There's nothing quite like a night out at a local bar after a good day's work.
For the past week, the LRSSG was cooperating with Yuktobania's Foreign Intelligence and Resources Division in a joint operation to provide relief to the Usean countries suffering from the "Lighthouse War". San Salvacion is their latest destination. Princess Cossette's formal peace declaration leads to the release of prisoners of war captured by Erusean soldiers, and all were officially liberated when their planes touched the ground at San Profetta Airport.
And that means I can finally reunite with my long-lost friend at last.
"Cheers to Brownie! Our favorite fledgling has returned to her family!"
Knocker announced proudly as he and everyone else in the bar raised their glasses to toast Alicia "Brownie" Harvard, my friend in Golem Squadron who was presumed dead after her plane was shot down by the Erusean ace Mister X. Got to admit, I teared up a little when I finally saw her in a flesh again after all this time. I really thought I had lost her for real that day, until an unexpected phone call from her finally confirmed to me that, yes, she's still alive against all odds.
"I'm glad we're all finally together again, guys." Clown smiled, "Damn, why haven't we run into each other earlier?"
"Well, Trigger got incarcerated, and I was dead." Brownie joked, "Seriously, no one stood up for this poor guy when he was accused of killing Harling?"
"We all did, actually," Knocker explained, "Both me and Clown tried again and again to convince the judges that Trigger wasn't responsible, but they will hear none of it. They really wanted Trigger to be the fall guy and there's nothing we could do."
"Guys, can we not bring that up, please?" I told them. That stuff about Harling is still making me nervous up until now, even though I was already proven innocent of it,
"Look on the bright side, Trigger. If you didn't get burned, you wouldn't have met me!" Count grinned and slapped me on my back, "And the Scrap Queen, Tabloid, and all the colorful guys in our illustrious 444th."
"Yeah, right," Avril spoke up, "even that jerk McKinsey is colorful for you too, eh?"
"Holy hell, you ended up with McKinsey? How are you even still alive?" Knocker asked, his voice sounded impressed. Even Clown nodded in agreement. "I swear, that S.O.B. treated medals on his uniform better than the men under his command. We had the displeasure of escorting him once. Had to try really hard to resist the urge to shoot that asshole's plane out of the sky."
"Believe me, both of us were seriously considering it," I replied, "But that DicKinsey was our only ticket to freedom, so we had to play nice for him. I had to keep telling myself that it'd be the last time I'd fly for him."
"And for that, you get to join up with us," Jaeger said proudly, "It was worth it in the long run. Through your patience and persistence, you finally vindicated yourself and become a hero. You would make a great role model for my son."
"I'm happy to say that you won't be hearing more from that douchebag any longer," Húxiān grinned, "I heard your Colonel McKinsey got his ass shot down a few months earlier after the satellites went down. You know, IFF malfunctioning and stuff. His plane was targeted by friendlies and two missiles ended the man's whole career."
"Good riddance!" Count cheered, "Hell, he really couldn't have died sooner if you ask me."
"I was never one to wish for someone's death, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that the guy kinda deserved it," Knocker added.
"I guess fighting the Arsenal Birds must've been a holiday for you after everything you've gone through. Ain't that right, you dumbass?" Avril asked with a smile on her face, "It's a real shame I wasn't there with you and Sir Count through most of it. Instead, I'm shipped off to that hellhole island and had to play a caretaker to a certain princess."
"I'll drink to that," Brownie agreed as she drank the rest of the drink in her glass before slamming her glass on the table, "I'm surprised you didn't put a bullet in that bitch's head after everything she did, Avril. She's a goddamn war criminal!"
"Whoa, chill out, lady." Avril said as her smile faded, her voice sounded uncomfortable, "The princess's a victim of this war just as much as everybody else. She was manipulated by the actual warmongers who wanted to keep the war going, and they tried to have her killed when she outlived her usefulness. Besides, without her, the war would still be going on right now."
"So what? She's still the one who declared war on us in the first place," Brownie retorted, "She dragged us all into this whole mess. If she didn't, I wouldn't get shot down and ended up a POW seven months, not to mention one hellish nightmare that haunts every time I closed my eyes. For me, that bitch is no better than McKinsey."
"That bitch is my friend, miss. Without her, we would have lost everything when the AIs take over. Watch your tone." Avril said coldly, "You're not the only one who suffered in the war. Don't make this all about you."
Suddenly, the bar goes quiet. No one spoke a thing as Brownie and Avril glared at each other. Brownie, in particular, shot an intense look that is both filled with rage and grief at Avril. I can see that the experience she went through with Mister X left her…traumatized. I'm not surprised that Brownie would still hold a deep grudge on the Eruseans for what she went through.
After what seems like forever, Húxiān breaks the silence.
"Girls, come on, act like adults!" She began, "Brownie, I understand what you went through. I really do, but Avril's not wrong when she said that everyone suffered in this war, the princess included. She lost her entire family, even her dog for God's sake, and now she has to run an entire country devastated from two wars all on her own. Cut her some slack. And Avril, Brownie had a point when she said that victim or not, Cossette is as much a culprit who's responsible for the war as her military officers. Sure, they might be the ones who escalated the war, but she's also the one who promoted it. If she hadn't, we wouldn't even be in this whole mess in the first place."
Another silence took place. Both Avril and Brownie looked at Húxiān then at each other back and forth. Finally, they both sighed and take another drink.
"…ugh…Fine. You win, Húxiān. I guess I was too harsh on you, Brownie. I haven't been through what you've been through. Perhaps if I were, I would've understood why you're so mad at her." Avril said,
"Oh, believe me, I am still mad at her," Brownie replied, "but you're right. I wasn't the only one who suffered in the war. I shouldn't be thinking only about myself. At least that princess of yours got an entire country to fix because of her role in that mess. I suppose that should be enough."
"So it's settled between you two, then?" Húxiān asked, then she smiled as the two nodded back, "It's supposed to be a celebration, goddamnit. Let's celebrate!"
And with that, smiles are back on everyone's faces again. And I was very nervous for a moment.
Damnit, Húxiān. You're so Team Mom. I thought, then I chuckled after seeing Count's awestricken face when he looks at Húxiān. He's clearly thinking "I am so happy/scared that this girl is my girlfriend".
Just when we're about to toast again, however, the bar's door swings open.
"Uh, Captain. I don't think this is the right place." A young brown-haired guy spoke up as he walked into the bar with his five companions.
"Nah, this is the place, Grimm. And there's someone I'd like you to meet." A middle-aged dark-haired man in front of him grinned as he stared at us. He's someone I know really well. "Sorry we're late, Trigger."
"If it isn't the famous Jack Bartlett!" I greeted the Captain, "Nice of you to finally join us, buddy."
"So this is the guy, huh?" Another dude who's standing behind "Grimm" spoke up as he gave me a curious look. He looks about the same height as me, and I can tell from first glance that he used to be a pilot. A very experienced one at that.
"Yep, that he is," Bartlett confirmed, "Blaze, meet Trigger. Trigger, this is Blaze. Have fun, you two."
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Author's Note: I'm back, guys! So yeah, this is the crossover fic I've been planning to write for a while now. It's a sort-of sequel to my "Grounded Aces" fanfic I've written a while ago, as you can see by Brownie's survival and her apparent hatred for Princess Cossette, which I previously established in Grounded Aces CH.2. So, now the cast of AC5 and AC7 finally meet each other at long last. What will happen next? I'll let you guess for a while.
I'm planning to finish this fic before next week because I've been interviewing for a job and I might get one any time soon, and with job comes less time to write fanfics, so I want to get this done as soon as possible. There's probably a couple more chapters after this, maybe three or four. I don't know. Depends on how the story goes xD.
PS. So excited for the DLC planes coming this month and the next two months, though! Finally, I can get to fly the Raven! Lasers galore xD.