Chapter Three
Behind closed eyes, I heard the faint whisper of the wind and the revving of motors. A hand touched my arm.
"You don't have to be afraid…" Aerrow said to me in a soothing voice.
I slowly opened my eyes as I pulled my face from his back. I was shocked by the sight.
I saw the incredible view. A world in the clouds. Aerrow drifted by a cloud. I reached my hand up to it. My fingertips skimmed it. The cloud opened like a sword cut through it. I smiled as the cloud dispersed. I started to laugh quietly. I felt Aerrow turn as one arm was still around his waist.
I looked down at him.
"See? Nothing to be afraid of." He said with a smirk.
I smiled. The skimmer began to shake. I blinked with Aerrow. He messed with the controls with a worrisome expression on his face.
"What is it?" I asked.
"I don't know." Aerrow said, freaking out a little. He wouldn't look at me. Suddenly, we were dropping from the sky, the motor dead.
I held onto Aerrow tightly.
"WAAAHHHH!" I shouted in fear. Aerrow messed with the controls. "Aerrow?" I asked him.
"I'm trying!" He said frantically.
I saw lava below.
"Th-The W-Wastelands!" I stammered.
"Hold on tight!" Aerrow said, pulling up.
We narrowly dodged a Lava Worm. Aerrow started to barrel roll out of the way.
He began to mess with some controls.
I looked over his shoulder to see his hand just hovering over the controls. He was moving them frantically but not touching them at all. Wait… that…means…
"AERROW, YOU ASS!" I said, laughing too.
Aerrow busted out laughing with me then revved back up into the clouds. He laughed at me as he turned to me. I had this smile on my face as we pulled up next to his friends.
"You ass! I-heh- f- hucking- h-hate you!" I said laughing.
Aerrow laughed at me. I pouted and turned my back to him. He landed somewhere and I tumbled onto the ground when he hit the brakes hard. Hitting the wall with my back and lower body, I realized that I was slumped upside down.
I looked over to see everyone smiling at me. I just laughed and threw my body aside. I got up and stretched my body as Piper approached.
"You're pretty brave." She said. "Fighting and saving the Dark Ace? That takes some guts."
I just shrugged. Stork approached me. Instinct caused me to back away a step. He stared in an inspective manner.
"Have you ever had mind worms? Or any disease for that matter?" He asked.
I thought as I looked at the floor, crossing my arms. I groaned in thought then looked at him.
"I don't know what mind worms are but I've had all my vaccinations. I got my tonsils removed too so there isn't a chance of me getting strep throat. I've never had a cavity. I… broke nearly every bone in my body at the very least twice. I've been to the hospital eight times as of for the last…four years to now." I looked down at everyone, scratching the back of my head awkwardly. Everyone just sweat dropped.
"Are you accident prone?" Finn asked.
"Nah." I said, slipping my hands in my pockets. "I just… I'm a little reckless." Everyone blinked. I put my hands up in defense. "Okay, okay. I'm a lot reckless." I said, forcing myself not to correct my grammar.
Everyone just laughed save Stork who just chuckled lightly.
"You'll fit right in." Piper said as she patted me on the shoulder the way a mother or sister would.
Aerrow finally stood in front of me. "Welcome to Atmos, Alice." Aerrow said. "We're the Storm Hawks."
I blinked and looked at their skimmers. The hawk emblem rested on the wing.
I suddenly remembered the ruins.
I gasped. "You're the ones from-" I slapped my hand over my mouth. Everyone seemed confused and gave me a questioning look. "Sorry. Almost said something I shouldn't have. You see, in my world, I found some old ruins that told your story. I almost told the end of the story. Oops."
I chuckled to myself. Everyone was giving me strange looks which, in turn, caused a blush to fade in quickly.
"So…" Junko began. "You know how this war will end?"
I nodded, scratching the back of my head awkwardly.
"I just have one question." Stork said. "Do we die?" He asked, eye twitching.
This caused me to burst into a fit of laughter. I held my sides as if they'd pop open like the seems on a doll.
"Okay. That's kinda freaky." Finn said, pointing to me. Piper just shrugged.
"What's so funny?" Aerrow asked.
"I- hehe- am s-so- heh- sorry. Heh." I wiped a tear from my eye. "The way he'd said it sounded like he planned on becoming immortal." I cleared my throat as everyone else caught on, causing a crack-smile on each of their faces. "No one I could tell died. One person did but…" I trailed off, trying to figure out who it was.
"What happened?" Aerrow asked.
"Well, I think it was-" I closed my eyes. "No." I reopened them and looked seriously at the emerald eyed boy. "I know it was one of the bad guys. I just didn't know who."
Everyone relaxed a little, thinking I didn't notice. Dead wrong. I was the type to catch onto things quickly. I looked to the end of the hanger bay and stepped towards the doors.
I watched the Forbidden City that rested on Terra Xoam. It was strange to watch it…
Aerrow
I watched as Alice walked towards the door. This girl was extremely thin but she did have muscle. I knew that for a fact. She wore a pair of black sweatpants and a tight black top that hugged her small torso but looked easy to move in. There was a pouch of knives strapped to her right thigh.
She stared at Terra Xoam. I wondered what her world was like as I approached her.
I saw a smile on her face and an adventurous gleam in her eye.
"Hey…Alice?" I asked.
She looked at me. "Hm?" She asked.
"Are you okay? You seem…distant."
"ARE YOU KIDDING!" She shouted, a sudden burst of energy shooting through her. "I'm finally able to escape from my hell hole of a world! I couldn't be better!" She chuckled then looked back outside. "S-Sorry." She said, laughing a little. "I've always dreamt of escaping to another world and… well… having this happen is a dream come true. I'm a little excited about it."
I stared at her gold eyes. They were excited and adventurous. They were also brave and didn't have even the slightest hint of sadness or shock over Atmos at all.
The eyelids drooped a little and Alice yawned.
"Tired?" I asked.
She pouted her lips and looked away. "No way! I'm fine!"
I smiled down at the girl who was my age. She was small but she had a lot of fight in her.
I stared at her. I could tell that she was tired. I couldn't blame her. It was the middle of the night. I just nodded.
"Well, you need rest, either way." I turned to Finn. "Finn, why don't you clear out the spare room."
"Why do I hafta do it?" He whined. I just gave him a look and he sighed in defeat. "All right, fine."
Alice looked up at me. "You don't hafta-"
"None sense." I said. "You deserve a comfy bed. After all, anyone who's brave enough to take on the Dark Ace is more than welcome here."
Piper practically tackled Alice in a hug. "You'll love it here, Alice. Sure, the boys can get a bit…grating sometimes but they're good guys."
"Hey!" All the guys said in retort, including me.
Alice covered her hand over her mouth and looked away.
"What's wrong?" Piper asked.
Alice shook her head. She had a small blush and the tiniest hint of fighting off a big laugh. "Funny. You guys are all a bunch of goofballs." She smiled broadly. "I think we'll get along just fine."
A/N: Somehow this chapter seems shorter. Anyway, I regret to say that it may be a while until my next update on "Alice in Atmos?" because, over the next few weeks, I need to focus on something super important.
Aerrow: What's so important that you can't update this story?
Me: ...
Aerrow: *To Piper* Did I say something?
Piper: It just bums her out.
Me: *Deep breath in...out; Looks at audience seriously* The ACT's are coming up followed by the PSAE. For those of you who don't understand just yet, the ACT is A College Test (That's my acronym *Did I spell that right?* for it) that helps determine what level you are at. If I score high enough, I can get some scholarships and I could use them. The PSAE (Prarie State Testing *How does PSAE = that?*) is like the finals at my school but it is NOT! Urgh! *Bows deeply* So to all my readers, I am terribly sorry but I will not be updating until after the 27th of April.
Finn: Ah man! That really bites!
Me: *Imagine those depression lines in animes around me* How d'ya think I feel?
*Junko, Piper, and Aerrow comfort me while Finn plays guitar. Stork walks into the screen and looks at you*
Stork: I should probably do this so she won't get sued or be infected by Mind Worms. Alanis Cross does not own the Storm Hawks, Atmos, or the Cyclonians. She does own Alice and the planning of the story. *Eye twtich* Let's all pray she passes her tests well or she'll get killed.
Aerrow, Junko, Piper: WHAT D'YA MEAN SHE'LL GET KILLED?
Me: My parents.
*Everyone sweatdrops while you review*
A.C.