Watch my dear… even the strongest will can be bent so long as there is something for it to bend around…

Jet could barely walk straight as he came back out of the still smoldering house he had once called home.  Covered in tears, sweat, dirt and ash he staggered from exhaustion and disbelief.  In an effort to rub the sweat from his face, he rubbed blood onto his chin from the open blisters on his hands.  He had been at the shovel all afternoon.  He hadn’t eaten or slept since it happened.  His body shook uncontrollably and his lip still trembled from the silent crying.

Go… show him what you found…

The young man turned, rubbing his arm, to stare at the wreckage.  Half of the roof collapsed and most of the house was charred.  A few more tears rolled down his face until he was suddenly distracted by a giggle.  The noise was so out of place that Jet nearly fell over as he spun hard.  He thought his mind was playing tricks on him until he saw the dark haired little girl playing with a charged toy skimmer.  His heart instantly came back to life in the delusional hope that Hailey had come back to life.  It didn’t register that he had just gotten done burying her blackened body along with that of his brother and parents.  

Watching awestruck, Jet could barely move until she started skipping away from him.  He tried to break out into a run and fell to the dusty ground.  It didn’t take long for him to pull his aching body back up onto his feet to try and chase after her.

“Hailey!  Hailey!” his voice was horse from the screaming last night as he had banged on his locked door.  Finally he caught up to the little girl and turned her around to look at him.  The gleeful smile instantly faded as he realized it was someone else playing with his brother’s toy skimmer.  The eerily quiet dark eyed girl stared back at him as she held tight to the skimmer.

“Please…” he fell to his knees “Please” he repeated as he held out his hand for the skimmer.  The girl backed away and it was then that Jet noticed the ruler of cyclonia only a few feet away.

Jet stared as his anger boiled over.  Not caring if his life ended right there, he picked up a splintered plank.  He came to his shaking feet and swung in rage as if he had a massive sword in his hands.

The cruel overload seemed calm as Jet came at him.  Jet swung with all his remaining energy, but the cloaked man simply vanished to only appear behind him.

“Put it down my boy, I only wish to speak with you.” He said in a deep voice.  Jet turned and swung again and again the man vanished.  Jet played the game until he seemed to pick up a pattern and managed to strike ahead of time.  The cyclonian ruler caught the board in his gauntlet and crushed it.

“That’s enough.” He said in a commanding tone.  Jet wasn’t done fighting but the energy from a well hidden crystal soon gripped him and held him still as the ‘Master’ walked around him.

“It’s such a shame what happened here.  Your poor family… victims of this war.”

“You’re the one that KILLED THEM!” Jet yelled.

“Did I?  Was is truly me or was it them?” he responded coolly.  It was then
that the power from another crystal wrapped itself around Jet’s mind.

“It was YOU.  Your lust for power killed them!” Jet held firm.

“Lust for power?  Why do you think I want the power, boy?”

“To conquer the Atmos!”

“My dear boy, I already RULE Atmos.  It’s the sky knights who are trying to conquer Atmos.  They divide up the power and fight amongst themselves.  Look at what THEY DID by denying me what is rightfully mine.  I gave them the warning, but they argued amongst themselves and failed to save the people of Haven.  The aurora stone was too valuable in their mind.  The lives of you family were not.”

“You’re twisting it!  Kill me.  Why are you holding me!” Jet fought the crystals to no avail.

“You’re all alone now.  You’re the most talented of the Storm Hawks, yet they hardly acknowledge you.”

“Yes they do!”

“You can’t fool me.  I see your mind boy.  They make you clean, they make you
take care of that little one.  You’re the best pilot but only Rowen gets the recognition.” Slowly the cruel lord was twisting the fragile broken heart of Jet with the help of a crystal.  Jet grew silent as his began to listen.

“It was they who killed your family.  You could have saved him, but they locked you in your quarters, fearing interference with their inferior plans.”

The little girl walked up to her father and handed him the wooden two skimmer.  The rider had been licked by the flames which had melted off most of the blue paint that covered it.

“You’re all alone because you hate them.  They offered to come with you but you raged against them almost as hard as you raged against me.” The dark ruler continued as he turned the toy over in his hands.  “But it doesn’t have to stay this way.  This war doesn’t have to continue.  If the Storm Hawks were gone, surely the rest of the squadrons would once again fear cyclonia – the ONLY terra with enough power to truly unite the Atmos once again and end the war for good.”

“Never… WE’LL NEVER GO DOWN!”

“How can you defend them Jet, after what they did?  And I have no intention of seeing you go down.  You’re the only one who knows the true pain of this war.  I’m here to ask you to join me.  You’re the only one who understands that this war must end at any cost and only you are in a position to end it.”

Jet suddenly went quiet.  He was being asked to betray them.  The lord of cyclonia was offering him a spot at his right hand.  He tried to remember his squad and the feelings he had for his friends and leader, but the memories had faded hard in the face of grief.  The power of the crystal was slowly wiping them away.  In it’s place all he could think of was his pain and his anger towards them.

“Here... a sign of my word.” He said as he released him.  Jet fell to the ground.  The Master of Cyclonia then bent down to one knee and handed him back the tender toy.  “Take it, grieve, go back to them… you’ll know the moment when it comes.  I will be waiting on you.” He stood back up to his full height.  He backed up slowly and took the hand of the little girl.  She stared at him quietly with only the faintest sign of sympathy before her and her father vanished.


Jet was left alone with his pain, the ash, and a twisted heart.