Stargazing, an ace combat fanfic

AC: Stargazing

UPDATE 4/20/15: SEQUEL IS BEING WORKED ON RIGHT NOW UNTIL COMPLETION. I think I got enough readers who think I should continue. Thank you so much for your feedback by PM or something! When will it be done? I don't know, honestly. Hope for the best though. :) -HFHoofHammer

Reaper (aka The Ribbon) x Camilla (aka The Butterfly Master) love story.

The Ace Combat franchise does NOT belong to me. It respectfully belongs to Namco Bandai and Project Aces. The plot in this Fanfiction is obviously non-canon and was written by me.

Before we begin…

"A Reaper and Butterfly Master love story? Never seen that before." -You

Well, just thought I would share something to you fellow aces a oneshot for February, the month where there's still a lot of hearts even after Valentines Day.

Keep in mind, I don't know all the information about Camilla, like all of us. Except her personality, what she looks like and stuff. But because of that, I'm nervous about it. Mainly,… what if Camilla is around 16-18 or perhaps younger, while Reaper is around 20-29 or something? Well, Reaper's age is up to you guys, but I would consider him to be around 23 or below (like PJ's age from AC: Zero) as Camilla would be maybe around 18 or up. I don't know. But you guys can assume your own thoughts on their ages. It's a fanfiction. It's up to your imagination ^^;

If you're not into this thing or pairing because…

1.) You prefer another pairing like ReaperxNagase, ReaperxOmega, etc.

2.) "Pfft. Reaper doesn't need a guy or gal! He's too badass for that!" -You

3.) You're not into romance stories, or you think this story is gonna be too strange.

4.) Other reasons.

Whatever the reasons, I'm not taking it personally. I respect to what you're into and your opinions. All you have to do is press the back button on the top left corner of your device.

If you're curious or this sounds interesting, well, hop aboard and hope you enjoy this story.

Reviewing is optional. You don't need to type anything. Just favorite it if you like it. But if you want to review, keep it clean, please.

FINAL NOTICE: Errors may be seen because of Autocorrect.

-(Baku, Azerbaijan)-

(Reaper's POV)

Baku. One of the most dangerous cities to be in during Operation Eternal Liberation. Not only because the area was heavily defended, and is around six hundred miles away from Iyuli, the "Special Economic Zone" of Russia. But we were near the dead center of the USEA Federation. My Bone Arrow Squadron along with Nagase's Ridgebacks were sent here in a classified operation to investigate some strange activities told by our spies inside USEA. Unmanned drones have also detected and eavesdropped some info concerning about a new weapon in development right now. Something called "The Spiridus". Although we have no other information about this thing, I was given the order to search and destroy their work by heading to Baku Kala Air Base, presumed to be the spot where this weapon was being made. When we successfully slipped through to Baku, it looks like our intel was right.

When we arrived, Baku was under full alert. But it wasn't too bad, considering I already taken down many planes along with my allies. I also had to keep an eye on Omega. I couldn't afford him to get shot down and stay stranded in the middle of the USEA Federation. Getting a name for myself, the enemy planes seemed to recognize who I was because of my emblem with an infinity mark. It felt like I was the cool kid in a neighborhood.

Right now, the skies were almost clear as Edge was dealing with other additional enemy squadrons west of Baku. I flew in formation with my squad mates behind me, heading straight to Baku Kala Air Base.

"Reaper, another flight of bandits are approaching from the east. Move to intercept!" An order came from my commander, Goodfellow.

"Oh, what are they gonna throw at us this time? I'm predicting another squadron of SU-35s." Omega sighed and flew in my formation with Bronco and Zebu. "I thought this operation was going to be more easier. But, instead, we got more fast and maneuverable enemy planes crawling up our backs."

"Don't make our mechanics work overtime because of your craft, King Bailout." I chuckled and boosted the throttle.

"Well, it seems Reaper is growing up to be just like Viper. It's almost kinda creepy." He said as he followed my plane closely.

"He also doesn't want you to end up trapped in the middle of enemy territory. Our units in Tehran has gotten the enemy distracted for you Arrows. But that doesn't mean they'll send in S.A.R assets to you quickly." Goodfellow told him.

"He was lucky at Area B7R in Nevada. When the Butterfly Master arrived, I was expecting him to get shot down. No offense." Bronco laughed.

"Belt up, Bronco."

"Bone Arrow 1 to Edge. We'll take care of the incoming enemy squadron to the east." I notified her.

"Copy. Good luck." She replied.

"This is Sky-Eye. Bone Arrow flight, bandits are confirmed to be four SU-35 Flankers. Be careful!" Sky-Eye, the AWACS for Ridgeback Squadron warned us.

"Nice and even, eh?"

"As I expected, since we're near Russia. But would it kill them to be in… I don't know. Some Mig-21 Fishbeds?"

"It actually would, Omega." I said.

"And I didn't really think about that."

"Bone Arrows, get rid of 'em!"

"Consider it done. Let's go, Reaper." Omega lit his afterburners and boosted forward.

While on our way to intercept the enemy fighters approaching near Baku, I took the lead and readied myself for another dogfight. My F-22 Raptor versus a four man squadron of SU-35 Flankers seems like a bit of an even match. But it mostly depends on the pilots skills. Flying a Flanker requires a lot of skill. And I'm guessing these pilots knew what they were doing. Without warning, they fired upon us with their radar guided missile straight towards me and my flight. Fortunately for us, we evaded all of them without getting hit.

*"Crven Leader to all planes. Concentrate your fire on The Reaper. Make the rest of the enemy planes break out of their formation." The enemy squad leader ordered.*

*"Crven 2 copies. Executing order." Crven Leader's wingman agreed and started to tail behind Reaper.*

"Captain, looks like they're trying to aim at you." Zebu noticed the four planes trying to shoot me down in different angles.

"I'll provide support. Coming down." Bronco did a Split S and fired his guns, causing one of the enemy planes to break away from my tail.

"Hands off our ace, pal!" Omega dived down and fired a missile, striking his target, but not shooting it down.

*"Damn it! Crven 3 and 4, take care of his wingmen. 2, engage the Reaper!"*

When I saw two of the planes break away to head for Bronco and Zebu, I only had two targets to worry about. With Omega circling around and noticing the wingman of the flight leader heading for him, boosted the throttle to the point where I was traveling in Mach 2. I scissored, rolled, and weaved around the missiles and guns my pursuer was firing. After a few seconds of messing around with him, I executed a Kulbit maneuver as I saw his plane pass by me like a high speed vehicle in a highway.

*"What the-?! He's on my tail!"*

I gave a small smirk and fired. "Missile launched!" I said as I watched my missile head towards my target. He tried to evade the missile I shot, but didn't have a chance. It struck his tail, shaking off his flaps, setting the engines on fire; then engulfing his plane in flames, and head down straight into the earth.

*"Mayday! Mayday! Crven 1 is going down! Can't maintain altitude!"*

*"Our captain is down! Crven 2 to 3 and 4. Keep fighting against the other three. I'll take the Ribbon guy."*

"Their leader is heading down! Now, take care of the rest." Goodfellow said.

Looking for one of my wingmen, I noticed Bronco had a tail. Heading towards him, I contacted him on radio and kept my finger ready to fire again. When he was facing towards me with his pursuer, now was my chance.

"Bronco, pull up!" I ordered. Without question, he pulled up his plane, giving me a good shot of his pursuer. "Fox 2 sent!" I fired a heatseeking missile at my target as it dashed towards him. Next thing I knew, my target exploded as his shredded plane flew past me.

"Niiice…" Omega commented.

"Whew! Thanks, sir." Bronco said.

"Two planes left."

*"Damn…"*

Noticing one of the two reaming planes on my side, he was trailing smoke from a previous strike from one of my squad mates. When he banked his plane, it gave me a good shot. Firing my guns when my crosshairs were on him, his wings were clipped off as his aircraft spun out of control.

"Bone Arrow 1 shot down a bandit." Zebu confirmed.

"I see him. Moving to engage." I said.

When I saw the last plane, I went behind him to get a good lock-on to fire. Before I was able to fire a missile, one already struck my target as he went down spinning. The pilot ejected in time before his plane splashed into the water. A Eurofighter Typhoon with an emblem of Cancer the Crab on a orange bolt of lightning passed by and rolled around.

"Hehe-Hey! I got him!"

"Hahaha! Nice shot, Omega!" I said to him.

"Well, it appears the skies are all clear now. Reaper, you feeling okay?" Goodfellow asked.

"I'm fine, as usual. Hey, when I get back, I'll be digging in some of Omega's flatbread pizza he made in the fridge. I'm pretty hungry."

"Help yourself. By the way, is your stomach speaking… Hungarian?" Omega made a homophone pun between hunger and Hungary's native language.

"Okay. Maybe we should've made him get shot down." Goodfellow joked.

"Hey!"

"You pirates are done already?" A heard Edge's voice on the radio as her flight flew right next to us. "We've been done all this time while you were fighting against those Flakers."

"Huh. Nice of you to help us out while we were fighting these blokes." Omega said with an obvious tone of sarcasm.

"It didn't look like you needed help as always." Lance, Ridgeback 2 said.

"True. We do have Reaper, after all."

*"Heh heh… Reaper, huh?" A sudden voice said out of nowhere in the radio.*

Wait, that voice…

"Edge? Was that you just now?" I asked.

"I didn't say anything. I heard it too though." She told me.

"That was weird. Is my radio acting glitchy again?" Bronco wondered and checked.

"You don't think…" Omega's voice started to grow a little nervous.

But after a few seconds, a girl humming on our radio was heard in our channel. My ears were listening to that theme I recognized from Operation Overdrive and Battle Axe.

"Wait, that humming…" Omega's voice choked.

"Crap. That can only mean one thing." Zebu said, having the same tone as Omega.

"All units, this is Sky-Eye. I'm detecting a lot of radar blimps coming from the north. Confirmed to be unmanned aerial drones flying with a single QFA-44." Sky-Eye gave us an update on the situation.

"The Butterfly Master!" Edge called it.

"Oh, come on! Not this again!" Omega whined.

*"Hey, Ribbon. Long time no see." She said in the comms with that same bubbly tone.*

"What do you want this time?" I asked in a threatening tone.

*"Me? Just thought I would stop by and have some fun playing games." She giggled.*

"Well, play time is over." I gritted my teeth and broke out of formation.

*"Initiating countdown. 300 seconds beginning, now." A mysterious male voice said.*

"You're going down!" Edge roared as she launched out multiple missiles.

*"Nnnnope!" She said as her plane some inhuman maneuvers.

"Let's see how fast I can shoot you down this time." I smirked and passed by the plane, then immediately did a sharp Immelmann turn, facing her plane.

"Reaper! Watch out! UAV!" Omega called out.

In an instant, I pulled the stick to avoid the path and saw a laser pass by from where I was heading towards. Now in a different angle, I fired my missiles when I locked on. But unfortunately, it was shot down bye the lasers from another UAV in the air.

"All units, aim at the UAVs first, then attack The Butterfly Master. Don't waste your missiles too much." Goodfellow reminded us of the effective strategy we did last time.

"Affirmative." I nodded and rolled around to get out of the Butterfly Master's circle.

*"Ooo~… nice moves, Ribbon!" She giggled.*

"Thanks for the compliment." I rolled my eyes and focused my attention on shooting down the UAVs. As I recklessly followed one of them, I easily shot it down using my guns and another one by my missiles. These things may be deadly, but their defense is weak because of the loss of their armor.

"UAV neutralized! Moving on to next target!" Omega confirmed his kill.

"Got one at my end too." Edge said.

*"Oh?"*

When I saw her Carmilla pass by overhead, I switched to my SP Weapons and readied them for a confirm lock. When they all locked on the UAVs, I launched them with the brevity code, "Fox 3!" I watched as the multiple launched missiles trailing the Quoxs, directly hitting them as flames and shrapnel damaged and destroyed other UAVs nearby.

Omega cheered, "Sweet!"

*"Wha-?"*

"Half of the UAVs are gone. Almost there."

*"Why?" She whined.*

"Because…" I smirked and shot down another set of UAVs, which were the last ones covering the QFA-44. "I got a score to settle." I told her before striking her craft with my missiles.

"Butterfly Master's craft is 50% damaged." Sky-Eye noted.

*"Muu-" She groaned frustratingly.*

"Well, looks like these missiles really do have more powerful warheads."

After hitting her a few times, I dumped my airspeed to make a tight turn towards the airfield where I was supposed to destroy the hangar. While the Butterfly Master was behind me, it left me to an idea for a crafty maneuver to use. At a decent enough altitude, I did a V Dive towards the airbase while my pursuer was still following me.

"Reaper? What're you doing?" Goodfellow asked nervously as I dived in deeper to lower altitude.

After preparing myself, I dumped my speed and pulled the stick to do a sharp Immelmann turn. As soon as I was facing backwards, I had a good shot of the QFA-44 and fired my guns. The cockpit was sparkling from my hailstorm of bullets, causing smoke to fly out, until I finished it by firing missiles. The plane bursted in flames as the craft headed down, striking the hangar I was meant to destroy. The explosion was twice the size of a regular plane crashing, which means I obliterated what was inside it.

Looks like it all worked out.

"Butterfly Master's craft is down! Well done, Reaper!" Sky-Eye confirmed.

*"Aah… Killjoy." The Butterfly Master sighed in annoyance.*

"The skies are clear. Nice!"

"Jeez. Are you on her 'To Kill List' or something?" Omega asked with a hint of relief after surviving another encounter with the Butterfly Master without getting shot down.

"Maybe…" I shrugged.

"All enemy planes in the airspace have been shot down. The hangar we came for has been neutralized. Operation successful!" Sky-Eye said.

"Goodfellow to Reaper. I have to admit, I can't believe you actually flawlessly took down The Butterfly Master once again. If you keep this up, he'll be ending up getting pretty bloodthirsty for you." He warned me, but was still impressed by my combat skills against The Butterfly Master.

"The entire federation already feels that way about me anyway." I laughed.

"Hah! Touch the Grim Reaper, you're going to go down in just one blink." Bronco said.

Goodfellow let out a small chuckle and sighed. "Well, good job, Bone Arrows. You all can commemorate the fact that you all accomplished this mission without getting shot down inside USEA. Head back and return to Al Dhafra Air Base for debriefing."

"Roger. On our way." I said as I led the entire team back as Edge and hers followed. "Think you can keep up, Edge?"

"Hmph! Of course I can!"

-(Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates)-

"Welcome back, Bone Arrows. Reaper, you're approaching landing corridor. Lower your landing gear, and prepare for touchdown."

"Roger. Initiating landing." I reduced my airspeed and lowered my landing gear.

After the risky flight back through enemy airspace, my squadron and I finally managed to reach Al Dhafr Air Base without encountering any Usean interception squadrons or air patrols. With Edge and the rest of the Ridgebacks awaiting their turn to land, I hit the runway first before Omega, Bronco, and Zebu did the same, safely without any problems. After we landed, the Ridgebacks started to land as soon as we steered clear of the runway. I led my team to one of the open hangars where a one of the runway crews were signaling me. After parking all of our planes, I took out my helmet and mask, letting out a sigh of relief to take out the stress. Sometimes, that Butterfly Master scares me, but not enough for me to cower in the air. Still, I'm just wondering where the hell does she get that overpowered QFA-44 every time we encounter her. Speaking of which, it almost feels like she's always after me.

I opened the canopy and hopped out of my plane, with my emblem still shining like the day I first sighed up for Bone Arrows, with Viper still as my squadron leader. I high fived my team as a way of saying good job, and looked at the mechanics as they were inspecting our planes. Luckily, we all didn't suffer severe damage while facing that Butterfly Master, especially Omega. My F-22 Raptor was only hit once during this sortie, which means the mechanics won't have to take too long to fix this baby up. I walked towards a chair and sat down with a bag of water bottles conveniently placed right next to me. I grabbed one, opened it, and chugged it halfway.

"Captain?" One of the mechanics called me.

"Yes?"

"Commander Goodfellow would like to have a word with you in the main building."

"Why? Does he need help with something?"

"Negative. He didn't say anything else to me. Just told me to notify you to go in one of the offices and have a word with him." He cracked his knuckles and headed towards my Raptor. "Now, I'll fix up your craft like always, sir."

"Alright. Thanks." I nodded. "Omega, I'll be in the office having a talk with Goodfellow. Get some food, drinks, and shut-eye. You deserved it for staying in one piece."

"Sweet! Roger that, Cap'n!" He gave a thumbs up.

I gave a quick salute to Bronco and Zebu before making my way back to the main building. As Edge was jogging around with her squadron, I waved a friendly hello as she and her team waved back. We're all friends here. But, usually, they love to compete with us on kill count during any sorties where we fly with each other. But I digress.

Heading my way to the offices, I opened the door and locked for another open door to check if my commander was anywhere to be seen. At the end of the hall, I heard his voice call me over and headed inside a room where he came from. I walked a little faster until I reached the door, with an office that was still cleaner than the other ones. Probably because I didn't see that much paperwork all over the place.

"Goodfellow? You wanted to have a word with me?" I asked.

"Yeah. Can you close the door though?" He told me as he sat down on his chair with a mug of coffee still steaming.

"Yes, sir." I nodded and closed the door behind me before proceeding to the chair on the opposite side of the desk. "Is there something wrong?"

"Kind of." He sipped his coffee and sighed. "Remember that treaty involving the restriction of sending anything or anyone into low orbit for military purposes?"

"What about it?"

"Well, after some rough times of arguments, the UN will possibly temporarily break that treaty because of USEA. But the problem for them is that the highest members didn't accept it, causing that persuasion to just fall back down the crack where it came from."

"That's unfortunate."

"But what they don't know, is that the members that requested us to go up there has already things planned out behind their leader's back. Hopefully, they'll get away with it without any of them yelling at our faces like some angry Drill Sergeant."

I raised an eyebrow, confused about what he was talking about. "I thought you said we're not allowed to set a single finger through to space. Isn't that why we signed that treaty?"

"Our side is in a desperate situation right now, Reaper. But if we get up there and find any information regarding what the USEA Federation is up to, we can see what's coming."

"Who's the lucky guy to go up to infinity and beyond?" I looked up at the ceiling.

"You are."

…

Wait…WHAT?! Did he just say…?

"Surprised? Well, I expected that from you as your first reaction."

"Well, I was never trained to go into space! What are you, nuts?!"

"I know, I know. Since you're almost invincible to take down and one of the most skilled pilots in the UN, they've determined a higher success rate for this mission can be executed by none other than you. The reason why we need you up there is because we just intercepted some kind of message coming from a satellite above while you were fighting The Butterfly Master."

"Hmm… you did say over B7R that her craft was being controlled by long range, right?"

"Correct. That's why we believe we can triangulate the location of the person controlling the QFA-44. If we learn the exact location, we can make the skies less dangerous for our pilots."

"I see how it is." I nodded, but still gave that shocked look. "But why me instead of an astronaut?"

"The UN has disbanded them to change their occupations after the treaty was officially signed. Even if they were still around, they would be too expensive anyway."

"Oh brother…" I sighed by the UN's decision. "How come I have to go up there?"

"Because you're dependable." He gave a simple answer.

"Sometimes, I hate being dependable." I sighed.

"It may sound behind crazy, but it's a simple job, Reaper. All you need to do is fly up there, dock your craft next to the satellite, make sure this device is transmitting correctly, wait for a few minutes, and get out of there, and head back towards the Aerospace Center." Goodfellow explained my mission briefly. "You told me once that you went scuba diving before you joined the Bone Arrows. I heard it's almost like that when you're out in orbit."

"I still don't get the reason why you couldn't get an astronaut to do this job." I mumbled.

"This operation needs to be top-secret. Which means you CANNOT tell anyone about this. Not even your team nor Edge and hers."

"And if we somehow get busted for all this?"

"Let's not think about the consequences. But listen, you'll be getting a helluva lot more money for doing something like this. Are you game?"

Oh boy…. Question of my life. I began to think about this decision as he patiently waited for my answer. I mean, if I accept this, it'll significantly help the UN on the operation on moving in deeper into the USEA Federation. But… this mission sounded dangerous. I've been through situations like Iyuli, Stonehenge in Turkey, facing the Butterfly Master at times, Avalon Dam, and other things. But going in space to head towards a satellite behind the UN's back? It's like a death sentence if I get caught! But if I don't accept it, more of my fellow soldiers and pilots will die in the battlefield. I still felt bad for losing Slash and Lieutenant Bertz when I thought about the battle over Tokyo. But, my god… Operation Bunker Shot. I was so furious, that I killed most of the enemy forces as they desperately tried to stop me.

But after a while of picking my decision, I came to a conclusion of saying…

"Okay."

-(*Twenty Days Later* Aerospace Center, West Indies)-

I can't believe they put me up to doing something like this. I'm a mercenary pilot. Not an astronaut! But hey, it's just a simple job, right? Just head near the designated satellite, and download as much intel as you can. Still, I was extremely nervous about doing this job. But at least I'll be flying a craft that is capable of handling space well like an ordinary aircraft. I was wearing a space suit and helmet while my usual pilot flight suit under it. Except for the fact there was nothing else on it besides my emblem and whatnot. Unlike my plane, it's no longer an ordinary fighter jet. But some classified spacecraft known as the R-352 Sepia. It's obviously able to fly up to orbit, but I was told it was able to handle well. Looking at the model itself, it was a bit similar to the Space Shuttle.

Before I was going onboard that expensive looking craft, I had a talk with Goodfellow, giving me one last briefing before my launch. Basically, just go up there near the designated satellite, and use the datalink on this plane to let it automatically hack into the system. But what sent chills down my spine was the fact I had to leave the craft and place this strange device that looks like some sort of computer mouse. It was actually just a transmitter, from what I was told. I had to leave it on there before I leave.

With everything now checked out, I nervously got inside the R-352 Sepia and prepared myself for one helluva ride of my life. With everyone in the control room and everything was setting up, I held onto the handles on my side and looked up at the wide blue sky.

"Control, I'm ready for launch. I guess…" I mumbled.

"Affirmative. Good luck, sir." They told me as I heard the countdown on my headset. "Initiating launch sequence."

Here we go…

"All ground control, prepare the final check for launch."

Calm down…

"10, 9, 8, 7, 6, ignition sequence beginning."

I felt my craft shake from the engines warming up as it lifted up a bit.

"3, 2, 1, ignition!"

The craft shook even harder as I felt it go up even higher, feeling my body get pushed down on my seat. It was a bit similar to taking off from an airfield. But more intense since I'm facing up a 90 degree angle to the sky. Looking at my sides, I saw the airspace where I once flew on my second sortie when I first joined the Bone Arrows when I was still being watched over by Viper. Looking back up, I noticed I was passing by the clouds already.

All I can do is control my breathing as my body was being pushed against my seat forcefully. This thing was more faster like I was a missile. I was praying that they didn't lie to me and decided to make me be in charge of this thing to crash in some USEAN headquarters. But, that's ridiculous.

(This story is originally by HFHoofHammer.)

-(Low Earth Orbit)-

When I finally passed through, I looked outside my cockpit and saw the earth reflecting the sunlight as the other was just nothing but black deep space. As stars began to grow even more visible, I was in a loss of words of how incredible this view was looking. When I was little, I've always wanted to go to space and be an astronaut. But… I guess this is close enough, even though I'm still a mercenary pilot only doing this because Goodfellow wanted me to do it.

"Reaper, do you copy?" A familiar voice called me.

"Uh… yeah. Goodfellow?"

"Good. The comms have a good connection. You feeling okay?" He asked.

I sighed nervously and looked around, already having a good view from the satellite. "Just… nervous when I get off this thing. You sure this'll work?"

"Don't worry about it. Just link up with that satellite, place that transmitter on it, and head back to the Aerospace Center. You'll be fine."

"Alright. And can I request that you'll never make me go through something like this again, please?"

Goodfellow chuckled and gave an answer I wanted. "Alright, alright. Good luck."

"Thanks."

I firmly held onto the stick and banked left to turn towards the satellite. Surprisingly, flying this thing wasn't too bad. As I got closer, I slowed down and yawed to get my craft in a good position to park it next to the satellite. I turned on the datalink and got a good connection between my craft and this huge monster. Now, onto the scariest part.

Cautiously, I opened the lid as I got outside, with one of the most scariest views in my life. Dead space all around me, away from earth from below my feet. I shivered and had no choice but to make a small leap towards the satellite. With the craft still in place, I went for the small pocket in my suit and took out the transmitter, placing it on the body.

"Reaper? You okay?"

"This is Reaper. I've already connected the datalink with the satellite and placed the transmitter on it. Can you do it?"

"Standby."

After a long period of silence, it was broken when Goodfellow called back, in an irritated voice.

"Damn it! Listen, it looks like you're going to have to wait a while in space. Our computer just malfunctioned and is trying to get operational again." Goodfellow told me.

"You gotta be kidding me."

"I wish I was. But, hey, we're not asking anything from you. Just wait there for a bit."

"Roger." I hung up and sighed. "For crying out loud."

Suddenly, I felt something bang against the side of the satellite. I jumped in surprise as I looked around, hoping it wasn't some alien or anything. But, it sounded like it was coming from INSIDE the satellite. Wait, there's no one in there, right? Curiously, I went around the satellite and noticed a hatch with a butterfly emblem.

Butterfly emblem?!

Wait a minute! This can mean Goodfellow actually intercepted the satellite regarding the Butterfly Master! Carefully, I opened the hatch and went inside, only to find I was inside a small airlock. The hatch behind me closed automatically as air was blown inside the place. If this satellite has something like this, then… is there someone onboard too? Can't be.

I opened the hatch on the opposite side of where I entered and went inside to discover something rather unusual. As the hatch closed behind me, I was looking at a small window of earth with a countdown on a screen in front above of a seat. Then, I noticed something floating right in front of me. It was one headset floating around. I grabbed it and noticed a small strand of hair on it.

All of a sudden, I felt my body getting shocked with the headset in my hands.

The electric shock was so strong, that I blacked out in about three seconds. Just shaking as my body flew across the interior.

Damn… what the hell?

My eyes remained shut as I realized some parts of my body were numb after that strong shock. Slowly, I opened my eyes and noticed that was still in the satellite with the headset no longer floating around the interior. Curious to know how long I was out, I was going to check my watch. But my hands were tied! Another thing I realized was my space suit was off. It was just me in my flight suit I wore under. Where the hell did my space suit go?!

"Well, now. Master, I think our intruder is awake." A male voice on the monitor said.

"Ah! Thanks for watching, Kvasir." A female voice said, which sounded like someone else was inside here. A girl popped out from the seat in the center of the interior and stared at me with her brown eyes. She was a brunette with fair skin in some violet suit. She gave a welcoming smile and let out an innocently cute giggle.

"What the-?"

"How did you get up here, stranger?" She asked.

I blankly stared back and said, "That's the same question I was going to ask."

"How about you tell me first, stranger."

"Ladies first." I insisted.

"Ooo~. Aren't you the gentleman."

She got off her seat and floated towards where I was tied up, still in zero gravity. When she got closer to me, her faint scent of perfume was all over her. Up closer, I had to admit she was pretty beautiful to lay my eyes on. Slowly lifting her hand up, she placed her finger on my chin and slowly slithered it down over my neck, which sent chills down my spine. Her finger stopped to the point where she was touching my flight suit, pointing at my emblem of the Grim Reaper with an Infinity/Ribbon mark.

"I recognize that emblem," She looked up at me and smirked. "Ribbon?"

"Huh?"

"You must be the guy that always shot me down in a match when I was having fun in my little game."

"It depends who you are. I've shot down many aces anyway."

The girl turned her head a bit to show me some sort of tattoo on the back of her neck. It was the same butterfly emblem I saw outside the hatch. And… on the QFA-44 I've encountered with those Quox drones! She has got to be…

"You…!" My fists clenched as my teeth gritted tightly.

"Hey, Killjoy." She winked.

…The Butterfly Master!

"It seems our little guest is feeling a bit angry, Master." That male voice in the monitor spoke again.

"So I've noticed. What's wrong, Ribbon?"

"You soulless little bi-"

"AH! AH! No calling my Master any offensive names, Reaper."

"And who the hell are you supposed to be, tin can!" I growled.

"Rude much. You may call me Kvasir. Not this 'Tin Can' nickname you created." He sighed.

"Wow, Ribbon. What's with all the hostility?" The girl asked, still showing that stupid smile on her face.

"I have the right to be angry at you! You're responsible for killing Slash and a lot of pilots I once knew!"

"Me? Killing? Don't be silly. It's not like my game can actually do something like that." She shook her head.

"Game? What the hell are you talking about? This isn't a game!" I growled. (A/N: Not trying to break the fourth wall.)

"Why're you acting as if you think this game is like your whole life?" She raised an eyebrow.

"It's because it HAS been happening in real life!" I shouted.

"Reaper? Don't be silly. My Master has been playing a game all this time."

"Mm hmm!" She nodded.

"And who the hell has been telling you that?!"

"Me and Master Cohen made this program to keep her from getting bored."

"Kvasir installed a game for me just to enjoy myself while I'm up here staying away from the dangers below until it subsides." She said.

Game? What the hell were they talking about? This isn't a game! Everything that this girl has been doing was nothing but reality.

"Master Camilla, may I take my leave to have a talk with Colonel Victor?" Kvasir asked "I hope you'll treat our guest with the best respect. Which I'm hoping he will show it as well."

"Alrighty then. Have fun!" She nodded and looked back at me. "Where are my manners? You can call me Camilla, which is my first name."

"Yeah, whatever." I rolled my eyes and didn't even bother giving her eye contact.

She let out a sigh and went closer to me. "What's wrong with you? I didn't do anything bad to you, didn't I?"

"You killed a lot of my fellow pilots. Did you not hear what I just said?!"

"Pfft. Killing automatic computer players isn't really killing anybody."

"I saw everything that you've been doing! Operation Overdrive and the rest of the times I encountered you! You actually killed actual pilots that were real humans!"

Camilla crossed her arms and only looked at me like I was crazy. "Where's your proof?"

"Kvasir has been lying to you all this time. You're not playing a game. You're actually killing pilots that the USEA Federation is targeting because we're their enemy."

"Kvasir would never lie to me. Why would you think that?"

"Listen to me!" I called her out. "Do you even know how much damage you've caused to many families of the pilots you killed? When you killed Slash, the man with the single line on his plane, his team was so heartbroken from his lost because of you! When he ejected, your UAVs killed him because of that damn ID elimination system they have!"

"You're just trying to trick me. It's not going to work."

"How about this then," I gave her a serious look and spoke, "when Kvasir comes back, make him tell the truth."

"Hmph! Fine!" She rolled her eyes and looked at the monitor, awaiting for her servant to return.

As we silently waited, my body was still tensed up from how angry I was at this 'Camilla' for taking many lives. But, was she really convinced that all this time she think she was playing a game? Who the hell would tell her something like that? She's technically participating in a war between the UN and USEA. Why would they choose her to partake and control the QFA-44 to shoot down other pilots?

After a few minutes of nothing but silence, Kvasir finally responded and cleared his throat.

"I apologize if I left impatient, Master. And for leaving you with this potty mouthed intruder." Kvasir said.

"Kvasir, have you ever lied to me?" Camilla asked immediately.

"Oh my… of course not! What ever gave you that idea?!"

"Ribbon over there told me that you've been lying to me all this time about the game I've been playing."

"Well, now. You wouldn't possibly believe what he's saying, would you not?"

I sighed and looked at the monitor. "Kvasir, how about you just tell the truth. I know you're lying to your own Master."

"Excuse me. But I don't remember that I'm required to be following any of your orders, Reaper."

"Kvasir, I'm going to repeat myself one more time." Camilla crossed her arms. "Are you lying to me?"

Silence.

"Oh…well,…I uh…" He stammered.

Camilla's face started to turn a little saddened by how much Kvasir was trying to find his words. It was an obvious sign that he has been indeed lying to her.

"Kvasir?" Her voice started to shake. "Have you?"

"M-Master…I-I…I've never lied to you before this. But…I'm sorry."

"W-What…?"

"Tin Ca-… I mean, Kvasir." I called. "I know I'm not on your side. But, it would be best to tell Camilla everything about this 'game' she's been playing." I told him.

"But-"

"Even if you still kept this as a secret, one day she would've found out."

Kvasir sighed. "Camilla, you're not going to like what you'll hear and see. But, I have no other choice to avoid lying to my own Master." He said as the monitor displayed pictures. Horrifying pictures that made her eyes widen in utter shock.

One of the pictures looked really familiar to where it was taken from a UAV. It was above Tokyo, where Slash bailed out, only to be killed by a laser on the Quox drone. His ASF-X Shinden II falling out of the sky in flames, my aircraft passing by with Omega and Edge in the background. But the most ugly part of the image was where I saw the laser on Slash's head. Another picture had the same thing, expect it was even more closer to the pilot. I could see the detail to what a laser can do to one's body. I couldn't bare to look any longer as Camilla couldn't believe what she was looking at. Honestly, I can't help but feel sorry for her. All this time, she didn't know she was killing others in reality, lied about playing some game Kvasir said.

Looking back up at the screen, a set of numbers displayed on the side. There was a number kill count, which was shockingly high. 87 pilots and 95 ground forces killed, which equals to around 182! Camilla let out a gasp and covered her mouth. Her body started to shake as she continued to stare at the screen full of kill counts, pictures of them, and some other photographs of the war going on right now.

"Master…" Kvasir was ashamed for showing her something like that. "…I'm sorry."

"N-No! This has got to be some sort of mistake! This was all a game! Right?!"

"I told you." I said. "This was all really happening. Those enemy pilots, ground forces, and everything was all real military personnel that died by your own hands without you being aware of it."

"All this time, I've been killing this much people?!" Her voice was shaking even more as her eyes were about to leak out some tears.

"Please, Master. Just remain calm and-"

"Calm?!" She interrupted with her voice raised up. "How can I remain calm after finding out I was lied from my only friend up here to accompany me about this so called 'Game'!" She yelled.

"I-I'm so sorry, Camilla. I just…"

"No. NO! I'm not going to listen to any of your stupid attempts of persuading me! Just… JUST SHUT UP!" Camilla exploded as her eyes were starting to drop tears, which was floating around a bit because of the zero gravity effect.

"Master…" Kvasir's voice sounded like he was deeply hurt by her words.

"DIDN'T YOU JUST HEARD WHAT I SAID?! SHUT UP! I HATE YOU!"

"Hey!" I called her out. "You really shouldn't say that to him, for how much he has cared about you!"

"Care about me? If he really did care, he would've not lied to me about all the lives I've taken!"

"It wasn't your fault. You need to stop and just cal-"

*SLAP!*

I felt a sharp sting on my left cheek as it suddenly turned numb while my left ear rang. Camilla just slapped me, hard. Her face was showing nothing but anger, guiltiness, and how much she was hurt by what she just found out. The inside of the satellite was extremely drowned in silence as Kvasir didn't want to say anything just like me. Camilla was letting out sobs as she covered her face while crying. My heart felt like it was being stabbed repeatedly by a knife. She never wanted to hurt anyone, but she ended up killing others blindly.

Her sobbing soon stopped. I looked at Camilla and saw a blank expression on her face as she was heading towards the exit hatch where I came in.

"What're you doing?" I asked.

"I'm going to make sure I won't hurt anyone else from now on." She answered darkly.

"What do you mean?"

"Master! Don't open that!" Kvasir yelled.

Wait a minute, is she trying to open the hatch?!

"Hey! Don't open that hatch!"

"I'm sorry. But… I'm not going back to that game again." She said.

"Stop it, Master! That hatch is what's keeping you alive in this satellite! If you open it, you-"

"So? Then let it kill me!"

I started to trying to free myself from where I was tied up, but it was no use. If she opens that hatch, it'll kill her, including myself. After trying to struggle from making my hands go free, I gave up and only had one option, which I hope it would stop her from committing suicide.

"Camilla!" I called out.

"What do you want?! Leave me alone!"

"Just come here and talk to me! You don't have to do this to yourself!"

"You're not the boss of me!"

"Just listen to me!" I shouted, which I could tell made her stop. "All of this wasn't your fault! You were just manipulated by the program that was given to you about it just being a game."

"Master, as much as I wanted to tell you everything, I couldn't. Master Cohen would've had me terminated if I spilled out everything. I'm so sorry! I couldn't just leave you alone in this satellite! Forgive me." Kvasir begged.

"…" She stayed silent.

"I know you're still hurt from killing those people. But… I've felt that way when I joined the UN Forces. When I fly, I had no other choice but to take down real pilots. The men and women that tried to fight for what they believed in, or out of desperation or force. You're not the only one who killed real people. Just… come over here. Kvasir doesn't want you to get killed." I sighed and looked at the entrance. "And… I don't want that too."

From what I said, it was actually the truth. She didn't deserve to kill herself after what she's done.

"I'm sorry for how much I was hostile towards you when I found out who you were. But after finding out you were tricked all along, I just couldn't but feel terrible about it. Just come over here and untie me. Please." I said.

Hoping she would come over here, I waited until I finally got the answer. She floated towards me with her eyes red from the tears. While untying me, she was still holding that dark expressionless look. She finished untying me and looked down at her lap. I placed my hand on her shoulder, but she slapped it away from her.

"Don't touch me!"

Without listening to her order, I couldn't help but hug her in an attempt to soothe her from her sadness. She squirmed around, trying to escape from my arms, but wasn't able to free herself.

"Let go of me!" She demanded.

I ignored that order and kept hugging her.

"I SAID LET ME GO!" She shouted and tried her hardest to escape, but gave up, now crying on my shoulder.

I frowned and patted her back to soothe her. The shoulder of my flight suit was already a bit damp from her tears. Her arms wrapped around my body as she continued to cry even more. Hearing her cry just started to make my heart bleed, reminding me of the day when Edge was affected by Slash's death like everyone else in her squadron. I, myself, have been through something like this even before the time I joined the UN Security Force.

As Camilla began to stop sobbing, I looked at her as she looked at me back with her teary eyes. With her tear drops floating around, I couldn't help but let out a small chuckle, which made her smile. I went for the pocket in my flight suit and took out a handkerchief to wipe away her tears that were still on her face. When I finished, she looked away and clasped her hands together.

"I-I'm sorry…"

"You don't need to apologize." I smiled and let my hands off her shoulders.

"Master…?"

"Kvasir, I'm so sorry for yelling at you like that." She looked down guiltily.

"No, Master. I should be the one apologizing for hiding the truth about the 'game' this whole time." He said.

"But, since I found out, doesn't that mean you'll be terminated?" She bit her lip nervously. "I'll never be able to see you again."

"Master, as long as you keep it a secret from Master Cohen too. If you don't tell him, then he'll let you keep me." He told her.

"I would never throw you away, Kvasir." She smiled.

"I'm… very happy to hear you say that, Master Camilla. Thank you so much!" He thanked happily.

While the both of them were talking to each other, I noticed my space suit was on the side of the interior right next to one of the panels. I noticed there was no red blinking on the small radio, which means Goodfellow or anyone else didn't call or say anything.

"Ribbon?"

I turned my head towards Camilla and saw her giving me a smile with her cheeks slightly red. "I…uh…"

"Hmm?"

"Th-Thank you…"

Chu~❤

My body froze when I felt her lips touch my cheek. Did she give me… a kiss? She giggled at my surprised reaction as I touched the spot where she kissed me.

"Wh-What was that for?"

"For stopping me from… ending myself." Camilla blushed even more.

"You're welcome." I smiled while blushing wildly. "So, what do you think you'll do now?"

"Well, there's nothing else to do up here. So…" She began to think for a bit and came up with something. "I guess I'll just relax myself a little more by watching the constellations."

"Do you always watch the stars to relax a bit?"

"Indeed she does." Kvasir answered. "Ever since she was a little child, I've heard she loved looking at stars, which she still enjoys at this day. Every now and then, she would either listen to my lessons, or perhaps look up at the stars to enjoy the eyeful of lights from afar when her QFA-44 Carmilla is shot down. Ahem… by you."

"Where can she even see the stars?" I asked, looking outside the window where the Earth was seen, not showing any stars visible.

"Like this." Suddenly, the window was shut by a screen, which was displaying nothing but stars from the outside. "This is a live camera feed from behind our satellite, which was also the reason how we found you trying to get in. My Master prefers to look up at them most of the time."

"Mm hmm." She nodded.

"Oh my…" He cleared his throat. "Excuse me, Colonel Victor is calling me back about an attack near Kuwait City. Please allow me to take my leave."

"You can go, Kvasir. I'm not going anywhere." Camilla smiled.

With Kvasir not technically here with us anymore, it was just me and Camilla, the supposed enemy of mine known as The Butterfly Master. For the first few seconds of alone time, there was nothing but an awkward silence between us. But then, she broke the silence by getting on the seat she sits on and looks back at me.

"Come. You wanna watch the stars with me?" Camilla asked.

"Uh… sure." I agreed and carefully flew towards where she sat and looked at the screen full of the stars of both the hemispheres.

As we sat there looking at the stars, she began to tell me everything she knows about the constellations and everything as I listened to everything she explained. Andromeda, Aquila, Ursa Minor and Major, Crux aka The Southern Cross, and other constellations. Kvasir actually gave her the knowledge of memorizing them. As for me, I didn't really know much about the stars until Camilla started to go into more detail. When she decided to take a break for my little 'learning session', we both stayed silent as she scooted closer to me.

"Do you always look up at the stars too from down there?" She asked, talking about me in the surface of Earth.

"I do." I nodded. "But… it makes me feel kind of scared, thinking if another astroid will hit us. I witnessed Ulysses when I was just a little toddler."

She gave a frown after my words. "It must've been terrifying experiencing all that. I may have not. But… I couldn't help but feel sorry for everyone who has. Just like you."

"I've lost both my parents during the first wave of astroids striking twenty years ago. I was raised by my grandfather, who was a civilian pilot and taught me a few things about flying. Until he passed away. With the knowledge he gave me, I soon became part of the Bone Arrow Squadron." I explained a small history of my past to her, looking down at my hands, remembering when they were firmly gripping the flight stick of my grandfather's plane.

Camilla looked at me with a frown and guiltily looked down at her lap. "I'm… I'm so sorry to hear that. I really am."

I gave a small chuckle. "Some people view us mercenaries like money-hungry pigs who only care about fame and fortune. They should know that we can have our own reasons to fight. For their family, for freedom, to protect the weak, and to help themselves start over."

"What do you think you fight for?"

"I fight to support myself. But the more I matured and opened my eyes to this war, I mostly want this world to come back the way it used be. Right now, it's nothing but hell down there." I looked at the earth below before turning toward her. "And here you are, safe and peaceful in a satellite where no troubles can reach you."

"Well…" She scratched her head and looked away sheepishly. "you're away from the trouble right now. So, why not enjoy the view with me to relieve the stress."

"I'm doing that right now, am I?" I smirked.

She giggled and lied down, still looking at me. "I'm curious to know what your friends are like. You know, that one guy with Cancer the Crab on his plane. The woman with that single line on her plane."

While staring at the screen, I began to explain a little bit about Omega and my team along with Edge and her team. I made sure not to spill any personal info, since I'm not supposed to do that. Basically, I told them about their personalities, how Omega got the nickname 'King Bailout', the competitive attitude between my Bone Arrow flight and the Ridgebacks, and the places I've been with all of them.

"They all sound like good people." She smiled, but frowned and looked down. "I couldn't imagine how you would feel if I shot them down. You have such good friends while I only have Kvasir up here with me."

"Well…" I scratched my head and blushed. "You did earn another friend. The one who's right next to you."

Her eyes widened as she gave me a warm smile. "You really think so?"

"Yeah. You're not so bad when you're not trying to shoot me down." I chuckled.

"After what I found out today, I… don't want to shoot you down."

In the corner of my eye, I noticed something pass by the screen. It was a bright slash from across space. Both me and Camilla immediately looked at the screen after noticing that in just a second.

"Did you just see that?! A shooting star!" I said to her.

"Yeah. I saw it too." She told me as she fiddled her brown silky hair. "Did you make a wish?"

I nodded and continued to stare at the screen. "I wished for this war to end. I just want the world to return back to how it was. Restore peace and stability worldwide." I told her my wish and looked at her. "What about you?"

"Honestly, I wished for the same thing. After seeing all those pictures and everything, I didn't want that to keep happening down there. War is just an ugly experience." She said.

"Well, at least you're safe from down there."

Everything was turning quiet again. None of us said a word after we talked about what we wished for. The both of us just kept an eye on the screen, hoping to catch another shooting star.

Then, I felt her hand touch mine. Her warm and soft hands firmly held onto mine as she sheepishly tried to avoid eye contact with me. I couldn't help but smile as I caressed her hand as well. She would frequently look back at me, then dial her eyes in the opposite direction from where I sat. Slowly, she scooted even closer to me as I did the same. Closer, and closer until to the point where I felt her shoulder touch mine.

My heart skipped a beat as I could feel her body heat a little bit through her suit. I tried to slow down my heartbeat by inhaling through my nose, then exhaling out my mouth. Camilla nervously rubbed her legs together and took a short glance at me. She was blushing wildly just like me at this moment. Finally, we both looked at each other at last and gazed in each other's eyes. Suddenly, she started to slowly come closer to my face. Feeling a strange sensation in my chest and a force making me come closer to hers, her eyes slowly closed as I did the same. Waiting for the moment to happen, it actually did.

Our lips finally collided together. Her lips were warm and soft with a hint of flavor on them, which was probably strawberry. I felt her other hand grab my other one and moved a little bit more deeper in the kiss. Her tongue suddenly got inside my mouth and started to play with mine. I returned the favor by moving mine into her mouth, slowly and lovingly playing with hers.

"Mmph~❤" She let out a small moan.

After a while of that sequence, we both gasped for air, as a bridge of saliva was hanging from between our lips. We looked into each other's eyes as she smiled at me and placed her hands on my shoulders.

"One more time…" She said to me.

I smiled back and did what she asked for. Our lips touched again once more and began to play with each other's tongues. She pulled me in closer as I did the same. With our bodies hugging against each other, we were kept warm from both of our body heat in this chilly satellite above Earth's orbit. Just the two of us, sitting here while watching the stars.

I felt like I never wanted to leave this place without her. But… I have a duty down at Earth against the USEA Federation. That's a problem.

But, there's another thing that was an even bigger problem.

I-I…I think I'm falling for her!

For the time being, all I can do is stay close to Camilla for now. Hoping that soon on in the future, everything would go fine. But when Goodfellow contacts me, then I have to say goodbye to her. When that happens, I couldn't help but become more worried about her when I leave. She wouldn't be happy if that happens as well.

We didn't want this to end. But the only thing that was staying in my head was one thing.

Me and Camilla staying close to each other while Stargazing.

(The End…?)

Hope you enjoyed this oneshot! Remember, reviewing is optional. But, you can favorite this if you want.

I'll make more Reaper x Camilla stories soon if you readers actually want more. Or perhaps I'll make a full story as soon as I'm done with one of my other current ones, which is the main reason why I put a cliffhanger. Then again, I can work on three at the same time, I guess.

But, that all depends if you aces want to see more of this. If you want me to continue, just tell me. Or if I'm up to it, I'll do it without hearing anything. Just for fun.

Thank you for reading! Hope you had a good Valentines Day!

If you have any questions, Private Message me!

(Question: Do you this story to continue?)