A/N: Yaaaay! I have my craptop back! *hugs craptop* So that means you guys get more stories in the holidays! Lucky you!

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"After... after I knocked your father from his skimmer, I put the Firebolt in the catch, pocketed the blue Striker, then unleashed the Firebolt's power. I tried to contain the blast so it wouldn't hit the Condor, but I had underestimated the strength of the crystal. The Condor went down with all the other skimmers and carriers. I flew down into the Wastelands and found the Condor. She was in bad shape. Torn plating, mangled support, twisted pipes... The helm had been completely decimated, glass everywhere. Most of it was starting to bubble in the extreme temperature. And Ardea... she..." I started to choke up, the first time since it happened. The walls I had built around myself were falling under a tide of emotion. Swallowing, I continued. "She'd been flung clear of the helm when the Condor crashed. I found her, maybe a hundred metres away from the ship, and she... she was dead." Tears blurred my vision. "I was horrified when I'd realised what I'd actually done. I wanted out, but unable to go back to Atmos, I had no choice but to go through with my deal with Cyclonis. It was then that Ace died, and the Dark Ace was born."

I stared straight into the emerald fire that was his eyes. "... I never meant for the Condor to go down." I pleaded. "She was supposed to be safe..." I trailed off as the blaze intensified.

He shot up from his seat on the rock, his fists clenched. "But even if she was safe, she never would have loved you after what you did, if she ever even loved you at all." The whispered words sliced through me like no knife ever could. I tried not to let the pain show.

"...I know." I sighed, slowly getting to my feet now that my tale was over. "All too well. I just wish I had known when it mattered."

The boy nodded mutely. Without warning, he ducked under my arm and made a break for his skimmer. I turned to watch him go, sighing again. I could easily have fired a shot at his back, but that was on a level that I didn't want to sink to. Or, at least, that was what I told myself. Truth be told, I almost felt a strange sort of kinship with the boy now.

He jumped into the saddle of his skimmer and revved the engine, but didn't leave before looking back once more. "...Thanks, for telling me what happened. I...I think I needed to know." The blaze in his eyes returned. "But don't think telling me all that hasn't made me any more sympathetic towards you. In fact, now that I know why you did what you did, I only hate you more."

Without another word, he revved his skimmer again and took off, deploying his wings in a fluid motion.

"I hate me too." The words were spoken so quietly that he couldn't possibly have heard them, but still he turned his head as if he had, his eyes, so like his mother's, boring into my own. Slowly, he flew too far way for me to see his face, and then so far I could barely see him at all, just another speck in the endless sky.

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A/N: DX I have horrible self-restraint. Another 550 word chapter.

Hmm. This turned out with a lot less chapters than I thought it would, or as well as I thought it would. Maybe I'll rewrite it at some distant point in the future. *shrugs* Oh well. Hope you enjoyed the story anyway! Sequel will be coming soon... If you vote in the poll and/or review. Shameless bribery, I know. So go go go!