Alright, here we go! :)

It's been, what, a little over eight months since the last story, huh? Well, it's time to rejoice (or whatever it is you do when a sequel comes out), for the next chapter in the Strike Heroes saga is ready to begin.

Before we begin, I want to thank those who waited for this moment as well as those who have read Strike Heroes since I put up the epilogue. It was rather interesting for me to still get some favorites or follows from readers...along with a few reviews. Anyways, it's still good to hear from you even after I finished that story, so thanks for sticking around.

Anyways, I'm sure that you guys are starting to read this for the story, right?

Okay, let's start in on the next chapter of the Strike Witches' story...

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Chapter 1: Being a Witch Once Again (Part 1)

In 1944, the Gallia region of Europe was captured by a strange alien enemy known only to humankind as the Neuroi. However, thanks to the courageous resolve that the Five Hundred and First Joint Fighter Wing, the enemy Neuroi was wiped out and Gallia was saved from destruction. Nevertheless, the battle was still far from over...

Junko's POV

"Enemy Neuori detected. It seems to be a humanoid type reported by the Five Hundred and First last year."

That was the report from one of the planes that were escorting us as we were flying toward the Neuroi nest. The reason why they were saying that was because as we were flying through the Venezian airspace towards said nest, it decided to release a being that was similar to the one that was first seen by two members of the Five-Oh-One.

"Is it the Neuroi Witch?" was the follow-up question asked by one of the men.

"Doesn't look like it. Besides, no one's seen him in the air for a while."

I had next to no idea who the Neuroi Witch was really, but I could tell you what I did know: the one named that was a male Witch who had been a member of the Five Hundred and First Joint Fighter Wing, a strange boy with a weird prototype Striker Unit. Based on the name, I could only assume that he had powers that could be compared to that of a Neuroi's. I also remember Mio giving me a name for the man, though the name was currently not clear right now. Might have something to do with the mission at hand.

"Visual confirmation here," I reported back as I flew toward it, feeling the wind fly past me like it was just a normal mission. "Initiating Contact Plan Alpha-Three."

"Understood."

A while later, I stopped in front of the humanoid Neuroi. It didn't look too intimidating, but given that it was a Neuroi I had to watch myself. Attempting contact with the Neuroi was risky but vital to our survival. It may be the only hope of ending this war, so I had to try.

I was about to say something, but I was prevented from doing so by some sort of slight chill.

Why was I feeling like this now?

Suddenly, a red beam of energy shot down from above and hit the Neuroi I was looking at. In response, I shielded my eyes from the sudden brightness as I heard the Neuroi scream. When I looked afterward, said being was gone. Annihilated.

That looked like a Neuroi beam that hit it, I thought as I soon looked up. What I saw next was something that made me very scared internally. What? No!

Seemingly out of nowhere, a giant hive appeared in the skies over Venezia, consuming the old nest and enveloping Northern Romagna. The human race was forced once again into a battle for survival against the Neuroi.

I couldn't believe it: we were so close to achieving contact and hopefully try getting something out of them, and now...I was looking at the spot the old Neuroi had once been.

"Takei to Command," I said into my radio as I soon looked at the newly-added hive. My voice sounded like it was going to be the end of the world. "The mission to contact the Neuroi has failed. I repeat, Operation Trajanus has failed."

Meanwhile, a young man was far more busy reading a map than trying to help. Not like he would have been able to, anyways: being far from Venezia and inside Fuso, he has no idea about the fight that humanity was to partake in once again...

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Roland's POV

Some people may say that nature is nice and is able to look beautiful. Others might be more concerned with the creatures that might lurk out there.

Me? I'm more of the "ones that end up lost and a little annoyed at that fact".

"Stupid map..." I mumbled to myself as I walked down a dirt road, staring at a map of the country I was currently standing on, Fuso. "You say that this place is this way, but I don't even know where I am!"

I was wearing my combat gear: a pair of black cargo pants, a white shirt with a green vest over it, and black trainers. On my left wrist was an analog watch that held some importance to me, and on my back was a blue backpack carrying some of my basic supplies, like a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a crowbar. Between the backpack and my back was a sword inside a brown leather scabbard. My black hair was about an inch long, and my brown eyes were busy looking at the map I was holding.

Let me guess: you were expecting me to be wearing something more in line with the times?

Okay...maybe I should probably start by introducing myself in case you forgot. My name is Roland Sage. I went by the names "Ground Witch", "Lieutenant Sage", "Roland", "Roland-kun", at one instance (thanks to a certain Romagnan Witch) "Lieutenant Roland-kun", and more recently "Neuroi Witch". As some of my names suggested, I was a lieutenant in the Liberion Army for a while until I was recruited to be a part of a group of Witches known as the Five Hundred and First Joint Fighter Wing, more famously known as the Strike Witches. While there, I met a lot of amazing Witches, made new friends, and even helped destroy a few Neuroi.

...Right, maybe I should admit something...the reason why I said that I was a lieutenant was because I was no longer serving the army per se.

See, it all happened close to six months ago, when a certain little Fuso Witch by the name of Yoshika Miyafuji and I went into a Neuroi nest to learn about something. What we ended up triggering was a slew of events that resulted in the disbanding of the Strike Witches. If you really wanted to know, I had been the oddball of the group for a few reasons.

First, I was a male Witch, which was already strange enough when you consider the fact that my teammates were all girls (not that I have a problem with it...but it would have been nice to have seen another male Witch around).

Second, I wasn't exactly a part of this world to begin with.

I'm still a little fuzzy on the details, but I had fallen asleep at the computer one night when a Neuroi core somehow found its way to my computer screen, fused with me, and warped us both to the time of World War Two...minus the whole war. Instead, humanity had been busy fighting a group of aliens known as, you guessed it, Neuroi.

I spent two months unconscious before waking up in an orphanage. I then joined the army and trained for four months, mixing in traditional training with training for Witches thanks to Commander Hannah Ellios and Lieutenant Kayley Nova.

Then, what became known as the Ascension incident happened...

That battle marked my first Neuroi kill...and the first casualty of the war that I personally witnessed in my life, the death of Commander Ellios.

A week later, and I was scouted by Minna for the Strike Witches. Before I left, General Weiss gave me what would change my life: a prototype Striker Unit that would allow me to be able to wear a pair of cargo pants while still being able to fly it effectively.

Over the course of my time in the Strike Witches, I had shared lots of good memories as well as some bad ones...and some that for some reason I still can't get out of my mind sometimes. Thanks, Mio.

Anyways, where was I in my story? Oh yeah, the events...see, as I explained, Yoshika and I went into a Neuroi nest after Mio got hurt and Minna grounded us. In there, we learned some sort of prophesy that the Neuroi seemed to believe as well as saying something about the future marking our deaths. When we were found by the others and taken back to the base, General Moron (sorry, Maloney) dissolved the Strike Witches and took control of the base, me revealing my secret to the others. It took a while, but it seemed that everyone had come to trust me still...even if only a little.

Between getting into the base to find evidence we needed to prove Maloney's guilt, learning about what occurred in the time lapse I had due to being unconscious, and my secret being revealed, we all managed to come together to defeat the Warlock at the cost of destroying the Akagi.

However, that wasn't all we sacrificed.

Yoshika and I, though we had managed to help save everyone in Britannia as well as the crew of the Akagi, had been dishonorably discharged, and the team was still disbanded. Before everyone went their separate way, though, Air Commodore Adolfine Galland offered me a job: morale support.

Which had been what I was doing to pass the time.

Until about two weeks ago, I had been doing my duty when I received two letters, one of them from Doctor Ichirō Miyafuji. About six days after that point, I was asked by Adolfine to head to Fuso for some morale rallies.

That explains why I was wandering around out here with a map a little. I had gotten a day off before I started on the medley of rallies, and I was going to try using it to spend some time with some friends...

The only problem was that I had no idea how to read Fuso, so I was stuck trying to find my way to my destination.

Kinda odd how this guy can walk around with a Neuroi core and feel rather normal yet not have a clue how to read a map written in Fuso.

"Let's see..." I said as I studied the map a lot more intently. "It says that I'm somewhere near...um..." I looked around. I could see what I might describe as being chrysanthemum trees or something to the left of me, and I guess some farmland or something to my right. I don't really know: I wasn't a botanist by trade, but there were a lot of pink flowers growing on the trees. That, and I couldn't tell if it was really farmland; lots of water, though, so...who knows? "I'm just going to call it 'The Pink Tree Road' for now. Now, this place here...whatever it is..." I blinked as I lowered the map and sighed. "Why me?"

This would be a lot more helpful if I had been tackled to the ground by Yoshika right now. Or someone I knew.

I looked back at the map and continued walking down the path, determined to figure out where the hell I was.

XXXXXXXXXX

Yoshika's POV

"This is amazing!" I shouted as I ran ahead of Michiko some time after our school's graduation ceremony. We were travelling down a trail that had cherry trees on the side of the path. "It's raining cherry blossoms! Come on, Michiko!" I stopped to let her catch up.

Michiko stopped as I turned around to look at her.

"Yoshika?" she asked me. "You're really serious about not continuing school after we graduate?"

I looked at her with a slight sadness as I told her, "The family clinic will be mine to run someday." I then smiled and closed my eyes as my cheeks turned red. "The only thing I've ever wanted to do was save lives!"

When I opened my eyes again, Michiko looked sad. "I guess this is our last time walking home together."

I know, but let's focus on the positive things right now. I won't forget you. Just like I won't forget Roland or the others in the Strike Witches either.

Just then, we started hearing a tractor of some kind driving toward us as a man's voice called out, "Hello, Michiko!"

"Grandpa!" Michiko said as she turned around to look at the approaching vehicle and waved to her grandpa. "Hey!"

"Yes, my girl!"

A while later, and Michiko and I were riding on the back of her grandpa's trailer, our bags sitting on top of the produce Michiko's grandpa was trailing behind him.

"I got my letter," Michiko told me. "I start at the teacher's school in Yokohama in the spring."

"Wow, that's so cool!" I said excitedly.

"If you like books, it is."

We heard her grandpa laugh as he replied with, "My little peanut always did love to study ever since she was a rugrat."

"I can't believe you're gonna be a teacher!" I added with a smile.

"You're the future doctor who's going to have her very own clinic to run," Michiko told me.

"Yeah, that's right. A doctor..." I thought about something. For some reason, I thought about Roland: I know it's been a while since I last saw him, but I wonder how he's doing...

Suddenly, I felt that the vehicle was slowing down for some reason, but I didn't really pay attention.

XXXXXXXXXX

Roland's POV

It had been a few minutes after I said something about Yoshika, and I was still hopelessly lost.

At least I could see a city not far in front of me. About...three miles? I have no idea, I've been walking for a while.

Anyways, I had reached a sort of T-section in the dirt road and was still studying my map when I started hearing some voices and an engine.

"...who's going to have her very own clinic to run," one female voice said.

"Yeah, that's right. A doctor..." another, more familiar voice, replied.

Soon, the vehicle stopped next to me, and I followed suit, folding the map into thirds before folding it in half and sticking it inside my right leg pocket.

"Hey there," an elderly-looking man said as I looked at the driver. Like I said, he was elderly (don't know how old he was, and I wasn't going to pry), and he had a light-gray, long-sleeved, collared shirt on with a white towel behind his neck. He wore brown pants and had black boots on (the boots looked like they were for the rain or something to me). He was also driving what I could only guess was a sort of tractor with a trailer hitched to the back. "What are you doing walking by yourself?"

"Huh?" I asked as I blinked. Focus...stay calm... "Oh, I was heading somewhere...but I kinda got lost..."

"I see. Where are you from?"

Don't say 'United States of America'. Don't say 'United States of America'. "Uh, the United States of Liberion?"

"Oh. Tourist?"

Good. I had figured out the countries' names here when I discovered what world I was in, but with my memories from my world still with me I couldn't risk saying the wrong name. Especially if that country is the first one to pop up in my head sometimes. "Not exactly. I was kinda sent here for some business, but I have a day off today. I tried a map, but I can't read it very well. You don't happen to know how to read Fuso, do you?"

"Hmm...I can take you into town if you're heading that way. I was heading in that direction myself."

"Uh, thanks. I could really use the ride, sir. If you really want to."

"I'm sure of it. Can't have you walking around and getting into trouble, even if you're young enough to stand that sort of exercise." Ha ha...you have no idea what I've been through before about six months ago. Have I ever told you about the girls I worked with? "My granddaughter and her friend are in the back. Why don't you sit back there and chat with them?" He hitched his right thumb behind him with a smile.

I looked in the direction of his thumb and noticed that there were two girls sitting on the back of the trailer, wearing what I would call sailor uniforms. There was also produce in the trailer. One had short auburn hair while the other looked like it was more of a raven color as well as being longer. Way longer. "Uh, sure thing." I walked toward the back before I stopped. "Oh, and thanks so much, sir."

"Not a problem, my boy."

As I walked to the back, I looked at the produce. I wasn't sure, but he had either lettuce or cabbage in the back. I think it was lettuce. There were also two saddle bags sitting behind the girls, each one with a black tube-like object sticking out. I simply set the backpack next to the bags.

"Hey there," I said as I approached the back and was visible to the girls, coming to a stop in front of them. "Your grandpa said that he could give me a ride, and-" I stopped as I looked at the one with the auburn hair. We blinked at each other for a few seconds before one of us made the first move.

"Roland-kun!" the auburn-haired girl cried in glee as she tackled me to the ground. Due to my luck with girls around here, my sight was soon blotted out, and I was left with feeling something...soft over my face. "Roland-kun! I can't believe you're here!"

"Uh, thanks..." I said slowly as I tapped her right shoulder blindly. "...Yosh? Can you get off me now, please?"

XXXXXXXXXX

"I'm so sorry about that," Yoshika said as we were on the road again. She looked embarrassed, something I was still showing on my face. "Usually I don't do something like that..."

"Good to know that I still can't seem to avoid embarrassing moments with you girls," I said dryly. Though it was true: from seeing girls in the bath to having a hand or my face in the vicinity of one of their chests, I never seem to avoid things like that. Cue what happened lately.

At least she's grown a little...

Hang on, what the hell am I saying? She's fifteen, you idiot! Besides, she's one of-well, used to be one of your teammates!

"I'm sorry if Yoshika offended you," the girl with Yoshika said as she bowed slightly. "I hope you don't hate her for it."

"Uh, how can I hate one of my own teammates?" I asked, confused. I then gave off a slight smile. "Besides, believe me when I say that what Yoshika just did wasn't bad compared to some of the other moments I could think of."

I swear the girl's almost steel-colored eyes blinked in total surprise. "Wait, you know Yoshika?"

"Yeah." I then closed my eyes and flashed a cheesy smile. "My name's Roland Sage. I was a lieutenant in the Strike Witches, and the sole male of the group."

"Roland...Sage?"

I looked at Yoshika's friend carefully.

"I'm sorry, miss," I said. "Have we met before?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," the girl said as she bowed slightly. "My name's Michiko Yamakawa."

"Like I said, I'm Roland." I set my right hand out for a handshake as Michiko lifted her head to look at me.

"It's an honor to meet you, Roland-san." She grabbed the hand gently and shook it.

"Just Roland is fine, Michiko." I retracted my hand and stuck it in my right side pocket. I so need to learn Fuso when I get a chance.

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

"He's a good friend," the little Fuso Witch from the team said as she looked at me. "Roland-kun's been keeping an eye on me since I first met him...minus the last six months."

"Uh, yeah..." I said sheepishly as I placed a hand on the back of my head. "I wished I could have come sooner, but you know Commodore Galland...then again, you probably don't. Suffice to say that this is the first time I've swung by Fuso."

Though, to be honest... I did have some doubt about coming here...

XXXXXXXXXX

"I know that I'm helping morale by doing these rallies," were the words I had started with when Adolfine had first told me about the news of me heading to Fuso, "but...couldn't you tell me about this a little sooner?"

"You know," Adolfine told me as I stood inside her office on the base she was at currently, "I would have thought you would have been more agreeing with this. What, you don't want to see some old faces?"

"Ma'am, don't get me wrong. I'm not hating the idea of seeing Yoshika and the major again...but it's been six months..." They had time to think about me and my secret...have they lost my trust in the meantime?

"All the more reason to see them again. I seem to recall that they were arguing over who would be housing you, if I'm not mistaken."

"Don't remind me..." Geez, did she really have to bring that up? Listening to eleven cute girls trying to settle something happening to me was not something I really enjoyed. "I mean, again, don't get me wrong. It's just..."

My mind drifted to Minna for a split second. The commander had been the most affected when I revealed my secret...but she had been the one who allowed me back on the team. If it wasn't for her...

"Thinking about Wilcke, are we?" Adolfine asked me.

"Yeah," I told her as I shook my head. "I guess I was. Just a little. Anyways, why Fuso? You could send me anywhere. Why there?"

"I'm sure the people in Fuso would like to know that we're fighting the Neuroi with everything we've got and winning."

"Uh...if we're doing that, then..."

Adolfine looked at me quickly. She's gotten used to me trying to ask dumb questions. "Don't ask, lieutenant."

"Uh, I'm not exactly in the army anymore, remember, ma'am?"

"I understand. Though at this rate, you might as well be."

There was something with her statement... "Ma'am?"

Adolfine shook her head. "Nothing. So, any objections I should know about?"

"No, ma'am!" I saluted quickly. "I'll be on my way to Fuso."

"Good to hear." Adolfine nodded her head as I lowered my salute. "Oh, and lieutenant? Be sure to say hi to the Fuso Witches for me when you get a chance."

You mean Yoshika and Mio? "Yes, ma'am."

XXXXXXXXXX

You know, thinking about that reminded me...

"Oh, Yosh?" I asked quickly. "Air Commodore Galland said hi."

"Who?" Yoshika asked me quickly.

I sighed. "The head of the Witch Corps? That Witch who came into the dining hall the day you girls talked about where I was going to head?"

Yoshika nodded in understanding. "Oh, the commodore! Wonder why she wanted to say hi..."

I shook my head gently. It generally took Yoshika some time to store information...or at least to remember them. "I'm sure she has her reasons."

Yoshika was looking at the road ahead, and she soon spotted something. "Look, a warship!"

"Yeah!" Michiko said as we joined her in looking. "It's the battleship Yamato. Two hundred sixty meters long, with a maximum power output of a hundred and fifty-three thousand horsepower. It's the flagship of our allied fleet. It's just awesome!"

"Looks like it beats the Ascension in size," I added as I studied the ship. "Then again, the ship I served on was a carrier."

"I think I read something in the newspaper about its next assignment being in the Mediterranean Sea," the driver, who I learned was Michiko's grandpa, said as a sort of filler.

I looked at Yoshika as she thought about what he said.

"Europe, huh?" she asked. "That ship's actually going to Europe?"

"I guess so," I told her. Seeing as I was just around that area, I knew where he was talking about. But why is Yoshika looking like she's worrying about something?

Suddenly, Michiko's grandpa gave off a yell as the vehicle had its brakes applied quickly. This sent us flying back into the produce, the girls screaming while I only grunted in surprise. The first one to recover was Michiko, followed by me a split second later.

"What's going on, grandpa?" Michiko asked as we grabbed a hold of the bar behind her grandpa and looked ahead. We were soon joined by Yoshika, and the girls gasped. Lying in the road was a small, brown-coated bear.

"It's a bear," Yoshika pointed out.

"Uh, what's a bear cub doing this close to a town?" I asked in confusion. Didn't wild animals generally avoid human settlements?

"It looks like it's injured," Michiko added. "That's so sad."

Yoshika and I jumped out of the trailer and ran to the cub, Michiko following a second later. Her grandpa was telling us to come back due to the fact that it was too dangerous. Yoshika and I knelt down next to the cub.

"It's okay," Yoshika told it calmly. "You're gonna feel a lot better soon." She soon focused, and I looked on as her familiar started to appear and the area was covered in a blue dome of light.

"Hurry up and save it, okay?" Michiko said for support.

Soon, we heard growling as well as Michiko screaming, and we looked ahead to see a much-bigger bear.

"I'm going to assume that this is the cub that belongs to that bear," I said with a sigh.

We all stayed where we were, Yoshika too surprised to do much, Michiko too scared to run, and the bear growling. Even I was a little concerned about what to do: should I throw something at it? Should I tell it a bad pun? Ugh! The only real thing I could do was try making myself look big, but...hang on a moment...

I knew what the grandpa did: he grabbed Michiko and pulled her back, confirming what I thought. I got onto my feet slowly so as not to give the mother bear any reason to attack early.

"Not yet," I heard Yoshika say. I think she was directing it to the bear in front of us. "I'm not done yet. Just a little more..."

I don't think she's going to have a little more time for this, and I was right as the bear reared up onto its hind feet.

I darted in front of Yoshika as I placed my right hand on the hilt of my sword.

"Don't you dare try attacking," I told it angrily as I gave off a red aura that wrapped around my body. "We're not trying to hurt your cub. We're trying to help it. At least show us some kindness and stand down."

"Roland!" Michiko shouted. "Don't do it!"

"I don't have a choice, do I?" I lowered my eyebrows. "I may not be a member of the Strike Witches anymore, but I'll be damned if I let one of those girls get hurt! Especially in front of me!"

Suddenly, the blue aura disappeared, leaving the bear as well as myself confused. When I lowered my own aura and looked, the cub was sitting in front of Yoshika, who was giggling. I let go of the hilt and stepped aside as the mother lowered herself back down to four feet and approached the little Fuso Witch. The bear then grabbed her cub by the scruff with her mouth before taking it into the bushes with her as they left. As she went by me, the mother bear looked at me and grunted softly.

Did I get a grunt from a bear, and a mother bear of all things?

"She's really something..." I heard Michiko's grandpa say.

"Yoshika!" Michiko added as I saw her run to her friend.

I was struck dumb: how in the hell did she do it so quickly, and without fainting to boot? Yeah, it was a little bear cub, but...the last time she healed something or someone was when she tried healing Mio. And that knocked her out if not nearly killed her.

Then again, I had something else on my mind...

"Uh, sorry, Yosh," I said as I looked at the girl, who was looking at where the bears entered the bushes. "I kinda overreacted back there. I hope you can forgive me."

"I can't believe you did that," Michiko said as she reached Yoshika before kneeling down to her level. She then noticed the blank look. "What's going on?"

Yoshika started laughing a little hysterically, and I looked at her in bafflement. What's wrong with her now?

"Wow! That was scary!" she said to her friend before she resumed laughing.

I sighed immediately after: she was just threatened with danger, and she was laughing? I think she finally broke...hang on, she's laughing?!

"That was scary?" I said quickly. "You weren't going to be the first thing it would have hit at that point!"

"I'm sorry," Yoshika apologized once she stopped laughing. "I know that you would have been hurt first. Oh...thanks." She smiled. "It's alright how you reacted. After all, I don't mind you trying to protect us."

I blushed slightly. "Uh, thanks, Yosh..."

XXXXXXXXXX

Yoshika's POV

Hey dad. I graduated from junior high school today. It's time to make good on that promise I made you.

I was thinking that as I was sitting at a table in the clinic, a picture of my dad in my hands. Roland was sitting across from me, his knapsack next to him.

The clinic will be my life. I'll give my gift to everyone who needs it. All in honor of you.

I moved the picture to see the rest of the pictures, and the next one was Major Sakamoto alongside my dad and a Striker Unit.

Major Sakamoto...I can't believe it's been six months since the battle for Britannia ended.

I recalled my first fight against the Neuroi as well as the fight I had going up against the Neuroified Warlock before Roland stepped in.

And it all started with just this letter, didn't it?

I looked across and at Roland, who was busy writing down something on a piece of paper.

And him...I guess without Roland-kun around, it would have been quieter around the base.

I soon remembered everything we did together: when he and I helped Lynne with her first Neuroi shoot-down, when Captain Barkhorn was injured, Shirley's speed record, night patrol...everything.

I smiled before I heard Michiko call for my help. She was holding an injured bird in her hands.

Soon, I had healed the bird and released it back into the air, and it soon flew off while we stood outside.

"Wow, isn't that amazing?" I said in awe.

"Thank you for saving him," Michiko said in gratitude.

Roland was simply looking into the sky, deep in thought about something.

Suddenly, there was a quick twinkle as something came crashing down into the ground.

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Roland's POV

I was soon snapped out of my thoughts by a crash.

"What the hell was that?" I asked quickly as I looked at the girls, who were cringing in surprise.

We looked around and saw a set of Striker Units poking out of some bushes.

"Again?" I asked. The last time this happened was about two weeks ago, when I got those letters...

"Huh?" Yoshika asked, ignoring my question. "What's that?"

We approached the crashed object and made it out to be a Witch.

"Ow..." I heard her groan as she sat up. She looked like she was of Karlsland descent or something with the clothes she had on: she was wearing a sage-colored (after I gave the color some thought) military jacket, and she had the ears and tail of a fox (colored like Fox McCloud's) as she lied there in the bush. She wore a pair of glasses that were now misaligned on her face, which gave me a little better view of her eye color, which I could describe as being steel-colored (or close to it). Her dark gray hair was also rather messed up, probably from the crash landing she performed. Though it didn't help the fact that I had a clear view of white panties...and now that blush is returning to my face.

Hang on...she looks familiar...

"Amaki?" I asked, the blush still on my face. Why was it I wasn't blushing when I was looking at Yoshika? Or Michiko, for that matter? Oh, wait...swimsuit...I think...

"You know her, Roland-kun?" Yoshika asked me in surprise.

Before I could reply, Amaki had gotten up quickly and introduced herself to the girls before looking at me.

"Oh, hey there, Roland," Amaki greeted.

"I thought you were delivering a letter to Yoshika," I said to her. That was two weeks ago, and you just arrived now? What, did you get sidetracked with something involving traffic? It's the stinking sky, for crying out loud! Can't go straight? Try going up or down.

"Well, I kinda had to take some detours. It's been what, two weeks since?"

I blinked. I know it was about six months after the last campaign, but (and this was a bigger concern than the detours she had to use)...how the hell did I converge on the ending from the first season? I thought we had passed that point! "Uh...I guess?"

"By the way..."

I didn't let her finish, for I simply pointed at Yoshika. "Yoshika Miyafuji. Right here, Amaki." I sighed: I was still hung up on the time difference.

"Whoa, thank goodness!" Amaki produced a letter and presented it to Yoshika. "I have a letter for you, from your dad."

Yoshika was surprised. A lot.

Me? Not so much...

XXXXXXXXXX

A while later, and Yoshika had called for her mom and grandma to join us outside as we stared at some blueprints for something.

"What is this?" the little Fuso Witch asked.

"Looks like plans of some kind," her mom replied.

"I agree," I said. I have no idea what I was looking at, but I think I know a blueprint when I see one.

"I have no idea what it's for," her grandma added.

Yoshika and I looked at Amaki.

"So uh, did they tell you what this was?" Yoshika asked.

"My orders were simply to deliver the letter to you," Amaki replied. "Unfortunately, they didn't give me any details about its contents. I'm sorry. The funny part was that I had to deliver Roland's as well."

Yoshika then looked at me. "You got something from Dad?"

I nodded as I took my backpack off my back and fished out the letter I had received. I opened up the letter and pulled out my diagnostics.

"I did, Yosh," I told the little Fuso Witch. "It's...well, I'd like it if you took a look at it. Just yourself."

Yoshika walked up to me as she examined the contents I pulled out and said, "Well, if Dad sent you something, then maybe there's something he's trying to show us."

"But I fail to see how those blueprints line up against this." Considering that I had my diagnostics on hand, how did they fit with blueprints? Unless it was a plan for me...

"Why would my husband mail you something?" Yoshika's mom asked me as I looked at her. "He died before Yoshika met you."

"I have no idea, ma'am," I replied as I put the diagnostics away. "Unless there's some sort of connection between what he sent me and those blueprints..."

Nah. It wouldn't even begin to make sense: why give Yoshika blueprints and me diagnostics? Something really doesn't add up...

Yoshika had an idea: "I know! Major Sakamoto used to work with my dad! Maybe she can figure it out!"

Makes sense. It was Mio that had met Yoshika before they met me. IF she can't help us out, then I guess I can say we're screwed as far as getting answers go.

"Hang on!" Amaki said in surprise. "You mean Major Sakamoto from the naval academy?"

"Depends," I said. "Wears an eye patch over her right eye? Wields a katana? Has a...distinct laugh?"

"Yes!" Yoshika replied to Amaki's question. "I'll go see her tomorrow!"

"And I'm going to come with you," Michiko added.

"Same here," I continued. "I may have things to do, but I'm sure the commodore can understand if I take a side-trip."

XXXXXXXXXX

Yoshika's POV

The next day, Michiko, Roland, and I went off to the naval academy to find the major, the former lieutenant having brought his backpack and sword with him. We approached the gates and were saluted by the guard that was there. I asked him if he knew where Major Sakamoto was, and he was kind enough to tell me to wait in the storage hangar for a while. Michiko thanked him afterwards.

Now we were walking toward a set of flags above the entrance to the main building.

"It's been a long time since I've seen Major Sakamoto," I said to my friends.

"It was so cool!" Michiko replied. "Those guards let us go right through those gates."

"But how come?" Roland asked, trying to understand why. He hitched his backpack up a little higher on his back.

"I am still commissioned as a reserve officer," I explained.

"Right...I forgot about that...hang on, you're still a part of the military?" Roland sounded surprised. "I thought you were...?"

"Major Sakamoto made sure of that."

The boy blinked. "Good ol' Sakamoto, huh?"

"Wow," Michiko said. "Isn't she the one everyone's so scared of because she's so mean?"

"Not at all!" Roland and I both told her. I added in, "She can be strict, but deep down she's nice. Although when I first left she did warn me not to come to the base again."

"Huh? How come?"

I looked down. "I don't know." I then looked ahead and saw a storage hangar up ahead. "Wait, I think we're here."

"Really?" Michiko asked as we walked to it and went inside.

"Yep," I replied. "They told us to wait in the storage hangar."

We looked around. It certainly looked like a storage hangar, I'll give it that much: it had boxes off to the side, it had almost no light spots (the only light being the open hangar doors), and it was very spacy.

"Lots of room to move, at least," Roland said simply. "The boxes are a nice touch. Though the darkness is something I'd address at some point."

We looked around before Roland and I spotted something, and we gasped. Up ahead was a Striker Unit, and once we approached it I concluded that it was Mio's.

"Hey, didn't you used to fly around with one of these things back when you were fighting with the Strike Witches?" Michiko asked me.

"Yeah," I said. "It brings back lots of memories..."

"Same here..." Roland added. "Though mine was...different..."

Right, I forgot that Roland's Striker Unit was the oddball of our group of Striker Units: while ours were sitting on a stand like the one Mio's was on, Roland's was...I guess it could be considered invisible. In fact, the only way we can see it for ourselves was if Roland called upon it. I'm not really sure about how it was possible, but Roland had to send energy into his watch in order to call it out.

Suddenly, my ears picked up something moving, and light flooded into the hangar.

"Forgive my tardiness," a man's voice.

We turned around and saw a young man standing there in uniform and a military cap.

"Sergeant Hijikata!" I said quickly.

"It's good to see you again," the man, Hijikata, replied as he walked up to us. "I'm sorry, Miyafuji. You came all this way, but I'm afraid the major went on leave some time ago."

"On leave?" Roland asked.

"So where can we find her?" I added.

"I don't know where she is," Hijikata replied. "She left her teaching position at the Witch Academy earlier this year, but she does keep in contact with me on a regular basis."

I thought about something, and I fished out my dad's letter. "Well, tell her that I got a letter from my father yesterday."

"You got a letter from Doctor Miyafuji?"

"Yeah," Roland said. "The mail system is as sterling as ever, I guess." I'm not sure if he was saying that sarcastically or not. That, and he could have handed his to the guy as well, but I don't think he really wanted to risk somebody outside of the Strike Witches learning about his secret.

Hijikata grabbed the envelope and looked at it. "I'm sorry, but that has to be impossible. He passed away."

"Yeah, we can't explain it either."

"But Major Sakamoto was very close to my father," I added. "So...I thought she might be able to help us figure it out."

"I believe you're right," Hijikata replied. "I'll be sure to give her this letter as soon as she returns to base."

"That's great!" I bowed slightly. "I knew you could help."

"That was easier than I thought," Michiko said.

Roland and I nodded in agreement.

"Hey, Yoshika!" another male voice called out.

We looked at the windows and saw some men standing there, looking inside.

"Long time, no see." another man said.

"Our sweet rice cakes just haven't tasted as good without you around," a third one added. "How about making us some?"

The men laughed.

I was blushing as Roland looked at me.

"What have you been doing since I left?" he decided to ask. His face looked like he was trying to piece together what I had been doing since we last met.

"Everybody here really likes you," Michiko observed.

"No," I said in embarrassment as I took a sudden interest in my hands. "They say that to all the girls."

"Right..." Roland said as he eyed me while crossing his arms. "I'm certain not all girls are like you."

My blush became deeper as I turned my head away from Roland.

"Sergeant Hijikata!" a man said as he reached the hangar door. "There's an emergency flash from Gallia Command!"

This was surprising to Roland and myself.

"Gallia?" we asked as one.

"What is it?" Hijikata asked.

"There's been a major change of status with the European Neuroi." the man replied.

"I'm on my way."

Roland gritted his teeth as he looked at me. I was shocked about what the man said.

If I had to take a guess, we were both thinking the same thing: Not the Neuroi...

XXXXXXXXXX

Roland's POV

A while later, and we were standing at the doorframe to the radio room as Hijikata and the operator were discussing the emergency. I had my bag as well as my sword with me.

"It's from the Witches at Gallia Station," the operator said. "'Report to all allied force commanders: unexpected Neuroi contact above Venezia yesterday, with a far greater strike capability than previous encounters, completely overwhelming Venezia in a single day. The Five Hundred and Fourth Joint Fighter Wing protecting Romagna engaged them but suffered heavy losses and could no longer maintain a defense."

Venezia? Where was that?

Yoshika gasped as Hijikata couldn't believe what he heard.

"Hold on, did you say Romagna's Five Hundred and Fourth Joint Fighter Wing?" he asked. "We have a regiment of Witches from the Fuso Navy currently stationed with that unit."

Wait, Five Hundred and Fourth?

"But aren't some of your friends in Gallia, Yoshika?" Michiko asked.

Yoshika couldn't answer that, and neither could I. While every Witch we knew who was stationed within Europe in general was in danger, if we're taking about Gallia...

No...

Are Minna and the others going to try to fight the Neuroi without us?

Hijikata picked up the phone and said, "This is Sergeant Hijikata from Fuso. What is the status of Romagna's Five Hundred and Fourth Fighter Wing, over?"

It took a while for someone to reply, and when they did the voice sounded familiar. Extremely familiar.

"This is Gallia Command," the voice said. "Sergeant Lynette Bishop of the Britannia Air Force reporting."

Yoshika gasped.

"Gimme that!" I said quickly as I rushed in and wrenched the phone form Hijikata. I placed the phone to my right ear and talked into it. "Lynne, this is Roland Sage here. Status, over!" I made sure to make my voice sound like this was a do-or-die moment right now.

Lynette took a while before she replied with, "We have no status updates, Roland. All attempts to reach Romagna have failed. We've received a request for Witch reinforcement, but we don't have enough reserve available to back them up."

"Not enough reserve?"

I growled as I lowered the phone so Hijikata could say something.

"I don't care," he said. "You have to send them whatever you've got, over."

"No!" Lynette's voice said before it went blank for some reason. "...wait..."

"Repeat that last part, Lynne," I said into the phone as the operator was fiddling with some knobs. "Lynne, can you read me, over?"

"It's no use," the operator said quickly. "The ionosphere is lit up like a Christmas tree. She's gone."

"Damn, we're cut off," Hijikata concluded as I lowered the phone.

"Damn it all..." I growled as I looked at Yoshika, who looked very worried.

"Don't give up," Yoshika pleaded desperately. "Please try to reach her again. Lynne, Roland-kun and I fought in the battle over Britannia together."

I knew how she was feeling right now. Of all the times to be out of Europe...

"Try raising her again," Hijikata told the operator.

"I'll do my best," the operator replied as he tried raising Lynette again and I handed the phone to Yoshika. "This is the Yakusoba base of the Fuso Navy. Come in, Gallia Command. Do you read me?"

"Please, Lynne..." I heard Yoshika say in slight fear.

Come on... I thought as I gritted my teeth. We've got enough problems as it is with another Neuroi invasion or something. We don't need downed communications to add to the bill!

"This is the Fuso Navy, do you read?" the operator added.

"Come on, Lynne," Yoshika pleaded into the phone. "You have to say something, please."

I suddenly heard a switch being thrown, and I looked near Yoshika. There was a newcomer, and I gasped. It was a young woman with a eye patch over her right eye. She was covered in a brown cloak of some sort, and there was a katana strapped across her back.

Holy...shit...based on the fact that she didn't look too happy, I could tell that this could get ugly...

"Major Sakamoto!" I said in surprise.

Then again, this was Mio Sakamoto we were talking about here!

XXXXXXXXXX

Well, there goes the first chapter of the sequel to my first story.

The only thing I can say is that it's going to be a challenge to make this story keep up with its predecessor. However, I like the challenge itself: it gives me an opportunity to forge the story the way I can see it going.

Anyways, that's about it. Ultimately, no matter what I do, how I did with this chapter rests in your reviews. So please read and respond.

Thank you, and I hope to see you in the next chapter.