Hello! I'm truly sorry for not writing that often, but I am extremely busy and do not have that much time to write, but oh well.

Anyhow, I thought you would all like to learn more about how Cyclonis is doing. So here you go.

Chapter 13: Musings

The gloomy and violent weather that clung to the atmosphere around New Cyclonia could send eerie chills down the spines of many. The reconstructed empire was symbol of raw and terrible power. True, it had a grand greatness to it, but the menacing essence that poured out of it scared even the hardest of fighters. This malevolent power that the terra itself gave off was, in large part, the reason why so many stayed away from the place, even rogues and Sky Knights.

The second reason why most chose to avoid the rebuilt empire was because of the new and advanced technology that it possessed. Cyclonis hadn't wasted any time bringing back even more technology from the Far Side. The first time she had been there, she had only scratched the surface of the true wealth of knowledge that the Far Side possessed. Once actually being a part of the world of the Far Side, she discovered a plethora of new and strange technologies that she didn't even think existed. The Far Side had discovered a way to truly combine the energy of crystals and electricity that would harmonize together in a perfect way. It was an impressive feat.

She had always planned on returning to the Atmos. In fact, it was the reason why the failure in the Far Side didn't bother her that much. Her time there was more of a time to recollect her thoughts and to learn as much as she could from the other side. Unfortunately, the Storm Hawks and others cut her time short and she and the Dark Ace were forced to flee back to the Atmos. She would have liked to have more time studying, but the timing of her return was rather perfect. The Sky Knights weren't paying attention to any type of Cyclonian activity, thanks to the rogue infestation. This allowed the reconstruction of her empire to go unhindered for over a year. She always thought it was strange that the Storm Hawks never came despite that they knew of her presence in the Atmos. It all made sense after the Dark Ace told her about the imposters. That had made her laugh, though she was slightly insulted herself. She may hate the Storm Hawks with every fiber of her being, but she still respected them. They were the ones who stopped her in the Atmos and the Far Side.

However, there was something else that bothered her about the events on Terra Atmosia. Again, she wasn't really all that bothered about the fact that the Dark Ace had revealed himself. That would only create more confusion amongst the Sky Knights and everyone else. It was the fight that the Dark Ace had with Aerrow that bothered her. While the Dark Ace simply told her that they fought and never got to finish it, the report that the lieutenant gave about the matter was a different story. She had witness the battles between the two over the years and noticed the strange switch that began to creep into their fighting. Towards the end of their time in the Far Side, she noticed a type of truce of some sort that they had unspoken agreed to. It seemed that their grudge against one another had waned to a kind of friendly rivalry. At least, that was the best way she could describe it. She distinctly remembered that the last fight that they had with the Storm Hawks in the Far Side had at one point come down to her and Piper. As they unleashed powerful crystal magic against one another, the Dark Ace and Aerrow had simply watched and were discussing something about fighting tactics, in a very civil, yet tense, manner. Despite their friendly behavior, once they began to fight, they were trying to kill each other more so than her and Piper, whose relationship had only become worse in the Far Side. It was bizarre. She didn't know when the switch happened, but it was definitely there. The report that the lieutenant gave was proof of that.

But the reason that bothered her about the fight was something that was cause for concern. In fact, it worried her quite a bit. It was the intensity and power that was behind the fight. When the lieutenant gave the report, she wasn't sure that she heard him correctly. After having him repeat it to her five more times, she had thanked him (which is something she never does) and mediated on the information for hours. She knew the Dark Ace had train hard for the last year, harder than he ever had before. He was looking forward to a fight with Aerrow, determined to beat him. Though, with the new rivalry thing going on, it was a different type of determination. Instead of the typical "putting the boy in his place" drive to kill the pain in the neck, it was an intense desire to simply beat him that motivated him, one on one. Somehow, she knew that Aerrow was doing the same thing. But even with their training, those two should not have had that big of an increase. Yes, all of them had improved, even herself, but the jump that those two made was something different; very, very different. What was really strange was the power behind their shots. The Dark Ace had destroyed entire building and half of the square. She hadn't given him any special powerful crystal; he wouldn't take it. So where did that power come from?

This was why she became even more concerned when her forces came back from Terra Rex with the Dark Ace was unconscious. The troops told her what happened and had him placed in the infirmary. There was a large gash on his side, one that most people would consider a severe injury. Chances were that he didn't even notice it. She already knew the reason of the collapse before the healers told her: simple exhaustion. She knew that something had actually drained the energy out of him, similar to what the Binding did to people. But if this was a similar to a case of Binding, than the negative effects should be affecting Aerrow like Piper until she had learned to stabilize it in the Far Side and be able to use it without another person. However, that wasn't the case. Something told her that whatever it was, it wasn't the Binding, but something much more powerful, something that didn't rely on crystals.

She continued to muse on this problem as she sat on her throne in the flag ship of her fleet. She had become used to being in the battlefield in the Far Side since it was basically just her and the Dark Ace against the Storm Hawks. Thus, she became quite a good fighter. And she was leading her army to face the army rogues known as the Devil Birds. They were a small group, but a devastating force. The Devil Birds had recently destroyed a Cyclonian convoy heading for one of their bases on the other side of the Atmos. The Birds left nothing and sent a message to Cyclonia, daring them to come out and fight. It was a bold move; stupid, but bold. Originally, she was going to send the Dark Ace once he returned from Terra Rex, but since he was recovering on her orders, much to his carnage, she'd be the one to lead her troops, as she didn't trust anyone else.

The two armies met close to an uninhabited terra. The clash was an interesting one. While the Cyclonians had the advantage of the new technology, the Devil Birds were by no means unskilled. They were able to take out large numbers of the Cyclonian forces with relative ease. Cyclonis merely shrugged at this. She knew that her troops weren't the fierce, skilled warriors that the Devil Birds had. However, numbers were a major asset in war. Also, the Devil Birds weren't expecting an appearance by the empress of Cyclonia herself. As she thought of this, she stood up, grabbed her energy staff, and left the bridge without a word. In fact, no one noticed that she left until after the fight.

She flew out into the fray with her personal skimmer. Interestingly enough, no one seemed to realize who she was. But that was understandable. She, like the Storm Hawks, was young, and three years can easily change one's appearance. The dark aura around her was still present, but she no longer looked the part of a dormant leader, one who simply orders and rarely fights, if at all. Instead of her trademark cloak and jumpsuit, her outfit consisted of a low cut sleeveless shirt of burgundy, black pants and combat boots. Also, her dark hair had grown long in the three years and she now has a habit of pulling her hair back into a low ponytail during combat. Thus, she was completely unrecognizable from the child leader that almost conquered the Atmos three years ago.

As she maneuvered around the battles, she quickly dispatched several enemy fighters (and a few of her own). Soon, she became a source of interest and many enemy fighters came to challenge her. As they came closer, she raised her staff in the air, said a command in a strange tongue, and an energy wave erupted from her staff, destroying all of the fighters skimmers in an instant.

It wasn't long before the enemy troops were replaced with a large man with rough red hair and a beard to match, both stained with blood. He held a crystal charged axe and stared at Cyclonis questioningly.

"And who would ya be, lass?" the man asked roughly.

Cyclonis smirked and cocked her head, "Didn't the crystal magic give it away?"

At that statement, the man noticeably paled, "Ya- ya can't be!"

"Can't be what?" Cyclonis egged on.

"Ya- ya her!" he exclaimed, "The lad was right! You – you're all back!"

At this, it was Cyclonis who gave a questioning look, "Who told you that I was back?"

"Hawkeye Drake, leader of the Predators. He called all the Elites to warn them that you and the Storm Hawks were back."

"Did he now?" Cyclonis said thoughtfully, ignoring the chaos around her.

Almost scared, the man continued, "He said he wanted to have a go against the Dark Ace and Aerrow."

That got Cyclonis' attention. Though he was her right hand man, she conceded to the fact in the Far Side that Dark Ace was still his own person. In reality, they were more like partners in running Cyclonia. She even felt, despite herself, a type of sibling bond between them, as if he was her older brother. Therefore, her control over him was minimal at best. Also, due to the recent events, his power had obviously increased. So, if someone wanted a fight with him, they were pretty close to insane in her book. Then to add Aerrow into the mix was just a death wish. Aerrow had become much more aggressive and dangerous (the recent fight were proof of that) and fighting him was just as stupid as fighting the Dark Ace.

She chuckled slightly, "I suppose this Hawkeye character has a death wish."

Rex looked at her sternly, "I wouldn't underestimate Hawkeye if I were you. From what I know of him, he only enters the fight when he's bored or interested in something. He's cruel and brutal. In my knowledge, no one has gone up against him and lived to tell the tale. Also, he's young, probably not much older than Aerrow. He's a demon."

Cyclonis thought for a moment, "Perhaps He's cruel and brutal. In my knowledge, no one has gone up against him and lived to tell the tale. Also, he's young, probably not much older than Aerrow. He's a demon."

Cyclonis thought for a moment, "Perhaps you would like to tell me more about this Hawkeye person?"

Rex snorted, "Like I'd help someone like you!"

Cyclonis gave a dark smile and turned her staff towards the battle. She chanted a short spell and an enormous wave of energy blasted through the battlefield, destroying every single skimmer, foe and friend alike. Rex's face looked sicken at the sight.

Cyclonis turned back to him, "I rather think you will."

Yeah… probably not my best chapter, but I hope that you got a feel for how Cyclonis now works. Also, I hope you are getting the point that there are a lot of weird things happening. And when a lot of weird things happen, things tend to get a little crazy.

Hope you enjoyed! Please review and/or give any suggestions!

Disclaimer – I don't own the Storm Hawks