Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks or Labyrinth

Chapter 14: One Final Trial

Running down a hallway after making it up the stairs, Aerrow continued on with his quest. He didn't know how much time was left at the moment. But knowing that the clock was ticking, he made haste to find Piper and Finn. He was glad the hall was straightforward. With the game coming to an end, he was determined to get his friends out of there.

He soon came out of the hallway into a large room that astounded his mind. From what he could see, it was cluttered with stairs and openings all over. They were up ways, down ways, and sideways, looking to lead anywhere and nowhere at the same time. Though the vastness left him uneasy, he put aside that feeling and turned down one of the corners. Surprisingly, he was in a different position in the room than he would've expected. Likewise another one of the labyrinth's magics at play.

Still, Aerrow ran onward throughout the room. He went down different corridors, only to end up somewhere far off his expected path. After turning a corner, he walked towards the edge of a ledge he was near. He stared down, hoping to get a better idea of this room. But then, his heart leaped when Cyclonis came into view. She stared back at him with an expression that could scorch him down.

"Oh how you turn my world, you precious thing…" she spoke up, her voice echoing throughout the vast room. Feeling a bit of dread in the pit of his stomach, He backed away and was about to head down another corridor. But that didn't seem to deter her as she dropped from the ledge only to walk through one of the corridors in front of him. He stopped, watching her walk towards him. "You've starved and near exhaust me."

His eyes tried to stay on her while his breathing became tense. But he soon jumped when she called out again, appearing behind him from another corridor. "Everything I've done, I've done for you."

There wasn't much time for Aerrow to react as she passed through him like a ghost. He turned to her, seeing her walk over to the ledge. Next, she stopped and looked towards him with the same burning glare as before. Yet he couldn't help but notice a small bit of sadness behind them.

"I've moved the stars for no one." Cyclonis pointed at him, her words dripping with vitriol. She then shifted her body over the ledge to his surprise. Though without wasting any time, he started to run down the pathway in great haste. Despite his pace, he could hear footsteps below him almost matching his.

"You've run so long; you've run so far." Her voice echoed through the room once again, almost taunting him. He still ran though, not wanting to deter from his goal. He soon noticed that the path was heading to a dead end. But before he could go back the way he came from, she turned up from underneath the ledge.

With a smirk, Cyclonis walked towards him in a self-assured manner. A far different demeanor than the one he saw before. "Your eyes can be so cruel… Just as I can be so cruel."

In an instant, she materialized a crystal in her hand. Then in a swift motion, she threw it far into the room. It bounced around before going up one of the staircases. Soon after, it arrived at two figures that made Aerrow gasp.

In his sight were both Finn and Piper, but they didn't look like their normal selves. They still were somewhat human-looking. Yet both showed the physical traits of Fae such as pointy ears and glowing eyes. There were different characteristics between the two. Finn had a pair of small glossy wings and his fingernails had grown into claws. Piper's hair now had light silverish streaks, and her brown skin sparkled like starlight. The two stared at him with smiles that made him feel unnerved as he now wondered if it was already too late.

"Piper! Finn!" he called out to them, his voice echoing throughout the room. Though they seem to ignore his call. Instead, they headed off in different directions. Seeing this, Aerrow started traversing through the room again trying to reach them. That was easier said than done as the passageways seemed to lead him far off from where they were. Yet he continued on, running as fast as he could through the ever-shifting maze.

In his desperate chase, he tried his best to keep an eye on them. A difficult task since they seem to pop up in different places than when he last looked. Not to mention Piper and Finn were split off from each other which made it more challenging. Still, he hoped to catch up to at least one of them so he could then focus on the other.

As he continued on, he caught glimpses of Cyclonis watching him. She seemed to be amused by his despairing efforts to save the last of his friends. Yet for some strange reason, he couldn't help but notice that she almost seemed sad. Maybe it was just his imagination, but he almost felt a bit sorry for her.

After some time running around, Aerrow found himself on a ledge that was near the very top of the room. He then looked down, seeing Finn and Piper below sitting on different stairways of the room. They were looking up at him with impassive eyes that made his heart sink. In one resolved act of desperation, he took a deep breath before finally jumping off.

As he slowly fell, the room around him started to change. The interior began to break away and deteriorate, revealing a dark, red-tinted sky. He watched it shift before dropping onto one small platform with a broken passageway. Though he tried to look for them again, he could not find them. He only saw what remained of the elaborate room floating in fragmented pieces.

Aerrow then turned his attention over to the broken passageway of the platform. There, appearing from underneath the hall frame was Cyclonis herself. She walked towards him, a conceited smirk forming on her face like she knew she had won. Despite how the situation was, he remained collected. His stare fixated squarely on her approaching form. With a calm tone, he finally said, "Give me back my friends."

"Careful, Aerrow, I have been generous to you up until this point. But I can be cruel." She sauntered as she started to circle around him.

"Generous? Really?" His mouth formed a sarcastic smile, still keeping his gaze on her. "What have you done that's generous?"

"Everything!" she yelled, her voice almost breaking from aggravation. He felt himself nearly shaken by the sudden outburst. Still, he remained steadfast and determined to see this through.

It didn't take long for Cyclonis to regain her composure. "Everything I have done, I have done for you. You've asked for your friends to be taken; I took them. You cowered before me; I was frightening. I have reordered time…" She pointed to a clock as its hands started to move backwards at a frightening rate. "I have turned the world upside down, and I did it all for you!

"I'm tired of living up to your expectations of me." She stopped right in front of him, looking very jaded from her rant. "Isn't that generous?"

Aerrow didn't say anything at first, continuing to stare her down. His eyes showed no hesitation as he started to walk towards her. Then, he began to say his lines from the play, "Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered. I have fought my way to your castle beyond the Crystal City…" Cyclonis moved back from him, matching his steps with hers. "For my will is as strong as yours and my kingdom is-"

"Stop!" she exclaimed, holding her hand up. As he stopped, she motioned her hand, materializing a crystal orb in it. "Look, Aerrow. Look at what I'm offering you… Your dreams."

Though the offer was tempting, he continued on with his speech, "And my kingdom is great…"

She moved back from his advance, giving him a pleading look. "I ask for so little. Just let me rule you and you could have everything that you want."

"And my kingdom is great… And my kingdom is great…" He kept repeating his last line until he snapped out of his composure. "Damn it! I always forget that line."

"Just fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave," Cyclonis said again, her eyes almost begging him to do it. Aerrow furrowed his brow, looking away from her as he tried to remember the line. It annoyed him that she was asking her to make him choose. If she really wanted that, she could go on and force him like how she has done everything else.

It was finally then that he got it. In her own right, she was indeed a powerful Fae. She shifted his path and almost thwarted him at every turn. Her denizens feared and revered her power to the point of being her servants. Within her labyrinth, she had control over everything and everyone… Except him.

With this newfound epiphany, Aerrow looked at her with the most brazen smile and said, "You have no power over me…"

Upon hearing those words, Cyclonis flinched a bit. She took back the hand that held the crystal as her face began to fill with dread. Cracks of light formed within the area that elapsed over both the sky and floating fragments. Seeing her recoil, he repeated the words again in a loud and elated voice.

"You have no power over me!"

Those words echoed throughout as the final chimes of the clock rang out. In one last act, she threw the crystal orb high into the air. Her form then began to shift as the area started to crack all around both her and Aerrow. When the crystal reached its peak, it shattered into dust while the room became engulfed in light. Everything became enveloped in the dazzling brightness, including them both.

And then with the final chime of the clock, it faded into white.


Author's Notes:

Wow, the only thing that I have to say is this is probably the shortest climax I have ever written.

Even though this is short, I felt like it should be on its own. It's pretty much the final confrontation where Aerrow has his epiphany. If I added or put it in anything else, I feel like it would ruin the impact of the climax. Maybe I'm being overconfident about it. Either way, I like how this turned out.

The final chapter is next. Probably will pop up early next week depending on how things go.

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