A/N Two huge chapters in one day, I'm on a roll!!
"What's wrong with him? Why is he bleeding?" Piper went into hysterics. Blister grabbed up the young sky knight, trying to keep him on his stomach as he lifted him.
"Well you stay here and figure that out. I'll take the lad and see about some treatment." Blister sarcastically said to her. He ran off to his carrier, knowing he had the greater medical knowledge than the kids as well as better equipment.
Ten minutes later Aerrow was laid out on his stomach with only his boxers on. His stripped back was open to the air and oozed fresh blood. Piper was sobbing on Finn's shoulder, unable to look at her friend's back.
"What happened to him?" Blister ignored Junko's question, he was still intent on stopping the bleeding and replacing the boy's fluids.
"Cyclonis whipped him. She was going to do it to me, but he wouldn't let her." Kestrel stood at the back forgotten.
"And you are?" Finn asked.
"Kestrel, Aerrow saved me." Kes started to cry and backed away, she sank against the back wall.
"Energy whipped by the looks of things. He's in a mess. I thought he was just dead tired. He didn't even mention he was injured." Blister laid a gauze pad on Aerrow's back. "At least the lashes are clean. They'll heal over time. Junko, give me a hand would you." Junko and Blister raised Aerrow up and wound a bandage round Aerrow's chest and back.
"What did that scar on his chest? He's been through so much." Piper managed to look after the wounds were covered.
"I don't know, maybe the Dark Ace did it." Finn looked very angry at the thought.
"Ace didn't hurt him." The voice came from KEstral, who was across the room on the floor.
"Aerrow said he broke his back, that's certainly hurting him." Blister had finally finished with Aerrow and they laid him down to rest.
The four people confronted Kes. She cowered at their feet. "Where do you fit into this? Aerrow said he saved you, and you said he took your lashes. What were you doing there.
Kes spoke through tears. "I was Ace's ward. I didn't know what was happening in the world, I lived in a big house by myself. Ace brought Aerrow and left him there. Aerrow broke his back trying to get to Piper when she was hurt. He had a stupid accident. I cared for him while he got better. And then a big man came and took us away, I was left in a dark cell alone and heard the screams of the other people. Some girl came and cut my face when I wouldn't talk. She used a grey crystal. Se said she was going to make me push it through my stomach." Piper whispered spear crystal. "The next day I was thrown into Aerrow's cell. She said she was going to remove my lips and eyelids if he didn't get up and walk out of the cell." Kes could barely talk over her sobs. The others started to feel bad about confronting her. "He had that big scar on his chest, it was all red and angry but he hauled himself up and walked out of the door. I could see he was in agony. I couldn't say anything I was so scared." Piper crouched beside the girl. She put her arm around the shaking shoulders.
"Come on, lets get you up. You don't have to tell us any more. Aerrow obviously cares for you. That's enough for me." Piper stood and pulled Kes up with her.
"He did something to make her stop. He released an energy blast, it drained all the crystals and wiped everybody out. I woke up on a glider in the air. He saved me."
Aerrow knew he was waking up because everything hurt. Not as bad as it had when he fell unconscious but still not great. He blinked open his eyes and winced at the brightness of the lights. He was lying on his front and he could feel a restrictive band around his chest. His left hand was being held by someone he couldn't see. He turned his head and saw Kes sleeping in her chair. He smiled and squeezed her hand. She came awake instantly.
"Aerrow? Oh thank goodness. How are you feeling?" Kes stroked his mad red hair.
"Oh like I've gone five rounds with Ace. And lost. Where are we?"
"Your on the Condor, we're heading for a healer, your back's a bit of a mess. Something you could have mentioned before fainting." He smiled and shrugged a shoulder.
"I didn't want you to worry. Am I allowed out of bed nurse? Or am I going to get another sponge bath?" Aerrow grinned cheekily. She swatted him on his shoulder, making sure it was lash free.
"You naughty boy, I think you should haul your backside out of bed. Your friends are glad your home, they want you back in charge. Finn keeps complaining Piper picks on him." Aerrow chuckled weakly then used his arms to lift his body enough to get his legs over the side of the bed. He sat for a moment, waiting for his back to scream but it just throbbed.
He got up and stretched his legs. He caught sight of what Kes was wearing. It was a hybrid of Piper's uniform, with some red as well, obviously using what ever fit her to club together an outfit. Aerrow appreciated how much it clung to Kes's figure, showing off her slim legs, swell of hips and narrow waist. Her long silver hair was pulled back into a pony tail.
"Your staring again." Aerrow looked her in the eye, moving his gaze about a foot north from its previous position.
"Hey you look great." She walked over to him. He put his hands on her hips and pulled her close.
"Well, one must do one's best." Kes grinned up at him. He brushed an escaped hair off her face. He ran his finger down the scar on her face. She would bare it forever, just as the one slicing through Aerrow's jaw would never fade. She dropped her gaze and started to break from his arms.
Aerrow refused to let her go though and wrapped his arms around her. "You are beautiful. This scar is a reminder of how strong you are. I love it and you. I wouldn't change you for the world."
Kes blushed. Her next question came out as a whisper. "You love me?"
Aerrow blanched for a second, having never said that to anyone before. "You know I didn't think I knew what love was. But I need you, I am happy when you're here in my arms. Yes, I love you. I love you more when your legs are wrapped round me," Kes slapped his chest lightly, "I just can't believe where I met you."
"Well it'll be one hell of a tale to tell the grandkids." Finn's voice drifted in from the doorway. The two lovers jumped apart a bit but Aerrow firmly brought Kes back into the circle of his arms.
"Don't get ahead of yourself Finn. You'll just scare him off." Kes smiled at the slightly panicking look on Aerrow's face. "Don't worry yourself about the future dear. We need to get you healthy first." Kes lead Aerrow out of the room and they followed Finn to the bridge. Aerrow automatically dropped Kes's hand as he walked out onto his bridge. Finally he was home.
Aerrow stood shirtless as his team went about their tasks. It was four days since he had woken up and he still couldn't get his shirt over his head, so he went without. Kes had naughtily told him she liked seeing him walk about topless. He replied he'd rather see her doing it.
"After we land on Atmosia the Sky Knight Council are wanting to interview Aerrow. They've never had a escaped prisoner with such full knowledge of the inner workings of Cyclonia, most don't make it out." Piper was going over their plans.
Aerrow had neglected to tell anyone of the destruction of the torture chamber. Kes had filled them in on most things leading up to their escape and no one had asked him to elaborate. He was going to have to try to explain what he did, how else does he explain his escape.
Aerrow wandered over to the windows and looked out at the passing clouds.
Piper was worried about Aerrow. He wasn't opening up to anyone. He looked so depressed most of the time. Kestrel seemed to cheer him up, but Piper just worried if he'd ever be their captain again.
She walked over to him. "Hey you."
"Hey Piper." This is what Piper had been getting, the minimum of contact.
"How are you feeling?"
"Fine."
Piper decided she'd had enough. "Aerrow what's wrong? Where's our sky knight? Who is this stolid nobody that hides from his crew? I want the old Aerrow back."
Aerrow stared at her. His face showed no emotion. Piper slapped him. He recoiled from the slap and a red handprint appeared on his face. Piper had expected him to be angry. Nothing could have prepared her for the betrayal and the hurt in his eyes.
Aerrow stared at his best friend for a moment then gazed at the others, all staring at him. He looked back at Piper and saw regret in her eyes. He turned and strode out of the bridge. He didn't stop walking till he reached the hanger. He mounted his skimmer and revved the engine. His crew and Kestrel poured into the hanger just as he was about to take off.
"Aerrow, don't leave." Piper called out, tears streaming down her face.
"I can't stay, I just need time, you don't understand." Aerrow turned away.
"How can they understand if you won't tell them what happened. They're too afraid to ask." Kes walked in front of the skimmer, blocking Aerrow path. "Aerrow, you have to help them understand." She pleaded with her eyes. Aerrow turned the engine off.
He hung his head and kept his bandaged back to them. "I woke up some many times in bad places, each one worse and worse, I'm scared to go to sleep incase I find out I'm dreaming, and I wake up back on Cyclonia, with the insane Master and her collection of toys. Five weeks of missing you guys, hearing Piper nearly dies, all cause I wasn't here.
"I didn't know what pain really was till Cyclonis got her hands on me. She, she hurt me," Aerrow felt a few tears trickle down his face. He sniffed them back as much as he could. "I just wanted to die. I wanted it all to stop. And now I'm stuck with these reminders that are tight and nip and itch like crazy. Am I going to be able to go back to being me? What if I'm broken?" He whispered the last.
He could tell his squad was walking closer even though his eyes were closed. He ducked his head further down to hide his freely flowing tears. A light hand on his back was quickly joined by the rest. He could even feel Stork's lightly trembling hand. He was drawn into a hug by his team. He could feel their warmth and he basked his cold heart in it.
"You are not broken. You are just like this ship. Just patch you up and you're the best thing in the air. Always were, always will be. And stop hiding things from us." Finn showed a rare moment of inspiration.
"So this is from Dark Ace is it? This is a master controlling crystal. This must be his little toy's remote control. I have excellent plans for our little escapees. Ravess, take this crystal to Atmosia, if you are on the same Terra she will not be able to resist, she might defy my orders over this distance." Cyclonis detailed her exact orders, plotting out the demise of the one who bested her at crystal magic.
Aerrow was given an nearly clean bill of health. The Council Healer put him on a healing matrix for three hours, speeding his recovery up by three weeks. Even the celebrity of breaking out of Cyclonis had not given him long on the matrix, the crystals were so expensive. Aerrow walked out of the temple feeling like a new man. The interview with the council was next. Aerrow felt a lot more confident about it now that he could stand straighter. He walked at his full height towards the council buildings, his squad with him. Junko was walking with Kestrel, the gentle wallop having made friends with the girl.
The council interview was as bad as he first thought. They went into every detail, every day of his imprisonment with Dark Ace, to the revelation that he was being controlled by crystals and the capture by Snipe. Then came the part where he escaped.
"So you were cuffed to a wall getting lashed then you escaped? How?"
Aerrow could feel twenty pairs of eyes on him. His squad was anxious to find out what happened. Starling sat in the audience glad to see the young sky knight. She'd left the squadron when they heard about Aerrow being on Saharr, she had business else where but couldn't expect the squad to wait. Sitting two seats behind starling was a cloaked woman, eyes intently staring at Aerrow.
"I distanced my self from it all. I figured she was going to beat me to death. I concentrated and centered my self. Then I could feel humming coming from the air surrounding me. It was like when I pull the lightening claw from my daggers, but magnified by a million. I pulled the energy and unleashed it. It made a mess, all the crystals in the room drained and everyone else was knocked out. It numbed the pain long enough for me to get out onto a switchblade and land on Saharr. Blister found me and contacted the Condor."
"What do you mean you centered your self?"
"It's a detachment from your physical form. It's used in meditation and pattern dances to ignore your muscle aches."
"Very well sky knight Aerrow you are dismissed. You deserve a rest and time to recover. You earned a stipend for you discoverings and you can claim it from the bursar." A stipend is a small amount of money, given to sky knights when they perform duties above and beyond their normal ones. Usually given to survivors of dangerous missions.
Ravess watched the Sky Knight debriefing and waited for the right moment. She held the pendant in her hands and gripped it tightly, cutting her hand on the sharp edges. She allowed three drops of blood to fall on the crystal's surface where they were absorbed. She glanced up at the girl and saw all the emotion fall from her face. The idiot little thing hadn't removed the controlling crystals, and now Ravess controlled her movements. As the Storm Hawks left the court room she made the girl follow them. They didn't notice she was a bit slower than usual.
As they got out into the foyer of the council buildings Aerrow relaxed. It was finally over. He turned and glanced at Kestrel. He noticed she was looking a bit odd, but he put it down to the large amount of people in the hall, she still wasn't happy around crowds.
Suddenly she ran out of the group and up to the first guard. "You've got to help me," she screamed at him. "I've been raped!"
"Who by miss?" The guard came to full attention.
"Him!"
A/N Yet another cliff-hanger. Though I'm sure you can all guess who she's talking about Just as he was happy. This fic has a happy ending, honest. But the ending is still far off. Anyway next chapter: Aerrow is arrested and the other prisoners don't like him. The other Storm Hawks try to figure out what is going on. Kestrel remains in Cyclonis' power, what else will she make her do?
Review, please, every time I get one I write more. I've never had so many reviews, and I love them all. I always hated people who ransomed their next chapter for a certain number of reviews. I'm not going to do that because I don't like blackmail.
How about bribery? Pretty things for reviewers? Love to offer money but I don't have any for myself!
Anyway, to all you hundreds of readers (well its possible, a girl can dream can't she?) I'm off to bed, hope you enjoyed my latest chapter.
Cheers
XXX