Chapter 2: Getting Started
Firedude: Chapter two coming right up!
Disclaimer: I do not own Negima! or any of its characters, nor do I own the War Hammer 40,000 franchise.
Firedude: Please read and review, flames welcome.
The boys eyelids twitched a little as a ray of sunlight hit them. He opened his eyes a little, but his blurred vision did not allow him to clearly see who was in front of him. He was able to make out to figures in front of him though; one was a teenage girl with tanned skin and long, dark brown hair and a tall woman with glasses. They were having a conversation, not aware that he was awake. He was having trouble listening to them, but was able to make out parts of their conversation. "…Better now… bring him…I'll be there…" said the woman, the girl then bowed slightly and replied, "Thank you… be there later… bye ma'am." The woman then left the shrine and walked away. The boy let his eyes slipped back closed as the girl looked over to him.
He awoke again another hour later. Feeling better, he sat up and looked around. The fire had been extinguished and sunlight filled up the shrine. He looked down at his body and noticed that all his wounds were completely bandaged up. Primitive first aid... with medical like this, it'll be a while before I'm in top condition again. He let out a grunt as he pushed himself up from the ground and limped towards the front door. He slid it open to find a girl in a school uniform practicing with a nodachi. The boy smiled at the further reminder of the era he was in. The girl suddenly stopped and looked over to the boy. She was not the girl he had seen earlier, she was had a paler color to her skin and raven black hair. The girl looked away from him and sheathed her sword. "He's awake." She called out to no one in particular.
After a few second, the girl in the shrine maiden outfit emerged from behind the shrine, but in a school uniform matching the other girl's. "Thank you Setsuna." Setsuna nodded and sat down in place, seemingly in meditation. The boy watched her sit before saying, "I suppose I have to thank you for help-." He stopped himself when he looked back over to see the girl had the barrel of a hand gun thrust up to his forehead. "Now… let's continue from where we took off last night… who or what are you and what are you doing here!?" The boy let out a little nervous laugh as he thought, Well, hostility sure hasn't changed in 40,000 years... "You have a strange aura, and you're definitely different from any normal human... so what are you?"
He let out a nervous laugh again and replied, "Look, I promise you that I'm human, but I really doubt you'd believe me right now…" He said as he took a step back. Now that I can move, I should get back to my suit... "Oh! Look at the time! I've got to go!" He said turning and sprinting towards the forest. He didn't make it that far though, several gun shots towards his feet and a sword to his throat stopped him in his tracks. "Wow, you two are quick." He said with a nervous smile. Setsuna kept the blade close to his throat and said, "Last night, Mana and I detected a massive, evil energy out in the forest, and stumbling out you came. So we want answers, are you a demon or what?"
The boy let out a small sigh before saying, "Alright, my name is Cpl. Andruu Tanthius of the second company of the Ultramarines. I'm on a mission sent on by the emperor to-." Both Mana and Setsuna looked at him as though he was insane as he told his story. By the time he was done, there was complete silence amongst the three until Andruu broke it by saying, "I told you, that you wouldn't believe me." The two looked at each other before Setsuna said, "Would you happen to have any proof of this?" Andruu scratched the side of his face and laughed a little saying, "Well, I suppose you two could cut me open and see my implants, but I don't think that'd help either of us…" Andruu then realized something. "Oh yeah! My power armor is out in the woods, I can show it to you!" Mana thought about it for a second before saying, "Fine, let's go take a look then."
Andruu then nodded and began to limp towards where his armor would be. As the two began to follow slowly, Setsuna whispered to Mana. "Do you think this is smart, don't you think it could be a trap?" Mana gave a quiet, amused grunt and replied, "I doubt he's capable of it, but I'm still not convinced he's a demon… it might've been something else we detected." Setsuna looked back over to Andruu as he limped and said, "Then… if he's not a demon, what's this weird energy coming off of him?" Mana shrugged slightly and said, "We'll take him back to the dean if his story is false." After a couple minutes he stopped in the center of a small clearing where he had left his suit, only it wasn't there. Andruu looked left and right frantically, "I swear to god! I left it right here last night!" Where could it be!? Someone else couldn't have taken it could they!? Only space marines are capable of wearing that armor! Mana sighed and stepped up next to him. "Well it doesn't seem like your story checks out; do you have any other evidence that you are who you say you are?"
Andruu ran his fingers through his messy, brown hair in frustration. "What is with you two!? I'm telling you, I'm not a demon! The aura you say I have is probably from my marine implants! I swear!" Mana and Setsuna looked back and forth from each other before starting to walk towards him. "We're going to have to take you to the dean now…" Andruu took a few steps back until he hit a tree and said in almost a frantic tone, "Stay away from me!" Andruu had no idea what a dean was, he might've been a primitive, mighty chaos lord. Andruu had seen what the Chaos cult does to their followers and would rather die before letting that happen to him. Just as they were in grabbing range of him, he noticed a large blue figure walk out from behind the trees. Another space marine!?
"Hey!" He called out to him, but regretted doing so, immediately after. The armor was banged, cut and bloodied up and had a set of corporal stripes on the shoulder. I don't remember any other corporals jumping into the warp other than me... Mana and Setsuna turned around to see the blue behemoth and gasped in shock at its appearance. "What is that thing!?" Setsuna called to Mana as she drew her sword. "I'm not sure! I've never seen a demon like that before!" The marine raised its bolter and aimed for the three. "That's not a demon! That's a space marine!" He jumped in front of the two and called out. "Stop it's me! Corporal Tanthius! Who-?" He was cut off by the marine firing several bolter rounds into the trees behind them, barely missing the group.
They all dove for cover as the bolter fired off huge, slugs at an alarming rate. Mana brandished her two pistols and called over to Andruu. "If he's one of your buddies, why is he trying to kill you!?" The corporal ducked under another colt and cried back. "That's not another marine! That's my armor!" Setsuna leaped out from behind a tree and lunged forward to make a slash at the suit. "Sinmeiryuu! Zanganken!" She called out as she slashed the belly of the armor. It was a clean slice on the stomach, but it didn't go that deep enough into the suit to split it in half. "No way! I can split a boulder, but not this thing!?" The armor then back fisted her across the face into a tree. With Setsuna temporarily stunned, it aimed it's bolter at her and was about to fire, when Mana shot it in the hand, causing the bolter to go flying out. Setsuna used to opportunity to get back behind the cover of a tree.
The suit picked its bolter back up and looked over to Setsuna to have its helmet shot off. Andruu's eyes widened when he saw there was no one under the helmet. "What the hell is going on!?" The corporal yelled out in confusion at the sight. The suit continued on its shooting spree without its helmet, but after a couple seconds, a black mist extended out of the suit and pulled the helmet back to its place on the armor. "That's it! It's a gretch!" Andruu called out. Mana looked over to Andruu and yelled, "What kind of demon is that!?" A bolter slug barely missed Andruu's skull as he called back. "It takes over machines and sends them on a rampage! All possessors have a floating core that would go in the machine's main compartment!" Andruu looked over and saw a faint red glow coming from the chest. "It's in the chest cavity! Destroy it and it'll stop!" Setsuna nodded and called, "I got it!" She rolled out from behind her tree and sprinted towards the armor. "Shinmeiryuu! Raimeiken Ni-no-tachi!"
Setsuna delivered a clean slice to the chest and sheathed her sword. The armor fell over onto the ground, motionless. Andruu and Mana came out from behind their cover and walked up to the suit. "What the hell was that?" Andruu said to Setsuna. "A technique I learned that kills possessive spirits without injuring the host." Andruu looked over his trashed armor and sighed, "Well, I suppose I should be grateful, but you two did a number on my armor regardless…" Mana put her guns away and said, "Quit your whining, you're alive aren't. So I was wrong huh… this was the demon I detected. I've never seen a demon that could do that before though." Andruu shook his head and said, "It wasn't a demon, it was a daemon." Mana and Setsuna gave him a puzzled look as Andruu continued, "Daemons are spawned in the warp and escape into the tangible world when not careful about opening it." There was another awkward silence between the three before both Setsuna and Mana both asked at the same time, "What the hell's the warp?"
Andruu sighed and said, "Forget it; it'd be too long to explain… now if you excuse me." He opened the chest up and turned the suit on. He finally had the strength to pull himself up in it. "I thank you for your help, but I need to find Mahora Academy." He then turned and began to walk sluggishly out of the forest. "Hold it." Mana said, stopping the marine in his tracks. "Ms. Minamoto wanted me to bring you by for a follow up." Andruu looked back at her and asked, "Who?" Mana sighed and said, "She's the woman who came by to fix you up. And besides, you're at Mahora Academy." Andruu stood there for a few seconds shocked. "…What?" Setsuna pointed in the direction they came from. "From the shrine, if you go down the stone steps, you'll be at Mahora academy." Andruu looked towards the steps and thought for a moment. This is awfully convenient... he looked back at the two and said, "And this woman, Ms. Minamoto… she's there too?" The two of them nodded simultaneously. I suppose there's no use in pushing on if I'm still injured. "Fine, I'll go. But as soon as I'm seen by her, I need to continue with my mission." The two then proceeded with him towards the steps.
Firedude: Here you go, chapter 2. Please read and review, the next chapter will be up soon.
