Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks.

Reminiscence

It wasn't too uncommon for Cyclonis to find herself roaming the old halls of Cyclonia. Though she felt it to be less frequent since she became ruler, even more so with the empire's jubilee coming up soon. Between planning and writing out grand speeches, she thought her mind was going to burn out. Still, she managed to catch a small break and had planned on spending it somewhere private for the moment.

Of all the places there were, her grandmother's old room was the one where she felt she could find true solace. There was still a sense of comfort and care whenever she visited it, even with her passing. It was also one of the few in the citadel that no one else went to as far as she was concerned. With that in mind, she was willing to enjoy her brief reprieve by herself there.

Or so she thought.

As she neared the room in question, Cyclonis took notice of the door being slightly ajar. It was odd, seeing as no Talon would dare set foot in there unless they wanted a death wish. A wish that she could easily grant. In silence, she snuck over to behind the door, readying herself for whoever was in there.

She peeked in through the crack, her eyes widened at who she saw. Out of all the people she expected, Snipe was not even one of them. Yet there he was. Standing by the bed, he seemed to stare in solemn thought, definitely abnormal from his usual self. Still, she felt irate for his presence sullying her sanctuary. Such a crime was far from forgiven in her eyes.

In one swift motion, she threw the door open, immediately catching his attention. "Master Cyclonis! I didn't expect you to be here!"

"Oh really? You didn't expect me to be in my own grandmother's bedroom that you seem to be in yourself?" The slight vitriol dripping from her mocking tone made him almost turn white. "You have five minutes to explain what you're doing here."

Snipe remained silent, obviously thinking up some excuse so she wouldn't punish him too much. Not like it would've mattered anyway. He had no right to be in this room. She drummed her fingers along her arms as she waited to hear his answer.

"… I thought I should visit since she found me and all," he finally said, rubbing his arm while looking away. Hearing the sincerity in his voice, Cyclonis was taken aback a little. She didn't expect him to be like this as he rarely showed any vulnerability. He was the tough brute whose IQ was in the single-digit range. At least as far as she was concerned.

Still, she felt some remorse for her behavior earlier. She relaxed her posture before sighing. "Well, I suppose I could use the company… You may stay if you're only paying respects."

"You're sure?" Snipe raised an eyebrow, skeptical of her kind gesture.

"To be honest, I don't care whether you remain here or not," she replied nonchalantly. "But I won't force you either way."

He tilted his head, still a bit uncertain. Then, he seemed to shift back to his usual self. "Well, that's good. Cuz Snipe just remember there's stuff I need to do. Like drawing up my new battleship and overseeing training. Oh! And Ravess has-!"

"Just stay." Her no-nonsense tone made him jolt straight up. Next, he started to look around, possibly trying to find the best spot without upsetting her. After a while, he finally sat down on the floor, crossing his legs in the process.

Cyclonis raised an eyebrow as she watched him settle. She then walked over to the bed and jumped onto it. Soon, her body relaxed, taking in the fragrance that lingered in the sheets. She could pick up the faint scent of her grandmother. It was still there, even long after her passing. As her mind remembered those blissful memories with her, a soft smile began to form across her face.

Soon, she recalled that Snipe was still with her and glanced over at him. His head tilted as he watched her laze in the bed. Repositioning herself closer to him, she asked, "So? Is this your first time in here?" She watched as he nodded his head. But then after a while, he shook it, showing a bit of guilt. "Then you've been here before?"

"… Yea," he finally admitted, "When the previous Master was alive, and a few times after her death."

"… What was your relationship with my grandmother?" With a slight jerk of his head, he looked surprised by her question. It was probably one of the few times she felt curious about one of her commanders. Though he seemed hesitant as the silence between them felt almost deafening.

After a while, he scratched his neck and said, "Well… When I was found in the Slum Markets, I was taken back to Cyclonia. By that time, I was old enough to join. Your grandma-mother took care of me during that time. She'd give me food and stuff and thought that I was good enough to be a commander."

Raising an eyebrow, she began to question as she found it a bit odd. It wasn't unusual for her to give special treatment to potential commanders. But as she recalled, he was only second born and wouldn't be guaranteed the position. Also, his only quality was his strength, which wouldn't be much for qualifying. Compared to The Dark Ace who had shown exceptional skill, Snipe was substandard.

Still, she went on to press it further. "She felt you were valuable enough then?"

"I… guess?" He seemed a bit uncertain in his answer. "She'd always told me that I had greatness and if I stayed and helped, she would give me respect. Whenever I smashed up sky knights, she'd praise me." Then, he gazed down, his face becoming downhearted. "I wonder if she would now…"

Cyclonis said nothing, thinking about her grandmother's reasoning. If she were to hazard a guess, she did it for political reasons. He was still of noble birth, his lineage being a very far-off branch of the main family. It would have been best to keep him close so he wouldn't be a liability. And the best way to do so was to secure him a place as commander. There may have been other motives as well, but she felt that it was the most plausible.

Then, her mind drifted to questioning how she would feel about Cyclonia's current state. She thought by this time around, Atmos would be conquered under her rule. But the sky knights had managed to gain ground against them. It didn't help that the Storm Hawks were the driving force for many of their defeats. Seeing her depressed, Snipe perked up and said, "But don't worry, Master Cyclonis! Snipe will smash all those pesky sky knights, including those stupid Storm Hawks!"

Seeing his ridiculous gung-ho smile, she almost giggled. At least she could count on his blind optimism. "Heh, she must have found you endearing."

"… I'm not sure." He then looked away, huddling to himself. "To be honest, I think I was like a pet to her. She'd be nice and compliment me, but there was like some sort of weird vibe to it. Kinda creeped me out." Glancing over at her, he noticed that she was giving him the side eye. "… Nevermind."

Cyclonis raised an eyebrow, not saying one word about it. From her own memories, she recalled her being a domineering yet benevolent ruler. It was a visage she had inspired to be.

Then, it became silent as the two idled around in the room. After a while, she finally spoke, "What of your parents? Do you even remember them?"

His head perked up, shocked by her question. In all honesty, she was surprised as well. She reasoned that it was to dig deeper into her grandmother's intentions. But maybe it was because she remembered so little of her own. She was very young when they died yet there were fragments of blissful moments as far as she could recall. In any case, it was frivolous to dwell in the past.

"My parents…" Snipe finally said while rubbing the back of his head. "Well, my dad was a tyrant, always so strict. He pretty much ignored me in favor of Ravess as she had, in her own words, greater talent. The only thing he found disappointing in her was that she was firstborn as a girl."

"He sounds pleasant," Cyclonis remarked, almost forcing a smile.

He nodded, giving her a goofy grin. Then, his eyes started to glaze over. "My mom… Was kind. She still cared for me, even when she hated me getting into fights. I remember her wanting to end the war with the Sky Knights cuz she didn't want me or Ravess to be in it. She tried so hard but… She was seen as an enemy."

Staying silent, she was quite surprised by his somber demeanor. It was strange seeing him so melancholy. She soon took notice of something glistening on his cheek. A small tear trailed down from his eye which was even more unexpected. Without thinking, her hand reached out to it only for him to flinch away.

Seeing him startled, she recoiled her hand. "I… I thought I saw something."

"Oh! It's-it's fine," he said while using his arm to rub his own cheek. "She was an outsider anyway so she could never understand. It's just how things are. Sky Knights see themselves as heroes and us as bad guys, and we do the same. Whoever wins this then is right. So why try for peace?"

Cyclonis raised an eyebrow, now questioning how much self-awareness he had. In all honesty, it was a simplistic if not somewhat accurate view. The war between them had been going on for five hundred years or so. There was bound to be bloodshed on either end. Granted, she wasn't going to deny her willingness to cross lines for the sake of Cyclonia. But that seemed to leave the rest of the world with a lesser opinion of them.

"Snipe," she began, catching his attention, "Have you thought about doing anything else? Anything besides being a Talon?"

He tilted his head for a bit while thinking. "I… Don't know. I guess I'd probably be like a regular brawler or something. Not sure if there's that much else for me to do." Rubbing the back of his head, he then smiled. "Not that I mind."

"Oh really?"

"Yea! Being a commander has its perks like wealth and stuff. Also, I like smashing sky knights!"

Despite his upbeat attitude, she stayed silent thinking over what he said. There wasn't much for them other than the war, and she wouldn't call that a pleasant existence. Parts of her questioned if she should continue on the conflict. Though she had stamped them out many times before, they seemed to come back and grow louder. It made her worried, especially since there were great expectations placed on her.

After a while of stillness between them, Snipe finally got up and said, "Well, I should get going. It's probably lunchtime now." She watched as he stretched out his arms and was about to head out. But then, he stopped and looked back at her. "Ummm… Can I… You know…?"

"Yes, you can come here." She nodded, breaking out of her own thoughts. "As long as you're respectable, of course."

He seemed a bit shocked but showed off a small smile. Before he took his leave, he gave her a salute. "And don't worry. I'll beat them and we'll win for sure!"

"I'll hold you to it," Cyclonis mumbled to herself, glancing on as he left. As she lay there, she thought about their unintentional conversation. He was right about one thing though. The war was not going to end, not until one side reigned victorious. For the sake of their future, Cyclonia needed to be the one to achieve it and she will be the one to do so. One way or the other.

Author's notes:

Hi, peeps! Finally wrote out a plain old Storm Hawks fic for once, though it is only a oneshot.

This kinda sprung up after re-reading my old fics involving Snipe and Cyclonis. I really wish the actual series showcased more interaction between them along with others. I definitely find their dynamic interesting, especially with that one scene in Five Days. I also did civil liberties using my own headcanons and such. Granted, the show only gave out crumbs to work with. But that can lead to a lot of creative fan interpretations.

Also, I'd like to add I am getting a lot of ideas for fics and stuff. Not gonna work on another multi-chapter one yet, but definitely have a lot that I wanna write out. You're probably going to see them this year or the next. Either way, I am very excited to have the enthusiasm for writing again. Until next time!

Please Read and Review!