Disclaimer: I do NOT own Ace Combat 5.

A/N: Some of the planes the Yukes and other pilots fly may be different from how they appear in the game or may not be in the game entirely. I changed this to add an extra depth of realism to the not too unrealistic AC 5. You'll notice the changes and the differences between the aircraft flown by all sides as you read. That's all, enjoy!

CH. 1: THE WAR 15 YEARS AGO

1995…for most that was the year the last war was fought and ended. Like many other wars fought in the past it was brutal. Belka, the belligerent nation to the north, had invaded the southern countries once again. Their industrial capacity, stretched to its max was used to enslave the people it conquered in the first two months of the war. But their might was overtaxed and they couldn't sustain it for long. The two nations of Osea and Yuktobania combined their militaries and pushed the Belkans back across their prewar borders and beyond despite desperate counterattacks by the Belkans.

Then, the worst act of humanity was committed. In the gorge that allowed land passage into Belka from the south, the only one, called "The Belkan Gate" was comprised of seven cities. As the allied armies advanced to the poorly defended gorge victory seemed inevitable. But in multiple flashes of blinding light seven Belkan cities and over nine million people were vaporized in the detonations of seven nuclear bombs. The Belkans nuked their own cities and their own people to stave off the allies. It worked; perhaps too well.

For a few too many that war, like many before it, was viewed as 'the last war'. Talk about fools. They thought peace would last forever. But even in a world dominated by light there would always be shadows. Black and white; up and down; right and left; good and evil; one cannot exist without the other. As long as there are humans on this planet there will always be some who will resort to despicable acts of cruelty for whatever reason. That's why people like 'him' do what they do.

His real name is Hannibal Ingram, but those who know him either call him "Kid" or more widely "Blaze". He was perhaps the greatest ace who ever lived. This is his story…

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-1 March 1995

Father had burst into the house late at night. He turned off al the lights and shone a flashlight around. "We have to go!" He shouted as he took his wife's hand. "Now! Get Hannibal and pack your things!"
"Wolfgang," she called to her husband, "What's wrong?"

"The Belkans are heading this way!" Now she was panicking she rushed to her son's room and roused him from his sleep.

"Hanny," she whispered to him. "Get dressed, sweetie. Hurry."

"Mommy?" He groaned as he sat up. "What's wrong?"

"Honey, just get dressed. Do as I say!" Hannibal got out of bed and hurriedly threw on some blue jeans and jacket. As he was tying his shoes he heard a noise downstairs. More shouts followed as what sounded like a struggle took place. He snuck to the railing that overlooked the stairs and into the living room.

He saw four men carrying large rifles and a fifth with a handgun. "Is there anyone in the house?" The man with the handgun shouted at the father.

"Please, just leave us alone!" Mother begged from her knees. The leader turned around and pistol whipped her to the floor.

"You bastard!" Father charged but was knocked to the ground by a soldier and beaten by several feet.

"You are a traitor!" The leader shouted at the father. "Dishonoring yourself and your countrymen by marrying an Osean whore!" One of the other soldiers slung his rifle and bent down to the mother. Hannibal watched as his mother was thrown onto the sofa and had her night clothes ripped from her body.

"NO!" She screamed but was slapped by the solder who then began to rape her. Another soldier came over to her and roughly began groping her. Hannibal's father looked up to see his beautiful blonde haired wife being raped and moaning in disgust.

"You bastards!" Father rose up from the ground, punched a soldier to the ground and stripped him of his rifle. He fired a shot into the soldier groping his wife before he was ripped apart by a hail of gunfire.

"NO-mph!" Hannibal shrieked as he covered his mouth.

"What was that?" The leader barked as he looked around.

"Hannibal!" His mother cried out. "RUN!" The leader pressed his barrel against her temple and sent her brains splattering onto the sofa with a gunshot.

"Up there!" The leader pointed as he saw a ten year old boy dart into the attic. Gunshots followed Hannibal as he closed the attic door.

He ran to the attic window and kicked it open as the deadbolt was shot off the door. The soldiers burst into the attic and began looking about. One soldier spotted the open window. "He got away, sir!" The soldier reported.

"Forget it," the leader said as he holstered his bloody weapon. "He won't last long out there. Set the house on fire!"

As the flames began to lick up into the attic Hannibal got out from behind a pile of boxes and climbed out of the attic. The soldiers thought he had escaped but he didn't have time to get out before they saw him. He ran into the woods behind his house as the soldiers walked away from the front door.

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-2 March 1995

Hannibal, with minor burns on his back and neck walked through the woods aimlessly for hours. He had just seen his parents murdered and his mother raped. And he was nearly killed seconds afterwards. It was a terrible thing to happen for a ten year old child. "Halt!" Hannibal nearly jumped out of his skin when a figure burst from what he thought was a pile of compost. The soldier raised a rifle onto him and Hannibal just froze.

"Easy, John," another figure rose form behind the first. "It's just a kid." The soldier relaxed as six more soldiers appeared from the brush. "El-tee, we've got a kid here," the second soldier called to one of the others.

"I can see that," their leader replied as he knelt beside Hannibal. "He's got burn injuries, Doc!"

"On it, el-tee," a medic came over and began dressing the child's wounds.

"What are we going to do with him, boss?" A soldier asked.

"We can't just leave him here," another said as dawn began to break.

"Where are your parents?" The medic asked the boy. Hannibal looked over at the medic and mouthed the words 'they're dead'. "Oh, I see."

"We've got to get to the retrieval point," the leader said. "We'll take him with us." The medic scooped the kid up in his arms as they removed themselves from the area.

An hour later the special ops team met up with the extraction chopper, loaded themselves and the boy onto the chopper and extracted from enemy territory. That was fifteen years ago…