Ace Combat 7 Epilogue
Two Worlds Meet
Disclaimer: Ace Combat 7 and its characters are owned by Namco Bandai.
Selatapura Life Hospital, Selatapura, Gunther Region, 0913 Hours, Nov. 4, 2019
"Alright, clear the way!" 444th Squadron mechanic and de facto leader, Avril Mead was having to weave between busy doctors and patients upon entering the lobby. It was more like shoving people about, given how Selatapura Life Hospital, among many others throughout the area, were overflowing with refugees and military casualties from the ongoing bushfire wars and the final battle around the space elevator.
In tow behind her was her friend; a young male Osean pilot of a certain aircraft whom her friend, Princess Rosa Cossette D'Elise wanted to meet in person. He was in his early twenties, not much older than the princess. With his smooth brown hair, fit muscular build, and a leather flight jacket over his uniform, this young man could easily be mistaken for a stereotypical motorbike jockey.
"You'd better be on your best behavior, dumbass," Avril reminded in a friendly tone, "don't want to embarrass yourself in front of the princess with your hot head."
"That's the thing, Scrap Queen," the pilot replied with a slick and sly tone, "I have my ways with ladies." He even flashed a bight smile, "they find it to be attractive, besides my flying."
Avril huffed as she pressed the 'up' button for the elevator. The doors opened, but she and the pilot were interrupted as two Erusean pilots rushed in, carrying one of their own on a field stretcher. One of the Eruseans gruffly glanced back at the two Oseans who looked a little miffed. "Excuse us," he said brusquely, before closing the elevator. The Osean pilot looked to Avril, and just shrugged. "Hope you don't mind stairs," he said, referring to Avril's limped leg in its prosthetic support. The mechanic just growled at having to climb instead. "Bite me."
The pair did go up the stairs towards the top floor, with Avril noticeably putting more effort into her steps, which would have been much more painful without the tension support. The pilot offered a confident smirk, having gone a little ahead of her. "You sure you don't need my guiding touch," the pilot asked in a suave tone.
"Save the moves for the princess, dumbass," Avril shot back in a mix of defiance and playfulness, "besides, I can use the exercise to get out of this cast sooner."
"You're the Scrap Queen," the pilot jested as the two continued on. The room where the Erusean princess was booked into had two rifle-toting Erusean soldiers posted outside.
"Avril Mead," the 444th Squadron mechanic announced herself to the guards. One of them nodded and was about to open the door, but the other stopped him. He then pointed at the Osean pilot, "you didn't tell us that you were bringing a guest."
Avril groaned, "come on. Didn't her Highness tell you guys that we were coming?"
"She came down with a fever," the second guard explained, "she was out for a long while. Until we hear otherwise, only you are approved to visit." At that, the mechanic did a frustrated facepalm.
"Well in case you two can't see," she groaned, "if he's accompanying me, he's fine by me. Her Highness does trust me after all as a friend."
"That maybe so," the second guard retorted, "but we don't even know who the heck this man is." He sneered at the young pilot, "looks like some lowly motorbike greaser out of some Osean boondocks."
"Well," Avril huffed, "if you knew who he really was, you wouldn't be so dismissive, mister."
"Who is he to us?" The second guard was starting to get irritated.
It was then that Avril smirked as she glanced back at the Osean pilot. She was going to have a little fun. "Well, then I guess your princess won't get to meet Mr. 'Three Strikes' here, will she?"
At the mention of ''Three Strikes', both guards stiffened up. The second guard sweat bullets as he processed whether Avril was joking or not about this Osean pilot being the dreaded 'Three Strikes' that terrorized the Erusean military up to and after Farbanti's capture. The second guard looked towards the pilot in disbelief. It was then that the young man gave a sly grin, which unnerved the Erusean.
'Three Strikes' greeted with a sly, "boo." Suddenly, the two Eruseans were not so steadfast in blocking him.
"N-no," the second guard stuttered, "our mistake! Of course, the princess was expecting him!"
"In fact, we were just going to check up on you," the first guard scrambled for the radio. Avril had to restrain herself from laughing at the older guards tripping over themselves at the sight of the much younger pilot. The pilot himself chuckled amusedly as the first guard called the Osean-Erusean security team guarding the hospital regarding the man with Avril. After a few seconds of chatter and confirmation, the first guard then hurriedly asked the pilot, "can you let us see your ID?"
The Osean pilot laughed as he produced his military ID. The first guard scrutinized it, reading the details over the radio. After yet another confirmation, the guard unlocked the door, and nervously gestured to the pilot, "s-she will see you in."
It was then that a teenage girl with dark long hair and a dark blue dress stepped out of the room, wondering what the commotion was about. When she laid eyes on the female mechanic, she smiled slightly. "Ms. Avril," she greeted with a gentle smile.
"Hey, Ionela," Avril greeted as the woman and the girl hugged. They had become fast friends after their fateful encounter at the former UAV factory below the space elevator through their own friendships with Cossette. Avril then smiled at Ionela. "How's her Highness doing?"
The Shilage girl gave a solemn smile. "She's doing better this morning," she said, "but she's still a little weak from her coma." Ionela closed her eyes. "I'm still amazed that she even survived that explosion, with how big of a gash she has on her head." Avril herself could not help but go back to when she and the 444th survivors found Cossette at the base of the elevator, bloodied in her tattered spacesuit.
Ionela then looked past Avril to see the Osean pilot accompanying her. She blinked as her expression showed a mixture of disbelief and apprehension. Avril mentioned that she was bringing 'him' along as per Cossette's request, but seeing 'him' in person was the one thing that Ionela was not mentally steeled for. "Ms. Avril… is that?"
"Yep," Avril affirmed with a tender expression, this time trying to be a bit sensitive, "that's him…"
The Osean pilot could not help but wonder to himself as the girl named Ionela stared at him. Did she know him? A few seconds passed before he realized that an uncomfortable silence had fallen over them. Putting on his best impression, he just gave a cool, yet gentle smile. "Hi there," he greeted.
Ionela heard the pilot, who was apparently the notorious Three Strikes in person for the first time. Her face eventually evened out into a neutral expression. "The princess is in here," she said in a neutral expression. There was a hint of hesitancy in her tone, and Avril already knew why, but chose not to say anything.
"Show me in," the Osean pilot requested. Without a word, Ionela gestured him to follow her in. As he went past through the door, the young man looked back to Avril, expecting her to follow him. However, she did not, remaining outside of the door, but giving him a reassuring smile. "Good luck, Trigger."
Trigger winked with a thumbs up at Avril and followed Ionela inside the room. A curtain obscured much of the room from the front. Ionela went ahead of Trigger, gesturing to him to wait behind the curtain. Going around the curtain, Ionela gave a respectful bow to the figure who was laying in bed. "Your Highness," the Shilage girl respectfully addressed, "the one they call Three Strikes is here."
"Bring him in," that familiar feminine voice chimed in Trigger's ears. The young Osean ace pilot could easily recognize her from the radio broadcasts back at the Zapland base, yet it sounded younger and more melodious in person. When Ionela waved him over, he promptly stepped out of the curtain into the brightly-lit room.
There were gasps from two different voices as Trigger's eyes adjusted to the light level. There were two other girls present in the room. One was sitting next to the bed, with a stuffed bear rested in her arms and on the lap of her dark blue dress, not unlike Ionela's. She had a resemblance to Ionela, albeit with a shorter haircut in a hairband, exposed forehead, and a gentler, softer face. However, it was the blond girl resting in bed that caught the Osean ace's eyes.
Princess Rosa Cossette D'Elise was dressed in a white hospital gown, almost resembling most of the dresses that Trigger had seen from news articles and live broadcasts of her. Her blonde hair was long and loose, instead of being in a braided crown, as there was a large wrap around her forehead bandaging a gash she had suffered. True enough, her normally pristine face and arms showed numerous scars and bruises from a near miss by the two advanced UAVs that Trigger later shot down. Yet, these injuries did very little to dampen the glow from the sun shining on the princess' hair and creamy white skin. If anything, Trigger swallowed as he lost his breath momentarily. 'She's beautiful… he marveled to himself.
Cossette meanwhile could only stare in awe and surprise at the young Osean man who was supposed to be the pilot of the fighter with the three scratches that her people so feared, then came to respect. He had smooth and rounded rich brown hair, bright yellow eyes, and a fit build with well-rounded muscles on his limbs. Her initial conception of Trigger was a bulked up middle-aged man, with possibly a few scars and a gruff appearance. However, seeing him for the first time in person, his smooth face, fiery sharp eyes, and stereotypical Osean 'greaser' appearance accompanied by his flight jacket, Rosa estimated that he could not be older than his mid-twenties. She had seen many boys from her days in school and suitors from around the kingdom and abroad, but here was a specimen of top masculine form, straight out of an action movie.
"Mr. Three Strikes," the smaller girl asked. If Trigger remembered right from Avril, her name was Alma, and both she and Ionela were sisters. She hugged her bear tight, not knowing what to make of the man who fought her grandfather, Mihaly A. Shilage. It wasn't too long ago either that Soymeur, one of the surviving Sol Squadron members, told her and Ionela how Trigger had soundly defeated Mihaly over their homeland, permanently retiring him from the skies.
Trigger nodded, with a calm and reassuring smile to the little girl. "That's me, kiddo," he said in a cheery tone. Cossette was surprised again, hearing Trigger's smooth voice. He sounded a lot more like a college sports leader than a feared war veteran. Ionela, on the other hand, was a bit unnerved by his presence and casual behavior.
"Alma," Ionela signaled to her sister. Alma listened and walked over to her elder sibling, still staring at the Osean pilot. The brown-haired young man watched as Ionela took Alma's hand in her own, slightly moving her little sister behind her. It was as though Ionela was protecting Alma from Trigger.
The princess felt the room atmosphere take an uncomfortable dive, seeing her best friends stare at Trigger in distrust. Feeling the need to diffuse it, she spoke up, "Ionela, Alma… you two can go for now. I can speak with Three Strikes alone."
"Rosa…" Ionela muttered in a warning tone. She had reservations leaving Rosa alone in the room with such a man.
Trigger could not help but feel miffed by the reception that the two girls in the blue dresses were giving him. While Alma seemed more confused than anything, Ionela's body language spoke volumes about how she really felt having him here. "Hey," he dared to speak, "I'm not going to hurt any of you. The princess did ask for me after all." Trigger then turned to Cossette and gave a light bow. "It is nice to meet you, Princess Rosa Cossette D'Elise."
Rosa smiled in acceptance. This Trigger that her friend, Avril talked so much about seemed to be quite a gentleman. "We meet at last, Trigger," she greeted, "I've heard so much about you."
"Likewise," Trigger replied as he sat in a chair beside the bed. The Shilage sisters, seeing that nothing was going to happen to Rosa, reluctantly stepped out of the room. The guards closed the door behind them. It was then that the atmosphere took on a serene, yet suspenseful tone. Neither Trigger nor Rosa spoke for a few seconds.
It was then that Rosa looked at Trigger. It was surreal, being this close to the Osean pilot who had caused much destruction for her country's air force, and still controversial for being yet the one man who brought Osea, Usea, and Erusea together in ending the war. Yet, Trigger seemed to be the kind of guy that most girls her age would go crazy over at a college sports game. If anything, he was much younger than the other pilots she had met. "You're not quite what I expected…"
Trigger was caught off guard. "How so," he asked with a bit of an incredulous tone; he was not sure whether it was insult or flattery.
Rosa just blinked her eyes. "I expected… someone much older," she admitted, "even a bit gruffer looking… but…" She hesitated as her cheeks turned slightly pink. "You're very young."
Now it was Trigger's turn to be amused. He gave a lighthearted chuckle. "I get that a lot," he laughed, remembering how his former flight leader, Clown used to joke about his age. The jokes even carried on into Spare Squadron where a lot of the guys, especially Count and Champ, used to give him a hard time until he proved himself the ace pilot of the penal unit. It also was not that much better with Strider Squadron, until they saw how he nearly single-handedly destroyed the Njord Fleet at Snider's Top.
"Avril told me a lot about you," Rosa said with a smile, "she said that you're quite hot-blooded, yet unafraid and highly protective of your wingmen. I suppose that was how you were so daring in taking on our Colonel Mihaly Shilage over Yinshi Valley in a lightning storm."
"You mean Mister X," Trigger remarked, using the nickname the IUN had for the Erusean ace. It was then that his breath hitched. "Wait a minute. How did you-"
Rosa could not help but giggle at Trigger's reaction. "'Mister X' couldn't stop talking about you," she explained, "after that fight, he was worn out, yet smiling like a child who got the best birthday gift ever. Even as you continued to give our air force trouble, Colonel Shilage wanted to see you again in combat more than anything else in the world."
"Colonel Mihaly Shilage..." Trigger pondered over Mister X's actual name. 'Why does it sound-' his train of thought halted with an epiphany. "Princess D'Elise, he wouldn't happen to be related to the Autonomous State of Shilage now, would he?"
The princess blinked. "Why yes," she confirmed, "as a matter of fact, he's the Duke of Shilage."
Now it fell into place. When Trigger and Strider Squadron invaded the southeastern Erusean state and captured its castle, they encountered Mister X and Sol Squadron fighting vigorously to drive them away. Trigger's duel then with the old ace was his toughest one, as he not only had an experimental X-02 Wyvern, but fought with the determination of a warrior king defending his true homeland. This revelation caused this hollowness in his gut to return, but with greater sensation; despite his rivalry and enmity towards Shilage for his killing Brownie, Wiseman, and many other wingmen, Trigger couldn't shake the uneasiness that he and the LRSSG were bordering on war crimes for attacking a declared neutral state sheltering civilian refugees and stealing supplies just to survive. Unfortunately for him, Rosa noticed the silent pain expression in his face.
"Trigger?" Rosa was now concerned.
"We raided his homeland..." Trigger admitted, "we went in guns blazing and blew half their garrison to smithereens... and we stole supplies from Shilage Castle... just so we could survive and keep fighting... Mister X was there, ready to fight me..." The princess listened in on the story, wanting to hear Trigger's side of the Shilage air raid. "There was just a vicious dogfight, your Highness," Trigger continued, "we tried to get him and his squadron to surrender peacefully, but they just kept fighting. I had no choice... I just fired and fired 'til I just blew him away... I think he's dead now..."
Trigger rubbed his forehead in his hands. "Man, now I really feel like a criminal... some hero I am..."
Rosa was a little off guard, seeing Trigger express remorse this openly. It sounded a lot like how Soymeur described it to both her and Mihaly's granddaughters, except for one thing. "Actually, Colonel Shilage is still alive," she corrected.
Trigger perked up with a confused expression. "What?"
Rosa looked out her window towards the skies. "One of Sol Squadron's survivors, Soymeur told me what happened. He said that they found the colonel dangling from his parachute snagged on a tree. He couldn't feel his legs, but they found him alive." She then lowered her head, "he's supposed to be recovering, but now he can't fly anymore..." At that, Trigger had nothing to say. He was still sorting through his feelings after that particular battle, especially since the Sol Squadron aided him in ending the war.
"The three scratches," Rosa mentioned, "when Mihaly first mentioned you, he said that while your wingmen were marked with one or two white lines on their tails, you specifically stood out with your three lines, not to mention your skills. What did those lines mean, and why did you have three?"
The Osean pilot sighed. The three scratches on his aircraft were now considered a symbol of hope by many of his fellow pilots, but the adulation and accolades did not make the memory of their true origins any less tragic or disturbing. He looked back at Rosa with a smile, with a strong hint of sadness and shame. Trigger posed the question, "do you remember Vincent Harling's death this summer?"
The Erusean princess was taken aback, but that shocking June 6th was hard to forget. The media firestorm surrounding Harling's failed rescue rocked the entire world, and even Erusea to the core. The allegations that he was killed by a fellow countryman added more fuel to the fire, where many Eruseans including herself believed that Harling wanted to end the war by shutting down the space elevator, and was killed by Osea for it. "I remember like it was yesterday," Rosa answered.
Trigger scratched his head, trying to calm himself as he answered, "I was the one accused of assassinating Mr. Harling, as I was the closest pilot when it happened..."
This caused the princess to go completely silent; she was talking to the supposed killer of Vincent Harling himself. "What?"
"Drones were swarming all over his plane when I was trying to fend them off," Trigger continued with tension in his voice, "next thing you know, a missile comes from behind me and blows the man to high heaven. Ugh." Trigger was clearly showing some signs of distress. "The reason why I had those lines was because I was sent to a penal unit... the 444th Spare Squadron that Avril and I were a part of. They were sin lines denoting the severity of each pilot's crime, and my supposed one was ranked the most severe..."
"My goodness," Rosa was completely floored. This young pilot looked too handsome, and too kind and brave to be a murderer. Then again... she never saw her peers in the Erusean military to be murderous warmongers until they attempted to kill her. However, she was still pressed for details. "What then," she asked, "how did you get out?"
Trigger calmed himself with a deep sigh, pursing his lips. He then said, "my superiors eventually got information from a dissident inside the Erusean Army that proved that I was not responsible for killing Harling. As it later turned out, it was General Labarthe who was feeding us information on the political in-fighting between your Conservative and Radical factions. When Strider Squadron and I were escorting him, he left behind a recording, saying that the Radicals were using Belkan technology that allowed the drones to fake our Osean IFFs."
That last bit of information was yet another shocker for Rosa. She learned of Belka's involvement from a repentant Dr. Schroeder, but this was complete news to her. "That means..." she had an epiphany.
Trigger nodded, and filled it in, "the Radicals had a drone disguised as an Osean fighter shoot down Harling's plane. I just had the misfortune of being the closest pilot flying the same F-18 Super Hornet as the drone."
Rosa looked down in shame. In her naïve belief of clean warfare with drones, she and her father had allowed for Radicals to infiltrate and control the program in its entirety. She and the civilian government had no real control, except to rubber stamp whatever developments rose out of the program. The Erusean monarchy and the public had been duped hook line and sinker, by the Radicals and their Belkan allies.
"Trigger," Rosa replied with sadness, "I... I want to offer an apology on behalf of my kingdom for what happened. If had known what they were really going to use the drones for... I would have urged my father to put a stop to it." She paused for a bit, getting a grip on herself and her thoughts. "I am also sorry for allowing myself to be deceived and helping the Radicals start this war," she continued, "because of that and my own naivety... I ended up causing great suffering for all of Usea and your country... You have especially have been done so many terrible wrongs..." She tried to keep it in, but the tears came out as she clutched her bedsheets.
Trigger offered her a sad, but understanding smile. "Hey," he softly cheered, "it wasn't your fault that the Radicals controlled enough of Erusea's media and intelligence to feed you and your people false information. They and their Belkan allies simply saw you as a means of revenge against ISAF and Osea, but you defied them and helped us to thwart their plan. I mean... its not every day that a girl gets to say they kicked butt against radicals trying to steal her throne." He said the last part with a tone of admiration.
"Really," Rosa asked, with her face still wet and red.
"Avril told me what you did to help us out with the final stretch," Trigger revealed, still smiling, "you had guts of steel smashing up the Arsenal Bird's shield transmitter, and using our carrier's spotting posts to warn us about that last UAV, even when injured. Heh! You are one feisty royal, your Highness!" The Erusean princess, not being used to such direct praise, blushed a light rose.
"In many ways," Trigger added, "I have you to thank for the unexpected, yet wonderful crazy things that have happened. We started out as enemies, now here we are chatting like friends."
"Friends..." Rosa muttered.
"Of course," the brown-haired pilot beamed, "I mean, we were just pouring our hearts out to each other and..." he laughed as he rubbed his head, "kinda making up..."
Trigger leaned over to the princess' side. "I may be rough and tough on the edges, but I hope you don't mind me being around." His expression took on a bright grin, "besides, you look like you could use some help yourself."
The princess still was amazed at how forward, yet friendly 'Three Strikes' was. He was far from the monster that many Eruseans imagined him to be. His false conviction and forced service with a penal unit did not seem to completely extinguish his rather optimistic attitude.
"That's... very nice of you," the princess accepted.
"It would be my pleasure, your Highness," Trigger said cheerily.
"Please," Rosa added with a smile, "call me Rosa. I much prefer names over titles to be honest." She then slightly gasped, "oh, you didn't tell me your name yet."
The Osean just shrugged nonchalantly. "Eh, most of my friends just call me Trigger or Three Strikes."
"No," Rosa pressed, "I did mean your real name... if you don't mind."
"Well..." Trigger followed up. He said in a cool tone, "Ronald... Captain Ronald Reagan."
'Ronald... ordinary, yet interesting,' Rosa thought to herself. "Nice to meet you, Ronald."
"Same here," said Trigger, aka Ronald, "and thanks for helping kill the drones." Those words brought yet another smile to Rosa's face.
END
This is my first Ace Combat 7 fanfic, and I got to say that I loved the story and characters enough to start my own sequel.
Special thanks to WillySmith1510 for inspiring and supporting me! Feel free to fave and review; it all encourages us AC fans to keep going! :D
Take care, and God Bless! ;)
Update: I had a background check inserted for Trigger after one of the reviewers pointed out that Rosa's security would necessitate one. Thanks! XD