Aerrow watched for the flare, kept his eyes glued to the window.

The sky was pale, the stars nonexistent.

Someone stirred behind him.

He spun around and saw Fauc.

"Hey. Something wrong?"

The boy shifted his weight steadily, trying to find the right words. "It's Spark. I'm worried. Did she tell you...?"

"About the questioning?" Aerrow shrugged. "Yeah, she did."

"Well, she's beating herself up so badly. I don't know what to do. I really like her, she's a great friend...And my dad's not exactly being...helpful, you know?"

Aerrow chuckled. "The Finn-man. Well, you can always wait. There's always the virtue of patience. Who knows, she may just snap out of it yet."

"Alright, then. See anything yet?"

"No. I've got no idea what's taking them so..." Aerrow squinted. "Wait a sec. THERE!"

Fauc grabbed the goggles and peered out the window. A bright red flare was shooting into the sky, fading slowly to nothing.

"Sound the alarm. We're going in."

Jing crept up the mountain, arms and legs moving automatically. After all, she'd climbed this ridge hundreds of times before, as a child. The Taoists had landed near the top; she had seen a pop of light, which meant they had shot a flare of some kind. They were no longer alone. She paused and looked out to sky, her eyes taking in a small, dark, dot in the distance. Too tiny to be one of Asiatica's carriers.

So who was it?

She decided to ask the Taoists when she found them.

She reached the timber line, the trees growing scarce and the rocks growing thick. She saw the glint of skimmers in the distance, and donned her Shue Nu uniform. So as not to be confused for the enemy.

Ying and his men had converted their skimmers to bike form, and were waiting patiently. She crept out from behind the rocks.

"Sir?" she hissed. He didn't seem to hear.

"SIR?"

"What? Who's there?" Ying pulled out his sword, but didn't turn it on. He remembered the instructions of Aerrow and his navigator: only fight if absolutely necessary.

"It's me. I am a Shue Nu, one of the survivors. My name is Shui Jing." She pulled off her mask.

"Well then, Miss Jing, why aren't you in the city, helping the others?"

"I want to fight." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Can I?"

Ying was silent in the darkness. "We'll see."

Nightwing was wary, and Nightwing was cautious.

He could see the small black dot that was the Condor in the distance. He had all his men on watch, and that included Notte and Gaeli. No surprises tonight.

The "ninja women" had been rounded up and jailed. He didn't want any disturbances. Not tonight.

They had set up camp quickly. He stayed outside of his tent, however. He wanted to keep his eyes on the sky. It was one of those "Just in case" scenarios. He didn't want anything cliche and stupid to happen to his army.

Gaeli came running, magenta hair streaking behind her.

"Ace, there's no one. Can we PLEASE get some sleep?"

He stared at her for a few moments, before nodding. "Fine. Get some rest. I'll see you in the morning."

She ran off, back to her tent.

He pulled out his extra Firebolt and let it glitter in the firelight. Maybe things would go OK. Then again, maybe they wouldn't. It all depended on what happened tonight.

Asiatica smoked.

And Nightwing watched the fumes rise, twisting through the air like omens of trouble.

Ying was reluctant to let Jing stay with them.

However...

The skills of a Shue Nu were always valued.

And she made good company. Jing was witty; she had a comeback for every jab you threw at her. And she was kind, as well. He was surprised he hadn't heard more about her in his military circle.

Zieng, his second in command, seemed to like her a lot...

They made their way down the mountain, darkness wrapping around them like a blanket. When they reached the base, Ying took Jing by the arm and looked her in the eye.

"Have you ever killed a man?"

"No..."

"Well, I want it to stay that way. Go and free the other Shue Nu; the men and I will deal with the fighting. Can you do that?"

She gave a terse nod, before waving goodbye at Zieng at the others and disappearing into the darkness. The prisons where the other women were being kept were towards the back of the terra; she would have to move quickly. Behind her, the sounds of a fight began to erupt, and a dark shape swept across the sky.

A ship.

Blue balls of energy flew from clouds to terra, blowing craters, raising hell. She dodged them and ran on, reaching the jail with little problems.

She rapped on the door.

"HEY! HEY, it's Jing!"

"Do you have a key?" She recognized the voice of their leader, the Sensei.

"Er...Couldn't I just cut the lock?"

"Whatever you do, hurry up. We can't let the men get all the fun," someone barked. Snickers were heard.

Jing stood back and pulled out her paper thin sword. The silvery blade reflected the thin moonlight. She saw the lock; it was made of malleable material. She raised the sword and slashed.

There was a chinking sound as the metal split, and then the lock fell to the ground with a puff of dust and a muffled thump. The door swung open.

"Everyone, out!"

Fifteen women bounded out of the door, clad in black, dark hair tied in long braids down their backs. The Sensei came out last, and she clapped Jing on the back.

"Thank you. Now, we must get our swords. Do you know where they are keeping them?"

"I scouted around the camp. They have an arsenal where they store weapons. Perhaps..."

"Alright. Let's go, Shue Nu. We have a battle to fight."

Aerrow stood next to Stork as he flew, listening to Finn, Fauc, and Junko as they fired away. The Cyclonians scrambled below, tents crumbling.

"Stork. Should we fly?"

"Only if they do," the Merb mumbled, rather grudgingly. "I still think we're doomed."

"You do that, buddy. If it makes you feel better."

"It does." Stork swerved to one side to avoid a glowing arrow; he missed it by inches. Finn gave a little whistle.

"Nice flying, man."

"What...ever."

Aerrow flicked on the radio. "Ying, do you copy? Ying!"

The radio fizzed with static for a moment, before there was a click. "Loud and clear."

"How's it going?"

"We got them by total surprise. The Shue Nu have been freed. We're doing well, better than before."

"Alright. We'll keep our cannons going."

"See you in the city!"

The radio clicked off. Aerrow turned away from the window, closed his eyes, and stole a few moments of sleep. It'd be all he'd get tonight. He'd better make the best of it.

Nightwing must've fallen asleep. He was awaken by the sound of cannons, the sound of dying, the sounds of war.

Gaeli came barging into his tent, chest heaving from exertion.

"Ace...we have a bit of a...problem."

He looked up and saw her, bleeding from the shoulder. He bounded from bed, rushing over, grabbing her other arm and jerking her onto the cot.

"Sit," he grunted. "Let me see."

"I'm okay, let go!" She tried to squirm free, but he was stronger, and he kept her down. He pulled the cloth aside and looked at the wound. It was pretty deep, and the blood was gushing. He tore off a strip of his own sheets and wrapped it around her arm, trying to staunch the red liquid.

"Now don't move," he cautioned. "I don't want you bleeding to death."

She watched as his dark hair fluttered. He was gritting his teeth, focusing on cleaning her up. Of late, she'd been trying to get over him, get over the fact that it was impossible for the two of them to ever be...close in that way. At least, until he found out whoever had written that damn letter. He looked up, smile on his face. He was an inch away from her, their noses almost touching. Her golden eyes reflected his red ones.

"I'm fine. Really."

"I'm sure you are, but I'm not taking any chances. Stay here until the blood's stopped, then you can go." He gave her a little shake. "Promise me, Gaeli."

"I promise."

"Good. See you later." And he grabbed his sword, running out of the tent, into the fray of the night.