Perry treats everything on the Condor as a fantastic toy, wants no part of Piper's duties and only wants to be shown a good time; Finn thinks this is A-OK but Stork is more suspicious by the moment (and also spots that unlike the real Piper, this one's left-handed). ===The palace invader, learning that the Klockstoppians have no crystal weapons, easily makes his escape, and returns to attack the palace with his comrades--identical black-cloaked creepies on batwinged black skyrides. Piper identifies them as Nightcrawlers ("an elite Cyclonian goon squad who answer directly to Master Cyclonis herself!") but the Regent thinks this is just another of Perry's tall tales... the princess admits all to the Hawks, and they speed to Klockstoppia in time to send the Nightcrawlers packing. Peregrine's seen the value of real work, and announces she's ready to assume the throne, delegating all her silly duties to the Regent. [Footnote: we do learn that Piper is a pushover for a good backrub. Or footrub.]

==[Finally, a top-class episode. Hasn't been one since "Stratosphere".]

==cut to Master Cyclonis' throne room, where she's telling Ravess and Snipe that Phase 1 of Operation Exodus is being conducted in absolute secrecy, and all they need to know is their own assignment: to hunt down rare Warp Crystals. [Aha.] A scavenger hunt?!--retorts Ravess indignantly, but Her Darkness is adamant. If the Storm Hawks interfere, she tells the siblings, she'll award untold riches to the Talon who manages to ground them--permanently.

--Meanwhile, Noob has been downright rude to Finn, managed to destroy Junko's teddy and one of Finn's skimmers, AND challenged Piper on fine points of team history. He's also confessed that he's the only member of the aforementioned fanclub. At this point they conclude it's time to ditch him, and do so by faking another distress signal and charging back down to his home terra--where they drop him off. Aerrow tries to say he's safer here, but he trudges away in great dejection. Were we too harsh? they worry--but ohh no, they're not about to fall for yet another distress signal from Storm Hawks Fan Club HQ.

Except that this time Noob really is trying to report a fleet of Talons roaring in at top speed...Ravess blows away his signal beacon, and as the signal falls silent, the Hawks reckon he got the message. But he's the only fan we've got, we can't just abandon him; that's bad karma or somethin'. And... what if he doesn't like us any more? worries soft-hearted Junko. Stork chimes in that there's no fury like a super-fan scorned. ("Torches..pitchforks...ohhh, it gets ugly.") So--they head back to apologize. Meanwhile, Ravess demands that Noob tell her the Hawks' whereabouts, but he taunts her about her numerous (all canon =) defeats at their hands, and she angrily replies that they won't be able to stop Operation Exodus. Noob's eyes light up, and the archer flusters; is that some sort of top secret mission you weren't supposed to mention?--needles the kid. She says he won't be so smug when he's bait for her trap. ...They lay an ambush, but Noob manages to warn the Hawks, and Piper rescues him while battle ensues. And are those Warp Crystals he's using as paperweights? Old family heirlooms, he says--the mine's been tapped out for a century. N&P hatch a fast plan, and while a gloating Ravess has the team at arrowpoint, Noob roars in from behind with the Warp Crystals loaded on his motorhome's dashboard, and BLAM. --So there are hugs and goodwill and he tells them about Operation Exodus, and Junko sympathizes that he's sacrificed his home and his whole prized collection to rescue them--you reallly are our #1 fan, he says. Oh, that's OK, Noob replies carelessly, he's decided to give up obsessing over Storm Hawks trivia and really DO something with his life. From now on it's all about his true passion....the Absolute Zeroes. Best Sky Knight squadron ever, he says.

[So, gee, fans are not only rude, greedy and selfish, but thoughtlessly fickle to boot. Nice, fellas.--Isenberg's first script for the series; let's hope it's his last.]

Ravess, Snipe and Repton quarrel loudly about whose fault this mess is; Cyclonis and Dark Ace stride off in disgust. Ace asks the Master what she wants done with them, and she orders that Ravess be banished but the others kept around, as they'll be needed: and we see a transport loading the massive stone doorway from the temple cave into Cyclonis' stronghold. The Door will open a world of dark promise, she says; we must prepare for what will be the end of Atmos.

==Ten years ago: we see the epic battle between the combined Sky Knight airforce and the Cyclonian army, led by the Storm Hawks' legendary Sky Knight, Lightning Strike. "With all Atmos united behind him, he knew he could not fail--but his own co-pilot betrayed him." Strike, the original Hawks, and the Condor were all lost, and without them the alliance crumbled into defeat. --Strike's co-pilot was the young Dark Ace, who was rewarded by the Cyclonian Empire and rose, as we know, to great power: but a secret, winged priesthood has found Strike's last descendant, and knows that only he can re-unite Atmos and destroy Cyclonia's rule. Unfortunately, the kid seems to be a bit clueless...

We see a younger Aerrow, Piper, Finn and Radarr in a makeshift fortress, defending their terra (called 'Neverlandis') and the Storm Hawks' flag, against a wannabe junior Cyclonian squadron--which includes Junko! As expected, Piper is in charge of planning and tactics while Finn, already a crack shot, mans the mud cannon. =) The bird-priests appear in mid-battle, tell Aerrow the tale of his destiny and charge him with a mission: to find the Condor and re-create the Storm Hawks. They hand him a golden, hawk-headed cylinder-- all he'll need to know is in here, they say--wish him luck and fly off. While Aerrow is --understandably!-- distracted, the junior Cyclonians get through their defenses and take the junior Hawks prisoner (locking them in a chicken coop, yet =) The triumphant Cyclonian-wannabes radio in news of their victory: this will earn them wings for sure! But kid Junko looks not really happy about it. ==In the chicken coop, Aerrow opens the cylinder. Inside is a blue crystal key with the Hawks' emblem, and an ancient map. (Piper: "Aerrow! do you have any idea what this means?" Aerrow: "Um...no.") She excitedly explains that it can only mean he's Lightning Strike's heir, the rightful leader of the Storm Hawks--a Sky Knight! --I am?--says awestruck Aerrow. [So, it was a hereditary title then?...] AND the map shows the location of the Condor--"as in, THE Condor!" With that kind of firepower, no one would dare mess with us, says Aerrow.
--But then, the junior Cyclonian squad's leader, Grimsley, delivers bad news. Snipe himself is coming to reward us with our wings, he says; we just have to get rid of you; and Snipe has ordered them to throw the captives into the Wastelands. The young Hawks flinch. Junko clearly thinks this is far too harsh, and when Grimsley asks for a volunteer, he steps up and says "I'll do it."-- Finn and Aerrow both desperately ask him to reconsider (Finn saying "you can't do this to the Finnster!" and Aerrow asking if he really wants to be one of the bad guys), but Junko sets them down as soon as he's sure the gang's out of sight. (Finn gratefully hugs his leg before remembering he's supposed to be cool. =) I knew I shouldn't've gotten mixed up with Grimsley, says young Junko remorsefully; I wanted to be one of the good guys. Aerrow says "you still can" and explains his new mission. Thrilled, the big guy lends them his jalopy of a skimmer, and reports back to Grimsley, "They're gone." =)

The skimmer gets them into the Wastelands, on the very borders of Cyclonia, where they spot the crashed Condor--which, to their delight, seems to have already been repaired and polished to a nice shine. AND surrounded by defensive boobytraps. [Three guesses who, and the first two don't count. =)=)] They barrel toward the ship, but their path is blocked by a grim figure in homemade armor, armed with, um, a broom. =) That trap was made for Cyclonians, he tells them, voice shaking with anger, and you had better have a good explanation for ruining it! Aerrow explains about the attack, the bird priests, and his mission: "we came here to find the Condor, rebuild the Storm Hawks, and fulfill some kind of Atmos-saving destiny."
The armored figure gives them a narrow stare, drops the broom and takes off his helmet: "I'm Stork. Get inside."

He tells them that he escaped into the Wastelands when his home terra, Merbia (we knew it!!), was attacked by the Cyclonians. Lucky I found this ship, he says--it's deadly out there. You made all these repairs yourself?--asks impressed Piper, and he modestly replies that he made a few upgrades: upped the power of the blaster array, added an omni-directional tiller, improved the autopilot AND installed cup holders. =) Finn thinks this pretty sweet, but Stork sighs bitterly: "oh yeah, sweet, except that I can't find the blasted key to the ship!! I've been stuck in here... for years..."*slightly mad cackle* "--I tell you, that thing (points a shaking finger at the ship's ignition) mocks me!"-- Aerrow grins. "I think we may be able to help each other out," he says, and produces the blue crystal key. And we are go. =)=)
So...Storm Hawks? Stork asks Aerrow. The redhead admits it's hard to believe, but Stork says, nah, he believes in pretty much everything =) and he grins: "then, you wanna see this?" ==He's restored the original Hawks' entire set of skyrides and weapons, and the kids are awestruck. Finn falls in love at once: Piper says "these are for the Storm Hawks, not you and me." But Aerrow asks what she's talking about. Growing up we always played Sky Knight, he says: now we get to do it for real. And, tossing out weapons, he creates the new Squadron then and there: "Finn: sharpshooter. Piper: crystal mage, plus all the smart stuff." He claims the set of blue crystal blades for himself, names Radarr his co-pilot, and turns to the Merb: so what do you say, Stork, want to be our carrier pilot? "And spend the rest of my life cooped up in a tiny ship, flying from terra to terra in a constant onslaught of deadly adventures?--*carnivorous grin* Oh, yeah. I'm in."
The Junior Cyclonian Squad sees a ship approaching and Grimsley hopes it's Snipe with their commendations, but nope--it's the Condor, and the newly-named Hawks plunge off her carrier deck on their shiny new rides, whooping and hooting in glee. The Storm Hawks! Cool!--cheers Junko, but Grimsley angrily tells his group to get to their rides--only to have Junko stop him. What are you doing? he demands. Being a good guy, says the Wallop, and knocks him out. =) He joins the Hawks on Grimsley's skybike, rescues the Condor from a plunge by knocking a stabilizer back into line with one punch, and Aerrow grins: "I think we just found our muscle." ==Snipe arrives just in time to see the Cyclonian kids in total rout and--oh, brother-- the Condor roaring off overhead. Master Cyclonis will want to hear about this, he says, and gives Grimsley a crystal limpet mine, telling him he won't want to be around when it goes off. Grim grabs the nearest ride, chases down the Condor and plants the thing on her bow: instantly the purple crystals drain all engine power and the ship begins to fall. The baby Cyclonians fly off thinking they've won.--Aerrow dives after the plummeting Condor; Piper radios the Merb to bail out but he insists "this pilot goes down with his ship!" Aerrow dives onto the ship, crawls toward the mine and tries to zap it with his blade; when the mine drains even the power from that, he grimly hammers on it with the metal hilt until it smashes, and Stork pulls the Condor out of her dive just in time.
The kids retuern to Neverlandis, but agree that knowing what they know now, it doesn't seem like home anymore. Piper points out that the Storm Hawks never had one resident terra--they fought for all Atmos, which sounds good to Aerrow. They decide to move onto the Condor for good. The bird-priests are delighted with this turn of events, and their elder says, "the boy will be a Sky Knight." And what of the girl--is she the one? asks another; the master says only time will tell.

==And on Cyclonia, Master Cyclonis is having her grandmother's throne moved out, saying it's too old-fashioned; times are changing, Dark Ace, she says. He assures her that he remains her humble servant. Good, she says; we have work to do.

Meanwhile, painted in jungle camo and swatting bugs, the rest of the Hawks creep through the jungle and find the village of the natives who pursued Stork last time...or what's left of the village. "This is never a good sign," mutters the Merb. Inside the temple, to Stork's chagrin, they find both the monster and the Gate he described to the team gone. "Maybe I am going crazy", he quavers, but as Junko tucks a comforting arm around his shoulders, a familiar sardonic voice comes from above: "You're not going crazy; you're too late." It's Ravess, and Aerrow draws at once, saying they might've known she was behind it; but she icily says he's mistaken, and she might even tell him more if he'll stand down, since "that little brat, Cyclonis, no longer has the honor of my allegiance". The Hawks look at each other--what's this? a rift in the upper Cyclonian ranks?--and Aerrow says all right, they're listening. Good, she says; now what do you know of the Far Side of Atmos? ==

Meanwhile, Finn is impressing upon his Ultra Dudes the importance of impressing anyone you talk to with cool stories of your heroic exploits--when suddenly word comes that Scabulous is back and has brought his gang. Finn tells his posse to run for it, but they're ready to use what he taught them to defend their terra, and the Finnster is forced to admit that a lot of what he "taught" them was hot air. They scornfully say they'll fight anyway, and Radarr glares at Finn, who realizes he's got to come through.

Ravess tells the Hawks that Cyclonis has been looking for a way to the Far Side. "That fool explorer, Domiwick" had been her expedition leader, but he disappeared [in episode #40, as you'll recall]; and now she's found it herself. Piper guesses that must be the doorway Stork found, and tells the group "the scrolls say the Far Side is a place of unimaginable power"--power Cyclonis mustn't be allowed to get. Aerrow says they have to stop her, and Ravess says "fortunately, you still can", since Cyclonis has the Door but not the key. ==She turns and walks off. Piper asks what that means, and the archer sneers that they shouldn't push their luck; she's helping them because it will hurt Cyclonis, but that doesn't mean she likes them. Cyclonian guards fire on the Hawks, and they cut and run.

Finn and the Dudes face the Roughnecks and with an unlikely mixture of fancy flying, attitude and slapstick luck --and a genuinely cool Finn/Scabulous mano-a-mano showdown (wrapped up with his new signature move, the "Finnito")--manage to put them away. Finn returns to the team with the crystals and says he's learned all he wants to know about the role of a leader; he's glad to be back as the Number Two guy in this team. (Piper says "you're not"; Stork says "not even number three"; and Finn shushes Junko before he can chime in.) But Piper grimly says that things aren't back to normal, and won't be as long as Cyclonis has the Door, because whatever she's planning can't be good.

The Hawks have a hard time keeping their faces straight when they learn that the family business is "Dilly's Frillies"--a ladies' lingerie store. (Even lady Wallops like to wear "frilly, delicate whatnots" on occasion, apparently.) Grow up, guys, everybody needs underwear, chides Piper; but Aerrow presses Junko pretty hard on whether his loyalty to his family counts for more than his bond with the team.==Comedy time: a difficult customer comes in demanding her favorite model, Bumpy Rumpies, and only Dilly knew where they were stored. But when Piper and Aerrow go in search of the retired uncle, they run smack into a party of Cyclonian guards. ("What are you doing on Terra Wallop?" "Would you believe selling underwear?") When they report back, Junko says he'll have to tell the Chief at once, but Thragg, to his shock, says he already knows there are Cyclonians on Wallop--he's the one who invited them. --And there they are, inside the council chamber itself. We've signed a mutual protection treaty, says the chief: the Cyclonians are going to win the battle for Atmos, and the Wallops will be on the winning side. The Hawks draw back, stunned.
The Cyclonian captain demands the Hawks be turned over to them at once, but Thragg sternly says that since they're here with a Wallop, they're guests under the Chief's direct protection--even if they're wanted enemies of Cyclonia. No one tells the Wallops what to do, he says; and Aerrow seizes the opportunity, protesting that he knows what the Cyclonians are capable of--how could he sign a treaty with them? I'm not about to explain myself to an outsider, growls the chief, and Junko steps up: explain it to me, he says. They're nose to nose: the chief thunders that Junko has spent so much time with outsiders, he's forgotten that Wallops respect only power and strength. But they're the bad guys, Junko pleads, and then he's had it: "I'm not going to support the Cyclonians! And I'm not going to run Dilly's Frillies, either!" You reject your birthright, your family? Are you prepared to face the consequences? demands Thragg. Junko stands his ground, looking grim and resolute, and raises both hands, the Wallop sign of challenge to a fight. So be it, says the chief: Junko will face me in the Wallop Ritual of Power.

Aerrow says they should just get the heck out, but Junko says he'd be branded a coward and could never face his people again. He's got to go through with it, though he can't use his knuckle-busters AND Thragg is three times his size. He makes the Hawks promise not to interfere. As he marches into the grove where the battle is to be, Finn says, "We're never gonna see Junko again, are we?"...

The two Wallops fight an awesome no-holds-barred brawl, throwing boulders, tree trunks, everything in the forest at each other. Thragg says fear is the only shame, and Junko retorts that Thragg fears the Cyclonians--he must, or he'd stand up to them, and reject their evil. Thragg roars that he fears no one--but Cyclonis is too strong to stand against. The chief cracks huge tree trunks with every punch, and Junko maneuvers him into a spot where four such weakened trees fall on him at once, pinning him down. Thragg says there's no shame in losing to a stronger Wallop, and calls him "Chief Junko", telling him only the Chief of Wallop can annull the treaty. If Junko truly wants to drive the Cyclonians off Terra Wallop, he must finish off Thragg and take his place. Junko bellows and charges--

The anxious Hawks, watching the entrance to the grove, see someone approaching...and it's Junko. They rush to him, asking how it feels to be the new Chief of Wallop, but he says he didn't exactly win--and there's Thragg coming up behind him.

The Hawks head for the Condor, and Junko turns for a last try, saying that strength means nothing if you don't have the courage to use it for good. Thragg snarls that he has no right to talk of courage, when he hadn't enough courage to finish the ritual. Junko pleads with him to stop the treaty before it's too late, but the huge Wallop shoves him toward the ship. You're not a Wallop, he roars; you're a disgrace. And he strides away, with the rest of Junko's clan.
But our guy's not beaten; he stands up straight. I AM a Wallop, he says. And I'm also a Storm Hawk--the good guys. The team smiles at him, and he walks onto the Condor.

The Cyclonian captain orders that Cyclonis be notified the Hawks have left Wallop; but the Wallops who heard Junko's speech are having second thoughts, and talk among themselves about defying the Chief.
And the Hawks reassure Junko that he did the right thing, but he's sad; he's leaving his home in the hands of Cyclonia, and may never be able to return again...

Cyclonis is furious that the Hawks escaped and says she'll personally finish off Repton, but he defiantly says she can't possibly get to him through Bogaton's powerful defenses. But Repton reckons without the cold fury of Ninja Stork, who's already wiped out one patrol and sent the message "Tell Repton I'm coming for him".==Aerrow and Radarr are taken under the protection of a flight of Guardians; Junko is rescued by a clown wrestler he met during his stint as the Masked Masher (he's ticked off that the Cyclonians blew up "the best diner in the Atmos"--it apparently made terrific air chili); and Piper is saved by the giant Gundstaff, who doesn't take kindly to Cyclonian trespassers (they've taken more from me than you ever have, he says, showing Piper a photo of his wife and child). He invites Piper to borrow any crystals she needs from his vast hoard, and her eyes light up at the awesome sight.==Meanwhile, the one patrol survivor reports back to Repton, who assumes their attacker was an assassin sent by Cyclonis, and orders him found and destroyed. None too easy a task when the quarry is a master of the defensive boobytrap...

The Guardians tell Aerrow that the hour of his destiny is approaching, and all Atmos will be involved. He confidently says he's survived some pretty tough scrapes, but they somberly say that they've scryed the future and only seen "an Atmos without you". Radarr whines anxiously.== Repton hears a dreadful howling on his radio and asks his brother what's happened, but instead hears Stork's icy hiss (he sounds scary mean here) "I've taken them all out, Repton...and now I'm coming for you." Repton cringes. Who could be out there? the entire Cyclonian fleet?! --and he makes the terrible mistake of laughing when Stork appears. "You?! and I was actually worried!" [Be afraid, dumb lizard, be very afraid.]

Aerrow protests that the Guardians can't be leaving if the battle for Atmos is so near, but they say their time here has come to a close. They transform into their winged shapes and fly away--just as Snipe's ship breaks through the clouds.==a Talon flight breaks into Gundstaff's cave, but Piper fights them off singlehanded with a spectacular display of combined crystal manipulation. Gundstaff comments that he's only seen one other person work with crystals that way: Master Cyclonis. [Piper's gonna turn out to be her good long-lost sister or something, right? I just know it.]

Junko and the clown wrestler mop up the Cyclonians and the clown offers him a lift. =) Snipe's unfortunate gunner protests that they can't fire on Aerrow, who's too close to the ship, but Snipe insists, and you can imagine what happens--the Cyclonians shoot themselves and go down in a cloud of smoke. Finn and the friendly Blizzardian manage to elude (and flatten) pursuit (great exchange here. Finn: "Sorry for all the trouble I caused you." Marge: "Ahh, there's plenty of trash on the Atmos, but you're the only Storm Hawks we've got.") and she likewise gives him a ride back to the rendezvous point...where everyone has arrived except Stork. Finn and Junko trade worried looks.

Stork and Repton have a great, toe-to-toe battle that ends with them both hanging over a precipice, Stork clinging to the Raptor chief's tail. Stork confesses he never thought he could beat Repton; he just had no reason to live without the Condor and was determined to drag Repton down with him. Repton: "You idiot! It was just a ship!" Stork: "You take that back!!" *chomping into tail* Repton: "I mean that it can be rebuilt!"...um, Stork hadn't thought of that.--He suddenly realizes he's hanging over a fathomless drop; scrambles up Repton's body (yay for adhesive toes) and offers to haul him up as well; but the lizard draws a boomerang blade and hurls it at him, and when Stork dodges it sweeps back--and knocks the Raptor chieftain off the edge.
The good Raptor scientists [remember them from way back in episode #8? =)] are so glad to be rid of the tyrant at last that they offer Stork anything he wants. Of course, there's only one thing he could possibly want. =) And we see the Hawks happily surveying the blueprints and schematics of their reborn carrier...

We see Snipe being dragged into Master Cyclonis' presence, begging for mercy. You may live, she says icily, and he crawls to her and kisses her feet in gratitude before she adds "--in the Wastelands." No! no! he howls as he's hauled away, but she says there's a reason she's being merciful. She turns back to a drawing of the Door and its spiky key that she's studying. His failure is irrelevant, she says, because soon it will be too late for the Storm Hawks--or anyone--to stop her...

A&P fly into a boobytrap and have a bad moment suspended from the cave ceiling while Dark Ace and Cyclonis fly in; it seems she's spotted them, but Piper uses Gundstaff's cloaking crystal to hide them and the dark pair walk on. Cyclonis performs a quasi-Latin incantation [approximately "Opportunitas availus beseechus espiritus futuritas": I'd guess "Spirit, please give us a chance to see the future"?] and the glowing form of the Oracle appears, saying that only great power and need could compel her here after her liberation: what does Cyclonis require? Simple, says the princess: I have a door to the Other Side of Atmos, but I don't have the key. Where is it? The Oracle asks in essence 'how would I know?" and Cyclonis snaps that she's learned this cave was built to safeguard the Key, with the Oracle as its guardian. She manifests a holographic image of it, and Aerrow and Piper both react: it's the rough crystal stone she's been carrying ever since the Oracle gave it to him back in ep. 17. [I am going to HAVE to watch that one again.] They'd had no idea it was anything of value... ==Cyclonis levels her staff: Tell me or be destroyed, she snarls, and the Oracle raises her head: Now in the safe keeping of the Ultimate Guardians of Atmos, she replies calmly. "And they are?" demands Cyclonis, and A&P quietly gulp, "Us?!"

The Oracle says it's harder to destroy a spirit than she may think, but Cyclonis smiles coldly and aims her lance, and a beam causes the ethereal beauty to twist in pain. I've been studying much more than the Key, she says; I know how to destroy you, so unless--and a blue crystal beam knocks her staff from her hand. At her distraction the Oracle makes her escape, and battle between the adversaries is joined. Things look bad: Piper's crystal powers are at their highest, but Cyclonis is a master of the art, strong enough to battle Piper and lend Dark Ace new powers at the same time. Piper proves able to do the same for Aerrow, but not before Cyclonis has secured the Key and made good their escape as the temple begins to crumble. Ace tells Cyclonis they should make sure the Hawks don't survive; she says she's not wasting any more time on them now that she has all they need. He protests that "the girl--she has the power now too", but the princess is sure it will destroy Piper before she learns to control it. Ace is not so sure.--

Outside the temple, Piper is kicking herself for not keeping the Key from Cyclonis. Aerrow says they'll get it back, but Piper doesn't think they can fight power like the Cyclonians'. Aerrow reminds her that she has the same power herself now and only needs to master it, but Piper uneasily says that that power is "dark...very dark".

Back 2 the base: A&P are dismayed to find Finn, Radarr and Junko still bickering about whose Condor design is best, but Stork quashes all debate by revealing the finished carrier: Condor Classic. "I took her back to spec," he says modestly. =) We're back in business, says Aerrow happily as they walk toward the ship; Finn mentions hopefully that it's still not too late to add a dance floor. ==
And Cyclonis walks up the stone stairs to the Door, holding the crystal key, and inserts it: the door melts into an opan portal, and she floats through.

On board Condor II, distress calls are pouring in: the shipyards of Aquinos, the smelter on Terra Gale, and then one from the keepers of the timepulse on Terra Glockenchime. [By now you have to really appreciate the care and patience with which Nerd Corps has built this world: every one of these names is a place and people we know. =)] ==that one they can reach in time, thanks to C2's new Scramjets, and they get there to find the amped-up Nightcrawlers engaged in blowing up the timepulse tower. Aerrow's already begun to count on the power boost Piper can give him, but she hasn't quite mastered it yet and her lag time nearly costs them the fight. ==When they return to the Condor, there's much rejoicing, but they honestly report that the fight was very close; and then (ye cats!) a huge apparition of Master Cyclonis appears in the skies, telling all of Atmos that it's witnessing the dawn of a new age of Cyclonian power, and that their Terras will be spared serious damage if they surrender by sundown. [Never known for her understatements, that girl.]

In the council hall on Terra Atmosia, just about the whole cast of series characters --Absolute Zeroes, Red Eagles, Rebel Ducks, on and on--is arguing, but Radarr lets out a coyote howl to get attention and Aerrow takes the floor, saying--as you know he would--that unless the Terras unite and fight together they'll each fall alone. There's much bickering and doubt (Starling gets in a good shot at haughty Harrier =). Aerrow points out that even though they've lost Aquinos' shipyards they have the aid of the Teradon Raptor scientists, who can convert just about anything into a warship. And the Timekeepers have been working on a backup plan for the timepulse ever since the last Cyclonian attack on the beacon [--a memory which must make Harrier wince. Good shot, A-chan. ]. --This time, Aerrow says with passionate intensity, will be different; because this time we have no other choice.

Starling drops to one knee and salutes him with no hesitation: We fight as one, she replies. All the assembled Sky Knights, one by one, follow suit, eventually even Harrier. --Finn looks around and snorts: Dude, he says to Stork, we're not seriously gonna--
Stork smacks him upside the head and kneels. The rest of the Hawks follow, and Finn, looking around him astonished, does too. And Aerrow stands, surveying the entire fighting force of Atmos as it kneels in solemn fealty at his feet. Wow. (You are your father's son, all right. =)

At three hours+ till sundown, the collective effort is in full gear. Radarr and Starling are working on individual armaments; Junko and the reptile scientists focus on arming up ships and vehicles; Finn heads out to round up reinforcements, and Stork has the task of cracking the Farside technology from the one example they have, a Nightcrawler's crystal-studded spider-belt. As for me, says Piper wryly, I just have to master a strange power I don't understand without any training or instructions (we see her sitting in lotus position, glowing, crystals circling her in a levitated spin)---but hey, no pressure...

Ace tells Cyclonis that they should attack now, before Atmosia can mount a defense--they'll never surrender. I don't expect them to, replies the princess serenely, still focusing on the huge crystal flower...

Stork is using heavier and heavier artillery on the spider-belt with no success, and is starting to giggle unnervingly; Finn has been taken captive by the Murk Raiders. UHH-oh.

We see Piper and Aerrow training together, he tirelessly encouraging her past failure after failure: she accomplishes 'falcon's flight', giving him the power to fly unaided, but collapses in exhaustion as he lands....
and finds herself in a lightning-lashed dream landscape, where Cyclonis compliments her on the progress she's making. "It's like you were born to do the binding...that's what it's called, the power you've been wielding. Of all the powers in a crystal mage's arsenal, none is more dangerous..and none more dark." She grins; Piper stares at her fingers. "This 'binding', it's evil?" she gasps, and the princess sweetly replies, "of course, my friend; you didn't think this power came without a price? But keep on practicing," she purrs: "it'll make you strong, help you win..and in no time at all you'll be just...like...me." And she appears as an evil Piper dressed in royal Cyclonian robes. ==Piper wakes in shock, and Aerrow tells her that if this work puts her in danger they don't need it: they'll beat Cyclonis another way. But Piper replies grimly that there IS no other way, and that she just needs to work harder. [Nice writing: makes it clear that Aerrow is not willing to misuse her to increase his own power, even at such a time, while she thinks of her failure as a failing of her own alone.]

Starling calls in, saying it's time to move. They can see Sky Knight squadrons flying overhead. Aerrow says firmly that they won't use the binding again till they know it's safe, and Piper sighs in exasperation.
And Dark Ace tells the legions of amplified Nightcrawlers, "Begin Phase Two." He smiles as he begins to saddle up and fly after them, but finds a crystal lance in his face. You can command the fleet remotely, Cyclonis says; I need you here. "Remotely?! I should--" "You should do as I say," snaps back the princess. The Dark Ace seethes.

The Cyclonian battlefleet takes to the sky, single fliers flanking huge superdreadnaughts, and the Sky Knight squadrons engage them head-on. My brand new Condor, nobody scratch her, nobody--prays Stork until the first rip appears in her hull, and then it's Total War: "you're all going down!" he howls, cackling wildly as he fires. =) Junko is dismayed to find the Wallops are fighting on the Cyclonian side ("that's so un-Wallopy!" he pleads, having hoped--I guess--that ep. 148 made a difference). Piper is about to use the binding, protesting to Aerrow that they're outnumbered and outgunned, until--yay!!--Finn arrives with a fleet of Murk Raiders, having convinced them to enlist, though not to attack on his command =). (he still can't resist a bitchen' air-guitar performance as the Raiders rip through a Cyclonian wave as though it was tissue.)==Piper finally can't keep from using a binding technique, 'stars' fury', to help Aerrow beat the chief Wallop, Thragg, and he stares in awe at himself and Piper haloed in a golden glow Is she all right? she says she is...
Dark Ace is furious at the losses they're sustaining and insists he's going into battle. Cyclonis says he'll do no such thing--and then she manages to open the crystal flower, which opens like a huge spider crysanthemum, sinking its long petal-legs through the floor as she laughs wildly. Are you trying to destroy the entire Terra? Ace demands.

As thr Cyclonians retreat, Starling, Aerrow and Piper grimly agree that was much too easy. The job's not done, Aerrow says, and he raises his blue crystal blade. We've won the battle, now it's time to win the war, he calls to the army: we fly on to Cyclonia!

But as they fly toward the dark Terra, Piper can't quite sight it: surely, a Terra can't just disappear? OH no, it can do a lot worse...and they all stare in horror as Terra Cyclonia itself, the whole thing,, rises into the sky ahead, and swarms upon swarms of dark warriors head for the Sky Knight squadrons. There's too many, gasps Junko, and Aerrow, stunned, commands the Atmosian army to fall back.

Piper, keeping her log, says it's been six weeks since Atmosia surrendered--"six long weeks of Cyclonian rule." Other Terras fell just as fast, she says somberly, as we see Terra Neon's fall. Starling, among others, is in captivity; skyrides have been destroyed; Cyclonian soldiers and Nightcrawlers are on constant patrol, and not even Cyclonia's allies have freedom. The age of the Sky Knights is over, the dark princess tells a crowd, but the Cyclonian banner she unfurls has a Storm Hawks symbol painted over it. The crowd roars with laughter, and she commands Dark Ace to bring the Hawks in, any way possible.

We see them laughing over their successful prank; Piper begins to cough, and all fall silent, looking at her anxiously. She says she's fine, but Aerrow denies it, saying they're allworried: she hasn't used the binding in weeks and still looks worse and worse. (And she doesn't look good; there's an awful grey tone to her skin, dark circles under her eyes.)--With no success yet in Stork's research on Farside technology, and little luck in contacting the Wallop resistance, the only way to remind the people there's hope is--more pranks! (Did you know the Cyclonian troops wear undies with little Cyclonian emblems on them? They probably wish we didn't...=)

But the fun has a price: Cyclonis, furious, flies her Terra to Atmosia and says the people there will pay for the resistance's defiance with their lives. As she prepares to plow it under as she's done with others, Aerrow tells her to stop, and when she retorts 'give me one good reason', he says he'll give her six. =( Spare Atmosia, he says, and we'll turn ourselves in. And they do, to her gloating pleasure. One by one she crushes their beautiful, handmade skyrides in her machine. Aerrow and Piper look at each other in anguish.

As the Hawks are about to be imprisoned with other Sky Knights in the Crystal Prism, though, Ace asks the chance to finish Aerrow off in battle. Cyclonis rolls her eyes and snides "so he can slip thru your fingers one last time?" but grants him the right to throw Aerrow into the prism himself. Of course, they have a plan: Piper uses a crystal jutsu, 'diamond edge', to make it possible for Aerrow to cut through the prism and free the captives (and chickens =). She looks worse than ever but says it's worth it. Finn locates the Cyclonians' skyrides, and they take to the skies to take down the aerial Terra or die trying.

Junko tells Stork to climb aboard his Cyclonian ride, but the Merb grins. "No thanks," he breathes with dark relish, "brought my own"; and he pries off his x-shaped chestplate and flicks a hidden switch, and Condor II rises majestically into view. Finn stares; Junko chortles; Stork cackles evilly. Too TOO great. =)=) The guards order them to halt, but the seemingly-loyal Wallops step in glaring, and Junko says "meet the Wallop Resistance!" And they're off. Dark Ace snarls that when this is all over Aerrow will wish he had entered the crystal prison, and the redhead glares bloody murder.

--man, let's see. The energy pontoons are shielded and can't be blown up; Ace and Aerrow go to-to-toe again and he's grabbed away by Piper, who looks like death and gallantly says she can barely walk but can still fly; Finn delivers his best line of the ep, "We've got about a thousand problems and they're all wearing the same black hoodie!"; things look bad, and I mean, REALLY fkn' bad. But of all weird things, the Nightcrawlers' crystal spiders turn out to be allergic to Radarr; and Piper almost gives way, but achieves perfect attunement and merges her energy and Aerrow's (in a jutsu called, fittingly, 'lightning strike') that holds Dark Ace at bay until he and the princess are forced to pull so much power from the crystal prism that he's blown to atoms. Terra Cyclonia begins to fall from the sky, and Cyclonis tries to escape through the portal, but Piper --who appears to have completely regained her health--opens the portal wide enough for Condor II to pass, and Aerrow says, "Stork, take us through."

We hear Starling saying it's been six hours since Cyclonia fell and Atmos was set free--and the bravest people she knows passed to the Farside. Atmos owes them a debt it can never repay, but at least when they return they'll get the reception they deserve, she says, as the Cyclonian flag over Atmosia is pulled down and replaced with a Hawks banner. She salutes it; good luck, friends, she says...

And on Condor II, we see the kids standing spellbound and amazed at the gorgeous landscape and glowing cliffs of the Farside. Aerrow grins. This, he says, is gonna be fun.