Andrea beckoned to Cascade impatiently. They had already made it off the bus and into the airport. Then they had traversed the airport until they reached a section that was adjacent to the cargo Aerodon. Now they were in hiding, waiting for yet another guard to move far enough away so that they could make a run for it. They were on opposite sides of an airport room, which was being patrolled by guards. Andrea was hiding behind a lounge chair near one of the doors that led onto an Aerodon. Cascade was next to some water fountains.

Cascade ran swiftly and quietly across the hall and slid across the last few meters to Andrea. She gave an inner sigh of relief. To be caught then and see all their effort go to waste would have been heartbreaking.

Now was the time. They scampered across the last five meters as fast and as quietly as they could, crouching down to stay below the chair backs, just in case. Then they reached the door. Andrea, who was skilled in opening doors of all kinds, opened it swiftly.

"How did you do that?" Cascade whispered. It was an electronic door, so it was puzzling to her how Andrea could have picked it.
"I have my secrets."

Cascade shrugged. She knew that Andrea, stubborn as she was, wasn't going to tell her any more information. She also realized that she cared less about how Andrea did it and more about the fact that it worked.

Andrea reached around the door. In front of the door was open space and a sheer drop down, as the jet bridge that was usually there to connect to Aerodons was not extended.

Andrea grabbed the top of the folded bridge and turned around so that she was facing the terminal. The surface which her hands met was more slippery than she expected. Her hands almost slipped, but she quickly hooked her heel on the edge of the opening and regained her hold. She gave a sigh of relief.

Cascade was crouched on the floor of the shortened bridge. She cupped her hands and placed them underneath Andrea's right foot. Then she pushed up as Andrea stood, her foot pressing into the palms of Cascade's hands.

Andrea was propelled upward. She threw her leg on top of the folds and pushed herself up onto it with her hands.

Leaning over the side, she put her hand out as Cascade reached up to grab it. Cascade put her right hand on the folded tunnel and grabbed Andrea's hand with her left. Then she pulled upward with both hands as Andrea pulled her up as well. She gave a soft grunt of effort as she pulled herself up over the edge of the folded bridge, and Andrea relinquished her hand.

Then she and Andrea crawled on their hands and knees as fast and quietly as they could onto the top of the building. Andrea and Cascade both heaved an inner sigh of relief. The bridge hadn't been very wide, and had been slippery, so there had been a great risk of them falling. And falling from that height would not have had a great result for them.

They ran as quietly as they could along the building in the direction that they had predicted the cargo Aerodon to be. When they arrived, they were relieved to see that the cargo Aerodon was exactly where they had thought it to be. Andrea looked around for the highest point in the area. She spotted a tall pole sticking up out of the roof and into the sky.
"Perfect."

Cascade shifted nervously. She wasn't sure about Andrea's crazy idea, which they had gone over the night before.

Andrea climbed up the pole swiftly. Hand over hand, she ascended the pole. Reaching the top, she balanced impossibly on the ball point. Then she unslung the short staff that she had brought with her from her shoulder. Cascade had designed it so that it could extend into a glider. Andrea opened her staff, watching as the "wings" extended out from it. She waited for the wind to blow harder, then jumped off of the pole. Andrea glided neatly towards the Aerodon. It's going perfectly. She landed on the ground near the Aerodon. It was a rough landing. Andrea tried to land on her feet, but her legs crumpled underneath her weight and the force of the landing, causing her to drop to her knees. She skidded a few meters and the glider hit the ground. Andrea ended flat on her back. She lay there for a few seconds, exhausted.

Suddenly, Andrea realized that Cascade might think she was dead if she continued to lay so still on the ground, so she got up and moved into the back of the Aerodon, which was still loading materials.

Then it was Cascade's turn. Cascade shimmied up the pole, trying not to look down because she knew it would make her nervous. She didn't want to look up because she would see how much more she had left to climb. And if she looked to the side then she would see how high up she was. So she looked at her hands, and only her hands, as she went up the pole.

Andrea was surprised at Cascade's efficiency as she went up the pole. She had never known that Cascade was also a pretty good climber. She began to think that she might have underestimated Cascade a little. As she watched Cascade, she began to respect her just a little bit more.

Cascade reached the top of the pole. She extended the glider. She jumped. She gracefully glided towards the Aerodon. Then it all went wrong.

The wind changed direction, blowing Cascade off course. As Cascade tried to lean to adjust for it, part of the glider ripped and Cascade was sent tumbling down. Before she hit the ground, Cascade tossed the glider to the side. She hit the ground on her shoulder and rolled. But now she was quite a distance away from the Aerodon. She scurried into the short grass and lay there, trying to blend in.

I knew I should've worn green, Cascade reflected. Oh, well. Not much we can do about it now. I doubt our orphanage has any clothing in green anyway.

Andrea gave an exasperated sigh. "Did you have to fall just then?" she muttered. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a guard approaching Cascade. Should I leave her behind, or save her? Andrea debated. Then the moral part of her won over her personal hatred for Cascade. You can save your grudge for later.

Andrea took a deep breath and concentrated fiercely, focusing on a singular point. A flame appeared, distracting the person who had gone to investigate the crash. Andrea shifted it towards a certain direction, luring him away from Cascade.

Cascade took the hint. She got up and ran as fast as she could towards the Aerodon.

Andrea lost her concentration. She still wasn't experienced enough to hold the flame for very long. Suddenly, the huge door in the back of the Aerodon started to close.

Oh, no.

Andrea beckoned for Cascade to come faster.

Cascade sped up, running faster than she even knew she was able to, and in the last meter, she threw herself into the Aerodon, the doors closing just as her foot slipped through the gap. She let a relieved sigh and lay down on the floor.

"Now all we have to do is wait." Andrea sat on the floor of the Aerodon and leaned back against a box.

Cascade merely raised a weary hand in response to Andrea's comment, then flopped it back down again. She continued to lay there tiredly. After all, there was no real reason for her to rise at the moment.

"THE AERODON'S GOING DOWN!!"

Cascade heard Andrea's shout. I fell asleep, didn't I? "What...?" she started. What's happening?

"There's no 'what' about it!" Andrea shouted over the loud noises and crashing coming from the Aerodon. "The Aerodon is going down!"

Cascade hurriedly stood and looked around, moving her hair out of her face. "But why? This is just a cargo Aerodon! And it's barely got anything in it of any value! Nobody would want to attack this Aerodon unless..." Cascade came to a realization.

"They knew we were here.'' Andrea finished for her. "Somebody really doesn't want us to make it out of this Aerodon alive. I'm just not sure who it is. Because somebody definitely hit the two Veridons that are pulling this with a humongous spear or something. That's the only thing that would account for-" She didn't get to finish. The metal bar which held the large door in the back of the Aerodon was hit by a large falling object, and broke in two The door, making up the entire tail end of the Aerodon, swung open. The Aerodon tipped back. Both of the girls were sent sliding down it, towards the thirty thousand foot drop that lay below them.

Sephtis chuckled from his position on the tiny island. "The plan is going perfectly. Now, Aerodon. Fall." Sephtis knew that when he had put more pressure on the metal collars around the long necks of the Veridons, crushing the collars and making them smaller, the unfortunate beasts had died. As a result, now, without anything to power it, the Aerodon was falling. But the task of strangling the Veridons had sapped loads of Sephtis' energy. He sat down on the ground, gasping for breath, but watched in triumph as the Aerodon plummeted towards the ground. He could see it faintly from where he was; a small shape in the sky, but big enough for him to see most details.

Those girls will not live through this. I won't allow it. I've never seen them work together before! Why should they now? I've spent years making sure they hate each other.

Sephtis gave a small sigh of satisfaction, despite his tired state. The Voice had come up with a brilliant idea for me to impersonate Cascade when I eliminated Andrea's family. Andrea has hated her ever since. Because if they get along, my plans might just be foiled.

But there's no way that they can get along. I'll make sure of that. And the Voice will help me once more if they somehow start to work together. He reflected on the Voice for a moment. A Voice that he had been hearing for as long as he could remember. The Voice gave him direction. Strangely, he had recently been thinking the Voice had a name. Yes...I do believe that her name could be Vespara.

Cascade slid rapidly towards the edge. Suddenly, she saw a stray piece of netting hanging from the ceiling above her. She threw out her hands desperately, grabbing it just in the nick of time. She was nearly hanging out of the Aerodon. Just looking at her feet made her dizzy. So she quickly looked up at the net instead.

Andrea tried to grab something, but it was no use. Through her terrified screams, as she was sliding past Cascade, she cried out for help, a desperate tone in her voice. To her surprise, Cascade reached out and grabbed her hand just as she was about to pass.

"What...? Why?" Andrea asked in confusion, holding Cascade's hand with both of hers.

"You deserve another chance. Maybe more than anybody else, Andrea. You're my friend. There's no circumstance in which I would hesitate to save you," Cascade said.

And somehow, Andrea knew that Cascade wasn't lying. And something changed. Something softened inside her. Just for a moment, she put aside all her grudges against Cascade and realized that they could be friends despite their differences.

The things she thought Cascade had done came back to her mind moments later, but now they were more faded images in the background rather than the clear, sharp images that they had been before. Andrea gave a faint smile up at Cascade. Cascade glanced down and noticed.

Maybe I was right. Maybe we will get along, despite our differences. A faint smile spread across Cascade's face in her turn.

But she was distracted from the warm moment as a piece of the Aerodon broke off. She tightened her grip on Andrea's hand.

Cascade held onto the net with her feet and her right hand, as she held Andrea's hands in her left. But her grip was slipping. She gathered all her strength and pulled her arm with Andrea upwards, straining. "Andrea! Climb over me onto the net!"

Andrea crept upwards. Then she saw something. Parachutes.

"I'll fetch the parachutes." Andrea called out, her feet on the net.

"Ok... but be careful!"

"I always am." Andrea's face split with a weary smile. Then she set out.

Andrea swung off the net and grabbed the rim of a box. Then, climbing on top of it, she grabbed a stray rope that passed by. Andrea climbed up the rope, going further up the Aerodon and closer to the nose, wind whooshing past her.

Suddenly, the rope broke under her weight, and she screamed. Andrea started to slide down once more. She desperately clawed at dangling vinyl, and hung from it, her nails digging deep into it. She pulled herself up, wincing as the pressure on her fingernails increased. This is why I was always told not to climb with long nails. Andrea moved onto a box, yanking her fingers out of the vinyl she had hung from. She shook her hands one at a time to ease the pain in her sore hands, but made sure never to let go of a part of the Aerodon.

Andrea planned her route up the Aerodon, her eyes spying rope ladders along the side. Those ladders are very conveniently placed. They stopped just a little bit before where the parachutes hung.

Andrea caught one of the ladders and started to swiftly move up, not hesitating to even check if it was stable. She needed to move swiftly and hoped that the ladders would not fall. One hand over the other. One foot over the other.

The ladder she was on suddenly slipped out of the bonds that held it to the Aerodon with a screech. Andrea screamed as she started to fall. She clawed at the ladder next to the one that had fallen and gave a sigh of relief as she regained her grip. That was a close one.

Andrea continued upwards. She had made it three-quarters of the way up the lengthy ladder which she had to climb, when it fell as well. She grabbed the one next to that one. She was running out of ladders. She climbed even faster, now not caring where her hands and feet went, as long as she went up.

The ladder started to slip, and Andrea desperately threw herself towards another object, just in the nick of time. The ladder she had been on fell out of its holdings, and plummeted out of the Aerodon. Andrea gave a sigh of relief. The parachutes were not far anymore. But she was running out of time. Cascade looked like her grip was slipping on the net, and the Aerodon was plummeting fast.

Andrea shimmied along a small pole and jumped off the edge. It feels like I'm flying! Well, I suppose I am. But it's more like... falling.

Andrea grabbed a net next to the rack where the parachutes were kept, took one of the backpacks and slung it on her own back. She tightened the straps until she felt it was tight enough, although it was slightly uncomfortable when she did so.

Andrea grabbed a second pack and threw herself down, pushing off objects to propel herself downwards a little faster. She grabbed the net where Cascade was and thrust the pack towards the girl.

Cascade slung the backpack over her shoulders, her arms burning. She looked over at Andrea.

Ready?

Andrea nodded.

Ready.

Then they jumped out of the Aerodon.