"They've promised that dreams can come true - but forgot to mention that nightmares are dreams, too."
~Oscar Wilde

_________________________

Blaze

I woke up in a thin sheen of sweat, my heart thundering and tears blurring my vision as I relived the nightmare that haunted me in my dreams and in reality. This had been different. All the others had been only myself and my squadron watching Chopper plummet into the stadium, screaming for him while he perished. This time, a voice spoke over the cacophony, breathy and monotone. It said only two words: Prepare yourself.

I tried to tell myself that it was merely my conscience playing on my own beliefs, that the dreams weren't a warning of something terrible to come, but deep down, my gut told me no, it wasn't my imagination, it wasn't my conscience playing tricks on me. It had been a genuine warning that I needed to take seriously.

"What can I do to stop it?" I whispered to whatever higher being might be listening. "I know it's a warning, but surely there's something I can do that I haven't tried in my dream. Tell me what it is so I can protect him. I can't lose him."

My voice cracked at the end, and I squeezed my eyes shut in an attempt to stop the tears from running down my cheeks. I couldn't cry. My squadron would notice instantly, and then there'd be hell trying to get it out of me. My willpower was already hanging on by a precarious thread, and it may cave if my friends and family prodded about my nightmares.

I needed to talk to someone about it, but it couldn't be my squadron or brother. If Bartlett were here, I'd consider going to him, but who knew where he was? If it had been anyone but Bartlett who ejected in the middle of the ocean, I'd say they were most likely dead. But not him. No, he was indestructible. Still, that left him out of the question. Who else on base had experience flying in a war that I liked and, more importantly, trusted?

Pops.

His name popped into my mind, and without giving my brain a chance to overthink the situation or what I was about to divulge, I headed to the hangar where they held the training jets. Pops worked diligently away on something that I would never be able to figure out, but that's not why I was here anyway. Plastering on a cheerful smile, I greeted, "Hey, Pops!"

He looked up in surprise. "Blaze! This is a pleasant surprise. How are you doing?

"I'm okay, and you?"

"I'm doing pretty good. What can I do for you?"

"I, uh- I wanted your opinion on something," I said, suddenly feeling foolish at the words about to come out of my mouth. "This is going to sound pretty weird, but uh, have-have you ever had dreams of... one of your wingmen crashing?"

"Yes, many times. It's all part of being a captain," Pops explained.

"Did the dream ever repeat itself?"

"Once in a while, yes."

"Did... did it ever come true?"

"No." Pops stared at me curiously, setting his wrench down and standing up. Meanwhile, my cheeks flushed from embarrassment as I thought about how stupid I was to believe a dream could be anything more than just that. "These dreams you're having- are they why you can't sleep?"

I nodded, sighing and sitting on the floor with my knees pulled up to my chest. "I can't stop them. No matter what I think of before I go to sleep, it's all I dream about."

"What happens?"

"Long story short? The main one I get is that we're ambushed over a city, Chopper gets hit, and he crashes into a stadium. If the dream switched up with the location or-or where he crashes, I'd say it's my fears playing out in my dreams, but they don't. It's the same thing every time, and I can't stop this feeling in my stomach that it's a warning of what's coming." I massaged my forehead, hoping to rid myself of the stress headache. My attempt was futile. "I feel like I'm going crazy."

"You're under a lot of stress, Blaze, and you've had a lot thrown at you in a short amount of time. Anyone in your position would be having questionable moments, regardless of their age and experience," Pops said understandingly.

"So, you think I'm just going crazy?" I asked, smiling sadly, not because I feared his answer would be 'yes,' but more at the fact that I might actually be losing my mind.

"No, I don't." Pops hesitated for a moment, seemingly mulling over his words carefully. "I've heard rumors of such gifts existing, but they're extremely rare."

"I've never had visions before, though. I'm not psychic. It's just this one dream."

"Doesn't matter. The gift shows up when it's needed. Usually to prepare you for something."

Prepare yourself. The words of the bodiless voice rang out clearly in my head, and my headache increased tenfold. "Is there a way to stop what I'm seeing from happening?"

"That, I don't know. I've never known someone with the gift to ask."

"But you've heard of some?"

Pops nodded. "It's believed that the gift goes to the greatest aces, so rumor has it, the Demon Lord and the Ribbon Fighter had prophetic dreams in their respective wars."

The news thrilled me. It hadn't been so long ago that my uncle told me about his time during the Belkan War, but I'd forgotten entirely about his dreams. I'd always attributed it to his fears wreaking havoc on him like I assumed mine were. I never thought to ask him if he believed them to be prophetic. Why would I have? But now...

"Blaze?" Pops bent down on his knees in front of me. "You okay?"

"Yeah," I lied, offering a deceptively calm smile. "Just thinking how you said it goes to the greatest aces, and since I'm not that, I don't see any reason to worry anymore."

Pops chuckled and returned my smile, but I noticed it didn't reach all the way across his face. "You're better than you realize, Blaze."

"Thanks, Pops. I'll leave you be. I'm sure you had no plans of spending your evening dealing with my woes. I'll let you get back to work." I stood and brushed some of the dirt off my pants. "Hey, could I ask a favor?"

"Of course."

"If my squadron or brother asks about me, can you avoid telling them of these dreams I'm having? I don't want them worrying about me more than they already are."

"I'll keep quiet, but Blaze? Don't push your friends away. When times get hard, that's when you'll need them the most."

"I'm their captain, though. I don't want to burden them with anything else. They're already dealing with so much shit."

"Their pain is your pain, and vice versa. They would want to know if you were troubled. Believe me."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "They've already come to you, haven't they?"

"Your brother is worried about all of you," Pops said, eyes flicking over my shoulder. "Speaking of."

I turned around to find my squadron and brother walking toward the hangar. From this distance, I observed an interesting fact: while Grimm, Cassie, and Chopper kept a normal space between them, Nagase and Genette appeared to have their arms glued together, for they never strayed from each other's side. I'd long suspected there were feelings between Genette and Nagase, but now, I wholeheartedly believed it. The idea made me smile to myself, for I was happy for them. They suited each other.

"There you are!" Chopper said cheerfully, slipping his arm around my waist. "What are you and Pops talking about and looking so serious?"

"Blaze was asking about what the surprise was that I had for you," Pops said, a glimmer of mischief in his eyes. Although I knew he was covering for our true conversation, I frowned, replaying our entire conversation and at no point remembering him talking about a 'surprise.' "Follow me."

All of us shared confused glances, but we did as instructed. Pops led us out of Hangar C to Hangar A. Opening the doors, Pops revealed the last thing I ever thought I'd see.

"These- these are the new F-22s!" I exclaimed breathlessly, running my fingers along the nose of one of the two aircraft. "These are only meant for the most experienced squadrons and pilots. Who's getting these?"

"We are," Chopper said excitedly, pointing at the Wardog emblem on the tail.

"We're waiting for the other two planes, so you won't be able to fly them yet but come time for you to take Cinigrad, I think these will be indispensable for you," Pops remarked, coming to stand beside me. "

"Who made this decision? This requires approval from High Command," Nagase pointed out, climbing up the ladder and peering inside the cockpit.

"I might've cornered Lieutenant Colonel Mitchell at the party and persuaded him that you needed better fighter jets after what you pulled off in the Razgriz Straits. Made a point that if you had faster aircraft, you'd be able to complete your missions more successfully than you already have. Made him think it was his idea, and the rest was history. These arrived this morning while you were sleeping."

"Thank you," I told him sincerely. Unable to help myself, I turned to Pops and hugged him tightly. Having such incredible aircraft at my disposal made me feel slightly better about the future. Still, I needed to call my uncle and possibly my cousin. I needed to know if they experienced what I was, and if they had, if it came true.

______________________________________

November 14, 2010...

Chopper

Blaze seemed more refreshed the next day. The reveal of the F-22s must have given her an extra boost. However, I still saw the dark circles under her eyes, well-covered by her makeup. It worried me how much stress she put herself under. I feared if she didn't get rest soon, and good rest, that the sleep deprivation would cause her to make a critical error while flying, if not a fatal one. As much as I could protect her, I was useless against her greatest enemy: herself.

"Morning, y'all," Blaze greeted, plopping into her chair beside me. "Any idea what today's mission is?"

"None whatsoever. Hopefully, something easy," I said, yawning. "Not in the mood for anything too stressful."

"Guess we're about to find out." Nagase nodded her head at the briefer who entered the room.

He lowered the lights, predictably cleared his throat, and then began speaking. "Our ground offensive is continuing its fast-paced push into Yuktobanian soil. A POW internment camp was discovered during the offensive, and a team of marines attacked and captured the camp. The marines have secured the camp's radio room, and a flight of helicopters is en route to retrieve the prisoners. Your mission is to provide close air support for this rescue and retrieval operation. The radio room could be retaken by the enemy at any moment. If it is, the enemy will report the attack, and this rescue will end in failure. Find and shoot down all enemy aircraft in the local airspace and secure air superiority across the entire area."

Operation: Backhaul

Location: Glubina

Date: 2010/11/17

Time: 1000 hours.

When the briefing was done, the four of us headed to the hangar, where Blaze chose F-14Ds for all of us. She had a funny thing about every pilot in her squadron having the same plane. It had something to do with uniformity and our impeccable teamwork making us all the more intimidating to the enemy. I realized Blaze was trying to wage a sort of psychological warfare on the Yuktobanians. There must've been some method to her madness because we were undefeated so far with only a couple of hits from bullets.

The flight to Glubina passed by uneventfully, and by the time we arrived, I was already rearing to go home. The awful weather helped nothing. Snow pelted my canopy, and visibility remained low if not progressively worsening. I always thought the Yukes were cranky, and if the winter weather was constantly like this, then maybe that explained it.

"This is Archer. Captain, can you see the POW camp?"

"No, not yet," Blaze replied. I could see her head swiveling from side to side, scanning the surrounding area. "I blame this snowstorm. It's making it damn near impossible to see more than a hundred feet.

"Well, we should be able to see it soon." Grimm paused, then added hesitantly, "You think the Captain... uh, I mean... Captain Bartlett... you think he's in there?"

I winced, wishing Grimm hadn't said anything because I knew Nagase still blamed herself for his disappearance. Grimm meant well; he would never intentionally hurt any of us, but I didn't want Nagase getting her hopes up in the event Bartlett wasn't down there. I needed to lighten the mood...

"I bet he is. He's probably busy cussin' out all the other POWs and takin' charge right now. Right, Nagase?" I joked jovially. Nagase was silent. I sighed, realizing what I said may not have been the best thing. Even though I had no doubt what her answer would be, I still asked, "You're not still blaming yourself, are you?"

"No..."

"Nagase-"

"Drop it, Chopper." Her shortness, so different from her usual demeanor, made me listen. As much as I wanted to push and prod her until she believed what happened to Bartlett wasn't her fault, I recognized now wasn't the time to do so. Perhaps, it would never be. Maybe it was something she needed to come to terms with on her own. Perhaps she needed to hear it from someone other than me.

"Fighters, I can hear the roar of your engines approaching. Uh... this is Sea Goblin," a man greeted.

"Nice to meet you, Sea Goblin. This is Blaze, captain of Wardog squadron."

The rest of us introduced ourselves, happy at the sound of their friendly voices from below. The situation might've been tense, but I could hear their optimism. They even had the ability to joke when one responded, "Nice to meet you guys. Man, and I thought if I joined the Marines, I'd get to work on tropical beaches all the time..."

I snorted. "You know when you get back, they're probably just going to put you in an even colder place than here?"

"As long as it's not the Razgriz Straits. I overheard some of the enemies talking about that."

"Yeah, that place is a bitch," I grumbled, shivering at the memory of the frigid location.

"What's your status?" Blaze asked, interrupting the conversation.

"We've safely recovered the POWs. Guess our copter's not here yet," Sea Goblin observed.

"You're gonna have to babysit 'em a little bit longer," I confirmed, scrunching my face in distaste. "I'm picking up enemy planes on my radar."

"Roger. You're that squadron from Sand Island, right?"

"Yes, sir," Blaze answered.

The man's tone perked up even more at the news. "I've heard of you guys. Can't wait to see you do your stuff."

I smirked, sure that High Command hated that even in enemy territory, our allies had heard of us and our talent. That said something. It spoke volumes. The enemy had become so vexed by us that POWs were hearing about us. The more we flew, the more leverage we had to use against High Command to keep our jobs. Without us, they wouldn't be where they were, and they knew it. Now, we were figuring it out too, and I would sure as hell use that to my advantage to protect my squadron and myself from anyone who would try to harm us or our careers.

Blaze and I targeted the enemy plane to the right while Nagase and Grimm chased after the one on the left. Neither of the Yukes appeared to realize exactly who we were because they only tried to evade once we got missile locks on them. Then, just as I was about to shoot the plane, Blaze flipped her jet above mine and loosed a missile, nailing the enemy plane before my finger could even pull the trigger.

"That was mine!" I whined.

I could hear the smile in her voice. "You snooze, you lose!"

Deciding not to let her get away with it, I waited until she trailed after a third enemy that came into view. I bided my time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. Once positive she was about to get a missile lock, I floored my plane above hers, locked on, and shot the plane down. I hollered victoriously.

"God damn it, Chopper!" Blaze's laughed as I leveled out beside her. "I guess I deserved that."

"Don't tell me we have to worry about a war between you two!" Nagase groaned.

"My bets are on Blaze," Grimm said.

"You know-" I started, following my fiancée northwest through the blizzard- "I'd take offense to that if I was pitted against anyone else, but yeah, my bets would be on her too."

"You have nothing to worry about," Blaze assured. "I have no intention of shooting you down, let alone any of my allies."

"I think High Command would beg to differ."

"Pretty sure they would beg to differ on anything I said, whether it be true or false."

"I kind of want to put that to the test."

"Let's not," Nagase said shortly. "Let's not give them more reason to hate us."

"Fine, fine," I replied, shifting in my seat and glancing at my radar. I couldn't see any enemies on it yet, but I had no doubt there were more out there. "These enemy air patrols are really cramping our style."

"Oh? And what kind of style is that?" questioned Blaze.

"Awesomeness."

"Well-spoken Chopper," Grimm complimented, sounding rather sarcastic.

Clearing my throat, I offered up my best Elvis impersonation. "Thank you, thank you very much."

"That sounded just like him, Chopper," Nagase praised, sounding genuinely impressed.

"Why thank you, thank you very much," I repeated, unable to help myself.

"Don't overdo it."

Grimm chuckled. "It's Chopper. He overdoes almost everything. Hey, this is probably a stupid question-"

"It is," I said.

"I haven't even asked it!"

"Don't care. That's what you get for insulting me just now."

"You insult me all the time."

"Yeah, well, I'm older. It's my job."

"All right, Grandpa, then I still have a question. Those two planes weren't the only ones out here, were they?"

"You can't detect them unless you get close," Nagase mentioned. "So my guess is the answer to your question is a resounding no."

I sighed dramatically. "Wonderful. I'm guessing we can't just let them wander on their own and be ignorant of our presence while we sneak everyone out?"

Grimm responded, "Yeah. We gotta find and shoot them all down, or else the helicopter won't be able to get close."

"We gotta move fast, too, 'cause the camp isn't going to be secure for long."

"That's weird. Zudak still hasn't come back from the bathroom..." A Yuke G mused. It was never good when the Yukes thought because, on occasion, they were actually right about something, and at this moment, they were.

"Hits on my radar," Blaze announced.

"Come on! Let's shoot the suckers down!" I encouraged.

"What's got you so cheery?" Nagase asked, sounding both curious and hesitant.

"I had a NOS energy drink before we took off."

"God help us... I'm never letting you have caffeine before a mission again."

"We need to hide all of them," Grimm agreed.

"We can run a- oh, what's called? A speakeasy! Except we don't have an underground room... that's a problem," Blaze mused. "I guess a speakeasy is for illegal drinks too, and we're just needing to hide them from Chopper."

"We have the bomb shelter," I suggested.

Grimm snorted. "I doubt the top brass would let us turn the bomb shelter into a speakeasy."

"We could always say that if we ever needed to use it, we would never be thirsty," Nagase offered helpfully.

"I don't think they would buy it. The pilots would, but the top brass are too uptight to let us do that, let alone even take the joke," Blaze commented casually.

"Blaze, you know they're probably listening in on us right now, right?" I said with a smirk.

"Yeah. And? They don't trust us anyways, which I don't know why seeing as how we were on the complete opposite end of the battlefield when that town was attacked! But, you know, we're still at fault, apparently, because that makes so much sense."

A shit-eating grin spread across my face, hoping the top brass could hear her. Blaze rarely let loose her feelings, so I knew they'd really pissed her off if she chose to verbally insult them where anyone and everyone could listen, aware of the repercussions she could face if they decided to reprimand her, and God, I love her for it. She stood up for us the way Bartlett did, except, unlike him, she had leverage against those who wanted to see our downfall. She had our track record and the support of the ground forces. Still, she'd probably get yelled at when we returned to base.

"Enemy aircraft on radar," Blaze announced, drifting to the right. Without a word, I followed her, and Nagase and Grimm instinctively went to the left to engage the two enemy aircraft. We disappeared into the snow clouds, using them to our advantage to cover our approach.

"This is Colbynau. Do the pilots need anything?"

"As many blankets as you can get..." an Osean replied, "and bring some food, too."

"Wen, how about treating the pilots to the stuff you brought with you?" Colbynau suggested.

I could hear the grin in Wen's voice. "Okay. They can have a taste of some good whiskey from our motherland."

The two enemy planes never had time to react to our presence. We attacked from above and took out the two MIGs in the blink of an eye. Hopefully, they couldn't alert any other nearby enemy formations about our presence...

"Check your equipment again while you can," A Sea Goblin man ordered.

"No contact from the control room," a Yuke grumbled. "They must be slackin' off again."

"It's too far from here. Get someone nearby to check it out," another Yuke answered.

"Enemy planes detected on radar," informed Nagase.

"Four of them," Blaze confirmed. "Let's pair off. Shoot them down as quickly as possible, so they can't alert anyone to our presence. I have a feeling the Yukes are already getting suspicious."

We spread out. Blaze and I flew low to the ground while Grimm and Nagase took the high road. The two of us waited until we were directly beneath our targets before pulling up, locking on, and firing. They were direct hits, and when the remaining two planes pulled up, they did so directly into the path of Nagase and Grimm, who swiftly took advantage of the situation and knocked the MIGs out.

"This is Dobie. We're monitoring the camp from the radio room. Everything's quiet so far."

"Let's hope it stays that way," Blaze said.

"With our track record, we wouldn't be that lucky," I remarked.

Nagase chided me, "No faith, Chopper, no faith."

"I'm not getting any response from the guards in the control room area," A Yuke notified.

"What's going on here? The guys we sent to check on them aren't back, either," his companion grunted.

Shit, they're onto us. I didn't want to head down that terrible rabbit hole of anxiety, so, deciding to change the subject to distract myself from it, I said, "I'm cold."

"Random much?" Grimm replied drolly.

"Randomness is my specialty."

"Never would've guessed," Nagase said.

"I had no clue," Blaze added with mock surprise.

"You know, I would usually take offense to that, but this caffeine has me on cloud nine, so I'm good," I explained.

"I worry about you, Chopper," Grimm admitted.

"I feel bad for his future wife. He's going to give her a coronary, I swear."

"Sounds like you're speaking from experience."

"I mean, considering how long I've known him, I'm not surprised."

"I can't imagine it, Blaze; I'm so sorry," Nagase consoled.

Unwilling to let the mockery continue, not to mention my own genuine worry that Blaze wasn't wholly joking about her worry over me based on the little details she'd divulged to me about her nightmares, I said, "Okay, okay, now I'm taking offense!"

"To which part, exactly?"

"I am not going to give my wife a coronary!"

"She won't be your wife if you give her the coronary before you two get married," Grimm replied matter-of-factly.

"Davenport, do you have news you want to share?" Thunderhead queried.

The comment ended the conversation as Blaze, Nagase, Grimm, and I collectively and nearly shouted, "No!"

He scoffed. "That's supposed to make it less suspicious?"

"Yes," we responded simultaneously.

Thunderhead paused, then asked, "Do you plan your responses in advance, or are you just that scarily in tune with each other?"

"How could we if we don't know what you're going to ask?" I pointed out, frowning at the stupidity of the question.

"Stop your interrogation and take out the new formation of enemy planes!" Our AWACs griped.

"I asked you one question, and you're calling it an interrogation?"

"Yeah, and? What are you going to do about it?"

To my surprise, Blaze piped up. "Chopper, I can get Hammerhead's number if you want to call him so he can give his cousin some shit about asking stupid questions."

Who the hell is Hammerhead? I thought, bewildered. Meanwhile, Thunderhead spluttered, "How the- where did you-"

"Watch enough documentaries about the Belkan War, you start making connections. He mentioned during a mission that his cousin was also an AWACs who didn't know when to stop talking. Did some research, found his name, found who he was related to, and voila! He is your second cousin on your dad's side. Y'all kind of look alike too."

"Why the fuck did you look into that in the first place?"

"Because it sounded like you he was talking about, and I got curious."

"You- you figured that out because you got curious?"

"Who needs the government to find things when you have women?" I joked, slightly disturbed but mostly impressed by my fiancée's impeccable sleuthing abilities. "Speaking of finding things, how are the POWs?"

Sea Goblin quickly responded, "The pilots look pretty worn out."

His comrade said, "Being thrown into a remote internment camp like this, I don't blame 'em."

Like the last group of enemy planes, we broke off into two groups to take care of them. Either these Yukes weren't great pilots, or we were great stealth fighters in non-stealth planes because we shot them down too easily, too quickly, with hardly any resistance. Things were going a little too well, making me wonder what would go wrong later on, but I barely had time to think about it. Blaze blasted off to the southeast, and I followed, noticing the dots on our radar representing enemy planes.

"Yanov... where's your report? Hey... are you napping again?" A Yuke demanded.

"It's cold. I think there are plenty of other things he could be doing besides a report. He's probably in bed with some chick," I predicted.

"Under the covers..." Blaze added mischievously.

"... Looking at her glow-in-the-dark watch."

"You got that from social media," Nagase chastised.

"And?"

"I was expecting something a little more original from you."

"It is original because I've never said it aloud before, and I never will again."

"Thank God for that."

"This is Sea Goblin. Does it seem like the enemy craft have noticed our infiltration?"

"Not that we can tell," Blaze answered, lifting her plane to blend in with the clouds, "but anything is possible. We'll take care of any threats that come your way, though."

"You heard our captain. Relax and just wait there at the camp," I assured.

"Roger. We've cut off the enemy's lines of communication here, but it's just unsettling not being able to tell what the situation is."

"I understand," Blaze agreed gently.

Under my breath, I muttered with amusement, "Says the girl who can read the tide of battle instantly."

Apparently, she heard because she said, "You're exaggerating."

"I'm agreeing with Chopper, Blaze," Nagase confessed, causing me to holler victoriously.

"I'm going to side with Blaze just because I don't want to have my ass whooped by her if I agree with you two," Grimm decided.

"Suck up," I taunted.

"Smart thinking, Grimm, but I'm not going to whoop your ass for agreeing with them," Blaze promised.

"Well, in that case, I agree with Nagase and Grimm," he said.

"Victory!" I declared triumphantly.

Blaze chuckled. "What am I going to do with you, Chopper?"

Although she couldn't see it, I grinned impishly. "Whatever you want, Kid."

She started to reply, but the sight of four enemy planes stopped her. Blaze ordered us to take them one-on-one. I wasn't too keen on this plan since she'd been so tired lately. It made me nervous to think her flying wouldn't be her usual chaotic unpredictableness. Blaze swiftly proved me wrong when she barrel-rolled out of the clouds, behind the enemy jet, and fired with deadly accuracy at not one but two planes. One missile hit, the other missed by a hair's breadth, but it sent the second enemy into my sights. I saw my opportunity and took it, taking the Yuke out in one blow.

"The sun's about to set," Nagase warned. "All planes, cross-check your altimeter."

I frowned in distaste. "Tell me, why are we doing this rescue mission in the middle of a freaking snowstorm at dusk?"

"High Command is probably hoping we'll crash and burn," Blaze answered.

"Yeah... we don't have plans on it," Nagase said.

"Much to their disappointment," noted Grimm.

Blaze added, "And much to our satisfaction. Hey, would- shit!"

She shot below me, going God knows how fast. Barely a second went by before the enemy plane followed suit. I hit my accelerator and took off after the plane. The enemy fired a missile at her, and I couldn't help the panic that escaped my voice when I shouted her name.

"I'm fine, Chopper," she assured, eerily calm as if she didn't realize how close she had come to being shot down and possibly killed. "I evaded the missile. The moron should've known better. I was going too fast for it to get a good lock."

"Could you not scare me- us- like that? We lost one captain. Would really prefer we don't lose another."

"Sorry, but-" Blaze paused, then said nonchalantly, "Oh look, he's back."

"They're firing. Taking evasive action!" Nagase admonished, who had gotten an enemy plane behind her as well. While Grimm helped her out, I assisted Blaze. The Yuke behind Nagase fired their guns relentlessly, but they were practically flying in a straight line, making it easy for Grimm to shoot them down. As for me, mine proved more of a challenge not because of the enemy's maneuvers but because of Blaze's. I had to give credit to the Yuke trailing her for managing to stay on her tail, but it made it hellaciously difficult for me to get a lock on them. Truth be told, I couldn't. Thankfully, Nagase came to the rescue from the side, striking swiftly and accurately.

"You know, I can't shake the feeling that we're being watched..." A Sea Goblin soldier admitted.

"Maybe it's Casper the Friendly Ghost," I suggested.

"Really?" Nagase replied, mildly exasperated.

Grimm laughed. "Chopper and his movie allusions."

"Grimm with his big words," I countered.

"You can thank my aunt for that. She was a high school Honors English teacher."

"Hey, did you see a figure behind that window over there?" A Sea Goblin member hissed. "You don't think they've found us out and surrounded us already, do you?"

"I heard some Yuke bastards talking to each other! I swear!" Another whispered.

"I hope y'all aren't hallucinating on us," I grumbled, glancing at the snow-covered ground. I could barely see it through the snow, but a ray of sunshine had managed to break through the clouds, illuminating a single part of the terrain: the camp. Surely that had to be a good sign?

"I think they're being paranoid, but given the situation down there, I can't really blame them," Blaze said sympathetically.

"Then let's get this over with before it does more harm than good. We can figure out the number of remaining enemy planes from our pre-flight data. Let's see... There are five planes left."

Grimm groaned. "Great..."

"Hurry up with the retrieval. The Yukes aren't that stupid!" Sea Goblin urged.

"Unfortunately for us. It would make our lives so much easier if they were," Blaze commented.

"Yes, ma'am, it would, but you guys seem to have a good handle on the situation."

"The Yukes are probably so smart because they're always stuck inside their houses thanks to this snow and have nothing better to do than read up on God knows what."

"I like the way you think."

"Why, thank you."

"Say, I know this probably isn't the best time, but are you single by any chance?"

Did he seriously just ask that? I could hear Nagase and Grimm smothering their laughter. Blaze herself chuckled and replied, "Far from it. I'm very much taken."

"Damn. Well, he's a lucky man."

I should've held my tongue, but since when had I ever been good at that? "Yes, he is."

"... Are you her boyfriend?"

"Ha! Like I could date my captain."

"Or your best friend's little sister," Blaze chimed in, her amusement well-masked.

"Oh, yeah, Genette would have my head if I ever went for you." I veered after Blaze, who had gotten behind an enemy plane that suddenly appeared out of the snowy abyss. She shot it down in the blink of an eye. It crashed into the ground next to the POW camp. "Glad that jet didn't crash into the camp."

"That would've been awful, but-" Grimm agreed, joining Blaze and I with Nagase- "building a POW camp in a place like this is an atrocity in itself."

"This is Sea Goblin. Combat has broken out in the camp! You've got control of the air space now, right?!"

"We can't find enemy planes unless we get close to them, so while it's looking like we have superiority, I can neither confirm nor deny a hundred percent," Blaze said, leveling out as we fell into formation behind her.

"Okay. I like a pilot who is realistic about the situation."

Shouting could be heard over the mic, followed by a man asking, "Are the POWs we hid in the machine room all right? We can't hold out here for long!"

Meanwhile, another man barked, "Barricade the door with those desks! Don't let them enter the radio room!"

"Oh, no, the enemy's spotted us! They're heading for... the radio room!"

"They found us... a little earlier than we thought, too."

"Tell the guys on watch to come back!"

"Sound the alarms across the entire facility! Enemy infiltration!" A Yuke screeched.

Shit.

The Yukes had noticed our infiltration. So not only did we have to endure a blizzard and fly in close proximity to enemy planes to find them, but now we had a ground battle? Great. That was precisely what we wanted... When is this stupid war going to end? I was near my breaking point because despite all the battles and the newscasts, no one, not even our own damn government, could tell us why we were fighting this war. As much as I loved flying fighter jets, I found myself more and more reluctant to go up, to participate in another battle, to potentially kill someone for an unknown cause. The only reason I hadn't quit was because of Blaze. She didn't need me up there, but I couldn't leave her.

Blaze swore colorfully before ordering, "All right, Nagase, Grimm, provide close air support to Sea Goblin and the POWs. Chopper, with me. We're going to take care of any remnant planes. Sea Goblin, get moving."

"Be ready for anything! Don't move alone!" Sea Goblin instructed.

"All this snow and reduced visibility is disorienting," Grimm remarked as he circled the camp with Nagase. "This is dangerous."

"Extremely," agreed Blaze, "but at least we have each other to suffer through it."

"I'd never be able to endure this alone."

"Yes, you would. Don't sell yourself short, Grimm. You're stronger than you think."

"Thank you, Captain. To show my appreciation, I'm about to lead a Yuke into your sights in three... two... one... now!"

Grimm and his enemy came into view. Blaze took no time locking on and taking the Yuke out. They probably never even saw it coming.

"Two planes left," I informed.

"I've got ice building up on my canopy," Grimm said as I watched him swerve around and go head-to-head with an enemy fighter. "My field of view is narrowing..."

Compelled to point out his flawed logic, I replied, "Then maybe you shouldn't be playing chicken with a Yuke fighter. Or am I missing something here?"

"No, Grimm just has guts," Nagase commented.

"Thanks!" Grimm exclaimed.

Blaze swooped down in front of him before either he or the enemy could fire, sending both of them scattering. "Sorry, Grimm, I didn't like you doing that with ice limiting your field of vision. Nagase, it's headed your way. Grimm, help her."

"On it!" Nagase replied, jerking her plane downward after the enemy. She fired her guns, and while a couple of bullets hit, it failed to do enough damage to neutralize the threat. Grimm chased after her, hovering slightly above Nagase and firing his own missile. Much to his surprise and my own, it hit.

"Did everyone just see that?" Grimm asked in shock. "Because I will not be doing that again!"

"Nope, completely missed it," I lied, which Grimm immediately picked up on. When he called me out on it, I said, "I can't have your head getting as big as your waist."

"Are you calling me fat?!"

"No, I'm just saying your head would look disproportionate if it was the same size as your waist. Hey, on the bright side, we only have one plane left."

"Leave them to me. Go protect the POW camp," instructed Blaze.

"There's no way in hell I'm leaving you alone out here," I argued, a shiver running down my spine at the mere idea.

"Chopper-"

"Don't 'Chopper' me. I'm supposed to watch out for you."

"Yes, but you're also supposed to listen to your captain when she gives you an order."

"Since when does being your wingman not involve pointing out when something you want to do is dangerous?"

"It's not dangerous. I'm fully capable of doing this myself. Those POWs are our top priority-"

"I'm not losing another captain, let alone my fi-"

"Fine! Fine. You can stick with me. Nagase, Grimm, patrol the POW camp."

Sighing with relief, I followed Blaze in her pursuit of the final enemy plane. I kept quiet, sensing her dislike that I won our disagreement. She'd confront me about how I defied her orders in front of everyone later, and she'd probably blame it on my emotions. Blaze would be partially correct. I also held fast to the belief that captain or not, she shouldn't be without a wingman. She should always have someone on her wing, even if wasn't me. We couldn't lose her. Blaze held us together, kept us in line, kept us alive. I only hoped those nightmares of hers weren't causing her to push us away in the air, particularly me. They were just dreams. They had to be...

"Form an attack team! We've got to take back the control room!" A Yuke bellowed. "There's only a few of 'em! Let's go sweep 'em up!"

"I don't think they'll find a broom big enough for that," Grimm joked airily.

"You could maybe make them slip by using a Swiffer Wet Jet, but I don't think a broom would be of much use unless you conked them on the head, and even then, a broom is pretty soft," I suggested.

"Hang on, do they even have Swiffer Wet Jets on bases?"

"No, don't think so. I think they have mops. Wonder if they're the Yuke janitors who put the mop heads on their heads and acted like girls."

"It wouldn't surprise me. They need something to entertain themselves out here. I bet-"

"Last enemy plane shot down," Blaze interrupted stoically. I'd been so invested in focusing on keeping up with her and not pissing her off more than I already had that I hadn't even seen her shoot down the enemy. Had it been with her guns? A missile? A special weapon?

Mission Update

"All right, I've mopped up the enemies in the area. You can call in the taxi now," I told Sea Goblin.

"Roger. We're all set. Bring the helicopter in to our position," the man said.

Blaze sighed. "You said that strictly for the mop pun, didn't you?"

"I saw the opportunity, and I took it."

"You know I'm rolling my eyes right now?"

"Yes, but I'm willing to bet you also smiled?"

"I'll plead the fifth." Although casual in her response, I could hear her amusement. She might've been mad at me, but she still wasn't immune to my (bad) jokes. The realization made me slightly less apprehensive about the impending talk when we returned to base as we diverted ourselves southeast to rejoin Nagase and Grimm.

"Whew! Uhh, this is Sea Goblin. Our ride is here. The ground's still crawling with weapons installations, though, so they can't land. Could you clear them out for us?"

"Of course," Blaze assured. "Nagase, Grimm, start taking them out. Chopper and I will be there shortly."

"I've got a special delivery of bullets here. Where do you want me to drop 'em off?" a guy from the gunship asked, his voice dripping with victory already. I rolled my eyes, thinking: here's an idea - drop them off where our people with guns are. Did I say this? Absolutely not. They couldn't handle my sarcasm. A few moments later, the guy came back on. "... Got it! Don't you go anywhere!"

Pretty sure if those people do go somewhere else, they'll either be captured again or shot. I think they're going to stay where they are.

"You see anything in the air?" A Sea Goblin guy asked excitedly.

"Yeah! Allied planes and helicopters are flying above us!" another guy exclaimed.

"Wardog, split up and engage weapons installations. The faster we destroy them, the sooner the helicopter can get those POWs out of there, and the sooner we can get home," Blaze said.

"I see the POW camp. The man I must..." Nagase stopped short, then backtracked. "The people we must help are in there."

I knew she hoped none of us had caught her initial statement, but I had, and I wasn't going to let her think something terrible had happened to him, especially considering she still blamed herself for his disappearance, so I commented, "I bet Bartlett's there, Nagase. Like I said earlier, he's probably busy cussin' out all the other POWs."

Naturally, she changed the subject. "We have to suppress the anti-aircraft fire first. That's the only way we'll be able to help the POWs now."

I went along with it. "Everything going all right down below?"

"It will if we destroy all these weapons installations," Blaze responded.

"I think we're almost there. Don't give up," Grimm encouraged.

In the distance, I could barely see the POW camp. The camp itself was big, but thanks to its light gray color, it became well-concealed with the snow that continued to throw itself down.

Grimm, Nagase, and I had lined up behind Blaze. She shot everything in her path, and we finished off whatever wasn't destroyed by her. It became a quick and efficient system. The Yukes started to talk over our radio again, saying, "Don't let them retrieve the POWs! You have permission to fire!" and "We have terrain advantage. Cut off their escape route!"

While the Yukes sounded like they were in full-blown panic, Sea Goblin sounded like they were enjoying the chaos. One guy shouted, "Break the window! We'll get out that way!"

Another one commented, "Man, this is a full-scale jailbreak!" with his compatriot agreeing, "You said it! Let's blow this joint!"

At the word 'jailbreak,' my brain immediately went to 'Jailhouse Rock.' For better or for worse, the song stuck itself in my head. Choosing idiocy over normalcy, I pretended to seriously ask, "Is Elvis in there?"

"Elvis?" Sea Goblin repeated. I swear I heard Nagase mumble "Jesus Christ," but I couldn't be sure.

"Yeah, Elvis. You know, greased-up black hair, tacky white suit, girl heartthrob? Ever heard of Jailhouse Rock?"

"Yeah."

"Is the jailbreak anything like that song?"

"What?" the guy sounded stupefied.

"Just tell me."

"Uh, no, it's not."

"Damn. That's a shame." The image of all the POWs making a band, singing, and completely pissing off those Yuke bastards continued to play in my head, and while I fully realized even before I asked the question that the answer would be a resounding 'no,' I still held out hope, because it would've been awesome, you had to admit.

In a few short minutes, all the weapons installations were demolished in a couple of minutes, mainly because of Blaze. Nagase, Grimm, and I just destroyed the few she couldn't hit. Seeing her fly at such high speeds in a blizzard and still maintain her deadly accuracy made me appreciate all the more that she fought on my side. I'd hate to be her enemy...

We returned to the POW camp and cruised at a high enough altitude to where we wouldn't crash into the snow-covered hills. The dark green evergreens dotting the landscape provided an ominous and downright spooky atmosphere, causing me to decide this was the second to last place I wanted to crash, with only the Razgriz Straits beating it.

"Those POWs will be free in a few minutes," Grimm updated cheerfully.

I chuckled. "Wait 'til they're back in their old jobs being overworked like us. I bet they'll wanna get back into this camp."

"The enemy's a well-trained squad of soldiers. Don't let your guard down!" A Yuke warned before adding, "Damn! This isn't a typical breakout!"

More weapons installations appeared on my radar, and I turned my plane around to find Grimm and Nagase already there. Blaze, on the other hand, was nowhere in sight. I couldn't even see her on the radar. I would've known if she'd crashed, but still, the thought sent panic flooding my veins. I swallowed it down to sound semi-normal when I inquired, "Blaze, where are you?"

"Below you." I flipped my plane over, and sure enough, Blaze cruised beneath me. She waved, so I naturally waved back. "You good now?"

"Yeah, I'm good." Flipping myself upright, I watched from the air as the helicopter flew towards camp. We were so close to finishing this mission. We simply needed Sea Goblin to do their job a little quicker. Quietly, I encouraged, "Get those POWs out of there, fast!"

Glancing at the ever-darkening sky, I added, "Let's get this over with before nightfall."

"Yeah, visibility is bad enough as it is. It'll be impossible to see at night. I'm so ready for a cup of hot tea when I get back to base," Blaze claimed.

"I'm with you on that one," Nagase agreed. "No more enemies better pop up..."

"We're screwed if they blow up our helicopter," I said.

"The emergency stairs! Dammit, they pulled one over on us!" A Yuke screeched angrily.

I cheered. "Who's smart now, suckers?!"

A Yuke interrupted, "What are the platoons outside doing?!"

Sea Goblin merrily came over the radio. "Okay, thanks for taking out the trash. We're taking the POWs outside. Can you see their smiling faces?"

I wished I could, but two things stopped me. The first was the snow that I couldn't see jackshit through. The second was I didn't want to deafen the POWs with the roar of my engine!

Blaze came over and drifted along my left side. I knew she would want to see the faces of the POWs, but she was sensible and probably thought the same thing I did, that she didn't want to make them go deaf from the roar of the engines. Grimm was flying in circles around the camp (Wasn't he getting dizzy from that?). Nagase came up behind us and seemed a little indecisive about where she wanted to go.

"Puck here. We're coming to pick you up, so be ready!"

"We'll be landing at the designated site. Hurry up and get over here!" The pilot of the Sea Goblin helicopter snapped.

"The POWs are heading for the helicopter," Nagase informed.

"Good, they're safe. Thank God," Blaze sighed in relief.

"We're almost done with the rescue operations."

"It's almost over," I reiterated.

"Those people..." Nagase said wistfully. "I wish I could see their faces from up here."

She slowed down her plane and veered away toward the camp. I chuckled. "Nagase's actually going down to look."

Blaze admonished, "Be careful, Nagase. I'm getting a bad feeling right now..."

"I will. Besides, there's no one around," she responded. Blaze made no further comment, but this weather must've been getting to her to put her on such an edge. It did give off spooky vibes if I do say so myself.

"All right, everyone's in the helicopter. Checking to make sure we got all of 'em," Sea Goblin said.

"Sea Goblin, is Captain Bartlett there? Check for a Captain Bartlett," Nagase ordered.

"I hope he's in there!" Blaze breathed wishfully.

"Hmm, no... nobody named Bartlett here. Hey, what about you?" The guy responded. Naturally, we didn't hear the response, so we had no idea. Could Bartlett possibly be there? I'm not sure who would be captain then because I'm pretty sure Nagase would want Bartlett, and I would want Blaze (and not just because she's my fiancée). I'm not sure who Grimm would pick, but I think it'd be Blaze since he'd never really interacted much with Bartlett before. Bartlett would undoubtedly want control again. I'm not sure what Blaze would want. I knew she liked leading, for she had never really been a follower; at the same time, I don't think she liked the stress that came with the position of captain. Blaze was almost too focused on getting us, the crew, back alive.

"Nope, not here. None of the other POWs ever heard of him, either," Sea Goblin finally notified. I knew that was not going to warrant a good reaction from Nagase.

"But that can't... look, just check for me one more time!" Nagase pleaded.

"Nagase, don't you think that if Bartlett was there, he would be swiping the mic away from Sea Goblin and talking to us himself?" Blaze consoled gently.

"He has to be there, though!"

"He's alive, I'm sure of it, but I don't think he's here."

Blaze's utter dismay and Nagase's near-tears could easily be heard in their voices, but I had no time to focus on that because, in the blink of an eye, a missile shot from a pillbox. It locked on to Nagase, and she turned to evade. Blaze shot off toward her wingwoman. I knew she would try to pull a Bartlett and get the missile to lock onto her instead. The mere thought made me sick to my stomach. I followed Blaze, but I knew her chase was futile. Nagase was going too fast for us to catch up to her.

"Ah, dammit, Nagase!" I yelled in frustration. As aware as I was that I couldn't reach her in time, I still tried. I had to. For my own sanity. The only silver lining to the situation was that one of the helicopters destroyed the pillbox, preventing it from shooting at anyone else.

Nagase shot up into the sky, completely vertical, the missile still on her tail. She leveled out when she was about ten thousand feet high.

"Nagase, don't stop! Keep evading!" Blaze begged.

"After all the Captain said to me, I..." Nagase trailed off.

The missile struck her right wing.

My body went into shock. Only Blaze shouting Nagase's name reached through the ringing in my ears. I zeroed in on the plane, praying to see my best friend eject. God or Razgriz must've been looking out for her because I saw her parachute a mere second later.

A small amount of relief, just enough to allow me to speak, washed through me. I demanded, "You all right?!"

Nagase's reply was almost immediate. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?!" Blaze asked frantically.

"Yeah, my plane's trashed, but those are always replaceable."

"Sea Goblin to gunship. We're taking our guests home now. Can you guys rescue her?"

"Roger. Weather conditions are getting worse. We'd better step on it," the gunship answered. Blaze rushed over to where Nagase's location, Grimm and I on her tail. We'd stay there until she was safely in the gunship. "Landing point confirmed, roger. Heading in to pick her up."

I watched the gunship fight the fierce elements, carefully lowering itself toward the ground. A large gust of wind jerked my plane to the side, momentarily causing me to lose sight of Nagase. When I regained control and looked back at the target area, I saw only a plume of nasty black smoke.

"The gunship crashed!" Grimm exclaimed, his words causing my terror to return.

"Dammit! The storm's too strong!" Sea Goblin grouched.

"We can't just leave her behind!" I argued.

Blaze offered, sounding rather hopeful, "I'll bail out; I'll stay with her."

"Don't even think about it," I growled.

"I can't just leave her down there by herself!"

"Look, I hate it too, but we have to wait for conditions to get better before we can do anything," Grimm interjected sympathetically. He seemed to be the only calm one among us, but I guess we needed that.

"Dammit, is there nothing we can do?!" I barked.

"There has to be something! I'll fly here all night if I have to," Blaze declared. Her plane would definitely run out of fuel but knowing her, she'd find some way to keep the jet in the air for ages.

"Just hang on, we can't do anything right now!" Grimm said.

"Dammit!" I slammed my fist onto my thigh, not even caring about the pain it sent shooting up my leg.

"You said it," Sea Goblin agreed.

How could we leave Nagase behind in the middle of a massive snowstorm with zero-degree temperatures and two soldiers from the gunship who were most likely injured? Now, she had to look out for herself and them deep in enemy territory. There had to be another option...

But there wasn't. Base commanded we return despite our protests. Blaze stayed silent the entire way back. Her goal during every mission wasn't to win the mission but to make sure we all got back to base alive. Yes, of course, she wanted to come out victorious with each battle, but she cared more about us. She always had.

______________________________________

We returned to base in solemn silence. We disembarked from our plane and shuffled inside for the debriefing, not that we cared about it. All we wanted was to go back up to save Nagase. Thankfully, and somewhat surprisingly, the briefer went quickly. "The POW rescue operation was a success, and both the marines and our friends held in the camp were safely recovered. As for Captain Kei Nagase, who was attacked and bailed out during the operation, Colonel Perrault will issue orders on her behalf. Central Command will be replacing Captain Nagase's plane, which was lost in the crash."

"None of the rescued POWs saw Bartlett in the internment camp. Now, where could he be, I wonder?" The Base Commander commented in his irritating, nasally voice. Who cared about Bartlett right now? He'd been missing for weeks! Barely refraining from rolling my eyes, I listened as he continued, " Upon more favorable weather conditions, we will carry out a rescue operation for Captain Nagase. That's right, you've all been promoted yet again. You guys are burning through the ranks, you know that? You can thank High Command for it."

The three of us- God, that sounded weird- got up and left the briefing room. As we reached our rooms, Genette exited his with Cassie, their expressions forlorn. They knew. Genette's eyes skimmed our trio, and the realization hit him. "Tell me Nagase's with you."

I opened my mouth to explain, but Blaze beat me to it, shaking her head and saying quietly, "I'm sorry, Genette. I couldn't save her, but I will bring her home to y-" she stopped short and then corrected herself- "As soon as I possibly can, I will bring her back if it's the last thing I do."

Did she almost say 'bring her back to you'? To Genette? What was going on between him and Nagase? Were they secretly dating?

"I know you will," he replied stoically. I noticed a tic in his jaw. "Are you all okay otherwise?"

"Yeah, we're okay, but we'll be better once the Base Commander sends us on the rescue operation. It's in the works, but they're not telling us how or when it will happen," I said, wrapping my arm around Blaze's shoulders.

My fiancée slipped out of my grasp. "I'm, uh, I'm going to take a shower. Come get me if you need anything."

I watched Blaze enter her room, aching to go after her but recognizing she desired space. I gave it to her for now, using the time to take a shower myself and let the hot water soothe my tensed muscles. However, after throwing on a T-shirt and gray sweats, I decided to check on her. After knocking gently on her door to announce my presence, I slipped inside. Blaze sat on the couch, curled up at the end, elbow braced on the arm and her head resting on her hand as she stared out the window at the pouring rain.

"How are you holding up?" I asked, sitting beside her and resting my hand on her thigh. When she faced me, I saw the tear streaks on her cheeks and her bloodshot eyes. She'd been crying.

"It should've been me," Blaze whispered.

"What are you talking about?"

"That should've been me," Blaze repeated, wiping a stray tear away. "Nagase shouldn't have been the one that bailed out. I should've protected her better. I should've reached her in time and gotten the missile to lock onto me."

"You had no way of knowing that pillbox was there or armed. It never showed up on our radar. And Nagase was too far away for you to reach her in time to help."

Blaze shook her head. "My goal for each mission is to get y'all back home safely. I don't give a damn if I get shot down; I do give a damn if you do. It's getting the crew back alive that counts."

"I would care!" I snapped as my nightmares of seeing Blaze get shot down rose in my mind with a vengeance, bringing the near-paralyzing fear along with it. "And if you asked Grimm or Nagase, they'd say the same thing. You're our captain; it's our job to protect you."

"Yes, you're supposed to protect me, but you're also supposed to listen to me when I give you an order. You disobeyed me earlier and nearly announced to everyone and God that we were engaged. You realize they could remove you from my squadron because it'd be seen as a conflict of interest?"

Although I figured we'd hit this topic sooner or later, I didn't expect it to pop up now, let alone to hear the genuine anger. I shouldn't have responded in the same manner, but with my nerves frayed from today and my own fears acting up, I couldn't stop myself. "I wouldn't have disobeyed if you followed the first cardinal rule of fighter pilot training: don't leave your wingmen! You're not the only one having nightmares of others crashing, but you don't see me pushing you away because of it! It's because they're just that- nightmares. I know they can be terrifying, I do, but you can't let them affect how you treat us in the air."

Blaze's face hardened. "You can believe all you want that they're just nightmares, but I can't afford to be in that mindset, especially not when it comes to your safety. I've had nightmares before, I had them after Kristen crashed, and those don't even compare to these," she snapped, standing up in a huff. "I'm going for a walk. I'll see you later."

Before I could utter anything else, Blaze departed swiftly. I sank into the couch cushions, staring up at the ceiling, trying to figure out how to not only convince Blaze that Nagase's crash wasn't her fault but also how to dig myself out of the hole caused by our argument. I couldn't tell Blaze that her nightmares scared me, too, because the truth was, seeing her react the way she did to them was more than enough to convince me that they were more than they seemed. Still, if I told her such a thing, I risked having her push me away even further, and I couldn't afford to have that happen. The only thing worse than worrying about her with me was worrying about her not being with me. It was a terrible conundrum with no good solution.

If Nagase were here, she could calm Blaze down or at least tell me what to do to get through to her. Nagase always had a soothing effect on everyone, probably because she remained so calm most of the time herself. Hell, even when she got shot down, she sounded calm as could be.

I wondered how she was doing, if she'd managed to find shelter, if the two soldiers with her were okay, if they'd all been captured, or worse, killed...

I sighed heavily at the downward spiral my mind headed toward with this train of thought, and as exhausted as I was, I couldn't fall asleep, the concern about Nagase and Blaze eating away at me.

______________________________________

Genette

Ever since I'd learned the dreaded news about Nagase, my thoughts could think of nothing and no one else. The feeling of helplessness and the absolute certainty that nothing I could physically do would help her out of the situation overwhelmed me with anxiety. I think the only person it was worse for than me was Blaze. I'd never see her so close to crying while on the job...

I strolled to the couch, needing to get out of my room because looking at my coffee table with pictures strewn about- the exact way Nagase and I had left them the last time we'd worked on my insane idea of a book- only worsened my anxiety over the situation. I had to get out of there, away from anything that reminded me of her, since I needed no help in doing so. But, of course, the universe had other plans because my feet led to another reminder...

She'd left her book in the crew room. I gingerly picked it up and checked the title: A Blue Dove for the Princess. That was the title of the book she'd left behind. A favorite book from her childhood. The pages have torn off over the years, and she had been writing down the words that were on those pages, trying to remember every sentence and every verse. I flipped through it, noticing her painstakingly perfect handwriting that could almost be mistaken for a typewriter's font that proved with ease how much the book meant to her, no matter how much time had passed or how old she got. It reminded me of one of the few times she'd willingly talked about it. Nagase had said, "I loved this book so much, but I only have faint memories of what was inside. I feel like I've grown so far away from everything since then."

I remember how she looked when she told me that. I remember how she reminded me of a little kid clutching their favorite belonging, afraid to share it with the world for fear of being mocked or made fun of. Nagase had trusted me enough to show me that side of her, a side I had no doubt only a rare few had seen before, and I felt honored. I'd intended to show her my childhood belonging that I still held onto after all these years, no matter how old I got. It was the one thing I could never bring myself to get rid of. Only Blaze and my parents knew about it. Not even Chopper was aware of it. I

I gently shut the book and sat down, recalling our past conversations. Nagase spoke more like a pacifist than a soldier, and she'd done so even more since she partook in the first invasion into Yuktbania. It'd struck a chord with her, but not in the way it would most soldiers. I couldn't help wondering: did she choose to crash on purpose rather than having to take part in the invasion of another country?

"Can't sleep either?" Blaze asked softly. I snapped my head up and found my sister ambling over to me, her eyes bloodshot and face wan. She sat next to me, glancing at the book. "Where'd you get that?"

"She left it in here. I just found it. How are you holding up?" I replied, affectionately bumping my shoulder into hers.

"I've had better days... I can't stop thinking about what I could've done differently to save her, if it was even possible..." Blaze hung her head and wrung her hands. "I'm sorry, Genette."

"For what?"

"For not bringing her home today." I tensed at her words, hesitant about where this conversation was headed. Blaze must've picked up on that because she swiftly continued, "I'm blonde, but I'm not blind. I see how you look at her. How she looks at you. I know what you mean to each other, even if y'all haven't voiced it aloud."

My sister and I fell silent, her waiting for my response and myself trying to figure out one. "I-I tried not to. It's one thing with you and Chopper. You've known each other for years and have basically loved each other since then. Nagase and I only really connected when I came here. Sure, we'd met a few times when she came over, but I never actually got to know her, and the more I did, the more I fell for her, and by the time I realized how much I did like her, it was too late for me to reverse it all. I didn't want to fall for her. She's your best friend, and I didn't want to cause any problems for you two if anything happened between me and her," I admitted, rubbing my face with my hands. "If you dealt with this shitty feeling the entire time you were in love with Chopper before you two got together, then you're a hell of a lot stronger than I am."

Blaze shrugged. "You learn to live with it. It's not easy, but you do. I'm one of the lucky ones where it worked out for me. I think it would for you if you asked Nagase out."

"You'd be okay with it if I did?"

"I'd be a hypocrite if I wasn't."

"Just a little. I'll, uh, I'll think about it. On a different note-" I shifted my body to face my sister- "outside of Nagase, are you doing okay? Between Bartlett going MIA, your new position, the war, the false accusation, the investigation... you don't seem like yourself. I can't place my finger on it, but something's wrong."

"The stress is getting to me, not going to lie about that. I want to talk to Uncle Jason or Bryn, but the questions I want to ask, I can't over the phone. I don't trust my cell not to be tapped right now with the investigation still ongoing, and I can't compromise Uncle Jason's identity."

"What do you want to talk to them about?"

"How they coped with the stress. I figure I'll get more out of talking to Uncle Jason since he and I are so similar, but I'll take anything I can get at this point because all my methods are failing me. Even Chopper is at a loss on how to help me, and he usually can."

"If there's anything I can do to help, let me know, okay? I might be your big brother, and it might be my job to give you shit and raise your blood pressure, but I'm also meant to protect you."

Blaze pursed her lips, her hazel eyes dark. "I don't think it's your protection I'm going to need in the future."

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"Maybe it's because we're still kind of early into this war, but I can't get rid of this feeling that things are about to get much worse before they get better, and more specifically, for Wardog. The interrogation rattled me, Genette, mainly because some of those men acted more like they cared about arresting us than finding out the truth, despite the physical evidence that we were clearly in a different sector. I don't know if it's the stress making me paranoid or what, but I can't shake the feeling we're being targeted."

"Well, then, luckily for you, your brother is a fantastic journalist with a wide web of connections. Let me dig into this."

"No, you'd be putting yourself at risk-"

"I'm already at risk because of how close I am to you and the others. I feel useless compared to what y'all are doing up there, so let me do what I'm good at. Let me investigate. And if you don't want me doing this alone, I'll have someone help me."

"Who? Regardless of people's feelings towards our innocence, they wouldn't want to risk their career by digging into something that could cause problems."

"What about Pops? He was close to Bartlett, he's helped you and the squadron numerous times, and he doesn't like Perrault or even Hamilton."

"That... that might work."

"Then it's settled. I'll work with Pops to investigate the people you're concerned about that interrogated you. I'll even look into that squadron they're saying doesn't exist. What was the number?"

Blaze wracked her brain for a moment but came up with nothing. "I bet Pops could handle that side. He has connections, too, I'm sure."

"Consider it done." I offered her my hand, and she shook it. "Come on, let's go get some sleep if we can. You need to be rested for Nagase's rescue."

We stood and strolled toward our rooms, deep in thought and worry. Before Blaze entered her room, I said, "Hey, I know it's easier said than done, but don't blame yourself for what happened to Nagase. She doesn't blame you, nor do the rest of us."

Blaze offered a small but grateful smile, then entered her room. I stepped foot into mine and sighed. I was exhausted, but sleep wouldn't come, whether I tried or not. I was too on edge from the events of today. So, I sat on my couch and grabbed my laptop, settling in for what would be a long, long night.