Dawn of a New Age

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

Canada and Starling walked over to where the other Storm Hawks were. They were chatting with a man who looked like he was in charge judging by the gold leafy crown he wore.

"Thank you again Storm Hawks." King Agar said bowing slightly.

"It's our job." Aerrow said cutting off whatever Finn was going to say. Piper laughed and Junko put a hand on a pouting Finns shoulder.

"Oh sir, I have a question for you." Piper said.

"Of course, ask me anything." The king said.

"Do you know anything about a crystal called 'dimensional discord?'" The amber eyed girl asked.

"Yes." King Agar nodded. "My people kept it safe for thousands of years. Unfortunately it was stolen a couple hundred years ago and we were in unable to recover it."

"Do you know who stole it?" Matthew asked raising an eyebrow.

"Not exactly, there are many different stories. Some say that WebleWings swooped in and took it, other say that there was an attack by the dragons or the people from Blizzaris. Everyone has a different story." The king explained. "Last we heard of it was a few months ago when the Cyclonians came looking for it. They were disappointed."

"Why were the Cyclonians looking for it?" Aerrow asked.

"I don't know. Master Cyclonis came herself to demand it." The king said shaking his head. "I believe that Gundstaff has it in his store room."

"Gundstaff?" Canada asked. He hadn't heard that name before.

"He's a crazy crystal collector." Finn said running a hand through his hair.

"He's not crazy, just particular. He likes things his way." Starling said shrugging.

"Maybe we should go and pay him a visit." Aerrow said. He quickly said goodbye to the king and they headed back over to where they had parked their skimmers. "Where are you off to Starling? Why were you here in the first place?"

"I was just flying by when I saw the squads of talons clustered around here." Starling explained. She started her skimmer. "They were attacking the people so I stepped in. I'm going to head out. Good luck with Gundstaff." She said revving up and flying off.

-❄"Team Castlecoke!"❄-

Once the Storm Hawks were back in the Condor they set a course to Gundstaff's house. It would take them about a week to get there because they wanted to avoid going through the heart of Cyclonia.

"We're running low on healing crystals." Piper said carrying an almost empty sac of crystals.

"That's a problem." Stork said. "None of us know first aid."

"I do." Canada said from where he was sitting at the round table reading. "It's been awhile. I still remember most of it."

"We still have bandages and all that stuff, but all the medicine is long outdated." Piper paused at the door leaving the bridge. "It's getting harder to find these crystals. The Cyclonians keep them under lock, key, in a safe under a trap door. Not literally, but they're just as hard to get."

"Would Gundstaff have any?" The nation asked. Marking the page in the book and shutting it.

"It's worth asking. We're on good terms with him now." Piper said walking off to her room. Matthew stood up and stretched walking over to look out the window. The other Storm Hawks were busy fixing their skimmers and cleaning up. Canada had finished his since it didn't have much damage in the first place.

"See anything out there?" Stork asked making small talk from where he was piloting the Condor.

"Not really. Clouds mostly, few pieces of terras." The Canadian said.

"You never know what could be out there." The merk said. "The Atmos is home to thousands of deadly species."

"At home, I keep one of the world's most deadly animals as a companion." Matthew said looking over with a smile.

"Oh? I used to keep a collection of poisonous spiders, snakes and lizards, but they got lose often." Stork said. "I, sadly, had to release them all because apparently they were to 'dangerous.'" He put air quotes around dangerous. "What is this companion you have?"

"A polar bear." The nation said. Stork just raised an eyebrow. "A big fluffy animal that looks super cuddly, but could easily kill you. It doesn't have any toxins or anything like that. Just claws and teeth."

"Sounds simple, yet deadly." The merk said and Canada nodded. "There is a wind storm a head of us. We'll have to take a detour." Stork said as Matthew walked over a stood beside him. He pointed at a small cluster of dark clouds on the horizon. "It's going to be a bumpy night."

-❄"It's like algebra... Why you gotta put numbers and letters together? Why can't you just go fuck yourself."❄-

Matthew tossed and turned. He couldn't fall asleep hearing the wind outside the Condor. He groaned and threw an arm over his face. The Canadian sat up and swung his legs over the edge of his bed and stood up. He walked over to his desk to check his cell phone, but there were no notifications.

The blond sighed and shoved it into his hoodie pocket before leaving his room. He could hear Junko snoring a few rooms down. Matthew set off to find a small high place. It was a habit he had formed in the wars, can't sleep in bed? Find a nice spot in the rafters. He checked a few of the storage rooms, but found nothing.

Canada started off towards the hanger. Once he got there he looked up to the ceiling, it was a maze of pipes and vents. He spotted a promising looking place and climbed up. The pipe was square and wide enough to fit two people. The pipe was also warm making the nation think it was a heating duct. Matthew smiled enjoying the warmth and small space. He quickly drifted off to sleep.

-❄"Hey, panini head, are you listening to me?"❄-

The nation ended up staying there all night and in the morning climbed down. He had scared Junko with his sudden appearance and quickly apologized. The wallop was still fixing a few dents in his skimmer and Matthew offered to help. They spent the rest of the morning polishing Junko's skimmer and making sure it ran perfectly.

Once the pair had finished they headed to the kitchen to see what they could scrounge up. He had been warned not to eat Junko's food so he cooked them both brunch. It looked like the others were already up to eat.

The next couple of days were uneventful. They avoided all of the Cyclonian territories on their way to Gundstaff's. Canada mostly hung around reading and tinkering with his skimmer. There wasn't much to do to kill time.

Aerrow was constantly asking to spar and was full of energy. Matthew didn't mind and would practice with the red head. Aerrow didn't have as much stamina as the blond did. He had bursts of energy before petering out. The nation was surprised that he had the stamina to keep up with the teen at his most energized time as well as past when he had tired out.