Chapter 1: Return of the Storm Hawks

BlueTiger321: Hello everyone, and thank you for selecting my story. For those of you who are unaware, this is a sequel to one of my previous stories, New World Alliance. I've decided to write this story and include some things I've always wanted to include in the first story but never got around to doing them, and I'm also taking some suggestions based on reviews I've received from New World Alliance. Now before I begin I must dispense with the legal parts: Storm Hawks is property of Nerd Corps Entertainment, and Avatar: The Last Airbender is property of Nickelodeon Studios. I hope you all enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

The skies of Atmos were now given an everlasting calm from the Storm Hawks' victory over Cyclonia. The evil nation's ruler, Master Cyclonis, had tried to gain control using Farside technology. Despite this, the Storm Hawks and every able-bodied person on Atmos—be they in a Sky Knight squadron or a freedom fighter—managed to abolish Cyclonis's ambitions and put an end to her reign of terror.

But even though Cyclonis was defeated, she refused to surrender and escaped into the door that led to the Farside of Atmos. Aerrow could not let her get away, and so he and his team chased after the Cyclonian ruler.

Six weeks had passed since that fateful day when Cyclonia fell into the Wastelands, and the Storm Hawks were never seen again when they bravely went to the Farside and believed never to return. The skies seemed tranquil, until a flash of purple light erupted from the clouds. The light grew to an enormous size until there was a large purple vortex floating in midair.

Then something emerged from the swirling light. It appeared to be two metal pontoons that kept coming out until they finally revealed their full form. There in the skies was the Storm Hawks' ship, the Condor, having returned to Atmos. As the ship emerged in the familiar skies, the large portal behind it closed and sealed the entrance to the Farside.

The Condor, having been built new after the first model was destroyed by the Raptors, sailed through the blue skies. The heroic Sky Knight squadron had finally returned after being in the Farside for a lengthy amount of time.

On the bridge of the Condor stood the members of the Storm Hawks: Aerrow, the Sky Knight; Piper, the crystal mage; Finn, the sharpshooter; Junko, the mechanic; Stork, the carrier pilot; and Radarr, the Sky Knight's co-pilot. At first they were all glad to finally be back in the part of Atmos they all knew, but their glee turned to sorrow when they knew they had failed to capture Cyclonis after spending so much time looking for her. None of them felt like returning home to their friends without any results but they had no choice since they were running low on supplies.

Aerrow decided to break the silence by addressing his teammates. "Well, it's great to be back," he said.

Piper looked up from the table in the middle of the bridge where she was seated on the couch. "Yeah," she added. "But it would be nice if we actually brought Cyclonis with us."

"Seriously," said Finn. "You'd think that after spending weeks in some far-out place we'd actually have something, but not even a teensy-weensy lead. Some heroes we turned out to be."

Stork merely gave a shrug while piloting the ship. "Well," he said, "I, for one, am just glad to be safe in the familiar parts of Atmos where I know how to protect myself from certain doom." His left eye then twitched while he continued to speak. "Who knows what kinds of things were lying in wait for me there."

The other Storm Hawks all gave the Merb an odd stare after hearing another one of his paranoia-induced rants. It was something they all have grown accustomed to but they couldn't help but stare at him.

"Maybe Stork is right," said Piper. "The Farside is completely new to us, so it's probably expectant that we shouldn't find Cyclonis so easily."

"Maybe so," said Aerrow, "but if only we had the edge on Cyclonis. Just knowing she's still out there sends a shiver down my spine. If we ever run into her, she's not gonna be happy."

"Don't worry. We know Cyclonis will only be able to come after us by going through the door, and that's safely secured in the hangar bay. When that happens, we'll be ready for her."

The Sky Knight knew that his navigator was right. Coming through the door was Cyclonis's only option and they had it under tight security. This knowledge set the boy's mind at ease. What put him in a better mood was feeling his co-pilot, Radarr, jump onto his shoulders and letting out a pleasant chirp.

"Okay," said Aerrow. "So now that we're back, what should we do first?"

Finn smiled and came up with a suggestion. "Why don't we head for Terra Neon and enjoy ourselves?" he asked. "I'd say it's something we've earned after saving Atmos."

Junko came up with his finger pointed to the ceiling to get the others' attention. "We should probably go re-stock on supplies and crystal fuel," he said. "We're down to our last week of rations and..." The Wallop then gave a nervous shake. "I don't wanna have to eat anymore Merb cabbage."

"Ahem!" chimed Stork. "In case you're getting any ideas, I've hidden my stash so you don't dump it out like last time."

Everyone then remembered the experience in the Great Expanse when they almost met their demise by the siren, and how dumping Stork's supply of Merb cabbage saved them. To the other Storm Hawks, it was a necessary tactic not only to save their lives but to never eat the foul cabbage again. Aerrow thought Junko was right; getting more supplies was necessary to continue their mission.

"Well," said Piper, "before we do anything, we should find out where we are first."

Piper proceeded by bringing down one of the Condor's periscopes. The eyehole came out from the bottom of the ship while the girl viewed the surrounding area. Immediately she let out an excited gasp that got everyone's attention.

"What is it, Piper?" asked Aerrow.

Stepping away from the periscope, Piper faced the Sky Knight to tell him about her discovery. "See for yourself!"

Aerrow got next to the girl and pulled down the other periscope. He tilted it over to where he remembered Piper last looked, and what he saw was a house on a lone terra. The terra's base was grassy with a dirt path that led up to the house. The Sky Knight paused and smiled, knowing that the person who lived there was one of their allies.

"It's Gundstaff's house!" exclaimed the red-haired teen.

Finn opened his eyes in surprise. All the memories of Gundstaff weren't pleasant to him. "And why is that a good thing?"

Piper rolled her eyes. "Don't you remember?" she said. "Gundstaff was the one who gave me the crystals to use the Binding on Aerrow."

"Yeah," added Aerrow. "That's definitely come in handy when fighting the Cyclonians."

"So anyway, we can stop by Gundstaff's house and see if he'll lend us some crystals to fuel the Condor."

"Take us in, Stork," ordered Aerrow.

"Oh great," said Stork. "Let's just make sure he doesn't try to smash us like the last times I saw him."

With reluctance, the Merb steered the Condor toward the terra. The mighty ship seemed small in comparison to the house as it got closer, but all the Storm Hawks knew the reason.

Each of the squadron members were now inside the house upon landing on the terra. It wasn't just the house's exterior that was gigantic; everything inside the house looked like only a giant would live there. All the Storm Hawks walked through the halls while trying to find the occupant.

Junko, while walking with his teammates, said, "It feels kinda weird to be back here—especially with everything we've done to Gundstaff. I mean, it was necessary but I..."

Piper looked back at the Wallop before he could finish. "I know what you mean," she said, "but I can assure you that Gundstaff is no longer with the Cyclonians."

"Do you really think we can say there are any Cyclonians left?" said Finn. "I mean, Cyclonia is technically gone."

"It doesn't matter," replied Aerrow. "As long as Master Cyclonis is still out there, Cyclonia still exists."

Radarr was behind everyone while they walked through the house. The little guy was checking things out for himself and then paused when he heard a clucking sound. The sound suddenly made him feel like ice was running through his veins. All the horrific experiences with Wren's hen came flooding back to his mind. All of a sudden, the clucking was getting louder, which meant the source was getting closer.

The Sky Knights' co-pilot didn't want to, but he had no choice and turned around to see what was making the noise. His worst suspicion came true: it was Gundstaff's giant hen, the same one Radarr saw the first time he came to the house.

The hen let out another cluck upon seeing Radarr, and the little guy, in turn, let out a terrified chirp and ran away to the safety of his teammates.

Aerrow and the others had just entered a large room when the Sky Knight felt Radarr jump up to him and cling to his shoulders. The boy could feel a slight breath down his neck, knowing it was coming from his co-pilot.

"You all right, Radarr?" asked the red-haired teen.

Piper could see her cohort's frightened expression but then turned her gaze back to the room in front. Her eyes brightened when she saw the house's owner. "There he is!" she exclaimed.

Everyone looked up and saw the giant man tower above them. Gundstaff was an old man with his grey hair bristled out on his head and his grey beard and moustache. His huge body was covered with a light green shirt along with brown pants, boots and gloves. Oblivious to the people who just entered, the giant was standing at his table and beating a mortar and pestle to do his research with crystals.

Aerrow walked ahead of his team to address the man. "Hey, Gundstaff!"

Gundstaff raised his head upon hearing the call and instinctively grabbed the firebolt crystal-studded mace on his table. The man turned around while the ocular device on the right side of his face turned up all the lenses to show his enraged, beady black eyes. The giant spoke with a thick Russian accent and said, "Who dares enter my laboratory?"

Finn, Junko and Stork all shouted with fright when they saw the giant raise his weapon. To them it looked like it was the end.

"Gundstaff, wait!" plead Piper. "It's us, the Storm Hawks!"

The giant paused when he recognized the voice. He looked down to find from where it was coming, and there he saw Aerrow and Piper smiling in front of him while Finn, Junko and Stork stood together and quivered with fear. He could also see Radarr sticking his head out from behind the Sky Knight's shoulder.

"Storm Hawks," said Gundstaff. A smile then crossed his face. "It's good to see you. The last I heard, you were going after Cyclonis." The giant then looked to his left and saw he was still holding his mace, and so he set it back onto the table. "Sorry if I scared you. I'm just not used to having company."

Finn opened his eyes when he realized that he was no longer in danger, so he broke away from Junko and Stork. "Oh, no worries," he said while arrogantly combing his hand through his hair. "I wasn't scared at all."

"You sure about that, Finn?" asked Junko. "From the way you were screaming, it sounded like you were pretty scared. I was sure you were about to hide behind me."

Finn got up close to Junko and whispered into his ear. "Ixnay on the eaming-scray."

By that time it was too late; Aerrow, Piper, Radarr and Stork already burst into fits of laughter. Finn just narrowed his eyes and gave Junko a displeased look, and the Wallop only gave a sheepish smile at his friend.

"So," said Gundstaff, "what are you all doing here?"

Aerrow was the one to reply. "We've only come back from the Farside so we can stock up on supplies, and we were wondering if you could lend us some power crystals to refuel our ship."

The giant brought a hand to his lips and thought about the request. He thought if it would help bring Master Cyclonis to justice, then he would definitely take part in it. "Sure," he said, "I've got plenty of power crystals."

Gundstaff walked over to a large metal door and unfastened the lock. Pushing the door opened, he revealed a vault that contained an assortment of crystals in different sizes, shapes and colours stacked on various shelves.

Piper walked in with starlit eyes. Right before her were so many crystals, and the possibility of her examining them all seemed like a dream come true. But she knew that her team had only come to this place for one reason, so she understood that it would have to wait.

Without even looking at his collection, Gundstaff said, "I keep the power crystals on the bottom row, next to the icers."

"Thank you, Gundstaff," said Aerrow. "Your assistance is much appreciated."

The Storm Hawks all walked into the vault to get the crystals they needed. Piper already spotted them by remembering Gundstaff's directions so she eagerly headed off towards the spot.

Meanwhile, Finn stayed behind to observe all the crystals around the vault. A collection of red crystals caught his eye and so he walked over to them to get a closer look. The sharpshooter smiled as he picked up one of the crystals and stared at its magnificence. It all changed when Finn saw the crystal suddenly glow in a red light. The blonde-haired boy yelped as a red beam shot out of the crystal and ricocheted off the metal in the vault.

The other Storm Hawks were forced to duck and cover as the beam sped past all of them. The beam eventually went up the vault where it knocked a certain crystal off the ledge and rolled to Piper's feet. Gundstaff came into the vault and yelped when the beam was reflected off the lens of his ocular device. The beam continued its path down and headed straight for Finn, who screamed and leapt out of the way just as the beam crashed into the floor.

Finn rested on his stomach when it was all over, and he looked up to see everyone give him an angry stare. "It wasn't me!" he said.

"Oh, I think it was," said Stork. "If you'll look behind you it will show a clear indication of 'liar, liar, pants on fire.'"

The sharpshooter was confused by what his teammate said, but then smoke filled his nostrils. He also seemed to notice a warm feeling coming from behind him. Finn looked and saw that his rear caught on fire when the beam grazed him as it crashed into the floor. The teen yelped with fright as he beat out the flame with his hands. Soon the others all laughed with delight while they enjoyed in their friend's misery.

Finn had finally extinguished the flame on his clothing and sighed with relief. The only other time, he thought, which this happened was when the phoenix attacked him back when he was looking for the 'rosen yoga' for the Colonel. And it was an experience that he would rather like to forget.

Piper stopped her laughter and noticed that she felt something by her feet. She looked down and brought up the crystal to her face. Her eyes widened in disbelief when she saw the crystal was round and green, looking so familiar to the one she encountered a long time ago.

"Guys, look at this!" called the girl.

The others all walked over to Piper's location, and they immediately saw the crystal in her hands.

"Is that what I think it is?" asked Aerrow.

"Uh-huh," replied Piper. "It's a dimension stone!"

All the memories soon came flooding back into everyone's mind: getting transported to another world with the Cyclonians, meeting Aang and all his friends, and fighting to protect their world from both Cyclonis and Azula. It was a wonderful time for all of them, and they secretly hoped they would return someday.

"I can't believe this," said Aerrow. "Who would've thought we'd find another dimension stone? Well, now that we've got one, I say we all pay a visit to Aang and the others."

"I wonder how they're all doing since the last time we saw them?" said Junko.

"They're probably doing well since we took down Azula," said Piper.

But then a thought occurred to the Sky Knight: the dimension stone was in Gundstaff's possession so they couldn't just take it if they wanted it. First he had to see if the giant needed it for research and, if not, he was willing to loan it to the Storm Hawks.

"Hey, Gundstaff!" called the Sky Knight. The giant looked down at the boy to see what he wanted. "We found this crystal here, and we're wondering if we could borrow it for a while."

Gundstaff looked at the crystal held in Piper's hands. Remembering what it was meant to do, he merely shrugged his shoulders and gave the Storm Hawks an apathetic look. "Go ahead and take it."

Piper was a little perplexed that Gundstaff would part with such a rare crystal so immediately. "Are you sure?" she asked.

"I have no use for that stone. If you want it, then it's yours." The man turned around and a look of sadness was frozen on his face when he looked at an old picture of himself and his family, the only thing he could never get back because of Cyclonis.

"I only ask one thing in return, Storm Hawks," said Gundstaff. "Find Cyclonis and make her pay for what she's done!"

"Uh," said Stork, "technically that's two requests."

"We understand, Gundstaff," said Aerrow. "We won't let you or everyone in Atmos down. I assure you that Cyclonis will receive the punishment she so rightly deserves."

With instilled confidence and a full supply of power crystals, the Storm Hawks flew away from Gundstaff's home on their ship. A feeling of excitement filled up inside them all as they now had the chance to once again see the friends they made a long time ago who were in the dimension connected to Atmos.

All the Storm Hawks were now in the bridge of the Condor: Stork at the steering wheel; Finn and Junko at the couch; and Aerrow, Piper and Radarr staring out at the window. The dimension stone was clutched in Piper's hands while they all contemplated on their next move.

Junko was the first to make the decision. "Well," he said, "why don't we get the dimension stone ready and head on over to see our friends?"

"Good thinking, Junko," said Finn. "Aerrow's just gotta hit it with his Lightning Claw and we'll be there before you know it."

"Actually," chimed Piper, "there is a proper technique to using the dimension stone."

Getting ready, Piper walked out onto the Condor's balcony with the stone in tow. Everyone watched her perform the next feat as she set the stone on the floor and then reached behind her back. The crystal mage then brought out a red and green crystal in her hands, and the others knew they were used for casting the Binding.

Concentrating hard, Piper directed the crystals toward the dimension stone and fired a red beam. The crystal energy encased the dimension stone and made it hover in midair. The others watched patiently to see a beam of green light fire from the stone that went straight outward and opened a green portal that grew larger until it was big enough to allow the Condor to pass.

Aerrow gave the usual smirk he had of going into an unknown place, only this time he did know where he was going and he would finally get to see the friends he made. "Take us in, Stork."

The Merb obliged with his Sky Knight and flew the ship into the portal. Once the Condor was inside, the portal closed behind it and vanished in a flash of light.

BlueTiger321: So, that's all that happens in the first chapter.

Aerrow: Hooray! We'll get to see Aang and the others!

Piper: I feel it's about time this story got a sequel.

Finn: Seriously. You'd think the author would've done this a while ago.

Junko: Well, I'm sure he had more important things to do.

Stork: Who cares what the author does! That's no excuse for leaving his readers with nothing!

BlueTiger321: Hey Stork, you really shouldn't make authors angry! You never know what they'll do to you.

Stork: Like what? *gasps when he sees mindworms crawling all over him* Ahhh! Get them off!

BlueTiger321: Well folks, stay tuned for the next chapter where the Aang Gang and the Storm Hawks will be reunited. So, until next time...

Aerrow: Read and review!