Chapter Fourteen: Of Blade and Sky

Windlifter came much later than Sky and Dusty would've liked. The Skycrane carried a rescue harness, lowering it down towards the ground. "Raven, can you hook him in?" Windlifter asked over the radio.

"Can do." Sky calmed down a few notches when Windlifter arrived, and she knew she had to do everything she could to help Blade. It took a while, but Sky managed to loop the straps of the harness around Blade, behind his front landing gear wheel and under his tail. She caught sight of Blade's right side and saw a good portion of the metal near his jaw crumpled and dented, no doubt from his harsh impact on the ground. Then she remembered what Sparky taught her about aircraft needing their landing gear down for easy transport for medical teams, and she quickly jerked the helicopter's landing gear from its housing. "We're good!" Sky called into the radio.

"Sky, what about you?" Dusty asked worriedly.

"I'll hang onto the straps of the harness." Sky said, not even looking to Windlifter for confirmation. She climbed up the straps, wrapping one around her leg and gripping them tightly. Windlifter paused, then took off and headed towards the base. Dusty flew alongside him, staring worriedly at Blade the entire way. Sky would never admit how terrified she felt flying over the park with only her strength to keep her secured to the straps. She wanted to secure herself with the harness, but couldn't bring herself to move. She kept staring at Blade, pleading for a sign he was still alive. But she couldn't even hear his breathing over the wind. Her bandana fell off the burn and fluttered away to the ground. When the base came into sight, Dusty pulled ahead and landed first before joining the rest of the Air Attack team waiting for Blade to come in.

"Okay, that's good!" Maru called over the wind as Windlifter gently lowered Blade to the ground. He waited until Blade's full weight was on his landing gear. "We're good! Raven, get those straps off him! Pinecone, help her! Avalanche! Push the ramp alongside the access panel and be careful!" Maru couldn't remember the last time he moved so quickly. He had to wrench open the access panel, the door almost melted completely shut. His eyes widened a bit at the damage. "He's hydraulics are completely fried. He's losing fluids. I gotta get him back to the garage, stat. Dynamite! Tow hook!"

"Coming right up!" Dynamite called, driving off.

Maru closed the access panel, turning to the Smokejumpers and barking orders. "I'm gonna need hydraulic fluid from the shed. Blackout, we'll need another generator. Try the main hanger. And grab another heat lamp!" Maru began driving off towards the garage, talking mostly to himself now. "The surface burns are bad, but the interior damage is repairable. As long as we move quick, we got a good chance. Skylar!"

"Yeah?" Sky called, jogging after Maru.

"You got any experience with medical or mechanical work?"

"Some."

"On a scale from one to ten."

"Seven."

"Perfect. You're with me. I'm going to need an extra set of hands."

"Copy that." Sky nodded, keeping at the same pace as Maru. Dynamite parked Blade inside the garage, pulling away and letting Maru and Sky get to work. The rest of the team watched from outside, staring worriedly. Once Blackout and Drip returned with the items Maru requested, he quickly shut the door of the garage. He rarely did such a thing, but this was one of those instances where he couldn't worry about several pairs of eyes staring at him.

"All right, kid." Maru said, pushing another ramp up to Blade's access panel. "You gotta do everything I say when I say it, okay? I need you calm and focused."

"Right." Sky nodded, determination in her eyes as she tossed her harness, fire extinguisher, and goggles to one side.

"First, we'll stop the leaks, then flush out the debris, and get fresh fluids." Maru said as he got to work, seeming to talk mostly to himself. "After that, I'll need help cleaning out the intakes. They're clogged with smoke and ash. Next we'll….." Sky didn't hear those last parts. Maru's voice trailed off to the point where he only muttered to himself, working almost feverishly. He was lucky his instincts as a mechanic and medic took over, otherwise he would not stay so focused. He saw plenty of injuries in his line of work, and some of them weren't survivable. But this was Blade, the toughest fire chief Piston Peak had yet. On top of that, this was one of the worst Maru had ever seen, even with all his experience. To see such a severe injury on someone like Blade just seemed too unreal. He would never admit it, even to himself, but Maru had a tiny fear in the back of his mind that Blade wouldn't pull through. Maru pushed his personal feelings aside, focusing on his work. Blade's lines needed a full flushing out and new fluids, his lines full of ash. Beyond that, most of them were melted or damaged in some way. Sky ran off to grab more with Blade's specs from one of the garage's shelves, handing them to Maru and placing the damaged ones aside as he handed them to her. He had to work quickly, but carefully; he pull out too much, Blade will bleed out before Maru would have a chance to put the new fluids through. Maru had Sky come in and inspect a line he couldn't reach, and the raven-haired girl's mind raced with what Sparky taught her. It wasn't much, but she felt confident the line only needed a minor yet important repair. Maru trusted her with the job, giving her instructions and the right tools. Sky stayed focused, determination carved into her features and very body language. Some of the hydraulic fluid dripped onto her face, but she didn't take the time to wipe it away until she fully repaired the line she worked on.

"Couple more." Maru murmured, eyeing the last two damaged lines. Sky placed a set of new ones at the tug's wheels, standing by for instructions. "Raven, go grab some new rotors from the corner. We'll give him four new ones and then I can worry about finding some specifically like his old ones. The new ones will be labeled in the corner."

Sky nodded, moving to do just that. She knew if Maru started calling her "Raven," he was beginning to relax. Maybe not a lot, but enough to alleviate Sky's worries. She hurried to the corner of the garage, finding a cluster of rotor blades for helicopters leaning against the wall. Four of them, tied together with a string, had a tag labeled "Blade." The others beside them could only be Windlifter's, especially given their length. Sky gently pulled the smaller rotors towards her, lifting them into her arms and carrying them towards Maru.

Suddenly, Maru froze in his work. "No…..no, no, no!"

Sky froze, staring at the tug. "Maru?"

"He's not breathing." Maru growled, slamming a fork arm against Blade before resuming his work at a faster pace. "Ford damn you, Blade! Stay with me! Come on, stay with me!"

Outside, the rest of the team tensed up at Maru's shouts. They didn't want to imagine what was happening in there now. Dusty stared with wide eyes. Oh Chrysler, Blade, please don't die.

Sky dropped the rotors she held and sprinted to Blade's side, her hands slapping against the metal. Their connection activated…after a few seconds. Sky's eyes widened. I can barely feel his life. He's slipping too fast! She shook her head, growling a bit. "No. No, Blade, you're not leaving like this. I promise you I'm not going to stand here and let you die!"

Then, Sky's eyes changed from blue-green to snow-white, her irises glowing softly. Her powers almost seemed to act on their own, reacting to her emotions. She willed her abilities to do something, anything to help. The Soul Connect thread appeared, and it began glowing brightly. So brightly, Maru actually saw it. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped, staring at the ghostly thread he shouldn't have the ability to see.

A Soul Connect? He looked to the damaged lines, but the last two lines began to fix themselves. Maru hurriedly grabbed the new fluids and began flushing out Blade's system. But he noticed the burn on Blade's side slowly healing, and the tug looked to Sky. The psyche human kept the connection, putting all her power into the healing. Her nose began to bleed from the stress, and a scream forced itself out through gritted teeth. Maru's eyes widened at the sound of sizzling, the sound of skin being burned, and he suddenly remembered what he heard about psyche humans' healing abilities.

"Raven! Sky!" Maru shouted, unsure what would happen if he tried to physically force Sky away from Blade. "Sky, stop! You're gonna kill yourself! Sky!"

Dusty wanted to bust right through the garage door, but Avalanche put himself in front of the plane and pushed him back. Tears filled his eyes as he stared desperately at the door. "Sky! Sky, what are you doing? Skylar, no!"

Sky screamed again, white-hot pain exploding from her side. But she couldn't let go. She didn't know if Blade was holding on still. If she could just hold on a little longer, she could heal him completely. Her vision became blurry as tears clouded her eyes, and she could taste the blood running from her nose. She was vaguely aware of Maru shouting, but all she could really think about was the pain. The intense pain. The agonizing, excruciating, really-too-hard-to-adequately-describe pain that now blazed across her entire body.

That's enough, Cuervo. We can't have you dying now.

Sky wasn't sure if she was hallucinating the voice or not, but she suddenly felt a force yank her away from Blade. She gasped as she hit the ground, crying out in pain and writhing a bit. She panted heavily, staring off into space. She could've sworn she saw a pair of amber eyes, but she blinked and they were gone.

"Easy, Sky!" Maru shouted, rushing to her side. "Don't press your hands there!" He shoved her hands off her stomach, taking the scissors he was using to clip Blade's lines and slicing open Sky's shirt. He made a quick cut before tearing the fabric the rest of the way, wincing at the sight of the burn. Sky's skin, from her ribs down over her hips, was red and raw with splotches of black. She bled, but not as profusely as Maru thought she would. He quickly scooped up Sky and placed her on a workbench nearby, leaning the girl against a shelf. He grabbed a towel and ran it under the faucet of the sink in the wall, wetting the light cloth and folding it. "Here, keep this on there." He instructed, gently laying the cool cloth over the burn.

Sky grunted in pain, whimpering a bit. "It hurts….."

"I know, I know." Maru said soothingly, gently pushing Sky's torn shirt out of the way to cover the entire burn in the towel. "But keep your breathing steady; don't hyperventilate like that."

"Blade…." Sky looked to the helicopter.

"Take it easy." Maru half-ordered, half-coaxed. "I got him. I got the both of you." He drove off, hooking up the new fluids to Blade as the old ones finished flushing out. Sky watched for a moment before closing her eyes and focusing on fighting the pain. She took deep breaths, her heart pounding for a moment before steadying. She must've fallen asleep for a while, because when she opened her eyes Maru was in front of her again, wiping dried blood from her face with another wet rag. No more of the sticky liquid fell from her nose, indicating her nosebleed finally stopped. Maru smiled comfortingly and moved to dress her burn. He winced a bit; it wasn't everyday he saw burns on a human instead of a vehicle. But he got to work cleaning and dressing the wound, forcing Sky to shakily pull off her torn T-shirt. The Jolly Wrench insignia on the front was still intact, and Sky gave the smallest of smiles.

I could sew that back up again. She thought. She blinked and looked to Maru. "Blade?"

"Resting." Maru said, not looking up from his work.

Sky looked to see the AgustaWestland still in the garage, rotors replaced and his access panel closed. Sky listened closely and heard Blade breathing again, slowly and calmly. She sighed in relief. He's alive. He's alive.

"There, all done." Maru announced, tying off the bandage. "I rewrapped and replaced the brace on your ankle, just in case."

"Thanks." Sky murmured.

Maru nodded, driving over and retrieving the two hook. He hooked up Blade's front wheel and opened the garage door, pulling the helicopter out and towards his hanger. Maru noticed Sky hopping down from the bench, following them. He silently allowed her. If these two can really Soul Connect, I guess I shouldn't stop her from leaving him just yet.

"Sky!" Dusty called, the only one left outside the garage at that point. Night long since fell over the base, making the air a little cooler. Dusty stared at his human friend, noting she only wore her jeans, sneakers, and bright blue sports bra. His eyes widened at the sight of the bandages around her stomach. "Oh Chrysler…."

"I'm okay, Dusty." Sky said tiredly. "Really."

Dusty didn't seem convinced; Sky didn't exactly sound convincing either. But his focus shifted to Blade as Maru hauled the still-unconscious fire chief to his hanger. Dusty and Sky followed, staring at Blade worriedly. They watched Maru carefully back Blade into the hanger and shut the doors, sighing. Dusty looked to Sky, a bit surprised when the girl backed up and sat on his wing. But he turned his attention to Maru.

"Is he going to be all right?" Dusty finally asked.

"I've done everything I can. He needs rest, for now." Maru reported, beginning to drive off. "Look, Dusty, don't blame yourself."

Dusty sighed as he followed Maru. "He should have left me out there. He could've taken Sky and just left."

Maru smirked. "Nah. That ain't Blade's style." His face fell. "Especially since what happened to Nick."

"Nick?" Dusty blinked. "You mean Nick Loopin' Lopez from the TV show?"

Sky tensed a little, remembering the memory Blade showed her. That moment seemed like forever ago. Maru led Dusty and Sky back into the garage, driving towards the Wall. He began moving carts and boxes out of the way.

"It was just a routine day on the set." Maru explained. "Nick, he was doing his trademark loop for a stunt scene. But there was this freak crosswind." Maru moved the final box, revealing a picture of Nick Loopin' Lopez in the corner of the Wall. Nick was smiling broadly, and writing in the corners of the picture read "Good move, partner! –Loopin' Lopez". Dusty and Sky stared at the picture, the former rather shocked. Maru sighed. "Blade was the first on the scene but…..he didn't know what to do. His best friend was gone. And Blade thought his life was over too. Then he got trained and came here. Blade, he used to pretend to save lives. Now, he saves them for real."

Dusty and Sky continued to stare at the picture. Even when already knowing what happened, Sky felt a wave of emotions hit her at hearing the story for a second time. Most of all, she felt sad; sad, because Blade lost someone who meant the world to him. How would Sky feel if that happened to her? If she had to watch Skipper or Dusty crash or witness Sparky or Chug or Mayday or any of her family die? Dusty felt the same way. The fear he felt when he almost got Sky killed not once but twice now was more than enough to give him an engine attack. If she didn't survive next time….if there would be a next time…Dusty didn't even want to think about it.

Sky slowly slid off Dusty's wing, limping over to the Wall and kneeling down in front of Nick's picture. She reached out and touched the photo, and for a moment a feeling of warmth passed through her.

Now you gotta be the one who's there for him, Cuervo.

Nick… Sky sighed, standing and walking outside.

Dusty hurriedly followed her. "Sky!" The girl paused at the sound of her name, and she turned to face Dusty. The plane stared at her, torn. "Sky, I am so sorry. I'm sorry that I was jealous and putting you in danger and—"

"Dusty, don't worry about it." Sky assured, looking down. "We're training to be firefighters. Constant danger is kind of part of the job."

"But putting you in danger like that is not." Dusty said. "I never wanted you to get hurt."

"I know that." Sky nodded. "But I'm the one who owes you an apology." She sighed. "I didn't want to tell you about the Soul Connect."

"I guess I was being a little stupid for being jealous, huh?" Dusty sighed.

"Yeah you were. But it's understandable." Sky said. "You were right; I was focusing so much on this new connection, I didn't think about how it would affect how I feel about my other connections. But this connection, this bond I have with Blade, it's real. It's like the bond I share with Skipper; he's my family, just like Sparky and Chug and Mayday and you and Dottie. Blade's part of my life now too. But that in no way means the bond I share with you is any less legit. Our connection is strong because we did build it up over time and its core rests in our friendship. All of the connections and bonds I make, Soul Connect or otherwise, are born from something beyond my psyche human powers."

Dusty smiled. "I'm happy you're my friend, Soarin' Sky. Thank you."

Sky looked down. "Don't thank me. I don't deserve to be your friend."

Dusty blinked in surprise. "Why not?"

Sky swallowed the lump in her throat, letting out a ragged breath. "Because I didn't want you to come here. I wanted to do this alone. I wanted to be the one to save Propwash Junction and be a hero. You already proved you were more than what you were built for. What about me? Don't I get a chance to be heroic and do something amazing?" She blinked furiously, tears threatening to spill out. "And I know that is so selfish of me. I just thought I could show people I'm more than what they think I am. But I'm not. You say we're a team, but I haven't been committing to that."

"Yes, you have." Dusty said firmly. Sky stared at him in surprise. "Skylar Amelia Riley, I am who I am because you were always there for me. You are not just my pilot and you are not extra weight. You're the voice in my head that pushes me to break my limits. You're the calm when I'm stuck in a storm. You have always committed to our teamwork, and if I had the chance to do everything over again I would still choose to have you by my side." He rolled up closer to Sky, making sure she looked him in the eyes. "Don't you dare let anyone tell you that you're just a pilot or extra weight. You are my best friend. Well, best friend who's a girl. Chug kinda took that 'best friend' position a long time ago." Sky giggled, happy tears streaming down her cheeks. Dusty smiled. "I love you, Sky. You're part of my family, and I don't know what I'd do without you."

Sky smiled broadly, and she came forward to hug the plane. Dusty nuzzled her, sighing. The two stayed that way for a moment before parting, Sky wiping her eyes dry. "Thank you, Dusty."

Dusty nodded. "I know this Soul Connect is really important to you. And hey, it's a Soul Connect. That's freaking awesome!" Sky giggled again. Dusty chuckled. "I'm just going to have to get used to sharing you. Including right now."

Skye blinked. "Right now?"

"You gotta go to Blade, Sky." Dusty encouraged. "He needs you. Use your Soul Connect to help him out. Don't try and heal him, but maybe you can keep him from…..you know….." Dusty sighed. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if he died because of me."

Sky smiled softly, patting Dusty's nose. "Don't worry. I'll take care of it." She turned and jogged up to Blade's hanger, Dusty smiling after her. Sky pushed open the hanger doors enough for her to slip inside, and she looked to Blade. The fire chief was still unconscious, but he breathed evenly. Sky crept over to the helicopter, half-hoping his eyes would open. But they didn't. Sky exhaled, raising a hand and resting it on Blade's nose. Their Soul Connect activated instantly this time, and Sky connected to Blade's consciousness.

Sky knew at once she must've been standing in a dreamscape area, seeing how it was nothing but white all around her. Then, a new setting materialized before her eyes, and she found herself on a studio set in what she assumed was L.A. Humans and vehicles milled about, setting up props and talking. It looked awfully familiar. In fact, Sky spotted the CHoPs logo on one of the food tables. She looked around, but didn't see Blade or Nick anywhere. That's strange. She thought. This better not be post-Nick death. But it seems like business as usual. So where—

"NICK ENRIQUE LOPEZ!"

Sky jumped at the shout, the voice belonging to Blade. She looked and saw Nick hopping like mad as he tried to escape his pursuer, looking quite freaked out. Blade chased after the smaller helicopter, and Sky slapped her hands over her mouth to muffle her laughter. Blade had a pair of eyeglasses drawn over his visor and a mustache sketched across his nose in what looked like magic marker. But based on Blade's furious glare, he was less than amused.

"Come on, hermano!" Nick yelped as he tried to escape his co-star's wrath. "Take a joke!"

"You ain't gonna like where I take this joke and stick it!" Blade shouted, still chasing his friend around the set. The rest of the cast and crew simply moved out of the way, as though this was a normal thing for the two actors. Sky struggled futilely to hold back her laughs. No matter how mad the AgustaWestland looked, it only made him look sillier with the marker across his face.

"Go on, laugh it up."

Sky gasped and spun around. Her face broke into grins at the sight of fire chief Blade behind her. "Blade!" She laughed, running over and hugging the red-and-white helicopter. Blade nuzzled her, chuckling. Sky was surprised to find the fire chief looked good as new, but she had to remind herself this was only a dream. She giggled as she looked back to Nick and CHoPs Blade, the former shouting fearfully in Spanish. "And what on earth brought this about?"

"He drew on my face while I was taking a nap." Blade rolled his eyes. "I was ready to pound him."

"Did you?" Sky asked.

"Nah. But I got my revenge." Blade said.

"Dare I ask how?" Sky giggled.

"I threw a pie in his face." Blade said nonchalantly.

Sky raised an eyebrow. "You did not." Blade gestured to the scene, and Sky looked to find Nick desperately trying to take off into the air. CHoPs Blade followed his example, hooking his hoist onto the tin of a cream pie on the food table.

"Hey Lopez! Think fast!" Blade suddenly threw the pie forward. For some reason, Nick paused and turned around, the pie smacking into his face and sending cream across his visor and nose. Blade laughed, as did several of the crew members, while Nick raised his visor to give a deadpan look at his friend.

"All right, all right." Nick sighed. "I suppose I deserved that."

The director laughed, shaking his hood. "You two jokers done messing around?"

"Sorry." Blade said sheepishly.

"Lo siento." Nick echoed.

The director laughed again. "That's all right. Just go get washed up so we can continue shooting." Blade and Nick nodded, landing on the ground and moving off. They shoved each other teasingly, laughing the entire time.

Sky smiled warmly. "Wow. You two were really close."

"Yeah." Blade sighed, watching his younger self and best friend talk. "You know what 'hermano' means?" Sky shook her head. "It's Spanish for 'brother.' When Nick and I first met, the director had us spend the day together to get to know each other. I was kind of nervous at first; it was my first acting job and I didn't know what my co-star would be like. But I was surprised and relieved to find Nick was a pretty carefree, happy guy. We ended up bonding pretty quickly, and he started calling me 'hermano.'" Blade looked down, his smile shrinking. "In the end, we didn't exactly feel like best friends. It felt like we really were brothers."

Sky put a hand to Blade's side. "You were pretty lucky then."

"I'm lucky now." Blade said, smiling at Sky. "I told you nobody could replace Nick. But I am grateful to know you, Sky." He looked to her bandages. "Looks like you got hurt because of me."

"Nah." Sky waved it off. "I would do anything for the people I care about. You're part of my life, Blade; my family. This—" She gingerly touched her wound. "—is just a small price to pay for keeping you alive."

Blade's smile grew. "Don't give up hope on me just yet. I'm a lot tougher than you think."

"I won't." Sky assured. "I promise." The two looked up to see the dreamscape beginning to change, and Nick and Blade could be seen preparing for another round of filming.

Blade stared at Nick, his smile not fading this time. "Sky? Could I…could I have some time alone?"

Sky looked to Blade, nodding in understanding. "Sure thing. Enjoy your memories."

A/N: Fun fact: Nick's middle name is actually the middle name of his voice actor, Erik Estrada! Thought that'd be cool to use. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!