Alright, I'm back with the next chapter in the "Strike Heroes" story.

First, the reviews:

fuji92: Thanks for the review. As I said, I'm considering it, so I guess I need to think of how I'm going to go about with it. Other than that, I hope you and the other readers continue enjoying the story and stick around to the end.

Dragonman75: I felt like there needed to be some sort of change in the views. Luckily, I've utilized it a lot for explaining the story from a separate set of eyes or to set up something that Roland doesn't know about. As for the misplaced Neuroi nest...I don't quite remember the reason why I used it right now. Though all that matters is that the story still catches people's attention. As long as I do that, then I know I'm doing well. Though some constructive criticism won't hurt sometimes...

GAT-X105VividPanzer: We're closing in on the climax. That much is true, but what questions will be answered? As for the side-stories, like I said above I'm considering it, so I'll let you guys know when I manage to start on it.

Now, let's move on to the conclusion of this arc...

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Chapter 18: We Want You to Believe (Part 2)

Minna's POV

We managed to catch up to where I last sensed Miyafuji and Roland, and what we found surprised us: about seven miles ahead was a Neuroi nest resting over water.

"What in the world?" Barkhorn asked as we stopped and looked at it.

"Is anyone else trying to figure out why it's over a body of water?" Eila decided to try. "I mean, aren't they usually over land?"

I nodded. She was right: the nests we usually saw were over areas the Neuroi now controlled. So why is it that this particular nest was resting over water? Something wasn't right...

We flew in closer and found Miyafuji and Roland as they were flying into the nest. We came to a stop as soon as we spotted them.

"What are those two thinking of?" Shirley asked as we looked. "They're going on a suicide mission?"

"She's right, commander," Hartmann decided to point out. "No one ever got out of a Neuroi nest alive, right?"

"I'm afraid that you're right," I said as I nodded my head. "Miyafuji and Roland are playing with something they don't know about. However, I trust Roland to get them out of there alive. We'll wait for them here if it happens." I glanced at Sanya, who looked upset. "Are you okay, Sanya?"

"Yeah, Sanya," Eila decided to add in. "You've been acting like this since you spoke to Roland yesterday. What gives?"

"He..." Sanya started as it looked like she was trying to find the right words to use. "I think he doesn't believe that we trust him, commander..."

"Huh?" I asked. "How can you be sure he's thinking that?"

"Because...he asked me if I would still trust him if he ever revealed his secret..."

"Secret?" I blinked. "What secret?"

"Sage did mention something about secrets when I spoke with him last," Barkhorn admitted. "I didn't really think much of it at the time."

"So he has a secret?" What are you hiding, Roland?

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Roland's POV

Yoshika and I entered the Hive very carefully and flew through the complex networks as the being led us to an uncertain destination. I felt shivers going down my spine as we flew.

"Yoshika?" I asked as we flew. "You feel…anything creepy around here?"

"I feel some weird presence, if that's what you mean," Yoshika told me.

The rest of the flight was in silence as we reached our destination: a strange room with a weird layout. If I wasn't so skeptical, I would have sworn that it looked like it was a GPS system or something. Yoshika and I floated there, the being looking at us.

"Okay," I told it. "We're here. Now, what do you want us for?"

The being flew over to us and floated there.

"Are you Roland Sage?" a voice asked us.

I shook my head in case I heard something odd.

"Was that you?" I asked, pointing to it. "You mean that you can speak?"

"Who's speaking, Roland-kun?" Yoshika asked.

The being nodded its head.

"Yes," it said.

"How can you speak to us?" I asked the being.

"How can who speak to us?" Yoshika tried again.

I looked at her. "You can't hear it?"

"Hear what?"

"I am sorry, Roland," the being began. "I can only speak to those who understand the Neuroi language."

Neuroi...language...?

"Does that mean...?" I started, trying not to think about it. It was impossible! A human couldn't fuse with a Neuroi core!

...Could they?

How a Neuroi thinks is not known... Minna's words crept into my mind from that night. Could I take that and reverse it somehow? Can...no, is it possible to fuse a Neuroi core with a human? Is it ethical to do something like that?

"Patience, Sage," the being said. "It's a long story, but that's not why I have wanted you two to come to this place."

"Oh yeah?" I asked it with some hostility. "Why did you want us here, so you can kill us?"

"On the contrary...I came to warn you two about the future..."

"Future?"

"What's wrong, Roland-kun?" Yoshika asked me. "What is the voice saying?"

A sort of memory sphere came up behind it, and Yoshika and I could see some strange vehicle enter a nest and proceed to destroy all the Neuroi in it. However, soon it began to glow black as it somehow became under the control of the Neuroi.

I recognized it: it was a Warlock unit.

"I see..." I said. The Warlock was still in this somehow. But one question still plagued me...

"Why show us this?" Yoshika asked.

"Yeah," I added. "We're your enemies. Why show us your own destruction?"

It showed us a weird scan of the Warlock, and something surprised Yoshika: inside was a Neuroi core.

"So you're afraid of this thing?" Yoshika asked it.

"We fear no one," the being said out of pride (if a Neuroi that had the shape of Yoshika had any). "But this is something that we have never seen before..."

"I guess so," I said to simplify it for the little Fuso Witch who couldn't hear the comment.

This was beginning to sound serious. If our side had something this powerful…then that only meant one thing: power. And from my experience, power corrupted those who seek it.

"How do we stop it?" Yoshika asked it.

"Stop it?" the being asked us. "Little one, you can't stop what will happen..."

"Yes..." I growled as my right hand clenched tight. "Yes...you can..."

"Roland-kun?" Yoshika said in slight fear.

"Just because it happens doesn't make it set in stone. There's still a chance to change the future, and if there is then we'll do everything we can to change it!" Now I remembered why I was here: no matter what, I have the power to change whatever I wanted. The only thing that stopped me from rewriting history freely was the idea that if I did then something irreversible could happen. Something I couldn't see at the time.

"You really think that, Roland?" the being asked me out of what I could assume was surprise. "This is not a normal Neuroi you just saw. That is a-"

"It's a Warlock," I snapped. "It doesn't matter now. Only one side will walk out of this conflict, and I don't plan on dying anytime soon. Not when I still have people I can call teammates!"

I looked at Yoshika, who was surprised.

"Roland-kun..." she could only say.

The being was about to answer when something outside the room exploded.

Thinking quickly, it flew over to me and placed both of its "hands" on my shoulders. What happened next surprised even me: I felt a sudden jolt in my brain, like something I forgot was being replaced.

Soon, I could see something in my vision. It was a being surrounded in a red aura with a Striker Unit. The being looked rather familiar to me...

Then, I recognized the decals: those of the Jolly Rogers squadron.

It was me! But...what does it mean?

"Only those who found you can tell you of your identity," the being told me. "They are the ones who know what you have become."

As the vision faded, I looked at Yoshika quickly as the Warlock broke through the "floor".

"Time to flee," I told her as we proceeded to do just that.

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"Goddammit!" I yelled as Yoshika flew behind me.

What I thought was a simple escape was starting to get more dangerous as the Warlock decided to try using us for target practice.

"Which way do we go now?" Yoshika asked as we came to a dead end. The Warlock was tearing through the passageways, and it looked intent on killing us.

Okay, maybe now wasn't the best time to say this, but...how can I say that it looked like it was going to kill us? The thing doesn't even have a face...or at least a face I can recognize.

Anyways, I was facing the Warlock and unloading everything I had in the BAR into it, pausing every now and then to reload. However, with only three clips to spare I could only fire for so long.

"Uh..." I started before the Warlock tried to ram us.

"UWAH!" both of us cried as we dodged the ram...barely.

The Warlock slammed into the wall as we flew a little bit back in the other direction. I fired a few bullets into it before slinging the BAR onto my back.

"We need to get through the hole," I said.

"But how?" Yoshika asked.

The Warlock didn't let either of us answer as it decided to try ramming us once more. We moved aside once again and, as the Warlock spent some time trying to figure out where we went, I motioned for Yoshika to move through the hole. We slipped out of the hole and could soon see that we were in another hall.

"We need to move," I ordered.

"Yeah," Yoshika only said.

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We managed to get out of the Hive in the nick of time as the place exploded, but the shockwaves from said explosion propelled us ahead a few feet before we managed to correct ourselves. When I looked back, I didn't see the Warlock in the midst of it.

"Where did it go?" Yoshika asked as she looked as well.

"I don't know," I said simply as I was panting. "Honestly, I thought we were goners."

That Warlock was something, I'll tell you. But I wasn't concerned with it right now: I was more worried about what happened to that being...and what he did to my memories.

Only those who found you can tell you of your identity.

That was what the being had told me, but what the hell does it mean? Did someone find me when I first got here? But who then, if that's true? I couldn't look at my memories without freaking Yoshika out.

Besides, we had worse problems. Minna and the others (Excluding Lynette, Perrine, and Mio) had figured out what happened and had come to get us. Almost pathetic that I didn't really think about that fact.

"Miyafuji, Sage," Minna started.

"Ma'am!" Yoshika said as she noticed the commander. "We just…"

I flew between them.

"It's not her fault, commander," I said for the little Fuso Witch. "It's mine. I ordered her to follow me. She told me not to go, but I wanted to learn about why that thing wanted us. In order to make sure she wouldn't be able to blab when I left, I told her to follow me. If you're going to punish anybody here, punish me."

Despite the fact that it was an obvious lie for me and Yoshika, Minna looked at me as if she accepted it. Either she couldn't believe it or had more pressing matters to attend to.

"Alright, lieutenant," Minna told us. "You are under restrictions as soon as we return to base, understood?"

"Crystal, ma'am," I replied with a nod.

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Perrine's POV

I was sitting inside the infirmary, next to Major Sakamoto. I couldn't stop thinking about it: about what Roland had said...and how I was sitting next to the major.

The male Witch sounded serious about being shot down. Somehow, I felt like there was something that was troubling him to the point that he could only do so much, like things were not under his control anymore.

I shook my head. He may be a threat because of what he did with the Striker Unit, but I know that the others still have some trust in him.

But...do I?

I heard Major Sakamoto groan.

"Major?" I asked the major. "Are you feeling okay?"

I looked and saw that the major was awake and was looking at me.

"I'm fine, Perrine," she told me. "I see something's bothering you."

"Huh? Oh...do you still believe in Lieutenant Sage?"

"Sage?" The major closed her eyes for a while. "I'm not going to lie to you, Perrine. I'm not too sure if I can still trust him. I mean, I've fought Neuroi...and if Sage ends up being one of them, then I have no choice." I gasped. "But if you think I'd do it in cold blood, you're wrong. Commander Minna and I both know that if Sage is really a Neuroi that we have no choice but to end him. I'm not sure if he knows it as well, but either way Sage must accept it. I believed in him, and I'm still willing to believe that he's not a Neuroi...but if it's the truth, then..."

"I...see..."

I watched as the major opened her eyes. "What about you, Perrine?"

"Oh...I'm not sure of him myself..." I had the chance to pull the trigger...but I didn't. Why, though? "I mean, the way he was wanting me to fire...do you think there's something that's tearing him apart mentally?"

The major and I held some silence for a while before I yawned.

"Are you feeling okay?" the major asked me.

"Yeah," I said quickly. "I'm just a little tired, that's all..."

Major Sakamoto nodded and turned onto her side, her back to me. "You're welcome to lay down if you want, Perrine. It's going to be awhile."

"Uh, you sure, ma'am?" I mean, I had a few other beds in here to lay down in...

"I insist."

I sighed and gave off a smile as I crawled next to the major.

Should I tell her how I really feel toward her? I mean, I guess it's the perfect time to do it...

"Major...?" I started.

"What is it, Perrine?" Major Sakamoto asked me.

"I..."

The door to the infirmary was kicked open, and a lot of soldiers rushed into the area, all of them surrounding us as their guns were trained on us.

"What's the meaning of this?" the major asked as I could only sit up.

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Lynette's POV

I sighed as I sat on the bed in my room. Yoshika and Roland sure were taking their time getting back here. Though I'm worried more about Roland. Based on what Yoshika told me between the duel and now, she made it sound like she was worried about the male Witch.

Why did he run off? Was it something about us that he hated now?

I have to fight for my reasons, and you need to fight for yours. So what if you're not any good? If you keep thinking that, you'll never amount to anything. Trust me, the only person you have to impress is yourself.

It was strange how I was suddenly thinking about what he said the day after he and Yoshika joined. However, I think I understood it a lot better now than I had back then. Roland was probably trying to find his reason for being here, and he was doing what he did to find a clue as to why.

It still didn't make any sense, though: why was he fighting the chain of command? What did he hope to accomplish from doing it?

I sighed again. You know, now that I thought about it, I don't think Roland really thought about what he was getting into. I mean, I don't mind that he helped us all...but after the major got hurt, he's gone overboard. And what Sanya had said when Yoshika and I asked her if Roland was feeling better...

Do I still trust him? Would I still trust him when his secret came out? Why was he saying things like that?

I thought about what his questions were: I guess I still trust him. I mean, we each had our problems, but Yoshika and Roland were the most clear-headed. They went to so much trouble trying to make us feel like a family, and I'm not sure if they actually think they were doing that. So I trust him to keep us safe.

As for trusting him if his secret got out...I guess it would probably affect how much I trusted him, but I wouldn't lose it completely. I guess it depends on how bad it is.

However, I couldn't figure out why he was saying things like that. What was his secret?

Before I could try answering that, the door to my room was forced open.

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Roland's POV

The flight back to base was the longest flight of my life; it consisted of us flying back in silence. All I could do was think on what I saw.

Is that what I look like inside that strange power? I look like a fireball flying around? Wait, why am I trying to compare myself to a fireball? And what about what that...being did to me? It felt like something I forgot had been jarred awake, but what was it?

The next thing was whether to tell them about my true self. You know, since I had lied to them about it for so long...

"Commander?" I tried. "Guys?"

"What is it, lieutenant?" Minna said in a grave tone.

"I wanted to say something..."

We soon saw the base, and we could see that there were a group of military men standing on the runway.

"Why is there a group of men down there?" Gertrud asked me.

"That's not good…" I muttered to myself as we came in for a landing, stopping in front of the group of them.

"General Maloney," Minna told a man who had the look of a general.

"Commander Wilcke," the man known as Maloney started. "It's nice to speak with you again, and on such short notice…"

Suddenly, on his signal, guns were trained on all of us, and only I entered a fighting stance as I growled after readying my crowbar.

"What's the big deal, buster?" I growled.

"This base is now under my jurisdiction," Maloney explained. "The Five Hundred and First Joint Fighter Wing is officially dissolved."

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Roland: Next time on Strike Heroes... It's time for the beginning of the end of the line. My secret cannot be held any longer, and I need to figure out what exactly will happen to us all if the Warlock goes unchecked. However, I guess it's time to pay for the lie I lived. Is this the end for the Strike Witches? Has my interference with the story caused a drastic change in the ending? I guess it's time to find out...because once I figure this out, it's the beginning of the end. Next time...The Truth...I really hope it's not too late to stop it...

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Alright, the next chapter is up.

Please read and respond, and get ready because we're getting closer and closer to the end. Remember to let me know what you thought of this chapter as well.

Thanks.