I do not own the Negima
Author's Note: I've opted not to work the Redone version of Demon of Mahora in. I tried, i gave it a shot but seems so awkward to do it this far in. Enjoy.
/\/\/\
The cell was dark, nothing could be seen save for a diminutive square of light shining in the padded room from the reinforced glass. In the square a corner of a stain from Bishop's saliva was outlined in grey. Outside, screams, maniacal laughter, clanking of chains, straight jackets, and keys.
The door opened with the tell tale sound of dead bolts retracting. Bishop didn't react as the chamber shined with the incoming light.
"Someone's here to see you Mr. Bishop." Called the deep and strong voice of an asylum orderly.
Still no reaction, the "hospital" kept him so drugged up, he had no idea anything existed beyond the few feet of padded fabric he layed on.
Next thing he knew, he was hoisted into the air and being escorted down the main hall of the institution. The rest is a blur of hallucinations, screams, and jerks at the hands of the orderly.
He was set down in an uncomfortable metal chair. Across a matching metal table sat a younger, yet absolutely similar, Ethan Demandepace. He opened up a dossier as Bishop sat limp, using all effort and energy to keep himself from drooling. "Why don't you guys have a smoke? I can handle this guy." He said to the orderlys.
"Sorry sir, this patient has been deemed a level 3 security threat. We can't leave you with him."
"Look at this guy." He said, irritated. "He's so doped up he can't move."
The two orderlys looked at each other for a moment. "He is pretty fucked up." One said. shaking his head at the mess of short, untidy black hair, greasy unwashed skin, and unkempt 5 o' clock shadow.
"Fuck it." Said the other. "We'll be back in 5 minutes."
As the orderlys walked out, Ethan reached in the sleeve of his dark grey flannel suit, and retrieved a blue pill the size of ones pinky nail. "Take that. It should counteract the sedatives."
Bishop understood just enough to know he wanted it. He fell forward on the table with a bang, and clumsily maneuvered his face up to the drug. He inhaled it into his mouth and swallowed it.
"You're about to get the nastiest heartburn you've ever had so stay with me." He paused as his chest began to burn in chemical agony. Ethan began reading the dossier. "Jason Nicholas Bishop. Age 29. Born Chicago Illinois February 23rd 1954. Joined the Marine Corps at age 17 shortly after the death of your father Nikolas Patrick Bishop. Ran black ops in Vietnam for 7 years before retiring and marrying French Chef, Bridgette Antione Sabatier. Is that fair to say Jason?"
The drug had just ran it's course, and Bishop was awake again. "Who wants to know?" He said, cynically.
"Someone who knows about your skill set, and knows equally well that it's not doing any good in here." He began to stand up. "Let's get you out of that jacket." He loosened the restraints and Bishop shook his hands out of the sleeves.
"Yeah, i'd say that's about accurate."
Ethan continued in the dossier. "Settled down in Los Angeles 5 years ago, joined LAPD as a detective. Had a daughter Marie" (Pronounced Merry)
"Marie." (Pronounced Muh-Ree) He was quick to correct.
"Both Marie and Bridgette were lost just a few months ago." He paused. "I read the police report Bishop. That's... unfortunate."
He pounded his fist on the table. "Fortune has nothing to do with a sniper killing your wife and daughter from across the street!" Ethan glared back at him. Bishop reluctantly sat back down and listened, he knew he could gain something if he kept his cool.
Ethan looked at the file again. "A smoker?" He shrugged a bit and retrieved a single cigarette from his inside jacket pocket. He slid the cigarette across the table into Bishop's waiting hands.
"Got a light?" He asked, putting it to his lips.
Ethan leaned over. "Ever think about getting back into the business of professional murder?"
"Every fuckin' day."
Ethan extended his arm and snapped his fingers. On the end of his index finger a small flame sparked to life, and ignited the tobacco.
Bishop was too stunned to smoke. "What the fuck was that?"
"Magic. I'd like to tell you more, but our time is almost up." He pulled a silenced Colt 1911 from his suit and set it on the table. He began to stand up, but leaned down by Bishop. "If you're content rotting in this prison for the rest of your life then just let the orderlys push you around and confiscate that gun. If you're not, then there's a blue and white Chevelle in the parking lot, passenger side door is unlocked. Just remember what war is like, and prepare to face it ten fold."
Ethan left. Bishop was finishing his cigarette as the orderlys returned. "Is that a cigarette? How'd you get that? Wha- How'd you get out of your jacket?" He grabbed Bishop's shoulder.
Several minutes later, Bishop entered Ethan's car. "Where to?" He asked.
"I'll brief you after we get some equipment. I know some people."
Bishop has joined the party!
End Flashback
/\/\/\
It was the first weekend back from Kyoto, and after a few hectic days Brent was lazing around in his rooftop home. While he wasn't physically tired, the Kyoto trip had been very eventful, during which time him and his allies had saved Konoka from kidnapping and subsequent ritualistic death, defeated an ancient evil which threatened the Eastern Magical Society, faced assassination, survived assassination, and joined forces with a powerful demon hunting assassin.
The television sat across from him in the darkened room, quietly spitting the news and flickering in unnatural colors. "Ugh I hate TV." Groaned Brent to himself. "I think I liked it better when all we had were radios." Ethan suddenly entered through the previously locked door. Brent didn't seem bothered. "That was locked for a reason you know."
"Don't lock your doors. Accept all challengers, thats what I say. Now come on. I've got to show you something."
"I'm fine right here."
"C'mon man. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised." He said with rising anxiety.
"I've had enough surprises for now."
Ethan quickly shut off the television and yelled. "Brent! Class 3-A, our classmates, are having a topless mudwrestling tournament right now!"
Ethan was used to tracking things at high speed, but the speed with which Brent leapt off the couch and pinned Ethan to the floor was so fast that not even he saw it coming. "WHERE IS THIS PLACE!" He said wide eyed and excited.
"Hiha wagh oi ki-ing" It was difficult to speak with Brent unknowingly wrapping his hands around his neck.
"What? Tell me, tell me, tell me!" Ethan frantically slapped Brent's wrists to submit, but more to let him know what he was doing. "Oh sorry."
Ethan started to cough and sputter as he was finally able to fill his lungs again. "'Sa'right."
"Now, what were you saying?"
"I was only kidding, I just thought it would get your ass off the couch."
Brent frowned, less at the absence of topless mudwrestling, more at the fact that he had been tricked. "Well it backfired because I'm going to go watch TV again."
"No. We're going to climb a mountain and start a bonfire. It'll be fun."
Brent stopped walking. "... Can I invite Kazumi and Ku?"
"I'm inviting Haruna so it'd be weird if you didn't." Ethan grabbed Brent by the collar and pulled him outside of the hut that passed for his house. He pulled him in and pointed towards a rocky mountain in the distance, maybe 3 or 4 miles off. A slate gray peak rising above a lively green forest, silhouetted against an impeccable blue sky. "That's the one I had in mind. Invite anyone you want, I was also going to invite Negi, Asuna, Setsuna, and everyone else who's aware of magic so we can discuss the situation at hand. But that'll only take a few minutes so the rest of the time we can have a big 'ol party. You get snacks and things to that effect. I'll get the people and start stacking wood."
"Do I get to decide anything?" Brent said neutrally.
"No, get used to it." He said in a sarcastic tone that suggested he was surprised the question even came up. When he finished he shoved Brent back through the door and slammed it shut.
/\/\/\
Ethan went back to his room, to grab his phone so he could invite everyone. Without a signal he began to walk out, bound for the surface to find one. As he opened the door, he was met with a man slightly shorter than Ethan wearing white congregation robes. The details in his sash revealed that he was a high ranking scholar. "Lord Demandepace, may I have a word with you?"
Ethan was stunned, it was outside of protocol for a scholar to perform inspections of long time members like him, but without a choice he invited him in. "Sure come on in."
The agent shut the door. "I received an order to come and investigate a possible loyalty case."
"A loyalty case? Who suspects me of heresy?"
"Oh, some apprentice in Kyoto. Nothing too worrying. I just need to ask you a few questions and then we can all move on." He said casually. He walked further into the room leaving Ethan between him and the door. The agent turned around. "Ethan, we were given to understand that you were going to attempt to bring in several high value targets for their bounties yesterday. Correct?"
"Yes."
"Then why did you see fit to come here to Mahora?" He said, becoming more aggressive.
"I wasn't prepared. Or rather, they were prepared for my arrival and-"
"Wasn't prepared? Sir, you're a master slayer, to say you were inadequately prepared is ludicrous." He said, throughly disappointed.
"I know. They anticipated my arrival and-"
"Sir, i know for a fact that you were instrumental in the resolution of the Great War. You are beyond any doubt familiar with techniques in overt combat."
Ethan glared for a moment. He hated being cut off. "At any rate, the targets fled with their lives to this campus."
The agent stared, utterly stunned by what Ethan had to say. He then cleared his throat and fixed his posture that had subconsciously slouched as he was repeatedly disappointed in Ethan's alibi. " I've heard enough." He began. "It's obvious to me that for whatever reason you are in no condition to be undertaking such a prestigious mission. The total removal of dragons from Earth cannot be entrusted to so one who so mindlessly allows his quarry to evade him." He slowly made for the door. "I'm going to the congregation mission to let them know of your poor performance."
"I'm in pursuit of the targets!" Ethan yelled.
The agent made his way toward the door. "And what then? Let them slip away again? I won't take that chance. I'm having a full master platoon sent here to clean up your mess. When they arrive i expect you to tell them everything you know." Overwhelmed, as the agent passed Ethan, he lurched out with his hand and grabbed the agent by his coat. He looked down at Ethan's hand and back up. "Take your damn hand off me." He growled.
At that moment Ethan lost control. "You can't threaten me. I'm centuries ahead of you." He lifted his knee and clocked him in the stomach. As the agent doubled over in pain, Ethan laced his fingers and slammed down on the back of the agents neck. It took a moment to realize what he had done. That man now had evidence of Ethan's treachery, if he made it back to the congregation, they would kill him, Brent, Falco, Averus, and anyone else who knew about him. As fast as he could he ran to his coat rack to get a cinqedia from his robes. As he yanked it free from the leather scabbard, he heard the door open and frantic foot steps up the stairs. He took a few steps after him, but realizing the obvious suspicion aroused by chasing a man with a knife, he threw on his robes to conceal his identity.
Ethan chased the sounds of footsteps through the halls of the dorm building for about ten seconds before the hands of the scholar slammed against the front door and he made an inhuman sprint across one of the main courtyards. Being an agent with even the most basic training made the scholar very quick. With just a few seconds head start he got much further ahead. But Ethan being both a master scholar and a master warrior was much faster, and he used this straight sprint to recover the lost distance. Realizing he was being caught up to, he broke to his right toward the sports field that was currently being used for practice by various athletic clubs.
The track club, doing laps, stopped dead as the two ran across the field faster than they could dream was possible. A La Cross game was interrupted, and the ball ricocheted off of the scholars head, still running unphased.
Finally, the cheerleaders abruptly ended the routine they were practicing, as the scholar accidentally shoved Sakurako, seconds later Ethan smoothly slid through the center of the group, creating a gust of wind that briefly lifted their skirts.
They continued to run towards the administrative building. Cornered, the scholar shoved his way through the door. Ethan knew following him was risky. The administration allowed congregation agents to operate at the campus because they were obligated to protect it and keep a low profile, and making a mess of the administration offices was not the best way to do that.
Directly in front of the double glass doors were a set of stairs that slip at the second floor and led the the third. He darted up them pushing aside people, sending stacks of papers flying. On the fourth floor he ran down the hall leading left. He followed him to the end of the hall and turned the corner leading right. An office door sounded as it burst open with a shove, about a second later the window shattered open. A moment after, Ethan ran in and leapt over the wooden desk, out the window all at once. He rolled to a stable position on his knee.
The scholar was nowhere to be seen, but he heard the sound of metallic bangs from behind him. As he looked over his shoulder, he saw his target climbing a gutter adjacent to the window to the roof. Ethan turned and jumped to the third floor window, and pulled himself from there to sixth floor, and then it was just a short skip to the roof of the six story building. The scholar had gotten some considerable distance ahead. Ethan followed as fast as he can and was gaining speed quickly.
Just as he was right on the scholars tail, they had come full circle back to the dorms. The scholar made a last faithful spring, which just happened to see him landing on top of Brent's rooftop shack, although neither realized it at the time. The scholar rolled off the roof and smoothly to the ground. Ethan jumped further and landed right on top of the scholar as he was readying to start running again.
Inside
Brent was cataloging a selection of game fuel, jerky, potato chips, and burger patties he intended to cook. He was excited for the party that night, especially spending more time with Kazumi and Ku.
The roof buckled and rattled once, and then again. Briskly he went outside to investigate.
Outside
Brent slammed the door open. Just in time to watch as Ethan rolled the scholar onto his stomach, and struggle. He inhaled sharply and began to scream no, before he plunged the dagger into the small of the scholars back, silencing him.
Brent recognized the robes of the two people from the ones Ethan wore, but didn't know for sure if it was the agent he was familiar with. He assumed a fighting stance. "Who are you?" He asked firmly.
Ethan stood up and pulled back his hood, and stared, piecing together the evidence that would provide insight into the situation he was pressed into.
Brent jogged over when he recognized him and promptly posed his next question. "What the hell was that?"
"Parties off Brent." He gasped. "They thought something was up, and they sent this guy to investigate." He said pointing to the still bleeding corpse. "We need to dispose of the body, get a plan together and lay low. With any luck, they won't send anyone else, but we need to avoid drawing attention."
/\/\/\
Ethan rolled the cadaver into a tarp and buried it properly around the foot of the mountain they intended to camp out on, while Brent mopped up blood. Nobody else knew about the party, so their only remaining responsibility was to shut their mouths.