Disclaimer: I"ve said it before and I'll say it again; I don't own anything. Never have, never will. So the people who do own these characters and stories wouldn't get anything from me in court. but I disclaim so they won't try. I take credit for nothing, not even my own ideas, because the little green men own them. It's tough being a writer.

A/n: I don't even know if I'm going to continue writing I have this and really cool descriptions of everyone's new abilities. I have ideas but i don't know if i have the energy so review if you want more.

Blood dripped onto the floor from wounds too many to count, leaving a trail much more obvious than bread crumbs. One arm hung limp, with a staff in it's hand dragging on the floor. The other braced itself against the wall, keeping it's owner from collapsing. Feet dragging, yet driven on by nothing more than pure will power. A face so determined that this pain, which would've killed lesser beings, wasn't even registered on it.

I WILL make it to the end… I have to.

As the beaten figure came to the end of the hallway he was met by one last obstacle. Thick wood doors blocked the path. Without the energy to open them, he simply fell into them and let body weight do the rest. Once the door was open, he dropped to his knees with a smile.

"Good afternoon Ladies, Long time no see." He coughed spitting up blood as the smile left his face. "I'm so glad your all safe." Then his eyes went blank and he fell the rest of the way, hitting the floor with a sickening thud. Before anyone could even react his heart had stopped, Negi Springfield was dead.

Fortunately, in the world of magic the rules are a little different then ours. And there are few places you'd rather be standing when you die, then in front of Konoe Konoka. Luckily for Negi she'd learned a few things over the years. Before his soul could leave his body, he once again drew breath into his lungs, and as his eyes snapped open he gasped to do exactly that.

He looked down at his tattered, bloodstained clothes. He could've sworn there was a legion of cuts that came with this. And he remembered a warmth that had come over his as he passed out. How peaceful he'd felt for those few moments. No more cares or worries just peace and warmth.

"What the…" He wore a look of shocked confusion. He shook his head, "I should be dead."

"Some might expect a guy brought back to life in the middle of a ring of girls who love him to be a little happier about it." Said the one figure who was not currently crowded around him. A small girl with long blond hair lent up against the wall, trying her best to feign indifference. If Evangeline still had a heart beat it would've betrayed her calm exterior.

"Oh shut up! In case you forgot he did just save your ass." Asuna retorted without even looking in her direction. She was too busy helping Negi to his feet. All eyes were on him now as he shakily stood up. He looked at the worried faces surrounding him and took a quick head count, 'Asuna, Konoka, Eva, Chachamaru, Setsuna, Nodoka, Yue, Haruna, Kaede, Mana, Ku Fei, Chisame, Asakura, Makie, Yuna and Anya. Thank goodness, they are all safe.

"When we get home you're going to have to tell me how you all managed to get captured." He said with a sheepish smile, as he scratched the back of his head. Finally standing up straight and strong all faces were smiling at him as he picked up his staff.

"At the moment I think we should be more worried about how we are going to get home." Yue the pragmatist interrupted the touching moment to bring people back to reality.

Suddenly the room became tense again as the girls were preparing themselves to fight their way out. The only person whose mood didn't sour was Negi. Instead he began looking at his feet with an embarrassment on his face.

Ever the professional, Mana began her tactical analysis. "Well we know that these guys are tough, and some how they know all of our combat abilities and styles. Not to mention we are extremely out numbered…."

She would have continued except for a soft yet assertive cough. Negi spoke up, "Yeah, about that… I don't think you guys should worry too much." He sighed and shook his head. "I was really upset when I found out they had all of you." He was almost blushing as he said it.

Setsuna didn't like how lightly Negi was taking things. She registered his demeanor more than his actual words. "What are you talking about? These are the people who captured all of us without even a fight. It's going to take all we've got to beat them. Not too mention the fact that it was only a small unit that came after us and this is the base of their entire army." Irritation came through in her voice; she couldn't believe he was down playing such a serious threat.

"Umm… I don't think you're quite getting what I'm saying." He walked out of the door and motioned for them to follow. "Do any of you remember the condition I was in when I opened the door?" A couple of murmurs told him they did. Negi stopped as he came to a window and pointed out of it.

As they came to the window and looked out almost all of them gaped at what they saw. Only Chachamaru and Mana remained calm. Eva however got a wicked little smile on her face and a small hint of lust in her eyes.

"Do you think I would've made it to you if there was anyone left to stop me?" His voice held no pride. The scene of devastation that he was responsible for was nothing to be proud of. There was not a single living being throughout the castle except for them. Bodies were everywhere, some burned, some still burning, some nailed to the wall with various elemental projectiles. A few appeared to have been crushed by their own armor. One entire side of the castle was completely wiped out, despite being made of stone resistant to magic. Almost every form of death possible was represented in the gruesome landscape. The only thing that prevented his conscience from tearing him apart was the fact that none of them were actually human.

"When I heard that you'd been taken..." His voice became hollow as he spoke. "I didn't know what to think. While I was flying here I couldn't stop thinking about what might've happened to you all. When I finally got here I demanded they release you..." He hesitated for a second and almost choked out the next part. "They said it would be hard to release a pile of rotting meat."

His fists balled themselves and his entire body showed his seething rage. "After that I lost control. It would've been a pure magic firestorm if I hadn't been unloading my most powerful magic. I didn't even have to chant to use the Storm of Jupiter. They never stood a chance." Now his eyes were empty and as he finished talking he was barely audible. The gravity of what he had done was hitting him hard and suddenly he felt his legs begin to shake. This time they weren't human, but what if something like this happened again? What if he had lost control surrounded by innocent bystanders? "I don't know what I would've done…"

There are some people who know exactly when to say something profound. "Well good thing were not a pile of meat, huh?" Ku Fei didn't even know what profound meant. "Because I'm so hungry I might have had to eat us." After an awkward silence, the gathering broke out into laughter. Sometimes funny is better than profound.

"Speaking of things eating us, we should probably go before someone notices what happened here." Setsuna was still on guard, she hadn't liked being captured so easily.

"We'll talk more once we're home." Negi said with a soft smile.

A/N: Normally my chapter length is much longer but this is just a set up. Like I said review if you like it and want me to keep going. Even if you just right "More" or something. Full reviews are also welcome.

Thanks for reading,

Donny BlaZe.