A/N: So recent reviews have brought this story back up on my to-do list and incited my sister and I to re-read some chapters. Aloud. In a stupid, over dramatic narration with horrible voices and god, oh god, the errors, the stupid spelling and grammer errors. "He shut his yes," for example has got to be one of the worst we saw. I think some chapters need to be re-uploaded. Till then, here's Ch 27. It includes a bit of a recap to help out, since, you know, its been like...forever.

"Okay so, we know that Sagehen is the one who turned the Oracle into stone." said Piper jotting down another note on her piece of paper.

"But her brother must have stopped her because when I found the Oracle she had the key." Aerrow added.

"And my Grandfather told me that Sagehen and Heron were the last Atmosian people to use the door and speak with us. But all the books on their people have disappeared from our library." Carnelian also noted.

"Camus de parlenim rere?" (What are we doing again?) groaned Cassiter with his feet propped up on the table.

They were sitting in the library, various books piled around them. Cassiter's head was bandaged and he had an ice pack to it but he was pretty much back to normal.

"We're trying to figure out why the Anti-Seer crystal showed us those things. We wanted to know about the door-" explained Piper in Adamattian. "But all we got was these weird people and some sort of fight."

"Maybe you said the wrong thing." Cassiter replied back in his language.

"No that's not it." said Piper.

Cassiter scratched his bandages. "No Door at all?"

"Well…we saw some of it." Piper admitted. She rubbed her hand under her chin and then spoke again this time in Atmosian. "The Door was there and that's what they were fighting over. By the looks of it, Sagehen was supposed to become ruler of Xoam, but instead her brother got the power. Sagehen was also getting other terras to follow her. She wanted the Krystallion technology and for that she needed the Door. But then there's also the Oracle."

"Definitely the same Oracle we've met before." said Aerrow decisively. " If only we were in Atmos maybe we could summon her in the Forbidden city. Maybe then she could tell us more."

"'Cept we wouldn't know how to summon her," said Piper.

"Hmmmm," Aerrow thought. "Seems like she could tell the future even when she was alive and so that crazy lady-"

"Sagehen." Interrupted Piper.

"-whatever, tried to force her and turned her to stone. And…" Aerrow trailed off unsure what else to say.

Piper sighed and fell back in her chair dejectedly. "It's not much to go on." She turned to Carnelain. "What else were you able to find out about Atmosian-Krystallion relationships?"

"Only what my Grandfather told me. For a long time the Door, I don't know whichever side had built it, was used to communicate and travel. But Krystallions did not go to Atmos much because the lack of energy there makes us weak. Over 500 years ago the Door stopped opening. All we knew was that some sort of dispute had erupted between the rulers of Xoam who had the Door. We never heard another word." Then she pulled out a crystal from her pocket and set it on the table activating it with grace. It was a Hologram stone, and the image it displayed was of royalty. Three people were in it and the Storm Hawks recognized them from the Anti-Seer crystal. It was of the throne room, and there was the Queen, Oriole, the son, Heron, and the daughter, Sagehen.

Aerrow's shoulders sagged. "It still doesn't help us much. We need more information."

Piper shook her head and rolled up her paper. "It doesn't matter. We have more important things to do. I've been looking at the maps again and been trying to figure out a way back to Atmosia. The problem is that none of them are sure to get us there. The underwater caverns are sealed, the barrier cliffs are too high, those weird tunnels don't seem trustworthy at all and we'd need a good ship for every one of them."

"Is that the problem?" asked Carnelian sounding surprised. "Because we can build you a ship and power it easily."

Piper looked touched by the generous offer. "But it would take a lot of power to do any of those things."

"Not a problem." said Carnelian smiling. "We have more than enough crystals. Why just a little bit of a burst from the Infinity stone we have up in the beaconing tower would be more than enough I think."

Piper and Aerrow's faces lit up but when they looked at each other Piper's hope crashed again. "But it wouldn't do any good." She realized looking at them sadly. "Even if we could get to the other side…Aerrow doesn't have a body. If the energy in this world is what helps keep him present then…he'd disappeared without it , wouldn't he?"

"Hey we don't know that for sure." said Aerrow. "I might get a little weaker that's all."

"Piper has a point." said Carnelian. "Though, you do too. I can't quite figure out how that, without your body you are able to be soo…present. Part of it is the crystal energy field here, yes , and without it you would surely be much weaker...but there is something else too. It is as though something else has you…", she spun her hand in the air, "-what's the word…bind? Something has you binded here. Oh wait…" she went on oblivious to Aerrow and Piper's jaw-dropped faces. "The past tense is 'bound' yes?" She looked at Piper for conformation of her grammar. But Piper and Aerrow were looking at each other curiously, thinking the same thing: The Binding. Had it saved Aerrow's life?

Piper pulled her gaze away from Aerrow's. "Speaking of 'binding'.." she said. "What do you know about it?" She gestured to the hologram of the rulers of Xoam. "They were able to do it."

Carnelian tilted her head for a moment, then, "Oh...you mean the crystal art that your people are capable of? I don't know much about it, except your race is able to manipulate crystals in a way not like us."

Piper looked taken aback. "You mean...you can't do it? But you guys know so much about crystals!"

Cassiter had fallen asleep in his chair.

"Yes." Carnelian admitted. "But we are part crystal. So putting an alien crystal's energy into us is…different. All I know is that the people of Xoam were very good at it."

Everyone was very quiet then, looking down at the floor like they might find their answers at their feet.

"So were stuck then?" said Aerrow.

No one else knew what to say. A loud snore suddenly ripped through their silence and they all gaped at Cassiter, asleep in his asinine position. Feet up and chair titled back precariously.

"He shouldn't sit like that." said Piper. "He'll get another concussion."

Cyclonis stood ready. Behind her was the Dark Ace. Before her was the Door. In a circle around her, were her Talons.

There was an angry resolve inside her. What was it the Dark Ace always said? Only show mercy the first time, so that they have the chance to change, to beg for forgiveness, but always kill on the second. Kill on the second because if they don't learn the first time they never will and they aren't worth letting live anyways.

She reached into her cloak, grasping the cold crystal inside.

"This time," she whispered so low that the wind swallowed it entirely. "No mercy."

No mercy for any of you You've done too much to me.

She pulled out the crystal and smiled.

Suddenly one of her Talons pointed to the sky and exclaimed, "LOOK, IT'S THE SKYKNIGHTS!". Everyone's faces shot upwards immediately, gaping into empty grey sky. Everyone except for the Talon beside the Master, who leapt forward suddenly and grabbed the key right out of her hands, and kept running, followed by the Talon who had provided the distraction.

The Master screeched, disbelieving and furious. "Get them!"

The Talons running away screamed.

"I hope zis werks! Or else zwe are in big trouble!" The girl with the Key yelled to her friend.

"Less talk, more run!", her companion yelled back.

The girls ran, - you could never trust a female Talon it seemed- jumping over lava streams and into maze-like rocky territory. They lost some of the Talons by luck and by bad luck another pair jumped out from the shadows and into their path.

"Got you now girl-chck!" the one started to say just as the light purple haired Talon kicked him in the jaw before taking out his partner with her staff.

The Master was in a flurry of half-panic and cold rage. She was flying above looking for the Talons girls. She knew the Key was too crucial to leave up to her Talons to repossess. If they lost the Key she lost everything. She spotted the traitors, or spies, or whatever they were - it didn't matter she was going to have their heads!- below disappearing under over-hangings of rocks. She aimed down with her staff and fired viciously. A whole formation of rock exploded, collapsed, and a cloud of dust went up. She couldn't see the impostors anymore. Her eyes searched frantically over the wreckage of the fading cloud.

There!

Two figures escaping. She hadn't even hit one of them!

"Crazy witch nearly vaporized us!" shouted the purple haired Talon breathless and ripping off the goggles from her face, the red lenses completely cracked. Her head titled up to the sky, hoping that if she couldn't see Cyclonis maybe Cyclonis couldn't see them.

The green haired girl panted next to her. "I know. We need to get out of here now, but we left our rides onze zee other side of zee camp."

"Perhaps you girls could use a hand."

They gasped and looked over to a young man landing agilely from the top of a tall rock, like a lean cat. He looked like Aerrow. Maybe more ragged in his patchwork outfit, and maybe there was a harder gleam to his eyes. Like his insides were colder and callous.

"Stay back!" the purple-haired Talon told him, warning with her staff.

"Hey easy," he said, hands up in defence. "I'm trying to help you." There was a sort of sincerity to his voice. With a bit of grease to it that couldn't be washed off. And a jagged edge like anger, that couldn't be smoothed.

"Liar!" The green haired girl retorted.

"Please," he said too effortlessly. "It's me. Aerrow. You recognize me don't you Dove? Lynn? I'm undercover too."

They hadn't expected him to know their names. He saw indecision in their eyes as they glanced at each other.

And like a cat he pounced.

He leapt and reached out, grabbing Lynn's staff, and went to yank it out of her hands. Except Lynn did not let go. In fear her hand s had locked onto the bar. The Dark Ace tried to throw the girl, but Lynn held. Instead she used the bar to lift herself and kicked him in the stomach with both feet. He let go with and 'oohf' and Lynn flew back, falling hard onto the ground.

"I'd suggest staying down," the boy growled, at her, a blue double pronged energy sword pointed emphatically at Dove's neck. Dove was backed against the wall.

Both girls were calculating their chances of getting away and what distractions they could use, when an awful electricity prickled in the air, and Cyclonis descended smoothly, bringing a cloud of heavy tension and dread with her.

"The key?" she hissed, eagerly. "Where is it?" she looked at the Dark Ace and then at the girls.

Lynn and Dove held out their empty hands and smiled sheepishly.

"What key?"