Dawn of a New Age

Chapter Twenty Nine

Chapter Twenty Nine

Matthew didn't notice a talon creeping up on him until it was too late. The Cyclonian used his crystal staff to shoot a blast of hot energy at his back. The Canadian yelped feeling the bolt burn the skin on the back of his shoulder. He turned around to face his attacker and was tackled to the ground. His dagger flew from his hand and skidded across the forest floor.

The nation landed flat on his back with the man on top of him. The talon pushed his staff against Canada's throat cutting off his air supply. He grunted and grabbed the talons staff with both of his hands and pushed back. He managed to get the bar off his throat enough to breathe, but his wrist and shoulder burned hot with pain. He fought through the pain and hoped his arm wouldn't give out. Matthew used his uninjured arm to push as hard as he could in one direction. He used his legs to unbalance the talon and switch their positions.

"Stop!" Dark Ace yelled gaining the Canadians attention. He immediately stopped and got off the Cyclonian seeing that the commander had Aerrow. The red head was struggling against Dark Ace's grip, but couldn't get away. The Dark Ace rolled his eyes at the struggling teen and put his short sword to Aerrow's throat. The talon he had pinned rolled onto his feet and stepped out of Canada's sight. "Drop all the weapons you have." Dark Ace commanded.

Matthew took a second to comply. He hoped to find an opening, but the way Ace had the Sky Knight made it next to impossible to get a clear throw. He slowly reached into his pockets and dropped the remaining knives he had.

"That's everything." Canada said calmly dropping the last knife on the ground in front of him. He kept his hands in view of both the Dark Ace and the other talon.

"Mattie, get out of here!" Aerrow pleaded struggling harder, clawing at Dark Aces arm. His eyes darted towards Canada's skimmer and back to the nation telling him to run for it. The Ace brought the hot blade closer to the red heads throat. "Go!"

The Canadian shook his head. There was no way that he was going to leave the Sky Knight alone in this. He also knew that he most likely wouldn't make it to his skimmer before being shot by the talon again. Dark Ace sneered and signalled the Cyclonian to move. The talon grabbed Matthews's arms and quickly cuffed them behind his back. The hand-cuffs were tight and bit into his wrists further irritating the cut. Canada could feel blood trickling down his arm into his hand.

The Cyclonian grabbed his shoulder and roughly forced Matthew onto his knees. He gasped and groaned biting his lip feeling the man's fingers press into the burned skin. Dark Ace did the same to Aerrow; tying his hands, taking his weapons and glider before forcing him to his knees. Canada looked the teen up and down trying to see if he was injured. He couldn't see any cuts, but the Sky Knight was breathing heavy and his eyes were half closed. Matthew was worried about internal damage.

"We could just execute you now, but Master Cyclonis would enjoy having a hand in your deaths." Dark Ace said with a smirk.

"Let us go." Aerrow demanded angrily staring at his enemy.

"And why would I do that?" The commander asked crouching down in front of the red head. Aerrow looked down, but Dark Ace grabbed his hair and forced him to look at him. "Are you really that naive?"

Dark Ace laughed and let go of the Sky Knight when he didn't get a response. He grabbed Aerrow by the back of his shirt and picked him up to his feet. The red head shrugged and tried to get away, but Dark Ace hit him on the back of the head knocking him unconscious.

Matthew growled seeing this and tried to get to his feet. The talon grabbed his burned shoulder and kept him on his knees. Canada shrugged trying to get the Cyclonians hand off, but it only caused him to hold on tighter. The talons nails dug into the burned skin drawing blood.

"Put him down too." The Dark Ace commanded. It was the last thing the nation heard before the world went dark.

-❄"Never trust anyone. Remember, the devil was once an angel."❄-

"Where are they?" Piper asked no one in particular looking out the window of the Condor.

"Have you tried calling them again?" Junko asked tapping his foot nervously.

"Yes I have. Nothing, but static." The woman said crossing her arms and turning to where Finn and Junko were sitting.

"The static is probably just pricefield yodel birds." Stork said with a shrug. "They emit a signal blocker in their songs. They're known for living around this area."

"I'm still worried though. It's been hours and it's the middle of the night!" Piper sighed sitting down at the round table. "Were there any Cyclonian sightings in this area?"

"None that were radioed in." Finn said. "They're probably fine Piper. Maybe just a sleep out?"

"They would have made contact to say that. Even if Aerrow was still angry, Matthew would have." Piper said. "It's not like either one to do something like this."

"There's nothing we can do right now." Junko said. "It wouldn't be safe to go out at night."

"I agree with Junko." Stork said. "Nightcrawers could be out or phanflyers. Oh! Or maybe holofae, but they're more around at sunrise."

"You're right guys. Let's get a good night's sleep and hope they're back in the morning." Piper said running a hand through her hair. "If not, we'll go looking for them."

-❄"Safety and peace, Malik." "Your presence deprives me of both."❄-

Matthew groaned as he finally came to. His head pounded as he slowly opened his eyes and looked around. He was in a very small cell with iron bars and rock walls and floor. A small bit of light flooded in from a light in the hallway. He spotted Aerrow curled up in the cell across from him still unconscious.

Canada sat up and pressed his back against the cool wall keeping his head down. It soothed his shoulder slightly and he sighed. The talons had moved his hands in front of him at one point, but the cuffs were still painfully tight. He bit his lip as the handcuffs dug into the skin of his wrists. The cut on his arm had stopped bleeding, but his arm was caked with dried blood. Both of the injuries still ached and throbbed.

The Canadian tensed and looked up as he heard footsteps coming their way.

AN: The coyotes are loud tonight. Holy cow!