A Saga of Tanya the Evil/The Irregular at Magic High School crossover.
I do not in any way, shape, or form lay claim to either of these works.
This is just a work of admiration from one fan, to those others that share the same interest.
The only characters or places I lay claim to are those solely of my own creation.
Chapter 4: Deus Ex Machina
June 7th, 8:00 am, 2094. Present
Isolation and containment room, Facility 1, formerly Bunker 208
Tanya sighs as she eyes the Type 95, wishing for her Type 97, but it seems to have been lost somewhere in the transition, or perhaps whisked away by that nefarious Being X during the chaos. She looks up to the control room, receiving a nod from the good doctor as she adjusts her flight gear and settles the cursed computation jewel into it's accustomed place on her chest.
"Tanya Degurecheff, test 1, beginning." She says as she feeds magical power into the gem, lifting gently into the air as all manner of scanners, computers and sensors record every detail of what is happening, and what she is doing. "Magic output stable, holding at one meter." She says as she watches the world through the lens of her magically enhanced senses. For all the advancements that her new world and time held, this was perhaps the one thing that they were still missing. Magically attained personal flight. One of the few real joys of her previous life, if you could ignore the constant fighting, shelling, and airburst shells. One could even think it an enjoyable thing. She floated there for the required five minutes, letting their computers do the tasks allotted them, then settles back to the floor. She looks to the doctor, and at another nod removes the Type 95, placing it carefully into its container before taking her own CAD in hand.
"Tanya Degurecheff, test 2, beginning." She says as she accesses the function of the CAD, trying the latest variation of the spell they had devised. She executed it, letting her magical power flow through the device. It was one of the oddities of her second life, she was a mage, but nowhere near the most powerful of them. Average at best, at least in her potential magical power. It was the efficiency of her operations that made things work. That, and the cursed jewel that she was saddled with. Perhaps in this time and place, they would be able to free her of it, once and for all. "Attempting lift off. Applying fifty percent power." She stated as she dropped into the rote and ritual of flight. As before, nothing happened. The CAD and her flight gear were still refusing to operate together. "Seventy five percent." She said, as she carried on with the test. Still, nothing happened but feeling the drain, and the CAD starting to heat up. "Doctor, I'm feeling resistance in the CAD, do you want me to continue?" She stated as calmly as possible, hoping that this Schugel would not blow her up, again.
"No, Degurecheff, I think that will be all for now. We have gotten some good results, the numbers look...Interesting, to say the least. Let's move on to the next test, then? Stow your CAD and flight gear, and take up your Type 95. Try for that 1/60th ration, shall we? One second of distortion for one minute of real time." She glances at the techs, getting a nod from each station. "We are ready when you are, just try not to be gone for more than an hour this time, shall we?"
Tanya hides her grumble as she carries out her instructions, carefully removing and stowing her flight gear and the CAD, then taking up the Type 95 and the special stopwatch that they had issued her. "Setting dilation to 1/60th, time set for one second comparative. Ready to execute when you are, Doctor Schugel."
The doctor does one last check with each of her technicians and specialists and nods to Tanya. "Proceed when ready. And good luck." She says as she watches the readouts.
Tanya takes one last breath, triggering the sequence of spells and enhancements that made her little trick of entropic distortion possible. One second of her time, for sixty seconds of outside time. She watches carefully as the outside world becomes a glowing white ball, to her perception as she slows the entropic process in a bubble no more than two meters across all around her. Something feels off, though.
"Oh, my little lost lamb. You think that you have escaped your fate, by fleeing from the garden that I had prepared for you?" The voice seems to emanate from everywhere, everything, as the world freezes in a way that has become oddly routine for her over the years.
"A garden? Obviously if you think that was a garden, you need to find better source material, Being X. And yes, we escaped your little war. How many lives did you waste, just to try and make a point?" She shakes her head. "You only confirm my beliefs that you are a malevolent being when you pull stunts like that."
"Oh, ye of little faith. And after what I have done for you? The gifts I have laid at your feet, the prayers I have answered? Perhaps you need to be tested once more, my little lamb. How quickly you have forgotten the prayers of the lost and lonely. I know in time you shall see My glory for what it is. Carry on your little game, lamb. I shall watch over thee always."
The presence fades, and the second ticks by. The spell collapses, and a weary and furious Tanya drops back into sequential time, looking quickly at the clock to assess just how much time she lost while dealing with the self proclaimed God. Ten minutes. Not the best, but by far not the worst results they had seen. She places the Type 95 back into its container without waiting for the doctor's orders, taking slow, deep breaths as she waits for the medical team to approach and check her over. "Was...That enough with the Type 95, doctor?" She lets out as she is swarmed, her pulse and other vital stats checked by hand, instead of just relying on the sensor array that she wears even now under the flight suit.
Doctor Schugel looks at her readouts and reports, nodding once. "Take five minutes. Eat something, get a drink and relax, then we will try again with the CAD." She pauses for a moment, then activates the microphone again. "Well done, Tanya. 1/600 is not a bad result, all things considered."
A quick double look at the booth is all the response that is given as Tanya lets the staff lead her over to the chair and the waiting refreshments. She eyes the Type 95 like a viper lurking in the grass as they carefully seal it back into its case and place it back into storage. A different CAD is laid out on the table, the newest refinement of their continuing attempts to duplicate her feat of entropic control.
Five minutes seems to drag on forever as she tries to calm herself, hoping that Being X will not choose to interfere once again. His visits, as rare as they have been here, always are disconcerting in their own way. But, it's worth it, to not have to face the war again. To not have to risk the death of her battalion, of the soldiers that she is responsible. Unbidden, the image of Visha lying broken and bleeding comes to mind with all the dread that seems to be attached to the image. With a shake of her head, she stands and puts that image out of her mind. Soon, she will have a daily reminder of Visha's well being and continued life. That should help put to rest that spectre.
With a renewed resolve, she steps into the test circle, taking the CAD from the technician and looking to the booth once again. "Ready when you are, Doctor Schugel."
"Once more from the top, 1/60th compression, one second perceived time. Lets see how close you can land to one minute, Degurecheff. When you are ready." The doctor states, eyes fixed once more on her readouts and sensors.
"Tanya Degurecheff, test 2 starting." Tanya says before the world fades to white.
June 7th, 1:00pm, 2094
It is an exhausted Tanya that slowly makes her way back home, dragging herself down the hall with slow, labored steps. The tests had run late, with the last test with the CAD achieving the 1/60th rate that they were aiming for. Next weekend they would begin 'Stuctural analyses and assessment' on the new stasis shield, or, as the good doctor would say "Entropic reduction and abatement event horizon." A truly horrendous mouthful, but at least she wasn't being strapped into a V1 and shot at any unfriendlies. But, perhaps it was best not to make any sort of jokes with the good doctor.
She stops at the door, long years of combat telling her something was off. Silently, she slipped a knife from where it was hidden in her boot, channeleing the variation of fortification magic that she referred to as her 'mage blade' into it, turning the edge into a molecular knife. With a quick intake of breath, she is through the door, ready to dispatch anyone that was inside.
Needless to say, she stopped dead in her tracks as a scent that she hadn't smelled for what seemed like forever wafts into her nose. The knife drops to the ground as she looks in wonder at the cup sitting on the table, waiting for her and the eyes that peek around the corner of the kitchenette in concern. "No artillery spells, I hope, Ma'am?" A timid Visha asks with a bit of a smile visible.
Tanya takes a moment to center herself and regain her composure, habitually starting to reach for a cap that is no longer there, and instead running her hand through her hair. "Not this time, Visha. I think I will save that for when I have some recruits needing to dig foxholes." They stare at each other for a moment, before Visha breaks into giggles and a soft laugh is extracted from the Argent. "I didn't think you would be here til Monday." Is all she says as she walks to the table, leaning down to better imbibe the strong smell that envelopes her like sunshine on a cloudy day.
"Doctor Schugel and I thought it would be a nice surprise for you….Tanya." She says, looking a bit shy at uttering her former superiors name so casually. A quick little smile is the reward she gets and Visha lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding in. "She expedited your requests, and saw that I was delivered with them. She said she would make sure that I would be here before you, but I will have to have a discussion with her about not running you ragged next time. There are times that she almost makes me wish I still had my entrenching tool, Ma'am." The sigh of an upset and perhaps even pouting Visha does almost as much to lift Tanya's spirits as the coffee does.
With a laugh, Tanya settles down, gently lifting the cup and savoring it before taking a sip with a sigh of contentment. "It's very good, Visha. No one makes coffee quite like yours." She eyes her over the rim. "What will you do when you run out of the blend that you brought for me, though?" She asks with a bit of mirth.
Visha grins "Doctor Schugel had the analysts examine a sample of my coffee, and found a match. I will be receiving regular shipments starting next week." She says proudly, ever the efficient ajutant to her commander.
Tanya stares at her for a moment, then laughs and shakes her head. "Just remember, only gamble in the interest of the unit, not for just me, Visha." She says with a bit of a turned up lip, a feral little grin on her face.
The perfectly blank and innocent look she gets in return might have worked years ago, but the Argent knew her better by now. After a moment, they both started to laugh at the moment, before settling back into one of the rituals that used to set their minds at ease. Coffee is served, drank, the cup refilled without asking as Tanya looks over her emails and reports. Tanya looks up at Visha, tenderly holding the cup. "It's good to have you back, Visha."
"It's good to be home….Tanya." is the reply that is given.