Winter
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5007 A.S.
IceWing/SkyWing DMZ - 1600 hrs
A deafening roar shattered the skies as two gleaming MiG-25s zoomed through the clouds. The sound echoed through the mountains as the thunderous bellowing of four R-15B-300 engines flattened the treetops. The light of the sun reflected off of the silvery wings of the lustrous shapes as they descended over the alpine peaks.
"Frostbite one, standby check-in." Hailstorm's voice crackled over the radio.
"Copy, two is trail. Visual." Winter responded.
"Roger that. Check six." Winter and Hailstorm continued this procedure for several minutes, each adhering to standard mission protocol. The pair had infiltrated enemy territory, cutting through the DMZ for reasons Hailstorm had yet to disclose. Winter's spikes shivered with anticipation; every minute they spent in unfamiliar skies caused his unease to rise like bile in his throat, manifesting his concern.
"Hailstorm," Winter started, breaking brevity. "Where are we going? This is SkyWing territory. We shouldn't be here."
"Relax." Hailstorm answered cooly. "We're just going to check something out. That's all."
"What? In SkyWing territory?" Winter repeated. "I don't know if you've realised it yet, but we're at war here."
"Well, where do you suppose we'll find a scavenger den in the Ice Kingdom?"
Winter was shocked into momentary silence as surprise and excitement coarsed through his veins, evaporating his uneasiness.
"What? A scavenger den? You actually found one?" Winter asked, tingling with anticipation.
"Yep. I flew over it on my way back from a mission, and I figured, since yesterday was your eighteenth hatching day, that I'd show it to you. After all, I doubt any other dragon in the world would appreciate it as much as you." Hailstorm replied, his chuckling garbled by radio static.
"But...how? I mean, who authorized this? Surely not the queen..." Winter remarked.
"Well, perhaps not." Hailstorm mused. "But she did authorize a routine patrol of the DMZ."
"Wait, what?" Winter asked incredulously, realization dawning on him. "You lied? To the queen?"
"Oh, don't pretend you aren't even a little excited. Besides, the queen doesn't need to know." Hailstorm smirked.
"But this is dangerous! What if we're spotted?"
"Then we'll leave." Hailstorm answered simply. "Or we could put up a fight. Between you and me, I doubt any SkyWing could-" Hailstorm's voice cut off as blaring alarms suddenly filled Winter's cockpit.
"What the- I'm being spiked!" Winter shouted as he whipped his head around, searching for his assailant. He scowered the skies with his gaze, and a new voice suddenly crackled over the radio. "Well now, what do we have here?"
Winter felt his heart sink as a new shape suddenly materialized beside them. "Shit. That's an Su-37." Hailstorm growled as the former glided alongside them them, rocking its wings in acknowledgement. "A couple of IceWing turncoats, perhaps? That would be interesting."
Hailstorm snarled in response. "You're mistaken. And outnumbered."
"And you're hardly in a position to threaten me." they replied as several contacts emerged on Winter's radar display. It's an ambush! Winter realised. Those bastards were waiting for us to cross the DMZ!
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|In Development| Steel and Scales
FanfictionWhat if Jade Mountain was a actually a prestigious flight school, and the Jade Winglet was a squadron of elite pilots? In this Modern WoF AU, which is heavily inspired by Ace Combat, the 7 territories have finally started to rebuild after the blood...
