Chapter 4: Battle in the Deeps
Aerrow ran to the cabin where the hole in the ship was located, staring at the giant opening in the Murk Raider's ship. All he could see was what looked like a closed hatch. Piper was soon at his side, ready with her energy staff. Finn and Junko were still getting up from the energy cannons, ready to follow Aerrow's orders for their next plan.
At first, Aerrow didn't know what to do. He only knew that if the Murk Raiders tried anything, he would fight to his last breath to keep from letting his team be overcome. He glared at the hole, waiting.
Just as he thought, the hatch in the jaws of the Blood Crow opened, and a ramp was lowered down to the hole in the Condor. Murk Raiders charged down the ramp at them with raised cutlasses, shouting out their battle cries. One of them stopped in the opening, looking around for enemies, while the others filed in.
Aerrow's eyes narrowed. There was nothing left to do but fight. "Let's blast these scavengers back to the fog!" he shouted to his team. He drew his blades, and beside him, Piper spun her staff. It was time for battle.
The Murk Raiders were coming in a river now. Junko met them head on. With a Wallop roar, he drew back his Knuckle Buster-powered fists and sent one of the Murk Raiders flying into the wall behind him.
Piper had been distracted in watching him. She was soon charged by three of the Murk Raiders. The first one met her with his cutlass slashing out at her, but she deflected it with her staff. The Murk Raider growled at her, but she only smiled cockily. She spun her staff around, grunting with each movement, and struck the Murk Raider right in the head. The Murk Raider groaned as stars danced around his head, and he collapsed. Feeling good about herself, Piper looked around to see what the others were doing.
Finn stood on top of a stack of supply crates with his crossbow hanging off his back and a rope in his hand. He smiled at Piper and laughed tauntingly at a group of Murk Raiders standing on a much smaller stack of crates, raising their cutlasses to them him in vain. Piper had a feeling what Finn was trying to do, and she couldn't help but feel that it would not end well for the sharpshooter.
Sure enough, Finn jumped off the stack of crates, swinging on the rope like a jungle man with his leg extended toward his enemies. But he miss-judged his distance, and he cried out in fear as soon as he realized that. Piper cringed as he slammed into the crates underneath the Murk Raiders and fell to the floor unconscious. Luckily the Murk Raiders didn't pay him much attention after that.
Radarr, meanwhile, had somehow made his way up on top of the Condor. One Murk Raider spotted him and had climbed up after him. Radarr growled menacingly at the Murk Raider, but the pirate only smirked back and pulled himself up onto his feet. But that was alright with Radarr. He was prepared. He took a tiny blue crystal out of the pack on his back, smiling and chirping with amusement as he thought about what would happen next. Then he threw the crystal toward the Murk Raider. The pirate watched it warily as it bounced to his feet . . . and exploded.
The Murk Raider cried out in fear as he lost his footing and began to fall down into the Deeps. Luckily for him, his parachute stopped his fall.
Radarr watched him with narrowed eyes and a satisfied smile, proud of the success of his plan, when he cocked an ear. Someone was charging him, crying out in a deep, harsh voice. Another Murk Raider jumped down right behind him and slashed out at the furry copilot. Luckily Radarr had heard him in time, and he leapt out of the way. Well, this isn't good, he thought.
Back down in the cabin of the Condor, Junko was face to face with a Murk Raider. The mighty Wallop, normally such a docile creature, was in full battle mode. Instinct to fight as Wallops had done for centuries had taken over his placidity. He stomped on the ground angrily, letting out a Wallop roar and re-igniting his Knuckle Busters. The Murk Raider returned the yell, raising his cutlass. But Junko made quick work of him, punching him as hard as he could with his Buster.
No sooner had he gotten rid of that Murk Raider when another one jumped him from behind. He punched that one away. Then one came from the other direction, trying to stab his cutlass into the Wallop's back. Junko turned around and met his charge with his arm, swiping him back. The Murk Raider flew across the room, hit another Murk Raider, and the two fell out of the hole and ended up parachuting to the bottom of Terra Deep.
Piper hadn't been watching this time. She was too busy deflecting another Murk Raider who was charging her, meeting his charge with her staff and knocking him to the side. Just then, the one-armed Merb landed in front of her, laughing tauntingly, egging her on.
Piper was more than willing, but their fight was interrupted when Radarr scurried in between them on all fours, being chased by a laughing Murk Raider with a raised cutlass. Well, that was random, Piper thought. Not thinking twice about it, she got back in her warrior stance to face the one-armed Merb.
The Merb had a secret weapon. He lowered his mechanical arm, opened his jaw-like fist, and fired shots from within the "mouth" of his skull-shaped arm. Piper easily deflected the first two shots, and when the third one came her way. She got an idea. When she deflected it, she sent it toward the tool safe hanging above the Merb. The safe opened, and the Merb shouted in dismay as a couple pounds of metal tools were dumped on top of his head. The pile of tools engulfed him and made a slight movement as he lifted his head. "Ouch," he groaned.
That took care of him. Piper looked around for Radarr, wondering if he had gotten away.
To her dismay, Radarr had run himself right into a dead end. He turned around as his ears flicked toward the sound of the Murk Raider's boots behind him, and he flattened himself against the wall, eyes widened in terror and hyperventilating. The Murk Raider smirked at him. Then, to Piper's surprise, Radarr plucked up his courage. A lot of courage. His eyes narrowed and he growled viciously at the Murk Raider. "Huh?" the pirate said in surprise. The next thing Piper knew, Radarr was growling like a rabid beast and chasing the Murk Raider, who was wailing in terror.
Radarr chased the Murk Raider right past another Murk Raider who was painting his symbol on the wall of the Condor as if she had already been conquered. Junko was the first to see him, and the act made his blood run even hotter. He took a threatening step toward the Murk Raider holding the brush and bucket of white paint, his face twisted in a snarl. The Murk Raider must have heard him, because he turned around and winced to see the Wallop glaring at him.
But before Junko had a chance to "Wallop" him, his eye twitched as he felt a sneeze coming. "Ah-choo!" he sneezed at the Murk Raider. The pirate went flying across the room, dropping the brush and bucket of paint, which spilled all over the floor. What do you know? Junko thought to himself. His allergies had come in handy.
He was still feeling miserable from his allergies and still feeling stuffed up when he heard to Murk Raiders charging him from behind with raised cutlasses. He turned around. No sooner did he do so when he sneezed them and their cutlasses right out of the ship. That's better, he thought as he felt some of the mucus clear.
Aerrow was too busy fighting off the main swarm of Murk Raiders to really pay attention to what the others were doing. No sooner had he fought off another pack when more started charging at him. With a grunt, he launched himself into the air and flipped, landing in the middle of the pack just as he had intended. The Murk Raiders all felt this was to their advantage, seeing as they had him surrounded, and they raised their cutlasses to come down on him at once. But Aerrow spun his blades around with a cry and sent them all flying off in different directions.
He glanced around uneasily, waiting more that he knew were sure to come, when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye that caught his attention. A one-armed, one-eyed Murk Raider had just stepped into the opening of the Condor, looking rather casual in his movements. Aerrow's eyes narrowed and his face twisted in a cold smirk. The creature was scaly, much like the person he had seen on the bridge of the Blood Crow during their cannon exchange. He had an air of confidence and supremacy about him that made Aerrow's blood run cold. The captain. And not just any captain from the looks of it, but the dreaded, infamous Captain Scabulous.
Captain Scabulous ran his eye over the boy who stood in his way, a smirk playing on his lips. "Permission to come aboard?" he asked tauntingly as he waved his mechanical hand, laughing at his own joke.
Aerrow ground his teeth together. "Permission denied!" he shouted. He charged toward the captain. With his running start, he leapt into the air just over Scabulous, his blades raised high to come down upon him. But Scabulous only smirked at him again and shoved him back with his saber. Aerrow brought his blade forward again, but a block from the captain forced both blades and saber to the ground. This time it was Scabulous' turn to attack, and Aerrow's blade kept the saber from entering his head.
Their blades clashed again, and the captain hissed, taking a step toward the Sky Knight. Aerrow was forced backward with each blow, unable to make an offensive move. Finally, he held his ground, pressing his blade against the saber. But Scabulous kicked Aerrow in the stomach, sending the boy backward nearly two yards.
The kick knocked the wind out of Aerrow, but he was used to fights like this. He landed on his feet in a crouching position, stopping to catch his breath but ready for anything.
As Scabulous smirked at him again, Aerrow felt his blood run hot with rage. Fear had been abandoned for anger and adrenaline, and he rushed at the captain again, striking at him, only to be deflected again. The three blades met, each commander trying to subdue the other as they pressed their weapons against the blade of the other. But even though Aerrow had two blades holding back one, he grunted and gasped with effort as he felt himself being forced back. He was quick, but he was not strong. And if Captain Scabulous pinned him to the floor, Aerrow knew there would be little he could do.
The Condor rocked under their feet as Stork tried to pull her away from the Blood Crow's jaw-like trap. None of the Murk Raiders had invaded the bridge yet, and Stork was doing the best he could to help out by trying to make sure no other Murk Raiders could enter. But pull as he might on the helm, the Condor could only break away inch by inch.
A sound from behind him distracted the Merb. A Murk Raider leapt in behind him in a crouched position with his cutlass in his mouth. Once set, he took his cutlass from his mouth and ignited it, letting out a battle cry. But Stork only smirked at him. The Murk Raider was standing in the perfect spot. Stork pulled down a lever at the helm.
At first, the Murk Raider only shrugged and cocked an eyebrow at him, wondering what that was all about. Then a rumbling from the vent beside him warned him something bad was coming. Suddenly, a metal fist burst out of the vent and punched the Murk Raider in the head. With a loud cry, the pirate was sent flying across the room, his cutlass clattering on the floor where he had stood.
Stork smiled at his success and remembered what the others had said when he had first installed this metal puncher. They hadn't been so supportive. The Merb waved dismissively. "'You're wasting your time, Stork,'" he mimicked one of them. "'That'll never work, Stork,'" he mimicked another, holding his hand up and moving it like a puppet. He finished with a satisfied grin on his face. "Hmm! I was right. The rest were wrong."
Back in the cabin, Aerrow had been able to escape his and Scabulous' lock by jumping backward, but Scabulous only came at him again and forced him back into it. "You're about to find out why Murk Raiders are feared across the Atmos!" he growled to Aerrow as he forced him back. He shoved Aerrow to the ground, and the boy rolled out of the way just as the Murk Raider slashed at where his shoulder had been only moments before.
Aerrow was up on his feet as soon as he could stand, and he spun his blades around and charged the captain again. Their blades glanced off each others, and Scabulous moved swiftly to the side, slashing out at Aerrow before the boy had time to block. He was still able to avoid the blow by sucking in his belly as it came by. Another strike from Scabulous was aimed for Aerrow's head, and he ducked to avoid it.
The Murk Raider captain was upon him again, forcing him to lock blades once more. But this time, Aerrow had a plan. As the Murk Raider growled at him, Aerrow was able to extend his arm to gain leverage over the captain. "You're about to find out why I'm a Sky Knight!" he retorted with a smile.
With a shove, he was able to gain air between the blades. That was just what he needed. He launched himself into the air straight up, and his foot came down upon Scabulous' shoulder. The captain was too solid to knock down in this way, but he was stunned long enough for Aerrow to avoid his saber when the captain tried to drive it into his stomach. The blade stuck into the wall of the ship, and Scabulous growled in frustration when he found he could not pull it out.
In fury, the Murk Raider captain turned about and charged Aerrow weaponless, relying on his skill and mechanical hand to fight the Sky Knight now. Aerrow narrowed his eyes as he came at him. Wait for it . . . Now! The captain launched his spear-like mechanical arm at Aerrow, but the Sky Knight leapt out of the way, and the arm stuck into the floor of the Condor. Scabulous looked up in surprise in time to hear Aerrow's one cry and see his foot coming toward his face.
The kick sent Scabulous flying across the room before sliding on his back. The heavy thud rang throughout the ship, and Murk Raiders all around turned to see what had happened, staring in disbelief. Did their undefeatable captain just get beat?
With pained effort, Captain Scabulous straightened out his neck and lifted his head, his eyes locking in glare at Aerrow. If he had his saber, he would have leapt to his feet and cut off the Sky Knight's head there and then. But he did not have his saber, he was sore, and he was on the ground.
The scared Murk Raiders retreated back to the Blood Crow, crying out in terror. Even the Murk Raider who had his cutlass locked with Piper's staff turned about to see the others fleeing, and, turning back with a sheepish smile at Piper's snarl, he fled after them. Piper smiled with pride as she saw they had them on the run.
Finn, who was still unconscious on the floor, was awakened when one of the Murk Raiders stepped on his hand on the way out. Aerrow heard him screaming as he awoke, staring wide-eyed at his throbbing red hand.
Captain Scabulous watched furiously as his men ran past him, and he sat up, sending a silent threat at Aerrow and growling in fury. But Piper and Junko were at Aerrow's side in a second in case Scabulous tried anything.
Seeing the Sky Knight with his squadron and watching his own crew leave him, Captain Scabulous was nearly shaking with anger. "Cowards!" he called to his crew. "I didn't call for retreat!"
"Huh," Aerrow said with smile of triumph. "Then I will." He turned to his mechanic. "Junko—"
Junko got the hint. He growled at the Murk Raider, taking a threatening step toward him. Scabulous gasped as he guessed what was happening. Taking a big breath of air to get a nose-full of the Murk Raiders' scent, Junko let out a sneeze that echoed through the ship and sent the captain flying back to his ship.
Aerrow couldn't believe it! They'd fought off a whole crew of Murk Raiders. And not just any Murk Raiders, but Captain Scabulous' Murk Raiders! He clenched his fist triumphantly. "Yes!"
At the last minute, Finn came swinging in on a rope, landing behind them with his crossbow in his hand. "Is that the last of 'em?" he cried, raising his crossbow to his shoulder. "Come on, give me some more!"
Aerrow, Junko, and Piper turned around skeptically, and Piper even tilted her head with an exasperated expression. Aerrow wasn't sure he really wanted any more Murk Raiders to fight; he was rather sore from his struggle with Scabulous. Besides, Finn hadn't been much help anyway. Oh well, what do you do with hotshots?
With the Murk Raiders off the ship, Stork was struggling more than ever to free the Condor. The engines groaned as she fought the jaws of her captors until finally she pulled free with a loud groan. The Blood Crow's jaw-like trap slammed shut, and the grapnels were pulled loose one at a time. The Condor was free! Quick as she could, she made a break for it.
The captain and his first mate of the ship left behind were left staring after her, snarling. "They're gettin' away!" Eyeball said from his position at the helm.
At first, all Captain Scabulous could do was snarl at the window, but a loud, low sound from outside attracted his attention. As he recognized the sound, he smirked. "Friends are coming, boys," he assured his crew, his evil laugh filling the bridge.
As he said it, two humongous ships appeared out of the gloom, flying up beside the Blood Crow. It was time to try again. No one messed with Captain Scabulous and got away with it.
On the Condor, everyone but Stork stood at the hole in the side of the ship, making sure they were not followed. Then Junko sucked in a breath, and Aerrow and Finn turned to him in horror; after all, they were in the line of fire. But Junko only sniffled. "Oh," he said. "I think I just ran out of sneeze."
At that moment, Finn looked out the hole and back into the gloom, his eyes widening in terror. "Dude," he said to Aerrow, "they've got really big reinforcements." He pointed out the hole behind them.
Aerrow leaned out to see what he was talking about. Sure enough, the Blood Crow had been joined by two more ships. They were similar in build, but they lacked the bow-mouth, which was replaced by similar-looking masks. What was scary about them was the way they dwarfed the Blood Crow, which was a decent-sized ship. They were more than twice her size! They would probably dwarf the Cyclonian Destroyers by half!
Cyclonian Destroyers . . . That was it! If the Murk Raiders have reinforcements . . . "Then we're gonna need some reinforcements of our own!" he thought aloud. "Stork," he radioed the pilot, "take us out of here the way we came in, fast as you can!"
Stork, driving at the helm, narrowed an eye at the strange suggestion, but he did not hesitate to put on the throttle. The Condor shot forward the way she had come.
At the hole, Piper seemed to be weighing the idea. Only she could guess what Aerrow's plan was. "That's a pretty risky move, Aerrow," she said. But then she wavered in a saucy movement in front of him, bringing a smile to Aerrow's face when she said, "But I like it!"
Stork was being carefully as he drove the Condor through the spear-like towers of rock with the Murk Raiders on her tail. A drop of sweat had formed on his forehead. He avoided the rocky towers with great skill, but the Murk Raiders saved time by simply blasting through them. All the Storm Hawks made it back to the bridge, and each watched the window, tense.
On the Blood Crow, Captain Scabulous was smirking at them. He had taken control of the helm, and slowly, he was gaining on them. It wouldn't be long now, he thought. The Blood Crow shot through another tower that the Condor had swiftly avoided, getting closer.
Stork still stared ahead, his face twisted in a strained grimace. Finn looked out back at the Murk Raiders using the periscope. "They're gaining!" he announced, panicked.
"We'll make it," Aerrow assured him. They had to.
At last, the stormy fog was ahead of them. Lightning flash threateningly as the Condor entered the fog. It wouldn't be long now . . .
In the next instant, the Condor broke through to the other side where the Cyclonians were still waiting patiently. The scar-faced commander to the Cyclonian fleet narrowed his eyes at the Storm Hawks' ship when he saw her. "I knew they wouldn't last long in there," he said to himself. "Prepare to fire!" he ordered the driver, who smiled at the thought of action.
But then . . . the Blood Crow and her companions appeared. The Cyclonian commander's face fell.
"But, sir," his driver said uneasily, "those are Murk Raiders."
The Condor flew closer to the Cyclonian Destroyers, but now no eyes were on her. Not even the Murk Raiders'. As soon as they saw the destroyers, the Blood Crow's crew members' eyes lit up. "I bet they have lots of crew!" Eyeball said to his captain with a smile.
Captain Scabulous smirked. "Right you are, Eyeball!" he congratulated him. He looked about at the rest of the crew and radioed to the other ships at the same time he gave the command. "Move those cannons, boys!" he ordered. "We've got a new catch!"
The Murk Raider ships all turned their cannons to point at the Destroyers. The first shot fired right at the bow of the front ship, where the commander was stationed.
The Cyclonian commander braced himself as the shot shook the ship. "Don't just stand there!" he rebuked his helmsman. "Blast them!"
Immediately, the helmsman and the rest of the crew did as they were told. Three shots were fired at the Murk Raider ships and returned. Then the airspace between them became a field of volleys, a no man's land.
And it was through this field of volleys that the forgotten Condor was forced to fly. Stork pulled her to starboard, then portside, upward, downward, avoiding shot after shot and all the little Talon Switchblades that were still out in the open, getting shot down by the dozens.
At last they looped around the rudder of the last Destroyer and made their escape into clear night skies. Aerrow was encouraged to see them ignored and see their enemies firing upon each other. "Now that's what I call reinforcements!" he cheered.
And the Condor flew off into the rising sun.
Once everyone had a chance to relax, they all began to recuperate. Stork continued driving, enjoying the fact that he didn't have to dodge anything. Piper relaxed on the couch at the round table, writing the next entry in her squadron log, the log she kept of all their adventures. Finn leaned on the couch beside her, looking over her shoulder at her writing. Junko started stuffing the feathers he had sneezed out of his pillow back into his pillow. And Radarr sat on the railing, watching Aerrow pace back and forth to check on everyone and everything, as was his custom and responsibility, a responsibility that he was so used to that it had almost become an impulse.
Everything seemed in order. Aerrow took one last look out the window, not expecting to see anything, but just making sure. You never know after a sleepless night like they just had.
No trouble. Everything was calm and right. Maybe they could finally relax and get some sleep. Aerrow turned around to the others smiling. "Great job, guys!" he praised them.
As Piper tapped her pencil, wondering what to write, Finn offered his own suggestion. "Here's your entry," he said. He held up his hand dramatically. "'Finn (dot-dot-dot) versus Murk Raiders of Doom.'"
Piper cocked an eyebrow at him, smiling at his immaturity and ego, and Aerrow knew that she wouldn't think twice about throwing away that idea.
Looking at Junko, he thought of an idea of his own. "Well, how 'bout, 'Revenge of the Sneeze Machine'?"
"Nah, it's not timely," Piper answered, tapping her eraser on the table. "He's not sneezing anymore."
Aerrow watched Junko, who now had all the feathers in his pillow except one. He held up the feather and then let it go, trying in vain to catch it as it fluttered to the floor as a sort of game. He did seem to be feeling better, and for Junko's sake, that was a good thing. "Junko," Aerrow asked, "how ya feelin'?"
"Uh," Junko said. Then suddenly, Aerrow cringed as he sucked in a breath, but there was no time to dodge. The Wallop's sneeze sent Aerrow flying into the window, flipping him about so he hit face first. Now I know how Finn feels, he thought. That hurt! He groaned as he slid to the floor.
Finn looked around frantically. "More Murk Raiders?" he asked in a panicked tone.
Stork ran to the periscope and looked out, turning it about to see in all directions. "Um, nothing on the scopes," he reported.
Piper ran to Junko frantically as the Wallop went to Aerrow to help him to his feet apologetically. "Don't tell me you're allergic to something else!" she cried.
Aerrow sighed in relief as Junko picked him up by his shoulders and set him down on his feet. He had been too stunned by even more bruises to really understand why the team was panicking over a sneeze, but the idea dawned on him as soon as Junko answered Piper's question. "Um, not really," the Wallop said, scratching his chin. He shrugged. "Well, just sky sharks."
Out of the corner of Aerrow's eye, he saw a dark figure glide past the window. Oh.
The realization dawned on Junko just seconds later. Without even taking a look out the window, he shouted, "SKY SHARKS!"
Aerrow went to the window to look out. Sure enough, a whole feeding frenzy of starving sky sharks were circling around and above the Condor. Their blue, scaly bodies were striped with black, and their fins were extra long to beat for flight. A secondary pair of fins behind these which were much smaller provided further lift. The long sail, which dwarfed that of any Earth shark, was used for balancing, and the club-like, large, diamond-shaped tail tip acted as a rudder. They weren't much alone, nothing but a nuisance and a hazard, but they were downright life-threatening as a swarm.
Aerrow sighed, and flexed his weary muscle, wondering if he would get a migraine soon from all this planning, thinking, fighting, and stress. So much for getting some sleep.
Author's Notes: Storm Hawks related trivia #1: Boarding ships was what most pirates did to win a fight in the old days, and it's pretty much the only way modern pirates operate. When you board a ship, you can go and get whatever goods you can off the ship, and you can also keep the ship itself. It's much more worth it than sinking it is. However, when you board a ship and take it over, you still have to deal with the hassle of holding hostages. That was the only downside.
Storm Hawks related trivia #2: Sharks, like the sky sharks, normally travel alone, but a group may appear if they all are attracted to the same prey. Normally this happens because the prey is bleeding or looks hurt and distressed (which does raise a question as to why a bunch of sky sharks singled out the Condor). Sharks will hear the distressed sounds from prey, smell their blood, which can be detected over a mile away, or they will use their sixth sense to locate the prey based on the electric pulses of their prey's nervous system.
And now, you review and I go on to "Storm Warning" with Piper! *Piper fans cheer*
