Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of "Storm Hawks", nor am I making any type of profit from this story. It is a work of fan fiction, for enjoyment only.
Chapter 4 - A New DayAs dawn began to break over the roof of the crystal repository, Aerrow stretched and sighed. Turning to his co-pilot, he smiled. "Well, Finn will never let Piper live this down; he was right and she was wrong."
Radarr chittered in agreement, shrugging.
"Better check in with the others." He keyed his radio. "Hey, Piper, you there?"
"All clear here," came the prompt reply. "You heard from Stork yet?"
"No, but he would have alerted us if there had been a problem. I was going to call him next."
"I'll meet you back at the Condor. Piper out."
Walking towards his own skyride, Aerrow tuned to the Merb's channel. "Hey, Stork, how's it going?" He frowned as only static reached his ears. Checking the settings, he keyed his mike and tried again. "Stork, buddy, anything happening there?"
Turning to Radarr, he frowned. "We'd better go check this out. It's not like Stork to be incommunicado." He mounted his skimmer as Radarr hopped into the sidecar. Re-keying to the open Storm Hawks frequency, he announced, "Hey, guys? Stork isn't answering his radio. Let's run by the warehouse before heading to the Condor, just to be safe." He gunned his engine and took off towards the southeast.
"Got it!" answered Piper.
"On my way!" responded Finn, dropping out of his air-guitar solo at the call.
When no other voice responded, Aerrow radioed, "Junko? Hey Junko, you there?" Static answered him once again.
"The silo's just ahead of me - I'll stop and check on him," Piper volunteered.
"Thanks." The Sky Knight smiled worriedly at his co-pilot. "Last thing we need is two missing team-members."
He flew on in silence for a few more minutes when his radio suddenly sprang to life. "Junko's not here! The silo owner sent him away last night."
Aerrow's brows drew together. "Did he say where he went?"
"Just 'to help a friend' was all the guy remembers."
"I'll bet he went to help Stork," suggested Finn. "I'm almost at the…WOAH!"
"What is it?" demanded Aerrow, hitting the throttle.
"Piper was right - this place has been ransacked!" Finn circled the building, noting the loading doors hanging open on broken hinges, and the apparently-empty warehouse inside. Spotting the two hidden skimmers an instant later, he concluded, "Yeah, and Junko's here somewhere - his ride's parked next to the Storkmobile."
'Then why didn't we hear from them?' worried the Sky Knight. Coming to a decision, he instructed Finn, "Wait for us before you go in; I want you to have back-up in case the bandits are still there. They could be dangerous."
Finn set down in the front loading area where he could get an unobstructed view of the empty interior. "Dude, those guys are long gone. I'm gonna have a look around."
Crossbow loaded and ready despite his brave words, the sharpshooter crept into the building. His eyes darted left and right before moving forward; he had to admit that he was relieved to find no one there. Standing up straight, he cupped a hand to his mouth and shouted, "Stork? Junko? Hey guys, you in here?"
No answer. His lips set in a grim line as he moved further into the cavernous building, calling as he went. While his shouts went unanswered, he heard two skyrides setting down outside, and he was quickly joined by Piper, Aerrow, and Radarr. Without a word the team spread out, searching. There were lots of side rooms and storage niches to check for their missing companions.
It was Piper who found the iron-clad refrigeration chamber. Noting the odd dents and bulges, she unlocked the bolt on the door and tried unsuccessfully to muscle it open. "Hey guys, I need some help here!" she called out, and was soon joined by the rest of the squad.
"You think they might be in there?" asked Finn dubiously.
"Well, it's about the only door I've seen in this place that Junko couldn't break down."
"Then let's get it open!" Action followed words as both Aerrow and Finn grabbed the handle of the warped door and heaved with all their might.
Slowly the groaning metal gave way, until finally the door swung open, exposing the dark chamber beyond.
"Junko? Stork? You in here?" asked the Sky Knight hesitantly, reluctant to enter the icy box.
"Over here," came a wavering voice from his right.
Piper pushed past her leader, activating a glow-crystal to full power as she did so. She then stopped dead in her tracks at the sight the light revealed.
Junko sat huddled in the corner, knees pulled towards his chest, shivering. With tear tracks clearly evident on his face, he stared up at her with bloodshot eyes. Kneeling next to the distraught Wallop, the dark-skinned girl laid a hand gently on his shoulder. "Junko, are you all right? Do you know what happened to Stork?" she asked.
Unfolding his legs and opening his jacket, he revealed the unmoving Merb cradled against his chest. "I tried to keep him warm," he wailed. "I really did! But…I don't think he's breathing!!"
The others were at his side in a heartbeat, and Aerrow quickly took charge. "First we need to get you out of here; let Finn and me carry Stork."
The shaking Wallop nodded, and Aerrow grasped the Merb under the armpits while the sharpshooter took his legs. They were both surprised at how cold his skin was to the touch as they carried him outside and lay him on the ground. Radarr and Piper managed to get Junko to his feet and out the door, where they settled him on the floor next to the insensate Stork.
Staring at the still form, Junko stammered, "He…he said to…rewarm him slowly. He said you'd know, Piper?"
Piper looked at him questioningly, then narrowed her eyes. "Junko…did he say something about being 'cold-blooded'?"
"Yeah, that's right, he did. He said that's why he's affected more by the cold than us."
"Oh, this could be bad. Why didn't he mention it at the Winter Festival?"
"He said he did…" began Junko, only to be interrupted by a worried Finn.
"I'm not feeling a pulse," he exclaimed from where he knelt next to the Merb.
Piper whirled towards him. "Check for it longer - his heartbeat is probably really slow right now."
Aerrow reappeared with some blankets from the skimmers. "Let's get them wrapped up," he suggested.
Piper took two and cocooned Junko in them, while commenting, "They won't help Stork much - he needs to be warmed by an external source."
"Bang! I just felt a beat!" crowed Finn in relief. Thinking about the time spent feeling for a pulse, he frowned. "Boy, that really is slow…"
"Come on - Junko had the right idea. You two take your shirts off and let me settle Stork between you."
"What? Cuddle with Stork?" Finn was aghast.
"No, silly. Rewarm him. Slowly. He's so cold his body has almost completely shut down." She glared at the blonde, "Or would you rather he died?" As Junko abruptly moved to help, Piper shook her head. "No, Junko - you're too cold yourself. You kept him alive through the night; it's our turn now."
Aerrow already had his shirt off and was pulling Stork into the same position he'd seen with Junko, as Finn reluctantly complied. Piper swaddled all three in the remainder of the blankets, trying to retain as much of the boys' body heat as possible. Glancing at a clock, she noted that it was still more than an hour before the first workers were due to arrive. "I'll call Captain Thrush and let him know about the robbery," she volunteered.
"That'd be good," replied Aerrow. "Have him send a medic to check out Stork while you're at it."
"Will do. Be right back." And with that, she was gone, leaving them with a near-lifeless helmsman.
TBC…..