Chapter 4: Gale Force Winds
(Intro)
On Terra Gale, in a rickety scrap-made house, a scope popped out from the roof where a chicken was resting and looked out to where the Cyclonians had built a smelter. There, 7 skimmers were approaching. The scope ducked back into the house and an old man wearing a stove for armor named Wren burst out the door. "They're back! Battle stations! Hurry!" He yelled, hustling over to a handmade catapult. His granddaughter, Dove, saw the attack coming and ran over to the catapult. She readied the catapult as Wren pulled out a Windstone Crystal.
Dark Ace, who was leading this attack with Isis, Lilias and 4 of his Talons, glared as he prepared to attack. "This time, no mercy." He said, beginning his attack. Wren held up the crystal as Dove fired a sink from the catapult. Wren then conjured a strong wind from the crystal, blowing the sink at one of the Talons, knocking a wing off his skimmer and sending him falling. But Dark Ace grinned as he held up a Firebolt Crystal, inserted it into his Blade, powering it up and firing a blast at Wren and Dove. But the 2 of them managed to dodge the blast. But then Dove looked up to see the Dark Ace coming towards her. Dark Ace switched his skimmer to land-mode, rode towards Dove, grabbed her and took off back into the sky. "NO!" Wren cried.
Meanwhile, Aerrow, Aria, Radarr, Mimi and Finn were on a training run through the impossible Widow's Canyon. Aerrow now wore a thick, dark brown scarf to hide the Heart of Atmos. "You're not seriously gonna run Widow's Canyon?" Finn asked with disbelief. "Oh yeah." Aerrow said. "It's the only fun way to train." Aria said. "Have fun, Radarr." Finn said mockingly. "Oh, I'm getting back at you for that, Finn." Radarr muttered. "Oh, come on, Radarr. This could actually be fun." Mimi said. Finn pulled out as Aerrow, Aria, Radarr and Mimi flew into Widow's Canyon. "Ready, you guys?" Aerrow asked. "You know it, bro." Aria said. "Let's go, let's go!" Mimi said with impatient excitement. "Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no, no!" Radarr mumbled.
Aerrow and Aria flew their skimmers into the canyon. "Woo-hoo! Yeah!" Aerrow cheered as he maneuvered through the canyon. "I am loving this!" Aria cheered as she followed. Just then, they came to an opening. And then Radarr jumped into Aerrow's view. "Aerrow, no! We can't fit through that!" He protested. "Too late to turn back now." Aerrow said. "Oh, come on!" Radarr groaned as they got closer. He closed up the wings and changed the skimmer to land-mode. Aria did the same. And then, they shot right out of the canyon. "Excellent." Finn said as he watched from nearby as they dropped. Radarr, who was covering his eyes, peeked to see that they were falling fast towards the ground. He screeched in panic. Aria quickly popped her skimmer's wings back open and pulled up. "Gonna need those wings again, buddy." Aerrow said. Radarr popped the skimmer's wings back open and Aerrow pulled up, just grazing the tires on the dirt before rejoining Aria, Mimi and Finn in the sky.
"Huh. Gotta work on that one." Aerrow said. "Okay, why must you always take those crazy risks, Aerrow?! And why are we still even riding these skimmers?! You guys can fly without them now, you know!" Radarr shouted. "I know. But we had an agreement. We won't use the powers of the Heart of Atmos unless we absolutely need them." Aerrow said as they flew back to the Condor.
Back on the Condor, Piper was going through a plan with the others. "It's perfect! Absolutely, positively, 100% the best plan ever!" She said, feeling proud of her work. "Your best work yet, Pipes." Skyla said, side-hugging her best friend. "Um, I'm not gonna like this, am I?" Stork asked. "The storms building in the southwest should give us perfect cover to monitor the new Cyclonian supply lines." Piper explained. "I was right. I don't like it." Stork said. "You barely like anything." Riggorix said. "Did somebody say southwest?" Finn asked. "Yep. I overheard a freighter captain-" Piper started to say. "You know what's southwest, don't you?" Finn asked, interrupting Piper. "Ooh. Let me guess. Terra Neon's 24-hour gravy buffet!" Junko guessed. "Well, there is that. But think warmer." Finn said. Junko started to think. "TROPICA!" They both blurted out. Piper and Skyla glared. "Surfboards!" Finn called, imagining a surfboard. "Snorkeling!" Junko called, imagining snorkeling gear. "Umbrella drinks." Finn said, imagining umbrella drinks for him and Junko. "Sign me up!" They cheered. "Don't forget your swimsuits." Piper said, making Finn and Junko imagine themselves in speedos while Junko's gut fell out. They cringed from that, snapping them back into reality. "Thanks, Piper. I really didn't need to see that." Finn said. "Sorry, but you 2 brought that on yourselves." Skyla said. "Stork, set course for Tropica." Aerrow said. "Yes!" Stork cheered, setting the course. "That's not what I was-" Piper tried to say, but decided against it. "Tropica it is." "Sorry, Pipes. But we both knew it was gonna come to this eventually." Skyla said.
(AN: She's not wrong. Once Terra Tropica is on the brain, there's no way to change your mind. It's like going to Fiji or Bermuda or even Disneyworld. *Sigh* Disneyworld.)
Later, the Condor had just entered some really rough storm clouds. Stork started to feel like puking. "Where exactly are we at the moment?" Riggorix asked. "We're passing over Terra Gale now. It could get choppy." Piper said. "From the look of those clouds out there, it already feels that way." Sky said. "Stork, how're you holding up?" Aerrow asked. "How does it look like I'm doing?" Stork asked rudely. "Hey! He was just asking a question, Stork!" Aria exclaimed. "Boy, who knew Merbs could be such jerks?" Sky asked, whispering to his sister as she shrugged her shoulders.
Just then, the alarm blared. Stork looked through the scope. "Incoming! Closing fast! Oh, man. We're doomed." He said, putting on a weird smile. And then, a toilet came right at them. Aerrow pushed Stork out of the way as the toilet smashed through the window and slid in front of Finn and Skyla. "Exactly, what kind of doom are we talking about here?" Finn asked. "A toilet related doom? That's a new one on me." Skyla said.
Aerrow, Aria, Radarr, Mimi, Piper, Finn, Riggorix, Skyler and Skyla ran into the hanger bay, boarded their skimmers and heliscooters and revved up the engines. (AN: In Finn's case, after he polished his skimmer's windshield.) And then they rode out of the Condor, deployed their wings and propellers, and flew into the eye of the storm. "Alright, Piper, give us the lowdown." Aria said. "This part of Gale is a wasteland. Nobody lives out here." Piper said. But she was wrong. Just as they exited the storm clouds, Piper was about to crash into the scrap-made house. She looped over the house to avoid crashing. "You were saying?" Aerrow asked teasingly as Aria giggled and Finn shook his head with a smile. "So much for nobody living out here." Skyla said.
Just then, a couple of blasts were shot right at them. One of them hit the right bottom wing on Finn's skimmer. "I'm hit! I'm hit!" Finn called. "Cyclonians! Coming right at us!" Riggorix called. 5 Cyclonian Talons came out of nowhere and started firing at the Storm Hawks. "I got 2 bogies at 10 o'clock!" Stork exclaimed as Junko manned the other scope. "SOP ASAP! Niner-niner! Engage! Engage!" Finn shouted as he spun out of control. "I have no idea what he just said." Junko said. "We're under attack." Stork said. Finn screamed as he flew right towards the scopes, grabbing onto one of them as his skimmer fell out of the sky. "Hey. How's it going?" He asked as Stork focused his scope on his face, surprising him. But then, Finn's extra weight caused the scope he was hanging onto to break loose. As he fell, Piper passed by and caught him on her heliscooter. Unfortunately for Finn, he landed on his groin when that happened. "Need a lift?" Piper asked. "Sure…Thanks…" Finn grunted in pain.
Meanwhile, Aerrow and Radarr were being chased by one of the Talons. After maneuvering around the Condor, Aerrow came up behind the Talon. Then, while the Talon looked for him, Aerrow brought his skimmer above the Talon. Then he brought the skimmer down beside the Talon, except it was Radarr who was flying it. As Radarr waved to the Talon, Aerrow tapped his shoulder from behind him, making him turn to see him readying his Twin Energy Blades to strike. The Talon fearfully abandoned his skimmer and Aerrow hopped back onto his as Radarr passed back.
Just then, another Talon began to chase them while Piper and Finn followed. "This Swarm Crystal should keep you busy!" The Talon said, preparing to throw a bright blue crystal at Aerrow. But then Finn snatched the crystal. "Thanks, but you keep it!" He said, dropping the crystal. The Talon tried to get a hold of the crystal, but it fell into his skimmer's fuel tank. "Uh-oh." And then his skimmer transformed into a swarm of tiny bright blue bugs. He popped his chute, but the bugs began to swarm him. "Get them off of me!" He cried.
Meanwhile, Skyler and Skyla were playing chicken chase with a 3rd Talon who was firing at them with 4 sets of cannons. "Ready to take out those cannons, sis?" Skyler asked. "You know it, bro." Skyla said. She raised her hand and formed a big ball of earth. Then Skyler raised his hand and coated to earth ball with fire, melting it into a lava ball. They both threw the lava at the Talon, who abandoned his skimmer before the lava hit it, making the metal super-hot and overheating it. "Rigg! Your turn!" Skyler called out. "Coming right at ya, Skyler!" Riggorix called back, holding out his paw. The metal on the skimmer started to creak, then bend and reshape, turning into a super-hot metal ball. Riggorix then mentally threw the ball at the 4th Talon that was following him. The super-hot metal ball smashed the skimmer and the Talon popped his chute as he fell. "Now that's what I call a hot game of dodge ball." Riggorix said.
Meanwhile, Aerrow and Aria were being pursued by the last Talon. "Hot shots, huh?" The Talon asked, brought out his skimmer's cannons and prepared to take aim at the siblings. "Well, you're both about to get iced!" But suddenly, he was knocked off his skimmer by a mattress. "Was that a mattress?" Finn asked in surprise. "Okay, this is getting weird. First a toilet, then a mattress?" Riggorix asked. "Where are these things even coming from?" Skyla asked. Piper brought out her binoculars to see where the mattress came from. "I don't believe it! Look!" She said, giving the binoculars to Finn. There he saw the crazy old Wren on his catapult. "Take that, you Cyclonian dog!" Wren shouted. Finn was confused with disbelief.
Aerrow motioned to the team to land on the terra surface. They dove for the surface, transformed their skimmers back to land-mode and skidded to a stop. But when Piper landed, the bumps caused Finn to fly off her heliscooter and land into a pile of household items. Piper smiled sheepishly as Finn glared at her while sitting in a bucket with a pot on his head. As Aerrow helped Finn up, everyone started to look around. "Hello?" Piper called. "Is anybody here?" Skyler called. "Where do you think he went?" Aerrow asked, looking inside a familiar looking stove. "Probably in the kitchen looking for more ammo." Finn said as he got the bucket off his butt and tossed it away. But that triggered a net trap, capturing them. "Got you, you Cyclonian swine!" Wren shouted as he popped out of his stove armor. "Now you will know what happens to the enemies of the Resistance!" He picked up a hatchet and chopped a rope. That caused the net to move on a pulley and land it onto the catapult. The Storm Hawks looked and saw that the catapult was aimed at the edge. "For you, the Wasteland awaits." Wren said, making the Storm Hawks worried.
The Storm Hawks all started shouting, complaining and protesting. "Cries for mercy will go totally unnoticed, Cyclonian swine!" Wren said. "We're not Cyclonians!" Piper objected. "Yeah! We're the good guys!" Skyler added. But Wren wouldn't listen and prepared to fire the catapult. "Radarr, go!" Aerrow whispered. "You too, Mimi!" Aria whispered. Radarr and Mimi slipped out of the net. Radarr went down and bit Wren's leg. Wren screamed in pain as he clutched his leg. Mimi kept him distracted by slipping into his stove armor and giving him small body burns. With Wren distracted, Radarr climbed onto the catapult and chewed the knot on the net, popping the net and freeing the Storm Hawks. Mimi hopped out of Wren's stove armor and slithered back to Aria.
"So, you freed yourselves, huh? Well then, we'll just have to tussle like good, old-fashioned trench rats." Wren said, preparing to fight like a hoodlum. "I should warn you though. I was a pretty good scrapper back in the day." The Storm Hawks still could not believe what was happening right now. "Okay, this is getting sad." Skyla said, raising her hand. A vine from a nearby tree moved through Skyla's command and went over to Wren as it wrapped around his leg and yanked him upside down. "Oh! So, I see you have some pretty interesting talents of your own for Cyclonian swine." Wren said. "We're not Cyclonians!" Piper objected. "She's right. We're the good guys. The Storm Hawks?" Aerrow asked. Wren was confused. "Come on. You've heard of us. We're famous." Finn said. Piper and Riggorix glared at him. "Chicken Hawks? Nope. Never heard of you." Wren said, mistaking their name for Chicken Hawks. "Not Chicken Hawks. Storm Hawks. The greatest Sky Knight Squadron in the Atmos?" Skyler corrected. "Oh, yes! Now I remember. The great Lightning Strike was the greatest of them all." Wren said. But then he remembered that he was still hanging upside down from a vine. "Uh, could you let me down now?" He asked. "Oh, for sure. Sorry." Skyla said, letting Wren down.
"Now, who is your commanding officer?" Wren asked. "That would be us. I'm Aerrow and this is my sister, Aria. We're the children of Lightning Strike." Aerrow said. Wren popped up to Aerrow and Aria, and stared at them like some kind of creeper. Then he spat in his hand. "The name is Wren, leader of the Resistance Front." He introduced, taking Aerrow's hand and shaking it. Aerrow was disgusted by this. "Welcome to the last free piece of Terra Gale." Wren said, just as his house started to fall apart. "Impressive." Finn said with sarcasm. Piper elbowed him to shut him up. Just then, there was a clucking noise. Radarr looked and saw Wren's pet chicken. And she was batting her eyes at Radarr, making him gulp. "Uh-oh." Mimi whispered as she noticed, knowing how this turns out.
That night, Wren set up a campfire and started to tell the Storm Hawks a tale of Terra Gale. "Terra Gale was once a marvelous kingdom. But that was before the Cyclonians came." He explained. The Storm Hawks looked at each other. "Now our people toil in their smelters. Prisoners. 2 weeks ago, they took…my precious Dove." Wren handed Aerrow and Aria a picture of Dove. They both looked at each other. "And there it is. Those're the 'We're Going on a Dangerous Mission' looks." Finn said, knowing Aerrow and Aria's facial expressions. "We'll get her back, Wren." Aerrow said. "We promise." Aria said as she handed Finn the picture. "I'm in!" Finn said, seeing how beautiful Dove is. "Figures. Quickly changes his mind when a pretty girl is involved." Skyla said. "Fantastic! A rescue mission! Good thinking! Teach that Dark Ace, Lady Isis and her sister a thing or 2!" Wren exclaimed. That grabbed everyone's attention. "Wait, wait. Did you just say…Did he just say…Dark Ace?" Finn asked. "And Isis and Lilias too?" Skyla asked. Piper, Riggorix and Skyler looked at their leaders. Aerrow and Aria just pounded their fists.
Later, back on the Condor, Junko was asleep, hugging his little teddy bear. (AN: How sweet) And then, Aerrow, Aria, Piper, Radarr and Mimi came out. "Listen up, everyone!" Aerrow called. Junko woke up, hitting his head on a pipe. The Storm Hawks turned their attention to Aerrow and the others. "We have a rescue plan!" Aerrow said. "Whoa." Junko groaned, rubbing his head.
Aerrow set out a blueprint of the smelter. "Most people would say this mission is dangerous, reckless and pretty much impossible." He explained. "In other words, just our style." Piper said. The Storm Hawks smiled. Except for Stork. "It all starts with Skyla." Piper started to explain. "That smelter's practically crawling with Talons. So, Skyla will use her earth powers to create a mild earthquake, scaring them enough to make them evacuate." "Nice. I get to shake 'em up." Skyla said, pounding her fist. "And just in case there are any stragglers, Finn comes in next." Piper continued. "He goes high altitude. And then he kills the engine for a little quiet time." "Then he B-lines through the smokestacks and drops this." Aerrow said, tossing Finn a Flood Crystal. "Totally unstable." That made Finn uncertain. "So, when it hits, ka-pow! There's water everywhere." Aerrow continued. "And when water hits hot metal…" "You get steam. Lots of it." Piper said. "Wait. Why do we have to use a Flood Crystal? I have the power of water too, you know." Sky said. "True. But Sky, you might let out too much water and create too much steam." Aria said. "Oh yeah. I might get carried away. Fair point." Sky said. "Anyway, and that's when we drop in for a zero-vis landing." Aerrow said. "Wait. A landing at zero-vis?" Junko asked. "Instant death." Stork said. "Is it?" Skyler asked. "No, it isn't. We do that kind of thing all the time." Aerrow said. "And then what?" Finn asked. "Well, if there are any guards left, that's when we take a page from your book and lie." Aerrow said. "I like it." Finn said. "Sure, you would." Skyla said. "You, me and Aria dress up like maintenance guys and say we're there to fix the boiler." Aerrow continued. "And when any guards left behind don't buy it, Junko and Rigg will explain it another way." Piper added. "Then we get a change of clothes and the door's opened wide." Aria said. "And once we get inside, we're like a well-oiled machine. If there are any guards left, they'll be running all over due to Skyla's earthquake. No one's got a clue. While we get a free run to hunt for Dove and the other prisoners." Aerrow finished.
Later, the Storm Hawks put their plan to work. Skyla took position at the bottom of the hill the smelter was built on. She then closed her eyes and placed her hands on the hill. Then she opened her eyes and they glowed light green. Then the entire hill started shaking. The Talons inside started to panic and sounded the alarm. They started evacuating, not even bothering to free the prisoners. When the Talons were leaving on their skimmers, Finn then started to fly over, killing his engine so he wouldn't get spotted and quietly glided into the smokestacks. He then dropped the Flood Crystal into the big one and it exploded, causing a hug flood of water to hit the hot metal on the pipes and create a fog of steam. Aerrow, Aria, Piper, Junko, Riggorix, Radarr, Mimi and the Stormhearts flew in and entered the steam fog. Unfortunately, as they prepared to land, they all crashed their rides together.
After recovering, Aerrow, Aria and Finn dressed up in maintenance uniforms. That's when a few Talons who were still inside discovered them. When Aerrow said that they were there to fix the boiler, as they planned, the Talons didn't buy that. And then Junko and Riggorix came up behind them and knocked them out. After Piper, Junko, Riggorix and the Stormhearts put on Talon uniforms, they escorted Aerrow, Aria, Finn, Radarr and Mimi deep into the smelter and they all started to look for Dove and the prisoners.
While searching, something caught Finn's eyes. There, peeking down a hall with a chained ball on her ankle, was Dove. Finn compared her with the picture. "Hey, guys!" He called, getting the others' attention. "Lookie who I found." But as he compared the picture again, Dove came up to him and hit him with her pot helmet, knocking him out. She tried to run, but she bumped into Junko. She tried to run the other way, but Aerrow and Aria stopped her. "Dove wait! We're here to bust you out!" Aerrow said. "Yeah. Wren sent us." Aria said. "Grandpapa?!" Dove gasped. "Wait. Wren's your grandfather?" Riggorix asked. "Didn't see that one coming." Skyler mumbled. "Storm Hawks at your service." Finn said, dizzy from that iron smack. "Great. Then you can carry this." Dove said, giving Finn her iron ball. "We still have to find and rescue the other prisoners." Aerrow said. "Follow me. I know where the Sky Knights of Gale are kept." Dove said, setting off while dragging Finn behind. "You know, I'm starting to like this girl." Skyla said.
Dove led the Storm Hawks to where the prisoners were being kept. But unfortunately, there were 2 other Talons that stayed at their post through all the pandemonium. "Halt! What's going on here?" The first Talon asked. "We're taking this dangerous fugitive to the prison." Piper said. "She doesn't look dangerous." The Talon said, staring at Dove. "Is that right? She's the notorious Dove Scorpion of the Resistance." Riggorix said. "I don't buy it. Where's your I.D.?" The Talon asked. "It's in here." Aerrow said, holding out his toolbox. The Talon was about to open the toolbox. But just then, Radarr popped out and bit the Talon's finger. Then Mimi popped out and leapt onto the Talon's goggles, blinding him. The Talon swung his staff around blindly. Finn held up the ball as the staff sliced off the chain. "Sweet!" He said as he then tossed the ball aside, unintentionally hitting Junko in the head, causing him to charge the Talons and break down the door. The Storm Hawks looked on at the damage. "Uh, sorry you had to see that." Junko said sheepishly. "Let's go!" Aerrow called as they continued.
Upon reaching the cells, Radarr and Mimi attempted to open them. But another Talon caught them. "You 2 are in for a world of hurt!" He growled. But then, the Storm Hawks came in and prepared for a fight. Even Radarr and Mimi joined in. "Who's getting hurt now?" Radarr asked mockingly. The Talon then just threw down his staff and ran out to join the evacuation. Junko then opened the cell door, freeing the Sky Knights of Terra Gale, the Rebel Ducks. Their leader, Francois, nodded to Aerrow, who nodded back. "Dove? Is that you?" A young man around Dove's age asked. "Viqtor!" Dove cried, embracing the young man named Viqtor. "Uh, who's that? Your cousin?" Finn asked. "No. Boyfriend." Dove corrected. That made Finn so shocked and upset, he fainted.
Later, everyone headed for the hanger where the Storm Hawks hid their rides. Finn prepared to attempt to offer Dove a ride with him. But then he stopped upon seeing her holding hands with Viqtor as they ran with Piper to her heliscooter. "Sorry, Viqtor. But my heliscooter can't carry 3 people at once." Piper apologised. "That's okay. He'll ride with me." Riggorix said. "After we free the others, we'll meet you over Gale." Francois said. "Good luck. But don't take too long. We're about to bring the smelter down." Aerrow said, gesturing to Skyler, who held up his hands, wreathed with fire. Francois was surprised from seeing that, but shook it off. "We'll be quick. It won't take long to free the others." Francois said. And with that, the Storm Hawks took off into the air.
As soon as they were at a distance, the smelter blew up. "Looks like Skyler pulled through." Skyla said. "And hopefully, the ducks got the other prisoners out in time." Aria said. "Oh, they did." Skyler said as he flew up and joined them. "They got them out before I set the place ablaze." "I told you the plan was foolproof." Aerrow said. "We saved the day and didn't even run into-" He stopped himself at what he saw next. There, in the coming storm clouds, was the entire squadron of Talons. And leading them was Dark Ace, Isis and Lilias. "I think you spoke too soon." Piper said with worry. "You do tend to do that a lot, Aerrow." Aria said. "The Dark Ace!" Aerrow exclaimed. "And Lady Isis and Lilias too!" Skyla exclaimed. "Well, if it isn't the notorious Storm Hawks!" Dark Ace exclaimed while Isis and Lilias laughed wickedly.
"From the looks of those storm clouds, the Dark Ace has got a Firebolt Crystal." Piper deduced. "Oh, that's bad. Firebolts are very powerful when fueling your weapons." Riggorix said. "Storm Hawks, prepare for battle!" Aerrow called. "Talons, attack!" Dark Ace shouted, leading Isis, Lilias and the Talons into battle. But then, Aerrow removed his scarf and revealed the Heart of Atmos as he handed the scarf to Radarr. He then gripped the Heart. "What is he doing?" Dove asked. "Just watch." Piper said with a knowing smile. "Skylight Unite!" Aerrow shouted. Then a bright light blinded the Cyclonians for a moment as the Storm Hawks transformed into the Skylight Guardians. Dove and Viqtor were surprised. "Now that's more like it." Dark Ace said with a smirk. The Skylight Guardians and the Cyclonians continued to charge towards each other. Aerrow and the Dark Ace drew their weapons and prepared to fight. Aerrow powered himself up and fired his Lightning Claw. Then Dark Ace powered up and fired his move. But even though Aerrow's move was fueled with his air element, Dark Ace's was twice as powerful thanks to the Firebolt Crystal. The move broke through and sent Aerrow flying. But Aerrow quickly recovered and flew back into the fight.
Meanwhile, 2 Talons started chasing Piper and Dove. "On our tail! 2 of them!" Piper called. "Leave those creeps to me!" Junko called. He flew up and got the Talons' attention, making them follow him. During the chase, Junko makes 2 balls of plasma in his hands and tossed them at the Talons, hitting them in the face and blinding them. Then he activated his Knuckle Busters and clotheslined them off of their skimmers. "2 down, 15 to go!" He counted.
Meanwhile, Riggorix and Viqtor charged in right towards 5 incoming Talons. "Uh, you sure you know what you're doing?" Viqtor asked. "Of course. Watch." Riggorix said. He raised his hand and closed his eye. Then he opened it as it glowed light grey and flexed his hand. The metal on the Talons' skimmers began to creak and bend, making the Talons confused. Then Riggorix lifted his other hand and put it next to his other one. Then he slowly moved them apart, like he was ripping something in half. And then, the Talons' skimmers ripped apart. The Talons popped their chutes as they fell. "I hope you had those insured!" Riggorix called.
As the Storm Hawks regrouped, Aerrow and Aria took notice of the Dark Ace firing Firebolt blasts at them. Isis and Lilias were right behind him. "Follow me! We'll lose them in that cloud!" Aerrow called, leading the Storm Hawks into the clouds. "Aw, they want to play hide-n-seek." Lilias said. "Very well. Let's play." Dark Ace said, firing a blast at the clouds. The Storm Hawks came into view as the lightning lit up the clouds. "We see you." Dark Ace said, firing another blast, hitting Junko and shocking him. "Whoa. Tingly." Junko said. "Glad you think so." Skyla said as she cringed.
Aerrow gestured to the Storm Hawks and they flew up into the clouds. When they were high enough, Aerrow looked down at Dark Ace, Isis, Lilias and the remaining Talons, who were looking for them. "Standby!" Aerrow called. Finn gave a thumbs up, the Stormhearts readied their weapons, and Piper and Dove nodded. Finn brought out his crossbow, fueling his ammo with his light power as he took aim. "Fire!" Aerrow shouted. As everyone started diving, Finn and Junko started firing their rockets and the Stormhearts fired their element attacks, taking out the Talons. Dark Ace glared at them as Finn fired on him. "Split up!" He shouted as he blocked the blasts with his sword. As Isis and Lilias peeled off, Aria flew up to the Dark Ace and fired her mana-fueled Lightning Claw, hitting his skimmer. "Yes!" Piper and Dove cheered.
Dark Ace started to go down, but he quickly regained control and flew right back into the fight. He fired another blast, hitting Finn's skimmer. Finn looked and saw that his skimmer was split in half. Again. "Aw, man." He groaned before he fell, forgetting that he can fly without his skimmer. But luckily, he fell on the front of Piper's heliscooter. Again. "Hey. How's it going?" He asked in a wheeze of pain. Piper and Dove giggled at this. "Whatcha doing, Finn?" Junko asked as he, Riggorix and Viqtor flew up from below. "Uh, maintenance stuff?" Finn asked sheepishly. "You know you can fly without your skimmer right now. Or did you forget again?" Riggorix asked teasingly. "I didn't forget! I just…wanted to see Dove again. It's all good, girls." Finn said, trying to be flirty. "Uh, you do know I'm her boyfriend." Viqtor said, annoyed. "Oh, she could do way better than you. She could do better with me." Finn said.
Piper jiggled her ride, making Finn fall off and land on Junko's lap. Both of them were embarrassed by this. "Hmph! Serves you right." Viqtor taunted. But just then, Riggorix saw the Dark Ace coming at them from behind. "Watch out!" He yelled, pulling away. But Dark Ace hit Junko's skimmer with another blast, making Finn leap into the backseat. But then, the engine shut down and started to fall. Finn and Junko screamed as they fell with the Dark Ace following them. "Junko, got a problem here!" Finn exclaimed. "The crashing problem or the Dark Ace problem?!" Junko asked in a panic.
Dark Ace prepared to fire one more blast. "Hey!" Aerrow shouted. Dark Ace turned to see Aerrow and Aria flying towards him and punching him in the face. This caused his sword to fly out of his hand and pierce the wing of his skimmer.
"Come on, Junko, pull up!" Finn exclaimed as Junko tried to pull his skimmer back up. "Guys, it's no use! You have to abandon the skimmer!" Skyler called as he, Skyla and Sky dived alongside them. "No! I'm not abandoning my ride!" Junko exclaimed. Skyla groaned and pulled up.
Meanwhile, Dark Ace got on top of Aerrow and Aria, but they managed to push him off with their feet. "With a little more training with your new powers, you'd both make excellent Talons." Dark Ace said. "I'd rather eat dirt!" Aerrow exclaimed. "So would I." Aria agreed. "That can be arranged." Dark Ace said as they started to struggle against each other.
Meanwhile, Junko is still trying to pull up. "We're gonna make it. We're gonna make it." Finn whimpered. But just then, Junko pulled the handles right off. "WE'RE GONNA DIE!" They screamed. Just then, there was a whistle. The 2 looked up to see that Skyla had brought Piper and Dove. "Are they always this dramatic?" Dove asked. "You have no idea." Piper said. "We told them to fly off, but they just don't listen." Skyla said. Dove tossed a cable and hooked it onto Junko's skimmer. She then giggled as Piper towed Finn and Junko out of the wastelands.
But then Piper caught sight of Lilias coming right for them. "Batter up, Piper!" Lilias called, preparing to swing her club. But Piper just smiled. She held up her hand, forming a light blue crystal in her hand and throwing it towards Lilias as she swung her club. But as the club hit the crystal, it delivered an electric shock to Lilias, shocking her entire body. "I should've done the 7th inning stretch." She said before she dizzily fell off her skimmer, popping her chute before losing consciousness.
Meanwhile, Aerrow and Aria continued to fight the Dark Ace. But then, Dark Ace kicked Aria off the wing and knocked Aerrow down. He then grabbed his blade and held it at Aerrow's throat. "Checkmate." He said in victory, now eyeing the Heart around Aerrow's neck. "Now give me that Heart." As he went and grabbed the Heart, it started to glow. All of a sudden, a powerful energy flowed into Dark Ace's mind, making him scream in pain. The other Storm Hawks, Dove, Viqtor, Isis and the remaining Talons heard his scream. As the energy subsided, Dark Ace passed out and fell off his skimmer. As Aerrow flew off the skimmer and watched the Dark Ace fall, Isis flew by and grabbed Dark Ace on her skimmer. Then she glared up at Aerrow. "I'm gonna turn you into mincemeat, Storm Hawk." She growled, taking out one of her leaf blades.
Aerrow held up a wrench. As Isis threw her blade at him, he flew down and lodged it into the wing of her skimmer, dodging the blade in the process. She then started to fly after him, not noticing the wrench. Radarr passed Aerrow on his skimmer, allowing him to re-mount it as they flew down towards Widow's Canyon. Isis continued to follow them into the canyon, throwing her blades at Aerrow and retracting them with the chains. Radarr gave a threatening fist, only to have Isis still trying to slash them. And then they started to fly into the tunnels. "What do you say, Radarr? Wanna go 2 for 2?" Aerrow asked. Radarr looked ahead, seeing that they were coming to the opening. "Meh, what the heck. Second time's the charm." He said, dethatching the wings and switching it back to land-mode, popping through of the opening.
"Does that whelp really think he can out fly me, Lady Isis?" Isis asked herself, preparing to switch her skimmer to land-mode. But nothing was happening. Her wings weren't dethatching. She looked and saw the wrench Aerrow lodged in it. Then she saw that she was dangerously close to the opening. "I hate that boy." She mumbled.
The skimmer exploded upon making contact with the opening, causing Isis and the unconscious Dark Ace to fall. Isis grabbed Dark Ace with her chained leaf blade and his blade with her hand, but the Firebolt Crystal came loose. And just then, Aerrow swooped down and grabbed the crystal. "I really hate that boy!" Isis snarled. But just then, another skimmer flew by and picked up her and Dark Ace's body. "Need a lift, sis?" Lilias asked, revealing herself as the flyer, having recovered from Piper's crystal shock. "Nice save, sis. Now get after that Storm Hawk!" Isis shouted.
Lilias flew after Aerrow's skimmer. When they finally caught up to Aerrow and prepared to attack him, there was a sudden whistle. They looked and saw that the other Storm Hawks, Dove and Viqtor surrounding them. Then Francois and the Rebel Ducks joined in from above. And just then, a horn blared from behind them as the Condor rose up from the clouds. "Now that is checkmate." Aerrow said, holding up the Firebolt Crystal. "Next time, Storm Hawk, you won't be so lucky." Isis said. "Yeah. You gonna pay big, little boy." Lilias said, flying the skimmer away.
With all that said and done, the Storm Hawks and Rebel Ducks returned to Terra Gale and touched right down on the land as Wren started running up to them. "Grandpapa!" Dove cried as she hopped off Piper's heliscooter and ran over to her grandpa, hugging him. "Oh, my little Dove! You're safe!" Wren cried as he hugged his granddaughter. "I'm safe too, Mr. Wren, sir." Viqtor said as he walked over. "Great to see you safe too, Viqtor!" Wren exclaimed as he hugged Dove's boyfriend tightly. Dove giggled at the sight, making Viqtor blush. But then, Wren noticed the Storm Hawks, not recognizing them due to being the Skylight Guardians at the moment. (AN: Excluding Stork) "Hey, who're these guys? I don't remember seeing them before." He said as he scratched the pot lid on his head. "Huh?! How could he not recognize us?!" Finn asked, insulted. Piper and Riggorix cleared their throats. "Oh. Right. Because of how we look right now. Right." Finn said as he remembered.
"It's okay, Wren. It's us." Aerrow said as the Heart of Atmos glowed and the Storm Hawks returned to normal. Wren was surprised by this. "Yeah, I know. Cool trick." Finn boasted. But then, the Heart started glowing again. Aerrow and Aria noticed this. "Aerrow, what's the Heart of Atmos doing?" Aria asked. "I don't know." Aerrow said. All of a sudden, as the Heart glowed brighter, the lands of Terra Gale started to restore themselves. The grass started to turn green again, homes were being restored, and the remains of the smelter disintegrated into dust. Wren, Dove, Viqtor, Francois and the Rebel Ducks were stunned to see that their entire home was restored to her former glory. "Terra Gale! She is restored!" Wren exclaimed with shock and joy. "How did you do that, Aerrow?" Junko asked. "Huh. I guess the Heart of Atmos has revealed another one of its tricks." Aerrow said. "Yeah. It restored the life into Terra Gale." Piper said.
"Thank you, soldiers, for everything! I don't know how to repay you." Wren said. "Gold works for me." Finn said. Riggorix grabbed him by the throat and prepared to pummel him. "Seeing Dove, Viqtor and the Rebel Ducks safe and Gale liberated is reward enough for us." Aerrow said, breaking up the fight. "Aw, what a nice young m-" Wren tried to say, but Dove interrupted him by slamming his lid on his head. "I think we can find something to give them, Grandpapa. Don't be cheap." Dove said. The Storm Hawks were amused by this display. "Fine!" Wren reached into his compartment and pulled out his Windstone Crystal. "A Windstone Crystal, purest rate. Next time you face those Cyclonian swine, blow them a kiss for me. For the Resistance." Wren said, giving the crystal to Aerrow. "For the Resistance." Aerrow said. "And if you need backup, you can count on us to give you aid when needed." Dove said. Viqtor, Francois and the Rebel Ducks nodded in agreement. "Thanks. We always welcome the help." Aria said.
Just then, there was a cluck. Radarr turned to see that the chicken had prepared a seat for him. "Maybe we should give those 2 a moment alone." Aerrow teased, making Aria giggle. "Oh no! I don't date chickens!" Radarr shouted, zipping over to his co-pilot seat. Wren, Dove, Viqtor and the Rebel Ducks were shocked to hear Radarr speak. "Uh, did your pet just talk?" Wren asked. That made Radarr's ears prick up. "Don't. Call me. A PET!" Radarr shouted, lunging at Wren, biting and scratching him from inside his stove. The Storm Hawks, Dove and Viqtor laughed at this while the Rebel Ducks passed over head, leaving a trail of colored smoke. Francois and Aerrow saluted each other. "Now can we go to the beach?" Finn asked. Junko nodded eagerly. "Boys." Aria sighed.
Meanwhile, at Cyclonia, Isis and Lilias gently set the Dark Ace on his bed. "What happened?" Master Cyclonis asked. "We don't know, Master Cyclonis. One minute, I heard him screaming as we fought the Storm Hawks. And then the next, he fell unconscious." Isis explained. "I was unconscious myself for a short time, Master Cyclonis." Lilias said. Master Cyclonis started to think. 'This must've been the Heart of Atmos' work when he tried to take it.' She thought. But little did they know, something was going on in Dark Ace's mind.
[Dark Ace's Mind]
Inside his mind, his personality began to glow and flash with energy. And just then, the personality began to split in 2. 'Wh-Wha? Where…Where am I?' A voice asked.
Well, wasn't that something? The Storm Hawks journey to Terra Gale to liberate prisoners from a Cyclonian smelters. And the Heart of Atmos has revealed another one of its secrets by restoring Terra Gale to the beautiful kingdom it once was. But what did the Heart do the Dark Ace when he tried to steal it? And what's going on with his personality? Leave a review if you want.