Chapter 18: Terra Deep
(Intro) (Storm Hawks updated with Twilight)
The Condor was flying through a storm while being chased by a whole squadron of Cyclonians. "Can't this thing go any faster?!" Aerrow exclaimed. "Only if you want the engine to melt through the haul." Stork said. "I'll take that chance. Full speed!" Aerrow exclaimed. Stork revved the engine and went full speed further into the storm. The Cyclonians continued chasing them as their carriers started firing from their cannons. "What do we do now, Aerrow?" Aria asked. Aerrow noticed a fog bank nearby. "We'll lose them in there." He said. "Are you sure?" Stork asked, feeling unsure about this plan. "I'm thinking yeah." Aerrow said. Stork made a hard left turn towards the fog bank. The Cyclonians stayed their position, not even daring to follow. "We'll wait for them here. If they come back out at all." The captain said.
As the Condor dives deeper into the fog bank, Finn checked through the scope. "They're not following." He said. "They aren't? That's weird." Starling said. "Cyclonians don't stop for fog." Piper said. "But what would they stop for?" Skyler asked. Just then, Stork saw something. "More likely, they stopped for this." He said. It was a wrecked carrier ship, ripped apart from front to back. "Who did this?" Aerrow asked. "Better question. What did this?" Piper asked. "I don't feel so good." Junko said, feeling his stomach turning as he stared at the wreckage.
They landed the Condor on the wreckage, and Aerrow led Aria, Radarr, Mimi, Finn, Junko, Riggorix, Skyler, Skyla, Sky, Starling, Amy Lu and Twilight inside. "Anybody in here? Hello?" Aerrow called. "It looks completely empty." Aria said. "What's it look like in there?" Piper asked through the com-link. "A lot of battle damage. And fresh." Aerrow said as he inspected the damage. "That means this wreck hasn't been here very long." Aria said. "But who could've done this?" Twilight asked. "The same Cyclonians that were chasing us?" Piper asked. "No. This ship looks like it was…torn apart…by hand." Aerrow said. "Okay. I just felt my fur stiffen up." Riggorix said. "Stay sharp. Whoever did this might still be around." Aerrow said. As they continued, Junko's sudden sickness began to get worse. His eyes got all red and puffy, and his head started aching. "Uh, guys? Really. I am not feeling so good." He said. Just then, he gave a loud, powerful sneeze, sending Radarr and Mimi flying into the wall and making the others cringe. "Gesundheit." They both said simultaneously as they slid down the wall. "Sorry." Junko apologized.
As they continued to investigate, they reached the wrecked carrier's engine room. Or what was left of it. "Looks like their entire crystal power unit was ripped out. Whole. Whatever hit them was hard and fast. Probably had no chance to defend themselves." Aerrow said. "Piper, do any of the charts say where we are?" Aria asked.
Piper checked through her charts. "I know this is where we are, but all of the charts say there's nothing here." She said, not finding anything. "All the charts?" Stork asked. Piper shrugged. "What're you thinking, honey?" Lavender asked. Stork opened a trunk, brought out an older chart and handed it to Piper. "Try this one." He said. Piper opened the chart and examined it. "Are you kidding me? It's like 200 years old." She said. But then she noticed something on the chart. "Wait a minute."
Meanwhile, as the others continued, Aerrow spotted something disturbing. "I wonder what this means." He said, shining his lantern on it. It was a painted symbol of a skull with a sword pierced through its left eye. "Well, I doubt it mean welcome." Finn said, disturbed. Junko touched the paint, discovering that it was still wet. "Not even dry yet." He said, sniffing the paint. Aria froze at the sight of the symbol and started having flashbacks of her childhood.
[Flashback]
A younger Aria sat tied on the ground as a group of rogues painted the same symbol on a wall.
[Flashback End]
Meanwhile, back on the Condor, Piper got out her Storm Hawk journal and looked through the pages until she found the right one, making her gasp in realization. "Guys, listen to me very carefully. I need you to get back to the ship. Quietly. I know who did this." She said through the com-link.
"So…do…I." Junko said, about to sneeze again. The group dove for cover before he sneezed again, blowing a hole through the hull. "Murk Raiders!" He exclaimed. "Murk Raiders?!" The group exclaimed in shock. "He's right! We need to go!" Piper exclaimed. "Wait. You know this how?" Finn asked. "I'm allergic to them." Junko said. "That explains the violent sneezing." Riggorix said as they started running back towards the Condor. But Aerrow and Skyler noticed that Aria was still traumatized from the symbol. "Aria, let's go!" Aerrow exclaimed as he pulled her arm, snapping her back into reality.
Just then, something was coming straight towards their location. "I got something nearby closing in." Stork said. "Whatever it is, it's pretty big." Lavender said. "Guys, hurry up!" Piper exclaimed quietly. The group hustled as fast as they could. "You're allergic to Murk Raiders and you're just remembering it now?!" Finn whispered. "The Murk Raiders are the deadliest pirates in the entire Atmos! I think knowing that you have an allergy towards them with be useful information!" Riggorix whispered. "Sorry! It's not like you get to run into them every day." Junko whispered as they reached a giant gap in the wreckage. They each took turns leaping across it. "That's because when you run into Murk Raiders, you don't usually walk away!" Finn whispered as he followed the group. As they continued, Junko felt another sneeze slowly building up. "I feel a big one coming. I bet they're really close." He said.
He was right. The Murk Raiders' carrier had gotten extremely close to the wreckage. "Piper, where exactly are we?" Aerrow asked through the com-link. Piper looked through her journal. "Terra Deep, favorite hiding place of the Murk Raiders. This is where they drag airships to steal their crystals, supplies and their crews." She explained. That last part made Finn shudder. "They steal crews?" He asked with worry. "That explains it. They must have the crew held prisoner on their cruiser." Sky said. "Let's stay cool. Once we're back on the Condor, we're gonna rescue those prisoners and we're out of here." Aerrow said. "Quietly. Their sound tracking devices are super sensitive." Stork whispered. Just then, a sound wave passed over the group. "That would be the sound tracker." Stork whispered.
The group took cover as the Murk Raiders' carrier started looking around with searchlights. "Stork, play dead." Aerrow whispered. Stork powered down the Condor as the Murk Raiders passed over them, activating their sound tracker again. But then, as the group continued back to the Condor, Junko felt another sneeze coming on. As he was about to sneeze, Finn covered his nose, shushing him. But Junko felt it coming back up again. Finn, Radarr, Riggorix and Skyla covered his mouth to stop him. Junko inhaled his sneeze. "Uh, I think I'm okay." He said. But as they removed their hands, Junko gave a loud sneeze, sending Radarr flying again. "Seriously!?" Radarr exclaimed in annoyance. The noise attracted the Murk Raiders and turned towards the wreckage. The team hurried back onto the Condor. "Stork, get us out of here!" Aerrow exclaimed. Stork started up the Condor and took off.
As the Murk Raiders prepared to attack under the command of their leader, Captain Scabulous. "Gear up, boys! We've got ourselves a live one!" He exclaimed. His first mate, Eyeball, blew a horn. The Murk Raiders got their carrier's cannons ready, loaded them with Energy Crystals and prepared their Energy Swords. "Full power ahead." Scabulous said venomously. The Murk Raiders fired up their carrier's engine and went full power after the Condor.
As the Murk Raiders were chasing them, most of the team started to worry. "Murk Raiders near, Cyclonians waiting for us out there, we're trapped!" Finn said with worry. "Not if they can't find us. Stork, head for the fog." Aerrow said. "And run into zero visibility, bottomless caverns and mangily pillars of razor sharp rocks?" Stork asked. "Exactly. We'll need the cover once we plan our attack and rescue." Aerrow said. "Right." Stork said as he turned the Condor into the fog bank. The Murk Raiders turned to chase after them. "They want a chase, do they? We'll give them a chase!" Scabulous exclaimed, cackling.
As the team continued deeper into the fog, Junko put 2 socks in his nose to hold in his sneezes. "Judy, how's Junko holding up?" Aerrow asked. Junko, unable to hold in his sneeze, grabbed a pillow and sneezed into it, completely destroying it. "Not so good." Judy said. The Murk Raiders activated their sound tracker again, picking up the Condor's signal. "I got them, Captain. Just ahead." Eyeball said, tracking them with an earthquake detector. "Stay on them, Eyeball. Let's reel them in." Scabulous said. The Storm Hawks descended further and further into the fog, but the Murk Raiders were slowly closing in on them. "Ooh, so close. I can taste it!" Scabulous exclaimed. "Okay, everyone, on my mark, we go silent." Aerrow said. "Now!" The Condor powered down, causing the Murk Raiders to lose the signal. "Wait. Uh, I think we lost them." Eyeball said. "What do you mean you lost them?!" Scabulous exclaimed angrily.
The Condor slowly drifted into a bunch of pillars of razor-sharp rocks. "There." Piper whispered, using the chart to help navigate. "Stork, hard left." Aerrow whispered. "Hard left." Stork whispered, steering the Condor left. "Skyla, we'll need you to clear any sharp rocks in the way." Aerrow whispered. "Right." Skyla whispered. As Stork carefully steered the Condor through the rocks and Skyla kept her eyes out for any rocks in the way, Aerrow looked over at Aria, who was sitting by the wall with her knees up to her chest, having another traumatic flashback.
[Flashback]
A silhouetted Scabulous stood over her younger self, cackling as he slashed her with his Energy Sword.
[Flashback End]
Aria rubbed her chin as she started to shake like a leaf. But before Aerrow could walk over to her, the Condor nearly got scratched on a nearby rock. Sky silently gasped a bit. Eyeball picked up the sound, but immediately lost it again, to his annoyance. The Condor soon came to a tight squeeze in the rocks. "We're not gonna fit through here." Stork whispered. "Yes, we will." Skyla whispered. She held out her hands and the rocks slowly and quietly pulled away from the Condor, making the squeeze wider for the Condor. But as they passed through, Junko felt another sneeze building up. "Junko, no!" Judy whispered. "For the love of life, Junko! Hold it in!" Riggorix whispered. But Junko couldn't do it. He sneezed really loud. The Murk Raiders picked up the sound signal and turned towards them. "Full speed!" Aerrow ordered. Stork revved the engine and sped the Condor up to full speed. "Skyla, block them off!" Aerrow ordered. "On it, Aerrow!" Skyla exclaimed. She motioned her hands and caused the rock pillars to collapse on themselves, blocking the pass.
"Nice moves." Piper said. "Very nice." Lavender said. "Let's hope it bought us some distance so we can plan our next move." Aerrow said. "And Aria looks worse than Junko right now." Skyler said, gesturing to a still traumatized Aria. "Yeah. She's been like that since the wreckage." Finn said. "I wonder what's wrong with her." Amy Lu said. "Radarr, can you look into her past and see what's wrong?" Aerrow asked. "On it, partner." Radarr said. He walked over to Aria, placed his paws on her head and looked into her past. As he did this, he saw something making him gasp, breaking the connection. "What's wrong? What did you see?" Skyler asked. "I'm afraid our dear Aria has encountered the Murk Raiders once before." Radarr revealed. Everyone gasped. Aerrow looked at his beloved sister with worry.
But as the Condor flew away, as the Murk Raiders approached the blocked pass, they prepared a special surprise. They activated a seismic cannon and blasted the pass wide open! The Storm Hawks grew curious at where the Murk Raiders were at. "Hey, guys, I think those Raiders might be gone." Junko whispered. But then a wave from the sound tracker washed over them. "Uh, never mind." "Okay. Time to take out that sound tracker." Aerrow said. "Aerrow, what're you doing?" Finn asked. "You all may wanna cover your ears." Aerrow said as he headed out to the viewer's deck. Everyone quickly covered their ears. Radarr even put moss balls into Aria's ears due to her still being traumatized. Aerrow took a deep breath and let out a very loud, ear-piercing scream. The Murk Raiders picked up the signal of the scream. "We got them, Captain." Eyeball said. But then, the sound tracker started overloading. "What's happening, Eyeball?!" Scabulous demanded. Just then, the machine exploded right in their faces. The Cyclonians, still outside the fog bank, heard the scream from afar. "What the heck is going on down there?" The captain asked.
"Alright, guys, it's time to go on the offensive. Time to rescue the prisoners." Aerrow said after he came back inside. "But, Aerrow, even with their sound tracker destroyed, the Murk Raiders will see us coming." Stork said. "No, they won't." Aerrow said. He took off his scarf and unveiled the Heart of Atmos. As it started glowing, the Condor became invisible. "Nice trick." Piper said. "Alright, Stork, bring her up." Aerrow said. Stork chuckled as he brought the Condor up beside the Murk Raiders' cruiser. "Everybody ready?" Aerrow asked. The Storm Hawks all nodded. "Skylight Unite!" He called as the Storm Hawks, minus Twilight, all transformed into the Skylight Guardians. "Alright, as the pirates would say, prepare to board." He said. The Skylight Guardians walked off to prepare their boarding party. But then he noticed that Aria was still sitting by the same wall. "Aria, are you okay?" He asked as he knelt down beside his sister. "I…I can't…I can't go against the Murk Raiders. You have no idea what I went through." Aria said, starting to cry. "Radarr told us that you encountered them before. What happened?" Aerrow asked. "It happened when we were kids." Aria started to explain.
[Flashback]
A younger Aria was taking care of her dear brother. Aerrow had come down with an unknown sickness. After she placed a wet cloth on Aerrow's head, she walked back to her room to get a story book to read to him. Suddenly, her wall was blown wide open. Before she knew it, Murk Raiders raided her room, grabbed her and started tying her up. One of them painted their symbol on her wall to mark their raid. She started screaming as they carried her away. From his room, Aerrow groaned as he tried to move, but couldn't.
Aria was brought onboard the Murk Raiders' carrier and was presented to Scabulous. He cackled as he walked towards her, drawing his Energy Sword. Aria cried as Scabulous swiped his sword up at her chin, cutting it.
[Flashback End]
Aria revealed her scar on her chin. Aerrow stared at it, guilty that he couldn't protect his own sister when he was sick. "After Scabulous cut my chin, our father and his team came to rescue me." Aria continued.
[Flashback]
Suddenly, Lightning Strike and his team burst through the hull of the Murk Raiders' carrier and began fighting off the Murk Raiders. Lightning Strike ran up towards Aria, but Scabulous got in the way. Lightning Strike was really mad at the Murk Raider leader for kidnapping his daughter. He slashed his Double-Handed Blade, slicing off Scabulous' left arm and left eye. He picked up his little Aria and left with his team, leaving Scabulous to scream in anger, pain and agony.
[Flashback End]
"But I still wasn't the same after that. Those memories still haunt my dreams every night. Until now." Aria finished as she cried. Aerrow brought her into a comforting hug. "I still feel guilty that I couldn't protect you due to my sickness back then. But we can protect each other now with our new Skylight Guardian powers." He said. Aria felt unsure at first, but she felt her confidence building back up and nodded in agreement.
Aerrow and Aria joined their teammates at the docking bay and prepared to attack. "Rigg, care to open the door for us?" Aerrow asked. "My pleasure." Riggorix said. He motioned his hands and ripped the metal on the carrier's hull wide open. The Murk Raiders were stunned by what happened. "What's happening here?!" Scabulous exclaimed. Just then, the Skylight Guardians and Twilight flew in through the hole. "Skylight Guardians?!" Scabulous exclaimed in shock. "Permission to come aboard?" Aerrow asked jokingly. "By all means. Permission granted. Give 'em a warm welcome, boys!" Scabulous exclaimed. The Murk Raiders readied their weapons as they prepared to attack. "Finn, Mimi, Lavender, Twilight, you guys find the prisoners. We'll handle these pirate scums." Aerrow said. "We're on it, Aerrow." Finn said before he, human Mimi, Lavender and Twilight took off to find the prisoners.
"ATTACK!" Scabulous exclaimed. The Murk Raiders charged for the Skylight Guardians. Aerrow motioned his hands and created a gust of wind, blowing several Murk Raiders into the wall. Junko activates his Knuckle Busters, coats them with plasma and bashes every Murk Raider that came his way. Skyler created a fireball in his hands as several Murk Raiders charged towards him. As he threw it, it morphed into a 大 and blew the Murk Raiders away. "Feel the burn." He said. Sky formed a water ball in his hands, slammed it onto the floor and created a large wave, washing away several Murk Raiders. "You're turn, Amy." He said. "It'll be an icy pleasure." Amy Lu said. She motioned her hands and created a blizzard, freezing the Murk Raiders since they were still wet from Sky's attack. "What a team!" Sky cheered, giving Amy Lu a high-five. Piper came up against a Murk Raider with a skull-shaped hook blaster on his left arm, calling himself Hook. As Hook fired energy blasts from his hook, Piper summoned a giant crystal to shield herself. Skyla noticed this and created a blizzard of flower petals, blowing Hook away. Judy fired energy spheres at several Murk Raiders, knocking them down. One of the Murk Raiders ran towards Riggorix, preparing to slash him. But Riggorix caught the Raider's arm in his hand and threw him into the wall. Starling found herself surrounded by several Murk Raiders. "Oh, step off, grasshoppers." She said, swinging her nunchaku and creating a star pulse wave, sending the Murk Raiders flying. Stork found himself up against Eyeball, who was chuckling as he ran towards the Merb turned human. Stork rubbed his hands together, powering up his electricity. As Eyeball got close enough, Stork unleashed a bolt of electricity, shocking Eyeball and knocking him out. "Guess I should've warned you. You mess with the Stork, you get the shock." Stork said. Human Radarr found himself surrounded by more Murk Raiders. They all charged towards him, but he clapped his hands together and created a time dome, thus, slowing the Murk Raiders down. Radarr moved out of the way before the time dome wore off, causing the Murk Raiders to collide into each other.
Meanwhile, Finn, Mimi, Lavender and Twilight searched the lower decks for the brig. "Okay, Stork and I studied the schematics for carriers like this one. The brig should be located just down this hallway." Lavender said. "And be ready. There might be guards waiting in there." Finn said. They found the door to the brig and blew it open. The Murk Raiders inside were alerted to the blast and charged over to attack. "Don't bother getting up. We're not gonna be here long." Finn said, firing several arrows from his light bow. The arrows hit the Murk Raiders, knocking them out. Lavender used her psychic powers to levitate more Murk Raiders into the air and throw them into the wall. The prisoners were all cheering excitedly from inside their cells. "Alright, everyone, let's get you all off this ship." Lavender said. "Allow me." Mimi said as she walked up to the cells. She created a large shuriken made out of magma and used it to cut the cell bars, freeing the prisoners.
Meanwhile, the Skylight Guardians continued fighting the Murk Raiders. Junko's allergies caused him to sneeze at several Murk Raiders, blowing them away. Suddenly, as Aria knocked down several Murk Raiders with her mana blasts, a blade was pointed right in her face. She gasped at the very face she feared as a little girl. "I don't know how you were able to survive Anarchis' attack. But you won't escape the Murk Raiders." Scabulous said. Aria felt her confidence deplete and her trauma fuel up again. "Aria!" Aerrow cried as he noticed. Aria heard her brother's cry and shook off her trauma, glaring at the monster who kidnapped her. "You're about to find out why the Murk Raiders are feared across the Atmos!" Scabulous exclaimed. "And you're about to find out why I'm a Skylight Guardian!" Aria exclaimed. She charged up her Lightning Claw with her mana and blasted Scabulous into the wall. "Who are you?" Scabulous asked as Aria stood over him. "You recognize this?" Aria asked, revealing her scar. "You!" Scabulous gasped, realizing who Aria was. "Yes. I'm not the same traumatized little girl you kidnapped all those years ago. I help my brother lead the new Storm Hawks and new Skylight Guardians now. And you are not so scary anymore." Aria said.
"Guys! We got the prisoners! Let's get out of here!" Finn called as he, Mimi, Lavender, Twilight and the prisoners regrouped with the others. "No one leaves!" Scabulous exclaimed. The last Murk Raiders standing blocked the hole, preventing the Skylight Guardians and the prisoners from leaving. "Junko, clear us a path, please." Aria said. Junko stepped forth and gave another powerful sneeze, blowing the Murk Raiders out of the hole. Lavender telekinetically picked up the prisoners as the Skylight Guardians and Twilight flew back to the Condor and took off. "They're getting away!" Eyeball exclaimed as Scabulous glared after the escaping ship. Just then, 2 horns blared in the distance. 2 more Murk Raider cruisers had arrived to reinforce their leader. "Friends are coming, boys." Scabulous said with a chuckling grin as the 3 ships chased after the Condor.
As the Condor was trying to escape, Junko let out a small sneeze. "Oh. I think I just ran out of sneeze." He said. "That's a relief." Radarr said. Finn looked through the scope and saw the cruisers chasing after them. "Guys, they've got really big reinforcements." He said. Aerrow looked through the scope and saw the cruisers. "Then we're gonna need some reinforcements of our own." He said. "Where are we gonna get reinforcements out here?" Twilight asked. "Stork, take us out of here the way we came in. As fast as you can." Aerrow said. Stork revved the engine and sped up the Condor as fast as it could go. "Wait. Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?" Sky asked. "That's a pretty risky move, Aerrow. But I like it." Piper said.
The Condor continued heading back towards the way it came with the Murk Raiders in hot pursuit, firing their seismic cannons. "They're gaining on us." Finn said with worry. "We'll make it." Aerrow said. The Condor flew back into the fog bank and headed straight for the Cyclonian fleet. "I knew they wouldn't last long in there. Prepare to fire." The captain said. "But, sir, shouldn't we be concerned about that weird scream we heard earlier?" The helmsman asked. "Nonsense. The Storm Hawks are all that matter. Prepare to fire." The captain said. But before the Cyclonians could do anything, the Murk Raiders came into view. "Sir, those are Murk Raiders. And the scream must've lured them…to us!" The helmsman said with fear. The Murk Raiders forgot all about the Condor as they eyed the Cyclonian fleet. "I bet they have lots of crew." Eyeball said. "Right you are, Eyeball. Move those cannons, boys! We've got a new catch!" Scabulous exclaimed. The Murk Raiders started firing their cannons at the Cyclonians. "Don't just stand there! Blast them!" The captain ordered. Both fleets began firing at each other. Stork steered the Condor through the ensuing dogfight and escaped. "Now that's what I call reinforcements." Aerrow said.
Later, after the escape, as the Skylight Guardians changed back to their Storm Hawk forms, the Condor landed on a nearby terra, dropping off the prisoners. "Thank you for freeing us. We thought after those dreadful Murk Raiders captured us, that was it for us." One of the prisoners said. "You're welcome. We do what we can to help all of Atmos." Aerrow said. The prisoners waved goodbye as the Condor took off.
Later, as Piper was writing down the entry in her squadron log with Skyla and Junko was stuffing the feathers back into his pillow, Aerrow and Aria shared a bonding moment by the windshield. "You doing okay?" Aerrow asked. "Yeah. I feel much better." Aria said. "I'm proud of you, sis. You stood up and faced your fear." Aerrow said. "Well, I didn't do it alone, Aerrow. You believed that I could. And that's why I'm happy to have you as my brother." Aria said. Aerrow brought his sister into a loving hug. Suddenly, the moment was interrupted when Junko sneezed, blowing the siblings against the windshield. "More Murk Raiders?!" Finn asked worriedly. "Nothing on the scopes." Stork said as he checked the scopes. "Then why is Junko sneezing?" Skyler asked as he and Sky helped Aerrow and Aria stand up. "Don't tell us you're allergic to something else." Piper said. "Um, not really. Well, just Sky Sharks." Junko said. Just then, he realized as one flew past the windshield. "SKY SHARKS!" An entire of school of Sky Sharks started swarming the Condor.
Wow! Wasn't that amazing? The Storm Hawks escape from a Cyclonian fleet, only to end up in Terra Deep, the hiding place of the Murk Raiders. Aria entered a traumatic state due to being kidnapped by them in her childhood. But she managed to snap out of it and help her team fight the Murk Raiders off and rescue the prisoners. What other new experiences will the Storm Hawks encounter? What other dangers will the Murk Raiders pose for the Atmos? Leave a review if you'd like.