Lady Jaye woke to consciousness slowly, rising through darkness into a heaviness that seemed to envelope her and press in and around her from every side. She stirred, and the brooding silence was broken by a soft moan, her own. Opening her eyes, she immediately wished she hadn't. White walls reflected the harsh incandescence of the fluorescent lights overhead. In the over-bright glare of the room, she squinted, blinking rapidly. She didn't recognise her surroundings and struggled to gain her bearings. As her mind began to focus, she became uncomfortably aware of the white tiled floor pressed coldly against her cheek, a painful bruise on her hip and another on her elbow from when she had probably been dumped on the floor. She shifted uncomfortably and then winced. Her head exploded in pain.

"Arg…..my…head," she moaned, rocking gently side to side.

She reached up with a shaky hand and explored gingerly, sighing when she felt a large swelling and the telltale stickiness. Her hand dropped wearily, her fingertips wet. At least the bleeding had slowed.

Gritting her teeth, she rolled to her side and was immediately overcome by waves of nausea.

"Most likely a concussion…" her muddled brain offered as an explanation. She accepted it without question or complaint. She'd been injured worse.

She tried to lift her head and the bile once again rose in her throat and she swallowed rapidly. "Ugh…" she muttered, pressing a hand to her unsettled stomach. She took a few deep breaths and then, with grit and determination, pushed herself onto her knees. She closed her eyes, waiting for nausea to pass, the dizziness and pounding of her head to lessen. When the room had finally stopped spinning, she took a cautious look around.

It was a small room, completely empty, with one door leading in and out. Against probability, she crawled to the door and staggered to her feet. Tugging on the handle, she let out a breath in frustration. It was a locked door, a prison… and she was alone. She slid slowly to the floor in defeat. Pulling her knees up, she hugged herself tightly.

Her thoughts drifted to Flint. She hoped that he was safe, that he was not a prisoner somewhere like herself. She also knew with certainty, that if he was indeed free, he would have already put her rescue in motion. She smiled softly. That thought alone gave her reason to hope once again.

Lady Jaye had been frequently paired with Flint from the very beginning of their enlistment with the Joes. As they continued to work closely together, she had found herself drawn to him in more ways than one. She had admired his professionalism, his leadership abilities, his skills, and his intelligence. And, conversely, he had always treated her with respect, as an equal partner, valuing and trusting her own unique set of skills and abilities.

As General Hawk continued pairing them together on missions, their fast friendship deepened and then more recently, had become more than friendship. Theirs had been an inevitable relationship, born out of dependence and trust, and mutual attraction.

She smiled complacently, remembering how surprised Flint had been when the two of them had fallen into that pink goo and she had calmly grabbed his arm and pulled out her bubble javelin. She blushed lightly, remembering their arms around each other in a tight embrace. For a few moments, as they had slowly floated to the top, their voices soft and their breaths mingling, the battle above had been forgotten. That had been the defining moment for her, the moment she knew she was falling in love.

They had been on many other missions together since that early one, missions where sometimes she rescued him, and other times where he rescued her. She recalled the time when they were together on the roof of the world and her whole team had been buried by an avalanche. Her heart had seized in fear at that moment, believing they had all been buried alive. But, Flint, proving his intelligence once again, had ordered them to aim their lasers at the falling snow and ice. It melted around them, creating an ice cave. Lady Jaye had impressed him once again as she used her diamond tipped javelin to cut them free.

There had been many rescues, she smiled softly. But there had also been times when he returned the favor, like when she had been captured with Bazooka and Alpine at that Texas dude ranch.

And of course, there had been many, many times they were captured together, tied up and threatened by Cobra Commander or Destro or any of the other deluded Cobra leaders. They never worried about it too much, because they had always managed to escape.

As she looked around her white prison cell once more, she knew with confidence that she would escape again. Flint would come for her. It was only a matter of time.

The room was spinning again, her stomach lurching. She buried her head in her knees and squeezed her eyes shut. With her last conscious thought, she hoped Flint would come for her soon. Then, she passed into darkness once more.

The long flight to Japan was uneventful. The Joes rested as much as they could in their stiff, hard seats. Even Ace had been relieved from his controls midway by Duke so he could catch a few hours. They were all waking up now, as the blurry coast of Japan was finally coming into view.

"Is it today or tomorrow?" Ace asked, adjusting the headset over his ears.

"Since we're in Japan, I think it's tomorrow," Duke said irritably, biting back a yawn.

Ace turned to stare at him, his grin slowly forming. "Problem with jet lag, Duke?"

"Not at all." Duke muttered, giving his head a shake to clear it.

Still grinning, Ace turned to the control panel and flipped the switch to the Pit.

"Breaker, here."

"Breaker, this is Ace. Patch me in to Hawk."

"Sure thing, Ace."

Ace stared at the breaking white waves below. The green and black jagged coast was becoming visible. He could see the small dots of houses and buildings lining the distance.

"Hawk here."

"General Hawk." Ace sat up quickly, "We're approaching the coast of Japan now. Any word on the status of our landing permission?" Ace continued scanning the coast. "It's not like we can just land at Narita," he quipped.

Hawk had been on the horn all night calling the various US bases in Japan, dealing with customs and getting permission from Japan for the Joe's International landing.

"It's all taken care of. You've been given permission to land at the US Military installation, Camp Zama. Head for Sagamihara in Kanagawa, about 40km southwest of Tokyo. I'll send you the coordinates, now. Air Traffic Control will be directing you once you are on your approach."

"Roger that. Ace out."

Skirting the coast, Ace pulled the plane into a smooth turn, heading South for Kanagawa Prefecture.

Grinning suddenly, he flipped the switch for the internal speaker com. "Lady and gentlemen," he began, "we are approaching our destination. At this time I must ask that all tray tables and all seats be back in their locked and upright positions," he leaned back in his chair with a smug smile.

Behind him, from the cargo bay, he heard the collective groan rise above the sound of the engines.

"Ace….."