Chapter 20: Storm Warning
(Intro)
The Condor was hovering over Terra Amazonia as Piper was writing her squadron log. "Squadron log: we spotted some Cyclonians on the remote Terra Amazonia. Aerrow, Aria, Radarr, Mimi, Junko, Finn, Rigg, the Stormhearts, Judy, Lavender, Starling, Amy Lu and Twilight have gone in for a little recon. With my brilliant strategy and Stork's new X-ray peepers, we'll find out what they're up to and be gone in a wink…assuming they stick to the plan. But somehow, I get the feeling that's not gonna happen." She narrated, knowing her friends.
Down on the terra, the Storm Hawks were spying on 3 Talons. They were guarding a crate. The Storm Hawks decided to have a little fun with them. Aerrow spoke with the wind and it started blowing through the Talons from behind. "Hey! Who's breathing down my neck?!" One of the Talons exclaimed as he marched towards his comrades. But then Skyla used her earth powers to summon a root in front of the Talon's foot, causing him to trip over it. "What happened?" One of the other Talons asked. "I don't know. Some root just came out of nowhere and tripped me." The one Talon said as his comrades helped him up. Just then, Skyler snapped his fingers and lit the Talons' butts on fire. The Talons sniffed the smoke and felt their tushies burning, causing them to run around and scream. Sky motioned his hand and summoned some small rainclouds over the Talons. They started raining heavily over them, putting out the fires and causing the Talons to tire and pass out.
"Good work, team. We should probably go." Aerrow said. But as the team started to leave, Twilight was focused on the crate. She walked over to it, looked inside and saw that it was filled with purple crystals. "Whoa." She said in awe. "Hey, Twilight! Where'd you go?" Finn called. "Uh, coming!" Twilight called as she picked up the crate and hurried after her friends.
Meanwhile, Ravess, Isis and Lilias were watching them from afar as they leave on their skimmers. "Perfect. They have the entire delivery. A whole crate of Leechers." Isis said. "And by they realize what they took, the Storm Hawks will be finished and the Heart of Atmos will belong to Master Cyclonis." Ravess said. "Uh, I don't know. Something's been bugging me about this." Lilias said. "And what might that be?" Ravess asked. "Well, if the Leechers suck out the energy of their crystals, won't they possibly do the same to the Heart of Atmos?" Lilias asked. That actually caught Ravess and Isis' attention. "Who knows? We don't exactly know the Heart's origin." Isis said. "Yes. All we do know is that Master Cyclonis wants it for its vast powers." Ravess said.
As the team returned to the Condor, they inspected the crate of crystals Twilight brought back. "Never seen any crystal like this one before." Aria said. "Why did you even take this crate, Twilight?" Starling asked. "I just got curious as to why they would protect this." Twilight said. "Perhaps, I should take a look at these crystals. You know, just in case. Considering where they came from." Piper said. "And while you do that, let's blow off some steam with some elemental training." Aerrow said.
Later, Piper wrote her squadron log as she researched the crystals. "Squadron log: identifying and stabilizing crystals is a delicate procedure. One false move and…well, let's just say I don't need any distractions." She narrated. She ran several different examination tests on the crystals, trying to identify their properties. "I have never seen a single crystal that I couldn't properly identify. It's only a matter of time before I crack the code on these mystery crystals."
Meanwhile, the rest of the Storm Hawks were training with their Skylight powers. Aerrow had several targets painted like Cyclonians, Raptors, Murk Raiders and Verrocs set up for practicing. "Alright, team. We have to be ready for anything our enemies may try. So, today's training exercise is simple target practice, using only your Skylight powers." Aerrow explained. "But what about me? I'm not a Skylight Guardian." Twilight said. "Twilight, since you're the newest addition to the team, you'll watch and observe from afar until the Heart proves you worthy to become our newest Skylight Guardian." Aerrow said. "Alright." Twilight said. "Alright, team, let's get started." Aerrow said.
As the team lined up, Finn stepped up first, summoned his light bow and readied a light arrow. But as he took aim and fired it, the arrow faded out and disappeared without even hitting the target. "What the heck?!" He exclaimed in shock. "What happened?" Sky asked. "I don't know. I had a perfect shot, but then my arrow just faded." Finn said. As the others tried to use their powers, they noticed that their powers were slowly weakening and fading. "What's happening to our powers?" Starling asked. Aerrow, taking off his scarf, looked at the Heart of Atmos and to his shock, saw that the crystal was slowly turning white. "Aerrow, what's happening to the Heart?" Aria asked with worry. "I don't know. But we have to talk to Piper about this. If this is happening to our powers, it's probably happening to hers too." Aerrow said.
And it did. As she tried to summon a crystal to match with the crystals, she couldn't, to her shock. "What's happening?" She asked before Aerrow came into her room. "Piper, our powers started failing and the Heart's starting to turn white." He said, showing her the Heart. "But how? It's like something's sucking the power right…out of…" Piper started to say until she gasped. "I know what these crystals are. They're Leechers!" She exclaimed in realization. Aerrow gasped at that. "Leechers suck out the energy of every crystal within their radius. Including…the Heart of Atmos." Piper said with worry. Aerrow looked at the Heart with worry. "We have to get rid of the Leechers before they explode." Piper said. "Explode?" Aerrow repeated with worry. "When Leechers absorb the energy of other crystals, the energy building inside of them will make them unstable and explode, taking out the entire Condor!" Piper exclaimed. "And us with it." Aerrow said. "Yes. We have to get rid of the Leechers before they become too unstable." Piper said. "Uh, guys? We have a problem up here." Stork called over the P.A. system. Aerrow and Piper hurried up to the bridge and rejoined the team. "What's going on?" Aerrow asked. "There's a Cyclonian fleet heading right for us." Stork said. Aerrow looked through the scopes and saw Ravess, Isis and Lilias leading a fleet of Talons right towards them. "Ravess. Along with Isis and Lilias too." He said.
"Talons, attack the Condor! Bring me the Heart of Atmos!" Ravess exclaimed. The Talons flew towards the Condor on their skimmers and started firing at it. "We're taking heavy fire!" Stork exclaimed. "What're we gonna do?!" Junko exclaimed. "Without the Heart of Atmos, we can't become Skylight Guardians." Amy Lu said. "We can't even use our powers." Skyler said. "We may not be able to change into Skylight Guardians, but we're still the Storm Hawks. And we will protect Atmos no matter what." Aerrow said. "Aerrow's right. And I plan to fight by his side to the very end." Aria said. "As do I." Piper said. "Who else?" Aerrow asked. Almost at once, the others agreed and raised their hands. "Alright. Here's the plan. Stork, try to keep the Condor in the air. Piper, we need you to get rid of those Leechers before they blow. The rest of us will deal with the Cyclonians." Aerrow explained. "Then let's go kick some Cyclonian butt." Riggorix said, cracking his knuckles.
As the Cyclonians continued blasting the Condor, the Storm Hawks came out on their skimmers and started to fight. Junko activated his Knuckle Busters and punched through every Talon in his way. Riggorix brought out his Energy Scythes and sliced through several Talon skimmers. Starling leapt off her skimmer and struck every Talon in her way with her Energy Nunchaku. Lavender fired her Energy Blasters at several Talons' skimmers, blasting them out of the sky. The Stormheart Triplets used their weapons to slice through the Talons' skimmers. "Miss Ravess, the Storm Hawks haven't transformed into Skylight Guardians. And they're not using their Skylight powers." A Talon reported through his skimmer's com-link before Aria struck him with her Energy Staff. Ravess, Isis and Lilias were shocked after they got the report. "If the Storm Hawks haven't transformed into Skylight Guardians, and aren't using their powers, then that means that I was right. The Leech Crystals have drained the Heart of Atmos." Lilias said. "If the Heart of Atmos is drained, Master Cyclonis will have no need for it powerless." Isis said. Ravess began to worry about what Master Cyclonis would say about this.
As the Storm Hawks continued to battle the Cyclonians, Piper headed down to the cargo hold to get rid of the crate of Leechers. "Now let's get rid of those Leechers. No doubt, they're already building up their energy by now." She said. But before she could grab the crate, the Condor began to fall from the sky. The Storm Hawks noticed this. "Stork, what happened?" Aerrow asked through the com-link. "The Leechers completely drained the Condor's crystal engine! We're going down!" Stork exclaimed. Piper held on, but the crate was out of her reach, sliding to the side. "No!" She cried. Lavender saw the crate going over the side and flew her skimmer over to the Condor. "I hope this works." She said. She motioned her hand and used what was left of her psychic powers to catch the crate as it went over the side. Piper smiled as she saw this. "I…can't…keep this up…for long." Lavender said as she started straining. "You don't have to. Use the last of your power to throw the crate before the crystals explode." Piper said. Lavender used the last of her power to toss the crate far into the distance just before the Leechers exploded. Everyone in the fight saw the explosion. "Good job, Piper." Aerrow said. Ravess sighed sadly, knowing that they've lost. "Talons, back to Cyclonia. We've lost this battle today." She said through the com-link before flying away. Isis, Lilias and the remaining Talons followed.
But afterwards, the Storm Hawks were anything but celebratory. They managed to repair the Condor's engine, but the Heart's crystal was pure white now. "It's over. The Heart lost most of its powers. We can never become the Skylight Guardians again." Aria said sadly. Everyone was sad at this too. "And I just got used to my lightning powers." Stork said. "At least me, Mimi and the pets can still talk." Radarr said. "It doesn't make any different, Radarr. The Skylight Guardians are finished." Finn said. "This is my fault. If I hadn't brought those Leechers on board, this never would've happened." Twilight said in guilt. "Don't blame yourself, Twilight. I took too long to identify those Leechers and paid the price." Piper said. "And with our powers gone, we're just the plain old Storm Hawks now." Riggorix said. "Well, what do we do now?" Junko asked. Aerrow stared at the Heart and got an idea. "We need to talk to Thunderay. He passed the Heart down to us when this all started. So, here's hoping he'll know what to do." He said. "That's right. Grandpa was a Skylight Guardian before us. So, he must know what to do." Skyler said. "Stork, set a course for Terra Thohle." Aerrow said. "Aye-aye, captain." Stork said.
Later, as the Storm Hawks arrived at Terra Thohle, Aerrow presented the drained Heart to Thunderay. "Drained by Leech Crystals. That's terrible." Thunderay said. "It lost most of its powers. Now we can never become Skylight Guardians again." Aria said. "Is there something that can be done, Grandpa?" Skyla asked. "Actually…there is something. There's a way we can recharge the Heart of Atmos." Thunderay said. "There is? How?" Piper asked. "If the Heart of Atmos is ever drained, there's only one place where it can be recharged. We have to go to where it all began." Thunderay explained. "And where's that?" Finn asked. "The Great Crater of Atmos." Thunderay said. That surprised the Storm Hawks. "The Crater from the old legend?" Riggorix asked. "Yes. There's a place there that can recharge the Heart's power if it's ever drained." Thunderay said. "Wait. You said we." Skyler said. "Yes. I shall go with you and bring you to the Crater." Thunderay said. "That's great, Grandpa." Skyla said. "But first, I need to make a call to some old friends." Thunderay said.
Meanwhile, Ravess, Isis and Lilias reported back to Master Cyclonis. "So, not only did you fail to use the Leechers to destroy the Storm Hawks, but you also failed to bring me the Heart of Atmos…AGAIN!" Master Cyclonis exclaimed angrily. "But, Master, we couldn't retrieve the Heart because…the Leechers drained the Heart of Atmos too." Ravess said. Master Cyclonis was stunned by this. But then her stun turned into a smirk "If the Heart of Atmos was drained by the Leechers, there's only one place in Atmos where the Storm Hawks would go to recharge it." She said. "Master?" Isis said. "Ready the fleet. It's time for Cyclonia to take the Great Crater of Atmos." Master Cyclonis said with an evil smile.
Whoa. This really hit deep. The team brought a whole crate of Leech Crystals on board and drained every crystal on the Condor. Including the Heart of Atmos. And with the Heart drained, the Storm Hawks can no longer become Skylight Guardians. But good old Thunderay Stormheart knows the answer. They're going to the Heart of Atmos' home of origin. The Great Crater of Atmos. But Master Cyclonis will not be far behind. What new adventures will the Storm Hawks encounter when they find the Great Crater of Atmos? What will Master Cyclonis plan for the ancient location? Leave a review if you'd like.