Chapter Text
Princess Peregrine was enjoying having extra free-time this morning. Ever since she gained actual authority, her days had become far more complicated and demanding than she ever expected.
She loved it of course.
Having been bored out of her mind the majority of her life, anything different was welcome. Hearing her subjects' needs and actually coming up with a way to meet them was satisfying. More than she ever thought it could be.
For once, her overactive imagination felt useful.
Who knew being able to keep track of a dozen imaginary storylines would come in handy with remembering practically everyone’s name and problems.
Today however, was nice. She’d worked hard and finally had a few hours to herself. It used to be the other way around. Her bedroom had gotten a lot messier with all the paperwork she had done. The princess was enjoying her breakfast as well as the view from her balcony.
Perry took a long sip of her Chamomile tea only to immediately spit it out in shock as she heard the alarm bells start to ring.
She got out of her chair as quickly as possible and looked out over her balcony. She spotted a guard that was running towards whatever was causing the calamity.
“Hey you! Report!” She ordered. He stopped in his tracks and looked up at her.
“ Princess! We have a ship coming in at a reckless speed from the opposite side of the kingdom!” He shouted back.
She gasped and immediately ran out of her room, making a beeline towards the main gate. She was stopped by multiple guards but she ordered them to step aside. She had a bad feeling someone might need their help.
Once she was outside she could see what had set off the alarm. As soon as she caught a glimpse of the reflective hull she heard the familiar sound of a foghorn.
“ It’s the Condor!” She shouted excitedly. “And they’re on…fire… Uh oh. ” She quickly ordered the guards to collect the medics and fire crews and get to the Condor the moment it lands. She turned her attention back to the ship and kept her eyes on it. Watching as it struggled to stay aloft long enough to crashland on her home terra.
While it dipped a few times too low for her comfort, it finally managed to make it over Terra Klockstoppia. At which point, it immediately crashed onto the rocky surface. It slid for a couple hundred feet before finally stopping. They were close enough to her kingdom’s edge to meet them on foot.
So she did. Taking all the personnel she thought she would need with her.
By the time they had gotten there, the Storm Hawks had gotten most of the fire under control. Although the Condor was still spewing plenty of smoke out of its engine compartments.
The front entry ramp was down and the crew was getting out. There was smoke in the hanger as well it seemed, several of them were waving it out of their faces as they escaped it.
She saw Piper first and was overwhelmed with relief.
“ Piper!” She cried, a wide smile on her face as her doppelganger turned to her and smiled back once she saw the princess.
The two of them crashed together into a hug, Perry holding her friend tight. And she felt the air leaving her lungs when Piper returned the hug in earnest. They both laughed at their antics. She turned her attention to the rest of the hawks and greeted them too.
“Hi Finn! Love the hair! Hey Junko, WOW you got really big huh? Aerrow, good to see you! Stork! You kinda look the same. Oh Radarr, you little rascal! How have you been? And-oh!” She paused as she saw someone new who she didn’t recognize. A woman with dark purple hair and cold purple eyes. She had a distinctive beauty mark on her cheek “I don’t know your name…um…”
Perry let Piper go and walked over to the stranger to properly introduce herself. She brushed off her dress and straightened her back.
“I am Princess Peregrine, ruler of Terra Klockstoppia. I welcome you to my home, any friend of the Storm Hawks is a friend of mine! May I ask what your name is ma’am?” The dark-haired woman dressed in equally dark clothes gave her a long look. Then she turned her gaze towards Piper, then back to Perry. Then twice more.
Is there something wrong? Perry gave Piper a worried look. Her ‘twin’ simply shrugged, barely able to hide her grin and the mischievous twinkle in her eye.
Finally the goth responded.
“ I…I don’t know what’s going on. Are you…an illusion? Perhaps I inhaled too much smoke. Piper, what is the meaning of this?” The woman seemed disturbed. In shock even. Perry wasn’t sure what to say.
Wait. Piper! You didn’t…!
“Piper! You didn’t tell her I looked like you!?” Perry threw an annoyed look at her doppelganger. Who suddenly began cackling. Along with the rest of the Hawks.
“ Oh my god! You should have seen Cy’s face!” Finn wheezed as he held his stomach. Perry furrowed her brow.
Cy…? She turned toward the woman who was now glaring at the hawks. Piper in particular. It looked like she felt betrayed.
“Um, Miss Cy? I’m terribly sorry about them. They seem to have planned a joke at your expense. I met Piper a long time ago, a little over 5 years. She and I realized we looked exactly alike. I almost thought she was my sister. But she said it was just a coincidence. I’m inclined to agree. I mean, after all, who doesn’t know they have a secret twin?” Perry waved it off as she snorted in amusement.
‘Cy’ was not laughing. Or smiling. She was staring, very very intensely. Perry began to feel intimidated and started to sweat.
“ ...Cyclonis. My name is Cyclonis. Former Master of…of Cyclonia. I understand that you had…an incident with a platoon of my nightcrawlers. I apologize for whatever damages they caused.” The former empress gave a royal bow towards Perry, who while slightly shocked at the reveal of the woman’s true identity, returned the bow all the same.
Her etiquette when meeting a fellow royal was drilled into her as a child. So she more or less bowed on instinct. “Oh! That was you. Um, yeah that wasn’t great but we didn’t lose anything. A few of my guards got hurt but they fully healed in time. And in the end, it helped me finally step up to fill the role I was supposed to. Uh, thanks I guess.”
The goth immediately stood up straight and looked her dead in the eye.
“ Please, don’t thank me. I’m glad you realized your potential as I did. Though I wished I had a fraction of your kind heart when I came to power. I do not deserve your forgiveness but I will accept it.”
Cyclonis held out her hand, Perry immediately recognized the gesture and gently placed her hand in the other monarch’s palm. The shorter woman gracefully bent down and kissed the top of her hand.
“What the-? Hey! My sis is standing right there, you Cassanova!” Finn was immediately silenced by Piper elbowing him in the ribs.
“ Quit it, Finn! It’s a royal custom! She’s expected to do it. An honor even.” She explained while gesturing to the two royals. Aerrow and Junko nodded, Stork was uninterested in anything that was going on and was already running diagnostics on his damaged ship.
“ Actually, that reminds me of something…dear Piper.” Cyclonis walked over to Piper and met her gaze. Piper looked at her expectantly, wondering what she meant. But before she could ask, Cyclonis swept her cloak aside and turned to face Piper, her gaze more intense than usual.
Cyclonis stepped forward, and before Piper could say anything, kneeled before her. She grabbed Piper’s left hand gently, cradling her wrist and turning her hand palm-side up.
The former empress’ head was bowed low, her bangs almost brushing by Piper’s fingertips. Then she spoke…
“ I'd like to formally introduce myself…I am Master “Lark” Cyclonis, 73rd in line to the throne of Cyclonia, and am honored to formally make your acquaintance, Princess Piper of Terra Clockstopia… ” She spoke as she pressed her lips against the inner side of Piper’s wrist. “ I am honored to be in your presence…”
Perry gasped in shock, covering her mouth. Her eyes wide and focused on Cyclonis’ lips still a hair's breadth away from Piper’s pulse.
OH MY GODS! That is so…forward! And so not to mention perfectly in line with courtship formalities. I don’t think the rest of the Hawks even know what that gesture means.
Piper had heard Perry let out that small gasp. The navigator gave her a confused look, wondering what she was reacting to. Of course, Piper was having her own reaction to Cy’s… everything. Her cheeks had darkened and her face burned. Her throat was dry and all she could think about was how she wasn’t ready if Cy was going to act like this all the time.
“I, uh , um… hi?” The navigator could barely think of what to say. She had no clue what kind of title she actually had. Or if she was even entitled to one.
“ Woah, I take it back. She’s definitely still interested in you, sis.” Finn said over Piper’s shoulder. Her ears burned.
“ S-Shut up Finn! ” Piper struggled to say. Cyclonis was still on her knees. Aerrow spoke up.
“Uh, hey Cy. You know Perry just said she was the princess right? Like, literally a minute ago.” His eyebrow was raised and he rubbed the back of his head.
“I know.” Cyclonis rasped as she finally stood up, not having let go of Piper’s hand just yet. “ But she is clearly not the only one. I understand you all must be in denial. Perhaps you don’t understand what the odds would actually be for your ‘doppelganger’ assumptions to be true. Or perhaps you have other ideas about why she looks like our dear Piper.” Finn answered her.
“Now that you mention it, I kinda wondered if Piper messed with the cloning crystal way back when. And honestly I just thought I hit my head.” Finn admitted.
“I thought it was some kind of tactic using a cloaker to confuse the nightcrawlers.” Aerrow added.
“I thought Piper had found a face stealing parasite and had only moments to live before it devoured and tried to replace her. Slowly working its way through the rest of us until we were nothing but another memory lost to the horrors of the Atmos!” Stork paused for breath. “Or she’s her twin.”
Cyclonis’ left eye twitched. “ How about YOU Junko? Any long held theories you feel you need to share?” The goth’s barely veiled impatience was palpable.
The wallop hummed to himself. “Nope, just thought it was funny. Hadn’t seen Piper in a dress before. It’s cool that some people look the same. I always wondered if I had a secret double! Hehe.” He chuckled.
Silence.
Cyclonis took a very deep breath. Then slowly let it out. “ Everyday, I am reminded that THESE are the people I lost a war to. Everyday I wonder if it was all a cruel joke.” Stork interrupted her.
“Join the club, we have jackets.” The merb said, grinning when the former empress shot him a dirty look.
“Look Cyclonis, we kind of had a lot to deal with at the time and we’ve seen a lot of stranger things than just a look-a-like. No offense, but you literally sent us spores that turned Finn into a terrifying monster until he ate a special fruit.” Aerrow reasoned.
“ No , it was medicinal fruit. Thank you very much.” The merb crossed his arms and huffed.
“ OK, now that we’ve all got that out of our system.” Piper interjected, pulling her hand out of Cyclonis’ grasp. Perry saw the former Master of Cyclonia actually flinch. Like she had just been struck. “I think we should focus on our current situation. Stork, how’s the Condor looking?”
The merb scoffed. “ Looking? It still looks like a smoking pile of scraps right now, Piper. But if we can patch up-” He was interrupted by the sound of an explosion from the other end of the ship. “I mean replace the main engines, then it should only take about…half a month to repair the non-essential stuff. But that’s if we can get our hands on a couple of new engines compatible with a ship as old as the Condor. So not a lot of options…”
Piper sighed, cradling her head in her hands. She looked at Aerrow, giving the team leader a pleading look.
“Got it. Then we shouldn’t waste any time then!” The sky knight said with enough excitement for all of them.
Perry took the chance to settle things before they got riled up again. “ Great! We have a fully staffed blacksmith’s shop and you are welcome at as much as you need!” Stork perked up in excitement and immediately started running off towards the castle.
As for the rest of the Hawks, they decided to walk at a moderate pace accompanied by her and her personnel. Aerrow started talking to Junko about repairs, Finn was complaining about not just using their skimmers to cover the short trek but was nudged by Piper who reminded him that half their rides got smashed during the landing.
But Perry couldn’t help but notice Cyclonis had lagged behind the rest of them. Her gaze focused on the back of Piper’s head, a yearning look on her face. Piper didn’t seem to notice. But the princess looked down and saw her fist was clenched painfully tight.
She’s…upset. And trying to hide it.
The moment Perry looked back at Cyclonis, she jumped as the goth was looking right at her with what she could only call an accusatory glare. The former Master looked away the moment they met eyes. As if pretending she hadn’t just given Perry the most terrifying look the princess had ever received in her life.
Oh boy, Cyclonis is mad. She doesn’t believe me and Piper looking alike is a coincidence. I hope she realizes there’s no evidence for the contrary. I would have found it otherwise. Duh!
And yet, she felt…doubtful. The Atmos is vast. And while she hasn’t seen nearly as much of it as any of the Hawks, she knows that some mysteries hide a great darkness at their core. She hopes that the one between her and Piper isn’t like that.
She hopes...