Well... the countdown continues. Most likely, I think I'll split the last chapters into two chapters. Thank you to all those who's been reviewing and keeping up with the story through the lonngggggg cooooolllddddddd month. lol. I hope you won't be TOO disappointed with Piper's decision later on. lol. Hope you like this chappie! Merry (almost) Christmas!

Please R&R!

Disclaimer: Storm Hawks (c) Nerd Corps and Ace Fipke.

Chapter Twelve: The Guardian of Atmos

"So… before the last spirit gets here, I should start thinking about my final decision," Piper said to herself, sitting down, "Okay, well… if I don't return to Atmos, it would break Aerrow's heart. Then, according to Chris, when Cyclonia falls, the surviving Storm Hawks will disband. And if I choose to return, then we may be getting two new members of the Storm Hawks, plus, the rest of the guys will all be alive."

Suddenly, a warm light began to shine from a few meters away, and Piper stood up. A young woman in a long white, spaghetti strap dress with white, feathered wings on her back appeared. She had long flowing black hair and dark brown eyes. She looked about the same age as Piper, herself. A blue, star-shaped gem hung on a silver necklace around her neck. Adrian stood beside her, grinning at Piper.

"Hello, Piper," the woman greeted, "I'm Kara, the last spirit you're meeting."

Piper sighed in relief. "Finally, a spirit who doesn't pop out and startles me," she said.

Kara glared at Adrian. "Did you scare her, Adrian?" she asked suspiciously.

He grinned sheepishly. "Unintentionally," he admitted, turning to Piper, "In any case, this is my girlfriend, Kara."

"Yeah, so Piper, tell me something, how much do you love Aerrow?" Kara asked suddenly.

"I love him with my whole heart," the navigator said honestly.

"Hmmm…" Adrian said, smiling, and nuzzling Kara's neck, "Just about how much I love you."

She pulled away. "Stop it, Adrian. I know you love me, but I don't think it's the best time. We're here to help Piper," she reminded. She turned back to the Storm Hawk. "Now, Piper, you said you loved Aerrow with all your heart. My question is… would you be willing to give up your life to save him?"

Piper looked Kara directly in the eyes and said a definite "yes".

Kara smiled. This was interesting. "And why would you do that?" she asked.

"I love him, and I know he would do the same for me," she replied honestly, "Besides, he's needed on Atmos more than me."

"Hmm… interesting…" Kara mumbled.

"With all due respect, what kind of questions are these?" Piper asked, a bit confused.

"You'll understand later," the guardian replied mysteriously.

"So… you're the Guardian of Atmos? I've heard that the guardian was only a myth and a legend," she said. Then she paused, thinking. "Oh wait, but then I remembered hearing a rumour that the Guardian showed up somewhere."

"Yep! That would be me!" Kara confirmed happily, "And if you choose to return to Atmos, Adrian and I will take you back to Atmosia, and following that I will take you back to the Condor myself."

"Yes we are," Adrian agreed.

Kara smiled at Piper. "Now, it's time for our trip into the past and the present. I'm going to show you all the good moments that has happened since you and the boys retrieved the Aurora Stone from Cyclonia. Well… I meant save the Atmos from Cyclonis," she announced.

"Why?" the navigator inquired curiously.

"Okay, that's true. Scratch that. We'll do this instead," she corrected, snapping her fingers and instantly, a clear white crystal appeared in her hands. She handed it to Piper.

"What's this?" the Storm Hawk questioned, analyzing the crystal's shape and colour, "I've never seen a crystal like this before."

"It's called a 'Dream Crystal'. I made it myself. It will allow the three of us to enter someone's dream. My decision is that we're going to visit on particular Sky Knight in the only way we can," Kara explained, "He will be able to hear us, feel us, see us, and more importantly, talk to you."

"You created this crystal? B-But how?" she asked, stunned.

"I take certain crystal dusts and compress them together using my powers to create a crystal. Then by the amount of dust I added I can take a guess at the level of strength," she answered, smiling, "But I have yet to figure out how to create a Helix Stone, and the Infinity Stone."

"Personally, I'm against you trying to," Adrian said, looking at her, "If you did figure out how to create one, you'd be put in grave danger. And that's the last thing I would want. You're in enough danger already just by being the Guardian of Atmos."

"Thanks, that's sweet of you. But I can protect myself. I am a Sky Knight, after all," she retorted, half-jokingly.

"By the way, Adrian mentioned that you two were Sky Knights. If that's true, where are your squadrons? You've never mentioned them," Piper asked curiously.

"We don't have squadrons. At the moment, we're just wandering Sky Knights helping people out for the good of Atmos. We were secretly graduated the same week as Aerrow, but we've kept my status as 'Guardian of Atmos' secret for my sake," she explained.

"Oh… but… why?" she inquired, "I'm sorry if I'm digging, but I'm curious."

Adrian laughed. "It's fine. Well… we didn't have many friends at the time. I was kind of a reject in the Sky Knight Academy. Aerrow would remember that," he said.

"And as for me, I woke up on Terra Atmosia on a rainy day. I had no recollection of what happened for the last three years. Even now I still don't remember what happened," Kara said, sighing.

"By the way, Piper, there's something I forgot to tell you," he stated, "Piper, I'm a healer. I have powers like Kara's, but not as strong. Mine are only good for healing."

"And you are telling me this, why?" the navigator questioned.

"Because," Kara said, tackling her to the ground, where a sharp arrow flew overhead, "you might get hurt if you don't pay attention to the sharp pointy things flying through the air."

Piper looked up at her. "Ugh… what was that?" she asked.

"This world likes to… set certain traps, for spirits who stay here too long. Once it 'kills' the spirit, they are sent to their respective afterlives," Adrian explained, drawing out a two-handed double-edges blade, similar to the Dark Ace's but shorter and blocking off arrows.

"And yes, this only happens when the spirit usually stays here too long. For example," Kara explained while pulling Piper up, both of them dodging flying arrows. Then her dress suddenly transformed into a set of basic Sky Knight armour and drew out a pair of twin lightning blades. "Usually there is a spirit that is responsible for leading the dead into the afterlife, but in your certain case, we prevented that from happening, and are keeping you in this world," she said. She powered up her blades with two rare white striker crystals. "And so… the consequences are just learning to survive here."

Piper continued to dodge flying arrows, and an arrow skimmed through her dress, just missing her skin. But the arrow still did damage to her co-ordination and made her disoriented. She fell to the ground, right in the path of an arrow.

"Piper!" Kara exclaimed, pushing Piper out of the way. The arrow buried itself in her side.

"Kara!" Adrian shouted. Immediately he ran over to them, snatched the Dream Crystal away from Piper and activated it.

In an instant, they all appeared in a dark, black room. Only a single bulb kept the room alit.

"Oh no…" Piper gasped when he saw Kara lying on her side, an arrow buried into her, "A-Adrian. I'm so sorry… It's all my fault. Will she be alright?"

Kara coughed briefly as she was laid on Adrian's lap, opening her eyes and looking at her. "It's fine, Piper. It's not your fault. I'm alright. Just after I get," she groaned loudly as Adrian attempted to move the arrow, "… healed…"

"Sorry," Adrian apologized, "Now… I'm not going to lie to you. This will hurt." He got a firm hold on the shaft of the arrow.

"It's okay, it'll only be a moment," Kara agreed, "do it."

In one swift motion, he pulled it out, and she winced slightly in recoil.

"I'm so sorry," Piper apologized, "If only I hadn't fallen."

"It's okay, Piper," the guardian stated coolly, sighing, "I've been through worse."

Adrian gently pressed his palm against the wound, and immediately, it began to glow a light blue.

Piper's tangerine eyes widened. "That's amazing!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, I'm a Sky Knight, and a medic," he said, "I've gotten a bit of medical training before." A few moments later, he removed his hand to find that the wound had been healed.

"Thanks," Kara stated, standing up. He helped support her.

"Where are we?" Piper asked curiously.

"We're in a dream room," Kara replied, "From here, we can enter people's dreams." She walked over to a door and opened it. "This door is to Aerrow's dreams. So come on. Once we enter, we'll only have 5 minutes to talk to him before we have to go back.

Both Adrian and Piper walked through it, Kara closing the door after she walked in herself. They appeared in a huge grassy field.

"Wow…" Piper gasped, "Is this really Aerrow's dream? I'd imagine him more like kicking Dark Ace's tail."

Both Kara and Adrian laughed.

"No, we've summoned him here," Adrian explained.

"Yeah, this would be my dreamscape that I'm conjuring right now," Kara said, "which is why I can only hold it for 5 minutes because I'm keeping all four of us here."

Suddenly, a familiar redhead ran over to them from out of nowhere.

"Piper!" he exclaimed.

The navigator turned to see her favourite Sky Knight running towards her with his arms outstretched. "Aerrow!" she shouted happily, running into his tight embrace.

"I thought I'd never see you again," he whispered, tears of joy running down his face, "Is this all just a dream? If it is, I never want to wake up."

"Aerrow," Kara said, "It's true that you're just dreaming, but the reality that Piper is here with you is real. As are Adrian and me."

He let go of Piper and looked at the pair. "Hey, I remember you two. You were both in the Sky Knight Academy with me, kinda... What are you doing here?"

"We brought Piper here to see you," Adrian answered, "before she makes her decision whether she wishes to return to Atmos or move on into the afterlife."

The redhead looked at Piper. "Is that true?" he asked her.

She nodded in confirmation. "I'll explain it to you later," she said.

"Actually, Piper," Kara said, closing her eyes with her head tilted down, her white dress replacing her uniform, "I'd rather you not explain it at all. It's best we keep this whole affair a secret, at least until the right time. You're the only exception we've had for a while now, to the whole 'get-a-second-chance' thing, and so it would be difficult to explain."

"Oh… okay then," she retorted, turning back to Aerrow, "I've missed you so much!"

"I've missed you too," he told her, gently kissing her.

Adrian and Kara walked over to the pair.

"Aerrow, first and foremost, when you wake up, you must not tell anyone about this, and that's the same with you, Piper. It's best that you don't ever mention about the Dream Crystal," Adrian told him sternly, "It's important that we keep Kara's identity a secret. If anyone knew that she had the power to create crystals just out of dust, she would be in grave danger, and as I said before, that's the last thing she needs."

"Why?" Aerrow asked, both confused and curious.

Piper's golden eyes met his. "She's the Guardian of Atmos," she told him quietly.

His emerald eyes widened. "What?!" he exclaimed, "T-T-That's impossible!"

Kara laughed. "No its not!" she objected, "It's true!" Then she quickly composed herself and looked at them sternly. "Aerrow, as the Oracle had told you, Piper can choose whether to return to Atmos or move on into the afterlife. You can help her decide right now."

"Well… of course you've got to come back!" he said, looking at Piper, "The Storm Hawks are a wreck without you! I'm not even joking. Even Finn misses you!"

The navigator looked down. "It's a lot harder than it sounds, Aerrow. Both futures with me and without me could be difficult to get by," she explained.

"It can't be that bad," he said, trying to be positive.

The look she gave him proved to be otherwise.

Kara said, winking, "Hey, but if you go back, later on you'll have me and Adrian to help!"

"I thought we weren't suppose to choose a side on this!" Adrian scolded, "We're supposed to be unbiased!"

She shrugged easily. "Ah well, too bad. I think things would be better off if Piper went back," she retorted honestly, "Otherwise, as Stork would say, it's death, doom, and destruction for all."

Adrian sighed, "The three D's, huh? Truth is, I agree that Piper should go back too."

"But- but-" Piper began, then she looked down, "I'm just worried about the future of the Storm Hawks."

"Piper," Kara said, causing her to look up at her, "the future can always be changed. And don't worry about the Storm Hawks, Adrian and I will keep watch over you guys. And when its necessary, we'll help you get out of those tight spots."

The navigator sighed. "Okay, I've made my decision."

"Ah… hold that thought," Adrian interrupted, looking at his watch, "We're just about out of time. We've gotta get back soon to make your final decision."

Piper turned to Aerrow. "Goodbye, Aerrow."

He hugged her tightly. "Bye Piper. I hope to see you tomorrow."

"Merry Christmas, Aerrow," Kara said, "If Piper decides to return, I'll see you later."

He gave her a single nod and let go of Piper, who stepped back beside Kara.

"Merry Christmas, Sky Knight," Adrian stated, grinning.

Kara gently touched the blue star pendant around her neck and they disappeared with a flash of light and reappeared in the world in-between.

"So, Piper, what's your decision?" Kara inquired, smiling. She expected her to choose to return to Atmos, and that was a reason why she chose to take her to see Aerrow.

Piper looked at her and Adrian. "I'm choose to… move on into the afterlife…"

Both Adrian and Kara's eyes widened. "WHAT?!" they yelled.

WHAT?! is right! WHAT IS PIPER THINKING?! Well... you've got to wait till tomorrow's final chapters are up! :D Hope you liked this chapter! lol. I enjoyed thinking about making up Stork's 3 D's. Death, Destruction, and DOOM! lol.

Please review! Merry Christmas!