To all my readers, this is one of two stories being released by me in the near future, the other being the winner of the poll, which will be taken down soon. In addition, an update to 'Secrets of the Void' is in the works, and should be released shortly. This particular story came from a combination of me watching Familiar of Zero, another successful playthrough of XCom classic, and a few reads of Warhammer 40k fanfics, plus a (hopefully) hefty dose of originality and world building. Having read so many 'Alternate Familiar' fics in this category, I've decided to put a spin on the popular genre and write my own story in the Familiar of Zero category. Now, without further ado, on to the story.

Chapter 1- Heeding the Call

Saito Hiraga stood in line inside the large metal room, patiently awaiting his turn at the familiar summoning ritual. He watched as, one by one, the students in front of him walked up to the summoning pentacles, briskly said an incantation, and bound their familiars. The process was brief, efficient, and without ceremony. After all, the celebration could be saved until after the ritual was completed.

"To my familiar spirit, lurking somewhere within the realms of the Aether! Your master bids you to appear before him and defer to his will! Heed my call, oh powerful and cunning spirit! Appear before me!"

Saito watched as Alexander Haliburton chanted the incantation, the giant, sky blue form of a Wyvern appearing before him. Placing his hand on the spirit's snout, Alexander bound the newly materialized creature, an intricate series of runes forming all over the massive winged form of the Wyvern. Then, the tall, black haired boy simply stood aside, his familiar following his example, as the next student stepped up.

"Huh. Alex is definitely going on to the 512th." The boy in front of Saito muttered, a combination of jealousy and awe in his voice. After all, the 512th airborne mage division used Wyverns exclusively, the creatures being capable of supersonic flight, fast enough to overtake the alien fighter craft that prowled the skies of Earth, the wyvern's air combat capability being superior to even the most powerful non-magical fighter craft, and capable of rivaling the more powerful magically enhanced aircraft produced in the rune-factories dotting the surface of the planet.

The line slowly crept forward as familiar after familiar was summoned, the magical energy spikes generated by the summonings being barely masked by the nullification devices lining the walls of the room. Should even one of the devices fail, however, the magical energy spikes would be detected by the alien fleets, and the academy would once again become a battleground.

Finally, nearly half an hour later, Saito reached the front of the line, him being the last of the students in his line. Standing before the pentacle etched into the steel floor, the Japanese Magika Corps trainee began to speak.

"I summon thee, familiar spirit, for the call to arms exempts no-one! I command thee, appear before me, oh most powerful and cunning spirit, so that you may join your brethren in the ongoing war!"

The pentacle began to glow.

Louise Francois le Blanc de la Valliere watched as the other students of the Tristain Academy of Magic summoned their familiar spirits, loyal companions that would accompany them throughout the rest of their lives. She watched as Tabitha summoned a sky blue dragon, and Kirche, of all people, summoned a salamander, the red haired harlot even now glancing smugly at her, every bit of her Germanian nemesis goading her to make true on her promise to surpass her.

"Now then. Has everyone summoned their familiar?" Professor Jean Colbert asked.

"The Zero hasn't!" Kirche said. Immediately everyone in the courtyard focused their attention on her. Some began taunting her, saying that she couldn't complete the ritual, saying that all that would happen was another explosion. Louise ignored them, instead stepping towards the summoning circle.

"I beg of you... My servant who lives somewhere in this universe! Oh sacred, beautiful, and strong familiar spirit! I beg from my heart, answer to my guidance!" She chanted.

Nothing happened.

Unbeknownst to Louise, and only somewhat known to Saito, a pair of search tracers made their way through the universe, searching for a familiar suitable for their masters. In a one in a trillion event, the two tracers collided, both deeming the other's master suitable for summoning. The two tracers vied for dominance, before the stronger one won.

The jeers of her classmates rang in her ears as nothing appeared in front of her.

"Looks like she truly is a Zero! Everyone here has a familiar except for Louise the Zero! Zero magic, Zero breasts, Zero familiars!"

Tears began to form in her eyes as the taunting gibes from her classmates continued to resound throughout the courtyard. Then, she felt a slight tug in her mind. The tug intensified, causing her to walk slowly to the center of her summoning circle, the cries and jeers of her classmates continuing to sound.

Then, all of a sudden, there was a flash of light, temporarily blinding everyone in the courtyard. When the students regained their sight, Louise the Zero was gone.

The pentacle continued to glow faintly for several seconds, before suddenly erupting in light. Several alarms began to faintly chime as some of the nullification devices exploded in brilliant showers of sparks, their backups taking damage and being rendered inoperable. When the light subsided, Saito saw a small, pink haired girl who couldn't be more than twelve or thirteen years old, lying on her back in the pentacle, clad in some form of white uniform and a black cloak.

"A human familiar? Most unusual. Trainee Hiraga, please switch to binding three, designed specifically for humans." The instructor intoned. Just then, the familiar groaned, her eyes slowly blinking open. She said something in a language that Saito's cybernetic implants registered as the archaic French language. Effortlessly switching to the old dialect, Saito spoke.

"Can you understand me?" He asked.

"Wh- Where am I?" The girl groaned as she attempted to sit up.

"Magika Corps training facility. Please remain calm as I bind you, familiar." Saito spoke, before switching to Standard and asking the instructor. "Binding three, was it"

"Yes. Please continue with the ritual." The instructor replied.

"Binding three? Isn't that the one sealed with a kiss?" One of the students asked.

"Shut it, Ahmad. At least this isn't my first kiss, unlike you!" Saito replied, causing a few of the students to laugh. He turned to his summoned familiar, whose eyes were beginning to widen in shock.

"By the magic contained within me, I affirm the bond between Master and Familiar, the bond between you and me." Saito then leaned in and kissed the shell-shocked girl on her lips, keeping the kiss chaste.

With a soft, white glow, runes began to form, running up and down the girl's arm, while a small line of runes appeared on Saito's own hand, the bond between the two being sealed with magic.

"What have you done to me?" The girl asked, shock and fear clear in her voice.

"You have been summoned as a familiar spirit, and I have bound you. These runes affirm th-" Saito never finished the sentence, as loud klaxons began to blare throughout the academy.

"All military personnel are required to report to battle stations. Repeat, all military personnel are required to report to battle stations. Hostile forces have been detected moving towards the academy's position, ETA 30 minutes. All trainees are required to join the battle. There is no room for cowardice in the Magica Corps. All members who attempt to avoid combat shall be faced with expulsion." The announcement was heard in every student's ears, the implants carrying the message.

"Come with me. Now!" Saito ordered the newly bound familiar.

"No! I don't even know who you are, much less what you'll do to-"

"Follow me, now! That's an order! As of this moment, consider yourself a member of the Magika Corps and my subordinate. You are to come with me to the armory, and participate in the defense of this academy. Now!" Saito cut her off, not even noticing how she was now speaking Standard.

"But-"

"No buts, that's an order! Move it pinky!" Saito shouted, before taking off and sprinting towards the armory. He heard the girl following him, panting for breath. He passed several barricades formed from flipped up floor tiles, automatic defense turrets sprouting from the ceiling, and even a few particle beam cannons being manhandled into position. Finally, he arrived at the armory. Quickly stripping down to a black, skintight neuro-interface suit, he placed his uniform down on a waiting receptacle, before standing in the armor application station. Seconds later, robotic arms finished encasing him in a steel grey suit of armor, its inside covered in tiny runic script. Grabbing the dispensed helmet, Saito completed the armor set, the AI inside running diagnostics.

"Mag-shields operational."

"Focus channels operational."

"Dynamic vision module operational."

"NCB seals operational."

"Runic augmentation arrays operational."

"Squadsight module operational."

"Aim-assist module operational."

"Camouflage systems operational."

"Reactor operational and stable."

"Neuro-interface systems operational."

"Self-destruct system operational."

"All systems operational."

The diagnostic concluded, and Saito stepped out of the armoring station and gestured to his familiar.

"Pinky, take off all loose clothing and get in." He ordered.

"What? How dare you order me to-"

"Now! Do it if you want to live!"

His tone hard and booking no dissent, the girl did as he asked, Saito turning away to preserve her modesty. Several seconds later, the newly armored familiar stepped out of the device, now clad in a full set of Magika Corps Mk. 12 combat armor, her entire body hidden away underneath the steel-grey shell.

"Good. Now, can you use magic?" Saito said, grabbing a focus carbine from the wall, the weapon quickly attuning itself to his magical signature.

"Yes, but-"

"Good. Take this." Saito said, tossing her a heavy focus rifle, the girl gasping at its weight. "You know how to use a focus rifle, right?" He asked.

"No." His familiar replied. Saito sighed.

"Pull down the trigger, then cast a spell through it. Easy, right?" He said, before turning around and heading to the door, joining the orderly throng of trainees and soldiers sprinting towards their battle stations, his familiar following close behind, the suit's augmentation arrays keeping her from tiring.

Navigating the maze of corridors, hallways, and subterranean passageways, Saito came to his battle station, a barricade at one end of a hallway, the other half ending in a door to access lift Delta, the lift being one of four passageways to the surface, and thus would be right in the crosshairs of the alien attack. His familiar caught up, collapsing behind the barricade, drawing a few odd looks from the crew of the focus beam cannon that was being set up.

"Can someone please explain to me what is going on here?" She shouted, drawing more attention.

"If we survive this, I will explain. Until then, just do as I say, OK?" Saito asked. The familiar fell silent.

"Alert. Enemy ETA 5 minutes. All military personnel, man your battle stations at once." The voice rang through the helmet comms of all soldiers in the base.

Several more figures ran up to the barricade, some wearing the simple suits of armor that denoted Magika corps trainees, while others either wore the BDUs of non-magical soldiers or the more distinctive, runic array coated armor of the Magika corps. Every weapon in the room was fixed on the door at the far end of the hallway, ready to open fire at a moment's notice.

A faint rumbling was heard as the air defense cannons fired, aiming at the alien craft that were likely circling down to land. Further rumbles indicated the alien weapons firing back, the occasional tremor indicating either an AA cannon exploding or an alien craft crashing into the ground. The rumbling slowly petered out as the inadequate AA defenses were slowly eliminated, one by one.

"Alert! Enemy forces have made landfall. Alien troops entering access lifts Gamma and Delta. Automated defenses activating."

The whirr of particle beam cannons faintly sounded through the thick steel blast door, quickly being interspersed by the stuttering whine of alien weaponry, the sound of exploding auto-turrets soon joining the mix of noise, which slowly grew louder as the lift descended. Saito's grip on his weapon tightened. Soon, the noise of fighting went silent, before the chime indicating the lift reaching its destination sounded.

Slowly, the blast doors at the end of the hallway began to glow red, the aliens attempting to break through the door. The sound of the focus beam cannon being readied reached Saito's ears, the gunners swapping out the runic array and loading in an energy crystal. Seconds later, the whine of magic circuits charging up sounded through the hallway, the various magic circuits all over the cannon's barrel glowing a bright blue-white for a few short moments, before a bright white beam shot out, slamming into the blast door, which was now orange with heat. The beam punched through the door with ease, charring any hostiles in its path, reducing them to piles of ash. With a loud war cry, the aliens inside who were unhurt charged, carrying their various war gear. Without a moment's hesitation, Saito opened fire, his first shot transmuting an enemy alien's shield into a block of C4, the lingering energy of the spell detonating the material. One of the trainees next to him released a powerful air needle, the weapon punching clean through an alien's head, the clone soldier being trampled over by the troops behind it, its death not slowing the alien assault in the slightest.

Giant, hulking alien brutes made up the first line of the alien attack, standing nearly twice as tall as the average human and carrying heavy black shields and wielding long clubs that crackled with green energy, simply absorbing the incoming fire, ignoring their injuries until they finally succumbed to the wounds they accumulated. Behind them, a pair of mechanical automatons rushed forward, bright green beams firing from the cannon arrays on their backs, their six legs making them look like hellish mechanical insects in the dim light of the hallway. Behind them marched a host of cloned soldiers of all shapes and sizes, each one horrifically unique, a mutant with a singular purpose. As the last of the alien forces were making their way out of the lift, the elevator began to rise again, crushing several hostiles who weren't fast enough to make it out.

The focus cannon's runic array was swapped out as a new energy crystal was loaded in. Then, the cannon began to fire, this time unleashing a barrage of reddish-black energy bolts, each one hitting its target in a powerful explosion.

Saito fired another barrage, this time causing the steel under his targets' feet to suddenly erupt upward, steel blades hobbling and impaling his enemies. Saito's elemental affinity was earth, so he specialized in manipulation of earth and matter. Said manipulation suddenly warped one of the metal automatons, forcefully swiveling its cannon to face the mutants behind it. However, the metal it was made of was magic resistant, and he lost control seconds later. Taking cover as a pair of energy bolts flew towards him, one being blocked by his personal shield generator and the other impacting the steel barricade, causing it to briefly glow bright red before the runic arrays in the steel repaired the damage. Saito glanced towards the side, seeing his familiar hunkering down behind the barricade.

"You said you know magic right? Open fire!" He screamed over the sound of weapons discharging.

"But-"

"Do it!"

The girl stood up, barely peeking out of cover as she took aim.

"Fireball!" The girl suddenly shouted, pressing the trigger. Then, a massive explosion shook the hallway. When the smoke cleared, the majority of the alien force had been reduced to a multicolored smear all over the walls, with weapon fire quickly finishing the remaining aliens. Looking to his side, he saw his familiar holding the weapon, the device extended and venting excess magic energy.

"Nice work, but you overloaded the magic circuits. It's gonna be some time before you can fire again." Saito said, peeking over the barricade while the faint but constant beeping coming from his familiar's weapon reinforcing his point.

"Alert, Class 4 Titan and support forces entering Delta lift." The helmet comm blared, and Saito cursed.

The gun crew swapped runic arrays, readying a heavy beam, aiming at the blown up elevator doors.

Soon, the spacious elevator arrived, and the titan charged. Moving with a speed that belied its massive bulk, the two legged mecha stampeded towards the defensive line, blazing away with its heavy rotary plasma cannons all the while, leaving its support troops behind. The initial fusilade of plasma was aimed at the cannon, which fired back, its beam splashing over the powerful energy shield protecting the mech from harm. The mech's return fire, meanwhile, washed over a protective barrier erected by one of the Magika corps troops defending the barrier. After two seconds of continuous fire, the mech stopped shooting, its arms moving behind it, reconfiguring themselves. Seconds later, a stubby barreled cannon emerged over the mech's torso, already glowing with green light. The bright green beam fired from said cannon quickly overwhelmed any shield the Magika Corps could throw up, the mages screaming before their shield generators were overloaded and they were vaporized. The focus cannon fired back, but once again its beam splashed uselessly over the mech's shield.

"Familiar, has your weapon finished venting yet?" Saito asked, pouring fire over his section of the barricade, a shaft of steel puncturing several advancing alien support troops.

"Yes!" The familiar shouted.

"Then fire at the goddamn titan!" Saito screamed as the mech began to charge up a second shot, its cannon starting to crackle with green lightning.

The familiar took aim and fired, the blast being felt from behind the barricade.

"It's shields are down! Fire!" The cannon crew shouted, and a blue-white beam poured out of the weapon, piercing clean through the titan, the mech collapsing in the middle of the hallway. The support troops were easy pickings, being quickly mown down by the human survivors. As Saito looked around, he saw that only the cannon crew and some surviving trainees remained.

"This is Corporal Nishida requesting reinforcements at the Delta block entrance! We have taken heavy losses, and we'll need more men if we're gonna withstand a third wave!" One of the gunnery crewmen shouted.

"Attention all forces defending Delta block. All forces attacking Delta block have been repelled. You are to take part in a counterattack to take the grounded enemy transports before they can teleport in additional soldiers. All soldiers defending Delta block are to report to the access lift for a counteroffensive." The voice in the helmet comm said.

"Come on familiar! Get to the lift!" Saito shouted, standing up. Then, something caught his eye. One of the dead Magika corps trainees, his armor melted in half and the body underneath reduced to ashes, carried a heavy anti armor focus caster. Running over, Saito picked the weapon up before running to his familiar, who was moving to the elevator.

"Take this. It should be able to take more magic before needing to vent." He said, handing the weapon to her, taking her heavy focus rifle for himself.

The surviving trainees and gunnery crew followed, the trainees carrying a variety of focus weapons while the gunnery crew carried particle carbines, being non magical. They were soon joined by a platoon of non-magical guards, complete with a squad of combat hardsuits, along with a squad of Magika Corps mages, as well as a smattering of trainees. A large amount of familiars clad in battle gear completed the mix. Then, the giant elevator began to rise.

"Alert. Friendly forces are inbound, ETA 10 minutes." The helmet comm spoke, before falling silent.

"Stay close to me Familiar." Saito said. "You're job is to use that explosion spell on enemy fighters going in for strafing runs. Got it?"

The familiar didn't respond. Saito linked his squadsight system with her own, seeing her face in the corner of his own helmet interface. The girl had her eyes squeezed shut and was faintly muttering something under her breath, too soft for her helmet's speakers to catch.

"I'mdreamingi'mdreamingi'mdreamingi'mdreamingi'mdreaming..." Saito listened in, hearing her mutter the same phrase over and over again, as if trying to convince herself of the fact.

"Familiar, snap out of it! Do you want to get shot? You can have your breakdown after the battle's over!" Saito shouted, waving a hand over her helmet's optics. Her eyes opened. There were traces of tears beginning to form in them.

"Why me?" She asked, softly.

"I don't know. But I do know that you are right here, right now, as my Familiar. My job is to take care of you, both inside and out of the warzone, and it is a job that I intend to do." Saito replied.

"But why ME? Couldn't it have been Kirche, or Guiche, or someone else? Why does everything horrible always happen to me?" The girl said, tears beginning to run down her cheeks.

"What is your name, Familiar?" Saito asked.

"L-Louise." the girl answered.

"Louise it is then. Listen, I can't do anything to comfort you right now. Hell, one or even both of us might die in the next couple of minutes, but if we live through this, I'll let you cry all you want. After all, Magika corps or not, we're all still human, and our emotions show that we are better than the cloned mutants the enemy throws at us. Now man up and make the aliens fear your name, Louise!" Saito finished his speech moments before the elevator reached its destination. The mages cast their barriers, the aetheric walls shimmering into existence just as the door opened. A storm of green fire met them as alien defense turrets swiveled and acquired turrets. Saito fired at the ground, creating a series of crude stone barricades tall enough for a man to hide behind. The hardsuits rushed out, particle cannons releasing a storm of death upon the alien forces defending the landing craft. One of the hardsuits fired a focus cannon, its runic array configured to fire single, heavy bolts. The energy bolt slammed into one of the turrets, cutting it in half, the top half being reduced to molten slag.

The screech of an alien fighter rang out in Saito's ears as the skeletal craft, its wings like scythes and its fusilage bristling with plasma cannons, dove towards the human forces.

"Louise, take out that fighter!" Saito shouted, the girl in question taking aim before firing. The fighter's shields caught the brunt of the blast, but a significant portion of energy got through, causing enough damage to send the craft spiraling down towards the ground.

Sprinting past the twisted metal hulk of an AA particle cannon, Saito took aim at the downed ship's cockpit, firing a burst of fireballs into it. The screech of the alien pilot roasting alive was music to his ears.

Saito rolled out of the way of a hostile fighter's strafing run, a barrage of cannon bolts indiscriminately mowing down a squad of non-magical troops who weren't so lucky. As the fighter streaked away, a beam of pure white energy sliced upward as a Magika corpsman returned fire, the attack slicing the fighter craft in half, it's shields already weakened by fire from one of the hardsuits.

"Reinforcements ETA 5 minutes!" The voice sounded in his helmet, just as a hardsuit charged towards one of the landed transports, magi-flamethrower mounted under one arm and a phase blade on the other. The mech stabbed the blade into the ship's sealed door, the weapon quickly vibrating the door's molecules apart, spraying the craft's entrance with incredibly hot fire. Saito began to run towards the downed landing craft, Louise following behind him.

"Louise, guard the entrance. Make sure the enemy doesn't try to blow up that ship with us still inside. Got it?"

"Yes!" The girl shouted back, before Saito created a set of barricades to shield her from infantry fire. Then, Saito rushed in, hot on the heels of a pair of Magika Corps commandos.

The fight inside the ship was short but bloody. One of the Magika Corpsmen died in the ship's reactor core, his shields overwhelmed by a pair of auto-turrets deploying at point blank range. The other lost his familiar while fighting his way to the bridge, the black, six winged raven taking a plasma bolt to the face, dissipating in a storm of feathers. Inside the bridge itself, the mage was suddenly impaled by a psychic bolt from the psion in command of the vessel, the attack giving Saito the opportunity to mow the alien down with a barrage of stone splinters, the alien collapsing on top of the dead mage's quickly vaporized corpse.

"This is trainee Saito Hiraga. Transport Craft 1 is clear of hostiles." Saito reported in, before walking out of the craft. Several troops escorting a combat engineer rushed in, the engineer quickly and methodically deactivating any teleporters active inside the ship.

"Excellent work trainee Hiraga. We'll take it from here." One of the troops said as Saito exited the craft.

Then, a shadow fell over the battleground. Saito looked up to see a sight for sore eyes.

"This is Admiral Preston of the United Earth Third Fleet. The cavalry has arrived." A deep, rich voice filled the speakers of Saito's helmet. The giant capital ship that now held position over the academy was proof of the fact.

A squadron of runic enhanced fighters exited the ship's hangars, while the giant ship itself engaged the trio of alien frigates that had, until then, prowled the skies above the academy uncontested. The Tripitz, for that was the warship's name, fired a pair of energy bolts from its main focus cannons, the white beams shattering one of the frigates, while the battlecruiser's escorting destroyers engaged the two remaining alien craft, quickly eliminating them. The rapidly swiveling particle turrets lining the ships' sides made short work of the alien fighters, quickly reducing them to piles of slag on the ground.

Bays on the battleship's sides opened up, and the members of the 101st Magika Corps division leaped out, using their manipulation of the air currents to arrest their falls, landing around the second transport craft. A few explosions rang out as the soldiers detonated breaching charges before entering the craft, making short work of its surviving occupants. The alien threat had been repelled, and the battle was won.

"Attention all personnel affiliated with the academy. Please return to the academy and prepare for geographic transfer. The transfer should take place in 1 hour."

Obediently, Saito walked into the lift, his familiar following right behind him. As the lift began to descend, Saito removed his helmet, tucking it under his arm. Louise did the same, her pink hair cascading out of the helmet that had kept it trapped.

"Allright, Louise. I'll go and requisition a few sets of clothes for you. Follow me." Saito said as the lift reached the bottom. Walking past the pitted and scarred barricade that held the line at Delta elevator, past the focus cannon, and past the ash that was once human, Saito and Louise moved quickly towards the requisitions office, which happened to be conveniently located in the Delta block. Entering, Saito walked up to the servitor that took the job of quartermaster.

"What can I do for you?" The servitor asked cheerfully, ignorant of the battle that had just taken place.

"I would like to requisition a set of standard issue equipment for Louise." Saito said, gesturing towards the girl in question.

"Excellent. Stand on the scanning pad, Louise." The servitor said, gesturing towards the pad. Louise obliged.

"Retrieving body measurements from armor data storage." The servitor said. "Measurements retrieved. Beginning fabrication process." Then, about a minute later, "Fabrication completed. Please claim your requisitioned material from the receptacle on the right of the fabricator."

The clothes in question dropped out, neatly folded.

"They're all yours, Louise. You'll be wearing this uniform for the rest of your time at this academy. You will be quartered in the same room as me, as the other bunk has recently become... vacant." Saito's voice dropped at the last part. It meant that his roommate had died. While he did not particularly know the boy, it was still a terrible loss.

"Where is it?" Louise asked.

"We'll head to the armory first to drop off our armor and gear. Then, I'll lead you to it. Saito said, before setting a brisk pace towards the armory.

After dropping off their gear, the trainees were ordered to report to the auditorium. There, it was explained that, due to damage to Gamma block, the following day would be free, aside from mandatory PT exercises and drills. After the speech was concluded, the geographic transfer device was engaged, effectively teleporting the academy from its old site in Japan to a new location in the south of Nevada. On the surface, it seemed that nothing happened, the lift towers being camouflaged from the air with specialized runic arrays, but underground, millions of tons of dirt and rock were displaced, being replaced by the academy as it was relocated. Once the process was completed, Saito and his familiar finally left to their quarters, Saito retrieving his belongings from the summoning hall before he did so..

Arriving in the small room, Saito deposited his belongings on the floor near the entrance and removed his boots. Then, he climbed up to the top bunk, collapsing into the bed's soft sheets. Then, he spoke.

"So, Louise, what do you wish to know?"

A/N: And the first chapter of this story is finished. As I said in the notes at the top, I plan to start one more new story, as well as update one of my older ones in the near future. With that out of the way, I would like to ask my readers to please review. I consider reviews to be even more important than follows or favs, as they tell me what I am doing wrong or right, and thus allow me to correct my mistakes and keep doing what my readers enjoy.

With that in mind, I would like to hope that you enjoy the story.