Disclaimer: This is a nonprofit fictional story, a FanFiction based on Ken Akamatsu's Negima. I do not own Negima, or most of the other characters included in this work, excepting where it is stated in the author's notes. It is not intended or presented for any commercial profit or personal gain; it is simply a story written for personal fulfillment and presented for public enjoyment, and as an honest homage to the fine story conceived and written by Ken Akamatsu, as well as all the other (innumerable) works that find place herein (and their authors).

Chapter Nine: Invincible! The Might of Fairy Tail!

The group readied themselves as Kai hopped down from the rock and walked toward them. "Come now…" he intoned softly. "Are you going to renege on our deal after all this…?"

"It is true that we agreed to recover this item for you," Erza stated stoically. "However, the person who committed it into our care warned us against giving it to you. We'll have to keep it for a while."

"Is that so…?" Kai spread his hands out. "Then I suppose I'll just have to take it by force…."

"Yeah, right!" Natsu stepped forward and called flame into his hands. "I knew you were bad news from the moment I laid eyes on you. If you think you can mess with Fairy Tail, go right ahead and try."

Kai smiled as Natsu charged in. "Natsu Dragneel. Fire Dragon Slayer. Weakness: vehicles."

Kai dodged back as Natsu struck and touched him on the forehead. Suddenly Natsu's eyes opened wide….

…Because he was standing on top of a train. His stomach began to wrench his entire body in protest and he lost all his strength. He collapsed to the roof he rode on and just lay there, sick….

"W-what's Natsu doing!?" Lucy demanded, staring at the man lying helpless and moaning on the ground. "He's acting like he's motion sick, but…."

"He is motion sick," Kai explained sweetly. "Nothing is as dangerous to us as the demons we carry with us, in our own souls and minds. Natsu's is a very simple, but in his case, crippling, affliction. But while it is terrible enough to put him out of action, it is nothing compared to the demons that the rest of you carry…."

Grey stepped back and cupped his fist in his hand in preparation to cast his ice magic. Kai stepped in and cast a web over Grey's consciousness. Grey….

…Was standing before a monstrous creature that unleashed destruction all around it. The city began to burn. Grey stared in rage and terror as old memories surfaced with the beast. Then a single figure suddenly stepped in front of him and made a pose, stretching out her arms and crossing them, one palm up and one down, gathering energy. Grey recognized the woman as well, and the scene. He tried to shout, tried to interfere, but he was bound, forced to watch and unable to act as the horrifying scene replayed again before his eyes.

"G-Grey!?" Lucy gasped as he collapsed, his face an open mask of horror.

Erza called forth a pair of swords and attacked next, but again Kai dodged her strikes and unleashed his spell on her. She, too, collapsed, seeing in her mind a terrible tower, diabolical slave masters, and, perhaps worst of all, her most beloved friend transforming into a monster far more terrible than their captors….

Growling in frustration, Lucy snatched up her ring of keys and prepared to summon a spirit, but Kai intercepted her before she could call it forth, and put her in her own nightmare realm, perceiving the very worst of her early life that caused her to run away….

"That was almost too easy," Kai muttered. "Then again, it seems you were forced to use most of your energy at some point within that tower. Fortunate for me…."

Nodoka glanced around at the fallen warriors in turn, her fright very visible on her features. Kai finally turned her way. "Now, then, ojô-chan…it appears that you are too innocent to have such darkness hidden in your heart yet. But as the only one left, you are no threat…."

"H-hey!" Happy demanded angrily. "What about me!?"

Kai spared him a glance. "Oh yes. I almost forgot about the cat. You, also, are too empty-headed to have any true concerns buried in your psyche…."

"W-what!? Grr…take this!" Happy, wings fully unfurled, raced towards Kai, who simply gestured. Happy hit a magic shield and was violently repelled, causing him to hit the ground hard and lay there, quite stunned.

"Now…." Kai turned back to Nodoka. "I have nothing against you, but you are too dangerous to be allowed to remain. It is a pity…I hate to kill you, but the Cosmo Entelecheia, the 'Perfect World', is not yet ready." He raised a hand and energy began to glow in his hand. "Farewell…."

What do I do? What do I do? W-what do I do? Nodoka thought in panic. Kai lunged at her, and she dodged aside, with a quickness that surprised the man.

"Eh? You want to learn…about enhancement magic?" Lucy asked, surprised. "Wow…that's some really intense stuff…."

"It's a good idea," Erza commented. "If you want to be more useful in battle…or simply want to protect yourself…it's a handy technique."

"Provided you have the skill for it…" Lucy sighed. "I never could get the hang of something like that. Channeling mana into an object is about all I can do."

"No, I think Nodoka-chan can do it," Grey insisted. "That card of hers is a natural enhancement tool, so if she's used it any, she'll have a leg up. And from that contract, she'll have power to draw on for it."

"That's right," Erza agreed. "Grey, Natsu and I are all skilled at enhancement-type magic boosting. We can help you learn…."

"Huh?" Natsu said around a mouthful of food. "Enhancement magic? I do?"

"Of course, Natsu's an idiot who does it by instinct…" Lucy sighed.

Kai watched Nodoka sprint around him, ducking for cover behind rocks. "So…I had heard that you were among the most very novice and unskilled in magical use and combat, but it seems that you have learned quite a bit."

"Kai-san!" Nodoka called, slipping the Reading Ear onto her ear and the Demon's Lullaby onto her finger. She had already tested her new toys out during their meal, and had a good grasp of what they were capable of and how they worked. However, as no words poured into her ear, she knew that….

"That's right," Kai agreed, noticing her hesitation, playing her hide and seek game among the rocks. "My name 'Kai' is simply an alias. You must have a true name to use your Diarium Ejus…."

Then Nodoka popped up and pointed the Demon's Lullaby his direction. "What is your name!?" she demanded.

Kai's eyes widened. "What!? That is…."

She read the name Koltas Corai and repeated it aloud. Then, as she ducked back behind the rocks, the words of Kai's frantic thought processes began to fill her ear, read to her directly from her book. That artifact…she must have found it inside as well! Curse the girl…she's cleverer than I thought….

"Koltas-san!" Nodoka called out. "H-how would you escape this situation?"

Clever girl…no matter how hard one tries, all thoughts are focused on the events and words around him. One girl with some enhanced strength isn't much of a threat and doesn't have much power…but with the Always One and a contract card in her possession, she could at least keep that enhancement up indefinitely, which is troublesome. Furthermore, my powers are in mental manipulation and foreknowledge. My own martial magic skills, while more than enough to deal with a magic novice, are not so pronounced. Still, it's difficult to see a weak girl getting out of this in anyway, save by abandoning her friends and running….

Nodoka gritted her teeth. Is there really…nothing I can do…?

The game of cat-and-mouse continued for some time, as Koltas was constantly outmaneuvered by Nodoka's mind-reading. The man was either too honorable to try to flush the girl out of hiding by threatening her comatose friends, or he was actually afraid of turning his attention away from the girl.

From his thoughts, Nodoka was able to verify that he was a member of the Obsidian Star, but got very little more out of him, as he was quite adept at corralling his thoughts even as they wandered into dangerous areas. Still, she knew that time was her ally…as Koltas also noted fearfully, the longer she escaped him, the closer the expiration of his enchantments on her friends grew.

And then a shadowy form suddenly rose up in front of Nodoka. She had just a moment to stare up at it shock before it acted. It was large, almost amorphous, light purple in shade with red markings, almost like tattoos, over it, and no other visible features, until its tentacles writhed out and wrapped out the girl. Nodoka gasped in pain and shock as she was lifted from the ground, constricted to the point of asphyxiation.

Koltas stared in surprise in a moment, then turned his gaze further up and off to the right. "Nagi…" he muttered.

The boy stood there in the air, his smirk, his ice-blue hair and pink eyes, his white collared shirt and grey slacks just as Nodoka remembered from the brief encounter back at the Gateport. "My, my," he cooed. "Really, Corai, so much trouble over one little girl?"

"Forgive me," Koltas muttered. "Her tenacity took me by surprise."

Nagi's smile deepened and he glanced over at the girl. "It's really a shame…even without training, a power like that is simply too dangerous. She's a cute little thing, but we can't leave her…or any of her friends." He snapped his fingers and the Always One stone that Nodoka carried flared to life. It rose from Nodoka's pocket and came to Nagi. "And so…this is the last one. Kalovus got us the other two. The plan can go forward in motion. I'll take this away…use my pet and take care of the rest of these trouble spots, would you, Corai?" And Nagi vanished.

Koltas sighed and looked mournfully over at the captive Nodoka. "How arrogant and dreadful," he muttered. "Leaving this distasteful final task to me…. Well, it appears I have no choice. Consume her—I will deal with these other four…."

He began to walk toward the four prone Fairies, his hand beginning to glow with energy again. As Nodoka stared in fear—having little other choice—a gruff voice suddenly cut in, "Oi, oi…deal with them, you say? That would be inconvenient to us…."

A steel blade slashed through the black creature, dropping Nodoka roughly to the ground. She turned to gaze at her rescuer. He was both tall and large, muscular, with the build of a football linebacker. His skin was dark, and his long ragged hair even darker. His eyes were a rather dull red, almost brown, and the hawkish features of his face were made even more threatening by the six studs in the bridge of his nose and the six over his (almost nonexistent) eyebrows. He wore a sleeveless tunic, revealing the black Fairy Tail mark on his left shoulder.

As Koltas turned in shock, a surge of water suddenly swept past the newcomer and blasted harshly towards him. He dodged aside, rolling, and came up to see the water coalesce and form into a woman…a very angry woman, dressed predominantly in blue, with short blue hair. "I won't let you touch Grey-sama!"

Koltas retreated back and stared at them. Blackness trickled away from the pair, towards Koltas, and formed just in front of him as the red-marked monstrosity from before. "So…the two new members of Fairy Tail, Gajeel Redfox and Juvia Lockser…?" He sighed once more. "Nothing awaits me in the future before me…." He opened his hands and let power gather in them. "But I have no choice. This is my only recourse as a minion of the Obsidian Star…."

Gajeel and Juvia set themselves in preparation. "Don't go crazy here, Juvia. This guy seems weak, but he's put down Salamander and the rest, plus that thing…."

"Yes, Gajeel-kun…it looked like you killed that beast, but it just reformed." She let her limbs dissolve into churning water. "Still, we cannot back down after they hurt our comrades. I will not forgive them for hurting my precious Grey-sama!"

"I couldn't care less about that," Gajeel snorted. "But it really means we're facing a worthwhile fight! Iron Dragon's Roar!"

Gajeel, the Iron Dragon Slayer, actually spewed forth a stream of razor-sharp shards of metal towards the pair. The creature flowed down and darted forward under the attack, and Koltas rolled aside to avoid it.

The creature came towards him, but Juvia moved to intercept it. "Water Cane!" Her arms, as long streams of water, lashed out repeatedly like whips, driving it back. Koltas flashed behind Gajeel, but the larger man was ready for him. His own arm transformed into a steel maul that shot forwards, stretching seamlessly towards the foe.

Koltas managed to dodge aside, the attack just glancing across his right shoulder, but the blow was enough to throw him backward. He finally arose, clutching his arm, which was bent awkwardly. "Ouch. That hurts. You're pretty frightening, you know…." There was a light that swelled over his arm, then it snapped oddly back to normal. "I'm just not cut out for something like this…."

The summoned creature backed away from Juvia's attacks, then set itself and extended its own tentacles. They crawled along the ground and wrapped around Juvia. Her form became more distinctly water as they attempted to wrap around it. "Foolish creature," Juvia said with a smile. "Juvia's body is water…she can't be harmed by…." Then blackness flowed out of the tentacles, coating Juvia's liquid form in a kind of viscous shadow. Juvia screamed in pain.

Gajeel turned to the sound in surprise, and Koltas struck. The invisible shock of his mental javelin would nonetheless be illustrated in the manga or anime production, but despite its lack of appearance its effect was clearly evident. Gajeel rocked and sunk to his knees, shivering slightly. "W-what's this…? M-my body…won't move…."

"Using magic to enforce mental domination isn't as easy as some people think it is," Koltas muttered. "But that distraction helped…now I just have to hold you…."

Then a blast of flame nearly engulfed him, and he was forced backwards. Gajeel dropped panting onto his hands as Natsu stepped forward.

A blade came down, cutting through the blackness gripping Juvia. A flash of ice washed over the retreating black monster, and Erza and Grey stepped up next to the rain woman. Juvia's eyes shown as she recovered. "Grey-sama…you came to rescue me!" she announced, almost pointedly ignoring her other rescuer.

"I didn't ask for your help, Salamander," Gajeel growled to the other Dragon Slayer.

"And we didn't really ask for yours, either," Lucy said. "But it looks like we're gonna have to work together here…."

Koltas rose and dusted himself off. He glanced at Natsu, Gajeel, and Lucy, and then over at Juvia, Erza, and Grey, who, with their combined powers, had finally dealt enough damage to finish off the shadow creature. He sighed. Damn that Nagi. Leaving me here, to deal with this…going back now is impossible. There is only way left to handle this situation….

Happy, recovered, flew over to Nodoka. "Are you all right?" he asked her.

"Y-yes…but…that man…."

"Ah, don't worry! With Juvia and Gajeel here, he'll be easy to beat…."

"No, but…!"

"Well, my dear Fairies…I guess this is the end. Death awaits either all of you…or me." Blackness began to engulf him and he rose up into the air.

"Bring it on!" Natsu declared, but Nodoka pushed forward.

"W-wait! Corai-san! You don't have to do this!"

Koltas glanced over and met her eyes. Ojo-chan…are you sympathizing with me? It is wasted…despite how I look, we are different species, too different to resolve our differences amicably here….

Then, finally, a globe of darkness obscured him, enlarged, and then finally faded. Left behind was a creature, about ten feet tall, with very long limbs and legs, and thorny chitinous armor covering its body. Its large claws, on feet and hands, each with only a thumb-like appendage and two more besides. A long, sinewy tail with a barbed, club-like tip curled on the ground around him.

"Now…this is the final form of a kin of the Obsidian Star, one of their bloodline. This will be an entirely different battle. Behold…."

He raised up one claw and a host of shadows arose around him, finally forming into a host of demonic creatures of varying shapes and sizes. "Now, face Coratalcus, of the Black Host!"

"All the better!" Natsu enthused. "Let's go!"

He leapt at the monster Coratalcus, and the host leapt up to intercept him. The other members of Fairy Tail, however, jumped in to intercept the attackers, leaving Natsu to fight their commander.

Natsu encircled his feet with flame and lashed out with "Fire Dragon's Talon!" Coratalcus dodged back, but Natsu pressed in. "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" connected with the creature's face.

It staggered backwards a few steps and made a rather human gesture of wiping its 'lip' with its wrist. "Truly impressive. You didn't seem to have any power left when you came out of the tower…it was obvious you'd been involved in some great battle. And yet you still have this much strength…."

"So what?" Natsu barked. "Are you going to talk, with a big form like that, or are you going to fight?"

He charged in again, but Coratalcus' tail came whipping around from the side and clubbed him, sending him flying. Even as Natsu sailed away, a black appendage sprouted from the monster's ribs and snaked out, grabbed Natsu and slammed him into the ground. "No. This form isn't for talking…or for fighting. This form…is for killing."

The appendage from Coratalcus' ribs retracted back, disappearing into the monster's flesh, and two more arms emerged from the back of its shoulders, curling around at angles. The ends developed into glinting points, which then stretched out to spear the man on the ground.

Natsu dodged aside and leapt back up into the air, breathing in a lungful. "Fire Dragon's Roar!" He breathed out a stream of fire.

"Is this really the flame of a Dragon Slayer?" Coratalcus taunted, batting the fire aside. "This heat is nothing…." Once again the tail came around and swatted Natsu down like a fly.

"Natsu's in trouble!" Happy confided to Nodoka from the spectators' corner. "He did us up too much energy in the fight before. He needs help…."

But help wasn't coming from their other companions. Erza, Grey, Gajeel, Juvia, and Lucy (with her most faithful spirit companion, Loki, summoned) seemed to be handling the other monsters well enough, but more were coming in all the time…faster, it seemed, than they could kill them.

"Natsu's used so much energy," Happy continued to whine. "If he had some fire around he could eat, he could get his strength back, but right now…."

One down, Nodoka heard in Corai's slightly-distorted thoughts as the monster lifted a semi-limp Natsu up, one hand clutched around the top of his head. Channeling in this much of the Obsidian Star directly into this plane is costly…but even with the Fairies in this state, it's necessary. I must try to finish this quickly to have any hope of returning to my previous level of humanity….

As if the heat of battle wasn't intense enough already….

A barrage of varying magical attacks suddenly collided with the monster. Vines, playing cards, smoke, even three-dimensional words all came in together, forcing Coratalcus to drop Natsu and stagger backward. It gazed up at the combined might of Fairy Tail.

Watabe was there, smoke pouring from the pipe he always had in his mouth. The smoke stretched around, as nimble and directed as Coratalcus' prehensile tail. Cana drew out a handful of cards, which she enchanted and hurled. Elfman transformed into a large, green-skinned ogre and threw himself into combat with the monster. Jet of Shadow Gear dashed in, moving at super speed, and ran circles around the creature. Droy, his partner, threw out some seeds and gestured; instantly the seeds transformed into vines that snaked out to attack the opponent. Two younger mages, a man and woman, both dressed in rather Western-style clothing, fired magical guns, twin pistols and a rifle, respectively.

Macau stepped forward and threw out purple-colored flames at Natsu, calling out his name. Levy wrote 'Fire' into the air with a magic pen, and those words took shape and then caught fire and she threw this, too, at the Salamander.

Natsu took hold of the flames and stuffed them rapidly into his mouth. The strange magics disappeared inside him without any sign of harming him; indeed, Natsu really did seem energized by consuming the magical fire. "Thanks, you guys! Now I've got a fire in my belly!"

Coratalcus stoically took on the attacks from the Fairy Horde and repelled them. His shadowy appendages as well as shadowy missiles he conjured deflected and countered against all of the attacks. "So, now I am forced to face an entire mage guild? Come, then! Show me what you have!"

"We aren't just any mage guild!" Natsu cried, leaping back into the forefront of the battle. "We are Fairy Tail! We're the number one guild of Fiore, and we won't let anyone mess with our comrades!"

The rest of Fairy Tail mages backed off from the battle with the larger demon, instead focusing on helping Erza and the rest destroy the smaller minions, until the horde began to slow and finally died. When they finally finished, gasping and drained to a man, still they watched Natsu battling the demon, throwing out his entire repertoire of fire-based attacks.

Why must I fight a guild like this? Nodoka heard Koltas' plaintive voice. Why do I have to fight someone this strong?

Why did I have to be born chained to this darkness? Why couldn't my destiny to have been born with these…amongst such a family…?

My brothers and I had no choice all our lives but to serve the Star that gave us birth, even after its fall. That chain of destiny granted us all great powers, magic others would lust after…and yet I would wish for nothing more than to have been free, unchained by this burden of destiny, with a blank and frightening future before me….

I would have wished to be weak, but, perhaps, I truly was weak…perhaps I was simply too weak and afraid to ever fight against the fate I was born to. And now, perhaps, this is my punishment for that weakness….

One final 'Fire Dragon's Iron Fist' burst through Coratalcus' defenses and then through its chest. The monster quivered and went still, and, as Natsu withdrew his hand and pulled back, it collapsed powerlessly to the ground and lay there. Finally the darkness drained away from the body, and it disintegrated down until the form of Koltas Corai remained.

"You did well," he breathed in a barely-audible whisper. "Your tenacity has won this day, Salamander. And yet I weep for you…you may come to rue your victory, that you will live to see the darkness that comes…you may cry out in anguish that you did not die here, so great will be the pain you have yet to see….

"And yet…I wish you the best…. Take care of your little lady. If there is any hope…for you and your kind…it is found with her…and her little man…."

As he gasped out his last words, his own body began to disintegrate into black ash that started to blow away like sand before evaporating into the air. Finally there was no sign left that the man had ever been there, save for a large stain of blood on the ground.

Natsu stared at it for a moment, digesting what he had heard. Then, apparently, he decided that it was all far over his head, as he pumped a fist up and jumped into the air. "I won!" he screeched—and then he toppled over, still in his victory pose, unconscious, as the group rushed in to see to him.

8-8-8

It is now some time later.

The guild was recovering in an inn in the nearest town…and, naturally, turning it into their own wild territory for the night. It would probably be expensive come morning, but, Makarov observed dourly, he was used to it.

Natsu was wrapped up in bandages like a mummy, such was the extent of his wounds. For all its magic, Fairy Tail lacked a dedicated, powerful magic healer, and so the recovery of its injured members was never a swift and painless process.

"Look at you," Gajeel taunted the man. "One little fight and you're beat up like that? You're really pathetic, Salamander."

"Mmmfff mrrrff mmff mrrrf mmmmmffr!" Natsu shot back.

"Oh, really?" Gajeel breathed, leaning in close. "You wanna back up those words? I won't go easy on you, just because you're an invalid."

"How can he understand him?" Lucy sighed, not for the first time.

"The power of Idiot language, maybe?" Happy offered.

"Why did you all come?" Erza asked the master, ignoring the fight behind her as Grey and Juvia attempted to prevent it from firing off.

"Hmm?" Makarov looked up at her. He sat on the bar of the establishment, Indian-style, his arms crossed, and, until Erza had addressed him, he had had his eyes closed and head down as if in apparent meditation. "What do you mean?"

"Well, of course you knew where we were since it was an official request," Erza pointed out. "However, you arrived in the nick of time to save us, with nearly the entire guild—everyone who was available, at least. How on earth did you even know that we were in trouble?"

Nodoka and Lucy, catching this part of the conversation, sidled over to hear more details for themselves. "Well, funny thing, that," Makarov replied conversationally, stroking at his chin. "It wasn't too long after you left. We were visited by a strange man. He was…suspicious…he was very well-informed, for instance, about our newest little member, and about your activities, but most importantly, he warned us that our employer, the man we knew as 'Kai', was not to be trusted, and was planning on causing all of your deaths.

"Naturally, trusting this man was not a simple manner, but Cana sobered up enough to do a reading and, although the details seemed blocked for her, much of what she could gather seemed to support the man's statements. So we came to support you, and arrived just in time…just as the man had said."

"This man…knew about me?" Nodoka asked in wonder.

"Yes…all about you. He even named you as 'Miyazaki Nodoka, disciple of Kain Lockeheart'." Makarov glanced askew at her. "A strange man…some white-and-green-striped hat and clogs, as well as a cheap robe…."

"So is he an ally, or does he have plans of his own?" Grey demanded, joining the conversation. "Kalan Lockeheart had a great number of friends and supporters, some of whom were more secretive than others. It seems that Kai guy was part of the Obsidian Star, and probably only a true foe or true ally would know that much about Kain Lockeheart."

"And since he helped us against the Obsidian Star, it's unlikely he's part of the same group," Erza agreed. "Still, it doesn't completely answer the question of whether he's truly trustworthy or not. What happened to him?"

"He wandered off after leaving his message," Makarov said. "'Well, I've given you my warning, which is all I can do, so I'll be going,' he said."

"Jeez…how scary this is," Lucy sighed. "Well, we're on our way to the grand celebration in Orimus, huh? I guess these next couple months aren't going to be that dull…."

Nodoka digested this information quietly. The man in question sounded familiar from some of the (few) stories that Kamo had told about Kalan's adventures in the last war, but she couldn't be sure. However, she did know that all of Kai's thoughts and comments suggested that she—or, rather, her Diarium Ejus—was considered a great threat by the Obsidian Star. They would never let her go if they could help it….

Still, she had found herself amongst a loyal and stalwart group of new friends. In many ways, in spite of the danger, it was all she could have hoped for. Now, if only she had Yue…and Kain….

8-8-8

The man observed the festive inn and listened to the noises from the energetic guild from the mouth of a narrow, dark alley. One hand lightly lifted brim of his green-and-white-striped hat and he looked out from underneath it, a small smile on his face. "Well," he chuckled. "It seems they handled it well enough. A small victory for our side." He turned to the smaller but bulky figure next to him. "I'm surprised you made such a bold, outgoing move yourself…."

The shadowed figure was tiny, a young girl no more than ten years old, and resting in a large, ornate white wheelchair. Another figure stood behind her, completely covered in the shadow, her hands on the chair's push handles. Still, while the voice that emerged was young, there was an undeniable sense of maturity and wisdom underlining the voice. "Normally I don't like to get involved, but there are extenuating circumstances now. That girl is very precious to one that has recently come under my charge…I had to protect her."

The man chuckled. "Yes, I understand." He dropped the hand on his head and brought his other up to his eyes. Between his fingers he held a white pin, stylized in the shape of a wing. "You sure you don't want to give this back to her?"

"Right now, it's of far more use in your hands. Besides, she's safer if I keep her where she is, hidden. Can I contact you if I need anything else?"

"Of course. I prefer being but a humble shopkeeper, but sometimes I enjoy taking requests from the influential and powerful…such as the Master of the HiME Garden, Garderobe Academy." He smiled from under his hat at the girl.

She smiled sweetly back and him. Taking up his cane, the man turned and disappeared into the darkness, his square clogs making a distinctive clop-clop upon the cobbles. Then, girl and attendant both vanished.

8-8-8

Author's Note: Wrapping It All Up

A rather short chapter, especially for a combat piece. Again, since I'm inventing this portion entirely, it's rather harder to do. Plus, I've done so much in this Part already, I'm ready to wrap it up. So, there remains one chapter, to return (briefly) to the main party, and then that's the finish of Part Nine. Then, on to Part Ten!

As such, there's not a lot more to say about this one. I've already mentioned Fairy Tail in pretty good detail. Nodoka hasn't changed much. The third villain has been defeated, but….

Oh, but Nagi got the artifact…which means plans are moving forward…ah, so much lying underneath….

I can at least briefly touch upon Gajeel and Juvia, although they aren't important enough to give pictures and full bios on. Originally part of the Phantom Lord guild, they battled Fairy Tail in the battle between the two guilds, but after Phantom Lord's defeat and subsequent disbanding with their master Jose's arrest, Gajeel and Juvia eventually made their way to Fairy Tail. Juvia went because, while battling Grey, she had inexplicably fallen in love with him, and dragged 'Gajeel-kun' with her because he was a loner and she felt sorry for him. For his part, Gajeel was a bad dude with little concern even for his 'friends', but he needed a guild to get jobs, and Makarov hired him for a special undercover job. He's still a mostly bad dude, but, in the mold of Shonen characters such as Piccolo, Vegeta, Sesshomaru and others, he ends up with a strange mutual attraction to Levy (upsetting Shadow Gear's dynamic), and ends up learning about friendship because of the guild. Yeah, standard Shonen stuff.

Oh well, let's get this party wrapped up fully! Final chapter, ho!