Disclaimer: I do not own Mahou Sensei Negima or Mondaiji-tachi ga Isekai Kara Kuru so Desu yo?
AN: I really do apologize for the long wait, and I'm really thankful to those of you who waited for so long.
It took a long time, but I finally have time to write again, though I don't have all that much.
Anyway, here starts the rewrite for Mages in Little Garden. As you will undoubtedly notice, a lot has changed from the original version. I've reworked the story from the ground up, to give this some since of plot, so again, a lot had changed.
Regardless I hope you enjoy this rewrite. Onto the prologue!
A deep sigh resounded throughout the dark room.
"Seems like the demon lords have begun stirring again. Just what is Canaria doing at a time like this?" A small girl was using her right index figure to twirl the tips of her long blonde hair. She was the immortal Shinso vampire Evangeline A.K. McDowell.
"Hmm? You didn't hear?" her companion asked her, looking up from a book almost too big for him to hold. His name was Negi Springfield, and he shared the odd relationship with her as they were both teacher and student to one another.
"Hear what?" she asked him, cocking an eyebrow at him.
"After she lost, she was sent to a parallel world. I heard she passed away after adopting a bunch of kids." A look of sorrow surfaced in his eyes, but it was gone a moment later. "I heard her community lost its flag, now there just [No-Names]."
"You say that like it doesn't concern you." She grinned
"Well, it honestly doesn't anymore. It's been two years since it happened after all. If I let those kinds of things bother me, I'd have nothing but despair and regrets left." He sighed. "It's not that I don't care, but there's nothing I can do right now."
"What about him?" she asked. She refused to utter his name, feelings of rage would consume her if she did.
"He hasn't made any overt movements in nearly three years, so there's not much I can do about it right now. I'm honestly worried that they're amassing somewhere, but all I can do is pray that I'm wrong."
"I guess so." She sighed again. She was frustrated. It was only natural considering her situation. "How much longer?" Her frustration had almost reached its breaking point.
"I'd wager about three more hours or so. Whoever this this game is quite the sadist. Honestly, who makes someone solve 300 puzzles written in a dead language?" Although he was equally frustrated, he also found some joy in deciphering the dead language and solving the puzzles. He was a true scholar.
"Just be glad they left a dictionary, even of it only has four or five pages left." She chuckled.
"That's exactly why I called them a sadist. He replied with a wry smile.
The dark cave, the only source of light being a lantern hanging from the ceiling, made the letters in the ancient book hard to read.
"Are you done yet?" Her frustration was nearly at its boiling point. It was only a matter of time before she exploded. Her boredom wasn't helping the situation either.
"Almost, I'm on the final question. It's… difficult."
"What are you talking about, you've already deciphered the language, the rest should be easy in comparison."
"The last one has five parts to it. First, you need to figure the code to decipher the script from the hint they give you. Then you need to rearrange the letters so that the words actually make sense. That ends up leaving you with two lines of text. Those two lines are the hint to finding the code to the second paragraph. After deciphering the message hidden within the second paragraph, you speak the password out loud." Negi had entered into his lecture mode, also known as the mode where he won't shut the hell up.
"So are you done yet?" she asked him, desperate to make him stop talking about this.
"Almost, give me a few more seconds." His eyes were darting across the page at a frightening speed. "And done…" As soon as he uttered the words, he fell silent. His eyes were staring at the page in blank amazement.
"What's wrong?" she asked him, her frustration had vanished, now replaced by simple curiosity. It had been years since she saw Negi look that dumbfounded.
"No… it's just…" Rather than try to explain it himself, he showed her the book and the 'password' that was required to open the 'lock' so that they could leave the cave.
"Seriously…" she asked, though not to anyone in particular.
"Yeah…" he sighed. "Well, let's get this over with."
He closed the large book and they both placed their hands atop its cover. "3…2…1…"
[Open Sesame]
A bright light immediately engulfed them, and as if they had never left, they were back in Negi's office.
His office, after years of disuse, was a mess. Paper was scattered all over the floor and thick cobwebs hung to its corners. His desk was still in one piece and his personal effects were still there.
"Now then, time to get back to work. At least, that's what I'd like to say, but we have other priorities at the moment." He said, raising both arms above his head as he stretched them.
"We just got here and there's already trouble…" Evangeline sighed once again. "I hope they're at least a good warmup, but I shouldn't get my hopes up." She began to do her own stretches, keeping her eyes on their surroundings.
"There presences seem familiar, so I'm not sure who they are, but we definitely know them. There are only three of them here, all rushing towards us from different directions."
"Hmm… they seem fairly strong, but there no match for either of us, unless they have some sort of powerful GIFT or a unique ability." Her stretches finally done, she lowered both hands to her side, into a seemingly defenseless position.
As if the signal, the people rushed into the room from three different direction.
One entered from the northern door. This was the door that connected his office to the rest of his community. It was a young man with silver hair. Negi immediately recognized him.
One entered from the eastern door. This was the door that led to the community officer's private quarters. The young man who entered from this door had blue hair. Negi also recognized him.
One of them entered through an open window on the southern side of the room. He would have had to pass through the community garden to get here. This one was a were-beast with white and black stripes, a white tiger. Negi recognized him as well.
Immediately after they entered the room, Evangeline's spell, Endless White Nine Heavens, activated. The only action left was for her to point at her targets and they would be frozen for eternity.
She raised her hand towards the one with silver hair. He looked familiar but she didn't care, she just wanted to vent her frustrations on somebody. It was his fault for catching her in a bad mood.
She had raised her finger halfway into air before someone grabbed her hand. It was Negi.
"Why'd you stop me?" she asked him, her glare seemed to pierce his very soul.
"It wouldn't set a good example if you indiscriminately attacked your own community would it?" He replied as he released her hand. It fell back to her side.
"Huh?" she exclaimed, taking another look at the three intruders. She sighed again. "What have I told you brats about changing your forms?" Her glare was now focused on the three brats.
"Arthur, Hayate, Byakko. Explain what's going on."
AN: That was rather short for my tastes, but it's only the prologue, so I didn't want to make it too long. Each chapter should be about three times this length, at least, that's was I'm shooting for.
So, what'd you think? Do you prefer this version or the original. Any criticism, any praises? Please tell me what you think in a review.
If you want to ask me anything personal or if you have concerns, send me a PM, though I can't guarantee you I'll answer them right away. If you have any questions about any of my stories, this is the best way to reach me.
Until next time ^_^
Do you think I should have made this into a brand new story instead of replacing the old chapters? Leave your answer in a review.