A Grim in the Sky

[Fenrir Shade]

Static is heard over the radio in the Ice Kingdom Castle. A voice breaks through:

CRACKLE

"This is Aircraft Grimlin 1 requesting to land. I am Staff Sergeant Skyrider, former pilot in the United Mobius Air Force, and I request emergency landing in the Ice Kingdom. My plane is experiencing technical difficulties, and if I don't get her down soon, I'll crash. I repeat: This is Staff Sergeant Grim Skyrider requesting permission for an emergency landing on the grounds of the Ice Kingdom Castle. Please respond."

No response...

The message is repeated with added urgency, and still no response. The blip on the sonar gets progressively closer to the castle. Suddenly the voice changes, the message clear that there is something wrong.

"Mayday! Mayday! I am going down! I can't hold onto her any longer! If I don't land now, I might crash into the city below! Please, for the love of God! RESPOND!"

The blip is almost on top of the castle now, loosing altitude.

"Ah! To hell with it! Whether you like it or not, I'm landing!"

The plane makes a sudden nose dive directly towards the castle courtyard. The plane picks up speed, barreling towards the ground. The guard that was supposed to be manning the radio returns from his bathroom break a moment too late. The pilot pulls the nose of the plane up at the last second, as a last ditch effort to land. It skids through the gardens, tearing up the beautiful mosaic of flowers, pieces flying off and getting lodged in the trees and even the side of the castle. The engine bursts into flames, flips through the air, crashing back to the ground before eventually reaching a stop a mere twenty meters from the edge of the island. The plane left a three-hundred meter long scar in the ground where it attempted to land. Fire blazed in several locations along the path, as the entirety of the engine was in an inferno.

A crowd begins to gather.  

[The Jolly Victini]

S.M. sits up straight on the couch. "Did anyone else hear that?" He asked.  

[Fenrir Shade]

A voice replies from the wall: "I did."

Fenrir phases through the wall and approaches SM. (This being several months after the events of "The Phantom Assassin")

"Want to check it out?"  

[The Jolly Victini]

"No, I want to sit here and play video games whenever I smell ((weakness)) adventure." S.M. said with a huge amount of sarcasm. He play punched Fenrir on the arm as he got up from the couch and made his way to the front doors.  

[Fenrir Shade]

((Haha! XD I see what you did there...))

"Then lets go. Age before beauty." he replied with a smirk on his face. "And sarcasm is very unbecoming of you. Then again, who am I to say?"  

[The Jolly Victini]

S.M. walked outside to a shock. A plane had crashed into the courtyard and damaged most of the floura. Someone would be mad indeed. Flowers up here were very rare. He noticed the group surrounding the flaming mass and he immediately ran into the center. "Get back! All of you, move!" He shouted, everyone immediately moving out of the king's way. S.M. ripped away the flaming metal, managing to ingure his hand in the process. With a silent swear, he continued to rip the plane open. Once there was a big enough hole, S.M. pulled the pilot out of the inferno. He tried to see if anything had injured him. After not seeing any severe cuts, he tried to see if he was still awake. "Hey! Buddy! You awake?"  

[Fenrir Shade]

Suddenly Grim's parachute burst from his pack, startling the Staff Sergeant into consciousness.

"Oh, so now you respond. A day late, dollar short. But thank you, I would have roasted in that damn thing if it weren't for you."

Grim hefted himself up, removed an army knife from his sleeve, and cut off the rope connecting him to the parachute. He held out his hand in thanks, and to introduce himself.

"The name's Grim. Retired Staff Sergeant Grim Skyrider of the UMAF. Sorry 'bout the petunias. Didn't have much choice. Either the castle, the city, or flowers. I took the softer landing."

Fenrir was busy keeping the crowd back to join the conversation.  

[The Jolly Victini]

"King Swift." S.M. replie exclaim d returning the gesture. "If you're retired, sir, then what were you doing in the air?"  

[Fenrir Shade]

"Just 'cause I'm retired, don't mean I can't have some fun. I love flying, it's one of the best feelings in the world. But it's too bad ole' Grimlin didn't have enough getterup to make it a bit further to the airport. But, I think if I can recover the majority of her parts, I could fix 'er up good as new." Suddenly and explosion roared behind him, originating from the engine. "Or some of the parts. Care to help? I could use a damn good pyro like you helping me. And yes kid, I know you're a pyro. I can tell by just looking at ya. That, and the fact you didn't get burnt by the flames. But, if there's any damn thing I know, it's flying a plane, and what a pyro looks like. Spent my whole damn life 'round 'em. They're helluvagood techies, able to get in the middle of a fire, fix the problem, and walk out smilin'."

Grim turned around, facing the wreck. "Well Ole' Girl, it was about time you got an upgrade. I'll miss ya'." Then Grim ran up to the cockpit and slammed his boot into it. "Damn machine!"  

[The Jolly Victini]

S.M. laughed nervously. "Well, I'm not much of a techie. That honor goes to my brother, Dex. He's in the lab if you'd like to meet him."  

[Fenrir Shade]

"Ah, good, good. Is he a pyro as well? 'Cause I'd trade a thousand workers for just one pyro. Oh, and when I get my plane back together, could I repay your kindness by being your official Pilot? Cause I'm gettin perty damn bored flying preps and VIPs." asks Grim. "I mean, it aint much, but it's somethin.' And maybe I can repay ya for them flowers one day."  

[The Jolly Victini]

S.M. shook his head. "He's not a pyro, but he's a genius. He could build stuff that would blow your mind. And no thanks on the pilot thing, my guardian, Fenikkusu, flies me everywhere."  

[Fenrir Shade]

"Damn. But wait, does this Fenni-whatever contraption have four, independent firing, eight-barrel Gatling laser guns? Just imagine! We could take on the entire Egg Fleet! Were it to return that is." explains Grim, placing his arm around S.M.'s shoulder, holding the other in conversational motioning. "There's no better bird than that my friend! So put that Kushoo thing in the shed, and let me show you true fire power!"  

[The Jolly Victini]

Fenikkusu hovered down to the two, standing tall and proud. The giant phoenix's chest feathers puffed out slightly, making his seem bigger than he actually was. The overwhelming feeling of heat emanating from him. He glared down at Grim, his fiery glare piercing through him.  

[Fenrir Shade]

"I'm gonna go out on a wild guess here, and say that that is Fenn-in-in... Mr. F, and that I've insulted him. Damn my big mouth." murmurs Grim, realizing his mistake.