Chapter 27: Under Wraps of Omen
(Intro) (Storm Hawks updated with Odessa)
During the nightfall, the Third Degree Burners were racing through the desert as they practiced for the next Great Atmos Race. Suddenly, Blister, who was ahead of his team, noticed a black figure in his way. He moved his skimmer to the side and skidded to a stop. "Blister, you okay?" Burner asked as he and the others stopped to check on their leader. "Yeah, I'm okay. Hey, buddy, watch out next time!" Blister exclaimed. But then, the unknown figure slowly turned around and faced the Third Degree Burners as it opened its eerie glowing purple eyes, glaring at them. The Third Degree Burners felt creeped out by that. Just then, the unknown figure released several black colored cloth-like tentacles. The Third Degree Burners got freaked out by this and started driving away. But Blister was unlucky when he was caught by the cloth tentacles, bringing him to the unknown figure. Upon getting a closer look, the unknown figure resembled a pharaoh mummy! Suddenly, the mummy's chest unwrapped itself and revealed glowing purplish-red crystals. The mummy brought Blister closer to the crystals as he screamed in terror.
The next day, the Condor was flying through the blue sky. The Storm Hawks received a distress signal from the Third Degree Burners at Terra Saharr. "It just suddenly happened. We were in the desert practicing for the next Great Atmos Race. But suddenly, some freaky monster attacked us and snatched Blister. Please, we need your help getting our leader back." Burner explained. "Understood. But did you guys get a look at this monster, Burner?" Aerrow asked. "I'm afraid we didn't get a good look at it. But it did have these strange cloth-like tentacles and used them to grab Blister." Burner explained. The Storm Hawks became a bit scared from that. Aerrow thought about it for a while. "Alright. We'll be arriving in Terra Saharr shortly." He said, ending the call.
"What sort of creature could Burner have seen?" Vuto asked. "That's what we're going to find out." Aerrow said. He walked up to Russelia. "Russelia, have you ever encountered such a creature with cloth-like tentacles before?" He asked, knowing that she's encountered some strange creatures in the past during her time with the past Skylight Guardians, just like the Omentaur, the Storm Bringer. "Yes, I have. And I'm afraid it's not a good sign. The creature is called the Sand Sneaker, another species of Omentaur. The Sand Sneaker is a very dangerous Omentaur because it carries these dark crystals known as the Omen Crystals. These crystals are capable of turning any living being into terrible mutated monsters when they're exposed to them. But not only can these crystals cause mutation, they can also corrupt them." Russelia explained. The Storm Hawks were horrified to hear that. "I know this because I remember that some of my kind were turned into those monsters before years ago. I was horrified upon witnessing such corruption." Russelia explained with sadness. Aria walked up and hugged her Phoenix friend, comforting her.
A short while later, the Condor arrived on Terra Saharr, where the Storm Hawks met up with the Third Degree Burners. "Storm Hawks, it's so good to see you! Oh, I'm so happy that you agreed to take up my request for help with rescuing Blister." Burner said. "So, where did you guys last see this creature?" Aria asked. "It was way out in the desert, where we practice racing for the Great Atmos Race. And that's where Blister was captured. Out that way." Brawler said, pointing out into the desert. "Alright, Storm Hawks, here's the plan. Aria, Radarr, Mimi, Piper, Stormhearts and Amy Lu, you guys and I will head out into the desert tonight to find Blister and the monster. The rest of you stay with the Third Degree Burners." Aerrow instructed. "Aerrow, are you certain your group will be alright without us?" Starling asked with concern. "We'll be fine, Starling. But in case things get bad, we'll call for backup." Aerrow said.
As night fell, Aerrow's group drove out into the desert to search for Blister and the Sand Sneaker. "I don't like this. This desert's ideal for an ambush." Skyla said with worry. "Relax, Skyla, we can handle this." Aerrow said. "Aerrow's right. We've handled much worse before." Aria said. "So, what do we do when we find them?" Sky asked. "Oh, I'm sure my baby's got a good plan." Piper said. "Oh, I got a plan." Aerrow said. Just then, he noticed a purple glow ahead. "And it's head where that glow is." He said. His group drove up to where the glow is. As they peeked over a sand hill, they saw the Sand Sneaker exposing the Omen Crystals, completing the mutation. Blister had been mutated into a purple-skinned mutant with blades on his arms and legs. "Oh, that's just wrong." Amy Lu said, feeling disgusted.
Suddenly, the Sand Sneaker and the mutated Blister turned their attention to where Aerrow's group was peeking from. "And they see us." Sky said. "Good. Time to go to work." Aerrow said, taking off his scarf and unveiling the Atomic Crystal. "Skylight Unite!" He called, transforming the group into Skylight Guardians. The Sand Sneaker let out an angry shriek upon seeing this. "Sounds like he's not happy to see us." Skyler said. "Probably dealt with Skylight Guardians in the past." Aria guessed. The mutated Blister roared as he prepared to fight. "Easy, Blister. We don't want to hurt you." Aerrow said. But Blister didn't listen and started attacking. Piper quickly reacted and motioned her hands, sealing Blister inside a crystal dome. "Well, that's one problem solved." Skyla said. Blister tried to break out of his crystal prison by slashing it, but no avail. "Don't worry, Blister. We'll have you back to normal soon. I promise." Aerrow said.
Suddenly, Amy Lu noticed that the Sand Sneaker disappeared. "Uh, guys, where's the mummy?" She asked with fear. "He's gone." Sky said. "No, he's not. Russelia told us that they like to sink itself into the sand and slurk around like a snake." Aerrow explained. The Sand Sneaker slurked through the sand until it leapt out and prepared to attack. Piper ran up, formed a diamond blade on her right hand and stabbed the mummy. "Now that's gotta hurt." She said. But the Sand Sneaker, undamaged by the attack, wrapped its cloths around her arm. "Hey! Let go of me!" She exclaimed. The Sand Sneaker lifted her up and slammed her into the sandy ground, knocking her out. It turned around and prepared to grab the others with its cloth. But Skyler created a fire wall with his Skylight power, burning the cloth. Amy Lu slammed her right fist into the sandy ground and sprouted ice spikes, sending them towards the mummy. But the Sand Sneaker leapt up into the air and out of the way. "Wow. He's sure a slippery varmint." Amy Lu said. As the Sand Sneaker started throwing punches, Skyla armored her arms in rocks and blocked each punch before grabbing its left arm. "This is for hurting Piper!" She exclaimed, pulling the Sand Sneaker towards her and punching it, knocking it down.
"Careful. That thing's not finished yet." Aerrow said. Just then, the Sand Sneaker quickly recovered and ensnared him, bringing him close to it. As Aerrow struggled, the Sand Sneaker unraveled its chest, exposing the Omen Crystals. "We have to help Aerrow!" Skyler exclaimed. "We can't! If we even get within an inch of that thing, those Omen Crystals will mutate us!" Piper, who just recovered, exclaimed. But as the Sand Sneaker brought Aerrow close enough to the Omen Crystals, the Atomic Crystal started to glow brightly. The Sand Sneaker was shocked to see that the Atomic Crystal was protecting Aerrow from the corruption and mutation of the Omen Crystals. "That's right." Aerrow said. Just then, the Atomic Crystal released a powerful energy blast and sent the Sand Sneaker flying into the night sky until it was out of sight. "So long, Sneaker." Aerrow said.
After the sandy battle, as the Skylight Guardians changed back to the Storm Hawks, they brought the mutated Blister back to Terra Saharr. The Third Degree Burners and the other Storm Hawks were horrified to see Blister's mutation and corruption. "What happened out there? How did Blister turn into this monster?" Burner asked. "That thing that attacked you guys, it was an Omentaur called a Sand Sneaker." Aerrow said. "Our Phoenix friend, Russelia, explained them to us." Aria said. "It had these crystals called Omen Crystals." Skyla said. "They can corrupt and mutate any living being." Piper said. "Hence Blister's unfortunate incident right here." Sky said. Burner looked over his mutated leader. "Is there a way to change him back?" He asked. "I already thought of a solution to that." Aerrow said, taking the Atomic Crystal from around his neck. He gave a signal to Piper to release Blister. Understood, Piper motioned her hands and undid her power, releasing the mutated Blister. Once released, the mutated Blister lashed out before he spotted Aerrow. He roared and charged towards him, lifting his blades. "Watch out!" Starling called, ready to throw a star at the mutated Blister. But Aria stopped her. "Don't interfere. I know what Aerrow's doing." She said. As the mutated Blister got close enough, Aerrow held up the Atomic Crystal as it released a powerful bright light, blinding everyone. The mutated Blister let out a loud shriek. Seconds later, as the light died down, everyone looked over and, to their shock, saw that Blister was back to his normal self. "Oh, what happened?" He asked, feeling dizzy and amnesiac about what happened when he was corrupted and mutated by the Sand Sneaker. After everyone filled him in about what happened, Blister was shocked about what happened. But he was grateful to the Storm Hawks for saving him.
The next day, the Storm Hawks were ready to depart from Terra Saharr. As the others were getting onboard the Condor, Aerrow and Aria were talking with the Third Degree Burners. "Thank you again for saving me from that mummy. I'm not sure what would've become of me or my squad if it'd gotten all of us." Blister said. "No problem, Blister." Aerrow said. "And if you guys ever encounter that Sand Sneaker again, call us immediately." Aria said. And with that, as the Third Degree Burners waved goodbye, the Condor took off and left Terra Saharr.
As the Condor flew off, an unknown figure in a hooded cloak watched them leaving from afar. Just then, the same Sand Sneaker that Aerrow's group defeated came up to the hooded figure. "You did your best in attempt to beat the Skylight Guardians. But you still lost." The hooded figure said. The Sand Sneaker gave a grunt of disappointment. "But you still have the Omen Crystals. And with the Omen Crystals, Atmos will fall to the Aku Clan." The hooded figure said as he and the Sand Sneaker became surrounded in black fog and disappeared.
Whoa! Talk about crazy happenings, right? The Storm Hawks return to Terra Saharr to help the Third Degree Burners investigate the disappearance of Blister. But when they go look for him, they encounter a new Omentaur known as the Sand Sneaker, who had mutated him with purple crystals known as Omen Crystals. With the power of the Atomic Crystal, they defeated the Sand Sneaker and reversed the Omen Crystals' effects on Blister. But what other Omentaurs will the Storm Hawks encounter? Who was the figure that met up with the Sand Sneaker? Leave a review if you want.
Special thanks to FoxyKhai0209 for the Ben 10 inspiration for this chapter.