InsaneJournal

VII - Secrets - VII

VII - S - VII

“Who the hell are you?” she snarled. “Are you another Atmosian, coming here to gloat and revel in our defeat?” She was fierce, like her old self, but her dull eyes said otherwise. “If that is the case, then I will never give you that satisfaction! I rather die than suffer through this!”

“Work for me again and you won’t have to suffer like this,” Cyclonis offered with a sly smile. “Of course, it’s not going to be like the old times, but we all have to start somewhere and we have to start small.”

Silence.

“Master Cyclonis…” the siblings whispered in unison.

She nodded. It took them long enough to finally recognize her. Was she truly that different now? But as she led her two former subordinates out of the auditorium, she realized something that contradicted her newly formed beliefs.

She was such a liar.

She had told herself a long time ago that she didn’t want to rely on others, but how could she uphold that when she had already reached out to Piper, the very person who had defeated her, and now to her former subordinates?

Would they follow her in fear? Would they run off while they still had the chance? They weren’t loyal like Dark Ace. They had stayed by her side because of her influence and her power.

“I’m starting a shop,” Cyclonis said casually as they strolled in the busy streets of this mysterious terra, “something small and simple. If you work for me, you will get paid, though it depends how business is going.”

Ravess stopped, one hand planted firmly on her hip, the other hand holding her violin case. “And why should we work for you again? Frankly, working for you has never been satisfying. You never respected us as we respected you out of fear.”

“Oh?” Cyclonis inquired with a wicked smile. “As if you and your brother are any different with your henchman. I’ve heard the tales of abuse and neglect, so you aren’t any better than me.”

Ravess fumed. “Well, I’m not working for a brat like you. For someone so smart and diabolical, you are utterly disorganized, childish and completely out of control. You are nothing like your father. He had brought the empire to its highest peak only to crumble by the burden of your incompetence!”

The old Cyclonis would have eliminated Ravess on the spot because such comments like that were uncalled for and offensive. However, she wasn’t like her old self. She merely laughed a light laugh, amused that Ravess was actually standing up to her. The siblings stared at her incredulously as though she was crazy!

Well, maybe she hasn’t entirely changed.

“I have failed my ancestors, but that doesn’t matter now. The point is that I got you and your brother out of your personal hells and if you don’t want to work for me, then I can take you both back,” Cyclonis explained with a shrug. “It’s up to you. You have a choice, something that most people lack these days.”

“Fine!” Ravess declared, but she was tense and tight like her violin bow, one hand balling into a fist, the other hand gripping tightly at the violin case. “My brother and I are going to work for you, but if you hurt us, I’m sure our so-called personal hells would be heaven compared to how you used to treat us.”

“Hmm, you might have a point there,” Cyclonis murmured with a soft chuckle, “but like I said, it’s truly your choice. With me, you have a sense of freedom, but with your previous owners or bosses, I doubt that they treat you any better than I had.”

“How would you— ” Ravess began, but Cyclonis immediately cut her off.

“I hate the fact that people call me evil, while there are others, some of the commoners, that are far more immoral and crueler than I,” Cyclonis said with a cynical, haughty laugh. “Now let us begin working on the shop. I’ve already found a suitable terra for it.”

VII - S - VII

By the time the Condor reached the Wayside, it was already night. Despite that, Stork, who needed certain materials for his ship, Junko and Finn, who both wanted food, and Piper, who wanted books on crystals, had all left the ship to buy what they needed. Now there was only Radarr watching from the bridge, himself sitting on top of the Condor and Aerrow, who was by his side.

At first, he tried to ignore Aerrow, like he usually would because there wasn’t anything else he could do with the leader just doing his job. He focused instead on the feel of the warm breeze on his skin and listened to the whistling of the winds. It was calm and peaceful. He could almost imagine himself being back in Tropica, standing by the beach and hearing her voice.

But she had abandoned him, a twisted irony on his part, because he had not only left the original Storm Hawks, he had betrayed and killed them as well. He was frustrated and angry at her, at himself and at Aerrow for being there, for not leaving him alone only because of his duties. But what did that mean? Dark Ace had already lost control, had already trapped himself in his own web of plots.

“I thought the first task would be the end of me,” he muttered with a slow shake of his head. “Burning in those flames. That would have been ironic, hmm?” It was an odd way to start a conversation, and it was odder that he had started it, but if Aerrow was going to be here all night, he might as well play with Aerrow’s mind again.

“Huh, if you think that’s ironic, wait till you hear this,” Aerrow said as he shifted, moving closer to Dark Ace, much to his discomfort. Stupid, stubborn Sky Knight. “Right beside me is the very person who killed my dad, the same person who I saved several times, who never showed any kind of gratitude.”

Dark Ace snorted. “Why should I thank you? It was your choice to save me for whatever reason you have in your stubborn head. I didn’t ask to be saved. You could have left me to die in the flames, like my parents during the beginning of the wars; you could have left me with those Murk Raiders, but you didn’t.”

“Your parents?” Aerrow whispered and Dark Ace froze. He had already said too much. Stupid, persistent Sky Knight. What was wrong with him? In the beginning, he had only wanted to use Aerrow, another pawn in his games, but he didn’t expect all of this.

“Yes, my parents,” Dark Ace said softly, but that was all. He didn’t want to talk anymore. Maybe Aerrow would leave him alone now. It wasn’t like he was going anywhere. Where would he go? He had no home. He had nobody to return to. He felt like a dog, and in some cases, people had already referred to him as his Master’s bitch.

“Oh,” Aerrow murmured as though that explained everything. “But that doesn’t relate to the beach. Something happened there, and if it relates to my crew, then I have to know.”

Dark Ace chuckled. So it wasn’t because of Aerrow’s own curiosity that he wanted to know what had happened? It was all for the sake of the team? For everyone else beside himself? How noble of Aerrow, how sickeningly noble. What a terrible lie, but he’d play along if only to get Aerrow off his back.

“Something did happen,” Dark Ace began in a soft voice. “Ever since you saved my life, I wondered what else is left for me. But I had a dream that somebody was walking towards the shore. It was a ghost of a wise woman. She told me to live just for the sake of it.”

Indeed, that encounter with his old master had felt so much like a dream.

“I see,” Aerrow said with a nod. “She’s haunting you from the grave, isn’t she?”

“Maybe,” Dark Ace replied with a small laugh of amusement. He remembered her words all too well, but he still didn’t understand her. Despite it though, he felt that the least he could do for her was to simply follow her last orders.

He never had the traits of a Sky Knight though; he was too ambitious, too ruthless, but the same could be said to Aerrow to some extent, especially if it concerned the dark forces of evil. What was there to learn from Aerrow? If anything else, Aerrow was learning from him.

“It‘s not too far from the truth,” Aerrow said as he slowly rose to his feet. “Living for the sake of it is better than living for nothing, right?”

VII - S - VII

When the meeting room wasn’t used for its original purpose, it was the recreation room. There were at least two leather couches, a small oval table made of glass and several drinks and snacks on top of it. On one couch were some of the members of the Stork Hawks, starting from Piper, Junko, Aerrow, Radarr and Dark Ace.

Stork wasn’t exactly with them since he was in control of the ship, but Finn knew that the Merb could still hear from where he was. Finn was sitting on the other couch. He rubbed his hands together, smiled a mischievous smile and began to speak.

“Okay, I bet you’re wondering why you’re all here and it’s not ‘cause I burned stuff in the kitchen.” Some of them gave him dirty looks, but Junko and Radarr snickered. Finn ignored them all and continued, “You’re all here for one reason, and one reason only. You know, our group isn’t as tight knit as it used to be.”

“And why would that matter to you?” Dark Ace inquired with an arched brow. “What are you getting out of this?”

“Wait, I’m not done talking,” Finn said as he waggled his finger at Dark Ace, who responded to him by giving him the bird. It took all of his will power not to give into his anger and pounce on the enemy. “So, my concerned friends and I,” he paused, pointing at Junko and everybody else save for Piper, Aerrow and Dark Ace, “have been talking and we came up with this great idea to get rid of this strange distance between all of us.”

“And what would that be?” Piper inquired, giving him look of suspicion.

“Once in a while, we’re going to have a Secret Day!” Finn declared with a big smile on his face. He had expected his teammates to laugh because he was used to it, but instead there was a strange, uncomfortable silence. Several pairs of eyes were boring into him and it was then he realized that Aerrow haven’t said anything to him about his grand idea.

“So you think by having this activity, it would dispel any sort of tension or distance between us?” Piper asked incredulously. “I don’t get you, Finn. I told you before, it’s not any of our business— ”

“Wait,” Aerrow interrupted her, his eyes strangely intense. “Finn’s right. A lot of us, even though we’ve been working as a team, haven’t really relaxed and just talked about what might be bothering us for years. If that continues, it will affect the way we work together— though, I think it already has.”

Dark Ace snorted at this, shaking his head. “What a load of tripe.”

“You’re a load of tripe,” Aerrow mumbled under his breath. Dark Ace scowled at him, but he ignored it. “Go ahead, Finn.”

“Guys, this is how it works. I’ll tell you when we have the Secrets Days and on those days, only one person tells his or her biggest secret. And if you don’t tell, then you’re all just cowards.” Finn grinned widely. “So, any questions?”

“Who’s going to start?” Aerrow inquired, gazing at Finn thoughtfully. Oh boy, those scrutinizing eyes of his were starting to make Finn nervous.

“If it makes you all feel better, I’ll start,” Finn answered with another one of his big, confident smiles, “’cause it takes a lot of guts, ya know? And I definitely have those, unlike the lot of you.” He winked at them and received laughter and impish grins.

“Then stop stalling,” Dark Ace muttered with a smirk on his face.

“Okay. I think it’s pretty obvious that I’m the ladies’ man, right?” Finn asked, giving them all thumbs up. “But you know, there’s a time during the wars that…” he trailed off, the words failing him again. He had been thinking about this silly, goofy activity for a while and he had really thought that it would help not only the team, but Aerrow too.

“Well?” the ex-Talon Commander taunted. Junko gave Finn an encouraging smile and then Finn just dropped the bomb.

“Long story short, I used to go out with Aerrow.”

Silence.

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Stork said with a roll of his eyes. He began to mimic Finn. “I swear, this ship’s getting old. It’s squeaking and moaning. Ha! I knew you two were responsible for it!”

Piper was the first to stand up. She went over to Finn, gave him a rather dark look and slapped him across the face. She turned around and stomped her way out of the room. Finn raised his hand to the burning mark on his cheek, stunned and somewhat shocked.

He knew it was going to cause some trouble, but did he expect Piper’s reaction? To some extent, he did, because he still suspected the girl having a crush on his ex-lover. He stared at the empty spot on the couch and at the remaining occupants.

Aerrow also stood up, but he said nothing, absolutely nothing to Finn as he passed by him and left the room. Finn then glanced at Dark Ace, expecting a sarcastic remark or some amused look, only to receive something else.

People had often wondered why the eyes of Dark Ace were red. They said it was because he was evil, that he was part demon, or some other stupid stuff. Now, those same demonic eyes were glaring at him.

But why? Suddenly, he didn’t want to be here anymore. He needed to leave, because he definitely didn’t deserve this, though he probably had deserved that slap.

“I’ll be going now,” Finn said with a sheepish grin as he slipped out of the room before Dark Ace could take him down and beat the living crap out of him.

VII - S - VII

Piper was back in her room, leaning against the wall. Why? Why did she do that? Why was she feeling all of these emotions? Sadness, anger, bitterness and even a small tinge of hate? Was it because Finn was right in that she had a crush on Aerrow and she didn’t know? Or was it because of the way Finn had been treating her?

She and Finn never got along unless it concerned their lives. They were the opposites of each other; Finn was carefree while she was more serious. Aerrow was a combination of both, though the wars had slightly changed him, especially after they had captured Dark Ace.

She stared at her table and noted all the books on crystals. She might as well start doing research on that forbidden crystal— anything to get her mind off on what had happened today. But even as she went over to the table and flipped the pages of one of the books, her eyes weren’t reading. Her mind wouldn’t stop thinking.

How could she not know about Aerrow’s secret relationship with Finn? That probably didn’t matter now. They weren’t together anymore. She was still mad at him and Aerrow for not telling them sooner. She was still mad at Aerrow for leaving her out on that night several weeks ago.

But as she began to focus, clearing her mind and calming herself down, she realized that she didn’t have the right to question what was between Aerrow and Dark Ace. Like she had told Finn, it wasn’t really any of her business, though like Finn, she was worried about Aerrow and the team. And then she understood why Finn had suggested the Secret Days.

It would probably do them some good, to break through all the tension and the invisible walls. They could no longer ignore and see only what they wanted to see. One of these days, they would all have to face their pasts and the horrors of it all.

And who was she to talk?

Aerrow still didn’t know about Cyclonis. She knew that she should tell him, not only for the Storm Hawks’s sake, but for all of Atmos. But a small part of her, who believed that people could change for the greater good, who still wanted to be best friends with Lark, thought otherwise.

Where would the ex-empress go or be without a sense of direction or purpose?

“Piper?”

She gasped and turned around. “Aerrow…”

“Can I come in?” he asked with a kind smile. She nodded because she needed to tell him. She couldn’t handle this burden of guilt.

Aerrow placed a hand on her shoulder. The gentle smile was still there. “You know, that wasn’t very nice of you to do.”

Her cheeks felt wet. Why was she crying?

“He had it coming,” Piper muttered, and to this, Aerrow laughed. “I can’t stand him. I really don’t get him. I don’t get why he thinks we should be together when he used to be with you. It doesn’t make sense!”

“It doesn’t have to,” Aerrow said softly and before she knew it, she was pulled into a hug. She finally allowed herself to grieve. “But if it helps, the reason why he’s like that is because he feels guilty.”

“Guilty?” Piper inquired. Oh, that word again.

“He was with me for a while, but our relationship wasn’t really… a real relationship. He just had… needs and it wouldn’t do the team any good if he started really fooling around with random girls, right?”

“I guess so,” Piper murmured pensively. “So he came to you? You just… let him use you?”

“It was stupid. That’s why I ended it. Does it bug you that much? The fact that we…” Aerrow trailed off, but she only shook her head.

“No, it’s not that. It’s just, you’re my friend,” Piper said softly, looking into his eyes. Why couldn‘t she just fall for him? “You deserve better and I guess, if Finn was right about us, it would have been easier, huh?”

Aerrow laughed again. “Yeah, we have a lot of stuff in common, but I can tell your heart’s not really into it.”

This time, Piper allowed herself to laugh. “I could say the same about you.”

“That settles it then. Are you feeling better now?” Aerrow asked and she nodded, finally letting go of him. They smiled at each other. Aerrow turned around and started to leave.

“Wait, I have to tell you something important!” Piper called out, reaching out with her hand.

“Save that for the next Secret Day,” Aerrow suggested as he opened the door. “Tell us when you’re ready, okay?”

“But Aerrow…” she said sadly. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry too, I got a few secrets up my sleeve,” Aerrow said with his own sad smile and then he was gone. She stared at her books and notes and wiped her tears away.

Should she really help Cyclonis?

VII - S - VII

With his legs crossed on the bed and his elbows resting on his kneecaps, he watched the door intently. One would think he was meditating, but in reality he was waiting, just waiting for Aerrow.

Why Finn? Why not the others? It was just so unlikely that it would happen, but then again, he didn’t expect to be with Aerrow either.

The door opened slowly. Aerrow came in and then froze at the sight of his rival. Dark Ace greeted him with a look and a few words:

“Hello, Aerrow.”

Aerrow arched an eyebrow and then closed the door. He approached Dark Ace cautiously as though expecting a fight, for Dark Ace to suddenly pounce on him. Was he that predictable already? Did they know each other too well now? Oh, how insulting. He must do something different to express what he felt in regards to Finn’s little secret.

“Sit,” Dark Ace muttered, and then he saw it, that flash of rebellion in Aerrow’s eyes. With his arms crossed, his rival remained where he was. Good. Dark Ace expected this. He was in control. Excellent. Dark Ace chuckled softly, pleased with himself. Aerrow gave him a strange look.

Dark Ace stood up and pulled Aerrow into a possessive embrace. For a moment, Aerrow stiffened, but eventually relaxed as Dark Ace began to nuzzle his neck. Aerrow felt warm against him like the warmth of the afternoon sun on his skin.

“You’re acting weird,” Aerrow said softly, closing his eyes. “But I think I like it.”

He pressed his lips against Aerrow’s neck, his teeth softly grazing the skin. He had an urge to mark him and take him over and over, because Aerrow was his. His to own, to use, to manipulate and sometime in the future, to kill because he had no other purpose left. He only had his vengeance.

Oh, what a liar he was.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were jealous,” Aerrow murmured, but Dark Ace said nothing to that. He only tilted Aerrow’s head and pulled him into a deep kiss, letting his tongue dip into that yielding, moist mouth. Hands slid under his shirt, caressing his skin, making him feel so hot.

Why didn’t Dark Ace take him before? Why did he wait so long?

They finally broke the kiss, panting for air. He gazed deep into those green eyes and saw something that he had never seen before. Aerrow was vulnerable now. He had broken through Aerrow’s mental and emotional defenses, but at what cost? Aerrow knew him. Aerrow knew how he acted, how he thought and maybe even a bit of his dark past. Could he kill him now? Could they begin their final battle here?

No, it wouldn’t be right.

He had to win that deal first.

VII - TBC - VII

A/n: I don’t really know when I’m going to update next. There are several factors that affect my updating:

1) Whether I’m motivated/encouraged/inspired to write the next chapter.

2) How long the chapter is going to be.

3) How long I edit the chapter.

4) How much time I have with college next semester.

5) The time it takes for my beta-reader to beta said chapter.

6) Our rl lives, lol.

Man, this chapter was emotionally draining. @__@ it’s so sad, it makes me wanna cry. /dies/