Story summary:
When an old temple is found, its origins are believed to be from the Magical world. But when its prisoners escape and run free, their jailors make their appearance. How will Ala Alba survive a war between two unknown species? Negima x AVP crossover. I would've said so in the summary, but I ran out of space. If you're prone to react negatively to character deaths, M-rated violence or simply dislike the idea, don't read any further. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. First chapter Rated T, the rest probably M. Set after the Festival Arc of the manga. Sorry, but the Magical World just has too much for me to foolow. Special thanks to Traingham and Dragemenian Jew for helping me with my Negima! research and motivating me to get this up. You guys are Awesome.
CHAPTER 1
Prologue – The Hunt Begins
Mei Sakura nervously shifted her weight onto her right leg, crossing her hands behind her back. She had received a letter the previous day to meet with Gandolfini and another foreign mage to discuss a matter of great importance, according to the foreign mage. Megumi Natsume, one of her acquaintances, received a similar message. From the look on her face, one could easily deduct that she felt just as anxious under the stern gaze of this elder mage.
Gandolfini stepped forward and cleared his throat. "This is Professor Michael Harrington, a mage from the United Kingdom. He is employed as a history lector at the Oxford University. He also works with matters of possible connections between the Magical world and the mundane one."
"Connections?" Megumi asked, relaxing a bit. "What kind of connections?"
"More like remnants of the worlds in the wrong place. Magical world ruins appearing here, and certain mundane relics and artefacts appearing the Magical world." The mage said before clearing his throat. "Now, a few hours ago, we dispatched a team of mages to investigate and old temple found on a small island near the coast of Japan. Judging from the first few reports, we have a suspicion it's an ancient temple from the magical world." He glanced at the two girls quickly before continuing. "Now, we ordered them to go deeper into the temple in a bid to see whether our suspicions are correct."
"But something happened?" Mei asked, gulping softly after she spoke. She had thought she was in trouble for some reason.
"Nothing dire." The mage answered. "We simply lost contact with them. That's why we called you two here." He said, standing up. "We want you two to go to this temple, find the team of mages and assist them with their task."
"Why only the two of us?" Mei asked.
"It's hardly necessary to send a whole team when we have a group of fifteen able-bodied mages on site already." The mage chuckled. "Sending more would be rather costly, not to mention we'd be going through unnecessary trouble to gather another team." The mage looked at them and smiled. "You two proved yourself able enough for a small task like this during the Mahora Festival. From what we can gather, the dangers are minimal. But we must get you to the temple as soon as possible." The mage said sternly. "The mages aren't the only people with an interest in such ruins. Large companies and organizations and millionaires with satellites in orbit will also see this temple soon enough. If this temple really does originate from the magical world, we must empty it of anything that could lead the mundane populace to the magical world."
Both girls nodded, serious expressions on their faces. "When do we leave?" Mei asked.
"Immediately." The mage said as he walked to the door. "The sooner you get to the temple, the better." He turned around at the doorway. "Gandolfini will answer any questions you have, as well as brief you on how you'll get back here. Afterwards, we are preparing a helicopter for you." Without waiting for the girls' response, he left.
"Why do we need a helicopter?" Megumi asked Gandolfini.
"Your guide is one of the mundane folk." He said. "We can't risk him finding out about the mages."
"What about onee-sama?" Mei asked timidly.
"I'll admit Takane wasn't happy about this decision." Gandolfini sighed. "I had to send her on an errand to keep her from interfering with this little mission." Mei grew worried at hearing these words. "However, Professor Harrington has placed a spell on you that acts like a long range Pactio summon." He continued, making her smile slightly. "In four hours, both of you will be automatically transported back here, mages or no. We trust you'd have found the necessary information by then. The island isn't too far, either. About half an hour's flight at most." A loud tone came from his pocket, and he quickly removed his cell phone, flipped it open and answered. After a brief period, he nodded. "Understood." He turned to Mei and Megumi. "You two better be off now. Your chopper's waiting, and your guide is getting impatient."
"Shit, man, I'm telling you I don't like this place." A dark silhouette told another as a group of seven figures moved through the dark corridors of an ancient temple, large briefcases swaying back and forth in a slow, constant motion. "They told us this was a temple! Damn it, this is some kind of castle!"
"Shut up, Maverick!" Another silhouette spat. "Our employer will have our asses if we chicken out now." He grimaced. "Our other team already carried one half of the package outta the one burial chamber. Now we need to breach the other one and then stand aside the researchers."
"Say, who were those other guys with the sticks?" One silhouette asked from the back.
"Intruders." The leading silhouette answered. "Shoot 'em on sight." With a soft snapping sound, a bright red light erupted in the leader's hands as he lit a flare, illuminating the room with an eerie red glow. The silhouettes were all exposed, by this light, revealing body armour, knife holsters and odd goggles resting on their foreheads. "This must be the passageway leading to the second burial chamber." The flare quickly died out, masking the chamber in darkness again. "Time to go to work, boys." The leader grinned. "Goggles on, and ready your weapons." Each member of the party obliged, pulling down their goggles and turning a switch at its sight, and each eye socket lighted up in a bright green glow. "Much better." The leader said as he started fumbling with the locks on his briefcase, quickly letting it fall to the ground as he gripped a rifle tightly in his hands, each of his comrades following suite, resulting in a loud ruckus that echoed far into the passageway.
"Will you stop being such fools!?" A voice over their radios sounded. "We don't know how stable this thing is!"
"Sup, prof." The leader smirked. "You been waiting long?"
"Just get down here." The voice sounded again. "This place is making my men anxious. I thought you were professional mercenaries?"
"We are." The leader smirked again. "But you didn't hire us, your boss did, and she didn't give us a schedule, so we're taking our sweet time. There's lots to pillage here. See ya down there. Out." He said as he clicked his radio off.
"Ooh, lookie here!" One of the mercenaries exclaimed as he stood near the corner of the passageway. "We got a well in a castle. And this well goes down deep…" He said, hanging over the edge.
"That's not a well, nimrod. It's a grate. A broken one." The leader sighed.
"Then why's this bucket here?" The mercenary countered. He chuckled when his leader stared at him menacingly. "Hey, let's check something out." He said, excitedly popping another flare and placing it in the bucket. Then, with the tip of his rifle, he pushed the bucket into the opening and leaned over, exhaling into a whistle to accompany its descent, until the red light vanished. "Shit… This one goes very deep…"
With a loud clatter and a few scrapes, the stone bucket came tumbling down the shaft, the flare long dead as it picked up more momentum as it fell. A loud crack echoed through the small chamber as it impacted with a loose shard of stone protruding from the wall. With a soft rumble, the stone came loose and plummeted towards the ground, falling on a strange tile with the marking of what seemed like some kind of snake in a circle decorating it.
Another rumble echoed, louder this time, as the tile sunk into the ground, as several more sounds followed. A bolt slid into place, resulting in several gears turning under the floor and inside the walls, as the one across the entrance split in two and started sliding sideways as a white light penetrated the shadows, revealing the inside of the room.
The more the walls came apart, the more items in the room became visible. Several chests stacked upon each other, plates and other household items matted with dust, letting only a slight shine out in a few areas, and rune stones and tablets depicting various ancient occurrences. But the room immediately starts radiating something more, something dark as the rest of the items become visible. Each of the items in the chamber is covered in skeletal remains, bones strewn across the room, decorating the floor in a bony maze.
As soon as the doors are completely open, two more bolts slide into place, and another loud rumble shakes the temple as a titanic platform slowly exits from the opening in the wall, crushing bones and other items in its way. Four pillars stood on this platform, suspending a large, spider-like steel contraption with a large, fleshy sack hanging near the back and a long, wide crest between the two front shards. The whole platform was still covered in a permafrost-like substance, as several sparks fly in the background.
Then the crest moved.
And following suit, a large black part of the contraption started moving and writhing with it. With a loud crack, an area on the left side of the mechanism shattered, and a skeletal hand with two long fingers, and a thumb on each side broke free. A louder crack came from the right, as another four-fingered hand erupted from its icy tomb. Each hand was restrained by what seemed like a shackle made of solid stone.
The being's entire body was writhing now, breaking free from its suit of ice, letting the shards drop to ground. The crest moved again, with enough force to shatter the chain that held it there, and the being bowed its head, crest swaying as it slowly looked around. Its body was entirely free of the ice now, revealing it to be large and skeletal, almost like a machine. Its body and crest was tinted in muted shades of black and dark blue, and its tail seemingly disappeared into the fleshy sack that hung suspended from below its chest. It quickly whipped its head up as it heard a ruckus coming from a few floors above it, and hissed softly. Its head came out from under the visor of its crest, showing it to be almost cylindrical in shape. It lacked eyes or nostrils, as a shiny black dome covered that area of its face, stopping short of its upper lip. With a wicked snarl, the creature pulled back its lips, baring two rows of sharp fangs as it hissed loudly. Several muffled sounds came from the sack, as it too started moving, inflating and deflating slightly as a small, fleshy tube emerged from it, falling limply onto a small platform. The creature pulled its head back, arched its back and opened its mouth, emitting a high pitched, animalistic shriek as an oval-shaped item started pushing through the tube. It bared its teeth again, this time letting it's jaw drop as spit pooled in its lower jaw, as it let its tongue exit its mouth. It had a second set of jaws on a cylindrical muscle acting as its tongue.
And with a glance upwards, the creature let out another shriek as a large, green egg exited the tube.
Megumi whistled as she gazed upon the temple. "This is not a temple, Mei." She said, glancing at the diagonal sides of the building. "I would say it's some kind of pyramid, but the towers at each point and at the centre tell a different story."
"Let's just get in there and find the mages." Mei said with a determined expression. "I want leave here as soon as possible. This place gives me the creeps."
"It should." A small, weedy old man said as he shuffled past them. "We saw a group of people with long sticks go in there this morning. They haven't come out yet." He frowned. "If they're in there, they're heading to the burial chamber."
"How old is this thing?" Megumi asked.
"Nobody knows." The old man said softly. "Well, my job is to bring you here and to take you back. I'll wait here until you're done." He said, sitting down on a boulder.
"Thanks for the help, sir." Mei smiled, before turning to Megumi. "Let's get going."
"Wow…" Mei wondered aloud as she scanned the chamber with her flashlight. "This place is huge!" She exclaimed as she and Nutmeg walked towards the doorway at the far end of the hall.
"How high do you think that ceiling was?" Nutmeg asked her friend as they passed through several passageways, and entered a small room with lots of carvings on the walls. "My guess is about fifty feet…" She glanced around again, shining her flashlight at the walls. "Whoa… Who do you think these guys are?" She asked as she walked towards one of the wall carvings near a doorway. "They sure don't look like they came from the magical world…" She said, focusing the beam of her light on the tablet. The creatures were very roughly etched, but two could still make out a long, cylindrical head, arching slightly near the end. Its mouth was open, and a second set of jaws was sticking out. It had a slender, almost bony body, and a long, ridged tail ending in some kind of blade. The area next to it was cracked and broken, with several of the shards missing or on the ground. However, they could still see a small, gun-like mechanism on one shard, and fist with two jagged blades above it on another. Mei gulped slightly as she glanced at the creature again, and saw sharp talons on its fingers.
"I-It looks like some kind of… snake…" Mei said as she squinted at it. "Only with arms and legs…"
"Doesn't sound like no snake to me…" A man voice behind them made them jump slightly. "Adea-" Mei started whispering, hoping to call out her artefact, but was cut off when she felt something cold press against the back of her head. She saw Nutmeg's eyes widen, and they spun around, coming face to face with the barrels of several guns. "Wrong day to gatecrash, kiddo." The man in the centre of the group spoke up, making the other four grin. "Now, who would send two nice pieces o' jailbait like yourselves down here?" He asked with a smirk, chambering a round into his shotgun. "Best consider your answer, girly. If you're with another group, or if you say something that seems threatening, you die."
"Settle down now, Davis." The man on the far left of the group said. "You're not in charge here, I am. And you seem a bit too eager to squeeze that trigger." He glanced at the Mei, then at Nutmeg. "Gomez, search 'em." He called to the woman next to the man called Davis. "Confiscate anything that can be confiscated, and see if they're wired. The rest of you should take aim in case they try anything funny." Davis smirked at hearing his boss' order.
"Finally…" He said.
Mei winced as Gomez quickly and efficiently searched them, confiscating their flashlights, water cartons, Mei's pactio card and Nutmeg's small staff before handing them to one of the other men. "Ooh, what a pretty card…" Davis wondered as he took it from the woman and handed it to the leader.
"Now what are you lot doing here? Who sent you?" The man in charge asked sternly. Mei gulped slightly as Davis inched the barrel of the shotgun closer to her face. Quickly thinking up a lie, she answered him with a shaky voice.
"M-my father came here earlier…" She said. "He said th-that he'd be w-waiting for us near the burial chamber." Nutmeg nodded in agreement. Mei heard the other two nameless men speaking to each other.
"Her dad? That means we killed that old man out there for nothing…"
"Gah, leave him. He was a local. Didn't matter much. Let him rot."
Mei visibly paled at hearing this, and she heard Nutmeg shakily exhaling, confirming that she heard it as well. "Your dad…" The leader said. "One of the men with the staffs?" Mei nodded silently. "Then take us to them." He said with a grin, backing away and motioning to the hall with his hand.
"Ladies first…" He said. "Gomez, Davis, stick behind them. You two," He pointed at the two nameless men, "On their flanks. Make sure they don't communicate."
"What if they do?" Davis asked.
"Do I need to tell you?" The leader asked with a smirk. "Do what you normally do to hostages who don't cooperate…"
"Come on, man, we've been at it for hours." A blonde mage told the leader of their fifteen-man group. "There are no traces of the magical world here! Why should the burial chamber be any different?"
"Most of the riches in such temples are kept in the burial chambers." The leader mage responded. "Besides, the trap door to the chamber should be right," He glanced at the large tile in front of them, "here! Bingo." He said with a smile.
"That's one big tile…" One of the mages spoke up. "Think they had lots of traffic down there?"
"Dunno." The leader mage answered. "Gather round one the tile in front of this one, it should be the pressure plate to open it."
"You sure?" Another mage asked as they all stood on top of the tile.
"I'm positive." The leader mage said with an excited smile. Everyone was on the tile now, but nothing happened. A few rumbles came from the tile, but after that, everything was silent again. The leader mage's smile vanished. "Damn it!" He hissed, bringing his staff down on the tile.
A loud crack echoed through the chamber, followed by more, and the tile the mages were standing on suddenly shattered. They fell on top of each other with startled cries as they started sliding down a stone slope, heading towards an eerie, white light at the end of the shaft. "Brace yourselves!" The leader mage cried. In a cloud of dust, the heap of tangled limbs exited the shaft and dropped to the floor. Several loud cracks were heard as they landed.
For a few moments, nobody moved. "Okay, who broke what?" The leader groaned as he stood up.
"I'm okay." One mage said.
"Me too."
"Nothing broken here."
"Except for all these bones on the floor." One white haired magistress stated while picking one up. "These must be old to have broken so easily." An odd dripping sound was echoing through the chamber.
"Ugh… Gather round…" The leader mage said as he quickly as he scanned the room. "That door there must be the entrance, so that must mean we bypassed…" His voice died out as he saw the white haired magistress back away from something behind them, eyes wide with fear. "What… What's wrong?" He asked, turning around to see what was causing her behaviour, with the rest of the mages doing the same. Then he froze.
Before them, suspended on a large insect-like machine, a black, skeletal creature writhed and squirmed in its shackles. Long chains and locks also suspended a large ovipositor, similar to that of a queen termite. It had a huge crest growing out of the back of its head, sloping down into a pronged visor of sorts. Underneath it, the tip of what looked like its nose was just barely visible. Some kind of substance was dripping from it.
The leader mage's heart started beating faster, matching the echoes of the fast-paced dripping in the chamber. What the… His thoughts stopped dead as its large head turned in his direction, and something started moving under the pronged shield of its crest. What he had thought to be the creature's nose was slowly inching forward, showing it to be a large, oval-shaped dome. A loud hiss came from it, as the amount of spit dripping from it increased. The mages recoiled in horror as the beast looked at them, baring two rows of sharp fangs and a second set of jaws within its mouth. It pulled it lips back, making its fangs seem even longer as it hissed again, louder this time.
"What the hell is that!?" A dark-skinned mage managed to yell, oblivious to the reaction he drew from the beast. It arched its back and shrieked, making the mages grab their ears, some of them even dropping their staffs in the process. The creature hissed at them again, and they heard something scuttling on the floor around them. The creature then tossed its head back, and just as it shrieked, a spider-like creature shot forward from between the chests, flying straight at the leader mage. "Deflecti-" He hardly had time to react as its legs clamped around his head, and its tail quickly wrapped around his throat.
Squirming on the floor and struggling to breathe, he heard his comrades' panicked shrieks as more scuttling came from the areas around them, accompanied by several squeaks, anguished cries and a last shriek from the suspended monster before he lost consciousness.
"Mac!" A voice over the leader's radio made Mei jump. "Mac, you there?"
"What is it, Jones?" Mac, the leader of the team, answered.
"We lost contact with the researchers near the entrance of the burial chambers. We're moving to check it out now."
"Researchers?" Nutmeg whispered to Mei, earning her a shove with the shotgun. "Boss said no talkin'" Davis grinned.
"Why the hell weren't you there when you were supposed to be?" Mac asked angrily. "Dammit, must you always be such a lazy ass!?"
"I said we're going, for God's sake!" The voice over the radio replied. "Jesus… Calm down. We're almost there."
"If anything happened to those researchers…" Mac growled. "I swear to God I will skin you alive and leave our employer to deal with you afterwards!!" He clicked the radio off before glancing at Mei and Nutmeg. "Up against the wall. Now!"
"Sir?" Gomez asked. "I thought they were taking us to the intruders?"
"Wait and see…" Mac growled before turning back to face Mei. "You. You told me that one of the men we saw earlier was your father, right?" Mei nodded with a nervous expression on her features. "Take aim at four-eyes." He ordered the other four. "Now, we've been moving for quite some time…" He glared at her angrily. "And I see nothing from you. No sorrow that you're about to sell him out, no worries about his safety so far. Only fear. Fear of the weapons in our hands." Gomez's eyes widened a bit. She seemed to realize something. "Now, I'm certainly not as stupid as you think… Why would you sell your dear daddy out like this?" He growled, drawing a large revolver from his hip. After spinning it, he aimed at Nutmeg. "No more lies." He said angrily. "Who the fuck sent you?" Mei clenched her fists, ready to fire off a spell if the need arose.
"Mac!" His radio sounded again. "Dude, you ain't gonna like this…" The man on the other end of the radio sounded nervous. Mac grunted.
"Speak up."
"Well… you see… er…"
"Spit it out!" Mac yelled into his radio.
"The researchers are gone!" The voice responded quickly.
"What? What do you mean?"
"I mean they're MIA. There's no trace of 'em here, only a buttload of spit and…" The voice grew softer, as if it moved away from the radio. "What the… is that blood? Shine the flashlights over there… What is tha… Oh Christ, that's them! Regroup! On me! Switch to night vision and take aim!" The voice grew loud again. "Shit, man, the researchers are dead! We're pulling out!"
"What do you mean!? Who killed them!?" Mac barked into the radio.
"Shit, I dunno, man! They… They've all got gaping holes in their chests! That little bitch didn't tell us anything about –"
"Son of a bitch!" A voice sounded in the background, followed a several gunshots. "I saw something move! Something moved there!" Someone screamed in the background, and more shots followed. Mei felt her heart start to hammer in her chest. Something was attacking the other team.
"Ramirez is down! Everyone, fall back! We're pulling out!" The voice sounded over the radio, with several more in the background. More gunshots went off in the background, and loud hisses and shrieks suddenly joined the background sounds.
"What the fuck is that? Jones? Jones!" Mac yelled into his radio.
"Shit man it just butchered Nathan! We're down to five me-" A loud screech interrupted Jones' report, followed by a horrified scream. "Gah! No! Get off m-" A loud slur off static cut the transmission.
"Jones! What the fuck is going on!? JONES!" Mac was sweating profusely now, and the radio shook in his hands. His face was rapidly losing colour. The static stopped again, and a terrified, bloodcurdling scream sounded from it, so loud that the frequency became distorted. Then the scream quickly turned into a gurgle, and then silence. Mei gasped loudly and covered her mouth, but Davis didn't seem to notice. His attention was on the radio. They said there wouldn't be any danger! She thought to herself, trying to calm herself.
"Jones? Answer me, Goddammit!" Mac yelled. "Domingo? Vega? What the fuck is going on!?" A high-pitched shriek answered him, distorting the frequency again, and the radio died.
Mac was breathing heavily, in sharp, ragged breaths. In one movement, he picked up the revolver that he dropped during the transmission and struck Mei on the side of her head. The blow knocked her off her feet and her eyes began to water as the pain pulsed through her head. Mac then grabbed her by her hair, hoisted her up and slammed her into the wall with such force that some of the older stone cracked. The back of her head started bleeding, coating the glyphs behind her in red. The pain made a shriek escape her mouth. He then grabbed her by her jaw and pushed her back into the wall, and backed away as he aimed at her. "Now…" He growled. "You listen to me, you little bitch! I don't care who sent you, or who came before you, I just know your friends just butchered my men! Now," He said, pulling back the hammer of the revolver until it clicked and stayed in place. "I'm going to count to three, and if you don't tell me what the fuck followed you in here, I'll splatter your brains all over this goddamn wall!" Mei continued to shake and quiver uncontrollably.
"One…" Mac rasped, resting his finger on the trigger. Mei saw Davis and Gomez restraining Nutmeg, who was crying out to her friend.
"Two…" A soft creak could be heard as Mac started to pull the trigger with madness in his eyes. Mei glanced down at his belt and saw a bag with her Pactio card and Nutmeg's staff hanging from his belt. On three, I have to dive for that bag… It's our only hope now… He'll surely shoot me if I chant a spell!
"Thr-" A muffled cry from behind Mac interrupted him just as Mei bent forwards slightly, followed by a slight shuffling sound. In an instant, he whipped around and scanned his surroundings. Mei heard the men ready their guns. "Evans?" Mac cried out. "This isn't time for games, asshole! Where are-" A loud clang echoed through the passageway as an assault rifle dropped from the roof onto the floor. Mac quickly ran over and scanned it with his flashlight, and gasped softly. Moving to the side, Mei could see why: Blood. Blood covered the rifle, and what looked like a finger still clung to the trigger. "Oh God…" Mac gasped again, dropping his revolver and drawing his rifle. He turned back to the remaining three people with a fierce expression. "What the fuck happened!? Did any of you see that!?" The soldiers shook their heads, raising their rifles to their shoulders. Mei saw that the small bag was on the floor, undoubtedly unhooked by Mac's sudden movement. I need to get that bag!
"Fuck this!" Mac spat. "Line Four-Eyes up and shoot her! We'll send a message that way. Gomez! Use your grenade launcher!" He said, training his assault rifle on Mei again, making her step back against the wall. "Hurry it up!" He barked as Gomez walked backwards to the opposite wall, aiming a small tube-like gun at Nutmeg. Mei broke out into a cold sweat at seeing her load a small, silver grenade into it. She glanced back at the small bag lying on the floor, then at Mac's maniacal grin as he watched Gomez aim at Nutmeg. Slowly, she got down on her hunches and prepared to launch herself at the bag. If I can just get my artefact, I might be able to-
"Look out!!" Nutmeg hysterically screamed, pointing at the area behind Gomez. Mei glanced up just in time to see two bony, black hands emerge from the shadows, clamp around Gomez's neck from behind, and jerk her up with enough force to make the gun slip from her hands. With a loud scream, she was pulled into the shadows, and her scream was cut off as a stream of red liquid splattered onto the floor. Mei's eyes widened, and she could hear Nutmeg panting slightly. Mac's reaction was instantaneous.
"DIE!" He yelled as he aimed at the shadows and sprayed a rain of lead into them. Davis and the other soldier soon followed suit, aiming randomly at the shadows and shooting like crazy, forgetting all about the two girls. Now! Mei thought quickly as she dove at the bag, successfully ripping it open. She quickly grabbed her Pactio card and slid Nutmeg's staff over to her.
"Adeat! Favor Purgandi!" In a blinding flash, a broom appeared in Mei's hand as Nutmeg picked up her small staff.
"The fuck…" Mac turned towards the girls and saw the broom in Mei's hands. Where did that come from!? 'I'll show you what happens when you mess with us!" He roared as he swung his gun in Mei's direction and opened fire, just barely missing her in his enraged state. Mei quickly dove behind one of the statues in the chamber.
"Maple Naple À La Mode." She chanted softly, hearing Nutmeg do the same on the other side of the chamber. All three men were shooting at her now, and the old statue's base was quickly being chipped away.
"See how you like this!" Davis yelled as he picked up Gomez's grenade launcher and aimed at the statue. "Say goodnight!!"
"Ex Somno Exsistat Exundans Undina Inimicum Immergat in Alveum! Vinctus Aquarius!"
A large wave of water rushed forwards and encircled Davis' arm, pulling the grenade launcher down as it tangled around the rest of his body. "What the hell!?" He cried, trying to break loose.
Mei jumped out from behind the pillar. "Ad Summam Exarmatio!" She shot a disarming spell at Mac, hitting him dead in the arm. As a result, his rifle flew out of his hand and most of the armour on his arm evaporated.
"Chant faster than this, you witch!" He cried, drawing a handgun with a very long clip protruding from it. He aimed at her faster than she expected, and she had scarcely ducked back behind the statue when more automatic fire barreled her way. The other nameless soldier was relentlessly shooting in Nutmeg's direction, causing her to duck behind a protruding plate of stone for cover. Mac grinned, dove for the grenade launcher Davis dropped and aimed at the statue, a murderous look gleaming in his eyes. "You're meat!" Mei closed her eyes and braced herself for the shot…
But no gunshots came from Mac's direction. She only heard a slight rip, and Mac cried out in pain. Mei opened her eyes, but didn't dare to look around. It was only when she saw a splatter of red move on the floor, and heard Nutmeg's shriek when she forced herself to glance at Mac again. And when she did, her broom fell to the floor as her face contorted into a mask of fear.
Mac had been impaled. A long, ridged tail tipped with a blade had torn right through his armor and chest, giving it an odd crimson gleam in the high beams of the mercenaries' lights. The beams also illuminated the creature behind him. It was slightly taller than Mac, with a long, cylindrical head with a dome over its eyes and nostrils. It's body was a muted bronze colour, with a bony appearance on its carapace and slender limbs ending in clawed hands and feet. It started hissing at the back of Mac's head.
Mei inhaled sharply and held her breath. There was blood pooled around the creature's mouth, and on its lips. She felt her heart begin to hammer in her chest, each one reverberating through her body. Each hiss parted the lips slightly, sending spittle and droplets of blood flying onto its victim. Mei stepped back, constantly moving until her back met the wall as she stared at the scene before her.
With ease, the creature used its tail to lift Mac's body up and turn him to face it. It glared at him for a short while, and then hissed loudly, parting its lips completely to reveal two rows of fangs. Mac's eyes widened and his face paled completely as he stared into the creature's face. A wet spot had formed between his legs. Slowly, the monster opened its mouth, revealing a second set of jaws in the place of its tongue. In a flash, it shot forward; impaling Mac right through his skull, sending more red liquid spraying against the ground, and his body became limp. With a loud shriek, the creature tossed Mac's body to the other side of the room with its tail, and turned its attention to Mei, who was quivering against the wall. It drew back its lips and uttered a long hiss.
"Son of a bitch!" The other nameless soldier leapt onto the monster's back, and started stabbing it with his blade, easily bringing it to the ground under his weight.
"Mei!" Nutmeg yelled from the other side of the chamber, a look of fear plastering her features. "We need to get out of here! Come on!" Mei blinked a few times and looked back at the brawl on the floor before her. It took a while for her to come to her senses, and she quickly inched forward, circling around the battle and picking up her artifact. She didn't get far, however; her heart leapt to her throat and her voice disappeared when a hand closed around the arm that held her broom with an iron grip, and started lifting her into the air. She was slowly being turned around to face her assailant: another one of the creatures, this one a dark black colour, with ridges on the dome of its head. It bared its teeth at her, hissing loudly, covering her face with drops of spit. It quickly glanced sideways as they heard a loud scream, and saw Nutmeg tumbling forward with four long, deep gashes on her back as another creature, similar to the bronze one, moved towards her on all fours. The black creature's other hand clamped around her jaw hardly, and twisted her head to meet its gaze as it opened its mouth, revealing a set of second jaws identical to that of the bronze monster that killed Mac.
Mei visibly shuddered as she felt a stream of warm liquid trailing down her thighs, and tears started running down her cheeks. Her voice refused to cooperate as she could only gasped softly at the creature as it reared its head back slightly. Just then, the second mouth shot forward, and Mei clamped her eyes shut. Her voice came from nowhere as she uttered a loud shriek of horror.
But all she felt was a scratch along her cheek, and she heard a loud shriek as several small items flew into her face. She quickly tore her eyes open when the creature's hands let her go, and she saw a large rock falling to the floor with her.
"That bitch is mine!" Davis yelled as he dove at the creature, drawing a long blade as he did so. The creature hissed again, showing some gaps between its fangs where the rock had hit it, and leapt at Davis, pulling its hands back in preparation to strike.
Mei landed just as a sickening squelch echoed through the room. She quickly glanced at Davis and the creature, fearing what she may see, but to her surprise, the two were still parrying each other's attacks. She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder, and spun around to come face to face with the other nameless mercenary. He quickly glanced at Davis, and turned back to her. "Grab your friend and run." He said sternly. "And make sure you don't turn back!" He shoved her past him, towards Nutmeg's crouched from as he stormed at the creature, which was quickly gaining the upper hand against Davis. She quickly looked around to the bronze creature that killed Mac, and saw that the front of its face was impaled on a stone jutting out from the statue she used as cover. She also saw the other bronze creature, the one that attacked Nutmeg, lying on its side with a large gash in its forehead. A bladeless knife was lying beside it as its blood oddly ate away at the stone, like acid.
She quickly knelt next to Nutmeg, helping her up while she squirmed from the pain the wounds on her back were causing her. "W-We need to get out of h-here!" She started pulling Nutmeg towards one of the exits just as Davis' body hit pillar next to it, a large, gaping hole present on his forehead. His eyes were blank and glassy. Nutmeg gasped and fell to her knees. "COME ON!" Mei put effort into pulling Nutmeg to her feet again, and they took off down one of the passages, grabbing one of the mercenaries' torches as they did so.
"W-Wait… Wait up…" Nutmeg called as they came to rest in the middle of a bridge. "T-this isn't the way we came." Mei fearfully glanced around her, shining the torch at every shadow she could find.
"I-I know…" She whispered softly. "But w-we can't go back! There might be more of those… those things…" Both girls jumped and screamed when a loud hiss came from the corridor ahead of them. Mei quickly shined the light into the passage.
Nothing.
Not a single creature coming at them. She gasped slightly when the hiss came again, and she shone the light into the passage again. And again she saw nothing. "What the… W-where's that coming from!?" She whispered as she kept the light focused on the passage.
"I-I don't kno…" Nutmeg's voice died out as she paled, becoming visible even in the darkness of the temple as she raised her hand and pointed to the side of the passage. Mei looked to where her friend was pointing, and nearly dropped her torch.
In the light cast into the passage, shadows were moving forwards at a slow pace. "They... They're… How can they be invisible!?" Nutmeg started backing away slowly. "H-how will we see them? "H-How will we even know they're…" Her voice died out as Mei raised the flashlight to the ceiling of the passage. Both of the girls froze.
A pack of ten of the creatures were advancing on the ceiling, each baring their fangs, letting drops of spit fall to the ground. They were coloured different shades of bronze, black and blue, but they all looked the same as the three creatures they ran from. Nutmeg dropped her staff and gasped loudly. The leader of the pack turned its sights on Mei, and uttered a loud hiss as it started to move faster. In a spur-of-the-moment attempt, Mei raised her broom in front of her and began chanting.
"Omne Flammans Flamma Purgatus, Domine Extinctionis et Signum Regenerationis…"
The creatures quickly spread out, walking on the walls of the passage as well, tails twirling threateningly behind them. The pack leader shrieked, revealing its second mouth.
"…in Mea Manu Ens Inimicum Edat!" Nutmeg fell to her knees as the pack charged, speeding at them at an unimaginable pace, nearing the exit to the bridge with each passing second. Just as they were about to exit the corridor, Mei finalized her chant.
"Flagrantia Rubi-" A loud shriek from behind caused her to jump and stop chanting, as the bronze creature from the previous room leapt from the shadows of the corridor behind the girls, ramming into Mei with its full force. The attack sent her flying forwards, losing her grip on her broom. She felt it slide from her hand as she hit the small wall on the side of the bridge.
She hardly had time to gather her wits, when the creature was upon her again. With an ear-piercing screech, it pulled its hand back and lashed out at her, knocking her clean over the railing and sending her plummeting into the shadows below with a loud scream.
The scream was loud enough to shake Nutmeg from her stupor, as she shot up straight, grabbed her staff and wheeled around to face the bronze creature. But with a collective screech, the ten creatures leapt from the corridor they were coming through, readying their tails and flexing their claws, and as Nutmeg spun around, the bronze creature in front of her attacked as well.
In the other room, the nameless soldier was hunched against a wall with a large wound on his chest, around the area of his heart. The last thing he heard before the darkness took him was two ear-piercing screams.
Two girls' screams…
"Takane…" Gondolfini called from the couch he was sitting on, stopping the blonde magistress in her tracks in front of the door. "Don't. You know you can't go to that temple."
Takane sighed. "I know." She said. "But something just doesn't feel right. I mean, think about it! A huge, ancient temple appears out of nowhere and we're supposed to believe there's no danger involved! It's ridiculous!"
"I know." Gandolfini sighed. "I'm a bit cynical about the idea myself. But you should know better than anyone that those two are more than capable of taking care of themselves." Takane's shoulders slumped.
"Trust me." Gandolfini assured her. "They'll be fine."
Mei groggily tried to open her eyes. Her head was pounding as hard and fast as her heart, and her body shook with pain. Although she couldn't see very clearly, she could make out that she was heading towards a brightly lit room, and that someone – or something – was dragging her there. Nutmeg! She thought distressed and tried to sit up, only to feel a jolt of pain in her ribs and arm. She groaned softly, causing whatever was dragging her to hiss softly.
Her eyes shot open as she started sprawling, trying to get away. She knew that hiss. She knew what creature made it. Unfortunately, the grip the creature hand on her legs was too strong. She tried screaming, but her throat was dried out and she suddenly realized how thirsty she was. She was also incredibly tired, and her chest felt heavy. She was becoming very tired and out of breath.
As she tried to sit up again, rays of white light pierced her eyes and sent her flying onto her back again, gripping her eyes as the burning sensation lingered. Even with her eyes closed, the white light still stung them through her eyelids as she adjusted to being in the light again. Before she could register it, something picked her up by her shoulders and flung her forwards. She landed on her arm, causing a few cracks to come from it as she yelped in pain. She whimpered when she found herself lying between an assortment of bones and skulls.
Someone groaned from the corner of the room, and Mei looked around to find Nutmeg, bloody, bruised and crying in the corner of the room. "N-Nutmeg!" She whispered softly. Her friend looked up and Mei paled.
Three long, vertical wounds ran down the side of her face, through her eye and the top of her lip. Her nose seemed broken, as it was pointing a little to the left. Her arms and legs were covered in scratches, wounds and bruises, and her undamaged eye was beaten black. She also had a large, bloody hole in her shoulder.
Nutmeg gasped as she leant forward. "Mei! I… thought you were-" A loud screech echoed through the chamber as a dark gray creature leapt from an indent from one of the walls, slashing her across the face and sending her flying into the wall, crying out in pain. Several more of hisses and shrieks came from the shadows, as more creatures stepped into the light. Mei's hope disappeared as she counted.
Thirteen… Fourteen…
Fifteen. Fifteen creatures surrounding her and her friend, all hissing and shrieking threateningly. Suddenly, the light dimmed a bit to leave the room in an ominous, low-lit state. From the shadows around the source of the light, two more creatures stepped forward. Mei felt her breath leave her as she gazed upon them.
They were similar to the other creatures, but these beasts were enormous. Each towered eleven feet tall, casting terrifying shadows across the floor. Their heads lost the cylindrical aspect halfway to the back, where it sprouted into a large crest. These two creatures also had the longest tails of the pack, and their fangs were much sharper than those of their counterparts were. Both creatures spun around when a loud hiss came from the centre of the light source, and slowly they started walking towards Mei as she tried to crawl away, to no avail. One of them picked her up in its one hand, and the other stalked towards Nutmeg, making her scream uncontrollably. Mei tried to call out to her, but the large creature had tossed her into its other hand, blocking her view with it's bony chest.
The creature moved into the light, and dropped her on the floor in a pooled shadow that resembled that of a large insect. It quickly wrapped its tail around her, and raised her to face it. Mei whimpered as it bared its lips and made a sniffing sound as it moved its mouth up and down her body. Then it hissed loudly, and turned her forwards, then upwards… And Mei shrieked, a loud, terrified screech.
"Come on, dude." One man told his friend as they sat behind their computer screens in some kind of tech room. "The satellite's been in orbit for days over Mexico, Malaysia and now Japan. There's nothing, man. Let's call it a night."
His companion sighed. "Fine, fine… You win. Let's get outta h... Hang on… Hang on just a damn minute! What the hell is going on here!?" He cried as large groups of numbers appeared on one screen, and the lines on the other went haywire. "We got major disturbance around the rear of the satellite!"
A satellite in earth's orbit was slowly turning to the left, as it was picking up a large disturbance behind it. Not far from it, the stars were contorting and distorting slightly in a large area.
The satellite appeared on a red-hued screen, and a large red diamond with pointed tip singled in on its centre. In a flash, its schematics appeared on the sides of the screen, showing everything from the blueprint to the equipment.
With a few clicks and growls, a clawed hand quickly typed into a console, hitting numerous rune-like symbols on its interface as the red screen singled out a video device on board the satellite. With a few more clicks, the hands tapped on more symbols and the red triangle quickly changed to a blue one, consisting of three stripes.
With a sound of a device charging, two large, blue bolts fired from nowhere, heading straight at the satellite. In a large cloud of blue flames, the satellite was blown apart, with pieces of debris plummeting back into earth's atmosphere. With a soft, harsh sound, shades of blue appeared around the distorted area, growing rapidly until a large, alien craft came to view.
Within this craft, more growls, snarls and clicks came from the head pilot as the red screen zoomed in on a small island near a land labeled 'Japan' in rune-like glyphs. With a few more static sounds, another red triangle appeared and zoomed in on the small island, until schematics pictured a large pyramid on the side of the screen. Another view, this one different shades of gray, zoomed in on the burial chamber and revealed eighteen creatures with bony appearances and long, cylindrical heads. Another static sound, and the view changed to different shades of blue…
It showed two young girls in the monsters' clutches.
Mei felt she would faint at any time now. She was shaking so badly she didn't even feel it anymore. Her heart was beating so fast her chest hurt each time a beat shook her body. Before her, another one of the creatures regarded her warily. But this one wasn't like the rest…
This one had a crest like the one that was holding her now, but it ended in two pronged tips, hiding its real head underneath it. If the monster that was holding her was enormous, then there were no words to describe this one's size. Its one hand was about as large as she was, and it's crest towered above the mechanism holding it in place. It also had an extra pair of arms at the sides of its chest.
With a few loud sniffing sounds, the chained monster started to push its head out from under its armour as it drew its lips back, revealing two rows of long, sharp fangs, a few of them still covered by something similar to permafrost. The beast let out a tremendous screech, and the one holding her hissed as it stepped forwards, holding her head in its one hand. The closer Mei was brought to this creature, the faster she started breathing and the more rapidly her heart beat. She screamed, yelled, whined, and cried, but she could not turn her face away from the large monster in front of her. The other creature's grip was too strong. She gasped as her wind left her when she was brought mere inches away from the beast's face, giant compared to her own. In a slow motion, the creature opened its mouth, and its inner jaw opened and closed in anticipation. She heard Nutmeg scream loudly, and soon followed suit with her own, screaming loudly as this queen creature's second mouth shot forwards.
That was when another bright light surrounded her.
The lead pilot of the alien craft orbiting Earth growled loudly, coarse hairs fashioned into dreadlock cascading down its shoulders, its face still hidden by the darkness of space. With its clawed hand, it motioned towards more like him, sitting at terminals surrounding his small throne. They all typed furiously at their terminals.
At the very tip of the ship, a long barrel protruded. It traced all the way back into the ship, eventually splitting into four separate zap, a large, smoldering white beam shot forth at an impossible speed, heading straight towards the temple on the small island, followed by several more white bolts firing from the craft's sides.
The queen creature shrieked loudly, writhing and squirming in a berserk rage. In a blinding flash, its victims had simply disappeared, and it intended to break loose and find them.
But with an almighty rumble, a white beam of fire burned through the temple at an amazing speed, catching the queen creature in its blazing wake. The other creatures shrieked and writhed in pain as they felt their queen die.
In a mere moment, the blast disappeared, and their queen along with it. As the creatures lay on the floor in pain, another rumble is heard and the walls of the chamber are blasted away in another flash of bright blue.
The lead pilot roared in success as its dreadlocks flew all around its head. A gleam of a yellow iris flashed in the darkness, as the red screen zoomed out again, focusing on the land of Japan.
However, their victory was short lived as an emergency beacon reached them. The red triangle appeared and zoomed in again, this time on the centre of Japan. With three more static sounds, the screen centered on a place titled 'Mahora'. With more static sounds, it zoomed in on a tall building, and another image popped up. This image was also in differing shades of blue. But the pilot growled when it saw what was at the centre.
Another creature, similar to the ones in the temple, stood roaring at the screen. This one, however, was different in many aspects. It was for more muscular, and walked on its hind legs. But what irked the pilot the most about this beast were the four tusked mandibles surrounding its mouth, and the dreadlocks hanging from the sides of its head. With a loud growl, it dispatched two of its servants to take a message to its crew.
As the craft started disappearing again, ten loud, harsh sounds came from the ship.
And ten small spacecrafts headed towards Mahora.
"See the news?" A scientist asked as he entered the top floor of the science building.
"Yes. Yes I did…" Satomi Hakase replied softly as she gazed at the creatures imprisoned in the room before her. Slender, bony bodies, long cylindrical heads, no eyes, no nostrils, long ridged tails and sharp claws on their hands and feet, all shackled by electronic equipment at various areas of their bodies. "And just when we were so close to getting out hands on that queen…"
"Well, we do still have The Specimen, Hakase-san. There's still hope." The scientist replied again.
Satomi glared at the creature at the centre of the makeshift prison. It was much more muscular than its brethren, and tinted in dark green hues instead of the normal black, blue and bronze, and it had four mandibles circling its mouth, one at every corner. It also had black, hair-like appendages on the sides of its head. It glared at her and roared angrily.
"I understand someone set off a function of our Hunter-friends wrist computer?" She asked. "Find out who it was and have him report to me at once."
"Yes, Hakase-san." The scientist replied again and left.
These creatures go against nature and science in every possible way… She thought solemnly. They seem to be able to survive in nearly any condition, especially The Specimen. If we master these monsters… If we turn them to our side, imagine the possibilities! She quickly turned around and left the top floor.
But first… We need to master our Hunter-friend's technology. Especially how its blades resisted its blood. If we master both… She smirked slightly, If only Chao-san could see me now…
Near the edges of the Mahora Forest, a loud rustling came from the bushes. Something was running through them at a great speed. With a loud rush of wind, a barely visible silhouette leapt from the bushes, landing on one of the branches overlooking Mahora Campus. As patches of blue appeared on the silhouette, a large creature was revealed.
Its face was covered by a gray mask, with two lenses at the eyes a design similar to a human skull. The mask also covered its brow, and curved up onto its wide forehead, all the way to back of its cranium. Long, dreadlock-like appendages hung from the sides and back of its head, cascading down past its waist. The rest of its body was armoured on a few spots around its torso, shoulder, thighs, arms and legs, and a steel loincloth hung from its belt. Two large gauntlets were mounted on its arms, with short blades mounted on the undersides. A mesh of wires covered the parts of its body which were bare, revealing pasty skin with a few brown specks. A short, sharp steel stick protruded from a holster on its right shoulder, and a small, gun-like mechanism hung on its right.
With a flick of its arms the short blades extended, leaving the gauntlets with a long, jagged blade hanging from each. And with a mighty roar, the creature disappeared again as it leapt from the branch, headed towards the Mahora Science Building.
Mei heard the arguing before the light vanished. A young girl was arguing with an older man about something she couldn't make out. Onee-sama… She thought weakly as the white light faded. For a moment, she stood on her own two legs, until she saw them. Until she saw their reaction.
Takane was smiling when the light had disappeared, but her expression changed into one of worry instantly when she saw her. Gandolfini's glass shattered as it slid from his hand, a look of disbelief on his face. And the mage named Michael Harrington's face twisted in horror when he saw her. The she started slipping back into the darkness, hearing Nutmeg cry loudly behind her. As she heard their startled cries, she realized the floor was coming closer to her face. And as she slammed onto the ground, her consciousness slipped.
Takane was first to get to Mei, quickly raising her head and crying her name. Harrington quickly turned to his apprentice. "Send for the healers! Now! We have no time to lose!"
"I thought you said there was no danger!!!" Takane accused him. "You'd said they'd be safe!"
"I was convinced it was! The reports said they would be!" He cried, quickly running over to assist Gandolfini with a hysterical Nutmeg, who kept mumbling that she was sorry and the things nearly killed them. Takane turned back to Mei to examine her scars as the healer mages stormed in. Most her wounds were critical, and she saw a few broken bones as well.
But what puzzled her the most was the bite marks on Mei's forehead…
A/N: Love it? Hate it? Think I should delete it? Please, read and review and let me know what you think.
Huge thanks again to Traingham and Dragemenian Jew for their help and support while I was writing this.
Cheers!
--Slipkn0T—(author)