Author's Note: Well, here's another chapter. It's quite long.

Enjoy! :)


"Terra Tropica?" Flame repeated, arms crossed over each other, "At a time like this?"

"What's the problem with that? You've picked up and went with me there before; and if my memory serves me correctly, you rather enjoyed it." the Dark Ace reminded her with a menacing smirk to accompany the sensual tone in his voice


Flashback...

Flame stirred from her sleep and he wondered if she would have the same reaction that she had the previous morning back in Atmosia.

"Good Morning." he told her, captivated by her bright, ice-blue eyes when she looked up at him. She blinked, looking into his red ones before a subtle smile formed across her lips,

"Morning." she replied, her arm slinging over his body as she made herself more comfortable against him.

Did she just accept that they were sharing a bed? He lightly lifted her chin up, kissing her and she kissed him back, her eyes opening after their lips parted, "So if I ask, will you deny me again?"

"Perhaps." she answered, not bothering to move very much as their eyes remained locked on each other.

"Well, I'm honestly surprised that you've accepted sharing a bed with me, so I had to try once more."

"Physical intimacy is not going to win me over, if that's what you're thinking." she told him, still looking at him, "Give this time and don't ruin the moment, Ace. Live in it."


He really had to bring that up. That man knew when to use the past against people, especially her.

"If you don't see any issues with it and you're acting as if it's dire that we go, I suppose there's no harm in a lovely weekend together." she smiled, "I'll pack my bag."

He smiled and made himself comfortable on the sofa while she gathered her necessary items. It wasn't long before she was ready to go and they wasted no time in taking off for the beautiful island.

"We just have to make one stop before we can proceed to Tropica." the Dark Ace informed his lover.

She stared at him, "You know, I'd greatly appreciate you not waiting for the last second to make these change of plans, or spring vacations on me as you so tend to do."


On The Condor...

"We're talking a major problem!" Finn grimaced.

"There's no way we can deal with this!" Piper chimed in.

"We've been through worse." Aerrow reassured the team, getting an unimpressed glare from Stork, "Hmm, well...maybe not."

"I think we'll be using the words, 'terror', 'disaster' and 'ruin' very soon." the Merb voiced.

"But guys!" Junko began, "It's only for a few hours! Really, come on! A little baby Wallop: how bad can that be?"

The others looked at each other with pure uncertainty as the baby opened his eyes, reaching out to the others excitedly.

"My second nephew's third uncle's first cousin needed my help and when a Wallop asks you to look after their young, it's a mark of real honour and trust!" Junko explained, the rest of the crew having a confused expression on their faces, processing the relation between the baby Wallop and their teammate.

"Also known as 'can't find a real babysitter'." Finn spoke, proud of his smart remark. He was glad that Flame wasn't aboard the Condor, knowing that she'd probably challenge him to watch the baby himself.

"Tinky's too little to cause any trouble." Junko reasoned with them.

"Junko, it's cool that you want to help your...second cousin's...uncle's...neighbor's...whatever." Aerrow accepted.

"But while you were out collecting babies," Piper spoke, "We collected a mission!"

"Snipe's nearly finished building this battle airship and once it's operational, he'll totally dominate the quadrant." Aerrow elaborated.

"So we gotta find it and not let that happen!" the girl finalized.

"Don't worry," Junko reassured them, "A baby Wallop almost takes care of itself. Tinky's so quiet, you won't even know he's here!" the teen Wallop explained, handing the baby a bottle.

Tinky drank his meal, the burp following after so strong that it blasted him onto the table behind Piper. Junko gave out a nervous laugh while Piper looked at him in disappointment, her eyes widening as she heard a loud, tearing sound behind her, looking to see that Tinky tore off a part of the Battleship's map and shoved it in his mouth.

She gasped in horror, her hands cupping her face, "He just ate five sections of the Battleship!" she exclaimed, stifling her scream.

Finn covered his mouth, holding back a laugh while Junko, once again, laughed nervously.

"Baby Wallops do have strong appetites." Junko reasoned, Tinky giggling while rocking back and forth, holding his feet.

Piper, with her hands still on both of her cheeks, growled, but her expression changed from one of anger to adoration, "How can you get mad at a face like that?"

"Radarr," Aerrow called to his pet's attention, "Help Junko find something more...nutritional for this kid to eat." he ordered.

Radarr agreed, picking up a wrench and showing it to his owner with an accomplished smile on his face, the tool being taken out of his hand by Junko with disapproval, ushering the creature into the kitchen. Junko threw in a few fruit into the blender, Radarr watching his every move while the indredients began liquifying in the machine before his attention was turned to Tinky, who was causing a commotion with his toy blocks.

"A baby Wallop will eat just about anything," Junko informed the creature, "But it never cries for food, it giggles." he finished, letting out a small giggle and Tinky did as well.

Radarr turned around to see the baby Wallop crawling straight toward him, fear taking over the creature. He ran to the wall, hyperventilating as the baby continued his movements, grabbing on to poor Radarr and being squeezed tightly in a hug before Tinky dragged him off.

"Chow time, Tinky!" Junko announced, giving the baby the bottle. Radarr ran away as soon as the baby's grip was eased and he hid behind Junko, growling at the tiny Wallop.

Tinky tasted his meal, seeming to contemplate the flavour before blowing into the bottle, making the other end explode all over Junko and Radarr.


Soon enough, it was time for Tinky to take a bath. Junko placed the baby Wallop in the water, who excitedly splashed around before a look of sadness spread across the little one's face as his rubber duck disappeared, becoming happy once again when the toy emerged from the water.

Tinky suddenly dived down into the bathtub, Radarr instantly panicking and looking over before he popped back out of the water.

"Baby Wallops are known for their playful curiosity!" Junko said enthusiastically, watching as Tinky took a hold of the pipeline for the tub, beginning to pull it out of place, "And their healthy grip..."

The entire ship creaked, catching everyone's attention, especially Stork. The teens looked around before their attention turned back to the center table in the Condor.

"My diorama of Snipe's airship clearly shows an area of weakness at the engine room." Piper began.

"Sweet." Finn smiled, moving to touch a part of the model only to have his hand slapped away by Piper, being told that it wasn't dry just yet.

The creaking continued before the pipeline above them burst, soaking the room and Piper's hard work.

The door opened, Radarr running in, followed by Junko with Tinky in his arms, "Oh, just a little trouble with bath time, no biggie!" Junko reassured everyone, who all had an unimpressed expression on their faces, "Here, hold Tinky." Junko told Finn, handing the blonde teen the troublesome little Wallop.

He looked at Tinky, unable to get caught up in his adorable face and began waving his hand in the baby Wallop's face to entertain him, Tinky grabbing his finger and squeezing it as Finn let out a scream of pain, his finger instantly swelling and throbbing. Finn put Tinky down and moved on to help fix the Condor with the rest of the team.

Piper's attention was drawn away from what she was doing when the sound of something falling, turning to see her model of Snipe's airship collapsed on the table, the object splitting in half while Tinky crawled away to cause some next form of trouble for the crew.

"Where is Flame?!" Piper exclaimed, "We need Flame to deal with Tinky! I can't take it anymore!" she become more and more frustrated, sliding the Battleship model in front of junko to show him the damage caused by Tinky.

Suddenly, everyone began to slide, the Condor tilting completely, resulting in the crew piling on top of each other as the Condor spun around in the air.

The emergency shudders closed down, leaving the crew in complete darkness, but not before they caught a glimpse of Tinky hanging off of the Condor's helm.

"Terror, destruction and ruin." Stork stated simply.

The emergency power generator kicked into gear, giving everyone some light to rectify whatever problems may have occurred while the little Wallop put them in a spiral, the shudders retracting in time to see that the Condor was about to collide with a mountain.

Junko quickly got to his feet, grabbing Tinky while Piper turned the Condor around, narrowly avoiding the accident.

"The baby Wallop nearly ran us right into—Snipe's Battle Airship!"

The crew observed the massive ship, slowly moving out of sight.

"Time to gear up, guys!" Aerrow informed his crew mates.

"As soon as I put the little fella to bed, I'm ready to go!" Junko said happily as he looked at Tinky, who was once again torturing poor Radarr.

Aerrow looked at Finn and then to Piper before looking at the Wallop, "Change of plans, Junko," the redhead began, his friend unsure of what he meant by that, "Your part of the mission is to stay here and watch Tinky."

"I'm not sure which mission is more dangerous..." Finn commented, looking at his finger, which was officially out of commission.

Junko proceeded with trying to put Tinky to bed with his music box from his younger days, the Wallop falling asleep instead of the baby. Tinky wasted no time in happily doing whatever he pleased, leaving the now sleeping Junko behind.

"We're in a blind spot behind them, they still don't see us!" Piper said confidently.

"It's go time!" Aerrow agreed, clasping his fists together.


"I want more blasters!" Snipe yelled.

"But, Sir, we have so many now, if we had more, the ship will be too heavy to fly." a Talon explained to the Elite.

"Then I'll lighten the load, starting with you!" he threatened the poor worker.

Frightened, the Talon nodded, "More blasters, Sir. Coming right up, Sir!" he listened, running off.

"Nobody else has a cool super battle airship like this!" he said, laughing as he admired his weapon in the making, "Now, they'll all take me seriously!"

As Piper, Aerrow and Finn made their way to the Battleship, the teen girl considered what they did and didn't have, still confident that they could pull this off despite a few minor setbacks.

Back on the Condor, Junko finally woke up when his music box had stopped, immediately noticing that Tinky was nowhere to be found. Getting up, he began searching for the baby Wallop wherever he could, surely that he couldn't have gone far at all.

Once landed, Piper began to discuss the next move: getting into the airship and make their way over to engineering without getting caught, sabotage the controls, head back to their landing zone and finally, make their way back to the Condor.

It sounded simple enough for Aerrow and the four of them made their way to put their plan into action.

Junko was having no luck in finding Tinky, the Merb standing by not helping at all as he began telling the Wallop about all the possibilities of something horrific happening to the baby.

While trying to be as stealthy as possible, Finn somehow thought that they should relax and that he, of all people, was the expert on stealth tactics, managing to step on a Talon's helmet in the process. Finn thought they were done for, but the worker only asked for a wrench out of the tool box. The teen did just that, watching as the Talon continued working. Finn's need for perfect aim got the better of him and he ended up helping the Talon align the crosshair for the cannon to a perfect position, returning to an unhappy Aerrow, Piper and Radarr afterward.

"What are you doing here?!" they heard, looking up to see the overseer, "This ship isn't going to build itself! Quit standing around and get back to work!" he ordered the teens and they hastily moved.

The supervisor stood there, watching the teens paint the Battleship over, commenting on whatever flaws he saw. He took the liberty to sit down as he watched, but some hot coals had managed to fall onto the platform, the man immediately screaming in pain and running to find a way to extinguish his burning pants.

That was their chance and they hastily left to continue on with their plan.

Snipe sat at the helm of his Battleship, mimicking the superb power the weapon would disperse once is was operational, not noticing parts collapsing while he fantasized.

Aerrow, Piper, Finn and Radarr found the entrance to the airship, but was stumped once again by the bossy man sticking his burning rear out in a bucket of water right by the doorway. Part of the walkway above suddenly collapsed and the overseer wasted little time in moving to see what was going on. This was the teens' opportunity to get inside the Battleship, They began walking toward the ship, but their attention was turned away by a sound from above, Aerrow looking up to see a Switchblade; not just any and not just one.

"Dark Ace?" Aerrow spoke out.

"I definitely didn't plan for that!" Piper admitted.

"Or that!" Finn spoke up, pointing to the all too familiar black and purple Switchblade following closely behind the Dark Ace.

"Is that...Flame?" Piper asked, "What is she doing here?"

"An even bigger question: what is she doing here with the Dark Ace?" Aerrow asked, an angry expression forming across his face.

"Even worse, guys," Finn started, pointing up to see Tinky being hauled away by a Talon on one of the walkways.


"Shit." Flame spoke up, guilt distinct in her voice and expression.

"What is it?" her lover asked.

"I know you see it as well, Ace." she answered as she watched the Condor hidden behind the massive Battleship. The two landed on the airstrip, making their way to Snipe, who was still in the helm room.

The teenagers turned their attention to getting a hold of Tinky, who was now under a heavy security watch due to the trouble that he'd caused. Finn wondered how the baby got down to the construction site in the first place, while Aerrow wondered why he couldn't get a hold of Junko.

"He's not inside the radio..." Stork said as Junko started looking elsewhere after destroying said object, "Imagine that."

"So, this is the ultimate weapon I've been hearing so much about?" the Dark ace asked, standing proper with his hands behind his back, looking out the window.

Flame stood by his side, a hand placed on his chest while she looked at him with admiration, yet her mind couldn't shake off the fact that she knew her friends saw her arrive with the Cyclonian Commander.

"Oh yeah!" Snipe said, "When this bad boy is up and runnin', I'm gonna rock the quadrant!" he continued on enthusiastically.

"Nice of you to invite the Storm Hawks aboard to witness your crowning achievement." the Dark Ace spoke plainly.

Snipe was shocked, "The Storm Hawks?! Wha—here?!"

"That's right," the Dark Ace confirmed, wrapping his arm around his lover, "You probably can't see the Condor in that enormous blind spot behind your bloated ship!" the Commander scrutinized the Talon.

"Darling," Flame spoke, placing a gentle hand on his cheek, "Be calm."

"Oh, wait a minute...that's perfect!" Snipe began, the Dark Ace stopping to look at his coworker, arm still around Flame's waist, "When my super battleship blows the Storm Hawks and their 'Condor' to pieces, then everyone will know who's the baddest dude of them all!" he laughed, "Me!" he finalized, pointing to himself as Flame walked over to the brute.

"You have your way," the Dark Ace spoke, pulling his weapon out, the firebolt crystal lighting up, "I have mine.

The Guardian Sky Knight grabbed his wrist tightly, looking at him right in the eyes, "Don't be foolish, Snipe. Your ship is not even close to operational."

"Of course it is!" he reassured her, looking over at the Dark Ace, "Maybe then you'll see I'm better than the Dark Ace, eh, sweetness?" he whispered to her.

"Flame is mine, Snipe. The fact that she chose me leaves you with absolutely no chance." he reminded the Elite Talon, walking off with Flame following him.

"I'm returning to my Switchblade." she told her lover, giving him a soft kiss.

"Why?"

"I've done enough to jeopardize my friendship with the Storm Hawks and you can't possibly expect me to stand there and watch you fight them, Ace." she explained.

"Will you stay close by?" he asked her, understanding her predicament.

"Of course." she smiled and he pulled her into a deep and passionate kiss, pressing her against the wall before letting her go.


Snipe ordered the Talons to launch the ship in order to attack the Condor. Despite their warning of the Battleship not being ready, he was adamant in bringing down the Storm Hawks to prove his work and rise in rank and reputation.

The alarms on the Condor blared off, instantly putting Stork into his mindset of unavoidable doom. He moved to the scope, calling out that there was a major power surge coming from Snipe's Battle Airship.

The teens made their way to the room that Tinky was being held in, Finn getting the bright idea to barge in, only to essentially knock himself out. Piper gently pushed the door open to see Tinky sitting on top of a pile of unconscious guards, assuming they passed out from the horrendous smell leaking from Tinky's diaper. The boys instantly backed down and Piper was left with the responsibility of changing the diaper herself.

The Battleship was taking off and one by one, the teens jumped from the dry dock, Aerrow having to push Finn over in order to get him onto the ship. They hastily ran through the dark hallways of the Battleship.

"We gotta get to the engine room if we're gonna put this thing out of action!" Piper spoke out as they rounded a corner.

"Too bad the only way to it is past me." the Dark Ace spoke with an ominous smile, blade in hand. He looked at the teens, mainly Aerrow, with entertainment, "I've never fought a janitor before." he spoke, laughing out, but his enjoyment was cut short by Aerrow throwing the uniform at his face.

Aerrow told the others to keep going while the Dark Ace removed the clothing, clearly unhappy. The redhead reassured the others that he'd take care of the Dark Ace, the Cyclonian stating that he'd be taking care of Aerrow this time. Their swords clashed and Aerrow noticed something above, moving to cut the chains and close the Dark Ace into a space within the wall, pushing his body weight on it as the others continued on.

Suddenly, the Dark Ace's blade burst through the metal, effortlessly severing the metal door into two parts, the material collapsing on the floor, their weapons clashing immediately once again.

The Condor's radar showed the Battleship approaching quickly, but Stork was looking in the wrong direction, as Snipe took the approach of sneaking up behind them, ordering all blasters to be aimed at the much smaller airship.

Stork wasted no time in evading the Battleship, asking Junko for help, bringing to the depressed Wallop's attention that if Tinky is on board the Condor, helping out would be protecting him. That instantly put Junko into action, hopping onto the cannon to fire back at the enormous ship pursuing them.


Aerrow and the Dark Ace continued to fight.

"Who was with you, Dark Ace? Where's the person you arrived with?" Aerrow asked him as they continued to fight.

"I'm sure you're well aware of who that person was, Aerrow," he told the teen with a menacing smile, "But don't worry, she still cares about you annoying children."

Aerrow pushed his weight into the Dark Ace, the two breaking through the rather thin walls of the battleship and onto another walkway.

The Dark Ace attacked the redhead, knocking off a few of the cannons mounted on the walkway.

"We're making making a mess out of your Battleship!" Aerrow said with a satisfied smile.

The Dark Ace had a confident smirk on his lips as well, "It's not mine." he informed the teen, proceeding to keep the battle going.

Finn and Piper made it to the engine room, looking in awe at how vast the room was and how many controls and levers adorned the area.

"Don't tell me, You have no idea how to shut this down." he spoke to his teammate, more of a statement than a question.

They proceeded into the room, Tinky in Piper's arms, "Somehow, it didn't seem so big and complicated from the blueprint." she admitted as she looked around, dumbfounded.

"What do you think Flame was doing here with the Dark Ace?" the blonde teen asked Piper.

"I don't know. She can't be a Cyclonian, she despises them." she replied, but it hurt her to think that it could be a possibility that the Sky Knight had joined forces with their greatest enemy.

Tinky grabbed a lever and began pushing buttons, causing them to glow while he continued to play. Whatever the baby Wallop had done caused a major shift on the Battleship, causing Piper and Finn to tumble over. The blue-headed teen looked over to see Tinky turning back switches, the sound of the crystal-powered engine slowly silencing itself.

Snipe felt the shift as well, but it didn't stop him in continuing after the Condor, Junko still firing as many missiles as he could at the enormous Battleship while the Merb began to laugh manically, losing his mind over the thoughts of the impending doom. Junko managed to fire a missile into the hull of the ship, creating a gaping hole in the exterior.

"Did we do that?" Finn asked as they looked at Junko's handy work while Tinky carelessy continued on with his playtime.

Through the crosshairs on the cannon, Junko spotted the little one crawling around, panicking immediately and running to the hangar for his Skimmer, exclaiming that he had to save Tinky. The Merb turned around, hands to his face for a moment and asked who was going to save him, but remained on the Condor and continued to evade the blasts from the Battleship's massive ordinance.


On her Switchblade, watching from below, Flame observed the battle between Aerrow and her lover. A look of worry took over as the Dark Ace had managed to fling one of Aerrow's small-blades over the edge, the Dark Ace tossing the other behind him, landing on the other side of the walkway. Yet, she knew Aerrow and she knew he was skilled in getting out of sticky situations.

The Dark Ace looked at the weapon before turning back to the rehead, "You could take that last, long jump, but I'm sure a Sky Knight would rather fall by the sword of a superior opponent!" he suggested to the redhead with a very enthusiastic smile on his face. That was quickly diverted to not falling off the ship, as it tilted. The Dark Ace hung on to the barrier of the walkway, watching as Aerrow quickly jumped down, moving up and over to grab his remaining small-sword.

"You may wanna rethink that." the teen said happily.

The Dark Ace grimaced, eyes glued to the teen. He remembered who trained the redhead and a part of him wasn't surprised that he was able to maneuver in the manner that he did.

Meanwhile, Junko quickly made his way over to the easily accessible engine room to save Tinky, crashing his Skimmer in the process of only wanting the little Wallop to be safe. Piper reassured Junko that Tinky was safe and ordered him to give them a hand in sabotaging the Airship as quickly as they could.

Snipe ordered the Talons to fire, but nothing happened. Irritated, he repeated himself only to be told that the engine wasn't active and that they needed the blaster power to keep them airborne. Being the type of person that made other people suffer when things didn't go his way, Snipe needed no words to let the Talon know that he had to deploy his parachute, the wind whisking him off and away from ship, Snipe ordered the others to get the blasters back to full power immediately and they proceeded to do just that. The cannons fired off again repeatedly, but the ship itself couldn't keep itself up as the blasters took so much energy and it began to fall from the sky.

Aerrow and the Dark Ace's battle came to a halt as the Cyclonian watched the Talons parachute off of the descending ship. Aerrow looked back to see the rest of the team finally reaching where he was at, Radarr freaking out over the ship's imminent crash and climbing on Junko, usnig his head as higher ground. It caused Aerrow to smile, but that was quickly taken away by the Dark Ace once again attempting to slice the teen's head off. Aerrow noticed that the Cyclonian Commander was only holding his sword with one hand and that would be easy to work with. When their weapons clashed again, the redhead used all his strength to cause the weapon to slip out of the Dark Ace's hand, the Elite Talon watching as his beloved energy blade fell into the clouds below.

"You could jump," he heard, turning around with an unimpressed look to see Aerrow, "Or, you could fall by the sword of a superior opponent!" the teen repeated the Cyclonian's previous words.

The Dark Ace looked away for a moment before returning his attention to Aerrow with a smile, "I think I'll jump." he informed the teen, taking a simple backflip off of the walkway. Aerrow, Piper and Finn rushed over to see the Dark Ace falling, but there was a Switchblade stagnant in the sky and he was aiming for it.

Flame looked up as her lover began descending toward her and she averaged to make sure that she could catch him. Once he landed behind her, he kissed her neck, taking a hold of the ride's handles.

"Ace, what in the bloody hell are you doing?!" she asked her lover, but he ignored her, moving the ride upward. She fought him, telling him to stop, but his arms wouldn't budge and she was helpless as his body surrounded hers.

He brought her Switchblade up to the walkway the teens were still stuck on, all of them looking back between him and a very unhappy Flame.

"You might want to find a better ride," the Dark Ace told them, "Because the one you're on is a one way ticket to the Wastelands." he finished with an ominous smile, tilting the Switchblade to fly away and Flame yelling at him to take her back and get off her ride.

"How could she do this to us?!" Aerrow asked as he looked down, seeing the lava that stained the surface of the Wastelands becoming more and more clear.

"But...he's got a pretty good point." Finn said with a concerned look, but Aerrow's mind was torn between feeling betrayed by Flame and considering that this may be the last moments of his life.

How were they possibly going to get out of this? All of their Skimmers were left at the construction site, surely destroyed by now since Snipe didn't properly detach from the dry docks.

Junko looked at Tinky. He couldn't let the poor baby lose his life like this; he'd barely begun life, "You leave this to the Wallops!" he told everyone.

They all made their way back to the engine room, getting on Junko's Skimmer, despite the wings being detached. He grabbed them and began to flap as much as he could, somehow managing to fly the Skimmer out of the engine room. Even Piper commented on how amazed she was that his plan had actually worked.

The Battleship, hit the lava, a protruding rock keeping the large ship from completely falling down and saving Snipe's life.


"Do you understand the damage you have done, Ace?!" she yelled at her lover, "You've essentially destroyed my friendship with the Storm Hawks!"

"You don't need destructive little twerps like them for friends, Flame," he told her, "Everyone in Cyclonia loves you."

A look of pure shock formed across her face before it turned to one of anger, "Did you plan this?!"

"What? Why would I plan this? I had to see the Battleship for myself and it's a good thing that I did. Look at the damage your little friends caused. We lost one of the most promising weapons we could have possibly had."

"I'm glad," she admitted to him, "That thing shouldn't be operational. He wanted to take over the quadrant."

"And he should have had the chance to!" the Dark Ace agreed with his coworker.

She looked at him, sadness and hurt clear in her eyes, "Why are you so evil?" she asked him, a darkened tear falling from the corner of her watery eyes.

"Don't cry, babe. You're making me feel bad."

She didn't respond. She stayed silent for the duration of the trip back to Cyclonia, denying her lover's offer to stay. She had to make amends with the Storm Hawks—most importantly with Aerrow. Those teenagers were so dear to her and she knew they interpreted everything the wrong way. Not entirely wrong, but she knew they'd all have assumptions that were false. Perhaps some even true.

Once in the area, she radioed in to Stork, telling him that she desperately needed to explain what had occurred to them. He allowed her access and all of them met on the Condor's airstrip. She parked her Switchblade there and got off of the ride, walking toward the teens. She usually held a stance full of pride that poked at her high reputation, but this time, she wasn't herself. She was guilty and ashamed.

"That's close enough." Aerrow said sternly, arms crossed. To her, she sounded so much like him. It wasn't surprising to her. She always knew that he carried so much of his father's traits and even his personality.

"I know what you're all thinking," she told the crew, who stood in place, watching her with looks of discontentment, "I am not a Cyclonian. I'm not an enemy."

"You can't lie to us anymore, Flame." Junko spoke out.

"I have no reason to lie. I know you all saw me when I arrived."

"With the Dark Ace." Aerrow pointed out, "Why were you with him in the first place?" he asked her.

She looked at each of them. They all deserved to know the truth. She was an adult and had the right of having a relationship with whoever she chose to. Surely, they could understand that.

"Alright," she caved in, "The Dark Ace and I have been seeing each other for a bit over a year now."

They all looked at her with disgust and it hurt her. This was what she wanted to avoid. The way Aerrow was looking at her was breaking her heart.

"You're with the Dark Ace?!" Aerrow exclaimed.

"Flame...how could you?" Piper asked, a clear tone of sadness in her voice.

"I tried telling you guys something was up between those two." Finn stated in a matter-of-factly tone.

"The Dark Ace and I have a history...a very deep one. I've known him for a very long time."

"This isn't any of my business," Stork said, knowing full well that she was just as much of an adult as he was and didn't need to hear her reasons, "I'll be in my room." He finalized, proceeding to do so.

"You're a traitor, Flame!" Aerrow yelled, moving to push her, but was taken back by her speed in escaping his emotional attack.

"I have never betrayed you." she spoke behind him and he quickly turned around, "it took many years for me to forgive him for what he'd done."

"I get it now," Piper spoke, "Your Switchblade was unharmed when we rescued Dove. You have access to Cyclonia!" the teen fit the small piece of the puzzle together.

"By the Dark Ace's wishes, Cyclonis granted me access, yes." she admitted.

"Then there's no denying your betrayal to us!" Aerrow exclaimed, "That's why the Dark Ace knew to come after us! You warned him!"

"I did no such thing!" she defended herself, "I was angered by his actions and confronted him about the ordeal. He already knew you were there before I even got to him! I would never allow him to hurt you!"

"You betrayed us!" Aerrow proclaimed, completely unbelieving of her.

His stubbornness could be something to admire in the right situation, but it was doing nothing but irritating her more and more as he refused to listen to her truth. "I would never betray my own blood, Aerrow!" she blurted out in anger, quickly covering her mouth as Piper, Finn and Junko gasped,

Aerrow staying silent and confused. "Your...blood?" Aerrow asked.

Flame sighed, removing her hands from her mouth, "Aerrow...we need to have a serious talk. Alone." She spoke, moving to go to her quarters. She turned around, waiting for him to follow and after a few moments, he hesitantly did so. She sat on her bed, looking at him and waiting for him to sit beside her.

When he did, she slowly moved her hand to cup his cheek, "Aerrow," she spoke gently, "You look so much like your father."

Aerrow was shocked by her statement, "You knew him?" he asked, looking at her.

Dark tears fell from her eyes as she placed her hands in her lap,

"He was a great man, my uncle. I spent a lot of time on the Condor before..." she stopped.

"Before what?"

"Before he was murdered..."

"Where were you when this happened?" he asked her.

"I was at home with Starling. I had to watch her while her—our parents fought in the battle."

"Who murdered my father?" he asked. He was sure he knew, but a part of him wanted to hear it, for confirmation.

"He was betrayed and murdered by his co-pilot, a teenager just a few years older than I was...a young man that I loved very much."

"His co-pilot? I thought the Dark Ace defeated the original Storm Hawks." he spoke his understanding of the situation, confused by her words.

"Yes...he did. All of them. Even your father, Lightning Strike."

Aerrow's eyes widened, "Lightning Strike was—" "

Your father, yes," she confirmed, "My uncle. Stork is aware of this, but I've spoken to him and he respected my wishes to tell you for myself when the time was right."

"But...where were our parents? If you grew up with Starling and my father before he died..."

"My mother died giving birth to me," she stated, "I don't know who my father is."

He nodded, "what happened to my mom?"

"I...I honestly don't know, Aerrow. When word of your father's death reached back home on Terra Mesa, I immediately took off to find you, but neither you nor your mother could be found where I'd knew you would have been. I looked everywhere for you. I knew I found you when I saw you and those other two in the tree house on Terra Neverlandis . I felt it in my heart that you were my uncle's only child."

"Then...why didn't you help us?" he asked, tears flowing down his face, "You knew how difficult it was for us...why didn't you help us?"

"Because the Guardians wouldn't allow me to, Aerrow. I tried, but they said it was necessary for you to survive on your own."

"And what about you?"

"I continued teaching at the Academy. You know that, and when you got the Condor, you attended Atmosia Academy, where I trained you. I spent many hours convincing the Headmaster that it would be in everyone's best interest if you were in my class, despite the fact that it was a senior course. Nonetheless, they allowed me to and you were happy when you found out I was your teacher, weren't you?" she asked him.

"Well, you're my friend. Of course I was happy. You didn't give up on me, even when I still hadn't found my special move...and you still passed me to become a qualified Sky Knight."

"That's because I knew who you were." she smiled.

"How could you be with him? Knowing that he killed my dad? Your own uncle?" he asked her. He didn't understand how she could have relations with someone who did something so horrible.

"I told you, Aerrow, it took many years for me to understand that he only chose the path he thought was meant for him, just as we all do. I fought with him for nearly a year before I'd realized that what I thought were just feelings for someone I knew as a child grew into feelings for the man I know now. Then, it just happened. I didn't honestly expect him to reciprocate the same feelings I harboured for him, but he did...he very much did."

"Did he ever ask for forgiveness for what he did?" the teen asked, highly doubting a man like that would do such a thing.

"Actually, he begged for it," she spoke, Aerrow's expression being one of shock, "On his knees, he begged me to forgive him. I could only tell him that I forgave him a long time ago."

"So...you love the Dark Ace?" Aerrow asked.

"I'm in love with him, Aerrow," she confirmed, "I always have been."

"And he loves you?"

"Yes, he does."

"How can you trust him?"

"I trust him because I need him to trust me. It's a very important part in every relationship a person has. Even ours."

"And you're not a Cyclonian?"

"Absolutely not! I'm just in a relationship with Ace, nothing more than that."

"What was my father like?" Aerrow asked, wanting to know more about the man that was taken away from him much too soon.

"He was the kind of man every child would want to grow up under. I had the chance of doing so...and so did you, but you were too young to remember him. He was strong, kind, loyal, courageous...he was everything I see in you."

Aerrow pointed to himself, "In me?"

"Well, of course," Flame smiled, "You're his son."

He leaned back a little, shifting himself, "Does this have anything to do with why you always lean your face into mine every now and then?" he asked, causing her to giggle.

"Yes, Aerrow. Now you know why."

"I always thought you were scrutinizing me." he admitted, rubbing the back of his head and giving out an awkward chuckle.

"No, I was admiring how much like your father you are."

"What was the Dark Ace like? Before he betrayed us?"

"I wanted to marry him," Flame admitted, a small, embarrassed blush creeping across her cheeks, "I always thought that I would become a Storm Hawk and we would get married and be happy together. He was so kind and caring...I used to follow him around all the time and he didn't ever complain. He taught me a lot and he, honestly, was my best friend. We used to do almost everything together. Nap, eat, work on the Skimmers and eventually, I fell in love. I, of course, wasn't allowed to date because I was 'too young'. Your father didn't like how close I was to him, either. I do believe I overheard him threatening Ace as well. You know, the whole 'touch her and I'll kill you' speech." she said, causing the two of them to laugh, "I even stole a kiss from him once when he was napping and I was doing my studies."

"Wow..." Aerrow said, continuing to listen.

"Apparently he knew about that," she frowned slightly, "But he was the type of person you would never expect to do what he did...it destroyed me."

"How did you recover from such a loss?" he asked.

"My training at the Academy went from doing everything I could to be a great Sky Knight to honing every possible skill and eliminate him to avenge Strike," she explained, "But...I didn't have the strength to continue living with such hatred. I cried every night, beginning to hate myself for letting such a strong need for revenge get the better of me. I had to forgive him in order for me to function properly."

Aerrow was very interested in this story, to know as much as he could about what caused her to fall in love with the Cyclonian Commander, "What did you do when you first saw him?"

"I tried to kill him." she stated simply with a smile, holding up her right hand, "This ring belonged to him: he wore it on his pinky finger. I took it from him as a birthday gift for myself."

"And you kept it for all this time?"

"I kept it as a reminder of what I was trying to find and what I fight for, what I stand for."

Aerrow silenced himself, letting her continue her story.

"I was having a drink in the markets on Saharr and a man sat next to me. We said no words to each other and he said no words, but he ordered a shot for me. When I accepted it, he brushed his thumb over the ring. I looked at him, but didn't recognize him at all. He'd changed so much, but I was attracted to him. I thanked him and got up to leave and when he spoke to me, I instantly knew it was him. My scythe was against his neck immediately after that."

"And then what?"

"We battled for hours. Many, many hours. We were both getting exhausted, but didn't want to lose to the other. That's when we decided to call it a draw and went out separate ways. It continued for about a year and then one day...well, that's not something I should be telling a child." she laughed, ruffling Aerrow's hair.

"I suppose we should tell everyone else as well, then."

"You know I'm not a traitor, Aerrow. I'm sure they'll understand, but they all deserve to know." she agreed.

Everyone gathered in the helm room of the Condor, allowing Flame to explain almost everything to the rest of the crew. For them, if Aerrow accepted her wishes to be with the Dark Ace and believed she wasn't a Cyclonian or was betraying them in any way, that was good enough for the rest of the crew.


Flame returned to Cyclonia, explaining to the Dark Ace that they knew now and, for the most part, accepted their relationship. She did, however, spare her lover the knowledge of her relations to Aerrow and who Aerrow was. The Dark Ace hated the boy enough, she didn't need to give him even more reason to want to end the child's life.

The Dark Ace was happy that she could make amends with her friends, but at the same time, he didn't feel bad for what he did and it upset her immensely. He should be apologizing for putting her in yet another situation that went beyond being able to simply play it off as a mistake. To him, they would have found out eventually. They settled their differences by other means.

As they lied in bed together, the Dark Ace's mind wandered to a decision he was personally trying to make for many months.


Flashback...

"Okay, okay." Flame said after placing the shot glass on the table, "What do you imagine your life would have been like if you didn't betray us?" she asked the Dark Ace.

"I don't like this game anymore." he smiled, pulling her closer, "Let's do something else..." he suggested in a flirtatious tone.

"I think I accomplished that well enough last night," Flame smiled before he kissed her, "I shouldn't even be drinking around you." she admitted, putting her curled finger to her lips in thought.

"Can't control yourself around me?" he asked her with a menacing smirk.

"I didn't mean for it to happen...and stop diverting the topic!" she told him as she realized what he was trying to do.

"We've only been together twice, you know...besides, you said it last night that you bought that sexy little outfit for me." he reminded her, "I enjoyed it and you very much."

Her face reddened from the fact that she admitted such a thing to the Dark Ace before she looked away, "The first time shouldn't have even happened and I shouldn't be in Tropica with you, either," she brought to his attention, looking back at him, "Now answer the question or lose the game and face the consequences!" she threatened him with a mischievous smile on her face.

He sighed, "Honestly, I figured you'd grow up, join the Storm Hawks and we'd probably be married with a kid or a kid on the way...or both." he answered, looking away.

"You're lying." she told him, not believing that he could possibly envision the same thing that she did if he remained a Storm Hawk.

"Am I?" he asked, looking at her, "What reason would I have to lie about what I initially wanted?"

"I...I don't know..." she accepted his answer, taking the next shot with him before he grabbed her ankle to make her lie down on the bed, moving on top of her and pinning her hands down as he kissed her, slipping his tongue between her lips. "Let's see if the third try is a charm," he said in a sultry tone, considering that she'd continuously turned him down to be in a serious relationship with him since that incident on the desert Terra.


Marriage. Was he really considering marriage? He thought about his life, his title compared to hers. Yet, she was still everything he wanted. There would never be another like her. If he didn't claim this for himself, he could possibly lose her to someone else. Would she even accept such an offer?

"Flame." the Dark Ace spoke to his lover.

"Yes, Ace?" she answered, moving her head slightly to look at him as her head was rested in its usual place in that soft spot between his shoulder and chest.

"M-Marry me." he told her, a nervous tone undeniable in his voice.

Her eyes widened, her expression being one of complete shock. He definitely took her by surprise with that,

"Ace..."

"It's what we've wanted so many years ago, isn't it? Why should what's happened stop us now? We still ended up together, didn't we? It's the only logical next step in our relationship and both of us are quite capable of affording it, or we can keep it small and simple as well. The reception or lack of it is up to you, but I think we should move forward together because I know we both—"

She stopped him from his nervous rambling with a gentle kiss,

"I have an idea of what I want, Ace." she smiled, "Our titles is definitely an obstacle and therefore renders a reception or official statement out of the question...but I know something that could make up for it." she smiled.

"W-wait. So...you will?" he asked her, ensuring that he didn't just make a complete fool out of himself.

She smiled, "Yes. Of course. Absolutely." she answered with a wide smile before pressing her lips to his once more, deepening the kiss as she moved on top of him, tangling her fingers in his hair.


Well...that was a thing lol. See you guys in the next chapter!

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