#radarr

So, let’s start with what’s immediately obvious and impossible to ignore when discussing them:

I’m not exactly a spiritualism expert, but from what I know, classic spirits are usually considered non-corporeal entities, unaffected by physical impact. They can typically be banished or trapped, but outright destroying them in a way that unequivocally deprives the Oracle of her powers – that’s something new. Especially since even the Oracle herself acknowledges the possibility of her own destruction.

And it’s around this point that this circumstance should make you consider that perhaps we’re not dealing with the spirit of a deceased person (or whatever race the Oracle is), but something entirely different. Personally, two alternative explanations come to mind, but perhaps someone else can come up with more, so I traditionally invite everyone to share in the comments. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Version #1: Hologram

This, I believe, needs little further explanation. Perhaps somewhere on Terra Xoam, a crystal generator for this Oracle is hidden, lying there for several hundred years under a stone slab, and no one knows about it except, of course, the temple builders, whoever they were. In that case, we can immediately recall that the snakes also “live” in a crystal and appears when “summoned.” But the main point, of course, is that in such a scenario, the possibility of destruction becomes quite obvious: you could tune the crystal to a specific frequency or characteristic of the Oracle to overpower this projection or even break the crystal, which, naturally, would lead to a state that could, at least to some extent, be called destruction. And, of course, the same must be assumed for the Sky Siren: that a crystal generating her is hidden somewhere, and that’s why she loses her powers when her illusions don’t work. The crystal depletes, it needs time to recover, and the Sky Siren weakens.

In my opinion, this version is the most plausible. Because in this case, it essentially means that someone not only created these beings but also developed the entire concept of creating such holograms, and the reason for needing to do so is quite mundane, but we’ll discuss that another time. >:D

Version #2: Energy Life

So, my friend, of course, dismissed this idea, but it’s not entirely unheard of in sci-fi, so why not, as they say. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ When talking about living energy beings, the following examples come to mind:

I won’t go into detail about any of them, of course (and for some, I think it’s unnecessary >:D), and will limit myself to stating that all of them, in one way or another, consist of energy, and that, as it was at least claimed, they can all be destroyed and can also use energy to interact with the physical world.

On Atmos, of course, crystal energy prevails, so in this case, looking at the examples, we can describe our heroes today as beings who have adapted to use this energy for their life activities. Or someone helped them achieve this, which is less important. And in this case, the claims about the possibility of destruction also gain some meaning. If they also consist of energy, then we can at least assume that this energy can be taken from them or that the “binding factor” that allows them to remain in a constant form, preventing the energy from dissipating into space, can be disrupted. This is what Cyclonis was trying to do with the Oracle. And, accordingly, the Sky Siren simply spent all her energy on the Storm Hawks, which is why she weakened, and the snakes' crystals bound with their energy and thus trapped them.

Snakes' Allergy to Radarr

And of course, how can we forget the most paradoxical and unusual twist, which even Stork himself was surprised by?! :D

In the simplest terms, in real life, an allergy is an immune system reaction to some irritant, like fur particles. And projecting this onto our heroes today… it seems that, whoever or whatever these snakes are, they can interact with physical objects, and Radarr’s fur somehow disrupts their proper functioning. For example, it’s a good static charge accumulator, and because of this, something shorts out within them, manifesting in this way. However, many other explanations can be invented here, so we’ll stop here for now. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

How to Bring Back the Dark Ace

And finally, arguably the main question, for which most of us are gathered here! :D How can we bring the Dark Ace back into the storyline after he… well, you remember, without cracking the universe?

Since the wiki states:

In an alleged Q&A with the creators of the show they revealed that the Dark Ace was not dead, implying that if the show had continued he would have returned.

...so, looking at these energetic creatures, why not assume that he could have returned in just this form? That in reality, all the energy Cyclonis pumped into him simply transformed into another form, which ultimately saved the Dark Ace? Some might say this is not a full return, but I disagree and can cite the example of the green cloud (who is, by the way, named Melllvar). He could even hurl lightning, with all the resulting effects! I’m not providing screenshots, of course. >:D So who knows what could have been in Season 3? The creators surely would have found something to surprise us all.

Radarr

When Aerrow was about ten years old, Lightning's Hawks were helping to bust an underground trade ring that dealt in exotic pets and slaves taken from beyond the Charted Atmos. Radarr was found by Ace in this ring, a sentient creature being sold as a potential pet. He brought the little blue furball onto the Condor with him and when he introduced him to Aerrow, the pair became fast friends.

Piper

Piper grew up at the Sky Knight Academy with her father, meeting Aerrow and Finn via their shared connections to Sky Knight society. Her hunger for knowledge and understanding of magic remains as insatiable as it is in canon, but it's now backed by access to books and other such resources on the subject. However in the Free Atmos, those resources are little less abundant than they would be in Cyclonia.

At the age of 14, she and her peers are old enough to go become apprentices and squires. Naturally, Piper chose to study under an experienced mage and was excited to be assigned to Aurora, warrior mage of the Storm Hawks and Finn's older sister. Aurora is a bit rougher around the edges than she was expecting though, and while she wouldn't say it out loud for fear of sounding ungrateful, she's also disappointed that Aerrow wasn't able to join her and Finn.

Finn

As Harrier's son, Finn Olor has a lot to live up to and he is having absolutely none of it. Like his sister, he's regularly at odds with his father, rebelling against his stifling rules in any way he can think of, from dyeing his hair, his taste in music, going so far as to change his accent to an Atmosian one in an effort to distance himself rom Harrier. If it weren't for Aerrow, he probably wouldn't have ever entertained the idea of training to be a Sky Knight.

Finn is training under Lightning's guidance. The Olors and the Strikes have a long history together, so when Finn was resistant to being Harrier's squire, he was assigned to Lightning instead. He's disappointed that Aerrow isn't joining him with the Storm Hawks, but Ace seems pretty cool and it's a chance to get to know his estranged sister again. While Lightning teaches him the essentials of being a sky knight, Finn has also taken a liking to the team's marksman, a 'cool dude' named Tyto who's taught him to customise his ride and weapons.

Junko

Similar to Finn, Junko grew up under a lot of pressure from his father, the Chieftain of Terra Wallop. In the wake of an alliance between Wallop and Cyclonia, Junko was sent to one of the Talon Academies with the intention of toughening him up so that he would fit in better among other wallops. Instead, Junko ran away and crash-landed on Terra Gale where he was patched up and offered an apprenticeship by Cooper, the Storm Hawks' medic.

Junko became fast friends with Finn and is much more of a gentle giant in this AU than in canon. He's focused on learning how to heal and rescue people than fighting daring battles, using his strength to his advantage in high-risk situations where the difference between someone living and dying is whether or not a heavy piece of rubble can be stopped from falling on top of them.

Stork