Wild Blue Yonder Ch.4

Reaper (aka The Ribbon) x Camilla (aka The Butterfly Master) love story.

The Ace Combat franchise does NOT belong to me. It respectfully belongs to Namco Bandai and Project Aces. The plot in this Fanfiction is obviously non-canon and was written by me.

READ THE PREQUEL FIRST! (Title: Stargazing)

In this story, I'll be making it like what I think will happen when the story of Ace Combat Infinity continues. Except I added ReaperxCamilla in it. Also, I'm not sure about the real names of most of the characters (Omega, Viper, Reaper, etc.) So I'll keep using their callsigns instead. Hope you don't mind.

Note: Errors might be seen because of auto correct.


Chapter 4: An Unwanted Dogfight.

She hoped this day wouldn't come…

-(Skies of Kuwait City)-

(Reaper's POV)

It was Camilla, The Butterfly Master.

I could see her drones approaching us in defensive formation with her QFA-44 in the center of them. My heart was beating fast as my mind was clouded of the same horrible thoughts of dying by Camilla's drones. There was no time to think of something like that. I have shot down many aces and the butterfly drones as well as Camilla's QFA-44, three times.

"Boss, you ready to rip out the Butterfly Master's wings?" Omega asked excitingly.

"Uh…yeah." I tried to act excited.

What worried me the most was how Camilla was feeling behind the remote controlled aircraft. I can't kill her by shooting her down, which I was relieved about. But I could get shot down and die either way, even if I eject because of the drones lasers. My only chance of survival was to shoot her drones and aircraft. If she kills me, who knows how she will feel.

*"Countdown initiated. 300 seconds."*

"All units. Commence attack on the enemy drones first." Sky-Eye said.

"We know the drill." I said as I broke out of formation and charged towards the QFA-44 and its swarm of UAVs with laser armaments. The sound of the glaring lasers passed by me as I got close enough to fire a barrage of guided missiles. Two of them were destroyed in mid-air due to the lasers, but the rest shot them down, killing four of the drones.

"Whew! Nice shot." Edge commented as I saw her engage the Butterfly Master without dealing with the drones. But to no avail. All her missiles kept getting destroyed as her gun rounds missed every shot because of the agility of the QFA-44.

"Edge, focus your fire on the drones first. You're just wasting your ammo." Goodfellow said.

"I know you're pissed off at the Butterfly Master, but don't be so reckless like Slash." Omega said.

Edge huffed on radio. "Fine."

"Fox 2 sent." I called out as my missile headed towards one of the drones, obliterating it out of the sky. The sound of the glaring laser almost grazed my craft as I swiftly evaded it.

"All units. This is Goodfellow. Remember, the UAV reaction time is weakened after it uses a laser attack. As soon as it attacks, evade, then strike back."

"What about the city and the rest of the enemy forces?" Omega asked.

"Leave them to the allies approaching the city. You all done enough support for them."

"And here I thought we would get additional money from that." I joked by using Viper's money hungry attitude.

My aircraft was still loaded with ammunition as I fired my guns, missiles, and evaded every attack coming from the UAVs. With half of them already gone, I noticed something that I should've realized moments ago. The QFA-44 aircraft was not attacking me at all. Not a single sound of bullets or missile was fired like it was depending on the UAVs to shoot me down. Camilla was probably not having the desire to fight against me after what I have told her. Edge attempted to fire a missile at her craft, but failed as a laser destroyed her missile easily.

"What is he doing? The Butterfly Master is not even trying." Edge said.

"That's odd." Goodfellow commented.

"Commander Goodfellow? Give me a sitrep." Sky-Eye requested.

"I'm detecting a strange frequency coming from the Butterfly Master's craft. Wait…what does it mean by…" Goodfellow whispered.

I looked up, directly at Camilla's QFA-44 as I noticed she was not heading towards me anymore. She flew in a smooth formation with her drones as no attacks were being sent our way. After around ten seconds…

*BOOM!*

The UAVs equipped with the laser weaponry were just destroyed in midair! No missiles or other armaments were fired as missile trails were not visible in the area where she flew. The bolts of electricity from the drone's explosion hit Camilla's remote controlled QFA-44 as the engines began to smoke, severely damage caused by the bolts, the explosion's shockwave, and shrapnel.

"Eh?" I raised an eyebrow.

"What?!" Sky-Eye watched in disbelief. "What's happening? Goodfellow, give me a sitrep." He requested again.

"All the UAVs have been destroyed. They all self-destruct!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Are you kidding me? Why the hell did that happen?" Omega asked. "I'm asking that in a good way, of course." He added.

"Probably a datalink malfunction in the Butterfly Master's aircraft that caused the UAVs to explode." Edge made a wild guess.

"No matter. At least you don't have to deal with those annoying bugs. Take down the Butterfly Master!" Goodfellow ordered.

I pulled the flight stick as my F-22 made a sharp turn upwards towards Camilla's QFA-44. It was still flying in a smooth and steady path as she didn't even try to send any attacks towards me. My sights stayed on her aircraft as I fired my guns first to shred the air intakes, then finally launched two missiles that utterly obliterated the craft from the sky. I passed by the shrapnel and falling fuel and stared at it, watching it fall from the sky and pummel into the the ocean. Relieved that I once again survived, I was once again struck down by the thought of Camilla actually inside of that aircraft. If she was, that would've been the most painful kill I have ever done. It would hurt me more than it would hurt her.

"Radar is clear of enemy aircraft!" Sky-Eye said.

"What about the ground forces?" I asked.

"No need to worry about our friends down there. Look." Omega said as enemy forces were already retreating with an allied tank battalion pursuing them.

"USEANs are the brave fighters that never retreat?" Edge scoffed. "Wait until they hear about this."

"They're only human like us." Omega chuckled. "Unlike a so called 'Ace' who uses UAVs to cheat their way to get the title." He referred to The Butterfly Master.

"She is actually human…" I said quietly.

"Huh? What was that, Captain?" Omega heard my whisper.

"Nothing. We live to fight another day." I said.

"Ha! We'll be fighting until the end, Cap'n!" He corrected.

"Boys, do you mind not acting like dorks in my presence?"

"IRAQ'n (I reckon) you hate dorks, tough girl?" Omega joked.

"We're in Kuwait,…idiot."

"Close enough."

I looked at the spot where Camilla's aircraft crashed as some smoke risen up from it while fuel polluted the water around it. Then, I looked back up at the sky, knowing she was still watching us from up there in Earth's orbit. I was unsure how she was feeling right now. But I was betting she still was not happy about this battle not because her side lost. It was because she was probably not happy about going on sortie to shoot me down. That must've been the reason why she didn't retaliate from my attacks. And I was assuming Kvasir was responsible for making her UAV drones self-destruct during the battle.

After I realized I was staring out into space, no pun intended, I looked back down at my console and HUD to get a good view of the desert while my team and Ridgeback Squadron flew in formation above the capital.

'Another victory for us.' I thought to myself with a small smile.


-(Earth's Orbit, Directly Above Kuwait)-

(Camilla's POV)

Silence.

"Cohen is not going to be happ-"

"Don't bring him up. I know." I interrupted him.

"My apologies." Kvasir said. "But you made all of your drones self-destruct in the middle of battle. How will I report this to him?"

"Just tell him there was a sudden malfunction in the drones and my datalink was unable to work." I told him while staring at the screen of UN Forces retaking Kuwait City. Reaper's aircraft was seen flying in formation with his Bone Arrow Squadron. I couldn't help but smile as he rolled around to give the allied ground forces a sign of victory as I saw some soldiers wave and cheer at his plane. The USEAN Forces did that to my plane once. But when I look back at it now, I don't feel happy and proud about it. I still killed the pilots that I shot down because of my UAVs.

My eyes gazed down at my controller as it was still decorated with butterflies while shining a glossy pink color. I squeezed it tightly, ready to throw it away from me. I couldn't bare to even hold it anymore. This was a tool I used to keep this war going. I never intended to make it like this. Before I could throw it, I was interrupted by Kvasir calling me name.

"Are you alright, Master?" He asked.

"Yeah. I just-…I just need a minute to think." I answered while looking away from the screen.

Nothing but silence flowed around the interior of the satellite. Kvasir kept quiet, not knowing what else to say or even try and attempt to cheer me up. Feeling a bit guilty for making him worry about me too much, I forced a smile and looked back at the screen.

"Kvasir, is there anything on T.V? Maybe we can watch some show or movie that's playing." I said with a smile.

"Of course! Allow me!" Kvasir agreed and switched the screen of the countdown to a movie that was playing.

My frown returned back when literally the first scene that came up was a soldier reuniting with his lover in some romance film. I watched as the two of them were talking about what they have been up to, hearing about the soldier's adventures and the woman's struggle of loneliness. For some reason, I could relate myself to the woman that had to be separated from her lover while he was risking his life at the battlefield. Here I am, peacefully living inside a satellite where nothing can hurt me while Reaper was just down their, fighting the war where he could die at any time. The thoughts of him dying by another ace was painful enough for my heart to crack open. But it was even more painful when I had to be the one to do it while my UAVs just…incinerate his body.

"No…!" I growled angrily with my voice choked. Kvasir caused the movie to ensure I was okay. My reply was forced as I told him to continue the movie like nothing else happened.

All of it was coming back again. The negative thoughts of Reaper dying was coming back to haunt my mind to prevent myself from relaxing. I had my doubts about his chances of getting shot down. However, I know I can be wrong. Any ace can be shot down.

"I don't wanna…" I whispered to myself.

"Say again, Master?" Kvasir asked.

"I don't wanna play this stupid 'game' anymore." I shook my head as I put my controller aside. "Actually, I wish it was actually a fictional game." I sighed.

"As much as I want you to stop this for your own good, Master Cohen is going to force you to go on sortie no matter what." He told me.

My fists clenched when I heard him mention that. "Next time when I face Reaper, I'm not even going to try and shoot him down again."

"Why?"

"Because killing your own friend is a lot more painful than dying." I told him and set my controller down before hugging my legs. "I don't want to be involved in this pointless war anymore. I would rather die than take his life. I'm just some worthless girl who has been a tool since the beginning while Reaper has a much more happier life than mine." I said while trying my best to hold back tears.

Kvasir was probably feeling so bad for me right now. I was once that playful happy-go-lucky girl that he would talk to while I would play this 'game', watch television, or stare at the constellations. He may be some artificial intelligence created by scientists, but he's still my friend.

"I understand how you feel." He sighed and opened a small fridge near my seat. "Here. You're probably in need for nutrition."

"Thanks, Kvasir." I shrugged and took out an ice cream cup.

"Sweets again, Master?"

"I'm feeling depressed, okay?" I frowned and took a huge spoonful.

"Or because you're trying to stay sweet as you are." He complimented me to try and at least make me smile.

It worked as I blushed wildly. "Shut up…" I giggled quietly.


(The dogfighting scene seemed too short? I apologize if it was. There will be more action in future chapters. Also, I appreciate everybody's patience for this chapter to come out. Originally, I was going to try to finish this chapter up and post it last week. But the huge amount of schoolwork in the first week almost drowned my sanity to the point where I couldn't work on this. Anyway, time to work on the next chapter!)

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