I hope someone's still reading this.

I'm sooo sorry for the two previous two month waiting periods. [Hopefully] That's behind us.

Summer school's good for something, hey? Gives me a couple hours with absolutely nothing to do but write...and draw, but write!

Piper sank down onto the stiff chair and shut her eyes; she'd just finished telling the Sky Knight Council about what had happened on Terra Rex and she was exhausted, mentally as well as physically.

The old men sat behind the high desk, staring in different directions as they thought through the new information. The Head of Council, who'd told her to call him Oliver, was staring at her.

"Piper," he said; her eyes flew open, "I know this is hard, and I know how you feel right now, but the best thing would be to go back to your ship and get some rest. You can't help anyone, and most certainly not yourself, when you're dead on your feet."

Piper stood up, about to argue, before she saw the logic in what the older man had said. She closed her mouth, nodded, and left the room, her steps the tiniest bit shaky.

But she couldn't sleep; she was exhausted but nevertheless restless.

Back on the Condor, Piper wandered the halls, head down, hugging herself tight. She thought about Aerrow and dying and what she was going to do when this was all over. Then she forced herself to think happy thoughts, or at least another, less morbid topic.

She paused outside Starling's spare bedroom, and then went in to see Harrier.

The Council had thought it was just as safe to leave him as it was to move him, and so here he was. Piper stepped into the room, the clicking of her shoes against the metal floor loud in the silence. The single, female Rex Guardian had stayed behind to look after her Sky Knight when the others left to see if they could help the people on Rex. Now, she turned to look at Piper, keeping her face neutral. She was holding a cloth to Harrier's forehead, keeping him cool as he thrashed amid his nightmares.

Piper opened her mouth to ask if there had been any change but before she could speak, the woman shook her head. Piper's shoulders slumped, she closed her mouth.

Not knowing what else to do, she turned about face and left. Her next stop was her own room. She grabbed the curious green book and headed for the bridge. She needed to take a break from all the morose, depressing thoughts swirling in her head; a puzzle seemed like a good idea.

She sat down at the round table, and dropped the book on the top. She stared at it.

When Aerrow had been in the hospital, but before she'd been allowed to see him, she had wandered the market on Atmosia, always staying close to the hospital. On her third circuit, she had come across a tiny book stall. Her book-worminess had pulled her closer and she'd scanned the small but varied selection.

Disappointed, she'd been about to leave when an old man with a crown of spiky gray hair and two gold hoops in his right ear had popped up from nowhere. He'd grabbed her arm and stared. Piper had been about to protest when the man release her and spoke, his voice high and creaky, "I like your necklace, girl. Stay…something to show you."

He'd disappeared again.

Confused, Piper had stayed where she was. The man came back, a good sized, brown paper package in his hand. He'd handed it to her, and nodded eagerly at her. Piper carefully unfolded the paper wrapping to reveal a hard-cover green book.

"Open it, girl," the old man had breathed, showing off a gold tooth as he smiled what night have been an encouraging smile.

Piper flipped it open and noticed the black haze, "What is this?"

"Oh-ho! Take it! Take it! Solve the riddle, girl!"

"But how much-?"

"No, no. This book is yours, it belongs to you!"

The man had pushed her on her way and vanished when she'd turned back.

And now, Piper sat on the empty bridge of the Condor, her best friend dead, his body controlled by a living darkness, trying to figure out the secret to reading the book.

She picked it up and flipped it over, trailing thin fingers on the cover's edges, along the creased spine, hoping something would happen. Nothing unusual; she set the book back on the table and opened to a random page. The same, odd black haze covered everything.

Disappointment flooded through her, coupling with the exhaustion to drown her in despair. Huffing, she slumped forward, banging her head on the table in hopes of a distraction.

But along with the stinging pain in her forehead came an unanticipated heat at the hollow of her throat. It was quickly building to an intolerable burn; gasping from the pain, she sat up as her hands flew to her throat. Her fingers wrapped around the sharp edge of her necklace.

Her crystal? The crystal her mother had given her, had said was special. But that crystal never did anything, it had no power.

The heat was gone, as if had never been. Piper slowly reached back and untied the knot that held the necklace in place. She wondered; holding it by the cord, she dangled the crystal above the book. The book only she could open.

The tiny blue crystal glowed faintly. She lowered it slightly, the glow got brighter and now she could feel the heat again through the cord, through the air. Piper took a deep, excited breath and dropped the crystal.

There was a flash, hot and white. She blinked the brights from her eyes and looked at the book. Everything seemed normal. No heat, the faintest glow from the crystal if it wasn't just remnants from the flash in her eyes. She looked closer.

It seemed the crystal had bonded with the book; it was attached, melted into the cover like a raised decoration.

Or a key.

Tentatively, she reached out and flipped the book open. The dark haze was gone, leaving slightly yellowed parchment and familiar black-inked Atmosian script to contrast it. Excitedly, she flipped to the first page,

"The Dark Century," it read, "and Rebuilding Atmos,

"This knowledge was passed to use by our fathers, who were born in light and grew up to darkness."

She skimmed. A chapter and several horrific events later she found what she was looking for.

"Though many Terras focused inward on their economies and what little hadn't been destroyed by the Darkness, one Terra was entirely devoted to stopping it; Cyclonia, lead by Fabian and his wife Ave…" she skimmed again, already knowing the rough history.

Piper heard the door open behind her but ignored it, the prospect of discovery too great.

"-and Fabian revealed his Answer to the crowd. The crystal was small, thin, and cut to a triangle, the stone a dazzling blue."

It was accompanied by a sketch. Her crystal…Fabian's crystal!

"But there was a dark side to the tiny stone; it required an energy that it, by itself, lacked. Two things it needed to work: a host, someone of a pure soul in which to seal the Darkness, and a sacrifice. The stone would use the wielder's energy along with its own or it would not work. No matter how Fabian had modified the crystal, it would not hold enough strength to render the sacrifice unnecessary…"

Her excitement faded; they could save Aerrow- no, it was too late for that. They could save the Atmos, but whom else would they be forced to lose in doing so?

'What am I thinking? There's no choice, I can't put this on anyone else.'

Piper slid her hands under the book and stood, snapping it shut as she turned. The crystal popped free into her hand and she held it tightly, hidden in her fist; she walked over to Junko and Finn, standing by the door, talking in low voices.

"Guys?"

They looked at her.

"I know how to stop the Darkness. We just need to find it."

Hmm, is that a conclusion I see in the not-so-distant future?

Oh yeah, and I've deemed the "Good Ol' Black Gorge" chapter irrelevant, so I took it off. If you wanna read it for whatever reason...profile, email.