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

Chapter 25

Farida said nothing. Nakoto stood up from her chair fluently and faced Farida, her hands loose at her side, her back straight. She walked around slowly, as if circling her prey, and she stopped when the Eye could see both of their faces from the side. She could fool you into thinking everything was well with her, but her right hand looked worse.

"Actually, I heard about your meeting with Repton before you told me."

"Did you?" Farida's brow quirked in interest. Nakoto didn't smile.

"Yes," she began gravely. "I heard you gave him quite the headache, then clobbered the largest of his brothers."

Repton had told her that. The scratches and bruise on his head tingled. Farida laughed.

"Heh, you heard right," she said proudly. "The first was by accident, but I'm happy to say that his brother didn't stand a chance."

Nakoto's eyes darkened.

"I also heard that you offered him a certain proposal."

He didn't tell her anything about that. How does she know...?

"...did you now?" Farida's voice sounded knowingly. She knew what Nakoto was referring to, and perhaps she already knew that Nakoto would glare at her like that. She glared in a way that seemed filled to the brim with untold words, and she wanted the other to hear and understand all of it in her mind. Farida smiled nastily and raised her brows.

"You know where my loyalties lie."

Nakoto's teeth bore slightly. "And I disapprove."

Farida held her gaze. She snorted, then turned her back on the other. She fixed her eyes on something—her fallen sword. She had stepped toward it, but Nakoto caught her shoulder. No haughtiness or amusement remained on Farida's face at that, and the look she gave the other was murderous. With a sickened face she tried shaking Nakoto off.

"Farida, please!" Nakoto's voice took on a more weary form of begging. "When will you grow out of this delusion of yours?"

"Delusion? Don't you think the real delusion is the one you've created for yourself here? This is your home? This is your family?"

Farida ripped herself so violently from Nakoto's grip that the Gertry woman yelped in fright. The aggressive Raptoress advanced toward her weapon, which was between Seth and Luchas. Both backed away from her. Nakoto didn't follow, but continued to hold her ground.

"Do you honestly think that Cyclonis would welcome you like some lost princess? A lost sister?"

Farida reached her sword, grabbed the hilt, and with her foot on the distorted tray pulled it free with a screech. Nakoto's brows furrowed and she spoke louder.

"I sent you to become a Sky Knight for a reason. I want you to take up arms and join in the fight, to bring down Cyclonia's tyranny. I expected you to see—" Farida had strapped the sword to her side and made her way back, past Nakoto, toward the door. Nakoto swiftly got in her way again, planting herself firmly. "Farida, please—"

"Now you listen to me, Beta!" Farida suddenly hissed. She spat out the name like poison, and Nakoto flinched back as if it were. "The only reason why I agreed to become a Sky Knight was so I could learn how to fight and maintain my power. What are you doing down here?" Her hand flicked impatiently in her direction, and she didn't wait for an answer. "You have a gift, and you choose to waste it!"

"My gift isn't wasted," Nakoto replied. Her voice was weaker now. "I'm having it used in more beneficial ways."

"Yes, having them drain you of blood is very useful," Farida retorted sarcastically. Nakoto was going to argue against that before Farida pushed her finger accusingly in her face. "If you think that becoming a Sky Knight is the best thing to do, then why didn't you become one?"

"That's not my place. I don't want to fight... come on, you know this."

"Oh, I know, but I don't understand." Farida's voice was low and venomous. "You don't make any sense. I can only think one thing when I think of you; cowardice. You are a coward! A coward who clings to the past! Not once have you proven otherwise! I could care less of that ghost of a Terra of yours, just as I could care less about what happened to you."

Nakoto looked at the other in dismay. Her head shook slowly, as if she couldn't quite believe what she had heard. Farida growled impatiently, and without hesitation, she shoved past Nakoto, jamming her shoulder with her own as she went. No reaction at all replaced the disbelief on Nakoto's face. The Sky Knight was about to dive into the storm when—

"Is that any way to treat your sister?"

Seth stepped up past Nakoto. Farida froze where she was, infront of the doors that opened automatically. After the sweeping rush of the doors, the symphony of the storm was even louder than it had been. Thunder exploded suddenly and echoed to the far reaches of Atmosia and beyond.

Repton found that he wasn't surprised by this. Deep down, he already accepted the fact that maybe, just maybe, Nakoto and Farida were siblings. They looked very alike, and not because they were the same type of Raptor. And siblings often could be polar opposites, as they were. That could even be said about Repton himself and his brothers... he always asked himself how he was related so closely to those fools. He would have already assumed the Raptoresses as sisters, if Nakoto hadn't mentioned —a couple of times— their different fathers. But of course, he knew now... that didn't mean different mothers.

Farida scoffed, turning around to consider the human who addressed her. "Two things," she stated, holding up the designated fingers. She folded them down when her points were covered. "Firstly, she's only my half-sister. That doesn't count for anything, and she knows this." Nakoto shut her eyes tightly at those words, then opened them, downcast. "Secondly, I can do and say what I'd like to her. A human like you has no business or power to meddle. Understand?"

"I make it my business when my friends get hurt," Seth replied coldly. His dark, silent anger emerged. Nakoto's head raised and she turned around sharply. Farida's eyes narrowed.

"You're lucky Nakoto even cares for you at all," he continued. "She loves you, even when you clearly don't deserve it! Otherwise she wouldn't try so hard to protect you from Cyclonis!"

"Seth—" Nakoto barked in warning, but Farida pounced on the provocation.

"Protect me? You call nagging to no end protecting? She's afraid, that's all it is! She's—"

"Not a coward!" Nakoto tried to reach out and pull Seth back, but he foresaw this and slipped himself from her. "She's not a coward, not a fool; she is anything but the horrible names you like to place on her. If there's any fool among us, it's you."

What cheek, audacity! The corners of Repton's mouth tugged upwards slightly.

"Seth!"

"What did you call me?"

"A fool!" the doctor repeated, unfaltering. "You can't understand it, can you? No matter how clearly Nakoto explains it to you? You're following after the Dead Queen's ghost like a lapdog! And what's more, you don't seem to care that Cyclonia's now ruled by a child!"

Farida made her way over to Seth, and Luchas and Gertry held their breath and backed away. Nakoto though, she stepped up to interfere, and Seth just barred her way with his arm. The Sky Knight stopped extremely close to the human, looking down at him with bared, serrated teeth.

"You'd do well to keep that trap of yours shut," she breathed threateningly. "The most constant reason why they sent me back here was because I have the tendency to brutally maim even my subordinates for saying the wrong things."

"Then this is probably why you work best alone, right?" Seth adjusted his glasses smoothly, then said the next sentence more strongly. "I ask you, though; what's a Sky Knight without his squadron?"

Nakoto seized Seth's arm before he could finish, fully encircling her Claws around his upper arm. She pulled him back roughly before Farida could even raise her arm to strike. She looked up at Nakoto, and her expression of hot rage cooled down immensely, into an icy, desolate hate. She turned her back on all of them and planned her exit again. But yet, once again, she was stopped by a voice. Nakoto's.

She hesitated after calling her name, still holding on to Seth tightly. Very slowly, she loosened her grip on him and passed him. Repton could see something dark on the doctor's clothes, from where she touched him. Blood. Why did no one notice? "I just have two things to say," she started. "Just two."

Her sister did not reply, nor did she ask what they were. She did not leave without hearing them, either.

"Listen... what I said about your dad... I'm sorry. Regardless of what he did, we would have been eliminated either way. He was a good father, too; you'd have liked him."

"And the second thing you wanted to say?" Farida said impatiently. It was surprising that she was even listening. Nakoto looked down and chuckled tiredly.

"I want you to know that I'm really proud of you, and that I believe in you. I know that you'll be the one to personally rip Cyclonis from her throne."

Farida stayed for a few moments, back to them, but she said nothing. When she left and disappeared into the storm, no one moved until she was clearly out of sight. Nakoto was the first to move, looking around the ground, sighing. She wandered over to the letter she had dropped, which showed to be crinkled and damp. She picked it up with her left hand with a dispirited look on her face.

"Is it safe to move now?" Gertry exhaled with a loud 'phew!'. Nakoto smiled, which transformed her look of disappointment into helpless embarrassment.

"I'm sorry you had to see that. As for you..." She addressed Seth reproachfully. "...don't you ever do that again. You are honestly the bravest man I know, but that was the stupidest thing you could do."

Seth turned around, about to retort something, but Nakoto stepped toward him abruptly when he did so. He looked down at what she was looking at; the arm she had grasped earlier. In more detail, there were three dark, crimson stains, one for each of her fingers. Nakoto raised her hand in wonder, and Seth walked briskly to her side.

"This needs immediate medical attention, Nakoto!" he cried in alarm. "Your flesh—"

"—is starting to melt," she finished, disgusted. She shuddered. "Gross."

"Doesn't it hurt?"

Luchas stole his way toward them when they mentioned her Claws. It seemed that —now that Nakoto made herself clear to him she wasn't going to gut him— he was interested in observing them rather than avoiding them. He stood close enough for the Eye to glimpse what was the cause of such concern. Repton's stomach turned a little at the sight; it seemed as if her fingers had been punctured, and all the fluids were escaping through those punctures. Her skin looked much more taunt against her bones, especially where her claws sprouted at the tips. The light inside the keratin still remained, soft, but its presence was obviously not welcomed. Seth had reached his hands up and held her hand, angling it gently every few seconds. Nakoto's face tightened slightly as he did so, which answered the human's question, but she said nothing.

"What happened in here?" Luchas turned, and the doctor with the piercings came in—the one who was in charge of blood transfusions. Repton tried remembering his name, but he had dismissed it the moment he introduced himself to Luchas. He did recall it to be short though... He looked around at them all, his eyes passing over Luchas more dismissively than the others had. He held his eyes on Seth and Nakoto.

"Brett, do me a favour," Seth requested. "Get a room ready for Nakoto in the closest room you can in Sector A. Set out some disinfectants and bandaging, and fill a large bowl with cold water for Nakoto to soak her hand in. Go ahead of us so that it'll be ready when we get there."

The piercings in Brett's face dangled slightly as he nodded his head, though a look of confusion still lingered on his face as he turned. "Wait—" Luchas started, but the electronic door already shut behind him.

"By highest Atmos, will that be enough?" Gertry asked, troubled. Nakoto's head leaned back and she considered the ceiling with a sigh.

"Don't worry yourself over me, Mrs. Gertry. This has happened on plenty of occasions."

"I don't remember it getting this serious," Seth murmured. "I don't know how to treat this."

"I can—" Luchas tried again, but his voice was too soft. Seth had lead Nakoto to the door when he found the strength for his voice.

"Cold water is a bad idea!"

All eyes turned to him immediately. It seemed for a second that Luchas lost his voice after he had overexerted it. Gertry looked over her counter at him in suspicion. Seth's expression was unreadable, expressionless. Nakoto was much the same, but there was doubt in her eyes, watching him warily.

"It... It needs to be hot water," Luchas began, after finding his voice again. "We need to reduce the shock. The temperature outside her body has to equal the temperature inside her body... the crystal will calm down then. Using cold water makes it worse, and it won't have a long-lasting recovery guarantee."

No one said anything. Luchas took this as a moment to approach Nakoto. "Let me see."

She stared at him still. Was that hesitation caused by fear? There was something like that in her eyes. She was afraid.

"I only want to help you," he whispered. "There's no use in us fearing one another. You told me that."

Nakoto's eyes slowly moved down to his beckoning hands. She didn't say anything for a long moment. Her brows furrowed suddenly, and she grimaced to herself, casting her eyes aside. "You can instruct Brett on what to do," she said curtly.

She turned her back on him and went to the door. Luchas was about to follow but Seth intercepted. The door opened for Nakoto, but she stopped when she noticed she was moving alone. She turned around and looked at Seth in question.

"I just want to talk with Dr. Luchas a little bit more," Seth replied to her silent inquiry. He forced a smile. "You go and find Brett. Your hand needs to be taken care of."

Nakoto seemed doubtful of Seth's suggestion, and she looked at Luchas. Or rather, she looked through him. "As long as he doesn't leave your sight until you give him back to me," she said. "I promised the Chancellor he would be in my company at all times."

"I know that, and I understand." Seth nodded to her reassuringly and encouragingly. "We'll see you in a bit."

Nakoto nodded in return, a little uncertainly, but she left. The door shut after her, and Seth turned to Luchas, the smile disappearing.

"Did I do something wrong?" Luchas asked.

Seth took off his glasses and proceeded cleaning them with the cuff of his sleeve. He looked much younger without them, but one could notice the darker circles under his eyes. He looked younger, but still older than his age. Once the lenses were clean, he perched them back on and slid them all the way up the bridge of his slender nose. Cyclonis seemed to glare at him more intensely, and Repton had to take a moment to remember why. Ah, yes: "And what's more, you don't seem to care that Cyclonia's now ruled by a child!" Would Seth have said that to Farida if he knew Cyclonis could hear it? He took a moment to compose his next words.

"I think you're being a little too bold," he said slowly. Obviously that confused the other, so he continued. "You were just found out to be a Cyclonian two nights ago. Not only that, but a former member of the Oasium Project. Nakoto's not going to be completely okay with that."

Repton thought back to the night of Adam's death. She seemed pretty okay to be spending time with the Cyclonian doctor by the fire. Had the alcohol clouded some of her judgement then, and afterward she was regretting it? That couldn't be. She was completely sober when she asked the Chancellor to let Luchas keep his job the day before. Right now, she had fought with her sister and her hand was hurting her. Surely her coldness was just caused by the mood she was in?

"Do you know how long it took her to trust normal doctors? The kind that actually help people?" Seth asked. There was a small edge to his voice, as if the comment would cut through Luchas for what he did in the past. It probably did. "A very, very long time. She wouldn't let anyone touch her. When she came to Atmosia, this was to be her place of hiding, but how do you suppose that made her feel? It took her years to get used to the idea that hands can relieve and heal, not only hurt and destroy."

"I know that what I did was monstrous," Luchas said softly. "And I'm willing to pay for that. I've told Nakoto this."

"Oh, she knows, and she trusts you enough to believe that, but she doesn't trust you enough to let you treat her."

"How boring," Cyclonis murmured in disdain. She turned her back and walked out. "I've had enough of this. I have more important things to do, so you best pay attention and report the important happenings later."

Repton had heard her mutter other things, homicidal. He thought he heard her say: 'ruled by a child! Who does he think I am?'. Seth's comment from before seemed to have gotten to her. Repton found amusement in that, and he also relished the fact that she finally left.

"Even when something as serious as that happens?" Luchas persisted. "I was the only one who knew how to treat it, because I was experienced with Nakoto... well, I knew from what I learned from the other doctors when..."

"Back in the Oasium Project, you didn't actually touch her, did you?"

Luchas shook his head as if his neck was having trouble moving. Very forcefully, sluggishly. "The only time I was close enough, I was..." He couldn't say that he was nearly gutted alive. Seth looked over his glass-rims to consider him with his dark eyes.

"She may not have felt your touch, but how is she to know what they can do?" He cast a look at Luchas' hands to emphasize his point. Luchas brought them up under his gaze. "You can't blame her for being wary."

Luchas breathed in deeply and sighed. "No, I can't."

Seth sympathetically yet awkwardly patted his shoulder. "I think you're best suited for research. You created a rectifying treatment for people diagnosed with Adam's disease. Nakoto's blood is probably the closest thing you'll be treating. And who's to say that's a bad thing? Nakoto is actually very pleased; she told me."

"She did?"

"She did." Seth nodded and smiled. "She doesn't hate you. It's just, sometimes the past catches up with her, you know?"

Luchas made a noise of understanding in his throat. He reached up and clutched the fabric of his doctor's uniform, over his heart. "Do you remember when she and I were talking about my cologne?" When Seth verified so, the Cyclonian continued. "I wanted to hide my other scent because... I knew that it hurt her. A lot of memories can return through the senses. Raptors have a very acute sense of smell, so I assumed much of what she remembers..."

"Ah, I see. A kind thought to be sure, but a naïve one." It was strange for Luchas, a man much older than Seth, to be called naïve by said young man. "Nakoto will always remember, no matter what. The best thing for you to do is just... pay for what you've done, like you said. And who knows, maybe she'll fully forgive you, someday."

Luchas could only nod, as there was probably not much more to say. Gertry was possibly listening, but she had focussed herself with her offices duties, making it look as if she were respecting the privacy of their conversation. Seth smiled again and nodded toward the door, saying a short farewell to the receptionist. The two doctors then went down to Sector A through the elevator at the end of the hall, to meet up with the subject of their discussion.

End of Chapter