I do not own Storm Hawks

Happy Endings Are Unlikely…

The Condor shook violently as Aerrow and Piper both rushed towards the bridge. "Another blast like that and we're done for!" yelled the terrified Merp pilot Stork. Things quickly went south as they arrived on the Far Side in pursuit of Cyclonis. All of them had been so confident and woefully underestimating the threat of Far Side technology. It turns out their victory against the mobilized Terra Cyclonia would be short lived.

"Guys more of them are coming quick we need to do something!" Finn called out from one of the few still working turrets. It didn't take long for them to get caught in a fire fight with two sky ships far larger than anything Cyclonis had ever thrown against them, and more were on their way. Aerrow quickly made the order to retreat rather than try and battle against these two behemoths.

Aerrow glanced around in a panic unsure of what to do, his gaze fell upon piper as if she might be able to devise some plan that could save them all. Yet, even she seemed to be at a loss as she frantically looked to see what crystals she had left. "Guys, I don't think the engines are going to hold out much longer. I've done everything I can think of just to keep them on…" The Gentle Wallop Junko announced over radio.

Things were bleak as Aerrow seemed lost in thought trying to gleam so insight on how to just make it out alive. "Alright team settle down. We've been in tougher situations thin this in the past, and we've always come out on top." His voice was the normal courage filled bravado as always, yet everyone knew it hid his fear. "We took down Cyclonis countless times and today will be no different." He closed his eyes for only a moment before they snapped opened as if he had a plan. "Stork! I need you to fly towards the surface use the mountainous terrain."

"Run and hide now you're speaking my language. I still think we're all doomed though."

"Finn, conserve your shots, only fire if you have to."

"You got it!" Finn seemed to have a bit more confidence now.

"Junko, I need a miracle buddy. Give us everything you can out of those engines, if they fail we're done for." The was no response from the Wallop just the sound of something being hit with a hammer or wrench. Finally, he turned Piper the fear and frustration apparent on his face. "Piper, I don't know how to get us out of this… I need you…" The words caught in his throat. All sense of courage and bravery had left his face, he was scarred. "Is there any way to reopen the portal and get back to Atmos?"

She frantically poured the few remaining crystals on the table in front of her. "I don't think I can reopen the gate… but maybe…" She trailed off as she grabbed two stones. "We will only have one shot at this." She paused, biting her lip for a moment. "And if it fails…we may all just blow up."

"Well were doomed either way…so might as well." Stork chimed in as he was carefully navigating through the jutting mountainous land scape to avoid as much of the fire as possible.

"If we use a warp Crystal in tangent with a Nitro Crystal and a few velocity Crystals we may be able to get back in atmos. But we all need to be thinking of the same place when we make the jump." Piper finished looking to Aerrow for approval.

Aerrow's eyes searched, darted around looking to the visible members of the team. This was there only shot to make it out alive. "Okay, what do you need?"

"We need to get the Nitro and Velocity Crystals into the engines. We also need to get out of these mountains and fly in a straight line. I'll use some Raw crystals that I've had laying around to study to enhance the power of the Warp Crystal along with my new abilities we should be able to teleport all the way to atmos. But where should we all focus?" She asked Aerrow for a point to focus on while handing the Nitro and Velocity Crystals to take to Junko.

He need to think of somewhere that they could make an emergency crash landing if needed. "What about Terra Gale… might make for a good landing spot in a worst-case scenario."

It didn't take long for Piper to have everything in place. The warp crystal sat next to several raw crystals in the center of the table glowing violently. "Alright Stork take us up, Junko ready the Nitro Crystals." The Condor shook violently as it rose high into the sky, the enemy still firing at them with no mercy to be seen. Junko announced he had the Crystals ready to be placed in the engine along with commenting that he wasn't sure the engines would be able to take the pressure. "Do it now Junko!" She cried and just a few moments later the sky ship burst forward violently with powerful thrust. The Condor creaked as if it was being pulled apart at the seams and Piper and Aerrow were both sure it might be.

"Now Focus on Terra Gale Everyone!" Aerrow ordered. The Crystal shinned bright as the light enveloped them all before everything went dark.

Aerrow's eyes opened suddenly as he stared up at the ceiling. Slowly he sat up as the sense of panic slowly left him looking down he realized he was in a soft bed and not aboard the Condor fighting for his life. His mind swirled with memories and thoughts. Realization slowly crept in as he remembered everything. "Just a… dream." It had been ten years since they had returned from the Far Side. Yet even now he still has nightmares of that moment. Glancing over to the clock near the bed apparently close to noon. "I over slept again…Starling isn't going to be happy about that." No longer was he Aerrow the sky knight of the Storm Hawks rather now he was Knight Commander Aerrow leader of the United Terras of Atmos. A title that still felt off to him. Quickly he changed into his armor. He didn't wear the stitched together armor like when he was younger, now it was a proper set of armor, that he felt made him look a little like a member of the Rex Guardians just with the added addition of the Storm Hawks insignia in the center. With nothing left keeping him from leaving his room he stepped out into the Hallway where he was greeted by a familiar voice.

"Looks like your finally up. I was just coming to get you." Starling said as she was walking up. Her purple hair was almost twice as long as it used to be ten years ago, and a slight look of annoyance could be seen in her green eyes.

Aerrow sighed before looking at her. "Sorry… I just had that dream again…" he looked defeated despite not being in any type of argument with her.

"Again…" She pulled her hand to her chin as she thought for a moment. "You have been pushing yourself lately. Maybe I can move somethings around and you can go on vacation." She offered with a smile.

He shook his head in disapproval. "Don't worry, there is still plenty of things to do. I can't let you do all my work for me, now can I." He returned a halfhearted smile before moving down the hallway. "So, who am I meeting with today?"

Silently she watched him move past her before following. "No meetings today for once. Just a lot of paperwork. I think Piper said she would be stopping by later on today if she can pull herself away from her lab. Seems like a few more people have been found with the same ability as her."

"That makes eleven now doesn't it. Well I'm sure she's excited." Aerrow and Starling make their way to his office and quickly get to work. Aerrow hated paperwork, most of it was basically ledgers that showed the additions to the sky knight ranks, approving another ship to be built or more defense turrets. One document did catch his eye. "Huh? Looks like Harrier is resigning. Never did care for him to much but he is one of the oldest Sky knights around. Maybe I should offer him a teacher position at the academy."

"I'll send him an invitation for the position, but I'm surprised it took this long for him to resign. He was never too keen on you becoming Knight Commander. He always held some kind of grudge against you. But I can't deny he was skilled."

Aerrow nodded in agreement as he sifted through document after document. Several hours went by before he looked up. "Looks like Finn and Radarr has assembled a new crew for the Condor. And Junko has gotten some more Wallops to join the defense force. Looks like everyone has been busy. And I'm stuck in here doing useless paper work."

"It's not useless Aerrow, you are important to the success of this Alliance!" Starling raised her voice a little higher than intended. This fact was apparent to her as she slumped down into her chair slightly embarrassed. "Look things have changed since the fall of Cyclonis. You and your Team are a symbol of hope and courage for everyone. We all know if it wasn't for you, we would all be under Cyclonia rule." She closed the file she was currently on. "Let's wrap up early today. You've been cooped up in the Keep for a couple weeks now. You can only sleep here so often before you start to get antsy." She looked out the window and saw the sun setting. "There's a bit of light left let's grab some dinner. My treat."

Aerrow looked down at the mess of papers in front of him, then to the setting sun. Piper wouldn't be stopping by today. After a few moments he looked to Starling and smiled. "You know what. That sounds great."