Winds of Change Book II Distant Thunder

by RGZ Archer

Kai has assembled his team, and the group of seven must now race against both Cyclonia and time itself to prevent a weapon of unimaginable power from falling into the wrong hands. But just whose hands are the wrong hands? Who is their true enemy?

6. Problem Solved! Bigger One Discovered

Winds of Change Book II: Distant Thunder

Chapter 6: A Problem Solved! An Even Bigger One Discovered?

AN: Ok, I know this story seems to be falling down the hill of suism, but it's for a reason. This story is a smelter of sorts for Kai. After reviewing his designs and what both myself and others had written, I decided that it was time for some changes. Changing him overnight would have been hard to explain, but would have saved time. This way however, I get some great practice in character development and interaction. Oh, and SFC stands for 'Sky Fried Chicken' it's Storm Hawks version of KFC (duh)

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

Kai was once again on his back, just as he had been for the last two days. However, unlike the last two days, he was now sporting a black eye, and Rondana was holding an ice pack over half his face.

"I really should have seen that one coming." Kai muttered.

Rondana shook her head sadly. "Kai, I don't think there is a soul alive that could have dodged that punch. I've seen her fight before, and when she wants to hit something, she usually does."

Kai sighed. "I didn't mean the literal punch. I mean I should have expected her to react that way, especially after what the rest of reacted to the same news." Kai said closing his uncovered eye.

"Great job Kai, you might go down in the history books as the worst leader Atmos has ever seen. Rondana's miffed at me, Marina still doesn't, and more than likely never will trust me, Tigger hasn't spoken to me since I woke up, Piper wont look me in the eye anymore, Shadow thinks I look at everyone as being weak or worthless, and now Starling's pissed. Even Radarr and Griffy avoid me now."

A little over an hour ago, Starling had woken up after her five day long nap. At first she had been tired and wanted to go back to sleep, but Rondana convinced her to try and get up and moving around a bit. She hadn't eaten or moved in five days after all, and her body was beginning to weaken.

So, Marina helped her to the kitchen, and after giving her coffee strong enough to keep the Leviathan awake for a week, started preparing a late lunch/ early dinner. Everything had been going fine until one seemingly harmless question was asked by the resident purplenette Sky Knight.

Flashback

Starling was trying to work the creaks out of her neck, when Piper walked into the kitchen.

"Hey! It's good to see you're up. We were starting to get worried."

Starling gave a small smile. "I'm sorry if I worried you. I'm still not sure what happened."

Piper waved it off. "Don't worry about it. I'm just glad you're up. Now Tigger can't use the excuse that she's the only pilot to get out of watching Kai." Piper smirked.

Starling looked at Piper blankly. "Watch Kai? Why would he need someone to watch him?"

Piper did a double take. "You mean you didn't notice?"

Starling shook her head.

"Uh, Starling, Kai's not supposed to move until tomorrow. His ribs are still healing."

Starling got an alarmed look on her face. "His ribs are healing? What happened? He seemed ok when I woke up. What happened?"

Flashback end

That's were things went down hill.

When Starling found out the extent of Kai's injuries, and, more specifically how he received them, she was less than pleased.

Ok, she was down right pissed.

"Kai, Starling was just…upset, she didn't really mean what she said." Rondana said softly as she replaced the now water filled ice pack with a new one.

"She meant every word Rondana. Starling might not always tell me everything, but she has never lied. She meant every word." Kai said drooping slightly more.

That was another thing, nobody outside of Kai or Starling even knew what really happened. As soon as she found out from Piper what had happened during, and after she blacked out, she stormed into the crew's quarters and closed the hatch behind her. A few minutes passed, the hatch reopened and Starling returned to the kitchen, told Rondana that Kai needed 'a bit of help' and hadn't spoken a word since.

Rondana shook her head again. She knew that what ever had happened between the two, Kai had probably deserved. But at the same time, it probably should have waited at least a day before transpiring. After being worried sick over Starling for two days, worn down by Piper, and having Shadow open a can of old school on him, he was at his mental rope's end. Having Starling berate, and literally nail some sense into him when he was in a weakened stake had probably pushed him over the edge.

Of course she had no way of knowing this; as Kai was doing his statue impression again, keeping everything locked safely behind his mask and walls.

"Just when Piper finally got through to him. We almost had him!" Looking at her patient, Rondana felt a pang of pity for him. "He was only trying to help. He just didn't know what he was doing. I guess the old saying about good intentions really is true."

"Rondana…could you….call the others. I…need to speak to them….everyone." Kai said closing his one still open eye.

"Kai, I think you should just relax. You need your rest and." Kai cut her off.

"I know what I'm doing this time. Please, call the others."

Since they had found a small terra, Tigger suggested that they land so that she could do a few spot checks on the ship, just to make sure that it was still in one piece and was in no danger of falling apart.

That, and she was tired, and wanted to sleep. She hadn't slept since leaving the Phoenix Den, too worried about reaching the next location and not trusting the ship to stay together for the night.

Rondana slowly got up, and left the room, knowing that Kai couldn't be persuaded, and wouldn't listen to her no matter what she said.

Five minutes later, Kai heard approaching footsteps, and opened his eye to see the crew file in.

"Well, everyone's here, just like you asked." Rondana said with a half smile. She didn't know what Kai had in mind, but she knew that more than likely, it was something big, given the circumstances.

"Thanks Rondana." Kai said before looking at the others.

Taking a deep breath, Kai begin.

"I….I know that I haven't exactly been…a good leader so far into this mission." Pausing for a second, he watched for any reactions, not expecting anything in the way of reassurance, but surprised at the lack of any reaction at all, he continued.

"I don't know much about leading, but I know that if a squadron does not respect their leader, does not trust their leader, or holds any…resentment towards them, they will fail no matter how good they are."

Seeing that Piper was going to speak, Kai continued. "Not that I don't think all of you are capable of keeping your professional and personal lives separate, but it is difficult for a leader to lead when they know their squadron holds little, if any confidence in them. That is why effective immediately, I will no longer be in charge of this mission."

"Have you completely lost your mind!? Kai! You're the only one that even known's what the heck is going on!"

Kai let out a dry chuckle. "If its one thing I learned from the Council, a leader can be completely clueless as to what is going on and still lead. When I'm cleared by Rondana, I will be taking over as pilot and mission specialist. I trust that you can decide who is best suited to lead between yourselves. Whoever is chosen, I will support to the best of my abilities."

"If this is another of your pity fiascos, I'll break what ribs you have left." Marina said narrowing her eyes.

Kai shook his head. "It's not pity. I'm just not cut out for the whole leader thing. None of you think I am either, and don't deny it."

"You have to start somewhere Kai. Nobody is a born leader, even if they have a knack for it, it takes time and practice."

Kai looked over to Rondana with a small, thankful smile. "I am aware of that. But I also know that no amount of practice or experience will make me a leader. It's just not who I am. Besides, even if I did have it, we don't have the time for that now. For this mission to have any chance of success, it needs a leader that is trusted, respected, and who can actually lead."

"And what will you do?"

Kai was surprised to hear Starling speak to him. He was sure that she would have just listened to what he had to say and leave.

"I will do whatever I am ordered to do. Speak, remain silent, fight, trail blaze, it doesn't really matter. I'm just a squadie now." Kai said stone faced.

"That is all, I can't really dismiss you anymore, but I have nothing else to say or add."

Most of the others left at that point, but Rondana looked back at the still floor bound teen.

"Are you sure about this?"

Kai closed his eye. "I think it's the best thing I've done since this whole mess began."

Rondana shook her head sadly and followed the others back to the kitchen.

"So, who takes over until Kai feels like digging out of his hole?" Marina asked leaning back.

"I don't think this is something temporary." Starling said taking her own seat.

Seeing that the discussion was heading into murky waters, Piper steered it away.

"I think that Starling should take over."

Everyone turned to her.

"That sure was quick. And here I thought you would be fighting for him to keep command." Marina said quirking an eyebrow.

"What's done is done, if Kai wants to step down it's his choice. Aerrow has stepped down from command on a few occasions because sometimes he's not the best one suited for a mission. It doesn't mean Kai's throwing a pity feast for himself, he's just doing what he thinks is best for the missions success." Piper said frowning.

"I don't think I will be in any shape to command anything other than a pillow for the next few days Piper. I'm sorry but I must decline.

"Hey! Aerrow's ordered us around when he couldn't even walk, you can do the same." Shadow said remembering a few occasions when their 'fearless leader' had been….indisposed but still remained in command.

Shrugging her shoulders, Marina spoke up. "I can take over until you're up to it. I trust Piper, and if she chose you out of the six of us, she must have a reason."

"I don't see any problem with that. Kurk lets Aladd lead the Rock Heart's whenever he gets hurt or is away. Besides, it's not like Shadow, Piper or me will be leading this thing." Tigger said pushing up her glasses.

"Hey!"

"Well it's true! I'm a mechanic, and even though I've lead a few missions, it was only when I knew more about what was going on than the others. You're a fighter, not a leader Shadow, and I don't think you even want to lead."

"Doesn't mean you have to say it like that." Shadow said pouting.

"And we need Piper for information and navigation. She's got enough on her mind without worrying about who does what. Between the seven of us, Rondana, Starling, and Marina are the only ones that have any experience with leading, and even if she wanted to be in charge, which I highly doubt, Rondana's our medic."

"Tigger's right. I walked away from all that years ago, and I have no desire to lead this mission. I am happy with what I am doing now." Rondana said sipping her drink.

"Well? How about it? Feel like giving command another go?" Marina asked Starling.

Looking around and seeing that everyone was looking at her, Starling sighed. "It has been a very long time since I had command of a squadron for any length of time. I fear that I'm not the best choice for this, but if you think I am, I will try my best."

Marina smiled. "Alright then. As soon as you're back on your feet you'll be in charge, and until then, I'll keep your seat warm."

Starling shook her head trying hard not to smile, but did anyway. "Alright, now that we have that out of the way can we eat? I haven't had anything for almost a week."

"Oh! My turn! My turn!" Shadow jumped up and grabbed Tigger by the arm. "Come on! We'll make a real squad dinner!" She said laughing.

Rondana watched as Tigger and Shadow worked the kitchen, Marina and Starling began discussing what they knew about the others to try and figure out exactly how they were going to lead the mission. Turning to the corner of the room, she wasn't too surprised to see Piper off to herself.

The bluenette was stroking Radarr's fur as the Sky Monkey laid on her lap half asleep.

"You ok Piper?" She asked moving beside her.

"Huh? Oh, hey Rondana. I'm hanging in there." She said moving her hand under Radarr's chin to give it a good scratching.

Radarr growled in approval as he turned his head upwards to allow her better reach.

"What's wrong?"

Piper looked up at Rondana with a confused face, causing the medic to scoff.

"Oh come on. How is it you people keep forgetting that I can read any person like a book? I'm a doctor, I get paid to do it, the better I am at it, the more I get paid. I've got it down to an art, so don't even try with me." She said reaching over to scratch Radarr's ears.

"I'm just….a little worried, that's all."

Rondana nodded her head. "Understandable. But may I ask what it is in particular that has you worried?"

Piper looked slightly uncomfortable, and peaked over Rondana's head to the others, just to check if they were listening. Seeing that they weren't, she spoke.

"I know Starling's a good leader, and so is Marina, but I just can't shake the felling that it's wrong for anyone else other than Kai to be in charge. This was…no, this is his mission, he knows more about what is going on than we do, and has more experience in dealing with this sort of thing."

Rondana nodded. "True, true, all true. However, what Kai said is also true. If a squadron has no trust, faith, or confidence in their leader, they won't work very well together."

"But we DO trust Kai, we do have faith in him, we have confidence in him, he must know that! Not even he is that thick headed or dense." Piper said in a harsh whisper. She couldn't help but notice Rondana's head lower slightly, and her expression change ever so slightly.

"Do you really think so? Piper, look around, and tell me what you see."

Raising her head slightly, Piper saw Tigger and Shadow laughing as they prepared the crews meal. Looking to the other side of the room, she saw the serious, but attentive face of Starling nodding as she listened to Marina describe what she knew about the others, as well as her own skills. All in all, she had to admit they seemed….pleasant.

Lowering her head and slumping her shoulders, Piper sighed.

"Piper, what you are feeling is the result of yesterday. You had a very close and very deep discussion with Kai. He told you things that I doubt he has told another living soul, even Starling."

Looking at the medic, Piper had a confused expression on her face. "Why would that affect me?"

Rondana smiled. "It's hard not to side with someone after they bare their soul to you. But you're not alone. Tigger and myself both agree, we're just abiding by Kai's wishes."

Looking back at Radarr, Piper frowned. "But we're not the ones that matter."

Rondana's smile grew slightly as she spoke. "Not necessarily. Kai has depended on myself and Tigger quite a bit in the last year, and he did trust you enough to open up."

"But what about them. He doesn't know Marina that well yet, but Shadow and Starling were…they were his closest friends. I…we can't fill in for them."

Removing her hand from Radarr, and ignoring his growl of disapproval, Rondana spoke.

"I know that, and so does he. Fortunately, I don't think it will come to that. He messed up pretty bad, but there is always the chance that it can be salvaged, repaired, and rebuilt. Friendships are like machines, not people. True, the do mature, grow up, and change as time passes, but they never truly die. They can always be repaired as long as both parties are willing."

"And if they are not?" Piper asked as her hand stopped moving.

"Then they remain broken." Rondana said going back over to the table.

"What do you think Radarr?" She asked sadly. She was surprised to see the Sky Monkey actually think it over then motion his head to the door, before getting up and walking over to his food bowl.

"Thanks Radarr." She said lowering her head as she got up and grabbed two plates of food.

"Come on Arygyn, now's about time for you to show up and start with the whole 'how could you get any stupider' speech."

Seeing the door open, Kai snorted. "Right on schedule Arya…Piper?"

Smiling the bluenette hefted the two plates of food. "I thought you might be hungry, so."

"You drew the short straw again huh?"

Piper's smile faltered when she reached his spot on the floor.

"No, I wanted to do this. Kai you need to stop looking at things so negatively all the time." Seeing him settle in for what he assumed would be another tongue lashing, she felt her smile drop even more.

"I'm not here to fight, if that's what you're expecting." Piper said as she helped him sit up so he could eat.

Looking away, Kai spoke. "Sorry, but I've come to expect that as of late, not that I don't deserve it."

"Kai, can't we just eat? Is it really that hard to believe that?" She stopped speaking when Kai removed the ice pack from his face.

"Yes, yes it is." He said calmly before reaching out and taking one of the plates from her hands, and using the fork provided, started eating.

"Tigger made this didn't she?" He asked after the first bite of spaghetti.

Piper laughed. "How did you know that from just one bite?"

"I've stayed with the Rock Hearts plenty of times. I know her mothers recipe when I taste it. It's the only one that uses chili pepper." He said with a small smile.

The two ate in silence after that. Though worried at first, Piper remembered something that Starling had told her long ago, and was thankful that she had remembered it.

Flashback

"Starling? Why don't you join us? I mean you stop by practically every other week. Why not just make it official?" Piper asked as the Sky Knight climbed aboard her skimmer.

Starling smiled sadly. "Piper, I don't think I will ever be able to join a squadron again. Too many memories, too many….regrets. This is about as close as I can do now."

Piper looked confused, and asked another question, this time without thinking. "Then what's the point? If you're not going to join us, why do you keep coming by to visit?" Eyes widening, she was about to continue, but Starling held up her hand.

"No Piper, I am not offended, and don't feel like you've overstepped yourself. It's a perfectly natural question." Seeing the relieved look on the young girls face, she continued. "Sometimes it's better to say nothing, and do nothing with people around you than to do so alone. I might not show it, or say it often, but I really do appreciate your company, all of you."

Piper smiled. "Even Finn?"

Laughing as she cut on the Red Streak's engines, Starling replied. "Yes, even Finn."

Flashback end

"Whew, that was good Tigger, I think we make a good team." Shadow said as she dropped her fork.

"Meh, it was ok." Marina said mildly.

"Oh? Then why did you take five plates worth?" Tigger asked with a laugh as she pointed at the pile of plates with her fork.

"I was hungry?" Marina offered with a grin.

Starling tried to get up, but was stopped by Rondana. "Take it easy, remember, your still recuperating. Don't strain yourself."

"I'm fine Rondana. I just need a little more rest."

Shadow scrunched up her nose at this.

Clearing her throat, she turned to the Sky Knight. "Not to be mean or anything, but uh, could you take a shower first?" Seeing everyone now staring at her, she went on the defensive.

"What? She hasn't had one in like, a week, not even Radarr goes that long, and my bunks next to hers so I have every right to complain." She said pinching her nose.

Starling chuckled and shook her head. "To tell you the truth, some hot water would feel nice."

Rondana nodded and helped her up. "You go ahead; I'll grab your things."

Starling thanked to teen medic and headed to the restroom.

When Rondana arrived in the quarters, she was surprised to find Piper sitting silently by Kai's head. Neither one seemed to have spoken in a while, nor did they appear to be close to starting a conversation anytime soon.

Walking past the two, she went over to Starling's trunk and pulled out whatever she thought might be needed.

Piper looked up at hearing the sound, and saw Rondana motion towards Kai with her head and mouth try talking to him before leaving.

"Talk to him? What on Atmos about? It's not like we have any common ground." Looking down she caught sight of her crystal necklace. "Or do we?"

"Kai?"

The older teen moved his head to look at Piper, and it actually hurt her, what she saw.

"He looks like he's dying. Whatever Starling said to him must have cut deeper than I thought."

"Hm?"

Giving a gentle smile, Piper pulled her crystal necklace off and held her hand out to him.

Kai looked down at the crystal then back up to Piper more than just a little confused.

"Piper? What are you?"

"You told me that you could sense and change crystals right?"

Kai remembered glossing over that detail yesterday, after she had asked what abilities he shared with Lark.

"Yes, that is correct. What do you want me to do?"

"Tell me what you can sense from mine. Aerrow found it on terra Lyn and gave it to me ages ago. I was just wondering if…maybe…you know?"

It took Kai a second, but he figured out what she was asking.

"There's no way that's a rare or Ancient's crystal, she must want me to….but why?"

"Piper….are you sure that you want me to do that? It's….kind of personal."

Of course Marina chose now to enter.

"Oh? And just what are you two up to?" Marina asked teasingly.

Kai and Piper both glared at the older woman.

"She wants me to feel the crystal. It's…a skill I have. If a person has strong emotions flowing through them, and they touch a crystal, it leaves behind an imprint that some people can feel and read." Kai explained.

"Hmmm mind if I watch?" Marina asked leaning against the doorway.

Kai shrugged his shoulders. "It's nothing special."

Taking hold of the crystal in one hand, Kai reached for his hilt, only to feel cloth.

"Where's my staff?" He asked looking around slightly worried.

Piper jumped up. "Oh, we put it with our stuff, hang on a sec, I'll get it."

Getting up she went over to her and Rondana's locker, and opened it.

Starling hated this.

She was an adult, she was a Sky Knight, and she was one of the strongest warriors on the face of Atmos.

She had infiltrated Cyclonia and remained undercover as one of Lark's personal body guards for over a month, she had battled, and held off both Lark and Dark Ace, and she had even tricked Reption into giving her back her squadron's shield, while at the same time delivering some long overdue reattribution.

Yet she couldn't dry her own hair.

It's sad what a week of inactivity would do to a person.

Rondana had a towel in hand and was ruffling the older woman's hair dry. She was surprised by the woman's strength and the power of her will, needing help only with one tiny thing. She had seen people go through less, and need more help than this.

Once finished she stepped back and noticed something.

"I didn't know you were into crystals."

Starling looked at her like she had grown a second head.

"What?" "Why on Atmos would she think that? I use crystals, I don't collect them."

"Oh, never mind. I just thought that…well, you know. That necklace is very pretty, I thought that maybe it was your favorite or something." Rondana said, slightly embarrassed.

"Necklace? Oh this." Starling's hand went to her neck. She had actually forgotten about it. Since it was under her clothes, it didn't move and she rarely ever even saw it.

"May I see it?" Rondana asked, indicating the necklace.

Starling shrugged her shoulders and grabbed the thin gold chain. Just as she was about to lift it however, a memory jumped to the front of her mind.

Flashback

"This is the last thing I can do for you. Whatever happens, do not, I repeat, do not, for any reason remove this once you put it on, and make sure that it stays in contact with your skin at all times." He said holding it out for her to take.

Flashback end

Starling let go of the chain and moved her hand away from it as though she had been shocked.

"Hey Starling you ok?" Rondana asked, nothing but concern was visible on her face.

Starling shook her head and closed her eyes tightly. "I'm sorry, but I can't take it off."

Rondana was puzzled by her sudden actions. "She's been fine up until now. What's with the sudden change?" Eyes drifting back down slightly, she noticed that Starling had gripped the crystal tightly in her hand.

"Can…can I see the crystal? I promise I won't even take it out of your hand, I just want to see it."

Starling opened her eyes and bit her lip before nodding her head and opening her hand slowly.

Kai sat propped up with his back to a wall, and pulled his Shadow crystal out from its slot in the center chamber of his staff.

Piper took the opportunity to get a good look at the crystal. She had never seen it before, and Kai hadn't been very descriptive about it.

It was strange, but at the same time it wasn't. The crystal looked almost identical to the one on her necklace, but was about half the length and was slightly thinner. It was a hexagonal crystal, and had obviously been polished smooth after many, many years of use. It was strange however in that it had no shine. There was no reflection anywhere on its surface, almost as though it was absorbing the light.

"Alright, as long as you don't mind me seeing whatever was going through your when it was touched." Kai said closing his eyes.

He felt for the river of energy, and focused on just a tiny handful.

Piper and Marina watched as the jet black crystal glowed with a soft grayish light, and then noticed something odd. It was only for a second, but they both caught it.

A flicker of purple.

"AHHH!"

Kai blinked his eyes open, startled by the shout. When he looked around he saw that Piper was getting up and Marina, who had been by the door was now gone.

"What was that?!" Kai shouted.

"I don't know, but it was coming from the bathroom!" Piper shouted as she ran out the door.

Marina arrived first, and were it not for her years of being a thief, would have missed the tiny flash of grey out of the corner of her sight.

"What happened?" She shouted looking for an attacker of some sort.

All she saw was Rondana holding up a rather shaken, towel wrapped Starling, who was leaning against the wall.

"I don't know! She was fine one minute, the next she slipped and almost fell on her face!" The medic shouted.

"Come on, let's get her back to the quarters. Whatever is wrong with her we have to figure out now." Marina shouted running back into the other room, and almost over Piper.

"What happened?!"

"Starling had another attack. It wasn't a bad one, and it only lasted a second, but with her in a weakened state it had a stronger effect." Rondana said as she helped the older woman reach the quarters.

"What's going on? Who, or what was that?" Kai asked, confused and more than just a little worried.

"No time now, lay down." Marina shouted as she grabbed a quilt from her trunk and tossed it over Kai.

"What the?! What are you doing?!" Kai shouted as the redhead pushed him back.

"Starling had another episode and Rondana needs to examine her. This is the only room with a bed." She said flatly.

Kai paled.

"Is she ok? What happened?"

Marina cut him off with a shove to the ground.

"I don't know but the sooner we get her in here the better chance we have of figuring out."

Kai stilled and was silent.

Kai listened through the thick quilt as best he could. Shadow had come back to see what was going on, but she had been kicked out and ordered to keep out until further notice. The only other thing he could hear was Rondana mumble about how she couldn't see anything wrong.

"This makes no sense. Why would she be fine one minute and falling another?" Marina asked with furrowed brows.

"I don't know. She was fine when she showed me the crystal, then….then this." Rondana said shaking her head.

"Wait a minute. Crystal? Starling doesn't have any crystals other than the ones in her weapons." Piper said, trying to remember if she had ever seen any others on her before.

Rondana shook her head. "She has one, but she seems to be very attached to it. She wouldn't even let me hold it."

Rondana parted the top of Starling's towel just a little so that a thin gold chain could be seen around the top of her neck.

"What does it look like?" Piper asked. Something was off. She had never seen or even heard Starling say anything about crystals in the past.

Rondana thought for a minute before speaking.

"It looks a lot like yours, only it's dark purple, and a bit smaller."

"Purple?" Marina repeated.

Marina thought back to what had just happened a few minutes ago with Kai.

"I saw a flash of purple course through his Shadow crystal when he tried to feel Piper's…and I know I saw a grey light in the bathroom…Din's mercy!"

Marina's head shot up, and with a confident voice, she spoke.

"I know what it is."

All heads turned towards her as she walked over to the still covered Kai.

"Kai, I need you to do that…thing you were trying to do with Piper's crystal a few minutes ago."

"What? What about Starling? Is she ok? What happened?" Kai's muffled voice called out.

"She's unconscious, but I think I figured out the problem, now do what I told you to NOW!"

Even though he was under a thick quilt, the others saw Kai jump up.

"Ok ok!" Reaching into his pocket he retrieved the two crystals and concentrated.

Sure enough, exactly what Marina thought would happen, did.

Groan

"Kai stop now!" Kai snapped his eyes open and saw Starling roll to her side in pain.

What happened?!" What's going on?! TELL ME NOW!"

Seeing Starling's condition worse, Marina knew her suspicion was true.

"Amp down Kai! It's you! It's your crystal! You're hurting her!" Marina shouted.

Kai looked like somebody had just shot him with one of the Condor's cannons.

Dropping to his knees, he opened his hands and let go of the two crystals.

"I….no…no I don't…it couldn't have been me. I've been using it for years and she was never affected before." Kai was momentarily lost in thought, but it only lasted for a few seconds.

His nose twitched, and his face dropped into a deep frown.

"Fraid she's right."

Kai barred his teeth and his frown changed to a scowl as he turned to the doorway.

"Arygyn, this has your stench all over it. What. Did. You. Do?" Kai demanded.

The green haired man shook his head sadly as he walked in.

"I save your life, hers, and the rest of this crew of yours twice over and this is the thanks I get?"

Kai stormed up to the green haired man and grabbed him by the fringes of his vest before slamming his back into the wall.

"WHAT DID YOOU DO TO HER!"

"I just told you. I saved her life, and yours you ungrateful little gimp. Along with the rest of them."

Kai's scowl was quickly becoming more and more feral. He almost didn't notice Piper gently grab hold of his wrist.

"Kai, let him down. If you kill him, then we won't know what is wrong with Starling." Piper said softly.

Truthful, she had no doubt that Arygyn was letting Kai do as he pleased. She knew how powerful the man was, and knew that the only reason Kai wasn't out cold, or chewing a mouthful of floor was because Arygyn didn't want him to. At the same time, she wanted to know just what was going on. Starling was her best friend other than Aerrow, and her big sister figure after all.

With one last growl, Kai dropped Arygyn and took one step back. "Speak. Now." He said between clinched teeth.

Brushing off his vest, Arygyn got straight to the point for once.

"I anchored you to her." He said simply.

"You what?" Piper asked in confusion.

"I anchored Kai to Starling. He wouldn't listen to me, and it was the only thing I could do to keep him from going supernova."

Marina shook her head. "Ok, I'm lost. Please, for her sake, just tell us what is going on. I think Kai's about to have a heart attack or stroke from his blood pressure alone."

Popping a creak out of his neck, Arygyn became completely professional.

"The Shadow crystal was not meant to be used as frequently as Kai has been using it. It was designed to be used in the event of an emergency to prevent, or stop large scale conflict. Not to be used like a common striker crystal."

"Why did you involve Starling?" Piper asked, knowing what part in the explanation Kai wanted to get to.

"I had to connect him to an energy user. Otherwise it would have killed whoever he was anchored to instantly. That left Sky Knights or Cyclonian generals."

"THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU ANCHOR ME TO A CYCLONIAN!" Kai roared.

Arygyn narrowed his eyes. "Mind your voice boy. I couldn't anchor you to just anyone, it had to be someone that would willingly anchor you. An enemy would have let you go and an acquaintance would have been unable to hold up for too long. It had to be a close friend."

Kai was nearly seething with anger. The only thing holding him back was quite literally Piper.

Or rather her freakish Amazon strength.

"You still didn't answer my first question. Why did you do this to begin with?" Piper asked, trying to keep Kai calm.

"I had no choice. Boy Blunder over there ignored my warnings and continued using the Shadow crystal to the point that it's begun to break down and destabilize. If I didn't anchor him, the Shadow crystal would have fractured and released all its energy." Arygyn said glaring at Kai.

"Wait a minute; wouldn't that prevent Kai from abusing it anymore?" Marina asked confused.

"Oh, sure, yeah, that's true. He wouldn't be able to use it anymore. Of course he and every living thing within Cyclonian boarders would have been fried instantly, not to mention the area would have become a fallout zone incapable of supporting life for the next two hundred years." Arygyn said dryly.

Piper, Marina and Rondana all turned towards Kai and stared at the small black crystal in his hand with more than just a little fear in there eyes.

"Don't worry, as long as Starling is breathing, and knuckle head doesn't use it often, preferably at all, it should remain mostly stable." Arygyn said smugly.

Swallowing, Piper asked another question, one that was bugging her since Arygyn arrived.

"But why now? Why not earlier? If she's been anchoring him, shouldn't she have shown signs of fatigue earlier?"

Arygyn smiled.

"She has been. Didn't any of you notice how much she's been sleeping lately? The only reason she's in pain now is because Kai just about drained every last ounce of juice she's got. Besides, it's not like he's channeling her power, its just being used to keep his in check, hence being called an anchor."

Thinking back, Piper did notice that when he fought the Virage, Kai's energy field did seem to have a lot of purple mixed in with it, compared to back at the arena, when it had been mostly black with some dark red streaks.

"How long?"

Everyone turned to Kai.

"How long what?"

Kai glared at Arygyn. "How long ago did you set the anchor point?"

Arygyn smirked. "The same day you met up with Piper and Shadow."

"So you're telling us, that Kai has been draining Starling of her power for over two weeks now?" Marina asked as she reached for her blade hilts. "Why didn't he tell us he was doing this? Better yet, why didn't Starling? Unless…she didn't even know."

"No, Kai has not been draining her for over two weeks. It's only when he uses the crystal."

Piper looked up, having figured out what was going on.

"She's been so tired because Kai was using the crystal so frequently, which would mean that it was destabilizing at an accelerated rate. That would mean it was taking more power to keep it in one piece, which in turn drained her even fast." Her eyes then widened. "The Virage! It had reached critical mass by the time Kai used it, that's why she collapsed in pain, she had only her reserves left since Kai wasn't giving her a chance to recharge!"

Kai's shoulders drooped and his entire being seemed to sag at this point.

"So that means I can't use it anymore without putting her at serious risk." He said punching the wall behind him.

Rondana, who had never met Arygyn, approached him wearily, having heard many horror stories about him from both Kai and Marina.

"Will Starling be ok? Or will she continue to weaken?"

Arygyn smiled softly. "As long as angry boy over there doesn't use the Shadow crystal, she'll be completely fine, and won't even know something's amiss." He said confidently.

Kai closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Congratulations Arygyn, looks like you won after all." Kai said as he left the room.

"Did I miss something?" Rondana asked confused.

"I've been trying to get Kai to stop using the crystal for over a year now, but he never listened. I had hoped that he would see it as a tool to use when needed, not become dependent on it like a drug." Arygyn said sadly.

"But why didn't you just outright tell him what was happening?"

Everyone, including Arygyn turned in surprise at the voice.

"Starling? How long have you been awake?" Rondana asked shoving Arygyn out of the way to reach her patient.

Starling swatted away Rondana's hand and fixed Arygyn with her full power glare. Though not frightened by it, Arygyn had to admit it was impressive.

"I never told him because I never thought he would have completely abandoned everything else he had learned in favor of the crystal. As hard as he drilled himself, and as many hours as he spent in training, I thought he was well on his way down the right path. I'll admit that I was mistaken, but I'm doing everything I can to fix it now."

Starling narrowed her eyes at this.

"He's lying. What he said about the crystal may be true, but the rest was only a half truth. He knew Kai's nature; he withheld that information on purpose."

"So I'm a living battery now correct?"

Arygyn moved his head from side to side slowly before answering. "Technically you're more of a safety net or a rope. You're not fueling the crystal itself, nor are you repairing it. You're simply holding it together like a roll of duct tape."

"And I assume this is the reason you told me not to remove the necklace after putting it on, and to keep it under my clothes no?"

Grinning, Arygyn answered. "Close but no cigar. I didn't want it getting snagged, or for 'you-know-who' to see it. It would have made things….difficult, I'm sure you can understand."

Starling pulled herself up slowly, and after securing her towel approached Arygyn.

SLAM

Pulling back her fist, Starling glared at the green haired man.

"Next time you connect me to someone, in ANY way; it had better be with my EXPRESSED knowledge and consent. Otherwise your next stop will be a deep fryer and SFC bucket with coleslaw on the side." Turning to the others, she nodded and left the room, and returned to the restroom.

"Oh well, everyone's a critic these days. I best be off. Tell Kai I said hi, and try not to mope too much, especially when he's flying in a ship full of girls, people will think something's wrong with him." Arygyn said grinning before disappearing down the hall.

"GET BACK HERE YOU! GRRR" Marina growled when she reached the door and found no trace of the green menace.

"I swear, one of these days, I will get him." Marina muttered under her breath.

Piper chuckled. "I think you'll have to get in line. Starling and Kai both seem to be on the waiting list already." Saying his name however, jogged one detail she had nearly forgotten about.

"Um, does anyone know where Kai went?" She asked looking around the room.

Marina held up her hands. "Sorry, but he can't have gone far, it's not like this is a cruse ship."

Rondana tapped her chin in thought. "Based on how he's acted in the past, I would expect to find him in the kitchen."

Piper had a slightly troubled look on her face as she left the room, one that Marina caught before she hid it, and shot Rondana a confused one of her own.

"She's worried about him, nothing unusual. She's the closest thing to a mother the Storm Hawk's have, it's just in her nature." Rondana said before motioning to Starling and Kai's mutual beds. "Could you give me a hand with these? I've wanted to replace them for a while now, but I had to wait till they moved."

Marina shrugged her shoulders, having nothing better to do, and went to work in replacing the bedding.

Piper poked her head into the kitchen, and found her quarry putting the top piece of bread on a rather large sandwich.

"Hungry much?" She joked.

Kai looked up at her, then grabbed his jumbo sandwich and headed to the table.

"I haven't had much for the last few days. You girls don't seem to favor meaty recipes." Kai said taking a large bite.

"Well, we do have to watch our weight, besides its not like you gave us much to work with." Piper shot back.

Kai raised an eyebrow and gave Piper the once over, noticing, but ignoring her slightly pink cheeks.

"Watch your weight? I've got toolboxes that weigh more than you do. What are you? Seventy five? Seventy six pounds?" Kai asked taking another bite.

"Piper's cheeks reddened slightly more.

"I'm seventy three thank you very much." She said crossing her arms.

Kai shook his head and took another large bite, much to Piper's chagrin.

"How you can eat that much is beyond me. Any girl would kill to be able to do that."

Kai shook his head. "I call it food of freedom." He said raising his glass with a fake grin.

"Hmp, more like suicide by salami." She said under her breath.

"It's not all it's cracked up to be you know." Kai said plainly.

"What? Being able to eat whatever you want whenever you want?"

"No, having a fast metabolism. It means you're always hungry, and you burn through vitamins and other stuff really fast."

"So? You just eat and it goes away." Piper said pulling out a small salad and sitting across from Kai, not able to ignore the fact that she was still hungry after the small helping of spaghetti she had earlier.

Seeing the salad, Kai scowled. "Man, would you quite with the rabbit food? It seriously gets on my nerves."

Piper herself was now sporting a small scowl. "Hey, not all of us eat like a starving wolf." She said taking a small bite.

Rolling his eye's Kai spoke again. "I have a reason, you don't."

"Oh yeah? What is it? I told you, I'm watching my weight."

"I told you already, it's my metabolism. My body burns iron extremely fast, so I have to eat a lot of meat. I don't even really like it, I just have no choice."

"Well that explains his vampirish lust for the stuff." "If you don't like meat, why do you eat it like that? You could always eat other things, or just take supplements." Piper said stabbing her salad.

Kai swallowed another chunk of the sandwich before speaking. "If I have no other choice, I might as well enjoy it. Besides, supplements don't fill your stomach." Seeing Piper continue with her salad Kai got up and went back to the fridge.

"Still hungry?" Piper jibbed.

"Not for me." Kai said dropping a much smaller, but still fairly large sandwich in front of Piper. "Eat."

Piper looked up with a frown. "I told you, I'm"

"Watching my weight." Kai parroted. "Look, dieting makes you skinny, not healthy."

"Like I'm going to take health tips from you? You practically try to get yourself killed on a daily basis." Piper flinched at Kai's expression.

"No, I do not try to get myself killed; I try to do my job. And I know plenty about being healthy for your information. As you have pointed out, I spend more time in the infirmary than any other person alive aside from Finn. I've read hundreds of wall posters, and had to endure Rondana's health speech torture program for the last year."

"So that's why he's immune to nagging. He built up a resistance when Rondana tried to get him to open up."

"Your body needs food to survive. It's a miracle that you haven't snapped every bone in your body yet."

"Ok, stop with the jab's at my size. I'm small, nothing wrong with that."

Kai fell back in his seat. "No, but there is a problem when you can slip out of a pair of handcuff's without even picking them. Try working out instead of starving yourself."

It was then that Piper realized that Kai was up to his old tricks again and was changing the subject before she even had a chance to start.

"Alright, two can play at that game." Piper thought with a smirk. "Fine, I'll give it a try. But only if you stop acting like a kicked puppy and get over yourself."

"I'm not mopping, I'm sulking. There's a big difference." Kai defended. Seeing Piper's disapproving look, he continued.

"Hey, I just found out that I've been causing my best friend pain that was strong enough to make her black out. In addition to finding out Arygyn saved my life twice, which is like being saved by Finn's music."

Piper flinched at that part. After Polaris Point, Finn had taken it upon himself to remind everyone of just how they had managed to succeed in the mission, and even to this day it still stung. But she continued to listen to Kai's rant, knowing from Rondana that he wouldn't listen to anything she said until he finished.

"And having to accept that I am now completely useless on this team. How would you feel in my shoes? Hmm?"

Piper looked down at the side of the seat Kai was sitting in. "First of all, you're not wearing any shoes." She said with a smirk. "Secondly, I can understand being upset over hurting your friend. But why do you think that you're useless? Kai you've had more training than my whole squadron put together!"

Kai sunk slightly at that rebuttal.

"What good it a melee fighter that isn't a Wallop?"

Piper was now confused, confused and growing very tired of Kai's little routine. True, she had figured it out, but it was exhausting to put up with and try and fight. She did however acknowledge the skill it took to make.

"Kai, that's an insult to my entire squad aside from Finn."

Shaking his head, Kai leaned forward. "No, it's not. Your entire squad other than Finn has energy weapons. Even if you use them for melee, you can at least fire them when you need to. A pure melee fighter is useless if their not a Wallop."

Piper furrowed her brow. "You can shoot. I saw you do it at the arena. Just because you can't use the Shadow crystal doesn't mean you don't have others to use, and even if it did, I can let you borrow some of mine. No big."

Kai shook his head. "Don't you remember what happened at the arena?"

Thinking back, Piper recalled the massive battle. It was true that Kai hadn't used many ranged attacks, which made his statement even more confusing, but aside from that, nothing stood out.

Closing his eyes, Kai's face fell into his palms. "I used the Shadow crystal to make wave attacks."

"Wave attacks? Yeah, so what, I know they were effective, and that it would take a while to adjust to having to actually aim, but Kai shouldn't have any real trouble unless….oh."

Looking up, Kai saw Piper's face fall slightly in understanding.

"How bad is it?" She asked, not looking him in the eye.

Sighing, Kai answered. "I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with one of the Condor's cannons."

Piper flinched and shook her head, now getting the picture.

"He didn't use wave attacks because they were effective; he used them because his aim stinks." Thinking back, she didn't recall seeing Starling use many ranged attacks herself. With the only expections being when they were surrounded, or fighting something very, very large.

"Hmmm, so that means she probably has a low accuracy as well. She's just lucky enough to have a special move that makes a shockwave. Kai's was just a blast if memory serves. This could be a problem."

"You just need to practice and adapt. I doubt Starling's aim is much better, so the two of you could help each other." Piper offered.

Kai mulled the idea over before speaking. "It's not like I have much choice. No Shadow crystal means I'm next to useless, might as well not be completely useless." Kai shrugged.

"OW! What was that for?!" Kai shouted as he pulled back his freshly stomped foot.

"For insulting ninety percent of the population. I don't have any powers, and neither does any other squaddie or Sky Knight. In fact, you just insulted Starling, Suzi, and Shadow, who according to you are your best friends!"

Kai's scowl dropped to a frown, and his shoulders slumped. "Look, I'm sorry alright, I'm just not used to…being…normal. I haven't been for a while and I had just started getting used to it."

Piper gave him a comforting smile before getting up. "Just don't forget that you are human, just the same as Lark, Aerrow, myself, and unfortunately, Harrier."

Kai laughed slightly before dragging himself up. "I think Starling had the right idea. You girls get your room back tonight, I'm going to clean up and sleep in my chair. I just hope Tigger didn't adjust it." He said with false anger.

Piper nodded her head and left, leaving Kai to himself.

"Well, nothing else I can do till we get there. Looks like I've got to start training again. Yippe skipy." Kai thought dryly.

End Chapter 6

AN: Ok, to clear things up a bit, no, Kai has not lost his powers; they are still there, for now. What happened was Kai overused the Shadow crystal, and to compensate Arygyn connected Kai to Starling, and has her energy acting as a safety belt to keep Kai's power in check. Normally, if Kai used it, Starling would feel a slight drain, hence why she is tired in all the chapters that occurred at the same time as him using it. Use it too much, and you saw the results.

I don't think the chapter came out as good as I had hoped, especially since it took me four days to write, sorry if it seemed a bit cliché, but I wanted the readers to get a feel for exactly what the team has to work with as early as possible, and make Kai more user friendly. At the moment, he's not likely to use his powers, so other authors (that have my permission) can write him without worrying about them. The part towards the end with the food was not a P.S.A by the way. I just happened to realize that in the past I have portrayed Kai as being a fan of eating food, while Piper is a bit…scrawny. If the two are to become friends, they have to have some common ground worked out.

Well, I hope the chapter was at least tolerable, the next one will be the first part of the next terra adventure! So look out for:

Chapter 7: Flight of the Fearsome Foursome!