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

Chapter 28

"No way," Spencer whispered as he looked up at me, eyes wide. "What happened next?"

Luchas, after one or two more hours of vigilant focus, finally managed to recreate the serum for Adam's disease. He had done several samples to make sure that the end result was frequent and flawless, so after that was done, he consulted the other doctors. They decided upon a time when Luchas can teach them how to use the vaccine, which would be the next morning. Luchas was free to do his other duties. At that point in time, I was feeling much better, more relaxed, although still a little put-down from that morning's events. Luchas had turned to me and said that we were going to see the children. He had a small smile on his face when he turned to me; he knew that it was something I would like. Seeing the kids would definitely raise my spirits more. I felt grateful for that kind gesture.

I was sitting on a stool in the Children's Ward, my back to a wall as I looked at the children before me. They were sitting at the ends of their beds. Only four remained now, with Adam gone. They still had that vital life to them, so small but vibrant, a blazing light in darkness, but it would flicker now. They had their moments of mourning, and from time to time they would look to the empty bed... sometimes, they would even show fear, that they will be the next ones to fall. I hated that. It reminded me too much of my own childhood. Theirs had to be bright and warm, with darkness only looming at its appropriate times. The cruelties of life, I did not reject, but I did not welcome them for extended periods of time. The children would learn from this misfortune, and integrate it into their lives. That's all it's good for. When I saw them now, some shadows were present in their eyes. Luckily, I had banished it for a few minutes, with my stories.

As promised, I told them about my next meeting with Repton, only with his named changed and a few more changes. Our conversation in the desert cavern was omitted. Instead I let my imagination run away with me. I was spinning truth and fiction so quickly that it merged into something greater than a lie. The children followed me through the story, their attentive faces glued to me and my hand gestures. I don't know, seeing them so excited got me excited, too.

Even though I didn't mean to throw them in there, I told them about sandwurms, the creatures that once inhabited Oasium. I had only seen them a couple of times when I was younger, mostly from afar. Pale, dead-looking flesh, looping and weaving into the desert sands. The only time I got to see one up-close was when it was already dead. It was gigantic, limbless, featurless but for their gaping mouth... lined multiple times around inside with uneven, serrated teeth. Indestructible and untouchable in the sand, but easy to outwit. Realistically, sandwurms wouldn't have been able to travel in Saharr, because the majority of the Terra was desert rock rather than sand. In fact, I don't think I've ever heard of sandwurms outside of my home Terra. I had nearly forgotten about them until I started looking for story material. Part of my energy in story-telling that day was found in the fact that I remembered.

It always felt exhilarating to uncover my culture, because regrettably, I forgot a lot of it when I was in Cyclonia. My memories of Oasium were valuable, and remembering them was possible... but nothing compared to the memories that weren't mine. Stories about my parents, my grandparents, everyone... theirs were all gone, and I didn't have any hope that I would reclaim them.

My goodness, I'm sorry. I totally went off topic there... my rambling had nothing to do with Spencer's question. I had just finished the story, so I went about tying it nicely, like the previous one.

"Just like last time," I said, "Draco and I went our separate ways."

"Do you know his real name yet?" Lilym asked. I laughed.

"I tried asking, but he didn't reply. So I'm thinking that Draco is the only name we'll be calling him."

All of the children looked up at the ceiling with amazed expressions, as if they could see replays of the events projected up there. Their expressions were so amusing to me, I had to chuckle some more. I was unprepared for the next question.

"Do you know where he's from, then? Maybe you'll see him again!" Aaron stood up. "Is he a Wallop? He may be from my Terra. He's strong..."

I hesitated. Spencer took my pause as an opportunity to argue. "Nah. He's gotta be a Blizzarnian, eh. He ain't afraid of anything, does what he wants... he's gotta be!"

"Can't he be human?" Chance retorted. "He can be like your every-day person, from any Terra."

They continued their bickering, and I let them for a few moments because I wasn't sure how to respond. When their voices started to rise, and the doctors nearby looked over in curiosity —including Luchas, who was absorbed in his clipboard—, I held up my free hand and snapped my wrist quickly, catching their attention and silencing them.

"He is none of those," I started slowly. Their eyes widened, and I paused again, feeling doubtful of my choice. "He's... a Raptor, just like me."

They grew completely quiet, and slowly turned to each other. That narrowed the choices in their minds... probably from what they'd heard of the Atmos, Raptors of Terra Bogaton were amongst the worst things you could encounter. Bogaton would first come to mind because that was the only Terra that came to mind. Among the supposedly-large number of mountaintop kingdoms... not even I had heard of any other Raptor Terras. The Atmos was not entirely conquered and discovered, but it seemed the chances of finding them were slim. No, it was easy to figure out that, from his race, Draco was from Bogaton.

When they didn't say anything, I bent my head down a little and gazed at them in what I hope was encouraging. "Come on, did you think I was the only good Raptor in this world?" I implored. "I don't know what you've heard, but... we're not all the same... and sometimes the stories we hear aren't that true at all."

"So Repton won't eat your face off, if you even look at him funny?" Chance ventured. The way he said it, I couldn't help but hold my stomach and laugh. The idea just... I tried imagining it but couldn't keep a straight face. I forced myself to recover quickly, for I noticed the human child's brow quirk in confusion.

"I wouldn't know, since I haven't met him." The lie seemed only momentarily wrong. I could see a lot of problems coming out of revealing that little secret, so I would hold it silent for as long as appropriate. "But what I'm trying to say is that... just because we have certain attributes, like strength or nerve—" I looked at Aaron and Spencer respectively, "it doesn't summarize who we are as a person. Likewise, just because we're born who we are, it doesn't mean all of us act how you think we do. Draco is a Raptor, but it doesn't mean that he's vicious or cruel. You heard about him in my stories, and you liked him, right? You liked him before you even knew his race. Why should it change now that you've learned it?"

They regarded each other thoughtfully. It wasn't the main moral of my most recent story, but I felt pretty impressed with myself. There had to be a bit more diversity, and less ignorant stereotypes. I had to teach them while they were young. And, even though I never paid thought to it before, I wanted to clear Bogaton's name. Why? Because I felt that I was wrong, too. That I was ignorant. The least I could do was try to erase the possible misconception about that Terra and its inhabitants...

"Where do Raptors come from, Nakoto?" I glanced over to Lilym in surprise. She was watching me very intently. At first I took the question in a different sense, and my cheeks burned a little.

"Um... well... see... when a daddy Raptor and a mommy Raptor love each other very, very much—"

"Not where babies come from!" Obviously, Lilym already had that question answered for her, since she laughed. The others looked clueless on the matter, but she paid them no heed. "I mean... how did they come to be?"

That was a very good question. I leaned back in my seat and raised my eyes up, observing the tilings of the ceiling. I didn't notice at first, but Luchas ventured closer to the group. I had narrowed my eyes and thought very deeply.

"My memory... is very faint, but... there was a legend that my mother recounted to me," I started. I brought my gaze back to them. "Did you know the Atmos wasn't always as it is now?"

"No?" They shuffled further on the edge of their beds. They didn't even break eye-contact with me. I smiled again.

"No. In fact, the Wastelands, as we call it... we used to live in it, all of us. There was no fire, no Magma beasts... all the scary things you hear about were lying in wait in the planet's core. But at the time, there were no beings in the world. Lifeless. The Wastelands were habitable, but nothing was there... the Sun rose and fell over the land, but all He saw was emptiness, and he grew lonely.

"One day, the loneliness grew so strong that he finally shed tears. Teardrops, with the Sun's fire within, fell down to the world, and when they had reached the ground, they didn't set fire to anything. The dust welcomed the fire, and where they touched, Raptors emerged. Beings of water and earth, and the fire at their hearts. They were the Sun's Children, and He was happy at last. They lived and multiplied for many long years, sharing the world with the other Beings that also appeared; Blizarrians, Wallops, Humans... everyone, and everything. They all danced in the Sun's rays and lived simply."

The children sucked in breath and let out sounds of awe. I was surprised at how much I remembered, and my mind just continued reaching back and plucking everything up, everything that seemed buried and forgotten. I didn't know if I was unintentionally making it up, but it just felt so right that I didn't think of it.

"What happened next?" Lilym whispered.

I took in a breath. "When the world would collapse and the fires would destroy everything they knew... it was first foretold by the Oracle, a being trapped in crystal. All of the Beings were warned, but none of them knew what to do. They were scared, helpless...

"But there was one Raptor... my father was named after him. Blaed. While he was hunting food for his family, he was sent a vision. The Sun had set, and that time of year in His cycle, he fell behind a mountain. The light's glare had distracted and blinded Blaed from his prey. They say that, in those moments when he had closed his eyes, he saw the future in pictures, pictures that the Sun sent to him. When he recovered from his trance, he returned to his home immediately and told them what had happened. The mountains would be their haven from the oncoming calamity. Their People would prosper. The idea of fleeing to the mountains was accepted, and the Raptors told the other Beings. Everyone now had hope. But..."

"But what?"

I cast my eyes down, and they softened. "There was also great sadness," I breathed. "The mountain overlooking the Raptors' home could only support a portion of them. The People were divided. It was decided that the ones with families and young hatchlings would inherit the mountain at hand, and that the rest were to find their own. In order for all of them to survive, that was what they needed to do. Only a few groups made it before the planet split. The fires swallowed up the Raptors who couldn't make it in time... My ancestors managed to find what was my home Terra, and as you can see, I'm here with you today."

The children's eyes were unfaltering.

"But the sadness was for more than the lives of our brethren lost... The ground was a ravage of flame and wicked creatures. The cloudline shielded the Raptors from the sight, but it reminded them... They were all isolated, disconnected. They would never see the others again. Life was good in their new worlds, but nothing could heal that regret, not for a long time."

"But it's different now... there are things that can change that!" Chance blurted out. "Skimmers, Heliscooters... huge, flying ships!"

My smile couldn't help but come out sorrowful. "They had to wait hundreds of years for that to happen. And as you can guess... in waiting, Raptors forgot about it all, and probably consider this story as just a myth. Each Raptor colony had their own world, and that was all that mattered. The idea of... of joining all together again was abandoned. As it turns out, I... may be the first to have seen a Raptor of another Terra, after all this time."

When I said that, I don't know... I felt magical. I felt like a child, and some untold prophecy had been fulfilled as I spoke those words. It was an amazing feeling. I suddenly had a new favourite story to tell. It gave me shivers. There was something strangely beautiful about it, despite the loneliness. I guess it was because I was accustomed to that feeling, and felt empathy toward it. I leaned back and let out a sigh.

"And that's how Raptors came to be." I shrugged my shoulders. "Of course, the sun crying and creating life that way isn't at all realistic, but it's a nice way of looking at it, right?"

"Whoa... so intense, eh!" Spencer got to his feet and started jumping on his bed. "So cool!"

The other boys started joining the movement too. Lilym stayed stationed and watched the others' excitement with me. Their happiness was absolutely contagious, but I had to create order in case they hurt themselves, or worse; over-exert themselves and worsen their sickness. I told them sternly to get down, and after some more coaxing, they listened to me and relaxed back down onto their bottoms.

"Wait, Nakoto..." I looked over to Lilym, who had spoken with her hand supporting her chin. "If you're the first Raptor to have seen another, what does that make Draco?"

Ah, she caught me there. I grinned at her. "That's a good point. We were the first pair together, I guess. It depends if he met someone other than myself, first..."

"You, and Draco... destined to meet..." Lilym grinned in return. "Sounds like a fairytale! You two have to get married now, it's the rule!"

Needless to say, I was speechless. My grin faltered, but it didn't drop, either; I was frozen, locked. When the thought finally managed to fester in my mind, my cheeks started to heat up. As I already mentioned, you can't really tell when a Raptor was blushing, but still... I felt like everyone could see it, and I had cast my eyes down immediately, trying to figure out what to say in return. The other boys let out rude noises in response.

"Ew! Not that icky, mushy stuff!"

"Why would Nakoto wanna do that?"

"Yuck!"

Lilym looked hurt at first, but then she shrugged it off with a huff. "Boys!" She watched me expectedly, waiting for my own take on her statement, but I was incapable of thinking straight. I checked my surroundings to help settle my thoughts, and I finally noticed Luchas standing by. I bounced up onto my feet.

"Are you done then?" I said, a little too hastily. He jumped, nearly dropping his clipboard.

"Uh, y-yes."

"Okay, I guess we have to go elsewhere." I turned to the kids and smiled nervously. "I'll come and see you when I can, alright? Be good!"

"Alright, Nakoto!" they replied. I reached over and ruffled Lilym's hair. She still seemed bent on learning what my thoughts of this... marriage was, but she let me go. Hopefully she wouldn't bring it up later.

When I was outside the Ward with Luchas, I let out a silent breath of relief. I dodged a bullet there... I dunno why I felt so panicked at the idea of Repton and I... but oh, how it made my heart beat faster. We started walking, even though I didn't know where it was Luchas had to be next.

"That was... very beautiful, Nakoto."

Luchas was keeping his eyes on his notes, modestly fiddling with the pen connected to it. Mindlessly, I asked, "What was?"

"That creation story. I've never heard anything like it. Was it really something you learned when you were a child?"

I considered his question at hand, and it did help make me forget my panic-attack. Perhaps this conversation would do me some good. "Yeah, I think so. I had never really thought about it until just a few moments before, and it surprisingly came back to me very smoothly."

Luchas made an understanding noise in his throat. "And those creatures... sandwurms. They seem very familiar."

"That's because they were on Oasium. Had you ever seen one up-close?"

"No... only pictures. There were only a few on your Terra, or at least, that's what we recorded..."

That 'we' felt very ominous to me, as he was referring to the other Cyclonian scientists who forced themselves into my life. I disregarded the idea as soon as it tried poisoning my mind with resentment. Although, I did still felt that sickening prick in my gut.

I let out a loud scoff. "That's a blessing! They were ugly brutes. And despite being on top of the food-chain, they were pests... They weren't always there, or so I was told... so that means they weren't supposed to be there. They ate far more than what Oasium could provide them. They ate our game, so my ancestors had to last through starvation from time to time."

Starvation... I was suddenly reminded of Bogaton. It seemed like a reoccurring theme with Raptors, apparently. And for a split second, I felt a jolt in the centre in my chest. Sandwurms, on Bogaton, possibly? No... the Terra wasn't desert-like. It wasn't made of sand. I wondered if I would chance upon seeing them on some other desert Terras. I continued.

"My relatives managed to dwindle their number, so that's why there were so little when you... arrived. I wish I knew more, but all of that history's gone now."

Luchas didn't reply to that. He looked down at his clipboard, and when I glanced over, his face seemed guilt-ridden. I rolled my eyes up and scratched my cheek hopelessly. I suddenly took note of what he said earlier, and considering my feelings on that lost history, I wanted to make sure of something.

"Uh... you said you recorded something? How much?"

He looked up at me, probably wondering why I wanted to strike up some conversation. "The... Oasium Project itself. It's in the archive library in Cyclonia."

"So you didn't record anything about my heritage? My culture?"

Realization washed over his face at that, and the guilt grew deeper. I wished he'd stop doing that. "Not that I know of."

"Alright. Just asking." I turned my attention to the hallway before us, which was soon coming to an end. We would come upon the elevator soon enough. I accomplished the task of keeping my disappointment at bay, but I guess a small hint of it had leaked into my voice. Maybe my expression showed it too, but I wouldn't be able to tell you.

We had just passed the washrooms when, suddenly, I heard a crack. I stopped in my tracks and turned to Luchas. He had stopped too, looking down at his breast... was his pendant sizzling?

"What was that?" I demanded. Luchas' eyes snapped up at me.

"I... don't... know," he said slowly. He reached up and touched his pendant and turned away. "Could you... excuse me a moment? I need to use... the lavatory."

I gave him a bewildered expression, which descended into suspicion. He didn't look at me again as he disappeared into the men's solitary washroom.

Repton's eye twitched at the scene before him. He didn't mean to do it. The table tipped. The Eye went toppling over, and...

"What happened?" Luchas' voice travelled back to him, warped and divided by echoes. The washroom the doctor locked himself in appeared in multiple crystal shards on the floor, like through the eyes of a spider. Since the Eye was rather large in general, and probably very dense, the pieces were few, but still...

Repton bent down and picked up a piece. "The Eye... just shattered," he said cautiously. He didn't know if the doctor could hear him, now that the crystal was demolished. Apparently the connection was still good, for the Cyclonian spoke back.

"What? Shattered..." He went to the mirror of the washroom and looked down at the pendant. It was sending up a few sparks. Using the mirror, Luchas seemed to gaze back at Repton. "How did you manage to break it?"

The Raptor didn't like how fast the Cyclonian came to assume he broke it. Sure, he did, but he didn't want to admit it out loud. "Don't patronize me, old man," he seethed. "It just..."

"If I could suggest something... you should probably try fixing it before Master Cyclonis sees you."

Repton's teeth bore. "Could you suggest something more helpful? How do you suggest I actually fix it?"

"Notice how you're still able to communicate? This is because you've divided the Eye the same way this pendant was created." The doctor tapped his pin, making the images bounce. "It can be divided once without consequence. When a piece is separate from the source, it's then that it becomes vulnerable. If I were, say, to step on this pendant, that's what you would consider completely destroying it."

"I don't care what it is that destroys it. As far as I can see, it already looks destroyed!" Repton's tongue slipped out in irritation and he hissed: "What, should I just put the pieces together, and they'll magically rejoin?"

"Well, believe it or not... that's exactly what you do." The King of Rogues waited a long time, confused, and the doctor beckoned him. "Go on... put two pieces together. You'll see."

Repton gave the Cyclonian a skeptical look, wishing he could just reach through the Eye and strangle the human. Grumbling, he reached over to another piece of the Eye, and he carelessly put the two chunks of crystal together.

Nothing happened at first... but soon the stones emitted a faint, misty light and morphed into each other, into one, heavier piece. It didn't even matter that their edges didn't match. It was like a puzzle that obeyed you, that fit wherever you placed it. Amazed, Repton lifted it up and observed the surface of it. No cracks in it whatsoever. Impressive. He set the large piece on the table, where it had been as a whole, and started assembling it back together.

He stopped his progress when he had one piece left. The Eye had retained its spherical form, save for a breach the size of a hand. Repton held this part.

"It's repaired, isn't it? The pendant has stopped reacting." Luchas fiddled with the pin, then adjusted his attire. "I don't want to pester you, but please be a lot more careful."

Repton didn't touch the Eye, but he snarled at the man and the noise made the human jump. Despite being so many leagues away, Luchas showed the fear the Raptor craved. Repton smirked at this, but soon lost interest in that. He was observing the size of the last shard he possessed, turning it over and over. The doctor had heard him when he held it. Yes, it was about the size of his palm, and rather flat, like a disk. He could still see everything. He retreated away from Athene's Eye and brought the large fragment to his ear.

"Say something," he hissed. He wasn't touching the Eye when he had growled at the man, but the Raptor just wanted to make sure...

"Like what?" Luchas' voice sounded clear to him, right from his hand. A second echo of it travelled to him from the Eye at the centre of the room.

Repton could see everything, hear everything, and keep contact with the pendant. Interesting... he brought the shard back in front of him and perceived it more closely. Essentially, he held another Eye in his hand. If it could do that, why didn't the pendant let others see his face, or Cyclonis'? Did the Empress fiddle with it? And likewise, why didn't Repton's appear on the Eye on the table, like Nakoto's or Luchas'? Who knew.

Repton returned back to Athene's Eye and considered whether or not he should put the shard back. He took some time for consideration, and then... he slipped the disk-like fragment into his inner-vest pocket. It didn't touch his flesh, and when he tested speaking, Luchas didn't respond. The sounds were muffled by the material of his clothes, so no one would hear it. Good. Repton turned Athene's Eye upside-down, to hide the place where the piece would've fit. The image within the original remained upright no matter what direction it was set.

"Is something else wrong?" Luchas asked. Repton realized he hadn't said anything after his experiment.

He rolled his eyes, as if it would add to the affect, if seen. "Nothing, you imbecile. It's fixed, just as you said. Now, shouldn't you be getting back to Nakoto? She looked distrustful after that little display."

Luchas looked like he wanted to say something, probably an accusation that it was Repton's fault for that, but he proved to be smart and avoided saying it. He flushed the toilet —to feign his business—, washed his hands, then exited the room with his clipboard. He joined Nakoto, who was waiting for him vigilantly.

"Not feeling well?" she inquired. The spines on her head flexed momentarily.

"It was just my stomach disagreeing with me," Luchas replied, trying to sound casual. "Let us continue. I have to take up some appointments with patients..."

Repton sat back down before the Eye, making sure to stay clear of the table's leg he had previously kicked. Lousy piece of junk. To think that the table would lurch like that. Nearly gave him a heart-attack when the Eye launched off and shattered. But smashing it did leave him with something... a piece of the Eye. He couldn't exactly explain why he had chosen to hold on to it. He figured he could sell it for a high price, seeing as it was a part of a one-of-a-kind entity...

As soon as he saw Nakoto, he then remembered the reason why he had gotten up in the first place (which lead to the Eye falling over). He got up, more carefully, and made his way to Cyclonis' desk. He picked up the box on the Oasium Project and set it on the surface of the table, so that he could have easier access. He sifted through all the headings; Extraction, Deconstruction, Inculcation... but not even the overview of Oasium had any of its culture in it. The closest thing was an observation of a certain festival, but that was more on the Raptors' behaviour than the meaning of the event.

Nakoto's origin... it piqued an interest for his own. After all, Nakoto's species was another Raptor tribe, and after that creation story... it just seemed like something he should know about. He never paid attention to his own culture or history, so he decided that, maybe, now was good time to start. Bogaton had its own store of writings, stuffed so far back he was sure most were already eaten by vermin by now. Then, the Terradons possessed most of the Terra's records, seeing as they seemed the only type who took pleasure in reading. He would have to negotiate with them, since they were already wary of him anyway. Yes, he would definitely get his hands on something, and see if there was anything linking back to that legend. As Nakoto said, his own Terra was the only world that really mattered to his people... however, if the other worlds came together, and were destined to meet again...

...destined to meet. Draco and Nakoto, destined to meet.

That silly Blizarrian girl. As if she knew anything about love, or Raptor courting in general. A coincidence wasn't an excuse to get hitched. A few meetings weren't enough to decide. Raptors mated for life... it was serious business. Nakoto knew that. The way she looked away awkwardly was enough to give that away.

And yet, Repton had to wonder, by the way she looked... she was embarrassed of the idea, but did she...? What did she think of it?

What did he think of it?

End of Chapter

A/N:Hi!

A big thanks goes to Mystic Shadow Demon for looking through my chapter; two pairs of eyes is better than one! She really helped me out :3 I hope that any of you can do that same in review form ;D Catch anything (grammar, spelling, etc.) and tell me how you feel. Thanks for reading!

-Vixen