Disclaimer: This is a divergence from the novel/anime version of Saga of Tanya the Evil. Do not expect characters to act as they do in canon. I'm also a yuri author, so expect a bit of shipping too.
Rachel Sue was worried.
The war with the Empire wasn't going well. The Legadonia Entente Alliance had, unwisely, attacked the Empire and had triggered a full scale war. A war, basically, they were losing, even with many allies. The news services were painting a falsely bright picture of the war, but she knew other military families, and THEY knew the truth.
Worse, her husband Anson Sue had been captured, or was possibly dead. The military reports from Norden were unclear, but he at least had been defeated and taken by the enemy along with the capture or destruction of his unit of mages.
"Mother, I'm sure things will be all right," her daughter told her warmly.
Rachel looked at her daughter Mary and smiled weakly. Her child's faith was a comfort for her, though she wished she could believe so easily...
*tap tap tap*
Both women blinked, looking towards the closed second story window. To their shock, they saw a child floating out there in mid-air. Even more insane, she was wearing the uniform of their mortal enemies, the Empire! The girl made frantic 'OPEN THE WINDOW' gestures.
"What...," Rachel started.
"We should let her in," Mary said intently. She had been praying frantically for her father's safety, and it almost felt as if she had reached... something. And now this mystery woman glowed with a unearthly, holy light!
Rachel gave her daughter an odd look, but reluctantly opened the window. Maybe the girl brought news of Anson!
"Pardon the intrusion," the blond haired girl said. She reached into her uniform coat and brought out a letter, "This is for you, ma'am."
Rachel recognized her husbands handwriting and snatched it away. She read it swiftly, her hands shaking slightly.
"Who are you, miss?" Mary asked, seemingly entranced by this strange visitor.
The blond girl looked at her oddly as she answered, "Lieutenant Tanya Degurechaff, Imperial Mage Corps."
Mary nodded thoughtfully, "Tanya... I think we could be great friends."
"What." Tanya blinked.
Finishing the letter Rachel looked up at Mary, her eyes wide. "Mary," she said breathlessly, "your father is alive... and wants us to join him in the Empire!"
"WHAT," Mary Sue echoed, surprised.
The Saga of Tanya the Evil: Divergence
"We don't have much time," Tanya said intently. "I and my team were instructed to bring you out with us, or get a firm reply you are not going."
"I know," Rachel said. The letter felt genuine, and it SOUNDED like something Anson would say. Nor did it appear to have been written under duress. But this was a huge step to take... She looked at her daughter, "Mary?"
Mary nodded once, decisively. "I have been praying for father's safety... I feel sure this is part of it. Like some greater plan," she said.
Rachel noticed Tanya actually flinch a bit at the suggestion it was a 'greater plan' Interesting. Still, her daughter wanted to go, and she wanted to be with Anson again. "All right," she nodded to Tanya, "we'll go. How do we do this?"
"Thank you." Tanya flashed a slight smile. She put her head out the window and called, "Viktoriya! Get down here!"
A taller young woman hopped through the window. "Ma'am!" she saluted the little girl.
'Wait, Tanya is IN CHARGE?!' Rachel blinked.
"Corporal Viktoriya Serebryakov," she introduced herself to both women. She turned to Tanya, "We'll carry on as planned?"
"Yes. You'll carry Mary, I'll take Rachel," Tanya instructed. She looked back at the Sue's and said, "I'm sorry, we'll have to fly you out. You also can only carry a small suitcase each."
"You're going to fly us out?" Rachel blinked. Mind you, it made sense... "Aren't I going to be a bit heavy for you?" she had to ask.
Viktoriya snorted aloud in amusement.
Tanya gave her a scolding look then looked back at Rachel. "I'm stronger than I look," she reassured Rachel.
Rachel and Mary each packed a bag of precious keepsakes. As a military family they generally packed light, but Rachel still felt a twinge at leaving behind some of her precious things. On the other hand, asking Tanya to carry her rocker too would be a bit much.
"We're ready," Rachel told them. She saw Viktoriya easily heft Mary as they went out the window, then looked a little nervously at Tanya.
"God, help me save these wayward sheep," Tanya murmured oddly, hands cupping her round computation orb. She easilly scooped up Rachel and her bag, then flew out the window.
"Eeep," Rachel 'eeped' in surprise.
Being married to a mage made Rachel somewhat informed on the subject. She knew Anson was quite powerful... but this little girl was staggeringly strong. She was carrying Rachel, flying at high speed and shielding them from the elements with little visible effort. Behind them, poor Viktoriya was struggling to keep up...
"Won't we need to fly over the front lines?" Rachel asked a bit nervously.
"We can fly higher than they can," Tanya reassured her, "we should be fine. Probably."
"Probably?!" Rachel echoed.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Anson Sue waited at a base near the border of the Empire.
There was an odd sense of irony that Tanya Degurechaff, of all people, was rescuing his family considering that fighting her had destroyed his career. Empire artilery had been destroying their forces, and the only thing Anson could do at the time was to try to target the spotter.
Bad idea, it turned out. The little girl successfully killed several members of their unit, then in a final move kamikazied them, detonating her computation orb and killing and wounding several more mages. They had been left so stunned and disorganized that a team of Empire mages swept in and captured the survivors.
Luckily, the commander at the scene recognized the value of live captives. After Anson negotiated their surrender, they were treated well. They were even given some freedom of movement and saw the level of military preparedness the Empire had. And it was that, coupled with his own experience, that made Anson realize something terrible: the Legadonia Entente Alliance was going to lose.
Oh, Anson knew they'd fight valiantly. And it was certainly POSSIBLE the other nations getting involved could turn the tide. But just looking at the respective military powers, it looked very likely the Empire would win. Which left him considering his future.
"Major Sue!" a friendly voice called. "I'm sure they will be here soon."
"Erich," Anson nodded to the other man. "I'm hoping Tanya does not run into any trouble."
Lieutenant Colonel Erich von Rerugen smiled wryly. "I'm confident Tanya can handle it," he reassured the other man.
Von Rerugen had been put in charge of debriefing Anson after he announced he wanted to defect. They struck up a quick friendship, both being reasonable men in un-reasonable circumstances. They also shared a horrified fascination with Tanya, which helped bond them. Both felt the young lady was dangerously war-mad...
They talked for awhile, exchanging the usual pleasantries. Erich descretely checked his watch, "If things have gone as expected..."
"They should be in radar range soon," Anson agreed.
Neither brought up that Rachel and Mary could have just refused to go. They also didn't consider if Tanya would just abduct them.
Erich visualized Tanya carrying a bound and gagged Rachel and Mary and visibly winced.
"What?" Anson asked.
"Never mind..." Erich said firmly.
A staffer hurried over. "Radar contact. It appears to be Lieutenant Degurechaff," he reported.
"There!" Anson pointed as the saw them off in the distance.
In a few moments Tanya descended, putting Rachel down gently, even as a visibly tired Viktoriya came down with more of a thump.
"ANSON!" Rachel staggered a bit, stiff from being carried, but rushed into his arms.
"Daddy!" Mary followed seconds later.
Erich smiled, walking over to where Tanya stood and leaving the family to their reunion. "Well done, Lt Degurechaff," he said.
"Sir!" Tanya saluted him. Once he returned it she continued, "Thank you, sir. It all basically went as planned."
"Except for the anti-aircraft fire at the front...," Viktoriya muttered.
Both ignored that.
"You too, Serebryakov," Erich added. He looked over at Tanya, "Can you write a report on the mission? Your experiences might be useful if we need to plan raids, later."
Tanya nodded, "Yes sir. Of course." She sort of side-eyed the wilting Viktoriya, "Request permission go dismiss the troops?"
"Granted," Erich nodded, and Viktoriya, after an obligatory protest, staggered off.
Anson, loving family in tow, walked over to them. "Thank you," he repeated warmly, "thank you so much."
Tanya smiled, "It was my pleasure. Really."
To be continued...
Notes: Tanya's been using the Being X tampered with Orb, while Mary has been praying to Being X. Hence she 'senses Tanya's holiness,' which is why she trusts her.
Ha.
Anyway... will also likely be a Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha crossover eventually. Because I like the idea of the Time Space Administration Bureau in Nanoha being aware of Tanya's Earth and being mildly horrified by it.
Partially inspired by Accelerator and the posters in Sufficient Velocity's Tanya Fanfic thread.