Disclaimer: I don't own Negima. It's Ken Akumatsu's idea. So don't sue. Peten Falson and Middletown the Clown are mine however.
Author's Notes: These things certainly come out a lot faster now that I have a laptop.
Bard Moon Rising
By Dark Dragon Dave
Chapter 7: Sick Day
Negi woke up with a stuffy nose and a slight fever. It ached as he sat up. "Great."
It sounded like Konoka was making breakfast. He sat up and started getting dressed. Once he was finished he joined Asuna, Konoka, and Chamo at the table.
Konoka noticed his condition. "You don't look well."
"I think I have a cold." Negi said with a slightly nasal sound.
"And let me stop you before you think you can fix this with magic." Asuna interjected. "Your pronunciation is horrible right now. I don't want anything blowing up. You should call and tell them you can't come in today. Take a day and get some rest."
Negi sniffed. "You're right." He poked at his food and started eating. When everyone was finished, he didn't feel the sneeze sneak up on him. It let itself out and took the stuff on the table with it.
"See, that's another reason for you to stay home today. You don't want to end up doing that in class" Asuna added when she saw the stuff fly out into the main room.
"I'll go pick that stuff up." Negi said. "Then I'll call."
"Let me do it." Konoka offered. "You're sick. Go call, then get back in bed."
Negi thanked Konoka and then called the Headmaster about his condition.
"That's no good." Dean Konoe said. "We don't need you getting any worse or spreading it. I'll get someone to fill in for you today. Remember, get plenty of fluids."
"Thanks. I will. Goodbye."
"You're welcome. Goodbye."
Both parties hung up. Konoe thought about who he could get to go in. Takahata was out. There was an obvious choice but he really didn't want to overload him on only his second day. Well the class was only having a test so there shouldn't be to much work. It's essentially handing out and grading tests.
"I don't suppose there's much of a choice." He picked up the phone.
A phone on the wall of Peten's house began to ring. He couldn't think of who'd be calling him at this time of morning. He picked it up.
"Yo." he said.
"Excuse me?" Dean Konoe asked from the other end.
"Oh, it's you sir. I'm sorry. I didn't think anyone would be calling me at this time, much less at all."
"I need you to take over for Negi Springfield's Class 3-A for today at least. He came down with a cold and can't come in today."
"What about that, uh, Takahata guy?" Peten asked.
"He's out. Do you think you can handle it?"
"Yeah, sure. So do I get a lesson plan or something?"
"I told him to send it along with my granddaughter. So she's going in a little early to give you that so you can get prepared."
Peten thought back to when Dean Konoe tried to set him up with her. The idea embarrassed him a little. "Okay."
"Before you go I'd like to say it shouldn't be to hard. There is only a test for them today. So it should just be handing out and grading tests. Negi-san was also doing a thing after school for students with poor test scores where they could retake the test until they pass, so you might need to do that too."
"Doesn't seem to difficult. I'd better get going then. Bye."
"Goodbye."
Peten hung up the phone. He rushed to grab his stuff and get out the door and ended tripping over a newspaper. "What the hell is that doing there? Whatever. I've got to go." He picked his stuff back up and dusted himself off.
The morning rush was just picking up, but Konoka was already in class. It was weird being the first one in. She was usually one of the last to arrive because she waited for her roommates. She could get a great view of the school grounds from the windows and could watch as teachers and students headed to wherever they were headed.
Negi had asked her to go in early to give the substitute what need to be done today. Though it seems like it was her grandfather's idea.
The door opened and in stepped Peten. He closed it behind him. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting very long." Everything he carried with him was sat down on the desk.
"I only got here a couple of minutes ago."
"Good. I'd hate to think you were here for half an hour. Anyway, I hear a test is on tap for today."
"Yes. Everything you need is right here." Konoka said as she handed over a folder.
"Good. Hopefully, I won't screw this up. I'm going to be rushing about this place all day, from this class to my own."
"You can only do your best." Konoka told him.
"You're right. Well, I'd better take a look to get myself familiarized." Peten opened the folder. There was a 30 copies of the test, the answer key, a seating chart, and a note.
"Thank you for taking over my class. I only had a test for today. On test days, I usually held time after school for the students who fail to come in and try again until they pass. You don't have to do that if you don't want to. I can always schedule it for later.
Thanks again,
Negi Springfield"
Peten closed the folder. "You didn't happen to look at the test key did you?" He asked in a sly manner.
She could tell he was kidding around. "No."
"Negi trusts you so I do too." He walked up to Negi's desk. "Don't feel you need to stay here. There's still some time until class. If there's anything that you like to do before class, go right ahead." He sat in the chair. "Hm… A little high up." He pulled the switch to lower it multiple times to get it just right.
Konoka just took her seat and decided to wait. Yes there was time but she was already here and the other students would be here soon anyway. It wasn't long before the other students started coming in their usual slow trickle. Most were surprised to find that it wasn't Negi in the chair, but rather this strange red headed man, most of the time balancing a pencil on his nose. Nodoka had her usual fear reaction, and went to her desk to try and hide.
"You know," Yue told her, "he's not got to leap across and try to scare you. I'd be surprised if he could manage the leap without breaking his neck."
"I know." Nodoka admitted.
"So who is this guy?" Haruna asked.
Since Yue was the only one of the two who knew, who wasn't cowering in fear, she answered. "That is Peten Falson, the school's new music teacher."
"But the why is he sitting there?"
"That I don't know." Yue then told her, "We could ask Konoka."
They weren't the first ones to have come to that conclusion. Konoka was surrounded by her fellow classmates. Because of this the word soon spread that Negi had come down with a cold.
Eventually Evangeline and Chachamaru came in. Both reacted with a slight bit of shock. Eva's face turned a little red at seeing Peten in the class. Peten had a similar reaction. "H- Hey. Um…" was the only thing Peten could think of.
"Hello, Peten-sensei." came from Chachamaru.
After a moments hesitation and some prodding from Chachamaru a "Hello, Peten" eventually came from Eva. She hurried to her seat with a red face. A few students noticed this and naturally the gossip mill started.
After this happened, Peten developed a sharp pain in his head. Like a really bad headache behind his right eye. "No. No. No. No. Not now." he muttered to himself. He stood up and went to the hallway.
During that time Asuna and Ayaka came in, not at the same time mind you.
Ayaka heard what happened to Negi. "Asuna!"
"What now?" Asuna asked, annoyed.
"How could you let Negi get sick?"
"Me? How could I have done anything? He went out yesterday and got soaked in the rain. He's more than capable of taking care of himself where that is concerned."
"I should have know this would happen. Live with monkeys long enough and you're bound to get sick."
The class was gearing up for another clash of the titans. This Monday (Monday, Monday, Monday.) Only at Mahora-dome. Tickets for only whatever the current over-under is. They started out trying to stretch the other's cheeks out. This quickly became the epic struggle of bear hug versus headlock. Asuna represented bear hug and Ayaka took the side of headlock.
Peten walked in when this was going on. Some of the students decided to go sit down rather than face the ire of this new teacher, not knowing what he was like.
He looked at this for a couple of moments. Then he asked, very nicely and calmly, "Could you please take your seats?" Neither girl responded to this. Their non-reaction to this made Peten decide to get his secret weapon, something he had thought of before coming to Mahora. Walking normally to his case, one of two he had with him, he opened it up and removed a canister and a strange plastic device, shaped like the end of a blunderbuss, and attached it to the top of the canister. He got up like this was all normal and stood up in front of the class.
"I really wish you would have listened to me." he said in a normal tone. By this time the fight was a hair pulling contest. Some of the smarter students plugged their ears. Peten motioned for the rest to follow the example of their class mates. The music teacher aimed the device and fired it at the two girls. A loud blast from the music teacher's stadium horn sounded out that caused the fighters to take a time out. Peten tapped both ears, just to make sure.
Both girls and the teacher stood there in a daze. "Good. Now that you've stopped, and I've proven that I'm not deaf, I think, mind taking your seats? We've wasted enough time with this nonsense… Was I speaking just now?"
"Sorry, sensei." Ayaka offered.
"I'm sorry too, Peten-sensei." Asuna apologized. They both took their respective seats.
"Right then," Peten said as he put the horn away, "As you may have noticed, I am not Negi. My name is Peten Falson. Negi is out sick, so I am filling in because apparently speaking English and being a teacher makes you an English teacher. I don't know, I'm just along for the ride. This will not interrupt your regularly scheduled test for the day, and I'll be doing the after school make-up test thing he does. So you who do fail won't be getting off the hook. No sympathy from me."
The less studious students let out a collective groan.
"Hey, come on now. If you don't learn English you can't ever become an Air Traffic Controller." Peten opened the folder and checked the seating chart. "Everyone is here I see. Except one, but I'm short a test anyway so it all works out." He counted out tests and handed them to the first person in each column. "When you're done, go ahead and bring them up to me. I'll try to grade them as I get them in order to reduce my overall workload." He sat down when he was done handing the tests out.
The students finished their tests and handed them in slow bursts. Peten graded them as fast as he could while making sure not to make any mistakes himself. When Evangeline handed in her test, Peten once again developed a pain in head, behind his right eye. He was able to ignore it by closing his right eye tightly. This added fuel to the rumor mill as it looked like he was winking at her.
With five minutes left only Asuna, Makie, Ku-Fei, Kaede, and Yue were left.
Ku-Fei was the first of the Bakas to hand in her test. "Here is test. I hope do good."
"Thank much." Peten replied. "All right, let's see." He quickly ran through her test. His eyes moved back and forth from test to key and back like a speed reader. Not a minute later. "Sorry. You've got to come in after school."
"Is okay. I used to it."
Kaede, Makie, and Yue were all next. He used the same quickness and precision on their tests. All with similar results. "You three also have to come in after school." All three confirmed that. Asuna was the last person taking the test.
"Come on, Asuna. Don't let me down." Peten said. Asuna gave him a mean look. "Sorry."
She eventually finished her test and handed it in. When she did, class ended. "I'll just come in afterwards, to find out and stay if necessary."
"That'll do." Peten packed his stuff together and rushed out to go to his own class.
Later that afternoon Ayaka felt obligated to see Negi and make sure he was well. A class rep needs to do these things after all. She had went to go get a small selection of teas and a few different kinds of cold relief medicines, children's varieties, of course. There wasn't any response so she let herself in.
After looking around a bit she saw Negi, asleep in his bed. She watched him sleep.
--thump thump--
Ayaka decided to surprise him by making the tea herself. There hadn't better be any argument from Asuna either, she wouldn't hear it. But with her away, likely retaking the test, there shouldn't be too much of an argument. Why Negi put up with her, she didn't understand. Such a refined boy deserves a refined girl. That red-headed gorilla did not fit the bill whatsoever.
Negi woke to the smell of lemon and honey, and the gentle prodding of someone. "Huh?" He looked and saw Ayaka standing next to his bed. "Waah!" However, with his cold, it sounded more like, "Wuuh?"
"Hello, Ayaka-san."
"Hello, Negi-sensei. I hope you don't mind, but I let myself in."
"That's fine." Negi sat up. "What are you here for?"
"I heard you were sick, so I came over to make you some tea in the hope that it would make you feel better." Ayaka showed him the tea she had made. "There are a number of other varieties, in case you don't like this kind." She handed him the tea she had made.
"Thank you, Ayaka-san. I really appreciate that." He took an apprehensive sip, not because it was bad, but because it was hot.
Ayaka had to try to ignore the beats her heart skipped. "You're welcome, Negi-sensei. Anything for you." She was red. "I've also brought a selection of cold relief medicines for you."
"That's very thoughtful of you. With this, I should be better in no time." He felt the tiniest bit better. "How did class go today?"
"It went well. Except for Asuna."
"What now?"
"As usual she started it." Ayaka said. Negi didn't really believe it, but he wasn't going to argue the point. "But that's beside the point. The substitute almost blew our ears out with a stadium horn."
"Who was the substitute? Was it Takahata-san?"
"No. It was Peten Falson. Does it matter?"
"No. I was just curious is all." Negi smiled as he drank some more tea.
"If you would like, I could make you something to eat. You must be quite hungry."
Negi was a bit hungry, not much. "I am just a little, but you need not trouble yourself."
Ayaka shook her head. "It would be no trouble at all." The smitten blonde headed out into the kitchen.
Negi continued drinking his tea. About ten minutes went by before Ayaka came back in. She had a small selection of food set out on a tray. When did they have a tray like that?
"I didn't have much to work with. But I hope you will like it."
Negi was amazed at what she could do with so little. "I'm sure I will."
The cold stricken boy ate to his fill. When he was done, there was still a little bit left. "I don't think I could eat another bite."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. There's just so much here. I can't possibly eat it all." Negi told her.
"How did you like it?"
"It was very delicious. Thank you again, Ayaka-san."
"I glad you liked it." Ayaka easily could have used the word ecstatic, but she didn't. "You go ahead and rest. I'll clean up."
Negi finished up his tea and by the time he was done he felt almost normal. His nose wasn't stuffy, no ache. Still a little lightheaded, though. He stood up and took a deep breath.
After Ayaka was done, she came back out to see her favorite teacher up and about. "You should still be in bed."
"I feel fine thanks to you."
Ayaka got that warm, fluffy, feeling. "Listen, you may feel well, but the cold hasn't run its course yet. Please get back in bed, sensei." Negi hopped back into bed as he was told. "Thank you. Now, so you can continue to get better, I'll take my leave." She didn't want to leave but she didn't want him to get sick again either.
"Thank you, Ayaka-san." Negi said as she was leaving.
"You're welcome. Get well soon."
"I will. Good-bye."
"Good-bye." Ayaka said.
She left the room and leaned on the outside of the closed door. Flowers and sparkles floated around her mind as she thought of how many points she must have scored with him after all of that. She gave a satisfied "Ahhh."
Negi had several more visitors after that.
After Ayaka, there was Nodoka and Yue. They asked how he was doing. He said he was doing quite well, and that he appreciated their visit. It was nice to see his students had such a concern for him. Yue told him that they probably wouldn't be the last.
Next was the Narutaki twins, then Chizuru, followed by Setsuna and Konoka. They all stopped by to make sure he was doing okay and ask how he was feeling.
One by one, the rest of the Baka Rangers checked in. First up was Makie, she was very excited to see Negi doing so well. She wished a quick recovery for him and told him she hoped to see him in class tomorrow.
After that was Ku-Fei.
"Negi-bozu, you do fine?"
"Yes. I'm great. Thank you for your concern."
Ku-Fei liked what she heard. "Good. Can train tomorrow?"
"I'll be there."
Ku-Fei rustled his hair. "No take it easy."
Negi knew that, of course. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
Ku-Fei bid her farewell and met Kaede on the way out. They swapped greetings and went about their business.
Kaede was the next to go in. "Hello?"
"Hello."
Kaede found Negi in bed. "I saw Ku-Fei come out, so I hope you don't mind if I come in."
"Not at all. People have been coming and going since class let out."
"Oh. Well I don't want to make you worse, so I'll go ahead and leave. I just wanted to see that you were okay. Take it easy. See you tomorrow, Negi-bozu."
"I'll see you tomorrow."
"What do you think was up with that?" Haruna asked.
"I don't know." Yue replied, having just arrived to help in the library from well wishing Negi. "Usually Eva-san never talks to anyone." She placed one book on top of another five and picked the stack up. "What's weird is that she was there after class even though she passed the test."
"Really?" Haruna followed Yue as she put some books back on the shelves, helping every now and again.
Yue put a book about the history of the 20th century back. "Yes."
"Odd." Haruna filed a book on 18th century technology two shelves higher and to the left.
"I think I may have something," Peten said to Evangeline, "but, again, as I don't have magic nor do you, it is going to be difficult. Also, I kind of need someone to use magic on the other side of the barrier. Half of it takes place on the other side."
Evangeline gave him a strange look. They were outside, walking their way to a place to get something to drink.
"Have you tried teleporting?"
"Yes."
"Damn. Well there goes my idea." Peten said with a hint of defeat. "Never mind. Besides, the whole thing falls apart when you consider the whole 'I need someone with magic on the other side of the barrier' thing. Sorry."
"It's okay."
"I only have one other idea."
"What's that?"
"Distracting the barrier."
"Explain."
"The barrier only focuses on you. How about, at the moment the barrier would activate, we shift it's focus to say a tree or something?"
"Devious, just how I like it. But I've tried that one too."
"Aw, come on." Peten knocked the side of his head a couple of times. "There's got to be something. I won't fail at this."
"At least you tried." Eva said as she patted him on the back.
The three cheerleaders were about and noticed the two of them walking along. They went into secret stealth observation mode as they followed them along. Hiding behind a bunch of bikes.
Peten shook his head. "That's not good enough." Once again he developed a sharp, ripping pain behind his right eye. He staggered.
"You okay?" Eva asked. It didn't look as bad as it felt.
"Yeah. I just don't walk much." He lied.
"What's all this then?" Misa asked, partially rhetorically.
Madoka was the next to speak. "Ooh, what have we here?" She was reacting to the fact they were going into a fancy restaurant.
"So this is what that odd little thing was about in class this morning. They've been seeing each other." Misa observed.
"Forbidden love." Madoka said in a sing-song manner. Not realizing that Eva was more than tree time older than she'd ever hope to be.
"Why are we doing this? This seems… wrong. On so many levels." Sakurako stated.
"Can't you be happy for her?" Misa asked. "She seems like such a sour person."
Asuna came in to find Negi wrapped in a blanket and watching television. He had a hot cup of tea. Speaking of which, there was quite a selection of teas on the table.
"Feeling better I take it?" She commented and set her stuff on her bed.
"A lot better."
Asuna sat down at the table with Negi. "Where did all this tea come from?"
How to skate around this delicately? "They were gifts. Quite a few class members stopped by." It wasn't exactly lying.
"That was nice of them."
Situation averted. Woo! "I even promised Ku-roshi I would train with her tomorrow."
"Are you sure that's smart? Getting back into it so soon."
"I'll be fine."
"I hope so. After Peten this morning…"
"Yeah. Ayaka told me he used a stadium horn to get your attention. Oops." Negi realized he may have opened a can of worms.
Asuna only looked slightly irritated. "What did she want?"
"Nothing."
Asuna didn't believe a word of it. "Is that so?"
"Yes… Really."
"Whatever. It's none of my business."
Thankfully she didn't want to dig to deep. Negi took another drink of his tea.
Peten sat with Evangeline, on the other side of the booth. He had the look of someone who had left on vacation even though they hadn't gone anywhere. He was thinking of some way to help Evangeline get at least a moments freedom.
"Hello?" Evangeline asked him, but he hadn't returned yet. "Hey?" Nothing. Try a shock approach. "I'm going to kill you and throw your body in a ditch." What the hell is he looking at? She turned to where is gaze had landed to find Jack Squat, a very boring man. Turning back she asked, "Are you home?"
"Huh?" Apparently they kicked him out of where he had gone for being an absolute bore. He should have been more entertaining.
"What was so interesting?"
"I was thinking."
"I figured that out. What were you thinking?"
"I might be able to help after all."
"How?"
"Transfer the curse."
Evangeline must admit she never tried that, at least not with ancient magic. "Do you think it could work? Wait. Who would we get to accept such a thing?"
Peten smiled. "Me."
Evangeline was thrown off by his suggestion. "W- Bu- I couldn't let you…"
"Yes you could. Still, without magic, it's an impossibility."
"Why would you do something like that? I could decide I'm not coming back and just leave you here."
"Well, I suppose that would be my lot then, wouldn't it." Peten had another motivation, there was something he was trying to avoid.
"I won't let you do that. Because if I did that then we couldn't go somewhere together then."
Peten laughed. "Perhaps you're not as bad as the books say you are."
Eva couldn't help but blush. The image she had spent centuries building crumbled in the presence of this man. It was like he was the kind of person that ignored warning signs. Maybe that was what she liked about him.
They walked back to Eva's house. Peten had been dealing with that sharp pain the whole time, he'd gotten used to it, so he simply ignored it. They stood next to the steps leading up to Evangeline's door.
"I'll see you later." Peten said, out of the blue.
"You don't want to come in?"
"I'd like to, yeah, but I'm running on fumes after today."
"Back and forth all day I suppose." She said and Peten admitted that was the case. "Okay then, I'll see you later then."
"Right. See you later then."
"Bye."
Inside her house, Chachamaru had been waiting. "On a date with Peten-sensei, master?" Chachamaru asked.
"It wasn't a date." Evangeline said. "We simply went to get something to eat and drink."
"Of course, master." Chachamaru said.
Eva caught something. "I know that tone. I'm telling you, it wasn't a date. We went for food, no other reason."
"According to my data… That was a date."
"Okay so maybe it was, a little spontaneous date kind of thing." Eva had a small smile. "But don't ask me about it. It's none of your business."
Chachamaru had to obey a direct command, "As you wish," but boy did she want to know.
Peten walked back to his place. Before he got there the pain knocked him down. He lay on the ground, crippled. He groaned and held the right side of his head. "Leave me alone. Can't I have this one thing?"
"No you may not." A deep voice said to him, in his own mind. "I can't stand it when you get all lovey-dovey with someone. Just saying it gives me a bad taste in my mouth." There was a couple of spitting noises. "Free her and I'll kill her. Got that? Of course, once I'm free I won't let her live, or rather unlive, anyway"
A massive pain wracked Peten's body. It died down. "I'd like to see you try." An even bigger pain ran its way through him. He writhed around like someone who was covered in ants.
"And the Order won't let her live either. You free her, she dies. We will make sure there's nothing left to call remains. I must say though, when she's glimmered, you have excellent taste in women." It laughed. "You should be glad we're almost done with you."
"Why me? What makes me so special?"
"You know very well. It's the blood that flows through you. It's also the mile wide lucky streak you have. Not everyone has the Arcane Infinity in their head. To be what you are, to have gotten a hold of that stone and gained those abilities, and that book. You are both the luckiest man alive and the perfect tool."
"You want them so bad, take them."
"We've been over this. It doesn't work like that. Once I am complete you, and the rest of this forsaken dirt ball, will be free to die."
"I have a feeling it won't be that easy."
"Of course not."
"If it weren't for her, I'd welcome death. If only to be rid of you."
"You do know what she's done throughout the years right?"
"The lesser of two evils. You don't seem to remember that I like to look at these things on a case to case basis, right? The past is gone, there is nothing but now and people change. Do you remember what I said about history?"
"You said that history was written by people with tinted shades. So what?"
"Do you know what that means?"
"Not that it matters but, no."
"History is written by those who want to influence. The only clear way to know about something is to actually have experienced it."
"Why are you laying there getting all philosophical with me. Get up."
More pain targeted Peten. He stood up. "I'm sorry." It had a tone that said he really wasn't but that he was done fighting.
"We both know that is a lie. Get moving."
Peten continued back home.
Night fell upon Mahora as Peten stepped on to his sidewalk. He stepped up to the door and… Wasn't there a paper here this morning? A local hooligan must have taken it. Though why a hooligan would have taken a newspaper was beyond him. He had other concerns. He went in and sat down.
"Good boy." The voice in his head told him. "Get some sleep for now if you can. I'll need you for later."
"Let me go."
"Not until later. Only you could take them all on. Of course it will be me tapping into you to do it"
"I don't want to. It's not right." Peten pleaded. "Why here anyway? Why these kids?"
"If that's true then what was all that garbage about being neutral, eh?" The voice observed. "You are a liar, face it. You are evil, and loving the vampire kind of drives home my point."
"You can't help who you love. As I've said, people change. Even I have changed in the last day or so."
"If that's the case I'll have to treat you like Pavlov's dogs. Every time you see her I'm going to make you suffer just like earlier."
"Then I'll live with it."
"And as far coming here, I have some business to attend to. Some loose ends. When the Order learned the son of The Thousand Master was here they figured it was a good chance to get some revenge for what happened in Scotland all those years ago. They said they'd reward me for bringing him in. And as far as the other kids are concerned, I just enjoy messing with people… before I kill them."
"And I'm the one who's going to be treated like Pavlov's dogs?" Peten laughed at the voice. In response he was struck with one of the worst pains he'd felt yet.
"I haven't even begun yet! Even I know better than to mess with them for now. Keep it up and I won't hesitate to end your life." The voice threatened. "Could you really do that to the vampire girl?"
Peten knew that it wasn't lying. He didn't want to leave her. "Settle down."
"Accept the inevitable, will you. You know of course of the Power Limit Barrier of the Material Plane?"
"The what now?"
"The God Clause. You'll have to end up leaving anyway. Life, in all its disgusting forms, places a strain on the metaphysical borders of the Material Plane. Add magic reserves to the mix and you got yourself quite a problem. You see, the more power you have, the more of a strain you place on the very fabric of reality. There are regulations in place to prevent someone from becoming too powerful.
Once you reach a certain level, the Material Plane forcibly kicks you out into one of the Outer Planes, with their greater limits, to keep itself from being destroyed. You become a Planeswalker, still a human, but you can't return here ever again. Unless of course there were a large well of magic that would allow you to reside here. And even then it might only be temporary.
This has happened to every bard. It will happen to you, especially with that book and the abilities granted by the stone, this will happen even quicker."
"Then why hasn't the same happened to you?"
"I said life. Those without a true soul, your girl with her lack of and myself who doesn't qualify for, are different. We do not place such a strain on this plane. But you do get a nice little bonus, an extended life span. That and Planeswalkers are feared in the Outer Planes."
"I don't want to be feared."
The voice laughed. "The irony gets me. You love a vampire which, while not being truly immortal just merely enduring, and now find out you will be receiving an extended life span. But because of that you can't be with her ever."
"I've had enough of you today. I'm going to sleep." Peten went over to the couch and flopped down. Trying to avoid thinking of his eventual fate.
"Sleep tight there, buddy." The voice laughed for a bit and then went silent for the rest of the night.
--Chapter 7 End--
Afterthoughts: Development after development. The story just keeps getting more and more convoluted. One has to wonder if I even know what I'm doing anymore. (No but I sure won't let that stop me. Ha!)
I hope you've had the pleasure of, and I'm plugging myself here, reading "Twins Testing Trouble." It's a crossover involving the Negima crew and Portal, from the Orange Box. If you haven't, and you're a fan of Negima and Portal, I think you just might like it. And if not, why not give it a shot anyway, I'd like to think it's rather funny.
Tomorrow is another new day. And Negi will be back in the saddle, as it were. I hope he remembers to readjust his seat.
