Hey, ok so here's the second chapter, sorry 'bout the long wait, school and a rare bit of writers block but its all good now.

This chapter was written while listening to So Far (Buckcherry, -15)

Great album go listen to it, and let me know what you think.

P.S. Kinda got writers block on Tales from Cyclonia for those that read it, so I have no idea when it will be updated, but it shouldn't be more than a month.

Thanks

-taLoN

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Chapter 2. So Far

Aerrow

Finn

Junko

Piper

Ravess

Dark Ace

Snipe.

Hmm. . . Ok so having seven people is a good thing and a bad thing. Piper thought as she counted everyone to help asses the situation. On one hand it was good to have so many, the more people they had the better their chances were at fending off the creatures lurking around. On the other hand it also meant they had to split the few supplies they had seven different ways. That could be a potential problem. I guess I'll have to keep everyone in check.

Putting on a stern look, Piper stood in front of the small group and decided to take charge.

"Ok guys lets see if we can find any supplies that may have survived."

The group nodded and got to work.

Stork, Starling, please come find us soon. Piper thought sadly as she helped Aerrow dig through the remains of his skimmer.

________________

With Stork and Starling

After taking down the last Talon, Starling pulled into the hanger on the Condor and was immediately accosted by a panicked Merb. It took her a moment to figure out what he was saying

"OhontheregoneStarlingit'sallmyfaulttheregoneIdon'tknowwhat-"

"STORK!" the woman yelled causing him to stop momentarily before he began twitching and mumbling quietly, eyes darting around rapidly. He was shaking and breathing rapidly, and looked to be on the verge of a mental breakdown, making Starling wonder what had worked him into such a panicked frenzy.

Sighing softly Starling began gently "Ok Stork what's wrong?"

"There gone, I don't know what happened." the Merb looked at her pleadingly. She gave him a questioning look, silently wondering if he had lost another one of his dangerous pets.

"Who's go-" it was then that she noticed that the Storm Hawks were gone.

She began again, "Wha-"

The Merb cut her off "I don't know, one minute they were there then the next, there gone." His shaking got worse and the purple haired Sky Knight was at a loss of what to do.

Then Stork had a horrifying thought that made him stop all movement of any kind. "What if they're dead."

It was more of a statement than a question. Dread filled Starling, but she quickly squashed the feeling, now was not the time for that.

"Don't worry Stork, I'm sure there fine. Let's see if they ended up on one of the near by terras." she said, placing her hand on his shoulder in a calming manner. It surprised her slightly when he didn't flinch away, but she didn't pay it much mind, instead focusing on keeping him from going into hysterics again. She knew they were his team, but he didn't really give off the impression that it would affect him much if something happened to them.

Stork nodded and they made their way to the bridge.

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"Ok so, what have we got?"

Everyone had managed to grab every useful thing they could get their hands on, but they still hadn't come up with much.

"2 first aid kits, flashlight, dead crystals, food, (thanks to Finn), blankets, 2 knives, and a busted radio." Aerrow listed off each thing they had found.

Piper nodded and looked at the others adding "Anything else?"

"Cell phone." Dark Ace and Ravess chimed in, causing the others to shoot them a look of disbelief.

"You two have cell phones and were still stuck here because. . .?"Finn asked sarcastically.

"No signal." they spoke once again at the same time, bursting everyone's bubble of hope. Groaning Piper once again asked "Anything else?" Everyone shook their head. "Good."

Turning around the girl looked around, trying to find a place that seemed promising in the aspect of finding a way out. Scanning the rocky walls that made their current prison, she absently wondered if they had any chance of climbing out but quickly dismissed the thought. The walls are to steep and the ledges don't look very stable.

Turning back with a sheepish smile she stated "Anyone else want to try?" She regarded their expressions with a hopeful look in her eyes, and she thought she saw Dark Ace smirk before replying

"Maybe we should go that way." pointing behind himself at the path ( sort of) where she could see a small but steady incline. She studied it for a moment before asking "How far does it go?"

He shrugged before answering "I don't know, probably as far as everything else down here."

"And how far would that be?" Aerrow said not quite wanting to hear the answer. Dark Ace shrugged again and looked over to Ravess, waiting for her to answer.

"The last time it was recorded, the Black Gorge was 9.3 clicks across and 43,388,602 clicks long before it disappears into the Great Expanse." (I don't know how much a click is so lets just say that 1 click = 1.27 miles) Yeah, Aerrow thought didn't wanna hear it.

Finn stared before remarking "And why do you know somthin' like that." the archer looked at him crossly: about to comeback with a biting comment, but she was interrupted by her oh so nice co-worker

"Because she is just a wealth of useless information." turning her glare on him, she spoke to them both sounding like an older sister who was just embarrassed by her little brothers in front of her crush.

"Well you nitwits, it came in handy just now didn't it? I also know a few other things that could come in handy, but if you feel that they are of lesser importance; I shall keep them to myself, find my own way out, and leave you here to rot."

As she spoke they could all hear the dark undercurrent in her voice, though she spoke relatively normally. When she finished Finn and Junko looked ready to wet themselves, Aerrow and Piper seemed cautious, Snipe was trying and failing to keep from laughing, and Dark Ace just snorted. Without missing a beat he said casually

"Don't make idle threats, it will get you nowhere."

"Trust me, I don't."

"We'll see." he said smirking.

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Finn observed the conversation from the side and couldn't help but respect the fuchsia haired woman. Really, who threatened the Dark Ace and walked away? Well besides Aerrow.

Exactly, nobody. Yet here she was, for the most part perfectly fine, still glaring at him too. Well really she was glaring at everyone, but he couldn't stop staring at her captivating golden eyes. They were always sharp, noting every little detail around her. They were beautiful-

Wait where did that come from? She's the enemy dude, get a hold of yourself.

Finn thought wondering where that lapse in sanity came from.

Shaking his head the blond walked over to talk to Aerrow.

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"Is everyone ready?" Aerrow asked as they prepared for the long journey ahead. Everyone gave some form of a yes and they began making their way through the Black Gorge.

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Ok so that's the end of chapter 2. I'll try to make the next one longer, and hopefully it will be but I don't know.

Chapter 3 will be mostly Dark Ace and Piper, only this will have a little more action, I'm not good with fight scenes so who knows what will happen.

I'll try to have it up by the 26th.

Review please,

tell me what I need to work on, or just tell me what you like.