Taking some time away for a quiet rest, the Storm Hawks had ventured out to a remote Terra. Stork took his rest time to catch up on the Condor's evermore numerous pieces of maintenance. Aerrow, Radarr, Finn, and Junko all used their time to practise their aerial abilities. Aerrow and Radarr focusing on spins, flips, and other G-force related chicanery; with Finn and Junko taking part in a playing game of dogfighting.

Tucked away in a quiet corner of the Condor, Piper had herself locked in her room. She used the privacy to touch up on a personal project of hers. Strewn on her bed was her regular wear. Her basic blue uniform. Patchwork in design, uneven in colour. Her current clothing, however, seemed to have a little more polish to it. Piper, currently, was wearing a deep, dark blue undertop. Her left sleeve stretching to and covering her hand, contrasted with her right sleeve barely covering her shoulder. Atop this base layer, Piper had fashioned together a pink vest top, patched with a more salmon coloured piece on the left of her torso. The collar of her vest was a pure white fur, delightfully clean and fluffy to the touch. The items on her top half rode high, leaving a couple of inches of skin between her shirts and her trousers; maroon in colour, with leather kneepads and a leather belt. She inspected the joins of the patches, making sure they held together. Certain if her clothing's structural rigidity, Piper opened her dresser and started to rummage through it, until she finally pulled out a crystal: cyan, with magenta veins on it. Piper had experience with this crystal before, and was confident in the Chroma crystal's ability to complete the look she had been trying to go for.

Back on the bridge, Stork had a screw driver in his mouth, and another in his hand. He stood behind the main console, adjusting the controls under a metal cover. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a purple orb materialise, around four feet in diameter. It flashed and disappeared, leaving behind Master Cyclonis, who fizzed and distorted like bad signal on an old television for a second of two. Becoming of solid form directly after. Stork, initially ignoring the orb, double took at Cyclonis' presence. Once he realised who it was, he reched for the tannoy microphone in an attempt to alert the Storm Hawks that were still outside. Master Cyclonis tossed a crystal a few inches from her hand, resting straight ahead of her. Catching it in her hand, it shot a beam directly at him. Stork, under the beam's effect, got blasted and pressed against the Condor's windscreen. 'Silence is golden, salamander' She said with her whispered voice. Letting the beam die out, Cyclonis pulled her body into a slight hover, and quietly moved out of the bridge, floating down the corridor, and deep into the Condor.

Finally, Master Cyclonis reached Piper's room. Finding the door locked, Cyclonis pulled out another crystal. Tapping it against the door, it started to glow. The glow shone through the door, and caught Piper's attention. She curled her arms in as she watched the door in horror. It started to disintergrate, from the point the crystal touched it, and out from there. 'Hello, best friend' Cyclonis greeted, with a smile of malice and a voice of coldness and sarcasm. She examined Piper from a distance, and her face twisted to a look of confusion, and finally, a look of embarassment and sadness. Piper looked down at her own clothes, before looking up to confirm Cyclonis' sadness. The two kept eye contact for an uncomfortably long time. Neither moving or speaking. Finally, Cyclonis turned sharply to her right and started to pace away. Her face still dripping in embarassment. As she rapidly disengaged, she started to glow purple. Piper, now unstuck, ran to the doorframe, grasping it in her hands as she leaned over the frame and into the corridor.

'Hey!' She called out. 'Where are you-' Piper found herself without words. Cyclonis had vanished.

Piper stared out in the driection Cyclonis disappeared to. Perplexed. Behind her, the rest of the Storm Hawks sprinted down the corridor all in concern for Piper's safety. Aerrow called out her name. 'I'm fine, Aerrow' She insisted.

'This isn't the first time Cyclonis has broken into here. She could have hurt you' Aerrow pushed. Trying to explain how worried he is.

'She almost did' Piper enlightened. Causing Aerrow to recoil in confusion and slight terror. 'But... she didn't. I think it's what I'm wearing that stopped her'

'That's Lark's outfit. Why did Cyclonis stop after seeing you in clothes for someone she made up?' Finn asked. He stared at Piper's clothes and visibly worked hard to remember why the clothing was familiar.

'I don't know. But I intend to find out' Piper replied. Aerrow took a second before finally realising what Piper meant.

'No. You're not going. Not alone' Aerrow insisted.

'Aerrow. I'll be fine. This is what stopped her just now' Piper reminded, tugging at her top. 'I'm going to find out why. If you come with, she won't think twice about blasting us to bits'

'I don't know...'

'Just trust me on this' Piper assured, holding Aerrow's chin with her hand. 'I'll be okay' Piper let go and started to walk down the corridor, towards the hanger. The rest of the team, with exception to Stork turned and walked back to the bridge.

'And then... there were five' Stork solemnly said, with a mournful look on his face.

Terra Cyclonia had remained as stormy as ever, proving as a nuisance to Piper's heli-scooter on the way in; and yet she found herself a place to park it. Content about its placement, Piper started to navigate the corridors inside the Cyclonian palace. Her sole intuition and gaul guiding her.

Master Cyclonis, as it happened, was in her personal chamber. A curtained bed, with all cloth tied to their respective bedposts. Her room was also equipped with a large dresser, nearly her height; a wardrobe, standing over her height, with two drawers on the bottom; a large floor standing mirror, and a shelf of many different kinds of crystals. Cyclonis was adjusting her own clothing in front of the mirror, pulling her sleeves taut, evening out her trousers, adjusting the knee pads. Once she was happy with her attire, she approached her crystal shelf, and removed her own Chroma crystal. Returning to the mirror, she held the crystal and hesitated, before moving it in close to her hair.

Before she could make contact with the crystal, her chamber's doors opened. In reflex, she held her hand out and motioned the crystal staff into her hand from across the room. To her surprise, it looked like Lark. The resemblance in the clothing was uncanny. The skin tone almost exact. The hair colour and style unnervingly convincing. Yet, Cyclonis only took a few seconds to see through the disguise. 'Very funny, Piper. But it's not exactly smart to come to the home of your enemy' Cyclonis smirked as she spoke.

Piper stowed her Chroma crystal, and cancelled the effects. Revealing Piper in clothing resembling Lark's, as well as a set of pigtails ok her head. 'It was worth a try' Piper replied, with a shallow smile. She looked a little closer at Cyclonis, and noticed that she also wore clothing resembling Lark's. Although, the patchwork aesthetic had been replaced by properly sewn, and colour matched pieces of fabric. The fur collar was almost painfully white. Piper's smile gave way to a look of shock and awe. 'Y-you made a set, too?' She stuttered.

'I had to. I may have made her your friend, but before that, she was mine' Cyclonis defended, still holding her staff.

'So where is she now?' Piper probed. 'What have you done with her? Is she... did you..?' Piper kept pushing, getting more tense as she did so. She watched as Master Cyclonis took a solemn breath and looked at the floor. 'No. There's no way. Y-you killed her?' Piper's voiced cracked as she became increasingly concerned. Cyclonis pulled her eyes closed and took another breath. 'W-why did you do that? Is that what you do to all your friends? Use them up and dispatch them? Do you not think about what you've done?' Piper kept scolding.

'All the time!' Cyclonis snapped, finally breaking from Piper's barrage and her own mental toll. 'If I didn't, I would have this costume. It's all I have of her!' Cyclonis continued to yell, the tears cracking through her own voice. She dropped her staff and slumped onto the bed, throwing her hands onto her face. Piper stayed stood. Her emotion slowly dwindled into matching Cyclonis. Her resolve soon broke into the same sorrow. She walked up to, and sat next to Cyclonis. She wrapped her arms around the saddened girl and pulled her into a hug. Cyclonis started to muffle into Piper, 'She was my only friend. The only one who was sincere, and she's gone. Gone for good...'

Piper, still holding Cyclonis in her arms, took a moment, before realising that the two of them still wore the clothing reminiscent of the spectre of a mutual friend. 'You know, we could, I don't know, hang out as Lark. Just to say goodbye to her...' Upon hearing Piper's idea, Cyclonis pulled away. She looked at Piper, then at her mirror. 'We can mourn her loss. Together. You in?' Piper asked, holding her arms out.

'I'm in' Cyclonis replied, a smile growing on her still saddened face.

The pair spent a long while fine tuning their outfits. Moving articles in the directions needed. Then their focus shifted to the Chroma crystals, and the fine tuning of colourations.

Finally the two girls looked as close to identical as they could. All set for the next short while, the two Larks started to play amongst themselves. Starting by a simple shoving match that would soon lead to a playful match of pushing each other across the room, until one would slip, and the other landing on top of her back. The innocent moment shared with them would cause laughter and joy. Joy which would lead to the pair messing with some crystals, especially those that would react with each other outside a synthesis chamber. Toying woth crystals would soon become discussions of crystals, with both sides sharing their knowledge, experience, and even surprises.

Night fell, and with it, Piper, still dressed as Lark, decided to call it quits. 'This. This has been good. I feel better now'

'I agree. This has been... perfect. It's been too long. I think I'm ready to say goodbye' Cyclonis confessed. The two closed the distance between eachother, and embraced one last time. 'I'm sorry Lark. I'm so sorry that I-'

'Shh. Shh. It's okay. It's okay. I forgive you' Piper replied, before pulling away. 'Now. Come on then, before I decide to stay'

'No, no. I. I have to let you go. My best friend must be set free'

Piper smiled, holding back the choking in her throat. 'Thank you,for being a best friend...forever'

'...Forever' Cyclonis replied, starting to tear up.

Piper took her leave, and quickly paced down the corridors back to her heli-scooter. Trying to keep her pace and not to start breaking down entirely. The tears coming down her face shimmied the Chroma crystal's effects, warping the colouration. The flight from Cyclonia to the Condor remained the same, all the way until she landed, and left the hangar, where she found a small corner to sit and weep. Lark was gone, but not without the memories Piper had built with her. These tears, they were shed without regret, and whilst she had no way of knowing, it would turn out that Master Cyclonis shared Pipers tears.