Summary by the author: "Over the waters of Manhattan, a living weapon is reduced to a puddle of liquid flesh by nuclear fire. In another world, a princess calls for the one who is to be her familiar. Whether through coincidence or fate, their lives are now inextricably intertwined and their destinies changed forever."
Just as Alex Mercer gets hit by the nuke that was set to destroy Manhatten, he gets summoned to Halkegenia by Princess Henrietta. Now, he finds himself in a world where magic is real, enemies are all around, and his only reliable ally is the one who summoned him.
This should be a fun ride.
Liquid Sample
, as already mentioned, changes up the "Random character gets sent to the Familiar of Zero universe" idea by having Henrietta summon Alex instead of Louise. As a result, a very different story unfolds, with whole new arcs being laid out.
Examples of tropes in this fanfic:
- Because You Were Nice to Me: The main reason why Alex is so devoted to Henrietta is because, unlike almost everyone else, she actually cares about him and treats him as a cherished companion rather than a monster or even a servant.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Alex deals these out like candy. In his universe, even the latest of military hardware barely slowed him down. In a world that's barely at a Renaissance-level of technology, even with the benefit of magic, nothing poses anything resembling a threat to Alex.
- I Just Want to Have Friends: Henrietta is distinctly lacking in the friendship department. She has advisers, servants galore, and subjects, but aside from Louise there is no one that Henrietta can call a friend. Alex, despite his grumpy and often curt manner, is someone she can speak frankly to without worrying about political fallout and who values her as a person rather than a princess. This has the effect of making Henrietta bond very quickly with Alex.
- Mugging the Monster: Several people, including the likes of Cardinal Mazarin and Viscount Wardes, know that Alex isn't human and unquestionably dangerous, but they don't grasp just how dangerous (and powerful) Alex truly is, and thus most of their initial interactions involve them treating Alex with open hostility and even trying to convince Henrietta to kill him. Then, they witness him easily wipe out a rebel Germanian army and immediately reevaluate their opinions.
- Politically-Active Princess: Given that she will one day rule Tristain, and the fact that her mother is too consumed by grief over the death of her father, Henrietta is very involved in the politics of the kingdom. She doesn't particularly enjoy it, but she's dead set on being a strong but benevolent ruler.
- Protectorate: Alex very quickly puts Henrietta under his protection. Anyone who seeks to harm, or even defy her, will have to go through him first.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: When assassins get hired to kill Henrietta, Alex wastes no time in tracking down the one responsible for the deed. The man who actually did the hiring gets spared, though only because he was a pawn in a larger scheme and Alex makes it clear that he'd best skip town before he has a change of heart. As for the one pulling the strings, well...he wasn't so lucky.
- The Stations of the Canon: An interesting example here. It is shown that Saito got summoned by Louise, as was the case in canon, and it's mentioned offhand that the encounter with Foquet more or less went as the original story. So, it can be assumed that nothing on their end has changed. However, since this story focuses on the effects of Henrietta summoning Alex, canon diverges wildly, going off on a plot that is very different and will most likely have vast changes forthcoming.
- A Taste of Power: While Henrietta already had power, being both a queen in all but name and a talented mage, she still was limited in terms of political power by the nobility, many of whom wield power enough to be a threat to her if they so chose. With Alex at her side, however, Henrietta has been handed what amounts to nigh-absolute power over everyone. Because of this, and that she is firmly of the mind that With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility, she worries that she might become a tyrant, using Alex to further her own ends.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Alex is pretty upfront about the fact that he considers himself to be little more than a living weapon, good for only destruction. Henrietta, however, disagrees; in her mind, a real monster wouldn't bother to question his actions or try to adhere to his own code of morality. The fact that he truly cares about her is in and of itself proof that Alex isn't as bad as he thinks he is.
