Sky King

Part Seven: Grave Of Glass

Breaking the cloud cover, smoke freely seeping from the holes in the plane's engine, Ace directed his battered vehicle to the Karris runway. With his left hand, he pulled on the lever, trying desperately to level the biplane so the landing wheels would hit the asphalt first. They did but he had been falling too fast, the wheels popping under the pressure. It seemed to have been enough though, the plane spinning a 180 on its hull and coming to a full stop.

Ace gasped for air, coughing aggressively and spitting up a mouthful of blood, noticing now his flight suit was already drenched in crimson holes. Glass from his cockpit window had cut his face open in multiple places, the blood having dried to his skin. He tried removing his mask and helmet, unable to do so with just his left hand.

Looking to his right side, his other arm was a mess of mangled flesh and torn skin, white bone showing through. The gauges of his vehicle had been sprayed red, nearly the whole floor of the plane sharing the same color. He heard a vehicle driving up to his smoking plane, Garret hopping out and sprinting to the biplane. He had his team help with busting the window door lock, prying it open and looking over the horror show with an agape mouth. No kind of medical help was going to save him now, this was beyond fatal injuries. The lead mechanic was surprised the pilot was still breathing, if barely. The black haired man's whole body had bullet holes in it, blood from the floor finding it's way through the seams of the plane and dripping to the runway.

Unable to speak, the mechanic closed his mouth, watching his pilot struggle to inhale enough oxygen to stay conscious.

"Ga...Garret," the ace managed to whisper, causing the man to lean forward so he could hear better, moving back for a moment while the man almost choked while letting loose another mouthful of blood.

"Y-yeah?" The blond mechanic removed the mask and helmet, tossing them to a member of his team, getting a look at the young 23 year old hero.

"Will the...rest be okay.....back there?" Ace very, very slowly tilted his head back to look into the blue eyes of his lead mechanic, his own glossed over.

"They'll do just fine," he answered, not sure how he could physically comfort the dying man.

"...you think they'll win?" The pilot's voice was getting reduced to a guttural tone, blood slowly slipping out of his lips and down his chin.

"....yeah, I know they will. They're all great pilots," Garret lied, knowing full well the Hellot Airship was advancing on the Syncaire Kingdom. Anything to make the pilot feel better though, he would do.

"Good...can.." Ace inhaled as deeply as he could, dark blood dribbling from his open mouth, "can you do...me a favor?"

"Anything,"

"Tell...tell Amarra I...I'm sorry....." tears started to stream down his bloodied face, "I said...I would be back..."

"You are back," Garret said, then remembered the letter the General had given to him from Amarra herself a little after the pilot had taken off, "I'm glad you brought her up, because that reminds me,"

Garret reached into his back pocket and grabbed the letter envelope, taking one piece of the few papers out, unfolding it quickly. He held it up with two hands, one at each side, the picture that of an ultrasound.

"You're having a baby girl," the lead mechanic just about choked on his own words, trying his hardest not to cry in front of the Syncaire Ace.

The pilot slowly grabbed the picture in his left hand, holding it closer to his face so he could see the early stages of his daughter. He could feel everything leaving his body, all emotion, all feeling.

"She'll be proud of her hero father when she grows up," Garret, took the picture when the pilot handed it back, "the unnamed Sky King of the world,"

Ace mustered the rest of his strength, looking up to the grey clouds.

"Ke....Kenjiro," he said, feeling his own mind start to slip, "Kenjiro Nansachi,"

Garret watched helplessly as the pilot's head dropped forward, eyes barely open, a final breath escaping his lips. The soul of the Sky King flew out from his body with that last exhale, leaving the lifeless husk of the legend. The mechanic hopped down from the cockpit and fell to his knees, eyes shut tightly. His men came to his side, offering hands on his shoulder for comfort, helping him back up.

"Get the general here," he said, wiping his eyes with his sleeves, "we're going to have to relay the news to his girlfriend before the next battle,"

"Yes sir," one of the jump suited men ran off to find a phone. Garret motioned for the others to pull the jeep up closer to the plane. He went back up on the plane and unbuckled the dead pilot, unsure of how to approach handling the still bleeding body. The flight suit was unrecognizable, wet with blood from top to bottom and shredded by bullet holes. He guessed it didn't really matter since the pilot was gone, dragging him out over his shoulder and placing the body in the back of the jeep, entering the opposite side and laying the pilot's head on his lap.

Another of his team got in the driver side and started the engine, asking where they should be going.

"To the barracks across the way. We'll wait for the general there," Garret said, the driver making his way down the airstrip and to the rectangular building.

Above, more Syncaire fighters flew towards the ocean in an attempt to intercept the incoming Hellot Airship, army and marine soldiers gearing up for an intense ground war. Without the princess, morale was lower than ever, but that wouldn't deter the brave soldiers from rushing the front lines to defend their country. It would be a short war for both sides, the victor being decided in just a few large scale battles.

The grey clouds broke, rays of sun swathing the wrecked Hellot biplane on the Karris airstrip, the vehicle as lifeless as its owner. It had performed its duty and finally, was ready for retirement. The unbeatable Sky King would be laid to rest, his story and his plane never to be forgotten.