Negima Neo: Time of Celebration
Part 3: To Be Good or Be Bad? A Time for Understanding
As the party continued, Nim sat down at a table. He seemed to not do much but lightly stir his drink with his finger on the straw. He idly watched everyone else enjoying themselves.
"Hmph. What am I doing? I'm sitting in a party full of HEROES. Am I not evil?" Nim thought. He then saw Asuna approach with a plate of treats in her hand.
"Come on now Nim. Don't act like that. Enjoy the party why don't you?" Asuna asked. Nim angrily glared at her.
"Why not? Oh. That's right. I'm still mortal enemies with you. DUH!" Nim groaned. Asuna scoffed.
"Well, that's no reason why you can't try and "have fun" for once. I swear, are ALL bad guys like you?" Asuna asked, setting the plate down and walking off. At another table, Amna was sitting with Future Asuna and Negi, talking with the younger Negi.
"So...has anything changed at all with you? I fear that us defeating Death and Gragon in our time might have affected the future in some way." Negi asked. His older self glanced at Rose and Asuna.
"No. Not really. We haven't been affected by any of it. However, we have been worrying about something." Future Negi said. When Negi asked what could be, they all glanced at Evangeline nearby.
"Hmm? Evangeline?" Negi asked.
"Yeah. Don't you remember? The last time you all came to our time, our Evangeline still had part of Gragon's spirit trapped inside since he possessed her." Future Asuna whispered "So...does that mean YOUR Evangeline is going to have the same thing occur with her?" Negi gasped, realizing she was right.
"Oh my. I...I see now. How could I have forgotten?" Negi asked.
"And lately, we also wonder about the Karula McDowell of this time as well. Is she not evil still? She never showed up here yet." Future Negi added. Negi gulped.
"I...suppose. Oh. This doesn't make any sense. Perhaps I should ask Kuraz." Negi said. He hurried to find Kuraz, explaining what he heard to him.
"Ah. Yes. Well, we've done our best to make sure your future selves are still the way you remember them. However, things can't last forever. Eventually, our magic will wear off and time will correct itself." Kuraz said. Negi looked back at his future self.
"I just wish that the picture they live in now stays. That's all I wish." Negi thought. He then saw Nim being surrounded by the other girls from Class 2-A.
"Ehh? Hey. What are YOU looking at?" Nim exclaimed. Fei Ku stared intensly at him.
"You no look familiar. We meet before?" Fei Ku asked. Nim gawked.
"Whaddya mean? Of course we did! You little twerps were...!" Nim exclaimed, suddenly shushed by Asuna. She then yanked him away to speak directly with him.
"Hold it right there big mouth. Since the Chronos disappeared, no one except for me, Brianna and a handful of friends remember any of what happened. So don't go blabbing about it. If you do, I'll make sure you never talk AGAIN. Got it?" Asuna asked, clasping her fist. Nim glanced at the girls.
"Really? You expect me to believe that?" Nim asked. Asuna nodded. He scoffed.
"All right. Fine. I'll keep my yap shut." Nim said. Just then, he felt someone tug his arm. He turned and saw Kazumi.
"Uhhh...excuse me. But I was gonna do a really big scoop for our class yearbook about this party. And...since you're here and all, mind if I get a little interview with you? You seem new here...someone we didn't meet before but must know our professor." Kazumi said. Nim gasped.
"What? You...want to interview ME?" Nim asked. Kazumi nodded.
"Oh. Uhh...w...well, all right. If you insist." Nim said. Asuna glanced at him.
"What? Your first interview doc?" Asuna asked. Nim glared at Asuna quietly with an annoyed glare in his eye.
"Okay then. I guess the first question should be...where were you born?" Kazumi asked. Nim pulled up a chair.
"Ah. Yes. My birth place was not a pretty one. In fact, believe it or not, I'm not even from your planet." Nim said. Asuna's eyes bulged, nearly gagging herself from a drink.
"Y...You're WHAT? Then what are you?" Asuna asked.
"I guess you can say I'm an "alien" from a distant planet." Nim said. He gazed up at the sky, remembering his youth.
On the planet that Nim was born on, his family was the rulers of their planet. His father, the King, was a cold hearted dictator that ruled with a mighty fist and an army of mechanical robot servants. As for his mother, he never truly met her. Throughout his life, Nim was rather "odd" and his father could not appreciate it.
As Nim grew older, he started showing "small" signs of genius in him. But his father called all of the things Nim could create worthless or garbage, since nearly more than half of his creations exploded. His whole life, Nim just wanted his father to appreciate his work. But it never seemed enough for him.
By the time Nim was the age he was now, he finally was fed up with his father and decided to revolt against his own family name. He abandoned his old name and donned a new one, "Doctor Nim R. Od". He then fled from home, traveling around other worlds to increase his knowledge of mechanical engineering. By the time Nim returned, he had created a mighty army of mechanical battle droids and battleships.
The two sides clashed and Nim's side reigned victorious. He finally got to see his greatest desire, seeing his father acknowledging him and begging for forgiveness. However, Nim did not show pity and had his robots take his father away. After that, Nim became power crazy, wanting more in case of his father regaining the strength to overtake him. And because of that, Nim destroyed his own home planet.
"Whoa. So...that's why he was after the Chronos. Maybe all he really wanted...was to fix time so his dad could love him." Asuna thought. Kazumi was speechless.
"Whoa. That...That's heavy. And you're sure that's all true?" Kazumi asked. Nim nodded.
"Yes. And...now that I look back on it, I can't help but think of the people whose lives I affected by my deeds." Nim said. Brianna looked at Nim from afar, standing alongside Gregor and Nina. Takahata approached Nim.
"Then what will you do now doctor? What became of your father?" Takahata asked. Nim sighed.
"Unfortunately, he passed on. I had no idea why, but I felt rather glad that he was gone. My father...was a monster." Nim said. He then felt the mechanics on his eye.
"And...I guess I turned out just like him." Nim said. He groaned.
"I guess I craved more and more power...riddled with fear that my father would, someday, get his revenge on me. Whenever he sensed weakness, he jump for it like a wild lion." Nim said "Now...at the end of this road that I've taken...I'm all alone." Asuna placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Then these mechanics on your body..." Asuna asked. Nim nodded.
"Yes. They are the "scars" of my actions. It seems...too much power and knowledge...can make one deranged and power hungry." Nim said. He sighed, feeling that Asuna destroying his ship and almost killing him was fitting for a lunatic like him.
"Well, that makes us equal. Huh?" Gregor asked, walking over to Nim. When Nim asked what he meant, he showed the mechanics on his arms. They were the upgrades he received from Satomi.
"The guy who made me? He was a total jerk. All I really wanted was a chance to wipe that smirk on his face clear off. And...since I was different...the other androids that I lived with saw me as the same. I couldn't get anyone's respect." Gregor said. Nina approached Gregor and patted his side.
"Nim...I'm really sorry. That must really hurt, having to turn on your father like that." Asuna said. She saw Negi slowly approach and they looked at each other. They all but nodded before turning back to Nim.
"Hey...Dean? Do you think Mahora Academy could use a new teacher? Maybe someone for the University classes?" Asuna asked. Nim gasped.
"Wh...What?" Nim asked.
"Hmmm. Yes. Now that I think about it..." the dean said. Nim glanced between the dean and Asuna. Takahata patted Nim's shoulder.
"It's all right. Just figure this as a "point of redemption". A clean start to a new life." Takahata said. Nim was speechless.
"Wait. You...You'd do that for me? After what...we...?" Nim asked, glancing at Asuna. She gave a wink.
"I'm a forgiving kind of girl." Asuna whispered. Nim started to smile.
"Oh. W...Well, t...thank you I suppose." Nim said. The girls all cheered.
"All right! The doctor gets a happy ending too!" Fuka cheered. The cheerleaders whooped loudly and swung their pom poms. But nearby, Evangeline had gotten a sudden headache.
"Hmm? Evangeline? Are you all right?" Nagi asked.
"Master?" Chachamaru asked. Evangeline clutched her head.
"It...It's all right. I'm...I'm fine. D'oh! Not again!" Evangeline groaned. She turned away, trying to hide the expression on her face. Inside her mind, a strange red aura glowed and the eyes of Gragon appeared.
HA HA HA! Evangeline? I'm BACK!
Evangeline yelled and suddenly, her eyes flashed open and started to glow black. Everyone gasped.
"Wh...What the?" Kuraz exclaimed.
"No! I was afraid of this! Everyone! Get back!" Nagi exclaimed. Everyone hurried as far as they could as something made Evangeline scream. A stream of darkness surged from her mouth and took form on the ground. It took the shape of a fiery black figure with piercing red eyes.
"Wh...What is that?" Anya asked.
"I feared this. It seems after that fight with Lord Death and Gragon as a whole, Evangeline being able to age again was weakening the spell she secretly casted on herself. She feared that Gragon's soul within her would react again and break free. And now it did!" Nagi yelled. Negi and Asuna gasped.
"What? GRAGON?" they yelled. The fiery figure laughed insanely.
"That's right! HELLO again Mahora Academy! Bet'cha thought you saw the last of me! Well, since I once possessed Evangeline, she still harbored me!" the figure cackled. He eyed Negi.
"And now I want YOU! Negi Springfield!" it exclaimed. But suddenly, something else was suddenly rocketing towards the party.
"Oh geez! Now what?" Asuna asked. Everyone turned to the sky, seeing a largely armored robot flying straight for them.
"It's some kind of robot. But...what in the world?" Shade said. Nim gasped.
"No. I know that robot. It's...It's my greatest work. Titanus." Nim said. The robot landed right in front of Nim, eyeing him with glowing red eyes. It was a heavily armed mechanical fighter droid, wearing large shoulder pads and carrying a giant sword at its waist. Its red cape fluttered in the wind.
"Titanus! You...You survived! But...I don't get it. You were on board my ship when it was destroyed. You should've been destroyed along with it." Nim said. Titanus slowly approached Nim, its eyes remaining locked on Nim.
"Uhhh...what?" Nim asked. Suddenly, the robot's hand fired off and grasped him by his neck. Everyone gasped.
"GACK! Wh...What in the...? HEY!" Nim gagged. The hand pulled him back and Titanus rose Nim into the air.
"Titanus! What are...you...doing?" Nim gagged.
"Finally getting even for what you did to me...SON." it said. Nim gasped, as did everyone else. Nim struggled to break free.
"Wh...What are you talking about? Who are you?" Nim exclaimed. Titanus gazed at him.
"I...am your FATHER boy. Don't tell me you thought...I was gone for good." it said. Nim gasped.
"My...My father? No." Nim muttered.
TO BE CONTINUED...