Victor 'Pug' Henry had seen many ceremonies and speeches in Berlin…Ever since he had been first stationed in Berlin, he had seen different parades and speeches that were filled with propaganda bull made by Hitler and his gang of Nazis. He had heard speeches from Joseph Goebbels about blaming the british for starting the war in Europe, he had heard speeches from Hitler himself going on about the superiority of German might being the force that rightfully deserves to be the master of Europe. Pug once witnessed a speech from the fascist leader of Italy, Duce Benito Mussolini, on how Italy has the power to be the new Roman Empire of the future. However, the things that he had been hearing on from foreign dignitaries from other countries that aligned the Nazis and their Axis allies had been the things that both astounded Pug and surprised him at once. The same context was even something that he almost refused to believe to hear and read from his superiors and fellow officers in the American Embassy. But the fact that it was true enough that Hitler himself wanted to make a scene about it by holding a ceremony for it and give a speech himself was what awakened him to the reality that he is witnessing.
As he stepped into the Reich Chancellery where chandeliers of glass blazed like captured suns and the marble floors had been polished where it reflected off the world flawlessly and triumphant. He and the other dignitaries were led to the Courtyard where they were placed a row of chairs that had names for each person with an invitation. Pug had already gave the guard at the entrance of the Chancellery his invitation which came by the compliments of General Von Roon with a note saying "You should see this for yourself, Commander Henry. It will change the world forever." Suddenly Pug wished he didn't.
Pug was lead to his seat at the front row where he had a good view to a podium where he assume that the mustache in chief of German would be speaking, but he noticed that a set of three chairs of high quality wood like ebony were positioned not far with signs that had the names of those to be seated in german with gothic script. However, Pug could read the names and recognized them from the latest information that US naval intelligence had gathered. One of them was Foreign Minister Ribbentrop, Hitler's Own Foreign Minister, the other two names right beside it were the ones that Pug swore that he heard of before in his younger days in the Navy.
Then the sound of music, particularly of the tune of the Badenweiler Marsch, could be heard as Pug got to the see the Furher of Germany, the man that has almost all of Europe in his grip, walk into the court yard where he was followed by Foreign Minister Ribbentrop not far behind. The two were talking and smiling as if they had achieved a great victory just now, Pug was not sure how true of that it was himself. He just had to see and confirm it with his own two grey old eyes. However, he lost his thoughts as his own fanatics in the crowd behind him cheered and clapped like they had seen god himself.
Hitler stood up to the podium as he gave the nazi salute with his own followers giving one in return as Ribbentrop joined in as well. Inside his mind, Pug rolled his eyes and kept his hands at his sides as the crowd of supporters gave a 'Heil Hitler' and calling him things like the 'Great Fuhrer' or 'Restorer of German Glory'. He stopped his salute as he held his hand up and spoke with the charismatic tone that Pug saw him use when he gave a speech about the invasion of Poland two years ago saying that Poland fired on Germany first and saying that he had put on his soldiers coat where he will keep it on until the end of the war or he will not live to see it end.
"Today, comrades, good people of Germany, we witness a moment that will forever go down in the history of the Greater German Reich." Hitler echoed as if beneath a glass canopy, "Months ago, the brilliant scientists of our nation succeeded in forging a bridge beyond the limits of this world itself. Through that triumph, we have entered into contact with a realm not bound by our skies...a realm of order, discipline, and power! In that world, a great leader wages her own struggle, not unlike ours: a struggle against weakness, corruption, and the false gods who would keep their people enslaved to decay and chaos. In that world that is called Teyvat, there is a nation called Snezhnaya. It's people are hardened by winter, forged in endurance, loyal to strengthen and purpose. At their head stands Her Majesty, the Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya, who after first meeting our scientists and soldiers saw not the caricature built by the British of our people. Instead, the Tsaritsa saw a nation of iron will. She has chosen to join the powers of herself, her people, and her military, the Fatui, with the powers of rising order that we are creating."
For a moment, he paused as the crowd erupted into applause with Wehrmacht and Nazi Party photographers yelling into a rhythmic chant of "Sieg Heil, Sieg Heil!"
Hitler raised his hand again for silence.
"Her Majesty herself could not be present here today," Hitler continued in a lower tone of his voice to confide the truth to his crowd of followers, "A true ruler does not abandon her post while she wages her own war against the rotten powers of her world. However, she has sent to the German Reich, her most trusted envoys with full authority to speak and sign her name."
He turned towards the steps of the back of the courtyard.
"First," he continued, "The man who directs the flow of Snezhnaya's wealth and industry as the head of its Northland Bank…..His Excellency, Lord Pantalone….And at his side, Her Excellency, Lady Arlecchino, The Knave of the House of the Hearth….One of the Tsaritsa's most loyal servants, guardian of the iron discipline with which Snezhnaya forges its youth into warriors. Their resolves matches the spirit that we forge through the Hitlerjugend."
There it was the name…..Tsaritsa….ruler of a land called Snezhnaya….To think that a few weeks ago, he would learn of this name and title where he thought that maybe the person in the Embassy had taken a leave of their sanctity. Now, the name has some weight in the conflict occurring in Europe with the whole world to see for themselves. The orchestra struck the final bar of the Badenweiler March as a man and a woman walked into the courtyard. The light to the Courtyard dimmed as they appeared walking down the steps in front of Hitler and Ribbentrop. The woman that pug was seeing before him was nothing he imagined from whispers in the American Embassy about mysterious envoys or anything that he could imagine that Goebbels propaganda reels could even develop. She was tall walking with poise and aura that was very much human, but Pug did not know why but there was more to her than that meets the eye. She wore a tailored outfit of black, white, and grey that made the SS outfits nearby look crude. She walked like a blade as her white hair of cold silver that fell in sharp layers that hid one eye. However, the color of the eyes that Pug could see actually scared him as they were a black sclera with a glowing red X that reminded of dagger slashes. Pug assumed that this woman must be without any doubt to be Arlecchino.
Not far behind Arlecchino was a man, he carried himself like a wall-street banker having a good day in business with the elegant appearance of a man that looked as if he never had to raise his voice. He wore a long dark coat embroidered in silver patterns that hung over his shoulders like black fur that gave him the silhouette of a nobleman rather than a soldier. His dark hair was soft that framed well with his calm unreadable smile and a pair of thin spectacles rested on his nose. Everything about this man seemed to be calm and graceful from his posture to his gloves.
As the two pair of eyes found Hitler, they walked up with a smile and inclined their head slightly.
Then the man spoke in perfect german where his voice sounded softly and calm but filled with that cut strongly to the crowd that left Pug the impression that he could act like a more calm and regal Hitler in tone.
"On behalf of Her Majesty's Government and the Tsaritsa herself, I, Lord Pantalone, accept the recognition and friendship from the Greater German Reich."
The crowd clapped for a moment as Pantalone let the applause ebb.
"If recognition is to be more than a word or ceremony," he continued, "let there be understanding."
He turned to Hitler slightly, "With your leave, Reichskanzler, I will show the nature of our world."
Hitler spreads his hands up with a knowing smile as he knew what was coming, "Germany welcomes proof."
He nodded as Arlecchino devoid of emotion on her face stepped back a good distance as Pug swore the red x in her eyes glowed. She raised a gloved hand where before Pug could even blink, a pistol tore free of a SS officer's belt and flew through the air to her and landed into her waiting palm. For a second as if feeling a bit of curiosity, she examined it and then threw it up into the air at attitude that was just above the roof of the chancellery. Then she summoned out of dark red fire a hellish version of a scythe, where she spun it around with expert precision and jumped up to the air where Pug expected for her to cut the falling pistol in half. Instead, as her scythe, with dark red fire spinning around, made contact with pistol a massive explosion of dark red fire appeared in the shape of a mushroom cloud. A moment later the cloud dissipated as Arlecchino landed on the ground like an acrobat in the circus that just finished a great performance.
Cameras chattered again louder this time with the crowd of loyal Hitler fanfitics cheering almost louder than when they saw Hitler walk into the view. Ribbentrop being the first to recover as he snapped open his brief case.
"The Instrument of Recognition and alliance between Germany and Snezhnaya through this agreement Snezhnaya shall be recognized as a strong member under the Tsaritsa. Through this agreement called the Pact of Iron and Frost, the Realm of Snezhnaya ascends as a member of the Tripartite Pact with a guarantee of defense for Snezhnaya by Germany, Italy, and Japan."
He places four plaques with a long piece of paper on a table in front of them. As he placed them on the table, the two other men arrived. Pug recognized these men as the Japanese Ambassdor to the Germans, Hiroshi Ōshima, and the other man was Galeazzo Ciano, Italy's Foreign Minister and son-in-law to Benito Mussolini himself. The two took their places right beside Ribbentrop and Hitler, where they stood before the table like actors on a stage play. The three axis leaders and ambassadors each placed their signature on the plaques that had embossed four symbols: the Reich Eagle, the Rising Sun, the Roman Fasces, and an unfamiliar shaping of a four pointed star built within a circle.
Then Arlecchino and Patalone stood up to the table and using a ink quill wrote their names onto each parchment. Hitler beaming stepped forward again and spoke again in his usual charismatic fashion.
"And so the Reich, the Rising Sun, The Romans of Italy, and the Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya stand together in this new world order. Two worlds with one destiny for victory."
Hitler held out his hand to Patalone, who took it, and raised them up like a poise of unity between nations.
"May this pact stand as the bridge between Teyvat and your world…..Two Worlds, one alliance" was the words that Pantalone said.
The flashbulbs of the cameras intensified on them as the loyal Nazi crowd gave a salute with a Sieg Heil while singing in the tone of celebration with the lyrics of Am Adolf Hitler Platz could be heard with the band striking up the tone of the march as photographers shouted for one more angle, one more smile for this new future that the world was a witness to.
Pug's mind went only though one thought, as he stared at the burning eye of Arlecchino and the calm tranquil smile of Pantalone, that, "Whatever we call it, the Germans just got themselves a new kind of ally. And I have a feeling that soon the world will find out the hard way on what that means."