Winds of Change Book II: Distant Thunder
Chapter 5: Forty Eight Hours of Horror and Humor! Part II
AN: Alright, I know this is a bit late, but something came up and you know the rest. Please except this super sized chapter as my apology. This chapter is a flip of the previous one, starting out serious, getting even more serious, and then becoming gradually more light hearted. On another note, I am now very much convinced that someone at Nerd Corps is reading my work and is either psychic, or is very good at seeing how loose ends will tie up in the end. I now have a few more adjustments to make to my stories end to keep it remotely original. Also there is a part of this chapter that will be narrated. For purposes none other than my own amusement and that it fits, I have chosen the narrator to be Creg Ellis. Look up the Teen Titan episode 'Spellbound' he played Malchior and narrated the first bit of the episode.
Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks, and never will, also I do not own anything related to Legend of the Dragoon or Legend of Zelda. They are the property of Asaph "Ace" Fipke and made by Nerd Corps Entertainment, Sony Entertainment and Nintendo, however I DO own Kai, Rose, the Shadow crystal, and this story.
Shadow and Griffy are the property of ShadowQueen25
Tigger belongs to ExNarrator01
Marina is Star Wars Nut's
Rondana was made by and owned by MissDedodakes
Piper lay in her bed staring at the bunk above her wide-eyed.
"I still can't believe it. How could someone do so much in only five years? He's been across most of Atmos and to almost every known terra. Heck, I bet his maps are more accurate than most of the ones we get." Piper rolled over onto her stomach and looked across the room to 'Kai's fort' as Shadow called it.
In reality it was two chairs back to back with a sheet over it, but it was enough for what they needed.
Namely a visible barrier between him and them.
It was one thing to share a room when he had been unconscious, but now that he was awake….well, she, and pretty much everyone else (with the exception of Marina) felt much better about him having the enclosed room. (Most surprisingly, him.)
She had spent most of the day with him, and though it took her almost the entire morning, she managed to crack him open.
"That's not true, he LET me in. No way could I have forced it, he's just too stubborn and strong willed." She thought shaking her head.
"But, it's a good thing he's like that I suppose. I doubt he'd made it this far if he wasn't."
To say that she had been surprised by what she had learned would have been the understatement of the century. She knew it was the same boy she had met six years ago, but at the same time, she had forgotten.
"In my defense, he looks nothing like he did back then." Piper thought. Sure, people change when they grow up, she knew that. But for their eye color to change from blue to yellow?
That of course had been a…difficult part for Kai. He still had his fair share of secrets, and he didn't go into exact detail with what had happened, glossing over most of it, but he had told her enough that when combined with what she already knew, she was able to piece together most of the story.
"I'm still surprised that he turned out the way he did." Piper found herself to be extremely thankful for Starling and what she had done. Piper was no fool, she had seen both roads, and both paths. She knew full well how easy it was for a person to change sides, both physically and mentally. She knew that were it not for his friendship with Starling, he would have gone to Cyclonia in a heartbeat.
He did have friends now, several that he was closer to than she was with the other members of her squadron, but they all had one thing in common, Starling. Remove her from the picture, and none of the other connections would have been made.
"Starling, you might have given us the chance we need to win this war." She thought looking back at the still unconscious woman.
"And that's no exaggeration either. We're hurting bad enough as is. If Kai had ever joined the Cyclonian's, we'd been finished. Keeping him neutral and on our side has done more than either of them realize."
Everyone had a talent; everyone had something that they excelled at. For Piper, it was thinking and planning. Starting multiple trains of thought that all ran along the same track, only making a single change along the way and seeing where they ended.
Kai was only one person, and though his impact in fighting Cyclonia was small, it was enough to make her shudder at the thought of him having turned.
"Kai can fight most Sky Knight's one on one. He might not be able to beat them, but he can hold his own. He even admitted himself that he's never beaten Starling, Suzi, Scorch or Carver in a one on one duel, but I know he could hold anyone of them off long enough for their squadrons to be torn apart by Dark Ace."
That was the impact she saw. He only made a small difference when helping them because they were so bad off, but if he were fighting against them? Things would have been much worse.
"He has a third of Lark's power, and about half of Dark Ace's skill. If he had a squad of Talons…oh god. What if Lark gave him command of Nightcralwers? His crystal generates dark energy, and they feed of the stuff like lecher crystals on a mining ship!"
And there it was, the sad truth. Kai would have been ten times more useful to the Cyclonian'sthan he was to them at the moment. It was much more important to keep him from joining Cyclonia then it was to keep him fighting for them.
"So much talent, so much potential all gone to waste because of a bunch of old fogies got spooked."
That was another thing that got to her. Kai's years of training from Starling had been invaluable in keeping him alive thus far, but it was so far removed from the training he received in his year on the run that it stunted his maximum potential permanently. It was true that he had done a great job at blending and mixing the various style and techniques he had learned over the years, granting him a level of flexibility and unpredictability rarely seen. But at the same time his skill in any one area was lacking. He just didn't know enough of any one thing to excel in, and it was too late to retrain him from the ground up. He would always be a Jack of all trades, skilled and dangerous, being able to defeat the most talented of rookies and most experienced of veterans, able to defeat all that stood before him except the King's, the Queen's, and the Ace's.
The only ones that really counted.
In laymen's terms, he was forever doomed to be a supporter or assistant, never a frontline fighter. Her grandfather, were he still alive, would have called him a broken sword. He was still dangerous, and he was still useful, but he would never be as useful or as dangerous as the full thing.
Piper looked over to where she knew Kai to be one last time before closing her eyes and drifting off to the realm of dreams, with only a single thought.
"Another time, another place, and who would have known?"
Morning came quickly to the crew, or at least, more quickly than they would have cared for. They had decided that Piper would get the day off from 'crewsitting' and that the others (with the exception of Tigger since she was the temporary pilot) would take shifts.
"Rise and shine sleepy head." Rondana said pulling back the sheet from Kai's room.
"Morning." He replied flatly.
"You're actually awake? How long have you been up?"
Kai turned to face the medic, and she immediately knew the answer just by how his ragged his face looked.
"Did he get any sleep at all?"
"I woke up a little while ago. Any change with Star?" He asked motioning his head towards her bunk.
Rondana shook her head. "No, I'm afraid not." She was silent for a minute and was about to apologize when Kai beat her to it.
"I'm sorry about yesterday. I shouldn't have bitten your head off, and like I said, there was no way for you to know." Kai said before turning to face the other way.
"Kai…thank you." Rondana gave a small smile before dropping to his side. "I need to change your wrappings. Try not to move too much ok?"
"Yeah yeah, I know the routine." Kai replied dryly.
"Just so you know, that's not a good thing." She said teasingly.
Lifting him up as carefully as she could, she unwrapped the bandages and cleaned the wounds as carefully as she could. Kai never once flinched or tensed, but she was careful all the same.
"He might not show any signs of hurting, but that doesn't mean he can't feel pain." Truth be told, she preferred patients that did flinch and tense. It was a good gage for her to tell how fall along they were in healing, and it helped her in finding internal injuries.
Looking him over, she saw that most of the injuries had scabbed, and that only a few had fresh blood seeping.
"Well, most of your lacerations are closed, and the stitches should be able to come out in a few days. You're lucky that you got out of that blast with just cuts and scrapes. How you didn't get third degree burns is a miracle." She said pulling out some gauze and a roll of bandage tape.
"Uh, aren't you forgetting about the ribs?" Kai asked looking up at the younger teen.
"I said the blast; those came from landing on the ship." She replied as she finished tying the bandages with a bow.
"I really wish you wouldn't do that." Kai said with a groan.
"It's so I can get them off easily in case of an emergency."
"What kind of emergency are you expecting?" Kai asked, suddenly nervous.
Rondana couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "Not for you, other patients. It's just part of my standard procedure. In the past I've had to do emergency surgery, and when that happens every second counts." She replied.
"I guess that makes sense." Kai said clinching his teeth slightly as Rondana helped him lay back down.
This was not missed by Rondana, after all she was a doctor, and had been treating Kai for over a year now.
"Look, I know you like to do your whole tuff guy act and all, but are you ok?"
Kai looked at her questioning. "What are you talking about?"
Rondana narrowed her eyes in thought as she spoke. "Out of all the time's I've treated you, that was only the second time I remember you ever showing signs of being in pain, and the first time was when Marina brought you in four days ago. Is something wrong?"
Kai thought it over. "Actually, I do feel….weak."
"Please Kai, it might be something serious. I know you have a high tolerance for pain, so for you to winch like that something must be seriously wrong."
"I…it's hard to explain."
Rondana sat next to him with a raised eyebrow.
Kai scoffed. "It's not like when other people say that."
"Do you have any idea how many times I've heard that one before?" Rondana replied dryly.
"I'm serious; I don't really know how to explain it. It's like…I feel like I'm running on full charge, but…I still feel weak."
"You're going to have to do better than that."
Kai rolled his eyes. "I feel like somebody buried my in a pit of sand and filled it in."
Rondana's eyes widened. "You feel pressure? Kai that could be something!" Before she could finish Kai cut her off.
"No, I didn't say I felt any pressure. It's like I said, it's hard to describe. I feel fine, just not….fine."
Thinking over what Kai had said, she had to admit that she had never heard of anything like it before. Something that was actually quite common when it came to Kai.
"Fine but not fine, full charge but weak?"
"Look, the only way I can really describe it is I feel like I'm weaker than usual. I know what I normally feel like, and I know what I feel like when I'm healing. But this isn't it." Kai replied shaking his head.
"Have you ever felt like this before?" Rondana asked.
Kai shook his head. "No, not that I can remember. It's not like I'm in any more pain, I'm just more aware of it."
Rondana's eyes lit up. "You're saying that you feel like you're weaker than normal, right?"
Thinking for a moment, Kai nodded. "I guess that's a good way of putting it. It's like waking up and finding that your three feet shorter than you were when you went to bed."
"It's not that he's in more pain, it's that his tolerance for pain is less than usual." "I'm sorry Kai, but you've always been a bit of an odd case. I treat normal people all the time, but you're the only patient I treat that has any kind of special abilities on a regular basis. The others might be more helpful with this sort of thing." Rondana said apologetically.
"Meh, if it keeps up I'll worry. It's probably just me getting lazy from lying around half a week. Why don't you go get some breakfast? We'll be fine, and if anything changes I'll call ok?" Kai said looking back up at the ceiling.
"We? Oh, Starling, I almost forgot about her, the good patient that hasn't complained none stop." Rondana said teasingly. "If you're sure?"
"Get something to eat while there's still food left. You know how the others are." Kai said with a small grin.
Rondana's eyes widened before she quickly excused herself and made a break for the other room.
"So Piper, what did you two talk about yesterday? Or did Kai do his statue impression all day?" Marina asked before stabbing at her meal again.
Bink
The tick mark reappeared and Marina glared at her plat of food and now bent fork. "In all my years I have never seen breakfast fight back against being eaten." She thought before getting up to get another fork.
Piper looked up from stabbing at her own plate, but not actually aiming at her food. She just wasn't hungry. "Huh? Oh, sorry I kind of zoned out there. What was it?" She asked.
"Just wondering what you and tall dark and moody were talking about all day yesterday." Marina said sitting back down. (This time with a meat prong)
"You know, he's not that bad once you get to know him better." Piper said without thinking.
"Get to know him better? I doubt anyone outside himself knows him all that well." Marina said with a small hint of satisfaction as she pierced the breakfast meat with the six inch long fork prong.
"Hey! That's my friend you're talking about!" Shadow pouted.
Marina looked up with a skeptical eye, and noticed that both Piper and Shadow were giving her mid level glares.
"What? I don't know him all that well. All I can do is call him by what I see. So far he's ignored his teammates and been about as hospitable as a rattlesnake. He might be a strong fighter but he really needs to work on his personality." Marina said waving her fork towards the other two.
"Just because he's not like most people is no reason to talk about him like that. If you knew half the stuff he's been through you'd!" Before Piper could finish Rondana walked in.
"Morning, save anything for me?"
Shadow waved towards the stove top where the mostly burned and charred meal was resting.
"Oh….uh, who cooked this morning?" Rondana said poking lightly at the…dish.
"I did, but I think it got a little burned." Marina replied as she took another bite of her extra crunchy scrambled eggs that were hard enough to bend normal forks.
"How's Kai doing?" Shadow asked as she held down her plate to Griffy who was beneath the table.
"He's better; most of his wounds are healing nicely. Those strange scratches on his shoulders are gone, but his ribs need another day to set." She replied taking the frying pan with her over to the table with a fork.
"He giving you anymore lip?" Marina asked between bites.
Rondana shook her head and smiled. "He's pretty much back to his normal self, a little bored, but aside from that he's fine."
"Not taking first shift." Marina said between bites.
Piper grined. "Immunity."
Shadow and Rondana looked at each other.
"Not it!"
Shadow gaped.
"But…but…I'm not even allowed to be left alone! Remember what happened when I tried to watch Tinky?"
Piper shuddered before replying. "Look, it's not all that hard. You just have to be there in case he needs something. He's your friend right?"
Shadow pouted. "He IS my friend….I just don't look forward to sitting on my butt all day doing nothing." Shadow said crossing her arms.
"What's the difference? You sat in the cockpit most of yesterday playing fifty questions with Tigger." Marina pointed out.
"The DIFFERENCE….is that Kai's boring." Shadow said the last part with the strongest pout she could muster.
"Oh come on Shadow. Kai's like an older male version of me." Piper said giving the younger girl a shoulder nudge.
"I know, that's what I said. Boring." Shadow replied with a grin.
Piper's good natured grin turned to a frown. "Well sorry, but it's your turn."
Shadow huffed before getting up and dragging her feet back to the crew quarters.
Kai's ear twitched at the sound of feet shuffling.
"And today's short straw drawer is?" Kai said sarcastically.
Shadow walked into the room and climbed back on top of her bunk.
"So you're my entertainment for today eh?" Kai said with a small smirk.
"Ha ha very funny." Shadow said dryly.
This caused Kai to narrow his eyes in confusion.
"Shadow? Are you alright?" Kai asked, concern clear in his voice.
Shadow looked over at Kai with an expression he had never seen before. He didn't know what it was, but he knew that he didn't like it.
"Just peachy, how about you?" She asked smartly.
This confused Kai even more.
"What's her problem? Shadow's always been happy to see me before, why the sudden change?" Looking at her face as best he could, he tried to figure out what her expression was. It wasn't anger, or sadness, but it did seem to be related. "The closest I've ever seen to that was when Star found out about my…recent dealings from Arygyn."
Shadow's face was mostly blank, but her lips were slightly drawn downwards. The only other thing that stood out was her eyes.
"It's that same look. What is it?"
Shadow turned her face away from him and looked down at the rooms one other occupant.
"She doing alright?" Shadow asked, not looking at Kai.
"As far as I can tell, it's not like I've seen her much recently. The most I can actually see is the end of her ponytail." Kai replied carefully before asking. "Does she…look ok? Yesterday she was a little pale." Kai asked, still concerned about Shadow's odd behavior, but at the same time worried about his other friends health.
Shadow was still looking at said friend when she responded. "She's still pale, but some of her color's back."
Kai nodded slightly; glad to hear she wasn't doing any worse at least.
"Any idea what's wrong with her?"
Shadow looked back at Kai with the same expression, but was quirking an eyebrow. "I'm not a doctor, how would I know?"
"Why is her tone so sharp? Did I say something during my three day nap to tick her off or something?" It wasn't much, but the only thing Kai could do was to keep her talking. That way he had a chance at figuring out what the problem was.
"I just figured that with all the weird things you see with the Storm Hawks that you might have seen something similar."
Shadow hopped off the bed and landed in a crouch position, almost like a cat. She shot Kai that same look before walking past him to Starling.
"What's her damage? She's always been…well….happy to se me in the past. What's up with the silent treatment?" Thinking back, Kai realized that she had been giving him the cold shoulder and the silent treatment since she had arrived at his base.
"She's drained."
Kai would have jumped were he not on his back.
"What?"
Shadow walked past Kai back to her bunk, and without even looking at him climbed back up to her spot.
"I said she's drained. Aerrow looks like that when he uses the Lighting Claw too many times." She replied, still not looking at him.
"Ok, so she's upset with me, I know that much. The question now is what did I do?" "But how could that have happened? She hasn't used her attack, wait a minute, did you guys run into anything back at the Phoenix Den?" Kai asked, now worried that he had missed more than he had thought.
Shadow sighed. "No, we didn't fight anything. Starling was flying us to you when she started up. I don't know what caused it, but somehow her energy was completely drained."
"How do you know?" Kai asked. Sure, her attitude was getting to him, but he wanted to know more about this, and he was still trying to figure out what was wrong with Shadow.
"I know because I've seen it before, several times actually. We had a pretty bad run in about a month ago with Dark Ace. I don't know what he said, but it pushed Aerrow over the edge and he started firing off the Lightning Claw like mad."
Hearing her stop, Kai spoke up. "Well? What happened?"
Shadow was silent for a moment, but she continued. "We drove them back; Aerrow almost crashed his skimmer and fell off it as soon as he landed. After that he was out for a day or so, woke up, felt like he had a hangover and was pretty much useless for the next week."
"Ok, but still, how do you know? What are the symptoms?" Kai asked.
Shadow huffed. "Pale skin and out cold for three days straight." She replied.
Kai ran the information over, it did seem plausible, but there were two problems with it. First, Starling hadn't fought anything lately, much less use her move. Second, Kai didn't hear Shadow mention Aerrow being in severe pain.
"But if that's the case, why was Star in so much pain?"
Shadow was silent at this.
"Shadow? Hello? Anyone there?"
"WHAT!?" She shouted.
Finally giving up on figuring out what was wrong, Kai went for the direct approach.
"Shadow? What's wrong? You've been…well…not yourself lately."
Kai's sensitive ears heard her breathing change from slightly hard and agitated to heavy hisses between clinched teeth.
"What is my problem? My problem is, is YOU!"
Turning towards his friend as best he could, Kai was surprised by the face he saw.
"SWEET HOLY MOTHER OF!"
Kai was unique when compared to most males in that he had spent much more time in the company of woman. He had been raised by his mother and Starling, spent quite a bit of time with Suzi-Lu, and he had traveled in the company of Tigger and Aladd, as well as being Rondana's patient frequently in the last year. So seeing an angry female was something he had grown accustomed to.
That being said, nothing could have prepared him for what he faced now.
Shadow's emerald green eyes blazed with anger that he had never before seen, even in Rose. They didn't even hit him as much as they just went right through him. It didn't take a genius to tell that she was angry. It pored from every inch of five foot four frame.
"Yep, she's definitely her daddy's little girl." Kai couldn't help but notice the resemblance. Normally she looked like her mother, or so he had been told. But when angry, her father came out in spades, making her look every bit as dangerous as him.
"My problem is that you think so little of your friends that you would keep everything that's happened from them for over a YEAR! Do you know what I was doing this morning? I was helping Piper, PIPER! defend your character from Marina! I don't even know why I did it, because everything she said was true!"
Kai was so taken back that he couldn't even speak.
"You treat us like library books! Only taking us off the shelf when you have no clue what to do, and then as soon as you're finished you just go back and put us on the shelf." Shadow stopped for a second to catch her breath, but Kai knew she was far from being finished.
"You run off and keep to yourself, only showing up to help out when someone needs it then you go and take off again disappearing into the closest shadow or dark alley. You hide from your friends, keep things from them and never even give them a chance to help! Why are you so convinced that your friends either don't care, or don't have the time to help you? Is it so hard to believe that we lowly humans, who are so far beneath you, are actually capable of helping you?!"
Kai lay still with a dumbstruck look on his face. Shadow's eyes never left his own, and even though her chest was heaving deeply with each breath, he silently knew that she was giving him a chance to defend himself. She was nowhere near running out of steam.
After a few seconds passed and Kai's brain rebooted, he chose his words carefully.
"Shadow, what on Atmos are you talking about?"
Ok, so not exactly carefully.
Shadow clinched her fist tight, and still looking him dead in the eye dropped off the bunk and marched up to him.
"You, you think that just because we are squad members or just because we are under the Council's command, that we can't, or won't help you?" She seethed.
"I never said that."
Stopping a foot away from him, Shadow looked down at him with a twisted look of scorn on her face.
"Oh? Forgetting about yesterday already aren't we?"
It took a second, but Kai figured out what she was talking about.
"Yeah, I didn't hear everything from yesterday, but I did catch a good deal of the end." Shadow said scowling.
Flashback
"Hmm, if what Tigger said is true, my ax is going to let me die the first chance it gets." Shadow said looking at her weapon wearily. That's when she heard Piper's voice coming from the crew quarters.
"Man, I haven't heard her that ticked off since the time Finn washed his lucky red boxers with her whites."
Looking back towards the cockpit and seeing that Tigger was busy flying, and still able to hear Marina and Rondana chasing Radarr and Griffy in the hanger, she went up to the door and put her ear against it. The voices were a bit hard to hear through the metal door, but she could still make them out.
"What if it was fighting Cyclonians to prevent them from getting their hands on something? You would be gone and Cyclonia would have a new weapon at its disposal. Whatever it was, nobody would know until after it was used, there would be no warning, no protection, and no chance of making an effective first counter. All of that would be because of you going solo."
"What is Piper talking about?"
Pushing her self closer to the door, she heard Piper continue.
"Whatever your past with the Council may be, you still have taken on the responsibility of helping to protect Atmos. That means putting it first above all else. Now I don't know why you have a bounty on your head, and I can see why you are reluctant to accept help from a squadron, but you have to remember than not all help can come from squadrons. There are plenty of people out there like Rondana and Marina, people that want to help and are outside the Council's realm of influence and control. You just need to look for them and ask."
When several seconds passed and she didn't hear anything she moved away from the door.
"Kai still doesn't want our help?" Shadow felt the pain from the previous two weeks explode inside of her as she clinched her fist around her axes hilt.
Flashback end
"Do you have any idea how much it hurts to find out that someone you had thought of as a friend, sees you as being unable, or worse, unwilling to be of any use or help?" Shadow's voice was so cold that Kai could have sworn that he saw his own breath.
Finally gaining control, Kai spoke.
"Shadow, I never meant to hurt you. I never meant to hurt any of you. That why I left you out."
Shadow's eyes narrowed further.
"I knew that anyone that tried to help me would become a target of the Council, and that they're looking for any excuse they can get their hands on to label you as a traitor. Just being around me puts you at risk."
If anything, this seemed to make her even madder, if they were possible.
"So your saying that if someone is in trouble with the Council, that everyone should just stay away? Avoid them? Not even bother trying to help them out?" She asked in a steely tone.
"Yes! That's what I'm trying to say!" Kai shouted.
And regretted as soon as he said it.
Her face changed from anger to hurt so fast that Kai missed it in a blink.
"Nice to know where your friends stand with you." She said before turning and climbing back up to her bunk.
"Great going Kai. You just managed to hit her the hardest where it hurt the most." He thought shaking his head.
Marina watched from a tiny crack in the doorway. She had expected something like this to happen eventually. She was positive that this was not Kai's true nature. She had seen him fight, she had seen the real him. The only problem was that the real him was buried deep under many layers of pretenses and acts. She knew that at heart he had to be a good person, otherwise he wouldn't have friends, much less powerful friends that followed a code of honor.
"Now Kai, let me see your true self. Show me who the others have seen to earn their trust and loyalty."
Kai groaned, and using every ounce of strength he had, sat upright. The pain was making him see spots, and the edge of his vision was blurred, but right now he didn't care.
"Gotta fix this one fast. Come on Kai, you survived Blister and Burners training, you can take this!" Kai clinched his teeth as he pushed himself over to his stomach, and then pushed himself up as gently as he could. He had to be careful, his ribs were still loose, and he did not want to go through another five days of this.
Looking around to Shadow, he saw that she was laying back and staring at the ceiling, seemingly unaware that he had even gotten up.
"Man this bites. Kai, why can't you keep your mouth shut? It would save you so much trouble if you could just keep you thoughts and intentions to yourself." He thought as he made his way to the bunk beds.
"Hey, Shadow." Kai shook her arm gently, but wasn't too surprised at her lack or response.
"Rondana's going to skin me alive for this, I know it." Kai though shaking his head as he pulled himself up to the top bunk.
Teeth bared, mind numb with pain and filled with 'colorful metaphors' Kai managed to pull himself up and fell beside Shadow.
"Shadow, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking."
Silence
"Look, I…you know that I would do anything in my power to help you in any situation, including, and especially if it was because of the Council."
Shadow turned to him with the same hurt expression from before.
"I'm really, really sorry. Please, if…if there's anything I can do."
"Answer one question, just one, and I might forgive you in the future." Shadow said. Her voice had lost most of its anger, but the hurt that it contained was almost as powerful.
Kai nodded his head.
"Are you willing to help me?"
"Shadow, you know that." He was cut off.
"Would you be willing to fight against the Council, would you be willing to fight against free Atmos if they were after me? Not hide me, not help me run, I'm asking if you would stand by my side, stand back to back with me, and help me fight?"
Kai was surprised by the intensity she had for the third time today. The question itself was also one that he knew to be layered.
"Shadow, you know that I would help you in any way possible. Yes, I would fight by your side."
Looking him dead in the eye, she surprised him by asking one last question.
"Then why wouldn't I do the same for you?"
Kai froze.
"You're one of my best friends Kai, if you're willing to do all that for me, why wouldn't I do it for you?"
Swallowing, Kai tried to think of an answer, but was having difficulty doing so.
"I never thought of that. I was so focused on trying to keep them out of trouble, I never even considered the possibility that they would WANT to help."
Looking up, Kai shook his head. "I'm an idiot."
"Among other things."
Kai nearly fell out of the bunk at the sound of another voice behind them.
"Marina? What are you doing here?" Kai asked wincing.
"Just came by to take my shift." Her face then went from 'normal' to 'smirk' mode. "Why are you up there? I thought you were…what's the term? Oh yes, grounded."
Kai shot her a low level glare. "I was trying to apologize." He said lowering his head.
"Come on Tarzan, let's get you down before Rondana see's you and gives you five more days." Marina said offering her hand.
Kai looked back to Shadow, and saw that she still had that same look on her face, the same one that Starling had when she had tried to confront me in my gym.
"There's that look again. What is it?"
Maraina followed Kai's gaze back to Shadow, and quickly decided that the boy, while being deserving of what was coming his way, wasn't entirely to blame.
"Shadow, go get some lunch, I'll take over ok?"
Shadow hopped down and left the room without responding, and shut the hatch behind her.
Marina silently helped Kai back to his spot on the ground, and checked his ribs to make sure they hadn't shifted, again.
"It was disappointment."
Kai blinked.
"What?"
"The look on her face, it was disappointment, disappointment in you. I take it you're not familiar with that look are you?"
"No, I've only seen it one other time, and that was two weeks ago." Kai said wincing slightly.
"Hmm, looks like your ribs tried to shift, but were mended just enough to stay in place." Marina said before pulling up a cushion to sit beside Kai.
Kai let out a sigh. "What? Now you're going to lay in on me too?"
Marina chuckled. "No, fraid not. I haven't known you long enough yet. Sides, I don't think I could top Shadow's act. I prefer not to compete when I can help it."
Seeing that Kai wasn't going to respond, she spoke up.
"You know she really looked up to you."
Kai turned to look at her.
"Can't imagine why."
Marina got an odd look on her face, a mix between confused and startled. "You can't be that dense."
Kai just looked at her dully. "Look, I apparently missed all the lessons on 'Me and my friends' along with 'How to play well with others'. So if you don't mind could you cut the 'ye must learn tyself' junk and just tell me how I screwed up?" Kai said crossly.
Marina shook her head. "I can't believe you never figured it out." Seeing Kai's unchanged expression, she groaned. "Boy, you are thick. Look, Shadow looked up to you because to some degree, she idolized you."
Kai snorted.
"It's true. She told us herself."
Flashback two weeks ago
"Ok Shadow, your turn."
Shadow stopped laughing and got suddenly nervous. "Ummm Truth."
Piper grew a Suzi sized grin. "Why are you always so happy when Kai is around?"
Shadow's face went from worried to happy. "Well duh! He's my friend! Why wouldn't I be happy?"
Piper shook her head. "Not good enough. Come on, spill. You got a crush on him don't you?"
Shadow got a horrified look on her face. "Eww! He's like six years older than me! I like him, but not like that."
"Then how do you like him?"
Everyone turned to Marina with stunned looks on their faces.
"What? I can be curious too." She said crossing her arms.
"I look up to him." Shadow said, breaking the odd silence.
"What?" Piper asked, hopelessly confused.
"I said I look up to him. He's a good friend and has always been there to help out when a friend needs him. He's strong, lives on his own, doesn't need help from anybody, and, he doesn't judge people for things out of their control." She said the last part softly, but the others heard it.
Perking up slightly, Shadow looked over at Starling with an impish grin. "Your turn Starling. Truth or dare?"
Flashback end
Kai shook his head. "I'm nothing to look up to. How good of a friend could I be when I."
Marina cut him off. "Aw no no no no, no. We will be having no pity trips in this conversation." Seeing Kai raise his eye brow, she continued. "Look, you might not see it, but others do. You're a good person, just a little…underdeveloped in some areas."
Kai's face fell slightly.
"I don't think Shadow's taken a sledgehammer to your statue yet, but I don't think she'll be making any trips to that part of her mind for a while. Just let her cool off a bit, and stop acting like such dunce."
Seeing that Kai had nothing to say, Marina sat back and relaxed.
The next few hours were relatively quiet, with the only exceptions being Radarr and Griffy running down the hallway for a few minutes.
"Hey Marina, would you mind making dinner tonight? I'm still a bit….shaky from yesterday."
Marina and Kai both looked up at the door way and were surprised to see Rondana.
"Alright, I could use a change of scenery. Kai's been a bit quiet lately, and no way am I eating another of Piper's surprise sandwiches." Marina said stretching as she got up.
Rondana chuckled while Kai shuddered. He had been a guest aboard the Condor before, and while Piper was a great cook, her skills outside of the area of breakfast was lacking.
Once Marina was gone, Rondana skipped over to her bed and pulled out her book, quickly finding the page she had been on last night before putting the book up, she settled in for a good reading.
Again, silence seemed to rule supreme.
"What'ch reading?" Kai asked, finally succumbing to boredom.
"Nothing you'd like." Rondana replied burying her nose back into her book.
Normally, Kai would have left well enough alone. But he had rarely become this bored before. With all that had happened the last two weeks, two days of immobility had left him extremely yancie. That combined with his boredom created….odd results.
"Try me." Kai challenged.
Rondana peeked over the top of her book. "Drop it ok. I'm trying to read." She shot back.
Rondana was not one to snap on a usual basis, but the book was rather good, and she really wanted to finish the chapter before the others, (mostly Piper) came back from eating.
Not one to be ignored, Kai decided to have a bit of fun. With a small grin on his face, he decided to remind Rondana that she was supposed to be watching him and Starling, not reading and ignoring them.
"It needs to be something annoying, but not to the point she'll blowup on me." Thinking over his options, which were rather limited given his current state, he came up with something that he knew would catch her attention.
"Wondecamo knew that he was in danger. Lance had all but killed him in their last duel, and his injuries had yet to heal. Still, he would not be deterred. Rebecca had to be stopped at all cost. Yes, he knew her secret. The body was Rachel's, but it was not Rachel that was in control. His Rachel would never have"
Rapid laser fire
Rondana dropped her book and jumped as a skimmer flew by her.
The size of a paper plate.
"What the!" Before she could finish a second skimmer flew by her.
"I won't miss this time!" I tiny squeaky voice shouted from the second skimmer.
"Na na na na na!" The first one then blew a raspberry in a similar squeaky voice before doing a barrel roll to dodge the incoming fire.
Rondana watched as the two tiny skimmers flew around the room chasing each other and exchanging burst of blaster fire and insults.
It might have been entertaining had the two pilot's voices not sounded like mice on helium.
Finally one of the skimmers got lucky and hit the other. The pilot jumped and deployed its parachute, shouting insults and obscenities at the winner while shaking its tiny fist.
The winner circled round the room until it came back to Rondana.
Once it got about a foot away from her, she was able to make out the pilot. Blue and brown patchwork flight suit, with a shock of bright blond hair sticking straight up.
"What's up hot stuff? Chica-cha." The squeaky voiced pilot then fired its fingers like they were a pair of pistols.
Rondana growled before swinging her book around and hit the tiny skimmer with the force of a runaway freight train.
"AHHHH! Alpha tango charily niner niner!" The pilot's voice squeaked as it tried to regain control of the skimmer only to crash into a wall and explode. The pilot fell and did the splits onto the rooms sink faucet and shrieked in an even higher pitched voice.
It took a second for everything to sink in, but when it did Rondana turned to Kai with a glare.
"What the heck was that?!" "Why wont anyone let me finish my book!" Inside her mind a chibi Rondana cried at the injustices of it all.
"That's what happens when I get bored. Stop ignoring me or it will get worse." Kai threatened teasingly.
Rondana raised an eyebrow at this. "Oh no something worse than being flirted with by a mini Finn, what ever will I do?" She said dryly as she tossed on of her hands to her forehead and arched back with a flourish.
"Hey, that wasn't even my normal lowest setting of annoyance. That was just a warning shot."
"Oh? And just what is your lowest?" Rondana said going back to her book.
"Level one is you being stuck in the musical production of My Fair Lady with the Rex Guardian's as the supporting cast."
Rondana dropped her book.
"That's level one?" She said as her eyes widened in horror.
Kai grinned to himself. It was true that he did have a few things worse than that up his sleeve, but not many. That was actually about as high as he would go unless he was desperate. Rondana however did not know this.
"Fine you win. It's a romance novel ok? There are you happy?" Rondana said crossing her arms.
Kai gagged. "Why do girls even read that trash? It's not like that kind of stuff ever happens." Kai said shuddering.
"So? It's called fantasy. Some people like to dream, nothing wrong with that." Rondana said slightly offended.
"It is when it's poorly written. That stuffs an insult to good writing everywhere." Kai fired.
"Hey! That was uncalled for. Not all of them are that bad."
"Oh yeah? What's the general plot for that one? Some chick gets hurt in a sky diving accident and gets taken over by an ancestor's ghost?" Kai teased.
"No! It was a driving accident! And it wasn't a dead ancestor; it was her dead adopted half sister! So ha!" Rondana said sticking out her tongue.
Kai's left eyebrow started twitching along with a rather large tick mark. "That's just as lame! Good grief I could write something better than that!" Kai shouted.
"Ptth, you couldn't write a script for a fifth grade drama." Rondana said going back to her book.
"Is that a challenge?"
Rondana looked up. "Excuse me?"
"I asked if that was a challenge. Well? Is it?"
Thinking it over a bit, Rondana looked back at her book. "Well…its not like he could do much worse…." "Ok fine, it is."
"What are the stakes?" Kai was now beaming. He was no longer bored, and had a chance to poke some fun at one of his (and every other males) arch enemies.
"What do you want? It's not like I can heal you faster, and I didn't bring any cash."
Kai though it over. "I'll bet a favor for it. You win, you get one from me, I win, and I get one from you."
"Within reason of course." Rondana said not liking the terms to begin with.
"Whatever you say, sides I'm going to win." Kai said confidently.
Rondana rolled her eyes. "It's going to have to wait a while though. You can't even sit up yet, so we'll just AHHH!" Rondana nearly jumped out of her skin as a large book suddenly appeared hovering in mid air before her.
"Na, I don't need hands to write." Kai teased.
It took her a few seconds to calm her breathing, but when she did, Rondana glared at Kai and was about to throw her book at him when she heard a voice begin speaking, and saw writing suddenly appear on the book's blank pages at a pace average for someone writing with a quill.
(Narration starts here, if you don't know who they guy I used is, he's a mid 30's British actor)
Darkness
It surrounded him, it enveloped him, it became him. Since the day of his birth, he had been sealed within this abysmal sunless world.
And for what?
What horrible crime had he committed? What had he done to deserve such treatment?
The answer?
He did what he was created to do. Nothing more, nothing less. He was not born into this world, he was created, and yet those that had made him sealed him away upon realizing just what it was that they had created.
How long had it been?
Within this sunless world, time had no meaning, time did not exist.
Patt patt patt patt patt.
"Footsteps? But who? Only she who sealed me can reach these depths." He thought.
Looking up, he was able to see a faint point of light, a light so pure and bright that it nearly blinded him. He tried to move forward, but was unable.
"My chains. I had forgotten they were even there after all this time." Moving his head around, he was able to see the faintest glimmer of light reflect upon his bonds.
Each of his arms had at the wrist iron fetters, each of which was bound to the cavern's wall by a length of chain. At first, he had tried to pull free, but upon seeing that it only harmed him, he ceased. How long he had pulled and gnashed at them he did not know, but the scars remained to this day. His feet too were chained. These however were loose enough that he was able to move some, not much, but enough that he could sit should he ever desire.
The last bind was around his neck. It was by far the thickest of the bonds, but this was only because it was the central connection point for all the others.
Unlike the others however, which appeared to be simple iron, this one was adorned with a single bright orange gem at its center.
This stone was the source of his imprisonment, the one thing that kept him at bay. Were it not for that one infernal jewel, he would still be free.
The irony however was that this crystal was also the only thing that kept him alive. After being severed from his power, it sustained him.
One small gem was the source of his misery.
One small gem was the only thing that kept him alive.
One small gem that he knew was the key to his freedom.
The footsteps stopped before him and he looked up.
It was her.
The one who was the cause for his punishment, the one that had sealed him away never to see the light of day, the one whom he had been created to protect.
He could hardly believe his eyes, her face! It was still the same, even after all these years. Even time itself was unable to affect her beauty, at least not to him.
Part of him wanted to lash out to kill her, part of him wanted to reach out just to touch her, and part of him wanted to cower away in shame, to hide himself from her eyes.
He had only done what he was created to do, yet this alone had caused her untold pain.
In her desperation, she had done the only thing she could to preserve his life. She knew that it was not his fault; he was created to serve a purpose, a purpose that few understood.
And even fewer appreciated.
That was why she sealed him away, not to punish him, not to hurt him, but to protect him. To preserve his life.
It hurt her.
The only thing she could do in return for all that he had done for her was bind him, and seal him away to a world of endless darkness and shadow.
She looked up at his slightly taller frame as he looked down at her smaller form.
Both their eyes were filled with pain and regret. But it hurt him to see the one other thing that floated in the deep pools of her eyes.
Fear.
Fear of him. Fear of what he would do if ever freed.
Without a word spoken between either of them, she turned and left. No words were needed; for they both well knew what the other wanted to say, but knew they could not.
Hearing the stone walls close behind her, his head lowered to the ground. Part of him was uplifted to the heavens, while part of him was condemned to the deepest depths.
But every part of his being hurt, hurt with a pain few had ever felt, and even few had survived.
What hurt him the most however was that he knew it was no more and no less than the pain she too felt.
(Narration end)
POOF
Kai looked out of the corner of his eye and couldn't help but start laughing. Sitting before him was a half red, completely flustered Rondana. It took a few seconds for her to snap out of her daze, but as soon as she did she started looking around frantically.
"Whatch'a looking for?" Kai asked with a grin that put Suzi to shame.
"THE BOOK! Where did it go?!" Rondana shouted getting up and throwing her mattress off the bed as she searched the room.
"Book? What book?" Kai asked using the 'narrator's voice' from earlier.
Rondana froze before turning around slowly to face Kai. "That was another of your illusions?"
Kai nodded.
"I'LL KILL YOU!" Rondana shouted as she jumped onto Kai and started strangling him.
"RooDAAAnnnaa lEt gO!" Kai croaked, half from her choking him, half from laughing.
"BRING IT BACK NOW!" She shouted, holding Kai's neck in one hand and her other hand back in a fist that promised much pain.
"I can't. It was never real, I just made it up." Kai said before breaking out into a deep laugh.
Rondana's eyes seemed to glow at this point, looking around frantically. "Well?!"
"Well what?" Kai asked, pausing from his laughing.
"What happened?! Where is the rest of the story?!" Rondana shouted as she continued to shake the poor teen.
"I told you, it wasn't real! I made it up!" Kai shouted before falling back into a fit of laughs.
"TELL ME!" Rondana shouted.
To this Kai just started laughing harder. He had never seen the somewhat shy and timid doctor so desperate, and all over a book? "Maybe Piper was right. I should try my hand at writing when this is all over. But it will be a cold day in Oblivion before I write anything else like that trash. Think guy thoughts. Skimmer's, football, Nacho's, combat, combat training, training."
While Kai tried to wash away the 'evil romance novelness' from his system. Rondana continued to shout at him. The two didn't notice that they were no longer alone, sort of.
Groan
"Would…you….two…keep…it….down?" A weak voice called out.
Rondana dropped Kai like a rock, who landed with a thud and rushed over to Starling.
"Starling? Can you hear me? Do you feel ok?"
Starling closed her eyes and kept them that way for a few seconds before opening them slowly. "I feel so yawn tired. What happened?" She asked, looking around sleepily.
Kai once again rolled over and slowly pushed himself up, making sure not to put any strain on his ribs before making his way over to his friend.
"Star? You ok?"
Starling chuckled. "Yes….I am…..yawn..fine. Just a little tired!" Starling yelped when she found herself suddenly engulfed in a fierce hug.
"You scared me half to death Star. I woke up and they said you had been out for three days, then I found out they gave you morphine and then!"
"Slow down Kai. I can hardly understand a word your saying." She said before returning the hug.
A second passed before Starling whispered. "You know Kai…you could really use a shower."
Kai gaped. "I've spent almost every waking minute of the last two days worrying about her and this is the thanks I get?! Tch, two can play that game."
Pulling back, Kai grinned. "So could you."
End chapter 5
AN: Ok, so the end was slightly fluffy, but it was simply the case of a close friend worried sick about another close friend. I've had a few people close to me in the hospital, and I ran up and hugged them as soon as I was able to. Keep your friends close, and let them know how important they are to you, you never know when might be the last time. (No, nobody died; I read that in a fortune cookie yesterday and thought it fit with this chapter, cool huh?) Well now everyone's awake, but not quite back to normal. Like I said before, Kai and Starling will be sitting the next terra out as per doctor Rondana's orders. I want to give the other characters a piece of the lime light every now and then. Who knows what will happen on each mission? My muse is being secretive, so not even I do. Anyways, next chapter is going to focus mainly on Starling, and what the heck happened to her in chapter 3. Trust me when I say this, it's something completely original and has never before been done in a Storm Hawks story, or any other story.
Be on the look out for chapter 6:
A Problem Solved! An Even Bigger One Discovered?
Till next time, Ja Ne!