"Suzy, we sited something, eh," one of the Absolute Zeros says.
Suzy chews some bubble gum as she walks up beside the Blizzardian. "That so? What is it?"
"Seems like a cruiser, but the hoosiers can't figure out who's it is," the squaddie informs.
Suzy raises an eyebrow and looks towards where this airship is coming from. "Call 'em."
"The hoosiers kinda short-circuited the radio again," the squaddie adds.
Suzy blows a bubble now and keeps watching the sky. "No flag. No logo. No sign. And no contact because of hoosiers. Saddle up, boys!" she calls, turning to everyone. "Let's meet our visitors!"
"Suzy, we got a message from them via light signals," a new squaddie says, running up.
Suzy turns her head and throws it back to see the new guy. "Oh yeah. What?" she asks while everyone runs off to the skimmers.
"It reads. 'Suzy, you better be or have given the…' Word was crossed out. 'A beating. Because if not, I will after trying to get in contact for eight hours. Angry intent.' End of messages," the squaddie reads.
One of Suzy's ears twitch straight up and blows a bubble now. She then sighs and holds out a fist to the side, which stops everyone dead cold. It even sends someone flying off their skimmer when they try to ride away. "Clear landing spot," she says dryly at losing her fun.
"What will you be doing?" a squaddie asks.
Suzy shrugs. "What else? Take a meet," she says offhandedly while the Tailwind approaches and blows the snow buildup away from the terra. She turns her head and looks at the large ship as it slows down before hovering over the landing zone. But also blows the skimmers away into snow piles.
A cargo lift slowly lowers itself, and Suzy smiles as she spies Dustin leaning on one of the arms holding the lift. But, his face doesn't look amused one bit. "What the fuck, Suzy?"
"Feeling better?" Suzy asks.
Dustin sighs as he holds onto her while she rides her skimmer up the hills. "Mostly. You guys need to get stuff fixed."
"Don't worry. So you are part of this new ship then? What are you, helmsman?" Suzy asks.
Dustin chuckles. "Captain."
"…I'm sorry. What?" Suzy asks, stopping the skimmer.
"I funded and built the Tailwind there. Though it is unfinished," Dustin informs, leaning around her shoulder.
Suzy turns more around and smirks. "So, that means I have to keep calling you, captain?"
"That is captain sir to you, hoosier Suzy Crasher," Dustin teases.
Suzy smirks and twists her head around, smacking him with one of her ears. "You are pushing it, eh? How about having fun too? You seemed stiff on landing."
Dustin shrugs, wrapping his arms tighter around her waist. "Only after dealing with crazy crap. It's to maintain a ship. You guys have it way easier," he laughs off.
Suzy smirks as she rides up the final hill and stops before a cliff. "Well, you have your chance, Dustin," she announces, and he looks to see the entire terra from on top of the mountain. "So, we reached the top. What next? A little slope riding or cliff diving?" she lists off before seeing him reaching and shut off the engine, leaving them with some light wind brushing against them.
Suzy hums as she turns her head to look as she feels movement behind her and sees that Dustin has twisted around, so he's back to back with her. "This. Just this," he says, sounding relaxed while leaning against her.
Suzy gives a soft smile before doing the same and closing her eyes. "Okay. I get it. You are a relaxing hosier," she chuckles, putting her feet up.
"And you got taller," Dustin shoots back as he feels her ears flop around on top of his head. Then he notices her head leaning back onto his. "Too bad. I already beat Starling."
"Suzy, I need a favor and am the bearer of bad news," Dustin says after a while.
Suzy hums.
"All the Interceptors but Starling are dead, and Terra Mesa was abandoned," Dustin informs.
Suzy hums again.
"Had to talk some sense into her, so she doesn't go suicidal in an attempt of revenge against Repton. I also want to hire one of your people. I know you have pilots for cruisers, even though you guys lost all of them in the last battle. I need a dedicated helmsman to pilot the Tailwind," Dustin informs.
Suzy hums once again.
"Also, get ready to go. I am looking at one of the cats stalking towards us," Dustin adds with a sense of urgency.
Suzy hums but doesn't move or show any sign of concern.
"Now!" Dustin calls, pulling on one of her ears.
Suzy winces but doesn't move while the snowcat gets too close. Dustin starts to sweat as he stares it down before Suzy roars and stands up, looming over the cat with her hands outstretched. The sabertooth cat suddenly pads the ground and turns to run away. Suzy smirks as she sits back down while Dustin realizes how tall she has gotten. "Ears help idiot. You act scared; you are just giving it a meal," she explains, leaning back against him again. "They hate larger, scarier looking animals."
"Like a hunting party of raptors by chance?" Dustin asks.
"Yes…why?" Suzy asks before hearing hissing and cheering before sighing. "Dustin?"
"Viper hired more raptors…is that spear made out of a fire scorpion's tail?" Dustin asks, making Suzy look.
Suzy raises an eyebrow as the spear gets pulled out of the dead runaway sabertooth by a raptor. "And there goes our private, quiet time," she mutters as the raptor finally notices the two.
"Oh…boss," the raptor says, and the others take notice.
Dustin slowly points to the corpse. "Get that thing and any other away from us," he orders in a slow tone.
The raptor nods quickly before grabbing the dead cat and slings it over his shoulder. "Guys, let's clear this mountain!" he calls, and the two hear the other raptors mumble to themselves.
Suzy sputters and leans back again. "Hoosiers," she says before blowing a bubble.
"Speaking of that. Will you or will I be the one to beat those idiots?" Dustin asks, entirely serious.
Suzy cracks an eye open. "How much damage to the room and them you want?"
"Room, what you want. Them, make it hurt," Dustin informs.
"Leave it to you. You seem very dangerous," Suzy answers, shrugging against him.
"Do I make your bunny sense tingle?" Dustin teases.
Suzy flicks her head and smacks his head with her ear. "Shut up. You are not that good at teasing."
"You like it, and you know it," Dustin says, smirking.
Suzy slowly smiles while feeling him lightly grab one of her ears to give a small tug. "Cheeky, eh?"
"So, will you do it?" Dustin asks.
Suzy waves her hand off to the side towards him. "Yeah, yeah. Just relax, Dustin. You wanted this other than riding off a cliff to our doom," she says before snickering at the end.
"We also need to paint our ship. We decided in the last meeting to go with a darker shade of blue and black. What do you think?" Dustin asks.
Suzy hums. "If it is metal and you are going fast, I recommend our paint. It's made for cold and hard to stick surfaces. High speeds too."
"We plan to make her be able to fly up to the atmosphere no problem," Dustin adds, making her ears flop to the side of her head in shock.
"Dustin…that's dangerous. Even for you," Suzy says, sounding worried and turning her head.
"Well, not if you had that in mind from day one designs," Dustin says cheekily.
Suzy lightly smacks his head with one of her ears. "That's not a simple matter either way, eh. For one, too much preparation…"
"Calculations, stress tests, and more are already underway. We mostly need money for the materials. As our engines are strong enough to get us there already," Dustin informs.
"Again. Not an easy matter," Suzy notes, frowning. "And you don't know what will happen once you are up there."
"Suzy, it's me. If I didn't think I was up to the task at this time, would I do it?" Dustin asks.
Suzy takes a slow deep breath before sighing. "Don't fall out of the sky. Everyone and their hoosiers will be watching."
"It's still a ways off," Dustin informs.
"And then you get a big fat contract to mess with," Suzy continues, ignoring that comment. "Don't muck that up either, eh?" she asks, snuggling against his back.
"I will not be selling the tech to do that till the war is truly over like my ship," Dustin informs, freezing her.
Suzy slowly frowns as her ears cover his vision. However, she doesn't say anything.
"Imagine this. A cruiser fleet at that height is starting to fire and drop bombs onto a terra. They wouldn't be able to defend against that despite which side," Dustin says, showing he had thought hard on it.
"Because all you do is think about war."
"Because there is one going on. And it's gone on so long that neither side remembers how or why it started," Dustin reminds.
"And you just keep that in your mind too much."
"Only to protect you guys and other people. If I can build a ship that will transport people away from fights while it happens, I would have…" Dustin starts to explain.
"Dustin!" Suzy yells and makes him stop cold. "Enough. There is fun. And there is too much fun. You have to know when to stop. And don't give me crap that you know when to. Because with your mind, you can never stop until it does end," she lectures in a cold tone.
"You know me well…but so is the reverse," Dustin says, smirking, pulling out a carrot he had been hiding.
Suzy knocks his hand away and frowns as she starts her skimmer again. The cold start engine is cranking to get itself started up. "Dustin, before you throw ideas onto the ground and see what flies by itself, how about talking with us. Not just your crew. For us, we can never leave our terras alone. And you make it sound like an ideal dream of a little rabbit," she keeps lecturing, trying to get the engine started.
"One moment," Dustin says, lifting his leg and slamming it down on the seat, which starts the engine. "Sometimes, a bit of tough love is needed."
Suzy sighs as she hears the engine chugging and grabs the handles. "If you can't see our position and think everything will go your way, you will never learn. Oh, you will build," she starts coldly and turns to him with a slight glare.
"Before you continue. The night the Tailwind finished the race, a few sky knights thought it was a good idea to try and steal her in the middle of the night. That is why I don't involve the squadrons. You and Starling are probably the only ones I will listen to," Dustin admits.
Suzy suddenly slaps him across the face, but luckily it was lessened with her gloves being padded. "And yet, you don't. You don't listen to a damn word. You keep talking and hoping to turn it your way and make everyone forget. Starling will never forget what happened. She doesn't have an outlet like you."
"I got what you are saying, Suzy, but tell me, would her rushing to her death have helped?" Dustin asks.
Suzy glares at him as her ears roll down behind her head. "Would a constant worry that she can not protect other Atmosians and sky knights not be on her mind as well?" she questions and watches him flinch slightly. "You never did think further of what we do. Yes. We protect our terras and our teammates. But when it comes to the entire Atmos, we also have a duty to them."
"Duty…Duty!" Dustin says, his eyes are now ablaze with the anger of the likes she has never seen in him before. "I have heard that word all my life—the sky knight's duty. That is a load of shit, and you know it! The squadrons don't give a shit beyond their gain or terra. If not, then why. Tell me why the knights pressed my mother and all those civilians to go and fight the last great battle against Cyclonia in almost all lightly armored civilian cruisers with no weapons. The sky knights will protect, but those like the Storm Hawks didn't ever have a problem with sending people to die as literal fodder. I did that to Starling, hoping she wouldn't end up like me, Suzy. Someone who despises a group so bad that I wish most were still alive so I could kill them myself," Dustin nearly roared.
Suzy stares at him long and hard as he pants with anger while they seemingly glare at each other. But Suzy seems more calculated than smoldering. "Trust us and fuck everyone else. Is that correct?" she asks bluntly.
"You are the only ones I trust, Suzy," Dustin says, getting off. "As none of the others have ever proven me wrong on that," he finishes and starts walking away down the mountain.
Suzy raises an eyebrow at him now and watches him walk. "You know, there is one thing you still don't see. And your blind rage is enough to keep it that way. If you can't figure it out, then it would turn into no trust at all. Even me," she calls to him.
"I know. I know better than anyone else that my hatred has blinded me, but it's not something I can ever let go of Suzy. It runs deep as I'm not too fond of the very core of the Cyclonia and Sky Knight organization. I am also not the only one. Tell me how many have died in this war?" Dustin asks.
"Like Starling and her team that she considered family?" Suzy calls and makes him stop in his tracks. "A captain she considered a father. And teammates that she considered as her brothers and sisters?"
"Yes," Dustin answers.
"So fuck them too, eh?" Suzy presses, raising an ear slightly with her eyebrow. "Since they led to their death and almost Starling's."
"My hatred says yes. But my more rational side says no. Guess which one is now in control?" Dustin says, looking back so she could see his eyes.
Suzy keeps staring back at him with the same blank look that starts to unnerve him, but his anger keeps him steady. "Which are you going to let yourself be controlled by for the rest of your life? Sooner or later, it would be fuck everyone. Including those that you trust. Me. And Starling," Suzy explains as he now notices that her gum is gone too, and she isn't chewing.
"You both leave my life…then yes to the sky knights. I would rather not become someone that wants to see this world burn, though. So tell me, could I change?" Dustin asks.
Suzy leans on her skimmer and watches him with the same cold stare. "Can you make a plan in anger? Can you draw and build with that same anger you just blew into my face?"
"I have. I figured out a weapon that would…no. I promised myself I would never let anyone know about that and why I burned those plans," Dustin informs.
Suzy raises an eyebrow now. "Then why did you make that plan in the first place? You wanted to build it. So who was leading? Your anger or you?"
"Passion and anger are two sides of the same coin Suzy. I can't have either without both. It's who I am," Dustin says.
Suzy rolls her eyes, exasperated. "And yet you convinced Starling to go without anger on her journey. She left you without telling, didn't she? Left without a word but no sign of anger from those that watched her skimmer?"
"Yeah, I hoped I made the right decision," Dustin informs.
"On what?" Suzy calls as she finally stands and gets off her skimmer. "Getting her riled up to lead her to her death? Or that she simmers down and thinks about it?"
"The latter," Dustin informs.
Suzy slowly walks toward Dustin as he hears the snow crunch, and the sun starts to set. "There's a difference between us and you, Dustin. Duty or not, we protect the people of Atmos. You can hide away in your workshop all you want and build a plan that can kill or end anything in your pure hot anger. However, me, Starling, the other knights, even Cyclonians for wasteland's sake, all have to control our emotions, or we go off and do something stupid," she points out, poking his chest as he now notices how tall she is and intimidating by height alone.
"Say it. Let me know what I am lacking. Because no matter what you say will be something I tell myself every time I look in the mirror," Dustin says.
Suzy lets out a deep breath and bends down to his height, partially digging her legs into the snow. "Think. Always. No matter what, think. And don't just think about yourself. Think about others close to you and how we would feel if something you do or make comes to life. Because if you don't, we will never forgive you and ourselves," she states, slowly reaching up and placing a hand on the side of his head.
"This is why you are a good knight, Suzy, but the age of the knight has come to an end…I don't want to tell anyone this, but I created a weapon. A weapon I originally intended to kill sky sharks and things like them, but I had it tested on those riding skimmers when we were attacked. They were torn to pieces," Dustin informs, showing a bit of shame. "Even the princess of Cyclonia agreed we couldn't allow this to be integrated into either side."
Suzy slowly leans forward and places their foreheads together as he notices now that she is crying, which is hidden by her fur and snow. "Dustin. That weapon. Even if both sides agreed not to use it, there would be someone who does. Someone with the same anger as you but not controlling themselves. They would come across both sides and end them. And then, you would have to live with that guilt, knowing you created something that can kill skimmer riders," she slowly sighs and looks at him, letting him see her eyes. "Especially if Starling or I come across them. This is what I meant. It bothers me that you don't think far enough. It won't just be you, the sky knights, or Cyclonians. The people of both sides will find a way and do it. And it would be best if you thought about all of it. The burden me and Starling deal with is the same thing. Who we save and how," she admits, turning her gaze downward. "Starling is now in the worst position. With or without her anger. She feels responsible and doesn't want to let others die like the terra or her team. This wasn't just a duty to us, Dustin; it's a purpose we found that we want to help people. So please, think about everyone. Not just yourself and only a few people. Because you can get hit hard from one side and will never see another coming afterward," Suzy now pleads to him as she holds him tight with her hand.
"This is why I can't trust anyone else from either side to weigh in, Suzy. I have already created things that, if either side gets a hand on, they will use them to massacre the other. I have made an engine that, if you put on a destroyer, would make it much faster than any cruiser, even the famous Conder. I have also made a weapon that makes knights wholly obsolete, and I know it will just be a matter of time before someone uses it. It's the end of an era Suzy, but I can at least confide in you in secret what I have noticed from the weapon. So at least you have some defense against it," Dustin informs.
"It won't matter," Suzy admits, now standing but keeps a hand on his shoulder. "The moment someone else touches it and realizes what it can do, it will be out of your hands. At that point, it will be out of control," she lectures, and he sniffs from his onset of tears. "None of us can stop what you started. Not even Cyclonis. Not even you. So Dustin, which side of you are you going to let take control of your life? The one that hates everything, the world, and you? Or the one that thinks ahead and at least notices the good of the world? Because from what I am seeing, you lost control and always have been. From the moment you went alone without your father," Suzy states, and he flinches again.
"You're wrong. This has been with me as long as I can remember. My father has never noticed or even truly understood me. I see things, Suzy. I figure them out and understand how they work, and then twist them into something new. The weapon isn't new technology. We have always had this. It's just a different form. If not for the resistance to change, it would have already spread," Dustin says.
Suzy takes a deep breath that finally, she is getting somewhere. "And that's you, Dustin. But with others, it is not. You must think. Always think. You, me, others, all of us."
"I do think a lot…Suzy, even without my weapon or technology, Cyclonia will win in the end," Dustin says.
Suzy sighs. "Yeah. We all have that fear," she admits and sees him look up. "You don't notice because you have been on both sides. But for us Atmosians, we always have that fear that one day, we would look up and see a Cyclonian airship just hanging above our terra to tell us we lost."
"No, you don't understand. It's not a fear. It's a certainty," Dustin informs seriously.
"And?" Suzy questions, tilting her head a bit as she gets down to eye level with him again. Now she fears she is facing another angle to deal with.
"They have finished making or outfitting seventy destroyers already, or nearly have. They are producing their skimmers by the dozens for each factory a day. They are rolling out weapons by the barrel load every hour from their factories. They are also training and conscripting new talons from their primary terra to all the other terras they control. I guarantee that unless something happens politically, they will start back in two to three years, and that is just their main terra," Dustin says, sharing with her what he saw personally while at Cyclonia last time.
Suzy keeps staring. "And?"
"How many cruisers can the sky knights put together if they combine all their battle-ready forces? How many skimmers and weapons have they all stockpiled, and finally, how many sky knights and squaddies do we have now after about a decade of trying to rebuild?" Dustin asks, trying to paint a clear image.
Suzy slowly blinks. "And?" she asks plainly, and Dustin looks shocked she isn't taking things seriously. "Dustin, when it comes to fighting for your terra or the Atmos in general, there is a choice. It's either the people forced to be that way or us. And not by our decisions, but because they have to defend themselves. I don't want to see my fellow Blizzardians picking up weapons that I know they won't be ready for. Not even a fight. Those in my team I know can handle themselves," she admits and looks back down to the terra village as the lights have now been put up as the sky darkened.
"Ok, look, I may have gone about it wrong. Neither side is going to survive this next time is what I am getting at," Dustin informs.
Suzy keeps looking down at the village before smiling. "Yeah. And we could all die by tomorrow if that's the case too," she says, chuckling. "Why do you think we are so carefree?"
"Make sure your people survive. After Cyclonia wins, they will more than likely collapse in on themselves from overextending, which is what I am getting at. After that, there won't be an Atmosia and possibly a Cyclonia, and we will have to pick up the pieces afterward. That is how the age of the sky knight will end with or without my technology. This is a big reason why I turned down Cyclonis's offer to become head of their R&D wing," Dustin informs, making her look at him shocked.
Suzy slowly starts to frown, and he notices it as this would be when she became cold and heartless in her lectures. "Is that so? Well then, count ourselves lucky for that. But, you forget something. An essential aspect that involves you," she points out and pokes his chest.
"I know, which is why I refuse to sell engines, designs, or weapons to either side. I plan to release the engine and ship designs after that all happens, though. We are going to need that tech to recover from the collapse," Dustin points out, taking a seat.
Suzy shakes her head now. "No. That is not the part of you that I am saying you missed," she notes, placing her hands on his shoulders.
"You mean to be there to help? Because you know that our tech has not advanced since the Condor…note to self, try and locate the remains of the Condor," Dustin says, making a mental note of that.
Suzy smiles and shakes her head. "No. Not that too. It doesn't involve your help or your technology in any way."
"…Suzy, are you asking me to give you children in a roundabout way?" Dustin asks, looking at her in shock.
Suzy guffaws and snarks. "No, silly," she sighs and sits back down on the skimmer again as he now notices she somehow led him back. She sighs and pulls him into a hug, wrapping her arms around him. "Slow down. And just enjoy the world for what it is. No point in always worrying because you can never see what's in front of you at times."
"Oh…I was going to say yes, though," Dustin spurts out. "What is wrong with me that I can not keep my mouth shut around you?"
Suzy hugs him tighter and smiles while laying her head on top of his. "I consider that a perk. But it's because I have seen many kids and adults who hate everything: the world and themselves. I don't want you to be like that. I want you to be Dustin. The famous inventor and good friend," she admits, chuckling.
"If you want that, I will destroy the sky knights. I am just warning you as I can't see a future either way because the skimmer is basically at their zenith," Dustin informs.
Suzy partially looks down at him. "You will figure it out. You always will—a way where we everyone can still live their lives and not suffer like those that already did. Besides, who am I going to make some hotdogs over engine fires with?" she asks before snickering.
"Speaking of which. Suzy, your engine is on fire," Dustin points out.
Suzy looks behind her and sees the fire roaring and hums. "This is fine," she states and shrugs while keeping a hold around him. "This is all fine. The others will come to try and find us if we take longer anyway. But for now, Dustin?" she asks, feeling his arms wrap around her.
"Suzy…are the cats afraid of fire by chance?" Dustin asks.
"Yeah. We hardly have them here," Suzy says, noticing some eyes watching them but not approaching. Instead, some are eyeing the shadow they are making while their figure is blocked by the fire to appear as an unnatural beast. "But Dustin, one last thing?"
"Suzy, this isn't the time if you want to make a kid," Dustin jokes.
Suzy snarks. "I know. I was going to ask if you need someone to just stay by you in bed tonight. I doubt you are going to survive if you are alone and think back to before," she points out with some concern in her voice.
"…you talked with Starling before I arrived, didn't you, by the way…yeah, you did," Dustin says, seeing her smirk.
Suzy nods and pulls him closer. "She said you needed someone. Starling doubted that you would make it any longer after what she said," she sighs out. "She left worried about you, Dustin."
"And this is why I didn't go into being a chancellor. I am no good at relieving fears," Dustin mutters.
Suzy hums against him. "No. But you have us to count on. Remember that, okay? If you need us, just call us, and we will be there in a heartbeat. Even if it's only for keeping you calm to make sure that no bad dreams come around," she teases.