23The Rex Affair
A/N I know, I shouldn't be starting another story, but I decided that I need to write something a little light hearted for a change... I haven't written anything particularly cheerful since Screw-Up, and that was a long time ago... So, here you go. More Finny goodness.
"You're sending me to Terra Rex?!" Finn exclaimed, his eyes widening. "Why?"
"Well, uh... Harrier requested the help of a Storm Hawk, an uh... Well... Don't you think it would be best for you to avoid Piper for a while?" Aerrow replied, leaning against Finn's doorframe, his arms folded against his chest.
"Oh, so I blew up her crystal lab again... She'll get over it... Hopefully... Any ways, couldn't you at least send me someplace nicer, like Tropica?" Finn mirrored the sky knight's pose by leaning up against a wall, a frown on his face.
"The Rex Guardians are our allies, so we need to help them."
"So why don't you help them? You're the sky knight. Besides, I don't want to be stuck there with Harrier!"
"Oh come on Finn, don't you want to be the hero for once?" Aerrow asked, pleading to his friend's vain side. "Besides, think of all the fan girls down there..."
"Fan girls?" That made Finn think. He did like fan girls after all... He closed his eyes, remembering all the screaming fans on Terra Rex. They all fawned over Harrier, so why not him? "Alright, I'll do it! So how long am I going to be down there?"
"Probably only a few days," Aerrow replied, relieved at his friend's cooperation. "I haven't got that much detail from Harrier yet..."
"Alright!" Finn exclaimed. "Fan girls here I come!"
"You're sending me Finn?!" Even through the radio, Harrier's irritation was evident.
"It'll be good for him," Aerrow replied.
"Well that's all very well for him, but what about me? This is no joke, Aerrow. I need someone competent, someone who'll be up to the task! I was hoping that you would help me..."
"Finn's plenty competent," he replied. "Sure, he's a bit... Immature sometimes, but he'll get the job done... Why do you need someone anyways? What happened to your squadron?"
Harrier sighed. "They all went on vacation to Tropica."
"You didn't go with them?"
"I... I wasn't invited... Probably because of that incident with that ice cream vendor... The fool didn't wash his hands before or after serving us ice cream! It was a mockery of the Code!"
"Oh..." Aerrow blinked. He could just imagine the ruckus Harrier had probably caused... "Alright... Um... We're on our way now... We'll probably get there in a few hours."
"Alright, I will be waiting to greet you."
In a few hours, the Storm Hawks arrived at Terra Rex and promptly dumped Finn off.
"See you in a few days!" Aerrow called as the Condor sped away.
Finn waved, then turned to see a stern looking Harrier eying him warily. "So, what's up? What am I here for?"
"I can't tell you here," the sky knight replied, his eyes darting around the empty landing strip. "Someone might overhear us..."
"Dude... There's no one here."
The sky knight glanced at him sharply, but Finn couldn't tell if he was irritated with his statement or his manner of speaking altogether. Probably both.
"Just come with me." Harrier turned and strode toward the large mansion used as the Rex Guardians' base. He pretty much ignored the sharpshooter as he lead him down the halls. Of all the Storm Hawks Aerrow could have lent him... He jumped as he heard a loud crash and turned to see a suit of armor spilled to the ground with Finn standing next to it.
"Uh... Sorry..." Finn grinned sheepishly as servants rushed to clean the mess up. He realized that he probably didn't make a good impression on the Rex Guardian. If Piper were there, she'd probably kill him.
Harrier's eye twitched for a moment before he took a deep breath. "These things happen..." He opened a door and ushered Finn inside. "Here we are... And don't touch anything!"
Finn stepped into the large briefing room. In it was a large round table with a chair for each of the Guardians. Finn sat in one that was rather large and satiny. It was a bit higher than the others, and was almost like a throne.
"Out of my chair," Harrier ordered firmly.
With a sigh, Finn slid out of the grand chair and sat in one of the plainer smaller ones. "So what's going on?"
"A few days ago, some Cyclonian rapscallions managed to-" the sky knight's eyes narrowed. "Why are you giggling?"
"Rapscallions? Did you really just say that?"
"Just shut up and listen to me!" he hissed. "They manged to sneak in here and steal one of Terra Rex's most sacred treasures! The Jewel of Rex. It's actually an extremely powerful crystal that in the wrong hands could prove extremely dangerous!"
Finn blinked. "So what am I supposed to do about it?"
"We're going undercover," Harrier replied. "We're going to Cyclonia."
Finn's eye twitched. "You've got to be joking! How are we going to sneak into there?"
"Uh... I haven't figured that part out yet," Harrier admitted.
"Great, just great..." Finn crossed his arms. "You're gonna get us killed, aren't you?"
