In the waters of the Eusian Ocean, north of the Payton Peninsula, an aircraft carrier escorted by a single frigate sliced through the water. Standing on the flight deck, looking out at the sun rising over the vast oceans to the east, was First Lieutenant Eva Kidd. A gentle breeze tugged at her hair, blowing it in front of her eyes, but she didn't do anything about it. All she cared about at that moment was taking in the scenery because, for all she knew, it could be her last chance to enjoy a view that was as beautiful as the one in front of her. Until that point, she had been alone, but before long, she became aware of someone else's presence.

"You're up early," the voice of Charger remarked behind her as he came up to stand next to her. "Can't sleep?"

"Am I supposed to be able to?" Eve replied with a hint of a smile. "I can pretty much guarantee you that the others are up too, doing who knows what who knows where. Knowing that you have a higher-than-usual chance of dying in a few hours isn't exactly the best way to get a full night's rest."

The smile on Charger's face faded. "Is that what you think?" he asked. "That there's next to no hope for us?"

Eva let out a frustrated sigh as she returned her gaze to the ocean in front of her. "Forgive my pessimism, Charger, but we don't exactly have a very good track record, do we? I mean… let's do a quick recap: First, we lose the Kestrel II and everyone on it. Then, I cause a group of convicts to go rogue, thereby killing Gates, Tillmin, Crosswind, and Trench. Finally, I fail to shoot down the mercenary who's been fighting us throughout the whole war and is somehow in our squadron now, which ends up getting Vortex killed. Now you're telling me that we've gotta go up against the largest cell of Free Eruseans who are equipped with what's probably the most advanced and dangerous weapon on the continent while we're severely outnumbered. Would you please explain to me how we have any chance of coming out of this alive?" Eva took a deep breath to calm herself down. "Did you know that five months ago yesterday was the day the Kestrel II sank?"

Charger nodded, following Eva's gaze out into the ocean. "Yeah- been keeping track of the days since it happened."

"You too, huh?" she asked. "I don't know why I do it. It's probably not doing me any favors mentally; I just… I can't help myself. I keep thinking about what I could've done differently or how I might've been able to save them, or maybe-"

"Diamond," Charger cut her off. "You've gotta stop blaming yourself for every bad thing that's happened to us, kid. These things happen, and shit hits the fan. It's nobody's fault, but we've just gotta deal with it and accept it."

"But I'm the one leading the squadron, Charger. I'm responsible for everyone, so when something goes wrong, it is, at least in part, my fault," Eva protested. Then, she stopped. All she could do was lower her head in defeat and look over to Charger. "Was Vortex ever this stressed out when it came to leading the squadron?"

Charger smiled. "Oh yeah, all the time," he answered instantly. "He didn't like to show it around you guys, but he was a nervous wreck at times, especially after the Kestrel II sank. Trust me when I say that you've done pretty damn well as a squadron leader for someone as young as you. Vortex would've thought the same, and I genuinely mean that. He was my best friend, Diamond, so trust me when I say that he was so unbelievably proud of you."

"Y'know… I just realized something," Diamond said, cracking the faintest of smiles. "It was somewhere around this spot on the Kestrel II's flight deck that Vortex first told me that I'd be going out on my first sortie." She turned around to look at the flight deck, which was almost empty in the early hours of the morning. "Now it looks like we've come full circle. I just hope things turn out differently than they did last time."

"Sometimes, hope is all you have to keep yourself going, and as it happens, hope is all you really need when it comes down to it," Charger said. "That's why I think we're gonna be just fine, kid. You watch."

Jacob took a deep breath to prepare himself for what he was about to do. Each time his brain tried to make him move, his heart started pounding harder and harder. For a moment, he thought about how, even though he was risking his life on a weekly basis, this was probably the most challenging thing he's done in years. Then, he proceeded to scold himself internally for distracting himself. After another minute of building up enough courage, Jacob finally took three steps forward and opened the door to the bridge.

Seconds later, the captain, who Jacob had been informed was named Captain Rourke, turned around at the sound of the door opening and smiled. "Ah, you're one of the pilots, right? From Kestrel Squadron?"

"Yes, sir," Jacob replied with a nod. "W- well, a bit more than that, actually. Would the name Alesburg happen to ring any bells for you by chance?"

Captain Rourke looked at Jacob with a puzzled expression. "How would you know anything about Alesburg?" he asked.

"Well… I was there- just not in the way that you might expect," Jacob explained. "Specifically, I was, uh, I was fighting for Erusea at the time as a test pilot for their experimental fighter." He braced himself for the stern chastising he was about to get from the captain he almost killed.

However, he was greeted with an extended pause as Captain Rourke looked Jacob up and down. Finally, he gave Jacob a curious look. "So… you're the one, then? I'll admit, I was kind of hoping I'd get to meet you someday. Although, I don't think I expected it to be quite like this."

"What? What are you talking about?" Jacob asked, finally looking up at the captain. "I tried to kill you and everyone on this ship. Doesn't that… anger you?"

The older man laughed as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "Son, I've served long enough to know that holding a grudge against the enemy for the sole reason that they're fighting you only leaves you feeling disappointed. Besides, you had us dead to rights. I saw it, and everyone on this carrier saw it. You could've sunk us then and there, but… you didn't."

"I, uh, I didn't see a need for it," Jacob replied. "You were already retreating, so I figured that it wasn't worth the bloodshed if that makes sense."

Rourke nodded. "It makes perfect sense, and in fact, it makes even more sense considering that you're standing here right now." He meandered over to the window, looking out at the flight deck. "That means you're a man who cares about the distinction between right and wrong. Often it can feel as if men like that are in short supply."

"Just because I have principles doesn't undo all of my wrongdoings," Jacob replied. "I've gotten to the point where I consider any night when I don't have nightmares a good night's rest, regardless of how much sleep I actually get." He walked over to the window to stand beside Rourke. "That's why I'm here- to try and… make amends."

Rourke shrugged. "You've no need to make any amends with me. You were just doing your job- same as me. In fact, had our positions been reversed, I don't know if I would've hesitated as you did."

Jacob smiled somewhat. "Well, this, uh, this is certainly going better than I expected it to," he said bluntly. "I just wish it'd be as easy to make amends with some others as it has been with you."

"Well, people are different," Rourke pointed out. "After the Circum-Pacific, I've got a lot of experience with war. It's like I said; holding a grudge against the enemy rarely ends up going well. Some people might disagree, though. Could take years for them to forgive you, or they might never forgive you at all." He smiled as he put a hand on Jacob's shoulder. "But you're never gonna find out if you don't make an effort to build that bridge."

For a moment, Jacob didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say. Obviously, Rourke was right, but he was totally in the dark when it came to where to start. Eventually, though, Jacob managed to nod to the captain. "You're right. In fact, I should probably do that right now. Thank you, sir."

Rourke shook his head. "Don't mention it, son. Think of it as me repaying my debt to you for sparing me and everyone on this ship."

By that point, Jacob had already turned around and begun to leave the bridge. Slowly but surely, he began to make his way down the cramped, winding hallways of the OFS Falcon. He didn't have a very good idea of where he was going, though, so it didn't take him long to get lost. Out of sheer chance, though, he managed to end up nearly colliding with the one person he was looking for: Diamond.

"Ah, sorry about that, Zero," she quickly apologized. "Got a lot on my mind at the moment."

Jacob rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "It's no big deal. Actually… I was, uh, just looking for you."

Diamond looked at him curiously. "Oh? What's up?"

Once again, Jacob found his heart racing. He was so close to getting a massive weight taken off his chest, but he couldn't find the right words. "I, er… Well…" He did his best to swallow his nervousness and straighten up. "Well… I realized that, despite how long it's actually been since I joined you guys, I never actually apologized for, y'know, everything that happened between us."

Diamond's expression gradually shifted to one of hesitant interest. "And I take it that's why you came looking for me? To apologize?"

Jacob nodded, feeling his face get more and more heated the longer the conversation went on. "Yeah. I just- maybe it's just me, but I still feel like there's a rift between us, or really between me and the squadron as a whole, so I wanna try to amend that. Plus… it'd sure as hell help me sleep a lot better at night." Jacob couldn't bring himself to look at Diamond's reaction, but in the end, he knew he had to.

Unfortunately for Jacob, though, Diamond's expression was unreadable. He wasn't sure what thoughts were crossing her mind, but he could tell she was deep in thought. "Zero…" she finally said before trailing off again. "I- I want to forgive you- really, I do. I know I may not have done the best job at giving that impression at times, but it's true. It's clear that you want to make amends, and I'm proud of you for that, but… Quite frankly, I just don't know if I can ever bring myself to forgive you, not for the deaths of the people I was close to anyway."

Jacob feared that would be her answer, and it felt like a punch to his gut now that it had actually happened. All the risks he took in defecting, all the work he put in to gain their trust, and finally, all the risks he took in fighting alongside them. All of it felt pointless now, not that he regretted the choices he made. Although, to his surprise, Diamond carried on.

"But that's not to say I don't think you're a decent man at least," she said. "I mean, you risked your ass to fight with us countless times by now. Plus, you saved Lucky's life, and I can't tell you how grateful I am for that, but it's just…" she looked up as if searching for the right word.

"Complicated?" Jacob guessed.

"I guess, yeah," Diamond replied with a shrug. "I was kinda looking for something that better emphasized the confusion, but complicated is really all I can think of."

Jacob nodded, once again looking away from Diamond. "Yeah… I guess I can understand that. It's just that I can't stop thinking about all the wrong I've done, and I just wanna… wipe it away, like I never made all those mistakes. I guess I'm looking for a clean slate."

Diamond shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe once this is all said and done, you'll get that clean slate. Now, c'mon," she said as she started continuing on her path down the halls.

"Where are we going?" Jacob asked as he broke into a light jog to catch up with her.

Eva led Zero through the hallways effortlessly. After all, they were practically identical to the ones on the Kestrel II, so all of the routes she used to take were still engraved into her mind. It didn't take long for them to arrive at the mess hall, where all the other pilots were already gathered. As she and Zero approached the tables that the pilots pushed together, she stood at one end of the table, overlooking everyone as they all gradually gave her their attention.

Suddenly, Eva felt as if it was harder to breathe. She thought her idea was so good when she first came up with it, but now that she was actually standing there, preparing herself to try and speak, she felt much less confident in herself. "I uh… I suppose you're all wondering why I called you all here," she began, trying to make contact with everyone sitting in front of her as she shifted around to keep her brain occupied. "As I'm sure you're all aware, we're going on a rather dangerous mission soon." Eva stopped herself and took a deep breath, thinking about what Vortex would say. "I know we don't have many options here. In a matter of days, Free Erusea could have control over the entire Usean continent. They'd be in a position to kill anyone who gets in their way, which is precisely why we have to fight here and now. Because if we don't do this, then it'll be too late for anyone else to stand up. War isn't something we seek out; it's something we choose to fight so nobody else has to, and this is no different. When we do this, we'll be going in severely outnumbered. We'll be diving headfirst into the fight of our lives, but as long as we have each other, then there's always hope for us to come out on top, and hope is all you ever need."

"Did you write that down ahead of time, or was that off the top of your head?" Poet teased her.

"A little bit of both," she replied with a smirk. "After all, I had a good example to follow when it comes to giving inspiring speeches."

"We've come a long way to get here, haven't we?" Lucky asked, looking around the table. "Hard to believe it's finally almost over."

"We lost a lot of people along the way, too," Magic pointed out. "Like Castor Squadron, Crosswind…"

"Captain Waller and Domino," Charger added.

"Knocker and Faun," Boggard chimed in.

"Gates, Tillmin, and Trench," Poet said.

Clown let out a heavy sigh before adding, "Trigger."

"Vortex and Slipstream…" Eva finished. "But that's precisely why we have to win so that their deaths won't be in vain. The best way to honor their legacies is to fight for the cause they believed in; to finish the fight that they died for, so let's do just that."

"Remember back when we liberated San Salvacion last month?" Poet asked. "Back when everything felt so simple and like we had a modicum of control over the situation? I just wish we could go back to that."

"To be fair, it's not like we had an abundance of control of the situation up to that point either," Magic pointed out. "Like the fact that they had a jammer blocking comms for basically the entirety of Central Usea."

"True, but once we actually found the damn thing, it didn't take long for Diamond to take it out," Lucky added. "Well, there was the whole thing with-"

"Attention all pilots, please report to the briefing room immediately," Captain Rourke's voice over the PA cut Lucky off.

Eva's heart was now trying to break free from her ribcage. "Well… this is it," she said. "Let's not keep him waiting." Even up until the last second before Rourke's announcement came, she felt considerably less nervous than she was at that moment. There was no going back now, though. In fact, she had crossed the point of no return a long time ago. All that mattered by then was making sure her friends came out alive. It was only at that moment as they were all beginning to stand up, however, that Eva noticed how distant Zero looked from the rest of the group. She felt at least partially guilty, but she still stood by what she told him earlier. Maybe one day, he'd make up for the wrong he did. Maybe he'd do it in this mission they were about to go on, but she wouldn't know until they came back alive, so without waiting for another second, Eva turned around began leading the pilots toward the briefing room.

As the pilots navigated through the halls of the OFS Falcon, Eva thought one more time about the journey that had led them to this point. She thought about the highs and lows, their defeats and their triumphs, but most importantly, she thought about how her friends had been there to help her through it all. Eva owed them a great debt for that, and now she intended to make up for that by making sure they survived no matter what, even if it meant giving up her own life. As she approached the door to the briefing room with her closest friends behind her, though, she cast those thoughts aside and pushed the door open.

"Is this everyone?" Rourke asked, turning his head toward the group as they entered.

Eva nodded as they slowly filed in and took their seats. "It is. We're ready."

Rourke turned back around and brought up the briefing software. A few keystrokes later, he had a video call set up with Knight, David, and Pierre on one window and Garth, Sky Keeper, and Gorgon 2 on another. "We're ready to go, sir," he informed the Commander.

"Firstly, I just thought you all should know that there's been an interesting development," Knight began. "We received an incoming transmission via the partially-restored general network. Apparently, a coalition of Osean and Erusean forces are gathering at the Space Elevator to take down Arsenal Bird Justice. I've been trying to reach out to them in hopes that they might send us reinforcements, but so far, I have yet to receive a response."

"This only underscores the importance of what we have to do," David chimed in. "If we fail here, the Free Eruseans will bring Arsenal Bird Freedom to the Space Elevator, and with its practically infinite supply of energy, the coalition won't stand a chance. We need to take it down before the Free Eruseans get that chance."

"But to do that, you'll need to know how to take it down. Luckily, I know how to do just that, so listen up," Pierre said. "The first order of business will be to eliminate all of Free Erusea's fighters while escorting your ground forces so they can infiltrate the fortress. Gaining air superiority before Freedom is airborne will be a massive advantage for you, but that alone won't be enough to take down this behemoth. You'll need to disable its shields too, and that's far more complicated."

"Because ISAF built Galar Fortress specifically with attacks from Megalith in mind, a vast majority of the facility was built underground," David explained. "That includes the vast array of generators that keep the place powered, which is located in the direct center of the base. Having the ground forces fight their way to the center of the base and destroy the array would take too much time. Instead, we'll have them take control of the security systems, unlocking any doors necessary to allow a single fighter to slip in through the tunnels and destroy the central power redistribution unit, which will cause a power failure throughout the whole base. After that, it's just a matter of escaping before the doors close again."

"What? That's crazy!" Boggard exclaimed. "Who in their right mind would-"

"I'll do it," Eva volunteered instantly, practically jumping to her feet.

"Diamond, are you sure?" Lucky asked. "This would be cutting it close, even by our standards."

Eva didn't hesitate for a second. "I'm sure. The Skyshard is faster and more maneuverable, so it'll b able to make the sharper turns and gun it out of the fortress on the way out," she pointed out. "It's gotta be me."

Lucky looked hesitant, but eventually, he nodded. "Alright," was all he said.

"Once Freedom's shields are down, its most significant defense will be taken care of," North continued. "And I know that from there, you'll all be able to take this thing down."

"Remember, once this day is done, the war will likely be over," Knight reminded them. "This is what we've been looking for all this time. I have faith in each and every one of you. You're some of, if not the best damn pilots I've had the honor of knowing. Good luck to you all."

Magic was the first to stand up. "Well… this is probably gonna be a death sentence, but what the hell do we have to lose anyway?" she asked with a smirk.

"I've got no plans tomorrow night," Lynx said.

"I suppose it's as good a day as any to die, so what the hell?" Clown joined in.

"We've gone up against stacked odds before, and we came out alright then, so we'll do the same now," Lucky pointed out.

"Let's not waste any more time," Eva cut everyone off. "It's time to end this god damn war once and for all. This for those we've lost." Without wasting another second, she started to make her way down to the hangar, knowing that the others would fall in behind her as they went to face their destiny.

Slowly but surely, the eleven pilots went through everything they needed to do to get themselves ready to go, but as Eva stood next to the Skyshard, moments away from climbing into the cockpit, she knew there was still one more thing she needed to do. Her gaze gradually shifted to Lucky, who was standing next to his own F-35, and he knew he couldn't leave things the way they were, especially knowing that one or both of them might not be coming back. Taking a deep breath, Eva mustered all of the courage she had and walked up to him.

"Oh, hey Eva," Lucky said with his signature smile as he noticed her approach. "What's up?"

Eva could feel her cheeks reddening already. "I, uh, I know I've been a bit… well, distant lately, and I wanted to, y'know, explain myself," she said sheepishly, avoiding any semblance of eye contact. "It's just that when I saw you almost get shot down back over Comona, I couldn't- I couldn't bear the thought, especially not so soon after Vortex died."

"Eva, it's alright," Lucky assured her. "I-"

"No, it's not alright!" she insisted. "Because ever since that moment, I've been haunted by the thought of losing you without being able to tell you that I love you, Sean." She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder, which wasn't at all comfortable on account of her helmet and the flight gear he was wearing, but knowing he was beneath all that gear was all the comfort she needed.

Lucky gently lifted her head up, so they were looking right at each other. A moment later, the pair leaned forward practically in unison, pressing their lips together as best they could manage with their helmets in the way. Any fears Eva had instantly melted like the freshly-fallen snow from a few days before. She felt like she was unstoppable, and she planned to take advantage of that while she could.

Eventually, the two broke off the kiss, and Lucky looked at Eva with a smile. "Trust me; we're both gonna get out of this, Eva. I promise."

"I'll do my best," Eva replied. "Whatever it takes."

"I know you will," Lucky said with a nod before turning his attention back to his plane.

Slowly but surely, the pilots began getting in their planes and rising to the flight deck. Mage Squadron was the first to take off, and as the elevator carried Eva up in her Skyshard, she saw the catapult fling Brownie and Lynx into the air as they formed up with the rest of their squadron. Then, they went in descending order for Kestrel Squadron, starting with Zero and working their way down. Since the Skyshard wasn't meant to be launched from a carrier, they'd need all the runway space they had, so when Lucky launched from the carrier, Eva made one last attempt to collect herself as she was moved to the very back of the flight deck.

Suddenly, the voice of Captain Rourke came over her radio. "Well, Blue Kestrel… this is it. I know you've been wished good luck about a thousand times today, but just know that you've got an entire aircraft carrier rooting for you. I wish you the best, and I hope to see you again once this is all over."

As she finally reached her launch position, Eva smiled. "Me too, Captain. Thanks for everything, and I'll see you on the other side, wherever that might be."

As soon as the words left her lips, Eva pushed the throttle as far forward as it could go, engaging the afterburners and pulling the control stick all the way back. The Skyshard quickly picked up speed, but Eva was also quickly running out of runway. Before she knew it, she was over the edge, and after a brief drop, the plane steadied and began to climb. As the landing gear retracted into the plane, Eva assumed her position at the front of the formation and led them on a northwestern heading. Then, all that was left to do was meet up with Sky Keeper, Gorgon, and Warlock before they all dove into one last battle- a battle that they had to win no matter what.

Author's Note: Well, this is it. The next three chapters are the last ones of Clouded Skies. Because of that, I'm gonna wait until they're all done to release them at the same time, so the next update'll take longer than usual. It's honestly crazy to think about how far this fic has come, but no matter what happens next, I wanna thank all of you profusely for sticking with this fic, and I hope you enjoy the end of this story I've written.