Chapter 7: Promises

Avior leaned against his skimmer as he watched the crowds go on with their day. He was thinking about the conversation he had with the Storm Hawks yesterday. After explaining their story, Avior wasn't sure if he believed it. The whole concept of what they had to deal with in the Far Side was hard to grasp. Also, the story of how the Dark Ace returned was truly unbelievable. As hard it was to comprehend, he was astonished by the Storm Hawks' story of how they returned. No wonder they haven't shown up until now, he thought, they sure are committed to stopping Cyclonis, though. He shook his head, they really were something else.

He scanned the crowds again, trying to locate Aerrow. After the Storm Hawks' explanation, he and the rest of the team had split up to try to find the Sky Knight. From what he saw and heard from the remains of the scene yesterday, he really wanted to meet him. Aerrow was a true Sky Knight, if not a little unorthodox. He was committed to rid the Atmos of evil, and the biggest threat was still Cyclonis; he would stop at nothing to put an end to her tyranny. Not only that, from what he heard about his and the Dark Ace's fight, he probably was the best Sky Knight in the Atmos now, as well as still the youngest.

They had searched all day yesterday and still were looking, but with no such luck. For some reason, they simply could not find him. One would think it wouldn't take that long to find a guy in a black hat and not wearing a shirt, but apparently it was. It was impossible to find him in this mess of people. He shifted his weight to lean on his other leg. Several people greeted and waved to him as they passed which he politely nodded in reply.

Avior yawned as he heard it; A loud shot that rang through the town. It was different than the blast from yesterday. This one sounded much crisper, like a gunshot. He, like everyone else, looked up, searching for the source of the gunshot. Another shot rang, coming from a few blocks away. Avior had heard rumors that there were rogues on the terra; most rogue boss' used crystal blasters compared to traditional crystal weapons. As much as he wanted to help find Aerrow, his Sky Knight duties had to be tended to first. Sighing, he got on his skimmer, driving towards the gunfire. Maybe Aerrow would be there, seeing that he had a knack for attracting trouble.

Gunner prowled through the streets, furious. He had planned on having some fun on the terra; stealing some valuables, picking fights, and causing chaos in general. However, ever since he met that Aerrow guy in that bar, the trip had been everything but.

After the second encounter with Aerrow, Gunner had gone back to the ceremony, wanting to take out his frustration on the 'Storm Hawks'. When he got there, though, he found that the Storm Hawks had left, saying that they were going after those responsible for the destruction of the square: No one had seen them since.

So he is the real Aerrow, he thought, bitterly. That ploy he had pulled on him was just so he could get away. He was angry, angry at the fact that Aerrow had played him so easily. Now he was looking for him again, this time with a vengeance. He had a few scores to settle.

Gunner, walking into a bar, kicked a chair out of his way. He and his team had looked all over the terra for the red haired pain in the neck. But, just like the Red Eagles who he was unaware of doing the same thing, they couldn't find him. Honestly, it was like the guy had vanished into thin air. No matter where they looked, Aerrow was nowhere. His team tentatively followed him, scared that their boss would start taking his frustration out on them again.

Gunner dropped unto the stool at the bar, harshly ordering for a beer. The rest of the team sat in the corner of the room, keeping a safe distance. The bartender carefully gave the bottle to Gunner, retracting his hand as if he was touching a bomb. Gunner drained the bottle in a minute, slamming the bottle down, and ordering another one. The bartender again gave the bottle in the same manner as before. He drained the bottle just as fast, again ordering another one.

As he waited for the bartender to fetch him another beer, Gunner barely noticed that someone else sat down next to him, ordering a beer as well. Gunner was so wrapped up with his angry thoughts that he didn't bother to look at other customer. He stared furiously at the wall, wishing that he had another shot at the Storm Hawk. He'd make him pay for treating him as a fool. He drained the bottle again, and motioned for another one.

"You know, drinking that much that fast isn't good for you," said a very familiar voice beside him.

Without turning to look, Gunner spat, "Shut up!" draining yet another one. He sensed that the customer had shrugged, returning to his own drink.

After some time, the customer stood up, passed some coins for payment, and said, "Thanks, Brian." As the customer left, the wheels in Gunner's mind began to turn. That voice was familiar, too familiar. He turned around in his seat quick enough to see, in horror, a man in a black hat and shirtless, walking out of the bar. It was Aerrow, and he had just sat next to him without his noticing. "He's a dead man!" he shouted as he ran after him, ignoring his team who had cowered in the corner.

Aerrow walked out of the bar, sighing. He still couldn't find his friends. He had only been on the terra for three days, but he thought he'd seen them by now. That was the whole reason he was on the terra. The fight with the Dark Ace was solely by coincidence. He knew he'd fight with him soon, but he wasn't expecting that. Now that he thought about, he actually was completely surprised by the random attack of the Dark Ace. So much for coming back without causing chaos, he thought. Then again, staying quietly wasn't the easiest thing to do with the chaos going on now.

He shook his head. The stories of the rogue infestation bothered him greatly. He had led his team into the Far Side chasing after the Atmos' greatest threat, Cyclonis. He never thought that such a problem would pop up in their absence. He also felt a little guilty. From what he understood, these rogue squadrons had been somewhat inspired by their team's status of being unofficial. He didn't think such a simple matter could cause so many problems.

Another thing was bothering him, too. All of the comments of the real Storm Hawks and the real Aerrow didn't make any sense. The idea of someone pretending to be them was ridiculous. He never thought that people could fall for anything that stupid. But their own friends had fallen for the Raptors terrible disguises, he reminded himself, if they could easily fall for that stupid trick, they could easily fall for a much better trick and disguise.

Aerrow started to walk down the street when he heard an angry yell, "He's a dead man!"

Turning towards the noise, Aerrow saw Gunner bursting out of the bar in a wild fury. After looking madly around the area, Gunner spotted him, a drunken smile creeping onto his face. In a single movement, Gunner's blaster appeared in his hand, aimed at Aerrow. Before Aerrow could say anything, Gunner shot at him, a loud blast rang through the town.

Aerrow cocked his head to the side, barely avoiding the shot. An irritated frown appeared on his face, "Seriously, what is your problem with me?"

Gunner laughed, "My problem with you? You've been a thorn in my side for too long! That's my problem with you!"

Aerrow was baffled, "I only met you two days ago."

"That's long enough!"

Aerrow just stared at Gunner as if he was a madman, which at this point, Aerrow wouldn't rule out. It was clear that he was drunk. The look earned him another shot at his head which he easily dodged. After he had dodged his shot, Gunner came charging at Aerrow, a mad drunken gleam in his eyes.

Aerrow sighed as he watched coming at him. This was starting to get out of hand and he needed to stop it. Gunner swung his arm at Aerrow's head, his blaster still in hand. Aerrow ducked, hearing another shot. He grabbed Gunner's arm, forcing it up as he started shooting again. Gunner made for a wild punch, but stopped when a hard punch made contact to his stomach. Coughing, Gunner slid to the ground, holding his stomach. He looked up at Aerrow in dazed eyes. His clouded mind was muddling with the fact that he had just been brought to his knees with a single punch. Though he was drunk and not thinking clearly, he knew that this guy was far stronger than him.

As Gunner slunk to the ground, Aerrow started walking away again. "You won't get away with this!" Aerrow stopped, watching the desperate man scream at him. Gunner had a wild smile across his face. He cursed at him, "You don't know who my boss is, do you? Heh, he's the leader of the Predators, one of the Elite Rogue Squadrons. He always protects his own. He'll find you and he'll kill you."

"I'm looking forward to it," said Aerrow, flatly.

"You know, for someone who's trying to lay low until he reunites with his team, you're doing a terrible job, then again, for you that's probably impossible."

Aerrow turned around to see a man wearing the Red Eagles uniform and had an energy sword on his back. He was of average height with short brown hair and mustache. Despite his formal appearance, his face looked rugged, but casual. His grey eyes surveyed Aerrow with approval as he walked up to him. He held out his hand which Aerrow shook questioningly.

"I'm Avior, the new Sky Knight of the Red Eagles. It's an honor to finally meet you, Aerrow."

"So, they finally replaced Carver? Nice to meet you, Avior."

"It took a while to find someone strong enough and loyal to the Sky Knight Council. Actually, not long before the finally battle with Cyclonia, they were considering you and your team." Aerrow gave a questioning look.

"Shortly after, they knew that you would never settle for just protecting Terra Atmosia."

"Well, I won't deny that." The two laughed.

"So, what do you want to do with that guy?" asked Aerrow, pointing towards Gunner who was being helped to his feet by his team, unsuccessfully.

Avior waved it off, "My team will take care of them. There's a promise I need to keep. There's a lot of people who been waiting for your return. I think it's time to get you back to your team."

I know it's a short chapter, but it's still necessary, I think. I'm trying to build up a type of feeling around the story, a more mature one than the actual series. So tell me if I'm doing a good job or failing horribly.

Also, this is the last of the already written chapters, so the chapters will be coming much more slowly than this, THAT I can promise you.

Disclaimer-I don't own the Storm Hawks

Hope you enjoyed it and please comment or review!