This story follows my Christmas story, In All the Ways we are Family. I recommend you read it before this one if you haven't already. It introduces the connection between LJ and Destro which will be developed further here.

The idea for a familial connection between Destro and LJ comes from the Sunbow episode, Skeleton's in the Closet.

Verses 1, 7, 13, 14 and 15 from Anne Bronte's poem, Power of Love are quoted.

Lines in italic are quoted directly from Sunbow's Operation Doomsday , Pyramid of Darkness and Pit of Vipers.

As always, thanks for reading. I am humbly trying to improve my writing so any constructive criticism is welcomed.

Ace's Skystriker had barely touched down before Duke and Flint ran onto the tarmac. Even from the cockpit window he could see Flint's face, red with fury.

"And so, it begins…" he suppressed a sigh.

As he slid out of the cockpit, he was immediately confronted by Flint.

"What happened out there? How could you let them get Jaye?" Flint roared, grabbing Ace by the collar and yanking him. To Ace's credit, he didn't even blink.

Flint, at ease…"Duke barked, stepping up quickly. "This is not helping Lady Jaye."

Flint dropped Ace and took a step backwards. With jaws clenched, he kept flexing and unflexing his hands, a sure sign to everyone that he was struggling not to lose it. "You sorry excuse for a pilot…If she's hurt….If she's …So help me…" he growled, shooting daggers at Ace.

Ace tugged at his collar and swallowed the growing lump in his throat. His eyes blurred. "You think I don't care about what happened?," he yelled angrily, his voice rising. "I'm worried about her, too!"

Flint stopped. A vein in his temple twitched and his face darkened.

"Flint, Ace, my office, now," Duke snapped angrily. "We don't have time for this." He turned around abruptly, heading for his office with wide, quick steps. An inscrutable look passed between Flint and Ace and then they followed after him, silently.

(At the Pit, the night before)

"Another mission?" Flint asked in disappointment.

"Yes," Lady Jaye sighed, sinking down on the couch next to him.

"What's that make, three times already his month?"

"Four."

"Four," he growled impatiently.

"I really don't mind," she smiled softly, laying her hand on his arm.

Flint slid closer to her on the couch, till their legs were just touching. "I do," he whispered huskily in her ear.

"Flint!" she slapped him on the shoulder, laughing.

"Well, I do." he pouted.

"It's just a day mission. A simple equipment test. I'll be back by evening."

"And then, just us?"

"Just us…" she smiled and stifled a yawn. "Sorry, I'm a bit tired."

"I know. You need to get some rest." He reached out and gently tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "Stay safe out there, Ok?"

"Don't I always?" she smirked.

"You know what I mean…"

"I know…" she took his hand and squeezed it.

He studied her soft brown eyes. "Tomorrow night, then?"

"I promise." She leaned in and gave him a soft kiss, grinning as his eyes lit up eagerly. "Good night, Flint," she extricated her hand from his. With a parting smile, she turned and left. Flint leaned back into the couch and grinned a lopsided grin.

Love, Indeed thy strength is mighty….

-Anne Bronte v. 1

(Earlier that morning)

"Ready, Jaye?" Ace grinned as he waited for the green light to take off. It was a beautiful day for flying.

"Ready, willing and able. Right behind you, Ace." Her face broke into a smile as she steered her jet onto the runway. They both took off, one after the other, climbing smoothly into the bright sky.

"Switching to onboard navigation, now," Ace informed her once they had reached cruising altitude.

"Seconding that. Switch complete."

"Alright, Jaye…" Ace began as he levelled off his jet. "This new Signal Mag that Dial Tone came up with is a bit complicated. We haven't had time to make the modifications to the onboard computer and the current system is not capable of supporting it. So, we're gonna have to set it up manually. You'll need to completely shut down all computer systems and reboot. Once it reboots, the new system and communications should come back online. The data collections will have to be manually restarted. I'll do mine first and then once communications are reestablished, I'll walk you through yours."

"Roger that, Ace."

"Initiating shut down, now."

Jaye immediately heard the com link go dead. She waited patiently, listening to the silence in her headphones as Ace went through his systems reboot. It took only a few minutes to complete.

"Ok, I'm back. Your turn." He went over the instructions with her again, step by step.

"Ok Ace, I'm ready…shutting down now…," the radio went silent.

Ace watched the clouds below them as they skimmed their cottony tops. In his flight suit he was warm. The sun was bright above the clouds. He listened to the silence, making small adjustments to his onboard navigation system.

"All, set…" Jaye's voice crackled over the com, once again.

"Copy that…Let me run a diagnostic." Ace began running the checks. Soon, he leaned back. "Ok, looks good," he confirmed. "Let's test this baby out. Lady Jaye, care to accompany me into enemy territory?"

"Hey," she laughed, "I think that was my line. But, yeah, I'm right behind you Ace."

"Beginning data feedback now," he flipped a switch on his panel.

They flew along the coast of the Mediterranean, following navigations for the flight path.

"Absolutely nothing," Jaye let out an exasperated breath. "Are you picking up anything, Ace?"

"No, But they must be out here. This is the coordinates of their last known communications."

They flew twenty more minutes. Still, only silence reached their ears. The clouds underneath them had begun to thin.

"Maybe, we should circle around and head back…," Jaye suggested.

"Alright,…I'm with you. I'm afraid Dial Tone's gonna be disappointed, though."

"Hey, Ace, wait a sec… What was that?"

"What?"

"I was just picking up something." Jaye sputtered. "Wait…there it is again," she heard a faint broken crackling, then a pause. "Ace, are you sure you're not getting what I'm getting? I can't make it out due to static."

"No, wait…confirm that…I'm getting it now…Let me magnify the signal," he made a few adjustments. "Come on Dial Tone, baby,…don't fail me now," he muttered under his breath.

"Yes," Jaye cried excitedly, "There it is….Hey, Ace…that voice….it sounds familiar…I can almost make it out, just give me a minute… Destro! Ace, It's Destro!"

"I hear it Jaye…can't make out what he's saying though. Intensify your Signal Mag." Ace adjusted his signal to support hers. "I'm dialling into the same frequency as yours, hold on. We're gonna try Overlap."

"Ace…That's it…I hear him now…He's saying something about the…Oh, no." she cried hoarsely, "Rattlers!"

Three Cobra planes were headed on an intercept course, firing rapidly. Ace and Lady Jaye quickly manoeuvred away from them. As Ace pulled out of his roll, Jaye noticed his tail fin was smoking.

"Ace, you Ok?" Jaye asked worriedly.

"I took a hit, but it's not bad." He caught a movement from the corner of his eye.

"Jaye, watch out. Two more rattlers, 9:00. Immediate evasive manoeuvres!"

Ace and Lady Jaye rolled out of formation to the left and right. Then they flew up into the densest clouds for cover.

"Ok, Jaye?" Ace's voice was strained.

"Fine."

"Good. But, we're not out of the woods, yet. Just follow my lead."

"Roger that, Ace."

"Wild Weasel to Cobra Commander. Come in, Cobra Commander."

"Thisss isss Cobra Commander."

"I have a visual of the two GI Joe Skystrikers."

"Who'sss piloting those jetsss?" he hissed.

"Looks like…Ace…and I can't make out the second."

"Whoever they are, dessstroy them!"

"Yes Commander, targeting weapons now." Wild Weasel smirked as he pulled up behind Lady Jaye, easily mimicking her every move.

"Ace, I've got a Rattler on my tail."

"Jaye, pull up."

"… can't shake him."

"On my way."

"Target sighted…locking…Fire!"

Jaye felt the sudden heat on her right side and winced. "Ace, I'm hit…," she gripped the controls tightly, trying to maintain altitude.

"Hang on Jaye…" Ace manoeuvred into position behind the Cobra jet and fired several rounds. The Rattler took a minor hit and then pulled away, smoking.

"Ace…can't hold it…I'm losing altitude…," Jaye's damaged engine stopped midair. She lost control as the jet fell into a tailspin.

"Bail out, Lady Jaye!"

Jaye gritted her teeth and punched the eject button. She rocketed into the sky.

Ace watched as Jaye's chute opened. She had ejected late and was falling fast. The chute slowed her fall but she still hit the water hard. Ace let out a breath as he watched her rise to the surface and begin struggling to untangle herself from the ropes and harness. Ace flipped the Command Centre link. "Ace to Duke. Jaye's down. I repeat Jaye's down…"

A Rattler moved in behind him, firing several rounds but missed as Ace rolled to the left.

"That does it…" Ace growled. He pointed his nose down, dropping quickly into a barrel roll. As soon as he had a visual, he pulled on his stick to decelerate and let go two side winders. They smashed into their target. The Cobra Rattler burst into flames.

"Ace?"

Two more were closing in fast. Ace immediately pulled up, hitting the thrusters, and hid in another dense cloud bank. He couldn't see the remaining Rattlers but he knew they couldn't see him either.

"Ace, This is Duke…Do you read me?"

"Not now, Duke…" Ace grumbled under his breath as he visually scanned the area around him.

He adjusted the Sig Mag and was able to lock in on one of the targets below him. Immediately, he dropped out of the cloud bank right behind the enemy plane. Hitting the release button, he sent two more sidewinders into the Rattler in from of him. He grinned cockily as he watched the pilot parachute past him.

His arrogance was short lived as he looked up too late, finding himself tailed by the remaining pilot who fired.

"Ace, answer me!"

Ace was hit. His right wing was smoking. He pulled on the throttle, hard. "Come on, baby…hold together just a little longer.." he coaxed. The velocity was shaking the jet apart…"Just a bit more… now!" He circled up and around, pulling a 360, just before settling behind the last Cobra Rattler. "Fire!" He sent his last sidewinder into the tail of the Rattler. It spiralled out of control, crashing into the ocean below.

Ace slowed into a flyover as he scanned the ocean for Lady Jaye. He spotted her parachute, just below the surface of the water. Several Cobra Hydrofoils were retrieving their pilots from the crashed Rattlers. They turned and skimmed the surface of the water heading for Lady Jaye. He watched as they dragged her lifeless body out.

"Ace…!" Duke shouted. "What's going on? Will you answer me!"

Ace cursed as he levelled out his jet. "Duke, this is Ace," he took a deep breath…"They got Jaye."

The entire com room at the Joe headquarters fell silent. Duke lay a hand on Flint's shoulder as the Warrant Officer sank heavily into a chair. Dial Tone looked away.

"Return to base." Duke ordered heavily.

Ace turned his jet sharply and hit the thrusters.