The Saga of Tanya the Evil: Divergence
ONE
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.
Partially inspired by Accelerator and the posters in Sufficient Velocity's Tanya Fanfic thread.
The Saga of Tanya the Evil: Divergence
Interlude: Recovery Days
Tanya Degurechaff HATED being bedridden.
In the aftermath of her exploding her Orb to defeat the Entente forces, she had been badly battered and left stuck in bed. The 'good' news was that the Empire's magic assisted healing would have her up and about in a few weeks. But until then, there was nothing she could do but lay abed and wait to heal.
On a dresser nearby rested the Silver Wing Assault Medal she had been awarded. THAT was something she had mixed feelings about too. While on one hand she appreciated the recognition, she was also sure it was going to get her in trouble. Front line service? Or worse?
(In a lab in another part of the Empire, Herr Doctor Adelheid von Schugel was eagerly awaiting Officer Degurechaff to get out of the hospital. He needed a new test subject!)
Tanya, sadly, was unaware of THAT fate awaiting her.
"Second Lieutenant Degurechaff?" a woman's voice called.
"Here," Tanya replied.
The nurses had set up a curtain, blocking her bed off from the rest of the ward. They had ALSO lectured the doctors on leaving a young girl with no privacy in a ward full of men. Tanya herself hadn't really thought about it...
A woman in her thirties pushed aside the curtain, smiling, then visibly winced at Gtanya's condition. She recovered quickly enough, saluting as she introduced herself, "Hilde Schnee, Communications. Pardon the intrusion."
"Officer Schnee. How can I help you?" Tanya smiled slightly. She suspected at some point Public Relations would track her down... maybe this was it?
The other woman bowed slightly, "I came to apologize."
"What," Tanya blinked.
Hilde nodded seriously, "I was the one who relayed the order to you to stand your ground against those mages."
"Ah," Tanya realized, recognizing the woman's voice at last. She shook her head, "It's not your fault, ma'am."
"I also didn't realize how young you were...," Hilde added softly.
Tanya knew there wasn't much she could say about the age thing. She continued mildly, "You were doing your duty, relaying orders from our superiors to me. It's not like you made those decisions yourself."
Hilde smiled, startled by the maturity of the young woman. Why, in a way she even sounded like an old man!
"How long do you expect to be here?" Hilde changed the subject.
"It looks like another week or two," Tanya admitted.
"You have to be terribly bored," Hilde noted sympathetically. "Is there anything I can do?"
Tanya smiled wryly, "Could you get me some newspapers or something?" She nodded to several childens' books on the end table, "The nurses MEAN well but..."
Hilde looked at the books and laughed. "I'll get you some newspapers, then," she agreed.
After Hilde left, Tanya lay back with a sigh. She felt that she had made a good contact, knowing a communications officer might get her a 'heads up' on orders before they went out officially. These sort of connections could be invaluable in the future.
The possibility they could be friends never occurred to her.
To be continued...
Notes: Just a short bit, because the old writing engine isn't going too well this week.
Other than Tanya getting awarded her medal, we don't see anything on her recovery. It also occurred to me that an officer who ordered a nine or ten year old into pitched battle might feel more than a bit guilty. So, this.
May or may not do a few more shorts, possibly between full chapters. I have a few thoughts on that...
Two
"Sir?" Tanya blinked.
In the weeks following the rescue of the Sue family, Tanya had been put back to work. She was commanding a band of mages on the Rhine front, and gradually the battle was stabilizing. She felt some nervousness at meeting her commander, but she thought things were going well.
"Congratulations, Lt Degurechaff. Command has decided that because of your various accomplishments you'll be attending the War College," he said.
"Sir! Thank you," Tanya firmly tried to not look as overjoyed as she felt. She was FINALLY getting away from combat. And if she could manage things well, she could end up in a position in the rear, possibly working in logistics...
"But what about my unit?" Tanya asked, faking concern with the best of them.
"They'll be fine," he reassured her. He checked through the paperwork, "There is a concern you may need some support, being a young woman there. Command has decided you will have an aide there, and it will be Corporal Serebryakov."
THAT surprised Tanya, but she stomped on the reaction. "I had recommended her for officer training," she said mildly.
"Which she will do alongside you," the older man said firmly.
"Of course," Tanya nodded briskly.
"Here's your documents, along with the Corporal's. It's been good to serve with you," he smiled, and they saluted each other.
"Thank you, sir," Tanya said as she left.
Tanya flipped through the documents. She would be spending several months in the Capital, Visha would be attending courses nearby. They were apparently be rooming in the same building, which she supposed was convenient. She reached the tents where food was being dished up, and saw Visha resting her head on a table.
"I want a nice bed... I want a shower...," Visha groaned, "I want an apple pie, even if it's from a can..." then the older girl saw Tanya. "Eeep," she sat up.
"Just a few months ago you were so new to this you could barely fly," Tanya noted wryly, "And now look at you."
Vasha sat at attention, and Tanya had to smile.
"Lt. Schwarzkopf has given us new orders from command," Tanya said, passing the documents over to Visha.
"Officer training?" Visha blinked.
"If you don't WANT to leave the bloody front lines...," Tanya teased.
"No no no no," Visha yelped. "That's not it. It just seems to good to be true."
"You will be stuck as my attendant too," Tanya clarified. "We're both going to Berun, you for training, me to the War College."
"I'm looking forward to it, ma'am!" Visha said a little stiffly.
"Travel plans have been set up, we'll leave tomorrow evening," Tanya got up as she added, "Best make any farewells you need to, today."
"Yes ma'am!" Visha said cheerfully.
'Yes,' Tanya thought, 'War College, time in the Capital and the chance to make myself known to High Command. How could this not turn out well?'
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Tanya!" Mary Sue waved cheerfully as she ran up.
"Miss Sue," Tanya blinked.
"Mary, please," the slightly older girl beamed.
Just behind her, Anson and his wife caught up. "Sorry, Leutenant," Anson noted. He smiled, "You got promoted, I see."
"Yes, full Lieutenant. How are you settling in?" Tanya asked politely.
"Quite well, actually," Rachel smiled warmly. She gave Tanya an odd look.
"Yes?" Tanya asked.
"I saw the film they made after you received your metal," Rachel explained wryly.
Tanya winced slightly. "Yes, that was... a thing," she admitted.
The Propaganda department had tracked her down not long after she started working with Visha out on the Rhine front. Deciding a military uniform was not good, they had dressed her up in red frillies and made her up. It had all been hilariously embarrassing.
"I think you looked cute," Mary added warmly.
"Yes, well..." Tanya waved that off.
"Are you in the capital on business?" Anson asked, noting she was still in uniform.
"I'm training at the War College," Tanya admitted.
"Oh, congratulations," Rachel smiled at her. "Will you be in the capital for long?" she asked.
"A few months at least," Tanya admitted.
"Oooh, that's so neat!" Mary beamed. "Maybe we can catch up!"
Tanya managed not to wince at that thought.
Anson looked visibly amused, the taller soldier smiling at her sympathetically. He clearly 'got' that the young soldier and his daughter Mary probably had little in common.
Rachel looked at her curiously as she asked, "How is that other young lady who assisted in our rescue? Victoria?"
"Viktoriya," Tanya corrected, "she's here in the capital too. Officer training."
"Oooh!" Mary beamed, "Maybe we could all get together."
Anson chuckled softly, "Maybe we could arrange something."
Tanya gave him a look, valiantly fighting the urge to just go 'What.'
Rachel bit back a chuckle.
"Excuse me, I do need to get to classes," Tanya said, bowing slightly, then she hurried off.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Viktoriya Ivanovna Serebryakov sighed in relief as she packed up her school books and headed out.
"Corporal," one of her fellow students waves, "Are you busy? A few of us are..."
"I'm sorry, but I'm meeting a friend after class," Visha cut him off, but kept a warm smile on her face.
"Ah. Well, have fun," he waved as he left.
In the roughly two months she had been in officer training, Visha had realized there was a severe lack of women. Which, of course, resulted in MANY young men hitting on her... Thankfully once they heard she was also the aide of her Lieutenant, they backed off.
Visha blushed faintly as she headed out to the street. 'It' a bit embarrassing, considering how often the Lieutenant gets me up in the mornings,' she sighed.
"Hey! Visha!" Elya Seiber waved from a table at the cafe they arranged to meet at.
"It's good to see you," Visha impulsively hugged her.
Both women had been in training as Mage officer cadets together. In fact, it had been from Elya that Visha had first heard she was going to be under Tanya's command. Sadly, they had not gotten lucky enough to be assigned together...
"Congradulations on getting into officer training," Elya added warmly. "Of course you're doing well... other than sleeping in."
"Not so much," Visha said, but she was blushing.
"What?" Elya asked.
Rather sheepishly Visha admitted, "The lieutenant usually wakes me up."
Elya just LOOKED at her. "The lieutenant you're supposed to be an aide to is waking you up in the mornings?" she clarified.
Visha nodded sadly as Elya burst into giggles.
"She loves my coffee, at least," Visha pouted. "And I cook for her, when we can arrange it," she added.
"I guess you are both busy," Elya agreed. "I assume your classes are going well... though I noticed you mostly write about Lieutenant Degurechaff."
Visha blushed AGAIN, amusingly enough.
Changing the subject Visha asked, "Are you still posted with Observation Division? I sort of envy you that..."
"Ha. I envy you getting to do actual useful work," Elya sighed, "I'm still mostly just bringing coffee for superiors."
Visha was reasonably sure her friend was exaggerating how little she did. On the other hand, she wasn't going to press. "Trust me, you would not have liked slogging through mud on the Rhine front," she noted.
"Sorry," Elya made a face. Neither brought up their two classmates who had died on the Rhine front, too.
Just then Visha's stomach growled loudly. "Eeep," she looked sheepish as Elya laughed. "I skipped lunch," she admitted.
"Let's get some snacks, and you can tell me about living with Lieutenant Degurechaff," Elya teased warmly.
To be continued...
Notes: As Elya has no canon last name, I swiped 'Seiber' from BleedingBlade's fanfic, Amor Enim Vult. STRONGLY recommended, as well. It's one of the best 'post war' Tanya and Visha stories.