Xavier's Prison: Watchtower AXMD

"It feels so good to be bad! So delightful to be a deplorable cad. It's so appealing to have the feeling that what you're doing gets trouble brewing and drives everybody mad! You've got my guarantee, it feel so good to be bad!" - All Dogs go to Heaven 2

The sight of the Condor both angered and excited Carver. He stood at the window of the watchtower, his brown eyes reflecting the many familiar carriers that housed his greatest enemies. His gaze was still transfixed on the Condor, memories of his many defeats by Aerrow's hand resurfacing. He had let go of his grudge long ago, after realizing that his time was put to better use serving Master Cyclonis rather than rotting in jail, wallowing in self pity. It was probably the best decision he'd ever made.

Since joining Cyclonia, he had regained his former state of importance. He was a great thief, which he realized not long after his defection, and was now a vital supplier for some of the rarer materials his master requested. He had many subordinates, which he enjoyed greatly, and had regained the respect he so rightly deserved.

"Sir, what should we do?"

The commander turned back around to give his cadets his full attention.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, should we tell the others to stay put, fight, or what?"

Carver raised a hand to his chin to ponder. Staying put would probably be the better option, since the talons were greatly outnumbered. However, if the Sky Knights remained in the skies around the terra for an extended period of time, one of their crystal engineers would figure out what was going on. And, if they did fight, they would have the element of surprise. Besides, they wouldn't have to actually beat the Knights in a battle, they'd just have to be dealt with long enough for the carriers with the prisoners to be safely on their way back to Cyclonia.

A buzzing at his hip made Carver look down to his radio and press his finger over the switch.

"Sorry, Carver here. Repeat."

"Carver, it's us. Remus and Allie-Jay. Your orders?"

"I take it that means you have everyone?"

"Yessir."

"Good. Now, what I want you to do is just cruise back to the entrance, but stay inside. Once you're there, wait for further instruction. I may just have an idea."

"Alright. I trust you."

He turned to the cadets that were working the huge computers that lined the wall of the security room, pushing the many buttons of the biggest keyboard Carver had ever seen, filled with different sets of color-coded keys. His two cadets typed away, different screens flickered as different keys were pushed.

"Boys, where is that self-destruct switch?"

Without speaking, the cadet farthest from Carver set to work on a set of black keys. A click was heard, and a compartment toward the middle of the keyboard opened up. A small trigger device, an antennae and a red button set into a small metal square. It looked rather insignificant to be something that could set the entire terra ablaze.

Carver reached down and picked the small device up in his hand, fingering it gently. A small smirk found it's way onto his face as a perfectly wonderful plan formed in his head. He chuckled and brought his radio back up to his face.

"Everybody... I think I know a way to exert the full potential of this situation. Get your guns ready, and make sure our flags are hoisted as clear as day."

The Condor

"Game over, for now. Winning the game, the only rule allowed. No more good luck, or cheers from the crowd. When the game began you'd never thought you'd lose, but your time is up I play to bruise." - Alexa Vega

"Piper, are you sure we aren't-"

"If we're lost it's only because the Sky Council needs a new cartographer... that's a person who makes maps."

"I know what a cartographer is!"

Robby-Ray laughed at Finn's embarrassment.

"Yeah, I knew them hoasers had no idea what the 'ell they was talking about, eh. This prison proly' doesn't even exist."

"I don't know Billy-Rex, they seemed pretty worked up about the whole thing at the meeting."

"That was just to sell it, eh! I bet this whole thing is just a hoax, a test! That's it, it's all another exam to make sure we've still got it, eh! The hoasers..."

"Thank you Suzy-Lu, but I don't think-"

But it was too late. Now Billy-Rex and Suzy-Lu were going on and on about conspiracies and ass-kickings, and there was no stopping them. The noise was making Aerrow's headache worse, he seemed to be getting a lot of those lately, so he tried to stop them. Finn, Starling, and the rest of the Absolute Zeros looked on in amusement. Piper ignored them all and, map in hand, went to pay her favorite merb a visit.

"So, Stork. Any ideas as to where our terra is?"

"Eh... there are hundreds of possibilities. The Leviathan swung by, Cyclonia tested one of their new lasers, oh! It could have been deadly Rock Crunching Flyers!"

Piper rolled her eyes and returned her gaze to the map.

"I just don't get it. It's not like the council would lie to us..."

Stork shrugged and gave the sky before them a once-over. Many of the other Sky Knights seemed to be in the same predicament as they were, confused and unsure about what to do next. Their ships hung in the sky, for their pilots had nowhere to pilot them. Sure, they all would have liked to have gone home, but what would they have said? Oh sorry, but the maps you gave us didn't take us anywhere and that prison you told us to protect doesn't exist. Can we go home now?

No. That wouldn't go well.

"Maybe the weren't lying. Maybe it's just invisible. The prison I mean. You know, as a security thing?"

Junko loomed above them both a hopeful expression on his face. Stork seemed to consider it, but Piper smiled and gave the wallop a pat on the shoulder. An invisible terra? Sure, it was possible, but the number of shielding crystals needed would be huge, and anything that had possession of that many crystals wouldn't stay a secret for very long. Cyclonia would have robbed it long ago.

That was another thing that didn't make sense to the navigator.

Cyclonia had connections throughout all of Atmos, it just wasn't possible for a prison of that size and importance to go unnoticed up until now. Master Cyclonis probably would give anything to have those criminals on her side... she would have done this raid in a situation that was more in her favor. On top of that, she wouldn't have let information about the raid get out so the mission would be at the risk of failure. It didn't make sense.

"This whole thing just seems... off. Know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I guess."

Piper resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Stork was never really one to offer any poitive response.

The merb's ears suddenly pricked, and his long fingers tightened on the wheel. Junko and Piper stared, but the paranoid pilot had his eyes narrowed on something in the sky. It was a skimmer, but it was a skimmer that hadn't been there before. Stork grabbed hold of his crystal peepers to get a closer look. What he saw caused him to shriek and jump back.

"Carver!"

"What?"

"Look!"

Piper grabbed a hold of the peepers and looked to where Stork was pointing. It was Carver. On a cyclonian skimmer. Flying straight at them, guns blazing.

"Stork!"

He wasted no time on a verbal rply, but immediately grabbed the controls and jerked them this way and that, to avoid the blasts. But the number of blasts was steadily increasing, and it was getting harder and harder to dodge them all. Which didn't make sense, until Piper got another look through the peepers. More ships, all with Cyclonian flags raised high, were literally appearing in the sky before them.

"Ha! I knew it! Invisible!"

"What's going on!?"

The rest of the team, Starling, and the Absolute Zeros rushed to the bridge, a bit too fast. Billy-Rex and Robby-Ray tripped over each other, and succeeded in taking Finn down with them, but no one paid them any mind.

Junko had been right. Piper figured it out. Master Cyclonis must have been planning this for a while, which is why she hadn't just raided the place ealrier. She'd cloaked the entire terra, keeping it hidden so that even when the Sky Knights arrived they wouldn't be able to stop the raid. It was pretty damn smart of her.

At least fifty Cyclonian carriers now hung in the air, and a number of skimmers were with them. Their cannons and guns were firing nonstop, even though many of the blasts hit nothing, and their blood-red flags contratsed greatly with the blue sky. Some of the other squadrons had began a counter-attack, but it was no use. The Cyclonians had the element of surprise, and the Sky Knights were completely blown off guard. But, as soon as the attack started, it ended. The guns continued firing, but the ships were speeding away from the fleet of Atmosians.

And the Sky Knights would have followed after them, if it weren't for the explosion. Terra Anoyo and the prison had appeared, but in flames. The entire terra was on fire, and the initial explosion had been rigged like a giant fire work. The symbol of the Cyclonian Talons now hung suspended in the air above the terra, as if some great giant had taken a brush and painted it there.

"Damn..."

"What should we do?"

"Go after them, of course!"

Stork nodded and moved to turn the ship around in order to pursue the fleeing Cyclonians, but the buzzing of the radio stopped him.

"Sky Knights, come in Sky Knights."

"Carver!"

"Yeah, listen. I know you probably want to follow after us, but you should be more worried about the guards we left to burn."

"You what?!"

"Good luck with that."

The radio buzzed out as Aerrow clenched his teeth and ordered everyone to their skimmers. He told Stork to send out a message to the rest of the Sky Knights, telling them to come down. They'd need all the help they could get. They couldn't risk sending half of their forces after the prisoners, the prison was big and there were sure to be hundreds of people left inside.

Besides, as much as they hated to admit, they wouldn't be able to do anything with the prisoners even if they got them back from the cyclonians. The prison was basically destroyed, so they couldn't be put back there, and they were too dangerous to leave in a regular, totally average prison. And it's not like they could live on the carrier ships, that would be like opening a rabid dog's cage door and saying 'go to it.'

It wasn't going to happen.

Everyone, minus Stork, started their rides, be it a slipwing or an ice grinder, and sped from the hangar and into the sky. Familiar skimmers came around to join them, and they all descended down to the burning terra. The Absolute Zeros readied their snow blowers, and as the great pack of atmosians came upon the biggest gate, they fired. The snow cleared away the flames, and everyone flew in unharmed.

Unfortunately, it was hard to see where they were going. The flames that licked at the walls were the only source of light in the long tunnel, and even they weren't that helpful. Aerrow growled and turned back to the Absolute Zeros.

"Guys, think you can clear the top? We're going to need somewhere to put the guards."

"Good thinking there, chief."

The sound of the ice grinders backing out of the tunnel calmed Aerrow's nerves, and he faced the rest of his allies. He told them to split up into groups, and find the guards. If they were alive, bring the up to the top. If they weren't... it was best that their families got to remember them as they were. And if any cyclonians were still there, then they were to be brought up top as well. The Sky Knights weren't murderers, even if the people they'd be murdering were cyclonians.

"Alright, get to it!"

The other skimmers sped away, but the Storm Hawks remained at the entrance of the tunnel. Aerrow gripped his handlebars so tight his knuckles were white, and his usually cheerful eyes were cold and hard. Piper came up on his side and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry Aerrow, we'll get 'em back."

The red head shot the navigator a grateful look and sighed. It was clear he was pissed off that the cyclonians had gotten there and made off with their deadly cargo before the Sky Knights were able to stop them, but he was dreading what the Council would say. They'd been counting on them to protect the prison, and they'd failed. And now Cyclonia had control over the most dangerous criminals Atmos had ever seen.

Today was turning out to be a very bad day.

"Let's go, those guards aren't going to save themselves."

"Right."

They revved their rides and sped away down the tunnel, pausing only to decide which trns they should take. They passed many dead guards, either on the ground burning or pinned against the wall by shrapnel. It wasn't a pretty sight. They didn't find anyone that was actually alive, and that scared them. A prison of that size should have been teeming with guards struggling to breathe. But the long burning corridors contained nothing but broken steel doors.

"Aerrow, we gotta go! The place is coming down!"

Aerrow turned back to Finn just in time to see the young blonde slapping at aa stray cinder that had fallen in his hair. The Sky Knight resisted the urge to laugh, and observed the state of the tunnel. Finn was right, the walls were beginning to cave, and the flames were spouting off smoke that made the red head's eyes water.

"Alright. Let's hope the others were able to save some lives."

Back on the top of the terra, the Sky Knights had gathered around the disappointingly small group of surviving guards. The absolute Zeros had been able to clear the flames away on top, but there was too much tunnel and not enough time to save the prison. The flames still blazed with, so it was important they left before the entire thing collapsed and fell into the wastelands.

"Okay, who wants to take 'em?"

No one volunteered, so the Third Degree Burners were forced to take them on the grounds that their carrier was the biggest.

Back on the Condor the Storm Hawks were dreading the return back home. The news of the failed state of the mission would surely be a cause for heads to roll, and the casualty list of the prison guards wouldn't do much to brighten their moods.

"Well... I think I'll go play my guitar one last time before I die. See ya."

"Yeah, have fun."

Finn flashed the peace sign as the door slid shut behind him. Junko's ears drooped and he decided to head off to the kitchen to make some comfort food. Stork continued to steer the ship, Aerrow beside him, and Starling tried to comfort the Sky Knight, despite the fact that she was just as worried. The Absolute Zeros, Piper, and Radarr sat at the meeting table, with Piper absentmindedly stroking Radarr's head. Suzy-Lu was having fun watching the glaring contest Billy-Rex and Robby-Ray were having, each one seated on either side of the dark haired navigator.

It was clear to Suzy-Lu and the rest of the blizzarians that Billy-Rex and Robby-Ray shared a huge crush for the girl, and found it extremely hilarious when they both competed for her attention. Ever since Billy-Rex had found out that Piper wasn't a Sky Knight, he figured that she was fair game. He wouldn't have said it that way, though, what he had said was that a Sky Knight wouldn't have time for a long-distance relationship, and since Piper wasn't a Sky Knight, then it'd work out fine.

Trouble was, Billy-Rex didn't have much experiance with girls. So he was having a hard time getting her to notice his affection without totally scaring her.

No matter how much Billy-Rex cared, Suzy-Lu still wanted Robby-Ray to win Piper's heart. Billy-Rex loved her, that much was sure, but she didn't think he knew what love really was. The wily furball loved sports, eating contests, anything extreme. Piper needed someone who could be calm and serious when the time called for it, which was something Billy-Rex hated doing.

Robby-Ray loved sports just as much as Billy-Rex, but when he decided to be calm, relaxed and gentle, he was still fun. The two were better suited for each other.

And in Suzy-Lu's opinion, they made a cuter couple.

"So Piper, when this here thing with the prison settles out, maybe you an' me could-"

"Go out fer that trainin' in the back country, eh?"

The glaring contest intensified, and the Absolute Zeros erupted into laughter while Piper and Radarr just shared looks of confusion.

Cyclonia

"Are you in or out? Gotta know without a doubt. I'm the one you need for a dirty deed, I'm the best! Success is guaranteed! Are you men or mice? Take a slice of my advice. You want a fearless leader, one whose strong and stout. Better vote for me, are you in or out?" - Aladdin and the King of Thieves

The mission force arrived back at Cyclonia about an hour after their dramatic exit.

AFter their cargo had been unloaded, most if not all of the Talons decided to take the rest of the day off. They stayed on their ships, or they gathered together in groups and made themselves comfortable in one of the palace's many chambers. Carver, Rems, and Allie-Jay stayed aboard the Chief, to just relax and take it easy. Their job was done, now it was their master's turn.

The ex-inmates didn't have much time to take in their new surroundings, for as soon as they were unloaded from the ships, they were brought before Master Cyclonis. They were a motley crew, an odd bunch. Some definitely looked the part of extremely-dangerous and deadly criminal, being thick-muscled, burly men with a gallery of scars and inks. With a few others, one could hardly think they had the capability of harming a fly, much less a person. There were males and females, both young and old. There were raptors, merbs, and blizzarians. There was but one thing they all had in common, their prison neck-numbers, grisly and permanent reminders of their days in Xavier's.

"Welcome to Cyclonia, my fellow outcasts. I appreciate you not giving my soldiers too much trouble."

Master Cyclonis was seated on her throne, regarding the group before her with amethyst eyes. The talons had the criminals lined up and orderly, the younger of them in the front and the older ones toward the back. The one girl Allie-Jay had taken special care to observe while on the ship was in the front row, head down and form rigid.

"Well, I don't think introductions are quite neccessary, so I'll get to the point. You all have been brought here to be talons. I know this wasn't what you were looking forward to doing when my soldiers freed you from prison. But, I think you'll find that being a talon could make you all very happy people."

No noise from the crowd, causing a sigh on Master Cyclonis' part. The young empress rose from her throne and began to descend the staircase, which induced some involuntary tightening of spine from the ex-inmates.

"You can speak to me, you know. I won't bite."

The crowd before her still remained silent, though their cold stares clearly said they were not pleased with their new surroundings. The Master blatantly ignored it, striding down the first line of criminals, eyeing each one with her cold and calculating violet eyes.

"My palace may not seem quite homey to you all just yet, but give it time. You'll soon know it like the back of your hand."

Cyclonis stopped, she stood before the only girl in the front row. In fact, she was the only female that stood in the ranks of the first fifty criminals. This time Cyclonis' eyes didn't just give a quick once-over, like with the other criminals. This time she let here eyes travel slower, carefully documenting the girl's every detail.

"Your name?"

No answer. The girl remained silent. Cyclonis cocked her head to the side, a curious glint in her eyes.

"I asked you a question, my dear."

The tension in the air was so thick you could cut it with a knife, and the girl still didn't speak. Cyclonis remained patient, continuing to stare, and waited for an answer.

"U-uhm..."

Cold violet eyes moved to stare at the young man that stood directly behind the silent girl. He was thin, but only from improper care. He was sure to fill out to be quite strong and broad-shouldered, once he was given proper nutrition. His eyes were the same unusual shade of brown as his hair. It was definitely brown, but there was an odd, nearly invisible hue of red in it. It instantly reminded the master of a shining new one-piece.

"Yes?"

"I-I think she might be a mute. She didn't say a single word the entire trip back."

"Is that so?"

The master brought her gaze back to the girl before her and stared for a bit longer. Then she brought up a pale hand and gripped the girl's chin. Her jaw clenched, but she did not resist as Cyclonis brought her head up so she could get a look at her face.

Master Cyclonis liked what she saw.

Perfect skin, smooth as silk, and not a single blemish. Perfect mouth, perfect nose... perfect. Aside from one thing. The girl kept her only visible eye shut tight. An especially wild section of the girl's hair fell down over the right half of her face, hiding her right eye from view. Cyclonis brought up her other hand to push away the hair, but the very second that skin touched skin, the girl's left eye snapped open. The girl's gaze was cold and hard, but it was the color of the iris made Cyclonis freeze.

It was a cool, stormy grey. But, there was an odd, unexplainable undertone of... something. Yellow? Gold? Yes, gold. There almost looked to be flashes of gold hidden within the girl's iris, but it was impossible to tell. One second they'd be there, and the next second they'd be gone.

Like flashes of lighting in a thunderstorm.

'A very attractive thunderstorm...'

"So, is he correct? You don't speak?"

Still nothing. The girl didn't even move. She didn't nod, twitch, or anything. The dark teenager's patience began to waver.

"My dear, I can stand here all day. So I suggest you answer my question, for your own sake. Just nod, I don't care. I'm sure you must be tired from the trip back."

The constantly-changing color of the girl's iris gave her stare an almost entrancing quality, and the more Cyclonis matched it evenly with her own, the more she began to loose interest in everything else around her. The eyes of the other criminals were all trained on the pair, but Cyclonis didn't seem to notice, so lost in the girl's eyes she was. The trance was broken, though, when the girl let out a small sigh.

"No."

"No what?"

"I'm not a mute. Now would you remove your hand?"

"...Why would I do that?"

"Because I don't like strangers in my personal space."

The smirk split into a full chesire cat grin. Cyclonis moved closer, uncomfortably closer. Their foreheads almost touched, and the master's breathe fanned out over the girl's face. Her grip loosened and her hand moved up to stroke the girl's cheek. She moved her head so that her mouth was right up against the girl's ear.

"What did you say your name was?"

"...I don't know."

Cyclonis didn't move, she was quite fine where she was, but she couldn't help the look of confusion that graced her features. The grin was replaced with a small frown.

"Pardon?"

"...I don't know what my name is. I haven't needed one for a long time."

"Hm... then whatever shall I call you?"

"I don't care as long as you take a couple of steps back."

Cyclonis chuckled and gave in to the girl's request. She missed the prescence of the girl's unusually comforting body heat, but didn't let it show, and put a hand to her chin. Her eyes resumed their travel over the girl's form, while a list of possible names went through her head.

"Huh... names, names, names... oh! You know what? I think I've got it."

Cyclonis grinned and leaned in close to the girl's face again, an satisfied spark in her eyes.

"In an old language I'm happy to know... 'thunder' translates to a word that I think could suite you very well. Rois. Mm-hm. Rois."

((A/N: Rois is to be pronounced 'roy-eez'. It is the gaelic word for thunder.))

"Alright. We'll finish this tomorrow, my friends. I'm sure you are all exhausted. So I'll make this quick. My talons got you out, so you are in our debt. you will be talons until I feel each and every one of you has repaid that debt. Once you have, you can choose to remain with us, or you can try and make your way in the world. Am I clear?"

Many wanted to protest, and many almost did. One thing stopped them. The hard, unmoving gaze of Master Cyclonis, and the second, disembodied voice that accentuated her question. Instead of an all out revolt right then and there, most just glared with all their might, while a courageous few did nothing more than snarl. Their weak protest was ignored, and the same talons that escorted the prisoners to the throne room now escorted them to their new cells.

The barracks weren't much, just lines and lines of bunk-beds. But to the criminals, who hadn't slept in beds in years, it was absolute heaven.

The newly-dibbed Rois chose a bottom bunk that was in the back corner of the room, a bit confused as to what she was supposed to do with the blankets. She didn't notice the boy that spoke up in the throne room come up behind her.

"Hi."

Rois jumped and fell back onto the bed while the young man laughed.

"Sorry, sorry! I didn't want to scare you. Do you mind if I...?"

"N-no, go ahead. Sorry for jumping. I'm just a bit-"

"Weirded out? Yeah. That creepy chic wants to get in your pants. I can imagine how you must feel."

"...Again please?"

Rois stared at him, glared really, and he let loose another quick chuckle as he climbed up to the top bunk. Once he had himself situated, he turned his attention back to the irritated girl below him and smirked a devilishly handsome smirk.

"You heard me. She. Wants. To. Get. In. Your. Pants. It's obvious. The name's Copper by the way."

Rois stared at his hair and cocked her head to the side, the hint of a smile on her face, before muttering, 'Fitting.' Copper rolled his eyes and laid down on the cot, his hands behind his head. He stared up at the ceiling, thoughts flitting from one subject to another, before he finally spoke what he'd been thinking since they'd entered the throne room.

"We still aren't free. We're still prisoners. This is just a change in scenery."

"You think?"

Rois took his snort for a yes, and sighed. He was absolutely right. The second Master Cyclonis used the word 'debt,' it was confirmed. They were still bound in shackles, bound by someone else's will. They weren't idiots, they wouldn't fight back, there were too many talons, and Rois could guess Master Cyclonis wasn't someone you wanted on your bad side.

"So... good night?"

"Yeah."

Copper sighed, but soon fell into a peaceful, dreamless sleep. Rois wasn't so lucky.

She stayed awake, long into the night. She wasn't tired. She toyed with a frayed part of the blanket, listening to the many different breathing rythms of the others. Suddenly, it was about halfway through the night and she still hadn't succeeded in falling asleep, she felt that she needed to ask a question. She got up and looked at Copper's sleeping form. She poked him in the shoulder, harder when he didn't wake up, and eventually she had to give him a good shake before he cracked a bronze eye open.

"Why were you sent to hell?"

He regarded her shadowed form for a while, before sighing. His face took on an almost pained expression, as if the memories hurt.

"My father was the King of Terra Razco. I murdered him, my mother, and I raped my step-sister. Then I set the whole Terra on fire."

Her stare never wavered, and he couldn't tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"What did you do?"

She stayed silent for a while, long enough for Copper to wonder if he'd insulted her. But she didn't have anger in her gaze, or sadness. The only thing he saw was a mix of curiosity and frustration.

"I... don't know."