Hello and welcome to this new fan fiction, Interview with a Devil. I'll just say for the moment that this story is set during the occasional intermissions in the future. Canon is 67, but looking at Andrew's ,Ugar's and Schugel's appearance in the manga, I think it's better this way (47); it's the only real difference with canon that I'll use, although I'm mixing manga's, anime and books. Enjoy :)
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Moskva,Russy Federation, February 14th, Common ERA 1947 – About 20 years after the World War
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Andrew finished his drink and ordered another one. Lost in his thoughts, he came back like always to the same point. The Eleventh Goddess … the Empire's General Staff Organization V600 … There are even several references and dedications in Hans Von Zettour memoirs for god's sake!
It has been months since Andrew worked on anything else, he was late on his show's preparation and several of his newspaper articles were on hold. As a 48 years old man, it's not only his career at World Today News that was starting to get at risk, his whole reputation as a professional was in danger too. Even worse, almost all of his friends and family started to look at him with either pity or consternation. He became a man obsessed, obsessed about a mystery that occurred during the worse war humanity ever faced.
His long career, first as a war reporter, then as a journalist and finally as an historian certainly didn't justify his recent … passion; an elusive Empire's officer who helped shaping the World War and participated in every major operation, was missing from the books. Not just the main history, but every single trace of it was erased. Worse, the only real proof of his existence was, instead of a name, XXXXXXXXXXX mentioned in historical documents. Officially it was due to military censorship during the war, but the more he looked into it, the more it looked like an international conspiracy and one endorsed by every war belligerent.
I might be crazy. Nowadays, it seemed like a real possibility for Andrew.
He flew over here in the Federation to meet a new source; everybody told him that with the IndoQin civil war raging, it would be dangerous to do journalism in a communist state. But since the first call he received,he felt that this was the opportunity of a lifetime.
A retiring member of the Russy Federation (not so) secret state police willing to sell secrets!
At first he was septic of course. As a history specialist he shouldn't have been interested by this mess,but in the end he emptied his personal account for the money. The old man on the phone with a thick Russy accent and who was obviously drunk, was selling his lifetime work. Twenty years of communist research on the Eleventh Goddess, ordered by Loria himself!
Quickly gathering his thoughts, he still challenged the veracity of the call; but after being told that Loria was obsessed to capture HER and "the devil's mage wing" till his execution for betraying the people (some say getting to close with Uncle Josef's daughter), he burst out laughing and agreed to everything. The money, delivering it in person, in the federation.
The meeting was planned for the next day and for the moment all he could do was to fantasize about what he would learn while drinking at his hotel bar. The secret child of the Emperor? An unholy military experiment? Maybe even a creature from outer space like in those Sci-Fi books!
His future informer told him that due to her appearance, her official codename in the Federation was "Golden Bride", but that was only for the brass. She had several nickname all around the world, The Devil of the Rhine, Rommel's Bloodhound or even Zettour's Muse. They learnt her real name but it was cursed, everybody using it dying horribly within days. So they were calling her, also due to her looks, The Empire's Vampire.
Feeling the same chill in his spine that when he heard it for the first time, he decided to stop torturing himself, at least for the last night. He finished his drink and spotted a lovely woman, with incredible red hair, smiling at him from a discreet booth.
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Andrew was awakened by his headache, actually it wall all his body that was in pain. He looked around him for his clothes and realized. "Shit, where am I?"
It was not his hotel room at all! He was sleeping in a comfy bed in a middle of an abandoned place. He found his clothes neatly folded on a chair by his bed, although there was some blood stains on his vest. With the help of the morning sunshine that pierced through the old shutter, he started to explore the building. He found a couple of other rooms who also had new beds and through a window, he realized that he was in a deep forest. Now he was really scared.
He started to run in panic, looking for an exit. He finally found what looked like the main door and bursted out, running and fell down hard on the ground. That's when he heard a young woman's musical laugh next to him and that he stopped panicking. He tried to get up the faster he could, ignoring the pain in his knees and the wetness of the floor on his clothes. He pulled himself together and turned to face her.
"Oh Andrew darling, please, come and have some breakfast with us".
He stared what looked likea surrealist play for for a moment. A lovely couple was having a classical breakfast as if they were in an Albish garden, having tea and pastries from a small table. He recognizes the young girl from the night before and remembered her name amongst a few other weird details.
"Elya, right? What happened?!" Andrew asked looking suspiciously at the man.
The young woman made a gesture for him to sit and started to serve him breakfast.
"I guess this commie mage I guess this commie mage knocked your head pretty hard. You fought like a lion to save a young damsel in distress! Very manly I thought." She said with a wry smile.
He noticed that she was very calm and really having fun. Also, weirdly, she seemedmuch closer to his age that she seemed last night.
"I fought a mage? Why, it's not you I hope?" he said looking the man.
"Well, fought or getting beaten up, the difference is thin when it's this late. As for this man, he is from the Commonwealth and he is here to take you home." She said while pouring him a cup. "I'm sorry, but we can't let you be arrested by the Federation."
The man nodded to Andrew and kept drinking his tea, confirming that he was a true gentleman from the Kingdom by his Albish composure.
"What is going on? You know I'm a journalist, here legally! "
The woman exchanged a look with the man, but he stood perfectly still, clearly refusing the attempt to involve him. She sighed and looking resigned said:
"I am from Germanian Intelligence Andrew. Your informer, he is actually a very much active NKVD officer who wanted information from you. In a way you could have been friends, you have the same passion for historical details. But I don't think you would enjoy the gulag hospitality and spend the rest of your life learning about Sildberian wonders".
His jaw dropped, now he remembered, he told her absolutely everything. Everything about everything; the last memory he has from last night was of him ordering a second bottle of champagne. Drinking and explaining the details of the European military conspiracy he discovered. He even talked about his time as a war reporter and the difficulty of not being considered a veteran after everything he lived and saw. Why had he opened his heart to someone he thought was a student or some official's daughter!
"You lied to me! You used me!" He shouted in a slightly overdramatic pose that he was using in his show.
The quiet man coughed gently and putted his cup down before speaking
"Mr Andrew, you have placed your government in a, let's say, delicate situation. We were informed by our dear … ally, Germania, that one of our citizens was going to be framed and arrested by the Federation. The fact that you are somewhat famous and a journalist might complicate things even further. The travel has been organized to bring you back home".
"And I don't think I used you. Besides not being tortured, I even bet you feel better now that you shared everything you have on your heart. It's refreshing to hear a passionate man seeking out the truth at all cost. Some of your theories are really funny, even I, never heard about them. I'll have to share them with my friends" added Elya with a gentle smile
Andrew gathered himself and sat back. Finally he asked with a soft voice:
"Are you … her?"
He heard a gasp from the man's side but Elya kept smiling at him
"What if I am?"
"I don't know really, if we gather the main theories about the … goddess, is that she probably was a mage, a spy and a woman. Since you saved me from a mage I'd say you are one yourself. I guess I'll ask you to tell the story of your wartime"
At the mention of the word "goddess" he saw the Commonwealth's agent paling a little.
She let the silence grew a little, before breaking it with a much less friendly laugh than before.
"Of course I'm not 'The Eleventh Goddess'! You are a dangerous man Mr Andrew, for others and yourself. History is not perfect but it has been written carefully with a lot of different interests in mind. The relative peace we are enjoying in Europa is still fragile and the recent turn your work took, with your colleague Geoffrey from the Londinium Times, is not appreciated by everyone."
Andrew was totally struck by such a reaction. The discourse was horrifying and in a way that was proving he was right, but the emotion were the same ones he saw a countless times when talking to veterans for his work. He was about to respond but was interrupted by his countryman.
"We thank you Colonel, we have a long travel ahead and the schedule is tight. My government also, is grateful for your 'personal' rescue of Mr Andrew".
The time for departure came,but needing a last word and immediately regretting it, Andrew added: "Everything doesn't have to be a lie, one day you could try to save the truth!"
It looked like it struck a nerve but saluting them both and walking away she answered
"If you keep looking for an interview with the devil, you might end up having one!" and walked straight into the forest with a small giggle, disappearing like a figment of imagination.
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While travelling to the homeland, Andrew had some time to think. He escaped a horrible fate and even got to keep his money. Of course he didn't exactly get what he came for, but he finally met someone who somehow confirmed the base of his wildest theories. A real piece of the Grand Scheme.
After an unconventional travel under a false identity, including hiding in a cargo plane, he had to stay several days with the United Kingdom Intelligence Department; Curiously nobody seemed to care about his investigations, the object of all their focus was his contact with a Russy agent and a Germanian one. This time was spent between questions and examinations, by agents, doctors and even a couple of mages. Although, during his numerous interviews, he took the opportunity to get some pieces of information from his interrogators.
Relaxing with a coffee break, he learnt for example that the col. Elya was believed to be the new head of magical intelligence for Germania. The Kingdom's agents, who called her "the Death Witch" (at what another agent responded "Death Wish" and laughed), seemed terrified that she became very appreciated by the US agencies, for whom she occasionally worked.
It wasn't a secret that the Empire's military might have been partly internationalized and even privatized during its dismantlement; weapons had been sold and contracts were signed between old enemies. In the end, Germania and other former regions of the Empire had been integrated in various defense treaties and pacts.
It was even famous that European mercenaries had been a key part of the Korean Independence war. First by capturing the north capital and repelling the Qinese People's army. Then, by helping the new nation to deter an intervention from the Akitsushima Dominion long enough to negotiate support from the US.
He was also informed that his apartment had been broken into, most likely as soon he left the country. He felt pretty smart about keeping his work outside of his place, where curiously nothing was stolen, even if it had been ransacked. But once he got in touch with his colleagues, he learnt that their office had also been searched.
With his only trustworthy allies, they checked during days before they found what had disappeared; the first thing was the recruitment note for the V600 secret unit, the only known original. Now it's clear to him that the V600 is the most mysterious formation of mages of the entire war. The second missing thing was a picture from Legadonia during the Os Fjord operation. A picture of a poor little girl, probably a war orphan, almost naked and surrounded by imperial mages. Until then, besides the horror of the display and the particularity to be one of the few pictures of this part of the war, he never thought it to be this important; but he was obviously wrong if this was as important as the recruitment notice.
With Geoffrey, Andrew took the decision not to reveal what they learnt for the moment, to no one.
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Londinium,Comonwealth, April 2nd, Common ERA 1947
A couple of months later, Andrew was talking with some of his colleagues covering the Cubanacán crisis and the return of democracy on the island. A major military operation finally resulted in the first new election since the death of Fidel Costra. Along it came back pictures, videos and testimonies of the events. So far the estimates were about 8.000 deaths under the communist regime and another 1.500 with the return of the exiled. A naval landing and mage assault supported by the US allowed to wipe all communists on the island (that they were locals or from the Federation) in a mere couple of days.
The pictures were impressive, between the mass graveyards used for the daily executions of counter revolutionaries or the result of the total destruction of the military installations by mages, it was a certainty that Habana would be on the front page for several days.
He couldn't help, seeing the presidential palace, or rather the before / after pictures, to think that those mages learnt well the lessons of the Eleventh Goddess and the World War. Every relevant target had been precisely destroyed all over the island; but the presidential palace was used as headquarters to mount a counter attack and had been totally wiped out. Instead of the majestic neighborhood, consisting of several ministry and historical places, was remaining an almost perfectly round crater of black gravels. In the center stood the last revolutionary meeting, but in the end everything had been turned into dark ashes. It was unclear what weapon had been used, the Central Agency for Intelligence was starting to make a name for themselves lately by using prototypes in their operations.
Tomorrow's front page would be a picture chosen from a series of the new election. Probably one with the dozen of diplomats from other democracies, who came to offer their support in exchange for advantages with the newcomer on the global market. Trying to guess which one will be picked by the publisher, he found one that will certainly not be use. For some reason it was the only one that was of poor quality; they were all professional work obviously but this one was … fuzzy. Not entirely blurred but the details looked weathered. Using a magnifying glass from a nearby desk he started to study it. The new president was walking down a stage after a speech in front of the crowd and was shaking hands with officials on the way.
His heart skipped a bit when he realized that in the background, behind a row of men in suits were standing soldiers from various countries. Even with the magnifier, faces can't be seen and the details are in part erased but he could recognize the color and haircut of a woman; the Colonel Elya was part of the international diplomatic committee. She was probably the reason for the blurred pictures, he didn't knew this capacity for mages but if she was an intel specialist it was possible. What was sure is that she was wearing a uniform, but not from Germania.
His colleagues realized that he was totally absorbed by a picture.
"Can I take these?" Andrew asked with a small voice and showing it with the one of the crater.
After exchanging a look with each other one of them replied with a smile "Sure if you want, these are copies. But what for, they will be published tomorrow anyway?"
Andrew smiled curiously when putting both pictures in his pocket and walked away not responding.
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Later this day a loud knock resonate in Andrew's apartment. After a couple of attempt, the door, unlocked, was opened.
Geoffrey was worry, apparently Andrew left the office like a zombie and he couldn't be reached by phone. The apartment was pitch black and besides a light rain knocking on the windows not a sound could be heard.
Thinking he might be running into a new burglar he decided not to make any noises and started to look for Andrew. He made several particularly loud squeaking and reached the living room. The whole floor was littered with their work once again. In the middle of the dark room, Andrew was sitting on the floor, holding a bottle of scotch and looking by the window.
"Jeez, you scared me. What's going on, you've been robbed again ?" Geoffrey asked, worried by the atmosphere.
Andrew snapped out of his daydreaming and realized that he's been in the dark since hours. He painfully stood up and crossed the room to a coffee table. He grabbed something and handled it.
Looking closer to him, he realized that Andrew cried. Geoffrey took the picture and looked at it. Not sure what to see, he asked "Can you explain? You can tell me you know."
Grabbing a glass that was lying around and pouring a drink for his friend, he told with a trembling voice.
"I think she is still alive"
Not getting who could be, "she", he looked around him to understand. After a few seconds, Geoffrey found himself struck by the picture. Looking at the back, he could see that it was taken last week. He understood immediately what was going on. On the floor were other pictures and reports from their investigation. The crater was very similar to a couple of destructive events from the world war. The Dakar Bank incident for example, where the Empire destroyed the second fleet of the United Kingdom; the doubt always subsisted on what weapons was used to destroy an aircrafts carrier and pulverize the beachhead by surprise. Germania always assured that all information on this mission had been lost during the battle and the aftermath of the war.
It was also the case for several other battlefields on the eastern front from the end of the war. It was considered that being the most deadly series of battles in the history, with millions of deaths in only months, the physical destruction wasn't disproportionate. The sheer volume of explosives and ammunitions used at the time had been a good explanation for the lunar landscape that remains afterward in some regions. But now it was obvious that this was something else; there was a physical trail to follow.
Handing him the drink and sitting in a chair, Andrew remained silent for a moment, observing Geoffrey's reaction. After a couple of minutes, he broke the silence and finally says:
"I think the Eleventh Goddess is still alive. She is alive and currently in Cubanacán"