DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters, locations, equipment etc used in this story, it exists purely because I want it to

WARNING: This Story contain themes of violence, torture, segregation, slavery and death (not necessarily in that order). Graphic content has been kept to a minimum to avoid M rating, even so, viewer discretion is advised

WARNING, INCOMING INDEPENDENCE DAY REFERENCE!

(Stormhawk fan SHhype flies in piloting a F/A-18 Fighter jet) HELLO ALL, I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAACK!

(high quality explosion)

Whew, this one took WAY longer than I was expecting it too, then again, I am now on night shifts at work which is a PAIN for writing. Still, chapter done and I've left this hanging for long enough, so lets not waste any more time

The only thing I want to say about this chapter, is we're heading back into darker territory, at least darker compared to last chapter... as for the rest... I want to save that for you guys to discover for yourselves, enjoy ; )

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Dear Readers all, welcome back to... The Storm and the Hawk

P.s. I'm placing the Kestrel Class Cruiser, as the equivalent to modern day Ticonderoga-class Cruisers, with a crew compliment of around 30 officers and 300 enlisted

Chapter 13: Tritonn of the Neck Deeps

Terra Mesa

Azula and Zuko landed on Terra Mesa sometime in the evening, and immediately made their way to the Authority centre. The receptionist looked up as they came in, her eyes widening as she took in their appearance

"Yes, can I help you?" she asked, with only a slight tremor to her voice

"We're looking for the man in charge," Azula replied

"Really, and who might you two be," said a gruff voice off to the side. Azula, Zuko and the receptionist glanced off to the side to see a man in his mid forties emerge from the door behind the reception desk. He wore a crisp grey ALF uniform, and had two silver eagles pinned to the shoulders of his uniform, marking him as a Colonel

"Colonel O'Neil, sir," the receptionist said quickly, O'Neil simply raised his hand

"It's alright Barbara, you get back to work, I'll handle this," the receptionist nodded, and returned to work, as Azula and Zuko turned to the Colonel. "I'll ask one more time, who are you and what do you want?"

Azula put on her best diplomatic face, "I' am Azula, this is my brother Zuko, we're agents for the Senate, we've been tracking a group of dissidents that may have passed through here recently."

O'Neil examined the two of them closely, before sighing and opening the gate in the barrier that separated them. "Come with me, we'll talk in my office," he replied

The three of them walked through the main floor of the authority centre, where a multitude of officers were dealing with the various civil problems of keeping a Terra orderly and peaceful. They attracted a few looks as they passed, but for the most part were ignored, the occupants of the room too focused on their work to worry about who their commanding officer was escorting. Then they reached a large office at the back, O'Neil ushered them in, before following and closing the door behind him. He sat down at his desk, and indicated the seats in front of it for the two of them, strangely, only Azula sat, while Zuko stood behind and a little to the side. O'Neil raised an eyebrow at this, but didn't question it, then he focused on Azula

"You're 'dissidents' caused quite the mess here just yesterday, in one of the scrap dealers not far from here," O'Neil began

Azula looked at him quizzically, "I haven't even told you who they are yet, are you sure it was them?"

O'Neil gave a small chuckle, "Lady, it doesn't take a genius to know that you're after the kids whose faces are currently plastered all over the core Terra's, the timing is too coincidental, particularly with that reward."

Azula had to give him that one, "Seems we've been rumbled brother," she said, a joking smile on her face, then she turned serious, "And they slipped in right under your nose, before getting away?"

O'Neil shrugged, "I don't know how they got onto the Terra, I asked all my men yesterday if they'd noticed anyone suspicious or strange in the last week, and that included the perimeter patrols."

"And?"

"They all said they hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary, only one man saw anything suspicious, and that was a couple days ago," O'Neil answered

Azula simple gestured for him to continue, "He was patrolling the docks at the time, said he saw someone shady checking out some of the ships down there, but he lost sight of them before he could catch them up."

"Where did he see this individual?" Azula asked, "Specifically."

"He said he lost them around the location of the Claw, that over glorified skimmer platform Repton and his boys use... but we've already sorted that mess," O'Neil stated. At Azula's raised eyebrow, he elaborated, "Apparently, the figure my man saw was one of those kids, and they stole something from the Claw. Repton and his boys tracked them down, and they ended up fighting in that dealer I mentioned, in the confusion, the kids managed to escape aboard their ship, even stole some skimmers from the dealer while they were at it."

Azula leaned back, letting out an exasperated sigh, "Did you at least see the direction they were headed?"

O'Neil nodded, "We've got that on record, I'll have the report brought to you, in the meantime, I'd like to note that we increased security after the incident, and tightened the patrols, just in case they came back."

Azula nodded, "Good, very good," she sat forward again, looking directly into O'Neil's eyes, "We'd also like to speak with the man who reported the suspicious activity down on the docks, the owner of the dealer, and Repton himself."

"My man and the dealer I can do, though you probably won't be able to talk to the latter till tomorrow considering the time... Repton on the other hand is more difficult," O'Neil answered

"Why?" Zuko asked, the first word he'd said since they'd met O'Neil

"He's not currently on the Terra, last anyone saw of him and his boys, they'd hopped on their skimmers and gone scouring all the nearby sub-Terras for any sign of their quarry," O'Neil explained

Azula waved a hand, "So be it, just let us know the moment he's back." O'Neil nodded as Azula continued, "For now, we'll talk with the soldier from the docks, and then we'd like you to bring the Peregrines here please."

Now O'Neil started, "The Peregrines, why do you want to speak to them?"

"We have questions, regarding their daughter," Azula answered cryptically

O'Neil shook his head, "I can't believe Piper is mixed up in all this, she was such a sweet girl... I knew her you know, personally, I'm a friend of the family, it's tearing her parents up, not knowing what's happening... not knowing whether their daughter is complicit in all this... or is being coerced somehow."

Azula inwardly smiled, "I'm afraid she is complicit Colonel."

O'Neil's head snapped up at that, staring Azula in the eye, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Azula sat back, adopting a sorrowful look, "My Brother and I found the wrecks of three ALF cruisers five days ago, from the black boxes we were able to recover, they had cornered the group of dissidents that Piper has fallen in with."

O'Neil's face had transformed to one of abject horror, "Three cruisers... how did they bring down three cruisers?"

Azula looked up here and met his eye, her face a mask of fear, "They used the 'Binding'."

All of the colour drained from O'Neil's face, he might not be capable of crystal magecraft himself, but as a military officer, he had to know the specifics of it. One of which, was that both parties involved in a 'Binding', needed to be willing

Azula continued as O'Neil just stared ahead in shock, "From what we were able to piece together, Piper and one of the dangerous youths that she helped free, used Firebolt crystals to power up. We're not sure which one bound the energy and which one actually used it, but we do know from our intelligence, that they are the only crystal mages aboard that ship of theirs, so it had to be them."

O'Neil leaned forward on his desk, his head in his hands, when he spoke; his voice was barely a whisper, "How many?"

"They were Kestrel class cruisers, full crew compliments, all hands lost, for each," Azula replied

O'Neil gritted his teeth, Why Piper, why do this, what madness could have compelled you to this, to work with Cyclonians, to kill for them?

As these thoughts tormented O'Neil, Azula sat back, admiring her handiwork. They couldn't afford to kill anyone on the Terra, it would raise too many questions, but blaming the destruction of three ALF cruisers and the death of their crews on their quarry, would not only draw suspicion away from herself and her brother, but would also aid their mission. The more pressure their quarry was under, the faster they would try to find the resistance, and the sooner their master's plan would come to fruition

Finally, O'Neil sat back up, and Azula made sure to craft her expression into one of remorse once again. "I'll see to your requests immediately," he said, before standing, and heading for the door, which he opened for them. Nodding, Azula stood and walked out, Zuko following

As they made their way back through the room towards the reception, Azula spoke, "I think it is time we gave Master Long Feng a progress report." Zuko did not argue, instead following silently behind

Unnamed Terra, somewhere on the outer edge of the core Terras, the next day

Starling growled with frustration as she glared at the screen in front of her. The file that held the map was heavily encrypted; Grandmother had certainly decided that caution was paramount after what had happened nine years ago. Unfortunately, this meant Starling was on the verge of trying to tear her hair out in her attempts to decipher the code and open the map, giving them the location of the Cyclonian resistance

"How's it going?"

Starling glanced behind her, to see Aerrow standing over her shoulder, staring at the screen himself, Radarr perched on his good shoulder, while the other showed a bulge under the jumpsuit where his bandages were. The little guy now wore his own little jumpsuit, which Piper had made herself from some spare material they'd had lying around the ship, he was decked out in a blue shirt and shorts, with some cloth wraps around his wrists and ankles, and a small backpack in which he kept a variety of objects

Starling turned back to glare at the screen, "It's not, Grandmother has gone and changed a lot of the ciphers we used, so now I'm having to work it out from scratch... still, can't blame her for being cautious."

Aerrow leaned himself against the side of the console where Starling was working, "You need a hand?"

Starling shook her head, "No thanks, wouldn't do much good anyway, unless they started teaching code breaking in the Atmosian curriculum when I wasn't looking?"

Aerrow gained a sheepish look there, "Okay, fair point, still, you look like you could use a break, Piper and Lark are getting lunch ready if you're interested?"

Starling was about to refuse, when her stomach suddenly growled at the mention of food, reminding her she'd skipped breakfast today. "Actually, that sounds like a great idea," Aerrow smiled at that as she stood and they made their way to the kitchen

"I still don't get how you can eat all of that and still be hungry Junko," Lark exclaimed as Junko polished off yet another serving of the casserole she and Piper had made, and was now holding out his plate for another

"What can I say, I like my grub," Junko chuckled

That got a laugh from everyone, before Dove turned to a morose Starling, "Still no luck with the map?"

Starling sighed despondently, "I've got some of the more basic codes cracked, which means I have partial access to the file, but I can't get past the others, its driving me up the wall."

"I thought you said you knew all the codes that the resistance used?" Lark questioned

"Yeah, nine years ago, it looks like Grandmother has gone and changed most of them during that time," Starling answered, stabbing her casserole angrily

"Great, so now what?" Finn asked, his empty plate in front of him, as he cleaned his crossbow

"Well we have some agents of Long Feng on our tail, as well as a band of Raptor bounty hunters who currently want to mount our heads on their rides. We have no way to find or contact the resistance, and ALF ships are combing the Atmos looking for us... does that about sum it up," Stork replied deadpan. Everyone turned and gave him a 'really' look, before he continued, "Oh that's right, I almost forgot, our engines are also running on substandard parts and could give out on us at any time."

"Stork, not helping," Piper chided

"He has a point though, what are we going to do?" Aerrow asked

Starling sighed and turned to Junko, "How's work on those engine parts coming?"

Junko finished off his current serving of casserole before answering, "We're getting there, luckily all our designs were already uploaded to the ship's mainframe, all we need is some specialist materials and we're good."

"That's something at least," Starling sighed, "As for locating the resistance, we're just going to have to keep at it, and keep moving further away from Atmosia. The further we get, the more likely it is we'll run into another team, who can either escort us back, or their leader can give us the new ciphers, either way works."

"What about cracking it on our own, in case we don't find anyone?" Piper asked

Starling sat back, casserole abandoned, "We'll need a code breaker, I can't crack the new ciphers without one, problem is, the Senate outlawed them years ago, and had ALF gather up any they could find and destroy them." Seeing Junko's hungry gaze locked on her half eaten casserole, Starling pushed it towards him, he eagerly snatched it up

"Well good luck with that then, what are the chances of us finding one," Lark said, as she finished her own plate

Aerrow frowned for a moment, before glancing to Radarr, "Heh buddy, could you go grab the Terra map?" Radarr nodded, and shot off instantly

"Aerrow?" Piper asked, confused

Aerrow didn't respond, waiting for Radarr to come back, a few moments later, Radarr came running back in, map clutched in one hand. "Thanks buddy," Aerrow said, as he cleared some space on the table, before laying the map out, staring hard at it

"You got something Aerrow?" Starling asked, leaning forward, interested

"Maybe, I remember Dad once saying that all Skyknight squadrons were outfitted with code breakers, to better gather intelligence on Cyclonian operations during the war," Aerrow said

"How does that help us?" Dove asked

"Yea man, those things have gotta be about three decades old now, would they even still work?" Finn added

"Any Skyknight squadron worth their salt would have kept their code breaker up to date, even after the war," Piper stated

Aerrow nodded, "And not all Skyknight squadrons agreed with the Senate, so some may have kept their code breakers, hiding them."

Starling's eyes widened as she realised where Aerrow was going with this, "Your suggesting we steal from a Skyknight squadron?"

"If I'm right, we may not have to," Aerrow replied, scanning the map, "Last I heard, there was an old Skyknight base not far from here."

"Where?" Lark asked

Aerrow suddenly smiled, as he found what he was looking for, "Right there," he declared, pointing at a particular Terra on the map

"Terra Aquanos?" Junko said, confused

Aerrow nodded, "Home of the now defunct Neck Deeps, the squadron was disbanded years ago, but their base might still be there, perhaps with a code breaker inside."

Starling stared at the Terra as well, it was right on the edge of the Core Terras, and was also a main shipping port between the core and outer Terras. "It's going to have a heavy ALF defence compliment, and there isn't much cover to hide an approach, we'd have a hard time reaching the Terra undetected," she said

"True," Piper agreed, "But we don't have to go there directly."

All eyes turned to her now, but it was Finn, who spoke next, "That's right; freighters go in and out of Aquanos all the time."

"My point precisely Finn," Piper said smiling, "We could land on a smaller, less heavily defended Terra. Stork and Junko could remain behind with the Condor to protect it, and continue work on the engines, having them in reserve could also help if we need a quick getaway. In the meantime, the rest of us sneak into the nearest settlement and get passage aboard a freighter bound for Aquanos. Once we reach Aquanos we search for the base, and once we're done, we just hop on a freighter straight back where we came from."

Starling sat back in thought for a moment, "It's risky, but then again, so is everything else we've done so far, and if the old Neck Deep's base does have a code breaker, it would definitely be worth it... the only problem..."

"Customs control," Lark finished as Starling trailed off

Starling nodded, "Wouldn't be so much of a problem on the smaller Terra, security is more lax on the smaller ones... but a big Terra like Aquanos, and a major shipping port at that, security will be almost air tight, one look at our faces and its game over."

"Does anyone have any other ideas?" Aerrow asked

At the answering silence, Starling made her decision, "Alright, let's do this, it's worth a shot, and if things do go south, we'll call for extraction." Junko and Stork nodded at the last part, then Piper spoke up

"I do think we have some Chroma Crystals that Lark and I managed to snag back on Mesa, they're not full proof disguises but they should be enough to fool ALF foot soldiers."

Starling nodded, "Stork, plot a course to the nearest Terra with a shipping port to Aquanos; let's go get us a code breaker."

"Aye aye Commander."

Terra Atmosia

Long Feng was enjoying lunch, when his phone began ringing, he checked the number before answering, "Report."

"We're currently on Terra Mesa following the Condor's trail, we've posed as Senate agents to the local security forces and we'll be gathering information before moving on, additionally there's a bounty hunter in the area we'd like to have a word with before we leave," came Azula's voice on the other end

"Have they made it back to the resistance yet?" Long Feng asked as he took another bite of his foie gras

"Not yet, but they did pick up supplies from a downed Cyclonian transport not long after leaving Atmosia. From what we were able to recover from the ship's computer, it seems said transport was part of a larger force that the Condor intended to rendezvous with, that plan was scuppered however by Murk Raiders chasing the bounty the Senate put out."

Long Feng took a long, shuddering breath, so close, they'd been so close, damm the Senate. "Fine, just continue following them for now, see if you can apply some extra pressure. I highly doubt Starling has figured the game out yet, even if their aware of you, they'll probably believe you're out to capture them, use that."

"Understood, we'll continue the pursuit then," Azula answered, "We'll report in when we have some more pertinent information."

"Very good," Long Feng stated, before hanging up, and staring at the young man sitting across from him. Ace's face was gaunt and haunted, staring at the plate of food in front of him, "You should eat, Subject A, you need to keep your strength up after all," as Long Feng spoke, he took another bite of his meal

Ace just stared, his eyes unseeing, "It's poisoned," he said robotically

Long Feng smirked, "If I wanted to kill you, you'd have been dead days ago," he took a sip of wine as he finished speaking, never taking his eyes off Ace. This was the most dangerous part of the indoctrination process, Ace was unshackled and they were alone, if Long Feng wasn't careful, Ace would kill him. "You must eat Subject A, all beings must eat," as Long Feng spoke, he saw Ace's tongue dart out to wet his lips, and heard a low growl from his stomach. The key to this little exercise, was tricking the subject's mind into thinking that Long Feng was its sole provider of sustenance. Once that mindset had been established, the subject would become like a well trained dog, refusing to bite the hand that feeds it. The moment Ace accepted the plate of food in front of him, the food Long Feng had placed there, the first step would be complete

Slowly, reluctantly, Ace reached out for the food. Long Feng watched with tense anticipation, his eyes never once leaving his new subject. So it was something of a surprise for Long Feng when he suddenly found himself, pinned against the wall of the cell, a knife to his throat. As he stared into Ace's dark red eyes, he saw a feral fury in them, an anger and rage that burned bright and hot, oh yes, this one had great potential

"Now now Subject A, there's no need for violence here," Long Feng said calmly, "Put down the knife and release me."

Ace's limbs trembled, Long Feng saw him fighting against the indoctrination through his eyes, Ace wanted to hurt him, not just because he was part of the resistance, but also an actual desire for violence. "I do believe I gave you an order, Subject A. Let. Me. Go!"

That did it, Ace released Long Feng, stepping back, the knife clattering to the floor. As the metallic noise echoed through the room, the cell door opened, admitting two ALF guards. "Seems you need some more time," Long Feng said as the guards began clearing the table, taking away Ace's untouched plate of food. "That's fine, until Starling makes it back to the resistance with Subject C, I have all the time in the world."

With that, Long Feng strode from the room, leaving Ace standing there. Shortly after the door closed, Ace began to scream and roar, with rage, anger and frustration, picking up the chair Long Feng had been sitting in, and smashing it repeatedly against the section of wall where he'd been pinning Long Feng. Long Feng listened to the racket as he walked down the corridor

Almost, he's almost there, just a little more, and he's mine

Terra Mesa

Azula was reading the reports that Colonel O'Neil had sent her from his men; they were all standard reports, nothing out of the ordinary. The one that truly interested her, was the one concerning the altercation at the dealer. After the incident with the cruisers, Azula had expected Subject C to be more liberal with her powers, and for the group she was with to use them to get what they wanted. That however, did not seem to be the case, indeed, rather than using the demigod that was now in their possession, all indications seemed to be they were treating her as a normal human being, and trying to get her to act as such. Azula scoffed at the idea, Subject C was as human as her brother now was, nothing but a tool, a weapon, and the sooner Starling realised that, the easier this would be for her

Azula was pulled from her musings by the door opening, through it walked O'Neil, and the owner of the dealer in question. "Thank you Colonel, that will be all," Azula said, sitting up and placing the report to one side. The Colonel saluted, before marching out, once he was gone, Azula turned to the rather nervous looking dealer

"I-I didn't do anything wrong, i-if anything, I'm the victim here," he stammered, his forehead coated in a sheen of sweat

Azula raised a hand, "I just have some follow up questions my good man, then you're free to go."

The dealer licked his lips, glancing nervously at Zuko, who as always, stood attendant at Azula's shoulder, but nodded all the same. "Good, first off, did nothing about the group who visited your place of business on the day in question strike you as, off?"

"Only that they were wearing hoods, but I get customers like that sometimes, people who don't want to be recognised for various reasons," the man replied

"How about the fact they're mostly children?"

The man shrugged here, "Honestly, if they've got the cash, and know how to use the equipment I sell, I don't much care about their age. They all seemed well versed so I didn't see a problem."

Azula sat back in thought for a moment, then slid a photograph of a hooded Subject C towards the man. "You recognise her?"

The man nodded, "Yes, she and another girl stole crystal mage staffs."

"Did she at any point use her abilities, beyond what's been described in the reports?"

The man shook his head, "Not that I could see, just those concussive blasts that sent the Raptors flying... I did think I saw some sparks ignite around her hands though, just before the fight, but it was a split second, probably just my imagination."

Azula sighed, this man knew nothing, which was both a relief, and an annoyance. A relief because it meant they wouldn't have to buy his silence, and an annoyance because it did not help their mission. "Thank you, that will be all," Azula said, waving the man to the door. The man in question got up, his face a picture of relief, and quickly left. Only once he was gone, did Azula speak, "Seems we wasted our time here brother, their lead is getting better on us by the minute and no one here as any useful information."

"Haven't we learned a lot from this though, we know they're not utilising her powers for one," Zuko replied, tonelessly

Azula nodded, "True, but beyond that not much else, and the information will not be useful until we've caught up to them," she sighed despondently. She was just about to pack up, when the door opened again, this time admitting one of O'Neil's men

The man saluted as he entered the room, "Begging your pardon Ma'am, but Repton and his boys just got back, the Colonel is bringing Repton in as we speak, also the Peregrines are here."

Azula perked up at this, Repton would have more up to date information, and the Peregrines were a chance to learn more about the unique variable in their Master's plans, namely, Piper Peregrine. "Bring Repton here first, I'll speak to the Peregrines afterwards, but keep them comfortable, I imagine they've been through a lot this last week and a half."

"Yes Ma'am!" the soldier answered, saluting again, before marching out

"Perhaps this won't have been such a waste after all," Azula mumbled, as she got the files around her organised. She had just finished, when O'Neil returned, with two of his men dragging a cuffed and rather irate looking Repton through the door. The moment he saw Azula, he immediately stopped struggling, and his face gained a rictus of terror, he knew them then, or at least, he knew what they represented, good, that terror would loosen his forked tongue. "Please, have a seat," Azula said, smiling sweetly, but with venom coating her words, Azula hated bounty hunters almost as much as pirates

"N-now see here, those brats stole from me, I-I was only trying to recover what was mine, n-nothing more," Repton stammered, his eyes trembling in their sockets

"And so long as you cooperate, then you have nothing to fear, I imagine the cuffs and rough treatment on the Colonel's part was a direct result of you not cooperating?" Azula replied, with a quick glance in the Colonel's direction at the end, who just gave a small smirk as he leaned against the wall. Azula then turned back to Repton, "Besides, I'm not interested in what happened at the dealer, I already have more than enough information on that... what I wish to know is whether or not you managed to catch up to the aforementioned 'brats', and if you know where they are now?"

The change was instantaneous, one moment, Repton looked to be pissing himself with fear, the next, his spine hardened, that told Azula one thing. He did find them, and doesn't want to lose his bounty, just like Scabulous

"We swept the area, but didn't find anything, we returned to Mesa to refuel and to collect the Claw so we could widen our search," Repton replied, putting on his best poker face as he did

It wasn't quite good enough to fool Azula, "Oh really." She got up and walked around the table, standing over Repton. The Raptor gazed up at her, doing a good job of hiding the fear that was shimmering just behind his eyes. Azula then reached down, and plucked something from between the plates of his scales, and the leather armour he was wearing. It was a leaf

"What is this then, hmm?" she asked, examining it

"It's a leaf, what of it, me and my men were combing every nearby Terra for those brats, it's not exactly clean work," Repton growled, but behind it was a tremor that was easy to pick out

"Ah yes, but you see, it's been my experience that you only descend to a Terra, when you've found something of interest, otherwise, you stay in the sky, as it provides the best vantage point. Therefore, you did find something worthy enough of your interest to descend from the sky... so I'll ask again. Where did you last see them, and in what direction were they headed?"

Repton's forked tongue flicked out nervously, but he remained stubbornly silent. Azula sighed, "You try my patience Raptor," she said, and snapped her fingers. Instantly, Zuko moved forward, and before the Colonel or his men could react, Zuko had slugged Repton. Azula held up a hand as the Colonel and his men took a step, stopping them while also ordering Zuko to wait. Repton meanwhile shook his head groggily, blood already trickling from his mouth. "We can do this all day if you wish Raptor, or you can tell me what I want to know," Azula stated

Repton coughed, before looking up at Azula, his eyes no longer filled with fear, instead, burning with rage, "Burn in the wastelands, you bit-ARGH!" Repton's growl was cut off as Zuko slugged him again

"Agent Azula!" the Colonel exclaimed from behind her

She didn't even turn to face him as she replied, "Sometimes Colonel, a measure of force is required to draw out a confession, especially from scum like this one." Azula then stalked forward, and grabbed Repton's lower jaw in a vice like grip. "I will ask one more time, you're answer will determine your health for the foreseeable future... am I clear?"

Repton met her gaze, and as he did, some of the fear returned, as he gazed into the cold and emotionless pits that were Azula's eyes. Finally, his resolve broke, "Alright, alright, I'll tell you... we spotted them on a small Terra not far from here. When we got to them, we found they had somehow damaged their engines, because most of them had left to get parts for repairs. We attempted to take the ship, but the few left behind, ran rings round us, and managed to catapult us from the bridge using some sort of spring loaded trap. By the time we recovered, the others had returned and they had made the ship sky worthy again. Last we saw them, they were headed north, that's all I know I swear."

Azula smiled sweetly, "There, now was that so hard," she then turned to the Colonel, "You can release him, I'm done with him." The Colonel nodded, and his men un-cuffed Repton, and helped him to his feet, before guiding him to the door. Just as they reached it, Azula called out, "And Repton, I hope I do not need to impress on you the fact to keep any details you may have witnessed to yourself... unless you want my brother to come find you?"

Repton glanced between her and the expressionless Zuko, before gulping and nodding, "I understand," he replied

Azula smiled back, "Good." With that, she turned back to the reports as Repton was taken away. The moment the door closed, the Colonel was up in her face

"What in the wastelands was that!?" he demanded

"As I said, sometimes a show of force is required... your concern, while admirable, is unnecessary, I would not have killed him, perhaps put him the hospital for a few months, but he would have lived."

The Colonel grit his teeth, "What you did was borderline torture, what, were you going to declaw him next if he didn't talk?"

"Hmm," Azula mused, "That's not bad actually, Zuko, keep a note of it for next time."

Zuko merely nodded, while the Colonel stared at them incredulously, "Just who in the wastelands are you people?" he breathed

Azula sat back in her chair, staring at the man seriously, "Colonel, you're job is to keep people safe, my job is to extract information, by whatever means necessary. If you find that distasteful, then might I suggest you be absent for it?"

Colonel O'Neil stared at her, then at Zuko, who was now once again, standing at his sister's shoulder, completely ignoring the blood on his knuckles from where he'd punched Repton. At that point, O'Neil made a decision, to get these two off his Terra as quickly as possible, that meant giving them what they wanted, a lead on their quarry. As much as he hated the thought of sending these two after Piper, O'Neil currently had others to think about. "Will there be anything else Ma'am?"

"Send the Peregrines in, then I want you to locate the Terra where Repton had his run in with the fugitives, and plot they're mostly likely course on the heading they took," Azula replied, not looking up from the reports she was organising

O'Neil saluted, "Right away, Ma'am," he replied, before marching out. One way, or another, he was getting these two off his Terra

Terra Cordila, freighter port

"And you're sure you two can manage on your own, and bring in the Condor quickly if needed?" Starling asked

Junko waved a hand, "You've got nothing to worry about Starling, we got this."

"It'll certainly be easier to fix the Condor without destructive Crystal Mages and Lemur Rabbits on board," Stork said, while glowering at Lark and Radarr, both of whom gained sheepish looks

The others all chuckled at that as Starling replied, "Well okay then, still, if there are any problems, or you run into trouble, call us and we'll come running."

Junko and Stork both nodded, "Understood," Junko said, before gesturing towards the freighter that was preparing to leave, "Now go on, or you'll miss your flight."

"Junko's right, let's go," Finn said, slinging his crossbow over one shoulder and rushing towards the freighter. Piper had to admit, it looked odd seeing her childhood friend with brown hair, and he personally hated it, but the disguise was necessary for the mission to succeed. She herself now had red hair, while Aerrow was now a blond, Dove and Starling had switched colours, and Lark had also turned blond. Lark had actually gone the extra mile, seeing as it was her the Senate and Long Feng were after, by creating a cloaking crystal during their journey here. Not only was her hair blond, but it was also fashioned into two pigtails either side of her head, her skin wasn't as pale as it had been, and she also had freckles dusting her face. The girls had followed Lark's example and styled their hair a little differently to how they normally would. Piper had forgone her usual headband, letting her hair hang down around her head, rather than be held up. Starling had fashioned her's into a bun at the back of her head, while Dove had brushed her's all to one side of her head, rather than let it hang loose

The boys couldn't really do anything different with their hair, but there were other things. Partially due to his hatred of the colour, as well as a need to go unrecognised, Finn had donned a cap, while Aerrow now wore a head band of his own, to keep the fringe out of his eyes. The only one who didn't need a disguise was Radarr, seeing as the only ones who knew of him were Repton and his boys, and they rather doubted the little Lemur Rabbit would be a detail they'd remember enough to share. They quickly followed after Finn, presenting their tickets to the man at the gangplank, before lining up along the railing and waving back to Junko and Stork. Shortly after they boarded, the gangplank was raised up, and the freighter detached from the pontoon, rising into the sky, and making its way to Terra Aquanos, which they could see in the distance, surrounded by ALF cruisers

"Oh yea, their doomed," Stork said, as he and Junko waved back, earning him an elbow from Junko as he said it

Terra Mesa, Authority centre

The Peregrines were you're average Atmosian couple; there wasn't anything particularly special about them. Ren Peregrine worked in one of the administrative offices for one of the many mining guilds, while Cecilia Peregrine worked as a nurse at the local hospital. Or rather, they did, currently they were both on an extended leave of absence, in order to keep them out of the media's line of fire, and subsequently, the common people. While Mesa did not harbour a hatred for Cyclonians, per say, its people did have a poor view on anyone who disrupted the peace. The Cyclonian resistance had certainly fallen into that category, and now, so had Piper

Both parents had entered in quietly, Cecilia seemed to be clutching something, it looked to Azula to be a picture frame. As the Peregrines sat, she held out her hand. "May I?"

Off to the side, O'Neil kept a close watch on Azula. He wasn't about to let this agent harm the Peregrines, just because of their daughter. In the next room, he also had men questioning Repton, to figure out more exact coordinates for the Condor so he could get this woman and her brother off his Terra

Cecilia looked up at Azula, then down at the picture frame, before tentatively holding it out. Azula took the frame, and turned it around so she could see. It was a picture of Piper, probably from about five years ago, just before she left for the Academy. She was smiling with her parents, who stood either side of her, her Crystal Mage scholarship, held proudly in front of her. "She seems like a good kid, you must be very proud of her," Azula said, watching the Peregrine's reaction out the corner of her eye

Both of them flinched slightly, Cecilia sunk a little deeper into her chair, before Ren spoke. "We were... now... we don't know how to feel about all this."

Azula handed back the picture, which Cecilia took gratefully, "Really, then tell me, neither of you saw this coming from her?"

"No," Ren retorted, "She was a good, kind girl, honest, caring, she would never do something like this... the Cyclonians have to be behind this, I'm sure of it!"

"What makes you so sure?"

"Piper was our baby, we raised her, for ten years we raised her, cared for her. She was sweet, funny, had a big heart and always looked out for others. She would never agree to lie, cheat or steal or... or..." Cecilia trailed off as tears began running down her cheeks

"Kill," Zuko finished, causing the floodgates to open and Cecilia to break down

Ren turned to comfort his wife, but had tears of his own, threatening to spill, then he turned back to Azula as she spoke. "How can you be sure of that, you haven't seen her in five years?"

"She wrote, every week, and nothing in her letters suggested she'd changed in any way," Ren replied crisply

"Nothing?" Azula pressed

Ren went to open his mouth, then closed it as a thought crossed his mind, "The only thing I can think of, is that two years into her time at the Academy, she begins mentioning someone by the name of, 'Starling Swiftflight', that Cyclonian who lead the breakout, and now has our daughter."

"Do you think this, 'Swiftflight', might have somehow convinced Piper to join the Cyclonians?"

Ren immediately began shaking his head, "No, there was nothing at all to suggest she'd changed beyond mentioning that girl... besides... Piper has a big heart, she makes friends all the time... and while we were a little concerned about this friend being a Cyclonian, we knew Piper wouldn't offer her friendship without reason."

Azula frowned, "Had Piper ever displayed any signs of displeasure with the current administration, any indication that she disagreed with the Senate and its policies?"

"She was a sweet girl, with a big heart, she showed kindness and compassion to everyone she met," Cecilia sobbed

"She never expressed any, 'discontent', with the way the Senate did things, at least not openly, and certainly not to us. She did feel changes needed to be made however," Ren added

"Changes?"

"Yes, after meeting Starling, she began telling us in her letters how she was considering pursuing a career in law or politics. She believed everyone had a right to an equal say, even the Cyclonians," Ren explained

"I see, at least she was pursuing such change legally... so what do you think prompted her to change course?"

"We don't know, when we got the phone call from the Academy about what happened, we were shocked, stunned," Ren replied

"We went straight to the authorities to try and fix things," Cecilia said, before looking in O'Neil's direction, "Straight to our old friend."

Azula glanced at O'Neil out the corner of her eye, but said nothing of it. Then she turned back to them. "What about her abilities, did she update you on them?"

Ren nodded, "Yes, all the time, anytime she mastered something new, she'd write to us about it."

"What about... the 'Binding'?"

Both parents froze, which meant they knew what the binding was, but they hadn't heard it from Piper, if the looks of abject horror on their faces was any indication. "T-the, B-Binding," Cecilia stammered, her form trembling

Azula did now look in O'Neil's direction, "You didn't tell them?"

Ren's head snapped to the man "Tell us what!?"

"You're daughter performed a 'Binding', with another Crystal mage, on an unnamed Terra not far from here, which they used to destroy three ALF Kestrel Class Cruisers," Azula explained

"NO, NOT MY PIPER, SHE WOULD NEVER!" Cecilia screamed

"I'm sorry, but it's the truth."

Cecilia could take no more, and broke down into a hysterical sobbing fit, as Ren tried desperately to calm her down. O'Neil stood up straight, and marched over, "This has gone far enough Azula, they've been through enough without you adding to their pain."

"Their daughter is a traitor to the Republic, is cavorting with Cyclonians, our sworn enemy, and has already – at the very least – aided in the destruction of three ALF Cruisers, and extinguishing the lives of their crew."

At Azula's words, Cecilia let out another wail

"By all rights, when she is caught, she will be tried, most likely found guilty, and executed, along with the rest of the dissidents she is now running with."

A third wail accompanied the word 'executed'

"There is no way to sugar coat this, and the more information I have, the easier my job becomes in finding out who is guilty and who isn't," Azula finished

O'Neil gritted his teeth, before stepping back, cowed

Azula, then turned back to the Peregrines, a kindly smile gracing her face, "If what you've told me is true, then there's a chance I may be able to save Piper. Before I can do that however, I need information, anything and everything you can tell me about her, so that I can build a picture of what she must have been going through when she made this decision, and find out if she truly is acting out of her own free will or not."

Ren and Cecilia stared at her for a long moment, before Ren finally spoke. "You can save her?" he croaked. Azula simply nodded. Ren and Cecilia glanced at one another, and the moment Azula saw the look that passed between them, she knew she had them. She'd shown them the worst case scenario, while stating that it was the most likely scenario that would come true. And now, she'd just offered a way out... how could they possibly resist

O'Neil stomped out of the room as Ren and Cecilia gave Azula what she wanted. This whole situation felt wrong, he thought back to the bright eyed little girl who'd left this Terra, to go and learn at the most prestigious Academy in the Atmos. That image of Piper, just didn't fit in his head with what he was being told she'd become

It has been five years, a lot can change... but still... O'Neil's thoughts trailed off as he slumped against the wall. Then something caught his eye. It was Repton, in the next room with his men, hunched over a map, trying to find where Piper and her friends had gone. Repton was the last person to see them... Repton was the last person to see them... and live!

O'Neil burst into the room before the thought had even finished, and marched straight up to Repton. The raptor had heard him enter, and now stared nervously at him, as O'Neil got in his face. "Why are you alive Repton!?"

Repton frowned, confused, "I'm sorry?"

"So far, the news has reported that, everyone, Piper and her friends have come across has died, first Scabulous and his band of brigands, then three Kestrel Class Cruisers. But not you, why!?"

Repton's frown deepened, as he processed this information himself, then, slowly, realisation crept onto his scaled visage. Because O'Neil was correct, the kids had plenty of opportunities to kill him, but hadn't. "That- that doesn't make any sense," he breathed

"Exactly," O'Neil answered, "So here's what's going to happen, when you're done giving my men all the information that Agent Azula requested. You and your men, are going to investigate the Terra where she said the Cruisers were destroyed, and you will find out the truth."

Repton frowned again, "Oh, and what exactly is in it for me?"

"Do this, and not only will I wipe the slate, I will fully compensate you for everything those kids stole, in return however, you drop you're vendetta with them."

Repton barked a harsh laugh, "You must think I'm crazy old man, first off, if I worked for you, my credibility as a bounty hunter goes down the toilet, I'll be the laughing stock of every bounty hunter in the Atmos. Second, that state of affairs will be exasperated if I let those kids get away with what they did to me... so no deal."

O'Neil now gave Repton a dark smile, which instantly put the raptor on edge. "Fine then, we can always go back into Azula's room and tell her you haven't been entirely truthful with us?"

Repton's eyes widened in terror, before he got control and gave O'Neil a glare, "You're an evil man Jack."

Terra Aquanos, Freighter port

The Freighter port of Terra Aquanos was larger, busier, and more active than any trading port any of them had ever been too. Everywhere they looked, something was happening, people were rushing to and fro, security looked on, over it all. There were ALF troopers everywhere, they couldn't walk three metres without spotting a pair of them, and they were all on high alert as well

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," Piper whispered, as they passed yet another pair of troopers, who stared after their group, before turning to examine something else

"No turning back now, we're committed," Starling replied, as the seven of them neared the security stands, which they needed to pass through in order to exit the Freighter port. Each booth was manned by an ALF agent, and the entire area was watched by about a dozen troopers. And if that wasn't bad enough, a line of wanted posters hung above the booths, dead centre, with the freshest paper, were their own

"Oh come on, is that all I'm worth?" Finn hissed, as he saw the paltry bounty on his own poster

"You did, only join us after Terra Mesa," Lark noted

"Oui, and you haven't really done anything else to attract their attention yet, we're the ones who raided and fled a secret military facility," Dove added

"Hush up guys, remember, we need to be inconspicuous," Starling chided, as they were called forward to one of the booths

The woman sitting in the booth looked to be in her mid to late forties, had brown mouse coloured hair, and blue eyes. She was dressed in a typical grey ALF uniform, and had half rimmed spectacles balanced on her nose. She observed the group of teens as they approached, as did a pair of troopers behind her

"Good afternoon, where are you coming from?" the woman asked

"Terra Cordila," Starling answered, as she handed up the papers they'd gotten drawn up during their journey to Cordila

"Purpose of visit?"

"Here to see relatives, as well as maybe find some work," Starling answered with practiced ease, they'd gone over their cover story a dozen times by now

The woman examined them critically, "You're all related?" she asked, sceptically

Starling nodded, before grabbing Finn by putting her arm over his shoulders, "This lazy bones is my little brother." She then nodded to Lark and Aerrow, "Their cousins on our dad's side." Next was dove, "And she's our cousin on our mother's side."

The woman now looked to Piper, "And her?"

"Adopted," Piper replied with a smile

The woman blinked, taken aback for a moment, then, looked them over once more, before her eyes fell on Radarr, perched on Aerrow's shoulder. "And I take it that's your pet?"

"Yes ma'am," Aerrow answered, while Radarr, stood to attention, giving a crisp salute

The woman gave them one more examination, before turning her eyes to their papers. She then called over one of the security, and spoke quietly with him. Starling felt butterflies erupt in her stomach as she wondered if they'd been found out. The trooper glanced from the papers, to them, then to something hidden behind the desk. He then shook his head, while whispering something to the woman, who nodded in reply. As the trooper returned to his position, while speaking into his radio, the woman turned back to them, a broad smile on her face

"Sorry about that, with the group of dissidents that are currently running around, we have to be careful with any group of youths that come through," she said, while stamping their papers

"It's no problem at all," Starling replied, outwardly calm, but inwardly, heaving a sigh of relief

"Even so, thank you for your patience," she handed back their papers, "Enjoy Terra Aquanos."

"We will, thanks," Starling said, as they moved passed the desk, and towards the exit

All of them started to relax and laugh amongst themselves as they moved further away from the security checkpoint

"That felt, way too close," Lark chuckled

"I know right, I was ready to bolt when she called that trooper over," Aerrow agreed

"Well we made it, now let's go find that base, and then..." but Starling was interrupted as a man in a grey officer's uniform stepped in front of them

"Hello there, might I have a word?" he said, conversationally

Starling felt panic rise in her throat, she forced herself to remain calm, "I'm very sorry sir, but we don't have time, we're expected elsewhere and we've already been held up enough."

"It won't take but a moment," the officer said, as four troopers came and stood at his shoulders. So distracted by the sudden presence of the troopers, they failed to notice the officer pull a resonance crystal from his pocket. The moment Piper and Lark saw it, they knew they'd been rumbled but it was too late. The man activated the crystal, and a wave of energy swept through their group. It had no effect on the others, but for Lark and Piper, it caused an instant migraine as the Officer's own powers, crashed into theirs. "As I suspected, Crystal Mages," he suddenly pulled out a negation crystal, and activated that as well. This one did affect the others, as it instantly reversed the effects of the Chroma crystals, and disrupted Lark's cloaking crystal as well, causing her disguise to flicker

Starling was moving the moment she saw the negation crystal. In one smooth fluid movement, she had drawn her Nun-Chucks from their hiding place inside her sleeve, activated and swung them, into the officer's midsection, winding him, and sending him collapsing back onto the two troopers to the left. In the same instance, Aerrow and Finn had also acted. While unable to draw their weapons yet, they did manage to catch the two troopers on the right off guard. Aerrow hooked his foot, behind the leg of the closest trooper, while Finn, shoulder barged him, sending the poor trooper, tumbling into his comrade. All this, took only a few seconds, and the moment the last trooper hit the ground, Starling had grabbed hold of Lark and took off for the exit, "RUN!"

The others didn't need telling twice, Dove grabbed Piper, while Finn drew his crossbow, and Aerrow his swords, while staying hot on Starling's heels. Around them, the Freighter port had burst into pandemonium. People were running and screaming, trying to get away from the fighting and them, while ALF troopers fought their way through the crowds. Starling was actually grateful there were so many people around, the ALF troopers couldn't risk firing off a shot here, in case they hit a civilian. Once they were outside though, that was a different story, any clear space, was an invitation for ALF to begin shooting, they needed to get off the streets and fast. Starling took only a moment to survey their surroundings once they got outside, and made for the first alley she saw

As they got about halfway across the street, she heard a shout behind them, "On the ground!"

Around them, civilians began diving for the ground, Lark had noticed too, and whipped out a smooth white crystal, gripping it tightly. The shield enveloped them, just as the first shots rang out, flying across the street. Most went wide, as firing on the move was not very accurate, some hit home though, and dissipated across the shield. Starling was fairly certain she heard a chorus of swearing come from the troopers, before they dashed down the alley, and out of sight

The officer picked himself up with the aid of his men, "Status report!" he barked

"Dissidents escaped down an alley, three squads in pursuit sir," one of the troopers next to him replied

"Get those squads on comms, I want regular updates on the pursuit," the officer ordered

"Yes sir!"

"And lockdown the Terra, ground all outbound ships, and tighten the blockade, they're not leaving this Terra if I have anything to say about it!"

Starling, Aerrow, Finn, Dove, Piper, Lark and Radarr had been running for almost ten minutes, when Lark tripped up and collapsed to the ground with a cry

"Lark!" Starling exclaimed, quickly turning back to help her, Piper hot on her heels

"I'm fine," Lark growled through gritted teeth, "Scrapped knee, that's all."

As they got her up though, they could see how much she was panting, the rest of them were fairly worn too. "We can't keep this up," Aerrow stated, "We need a place to hide."

"And fast, those ALF troopers are hot on our tail," Finn interjected, gesturing back the way they came, from which they could hear the tramp of combat boots

Starling looked around desperately for some sort of salvation, but there was none. The alley was tight and narrow, with barely any cover or places to hide. Any doors that exited onto the alley, looked heavy and secure, and there were no drains or manhole covers. And to make matters worse, she could hear more approaching enemies coming from the other direction. They were trapped; no way out... no chance. Starling gritted her teeth as bile rose in her throat at the bitter taste of defeat once more

No... I will NOT go out like this... if they want a fight... we'll give them one!

Steeling herself, she turned and readied her Nun-Chucks towards the enemy coming up behind them. "Aerrow, Piper, Dove, you take the guys coming in ahead of us. Finn, Lark and I will handle the ones behind."

The others looked at her like she was crazy for a second, before realisation of their situation sank in, and they too, readied for combat. The tension in the air mounted as they listened to the sounds of ALF troopers closing in. Aerrow's hands tightened around the handles of his blades, Finn's finger brushed lightly over his crossbow's trigger. Lark and Piper held their staves at the ready, while Dove drew the small pistol she'd found in the Cyclonian shuttle armoury after their escape from Atmosia. All of them were ready to fight; even Radarr had adopted a battle stance. Only, the fight never came, for at that exact moment, the ground decided to open up beneath them, plunging them into the darkness below, their cries of shock and surprise cut off, as the alley closed up behind them, leaving it as empty, as before they'd arrived

Seconds after this, two squads of ALF troopers arrived, one from each direction, only to stop and stare at one another in confusion

"YOU LOST THEM, HOW IN THE WASTELANDS DID YOU LOSE THEM!" the officer roared into the radio, as the squads reported in

"W-we had them cornered in the alley sir, but when the squads linked up, the dissidents were nowhere to be seen."

"Is it possible they got around you!" the officer barked

"N-no sir, they had no way out, we had them trapped, we're not sure exactly what happened or where they went, but we've been scouring the alley and all nearby ones for clues."

The officer gave a tired sigh, "Keep at it, call in air support if you need it, now that they've disappeared they could be anywhere on the Terra, so we now have a lot of ground to cover."

"Yes sir."

The officer hung up, before dragging a hand over his face, he had to find those kids, or at the very least make it possible for a superior to do so. Locking down the Freighter port on a Terra like Aquanos had consequences. If the kids got away, he'd likely get demoted... but if he found them... the rewards were bountiful indeed

Starling landed with a splash in a fairly deep pool of water, around her she registered the others landing in the water as well, before something wet and furry suddenly latched onto her head. "Argh, Radarr, get off!"

"I got him," Aerrow called swimming over, and carefully prising the little guy off of Starling, while keeping him above the water

"Lemur-Rabbits don't like going in water if they can help it," came Piper's voice from the darkness

"Mon Dieu, he is not the only one, this place sent horrible," Dove exclaimed

"Uh guys... where's Lark?" Finn asked

The silence was deathly, and broken almost instantly as Piper and Starling dived beneath the putrid smelling water. Luckily Lark was still wearing her cloaking crystal, and though inactive, it still gave off a faint glow. Both Starling and Piper made a beeline for it, grabbing an arm each and hauling Lark to the surface

"Light, we need some light, find a way out of here!" Starling cried, the moment she broke the surface

Piper fumbled in her pockets for a moment, before a glow began to emanate from just above them. They all looked up to see a cloaked figure step up to the edge of the pool. "Well now, what be all this then, a family of drowned bilge rats eh?"

The figure pulled back his hood, revealing his face. He was an Aquanosian; he had a ridge of blue grey hair, running along the top of his tall head, with sideburns and a goatee to match. Underneath the cloak, they could see the musculature of a man suited for heavy lifting, or combat, and what looked like a set of old Aquanosian armour

"Heh, could we get a hand please, our friend is in trouble," Aerrow called up

The Aquanosian, turned his lantern in Lark's direction, where Starling – half focused on this possible new threat – was trying to bring Lark around

"Aye, best get the water out her lungs before anything else," he said, before kicking a rope ladder over the side for them

Aerrow quickly swam for it, climbing out with Radarr still perched on his head. Once he was up, he set the little guy down, before turning back to the ladder as Starling and Piper reached it with Lark. They lifted her up as Aerrow reached down to grab her, it was an awkward hold though, and Aerrow almost lost his grip, before the Aquanosian stepped in, helping to haul Lark up to dry land. He then turned Lark on her side, before landing some solid thumps to her back. Lark's reaction was instant; she woke with a start and began coughing up water

Starling had just reached the top as this happened, and rushed to her side, Piper right behind her. "Lark, are you alright?"

"Y-yea," Lark spluttered, "But I'd rather not do that again."

"Sorry lass, thought ya all knew how to swim," the Aquanosian said as he knelt on one knee, opposite Starling and Piper. Lark just waved it off, before hacking up more foul tasting water

Finn and Dove were the last out, and as they stood up, Dove was able to see just what they'd fallen into thanks to the lantern's light. "Pour l'amour de Dieu, I just had these washed!" she cried, as she vainly tried to swipe off the gunk that was now plastered to her jumpsuit

"Oh, that's just brilliant," Finn groaned beside her

The Aquanosian chuckled, "If you'd have preferred I left you up there?"

The silence settled back in again, as the group realised just how close they'd come to being captured. With that cheery thought, Starling sighed, and turned to the Aquanosian. "Thank you, for saving us... but if you don't mind me asking... who are you?"

The Aquanosian chuckled again, "Well lass, that depends on who ye ask... but right here, right now... I' am Commander Tritonn, of the Neck Deeps, Skyknight of Terra Aquanos."

And that's a wrap folks. For the french, I refer you back to previous chapters, I need some new ideas for that, might have to start taking french lessons again (sigh). Anyway, hope you all enjoyed, please review if you have the time, and as always, constructive criticism is welcome

I shall see you all next time ; )

(Post Edit) dang it, I forgot this

Sent Horrible = Smells Horrible