The Aces of Razgriz

by Blaze118

Becoming a pilot was a dream for Antonio "Blaze" Castillo ever since he was young, and then it became an obsession when his father died during a mysterious attack on an air show when he was eight. With his goal of becoming a pilot completed, Antonio must fight a war that no one saw coming while fighting to keep his humanity and other dark secrets intact.

20. The Fortress

Chapter 19 – The Fortress

Date: unknown

"0118 get up!"

The voice over my room's loud speaker woke me up and I got out of bed and stood in front of my door, waiting for my handler to take me to the psychologist to evaluate my mentality. I thought it was ironic that he was the same guy who tried killing me when I first woke up in the hospital room. He never did forgive me for breaking his nose. After the first month of my integration into Pitbull, I completely stopped talking. After the second month, I lost all hope of ever getting out and after the next three months, I didn't care what happened to me. According to the psychologist, it had taken longer for me to be broken than any of the others in the program. The only thing that kept me going was the thought of killing one man in particular, and I thought about him every day since I arrived in Pitbull. When the door to my cell finally opened, my handler threw me a new set of sweat pants, socks, a t-shirt, and my PT shoes.

"Get ready for another fun filled day with your good pal," said my handler.

I could only glare at him because I risked getting shocked or beat if I said anything, not that I ever did say anything. He always wore a face mask with tinted eye protection and every time he spoke, he would always change his tone so that I would never find out what his real voice sounded like. I quickly got dressed and headed to the psych room where the psychologist sat me down and started asking me his usual questions to which I never gave any answers too. This guy annoyed me to the point where I just wanted to shut him up forever. He was the only person in the entire facility that did the psych evaluations for every other Pitbull inductee and I'm sure they all felt the same as I did. After I was done with this guy, my handler would usually take me to the gym where I'd continue my physical training and then to my psychological training where they stressed me on paying attention to detail and inspired me to be creative. They made me do everything from running obstacle courses, to CQC training, or close quarter's combat training, to spotting all the differences between two pictures. Everything was going as usual until someone barged in the room and started asking for me by name. That voice…could it be? My handler and the psychologist didn't know it and I still remembered my name after they kept calling me 0118 after all this time. As the guy continued asking for me, I kept my cool and didn't look at him so that the others wouldn't realize the man was looking for me. I didn't know who he was, but two things started going through my mind: the first thing was for me to find out whom that guy was and the second, I had to escape. Today is the day.

"Who are you looking for?" asked the psychologist.

"Some guy named Castillo. I was told to tell him that his mother is alive," said the familiar voice and my eyes widened at the news. Is she really alive?

"Get the hell out of here," said my handler.

I heard the man leave and the psychologist continued asking me his questions. "Are you hopeful about anything?"

I felt myself smirk and I looked up at him. "More than you know," I said and I stood up from my seat.

"I'm impressed it took you this long to finally say something," said the psychologist in amazement as he wrote something down on his clipboard.

"Sit your ass back down," shouted my handler and I heard him pull out his extendable baton. I kept standing and I turned around to face him. "I'm not going to tell you again. Sit down!"

I continued giving him an evil grin and I realized that my training was going to be my only advantage in order for me to escape. These peoples' biggest mistake was teaching me how to kill. My handler swung his baton down like he was going to hit my left shoulder and I side stepped to my right. I quickly grabbed his right forearm with both hands and I elbowed him in the nose, causing his tinted glasses to shatter. I swear I heard him starting to bitch about me breaking his nose again and I started laughing when I realized what I had done. I must've looked like a maniac when I continued to beat the crap out of him. I grabbed his baton and struck him in his right leg causing him to kneel down in pain and then I grabbed his gun. I spun around and double tapped the psychologist in the chest and then I turned the gun on my handler. After I shot him once in the leg, he collapsed onto the floor and I unloaded to rest of the bullets into his chest as he laid there. Good-bye, 'Pal'. I grabbed the rest of his ammo that he had on him, the baton, and the psychologist's key card and I ran out of the room into the hallway trying to find a way out of the facility. The concrete walls, lack of windows, and security doors made this place look like a prison rather than a research facility. One thing that I did notice about this place was that it was underground. It wasn't something that I deduced, but more like a gut feeling about.

As I turned one of the corners, I saw two guards running towards me with their weapons in hand. I quickly shot both of them in the shoulder before they could bring up their guns and they staggered back in pain. One of them turned around while he placed his hand on his wound but he still managed to stay on his feet while the other was down on one knee. I ran up behind the first guard with the gun in my right hand and baton in the left and I struck him in the left leg with the baton and followed up by hitting him in the head with my right knee. As soon as he fell back, I spun around and struck the other guard in his head with the butt of the gun. When I saw that both of them were unconscious, I continued running down the hallway trying to find a way out, but then an alarm went off. I'll kill anyone on my way. I came to a locked security door and I used the key card to open it, but there was a group of four guards waiting for me on the other side. I lifted my gun on the first guard but he quickly shoved it out of his way. He wasn't expecting me to break his arm with the baton and I tried hitting the second guard with it but he quickly grabbed my arm while the third guard quickly grabbed my other and pulled the gun out of my hand. The fourth guard pulled out a needle and filled it with what I assume was a sedative, but before he could move in and administer it to me, I kicked the second guard in the groin with my right leg and he released my left arm. I seized the opportunity to use the baton and hit the third guard in his ribcage. He also released me and I switched the baton into my right hand to hit him in the jaw. Before he collapsed to the ground, I grabbed the can of mace off his belt and sprayed the fourth guard in the face with it. As he staggered back, I took the needle out of his hand and stuck it in his neck to put him to sleep, or at least I thought he was sleeping. The first guard wasn't through yet and he tried shooting me but I dove out of the way and blinded him with the mace before I jumped and knocked him out with a spinning back kick. With those four guards out of the way, I took off trying to escape again but I was quickly intercepted by more guards.

My adrenaline was flowing and my mind was filled with thoughts of freedom. None of the guards were able to stop me and I wasn't keeping track of how many I killed or incapacitated. They were throwing everything at me from flash grenades to guns. One of them, even though I thought it was absolutely unnecessary, tried using a rocket launcher, but nothing was able to slow me down. I used their own weapons against them and I even used some of the guards as meat shields. I didn't care either. I just wanted to escape this hell hole so I kept going. I eventually made it to an elevator and I knew that I was getting closer to an exit. I took the elevator up and I used the moment to catch my breath. I noticed how much my hands were shaking and the blood that stained my clothes. I was seeing nothing but red and I almost didn't want to escape anymore. I wanted to stay and keep fighting. No, keep fighting to escape! You're almost there. The elevator was coming up to the top level of the facility and I prepared myself for whatever was next. I reloaded my gun and readied the baton, but before the elevator could get to the top, it stopped. I tried pressing some buttons to make it go again, but it wouldn't budge. I climbed up through the hatch on top of the elevator and holstered both of my weapons. I was almost at the top of the shaft and I started to climb up the elevator cables until I reached the top. I had to force the doors open using my hands and I was actually surprised I got them open. When I got through, I saw one guard standing between me and a set of double doors on the opposite side of a wide hallway. As I started walking towards him, I noticed that he wasn't like any of the other guards, he was my handler. How is he still alive? I shot him six times in the chest. I raised the gun one last time to finish him off but when I squeezed the trigger, the gun jammed.

"You're not getting out of here alive, you little shit," he said as he took off his vest and utility belt. "I'll kill you before I let that happen."

I threw the gun down and gripped the baton in my right hand. "I'm getting out of here one way or another," I growled.

"So you think. I now have orders to use deadly force on you," he said. "I knew I should've killed you the first time I saw you."

"Well there's nothing stopping you now," I said and I started running at him.

He ran towards me as well and we closed the distance pretty quickly. He attempted to hit me with a flying kick and I dodged it by sliding under him. I quickly got to my feet and ran towards him again while he had his back turned towards me, but he mule kicked me when I got close enough. I fell backwards and rolled onto my feet. I wasn't expecting him to turn the tables on me so quickly and I had to fend him off as best as I could. For a ten year old kid who's been forced to train nonstop for two years straight, I was holding my own rather well. My only advantages during the whole fight were my size, agility, and the baton I had. I fought as hard as I could to try and escape this whole facility, but eventually I messed up. My handler tried to round house kick me but I ducked in time to dodge it and he tried following up with a punch. I deflected it by hitting his arm with the baton and then I struck him in the abdomen, causing him to bend over. I tried to hit him in the head next but he caught my arm and kicked me in the head, causing me to stagger backwards. My handler had disarmed me and now I no longer had an advantage during this fight. I regained my balance just in time to see my handler jumping down on me to land an extremely hard punch on my jaw. Needless to say, I was on the floor with him kneeling over me while he continued to punch me over and over again. I tried fighting back but there was nothing I could do. After he hit me for the seventh time, I saw that he had a knife in his boot and I quickly grabbed it. Once I had it in my hand, I stabbed him in the thigh with it and then I pulled him closer so that I was able to stab him in the chest. My handler grunted in pain and after he took one last look at me, he fell over on the ground. I got up and started walking to the doors, hoping that this would finally be the end of my time at Pitbull. I didn't care where I went or what happened to me, I just wanted to be free and see that my mother was still alive. I was about to swipe the key card but then I hesitated because I didn't know what was on the other side of these doors. There could be a whole firing line waiting to gun me down as soon as they see me. To hell with it, here it goes. As I swiped the card, I suddenly felt someone's arm around my neck and sharp pain in my right shoulder blade. I let out a cry in pain and struggled to get loose of the person's grip.

"I told you that you weren't getting out of here alive," said my handler as he twisted his knife.

"Why won't you stay dead?" I grunted in pain.

I felt him yank out the knife from my back and I knew that he was going to try and stab me again so I quickly swung my leg back and up into his groin. I then got loose from his grip and elbowed where I had stabbed him in the chest. When I was facing him, I continued hammering away at his wounds and I assumed he was in a lot of pain by the way he grunted every time I hit him. With one final effort, my handler tried running his knife through me one last time, but I was able to deflect it and break his wrist so that I was able to grab hold of it. Once I had it, I stabbed him three more times in the chest before I let him collapse to the floor and bleed out. I looked over my handler's lifeless body as I placed my left hand over my wound. I wanted to see who he really was but I didn't see the point to it anymore. I walked away from my handler and proceeded to open the doors. To my complete and utter disappointment, there were a bunch of people waiting for me on the other side. Dammit. A man wearing quarantine equipment shot me in the neck with some kind of dart and a couple of other people quickly grabbed me to break my fall, but I wasn't through fighting yet. I didn't know who they were and I struggled to break loose of their hold as I started fading out. Before I completely blacked out, I punched the closest person as hard as I could but it didn't do me much good.

"Calm down, Kid. I got you," said the familiar voice. "You're going to be okay."

December 3, 2010 0738hrs Nagase Residence

I woke up in a sweat and I felt a great deal of pain swelling from my right hand. I started shaking it and rubbed it to numb the pain. I looked at my hand as I rubbed it and saw small chunks of drywall on my knuckles and I started to wonder where they came from. That's when I noticed a hole in the wall. Oh no, this isn't going to easy to explain. I heard someone running down the hallway towards my room and saw that it was Kei after she burst through the door. She looked like an angel wearing her white silk nightgown.

"What was that noise?" she asked.

I couldn't answer her because I felt bad enough as it was. I covered my nose and mouth with both of my hands because I was so embarrassed. I had accidentally punched a hole in the wall in my sleep and I had no idea how I was going to explain it to Sora. Kei brought her hands to her mouth in astonishment at what I had done and I didn't know if she was laughing or if she was just in that much shock.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to. I'll pay for the damages," I said.

"What damages?" asked Sora as she entered the room.

I face palmed myself when Sora saw the hole in her wall and she looked like she was just as shocked as Kei, if not, more shocked. She could only look at me in horror and I fell back on the bed with my arms over my eyes. "I'm so sorry, Sora. I'll pay for the damages," I said.

I called a contractor after Sora stormed out of the room, cursing me under her breath. I guess it's a good thing Kei and I slept separately last night. The guy said he'd be over later today and I paid him in advance. With that out of the way, I decided it was time for me to start the day. I got a clean set of clothes out from my duffel bag and I headed into the bathroom to take a shower. I took my shirt off and I looked at both of the scars on my back but mainly at the one on my right shoulder blade. It was the only thing left in the world that reminded me of my handler and I despised looking at it. I ran my fingers along where my handler's knife had penetrated my skin and I flashed back to when he stabbed me. I grunted in pain and I started breathing heavily, trying to keep quiet so that neither Kei nor her mother could hear me. I quickly turned on the shower to drown out the sounds of my breathing. Once I was able to calm down, I got into the shower and started washing my hair, but then I heard the bathroom door open.

"Antonio," I heard Kei call.

I peeked out from behind the shower curtain to see her sticking her head inside the bathroom door. "Did you need something?" I asked.

"I heard you grunting like you were in pain. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I said quietly as I retreated back behind the shower curtain. "I'm just…thinking."

"About the dream you had last night?"

I paused in surprise at her claim. How did she know I was dreaming last night? I guess me punching a hole in the wall was evidence enough but I wasn't entirely sure. "Yeah, it was about how I got my other scar. How did you know I was dreaming?"

I heard Kei enter all the way in and she leaned against the sink. "I tried visiting you in the middle of the night and I saw you stirring in your sleep. Last time it happened was when we were in Oured and I heard you say 'those green eyes'," said Kei.

"I see," I said in understanding.

"Antonio, I need you to be completely honest with me. How did you really get that scar?"

The way Kei asked me to be honest with her moved me in such a way so that I couldn't refuse her request. I washed the shampoo out of my hair before I told her about my escape attempt from Pitbull, how my handler had stabbed me in the back, and how I fought back as hard as I could. Kei seemed to be inspired by my escape but fearful at the same time.

"Why do you sound like you're ashamed of what happened?" she asked.

It was one of the questions that I never wanted to be asked because it was the day I made one of the biggest personal mistakes of my life. "Because I didn't confirm the death of my handler," I said in quiet anger. "He's still alive and I should've made sure that he was dead when I had the chance."

"Where is he now?" asked Kei.

"No one knows. Scuttlebutt says that he changed his identity and vanished," I told her as I turned off the water. I grabbed my towel to dry myself off and pulled on my pants on while I was still behind the shower curtain. After I was done, I stepped out of the bathtub to see Kei still wearing her white nightgown and I thought she would've changed by now, not that I had a problem with how she looked. Kei moved in to hug me and I was caught off guard with how unexpected it was. She wrapped her arms around my back and placed her head on my chest as I was putting on my belt.

"I don't want you to go after him like you did that pilot," begged Kei. I rarely gave any thought about going after my handler because most of my hatred has been focused on Green. Kei felt me nod so that she knew I wasn't going to look for him. I placed one of my hands on the back of her head and the other on her back and we both held each other for dear life. I never wanted to let go, but as we both knew, all good things come to an end. I was running my fingers through Kei's hair when we heard a knock on the bathroom door.

"Kei, I don't know what you and Antonio are doing in there but you better not be doing what I think you're doing," said Sora from the other side of the door.

Kei lifted her head off my chest and looked at me as I smiled in disappointment. She was blushing uncontrollably and I kissed her on the forehead before she let me go and left so that I could finish getting dressed. Unlike Kei, it only took me a couple minutes for me to get dressed, brush my teeth, and shave. Once I got out of the bathroom, Kei stepped right in and started her long and tedious pampering process. I was heading down the hallway when I walked by Kei's room. I wasn't usually nosey but I took a look inside and noticed a couple of things that really caught my attention, like the PlayStation 3 that sat on the table next to her TV, and an extremely worn down volley ball with signatures all over, it sitting on her dresser. I looked at the stack of games she had on a shelf and I noticed that she mostly had fighting games like Tekken and Soulcalibur. I'm pretty sure that she had the old Nintendo versions of Sky Kid and Rolling Thunder sitting next to one of her gymnastics trophies and Pac Man figurines. Oh my goodness, my girlfriend is a gamer. The only thing that can make it better is if she plays paintball or airsoft. I couldn't help but smile when I thought about how Kei and I seemed like were a match made in heaven. I headed back down the hallway where I sat in the living room with my duffel bag and checked my e-mail on my phone while I waited. I noticed that my mom had replied to my message and she thanked me for remembering her birthday. She also mentioned that she heard from Amanda too and it made me smile knowing that mom knew that we were alright.

"What are you looking at, Antonio?"

I looked up to see Sora enter the living room and she sat down on the sofa adjacent to me. "Just an e-mail my mother sent me. Her birthday was two days ago and she just wanted to thank me for remembering," I said. "Listen, I'm sorry about the hole in your wall."

"It's alright. Accidents happen," she replied. "I've been meaning to talk with you again."

"About what," I asked.

"I… was hoping you'd be able to tell me about how my daughter has been acting since this war began."

"It's not something I can easily gauge. Sometimes, she'll be completely ruthless or hesitant and other times, she'll be the most carefree person I know. But after Chopper died, we all seemed to be distracted lately."

"How did Kei react?" asked Sora.

"When I looked over to see how Kei was doing during the fight, she was ruthlessly gunning for every enemy pilot that crossed her path. I think she was in a bigger blind rage than I was."

I continued telling Sora about what it's been like flying with Kei and how she's been handling the stress of the war. By the look on her face, Sora was obviously worried about her daughter. I didn't know if it was because of how much blood was on Kei's hands or that she thought that Kei enjoyed it. Kei and I both enjoyed the rush we got when we fought for our lives, but we didn't have a death wish.

"It's clear that my daughter is dedicated to you, Antonio," said Sora.

"So is the rest of my team, ma'am."

"I see, but they don't love you like Kei does. She'll willingly die for you."

"And I'd do the same for her," I said boldly.

"You're putting both of your lives in danger with morals like this."

I had an idea of what Sora was trying to get at, but I wanted to be sure of what she was trying to get through to me. I had my defense already prepared in my head and I wasn't going to be swayed so easily. I wished Kei were here to side with me on this while I set my phone on the coffee table. "How so," I asked.

"If my daughter see's that you're in the smallest bit of trouble, she'd sacrifice herself needlessly to save you," said Sora.

"Kei knows that I can hold my own in a fight and she knows how to look out for herself," I said confidently. "No one in my team is a rookie and they know how to ask for help when they're in trouble."

"If that were true, then wouldn't your wingman still be alive?" said Sora.

My eyes widened in shock because I wasn't expecting Sora to hit me with a low blow like that. My shock was quickly replaced by anger and wanted to retaliate at her outrageous comment about Chopper. I clenched my fist in frustration and tried to keep my temper in check. I glared at Sora before I said anything and it was clear that she knew I didn't appreciate. "If it wasn't for him, Kei would be dead," I retorted. I was hoping Sora would realize that she was wrong for insulting me and Chopper, but she continued ridiculing me.

"Why couldn't you save her?" she asked like she was putting me on the spot.

You bitch! "Because I was being chased by the man that killed your husband," I growled. Sora leaned back in shock when I mentioned Green and I waited for her to respond. For the first time since I met her, Sora was at a loss for words and I was eagerly waiting for her to say something. Her eyes were wide open and she had her hand placed over her mouth and her other placed over her chest. She made it seem like she was going to have a heart attack knowing that the man who killed her husband was still alive. "And he would've killed your daughter if Chopper hadn't stepped in so don't you dare insult him," I added.

I knew she would ask how it all happened and I told her the exact same story that I had told Chopper's parents. Sora was still in shock about what I was telling her. It took her a minute to gather her thoughts on how she was going to respond and when she finally did, she wanted to get her original thoughts through to me.

"You endangered my daughter's life by trying to fight that man," said Sora. "She's one of the few important things I have left in this world."

Sora made it seem like she valued her family more than anything, even more than the lives of others. I started thinking back to when my whole family was alive and how we all were before the Curtis attack. Out of every one of them, my father stood out most of all. From what I remembered of him, he was harder on me than any of my other siblings for some reason even though I'll never know why, but I really missed him. I felt like I needed his wisdom to help me get through the rest of this war with my the rest of my friends and I started wishing I has his sarcasm to help me deal with the stresses of life. I wanted to hear him say that he was proud of me at least once.

"I don't want to hear that my daughter died in your place," said Sora.

"I don't want her to die for me either," I said. "Regardless if I want her to or not, she'll risk her life for me."

"Then make her…"

"It's not up for debate, Sora," I said, cutting her off. "She swore to herself that she'd never lose another flight lead and whether you realize it or not, that promise is the only thing that's been keeping her going. I mean everything to her."

"Well she and her sister, Reiko, mean everything to me."

"You don't think I know that?!" I exclaimed softly. "When we're out on the frontlines fighting, we have the lives of sons, daughters, mothers, and fathers in front of us and behind us. They're people just like us and we're responsible for the deaths of hundreds of them. They were all important to someone."

I wasn't trying to say that Kei wasn't special, but that our foes were people just like us. Now that the Osean army was further inside the Yuktobanian mainland, the Yukes would try to defend their homeland even harder to protect their families. If Yuktobania invaded the Osean mainland, I'd try my hardest to keep the Yukes from advancing further inland.

"I don't care about the others, I only care about my daughter," said Sora.

It was clear that Sora was only concerned about her family and no one else. I started to understand why she fled to Erusea after the Curtis attack. I doubted that she felt any regrets when she realized the consequences of the deal she made to become an Erusean citizen. Whether she knew it or not, she was responsible for the deaths of just as many people as I was, maybe even more. I wanted to rub that in her face but it became evident that it wouldn't faze her. I sighed heavily because I realized just how narrow minded Kei's mother was.

"I'll make sure Kei lives through this war," I said hoping that that would be the end of it.

"That's all I want," said Sora and she got up and left me alone in the living room.

I continued to wait for Kei and all I could think about was her mother and how she wasn't what I expected anymore. I didn't know if Kei knew she was like this or if I should even mention this conversation we had. After much consideration, I decided to just keep it to myself. When Kei finally came out of the bathroom, she told me that she was almost ready to head out but she had to talk with her mother first. I didn't move from my spot and I tried listening intensely to their conversation, but I could only make out bits and pieces of it. I tried putting it all together and I was assuming that Sora was telling her about Green, but I didn't know for sure. One of them was clearly upset when I heard one of their voices starting to rise.

"It's…like he's…us and besides, he's…reason…alive," I heard Kei say.

"But…..back? What…..I going…Reiko?" replied Sora.

"I…..know….her. It's…..to care…now this?"

"You'll…..understand….left…lost…once…you again."

"Well I guess that's too bad you left the first time," said Kei as she stormed out of the kitchen and went to her room.

Kei didn't even look my way when she walked by and it was obvious that she was mad. Sora walked out a few seconds after with her hand over her mouth. I didn't want to become involved in their family issues so I kept my mouth shut. Was Kei usually like this with her mother? Kei never talked about her mother other than the day before Chopper died. After a couple minutes, Kei came out of her room with her bag in hand, ready to go.

"Let's go," said Kei like she was annoyed.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"Yeah, I just want to rejoin the others ASAP so we can get back to Sand Island."

I grabbed my bag and followed her out the front door, but Sora stopped me before I got off the front porch. Kei was already putting her things inside the car and she gave me and Sora an annoyed look. Now I really wanted to know what was going on.

"Antonio-san, promise me, please, promise me that you won't let Kei put herself into any unnecessary danger while she's flying with you."

I didn't know what to tell her. I always kept my promises, but this kind of promise was something that I knew that I couldn't keep. I never made promises in combat because I knew that anything could happen, just like when Chopper died.

"I'll try my best," I replied and with that, I left and got into the car with Kei.

Kei drove the entire way back to McNealy in complete silence. I knew something was bothering her and I figured it wasn't something that she'd want to talk about. My aviators allowed me to subtly glance at her every now and then, but I couldn't get good enough read on her. Her sunglasses covered her eyes and she had a blank expression on her face the whole time. I tried starting up a conversation with her and she quickly ended it by giving me short answers like 'yeah', 'no', and 'oh'. I finally just gave up on communicating with her for the rest of the ride back to the hotel. When we finally made it back, Kei just stayed in bed for the rest of the day while I sat next to her and watched people being stupid on reality TV. I got bored rather quickly so I decided to go check on the others. I ran into Grimm first while he was walking out of his room. He was about to head to lunch with Erica, Michelle, and Kyle and he even invited Kei and me along with them, but I declined after I told them that Kei wasn't in the best of moods.

"Is she okay?" asked Kyle.

"I don't know. She didn't say anything the entire way back here," I replied. "Anyways, where's Justin?"

"We don't know, he left yesterday to visit Chopper's parents but he hasn't come back yet, sir," said Grimm.

I was somewhat concerned about Justin not being here and it worried me that Chopper's death was taking its toll on him. When the others left for lunch, I headed into the motel room with Kei and sat back in the recliner that was sitting in the corner. Kei was already sleeping on the bed and I noticed that she usually slept when she was mad. I pulled out my phone and noticed that I had a new e-mail from Captain Hamilton. He told me that Justin had requested permission to be reassigned to Cape Landers AFB. I found it very hard to believe because Cape Landers was where potential pilots took their written evaluations before they even set foot in a plane. That was the only reason Wardog was assigned to intercept the SR-71 at the beginning of the war. Wait a minute, how in the hell did Yuktobania get their hands on an SR-71? That was an American made plane and only a couple countries on Strangereal had connections with the US and Yuktobania wasn't one of them. I knew the events of that day were supposed to remain classified but I had to tell Lt. Colonel Harkin about it. I sent him an e-mail explaining everything and I even asked him to keep me in the loop if something came up, not that he actually would but it didn't hurt to ask. The day went on and I did nothing but think about some of the things that bothered me about this war. The Yuke SR-71, the fact that Yuktobania knew everything Osea had planned at the beginning of the war, the 8492nd squadron, my plane being found in Yuktobania, and even the President's escalation of the war. That bothered me most of all. President Harling wouldn't have pressed a hardline war like this with our current generals leading the troops this aggressively. All of this was wrong and I wanted to get to the bottom of it all. I figured this was a question everyone should be asking and what better way to get a message out like that than the media. I never thought that I'd ever turn to Genette for help of any kind but now, I needed him.

I looked at my watch and noticed how late it was. I spent five hours just sitting in that recliner thinking to myself. Kei was still sleeping peacefully on the bed and I wasn't planning on disturbing her. I placed my hoodie over her as she laid there and then headed out of the hotel room after I grabbed my leather jacket. I had no idea where I was going or what to do, but I just decided to go for a walk around town. The cold air felt great and the street lights reminded me of the nights I spent wandering around campus when I went to college. After walking around town for a few minutes, I ended up in a pub that was packed with OADF Airmen, though none of them seemed to pay me any mind. I just thought it was because my picture was rare when it came to Genette's articles about us. They were all drinking and having a good time with their friends while I was sitting alone at the bar, wishing I had someone I could open up to or at least give me a boost in moral. It was then that I ordered two shots of scotch and I set one of them aside like I was waiting for someone to join me. I would've given anything to hear Chopper bitch about something one last time.

You know I prefer vodka or rum, right?

"Well I already bought us the drinks, Davenport," I said to myself as I held my shot glass between my fingers.

I thought you didn't drink, Kid.

"Only when I want to get away from reality and right now is one of those times."

Come on, Kid, I might be gone but that shouldn't mean you should feel sorry for yourself. You did what you had to so that you could keep those people safe and you can't keep dwelling on the past because you made the right decision whether you know it or not. Keep moving forward for the sake of the others.

"It's my fault you're dead, Davenport. It wasn't an easy decision for me to make and I'm sorry."

You did what you had to for the right reasons. I did what I had to do to keep you, our Captain, alive so the others could continue to follow your lead.

"But is it worth it? I don't know what we're fighting for anymore and with everything that's happened so far in this war, I don't think there's a good enough reason."

Kid, we said we'd follow you to the end. You might've been leading us blind this whole time but we've had your back every step of the way. If you don't want to fight anymore, we'd be happy to support you, but I know now that there's a personal reason as to why you keep fighting. He'll be back for you and the others, and when you see him again, you'll show that son of a bitch that you're the best damn pilot that anyone has ever seen.

"Amen to that, bro," I said chuckling to myself as I drank my shot of scotch and poured Chopper's on the ground.

By the way, you know that Grimm and Nelms have been following you, right?

"I'm aware of that."

I stayed seated at the bar as I looked into the mirror so that I could see everyone in the pub. I noticed Grimm was sitting in the corner with Kyle as they shot glances over at me. They must've been worried about me because they would've let me know that they were here. I really wished that they had decided to join me but they were obviously trying to make sure I didn't do anything stupid. After I paid for my drinks I got up to leave the bar and walked by Grimm and Kyle and they both pretended not to notice me.

"You both need to be more subtle when you're tailing someone," I said as I walked by.

"Captain, wait," said Grimm and I stopped dead in my tracks. "Are you okay?"

I stood there for a couple seconds before I turned to look at them. I guess they must've seen me talking to myself because they both looked at me, worried. I took a seat at their table and spelled out everything out in front of them. All my concerns, all my doubts about our leaders, and my doubts about this war were now revealed to two of my team members but both of them remained skeptical of me for the most part, except for when I shared my concern about the squadron that left us to die over November City.

"What about that one pilot that mentioned you, Captain Davenport, and Captain Nagase by name?" asked Grimm.

"Who mentioned you by name?" asked Kyle.

"The guy who killed half of my family fourteen years ago," I replied gloomily.

Grimm looked at me in shock now knowing that I had a personal vendetta with Green that began long before I knew anyone from my team. I told them the whole story, exactly the same way I had told Kei. Grimm and Kyle listened intensely as I told them what happened that day. I didn't mention my involvement in Project Pitbull or how I flew as Mobius 1, but I felt like they'd find out eventually. I could see that Kyle was starting to become hesitant of me as I went on to tell them about how Green and I met over Basset and when I fought with him over Apito International. That's when he couldn't hold his tongue any longer.

"You risked Rockford's life just so you could settle a personal score with the man who killed your family," he lashed out.

I didn't say anything while I let him vent and scold me for risking his girlfriend's life. "It was either her or everyone else. I make no apologies for doing what I had to do to keep him at bay. Plus, I didn't know it was him until I had already disabled his plane and taken stock of the situation, Nelms," I retaliated.

"You still should've considered the fact that she was with you! You could've…"

"Lay off him, Captain Nelms. He knew what he was doing," interrupted Grimm. "Regardless of whether or not he intentionally put 1st Lt. Rockford's life in danger, he did what he had to so that we could all live to see another day."

Kyle looked away because he knew that Grimm was right, but he began to accept it. No one on my team had any real reason to follow me but here they were, behind me up until now. No matter how bad things seemed to get, we all kept going. I'd like to think that was the reason they followed me and why they supported me. I know Chopper wouldn't have wanted me to stop doing what I've been doing and I decided from here on out, I'd continue on for everyone that Green had killed and the rest of my team. Even if I didn't know what I was fighting for anymore, I had to keep moving forward for their sake. I had to look out for the others.

December 5, 2010 1024hrs Sand Island AFB

We arrived back yesterday afternoon from McNealy. I was kind of disappointed that I didn't get to see my mother, but I just figured that I'd see her again sometime later. Justin had to stay behind so that he could continue with his transfer to Cape Landers. I didn't like it any more than the others and now it was only down to the six of us. I had finally come clean with the rest of them and now they knew about Green and my vendetta against him. Michelle and Erica took it as best they could and I told everyone that I wanted this information to stay strictly within Wardog squadron. After we came back to Sand Island, I found out that my X-02 was already shipped off somewhere and Pops had no idea where it was headed. If that wasn't bad enough, I was called into Colonel Perrault's office so he could give me the details about out next mission that we were to be sent on tomorrow. I would've liked to have avoided the exchange of insults with him. He started it by threatening to write me up if I didn't get my hair cut. I didn't say anything other than that I'd get to it when I could and I guess he took my response as sarcasm by the way he responded to my comment. One thing led to another and in the end I was written up after I told the Colonel that he was the biggest pile of rat shit I've ever seen. It was totally worth it.

The information Perrault gave me told me that our next mission involved providing CAS while our forces attacked Cruik Fortress. I spent all morning looking over the recon photos of the ground forces' next objective and read the reports of the last two failed attempts on the enemy stronghold on my laptop while I sat against the main hangers on the flight line with Kirk. I even tried looking over the surrounding area to see if there was any weakness for our allies to exploit but the only way through the mountains was through the fortress itself. Why couldn't the allies have just pushed harder further east or west of the frontlines? The road was fortified with pillboxes that over looked the front entrance of the fortress and it was guarded by several more bunkers and a thick-ass wall. Airstrikes could easily take care of the bunkers if we could get past their air defenses. Normally I wouldn't be worried but after reading that high altitude bombing raids and the CAS from the first assault were cut to ribbons by the AA defenses and the fighter squadrons that were stationed there, I was full of concern. What's worse, Wardog was the only squadron available to lend air support. The circular structure of the coliseum reminded me a lot of Stonehenge. It didn't have the huge rail guns or the jamming facilities, but instead, it had a runway with aircraft hangers built into the sides of the surrounding mountains and several more bunkers overlooking the main coliseum. Our ground forces were going to be in the fight for their lives if we didn't take care of the bunkers first and Wardog would be in trouble if we didn't take out their air defenses first. The more I looked at the fortress, the more frustrated I grew and eventually I closed my laptop. It would've been a hell of a lot easier to tackle the fortress the first time if our allies had some kind of artillery support coming from fire bases they could've set up on one of the mountains around the base, but I guess that would be too difficult to set up.

"Jeez, Kirk, why is it that the brass always ask us to do the impossible?" I asked as I patted Kirk's head.

"What did they ask you to do this time, Blaze?"

"Kirk," I said looking at him befuddled.

"Over here, Captain."

I looked to my right and saw Erica walking towards me. This was the first time I've seen her without Grimm being by her side. "Hey, Boldman, what's up?" I asked.

"Just wondering what you were up to," said Erica.

"I'm just thinking about how much we need more pilots in our military. With our next mission being as impossible as it seems, we sure could use some help," I said as I rubbed my face with my hands.

"I'm sure it can't be as bad as sinking the Hrimfaxi or Operation Footprint," said Erica as she sat next to me.

"Oh, really," I mocked as I opened my laptop back up and showed her the photos of Cruik Fortress. Erica's enthusiastic smile vanished when I pointed out everything that was wrong with this mission and how we'd be knee deep in trouble without help. I was starting to wish Grimm was here for a boost in moral by telling me that I knew what I was doing and how we could pull this off.

"Why are we the only ones being sent in?" asked Erica.

"Because all other squadrons are being sent to support other allied operations along the frontlines," I said. "The brass thinks that this will draw attention away from the assault on the fortress."

"We're so screwed. Do you have any idea as to how you want to carry out this mission?" asked Erica.

"Well, I thought about having Kei or Grimm flying an A-10 so that way they could take care of the AA defenses while I provide top cover with an F-22. The last person would be flying an F-15 to cover the air and ground."

"Hans and I could fly the F-15. We've been working on our synergy ever since we all got back from Oured."

"Really," I said thinking to myself.

"Yeah, so what's your call going to be, Blaze?" asked Erica.

I thought long and hard about how we were going to carry out this mission tomorrow. If we had one more pilot with us, then I would've split us up into two elements to deal with the fortress defenses, but seeing as that was no longer an option, I had to make do with what I had. Besides that, I actually had a one on one conversation with Erica for the first time ever. As pretty as she was, I would've never thought that she was a physics nerd. Grimm was one lucky guy to have hooked up with her. When I asked her what field she wanted to go into, she said she wanted to go into experimental physic and then proceeded to try and explain String Theory to me. I got lost within the first few seconds and I could only smile and nod as she went on to talk about it.

"So where's Grimm?" I asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"He's meeting with Captain Hamilton about something. I'm hoping it's about him finally becoming a 2nd Lieutenant," said Erica.

"I'm pretty sure it is."

"How can you be sure though? Colonel Perrault seems to have it out for us and keeping that out of Hans's reach seems to be the only way Perrault can stick it to him. Even with Captain Hamilton's help," said Erica.

"Come on, it's Captain Hamilton. He's been reasonable with everyone, including Colonel Perrault," I said.

"Sure, I guess," shrugged Erica. "I didn't think it would take them this long to get Hans's papers processed."

"Does he want to become a 2nd Lieutenant that badly?"

"Nah, he's fine with his rank as long as it doesn't keep him from flying. I wish that he'd hurry up and become an officer so that he'd stop calling me 'ma'am' half the time. It got really weird after a while," said Erica and I laughed awkwardly. "It's not funny, Captain."

"When you think about it, you got him on a leash. I find that kind of sad," I said.

"What's so sad about it? It's not like I order him to…"

"Please don't finish that sentence," I said cutting her off

"Right, sorry," said Erica and she was quiet for a little bit. We both sat there and petted Kirk until she finally said something. "Captain, can I ask you a personal question?"

"Sure," I said.

"What's your honest opinion about this war?" asked Erica.

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, I was thinking back to the day after the cook out we had and I remember talking with Chopper about this war and he pointed some things out about you." I was nervous about what she was going to bring up because I knew Chopper was able to read me like an open book. "What are your true feelings about this war?"

I thought long and hard about whether or not I should tell her but first thing's first. "Erica, I need a straight 'yes' or 'no' answer from you. Do you trust me?"

Erica seemed hesitant to answer my question, but I needed to know. "Yes, why do you ask?"

I looked around to make sure that we were alone and then I proceeded to tell Erica about all my concerns about this war. I told her that I thought the Yuke's knowledge of all of our military plans at the beginning of the war, the voices we heard when the Yuktobanian College was attacked, and the attack on November City were all somehow connected to each other. I could tell that it was hard for her to fathom but she came to understand what I was talking about. I told her to keep what I told her strictly between her and me because I didn't want anyone suspecting me of anything in case I was wrong. I also remembered that I had to go talk to Genette. We got up off the ground and went to find him so that way I could enlist his help. He was sitting in the crew room, going over his notes while he read some of the reports that Captain Hamilton had let him look through. I bet he doesn't know that he's not supposed to be reading those. I called Genette over and he followed me and Erica outside and onto the flight line so that no one on the base would be able to hear what I wanted to say to him.

"What's going on, Captain?" he asked.

"First off, I need to know if you have any friends in the capitol," I said.

"Of course I do, why?"

"How soon can you get in contact with them?"

"I have a number of friends in the Capitol. It might take me some time to get in touch with all of them. What's going on?"

"Genette, what I'm going to ask you to do next could greatly influence the public's opinion on this war and I need your help," I said urgently.

"What do you need?"

"I need you to find the President."

December 6, 2010 1251hrs 20 miles south of Cruik Fortress, Yuktobania

Things didn't turn out the way that I had planned for Wardog. I was flying my F-22 with the Mobius insignia still painted on with Grimm flying an F/A-18F Super Hornet and Kei flying an F-15C. We had to fly straight to Cruik Fortress and then fly straight back after we refueled for our return trip back to Sand Island. I was armed with six sidewinders, six AMRAAMs, and two external fuel tanks. Grimm was armed with six Mavericks, two sidewinders, two AMRAAMs, and an external fuel tank and Kei was armed with four sidewinders, six Mavericks, six JDAMs, and two external fuel tanks.

The A-10 didn't have the range to make it to our AO and Kei had to fly a single seat F-15 because Captain Hamilton ordered all F-15Es to be grounded for maintenance. I called bullshit on the whole situation and it was the first time I ever saw a scowl on Captain Hamilton's face. It would've made sense if we could've flown to a closer airfield and prepped for our mission there, but we had to spend almost a full day in the air just to make the brass happy. I swear, if I ever become a General in command of an air unit, I'd run it a hell of a lot better than these old farts. We had just rendezvoused with the first tanker of the day and refueled before we commenced with our mission.

"It doesn't feel right flying like this," said Kei.

"Why, are you already missing your RIO," I joked, trying to avoid what Kei was getting at.

"That's not what I meant," said Kei. "I mean just the four of us. It doesn't feel right flying without Chopper's banter."

"I know… I'm just trying not to think about it," I replied softly.

"I bet he's laughing at our misfortune right now," said Grimm and I could feel Kei glaring at him. "But I'm sure he'd still be worried about us."

"I know, I just wish he was here to complain about it," said Kei.

"He'd be complaining about more than just this mission, ma'am. Like the fact that it's Monday."

"Hell, he would've complained if it was Saturday," replied Erica with a chuckle.

"Listen, can we please stop talking?" I asked softly. "Just… just let him rest."

I wasn't trying to be mean about it or anything. It was just that I didn't want to think about the others to get distracted and we needed all of our focus on a mission as hazardous as this one. We flew the rest of the way towards our AO in silence and I mentally prepared myself for what was ahead. We finally got within range to hear the radio transmissions from our allies on the ground. I guess the news that we'd be the ones providing CAS was a huge boost to their moral. We had to save as many as we could while trying to look out for ourselves. The enemy forces were so confident in their defenses that they even sent a message to the Lt. Colonel in charge of the entire operation. He was confident enough to begin the operation as soon as he saw us approaching them. No sooner did he commence the attack were we faced with two enemy JAS-39 Gripens coming at us from head on. I was honestly expecting Su-35s or the usual MiG variants but I guess they didn't have them on station. Here we go! I ordered Kei and Grimm to break off and provide cover for the ground forces while I provided them with top cover. As I came head on with both Gripens, I fired a missile at one of them and dove below the last one. I looked back and saw him banking his plane left and right, trying to find me but it was no use. I kept my eye on him as I watched Kei and Grimm destroy the enemy pillboxes that hindered the allied advance. AA fire was lighting them up left and right but they managed to weave through it just fine. The second Gripen saw both of them flying through the valley and dove on Grimm. I quickly intercepted him, lined him up in my gun sight, and sent a volley of lead into his right wing. He spiraled into the side of a mountain and crashed near the one of the pillboxes near the front entrance of the fortress.

"Blaze, we're taking too much fire from below. We have to suppress the AA guns," said Kei.

"I know, Edge. Grimm, orbit the Fortress at ten thousand feet and have Birdy thin out the AA defenses with those AGMs," I said. "Boldman, you have to take them out PDQ if we're going to help out the ground forces advance in time."

"Roger that, Blaze," replied Erica and they got to work.

"What should I do for now, Blaze?" asked Kei.

"Keep attacking those bunkers. I don't want those tanks stopping for anything," I said.

I kept my eye on Grimm and Erica as they launched their AGMs on the AA guns while I drew their fire away from Grimm's F-18. The runway was still clear of enemy fighters so I wasn't as worried about enemy fighters just yet. I still felt useless though. Kei was doing what she could to support the ground forces by attacking tanks and enemy fortifications that our allies had painted with laser designators and colored smoke grenades. Fer-de-lance was the first unit to make it to the gate followed by King Cobra and they were requesting permission to proceed into the fortress but I advised against it. Erica had finally destroyed the AA defenses which allowed Kei to move in and suppress the remaining two bunkers guarding the front entrance of the fortress. Fer-de-lance again tried requesting permission to head inside the fortress and again, I advised against it because of a large enemy force that was lying in wait for them. Kei managed to destroy two of the enemy tanks that were waiting before the ground forces ignored my orders and advanced forward. One of our tanks had taken a direct hit from one of the remaining enemy tanks and it stopped dead in its tracks. A squad of Osean soldiers tried following the first tank and they were quickly mowed down by enemy machine gun fire. I could see their faces twist in pain as bullets ripped into them. I tried to hold back my grief and anger but I felt my eyes watering up. Those fools, I warned them. I circled around and lined up for a strafing run on the enemy tanks and sent a good amount of bullets into them before the rest of our allied tanks moved in to finish the job. The bunkers that overlooked the main coliseum opened up on the ground forces with everything they had. Anti-tank rounds and artillery shells were being fired at them from every direction. Our foot soldiers ran for the tunnel entrances that led further inside the fortress to help hinder the enemy's defense efforts. I continued circling overhead while I watched the ground operation's progress. Kei and Grimm were doing what they could to help but the enemy defenses were overwhelming. I was about to head in and try to help out but I noticed multiple hits on my radar headed right for us. Using my Raptor's stealth advantage, I dove for the deck and approached the enemy formation from below. As the formation of five enemy fighters flew overhead, I pulled up and got behind the trailing enemy JAS-39. I sent a burst from my gun into his engines and sent a sidewinder into the flight leads fuselage. The remaining three fighters scattered as they tried looking for me. I climbed into a thin layer of clouds as I kept my eye on them. One of the enemy planes tried going after Kei and I quickly sent an AMRAAM his way. He didn't know where the attack was coming from and he didn't try maneuvering out of the way. The remaining two JAS-39s dove for the deck and egressed out of the area.

I opened the wideband radio channel to listen in on the enemy communications, hoping that I could gather some information on their plans to commence a counter attack. The Yuke ground forces inside the fortress were panicking because they knew that the Demons of Razgriz were here. I also heard that the enemy fighter squadrons were about to take off and join the fray. I quickly looked towards the hangers at the end of the fortress runway and saw half a dozen fighters preparing for takeoff. I slammed the throttle all the way forward and headed to intercept them before they could take off. I tried lining them up in my gun sight but I wasn't able to catch them in time. I pulled a high G turn so that I could get behind the last enemy fighter as he took off. As he clawed for altitude, he stalled out and fell to the ground, tail first. I flew past him because it looked like he was going to crash and I latched onto the next enemy fighter that I saw. He saw me coming and dove into the coliseum in an attempt to try and shake me. I followed him as he weaved in and out of the support columns that held up the fortress runway. I waited for this guy to screw up but he knew what he was doing. I was fighting on his terms and I was falling for it. I had to turn the tables on him quickly before I screwed up, but then I remembered Kei and Grimm. I broke off of my target and gained altitude to find the others when I saw more enemy tanks rolling out into the coliseum to engage the ground forces. I then saw Grimm dive out of nowhere and fire an AGM right on top of one of them while he was being chased by an enemy plane.

"Grimm, watch your back," I shouted and he started his evasive maneuvers.

I kept my eye on him in case Grimm wasn't able to shake his attacker, but my concern was quickly elevated after the Yuke pilot kept pace with Grimm after half a minute. I was about to head in and help him out when I was bounced from above by another enemy fighter. I pulled back hard on the stick and performed a Super Kulbit to throw off his attack, but it didn't. These guys are good. I dove for the deck, trying to escape but I couldn't get away. I tried bringing him closer so that way I could perform the barrel roll that has yet to fail me, but he kept his distance. I wasn't letting him get a missile lock on me and I used the opportunity to help Grimm.

"Whoa, this guy's good!" he exclaimed as I closed in on the enemy fighter.

"But not good enough," I said.

Grimm led his pursuer into a tight left climbing spiral and I followed them while my attacker was still gunning for me. Come on sweetheart, where are you? My target was almost right on top of Grimm and I almost had him in my sights. When I finally had a missile lock on him, I let a missile off the rail and watched it rip his plane in half. As soon as I cleared Grimm's tail, my pursuer sent a missile towards me. I let loose a set of flares to throw off the missile and I tried snap rolling to the right to continue evading my attacker, but I lost too much airspeed in the climb and I couldn't maneuver into a dive fast enough so that I could get away. He was closing in on me and I was praying for a miracle so that I wouldn't get shot down. Suddenly, the miracle that I prayed for swooped in to save me and I tell you it was beautiful.

"I love you, Edge," I said in relief as I saw her F-15 peel away.

"Then prove it by getting this bitch off of me," she shouted.

I looked behind her to see another JAS-39 gunning for her hard. I nosed over and dove for the attacking enemy aircraft. These pilots were good at maneuvering but they lacked spatial awareness which made it easy for me to get a lock onto Kei's pursuer and send a missile up his tail pipe. Once she was clear, Kei recommenced her attack on the enemy ground forces. Fer-de-lance was half way through the fortress but they were taking heavy casualties. Kei was trying to help Grimm thin out the enemy ground forces while I finished off the remaining enemy fighters. The last enemy fighter was the same guy I broke from earlier and he tried leading me through the runway support columns again. Not this time you son of a bitch. I broke off in a wide right turn and then I reversed my direction, giving me a clear shot at the enemy pilot while he continued to fly under the runway. I launched the last sidewinder I was carrying on the missile pylon under my wings and watched it blow the enemy jet out of the sky. As soon as he was dealt with, I jettisoned the external pylons to reduce drag and increase the stealth capabilities of my Raptor. I was about to peel away when I saw cannon shells whizz by my canopy. I instinctively pulled a high G barrel rolled over my pursuer, all the while wondering where he came from. I closed in on the enemy JAS-39 and realize that it was the pilot that I thought had crashed when he tried taking off. These guys were defiantly better than the other Yuke pilots I've flown against. Once he was in front of me, I lit him up with my gun and he crashed into one of the runway's support columns.

"Archer, Edge, I need a sitrep. How are our guys doing?" I asked.

"Fer-de-lance is almost through the fortress, but they're still encountering stiff resistance from enemy ground forces. Blaze, Grimm and I can't do this on our own. I need you to strafe those bunkers in the hills that are overlooking the coliseum," said Kei.

"Roger that, I'll take care of it," I said and I pulled up to gain altitude. I lined up one of the bunkers in my gun sight but I was taking small arms fire form them when I came in for my attack run. A couple of rounds were able to pierce my canopy and a .50 caliber round almost blew my head off when it grazed my flight helmet. I returned the favor by sending a long and steady stream of 20mm rounds into the bunker. I must've hit the ammo stockpile because the bunker spewed out flames from all of its openings. The explosion was enough to rock my plane from five hundred yards away and I lost control for a split second. I doubled back to attack the next bunker on the opposite side of the fortress and sent another stream of lead into the enemy fortification. I repeated the process until all of the remaining bunkers were silenced. I looked back towards the ground forces and saw them nearing the fortress exit.

"Enemy tanks, advancing out of fortress gate," said Kei.

"They're sending reinforcements to launch a counter attack," exclaimed Grimm.

"Dammit, see if you two can stop them," I said.

"Captain, I have more enemy fighters on radar headed this way," said Erica.

I acknowledged and headed west to meet the new enemy formation. They were making a beeline towards the fortress at seven thousand feet in an attempt to intercept Kei and Grimm. I was well above the enemy formation and I stayed between them and the sun so they couldn't see me when I decided to dive on the enemy formation. I counted six enemy fighters and I decided to try and bag as many of them as I could before they were able to spot me. I rolled over into a steep dive on top of the enemy formation. I locked onto the flight lead and fired a side winder at him and quickly dispatched his wingman with my gun. I dove past the remaining four fighters and quickly climbed back up, expecting to see them holding formation but they had already scattered. I saw half of them peel away to the left and the other half peel to the right. I climbed back up above both of the enemy elements and carefully watched what they did next. One element made a break for fortress and the other held back, circling below me, trying to provide cover for the other element.

"Heads up, Edge, you got two enemy fighters headed your way. Be wary of them in case I can't intercept them in time," I called out.

I dove on the two enemy planes below me so that way they wouldn't give chase when I targeted the other two enemy fighters. I targeted the trailing plane first to throw off his lead plane and sent him plummeting towards the mountains after I filled the Su-27 full of holes. Once he was taken care of, I ignored the other enemy plane and went after the other two that were headed for the fortress. I quickly locked onto them with my AMRAAMs but then I looked back to see the last enemy plane diving on me from my five o' clock high. I snap rolled to the right and watched my attacker over shoot. He made the mistake of pulling into a right turn to try and get behind me. Trying to straight up out-turn my F-22 with a Su-27 was one of the dumbest things any pilot could do but I didn't think this guy knew it. When I finally had my gun sight on him, he tried leading me into a rolling scissors. I shook my head in disbelief when I saw him try to fight me when he had no advantage whatsoever. I hung back while I waited for him to stall out and when he did, he bailed out. What a moron. I made my way back to the others and took stock of the situation. Fer-de-lance had finally made it to the other side of the fortress but their forces had taken some heavy losses. Grimm and Kei managed to deal with the two enemy fighters that slipped by. I spotted Kei's F-15 going into a dive and drop a JDAM on an enemy tank with Grimm following her lead by firing an AGM on another.

"How's it looking over there, Birdy?" I asked.

"Fer-de-lance is making great progress. They're almost through the fortress, but we're running low on air-to-ground ordinance," said Erica.

Dammit. "Roger, just do what you can."

I could tell they were becoming as stressed as I was. Maybe even more stressed than I was. I felt so useless but I knew I had to provide an air superiority role during this mission. I circled back around the rear of the fortress and saw that our allies were finally moving through the fortress exit, but there were more enemy tanks waiting for them outside. One of the towers that over looked the fortress exit began firing on the ground forces and I could see that Kei and Grimm were busy trying to thin out the enemy vehicles. I knew I couldn't do much but I had to suppress the enemy as best as I could. I lined up for an attack run on the tower when I suddenly heard my missile warning go off. I quickly let loose another set of flares and broke away to my left. I was looking over my shoulder, trying to find where the attack was coming from.

"Blaze, he's at your five o'clock low," shouted Erica.

I looked behind me to see a Su-35 firing up at me with his gun. I snap rolled to the right and watched his stream of bullets sail past me. I pulled into a hard right turn at low altitude so that he couldn't get a shot on me. I was causing his pursuit angle to lag and I knew I couldn't hold this turn forever. A few seconds passed before he wised up and tried to pull a high yo-yo on me. My only way out of this was to trick this guy into screwing up. As soon as I saw him go into his climbing right turn, I increased my throttle to put some distance between us. He took the bait and increased his throttle as well when he tried diving on me, which meant I had less time to react if I was going to get away. He finally had a firing angle on me but I didn't let him keep it for long. When I saw him get close enough, I lowered my flaps which caused my airspeed to drop like a ton of bricks. From this point, the enemy pilot could either continue to dive on me from a steeper angle and risk crashing into the ground, or he could break off his attack and allow me the chance to get on his tail. Either way, he was going down. He chose the former and I shook my head in disbelief. I raised my flaps and throttled up just enough for me to make one last maneuver and waited for the perfect moment. He wasn't able to get a lock on me fast enough so he opened fire on me with his gun. I snap rolled to the left and he tried keeping me in his sights. I watched as the Su-35 shot past me and saw him trying to pull out of the dive. The nose of the plane came up but he was still losing altitude. The way his plane crashed made it seem like he made a hard landing. The Su-35 skidded along the ground for a couple hundred yards before it came to a complete stop right in front of the rear gate of the fortress. It was still in on piece and I saw the pilot pop the canopy and make a mad dash for cover like the plane was going to explode, but it didn't. It then occurred to me that his wingman was still out there and I kept my head on a swivel trying to find him. I then saw Kei chasing the last Su-35 in the area. She followed it into a hard left turn around the tower that I had tried to strafe earlier. Kei wasn't able to pull lead in her current position but she was able to counter that problem by performing a low yo-yo. As she came up into the climb, she fired her gun into her target's left wing, causing it to buck heavily to the left and slam into the tower. Debris from the tower and enemy plane started falling on the Yuktobanian ground forces which made our allies' advance much easier. I looked at my radar one last time and saw that the airspace was clear.

"Captain, I'm seeing only one more enemy tank that's still operational. Captain Nagase, see if you can take it out" said Grimm and Kei acknowledged.

She put some distance between herself and the final enemy tank. She doubled back and locked up the target. Once I saw his missile launch off of the rail, I watched as it made a beeline towards the final enemy tank and explode into a brilliant fireball. With the last of the enemy ground forces taken care of, our radios erupted with the sounds of cheers and chants. I climbed some altitude and Kei and Grimm both formed up on my left and right wings so that we could begin our journey home. I got a look at both of their planes and saw that Kei's F-15 was riddled with shrapnel holes. Grimm's plane wasn't in much better shape either. The only thing that was wrong with my plane was the few bullet holes in my canopy. The sight of my wingmen's planes made me feel like I had used them to cover my ass. They had suffered some serious damage while I was pretty much unharmed.

"I'm sorry you guys," I said softly.

"Sorry for what?" asked Erica.

"I put you both in harm's way and here I am with barely any damage done to my plane," I said. I honestly felt bad about it and I felt like I shouldn't have flown my F-22. I had exposed myself to less danger than they did and I felt guilty over it.

"It's alright, Blaze. The worst is over and we're headed home now," said Kei in a soothing voice.

I felt my guilt ease up a little but it was still there. Other than that, I couldn't wait to get back to Sand Island and go to sleep. We circled the fortress a few more time before we left. As stressful as today was, it didn't seem like it was all that impossible to capture an objective of this scale. We did it using only three aircraft and a ground force half the size of the first. We now fully understood that we, The Sand Island Squadron, were now the center of strength for our entire army and why the Yuktobanian military referred to us as the Demons of Razgriz. The Yukes had this place locked down and yet, we had somehow managed to break through. With this final obstacle out of the way, nothing stood between our army and the Yuktobanian capitol. The Yukes were going to try and hold the line more fiercely than ever before but I honestly didn't think it would be enough to stop the momentum of the Osean army. With the Cruik Fortress out of the way, I wondered what came next for us in this war. Everything on the ground had settled down and we headed to our rendezvous point to meet up with a tanker so that we could refuel for our return trip back to Sand Island. I don't know why, but I found myself humming the Journey Home. I guess I just missed Chopper, or maybe I was glad that I could go home again. Either way, the long flight back was a bittersweet journey.