Disclaimer: I don't own Mahou Sensei Negima. I do, however, own all the non-Negima characters and ideas in this fic.

Lost His Way

Act 1: It's Good to be Bad

I

"If the greatest heroes are those that aspire to the greatest, most selfless dreams and never give up;
then the greatest villains must be those whose aspirations were shattered so as to leave
them with naught but lust - lust for destruction; lust for self-destruction; lust for Oblivion."

(3 years until the 81st MahoraFest)

"Negi Springfield, do you know why I had you called up here?"

The question was very nearly rhetorical, yet it was obvious from the man's manner that he expected a definite answer, and that if he didn't get it then there would be hell to pay. He was a tall, sharp-faced man, with an aura that seemed to Negi as though it had taken many years of hard practice to develop into the intimidating, booming thing it was. It was all Negi could do not to wither and show weakness, yet he could tell from the looks on the Headmaster's and Takamichi's faces that to do so would be a grave mistake.

"No, sir, I do not." But I could guess, Negi thought darkly, but didn't dare utter the thought should it inflame the man.

As it was, it seemed as though the man already knew what Negi was thinking, as he cocked an eyebrow before continuing, "Then I shall tell you, for guesses might only demean what is to come next.

"I am an Inquisitor of the Magic Council, Springfield, and a very skilled and successful one at that. I am tasked with investigating events that might threaten the security of the Magic World and its denizens, as well as punishing those that are responsible for such events. As you well know, such an event occurred very recently, during the 78th MahoraFest, where one Chao Lingshen threatened the Magic World at a magnitude previously unheard of. She attempted to reveal the secret of magic to every man, woman and child on this planet and bring untold chaos into existence. Despite attempts to cover this up, the Magic Council has learned of it, and I have been despatched to investigate and punish those responsible. So far, I have heard tales of your heroics, your spirit, the school's rigid protocols to prevent such an event and several other things that are of little consequence. What it all comes down to, though, is you."

Negi gulped, as he had a sinking feeling that something horrible was about to happen to him, something that would alter his destiny irrevocably. The inquisitor paused for a moment, glancing around at the others present before returning his gaze to Negi.

"Tell me, Springfield, did you or did you not prevent Magi Gandolfini from carrying out his strict duty of memory wiping Lingshen as per protocol?"

"I did." Negi did his utmost not to stutter.

"Did you then claim full responsibility for any future actions by Lingshen?"

"Y-Yes." Negi found it becoming harder not to stutter.

"You did not know, at the time, what exactly Chao was being prosecuted for. You simply made the challenge on instinct, instinct that would prove horribly wrong," the inquisitor stated.

"I-I-" Negi tried to say something to defend himself but was cut short.

"You need not say anything, for I have already gathered the facts, and you have simply nailed them in the coffin."

Negi looked to Takamichi for support, but found the elder teacher would not meet his gaze. The Headmaster maintained his steady gaze at the wall opposite. There was no help to be found for Negi here, in his final moments as an aspiring Magister Magi.

"Negi Springfield, by the order of the Magic Council's High Inquisition, and hence the Magic Council itself, I strip you of all ranking of Magi, and remove you from the Magi Cadre," the inquisitor boomed out his proclamation of doom.

"B-But, what of my becoming a Magister Magi? What am I to do?" Negi all but wailed. His lifelong dream was being torn to shreds in front of his eyes, and there seemed to be nothing he could do.

"Negi Springfield, you will never become a Magister Magi."

(6 months until the 81st MahoraFest)

This Magic World Embassy was incredibly busy, unsurprising given that it's situated inside a Mecca for both religious and magical peoples - Jerusalem. The building wasn't so much an embassy as it was a local headquarters for the Magic Council and its operatives in the area. Mages, bureaucrats, warriors, animalistic humanoids - all sorts went about their business during another ordinary day.

Or at least, it was ordinary.

Mikal was one of the Greeters. His job was to approach new entries and help them find where they're going, be it in the embassy or abroad. He'd been working in this building for over twenty years and was confident he'd fielded every question that could possibly be asked of him - no matter how bizarre or exotic the question. Similarly, he'd heard just about every answer to the simple greeting of 'How may I help you, sir?' and was very confident as he approached the new entry.

The man wore a billowing white coat around a lean figure, with ruffled red hair and bore a handsome, if young, face. Mikal suspected that this man was a Magi of some sort, stopping in for some basic directions and to let the Council know where he was. Still, as he had learnt long ago, he couldn't be sure, so settled for the usual greeting.

"How may I help you, sir?" Mikal asked, using the perfect tone - kind and helpful sounding, without appearing over-enthusiastic or fake.

The young man gave an odd smile before replying, "Quite simply, really. Simply obey the laws of physics as per normal."

Mikal was dumbfounded by the response, but before he could say any more, his breath was stolen away by some unknown force. In the split second that followed, Mikal noticed many things. He noticed that he could no longer feel his entire mid-section. He noticed that the man had his hand pointed towards his chest, similar in fashion to the way he'd had it when he had tried casting cantrips as a child. He also noticed that there seemed to be a great deal more noise in the lobby than there had been a moment before. Before Mikal could process exactly what happened to him however, everything went black.

The head hit the ground a fraction of a second after the legs collapsed to the floor, all over a period of less than a second. But during that miniscule amount of time, over half the lobby and the people within it, had been all but obliterated. Blasts of raw power rippled through the marble floors, sending shrapnel flying through nearby bodies, furniture and even walls. Energy bolts incinerated dozens of the people inside the lobby. By the time anybody knew what was happening, it was too late. A dozen more people had joined in Negi Springfield's glorious return to fame, and within a few seconds of the first spell being cast, the lobby lay in ruins, blood and innards scattered about like flowers in a field.

Negi waltzed forward, a smirk planted firmly on his face, admiring what he could now accomplish in contrast to what he could two and a half years ago. He didn't say a single word to his men, as they already knew what to do. A multitude fanned out to guard the other doorways, whilst the remainder moved a bud shaped metal container into the middle of the room. The device thrummed with power as a mage cast the ignition spell, and a blue, otherworldly glow emitted from the openings in the devices bud-shaped container.

"Negi, the Mana Vault's set up, we just need thirty minutes before its finished its job and then we can get the hell out of here."

Negi nodded at his subordinate and companion for the last two years. The operation was going exactly as he'd planned it, easier even, due to the lax security and weak mage presence in the building. Odd for a critical structure in the Magic Council's tense Middle-East theatre - if he were to follow through and destroy the entire structure then he'd pave the way for the Istanbul Magic Association to take control of and greatly threaten the Magic Council. He wouldn't though, as that would change the situation greatly, and complicate later phases of the plan, and he wouldn't want that now, would he?

"I suppose it's time for me to leave my mark, and let the Council know just who their enemy is," Negi said, thinking aloud.

He drew out a small white orb, tossing it high into the air. Once it fell within arms-reach, his hand darted out and impacted strongly with its surface. Runes suddenly lit up on its surface, and the magic activated.

"What you see here, ladies and gentlemen of the most esteemed Magic Council, is an artifact known as a Mana Vault. It isn't a true artifact, but rather two lesser artifacts bound together to create this great marvel of modern sorcery."

Negi smiled condescendingly at the pun, his eyes almost taunting his audience.

"For those of you who don't recognise me, or perhaps mistake me for a far greater man, I shall explain myself. My name is Negi Springfield, and I am the son of the Thousand Master. I have been away these past two and half years, so I would not be surprised to find that many of you had no idea of who I was, but I am back now, and you would do well to remember me over the next six months.

"My intentions here in Jerusalem are very simple, and certainly not what you are currently thinking. I did not come here to wreak petty vengeance on the Magic Council by destroying a critical structure. No, I came to accomplish something that fits much better in the greater scheme of things. This Mana Vault here possesses the ability to not only 'suck in' and store mana sources that it taps into, but it also possesses the ability to tap into the greatest source of mana of all - the leylines that lie all around the Earth, and that allow for magic to be cast. I'm sure most of you possess the intelligence to put one and one together, and get two, as you are esteemed members of the Magic Council, but I'll spell it out for you just in case."

Again, the smile. Several members of the audience actually jeered in response.

"The Mana Vault can steal leylines from the planet, and provide a veritably endless supply of mana to the possessor of this artifact - assuming they can tap into it of course, and even then there are limits, but the raw power cannot be denied. Whilst I'm not going to go so far as to reveal to you my plans, I figured that I'd best give you a little glimpse into what exactly is happening. I now leave you to your pondering and ever-important decisions, for I have imparted all the information I wish to. Farewell."

The recording shimmered in the air before disappearing and the white orb stopped glowing, sitting silently in the center of the conical chamber filled with aristocrats, royalty and mages. Almost instantly, an uproar came from the audience, as dozens of voices cried out in protest to what they had seen and heard. Just as quickly, as though anticipating the uproar, the woman in the center of the chamber, the Speaker, shut them up. She ordered them to speak in turn, and then directed one man in particular to speak.

"So Springfield shows his true colours after all these years - not only did he almost destroy our secrecy, but now he has spurned the kindness we tried to show him back then, to start over and try for Magister Magi once again, and tries to bring about our destruction. I say we hunt him down with the best we have and crush him. We direct the Magi Cadre with highest priority to bringing him to justice. What say you all?" the man delivered to the assembly, speaking with the comfort and surety of a true aristocrat.

A round of cheers and affirmations rung around the chamber, but was quickly halted by a few simple sentences.

"In order to bring him to justice, Grand Duke Fearity, we must first know where he is. And judging by the report given to me by the greatest tracker unit we have available, he's left no trace. We can't find him," Duke Arland said.

"Then obviously-" Fearity began but was cut off by a young girl.

"Obviously we can't find him. Duke Arland is the current Magister Magi in command of the Magi Cadre, and there's nothing you know that he doesn't in that realm," she said matter-of-factly.

"You would do well to observe proper process of the Council, Miss Aladria," uttered the Speaker, though he readily agreed with her and cut off any attempts to contradict her, moving matters on.

A/N: Wow, it's been a long time since I've written anything, and I like to think I've gotten a hell of a lot better. Dunno if that's true though. :) Anyway, this is a fic that grew out of the idea of what would happen if the Magic World was to get wind of the Chao incident and what exactly happened. Over the top, perhaps, but it definitely allows me to play around with some fun ideas - like Negi being a maniacal villain. For those people wondering, we're not going to see anymore of the innocent and cute Negi, nor is he going to be swapping sides for stupid reasons - he is for the foreseeable future an evil bastard. For those wondering, the girls are in the next chapter, and yes, they will be playing a major role.

Any suggestions or criticisms are welcomed.