Foreword:
Hi everyone, after my last fic was rather poorly received (read: it was crap), I have taken some time off (read: drowned in sorrow) to perfect my writing skills. After watching all three Nanohas in a row, I thought that the stories had such a great scope and that more could be made of it, so I decided to write this bit of alternate-history faff.
The question at its core is: What if the Nazis not only won WWII but went on to defeat the Time-Space Administration Bureau? Obviously I took a few liberties with certain characters and their relationships in this setting, but I hope you will enjoy regardless.
And yes, before I get yelled at, this is not an OC-centric fic. All your favorite mahou shoujos are the main characters.
Now, this first part is a prologue, so it's going to be told from a bit different voice than the rest. Nanoha and Fate will be showing up next chapter. I promise. It's also a bit more than I usually write, so I'll forgive you if you don't want to read all the way through.
If you want to review, please be as honest as you can. I am still learning, and if I make mistakes I would like to know how to fix them.
Update schedule may be a little slow so please be patient.
Enjoy!
YEAR 124 P.I.
SAINT'S CHAMBERS, ABOARD THE CAPITAL SHIP SANKTKRADEL
MOBILE RESIDENCE OF THE FUHRER OF THE GROSSDEUTSCHES GALAXIENREICH
ABOVE CAPITAL CITY OF CLANAGAN, ADMINISTRATED WORLD 1, MIDCHILDA
The circular chamber was dark, nearly completely if not for the dim blue light shimmering from the bottom of the pool of water at its center. To each side, pillars and arches of orange marble, flecked with greens and roses and yellows that would gleam ever so faintly as the soft light caught them, rose until they were lost in the inky blackness. It was impossible to tell the actual size of the room; only the word from the Fuhrer could illuminate the chamber, and the Fuhrer preferred it to be dark. So the chamber stayed that way, the upper reaches expanding into infinity, and the pool sinking as deep as the ocean.
A seamless door, indistinguishable from the wall of the room, slid smoothly open with a faint hiss, letting enough light from the corridor behind seep in to illuminate a figure dressed in a strange way, shining with the gleam of polished metal. Over a skin-tight base layer was placed shining golden armor, two chestplates on which the black eagle of the Reich raised its war-cry, a large, smooth plate for the midsection, curved yet spacious shoulder guards, arm and upper leg protection, and freedom of movement at the hip, elbows, and knees, and a belt around the waist. It was the most powerful Barrier Jacket issued by the Mage Corps, thus fitting for an elite assigned to guard the highest authority over two hundred and five planets situated in as many dimensions.
The guard's face was masked by a sleek helmet; a line of glowing red indicated his eye level, or to be more precise where the video feed was taking its input. A faintly metallic puff was the rhythm of his breathing pattern. In his right hand, he carried a long spearlike device, silver on the shaft, cerulean on the point, but as soon as the guard had gained entry to the room, he placed the weapon on the floor and knelt, pressing two fingers to the side of his headgear. The helmet separated into segments, each folding back on each other into nothingness. It was still impossible to tell his appearance, as the shadows still hid any features that might have identified the guard.
The calm pool stirred, and the figure of a young woman rose from the waters, throwing drops around her area. As she stood, water ran off her sleek form, and the light caught the hair that flowed down her back, turning it into a river of molten gold. The guard remained motionless in his position, seemingly not even breathing. The girl stepped from the side of her bath and stood on the floor, her back to the guard.
She spoke one word, and it rang throughout the chamber. "Licht."
Immediately, the chamber bloomed into light, illuminating the girl and her guard. She strode toward the armored figure gracefully, hardly making a sound.
"Erio," she asked, "did you come to fetch me?"
Even though the knight was tall, he was much younger than his initial impression would suggest. In fact, he didn't appear much older than sixteen. Instead of the rugged countenance of a veteran, he still possessed the soft features of a boy. Red hair stuck out wildly from his head, and his blue eyes still shone; they, like him, were still virgin to the true horrors of war.
"Yes, Your Divinity," he replied, soft and subdued. "The High Council and Senate are gathered and waiting." He paused for a second, as if wondering how to be as inoffensive as possible. "Your Divinity, pardon me for my rudeness, but are you dressed?"
"That's a secret," she responded, almost teasingly. "You're free to stand up, Erio."
The guard came to his feet, still averting his gaze. With a single deft motion, the girl moved right in front of his field of vision, too fast for him to avoid a gaze. Erio Mondial immediately blushed scarlet before he realized with annoyance that she was wearing her uniform after all.
His aquamarine eyes met hers, one deep green, one brilliant crimson, and she smirked playfully. "Did I embarrass you?"
It was hard to believe that this person was the ruler of an empire that spanned galaxies, and a deity in the flesh. As far as her bodyguard was concerned, she hardly acted like one.
Erio huffed out. "Your Divinity, please don't be offended, but I really wish you wouldn't tease me like that."
She giggled. "What, you don't like it?" The girl looked his armor up and down, scanning her servant and frowning slightly. "You've still got your Barrier Jacket activated all the time? You know I told you to stop that. It drains your energy."
He replied as he had done many times before. "It is so I can keep Her Divinity safe if she is threatened."
She whirled around on the heel of her boot, her hair fanning out behind her. "You know I'm completely capable of defending myself. I guess I should get going, then. There's no point in keeping all those old men waiting. They might miss their afternoon naps." She tugged the hat she had been carrying in her hand over her long flaxen hair and strode toward the door, her boots clacking on the marble as she went.
"The Hegemon is waiting outside, Your Divinity," her knight announced, motioning in her direction. The door slid open smoothly to reveal an older, but still quite handsome, man with longer hair, dressed in the same light brown uniform, golden arabesque pattern on the collar, thigh-high black boots, and crimson armband around the right arm as she wore. Surrounding him were ten of the Heer in their dress greys, their Pucheron UN-23 assault rifles held at attention over their right shoulders, wearing the red epaulets that signified an Army Corps with the honor of being stationed on the Capital World of Midchilda; Vivio guessed they were from either the VI or the XI. The man in the lead bowed his head in salutation as she emerged and fell into step beside her, Erio trailing behind both with his spear held upright.
"I thought Your Divinity might never come out," he intoned, deeply and smoothly.
"You've known me for all my life and you still call me that? I'd like it if someone would use my actual name with me," the blonde girl pouted.
"Hm?" he replied. "It would be most indecent to address a deity by name."
"Well, what if the god wants you to?"
"Is that an order, Your Divinity?"
"Yes, yes it is," she sighed. "By the power vested in me by the gods and men as the supreme Fuhrer of the Grossdeutsches Galaxienreich, I command you, Jail Scaglietti, Hegemon of the Proletariat, to refer to me by my given name."
He chuckled, a low, deep rumble. "Very well. I guess I can't argue with that, Your Divi-...Vivio."
Vivio smiled slightly. "I can't believe it took you six years to finally call me that."
"And I can't believe it took you six years to order me to," the Hegemon replied. "You're always so upset about people being formal with you."
If Vivio had any parents, she didn't know anything about them, but Jail Scaglietti was the closest thing to a father that she had. Her earliest memory was six years ago, when she had found herself seated in an enormous chair with people bowing down all around her her. She remembered many things, but yet she did not know who she was or how she got there, and when she had tried to ask the people, they had called her "Your Divinity" and told her she was "destined to rule" and did not say any more. She wanted to tell them no, she was no queen, no princess, but she could not. When no one would tell her anything, Scaglietti was the one who took her in, who explained to her. She was the only daughter of the Saegebrecht family who descended from Olivie herself; in fact, she was a god in the flesh just like her ancestor. She had been selected to rule but had contracted a wasting disease and had to be placed into a coma; when she awoke she had obviously forgotten her identity. Over the years that followed, when she needed a question answered, when she needed to ask advice on policy or magic, when she just needed someone to talk to, he had always been there for her. He helped her understand her role in the Reich, the nation she ruled, and her responsibilities, until eventually she was strong enough to stand on her own. Even though she didn't see as much of him now as she did, she still was fond of him, because he was the only one to treat her like a person, not a god or a demon. Around him, she could show her true self, because he didn't put her on a pedestal like everyone else.
They continued down the pristine white corridors of the Sanktkradel, occasionally passing a secretary, nurse, or crew member, who would each bow their heads respectfully before moving along. Scaglietti jerked his head in the direction of the boy following the two. "What about him? Have you tried getting him to call you that?"
"Yes, several times, but he couldn't call me Vivio if I was holding him at gunpoint."
"Does he ever talk?" Scaglietti asked. "I don't think I've heard him say one word since he was assigned to the post."
"He talks to me," Vivio commented. "He's always going on about protect Her Divinity this, protect Her Divinity that. You probably scare him."
"I scare him?" the Hegemon repeated in mock astonishment.
"Probably. When you talk about science at the council meetings you sound like you're plotting world domination."
"What's wrong about being enthusiastic?"
"It makes General Gaiz think you're growing chimeras in the Laboratorium basement."
The Hegemon huffed audibly at the mention of the name, and Vivio recognized that she might have struck a nerve. "Well, anyway, Mondial's a good kid," said Scaglietti, quickly changing the subject. "Maybe a little uptight, but he's capable. He didn't get assigned to you for nothing."
If Erio appreciated the compliment, he did not show any signs of reaction from it. He continued walking behind the two with the same expression, seemingly looking like he wasn't listening at all.
"Are you sure that's not just Hegemon-speak for "I didn't have any other Elites to choose from, so I had to pick a fourteen-year-old kid?" Vivio commented sarcastically. "I'd like to see Tre try. She'd just stand in the corner fuming and say one word maybe every hour or so. And Otto would control-freak me."
"I don't know what's worse," Scaglietti laughed, "that you insulted all my hard work I put into creating those personalities or that I completely agree with you." He pushed his long hair back over his ears and continued. "You know, you're quite tactless for a supreme leader. Has anyone ever told you that?"
"Hardly. This is, without a doubt, the first time you've brought it to my attention," she retorted sarcastically.
"Nove would pick a fight with you for what you said about her sisters, you know."
"Well, lucky she's down there and not up here."
Their walk through the halls of the starship had flown by, and the two officials and the guard arrived at a black door with a silver eagle behind crossed swords painted on it, which opened to a set of steps. A faint murmur of a crowd could be heard from an indeterminate location.
The Hegemon turned up the staircase. "This is where I leave you. Don't trip on your way up."
"You say that every time, but I've never done it once."
He disappeared through the door, turning to the right, and Erio followed behind him. Soon, Vivio was the only one left standing in the hall.
She took a deep breath. Even though she had gone through this many times, it was still a bit intimidating. But she had been through it; she would be fine. She entered the passage and climbed the stairs, the din growing louder the higher she went. Finally, a speck of light appeared ahead of her, growing brighter and brighter until she was out in the open again.
She was standing behind a podium on a stage, raised high above the surface of a room with large windows giving views of the surface of Midchilda below. Emblazoned on the front of her pulpit was an eagle clutching laurels and the Sign in its talons, and behind her were several large crimson banners with the Sign turning crookedly to the left in a circle of pristine white.
To the right of her stood the Hegemon, his calm expression replaced with one of almost frightening sternness. Behind him was his secretary, one of the Elites, although Vivio was quite surprised when she was told that last part upon their first meeting. Quattro's mousy brown hair and spectacles was hardly what one would expect a genetically perfect man-machine fusion to look like, even though she was a support model.
The Commander-in-Chief of the military, General Regius Gaiz, was to the immediate left of the podium; tall, husky, and ugly, he wore the same angry scowl she had always seen him with. Farther along in that direction was the Minister of Research, Precia Testarossa. Although she was an entrancing dark beauty, Vivio had come to suspect that something wasn't quite right with her. True, she was a brilliant scientist, but she was aloof to everyone, even her erstwhile colleague Scaglietti, and apart from High Council meetings it was near-impossible to know where she was and what she was doing.
Standing to the right of the Hegemon was the old Minister of the Interior, Aldegard Scrya. He had seen better days; his uniform hung off his old body and his face sagged. Just from the way that he spoke, Vivio had figured out that he wanted to resign as soon as possible, although she hadn't identified why he wanted to leave his position. If she wanted to use her authority she could force him to tell her his entire life story, but she was not one to pry into personal matters.
Below her, a sea of men and women in the brown uniforms of Reich government snapped to attention, seemingly as a singular entity.
Vivio brought the microphone down to her face level, and with a single stamp of her boot, the chamber grew silent. The playful personality she had demonstrated with the Hegemon and her knight was gone; rather, it was like it never existed in the first place. The Senate and the people of the Reich didn't see the cheerful Vivio Saegebrecht. No, to them Vivio did not exist. The woman who stood before them was the almighty Divine Fuhrer of the Grossdeutsches Galaxienreich, almost a figure of legend, a figure whom most citizens had never seen in person.
"Children of Belka," her voice echoed through the chamber. "It is by the grace of our glorious ancestors that we stand here today. It was through their piety, through their purity, that they, those brave soldiers of the empire of our forefathers' creation, brought a thousand worlds under their protection. It is they that we strive to emulate."
She paused, then continued as smoothly as she began. "Alas, Belka fell to greed and corruption and war, and so was no longer fit to rule. So they ceased to be, and in their absence the many worlds that they had left behind yearned for the order they brought. But hope was not lost, no, it still existed. On a planet known as Earth, the fire of old Belka still burned bright in the hearts of one brave group. And so it came to be, in the year 55 after the birth of the First Fuhrer, those who were known as 'Germans' were blessed with the Fleet that their ancestors had left for them, and toppled the corrupt regime that had spread in the wake of the fall of Belka, restoring the Empire to its former glory. And it, as you know, is called the Grossdeutsches Galaxienreich."
"But yet we must ask, why? Why were a small race of a small country on an insignificant planet blessed with the keys to the universe? Why did the Time-Space Administration Bureau, with their laws and their ships and their soldiers, not continue to lord over the dimensions as it had done so before?"
"It is the same reason why the mighty Roman legions were driven away from the banks of the Rhine and the trees of the Schwarzwald time and time again: it is the spirit of the Belkan blood. For the Bureau was corrupt; it only cared about making money for itself, not the government of the common people. Even though those called Germans knew not about magic or their glorious ancestors, they were far more worthy of inheriting the galaxy, for their mission was to restore the Empire, not to line their pockets."
The Fuhrer's voice began to raise into a shout. "Senators, that is why you stand before me today! You are the pillars that support this country; mine, yours, the worthy's, this country that our noble forebears gave their tears, their pain, their lives to create! You are the lights that guide the masses from the darkness that is corruption!"
The chamber responded as one, an echoing chant. "We will lead the way!"
"The strength of the Reich is the people!" Vivio cried, looking downwards at the crowd that stood before her. "The strength of the people is the Senate! The strength of the Senate is the Reich!"
"The strength of the Reich is the Fuhrer!"
The Senators were at a fever pitch now, almost as if they were hunting dogs closing in on a kill, and even though it always happened, Vivio could never avoid being swept up in the fervor.
"Glory to our fathers, the Belkan Empire!" she screamed. "Glory to Olivie, the Saint! Glory to the Reich!"
"Glory to the Reich!" the floor parroted. "Glory to the Reich! Glory to the Reich!"
The Fuhrer snapped her right arm outward from her side, stiffly pointing it, and two hundred arms audibly followed.
"SIEG HEIL!"
Vivio Saegebrecht turned on her heel and strode down the staircase, the sounds of the frenzied crowd echoing behind her, growing fainter and fainter as she left. As soon as she opened the door into the bottom hallway, she saw that she was no longer alone; Erio waited with a group of ten soldiers in Mage Corps gray waited for her, to escort her as they usually did. The Hegemon was nowhere to be found; Vivio assumed he must have gone on ahead. She nodded to her guards, and they fell into step beside her, forming a protective shell. In time they came to a sliding door protected by a hand scanner, and the officers left them. The Fuhrer placed her right hand on the sensor and spoke.
"Vivio Saegebrecht. Age 18, Fuhrer, Identification 01MC-2736-1894."
"Verified," the door spoke with a robotic, monotonous voice. "Please identify all others in your party."
Her bodyguard came forward and placed his hand on the scanner as well. "Independent Mage Corps Captain Erio Mondial, age 14. Special certification. Identification 01MC-2820-9362."
"Verified," the door replied. "Releasing locks." It opened smoothly into a conference room, in which sat a large, simple metal chair veined with pulses of what looked like electrical energy, running in every direction with brilliant white light. This was the most holy relic perhaps in all the worlds the Reich controlled. It was the throne in which the Saint sat when she conquered the last traitor kingdoms at Ventus, quite fitting for one of her descendants.
Beneath the throne was a circular conference table, made of glass with the eagle of the Reich carved into it and set in gold. Around it sat the Hegemon, Ministers Testarossa and Scrya, General Gaiz, and another figure, a young blonde woman in a habit, the Saint's cross dangling from her neck: Carim Gracia, Knight Premier of the Saint Church, the religion that worshipped Vivio's distant ancestor and was powerful enough to field its own armies. Together these five people made up the High Council, the most powerful governing body in the Reich, but they all answered to the Fuhrer herself.
Vivio strode around the silent council and took her seat in the chair. As soon as she pressed the palms of her hands on the flat, wide arms and closed her eyes, she could feel powerful energy flowing out of her body and into the throne, like a receptacle for her power. She couldn't really describe magic to anyone if they asked, but it was always one of the most intense feelings she had ever experienced in her life.
She opened her eyes. "Now. Shall we begin?"
Most of the meeting was boring, the usual stuff they discussed every time: taxes and military spending and agricultural yield and laws being signed. Even though Vivio had the power to reject any bill or statistic not to her liking, she hardly even debated ninety percent of what was brought up at the meetings. The others were the experts; she was not. They knew what they were doing; laws and proposals were safe in their hands, not hers. If she foolishly vetoed something she didn't like, it could harm the kingdom she worked so hard to protect, and that was not an option. So Vivio mostly kept out of High Council meetings, only speaking to approve resolutions and nothing else.
This time, however, something caught her interest.
The meeting was about close to wrapping up when the Knight Premier stood from her chair, cutting a proper figure. "I have something I wish to report, if it is okay with Her Divinity. It is of...paramount importance."
Knight Gracia with urgent news was a rare occurrence for anything. Vivio nodded. "Go on."
Carim flicked her hand upwards, and a circle of white parchment scrolls manifested in midair, revolving around the bride of the Church.
"As you all know," Carim explained as the papers circled her, "the Device dating from the days of the ancients given to each Knight Premier, which I currently hold, grants the gift of prophecy. However, it is an incomplete skill. It was meant to be combined with the internal Device of a Sankt Kaiser; unfortunately, I have no such power. As a result, I rarely receive any glimpses of the future, and when I do they are often incomplete."
The officials around the table had fallen silent as they turned their attention to the standing Knight. Hegemon Scaglietti in particular was concentrating with some interest.
"However, two days ago I received a rare complete, and rather worrying, message," Carim stated, reaching into the circle of dancing scrolls to pluck one from the ring, which immediately darkened with inscribed runes.
Vivio was far more excited to hear what Knight Premier Gracia was talking about than she really should have been, even if it was bad news.
The Knight Premier took a deep breath, then intoned, in a deep, breathy chant:
"Þegar börnin hafa skilað í faðm móður sinni
Átján dómar skulu sett voru átján blöð skulu falla
Hún sem skref allan heim mun vera kunnugt um menn og illt
Eldurinn mun brenna þar er ekkert loft
Eldingar mun slá þar eru engin ský
Hesturinn rukkar þegar það er engin reiðmaður
Hermaður fellur þegar það er ekki sár
Þar höggormurinn blunda, drekinn, munu upp vakna."
The Hegemon wasn't nervous, but something about the poem in perfect Old Belkan that Knight Premier Gracia had delivered worried him, Vivio could tell. She was starting to be a bit concerned as well; it was a bad sign when Scaglietti showed even any signs of uncertainty.
"The dragon...surely this doesn't mean Yothoth..." Minister Scrya wheezed.
"She's lying! Every bit of that was a lie!" General Gaiz roared, rising quickly, his chair falling behind him. "Surely, mein Führer, you cannot believe this religious fanatic and her tales of hellfire and brimstone!"
"And why would she have any reason to lie, General?" Minister Testarossa interrupted, casting her knowing gaze upon her military counterpart. Regius Gaiz's face twisted in anger, but realizing that he had no sane retorts, he sat back down, glowering.
Scaglietti was mumbling to himself. "the Dragon...it only makes sense...the Dragon...The Dragon! It only makes sense!"
Vivio joined the rest of the room in turning their attention to the Hegemon.
"Of course! It all makes sense now," Scaglietti nervously laughed. "Because Sigrid is come again, then of course Yothoth would return. But our Sigrid is a human. What will happen then? Will the great Dragon swallow the world again? No, because first he must take revenge. He was sealed by Sigrid so many years ago, but he believed he took her with him. Now that his captivity is broken, if he finds out she survives, he will seek her to fulfill his purpose. And what better way is there to do that than in the guise of one of the race that his enemy begat? No, Yothoth will not be a disaster or a monster. Yothoth will be a human. There will be another like our Fuhrer."
Vivio's eyes widened. Another like me? Why were they talking about something like that? It didn't make sense, what all this talk about dragons had to do with her. Who was this Sigrid person?
"What are you suggesting we do, Scaglietti?" General Gaiz barked. "Do we hunt it down? Do we kill it?"
"I am suggesting nothing of the sort, General," the Hegemon replied, spreading his arms wide. "We, humanity, stand on the precipice of godhood. This person, this prophesied one, will have great power, and that would be the power to advance the evolution of our species or destroy us completely. It is our choice."
"What do you mean?" Gaiz growled, still on edge.
"Isn't it simple?" the Hegemon smiled. "We just have to tame this dragon."
The very second he said those words, something surged through Vivio, washing over her in waves of white-hot intensity. When she opened her eyes, she was no longer in her throne aboard the ship. Instead, she was in a space whose only inhabitant seemed to be nothing but fog. It was impossible to tell where anything ended; everything melted away into the distance. The only color was pure white.
What is this place? Where am I?
She walked forward with footsteps that made no noise, looking and looking for a way out of this place, but there was nothing but emptiness. She looked around, turning in every direction-
-There was something. A flash of color in the mists. She turned in that direction. Something other than her was moving. There had to be someone else.
Vivio took off in the direction of the color she had seen, running and running, but she saw nothing. Finally, exhausted, she dropped to her knees, panting with her mouth open.
It's no good. What am I doing here?
When she looked up slowly, the first thing that she saw was the sky blue doe-eyes of a girl standing in front of her.
Who is she? Is she an angel?
The girl was naked, with her hair the color of a burning flame draped across her shoulders; her skin was pale and smooth. It seemed like she had a brilliant aura surrounding her. She didn't know who this person was, but Vivio couldn't deny that the girl who stood before her was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen in her life.
She stood up slowly, making as little noise as possible, and walked closer with soft footsteps, reaching slowly out with her right hand.
The strange girl looked at her with mournful eyes and bounded away into the mists.
Vivio wanted to grab her, to cry out "Wait!", but she couldn't say a single word.
She blinked. As the haze covering her sight cleared, she saw that she was back in the conference room; the Hegemon was standing over her, shaking her on the shoulder. "Your Divinity! Please wake up!"
"I'm fine, Hegemon Scaglietti," she replied. "Thank you for your concern, but I assure you I am completely okay."
"What happened?"
"Nothing."
She was lying, something had happened, something she didn't know herself.
Who was that girl?
Author's Notes:
So for a little bit of background on this AU, and how the Nazis came to conquer the Nanohaverse. Have you ever heard of Die Glocke? If not, search for it on Wikipedia. It was a German experimental weapon that was said to be powerful enough to turn the tide of the war; some said it was a device to summon aliens, others said it was like an antimatter bomb, others said it was a miniature black hole or something of the sort. In short, no one knew exactly what its purpose was, but in my AU it was a dimensional portal, and on its first test the officers who activated it were transported into a pocket dimension which an ancient Belkan attack fleet (about 4x the power of the TSAB and 20x the power of 1940s Earth) had been trapped in. So that's how we got here, and you'll find out more about it in later chapters.
The poem is in (I hope not too badly mangled) Icelandic, to give old Belka that "Norse conqueror" feel. Here's a translation:
When the children have returned to the bosom of their mother
The eighteen judgements shall be passed, the eighteen blades shall fall
She who strides across the world will be known to men and to evil
The fire will burn where there is no air
The lightning will strike where there are no clouds
The horse will charge when there is no rider
The soldier will fall when there is no wound
Where the serpent slumbers, the dragon shall awake.
Before you ask, Sigrid and Yothoth are Old Belkan gods (my own invention), and that's all I'll say on the matter for now as there will be spoilers if I tell you any more.
Thanks for reading!