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 50, Time flies: Epilog, Endings and New Beginnings.
Sunday, September 11th 2095. 9:15 AM. Facility One.
Greene and Nishina shared a look before they rushed towards the platform together. Dr. Nishina knelt down next to Tanya as she started to check the young woman's vitals, then looked up as Greene placed one of the emergency trauma kits beside each of the temporal refugees. Dr. Nishina nodded as she examined each of them while they waited for the medical team to arrive.
"Please cover each of them with an emergency blanket." Dr. Nishina said tersely as she noted Tanya's vitals, before she pivoted to do the same while opening a command line on her terminal to bring up the status of the artificial heart that dwelt within Visha's chest. Of particular interest was the chronograph display, since it showed just how much time the pair had experienced while they were in Tanya's little bubble of distorted entropy.
Dr. Nishina raised an eyebrow at what she found there, and nodded as she adjusted the thermal blankets on each of the young women before she administered a shot to each of them right before the medical team arrived.
The elderly Japanese woman stepped back and let the team take over after she informed the on duty doctor what she had observed, and what she had done for the pair. When she moved back over to stand next to Greene, they watched as the medical staff tended to the young women and waited for the stimulants that Dr. Nishina had administered to kick in.
"I know that you checked both of their chronographs, how much time were they in there?" Greene asked.
"For Tanya, the last one year and fifteen days has taken just over an hour and a half, subjective." Dr, Nishina said as she looked at her notes.
"Well, that is not nearly as bad as it could have been, all things considered."" Greene said.
"According to the details I have gathered, a good part of that seems to have been spent after she reversed the field." Dr. Nishina said as she chewed on her lip in a very unusual display for th3 reserved scientist.
"And Visha? How much of a difference is it for her?" Greene asked without looking at the figues himself.
"Twelve hours and thirty-six minutes." Dr. Nishina said in an overly calm tone of voice.
"Twelve hours? But… How is that possible? Shouldn't their subjective times be… A lot closer than that?" I mean, the event horizon is measured in nanometers, really." Greene said before he did look at the numbers that the Doctor had carefully recorded.
"The field is thin, but the compression rates in it are… Extreme, to say the least. Honestly, it's amazing that she was even able to penetrate the field at all. And to think… She spent what must have felt like hours pushing her way through the boundary zone."
"Both of those young ladies have stubbornness to spare." Greene said with a shake of his head.
"Do they? Or is it more that they really have nothing else but each other?" Dr. Nishina said as the medical team loaded the two young women onto stretchers.
Technician Greene looked at Dr. Nishina after Tanya and Visha had been taken to the recovery room that had waited for them all this time.
"Where is Dr. Schugel? You would think she would be here any moment." Greene asked as he checked over the recordings and sensor logs.
Dr. Nishina nodded. "I'm sure that if she could have been, she would have. But today our good Doctor Frankenstein is getting the next batch of… components.. for her mechanical monster decanted and ready to replace the last batch."
Greene nodded grimly, more than a little unsettled by that.
At Facility Zero, Dr. Adeline Veronica Schugel watched as the last of the artificial magicians were woken up. There was that moment when their minds snapped together, and in unison nine sets of eyes looked at her and spoke in a voice that blended together perfectly. Nine mouths and throats that spoke as one. "I am awake, Mother."
Dr. Schugel smiled as she greeted the group that was one. "Hello, daughter. And what shall I call you?"
They all smiled together as they spoke their name. "I am Tatania."
They were answered by stunned silence.
Monday, September 12th 2095. 8:30 AM.
Facility One medical annex.
When Tanya opened her eyes, she immediately looked around the room that she had found herself in. She relaxed slightly when her gaze fell on the figure that slept peacefully in the bed next to hers, after a look over the display revealed that Visha slept peacefully. Tanya laid back down with a sigh, and only then turned her head to regard the silent figure that sat in the chair across from them. The two exchanged looks for a minute, then Tanya sighed and scooted back in the bed so she could sit up with her back against the headboard.
"I figured that Dr. Schugel would be the one waiting for us to wake up, Dr. Nishina." Tanya said as she took one more glance at Visha before she fixed her gaze on the elderly Japanese woman. "So, to what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?"
Doctor Nishina smiled wryly at the young woman. "I hope that you are not too disappointed that I am the one waiting for you, Tanya?"
"Not exactly, no, but it makes me wonder what you are plotting. I imagine that our absence had to have thrown off your plans." Tanya said before she poured herself a glass of water from the pitcher on the table at her bedside.
"And what makes you think that I have some sort of agenda?" Dr. Nishina asked in that neutral tone of voice of hers.
Tanya sighed. "Because we all have our own agendas, doctor. You obviously have been introducing us to the Japanese language and culture for a reason. Just like why I was given a stimulant to wake me up, while Visha has been given a sedative to let her rest while we talk." Tanya said as she fixed Dr. Nishina with that calculating look of hers. "So, why don't you just come clean with me, and then we can see what we need to do from there."
Dr. Nishina chuckled and stood up to walk over and hand Tanya her terminal. Tanya arced an eyebrow, then watched the video that was queued up. After a moment, she looked at Dr. Nishina with a serious look on her face.
"We have confirmed this, then?" Tanya said tersley.
"We have, including with agents that were on site during the incident." Dr. Nishina said as she sat back down and took a drink from her tea.
"Do we have the sequence as well?" Tanya asked tersely as she watched the video again.
"We do. It's not the same as what we developed, but…" Dr. Nishina said as she turned her cup in her hands.
"But it's quite possible that it was developed from a similar source." Tanya finished for the doctor.
"It is. We can't jump to any conclusions, but we also have to check out the possibilities, as well." Doctor Nishina said as she placed her cup down and settled into her chair wearily.
"And how are we doing this? A breach and grab? Industrial espionage?" Tanya asked thoughtfully.
Doctor Nishina laughed and smiled. "Actually, we have something else in mind for both of you."
Tanya was not certain that she liked the expression on the elderly Japanese woman's face.
Monday, September 12th 2095. 1:00 PM.
Visha slowly opened her eyes and looked around, then smiled and relaxed when her eyes fell on the young woman who sat up in the bed next to hers with the attached table over her lap and with an array of folders laid out. Visha sat up and stretched while she waited for Tanya to look at her. When the couple's eyes met, Visha felt the last bit of anxiety leave her.
"So, what are you studying?" Visha asked as she sat up and smiled as Tanya poured her a glass of water and handed it to her.
"Our next assignment." Tanya said with a pensive look on her face.
Visha nodded and looked at Tanya. "We are going to be leaving Germany, aren't we?"
Tasha sighed and nodded. "We are. We have two weeks, at most, before we leave."
Visha took a breath and held it for a moment before she breathed out slowly. "It's not like we didn't expect it, right?" Visha said with a sad little smile.
"We did, but I know how attached you have become to the others." Tanya said and looked away quickly.
Visha laughed softly. "And of course you are not attached to any of them, either." Visha closed her eyes for a moment, then smiled when she felt the small, callused hand of her girlfriend slip into hers. Visha interlaced her finger's between Tanya's and laughed softly. "I will be okay, as long as you are there with me."
Tanya chuckled and nodded. "And, we should be able to keep in contact, as well." Tanya hesitated for a moment, then looked over at the serenely smiling face of her longtime companion. "Visha… about what I told you…"
Visha opened her eyes and looked at Tanya as she gave Tanya's hand a little squeeze. "Tanya Von Degurecheff, you are the exact same person you have always been. What you told me has not changed my opinion, or feelings, towards you." Visha laughed. "Now, your…. Admirer? That is a bigger issue, but one that we can manage, just like we always have "
Tanya nodded, and eyed the intense look in her girlfriend's eyes. "Shooting him doesn't really do much, sadly."
Visha turned and looked at Tanya, and the sweet smile and intense eyes made her shiver and really wish they were home. "Isn't that what shovels were made for?" Visha asked sweetly.
Tanya swallowed and nodded before she took a drink of her water. She cleared her throat and adjusted the papers before her. "Jane has been informed that we have woken up from the accident that has seen us absent for almost a full year. I am sure that we will be getting visitors tomorrow, so we had better go over our cover story, and also why we will be moving to Japan. Especially since that is usually not allowed…"
Visha nodded and moved to Tanya's bed so that she could lean against the side of the smaller woman while they went over the details.
It would be okay, Visha thought to herself, just as long as Tanya remained at her side.
Tuesday, September 13th 2095. 4:35 PM.
New Berlin Hospital, Medical Research ward.
Visha sat as still in her bed as she could while they waited for their friends to visit, but she would freely admit that she found it difficult to sit and wait right now. For her and Tanya, it had only been a couple of days since the last time they had seen their classmates. For the others, though, it had been close to a year. Who knew what changes had happened, and what they had been up to during that time. Who knew how Lisa's relationship had progressed, or even if they were still dating? Had Willa ventured out of her shell?
How had Jane been, and how was her grandmother?
Visha had so many questions, but they had to be careful and stick to their story. Tanya and the rest of the command staff had worked out the finer points before they had been transferred last night from Facility One to the ward here. Tanya's abilities made a lot more sense now that Visha knew who she had been, and the experience that had come with it.
She also knew enough to know that the genius that was Tanya was her own, and not the product of having lived a peaceful life untouched by war. If anything, it made her girlfriend's talents even more remarkable.
Not that Visha was biased.
Another thing that Visha had realized was that no matter what Tanya had told her about her past life, it hadn't changed how she saw her. If anything, it made Visha wonder just how many other people might have any number of past selves peering out of their eyes. How many of them remembered their previous existences, and if so, how many? One, two, perhaps dozens or even hundreds of past lives, old selves and memories of countless lifetimes.
Honestly, it made Visha's head if she thought about it for too long. She was quite content to accept Tanya for who she was now, who she had made herself into in this life.
In the end, that is all that really mattered to her.
Visha found herself pulled from her ruminations on the nature of souls and self by a gentle yet firm knock on the door. She looked to Tanya, then nodded as she received a nod to her unasked question and called out. "You can come in, Jane. No need to lurk out there."
There was silence on the other side of the door for a moment, before it opened and a sheepish Jane walked in, with Willa and Lisa in tow. Sieber and Frieber lurked in the doorway, but no one commented on that fact as the three girls walked up to Visha's bed and gave the young woman in the bed a long, searching look filled with an unasked question. After a moment, Visha smiled and nodded as she held her arms open, and was quickly part of a group hug with three crying, happy girls.
Tanya watched them with a little smile on her face, then watched as Willa said something quietly to Visha, who just smiled even more and nodded before the shy young woman broke ranks and walked over to Tanya. Tanya eyed Willa for a moment, before she found herself hugged tightly by Willa before the shy girl murmured. "You scared all of us. Don't do that again." She said in a muffled voice before she hugged tighter, and a stunned and slightly confused Tanya hugged her back.
The next thing she knew, Tanya found herself on the receiving end of her own mass hug from the other laughing, crying girls of their circle of friends.
Afterwards, Visha had moved to sit next to Tanya in one bed, while the others found places to settle in of their own. Particularly telling was the fact that Lisa had leaned back against her Hand, who had promptly wrapped his arms around the beaming young woman.
"So, who wants to start catching us up on what has happened in the last year?" Tanya asked as she eyed Lisa pointedly.
Lisa blushed and smiled as she wriggled happily back into her boyfriend's embrace then impishly pulled a chain from where it rested under her shirt and showed it happily to the formerly useless lesbians. The small, simple ring with its single diamond made a statement of its own as Tanya smirked and Visha bounced a little with barely suppressed glee.
"Congratulations are in order, I see." Tanya said with a smile as she interlaced her finger's with Visha's.
Lisa blushed and nodded. "We are keeping it quiet for now. No one outside of this room and our parents know." Lisa said as her Hans blushed a bit. "It's actually because of you two that he asked, and I said yes, you know. Hearing about your accident, it… put a lot of things into perspective, you know " Lisa said as she bit her lip.
Visha smiled and leaned against Tanya. "Trust me, you never want to wait too long. It can feel like you have been waiting for centuries, or even lifetime's." Visha said as Tanya blushed and cleared her throat.
Jane grinned from where she had leaned her back into a corner of the room. "I've been busy taking care of annoying little side projects for my new boss. Turns out that she needed a new assistant, and I was stupid enough to apply. Oh, and I'm living with my grandmother now. Some mutual acquaintances helped her move here from the US. It seemed like the right time, and she is liking it here." Jane grinned and looked at Willa where the mousy little introvert had sat in a chair and tried to be invisible. "Willa has made quite the name for herself, it seems. She was asked to make quite a few of the costumes for the last Seven Schools competition, in fact. Nothing as audacious as what our little tyrant wore, but she has offers waiting for her once she has graduated.
Willa blushed and tried to shrink even more. "It's not that big of a deal, and they are just intern positions. I… honestly don't really deserve the chance… But .. But I'm going to do my best?" She said then promptly hid behind her ever present sketch book.
Hans Sieber grinned and laughed. "I, of course, have replaced my senior on the Student Council, and I am looking forward to graduation. I know that all of the ladies will miss my presence, but there is a whole world waiting for me out there!"
Hans Frieber blushed and freed one hand long enough to rub awkwardly at the back of his head. "I'm just still kind of stunned that Lisa said yes .." he said while all of those present laughed.
Jane nodded and looked at the pair on the bed with a serious look.. "Okay, now spill. What are you two doing from here? I know that you are not registered for the upcoming semester. Please tell us it's not true that you won't be coming back?"
Visha squeezed Tanya's hand, and the smaller woman took a breath before she gave their friends a sad, honest smile. "We won't be, not here. Our guardian Doctor Nishina has made arrangements for us to move to Japan with her for rehabilitation. She is confident that with a change of environment and the help of some of her old associates that we might be able to return to our studies." Tanya took a breath, and let it out as she felt the barest twinge of… something… not quite regret or loneliness, but still heavy and bitter. Perhaps something that she would have to bring up with Visha during their next emotional support session. "Before everyone starts crying again, we have every intention of remaining in contact, and we will try to come back to visit when we are able to."
Visha wiped at her eyes and nodded. "Lots of letters and calls. And we will be back whenever we are allowed to be."
From there, the conversation settled into a more comfortable pattern, with each of them filling in the pair of temporal refugees with the little details that they had missed while they had been 'unconscious and out of touch' as the story had been passed along following the 'accident'.
When their friends finally left, with promises to be back tomorrow and every day that they could until Tanya and Visha had to leave, the pair sat side by side still and processed all of what had happened, and all that had changed for the others.
"We missed a lot, didn't we?" Visha said softly as she held tight to Tanya's hand.
"We did, but that doesn't mean that we can't work at making up for lost time, even from Japan." Tanya said. "It will be interesting to see how much they continue to grow as time goes by."
"It will be interesting to see how much we grow and change as well, Tanya." Visha pointed out with a smile before she laid down and suddenly Tanya found herself being held in the warm, supportive embrace of her girlfriend and companion.
Tanya laughed and nodded, as she wriggled a little to get comfortable and sighed happily.
Tanya didn't mind change, as long as this never changed she thought to herself as she closed her eyes and basked in the presence of the woman she loved.
Friday, September 23rd 2095. 6:35 AM.
Berlin Brandenburg Airport, private terminal two.
Tanya and Visha separated themselves with some effort from their friends before they passed through the security corridor to join Doctor Nishina on the plane. Technician Greene along with members of the security and support units had transported them to the airport where they would be leaving Germany behind. They had been more than slightly surprised when Doctor Schugel had not joined them, but the scientist had seemed distant since they had returned.
A mystery for another time, it seemed.
Besides the luggage that they had brought with them, they each carried a few necessities on their person. For Tanya, that included the Type 95. Tanya was certain that under Visha's jacket was stashed her companion's trusty entrenching tool.
The only person from the project that would be with them was Doctor Nishina, who had only returned from Japan the previous day where she had been overseeing all the last details for their transfer. The fact that it was even possible for them to move to Japan, much less enroll in the same school as their target, spoke volumes of what the people they had found themselves with were capable of.
Just how much was made possible by the unknown intelligence asset that was simply known as ORACLE?
Another mystery to solve in the future.
Once they arrived in Japan, then their new life could start. A new home, a new school, and a new mission.
And possibly a chance to find out if others had made their way into this world as well.