Hello, and welcome to the next chapter in Strike Heroes 2: Roland's Return!
Now, before we get going on concluding this arc...it's review time!
jaku uzumaki: Roland's life seems to be ending up like that. Other than that, thanks for the review.
Dragonman75: Alright, don't hurt yourself too much thinking about it. :) Anyways, thanks for the review.
MxThomas (Guest): Thanks for the review.
Okay, now that the responses are done with for the moment, it's time to wrap this arc up.
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Chapter 11: Higher Than the Sky (Part 2)
Eila's POV
I walked into the room Sanya and I were using while on the base, closing the door behind me and trying to forget about the training Perrine had Roland and me do.
Don't get me wrong: I wanted to be there for Sanya, but maybe...
Hmm? I thought as my eyes caught something white lying on the small couch we had in the room. I walked over and picked it up to examine it. "Weird. What's this?"
"That's your coat, silly," Sanya said as I looked at her. She was busy in the closet, looking for something in there. "It's cold in the stratosphere, remember?"
"Oh yeah." I looked at my coat again as I stretched it out slightly. "I haven't worn this thing in forever."
"So how did it go?"
I looked at Sanya, who was holding something in her arms. "Huh?" She had a red scarf across the back of her neck.
"Your training. With Perrine and Roland." Sanya didn't look upset that I didn't tell her about my barrier training.
"Oh! Uh, yeah...you knew about that?"
"Yeah. How did it go?"
I chuckled for a bit before remembering what had happened. "Not good. I'm awful."
"Sorry."
I looked at Sanya and noticed that she had three scarves in her arms: a light blue one, a navy blue one, and a sage-colored one. If I had to take a guess, I think the sage one was going to be Roland's. "Sanya?" Speaking of that, does the lieutenant even have a jacket or something? "Are you taking all of those scarves with you?"
"Oh no." Sanya looked a little timid for a while. "Just one. The other three are for you and Roland. And Yoshika."
I was surprised. "Miyafuji?"
"Yoshika didn't bring anything with her from Fuso, so I thought I'd lend her one of mine. And Roland doesn't seem to have any clothes suited for cold weather, so I thought I'd lend him one as well. However...I'm still hoping you'll learn how to use a shield, Eila. Aren't you?"
"It's no use." Sanya looked at me in surprise. "I guess there are some things I'm not good at."
"You mean...you're gonna give up?"
I looked away from my friend. "If I can't do it, I can't do it. Doesn't matter how hard I try."
"But giving up is the whole reason you can't do it!" Sanya looked like she was trying to plead with me. "Please don't quit now, you're better than that."
"Why don't you just have Miyafuji protect you? No need to worry about her giving up!"
I don't think Sanya liked my response. "Stop being so stupid!"
"You stop being so bossy!"
The door opened up rather forcefully.
I watched as Sanya threw the pillow I had asked Miyafuji to get from Roma at me, and I was soon surprised when, instead of landing in my face, a green aura surrounded it.
"Okay, that's enough!"
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Roland's POV
I was on my way to my room so that I could lay down and probably catch forty winks when I started hearing voices.
"...worn this thing in forever," Eila's voice said.
"So how did it go?" Sanya's voice asked.
I blinked. How did what go? What are those two doing in there?
I walked over to their room, which had the door closed for some reason, and closed my eyes as I focused on their auras. Well, I was going mostly for Eila's, but I had no real choice but to see Sanya's as well.
"Your training," Sanya continued. "With Perrine and Roland."
"Oh!" Eila said in quick realization. "Uh, yeah...you knew about that?"
"Yeah. How did it go?"
I heard Eila chuckle for a bit before I could sense a sort of blue aura wash over her, like there was some sort of remorse or something. It was probably based off of the answer Eila gave: "Not good. I'm awful."
"Sorry."
I felt Eila look at the Orussian Witch, who looked like she was carrying something in her arms. Why was Eila feeling like this right now? "Sanya? Are you taking all of those scarves with you?"
"Oh no. Just one. The other three are for you and Roland. And Yoshika."
I felt a flash of surprise emerge from Eila's aura. "Miyafuji?"
"Yoshika didn't bring anything with her from Fuso, so I thought I'd lend her one of mine. And Roland doesn't seem to have any clothes suited for cold weather, so I thought I'd lend him one as well. However...I'm still hoping you'll learn how to use a shield, Eila. Aren't you?"
I didn't really bring any because I had been accustomed to the heat. I mean, I've been in cold places, but usually I find a way of keeping warm (like grabbing a coat when I could). The fact that my backpack was only really filled with gear for warm weather and personal hygiene...
"It's no use," Eila continued. "I guess there are some things I'm not good at."
"You mean...you're gonna give up?" Sanya asked.
I know what it felt like to have given up on almost everything: I had experienced it when my secret had first been revealed. Everyone had their own reaction to it, but Yoshika and Minna were the most affected, the former having tried to convince me to stay with them while the latter had threatened me with death as well as being forced off the team. Though for Minna she was the one who let me back on the team, even after all that.
But...Eila? Give up?
"If I can't do it, I can't do it," Eila told Sanya. "Doesn't matter how hard I try."
Poor excuse, Eila...
"But giving up is the whole reason you can't do it!" Sanya replied, sounding surprised. "Please don't quit now, you're better than that."
"Why don't you just have Miyafuji protect you?" Eila said rather rudely (well, for my tastes). "No need to worry about her giving up!"
Okay. I wasn't really planning on interrupting this little feud of theirs, but this has gone on far enough.
"Stop being so stupid!" Sanya shouted.
I grabbed the door handle.
"You stop being so bossy!" Eila retorted.
I opened the door by force and watched as Sanya's pillow flew from the Orussian girl's hands towards Eila's face. Thinking quickly, I called upon my gyrokinesis and caught the pillow with my magic before it landed at its intended target.
"Okay, that's enough!" I shouted as I turned off my aura-reading and faced the two feuding girls. I brought the pillow to me, where I gripped it with my right hand when it arrived. I was angry about what the conversation had escalated into. "I've been listening to this for far too long. We're a team here, you two."
"Eila just wants to give up, Roland," Sanya told me.
"There's nothing else left for me," Eila replied towards Sanya. "You, Roland, and Miyafuji are already going. No use in me dragging you down."
"Okay, that's it," I said, turning to Eila. "Eila, snap out of it! Sanya's right, this isn't like you. You've volunteered for the night mission back during the Gallia campaign. Why can't you try to work harder to actually be able to help Sanya now?"
"I agree," Sanya said.
"And you..." I turned to her, anger in my eyes. I don't know why I was angry: maybe it was the way the two were starting to go at it, or perhaps it was the fact that I had the whole training moment still fresh in my mind as each bullet slammed into Perrine's blue barrier. Hell, it could even be that my sanity had finally snapped while listening to them, but I took out all my pent-up rage on the Orussian Witch. "What gives you the right to accuse her of giving up? Last I checked, we've all tried giving up at some point. I'm probably the biggest idiot I know, and even I tried giving up." I motioned to Eila. "So don't tell Eila that she's giving up that easily. You don't know the reason why she's acting like that."
"Yeah," Eila said now. "That doesn't give you the right to complain about others' motives. Sometimes I wish that you and I had never met."
Sometimes I...
That last statement caught both of our attentions. Big-time.
"Ensign Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen!" I yelled in her direction. What the hell gave her the right to say that, of all things, to someone she cares about?!
"You..." Sanya started, trying to make sense of what she just heard. "You...you really believe that?" She sounded a little afraid.
I looked at Sanya now, my anger disappearing momentarily. "San...it's okay..."
"No..." she backed up in fear as I could see tears starting to form. "No, it's not...Eila..."
The Orussian girl ran out of the room crying, leaving me and Eila standing there.
"Sanya..." Eila tried, but I was on top of her really fast. I guess I wasn't completely done with my anger yet.
"You stupid bitch!" I screamed. "You just had to say something like that, huh?"
"I'm...I'm..." Eila looked scared. Something I could understand based on what I was doing to her right now.
"What? Sorry? Eila, what you just said..." I shook my head as I calmed down slightly. "It doesn't matter. I'm going to go find Sanya." I turned and made for the exit.
"Wait, I want to come with you..."
I turned my head to glare at her. "You've already done enough damage, Eila!" Calming down some more, I added in, "Let me handle this..."
Tossing Sanya's pillow to the Suomos Witch, I left the room, leaving Eila standing there.
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"Sanya?" I asked as I entered the kitchen, instead finding Yoshika and Lynette (strange that I usually find those two when I enter the kitchen. I think next time I'm not sure where they are, I'll just pop into the kitchen first) making...lunch?
"Hey there, Roland," Lynette said to me.
"Hello, you two." I sounded a little worried...and a little tense. Lynette better not have a weapon on her right now. I mean, she shouldn't, but I can't be too certain of that right now...
I think Yoshika picked up on it quickly and asked, "Roland-kun? What's wrong?"
I sighed as I calmed down concerning Lynette. "Have you seen Sanya?"
"I saw her running past the doorway. I think she was crying." She then looked at me with a slight look of anger. "What'd you do to her?"
Sighing, I took a seat at the table and laid my head on its surface. "I was listening in on Eila and Sanya talking, and when they started getting into an argument I barged in..."
Yoshika cocked her head to the side. "Um...meaning...?" I think she was sounding more confused than angry now.
"...I got into the middle of it...and..." I sighed again. Might as well say it. "I yelled at them."
"You yelled at them?"
"I didn't think I had a choice. I don't know why, but I told Eila to not give up, and then...I turned around and exploded in rage towards Sanya." I buried my face in the surface of the table.
"You exploded?"
"I didn't mean to! It just happened! I already feel guilty for even yelling at the two of them, and now I've got the prospect of losing Sanya's trust to add to that." My words were a little muffled due to the direction I was pointing my head.
"Um..." I heard Lynette begin. "I'm not sure about it, but I don't think Sanya would just do that to you. Not trust you anymore, I mean..."
I raised my head and looked at the Britannian Witch. "And what makes you say that, Lynne?"
"Well, it's just that you're usually not like that. I hope Sanya doesn't think anything bad about you, that's all."
I sighed again. "It's not up to me to decide that." Standing up again, I decided on leaving the kitchen. It was painfully clear that I needed some alone time to sort through this. "Anyways, I guess I'll just go take a look around for her and then lock myself in Minna's quarters for a while. Well, our quarters...I'll catch you two later, okay?"
Having said that, I left the girls to their devices.
I really need to recover from what I just did...
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Sanya's POV
It was a few hours after my fight with Eila along with Roland snapping at me.
I was floating on my back in the water outside, trying to forget what Eila had said as I was taking a sort of bath.
Sometimes I wish that you and I had never met.
Is that how she thinks of me? I asked myself.
The only things comforting me were the water as I felt it all around me and the moon, whose left side was dark.
"Hey there, Sanya!"
Soon, I saw someone diving toward the water from above, and I righted myself as I saw Hartmann enter the water from her dive.
"Ow, that hurt..." Hartmann moaned in pain as I watched.
A few minutes later, and we were sitting on the ground just outside of the water, our feet swaying lazily in the waves. I had told Hartmann about what had happened in the room earlier, making sure to tell her everything. Including Roland's anger.
"You guys fought?" she asked after giggling at what I had told her. I simply nodded. "That's funny."
"I don't think it's very funny at all," I told Hartmann. I wouldn't consider being yelled at by Roland and what Eila had told me to be rather funny.
"Well, are you going to do anything about it, Sanya?"
I looked at the Karlsland lieutenant. "What do you mean?"
"Yeah, guess an assignment's an assignment." She looked like she didn't hear my question, but maybe she did.
I looked away as I thought about what Roland would do. I could apologize to Eila, but then again she was the one who made me cry. Roland was almost no different: he had snapped at me.
Sanya, I want to know: will you still trust me? Roland's words from before entered my mind. No matter what, will you still believe in me?
I blinked. Why was I thinking about that again?
"You okay, Sanya?" Hartmann asked me.
"Yeah," I told her simply. "I was just thinking, that's all."
"About Roland?" I looked at my smiling teammate. "He's getting to be quite the ladies' man, I guess. He's got Commander Minna's attention as well as Trude's. Heck, he might have every other Witch's attention at the rate he's going."
I blinked again. "Huh?"
"Look at it this way: if he keeps helping us out the way he does then I bet you anything that he'll have a little flock of admirers following him around."
...That just raised a question in my mind.
How do I see Roland?
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I was walking back towards the room, trying to decide if I should sleep there for the night, when I ran into Roland. Well, I should say that he and I met up in the hallway (Roland was heading in the opposite direction of where I was going).
"There you are, Sanya!" he told me as he grabbed my shoulders gently. "I tried looking everywhere for you after you ran off!"
"You've tried looking for me?" I asked the Neuroi Witch as I turned my head away. Just because he's been worried about me doesn't mean that he's getting anything from me.
Roland took a deep breath. "Listen...I'm sorry, Sanya."
"Sorry?" I looked at his face and into his brown eyes. "For what?"
"I shouldn't have yelled at you like that, Sanya. I had no right to take my frustration out on you. I don't care if you don't want to speak to me for as long as you live, but I just wanted to tell you that I'm so sorry for what I did." He let go of my shoulders and turned around to leave.
I reached out and grabbed his right wrist, making him stop and turn to face me.
"Sanya?" Roland asked me. "What's wrong?"
"It's not your fault," I told him. "I don't blame you for getting angry with me."
"No way, Sanya." He gave off a faint smile. "You shouldn't have to say something like that to me, especially knowing that I shouldn't have snapped the way I did."
"But..."
"It's not your fault. Trust me." His smile was still faint, but he looked like he was genuinely truthful about what he said.
"But..." I looked away as tears began coming to my eyes.
Suddenly, I felt Roland grab me gently and give me a comforting hug. "It's alright, San. If you want to let it all out, just do so, okay?"
"Spasibo..." I said before I turned my head and buried it into his chest, crying into it. All I wanted was for things to be normal again.
I felt Roland pat my back gently as a hand rested against the back of my head lightly. "You're welcome."
Soon, I stopped crying as we stayed like that. It was rather...odd: I was an only child, but somehow I felt like Roland was the older brother I never had. "Roland?"
"What is it, San?"
"...Did you have any siblings?"
"Yeah. It's not very impressive, but I had three other siblings, an older sister and two younger brothers. Why?"
"It's...nothing."
"Right. I guess you didn't have a sibling to comfort you when you're feeling down?" Roland patted my back gently. "Come on. You can spend the night with us. I don't mind, plus you can work out your feelings in peace."
"I don't want to intrude..." I think I can face Eila...but what if I can't yet?
"San, believe me when I say that I'm used to you sleeping in my bed. Stumbling into my room back in Britannia was kinda what you did sometimes, no offense. Though it did score me some injuries."
"Erm...alright..."
Roland led me to his room, keeping his right arm holding me close.
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Minna's POV
"You want Sanya to spend the night in here?" I asked Roland as he and I stood in the doorway, the girl in question sitting on his bed as she looked at us. Sully (I found it easier to call the Rottweiler on the base by that name than his full name, and somehow the dog picked up on it) was laying on Roland's bed, his head resting on Sanya's lap as he looked at us. The Orussian Witch was petting him gently.
"If it's no trouble, ma'am," Roland replied.
"Can we talk casually for a while?" I wanted to hear his reasoning for this decision without him trying to change it to sound more fitting.
"Sure, Minna. Anyways, if it's no trouble, I'd like for her to spend the night in here."
"You know she comes in here every now and then, right?" Now that I think about it, I think she came in here to sleep about a week ago.
"Yes, I'm aware of that, but still...can she please, Minna? I want her to work out her emotions concerning Eila right now."
I was very confused. "Eila?" I looked at Sanya. "What happened between them?"
Roland sighed as he explained to me what had happened from his perspective. Including a summarized version of what he had said in anger.
"...I see," I said after hearing it from the Neuroi Witch. "You could have handled it better."
"You don't think I know that now, Minna?" Roland told me. "I locked myself in here for a while during the day."
Considering that I was going through paper work in my office, I didn't know that. "So you're sure you'd like for her to stay here for the night?"
"It's your call, Minna. You're the senior officer, not me."
I thought about it. While I wasn't too sure about the idea of Sanya spending the night here on Roland's initiative, he does have a sort of reason for asking me. Even if it sounds a little...odd. "I guess so. But just for the night, okay?"
"Thanks, Minna. And don't worry, it'll be over before you know it."
I smiled weakly. I think he's trying to make me feel a little better about this.
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Eila's POV
You know, it feels a little odd without Sanya sleeping in the top bunk.
I was lying on the bed in the bottom bunk, trying to run the conversation I had ended up having with Sanya (and Roland once he came into the picture).
Thinking about it, I guess I was being a little stupid. I mean...yeah, I can't cast a barrier.
Roland was different in that he could actually cast one, but his was rather weak. Mine, however...I can't call upon it because I'm always too busy predicting the enemy's movements and dodging it. It's great for not getting shot, but it can't work for protecting someone.
Like Sanya...
That, and why did I tell her that I wished we had never met? That was totally not something I should have said, no matter how I said it. I guess I deserved Roland snapping at me for that concerning the comment.
I looked at the door, which was closed for the night.
You know, I think Roland found her and asked for her to spend the night in his and Minna's room.
Don't blame him: he was probably wanting to avoid any more hurt feelings over my barrier.
Though you think he could at least tell me that Sanya was with him?
Could be worse...he could have sent Sully (figured that it's easier than his full name) to sleep in here with me. He was a bed hog, according to the lieutenant. Interestingly enough, I woke up from Sanya climbing into my bed about a week after we got the dog and found myself unable to fall back asleep. So I got up and took a small walk. When I passed their room, I saw that their door was open a crack. Peering through it, I could see that Roland was curled into a little ball, like he was trying to be an unborn child or something. Sully was lying on the lower half of his bed, his back about an inch away from the lieutenant's rear.
Sad part was that the dog was laying on his blanket, so Roland was unable to cover himself up.
Don't get me wrong, Sully sleeps with the rest of us. The dog, I mean. Though he's got this sort of pattern down: if he's with Barkhorn and Hartmann, he'll either be on Hartmann's bed or Barkhorn's. For some reason, he seems to enjoy laying on Barkhorn's bed more. Probably because of the ease of access.
Anyways, if it's Miyafuji and Lynne, Sully lays on the floor, right next to Miyafuji's bed. Not a really good place for either party, especially if the little Fuso Witch needed to use the bathroom in the middle of the night.
For Shirley, Lucchini, and Dracon...the dog hasn't really gone in there yet. Or at least, I don't think I've seen or heard him going in there. No clue.
Major Sakamoto and Perrine also don't seem to have Sully sleeping in there yet. Again, no clue why.
As for me and Sanya...
I heard scratching at the door.
I sighed as I got up and walked over to the door, opening it. I was greeted with Sully standing there on his four paws, looking a little peeved. For a dog, I mean.
"Let me guess," I said to the dog. "No room on Roland's bed?"
Sully replied by walking into the room.
Yeah, I think Roland's got Sanya sleeping in their room for the night.
"Alright," I added as I left the door open so that the dog could get something to eat or drink (should he need it in the middle of the night). "I guess you and I have the room to ourselves for now."
I walked over to the bed and lied back down, feeling the dog climb aboard. I could feel him step between me and the wall before plopping onto the bed, his head pointing towards my pillows.
Well, my pillow and the one I asked Miyafuji to get for Sanya.
I had thrown Sanya's on top of my pillow some time after Roland ran off to try catching up to the Orussian Witch, and I guess I forgot about it still being there until now.
I lifted my head and pulled the pillow in question out from behind said head.
I can't believe that my day's gone sour: being unable to go with Sanya for the mission, my failure during training, my argument with Sanya...all because of my inability to cast a simple barrier.
I brought Sanya's pillow to my chest and, hugging it tightly, turned onto my right side and fell asleep.
I really hope tomorrow goes by better than today...
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Minna's POV
I was floating around in a sea of black.
It felt...a little cold.
Where was I? Why was I here? Is this a dream? Or is it real?
Well, it couldn't be real. If it was, then I'd be able to see where I am. Or at the very least I shouldn't be able to see my arms due to the pitch black around me.
But here I was, floating and looking around.
"Hello?" I tried to call out.
Nothing answered me. Not a single thing.
...Something tells me this wasn't a normal dream I was having.
But if it wasn't a normal dream...what was it then?
"Minna?" a familiar voice asked in return.
"Huh?" I replied as I looked around and soon saw someone I was afraid I wouldn't see again appear in front of me. Standing there was... "Kurt? Is that really you?"
Standing there was Kurt Flachfeld. Just how I remembered him.
"Hey there, Minna," Kurt said to me as he walked over to me.
Not thinking clearly, I lunged out at him and caught him in a hug. "Kurt, I'm so glad to see you again!" I then loosened my hug and asked a more important question: "But...the letter said that you..."
"I promised that I would come, didn't I?"
"But...you said you'd come find me in Britannia." Was this even real? He was killed by a Neuroi beam that destroyed the base he was in before he could be evacuated...
It suddenly went quiet, and before any of us could say something (anything to break the ice) I could see something red appear above Kurt's position.
I looked at it as I stepped back.
Was that...a Neuroi laser...?
"Kurt, look out!" I tried to say, but soon the laser had blasted down from the sky, completely covering Kurt in its attack. I could only stand there as I felt the heat of the attack. "Kurt!"
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I bolted upright rapidly, breathing very quickly.
"Ah!" I uttered briefly.
Closing my eyes, I let my head catch up with me as I worked on slowing down my breathing.
"It was just a dream..." I said before I was calm enough to open my eyes. I was wearing a white shirt that fit my body for sleepwear along with a pair of white panties.
Why did I have a dream about what happened to Karl? It doesn't make sense: I mean, I was depressed for a while after his death. Usually, everyoen does when someone close to them dies. But it's been over four years since then. Why was I remembering it now?
I turned my head to look at Roland, who had Sanya laying next to him. He was lying on his back, the Orussian Witch curled up on his left side. I think Roland's left arm was resting between them.
Sanya looks peaceful sleeping next to him, I thought to myself.
She really did: if it wasn't for the fact that she had a fight with Eila (along with being yelled at by Roland), I'd think she was too tired to reach her bed and came in here to lay down quickly. She even had her left hand on the left side of his chest.
Maybe...maybe I should see if Roland could...
I got up quietly and slowly walked over to the sleeping duo, tapping on the Neuroi Witch's right shoulder when I arrived on his right side (which was about seven feet from the door).
It took a while for him to gain consciousness, and as soon as he did he looked up and saw me standing there.
"Minna?" he asked sleepily. "What's wrong?"
"Hey, Roland?" I asked in return. "Can I...lay next to you for a while?"
"Huh?" I think he was trying to look surprised, which was not working too well for him right now. "Why?"
"I...I had a dream."
"Nightmare?"
I frowned slightly. "...Yeah. I don't want to talk about it right now." I then put a slight smile on my face. "So...can I please?"
"Not too sure about it considering I don't know the bed's weight limit, but..." He started to settle back into sleep slowly. "if you want...you can...lay down..."
"Thanks, Roland." I waited for him to snore very lightly before I took a position next to his right side. I tried getting myself comfortable, but I felt like there was something I was missing.
Maybe I should hug onto something. But I didn't take a pillow from my bed with me, and I wanted to get back to sleep as fast as possible.
What to use...
I laid my right arm on the right side of his chest, and I got my solution: if Sanya could do it, why couldn't I?
I scooted in a little closer, going over Roland's right arm. Out of some sort of reaction, he curled his right limb around me and pulled me a little closer himself.
"Night, commander..." the Neuroi Witch said before he yawned and resumed his light snoring.
"Night, Roland..." I told him as I closed my eyes. "And thank you..."
I scooted in a little more and got comfortable.
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Mio's POV
The next day, I was sitting inside Commander Minna's office with the commander. I was seated on one of the couches, Commander Minna standing near the door.
"I'm told a Romagna fleet and air unit made contact with the Neuroi this morning," Minna began as she looked at me. "Some time before dawn."
"And the result?" I asked.
The commander shook her head negatively. "Their own attack ended up leaving the Zera and Pollock cruisers completely crippled."
I looked down towards the ground a little. "I guess that means we're up next."
We're going to get some sort of result. With Sage flying up there with the attack team, we have to have some sort of success, right?
...Then again, it's hard to know the future. We could win this one, we could lose. All that matters is that we don't lose any Witches doing this. Including Sage himself...
"Mio?" Commander Minna asked me. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Huh?" I said quickly as I looked at her. "I'm just thinking, that's all."
"About our chances with Roland here?"
I sighed. "I guess so."
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Francesca's POV
Shirley chuckled as I stood there, examining the clothes she had given me to try on.
"It looks incredible on you, Francesca," Shirley told me.
I was wearing a pair of black tights, a red coat with black buttons that felt a little too big on me, a light yellow scarf with almost-white fuzzy balls around my neck, and my shoes.
"But I'm hot..." I croaked. It really was. I couldn't stand it, and the worst part was that I couldn't shed it (Shirley was ).
Shirley was busy rummaging through a box when she heard my complaint. "Oh, come on, quit complaining." She then turned her head to look in my direction. "The stratosphere is stupid cold, you know."
She had a point. "I hate it when it's stupid cold."
I really wish Draco was here right now; he was busy doing some work on his Striker Unit elsewhere in the hangar. Though then again he might just stand there and watch, only stepping in if it seems too much.
Shirley chuckled before she returned to her search, found a pair of white earmuffs, and placed them on my head, the fuzzy ends covering my ears. I flinched slightly.
"Here," she said proudly. "These are a must-have for any high-altitude season."
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Roland's POV
"Um," Yoshika began as I heard Francesca complain about it being hot, "Captain Barkhorn's coat's a little big on me, don't you think?" She was wearing what I could consider to be a cold-weather version of Gertrud's military jacket, with the collar revealing a little bit of white fleece. There were six black buttons on the front of the coat.
"So what, you'd rather freeze to death instead?" Perrine replied. She was wearing a coat that was a darker shade of her uniform, with six small golden yellow buttons on the front.
"At least you have it like that and not like this," I added. I was standing there inside my usual outfit, one of Minna's coats (a brown one that she had found inside the closet) covering my upper body. It felt a little tight on me, which is odd: what size does the commander even wear? This feels like a tight shirt on me.
Oh well, at least I was able to put the vest over it, though it looked a little funny. Not sure if it was "ha-ha" funny or not. Plus, I had a sage-colored scarf around my neck courtesy of Sanya.
"I still don't see why you have that vest over your coat," Perrine told me as she and Yoshika examined how I looked. "It doesn't look right."
"I dress my way, you dress yours," I said dryly. Really wish I brought some cold-weather clothes of my own with me or something.
...Better still, I should have bought some the last time we went into town.
Stupid not-knowing-what's-going-to-happen thing...
I flexed my left arm to get a better idea of how odd it felt on me, and I swore I felt the fabric start to stretch a little.
I better be careful with this. It's only being borrowed...
"Anyways," I said as I nodded my head to the girls. "I'm gonna take a look around and see what else is going on."
"Alright," Yoshika said as she nodded in return. "See you later, Roland-kun."
I walked off a little before I found Gertrud looking at something on the table.
I really hope she doesn't bring up what happened two nights ago...
I followed her gaze and saw that the table in the hangar had a lot of tea cups on its surface. They were filled with something, but I wasn't sure what it was.
Maybe tea or something? Looks like tea...
"Did you make those, Lynne?" Gertrud asked as Lynette was walking by.
"Yes," the Britannian Witch replied as she stopped. She was holding a tea pot with the Strike Witches emblem on its surface in her right hand, a faded yellow cloth supporting it from underneath via her left. "I tried fixing some ginger tea for us."
"You did?" I asked her.
Lynette closed her eyes and cocked her head to the right a little as Gertrud walked over and grabbed a cup with her right hand. "It's supposed to warm up the body."
...This...better not be like that time back in Britannia where Perrine fixed us some tea (what was it again, marigold herbal tea? I think that was it) and you said that you thought it was an old wives' tale (I also remember that I got my face sent into the table because of my comment about young wives' tales)...
"Really?" Gertrud asked, surprised. "Thank you." She then drank it.
Slowly, the rest of us were coming over and grabbing a cup for ourselves. Even I found myself grabbing one, though I was examining it.
"I added lots of sugar so it would be easier to drink," Lynette included. "I, uh...hope you all like it..."
"Grody..." Erica said after trying it.
"Come on," Gertrud said, trying to cheer Erica up a little. "It's actually better than I expected..." She then nearly lost the tea she had drank.
This is starting to seem very familiar; now I'm a little afraid of drinking it...
I lookd at Minna and Perrine, the former trying to look pleased as the latter was behind her, bent over.
"Oh, I love it..." Minna said, though it sounded a little...forced?
I continued staring at my cup. Right now, it seemed like it was going to be a sort of death trap if I drank it.
"Um," Yoshika began as I looked at the little Fuso Witch, Sanya, and Mio. The major was drinking it while Sanya looked a little displeased (I don't think Sanya's a big tea drinker either. Not sure. But I can say this: I bet you anything the major doesn't care. It's edible...or drinkable in this case) "It gets better if you give it just a little bit." She was also wearing one of the scarves Sanya had found yesterday, a red one. [Author's Note: Check this]
"If you think about it like you're giving medicine," Mio added as she lowered her cup from her lips, "it's not bad at all."
"I think it tastes well," Draco added as he looked at me. "Wouldn't you agree, lieutenant?"
You might like it because of the sugar. But then again, I haven't tried it.
Might as well. This will all end up like the liver oil from last time, so let's get it over with...
I took a quick sip and found myself grimacing.
Too...sweet...
Why did I even do that? I'm such an idiot...
"You alright, Roland?" Lynette asked me with a slight look of confusion.
"Yeah," I told her as calmly as I could. "This isn't half-bad..." I should ask for some medicine with my sugar. About a spoonful, was it?
I then looked at Eila as I shook my head. I noticed her looking at Yoshika rather intently before drinking her tea rather forcefully.
I really hope she doesn't take what happened yesterday too badly. I mean, I hurt Sanya's feelings more, but...did I really get that mean towards Eila as well?
Oh well, better drink some more tea and talk to her about it later. It's at least something, right?
*SIP*
*KAFF*
Aw hell, why did I drink more? I'm a complete buffoon!
XXXXXXXXXX
And this is probably the most awkward approximation of a cheerleader pyramid that I'll ever get to be in.
I mean, really: there were me, Yoshika, and Sanya inside a sort of tight huddle, the Orussian Witch's antennae active and her Fliegerhammer with her. We each had a pair of booster rockets attached to our Striker Units.
On the level below us were Lynette, Perrine, Francesca, Draco, and Eila (each had a set of booster rockets assisting them for the job). Resting on the ground below them were the others.
I didn't have time to actually go over how effective this formation was because we had a spire to destroy, so suffice to say that I had no idea about it.
"Ten..." Mio was saying as she counted down towards our launch. "Nine...eight..."
"Seven..." Charlotte added as she continued the countdown.
"Six!" Erica included.
"Five!" Francesca shouted.
You know, when I first heard the plan I thought we were going to use only the rocket boosters to get that high...but then again this also works for me.
Look, ma, I'm...the tip...of the...rocket?
Why did Mio assign me to Sanya and Yoshika again?
"Four!" Lynette continued.
I slowed down my breathing and closed my eyes. Where we were going, this was really going to be hectic.
"Three," Perrine added.
"Two," Gertrud included.
"One!" Yoshika said as we got close to the end.
I opened my eyes and looked up at the sky. I've got just the word for this moment...
"ROCKET!" I shouted as we started flying upward, a cloud of white dust billowing out from where we left the ground.
As we rode our way up, I was going over what Mio had said about the plan in my head.
"First," Mio had started. "We'll utilize Launch Team One, consisting of five members. They will climb to ten thousand meters using normal propulsion."
We started to tip the point of the formation towards the Neuroi we were trying to hit.
"Once we reach our maximum altitude," Minna's voice continued. "We will break away from the rest of the group."
True to what I heard, the five at the bottom broke off and fell towards the safety of the surface.
Suddenly, I heard the rockets attached to the Witches supporting us start up.
"Launch Team Two will then ignite their rocket boosters," Mio continued in my head.
"They will carry the strike team, Miyafuji, Sanya, and Roland, to twenty thousand meters," Minna added.
With the increase in speed, now it was feeling like we were on a roller coaster. I tried my best to support Yoshika and Sanya, but I was getting light-headed.
Stupid speed...you just had to mess with me, huh?
"How much farther?" I said into my radio.
This was really high! It's starting to look like we're going into space based on the fact that I'm starting to see the entire world up here.
"When that height is reached," Mio continued as the speech in my head played on, "Yoshika, Sanya and Sage will then ignite their booster rockets. They will then proceed to climb higher, to thirty-three thousand, three hundred meters, where the Neuroi core is located. At that point, they'll switch to a ballistic flight and head for the core."
"You know how cold it is up there?" Gertrud said after the leaders went over the plan. "Negative seventy degrees Celsius. No air, too. Without magic, they will die instantaneously. Although there's no guarantee they'll still come back alive, even with Lieutenant Sage assisting them."
...You know, I actually want to know how magic is supposed to keep us from dying instantly once we reached that height, but I better chalk it up to "trivial details" for the moment and just focus on the mission.
"Okay," Perrine said into the radio. "It's time!"
"Right!" I shouted in return as Yoshika, Sanya, and I activated our boosters.
I felt everyone below us pull back as we propelled higher into the sky.
To see how the two Witches left with me were doing, I looked at them, but I noticed Sanya looking down below, towards Eila.
Once I looked at Eila with a puzzled look on my face, I then heard what was perhaps the most sudden thing I had ever heard in a moment like this.
"Let me go!" Eila shouted. "I can do it! I swear I can!"
I gasped quickly. Eila was saying that she was unable to use a shield, and now she wants to help out? Even if she cannot use a form of protection? That was suicide! Pure suicide! Even I'm not dumb enough to-
"I'll be the one to protect Sanya!" Eila continued.
I looked at my teammates quickly. Yoshika looked very surprised.
"You'll do it yourself?" the little Fuso Witch asked.
"Please?" Eila pushed on. "You said it yourself. Giving up's the reason I can't do it, remember? I'm not going to give up, not on you! I'm going to protect you, Sanya!" I looked down and saw that Eila was reaching a hand towards us.
Even with what Eila said about wishing she and Sanya had never met...the Suomos Witch won't give up on Sanya?
...I see now...if that's how Eila really feels about Sanya now...
Yoshika nodded, and I returned it as she left the formation and dropped down to Eila's height.
XXXXXXXXXX
Eila's POV
I closed my eyes as I held my hand out, losing hope that I'll ever get to protect Sanya as Miyafuji, Roland, and the Orussian Witch soared farther out of reach.
Soon, I felt someone grab my hand, and when I opened my eyes and looked, I was surprised to find that Miyafuji had come to my aid.
"Miyafuji?" I asked in surprise.
"I've got you," Miyafuji told me as she slipped behind me and got ready to push me up. "Are you ready?" I felt a sudden burst of speed as we rocketed faster, me screaming in shock. Soon, we reached Sanya's and Roland's position, where they grabbed me in their huddle.
"Glad you could join us," Roland said as he...smiled at me?
"Lieutenant?" I asked, a little confused as to why he was acting like this towards me. Wasn't he still angry from yesterday?
"Look, I know I didn't get a chance to say it before, but...I'm sorry for yelling at you. I just didn't want you two to hurt each other over something so stupid. Can you forgive me?"
Before I could give him a reply, I heard Lynette call out on the radio, "Yoshika!"
"Yoshika!" Lucchini added.
"You can't, Eila!" I heard Perrine's voice through my radio. "Your magic won't last! ou won't be able to come back!"
"Don't worry," Sanya told us. "We can bring her back down."
I looked at her in surprise.
"I'll bring her back, I promise," Sanya concluded.
"We'll all make it back," Roland included.
XXXXXXXXXX
Roland's POV
"Those two have to be completely crazy!" I heard Perrine say in my radio.
"Go, girls!" Francesca's voice chimed in. "And Roland-kun! Get it, together!"
I smiled. Of course we're gonna 'get it'. We're not leaving the job unfinished.
I watched Yoshika as she fell back towards the earth, leaving the three of us as the only ones to strike at the core.
I couldn't help but look at the background behind the little Fuso Witch, and I was almost regretting it as I looked back up and at Eila and Sanya.
Really high up, isn't it?
Soon, our boosters gave out, and we floated there as I played a few beeps in my head, like a sort of satellite.
Beep...beep...beep...
I noticed Eila looking at me, and I cut the beeps. I think I was mouthing them while running the sounds in my head.
We turned our attention to the tip of the spire, which had the core inside it.
Any ideas, you two? Asides from hurling rockets at it?
Soon, we saw the sides unwind from the top down, like it was going to whip out at us or something. As soon as I saw lasers firing into the core, I thought otherwise.
You know, this might look a little appealing to the eyes...if it wasn't a part of something that wanted to kill us.
I was contemplating going into Neuroi Mode, but I then thought about Eila. She wanted to protect Sanya, and who was I to stop her?
Actually, Perrine was right: she couldn't raise a shield...
Soon, it fired a laser at us, and I closed my eyes quickly...
Only to feel nothing ripping through my body. When I opened my eyes and looked, I saw that Eila had put up a shield in front of us and was protecting us, a fact that made me surprised.
What do you know? She's doing it. She's actually using a shield!
I nodded my head as we started floating towards the core.
Hold it together, Eila. I'm ready to help should you need it.
We left the huddle once Eila dropped her barrier as the beam died down, and Sanya readied her Fliegerhammer as we floated there.
I pointed my right index finger ahead to signal the time to fire as the beam died down.
Sanya fired off a volley of rockets that exploded around the core before one hit it and made it disappear in a flash. However, there was a resulting explosion that approached us, and I watched as Eila moved ahead a little and grab Sanya's left hand as she put up the barrier once again.
Once the explosion stopped and we were surrounded by the particles of the destroyed core, I think Eila tried saying something, but we couldn't make it out. So she pulled us in closer, my arms over each of their shoulders as I was in the middle.
"Can you hear me, you two?" Eila asked us.
"Yeah," Sanya replied as I nodded my head.
"Listen, I'm sorry..."
"No, I should apologize too."
"Same here," I added. "especially towards you right now, Eila."
Soon, something caught Sanya's attention. "Hey, look over there!"
I looked ahead and saw some sort of mountain range out in the distance.
"It's Orussia," Sanya added as she reached out to it. "It's almost like I can reach the Ural Mountains. Do you want to keep flying past them and see what's on the other side, you two?"
Eila and I were surprised. Well, at least I was.
Why was Sanya asking me if I wanted to go with them?
"Okay," Eila replied. "As long as I'm with you, I can go anywhere."
I smiled. I better not answer that right now, just in case...
"I was kidding," Sanya said in response to Eila's answer. "I'm sorry. We have a home, and we get to go back there, together."
I blinked and asked, "Sanya?"
"I think I finally understand where she's coming from," Eila added. "To know what's it like to want to protect someone more than anything."
Ah, Yoshika, huh?
Sanya and I activated what was left of our boosters and made our way back to the base way below, the three of us feeling calm.
"I'm glad to hear it, Eila," I said. "Now, let's return to base and catch up with the others. And don't worry..." I flashed a smile as I brought the girls in for a quick hug. "We're family. Everyone on the team, alright? Even if we fight with each other, nothing can separate our hearts, right?"
"You're taking this a little too seriously, aren't you?" Eila asked.
"No, not at all."
"That's nice to hear..." Sanya started as we fell. "Roland-kun..."
I grimaced briefly.
That's a grand total of three Witches who had called me that now (Yoshika, Francesca [usually with my rank; only said it alone once], and now Sanya).
Who else can I add to that before long? Better still, who else will end up calling me that almost full-time alongside Yoshika?
Not sure right now...
XXXXXXXXXX
Roland: Next time on Strike Heroes 2: Roland's Return-
Minna: Emergency! All hands on alert!
Roland (confused): Um...what for?
Minna: Someone's infiltrated the base and causing us power problems!
Roland (still baffled): ...Are you sure you paid the electric bill this month?
Minna: It's not a laughing matter!
Roland: I didn't say it was. Anyways, next time-
Minna (a little squeamishly): It's All Creepy Crawly!
Roland: ...I really don't want to know right now...
XXXXXXXXXX
Alright, there goes the end of the chapter.
There are two main things I should point out.
Firstly, I wanted to go into detail concerning the argument between Eila and Sanya (and Roland once he got involved). I wanted to try making a sort of strain on Roland's relationship with a team member that wasn't who he was expecting. As the preview from the end of Chapter 9 had Sanya asking Roland about his ability to work out arguments, it only made sense (to me, at least) to have Roland get in the middle of it and, given the fact that he had barely been walking by on his way to the room and had not fully recovered from "training", get involved.
Secondly, I should note this about the upcoming chapter: this is going to be a rather...interesting set of events. Not only for Roland but also Draco as well.
...That's about all I can say about it.
Anyways, please read and respond, and let me know how you liked this chapter.
Thanks, and I'll see you next time.
