Ace Combat: Stricken Soul

Safe & Sound

Rosa was sitting at her desk reading A Blue Dove for the Princess. The book was a fairytale that Rosa's mother used to read her when she was just a child. Reading made it easier to keep calm after finding out about Luca's fate during the previous sortie and it allowed for her to escape into her own little world if only for a little while.

She was startled by a knock on the door. Rosa placed a bookmark on the page she was on and closed the book. She opened the door to see Ionela standing in the hallway.

"Are you okay, Rosa?" Ionela asked.

"I-I'm fine," Rosa sighed.

"No you're not...even Ollie could sense something's wrong," Ionela replied as she pet the Golden Retriever that had come to greet her at the door

"I overheard Wit and Seymour having a conversation with Roald and Hermann. He was shot down by The Ribbon Fighter. He was trying to protect them. So far he's been missing for three days..."

"The Ribbon Fighter?" Ionela asked, raising an eyebrow as she sat down on the couch.

Rosa sighed deeply and laid her head to rest on her desk, "Yes...I have heard stories about him before. He's considered to be a living demon and yet Luca had the bravery to face him to protect his wingmen."

"This is a bit more personal Rosa..." Ionela emphasized, "A-Are you two together now?"

Ionela's question blindsided Rosa. At first, she had no idea how to respond, she drummed her fingers on her desk thinking of how to respond to her friend.

"Y-Yes." Rosa began to blush, "I don't know how to describe it. There is just some kind of connection between us every time we speak to each other and the first time we kissed...I felt like I had found the person of my dreams."

"You two kissed?!"

"Yes...we shared a kiss before he went on that mission to Yinshi Valley. If I have to organize a search party myself to bring Luca back safely then so be it."

As Rosa and Ionela continued their chat, Alma barged into the room which took the two girls by surprise. The little girl had an excited expression on her face as she jumped on the couch to sit next to her sister.

"Rosa Rosa good news! Grandpa Said his friends picked up Luca's signal, Roald and Hermann are gonna go and look for him!" Alma cheered.

"Really?" Rosa said, "That's wonderful news! Did they say when they're taking off?"

"He said they lifted off just a few minutes ago before going back to sleep...he's still not feeling well. But Luca's coming back! Isn't that wonderful?"

Rosa could only respond by hugging Alma as tightly as possible. She was relieved to hear that Luca rescue effort was already underway to rescue him. Mihaly despite his cold demeanor wasn't the kind of guy to leave a fallen pilot behind and it showed with Roald and Hermann taking the initiative in the rescue effort.

The air was humid and the temperature was hot at eighty-five degrees. Luca struggled to breathe and his heart pounded as he trekked through the forest. With the constant rain, he was cold and wet and for the three days, he spent on the ground he was barely able to sleep only getting about twenty minutes worth of sleep in the daytime hours. His plane had gone down in the Chopinburg Rain Forest which was now a disputed territory between the Erusean and Osean militaries.

Luca did the best that he could to battle dehydration and dodge any enemy patrols he might find along the way. He kept on moving until he came to a small abandoned hut near the river. He drew his MP9 and scanned for any potential targets as he made his way into the hut. The hut looked like it had been abandoned for quite some time but it was a good enough place to get some rest before continuing his journey.