"Eva!" Sean felt a wave of terror rush through his body as Diamond's parachute disappeared behind the treeline.

"Nexus 1 and 6 are down," Sky Keeper stated the obvious, albeit in a distressed voice. "Nexus 2, take up command."

Charger seemed just as lost and confused as Sean did. "W- what? Vortex. Come on, Vortex!"

"Charger!" Poet insisted. "He's gone. You've got the lead. We need you right now."

Charger spent at least twenty seconds stuttering and stammering over his words, trying to formulate that beginning of a sentence. Eventually, he finally responded with a heavy, defeated sigh. "I- I… I can't do it," he finally said. "I can't do it."

At that moment, something deep in his subconscious took over. The only thing on his mind was doing everything in his power to make sure that Diamond made it out alive, and that's precisely what he was going to do. Pushing the throttle forward, he got as close to the Su-37 in front of him as possible and hit them with everything. Even as the plane exploded, he hit them with one last burst from his machine guns before pulling away and toward the final Su-37.

"Warlock, we need you to double back and look for Ev- Diamond," Sean corrected himself, rolling onto his side to turn after his last target.

"Again? After all this work we've done?" Sean felt anger rising up inside himself at the response one of the crewmen of Warlock Squadron gave. They were the only ones close enough to get to Diamond, and that was the response they gave?

Just as Sean was about to snap at them, though, Garth beat him to it. "Can it!" he ordered. "We're not gonna leave anyone behind, especially not the Blue Kestrel. Now, let's go!"

Sean let out a sigh of relief. Now that that was taken care of, all he had to do was focus on Zero and the last plane. And while Sean doubted that he'd be able to take on Zero alone, it started looking more and more like he didn't need to. While the last Su-37 pilot was fighting aggressively, almost as aggressively as Sean, Zero looked like he was keeping his distance. Was he feeling… regretful? Regardless, that wasn't what Sean was concerned with. All that mattered to him was the Su-37 in front of him. He'd occasionally land a few odd hits with his guns, but it wasn't enough to bring the pilot down. It likely would've been significantly easier if the other three were helping to bring them down, but they all seemed to be on autopilot. It frustrated Sean, but deep down, he understood. The only reason he likely wasn't acting the same way was that Vortex's death hadn't properly registered in his brain yet. All that he could think about was making sure Eva was ok.

However, despite the adrenaline coursing through Sean's veins, he could feel himself starting to get worn down. He needed to end this fight sooner rather than later, but he couldn't get a solid lock on his target no matter how hard he tried. With every missile he fired, the pilot would either deploy countermeasures or evade within an inch of being hit, but that didn't stop Sean from getting as close as he possibly could. Eventually, he got so close that there was no way the missile could miss and fired everything he had at them. As the Su-37 fell to the ground, Sean spun around to face Zero, bracing himself for the battle he was about to fight, only to see him flying back in the direction he came from.

"That bastard!" Sean exclaimed, only barely resisting the urge to go after him. "First he gets Vortex shot down, then Diamond, and after all that, he just runs away?"

At first, nobody said anything, leaving Sean to sit there with nothing but his anger as he circled around the plume of smoke in the woods just outside Expo City. Finally, Sky Keeper spoke up. "I've got no signs of hostile forces on the radar," he reported. "You guys are in the clear, RTB."

"No way," Sean replied almost immediately. "I'm not going anywhere until they find her." He glanced down at the ground. They had to be close to her by now.

"Lucky…" Magic began. "I- I know how you're feeling, but… if we stay any longer, we might not have enough fuel to make it back to base," she pointed out.

"I don't care!" Sean snapped back. "With our luck, someone'll show and try to take out Warlock as they bring her back to the landing ship. I'm not-" he paused, sniffling to try and get rid of the tears that began to gently slide down his cheeks. "I'm not losing anyone else today," he said. 'Especially not her,' he added silently as he continued to circle around.

"I don't think you guys are gonna have to wait for long," Garth cut in. "I think we might've found her."

Sean's eyes lit up. Finally, they had a chance now. All that they had to do now was get her out of there. "Really? How is she? Is she alright?"

Concern started to creep up Sean's gut the longer Garth stayed quiet. "I, uh, I don't know. She's on the ground and not moving. I'm getting out to check if she's still alive."

Any brief sense of happiness or hope Sean had was immediately crushed by those words. The next moment, it was replaced by fear and anxiety as he silently prayed that she was still alright. 'Come on, Eva. Please be alright. Please be alright,' he wished over and over again. 'Please just once let me actually live up to this tac name.'

"I think…. I think I've got a pulse here!" Garth said, causing Sean to let out a massive sigh of relief. "She looks like she's in pretty bad shape, though. We're gonna have to get her on the landing ship ASAP."

"Well then? We better get going. The sooner we get her out of here, the better."

Sean nodded. Diamond was alive, and that was all that mattered at that moment. "Good. We'll cover you every step of the way, now let's go!"

Somehow, everyone managed to make it back to Fort Grays quickly and with no difficulties, which was nothing short of a miracle. Considering everything that had happened to Nexus Squadron over the past few months, everyone was surprised by the fact that nothing else showed up to hinder their journey. Although, none of them realized this at the time. They were all too busy trying to process what had just happened in their own ways.

The moment the engines on Sean's Rafale shut off, he threw the canopy open and jumped out of the cockpit, not even attempting to climb down the ladder. He was already taking his helmet off before he even touched the ground, and his flight gear was off a moment later. He didn't even pay any attention to where they landed. By that point, he had already broken out into a full-on sprint toward the docks. Charger, Poet, and Magic were probably a fair distance behind him by now, but he didn't care. He also didn't care about his body practically begging him to take a moment to rest. His legs could collapse then and there, which was a distinct possibility, and he'd still go crawling to the docks.

The run felt like it lasted for an eternity, but he finally caught sight of the landing ship, as well as all the people, both military and civilian, that were stepping off of it. Sean stopped in his tracks and doubled over, panting heavily. He wanted so desperately to keep going, but now that he was stopped, his body refused to move until it had more oxygen in its lungs. Suddenly, he saw two people moving a stretcher in the direction of the infirmary. As Sean got closer, he quickly recognized Diamond as the one they were carrying. Without wasting another second, he ran up to them and started barraging them with questions.

"How is she? Is she alright? Where are you taking her?" He followed the two men as he walked, not taking her eyes off Diamond for a second. She had several cuts all over her body and blood in several areas as well, but he could at least see the faint rising and falling of her chest, which made him feel somewhat better.

"She's alive, but we need to get her to the infirmary," one of the men answered without even looking up at him. His tone wasn't quite urgent, but it was clear from how he spoke that he didn't have the patience to deal with Sean. A moment later, the two men sped up their pace and carried Diamond away.

At that point, the other three finally caught up to Sean. "Jesus, Lucky," Charger said between breaths. "You could've… waited for us."

"And?" Poet asked hesitantly. "What's the word? Is she gonna make it?"

"I don't know," Lucky admitted hesitantly. Those three words filled him with so much fear that he didn't even know how to describe. The thought of her living through getting shot down and the entire ride back to Fort Grays only to die in the infirmary terrified him. "They said she's alive but that she needs to get to the infirmary."

"Well, what are we doing standing around here?" Magic looked around at the other three. "Let's follow 'em!"

Sean nodded, feeling grateful that the others felt just as strongly about this as he did, regardless of how exhausted they all felt. Once again, he found himself silently praying that Diamond would be alright as all four of them followed the men carrying her into the infirmary.

Several hours passed before the pilots of Nexus Squadron had even realized it. All of them were sitting anxiously outside the infirmary as the doctors worked, waiting with bated breath to hear even the slightest bit of good news. Eventually, they all reached the point where they couldn't wait any longer one by one and left the infirmary- first Poet, then Magic, and finally Reed. Luckily, though, he at least managed to leave with some good news.

As Reed made his way into the mess hall, he quickly spotted Magic and Poet and made his way over to them. Both looked like they were moments away from falling asleep, but he figured they should know what he learned before they do. While the news was fantastic, though, Reed couldn't help but feel empty, for lack of a better word. He knew exactly why. He just didn't want to admit it.

He took a deep breath as he sat down at the table next to them. "Before I left… the docs told me that the kid's condition is stable. She's still not conscious, though." He managed to crack a small, optimistic smile as he spoke.

Both Magic and Poet's eyes lit up as they looked over at him, but Magic was the one that spoke first. "Are you serious? Does that mean she's gonna be alright?"

Reed nodded. "To my understanding, yeah. It sounds like she's gonna pull through."

"Finally, some good god damn news," Poet muttered. "After all the shit that's happened in the last two days, at least there's that." There bitterness in his voice as he spoke. That's when Reed remembered that it was only yesterday that Trench died. Now Vortex was dead, and Diamond was almost right behind him. It must've been a lot to handle.

"Where's Lucky?" Magic asked, shifting her gaze from Reed to the wall in front of her.

"Still sitting with Diamond," Reed answered. "Looked like he was practically asleep when I left."

Magic sighed. "Are those two ever gonna realize… y'know." Her voice trailed off as she gave Reed a 'you know what I mean,' look.

"Honestly, I hope so," Poet cut in. "It'd be nice if they figured it out before it was too late."

Reed nodded. "Yeah…" He felt like some sort of lump was rising up in his throat, preventing him from saying anything more. He could feel the realization of everything that had happened finally setting in, and he didn't like it one bit.

"Hey… you want some time alone?" Magic asked softly, noticing the shift in expression.

Reed shook his head. "No, I just… I- I can't believe he's gone. We knew each other for so long. He was probably my best friend, and now he's dead- just like that."

Poet nodded. "Mhm. I can't even imagine what must've been going through his mind when it happened." His voice was shaky, and he was very clearly on the verge of tears.

Magic gently put a hand on his shoulder to try and comfort him, although she wasn't doing much better than he was. "I just wish we could've done something to stop it. But, I mean… at the very least, Lucky got the bastard who killed him, so there's that," she pointed out.

Reed let out a heavy sigh and shook his head. "The worst part of it all is that in the heat of the moment, w- when it really mattered, I just couldn't do it." He let his head sink into his hands. "I couldn't pick up the mantle… I still don't know if I can," he admitted hesitantly.

"It's not like any of us can blame you," Magic pointed out. "Those are some big shoes to fill. Any of us probably would've done the same thing." The more she tried to put everyone's fears and anxieties at ease, the more her voice faltered, sounding like she was mere moments away from completely falling apart.

Reed couldn't quite tell when it happened, but eventually, he noticed Footpad walking up to the table. "Mind if I join you guys?" His voice was barely a whisper as he asked, but everyone still heard it. Despite that, though, the only response any of them could manage was a meager nod. Footpad glanced at all three of the pilots as he sat down, unsure of what to say at first before he finally said, "I, uh… I'm sorry. If it's any consolation, I know what you guys are going through."

Reed nodded without so much as looking his way. "Right, Knocker." He wasn't as close to Knocker as Vortex was, but he still considered them good friends- good enough that it hurt to hear about his death. After a brief moment of uncomfortable silence, he looked up at Footpad. "If you don't mind me asking, how did he go down?"

Footpad flinched ever so slightly, and after a moment of staring down at his lap, he took a deep breath in and out. "We were ordered to push west after the first Arsenal Bird got shot down, and we were moving to capture Los Canas," he began, continuing to avert his eyes from the others. "At first, things were going great. Erusea wasn't putting up much of a fight at all, and then, we saw five Su-30s coming in. Knocker recognized one as the guy that took out Brownie. As soon as he realized that, he ordered everyone else to retreat. He and Faun stayed behind to hold them back. Apparently, he even got a hit or two on him, but… but it wasn't enough." After a moment, he shook his head. "Sorry, sorry, I just kinda went off on a tangent there. Anyway, I originally came here because Commander Knight said he wanted to talk to you guys."

Poet looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. "About what?" He practically spat the words in Footpad's direction.

After a moment of looking confused, Footpad shrugged. "He didn't say. All I know was that he wanted to see you guys in the briefing room."

Reed glanced at Poet and Magic before standing up. "Well, I should probably have a word with him anyway," he said with a sigh. "Let's go."

The other two nodded as they followed him out of the mess hall. As he walked, Reed felt his heart pounding in his chest. Even though he knew exactly what he was going to say, he still felt incredibly nervous for reasons he couldn't quite describe. Maybe it was the nervousness he felt regarding the response he would get, or maybe it was the weight of the whole situation crashing down on him like hail. Regardless of what it was, he knew what he needed to do, for himself, if for nothing else, so he did his best to swallow his fears and pressed on toward the briefing room.

It didn't take long for Commander Knight, as well as Clown and Sky Keeper, who were sitting next to him, to spot Reed and the others once they stepped into the briefing room. However, as soon as he turned to face them, Reed finally noticed the bags under his eyes, how pale and gaunt he was, even under his uniform, and hints of gray in his dark brown hair that weren't there when they left a few months back.

"You… wanted to see us, sir?" Reed asked.

Knight nodded to them with a somber look on his face. "Yes. Firstly, I just wanted to offer you all my condolences. Mainly, though, I wanted to discuss the matter of you being officially designated as the new leader of Nexus Squadron."

"Um… actually, sir," Reed cut him off before he could say anything more. "I wanted to talk to you about that as well."

Knight raised an inquisitive eyebrow in Reed's direction- as did Poet and Magic. "What do you mean?" the commander asked.

Reed sighed. His heart was just about ready to break free from his chest, but he carried on anyway. "Well… put simply, I- I don't think I have what it takes to lead this squadron."

At first, Knight didn't seem to show any kind of reaction. "So, you're saying you'd like First Lieutenant Patton to take the position instead?"

Reed's eyes shifted uncomfortably. "Err, not that I have anything against him, but I was actually thinking about Diamond- um… First Lieutenant Kidd," he corrected himself. He didn't dare look behind him to gauge Poet and Magic's reactions, but all he could feel was fear that they were judging him.

"You mean… the youngest member of the squadron who's currently in the infirmary after getting shot down?" Sky Keeper spoke up.

Reed took a measured breath. "Sir, with all due respect, you don't have the slightest idea what she's capable of. We've been flying alongside each other for months now, and we've had our backs against the wall countless times. I trust her with my life."

To his surprise, Magic came to his defense. "There were a lot of situations where we would've been dead a dozen times over if not for her," she added. "Her record speaks for itself."

"While I don't doubt what you guys are saying," Clown cut in. "We don't even know if she's gonna live. Besides, it's pretty hard to lead a fighter squadron from an infirmary bed."

"Before I left, the doctors said her condition was stable," Reed informed them. "She's gonna pull through. As for the time that she'll be out…" he scratched the back of his head as he tried to come up with an answer, but ultimately, he had nothing.

To his surprise, though, it was Knight that answered for him. "I don't think we'll be going on any sorties anytime soon. Some of the men we rescued from Expo City have mentioned an Erusean POW camp, but we can't even act on it. We don't have the resources for it."

"That also brings up another problem," Sky Keeper pointed out. "Even if we were able to go on sorties, she wouldn't have a plane to fly."

"Well… not necessarily," Clown said, scratching his chin. "Since I'm using that spare Hornet we had, she could just take my Viper. Although, I suppose that's up to the commander," he pointed out, turning to face Knight.

After a long pause, Knight sighed. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

Reed nodded instantly. "Yes, sir. Vortex trusted her, and so do I."

Knight reached over for the mug of coffee on his desk and took a sip. "Alright, I'll talk to her about it in a few days. For now, I suppose you're all looking to get some rest, so I won't keep you from it any longer. Dismissed."

Charger gave him a weak salute before turning around. All he could say as he left was, "Thank you, sir." And as much as he wanted to lie down and sleep forever, he knew deep down that he wasn't going to be sleeping at all.

For a moment, or rather, what felt like a moment, Sean's body refused to believe that he was awake. So instead, he just decided to stay in the uncomfortable metal chair beside Diamond's bed. He was too tired to even lift his eyelids, but after another few minutes passed, he finally decided to look around. Nothing had changed since he dozed off, but that also meant Diamond was still alive. Sean glanced down and smiled at her upon confirming that she was, in fact, still there, albeit still asleep. The rhythmic rising and falling of her chest looked like it was getting more stable, which put him even more at ease.

As the pilot's gaze flicked from Diamond to the room around him, he thought about what he planned to do. Part of him wanted to have some time alone in his room. Another part of him wanted to just fall right back asleep, no matter how uncomfortable the chair was, and the voice in his mind that was speaking loudest wanted him to stay there, waiting until Diamond woke up again. Luckily for him, however, he didn't have to think about the decision for long. As Sean heard the sound of someone stirring in the bed next to him, his heart skipped a beat as he looked down and saw Diamond beginning to shift ever so slightly. A few seconds later, her emerald green eyes weakly fluttered open, trying to take in the world around her.

"Diamond… are you alright?" Sean asked in a voice so quiet that he decided to ask it again just to make sure she heard him.

Diamond looked over at him with a dazed look on her face. "Lucky?" She sounded just as confused as she looked. "What… what happened?" She rubbed her eyes, trying to wipe some of the drowsiness away. "All I remember is-" She cut herself off as a sudden realization hit her, and a look of horror replaced any confusion she once displayed. "Vortex!" She shot up in her bed, only to fall back down wincing.

"You had to bail out, and I guess you had a rough landing because you were unconscious when Warlock found you," Sean explained.

Diamond didn't say anything at first. All she did was look straight up at the ceiling until she finally said, "So, he's really gone…" Tears started to well up in her eyes.

Sean hated seeing her like this, but he didn't know what to do. There was only so much he could do and so much he could say to try and make her feel better. Now, though, he couldn't think of anything, mainly because he was dealing with the exact same thing she was. Still, Sean desperately wanted to do something for her, even if it didn't completely cheer her up. But, in the end, all he could manage was gently putting his hand on her shoulder and whispering, "I- I'm so sorry, Diamond. I'm sorry." Now, he felt tears rolling down his own cheek, but he made no efforts to wipe them away.

In a surprising gesture, Diamond reached up and put her hand over his, gently rubbing her thumb over the back of his hand. It wasn't much, but it did so much to put Sean at ease. Although, he did feel a bit guilty about the fact that she was cheering him up when it should've been the opposite

Finally, Diamond looked him straight in the eye. "Lu- er… Sean." She paused, looking deep into her mind to try and pull the right words from her brain.

Unfortunately, she didn't get the chance to continue her train of thought, as a doctor came in a moment later. "Well, it's good to see you're finally awake. How are you feeling?"

Diamond shifted around uncomfortably before turning her attention back to the doctor. "Like my body hurts," she said bluntly.

"Well, you did nearly die after all," the doctor pointed out. "In fact, you probably would have if it weren't for the civilian doctor and medics on the landing ship. Needless to say, you got very lucky."

"Maybe you oughta be the one with this callsign, eh?" Sean said with a smirk. He almost moved in to nudge her with his elbow but stopped himself once he realized that would probably end up hurting her.

Diamond tried to adjust to find a more comfortable position, but once again, she winced and slid back down into her bed. "Ow… did I break some bones or something?"

"Fractured, but no full breaks," the doctor told her, looking down at a clipboard. "We ran a few tests while you were unconscious, too. Based on what we saw, you'll probably be back up in two weeks minimum- a month at the most, but that depends on how fast your body heals."

"2 weeks?" Diamond echoed in disbelief. "But they need me up there," she protested.

"Look, you had tons of cuts all over your body. That's partly why you lost so much blood," the doctor explained, looking up from his clipboard. "If you go back up there before they're healed, you risk all of them opening up again. So just take it easy for a few days. You'll be feeling better before you know it." And at that, he left the room.

Sean sighed as he looked back down at Diamond, who was settling back in underneath the covers of her bed. "You need anything from me?" he asked her.

Diamond shook her head. "No, I think I'm gonna get some sleep. Thanks, though."

Sean nodded. "Alright, yeah… Just wanted to make sure before I head out. I, uh, I think I need some time alone." He looked away as his voice trailed off.

Diamond looked up at him with a concerned look on her face. "You alright? Just… just know you can talk to me about anything, yeah? Anytime you need it, come find me." She looked down at herself with an attempt of a smile on her face. "Not like I'm going anywhere anytime soon."

Sean nodded. "Mhm… thanks, Diamond. I'll talk to you tomorrow." Then, without saying another word, he sat up and left the room, glancing back at her one last time before heading back toward his room. He took a shaky breath in and out as he walked, thinking about how different everything was and how desperately he wanted it all to go back to normal.