Chapter 8: Best Friends Forever
(Intro)
The Storm Hawks were searching through a garbage barge during a big storm. As Aerrow and Aria searched through the trash, they noticed how heavy the rain was falling, how often the thunder boomed and how often the lightning flashed through the clouds. "It looks like the storm's getting worse, Aerrow." Aria said. "Right. We should get out of here before the storm hits any harder." Aerrow said. "A few more minutes. We're going to find something here. I can just feel it." Piper said. "I'm with Piper on this one. One person's trash is another person's treasure." Skyla said.
Finn was trying to pull a piece of pipe out of a trash pile. But then, as he got it loose, he stumbled and fell into something slimy. "I can feel something too, but I don't wanna know what it is." He said. Radarr and Mimi passed by, sniffing around for anything valuable. As they dug through the trash, they moved a panel and unveiled a trash rat, who screeched at them. "MONSTER!" They both screamed before scurrying away. Just then, Junko and Judy popped out if another trash pile. Junko was holding a bottle. "We struck paydirt, Junko!" Judy cheered. "I know! Yorka Juice! We haven't had this in ages." Junko said as he put the bottle in his bag. "Ugh! More like Yucka Juice." Finn said with disgust. Skyler and Sky searched through another trash pile. But just then, a pack of trash worms leapt onto Sky's face, making him stiffen up in fear. "Whoa. Hold still, Sky. I got you." Skyler said, picking the worms off his younger sibling's face. Riggorix sniffed around another pile, poking his head into it. But when he came out, he had a pair of underwear on his snout. "Charming." He grumbled, flicking the underwear off his schnoz.
"Of all the places to do a recon. Never thought we'd hit a garbage barge." Finn complained. "Oh, don't be such a child, Finn." Skyla said. "Yeah. You can learn a lot about someone from their trash." Piper said. Just then, she pulled out a bag marked with the Cyclonian symbol. Inside was a rolled-up map. "Paydirt." Piper and Skyla said at the same time as they unrolled the map and looked at it, showing the secret location of a long-lost terra. "Cyclonia should invest in a better shredder." Piper said. "You said it." Skyla said. But suddenly, the wind from the storm blew the map out of their hands. "Hey!" Piper exclaimed. "Get back here!" Skyla exclaimed as they tried to grab the map. "Hold on, girls. I got it." Aerrow said. He conjured a gust of wind, snagging the map and blow it back to Piper. "Got it! Thanks, Aerrow." Piper said.
With that all out of the way, the Storm Hawks headed back to their skimmers. As Aerrow and Aria mounted their rides, they looked back up at the storm. It was getting worse by the second. "Looks like a big one. We better go." Aerrow said. "Don't have to tell me twice." Aria said. The Storm Hawks revved up their engines, popped their wings and propeller and flew off the barge. But Piper was falling behind. And it got even worse. A massive cyclone had formed up behind her. "This doesn't look good." She muttered before getting sucked in. As she was being pulled in, she was losing her grip on her heliscooter. Finally, she lost her grip and got sucked in, screaming.
Meanwhile, the cyclone caught up to the rest of the Storm Hawks. Aerrow gasped as it slowly started building up. "Aerrow, what do we do?!" Judy asked. "We need to ride like the wind!" Aerrow exclaimed. "No. We need to ride FASTER!" Finn exclaimed, speeding up his skimmer. But before Aerrow could do the same, the wind from the storm blew him off his skimmer. "AERROW!" Aria, Radarr, Mimi and Skyla screamed. Aerrow screamed as he got blown towards the cyclone. But then something grabbed him by the leg. He looked and saw none other than… "Spade?!" He asked in shock. "I got you, Aerrow." Spade said, driving his own skimmer, as he flew up to the Storm Hawks and dropped Aerrow back on his skimmer.
Meanwhile, Stork was in the same amount of trouble. He steered the Condor as best as he could through the storm just as the Storm Hawks and Spade arrived. They managed to steer themselves towards the hanger as the hatch opened and skid themselves to a gentle stop. "Look out!" Aerrow called as Junko and Judy flew in and crashed in the back. Junko and Judy each gave a thumb's up, saying that they were okay. Aerrow, Aria and the others sighed with relief. "Well, that sure was a 'Walloping' landing." Sky joked. "Yeah!" Riggorix laughed, giving the youngest Stormheart a soul-brother handshake. "Junko! Judy!" Fenix called as she rushed over and started licking Junko and Judy. Sometime after Glockenchime, Aerrow used the Heart of Atmos to give Fenix a voice of her own.
Judy got up after recovering from her crash and walked up to Spade. "Who are you?" She asked. "Oh. My name's Spade." Spade introduced. "So, are you like the Dark Ace's twin brother?" Judy asked. "No. I'm just a doppelganger of Dark Ace, born at the same time after birth." Spade said. Just then, Aerrow noticed a certain someone was missing. "Uh, guys? Where's Piper?" He asked.
Meanwhile, Piper was being pulled deeper into the cyclone. She popped her chute, but it got ripped off by the wind. Just then, someone grabbed her arm and wrapped her in a pink aura. "I got you." A girl's voice said. "Who's got me?" Piper asked.
Meanwhile, the Storm Hawks and Spade waited for Piper to return. Unfortunately, the storm was getting worse and blowing into the hatch. "Aerrow, we gotta close the hatch!" Finn called. "He's right! That storm's gonna tear up the Condor from the inside out!" Skyler called. "Just another minute! Come on, Piper. Where are you?" Aerrow asked with worry. "I'm sure she's found shelter by now! Besides, this storm's not so bad!" Finn assured as several things blew past the Condor. "I'm going out to find her!" Aerrow called. "Me too!" Radarr said, agreeing to find Piper. "Right with you, bro!" Aria called with Mimi on her shoulder as she nodded her head. "I'm going too! Piper's my best friend! If anything has happened to her, I need to be sure she's alright!" Skyla called. The 5 mounted their skimmers and rode off. But as they took off into the sky, the skimmers were pushed back by the wind, crashing back into the hanger. "What now?" Aria asked. "Batten down the hatches." Aerrow sighed sadly. Skyla angrily kicked her skimmer as Aerrow said that. "Batten down EVERYTHING!" Stork shouted over the P.A. as the Condor was blown deeper into the storm.
Afterwards, when the storm cleared up, the Condor was stranded in the sky. The Storm Hawks were all piled on top of Finn in the hanger. "Ugh. I feel like my stomach just flipped and got lodged near my heart." Aria groaned. "Uh, what was that crunching noise I heard?" Sky asked. "My SPINE!" Finn exclaimed. "Okay. Whose smelly, furry foot's in my face?" Skyler asked. "Sorry. That's mine." Riggorix said. "Piper!" Aerrow realized. The Storm Hawks made it up to the bridge, where they found Stork buried under a whole heap. "Just checking, but we are alive, aren't we?" Stork asked. "We're fine, Stork." Aerrow assured. "Yeah. Just a few minor bumps on the head." Sky said, holding his forehead. "Junko, how's the ship?" Aria asked. "Eh, nothing Stork, Rigg, Judy and I can't fix." Junko said. "Good. Then Aria, Finn, the Stormhearts, Spade and I are going to find Piper." Aerrow said, walking back to the hanger.
In the air, the Storm Hawks and Spade were searching for Piper through a set of terras with sharp, jagged rocks. "Piper! Come in!" Aerrow called over the radio. But all he got was static. "Piper, please! Are you there?!" Skyla asked. But she got the same static. "We've been at this for hours." Aerrow said. "Maybe we should head back before our tanks run on empty." Sky said. "NO! I'm not stopping until I find Piper!" Skyla exclaimed. "Okay, okay. Chill out, Skyla. Sheesh." Sky said. "There!" Finn said, pointing out towards one of the terras. Everyone looked ahead to see something shiny glistening in the light. They flew towards the terra, landed their skimmers and rushed over to what was glistening. And they were shocked to see what it was. "Piper's heliscooter." Aerrow said. "But no Piper." Finn said. Skyla covered her mouth with worry, seeing Piper's ride without Piper. They headed back to their skimmers to get Stork on the radio. "Aerrow to Condor. Piper's heliscooter is trashed. We don't see her anywhere." Aerrow called. "Um, you better get back here. Piper just showed up. And she's acting…strange." Stork said.
Later, everyone quickly got back just as Stork, Junko, Riggorix and Judy finished fixing the Condor. "Where's Piper?" Aerrow asked. "What's wrong with her?" Skyla asked. Just then, there was laughter. Everyone turned to see Piper sitting with another girl, laughing hysterically. "What's going on? And who's the other girl?" Skyla asked, hinting a bit of jealousy in her voice. "Oh, I've seen it before. Syrian laughing fever. Goes on like this until their brains explode." Stork explained. Everyone was confused by this. "Is he always like this?" Spade asked. "You have no idea." Skyler said.
Piper and the girl continued laughing until Piper shushed her new friend after noticing the others. "Aerrow, Aria, this is Lark. She pulled me out of the storm." She introduced. "Uh, hi." Aerrow said. "Nice to meet you." Aria said with uncertainty. "And guess what? She's into crystals too!" Piper exclaimed, gesturing to the crystal on Lark's necklace. "Oh, I've got a few, but I don't know nearly enough as Piper." Lark said. "So not true. She actually created a force field that protected us from the storm. We didn't even get hit by a single raindrop. We almost forgot about the storm!" Piper explained. "Until that really loud thunder." Lark said as Radarr, Mimi and Fenix entered. "Ka-BOOM!" Both girls exclaimed as they started laughing again. "It's like a whole other language." Junko said. "Yeah. A real annoying other language." Judy said. "My ears are still ringing!" Piper exclaimed. "A total buzzerama!" Lark exclaimed. Stork put corks in his ears to block out the noise. Skyla, on the other hand, was starting to feel jealous.
"Oh, here. Lark helped me figure out the coordinates." Piper said, handing Aerrow the map. Aerrow unrolled it. "Terra Tundras." "Terra Tundras? I thought that place was a myth." Aria said. "Then how does Lark know about it?" Skyla asked. "Oh, been there once or twice. Not much but hills and dirt." Lark explained. "Set a course. Whatever the Cyclonians are up to there, we'll find out." Aerrow said as Radarr, Mimi and Fenix got a good look at Lark. "So, you're into crystals. How awesome." Finn said, trying to flirt with Lark. But Piper and Lark snickered. Finn was confused at this. "I dunno." Aerrow said. "Girls!"
Just then, Radarr and Mimi leapt onto the table while Fenix went around. "Hey! Get out of here!" They growled. "Hey there. What're your names?" Lark asked with a baby voice. Radarr, Mimi and Fenix just kept growling. "Whew! It's getting hot in here." Aerrow said, taking off his scarf and revealing the Heart of Atmos. "Ooh! You have a very nice necklace." Lark said, wanting to touch the Heart. But as she reached for it, Radarr slapped her hand. "Hey! Get your dirty hand away from it!" He snarled. "Radarr! Mimi! Fenix! What's wrong with you guys?" Aerrow asked. "We don't trust her!" All 3 animals said together. "It's okay. After all, I am a stranger." Lark said. "Hardly. You saved my life. That makes you a best friend forever." Piper said. Skyla gasped and grasped her chest, feeling her heart break. Radarr, Mimi and Fenix continued to growl. Aria slowly brought Aerrow away from Lark, feeling uncomfortable around her after what she tried to do. "Hey! You wanna see my crystal lab?" Piper asked. "Oh, do I?!" Lark answered as they took off. "Come on, Mimi. Let's follow them." Radarr said. "Right behind ya." Mimi said as they leapt off the table.
Piper showed Lark around the Condor as Radarr and Mimi kept an eye of them from a distance. "Oh! You know what? I forgot my crystals on the bridge. Go ahead. I'll meet you there." Lark said. "Um, sure." Piper said before continuing by herself. Lark looked back as Radarr and Mimi hid behind a box. "I don't think she saw us." Radarr whispered. "We better get back." Mimi whispered. But before they could sneak away, Lark found their hiding spot. "Aw. How cute you 2 following after me." She said with the baby voice, booping Radarr's nose. "Here. Want a snack." She pulled out a crystal and held it in front of their faces. Radarr sniffed the crystal. "This doesn't seem like something snackable." Radarr said. "Gotcha!" Lark snatched them and used the crystal, turning them invisible. "HEY! Get your hands off us!" Radarr shouted. "What do you think you're doing?!" Mimi exclaimed. Lark then opened the box and threw them in. "There. That oughta keep you 2 out of my hair." She said sinisterly.
Later, Piper brought Lark to her room. Lark was in awe at the number of crystals Piper had. "Wow. Boomers. Blazers. Icers. Ooh, is that a Floater? You've got quite a collection." She said with impression. "It's my favorite spot on the whole ship. The only place where I can really just relax and be me." Piper said. "Where are your books?" Lark asked. "I don't really have any." Piper said. "You mean you taught yourself all of this?" Lark asked in surprise. "I work mostly on trial and error. More errors some days than others. For example: never combine a Slimer Crystal with an Eruption Stone. I learned that the hard way." Piper explained, gesturing to a slimy mess in some of the machinery. "I'll remember that." Lark said with a laugh. "The others just don't understand what I do sometimes." Piper said. "Humph. Boys." Lark scoffed. "It's nice to have another girl, other than Aria, Skyla and Judy, who understands my passion around." Piper said. "Yeah. I don't have many friends either." Lark said. "Hey, what's this do?" She asked, picking up a scoping tool. "It's a Crystal Scope. Helps me figure out what's what." Piper said. Suddenly, Lark's necklace gave off a powerful energy surge when she pointed the scope at it. "Wow. Your Shielding Crystal's pretty powerful." Piper said. "Oh, it's nothing special. Lots of them out there if you know where to look." Lark assured. "Hey, here's something I've been experimenting with." Piper said, bringing out a square-shaped turquois crystal. "It's a Blocking Crystal." She held the crystal over the Floater and its charge made it drop onto the table. But the effect only lasted for a few seconds. "I just need to figure out a way to make the charge last longer. Why don't we try it on yours?" She asked. "Uh, I think we're getting close to the Tundras. Why don't you show me the rest of the ship before we get there?" Lark asked. "Hmm. Sure." Piper said.
But before Lark could leave, Skyla walked in. "Skyla!" Piper exclaimed in surprise. "Look, I don't know what's going on here, but I want to make something clear, Lark. Piper is my best friend. We've been best friends since we were little." Skyla said. "Oh, is that jealousy I hear, Skyla? Can't say I blame you for being jealous. Especially after Piper called me her best friend forever. In fact, it's just pathetic. Especially if Piper wanted to trade her old best friend for a new one." Lark said, mocking Skyla's jealousy. Skyla got so frustrated at this. "Fine! You wanna be Piper's new best friend?! You can! I'm done!" She shouted as she stormed out of Piper's room. "Skyla! Wait!" Piper called. But Skyla just ignored her call. Piper felt her heart break, thinking that her friendship with Skyla was all over.
As Skyla was reaching her shared room, Aria walked up to her. "Skyla, are you okay?" Aria asked. "No, I'm not okay! Lark mocked me for being jealous of their new best friendship!" Skyla exclaimed angrily as she started to cry. Aria brought her into a hug to comfort her. "It's gonna be okay, Skyla. I don't trust Lark either. I sensed some evil energy coming off from her because my mana powers detected it." She said. "What're we gonna do?" Skyla asked. "Once we get to Terra Tundras, we're gonna find out what's going on." Aria said.
Later, as the Condor was coming right up to Terra Tundras, Lark was walking through the ship. Just then, she noticed Spade. She looked at him with a serious case of déjà vu. "Oh! Hey, Lark. Didn't see you there." Spade said, noticing her. "Hello…Spade, was it?" Lark asked. "Yes." Spade said. "Um, have we met before? Because I feel like I've met you somewhere before." Lark said. "Uh, no. I think I'd remember if I'd ever met someone like you." Spade said. "But it looks like we're getting close to Terra Tundras. We'll talk later." As Spade walked away, Lark noticed something when he passed a mirror. His appearance completely changed in the reflection to Dark Ace. She started to get suspicious.
Meanwhile, Junko uncapped the Yorka Juice and placed a straw in it. "You're not seriously gonna drink something you found in the dump, are you?" Finn asked disgustedly. Junko just slurped on the juice. "Yeah! Yummy!" He cheered. "Oh, I'm gonna be sick." Riggorix groaned, holding his stomach. "Let me have a swig!" Judy exclaimed. Junko passed the juice to her and she took a sip. "Oh, that is good!" She cheered. Riggorix then felt his gag reflex act up. He covered his mouth and ran for the bathroom as Piper and Lark walked in. "Have you guys seen Radarr or Mimi?" Aerrow asked. Lark shrugged. "I'm sure they're around somewhere." Piper said. Fenix growled, knowing something was up.
"Approaching the Terra Tundras!" Stork yelled, still having his ears corked up. As the Condor approached the terra, Aerrow looked through the scope. "Lark's right. Nothing but hills and dirt." He said. But then, he spotted some machinery in the vicinity. "Wait. Something's going on down there. Finn, Skyler, Sky, Spade, let's go check it out." "No! Piper and I will check it out." Lark said, stopping Aerrow. "I know this terra. And isn't Piper best at recon?" She asked. "That's right. I am. We'll just do a quick pass and report back." Piper assured.
Then Piper and Lark flew off towards the terra on Lark's heliscooter since Piper's was still under repair. "You think we should follow them?" Finn asked. "Might be a good idea. Just in case something's up." Sky said. "No. We'll keep in contact with them from here." Aerrow said. "Ah. At last. Quiet." Stork said, uncorking his ears with relief. Riggorix groaned as he came back from the bathroom, clutching his stomach. "I wouldn't be in a hurry to use the bathroom for at least 35-45 minutes." He warned before burping. "Has anyone seen Radarr or Mimi?" Aerrow asked.
Meanwhile, Radarr and Mimi, still invisible, managed to get out of the box. "We gotta warn Aerrow and the others!" Radarr exclaimed. "But how can we do that? We're still cloaked." Mimi said. "We'll figure something out when we get to the bridge." Radarr said as they scurried to the bridge.
Meanwhile, Piper and Lark were closing in on the terra. "We should go back and get the others." Piper said. "The 2 of us made it out just fine in the storm. We'll be fine here." Lark assured. "I don't know. It seems like a lot going on down there." Piper said. "Why do you wanna go running back for help on a simple recon mission?" Lark asked. "That's not what I was saying!" Piper exclaimed. "You want me to turn around?!" Lark asked in annoyance. "No." Piper said, noticing something was off. "Well then, let's go." Lark said.
Once they landed, Piper looked through her binoculars and saw that the Cyclonians were mining for some kind of crystals. "Wow. Definitely some kind of mining expedition." She said. Just then, she noticed a patch of dust on the ground. "Crystal dust! This is what the Cyclonians are after. It's the same structure as your Shielding Crystal." "Told you there were lots of them if you knew where to look." Lark said. "But that many crystals could shield an entire squadron. Maybe even an entire terra!" Piper said. "Impressive, isn't it?" Lark asked with a sigh. "Yeah. I guess. We can't let them get away with this. We have to tell Aerrow and Aria!" Piper exclaimed, but Lark stopped her before she could head back to the heliscooter. "What's the rush? Don't you wanna stick around and see what's really going on?" Lark asked. "I think I already know what's going on." Piper said. "What's that?" Lark asked. "You're working for the Cyclonians, aren't you?" Piper asked. "Piper, I can honestly say that I don't work for the Cyclonians." Lark said. "No. I guess you don't work for them. It's the Cyclonians that are working for you!" Piper said, pulling out her Blocking Crystal. "Isn't that right…Master Cyclonis?" She used the Blocker to cancel out Lark's crystal, revealing her to be just a simple disguise for Master Cyclonis herself.
"Well, I just gotta know. How'd you figure it out?" Master Cyclonis asked, dropping her disguise. "Wasn't like it was that hard. The only Cyclonian who knows that much about crystals is the master herself." Piper deduced, sounding a little angry for what happened with Skyla. "Why the disguise?" "Like you'd ever invite me over to hang out." Cyclonis said. "You know, I've heard a lot about you, Piper. About your crystal mastery. I wanted to see for myself." "So, you pulled me from the storm and destroyed my friendship with Skyla just so you could destroy me." Piper guessed. "Oh, I didn't come to destroy you. I came to ask you to join me." Cyclonis said. Piper was shocked to hear that. "See, we're a lot alike, you and me. More than you'd like to admit." Cyclonis said.
Meanwhile, the Storm Hawks, Spade and Fenix were looking for Radarr and Mimi. "Hey, Radarr! Mimi! Hello?!" Junko called. "Radarr, we don't have time for your games!" Aerrow called. "Mimi!" Judy called. "Hey, Radarr!" Finn called. "Radarr! Mimi!" Aerrow called. "Radarr, where are you?!" Finn called. "Mimi!" Riggorix called. As Junko slurped his Yorka Juice, Radarr and Mimi crawled up onto the table. "How are we gonna get their attention? If we call out to them, they won't know we're right here." Mimi said. "I have an idea for that." Radarr said, eyeing the turkey next to him. He took off a leg and hopped down in front of Junko. "Junko! It's me, Radarr!" He called, waving the turkey leg. Junko was just silently shocked. He looked at the bottle, wondering if the juice was actually tainted and making him see things. He placed the juice on the table and backed away from it. Radarr just growled in annoyance as he climbed back up onto the table and picked up the juice. "IT'S RADARR!" He shouted, shaking the bottle. "Sit! Stay! Bad juice!" Junko exclaimed. Aerrow saw this and stopped him. "Hold on, Junko. I don't think that's the juice." He said. He took the Heart of Atmos and held it over the juice. The Heart glowed and turned Radarr and Mimi visible again. "I don't believe it. They were cloaked!" Aerrow exclaimed. "Oh, it feels so good to see myself again." Radarr said. "Radarr, Mimi, what happened?" Aerrow asked. "It was Lark! She used a Cloaking Crystal on us and locked us in a box!" Radarr exclaimed. "We knew we couldn't trust her!" Mimi exclaimed. "We gotta warn Piper!" Junko exclaimed. "Wait. Where are Aria and Skyla?" Sky asked, noticing 2 members missing.
"Come on, Piper. Imagine the 2 of us working together. The world would be ours." Cyclonis said. "You gotta be kidding! I'd never join you! Even after what you did to Skyla!" Piper exclaimed. "Well, there's always the alternative." Cyclonis said as a squad of Talons flew up behind her. "You'll have the best seat in the house to your friends' destruction." She equipped the Cloaking Crystal to her staff and turned her Talons invisible. "Attack!" The Talons flew off to engage the Storm Hawks. Piper gasped at this as Cyclonis equipped a different crystal to the other side of her staff. "Now where were we, girlfriend?" Cyclonis asked.
As the Condor made its way towards Terra Tundras, the invisible Talons flew in and started blasting it. "We're under attack!" Riggorix called as everyone was being tossed around. "There's nothing out there." Stork said, not seeing anything outside the window. Just then, the invisible Talons hit the Condor again. "That nothing sure feels like something!" Finn exclaimed. "But what is that something?!" Judy asked. "Everyone, battle stations!" Aerrow called. "Where are you going?" Junko asked. "Whatever's out there is cloaked just like Radarr and Mimi were. I'll disable the cloaking with the Heart of Atmos and try to draw them away from the Condor." Aerrow explained. "I'll go with you." Spade said. Aerrow nodded. "And before I forget. Skylight Unite!" He shouted as the Heart of Atmos transformed the Storm Hawks, except Spade and Judy, into the Skylight Guardians. "Alright. Start blasting!"
Aerrow flew out of the Condor with Radarr on his back. Spade followed on his skimmer. "Where are they?" Radarr asked. "Let's find out." Aerrow said, holding out the Heart. It glowed brightly as it unveiled the Talons, shocking them. "Talons!" Spade called. "Now let's take them for a spin!" Aerrow exclaimed, motioning his hands and creating a large tornado, sucking up the Talons.
Meanwhile, back on Terra Tundras, Piper and Cyclonis prepared to duel. "So, all this friendship was a game to you?! Wrecking my friendship with Skyla?!" Piper asked angrily as she pulled out her Energy Staff. "I don't have time for friends! I have a world to conquer!" Cyclonis exclaimed. The 2 girls started to fight, clashing their staffs. But Cyclonis managed to throw Piper to the ground. "It's amazing how much you can learn about a person after a few hours with them. And I think I know you pretty well now, Piper. Well enough to know your next move before you even make it." Cyclonis said. But as she prepared to strike, a boulder came out of nowhere and flew right towards her. But she aimed her staff at it and destroyed it with a crystal blast. Piper turned to see Aria and Skyla. "Get away from my best friend, Cyclonis!" Skyla exclaimed. "Skyla! Aria!" Piper exclaimed happily. "I knew that Lark disguise was bad. I could sense it thanks to my mana powers." Aria said with a glare. "Well, that's pretty clever, Skylight Guardian of Mana, being able to sense someone as evil as me." Cyclonis said. "WE'RE NOT LOOKING FOR ADMIRATION FROM YOU!" Skyla shouted, slamming her fist into the ground, causing an earthquake. And then several earth spikes came out and prepared to impale Cyclonis. But Cyclonis created an energy shield with her staff, blocking the spikes and shattering them. "You're pretty powerful, Skylight Guardian of Earth, and yet you still have much to learn." She mocked.
Meanwhile, back in the sky, Aerrow still had the Talons trapped in his tornado. "Skyler! Sky! Time to give them a scalding!" He called. Skyler and Sky stood on the Condor's deck. Sky held out his hands and created a giant ball of water. Skyler then held out his hands and started boiling the water to a super-hot level. "Now to boil these Talons like lobsters." Sky said, firing the boiling water ball into the tornado. The water ball exploded and sprayed the Talons, making them scream as the water scalded their skin.
Finn, Junko and Riggorix fought off several straggler Talons with their elemental powers. Finn fired his light arrows, shattering several of their skimmers. Junko tossed plasma balls, knocking a few Talons off their skimmers. Riggorix mentally caught 2 skimmers in midair and slammed them together, shattering them. Judy manned the cannon, blasting at the other Talons. Suddenly, a couple of Talons flew towards her and took aim. But then Spade flew in on his skimmer, drew his Double-Handled Energy Sword and slashed the Talons' skimmers in half.
Stork, however, was being hesitant from inside the Condor. "What should I do? Should I use my powers? What if I shock myself in the process? I don't think I can do it!" He exclaimed worriedly. Just then, several more Talons started attacking the Condor, blasting it from all sides. This was now making Stork mad. Electricity was crackling around his body and his eyes glowed lime green. And then lightning was building up in the clouds. Aerrow noticed this, knowing what was coming. "Storm Hawks! Take cover! Stork's about to let loose!" He called. The Storm Hawks took cover inside the Condor as Aerrow, Radarr and Spade flew off as Stork prepared to let loose. "Stop! Shooting! THE CONDOR!" Stork shouted, unleashing his lightning attack. The lightning struck several Talons, shocking them and shorting out their skimmers. The remaining Talons got so scared by this and began to retreat. Stork calmed down, feeling tired from the attack.
Meanwhile, Cyclonis knocked Aria and Skyla down next to Piper. But before she could walk up to them, she turned and saw her Talons uncloaked and retreating. "What?! How did the Storm Hawks manage to uncloak my Talons?!" She asked in a rage. "The same way we become the Skylight Guardians." Aerrow said as he, Finn, Junko, Riggorix, Skyler and Sky flew down and landed on the terra. Judy and Spade remained on the Condor with Stork. "I used the Heart of Atmos to disable your Talons' invisibility. The same way I'm using it to do this!" He held out the Heart and transformed Piper, Aria and Skyla to their Skylight Guardian forms. "Clever. But it's not enough. The Heart of Atmos will be mine!" Cyclonis exclaimed. "Look around, Cyclonis! You're outnumbered here!" Aria exclaimed. "Not for long." Cyclonis said. She slammed her staff to the ground and created an energy wave, pushing the Skylight Guardians back and stunning them. And then she walked up to Aerrow. "And now, Keeper of the Heart, the Heart of Atmos is mine." She said. But as she reached out and grabbed the Heart, it glowed brightly as it pushed her back with an incredible force, thus, sent her flying and crashed against a boulder.
The Skylight Guardians quickly recovered from their stun and looked over to a recovering Cyclonis. Piper held out her hand and encased Cyclonis in crystal. "It's over. You're trapped." Piper said venomously. "You may have won the battle, but the war has only just begun." Cyclonis said. Just then, a flash of light appeared around her and she disappeared, escaping her crystal imprisonment. All she left behind was her Cloaking Crystal. Piper picked it up, thinking about everything that Cyclonis told her.
Afterwards, everyone returned to the Condor. But Spade wasn't anywhere to be seen. "Where's Spade?" Aerrow asked. "He left. He had some business to attend to. But he told me to tell you guys that we'll meet again." Judy explained. Aerrow was bummed from hearing that. He wanted to thank Spade for helping them.
Later, after transforming back, Piper was experimenting with the crystal dust she gathered from Terra Tundras, sighing sadly. Just then, there was a knock on her door. "Come in." She called. Then Skyla came in. "Hey, Pipe." She greeted. "Hi, Skyla." Piper greeted back with sadness. Skyla was heartbroken, seeing her best friend so sad. "You okay?" She asked. "Yeah, I'm fine. Cyclonis didn't really hurt me." Piper assured. Skyla didn't buy that. "I'm okay. But I'm really sorry that I got so close to Cyclonis and almost handed her the Heart of Atmos. I never meant to hurt you." Piper apologized. "I know. But that doesn't matter. You saw through her scheme in the end. And that's why you'll always be my best friend." Skyla said. Piper smiled and hugged Skyla, happy that she got her best friend back.
Meanwhile, Master Cyclonis sat in her throne room back in Cyclonia. And she was mad. "I can't believe this! I had the Heart right in my hand! And it…protected itself!" She ranted. Just then, the Dark Ace came in and greeted his master with a bow. "Master Cyclonis. I have just heard about your failure in attempting to gain the Heart of Atmos." He said. "But rest assured. I will succeed in getting it for you next time." As he turned and headed out, he passed by a mirror. Cyclonis noticed that his reflection showed Spade. She then started to grow suspicious. There was something going on with her Dark Ace. And she was going to figure it out.
Wow! That was something. Master Cyclonis disguises herself as a girl named Lark in order to befriend Piper and claim the Heart of Atmos. But Piper managed to catch onto her with help from Aria and Skyla. But now Master Cyclonis is beginning to get suspicious about the similarities between Dark Ace and Spade. Will she start catching on? What other adventures await the Storm Hawks? Leave a review if you'd like.