A Reprieve

Aerrow stood on the bridge of the Condor. It had been years since he had last been aboard his once long time home. With Radarr perched happily on his shoulder, he gave a content sigh. "It feels good to be back." He commented with a smile.

"We may have upgraded her but she's the same." Stork called back from the helm.

Finn walked up beside Aerrow holding a box full of various objects. "I cleaned out the captain's quarters for you."

"You didn't have to go through the trouble Finn, I would have been fine with any of the other rooms." Aerrow commented.

Finn laughed as he walked off. "It wouldn't feel right if you were anywhere else."

The Sky knight watched the clouds fly by as the Condor soared through the air. "So what was all added to the Condor, Stork."

"Well Finn wouldn't put in the Brain worm defenses." Stork groaned "But I digress, seeing as we became one of the few wandering sky knights bouncing from terra to terra Finn opted to enlarge the condor so we could have a larger crew. There are a few more rooms now. In addition to the extra space, we heavily upgraded the cannons and engines. It should only take us a few days to get to the great expanse rather than the normal week."

"That's good I didn't want to be away from command for too long."

Aerrow approached the sky map in the center of the bridge and looked across it. Looking at the map he reminisced about his time with the Storm Hawks. Stork's complaining, Finn's bad jokes, Junko's cooking, Radarr's companionship, and Piper's planning. They were a family then, but even now being back on the Condor with them again he felt a divide that he wasn't sure on how close.

So lost in thought Aerrow barely noticed as Cyclonis approached the map. "Well, Sky knight, the loud one who thinks he's funny, set me up with one of the spare rooms. Though I think it was originally a storage room."

The sky knight couldn't help but chuckle slightly. "I'm sorry, your highness but we are fresh out of luxury rooms." Turning to look at her with a smirk. "I could talk to him and see about getting you a normal room."

She rolled her eyes at the red head. "It's fine, I know you had enough trouble with just getting Piper to agree to letting me on board without being locked up in some prison cell." She held up her wrist which now had a bracelet with several leech crystals on it, which seemed to be lessening the effects of the binding sickness. "You also insisted she help me with this. So thank you."

"Don't mention it. We are in this together after all." Aerrow looked at his old enemy and couldn't help but think about his dreams. Seeing the crying child begging for her mother. "I need you at your best."

"Don't worry about me. I'll fight them till my last breath." The crystal witch glanced at the map. "I never did learn how you dealt with whatever remained of my empire." The look on the sky knight's face was not one she had expected. There was a deep sorrow in his eyes.

"After the Raptors had joined us." He paused for a moment. "All that was left was Ravess and Snide. Ravess was the first to fall. She tried to retake Polaris Pointe in an attempt to choke our supply lines."

Cyclonis scoffed at the idea. "She never did learn. Elegance was nothing without the strength to back it up."

"The battle with her was swift. We had teamed up with the Absolute Zero's and attacked from the wasteland. We froze everything in our path, a blast hit Ravess freezing her solid as her fortress crumbled around her."

She stared at Polaris Pointe on the map, she could see a small x had been placed on it's spot. "And Snide."

"He had barricaded himself on one of the last Cyclonia controlled terras. Terra Tundras to be exact. Hundreds of long range artillery pointed in every direction. We lost a lot of good men in the siege, but eventually luck was ours when we managed to hit one of his ammo dumps." He looked up as if he was still there in that moment. "The explosion engulfed the terra, there were no survivors."

"I see." Rarely was the ex empress lost for words, but she could see how death weighted heavily on the sky knight. Rather than chiding him about his sympathies for an enemy, she found herself wanting to ease his mind to some degree, she blamed this on a side effect of the forced binding. "Those two were always troublemakers. Always trying to gain favor or steal power. Their destruction was only a matter of time, if not by your hand then by their own."

A smile tugged at the edge of Aerrow's lips. "I suppose you're right. Those two always seemed a bit… unstable."

"That's an understatement." Cylconis chuckled.

"What is she doing on the bridge?" Piper stepped onto the bridge carrying books and maps.

Aerrow sighed knowing another argument was coming, so instead he decided to lie to try and maintain the peace. "We were waiting for you, to discuss what she knows about the far side and how it could benefit us."

Cyclonis gave the sky knight a knowing look. "Yes, I figured it would be best to go over everything now since we had time."

The Crystal mage glanced between two before setting the books and maps on a nearby table. "This better be worth it Aerrow. The risk of allying ourselves with her is far too high. I mean she tried to assassinate you just the other day."

"And I helped turn back on your defenses." Cyclonis added coldly.

"Now, now you two. We are going to be stuck together for a few days. Let's not be at each other's throats." Aerrow stood between the two trying to calm the two.

"Fine then." Piper said. "If you want to be useful. Tell us, what does the Far Side want with us."

"They care not for you." Cyclonis snapped. "They are in search of something."

"And what could be so important that they would start a war?" Aerrow questioned.

Cyclonis' face hardened as she answered simply. "A Helix Crystal."

"A Crystal so rare that know one has ever seen one and even fewer believe it even exists. That's why they have decided to start a war, over a myth?" Piper said astonished at such a claim.

"They believe enough in it to build a portal here." Cyclonis commented.

"Myth or no they are here in force. That King Fisher guy was a tough opponent. Are there others like him?" Aerrow questioned.

"Many. It is common practice to turn slaves into gladiators and make the champions into generals." The crystal witch elaborated. "King Fisher had been around for awhile. There were others said to be more powerful in other ways. Fisher was just known for being strong. And as you found out speed was the best way to overcome him." She thought for a moment before continuing. "There's a soldier who excels at tracking named Theraphosa. And if we assume there are more spies within your ranks then it's possible they have an idea of where we are."

"Then we need to keep our wits about us." The sky commander said as he stepped away from the group. "But it doesn't matter who the Far side sends at us. We'll come out on top."

Cyclonis gave a dry laugh. "With that level of confidence I actually believe you."