Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Ace Combat or any other anime/manga, games, or stories. I do, however, have ownership of the originality of this plot, the OC, this story and some other things within said story. The following elements concerning Naruto and Ace Combat, as well as others mentioned, belong to manga-ka Masashi Kishimoto and Namco Bandai Games respectively, and etc. This is a work of Fan Fiction.
Normal Dialogue: Now stand aside, worthy adversary.
Mental Dialogue: Tis, but a scratch.
Radio/Com Chatter: A scratch! You're arms off!
Attack/Jutsu/Foreign Text: Kage Bunshin no Jutsu
Translation: (Shadow Clone Technique)
Chapter 1: Arrival
Rein Falken never thought he would die at such a young age . . . at least, not this way.
Before he lost consciousness, the thirty-year old pilot saw his entire life flash before his eyes. Looking back, he remembers the invasion of the GRL stronghold in Antarctica. He remembered entering the briefing room with his squadron and the objectives of his last mission, down to the last detail.
He remembered chatting with his fellow comrades, checking his equipment twenty odd times; it had been a long war and everyone was anxious and edgy. This dreaded war would finally be over and the outcome of this battle will determine the fate of Earth.
He remembered hearing the mission launch code from the loudspeaker. He remembered launching, along with his squadron of X-05 Wyverns, from the OFS Maltiva – the invasion has commenced. Their mission was to provide air support for the naval and ground forces and render Zerneboh Fortress' defenses inoperable. Rein struggled to retain consciousness, but he was paralyzed and bleeding heavily inside the cockpit. Not long after, his psyche fell into darkness . . . another vague memory.
Flashback . . .
The battle was almost at hand.
The enemy has retreated into Zerneboh Fortress with Osean marines in hot pursuit. Ten thousand feet above them, the infamous Falcon Squadron was engaging with GRL's newest attack aircraft, Aether. Aether may have amazing capabilities, but they were no match against Rein's flying and soon dropped like flies.
A missile destroyed the last of them, "Aether has been terminated. We now have total air supremacy." EDI said in a mechanical voice. Rein grinned behind his helmet at EDI, the upgraded X-05 Wyvern he's flying in. 'You always have to state the obvious, EDI.'
"All right, we got them cornered. There's no way they can get out of this one." Falcon-3 said over the com-channel.
Rein observed the two, small display screens to his left, showing his two squad mates faces. They were both wearing the same standard flight suits as he did. Rein has been with them since the academy. He smiled genuinely, when he remembered those days. Their teamwork was so astounding they could even beat the officers in record timing.
A voice cut through the channel, "This is Alpha Company. We've breached the front gate." It was obviously a captain leading a batch of marines to clear out Zerneboh Fortress.
"Wait a minute, Erebus its . . . it's operational." The captain shouted apprehensively. Rein narrowed his eyes it just gets better and better doesn't it. Like it matters, his squadron already has the upper hand.
"Oh no, we're too late, Erebus is launching . . . You have to stop them." A marine radio operator said.
"Falcon-1! If Erebus escapes, then this war will truly never end. Destroy it before that happens." Dux informed through the com-channel, the radio operator of Falcon Squadron.
"Roger, Falcon Squadron. Form up on me." Rein ordered as he dived down toward the fortress's front gate, with his twelve-squad mates on either side of him. When they were only twelve hundred yards away, EDI's sensors detected enemy fighters passing through multiple launch shafts.
"A squadron of Aethers is attacking. They must be eliminated, Falcon-1."
'No kidding.' Rein thought sarcastically. "Squad, break away and intercept. I'll stay on course and destroy Erebus."
He ordered while wearing a concerned, yet calm expression to his squad. Rein had a peculiar feeling in the back of his quantum brain, telling him that something dreadful is about to take place.
"Yeah, let's kick some corporate ass!" Falcon-3 responded enthusiastically.
"Understood! Go get them 'Falcon'." Falcon-2 complied. All fighters dispersed and accelerated toward their objectives. While Rein powered EDI to full throttle towards the docking bay, where the airborne super-fortress is just exiting.
The Erebus was a colossus, a giant of an aircraft, with enough firepower to lay waste to an entire country. If it were to escape, the 10th Osean Fleet will be annihilated and the Grey Men will bring the Osean homeland to her knees. Rein knew all too well what it's capable of – he won't let Erebus escape again.
With pinpointed accuracy and astonishing agility, Rein destroyed as many of Erebus's defensive and offensive capabilities as he could – hell, even tried blasting the engines.
Several minutes later, Erebus was still climbing into the stratosphere, whilst laying waste to the ODF, "Damn! It still won't go down, EDI!" A red blip on EDI's high-performance radar systems gave him an answer.
"Our attacks are irrelevant against Erebus's hull, Falcon-1. A weapon of immense caliber is required. Strongly recommend attacking its base, within these targeting parameters." EDI answered mechanically. Rein whizzed below at 600 knots with ease, arcing the Wyvern straight up towards the Erebus.
"That much is certain. EDI, arm the Thanatos Cannon." Rein ordered.
"Confirmed. Thanatos Cannon armed and ready."
Rein shifted his X-05 steady, waiting for the Thanatos Cannon to lock on. He got tone, and then thumbed the trigger. The cannon emitted a bright, blue beam of electromagnetic radiation that pierced through the airborne super-fortress.
The Erebus lost control and fell back brutally toward Zerneboh Fortress. "Oh shit!" Rein exclaimed wide-eyed.
"Advise evasive maneuvering, Falcon-1." EDI said stoically.
"No need to tell me twice!" Rein arced the plane into a nosedive, flew back in the docking bay, and veered left towards a launch shaft just in the nick of time. The Erebus exploded on impact, bringing the entire fortress into a tremendous conflagration.
Rein was already a step ahead once Zerneboh Fortress was set ablaze. He and EDI navigated the X-05 hard-and-fast up through the shaft, the raging inferno hot on their tails. He could hear the cries of his radio operator through the com-channel, as he broke loose from the spreading flames.
"Falcon-1! Falcon-1!" Dux shouted desperately.
Three seconds of silence, then suddenly Falcon-1 flew out of the launch shaft and into the partly cloudy red-tinged sky. Escaping the heap of fire and metal, that once was a formidable stronghold.
"There he is, Falcon-1." Said Falcon-6, relief in his voice over the com-channel.
Rein heaved a relieved sigh, "That was too close."
"The engineering chief would have been infuriated, if the engine was incinerated, Rein Falken." EDI said mechanically, yet, humorously.
Rein sweat drop, when he imagined Chief going ballistic. Yelling about how long it's going to take for him to replace the pulse detonation engines. Then afterwords, he would grumble about how much the X-05 is worth.
Just when it seemed to be over, an enormous eruption shook the sky. Reins' eyes widened in horror at a large gash in the center of Zerneboh Fortress; transmitting a powerful surge of plasma and electricity was a dark, swirling vortex at its core. As incredible as it sounded, it was sucking everything in its path.
Fortunately, the nearby Osean forces were in no reach of the vortex's gravitational pull. However, Rein wasn't so fortunate, who was still above the screeching maelstrom when it formed.
"Ahh! Falcon-1 is caught in the vortex." Falcon-3 shouted fearfully.
"Oh no, he'll be pulled in . . . There's nothing we can do. Damn it!" Cried Dux.
When Rein felt his warplane being pulled in by the maelstrom's gravity, he pushed the throttle, upping his velocity. He determined that diving down at break speed was the only way to escape the vortex.
Rein gritted his teeth in distress and frustration, "Augh, damn it! EDI bear with me, this is the only way."
"I understand, be careful. You wouldn't want a billion dollars' worth of aviation technology to disappear. So I'll assist you along the way." EDI said mechanically again, but with a tint of concern and humor.
Rein laughed sheepishly, EDI always tries to make things easier when things get out of hand. "Very funny, but it wouldn't matter if we're dead."
He glimpsed at the display screen that showed their X-05's power and fuel. The Thanatos Cannon drained its energy to nearly 30 percent. And it would've been so much easier, if it wasn't for the lightning shooting haphazardly out of the black hole. So far, they were making headway through the pandemonium.
"We're almost through." Rein said through gritted teeth. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck the X-05's fuselage disabling it, draining the rest of its fuel, and making EDI go on the fritz.
"We're . . . losing po-po-power . . . System fail-fail . . . Shu-Shutting down ma- . . . hard driiive." EDI said, before shutting down.
The electricity shot through the aircraft like a bullet through flesh, which jolted into Rein, who could do nothing but sit inside the cockpit and scream. He never felt so much agony in his life, and his inability to stop it was even more aggravating for Rein.
"No! Falcon-1, Falcon-1!" Dux shouted forlornly. But to no avail, Rein senses turned numb and the sound was barely audible. Then came the static in the radio, communications is lost.
The X-05 Wyvern-EDI and the legendary ace 'Falcon' plummeted down into the dark abyss and faded from existence and into the unknown.
End of Flashback . . .
The Wyvern drifted through the eerie darkness, pilot unconscious and near death. It appears that they would be forever trapped in this realm. Eventually, however, the darkness was snuffed out by a blinding light that engulfed the X-05 fighter craft in a thick haze of white light.
Land of Fire, Konohagakure – 4:50 p.m.
It was another beautiful day in the Village Hidden in the Leaves, one of the five great ninja villages of the five great shinobi nations. Konoha is peaceful as always as its citizens went about their daily lives, while Leaf ninja protect them from attack and execute missions to preserve the village's prosperity and strength. Their leader, the Godaime Hokage (Fifth Fire Shadow), the most powerful ninja in the village, was having a pleasant afternoon break at a local diner after an endless batch of paperwork.
She took a sip of her sake after a bite of some delicious sushi, "Ahh, finally some relaxation." She said soothingly. Tsunade was slightly flushed due to the sake, which was very strong.
"I definitely deserved this, I'm sure the village can manage without me for a while. After this it's off to the hot springs." Tsunade said excitedly. She was glad that she could relax for the day – it is never easy being Hokage. It's not running a village that bothers her, rather the immense piles of paperwork that she has to fill out.
The day seemed to be going pretty well . . . until a certain assistant barged in with a pig in her arms. "Aiiii, Lady Tsunade! We have a problem!" Shizune frantically yelled as she ran over to the Hokage's table quickly.
Tsunade drank from her bottle of sake and sighed disappointedly. It seems that no matter what there's always some sort of trouble. "What is it Shizune? Don't tell me that I have more papers to fill out." She said a little annoyed that her break was interrupted.
"No, it's nothing like that. Outside, there's something wrong with the weather." Shizune said seriously.
"Oink, Oink!"
"Ohh, come on! So what if the weather is acting up, it can't be that bad?" Tsunade questioned.
Shizune shook her head, "No, Lady Tsunade, this is serious. I was walking around with TonTon here when a thunderstorm formed out of nowhere. Then there was so much lightning, I could hardly count them. Please, you have to see for yourself Lady Tsunade, this could endanger the village!"
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck a cart on the street outside the diner, shattering it into several pieces – causing a hefty cloud of dust. When the dust cleared, charred pieces of wood could be seen scattered about, a scar embedded in the ground. The villagers immediately panicked and started to take shelter inside the two to three story buildings. Meanwhile, Tsunade was effectively taken by surprise while Shizune and TonTon were in WTF mode.
The buxom blonde stood up and shouted, "Shizune, let's go! If it's an invasion by enemy ninja, then we need to repel it while we still can." For a moment, she thought this was the Sound's doing, but decided to see for herself. Whatever it is, it's going to be big. She could feel it in her bones.
"Yes, Lady Tsunade!" Shizune said obediently as the three (If you count TonTon) raced out of the diner and up on the rooftops. By now, the storm had smothered all remnants of light and the boom of thunder could be heard from afar.
10 minutes later . . .
Konoha was in a state of emergency; innocent bystanders were evacuating into the shelters as fashionably as possible. Ninja ranging from chuunin (Middle Ninja) to jounin (High Ninja) were positioned near and at the wall to counter a possible attack, if any. Some were trying to extinguish fires that have been ignited by relentless bolts of lightning, while others were helping the villagers flee. Several ANBU Black Ops were directly under the storm's center, awaiting orders from the Hokage.
Right on cue, she and Shizune appeared on a roof beside Ibiki Morino who was barking orders at the ANBU. "Lord Hokage, is this a powerful jutsu or a strange phenomenon?" Ibiki asked the Godaime.
She turned to him, "That's what I'm trying to figure out! Is there anything else I need to know, besides the fact that an enormous thunderstorm suddenly appeared over the village?" Tsunade asked over the roar of thunder.
"No, I'm afraid we're in the dark. It's probably just nature acting up. Also, there was no presence of enemy ninja near the village since this storm began. I sent a couple of ANBU on patrol to make sure, but so far we have nothing." Ibiki informed her calmly as he gazed up at storm.
Black clouds blanketed the sky as far as the eye can see, shutting out sunlight. Lightning was constantly shooting out of the clouds, mostly from the center that was directly above Konoha, and the clouds seem to whirl where the thunderbolts cracked. Luckily, most of the lightning didn't make contact against the ground and just zoomed across the sky until it dissipated. But what's even more interesting was the color of the lightning; it was a dark purple, almost black.
Three bolts of lightning then struck the forest in front of them arbitrarily, igniting flames that immediately started to spread. The ANBU were on the clock though, they used a few water jutsus to decimate the raging fire and return to any shelter – that is not a tree – quickly.
Tsunade grimaced at the intensity of this storm, "There seems to be no chakra that's holding all of this together. Then that means this isn't a jutsu of some sort." She said as more thunderbolts soared across the sky.
Ibiki nodded in response, "Yes, Neji informed me a while ago that he couldn't detect any chakra within the storm's perimeter. I guess it is safe to say, that this isn't an invasion."
"Well, you never know. But just in case, we should bolster our defenses while evacuating the civilians and keep Konoha from going up in flames."
"But Lady Tsunade, what about the storm?" Shizune asked.
"Even I can't stop nature's wrath, will just have to wade it out." She said in a low tone, with her eyes close. The roar of thunder and the crack of lightning were deafening in the silence that followed. The thunderbolts never ceased and were just getting worse by the minute, as leaf ninja tried to keep the village from burning down to the ground. The fifth Hokage opened her eyes and turned to Ibiki.
"As I said before, evacuate any remaining bystanders into the shelters, while mounting a formidable defense against any onslaught. I'll leave that to you Ibiki, get our shinobi into position. Furthermore, we must keep this village intact as much as possible or we won't have a village at all. Now go!"
Ibiki nodded, "Right!" He said obediently and disappeared out of sight.
Tsunade turned toward her assistant, "Follow me Shizune. We're heading to the main gate." She ordered as she walked passed her.
She was about to follow, when something in the center of the storm caught her eye. "Lady Tsunade!" Shizune shouted.
The Fifth stopped and looked at her, wondering what she called her for. She noticed that Shizune was pointing toward the sky at the center.
"Up there, look! Something is happening!" Shizune said uneasily.
Tsunade walked up beside her, while looking where she was pointing. What they saw both bewildered them at the storm's bizarre behavior. The core was expanding at an accelerating rate, revealing a huge hole that was pitch black but had a small white light at the very center. The thunderbolts intensified, growing ever more violent and hitting the village more often than before. But what's even more ridiculous is that as the hole grew, a pulse of electrical discharge crawled against the clouds every ten to twelve seconds, as well as the immense sparks of electricity amongst the storm's eye.
Konoha Hospital . . .
Meanwhile, almost everyone in the village was staring with wide eyes at the site before them. Never in their lives had they experienced such a debacle, it almost reminded the elder generation of the Kyuubi no Yooko's (Nine-Tailed Demon Fox) attack fourteen years ago.
At the hospital, Sakura, Hinata – along with Kiba and Akamaru – were helping the patient's evacuate to the shelters in the face-carved mountain as securely as possible. Originally, they were to stay but a lightning strike on the rooftop changed that – tarring a huge hole in the hospital. Amazingly, no one was in the vicinity of the blast area and weren't harmed. So the medic-nin decided to send the patient's off to the shelters.
"Are you alright, sir?" Sakura asked an elderly man.
"Yes, thank you." The old man answered sincerely.
"Sakura!" She turned to find Hinata running towards her "Is h-he the last one?"
"Yes, but what about the rest? Have they all made it?" Sakura asked concerned.
"Their alright and are currently on their way to the shelters." She said as she went over to help Sakura with the old man.
"W-we should make haste and get him to the shelters."
"Right!" Sakura responded. They proceeded to carry the last patient, one arm over each of their shoulders, and moved outside of the hospital. When they were twenty yards away from the hospital, Kiba came running with Akamaru at his side.
"Hey, is everyone alright? The patients made it just find." Kiba said while his loyal companion barked.
"Y-Yes, Kiba. Can you help us with this one, here?" Hinata asked her teammate. Before Kiba could reply, a thunderbolt struck a tree near the hospital, setting it in flames, and knocking it against the hospital.
"Ah, come on! Can we get a break," Kiba yelled. The hospital was caught on fire and was slowly spreading to other sections of it.
"Oh no, the hospital!" Sakura shouted.
Kiba was about to put out the fire, when leaf ninja appeared in front of them. "Go, will take it from here. Just get the patient to safety."
The group nodded, and Kiba grinned toward the old man, "All right, let's go! But will do this the easy way." Sakura and Hinata were confused at what Kiba said. "What do you . . . uh, hey wait!" Sakura shouted, but it was too late.
Kiba grabbed the old man gently and put him on Akamaru, with him in front. "Don't worry, I'll go slow." Kiba interjected. Then Akamaru rushed past them and across the street toward the shelters. The old man was holding on for his dear life, as if it depended on it.
"Grrrrrr, damn you Kiba! Get back here before you kill him!" Sakura yelled after him, clearly pissed and was racing toward where Kiba and Akamaru went, with Hinata on her tail.
"W-Wait for me, Sakura!"
Somewhere at the wall . . .
The Ino-Shika-Chou squad was stationed at the wall, during these unfortunate events. Below them were a couple of burnt out trees, still steaming with smoke after it was smothered of any wild fire. Their expressions and actions varied much at the site. Ino was shivering slightly, due to fear, who wouldn't be? Chouji had a bag of chips in his hands and was gobbling them up like crazy, also due to fear. But Shikamaru being Shikamaru, he just gazed at the storm with a bored look in his eyes.
"Well . . . this is troublesome. And just when I was about to play a game of shogi with Asuma-sensei . . . what a drag."
"How can you be so calm at a time like this?" Ino snapped incredulously. A stream of lightning above them stunned them momentarily, and caused Chouji to eat even faster. He ran out of chips, threw it to the side, grabbed another bag of chips and continued devouring his food.
Ino looked at him in disgust, "Chouji, if the storm doesn't kill you then your ridiculous eating will." She stated harshly.
Shikamaru, who was leaning against the edge, spoke, "First you're worried about the storm, now Chouji's eating habits. Man you are unbelievable."
WHACK!
Ino instantly punched him on top of his head, leaving a throbbing bruise. "Who's unbelievable?" She yelled furiously at Shikamaru, who was sprawled on the ground holding his head in pain.
Chouji kept on eating till the food was gone, tossing the bag of chips aside he turned to his two teammates,
"Hey, come on guys. Shouldn't we concentrate on the current situation?"
"I guess . . . but it's pointless any way you slice it. This storm isn't gonna last long." Shikamaru said bluntly, who is staring off into space again. Ino and Chouji looked at each other puzzled, wondering what their lazy-ass tactician was saying.
"What are you saying, Shikamaru?" Chouji asked confused.
"This bad weather isn't gonna just disappear, it's too huge." Ino said with her hands balled on her hips.
Shikamaru stood up and dusted himself off, he sighed, "I don't know, I just have this feeling in my gut, that's all." He gazed up at the storm clouds and the lightning that was still acting up.
"But did you notice? There's absolutely no chakra that has produced or is being produced by this storm. So the possibility of an enemy attack is pretty low."
His two teammates were seeing his logic now, Shikamaru faced them as he continued, "And if you think about it, a storm of this magnitude may have trouble containing all of its power and would come flooding out all at once, as you can see. Kind of like a balloon when you fill it with air, until it pops."
"I don't know how it came to be in the first place. But, all I'm saying is, this storm is gonna blow off steam real fast until it disintegrates into nothing. It's just a feeling, but it did have me thinking about the storm's weird behavior." He said as he shrugged.
The two members of Team Ten took in Shikamaru's analysis, it may have sounded impossible, but it was the only explanation to this phenomenon. "Let's hope your right, Shikamaru." Chouji said as they looked toward the center of the storm.
"Yeah, we'll need it."
Under the eye of the storm . . .
Tsunade and Shizune stared with mouths wide open as well as the other ninja nearby. They couldn't even process these turn of events. A thunderstorm never behaves like this, although Lightning Country is known for its ferocious thunderstorms, but they didn't compare to what is transpiring here in the Leaf. People living here in Fire Country don't usually experience storms of such caliber, and especially this one in particular.
TonTon hid under her owner's arms, this storm was freaking her out by the minute. "Oink, Oink!" She whimpered apprehensively. Shizune patted her on the head with assurance.
"Don't worry TonTon, it's just bad weather." Shizune stated gently.
Suddenly, a thunderbolt about 20 feet above zoomed past them and struck an apartment building to their left. Half of it exploded into a thousand shards of splintered wood, and immediately collapsed in on itself.
"Aiiii, really bad weather!" She shouted.
Tsunade was really annoyed by this stupid storm. She was having a wonderful time, until a horrific thunderstorm just so happens to form in mere seconds. She knew that when this is over, she'll have a lot of paper work to write. She just hopes that the village will survive, because if it didn't, then the Leaf will be vulnerable.
An ANBU squad appeared on her right, the one in the middle spoke, "Lord Hokage, all civilians have been evacuated and we're in position for a possible counterattack. What is it that you command?"
Tsunade turned toward the ANBU, "For now, hold your position and keep any fires from spreading throughout the village. It has been confirmed that we're not being attacked, but keep your guard up."
Suddenly, an array of thunderbolts began to occur more erratically and frequently, as a pulse of electricity crawled away from the white center.
Then out of nowhere, a large, triangular shaped object flew out of the eye of the storm. Everyone widen their eyes at the mysterious creature as it fell, it looked like a bird from where they were standing. As it drew closer, the group of Leaf ninja realized that it was heading directly toward them.
"Look out, it's heading this way!" Tsunade shouted.
All the ninja nearby, scattered about for cover. However, it wasn't going to crash. The flying object just flew right past them so fast some were blown off their feet. And the gust of wind it carried was so strong, that it tore off much of the roofing of nearby buildings.
No one could comprehend what he or she just saw. Most couldn't even get a glimpse at the creature, due to its amazing speed. But Tsunade, however, had a complete picture of what she just saw.
It wasn't a monster, since it was entirely made out of metal – yet when it flew by it made a horrifying scream as if it were one. It was triangularly shaped that narrowed out in the front with what appears to be wings attached, and the rear had two circular holes that spat fire out.
Tsunade was utterly shock at the flying machine. But before she could utter a word, the thunderstorm began to rapidly dissipate within the white vortex. Everyone was appalled at the sudden change. Lightning covered mile after mile of the storm, as it gradually rose even higher into the atmosphere. The enormous thunderclouds converged toward the center, and rose higher along with the lightning.
Then in just a matter of seconds, the storm disappeared into the sky. Revealing the afternoon sun once again.
Greetings readers! Welcome to my first fanfic and Ace Combat/Naruto crossover. As this is my first, please provide honest and helpful reviews so that I may improve further chapters. But no flames. Seriously, be honest, I won't cry if you don't like. Just tell me what you guys think, without being a jerk!
Hoped you enjoyed it!