Yay the timing for this upload isn't a complete disaster like last time... hurrah! So yeah, here is the next chapter of Stone Cold, if you enjoy it, and feel that it was worth the wait a review would be greatly appreciated. Anyway I love all my readers you're awesome.

Oh, also, the title of this chapter is supposed to be '1.8 miles', not 18, but Fanfiction is being a badger.

I don't own Storm Hawks

I hope you enjoy this update :)

OoOo.

The force field had been discovered and a week had passed by painfully, like a wound that won't heal. It had been a week since Starling had agreed to stand before the Sky Knight Council with the menacing information. A whole seven days, and Starling was still red with outrage.

Tranquility was an expected trait of the young Interceptor, calm and rationally cool like a hawk. So it was quite the intimidating shock when she returned to the Storm Hawks, yelling and cursing, all with hellish reference to the council. So shocking, that her words forced Finn cowardly into a wall, Piper and Aerrow were rendered speechless, Junko's lip wouldn't stop quivering, and Stork spied on her from a distance with brain worm suspicions.

Later, the purple haired Sky Knight did apologise profusely to her friends for subjecting them to her outburst, but her mood, she strongly felt, was rightly justified. Her fists still clenched tight enough to cut off the circulation when she thought about the meeting.

When she had stood before the council, with her notes, and the new information on Cyclonia, she had expected immediate action to be taken. Squadrons would be sent to the Terra, tests would be enforced so they could penetrate the shield, and the Atmos would be more than prepared for their next move in this war.

What had Starling received?

Laughed out of the hall. OK, it was actually a weak chuckle when she marched out, but that counts, and it was really the former insults which had incurred her dormant wrath.

"I'm surprised at you Starling, do you really expect us to believe all of that drivel? The inhumane experiments which you just described died with the old Master of Cyclonia. I certainly wouldn't believe otherwise from these notes you've just handed me, it's a mighty coincidence that they were all written by you, not a single legitimate copy, or photograph. Look, the undercover work you did over a year ago truly was a reason to admire you, you showed tenacity and bravery in your duty. But, it is very clear to me, that this is a pitiful attempt at trying to return to the spotlight. I can understand why, what with Harrier and his new hotel and all but..."

That crusty, old, bastard had rambled on for ages, and because Starling was a honourable Sky Knight, she stood there and took it all with a straight face. But as soon as her back had turned on them, the facade dropped, and left in it's place was a furious scowl. With the right clothing she could have been mistaken for a Cyclonis imposter, but with her current temper, no one dared make such a remark.

"Those narrow minded ingrates have just written their own death sentence!" She had howled the moment she was within the Condor's walls. None of the teens felt comfortable as they sat and listened to her, venting her anger, which went on longer than the councilman's speech. At least her words held some logic and truth. Because the leader of the council was bald, and with the right kind of people his forehead probably could be let out as advertising space.

She was definitely right about one thing; without the funding, Cyclonia could not be investigated properly and efficiently. So when the time finally did come, and the young empress unleashed her hellish, super human experiments, the Atmos would not be prepared, and freedom would slip from their fingers.

After the first couple of days, very weak plans had been made, and training had been increased into larger hours. New tactics, revision of maps, who and what they could gain as allies, stock up on crystals and weapons. All of this would hopefully be completed before the shield came down and, the squadron could only imagine monsters, emerge from Cyclonia.

While their attitudes were now stricter, it was draining to remain stressed and paranoid all the time. They found this to be so during the first couple of days after the rejection, so in the midst of preparing for battle, they did resume behaving like normal teenagers.

OoOoO.

Aerrow groggily left his room, rubbing the sleep from his half closed eyes. Another dream related to the not so distant past, but thankfully it hadn't hit him as hard this time, a few more steps, something to eat and he would be as good as new.

So, the teen wandered into the kitchen, with his auburn dressing gown draped loosely over his body, red hair still pillow ruffled, and slippers struggling to hold on to his feet. Yep, Aerrow was a really sloppy morning person when it was six am and everyone was still in bed.

He yawned when he first entered, so he hadn't noticed Piper sat at the table with her hands propping up her head. Tired, aching eyes transfixed on some paper with scribbles and diagrams all over it.

He caught sight of her with a shock, the dreary feeling leaping out of him.

"Piper?" He asked, but she barely acknowledged him with a rumbling in her throat. "Please tell me you've been to bed?"

"Oh, not yet, what time is it?"

He had never seen her reduced to such a state, and if he had to be completely honest, seeing her exhausted and stressed out pained him more than going through the stress himself.

Before he could offer comforting words his subconscious was taking action, he took tentative steps towards her, hands placed softly on her shoulder, as if her very frame could crumble. "Come on," he said, already guiding her to her feet, Piper too restless to think of objecting, "lets get you to bed."

"I have to clean this mess up..."

"I'll handle the mess, now come on, not another word out of you." He took her hand, and began to walk her to her room. Five steps into the journey and she realised how overworked she was, the steps triggering a headache, and her legs conspiring to give away at any moment. Leaving her no choice but to give her weight to Aerrow, resting her heavy head on his shoulder, and tightening her loose grip on his hand. He smiled at her, and whispered soothing comments, making her sigh with gratitude.

They reached her would-be-spotless room, which was currently covered in books, maps, and crystals scattered about the place. The stale smell of crystal powder carried through the air, it was a peculiar mixture of fading popuri and weak iron.

She was still in her day clothes, and despite his inner protests, Aerrow put her to bed like that, because if she woke up changed, well...

Piper awoke from her heavy slumber in the evening, feeling well rested, but tiredly confused as to how she got in her room. She lay there for a moment trying to fathom it, and then as consciousness pulled her back into a state where you can concentrate, a certain redhead's face appeared in her mind. That thought was attached to the memory of him putting her to bed. She squeaked and sprung up, her face burning with embarrassment, for the boy she liked tending to her, not only that, but he had also seen her in such an unattractive way.

Speaking of appearances, she would never hear the end of Finn taunting her for showing her face so late in the day, best not drag it out any later. So she left her bed's warmth, threw some fresh clothes on; just a loose grey jumper and some skinny jeans, then hurried to meet up with the rest of the squadron.

But when she reached the hangar bay, the back of Aerrow's head was all that greeted her, as he was sat at the table, overlooking the pilot's window. Her now beating heart was trying to convince her to back out of the room and find someone else, but she was better and braver than that.

"Hey, where is everyone?"

Aerrow straightened up and turned with a dashing grin at the sound of her voice, she should have walked further into the room before speaking, because after a look like that she needed to sit down.

"They're down on Atmosia," they had parked on the big hill of the Terra for a couple of nights, while they gathered their thoughts. "Seeing a movie."

"Oh. How come you didn't go?" Not that she was complaining. She really wasn't complaining.

Because, I wanted to wait for you. That's what the teen had planned on saying, seriously, he had run through this moment in his mind the whole time he'd been sat alone. But when he opened his mouth the words, "Just didn't" tumbled out, accompanied by a shrug. Drat.

"Oh," was all she could think to answer with, which was a discouraging development because she always had an answer for everything.

"Actually," he spat out as quickly as his heart was dancing right now. He went to stand up, but was too nervous, so it resulted in his body giving up half way, and turned into him awkwardly kneeling on the couch infront of her. That was his best attempt at smoothing out that fail. "I thought we could do something."

Her breath was stolen from her. He had not even proposed something romantic, but the idea of doing something, anything, with Aerrow, just he and she, was enough to make her smile, amber eyes glazing over with something delightfully unfamiliar.

"What did you have in mind?" She asked, trying not to sound too eager, but a cute little giggle couldn't help itself from passing her lips.

Aerrow couldn't handle her cuteness, she had that sweet pursed smile, and she was leaning on the door frame. He had an urge to pull her on the couch with him, and remind himself of how soft her lips were. But he wouldn't, because he still couldn't get his bloody legs to work, this situation had better resolve itself soon, or he wouldn't be able to execute the rest of his plan. Regardless of the current issue his treacherous limbs were having, he continued.

Having to swallow first, as he anticipated a possible rejection, "Hungry?"

She was still giddy, "Uh huh?" And now she looked really hopeful.

"Fancy anything in particular?"

Aerrow watched as her eyes steered around the room with thoughtfulness, and still thinking, she bit her lip. His cheeks flushed. Then, thankfully distracting him from his thoughts, answered, "Chinese."

He nodded, "Coming right up," with that he stood, made his way to the radio and proceeded to make an order.

As he did so, Piper couldn't help but slouch. For some reason she had imagined a dreamy scenario, in which her handsome leader would say 'coming right up' and miraculously have anticipated her answer, with the meal already prepared. Then she would turn and a table with a white cloth and candles would be before her, which she conveniently had not noticed before.

But instead Aerrow was going to order a takeaway, and they would sit at the worn table and probably play some cards. Right, that would be fine too, they do that all the time, but yeah fine.

"They should be here within less than an hour," he said after hanging up.

She nodded to him, trying to mask her realistic disappointment with an appreciative smile, "Great, sounds good."

"So uh," he cleared his throat and slicked his hair back, the unruly locks flopping right back into place. "How about we move somewhere more comfortable?"

She answered, "Sure," but her mind had exploded with a flustered outburst; Comfortable? What does he mean by that? He's never referred to the couch as somewhere comfortable before. No one has referred to it as comfy, I mean, the springs dig into your behind. Was he trying to make that sound romantic?

"Great," a sweet smile, then he slipped a bandanna out of his pocket. He broke the distance between them like a suave, charismatic character, something she pictured often when reading romance novels.

Right infront of her, his breath was heavy, he couldn't help that, but otherwise he was holding himself with a cool persona. Suddenly he brought the patterned material to her eyes and eclipsed her vision with a firm but not too tight knot.

The familiar sounds of feet colliding with the metallic floors echoed in Piper's ears for a while. Aerrow led her carefully down the corridors, hands on her shoulders at all times, his fingers curled inwards a little, the two of them loving such basic contact.

The girl's breath hitched as the chilled night air ghosted over her soft skin, the breeze playing with her hair and the sleeves of her jumper.

"What are you doing Aerrow?" There was a playful jingle in her voice, because the curiousity of the situation was so compelling and overwhelming. Nothing like this had ever stepped into her life before, the mystery, the feeling of Aerrow's warm breath on the back of neck.

To answer her question, he took her blindfold off.

Her mouth gaped, and a longing breath escaped with it, her eyes fixed on the layout before her.

"I uh, I know it's nothing too special, but after seeing you in such a state, I just had to do something." He walked past her, towards the plain, pink blanket that was neatly placed on the floor, and knelt down, offering his hand out to her, breath held until she took it. "Tonight we are just going to forget about it all, and relax, the world's troubles will still be waiting for us when we're done."

She sat down beside him, still admiring the effort, she had no idea he had it in him. On either side of the blanket was a bed of flowers he had picked god knows when, and outside that was four solar crystals strategically placed in the shape of a diamond, shining brightly and beautifully, leaving the perfect glow for them. And then there was a little picnic basket in front of them, which Aerrow flipped open after they got comfortable.

Stork and Junko must have helped him, but that was so irrelevant right now.

"I was worried incase you weren't sure what you fancied, so I made some light things too, so help yourself whenever you want-" the rest of the words were lost, never to return, a gasp left in their place. Piper had placed a chaste kiss on his already tinted cheek, she herself wasn't sure where it had came from, but she had wanted to do it, and as stated before; she was a brave girl.

"Thanks Aerrow."

She went to shuffle away a little, but instinctively he grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him, suddenly finishing what she started with another kiss, but on the lips.

Their eyes fell shut, and they sunk into each other's embrace. Their lips melted into each other, but all the while it was timid and hesitant, as they explored the first real kiss.

As Aerrow rekindled the fond memory of the day on Blizzaris with Piper, his confidence grew and it showed as he deepened the contact.

Her fingers lost themselves in his fiery hair, the other arm wrapped around his neck. His hands were on her hips, their lips twisting against each other as the passion sparked.

That was when the delivery guy shattered the moment with a bellowing, "Order for a Mr Aerrow!"

The teenagers split apart as if their parents had just caught them somewhere they shouldn't be, Aerrow caught his breath for a moment before saying with a deflated tone, "Yeah... I probably should have thought that through a little better.

oOoOo.

"No."

"But Finn-"

"No. No. No."

"Come on Finn please, I promise it won't happen again."

"Aerrow, you said it wouldn't happen the first time and it did! What you've done, I can't forgive this."

Aerrow, who was currently drowning in a sea of the highest regret, whimpered, "It's just a tiny scratch, look you can hardly see-"

"Don't come any closer!" The blonde howled like a protective mother, and with his body, shielded his guitar from Aerrow's grubby hands. "I am never letting you hold my baby again!" He stroked the neck of the guitar, blue eyes running over his treasure, another piece of his soul broke off when he looked at the crack again.

Aerrow recoiled, pitifully disheartened, eyes glossy with a puppy dog look, he had never felt so ashamed in his life. "OK, I'll never touch it again. Oh Finn, I'm so sorry, I really am, I should have listened to you and held it where you told me to."

"That's right! You should have! I try to be nice. You ask me for guitar lessons, I give you guitar lessons," he gazed at his beloved instrument, "and this is the thanks we get."

The redhead shuffled about on his feet and rubbed the back of his neck, his green eyes submissively refusing to cross blue, "Sorry Finn."

"And to think, I was getting excited."

"I know."

"Over starting a band."

"Yeah."

"We were gonna be called the Finnstars."

"We still could..."

"No Aerrow."

And with that, the blonde diva cast his leader one last glance with a sigh, then left the room and his dreams of becoming the lead singer of the Finnstars. It would have been awesome. A Wallop on drums could have been metal as fuck.

Aerrow stood in his little spot on the floor, lost at what to do next. Are you supposed to go after a guy when you've broken his guitar? Or do you let him go, and try to move on with your life? The dinner table was going to be so awkward after a band break up like that.

All of a sudden, Piper was there at the door. Her childish giggles shattering his lost, confused daze, when he looked at her with his puppy dog face still intact, the laughing fit was impossible to hold back.

He hung his shameful head low, "It's not funny, I feel awful."

"I'm sorry," she managed through her amusement, "god I wish I'd filmed that it was hilarious from start to finish."

He looked at her aghast, face almost as red as his hair, "You were watching!?"

"Duh!" She tried to go on, but she could only sputter as the laughter took her to a speechless level. "It... it was -pffft- it was just so funny when you called the pegs nipples."

There it was, his face was as red as his hair. "I had a blank moment OK!"

"Well maybe you should see Stork, because nipples aren't supposed to look like that."

OoOoO.

On the day that the wish was made, the zombies were vanquished, and those who perished were revived, before Aerrow could return to his family, he had one more mission to complete. It was not vital, or mandatory, and yet the boy knew he could not see his friends again until he fulfilled this duty.

He just couldn't leave Dark Ace's body there, in the tomb, he couldn't walk away and hope that someone would come across it. So he had flown to Cyclonia with good hearted intentions, a lot of nerve, and only half a plan, barely being able to call it decent.

With a stone, and a scrap piece of paper, Aerrow had written a note and thrown it within the factory grounds of the Queen's empire. Thankfully the boy had plenty of practice with this line of stealth, so it was an easy enough task.

He couldn't take the time to see if someone recovered it, he would just have to hope that a worker would wander by and not carelessly discard it.

On the paper he had written:

Dark Ace on Terra Xoam.

Send help immediately.

A friend.

It had been weeks and Aerrow still wondered what kind of funeral they had for their commander. Did Talons even have funerals? Surely they had one for Dark Ace, but what was it like? A few days after the note was sent the redhead had considered flying back, and trying to find out when the ceremony would be held. He would make sure to be there in the distance, paying his last respects. Despite being geared to go, he chose not to in the end, way too many flaws in that sentimental plan.

All this time and still no news about his passing, maybe Cyclonis wasn't ready to make it public yet? It did make sense, announcing that you've lost your best pilot and right hand man, a sure sign of weakness to a young empress. Hell, maybe that was why she was doing these experiments, the death of a great soldier would be an encouragement for gaining an advantage.

Not knowing was the worst, there was a painful bleakness inside. He needed to do something, he needed closure. He often envisaged going to a Cyclonian graveyard to find his brother's grave, but then, weren't they in the heart of the Terra's airspace? There was no way he could get in undetected.

So eventually, he took matters into his own hands.

"I'm going to take a little drive," he told his squadron rather dismissively.

"Why?"

He shrugged as nonchalantly as possible, "Just feel like a bit of space, clear my head, maybe it'll help with the Cyclonia situation," another lie which they had apparently not picked up on.

After the kiss, the red headed leader had become far more precious to Piper, as if their moment had softened him. So she warned him to be careful, and to call if he needed anything, which was confusing to him, but she too had become more precious to him, so he happily nodded in agreement.

"Don't worry, I should only be a few hours."

And with that he was off with a backpack full of suspicious items and no real inkling of where he was flying to. His initiative told him he would know the spot when he saw it, and he just hoped that said spot wasn't on the other side of Atmos.

Like his bed in the night, flying alone in the sky created the same atmosphere that emotionally drained him, and the fact that he was preparing for a funeral lured in distressing thoughts. Only the whispers of the wind accompanied his breath, which seemed to echo loudly in his ears as he prepared himself mentally for what he was about to do.

There were a few small scale Terras that stood amongst themselves, untouched by human contact, and while this would be perfect, they didn't possess the quality he was looking for. Although he himself didn't know what that quality was. Like a wordless answer on the tip of your tongue, he held the confidence that he would soon find the perfect mountain of land for Dark Ace.

An hour or so of flying later and he found it.

Meager like the rest of them, but Aerrow couldn't stop smiling at it, so the piece of land graduated into a secret memorial. It turns out the quality, was to match the Talon's personality. Which he strongly felt it did so.

The surface of the hardly-a-Terra was covered in a marshy green grass, it reminded the boy of his Cyclonian uniform. It stood taller and prouder than all those that dared to age next to it, and the body consisted of stone that looked sturdy and jagged, but there wasn't a crack in sight.

It just felt right.

And so he landed, gentler than usual, as if Dark Ace's spirit would have mild complaints about his disrespect.

"Here we are," he said to himself and the things he'd brought.

Aerrow placed his bag down on the tufty grass, and anxiously began the ceremony. But the second he pulled the first item out, he felt a shivering stab of treachery.

After deciding he was going to do this, he just had to make some item of reference to the deceased. But the only thing Aerrow had been left by the older man was the pendant, and that wasn't something you leave on a deserted Terra. So with a spare piece of armour, in the shape of an unbalanced square, he had painted the red emblem of Cyclonia as carefully and accurately as possible.

It was the fact that this red symbol actually meant something to him now that made him feel like a traitor. It was like an unspoken rule for a Sky Knight to be disguised by the vicious crimson bird, and yet here he was wiping it down to make sure it was nice and clean.

He took the base of the metal and drove it into the dirt with his hands, shifting and pushing things around until it fitted perfectly. Once he was assured that it wouldn't shimmy out again, he took the rest of the things out of the bag.

The second item was a firebolt crystal almost burnt out. He had a special job for this gem of energy. In front of the Cyclonian plate, he dug a tiny, shallow grave with a little shovel. Then, before settling the crystal inside, closed his green eyes and said as clearly as possible, "Rest in peace Dark Ace."

Once the grave was filled up, to top it all off, the redhead carefully fished out a giant, sandy coloured feather with a white tip. It looked well groomed, as if plucked from a bird's wing this very morning. But Aerrow had owned it for a while, something he had caught stranded in the breeze around the time he had first formed the Storm Hawks.

"This is for you," he explained, wiping his sleeve over his face, "best pilot in the Atmos." He sniffled, "I just thought this would be fitting for you. I... I couldn't think of anything else, it dawned on me, I never really knew you that well." Then he carefully placed the feather into the grave, once again making sure it wouldn't escape it's hold.

He got comfier in his spot and continued to address the display. "I wish I could have gotten one of the photos from your room, not that I know which one you would have picked to lie with you. Maybe my mom?" He furrowed his brows and grimaced, "I hope the Talons haven't just thrown them away - ah, but lets not think about that.

"I know you would probably be tired of hearing this, but I am so sorry for what happened. I'm sorry for distracting you, I'm sorry for not making the wish at the right time and I'm -" he took a sharp intake of breath, "I'm so - fuck - Dark Ace I'm so sorry for leaving you there. I hope you... you weren't in too much pa-"

Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't cry. Come on, keep it together. For him. Oh fuck come on.

He released a deep exhale, forcing the tears to dry up before they fell.

"Anyway, ha, I know, big wuss right? Anyway, I didn't know you as well as I planned to, but you weren't the cold hearted soldier I thought you were. And I want you to know that I'll always see it that way. I promise."

There was a crackled mumbling, that was the first sign for the boy; that he and this grave were not the only two things in the world.

"...For goodness sake, Aerrow! Starling calling Aerrow! Pick up, where are you!?"

The radio. Shit how long had the Interceptor been calling him? He felt so rushed he didn't even think to make an excuse for his absence, and dashed to his skimmer, scrambling for the radio.

"Uh yes, Aerrow here, sorry about that Starling!"

"Where have you been?"

"Uh..."

"It doesn't matter you have to get back to the Condor right now!"

"What? Why? Is it Piper? What's wrong with her!?"

"Aerrow! Piper is fine. But you need to get back here now, this is extremely important and I can't discuss it over the radio."

"I'm on my way."

He hurried to grab his bag, and gave the grave one last look before turning to mount his bike. Before he flew off, he awkwardly waved to it, "I've got to go, I'll see you soon." His engine roared, wings unfolded, and he took off, zooming through the clouds like there was no tomorrow.

Back on the Condor he was greeted by Starling, who looked more like a stern mother than a good friend and partner. And to top it off, Piper and Stork looked like the siblings who approved of mother's impatient temper.

"Aerrow where were you?" The crystal mage asked, with that shriek she usually only used on Finn.

"I, uh, well I was just flying around like I said." He felt so uncomfortable he may as well be backed into a corner.

"Then why didn't you answer the radio?"

"Well I went on my glider for a bit so..."

"Why?"

He made sure his voice sounded firmer, to try to gain some authority, he was the leader of this squadron after all. "Does it really matter? Starling I rushed to get here, so what's going on?"

Through a hefty breath the Interceptor said, "He's right," her face was slightly flushed and lined with trouble, like she was in a hell of a panic. "Aerrow you won't believe it, there was a distress beacon, forty seven minutes ago now, precisely 1.8 miles into the wastelands," she paused for dramatic effect, something Aerrow didn't realise this particular Sky Knight partook in, "just outside the border of Cyclonia."

O.K, the pause was more like bracing time, because shit, he was not ready for that.

"Cyclonia!? So Talons can get through the forcefield? Or do you think this is a trap?"

Before he could go on Starling spoke up, already on the move and marching Aerrow along with her, "The flair was created by a yellow crystal, which as you all know, is a specific request for the aid of Sky Knights. This gives me the impression that this could be my informant. I would have gone in and saved him as soon as the flair was spotted, but I need a backup incase there's trouble, and well, you're really the only one who has my back on this, and I didn't want to ask your team without your permission."

"Understood, sorry for taking so long."

Whilst mounting their rides, and preparing for a hasty take off, Radarr was throwing what was left of all the energy crystals into everyone's skimmers. They had already wasted too much time waiting for Aerrow, and they needed to reach this person at max speed, if the Talon was still stuck in the wastelands his chances run slower by the minute.

Time was extremely precious, and they had already lost so much of it. So they flew, so fast the air grazed their cheeks, their fingers tightly squeezed on the handles like a hurricane chased after them.

Starling and Aerrow took the lead, with the rest of the Storm Hawks tailing them, each one eager and desperate to save this Talon in time.

Dreadfully too long later, the borders of Cyclonia and it's black clouds were in perfect view. It seemed to be the same case as before, silence and emptiness haunting it, and when Starling beheld it's dismal appearance, she looked as stunned as they had.

She could contemplate the bleakness later, she had a snitch to find. A glance at her radar, "North West of here," and then she dived down, and kept going as the signal echoed faster with each meter she passed, the nose of the skimmer heating up as she neared the dreaded wastelands inch by inch.

She heard Aerrow order her team to keep together and watch themselves, whether it was for the hellish creatures, or the possibility of a Cyclonian squad attack.

Aerrow's friends were all around him, and they were on a very serious mission, but his mind had isolated him from his surroundings. Maybe it was because of the funeral, or that they were currently searching for a Cyclonian.

His head was burning up with the heat, and a thousands thoughts were whizzing around, creating a feeling of claustrophobia.

What would happen if they found this Talon alive?

He could barely answer that question, just kept thinking of Dark Ace, the man would not leave his head. It was hard to focus, because if the raven haired man had survived, maybe this could have been the opening they needed to work together again.

And then he felt awful for being thankful for such a morbid situation. He shouldn't be thinking like this. At all. He was on a mission. He had to focus. And yet his muddled mind couldn't stop throwing things at him.

Why couldn't he have just saved him? Why couldn't he have just done his job right? Why couldn't he just do his bloody job right now? Everyone was around him, focused, why wasn't he focused too? Why couldn't he just forget his troubles? It was important, he was conscious of that, and yet he still disobeyed.

God he felt ill, was that his chest heaving? That made him realise he was sweating too. Blood pumping rapidly through his body. Christ the heat was unbearable. His head was getting fuzzy. So fuzzy he couldn't even focus on those distracting thoughts now. Shit, he couldn't even focus in general right now.

Was anyone else having this much trouble? He glanced to either side, they were all looking around the wastelands. What the hell were they doing down here again? He needed to stop and rest.

Apparently his mind understood that, because he could only just feel his fingers relaxing, letting go of the handles. Just for a minute to catch his breath. There was a concerned shriek in his ear. Radarr made noises like that didn't he? Oh Radarr shut up I need a minute.

Things felt kind of distant. Like they do when you're about to black out. He was more than happy to close his eyes. This was pretty peaceful. His cares were all chased away. It was nice.

"Aerrow!"

Shattered. Eyes snapped open. He caught a huge breath. Coughed as the smoke polluted his lungs.

What the hell just happened? Shit, looking back, that didn't feel good. His surroundings were still wastelands, and his friends were infront of him, still looking around.

Talon! Of course, there was a Talon down here somewhere.

Once he realised that, he realised that gliding right by his side, was Piper on her heliscooter. Oh, and Radarr was too his left, holding his arm, shaking it, how long had he been doing that? He was whimpering, Aerrow didn't think to speak, so he stroked the Sky Monkey's head for some vague reassurance.

"Aerrow?" She said again, her voice behaved like some harmonic soothing tone, as it pulled him the rest of the way into stability. "Aerrow, please, are you alright? Say something please."

"I'm alright. Sorry. The heat."

"Can you fly? We should go back."

She was here with him, it was going to be alright. "No, I'm fine now, let's just find this guy."

He shook his head, and regained control of the skimmer, Piper was by his side and remained there for the rest of the trek. No longer seeking the Cyclonian, amber locked on her leader, never casting a glance anywhere else. Radarr, too, gently holding onto the boy, nuzzling his arm with his head.

He didn't mind. He would miss them if they stopped.

"Down there!" Finn hollered.

The entire search party jerked their heads to the blonde, and then followed where his finger pointed. Down to a cliff side, there was a cavern carved out by the chaos that lurked down here.

Finn's sharp eyes had not deceived him, something was in there. They drew closer to it, and upon further inspection there was a splatter of blood.

The situation dropped to a discouraging level.

Starling rapidly accelerated down to the worrying scene. That was definitely blood. And then a body, a little deeper into the cave, came into sight.

At the mouth of the shelter, her eyes widened, an aghast gasp leapt from her chest when she beheld the sight infront of her. She was suspended there for a moment, stunned into still silence.

She finally yelled back at the crew who were seemingly waiting for an order.

"Get down here now!"

They eagerly obeyed, all hearts racing with the frightening anticipation. Seconds later they were by her side, all of them huddled together infront of this opening.

The redhead narrowed his eyes to get a good view of the body, as it lay there sprawled out on the brimstone floor. It was limp, but there was the weakest sign of breath, the blood was coming somewhere from the top half.

Then Aerrow saw, and suddenly understood that jarred tone in Starling's voice.

He felt like he was going to collapse again, his breath had vanished and despite the heat, shivers jolted through his body.

He gaped, taking in the sight before him, waiting for the mirage to be over, waiting for the actual truth to be revealed. But it didn't. He blinked hard, his hand was over his heart, clutching at it, as if begging this not to be a dream.

Finn said, utterly vexed, "...Dude, what?..."

Piper muttered, her face lined with confusion, "I don't believe this."

Junko asked gingerly, "What does this mean?"

And Aerrow, still breathless, said, "...Dark Ace?"

oOoOo.

Hm? You were under the impression that Dark Ace was gone for good?

Tee hee B)

I'm sorry for lying to you all. Lol, I'm not sorry XD