teary eyes, Finn looked depressed, and Radarr was no better. Aerrow blinked. Hey, they couldn't give up yet! They were the Storm Hawks! They had to keep trying until the very end! He needed to stir their hearts.
"Wait. Guys, she just got there. She still needs to set the machine up and let it power up first, remember?" - he said to keep them hopeful, and it seemed like it had worked, at least a little - "We still have time to stop her. We just gotta get there quickly."
"We have some nitro crystal compounds here, but they'll only work on your smaller rides." - Mr. X offered.
"We'll take them." - the redhead promptly replied.
"What? You don't expect me to leave the Condor behind now, do you?" - Stork instantly objected.
"We don't have another choice. We can't let Cyclonis have her way and we don't have much time. We gotta do this." - the boy's say was final, to which the merb's ears dropped disappointed.
"Don't worry, we'll watch over your ship. No one is gonna touch it. And we'll keep it cloaked along with the base." - the spy leader assured them, to which Aerrow nodded.
"C'mon, let's go." - he ordered the team and they all left the room carrying the needed equipment.
Sinjin cast one final glance at the direction of the mountain through the window before leaving. He squinted his eyes and his eyebrows furrowed. He could sense things were about to get really grim very soon.
Five skyrides flew fast towards the mountain, keeping to high altitude: three skimmers, one heliscooter, and the Storkmobile. All of them had been equipped with cloaking crystals, all kinds of grenades, warp crystals, shielding crystals and jammers. Aerrow, Radarr, Sinjin, and Piper were flying in front of the formation, Finn, Junko, and Mr. Softy right behind them, and Stork watching the back. The merb looked clearly angry for having to abandon the Condor.
"Cheer up, Stork. They said they'd keep the Condor safe." - the wallop flew a little closer to him.
"I swear... If I find as much as a single scratch on her... They'll all face my wrath." - he said, his eye twitching.
"Save some of that rage for Cyclonis, will you? We'll need it." - the blonde told him.
It'd certainly be useful if he used all that energy to help them defeat the evil powerful Empress instead of planning to destroy their allies for a mere scrape on the hull of his beloved ship.
"So what's our plan?" - the leader asked the navigator, drawing everyone's attention.
"We'll fly high altitude, and when we get close enough, we'll enable our cloakers and turn off our engines, so we'll glide silently past her outer defenses." - the girl explained - "After that... We'll just have to try to get as far as we can..."
"What do you mean? That can't be all." - the boy inquired, to which she just sighed then showed them a holographic image of some kind of radar scan.
"According to this, there are thousands of Night Crawlers in there, for just the six of us to fight." - she told them - "I'd be surprised if we get to see her machine in action at all..."
Yeah... Six against countless extra armed enemies. It'd be a piece of cake! The odds surely didn't seem any impossible to beat... Oh, no, they'd breeze through that like it was nothing. All that irony was starting to get to Aerrow pretty bad. He looked back at his team, they were hopeless. He lowered his head, it was hard to think of something uplifting to say to encourage them in that situation. Who was he kidding? They were in an unspeakable disadvantage. If there was just someone who could give them a hand...
"Hey, why all those long faces? That's not the welcoming party I was expecting. And after I came all this way just to meet you..." - a familiar voice shouted, causing them to look at its source: a colorful Mynall bird that quickly approached them shaking his head - "My, my... You're still so old fashioned. None of you followed any of my styling tips, huh? Though you look adorable in armor, dear." - he referred to Piper, causing her to giggle sheepishly.
"Ayrgyn?!" - Aerrow said almost in disbelief, with Radarr chirping questionably from his seat on the cockpit.
"Yours truly, in the flesh." - the bird winked at them - "Or should I say, in the feather?!" - he started laughing at his own clearly not really funny bad pun.
Everyone smiled broadly at him. Their old friend was there! Wow, was he a sight for sore eyes. They had never been happier for being randomly approached by someone they knew. Usually, that would be a little awkward, but at that moment it was such a big relief.
"You came to help us?" - the sky knight asked him.
"Of course, kid! Thought you'd get all the glory?" - Ayrgyn replied confidently.
"Things aren't really looking that glorious right now." - Sinjin commented.
"Still with the gloomy input as always, huh, Sinjin?" - the Guardian gave him a look, and none of the squadron were too surprised they knew each other.
"Gotta watch over my depressing dead person reputation." - the spirit shrugged casually.
"But he's right. Before you got here, we weren't even sure if we'd make it." - the redhead drew their attention - "They're too many there."
"I know. Cyclonis is planning really big this time. And she'll only get worse." - the skeelur told them - "But worry not, I can take you to her machine. Follow me to the mountain base."
They all did as they were told. The base wasn't really protected, because it was too far from the top, so the Empress had decided to concentrate all her defenses near the machine. They landed on the base, where Ayrgyn transformed into a human walked by the rocky wall.
"Ayrgyn, was it Kaya who sent you?" - Piper asked.
"Oh, that's right, you met my niece! Precious little thing, isn't she? And cute as a button!" - he clenched his hands near his head at the last part - "No. She told me the news, so I had her reunite the Guardians. I came here on my own accord." - he explained as he proceeded to touch the wall until he found what he was looking for - "Ah, there it is." - he pressed a rock.
Suddenly, the ground shook a little and a rectangular rock moved out of the way, opening a passage into the mountain.
"You always knew that was here?" - Junko questioned him.
"Yes. Someone in my position kind of has to know about every secret passage there is." - Ayrgyn said as he went inside, everyone following him - "When we reach the top, you children go ahead cloaked. I'll hold those Night Crawlers back, then it'll be up to you to shut that machine down."
"You sure you can handle all of them on your own?" - Aerrow was a little worried.
"Kid, if I couldn't do that I'd not be so famous around the world." - the Guardian assured him.
They all stepped inside an elevator, and Ayrgyn pressed a button to make it go upwards. The lift went up extremely fast, and everyone, except the skeelur and the ghost, was dragged to the floor. When the elevator finally got to its destination, its doors opened, revealing the squadron lying on the ground looking like they had been wasted. They slowly pushed themselves off the floor.
"Uh... I think you better pull yourselves together quick because they're coming." - Sinjin warned them.
The elevator was in the middle of a corridor with paths on their left, right and ahead of them. Before the enemies appeared, Piper cast a burst of the cloaking crystal to make the squadron invisible. Several Night Crawlers came running down some stairs, swarming them from all directions. Ayrgyn proceeded to fight the ones coming from the left, who were the first ones to arrive. He casually punched the first in the face, then dodged some shots, pressed the neck of the second one, knocking him out instantly, ducked to avoid an attack, ran around the third and fourth ones, pulled their hoods down, blocking their vision, then got out of the way fast, which caused them to be hit by friendly fire.
As enemies started coming from the right, Sinjin tossed his cape and hardened it, in a way that made it work like a bar. He positioned it at neck's height, then quickly materialized it, making the first Night Crawler that arrived to get suddenly strangled by hitting it full force. The ghost materialized his hand and pushed the dark soldier who fell backward, knocking down a few other allies behind him, which in turn obstructed the corridor and slowed them down. Soon more enemies came from the corridor ahead of them.
"Guys, hold onto me, I'll warp us past them." - Piper whispered to the squadron.
The guys quickly circled her and touched her shoulders, then she focused for a brief second and teleported everyone, except Ayrgyn, to the stairs of the corridor in front of them. From there they ran to the top. While that, the Guardian was completely surrounded by the enemies.
"Surrender now. You've been caught." - one of them told him as they all aimed their guns at him.
"Where would the fun be in that?" - the skeelur dared - "Why don't we play a little game instead?" - then he moved his glowing scepter and released a shockwave from it.
The spell affected all of the soldiers, paralyzing them. Their weapons shut down and their gadgets were disassembled, so they were rendered defenseless. Finally, the soldiers in the corridor to the left were pushed to the sides, opening a way.
"There, now that seems fair." - Ayrgyn said as he approached the Night Crawler that had spoken to him - "Tag, you're it! Come catch me!" - he sprinted through the left corridor, then a little while after, the soldiers were released from their paralysis.
"Sir, what should we do?" - one of the hooded men asked the tagged Night Crawler.
"Ignore him, he's just trying to distract us." - he said.
"Oh, what does this button do?" - the Guardian's voice could be heard in the distance, echoing in the walls, then a loud explosion that made the lights flicker happened - "Oopsie doopsie!"
Well, they couldn't let such a nuisance that could potentially ruin Cyclonis's plans roam freely...
"You! Go after him." - he ordered the soldiers that were standing on the left corridor.
They nodded and followed Ayrgyn's tracks.
"Seriously? That's all you send for me?" - the skeelur's voice shouted in disbelief and disappointment - "You really don't know who you're dealing with here."
The sound of the Night Crawlers screaming in pain and agony was soon heard.
"Sir, we need back up." - one of them said to the leader in his communicator.
He growled angrily.
"Fine... All of you, arrest him at this instant!" - he finally yelled.
"Now you're talking!" - Ayrgyn shouted from the end of the corridor, then bolted off, leading them away from the top level. That way he could buy some time for the Storm Hawks.
The invisible squadron ran by empty corridors, then they took one last stairway that finally led them to the open mountain top. All of them gasped at the sight of all those Night Crawlers flying around like bees protecting their hive.
"We gotta find a way to drag them out of here." - Aerrow said - "We need a distraction."
"I got it covered." - Piper responded, then she made a small striker crystal float very far and fast.
From that incredible distance, she activated the crystal to make it shoot towards the mountain. The Night Crawlers saw the attack and flew straight to the source, but couldn't find anything because the crystal was too small and hard to see.
"They must be cloaked! Keep following the shots, don't let them get close!" - Cyclonis shouted from her position on the machine's platform.
"Wow, someone's in an even worse mood than normal." - Finn commented about her behavior.
Aerrow watched the Night Crawlers flying away from the machine, after the crystal and noticed they were passing through a force field.
"Stork, see if you can make that shield block them outside." - he told him, to which he nodded.
The merb quickly found a control panel and started messing with it. He made a few inputs and the shield changed color slightly after all of the Night Crawlers were out.
"Done. The field's friend or foe system can't be reversed, so I had to make it block fully." - the tech expert warned, to which Aerrow, Piper, and Sinjin fell serious and tense.
"Is that bad?" - Junko asked.
"It means we're stuck here." - the sky knight explained - "We can't get out until this is over."
The wallop, the sharpshooter and their mascot blinked scared, and Radarr whimpered sadly. Oh, boy, no turning back now. So far there were only Cyclonis, Dr. Sins and a few unarmed Night Crawlers operating the machine inside that dome with them. Things were looking up, all they had to do was destroy her device before the soldiers on the outside came back. They still could do it! They just had to play their tactics well. And they would.
Aerrow motioned for everyone to follow him quietly. They made their way towards the machine unnoticed. They stopped right beside it, and the leader nodded at it while looking at the flight engineer. Junko activated his knuckle busters to punch that device with all his might. But when his fist was about to connect with it, it actually hit a barrier, making it flicker and draw attention to them. Cyclonis immediately flit her head in their direction and shot a bolt of energy from her staff at them, which dispelled their invisibility.
"I knew you'd be here. You didn't think I'd be prepared for a sneak attack, did you?" - she said snarkily.
The sky knight wouldn't give up, though, he channeled his new move and charged at the barrier and rammed himself against it. He began opening a hole on it due to the intense energy his move produced. Dr. Sins saw that and pulled out his whip to strike him. The boy reacted fast, though, slicing the whip before it could hit him, rendering that weapon useless.
"Finn, destroy that crystal!" - he glanced at the Mirror Stone.
"You got it!" - the blonde aimed with his crossbow and shot... Only to hit another barrier enveloping the pedestal for the crystal.
The Empress laughed.
"You really are naïve. You'll find plenty of other shields before you ever get to this machine." - she remarked as she proceeded to focus on the decay crystal in front of her - "It's already set up and it's only a matter of time until the first lightning strike fully powers it up." - it was then that the sound of thunder coming from above echoed - "Yes! This is it! It's coming!"
The squadron, except for Stork, cowered a little in anticipation as the lightning came down. But instead of successfully getting to the many rods on the machine, it was blocked by the outer force field. The cowering teammates blinked confused, Cyclonis also looked a little bewildered, until the carrier pilot spoke, drawing their attention.
"I guess not, at least not as long as your force field is set to full block." - he said, causing the Storm Hawks to smile.
That's right! The barrier that was keeping them stuck there would also keep anything from coming in, even the lightning! They could see the swarm of Night Crawlers coming back but failing to go through the barrier.
"Great work, Stork." - Aerrow commended, then he turned to his co-pilot - "Radarr, hit the jammer!"
The mission specialist turned the device on, causing all the communication and broadcast devices inside the barrier to stop working. That prevented the Night Crawlers working on the cargo ship from knowing when the machine would need more raw crystals to power up, so it started to lose energy and shut down gradually.
"Looks like you'll have to go home empty handed this time, Cyclonis." - the sky knight taunted her.
"No..." - she grunted angrily - "No! I won't let it go to waste!" - she yelled.
What she did next left everyone stunned. Sensing what she was about to do, Dr. Sins swiftly made his way to the corridor and left the area. She focused on the force field and made it unstable, which caused it to explode. The resulting shockwave was so strong that it destroyed all the gear of the Night Crawlers flying outside the shield and also made the inner barriers fade. Afterward, she concentrated on the raw crystal crates far away in the cargo ships and drew them to her, bursting all of them into a giant ball of condensed energy on the way. She redirected that energy to the rods and proceeded to shoot a beam from the decay crystal into the Mirror Stone, which then shot another beam at the Binding Crystal that started absorbing all that energy.
The Storm Hawks all charged at the now unprotected machine, bent on turning it into scraps before Cyclonis could finish whatever she was trying to do. But when they were about to jump on it, a huge lightning bolt hit its rods, and the energy backlash knocked them away from it, and also incapacitated the few Night Crawlers that were operating the machine. The electricity provided by that single strike was all the Binding Crystal needed to be fully charged. It shot a very bright beam of light at the vessel and the glass container beside it, blinding everyone nearby.
After the intense light finally dimmed out, the squadron could see what the machine was for. They gasped and appeared horrified at what they saw: there, standing on the platform where the vessel had been, was none other than Cyclonis's right-hand man.
"D-D-Dark Ace?!" - Junko stuttered in fear.
"We're doomed." - Stork said, his voice disappearing.
Aerrow glanced at him a little irritated. He really wished he'd stop saying that. It was slowly starting to work to make him scared!