Okay - the two of them have taken refuge, but how did it happen...
Chapter 2 – Retrospective
The Storm Hawks had rode through the sky, leaving the small terra behind them. The three male members of the squadron were grinning with merriment, satisfied with a once more successful mission. The lone female however, was not smiling. Her face was set in a definite scowl as she regarded the others and one in particular. She rode in silence, fuming, until she just couldn't hold it in any more.
"Finn, I can't believe you didn't do what you were supposed to do! Do you have any idea how things could have gone wrong? We were very lucky back there and I hope you realize that."
Aerrow, the red headed leader of the group, turned and regarded the angry young female. "Easy Piper, everything came out ok, we got in, got out and got away clean."
"That's right, Piper." Chimed in the object of her dissatisfaction, his face split with cocky grin. "Besides, if I had followed your 'plan' step by step, I'd still be back there. Jeez, Piper, do you have to make them so complicated?"
She scowled at the blond. "Finn, you wouldn't know a good plan if it bit you. You haven't a clue what it takes to make up a preparation taking into account all the variables, factoring in the unpredictable, making sure all the information you've received is accurate…"
Rolling his eyes, Finn interrupted her before she could really get into a rant. "Helloooo, Piper. They're called unpredictable for a reason, because you can't predict them."
"Finn, you can be such an idiot."
Aerrow, his co-pilot Radarr and the last member of the team, Junko the Wallop, all exchanged looks of resigned mirth. They were well aware that the other two would snap and snarl at each other the whole way back to the Condor, each one determined to win the war of personality clash.
Neither Piper nor Finn noticed as their friends began to pull ahead, as they were more interested in arguing than making speed. Back and forth they traded insults and criticisms, each one trying to outdo the other.
Just as Finn opened his mouth to shoot out a perfectly worded, beautifully timed, oh-so-to-the-point repartee he was shoved forward over his handlebars by the force of something hitting his skimmer. Turning to look behind him, he spied a squadron of approaching Talons. As he leaned forward to hit the radio switch and alert his teammates that they were under attack, he was knocked off by another blast. His high-pitched scream followed him as he fell through the sky.
Piper immediately put her heliscooter into a sharp dive, striving to catch up with the rapidly falling teen. Deeper and deeper she dove until she managed to aim the nose of her skyride under his body.
Finn let out a "Whooofff" as he landed on the nose of Piper's heliscooter. For a moment he could only cling to the metal as he tried to get his breath back. Turning to his savior, he managed a shaky grin. "At least – huff – I landed – whoosh- on my – gasp – stomach – cough – this time."
Piper gave him a grin in return, but her attention was on navigating around and through the veritable forest of rocky spines that surrounded them. They had descended deep and were too close to the dreaded wastelands. One thing in their favor, they had dropped so fast that they had left the attacking Cyclonians behind, and were now shielded by the thick clouds above. Piper gave her ride a little more power and began to ascend. Looking down at the slim figure clinging to the front bumper, she began to say to him that they should try calling again, alert their friends that they had been attacked and were now caught under the cloud layer. She only managed to get out a couple of words when those clouds were split by the return of the Talon squadron. She barely had time to turn around and duck behind a spire of rock, a volley of energy blasts streaming past them.
Holding on tight Finn closed his eyes as Piper weaved and bobbed, running a crazy slalom course through the rocks. The Talon's Switchblade's were faster than her, but she was able to turn on a dime. More than once she managed to just avoid being struck by one of the red bolts of energy.
Piper dove further down, having no choice but to seek safety in the least expected place. Looking up and back, she could see the Talon's beginning to hover, their less maneuverable sky rides incapable of fitting into the smaller spaces between the rocky spires. She started to smile as she watched them suddenly streak straight up into the sky, thinking they had given up, only to gape in horror as they reversed direction and plummeted straight at her, releasing round after round of blasts. Trying to spin on her axis and dive, the spires were so thick that there was nowhere to move to. She winced as rock began to explode around her, shards and splinters streaking by. Piper screamed and could hear Finn yelling in fear as well. Then it was her turn to hold on tightly as the heliscooter began to whirl and sway, black smoke belching from its motor. Not sure if the machine had been struck by a blast of energy or rock, she wrestled with the controls. She was vaguely aware of the laughs of the Talons as they sped away, convinced that they had damaged their enemy and sent them on a one-way trip to disaster.
She could only grit her teeth as the sides of the spires loomed nearer. Then she was being tossed from side to side as she, Finn and the heliscooter bounced from one spire to the next, back and forth until they landing together in a smoking heap: arms, legs and rotor blades at all angles. Except for an occasional pop or crackle from the damaged engine, the tangled bundle was quiet.
Finally a groan sounded from the wreckage, and one of the figures squirmed its way upright. Finn blinked his eyes and gave his head a shake. Instantly regretting the motion as his head seemed to explode, he winced. He stood still for a moment, taking a physical inventory of himself. Satisfied that all parts were accounted for, even if they may not be working at one hundred percent, he knelt beside the still figure that was splayed over and around the remains of her skyride.
"Piper? Piper, wake up. Piper? Piper!?" Finn gently started to shake the girl, his face creased with worry. He gave a small sigh of relief when she moaned a little, but she still didn't respond. Standing back up he made a futile move, trying to gather her arms and legs in way that would allow him to pick her up without causing any more injury. At least there doesn't seem to be any blood, he thought to himself. Maybe she's just been knocked out. Storms know, I sure was.
Placing one hand under her waist, Finn was trying to insert the other one as gently as possible under her shoulders when he looked into her face. Piper's tawny eyes were regarding him with a look of annoyance.
"Finn, what are you doing?" she inquired, her eyebrows raised.
"Helping you, what did you think?" he retorted, swiftly letting go of her.
Piper braced herself and managed to untangle herself from the lightly smoking wreck. Standing up she regarded the bent and misshapen metal.
"Don't think we're gonna get back on that thing." Remarked Finn, echoing her thoughts. She bent forward and flipped the comm switch, but not even static was heard.
"Great. Now we're stuck here. And the guys don't even know where we're at." Grumbled Finn. "What do we do now?"
"We wait." Piper answered him, confidently. "They'll notice we're missing and come looking. Aerrow and the others will do whatever it takes to find us, you know that." As she spoke she rooted around in the wreckage, finally finding the underseat compartment. She swiftly pulled out several rolled up scrolls, a length of rope, a compass, a small bag of cookies - slightly crumbled, and a bottle of water. She startled as a chicken leapt out, to fly away squawking indignantly. She turned to see Finn giving her an incredulous look.
"What else ya got in there? Another skimmer would be good." He said mockingly.
"Laugh all you want, it never hurts to be prepared. Besides, we have no idea how long we're going to be here and it's not as if there's going to be a nearby food station." She continued to search until she finally pulled out a carryall bag, stuffed it with the contents and strung it over her shoulder.
Finn nodded and walked over to sit on a convenient rock. "Yeah, I know. This IS the wasteland. Not exactly prime vacation spot on Atmos." He reached behind his back and released his crossbow from its locks. Cradling it in his arms, finger on the trigger, he looked from side to side. "Winds only know what could be out there, waiting to pounce."
She picked up her energy staff, checked it for any damage and walked over to sit beside him and scanned the area as well. All though their visibility was fairly clear, small tendrils of smoke, vapors and unknown gases swirled around and about them. Each of them stiffened as they began to hear noises, unfamiliar and threatening. Piper gripped her energy staff tight as she peered in all directions, even looking straight up at one point. Even though they could hear what sounded like movement, coupled with vocal cries, neither could see anything but rock and gloomy atmosphere that made up this area of the wastelands. At least they hadn't been in any volcanic section. They would have been toast – literally. Still, just because there weren't any lava monsters didn't mean there weren't other dangerous creatures lurking about.
Finn was rapidly working himself into a state of panic. His eyes darted from spot to spot, his shaking hands pointing his crossbow this way and that. He was beginning to pant. At the soft touch on his shoulder, he yelped and leaped about two feet into the air. Whirling, he regarded the amused face of his partner.
"Easy, Finn, easy. That was just me." Piper laughed. "Calm down, nothing's going to leap out at us. Jeez, big scaredy-cat."
Finn scowled and sat back down. "I'm not scared, just taking precautions. One shouldn't let one's guard down in the wasteland, you know."
"You are too, scared." She taunted.
"Am not." He countered. Getting up to show her just how un-scared he was, he walked a few paces away and turned to her. Striking a heroic pose, he called out."If I was scared would I be standing out here making a target of myself? Hmmmm? Yeah, didn't think so."
Piper shook her head. She was just on the verge of telling him that he looked silly, standing there with his slim chest all puffed out when her eye caught a blur of movement.
"Finn!!!" she screamed as a large something leaped at the youth. She leaped forward and aimed her energy staff at the creature and blasted it with a bolt of reddish-orange. Finn had leapt forward too, but away and down from the danger. In a smooth move he rolled once and came up standing, his crossbow aimed.
Both of them stared at the beast that lay before them. Dark as night, it was covered in scaly fur. They counted six limbs, each one ending in a mass of sharp, knifelike claws. Its head was blunt, the snout filled with tiny white fangs.
Piper moved a little closer, trying to get a better look at the unfamiliar creature. She'd never heard of such an animal. She held her staff in front of her, the tip of her strongest crystal aimed directly at the thing's head. She was stopped by a hand gripping her arm.
"Uhh, Piper, I don't think this is a very good place to hang out." Finn whispered, as he gazed beyond her. Following the direction of his eyes, she noted the three large dark shapes that crouched among the rocks. The beasts were far enough away to not be an immediate threat, but she could tell they were beginning to prowl closer.
"I believe you're right, perhaps we need to find a safer place." Piper agreed. She and Finn began to back away, moving to the right. Keeping the beasts in sight – Finn named them clawbeasts – they searched for a place that might offer sanctuary. The two meandered around the base of the many spires until the blond spotted an opening into clearer ground.
"Come on, this closeness gives me the creeps. I need room to maneuver and space to shoot." So saying Finn moved toward the open area. Piper followed readily as she had been just as unnerved by the close confines.
They stepped out into the wider field and could make out a long canyon running off into the distance, twisting and turning until the haze hid it from view. Finn looked questioningly at the dark skinned girl beside him.
"What do you think, try our luck down there?"
Piper stood and tried to weigh the options. Living on Atmos, one was always prepared for that inopportune moment when a person found themselves in the wasteland. However the prevailing wisdom was to get out of it as fast as possible. And out meant up, the exact opposite of where they would be heading. On the other hand, all though they should stay in one spot so they could be found by their friends, it was also dangerous to stay in one spot for long. Too many things lurked about whose intentions were not in your best regards.
Shrugging, she indicated that they should move out and the two made their way to the long slope leading down into the narrow valley. From time to time they looked back, making sure they weren't being stalked from behind. Both of them moved as silently as they could, taking careful steps and talking in low whispers. As they descended into the canyon the route began to twist and turn. They had just rounded a sharp curve when they heard a coughing roar from behind them. Turning as one they each gasped as the three clawbeasts they thought they had left behind were running down the slope. As the creatures closed in on their prey, they moved into a single line, one behind the other.
Realizing he wouldn't be able to take them out fast enough with his crossbow, Finn grabbed Piper's arm and yanked. "Run!!!"
They raced over the uneven ground, striving to put distance between themselves and their attackers, searching wildly for a place, any place that they could hide in or make a stand. Charging over a small rise they began to leap down the other side. Both of them slid rapidly to a stop. There in front of them was a small gathering of dark red spiky bushes. Each one recognized them as Thornstrike bushes, which shot hundreds, thousands of barbed needles if disturbed.
Thinking quickly, Finn shot a barrage of crossbow bolts into the bushes, setting them off. Piper ducked instinctively, even though she knew they were out of range.
"Hurry!" Yelled Finn as he began to run forward. "It won't take them long to recharge."
Piper hesitated for a second and then leapt after him, trusting that he had managed to get all of the plants to release their darts. She was almost through them when she felt the stinging pain hit her.