The sun rose into a brilliant orange sky and somewhere a bird was singing its little heart out. Heron, musing on how exhausting crying from grief could be – she hadn't expected to sleep until dawn – uncurled and rose from the chair. At some point the healing crystal had slipped from its supposedly secure spot and vanished into the cushions, and now she was conscious again her head was beginning to throb. How long were these side effects going to last?

Neatening up the chair revealed the aqua stone's hiding spot, and as she grabbed it her headache subsided once more. She returned it to where she had stowed it before, nestled against her palm, then went to the kitchen to splash some cool water over her face. She puller her hair out of the now scruffy bun she'd put it in for cryo-sleep and retied it in a loose ponytail over her shoulder, a slightly tangled cascade of brown that reached down to touch the insignia on her lapel.

'I must be the first one awake.' Heron thought, heading out onto the landing strip. Once she was well clear of the great doorway she stopped and gazed out over a clear sky. To the port side she could see, a short distance away, a great frozen mountain, with a rather sizeable fissure running through a snug little town. Even from this distance she could see the crack was lined with numerous toppled buildings.

In a curious juxtaposition, ahead of them was a larger, barren, desert-like mesa. Between curves of huge looping sandstone arches and sandy eddies were the hints of tall pointed tent-tops and colourful flags.

"So, either the one is artificially cold or the other is artificially hot…" Heron said to herself as she turned to gaze starboard.

This side was a vast sea of clouds, punctuated by various tall rocks and tiny landmasses. Far, far in the distance shone a bright blueish light akin to a lighthouse over the ocean.

All in all, this new world was strange but beautiful.

Heron sighed, then began a series of stretches and gentle exercises, as she usually did upon waking. It felt somehow more refreshing now than it used to; but then, before she'd been used to using a small corner in the Crane's HQ's gym. Now she had the morning sun warming her face and still a happy bird trilling away, covering the idle-engine-hum of the Condor.

About halfway through her exercise, she was joined by a yawning Piper.

"Morning." She said, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "I didn't know Sky-fu existed back then. Why were you doing it in slow-motion though?"

"Sky-fu?" Heron asked. "Ah, no, wait – I get it. No, it's something called 'Tai Chi'. Though I suppose now it should be called 'Sky Chi'? It's just something I do to wake up every day. Means I don't get so stiff in my old age!"

Piper laughed as she began her own, more athletic warm-up like stretches, her hair already frizzing over her headband in the cool dewy air. As she straightened from touching her toes, it stuck to her face and she shook her head to unstick it. She then began her own exercise.

Heron could really see what she was talking about now; her movements were very like the ones she had been doing but sped up to be more of a combat defence than a gentle workout. Some moves she didn't recognise, and others were obviously meant for stave-work, but she could almost see the evolution of the practise in motion.

Picking up where she left off, she finished the rest of her routine at about the same time as Piper did hers. As they headed back inside together Heron nearly tripped over a small, blue-furred creature that somewhat resembled a mix of lemur and hare as it emerged from beneath one of the sky-rides, which chirped annoyedly at her.

"I'm sorry!" She apologised, and it nodded almost imperiously before grabbing a wrench from a nearby toolbox.

"Heron, meet Radarr, our mission specialist." Piper introduced them, and it stuck out its free hand for Heron to shake.

"Pleased to meet you, Radarr." She said, taking the proffered paw. "We missed you last night. Would have heard quite the story."

Radarr chirped again sadly, laying his ears back before he slid back under the machine he was tinkering on.

"Aerrow would have filled him in, don't worry." They made their way up the stairs to the main room and sat on a couch at the back. The only other person there was Stork, fiddling with the controls at the helm.

"So, tell me, Piper. What is this crystal you gave me? I've seen nil crystals before and this is not quite the same."

The blue-haired woman lit up. "Oh; it's something I've been working on with Gundstaff. We've been experimenting with crystal fusion and it's working like a charm! It's simply a nil crystal combined with a couple others to improve and focus its power on healing." She obviously really enjoyed crystal-craft, and the two passed some time discussing crystals as the rest of the Hawks filtered into the room as they woke.

"Alright, that's enough nerding out for one day already!" Finn said, flopping onto the sofa next to Heron. He leaned in conspiratorially and stage whispered to her. "Once you get her going she'll jabber on for days!"

"Hey!" Piper cried, grinning. Aerrow joined them next to Piper and Stork sauntered over to lurk at the end.

"Alright, first things first, grocery run." Aerrow said. "I think we should head over to Atmosia for that, then we can go delving in the archives after, see what they've got."

"The archives?" Heron asked.

"Well, we had a chat last night before we went to bed and we agreed since we've got nothing more important going on right now we'd see if we could hunt down the rest of your squad."

Heron blinked, taken aback. "But… what… why?"

"Why not?" Junko answered, dropping into an armchair. "Friends are important."

"If I lost my squad I'd wanna find them." Finn added, blushing slightly under his as-yet un-styled hair.

"But we've only just met each other. I could do this on my own."

"But you don't have to; that's the point." Piper said. "Besides, you said yourself that Atmos is nothing like you remember. You need someone to show you around."

"If I wasn't so dehydrated from last night I'd be crying right now." Heron smirked. "You guys… Are you always this welcoming of people you've just met?"

"You saw Starling's room, right? That went up the day after we met her. Though she did have her previous reputation to help there…" Aerrow smiled. "We've had plenty of experience with false friends and you just don't give off that energy."

"Even Stork thinks you're legit." Finn added, and the Merb blushed a deep green and looked away.

"For now…" he murmured, without much conviction; almost as if to try to keep up appearances than anything else.

"Well, if I do prove otherwise, you have my permission to go carte blanche on me." Heron smiled, and the group laughed. "You even have the advantage of age!"

"You're what, thirty? You're not old!" Aerrow said. "Even Stork is only 28."

"Thirty-three, give or take a couple millennia." Heron replied. "That still makes me older than all of you!"

"Girls, girls, you're all pretty; now let's go get some food!" Finn interjected.

"You can tell me all about yourselves on the way." She responded. "You know pretty much everything about me already but I still know nothing about you guys."

The journey to the capital was filled with story telling and reminiscence, with the occasional bout of laughter and melancholy. Tales of various escapades with pirates, why you should never meet your heroes, and the terrors of the adorable. Of the war with Cyclonia and those they'd lost, and new friends made.

"That's a lot for a group of teens to handle. How did you cope?" Heron asked. "We had mandatory therapy once a month for us but it doesn't sound like you had anything."

"We manage. It's sure nice to be back home in Atmos, though. That's enough for me." Aerrow said nonchalantly.

"Wait; 'back home'? What do you mean?"

"Well, we ended up chasing Cyclonis through a portal all the way to the Far Side. We were stuck there for a few years; getting back was the hardest part."

"You've been to the Far Side? How –"

"Let's not talk about that right now." Aerrow interrupted while Stork muttered something about cows. "We're pulling up on Atmosia anyway. I'll just go see if Piper's finished making her shopping list."

"I'm gonna… go… somewhere else." Finn added, scooting out the door just ahead of his friends.

'That bad, huh?' Heron thought, watching the group scatter. She, too, rose and initially headed towards the stairs, before changing her mind and returning to the recovery room to retrieve her swords. She realised she hadn't really even looked at them since…

They were in surprisingly good condition; no obvious rusty spots or other corrosion. The edge still held and the crystal sockets appeared to still be functional. She'd have to ask Piper if they had any spares to test them properly with later. She reversed her grip, placing the hilts end to end, and with a little twist the connection instantly clicked into place, turning her dual weapons into one. Maybe a little greasing was in order, along with a bit of polish, but they were otherwise good as new.

Heron slung her weapon over her back and it stuck in place.

"Nice to know the magnetic thread still works too.' Now she went down to the landing deck, where everyone was waiting for her. The landing had been so smooth she hadn't even noticed it. Mentioning as such to Stork caused a brilliant dark green blush and an awkward shrug.

"Didn't you have two swords?" Junko asked.

"I'll show you all when we get back, if you want?"

"Yay!" Finn said quietly but earnestly, an excited grin smeared across his freckled face.

"Ok. We ready?" Piper asked, and after receiving assent she led the group – minus Stork who returned inside – down the ramp and towards the steeply sloped path up into the town.

Atmosia was a tall terra, the town built on terraces up the cliffsides towards a large plateau at the top, where there was a large plaza with a town hall at the head and open to a fantastic view at the other. Behind it, up a further hill beyond a small neighbourhood, a tall tower stood with a brilliant blue light shining out like a lighthouse.

Around the plaza were a multitude of shops, cafes and restaurants and people milled around on errands and outings while the in the centre stood a large fountain featuring a pair of Sky Knights, their swords held aloft while water cascaded from carved rocks around their feet. Occasionally a passerby would greet the Hawks, or a child would wave as they went careening past playing a game that apparently involved a lot of running and yelling.

"Welcome to Atmosia!" Aerrow said. "What do you think?"

"It's certainly something!" Heron replied. "I think I need a sit down after all that climbing though."

"Fair enough. We'll meet you at the fountain when we're done shopping?"

"Sure." The Hawks headed off towards a larger shop to their left and Heron sagged onto the stone bench that encircled the fountain. She stretched, and indulged in some crowd watching as she soaked up the sun. She hadn't expected to be tired out so easily, but that must come with having been frozen still for however long it had been. Hopefully she'd be back to normal soon.

Across the plaza she spotted a sign with the Caduceus painted on it in bright red paint. She supposed she should probably get a check up at some point – though considering it, what could they know about cryostasis? A lot of science and knowledge seemed to have been lost over the years.

Next door to it was a jeweller, it's windows gleaming with golden rings, silver bracelets and pocket watches on glittering chains. If her malady turned out to be something more long term, maybe she could get something to get this crystal set in. It would be a lot easier to wear than keeping it gripped in her hand or tucked into her glove.

Turning towards the other side, Heron spotted the plaque affixed to a pedestal that stood proud of the bench and twisted around until she could read the inscription.

In memory of all the brave Sky Knights and their squadrons who gave their lives in defence of Atmos during the war with Cyclonia (9200-9250). May their sacrifices never be forgotten.

Storm Hawks (1st)

Interceptors

Rebel Ducks

Rex Guardians

Red Eagles

Absolute Zeroes

Buff Buzzards

Neck Deeps

Screaming Queens

Third Degree Burners (h.m.)

After each squadron title was a list of names and dates, each shorter than the last with most of the latter dates being the same. Heron was shocked to find that the top two listed enough for an entire average squadron while the rest only had at most three. The Burners had no members named; but, in the awkward handwriting of someone unused to writing by hand, had been graffitied 'my pride' underneath.

Heron looked again at the dates. If she was correct in assuming that they would have started a new calendar after the Final Collapse, she'd been in cryo for at least 9250 years! Give or take a few, since this memorial was obviously already a few years old. Algae was creeping up the central plinth and water stains were just beginning to appear around where the water sprayed from the rocks, and along the waterline.

She straightened out, and stuck her legs out, leaning back and basking in the sunshine. It was warm enough to feel nice without being so hot to get uncomfortable quickly. As she relaxed, the sounds of the people around her seemed to dull and she thought again of her friends. A small smile appeared when she remembered the Hawks' offer to help her find them.

When she thought back on the world she knew and where she found herself now, Atmosia lined up with where she knew to be a small mining town, known for its bright blue beacon crystals. That must be what was now lighting the peak of the tower on the highest peak of the hill behind the town hall.

A cool darkness suddenly appeared over her face, and Heron opened her eyes to the silhouette of Aerrow. She sat up, and he plunked down next to her, grinning.

"Sure you're not an albino raptor?" He asked with a smirk.

"Hey, they're sure on to something with the sun basking. Get a dose of vit D, keep your bones happy."

"…what." Aerrow said flatly, as the rest of the group caught up, laden under large bags of various materials.

"We'll go drop these off at the Condor." Junko said around a huge, bulging bag of groceries, multiple boxes of cereals peeking out the top. He turned to the route down, followed almost too eagerly by Finn.

"Right then. Let's go."

Heron arose and she, Aerrow and Piper headed towards the town hall.

"Quick question; do either of you know when the current calendar started? And before you say anything, yes, nine thousand years ago, I know! I meant did everyone start a new calendar after emerging from the vaults? Because I can't imagine everyone remembering well enough to continue using the previous one."

"I think I remember seeing once during a research dive seeing an old calendar with 'A.C.' after the year on it." Piper mused.

"Thanks. That makes sense. What year is it? I feel like I should have asked that at some point last night."

"9254." Aerrow's face changed as he realised. "That means…"

"I was a popsicle surprise for over nine thousand years!" Heron grinned.

"That's… one way to put it." Piper tried not to look back at the doctor's office as they neared the doors.

"Remind me on the way out, ok?" Heron said.

Piper blushed, and pushed the doors open.

The interior was very dark after the morning brightness of the square, and quiet, with only a few office workers shuffling around under varying heights of stacks of paperwork. The room spanned the majority of the building, leading to a tall desk at the back of the room behind which sat a very elderly gentleman squinting through a pair of bottle-bottom spectacles.

The left and right side of the room had many doors leading to corridors and offices, with one, tucked into a discreet corner, apparently leading to the toilets.

Piper led them straight towards the left side of the hall and a long, yellow-lit corridor. Heron noticed both Hawks seemingly pointedly ignoring the desk at the back. 'Bit of backstory there.' She thought, as the door swung to a gentle close behind the group.

Halfway down the corridor, they turned into a room lined with shelf upon shelf of archival boxes, creating almost an ombre effect as their age increased along the walls. From the ceiling hung a large yellow crystal, lighting the majority of the room in a golden hue. Piper led them straight to the back of the room, where the oldest boxes sat mouldering in the dark corners.

"Ok, if there is anything to find, it should be in one of these. Pick a shelf!" Piper grabbed a box from the end of the middle shelf, and Aerrow did the same from the lowest, leaving Heron the contents of the top shelf.

"The dates on them should be the biggest hint; anything with dates starting around 2019 is worth looking at. If it isn't obviously 'A.C', anyway." Heron advised, carefully prying her chosen box open.

"What's the deal with your calendar?" Aerrow asked, flipping open a file, which promptly emptied itself into his lap. "It didn't go very long, did it?"

"'My calendar'," Heron answered, putting her box down and making quotation marks with her fingers. "started after Atmosia was united as one bit country by Emperor Typhon. Hence if there's any notation on the dates we're looking for, it'll be 'P.U' for 'post union. Funny thing: the years before that we'd refer to in reverse, as 'B.U' – before union."

"So, anything that happened before then would be, say, 340 B.U? And the next year 339 B.U?"

"Yep. This box is bust; everything inside is too mouldy to even remove."

"Ew. I wish they'd properly look after these. They're important historical documents!" Piper complained.

"Don't get her started. Please." Aerrow jokingly said, as he replaced the folder in the box in front of him and checking the one in the back. "Nope – furthest this one goes is 5500 A.C."

The next hour went past slowly, each person hunched over boxes and files, only rising to stretch as they replaced and retrieved boxes. Piper squealed as a small rodent leapt from a box, and Aerrow flinched as another dripped some ambiguously brown liquid on his knees.

"Welp, that's it." Heron said as she returned the last box to the shelf. "Nothing older than 3000 A.C. Was worth a look though."

"We tried." Aerrow shrugged.

"It might help to see if there are any records left in the old capital." Heron said, and Piper paused.

"Old capital?"

"In my time Atmosia was just a little mining village. It's come a long, long way since, though."

"Well, where do we go then?"

"That way." Heron pointed east-north-east, towards the left corner of the wall with the door.

"Wait, that way is…" Aerrow said.

"You don't… no way." Piper shared a look with her squad-mate, then they both turned to the older Sky Knight.

"We gotta go to Cyclonia."