AN: School is evil. That is an undeniable fact. Anywho, moving on…

IT'S THE END! FINITE! LAST CHAPTER! D:

I can't believe it. This fic has taken up so much of my primary focus… it's hard to know that I don't have another chapter to write after this. This fact is probably why I procrastinated on this chapter so much. (and school but we won't even open that can of worms). However, there still is a slight ray of sunshine. There's going to be a short (keyword SHORT! Like, one paragraph short!) epilogue. Still… this is pretty much it. I just want to say thanks for all who reviewed. If it weren't for you peeps, I probably would have lost faith in this fic a long time ago. Special thanks goes to WhispertheWolf, Fishyicon, and Laurisa. You peeps are awesome. :D

p.s. Looking back, I would have liked to have added more detail to this chapter (especially at the end) but I just wanted to finally get it finished. Sorry if it seems a little rushed.

Chapter 11: Finale

Just when it looked like life couldn't get any more bizarre… Starling – she had found her way here.

As the three walked back to the bridge together, Aerrow knew there'd be no restraining his team. They had given Arygyn the privilege of avoiding the third degree, due mostly to the fact that he had used his magic to heal Aerrow, and for that they were grateful. However, Aerrow knew there would be little he could say or do to persuade his team to give up the opportunity to bombard Starling with questions.

They walked through the door and Aerrow saw Stork on the other end of the room; he was obviously just starting off his day since it was apparent he was not on the bridge five minutes ago to witness Starling's landing through the bridge window. How was it apparent? Stork's eyes grew as big and wide as a pair of baseballs at the surprise. There were a few empty seconds of where Stork's brain gave way to a temporary short-circuit, but then he merely sighed and turned back to the helm, exasperation yet slight amusement both written on his face.

"You'dthink after everything we've been through," Stork said to the room at large, "I'd learn not to be surprised." He turned back with a smile to face Starling. "I suppose there's some wild, fantastical story as to how you got here?"

"Nowhere near as fantastical as yours, I'm sure," Starling replied, smiling back.

And so the whole of last night was almost repeated in entirety for a second time. The Storm Hawks revealed everything to Starling, as Starling told them about how she came to the Far Side. Needless to say, there was much amazement at both stories, but the day was moving on, and all of the passengers of the Condor knew that the time for happy reunions away from war was over.

It was time to make a plan.

"All right," Piper said, as she laid out her notes before her on the table as everyone else crowded around. "We know that Cyclonis has a full army of Night Crawlers… and we have eight people." Stork twitched as Finn rolled his eyes as if to sarcastically say 'thanks for pointing out our inevitable failure'. "But we've faced worse odds before!" Piper added confidently.

"Umm… we have?" Stork asked.

"I'd like to think so," Piper responded, continuing to be optimistic. "They may have access to powerful weaponry, but in the end they're just Night Crawlers. We've taken out tons of them before. Besides, with the added assistance," Piper gestured graciously to Arygyn and Starling standing nearby, "it won't be a problem. We don't have to take them all out. If we can just reach Cyclonis before she tries to create a new door to Atmos, we'll be able to stop her. If she falls, so does her army."

"Who's going to go after her?" Aerrow asked casually. Piper smiled. He couldn't hide his thoughts from her. She knew he was really trying to make sure she didn't rush in on Cyclonis all by herself.

"You, me, and depending on the fight, perhaps one more, but I doubt we'll have people to spare."

Aerrow nodded. It was fair. Two against one. They'd be fine… probably.

"It's not much of a plan…" Piper confessed. "But we really have no other choice. This is it. We have to bring the fight to Cyclonis… and this time… it's going to end. One way or another."

Everyone nodded. They understood.

The tower loomed on the horizon. The Condor drew ever closer to the war. This was it. Everyone's skimmers were lined up on the landing strip. Junko was beside Starling, whose skimmer was easily remodelled back to its former state. Finn and Radarr were lined up beside her. (Radarr was with Finn so that he could continue to help fight while Aerrow and Piper tried to go after Cyclonis). Next to them was Arygyn. He stood proudly on the airstrip, not a skimmer in sight.

"Uhmm… Arygyn? Exactly how were you planning to fight again?" Finn asked.

With a smile and a wave, Arygyn's cloak turned into feathers, and his nose and mouth into a long, pointed beak. The Mynall bird gave a screech, which was clearly meant to be interpreted as 'I can fly, in case you forgot'.

"Oh…" Finn stammered, feeling more foolish than normal. "…right."

Aerrow and Piper took point in the formation. Stork carried the team ever closer towards the tower. In the last moment of peace, Aerrow turned to face Piper. She looked back at him, but he didn't speak a word. He merely stared, but the intensity of that look was enough to make Piper momentarily gasp. It was everything they had been through – all their missions, all their experiences… the happiness, the hurt, the pain, the relief… all of it was in his eyes. Piper gazed curiously back, and knew that it may be the last chance.

If we've got to go down, at least we're going down together.

"Storm Hawks!" Aerrow yelled out to the team at large, releasing Piper from her trance. "On my mark!" He raised his hand high, ready to let fall the beginning of war.

Cyclonis stood before the empty archway of her own construction, various crystals aligned in complicated patterns around her. It was only a matter of time… then it would be complete. The head Night Crawler stood a fair distance behind her, ready for his orders.

"The time is now," Cyclonis said, eyes towards the soon-to-be door.

"The army is ready," he replied.

"Alright then," Cyclonis purred. "On my order…"

"Now!" Aerrow yelled, aiming his hand towards the tower.

Five skimmers tore into the air. At exactly the same time, a flood of black poured out of the tower's entrance. In a second of reminiscent panic, Piper remembered the dire events of the last war, but then it fell away with the rest of her doubts, and she entered the calm phase of battle - where nothing existed except for the plan.

Aerrow and Piper fell away into identical formation while the others moved forward to provide ample cover. Starling veered off to the left with Arygyn while Junko and Finn moved to the right. The distance between the two sides steadily grew smaller, and then the fighting began.

Starling charged straight for them. She didn't bother to steer; the Night Crawlers pursued her no matter which way she went. She merely withdrew her nunchucks and used both hands for combat. The sheer mass of the opponent began to grow to uncomfortable proportions, but then Arygyn flew down beside her, spreading his magic as he went. He circled majestically above a Night Crawler, and then the jet pack wings suddenly were drained of power. The Skeelur repeated this manoeuvre several times. Starling saluted the bird and he called back triumphantly. It was short lived, though. There was still more of the enemy to confront, and Starling with her new partner dove further into the heart of the battle where the Condor was at, pelting enemies in a constant onslaught with the blasters.

Finn, however, had pulled back and tried to evaluate the fighting from a distance. His crossbow was at the ready – all he needed was for one Night Crawler to be still long enough to give him enough time to shoot. His intense concentration on his aim made him fail to realize what was steadily growing closer behind him. Suddenly, Radarr let out a loud shriek followed by the crack and a bang of crystal energy. Finn, feeling the singed ends of his hair tenderly where a blast had been fired seconds ago, looked around to see what had happened. He screamed.

There were Night Crawlers on the back of his skimmer.

They had grabbed onto the back and were being pulled along in mid-flight. Obviously their own wings were not enough to propel them to the same speed of the skimmer, but speed didn't make a lot of difference when you had stealth on your side. Radarr tried desperately to fend them off with his favourite wrench, but wasn't making much progress. If Finn hadn't turned around at that exact moment, they would have been toast.

But it was Finn's scream that had caught Junko's attention. The minute he saw Finn's ride, he pulled up and hit the Night Crawlers from below with his knuckle-busters, sending them spiralling downwards through the air.

"Thanks," Finn gasped, adequately startled.

"Try to keep a wider eye on things!" Junko recommended.

"Umm… you might want to follow your own advice!" Finn replied, pointing to something behind the Wallop. Curious, Junko turned around to see that more Night Crawlers had joined the ranks, and they were tailing him closely. Face breaking out into urgency, he dove back from where he came and circled back into a loop, trying to shake off his pursuers.

Meanwhile, Aerrow and Piper had dived closer to the surface, aiming straight for the tower's entrance. The team provided as much cover as they could above, but there were still many adversaries blocking the way to Cyclonis. As the fight below began, Aerrow turned to Piper.

"You ready?" he asked, gesturing to the crystals in her hand.

She nodded, not at all intimidated by the prospect of using the Biding. She drew out her hand, ready to summon the power within her, but then out of nowhere a red blast caused her to swerve as it burned her hand.

"No!" Piper yelled, for the crystals she held only moments ago had fallen out of her hand and dropped out of sight. Furious, she turned to see where the blast had come from. What she saw made her gasp. An extra group of Night Crawlers had circled back and had snuck up on the pair from behind, obviously waiting for the right opportunity to attack. They were surrounded.

"Never mind!" Aerrow yelled, trying to be optimistic, but still unable to conceal his crestfallen face at knowing that they had just lost a key element in the fight. "We've beaten them before without the Binding. Split up then go the second you get an opportunity!"

"Right!" Piper yelled back. And so they divided, becoming swallowed in the fight just the same as their friends.

But it turned out, separating wasn't the best idea. A full hour must have passed, and they were no further to entering the tower. It was chaos and confusion. Aerrow had been going steady during the whole battle, yet he felt that all traces of the plan had vanished. Not only were they losing ground, but Aerrow had lost track of Piper a long time ago. He felt encompassed by the black, and no matter how hard he fought, he couldn't break through. Possibly even worse, it was impossible to try and observe how the others were doing, but some deep instinct told him they weren't fairing much better.

As he attempted to knock yet another Night Crawler out of the sky, he found that two more would come to replace it. He was going to fail – and he knew it. They weren't enough. The sheer numbers were overwhelming. He had to do something…

His pessimistic yet fully realistic thoughts had distracted him for a second, and one of the blasts from a Night Crawler landed too close for comfort. Aerrow dropped into a dive, escaping the cloud of darkness which hovered around him. He reversed into a slight retreat, in hopes that he would be able to escape the fighting long enough to find a fellow ally. He spotted Piper and Starling some distance away. Just as he had speculated, they weren't doing much better.

"Starling, cover us!" Aerrow shouted over the radio. He sped past Piper, knowing she would follow. Starling would only be able to buy them a few seconds, but they had to figure out some other way of getting past this.

"There's no way in!" Piper shouted through the air whipping past. "I tried, but they are covering the entrance too heavily!"

"We can't fall back!" Aerrow yelled back. "There's nowhere to retreat to."

At that exact moment, a wail pierced the air. It sounded akin to a cry of a whale, mixed with the screech of a bird. Aerrow and Piper turned to face where the sound was coming from. A small way away from the battle, many shapes suddenly emerged over the edge of a cliff. It was hazy in the distance, so they weren't immediately distinguishable at first. But then they became clearer. But…no… it …couldn't be.

It was the beasts – the Far Side creatures that Domiwick had pursed, and impossibly, ridiculously, Domiwick was riding on the back of one, leading the others towards the fight. Aerrow braced himself, but the things ignored the Storm Hawks, heading instead for the Night Crawlers. Aerrow and Piper watched open-mouthed as the beasts turned the battle around completely. They attacked with dignified fierceness as the Night Crawlers yelled and scattered in confusion from the new arrivals. Domiwick pulled up beside Piper, smiling egotistically down at her, knowing full well he had come just in time.

"I told you they could be tamed!"

Piper smiled back and laughed at the sheer stupidity and brilliance, shock leaving both her and everyone else speechless.

"Piper!" Aerrow yelled, instinct telling him to seize this situation as soon as possible. Piper nodded and dove down towards the tower. Delaying momentarily, Aerrow took one last second to look up at Domiwick. He smiled and saluted, and Domiwick did the same.

"Good luck!"

"And to you!"

And Aerrow raced after Piper, ready for the end.

Their skimmers pulled into the arrivals bay. Some lingering Night Crawlers had stayed, but the vast majority had fled to help aid their comrades in battle. The remains were no match for the determination that burned within both Aerrow and Piper.

"Where do you think she is?" Piper asked, as the last Night Crawler cowardly fled.

"Wherever she is, she can't be far," Aerrow replied. "Let's move on. We haven't much time."

Her meditation and fanatical desires were interrupted when the door behind her flew off its hinges.

"Cyclonis!" Aerrow yelled as he saw her levitating calmly in the middle of the room. Without hesitation, he dashed for her and tried to strike with his sword, only to be met with a force-field that knocked him back several feet.

"Aerrow!" Piper cried in surprise.

"Pity," Cyclonis said coldly, not moving out of her original position or even turning around to face the Storm Hawks. She sat cross-legged and hovered slightly in the air. Her hood was drawn up, hiding all traces of the girl beneath. Around her were scattered crystals arranged in odd designs, and markings on scraps of paper from apparently a different language. Some of them seemed to make no sense whatsoever while others were notes drawn from the various books also scattered beneath Cyclonis' feet. Most foreboding of all was the empty threshold that stood before her. "After all this time you think you'd have learnt by now." Cyclonis raised her head slightly yet continued to hide her face. "You cannot stop me."

"Turn and fight!" Piper demanded, standing next to Aerrow.

"Piper," Cyclonis hissed with a sinister smile. "Feeling better, are we? Pity things turned out the way they did. You could have both been happily resting in peace by now."

"Enough with the games!" Piper argued, pulling out her staff. "We won't let you make a new door, even if you are deluded enough to think that you are the One."

At this, Cyclonis emanated a high-pitched laugh of cold steel. "Oh, and who else would it be? You?"

Piper didn't say anything, but her face betrayed the thoughts she was trying to avoid. Aerrow looked at her, unsure of what to say. It didn't take a genius to put the pieces together... but the thought of it was never really brought to light.

Piper remained silent, choosing instead to glare at the back of Cyclonis' head. "You are a coward, Piper," Cyclonis stated cruelly. "You have the Binding yet refuse to unleash its real potential. You know nothing of how to use it."

"I know a lot more than you!" Piper suddenly burst out. "The Binding isn't some grand weapon to be exploited and abused! It's a tool that needs to be treated with respect!"

At this, Cyclonis' mood turned foul, and she planted her feet to the ground and turned, hood opening in one smooth movement.

Both Aerrow and Piper were taken aback at what they saw. Cyclonis' face had acquired a greenish undertone, and her eyes were bloodshot and pink. There was no doubt about it – she was being affected by the Binding in exactly the same way Piper had first been. "What do you know?" Cyclonis screeched. "You, who know NOTHING! I've used the Binding for years! I've studied it, practiced it, bent it to my will. Yet you – you who have only been using it less than a month! You think you know more than me? Let's see how much you really know." And with that, Cyclonis turned back to the empty threshold before her, and began to summon the door.

"Wait!" Aerrow interjected. "Cyclonis! Look at you! You can't do this!"

"Just watch me."

Aerrow once again tried to stop Cyclonis, but the force-field was still in place, separating Aerrow and Piper completely and making it impossible for them to interfere in any way. Aerrow hammered on the surface with his sword, but it would not give way.

Cyclonis was beyond reason, consumed almost entirely by power. The girl beneath was gone – she was no more than a puppet ruled by desire and the Binding now. Cyclonis turned back to her concentration, and pointed at the empty door with her staff. As she chanted, the frame began to glow and a dull thrumming noise grew louder with power. "Portus unitium duodilia terratrull, egomalia arcessera potestas vitalium iterium!"

The crystals at Cyclonis' feet glowed with the door, and Cyclonis herself took on a familiar purplish glow.

"No!" Aerrow yelled, still not giving up. "Cyclonis, stop!" ...But she did not hear his words.

"Aerrow, we have to get out of here!" Piper yelled, for by now the dull thrumming had grown to a roar, and the floor had begun to shake. "Who knows what's going to happen?"

"We can't let her go!" Aerrow denied, not looking Piper in the eye and continuing to fight fruitlessly.

"Aerrow!" Piper reached out and grabbed Aerrow's wrist. He looked down at her and realized she was right. "She's already gone!"

Aerrow was going to say something in return, but at that moment a large explosion pushed both of them to the floor. Aerrow turned his head up to see what had happened, but all that filled his eyes were thick bolts of purple energy, and Cyclonis standing in front of the frame. A small dot of purple had appeared in the threshold of the door, connected by a beam of light to Cyclonis' staff, and it was steadily growing larger. The force of the creation was deafening, and powerful enough to crack the ground at their feet. Another wild bolt of energy came soaring form the door, and Aerrow leaned over Piper, shielding her from the blast. They looked back again, the room now torn apart from the rest of reality. It was its own miniature world of chaos and lightning, with wind howling and blowing everything asunder. The sheer force pinned Aerrow and Piper against the wall, unable to move. In the center of it all, Cyclonis stood, laughing hysterically.

Then it all went horribly wrong.

Everything glowed purple. It was the mystic light coming from the door. Cyclonis poured all of her power into it, feeding it with her Binding. However, it wasn't enough. The door craved more, and in a sudden almost electrical burst, the wavering light crept outwards like a living leech towards Cyclonis. She screamed and fell back, panicking at the sudden horrific change. She tried to turn and run, but her own force-field stopped her. Nothing was in her control now. She turned back to be consumed by the mass of both light and pulsing membrane. There was no way to describe it, but the door seemed to grab her and pull her in slowly yet surely towards the threshold. As Cyclonis was swallowed, she fused with the mass, the door feasting off more power than she could give it. Her Binding was not enough; the door consumed her so that it may be finished. Both Aerrow and Piper were terrified and repulsed at what they witnessed, but perhaps most disturbing of all was the last second before Cyclonis was gone completely; Aerrow couldn't tell if she were screaming, or laughing.

It ended just as fast as it had started. The sudden stillness only added to the surreal atmosphere of what had just happened. Aerrow and Piper sat on the floor in shock. It was the graceful and content swirling of the finished door that dragged them back to reality.

"She's... gone..." Aerrow stuttered. He rose to his feet, Piper still paralyzed from the recent events. He made his way slowly and cautiously to the door. Piper reached out a hand slowly and called to him weakly.

"Don't!..."

Aerrow bravely stood next to the door, examining it with both fear and respect. "It's done..." he still half-stuttered. "It's finished, I mean..." He trailed off to examine it more closely, Piper still only able to watch mutely. "...Piper, come here."

Piper eyed Aerrow anxiously, but complied all the same. "What?" she asked, obviously on edge.

Aerrow put a hand on her shoulder and smiled, trying to reassure her it was over. "Look," he said, pointing to the outer edge of the door. "It's complete, but not for long."

Piper eyed Aerrow nervously once again but seeing his confidence gave her strength. She edged closer to the door and gasped as she realised what he meant. The edge of the light was shrinking, the portal growing ever-smaller.

"If we're going to go," Aerrow said. "We'll have to go now."

Piper looked into Aerrow's eyes, and realised what he meant. There was the longest pause, but they still spoke with one another. Silently, Piper agreed with his decision.

"I'll..." Piper stammered. "We should go get the others."

Aerrow nodded. "Let's hurry."

They emerged from the tower not knowing what to find. Fortunately, it was a huge relief to discover everyone grounded safely, battered but alright. Even Stork was out of the safety of the Condor – a sure sign that the fighting had stopped. There wasn't a single Night Crawler in view.

"Dudes! Your timing couldn't be more perfect!" Finn announced in a grin of relief as he approached the duo. "We were just about to go in after you. The Night Crawlers just up and left! Can you believe it? Probably because you guys were successful, am I right? Sure, there's still probably a few left prowling about out there, but nothing we can't handle..." Finn paused for a moment as he realized he was neglecting the real question at hand. The others gathered around, curious for news. "Say..." Finn continued. "What happened in there?"

"We'll get to that shortly," Aerrow said. "Just are you all okay? The battle went... alright?"

"Speaking of that, where's Domiwick?" Piper asked, doing a quick head count. "He really saved the day. There are some things I said about him I'd like to take back."

The immediate change in expression on everyone's face was answer enough. Starling stepped forward and looked Aerrow solemnly in the eye.

"...He... fell."

Aerrow nodded. He understood. "He may have not always acted for the best," he said. "But he was really good underneath."

Everyone nodded, evermore grateful for what he did for them.

"The proper thing to do would be to offer our respects," Aerrow continued. "But unfortunately, we don't have the time,"

The urgency in Aerrow's tone pulled the team out of their thoughts, as they realized that not everything was over... not quite yet.

"What is it, Aerrow?" Junko asked.

"Cyclonis is gone, yet she was halfway successful in making a new door. We can get back to Atmos, but our window of opportunity won't last long."

"Well what are we waiting around here for, then?" Starling asked. "Let's go before it closes!"

It was still open when they got back, but it had undoubtedly shrunk. A person would have to bend over to fit through.

"Right," Starling said as she laid eyes on the door. "This is our chance. You go first while I make sure none of those Night Crawler pests try to make their way back in. I'll follow after everyone's gone through."

Aerrow (whom she addressed,) looked to the side and said nothing. His team wouldn't make a move until he said so, and they awaited his response just as Starling did. Arygyn too, eyed Aerrow curiously yet with a shimmer of possible knowledge. Aerrow looked to Piper, and she confirmed their mutual decision, encouraging him to go through with it.

"Starling..." Aerrow hesitated, knowing full well the exact reason why she came here. "We... ...Piper and I aren't going back."

There was a minute where no one said anything. Starling stared at Aerrow, at a loss for what to say.

"Well if they're staying so are we," Finn addressed the room at large.

Junko nodded. "Storm Hawks stick together!"

Aerrow looked to his team, ever grateful and appreciative of their loyalty.

Starling, however, merely stared at all of them, totally aghast. "Are you all insane?" she asked, partially outraged. "I came here to try and help you all leave this place, and now you're saying that you're going to stay?"

"Starling..." Aerrow tried to reason.

"No," Starling continued to deny. "I came looking for you when everyone else in Atmos had given up on the Storm Hawks, and now you're telling me to just leave you behind? I'm not going to let you down again!"

"Starling," Aerrow said, a little more strongly this time. "You didn't let us down. If you hadn't come here to join in our fight... who knows what the outcome may have been? But you also know what happened to us. You know who I really am. Knowing everything we know now, how could we go?"

Starling merely looked back at Aerrow, sad at knowing that it was the truth.

"Atmos has been saved," Aerrow continued. "Now it's the Far Side's turn. There are still Night Crawlers out there, and other beasts that need to be taken care of. There's just too much to learn... too much to uncover. We can't give it up. This place is just as much a home to people as Atmos is."

Starling smirked, and looked away, knowing there was no use arguing, but still disappointed. "One person can't save the world, Aerrow."

"I know," Aerrow replied. "But when we work as a team, anything can happen."

Starling was about to say something more, but then the door let out a sizzling spark, and the light began to fade faster...

"This isn't goodbye," Aerrow reassured her before she turned to leave. "We'll meet again someday. Until then, we can keep in touch."

"We can?" Starling asked, confused. At her words, Arygyn stood forward, looking down at Aerrow approvingly.

Aerrow nodded up at the guardian. "Now that Cyclonis is gone, you can go anywhere you want to now, right?"

"Don't see why not," Arygyn agreed. "The other guardians and I should be able to do whatever we please now. It's been a long time since I played messenger boy, but those Barrier Cliffs shouldn't be too much of a hassle." He smiled cockily, happy to offer his aid.

Starling let out an empty laugh, but smiled all the same. "Thanks, Arygyn." She turned to ascend the stairs to the door, hesitating to take one last look. "Until we meet again, Storm Hawks."

"Tell the Atmos our story," Aerrow requested. "We'll be back someday."

"I will."

She turned with a smile, and with a flash of purple, both Starling and the door were gone.