Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks or any of its characters. I do, however, own my own character and plots.

Chapter 13

I honestly didn't know how to react at first. There was a sharp sensation in my gut, and it travelled up through my body, reaching my lungs. It tried to force a gasp out of my throat, but I wouldn't let it, so the sensation sank right back to my stomach. Like a match being dropped into a puddle of oil, it ignited, and it crept through my veins.

Curse me for my recklessness. I was so sure that my disguises would be enough, but I had forgotten myself and transfigured myself into a recognizable disguise, one that I intended the Storm Hawks only to recognize. It turned out that I just set myself up to be caught by another.

Repton considered me under a cold stare, but I knew that he was relishing some triumph. A small smile was on his lips, and his eyes were extremely focussed on me, making me feel like some lowly parasite. I forced out a chuckle, but it came out more nervous than I wanted it to.

"Um, hi, Repton... you're looking lively. How are things?"

His head tilted, and his smile inched some more, making his eyes crinkle. I didn't like the look he had now, and I stood up. I tried sidling away, but he only made up for that distance. I couldn't get far, because the counter was in my way. My drink was completely forgotten, and I didn't fancy finishing it at the moment.

"Looking at you now, Maia... things are looking great," he said pleasantly. "You don't know how much I've looked forward to this moment. Isn't that right, Hoerk?"

Hoerk, despite how big he was, remained unnoticed by me until he was mentioned. He chuckled to himself, pressing one fist into his other hand, cracking his knuckles. His nose looked untouched, as if I never punched his face in. I looked back at Repton, and noticed there were still pale scars on his head, from where the Vulca-Bat wounded him. They would be gone soon enough.

I looked past him and saw the Storm Hawks' attention in my direction. Both Piper and Aerrow were half-way out of their seats, guarded, with their eyes wide with caution. Their squadron was the only one that noticed this happening; the others were preoccupied with their drinks and friends, and the barkeep was too busy giving out drinks to notice. Aerrow and Piper met my eyes, and I mouthed for them to remain seated. Repton's head tilted the other way, blocking my view, and I was forced to concentrate on him. I swallowed.

"Really? Did... Did you miss me that much?"

Repton's tongue slipped past his lips, out then in, and he looked at me as if reprimanding a child. "Nothing can save you. It doesn't matter if you call for help. I can either kill you quickly right now, or slowly on Bogaton... either work for me. So choose. Scream, or come with us quietly."

My eyes shifted in consideration. I shrugged, and blurted, "I'm sorry to say that I have someplace to be."

I knew that would test his patience. He shoved himself into my personal bubble and practically had me pinned against the counter. I was alarmed, because I thought he'd find me out in that split second of touching me. I had to crane my neck just to avoid our snouts colliding. He snarled at me, baring his teeth threateningly.

"You think, that after the humiliation you put me through, that I would let you go just because of your "busy" schedule?"

I laughed nervously. "Yes."

He gave me a look.

"Kinda... sort of..."

He wasn't impressed.

"...not really. "

"You learn fast, " he said, smirking.

I rolled my eyes wearily. "Look, I'm really sorry that I played around with you— "

"You stole me of my victory and made a laughing stock out of me!"

"—but now that doesn't matter anymore, right? Can't you find it in your heart to forgive me? If I pay you back? Handsomely?"

He backed away from me a little, then he looked down. Before I could register what he was looking at, he snatched up my wrist. I was so startled by the action that I dropped the object, and I could've yelped. I was afraid that Adam's gift would hit and smash on the ground, but Repton caught it. He observed it for a moment, then looked back at me darkly.

"You know the price I want."

And he didn't mean the Aquanosian water. I wanted to get that back, but I feared that struggling with him would blow my cover. I was glad that my sleeve stopped him from feeling my scales.

I licked my lips, and my eyes started darting all over the place, including down the counter. "But there has to be another... another alternative, you kno—"

Someone walked in. Someone I remembered well. Someone that wasn't supposed to be there. What was she...?

Repton watched me, and his brow quirked. He turned his attention in the same direction as I had, and I saw that his posture changed completely. I knew he was stricken with shock, because sitting before the barkeep was what looked like my mirror's image.

"Nakoto?" he muttered in disbelief. He looked toward me with a severe expression, and he wretched my wrist, making me lurch. He hurled me at Hoerk, who caught me by the forearms, which my sleeves also covered. Luckily, I pressed the spines of my crown back against my head slightly, and when it touched Hoerk's chest, he thought it was Maia's hair. I didn't expect him to wonder why my "hair" was so pointy. Perhaps it had hair-gel feel to it, who knows. I also made sure to curl my tail around my waist, as closely as possible.

Repton made his way toward the Raptoress at the counter, and I can tell you, there were plenty of differences between her and myself. We were of the same species, true, but we had differing traits. Whereas my spines started separately —each starting above the designated brow— then joined at the neck, hers were immediately joined, an equivalent to a human's "widow's peak". They then separated and flared until they declined just above each shoulder-blade. Her snout was shorter, with a permanent scowl on it whenever I saw her. Her neck was thicker, more powerful. Her hands were normal, both of them; there were no defects on her body. She had a short sword at her side, one that needed a crystal, but the compartment at the hilt was empty. She also had a little spade at the end of her tail, but she flicked it too often for Repton to notice. He had the odd idea that it was actually me at the counter.

She wasn't supposed to be out of her training this soon. She still had... what, three to four years left? She even had her armour garb still on. She had a emblem on a piece of metal on her shoulder, but it wasn't any I'd ever seen. You could clearly see she was a Sky Knight, even though she looked dangerous and unapproachable. She barked at the barkeep to get her something, then she hunched at the counter, glowering.

She turned toward Repton when he reached her. Hoerk had shoved me along with them, and my heart was beating fast. This was unexpected, and it was now out of my control. At least I thought I had a chance of escaping from Repton earlier, but now I couldn't even think about it.

Repton paused as he scrutinized her, and his back straightened. "You're not Nakoto," he said, doubtful.

She took her own share of scrutinizing, then scoffed. "What gave you that brilliant idea?"

Repton's nostrils flared, and his eyes narrowed. "What did you say?"

"Who the hell are you? And how do you know that worm?" Distaste was displayed on her face, and I felt my scales burn, my heart filled with chagrin. She hadn't changed, not one bit.

"I could've sworn you were her. But your look is all wrong," Repton murmured to himself, speculating in his own mind, disregarding what the Raptoress said. I was surprised that he remembered. I mean, as far as I knew, we only met once before, and that was a while ago. I thought he would've forgotten me by now... but then again, he saw my Dragon Claw, and we did face the Vulca-Bats together, and that's hard to forget...

The barkeep came by with a bottle of some kind and a short glass, but then retreated immediately. The other Raptoress laughed with scorn.

"Fine. Don't answer my questions. I won't answer any of yours."

"Who are you?"

"You first, I said." The Raptoress turned to her order, uncorked the bottle, then smoothly poured the drink into her glass. She said nothing, which made Repton growl.

"Repton, ruler of Bogaton."

The other turned on him with a hoot, seemingly consumed with dark enthusiasm. She leaned back with her glass in hand, and she took in the Raptor King once again, much more slowly.

"Oh, the Almighty Rogue! I thought you were just one of those reject Raptors. Pleased to make your acquaintance." She continued laughing to herself, taking a swig of her drink.

"Your name," Repton demanded bluntly. She shrugged at his coldness.

"I go by as Farida. Jeez, talk about rude. "

"How do you know Nakoto? "

Farida opened her eyes and considered the Rogue closely. She briefly looked in my direction, but she had no idea it was me. She didn't know about "Maia". She also looked at Hoerk, checked him out, then quickly returned to Repton.

"She and I go way back... unfortunately. It's been a while since I've seen her, but I bet she's still the same. She and I are nothing alike."

Repton snorted. "I've noticed."

Farida disregarded his comment.

"You know her as well?"

"Met her once. It turns out she's a lot more important than I thought. I've been meaning to find her in the last few days."

My stomach dropped. Repton was looking for me? Then the Cyclonians were also...?

"What do you mean?"

"Cyclonis has had her eye on her for a while now."

I felt sick, and I tensed under Hoerk's hold. I knew something was brewing, but not so fast! Oh how I wish I could have remained forgotten!

"Cyclonis, huh? The grand-daughter of the former, right?"

"Yes."

"Why is Cyclonis hunting for her?"

Repton's eyes flashed, and he leaned forward. "Maybe you can tell me."

I shook my head frantically. Farida didn't see me.

"You and Nakoto have a history with Cyclonia, don't you?"

Farida twirled the liquid in her glass. She hummed. "Yes. Those were the days!"

Repton inclined his head, and when he received no answer, he jerked his chin. "Well? What was it? Is the reason why Nakoto is so valuable—?"

"I'll have you know that I'm equally as valuable, if not worth more," Farida interjected, transfixed with the bottom of her glass. I didn't like what she was implying. And it wasn't the fact that she was disrespecting me. Her eyes rolled up to scrutinize him, and she hissed mysteriously: "That's why I was called Alpha in the Oasium Project."

I hadn't heard of those names in years, and it hurt. I hoped she wouldn't say my code name, even though I could hear my mind say it, making it echo against the walls of my skull.

Repton stepped closer, and his eyes narrowed. " ...What are you proposing?"

"I'm proposing that you take me to Cyclonis. Why not? It'll be interesting."

I gaped at her, and my heart raged faster. What was she doing? Repton said nothing, and was probably just as astounded as I was. Farida finished her drink and proceeded to pour herself another glass.

"You mean you're a living crystal too?" Repton's eyes quickly took her in again, and he shook his head. "That can't be possible!"

"Oh, anything is possible!" she laughed and held up her glass. "What do you say, Repton? I'm sure Cyclonis will reward you much more, when you bring in the stronger of the two. I mean, I can't go to Cyclonia without being shot down, so if I have an escort, everything will be alright. You'll reap the goods, and I'll be able to join Cyclonis' efforts—"

"No!"

I ripped myself from Hoerk's grip, and he didn't expect it, so I escaped from him very easily. I charged forward and pushed past Repton, who stumbled behind me. He and his brother were speechless, waiting for things to unfold.

"What do you think you're doing?" I shouted. Farida glared at me, setting her glass on the counter. She leaned forward in a way that she thought was intimidating to a human. But I was no human. "Selling yourself to Cyclonis! That's absurd! Have you forgotten that you have no heritage because of her empire? Why would you want to join them?"

"I don't think what I want to do is any of your business, human!" she snarled.

"But what about Nakoto? She would never let you go! You don't know what you're doing!"

"Shut up! As if she has any say in what I do, anyway!"

I roared, losing my temper: "She knows what's best for you!"

"Shut up!" she roared back. She shot up to her feet.

"You're not a weapon!"

"SHUT UP!"

She reached for the bottle, and she swung. I ducked, and it smashed against something else. I turned around, and found that she hit Repton across the head. Glass flew everywhere, cutting him, and the liquid entered his eyes and new lacerations. It wasn't terrible, but the force had him crumple against the counter in pain. Hoerk reacted like a bomb, grabbing a wooden stool and hurtling it at me. I ducked again, and it shattered upon hitting Farida. She bellowed curses at Hoerk, and she climbed onto her stool backwards. The stool was tilting back while she got height, but when she was high enough, it didn't matter because she leap over me and pounced on him.

With this stroke of luck, I got an idea. I took some pieces of the broken stool and looked around. There were a lot of intoxicated drinkers around. I tossed the pieces at their heads, and they responded in the way I wanted them to. They thought that it was one of their colleagues who inflicted that hit to the head, so they turned on them. Although I didn't want to spread such unnecessary violence, I had to get my plan going. I looked to the Storm Hawks and pointed to the exit. They understood that they had no place in this erupted brawl, so they went. Piper hesitated and looked back, worried, but Aerrow took a hold of her arm and brought her along. No sooner had they left did a couple of drinkers body-slam onto their table.

I looked at the wooden pole, the mast that held the tent up, then I turned to Repton. He was dazed, but he was recovering and finding himself in a war. The barkeep ran past him, trying to calm his customers, but to no avail.

"Hey, Repton!"

He turned immediately in my direction, and his pupils contracted. I made the sign of the horns and let my tongue roll out. I winked at him.

"Time's grown short! I have to get going now!"

"You're not going anywhere!"

"I've got one more letter to deliver, of course I have to!" I pulled out the letter Piper gave me, and waved it around. "Nakoto's going to want to read it, don't you think?"

He took the bait. I needed to get him away from Farida, so I had to subject myself to being the prey again. He would chase me, I would lead him away, and then I would give him the slip. Besides, he had Adam's gift; I had to get it back somehow! He had been clutching it the whole time, and I didn't know when he'd let go of it. I looked over to Farida one last time, to see how she was doing. She dominated Hoerk, and he was down for the count. Now some new, heavily-muscled humans picked a fight with her, and she was coping with them. She looked like she was now having the time of her life, dark bliss on her face. I hoped she'd leave shortly after the fight, since Repton won't be there to question her.

Repton lunged toward me, but I dodged him and started running. There were no wrestling figures in my path, so arriving at the mast was easy. On my way, I tapped into the power of my blood, and my Dragon Claw pulsed. I reached out, grasped the pole and crushed it under my grip. It splintered into several pieces where I touched it, then the whole thing came down. The tent's canopy collapsed, and I made my way to avoid getting caught in the blanket. I used a chair for a step and proceeded jumping from table to table toward the exit. I heard Repton stumble after me, snarling.

I made it, he didn't. When I landed outside the entrance, I dived into a roll as the tent collapsed on itself. Repton was caught inside it, with the many other figures wrestling and panicking. I started jogging backwards, away from the tent, but not allowing myself to officially get away. I tucked the letter in my pocket, looked around, and I saw that the Storm Hawks stuck around, watching. I waved at them, for them to get going. I added a grin and a thumb's up to reassure them. They smiled, a little nervously, but they followed my advice and left.

As if on cue, a golden light shone from within the mess, and Repton's boomerang stabbed through the tarp. He cut himself an opening and stood up as the tent's fabric fell away from him. He lowered his weapon arm and pointed it at me, baring his teeth.

"If you know where Nakoto is, then I guess there's reason to keep you alive a little longer!" he shouted at me. "Come back here! You've got nowhere to hide! "

"On the contrary!" I replied, smiling. I lifted my arms, as if embracing the world. "This Terra is full of hiding places. Just try and find me!"

Repton tucked his boomerang behind him and leapt into a sprint. I spun around, getting into my own, laughing at the thrill of the chase. The swarming crowds were just ahead us, and once merging in, the game would begin.

"Your life is mine to take, Maia!"

I entered the masses, weaving through and around the people there. I knew that Repton was lithe, but I didn't think he was lithe enough to successfully navigate without bumping into someone. And I figured that, since he looked so beastly, people would try and swerve out of his way, which could prove either beneficial or problematic for him. Ever had that awkward moment with someone, where you both try to get around each other the same way? Repton had to deal with that sometimes, but he shoved them out of the way instead.

Now this was where the game of predator and prey got entertaining. I reached up and pinched my Cloaking crystal, and I changed shape. I knew Repton was confused at first —it was as if my previous guise warped out of sight or something— but I knew he would catch on to what I was doing. Once he did, it was still going to be hard for him to find me, which was why it was so fun. I slipped away from his sight, then called to him when he faltered. He followed my voice in vain, growing more and more agitated as we played. From human, to Aquanosian, to Blizzarrian, to human again; it was no doubt overwhelming. Each time, I jeered from a different place of the bazzar. We were far enough from the drinking tent now. All I had to do now was continue my game until I thought Farida abandoned her stupid idea of handing herself in.

I was standing in-between two tents, in the shadows, planning to jump back into the crowd, when I suddenly felt something burst against chest. It was sharp, and I yelped, quickly putting a hand to my mouth. I looked down, and I lifted the rope that hung around my neck. Where my Cloaking crystal used to be was just a useless stub now; it overworked itself, and it just... exploded. My disguise flickered, then kabut. Me, in all my Raptor goodness, was revealed, and I cursed.

My crystal just had to short-circuit when Repton was looking for not only Maia, but Nakoto, too.

I saw him, frantically looking in all directions, and I stepped further back. The space between the tents went down until it met another trafficking area, so I decided to go that way. I turned my back to Repton, figuring it was the end of my little game anyway. He'd still be looking for Maia by the time Farida left the Terra.

When I made it afterway down the little alley, I commenced taking off my —now useless— necklace. I took off my collar off too, and I tucked both objects into my backpocket. I observed what else I had to take off, and I deduced that I had to make a few sacrifices. I slipped off the tube top I didn't need, and the sleeves that covered my arms. Both articles of clothing were recognizably Maia's, so until I made it to Cloud Nine, I'd have to carry them. Then, I looked at my track pants and knew they would be recognizable too, but I couldn't just take them off. So I bent down, scooped some sand and dust, and I thoroughly dirtied my paints on every inch of it. By the end of it, it looked like I climbed out of my own grave. I didn't care about looking hygienic.

I looked presentable. I picked up my sleeves and shirt, then made my way out of the alleyway. I reached the end and entered the sunlight once more. I looked around to orient myself, find out where I was, then turned in the direction I thought Cloud Nine could be.

Talons, who were talking amongst themselves near their rides, turned toward me in unison. I dropped my stripped clothes and ran.

End of Chapter

A/N: Yes~~ Another one :DD I've got a sudden inspiration now that my first semester's finished. I wonder how long this one will last?

Moar action! And Farida was introduced. She's a charmer, isn't she? ._. She's a very important character, keep in mind.

Hope you liked it! Review me with your thoughts! :)

Vixen