The morning air struck Piper's face as if a wave of cool and calming water. As always, the winds of the higher altitude were clear; definitely thinner than the air closer to the ground, but somehow more invigorating. There was an energy, laced within its invisible and flowing nature, that seemed to pacify her heart.
Piper took a deep breath and exhaled. A feeling of freedom surged through her body. For now, she was free from postwar politics until further notice. She could finally relax for a moment. She needed it.
The quandary involving Aerrow appeared to die down, as he recently wrote her a heartfelt letter. It had been almost three weeks since their trip to Terra Tropica. Three weeks of uncertainty that weighed upon Piper's heart.
His attempt to reach out to her was a sign of progress, but it also acted as an indication of the distance that lingered between the pair. Piper found the situation confusing, saddening, but vaguely optimistic. She decided to leave it at that, self-assured hopefulness. Dwelling on the issue would only exacerbate the situation.
She breathed in the high morning air once more before descending towards the asylum on her heliscooter. She smiled, holding on to the lofty feeling that filled her chest, as she actually looked forward to seeing her former enemy again.
It has taken Piper almost a full month, however, she had succeeded in convincing Cyclonis to do the speech. While the Cyclonian girl had initially hated the idea, the prospect of seeing something else besides the usual four walls of her prison cell she was accustomed to had likely been too enticing. Cyclonis had then been brought to Terra Atmosia to hold the speech, a few words on a piece of paper provided by the Council, urging everyone to end hostilities and respect the ceasefire.
This was two days ago and the ceasefire was amazingly still holding, putting Piper in a highly optimistic mood, and she felt excited to see Cyclonis. Indeed, she thought that this day would be enjoyable, maybe even without incident.
The presence of the two figures on the terra's edge indicated otherwise.
As Piper landed, she didn't bother to jump off the heliscooter. She frowned at what she knew would be yet another problem centralizing around the terra's most notorious resident. Two of the old healer's assistants came running to Piper's side. Their anxious faces painted a story that forced her to give up any chance of experiencing a relatively uncomplicated visit.
The healers began to explain the crisis to Piper. She sighed, resigning to the fact that today would most certainly not turn out to be a simple manner.
Piper landed her vehicle just short of the courtyard that the two assistants claimed Cyclonis and the guards were found to be within. Standing before the entrance, staring towards the scene of glittering purple explosions, stood the Old Healer.
Piper approached the old merb, frustrated and flustered.
"How long has she been like this?" Piper asked, rubbing her forehead and looking towards the scene.
The Old Healer did not acknowledge Piper's presence by making eye contact. His gaze remained stern, focused towards the crackling flashes of lightning emanating from the courtyard.
"She's been at it for two hours. I am relieved that no one is dead, yet. She has learned some restraint," the old merb said coolly.
The Old Healer slowly turned his head, staring directly into Piper's hazel eyes and spoke. "Please calm her before she hurts herself or someone else. The latter being the most likely."
Piper nodded and bowed respectfully. She then went on to face the young Cyclonian consumed by her own wrath.
Upon entering the courtyard, Piper saw that the area was in a disarray. Black scorches littered the cobblestoned ground and buildings surrounding the courtyard. Seven sky knight guards lay scattered on the ground, barely moving. Some appeared to remain still to avoid further injury. Three guards stood facing the former master of Cyclonia, each maintaining a relatively safe distance from Cyclonis' fury.
Piper could see her, dressed in the skin tight burgundy suit she wore underneath her usual wine colored robes. She appeared to have removed the robes for the time being to allow for better mobility. Her black hair flowed down her back. It had grown longer during her time in the asylum.
"Who ordered you to stop attacking?" the irate young woman barked at the remaining guards through labored breaths. "Keep going!"
The three guards resumed their stances, hesitantly moving forward with their crystal powered energy blades from three distinct angels. Fearlessly, Cyclonis jumped into the midst of their approach.
In tandem with the landing of her feet upon the scorched cobblestone, knees bending to accommodate her weight, she forced her hands together in a spear-like point towards the ground. All three guards were pushed to the ground by a blast of dark energy pulsing from the young woman. Making use of this distraction, Cyclonis moved with trained fluidity, spinning once while firing off a ghostly violet lightning bolt in their direction.
The bolt struck the guard to her left in the chest. He was sent flying backwards, shook his body violently, electrocuted, and fell to the ground, still shaking before finally lying still. Cyclonis stretched out her hand and the second guard was encapsulated in a purple glow. He was lifted into the air telekinetically before Cyclonis decided to toss him against a nearby wall.
The remaining guard watched in terror as he saw the young Cyclonian turn towards him with a fiendish grin. He dropped his weapon and cowered in fear.
Cyclonis stood in front of his writhing body, talking to all the guards while looking towards the helplessness that lay before her. "Get up." Her chest heaved, stealing as much air as possible between her words. "We're not finished yet."
The guards moaned, the lot of them injured or otherwise incapaciated by the now undeniably exhausted Cyclonis.
"I said we're not finished yet. Stand up," she commanded in stifled huffs.
"I say that you are. Whatever is going on here is over, Cyclonis," Piper said as she approached the girl.
"Well well well, if it isn't my best friend forever. Hello, Piper," she said, assuming a cordial yet dismissive tone. "As you can see, I seem to be preoccupied at the moment. If you will, please return another time. Thanks," she sneered, barely looking over her shoulder.
Cyclonis approached the guard lying in front of her, addressing him directly. "I said, we're not-"
A large wall of ice shot upwards from the ground, separating Cyclonis from the downed guard. The frost crystal radiated with a cool blue light from the tip of Piper's battle staff.
"All right, Piper. If you want to play, I'll play," Cyclonis hissed and turned to face her new opponent.
"I don't want to fight-," Piper started.
She was interrupted when a bolt of ghostly violet electricity headed towards her. She managed to avoid it at the very last second.
Cyclonis lunged at her immediately after, however, Piper managed to catch her and the girls were thrown to the ground. Piper pushed the Cyclonian girl away using her staff but only managed to get onto her feet before Cyclonis captured her using her telekinesis. Piper was at once completely immobile.
"Oh, sweet, sweet Piper. It must really bite for you to be so dependent on crystals when you can only wield one type at once," Cyclonis purred as she teased a nail over Piper's soft cheek. "Especially when I'm so in tune with Atmos' crystals that I can harness any of their effects on my own."
"You have absorbed their powers indeed," Piper managed to sneer through the spell's hold, "as well as their weaknesses."
From her hand began to shine a bright green color and she was released from the telekinetic prison at once. Opening her hand, she revealed a small gem to the former master. This was the very same blocking crystal she had used to depower Cyclonis' magical camouflage as the blonde-haired girl Lark on Terra Tundras nearly a year ago. The crystal's properties allowed it to block the effects of any other crystal powers nearby, including the biochemical powers innately infused in the Cyclonian girl's DNA.
"Remember this one?"
Cyclonis hissed. "Only too well."
"Good. Because your tricks are useless against me when I-"
Piper was interrupted by Cyclonis roundhouse jump kicking her in the chest, causing her to stumble several feet backwards.
"Good thing I don't need the spells!"
"Stop! We need to talk this out. I need to know what's going on here."
The former empress shifted into a battle stance. She raised her curled up fists in front of her face, ready to block any incoming attacks.
"I'm done talking."
Piper's attempt at calming the former empress down was swiftly thrown out the window in favor of a new strategy: survive. She wasn't entirely sure whether Cyclonis meant to kill her or if this was just some kind of sick game. No matter which, Piper didn't intend to let her have her way.
The girls met in a flurry of blows and kicks. Cyclonis was surprisingly fast for some who had been chained to a wall the past couple months. There was a fury inside her, unleashed at last, and a maddening anger finally directed at her nemesis. Piper noted the wild look in Cyclonis' violet eyes as the other girl kept striking at her and kicking her repeatedly.
Piper was hastily forced backwards until she found herself in the corner of the courtyard. Dodging one of Cyclonis' blows, she set off from the wall behind her, swiftly lunging herself over the Cyclonian. She hooked her leg around Cyclonis' neck midair and forced the other girl to fall over.
"You're no match for me without your spells! Just give up and we'll talk this through!"
Although Piper tried her hardest to make her voice sound confident, she was grasping the blocking crystal desperately between her fingers in case the former empress would decide to cast a new despicable spell. Cyclonis instead twisted Piper's ankle and, in the moment she was distracted, escaped the leg hold to push the other girl away, rolled the both of over on the cobblestones and mounted her waist. She raised her fist to strike at Piper's face, however, the Stormhawk threw sand in Cyclonis' eyes. The Cyclonian, blinded, stumbled backwards, which was exactly the opening Piper had been waiting for.
She found the freezer crystal lying on the ground nearby and immediately ran to pick it up. As Cyclonis regained her vision and realized what the other girl was during, she used her telekinesis to summon the powerful stone. The crystal began to levitate and traveled through the air to the sorceress outstretched hand, however, Piper made a jump for it and caught it before it came into Cyclonis' reach.
Piper immediately activated the freezer crystal's power and sent out a stream of cold, blistering wind in Cyclonis' direction. The former master in turn released a torrent of dark crystal energy against Piper's body. The waves of crystal magic crushed against each other. The young women seemed locked in a standstill, icy blue and dark purple lights illuminating the sky and everything around them.
Thinking quickly, Piper activated the blocking crystal in her other hand and immediately slid it towards Cyclonis' feet. As it reached her, its powers came into effect and depowered the other girl of her innate crystal magic. The purple lights began to flicker. Cyclonis cried out in frustration as the freezer crystal's power consumed her.
By the time Piper regained her senses, the Cyclonian girl was left encapsulated in an enormous layer of solid ice from the neck down.
Seeing that Cyclonis was temporarily incapacitated, members of the asylum staff arrived in the courtyard to assist the fallen guards. Piper walked towards where Cyclonis was trapped and sat before her in a half lotus position.
Cyclonis' hair shadowed her face in such a way that only the two violet eyes looked upwards to meet Piper's gaze. Instead of engaging in a verbal confrontation with the Cyclonian girl, Piper took a different route. She began laughing.
"Not only am I going to be subjected to some childish lecture, but I am to be mocked as well?" Cyclonis sulked.
"Oh, I'm not mocking you. I just think you look kind of," Piper trailed off, rubbing the back of her head, "you know, funny."
"What's so funny about this, Storm Hawk?" she spat.
A huge grin overtook Piper's face as she began to answer Cyclonis' question. "Do you remember the story about Finn and the rockbeaver?"
Cyclonis' cheeks grew warm. She did.
"Well, this reminds me of that day," Piper chuckled.
Cyclonis filled her lungs with air, her mouth opening, ready to speak. She paused before the first words escaped her mouth. She held her tongue. Looking at Piper sitting before her, so peaceful and content after just fighting her moments prior, while she was trapped in a block of ice, stressed the parallel between herself and that ridiculous blonde oaf. She realized that she must now look exactly as she imagined the foolish Storm Hawk boy to look on that day.
She closed her eyes as her face burned brightly with embarrassment.
AN: My first real fight scene. I hope you enjoyed it. Piper is essentially a D&D wizard who needs to study magic and requires special reagents to perform spells while Cyclonis is a D&D sorceress who was born with the ability. I'm fully aware that turning people into ice cubes will absolutely kill them but I'm taking full advantage of the fact that "Storm Hawks" is a cartoon and cartoon physics thus apply.