It was hot. It was really hot. Terra Saharr had to be the driest, most arid place I've ever been to! There was a race today for all sky-knights, and Aerrow had to sign up to be a part of it. Right now, he was outside testing the skimmer for speed. I was under the tent with Stork and Piper. The tent was just as hot inside as it was outside in the sun. Sweat was already dripping from my brow.

"It's so hot."

Piper looked over towards Kira. The brunette's face looked flushed, and there was a light sheet of sweat on her forehead. Her eyelids were drooping over her honey brown eyes with exhaustion.

"Yeah," Piper agreed. "It's scorching." Finn and Junko walked in the tent. Finn's face was flushed, and even though it was really hot, Junko didn't look too affected by the heat.

"Junko…" Kira panted. "how come you aren't affected by this heat?"

"Well, back on Terra Wallop, it's really warm, so I grew up used to the heat." He explained, and Kira scowled a bit. Lucky. She looked over at Stork to see if he was affected by the heat.

His green face was a shade darker, and there were beads of sweat on his forehead. He sat tinkering away at some mechanical trinket. Finn was complaining about striking up a bet he may lose, but Kira was tuning him out. She walked towards Stork and sat next to him. There was a little space between the two so that they wouldn't feel each other's body heat. Still, Stork's cheeks grew warmer still. Kira was starting to grow on the green merb.

As the days passed on, Stork had started to appreciate the girl's presence. She was kind, inquisitive, and was sweet on him. He even noticed the occasional glance she would send him when she thought he wasn't looking.

"So, what are you doing?" Kira asked the merb.

"Oh this?" he said pointing to the metal trinket. Kira nodded. "Oh, it's going to be a little night light that will go in the kitchen. It'll also serve as a vulka-bat repellant." A small smile crept onto Kira's face and a light blush played across Stork's cheeks. Kira was always so nice to him. Her smile made him feel just a little better. It was almost as if there wasn't everything out to get him. Almost. He was still constantly aware of everything around him, but Kira made it a little better.

An engine being revved could be heard from a distance, and it got louder and louder. Aerrow road into the tent on his skimmer and parked in front of Stork.

"I need to go faster." He stated as he dismounted, Radaar clung to his friend's shoulder. "If I'm gonna win, then I need to build up some more speed." Stork got up and started to tinker around with the skimmer.

"If I'm going to make your skimmer gain any more speed, then I'm going to need a power amp."

"But Stork, we don't have one." Aerrow stated, and the green merb heaved a heavy sigh. Finn, Junko and Kira decided to leave and get some food.

"I wonder what's going to help Aerrow go faster?" Junko wondered allowed.

"Maybe we should just put the Condor's engine on it." I snorted as the three made their way into the mess hall tent. The trio sat next to a man dressed in weird armor. I looked over at him to find that his red eyes were staring back at me. Chills ran down her spine, and she turned back to the food Junko had put down in front of us.

"That could work….but I think we should just stick to getting Stork that power amp." Finn said through a mouthful of food. Junko downed the rest of it. "Then we could win."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Came a gruff voice. A buff man with a red Mohawk stood smirking at my blonde friend. Finn made a scowl and motioned to the cook for another plate of food. "I'd save your money. Cuz you're gonna need it to pay for some soap and sponges when your boy loses!"

"Aha ha ha." Finn laughed sarcastically. "Laugh it up, but you'll be singing a different tune when the race is over."

"Well it might sound different." The buff man said. "Cuz I'll be singing it in my freshly clean cruiser!" He laughed and walked away leaving Finn a little upset. He again motioned for another plate of food when a coin spun across the counter towards us.

"Allow me." Said the man next to us. "I think you and I can help each other out."

"That's as fast as I can make it with what we had on hand." Stork said as he brought his welding mask up. "Now, if I just had a power amp…" At that moment, Finn and Junko came in and set a power amp down next to Stork. The green merb was so happy he actually started to stroke it as if it were a precious pet.

"How did you-?" Piper started, but Finn came up behind her and said, "Easy. Junko and I swapped our crystal converters for it." The wallop was tearing them off the skimmers as the blonde spoke. "Oh I know that look." Finn started up again. "You're about to tell me that this is a bad idea." Junko ripped up another converter. "Yeah I know." Finn continued on. "Without the converters, our rides are less than useless, but I got it covered. This amp will make Aerrow the fastest rider out there. So I'll get our converters from that purple Knight of Exerxxis and more."

"You traded with the Knight of Exerxxis?" Piper said slightly disappointed and slightly in shock. Finn just nodded his head. "And where's Kira?"

"With the Knight of Exerxxis. Why?"

I sat next to the Knight of Exerxxis just talking. His voice had charisma, and he was charming. He made me blush a little and laugh as he told me of exciting things he did. Flying around free as a bird with no squadron. I had fun talking to him, yet at the same time, there was this nagging sensation in the back of my mind that said being around him was a bad idea.