Attention: This is a fan-based work, neither The Saga of Tanya the Evil nor The Familiar of Zero belong to me. Rather, they belong to their rightful and respectful owners, kindly support the official works if it please you.

Saga of Louise the Evil: Prologue

When I first met the human who would accept her mantle as Tanya von Degurechaff, it was quite literally in another world, another time, right when they had been pushed right in front of an incoming train at the train station. Pushed into the vehicle's path by one of the people who had been angered enough by them that they were willing to kill to satisfy their despair at being unable to provide for others.

I understood the man's reasoning, I truly do, however I also understand that there could have been another way to cope with loss without resorting to murder. Then again, for as much as I pity the man, such a decision to kill would not have led to my curiosity of the one who unknowingly orchestrated their own death. The one who held great apathy, self depreciation against himself, a lack of desire to change things for the better, and a lack of faith. Not just faith in God in general, but a lack of faith in his ability to do more. Even when confronted after I stopped time just seconds before his death, his unwavering resolve to accept only cold logic and the dark reality of his world without going against what his fellow man had set and applied after their predecessor, and the next, and the next, and so on.

I would have been impressed by his unique nature were it not for my principles, my pity toward his amoral sense of justice and lack of desire to partake in enlightenment, or at least help his fellow man in becoming greater than they already were. In a way, he had been right, humans in his world and time period did not need much in the way of guidance from a higher power for their societies had grown far beyond what they used to be. Science and technology had evolved to a point where humans have become a sophisticated and diverse race, and though religion did have an influence here and there, it was not enough to stop the progression of time and shifting interests as a new sort of human would develop. One such as the person who pushed his coworker onto an incoming train out of anger and desperation, and the one who incited such negative emotion, the latter of which particularly… irked me.

In the end, when he understood his laying out his understanding of the truth of the world in a cold and logical way was not going to impress me, I came to the conclusion that perhaps a change of circumstance was required. A change of circumstance for one soul changed by this world's ever changing society which warped him so, and in return he would see reason and find that faith would lead to his own progress. Progress in what? As this was an experiment, that was what I had been hoping he would find for himself in a world locked in war, with magic being a staple of the conflict, the strife and desperation to survive would hopefully change his outlook and understand there was more to be had than the simple pleasure of high society.

"If there is a God who rules this world, it is a stern, solemn, and definitely a good being. A being that is far too great. God keeps forcing us to confront these cruel fates. As those were the rules of this world! Oh, God... I'll slice you into tiny pieces and feed you to the pigs! Our battlefield is no place for that piece of shit, God! I think it's time we took over God's work. We, soldiers, will take God's place. Put the arrogant ass, God, out of a job! All right troops... It's time for war!"

-Lieutenant Colonel Tanya von Degurechaff

(Insert ost: Youjo Senki 02 - In The Cursed World of Constant Warfare)

Just a few months after the Empire had successfully defeated the opposing countries which surrounded it, they would find in their early celebration of victory that the enemy had not been wholly defeated and had not accepted the fact that the Empire had been the one to win the war. The Free Republic: formed from the remnants of the defeated nation's militaries, they existed for the purpose of removing the injustice that was the Empire from the world and restart the previous order, such was their declaration of war as they mobilized all of their available resources. The reports received from our own forces out in the field were enough to alarm General Staff as they had assured both themselves as well as Supreme High Command that victory was assured and peace was within reach. With the Free Republic storming Empire territory, we would find ourselves underprepared as most of our resources had been expended during the previous war or had been taken in for refurbishment, as well as the fact that most of the Empire's veterans had been too exhausted, too tired from all the fighting. Certainly, fighting for The Fatherland was great and all, but when war dominates a large part of your life, one finds themselves being tired out; curiously enough, this is a problem the Empire faced itself with during the Free Republic's declaration.

To resolve this issue, the military academies and bootcamps currently training new soldiers had to implement their own resources in a rush with the veterans at hand that were available to push back the Empire's enemies. That meant both soldiers both new and old went back to the fight in a rush, and for a time it worked against the cannon fodder of the Free Republic. At least, until the Mages were included in the battles ahead…

To resolve the issue of coordinated combat, General Staff would send my own force, the Imperial 203rd Aerial Mage Battalion to the continent of Africa, where we were to eliminate the Free Republic chain of command which was reported to have set up its headquarters there. Naturally, there was some resistance, in the end however, there was astounding success and my unit prepared to head back to the Empire after a job well done. However, it seemed that either luck or Being X was not about to let me off that easily, as we would receive a radio transmission from the frontlines…

Two Imperial Mages flew through the skies of the Empire as artillery fire and magic formula shots flew past them, the task of evasion being difficult enough that neither of the two could remain flying in a fixed position as they banked, swerved, and strafed repeatedly. To the attacking forces down below, it seemed they were two birds desperately trying to outrun a bigger bird of prey; to the Mages however, this was anything but, for they were among those who managed to escape the humiliating defeat that took place in the capital.

"-peat! Free Republic forces have breached defensive lines! Commonwealth forces aided by U.S. Mage Companies have entered the war! We cannot-!" Two artillery shots managed to hit the mage, depleting the magic shielding as he was dazed momentarily. Several magic formula shots pierced through his body before a final one blew him apart in a fiery display.

"Captain!" The second mage had no time to grieve as he took over radio contact, well aware that an enemy mage company was approaching him at the front at optimal speed. "Damn it! Repeating the message, enemy forces have breached the frontlines! The Fatherland has fallen! Relaying message to all available transitory forces, retreat to friendly territory and follow Contingency Plan A!"

The Imperial readied his rifle and took aim.

Naturally, I was furious, for whatever reason this happened, be it Being X or the course of human nature in war, I had officially lost my chance to live a nice and easy life in this world. As much as I wanted to lead my force to assist in repelling and putting down those we could, reports through radio transmissions and survivors who managed to survive rescinded that thought. It was clear now that any help we would provide to what was left of the Empire would be met in kind, and not me nor my own battalion would survive. So we went along with this Contingency Plan A, a plan where all Imperial forces currently outside of The Fatherland were to regroup at various locations and move on to the next phase: to converge at the Arctic Shoal Zone.

But before we could do that, we had received another radio transmission, one that detailed an advance force pushing through the weakest enemy lines hoping to meet up with friendly forces.

(Insert Ten Night Remix - DJ Nhac)

Against my better judgement, or perhaps an epiphany to utilize a resource in the future, I advised the two divisions and the support unit I had been a part of for a brief period of time to join the retreating forces while my own battalion set off to assist our allies in any way we could. Though a good number of personnel had accompanied us, we were met with heavy resistance from ground and aerial forces upon arrival as we held the line in an attempt to make passage for those attempting to fight their way out.

To my great surprise, it was Lieutenant Colonel Erich von Rerugen who was leading the force, but he had no time to sweatdrop at his luck nor marvel at my success as we fled the battlefield. Once aboard our ship, we would set off to regroup with the rest of the fleet and move on to the Arctic Shoal Zone… but plans did have a chance of failing, as a wise man named Murphy once said in his own way.

"YOU! RETURN MY FATHER'S GUN!"

(0:29)

Tanya raised her Mondragon rifle's bayonet just in time to block a strike from an enemy Mage that hit her with the strength of a missile, a metaphor to be sure as Tanya wasn't sure of the strength of a missile in this world. Although the need to be alert and skilled was emphasized once the White Silver of the Empire realized just who it was that was practically grinding her own rifle's bayonet against Tanya's.

Mary Sioux's expression was contorted in great fury as her teeth clenched in pouring her strength to the attack, her mad golden eyes twitching with exertion as she roared and forced her opponent into a downward spiral to the ground. The dusty explosion that resulted sent rocks and metal flying everywhere as the two rivals shot out of the smoke, their bayonets locked together as they slid across the ground, Mary propelling them both forward at a speed that rivaling that of this world's fastest vehicles. It didn't even seem that the girl had any regard for her own safety as Tanya would realize when she gasped in pain, her back registering that the two had crashed into the side of a tank.

"By God's Will, you will die!" So proclaimed Mary as she delivered a knee strike to Tanya's stomach before raising her rifle, preparing to use the bayonet in an execution. Luckily, Tanya was able to pull out her combat knife in time to slash at Mary, who reacted fast enough to move her head away, resulting in a deep cut across her face.

"Damn it all, this has all gone to shit!" Tanya exclaimed as she boosted up in the air, the magic shockwave pushing back her enemy a little as the Devil retreated to a safe distance, holstering her rifle with a broken arm to bring out the submachine gun.

"I see now~! This is how it should be done, God! She wants me to kill her to absolve her of evil!" Mary turned to look at the distant enemy Mage with a mad look in her eyes, her bleeding face giving her a sinister look on her face as she began laughing hysterically. "I've been given such a wonderful purpose daddy! I will avenge you!"

Apparently, over the course of this war, I had made a sworn enemy out of that girl who bore some connection to me, or rather someone I may have killed in the past. It was only after I brought out the submachine gun I confiscated out of a soldier who also made it his mission to kill me that the girl changed from a U.S. soldier doing her duty, to a berserker out for my blood. I actually fought her during my unit's assault on Moscow earlier that same year, and I was none too pleased to see she hadn't changed.

Tanya was hovering at a high speed over the ground as there was an advantage of environmental cover, a small boon as the two entered the trenches dug into the ground, turning hard at the occasional corner like racecar drivers. The narrow spacing however, did not grant much leeway for movement other than moving forward as each shot depleted the other's magic shielding, stray shots proving to be an annoyance as wood fragments hindered vision and leftover explosives further dwindled mana reserves.

With my battalion having successfully escorted the retreating forces out of the battlefield, I ordered all units to retreat along with them to the fleet as I was left with only two other capable soldiers as we held off the dwindling enemies: First Lieutenant Matheus Johan Weiss and Second Lieutenant Viktoriya Ivanovna Serebryakov. That girl with the yellow eyes, cursed by Being X as I was, being one of the enemy as we fought in the skies and the ground, strafing each other's attacks, every shot fired with a precision more deadly than the last. I would have preferred to use my battalion's full might against her, but what kind of would I be if I overworked my employees?

Tanya's prayers pushed the Elenium Type 97's limits farther than she ever had as her Mage gear slid her over the ground as though she were surfing over water, firing at Mary as the berserker did the same. As if to add to the frustration of this encounter, Mary pulled out a Winchester M1897 from her back and fired several Magic Formula shots as they spread, tearing through cover and Tanya's magic shielding who in turn fired the submachine gun Mary seemed so keen on retrieving. It was quite the weapon to imbue Magic Formula bullets with as the rapid fire allowed for effective damage, and its lightweight frame allowed for high maneuverability.

"SIG MKMS! QUITE THE WEAPON I FOUND MYSELF NO!?" Tanya taunted with a maniacal expression, the battle high and magic concentration getting to her as she giggled all the while.

"DAMN YOU! GOD'S MIGHT SMITE YOU!" Mary fired the infamous trench gun twice as the bullets pierced through the magic shielding of her enemy, forcing the Devil of the Rhine to boost up in the air, ascending at high speeds as she fired the SMG down at her enemy.

Funny that such an obvious name had been given to her, she was my antithesis, my rival… more power would be necessary to deal with this threat. My abhorrence towards praying be damned, I may as well take my anger out on someone blinded by Being X.

Tanya was breathing heavily now, such a prolonged battle could still take its toll on her petite body if she wasn't careful enough, but this was neither the place to complain or observe the no man's land down below. Still, she would admit that she was tired, so she would not waste time going over the formalities of a final attack, merely a transmission to all nearby allies that danger was coming. She did not see any point in them lingering if they finished off their quarry, besides, Viktoriya and Weiss looked as though they were in need of medical attention.

"All units, retreat to a safe distance… prepare for impaACK!" Tanya started coughing, blood staining her combat gloves when she covered her mouth, a hand weakly pushing against the bullet wounds in her stomach. She would have to finish this quickly. "Believers, have faith in the Lord's blessings. For the Lord will not abandon us. Give me the power to destroy the enemies of the Fatherland." She started as her eyes took on a golden glow, her computation orb and rifle doing the same.

Down below, Mary seemed to hear the prayer and gritted her teeth in anger, such a Demon, no, a Devil! Would dare pray!? She would repay this transgression in kind! The brown haired volunteer soldier aimed her rifle at the enemy and began chanting: "Give me power, God! For peace! For justice!" Contrary to the demon believing itself holy, a golden light began to encompass Mary's whole body.

It really is funny, she felt as though she had been in this situation once before, in a past life… ah! That's right! She was! A salaryman in a past life! Has it really been so long ago that she had started forgetting?

"Oh Lord, save our Fatherland from these faithless invaders!"

"Let me be your sword and shield! Allow me to smite this sacrilegious Devil from the sky!"

From a distance, it would appear as though miniature explosions started on the ground and in the sky, the sky soon delivering a payload of a bright descending light whose intensity grew as it drew closer to the ground, which in turn seemed to let loose a sudden burst of a steady stream of pink energy. As soon as both bolts of energy hit their intended destination, massive explosions resulting in mushroom clouds sparking with magic energy became visible from miles away.

"Oh God, grant forgiveness to us sinners. I pray that you guide them to your presence."

"Guide my hand as I vanquish evil! God, use my will and my strength as your own!"

The reality was that both Mary Sioux and Tanya von Degurechaff were firing focused streams of energy, their bodies only held together even against the horrific amount of energy because of the magic shielding held aloft by their prayer and - for lack of a better term- sheer will. Even as their rifles began to break apart and burn from the excessive amount of energy pooled into them, even as their bodies stung with blisters from the rising temperatures, popping as the seconds ticked by, the burning sensation becoming unbearable. The two champions of God continued with depleting magic, their computation orbs cracking and bursting with energy as it burned their bodies from the inside out, their attacks turning from glorious and heavenly bolts of light, to violent and destructive bolts of lightning, until they were nothing more than sputtering trickles of light.

(End OST)

Time seemed to slow as I noticed my rifle was no longer responding, its charred frame crackling and breaking apart before it became nothing more than dust fading in the wind. Before long, as I tried to move my arms when I realized I was falling, my magic not responding as I could not right myself in the air, everything about me felt… broken. Fragile perhaps. I could barely even see, much less breath as my view of the ground became larger and more defined in detail.

Just seconds before my face could meet the harsh ground and become red paste, time seemed to stop suddenly, something I had experienced before and knew all too well.

"Being X… is this your doing!?" I spoke through gritted teeth as I managed to speak, my voice hoarse as it hurt to even talk.

"NOT QUITE. THOUGH I DID PUT A STOP TO EVERYTHING FOR A MOMENT TO CHECK UP ON YOU." Being X did that creepy thing of assuming someone's form and spoke from Mary, her charred and broken body a few feet away from me pushing itself up with visible bones that cracked from the action.

"You... think you're funny huh? Well you sure are… Freezing everything to gloat just because I wouldn't do as you say and pray!? That's something a child would do…"
"PERHAPS. MAYBE I AM CHILDISH FOR BELIEVING YOU COULD CHANGE. FAITH CAN BRING POSITIVE RESULTS IN PEOPLE. NOT YOU APPARENTLY." "Mary" smiled, her eyes narrowed as though to look at me in disappointment, her face was no longer recognizable either, having melted off.

"Is that why you powered up this girl here? To push me into praying!? You're a sore loser is what you are!"

"AH YES. HER. BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAY I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH HER. NOR DID I HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE DECLINE OF YOUR EASY LIFE IN THE EMPIRE." It was "Viktoriya" now, who was frozen in the air as she had been descending to retrieve Tanya from her untimely demise, her tears were quite pronounced too, as if she had been hoping to defy fate from taking another life.

"What? I'm supposed to believe that? Everything has been done according to your machinations so far!" And it was logical to believe this, certain events occurred due to Being X having a hand in some of Tanya military posts, Mary Sioux as well since her eyes glowed yellow just as Tanya's would when praying. It was all to force Tanya into dire straits and pray, not just out of a need to survive but wholly and honestly. To accept Being X was in fact God.

"ONLY FOR A BRIEF TIME. IT MATTERS NOT HOW MUCH AT THIS POINT, ONLY THAT NATURE TOOK ITS COURSE. BUT YOUR CURRENT PREDICAMENT IS CERTAINLY WORRISOME." "Weiss" spoke as he too had been in the process of saving his commander, his hand just inches away from grabbing her arm.

What.

"DO NOT BE SO PRESUMPTUOUS AS TO BELIEVE I HAVE TO DO WITH EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD. WHAT HAS HAPPENED HERE IS DUE TO THE MACHINATIONS OF SOMETHING ELSE ENTIRELY." So he wasn't the only one influencing things?

"Are you saying you didn't have a hand in restarting the war?"

"HUMAN NATURE AS YOU ONCE THOUGHT. BUT HUMAN NATURE WAS CERTAINLY INFLUENCED. JUST NOT… BY ME." So… like an antithesis to "God" then?

"Well well well, for an omnipotent being, you sure overlooked some important details! Why don't you fix this!?"

"AS I TOLD YOU ONCE, I HAVE MY OWN RULES TO ABIDE BY. WHY DO YOU THINK SAINTS EXIST? THEY ARE AN EXTENSION OF MY WILL."

"I was supposed to live an easy life in the Empire, and then something like you comes along to ruin it all…"

"HIGH SOCIETY IS NOT AS GRAND AS YOU MAKE IT OUT TO BE." Being X actually paused for a moment. "I UNDERSTAND NOW JUST WHAT IT IS I REQUIRE YOU TO DO. IF HIGH STAKES IN THE HEAT OF WAR WILL NOT PUT YOU TO FAITH BUT INSTEAD HARDEN YOUR RESOLVE, THEN PERHAPS PUTTING YOU RIGHT WHERE YOU WANT TO BE WILL CHANGE YOUR WAYS."

"What? Going easy on me? Here I thought you would allow me to go to Hell."

"HELL HAS MANY DIFFERENT FORMS BY ONE'S PERSPECTIVE. I AM CONFIDENT PUTTING YOU AT THE SOURCE OF YOUR CURRENT PREDICAMENT WILL BE THE ANSWER. SURVIVE. AND SUCCEED WHERE I HAVE FAILED ONCE."

"Wait hold on what do you mean f-!" Any further words were cut off as my vision cut off suddenly, a brief sensation of pain was felt before it was gone.

That berserker really did a number on me, illogical as it was to me that her emotions led to her killing me, it still did the job. She must be so happy that she killed the Devil who took her father's life. Give me a break. Winning by losing your cool and going along with the adrenaline is so illogical and annoying at the same time.

Strange though, I could have sworn I felt bad at hearing Viktoriya's scream.

Though bad was an understatement, horrified at that wail of despair, it brought a chilling shudder through my body that persisted despite my death.

Though it was entertaining to see her go against my desire, it was no longer so once the situation was wrested from my control. Again. Despite her words holding some truth, I still held great empathy toward those who mourned her, who tried to carry her broken body back with them. This truly would not have happened if she just believed… if she trusted me…

Yes indeed, this was childish of me. But… perhaps very soon, she could understand the folly of some desires and rise above what she was.

Darkness was all I saw. It felt like I was floating in space. If this was the afterlife, then I had to say that it was actually pretty boring, for all my faults, I did still have things I liked to do. Being situated in a fixed point in the void of space was not one of them.

"-sh m-!" A muffled voice was heard in the darkness and I struggled to listen. It sounded so far away.

"Push!" The voice managed again.

Weird. It sounded far away and yet I couldn't shake the feeling that I was in a similar position once. Push?

"One more time!"

Oh. Oh no.

A bright light overwhelmed my vision in darkness as the next thing I knew, several people were crying out in joy as a baby cried in turn. I was crying to be precise. Yes I had been in this position before. In another life.

Dammit, I thought to myself as I couldn't yet speak, only sniffle as my petite body was wrapped in cloth and handed from one person to another. Several people stood out to me most, including an older, monocle wearing gentleman with blond hair and a beard, and two young women with blond and pink hair respectively.

"Louise. Yes, that will be your name…" A woman spoke, her voice somewhat tired.

I turned my eyes to look at a pink haired woman whose stern eyes softened to look at me with a degree of kindness, her smile as pleasant as any mother's.

Wait. No.

"Hello little Louise, I'm your mother! And this is your family."

I didn't really care to acknowledge anyone else or listen to what they had to say to a baby, i.e. me, not as my internal seething caused my body to start crying and squirm in my blanket. Much like my birth in the other world, I had been Tanya, confused as I was, I was thinking logically to eventually come to the conclusion that I had been the baby known as Tanya. But here, I was familiar with the situation, annoyed perhaps, but no less understanding of the fact that I was no longer Tanya. Rather, I was this "Louise."

The nursemaids and my "family" surrounding me didn't seem to care that I was crying, taking that as normal baby behavior despite the fact that I was actually trying to curse Being X for another of his shenanigans. Translate my crying to: "Son of a gun I'm a baby again. Fuck my life."

Being X did not have anything to say it seemed.

And here we go with my third story that will be in the works, accepted as a challenge from SignalHunter. As was seen, this will be a Saga of Tanya the Evil crossover with Familiar of Zero.

For any of those unfamiliar with The Familiar of Zero- ooh that was clever of this velociraptor- the series was written by the late Noboru Yamaguchi, who passed away on April 4th of 2013, leaving most of the story unfinished. Fortunately, the publisher, editors, as well as the fans of the story, saw to it that there be a conclusion as Noboru originally intended.

That being said, the story itself is about a young wizard named Louise de la Valliere, nicknamed "Louise the Zero" for her inability to use magic correctly. Taking place in a nation known as Tristain in the continent of Halkeginia, magic is a dominant element of the plot, rather simple in function but full of potential. So what exactly would happen if you take a battle hardened veteran and reincarnate them in the body of a wizard? Tanya, as we identify most with the businessman who reincarnated as a little girl in a world of perpetual war, was a cold and calculating individual; as such, she will not sit idly by as one of the heirs to a noble house, seemingly capable of creating only explosions. You may look forward to a maniacal little wizard who will work her way even higher as she sets off on adventures with her familiar, disturbing others with her rather cold logic, and encountering challenges that would give even her a hard time. But merely introducing a foreign character to a new world would not be satisfactory, as such I will be adding elements at my own discretion and my own design to differentiate between the original story.

Regardless, I thank you for reading this prologue as I dive into lengthening my third intended largest project on here. Sieg Zeon everyone, and have hope during this year.