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
Time and Time Again Chapter 49, Time flies: Truth is a bitter pill.
Tanya regarded Visha with a worried look as she hesitated for a moment, then resigned herself to what she had to say. She worried that she would be pushed away, or be met with disbelief and lose the trust and companionship of someone that had become her friend, confidant and lover. The first time in two lifetimes that she had ever felt like this towards another person, and she had chosen to risk it all because she had decided that it was time to stop with the lies. To reveal the truth to Visha, especially since it seemed that her girlfriend had earned the wrath and ire of a being that claimed to be a god.
"I imagine that it would be best to start with the beginning, but that is not as easy a proposition as one would think it to be. I guess the first thing I should do is explain the nature of what we just encountered, what you seem to have helped drive off." Tanya said as she found her usual confidence lacking, unable to look Visha in the eye. She stiffened for a moment when she felt Visha gently move away, and then found her chin lifted to meet the gentle eyes of the woman that she had fallen in love with. The knot of tension melted away as she gazed into those familiar eyes, and Tanya relaxed for the first time since this latest ordeal began.
"I call it Being X. It… Claims to be a god, or some other sort of divine being. It and I have… A bit of history, you might say." Tanya said as she found herself unable to look away from Visha.
Visha bit her lip and nodded as she waited for Tanya to explain. She hadn't ever seen her girlfriend like this before. She always had seemed so in control and confident, like everything that happened in the world did so because she allowed it to. It made her wonder just what they had gotten themselves into, though if this Being X could throw Tanya this much off her usual balance.
"You aren't calling me crazy yet, so I guess that is a good sign." Tanya said as she hedged a bit more.
""If you say that's what that thing was, then I believe you. I have always trusted you, Tanya. You are the one solid point in my life." Visha said, and wondered why Tanya seemed to wilt a bit in the face of Visha's acceptance.
"What… If I have not earned that trust? If… I have lied to you for quite a long time." Tanya said as she chewed on her lip.
Visha looked at Tanya and made sure that she met Tanya's gaze as best as she could." Why don't you explain, and I will see what I think.' Visha said in a soft voice.
Tanya nodded as she gathered her thoughts. "I'm not who you think I am. I'm not what you think I am."
Visha hummed for a moment. "So, are you not Tanya Degurecheff? The Devil of the Rhine? The White Silver? The person I am lucky enough to call my girlfriend?"
Tanya fidgeted for a moment. "... I am, but that's not all of who and what I am."
"Tanya dear, if you have taught me anything, it is that we are never just one thing or another. That said, why don't you tell me what you meant, then?" Visha said in a soft voice before she settled down cross legged and pulled an unresisting Tanya into her lap and wrapped her smaller girlfriend in her arms.
Tanya sighed and glanced aside at her girlfriend. "It's hard a serious conversation like this, you know." She had to admit, being surrounded by as much Visha as possible did help to alleviate the knot of anxiety that had formed in her gut like lead shot. "It's hard to know just where to begin." Tanya admitted with a little laugh.
"Well, like you always have said, choose a point and start from there. We will unpack it all, and work it through one point at a time. Just like we always have." Visha said with a smile that Tanya knew would be there, even if she couldn't see it.
"Alright. Then, let's start with where things begin. For you, this is the second world you have lived in. It's my third, technically." Tanya said.
"Your third? Did you happen to break reality once before?" Visha asked with knitted brows.
"Not exactly, no. I didn't exactly survive the first time I ended up in another world, not my own." Tanya said as she sighed and settled back.
"You… Didn't survive? What happened, and how did you get to… Well, I guess my world?" Visha said with a perplexed tone to her voice.
"You know… I considered it my home, as well. That said… I was pushed in front of a subway by a shortsighted person who acted rashly. That was when I first had an encounter with the entity I came to call Being X." Tanya said with her eyes closed as she relaxed into the warmth of Visha.
"The self-proclaimed Creator that we just encountered, right?" Visha said as she nuzzled into Tanya's hair, a single point of stability as she listened to what her former commander had to say.
"Yes. It stopped time right before I had a final encounter with a subway train to air its grievances with the modern world I came from, and my lack of faith." Tanya said.
"The modern world you came from? What was your world like?" Visha asked as she adjusted her arms around Tanya's waist.
"It was far more advanced than the one we lived in, but not as advanced as this one. There was one very big difference, though." Tanya said with a wry smile.
"What was the difference? And… I find it difficult to believe that someone pushed a little girl in front of a train…" Visha said and tightened her grip on Tanya.
"The world I lived my first life in didn't have magic. It was a society of science and technology, without the codification and development of the science of magic." Tanya paused, as she prepared herself to say the next part. "And I was not a young girl when I first encountered Being X. Before I was reborn as Tanya Degurecheff in the world we called home, I was a heartless, cold man in my first world."
Tanya felt Visha stiffen for a moment, then breathed out slowly before she hugged Tanya tightly. "Is… That why you wanted to be with me? Because you… were a man? Do… Do you still remember being a man? Do.. You still see yourself as a man?"
Tanya had expected some reaction to that revelation, but she was happy that Visha didn't reject her completely after hearing that. "Do I think that my preferences are because of my previous life? It's possible, but I never was really interested in anyone in any manner in my previous life. I was… Even more distant and cold than I am now. I never had friends, or people I could turn to and trust in. I had… Acquaintances, at best. But is that why I wanted to be with you? I can honestly say I never expected this, to be honest. And I don't think of myself as a man, not anymore. I have lived as a woman, and lived a woman's life for years. I am… Well, I am me. Not the person I used to be, but the person I am now." Tanya sighed and settled hesitantly back into Visha. "I wish I had a better answer, honestly. But I don't"
Visha nodded as she thought about what she had learned, and regarded the young woman who rested against her. All these years, Tanya had been the same person. No matter who she might have been, what she did or did not remember, it didn't change who she was. It didn't make Tanya any less the person she had known for years, had fought alongside during some of the messiest, most dangerous battles in the war. Who had literally torn reality asunder for a chance to save her.
The answer was simple, as far as Visha was concerned.
"You are still my Tanya, no matter what happened before. The person you are now is the same person I have known for years, and the same person that I fell in love with. So… Were you a famous soldier then, in your old world? Is that how you knew what would happen, and could predict what was coming so we'll?" Visha asked as she studied the young woman that she had nestled against her, and nodded to herself.
Tanya laughed and shook her head. "I worked for a company in their HR department. Human Resources. I fired and disciplined people for a living. I knew that a world war was possible, but the rest… I just paid attention and worked things out on my own."
Visha took a minute to process that as she buried her nose in Tanya's hair. "So, it wasn't that you had any knowledge of exactly how things would go, or anything like that. You really were not cheating, you just… Are really a tactical genius." There was a note of pride in her voice as she hugged her girlfriend tighter again.
"So, has your opinion of me changed, then? Do you… See me differently now?" Tanya asked with just a hint of nerves in her voice.
Visha thought about that for a moment, then shook her head. "No… Do you think it should? You are still the same incredible person that I have always known, Tanya. Who you were before you became Tanya… I don"t think it matters, you know? I mean, from what Dr. Nishina has told us, reincarnation is an accepted part of several cultures, so… You just kept what you knew from before, I guess? The more I think about it, the less it bothers me, honestly. I am glad that you told me, though. Do you think that sometime… You could tell me about where you came from? Was it like our Germania, or this worlds Germany?"
Tanya chuckled and shook her head. "No, and wrong country. My last life was spent in Japan. I will admit, it is why I know so much about the Japanese language and their culture. I did live in a place like it, at one time."
"I guess that makes sense…" Visha said, then she laughed and hugged Tanya tighter again. "THAT is why you like to eat Chinese and Japanese dishes so much!" Visha said triumphantly. Her tone of voice and obvious excitement drew a wry chuckle from Tanya.
"You seem to be taking all of this rather well, Visha." Tanya said as she rested her hands on Visha's.
Visha shifted a little in a manner that Tanya had grown very used to over the years as her girlfriend laughed a little awkwardly. "Oh, I fully plan on freaking out a bit later, and demanding emotional support and comfort from my girlfriend who should probably have told me all of this before something decided to… Do whatever it did." Visha said as she buried her nose once more into the back of Tanya's hair.
"You… Still want to be with me, with all that has happened? Everything I kept from you.. And the fact I have a self-proclaimed divine being after my head?" Tanya said in what came out as a surprisingly small voice.
"Of course, Tanya. Like I said before, you are still the you I have known all this time. The person that I fell in love with, and who broke reality for me. So what if you have a bit more odd baggage than most… The article I read in that magazine said that it is important to be able to understand and accept the baggage that your partner brings with them. So, we will deal with…This. Somehow, like we always do." Visha said with a more confident tone in her voice.
"Well, I guess that does bring us to the other matter at hand… Being X. He tends to just… Pop in and mess with me." Tanya said with a sigh.
"So… About that… Why do you have this Being X after you, anyhow?" Visha asked as she shifted a little to get more comfortable. When Tanya tried to get up, she stopped once she felt Visha's grip tighten around her.
Tanya wriggled a little to get more comfortable as she felt Visha's arms settle around her more tightly and laid her head back on her girlfriend's shoulder. "Well, it happened like this…" Tanya said before she recounted her first encounter with Being X to Visha. When she finished, the silence and stillness of her girlfriend worried her, so she turned her head to look at the glassy eyed woman who held her. "Visha?" Tanya said worriedly.
"In a world without magic… You were pushed in front of a train by the person you had just fired… And something that claimed to be your creator froze time, and had a discussion with you about faith and faithlessness. It spoke to you through any number of people and at least one bird, and… you doubted it. You directly confronted it, and it sent you to me." Visha removed one arm from around Tanya long enough to rub the bridge of her nose and wiped at her eyes before her arms were wrapped tightly around Tanya once again.
"Well, of course. How could I believe what it said? It was utterly preposterous. There was no way a reasonable person such as myself would believe it." Tanya said without hesitation.
"Of course you didn't. After all, why would you? I guess you have always been you…." Visha sighed and shook her head. "So… All of this? Everything odd that has happened… It's some sort of attempt to get you to recognize this Being X? To… Offer praise to it? What do you think would happen if you just… Did what it wanted?" Visha asked quietly.
Visha stilled as Tanya seemed to shrink in on herself a bit, and in that moment she saw a different Tanya. One that could be vulnerable, and unsure. Awkward, and uncertain.
She saw to the core of the woman she had fallen in love with,and not the vestiges of the brazen, callous man who had argued the logic of God's existence while confronted with a blatant act of unspeakable power.
In other words, she could clearly see the woman that Tanya had become laid over the man she had been. The changes that had occurred after being reborn and living a new life.
The moment of utter clarity and revelation passed as Tanya sighed. "I think I would lose something of myself. Part of what has kept me alive through all of this. I… think I would stop being someone I could recognize as myself."
Visha nodded and hugged Tanya tight. "So, we keep telling it to leave us alone. What do we do if it tries this again?"
"When it tries it again, it would seem we have a counter." Tanya said and definitely did not snuggle back into the comforting warmth of her girlfriend. Definitely not in the least.
"And that would be?" Visha said as she smiled as her adorable girlfriend settled in against her.
"You, my dear. You were able to penetrate the sphere of entropic energy, and drive Being off. It's the residual energy from when I tried to save you, correct?" Tanya said as she placed her hands over Visha's.
"That's what Doctor Schugel said, but how did you know?" Visha asked as she gave the back of Tanya's head an inquisitive look.
"It was fairly obvious, honestly. They could not remove all of the fragments of tissue, and I could feel a sort of… Echo… when I cast spells around you. I figured that it would be obvious." Tanya said in a perfectly reasonable tone of voice.
"Maybe to you, Tanya. But not to everyone." Visha hesitated for a moment, then sighed. "As much as I love this… Shouldn't we be returning to the base? I mean, back at normal speed? And… How long have we been away?"
Tanya thought about that for a moment, then shrugged as she decided to answer the last question first. "It's hard to say, honestly. It could be anywhere from six months to two years, maybe more. The very nature of the entropic field can make tracking it from the inside more than a bit challenging, plus Being X seems able to break the laws that we work under at will."
"How often does Being X visit you?" Visha asked, then prodded Tanya a little. "And, what about leaving the field? We can, right?"
"We can. And I won't be able to maintain the field much longer, anyhow. And, he visits me from time to time. During the war, he would freeze time and gloat sometimes. At least once, I think he visited me in my dreams. He always took on the form of someone, or something, that was nearby." Tanya said thoughtfully. "Recently, he only seems to decide to come torment me when I am using the Type 95 to manipulate entropy, so I don't know what to make of that. I… Have to ask… What did you see when you entered the field?" Tanya asked with a bit of trepidation in her voice.
"I.. Honestly don't know? It was like, a sort of human looking shape made out of weird bands and arcs of light? It didn't really look like someone, more like… What the observation waves looked like on the scopes? It's really hard to describe." Visha offered with a little shrug.
Tanya creased her brows and tucked that away before she settled in against Visha a bit more. "If it's okay…. I want to stay like this until the field drops. About… Ten minutes or so, of our time?"
Visha nodded and held onto her girlfriend as she offered as much support and comfort as she could, for both of their sakes. She would have to really think about everything that Tanya had confided in her, and try to see if it did change how she saw Tanya, and the world in general. Only time would tell, but she didn't think that her opinion of her former commander and current girlfriend would really change in the least.
Tanya was still Tanya, after all.
Sunday, September 11th 2095. 9:15 AM. Facility One.
In the observation room, two people sat and watched the unchanging sensors and camera feeds, just as members of the staff had since the event had happened in the previous August. For three-hundred and sixty-six days they had waited and watched, and hoped that the two youngest members of their team would return that day, or at least during their lifetimes. No one, not even Dr. Schugel had any idea of why the incident had happened, or if Visha had managed to penetrate the sphere intact. They didn't know if the pair of them were on another Rip Van Winkle excursion into the far future, or even if the out of control entropic spell would rip another hole in the fabric of space and time.
This morning the two on standby were Technician Greene, and the Japanese magician Dr. Nishina. While the good doctor looked over papers and plans that might never be needed, Greene monitored the readouts while he read over the latest series of reports. Without the two subjects, the Project seemed to be on the verge of hitting the cutting block, something that those who had been involved during the long years that it had been maintained found preposterous. It was mostly the work of the three main researchers that had kept the Project afloat for the last year, between the new spell formulas from Tanya and Nishina's work, the advancements in the field of bionics for the use of magicians from Wylan. Dr. Schugel had focused more on Project Oracle, but the existence of that project helped keep this one afloat.
They were both jerked from their individual thoughts and work by a series of alarms that had not sounded once in the last year. A flux in the entropic field, a massive reversal in the field's properties. They both checked and double checked the results in the minute they had before the field abruptly collapsed. As Nishina ran to grab her bag, Greene hit the general alarm and paged the stand-by team in the medical ward.
Neither figure on the platform had moved since the field collapsed.
*A/N*
Here it is, the last (regular) chapter in the first book of Time and Time again! The epilogue comes next, along with the teaser for season 2, as it were (or the end of the prologue, as I like to think of it. Some disagree with that assessment.)
I want to thank all of you that have stuck with me for the last 49 chapters, and thank you all for taking the time to read, review, and share your thoughts and insights!
Back soon with the epilogue:
Epilogue, Endings and New Beginnings.