Chapter 12B: Far Eastern Front.
Tina couldn't believe what she heard on Frank's device. She heard Daffy and him being an ace pilot. Turns out Daffy can make a difference after all.
"So, Daffy is called Reaper, huh?" Bugs asked "I rather not get haunted, thanks."
"But, you that one UNF soldier said, when the Reaper's in the air, you know the area's safe. And Daffy as make sure that Tokyo is safe." Tina said.
Tina then looked outside and saw the formation of fighter jets flying overhead. One MIG-21, one Typhoon, one F-16F, and one F-22. Tina has a feeling one of them has to be Daffy.
"We have to see him." Tina said.
"I think I know where he could be at." Frank said.
Afterwards, everyone takes a cab to go find Daffy.
Meanwhile, the Bone Arrow Squadron lands at the base near Tokyo after they and the Ridgebacks helped liberate the city from the terrorists. Although the mission is successful, there was a heavy cost to them as Lieutenant Bertz was killed in action and Slash was killed after taking a shot to the head by a laser from the Quox drones that are controlled by the ace pilot known as the 'Butterfly Master'. Daffy was able to shoot down the Butterfly Master, as well as the Aigaion heavy command cruiser, or better known as Moby Dick, in the process. Anyway, after going through post-landing checks, the Bone Arrows heads for the debriefing to hear about the Aigaion, the Quox, and the Butterfly Master.
"Great job, guys. That Moby Dick was a giant airborne command ship developed by a certain nation's military. Basically, in an attempt to cut down the number of aircraft they had to deploy, they decided to overengineer this gigantic flying beast of a battleship. Also, the UAV lasers we saw on the butterflies are equipped with a visual-ID function that can recognized pilots by their flight helmets and strike as necessary. It automatically activates when they get close; a merciless weapon of murder. Watch out for it. The Butterfly Master's craft is apparently a re-engineered CFA-44, but we're still investigating the details. Whew…Anyway, thanks to your hard work, the enemy force has taken serious damage. Unfortunately, so have we. The Tokyo area is nearby the enemy's Far East perimeter. It'll be a hot zone for a while to come, I imagine. We're all in for a long, tough slog here. Anyway, I was hoping we could have a celebration-slash-retirement party for Viper, but the UNF HQ has yet another deploy order for us. You guys just rest up for now. I'm gonna go have the top brass yell at me for a bit. Again, good job." Goodfellow said.
Just as Goodfellow finished the debriefing, an officer knocked on the doorway.
"Excuse me, Goodfellow." Said the officer.
"What is it?" Goodfellow aaked.
"There's a woman here who wants to see Reaper." The officer said.
"Woman, huh? Send her in?" Goodfellow said.
When the officer directed the woman to the briefing room. Daffy couldn't believe who it was.
"Tina?!" Daffy said.
It was Tina. The first reaction for Daffy was to give her a hug, but not before Bugs, Lola, Porky, Speedy, Alvin, and Frank showed up at the doorway.
"What are you guys doing here?!" Daffy asked with both anger and concern in his voice.
"I…I just had to find you." Tina replied.
"Still don't think I can make a difference, can't you?" Daffy asked.
Tina couldn't reply to that. Then, the thing that Omega told him 3 months ago gave him a idea.
"Okay. Hey, Goodfellow. Is there any job openings here at Arrows?" Daffy asked.
"Yes, we could use a few mechanics." Goodfellow replied.
"Is there anyway my friends here, mostly Tina, can join?" Daffy said.
Tina, Bugs, Lola, Alvin, Porky, Speedy, and Frank couldn't believe what Daffy just said. Goodfellow approach Tina.
"Do you have experience in do mechanics?" Goodfellow asked.
"I can fix my car. And you need to ask my dad if I can join." Tina said.
Goodfellow approached Frank.
"Hello, Sir. Name's Goodfellow. Is their anyway your daughter can join Reaper here at Arrows?"
"Well, I would say no on letting my daughter join a private military company…but, I see that she loves 'Reaper' so much, so I'll let her join."
"Thank you." Goodfellow said while shaking Frank's hand.
Goodfellow then turn to the others.
"Can you all do mechanics?" Goodfellow asked.
Everyone nodded.
"Congratulations, Reaper. Your friends are now part of Arrows. Now, if you may excuse me, I need to talk to the top brass." Goodfellow said before leaving.
Daffy then introduce Tina, Bugs, Lola, Alvin, Porky, and Speedy to his squadron.
"Guys, I want you to meet Viper, Omega, and Bronco." Daffy said.
"Pleasure to meet you all." Omega said.
"Likewise." Viper said.
"Nice to meet you." Bronco said.
"Likewise." Tina said.
"You must be Tina. Reaper has told us about you." Omega said.
"I'm sure he has." Tina said.
Afterwards Frank told Tina that he has to head home and told Daffy to take care of her and everyone got along. A few minutes later, Daffy saw Viper packing a suitcase.
"So, you really are retiring, huh?" Daffy asked.
"I have to see my ex-wife and fix things up with her." Viper said.
"So, who's gonna take charge?" Daffy asked.
"Well, normally, the number 2 should take charge, but since Omega gets shot down a lot and Bronco don't talk much, I'm putting you in charge." Vipersaid.
"Me, why?" Daffy asked.
"Because I know that you can become an ace. Look at that performance against the Butterfly Master. You can make a difference." Viper said.
"Thanks." Daffy said.
"Congratulations, you've been promoted to Captain and flight lead, and I make sure Goodfellow know about it. Good luck to you Bone Arrow 1." Viper said before leaving.
A few hours later, Tina was talking to Daffy in the break room.
"Sorry if I worry you." Tina said.
"It's okay. It's that I don't want something bad to happen to you, and I want to prove to you that I can make a difference." Daffy said.
"At less you can see me now." Tina said.
Their conversation was interrupted when Omega came to them.
"Reaper, Tina, Goodfellow wants to see you in the briefing room." Omega said.
"What for? We just did a mission." Daffy asked.
"I don't know, but the Single Lines are here." Omega replied.
"The Ridgebacks are here? This must be important." Daffy said.
Daffy, Tina, and Omega went to the briefing room where they met up with Bronco, Bugs, Lola, Alvin, Porky, and Speedy along the way. Once they got there, there were a lot of mercenary pilots and privateers and amazingly, Edge and the remaining members of the Ridgeback Squadron was there as well. Once everyone took a seat, Goodfellow made his speech.
"Everyone here? A lot of you probably haven't met before, but just listen up for now. In preparation for the battle against the USEA army, the UNF has requested that Arrows join them as a regular force. Arrows has agreed to this request. As a result, all Arrows units are hereby disbanded. You'll be regrouped into Task Force 118 'Arrowblades', an independent assault force under direct Military Staff Committee command. I will continue to serve as commander. Air squadrons affiliated with the regular force will also be disbanded and regrouped. Edge and the Ridgeback flight will join the Arrowblades as well. In addition, proven mercenaries and privateers from a multitude of countries will be joining our force. We may no longer be a UN-independent command, but we'll still receive rewards for our performance as before. We're now launching 'Operation Eternal Liberation', a military-op covering all defense lines across Eurasia. If you're new here, let me make one thing straight: If you're the top earner, you get first priority over everyone else. You want money? You want fame? Then you're gonna have to outdo our ace here." Goodfellow said while mentioning Daffy as the ace.
On the screen was Daffy's Grim Reaper emblem, but there was one change. It now had a red infinity mark near the scythe.
"Nice infinity ribbon." Alvin said.
"Or mobius strip." Bugs said.
"Thanks." Daffy said.
After that day, Daffy, and everyone else, including the Ridgebacks are now part of Task Force 118 'Arrowblades'.
Meanwhile, back at the unknown location, the man set up a countdown clock while someone else was humming.
"24 hours until reactivation." The man said.
"What? Ah, that's no fun…" said a little girl.
"Please be patient, Master…" the man said.
That's the end of this chapter. Does the number 118 sounds familiar to you. If you read one of my other stories, you'll find out. Anyway, can Daffy lead the Bone Arrow Squadron? Will Task Force 118 stop USEA? Can Daffy make a difference? Keep reading to find out. Please review.