So It's Come to This
The Osean Federation capital city of Oured lay behind the four planes as they sat waiting to be launched into the sky. Blaze finished the final checks on the F-18A's outside structure and wiped the sweat off of his brow. Just a day before, the war between Osea and Yuktobania had officially ended, but not after the final battles had to be fought. The aircraft carrier he and his pilots had been stationed on, the Kestrel, had been sunk by a submarine just after they had completed their sortie and was now at the bottom of the sea. They then proceeded toward North Osea, their primary target for the operation.
Along the way, they'd heard Osean President Vincent Harling and Yuktobanian Prime Minister Nikanor make a plea for peace between the two countries, calling for their troops to throw down their weapons and embrace one another as friends. Blaze could have heard the applause from where he was, five thousand feet in the air. His four plane squadron, himself, Edge, Archer, and Swordsman, were soon joined by forces from both sides, pledging to fight alongside them in the battle that lay ahead. It had brought tears to Blaze's eyes.
Today, he jumped off of the wing of his fighter jet and landed on the pavement below him. The four fighters would have to launch off of a highway, a highway of all things! This would undoubtedly be the last battle of the conflict. He and his pilots would have to destroy the SOLG, a massive satellite that was now on a collision course with Oured and they had only four hours to reach and destroy the massive destruction device. The odds weren't good, but for the Razgriz, odds didn't matter.
"Blaze." The voice was familiar to Blaze and he turned with a smile to see his friend and wingmate, Kei Nagase walking towards him, her short brown hair blowing in the faint breeze.
"What is it Edge?" Blaze answered, referring to her call-name in the sky.
"How's it look so far?" she asked, referring to his plane which had sustained damage during a dogfight with Belkan Aces during the battle yesterday.
"She's fine. She'll get me up into the air and fly like she always has." Nagase smiled, but Blaze could tell there was something else wrong. "What's the matter?"
"Can we talk...?" she said quietly. Blaze nodded and followed her towards the edge of the highway overlooking the outskirts of the city. "I've never really had a free moment up 'til now. So I never could find the right opportunity to thank you."
"Thank me?" Blaze asked confused.
"Yes," Nagase responded, leaning over the railing and staring at the city. "Ever since we were first assigned together in the same squadron at Sand Island, you've been my eye in the sky for every fight. You rescued me when I was shot down in the Yuktobanian mountains. You've helped and guided me through some tough battles, and I'm thankful for everything you've done, Henry."
Blaze was shocked. "You know my real name?"
"Captain Henry Franklin," Nagase chuckled, turning to face him. "I looked it up in the records at Sand Island way back when. Blaze just sounded cooler to you?"
"Yeah, pretty much," Blaze conceded. "Anyways. I was just about to say that I should be the one thanking you."
"Why me?" Nagase asked.
"Pretty much the same reasons you said. You've been my other set of eyes for every battle and every fight. You've stood by my every decision, and shot down some tough bastards who had missile locks on me." Nagase chuckled, which caused Blaze to laugh also. "You've been my best friend through this entire war, Kei. I can call you Kei, can't I?"
"Of course," Nagase replied, still laughing.
"What's so funny?" Blaze asked.
"We sound exactly like one another. We could be brother and sister and wouldn't even know it," Nagase laughed.
"Yeah...brother and sister." Blaze didn't want to say it at that time, but he'd had a crush on Captain Nagase ever since he first met her at Sand Island, all those months ago. But it seemed that at this moment, she wasn't looking to start a relationship, so he backed off. Instead, he changed the subject. "You remember when all those fighters joined us yesterday over North Osea?"
"How could I forget," Nagase answered. "It was so beautiful, all those people who were united in one common goal." Blaze saw Nagase blush a little when she added, "To tell the truth, I was crying a little up there when I saw that."
"You weren't the only one," Blaze conceded.
"You were crying?" Nagase laughed.
"Oh, now you're gonna make fun of me, is that it?" Blaze accused.
Nagase looked hurt. "You're not going to throw me in the brig are you now, Captain Franklin?" Both of them laughed.
Blaze wiped his nose with his hand and then said quietly, "What do you think Chopper would've said had he been there with us?"
"He would said something like, 'Whoo-wee! Enemies united at last! Let's rock and roll!'" Nagase laughed, her hair rustling in the stiff breeze.
Neither one of them said anything for a while after that. Blaze stared at the beautiful city before him, but then found his gaze drifting towards the woman standing next to him. He stared at her for the longest time, watching her hair blow over her fair face and her eyes blink back tears he saw forming in the corners of her eyes. She finally noticed his stare and smiled. "What?" she asked.
"Huh? Oh, nothing," Blaze replied, averting his gaze, but he could hear Nagase chuckle with the realization that he'd been staring at her.
"Hey guys!" The shout made both of them jump and Blaze knew the voice to be Grimm's. "We've got five minutes to launch! Better get back to your planes!"
Blaze moved away from the railing and walked back to where his F-18A sat. Nagase followed him, though at a distance. Blaze turned to face her as he reached his plane and said, "I guess this is it, Captain."
"Yeah...So it's come to this." Nagase said quietly. "Be careful..." Blaze could see some specks of tears forming in her eyes and he laid a soft hand on her shoulder.
"It'll be alright, Edge." Slowly, he slid his other hand around her waist and held her to him, startling her. He smiled. "Remember, we're the Razgriz. Nothing ever defeats the Razgriz."
Nagase smiled at him. "Because Razgriz can't be defeated."
"You be careful to, alright," Blaze replied back.
"I will," she said quietly. They just stared at each other for a long time, her arms holding him close to her as she looked into his eyes and he into hers. Finally, Blaze thought, aw hell, and pulled her face close to him and kissed her on the lips. Nagase was shocked at first, but the kiss was so gentle and warm, that she found her knees buckling beneath her and her heart was pounding in her chest. Her eyes closed slowly and she moaned softly as she returned his kiss.
Finally, they broke the kiss. As his eyes opened once again, Blaze saw that Nagase was smiling. Reluctantly, he released her. "Make sure you don't get shot down Edge."
Nagase folded her arms. "What. You afraid you won't be able to do that again?"
"No, it's just that-."
"I'm kidding, Blaze," Nagase chuckled. She moved up to him and gave him a quick kiss on the mouth. "Be careful."
"I will." He watched her run towards her own plane, her hair flowing in the breeze. As Blaze fastened his harness around him, he knew he could come back this time. This time, he had something to come back to. Speaking into his radio, he said, "Razgriz! Report in!"
"Archer, standing by!"
"Swordsman, standing by!"
"Edge, standing by!"
"Blaze, standing by!"
Blaze pulled his helmet over his head and fastened his oxygen mask over his mouth and nose. Slowly, he maneuvered the F-18A down the highway towards the desginated launch point. He gunned the engines and yelled, "Razgriz! Launch!"
-Ten years later.
The flags of Osea and Yuktobania flew side by side. Peace had been achieved between the two nations and had remained so for ten years. Nagase watched the flags fly magestically in the sky in front of her. Between the two of them, flew the flag with the Razgriz emblem on them, the one she had flown under ten years earlier. After the final battle, the four pilots had faded into the limelight, not wanting any more public attention to be focused on them. They had settled into the quiet life of peacetime, though occassionally, they did manage to sneak away and get some flying in.
The three flags flew side by side in a park in the middle of Oured. Nagase sat on a bench next to the flags, her two-year old son Nathan bouncing on her knees. She held a book in her hands, the one that told the tale of the ancient warrior Razgriz, the one she had read as a child. In the ten years since the war had ended, Nagase's life had changed for the better, though she didn't go by the last name Nagase anymore.
She heard laughter and turned her head to see her husband playing with their two oldest children, seven-year old Jon, and five-year old Stephanie. Stephanie was on her husband's shoulders, shooting a basketball at the small hoop in front of her, while Jon was complaining to his father that it was his turn for a ride on his shoulders. They had been married only a year after the war had ended, and though they went by their real names in public so as not to give away their identities, they still called each other Blaze and Edge when they were alone. She finished reading the book and closed it. She picked up Nathan in her arms and began walking over to where her family played. Peace had finally come, and it couldn't get any better for either Edge, or Blaze.