Chapter Seven: Of Blade and Nick
Sky found herself wandering around the base, getting a look at everything. Her mind kept focusing on her Soul Connect. She and Blade hadn't had a chance to really experiment with it and test the strength of the bond, but she could tell from their first test it was the most powerful connection she ever made with a vehicle. She only wished she knew more about Blade; they hadn't had a chance to really socialize since she came here, even after finding out about the Soul Connect. It was confusing, yet exciting.
Then there was Dusty. The connection she made with him for their racing was something they had to build up over time to make it strong. He wouldn't get jealous because of this, would he? No, Dusty's too nice for something like that. So then why couldn't Sky bring herself to tell him the news?
It was times like this when Sky realized she wasn't going to get answers on her own. She needed a sort of third party to talk to. Back in Propwash, this usually ended up being Mayday and Max. But who could she talk to up here? More importantly, who could she talk to who could keep a secret?
Certainly not any of the Smokejumpers; Avalanche doesn't have an "inside voice."
Dipper? No, she'd go all fan girl crazy.
Cabbie? Heck no.
Patch? Eh, Sky didn't know her all that well.
Maru? Not even if her life depended on it.
That left only one other person, and Sky couldn't believe she didn't think of him first: Windlifter.
Hence the reason she stood in front of the doors to Windlifter's hanger, gathering her courage and knocking. But no response came, even after the second round of knocking. Sky looked over to Maru as the tug passed by. "Hey Maru! Where's Windlifter?"
"He's usually out in the woods behind his hanger at this time." Maru called. "Try to not startle him!"
"Can do!" Sky waved before jogging around the back of the hanger. She wandered into the woods for a while before she finally found a familiar green Sikorsky. He had his tail to her, so she made sure to give him a wide berth to get into his line of sight. If he jerked around too quickly, his tail would knock her out cold in seconds, and she did not want to deal with that resulting headache. She paused when she found him with eyes closed, singing softly in his native tongue. Sky stared in awe, enchanted.
"Good afternoon, She with Raven Hair." Windlifter said, shocking Sky out of her trance.
"Oh! Hello!" Sky fiddled with her hair nervously. "Sorry if I'm disturbing you."
"I just finished." Windlifter said, his tone neutral as always. "You wish to speak with me about something important."
Sky blinked. "How'd you know that?"
"You move with purpose, to search." Windlifter said. "You did not find me by wandering."
Okay, he's good. And I can't remember when I've ever heard him speak so much. Sky laughed a little. "Yeah, um, I need a second opinion on something I'm going through and you seem like a good person to talk to."
"Then speak. I will listen." Windlifter said, his copper eyes locked onto Sky.
Sky took a breath. "Okay. So you know I'm a psyche human. And we can connect ourselves to vehicles and all that. Do you know what a Soul Connect is?"
"There are many legends of the Soul Connect." Windlifter responded. "Some say the first Soul Connecters were created to aid in a great war of the spirits. It is said every psyche human has a vehicle out there waiting for them, and that vehicle has a human waiting for them."
"Really?" Sky breathed. "Cool!" I wonder how long Blade's been waiting for me. If he was, at least.
"You have found your Soul Connect." Windlifter guessed.
"Yeah!" Sky nodded excitedly. "It's Blade."
Windlifter stared at her for a moment before nodding, as though in approval. "Go on."
"Well, it's an amazing thing for me and I'm sure at least a little exciting for Blade." Sky explained. "I always knew my powers could let me do more than just race with Dusty. Which brings me to my problem—"
"You have not told him." Windlifter said.
Sky nodded, rubbing the back of her head. "It's just…..I don't know how to tell him. This connection I found with Blade….it's stronger than any other connection I've ever made with a vehicle. I can't wait to see what it'll allow us to do and I'm looking forward to getting to know Blade a little more. But…..I don't know how Dusty will react…this connection just feels so much stronger and so much better than the one he and I create when we're racing. Well, I mean not better but…..you know what I mean." I hope.
Windlifter thought for only a moment. "Is Dusty good friend?"
"He's a great friend." Sky shrugged. "Like a brother to me."
"Is he?" Windlifter asked again.
Sky thought for a moment. "Yes. Absolutely. When I had the dream to fly, he made it real."
"If the bond you share is true, then this new connection should not come between you." Windlifter said.
Sky stared at him before smiling. He's right. I know Dusty and I are good enough friends that this won't be an issue. "Thanks, Windlifter. Now when are you going to explain this whole…." She looked around before dropping her voice to a whisper. "….Blazin' Blade thing?"
Windlifter almost smirked. "Tonight. Main hanger."
That night, as instructed, Dusty and Sky made their way to the main hanger where, hopefully, they'd get some answers to this Blazin' Blade Mystery. Every other hanger was dark, even Blade's. The two approached the door, wondering if they should knock or just start calling out to their comrades.
A few rattling sounds came from inside the hanger, and a metal slot opened up in the door to reveal a green eye staring out at them.
"AH!" Dusty and Sky gasped, jumping in surprise. They soon calmed when they realized it was only Maru.
"Password." Maru whispered.
"You didn't tell us a password." Dusty whispered.
"It's 'inferno.'" Maru whispered.
Sky shared a look with Dusty before they both whispered "Inferno."
The slot closed, and Maru pulled open the doors. Sky and Dusty wandered inside, discovering the entire Air Attack team present save for Blade (wherever he was). Dipper called Dusty over to the spot next to her. Sky chose to sit closer to Windlifter, to the right of Avalanche. Maru started passing around cans of oil, giving Sky a juice box.
"Seriously?" Sky raised an eyebrow.
"We're out of water bottles." Maru shrugged. "I gotta order more from the lodge."
"Eh, no biggie." Sky shrugged, punching her straw into the box and sipping the juice. A wave of apple flavoring instantly coated her mouth.
Maru moved over to some cans on a shelf and pulled out a video tape. The case read…. "Howard the Truck?" Dusty asked. "You invited me and Sky here to watch—"
"Dude, judge not a video by its cover." Drip said.
Maru popped the video out of its case, pushing it into a VCR and everyone directing their attention to the TV before them. Sky and Dusty settled down, curious as to what they would see. After a brief commercial, some sort of disco-genre tune came on. Oh if this is one of those cheesy 70s show, I swear….. Sky rolled her eyes, taking a sip from her juice box. Soon, she could see glimpses of two helicopters flying over an L.A. highway. The title came on: CHoPs. Sky stared at the screen, starting to get interested. Maybe this won't be as bad as I thought. Then, she saw the actors: a familiar AgustaWestland and a Hughes 500D helicopter.
Blazin' Blade Ranger and Nick Loopin' Lopez.
Sky did a perfect spit take with her juice, coughing. "SPIT TAKE!" Avalanche called, much to everyone's amusement.
"Oh shut up." Sky coughed a bit more as some of her juice found its way into her windpipe and dribbled down her chin.
"Hold on." Dusty finally got over his shock. "Blade was a TV star?"
"139 episodes of law-breaking love." Dipper sighed, only to be shushed by the rest of the team. Dusty and Sky sat down to watch the episode. Blade and Nick arrested crooks, rescued trapped vehicles and people from a fire, and ended up scoring a double date by the end of the show. When Blade used his hoist to rescue a vehicle, everyone shouted "Hoist!" and took a sip of their oil, indicating a drinking game. Dusty and Sky shared a look before following their example. Sky studied the two actors closely. Nick, he was a bit hot-headed but seemed quite passionate about his job. Blade usually seemed to be the one to calm down the smaller helicopter and stop him from doing something stupid. Blade seemed…..happy. He even had a catchphrase—a catchphrase of all things—that he would say to Nick: "Good move, partner." For once, he wasn't using that sarcastic, wry sense of humor Sky and Dusty knew. He was laughing and smiling and looking so much different than the fire chief of Piston Peak Air Attack. Sky knew at once this was the side of Blade she had to know about; if they were meant to have this connection, they'd have to know each other's pasts.
"Was this show actually popular in the 70s?" Sky asked as the episode ended.
"It's still pretty popular now." Blackout said.
"Yeah right." Sky scoffed. Cool as this show is, I don't know if I could call this "popular."
As everyone began talking and debating about which episode to watch next, Sky and Dusty shared a look. A famous television star turned firefighter? Somehow, it didn't really make sense. Dusty rolled forward a bit. "Hey guys? Guys!"
"QUIET!" Avalanche shouted, silencing the commotion.
"Thanks." Dusty nodded. "I just don't get something. Blade was such a big star and clearly doing well. So what is he doing here?"
"I don't know." Drip admitted.
"WE DON'T KNOW!" Avalanche confirmed.
"It's a mysterious mystery." Drip said.
"You seriously don't know?" Sky asked, surprised. "He's your chief."
"He's also not exactly the social type." Blackout noted.
"INTROVERT!" Avalanche shouted, making Sky wince.
"From my experience, this kind of stuff is classified." Cabbie said.
"BLACK OPS!" Avalanche agreed.
"You know, probably top secret." Cabbie noted.
"CIA!" Avalanche screamed.
"I'm sure he could tell us."
"YES!"
"But he'd have to kill us."
"I DON'T WANNA DIE!"
Sky flinched with every shout from Avalanche, and she began to regret sitting next to the bulldozer. I'm gonna go deaf in one ear at this rate.
"Whatever the reason is, it's his business and we're not asking." Dynamite said.
Sky looked towards the TV, the show replaying in her head. Her thoughts lingered on Nick Loopin' Lopez, and she realized just how close he and Blade seemed to be. She could tell acting from the real thing, and Nick and Blade clearly had a strong bond. They've could've been brothers, by the looks of things. But Blade was here, and Nick wasn't. Why?
Did those two have a falling out or something? Sky wondered. If they did, what could've possibly driven them apart?
Dusty and Sky sat with the team and watched a few more episodes before everyone determined to turn in for the night. On the way to their hanger, Sky remembered what she wanted to tell Dusty all day.
"Hey Dusty, can we talk?" Sky asked as they walked.
"Sure, what about?" Dusty asked.
"Well, you know about how my psyche human powers work?" Sky began.
"Well you're not just riding me during races for the fun of it." Dusty noted, causing laughter between them.
"Yeah. So, there's this thing called a Soul Connect." Sky explained. "It happens when my powers react to contact with a specific vehicle. It's like the connection I can usually make, like the one we create during racing, but it happens in an instant. I don't have to think about it at all; it just happens. That's how powerful the connection is."
"And it only happens with a specific person?" Dusty clarified.
"Yep." Sky nodded. "Soul Connections happen between single pair consisting of a psych-man and a vehicle. It's almost like the two were made for each other."
"So, I'm guessing you found yours?" Dusty guessed. He half-hoped it was him, but he knew if Sky had found they Soul Connected, they would've known much sooner. That means it had to be someone on the base. Maybe it's Windlifter. He and Sky would get along well. Or maybe even Dipper or one of the Smokejump—
"It's Blade." Sky finally said.
Dusty screeched to a halt, staring in shock. Sky turned to stare at him with slight nervousness. Dusty continued to stare off into space before he practically shouted, "BLADE?!"
"Shhh!" Sky hissed, slapping her hands over his lips. "Keep it down! Blade and I just found out today. Nobody else knows except you and Windlifter."
Dusty looked around, but everyone else already returned to their hangers. "But….you…and Blade?"
Sky rubbed the back of her head. "It kind of came as a surprise to both of us. But it's legit. The two of us can Soul Connect, and he says I'm going to work directly with him from now on until I can get certified." She smiled warmly. "Isn't it great? I always knew I could do great things with my powers, and now I've finally found my Soul Connect partner! It's the greatest thing that's ever happened to me!"
Dusty stared at Sky, unable to remember when she looked so excited. He felt a little hurt. When did she ever look so excited when they raced? Only once, he could recall: their first race in the Wings Around the Globe Rally. She was bonding….with Blade Ranger. Blade Ranger, the grumpiest, most sarcastic hard aft on the face of the planet, in Dusty's opinion at least. But the sight of Sky's warm and excited smile made Dusty feel even guiltier; who was he to bring her hopes down?
So he smiled warmly. "That's amazing, Sky."
"I'm glad you think so." Sky sighed. "I was really nervous to tell you."
"Hey, come on." Dusty shrugged, burying his feelings under his smile. "It's your Soul Connect! That's the coolest thing to happen to a psych-man! At least I think so."
"It is." Sky nodded as they continued on to their hanger. "Every psyche human has a Soul Connect partner out there waiting for them, but we never know who it is until we find them."
"That's awesome, Sky. Congrats." Dusty said. She smiled broadly, and Dusty felt another pang of hurt. That smile wasn't for him; it was for Blade. Jealousy began to bubble up in Dusty, but he desperately pushed it down and kept smiling. "So, does this Soul Connect give you superpowers? Like flying?"
"I wish." Sky rolled her eyes. "But there are a lot of reports of Soul Connect partners being able to do things other people can't, even psych-mans. Soul Connect partners are able to heal each other in an instant, although that power only works between them. Some can connect their minds and read each other's thoughts. It is said the Soul Connect partners develop special powers, like pyrokinesis." She laughed. "Wouldn't that be ironic? Firefighters being able to create fire?"
Dusty forced a laugh. "Yeah. Totally ironic." Sky kept going, talking about all she read about Soul Connections and what she thought would happen between her and Blade. Dusty did a great job keeping a smile on. Inside, he was growing more and more jealous. The connection he and Sky made for racing was a connection they had to consciously make, and if they didn't work together the connection would break. His malfunctioning gearbox caused their connection to waver during their run around Propwash. This new connection, this Soul Connection, it happened instantaneously between Sky and Blade. And based on the way Sky described the connection, it was stronger than the one she made with Dusty. It was….better than his connection…better than him…
I'm not as good as Blade, is that it? Dusty thought. I'm not good enough for Sky anymore?