Chapter 1: Asynchronous Necessity

Henrietta nodded to herself as she held her wand in her hands. She hadn't summoned a familiar just yet, but after witnessing what Louise had summoned along with what he was capable of and with the upcoming war—something that was definitely going to happen due to the attempted attack on Tarbes, it would be helpful to have one. If she could summon someone like the legendary familiar, it would be—

She shook her head, banishing such thoughts from her mind. No, no, that wasn't what she was after. She definitely also wasn't after the image of a knight that was always loyal to her, much like Wales had been, and much like how Louise's familiar treated his master. That wasn't what she desired at all.

Her heart sank.

How unbefitting of me, I shouldn't be having such a sinful desire. I should be summoning a familiar to assist me, not because of some silly, fleeting emotion…

Recomposing herself and reminding herself of the duty she held as the acting queen, she closed her eyes and began to cast the spell Summon Familiar.

The last thing I remember was going to bed in my old uniform, just like old times. Even though it had been years since I commanded T-Dolls, I still always had the urge to put the clothes on again. Every time I did, I'd be assaulted with a wave of nostalgia… and a bittersweetness of comrades lost and comrades who I parted ways with.

Those girls were willing to follow me to the ends of the earth, but I suppose it would just hurt too much to see them every day. To be reminded of all the fighting. Of all the death. Having retired peacefully, I retreated to a secluded village where no one knew my name. It had taken a while to build their trust, but soon enough, I was one of them.

However, this certainly couldn't have been the last thing I did, as when I woke up, I was about to be kissing a purple haired young woman in a white dress in the middle of a courtyard at night, my brown eyes reflected in her matching purple eyes. I'm fairly certain I was not drinking, either.

She says something to me, but I can't make it out. Didn't really use French guns, it sounds a lot like French. I muster together my knowledge and say back "I can't understand you" in incredibly broken French. She looks surprised, then waves an honest to God magic wand as there are no other words to describe the silvery rod with a star tip, and then taps me on the head.

"Better?" She asks, with her voice sounding somewhere like she's in her late teenage years. The dress she's wearing certainly doesn't hide anything either, I'd have pegged her as being much older if I had been given only her silhouette based on it.

"What did you just do." I ask firmly, though it comes off as more a statement with my delivery as I look around the area. It looks like a castle. No guards on the ramparts. Bushes where people could be hiding. We're alone though. More importantly the moon isn't white in the sky, either that or I've gone insane as there's blue and red moons in the sky. Yes, two moons.

"I… I summoned you." She replies back to me, seemingly disbelieving of what she had done. "I summoned you to be my familiar."

I wrack my brains trying to figure out what this means. Familiar? I know in old storybooks that was something wizards had, but they were lizards and birds, not people.

"Um…"

She looks rather nervous as she turns away from me, looking towards the sky.

"Ah, um, please come with me." She says, getting up to her feet.

"Who are you?" I ask, also getting up, where I now stand at least a foot to two feet taller than her.

I don't know what this familiar business is, but I at least want to know who these people are. God knows there was that report that came in one time about travelers from "another world", so can't hurt to know who I'm dealing with. Then again, I'm getting into this too quickly. I suppose it comes with all the bullshit I dealt with during my time serving with Griffin. Nothing ever went quite according to plan, so improvising and… playing things by ear is how you get things done.

"My name is Princess Henrietta de Tristain."

Royalty, huh…

"Alright, I'll bite. You're going to have to explain a lot of things to me, though."

She takes me inside through some fanciful and well lit hallways. I'm able to piece together this looks like some sort of medieval era place. Coat of arms doesn't match anything I've seen before, either. Though that little silver rod of hers, it really does look like a damn wand you'd see in a movie.

"Hey, is magic real?" I ask it just as a test, running a hand through my hair, which I'm glad is still a dark brown, despite the stress I've been through. Might see an early grey, though.

"Oh, you know about magic?"

You've got to be kidding me.

I close my eyes and shake my head. "I'm afraid not. I just wanted to confirm whether or not I was going crazy."

"Ah… well, you should be able to get acclimated quickly!" She turns around and gives me a nice smile. Likely rehearsed for public events. "Um, Louise has a familiar like you, a person, and he didn't know anything about magic because he said he came from a different world, but he learned very quickly."

So there's someone like me here? Different world, too? This all seems too insane. But I'll play along.

As we keep walking, I'm informed about several things. I was summoned here to be a familiar, just like a lizard or something. I'm supposed to help her out and do stuff, but that can be saved for later. In addition, she's the acting ruler of a kingdom named Tristain in a land named Halkeginia. Acting ruler because her father is dead and her mother is in no mental state to run a kingdom, so it falls on her, and of course, she hasn't been crowned Queen just yet due to all of the stuff happening. She also happens to be seventeen.

She stops in the middle of her explanation. "So, may I ask your name? I'm so sorry, I've been in a rush, and…"

"It's fine. Oliver Penn Baker. Retired commander. Age thirty two. If you truly mean it when you say 'another world', then I guess I am from there, too."

"Retired commander…?!"

"Yes." I gesture towards my uniform. It's nothing special, really. White shirt, black tie, black slacks, black combat boots. Over it though, is Griffin's own jacket. Red-maroon that runs down to just below the knees, two sets of parallel buttons that run down the middle to close it, black, accentuated cuffs. "Well, I'm in uniform, but they let me keep it out of nostalgia. Why, are you…"

I reach down and catch her, preventing her from sinking to her knees.

"So it really is true…" She says in an awed whisper, her eyes staring beyond me and into the end of the hall.

"What is?"

"It's just… they say Summon Familiar gives you a familiar that you need most."

The pieces click together in my head. There's a war coming. Against insurmountable odds. Anyone could figure that out based on that information and how overjoyed she looks right now. Part of me becomes suspicious of her, but… the tears in her eyes, perhaps I've been moved by them.

"My apologies, I…"

"Let's get where we're going first, then we can talk."

"Of course, fami… may I call you Oliver?"

"It is no issue."

"Then, let's go…"

She continues to tell me information as we go. A little while ago, a border town named Tarbes was attacked. Due to a 'miracle' that a 'Louise' and her familiar were able to create, they were able to repel the invasion force. However, it is only a matter of time before they come back. Tristain is a mostly pacifistic nation, without a strong military force behind it. Most of its military power comes from its nobility class, who have their own private armies and resources.

Essentially, local governance is very strong, central governance is quite weak. By keeping in favor with these noble families, they are able to gather troops. However, people are using this as an opportunity to gather more power and press the central government into giving them favors in order to get their approval. In addition, due to the invading force utilizing religious elements, as they say they wish to unite the various kingdoms and take back their holy land from elves—yes, I said elves like from Lord of the goddamn Rings—there is considerable approval for this invading force.

In short: Henrietta is on the brink. She even has considered surrender in order to spare the bloodshed.

"You're… taking all this rather well…" She says, wiping her eyes.

"You could say that I'm used to insane scenarios." I say with my eyes closed, shaking my head. "Take out this whole 'magic' business and it's nothing new to me. In fact, if I hadn't woke up to you kissing me or in a place that was clearly foreign, I'd have assumed it was an entirely normal day."

"I see… oh…"

"What is it?"

"It might be those runes… wait…"

"Hm?"

"I never cast 'Contract Familiar' on you. I was about to seal the pact, but then you woke up."

"Is it necessary?"

She turns away, looking rather glum. "It isn't necessary, but it would make things more... convenient for me. But… I've heard some things about that spell. Like that it makes your familiar subservient to you. I've also heard stories where if the mage dies, the familiar continues to long for their master. I might be a mage, but… you are very clearly a human. I don't know if I could make myself treat you like an animal, nor would I wish to treat you like any other commoner."

I already got the gist of the nobility class, but yes, it does seem there are nobility members—distinguished by their ability to use magic—that look down on commoners, those who cannot utilize magic. However, it seems that dealing with self-serving nobility has say, cleared up such visions of grandeur for her, where she is able to more sympathize with common folk who can't use magic. Thus, she does not look down on me.

"Where I am from, the nobility class was done away with a long time ago." I say calmly, a hand on my chin. "It hardly matters, though. I would much rather prefer not to have something like that on me, it sounds like… brainwashing."

I close my eyes and mentally curse out Parapluie. The bastards responsible for it can rot in hell for all I care.

"Mhm…"

"We'll work something out later, I suppose. I'll be willing to serve with you, familiar or not. It seems like… you could really use the help. Call it kind of strange that I'm willing to help so easily, but it's not the strangest thing I've ever come across."

That… and I suppose my place really always has been the battlefield. Even if I say I was glad for the peace in my life, a part of me always longed to be back in the commander position.

I guess it's just fate stringing me along once again. You want to play your games, then, world? Alright, fine. They didn't called me "The Hail Mary" for nothing.

"Haaa…"

"You doing okay, Spectre?"

A young woman with ashen white hair that seemed to glow purple in the dark nodded at her companion before adjusting the brown gloves that went up to just past her elbows.

"I'm fine, PPK. Just a bit chilly, it looks like fall, maybe winter's on the approach here." She mumbled, pushing down her black skirt that hung over her mismatched stockings-one black, one brown.

The person she was talking to, a brunette in what could only be described as a maid outfit (although, she was missing her left fishnet stocking, which was currently being substituted by a grey sock) smiled.

"Well, hopefully the next village we get to won't treat us so strangely. Or maybe we might be able to run into some robbers again. This place's currency is quite strange~"

"Have you been able to get in contact with anyone?"

"Still nothing on my comms."

The one known as Spectre gave another sigh, holding her gun in one hand and stretching before resuming her two handed grip. "Alright. I doubt we'll be able to find anything, though. This place doesn't look like home at all. It'll be a miracle if we're able to get anything."

"Mhm, mhm~"

"Alright. Let's keep on the move, then. Even if it's unlikely, I'd like to find a resupply point sooner or later. Being down to only a magazine and a half is pretty concerning."

By the day-night cycle of this place, which clearly was not Earth, they had spent at least two weeks wandering around. The locals seemed to speak some variation of French, making Spectre really miss having FAMAS around. She did catch onto a word that sounded like "Germania", though the locals could not point them in the right direction. Not to mention they couldn't read any maps, so they had to resort to hand gestures… for what few locals were willing to talk to them.

It might have been the way they dressed, but it certainly didn't match the locality. It might have been a smart idea, or so Spectre M4 thought, to have taken the clothing of the bandits they had killed before via some traps meant to guard their location as they weren't sure if this was just deep in SF territory, somehow. They might have been able to blend in had they taken them, even without speaking the language.

Regardless, they had staked everything on reaching this 'Germania', which sounded close enough like Germany that it was worth a shot in the dark. Granted, it hadn't been too bad. The land itself hadn't been particularly harsh, making the journey more about disappointment than actual destruction.

But in the end, she still wanted to at least make sure they could, at the very least, come back into contact with any Griffin commanders.

Surely, there had to be one somewhere...

"You summoned a—!"

"P-please, calm down!" Henrietta says, trying to pacify the young blonde woman in front of us that she called for after we talked for a bit. She can't possibly be older than twenty three, yet her eyes are incredibly sharp. A born leader, someone who's seen things. She seems to be in a uniform. Black shirt, teal cloak that opens up down in the front, belt at the waist. Medieval combat boots, armored around her ankles, and armor on her triceps, along with what appears to be a holster and a sheath. Her hair is cut short, coming down to only just past her chin. Lastly, she has a white cape on her-though this one seems to be more decorative. "Agnes, please calm down!"

I see her stop and take a deep, calming breath as she closes her eyes. She then looks at me, glancing me over.

"Are you sure he's a familiar? He looks more like a noble. Princess, I swear upon the Founder, if you have found yourself a suitor, then tell me, I swear I will not reveal it."

"He is not a suitor of mine!" Henrietta suddenly shouts, face going red.

"I see."

"I must agree with her here, ma'am." I say, straightening up. "Your princess summoned me here just this night, but she did not use the spell 'Contract Familiar' after some consideration, as she did not want to risk its more… unsavory effects on a human being. Additionally, I can understand you due to a spell your princess cast on me."

She looks me dead in the eyes, as if searching for a hint of deception in them. However, she finds none, and her look softens.

"I understand. Princess, you should come out with this news as fast as possible, in order to prevent further slander to your name. If anyone were to start circulating rumors, it would be damaging to you. It's hard enough as it is already."

"I understand this, Agnes, that is why I have called you here. If you two would please introduce yourselves, while I make some tea. If you'll excuse me."

We both wait for the door to close before giving each other another glance.

"If you're a liar, you're an incredibly good one." She says rather pointedly, that hard look to her face that reminds me a bit of Helian returning. "Who are you?"

"Oliver Penn Baker, retired military commander. I'm from another world, as I found out not only two hours ago. Apparently there's another familiar running around that's like me."

The silence hangs in the air for a few seconds before she extends her right hand.

"Agnes Chevalier de Milan, Royal Musketeer."

I take her hand and give it a firm shake. I'm well aware of the fact that she's testing me. I let go in time with her, my hands returning to my side.

"Where did you serve on the command chain?"

"Field commander."

"What area of your military?"

"Infantry deployments."

"No medals on your uniform?"

"I didn't want to jingle when I walked around base, kept them in a chest for when it was ceremony time. At home, there was no need for them, so they hung in a frame."

Once again, more silence. However, I notice by her posture she seems a little less tense around me. I suppose I've bought myself a modicum of trust.

"I suppose you've been told of our situation, then?"

"I have."

"Explain it to me, then."

"A short overview is that your central army is incredibly weak and limited due to a culture of pacifism that normally rules Tristain. The nobility hold a majority of your military might, so you have to kneel to their demands in order to get them to even fight on your behalf. This in turn creates a feedback loop where their demands will advance their power and weaken the central government. However, due to the unpopularity of the war, you're unable to rouse the general populace to fight."

She closes her eyes and nods. "Alright."

"Alright?"

"I'll trust you for now."

After that, the door reopens, with Henrietta stepping inside, holding onto a tray with three tea cups and a teapot.

"You know, I thought you'd have maids for this sort of thing." I mumble as she gently places them down on the table.

"Well, it is late at night. Additionally, I can't have them see you for now. I would rather not risk it. Please, both of you, have a seat."

I wait for Agnes to sit down before I do the same, with Henrietta pouring tea for all of us. After she finishes doing so, she joins us and sits down at the table.

"As I said, I wanted to have this meeting so you we could discuss how to handle this." Henrietta says as Agnes and I straighten up in our chairs. "Oliver, we have already spoken about Contract Familiar. However…"

"I understand. However, is there an alternative marking option?"

"That is an option we could take. Something like a false branding. I could prepare something like that if you wish. However, if you are what you say…"

"Hm?"

"If you truly are a retired military commander, er, my apologies, I do not mean to insinuate you're a liar, it may just be trained speaking patterns. But, my main concern would be on how to use your talents."

I hear Agnes' slight surprise, although it certainly has more bite than what I was expecting. "You're already considering integrating him into the military…!?"

"Our backs are against the wall, Agnes…"

"I understand that, but to be so hasty—"

"I agree." I say, getting both of their attention. "It would be a very hasty decision, and I would need to get acquainted to what you have here, as compared to what I'm used to. If you truly mean to use my expertise, the best bet would be to use small scale operations. Post me somewhere like that, where I can establish myself in the 'proving grounds' as it were."

Henrietta nods. "I see… yes."

"Additionally, can I ask why you want to conceal myself as a familiar?"

"I… do not wish to attract too much attention. Additionally, I do not want people to get the wrong idea. The nobility is very much in control. If it gets out you are my familiar, they will try to spin it that it was nepotism or that I am trying to seize control."

"Understandable."

"Princess, may I speak with you outside?" Agnes says before I can say anything else.

"Hm? Yes, of course, Agnes. If you'll excuse us."

The two of them leave the room. I close my eyes and think. So she wants to conceal the fact I am a familiar to avoid negative optics. That's entirely understandable. Even though I can help her, she doesn't want to move too quickly.

After about five minutes, the two of them come back in and sit back down.

"Oliver, Agnes is offering to have you be the field commander of the Royal Musketeer Corps."

A sudden offering? However, I quickly see the motivations for it. It means I'm under watch by Agnes, who doesn't trust me too much, and additionally, it's likely her troops are loyal to her rather than to me. If I make a critical mistake or at some point reveal some sort of sinister nature, they will be able to waste me. So that's how it's going to be.

"I'm at your mercy, I suppose. But doesn't this not the solve the issue?" I say, hoping Henrietta can shed some light here.

"The Royal Musketeer Corps are not headed by any of the noble families, and it is entirely within my control. Additionally, the size of the unit is not too large, and most of the nobles overlook it due to none of them using magic. No one will think anything of it."

"I see. Just tell me where I'm going for this, then."

"Ah, excellent. I hope you're able to keep up, commander." Agnes says, emphasizing my claim. I suppose I am intruding on her area, so the slight hostility is understandable.

"Hmph." I give a snort. "I'd like to have a few days to get acquainted to your teams. I want to understand their capabilities so I can best direct them."

"I'm glad you're taking to it so quickly." Henrietta says with a smile. "I'll make the preparations. You'll need some credentials, after all, and I'll make the official appointment and announcement later."

Things are moving quickly, huh? Then again, I suppose the whole mess started the day I was posted, haha.

"Sounds good to me."

"Understood, Princess."

"Then, Agnes, please show our newest commander to a guest bedroom. If anyone asks, Oliver here is a travelling scholar. You have the keys, yes?"

"I understand, Princess, and yes, I have the keys. If you will please follow me."

I nod, getting up along with Agnes. I give a small bow to Henrietta before leaving with Agnes, walking through the halls. The guest bedrooms are apparently down a floor, as we have to take a staircase down.

"I would like to outline a few things before we begin." Agnes says, breaking the silence.

"Go ahead." I say as we make a right at the intersection.

"First, a reintroduction. I am Captain Agnes Chevalier de Milan of the Royal Musketeer Corps. I am their acting field commander and head of the corp. In addition, the entire unit is made of female non-mages."

"Any particular reason?"

"If they're a mage, they'll refuse to use a firearm. If they're a man, they'll likely be a knight."

"Understandable. I suppose they won't take too nicely to me."

"They may or may not. However, since the Princess wills it, they'll listen."

I give a small nod as she holds up a key to me.

"Your key."

"Thank you." I say, taking it. "Though, before you go, I have one question. Who's your backup in there?"

"Her name is Sara, claims to come from a village named Springfield, though I've never heard of it. Might just be really backwater. A bit of an odd girl, but I guess you'll see. Seems to like my gun for some reason."

"Got it. Sorry for the sudden question, I just wanted to know who else I should know in the command structure. Good night then, Agnes."

"I'll come get you in the morning. Good night."

With that, I unlock the door and step inside. Looks fancy in here, comfy bed, drawer even if I won't need it, the like. The lights even turn on when I step inside. Magic sure is convenient here.

"Uh, off?"

And the room goes dark. Well then, that's pretty handy.

"On."

Once the lights are back on, I take off most of my uniform, stripping down to just my boxers, and then lying down in the bed. Best to keep that uniform as clean as I can until it can get washed. Alright, well… guess I better get ready for quite the strangest mission I've ever been given.

Oh my God, I can hear you all say, another project?

Okay, don't blame me. This one just got stuck in my head because of Deep Dive, and I felt like it could be fun. I've actually had this idea floating around since like, last year, but never did anything with it. But since Deep Dive is a thing, I decided to toss it up here. If you guys end up liking it, well hey, sure, why not, I'll work a bit on it. Truth be told I'm starting to not enjoy writing Armored Hearts, and figured something like this could be fun to do.

Not much to say as it's the intro chapter, just kind of showing off the situation and getting everyone ready for next time. Figured I'd introduce Oliver, get his relationships set with Agnes and Henrietta, as I think it's also a bit of a breath of fresh air to approach this from a different standpoint (i.e. not in Saito's shoes), and take a different style. I kind of wanted to push some more into getting situated as a commander, but figured I could save it for next time.

Anyways as for Spectre and PPK, well, as far as I remember in FoZ there was that spell that drags in things from Earth, so teeheehee. I mostly picked them because as much as I would love to just throw 5*s, gotta hold back a little bit, you know?

I liked making Agnes a bit of a hardass here, but it felt a bit understandable. Maybe pacing wise things seem a bit rushed, but I thought Oliver would take to the situation well and as a nod to the Blazblue crossover event, it's something he's had experience with. I also purposely left it ambiguous as to why he retired, i.e. not telling whether it was the SF battle being over or just wanting to leave the field. I think maybe it'll be good to explore something like that later, but no need to dump it all right now. Kind of wanted to experiment with that as well, sort of leaving the door open for potential hooks later.

Anyways, yeah. Fun times. I swear that I won't just like never update this story like all the other currently running ones oh no whoops. I guess let me know if you guys liked this one and want to see more of it?

See you guys next time lmao

Edit v1.1: Spectre and PPK noted to have used traps to kill humans, in order to maintain consistency as they are not explicitly noted to have Anti-Human protocols at this point in time.