Chapter 10: The Black Gorge

(Intro) (Storm Hawks updated with Lavender)

The Storm Hawks were in big trouble. They had journeyed into the Black Gorge, a very unnatural and dangerous location. The Condor was losing power. Stork was struggling to keep the Condor air born. "What's our status?" Aerrow asked. "Losing crystal power fast!" Piper exclaimed. "The Condor's not gonna be able to stay in the air for much longer!" Riggorix exclaimed. "Oh, we're going down, man! We're going down!" Finn panicked. Then he screamed as the Condor was about to hit a cliff. But Stork managed to steer the Condor out of the way, only slightly grazing the cliff. The steam pipes were breaking, but Junko and Judy were managing to hold them together. Stork tried to keep the Condor up, but everything was shutting down fast. The Condor dropped. "Hold on!" Aerrow called. Everyone grabbed onto something. Stork tried his best to pull up. Finally, the Condor was able to pull up. But it took out the last of the power, causing the Condor to drop dead.

"I would like to take this opportunity to remind you all that I told you that a SHORTCUT over the Black Gorge would have catastrophic results!" Stork exclaimed. "Come on, Stork. You know all that talk about the Black Gorge is just spooky old legends." Aerrow said. Suddenly, a howl was heard echoing throughout the entire gorge. "Isn't it?" He asked. Nearby, half a dozen red eyes stared at the Condor, waiting to attack.

Later, everybody checked for any damages. "Everybody okay?" Aerrow asked. "We're terrific. Crashing into the Black Gorge suits us just fine." Finn said sarcastically. "Cool it, Finn! Doesn't look like there's not much damage. Nothing a little spit and polish can't fix." Riggorix said. "Except something's draining our crystals. In a minute, these will be nothing but duds." Piper said, scanning the energy of the Condor's crystal engine. "But what's causing this crystal drainage?" Sky asked. Aerrow undid his scarf and looked at the Heart of Atmos. It wasn't being drained like the other crystals. 'That's odd.' He thought.

Stork started to think. Then he walked over to his emergency preparation crates. He had them set up for the most unlikely dangerous events the team would possibly encounter. Each crate was marked with the exact danger. "Mummified Virus Plague. Terrian Brain Worm infestation. Ah, yes. The Black Gorge." He said, opening the crate marked with the Black Gorge. Inside was a rolled-up map and 12 goggles. "The light enhancing glass on these peepers will actually allow us to see our slow and painful demise." Stork said. "Thinking let's find a way out of here before that happens." Piper said. "No warship this size has ever entered the Black Gorge or been heard from again." Stork said. "So, what're we gonna do?" Skyler asked. "Our skimmers! We can just fly out of here and come back for the Condor later." Finn said. "That's pretty much impossible." Stork said. "What do you mean, Stork?" Lavender asked. "The natural energy field here drains crystals of their energy." Stork explained. "Without crystal energy, our vehicles are useless. So are our weapons." Piper said, taking out one of the engine's crystals.

"But why isn't the Heart of Atmos being drained like all the other crystals?" Aerrow asked. "Hmm. If I had to take a guess, since Thunderay told us that the Heart of Atmos is originally from Outer Space, its cosmetic energy can't be drained the same way as the rest of our crystals." Stork said. "Well, that's good news." Aria said. "But alas, even the Heart's powers won't be enough to save us. Might as well hope our end will be quick and painless. But here in the Black Gorge…it won't be." Stork said as the lights went out. "Okay, that's actually kind of creepy." Finn said.

Suddenly, something scurried around in the dark. "Hey! Not funny, Radarr!" He exclaimed. "Uh, Finn? I'm with Aerrow." Radarr said as he was on Aerrow's shoulder. Finn gasped, feeling something crawling on him. "Then…who's with me?" He asked as a tiny paw grasped his shoulder. "Um, the goggles?" Stork said. Finn put on the goggles, seeing Stork wave at him. Then he turned to his shoulder to see…a tiny sloth creature on his shoulder. He screamed, making the creature shriek. Everyone soon joined in the screaming. Finn and the creature soon scrammed away from each other. The creature jumped into Junko's arms and looked up at him with its big puppy eyes. "Hey, cute little fella." Junko said, scratching the creature's chin. "Look at him, Finn. He's just as scared as you." Finn looked at the creature from behind a crate. "Yeah. Cute. And I'm not scared." He said with denial. "Can we keep him?" Junko asked. "If you wanna live, I really wouldn't recommend it. Never trust a native to the Black Gorge. Ever." Stork advised. The creature just chittered. "I'll call you Mr. Cheepers." Junko said, scratching Mr. Cheepers' chin, making him purr. But Radarr and Mimi looked at Mr. Cheepers with the same feeling they did with Lark/Master Cyclonis.

"Maybe you oughta ask Mr. Cheepers if he can get us out of this mess." Aerrow said. "How? You gonna use the Heart of Atmos to give a voice so he can tell us?" Aria asked. "Unless anyone has a better idea." Aerrow said. "Wait a minute. I think I can get us out of this mess." Piper said. "What's your plan, Pipe?" Skyla asked. "The gorge may drain crystal energy, but I happen to have one Solaris Crystal which absorbs solar energy. I can harmonize it to recharge the Condor and get us out of here." Piper explained, holding up a Solaris Crystal. "Wait a minute." The crystal's light suddenly went out. "It's dead!" Her eyes turned to Finn, who was trying to sneak away. "Finn, what did you do?" She asked as everyone turned their attention on him. "Uh, to my defense, we all enjoyed the impromptu luau on Tropica, did we not?" Finn asked.

[Flashback]

Everyone was relaxing on Terra Tropica. Finn was cooking a roast on a rotary, and was using the Sol Crystal to cook it.

[Flashback End]

"You used my only Sol Crystal for a BARBAQUE?!" Piper snapped. "What was I supposed to use?! Skyler and Fenix would've burned the roast, and Aria wouldn't let me use the Phoenix Crystal!" Finn exclaimed. "It was pretty tasty though." Junko said. Aria and Riggorix face palmed themselves. Piper just sighed. "Okay. We'll just have to expose this crystal to direct sunlight to recapture its charge." She said. "That's all? Well, let's catch that rock some rays and get out of here." Aerrow said. "Um, excuse me? They call it the Black Gorge for a reason." Stork said, unrolling his map. "There's only one place that sees direct sunlight here, but only for a few seconds, once a year, and it's at the far side of the gorge. That one tiny moment is just about…2 hours from right now." He explained. "2 hours? That's plenty of time for us." Aria said. "Let's not forget metal-eating Vulca Bats, enormous meat-eating plants, Living Tar, giant Snapping Eels, and worse of all, the vilest creature of the entire gorge, the Giant Poison-Tooth Spiny Gorge Sloths." Stork said. Mr. Cheepers got scared and scurried off. "You'll never make it. Better off living out the rest of our short lives in the wreckage of the Condor." Stork said.

Suddenly, something landed on the Condor. "Guessing that would be the Vulca Bats." Piper said. Then an entire colony of Vulca Bats flew towards the Condor. The Storm Hawks headed outside just as they started chewing on the Condor. "They're eating the Condor!" Junko called as he pulled one off. "Quickly! Use your elemental powers to fend them off!" Aerrow called, motioning his hands and blowing several bats away with a big gust of wind. Aria, Skyler and Sky blasted a few with their beams of mana, fire and water. Piper encased their wings in crystal, causing them to fall. Skyla tossed a giant mud ball at the bats, pushing them back. Junko and Riggorix tossed plasma blobs and metal balls at the bats as they either got covered in the plasma or flew after the metal balls. Radarr, Mimi and Fenix handled the ones on the deck. Radarr whooped them with his martial arts. Mimi spewed blobs of lava at them. Fenix scared the remaining ones with a loud roar. But more and more Vulca Bats kept on coming, eating away at the Condor's hull. "The Condor won't last much longer! We've got to get them off the hull!" Piper exclaimed. "Not to worry. Finn's got this all under control." Finn said, forming a ball of light in his hand. Then he tossed it at the bats and it exploded like a grenade, causing a huge burst of light and scaring the bats away.

"Great work, Finn. That should keep them off the Condor for a while." Aerrow said. Finn smiled proudly. "But they'll be back. Vulca Bats won't be able to resist something like the Condor." Piper said. "She's right. As soon as we leave, they'll come back and chew the Condor to its last hunk of metal." Skyla said. "Not to worry. I have a solution to that." Aerrow said. He held up the Heart of Atmos and it glowed, creating an energy barrier around the Condor. "That'll keep them off the Condor until we come back." Aerrow said. "We have less than 2 hours to go get this crystal charged up and back on the Condor." Piper said. "Well, that's great and all, but how are we gonna get there?" Riggorix asked. "There's Mr. Cheepers." Junko said, spotting Mr. Cheepers. He was pointing to a path. "Hey, I think he knows a way." Junko was about to follow, but Stork stopped him. "When we take this journey, and if we do, we will certainly die, the only path to follow is this map. The one person to escape the gorge fought Irreversible Gorge Madness to create this so any desperate soul will have a chance of survival. A slim chance." Stork explained. "I will accompany you on this mission to guide you as the expert on this mission." "You mean you're not gonna cower back to the Condor as usual?" Riggorix asked teasingly. "Not this time. Let's just say after Lavender joined us after the debacle on Terra Merbia, I've actually learned to become a more dependent member of this team." Stork said. "Glad to hear it, buddy." Aerrow said. "But take a long look at the person next to you. Just in case there is the unlikely chance that they might not be…coming back." Stork said. And then they headed on their journey into the Black Gorge. Fenix stayed behind to keep an eye on the Condor.

"Ahead is Meat Trap Marsh, the first of the ever-increasing gorge horrors that all lead to the Giant Poison-Tooth Spiny Gorge Sloths and our inevitable demise." Stork explained. Meanwhile, Radarr and Mimi kept their eyes on Mr. Cheepers, who tried to show them a friendly smile. Soon enough, the team reached the marsh, but no signs of any Meat-Eating Plants. Mr. Cheepers tried to tell them not to continue. "Ah, this doesn't look so bad." Finn said, walking ahead. But then he fell into the marsh. "Okay, it's bad." He admitted. As Riggorix and Judy reached in and pulled him out, Mr. Cheepers gestured over to a nearby cave. "I think maybe Mr. Cheepers is trying to tell us something." Junko said. "But what is he saying, Junko?" Judy asked. "Maybe he knows a shortcut." Junko said. "There are no shortcuts. Straying from this map means certain doom at the hands of the Giant Spiny Gorge Sloths!" Stork exclaimed, not noticing something moving behind the team. "Unless, of course, that's what you want." "No, thank you." Junko said.

Mr. Cheepers tried chittering to Junko about something behind him. "It's okay, Mr. Cheepers. Stork knows what he's doing." Junko said. But suddenly, something snapped at him. The team turned to see a giant Meat Trap Plant, making them scream. "What's happening?!" Finn asked as more started blooming around the path. "How are we gonna get past these things?!" Lavender exclaimed. "I got this!" Skyler called. He used his fire powers to blast the Meat Traps, causing them great harm. "Now quick! Across the marsh!" He called. Everyone hustled across the marsh, hopping across the rocks in the marsh. After everyone got safely across, Mr. Cheepers emerged from another cave. "You made it, Mr. Cheepers." Junko said as he picked up Mr. Cheepers and caressed his fur, making him purr. "Nice work fending off those plants, bro." Skyla said. "What's next?" Aerrow asked. "Let's see. Living Tar, cave of Eels, treacherous terrain, and then Irreversible Gorge Madness." Stork said, looking at the map. "Irreversible Madness? Bring it on!" Judy exclaimed. "Yeah, we're ready for anything." Lavender said.

Later, once the team got to the tar pool, they gasped as it actually took the form of a living monster. "Split up!" Piper called. Everyone split up, but Aerrow stood his ground. "Aerrow, what're you doing?!" Aria exclaimed. "I know how to beat this monster." Aerrow said. Then the Tar Monster lunged for him and ate him. "AERROW!" The team cried. The Tar Monster rubbed its belly from eating something so delicious. But suddenly, it felt its stomach rumbling. Then its entire body started expanding and expanding until finally, it exploded, leaving bits of tar blobs all over the place. And then Aerrow landed safely back on the ground. "Aerrow! You're alright!" Radarr cried in relief. "How'd you do that?" Aria asked. "Simple. When tar bubbles fill up with too much air, they burst. So, I used my air powers to fill up that monster until it finally exploded." Aerrow explained. "That was completely reckless of you, Aerrow!" Piper snapped. But then she hugged Aerrow. "But I'm glad you're still alive." "Yes, but that was a clever plan, Aerrow. It will take time for the Tar Monster to rematerialize. We better continue." Stork said.

Later, they moved on to the lake of the Giant Snapping Eels. Mr. Cheepers tried to get them to go down the tunnel on the left. But Stork strictly decided on following the map. So, while the team went down the right path, Mr. Cheepers went down the left one. Once they got to the lake, Stork noticed that there was a bridge for them to cross. As he started onto the bridge, the others were a bit uncertain. But after shrugging it off, they followed. But just then, Lavender sensed something behind her. She turned and saw…the head of a Snapping Eel. Realizing that they were standing on its body, she screamed and ran. "RUN!" She cried, making the team turn to see the eel's head. The others made it safely to the other side, but the eel snagged Lavender and started bouncing her on its tail, preparing to eat her. "Hey! Get your slimy tail OFF MY GIRL!" Stork shouted, unleashing a lightning bolt and shocking the eel, thus, lost consciousness in the process. He caught Lavender in his arms and continued on.

Meanwhile, Fenix just watched as the Vulca Bats returned to the Condor. But they couldn't get through the barrier that the Heart put around it. As soon as they collided it, they got electrocuted. Fenix just chuckled before deciding to take a nap.

Meanwhile, the Storm Hawks were taking a break from all the excitement. Just then, Mr. Cheepers reappeared in front of them, waving at them. "Mr. Cheepers!" Junko cheered. "It's me! I'm too weak! I can't face off against even a tiny Gleep!" Judy exclaimed mentally. "Ugh! My head! What's happening?! I can't think straight!" Lavender exclaimed, grasping her head. "What's gotten into your girlfriends?" Aerrow asked. "Let's see. Darting eyes, shortage of breath, paranoia to inanimate objects." Stork diagnosed. "Get out of my HEAD, ROCK!" Lavender shouted, tossing a rock and hitting Judy in the head. Judy fell down from believing the rock knock her down. "The sure sign of Gorge Madness." Stork said with worry. "How much more does the map has left?" Aerrow asked. Stork unrolled the map, revealing it to be quite long, much to Aerrow's disbelief. "Oh, that's just perfect!" Riggorix growled. "Maybe we can take one of Mr. Cheepers' shortcuts. He keeps going off the map and he hasn't even broken a sweat." Junko said. "A SHORTCUT?! Shortcuts are a sure path to doom! It's why we're here in the first place! Remember?!" Stork snapped. Mr. Cheepers was excitedly pointing to a cave on the right. "I'm sorry, Stork, but we're out of time. If sunlight won't return for a whole year." Aerrow said. "We can't wait that long. Especially with Cyclonis still at work." Aria said. "We have to at least try to follow Mr. Cheepers." Piper said. "Very well. We'll ignore the map. But I won't be responsible for the shocking, horrible consequences." Stork said. "You guys go on without us. We won't be of much help to you as we are. We're done for." Judy said sadly as Lavender squealed in pain, holding her head. "Yeah, not gonna happen, babe." Junko said as he picked up Judy. "We would never leave our ladies behind." Stork said, helping Lavender to her feet.

The team followed Mr. Cheepers down the tunnel. "See? We made it." Aerrow said. "Well, it appears that Mr. Cheepers was right. Sunlight Valley is just on the other side of that wall." Stork said. "We better hurry. The sun will be shining any minute." Piper said, holding up her crystal. Just then, Lavender started groaning harder as she grasped her head. "I'm so weak. I'm so weak. I'm so weak." Judy muttered repeatedly. "And I think it's fair to say that the rookies are getting worse. Let's go!" Piper called. "STOP!" Stork screamed, getting in front of Piper. "I get it now. It's a trap! He led us to the far side of the valley, the home of the Poison-Tooth Spiny Gorge Sloths! As much as I want to help Judy and Lavender, I can't let you pass! Behind this wall is a fate worse any you could possibly imagine! Worse than Meat Traps or Snapping Eels or Living Tar!" He exclaimed. Just then, the sun started peeking out. "Hide your eyes!" But Junko just moved Stork aside and the team ran towards the valley. When they got there, they came across a very interesting sight. Mr. Cheepers was accompanied by dozens of his species. "Well, will you look at that? Mr. Cheepers has friends! Lots of them!" Junko exclaimed. "Oh, well, never mind." Stork said. As the little creatures gathered around the team, Mr. Cheepers watched them with a wicked grin.

As much as she wanted to keep staring at the adorable little critters, Piper saw that the sun was shining through, giving her the chance to recharge her crystal. "I'll be right back with a fully charged crystal." She said as she ran towards the sun.

"This is great! Look at all the pets we can bring back to the Condor!" Junko exclaimed happily. "Whew! For a minute, I thought I was gonna lose it there like Judy and Lavender. At least your Giant Sloths were just a myth." Finn said. "Oh, doom, why have you forsaken me yet again?" Stork asked. As Lavender, seemingly free from her Gorge Madness, petted the little creatures, she noticed a couple of them shoving a littler one away. A runt of the litter she thought. "Hey! That wasn't nice!" She exclaimed. The littler one smiled at that, but the 2 others continued shoving him. "I said cut it out!" Lavender exclaimed, picking the littler one up. The other 2 hissed at her.

Radarr, however, just glared at the creatures until he turned to Mr. Cheepers, who put on a sinister chuckle. "Aerrow! Aerrow!" Radarr cried, leaping onto Aerrow. "Radarr, what's gotten into you?" Aerrow asked. "Stork was right! Mr. Cheepers led us into a trap!" Radarr exclaimed. "What? Are you sure, Radarr?" Aerrow asked. "Yes, I am!" Radarr exclaimed. Aerrow looked at Mr. Cheepers, who just gave an innocent wave. "Hmm." He took the Heart of Atmos from around his neck and held it out at the creatures. It glowed and then, all of a sudden, Mr. Cheepers and his friends started transforming. "What's happening?! Aerrow what did you do?!" Junko asked. Mr. Cheepers and his friends started to grow bigger, their fur got darker and spines grew out of their backs, making their appearances more monstrous. "Mr. Cheepers?" Junko asked in shock. "Wait a minute. Cheepers and his friends growing spines, dripping teeth, growing gigantic! SLOTHS!" Finn cried. "Well, what do you know? I was right after all." Stork said.

By then, Piper reached the edge of the path and held out the crystal just as the sun's ray hit the valley. As soon as it touched the crystal, the crystal began recharging. "It's working! It's capturing its charge!" She called. "Uh, that's good and all, Piper, but we should go!" Aerrow called. "Just another second! We don't have a full charge!" Piper called. "Maybe this will change your mind! Skylight Unite!" Aerrow called. The Heart of Atmos transformed them into the Skylight Guardians. "Hey! What's the idea?!" Piper asked in anger. She turned her head to see the Sloths walking towards her. "Oh. On second thought, that's enough." She ceased the recharging, flew over the Sloths and landed back to her friends. "Let's MOVE!" She cried.

The Skylight Guardians used their flight abilities to fly back the way they came. Junko and Stork carried Judy and Lavender since they weren't Skylight Guardians yet. But the Sloths chased after them. "Which way?" Junko asked. "The only way to live is to take the long way back. Trust me." Stork said. "Follow Stork!" Aerrow called. "They're gonna get us that way! I'm too weak!" Judy exclaimed as the team flew past the Snapping Eel as it tried to snap at them. "I don't wanna be weak!" Then the Eel turned to the Giant Sloths as they came up to the lake. Seeing that there was only one Eel, Mr. Cheepers pounded his fist, ready for a fight. But then the Eel screeched, calling its entire bed and making the Sloths whimper. The team looked back as the Eels started attacking the Sloths. "That's why they have a shortcut. The Giant Sloths don't like it here either." Aerrow said, seeing the Sloths go through their shortcut.

The gang continued to fly, but the Sloths caught up to them as they reached the Tar Monster's pool. Seeing the monster had rematerialized, Radarr got an idea. He leapt down and skidded to a stop, letting the Sloths pass over him. The Sloths looked back at him just as he blew them a raspberry, distracting them long enough for the Tar Monster to lunge at them. "Good job, Radarr! Now run!" Aerrow called. "Right behind you, Aerrow!" Radarr called as he started to run. But Mr. Cheepers managed to get free of the monster and glared. The runt, having transformed as well, watched his alpha chased after the Skylight Guardians. He had enough of being the runt.

The team were halfway to Meat Trap Marsh. "Oh, he's done for! Cheepers will never get past the Meat Traps!" Judy exclaimed with her mental illness. But when they got to the marsh, the Meat Traps were nowhere to be found. "Where are they?" Finn asked. "They must be dormant. Plants go into dormant sleep before blooming." Skyla said. The Skylight Guardians saw this chance and flew over the marsh. But suddenly, Mr. Cheepers got in front of them and blocked them from the exit. "Don't you remember me, Mr. Cheepers?! I cared for you! You were my friend!" Junko exclaimed. Mr. Cheepers sniffed as he looked into the eyes of the hopeful, pleading Wallop. But he shrugged it off and prepared to eat him. "Mr. Cheepers! NO!" Junko cried. But just then, the runt blocked Mr. Cheepers from eating Junko. "It's the little runt! I met him earlier in the valley!" Lavender exclaimed. Mr. Cheepers snarled at the runt, telling him to get out of the way. But the runt, noticing a Meat Trap emerging behind Mr. Cheepers, snarled and swatted his alpha with his huge paw, sending him flying into the Meat Trap's mouth. "Oh yeah?! Well, you were a lousy pet, Mr. Cheepers!" Junko exclaimed as he watched his former pet get eaten. "Well, what do you know? A Giant Sloth just saved our lives." Stork said in shock as the runt walked up to him. "I…I don't know what to say. Thank you." He said as he rubbed the runt's head. The runt purred as he did this. "Aw! Storky's made a new friend!" Lavender exclaimed. "Come on, guys! Fenix and the Condor are waiting!" Aerrow called. The team and the runt hurried back to the Condor.

Meanwhile, just as Fenix woke up from her nap, the Vulca Bats continued to try and get through the barrier, but they kept on getting shocked the second they touched it. "Fenix!" Aerrow called. Fenix turned to see the Skylight Guardians flying in with the runt following close behind them. "Alright! Time to lower the barrier." Aerrow said as he held out the Heart and dissolved the barrier. The Vulca Bats saw their chance to get at the hull. "Oh no, you don't!" Finn shouted, tossing another light ball at the bats and scaring them off when it exploded. But just then, as the Skylight Guardians landed, Piper tripped over a skull, causing her to let go of the Solaris Crystal. "NO!" She cried. Luckily, the runt saw this happen and quickly caught the crystal before it fell into the abyss below. Everyone quickly got onboard the Condor just as Stork closed up the hatch. After transforming back, Piper harmonized the crystal to recharge the Condor. But as it started taking off, Stork couldn't steer it. "No steering. That's gonna be bad." He said. "And we've got bigger problems. Those bats are coming back!" Riggorix exclaimed as he and Sky spotted more Vulca Bats coming towards them. But Stork managed to regain the steering and steered the Condor out of the Black Gorge. The bats turned back due to the sunlight, making everyone sigh in relief.

"And the giant plants wanted to get me too! I'm just too weak to be on this team!" Judy cried. "Exactly how irreversible is this Gorge Madness?" Aerrow asked. "Well, it could be more of a 24-hour thing, give or take a couple years. But I'm sure Judy and Lavender will pull through by tomorrow." Stork assured. Just then, Piper and Skyla surprised Stork by pulling him into a hug. "You know, if it wasn't for your obsessive paranoia, Stork, we'd all be just another legend of the Black Gorge." Piper said. "She's right. You really came through today, Stork." Skyla said. "Uh, question. What do we do about him?" Mimi asked, gesturing to the runt. "Sid's gonna be sticking around." Stork said. "Excuse me. Sid?" Aerrow asked. "That's what I named him. It's not every day a Merb conquers his fears and gets a pet out of it." Stork said. "But what're we gonna do about his beast form?" Skyler asked. "I think I have an idea for that." Aerrow said. Then he held up the Heart as it glowed. Sid shrunk back down to his cute form. "Now you'll be able to control your forms, little guy." Aerrow said. "Thank you." Sid said, gasping at his first word. "I said my first word!" "Darn right. The Heart can give you quite the voice, my new little friend." Fenix said. "I'm very happy to have a wonderful new family." Sid said. "And what we need now after so much darkness is a little sunshine. Anyone know a shortcut to Terra Ray?" Aerrow asked. "Hmm. I think I know just the one." Stork said.

Wow! Wasn't that something? The Storm Hawks crash land in the Black Gorge after it drained its crystal powered engine. So, Stork led the team across the gorge to Sunlight Valley to recharge Piper's Solaris Crystal. Despite the many dangers along the way, the Storm Hawks managed to achieve their goal and escape the Black Gorge with a new pet and friend, Sid, the runt of the Poison-Tooth Spiny Gorge Sloths. What other troubles will the Storm Hawks get into? Leave a review if you want.