Dark Ace and his men waited out their time on a small terra. While his remaining squad members took to getting a bite to eat, Dark Ace stood near the terra's edge, peering down at the thick dark clouds that covered the Wastelands below. Aerrow was restrained a short distance away, his bindings lashing him to a small rocky spire. No matter how he struggled, he could not break free.
"You may as well give up struggling," Dark Ace called to Aerrow, not even taking the time to turn and look at the youth. "I made sure no fool tied those ropes. You won't be able to break or slip free of those bindings."
"Then you may as well give up on Soara!" Aerrow shouted back.
"We have an exchange to meet with," Dark Ace turned and addressed the Sky Knight. "There is no reason for me to even consider the possibility of your sister not showing up."
"Well, she won't!" Aerrow replied. "She's more devoted to her oath and her own squadron! You're wasting your time!"
"Are you saying this because you actually believe that?" Dark Ace approached Aerrow and loomed over him, scowling. "Or are you trying to protect her?" Aerrow's eyes dropped and he bit his lip. Dark Ace seized the boy's chin and forced the Sky Knight to look him in the eye.
"From what I could see," Dark Ace spoke with a very dark tone. "She was more than adamant about surrendering her life to save your scrawny hide. If all you've said was simply out of some sibling spite, then you are more the fool than I originally thought you were, Aerrow." He released the youth with a haughty laugh.
"Besides…" Dark Ace grinned back at the boy. "You didn't really think it was going to be just a simple exchange, did you?"
"What are you talking about?" Aerrow spat.
"When your big sister comes to save you," Dark Ace explained. "My Talons will be standing by to secure the both of you for a nice trip back to Cyclonia."
"You planned to double cross her?" Aerrow exclaimed as he struggled in his bindings.
"I hold the trump card!" Dark Ace bellowed back, gripping Aerrow by the hair. "What does she have to ensure that I would release you with no strings attached other than her foolish reasoning that my word is good enough? That very same reasoning didn't work out so well for Terra Rex, now did it?" Dark Ace released the red hair and stepped over to his Switchblade. Aerrow gritted his teeth in frustration. He knew Dark Ace was right and that Soara had nothing as collateral to ensure Dark Ace would have kept his word in their spoken bargain. It was a lose-lose situation for the both of them.
"I'll have to warn Soara somehow…" Aerrow thought. "Gotta stop her from getting too close for Dark Ace to capture her. I can't let her make the mistake of becoming a prisoner alongside me. At least…I could do that much."
"Dark Ace, sir," One of the Talons approached their leader. "The hour draws near to your appointed exchange."
"Very well," Dar Ace addressed the Talon. "Get the men ready to depart, and prep our "package" for the trip into the wastelands. I'll contact the rest of the squadron to make ready to meet us there to secure our prisoners."
"Yes sir!" The Talon saluted and departed. The cyclonian squadron members geared up their switchblades and packed up their belongings before removing Aerrow from the rocky spire and moving him to Dark Ace's Switchblade for transport. Despite his struggling, Aerrow still could not break free of the ropes that bound his arms behind his back. He was forcefully hauled onto the vehicle and secured to the chassis.
"You should stop struggling so much and giving us grief," Dark Ace mocked the Sky Knight. "If you continue to be disagreeable, then I cannot guarantee you'll remain…unharmed as promised."
"As if you'd EVER keep your word!" Aerrow retorted.
"We Cyclonians do have a sense of honor, Aerrow," Dark Ace grinned. "We only exercise it when it is convenient for us. Talons! Take to the air and set course for the Southern Wastelands! We'll rendezvous with the rest of the squadron there!" Dark Ace led the Talons into the sky and flew over the thick swirling clouds that covered the treacherous terrain below.
As they closed in on the designated coordinates, Aerrow was shocked to see that a Cyclonian Battle Cruiser was waiting to greet them.
"A whole Battle Carrier?" Aerrow muttered to himself. "That means…there will be hundreds of Talons to cover the area!"
"It may seem a little bit overkill on my part," Dark Ace grinned. "But, at least I'm ensuring my victory. No matter what tricks your sister may attempt to pull off, there's no way she can escape this entrapment."
"You are lower than the swamp snakes on Zartacla!" Aerrow sneered at his nemesis.
"Temper, temper," Dark Ace shook his head. "You should know that is no way for a HOSTAGE to act!" He gave a harsh yank on the ropes binding Aerrow's arms, causing the boy to grimace in pain. Dark Ace then motioned for the Talons to gather around him.
"Half of you will come with me into the Wastelands," He ordered. "Make sure to keep yourselves hidden until the target comes within range of capture! The rest of you will stand by with the cruiser and wait for my signal should we require further assistance. I want no mistakes, is that clear?" the Talons gave out a victorious cheer to confirm his orders were made quite clear to them. Dark Ace then led his half of the massive Squadron down into the dark swirling clouds and into the Southern Wastelands.
Most of the land in the area was highly unstable with hot magma and frequent geyser quakes from the volcanic vents. It wasn't going to be easy here to maintain a hidden offensive in the immediate area.
"She knows this land fairly well," Dark Ace complimented her strategic choosing of this location. "She's definitely going to make me earn this capture. But then again, this should only make it more fun and challenging."
Dark Ace looked for a suitable area to land. The landscape was dotted with high rising sharp spires and volcanic vents. Hardly suitable for any sort of landing. Then Dark Ace spied two seemingly sturdy tiers with a land bridge between them. He set down and motioned for his squadron fliers to find some cover and keep their distance until they are ordered to converge on their target. Dark Ace unloaded his passenger and made Aerrow kneel on the rocky plateau while they waited for Soara to arrive.
Time ticked on, and still there was no sign of the Thunderbird Sky Knight. Dark Ace paced about impatiently. If she does not show, then it would make him look like a fool in front of the Talons, and the thought of that made his nerves seer.
"I told you," Aerrow called out to Dark Ace. "She's not gonna come. She probably already knew you were going to set up to double cross her. I told her you couldn't be trusted…"
"Then perhaps I should relieve my burden and kill you here and now," Dark Ace sneered at Aerrow and drew his energy blade holding it inches from the youth's face. "If your so called sister is so willing to abandon you to the wolves as you so adamantly believe, then I'll be doing both she and I a favor by ridding the Atmos of you!" Aerrow froze as he stared up the glowing red blade at Dark Ace's seriously grim expression. It was obvious the cyclonian was about to reach the end of his patience, when the sound of an approaching craft caught their attention. Dark Ace turned and looked over the fiery landscape and spied the approaching Slip-Wing skimmer approaching fast from the dark clouds.
"Looks like your abandonment theory was wrong after all," Dark Ace smirked at the young Sky Knight.
"She really came?" Aerrow looked up in disbelief. He quickly scrambled to his feet and started yelling a warning. "Soara! Run away! You're walking into a tra-GAH!" Aerrow's warning was cut short when Dark Ace thrust the pommel of his energy blade's hilt into the boy's stomach, knocking the wind out of him. Aerrow fell to his knees gasping to recover from the harsh blow. Soara, meanwhile, landed her Slip-Wing skimmer on the opposite side of the land bridge. It was then Dark Ace noticed she had a covered up passenger with her.
"I thought the agreement was for you to come alone," Dark Ace called across the small expansion somewhat mockingly.
"Same goes for you," Soara replied back with a similar tone.
"What do you mean?" Dark Ace acted innocent. "The only ones here are me and my promised exchange."
"Yeah right," Soara stifled a sarcastic laugh. "Well, I decided to bring with me…a little insurance."
"Insurance?" Dark Ace repeated. "What kind of insurance?" Soara smiled daringly as she turned to her skimmer and pulled her covered passenger off the ride and walked forward a ways.
Dark Ace wasn't sure what to expect from this woman. He grabbed Aerrow by the bindings on his arms and hauled the youth up off his knees. Aerrow winced when his tightly bound arms were jerked upwards forcing him to stand. The long de-energized blade of Dark Ace's sword hovered in front of the sky knight. Aerrow's eyes glanced from the blade to Soara who now stood on her end of the land bridge with the mystery figure.
"What kind of game are you playing at?" Dark Ace demanded.
"Game?" Soara replied. "Far from it. We agreed to an exchange and we are going to conduct one as agreed."
"You're trying to change the deal we made!" The cyclonian spat fiercely. "The agreement was you would surrender yourself in place of Aerrow as my prisoner!"
"I never said that," Soara smiled mockingly. "I said I agreed to the terms of AN Exchange. I never agreed to exchange myself."
"Then we have nothing further to discuss!" Dark Ace energized and raised his blade to Aerrow's throat.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you!" Soara shouted as she pulled out her bladed staff and threw the cover off her guest revealing a new hostage. Dark Ace froze and stared across the land bridge in utter shock. Aerrow's eyes widened as he too beheld the new face to enter this dangerous exchange.
"No way…" Aerrow muttered under his breath. "Soara? That insurance you brought is…?"
"Master Cyclonis?" Dark Ace exclaimed.