Strike Heroes: Roland's Story Corner

by Dilnos521

Around eighteen months after his story first started, Roland chooses to tell Heidemarie about his story up to now...well, as much as he was willing to give. Celebrating three years of the "Strike Heroes" series, it's a recap of the story up to "Wings of Freedom". Set between two arcs in SH3; rated T for now.

Hello, and welcome...

Well, now that I think about it, this isn't exactly normal for me, is it? Usually, I announce the project or work on something I've already started, but...well, given the moment, I thought it'd be best to do this for now. Don't fret, though: I will be finishing up the current arc of Strike Heroes 3: Global Revengeance, but I will be working on that after this is published.

Anyways, you might be asking yourself: "Hey, author, why is this here? This isn't an update for any of your other stories, and you've already said you didn't announce it. So why put this up?"

...We were wondering why you were saying that, to be honest...

...Noted, Lio. Anyways, if you haven't realized it, today marks the three-year anniversary of the start of my first fanfic series on the site. And boy, look at what has been accomplished...three stories done, sixty-six chapters in the main series (and counting), a collection of extra stories based on drama CDs, a new story series based on an AU of the main series and featuring some of the children of the Strike Witches...

Well, there's still plenty more in the future, but to celebrate: here's a chapter to summarize the events leading up where we are now in the main series...well, mostly. There is a slight spoiler in there for the next arc, so...

The Anti-Spoiler Squadron does not condone this, just to point it out...but then again he did say that the next arc was going to involve a pairing, so...we shall put it up.

Anyways, let us now commence the recapping...of sorts...

Disclaimer: The author does not own anything found in Strike Witches. The only things owned by the author are ourselves, Roland Sage, and Draco L. Dracon, among a few others. So pretty much any OCs he's created. Everything else belongs to their respective owners.

XXXXXXXXXX

Roland sat down in a chair inside the dining room around nine at night and sighed.

"Life around here just gets stranger and stranger, doesn't it?" he said to himself, laying his head down on the table so that his chin touched said object. "First the whole thing with Draco and Shirley, then what's going on with Eila and Sanya...it's a complete mess, ain't it?"

Don't ask us, his core, Lionelis, replied. We just sit here and observe, only really talking when we want to.

Love ya, too... the Neuroi Witch thought sarcastically.

Hey, it's not too bad. We do get a chance to see how the others act around you.

Yeah, that's really helpful...no, really, it is...

...You do know that you're lucky to be in this particular world, right?

And why do you say that?

You're dating the wing commander of the Strike Witches, you're surrounded by people who care about you, even if they do have some...issues every now and then, and most importantly of all you're still alive.

Yeah, well...those are all true, but...what do I want to do with my legacy? I mean, it's not like I can simply leave the armed forces life and go live on a farm or something with Minna...

Hmm...we don't have an answer for you there...

"Captain Sage?" a voice asked from behind him.

Roland cut off his internal conversation with Lionelis and turned his head to see who was calling his name, finding Heidemarie staring at him.

"Major Heidemarie?" he asked her. "What's up?"

"Sorry, but...Commander Minna was wondering where you were a while ago."

"Oh...where is she anyways, still doing paperwork?"

"Yeah. She asked me to see where you were." Heidemarie then got a curious look in her eyes. "Why are you all alone in here?"

"Erm...I was just thinking of some things..."

"What about? Sergeant Dracon and Captain Yeager?"

"...No..."

"Ensign Juutilainen and Sanya?"

"...Not right now...I am worried about their recent...ongoing spat or whatever it is, I really am...but..."

"Oh."

Both of them stayed silent for a bit, the only thing making noise being...well, their breathing.

"Say...Captain Sage?" Heidemarie decided to ask.

"You do know I don't mind you calling me 'Roland', right?" Roland replied.

You might as well call her Heidemarie based on that, Lionelis pointed out.

"Yeah, I know...anyways...do you mind me calling you 'Heidemarie' for now?"

He must have heard his core say something, Heidemarie thought as she looked at him as she gave it some thought. She didn't really know a lot of people calling her by just her first name in the military, usually because they were being formal and used her rank with it (along with 'Major Schnaufer'). She only really let her friends call her that, and she wasn't sure where Roland fell on the fence.

"Why?" she asked him.

"Well, Lio just pointed out that I should call you by your first name since I'm letting you call me by mine," Roland explained to his best ability. "You know, to be fair."

"Oh...well...sure..."

"Anyways, you wanted to ask me something?"

"Oh. I was wondering...do you mind talking about...well, life for you before now?"

"As in...?"

"Well...whatever you feel comfortable telling me, if you want..."

"Oh. Hmm...I don't really want to talk about my past itself. You know, before I even came into this world."

"Why?" Being from a separate dimension where the Neuroi never attacked seemed like there would be stories for him to tell. Even if they were bad...

"Well, they're not very...interesting...I generally did what kids usually did. Well, kids who led normal lives, mind you. Not to sound like I'm bashing Witches, but given only four of the Witches on the base currently are over eighteen, and only I finished their childhood with no wars pulling me in for services, I feel sympathy for the younger Witches..."

"Oh...well...sorry if I asked..." Heidemarie turned around and was about to leave when Roland stood up and pulled out a second chair that was next to him, patting the seat with his left hand.

"Come, sit," he said gently. "Just because I don't want to divulge the secret to a normal childhood or anything doesn't mean I don't have anything interesting to say. I could tell you all about my time since joining the Strike Witches."

Heidemarie turned around to face him and nodded her head. "Oh...okay..." She walked over to the chair he had pulled out and sat down, Roland pushing her in.

"Didn't really think I'd actually be able to do the whole 'seating a lady' manner thing Perrine taught me outside of practice, but I'll take what I get." Roland then sat back down in his seat. "So where would you like me to start?"

"Um...how did you start as a member of the Five Hundred and First?"

Roland blinked. "Wow, that far back, huh? Well...I wonder if I can summarize my life story since joining the wing, but I guess I'll try my best. There was the Ascension incident, which occurred about a week before Minna recruited me. Lost Commander Ellios, but I did bag my first Neuroi kill. And with a grenade, no less."

"A grenade?"

"Yeah...though now that I think back on it, that was a dumb idea in and of itself...then again, I didn't really have Neuroi Mode, a sword, a crowbar, any other guns apart from an Arisaka, or even any calmness after Commander Ellios died." He then added in a monotone voice, "And no, this will not be on the test..."

How'd you know we were going to ask you to say that? Lionelis asked.

Lucky guess... Clearing his throat, Roland continued with, "Now, a week later I was introduced to Minna in person. I had met her before via the anime, but this was a different experience meeting her personally."

"I see..." Heidemarie replied. "did you...you know, like her at the time?"

"Between me watching the anime and actually ending up here? I can't say. I didn't really think about falling in love until after I arrived, and even then it happened naturally. Not really because I wanted or had to."

"Oh. That's...a fair point. I don't really see myself getting married at the moment...or really finding someone to be with..."

"It'll happen eventually. There's someone out there, no matter who you are or what your orientations are."

"...Thanks?" Heidemarie sounded a bit confused.

"Sorry, just...playing it safe...You know, since there are a lot of girls around here, and it's possible that not all of them are into men."

"I see. What was it like once you joined?"

"...It wasn't at all what I supposed it was going to be. I mean, don't get me wrong: I really enjoy peace and quiet, and as a Witch it's my duty to take on Neuroi when needed, but...have you ever thought of being on a base where everyone you work with is the opposite sex? It takes a bit to get used to when you're an oddball yourself."

"So...no wine or anything to help out?"

"Not old enough back in my world, so I don't consider drinking here regardless of the legal drinking age here. I did have some people that started getting friendly with me after a while...and my letters."

"Letters?" Who was he sending letters to? she wondered.

"I wrote letters...you know, as a sort of tracker. A bit like a diary, but a bit more disguised, I guess. I usually wrote down my thoughts on the events I had been through...and some bonus things..." Roland suddenly got a blush on his face. "I had my first look at an actual nude girl while there...accidentally, mind you. The second time was more forced by Major Sakamoto. Anyways, I started with helping Yoshika help Lynne get her first shoot-down, learned a bit about Gertrud while she was still all...emo? Now that I think about it, I'm not sure how I'd describe it..."

"Emo?"

"Basically, her little sister was in a coma, and she wasn't exactly in her right mind. Didn't help that I thought she saw her in Yoshika and thought it had something to do with the little Fuso Witch."

"Fuso? I think it's supposed to be-"

"I'll deal with corrections later, ma'am. Just...please listen, alright?"

Heidemarie nodded. "Alright...I'll keep listening."

"Thanks. Now, what was next...oh! Then there was Shirley and the speed barrier."

"Speed barrier?" She had heard about it, of course (who didn't by this point?), but he had been part of that?

"Yeah. We went to the beach and, after a Neuroi appeared, she rammed right into it and destroyed it. After breaking said sound barrier, mind you."

"I see." She then noticed that his blush was still there. "Um...your cheeks are still red..."

"Remember that thing I said about nudity earlier?"

Heidemarie nodded slowly. "Yeah...?"

"Well, she was the one. Swimsuit broke some time after. And there was the bath incident..."

Heidemarie got a blush of her own across her face. "R-Roland, why...did you go i-into the bath when there w-was a girl in there?"

Roland raised an eyebrow. "Hey, why are you blushing? Mio forced me to take a bath with her, Yoshika, and Lynne. Besides, you already saw what happened that time before..."

Of course, Heidemarie recalled that moment he mentioned: she had been coming back in from night patrol when she saw Roland trying to struggle with getting out of Minna's grip. "S-Sorry, just...didn't realize it..."

"Just don't call me a pervert, please...I mean, it's probably justified, but it's not like I mean to do it."

"O-Okay...I won't...just this once..."

"Anyways, moving on from that..." Roland took a moment to let his blush recede. "There was the night patrol some time after. With Sanya."

"I think I remember that one. Sanya told me that a Neuroi had been messing with her...and that you and Miyafuji had been with her and Eila for it."

"Yeah. Guess I don't need to go over that one a lot. The next day, we had cake to celebrate Yoshika and Sanya getting a year older." Roland then smiled a bit. "About it. Next was Erica's commendation ceremony. That was the day I met Air Commodore Galland..."

"You met Galland?"

"Yeah. Kinda weird, how that went down: she mistook me for maintenance, and I corrected her without regard to ranking until Minna told me who she was."

"You got mistaken for maintenance? How?"

"Dunno. Could have just been freelancing by what she must have thought. I don't exactly dress like a normal Witch already, what with pants and all." Roland patted his right thigh. "This baby has certainly seen better days..."

Deciding to file the connection he had to his cargo pants for later, Heidemarie continued with, "And then what happened?"

"Well...after that was Minna enforcing the order concerning men's restriction from interacting with Witches. Included me as well, strangely enough. I argued with Minna over it and learned that she had lost someone before. The next day was when I activated Neuroi Mode for the first time."

"And that was when you got the moniker you currently have, right?"

"One step at a time, ma'am. One step. Minna lifted the rule some time after, and then..." He stopped.

"And then?"

"...Please pardon this when I say it, but...shit hit the fan soon after..." Roland sighed.

"Could you tell me? I know that your secret was revealed to the others accidentally, but..."

Roland looked at her, a saddened look in his eyes. "...I don't really enjoy the results too well, but they're part of who I am...well, since you want to hear it, I'll just go ahead and say it..." He took a deep breath. "After the rule was lifted, Mio and Minna confronted me about what I had done, and I was grounded to avoid it happening again until we could figure it out. Some time alter, a duel betwene Yoshika and Perrine took place, and I got in the middle of it...I do believe that I almost didn't come out of the end of it alive...if Yoshika hadn't talked some sense into me..."

Heidemarie raised an eyebrow out of curiosity. "Then?"

"...I would have probably been shot down by Perrine...my wish at the time..."

"Why? You can't just throw your life away like that, Roland..."

"I had the pressure of knowing Mio's injuries, Neuroi Mode, hiding my secret from them, and some other things I don't remember bottled up inside me. I didn't have a clear head..."

"Oh. Still...I don't want you to...you know, do that again."

Roland blinked. "Why?"

"I don't want to see someone I trust break down and ask to be killed. I'm glad to have friends who support me, but...I wouldn't want them to worry about me doing that..."

"True...some piece of work I am, right?"

"Maybe...but you're Commander Minna's and everyone else's piece of work." Heidemarie gave off a soft giggle.

"Oh well. It gets a bit worse, though: Mio's injuries do take place, and I failed to kill her attackers. As a result, Yoshika and I were confined to our rooms, but I chose to leave to find answers. Yoshika joined me hoping I'd return to normal."

"And what did you learn?"

"What you'd expect: I could hear the Neuroi language after a while, I guess because Lionelis allowed it once I activated it. I got some of my memories before coming here back. Well, the bit leading up to it. And we met the Warlock personally. Everyone but Mio, Perrine, and Lynne came to get us, and then Maloney took over the base and disbanded us." Roland looked at his watch as he raised it up to eye level. "Even locked me out of my Striker Unit. That was when I told them all my secret."

"I see. But it does end happily, doesn't it?"

"It does. Not perfectly, but still better then I had initially expected after Minna kicked me off the team and threatened to kill me on sight. Minna, I guess with help from Gertrud and Erica, forgave me for lying and brought me back on the team, gave me the moniker I now have, and we snuck into-slash-stormed the base and stopped Maloney. It took a bit for the others to arrive, but once we all met up, we went to go help Yoshika, and then we defeated the Warlock at the cost of the Akagi. Yoshika and I were dishonorably discharged for, well, the events that had occurred. And some time later, Air Commodore Galland asked me to handle morale rallies. And that was the end of my involvement in the series' plot for about six months before the air commodore sent me to Fuso for rallies and Venezia was taken."

Heidemarie nodded in understanding. "And that was when the wing was reformed, right?"

"Yep. One dead Neuroi, re-entering Neuroi Mode, meeting back up with everyone...pretty much. I had free choice once I got my rank back, and I chose to stay and help out again." Roland's stomach then growled. "Whoops...I guess I'm a little hungry..."

"We did have dinner about three hours ago."

"Yeah...but I do have a core to maintain. I think. Long story about it, but let me find something to eat and then I'll continue with Roland's Story Corner." Roland stood up and left the dining hall to track down something to snack on.

Heidemarie looked at the table as she went over what he had told her so far.

She had no idea about being the only male on a team of all females given she herself was one, but somehow she thought he had expected some things to happen. Then there was the rule he had brought up: if she recalled correctly, Adolfine had put it into effect to avoid older men from simply having their way with any of the Witches who were underage. But that was just to avoid sexual encounters; to have known that Minna had modified it the way she had...

She shook her head. She was pretty certain that, even if Minna had never done it, that Roland was able to deal with the issue if it arose. He seemed the type to respect Witches. Then again, he was a Witch himself, only with a Neuroi core inside him.

As for the rest of it, she was glad to know that eveything had turned out fine for the most part, but she wondered about why Roland had chosen to get involved with liberating Venezia.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Anyways..." Roland said once he swallowed a cookie he had found, along with a few others. Apparently, Lynette had chosen to make some for a snack some time after dinner, and Roland had just now learned about it. He also had a glass of milk. "Want a cookie?"

Heidemarie looked at him, confused as he held out a cookie. It seemed to be chocolate chip.

"Roland?" she asked him. She did have a glass of milk (Roland had come back with the glasses first, and had one for her in case she got thirsty), but she hadn't felt like drinking it yet.

"It's just a cookie," he told her. "Not a commitment ring or anything special."

"Oh...well...thanks..." She took the cookie from him and gingerly started munching on it. "So...Roland...what about Venezia? I know that you were announced dead after the success of Operation Mars and that you were under the radar, for lack of a better way, for about a month or two afterwards, but...what happened between rejoining and the operation?"

"A whole lot, ma'am. A whole lot happened. For that, we turn to when I arrived in Fuso for the rallies." Roland then watched as Heidemarie tried figuring out what he meant. "Not literally. It's more for the readers...and thanks, Lio, for making me think of something like that..."

You're welcome, the core replied with a smug tone.

"Anyways, I had a day off from rallies, so I chose to explore Fuso a bit..." Roland then coughed into his left fist. "Poor decision at the time..."

"Why's that?" Heidemarie asked him. "I've heard that Fuso is beautiful when the cherry blossoms occur."

"True. There were those things...though it took me a while after to realize what they were. Anyways, I wandered down a stretch of dirt with my things and a map in the Fuso language. While trying to figure out where I was, I met an old gentleman driving a tractor of some kind. He offered me a ride in the back of the trailer he was pulling, filled with...I'm not sure if they were cabbage or lettuce still. Well, that was when I reunited with Yoshika."

"I see." Heidemarie nodded in understanding. "And that started your time in Romagna?"

"Not quite yet...We both got something from her father, and she took hers to the base for Major Sakamoto to look at. If I had to take a wild guess, I'd say that they were plans for the Shinden she now uses for the others to finish. Speaking of the major, she came back on the base-apparently she had been out beforehand-some time after we lost contact with Lynne, who told us what had happened in Venezia. She told Yoshika to go home and asked me to watch over her." Roland sighed. "And of course she did the one thing the major told her not to: she got into her Striker Unit and took off after the plane. I followed along because I was tasked with watching her. We got to the plane, and after a while Major Sakamoto let us on."

"Ah...So..."

"We did do some things between Fuso and the Neuroi attack that reunited us with the others, but I think that's a tale for another time. What's important is that the incident that occurred was when I chose to stay on. Well, after it had occurred. And so Perrine, Lynne, Yoshika, and I had to go do some basic training with an old teacher of Major Sakamoto's named Anna Ferrera. Not too bad for training, but..." Roland rubbed the back of his head with both hands after laying the cookies he had left on a napkin he had placed on the table. "Too many smackings and whackings..." He then shook his head and removed his hands. "Sorry, just...remembered something."

"...Did you do anything...inappropriate, Roland?" He seemed to have made a point of stopping to try suppressing a memory or something.

"Not on purpose. And it was only the second time; the first was just for a comment. Anyways, where was I?"

"Basic training?"

"Oh. Right. We did that, the testing with the Jet Striker...thank God for Yoshika's healing magic...and no thanks to my idiocy. Speaking of: ma'am?"

"Yes?"

"Don't try catching a Witch coming in on a Jet Striker without any shields behind you. Or at all."

"...Oh...okay then..." She didn't bother commenting on it.

"Now, on to some shopping...and I actually had the chance to meet the duchess while out. Well, accidentally."

Heidemarie raised an eyebrow. "Duchess?"

"Yeah. Duchess Maria...I forget the rest. But I thought she was a girl Francesca had met until the next day, when we heard her speaking at a meeting we tuned the radio to. Kinda the reason why Sully's bene with us."

"Oh...he was from that time?"

"Yeah. Pet shop owner gave him to me as a gift, I tried leaving him in the duchess' care, and she air-dropped him onto the base with a letter attached vouching for me to keep him. And he stayed as my pet...on one condition."

"And what was that?"

"The others would take care of him as well. Team effort, I guess."

"I see..."

"What else...hmm...well, there was the close-to-space mission Sanya, I , and one other teammate flew...argument between Eila and Sanya...and long story there...I think...then the bug-like Neuroi...I still do not forgive it for what I learned. Did net Minna the two hundredth kill medal."

"Excuse me, but...what do you mean?" Heidemarie recalled that Minna had received the medal, but from her memories the reports had said that she had earned it in combat, instigated when the Neuroi launched an attack while she was training some of her teammates.

"Oh right. I guess the brass chose to not include...well, that detail. Well, let's just say that, if you ever became a Neuroi and had to choose a disguise, don't choose a bug. Or at least, if you do...try a cockroach. Those bastards seem to have a good time surviving things. At the very least, choose something that doesn't get killed by a girl squeezing her legs together, pulls up her panties in an attempt to recover from being 'pantsed', or a possible combination..."

"Oh..." Then again, Heidemarie wouldn't want reports saying she killed the Neuroi via putting on panties either.

"And then, there was the time I entered Second Stage. Fun times..."

"How was that fun?"

"Well, I got more powerful whenever I used that state, but at the cost of damage to my left arm." Roland then showed her his left arm, which had the scars from his usage of it. "Like these."

"Oh. Why don't you get Miyafuji to heal those?"

"Well, they're kinda old...and by the time I thought of that idea, we had lost our magic. But we'll get there. Yoshika got the Shinden, I got the Barrier Bracelet...about it, apart from the Neuroi we killed. Lynne was there as well; she played distraction for the fleet to get away until we arrived there."

We guess the will to protect got rubbed off on her at that time, didn't it? Lionelis tried.

Must have, the Neuroi Witch replied mentally. "So...next was the beach...and a treasure hunt. Things happened, moving on..."

"But..." Heidemarie tried saying.

"This story won't be stopping there for now. Besides, you can try asking Minna and the others about it. Now, let's see...what was next?"

"You know, Roland...I just thought about it...but you and Commander Minna getting together is still not really explained..."

"Right...well, that was next on the list: Malta, I believe it was called. Was it?" Heidemarie nodded. "Alright. Anyways, Captain Marseille was part of the team along with Erica and myself. Some things happened...which I'm not too proud of...and then after the mission...that's when it happened..."

"What happened?"

"Well...Marseille took my first kiss, I believe people would say it. Minna got upset, and I had to try fixing it."

"Erm...how come she took it?"

"...It was part of a bet...I lost..."

"...What were you even playing?" What did he even play that warranted a bet?

"...Mau-Mau..."

"...Why...hang on, Roland..." Heidemarie took the chance to drink some of her milk before continuing on with, "Why?"

"Well, it was those two against me, in an effort to work on thinking on the same wavelength. To be fair, it was a close call, but I still lost. Anyways, that's kinda when Minna and I confessed to each other and kissed. Well...twice."

"Were you two that passionate about it, Roland?"

"...The second time, I think we were. Well, Minna was...no French kissing or whatever the more intimate form is actually called. The first time was just to, and I will quote myself here, 'shut up, Minna'."

"...I'm not sure if that was the best line to use..."

"Not sure either, but it was in the heat of the moment. Anyways, there was that. And then it was Operation Mars time."

"I see...and that was when you were declared dead at the time?"

"Afterwards, yeah. But that was perhaps the most challenging thing I had to deal with: no idea what was going to happen, and...I chose to try sacrificing myself in order to attempt to destroy the hive..."

"Roland?"

"Well, I did say 'try'...but I wanted to make sure no one else lost their home or had the threat of losing it loom over them, so I did the only thing I could do. Major Sakamoto had thought of activating the Dynamo herself, but...I stopped her."

"I see...and so you..."

"Yeah...afterwards, Yoshika used the Shin Reppuzan and I used something called Neuroi Explosion to kill it, but the attack I used drained my core's energy. In order to stay alive, I had to give up my magic to restart it. I guess that ended up giving me the Lio I know today. Also gave me this..." Roland took a deep breath and let his left eye glow as the scars on his left arm did so as well. "It's a dark red color now when I'm not doing this."

"Oh. So...what happened next?"

"Well...there were me waking up...going to Fuso instead of Belgica to be with Minna...we met Shizuka about a month later...and we ended up coming over to Europe so Yoshika could head to Helvetia. A while later, we ended up at Saint-Hubert, which is where our story seems to end for today. And the rest you already know."

"I see...so there's a lot to take in...but I still don't understand some things..."

Roland looked at her with a look of curiosity. "Like?"

"Well, what happened during some of the kep moments you've been through?"

"Well...I think it's best if you ask around. Maybe you'll learn something."

"Oh." Heidemarie then stood up and nodded her head. "Well, thanks for sharing your story. Well, what you've told me of it so far."

"You're welcome. And if and when you ever feel like it, I'd like to hear yours as well. Now, what say we head to the room and get some sleep? I'm pretty sure Minna's ready herself."

"I was about to propose that myself," Minna replied as she stood in the doorway leading out of the dining hall.

The two Witches looked at her in surprise. "Minna! How long have you been there?"

"Hmm...I think since you mentioned Malta, I believe."

"Oh...so not long?"

"I'll see you two in the room, ma'am," Heidemarie said as she walked past Minna and headed to her room.

"So...what were you two talking about?" Minna asked her boyfriend.

"Not much, though I told her what happened to me since I joined. Well, summarized, mind you."

"I see. Well, I guess almost everyone on the team is caught up. If not all of us. So...ready for bed, dear?"

"Yeah. I'll have to talk to Eila and Sanya tomorrow about what's going on...but one step at a time, right?"

"Yeah." Minna left the area.

Roland stood up and, after chugging down the milk he forgot to drink while telling his story, went into the kitchen to rinse his and Heidemarie's cups out. He then started to leave after leaving them by the sink before stopping, as if thinking of something. He then shook his head and left the dining hall.

XXXXXXXXXX

And that's the end of the "recap". There's not really much to say about this except...well, I still made sure it was good, but this is just something I wrote to celebrate this moment.

Actually, there is something I do want to say: I want to thank everyone who has favorited or followed me or any of my stories as well as some authors in the past and present: Bombastic Barbaric Bastard and Ekuro268 for helping beta-read my stories, fuji92, Bombastic Barbaric Bastard, and Gamerman22 for leaving reviews for every chapter (including guest reviews) for the first, seond, and third story in the main series respectively, Gamerman22 and Bucue for helping me with information concerning the 504th JFW, Doran Maya for creating the FanFicCollective and letting me be a part of it, and...I do want to thanks fuji92 for leaving the first review of the whole series as well as everyone who has left reviews since then.

Anyways, please read, respond, and let me know what you thought of this. Also, let me know what your favorite moment was in the whole series so far if you want.

Thanks for everything, guys, and let's see what the future holds as the story of the Neuroi Witch continues and the story of his daughter is just beginning.

Here's to another few years of stories and to the future. For all of us.

-Dilnos521