Sweet Illusions - chapter 6

Chapter VI

Thirst for Battle

Bangs and tremors shook the Condor. Everything rattled inside. The panic filled the environment. Aerrow looked at the clouds below them through the window and had an idea.

"Stork, fly around the Terra at low altitude and go to the other side." - he ordered.

"Great, another flight in zero-viz." - the merb muttered as he held the helm.

"The others come with me, we'll distract those Cyclonians."

Everyone ran to the hangar, climbed on their rides and flew out, while the ship detached from the rocky arch (the same one which it had been attached to previously) and plunged into the mist. When the five other Storm Hawks became visible, the Cyclonians advanced in a frontal attack and began firing. Cyclonis watched everything through her hologram. She waited anxiously for what her guinea pig would show that day.

"Split up!" - the leader shouted and turned his skimmer to the side, deflecting more than ten shots.

Each one went one way: Aerrow and Radarr went to the left, Finn went to the right, Piper went upwards and Junko went downwards. The bright red bolts came from all directions. It was very hard to fly without being hit. The young ones maneuvered bravely and carefully through the skies to protect themselves.

"We have to send them to the defensive! Let's try the new combat plan!" - the Sky Knight said - "Is everybody with the velocity crystals we reserved?" - when his team nodded, showing the crystals in hand, he continued - "So let's do it!"

Simultaneously, all put their crystals in their afterburners. The vehicles were fueled by the energy and when they were accelerated, they flew very quickly. Everyone started flying around the soldiers, forming impenetrable circles: Aerrow, Radarr and Finn forming a horizontal circle and Piper and Junko forming a vertical circle. The enemies gradually concentrated on a bunch, moving away from the edges.

"Fire!" - Aerrow shouted, when they got the talons to pile up in the center. The blue shots hit several switchblades and heliblades that fell smoky and their drivers were hung by the parachutes, gliding adrift. Gradually, the army was reduced and the Storm Hawks were at an advantage, until the energy of the velocity crystals ended.

"Oh no. We were unable to beat many, there's still two thirds of the army." - Piper said as her heliscooter became slower.

"Then we'll have to improvise." - the young red-haired said - "Junko! Finn! Cover me as I dismantle the middle!" - he pointed his weapon to where they should go.

The three skimmers flew towards the core of that cloud of Cyclonians. The sharpshooter and the wallop blocked all the soldiers who tried to attack their leader, as he passed between the two. The guy jumped up and stood with one leg stretched back, standing on his seat, and the other bent with the foot flat on the left wing.

"Hm..." - he looked at his sword - "So it means I'm on par with him." - he remembered Starling's words from his dream - "Time to put my training into use and see if that's really true."

The Sky Knight absorbed the energy from his blades, leaped and stood as if he'd make his famous move Lightning Claw. But it wasn't what happened: instead of the wings that form around him turn into a large pulse of energy, as often happens, they were connected to his swords, as if they were large extensions of the blades! He somersaulted in the air as he fell, destroying several enemy vehicles and throwing its troops into the Wastelands. After having reached the midpoint of the cluster of talons, he bent his body, folded his arms around his knees, then suddenly opened them and brought them up to almost the middle of his back, releasing a large bright shockwave that devastated over seven circular rings filled with Cyclonians in that area.

His friends looked at him impressed. Since when did Aerrow know how to do that? It was amazing! And they weren't the only ones who admired: Cyclonis was stunned! How powerful was that guy! It was unbelievable! It was very similar to what the Dark Ace had done once, with an army of Sky Knights in the day he used the Aurora Stone to defeat them with a single blow!

The squad leader landed on his skimmer, which Radarr had led up to just below him, and looked around to see how their partners were doing. They kept fighting bravely. Junko threw the talons out with his fists illuminated by the green light from his knuckle busters, Finn hit all the soldiers with arrows from his crossbow and Piper used her staff to parry shots coming in her direction, sending them back to the gunmen and destroying their rides.

But soon, each one was ambushed by a large concentration of Cyclonians. The wallop and the young blonde were doing well, they formed a great duo, almost unbeatable, but the navigator was not having much luck. For being smaller than other vehicles and not having all those protections, her heliscooter was much more vulnerable and every time a red bolt struck it, even if it only caused a simple scratch on the fuselage, her ride slightly lost control, making it much harder for the girl to defend herself who, several times, had to maneuver her scooter to gain stability again.

The Sky Knight's green eyes narrowed and his teeth gritted as he watched the scene. Piper was completely surrounded and everyone was shooting intensely against her. If any of them hurt her, they would be signing a death sentence! Suddenly, a shot hit the girl's staff, which escaped from her hands and fell.

"No!" - she cried extending her arm as she watched her only weapon disappearing in the clouds.

The navigator looked around in despair, when another shot crossed her path, passing by her a few millimeters from her face, making her heart beat very fast with a scary feeling. Aerrow's eyes widened and his breathing stopped for a few seconds because of what he saw. Enough! He needed put an end to it now! He accelerated his skimmer to maximum speed, jumped on one wing, absorbed more energy from his swords, which made his body shine again, and leaped from the vehicle. In the moments he was in the air above Piper's heliscooter, he turned his body around several times, moving his arms from side to side, releasing lots of large pulses of energy, blasting all the enemy switchblades which were very close, while the rest, trying to escape, flew away. The young man landed on his vehicle, watching in great anger the talons fleeing.

"Aerrow!" - the navigator said, smiling relieved and grateful for his help.

"I think it's yours." - he told her, returning the smile, and then looked at his co-pilot who was holding the girl's staff. The animal stood up in his cockpit and threw the weapon to Piper, who grabbed it with one hand.

"Thanks." - she spoke shyly.

"I'm at your service, my dear lady." - he put his hand on his chest and bowed slightly, staring at her with a captivating look, which made her feel like she would blush a little, but he soon became serious - "If it's war they want, it's war they'll have. New plan: we won't just defend ourselves against them, we'll reduce the whole troop to nothing! Don't let any of them escape! I wanna see all them floating on their parachutes in the Wastelands!"

"But why all this, Aerrow?" - Junko asked while Finn approached behind him.

"Cyclonis and her wannabes always underestimate us. So let's make it clear to them who they're dealing with." - he closed his fist - "They think they can concoct anything at anytime and do whatever they want, right? Let's prove them wrong." - he hit his fist on the bodywork of the skimmer's wing. Everyone listened attentively.

"Why don't they take us seriously?" - he continued - "Because our ideals are completely different! We're altruistic and fair." - he said pointing his thumb to himself - "They're cruel and dishonest." - he commented pointing his forefinger to the talons - "For them, kindness is a synonymous of weakness. It's time to show them we can play this game of 'no mercy' too and beat them in their own sadism!" - he raised his fist determined.

His partners blinked in surprise. They never saw their leader so agitated! He was very irritated with all those Cyclonians. And it wasn't for less: he had to make them pay for all the times they tried to hurt his friends and all the insults directed to them. He promised that!

The young Empress watched in delight with the anguish, the anger, the wish for vengeance the guy felt. It was exactly what she wanted. Her plan seemed to be working at all.

Consumed by the battle flames running through his veins, the Sky Knight flew towards four talons, and, using the wings of his vehicle, he knocked them out of their rides brutally. The others looked at each other hesitantly, until Finn shrugged, pointed his crossbow towards the enemy soldiers and blew up several heliblades. When a switchblade went through Junko, he grabbed its wing, accelerated his skimmer, boosting his throw, and threw the ride towards a row of Cyclonians, destroying more than six vehicles. Piper also entered the battle, but this time she was prepared: placing a swarm crystal at the tip of her staff and holding a windstone crystal on the other hand, she pointed the weapon at the talons and unleashed a flurry of insects, then used the other crystal to push the swarm towards the soldiers. In this, four lines of switchblades and heliblades were completely eaten by the worms. Gradually the huge army was reduced and not long after, there were only sixty talons left.

"Follow me!" - Aerrow called his friends - "Now that there are just some, we can attract them to the Condor on the other side of the Terra and finish this!" - he ordered as all his teammates accompanied him, guiding the soldiers through the fog, then he warned the pilot - "Stork! Get ready to send some Cyclonians to the Wastelands!" - upon reaching the other side, he gave the signal - "Now!"

The Condor appeared from the clouds and began firing. Switchblades and heliblades tumbled from the sky in droves. Soon there were only twelve talons flying: Stork defeated three, Piper gripped one, Junko and Finn hit more four, Radarr knocked one off throwing a piece of pipe he had taken from his cockpit at his head and Aerrow attacked another one with his fists in his own switchblade, until he saw a ride flying above them, trying to run away.

"Don't let him escape! Shoot him!" - the Sky Knight yelled while blue shots went quickly towards the Cyclonian, but none hit him and he was almost out of reach - "Finn!" - he cried out for his sharpshooter, because he knew there was no one better than him to hit a hard target.

"Leave it to me!" - he replied as he shot one of the soldiers to his left and then took aim at the fugitive. But the first Cyclonian had managed to stabilize his vehicle, then accelerated and struck the wing of the young blonde's skimmer, which leaned too much to one side and caused him to miss the shot.

"No!" - the leader screamed seeing the second talon disappear on the horizon - "He got away!" - then looked downwards and saw the other soldier trying to escape too - "Don't even think about it, you're mine!" - he said gritting teeth, then absorbed the energy from his swords again, jumped, and finally did his Lightning Claw, blowing up the fleeting heliblade.

Aerrow climbed on his ride again and met with the others who flew near the bridge, where Stork was standing, and waited. Once he approached, he was received with many compliments, everyone was amazed at what he had done during the battle, but the guy remained indifferent: he didn't feel any pride, after all, he let one of the enemies escape.

"He got away." - muttered.

"But he was only one, we beat over a hundred of them!" - Finn said.

"It's not enough. I was determined to not let any of them leave, but I failed."

"Darn, if I'd not missed the last shot..."

"No. It was my fault." - Aerrow interrupted - "I should have gone after him. A Sky Knight can't allow himself to be beaten. But it was exactly what I did: I lost."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Aerrow." - Piper said - "You did what you could, we all saw your effort. Don't get upset about it."

"It's very easy when you don't think about the how much everyone expects from you. I always must meet my goals. How can I consider myself a good leader if I'm not able to accomplish a goal that simple?"

"You're being too demanding. We don't expect you to do the impossible..."

"Are you saying you guys doubt me?" - he cut her off - "Great, that was all I needed to hear: my own squadron discredits my ability."

"That's not what I meant, you know it!" - she protested with slight harshness in her voice, then softened as continued - "You have so much potential. You proved it with all those incredible moves."

The Sky Knight remained quiet. He didn't find any answer, then decided not to argue. He didn't want to fight his navigator, it would be worse than being hit hard by the Dark Ace's glowing red sword.

"It's true, man. That was awesome!" - the sharpshooter spoke excited while the others nodded in agreement. Aerrow stared each one in the eye for a moment and realized they were being sincere. He blinked slowly, let his shoulders fall and turned his head down, staring at the clouds with a serene and slightly upset expression. He felt like an arrogant, stubborn, immature and stupid guy. Taking a deep breath, he let out a disappointed sigh with his own attitude.

"Thanks for the great job you did, I couldn't wish for a better team." - he said in a very cordial way and his squad felt very glad to hear these words - "Let's go. We deserve a rest." - he called his friends, then turned to the pilot - "Stork, land the Condor on the nearest surface."

Once the rides landed on the hangar, the merb took the ship to a clearing near the edge of the Terra and parked it there. Everybody entered the hallway without talking. The sun began to set and the rain chose to become a mild drizzle. Each one went to their rooms, and then everything became absolutely silent.

~~~

Cyclonis laughed in her dark room. She was numb in unspeakable happiness. It was all wonderful! Everything was working perfectly. Actually, to be honest, it was even exceeding her expectations.

"He's already becoming haughty! I wonder how he'll be when the elixir has taken full control of his attitudes." - and smirked maliciously, she couldn't wait for that day - "It will be so pleasant."

Her evil laugh echoed through the room and the walls. It could be heard from a long distance, if it wasn't consumed by the typical thunders from Cyclonia. Whatever she was planning, it for sure wouldn't end well for the poor Sky Knight...