A/N: Hope you all are enjoying the story! I wish I could've seen your reactions to Sky spraying Blade with the fire extinguisher. Admittedly, that was one of my favorite parts. In this next chapter, we see an amazing capability of psyche human powers.
Chapter Six: The Souls Connect
After a week of training, Dusty and Sky started feeling like things were going nowhere. They did their best and worked hard, but it seemed nothing they did left any impact. Blade certainly didn't look impressed. Of course, it seemed like all he ever did was scowl; if he wasn't scowling, he was often giving a wry smirk that matched his sense of humor. Thankfully for Sky, her ankle and burns were healing up nicely. The brace prevented further damage and her burns healed up by the end of the week. But she would still need the ankle brace for another couple weeks to make sure her ankle fully healed. Somehow, that seemed to be the only upside to their week.
Sky started to realize something strange was going on. Blade still refused to let her ride Dusty during training, forcing her to ride in Blade's hoist hatch most of the time. For safety's sake, he tried to keep the door closed and Sky was forced to stare out the small window on Blade's side and listen to her radio for updates. The entire time she rode in the helicopter, she could feel a tug in her psyche human powers. Oddly enough, she only felt that tug when she came into physical contact with Blade or even when she was in close proximity to him. Even stranger: the tug felt like the connection she makes with Dusty for racing, only with a deeper personal feeling, like how she sees Skipper as her family. It didn't make much sense; how could she make a connection like that with her powers but have it feel like a familial bond? Especially with Blade of all vehicles, someone she only knew for that one week. She didn't know it, but Blade had noticed it as well. He couldn't explain it either; why did he feel this spark when Sky was around him? It wasn't like he was falling in love with her, heaven forbid. So what could it be? Why did he feel so….comfortable around the raven-haired girl?
Sky stared out the little window in the hoist hatch door, watching Dusty as they all made their way back to base after training. Suddenly, Dusty began speeding up, eyeing a trail of smoke in the near distance. Sky's eyes widened when she saw what Dusty was doing. "Dusty, wait! That's not—"
Too late. Dusty dropped some of his retardant right onto fire…and the campers sitting in front of it.
"Good job." Sky heard Blade say sarcastically. Sky face palmed, groaning.
"This is Park Ranger Jammer to Ranger 301. Come in, Blade." A new voice said over the radio.
"This is Ranger 301." Blade said into the radio. "Go ahead, Jammer."
Jammer? Sky blinked in confusion.
"We got two campers trapped out on the Piston Peak cliffs." Jammer said. "You think you could help us out with the rescue?"
"Copy that." Blade said. "I'll be there ASAP." He looked to Dusty. "Champ, head back to base."
"What about Sky?" Dusty asked.
"She better stay out of the way." Blade said, mostly to said girl.
"I'll be okay, Dusty." Sky said into her radio. "See you back at base." Blade turned and took off towards the park's namesake structure, Sky peering through the window to see what was happening. Soon, she could spy a small group of human and vehicle park rangers out on the cliffs. A blue Sedan rested on a ledge about fifty feet below the rangers. A young human man was already with the rangers, being treated for any injuries. Blade opened up the door to the hoist hatch, readying the tool should he be needed.
"We're gonna get some rangers down there and hook the harness on." Jammer's voice came over Blade's and Sky's radios. "Once we lift him up a ways, we could use some help hoisting him up."
"Copy that." Blade said. He hovered near to the cliff edge, but could only get so close without his rotors hitting the rocks. Sky kept a close eye on what was happening, watching Jammer and another vehicle loop a rope around a tree near the ledge. A couple human rangers grabbed onto the harness, allowing Jammer and the vehicle ranger to lower them down to the trapped Sedan. Once the rangers managed to wrap the harness around the car, Jammer and the rest of the rangers on the cliff began pulling on the rope. Blade lowered himself down a little more, ready to hook the camper.
Suddenly, the tree the rope pressed against began breaking free from its roots, sliding forward several feet before it began tilting. The rope jerked away from Jammer and the rangers, forcing the camper and rangers with him to make a bit of a hard landing back on the ledge. The tree stopped a few feet from the edge of the cliff and began falling down, straight towards the trapped camper and rangers. Blade hurriedly dived down, throwing his hook. But he ended up jerking a bit to avoid the rocks, knowing if his rotors hit the cliff they'd be sheared right off. Unfortunately, that little jerk cut the amount of momentum on the hoist. In a split-second, Blade knew the hoist would never reach the tree in time and he didn't have another chance to throw it.
There was a flash of black, and Blade suddenly became aware of Sky leaping from his hoist hatch. She grabbed the hoist as she fell, throwing the hook around and looping the cable around the tree. Sky landed on the falling tree a split-second after clipping the hook to the cable. Blade quickly adjusted his angle of hovering, holding the tree against the cliff edge. Sky gripped the bark of the tree with her arms and legs, panting a bit. But she found Blade was able to keep the tree and herself from falling over the cliff. Jammer began barking orders, the rangers working quickly to pull the rope around the tree. They hauled the camper up to their spot, carefully watching the ropes as they slid across the edge. Soon, they were all on solid ground and out of harm's way. Blade pulled the tree up, Sky gripping the hoist cable to prevent herself from falling, and the helicopter carefully lowered the tree to flat land.
Sky let out the breath she didn't know she held, jumping off the tree and unhooking the hoist. "Let me help you with that." Jammer said, pushing against the tree to roll it off Blade's hoist. "That was very brave of you, lil' lady."
Sky blinked, rubbing the back of her head. "Oh, it was nothing."
"I wouldn't say that. You just saved their lives." Jammer assured with a smile. He looked up to Blade. "Better keep this one around, Blade. She's gonna make a great firefighter."
Sky's entire face turned red as she stammered a "Thank you" and grabbed Blade's hoist, allowing him to pull her back up. The helicopter took off, back to base, and Sky took a moment to think about what just happened.
She saved someone's life. Heck, she just saved three lives in one sitting. She wasn't exactly thinking of anything except what she could do to help. Is this how Mayday's train of thought worked when he did his job? When he was saving Sky from the Fill N' Fly fire, was he thinking about the fire or was he thinking about the best way to save her? Or was he even thinking at all? Sky finally smiled, feeling rather proud of herself. I bet I made Max proud too. Well, Max, this is for you. I'll never be as good as you, but I sure can do my best to come close.
When Blade landed back at the base and let Sky hop out, they were immediately surrounded by the rest of the team all talking at once.
"Hey! Take it easy!" Blade snapped, making everyone back up a bit. "What's going on?"
"We got a call from the lodge—" Maru started.
"If Cad is complaining about something else, so help me…" Blade growled.
"No, no, not this time." Maru waved a tine. "Actually, it was one of the campers. They wanted to talk to Raven and thank her." If Sky hadn't been so surprised by the announcement, she would've rolled her eyes at Maru calling her "Raven." Ever since Blade started, everyone on the base agreed that it was a fitting nickname given the pitch blackness of her hair.
"Thank me?" Sky repeated. "Why?"
"Well you apparently saved their life." Maru explained. "And the lives of a couple rangers, I hear."
Sky looked down, her face burning. "Um, well…"
"She did." Blade suddenly said, surprising Sky. "We were out at the cliffs with Jammer, aiding in a rescue, and Sky here saved the lives of the camper and the rangers."
"Yeah, but you were the one who threw the hook." Sky shrugged, a bit shocked by Blade calling her "Sky" instead of "Skylar" or "Raven."
"With not enough power. If you hadn't acted when you did, someone could've gotten hurt or killed." Blade said firmly.
"That's so amazing!" Dusty said excitedly. "Just wait until everyone back home hears!"
"She's really one of us, eh guys?" Blackout said, the rest of the Smokejumpers agreeing.
"HOORAY FOR RAVEN!" Avalanche shouted.
"Way to go!" Dipper complimented. Even Cabbie and Windlifter looked impressed. Sky suddenly felt shy; she never got so much attention before, even during races with Dusty. It didn't seem like a big deal, but looking back she guessed the tree would've crushed the camper and rangers on the ledge had she not acted in time. The compliments and some cheering continued for a few minutes before Sky laughed and told them all to knock it off. But she couldn't stop the male Smokejumpers from singing her praises as everyone dispersed.
"It really is amazing." Dusty said. "You should be proud."
"I guess I'm not used to doing things that are considered heroic." Sky shrugged.
"Hey Raven." Blade suddenly called, the helicopter standing up on a porch-like area outside his hanger. "Come over here. We need to talk."
"Oh great." Sky groaned.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine." Dusty assured. "You're a hero. He can't give you a hard time about what happened." He rolled off, leaving Sky to make her way over to Blade. The red and white helicopter stared at her, looking like he was thinking very hard about something.
"So what did you want to talk about?" Sky asked.
Blade still only stared for a minute. "Why did you do that? Why did you jump out like that?"
Sky blinked. "Well, I…." She paused. Now that she thought about it, why the heck did she do that? How did she know to jump out, grab the hoist, and loop it around the tree? "I just…..did what I had to do….."
"You did exactly what I wanted you to do." Blade said, causing Sky to blink in surprise. "I knew if you could somehow jump out and hook the hoist around the tree, we'd have a chance to save them. I wanted to give the order, but I knew I wouldn't be able to say it in time. And then, you did it."
Sky stared at him, the gears in her brain working in overdrive. "So…..we were literally thinking the same thing." It was a statement, not a question. Then she realized just how right she was; Blade's thoughts had been projected into her mind, and she knew exactly what she had to do. "But how is that possible?"
"Have you been feeling something strange ever since you started training?" Blade asked, his thoughts running a mile a minute. "Like a connection forming between us?"
If Sky wasn't a psyche human, the question would've come off as a little awkward. But she couldn't deny it now. "Yeah. It's like my psych-man powers keep reacting…whenever we're near each other, or whenever we make contact like when I'm riding in that hatch. I don't know what it is, though. My powers have never done something like this."
"I think I have a theory." Blade said, seeming to talk to himself and to Sky. "It's a little…..crazy….."
"I'm a psyche human who was raised by a Corsair. I've seen some crazy stuff in my life." Sky assured.
Blade stared at her, his icy blue eyes seeming to search for answers in Sky's blue-green orbs. "Do you know about Soul Connections?"
"Every psyche human knows about Soul Connections." Sky said. "Psych-mans are able to use their abilities to connect their consciousness, power, and soul to that of a machine's. This is usually done consciously, thinking about the connection to be made and activating it. A Soul Connection is when a connection between a psyche human and a machine happens instantly, without thinking about it." She instantly caught on. "You don't think…?"
"There's one way to find out." Blade suggested. He searched his memories before settling on one in particular. Sky slowly came forward, reaching a hand out and placing it to Blade's side. The moment her skin made contact with metal, a vision flashed before her eyes of a forest fire, the Air Attack team in the middle of battling it. The memory Blade was thinking of. The memory disappeared after a minute. Sky and Blade looked to see a ghostly blue line, like a thread, appeared connecting Sky's heart to Blade's engine. The ghostly thread was an icy blue color, just like Blade's eyes; all Soul Connect lines match the color of the vehicle's eyes.
Sky and Blade could Soul Connect.
Sky pulled her hand back, the thread disappearing. She and Blade stared at each other, visible shock written in their eyes. "That's…amazing….." Sky breathed.
Blade, still a bit stunned, nodded. "And….I think we found a job for you."
"Really?" Sky asked, her excitement growing.
"From now on, you work directly with me." Blade decided. "That'll help continue your training until you can be certified."
"Okay!" Sky nodded happily, bouncing a bit on the balls of her feet. She shook her head and gathered her composure. "I mean, yes sir."
Blade nodded, rolling off to scout for spot fires. He paused at the bottom of the ramp and looked up towards Sky. His usual glare melted into the very softest of smiles for only a moment before he resumed his usual scowl and took off.
Sky waited until nobody could see her before she let out an excited squeal and began hopping around in joy. She found her Soul Connect partner. She finally found her Soul Connect partner, the one thing every psyche human hopes for all their lives. She knew her powers were meant for more than just racing. She found her Soul Connect partner! Just wait until Dusty—
Sky paused, staring at the ground. How would she tell Dusty? She began to realize this new connection was much stronger than the connection she consciously made with Dusty for their racing. Now that she found her Soul Connection, would this change anything?
No, of course not! Sky shook her head, allowing a warm smile to come back on her lips as she skipped off. This is an amazing thing and Dusty will be happy for me. She leaned her head back to let the sun wash over her face. Blade. My Soul Connect partner. Maybe there's more to you than I thought.
As Sky discovered, maybe it wouldn't be as easy as she thought revealing her newfound Soul Connection. Dusty didn't exactly like Blade very much. In fact, when Sky returned from talking with Blade, Dusty had hurriedly asked if the helicopter was unkind to her in any way. Sky denied it, giving the excuse that Blade only wanted to talk about their future training. Dusty seemed satisfied with the answer, and Sky realized maybe she should hold off on telling him about the Soul Connect, just in case.
"Propwash Junction to Dusty and Sky!" Skipper's voice said over the radio in their hanger.
Dusty hurriedly answered. "Hey, Skipper!"
"Hi Dad!" Sky called happily.
"Hey! How's it going?" Skipper asked.
Dusty sighed a bit. "This is tougher than I thought, but it is so good to hear from you."
"I hear my daughter's already a hero." Skipper said.
"What?" Sky laughed.
"We heard you saved some campers while you were up there!" Sparky said excitedly. "Way to go, Soarin' Sky!" There was a round of cheers in the background, and Sky giggled.
"Thanks, guys." Sky said. "It wasn't anything big, though."
"Not from what we heard!" Mayday called from the background. "I'm really proud of you, Skylar!"
Sky smiled warmly. "Thanks, Mayday. I miss you all very much."
"Well, we wanted to radio—" Skipper started.
"Hey, Skip! Let me tell 'em!" Chug called excitedly.
"Oh, all right, Chug." Skipper said.
"Tell us what?" Dusty asked, hoping it wasn't more bad news about the airport.
Even over the radio, Chug sounded like he was ready to burst from excitement. "We got the gearbox!"
Dusty's and Sky's faces broke into smiles. "Are you kidding me?!"
"We got a buddy out in California who found one for you!" Sparky said. "He's gonna ship it out tonight!"
"We'll have it in a couple of days!" Chug called.
Sky cheered, hugging Dusty. "Oh that's so amazing! Dusty, you can race again!"
"Hey, we can race again!" Dusty corrected.
Sky laughed. "You bet! You guys are awesome! Way to go!"
"This is the best news!" Dusty sighed happily. "This is just what I needed to hear right now."
"We'll let you know as soon as we get it!" Dottie called from the background.
"Hey Dusty, Sky! Listen to my new siren!" Mayday called. A second later, a strange squeaking sound came from the radio. Dusty stared, blinking a bit, while Sky tilted her head to one side in confusion. The sound stopped after a moment. "Huh?"
A pause, then Dottie came on. "I haven't actually hooked up his siren yet."
Sky snickered. "Man, do I miss you guys. The minute Dusty and I are certified, we'll fly right home!"
"Can't wait to see ya!" Sparky said.
"All aircraft, be advised, Superintendent Spinner has entered the base. I repeat, Superintendent Spinner has entered the base." Patch said over the intercom. Someone was honking their horn loudly in the distance.
"Hm, something's up." Dusty realized. "Gotta go, guys!"
"Bye Dad! Bye everyone!" Sky called, she and Dusty moving out to investigate. The honking was getting louder, and Sky could see Blade begrudgingly making his way over towards the main hanger. Maru was doing tune-ups on Dipper and Windlifter.
"Hey, what's with all the ruckus?" Sky asked as she and Dusty approached their comrades.
"Eh, park superintendent." Maru scoffed.
"He waxes himself. Daily." Windlifter said, causing snickers from Dipper and Maru.
Sky was about to ask what was so bad about the superintendent, but someone calling out over the base made her look towards the source of the voice. A Cadillac drove up to the base, a Piston Peak National Park logo on his sides and his paintjob a glistening, sparkling white. He looked far too pristine for a park manager, more suited to the city than a forest.
"Honk-honk, beep-beep!" The Cadillac called obnoxiously. "Park Superintendent coming. I sign your paychecks!" Maru drove off, clearly not keen on sticking around much longer. Sky could see why; this Cadillac was already getting on her nerves.
"Blade!" The Cadillac said as he approached the fire chief.
"What do you want, Cad?" Blade demanded. Sky could tell this wasn't going to go in a good direction, based only on Blade's current mood. His scowl seemed to grow deeper with Cad's presence.
"What? You think I like driving all around just to complain?" Cad sighed. "No, I don't. But I heard from some campers that one of your staff just soaked them with that red fire phosphorescent stuff that you use."
"Nice going." Sky hissed to Dusty.
"Shut up." Dusty hissed back before speaking up. "Yeah, I'm sorry. That was my fault."
"The team needs to train." Blade told Cad. "There's gonna be some mud spilled along the way." Sky and Dusty blinked in surprise. Was Blade actually…..defending his new SEAT? But they couldn't think about it for long; Cad apparently found great interest in them.
"Are you kidding me?" Cad laughed. "Blade, you're hiding a world famous racer right here at Piston Peak!"
"Dusty Crophopper." The former crop duster introduced. "And this is Skylar Riley."
"Sup." Sky gave a half-nod in greeting.
"Aw, right! She's your cute little pilot!" Cad cooed. "Hey, she's quite the looker too."
Sky glared, growling. How about you take a nice long look at my foot in your windshield?
"I'm Cad Spinner." Cad introduced. "And you are one fast plane! What are you doing up here? Doesn't matter. Hey! There's a grand reopening party at a lodge tomorrow night. You're invited! And your little pilot can come too. I'm thinking high-speed flyover. What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking it'll be…it'll be dark." Dusty noted, remembering what Blade said about flying low at night.
"And I think you're jackwagon in Cadillac's clothing." Sky said in a sassy tone. She heard Dipper struggling to hold back her laughs.
Cad didn't seem to notice the insult. "It'll be fun! There's gonna be a lot of VIPs. 'Very Important Planes.' How would you like to rub tires with the Secretary of the Interior of the United States…..of America? I smell photo op!"
"I smell somethin' else." Blade noted, mostly to Windlifter and Dipper beside him.
Cad rolled his eyes, looking to the fire chief. "Blade, let me make it simple. Spilling mud on people makes for sad campers. Big party at my lodge makes for happy campers!"
"You've packed too many 'happy campers' into the park." Blade snapped. "And way too many into that lodge."
"Oh, we've got a structural fire engine down there protecting it." Cad assured.
"This isn't just about protecting the lodge." Blade protested. "There's low humidity, a lot of dead wood, and we're already short on resources as it is."
Dipper moved over to Dusty and Sky, the three of them watching Blade and Cad argue. She whispered, "He got the Park Service to shift eighty percent of our budget to his lodge restoration project."
"I thought Ripslinger was annoying." Sky whispered. "He's a walk in the park compared to this guy." Dusty nodded in agreement.
"This base is held together with baling wire and duct tape!" Blade snapped. "Maru had to rebuild that old tower himself!"
In the distance, Maru called, "It's better than new!"
"Hear me, fellow forest friends, dirty though you may be." Cad called, clearly not taking an interest in Blade's words. "This is an historic weekend." A ringing sound rang out, and an antenna rose from Cad's headlight. "Cad, you got thirty seconds. Go." He began arguing with the person on the other end, hardly noticing the looks the firefighters gave him.
Sky blinked in surprise, then glared again. Good thing Skipper isn't here. He wouldn't put up with this for a single second. Props to Blade for his patience; I'll bet Cad is technically his boss. What rotten luck.
Cad finally hung up, a smirk on his face. He looked to Dusty. "So will I see you at the party? Yes, I will!" He clicked his tongue. "Superstar! And I know I'll see you too, sweet thang." He looked to Sky at that second part.
Sky fumed with anger now. "Keep talkin' like that and I'll show you how quickly I can turn sour!"
"Ooh! A feisty one! I like it!" Cad laughed.
Sky lunged, only for Dusty to spin around and catch her in his wing. "Easy, Sky!"
"Me?" Sky scoffed.
"Remember what happened the last time you lost your temper and you ticked off that person from you-know-where?" Dusty whispered.
Sky tensed a bit. The last thing she wanted was to get Blade and the base in trouble. So she glared at Cad and let out a growl, but said nothing else. Card hardly seemed to notice as he drove off. "Dusty Cropslinger! He and his pilot are even more famous than you, Blazin' Blade!"
Sky picked up a rock at her feet and gave it a throw, the stone bouncing off Cad's roof. But when he spun around, everyone gave an innocent look (or a glare in Blade's case). Cad turned and continued on, repeating the process when Sky threw another rock. Blade watched Cad leave before sighing in frustration and rolling off, no doubt a major headache beginning to form. Sky watched Blade go, feeling sorry for the fire chief. Cad must've given the base quite a bit of grief in the past. She couldn't blame their reaction; she kind of hated Cad herself. He treated her just like the people who questioned psyche humans on racing vehicles. He only saw her as a pilot, nothing more. But I am more. Sky reminded herself. I know that now. Because I found Blade. Speaking of which…..
"Why did Cad call Blade by that name?" Sky asked.
Dusty looked to Windlifter and Dipper. "Yeah, what's 'Blazin' Blade'?"
"Shh!" Dipper said hurriedly.
"What, me shush?" Dusty asked, Dipper continuing her efforts to silence him. "I just said 'Blazin' Blade'."
"Kilawu!" Windlifter finally said. Past experience showed this translated to "Quiet!"
"What?" Dusty and Sky whispered.
"Tonight." Windlifter said. "Main hanger. Tell no one. Especially Blade."