Skies and Scars

Mortal Instruments / Storm Hawks

Disclaimer; I do not own any of the MI or SH characters. Anne Cusack is mine though - all mine! Well, she's a friend of mine from school who is so amazing that I just had to include her.

Note: Hello there! I know know, long time no see. HOWEVER - long chapter :)

He said, Son, have you seen the world? Well, what would you say if I said that you could?

Rise Against, Hero of War

Today was the day; the day she promised she'd wait for. Funny, she thought, how I wait for years for one boy but leave in a few moments when I should be waiting for another. The guilt dug deep inside her, hurting her with every thought. Every memory.

Chapter 5. A New Twist In This Already Dramatic Story

Anne squeezed her eyes shut, blocking the mental image. That memory had been a month ago. He hadn't spoken to her since and she had begun to doubt if he was coming back. Either way, it was too much for her; the guilt that is. How could she just pack up and leave without leaving a note? Or sending a message? What would he do if he knew she was with the Storm Hawks? Would he still love… A lump rose in her throat. Could I still love him? No… she had made a promise; Cyclonia or no Cyclonia she would love him. More like Storm Hawks or no Storm Hawks? A coy smile hit her lips at the thought. The ironic twist of fate. Of love. The thin silver band around her finger grew heavier and heavier. The FireBolt crystal shined a sickly blood red in the fading light, reminding her of the sun at a summer sunset.

Then there was Aerrow. He had become handsome, so charming. It reminded her of… Aerrow had come back to her like he had promised five years ago. He hadn't even spoken to her for a month. A small lump rose in her throat. No, not again, I have to stop thinking about him, she thought.

The sun had dipped below the horizon; the bleak sky turning into a deep black curtain with the bright stars floating above her like fairy lights. The breeze had the approaching Autumn's touch, making her shiver as it blew past her in short breaks.

She could feel the approaching footsteps, the slight shuffle of sleepy feet, and the door open behind her. The faint yet familiar smell of fuel and rain over came her as she lightly reopened her eyes.

"You've got to stop doing that," she said lowly, standing up straight.

"What?"

"Sneaking up on me. You're always around me, even if I don't know it, it's kind of creepy," she swallowed, taking a step away from the barrister and looking at the long scar along his arm. "So, who did it?"

"My nemesis," he growled. "The Dark Ace."

"Oh," she said quietly, making her mouth in the shape of an 'o'. Sudden dread leaked through her veins. Aerrow had a disgusted look on his face as he looked down at the mark on his arm, matching the swelling hatred in his voice. "I guess you really hate him then."

"Hate him?" he laughed. "No, trust me I don't hate him. I despise him. He's twisted, wrong, dark… He's everything I stand to fight against."

"Even if it means to fight against another Sky Knight?" she asked. He looked up at her, confused and marred at her words; was that an insult or a question?

"What do you mean, he's no Sky Knight!"

"He's protecting his Terra, and if protecting his Terra means fighting you and the rest of Atmos then yes, he is a Sky Knight. He's following orders. He went to the Academy, he was a Storm Hawk, in theory he is just like you," she explained. Rage ran its way through her veins like a fire.

"He is not like me, and he is not a Sky Knight. A Sky Knight has honour, pride and morality. He does not," he spat. "Why are you defending him? He took away your home, your whole life."

Anne stood motionless; rigid. "I-I-I… You are not my whole life! I have had a whole five years of my life without you - just fine!"

"See, you can't even answer my question. Living alone has made your thinking whack…" he shouted, waving his hands up in the air.

"You calling me crazy?" she yelled back. "That's a bit rich coming from you. Never, never, did you think of contacting me; telling me how you were going and when you'll be back, sending supplies? No, you had given up on me - left me to survive on my own at ten years old. That's if I was alive. I saw your face when you arrived on Gardinia; you knew what you would find. A burnt out house, remnants of a living person, tatters of a home. But you didn't think you would find me. You were shocked, and I saw it. You think you're so tough, with your pride and your morality. You've got everything; a ship, a squadron, a life. If that wasn't enough, there's a little war going on and you're only too happy to be slap bang right in the middle of it. And in these battles and adventures to save the world you never thought of anyone but yourself, did you?"

"Excuse me, but did you just say I was selfish? I'm trying to save the Atmos from Cyclonia!"

"You think it has to be you who must win. You're the one who has to save everyone. Finn told me about the Dark Ace; how he beat you when you first began. He told me about how distraught you were afterwards, how you felt like you'd never be better than him. You say you've defeated him, when really it was you and your squadron. That's low Aerrow, even for you," she cursed, watching her word sink in. He remained quiet, his cold green stare taking her all in. She was so angry yet so beautiful; her golden hair whipping at her cheeks, her eyes flaming at him.

"Don't look at me like that," she said flatly, turning away.

"Anne, wait," he called after her, grudgingly following her. "Is that what you really think of me?"

"Yes," she whispered, not looking at him. "And no."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"You are all of those things I said; annoying, selfish, dimwitted…'

"I get the point."

"But you're also amazing. You're smart, cunning, handsome, loving, kind, brave, courageous… I don't know - I'm not a thesaurus. And that's why I waited Aerrow. I waited for the Aerrow I grew up with, the little red headed boy who dreamed of being a Sky Knight. The boy who would ask if I'm okay, even when you knew I wasn't, the boy who told me it was going to work out. The boy… The boy I love," she choked, stamping her foot on the ground impatiently.

"Things change, times change, people change," Aerrow said, placing his hands on either side of her on the wall; making a barrier around her with his arms. "It's been five years since we last saw each other. My little sister from five years ago is gone now. And she's grown up to be a strong, independent, beautiful, young woman."

"Aerrow, stop," she warned, pressing against his chest with her small hands. This can't be happening! Not now…

"Stop what? Stop me saying that every day since I left I have thought about you? That everything reminds me of how beautiful and strong and brave you are? I've been looking forward to this day since the beginning and I thought you would too," he said, breathless. Anne looked away, her throat choking up. Pushing past she made her way inside and stared out of the window. It was still warm inside but still a little stuffy. The smell of fuel was faint as it was overpowered by the cool breeze that seeped in gradually from the window. The stone around her throat throbbed with light like a second disembodied heart; bringing bright light onto her face.

"Anne?" he called quietly from behind her. She spun on her heel to find him about a metre away from her and the cool breeze on her back.

"Remember… You should be the last person to ask my name?" she smiled, holding back tears. Hugging herself, she stared down at the ground. "You were wrong, by the way."

"Oh, how?" he asked mockingly, tilting his head back and rubbing his temples.

"I did look forward to today," she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut. "I did think about you everyday and everything would remind me of you. And I don't see you as a brother. I never did. You were, and always will be, my best friend. And I know this may seem stupid but I really missed you and yet it feels like I've seen you every day. It's doesn't feel like you've changed; you're still the same little boy on the inside. The boy…" I've fallen in love with even though I haven't even seen or heard from you in five years and I was probably going to get married to someone else that you absolutely hate tomorrow.

His warm hands pulled her closer to him, their fiery touch lingering at her waist - contrasting to the icy cold silver touch on her finger. She leaned her forehead against his chest, absorbing his scent. "It's okay," he whispered, stroking her hair gently. "I know."

"Really?" she asked, leaning back so she could see his face. "I'm sure you don't know everything." Pushing his arms away, she left to find somewhere else to sleep.

In the early morning, Stork decided to wake everyone with the announcement that the Condor was fixed. In fact, it was better. Gardinia supplied a lot of new crystals for the engine and defences, including rare phoenix crystal fragments. Aerrow, Piper and Anne sat up in the main deck, watching the sun grow bigger over the horizon as the morning grew upon them. A red robin from the Terra had come aboard, and now sat perched upon Anne's shoulder affectionately.

"You had an entire archive down there! Most of these crystals haven't been tampered with yet, how did you operate with them without stabilizing them? Was it hard to dig them up? Did you explode anything?" Piper asked, question after question.

"Piper, calm down. She won't be able to understand you if you just yell at her. Plus it's nearly five o-clock in the morning," Aerrow suggested, plotting a course across the wide map beneath him.

"I need to calm down… I need some air. Yeah, air," she muttered, walking out onto the bridge. Anne smiled as the girl left, shaking her head and shrugging at random intervals as she paced back and forth.

"Is she always like that?" she asked, tightening the strings on her bow. Aerrow look up to see her outside, pacing and muttering to herself, and laughed. He looked back down at the map, a faint frown across his face. Anne carefully peeped up from her bow, studying him. He was a lot older now, and a lot more attractive then he had been as they grew up. She loved the way he would frown when he was concentrating, his green eyes boring into whatever he happened to be looking at. It had been so long and age had made the boy she had known turn into a young man; lean muscular chest with well built shoulders. There was no hair on his chin, his face still smooth, but still the hair on his head was a vibrant red. Radarr curled up on her lap, like he did when they were young, and she stroked his soft blue fur. In a weird selfish way, she had hoped it would have been the way it was before - just them on the Terra like all that time ago. But that was impossible; he was a Storm Hawk! Leader of the Storm Hawks no less. And there was a war going on, he was needed. Deep down she knew, despite her wanting it not to be true, she needed him too. Even Radarr had changed, she thought. They had grown up together, become heroes and lived an exciting life, without her. This was their world now, something she wasn't apart of. Standing up, she left before anyone could notice the tears swelling up behind her eyes.

"Anne?" asked Aerrow, knocking lightly on the door. "Anne, please open the door. I didn't get to talk to you before. Can we talk now?" Still no answer. He knocked again, slightly harder this time, knuckles against cool metal. The door slid open, the small girl standing behind it.

"I hear a knock, but no one's there," she shrugged, reaching to press the button that closed the door.

"Wait!" Aerrow insisted, grabbing her arm quickly. She pulled it back sharply, stabbing him with her eyes.

"Don't. Just, don't touch me," she whispered, holding her arms against herself.

"I… I'm sorry. For everything. You're absolutely right; I'm a selfish idiot who never thought about the consequences. Do you forgive me?" he asked hopefully, looking at the ground. He turned his eyes to her, looking up from beneath his eyelashes.

"Come in," she groaned, extending her arm out into her room. Taking a step, he was caught by her hand. "And no funny business."

"Scout's honour!" he said, giving her a small salute. Raising her eyebrows, she let him pass. There was stuff everywhere; clothes, paper, pens, crystals, books - all her possessions just laid out on the floor or on the bed.

"Um… wow. This puts Junko to shame," he said, moving a box of Blizzard crystals to the floor and lying across the bed.

"Shut up," she snapped, leaning against the wall; the most distant place away from him. "What did you want?"

"First of all, I wanted to see if you'd forgive me," he said, looking up to the ceiling.

"Well, you got that."

"Yeah, yeah - cool it. There's another thing. Did you mean what you said last night?" he asked, quieter then before.

She rolled her eyes, "I already said yes, you are an idiot."

"No, no," he hushed. "Did you mean it when you said you loved me?"

"Past tense Aerrow, emphasis on the past tense," she said, her throat tightening as she played with the silver FireBolt ring.

"No, you said 'the boy I love'," he corrected.

"Yeah, past tense. You're not the boy I remembered."

"But what if I could be the boy you remembered?" he whispered, jumping off the bed and over to her. He came up close, towering over her with his height. His warm hand glided up to her face, cupping her cheek in his fingers.

"Things have changed Aerrow," she mumbled, her eyes darting to the floor as she spoke.

"If you're talking about your mark thing, I don't care. If it's me, I'll change. Anne, I don't know how to say this but..."

"But don't. We've both changed; for the better I don't know. You're a famous hero, saving the world one Terra at a time, with your own squadron. Me… I'm just an ordinary girl with a dark past. One I don't want you to know about or live with the consequences," she gulped, stopping as his lifted her head up. She met his eyes; his wonderful beautiful green eyes. They studied her, delicately and softly, questioning her.

"When I saw you on Gardinia, I was scared that you had gone and someone else had taken your place. Then, when I knew it was you, I was shocked. You were right. I was shocked that you had become so beautiful, so strong, so powerful. I never forgot you, you know that? Every day, something would remind me of you. Every night, I would dream of you. And now that you're here… Nothing's changed. I still think about you all the time, I still dream about… I still want you. Cusey, you might think it wrong of me to do so but please, just let me," he asked.

"Let you do what?" she breathed, watching him carefully. His free hand came up behind her back, lifting her face up to his.

The Dark Ace turned sharply to face the door. He had been in the hanger for at least half an hour in silence and the loud clashing sound from the adjoining hanger had disturbed him. And he hated being disturbed.

Can't anybody get some peace and quiet around here? he thought to himself, grabbing his Firebolt crystal and blade. Not bothering to peer around the corner, he strode out of his private hanger to the main hallway that ran right through the Cyclonian landing decks. The sound had come from the Eastern Wing; on the other side of the wall he shared with other hangers. As he approached the Eastern Wing, hr could hear the muffled sounds of men talking. His twin blade lit up, lighting up his face with red light.

Why are men in the Eastern Wing at five o'clock in the morning? … no, THE DOOR! Dark Ace cursed. How could he have been so stupid? Master Cyclonis had put it there for the sole reason that he would be close to the Door to the Farside. Crouching, he looked around the corner. Bright sunlight pierced the hallway, the dazzling rays making their way from the hanger itself and on to the floor. The two young sentry guards laid slack against the far wall; one with a gag in his mouth and his wrists tightly bound, the other with his head drooped to the side and blood trickling out of his mouth. A tall blonde figure stood over them, his hair like golden brass in his own silhouette. Two glass thin blades were in his hands, both of them glowing brightly, casting an eerie flame onto his face. His eyes, a sharp golden, were hard and cold. Black smoky tattoos, like Sebastian's, made their way up his arms and shoulders. He wore coal black clothing, making him more a shadow than a person.

"Shadowhunter," he said aloud, his voice low. Standing up straight, he faced the boy who had already turned to him.

"Oh, what a good guess," he said, tilting his head to the side. "I was wondering when you were going to come out of the shadows. I was starting to think you were a demon or something. Then again, I've never heard of the Cyclonians. You're not demonic are you?"

The Dark Ace laughed, "You sound just like him."

"I've heard that I do sound like an angel but I'd never thought…"

"No, Sebastian. You sound like Sebastian," Ace replied sourly. "The other Shadowhunter my Master has brought to this place to bring chaos."

"Sebastian Verlac? I knew he would be here," the stranger spat, turning and walking away. Ace shrugged, lowering his blade. The boy paused at the vent entrance and looked back. "Your guess is as good as mine, Mr…?"

"Ace."

"Oh, very well Ace. Warn your Master that we will meet again," he smiled, lowering himself down into the vent system.

"How will she know if the threat is real?" Ace asked, leaning over the manhole. The boy looked up from the darkness, a small white stone beaming white light around him, showing his grim smile.

"Oh, Sebastian will know. Tell him, it's with regards from Jace Wayland," he chuckled, running out of Ace's sight. "Nighty Night Acey."