Merry Christmas! And here is my present to all of you: The last chapter of "Dance Away, Dance Away, Dance Away All". Now that I REALLY think about it, the title really didn't have much meaning to the entire story, just maybe the beginning for the dance thing. lol. Well... hope you've enjoyed this story and followed it to the end! Once again, Merry Christmas!

And please R&R! That would be your gift to me! :D lol.

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

Claimer: Kara, Adrian, Laura, Chris, Dream Crystal, etc. (The things that DON'T belong to Nerd Corps and Ace Fipke. lol)

Chapter Thirteen: Decision Time

"Piper! I thought you wanted to go back to Atmos!" Adrian exclaimed, surprised.

She rubbed her arm, embarrassed. "Well… I do, but I'm just kinda… worried… and… scared for the others," she admitted.

"But Piper!" Kara retorted, "They're all scared for you right now! If you just leave them, who's going to tolerate Finn? Who's going to help take charge when Aerrow's busy or not in the position to do it himself? They need you!"

The navigator glared at them suspiciously. "I thought you were supposed to be fine with whatever decision I made," she accused.

"Well… we have our own opinions too! And we've both paid a secret visit to the Condor while you've been meeting the other spirits, and so we know how the others are feeling about this, even thought they don't know we know," Adrian countered.

"Yeah… I guess you're right…" Piper admitted, still looking away.

"And think about how Aerrow would feel!" Kara added, "He's hoping you'll go back to him and the others! Would you really want to break his heart that way?"

"Well no, but-" she replied before getting cut off.

"And if you don't return back, not all of the Storm Hawks will survive in the future due to the final assault on Cyclonia!" Adrian said.

"Okay! Okay!" Piper yelled, throwing her hands up in defeat, "You win! I'll go back!"

Kara and Adrian gave each other a high-five.

"Excellent," he said, grinning.

Kara chuckled, "Actually Piper, we knew you were wanting to go back anyway. You were just trying to protect your friends. But… we still had to make you admit that anyhow."

The navigator glared at them. "Hey! That's not fair!" she pouted.

"Okay, stop your pouting and follow us," Adrian addressed, beginning to walk towards a light.

"Don't worry, this won't hurt a bit," Kara assured.

They walked into the bright light and suddenly appeared on the forest part of Terra Atmosia. It was about 4 o'clock in the afternoon.

"W-We're back!" Piper exclaimed happily.

"Merry Christmas, Piper!" both of them exclaimed cheerfully.

She ran and hugged the both of them, tears of joy running down her face. "Thank you so much! You've given me the greatest gift ever! You've given back my life!" she sobbed happily.

"Hey, no tears on Christmas, okay?" Adrian said, laughing.

She sniffed and brushed away her tears.

"Now, I think it's time we deliver a gift back to the Storm Hawks," Kara said, winking at Piper, "It's you."

Adrian gently kissed Kara on the lips. "Merry Christmas," he whispered to her, hugging her against him, "I love you."

"I love you too," she mumbled back as she pulled away, "I'll see you later." She closed her eyes and her blue pendant pulsed brightly, enveloping her in a shining blue light.

Piper had to avert her eyes because of the strong light. When she looked back, her own dress had transformed back into her uniform.

"Your dress is neatly folded back in your closet on board the Condor," Adrian said, "Kara's scanned for traps and eliminated all trackers and the Torture Crystal has been disabled, so now it's a dud. You no longer have to worry about it."

"And I'll take you back to the Condor now," Kara said.

"Whoa!" Piper exclaimed, looking at her.

Kara had now transformed into a huge phoenix, red feathers gleaming in the sunlight. The only thing that told Piper it was Kara was the voice and the dangling blue star pendant hanging on a long silver chain around her neck. She bowed down, motioning for Piper to climb onto her back. "Don't worry," she reassured, "The fire isn't hot. Not unless I make it so."

The navigator laughed nervously. "Okay," she said, turning to Adrian, "Thanks for everything, Adrian."

"No problem," he replied coolly, "I'll catch you later, Piper."

"See you!" she replied, sitting on Kara's back, her arms holding onto her feathery neck.

"I'll be back for dinner," Kara said, "Tell Chris not to burn the turkey this time."

He laughed and waved as she took off into the skies and flew away from Terra Atmosia.

"Chris? As in… the spirit I met Chris?" Piper asked curiously.

"Yep, that's him. We always meet up with him and Laura for Christmas dinner," Kara replied.

"By the way, how do you know where the Condor is right now? They could be across the Atmos for all we know!" she inquired.

"I just know," she retorted simply, "Now hold on tightly."

Suddenly, Kara flew high and just dived down, speeding up her momentum.

"We'll get there faster this way," she said.

Along the way, Piper fell asleep from the fatigue.

Hmm.... can't blame the poor girl. She's been awake for the past four days straight, Kara thought wistfully, Better keep on flying smoothly so I don't wake her up. She looked around worriedly, And hope that we don't run into any Cyclonians.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Half an hour later, the Condor could be seen across the horizon.

Ah... finally... Kara thought in relief, Let's just hope they know I come in peace.

Gently, she shook, crooning, "Hey Piper, do you see what I see?"

Piper's tangerine eyes fluttered open. She yawned and rubbed her eyes tiredly. "What?" she asked, her eyes falling on the familiar airship, "It's the Condor!"

Suddenly, blasts of energy were being fired upon them.

"Um… why are they firing at us?" Piper asked, clinging on tightly onto Kara's red feathers.

"You tell me!" she replied, barrel rolling aside, dodging the blasts.

All of a sudden, a single blast hit Kara's left wing and she screeched in pain before begin to plummet towards the Wastelands. Piper had fallen off in the confusion. She screamed in terror as she realized she didn't have her parachute.

Kara managed to steady herself as she was falling with her, and caught the young girl in her talons.

"Gotcha!" she exclaimed happily, "Now… let's get closer to the Condor so that they can recognize you before firing at me again."

With one strong beating of her wings, they shot back upwards towards the Condor, where now the Storm Hawks on the blasters could be seen. Kara flew up right above them.

"Hey!" Piper called, "Finn! Junko! It's me!"

"Hey guys! It's Piper!" Finn yelled, pointing up at her, "She's alive!"

"And being held hostage by a phoenix!" Junko exclaimed fearfully, "We've gotta save her!"

"NO!" Piper yelled, "It's alright, she's a friend. We'll meet you on the Landing Pad!"

"Got it!" Finn shouted, running back in with Junko.

Piper looked up at Kara. "Come on, let's go," she said.

Kara hovered above the landing pad and gently let Piper down, just as the boys ran out of the Hangar Bay.

"Piper!" Aerrow yelled, running and hugging her, "It's true! You're back!"

"Oh Aerrow! I've missed you so much!" she exclaimed happily before kissing him full on the lips.

Kara smiled and let her transformation disappear, but fell from the air, landing on her two feet. She now wore a long black robe similar to Chris', also with a hood.

"Who are you?" Finn demanded, drawing out his crossbow.

Aerrow held his hand up for him to stop. "No, Finn, it's okay. She's a friend," he replied, "She brought Piper back to us."

"The name's Kara," Kara greeted cheerily. Suddenly, she winced as she was moving her left hand up to shake his. She pulled up her sleeve to find a burn on her arm. "Ow…" she mumbled, "Hmm… must have been when I was hit."

Finn ran a hand through his spiky blonde hair and looked at her with apologetic blue eyes. "Sorry, that was me. I thought that you were attacking the Condor," he said.

She chuckled, "It's fine." She placed her right hand over the burn and it pulsed a blue light.

Piper gasped, "So you can heal too? Just like Adrian?"

The guardian laughed as she pulled away her hand to revealed a fully healed arm. "Yeah, but I'm not as strong in healing as Adrian," she replied, "Now, I haven't properly introduced myself. My name is Kara, Guardian of Atmos. I'm also a Sky Knight. Three of my friends and I helped bring Piper back over the course of four days."

"W-wait… the Guardian of Atmos? As in… the Guardian?" Stork questioned, staring at her.

She nodded, as did Piper and Aerrow.

Stork disappeared and popped up beside Kara. "I've heard of you, and I've heard about your… powers…" he said, "Have you discovered the cure for Bog Fever? Can you cure it?"

She laughed. "Well… I suppose so, but I've never encountered anyone who had it. But you could ask my boyfriend, he's a medic," she replied honestly.

"Awww…" Finn sighed depressingly. I was hoping that a cute girl like her wouldn't already have a boyfriend.

"What's wrong?" Junko asked him.

"N-Nothing," he lied, "Just sad that she's unsure about the cure."

"Right…" Aerrow said, rolling his eyes. He knew what the blonde was thinking.

Piper rolled her eyes and turned to Kara. "Thank you, Kara. For everything you've done. You saved my life, twice now, allowed me a chance to return to the Storm Hawks, and taking the time to return me home," she thanked gratefully.

Kara shook her head. "It's fine, Piper. The boys and I were glad to help you," she retorted coolly.

"By the way," Aerrow began, "Kara, you never mentioned your squadron."

She looked up into the bright blue sky. "I don't have one, Aerrow. At the moment, Adrian and I are just wandering Sky Knights, helping people when we can," she said honestly.

"Well… you both are welcome to join the Storm Hawks if you'd like," he offered generously.

She met his emerald eyes with her dark brown ones. "Thanks, Aerrow. But I think Adrian and I will just stick together as lone Sky Knights for now. We know you guys are doing well without us, but don't forget, we're always watching over you guys in case you guys are seriously boiling in some hot water," she said, winking, "I see great promise from your team. Keep up the great work. But for now, I've gotta get back to Atmosia. The others are expecting me back for Christmas dinner. And I know you've got to prepare for your own." She turned her back to the Storm Hawks and began to walk towards the edge of the landing pad.

"Wait…" Junko said.

"Will we ever see you again?" Finn questioned.

She turned back to them. "Don't worry. We'll meet again. If there's any trouble that you can't handle, you can find me on Terra Atmosia, or some of my friends, if I'm not there," she responded.

"Thank you, Kara," Aerrow stated gratefully, hugging Piper with one arm, "for more than you know."

She smiled. "I think I know," she said enigmatically, "Well… Catch ya later!" Then she dived off the edge of the Condor.

They all ran over in shock and surprise.

"Where'd she go?!" Junko exclaimed horrifically.

"She just dived into the Wastelands!" Finn agreed.

Stork twitched. "Instant doom…"

Suddenly, a phoenix flew up from where Kara had jumped, and the Storm Hawks fell back in surprise.

Kara laughed as she began to fly away, "Merry Christmas, Storm Hawks!"

They got up and waved to her. "Merry Christmas!"

As Kara's figure disappeared in the horizon, the Storm Hawks went back into the Condor.

"We thought we were never gonna see you again!" Junko exclaimed, crushing Piper in a bear hug.

"Junko!" she choked, "If you hold on to me any longer you won't!"

He instantly let go. "Oops, sorry," he said.

Radarr ran out from Aerrow's room and instantly tackle-hugged Piper.

She laughed, tickling him under his chin, "It's good to see you again too, Radarr."

"I've gotta admit," Finn said, placing a hand on her shoulder, "It's good to have you back."

"Wow Finn… I thought you'd be jumping for joy," she joked, "Was it really that bad without me?"

"Yeah," Stork agreed, "I've gone without your sandcakes for four whole days."

She laughed, "Maybe I'll make some later, Stork."

"Come on, guys. Give her some space," Aerrow said, shooing them onto the Bridge. Then he turned back to her in the hallway. "I've missed you," he said, hugging her.

"I've missed you too," she replied, sighing as she hugged him back.

For some odd reason, his emerald eyes were suddenly averted upwards towards the ceiling.

"What is it?" Piper asked curiously.

"Mistletoe," he replied, staring at the red and green plant. Then he smiled at her. "And since you're the only one here…"

She beat him to it and pressed her lips tightly against his, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I love you," she told him after they had pulled away.

"I love you too, Piper," Aerrow whispered, pressing his forehead against hers, "Merry Christmas."

THE END

YAY! All done! Hope you've enjoyed the story! Plus, if you are wanting me to write a sort-of-sequel, please message me and let me know (but please also provide an idea for it... I'm currently idea-dead...). Thanks for all those reviewees and reviews I've received throughout the whole time period of this story. lol. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!

Please Review! And Merry Christmas!