Chance Williams's Story

"Angel 3 roger." Chance said calmly.

He was silent for most of the flight until he decided to turn on his comms to break the silence.

"If it was true, then don't worry, ill protect both of you..." Chance said with a brief silence after.

"I won't let this team get shot down and die, I've made that mistake once before, not again..." Chance said with a cold passion.

He then gripped onto his pendant and remembered the memories of the scorched tactic in his village then his comrades on the squadron before. I'll have myself shot down before i see you two dead . He thought to himself. He wasn't going to repeat the same mistake. He then decided that it's better to brighten up the mood.

"So, about that drink?..." Chance said.

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The flight back was quiet, save for the occasional bit of banter between Lucky and command asking questions about the flight.

When they were nearly home, Chance mentioned that he would protect both Lucky and Kasumi.

"... I hate to be cynical, Chance, but if what the Royal Dragon Squadron said was true then there's nothing you can do to protect us if the Crimson Valko comes back for us," Kasumi said quietly.

"Now, now Angel. No need for that," Lucky responded.

"I know but... I've read about him and the things he's accomplished as a pilot. Right now, I don't think even the Royal Dragons are truly ready to take him on and they are the best we have here in Yllior. They're the aces of aces. The ones with near perfect records. The ones with more kills between them than any other Squadron in our history... And yet nothing that any of them have done as individuals compares to what he's done."

"Perhaps, but remember that the Crimson Valko is still a human being. He's not some omnipotent demon controlling a supernaturally gifted aircraft. I got a good look at his plane and he was only flying a F-14D. I know that's not his usual plane, but that was all he was flying at the time. The Royal Dragons are in F-22's, and they could have torn him apart if he'd chosen to stick around near the satellite."

"But-"

"No butts little lady. You keep arguing with me and you're going to have to take me out on a date and like it."

"... Understood," she responded quietly.

"I'll take you up on that drink Chance. But as I'm the Captain, I'm buying. No arguments. You can pay next time we come back safe from a mission. Deal?" He asked.

"Deal, but im buying for Kasumi's drink." Chance said as he gave out a laugh.

"Luckily though I managed to get my car transported over to here, so i'll be taking you in my Convertible Benz." He said feeling a bit excited for the trip.

"And Kasumi, even if i can't do much i will give it a shot even if it risks my own ass getting blown up in the sky." He said as he switched the comms directly to her.

"I've lost my whole team back then, i won't lose you guys and be the last one out there..." He said sadly.

He switched back to all comms.

"So where are we going guys? I'm completely new up here being that I am from the South." He said as lighthearted as possible.

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Kasumi chuckled, but said nothing.

"The best place around for a drink near the base is back in Liora City. It's about ten miles southwest of the base down highway 7. It'll take us about ten minutes to get there if the traffic is light, which is usually is."

The three of them came in and landed their planes, getting out and making their way to the briefing room where the Base Commander debriefed them on what they found and about what their next assignment would be. For now, they were free to do what they wanted, but they would be on call come tomorrow morning.

Kasumi left the boys to do their drinking and opted instead to stay at the base. She went through the gym doing her usual training routines and retreating to her quarters. She flopped down on the bed.

"It just had to start today... didn't it?" She asked.

Kasumi's hand found its way to her side before she fell asleep.

Chance picked up Doug and went drinking with him like no other to where they were driving dangerously back to base, and upon going back both of them were terribly tipsy.

Chance helped Doug get back to his quarters then he stumbled himself into a quarters that he wasn't even sure was his. He stepped in and immediately fell to the ground completely wasted.

"uh...." Was the only thing he could murmur in his drunk state.

He had a great night, and was not thinking about what might come about this morning if it turns out it wasn't his quarters.

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Kasumi crashed in her room after her aches and pains set in. It was that time of the month. That oh so delightful time of the month... Such a pain in the ass. But there was nothing she could do about that now. It was her body, nothing more.

Meanwhile, Lucky and Chance got drunk and had a ball. Lucky staggered back to his room and fell asleep the instant his head hit the pillow. The next morning, Lucky had a hangover. Thankfully, he was able to clear his head well enough to head to the briefing room when the Base Commander ordered him and the others in to brief them on their next assignment. They were being deployed alongside several other squadrons. The battlefield was forty miles out to sea alongside the Navy, and the mission was to join up with the other squadrons and support the effort to hold the line.

Edylla was pushing the line forward, trying to blitz Yllior and take over the coastline. If they weren't stopped here, and if their momentum was allowed to build up any farther, then it would mean a quick end to the war in Edylla's favor. That must not happen. They have to hold the line. The orders were to get in there, take out as many fighters and attackers as possible to protect the carriers and battleships while not getting shot down.

No lies, it was going to be the most difficult battle they'd seen yet. In fact, control was reluctant to send them out to fight at all because they were all rookies save for Lucky who was a Captain in the air force. Sending in rookie pilots to a battle this large was not ideal, but they had to scramble all available aircraft. So, they were forced to get back into their planes, no repairs from last time, and do their absolute best to stay alive.

In Kasumi's case, this was a worst case scenario. Her plane lost two plates of its body which were hastily replaced during the night but obviously not up to code. How long they'd last was anyone's guess. But it was the only plane she had.

Lucky and company got into their planes and taxied to the runway and took off, flying in formation out to sea to join the battle which was already going on when they got there.

"Alright you two. Stay close to me and we'll attack specified targets provided by AWACs as a group. No lone wolf crap today. We need to make it back alive and as a team, and that's what we're going to do. Now let's do this."

"Angel 2, roger."

"Angel 3 roger..." He said flying in formation with Lucky.

An actual battle uh. He thought to himself. This going to be good or catastrophic. It suddenly gave him a burst of rage as he remembered his old home.

"Let's show these Edylla Bastard's what us Ylliorian Pilots can do, even if we are rookies." Chance said trying to encourage everyone on the radio comm.

"I refuse to be shot down by those Edyllan Pilots today, and if i do im taking 3 of em down with me..." Chance said obviously making people sense the deep anger among him.

Today it's not a scouting mission or anything, but rather a fight to the death match. There is no retreat because if they do then all is lost. It's win or die trying, and he prefers to win.

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"Alright then, here we go," Lucky said over the comms.

Eight fighter squadrons were in the skies today to help with the battle. Most of them were seven fighters strong, save for two: Royal Dragons and War Angel. The Royal Dragons had only five members, but since they were in F-22's it didn't seem to matter much. War Angel had only three, the lowest of any. Edylla had close to ten bomber squadrons and five fighter squadrons. Couple that with four multirole squadrons and ten battleships, and it was not looking good at all for Yllior.

"AWACs, this is Angel 1. Passing over Aircraft Carrier Egret, awaiting targets. Over."

"Angel 1, this is AWACs Stormcloud. Roger. Two bomber squadrons half a mile east of your position heading directly for the carrier. Stop them before they reach it and keep her afloat."

"Roger! Angel 2, break east and help take out those bombers. We have to keep our carriers alive! Angel 3, stay with me until further orders from AWACs."

"Angel 2, roger!"

Kasumi broke from formation and took to the east to intercept the bombers. She was joined by two other fighters, one from Lonely Puma squadron and one from Golden Fist squadron. The three of them raced out to meet the bombers, and found they were facing off against one C-130 and six B-52 Stratofortresses.

Oh... This won't end well, she thought to herself.



Meanwhile, Lucky and Chance waited for new orders.

"... Angel 1, this is Stormcloud. I've got an enemy battleship moving in from the north towards our battleship Horus. Horus is damaged and unable to defend itself at the moment. Join up with Stratos squadron and provide cover for Horus until it finishes repairs. They reported they should be ready to resume operations in five minutes."

"Roger. Chance, break formation and get over there. I'll join you once I've confirmed something with command."



"Angel 2 this is Lonely Puma 4. Let's cut behind them and aim for the engines. If we can take out the engines those monsters will come crashing down."

"Roger, let's do it. Golden Fist, you good with that?"

"Roger. I'll circle around the left and you two take right."

"Roger that Golden Fist. This is Angel 2, circling around."

The three of them broke formation and circled around the back of the monster planes to line up shots on the engines. The C-130 began using its on board weaponry to try and blast them out of the sky, so they were forced to take evasive maneuvers. At that point, Kasumi thought that their effort would be in vain until one of the Royal Dragons came from the front and blasted the cockpit of the C-130 with two of its XLAA missiles. The monster plane went down immediately, and Kasumi and the others were clear to continue.

"Take it to em Angel 2!" Called Royal Dragon 2.

"Roger!"

Kasumi and the others lined themselves up and began firing on the B-52's engines. One by one they decided to take out all engines on the left side, forcing them down to the left since the right side engines had no contrasting force to keep the plane stable. The first B-52 went down, and they got to work on the others which started veering away to try and avoid them and get closer to their escort fighters.

"Split up and stop them! We can't afford to let them reach their escort fighters!" Lonely Puma called.

"Roger!"

Kasumi broke off and took the plane on the far right, closest to the escorts. She lined up her shots and fired off a missile into the first engine, blowing it up and then lined up her second shot. She decided to conserve ammo, so she used her gun this time to tear the other engine to shreds. The plane began to list off to the side and Kasumi ripped into its final engine on the left side, taking it out and forcing the plan to begin descending to the water.

"First monster is down. How are the others?" She called.

"Lucky Puma 4, I just got another one."

"Golden Fist 3 here, I got another one too. Only two to go."

"Everyone, leave the last two to me. Rejoin your respective squadrons," Royal Dragon 2 ordered.

"Roger. This is Angel 2, breaking off. Good luck everyone."

"You two Angel," they called in unison.



Lucky finished his conversation with command and shook his head.

Something wasn't right about this.

"Angel 1, this is Angel 2. I'm back from helping with the bombers."

"Good to see you back. We need to get over to help Chance. Enemy fighters are heading over there and they need backup."

"Roger!"

The two of them raced over to help Chance. It seemed the enemy battleship was down, but the enemy fighters had already taken down two of Stratos Squadron and were ganging up on the last three.

"Angel, let's do this."

"Roger that. Breaking formation to engage," she responded.

The two of them broke into the fight, hoping that Chance would be able to hold his own until they could break up the gathering forces.

Chance was flying swiftly in the air flying and covering the people from Stratos Squadron as best he could with only three missiles left and god knows how many bullets left, he knew that most of Stratos Squadron was taken out and that he managed to blow up the battleship with their aid, but their repeated enemy fighters are beginning to overwhelm them.

"Stratos Squadron, looks like this is a fight that we've all been waiting for! Let's kill as much of these Edylla bastards as possible!" Chance said trying to encourage the Stratos Squadron.

"Fall in your planes with me! We'll play cat and mouse with these bastards and show 'em what for!" Chance quickly gave out orders despite his ranks.

"Let's do this!" A Stratos Squadron member said in the radio.

Most of the Stratos Squadron obliged and fell in a tight triangular formation with them and started thrusting towards enemy aircrafts giving a close dogfight chase around the air and swooping down close to the sea. Immediately he noticed that there were enemy fighters on the formation.

"On a count of 3! We break formation and split them up! We could do this if we get them all separated!" Chance said yelling into his radio.

"1!....2!....3!" He said and immediately pulled out of the formation with the rest of Stratos Squadron.

He began to fly down low close to the sea, hoping that he doesn't crash in the process, and get close to the enemy's sinking battleship, in which he then flew into a hole in the ship tilting his plane a little bit. The enemy fighter who was chasing him didn't realize it and went into the hole, cutting off the wings to his plane and crashed into the water. Chance then climbed up and went to help one of Stratos Squadron members and started firing at his pursuers with his machine gun. After he was finished, he went in and helped with another Stratos Squadron member and launched his remaining rocket, in which the enemy fighter was nothing more but falling fiery rubble. The last Stratos Squadron was struggling really badly having his plane get nipped. Chance tried to take out the enemy fighter as much as possible but the fighter managed to down the plane before Chance could stop him. Luckily, the plane crashed safely close to YSS Horus. As it began to calm down a little bit it seemed that even more fighters were arriving. This was not gonna bode well for him, and what's left of Stratos Squadron. He hoped to god that reinforcements would arrive, or he's gonna have to take down as much as he can before he goes down.

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Lucky and Angel arrived on the scene in time to help break up the feud. Chance and the fighters remaining from Stratos Squadron were in a bad way, so it was a relief when Royal Dragon 3 came along to help. His XMAA missiles took out two of the fighters on Chance's tail from long range before he made it to the dogfight to help thin the herd.

Lucky, Angel, and the others managed to down the rest of the escort fighters which cleared the skies for the battleship Horus. They finished their repairs and reentered the fray to help take down the enemy ships while using AA guns to help their friendly fighters in the air.

The flow of battle was the same, with Edylla pressing Yllior back little by little. Each Ylliorian plane down was another step backwards.

"Angel 1, this is Stormcloud. Another enemy bomber squadron is approaching from the southeast. They're set on a direct course passed the battlefield and to our home base back on the mainland. Get after them now! Don't let them reach the mainland!"

"Roger that! War Angel, break from the battle space. We've got bombers bypassing the battlefield and headed for the mainland! We have to bring them down now! If they reach our base and destroy it, this war's over!"

"Angel 2, roger!"

"Royal Dragon 2, roger. I'm coming to help!"

"Glad to have you Royal Dragon 2. By the by, what do we call you?" Lucky asked.

"My call sign is 'Bulls-eye.' Nice to meet you. Now let's focus on what's ahead."

"... I like him," Kasumi said with a chuckle.

"Glad to be appreciated Angel."

"Alright you two, let's get moving," Lucky said with a hint of sarcasm.



It took ten minutes to catch up to the bombers, and once they were in range Bulls-eye let fly with his last two XMAA missiles. The bomber they hit went down almost immediately, bringing the number down to four.

"Alright, I'll take the left side. You guys take the right."

"Roger. War Angel, we have the three bombers on the right side. Chance, you've got the far end. Angel, the middle. I'll take left."

"Roger."

Kasumi lined herself up after splitting to follow her bomber. She lined it up and let fly with her last two missiles to the engines on the right side. The plane listed, but she took out another two engines on the left side with her machine gun. The plane went down, and she checked left and right to make sure everyone was still in the air.

"My bomber is down. How you doing Lucky?"

"I'm... done," he said as his bomber went down.

"Chance, when your bomber is down come back to formation. How you doing Bulls-eye?"

"Are you kidding? I've been waiting for you kids to finish up over here," he joked.

Lucky and Angel laughed.

"I really like this guy. Are you sure we can't convince you to take over our squadron?" Angel asked.

"Hey! Kasumi, that hurts!" Lucky yelled.

"Haha! No Angel. As much as I'd love to take you up on your offer, I belong in Royal Dragon squadron. But I'll keep in touch. Hopefully we'll get the chance to fly together a bit more later when things calm down. For now, I have to get back to the battle space... We have a problem."

"What happened?" Lucky asked.

"The Crimson Valko just showed up. Royal Dragon is engaging him, but it's already taking a turn for the worse. One of ours went down."

With that, he cut the comms and raced back to the battle space as fast as his F-22 could take him.

"Well this sucks... C'mon, we can't leave them alone. Even if we can't fight with the Valko, we can keep taking out their remaining ships and fighters. Let's go."

"Angel 2, roger."

Chance managed to go in and destroy the bomber after shooting out one of its wings and having it explode in the middle in the air. He circled back and couldn't see where they were on his screen, and his radar was filled with friendly blips and hostile blips. He then noticed that there were a bit of a gathering of friendly blips surrounding a hostile blip, but the friendly ones were disappearing off the radar pretty quick. He was deciding whether he should help his comrades in arms with that one plane, or help take out bombers and the fleet. He was in a mindset of turmoil, but knowing his team probably going to handle the bombers and fleet themselves, he should at least aid the other Squadron.

"Angel 1, and Angel 2.... If you hear this I am setting my course to go and aid our birds against that one hell of a fighter over there...." Chance said with a cold sense in his voice.

"You two must complete the mission... Once you are done feel free to help... Wish me luck... Angel 3 out..." Chance said soon after cutting off his speakers and started flying towards the Royal Dragon Squadron, which he had no idea it was them in the first place.

He knew he was going into a death trap, but it doesn't matter. He needed to be of some use and can't just sit idly by. No, he'll go and do whatever it takes, even flying into a suicidal area. He has his free hand and gripped onto his pendant. God bless me... Was all he can think of.

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"Angel 3, where the hell do you think you're going by yourself?!" Lucky yelled.

No response.

"That goddamn idiot."

"Lucky, we need to get there now! Something is wrong with his plane's sensors. He sounded like he couldn't tell we were right here beside him the whole time."

"Agreed. Let's go!"

They raced back to the battle space, but it was a slow going process. Even racing at top speed they were all over seven minutes away. Anything could happen in that time. Chance thought he was doing something noble, but he was being a fool. He was no closer to the battle than they were, and yet he thought that he had to suicide to be useful. He'd already proven useful with what he'd done, so what was driving him now?

However, by the time they all made it back, the skies were already looking the same as when they left.

"What's going on? Where's Crimson Valko?" Angel asked.

"I don't see him anywhere," Lucky responded.

"We shot him down, but he managed to eject safely and made it to an enemy gunship which fled the battle. He's gone for now, but he'll be back."

It was Royal Dragon 2. He had survived the conflict, along with the rest of Royal Dragon Squadron. Only the one pilot in their squad had been shot down, and he too had safely ejected and was on board one of the battleships that was returning to the mainland. He'd be fine.

"Everything is starting to turn in our favor, but thanks for trying to make it back so quick," Bulls-eye said.

"Not a problem. AWACs, where to?" Lucky asked.

"Angel 1, this is Stormcloud. The enemy is beginning a retreat. Command has ordered we do the same. Gather your squadron and return to base. We managed to hold out successfully. Congratulations everyone!"

There was a lot of cheering over the comms, and Kasumi breathed a sigh of relief along with Lucky. Chance was still off the comms, but he was still up and flying with them all the same. He hadn't gotten the chance to do much of anything upon returning, but perhaps it was better that way. The Ylliorian army couldn't afford any more martyrs.

"Hey Angel, how about you and me hit the town tonight? I'd like to get to know my new admirer," Bulls-eye asked.

Kasumi chuckled.

"I think I can live with that. But you're buying."

"Of course. I'll pick you up outside the base at 7pm. Till then."

With that, he took off and rejoined the Royal Dragon Squadron, leaving Kasumi smiling inside her plane with Lucky shaking his head.

"Oh sure... HE gets to take you out. Thanks a lot Angel."

"What? He just wants to go out and enjoy the night. It's not a date Lucky. Calm down."

"Of course it's a date. Why else would he ask you to go out on the town?"

"Oh stop being such a drama queen. I've rejected your advances for a reason you know."

"... Harsh."

Kasumi chuckled.

"Alright then. Let's get our butts home."

"Angel 2, roger."



War Angel was called to the briefing room after exiting their planes, and the Base Commander didn't look happy to see them.

"Sit down everyone."

They took their seats.

"It has come to the attention of command that one of you broke communications with the rest of his squadron and headed back to the battle space without orders from his Captain," he said, his eyes shifting to Chance.

"All radio communications were monitored and recorded, and we are less than pleased with your choice of action Angel 3."

He sat down in front of Chance.

"I don't know what's wrong with you young man, but you're in a bad way right now. You may think what you were doing was noble, going to "help" against the Crimson Valko, but the fact is that the Royal Dragon Squadron didn't need your assistance. Your squadron did. You abandoned them to satisfy your own pride, leaving them alone outside of the battle space because you had to satisfy some kind of self righteous sense of duty to a battle that was beyond your capability as a pilot."

He leaned in closer.

"The Crimson Valko took out an F-22 using nothing but a training jet today... Do you really think you have what it takes to engage a pilot like that?"

He leaned away, standing up slowly, keeping his eyes on Chance.

"This nation and her military cannot afford martyrs who think that they have to engage in life threatening situations to prove that they're useful. Angel 3, you are hereby suspended until further notice. You will not enter your plane, nor leave this base without permission from either myself, or the Adjutant Base Commander. Dismissed."

With that, Lucky and Angel left the room with pale faces. They walked in silence through the hallways to Kasumi's room where they both went inside and locked the door. They weren't sure where Chance would go now that he was suspended, but hopefully he would find something productive to do until the suspension was lifted. Since it was a time of war, hopefully it would be lifted within the next few hours given that they needed every available pilot.

"That was harsh of the Base Commander. I know Chance did something kind of stupid, but he didn't have to take things that far did he?" Lucky asked.

"I don't know... But I hope Chance will be alright."

"Yeah... I'm heading to bed. I'll catch you later," Lucky said, leaving the room.

Kasumi nodded, leaving her room and locking it behind her as she made her way to the front of the base to wait for Bulls-eye to pick her up.

Chance went back to his dorm, went inside then punched the wall as hard as he can.

"Damn it!..." He said in complete anger.

He failed in his duties as a son and the son of the head of his village before back then, and now he even failed this. He couldn't take that thought with the memories of his old comrades and them sketched into his head. His last farewells and all of their faces back before. He sat against his bed sobbing at the terrible memories, and how when he managed to return home his village was nothing but rubble. His siblings, his parents, even his old love are all dead, and he was the last of his whole village. Chance took his leather jacket, and went outside to have some fresh air or to do something to keep him distracted while he's having this unstable moment. He stormed out of his quarters and began walking quickly to the gym through the front of the base. As he began walking he accidentally bumped into Kasumi, in which, like a flick of a switch, started glaring at her for a moment, and then continued trying to go to his destination. He arrived at the gym changing into his gym gear and began striking at the punching bags as hard as he can with the martial arts that he knew. He continued striking the punching bags like never before until finally the ropes on it snapped.

He gripped onto his pendant, teary eyed, and said quietly to himself as though he was talking to spirits.

"Father... Mother... I won't let your deaths be in vain... I'll kill 'em all!"

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Kasumi saw Chance for a minute before he walked away. She wasn't sure where he was going, but she could tell he was more than a little upset. She felt for him. She really did. She couldn't imagine how he felt. He did something wrong by protocol, but it was what he felt was right.

Bulls-eye came around with his car, a nice black GT Mustang, and stepped out to greet her. He was tall, handsome, and had strong features. Blonde hair, blue eyes, a strong jaw. Everything that most girls would love in a man. Kasumi, however, was no like most other girls. It took more than looks to impress her, which was why Lucky always failed with her. Still, she had to give him a chance. She gave Lucky one chance, and he screwed it up. So here was hoping that Bulls-eye could do better.

"Hey Angel. You ready?" He asked.

"Only if you can answer me one question, and do so with honesty: Do you ever get sacred in the skies?"

He laughed a little bit, but smiled at her.

"All the time. Not a day goes by when we go in the air that I'm not worried about something. Either it's one of my squad mates, or it's for myself, or it's simply because I feel like something bad will happen. But yes, I get scared in the skies. I'm in an F-22, one of the most advanced fighter jets on the planet, and I get scared."

Kasumi smiled, nodding slowly.

"Good answer. So, where to?" She asked.

He opened the door of the passenger side and let her in before getting in on the driver's side and taking off down the highway.

Lucky, meanwhile, laid out on his bed wide awake despite his attempts to sleep. He kept thinking about how command had reacted to Chance's actions. Sure it wasn't the smartest thing for him to have done, but he was young and impulsive with a sad background. They had to have known he'd be like this. Yet they let him in a plane anyway. Why would they do that if they weren't prepared to deal with him? It was eating away at him why they'd approve of him as a pilot if they weren't prepared to handle the obvious choices he'd make given his background.

He closed his eyes and rolled onto his side, hoping to get some sleep.

After getting done with destroying that punching bag. He started walking slowly to his quarters, but immediately passed out in the hallway from exhaustion. It was pitch black in him, but he could hear voices. He heard what sounded like the past with his family and his village. It seemed like he was younger again going fishing with his family, and going to his village festivals. He even smelled his mom's old fried shrimps, and it smelled delicious. He went out and remembered exactly how his village was. A pond in the center and several village huts surrounding it, and then off in the shore are boats to go fishing. More inland of the village were barns and pens to hold animals. It quickly switched back to his graduation day. He wasn't sure what's going to happen after the graduation, but he was sure to try to make his village proud of him...Then, came that dreadful day. It was sudden, where he was resting during his last day in the village, and suddenly heard jeeps and trucks rolling in. The Ylliorian military arrived, troops scattering across the area. He went to his father to asked, but all there was, was a sad look. His father's face switched from his own actual face to the face of death, he was scared, he didn't know what to do. He kept screaming out to his family, his village!

"Father!... Mother!..." Was what he could scream out at the top of his lungs in the hallway, as he is filled with sweats, and is shaking horribly, while unconscious.

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Lucky had finally passed out in his bed when he suddenly heard a commotion outside. He got up and opened his door and found that Chance was on a medical bed being wheeled to the medical wing. The sweating and the panic on the faces of the meds was enough to tell him something was wrong, but it was best he remained out of it for now. He trusted the medical team to tell him when it was okay to see him. For now, he had to wait and be patient. A lot had happened recently, and this was just another check mark on the clip board.

Lucky closed his door and laid down, hopefully to get some sleep. The medical team could take it from here, and he'd be sure to tell Kasumi when she got back what was happening.

Chance was very restless on the bed. All he could do was shift hard left to right, and throw up his arms to grab something that god knows what. It got even worse, because it seemed that death himself went in and came after his village disguised as bombs, and bullets. He pictured the complete destruction, he couldn't take it anymore. He grabbed a hold onto his necklace for a second until he became calmer due to what probably seems like a sedative injected into him.

All he see was pitch black. He doesn't understand what the pitch black could even mean. He felt alone like many times before. Outside of his mind many medical staff are surrounding and trying to see what is going on, even they don't have the answers.

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The night came and went, and Lucky woke up the next morning feeling like crap. He staggered out of bed to the bathrooms where he took a shower alone and got back to his room not long afterwards. He sat on the edge of his bed, waiting to hear from the med teams.

Finally, after about an hour of just sitting there, one of the med team came in.

"How is he?" Lucky asked.

"He's having a psychotic breakdown. At this point, all we can do is make him comfortable as best we can while we wait for an expert to come in and take a look at him."

Lucky dropped his head.

"I'm sorry. But at this point, it doesn't look like he'll ever fly again. Not like this. Command is in negotiations now to revoke his license and discharge him for medical reasons. At this rate, it will take a miracle to save his career, and another to save his life."

The med walked out slowly, and Lucky took a deep breath as he waited for Kasumi to come back.

Sure enough, on cue, she opened his door. The sadness in her eyes told Lucky all he needed to know.

"So you heard?"

She nodded.

"I came back as soon as I heard that he'd collapsed in the hallways last night."

"And your date?"

"It was fine. Even when I asked him to rush me back here, he was supportive. We both visited his room last night to check on him. He was so delusional and caught up in whatever was going on that he didn't even notice we were there."

Lucky nodded.

"Do you know what's happening now?"

Again, she nodded in return.

"I know that command is thinking of medically discharging him if he doesn't recover soon, and that they'll permanently revoke his license so he can never fly again."

"Are you okay with that?" He asked.

"No, I'm not. But I'm clear headed enough to notice that you're trying to place blame somewhere. It's not my fault that this happened."

Lucky smiled, but it wasn't a happy smile.

"You think I'm playing the blame game? Just because one of my pilots is hospitalized?"

"No. I know you're playing the blame game because you're angry over my leaving the base with Bulls-eye last night. If you weren't playing the blame game, you'd be more worried about Chance's predicament than holding yourself back from yelling at me for going out to enjoy a night with a friend."

Lucky's knuckles cracked as he clenched a fist.

"I see... So you think that I'm blaming you and pissed off about your date because of Chance?"

"What other reason would there be? Jealously isn't a valid option here!" She yelled.

"Then what is? You tell me!" He yelled in response.

"Nothing!!" She yelled, slapping him across the face hard enough to send him into the wall.

He was too shocked to even move. All he could do was blink in wonder at the pain in his face and the sudden burst of emotion in response to it. He stood up and shook his head, wiping at his cheek even though it would do nothing for the pain. He let out a breath, giving Kasumi a light glare.

"So what now?"

Kasumi walked forward.

"You shake it off and accept that there's nothing we can do. It's all up to him now. Whatever's going on in his head is his issue to deal with. If he needs help afterwards, we'll be here. Now suck it up and get back to your old self. If you don't, I may as well accept out next squadron orders on my own."

With that, she turned and walked out.

As Chance woke up and tried to walk out he was stopped by the nurse that was there tending him stopped him.

"Get out of the way..." He said reluctantly but was stopped ahead.

Knowing he won't be able to move he tried to make as loud of a commotion as possible so people could go in or a expert comes in quickly to release him. He doesn't like the thought of being in a hospital bed, and worrying his team. While also worrying the brass with the possibility of discharge.

"I want to get out for a minute, and see my team... Let me out!..." He said slightly yelling at the nurse.

He then bowed his head and apologized, hoping that someone could come in to see him, so that he could at least ease their worries.

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The doctor came in to see him about five minutes after his protest, sitting down in front of him.

"So, Mr. Williams. It seems you suffered from a psychotic episode. Would you care to tell me what brought it on?"