Cheating Fate
Chapter 1
Manipulating Fate
The scariest thing about humanity, are the measures man takes when one is backed into a corner. Amidst a burning Mahora, a 24 year old Negi pulls his mind into the past, specifically his 10 year old body, to fix his own mistakes. But the lesson that's been taught over and over to him still stands. One should not mess with time. So Fate has a different plan for him. But it's not Fate Averruncus. Fate is angry with Negi, for toying with the things that should never be played with. She finds it like karma, the way she played with his life for entertainment. So as retribution, she allows Negi's trip, opting to come with him to keep him in line, keep him safe from what he's about to do to himself.
Because, if she doesn't, the future doesn't look bright, for Fate's favorite whipping boy.
And I'm doing this, alright. I got the inspiration during class, and I'm really going through with this.
My current projects include "Heart of the Machine", an Infinite Stratos fanfic, and the "Tying Loose Ends" rewrite. Alright, let's do this.
This will not be your average time travel story, and I don't think that this has been done for something like Negima...
Aw well.
LETS DO THIS!
No one has the right to cheat fate. Many have tried. Many have fallen. But what makes you so different?
"ANYBODY!"
Negi was frantic, running through the streets of Mahora. And they were up in flames. Nothing could prepare him for what he saw.
Graf Wilhelm Josef Von Herrman.
The name was poison on his tongue. Because on that rainy night, the demon swore he would return. And return he did, along with hundreds of demons. He should have finished him when he had the chance.
"ASUNA! KONOKA! NODOKA! YUE! HARUNA! ANYBODY!" He continued to shout. No one would answer. The smoke from the burning buildings tore into his eyes, scarring his lungs with their burning embers.
A demon wandered into his path, roaring at him. It raised a bladed fist, preparing to spear Negi through the heart.
Negi's fist speared it through the head. The dark, crimson blood drenched his hands. 14 years of harsh reality changed him quite a bit. He had no qualms about ending those who wanted to end him.
He made it to the burning World Tree.
"Negi, my good boy, it's been a while."
The voice made Negi pale.
It was Herrman. He was sitting on the ledge, cleaning his hands of blood.
"It's nice to see your red head, the mere fact you'd grace me with your presence brings a tear to my eye, you little spring onion." He wiped an imaginary tear from his eyes.
"You bastard!" Negi shouted, activating Magia Erebea, Raiten Taisou.
"Now, now, calm down, what happened to the innocent little 10 year old boy that I once knew?"
Negi dashed forward, ready to kill him. Herrman simply raised a hand, and Negi halted in his tracks.
A trap.
A mandala-like symbol glowed under him. A paralyzation set-up.
"So rash, you really should think things through. Your little friends made the same mistake. I had the misfortune of dealing with them."
Negi's eyes widened. "No..."
"They put up quite the fight... But was very satisfying pulling the the life from them. Watching them cease every movement. Seeing them submit to my force, and accepting their end."
Everybody... It's not possible... Why... Why...? WHY?-!
"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"
Negi struggled, and succeeded smashing the barrier.
"Why, Negi... I'd love to see you TRY!" He roared.
The two charged at each other, and clashed. Negi attacked with a flurry of punches, only to be blocked by Herrman. He had gotten better over these past 14 years.
"Why, it's time for me to run... I've accomplished my objective. You're friends have met their fate. And it's impossible to cheat yours."
He pulled a sphere from his pocket and crushed it.
"Bye bye, Negi Springfield. See you in hell."
The sphere exploded in a flash of light, sending Negi backwards. When the light cleared, Herrman was gone. Vaporized, teleported, well, Negi didn't know.
"No... NO... NO!" Negi shouted, beating the ground with a fist. "He's lying... He has to be lying! ASUNA! KONOKA! ANYBODY!"
He attempted to search for magic. But there was none. No signs of life... Which could only mean... Everyone was dead.
"ANYBODY!" He roared to the sky. "It's not possible..."
He began to lose his grip on reality. "NO, NO, NO!"
He gripped his face, and began to cry. He was alone, everyone was dead and gone.
A click sound brought him to his senses. On the blood soaked ground before him, was the Cassiopeia.
He remembered something, very, very important.
"Hey, Nodoka?" Negi was walking with an older Nodoka, who was now the librarian of Library Island.
"Yes Negi?"
"I want to know... You've been researching magic, right? I want to know, if it was possible to change the past."
The two sat down on a bench.
"Negi... One doesn't have the right to play with time."
"But Chao-" Nodoka silenced him.
"That was a different case... But why do you want to change the past?" She asked.
"If I can change just a few things, life might be better for everyone, I can save people, stop things from happening..."
"Negi, there are severe ramifications for playing with time. Chao had the ability to go back, and she only changed little things, she knew what was going to happen, and she had a very important goal. But I'm sad to say, that your goals don't match up on the right scale."
"But-"
"Don't think badly of me, your goals are rather noble, if I may say... But aren't you happy with what the future holds for all of us now?"
"I'm very happy for what we have now... But in case something should happen... I want to keep what we all have now intact..."
Nodoka was silent.
"Come with me."
She lead him down the halls of the library, and unlocked a small door. She ushered him in. Down a small hallway, they walked into a room, with only a few chests. She murmured an incantation to one, and it opened.
Revealing a book.
"Negi, this book contains the secrets to time, specifically the chronological order of magic and its energies. I'm willing to bet that this is the book that gave Chao inspiration for the Cassiopeia. I want you to keep this safe, and hopefully you'll never have to use the things it holds."
Negi nods, and gingerly takes the book.
"I want you to promise me that you will only use it if it's explicitly necessary. Not for any selfish needs. If it doesn't need to be changed, please don't change it. No matter what, please don't change anything important... Alright...?"
"Alright."
"You promise, Negi?"
"... I promise."
Negi gave a grim smile, and reached into his jacket, pulling out the book. He looked through the pages, and then slammed it shut, pocketing it again.
"I'm sorry Nodoka. I'm breaking our promise."
He reached into his pocket, drawing a knife. He carved a symbol into the ground, placing the Cassiopeia in the center.
"I'm sorry..."
He took a deep breath. An incantation weaving its way through his mind.
By the order of the magister, Negi Springfield, claiming to the values of the principles of magic, powered by justice or rage, I invoke the lines of time and space, and call upon the contract, pulled forth by the power of my magic, and drawn by the strength of my soul, I summon forth, the Doors of Fate.
"Per preceptum etiam magister, Negi Springfield dicentes ad valores principia magica amet iure aut iracundia invoco lineae spatium tempusque invocate contractum foras trahi vi magiae, perque virtutem animae mea provocet, Ostia Ex Fatalibus."
The symbol began to glow. And it was time for the few final touches. He raised the knife.
And plunged it into his stomach.
He gritted his teeth through the sudden onslaught of pain, opening the cut further. He brought his hands to the hole in his body, cradling a handful of blood. Then he brought it over before the symbol, and splashed it onto the Cassiopeia.
The remains of the World Tree began to glow, along with the Cassiopeia.
A rectangular shape of a door began to appear below him. All that was needed was a key. So he pulled the knife from his body. And then he activated the door.
By forcing the knife into his heart.
He coughed up blood, and fell forward.
The last thing he saw was the door at his feet... Beginning to open.
He was laying down in a white expanse.
He forced himself up, looking for a door. He began to walk.
"Hey, kid."
Negi turned around, looking frantically for the voice. No one was there.
"Who are you calling kid? I'm twenty four, for heaven's sake."
"I know, but you really are a kid, compared to someone who's lived since the beginning of time."
In a flash of grey light, a beautiful young woman in a white gown, around his age, with silver hair and blood red eyes, was standing tall and lush before him.
"Let me guess... You must be Fate."
"Do I look like a stoic, narcissistic, apocalyptic hungering piece of shit with no sense of humor?"
"Not Averruncus, that's for sure." He muttered.
"Yes, I'm Fate, Destiny or some other iteration you can think of... So, you've screwed up, and you want to fix things..."
"I haven't screwed up." Negi snapped.
She glared at him; her eyes began to shine with an intense fire.
"Then why are you here? Why are you willing to turn the world inside out for your own selfish desires? That's a mistake in and of itself."
"It's not a selfish desire-"
"They all say the same thing. They want to change the past in their favour. What makes you so different?"
"I want to change the past to save someone's life." Negi said, with a determined look.
"But that someone is someone important to you, and what happened to them is one the things you want to change. Rendering your example into a moot point."
Negi grit his teeth in anger.
"What makes you so different? Everyone wants to change fate, but everyone knows that she really doesn't want to be trifled with." She said.
"So, I'm standing here for nothing. Maybe what people say is right. Life's a bitch and so is Fate." He growled.
She frowned.
"I wouldn't put it that way. I'm stubborn yes, but for good reason. And I may have played around with a certain person's life a bit too much..."
"Wait, who do you mean, a certain person?" Negi asked.
"You're very intimate with him, you know every single of his thoughts, you've seen every inch of his body, and you've probably touched him in an explicit way."
Negi's jaw dropped.
"Yeah, I'm REAL sorry about all that."
"So you're the cause of all those rather unpleasant, perverted situations-"
"I say you rather enjoyed them..."
"- All those near death scenarios, all this clichéd crap that happened to me that really should stay in fiction, and to top it all off, you place me in a harem, at the age of fucking 10?-!"
"Heheheh..."
"Fate is a bitch." He declared.
She twitched. With a snap of her fingers, Negi was yanked down and pinned to the floor by chains.
"Don't mess with me, boy." She growled.
"Well, karma's a bitch, and so are you."
She sighed, and with another snap of her fingers, Negi was released.
"I hate karma... Fine."
"Eh what...?"
She stood there in thought.
"Negi Springfield... Let's play a game. You can go ahead with this trip, but under certain "rules"." She said with a smirk.
"... What are the rules?"
"One, you will be permitted to go back, and change whatever you'd like. No restrictions on them, except those dealing with important events of history, but remember, the littlest thing may have large ripples in the time stream. Two, you may keep your skills, but use them at your discretion, because they may have certain side effects to both the time stream and your physical being... And finally..." She thinks for a second.
"You're going to go back in your 10 year old body."
Negi's jaw dropped, but he composed himself quickly.
"Fine. But if this is a game, how do I win?"
"Simple. Survive."
"And if I lose?" He dreaded the answer.
"You know the answer... Not many people get a second chance Negi. And this chance is your last one. Make it count."
She reaches forward, her face closer to his. Then she kisses him.
"Wha-"
In a flash of light, a pactio card appears, and a picture of Fate in her white gown.
"Proof of our agreement, a pact if you will." She says, handing him the card.
She snaps her fingers and a door appears. She gestures for Negi to go through. As he reaches for the knob, she speaks.
"One thing Negi. When things change, you will not be prepared for what you are going to do to yourself. Just keep one thing in mind..."
Negi grips the doorknob.
"It's hard to cheat Fate."
He enters the door.
Bright light wakes him up.
He looks around the room. He was back in Wales, specifically at home, on his bed. He had went back in time. Then he heard snoring.
He slowly turned his head.
Sleeping beside him was Fate. NOT Averruncus. But the rather beautiful, reality controlling, manipulative bitch. She followed him, and was putting up a magical, physical illusion of a 10 year old body...
"..."
"Zzzzzzzzzzzzz..."
Negi jumped out of bed. Everything seemed so much bigger to him because of his new/old body... Maybe he really shouldn't have agreed to this... But he shrugged those thoughts off, focusing on his mission.
"Negi!" He heard a voice chime.
Shit! NEKANE!
"It's time for breakfast!"
The door creaked open.
"..."
"..."
"Zzzzzzzzzzzz..."
Nekane passed out.
I'm doomed.
"MY LITTLE NEGI'S BEING CORRUPTED BY SOME SULTRY LITTLE GIRL!" Nekane wailed.
She went through the works, giving Negi a scolding, the Talk, and the instructions on how to lead a non-sex based relationship. She basically burnt him out.
Now I know what Fate meant by changing things will have big consequences... I got the sex education and everything when I was 20... Wow, time travel really does provide quite an insight on the absurdity of life.
"So... Who she?"
"... A good friend..."
"Negi..."
Fate walked into the living room, rubbing her eyes and putting on the innocent little girl act.
"I'm hungry..."
"I'll get something for you two to eat. Young man, you still have a lot of questions to answer me, so don't you even think of running."
Yeah, I'm thinking of running.
She left the room, heading for the kitchen. He turned to Fate.
"What the hell are you doing?-!" She silenced him.
"This is a game, correct? I'm playing to win. And if that means providing, an "obstacle" of sorts, then I'm gonna be that obstacle. I want to know how far you're willing to go with this, and I'm gonna make sure you don't do anything drastic to time and yourself. And since this is a game... Might as well have fun."
She reaches forward and kisses him again.
"NEGI!"
Fate. Is. A. Bitch. Even though she's a rather good kisser.
The ramifications of playing with time... Yeah, Nodoka was right, they were severe. Just one event changed quite a bit of my future and a few other things. Including Nekane's opinion of puberty.
Negi yawned. His graduation ceremony was going like before. They finished handing out the diplomas, and he was about to open his in private. He unfurled the scroll containing what was going to be his training for the future. But there was a bit more writing than last time.
Quite a bit more.
Teacher in Japan
Owner of Harem
Savior of Worlds
Defender of the Innocent
Demon Slayer
Innocent/Ignorant Prick
Fate's Bitch
He twitched at the last one, glaring furiously at the white haired girl in question. She gave a mischievous smile, and stuck her tongue out at him.
Never trust a magical diploma that scans the reader's soul.
He felt a hand slap him in the butt. "Hop to it kid, let's go!" It was Fate. "You're treating me to ice cream!"
Negi frowned, and followed her reluctantly. If he had any say in the matter, he wasn't gonna submit and become a servant so easily... But then again, she wasn't just a 10 year old girl, she was an infinite year old ethereal being in a 10 year old body, who could alter reality at her every whim... Yep, this was gonna be difficult.
For the rest of the day, she hauled him all over town.
One thing was for sure. Fate was pretty damn childish.
He was sitting on the train heading for London. He really hoped he could ditch Fate back in Wales, as he woke up early, and left her alone with Nekane. Who was rather thorough with her... Shit, maybe he shouldn't have left her with Nekane...
Now he was worried about her safety.
"Negi!"
A pair of arms attached to his left arm. Negi twitched.
"You can't run from Fate!"
"Can I at least have commendation for wanting to try?"
She pouted. "No."
"You're who-knows-how-old! Act accordingly to your age!" Negi shouted, thankful they were in a empty car.
"Well, I don't want to act like an old hag, and it's very boring where I live... It's not often I can come over to the living- I mean here..."
"Wait... What do you mean living?"
She sighed.
"The spell you used at the Academy was one of the riskier sorts, but the one with the most rewards... You basically killed yourself for a second chance, and now if you die, instead of just your life ending, I'm talking about the erasure of your soul to compensate the magic."
Negi's jaw dropped.
"You're doing that more often." Fate pointed out.
"I'm dead?"
"Well, dead and alive at the same time... It's your last chance. Because of that, as soon as you die from any circumstances, you're effectively erasing yourself from existence."
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?-!"
"It's not my fault you didn't read the fine print."
Negi shook his head in frustration.
"We'll find that book of yours when we get to the academy."
"We better." He muttered.
"At least you're beginning to learn your lesson..."
He turned to look at her.
"It's very hard to cheat Fate."
Next Chapter, Mahora Academy Awaits!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I want to see a bit of criticism and/or praise in feedback/reviews in chapters, just to know if this is good enough to continue.
So R/R, enjoy life, read great fiction, and let the creative juices flow. And not only for you lemon writers. Aw well. – EthernalRain