Paper Squadron

R-9843(Ob) Paper Squadron is an Anomaly consisting of multiple paper planes. Typically, this anomaly will nest in the mailboxes of suburban homes. If startled, they'll swarm and repeatedly circle in the sky.

"Reporting to the Captain! Lightwing is prepped and ready, requesting takeoff!" "Request received, Lightwing. You're cleared for takeoff!" The child on the rooftop blew onto the paper plane in his hands, throwing the plane towards the sky with all his might. The paper plane made a soft arc in the air before finally fluttering down into the yard. "Lightwing, you did your best! Skywing can handle the rest."

The child grabbed another paper plane, preparing for its next "sortie". His mother yells from the house down below, "Come and clean up your toys from the yard!" "Okay, Mom! Paper Squadron, listen up! Today's mission was a complete success—begin your orderly return to base!" The kid dashed downstairs, picking up each paper plane one by one, carefully dusting off their wings. He began to delicately put them back in a cardboard box labeled, "Fleet's Secret Hangar".

As time progressed, the child continued to grow, eventually attending school and beyond. The Paper Squadron was launched less and less. Instead, they remained in base, patiently waiting for their Captain's orders. One day, the child, now a grown man, discovered a box caked in dust while clearing out the attic. Inside, he found the paper planes that had loyally followed his every order as a child.

He noticed that the paper was no longer crisp white, but instead a creased yellow. Their markings had faded, and he could no longer distinguish one plane from the other. In hopes of captaining one more flight, the man dragged the box out to the yard and tossed one of the planes into the air. Far from its prime, the plane wobbled for a few moments in the air before dropping entirely. The man stared at the paper plane on the ground.

Silently, he picked it up, dusted it off, and placed it back within the box.

Before leaving his childhood home, the man climbed to the roof and tried to send the paper plane into the air for the last time. He blew on it gently and, with a flick of his wrist, sent the plane flying. However, instead of its usual flight pattern, the paper plane caught wind and actually began to… hover. The man was frozen in shock. He quickly grabbed another plane and repeated his previous action.

The second plane replicated the same behavior, soaring into the air before hovering, as if awaiting an order. The man finally understood: his childhood Paper Plane Fleet had awakened. Only, he was no longer qualified to be their Captain. A strong gust of wind swept across the rooftop, catching the paper planes and carrying them off onto the horizon.

From that moment on, the Paper Squadron lost its Captain—leaving only a flock of paper planes, forever flying with no direction nor commands in mind.