Here it is, the epilogue to my first fanfic. Started so long ago and now it's finished. I hope all of you who have read this, enjoyed reading this as much as I have writing it. See you at the bottom.

Heart of Darkness...Epilogue

Official document of The Sky Council summarizing events and status of events following Stryker's Folly:

It has been three months since the conflict that has been come to be known as Stryker's Folly. What is reported here is a brief summary and status report of persons and items of interest.

Current status of Dark Ace and other Cyclonian Forces:

Shortly after the explosion in the sky that day, most of the Cyclonian ships surrendered, a few fled. When asked why, most of the commanders in charge of their ships simply said that they just knew that Cyclonis was dead, and that their was no longer a reason to fight. The whole of the Cyclonian forces captured that day are currently being held on an isolated terra, as a penal colony, while the Sky Council determines what the fate of such a large number of people should be.

Dark Ace was arrested and brought before the Sky Council to stand trial for the multitude of crimes he had committed while working under Cyclonis. There was no resistance from him. He has yet to speak with anyone about either confessing to his crimes, denying them, or for anything at all. He has been confined to a maximum security cell while he awaits final sentencing from the Sky Council.

The few remaining Cyclonian ships that fled, as well as the senior commanders Ravess and Snipe, have yet to be found. It is unknown how much danger there remains while these forces roam free. Though there is doubt they have the resources to cause any further trouble. As a security measure, patrols have been doubled in the outer regions until further notice.

Dr. Heron also remains unaccounted for.

Status of items obtained from Cyconian Citadel:

The heart of Cyclonis, as well as other property seized during investigations into the citadel, is being stored for future study by the researchers on Terra Atmosia and various other terras throughout the free territories of devices have been scheduled for immediate destruction having been found to be of no use to advancing society, more likely meant to destroy it.

The "reactors," as they have been called, were put to a humane death. No means were available to free them of their fate, nor is it certain they would survive outside of their containment units. That is, of course, if they even retained any mental capability at all to even still be classified as alive.

Status of the Atmosian Guard:

Sky General Stryker has been officially declared deceased from the events that occurred at Stryker's Folly, a body has yet to be recovered. But, due to the extensive force of explosion that Stryker was at the center of, it is unlikely a corpse will be recovered.

The remainder of the Atmosian Guard have been exiled to the far reaches of the free terras. Their level of involvement in Stryker's plans are different from case to case, but it was seen as best to treat the group as a whole and banish them to the outer terras. Their exile may be revoked in future years, depending on their behavior.

Current status of Storm Hawks:

The Storm Hawks were recovered by Harrier and the Rex Guardians and brought home to a hero's welcome on Terra Atmosia. The remains of their carrier, the Condor, were loaded and hauled by several ships back to Terra Atmosia to be put back together once more. It would have been left to rust if were not for the insistent urgings of it's crew, and with heavy threats from the team's pilot, most of which were reported to be...unpleasant.

They are currently enjoying a period of rest and relaxation until such time as their carrier, The Condor, is repaired.

End report.

........

It was late at night and Stork was in his room, trying to get to know it. His room was one of the areas of the ship that had become a twisted pile of scrap in the crash, making it necessary for the entire room to be rebuilt. He was busying himself with making notes on a clipboard on where to install secret compartments at a later date. He grimaced when he thought about the various traps and devices that he would have to reinstall and calibrate throughout the carrier. But, at the same time, he also looked forward to it. He grinned when he thought of all the possibilities. As Stork let his mind wander, he suddenly had another thought enter his brain that made him smile.

Piper.

In between getting The Condor working again and recovering from his injuries, Stork hadn't really had an opportunity to talk with Piper again. He had almost died so many times at the battle, it made him realize just how quickly his life could end. No matter how many preparations or traps he set up, sometimes it's just not enough. And he didn't want to have any regrets.

He set down his clipboard and began to think it over. The Condor is repaired and running better than ever, only a few minor adjustments and repairs left. My ribs are healed... He gave himself a quick poke in his side, a slight grimaced crossed his face as a small jolt of discomfort shot from his ribs. Well, mostly healed anyway.

He moved to the door of his room, taking a deep breath as he stepped into the hallway. He slowly breathed out, talking to himself under his breath as he did. "Yep, now's as good a time as any."

........

Piper was in her lab, also trying to arrange everything back to how it was before the crash. She frowned as she opened a storage locker and found that several of the tools inside were broken. She closed the lid with a sigh and pushed it to the side. The list of things she had to replace only seemed to get longer.

She heard a knock on her door, which she had left open, and turned to see a familiar male figure standing in her door frame.

"Hey Aerrow." She said casually as she turned back to check the contents of another crate.

"Hey." He said as he walked into the room. "What're you up to?"

"Nothing really." She said as she opened the crate in front of her. "Just checking to see if everything I own was completely destroyed, mostly destroyed, or just a little broken." She said with a small laugh. "It's bad enough that I don't have my staff anymore."

"Ya, but at least you got a new one on the same day." He said as he pointed to a rather menacing looking staff that was leaning in the corner of the room. "It's not like Cyclonis needed it anymore."

"Don't remind me." Piper said with a cold tone, the memory of Cyclonis's dying face surfaced in her memory.

"Sorry." Aerrow said nervously. "A lot of things happened on that day that none of us will be forgetting any time soon."

"Ya." Piper said as she crossed her arms, thinking back on the events that they had all barely managed to live through. "Alot of blood, sweat, tears, and sacrifice."

"Sacrifice..." Aerrow said with a hint of disgust for the word. "Stryker really believed that sacrificing people, or yourself, is the only way to solve anything. And the scary thing is that Stryker wasn't always like that"

"What do you mean?" Piper said as she looked at Aerrow with a concerned look.

Aerrow moved across the room to lean against the wall, his face taking on a serious look. "While we've been waiting for The Condor to be repaired, I went to go look at Styker's personal files. When he first got started as a sky knight, he just wanted to protect the Atmos. When he was young, he actually wanted to be a Storm Hawk."

"A lot of kids wanted to be Storm Hawks." Piper said as she moved close to Aerrow, putting a hand on his shoulder. "They were the best team ever, they still are."

"Yeah, but Stryker was a lot like us." Aerrow said as he frowned. "But, somehow, the world changed him. Made him the man that almost got us killed. I'm just afraid we might become like that."

"Is that what has you so stressed?" Piper said with a concerned voice. "That you might end up like Stryker?"

Aerrow replied with a simple nod.

Piper let a smile cross her face. "Then there's nothing to worry about."

"How so?" Aerrow said as he gave Piper a confused look.

"C'mon Aerrow." Piper said as she put her hands on her hips and gave Aerrow a bright smile. "I've known you long enough to know that you'd never end up like Stryker. Besides, you have plenty of friends here to beat sense into you if you ever even started to act like that."

Aerrow smiled as she stood up from the wall. "Thanks Piper."

"No problem." She extended her arms and brought Aerrow in for a hug.

Aerrow returned the hug. "I don't know what I'd do without you." He said as he started to pull away, his hands resting on her hips.

Piper let her hands rest on Aerrow's shoulders as she smiled at him. "None of you do." She said with a laugh. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed another figure standing in the doorway. "Oh, hey Stork." She said as she turned away from Aerrow to face Stork, both of their hands going to their sides. "What's up?"

Stork had nervous look on his face. "Um, nothing." He said in a shaky voice. "I was just...I had...some questions...but...never mind..." He moved away from the doorway, moving towards the bridge.

Aerrow gave Piper a concerned look. "Is he okay?"

Piper stared at the door that Stork had just been standing in. "He's probably tired." She said in a concerned voice. "I'll talk to him in the morning."

"Yeah, it's pretty late." Aerrow said, immediately yawning after he spoke. He moved towards the doorway, he turned to look back at Piper before he stepped through the doorway. "Guess I'll go turn in. See ya in the morning."

"Goodnight Aerrow." She said as Aerrow moved from the doorway. Her thoughts moved back to Stork's odd behavior just moments before. I hope he's alright. She let out a small yawn. Guess I better go to bed too. She began to move to her room, ready for a good night's sleep.

........

Stork was on the bridge of The Condor, moving towards the steering controls. He firmly grasped the controls, hoping the familiar feel of The Condor's controls could help to mellow him. He was feeling a surge of emotions flooding through him after what he had seen.

He had been just walking up to Piper's door just in time to see her and Aerrow embracing each other. He gripped the handles of the steering controls harder as he recalled the memory of what he had witnessed only moments ago. He felt waves of different emotions washing over him, making it hard to concentrate on anything around him. One thing was certain, he wasn't going to be able to sleep tonight.

........

On a remote terra, barren and dusty, the sun shined brightly as a small ship came up to dock. The side of the ship opened, revealing a lone figure. He walked out of the ship, onto the dusty terra. He looked around, thankful that his shaded goggles blocked out the harsh sunlight. He reached into one of the many pockets of his long grey coat and pulled out a small device. He pressed a button on the device, a small chirp coming out as he did. A sudden rumbling came from the ground at his feet. It began to rise in a rectangular shape from the ground revealing a space underneath the panel. There was a small set of stairs that led to a a thick metal door at the base of the stairs.

Heron smiled as he looked down into the open space. "It's a good thing I had the foresight to set up an off-site lab." He said with a devilish grin. He looked back at the ship as another figure appeared in the hatchway. "It's a good thing for you too."

Wow, such a wide open ending. I don't even know what I was thinking when I wrote this. It needs something...something...What's that word? Starts with an "S." Used for when you have stuff that comes after a story, so much stuff it's like another story. Hmmmm... While I figure out what it is, you can leave a review. Later. ;-)