"Legends are not born- they're created."
~Ricky Pierce

_____________________________________________

Demons of Razgriz

Blaze

Chopper and I left for Sand Island on the twelfth.  I couldn't believe I was engaged!  Engaged!  Chopper and I decided on the way back to base that we wouldn't breathe a word about our engagement to anybody to avoid anyone backlash from our superiors. Relationships amongst coworkers were frowned upon, let alone a relationship between a captain and her wingman. Still, we would tell my squadron and Pops. They were the only ones we trusted, but we had to find the right time.

When we arrived at Sand Island, Genette, Nagase, Grimm, and Cassie were already there, waiting for us on the tarmac.  Chopper and I beamed as we greeted our friends. My brother's eyes instantly went to my left hand. His eyes widened at the sight of the diamond, and he practically vibrated from excitement. When he hugged me, Genette whispered, "Congratulations!"

"Thank you," I whispered back, squeezing him a little tighter, for I knew he'd given Chopper permission to marry me. This wouldn't have happened without him.

We headed back inside quickly after to get out of the cold. I planned on unpacking, but the moment I set my suitcase down in my room, Hamilton immediately sent us up to patrol for hours. It gave me little to shower, dry my hair, and unpack my suitcase, but I somehow managed. Of course, I swear I woke up as soon as I fell asleep because Hamilton woke me up at six to send us back into the air again, and that wouldn't be the only time. I'd barely gotten my wits, bearings, and lunch after landing before Hamilton instructed us to return to the skies on patrol.

"There's got to be some other squadrons available," Chopper muttered as we walked back to the hangars. "This feels personal."

"It's probably High Command trying to wear us out," Nagase said, rolling her eyes. "Maybe they think we'll confess to our nonexistent crims if we're exhausted."

"Jokes on them, we have nothing to confess," Grimm added.

I glanced over my shoulder, noticing Hamilton and the Base Commander watching us. "Maybe. It's certainly purposeful. I think they're hoping they'll exhaust us to the point that we either make a mistake that we can't come back from, or we get ourselves shot down in the next battle."

"Oh. That's comforting."

"Don't worry, Grimm. I won't let anything happen to you. I'll confront them before I let us wear ourselves out more than we already are." My wingman smiled trustingly at me, and a pang of guilt struck me. How could I make a promise like that? I couldn't protect all my wingmen at the same time. I was only one person, and there were three of them. I wasn't the Demon Lord, who could protect dozens of allies at a time. I wasn't the Ribbon Fighter, who could inspire hope when all was lost. I was the captain of a disgraced fighter squadron in the middle of an investigation.

Chopper slung his arms around mine and Nagase's shoulders. "Come on. Let's go show them it'll take more than their bullshit to trip us up."

_____________________________________________ 

November 14, 2010...

Genette

We waited in the crew room.  The clock showed 0610 hours, which explained why my sister slept soundly on Chopper's shoulder. Nagase and I sat nearby. Grimm stood behind us, stating if he sat down, he'd fall asleep. Cassie, having had food poisoning from dinner, remained asleep in her room. We all wished to be in our own beds, but duty called, and while I was by no means required to be there, I found myself bound to do so. These people were my story. Where they went, I went.

I took a picture of the four pilots. They'd gotten so used to it, none of them batted an eye at it. In my notebook, I wrote down a few captions before settling on: "Despite the hectic mood among the staff at HQ, the start of the briefing was delayed.  But the weary pilots, knowing full well that they must force their exhausted bodies back into the air once the order was given, weren't the slightest bit disturbed by the delay."

"Hey... what are you writing there?" Grimm asked Nagase.  I glanced at the book she held in her lap.  The red cover looked vaguely familiar.

"I just can't remember the next phrase..." Nagase murmured.

"Here, lemme see," Chopper said, reaching to take the book from her.

"Hey!" Nagase exclaimed, swatting away his hand.  Nagase looked back at her book and said, "The princess couldn't feed the dove that day.  She was too sick."

Grimm leaned over her shoulder. "May I take a look?"

Nagase ignored him, deep in thought, but apparently, Chopper had the answer after a few moments of silence. "... Razgriz. The Demon of Razgriz got her, right?"

"You know the story?" Nagase looked kind of shocked.  Blaze groggily opened her eyes, watching her wingmen converse.

"The demon from the north sea!  I remember my grandma used to tell me bedtime stories about it.  And every time she did, I'd be too scared to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night."

"Uhh..." Nagase chuckled, and my sister, albeit small, smiled.

"Settle down, people!" A commander ordered.  Grimm finally sat down, and we waited for the briefing to begin. However, my mind rested on Nagase's book. I knew a little about the famous legend, too.  When history witnesses a great change, Razgriz reveals itself- first, as a dark demon.  As a demon, it uses its power to rain death upon the land, and then it dies.  However, after a period of slumber, Razgriz returns.

_____________________________________________ 

Nagase 

The Base Commander waddled in front of the screen. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Blaze give him an annoyed up-down. I could only imagine the names she silently called him right now. She held a grudge against him for making us go up so much the past couple of days. While Blaze hadn't said anything to him, it was evident to me that Perrault stood on thin ice with her. If our positions weren't so precarious at the moment, Blaze might've already said something, but I knew her well enough to recognize that she was waiting for the right moment with the right leverage.

Perrault cleared his throat. "Ahem, gentlemen..."

However, he was cut off by an unfamiliar face. "Excuse me, Colonel- this is an absolutely vital mission to us.  As the staff advisor from Central HQ for this effort, I'd like to explain it myself," the man said. Before the Base Commander could even respond back, the man continued, "The Osean Army is planning a vast offensive with the ultimate objective of occupying the capital of Yuktobania.  If this operation succeeds, it will end the war in very short order.  However, the Yuktobanians have attacked our beachhead with ballistic missiles from the Hrimfaxi, a Scinfaxi-class submersible carrier stationed in the icy waters of the Razgriz Straits.  Fortunately, our ground forces had already completed attack preparations, so despite the missile attack, the offensive began as planned.  Nevertheless, we must neutralize the threat of another Hrimfaxi missile attack on our ground forces."

I swear the man never took a breath until he finished his explanation, which would explain why his face turned so red. It appeared like he might actually burst a blood vessel in his forehead with the way it bulged out. Either oblivious or uncaring, our regular briefer ignored the potential head explosion and explained his half. "We have a single chance to stage a successful air attack on the underwater carrier Hrimfaxi. Our passive sonar has detected a transport submarine that we believe is headed for the Hrimfaxi.  We believe the transport sub's mission is to supply the Hrimfaxi with missiles.  Based on its course and speed, we've calculated its rendezvous time with the Hrimfaxi.  By amazing coincidence, it is precisely the same time as the zero hour of our ground attack.  At this time, the Hrimfaxi will have to surface to restock its missiles.  At that exact moment, ingress at low altitude to avoid detection, launch a surprise attack, and sink the Hrimfaxi.  Once surfaced, it only takes the Hrimfaxi one minute to rig for an emergency dive.  If your approach is detected, you will only have one minute to complete your attack on the Hrimfaxi.

Operation: Long Harpoon

Location: Razgriz Straits

Date: 2010/11/14

Time: 0615 HRS.

The Central HQ staff advisor cleared his throat and said, "Now, keep in mind there won't be any support from Arkbird this time around.  This mission rests solely on your shoulders.  The entire ground offensive is relying on this first surprise attack, so don't disappoint us.  I want you to turn the icy Razgriz Straits into the enemy's graveyard."

The lights flickered on, and we beelined out of there. I opened my mouth to make a snarky comment about the HQ guy, but Chopper beat me to the punch. "I think we narrowly avoided the eruption of Mt. Wallace."

"Wow. I didn't even know his name. I was too distracted by the bulging vein in his head," I admitted.

"Captain, what planes are we taking today?" Grimm queried, peering around me to look at her.

"The F-14Bs. We'll have the GPBs as our special weapons. I think it'll be the best attack weapon on the Hrimfaxi," Blaze said without missing a beat. She'd grown fond of the F-14s, although she always had been. It started with her love of Top Gun. However, Blaze wanted us to have the best of the best, and while she adored her F-14s, nothing topped the F-22. Somehow, some way, she would get them for us. I had no doubt in my mind.

Not much was said once we hopped into our planes. Between our exhaustion from the multiple patrols and coming down off the high from our vacations, we weren't up to talking, not even Chopper. Still, he remained chipper despite the situation. If only I had his constant cheerful demeanor. Not much ever got him down outside of when he had troubles with Blaze, but those were far and few in between, and they never lasted long.

When we arrived at the strait, I started getting chills, and it had nothing to do with the twenty-below temperature with the thirty-below wind chill. I shivered, the story of the Razgriz haunting the back of my mind. I rarely believed in fairytales, but an eerie sensation always ran through my veins whenever I thought about the demon. Why I found myself drawn to the story, I'd never understand.

"Wardog, stay at low altitude and fly towards the submarine fleet," Thunderhead ordered. "You are restricted from flying above one thousand feet.  We can't risk having our surprise attack detected."

I could've sworn I heard Blaze breathe, "No shit, Sherlock." If anyone else heard it, they said nothing about it.

"I'm getting chills," Chopper remarked, breaking the silence. His next words eerily echoed my earlier thoughts. "This northern sea is where the Demon of Razgriz came from."

"Ugh, now you're giving me chills!" Blaze said.

"Razgriz..." I murmured. "Makes me think of the Scinfaxi."

"Heh.  There's no way that coulda been the Razgriz," Chopper said. It certainly had seemed like the Razgriz at the time but it obviously wasn't anymore.  At least, I hoped it wasn't. We'd destroyed it. There's no way it could come back. Unless they had another one?

"Hold your chatter.  Commencing comm out procedures shortly.  Maintain radio silence," Thunderhead commanded. I bit back what would've been a teasing comment toward Chopper because God knows he'd have difficulty following that order.

"Guess I'll cut off the mic and try talking to myself," Chopper said, causing me to chastise myself for ever believing he wouldn't find some way to talk. Of course he'd find a loophole.

"Wardog, attack formation," Blaze ordered quietly. Without another word, Chopper, Grimm, and I fell into line behind her, slightly above one another and in dangerously close proximity to both avoid flying into each other's jet wash and avoid being seen on radar as multiple planes.  We zipped over the white snow that lay on top of a thick sheet of ice, the ground blurring past as our speed continued to increase well over a thousand knots and climbing.  I briefly glanced at my radar, afraid if I took my eyes off my captain even for a moment, I'd somehow manage to crash into her. Still, I needed to know how close we were to the first enemy, and it turned out we were closer than I realized. An enemy picket sub rapidly closed in. Blaze would undoubtedly have a lock on it the moment it came within firing range.  Sure enough, the second I locked on, Blaze had already fired two missiles at the sub. We continued on our way to the Hrimfaxi, but the atmosphere changed, I could feel it. Something was wrong.

"This is Lieutenant Colonel Mitchell, the advisor to HQ.  That picket submarine just sent off an enemy-detection notice.  The Hrimfaxi's gonna dive in one minute.  Attack immediately!" he barked.  My instinct had been right. Hopefully, the sub had only looked at their radar and saw one plane instead of four.  At least then, we would still have some element of surprise.

"Hey, our cover's blown anyway.  I'm gonna start talking now!" Chopper declared airily.

Blaze chuckled. "It was killing you not to talk, wasn't it?"

"Who says I stopped talking? You don't necessarily need other people to talk."

"Point made. Alright, Chopper, with me. Nagase, Grimm, take care of that ring of picket subs."

"Enemy plane!  Halt all resupply operations!" an enemy shouted. Judging by the superiority in his voice and with there being only one person who had that kind of power to stop such a thing, it had to be the captain of the sub.

"Enemy plane?  We're still in the middle of our mission!" A Yuke pointed out angrily.

"Wait!  There's four!  Damn!  They tricked us!" the Hrimfaxi informed.

"Four?!" An enemy sub demanded. "Dammit!  How did they smell us out?!"

At least we had surprised the enemy somewhat.  Blaze's plan had worked! Trailing closely behind her, I inquired, "So, what interesting conversations did you have, Chopper?"

"First of all, do we want to know?" Grimm said drolly while both of us took out two subs in quick succession.

"Well, if you want to know that I was going to put shaving cream in your bed sheets tonight, then yes, you do want to know," Chopper answered seriously.

"Hey!"

"At least you know now, Grimm," I said, knocking out my third sub.

"You do that and I'll put itching powder in your sheets," Grimm countered as he eliminated another enemy.

"You wouldn't dare..." Chopper trailed off.

"You bet I would."

"Then I would have to sleep with Blaze, and Genette would blame you because you'd be the reason I was sleeping with Blaze in the first place, and he would do much worse than put shaving cream in your bed sheets."

"That's... a good point," Grimm admitted. "But you're already sl-"

"Grimm, if you continue that sentence, Blaze might kill you. Or Genette. I certainly will."

"Why would they- OH! Shit. Sorry."

"There you go. Now, what do you say we blow this thing up and go home?"

"Speaking of home-" Blaze began, rolling her plane downward and shooting two missiles at the Hrimfaxi. I saw a small explosion. "We still need to catch up on what happened on everyone's trip."

"Halt the resupply!  Prepare for immediate dive!  Hurry up!  We gotta dive before the enemy does!" A Yuke urged.

"Those bastards are diving!" Chopper announced irritatedly. "God, you'd think nailing them with two missiles would've done the job."

"Nothing will ever be that easy for us," Blaze mused jokingly.

"This is Submarine Squadron Command.  Emergency report from our ground forces in the front line," A Yuke said. "The enemy is undertaking a large-scale offensive.  Attack the enemy forces with long-range missiles from the Hrimfaxi.  Urgent!  Transmitting target coordinates!"

"This is Hrimfaxi.  We cannot comply.  We're unable to launch missiles underwater due to battle damage."

"What's the point of your existence if you don't fire now?!  They're penetrating our defense lines as we speak!" The Yuke shouted angrily back while I rejoined Blaze, who circled the area where the Hrimfaxi dove with Chopper diligently by her side. In the distance, the sun rose, but it remained relatively dark out. This far up north, it was no wonder it wasn't getting much light, but it certainly didn't help the eerieness of the barren winter scenery. If any place existed where a demon might actually be born, this place certainly topped the list.

"Hurry up before they overrun our allies!" A Yuke hollered.

"Emergency surface!  Grab on to something!" The Hrimfaxi captain ordered anxiously. "Once we break the surface, launch the missiles and unmanned drones!"

I continued circling the area, waiting impatiently for the submarine to surface. As hard as I tried, I couldn't see anything in the icy depths of the water, but an image of a woman with a black helmet sprouting red feathers on the side repeatedly popped into my head. I needed to get a grip on myself. What was this place doing to me? No. It wasn't this place. It was exhaustion. That's what happens when works you relentlessly.

"The Hrimfaxi's antenna has appeared above water.  It's surfacing!" I announced excitedly. I watched the craft appear in all its glory. Although smaller than the Scinfaxi, it was still massive, and it would be no easy feat to destroy. I headed straight for it. Strangely, Blaze went vertical.

"Hrimfaxi launching burst missiles!" Thunderhead informed.

"Launching carrier jets," The Hrimfaxi said.

As I neared the Hrimfaxi, I made the unfortunate discovery that, along with the unmanned drone launchers, AA guns lined the craft. I narrowly avoided taking some hits and warned my wingmen.

"This is Lieutenant Colonel Mitchell, the adviser to HQ. I'm getting your info in real-time from our tracker satellite."

"I feel like I'm being stalked," Chopper muttered.

"In a way, you are," Grimm pointed out.

"Time your attacks to hit the Hrimfaxi when it surfaces," Mitchell said. "Sink it before it deals any more damage to our ground forces."

"Oh, no kidding," Chopper said, feigning ignorance. "We had no clue we were supposed to be doing that.  Thank you for clearing that up."

"Shut up and engage Lieutenant Davenport!" Mitchell barked.

"I am engaged."

"In what way, exactly?" Blaze responded. I could hear the humor in her voice. While Chopper gave no answer, he chuckle impishly, making me wonder what the inside joke was. "Oh, and Lieutenant Colonel? Do not speak to my wingmen like that."

"You don't give me orders, Lieutenant Banks!" Mitchell warned.

"No, but you will show some respect for the people who are saving the asses of our ground forces."

"You will show me some respect, or I will teach you some."

"I'll show you some respect when you give me the same courtesy. You may be my superior, but my squadron and I are the only ones standing between our ground forces and their annihilation, so unless there's another squadron you trust to send on a caliber of this mission, yes, you'll show us some damn respect."

Silence.

"Did Blaze just win an argument against upper command?" Grimm asked after a few seconds of nothing.

Chopper cheered. "That's my girl!"

"No. I think I made a point that they're trying to prove wrong. They're probably searching for another squadron as we speak. Flipping around to attack. Hold on, Hrimfaxi, I'm coming for you!" 

I never would've had the gall to speak to a higher-up the way she had, and if she'd done it even a few missions ago, I probably would've upbraided her for it. But now, after everything we'd been through with the hearing and alienation by our own military, I understood.

"Hrimfaxi!  You're dealing lethal damage to the Osean Army.  Give it one more shot!  Drive 'em back to the coastline," A Yuke encouraged.

"Nah, we're gonna stick around," Chopper said nonchalantly.

"They might think they snuck up on us, but they're dead wrong," A Yuke Sub guy snarled.  I rolled my eyes. We did sneak up on them; they were just too spineless to admit it.

Grimm and I came from opposite directions and loosed a GPB at the Hrimfaxi. Direct hits.  While he and I departed the scene, Chopper and Blaze rained hell from above, releasing GPBs and missiles at the sub.  I couldn't help but notice how in sync we were with each other.  When one of us was done firing, another would take our place without the slightest bit of communication. I opened my mouth to comment about how 'in sync' we were, but knowing Chopper, he'd make some wiseass comment about the band NSYNC, or, even worse, start singing one of their songs, so I wisely kept my mouth shut.

"All this damage from four planes?!" A Yuke cried. "How is this possible?!"

The Hrimfaxi disappeared beneath the water again and the four of us circled the area like sharks.  For the enemy, it had to be at least semi-frightening to see us, especially if they realized we were the ones who sank the Scinfaxi. If we could do that, then we could certainly do this.

"What the hell's going on?!  Are the Oseans using some kind of black magic?!" The Hrimfaxi asked.

"I can't stand how HQ treats us like errand boys!" Another Yuke mumbled.

"Never thought I'd agree with the enemy on something," Chopper confessed.

"Don't go to the dark side Chopper,"  Grimm admonished jokingly. "They don't have cookies,"

"I think Blaze would kill me before she'd let me go to the dark side."

"Nah, I'd just chain you up and put you in a room with Jar Jar Binks," Blaze said.

Chopper let out a bark of laughter. "I'd rather stop talking for the rest of my life."

"Oh, I'd like to see that one," I said, fully aware Chopper might lose the little sanity he had left if he lost the ability to talk.

"I think Chopper could give Jar Jar Binks a run for his money," Grimm mused.

"One-" Chopper started indignantly- "yes, I could. Two, I might be able to give him a run for his money, but we'd never find out because I'd kill him before that happened. That character drives me up the wall."

I'm sure the people on base listening to our conversation thought we had finally cracked, but we were nowhere near it. I think the only thing that would make one of us truly crack is if one of us died, but I never allowed myself to go there. The idea of losing Blaze, Chopper, or Grimm seemed unfathomable to me. None of them were replaceable.

As we waited for the Hrimfaxi to surface again, Blaze instructed us to chase after the UAVs. They were wicked-fast devils but thankfully, they weren't hard to destroy. The only problem was getting your missile to hit the target. I fired two missiles at a UAV, but they both missed. Aggravated, I locked back onto the target. Grimm and Chopper, judging by the sounds and swears coming out of their mouths, encountered the same issues as me with the UAVs. Blaze, on the other hand, either had the restraint of a saint or the aim of Razgriz because not a peep came from her.

"Ballast tanks damaged!  Unable to submerge!" the Hrimfaxi announced.

Another Yuke swore colorfully. "Forget it!  We'll just have to deal with them above the surface!"

"The Hrimfaxi has stopped its dive!" Grimm exclaimed jubilantly. "We've damaged it!"

"When it surfaces, we'll all head towards it at once and let loose one of our special weapons.  You with me?" Blaze asked.

"Loud and clear," Chopper replied.

"Roger that," I said.

Grimm groaned. "The Hrimfaxi's got a barrier of picket submarines around it!"

"Destroy them if you can.  The more we destroy, the less the enemy has," Blaze remarked.

"It's like the enemy's gathered all its submarines in one place."

"It's a parade!" Chopper claimed randomly.

"A parade?" Blaze repeated.

"He's cracked," Grimm decided. "We should get the straight jacket ready for him."

"I'll call his dad. Maybe he knows a could psychiatric hospital."

"If I'm going, you're all coming with me," Chopper declared.

"We'd probably be treated better."

"Probably? Are you doubting it?"

"Hrimfaxi launching burst missile! Wardog, it's headed your way!  Climb!  Zoom to above five thousand feet!" Thunderhead shouted frantically. I had already noticed the missile shoot into the air. Having dealt with these before, my squadron and I were already on our way above the required survival threshold by the time Thunderhead gave his orders.

"Aww, it almost sounds like you care, Thunderhead," Chopper jested with mock graciousness. "I never knew."

"Absolutely I care. Our ground forces are at your mercy. If you die, so do they!"

"Okay, but what if they weren't at our mercy? Would you care for us then?" Chopper prodded, weaseling his way under Thunderhead's skin.

"What kind of question is that?"

"Aha!" Chopper exclaimed. "Deflection! That should've been a simple yes or no question, and the fact that you evaded my question with another question-"

"Chopper-" I interrupted exasperatedly- "you really need to stop listening to so many true crime podcasts with Blaze. You're a fighter pilot, not a detective."

"Thank you, Lieutenant Nagase," Thunderhead said, sounding a little too smug that I'd intervened.

I wasn't going to have it. "That being said, I do think he was deflecting."

Chopper laughed victoriously, and Thunderhead sighed dramatically, saying, "Just take out that damn submarine."

"Sink the Hrimfaxi, and those burst missiles will go away, too," Grimm stated matter-of-factly. It seemed an obvious statement, but with how tired we were, he might've been saying it to reiterate that in the chaos of the situation, the goal remained clear.

We hovered right above the five thousand foot mark and waited for the burst missile to explode.  Blaze and Chopper temporarily deviated from us to take out a UAV. They shot it down within a few seconds.  Grimm and I kept the other UAVs off of Chopper and Blaze's tails.

"Ten seconds to impact," Thunderhead said, beginning the countdown. "...Five, four, three, two, bursting now!"

The burst missile exploded. The flash of light momentarily blinded me for a few seconds and caused me to make a hairpin turn to avoid a missile that had been shot at my plane by a UAV.  Grimm came and saved my ass while Blaze and Chopper were already back down and attacking the Hrimfaxi.

"What's the matter?!  I thought this was the world's best fleet!" one of the Hrimfaxi's guys demanded.

"I know, I know!  I'm not gonna let them fly up there for long!" his comrade claimed heatedly.

"Doesn't appear so now, now does it?" Blaze remarked bluntly.

"I'm surprised you haven't sung any Top Gun songs, Blaze.  You haven't sung any in a while," Chopper mused.

"Oh, I have, you've just been too busy talking to hear it," she said.

"Yeah, I heard her, I just didn't say anything," I affirmed.

"Do I seriously talk that much?" Chopper questioned, sounding genuinely surprised.

"Yes!" Grimm, Blaze, and I replied simultaneously.

Unamused, he retorted, "Y'all want to take a moment and think about it?"

Once more, at the same time, the three of us said immediately, "No."

"Emotional damage, right there. I'm never going to recover from it."

"Speaking of damage..." I zipped overhead of the Hrimfaxi, sending a GPB at it along the way. Even from up here, I could see some of the damage we'd inflicted. "The Hrimfaxi's taken a fair amount of damage too!"

"Hrimfaxi launching burst missile!" Thunderhead yelled.

Blaze sighed. "Y'all know what to do." 

Blaze sounded tired, more so than usual. I'd noticed the bags under her eyes and the increased number of naps, but I attributed it to her newfound responsibilities as captain during an intense war. It couldn't be easy, especially because it seemed like we were fighting a battle on two fronts: the enemies and our own military.

"Demons that rain death from above..." A Yuke scoffed in disbelief. "This is nuts!"

"I'm not about to let some demons decide our fate!" A Hrimfaxi guy claimed passionately.

"They're not seriously thinking that this is the Razgriz legend, are they?" Blaze inquired skeptically.

Chopper replied, "Considering they're calling us demons and whatnot, I think the safe answer is 'yes.'"

"Ten seconds to impact!" Thunderhead admonished. "Five, four, three, two, bursting, now!"

Thunderhead finished the countdown.  I endured the blinding light and shaking of my plane once again.  It was getting old all the burst missiles.  Old and annoying.  I flew down towards the Hrimfaxi once again and started firing.  The damn thing needed to sink already.

"Dammit, how can four planes change the tide of a war?!" An enemy squawked angrily.

"I'm not sure," Chopper responded, despite the enemy most likely not being able to hear him. "We've just happened to be in the most decisive battles in the war with a kickass captain, but we've just been ordered to do that. It's not like we can choose our missions. No, no. Those get chosen by a coin toss."

"You're still upset by that?" Grimm asked.

"Yes. It's an asinine way to choose a mission."

"The Demon of Razgriz can't be killed," I said, ignoring the boys' conversation. "We've encountered some insane situations, and we're all still here. It's probably adding to our reputation amongst the enemy."

"Don't jinx us, Nagase," Blaze warned.

"Not meaning to, it just makes you think."

Chopper shot by me, targeting the Hrimfaxi. Upon realizing the same thing I had mere seconds ago, he shouted, "Dammit!  Just sink already!"

"I second what Chopper yelled."

"I didn't yell!"

"Chopper. You're yelling," Blaze confirmed bluntly.

"Well... this damn sub won't sink and it's pissing me off!"

I intended to aim for the Hrimfaxi, but noticing a UAV trailing Blaze, shifted courses. She wasn't having any trouble avoiding it, but I wanted to get it away from her. Nothing would happen to another captain of mine. The memory of Bartlett taking the missile for me remained too fresh in in my mind regardless of the time that passed since the incident.

"The Hrimfaxi's taken severe damage!  It's listing!" A Yuke announced.

"With the way it's still holding up, it could've fooled me..." Blaze said, annoyed.

"No kidding," Chopper agreed wholeheartedly. "That thing is like the Duracell battery of submarines. It just keeps going.

"Hrimfaxi launching burst missile!" Thunderhead informed frantically, causing us to groan in unison while we shot back up to the safety threshold.

"Lower hull flood spreading!" The Hrimfaxi exclaimed. "It's finished.  We can't save this boat."

"They've sunk the Hrimfaxi?!" Another guy questioned in shocked horror.

"Ten seconds to impact," Thunderhead said. "Five, four, three, two, bursting, now!"

The plane shook from the explosion, but it hardly fazed me, I'd become so used to it. Recognizing it to be safe to return to low altitude, I followed Blaze toward the sub. Just a little more shooting and this thing would be done.  I couldn't wait.

"Look! The Razgriz story was true!" A Yuke claimed.

"Geez, you guys still believe in that? That's just a tall tale!" A Yuke said nonchalantly.

"Well, how do you explain all this damage?!  I tell you, they're demons!" The other Yuke stated, irate.

Blaze fired her last GPB at the Hrimfaxi.  There was a small explosion, and the Hrimfaxi disappeared off our radar. We had done it.  We destroyed our demon. 

Mission Accomplished

"Hrimfaxi, it appears you're up against Razgriz itself out there," The Yuke Commander said grimly.

"Looks like they were the real Razgriz, not us..." Another enemy acknowledged. "Maybe someone's trying to tell us that our time is up..."

"Did we just destroy that thing?" Chopper asked excitedly. When Blaze confirmed we had, he let out a victorious cheer. "Hell yeah! So does that make us the demons?"

"In the Yukes' eyes? I think so," Grimm said. While the boys joked about us being the Razgriz, Blaze and I stayed silent, both wrapped up in our own thoughts about it. The image that came with being associated with the demon could not be taken lightly. If the fairytale came true, then it meant we would first be seen as villains, and something told me it would be on a greater scale than just High Command. What event would lead us to such a downfall? And what catalyst would bring us back as heroes?

When we returned to Sand Island, we headed to the briefing room for what turned out to be one of the shortest debriefings I'd ever heard. "The surprise attack on the Hrimfaxi was a success, and the carrier has sunk to the bottom of the Razgriz Straits.  The threat from the northern sea has disappeared, and the Osean forces are on the offensive against Yuktobania."

"Y'all, as much as I want to catch up-" Blaze yawned and stretched- "I'm exhausted. I'm going to nap. Wake me up when it's time for dinner because I can promise you I'm sleeping through lunch unless Perrault and Hamilton decide otherwise."

"I'm pretty sure the rest of us have the same idea," I admitted, rubbing my eyes. We shuffled to our rooms, bid each other goodbye, and then I all but faceplanted by bed. I managed to keep my eyes open long enough to set an alarm for dinnertime, but that was it. The second my eyes closed, I might as well have been dead to the world. An air raid could've happened, and I wouldn't have woken up.

When my alarm did finally go off, I seriously considered skipping dinner and continuing to sleep, but then reminded myself that I'd barely eaten at breakfast and could use some decent sustenance. My stomach growled in agreement. Rolling out of bed, I fixed my hair to hide any remnants of bedhead. Or tried to. A particularly stubborn piece refused to lay flat, and naturally, it was directly on top of my head, making me look like I had an antenna sticking out.

While I fought a losing battle with my hair, someone knocked on my door. God, if it was Hamilton telling me I needed to go up in the air, I might actually hit something. Probably him. However, since his voice didn't follow the knock, I assumed a different person stood outside my door, so I hollered, "It's open!"

To my surprise, although certainly not to my displeasure, Genette stepped inside. He smiled and asked, "Hey, I was just checking to see if you were awake for dinner. Figured you'd want to eat. Grimm and Cassie are on their way. I sent Chopper to wake Blaze up."

I grinned. "You sent him to do the difficult one?"

"Obviously. Besides, she's nice to him when he wakes her up. She punches me. You almost ready?"

"Yeah, let me get this hair to lie flat, and then I'll be ready, although this may take a moment. I've been battling it for the last few minutes without luck. Shooting the Hrimfaxi was easier because at least my efforts were rewarded. This-" I pointed at the new enemy in question- "keeps getting worse. I've even tried hairspray and hair gel, and nothing."

"I have an idea if you can't get it to go down."

"Which is?"

"If you can't beat them..." Genette opened my hair gel, got a small glob on his fingers, grabbed a piece of hair on top of his head, and used the gel to make it stick straight up. "Join them."

A bubble of laughter burst forth from my lips at the sight. "It suits you."

"Thanks! I think. Now, you ready to go?" Genette offered his arm to me, and I accepted. We exited my room and headed to the dining hall. Grimm and Cassie were in line. Chopper and Blaze stood with them, the latter practically dozing standing up.

"Everyone have a good nap?" Genette asked, grabbing a tray. Cassie, Chopper, and nodded. Grimm shrugged. Blaze made no movement, only kept a sleepy, blank expression. A flicker of concern flashed through Genette's eyes, but he said nothing.

"Hey! There's the heroes of the Razgriz straits!" Tornado exclaimed, bounding up to us. He raised his hand to high-five each of us. Even Genette got one, which perplexed him. "How's it feel to be the saviors of the ground forces?"

"You can go ahead and start calling me Razgriz Three," Chopper said, puffing out his chest.

"Guess that makes Blaze Razgriz One. The demon of all demons."

"You know, I think High Command might just see me as that," she joked, offering a smile that didn't quite reach all the way across her face.

"Ah, don't let them get you down. Honestly, with your track record, they can't afford to get rid of you even if they wanted to. I-" Tornado's gaze dropped to her hand- "well, now, when were you going to make the big announcement?"

I followed his line of sight. That's when I noticed the glittering diamond on Blaze's ring finger. Her left one. Cassie and Grimm must've seen the same, judging by their wide eyes and stiffened posture. Even Chopper and Genette appeared unnerved by the question. Only Blaze acted semi-unfazed. Cooly, she responded, "It's a family heirloom. This is the only finger it fits. I need to get it resized."

Tornado beamed cheekily at her. "Good. Means I still have a chance. Listen, I have to go on patrol, but I'll see you around. Again, congrats on today!"

Clapping Blaze on the shoulder, Tornado grabbed an apple from behind her and darted off. Chopper glowered after him. "The amount of restraint it took to tell him he has no chance-"

"Do you have something to tell us?" I inquired, buzzing with anticipation.

Blaze's gaze flicked over my shoulder. "No, nothing of whatever you're thinking. Sorry to disappoint."

I briefly turned around to see what she looked at and saw Bailey behind us, clearly eavesdropping on our conversation. Taking note, I said, "Damn. And here I was, hoping for a wedding. I don't get to wear heels often, and I was looking forward to it."

Blaze harrumphed. "Please, one of us would have to find a boyfriend for that to happen. Or girlfriend, in the boys' case. Hey, what do y'all say we eat in one of our rooms? I'm not in the mood to talk to anyone but y'all."

The rest of us agreed. I sensed she wanted to discuss a matter privately without the risk of being overheard. We filled our trays with food and then swiftly made our escape to the privacy of the closest room, which happened to be Chopper's. We gathered around the coffee table: Blaze, Cassie, and I on the couch, Grimm and Genette on the floor, and Chopper in the desk chair.

Cassie braced her forearms on the table and leaned forward eagerly. "Are you going to tell us the truth about the ring? Because I know damn well that's no family heirloom."

"How would you know that?" Blaze replied, tilting her head curiously.

"Because I've known you since we were kids. I either would've seen it, or you would've told me about. Now spill!"

Chopper and Blaze beamed, albeit slightly shyly, as they confirmed what we'd been suspecting: they were engaged. Cassie flung her arms around our best friend, and I wasn't far behind. Grimm and Genette let us have our moment with Blaze while they congratulated Chopper.

"When's the wedding?" Cassie demanded, grasping Blaze's shoulders. "Do you have the color scheme picked out? And what about bridesmaids? Obviously, Nagase and I are going to be ones, although we may fight over who gets to be the MOH. Then we need to start dress shopping as we get back to the mainland-"

"Cassie!" I interrupted, shaking my head and nodding my head at Blaze, who looked like a deer in headlights at the barrage of questions hurled at her. "Give our captain some time to answer your questions."

Cassie smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. I'm just really excited. Okay, okay, at least tell me when the wedding is."

"We don't have a specific date," Chopper replied, glancing adoringly at Blaze. "We need to get through this war first."

"I swear on Razgriz, if anyone tears you two apart, there will be hell to pay, and hell's name will be me."

"I'm terrified and turned on," Grimm remarked, eyeing Cassie with a shy smirk. Chopper chuckled a pillow at him. For the remainder of the evening, we chatted happily about the future plans for the engaged couple, although we were sworn to secrecy about the whole affair. The Osean military could still split up engaged couples, and with us already being on thin ice, Blaze and Chopper refused to give them any more than the military thought they had. We had no trouble agreeing.

"We're going to tell Pops," Chopper added. "He's the only one outside of this group we trust. Everyone else is suspect."

I quirked an eyebrow at him. "Of what?"

"I don't know. They're just suspect."

I turned to Blaze to ask her a question, only to find her fast asleep. "We've lost Blaze."

"Is she doing okay?" Genette asked with a furrowed brow. "She's always liked to sleep, but even this is unusual."

"Yeah, just not sleeping well when she does fall asleep," Chopper explained, motioning for me to grab the blanket on my end of the couch. I tossed it to him, and he covered her up with it. "Keeps waking up every couple of hours."

"Stress?"

"Probably."

"We should let her sleep in peace. We'll see you in the morning." Bidding the couple good night, Cassie, Grimm, Genette, and  I left. "Hey, why don't you give me your trays? I'll take them back for all of us."

"You sure?" Cassie replied.

"Yeah. I want to grab an extra snack anyways, so I don't mind." Before they could protest any further, I took their trays, attempting to stack them precariously on top of each other.

Genette kept his and snatched Grimm's from his hands. "I'll help. I need to fill up my water bottle."

The two of us headed down the hall. Scanning my surroundings and ensuring no one would overhear, I whispered, "How long did you know they were engaged?"

"The day after it happened. Blaze called me up and told me. Chopper made his intentions aware before the trip and asked for my permission even though he said he wasn't planning on proposing then. I knew better because once I realized they liked each other, I started paying more attention to their interactions. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see how head over heels in love they are. I feel like an idiot for not seeing it sooner. What kind of journalist am I?" Genette joked, setting his trays on the stack of dirty ones. I followed suit. "I'm happy for them. Genuinely. It's a whirlwind engagement, but my gut tells me it'll last."

"Blaze always said she'd be the last of us to get married, and now, she's the first to get engaged. Unless Cassie and I manage to snag ourselves some fiancés, I might actually get to prove Blaze wrong on something."

Genette chuckled. "Have anyone in mind?"

"Potentially," I said, shoving my hands in my jacket pockets. Needing to move away from my feelings for Genette, I inquired, "Need help with the photos or article?"

"Article is done, but I always need help with photos. Is it safe for me to assume you're willing?"

"Always." I followed Genette to his room, my heart lurching excitedly at the prospect of spending time with him alone, along with a twinge of guilt. I shouldn't like my best friend's brother. It wasn't like Blaze and Chopper. They'd known each other for ages and had secretly been pining for the other for most of it. I'd known Genette for a few years, and even then, it wasn't until he arrived on base that I truly got to know him. Hell, if this is how Blaze felt every time she was with Chopper before they got together, I had a whole new respect for her and the pain she endured. This feeling was awful.

However, I wouldn't bring it up tonight. Maybe once we were back on the mainland, and I had my escape there in the event he rejected me, I could ask him out. Yeah, that's what I'd do. If Blaze could handle this feeling for so many years, I could handle it for at least a few months.

_____________________________________________ 

Genette

The following day, a birthday party was thrown for one of the higher-ups. I took the opportunity to snap and record as many candid moments as I could, hoping to show the happiness and light in these dark times. Nagase aided in my endeavors, taking my camera from me when I wanted to film. She was the only person outside of my sister who I trusted with my camera. It cost more than my rent for five months, not to mention the attachments I had for it. The device rarely left my person.

After two hours of the party and having gathered at least two or three hundred photos and videos to sift through, I took a short break, flipping through my camera to get an idea of what I had to work with. A couple caught my eye immediately, and I made a mental note of what number they were in the lineup. Most included my sister and her squadron, but I selected a few of the Base Commander, Hamilton, and Pops that were adequate too. They all had large parts in our lives here, for better or worse, so they needed to be in the book I made. As I noted down the next picture of Pops I liked, I realized something: of all the people I interviewed, I'd never done so with him. That was about to change. Handing my camera to Nagase, I switched on my camera and maneuvered over to Pops, who sat by himself next to the food table, surveying the party.  After all my time on base, never had I once interviewed him.

"May I interview you?" I asked him.  He looked up at me in surprise.

"Me?  Heavens," Pops said, standing up, taking a sip from his coffee mug. "The ace pilots who sunk the enemy submarines are right over there, and I'm the person you want to interview now?"

"No, it's not that.  It's just I heard you used to be a fighter pilot yourself."

"I just fly freight planes for the maintenance crews now." Pops shrugged nonchalantly, but my journalist instinct told me there was more to the story. I intended to find out. "The Captain, Captain Bartlett that is, said it was time for an old man like me to quit trying to compete with the young guys.  Talk about lack of respect!"

My ears perked up at that name. I'd hardly gotten anything on Bartlett while he was here, so I found myself desperate for more information about him. "Where did you meet Captain Bartlett?"

"We were both shot down, and we bailed out behind enemy lines in the last war.  We got through the bullet-ridden battlefield and made it back to the allied front line. I tell you. It was tough getting the Army to believe we were on their side."

"Shot down?  You two?" I asked incredulously. 

Pops smirked at my reaction. "Hey, it was a long time ago.  Everyone makes mistakes, right?"

"Oh no," I said hastily. "I didn't mean it that way.  Even when you're not flying with those pilots, your age and experience provide a lot of support for all of them.  I just wanted to tell you that.  I've seen that you really listen to what they say and you always have helpful suggestions for them."

"Well, thank you," Pops said, his tone suggesting he didn't fully believe the truth in my words. He needed to. More and more, Wardog relied on Pops to help them through things, whether he realized it or not. The fact that Chopper and Blaze trusted him to know about their engagement spoke volumes.

"I think they're all going to need you, now more than ever."

"I'll do what I can."

"These people, it's like they're walking on a tightrope that could snap at any second.  They're going to reach they're breaking point sooner or later."

"Yeah," Pops agreed, looking at the crowd.  I followed his line of gaze. Blaze, Cassie, Grimm, Chopper, and Nagase conversed quietly. "How are you holding up?"

I shrugged. "Better than they are. Blaze is practically a walking zombie. Even Chopper is getting quieter. I'm worried about them. If they keep going up in this state, sooner or later, they'll make a mistake, and I don't want it to be a fatal one."

"I'll talk to Hamilton and the Base Commander. They may not be Wardog's biggest fans, but they can't deny that they bring results. If Perrault and Hamilton want those results to continue, they'll need to give your sister and team a break."

"I appreciate it, Pops. Truly."

"I've got their backs. Now, go enjoy the party and take some donuts with you before the Base Commander finishes them off." Pops winked at me. Laughing, I did as he instructed and made my way to my friends, feeling a little lighter knowing we had Pops on our side.

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