Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners, particularly the characters taken from the manga, Mahou Sensei Negima. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Whatever was in Kiri's head seemed to have adapted to the fact that they weren't going to climb down the bookcases, and was pointing out an alternate path to their destination. It took them a bit, but they finally found a door that had a stairway going down. Taking it, they found it shorter than the one they originally took. Stepping onto the landing, they found a door that opened into another level of the library, as well as stairs continuing down. Kiri closed her eyes a moment and sensed that they needed to go down.
Taking the stairs down to the next level, Kiri sensed that this level was where they needed to be. Opening the door, the girls walked in. Mina felt around the doorway for a light switch, and quickly found one. The lights came on for the floor, illuminating what looked like The Treasure Room Of The Gods. Everywhere, from floor to ceiling, were statues, goblets, crowns, all kinds of things, all made of solid gold. What's more, the light on this level seemed to make the objects glow with a yellowish light. Kathy immediately started walking towards one pile of treasure, her eyes set on a golden tiara, with what looked like huge diamonds set in them.
"Kathy, no!" Kiri shouted, "don't touch that!"
Kathy turned to her friend. "Why not?" she said, a goofy smile on her face, "look at all this stuff, just lying around! Surely no one will miss a few little things. And they're so pretty..." Slowly, the girl started to turn back to the treasure, a hand reaching out to grab something.
"Listen to yourself!" Mina said, now joining in, "think a moment! If you had all this valuable stuff, would you just leave it lying around for anyone to take?"
Kathy blinked, then shook her head to clear her mind. "No, you're right," she said, "it would be stupid to leave this out with nothing protecting it."
"Which means one of two things," Kiri said, "either there is something protecting all this stuff, or it isn't real."
"Isn't real?"
"Isn't real," Kiri said, "look; on Thursday, that map we had fairly well exploded in my hands. Today, I'm holding a piece of paper that's showing me where we need to go. Guiding me! You were right about something being weird about this place. The thing about it is, it's even weirder than you imagined. If it wasn't for the fact we more or less promised that teacher that we'd get his book for him, I'd say let's ditch this plan and get out of here."
"So, screw the book and let's go," Mina said, "I agree that we're getting in way over our heads."
"No," Kiri said, "I don't know if it's me, or whatever this paper is, but I want to find that book. We're on the same level as it is, so let's go get it, get out of here and call ourselves lucky."
Nodoka looked around the Equipment Locker and found that most of the equipment was still here. She did note that one pack, three lanterns and a first aid kit were missing.
"I think we need to pick up the pace," she told Negi and Setsuna, who were standing outside waiting for her. "Whoever's down here doesn't know what they're getting themselves into. They took some things, but not even half the equipment we have club members check out, even for just cleaning the bookshelves." Nodoka emerged from the storeroom, carrying several bundles of rope and other equipment with her.
Leaving the room, the three walked over to the balcony. Leaning out over the railing, Nodoka noticed a light on, two levels down.
"Hello!" she shouted, "whoever's down there, stop what you're doing and come back up right now! That level is extremely dangerous and you could be injured or even killed. Just come back up here and we'll work something out!"
Not hearing an answer after a moment, she dropped her burden to the floor, then rummaged through the stuff, quickly removing three harnesses.
"Here, put these on," she said as she climbed into her own harness, slipping it over the slacks she was wearing today, "the fastest way down is over the side. You've rappelled before, right Setsuna?"
"Not really," the woman replied, "I could just fly down."
"No," Negi said as he put on his own harness, "we don't know who's down there, and we don't want knowledge of your true form getting out."
Nodoka had just secured her own harness, and now was checking Negi over, tugging on everything to make sure the harness wouldn't come loose at the wrong time. Seeing Negi was secure, she next took one of the bundles of rope and unbound it, taking one end and tying it to the base of one of the railings. After making sure it was secure, she turned back to Setsuna, who hadn't moved.
"C'mon, Setsuna, gear up," Nodoka chided, "it's not as bad as it looks. At least if you fall, you can fly out of it."
Nodding, Setsuna picked up the last harness and stepped into it, sliding it up and somehow positioning it over the skirt she had decided to wear today. As she did, Nodoka took the next bundle of rope and secured it to the rail where she had tied the first rope, then had Negi tie the last one on. By this time, Setsuna had her harness on, with her skirt sticking out of it in unusual ways, revealing the bicycle shorts she generally wore under such garb. Nodoka checked her out, making some last minute adjustments to her harness.
"Okay, come over here," she said next as she tossed to rope bundles over the railing, "I'm about to give you a crash course in rappelling."
The trio had just cleared the treasure room when they heard someone shout.
"Hello! Whoever's down there, stop what you're doing and come back up right now! That level is extremely dangerous and you could be injured or even killed. Just come back up here and we'll work something out!"
"Crap, they're on to us," Kiri said, "we have to move.
With that, she got her bearings and took off, Mina and Kathy following close behind. Kiri moved like she had been here all her life; she knew for a fact that the book she was looking for was just ten rows down. Then nine; then eight...
Then, almost as if she had been teleported there, Kiri was standing before the row that was her destination. Mina and Kathy almost collided into her when she stopped suddenly.
"We're here," Kiri said, "it's down that aisle."
"Then let's get it and get out of here," Kathy said, "whoever's up there said this place is dangerous."
"Then watch your step," Kiri said as she started down the aisle.
As she walked, Kiri noticed that there were patterns on the floor, and the patterns didn't look like they were part of the decor. Moving cautiously, she avoided all of the markings on the floor, just like she was playing hopscotch. Her two friends followed behind her, following in her footsteps and avoiding the odd patterns in the floor also. Finally, whatever it was in Kiri's mind told here she was here.
"Finally," she said out loud.
Mina and Kathy joined her, looking around.
"Okay, where is it," Mina asked.
"Umm, here; I think," Kiri said, reaching into one of the shelves. Her hand was guided to the proper book; not a book really, but a scroll. She pulled it out and took a look at it, trying to confirm that she had gotten the right one. There was what looked like letters on the outside of the scroll, but not in any language she had ever seen. Looking at it closer, she saw a number code on one edge of the scroll. Remembering something, Kiri took the sheet of paper that had brought her here and looked at it. There, next to the title, "Asseem's Treatise On The Fundamental Nature Of Magical Energy," was a number code, the same as what was on the scroll. Whatever this was, she had found it. The paper seemed to realize this also, because it lost whatever watermark pattern it had and became just a piece of paper.
"Yup, I've got it," she said triumphantly, "now let's get outta here."
"Hey," Kathy said, "take a look at this!"
Kiri and Mina turned and saw that Kathy was looking at something on the bookshelf across the aisle. She had reached her hand in for a book that looked to be bound in gold, intending to pull it out and look at it closer. However, the moment she touched the book, a soft thump was heard, and something embedded itself in Kathy's right shoulder. The girl screamed as she fell to the floor.
"What the..." Kiri said.
"Let's get outta here!" Mina shouted. The girl then turned and ran back the way they had come in a panic. She hadn't gotten four steps when she had stepped on one of the patterns on the floor. Suddenly, it looked like vines shot out from everywhere, entwining Mina and wrapping her up like a mummy, pulling her up against one of the bookcases and lifting her up off the floor. Kiri dropped the scroll she had just retrieved, the paper that had guided her here as well as the pack she was carrying and went to help her friend when she stepped on a pattern. Vines lashed out and she too was ensnared.
On the floor, Kathy had turned and saw her friends captured. She looked down and saw the barb of an arrow protruding from her upper chest on the right side, and screamed once again before passing out from shock.
Negi, Nodoka and Setsuna had just cleared the balcony on the floor below the one they started from when they heard the scream.
"Damn!" Nodoka spat, "they tripped something. You two make it down the best you can, but hurry!"
With that, Nodoka eased the grip she was keeping on her line and dropped down to the next level like the climber she had been all these years. Just as she came to the edge of the ceiling of that level, she pushed herself away from the wall, then swung into level.
"You know," Setsuna said to Negi, "if it weren't for that scream, I'd swear Honya was showing off."
"Well, we had better catch up with her," Negi said as he released the tension on his line and slid down.
Kiri struggled, but couldn't get free. As a matter of fact, the more she fought, the tighter the vines got. Thinking, she stopped moving and the vines stopped getting tighter. Unfortunately, they didn't loosen like she had hoped they might. She looked over at Kathy, who was slumped on the floor, her shirt drenched in her own blood as it ran out of the wound and started to pool on the floor. She then turned her head, causing the vines to tighten again, and saw that Mina was in the same predicament she was in, although it looked like she hadn't figured out that the vines tightened the more you fought. As a matter of fact, it looked like Mina had passed out.
There was something else too. Even though she had stopped struggling, the vines kept constricting. It took Kiri a second to realize that it was because she was still breathing. It wasn't trying to escape that caused the vines to tighten, it was any movement. She was a rabbit, caught in a boa constrictor's coils, and it was going to suffocate her and consume her. She tried everything she could, but the vines were implacable. The edges around her sight started to go dark, and the last thing Kiri thought was that she was going to die down here, along with two friends she had just made, and all for a book.
It just isn't fair, was her last thought as she blacked out.
The second Nodoka regained her balance on the balcony, she undid her harness and started running along the rows of bookshelves. She had no idea if she was running in the right direction when another scream let out. That gave her enough of a bearing to know she was going in the right direction, and the intruders were close. A few more rows, and she caught a flash of someone on the floor. Skidding to a stop, she saw one girl, a junior-high schooler, was slumped down with an arrow sticking out of her shoulder. A little further away, two more figures were caught in Tangle Snares, struggling to get free.
"We've got casualties!" the librarian shouted as she ran down the aisle, nimbly avoiding the patterns in the floor that triggered the Tangle Snares. Reaching the girl who had been shot, Nodoka did a quick triage and determined that although the bolt didn't pierce her lungs, she was bleeding badly and needed immediate attention. Casting a quick look about, Nodoka saw a pack lying on the floor. Hoping against hope, she scrambled over to it and opened it. Inside were three lanterns and a Library Exploration Club First Aid Kit. Even better, it was a Mark II kit. Pulling it out, Nodoka opened it and quickly checked for what she was looking for. Finding it, she withdrew a small syringe.
It was then she heard the sounds of footsteps running towards her. "Watch out for the patterns on the floor!" she called out in warning, "they trip the snares in this aisle!"
As she called out this warning, Nodoka scooted back over to the fallen girl. Popping the guard off of the syringe, she jammed it into the girl's shoulder, at the base of her neck. Pressing down on the plunger, she injected the Life Stabilizing Potion into the girl. Just as she withdrew the needle, Negi and Setsuna arrived.
"Setsuna, this one needs immediate medical attention," Nodoka said without preamble, "Negi, stay here while I deactivate the snares."
Negi nodded as Nodoka got up and proceeded down the aisle. As soon as she got up, Setsuna knelt down in her place. Removing a card from her blouse, she held it up to her forehead. A second later, a mandala appeared beneath her and the injured girl, and they disappeared.
Nodoka, meanwhile, quickly made her way to a support pillar that stood between two of the bookcases. About three meters up hung what looked like a lighting sconce; however, it cast no light. Toeing off her shoes, Nodoka climbed up on one of the bookshelves, her toes gripping the shelf base and the side of the bookcase. She quickly scrambled up the side of the bookcase until she was even with the sconce. Then, reaching out, she twisted the sconce 180 degrees to the left, then pulled up on it. Immediately, the snares holding the other two girls loosened, and they slumped to the floor.
As she scrambled down, Nodoka said, "it's okay, Negi; I've disabled the snares. You don't have to worry about tripping them now."
Negi quickly made his way to the nearest of the girls. He quickly cleared away the vines, revealing the face of Kiri Mishima, one of his students. Setting his surprise aside, he quickly checked her vital signs, and was relieved when they were present and seemed stable. Performing another quick check, he made sure nothing was broken, then removed the rest of the vines from around her.
"This one's okay," Nodoka called out. While Negi was working on Kiri, Nodoka had gone over and freed the other girl. "We still need to get them out of here and to some medical attention. I think the snares were set to near maximum strength."
"What does that mean," Negi asked.
"It means that if we hadn't found them when we did, they probably would have been suffocated," Nodoka replied, "the snares usually stop once the victim stops thrashing about, but these kept on tightening. I don't think there will be any permanent damage, but it was a close thing."
Setsuna and Negi weren't quite as graceful as Nodoka at repelling the rest of the way down, but they made it, and quickly shed their harnesses. They noticed Nodoka disappearing down a row of bookshelves and followed her. When they reached the aisle she had ducked down, they saw her looking over a downed student, obviously injured. She then went to the other side of the row, opened a pack lying there, and pulled out a first aid kit. As they started down the aisle to join her, Nodoka called out, "watch out for the patterns on the floor! They trip the snares in this aisle!"
So, careful not to step on any of the floor patterns, Setsuna and Negi ran up and joined Nodoka. When the got there, they saw the librarian jamming a syringe into the base of the fallen girl's neck. Negi recognized the girl as Kathy Tanaka from one of his English classes.
"Setsuna, this one needs immediate medical attention," Nodoka said, "Negi, stay here while I deactivate the snares."
Setsuna nodded and knelt down in Nodoka's place, taking the injured girl in her arms. Pulling her Pactio card with Konoka, she put it to her head and thought, Telepathia! Konoka! We have a severely injured girl here! Teleport us to your location!
Will do! came Konoka's response. About as soon as the thought finished echoing in Setsuna's mind, a glowing pattern appeared on the floor beneath her and the victim, and they disappeared, reappearing microseconds later on the floor in Nodoka's office.
Konoka took one look at the girl Setsuna held, and discarded the Pactio card she was holding, the one she had with Negi. She quickly knelt down, took the girl in her arms and began intoning a chant:
Ibuki-dono ooharahe
Takamagahara ni kamudzumarimasu Kamuroki Kamuromi no Mikoto wo mochite
Sumegamitachi no mae ni mausaku kurushimi urefu waga tomo wo mamori meguma hi saki hahe tamae to
Fujihara no asomi Konoe Konoka no
iku musubi wo udzu no mitegura ni sono he tatematsuru koto wo moromoro kikoshimese (1)
As she chanted, Konoka began to glow with power. Then, it seemed like she separated from herself, a pure glowing spirit which embraced the wounded girl, drawing her close and infusing her with healing energy.
Konoka concentrated on controlling the flow of her healing power, only letting enough flow out to heal and no more. She also had to control the power so that it wouldn't leak out and affect the baby she had growing in her womb. Feeling the power had reached a certain point, the heir to the Konoe Family reached out and pulled the arrow from the girl's shoulder. She breathed a sigh of relief when the wound closed up once she removed the object. Casting it off to the side, Konoka tapered off the power she was sending out, and lulling the girl into a deep sleep.
"Se-chan, call the EMTs" Konoka finally said after taking a deep breath, "and alert the Special Wing at the hospital that we have casualties coming in."
It didn't take Negi and Nodoka long to get the remaining two girls back up to the main library level. When they got there, an EMS crew was loading the wounded girl, Kathy Tanaka, into a gurney for transport. Negi felt Kiri, the girl he was carrying, start to stir. He set her down on the floor, then motioned Konoka over. When she got there, Negi had her put both Kiri and Mina Tamazaki, another girl from his class, to sleep so they could recover. They then had the EMS crew take the other two along with the girl they had already loaded up over to Mahora University Medical Center, and put them in the Security Wing. They needed the girls isolated and secure so they could recover; and so they couldn't escape what would have to happen next.
(1) "A Purification Ritual to Ibuki-donushi", courtesy of Vetus.
