Chapter One

Squadron Log

Date:

Location: Far Side; Ported at the Abandoned Castle

Sky Knight, Aerrow here. Why did I even write that? I think it's pretty clear who I am by now. This is probably thirteenth time I've written in this thing and Piper's complained about me plenty of times in here. Am I really that arrogant? I never thought so. At least, I try not to be. Speaking of Piper, she's been doing a lot better since we entered the far side. This Binding gift that she has – we're still a little unsure about it. From here on, things have fallen back to normal. Piper may seem to have control now, but we can't risk anything.

I keep mentioning this, but I still can't quite believe the war's over. We beat Cyclonia. I'm never going to get used to that. After seeing the future the Oracle showed me, I've been uneasy about the outcome of this war. I still can't believe the Dark Ace is gone too. I'm not happy he's dead – of course I'm not. This is the guy that murdered the old team – and I'm not happy he's dead. It shouldn't have ended like that. I don't know how I expected it to end, but I know it was nothing like this.

Anyway, I've covered this before. Let's talk about the present. It's been…nearly a month since we crossed over. I think. As I've said, the Timepulse has been out of whack as it can't pick up the signal anymore. The radio's dead too. Finn and I have been up most of the night in my room trying to tune in to some of our side's stations – that was before it started picking up is some strange frequencies that set Radarr on edge. I want to find out how everyone's doing. Ravess and Carver are still out there and something tells me that just because Cyclonis has no use for them, they won't still be trouble. I respect Ravess for helping us out, but I don't trust her. There are still Talons, therefore there is still Cyclonia.

We haven't found anyone yet. It's only been beasts, but we've been keeping exploration to the minimum until we can get our bearings. This castle is a pretty good landmark, so we're still lying low here. When we crossed over we weren't prepared for another adventure, obviously. We still need to figure out where our next lot of fuel is coming from, but the supplies can last for now.

Aerrow sighed and tossed the squadron log to one side – he had had enough. It had been Piper that suggested he should start writing in the squadron log. She noticed how reserved he had become since they crossed over and Aerrow knew full well why this was. He felt selfish for even thinking it, but the fact remained that he was growing bored very quickly. Without the constant threat of being ambushed by the Cyclonians he did not feel he was useful anymore. Sure, he would be leading his team across the far side of Atmos, but he did not know what to expect. None of them did. Any of them could take his place and still find themselves in a similar situation. He just had to trust his gut feeling that he was doing the right thing, despite his growing thirst for adventure.

This was the first real time they had to seriously unwind and recuperate after the battle and Aerrow did not know what to do with himself. He had melted down the armour of the Cyclonian switchblades and rebuilt all their skimmers – even installing various upgrades to his own ride, such as an improved afterburner. He had taken apart the converter of one of the switchblades to figure out how it worked. He knew for a fact that these drained the most crystal fuel in the entire Atmos, but the matrix was set up reasonably well. It took a lot of tinkering, but he was able to figure out how to combine this with his skimmer's afterburners to allow for a more efficient and faster way of burning his stash of nitro crystals. He needed more to keep up the speed boost for longer, but it was a fair trade considering the additional velocity it provided had an even less chance of blowing up in his face.

Finally coming to his senses, the Sky Knight got up from his chair. He took one last glance around his room and at Radarr who was still sleeping soundly at the end of his bed before exiting into the corridor. He followed the dimly lit hall straight to the bridge and the hatch immediately opened to allow his entrance.

The pilot gave out a yelp and spun around to face him. "Oh, it's you, Aerrow." The skinny green-skinned merb sighed with relief, flicking a four fingered hand through his jet black hair as he continued to study the view out of the front window. The sun could be seen breaking the horizon beyond the barrier cliffs and bathed the bridge in a pleasant orange glow, casting long shadows across the floor.

"You were expecting someone else?" Aerrow said in amusement, joining him at the front of the ship. "Do you ever sleep in?"

Stork considered for a moment. "Someone? No, I was expecting something else - something that could devour every single one of us and still have room for dessert. Something that-"

"Um…Stork, you feeling okay, buddy?" Aerrow interrupted with an awkward smile.

Stork sighed and turned away from the window, his attention averted to the still Timepulse ball. "We shouldn't keep her grounded much longer."

From experience, Aerrow knew right away Stork was referring to the Condor. He took Stork's advice into consideration and put his fingers to his chin. "Forget the ship for a second." he stated, glancing the pilot up and down. "When was the last time you slept?"

The merb ignored him entirely and placed one of his long pointy ears against the Timepulse ball, listening for any sign of movement.

"You know better than I do how hopeless it is to expect anything from that." Aerrow said, nodding at the device. "This conversation is starting to feel quite one-sided." Stork tapped on the glass which made little difference, but it certainly irritated the Sky Knight. "Fine," he respired "get the ship ready. We're setting off."

He could hear Stork celebrating under his breath as he wondered to the opposite side of the bridge.

"Shall I alert the team?" Stork called over his shoulder.

"We're not under attack." Aerrow shrugged, pacing towards the exit. "Besides, I need something to do." He left the bridge, crossed the corridor and headed straight for his wingman's bedroom door. He rapped on it five times. "Finn, get up. I need ya."

"No, mom… I don't wanna go to school…"

"Finn, wake up!" Aerrow yelled, hammering the door with a fist.

There was a loud crash from inside the room and the hatch opened to a very grumpy, very ragged Finn. "What?" He breathed, blowing his blond messy hair out of his face.

"We're gonna hit the sky. Can you prep the engine room?"

The fair haired sharpshooter groaned in frustration. "Why me?"

"Piper did it last time, but that's beside the point. You left your underwear under the boiler."

Finn's dark blue eyes suddenly lit up. "I forgot about those!" he grinned and pulled off his black t-shirt. "Man, they must be toasting by now." Letting the shirt drop to the floor, he shoved past the Sky Knight and pranced topless down the hall.

Aerrow raised an eyebrow. "Finn, we're not on vacation, you know."

"Yeah, yeah." The sharpshooter responded with a flick of a hand. "'Cause if we were on vacation I'd be up at the crack of dawn, no questions asked." He disappeared through the hatch at the end of the corridor.

At that precise moment, another hatch opened on the left side of the foredeck and the navigator emerged, fully dressed in her usual orange and navy uniform. "What's going on?"

"Piper," Aerrow greeted her "we're heading off. 'You up for breakfast?"

"Not yet," she shook her head "I'm heading down a deck."

"Alright." Aerrow replied as she strode swiftly past him and disappeared just as Finn had done. "I'll catch you later then."

Feeling somewhat stepped on, Aerrow made his way down to the kitchen alone, taking a short cut through the artillery room. As the kitchen's hatch opened, he was greeted by the pleasant smell of something cooking. "Junko?"

"Morning, Aerrow!" The wallop welcomed him. For some reason he was wearing a white chef's hat over his dark hair, Aerrow had no idea where it came from. "Eggs?"

"We don't have any eggs." Aerrow said, scratching the back of his head. He peered into the frying pan Junko had set up on the stove. "Those are definitely – where did you get those eggs?"

"Found 'em in the hangar."

"So the Condor lays eggs now?" Aerrow raised an eyebrow, utterly bewildered.

"Well, she's a she. Stork said so." Junko shrugged, taking the frying pan off the stove and used the spatula in his other hand to lift one of the sizzling eggs onto a plate.

"Thanks." Aerrow acknowledged, scooping the plate off the side. "The only logical explanation I can think of is that we have a stowaway hen on board – as ridiculous as that sounds." He concluded, backing up beside the counter. He rummaged in the draw behind his back and pulled a fork out of the mess of cutlery. He shut the draw with his side and plonked down at the small table, cutting into the white of the egg with the flat of his fork. "We're taking off, by the way."

"Really?" Junko responded, turning his head. "But we still haven't explored the fortress."

"Don't worry," Aerrow said between chewing "we'll be back." He swallowed. "Stork wants to give the ship air time."

"I was thinking…" Junko piped up, turning down the stove. "With all this open land, wouldn't something in the sky, er, stand out?"

"I've been thinking the exact same thing." Aerrow admitted. "We better rely on cloud cover in a pinch, but it means our flying time is limited." He jabbed the yolk of the egg with a point of his fork.

"Do you think we'll find anyone this time?" The walloped asked, slipping an egg onto his plate also.

"I sure hope so." He responded, leaning back in his chair. "We've barely scratched the surface of this place so far, there's no telling what we could find."

The kitchen door opened and Finn slumped into the room, stumbling over Aerrow's feet who was sat sideways in his chair – he did that a lot. Finn was now fully dressed, minus his armour just like the others, however was still half asleep. "I'm starving." He mumbled, yawning into his hand. He noticed the frying pan on the counter. "Hey, Junk gimme one o' those, will ya?"

"Hey, Finn, how's the engine room?"

The sharpshooter flashed Aerrow the thumbs up – his attention still on breakfast. Aerrow stuffed the rest of his breakfast in his mouth and tossed the plate in the sink, where it clattered down on the previous night's utensils. He was eager to get out on patrol.

"Where're you going?" Finn questioned, halting his actions completely to stop the young Sky Knight in his tracks as he made for the door. "You know you can't go out there without us." He informed him, as if he had read his mind.

Aerrow gave a shrug – unable to verbalise a reply with his mouth full.

"It is a big deal, Aerrow." Finn responded, seeming to be interpreting what he was saying.

Aerrow dropped his hands to his sides and raised his eyebrows at him.

"Yes, circling the Condor counts too."

Aerrow groaned in irritation.

"You are in charge." Finn smirked, "It's why you should follow your own rules."

Aerrow swallowed, "Then I hereby declare the rules void." He scoffed, twisting one side of his mouth into a sneaky grin.

He woke Radarr and then the two headed down to the hangar. When he reached the entrance, the Condor was already in the air. A cool breeze was tousling his red hair from the open hatch and the sunlight was so intense that everything outside looked white. Aerrow's skimmer was parked up in the centre of the hangar, prepped up and raring to go with a moment's notice. Radarr chirped happily, jumped from Aerrow's shoulders into his sidecar and waited patiently.

"A little early to be running off, don't you think?" A voice was heard in the direction of the runway. Aerrow squinted through the intense sunlight and put a hand up above his eyes. He made out Piper's silhouette as she paced towards him.

"You know me," Aerrow snickered, "adventure awaits." He gave a warm smile as Piper came into his sight. "Hey," he said sheepishly, putting his hand down.

"Hi," Piper responded, standing before him with a hand clutched around her arm.

"How're you feeling?" Aerrow asked out of nowhere, ruffling the back of his red hair as it blew in the breeze.

"I'm okay." Piper sighed. "Aerrow, do you think we'll find civilization? We've been here for a while now and I'm starting to fear that besides Cyclonis, we're all alone over here with no way back."

"Junko asked me the same question." Aerrow admitted, "To tell the truth, I have no idea." He added with a wide gesture of his hands. "I hope so – maybe we're just looking in all the wrong places."

"Maybe…" Piper repeated, although she did not seem that convinced as she lost eye contact.

"Come on," Aerrow pressed, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It's an adventure," he reminded her "it's good not knowing. We have an entire world right outside that's completely unexplored." He thrust his arm out and indicated at the open hatch.

Piper smiled at his enthusiasm. She brushed her windswept bangs behind an ear with her fingers. "I knew you'd say something like that."

"I knew it would make you smile." Aerrow responded with a tilt of his head. "Look, I won't be long." He assured her, mounting his skimmer. "Any problems, just call." With that last word, he started the ignition and drove his skimmer out into the open air.

Aerrow inhaled deeply as the wind battered against his face and let out a deep sigh. Flying made his troubles go away; it was his only escape – if only temporary. The battle with the Cyclonians had left him mentally exhausted and he was still recovering. It was not easy to cope when everyone was relying on you.

He pulled his skimmer higher into the air and looked out into the horizon, wondering what was out there. He removed his hands from the controls and leant his arms over the windshield. The landscape was dry, barren and flat. All Aerrow could see for miles were odd rock formations that curved towards the structure alit by crystal light, much like Atmosia's beacon tower. The sky was dull despite the sunshine and the air felt more humid than usual, like some form of pollution hung in the air. He circled the Condor four times before deciding what the odd scent was.

Radarr pined, which told Aerrow that he had noticed it too. "Something's definitely not right here." He agreed, fiddling with his skimmer's intercom. "Guys, we're getting a strong smell of ash out here. What's the deal?"

Stork's perturbed voice came through the intercom, "I'm aware." He grumbled "It's been clouding up the windscreen all night."

"Where's it coming from?" Aerrow questioned.

"I can think of a number of explanations, each more farfetched than the last." Stork responded and Aerrow knew one way to get the information he wanted out of him in this situation.

"Then give me the first."

"There's been a fire, Aerrow."

He raised an eyebrow, irritated at how Stork had outsmarted him. "I figured that much out for myself Stork, funny enough."

Radarr rolled his eyes and looked the other way as the two continued their conversation.

Aerrow heard the helmsman snicker over the radio and this did make him feel a little better knowing Stork was not freaking out. He shook his red hair out of his eyes that had swept up in the wind drag and looked over his shoulder at the Condor. "I need to know what could have caused it."

"Well, whatever it was, it's not here now." Stork pointed out, "So, to put that in obnoxious teenager slang, the big thing that makes fire can move."

Now it was Aerrow's turn to roll his eyes. "You know exactly what happened, don't you?"

"Here, there be dragons." Stork recited, Aerrow could practically hear his eye twitching.

"Dragons?" He repeated, his emerald eyes scanned the open sky as he was met with a sudden rush of unease – with the lack of people around, these dragons would be hostile. "As in, plural?"

"As in peril if we crossed one." Stork stated dramatically. "It's quite exciting."

Aerrow's eyebrows had risen so high they had disappeared beneath his hair. "Okay…" He had finally realised why Stork did not sleep last night. "Stork, did you install that crystal locater into the Condor?" He asked, changing the subject.

"Hardly. The Condor can now send out an energy pulse that can pick up crystals within a twenty mile radius, thanks to the locater crystal."

"Good," Aerrow beamed "we're gonna use it to find some fuel."

"What about supplies?" Junko asked, joining them. "We have enough now, but what happens when we run out?"

Aerrow sighed. He closed his eyes as he composed himself. He had not been able to sleep due to having been up all night worrying about this particular issue. "One problem at a time."

"I stocked us up on merb cabbage…" Stork suggested upon the moment Aerrow thought he calmed himself.

Aerrow's eyes remained closed as he shook his head viciously. "Don't worry, I'll think of something." He finally exchanged concerned glances with Radarr before turning back to the sky. It was all he could say to stop the others worrying and even the merb cabbage would not last forever. "What are we gonna do, buddy?" He murmured to his co-pilot, his voice lost in the wind and to the others on the carrier. The Condor gave out a loud fizzling sound as the crystal scanner was activated and it attracted Aerrow's attention. A yellow ripple of energy crackled out around the ship. It passed through his skimmer and faded into nothing.

"Um, Aerrow...I think you're going to want to see this."

"Stork, what's the status?"

"Just get back here, will you?"

Aerrow did as he was asked and turned his skimmer around. He piloted it back towards the runway; folding in the wings a little early than what was recommended, so it fell several feet from the air and into the open hatch. The wheels span furiously, threatening to throw him off, but Aerrow was able to keep it on course as he came to a halt in the hangar bay. He slammed the button to close the hatch on his way out, then he and Radarr made for the bridge.

"Well?" He made his presence known, attracting the attention of the four other Storm Hawks grouped up around the helm at the front of the ship.

"Aerrow, look at this!" Piper said excitedly. She ran up to him and dragged him over by the forearm before he even had a chance to blink. Radarr scurried behind them and jumped up behind Aerrow's shoulders while he looked at the locater radar.

"This can't be right…" Aerrow pondered, glancing fleetingly out of the window at the barren land and back at the display. It indicated that the ground below was completely covered in crystals. The display showed thousands of bright pulsing dots closely knitted together all around the point of origin – which was the Condor. "No way…"

"Yes way." Piper grinned. "Aerrow, do you have any idea what this means?"

"Um…more fuel for everyone?" He suggested.

"We've just discovered the roots of the crystal ores we find on our side." Piper elucidated, "All crystals must have originated from here. They have more advanced technology than us because this is where the crystals grow – the powerful ones must have shallower roots."

"That's great and everything," Finn piped up. He stepped backwards into the railing and jumped onto it. "But Cyclonis is here. With all these crystals lying around she could easily wipe out the entire Atmos – look what she almost did with the aurora stone."

"The aurora stone's useless to her now." Aerrow pointed out. "It doesn't matter how many crystals Cyclonis has, she needs the right crystal. A powerful one."

"Do you think that's why she came here?" Junko considered, "To look for a crystal?"

"The helix stone…" Piper gasped suddenly.

"Seriously?" Finn snorted, adjusting his grip around the railing. "Not that thing again; it doesn't exist."

"Not in our Atmos, maybe..." Aerrow cogitated; he began pacing the bridge in thought, Radarr still on his shoulders. "Guys, Piper may be on to something."

"Aerrow, you're not actually going along with this, are you?" Finn sneered, watching his progress around the room.

"We've crossed over into a world unknown." Aerrow reminded him. "I'm open to expanding my horizons. If I know Cyclonis like I think I do, then I know she's always going to be about crystals. Her entire family has been trying to take down Atmos with the Cyclonian army for years and that never worked out. She's definitely looking for a crystal to even the odds."

"Then we have to find it first." Piper demanded hurriedly.

"That would be the plan," Aerrow started, with a wave of a hand "but we have no evidence. We can't go about a mission on an assumption." He ran his fingers through his hair over and over as he went over what they could do. "The good news is, we have a lead and it will give us an idea at what to look out for. It gives us some context." He had messed up his hair significantly by now. "What do you think we should do, Hawks?"

Radarr glared at the team as they stood there in silence, attempting to coax them into responding to his master.

"Accept our fate?" Stork suggested, also noticing the silence.

"We need evidence." Finn said, wrapping his legs around the railing supports and crossed his arms. "I'm not wasting my time looking for a crystal that doesn't exist."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with Finn." Piper contributed, "If we can prove the helix stone is real-"

"But where do we start?" Aerrow interjected. "None of those old myths ever gave us a location. They only spoke of its unbelievable power."

"The far side is known as the place of unspeakable power, if that's any help…" Junko reminded him.

"You're right; I just made that connection too." Aerrow admitted. He stopped in his tracks and leaned over the table. Radarr left his shoulders and stood next to him. "If the stone exists, it's gotta be here." He continued, drumming his fingers.

Finn respired in disagreement. "I gotta say, this is the most ridiculous dilemma you guys have come up with yet – counting the one with Cyclonis being a hologram – I mean, what were you thinking? Is this meeting almost over? I have arrows that need assembling."

Finn's statement went ignored by Aerrow. "As it's obvious that we won't ever need to worry about a fuel shortage, I say we head out as soon as possible." He concluded and then glanced out of the window, his back to the others. "Er, that way." He added, pointing into the distance. "As long as we can see the glow of the fortress on the horizon, we won't get lost."

Stork nodded from the helm and guided the ship to the direction he was pointing. There was not much else he could do if their course was straight ahead, so he wondered back to the centre of the bridge upon doing so.

"Good call, Aerrow." Piper applauded "Judging by the glow the tower's giving off, I'm guessing it's a really high grade solaris crystal that's admitting the light. If it is, what could it be for?"

Aerrow turned away from the window. "Beats me." He shrugged, pacing towards the railing. "What could the far side need with a big flashlight?"

Piper made her way over beside the helm and glanced at the glowing tower through the pane as it became further and further away. "How long do you think it's been here?"

Aerrow joined her at the window. "Longer than us, that's for sure. I've explored the ground floors with Radarr and there's no way up – everything is sealed off."

"Why not try blasting a way through?" Finn suggested, locking the pistol fingers at him from his perch on the railing.

"If you want an early burial, then go right ahead." Stork uttered forebodingly, silently slipping behind the sharpshooter. Finn jerked in surprise and almost lost balance and fell on his face. "Those ruins are ancient, man. There's no telling what's holding the fort upright. One wrong move could be lights out forevermore."

Aerrow blinked, at a total loss of words. "As I was saying," He said slowly, clearing his throat. "Our main goal right now is finding out what Cyclonis is up to. I know you're all excited about what the far side has to offer – I am too, but we can't focus on that yet." Aerrow sighed and crossed his arms. The team all watched him respectfully and Aerrow looked at each of the Storm Hawks in turn. Radarr tilted his head, evidently concerned about his sudden change of tone. Finn and Stork's narrowed eyes told him of their impatience, but neither one of them made any gesture to interrupt. Junko was perched on the edge of the seat around the table. His expression appeared far more content than the sharpshooter's and the helmsman's did. Piper – who was standing beside him – met his gaze with a smile and gave an encouraging nod. "I've been uncomfortable with our downtime decision." Aerrow admitted. "I'm aware we needed a breather after the battle, but it's only given Cyclonis a head start."

"We did what we had to, dude." Finn assured him. "Cyclonis trashed our gear and everything. Don't you think we deserved a little break after Cyclonia? You can't keep beating yourself up about everything – sometimes it can't be helped."

"I know." Aerrow mumbled, loosening his collar with a forefinger. "I guess I've just been out of my comfort zone for too long." He stepped towards the centre of the bridge and placed a hand on the conference table, saying nothing for a few moments as he scratched his co-pilot behind the ears. "I've always liked this table." He stated suddenly. "It's round for a reason and it was only recently that I figured out why." Aerrow stood upright. "I was standing at the head of the council's briefing room with all the Sky Knights of the skies looking my way. Every terra in the Atmos was in my hands – it was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. They put me on the spot like I was their superior – it felt…wrong." Aerrow paused and ran his hand across the round table. "This table signifies our equality. The six of us sit around this table and we make decisions as a team. There is no superiority."

"Whoa, I never thought of it like that." Finn said in realisation. He swung his legs and hopped off the railing. "I gotta admit; bowing to you was the weirdest thing ever."

"I'm glad you feel that way." Aerrow smirked "'Cause I felt like a landed fish."

"You may be a landed fish, dude." His wingman said, slapping a friendly hand on his shoulder, "But you're our landed fish."

"Ah, thanks, Finn." Aerrow recognized, staring at the floor in an attempt to keep a straight face.

"You did okay up there, Aerrow." Finn consoled, sliding his arm around the Sky Knight's shoulders. "But your days of hogging all the glory are over and it's back to the Storm Hawks. If you're feeling overwhelmed maybe I can take up leader for you." Finn winked at him.

"Don't be absurd." Aerrow tittered, shoving the blond away with his elbow. "If I'm putting anyone in charge, it's Piper – but that's not going to happen because like all of you, I have a role to play and I'm going to do it."

"Please!" Finn pleaded, mockingly tugging on Aerrow's sleeve. "I'll be good."

Aerrow could no longer hold a straight face and openly burst into laughter. "No!" He barked back in mock annoyance, grabbing Finn's outstretched arm and pulled him into a headlock. "Who's in charge?"

"You are." Finn murmured and the two exchanging glances, both in complete hysterics.

"What was that?" Aerrow demanded, threatening to mess up Finn's perfect hair with his free hand.

Stork cleared his throat. "When you both stop acting like children…"

Aerrow shot the helmsman a cheesy grin. "Sorry Stork, I'll be with you in a second." He inched his fist closer to Finn's hair.

"AERROW'S IN CHARGE! AERROW'S IN CHARGE!"

"That's better." He jested, releasing the sharpshooter. He could hear both Piper and Junko snickering quietly in the background and this lifted his spirits even more so. "If Finn steps out of line again you all have my permission to clip his hair – it is getting rather long."

"Speak for yourself." Finn grumbled nudging Aerrow with an elbow as he folded his arms.

Aerrow's hand automatically went for his own hair and brushed it over his green eyes. He noticed the extra length and quickly glanced at his reflection in the Condor's windscreen. A tall, wiry sixteen-year-old gazed back at him with tousled red hair that stuck up at odd angles and shadowed his green eyes. It was not exactly tidy – not due to lack of trying – but he was fond of it. "Alright everyone, let's run through everything we know about this place so far."

"We're trapped in a barren wasteland filled with dangerous beasts, what else is there to know?" Stork murmured.

"The endless caverns route through here." Piper spoke up. "And we've already had a glimpse at the type of beasts that live underwater."

"Didn't that douche Domiwick get lost in those?" Finn reminded them. "He could have made it out."

Aerrow scratched his temple. "I highly doubt it. We were forced to seal him in with those lake beasts and all he had was a breather." He winced, "I think Domiwick's done for."

"'Not our fault." Finn grunted. "We gave him a chance to come back and he didn't."

"Then there's the crystal locator results." Junko added, "This area hasn't been mined like, at all."

"There are no terras." Aerrow spoke up, "From what I've seen from the exosphere it looks like this land just keeps on going until it hits water. There's no telling what lies beyond that."

"So, you're saying we're on a floating rock?" Junko observed, his long ears tilting to one side. "That's impossible."

The carrier pilot gave out a small shriek from the front of the ship. "No, Aerrow's right." Stork gulped; his quavering voice attracted everyone's attention to the view outside. "It's entirely possible." He pointed a clammy green finger in disbelief.

The Condor passed over a barricade of razor-sharp rocks and a blast of water splashed up and drenched the bow of the airship. The expanse ahead was as grey as the skies of Terra Deep – an endless body of water that disappeared into the distance. A squall of storm clouds approached from beyond and blocked the sun from sight. The world around them suddenly seemed very dark and more mysterious than ever.

"Stork, turn to starboard!" Aerrow ordered, pointing out into the sky from beside the helm. He decided that the best course of action they should take was to fully explore this area before heading out over the waves. "Let's scout the coast."

"Right." The merb obeyed.

"Stay low. We can use the rocks as cover – I'm not taking any chances."

"Did any of you see that?" Finn spoke up. Aerrow swivelled around to find him with his hands pressed against the glass. He looked rather startled. "There's something out there."

"I didn't see anything." Junko shrugged, joining him. "It could've been a shadow."

Finn shook his head sternly. "That was no shadow."

Aerrow casted an eye over the rocky ground outside; he could not see anything out there. "Stork, anything on the-"

"The scanner's down, remember?"

"Right," Aerrow said in realisation "then it's up to us." He strode back through the bridge and shot the blond sharpshooter a look on his way to the hatch. "Finn, you and I are gonna scout ahead."

"Aerrow, have you lost your mind?" Piper yelped, charging in his path. "It could be dangerous!"

Aerrow's brow furrowed. He attempted to side-step her, but Piper mimicked his action, her amber eyes filled with concern. He sighed. "It's a risk I'm going to have to take. I trust Finn's judgement, we can't ignore this."

"I'm with Aerrow on this one, Piper." Finn contributed. "We've got no other choice."

"Fine." Piper huffed, stamping her foot. "You guys better make it back."

"I always do." Aerrow grinned. "C'mon, Radarr." He called with a jerk of his head. "I'll need my co-pilot with me."

Radarr chirped loudly, his ears perking up and bounded over to Aerrow. The duo followed Finn out of the bridge.

"Finn, what exactly did you see?" Aerrow asked, catching up to him half way down the corridor. "What did it look like?"

"Something with wings."

"A dragon?"

Finn shook his head, concentrating on his route to the hangar. "Nah, the flight pattern was all wrong."

Aerrow raised an eyebrow at him, Radarr pulled a similar expression. "What do you know about flight patterns?"

"I know enough to know it was no dragon, dude."

"A skimmer?" Aerrow asked hopefully.

Finn snorted in response. "Don't be stupid."

"Alright," Aerrow concluded, stopping in his tracks at the foot of his bedroom door. "Gear up and I'll meet you back here in five."

Finn saluted and disappeared into the next room. Aerrow followed Radarr into his quarters, hit the lights and strut over to the closet in the far corner of his room. He hastily pulled back the doors, revealing the full length mirror on the inside and started attaching pieces of armour onto his uniform. He could hear Radarr in the background retrieving his energy blades from the wall and place them ready on the edge of his bed, as normal.

Having covered his entire upper body, Aerrow was struggling with clipping a piece to his left knee. He hopped around on one foot, eagerly trying to get it to stay put until he realised he was forcing it on the wrong leg. He attempted to correct his mistake but smacked his head against the closet door.

After a few more moments of stumbling around gearing up, Aerrow was finally in full armour. He stepped over to his bed, tilting his head at Radarr in appreciation for retrieving his weapons and stored them behind his back. "Let's move."

Radarr nodded in agreement and the pair exited the room to find Finn, fully armoured, lent beside his door fiddling with the trigger of his energy crossbow.

"You took your sweet time."

"Sorry." Aerrow said shortly, leading the others towards the end of the corridor. "You two need to keep a low profile. We could be flying right into an ambush."

The three of them entered the hatch and stopped on the large metal platform. Finn hit the switch that allowed the lift that ran on a roller to lower. "Got it, boss."

"Don't call me that." Aerrow snapped. He glared at his wingman as the door to the lower deck rose into view.

"Captain?"

"Nope."

"Chief?"

"Don't go there."

"Commander?"

"No way, I'm no Talon!"

"Colonel?"

Aerrow's frown intensified in disgust. "Ew." The three Storm Hawks stepped from the platform and walked down the corridor, toward the hatch and it immediately opened to allow their entrance into the hangar. "How about we just stick with 'Aerrow'?"

"Aerrow's good. I like Aerrow." Finn grinned; mounting his gold streamed Air Skimmer III and revved the engine to life.

"Time to focus." Aerrow instructed; him and Radarr also getting in position on their ride. "We can't afford to mess this up."

"Gotcha, dude." Finn replied shortly, flashing the pistol fingers before returning his hands to the controls.

Aerrow watched as the hatch slowly opened, revealing the runway and the hazy atmosphere beyond. He gave a quick nod of understanding to his co-pilot before leading the way into the sky, motorbike transforming itself into a biplane on the edge of the runway. The wind around the body of water was harsh and any sound generated by his skimmer was sucked backwards in the gale. All he could hear was the wind crashing in his ears and his red hair furiously beating the side of his face.

The two skimmers dropped down towards the shadow of the Condor on the soaking rocks below and skimmed over the earth. They edged ahead of the carrier and Aerrow squinted into the many crevasses of the rocks surrounding them as they passed overhead. The strong tide had battered away at the coast and many openings had been created. He did not feel safe in this situation knowing anything could be lurking just out of sight. He could barely hear Piper's voice from his skimmer's intercom over the squall.

"How's it looking out there?"

"Nothing much to report." Aerrow responded quietly, getting a closer look into one of the larger caves. "We'll keep looking."

"Uh, Aerrow…" Finn spoke up. "I've got something here and I don't think you're gonna like it."

Aerrow zipped over to where Finn's skimmer was hovering a little ahead to find his wingman staring down at a large break in the rock face. This was not a natural break; this crevice had been created by something large and destructive crashing into it. Something that was still present in the crater and it left scorch marks on the rocks where it was struck down.

"Dude, this is the thing I saw back on the ship." Finn said to Aerrow hesitantly, shooting the Sky Knight a look of anxiety. "I think it's a phoenix."

Aerrow could not avert his gaze from the unmoving creature before him. Its flames had gone out, exposing large golden feathers tangled in bright red blood. Its talons were sprawled beneath its tattered wings, ripped and bloody. He felt his heart break for it.

Aerrow shakily activated his skimmer's intercom. "Stork, stop the ship. Don't come any closer."

"Aerrow, what is it? Are you okay?" Piper's voice came in response.

"I'm fine." Aerrow assured her. "We're both fine. We've got a phoenix here and it's been attacked. I think it's dying."

"'Think whatever did it is still around?"

"Yes." Aerrow confirmed. "Keep your distance. I'm certain this bird was a decoy to lure us out here. We're being followed."

Finn started to look uneasy. His gaze darted in various directions, checking for any sign of an ambush. "If it did that to a phoenix, I don't wanna know what it's going to do to us."

"Aerrow, do you know what happens to a phoenix when it dies?"

"Yes, Piper." Aerrow grunted, fleeting his gaze over the rocks just as Finn was doing, desperately trying to remain calm. "I know what happens."

"What does happen?" Junko spoke up, "Something bad? Does it explode?"

"Ah, no…" Aerrow hesitated, trying to keep his focus. He had not realised it, but his left hand was reaching behind his back for the handle of his energy blade while his right remained on the skimmer controls. "Look, can you guys keep the com line clear for a sec?"

Both Piper and Junko uttered out a hushed apology and the communicator went silent. Aerrow and Finn circled the downed phoenix, the tips of their fingers itching for their weapons.

"Radarr, hear anything?" Aerrow whispered, flicking his gaze to his furry co-pilot. The blue creature in question pricked his ears up and angled them in various poses before going still, his left ear bent inwards while his right stuck out to the side. Aerrow raised his eyebrows. "And what does that mean? You know I can't understand you when you do that. Show me where."

Radarr pulled a face which could only be described as the look of pure irritation and pointed both his stubby four fingered hands over to the right of the skimmer.

"Finn, three o'clock!" Aerrow shouted.

The crossbow shot out of the front of Finn's skimmer. The marksman flew upwards and hovered overhead, crouched at the ready. "I've got no target."

"Keep looking." Aerrow ordered, scanning the coastline. "We are not alone."

"Do you guys need backup?" Piper intruded.

"No!" Aerrow snapped, a little ahead of himself. "I can't risk calling a full party out here. Stay at your posts."

"I got your back, dude." Finn assured him, flashing Aerrow the thumbs up as he adjusted his aim in the viewfinder. Aerrow was thankful his wingman had picked up on how much pressure he was under. One wrong move could lead to disaster and he never would be able to forgive himself. Finn's assurance told him he was trusted and this gave him the confidence to continue forwarding his plan.

"Stay out of sight and we'll hail you when we need pickup."

"We're all doomed."

"No, we're not, Stork." Aerrow frowned. "I'll make sure of that." His eyes darted to the phoenix suddenly as it started collapsing into a pile of ash.

"Well, that bird is gone." Finn pointed out, also noticing its death transformation.

"Not quite." Aerrow corrected him, retrieving a blade from behind his back and stepped up onto the upper left wing of his skimmer. "Radarr, take over." His co-pilot yapped in understanding and took his position in the pilot's seat. "Take us as low as you can."

The skimmer soared down towards the cliffs and Aerrow jumped off, lighting his blade in a flame of azure.

"Aerrow, what are you doing?" Finn called down to him, still scanning the area for a target.

He did not answer him, but pointed his blade at the nearest tunnel where the glow was obstructed by a figure standing just inside the shadows a few feet in front of him, eyes gleaming indigo.

"Greetings, Sky Knight."

Aerrow took a step backwards, brandishing his alit blade defensively. "Nightcrawler!"

"Indeed." The figure smiled. Its face was hidden beneath a hood, but indigo energy could be seen escaping between its teeth. The nightcrawler raised its right arm and its wrist-mounted pistol sprung to life. "The Storm Hawks do not belong here."

Aerrow held out his empty hand over his shoulder, fingers flaunted apart in a signal for his marksman to hold his fire. "Look, I don't want to fight you." He said, lowering his weapon. "Could you tell us what Cyclonis is doing here?"

The nightcrawler remained still, its pistol still pointing directly at Aerrow. "It is none of our concern. We have our own reasons for disposing of phoenixes." Aerrow felt an odd tingle down his spine at the mention of 'we' and it told him that he was the target of more than one pistol. "We cannot let you interfere."

"Nice chatting with ya." Aerrow said hesitantly. He jumped out of the line of fire and sprinted the opposite direction, many blasts of red energy fizzling in his direction. He thrust up a fist to signal Finn's cover fire and caught his skimmer's wing in the same hand as it swooped over him. Aerrow pulled himself back into his skimmer's seat, his pulse beating in his ears. He presented Radarr with a guilty smile. "That went well."

Radarr buried his face in his palms and shook his head in dismay.

"So, we got nightcrawlers!" Finn exclaimed as he flew up next to Aerrow's skimmer, shooting ice bolts down at the raid from above. "It was really stupid of you to go down there."

"I know." Aerrow responded shortly. "Less talking, more attacking!"

"Where's Piper and her solaris crystal when you need her?"

"Uh, Finn we lost that crystal at the bottom of Aquinos Lake."

"Then you need to think of something else." Finn insisted, dodging around energy blasts in a neat aileron roll. He had gotten a lot better at flying thanks to the little instruction he received from Aerrow, but refrained from the stunts if he could help it – he still was not that great at it and was not about to go at it for fun.

Aerrow glanced around at the pile of ash that was once the downed phoenix. "I already have."

Finn had spotted what was in Aerrow's line of sight. "You're not seriously gonna-"

"The nightcrawlers are after it too!" Aerrow interrupted, diving suddenly under a stream of red energy blasts. "But uh, they want us dead first."

"Great, just what we needed. Whatever you're gonna do, do it now and I'll cover you." Finn said without protest, locking an arrow into his skimmer's crossbow. Aerrow was thankful for his cooperation; he did not make the sharpshooter his wingman for nothing, after all.

Pulling his skimmer into a dive, Aerrow noticed the hooded nightcrawlers were also grouping around the remains of the great fire bird, waiting for the fire blasting phoenix crystal to materialise out of the ashes. He had to make sure he nabbed it before they did; the crystal may be their only chance to gain the upper hand. The Storm Hawks had never defeated the nightcrawlers in hand-to-hand combat before and he was well wary of this. They were trained assassins. Aerrow was sure he could take on at least two of them, but twenty? There was no way he was going to risk it. He circled the crater a few more times, scanning the rocks for any sign of activity, his sight wavering completely from Radarr who was desperately trying to get his attention.

It happened in an explosion of colour. A clammy taloned hand was pressed around his neck and the Sky Knight was tackled from his skimmer, the sheer force knocked the wind right out of him. Somehow he still managed to retain consciousness and could hear Finn yelling as the two dropped out of the sky. Aerrow tightened his grip around his blade, blinded by the impact he swiped at his attacker but none of his lashes hit their mark. They seemed to be protected by a mysterious crystal shield that his blade just would not penetrate. It crackled against ripples of purple energy.

Aerrow grabbed at the talons around his neck and prised them away, using the force of the fall; he flipped the nightcrawler over himself with all the strength he could muster. The cloaked figure took most of the impact of the plummet, but Aerrow still landed roughly. He felt a twinge of pain through his feet and ankles as he stood over the nightcrawler with his weapon raised. He took great care to make sure the hurt did not show on his face, he could not show weakness. He glared down into those glowing purple eyes with sheer dislike, the look of unspeakable delight upon its bandaged face.

"I'm not going down that easily." Aerrow growled darkly, lowering his lit blade closer towards the enemy's throat. "Tell me where Cyclonis is."

"Use of us, the witch has not." The nightcrawler spoke, its gagged teeth drawn together in the same look of dislike.

"Do you know where she's hiding?" Aerrow barked. He drew his unused blade in a crackle of blue light. "I'm not playing around."

"Sky Knight, you are in no such position to make demands." The nightcrawler laughed, pushing his blade away with a swoop of a wrist. Aerrow drew back in alarm, holding out both his glowing blades defensively. "She has no role in what is to come."

Aerrow could not believe what he was hearing. "So, you're not aligned with Cyclonis?"

"Very good." The nightcrawler smirked, rising to its feet, pistol directed right at the Sky Knight, preventing him any means of attack. "She is but a child, much like you. There are powers at work you have no hope to comprehend." Lightning hit the waves and Aerrow caught sight of a large group of nightcrawlers hunched over on the rocks surrounding the speaker, empty eyes of glowing indigo staring him down. He took a step backwards and stumbled over a jutting stone at his heels. "We own this land and you are trespassing." The nightcrawler declared as Aerrow fell backwards into the rocks, dropping his blades on the ground in the process. His right ankle had buckled under his weight and he was sure it was sprained. The other wasn't as damaged but still stung. Aerrow's sight had not hindered from the nightcrawlers surrounding him, but he realised where he had fallen.

A figure emerged out of the darkness, he recognised as Finn whose arms were held behind his back by another hooded demon. "I'm sorry Aerrow, they had me outnumbered." He tried to explain as briefly as he could, his lip was bleeding down his neck and into his collar.

He franticly felt around in the ash behind him as indiscreetly as he dared, with Finn's life also in the picture, he needed to take extra precautions. He had lost the feeling in his right foot. His breath came in short quick gasps and the cold harsh wind was prickling the back of his sweaty neck.

The nightcrawler that had tackled him from his skimmer – that Aerrow assumed was the leader of this small clan – spoke in a harsh tone. "The redhead dies first."

"NO!" Finn shouted, struggling against the nightcrawler that had him constrained, but the hooded figure's strength was far too great for him to match. It did not stop him trying, however. "GETOFFAME!"

Aerrow flinched as Finn's upper arm was twisted behind his back and he screamed in pain, unable to move without the risk of breakage. The lead nightcrawler that had his weapon still pointing at Aerrow watched this dispute over his shoulder and it gave Aerrow the advantage he needed to move onto step two of his not-so-brilliant plan. His hands clasped around something sleek and warm to his touch through the ashes of the firebird.

"Dude," Finn hissed between his teeth in a feeble attempt to get Aerrow's attention through his pain. His green eyes met with his blue and the sharpshooter jerked his head in the direction of the sky.

He looked and what he saw both shocked and infuriated him. His own skimmer approached through the haze, Radarr at the controls and Piper standing upon its wings, a storm of an expression resided on her face, her fists clenched in determination, one around a glowing green crystal. This was not part of his plan. As usual, Piper had added too many variables for him to keep track of.

"PIPER, NO!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. He knew what she was planning to do and he did not like it at all.

"INFERNO'S BLAZE!" He heard her yell at the crystal in her outstretched hand as the skimmer swooped overhead.

The sensation he felt was as if he had been struck in the chest by the nose of a switchblade and it knocked the wind right out of him for the second time. The crystal in Aerrow's own hand scorched through his glove and burned his fingers. He tried to drop it, but his hand refused to open. He looked down and from what he could tell through his blurring vision, it was on fire. He was on fire. The Binding was not just affecting him; it was affecting the phoenix crystal in his shaking grip. Flames crawled up Aerrow's arms, the Binding shielding his flesh from harm, but the pain was unbearable. He would have been yelling, but had no air left in his lungs to do so. He fell hard on his elbows. He could not control it. The phoenix crystal was too unstable and seemed to have a mind of its own.

Aerrow furiously tried to get to his feet, but a sharp pain down his spine was telling him otherwise. His hand clutching the crystal smacked down onto the ground and it was within that moment he realised what was happening. The crystal was giving him wings. Wings formed entirely of phoenix flame and Piper's Binding was the only thing that protected him from burning to death.

"Aerrow, I didn't know! I'm so sorry!" That was her. He felt Piper's gentle touch on his shoulder. His head hit the rocks and everything went black.